United Republics of Gapla and Phoenix
United Republics of Gapla and Phoenix | |||||||||
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 Flag | |||||||||
| Capital | Phoenix City | ||||||||
| Largest city | New Gapla City | ||||||||
| Official languages | English, Korean, Traditional Mandarin | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Gaplanexian | ||||||||
| Government | Federative republic | ||||||||
• President | Ian Shin | ||||||||
• Vice President | Wyatt Baek | ||||||||
| Establishment | August 24, 2015 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 2016 census | ~20 | ||||||||
| Currency | Gapla-Phoenix Coin (GPC) | ||||||||
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The United Republics of Gapla and Phoenix, commonly known as Gapla-Phoenix, was a micronation founded on August 24, 2015, at Cypress Village Elementary School by Ian Shin and Wyatt Baek. The country is widely considered the predecessor state to the Principality of Gapla and later to the Federated States of Gapla, and is an integral part of Gaplan history.
The micronation was unprofessional compared to its successors, as it barely had any national symbols and I.D. cards were made from sharpies and crayons. In addition, the only territory that it claimed was the birthplaces of its founders (which was never in any republic or territory) as well as the secret base, along with a series of three imaginary islands. The largest island hosted the Republic of Phoenix, the Republic of Gapla, and the Territory of Border Zone, and two smaller islands hosted Jamestown and Freedom Island.
After a variety of conflicts, the nation split into the Principality of Phoenix and the Principality of Gapla. Phoenix was later taken over by Gaplan official Mirabelle Wang and was entered into Gapla as a state on Union Day, forming an original state of the Federated States of Gapla. This resulted in the Principality of Gapla uniting both sides, and the nation being "restored" in 2019 after a long period of activity.
History
Gapla-Phoenix era (August 2015 - January 2016)
Secret base era (August 2015 - September 2015)
On August 24, 2015, two micronationalists, Ian Shin and Wyatt Baek, drafted an idea for creating their very own country. Neither of them knew about micronations, so it was declared an "imaginary country," consisting of three islands, a "secret base" inside the school, and the birthplaces of the founders of Gapla-Phoenix.
The two founders drew a map of Gapla-Phoenix (which is now lost, as it was likely under Ian's possession) and declared a small corner of the school that they had discovered as a "secret base." It was ideal as it was unmonitored by the supervisors, remote and hard to get to, easy to defend, as well as having a stone wall, giving a sense of privacy. In addition, electrical equipment was stored there, which was used as a clipboard to write documents and plans on.
Expansion era (September 2015 - January 2016)
The secret base became a daily meeting place where citizens would refer others and create new territories. During this period, Gapla-Phoenix was very active. A currency, the Gapla-Phoenix Coin (GPC) was created and pegged at $0.25 USD, although it was not circulated widely. Large quantities of I.D. cards were made using sharpie and crayon and were laminated with scotch tape, being distributed to a large number of citizens, especially those enrolled in the military, whose only objective was to defend Gapla-Phoenix from outside threats such as teachers, other students, and the Iceecan Union. Reportedly, members of Gapla-Phoenix recruited students from other grade levels to "protect" the secret base during other recess hours.
The micronation and its main competitor, the Iceecan Union, became somewhat popular throughout the school as several citizens joined and it was increasingly active. It was noted to be very selective in its citizenship process and one had to build loyalty to the leaders to advance to higher ranks in the military and government.
During the Expansion era, Gapla-Phoenix grew as it opened applications to create additional provinces in the country. While a large number of applications were submitted, only two were accepted, for Freedom Island (Hankyul Yang) and Jamestown (James Wang).
Post-union era (January 2016 - February 2019)
Conflict era (January 2016 - March 2016)
Throughout this era, Gapla-Phoenix was involved in a power struggle between its two principle leaders, Wyatt Baek and Ian Shin, as well as an external threat (the Iceecan Union).
The Iceecan Union, led by Lucien Song, was a micronation also located in Cypress Village Elementary School, with territory in one of the boy's restrooms. After declaring war on Gapla-Phoenix, the Iceecas falsely accused members of Gapla-Phoenix of many crimes, such as vandalism, that they did not to. Because the administration is generally viewed to side with the Iceecans, as their leader had a parent who participated in the PTA, the members of Gapla-Phoenix were told that their side of the story was equally believed yet were still punished and the pens used for vandalism were "returned" to them.
Due to this and internal crises, on February 3, 2016, the Republic of Gapla split from Gapla-Phoenix, forming its own country. However, Phoenix retained control of the territories, yet Gapla was more active. Both sides, while they had their own conflicts, were focused on taking down the Iceecas rather than fighting each other.
Eventually, the Iceecan Union died out due to inactivity and the Republics of Gapla and Phoenix mostly peacefully coexisted with some degree of rivalry.
Recession era and Wyatt's takeover (March 2016 - February 2019)
After a period of activity and prosperity in Gapla-Phoenix, it died down, likely do to disinterest from its members. It was never formally dissolved and continued to exist. The Republic of Phoenix was later taken over by a Gaplan official who had taken over the country and united it in to the United Republics of Gapla, which was never active.
On February 28, 2019, Wyatt, after discovering micronationalism from the Principality of Sealand and remembering Gapla-Phoenix, brought it back to life by declaring the Principality of Gapla as its successor state. This was the start of Gapla's era as a micronation, later evolving into the current Federated States of Gapla.
Subdivisions
Gapla-Phoenix was organized into two constituent republics and three territories. The following is a list of the subdivisions of Gapla-Phoenix.
Republics
Republics, of which there are two, were the most autonomous and core parts of Gapla-Phoenix.
The following is a list of republics of Gapla-Phoenix:
- Republic of Phoenix (leader: Ian Shin)
- Republic of Gapla (leader: Wyatt Baek)
Territories
Territories were subjected to the authority of the republics and were not autonomous.
The following is a list of territories of Gapla-Phoenix:
- Territory of Border Zone (no leader)
- Territory of Jamestown (leader: James Wang)
- Territory of Freedom Island (leader: Hankyul Yang)
Leaders
The first and only leaders of Gapla-Phoenix were Ian Shin (president) and Wyatt Baek (vice president).
The country was not active for long enough to warrant another election.
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