Fangania

**Fangania** (Fang: , romanized: *Afane*; Zarexian: , romanized: *Fangetxea*), officially the **Grand Duchy of Fangania**, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, on the equator, with an area of 151,535 square kilometres (58,508 sq mi). As of 2024, the country had a population of 10,554,997; 45.9% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Atzerritak, a collective term of all other ethnic groups descended from the Fangania region, are the second largest group at approximately 25.2% of the population.

Fangania consists of two parts, an insular and a mainland region. The insular region consists of the four major islands and their respective provinces of Fernando Poo, Julma, San Tomas and Annobon in the order departing from the Gulf of Guinea. The insular provinces have a semi-autonomous status compared with the rest of the country. The mainland region, is bordered by  Kamerun on the north as well as the northeast and  the Congo on the south and southeast. It is the location of Eden, Fangania's capital and seat of the royal family. Yaunde, the grand duchy's largest city, is considered the crown jewel of Fangania and the most liveable city in all of Africa. The country is a member of the  United Nations,  African Union and  OPEC.

The coast of the lands which would eventually become Fangania was sighted by the Portugese in the 15th Century. By the Treaty of Tordesillas,  Portugal had exclusive trade rights in Africa, and it was not until 1778 that they agreed to cede the islands of Annobón and Fernando Poo as well as rights on the mainland coast between the Ogooué and Niger rivers. These cessions were designed to give  Spain its own source of enslaved people in Africa for transport to Spanish America, where, in exchange, the Spanish confirmed the rights of the Portuguese west of the 50° W meridian in what is now  Brazil. After the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807, bases were required by the Royal Navy for the effective suppression of the trade. In 1827 the Spanish leased bases for this purpose to the British at Port Clarence (later Santa Isabel, now Malabo), a fine deepwater harbour on the north coast, and in San Carlos (now Luba) on the west coast. The  United Kingdom made several unsuccessful offers to  Spain for the purchase of Fernando Poo, particularly from 1839 to 1841.

From the 19th century onwards, Europeans expanded their colonies across the entire African continent. The Fang region was divided between the three colonial powers of  Spain, which only retained parts of its historic coastal colonies and was awarded Río Muni by the other colonial powers as compensation;  Germany, which occupied the north of the region; and  France, which founded the colony of  Gabon in the south. After World War I, the Germans had to hand over their colony of  Kamerun to the French as a League of Nations mandate. In the interwar period, a revolution broke out in  Zarexium and the monarchy was overthrown. All noble houses were disempowered shortly afterwards. In the post-revolutionary period, the young democracy was exposed to strong agitation from the monarchists. The House of Sinnika was one of the most influential, so much so that the government offered the Sinnika a piece of land outside of  Zarexium to rule. Ultimately this new country was to be founded in  Spanish Guinea because the Spanish were weakened and distracted owing to their civil war. In June 1937, Zarexian troops occupied the colony and handed it over to the Sinnika. A year later, Fangania was established as an independent country.

Originally, the Duchy of Fangania was intended to be a parliamentary monarchy in which Duke Julma was only supposed to play a ceremonial role. But after the newly elected parliament was paralyzed by disputes, the Sinnika used the situation to disempower the parliament. The constitution that guaranteed civil rights was first repealed and later completely abolished. Julma managed to seize all power during the 1940s and build a totalitarian state. During the Reign of Terror, minorities and political opponents were purged. The duchy took advantage of the Fall of France to unite the Fang in  Gabon and  Cameroun under the rule of Julma. As a result of this territorial expansion, the country was raised to a grand duchy. Despite his foreign policy successes, Julma was unable to win approval of his subjects. When a revolt broke out, the ruling family joined the demonstrators and declared Julma to be deposed. Afterwards, the new Grand Duke Udista executed fundamental reforms that were intended to ensure that one person could no longer seize complete power ever again. Udista and the following rulers granted the population civil rights. When Salazar died,  Spain attacked and annexed its weakened neighbour. Fangania took advantage of the chaos and occupied  São Tomé and Príncipe.

While Fangania is an authoritarian absolute monarchy, civil rights and the rule of law prevail, ranking average in Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights. Since the early 1990s, the grand duchy has become one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest oil producers. It has subsequently become the richest country per capita in Africa, and its gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita ranks 38th in the world.

## Notes

1. **^** National anthem made by John Powell: Mammoths