Volta

The Socialist Federal Republic of Volta, commonly referred to as Volta, is a sovereign state located on Avidna.

History

Ancient cultures

Before 1253, Volta was populated largely by native people. To the south, various tribes formed different groups. These tribes are today known as the Totec tribes, most of them never formed settled civilizations and lived as hunter-gatherer tribes. Many migrated southwards as time went on, and some eventually developed into settled civilizations. By the time of the fist century, many small kingdoms existed throughout Volta. They were disconnected territorially so there wasn't much warfare going on between the kingdoms. However, while many kingdoms had formed, many tribes also remained.

By the 3rd century, the small kingdoms had expanded a bit and had started warring with one another. In the 4th century, the Tlaloc Empire emerged as the most powerful of all of the kingdoms. Their capital of Tlatelolco was the center of trade in the region, and their military was arguably the most powerful out of all of the kingdoms. By the 7th century the Tlaloc Empire was at the height of it's power, having effectively turned much of the other kingdoms into tributary states. The Tlaloc kingdom stretched from central Volta to southern Volta, with most of it's settlements being modeled after it's capital of Tlatelolco. However, the Tlaloc's were still threatened by the many other kingdoms in the region and many tribes that had still not settled down.

From the 9th century onwards, the Tlaloc Empire entered into a period of gradual decline as many of it's former tributary states ended the tributary relationship and fought against the Tlaloc's. Though the Tlaloc's probably could have won against each kingdom in a one-to-one fight, many of the kingdoms allied with each other and rebelled at the same time, giving the Tlaloc's difficulty in putting down the rebellion. By the time the 12th century arrived, the Tlaloc Empire was a clearly out of it's hayday. Though they were still the most powerful kingdom in the area, their power had waned to the point where many of their former tributary kingdoms could easily challenge the power of the Tlaloc's.

Gehennan Colonization

After Brigidnan exploration of Avidna started in the mid-12th some attempts were made at colonization of the land that would eventually become Volta. The first of these colonization attempts was by Florinthus. This colony was met with an aggressive response by the Tlaloc Empire, which was still powerful enough to expel the Florinthian colonists from the colony. However, the colonists brought with them diseases from Brigidna. These diseases began spreading through the native population, becoming an epidemic. This accelerated the decline of the Tlaloc Empire, and by the time the 13th century came around the Tlaloc Empire was a shell of it's former self.

In 1253, the Gehennan Empire established it's first colony in Volta. This colony would eventually become the city of Köstritz. The Tlaloc Empire again attempted to expel the colonists, but this time the Empire was instead pushed back by the Gehennans. After several years, Gehenna had not only established more colonies in Volta but had also forced the Tlaloc Empire away from the coast and into the inland areas. After 10 years, the Tlaloc Empire made on final push against the Gehennans, only to face the full force of the Gehennan military. The Gehennans quickly overran the Tlaloc's, completely destroying their empire. With the Tlaloc Empire gone, the Gehennans quickly asserted their control over the area that would become Volta.

The Gehennans settled deeper inland as their population increased, with many moving deeper and deeper inland in search of more natural resources. The colonial government actively promoted this activity, and thus the settlements inland grew and grew. By the time Gehennan colonization ended, there were several million Gehennan colonists within the land that would eventually become Volta. These colonists set up their own local government, loyal to the larger Gehennan Empire, and acted as such. Eventually, the continued expansion of the Voltan settlements gave Volta the borders it currently has.

Gehennan colonial policy actively descriminated against the natives, and as time progressed and the Gehennan colonists set up more settlements deeper inland the natives were forced farther and farther inland as well. This, coupled with the rapid spread of Brigidnan diseases among the natives who had no resistance to it, resulted in a massive decrease in the native population. By the time that Gehennan colonization ended, the native population had declined by an estimated 50%. Some natives were captured by the Gehennan colonists and used as slave labor for various purposes as well. This slave labor gave rise to Voltan Pidgin, which would eventually develop into the Voltan language.

Abdanian colonization

In 1376 CE, a minor war between Gehenna and Abdania resulted in an Abdanian victory, which caused the colony in Volta to be transferred from Gehenna to Abdania. Once gaining the colony, the Abdanians immediately replaced top positions that were previously occupied by Gehennans with Abdanians, and began a slow but sure implementation of Abdanianization policies. These policies were not well received by the Gehennan governments, and there was widespread discontent against the Abdanians throughout their colonial history. Some of the more vocal Voltan elites fled, while others begrudgingly accepted lower ranking positions in colonial administration.

During this time the Voltan national identity began to develop, largely in opposition to Abdanian rule of Volta. It largely began with the elites, but after a while the elites started to actively promote the idea of a Voltan national identity, separate of both Gehennan and Abdanian, to the local population to win their support. The population took to this idea immediately, with many buying into the idea that Volta should be it's own fully independent nation. However, independence wouldn't come for many years.

Independence

In 1422, anger against Abdanian colonial policy was mounting. The elites then decided that it was a good time for a revolution, and began preparing for a rebellion. They began gathering supplies and getting into contact with local leaders across all of Volta. For two years they prepared, however in 1424 word reached the Voltan elites that the Abdanians had gotten wind of the plans and were going to take action against them. Feeling a sense of urgency, the elites began the rebellion early. Eugen Rathenau led the rebellion, attacking and capturing the city of Kerseruk and setting up an effective base there. This sparked the Voltan War for Independence.

After years of fighting, the Abdanians withdrew and agreed to grant Volta full independence in 1427. The revolutionaries then formed the Voltan Democratic Republic, and Eugen Rathenau was elected it's first President in a landslide. Immediately after independence, there was a massive rise in anti-Abdanian sentiment, and Abdanians in Volta suddenly found themselves subject to discrimination, both legal and illegal. As a result, many Voltan Abdanians chose to leave Volta and return to Abdania.

After Eugen served three consecutive 5-year terms, Eugen was ineligible to serve any additional terms. However, Eugen wanted to continue to be in power, and to this extent he bribed the legslature to change the constitution, giving him additional powers and the opportunity to serve for a fourth term in the 1442 general election. When the opposition resisted, he suspended the constitution and gave himself absolute power over the country. The move had the support of the majority of Voltans, who viewed Eugen as the man who had liberated them from Abdanian rule. However, the result was effectively a coup de'tat, and the legialture became a rubber stamp. Though Eugen promised to eventually transition the country to democracy, said promises were never carried out.

Eugen then implemented even harsher policies than the Gehennans, not only implementing discriminatory and nearly genocidal policies against the natives but also discriminating against the lower classes. A system of contract labor was implemented, which allowed for people to easily find work in various sectors of the economy. However, the contracts mandated that the worker work for a certain amount of time, allowing for the workers to be exploited. Many laborers, both Voltan and native, were exploited by this system. Futhermore, for the first time in Voltan history natives and lower-class Voltans were forced to work in the same place, resulting in futher development of the Voltan Pidgin. It is also during this time that Voltan Pidgin begin to transition from a Pidgin to a full-fledged Creole language, becoming the most commonly spoken language of the lower class by 1500.

Revolution

As the situation go worse for the lower class the popularity of Eugen began to decline. By the time Eugen died in 1483, the government was highly unpopular. Around this time, various revolutionary movements began to spring up, seeking to overthrow the government. One such revolutionary was Rudolf Thälmann, who got involved in the revolutionary movement after the execution of his father in 1484. Rudolf's father, Leon Thälmann, was involved in a revolutionary cell that sought to overthrow the government. Though arguably not a radical, he promoted the establishment of social program to help the poor and openly criticized the government. In 1484, the revolutionary cell that Leon was part of was arrested for possession of banned writings, and it's members were executed on Dosa 20, 1484.

From that day Rudolf became involved in revolutionary activities. He joined a revolutionary cell and began reading banned works. The specific cell he joined began becoming radicalized over time, with them becoming more and more interested in the far-left works of Vladimir Perov. In 1489, Rudolf gained the opportunity to visit the Union of Socialist Republics and was astonished at the progress they had made. When he returned to Volta he was convinced of communism, and he was shared his experiences with the rest of the cell. They then stepped up their activities, expanding their membership and working harder to gain popular support. In 1491, the cell formed the Communist Party of Volta, which was quickly banned by the government for revolutionary activities.

However the government initially failed to capture the leaders of the Communist Party of Volta. They continued to evade the government for another 3 years, spreading their ideology and call for revolution. Along the way Rudolf's name became more widespread in the country, with him gaining a reputation for standing up against the government's human rights abuses. However, in 1494 Rudolf was captured by the authorities, along with the rest of the leadership of the Communist Party of Volta. On Nueva 15th, 1494 they were publicly executed. This effectively collapsed the leadership of the Communist Party of Volta. However, rather than scaring people into submission like the government had hoped, it enraged the general public and active resistance against the government grew.

What was left of the Communist Party of Volta formed the Voltan Workers' United Front, an alliance of far-left revolutionary cells spread throughout the country led by the Communist Party of Volta. Though for the first years of their existence their power was limited, they did quickly gain substantial support from the lower classes of Voltan society. The government engaged a active campaign against them and did force them into bases in the jungles and mountains, but there the Voltan Workers' United Front survived for years to come, with the government never being able to defeat them. Over time the Voltan Workers' United Front started consolidating power in the mountains, waiting for an opportunity to strike against the government.

In 1497, Hans Krenz became the Chairman of the Communist Party of Volta. He came from a military family, and had connections to disgruntled members of the armed forces. With this, for the first time the Communist Party of Volta was able to coordinate their actions with people within the military that were willing to defect. On Marth 8, 1498 there was a mutiny on the Battleship Gneisenau, which resulted in the ship being taken over by revolutionary sympathizers. Knowing that this would be the last straw for the government, Hans Krenz ordered that an armed uprising happen immediately. Both revolutionary cells and military sympathizers converged on the Voltan capital of Köstritz, and took it by surprise. During the battle, many in the Voltan navy staged mutinies like the one on the Gneisenau, leading to the Voltan revolutionary forces quickly gaining a naval advantage. Within two weeks the capitol was captured, and the rebels used that as a base of operations for further advances. This marked the start of the Voltan Civil War.