Rezyk

The Rezyk Cooperative (RC/R.C.), officially the Rezyk Cooperative and also known by other names such as "The Cooperative", is a corporatocratic state on (X CONTINENT), founded in 1577 by merchant and explorer Danjel Rezyk. The Rezyk Cooperative is divided into (X AMOUNT) of equally sized administrative regions known as commonwealths and contains a population of (X AMOUNT). The national capital of Rezyk is Vrijhaven and the most populous city is Welvaart, with a population of 7.8 million.

Pre-Colonization (~1575)
For unknown reasons, the region that would become Rezyk was not permanently inhabited by any of the local tribal peoples of the region. Some anthropologists and historians state that some of the local tribes claimed that the area was the birthplace of an evil, devil-esque creature, while others argue that the local fauna and wildlife made inhabiting the region permanently without modern technology too dangerous. However, this did not seem to stop the nomadic tribes in the surrounding areas from passing through the area semi-regularly.

Expedition of Danjel Rezyk (1575)
On the return of his 1570 voyage, Danjel Rezyk landed his ship and his crew on the shores of [x continent] following a storm that caused major damage to one of the ships in his fleet. With intention to repair the ship they beached the vessel and disembarked the crews of each vessel as a whole, finding lush tropical forestry. The party would document colorful, tropical birds and exotic lizards in their notes, as well as making a rough map of the region and notable terrain features. It would take a month before the damaged ship was returned to a seaworthy state and around three more months of travel for Danjel Rezyk and his retinue to return to his home port. However, upon his arrival back at his home port, Danjel would set about immediately preparing for another expedition back, this time with intent to colonize.

Founding of Vrijhaven and the Rezyk Free Colonies (1577-1579)
Two years after the first impromptu expedition, Rezyk returned with a fleet of 15 vessels and around 1,600 settlers. Upon their arrival to the area previously treaded by the expedition, many of the ships built specifically for the voyage were broken down and formed into housing for the colonists. Rezyk declared himself as the sole governor of the city, dubbed Vrijhaven (Freeport), by its inhabitants. The lush, untouched surrounding forestry made for prime logging conditions, and the clear tropical coastline which Vrijhaven sat near provided access to fertile fishing grounds.

Rezyk would directly oversee his colony's growth for a period of two years, however in 1579 he set off again to explore, leaving his trusted first mate, Erik Van Zandt to run the colony in his absence. Shortly after setting sail, a major typhoon was reported to have struck the area where the Vrijhaven colony sat. Danjel's ship, crew and his body, although never found, was presumed to be lost during the storm, either destroyed or thrown off course.

Zandt Reforms (1579-1585)
Under Zandt's governance, Vrijhem became a vibrant trading and business hub for merchants, described as having a constant "party atmosphere" by some. 1580 saw the population see a sharp incline as logging companies began to bring in foreign workers in order to exploit the local jungles for their wood. Quickly, Vrijhem's population grew, and the people of the Rezyk Free Colony began to explore deeper and deeper into the lush forests, discovering new animal species and natural wonders. However, as the city grew and prospered, it also quickly became a beacon for piracy in the region, with well stocked merchant ships heading in and out of the harbor.

The fledging nation had very little in the way of its own armed forces, especially that in the way of naval forces, only having a single 45 gun frigate to its name, the RFSS Foregone Conclusion, captained by Captain Rhys Hammond. In 1581, governor Zandt appointed Rhys Hammond as admiral of the Free Navy, which had its creation coincide with his promotion to admiral. The creation of a standing military force for the otherwise legally lax country was generally positive, however a few notable critics in the colony feared that Rezyk would begin to step on the toes of its citizens. In a mostly successful bid to win back over his detractors, Zandt entirely dropped income taxes for citizens of the colony, making its money off of light tariffs on merchants and sales taxes.

War of 1586 (1586-1588)
On the morning of January 17th, 1586, the RFSS Foregone Conclusion, under command of Admiral Hammond responded to a pillar of smoke on the horizon, finding the smoldering, splintered wreck of a merchant ship that had left port just before sunrise, and a single crewmember who had survived. The story relayed to Admiral Hammond was that the merchant ship had been engaged by pirates and a handful of barrels of black powder that the merchant ship was carrying detonated, instantly killing the entire crew, save for him. The pirate ship in question was one that Hammond himself had linked to a pirate fleet that was operating in the area known as the Unbound Fleet.

Three days later, on January 21st, the Foregone Conclusion was patrolling along trade routes. Around midday the crew had noted they were being trailed by an unmarked vessel. By sundown, around the time the tailing vessel caught up and hoisted a jolly roger, and near a particularly rocky outcropping, the Foregone Conclusion had its T crossed by a second ship, a planned ambush for the sole frigate of the colony. Quick thinking of the crew caused the ship to avoid major damage during the skirmish. A call for privateers was put forth following the engagement, which left one pirate sunk and the other limping away, a call answered by many of the merchants who called Vrijhaven and the Free Colonies their home.

The war would continue into 1588, a series of hit and run attacks by both sides eventually culminating in the Battle of Stork Beach, a three day naval and ground engagement between the majority privateer Free Navy, and the Unbound Fleet from March 23rd, to the 25th.

Dockyard Worm Plagues (1587-1620)
The Dockyard Worm Plague describes the period of time in which a parasitic worm species known as the Dockyard Worm (Malum Cestodes) was transmitted throughout the population of Rezyk. Malum Cestodes settles in the digestive system, often the stomach of the host and saps nutrients from the host, slowly starving them out. The parasite then gradually moves into the throat, where it utilizes the host to cough and eject its eggs into the air, which are small enough to be breathed in unnoticed. While it remains unknown where exactly the plague began, the first known cases were reported at the dockyard in Vrijhem. With no known counter, and the vector of transmission not initially known, the plague spread quickly to the main colonies that made up Rezyk, after rapidly making its way through the densely packed city Vrijhem.

The highly decentralized governments of Rezyk failed to find an effective answer to the plague, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands within the first five years of the plague. With no solution in sight and a scattered response, the plague would be a constant thorn in the side of the colonies until a proper response was established. Eventually, the governments of cities would follow suit with the newly settled city of Cacaostad, enforcing strict measures on the movement of those known to be afflicted with the parasite and ensuring they received proper nutrition.

A real treatment to kill Malum Cestodes would not be synthesized until the late 1930s, and until then, the parasite would resurface on multiple occasions and in smaller amounts. However, by 1620 the major part of the epidemic had subsided, leaving an estimated 15,000 dead in its wake.

Escaping North, the founding of Cacaostad (1590-1640)
A desire to escape the worm-ridden cities of the coast had filled much of the population, forcing large swaths of people out of the cities and northwards into the jungles. Many of these attempts at paving a new life in the jungle failed, with some joining more successful settlements or heading back to the coast. Cacaostad, founded in 1595 during one such attempted expedition, and named after its primary export, cocoa beans, was considered by most as the shining star success of these early settlement attempts into the north, with the town initially being a small town surrounded by cocoa farms as far as the eye could see. In the next handful of years, the governor of Cacaostad enforced a strict quarantining system for those afflicted by the Dockyard Plague in the city.

Cacaostad would exist as a major economic hub in the years following the plague, benefitting from a largely agricultural based economy. The growth of cacao beans would make up a primary export for the city, however, coffee would also be a secondary cash crop in the region. So-called "chocolate barons" would rule the economic and political landscape in Cacaostad, often wielding huge influence due to their ownership of cocoa or coffee plantations around the city.

Formation of the Free State (1778-1840)
In order to further strengthen the ties of the various independent but mutually related colonies dotted around the region, the governor of the Welvaart colony, Karl Fieck, campaigned and petitioned each settlement to join in the formation of a Free State, named for the man who found and colonized the region. This had been done with the fear that, one day, foreign powers may wish to intervene or even begin conquering the presently divided colonies, and in a bid to secure their independence, representatives of the large colonial cities convened and wrote the Unity Charter in Vrijhaven at mid-day on November 11th, 1778. It established the first 10 administrative regions known as Commonwealths.

While the major colonial cities signed the Charter, a handful of smaller, independent colonies refused. However, in time and with pressure from their larger neighbors, those too would join in the next two or three following years. The Charter, being the founding constitutional document of the Free State, would ensure the basic rights of every individual. The increased cooperation between the colonies had a drastic and positive effect, with the first major infrastructural projects beginning to link the cities that dotted the coastline, and through the first road systems.

The Tri-Corporate Congress (1843)
The Tri-Corporate Congress was formed between three major corporations who had major economic stake in the region, Primary Rail, the Vrijhem Shipyard, Hagal & Son Mercantile. The TCC, while outwardly existed as a means to increase economic output between three economically linked corporations, the TCC also influenced politicians in the Free State. As a result, prison laborers were permitted for low paid labor work in shipyards and in the construction of rail and roads alike in the Free State.

The backlash was almost instantaneous from the population, as the use of unpaid laborers both harmed the livelihood of skilled tradesmen, and also offended a large part of the population, whom were self liberated slaves who'd managed to find a new life in the Free State. However, the corporations involved argued that the use of prisoner labor was a way for criminals to pay back their debt to society, but this justification did little to soothe the anger towards the TCC.

The Second Northern Drive (1843-1870)
As cities grew more crowded, people continuously began to flood north and east during this period, though primarily northward. This period of time was one of particular lawlessness, as neglected rural authorities struggled to keep up with bandit gangs known as "Brushrangers" hiding out in the forests. Many conflicts and discoveries about the land that would come to make up the new commonwealths of Rezyk would come to light throughout this era. The government would establish the predecessor to the National Gendarmerie Service during this time, the Bureau of Colonial Affairs, and

The Great Slave Revolt (1856-1860)
Corporate prisoner laborers forced to work by the TCC were put into overdrive as the country began its expansion northward. Experiencing plague, and mistreatment by their employers, many prisoner laborers began to protest and strike. Protests were initially peaceful but in towns and camps where the laborers were kept, the conflicts boiled over into riots. Following a massacre of rioting prisoners that left 15 dead and 37 wounded at the town of Hallburg, laborers, now dubbing themselves as The Free Brothers rose up. The conflict was as quick as it was brutal, with mercenaries hired out by the corporations engaging with contingents of prisoners, flying flags of black and white stripes made from their jumpsuits.

Supportive landowners would engage the mercenaries alongside Free Brothers, but against the well trained mercenary contingents of the TCC, the Free Brothers eventually ceded and surrendered after a 17 long day siege at their makeshift fortress of Braunwin Mines. In the immediate post-war era, lobbyists of the now TCC, renamed as the Corporatist Party, would push through a bill