In Search of Better Things - Worldbuilding Thread

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'In search of better things,
Over the Ocean we sailed,
In search of the light bright,
We built our new homes.'

From the shores of great lakes,
To the shores of east and west,
From the frost of the north,
To the scorch of the south.

A corporation united under the sun,
The land of the bright and the free,
Let no man nor force try to take,
The land of the bright and the free.

Shone over by the light of freedom,
Shone over by the light of reason,
Shone over by the light of prosperity,
Shone over by the light of opportunity.'


--
approximate translation of the anthem of the Union of Bright Corporations of Hesperia
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Since I have some time, I am reviving an old idea of mine which would be too difficult to realize as a conventional timeline project and I was forced to abandon it.

I hope to fill it up bit by bit through maps and select articles as I teach myself graphic editing.
 
Continents
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The seven continents of Earth, as per standard projection used on Alexandria

The term continent originates from ancient Greeks which distinguished between lands of Europe and Asia on the either said of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. The third continent was Afrika (originally Libya) which did not include the ancient civilization of Egypt (lumping it with Asia). The three names would soon identify three major landmasses and the concept was carried over to the Roman culture and thus Europan. During the Still Ages, the concept evolved into the T and O maps with T being the waters (Mediterranean, Nile and Tanais rivers) dividing the Earth.

Europa - the name Europa comes from the Greek Εὐρώπη and Latin Europa. In Greek mythology Europa was the beautiful daughter of a Phoenikian king which was seduced by Zeus in a form of a white bull, later giving birth to three sons, Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.

Afrika - the name Afrika comes from the Roman Africa Terra, a name which may have been derived from a number of origins including Phoenikan afar (dust), Greek ἀφρίκη (without cold) or Latin aprica (sunny). The name was originally used only for a part of Libya, but grew to encompass the entire continent with Roman conquests and later geographic discoveries.

Asia - the name Asia originated from the ancient name for the peninsula opposite present-day Hellade. Originally just a name for the east bank of the Aegean Sea, it grew to encompass anything east and constitutes the largest continent. The most likely origin is from the ancient confederation of cities Assuva conquered by Hitites.

Hesperia - the name Hesperia was given to the new continent per the Greek mythological land at the edge of the ocean, where Hesperides tend a blissful garden over the world ocean. This was originally one of the proposed names for the new continent, including Occidentalia, Atlantis, Transatlantia and Georgia. Eventually, as the Conflicts of Heritage crystalized, the Hellenic camp cosmographers 1 used the name Hesperia, while the Latin cosmographers used the name Occidentalia. In the second century BNE, 2 the Universal Ecumenographia united the two dueling traditions into a single solution.

Occidentalia - the name Occidentalia was given to the new continent discovered by the Portucalese according to the latin word for the west (occidentem, western sky). The name expanded to Occidentalia Borealis (Hesperia) and Occidentalia Australis (Occidentalia) with papal support but was not used in countries following the Hellenic camp of thought. The name was later widely adopted as a standard for the continent south of Hesperia with the advent of the Universal Ecumenographia in second century BNE.

Antipodia - the name Antipodia comes from the Greek ἀντίποδες (opposite). The continent originally had many different names due to near-simultaneous discovery by three different explorers who failed to recognize it as one large continent, mistaking it for one of many Oriental islands. The name became standard once Theodore Stathadler of Cambridge published his book on the "final discovery of the balancing continent."

Contrarsus - the name Contrarsus is derived from Latin camp terminology for land opposite north (contra - opposite, ursus - bear, abandoned name for Ultima Thule). For a long time it was unclear if there is a seventh continent, owing to the confusion over Ultima Thule and many frozen islands, as well as not fitting in previously widely accepted concept of three continents of the old and three continents of the new. Contrarsus remained mostly unexplored until the first century BNE.
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1 Cosmography is ATL equivalent of geography, although the area identified with OTL geography later subdivides into ecumenography.
2 BNE=Before New Era.
 
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The Six Great Lakes of Hesperia
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The six great lakes of Hesperia have unprecedented historical and cultural significance for the history of Hesperia. The first name for independent Hesperia was the United Bright Corporations of the Six Lakes and the number of lakes, six, was preserved in all future symbols including the six stars on the contemporary flag (six cogs during the demokratic era) and prominent use of blue in all flags.

The first lake discovered was the Mega (Great Lake). Named so during the early phase of exploration when all toponyms were borrowed from ancient Greeks, it is the only one that still bears a Hellenic name. It was the most important lake in early history of Hesperia, connected to the Atlantic okean through the Tartar river. The capital of UBCH, Headway City, is situated on its shores, near the famous Prosperity Falls. 1

South of Mega lake is the Hodinoson Lake, named after the extinct Hodinoson people that lived in that area. It was the third lake to be explored due to hostility between the settlers and the peoples of Hodinoson.

North-west of Mega Lake is Bear Lake, the second lake to be discovered, named so after the Bear people (Atignawontnans) 3 that lived near it. It forms a common hydrosystem with the lake to the south, Majigan.

Majigan lake comes from extinct Tchipevan 4 people that may have meant a large body of water or great beach. It is the lake most affected by the Calamity and its current ecology is maintained only by artificial means.

Majigan lake is connected to the west with the Inoka Lake which has in early cosmography been confused with the Majigan lake. The meaning of the word Inoka is unknown, but it was used to designate the now extinct Inoka people 5 that lived south of the lake.

The sixth lake is Terminal lake, named so as to mark it as the final. Terminal lake is the largest fresh water lake and the last one explored. The extinct Otchybe population called it Kitchikami, 6 "The sea" and early on it was known as the Greater Lake, but the name fell out of use due to the possible confusion with the Mega Lake.
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1 OTL Niagara falls
2 A mangling of the Iroquis autonym, Haudenosaunee
3 A mangling of one of the Wendat autonyms, Attignawantnas, People of the bear. Also mistaken for wearing bear pelts.
4 A mangling of the Chippwewa (Ojibwe) autonym.
5 Autonym of the Illinois.
6 A mangling of the Chippwewa (Ojibwe) autonym and the gitchi-gami name for lake Superior.
 
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