Panem

The nation of Panem was established during an unknown time period following the destruction of modern civilization. It is situated primarily on the western side of North America, and its Capitol is located in an area formerly known as the Rocky Mountains.

Panem is run by a single-party dictatorship that appears to be led by President Snow. It appears to be the dominant society in North America, and no other nations or civilized societies beyond Panem have been mentioned, so it is unknown if any exist at all.

The name Panem derives from the Latin phrase panem et circenses, which literally translates into 'bread and circuses'. The phrase itself is 'used to describe entertainment used to distract public attention from more important matters.'

In Panem the rule is cruel and brutal. After The Dark Days, a cruel game was invented.

History
Much of Panem's history is shrouded in mystery, though known history dates back approximately seventy-five years prior to the beginning of The Hunger Games trilogy.

Founding
An unspecified time before the current date, the face of the Earth changed and modern civilization was seemingly destroyed. It is unknown precisely what caused the "end of the world", but major landmasses changed shape as the amount of water in the oceans grew. Some time after the end of the world, a nation was established in North America that would soon come to be known as Panem. It is unknown precisely when Panem was established and how long it has existed, though it is certain that Panem has been around for more than seventy-five years, and it's entirely possible for it to be at least a century or two old.

Panem eventually grew large enough that it was segmented into thirteen separate districts, each responsible for producing goods of a particular industry to serve the growing needs of the nation, and all operating under the auspices of Panem's oppressive Capitol. Its exact method of expansion is unknown; it is entirely possible that some of the separate districts may have even once been smaller, separate nations that were eventually annexed by Panem.

The Dark Days
Approximately seventy-four years before the events of The Hunger Games trilogy, the various districts of Panem rebelled against the Capitol, primarily due to the oppresive fashion in which the Capitol government ruled over the districts. It is unknown how long the rebellion lasted or the exact number of casualties on either side (although the Capitol claims that for every dead Capitol citizen, two rebels died), but by the end of the conflict, the Capitol had quelled the rebellion, defeating twelve of the districts and obliterating the thirteenth entirely.

The Hunger Games
In the wake of the rebellion, the Capitol established the Hunger Games, an annual event in which twenty-four children between the ages of twelve and eighteen, one boy and one girl from each district, are chosen from a lottery and entered into a gladitorial competition where they must fight each other to the death until only one remains standing.

The event served two purposes. The first was to demonstrate the overwhelming power the Capitol had over the districts by taking their children by force and forcing them to slay each other in a no-rules competition. It was proof that the Capitol's control over its people was so inexorable and unstoppable that they could even do something so sadistic as to force the children of their conquered foes to slay each other in a battle royale. The second purpose was purely for entertainment. The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in the same vein as a reality show, its entrants practically considered celebrities and the events themselves dramatized and glorified.

The Second Rebellion
The Second Rebellion formed in the aftermath of the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's near double-suicide at the end of the games was interpreted as an act of rebellion by many residents of the districts and had caused many to rebel by the start of the 75th Hunger Games, which were also the 3rd Quarter Quell. During the Quarter Quell, Katniss shoots an arrow into the force field surrounding the arena, destroying the arena. She was rescued and transported to District 13, who rebuilt themselves underground. Beetee and Finnick are also rescued. Peeta, Johanna, and Enobria are captured and held by the capital. In an attempt to end the rebellion, the Capitol destroyed District 12, much like District 13 was.

Led by President Alma Coin and Plutarch Heavensbee, the resistance overthrew the Capitol. After Coin's death at the hands of Katniss Everdeen, Commander Paylor was elected President of Panem.

The Capitol
The Capitol is the biggest city in Panem and serves as the nation's central seat of government. It is located in an area formerly known as the Rocky Mountains and is surrounded by the thirteen outlying districts. The free residents of the Capitol are generally considered the wealthiest (and most decadent) of all Panem, and the city's prosperity is fueled by the industries and forced labor of the districts beyond. While it is a major territory, it is not considered one of the thirteen districts.

Districts
The nation of Panem is separated into a total of thirteen nation-states known as districts, twelve of which are recognized as operational by the Capitol and each being solely responsible for producing, procuring, or refining goods in a particular industry as dictated by the Capitol. All of the districts are subject to the unrelenting will of the authoritarian Capitol and have no known influence concerning the national politics of Panem beyond their own individual territories.

The districts barely interact with each other, so each district generally has a unique culture unaffected by the other districts and strongly influenced by the goods it produces. Welfare levels vary significantly and are often dependant on the goods it produces; some districts such as 11 and 12 are far more impoverished than wealthier districts like 1 and 3, though apparently no district is nearly as wealthy as the Capitol itself.

Originally, there were thirteen districts in Panem. During the Dark Days, the 13th district was obliterated by the Capitol and is no longer recognized as operational. Each District provides something different to the Capitol; for example, District 12 provides coal and District 1 provides luxury items.

District 1
District 1 is one of the thirteen districts of Panem. Its industry is making luxury items for the Capitol. Due to the nature of its industry, it's considered one of the wealthiest districts, second only to the Capitol itself. It is considered a career district. Little else is known about this district. At the end of Mockingjay, there are memorials made for the Tributes and Victors fallen from District 1, meaning District 1 has 148 of Panem's memorials in their District, notable ones being Cashmere, Gloss, Glimmer and Marvel. In love with cheese!!!

District 2
District 2's seal depicts a block of stone and carving tools. The district's public presentation is that of stone quarries, but it also not only manufactures weaponry, but also trains and supplies Peacekeepers. The main military in the the district is only known as the Nut.

District 3
District 3's primary industry is general electronics of many types, though it is known for also making various mechanical products such as automobiles and firearms. Thus, many of its residents are technically apt. It is not considered a career district even though four is.

District 4
District 4's industry is fishing, thus most residents have experience using nets and tridents, making fishhooks from scratch, swimming, and identifying edible sea life. It is considered a Career district. Finnick and Annie live in this district.

District 7
District 7's industry is lumber and many of its residents to have experience with hatchets.

District 8


District 8 's principal industry is the production of textiles, and they have at least one factory that is primarily used for making Peacekeeper uniforms. It was the first district to rebel after Katniss Everdeen spurred the revolution. The rebellion worsened conditions for residences and some, including Bonnie and Twill, escaped.

District 10


District 10's industry is livestock. Little else is known about this district.

District 11


District 11's industry is agriculture--orchards and fields of grain and cotton surround the district. Almost everything grown is shipped directly to the Capitol. It is one of the poorest districts in Panem, second only to District 12. It is also one of the districts where the Peacekeepers are the strictest. Ironically, this directly results in its residents generally being malnourished and underfed despite its focus on agriculture.

District 12


District 12 is located somewhere in the Appalachian mountains. Its chief industry is coal mining. The district has the distinction of being one of the poorest districts, if not the outright poorest, in all of Panem.

The district had not had a winner of The Games emerge from the ranks of its residents for many years since Haymitch Abernathy, a raging alcoholic and an embarrassment to the district, won the 50th Annual Games until Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the 74th Hunger Games.

It is the laughing stock of Panem. Shortly after the abrupt end of the 75th Hunger Games and during the opening hours of the Second Rebellion, District 12 was razed by the Capitol, using firebombs. Less the 900 people escaped, most thanks to the foresight of Gale Hawthrone.

District 13
District 13 was one of the thirteen districts of Panem. Its chief industry was mining graphite. It was supposedly obliterated during the Dark Days as a warning to the other twelve districts of the Capitol's might. The district is now said to be uninhabitable, the ruins supposedly still smoldering from the toxic bombs dropped upon it.

Unbeknownst to the majority of Panem's populace, District 13 was also responsible for the research and development of nuclear- and fission-based technology before the Dark Days. Though it did have a few graphite mines, graphite mining was not the principal industry in District 13.

It is revealed in Mockingjay that the district is in actuality still operational, though it has seceded from the nation of Panem and operates covertly. While the surface of District 13 remains scarred and uninhabitable, its residents live deep underground, hidden away from the world and the eyes of the Capitol. It is used as a base for the Second Rebellion.

Career districts
Many of the wealthier districts such as Districts 1, 2 and 4, known as "Career Districts", have a more positive orientation toward the Hunger Games. As residents do not generally face extreme poverty and malnutrition as they do in more impoverished districts, their tributes are generally healthy and strong. In these districts, it is not uncommon for children to volunteer to be tributes, as winning the Games is held in highest regard in these districts. Although it is against the rules of the Games, children in these districts are often specifically raised to participate in the Hunger Games, and thus are trained in the arts of combat and survival. Thus, they are typically known as Career Tribute, or "Careers" for short.