Canton

Canton (Chinese: 粤江; pinyin: Yuèjiāng; literally: 'Canton River'), officially the Cantonese Popular Republic (CPR), was a country in East Asia. Governed by the Cantonese Communist Party, the state exercised jurisdiction over 7 provinces, namely Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Henan and Taiwan. The national capital was Guangzhou.

Canton was a unitary one-party socialist republic, and was often referred to as a "Hermit Kingdom" due to her noticeably few ties with the rest of the globe. Canton played a minute role in the international community as she had few diplomatic ties and no notable trading activities with any other state.

It was anticipated, however, that Canton would undergo a period of Reform and Opening Up similar to that practised in the People's Republic of China in 1978, and closer relationships would be developed with the rest of the world.

After the Canto-French military conflict known commonly as the FortShot War of 2020, Canton was severely damaged by French bombs. The demoralised population left the country gradually, and Canton was unanimously, though unofficially, dissolved. After the end of Season 1, the former Cantonese president now resides in Madagascar.

Etymology
The name Canton arises from the former name of the river Zhujiang, an extensive river system which spans across much of the country.

Canton may also be used to refer to the national capital of Guangzhou, yet it is now considered a defunct term.

Foundation
It is unclear exactly when the first and last President of Canton, Vexillogic02727, arrived at Shenzhen and began building up the then-abandoned land north of Venetian Hong Kong. However, on December 28th, 2019, Vexillogic02727 formally declared the foundation of the Cantonese Popular Republic. The first buildings were built in Guangdong, on the border with Venetian Hong Kong, and a border wall was briefly built for national defence purposes.

Hong Kong
On 26th December, 2019, Canton and Venice reached a consensus on the political status of Hong Kong, where the geographical extent of Venetian Hong Kong was determined. Canton agreed to recognise Venetian sovereignty over Hong Kong, and a non-aggression agreement was reached. The Shenzhen Port was also constructed by Canton later, allowing passage between Canton and Hong Kong.

Canton remained neutral in the war between Venice and the Brotherhood in late December 2019, in which Venice was forced to rescind her claims on several overseas territories, which included Hong Kong. On January 2nd, 2020, sovereignty of Hong Kong was officially transferred from Venice to Canton.

However, an unknown player marked Hong Kong as a Brotherhood occupation zone, causing marked suspicion in the Cantonese government and a subsequent diplomatic crisis between Canton and the Brotherhood. The Cantonese government had "strongly condemned" these developments and had stated that Canton "will not hesitate to defend (her) rights to territorial integrity". The Brotherhood, however, has denied any territorial claims on Hong Kong, and ultimately the crisis was resolved peacefully. The entirety of the wall was removed except for the Shenzhen Port building, which served as a historical monument representing Hong Kong's past. Venice would later be absorbed into Italy.

Anonymous vandalisation and gifting
On January 8th, 2020, Vexillogic02727 logged on to find three buildings, namely his residence, Shenzhen Pier, and Shenzhen Warehouse covered with redstone comparators. The comparators were swiftly removed, but investigations have failed to identify the person behind the incident.

On January 13th, 2020, Vexillogic02727's residence was filled with jukeboxes. Vexillogic02727 attempted to break the jukeboxes with his axe, but failed.

However, on January 14th, 2020, Vexillogic02727 logged on to find the jukeboxes gone. He found a chest with a sign which read "New year gift for you -Batman". The chest contained 12 stacks of gold blocks, 113 iron blocks, 45 diamond blocks, 6 diamonds, 43 jukeboxes, an enchanted diamond axe, and a set of enchanted diamond armour. Vexillogic02727 was wary to take the items in the chest at first, and did not do so until the next day. All the gold blocks were sold, and the diamond gear was used by Vexillogic02727.

Due to the presence of 43 jukeboxes and an axe in the chest, it was suspected by the Cantonese government that "Batman", though still unidentified to this day, was responsible for the two attempts at vandalisation, and had used the enchanted diamond axe to clear the jukeboxes.

January 20th Bombings
On January 20th, 2020, two explosions occurred in southern Guangdong, severely damaging the Shenzhen Warehouse and the chests within. All items stored in the warehouse were lost, including the 45 diamond blocks, assumably destroyed in the explosions. Joint investigations with Venezuela have yielded few results, but it was concluded that these explosions were definitely intentionally-caused (either TNT or creepers were detonated, the latter of which necessitates a player nearby), and were very likely created by TNT instead of creepers.

Annexation of Taiwan
On 27th January, 2020, the leader of the People's Republic of Taiwan was banned, subsequently dissolving the PRT. For the purposes of "national defence" and "protection of the Chinese peoples", the Cantonese Popular Republic has decided to unilaterally declare sovereignty over Taiwan. Taiwan thus became the 7th province of Canton.

Vexillogic02727 ordered for the preservation of important buildings on the island, including but not limited to government buildings, landmarks, farms and mines.

National Development
Since her foundation, Canton had experienced a gradual growth in national strength as mines were opened up and an organised farm was built. Though still a developing country and exercising little jurisdiction over her six other provinces, her population grew continuously and rapidly. HappyGayDuck, among the nationals of Canton, was appointed as Minister of Construction, on January 14th, 2020, making him the second official to take office in Canton after Vexillogic02727. As of 29th January, 2020, the Cantonese population stood at 14.

On 26th January, 2020, construction of the Philippines-Canton Railway began, linking the Philippines of Southeast Asia with Canton.

The FortShot War
After a certain resident of Canton attacked Paris for unknown reasons, TracyRaymond, leader of France, declared war on Canton. The battle of Paris was short but bloody, ending with a Cantonese victory. Paris was severely damaged during the battle, resulting in Tracy's decision to sell France to Redpro64. The UK became independent, and France was disbanded.

Canton, however, was bombed by France as well, resulting In heavy damage to almost all buildings. Although Canton was successful in fending off French forces and rose victorious against France, the crippled economy and infrastructure left the country almost unsalvageable.

Decline and Dissolution of the Cantonese Popular Republic
The FortShot War marked the beginning of the rapid decline of Canton's national power.

Reconstruction was slow to begin, and the population, increasingly demoralised, began to leave the country, which only further stalled Canton's recovery. On 19th February, 2020, Vexillogic02727 attempted to step down and transfer power to HappyGayDuck, who would have became the second president of Canton. This was unsuccessful, and HappyGayDuck stepped down from all governmental positions and left Canton shortly after.

In late February to early March 2020, Canton was unanimously dissolved. No official records were made of Canton's dissolution, and thus there is no official date when the Cantonese Popular Republic was dissolved.

Diplomacy
Until 19th January, 2020, Canton had no official diplomatic relationships with any other state in the world besides the negotiations over Hong Kong with Venice, although Canton officially "respect(ed) the sovereignty of all peoples of the world". However, the Cantonese government's desire for closer relations with the rest of the world was made clear prior to that day, especially with her former northern neighbour, the People's Republic of Taiwan, though she had since been absorbed into Canton.

On 19th January, 2020, Canton officially recognised Southeast Asia as a sovereign state after the independence of Spanish Philippines and Spanish Indonesia from Spain, and began developing diplomatic relationships, marking Southeast Asia as the first state to develop official ties with Canton. Southeast Asia was often seen as a close, inseparable ally to the Cantonese populace.

The East Asian Alliance
On the same day Canton and Southeast Asia developed diplomatic relationships, an official alliance between the two states was declared, nominated the East Asian Alliance. The East Asian Alliance was established with the aims of maintaining friendly relationships between member states, and mutual defence. At the moment, The East Asian Alliance consists only of Canton and Southeast Asia.

The Euro-American-Pacific Alliance
On 27th January, 2020, Canton ascended as an associated member state of the Euro-American-Pacific Alliance (EAP). As an associated member, Canton did not benefit in any way from the EAP and was not subject to any EAP policies, but maintained close, friendly relationships between herself and member states.