My fishing ban is over. I'm going to gradually post some of the material I've written for the website in the last 4 months. I'll start with the best of the bunch, East Florida.
THE CAPTAINCY-GENERAL OF EAST FLORIDA
LA CAPITANÍA GENERAL DE LA FLORIDA ORIENTAL
East Florida is the most thoroughly Spanish state on the ASB's mainland. Its culture has elements from Spain, Cuba, the Seminol, and local indigenous peoples, along with influence from the English of Carolina.
The legendary explorers Ponce de León and de Soto failed to find magic fountains or cities of gold. Spain later colonized Florida for a much more utilitarian purpose: to protect the sea route to Cuba. After the first military presidios were established, Spain entrusted the colonization of the hinterland entirely to Catholic missionaries, first Jesuits, later Franciscans. Missionaries were important in the development of many states in the ASB, but nowhere else were they more directly in charge of administering the territory. Through a constellation of small missions, the Spanish successfully realigned local chiefdoms and built a loyal, mixed society.
The system came under heavy strain in the late 17th and early 18th centuries due to newcomers from the north: English colonists, escaped English slaves, and Muscogian-speaking peoples escaping pressure on their homelands. The English burned villages and carried many off into slavery. In their wake, arriving Muscogians formed a powerful new nation, the Seminol, and seemed poised to drive the Spanish subjects and allies out of their villages and into the presidios. The colony was nearly overwhelmed, but In the end the Seminoles were driven south, where they established a new polity away from the missions, while a border agreement held with English Carolina.
Florida gained greater autonomy from Cuba in the mid-18th century; at the end of the century it was divided into East and West. West Florida was overrun by English and French settlers and entered the ASB alliance as a neutral, trilingual state. In the East, Spanish culture and identity were much stronger. Between Criollo settlers, Mestizos, and hispanicized Indians, the colonial population was large enough to establish a separate government in 1795. A Captain-General was in charge of civil and military administration; an intendente was responsible for financial and economic affairs; and an audencia served as the judicial branch. Soon church followed state with the establishment of a bishopric in San Agustín. East Florida now had the complete package of Spanish colonial government, but it remained theoretically subservient to Cuba until the latter half of the 19th century.
Despite the existence of the racial casta system, the Indians of East Florida were more free than in most other Spanish colonies. Slavery, too, was lighter here. Florida became known as a destination for fugitive slaves from Carolina, who established a number of thriving free Black communities in the thinly populated parts of the peninsula, both in the colony proper and among the Seminoles. Slavery expanded during the early 19th century, but as in Cuba it came to a society that already had a large free Black population. In addition, the autonomous colonial government tended to be more moderate and more representative than in Cuba and elsewhere. For all these reasons, East Florida's later colonial history was much less turbulent than in most of Spain's empire. Unlike Cuba and the Dominicas, which cast off Spanish rule in a series of revolutions, East Florida evolved into a constitutional monarchy and still bears the title of Captaincy-General.
Dynastic troubles in Spain led to East Florida having a separate royal family from the mother country. This makes it one of only two states with a local monarch in residence, the Cherokee Nation being the other. Despite the king's move to America, the state kept the old title of Captaincy-General - with no other states called "kingdoms" in the ASB, change the name would have seemed a bit pretentious. The new dynasty oversaw the transition to full democracy.
Government
The existence of a monarch and Captain-General side by side has created a slightly odd situation.Their roles are most often described as a "senior head of state" and "junior head of state." The monarch, currently Queen Mercedes II, embodies East Florida's people and history. The Captain-General embodies the East Floridian state and acts as a ceremonial commander-in-chief. Since the monarch as a rule never attends Cabinet meetings, he also sits as the representative of the monarch to the Government.
The office of Intendente has become that of a parliamentary prime minister; that is, the Intendente is the head of government responsible to the elected Cortes, or parliament. The Audencia is now a fully independent judiciary with branches in every province.
Provinces and Place Names
The state is divided into eleven provinces plus the capital region of San Agustín. The names and identities of the provinces stretch back to pre-Spanish days. They are sometimes poetically called "the Twelve Tribes of Florida." Ten of the twelve were missionary provinces that corresponded to local chiefdoms. Tronatisca was added in 1812 after a treaty fixed the boundary with Muscogía. San Agustín was separated from the province of Timucua a few years later.
Spanish is the main language in East Florida. Muscogian is spoken in pockets throughout the state, as is English. Some of Florida's indigenous languages are still spoken in their respective provinces, while others are endangered or extinct.
The provinces are:
1. Acuera: An inland agricultural chiefdom, repeatedly merged and separated from Timucua province. Largely agricultural.
2. Aguafresca: This miniature province was a chiefdom that had become largely depopulated by the early 18th century. A community of Seminol was invited to settle here after they submitted to Spanish rule and agreed to accept religious instruction. Today it has many large suburban communities, but the Seminol identity remains important.
3. Apalachi: The missions here were a counterbalance to the capital during the colonial period. In modern times the province has been eclipsed by faster growth in other parts of the state. This is a reason that traditional Apalachi culture has been preserved so well. Today it is the best place to experience native Florida. San Marcos, Florida's second city in colonial times, is today a sleepy waterfront town; most of the action has moved back to the pre-Spanish capital, Anhaica. The province's proximity to the English-speaking portion of West Florida means that it has a substantial English Carolian population as well.
4. Guale: The original Guale language still exists but is nearly extinct. The province was a prime destination for fugitive Carolian slaves; later waves of Carolian immigration fixed the province's status as the most heavily English in East Florida.
5. Ibi: An inland agricultural province, its main language is Spanish with some Timucua speakers.
6. Mayaca: The Mayaca people merged into the Timucua long ago. The largest colonial settlement became Nueva Esmirna, a colonization project contracted out to an Englishman who brought over people from Greece and the Balearic Islands. Today that town forms the south end of a line of tourist towns, the largest of which is Playa Larga. Investment from all over the ASB has done much to develop the area for tourism.
7. Mocama: The swampy buffer between the old Timucua and Guale chiefdoms. Today it is known for posh tourism in the southernmost of the Sea Islands chain.
8. Potano: Swampy province that was repeatedly merged and separated from Timucua. The main city of Potano is the largest urban hub in the interior of the state.
9. San Agustín: The capital, founded in 1565
10. Timucua: Stretches from the metropolis of San Mateo to the Guacara swamps, with rich farmland and forests in between. Missionaries used the language of Timucua as a "lengua general," promoting its use over the languages of neighboring provinces. For this reason it became the main language throughout the central part of the state. The province is the heart of East Florida's agricultural country. rich in staple corn as well as fruits and vegetables for export.
11. Tocobaga: Neglected during the colonial era, the bay became home to all kinds of pirates and outlaws from many countries. Spain addressed the problem in the 1810s-20s and built a ring of forts around the bay. The original Tocobaga people, with their Spanish priests, largely moved inland. Today Tocobaga speakers make up a fairly small community. The ring of forts has grown into a large metro area that is the capital's biggest economic rival.
12. Tronatisca: The name comes from the Muscogian word for flint and the Flint River running through the area. East Florida acquired the land in 1812 and quickly parceled it out to large planters from Cuba and Spain. Tronatisca is prime cotton growing land and slavery became the basis for its early 19th-century economy. Its citizens delayed abolition in the state for many years.
Some town names:
San Mateo = Jacksonville (original mission name)
Potano = Gainesville (original mission was San Francisco de Potano)
Playa Larga = Daytona Beach (descritpive name)
Nueva Esmirna = New Smyrna Beach (the settlement project that created New Smyrna happened in this timeline as well)
Cella = Albany, Georgia (named for the artesian wells, and the Fuente de Cella in Spain)
Anhaica = Tallahassee (original Apalachee name)
San Pedro = St. Petersburg (a very convergent name, but whatever)
State Anthem
The State Anthem is the Marcha de Granaderos, the royal anthem of Spain. The full traditional performance uses orchestration from the late 18th century, the time that the Captaincy-General was established.
