Federation of Umzantshi

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The Federation of Umzantshi is a constituent federation of the Union of Eningui. It is bordered to northwest, north and northeast respectively by the federations of Omdi, Zimbahuru and Mbiki, with maritime borders in the southeast with the Kingdom of Sisifo. Its capital is KwaNdwandwe, formerly Coniston, and its largest city is Sithole, formerly Jonesbury. It is the largest and most populous of the federations, and the legal successor entity to the People's Republic of Umzantshi, which existed from the success of the Umzantshi Revolution in 0019 R.C. until the foundation of the Union in 0023 R.C. In both occasions, the founding Isizweists of revolutionary leader Duduzani Sithole played a fundamental role.

Of all Eninguian federations, Umzantshi is the most industrialized. This, as well as its advantageous existence at the southernmost tip of Zanobia, away from any major rival, has permitted the formidable “Cradle of the Revolution” to be the manufacturing powerhouse of, and a major contributor to the Union - despite the lack of land development in its western territory, INtshonalanga. The most influential ethnic groups of Umzantshi are the Shaka and the Tshawe, whose members have long served as the vanguard of Isizweist orthodoxy. The existence of a “revolutionary elite” has, however, brewed an undercurrent of resentment over time; not only by the marginalized Zanobianers and other whites, but by smaller groups within the black majority.

History
In the years leading up to the revolution, the Republic of Amzance, as Umzantshi was then known, was under the rule of the white, authoritarian National Conservative Party, supported by force of arms through the Amzancian National Armed Forces (ANAF). A regional power, Amzance's commanding presence allowed it to penetrate into affairs of other SZA member territories, and ensure the cross-border domination of South Zanobia's settler governments. The Twilight War caused the situation to deteriorate for the NCP government, as the nation saw an upsurge of anti-colonial, black nationalist, and often armed, resistance; at a time when the SZA's new primary benefactor, the Coalition, showed less willingness to tolerate the racial repression practiced by South Zanobian regimes.

Among the most prominent revolutionaries in the first years of the Rational Calendar was Josua Sithole, leader of UMkhonto weNingi - who claimed to represent the common people of Umzantshi, a name for Amzance coined by black nationalist resistance leaders that had been gaining currency within liberation movements of the time. Envisioning a nationalistic interpretation of Labourism that would uplift the Zanobian worker and undo the yoke of colonial rule, Sithole and his followers had split from the Pan-Zanobian People's Forum following the failure and violent suppression of multiple workers' strikes from the late 970s S.C. into the early 00s R.C. Believing reform to be futile under contemporary circumstances, Sithole espoused revolution as the only way to enact change, and thus outlined a manifesto demanding sabotage, ethnic violence and worker mobilization as the means to topple minority rule. From insignificance, UMkhonto weNingi quickly ballooned to possess a dangerous countercultural appeal to the underprivileged majority, escalating its campaigns of direct action over the course of the 0010s. Increasingly desperate, the National Conservative Party government initiated peace talks with the black resistance, with promises of fair, free, open, and multiracial elections in Amzance in 0020; much to the ire of the ANAF, who had fought the conflict to then sense themselves being excluded from negotiations that were to determine the fate of the nation.

While the transitional period was hopeful, tensions lingered. All came to a head on June 8th of 0018 R.C. in Operation Gemstone, an ANAF coup that removed incumbent president Andreas Müller. With hopes crushed as the state military reinstated hardliners of the ruling party, Amzance was consumed by uprisings. Strengthened by a dissatisfied populace and aid from the newly-founded Union State, UMkhonto weNingi scored one victory after another, until they won the two greatest prizes: the capital city of Coniston, and the great metropolis of Jonesbury. The force of the UMkhonto weNingi's sweep would force the Amzancian government to eventually evacuate to the Territory of South Amzance, based around Amzancian Antipodea. Of the concurrent revolutions in South Zanobia, theirs had been the first to reach ultimate triumph.

In the aftermath of the Umzantshi Revolution, revolutionary fervor swept the new People's Republic of Umzantshi: land redistribution and reform policies were enacted, and a precedent was set in South Zanobia when Josua Sithole publicly started to use Duduzani Sithole, and encouraged citizens of the new state to shed their Eurysian-style names for 'authentic' Zanobian ones, while enforcing the same upon toponyms. At the same time, zealotry drove the followers of Sithole to commence a cultural revolution targeting the cultural and political legacy of the defunct settler-state; a phenomenon little handled by the new government while it was concerned with the officially-sanctioned mass relocations of settler populations to the new autonomous republics of AmaNhlanzingobe and UGugwadle (formerly the Amzancian provinces of Welser and Granite Coast). Millions are said to have perished in this initial Isizweist Terror, with the decentralized nature of this 'cultural revolution' leading not only to outbursts of violence along ethnic lines, but along class lines as well.

The UMkhonto weNingi's authority having gone unrecognized by the Republic of Ludovicia, the policies it enacted were met with hostility, materializing in the form of border incursions against Umzantshi. In the ensuing Ludovician War (0019 R.C.-0022 R.C.), the newly-established armed forces of Umzantshi were cast into the crucible of peer warfare against the highly-trained military forces of the settler republic. Despite Union State advisory, much of Umzantshi's nascent military remained disorganized, still structured along the loose lines of its time as an insurgent force. Casualties were significant for Umzantshi, with the ensuing engagements only narrowly managing to dislodge Ludovician forces from Umzantshi territory. In addition, skirmishes against ANAF remnants on the southern coasts served to distract manpower and resources from the northern front. Much of the conflict thereafter was a stalemate, with Ludovicia continuously managing to deter invasion by a beleaguered Umzantshi. Victory would not come from the battlefield, but from the internal collapse of Ludovicia itself, as the last continental presence of the defunct South Zanobian Association was plunged into brutal internal strife.

The total collapse of all member governments of the SZA on the continent paved the way for a successor body to take shape. At the initiative of the ever-proactive leader Sithole, the Conference of KwaNdwandwe was organized in 0023 R.C., with the participation of all new leaders representing the black majorities throughout South Zanobia. Their signatures established the Union of Eningui, a new Zanobian superstate in the vein of the Union State; for his part, the prestige of Duduzani Sithole shot up to that of a Father of the Union, in his role of the primary figure to have suggested its founding as well as its first UMholi.

In its capacity as the largest and most populous federation of the Union of Eningui, Umzantshi became the proud industrial heart of a unified South Zanobia. However, its immense economic strength has been coupled with rapid population growth, which has left the Federation numerous problems with urban overpopulation, crime, and poverty. Among the Federation's attempts to alleviate these issues are aggressive initiatives to resettle people to the relatively unpopulated west, the territory of INtshonalanga; a measure that doubles as a push to exploit the mineral resources of the region. The continued existence of a “Republic of Amzance” to the south, meanwhile, poses a dilemma for the legitimacy of the Union as a whole, and the Federation of Umzantshi in particular.