Patria Grande

Patria Grande (in English: Great Fatherland) is a Christian faith in After the End. It's mainly spread in the territories of the pre-event republics of Colombia and Panama.

Overview
Patria Grande is a Christian faith derived from the old catholic church, however over time a process occurred in which figures of the catholic sanctorale were syncretized with heroes or "próceres" of the Gran Colombian. As such Simón Bolívar became Simon Peter or Saint Peter, Francisco de Paula Santander became Saint Francis, Manuelita Saenz became the Magdalene, and Policarpa “La Pola” Salavarrieta became Saint Apolonia.

Despite its nationalist elements, the próceres are still saints in the Christian sense, although they have a generally more prominent place than in mainstream Catholicism since they are considered as having directly forged the homeland that the faithful aspire to. A saint has God’s attention, so their intersection is important.

The patriotas hold the Bible sacred, although their translations are lacking, as well as the *Colombeia* which is seen as a promise of God to its chosen people. They also hold in high regard the collective works of the Mad Marquess of García (Gabriel García Márquez), who is seen as a prophet who foretold The Event. The process of reading his tomes is a very spiritual one, as they are considered to be highly metaphorical and impossible to understand with a lucid mind. In a less polite way, they get intoxicated and read One Hundred Years of Solitude until they start hallucinating

In-game description
''The term Patria Grande, or Great Fatherland, is to its followers both a political ideal and a divine mandate. The adherents of the faith benerate the heroes of the past who liberated and ruled the original Patria Grande under the christian light of the Divino Niño, bringing what they consider a golden age. As a result the faithful aspire to see the legendary homeland unified once more. Their pantheon is formed by the “próceres", divinities originated from the syncretism between the founders of the Gran Colombia and several Catholic saints.''

The Old Kingdom
Patria Grande appeared as a faith at some point before the 25th century, although its followers consider it to be the original faith of the Gran Colombia since its inception (whether this places it at Gran Colombia’s real independence in 1819 or in the biblical times of Saint Peter is unclear).

It is not certain who the first non-legendary holder of the caudillo title as leader of the faith was. Oral tradition says that the office of caudillo was once held by one Jorge Gaitero, although this may be a confusion with Jorge Gaitán, who is considered to have held the office before the Event.

The first caudillo attested in external sources was Sebastián López, who took office as king of Cundiboyacá 2439. He would face his own downfall not one year after his election to the office.

The Century of Terror
In 2440, Ollantay Purikuq, a Quechua warlord marched north and burned the holy city of Bogotá, killing the caudillo and collapsing the kingdom. The few remaining generals formed a defense that forced the Quechua warlord to fall back south.

For an entire generation, the few rump states of Cundinamarca managed to stop any further advance. But the grandson of the conqueror, Ollantay III, started a new wave of conquest. By 2537 his job was done, and the Kingdom was once again unified, this time under a pagan ruler. Fearing a new wave of destruction, the Andean lords called for help to the only ruler of the faithful strong enough to face the pagan oppressor.

El Falso Libertador
Zacarías “Falso Libertador” Alvarado was a great conqueror from the city of Cartagena. As a young man he managed to unify all the warring factions of El Caribe into one kingdom in 2536.

In 2541 his court received a visit from several exiled Andean lords, who called for him to liberate Cundiboyacá from the pagan invader. Whether it was due to political ambition or religious fervor, Zacarías immediately started preparing an invasion south. In 2543 he defeated the pagan army and entered the holy city of Bogotá, where he was immediately proclaimed caudillo by his Andean allies and the cheering crowd.

What followed was a campaign of terror among the Quechuas, although it is unclear if this was ordered by Zacarías or his vengeful Andean allies, in which the pagans were forced by the sword to accept the one true faith of the Divino Niño. Idols were destroyed, temples burned, and shamans hanged.

With his new title of caudillo, Zacarías was believed to be the promised second Libertador destined to unify Gran Colombia once more and bring a new Golden Age. It is anyone’s guess if he believed this himself, but he certainly used it as a justification for his campaigns of expansion.

Several successful military conquests gained him the titles of King of Cundiboyacá, King of El Caribe, King of Zulia and King of Puente Grande. However, as he marched to the east and faced Santiago Leones, the king of Venezuela, his army was defeated and the Falso Libertador was burned at the stake by the victorious king in Caracas.

The decline
Zacarías’ Colombian empire quickly disintegrated, being divided among his children and generals. In the following centuries most of his dynasty would be deposed from their thrones culminating with the destruction of the Kingdom of Cundiboyacá in 2622 and a second pillaging and burning of Bogotá in less than two centuries.

By 2666 the caudillo, an old man who lost his crown being only a child, has seen his holdings reduced to the county of Bogotá.