Empire of Prosperous Africans

WALL OF TEXT, BEWARE

Inspired by a thread over at the Speculative Evolution forums.

EDIT (7/19/2011): Minor changes, fixed a couple mistakes.

Where to begin with this map... Well, I guess I'll start with Africa since the inspiration for this map started there. The year is 2095...

The United African Federation is a large federal republic situated in Sub-Saharan Africa consisting of 11 states, four autonomous regions, and three territories currently under martial law. It is the second largest nation in the world, with a land area of approximately 10,177,000 square kilometers. This makes it slightly larger than Canada, but with far more habitable space for the populace to spread out across. It has a population of 320 million and growing, and a GDP of around $3 trillion that makes it a world class economic power. The exact date of its founding is unclear, but the UAF has its beginnings in South Africa and an ideal called the Treaty for African Modernization and Enterprise. TAME, as it came to be known, grew from a loose agreement between South Africa and its immediate neighbors into a NATO-like organization that exerted more influence on African nations than the African Union itself. Members agreed to a non-aggression treaty and mutual military defense, as well as a number of economic policies that brought nothing but benefits to TAME members. As this economic interdependence began to bear fruit, Swaziland and Lesotho took the next step and agreed to be annexed by South Africa in return for massive aid and an ongoing relief effort. In Zimbabwe the horrors of despotism were becoming more and more apparent as the days went by. Rioting and civil violence plagued the impoverished nation, and soon that violence began spilling over into neighboring states, including South Africa. In late 2021 South Africa intervened in Zimbabwe after armed dissidents fleeing the nation killed several South African school children while fighting their way across the border. The invasion was wildly successful and within six months Harare was safely in South African hands. Despite international condemnation, a long-term occupation was carefully planned and a TAME-friendly provisional government established. Over the next 20 years Zimbabwe received tens of millions of dollars in aid that turned its ravaged farmlands into the breadbasket of Africa.

With Zimbabwe thriving under TAME Botswana soon applied for membership and was quickly granted it. The citizens of Botswana were attracted by the generous benefits that comes with being an underdeveloped member of TAME. Its many national reserves also saw added protection from poachers and illegal exploitation of resources. Six years later in 2042 TAME was replaced by a new version of the treaty which established the African Federation; an international organization with a congress with representatives from each member nation. It was imperfect, and for a time the inequality of the representation from the bigger and smaller states threatened to tear the alliance apart, until the unexpected happened. Namibia, with its great mineral wealth, applied for membership in 2044. Although the Namibians themselves were divided on joining their South African rivals in such a tight alliance, the prospect of cheap imports from Botswana and Zimbabwe was too much for the government to pass up. Zambia, seeing the growth of Zimbabwe and Botswana over the years, joined the African Federation soon after Namibia on New Year's Day 2048.

When Angola decided to apply for membership in 2056, the African Congress was unsure how to proceed. Angola's wealth and oil reserves would certainly be a great addition to the African Federation, but the authoritarian regime and poor human rights standards were directly in conflict with the ideals of the African Federation and TAME. It was decided that Angola would be allowed to join if it established a democratic government, but the Angolan government refused. This sparked massive civil unrest, which was put down brutally by the Angolan government. This prompted the African Federation to intervene, and after order was established a referendum was called by the people of Angola in which they voted to join the African Federation and be ruled directly by the African Congress until a reasonable government could be established. Soon after Angola joined, Mozambique became a member of the African Federation as well. It is around this time that the new TAME treaty was once again revised to form a federal republic, though with much looser ties between members than a traditional federal republic such as the USA. The remaining nations all joined of their own free will in the years between 2057 and 2080, with the last point of interest being the invasion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2083 to end widespread genocide and civil violence.

The United African Federation has established ties with many African nations, and has been a key player in uplifting the continent. The bolstering of farmland has nearly ended hunger; more Asians are now starving than Africans. Close allies receive millions in aid every year from the UAF, Nigeria in particular has benefited greatly from the UAF's attempts to charm it into joining their union. It is a major player on the world's stage, with a powerful modern army, a strong sizable navy, and the world's 5th highest GDP. However it lacks real allies abroad, having only a defensive pact with the EU and a non-aggression treaty with India. As the Chinese begin to expand their influence, however, ties with India are beginning to grow closer.

India has become a superpower, with wealth and power beyond its wildest colonial dreams. However with all this international attention has come responsibility; India has replaced the US as the "leader" of the UN, and as such it is up to India to play political police and keep the world stable. With the Chinese and North Koreans starting to spread their tentacles around the globe, this is becoming increasingly difficult. The road to becoming a superpower was tough, starting with a war with Pakistan that nearly escalated to nuclear annihilation. The war came to an end when China threatened to get involved, and the Indians made a risky move by essentially telling them "bring it on." With their bluff called, China agreed to broker a peace and India managed to wrestle Punjab away from Pakistan in some intense negotiations that are jokingly referred to as "World War III" (for if the talks had failed, that's exactly what would have happened). India is notable for having the world's largest and most advanced air force, the product of its alliance and open exchange of knowledge with Russia. It has also gained allies in Afghanistan, its long-time friend Brazil, and Thailand (which got in on the India ticket while the getting was good). It is also closely allied with Australia, which it was instrumental in helping reunite with Papua New Guinea and provied large amounts of aid for the upliftment thereof. In terms of its navy, India is currently competing with the United States for second place. And with the Americans now starting to replace their rail guns with a high powered laser cannons, India may soon be competing with China for second instead.

China is altogether another matter. After a short civil war in 2033, the era of the Communist one-party state is over, although China had long since adopted free market economic policies. The Nationalist government in exile quickly acted, seizing power from their home in Taiwan. Although the people were somewhat upset by this action at first, the Nationalist government upheld its belief in democracy and immediately held open elections and a referendum on a new constitution in light of the social and technological advances made by human civilization since their exile. The new China is a businessman's paradise, with few monopoly laws and almost no trust laws. Worker's rights were still moderate, a relic from the Communist party, which still retained a surprising amount of power in the new parliament. With all this economic growth and cultural exchange has come new allies. Although South Korea keeps a relatively far distance from any nation these days to prevent provoking the North, Japan has ignored the rise of North Korean influence and boldly entered into an open alliance with China as well as India (keeping a relatively stable peace between the two). Businesses and corporations from both nations now operate without restrictions or fear, and the technological and economic benefits have been tremendous. Still though, China remains a minor economic power, still suffering from issues such as Uighyar separatism, Communist paramilitary groups, and the general ruckus that accompanies an abrupt change from the long-time ruling regime. China is rising fast, however, and is in constant economic competition with the Africans, whom they have exploited for resources since ancient times and can now longer do with the increasing unification of the African continent and peoples. China does have one great advantage that makes it a major player on the world's stage; the most advanced navy in the world. It is large and powerful, though not as large as the American's combined fleet. It does however eclipse American ships in terms of power, using a low-yield high energy particle cannon that burns though ships like something out of science fiction. Most other nations still use either cannons or rail guns if they're more modern.

North Korea has become a surpisingly (and frighteningly) powerful state, though not quite a world power. It has only recently gotten effective leadership, and it has transformed from a crazy dictatorship to a brutally efficient fascist nation. It's no Nazi Germany, but it has it's own atrocities such as the use of criminals (particularly political prisoners) as slave labor; "community service" is a death sentence in Pyongyang. Their military, noted for being the long-time world's largest, has also blossomed into a well-trained, modern armed force. It's army is large, but the biggest problem in the past was transporting all these soldiers. Osprey-style VTOL jet aircraft inspired them to create a modified derigible. As ridiculous as the idea sounded (parituclarly because it was the "North Korean war blimp"), it turned out to be an efficient way to transport large numbers of military personnel and supplies. The Koreans have expanded their sphere of influence beyond their own borders, starting with supporting a Communist uprising in Brunei, which lead to the establishment of a North Korean friendly dictatorship with ports in the South China Sea. They used this to gain a foothold in Cambodia, which became the first state to be the victim of a Communist coupe backed by the North Korean intelligence agency. A Filippino uprising by the New People's Army inspired by North Korean success was soon also supported, although India got invovled and helped the Moro National Liberation Front found the independent state of Bangsamoro on the southern Philippine islands. It then displayed a show of force when it directly intervened in Fiji, putting a puppet government into power and effectively began to colonize it. Vanuatu has buddied up with China to avoid a similar fate. North Korea has become a thorn in China's side, but the Chinese dare not risk political instability by going to war anytime soon. India, however, has put the proverbial gun to North Korea's head by pointing nukes at every major city in the country. The North Koreans tread lightly for now, but their ambitions are not likely to disappear anytime soon, not when they've become realistic and it lives up to its motto: "Powerful and Prosperous Country."

There's not much else to say. The EU has expanded and become a bit more poweful, but they largely keep to themselves these days. They trade abroad, but most of the natural resources they need now come from Africa. The United States has fallen from grace and pretty much become a hell hole. Continued economic woes finally resulted in widespread civil upheaval, and martial law was enstated for months across the nation. Some states even talked of seceeding, but that was unlikely with the national guard all loyal to the federal government and state militias being broken up as radical paramilitary groups (which most of the time they were). The UN occupied much of the West Coast throughout the 2050's, and much of the Midwest remained under martial law into 2072. It is still plagued by poverty, organized crime, the growth of gangs in number and power, and domestic terrorism. Police have become incredibly corrupt as order has become a scarce commodity, and the government is in a deadlock over approaching the issue of reorganizing and rebuilding the nation. It is no longer a major player on the world stage, just another one of those North American nations like Mexico and whatever. Most else in the New World remains relatively unchanged, except that Cuba has finally overthrown its aging Communist rulers and become friendly with the US and the world again. Tourists from all over the world flock there for vacations, and Cuban goods and brands have become favorites around Latin America and the US.