Zvlokiquix had humble beginnings. Farmers tended land, grew food, and gathered water as their only means of survival. There was nothing glamorous about the lifestyle of the people that inhabited the land. Small settlements speckled the island for centuries without much problem. Some seasons were better than others for the farmers, but nothing terribly notable.
Around the year 1500 is when the first outsiders, coming by way of sea, made contact with any major settlement of the islanders. The islanders, the land itself, and nearby sea had a few interesting things to offer to the visitors. Rice and fish were the main staples for most settlements, but few had sugar and fruits to offer. The visitors took particular notice of the more luxurious goods and gravitated towards settlements with those available.
This lead to a handful of settlements to grow larger and expand their walls to supply the new demand for such goods. These settlements turned into colonies with larger buildings, larger populations, and a larger appetite for the foreign goods being presented to them. Textiles like cotton and wool allowed for longer and higher trips into the surrounding mountains in search of precious metals. This only added more fuel onto the fire as outsiders started to trade even more for such materials. Soon after, the pockets of the cotton and wool clothing were being lined with gold coins. The gold was used to purchase foodstuffs unavailable on nor to the rest of the island.
This devastated all other minor settlements. The, now, major colonies that had grown from outside trade no longer needed their own islanders to supply any gaps that were there previously. At this point, when a bad season happened, it was no longer reasonable to rely on the next settlement or two over. Farmers had picked up and left to move to the growing colonies that could provide for them with outside trade. There was no thing as a good season anymore because any surplus would spoil before use. The large colonies didn’t need domestic farming as they provided only for the need of the outsiders and traded gold back for foreign wheat, cattle, and produce.
This became a recipe for disaster for the islanders. The year 1657 was a particularly harsh year for outside trade. Imports dwindled as outsiders faced a lethal combination of low yield and livestock diseases. The island colonies anticipated an expected growth in exports as had been for 150 years. The outsiders came looking for help. On the back of a century and a half of good faith, colonies of the island were asked to provide all they could for little in return as it was promised this was temporary.
One colony especially stepped up to help. Not the biggest colony, but the most western and overall closest to the mainland, Qykluzwix became the hub for gathering and distributing imports and exports accordingly. Qykluzwix started its shift from an independent colony to a rudimentary “financial” region. There, debts and revenue were being tallied and collected. Farmers, miners, and loggers in the colonies continued to provide for their respective colony and export demands even with seeing less return.
Outlying farms continued to struggle. The focus of colonies was on exports and meeting the demands of outsiders as they were forced to fend for themselves more and more each year. The colonies, especially Qykluzwix, had no loyalty to rural settlements. They thrived off of the outside trade even when it lagged.
The turn of the 18th century brought a noticeable disdain towards outsiders in the colonies. Imports only shrunk as outside demand jumped. Qykluzwix never stopped tracking what was believed to be owed from the outsiders. However, without any form of central record keeping, reports were scattered about what was owed. Colonial farmers gave to merchants who gave to traders who gave to shippers who gave to the outsiders. All down the line, it felt like the other was ripping the other off. Everyone blamed the outsiders’ trade and they blamed poor yield on their part with no solution in sight. Some island farmers and loggers set off with outsiders in hopes for an answer, but none ever returned.
About one third through the century, on the horizon of the sea near Qykluzwix, a fleet of outsider ships, larger than any that had ever visited before, were on their way to the colony. Word quickly spread through the colony. Those that had horses were sent to the other colonies with what they were witnessing and to prepare for trade. At this point in time, there were five major colonies of the island. Qykluzwix was the most west and south of the colonies. Kien was on an island by itself surrounded by the main island on all but the south side. Drosk, due north of Kien, on the north side of the main island. Arforthurd was the largest despite being squeezed between a lake and the sea due east of Drosk. Finally, Cital was the most east and north placed colony and on the ocean.
Qykluzwix was the first to encounter the large fleet. Brimming with anticipation, the colonists suspected nothing but dues to be paid in full after giving more than what they thought was fair. Arriving at the ports they had for generations, the outsiders, for the first time, were not looking to trade nor ask for anything, but where they could find someone in charge to settle their debts. The system of disconnected record keeping was explained. The supposed admiral of these outsiders asked for a meeting with any and all who had records of debts owed. A few days would be needed to gather the shippers in Qykluzwix looking to collect.
Days later, all the while outsider boats docked, a meeting was held at a common gathering place near the docks. Chests upon chests were loaded off by large crew members of the outsiders to present to the island shippers. August 17 of 1742 will go down in infamy as the outsiders opened the chests, grabbed the firearms inside, and unloaded into the unsuspecting shippers. Outsider crew members without guns set fire indiscriminately throughout the colony. Any buildings planned to be burned were looted for the stockpile of imported textiles, gold, and foodstuffs. The outsiders planned on taking back anything they could from the generations of trade before them.
As Qykluzwix burned, word of the, still, anticipated traders to the other colonies remained hopeful. No new news had come out of Qykluzwix; good or otherwise. Next, Drosk was met with the fury of the outsiders. Then, Arforthurd was also given no mercy. Finally, the outsiders made their way to Cital to take what they felt entitled to. Anyone that could fled to the countryside and into the mountains. Kien was “untouched” being on its own smaller island. This only worked against itself because it was not equipped to be self sufficient as in the past. An outsider blockade was in place to keep any attempts of fleeing the island to a minimum. This, effectively, starved most of the inhabitants.
Islanders were forced into labor. No longer seen as an equal to the outsiders, the islanders were only useful if they could increase capital. Trading with the islanders had become too expensive it seemed. The Industrial Revolution only exacerbated the hardship of the islanders. Less were needed for the same amount of work as before. They were massacred.
As many as possible continued to flee. Outsiders were not privy to survival outside of the established colonies. Generations of Outsiders lived in the fallen colonies and never once stepped foot outside of their walls. Islanders knew this was their home and it had provided for them long before the initial arrival. They had turned their backs on each other and the island for getting rich quick. Islanders were never violent towards others let alone each other. However, they knew they had to fight to take back the land that had once belonged to them.
The Qykluzwix War, briefly, was not unlike many others before and after. Both sides suffered. The Islanders lost more in actual battles, but the Outsiders lost more overall. The ability to disrupt supply lines, cut off communications, and know the terrain played well into the Islanders’ favor. This lead to the eventual purging of the hostile takeover of the island.
The lessons learned throughout the modern history come to shape the ideology and politics of the nation to be known as Zvlokiquix. Today, Zvlokiquix spends the majority of its resources on defense. Trade is strictly and centrally controlled. And there’s a strong emphasis on patriotism.
Qykluzwix was named the capital as it was the first to establish a strong system for record keeping. Zvlokiquix was declared a nation on the 8th of June 1895. Kien, Arforthurd, Drosk, and Cital were established again with strong defense forces. The unfortunate events that were endured by the people of the island are not something wished upon any other groups. Zvlokiquixians want to prevent future generations from experiencing what past generations went through and to not forget their values that bring all citizens together.
