Gwannam

Gwannam

Capital	Ngansing
Head of State	Grand Admiral Jim Man Ting
Government Type	City-State
Cultures	~95% Runran
Population Density	Very High
Population	1.2 million

Gwannam (Cantonese: Gwaanaam - Lit. South of the Gate). Located in the middle of the Yor Sea, to the east of Yor Gate, Gwannam is a colony founded and settled by entrepreneurial Runran and refugees, located on the eponymous Gwannam island. The colony is effectively a city state ruled by the main city of Ngansing (Anglicized as Un Sing - Lit. Silver City). Throughout its history it has struck out a path as a nominal tributary and vassal state of the various Runran Empires and as an intermediary for trade between Great Runra and the rest of the Yor Sea.

Will Gwannam survive the predatory eyes of the empires around it? Or will it lose its independence once again? Can it continue to stay relevant in the face of more direct trade with Runra?

Gwannam maintain official good diplomatic relationship with and has its independence guaranteed by Salvainia.

History

The state of Gwannam was founded around P.S. 200 by Admiral Sihoi Wan, who led a large fleet of traders and warships through the Yor Gate on order from the then Empress to explore the south for trading opportunity. According to the official founding myth, once they arrived, a local Thalassite chieftain called for the fleet's assistance in getting rid of pirates located on Upsilon Island, which was named for its rough resemblance to the letter Y. The island was recorded as Aap Sik Long (鴨食狼) - Or Duck Eat Wolf Island in the admiral's logbooks. Whether the Runran really believed there were wolf-eating ducks on the island is up to debate. One must note however, that Gwannam have used a duck as its flag at numerous point in its history.

Once the pirates were taken care of, the admiral noted that the island's abundant rainfall made it suitable for rice cultivation, and it was sparsely populated - a perfect place to set up a trading post. Some crews were disembarked with seed and tasked with founding an resupply outpost in the western side of the island, near a water source, flatlands, and a deep harbor. The site they landed at would later become the site of Ngansing - the later capital of Gwanaam.

Over the course of the next few centuries, steady flow of legal and illegal immigration and castaways from ship ballooned the island's population, to the extent that the Thalassites originally inhabiting the island were reduced to a small minority, while the Runran settled and cultivated almost every acre of arable land, carving paddies out of hillside, while harvesting lumber from the forested, less productive hills and mountains of Gwannam. of The city attracted dissidents and enterpreneurs - alongside traders and their family, and families looking to make a living serving those traders. At various point in its history, Gwannam was considered a part of Runra properly - and given the title of Gwannam Commandery - with an Grand Admiral appointed by the Empress themselves responsible for governing the place.

Considered a part of Runra itself legally speaking, Gwannam merchants are not required to pay as much tariffs as foreign traders, which gave them a unique advantage and allowed Gwannam to field and support an outsized fleet that engaged in trade across the Yor Sea and with Runra. Many Gwannamese are fluent in one language native to the Yor Sea and one of the regional language of Runra, giving them an advantage when it comes to trading.

With the liberalization of trade and the fragmentation of Runra into various states - Gwannam's advantage is no longer the same as before, but the city-state's seafaring traditions keeps its outsized fleet prospering and well for the time ahead.

Government

The government of Gwannam is based in the city of Ngansing - its namesake capital and the political center of the island. Power is held by the Yiwui - or literally Assembly, whom elect a Grand Admiral every twenty years amongst them as a representative, who then send a message to the Runran Empress or Emperor asking for the right to confirm their appointment - it is seldomly rejected, but when it does happen a constitutional crisis often result. The Grand Admiral acts as a head of state - breaker of ties and commander in chief. The Assembly is a legislative group that also serve administrative functions.

The Assembly consists of ninety seats, allocated based on power blocs and groups in the government:

• The Twenty Four Wai - The Twenty-Four Wais, or the 24 Fortified Villages, represent the rural interests or the great rural clans who settled the island's exterior and provide most of its population and supply. Though called the 24 - in reality they are entitled to 30 seats in the assembly total. They tends to vote as a bloc unless there are internal conflicts between them. The most prominent clans are:
  • Fa (Flower - 花) - Usually representing around five villages, clustered next to Ngansing
  • Saan (Coral - 珊 ) - Usually representing around five villages, clustered to the Southeast
  • Gwong (Light - 光) - Usually representing around four villages, clustered in the northwest
• The Silver Clans - Nganjuk - The main clans that control the commercial heart of Ngansing - or the Patricians clan. They are entitled to thirty seats themselves.
  • Sihoi (司海) - Descendents of the first admiral that settled the island, their descendents live a privileged existence and have built up a martial reputation - deserved or not.
  • Loklaan (洛蘭) - Descendents of an Empress - allegedly, around P.S. 300, who claim imperial descent.
  • Jiang (姜) - Noble clan descended from one of the kingdom of Runra.
  • Gei (姬) - Noble clan
• Min - Or the ordinary civilians, which is a mixture of citizens of Ngansing and other cities on the islands, which are entitled to thirty seats.

Locations, Geography & Resources

Gwannam is located on the eponymous Gwannam island, which is not exactly rich in resources - and rather hilly. Ngansing is split into five main districts:

• Bakgok (北角) - Northern Corner, defined as a mountainous area to the north of Ngansing. Sparsely populated with only occasional hamlets and villages - Bakgok is primarily known for providing lumber for the rest of the island, especially its shipbuilding industry.
• Ngansingwan (銀城灣) - Silver City Bay. This area is defined as the bay on the western side of the island - which forms a deep, sheltered harbor - and also include part of the island's eastern coast. Heavily cultivated with mostly flatland and hill, key cities includes:
  • Ngansing (銀城), Lit. Silver City, population (40,000) - The capital of the island, and the main base of the island's trading fleet
  • Donghoiwai (東海圍) - East Sea Village, population (5,000), a small trading town to the eastern side of Ngansing.
• Noiwan (內灣) - Inner Bay - Equally as heavily populated as Ngansingwan, this consists of the strip of flat and hilly habitable land to the south of Ngansing and consists of most of the remaining arable plains of the island. The most significant city is
  • Taifayun (太花園), Lit. Great Flower Garden, population (20,000), the second capital of Gwannam and the center of trade of Noiwan.
• Baksekwan (白石灣) - White Stone Bay - this consists of the island's mountainous southeastern part, with villages and towns dotted around its coast to the southeast and mountain valleys in between - this part holds some but not abundant mineral wealth - with copper and tin resources mined in in the mountains. The area is also famous for its chalk deposit and quarry - which is mined for lime and often exported. It is also the only area in which the Thalassite minority have a significant presence.
  • Baksek (白石), Lit. White Rock, population (4,000) - a mining town located in the mountains of Gwannam.
• Daiwan (大灣), Lit. Big Bay. This is a sparsely populated and hilly part of the island - though it offers great potential it is mostly unsettled save for forestry industry.

Military

Gwannam maintain a small army of around 5,000 - 10,000 men funded by Ngansing for the defense of the island, alongside much larger temporary city and village militias. It enlists around 10,000 men in its regular navy, fielding somewhere between 11 - 13 galleons grade and 50 smaller ships and could call upon a much larger merchant marines if needed - with perhaps over 50,000 of the island's population being at sea at any point - excluding fishermen.