Spain
From Gothpoodle
- Population: 22 million
- Aspects: Fifth Wave
The Kingdom of Spain has enjoyed external peace for over a century, but internal peace has been harder to come by. The worst disturbances have usually come from the small Basque minority, which has frequently engaged in violent resistance against the central government.
The worst incident of the unrest came in 2042, when Basque terrorists released a “war plague” across northern Spain. The terrorist strategy apparently aimed at paralyzing Spanish security forces, allowing the Basques to declare their independence. The bioweapon proved to be more virulent and contagious than planned. Civilian casualties were high, and the plague quickly spread outside Spain to kill thousands elsewhere. The Spanish military immediately began a concerted campaign to wipe out Basque terrorism, with the support of the world community. The “Basque War” which followed was marked by atrocities on both sides, and ended with the forcible disarmament of the Basque minority. Some regions in northern Spain are still effectively occupied by the Spanish army.
Like Italy and many of the nations of eastern Europe, Spain has suffered significant population loss in the course of the 21st century. Since the 2030s, Spain has deliberately encouraged replacement migration with an unusually open immigration policy. Several million of today’s Spaniards are first- or second-generation citizens, having immigrated from Africa, the Middle East or (ironically) Latin America. As a result of this immigration, Spain has avoided the tension between Church and state which reached crisis levels in Italy. Meanwhile, Spanish industrialists have invested heavily in robotic technology and artificial intelligence. Today the country produces some of the most sophisticated cybershells and infomorphs in Europe.
See also Catalonia.
