About The Great Archipelago of Philipdomia
(Excerpt from Book 1)
The Great Arhipelago of Philipdomia is a mythical democratic country in the North Pacific Ocean, between Guam and Hawaii. The archipelago is made up of four major islands known as Eser, Mindo, Palulu, and Sador. Several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts also compose the country, which all contribute to its world famous beauty and richness. Its capital city is Orlando while its most populous city is Isset, both situated at Sador, the largest major island followed by Eser, Mindo, and Palulu.
The Great Archipelago of Philipdomia’s tropical splendor includes colorful plant life, beautiful beaches and waterfalls, and extinct volcanoes. The cool Pacific winds keep the archipelago pleasantly mild all year around, making the country a perfect tourist destination and the ultimate surfing spot.
For more than three centuries, Philipdomia had been controlled by Spain when King Charles I sent explorers to sail the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal under the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529.
Resembling the Philippines, Ruy López de Villalobos gave Philipdomia its name, after calling the four islands Novas Islas Filipinas (while Las Islas Filipinas was used for the Philippines) in honor of the Infante of Asturias at the time, Philip II of Spain. The country ultimately turned Philipdomia after adjoining Domia, the name of the native chief who killed the earliest set of Spanish invaders.
It has been said, although no historical record as to its veracity exists, that the country is originally discovered in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer under the sovereignty of Spain in search of a westward route to Moluccas or the “Spice Islands,” before he reached the Philippines and was killed in the Battle of Mactan.
The islands, primarily Sador, were important stopovers for the Spanish Manila Galleons that crossed the Pacific until the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish access to Mexican ports. No records in the archives, however, confirm this. Akin to Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad in Umatac, Guam, the Spaniards built a number of garrisons such as Fort Aquilina to guard these Pacific fleets. These forts are still standing today and considered to be Philipdomia’s one of the main tourist attractions.
The archipelago was an exile-site for the revolutionists under the Spanish Crown in the Philippines, including Cuban revolutionists during Little War from 1879 to 1880. Filipino deportation here was extended until 1901 following the Philippine-American War. But unknown to the world, it was also here where some Puerto Ricans who protested against the American territorial acquisition of Puerto Rico were deported.
The year 1898 marks as the end of the lengthy and vicious Spanish rule in Philipdomia, when it was surrendered to the United States of America during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris. But during World War II, it was captured by the Japanese, just the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing, the archipelago was subject to fierce fighting with the help of the American troops.
Identical to the Philippines, the country was offered by the United States of America to be one of its states but Sebastian Ignacio, then the country’s leader, declined.
Today, the Great Archipelago of Philipdomia is one of the first-world and English-speaking countries in the Pacific Ocean that is not under the US territory, having oil industry and glorious tourism as its major sources of income.