The First Kingdom of Rakeo was established in 656 as an extension of a system of government originally designed to protect farming settlements across the island, upending the status quo of city-states dominating the countryside. While challenges emerged over the centuries, the kingdom remained intact until a plague on crops spread across the island. Forests reclaimed unmaintained fields, and famines took their toll as well. This dark age lasted for the next centuries. At the beginning of the 16th century, the great city-state of the west, Olino, sought protection against the "destiny of conquest" put forth by their western neighbor. In doing so, Moreno I would unite Olino with Paragon and Jinosia in a military alliance that became the rebirth of a united Rakeoian monarchy. In 1838, the Invasion of Rakeo by Creeperopolis dismantled the First Republic and established the Captaincy General of Rakeo. Following the First independence referendum, a colonial republic was allowed to administer the island, and with the Second independence referendum, the Second Republic of Rakeo fully restored the nation's autonomy. In 1950, the Rakeoian Civil War broke out following a widespread mutiny in Olino, and the murder of multiple agents of the Republican government. After five years of bloody fighting, the Stratocratic Republic of Rakeo was solidified as the island's government.
The Rakeoian economy used to be heavily based on agricultural and textile exports, but under the isolationist policies of the government during 1955-1980, exports fell and the economy contracted to its modern value of ℝ34.1 trillion. (The Rakeoian Ralgi has hyperinflated to over 113 times as much as the Quebecshirite Credit, the base currency of Terraconserva. As such, the figure of ℝ34.1 trillion is equivalent to ₡0.3 trillion Credits.) The country continues to struggle with historically poor foreign relations, a drug epidemic, a weak economy, and country-wide poverty. The official currency of Rakeo is the Rakeoian Ralgi and it has been since the end of the Second Republic. Rakeo has been commonly called "a dictatorship in everything but name".
