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Monday 6 June 2011

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.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,

    Way to go Bob! A rounded out background to an imagi-nation always makes it fight far better on the table top in my opinion!

    Viva Cordeguay! Morte Forbodia!

    All the best,

    DC

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  2. David Crook,

    I always find that having a good 'back-story' helps me think about my wargames armies as being more real (sad, isn't it!).

    Have you spotted some of the more silly names that I have used? There will be more to come in due course!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  3. Hi Bob,

    Not sad at all! I like the Arrida Desert and the two tribes....;-)

    Are you going to a renegade English/Irishman into the mix?

    I can't wait to see what you do with the unit names and also the naval side in the fullness of time!

    All the best,

    DC

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  4. David Crook,

    Try looking up borrachin and chapuchero in a Spanish dictionary as well.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Bob,

    Sot and Bungler sounds like a name for s dubious law firm!

    Bungler eh? Rings bells for sure!

    I can see you are going to have some fun with this;-)

    All the best,

    DC

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  6. Hi Bob,

    look forward to seeing where the nation buys its cannons and rifles.

    As ever

    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  7. David Crook,

    I hope to have a lot of fun with this over the next few months ... time, work, and family permitting.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  8. Funny Little Wars - Garden Campaigns (Paul),

    Their artillery will obviously come from the Korrupt and Viking Arms Companies! As to their small arms ... Greenings of Belgium, Hauser of Germany, or Jones & Easton of the USA sound like they may possible suppliers.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  9. "The main exports of Cordeguay are nitrates, silver, gold, and wool."

    Bob,

    Should one add "and soon-to-be undocumented workers to the United States", or is this too snotty?

    An inquiring mind wants to know,

    Chris

    P.S. How many days left until freedom?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bob,

    Less snottily, I wonder what part Cordeguay played in the "Soccer War" between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969? I know this is a bit after your main period of interest, but IIRC a lot of WWII-era and even older equipment was pressed into service!

    Best regards,

    Chris

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  11. Chris,

    There is nothing wrong with enquiring ... it is enquiring too closely that causes problems ... usually for the person doing the enquiring!

    All the best,

    Bob

    PS. Twenty five more days ... not that I am counting, of course!

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  12. Chris,

    Cordeguay was not involved in the 'Football War' ... but there were some border skirmishes after a disputed Cricket match between Cordeguay and one of its neighbours some years ago.

    Cordeguay needed to score four off the last ball of the last over to win ... but the substitution of a primed hand grenade for the ball meant that it exploded before it reached the boundary. The Umpires adjudicated that the match was a draw, and strong words passed between the Cordeguayan Minister of Sport and his opposite number. This was followed by a series of diplomatic notes that used some rather undiplomatic language ... and things went downhill from then on.

    The rest, as they say, is History!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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