Guenung

Guenung, officially the Republic of Guenung (Xigbenung: Sɔɔṇḍeweni Gbenuŋ) is a country in the Miligbekojongu Archipelago in Nesiondalsa. It lies in the Indian Ocean, west of Tsanakarun and Usheigep, north of Eruchimpep, and south of Faibatkintra; it shares maritime borders with the aforementioned countries. Mventeikumbop is the country's capital and largest city. The country's population, estimated at 43 million, is composed of 5 main ethnic groups: the Vavamanesa who comprise the majority of Guenung's population, the Vagbenung who are historically dominant in politics and culture, Vakatrabilasa, Vayanyalyambe, and the Vamaimaivelre.

Humans have lived in Guenung for over 50,000 years. The Tawlic peoples were the first people to migrate to Guenung around 7,500 BCE, naming the island "Gbenung", meaning "water land". The Ma'anyan people, who were slaves and laborers, reached Gbenung at 250 AD. Due to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, Gbenung became a major center for maritime trade in the Indian Ocean, with Omani Arabs, Austronesians, Bantus, and Nytans massively migrating to Gbenung Island, causing the Gbenung Kingdom to become the wealthiest and most prosperous country in Nesiondalsa after its formation in 913. The Portuguese also established ports and even converted some people to Christianity in the 1550s, but the ports were abandoned as they were not permanent settlements.

In 1560, the Vanchajayuje and Vaifaibatkintra rebelled against Gbenung, causing socioeconomic chaos across the country. Eventually, 6 more ethnic groups rebelled against Gbenung due to poor treatment, creating the Vamanesa, Maimaivelre, Katrabilasa, Ganangamisa, Panragbiwanrano, and Yanyalyambe. In 1645, the Dutch East India Company invaded Gbenung, the Krunghom Kingdom, Camatanam Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Gezirnus to wrestle control of the spice trade. The Dutch conquered Gbenung and created the colony of Kueneng. In order to avoid annihilation, the 6 kingdoms united to form the Kingdom of Lahibavamanesa, which would defeat the Dutch in 1718 by annexing Kueneng. The capital was moved from Ngoyotrngugbikeguluyambimitnchanjo to Mvǔgiʒǐphǐaka, the former capital of Vamanesa. After King Vamanesanosi V refused to allow Europeans to exploit the resources and trade with Europeans, Lahibavamanesa was annexed in 1880 after a two-year long war. During British rule, mass atrocities were perpetrated, due to extremely high demand for gold, phosphate, and iron. Decades of mass exploitation led to the Ugbenung Liberation War, which began in 1946 and ended in 1955 when a peace treaty was signed in Mvǔgiʒǐphǐaka.

The People's Republic of Guenung declared independence from Britain and it was established on 29 December 1955. Ugbenung nationalist Phajosa Mesraṉin was elected the President of Guenung. Even though Mesranin claimed that Guenung was democratic, it was run as a dictatorial one-party state, with his Ugbenung Communist Party being the sole legal party. After Mesraṉin's death in 1964, his son, Phajosa Khuos̱in, took power. In 1965, Guenung attempted an invasion of Usheigep in order to establish a communist dictatorship there, which caused the Gbenung Strait Crisis. Guenung surrendered and the provinces of Tsana and Karun were annexed by Usheigep, but Vizhutua forced Usheigep to grant independence to the buffer state of Tsanakarun in order to avoid future conflicts. Due to fears that Guenung would face a revolution, Phajosa liberalized Guenung's economy in 1986 and it dissolved the People's Republic on 1 September 1989. Since then, Guenung has become one of the most liberal and free democracies in Nesiondalsa.

Guenung is a developed country with an advanced, high-income social market economy; it has the 7th-largest economy in Nesiondalsa. It provides very high standards of living, safety and economic freedom, as well as free university education and a universal health care system. Guenung is a founding member of the Federation of Nesiondalsan States, Group of 192, the Council for Economic Collaboration, Trade, and Development, the AANOA Development Bank, and the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Economic Community of Miligbekojongu.

Etymology
Guenung is a British corruption of the Kigbenung words for water and land, gbe and nuŋ. The pronunciation may come Omani Arabs who played a major role in Guenung's ancient economy. The Dutch called the historically dominant Mugbenung people "Kueneng".

Prehistory
The first homo sapiens migrated to Gbenung Island around 50,000 BCE. Gbenung used to be part of an island now called Atyragyturidiha, which split from what is now Nesionyta in 12,000 BCE, forming Gbenung Island, which split into several islands around 11,000 BCE due to rapidly rising sea levels.

As part of the, the were brought as laborers and slaves by Malay and Javanese people in their trading fleets, which reached the Miligbekojongu Islands by 1 AD. Even though there is evidence of Austronesian settlement of Nesionyta, it is likely that the Ma'anyan migrated to Nesionyta to escape slavery and that nearly all of the Ma'anyan were forcibly deported to the Mapuan Archipelago or Gbenung Island.

Contact with traders
The Arabs migrated to Gbenung at the mid-7th century, establishing several trading ports around Gbenung. The most important trading port was the Port of Ngoyotrngugbikeguluyambimitnchanjo. The Arabs also introduced Islam, the Arabic script (formerly used to transcribe the languages of Guenung), Arab astrology and other cultural elements. The Bantu people, being mostly held as slaves owned by the Arabs, Persians, Nytans, and Austronesians, migrated to Gbenung in the 9th century.

Due to trade, the Sultanate of Gbenung was formed in 913, and it quickly became one of the most important prosperous kingdoms in Nesiondalsa, with the Arabs, Persians, Nytans, and Austronesians trading on the Island. Gbenung expanded to Ncajayuja Island and Faibatkintra Island, with many new major ports including Uzhambaw, Ungawmbalr and Kitano being established on those islands in the 10th century.

European contact began in 1501, when Portuguese sea captain sighted Gbenung, naming the island Guenoum. After its sighting, several Portuguese settlements were established in the 1550s. At the same time, Gbenung began to struggle from rebellions by the Vanchajayuje and Vafaibatkintra because they were mostly kept as slaves by the other ethnic groups. The rebellion was successful, and in 1560, the kingdoms of Nchajayuje and Faibatkintra were established. Eventually, due to internal instability and poor treatment of other ethnic groups, the Sultanate of Gbenung was dissolved.

Seven Kingdoms era and Lahibavamanesa
In 1561, the Sultanate of Gbenung was dissolved and it was broken into 7 kingdoms: Vamanesa, Maimaivelre, Katrabilasa, Ganangamisa, Gbenung, Panragbiwanrano, and Yanyalyambe. Even though Gbenung was divided, the Sultanate's successor, the Kingdom of Gbenung, was still a major trading center in Nesiondalsa.

In 1645, the invaded the Camatanam Sultanate, the Sultanate of Gezirnus, and the Krunghom Kingdom, in order to gain a monopoly on trade in Nesiondalsa. The Kingdom of Gbenung, which had already been devastated by the rebellions, was quickly defeated, and it was annexed in 1647 as Dutch Kueneng. In response to the Dutch colonization of Gbenung, the other kingdoms united to form the Kingdom of Lahibavamanesa, which defeated the Dutch in 1713 by conquering Dutch Kueneng. Immediately after, King Vamanesaninosi I, which refused to participate in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, made a treaty with Britain, which forbid Europeans from capturing slaves in Lahibavamanesa in exchange for Vamanesaninosi allowing Christian missionaries to convert people there and trade relations being established. However, growing discontent between the missionaries and the ethnic groups led to Vamanesaninosi expelling the British off the territory in 1727.

Lahibavamanesa continued to be one of the most prosperous kingdoms in Nesiondalsa, even after Vamanesaninosi disestablished trade relations with Britain. However, a punitive expedition to Gbenung Island occured in 1877 due to the persecution of British missionaries and the rapidly rising demand for natural resources in Lahibavamanesa and its surrounding islands. This sparked the Anglo-Ulahibavamanesa War between Vamanesaninosi V and British colonial forces. Eventually, Lahibavamanesa was defeated by Britain when the capital Mvǔgiʒǐphǐaka was captured in 1880.

Colonial era
After Lahibavamanesa was annexed, it became part of the newly-formed crown colony of Guenung. Immediately after, the British Southwestern Nesionytan Company (BSNC) was formed to administer exploit the natural resources of Guenung. Mass settlement was also encouraged, but very few British settled in Gbenung because most of them eventually migrated and permanently settled in Australia as most of the gold ran out. Even the extremely high demand for gold caused Britain to withdraw from the Adrian Islands, Zahama, and Ucia, because they did not have as much valuable resources as Guenung.

To faciliate the extraction of gold from Guenung, all of the land was nationalized in 1881 and and sold to the BSNC. After a concession was granted to all of Gbenung Island, the BSNC began to forcibly recruit the Ugbenung and even Aboriginial Australians as unpaid laborers to maximize gold mining. Refusal to mine gold was punishable by death and forced labor, with millions of indigenous peoples dying due to poor health conditions in the forced labor camps. Indigenous peoples unwilling to work were usually slaughtered or raped. Numerous famines occured due to BSNC excaberating the effects by stealing the food of laborers who refused to work. The British government refused to disclose information about the mass abuses, meaning that the exact number of deaths remained unknown. Eventually, nearly all of the gold had been mined by 1890, so the BSNC shifted to copper. After most the copper had been mined by 1910, the BSNC was dissolved and Guenung was placed under direct rule of the British government in 1891. The British forced the Ugbenung peoples to farm rubber. During the decades of forced labor, numerous rebellions perpetrated by the Ugbenung occured, especially during World War I when demand for rubber rapidly increased. Even the Ugbenung rebelled against the Japanese cilent state of Cadasa during World War II because Cadasa wanted to exploit the phosphate and iron in Guenung, resources which were largely unexploited.

Ugbenung Liberation War
The Ugbenung, which had devastatingly suffered from decades of forced labor, perpetrated the 9/18 Incident in 1946. The British responded by declaring a state of emergency, launching a counter-insurgency that killed 10,000 Ugbenung. 250,000 were detained in forced labor camps, including Phajosa Mesraṉin and his son Phajosa Khuos̱in. Eventually, the counter-insurgency grew into the Ugbenung Revolution, which was lead by guerilla forces of the Tafǔkɛ Wafaxafaxa Ugbenuŋ (TWU). The TWU was spearheded by revolutionary Laibang. During the revolution, the TWU raided British colonial police, military installations, rubber plantations, and forced labor camps.

By the end of 1946, the TWU captured the regions of Mikibetrana and Kudrabujore. In 1947, the TWU conquered Maimaivelre, Nesanguki, Wasaramudrin, and Gulrimano. The Vanchajayuze and Vafaibatkintra also began to rebel against the British. By the end of 1948, the TWU had occupied Misagulasa, Katrabilasa, Kuobajasak, Palyikunapasu, Yokayijukuniny, Tsana, Karun and Maimaivelre. However, Jonah Hessanuri, Prime Minister of the newly-independent Ulakisonia, began sending troops to Guenung at the beginning of 1949 on Britain's side. By mid-1949, the British reconquered Nandamendi, Yokayijukuniny, Gulrimano, and Maimaivelre.

Because the TWU feared that the revolution would fail, the TWU seeked support from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. In response to the Soviet Union and China intervening in the Ugbenung Revolution, the British implemented scorched earth policies against the Ugbenung in 1950. The British attempted to defeat the Ugbenung by food rationing, the killing of livestock, and extrajudicially killing communist forces, using the divide and rule strategy that would later be used in the Malayan Emergency and Mau Mau rebellion. However, the TWU had reconquered territories previously lost to British forces, with the TWU controlling the southern part of Vamanesa, Maimaivelre, Kumbop, Katrabilasa, and the northern part of Ganangamisa by the end of 1952.

On December 22, 1953, the Gaipat massacre occured in the town of Gaipat after the British Army massacred thousands of people who were protesting against British war crimes, motivated by the assassination of Laibang that occured on the previous day. Phajosa Mesraṉin, shocked by Laibang's death, replaced Laibang as General of the Tafǔkɛ Wafaxafaxa Ugbenuŋ. The Gaipat massacre received widespread international condemnation from the Soviet-aligned and non-aligned countries, and several countries cut ties with Britain. The Soviet Union, the, Egypt, Yugoslavia, China, India, Indonesia, Upper Vizhutu, Vizhutua, and El Kadsre were the most notable criticizers of the massacre. Cairo Raijar described the Gaipat massacre as "an extremely violent massacre made by the British to justify their prejudice against the legitimate Ugbenung people", while Hiroshi Kayos mentioned the Gaipat massacre in his 1958 autobiographical book From Sétif to Gaipat: An Analysis of War Crimes, describing the massacre as "one of the most serious war crimes since World War II, as it was a threat against peace".

By the end of 1953, the TWU had completely annexed Ganangamisa, and it was ready to march southward and annex Panragbiwanrano and Yanɛlyambe. The TWU had conquered most of Panragbiwanrano and Yanɛlyambe in 1954, with the future regions of Malrinakora and Ekalosani and the cities of Cutivelre and Korinjajakasarak being the only territories not annexed by the TWU by 1955. The of 1955 was a major turning point in the Ugbenung Liberation War, with a lot of concern being expressed about British rule in Guenung. Malrinakora was captured on January 20, Ekalosani on August 24, Cutivelre on November 21, and Kɔrinjajakasarak on December 27. After Korinjajakasarak (renamed to Mfaṇḍṛəʃenətanəm in 1958) was captured, the Treaty of Kumbop was signed on December 29, ordering Britain to withdraw its remaining forces in Nesiondalsa. Britain was also forced to pay US$500 million to Anchajayuja, $250 million to Faibatkintra, and US$250 billion to Guenung. Britain made repayments to Anchajayuja and Faibatkintra in 1956 and 1957 respectively, and Britain made repayments to Guenung for every year from 1956-1980. Following the end of the war, the surviving British generals who participated in the Ugbenung Liberation War were tried for war crimes in Visaha, with the perpetrators of the Gaipat Massacre being sentenced to death and the other generals being sentenced to life imprisonment.

People's Republic of Guenung
On December 29, 1955, Phajosa proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of Guenung, a Marxist-Leninist state. The idea of a communist state was popular with the masses due to equality and end of exploitation a communist society promised. This turned out to be true, with only a fraction of the population expressing discontent over Phajosa's regime, with the religious or anti-communist people being exiled to Australia. Many political opponents were killed by the secret police Kojoŋuly̆əʋakɔfǐaṟǔvaɲ (Committee for People's Security) and the People's Republic became one of the most repressive states in Nesiondalsa, even though very few people in Guenung opposed Phajosa's regime. He built an extreme cult of personality, and he intervened in the Ulakisonian Civil War, siding with the communist forces.

In 1964, Phajosa died, and one of his closest friends and revolutionary ally Hotep Gezarin came to power. After he allied Guenung with the in 1965 during the, he withdrew from the Ulakisonian Civil War. However, Hotep caused the Gbenung Strait Crisis by attempting to remove Usheigepese General Masajuri Nkinjire from power, because he was accused of creating economic ties with the Soviet Union. After Hotep's attempt to overthrow Nkinjire's regime, Usheigepese Vice President Dakéro Atapane declared war on Usheigep on November 8, 1965. The crisis was dominated by fierce fighting, with the Battle of Mvǔgiʒǐphǐaka occurring just 2 km from the official presidential residence and goverment buildings. Hotep resigned and Guenung surrendered on December 1, 1967, and the regions of Tsana and Karun were ceded to Usheigep, but a treaty signed at Aucorusri, Vizhutua, created the buffer state of Tsanakarun a day later.

Phajosa's son Khuos̱in came to power following the crisis. Khuos̱in started to relax press restrictions and started to partially liberalize the country. After the capital city of Mvǔɣiʒǐphǐaxa suffered from widespread damage from Usheigepese forces (the city was 1 km away west from the newly-created buffer state of Tsanakarun), Khuos̱in planned to move the capital to the central part of Gbenung Island in 1968, in order to diversify development in Guenung (urbanization was mainly restricted to the coastline). It was also located in a more neutral area, and it didn't suffer from damage during the Guenung Strait Crisis. The name was announced to be Mesraṉinop, honoring former President Phajosa Mesraṉin and his family. The capital would be shifted to Mesraṉinop on December 29, 1970, and the Mesraṉinop Capital Region was created from the eastern part of Mikibetrana and the western part of Kudrabujore. Guenung also started to have warmer relations with the, and it even signed the Nesiondalsan Charter, becoming a founding member of the Federation of Nesiondalsan States and the Economic Community of Miligbekojongu. However, the Kojoŋulyəʋakɔfǐaṟǔvaɲ continued to have an iron grip on Ugbenung society.

By the early and mid 1980s, Ugbenung people started to protest against the people's republic, even though those were secret and extremely sporadic. Fearing a revolution, Phajosa followed 's example of and, ending press restrictions and introducing elements of the market economy into Guenung. In 1988, Marxism-Leninism was removed from Guenung's constitution, and the capital city was renamed to Mventeikumbop. The People's Republic of Guenung was officially dissolved on September 1, 1988 and the first multi-party elections were held in March 1989.

Post-communist and contemporary period
Atersan Faxa, one of the main leaders of the Ugbenung pro-democracy movement, as elected president in the election. His party, Democratic Guenung, won every region in Guenung. On July 5, 1990, a brand-new constitution was adopted.

In accordance with the presidential term limits imposed by the new constitution, Atersan stepped down as president after two terms in 1997. Pajaksier Gezarin replaced him. However, Pajaksier resigned in 2004 due to the, which caused destruction to many cities like Cutivelre and Katrabilasa. Pajaksier also misappropriated aid money, and he was arrested the following year for bribery.

Politics and government
Guenung is a unitary presidential republic, and there are three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. In the executive branch, the president is head of state and government and the commander-in-chief of the Ugbenung Armed Forces. During the communist period, Guenung had a head of government, known as the Premier, but the office was abolished following the adoption of the 1990 constitution. In the legislative branch, there's the unicameral National Congress of Guenung, with 225 seats. For the judicial branch, the Supreme Court of Guenung is the highest level of law courts in Guenung.

Parties and elections
Guenung has had a multi-party system since 1989. The current political party in power is the Socialist Movement of Guenung, which is the party the current president, Khanazir Juahin, is in. Other major political parties include: Democratic Guenung, Justice Party, and Nationalist Party.

Elections are held every four years.

Economy
Guenung has a mixed economy. Both the government and private sectors play an important role. Guenung has the second largest economy in Miligbekojongu, only trailing Usheigep. It has the world's 17th largest economy by GDP (PPP) and 24th by nominal, at $1.635 trillion and $645,514 million, respectively. Services are the largest sector in the economy, accounting for 35.1% of the GDP.

Historically, Guenung's economy relied on agriculture. When the British came, mining became an important part of the economy, with notable exports including rubber, copper, and gold. After Guenung became independent in 1955, Phajosa Mesreanin urged self-sufficiency. This led to agriculture becoming a major part of Guenung's economy again. However, by the mid-1960s, industrialization began, especially after the Gbenung Strait Crisis which destroyed Guenung's economy.

Urbanization and industrialization accelerated in the next decades as Guenung began diversifying its economy. Poverty rates decreased from 65% in 1950 to 10% by 1990. After the fall of communism in 1989, the GDP grew at a rate of 6.0% until the 2004 Indian Ocean tsuami. By 2010 however, Guenung rebounded.