Keluchionga

Keluchionga is a nation in western Parthan, forming the eastern edge of the Strait of Arkaz between the Mahaan and Onyesha Seas.

=History=

Rise and Fall of the Pirate Kingdom
The Keluchiongan Empire first appeared in area between the Kelu and Chionga Rivers during the fourteenth century and gradually absorbed neighboring tribes along the coast, eventually coming to influence passage through the Strait by means of piracy. This became such a nuisance to ships passing between Eiren, Parthan, and Tiantian that King Hugh IV of Cynfelyn dispatched naval forces to deal with the problem. After continued shelling of his ports and shipyards, Mwenechionga Nzanga capitulated and the Arkaz Treaty of 1744 was signed. The treaty allowed Keluchionga to remain an independent nation, but in name only; it was to become essentially a vassal state to Cynfelyn for ninety-eight years.

Colonial Rule, the Labor Movement, and the Gospel Doctrine
Relations between the Empire and Cynfelyn were sour in the beginning, but, over time, the Empire began to see some economic benefits from its relationship with the colonizers. However, a continued source of strife was the Cynfel policy of trinité coloniale (colonial trinity), privileging the interests of the Cynfel state, missionaries, and private companies. This meant that large amounts of capital flowed into Keluchionga and that individual departments became specialized. On many occasions, the interests of the government and of private enterprise became closely linked, and the state helped companies to break strikes and to remove other barriers raised by the indigenous population, often using cherry-picked references to Scripture to justify their actions.

When Mwenechionga Nzanga passed away from a stroke on 8 June, 1757, his son, Mwenechionga Kola took his place at the throne. Kola was only twenty-three years old at the time and had grown up in this new, colonial atmosphere, and was given a "proper" Cynfel education, which included the Bible. However, when Kola read the Bible, he had quite a different impression from that espoused by the colonizers. There is some debate about how faithful he truly was (many have suggested that he only sought to use the Scripture as a weapon of his own), but he converted to Christianity that same year, dropping the title of "mwenechionga" in favor of "l'emperor" ("emperor") and changing his name to Hugh (ostensibly in honor of Hugh IV of Cynfelyn). The young emperor also renamed the capital city from "M'banza-Keluchionga" (not to be confused with the more recent Keluchionga City established farther down the coast) to Beau Ange. The Cynfel colonizers were pleased to hear that Emperor Hugh I intended to implement a new Gospel Doctrine to transform his nation into "The Rothia of the South." Of course, this was before they knew what his Godly intentions were.

Little by little, Hugh I used the Word of God as justification for whittling away the colonists' power and enrich his people. The colonists nearly always protested, but crumbled under Hugh's wit and knowledge of Scripture. Seven-day work weeks for miners, longshoremen, fishermen, and farmers came to an end with a reference to Exodus 20:9-10. Fair wages were insisted upon with John 4:38 and James 5:1-5. The wealthy colonizers were taxed to provide social services to the poor. By the time of Emperor Hugh's death in 1805, Native Keluchiongans held the same rights as Cynfel expats (and, in some cases, more) and the days of hunger and desperation forcing people to resort to piracy and crime were but a distant, bad memory. The Arkaz Treaty was still technically in place, but it was toothless -- the tribute it demanded came almost entirely from taxes on the wealthy Cynfel businessmen operating in Keluchionga, who were practically the only ones who noticed it anymore. And Cynfelyn still got its profits, so it tolerated the "uppity" emperor until his death, when King Charles II of Cynfelyn (Hugh IV's successor) personally attended the funeral of the man who was still technically his vassal out of the deep respect he held for him.

Emperor Hugh I of Keluchionga is still regarded as a national hero today, although it has become increasingly popular to refer to him by his birth name and original title, Mwenechionga Kola.

Independence
In 1842, Cynfelyn came under attack by Menid and could no longer effectively control their de facto colony. Charles I, then-emperor of Keluchionga, offered to help ward off the attackers on the condition that they be granted full independence from Cynfelyn. However, this came at the same time as the Fanaglian Unification, in which Cynfelyn joined the neighboring kingdoms of Arviragus, Polydore, Pisiano, and Cadwal to form one massive, united kingdom to repel the Mendeans. Charles declared that Keluchionga had no treaty with Fanaglia and therefore was already a fully independent nation; however, he did send forces to aid the Fanaglians as a gesture of good faith. Following the end of the war, King DiMarco of Fanaglia issued a decree officially recognizing the Empire of Keluchionga as an independent nation, ally, and friend.

Democratic Keluchionga
WIP

=Culture=

Mwenechionga
Mwenechionga (or Mwenichionga for women) was the title of the ruler of the pre-colonial Keluchiongan Empire. The mwenechionga's seat of power was M'banza-Keluchionga, which is now called Beau Ange. The mwenechionga appointed governors for the provinces of the empire and received tribute from neighbouring subjects.

The term "mwenechionga" comes from the KiChionga term literally meaning "lord of the Chionga". The term "wene", from which "mwene" is derived, is also used to mean empire. The term "mwene" is created by adding the personal prefix mu- to this stem, to mean "person of the empire".

In the early days of the empire, "Mane" was also occasionally used to refer to kings (or "Mani" for queens), but could also be used to address any figure in a position of authority and gradually fell out of use for the later mwenechionga.

Under colonial rule, the title of "mwenechionga" fell out of official use in favor of "emperor" as part of the "Gospel Doctrine" implemented by Emperor Hugh I to win favor with the Cynfels. Many Keluchiongans continued to refer to the emperor as "mwenechionga" in private, however. While it never again became the official title, "mwenechionga" saw a continuing rise in popularity over "emperor" along with a growing sense of Parthan pride following Keluchionga's independence in 1842.

Currency
Keluchionga's peculiar currency is called the handa, which originally was a cast copper ingot in the shape of a cross and was introduced during the reign of Emperor Hugh I under his "Gospel Doctrine". The crosses were about 20 centimeters (7.9 in) across, and weighed about 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). These cross-shaped ingots were cast by local coppersmiths by pouring molten copper into sand molds. During its period of currency, a copper handa cross would buy about 10 kilograms (22 lb) of flour, five or six chickens, or six axes. Ten would buy a gun. The unwieldy size of these crosses caused Hugh to issue a half-sized (and half-valued) demihanda and, later, a quart de handa (quarter handa). With the advent of paper money in the nineteenth century, copper handas remained legal tender, but fell out of practice for reasons of practicality and instead has become a sort of collectors' item. The copper handa is still represented on Keluchiongan paper currency, which is still referred to as the "handa." The handa is also represented on the Keluchiongan flag.