St. Ark Federation

About
The St. Ark Federation, (aka. Nesekme) is a democratic federal parliamentary republic controlled by a military junta, and through the events of New Shingleton in 1989, the St. Ark Federation reopened it's borders to international travel and trade, and one of the countries vulnerable to terrorist attacks by the People's Republic of Crimsonia, it's capital is unknown, but their official language is English and Lithuanian.

It is mentioned within the Trostemb State Asylum and two games take place in the country, these games are the New Shingleton State in 1989 and the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads in 1984, it is sometimes also mentioned in Kradovo.

History
The history of the St. Ark Federation began in the medieval ages of Bistonia in the 1440s, as the land of Nesekme, it became a safe haven for medieval warlords and outlaws, to the Bistonian locals it was considered the land of bad luck to the purpose of the land.

The land of Nesekme was large but had a scarce population and sometimes civilization in the area declined due to plagues and the extreme conditions within the region, Nesekme's purpose of being a safe haven for outlaws repeated for centuries further leaving remnants of civilization on Nesekme, and became the graveyard of mighty empires, tribal groups that fled the Ottoman Empire settled into Nesekme and survived through devastation over the centuries.

Nesekme remained as a safe haven for Bistonian outlaws and tribals until in 1824 the rise of the United States of Megaton and Columbia as a superpower made the ideals of the creation of a colony especially in Nesekme, in April 13th 1824, the land known as Nesekme began to change drastically.

Colonization
A young man known as James Spence Monroe, the son of the president of the USMC, launched an expedition on Nesekme, landing on April 13th 1824, James Spence Monroe claimed the land had opportunity to be a colony of the United States of Megaton and Columbia and claimed that the land had much more resources than the government expected.

However, a few months after, tribals began to raid James Spence Monroe's settlement, killing 108 including children, hundreds managed to survive the raid but homes were set on fire, this raid eventually contributed to James Spence Monroe's slow descend into madness, who would eventually reign terror on the natives.

James Spence commenced 17 ships to aid in the slaughter of nearly a thousand natives to gain revenge on the destruction of the small settlement, tribals who survived the slaughter were enslaved to rebuild the settlements destroyed by the attacks, those who resisted against him were beheaded and kept as trophies, the Colony of New Hope was established in 1824 as a colony by the United States of Megaton and Columbia, with James Spence Monroe becoming the leader at 25 years old.

Colony of New Hope 1824 - 1892
After the massacre of the natives on the land, the Colony of New Hope was established in 1824 with James Spence as the leader of the colony after being declared a hero of the settlers who died in the attacks, he reigned terror on his opponents in the Colony of New Hope and led the colony to an authoritarian rule.

The Colony of New Hope was heavily dependant on slavery and was one of the last places to sell slaves since slavery was banned throughout the United States of Megaton of Columbia, tribals were either subjugated or were forced to live inside reservations, news and reports spread throughout Megaton and Columbia about the cruelty and the reign of terror caused by James Spence Monroe, after heavy demonstrations, President Monroe resigned, and convicted James Spence Monroe, after a trial, he was sentenced to death and executed in May 1829.

Nothing major occured after the reign of terror caused by James Spence Monroe, other than leaving a legacy behind and was still regarded as a hero for avenging the settlers, monuments were built dedicated to him, he is known as the father of the creation of the St. Ark Federation.

After the reign of terror caused by James Spence Monroe and his death in 1829, slavery was abolished in the Colony of New Hope, and became one of the centers of the Industrial Revolution, and turned New Shingleton from a massive plantation to a industrial area, rich in both gold and coal, the Colony of New Hope also expanded its territories deep into native lands through land purchase or war against the natives living there.

During the Colony of New Hope's rise, in 1855, the United States of Megaton and Columbia announced the success of the colony, but is concerned due to the threats by the Kingdom of Crimmitonia which has controlled nearly all of Bistonia and the now crumbling Ottoman Empire, which is losing their influence nearby surrounding territories of the Colony of New Hope.

In 1862, the Columbian Civil War broke out between southern states and northern states over the governments treatment of slavery states, the southern states played a major role in the development of the Colony of New Hope, and entire kingdoms of Mesothemia, the superpowers started to look down on the colony, because of the treatment of factory workers and textile workers in Mesothemia, an all out war raged on the continent.

In late 1865, the Columbian Civil War ended with a costly damaged and leaving the government faced with a heavy task to rebuild, resources from the Colony of New Help were used to reconstruct the southern states again, eventually the United States of Megaton and Columbia recovered from the civil war, this contributed to the United States of Megaton and Columbia tightening further rule over the colony.

In the course of 30 years after the end of the Columbian Civil War, Columbian troops began launching a massacre in tribal areas, killing thousands and forcing all of the natives completely into the reservations set up by the government, mass assimilation also began.

In December 1891, the United States of Megaton and Columbia promised an semi independent state in the Colony of New Hope after a mutiny in several cities declaring a revolution against colonialism, after 78 years the Colony of New Hope was dissolved and the Dominion of St. Ark was established as a semi independent colony of the United States of Megaton and Columbia.

Dominion of St. Ark 1892 - 1956
The Dominion of St. Ark was established in 1892 and replaced the Colony of Good Hope, but it's independence was worth nothing as the United States of Megaton and Columbia still controls it's structure, and handles their foreign affairs and diplomatic relations, and provinces of the Colony of Good Hope were incorporated into the USMC without being in control of the dominion, the Dominion of St. Ark still possess USMC currency and it's military is often controlled aswell along with the constitution.

During the Great War, the Dominion of St. Ark joined the war together with the United States and declared war on the Kingdom of Crimmitonia, but contributed to the devastation of industrial areas after Crimmitonian naval attacks damaged sectors in New Shingleton, occupation zones were set up in Bistonian Shingleton and West Bistonia until 1921, and helped the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations to create a city state in the coastal areas of Bistonia, however due to the economic downfall in the late 1920s, the Dominion failed to give aid to the free city state.

During the second Great War, the Dominion of St. Ark also participated in the southern front in 1940, this also contributed to the complete destruction of cities in New Shingleton and nearby industrial areas, during the aftermath of the war occupations zones were also set up in Bistonia but due to violent communist insurgencies in the region the dominion withdrew from the occupation zone, it was also involved in several proxy wars and was anti-communist.

During it's 64 years of existance, the Dominion of St. Ark was finally dissolved after a referendum in 1956 during the aftermath of a demonstration, the United States of Megaton and Columbia condemned this act and attempted to reinstall the dominion and failed, the St. Ark Federation was established and gained full independence from the United States of Megaton and Columbia and was given recognition by the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations, ending a total 132 years of USMC rule within the colony.

The Dominion of St. Ark established a legacy as natives were reduced to only living in reservations, after it's full independence from the United States of Megaton and Columbia, the Lithuanians took over the government and declared an apartheid system, the country, mainly English speaking, is now a half Columbian and Lithuanian majority country, with the population mainly speaking both English and Lithuanian.

St. Ark Federation
The dissolvement of the St. Ark Federation and the development of the newly independent country made the St. Ark Federation in the mid 1950s and 60s a developed country with a high GDP and surplus economy, only behind the Republic of Bistonia and 5 other countries, despite it's apartheid system to divide the black population from having housing rights and equal marriages, it had democratic elections and equal rights, and had good relations with the Republic of Bistonia, but had bitter ties with the People's Republic of Crimsonia and the Union of Ruralia.

The St. Ark Federation's political system was not much of a federation, but comprised of states that run autonomously by several governors, and was more of a union than a federation, the federation was also vulnerable to political infighting and division, and would fight for rule in the St. Ark Federation despite having a prosperous and developing country.

The St. Ark Federation despite having good relations with the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations and several other countrys like Bostan, it's only allies are the Republic of Bistonia and the United States of Megaton and Columbia, while the rest of the other countries have little diplomatic relations, the Federation also fought in proxy wars with the United States of Megaton and Columbia, but only sent small amounts of units sent to the proxy wars and all were ineffective.

Presidential elections were held every 5 years using the same system as the United States of Megaton and Columbia used, which caused the votes to be vulnerable to getting rigged, the public opinion demonstrated against these acts and demanded more change to the system, demonstrations also occured and the system getting rigged would lead to serious consequenes as the president would get assassinated or would be executed by angry mobs outside the building.

The golden age of the St. Ark Federation was fading as several presidents start becoming strict during their rule and removed autonomy and the union system on all states, governors were exiled or jailed in the process of the system reforms, the system of a union or a federation ceased to exist and only worsened when protests were brutally cracked down on freedom.

Relations with the Republic of Bistonia and the United States of Megaton and Columbia deteriorated due to the reign of terror caused by the presidents, sanctions were ineffective against the government as the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations condemned the act, the St. Ark Federation's sanctions and it's depletion of oil and resources from the Bistonian Sea contributed to the economys collapse and nearly making the Federation's currencies worthless, and was one of the justifications of war against Bistonia in 1974.

[Click the link to know more about the war.]

Federation War

Military Government
During the aftermath of the Federation War, a coup d'etat occured led by General Fred Goldlock, detaining the president along with opponents, government officials and members of parliament, the country plunged into civil war as members of parliament who managed to escape and evade arrest from the St. Ark military announced and established the St. Ark National Democratic Forces, and led the population to kill 100,000 National Guard troops beginning the events of The Catastrophe, Fred Goldlock announced a 10 year martial law within the country along with the suspension of all international trade and travel across the country and cities were frequent to curfew.

The main reasons for the coup d'etat were a mix of political infighting, policy gridlock, multiple insurgencies on a massive scale and a declining economy along with demonstrations, the military government arrested the rest of the government, suspended the consitution and appointed a council to govern the crumbling federation by decree, this council was appointed and given a task of dealing with the countrys problems, while the military government aimed to crush the rebellion.

The main reasons for the coup d'etat occuring was not true as documents leaked from the United States of Megaton and Columbia intelligence discussing about top generals aiming to takeover the government, and use the St. Thomas incident along with many other excuses saying that the St. Thomas incident would erupt to a revolution aimed to overthrow the government, however St. Ark military officials responded to USMC intelligence claiming that the military takeover of the country is temporary and Fred Goldlock was appointed as leader of the military government, as appointed by several officers.

The coup d'etat in 1979 led to the end of the golden era of St. Ark and contributed to the beginning of reign of terror by Fred Goldlock til his execution in 1990, during the period of military rule under Fred Goldlock, the country was shaped into an oligarchy system, and into an authoritarian state under the military, several states of the St. Ark Federation were run autonomously by oligarchs and together founded a secret police force aimed at destroying Fred Goldlock's opponents in the surrounding states.

The country was severely undeveloped and poverty stricken, although attempts were made to improve the economy and develop the authoritarian state, most of them failed and the entire world developed along with it's view of St. Ark as an eyesore to the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations along with their neighbor, the Republic of Bistonia, the military government managed to reduce SANDF from a massive group of rebels to small and isolated unorganized groups in the country, oligarchs were reigning terror on the states.

In 1987, the Crimsonian-Bistonian War began as the People's Republic of Crimsonia began invading the Republic of Bistonia and commiting genocide in the occupied territories, the survivors of the genocide and the war began fleeing to the St. Ark Federation despite its warnings, in return of the migration of Bistonian refugees Fred Goldlock responded with brutal force for those that did not have the passports for them required to enter, a strike occured but failed, media and television, along with information with the disaster were all controlled by the military government, there were no further details as to what happened afterwards.

During late 1989, the St. Ark council announced the reopening of international travel and trade in the country as the Crimsonian-Bistonian war came to a close, Bistonian refugees began returning back at a massive alarming rate, this reopening ended up in disaster as the Crimsonian intelligence shot down a plane in New Shingleton, a shootout ensued and ended the New Shingleton Incident, the 10 year martial law ended in the St. Ark Federation.

The 10 year martial law announced by Fred Goldlock in 1979 ended, and eventually within hours tension began rising in the streets, as massive demonstration sparked across the country demanding the military government to step down and end military rule, along with the transition of a civillian government, the National Guard was sent in and opened fire, but after a few days it was proven unsuccessful as the National Guard turned on their backs, another coup d'etat happened afterwards, detaining Fred Goldlock and ending his reign of terror on the country, after a short trial he was immediately sentenced to death.

1990s St. Ark Federation
The coup d'etat in 1989 ended Fred Goldlock's reign of terror on the St. Ark Federation, and a democratic government was elected into office, the government faced a heavy task of improving the country, as the 1990s came, it nearly collapsed the federation as the economy crashed, starving millions and inflation skyrocketed in the St. Ark Federation, industrial sectors closed and New Shingleton State declined as the economic collapse worsened, crime was rampant aswell which forced the National Guard into taking action.

The unstable government contributed to the rise of oligarchs dominating and controlling resources within the country, the rise of terrorist attacks also occured, asassinations of political opponents were also common within the era, everything including the structures of the former military government were intact, because of the situation worsening in the St. Ark Federation, the St. Ark Police Force which reigned terror on the streets were now faced with another heavy task of eliminating crime, the police force was also corrupt and was eventually unpopular by others.Passports, currency, uniforms, equipment, almost everything from the previous military government was intact,

The Constitutional Crisis in 1995 happened, when the St. Ark Federation's parliament made attempts to overthrow the president due to allegations of corruption, the president was informed of the parliament's attempts, and along with his supporters declared war on parliament, the St. Ark police force attempted to crush the angry mob outside parliament but were completely outnumbered, the parliament building was bombed by a tank causing it to go on fire, eventually parliament gave up and a system was implemented into the St. Ark Federation's political systems, creating a political structure for days to come within modern politics.

The president still gained control over the federation along with the oligarchs until the 2008 global economic crisis which ended up overthrowing the tyrant regime, a new president of the St. Ark Federation was assigned to control the federation with the heavy task of rebuilding the economy and stabilizing the now criminal haven of the federation.

Modern Era
The St. Ark Federation by the Commonwealth of United and Free Nations is still seen as a dictatorship running a democratic country, with several oligarchs pleading allegiance to the current government controlling the policies and reigning terror on it's opponents, despite having a stable economy and returning to a prosperous country, it still has bitter ties with the Republic of Bistonia and the United States of Megaton and Columbia.

In 2079, the St. Ark Federation declared war on the Kradovo Alliance, which resulted in the entire world's demise as entire countries were obliterated by nuclear bombs in 2 hours, forcing humanity to rebuild and fight for it's resources, the St. Ark Federation was also the epicentre of the New Vilnius Research Facility's new weapon that would contribute to the creation of The Void.

Humanity and the St. Ark Federation government officials were forced to hide in bunkers and attempt to rebuild the St. Ark Federation again, however these bunkers owned by a sheltering company were actually revealed to be bunkers to experiment on humanity in the future, causing the creation of deformed creatures and mutants and some were forced to be abandoned, only 150 nuclear bunkers were built by the company instead of the necessary 4000 bunkers required to build across the country, some of them incomplete and due to the high budget required to build them.