Forum:Territory application/AR106 - Maltesia/Nhareland
Prior context. Second application following the discussions under the previous application. The initial plan is divided into 2 plans, with unused elements here being reserved for some other plans in the future.
 | Territory ID and proposed name |
|---|---|
| The Territory ID (from OpenGeofiction:Territories, e.g. AR123a) and proposed name of the country |
AR106 - Maltesia/Nhareland
 | Physical geography |
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| An overview of climate, topography and landscape of the country. It is advised to also create a sketch, you can add a link to this (hosted on imgur or similar) |
Maltesia/Nhareland is a tropical country with large plains, jungles, mountains and several beaches. While coastal regions are relatively flat and has most urbanization compared to rest of the country; interior regions have no less part of urbanization; however these areas are usually complimented by jungles and some mountainous terrain.
Most cities are in coastal area with heavy planning (especially cities that had fortifications in the past); yet interior regions also contain several towns, planned and unplanned alike. The country has many villages as well; with the ones on plains have settler population and the ones in mountains and jungles have native population.
This paint.net edit should provide the initial basic idea; with envisioned terrains and main urban areas are distinctly colored in a basic manner, without too much detail. Due to scaling, line accuracies are not guaranteed, and various deviations from drawn plan may occur. (Geography plans can be amended upon contact. Coastlines may be altered during the planned map work. Land borders can (and in my opinion, should) be altered to not be geometric.)
 | Human geography |
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| A brief description of the territory demographics, economic development, land occupation, infrastructure and mapping style |
Oldest cities in the country are founded as early as 8. century, with oldest standing city dating back to 11. century, latter being built by the native Shona peoples (OGF name unknown); but the most modern cities are going back to 16. century, when the English colonizers settled to the coasts and built fortifications. Despite this old history, most of existing infrastructure is built in late 19. and early 20. century; with many of old buildings and "unreliable" fortifications were demolished. In recent years a debate began over establishing a new capital at interior, or simply adapting an existing city as a new capital, but so far there is no decision made.
The settler people are almost exclusively English (Ingerish), with a few Spanish (Castellan) towns and neighborhoods exist around the coastal areas; however the latter does not hold any recognition beyond city administrations.
The oldest surviving settler architecture comes from 19. century "Victorian" architectural elements, which are used in older city areas, especially the parts that were once within fortifications. The native architecture is seen just as same as they were a millennium ago; however the global trend of modern style is now being more and more common. City planning is dense in old and central parts of cities, with many apartment blocks are built in terraced style. Amenities are focused on specific zones or main streets.
The countryside development is rather different; towns will have modern touchups but otherwise they will easily signify their settler or native origins. Most plain areas will have farmlands; while jungle areas will have few settlements in form of towns and many native villages. Irregular settlements will resemble an unplanned, naturally developed village.
Transport network consists of a generally extensive road network, with a T-shaped motorway network connecting major cities along the coast and interior regions along the river. Railroads connect main cities to each other and to other countries, while many ports and several airports ensure international connections. A lesser classified trunk road network exists to reach out to minor cities and mountainous major cities. Almost every road receives sufficient maintenance and is almost entirely paved; despite relative political instability forcing the local administrations to handle most work as opposed to Ministry of Transportation as per legislation.
 | History & culture |
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| A brief description of the intended culture and language |
The country is home to its indigenous populations (based on Shona peoples in Africa); who are now found in mostly interior regions. First modern settlements are founded as early as 16. century, with many of these cities and towns being founded in late 19. and early 20. centuries. Due to colonial past of the continent, majority of population have an ancestor out of the continent. These settlers have been in charge for centuries, both during the colonial and most of post-colonial time periods.
The country has gained independence in late 19. century under name of "Maltesia", named after the person who established and expanded a colony here; as an oligarchic republic where natives and political opposition were heavily suppressed. A communist revolution attempt in 1930s ended up in a three-way civil war between oligarchs, revolutionaries and natives; lasting through three decades. 1971 Compromise brought three parties back together, with a constitution enshrining a democracy (though in reality only 3 parties can achieve prominence), and natives acquiring equal standing; with their affairs are additionally organized through a Great Tribal Council. Subsequent efforts to improve the political reliability of national politics have been failed, however.
Recently, the native populations have began to push a native name of "Nhareland", which translates to "fortress land". Although the adoption of this country name has narrowly passed through legislation, not everybody has accepted usage of this name, and a new political turmoil is currently brewing.
The official language is English (Ingerish); with Shona (OGF name N/A?) having "special status" (:official language in all but name). General mapping of region will be done in English, as with both names of the country applying; with administrative divisions having their own cases whether the English, Shona, or both languages being used; since they can adapt their own official languages.
 | Past mapping |
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| To support your request provide links to areas of OGF mapping which showcase your mapping skill. Mapping relevant to the requested theme & geography is especially useful | |
| The {{coord}} template can optionally be used to link to the OGF map - it results in a nice formatted link. Or you can paste in a URL. |
"Good old" beginner mapping area that I used as a reference in prior application before. I hope it still works
| Username & date |
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| Sign and date the application by typing four tildes like this: ~~~~ |
Afrandez (talk) 07:28, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
 | Discussion |
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| Discussion for clarification & decision |
- Hi, can you do a bit more work on the sketch plan please. I want to get a feel of how the languages and historic culture impact the toponyms / naming of the settlements. Also please expland a bit on the native culture, derive a name. Thanks/wangi (talk) 08:21, 29 July 2024 (UTC)
- Hello; The idea with toponyms and settlements' names generally come from how they looked for the settlers; such as the large plains area at northwest being called "endless" or the mountainous regions in south simply being called "highlands" (This one will be adopted as administrative name). Other than that, names of tribes will apply to the geographic areas too, and in some cases, to settlements themselves. In some cases, great prominent leaders in the history will be given to cities; such as conquerors who expanded lands of their realms or simply the ones fought against the colonists. A few cases can have religious names of importance to be used for certain regions as well.
As for settler names; they will be either names of the colonists (such as country itself being one) or the regions they come from. Thus, the naming convention that contrasts itself in the eyes of its people (colonial-native) has developed naturally for the country.
For the naming of the native people; I concluded to settle at "Nokudzwa" (people name: Vanokudzwa, "honored ones"; language name: Chinokudzwa, "honored language") as the culture name; which comes from them being the oldest people in the region throughout history. Other than that, it was already mentioned that they are based on Shona peoples.
Meanwhile, I am additionally preparing a demographic map to signify population majorities, which will be uploaded to the attached imgur link within today. I hope this should help a bit. Thanks. Afrandez (talk) 12:53, 29 July 2024 (UTC)
- Hello; The idea with toponyms and settlements' names generally come from how they looked for the settlers; such as the large plains area at northwest being called "endless" or the mountainous regions in south simply being called "highlands" (This one will be adopted as administrative name). Other than that, names of tribes will apply to the geographic areas too, and in some cases, to settlements themselves. In some cases, great prominent leaders in the history will be given to cities; such as conquerors who expanded lands of their realms or simply the ones fought against the colonists. A few cases can have religious names of importance to be used for certain regions as well.
- Hi, what i'm looking for is the names of the settlements to be added to the sketch map. Thanks/wangi (talk) 12:07, 30 July 2024 (UTC)
- Hello; I got what do you mean, and figured out a list of names. A third picture is uploaded along with administrative disivions to the imgur link and it should be accessible now. Names I came up with are definitely not the best ones though; due to multiple sources being inconsistent with each other. Still, this should provide a starting point. Thanks. Afrandez (talk) 12:55, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
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Territory application approved |
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| Approved.
Please see Help:Frequently asked questions#Can I modify the coastlines and borders of my territory? regarding altering the boundaries to be more natural. Given all neighbouring territories are free to edit blue or available, consider this approval for changes, so long as all changes are area neutral. I'm also ok if the border is moved to the middle of the estuary & lake currently in AR107. For reference AR106∈⊾ is currently 288035 km². Thanks/wangi (talk) 14:56, 31 July 2024 (UTC) | |
| As you develop your territory, be sure to keep it realistic. Here are some resources you may find useful for starting out: Help:Portal, Help:Making realistic countries, Help:Making realistic cities and OpenGeofiction:Site policies |