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| - Ancient ruins give evidence that aboriginal people (most likely the Mayans) were the first inhabitants of the Tropican islands. The Mayans established an offshore colony on Tropico around 1000 AD, and succeeded in building a small settlement complete with a pyramid temple dedicated to their god Imizu. The colony was short lived and abandoned after a few decades, possibly due to crop failures, and a small population of Arawak and Taino Indians established small settlements some years afterwards. The Island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in March 1493, and the first contact did not go well, ending in intense warfare between the Natives and the Spanish conquistadores in the following years. This resulted in the majority of the Native population getting wiped out by Spanish, and the survivors were turned into slaves to work for the Spaniards, most notably in agriculture. The Natives intermarried with the Spanish colonists, and their descendants are the Mestizo Tropicans who came to predominate the population of the island. The island colony served mainly as a naval base for Spain in the Caribbean over the next 200 years, and was noted for having an extensive agrarian economy. in 1712, the English Buccaneer, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) invaded the Island with a small flotilla of pirate ships, and killed the Spanish governor, Eduardo Valdez. Blackbeard then proclaimed himself to be "Lord Protector" of the island, and began to systematically enslave and terrorize the population in order to help support his pirate activities. Blackbeard used the island as a base from which to commit piracy against Spanish and French merchant ships, with the full patronage of England. Various shipyards and other production and defensive facilities were built to support Blackbeard's pirate fleet. This period was infamous in Tropican history as being one of complete anarchy and terror, with the pirates randomly killing and terrorizing people in order to keep them in submission. Torture and various other atrocities were carried out on the population. Captives were also brought in from other ships and Caribbean settlements as slave labor for the pirates, and any rich nobles who were captured were held for huge ransoms. Some Tropicans managed to we escape the island on makeshift rafts, risking summary execution by the pirates if they were caught. The Spanish finally sailed a large fleet under Admiral Juan Rodriguez to liberate the island from the pirates in 1714. A fierce battle between the Spanish frigates and Blackbeard's pirate fleet erupted just outside the main harbor on May 13th, leading to heavy losses on both sides. The Spanish fleet prevailed over the pirate ships, and the small pirate fortress defending the island was destroyed from Spanish bombardment an hour later. The Spanish the landed troops on the beach shore, and intense fighting between the Spanish and pirate troops ended in a Spanish victory, reclaiming the main port of San Lopez and forcing Blackbeard to flee the island. Most of the colonists captured by the Pirates were returned to their original settlements, and most of the local Tropicans, so traumatized by the horrible events of the previous two years, opted to leave the island for good, mostly to Mexico. Only about a third of the original population stayed, and the small island remained severely underpopulated in the following years. Some Tropicans and their descendants decided to return to the island over the following decades, and colonists started arriving gain from Spain and other Latin American locales in the early 1800's, helping to bolster the population of the floundering island colony. Governor Raymundo Guzman had been tasked in 1875 to establish the basic infrastructure prior to the appointment of Luis Santiago. Shortly after the appointment of the new Governor, the settlement experienced a sudden productive, population, infrastructural and societal boom on the few following years prior to it developing its own national identity. Agricultural, mining, forestry and other basic primary industries were greatly developed and expanded in the following decades, as well as the development of infrastructure, public services, education, industry, religion and culture. The independence of Tropico allowed the Governor Rafael Santiago to become their first President, solidifying the establishment of a dynasty that continues to influence the country to this day. The Spanish-American war had enabled the Island to break ties with Spain, along with Cuba and Puerto Rico. The United States sent in its Marines to free the island from Spanish rule, enabling it to declare independence. Although Tropico had gained its independence from Spain following the Spanish-American War of 1898, with the recognition and support of the United States, Mexico has long claimed the island as part of its territory. This is due in part because the island was part of the Vice Royalty of New Spain from the 1500's to the early 1800's, when Mexico had declared its independence. Although Spain had granted independence to Mexico, and various other Latin American nations, it refused to give up the small island, due in part to the desire of the islanders to not want to fall under the domination of mainland Mexico. Mexico has also claimed the island due to the extensive Mayan ruins found on it, thus having historical ties to the mainland, and the close geographical proximity to the Mayan peninsula, 108 miles due east from the coastline. Tropicans, however, have long felt a nationalist desire to be Tropicanos, not Mexicanos, having a distinct culture and identity. Although Mexico maintains the territorial claim to the island even today, and has often made political overtures to bring the island back into the fold, Tropico fiercely refuses to give up its independence. Between it's independence and the beginning of the 20th century, not much is known about Tropico's progress. The only known advancements are minor infrastructure modernization through limited road paving, and the introduction of cars and trucks by private import. In the early 1900's, President Joaquin Marcos established close ties with the United States. Tropico aided President Woodrow Wilson and the Allies by allowing the establishment of a naval base in Tropico during the First World War (while maintaining some contacts with the Central Powers) and during the Great Depression. A civil war erupted in Tropico in 1937, in which a small Fascist group tried to separate and establish a new regime in Islas Rojas. Inspired by the new Fascist regimes in Europe, the movement threatened to overthrow the semi-democratic regime in Tropico, but was put down by government forces. During World War 2, Tropico remained officially neutral, selling foodstuffs and war materials to both the Axis and Allied countries. While walking a thin line between the two factions, Tropicans were for the most part more inclined towards the Western Allies, believing in the fight against Nazi tyranny. Tropico, however, made a secret deal with the Nazis in 1943. They agreed to take in Nazi refugees should Germany be defeated by the Allies in the war. In return, he Nazis would agree not to continue funding and arming the Fascist movement in the country, and thus launching a proxy invasion by having them overthrow Tropico's government. Tropico, along with many other Latin American countries, finally declared war on Nazi Germany in 1945, at least on paper. Many Nazi refugees and war criminals arrived in the post war years however, causing a diplomatic rift with both the US and the Soviet Union. It is also during this era that the country experienced it's second and definitive growth spurt, in the form of more advanced industrialization, the introduction of electricity, advanced public services and military advancements. At the beginning of the Cold War, Tropico became a strategic nation in the Caribbean zone. It maintained a non-aligned foreign policy, and attempted to maintain good relationships with both the USA and USSR. Both countries sent huge amounts of foreign aid to the country, but Tropico would not allow either nation to develop military bases on its soil. Tropico also established good relationships with European countries, China and the Middle East. These various countries helped to spur even more development in Tropico, due in no small part to their own self interests in the resources of the country. During the 1950s, Tropico became a tourist paradise, starting the development of hotels and other tourist amenities. A new airport was constructed in 1962, and expanded with modern additions in 1983. Today, it is one of the more popular "Spring Break" destinations for college tourists, as well as for eco-tourists. Also during this time the country continues with it's growth in the form of advanced public services, military additions, the growth of entertainment services (mostly due to tourism) and modernized expansion of industry. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and subsequent end of the Cold War, Tropico has developed stronger ties with the US. It supported the War on Terror following the 9/11 attacks.
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