What is the Great Kingdom in One Piece?

The Great Kingdom is just one of the many mysteries encompassing the expansive world of One Piece.

With 1000+ chapters and episodes to its name, One Piece has been making waves in the anime community. Its popularity has been off the charts, especially with the onset of the Wano arc. However, what exactly makes One Piece so interesting? Sure it has epic fight scenes and great characters, but what else? What makes it so different than the rest?

What differentiates One Piece from other shows is its incredibly well-developed world and the blurred divisions between good and bad. While the World Government has been portrayed negatively, many things show us that it might not be as simple as that.

The mysterious Void Century, a period of 100 years left almost entirely unaccounted for, hides many things. One of the most important secrets of that time is the Great Kingdom. What exactly is it? Let’s find out!

1. What Is the Great Kingdom in One Piece?

The Great Kingdom in One Piece was an enemy of the World Government that was destroyed 800 years back. It existed during the Void Century, and everything from its name to its history remains a mystery.

The Great Kingdom was first mentioned by Professor Clover during the destruction of Ohara, and everything we know about it comes from him.

A brief illustration of the kingdom on an island with huge marble-like structures was shown during the professor’s speech. Besides that, we also know that the Great Kingdom’s name is of tremendous importance, so much so that Professor Clover was shot the moment he tried to reveal it.

While not much information other than this is available, thankfully, the Great Kingdom, aware of its imminent defeat, used poneglyphs to spread specific messages of significant importance. While the World Government banned any research of the Poneglyphs and the Void Century, there still exist people who can decipher them.

The poneglyphs shown in the series so far have revealed vital information on the three Ancient Weapons. It has been theorized that the Great Kingdom was responsible was creating these weapons of mass destruction, thus posing a tangible threat to the 20 Kingdoms.

If the mere existence and idea of the Great Kingdom presents a threat to the World Government, one can’t help but imagine just how great it was at its peak.

2. Theory Time!

The Great Kingdom existed during the Void Century and was most likely an enemy of the World Government. This is the gist of all we know about the kingdom after going through 900+ episodes and 1000+ chapters of One Piece. Thankfully, there are quite a few interesting theories that manage to sate our curiosity.

I. The Republic of Pirates – A Real-Life Parallel

Oda loves to take inspiration from real life, and this is evident in many aspects of One Piece. Take, for example, Edward Teach. As it turns out, a pirate of this name actually existed, and this revelation has led to the creation of this theory.

The Great Kingdom, as assumed by all, is a monarchy with a king at its head. This is what the name itself states, but what if that wasn’t the case at all?

The Republic of Pirates was a loose confederation of pirates that existed around the 1700s. This stronghold was dominated by two famous rival pirates – Benjamin Hornigold and Henry Jenning, both of which mentored several other pirates. After looking into their history, it was further revealed that Hornigold’s most famous mentee was Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard.

What if the Great Kingdom was not a kingdom but a country similar to the Republic of Pirates? It could have been a democracy that propagated free travel and trade.

Due to this, the country flourished in arts, science, and technology, posing a threat to the twenty kingdoms that existed. This is why rather than the Great Kingdom itself posing a threat, it is their ideology and philosophy that the World Government is wary of.

Adding to this theory, what if the Great Kingdom, supposed to be a democratic country or a republic, had two major factions like the Republic of Pirates? The leaders of both factions followed different ideologies and fostered different wills among their successors.

This can be seen when we compare Luffy and Blackbeard, both having a “D” in their name, yet standing in opposition to one another. One might embody the will of dawn, while other the will of darkness.

Seeing that Edward Teach is a name ultimately inspired by real-life, Oda is sure to be aware of the Republic of Pirates and the circumstances surrounding it. The possibility of this theory coming true might not be as low as one might think.

II. The World Government is the Great Kingdom

This theory might sound outrageous, but it definitely arouses interest. It states that the Great Kingdom hasn’t been destroyed and still exists under the guise of the “World Government.”

Remember when Doflamingo was explaining the origin and past of the Celestial Dragons? He specifically mentioned that the twenty kings allied and created an institute called the World Government.

After its creation, along with their families, they moved to Mariejois, aka the Holy Land. This implies that Mariejois already existed before the war and was most probably the capital of their enemy – the Great Kingdom.

Furthermore, before Im’s appearance, the “Empty” Throne was explained to be symbolic in showing that everyone was equal. However, if they really wanted to remain equals, why was there even a need to create a throne? That is unless the throne was already present before they titled themselves as the “Celestial Dragons.”

As for the swords at the throne’s feet might not be a pledge but a symbol of the kings’ surrendering. Now, the question is, to whom? Who is capable of sitting on that throne and commanding twenty kingdoms? Im, of course.

It is possible that Im was a vital member of the Great Kingdom but betrayed them in order to gain more power. After allying the twenty kingdoms, Im took charge and became the ruler.

They then changed the Great Kingdom’s name to the World Government and hid everything related to it, including Im’s existence. This means that while the Celestial Dragons believe themselves to be the gods, they are unaware of the real existence that rules over them all.

III. Great Kingdom’s Downfall – Pluton

This theory takes some parts of the first one and develops upon it. Here, it is already established that the Great Kingdom was a flourishing democracy that propagated free trade and travel. Now that that’s cleared out let’s delve right into it.

The Ancient Weapons have been described on the poneglyphs and have been assumed to be intricately related to the Great Kingdom. Joy Boy, an important figure of the Void Century, and presumably a member of the kingdom and D clan, had close relations to Poseidon, the first mermaid princess and an Ancient Weapon. However, that’s not all.

One of the Ancient Weapons, Pluton, originated from Water 7 and was built by shipwrights at some point during the Void Century. While it was created with a purely academic intention and to showcase their craftsmanship, the result surpassed their imagination.

What they created was Pluton, a weapon of mass destruction and something that could potentially destroy the world if it fell into the wrong hands.

Due to this, the shipwrights handed Pluton over to the Great Kingdom for safeguard as it was known for its pacifism.

However, as expected, the Ancient Weapon attracted the attention of the twenty kingdoms that waged war. Due to the Great Kingdom’s pacifistic philosophy, they did not use either Pluton or Poseidon and were ultimately destroyed.

All of these theories are based on the little bits of information encouraged by the audience and don’t provide any conclusive answer on what the Great Kingdom was or its past. For all we know, Oda might surprise us with something entirely unthinkable off once again, and till that moment, the theories will continue to run rampant.

3. About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 95 tankōbon volumes.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger.

The final words he said at the execution tower were, “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.”

These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. With his diverse crew joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.