Quadling Country

Quadling Country
Map of Oz, with Quadling Country in the South
The Oz series location
Created by	L. Frank Baum
Genre	Juvenile fantasy
Type	Fairy country
Ruler	Glinda the Good Witch of the South
Ethnic group(s)	Quadlings, Hammer-Heads, Hoppers, Horners
Notable locations	Forest of the Fighting Trees, Dainty China Country, Glinda's Palace, Jinxland

The Quadling Country is the Southern division of L. Frank Baum's fictional Land of Oz, first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). It is distinguished by the color red, worn by most of the local inhabitants called the Quadlings as well as the color of their surroundings. Like the Munchkin Country, the outer regions of the Quadling Country are rich, pleasant and lovely, being inhabited by kind and friendly people, while the areas closer to the Emerald City (most of the regions between the mountains of the Hammer-Heads, the enclave of Dainty China Country and the Forest of the Fighting Trees) are forbidding and dangerous.

Like all the countries of Oz, the Quadling Country contains various unusual sights, creatures, and places. Among them are:

In Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, Quadling Country is described as a largely undeveloped, swampy region, with the ruddy-faced Quadlings being portrayed as artistic and sexually free. It is also stated that in Oz they represent the lowest of the low in humans. It is here that Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), Nessarose (the Wicked Witch of the East) and Shell are raised, though they are natives of Munchkinland. Despite its unprofitable swampy soil, Quadling Country is reported to be situated above vast deposits of rubies, and for this reason the Wizard sends his forces to clear the area for mining. This campaign results in the decimation of both the population and the ecosystem of the area.

In Oz: The Great and Powerful, the Quadlings are inhabitants of Glinda’s kingdom. They are kind-hearted, simple country folk who are mostly farmers with no experience in fighting. Nonetheless, they joined Glinda's army against the Wicked Witch of the East. They display little preference for the color red. Part of the Dainty China Country also appears, having been ravaged by the Wicked Witch of the East's flying baboons, with China Girl as the sole survivor.