Cordeguay: Some background notes

The following information about Cordeguay was gleaned from the pages of an old copy of the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica':

• Cordeguay is located close to several other small South American countries, including Sulaco, Coastguana, Nuevo Rico, San Theodoros, and Olifa.
• The country is divided into three main geographical regions: a coastal plain, a chain of mountains, and a desert (the Arrida Desert).
• The original inhabitants of the area are the Quincas, and the majority of the native population is descended from them. The Quincas worshipped the Sun, but unlike other South American native cultures they did not use human sacrifices as part of their ceremonies.
• There are two main Quinca tribes, the Amontillado and Manzanilla. Their culture is mainly agrarian and the main crops they grow are corn and barley (the latter being used to brew a local beer-like alcoholic drink called borrachin), with sheep-rearing (for meat and wool) predominating in the foothill and mountain areas.
• Cordeguay has three official languages: Spanish, English, and Quinca.
• Cordeguay is named after Juan Cordes, the conquistador whose small army seized the country for the King of Spain. The use of cavalry and firearms ensured that Cordes’ conquistadors were able to achieve a bloody victory over the Quincas at the First Battle of Atramentum.
• Cordeguay gained its independence from Spain in the 1820s, when General Molivar led the Army of Liberation to victory over the Spanish Army at the Second Battle of Atramentum.
• The currency of Cordeguay is the Cordeguayan Quinca. The Quinca is divided into 100 Centimos.
• The main exports of Cordeguay are nitrates, silver, gold, and wool.
• Cordeguay is a democratic plutarchy (a combination of a plutocracy and oligarchy). Only those people who have sufficient wealth or property qualify to vote; to date, no Quinca has every voted in an election. Elections for the House of Deputies (the lower chamber of the Cortes Generales) are held every five years, and elections for the House of Senators (the upper chamber) take place every seven years. The President is always a member of the House of Senators, and is either elected by the House of Senators sitting as an electoral college or by Military Acclamation. The current President of the Republic is General Chapuchero.