Nation Name: Malagasy Enterprises (Corporate Madagascar, The Enterprise, Madagascar)
Government Type: Corporate Empire
Head(s) of Government: CEO Amélie Rakotomalala
Persons of Importance: To Be Determined
Race(s):
Population:
Culture and Religion: Madagascar is a true "melting pot" of culture in that the different cultures that have come to call the island of Madagascar home have begun to blend together, the lines between them blurring as they are absorbed by the all-encompassing corporate society. The lines between what separates Sudanese refugees from Kenyans, for instance, is highly blurred on the island itself. The French-Malagasy culture is clearly dominant, with society's norms established by the corporate elite who own that heritage. French-Malagasy clothes, silverware, plates, books, etc. are the norm, and smaller ethnic groups have difficulty defending their interests on the island of Madagascar.

This is one reason why so many people have chosen to re-colonize the outlying regions now claimed by Malagasy Enterprises. Societal discontent and a problem of overpopulation on Madagascar have encouraged destitute and adventurous citizens to seek their fortune on the spice islands, in India, and in Australia. Some, too, have returned to the African coast as terraforming efforts begin to transform it into livable, arable terrain. It is in these colonies that the many diverse ethnic groups of Madagascar can truly express themselves, create their own laws, and even elect their own leaders, all while under the ever-watchful eye of the corporate government. Religious and political dissidents have also made similar moves, though anti-Enterprise groups have thus far been quashed time and again.

The pursuit of wealth and scientific achievement are paramount in Corporate Madagascar. Wealth is the standard by which an individual's value is measured, and science is viewed as a means of increasing the value of the corporation as a whole, therefore increasing the value of its citizens as well. There is also a very strong "green" movement that wants to see nature flourish again, and it often works hand-in-hand with science, emphasizing the research of greener methods and greener technologies.

There are certain economic guidelines that most people adhere to in Malagasy. Two of them are conflicting: one states that war is highly profitable, and the other states that war is unprofitable for everyone involved. (Observers educated in the classical arts note the Ferengi from Star Trek have a similar issue within their own economic philosophy.) The corporation seems to spout whichever idea is most immediately applicable to its interests, though a great many lawmakers in the corporate nation have noted that both sayings can be true, and neither should be taken as an absolute truth. So, Malagasy Enterprises can neither be described as inherently warlike or peaceful, though it is certainly expansionist.

Before the apocalypse, the French and Malagasy languages were both state languages of Madagascar. This remains the case in the new era, and virtually everyone in Corporate Madagascar speaks one or both of those languages. A vast majority of the populace is bilingual, and a solid third are trilingual, often speaking the two state languages along with a foreign language or the language of their heritage.

Religiously, most of the populace identifies as Christian, though these Christian beliefs have mixed irrevocably with the native Malagasy religion. Ancestors and angels alike serve as guardian figures in this mixed religion (and sometimes are one and the same), and Andrianerinerina is now analogous with Jesus. There are some people who worship "purer" native or Christian beliefs, and there are also atheists and agnostics, but each of these is a minority.

Pre-Cataclyism Technology: Some of the relics owned by Malagasy Enterprises seem futuristic in the post-war world (hence their slogan: "Reinventing the Future"). Perhaps the most valuable piece of technology is the VT, or Vehicular Terraformer. Created by pre-war scientists who foresaw a great catastrophe, this device is used to "scrub" radioactive waste, remove toxins from the earth and air, and can turn barren landscapes into fertile paradises. Of course, there are only a handful of VTs available, each of which is heavily guarded when fielded, and the corporate empire has no intentions of sharing this technology with its neighbors (though Madagascar has been known to "hire out" a rare few terraformers with heavy escorts). Thus far, Malagasy Enterprises has been unable to create their own VTs, but they've made some major advances in the fields of biology and chemistry as a result of their research.

Another highly important holdover from the past is a rather advanced knowledge of the human genome... and several ways to modify it. Malagasy Enterprises has conducted many genetic experiments on its populace, sometimes selecting volunteers and sometimes conducting it on unwitting individuals. This has resulted in some "changed" individuals in society, some whose changes are barely perceptible and others whose changes are very overt.

A wealth of civilian technology from the past - high tech microwaves, quality radios, household computers, electric furnaces, etc. - still remain in Malagasy hands. Like most pre-war technologies, Malagasy has used this as a starting point to reinvent the "past future," though their designs are not yet quite up to snuff when compared to pre-war civilian devices.

Finally, the conquest of South Africa led to the discovery of a hidden bunker of highly advanced sixteen foot tall mechanized battle suits. The researchers in charge of the operation apparently sabotaged their own research and committed suicide in light of the nuclear apocalypse, but that hasn't stopped Malagasy Enterprises from investing a huge sum of money into unlocking the secrets of this technology. They've been largely unsuccessful thus far, but they've kept the operation as secret as possible, and they've begun fielding some of the prototypes to test out their abilities in the field. After all, the possibility of leaving a few dead pilots is worth illuminating the potential powers of this technology.

History: The nuclear holocaust saw the destruction of a great many nations across the world. The wanton destruction wrought by the leaders of Earth unquestionably changed life all over the globe. No country was spared change... but a few places were spared the missiles. Madagascar was one such nation.

Madagascar still suffered, however. Whole communities of immigrants began flocking to the untouched island in wake of the destruction, and it did not take long for fighting to break out on the isle. The national government, anti-immigration factions, immigrant factions, independence factions, and ambitious military leaders all tangled with one other in a terrible, brutal war that encompassed the entirety of the island. From this mess arose an unexpected victor: Malagasy Enterprises, formerly known as the East Africa Trade Group.

Before the nuclear war, several major businesses and corporations with their fingers in Africa united to form a megacorporation called the East Africa Trade Group. This included branches of the Bank of Africa and several companies across eastern Africa, western Australia, France, and India. Some of the major players had the foresight to move their funds and resources into Madagascar, though at the time this was done to avoid paying taxes, not to avoid the nuclear war. With the world in ruins and Madagascar isolated, it was easy for the East Africa Trade Group to take over the island under the pretense of "assisting" the destabilized government. It did not take them long to shed this premise and establish themselves as the new government.

After rebranding themselves as Malagasy Enterprises, Madagascar's rulers set about reestablishing trade around the Indian Ocean and taking control of weaker parts of the region. The corporation was more than happy to use its dissidents as settlers in less hospitable regions of the world even as they used pre-war terraforming technology to begin cleaning radioactivity along the coast of Africa and making the land green and fertile. This helped Madagascar evolve into an agricultural powerhouse with an iron grip on regional trade, and over the coming years Madagascar started expanding its trade exploits north into the Mediterranean and east past Malaysia.

Colonial efforts became bolder as another global power entered the field: the Great Han. Malagasy's corporate government became highly competitive with the Great Han, trying to match their vessels ship-for-ship and trying to out-colonize and out-trade them at every turn. This rivalry has sped up technological and economic development on Madagascar as Malagasy Enterprises tries to find an answer to the Great Han's advanced navy.

And over the course of its expansionist, aggressively capitalist history, the Enterprise has managed to earn the ire of its closest neighbor: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. War with this smaller yet highly militarized state has been a drain on Madagascar's resources in recent years. Colonial ventures are costly to start up as well, though Malagasy has found them to ultimately be highly profitable, and Australian tribes have waged guerilla warfare against Malagasy colonists since their first efforts to tame the little continent.

That is the state of things for Malagasy Enterprises: the corporate nation has its attention being tugged at from three cardinal directions. It seeks to increase its trade in the north, seeks to quell the Congolese threat to the west, and needs to secure more colonies in the east even as Australia and the Great Han are fighting to make that impossible. The world's first true corporate empire has quite the struggle ahead of it.

Military: Malagasy Enterprises boasts a sizeable, varied army. Its colonies field their own troops, but the corporate nation also commands an impressive fleet and an experienced, well trained army.

Malagasy Enterprises' professional forces are supplemented by militia forces and colonial armies. The professional army is split into three branches:






Other:

Foreign Relations: To Be Determined