A Loyal City on the Hill - The Commonwealth Wank

New England map
  • VT45

    Banned
    Okay, I don't know what was going on with QGIS last night, but I got it working tonight. So here's a stereographic map of the Commonwealth of New England, at the scale of 1 sq km to the pixel. Tomorrow if I have time I'll start work on some infoboxes for you guys. And if there's anything you wanna know about, don't hesitate to ask!

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    Mexico Map
  • VT45

    Banned
    Sorry for the delay. I work full time and I'm in rehearsals for a play right now. So my time is rather limited right now so it can take several days to make a simple map. But here it is at last: a map of the Federated Captaincies of Mexico.
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    The Saratoga Campaign, our POD
  • VT45

    Banned
    I can’t do much for graphics right now, but I thought I might do some text stuff to go over where exactly the PoD was and how things had changed.

    In November of 1776, Lord Howe sent a letter to Lord Germain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, outlining his plan for an ambitious campaign to take the Hudson Valley and split the rebellious colonies in twain. History would remember this as the Saratoga Campaign. Lord Germain approved of the plan and sent instructions to Howe and Burgoyne, telling them that the plan would begin on 14 June of the following year.

    In the interim, Howe had cooled on the idea and thought he should focus more on capturing the rebel capital of Philadelphia. He wrote to Burgoyne informing him of this, and within a few weeks received back a scathing reply, threatening a formal complaint to Germain should he deviate from the plan, effectively forcing Howe’s hand. Begrudgingly, Lord Howe began marching a force of 16,000 men north from New York on 14 June.

    Lord Howe reached Newburgh on the 25th and took the town with very little effort. Poughkeepsie fell 3 days later. The people of New York trembled. For it was at point Burgoyne appeared on the rebel frontier and laid siege to Fort Ticonderoga. It fell on the 3rd of July. It was clear that their aim was Albany, and all rebel forces that could be spared made their way with all haste to the Hudson Valley. Some reinforcements under Horatio Gates met Howe at Germantown, but succeeded only in delaying him.

    As Burgoyne began moving into Vermont, Howe began closing in on Albany and cutting it off from the rest of the rebel forces. The Siege of Albany began on July 20th with shelling of the city beginning at sunrise. The city held out for three weeks before surrendering to Howe’s forces. With that, the colony of New York was considered to have officially surrendered, with the governor being forced to recall all representatives from the Continental Congress. A few members of the New York delegation, most notably Philip Schuyler, were able to escape and took refuge in New Spain, before setting sail for Europe. The Schuyler family eventually settled in St Petersburg. Many of the other delegates however were arrested and held for the duration of the rebellion.

    By the end of September, Howe and Burgoyne had joined forces in Saratoga, leading to a decisive victory for the loyalist forces. Together, they spent the rest of 1777 pacifying the rest of New York, before proceeding through New Jersey to take Philadelphia in early December. They settled into winter quarters in Philadelphia, with Washington at Valley Forge. Meanwhile, word had reached France of the success of the Saratoga Campaign, the surrender of New York, and the capture of Philadelphia. Unimpressed, Louis XVI stated he could not in good faith support the American rebels. Franklin was expelled from court. He was found dead in Paris a month later.

    Over the course of the winter of 1777-1778, a staggering 90% of the rebel forces succumbed to the cold, lack of provisions, communicable diseases, or outright deserted. By spring, Washington saw the writing on the wall. He proceeded to Philadelphia with his senior officers under a flag of truce, and surrendered to Lord Howe. The Continental Congress officially surrendered that summer.
     
    The Peace of London and the Great Compromise
  • VT45

    Banned
    I don’t know who reads both this thread and the one in the pre-1900 forum so I figured it’d be good to continue to keep cross posting stuff. And if anyone wants to see graphics or infoboxes on anything mentioned just let me know.

    Upon receiving word of the surrender of the American rebels, Lord North was ready to make an example of the traitors. He wanted to come down as hard on the colonies as Pelham had on Scotland in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden 30 years before. If not harder. He wished to see all members of the Continental Congress shipped to Britain to have their heads summarily mounted on pikes on London Bridge. He wanted to revoke colonial charters. He wanted to confiscate all weapons in the colonies, melt them down and turn them into statues glorifying George III. This approach had the wholehearted support of the king and some of North’s most ardent supporters, but few others. It was met in parliament with shock and horror, with the Rockinghamites threatening a vote of no confidence if North didn’t soften.

    In the end it was decided that it was better to compromise than rule by fear and oppression. They obviously did not accept the Declaration of Independence, but went over the Olive Branch Petition with great scrutiny, as well as other documents outlining their grievances and reasons for rebellion.

    Members of the Continental Congress were summoned to London, and were put on trial for sedition and treason. Most were found guilty, with about half eventually being executed. Washington’s head was displayed on London Bridge as a cautionary tale to others. However, the remarkable thing was that several were merely imprisoned, or in the case of John Adams and a couple others, pardoned outright in light of “previous services rendered to the empire.” It would be these men that would negotiate the Great Compromise.

    First and foremost, it was decided that the political barriers between colonies needed to be strengthened, so that such a large number of colonies could never band together again in defiance of the crown. The American colonies were divided into four circles, similar to those in the Holy Roman Empire, and these served as the basis of the dominions that emerged in the next century.

    Next the British government agreed to respect the autonomy of the colonial governments, but at the same time they had to acknowledge their subservience to London. However, to quash the idea of no representation in parliament, each of the circles would choose a commissioner to advise the Secretary of State for the Colonies on matters and how they effect their circles, as well as to advocate for the people of their circles. This was also the only legal form of inter-circle interaction, as this would become the forum for colonies to also try to influence each other and also resolve disputes between each other. These commissioners would be voted on by their colonial assemblies and approved by the royal governors and viceroys.

    Eventually these institutions would grow and change into a standard form of imperial government and would be extended to every colony.
     
    New England provincial map - The Lower Nine
  • VT45

    Banned
    I apologise for the long absence, but I couldn't really progress without a high res provincial map. But I'm glad to say that after several months of slaving over a hot QGIS file, I've finally got one. Ladies and gents, I present to you the map of the lower nine provinces of New England, which I can use to start in on the elections. Once we reach the 1950s, I can add in Newfoundland.
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    Columbia provincial map
  • VT45

    Banned
    Guess who's back! I got kinda overwhelmed with some stuff, so I took a break, but thanks to some discussions on @Kanan's server, I'm hoping to get more done on the project in future. and I'm coming back with a fan request: the provinces of Columbia.
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    New England Gaelic
  • VT45

    Banned
    Still working on the election, but here’s a little something to tide you over:
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    The Viceregal Palace of New England
  • VT45

    Banned
    Another! If there’s anything simple you’d like to see while waiting for the election, feel free to post it!
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    Federal ridings of Columbia, 2011-2021
  • VT45

    Banned
    I don't know why I decided to do the entire election before posting, so I switched tack in order to show you a blank map of all the federal ridings of Columbia. I'll be including an inset for the area around New York City, but are there any others that you think we need?
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    Federal ridings of Columbia, 2011-2021 (with insets added for major cities)
  • VT45

    Banned
    Finished with the insets. The next major post will be the election results. In the meantime feel free to ask any other questions you might have.
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    Columbian General Election - 16 June 2015
  • VT45

    Banned
    At long last I have finished the Columbian general election, and here are the results.

    In one of the most contentious elections in Columbian history, the electorate was split almost perfectly evenly between four political parties, leading to a hung parliament. The Liberal Alliance, led by Andrew Cuomo, won the most seats and was the only party to win more than 200 seats. However, unable to form a government, they were forced to allow the Liberal-Conservatives to lead a coalition government with the Columbian National People's Party. This led to John Kasich becoming prime minister, with Chris Christie becoming deputy prime minister. Labour-Welfare, on the other hand, saw their worst performance in nearly a century, despite garnering nearly 10 million votes. This has, since the election, led to a massive call for voting reform and a switch away from first past the post. Kasich has promised that it will be put to referendum before the next election, but with the expiration date on his government looming, there has not yet been any sign of such a referendum.

    Results:
    Liberal Alliance (lead by Andrew Cuomo):
    12,335,664 votes (27.3%, 208 seats)
    Liberal-Conservatives (lead by John Kasich): 9,947,375 votes (21.0%, 175 seats)
    Columbian National People's Party (lead by Chris Christie): 10,757,654 votes (23.8%, 156 seats)
    Labour-Welfare (lead by Paul Tonko): 9,883,028 votes (21.9%, 29 seats)
    Green Party of Columbia (lead by Jill Stein): 712,289 votes (1.6%, 0 seats)
    Independents and other parties: 1,946,500 votes (4.3%, 0 seats)

    Voter turnout: 65.4%

    Riding map:
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    Popular vote chart:
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    Parliament standings:
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    Michigan provincial election, 8 Mar 2020
  • VT45

    Banned
    As the last province to go to the polls to elect a new provincial government before the tentative date of the Columbian general election this coming June, this election was greatly anticipated as the last seal of approval or disapproval for their respective manifestos. While Michigan's voters only returned MLAs from the Liberal-Conservatives, the Liberal Alliance, and the Labour-Welfare parties, the CNPP and the Greens campaigned hard to try and break into Detroit's Province House. But to no avail. Both left bench* parties saw massive losses as their support cratered. The voters of Michigan returned a hung parliament, however the Liberal Alliance were able to form a coalition with Labour-Welfare. Gretchen Whitmer, who has become famous for her scathing criticisms as the Leader of the Opposition, has become the new premier, and Abdul El-Sayed, an avid right bench* activist that came to prominence following the 2015 general election, has become the deputy premier, the first time in Michigan's history that a newly elected MLA has joined the cabinet.

    Results:
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    Riding map:
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    Popular vote chart:
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    Legislative Assembly standings:
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    *Left bench and right bench: Because of the fact that the French Revolution didn't happen the same way that it did IOTL, the terms left and right wing didn't come about. Instead, the terms that came about are left and right bench. Left bench refers to OTL right wing parties and right bench refers to OTL left wing parties.
     
    Last edited:
    "A Hymn to New England"
  • VT45

    Banned
    A couple things for you now that I'm not staring down the barrel of a looming election. This is the national anthem of New England. I am definitely not a lyricist or a poet so it doesn't yet have lyrics. If you would like to help me come up with lyrics, please let me know.
     
    Flag of Columbia
  • VT45

    Banned
    Here is the flag of Columbia. Thanks to @Pokemon Master for helping me come up with some ideas for what to do with it. The orange background is quite unique within the Commonwealth of Nations, and it symbolises the country's deep Dutch ties. The griffin symbolises the fusion of Dutch and German cultures that defines much of the nation, and the ten pointed star stands for the ten provinces of Columbia.
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    2020 coronavirus pandemic in New England as of 3 April 2020
  • VT45

    Banned
    Quick thing for between projects.
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    Population of all independent countries in North America, 2020
  • VT45

    Banned
    The Federated Captaincies of Mexico: 258, 166,317
    The Dominion of Columbia: 82,807,843
    The Dominion of Virginia: 61,442,592
    The Commonwealth of Laurentia: 42,454,320
    The Captaincies General of Florida and Cuba: 34,881,400
    The Crown of Louisiana: 33,085,873
    The Commonwealth of New England: 17,372,718
    The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo: 13,929,590
    The Principality of Saint-Domingue in Haiti: 11,123,178
    Quebec: 8,617,356
    Jamaica: 2,890,299
    The Federation of the Antilles: 2,676,822
    Belize: 408,487

    I'm gonna concentrate for a bit on creating a world map, but if you wanna know anything about any of these countries, please let me know.
     
    Flag of Mexico
  • VT45

    Banned
    A;ways keen on a mexican perspective. Santa Domingo is different would like to hear about it

    I'll post what I have. Mexico is the behemoth of North America in a similar role to what the US is IOTL, but not quite to the same degree as it's not only a smaller population but it's also a smaller economy overall. That being said, there are some cues, both political and cultural, that other North American countries take from Mexico. For example, the most popular version of the voting reform being proposed in Columbia right now is an MMP system similar to what Mexico has.

    That's all I have for now, but let's not also forget this:
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