Messance

Overview

Messance is a Romance language spoken throughout "l'Ampier Massey", whose capital's dialect, "Le dialeit da Massey (Marseille)", is the basis of standard Messance. The Massalian empire is populated by a supernatural subspecies of human, the Massalians, who have tiger-like tails, live twice as long as normal humans, and can shapeshift to some extent (only capable of altering appearances and apparent age up to five years from biological age. Cannot change sex or into animals, etc.).

History

Originating from the areas surrounding Latium, which would become the Roman Republic, and ultimately the Roman Empire. Upon every expansion, the Romans pushed the Massalians further into the marches of the barbarians. However, they refused to adopt "barbaric" languages, opting instead for the language of their oppressors: Vulgar Latin.

The expansion continued, but the continued repulsion of the Massel into further lands stopped at Massalia (Massey/Marseille). There, they revolted, losing half of their entire population, and sustained more casualties as the Roman Empire began its several attempts to reclaim Massalia and its surrounding countryside.

The Roman Empire finally sacked Massalia in 451 AD. Rome fell to Germanic invaders in 476, releasing them from 25 years of Roman rule, self-sustaining until 574 AD, when the fledgeling "Galician" navy accidentally invaded Massalia. They conquered the people, and renamed the city-state as "Massaia", introducing "Galician" influence. Galician traders and soldiers remained in the area well into the 8th century, when the King of the Franks, Charlemagne's predecessor, invaded and conquered Massaia in 758 AD.

An Iberian coalition of sorts conquered the area in 831 AD, tensions within leading to the fragmentation and subsequent warring over the area between the conquering powers (Castile, Asturias, Catalonia, Galicia, and Leon). The tumult lead to an overwhelming influx of influence from these emergent languages, most notably Castilian and Galician.

The Kingdom of France, needing a port into the Mediterranean, conquered the area in 1087, once again placing the reins into Frankish (now French) hands.

The Spanish, looking to provoke the French, attacked and took the area in 1211. Five years later, the French army routed the Spanish, destroying their ground forces, but faced withering fire from the Spanish Armada.

During the Second World War, the French government promised Massalian independence in exchange for unbridled support for the French military. However, with the destruction of the French military during the Blitzkrieg, the French pleaded with the only unconquered portion of France for support. They were given immediate independence for the sanction and full support of all Free French resistance elements throughout the war.

The following decade after the war saw much tension as the French made motions to repossess the fifth most important port in Europe, culminating in a disastrous airborne operation at Marseille in 1956, with the French elements being captured almost after landing. 56 French paratroopers were killed, 238 were wounded. Only one Massalian police officer was killed, with 76 civilians being sent to the hospital.

Tensions between former Catalonia (included in the state of Massey) and Marseille are high, threatening to split the country in two at the Pyrénées.

Area of Influence

Contiguous Massey

The current area of Contiguous Massey (detailed in red) includes:

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (contains capital Marseille/Massey)

Languedoc-Roussillon

The Prefecture of Catalonia (semi-autonomous, directly administered by Marseille) (contains capital of European/Mediterranean Posessions Barcelona )

Overseas Possessions

American possessions

(detailed in purple)

The City-State of New York (abbreviated as "NYCS") (comprised of the Tri-State Area) (capital of American Possessions)

The Philadelphia Prefecture (semi-autonomous, possessed by NYCS; comprised of the Delaware Valley)

The Baltimore Prefecture (semi-autonomous, possessed by NYCS; comprised of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area)

The Columbian District (semi-autonomous, possessed by NYCS; Comprised ONLY of the area SURROUNDING Washington D.C. proper)

Panama

The Brazilian Zone (São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro)

European/Mediterranean possessions

(detailed in yellow)

The State of Gibraltar

Cyprus and North Cyprus

The City-State of Istanbul

Tunisia

The Algerian Zone (Algiers-Constantine)

The Nile Province (includes all of the Nile Metropolitan Area)

=Special Zones

The London Zone (Greater London Urban Area, omitting London itself; directly administered by Massey)

Special Jewish Zone of Tel Aviv

Special Jewish Zone of Jerusalem

(these zones are jointly administered by both Massey and Israel. Used as an alternative habitat for Massalian Jews.)

African Possessions

(detailed in black)

Western Sahara

Canary Islands

Cape Verde

Equatorial Guinea

The West African Zone (Dakar-Monrovia)

The Nigerian Zone (Accra-Ogbornoso)

The City-State of Cape Town

The City-State of Mombasa

The City-State of Djibouti

Possessions in the Indian Ocean

(detailed in teal blue)

Northern Sri Lankan Province

Puducherry-Tamil Nadu

The City-State of Dhaka

Singapore

The City-State of Jakarta

In total, the Massalian Empire contains approximately 336,726,000 people