An Exodus: History of the American Commonwealth

Argg...
Ok this should be
South Virginia 16
North Marianna 17
Appalachia 18
South Marianna 19
Nue Oranje 20
 
The Commonwealth 1820’s-30’s and Overview Part 2: The Lake and Central Provinces


Cromwell: The Jewel of the South. Cromwell was established by Lord Cromwell Richard II in 1699. She soon made a name for herself as Cromwellian traders ventured far into the interior and traded with many of the “First Nations of the Plains.” Cromwell City was a thriving port by 1740. Cromwell is a Constitutional Duchy that is currently Ruled by the 8th Lord of Cromwell Richard Cromwell-Mercia.

New Mercia: Founded in 1756 the settlers arrived to a territory already occupied by Tejanos. Conflict soon arose in the province and the province was eventually split into New Mercia and Tejano Territory. New Mercia is divided into several large Ranches ruled over by Aristocratic Cattle Barons (Literally in this case the upper house of the province is actually called the House of Barons.) Few major cities exist in New Mercia though each Baron (County) has a small trading city and the government maintains several forts.

The Heartland Provinces:
Mississippi: is one of the most developed Provinces in Central Regions due to the importance of the Mississippi’s waterways she has become the heart of the Commonwealth. Studies are now underway in Missouri and Mississippi in fact to determine the best site for a National Capital. Mississippi was settled by Merchants and Tradesmen from throughout the Commonwealth all seeking to take advantage of the trade boom from the Sioux Provinces to the west. Most of the population either settled on the banks of the Missouri and Mississippi or in areas surrounding the river to service the ships ferrying freight to Cromwell City.

Missouri: Missouri in almost every respect is twin to Missippi except for the farms that have sprung up on her Western Borders. The Missourians are a fiercely independent lot that primarily come from Scottish and Swedish stock. Because of this she is perhaps the only province in the Central Region to have a Provincial Church.

Illinois: Primarily an agricultural state, Illinois ships most of it’s goods through the Great American Waterway. The Chicago Canal links the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. Lakeside (Chicago) is one of the fastest growing cities in the Commonwealth.

The Central “First Nation” Provinces:
Niagara: The Iroquois Province. This province is ruled in a very traditional manner by the Iroquois people. They are by no means a backwards nation the Iroquois have managed to balance their cultural heritage living side by side with modern industry. Most of the villages are mini-corporations exporting goods throughout the world.

Huron: The Huron have chosen to largely isolate themselves from the rest of the Commonwealth. While any Commonwealth citizen is welcome in her borders they are very wary of outside contact and have chosen largely to ignore the rest of the Commonwealth. (In fact being sent to the Regional and Federal Government is used as a form of exile for unruly leaders…) The economy of the region is supported mainly by the royalties generated from the Great American Waterway.

Ohio: Ohio is a conglomerate of Eastern First Nations many whom settled in Ohio in the 1760’s after negotiating a treaty with the British Government. She is the most modern of the First Nation Provinces having pretty much adopted most of the Virginian Style of Society. .

Miamis: Very traditional province with a major emphasis on Agriculture. The Province is a ruled by an Iroquois style Confederation.

Sequoyah: Founded by Lord Sequoyah I in 1810. The Province is ruled by a council of the 6 nations. Those who rejected integrating into the Eastern Provinces found refuge with Sequoyah Province. The only restriction on tribes within the province is that they have to elect a tribal councilman every 6 years that sits in the “Council of Nations” and abide by Sequoyah Law. The descendants of Lord Sequoyah I are to be appointed as Literally Chief Governor though they are referred to as the Lord Chieftains of the Sequoyah by most of the Commonwealth. Most of the tribes are settling down into a strange mix of European and Native culture though some diehards still hold to the ancient ways. One of the more unique laws in Sequoyah is the joint ownership of all the lands by the tribes. Individual families are granted the land to work as they please but it remains in the hands of the Council..


The Scandinavian Belt:
Washington, Michigan, New Kent and Jefferson were settled primarily by settlers from Scandinavia. The Belt is primarily agricultural and is known for it ‘staunch conservatism. The economic activities of the 3 Provinces are limited to Farming, Ranching, and Mining.. They are fairly rural in nature with the biggest cities existing on the coast of the Great Lakes. These four provinces are among the most “Republican” Provincial governments in the commonwealth.



The Sioux Lands…..
The Souix Provinces are the envy of most of the First Nations. The Sioux have managed to create a culture entirely unique to their provinces. They are entirely modern and a huge supporter of the commonwealth. While the initial economic growth of Cheyenne and Dakota was based on the Sioux Bison Ranches they have in recent years diversified into textile, farming, and small cottage industries. The Souix Capital of Spearhead is fast becoming the metropolis of the plains. (42,000) The Sioux Language has fast become the 4th most spoken one in the Commonwealth. Modern Sioux has adapted to become a trading language that has been streamlined by Sioux Linguists.
 
OOC: Time to leave the Commonwealth for a bit..

Expert from: Wars of Empire “The Turkey Shoot” by William, Duke of York
Published: McKinley Brothers, Dublin, UK 1960

Chapter 1: The Beginning
The reasons behind a war are so hard to define in black and white. Typically of these was the start of the Ottoman War (1825-1832) It basically started because the Ottomans and Austro-Hungarian Confederation could not agree over a insignificant piece of Transylvanian Real Estate. Thought the real reason for it was a weakening Ottoman Empire and that the Vultures of Austria and Russia wanted to get a piece of the carcass before it totally disintegrated. Britian’s entry into the whole debacle was to guarantee the independence of the King’s personal pet project of Greece. So we have three powers set to gobble up the Turkey… The only problem is that the Turkey is not quite ready to roll over and die yet.

Austria signed a secret agreement with the Russian Empire in 1824 promising to grant independence to certain Slavic States if war with the Ottoman Empire broke out. That would come to pass on the 18th of September, 1825 when Ottoman troops fired on an Austrian Commercial Aero-Ship* just leaving Constantinople.

1825 would be a year of largely ghost battles occurring between Austrian backed rebel groups in the Balkans and Russian forces that invaded Ottoman Armenia in October. In April of 1826 the United Kingdom officially declared a protectorate over “Greece and all Greek territories in Europe” essentially laying claim to Thrace and the Ionian Isles.

1826-1827 “The End of Turkish Europe” three powers descended on Turkish held Europe in the summer of 1826 with British and Greek forces driving through Macedonia and into Thrace itself, Austria moving across the Balkans towards the Bulgarian Frontier and Russia effectively moving south through Bulgaria and Romania. 1827 would see the embattled Turkish forces withdrawing from Europe after a sound defeat at the Battle of Constantinople. One of sad side effects of the battle was the destruction of the HAGIA SOPHIA.

1828-1829: The Treaty of Constantinople ended Greco-British involvement in the “Turkey Shoot” but other powers would eventually descend on the leftovers of the Ottoman Empire. While Austria and Russia had seen their goals realized it was determined to continue the war to gain further concessions from the Turkish Government. The invasion of Asia Minor was primarily a Russian operation though Austrian forces did participate in the siege of Ankara in December of 1829. The Turkish Government officially capitulated on January 1st, 1830…. Then came the rest of the vultures. Russia, Austria, Netherlands, Lyon, France, Aragon, Castile, and Portugal began a proxy war to control the rest of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey itself was reduced to a rump in Western Asia Minor.
1830-32: The Infighting would actually come to blows in several instances with the various expeditionary forces competing over the carcass of Ottoman Arabia and North Africa.

1833: The Treaty of Ankara would finally end the “Turkey Shoot” most of the powers would gain something. Lyon gained control of Mesopotamia (Northern Iraq), Castile gained Syria, Portugal gained a mandate over Aden, Austro-Hungary gained the Austrian Sahara (Worthless stretch of the Sahara), Egypt became an independent state under mandate by Britian, Cyprus went to the New Byzantine Empire along with mandates over Lebanon and Northern Palestine, Southern Palestine and Gaza went to the Netherlands, The Hashemite Kingdom was placed under an “American Protectorate”, and the rest of Arabia was pretty much left to fend for itself.

* It was later determined that the Aero-Ship had been brought down by an accident in the engine room.
 
Originally posted by Wolve
Blows the dust off... anyone interested in a continuation..

me, me, me, me:cool: :cool:

In my personal opinion Exodus is one of the most cool timelines of the board

Originally posted by Wolve
Attachment doesn't seem to be working

Aaargh!:(
I expect this problem could be solved.
 
By 1845 the Commonwealth had begun finalizing her internal borders and taken the steps towards the Geography all school children learn today. The 1840 Territory Reorganization Act divided the vast Western Territories into the smaller pre-provincial territories. The War of 1844 saw Alyeska added to the Commonwealth.. While her internal politic was kept intact she did not have the population to warrant full provincial status.

naoutl1830.PNG
 
I rather like it....As far as the Native Americans are concerned, and this is just my opinion, the more we care about thier souls, the more they seem die... Blankets, Cooties, whatever.....

In hindsight, I think I'd rather not be saved:D
 
The Transcontinental Steamway…..

“For Generations we have been traversing the waterways of our great nation and have even conquered the sky using the most abundant element in nature. Steam has allowed us to truly conquer a continent.. Yet our Great Commonwealth is still dependent on the great canals.. Many of the more remote provinces cannot be reached by water.. The great nations of Europe have begun linking there small nations with the great steamcarriages that ride the ironroads. If our nation is to continue to thrive and assume her proper place in this world we much do greater than this. Our smallest territories are bigger than the great nation-states of Europe.. Truly linking our nation with the power of the steam engine is going to be a monumental task bigger than even the Great Canal…..”
Director Stuart 1846

It’s amazing when you think that we as Americans conquered the skies of our great land before we where able to travel from one province to the other by land. In many ways the steamcarriages brought and end to the romantic Riverian Age. Though it would continue to live on in American literature for years to come the Steamway would change more than the landscape it crossed. It would change the character of a nation.

Before the steamway, though united by the great waterways our nation was in fact many separate and distinct.. after while still distinct.. Americans did not call themselves Tejano or Virginian but American.. it made it possible for a Virginian to witness the wonders of Mountains of Eden or the Great Avalonian bay in mere weeks of travel.

The Great Steamway would also bring with it problems.. the scurge of the Industrial age to the great virgin wilderness of America. Though many did not see it at the time.. it would test a generation and the mettle of a nation.

Africa:

Long a backwater in the minds of the great colonial powers. Africa did not garner much attention outside of the Scandinavian Countries.. Until the discovery of Diamonds in Swedish Zululand…

The 1850’s would see the great scramble for Africa and it’s unintended consequences…
 
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