Volta (600 Kilometres)

Republic of the Volta
*République de la Volta* (French)
Republic of the Volta République de la Volta (French)
	Motto: Unity and Justice; Unité et justice (French)
	Anthem: Une Seule Nuit / Ditanyè (French); One Single Night / Hymn of Victory;
Capital; (and largest city)	Accra; 5°33′N 0°12′W
Official languages	French; English
Recognised; national languages	23 languages ; Astante Twi; Akuapem Twi; Bono; Dagaare; Dagbani; Dangme; Dioula; Ewe; Fante; Fon; Frafra; Fula-Ga; Gonja; Hausa; Kabiye; Kasem; Moore; Nzema; Talensi; Voltan Sign Language; Wasa; Yoruba
Ethnic groups (2016)	36.9% Various; 20.0% Akan; 16.0% Mossi; 13.8% Ewe; 7.0% Mole-Dagbon; 6.3% Fon
Demonym	Voltan
Membership	African Union
Government	Unitary presidential republic
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment	Independence
Area
Population
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
Currency	Voltan Dollar ($); (VD)
Time zone	GMT
Drives on the	right
Internet TLD	.vt
Calling code	+227

Volta, officially the Republic of Volta (French: République de la Volta), is a country in Sub-Saharan West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. Volta is bordered by Azawad, Nigeria, Yorubaland, Ivory Coast, and Mali.

Volta was colonised by three separate European empires. Originally created as two independent states, Ghana and Burkina Faso united in 1990.

Volta is an extremely diverse nation with no one ethnic group holding a majority.

History

Volta was first settled by Europeans in 1482 by the Portuguese, then known as "Portuguese Gold Coast", which was taken by the Dutch in 1598.

OTL PoD

Following the Dutch defeat in the Dutch-Portuguese War in 1661, the Netherlands struggled to become a colonial power like France and England. During the War of Devolution, Louis XIV invaded the Netherlands which was previously neutral. The Netherlands sold colonies to England for assistance in the war against France, including the Dutch Gold Coast. The British Gold Coast saw an accelerated territorial growth during the "Scramble for Africa" late 1800s. Following the unification of France and Britain in 1941, and World War II in 1943, the Franglican Gold Coast saw envelopment into Franglican West Africa.

West Africa in 1967 after decolonisation. (Upper Volta and Ghana highlighted)

In 1967, Franglican West Africa was divided up, giving the new nation of Ghana had nearly twice as much land as the British Gold Coast that came before. Upper Volta was also carved out from Franglican West Africa.

Following President Sankara's rise to power in 1983 and the renaming of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, relations between Ghana and Burkina Faso grew. In 1990 the two nations united under one flag and one name. President Sankara modified the anthem he made for Burkina Faso as well as learning English so he could talk directly to his new citizens in the south of the country. Before uniting, Sankara also established good relations with Mali.

Ivorian President Houphouët-Boigny condemned the union, leading to the West African War in November that year. Mali, Guinea, and Yorubaland all joined Volta, while Azawad joined Ivory Coast. The war constantly spilled into Nigeria, eventually forcing them into the war in 1993 on Volta's side. The conflict ended in 1994 when the Maghreb Union met to discuss intervening in the war, which put Morocco, Mauritania, and Algerian forces on Volta's front lines. The Treaty of Cotonou was signed. Despite winning near the end of the war, President Sankara pushed for minimal reparations to be paid by the Ivory Coast.

Modern history

Volta's ideas of unity have spread into neighbouring Yorubaland, causing a growing desire for unification between the two nations. The majority of campaigns for Volta's Vice Presidents have been centred around Yorubian relations.

Volta was also involved in the Ivorian Civil War, on the side of the Ivorian New Forces. Volta supplied resources and volunteers that were considered "vital to the war". The conflict ended in 2005 with President Gbagbo captured.

Geography

States

Volta consists of seven regions. After the unification in 1990, Volta's internal borders were realigned away from colonial borders in an attempt to prevent borders from splitting the ethnic groups that inhabit the region.

States	Capital
Central-West	Tamale
Northwest	Bobo-Dioulasso
Central-North	Ouagadougou
Northeast	Niamey
Central-East	Djougou
Southeast	Cotonou
Southwest	Accra

Politics

Foreign relations

Africa and the Middle East

Country	Relations	Notes
Algeria	Positive	Algeria assisted Volta in the West African War.
Arabia	Neutral
Azawad	Hostile	Azawad and Volta fought against each other in the West African War. Azawad also funds the separatist Tuareg groups in Northeast Region.
Biafra	Negative	Many English speaking Biafrans immigrate to Volta every year taking advantage of Volta's border control ability and comparatively higher wealth.
Cape Verde	Neutral
Central African Republic	Neutral
Chad	Neutral
Comoros	Neutral
Congo	Neutral
Egypt	Neutral
Equatorial Guinea	Neutral
Eritrea	Neutral
Ethiopia	Neutral
Gabon	Neutral
Guinea	Positive	Guinea and Volta fought together in the West African War.
Guinea-Bissau	Positive	Guinea-Bissau is an ally of Guinea.
Ivory Coast	Positive	The current regime in Ivory Coast was placed in power by Volta.
Katanga	Neutral
Kenya	Neutral
Kurdistan	Neutral
Libya	Negative	Libya opposed Maghrebi intervention in the West African War and supplied no troops, as well as currently doing nothing to combat Tuareg expansion in the south of their country.
Madagascar	Neutral
Mali	Very Positive	Mali and Volta fought together in the West African War. Mali is also hostile to Azawad.
Mauritania	Positive	Mauritania assisted Volta in the West African War.
Mauritius	Neutral
Mesopotamia	Neutral
Morocco	Positive	Morocco assisted Volta in the West African War.
Nigeria	Positive	Nigeria and Volta fought together in the West African War.
North Sudan	Neutral
Oman	Neutral
São Tomé and Príncipe	Neutral
Seychelles	Neutral
Somalia	Neutral
South Africa	Neutral
Sudan	Neutral
Tanzania	Neutral
Turkey	Neutral
United Arab Emirates	Neutral
West Sahara	Positive	West Sahara is a member of the Maghreb Union which assisted Volta in the West African War.
Yemen	Neutral
Yorubaland	Very Positive	Yorubaland has been influenced by Volta's position on Unity, and the two nations have began cooperating on many areas.
Zambezia	Neutral

Other

Franglia:
Volta and Franglia have positive relations as both are part of the Commonwealth of Nations.