Palombia
Encyclopedia
Palombia is a fictitious
South America
n country from the Belgian
Spirou et Fantasio
and Marsupilami
comic book
stories. The name is a portmanteau of Paraguay
and Colombia
. In French, Palombie is especially a word game between Colombie
, Colombe
and Palombe.
in the west and by Amazon Rainforest
in the south, an area that, judging from the description, actually lies within Venezuela
. Its area covers only 42,042 square kilometers, which makes it the smallest country in the continent. Catholic Christianity
is officially the dominant religion. Its official language
is Spanish
, and the official currency the palombo. The capital is Chiquito, although the name of the city has changed several times, due to the frequent change of regime. The flag of the Republic of Palombia is made up of three vertical strips, yellow, blue and red, from left to right. Under Baby Prinz's regime, a Marsupilami had been added on the central strip.
The official name (in English, United States of Palombia) is a misnomer at best. The Population of the capital Chiquito (Small in Spanish) is 123,765. According to the latest census
(from the year 1959), the whole population is 227,895 Palombians. However, the survey mainly disregarded the indigenous tribes in the jungle, including the dominant Atzhiuh tribe.
. Both Portuguese and Spanish colonial
efforts in Palombia failed mainly due to a lack of any readily exploitable resources. Chiquito was founded by Spanish-speaking settler
s at the end of the 19th century, at the edge of the rain-forest.
Palombia declared independence in 1923. After that, the history has followed an all too familiar South American path with numerous revolution
s, coups and border conflicts. Modernization attempts to create parliamentarian democracy in the 1960s mainly served to increase Palombian foreign debt. Attempts ended with the military coup of Papa Prinz in 1964, and his son later followed him as a military ruler. In the 1970s, Belgian-born Zantafio
, alias Zantas, after Papa Prinz was assassinated, briefly took over as a military dictator until he was forced to abdicate. Afterwards mad scientist
Zorglub
built his secret base in the jungle until he also was forced to abandon his plans. Baby Prinz, Papa Prinz's son took over after Zantafio until he was deposed in 1990 by Achilio Zavatas, former Propaganda Minister and owner of a company selling soaps, and the only candidate at the 1990 elections.
, Venezuela
. Attempts to create a road network have regularly come to grief because the jungle tends to take back the area very quickly: a road (Nationale Sete) once linking Chiquito to the North was overwhelmed by jungle, and later, a project of a Transpalombia road launched by a multinational company also failed. Rapids and falls in the waterways make it impossible to use anything more sophisticated than a small steamship or a canoe
.
Despite numerous attempts to the contrary, Palombian economy
is next to nonexistent. In the 1930s Henry Ford
attempted to industrialize the jungle, establishing factories close to his plantations to be easily provided with rubber. Deep and stubborn jungle has made mineral surveys and other resource exploitation too costly. Even the large Palombian range of exotic fruit is too perishable for export.
However, in the late 1960s, the economy was largely modernized and the country benefited from tourism. Palombian Airways was renamed Palombian World Airways and proposed direct flight between Europe and Chiquito. There were also a boom of the banking system. At this time, the economy also went through crisis, above all the soap crisis, caused by the marketing methods of the two companies Zugol and Z Bul.
in the south of the country. It has numerous deep lakes. The Palombian part of the Andes is composed of mountains and (usually) dormant volcanoes. The rainforest spread from the capital to the volcano El sombrero, situated partly in the bordering state of Guaracha, and can be crossed in 20 days walk. The rainforest is irrigated by Amazon's tributaries, such as Rio Soupopoaro and Rio Soupalagrimaz, the latter being threatened by pollution.
Fauna is the same as the Amazonian forest: jaguar, perrots, aras, piranhas. But the main scientific interest in the Palombian rain forest is the long-tailed creature Marsupilami
. Other strange inhabitants of the forest or rivers are pink dolphins (threatened by pollution), crog-frog (an extremely dangerous animal living on the edge of the Rio Soupopoaro river), the flash (a nocturnal insect which hypnotize other animals), carnivorous ants, glyphodons (prehistorical animals), tignass (bird close to the colibri, it has big ears that allow it to have an extraordinary hearing, it often screams "Titititignass"). The imalipusram has a long tail and the same fur as the Marsupilami, and can also shape his tail. However, it is a small and weak animal. In case of danger, the tail can blow up and takes the appearance of a marsupilami, which scares enemies.
Palombia has an equatorial climate with added influence of the rain forest. Heavy afternoon rains are regular. The main seasonal difference is less rain from July to September. Weather is warm throughough the year, but nights are much colder than days. Violent showers can occur in the afternoon. Stifling humidity makes the forest unappropriate for human life. While snow is very rare, it has occurred once in the History of Palombia. The savanna of Palombia, in the South of the country, is more dry and consist of grand plains without vegetation, except the presence of comtil, a cactus once worshiped as a god by Zigomaztecs. This plant blooms every fifteen years, and its flowers spread a strong scent and smoke.
Banking and money are typical activities in Palombia. The country is also specialized in the production of soap and toothpaste, with the presence of the two giants Zugol and Z Bul. Tourism-related activities contribute to make Palombia culture known. Some souvenirs can be bought there by tourists, such as Marsupilamis' hair, often forged one.
Palombia is well-known for its unique fauna and vegetation which attract a lot of scientists and collectors, but also hunters seeking for glory and unusual trophies. European researchers are notably interested in the Marsupilami. The presence of gold in the forest, notably in the Rio Soupalagrimaz, attract many gold-diggers.
Fictional country
A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof....
South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country from the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio
Spirou et Fantasio is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comic strips. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adventure comics like Tintin and Asterix...
and Marsupilami
Marsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
stories. The name is a portmanteau of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. In French, Palombie is especially a word game between Colombie
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Colombe
Diamond Dove
The Diamond Dove is a bird resident in Australia.The dove predominantly exists in areas near water but which are lightly arid or semi-arid in nature, being Central, West and Northern Australia. They are one of Australia's smallest pigeons along with the Peaceful Dove...
and Palombe.
Overview
Palombia (officially, Estados Unidos de Palombia) is a small country in South America. It is bordered by the Orinoco river in the north, by the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
in the west and by Amazon Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
in the south, an area that, judging from the description, actually lies within Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Its area covers only 42,042 square kilometers, which makes it the smallest country in the continent. Catholic Christianity
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
is officially the dominant religion. Its official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
is Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and the official currency the palombo. The capital is Chiquito, although the name of the city has changed several times, due to the frequent change of regime. The flag of the Republic of Palombia is made up of three vertical strips, yellow, blue and red, from left to right. Under Baby Prinz's regime, a Marsupilami had been added on the central strip.
The official name (in English, United States of Palombia) is a misnomer at best. The Population of the capital Chiquito (Small in Spanish) is 123,765. According to the latest census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
(from the year 1959), the whole population is 227,895 Palombians. However, the survey mainly disregarded the indigenous tribes in the jungle, including the dominant Atzhiuh tribe.
History
The first known human inhabitants were of an Amerindian tribe that is currently called sigomaztecs (mainly because remains of their architecture bear certain resemblance to that of Aztecs). According to local native traditions, the sigomaztecs worshipped a god called Marzupitcoatl whose statues have a distinct resemblance to the most prominent member of Palombian fauna, MarsupilamiMarsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...
. Both Portuguese and Spanish colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
efforts in Palombia failed mainly due to a lack of any readily exploitable resources. Chiquito was founded by Spanish-speaking settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s at the end of the 19th century, at the edge of the rain-forest.
Palombia declared independence in 1923. After that, the history has followed an all too familiar South American path with numerous revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
s, coups and border conflicts. Modernization attempts to create parliamentarian democracy in the 1960s mainly served to increase Palombian foreign debt. Attempts ended with the military coup of Papa Prinz in 1964, and his son later followed him as a military ruler. In the 1970s, Belgian-born Zantafio
Zantafio
Zantafio is a recurring fictional antagonist in the Spirou et Fantasio comic book series. He was created by André Franquin and first appeared in Spirou et les héritiers . Zantafio bears a strong resemblance to Fantasio, because they are cousins...
, alias Zantas, after Papa Prinz was assassinated, briefly took over as a military dictator until he was forced to abdicate. Afterwards mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Zorglub
Zorglub
Zorglub is a fictional character in the Belgian comic strip Spirou et Fantasio, created by Greg and André Franquin, and first appeared in the serialised story Z comme Zorglub in Spirou in 1959, later published in the diptych albums "Z comme Zorglub" and "L'ombre du Z"...
built his secret base in the jungle until he also was forced to abandon his plans. Baby Prinz, Papa Prinz's son took over after Zantafio until he was deposed in 1990 by Achilio Zavatas, former Propaganda Minister and owner of a company selling soaps, and the only candidate at the 1990 elections.
Economy
Palombia is enclosed by mountains and rainforest, so that communication with neighbouring countries and within the territory is difficult. Palombian World Airways has a regular weekly flight to Chiquito from CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Attempts to create a road network have regularly come to grief because the jungle tends to take back the area very quickly: a road (Nationale Sete) once linking Chiquito to the North was overwhelmed by jungle, and later, a project of a Transpalombia road launched by a multinational company also failed. Rapids and falls in the waterways make it impossible to use anything more sophisticated than a small steamship or a canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
.
Despite numerous attempts to the contrary, Palombian economy
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
is next to nonexistent. In the 1930s Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
attempted to industrialize the jungle, establishing factories close to his plantations to be easily provided with rubber. Deep and stubborn jungle has made mineral surveys and other resource exploitation too costly. Even the large Palombian range of exotic fruit is too perishable for export.
However, in the late 1960s, the economy was largely modernized and the country benefited from tourism. Palombian Airways was renamed Palombian World Airways and proposed direct flight between Europe and Chiquito. There were also a boom of the banking system. At this time, the economy also went through crisis, above all the soap crisis, caused by the marketing methods of the two companies Zugol and Z Bul.
Geography
Most of the geography of Palombia is composed of rain forest that will slowly become savannaSavanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
in the south of the country. It has numerous deep lakes. The Palombian part of the Andes is composed of mountains and (usually) dormant volcanoes. The rainforest spread from the capital to the volcano El sombrero, situated partly in the bordering state of Guaracha, and can be crossed in 20 days walk. The rainforest is irrigated by Amazon's tributaries, such as Rio Soupopoaro and Rio Soupalagrimaz, the latter being threatened by pollution.
Fauna is the same as the Amazonian forest: jaguar, perrots, aras, piranhas. But the main scientific interest in the Palombian rain forest is the long-tailed creature Marsupilami
Marsupilami
Marsupilami is a fictional comic book species created by André Franquin, first published on 31 January 1952 in the magazine Spirou. Since then it appeared regularly in the popular Belgian comic book series Spirou et Fantasio until Franquin stopped working on the series in 1968 and the character...
. Other strange inhabitants of the forest or rivers are pink dolphins (threatened by pollution), crog-frog (an extremely dangerous animal living on the edge of the Rio Soupopoaro river), the flash (a nocturnal insect which hypnotize other animals), carnivorous ants, glyphodons (prehistorical animals), tignass (bird close to the colibri, it has big ears that allow it to have an extraordinary hearing, it often screams "Titititignass"). The imalipusram has a long tail and the same fur as the Marsupilami, and can also shape his tail. However, it is a small and weak animal. In case of danger, the tail can blow up and takes the appearance of a marsupilami, which scares enemies.
Palombia has an equatorial climate with added influence of the rain forest. Heavy afternoon rains are regular. The main seasonal difference is less rain from July to September. Weather is warm throughough the year, but nights are much colder than days. Violent showers can occur in the afternoon. Stifling humidity makes the forest unappropriate for human life. While snow is very rare, it has occurred once in the History of Palombia. The savanna of Palombia, in the South of the country, is more dry and consist of grand plains without vegetation, except the presence of comtil, a cactus once worshiped as a god by Zigomaztecs. This plant blooms every fifteen years, and its flowers spread a strong scent and smoke.
Culture
While situated in South America, Palombia is culturally close to Central America: tortillas and tamales are typical foods, and tequila the most common drink, above all of the Coyotl brand. Beer became also popular, with the opening of the country, the most common brand being Colibri.Banking and money are typical activities in Palombia. The country is also specialized in the production of soap and toothpaste, with the presence of the two giants Zugol and Z Bul. Tourism-related activities contribute to make Palombia culture known. Some souvenirs can be bought there by tourists, such as Marsupilamis' hair, often forged one.
Palombia is well-known for its unique fauna and vegetation which attract a lot of scientists and collectors, but also hunters seeking for glory and unusual trophies. European researchers are notably interested in the Marsupilami. The presence of gold in the forest, notably in the Rio Soupalagrimaz, attract many gold-diggers.
Sources
- http://www.marsupilami.com/site/fr/index.php?pg=abc
- http://g.courtial.free.fr/airpalombia/index.htm