History of goblytania

Goblytania is vast nation the size of earths america but a closer analogy would be Europe, central goblytania (known as “the hub” or “inner Gobly”) was originally just under a 1000 years ago a prosperous trading nation based around the 3 large navigable rivers leading the the “hub basin”

when trade deals were good along the rivers things were fine but as various nations that the rivers ran though started to charge “import duties” and fees things grew tense.

Goblytanian wealth was based on imports and the redistribution of imported goods to landlocked countries, states and principalities (throughout what is known as northern goblytania)

the various merchant guilds of goblytania had always maintained regiments of troops to protect their plantations, mines and other colonial concerns, they went to the king and proposed that “the rivers should be free for all” and to maintain that principal by force if necessary

of course what they meant as merchants always do is “the rivers should be free for me and my guild, and every other guild and country in their way should go hang!”

so with initially covert government support over the next 200 or so years every country along each of the rivers all the way to the sea was either co-opted with treaties or openly invaded and added to goblytania of course when a country neighbouring yours is weak (or even in the process of trying to fight of another aggressor) national leaders took the best option “for their people” and either invaded new Goblytanian lands or even lobbied to join this new superpower --- so like a expanding inkblot, countries had to be invaded to stop them from stealing goblytanian resources or just joined for the economic boons the new larger nation provided

so for about 5-600 more years Goblytania grew until constantly at war with its neighbouring provinces until it hit peak size (what it is now) as it got bigger and could produce more goods itself

so the power of the trade guilds started to wane once “the hungry young men” of the empire embracing (and funding) new technology and practices they are now shadowy venal, corrupt hidebound old men held back by a love of tradition and “the old ways”

about the time the empire hit peak size (200 years ago) the royalty had formed into “noble houses” and with waning of the trade gilds the subsequent power vacuum, each noble house vied for the Emperorship of goblytania thus a series of inter house civil wars gave the nations neighbours time to repair, form alliances and set the national boundaries we see today

inside goblytania the various civil and inhouse wars winnowed they houses down into the 5 surviving houses who had all but exhausted their resources and with pressure from the new larger alliances brewing on the borders were forced to sign what is known as the “nationship treaty” which formed the modern nation we see today

setting in stone the 5 houses as the only houses as “royalty” and codifying all the others as barons, dukes and other such titles

over this 800 year period nations which had existed deep in goblytania have morphed into states of goblytania and though the languages were originally completely different there is now a common language and the older languages are now just visible in local dialect words

present day

the empire is in crisis, industrialization, has cost the working people jobs, intensive farming has caused the crops to fail 3 years in a row and now drought is affecting the central temperate region of

the country

the working goblin is angry at the lack of jobs “in this great nation” and there's a rise in nationalism with the rosy tinted glow of “yesteryear when the empire was great and those foreigners new their place” deeply in the more ignorant people minds, this causes tensions especially within the church where the upper echelons who have grown used to their comforts (especially with a food shortage) and the working priests who are out there in the poorer smaller communities

many of the poorer communities have taken to banditry to survive stoking old rivalries (and often isolated church monasteries/nunneries are targeted)

the merchant guilds are making vast profits importing food

there is a visible divide between the cities and the smaller towns Where every face is hungry and lean

but in the cities the growing communist labour movements have been fighting in the streets with the growing nationalist movements who see each other as “the problem”

the Queen after consulting Church seerers and soothsayers believes next year the crops will grow but they need to survive the summer and winter and there must be seed grain in order to do that,

but hungry people will eat whatever they can, so she orders grain and other seed products to seized by the army

the communists see this as the rich hoarding resources for themselves

the nationalists see this as some sort of insane social policy to give free food to the undeserving (in their opinion)

the army of which many of the old guard want to see a return of the older empire building “making goblytania great again!” see this a chance to build the resources they need to start fighting old fights again

the merchant guilds see their profits importing foodstuffs at threat

the poor people just see food being taken from their mouths.

with that the country explodes.

Goblin Civil War!