Affiliated States of Boreoamerica thread
- Thread starter False Dmitri
- Start date
Sorry. I've been talking 1900 or so. Something like:
1810s: HBC distances itself from the growing treaty network of the Great Lakes region and concentrates on expanding fur trade westward.
1840s: British colony established in Oregon.
1860s: Oregon gets some kind of self-government.
1890s: Rupert's Land colonial government ended, merged into Oregon.
No map of the city?
Heh! Not just yet.
[EDIT]: I made a mistake. Central Pittsburgh actually falls on the Allegheny side, not the Ohio side, of the border. Maybe there is a neutral confederal district of some kind.
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Too early. I suggest merging it in the AS. Its the only plausible way.
Geography goes against it. the ASB has better access to the North then Oregon.
Map with four new provinces, bringing total to 48.
(edit 1)
Actually, I kind of don't like them. Compared with the complicated backstory implied by the other states, the three new western ones look like spacefillers. I'll keep tinkering.
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I'm warming to them as I think more about the map. Assiniboia was a British settlement project carved out of Rupert's Land, as in OTL, and in TTL it was simply drawn in to the ASB political structure. Dakota would represent an alliance between the French and eastern Sioux, leaving Ozark as the only real space filler. I can see Arks as being that, actually - a result of a boundary agreement with Mexico.
I'm also considering adding the Dominican Republic, as a way to add a little more Spanish and help explain whither Cuba and Florida. Not Jamaica, though, or any of the remaining small islands.
(edit 1)
Actually, I kind of don't like them. Compared with the complicated backstory implied by the other states, the three new western ones look like spacefillers. I'll keep tinkering.
(edit 2)
I'm warming to them as I think more about the map. Assiniboia was a British settlement project carved out of Rupert's Land, as in OTL, and in TTL it was simply drawn in to the ASB political structure. Dakota would represent an alliance between the French and eastern Sioux, leaving Ozark as the only real space filler. I can see Arks as being that, actually - a result of a boundary agreement with Mexico.
I'm also considering adding the Dominican Republic, as a way to add a little more Spanish and help explain whither Cuba and Florida. Not Jamaica, though, or any of the remaining small islands.
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I really like the idea too. I'm not sure I've seen an alt-Oregon/Cascadia that extends so far inland. But I'm not too terribly well versed.
But it wouldn't be called British North America because in all likelihood, at least some of the states of the ASB maintained some links with Britain for a long time, possibly to this day.
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Nothing groundbreakingly new, but I've added what is definitely the last province, East Dominica. I've also changed some spellings and changed Delaware's name to Poutaxia (though Anglo-Boreoamericans likely call it Delaware often).
The ASB now has a homepage, which so far consists of archived postings from this thread, plus some extra description of the states.
The ASB now has a homepage, which so far consists of archived postings from this thread, plus some extra description of the states.
I guess not. The ASB has grown again with the addition of the Bermuda Islands. It didn't make sense to include the Bahamas without Bermuda.
This means that four members of the confederation are islands comparable in size to each other, but much smaller than the rest of the ASB. Called the Little Island States, they have special agreements with the Confederation regarding defense, the provision of certain public services, etc.
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And a map of my home state:
The Upper Country, or the Pays d'en Haut, is the ASB's largest state. It consists of the entire watersheds of Lakes Huron and Superior, along with about half those of Erie and Huron. The state extends west to the Mississippi River.
The population of the state is one of the most diverse in the confederation. French is the largest language and the one used for state-wide government, but English, Dutch, Pottawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk, Sauk, Spanish, German, Swedish, Huron-Petun, and Iroquois speakers can be found in different parts of the state. The many bays, inlets and islands of the lakes house many unexpected communities.
Historically, the Upper Country was a dependency of Canada. Indeed, a Canadian official is still on hand to formally open each session of the Grand Assembly. The capital is in Detroit.
The Upper Country, or the Pays d'en Haut, is the ASB's largest state. It consists of the entire watersheds of Lakes Huron and Superior, along with about half those of Erie and Huron. The state extends west to the Mississippi River.
The population of the state is one of the most diverse in the confederation. French is the largest language and the one used for state-wide government, but English, Dutch, Pottawatomi, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Ho-Chunk, Sauk, Spanish, German, Swedish, Huron-Petun, and Iroquois speakers can be found in different parts of the state. The many bays, inlets and islands of the lakes house many unexpected communities.
Historically, the Upper Country was a dependency of Canada. Indeed, a Canadian official is still on hand to formally open each session of the Grand Assembly. The capital is in Detroit.
Hey, how does elections work? Is there electoral votes, or are the states just for administrative purposes?
Good question. I'm working mostly state to state, leaving the overall picture for later. But here's what I know.
The Great Council that meets in Two Forts is the confederation's governing body. It is basically parliamentary and federal; that is, delegates represent their individual states (which elect them in a variety of ways) but the leading party or coalition chooses the government. The head of government is a Prime Minister (that does seem the likeliest title) who heads a government of ministers.
Originally, the Great Councils were more a series of diplomatic meetings than a government. It was a place for colonial officials, traditional chiefs, Métis trade magnates, elected governors of settler states, war chiefs and militia generals - all sorts of leaders, local and otherwise - to discuss matters of joint concern. Gradually the different states, which were themselves evolving from collections of villages, started agreeing to be bound by Great Council decisions, and it came to acquire the powers of a federal legislature. By and by it came to adopt more forms of a European parliament, but it is still unique in its forms, traditions, and structure.
So I do not believe there are any national elections at all - by electoral college or otherwise. At the state level there may be leaders chosen by some kind of electoral-college system; I imagine that some states choose their leaders, both local officials and delegates to Two Forts, in some very odd ways indeed.
As for a "head of state:" I think that the ASB has a body similar to the European Council, a committee of the heads of state of each member, that sits as one chamber of the Grand Council in Two Forts. Obviously, these meetings are neither long nor frequent, since these leaders have responsibilities back home. Just as with the European Council in OTL, there eventually was a need for a HoS figure; but again, this is not a president chosen through any kind of national election, but a near-figurehead chosen by state leaders.
The idea of the ASB as "a country" has always been tricky, since some of its states still have political ties to the colonial powers. Some have broken away - I'm nearly certain that Pennsylvania declared complete independence, for example, as have the "inland" settler states like Vermont, Watauga and Upper Virginia. Others are still connected to Europe, though I won't know the details until I explore how the history played out in each state.
Obviously it's too late to do anything about it even if you wanted to, but why not "Associated" instead of "Affiliated"? Or even "Allied"?
I guess I like the connotation of family, sons and fathers and brothers, that "affiliated" gives.
This is mostly just me playing with Paint.NET and a photo, but this is Upper Connecticut's flag proudly flying in the wind.
The Countries of the Pays d'en Haut
The state of the Upper Country is divided into 22 traditional regions. These are usually called "countries," (in French, "pays") which is slightly confusing. The name comes from colonial usage, when traders would refer to "Detroit Country" or "Le Pays du Chequamegon." They developed piecemeal; some have existed since the mid-17th century, while the newest ones were created in 1890. This gradual development and long history is the reason the 22 countries differ so widely in area and population.
The Countries' role has changed greatly over time. In the earliest days of the Upper Country, there were certain local networks of towns and villages that were the natural constituents of the bigger Upper Country network. These local networks had denser and more diverse populations than the rest of the Upper Country, and they were centers of trade and arbitration. Eventually, French officials were placed in some of the most important centers - Green Bay, Chequamegon, Michilimackinac, later Chicagou and St. Joseph - which helped strengthen the ties of the Upper Country alliance.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Upper Country began its evolution from an alliance into a state government. The earlier local Countries became states within a state in this time. They assumed some important functions: justice, roads, public safety. It's important to understand that in this time, the Countries were special territories within the Pays d'en Haut; most of the state was not subdivided in this way.
As the population expanded and new settlers arrived, some new Countries were created to meet their needs. New Holland, Minwaking, Waukegan, and Mesabi all came about because of different waves of settlement.
In 1890, an act of the assembly standardized local government in the Upper Country. The entire state was divided into regions, and their powers and responsibilities were made standard. Many of the Countries created at that time were quite obviously space-filling entities: the Massif Country, for example, or the wildly unimaginatively named Middle Country.
In the next 3 decades much of their power was progressively taken over by the state, and by the 30s the Countries were largely ceremonial. Nowadays, quite a lot of administrative responsibility has been devolved back to the Countries. Most of that consists of local branches of the state government; the elected Country councils per se remain fairly powerless. They are important as a focus for civic involvement. They work with private organizations and charities on various community projects. Being old, anachronistic bodies, they are still elected in public, caucus-like votes in town halls.
Later I'll write a more detailed description of each of the 22.
The state of the Upper Country is divided into 22 traditional regions. These are usually called "countries," (in French, "pays") which is slightly confusing. The name comes from colonial usage, when traders would refer to "Detroit Country" or "Le Pays du Chequamegon." They developed piecemeal; some have existed since the mid-17th century, while the newest ones were created in 1890. This gradual development and long history is the reason the 22 countries differ so widely in area and population.
The Countries' role has changed greatly over time. In the earliest days of the Upper Country, there were certain local networks of towns and villages that were the natural constituents of the bigger Upper Country network. These local networks had denser and more diverse populations than the rest of the Upper Country, and they were centers of trade and arbitration. Eventually, French officials were placed in some of the most important centers - Green Bay, Chequamegon, Michilimackinac, later Chicagou and St. Joseph - which helped strengthen the ties of the Upper Country alliance.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Upper Country began its evolution from an alliance into a state government. The earlier local Countries became states within a state in this time. They assumed some important functions: justice, roads, public safety. It's important to understand that in this time, the Countries were special territories within the Pays d'en Haut; most of the state was not subdivided in this way.
As the population expanded and new settlers arrived, some new Countries were created to meet their needs. New Holland, Minwaking, Waukegan, and Mesabi all came about because of different waves of settlement.
In 1890, an act of the assembly standardized local government in the Upper Country. The entire state was divided into regions, and their powers and responsibilities were made standard. Many of the Countries created at that time were quite obviously space-filling entities: the Massif Country, for example, or the wildly unimaginatively named Middle Country.
In the next 3 decades much of their power was progressively taken over by the state, and by the 30s the Countries were largely ceremonial. Nowadays, quite a lot of administrative responsibility has been devolved back to the Countries. Most of that consists of local branches of the state government; the elected Country councils per se remain fairly powerless. They are important as a focus for civic involvement. They work with private organizations and charities on various community projects. Being old, anachronistic bodies, they are still elected in public, caucus-like votes in town halls.
Later I'll write a more detailed description of each of the 22.
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