Federated States of Gapla

The Federated States of Gapla, more commonly known as Gapla, is a self-declared state, commonly called a micronation, in the Western Coast of the United States in Southern California.

Gapla was established on the 28th of February 2019 and is still active. It is part of the Micronations United for Progress and the League of Independent Nations. As a federation of 24 states, it is very democratic, focuses on liberty and human rights, and believes all humans are created equal.

The Politics of Gapla include freedom of political parties movement, and an active representative government called the Parliament of the Federated States of Gapla, or more commonly known as simply Parliament.

The Federated States of Gapla focuses on the Montevideo Convention of the Rights and Duties of States criteria for statehood. Under this, a nation has to fulfil four requirements to become a state (Permanent Population, A Defined Territory, Government, and Capacity to Enter in Relations with the Other States.) Although Gapla is focused on this, following these requirements does not constitute recognition by Gapla, as that needs to be approved by Parliament and the President.

Etymology
Gapla's name came from thin air, as the current president of the Federated States of Gapla, Wyatt Seungri Baek, decided it was a good and suitable name for the micronation. The "Federated States of" part came on union day when the current president decided to (on March 6, 2019) let states unite into the union. A few months later, the name was added.

One theory about the name was that it was the small "Gap" near "LA" (Los Angeles), because there was a small micronation that was not noticed by the United States. So, the name Gapla was formed. This was not confirmed by the President.

History
The Federated States of Gapla originated as the Principality of Gapla on the 28th of February, 2019, ruled by the current president. At this time, the current President was the prince and he handed out noble titles. On Union Day, new states joined in, and on Government Day, the official name changed to the Federated States of Gapla, although there was still a ceremonial monarchy.

After the name changed, states continued to join, and subdivisions of states, cities, were established. Territories were also established for small entities seeking statehood but not yet big enough for it.

Within six months of founding, a national orchestra and website were created.

When the Coronavirus shut down the school Gapla had meetings on, online communication with other micronations and fellow citizens of Gapla increased. More citizens used the platform Discord, but there was a conflict about which platform was better, Google Hangouts or Discord. That is why many citizens use the simple Google Hangouts instead. Soon after, more diplomats joined and diplomacy grew.

Within one year of founding, a national String Quartet, App, and Chrome Extension were created.

The Kingdom of H also joined Gapla as a city of Musicland and was significant because of its massive population of 20. The King a friend of the Musiclandian state owner Bright Li and decided to merge it into a state. Although the President tried to convince the King to merge as a state, which he thought was better for it, the King disregarded this advice and joined Musicland as a city. Soon after, another 10 member city named the Kingdom of J joined, as the kingdom was recently founded with a population of 10 by the Kingdom of H's king's friend.

Basic meanings
The flag of the Federated States of Gapla has never changed since independence. The background blue color represents the People, the red cross represents the Pride of the People, the orange represents Parliament and the Association of Ministries, and the yellow star represents the nation. The parts that are touching mean that it is affecting the other area.

Colors of the flag
The blue touches the red, and the orange, because the pride of the people are made from the people, and the Parliament and Association of Ministries are made of the people. Also notice that citizens themselves cannot change the nation, the star.

The red touches all of the areas, because the pride of the people is made from the people, gives people to Parliament and the Association of Ministries, and affects the nation.

The orange represents the Parliament, which most closely touches the star. The orange also is made from the Pride of the People and the People.

This yellow star is the government, and touches everything except for the blue, because citizens cannot change the government alone. It is touching the orange because Parliament and the Association of Ministries can change the government. It is touching the red because the pride of the people can change the government.

States and Territories
States and Territories are parts of the Federated States of Gapla and have their own governments. They are not independent, but still enjoy the right to create their own laws, as long as they are not vetoed by the Supreme Court. The Founding States did not really create Gapla, but they were the first states to join on Union Day. Here is a list of them.

Superior States

 * Snake (Founding State)
 * Phoenix (Founding State)
 * Emeralkia
 * Katolis
 * Syopolis
 * Ozzah
 * Xadia
 * Elemental
 * Mogollon

States

 * Great Gryffin
 * Kingdom City
 * Asmiland
 * Candyland

Territories

 * Hedgehogtopia
 * Bangtan
 * Trinity
 * Daisy
 * Pegasus
 * Musicland
 * Poshstate
 * Destruction
 * Anika Kingdom
 * Sweet Falls

Diplomatic relations
List of Nations that Mutually Recognize the Federated States of Gapla:


 * Republic of Molossia
 * Principality of Catryus
 * Principality of Adhikari Island
 * Republic of NZRE
 * Republic of Nordland
 * Astovian Union
 * Kingdom of Hedegatan
 * Independent Micronation of Rockria
 * Republic of Otonia
 * Acharovia
 * Aenopia
 * Alphyvia
 * Cimbrun
 * Democratic Desert Republic
 * Manchese Council
 * Dominion of Illusia
 * Duchy of Batavia
 * Empire of Kaemira
 * Empire of Ustea
 * Grand Principality of Mailacia and Idessa
 * Grand Duchy Of Pikeland
 * Kingdom of Casteria
 * Kingdom of Corotarnia
 * Kingdom of Liberacia
 * Micronation of The Scandinavian Imperium
 * New Danube
 * Kingdom of New Europa and New Antrim
 * Republic of Nuvatsaria
 * Sikanda
 * SeaNation of Spiroville
 * Vørxashan
 * Alaurentia
 * Free State of Sabini
 * Republic of Scoria
 * United Republics of Antarctica

Political parties
Political Parties are entities in Gapla that fight for political power and election results in the Federated States of Gapla.

There is a lot of talk about reforming or destroying political parties as some people think that it is not appropriate for a nation like Gapla. Here is a list of them:


 * Liberal Union Party of Gapla
 * Libertarian Economical Moderate Party of Gapla
 * Environmentalist Violet Party of Gapla
 * Conservative Party of Gapla
 * Worker's Grand Party of Gapla
 * Monarchist Party of Gapla
 * Constitution Party of Gapla

Political Parties are issued logos by the National Government. Here is a list of them.

Government
In Gapla, the Government is left-leaning in politics because the president is part of the Liberal Union party. As a federation of 24 states, it is very democratic, focuses on the liberty and human rights, and believes all humans are created equal. Even though this is true, the freedom of political parties is exercised and cannot be denied by the president. Although, that doesn't matter, because the president supports the freedom of political parties and political expression.

The main body of Government is called the Executive Council of the Federated States of Gapla. It has power over laws, and the president. It can deny any powers of the president, and can revise laws and the constitution.

The Parliament was destroyed because of inactivity in favor of the Executive Council, as written in the Third Constitution.

Ministries
Ministries are parts of parliament that decide different things according to their specialty. They advise the President and the Executive Council of Gapla to do certain things, and each Minister acts like a Cabinet Member.

A list of them is below:


 * 1) Ministry of Public Welfare
 * 2) Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 * 3) Ministry of the Armed Forces
 * 4) Ministry of Defense
 * 5) Ministry of Communications
 * 6) Ministry of Operations
 * 7) Ministry of Education
 * 8) Ministry of Statistics
 * 9) Ministry of Records
 * 10) Ministry of Finance
 * 11) Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship
 * 12) Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Eras of the state
In Gapla, a state gets an period named after them if they are currently the most influential state. Once a state is no longer the most influential, the state's period will pass. A group of periods is an era. Here is a table showing the periods and eras of Gapla.

Many states that have an era call themselves the "Top League", although this is not official. Top League states are considered to be the most influential, even though Musicland (non Top League) has a higher rating on the index than Phoenix (Top League) as of 14 August 2020. The Gaplan Small State Representation Organization (GSSRO) requires an index score of 500 or lower to join. It opposes the Top League and wants equal representation for every state, although most states, even non Top League members and some GSSRO members, agree that it is a great impossibity.

Geography, climate, and weather
The geography of Gapla is fairly flat land, as Gapla is located in Southern California. Gapla is fairly hot most of the time. The lowest temperature reachable is probably around 10 C, and the hottest is about 40 C. The Weather and Climate in Gapla is fairly sunny normally, as Gapla is located near Southern California.

Gapla's current weather forecast (the weather forecast of Irvine, CA) is available at this link: https://weather.com/weather/today/l/647f0ae4a3b3500e4e0204b5f21a58b5117f635b1bd6b99e00fe80e95325991b

Please note that is service is provided by weather.com, which is not related to Gapla. The reason Gapla uses weather.com is because Gapla has no central weather authority. It did at one point, but it relied on the data of weather.com and was dissolved. The site, http://weather.gaplagov.org, now redirects to the main Gapla website.

National holidays
These days are declared by either the President or the Executive Council. Note that there are many more unofficial holidays, created by the Citizens of Gapla, that are still observed by the Gaplan Government but not recognized as a holiday.


 * 28 February - Independence Day
 * 13 January - Freedom Day
 * 6 March - Union Day
 * 23 March - Constitution Day
 * 2 May - Government Day
 * 1 September - School Starts in Gapla
 * 10 September - Attack on South Cove Island

Religion
Here is a chart of the approximate religious diversity in Gapla. Notice that the population is 70% Christian, 20% Hindu, 5% Other, 4% Muslim, and 1% Buddhist. The religious diversity in Gapla mainly came from western culture, where the 70% of Christianity came. The 20% of Hindus came from the influence of Indian culture on Gapla, the 4% having the minor citizens of the middle east spreading into Gapla, and Buddhism being the minority, other than the very small minorities that make up "Other."

This is mainly due to the religious diversity of Irvine, CA, which is the micronational city that Gapla is in. Racism and forced religion is almost impossible in Gapla due to the diversity, although 70% of the population of Christian.

Presidents of Gapla
In Gapla, a president serves for six months. After the six months, a new president, or a re-election occurs. There are unlimited terms to president, but there are talks in the Federal Government about limiting it to four, although most people say that that goes against the Policy of Gapla that states that if a person is good enough, they shall serve until death.

Deputy Presidents of Gapla
In Gapla, a Deputy President serves for six months. After the six months, a new Deputy Prseident, or a re-election occurs. There are unlimited terms to Deputy President, but like the President, there are talks on limiting it to two. The Deputy President must agree on new laws of Gapla, unless the Executive Council says otherwise. Information about DeputyPresidents


 * A Deputy President's only job is to assist the president and provide them good information
 * A Deputy President's political party and the president's may differ.

First Election - 28th February 2019
Only one candidate, Wyatt Seungri Baek. He won. (There were only 11 citizens at that time.)

Candidates

 * Wyatt Seungri Baek, for Liberal Union Party, representing Great Gapla City
 * Vera Lily Sy, for Worker's Grand Party, representing Syopolis
 * George Shanghua Yang, for Libertarian Economical Moderate Party, representing Snake

Results
Wyatt Seungri Baek becomes President, Vera Lily Sy becomes Deputy President. For a while, George Shanghua Yang was the Secretary, until Vera Lily Sy and Wyatt Seungri Baek nominated Emma Bunnell instead. After that, the president nominated Irene Kim.

Candidates

 * Wyatt Seungri Baek, for Liberal Union Party, representing Great Gapla City
 * Aditya Karthik Meruga, for Independent, representing Xadia
 * Emma Bunnell, for Conservative Party, representing Emeralkia

Results
Wyatt Seungri Baek becomes President of Gapla, and Chelsea Chen becomes Deputy President. At first, Emma Bunnell was elected, who gave it to Irene Kim, who resigned it to Chelsea Chen.

Candidates

 * Wyatt Seungri Baek, for Great Gapla City
 * Bright Li, for Musicland
 * Eovnia Pual, for Mogollon

Results
Wyatt Seungri Baek becomes President of Gapla, and Chelsea Chen becomes Deputy President. Eovnia Pual becomes Secretary of State, Irene Kim becomes Counciliar Assistant. Kevin Bouge becomes Chief Justice, Emma Bunnell and as his MoFA.

Designs of stamps
Here are the Gapla stamp designs. There are six stamps of varying values used in various occasions.

Stamp uses

 * G$ 1 - Inside a State
 * G$ 2 - Inside a State Union
 * G$ 5 - Inside Gapla
 * G$ 10 - Inside a Micronational Union
 * G$ 20 - International
 * G$ 50 - Used for Special, International Deliveries.

Currency
Gapla's currency used to be the Micro and the Nano, used by the Micronations United for Progress. We are still a member state, but we have established a new system called the Gapla Dollar (G$.) One Gapla Dollar equals five euro cents. We also accept the LIN (League of Independent Nations) Yron, as an unofficial and secondary currency.

Some helpful links on Gapla's currency:

GaplaBank: http://bank.gaplagov.org MUfP Bank: https://sites.google.com/view/bank-of-the-mufp

The bills and coins can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/document/d/14NEttgaGlOUeV7BisxLJlj9cijVoGqElgA77eoQTsR4/edit?usp=sharing.

Economy
Gapla currently does not sell anything through macronational currency, as the Gapla Dollar (G$) is earned through government jobs and spent only in Gapla. In Gapla, Gapla Dollars (G$) is used for a variety of uses as there are a lot of companies inside Gapla, because of the ease of creation of a company, one of the principles of the founding of the micronation.

There is an equivalent rate of the Gapla Dollar to the Euro, at twenty to one.

Gapla passport
The Passport of the Federated States of Gapla is a travel document with a front cover, inside front cover, and back cover. The design is shown below. It is the current passport used for identification when a Gaplan citizen travels.



Military ranks
In the Federated States of Gapla, military ranks are ranks used in the military to measure authority and importance in the Federated States of Gapla Armed Forces.

Military ranks and awards
Here is a table of Military Ranks and Awards in the Federated States of Gapla.

Military uniform example
Here is a table showing the examples of Military Uniforms in Gapla.