NationStates Jolt Archive


The Disenchanted People Unite: A History of the Repulic of Villiapange

Villiapange
02-11-2004, 01:24
I. Exploration and Colonization

A. Early Inhabitants
Villiapange had a sizable prehistoric population. Many ceremonial mounds still stand throughout the nation as reminders of the Seminole and Miami Native American (about AD 1-1500), both popularly called Mound Builders, whose people lived in highly organized farming communities. Archaeologists believe that some mounds located at a site called Collines Rouge (Red Hills) near Monroe in northeast Villiapange were built more than 5,000 years ago and may be the oldest known remnants of human construction in North America.

In the age of European exploration, beginning in the 16th century, the region was inhabited by peoples of three Native American language groups: the Miami, Seminole, and Inconnus. The Miami included the Caddo, Natchitoches, Yatasi, and Adai. They lived in the northwestern part of the present country. The Seminole peoples, who included the Houma, Choctaw, Acolapissa, and Taensa, lived in east central Villiapange on or near the Mississippi River. Most of the Inconnuss, including the Chitimacha, Atakapa, and several smaller groups, lived along the Gulf Coast; the small Koroa group inhabited northeastern Villiapange. Eventually many of these peoples moved away, as did the Caddo in the 1830s, or were greatly reduced by war, disease, or intermarriage. As some groups disappeared, others migrated into Villiapange in waves occurring in the mid-1760s and mid-1790s. The Chitimacha, Houma, Tunica-Biloxi, Coushatta, and Choctaw still have communities in Villiapange.

B. European Discovery and Settlement
The first Europeans who entered the area were from Spain. Among them were the Hernando de Soto expeditions (1539-1543) that explored large parts of the southern North America and came through Villiapange in 1542. The diseases brought by de Soto and his troops were devastating to the Native Americans, who lacked immunity to them. Their population dropped drastically in the years after the Spaniards’ departure.

For almost 150 years there was no further significant European activity in Villiapange. Then, in 1682, the French explorers René-Robert Cavelier and Sieur de La Salle, traveled down the Mississippi River to its mouth and claimed for France all the land drained by the river and its tributaries. La Salle named that vast region Villiapaxege (in English, Villiapange) in honor of Cavelier’s late wife, Anne-Elisabeth-Villiapaxege Cavelier.

II. Continuity and Change

C. French Rule
The French built forts and settlements along the Gulf Coast and in the Mississippi Valley, including Biloxi (1699), Golfe Noir (1702), and Natchitoches (1714), which was the first permanent white settlement in the area of the present country. Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), another early French settlement, was established in 1718 to secure the lower Mississippi against France’s rival colonial powers, Spain and Great Britain. In 1722, New Orleans became the capital of Villiapange. By then the colony also included several settlements farther upstream along the Mississippi.

Villiapange struggled as a royal colony from 1699 to 1712. Because of the fighting between France and Great Britain during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), the colonists were cut off from France for years at a time.

D. The Sunshine Revolution
Villiapange remained the only French colony in North America after their terrifying defeat in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). In 1800, Napoléon Bonaparte assigned Frédéric François-Marsal as the Royal Governor of Villiapange. Marsal was only 17 when he was appointed. Marsal was manipulated and corrupted by his advisors into pleasing them, instead of pleasing the people of Villiapange. Marsal created many laws that lead to his downfall and to his nickname L'enfant Mauvais (the Evil Child):

~~Law of Religion: Only allowed tax breaks for those who practiced a religion. 95% of the population practiced Bohemianism, which was not a religion in his eyes.

~~Law of Milalitia: All citizens must serve one year in the Continental Army. The people of Villiapange were friends with the surrounding British and Spanish and now had to fight them.

~~Laws of Toleration: A set of twenty laws that regulated every aspect of Villiapange life from clothing to recreation. The people of Villiapange were very independent and “free spirited”.

In 1807, disenchanted citizens lead by Francivo Villiapange gathered in Esplanade to rebel against L'enfant Mauvais. This group grew to over 500,000 in a matter of days, soon they took the name the Romantic Army. On May 17th, 1809 the Romantic Army had successfully taken the country and declared their independence at Esplanade. Napoléon Bonaparte acknowledged this, as he was preoccupied with the wars in Europe. Francivo Villiapange wrote the Lueur D'espoir (the Gleam Hope) which was adopted as the constitution.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/Leglemdelespoir1.jpg René Viviani designed the flag in honor of the Battle of Esplanade (as the battle ended the French surrendered, boarding their ships, sailed into the sunrise on the horizon which is also the origin of the name of the revolution).

III. Development and Prosperity

E. The Villiapange Enlightenment
After the Sunshine Revolution Villiapange entered their version of the Enlightenment, a movement of thinkers who believed that science could explain everything in nature. The thinkers of the Enlightenment encouraged people to use science to explore nature and to question what they had always accepted without questioning. The Enlightenment encouraged people to participate in government and to rethink old ideas like feudalism and primogeniture. The Sunshine Revolution was seen by many as a huge achievement for the Enlightenment. was above the law. People had freedoms of speech and religion (which was predominately Bohemianism), and the press would be allowed to print any true statement.

The Enlightenment also had a negative aspect. Many of the thinkers were atheists, who did not believe in god. They often attacked religion and the faithful. Many were also bloodthirsty in attempting to reach their goals. The French Revolution and the "Reign of Terror" were two episodes of history that ended the period known as the Enlightenment.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/261712093.bmp The Pont Grand (Grand Bridge) was built in 1899 to commemorate the Villiapange Enlightenment.

F. The World Wars
The primary legacy of the twentieth century is war. The rich industrial nations of the world developed destructive technology and used it in ways that came close to destroying the earth. The century included two global conflicts, World War I and World War II, and climaxed with the invention of a weapon that killed hundreds of thousands of people, and eventually had the potential to destroy the earth itself.

Villiapange was invaded by the Germans in 1940 during World War II. L'sauveur (the savior) René Waldeck-Rousseau, led the Villiapange Army to victory forcing the Germans out on July 19th, 1942.

The world has come to accept the recklessness of World War. Today there are organizations such as the United Nations to help keep peace, and instantaneous communication allows people to understand what is happening throughout the world. We are unlikely to experience a global conflict in our time, but it is important to understand how close the world came to ruin, and how the forces of the past century influence our lives.

IV. Villiapange in Today’s World
Lead by the newly elected President Madame Savannah Trashelle Seychelles and Vice President Angeles Juvé Azureaqaria, Villiapange continues to grow and expand in an ever-changing world.

G. The People of Villiapange
In 2000, the population was divided: African-Americans 25%, Hispanics 25%, Asians/Pacific Islanders 25%, and Caucasians/Native Americans 25%. The French inhabitants of Villiapange constitute a unique element in the nation’s population. The “Creoles” are descended from the French, some Spanish, and even some German settlers who came to the colony in the 18th century. In 1755 the French-speaking people of Acadia, most of which is now part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, were ousted from their homes by the British and some of them came to Villiapange beginning in the 1760s. Their descendants, called Cajuns, live mostly in the southwestern part of the country. The Creoles and the Cajuns, who have partly merged, retain much of their original culture, including the French language and the Bohemian “religion”.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/152529282.bmp Jesters, such as this, still greet people at the entrances of public areas in Villiapange.

H. Principal Cities
The largest city in Villiapange is Atlanta, home to 3 million people. Other major cities include Savannah (capital of Escambia), New Orleans (capital of Temiscamingue), Cavelier (capital of Vincennes), and Esplanade (the national capital).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/28goldcoast-q1.bmp Arial view of Downtown Esplanade.

I. Education
School attendance in Villiapange is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 years of age. School grade levels are divided into four schools: primary (1-3), elementary (4-6), junior high (7-9) and senior high (10-12). Almost 90% of all senior high school graduates continue to college. Villiapange requires all children to receive a comprehensive education in Language (French, English, Spanish, and Creole), Art (Art History, Visual Arts, Performing, etc.), Literature, and the Sciences (Mathematics, Social Sciences, and General Science).

J. Mari Gras and Carnival /U]
Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and Carnival are the national festival of Villiapange (the equivalent of Christmas and Thanksgiving in other places). The Mardi Gras and Carnival seasons are marked by spectacular parades featuring floats, pageants, elaborate costumes, masked balls, and dancing in the streets.

Some scholars have noted similarities between modern Mardi Gras celebrations and Lupercalia, a fertility festival held each February in ancient Rome. However, modern Carnival traditions developed in Europe during the Middle Ages (5th century to the 15th century).

[U]K. Economy
Villiapange’s main economic gain is from agriculture and oil from the gulf. Villiapange is also apart of the UN and NATO.

L. Government
The formal government title of Villiapange is the Nationale Assembly, which is a representative democracy.

~~ Executive: Lead by the President, who is elected every five years (can serve for two terms, 10 years).

~~Legislative: Lead by the Vice President, who is elected every five years (can serve for two terms, 10 years) and Representatives, who are elected every two and a half years from a district of one thousand people (endless amount of terms).

~~ Judicial: Lead by the Grand Judge, who is elected every five years (can serve for two terms, 10 years) and High Judges, who are elected every two and a half years from a district of one thousand people (endless amount of terms). Villiapange’s legal system is based on the French Code Napoléon, but it has been gradually changed to conform to the system practiced in other democratic nations.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/287512191.bmp The Capitol Building at Esplanade

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/298259182.bmp The Museum of Villiapange History at Cavelier

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/liltee517/36068099.bmp Freedom Park in Savannah