American Gate

Chapter 0: Prologue

World Building

In 2028, escalating political, cultural, and ethnic tensions caused by centuries of European colonialism and exploitation culminated in a series of major skirmishes between rival African warlords, provoking a military response. The war began as a small conflict over rampant warlords, but quickly escalated. Alliances were made and broken, civilians got caught in the crossfire, and other countries got dragged into the conflict until nearly the entire continent was involved to some degree. Major world powers saw it as an opportunity to test their new weapons and began supporting various factions. The UN attempted to stabilize the region, but with increasing arms shipments from major world powers, the violence spread and intensified.

In 2032, one of the warring factions orchestrated a terrorist attack on the United States in retaliation for supporting a rival warlord. They bombed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, officially drawing the United States into the war. Opposing world governments also increased their involvement in response. The war quickly escalated into the largest conflict the world had seen since World War Two. Most of the fighting was limited to Africa, however; no major power wanted to attempt a full scale invasion of another for fear of nuclear retaliation. Although devastating, the African Wars luckily remained a non-nuclear conflict.

As the war raged on, the people of Africa became sick of living in constant fear and violence. In 2039, a tentative truce was signed. In the months following the war, European drawn borders were abolished and redrawn according to historical, cultural, ethnic and political precedent. In order to usher in a new era of peace, the newly formed countries banded together to form the African Federation. After more than a decade of constant violence, the African Wars ended in 2039 with the unification of Africa. For the first time in history, the continent stood united and looked toward the future with hope.

In the years following the war, the African Federation was transformed from a war-torn hellscape into a prospering member of the international community. With plentiful foreign aid from the UN, the African Federation rebuilt cities and provided basic necessities across the continent. They even launched a successful space program and contributed to the second International Space Station. The newly formed African Federation is poised to be a major player in the second half of the twenty-first century.