Æn Ode to Staten Island
"On ðis dæy of our lorde, ðe elevenð of September, ðe seventy-sixð year of seventeen-hundred, ꝩe hereby declare æ resolution to ðe grievænces on ꝩhiç brought us Eŋlishmen into conflict. Our governments have ægreed, seeiŋ eye to eye, ðe need for æn Æmerican identity ꝩiðin ðe United Kiŋdoms of Græt Britæn and Ireland ænd all of her dominions. It is ðus ænd shall be ꝩe mæy provide our oꝩn governænce, given ðat ꝩe provide one Speaker for ðe Colonies to ðe proper Parlæment in London, ꝩhom shall have no sæy on ðe laꝩs of Eŋland ænd her domæns, but ꝩhom ꝩill humbly advise ðe Kiŋ upon ðe stætus of her Atlantic poſseſsions...Ꝩe must stand united, to prove our identity, our grievænces, ðat our beliefs ꝩere ꝩorð fightiŋ for, or else ꝩe risk losiŋ everyðiŋ."
The Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies of the United Kingdom are a collective group of 26 confederated colonial possessions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Founded in 1776 after a short rebellion, the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies were an uncertain and rocky collection of cooperating 13 original colonies that fought in the American-English Rebellion. This rebellion saw a surprising ability for the 'Americans' to hold their own against British forces until the death of General George Washington. The fact the Americans proved formidable began the 'Great Questioning' movement across the United Kingdom. Originally, many 'patriots,' as they were called, abhorred the idea of a single identity, instead preferring to be referred to as their colonial counterparts (i.e., Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Hampshites, Bay Stater, etc). Through the endearing and tireless efforts of the First Speaker of the Colonies, Benjamin Franklin, and another pardoned traitor and later third Speaker, John Adams, a large-scale effort ensued that saw closer cooperation and ties between the colonies. This included undertaking spelling reforms, creating propaganda pamphlets celebrating 'An Ode to Staten Island,' or 'How the Englishmen Settle their Wars,' which has been widely regarded as a positive, almost nonchalant spin on the 1776 American-English Rebellion, and providing open borders between colonies under the Articles of Sovereign Dominion Agreement (1783).
Nova Scotia became the 15th colony to sign the Articles of Sovereign Dominion, and the first colony to remain loyal to the British during the Rebellion. There is a dispute as to the 14th colony, as the Franklin colony fell under the jurisdiction of North Carolina, Tennessee, and the attempted Appalachian Territory, which was itself split among Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vandalia. Franklin was recognized for four years, but became subsumed by North Carolina. For documentation purposes, Kentucky is considered the 14th colony. For a colony to join the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies, their respective governments must agree and sign the Articles of Sovereign Dominion. Colonies within North America that has yet to sign the Articles of Sovereign Dominion are Prince Edward Island, the Maritime Republic, Quebec, Bermuda, East Florida, West Florida, New Orleans, Louisiana, New York City, Acadia, Vancouver, the North Rio Union (Texas, California, Pueblo, Honeybee, Rio Grande, Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo Léon, Tamaulipas, and disputed territories within Mexico), Yucatan, the Central American Confederation, Belize, the British Western Frontier, Russkaya Amerika, and the Native Interior (sometimes referred to as Messourii or Missouixee as a corruption of several Native American tribe names).
The Capital of the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies is technically London, England. However, each sovereign colony hosts their own capital from within their borders, leading to 26 official capitals of the Dominion. The seat for the Speaker of the Colonies is located in Salem, Massachusetts, and at various times has rotated between Richmond, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington's Square, Erie. Since the Speaker of the Colonies travels between London and Salem, the Representative of Domestic Affairs tends to be viewed more as an unofficial 'Prime Minister' of the Dominions, whilst the Speaker of the Colonies is viewed more as a Foreign-Policy Delegate. However, the Speaker of the Colonies wields considerable influence both domestic and abroad and is considered the Head office of the Dominion. Each Speaker of the Colonies and Representative of Domestic Affairs serve a maximum single five-year term. The Speaker choses The Representative and is elected by popular vote. In order to win an election, a candidate must win a majority percentage of the popular vote. Otherwise, the election shall go to a Governor of each colony who will have a single vote to cast for the top 2 candidates in the popular vote. The Monarchy reserves the right to invalidate the election results or commission a special election in the failing of properly electing a Speaker. The Monarchy may also decide ties among Colonial governors in electing a Speaker of the Colonies. Should a Speaker or Speaker-elect die, be assassinated, resign, or be unable to properly execute the duties of the Speaker's office, The Representative of Domestic Affairs will act as Speaker of the Colonies until the Monarchy arranges a new election. Should the Representative of Domestic Affairs or Representative-elect die, be assassinated, resign, or be unable to properly execute the duties of the Representative's office, the Speaker, upon approval from a majority of Governors, shall appoint a new Representative to finish out the previous Representative's term. Should both offices become vacant, the Monarchy will arrange for a special election of the Speaker whilst the Governors will arrange the longest serving member among themselves to act as Representative. Once a new Speaker has been elected, the acting-Representative shall step down their acting powers, invest the office to the Speaker's chosen Representative, and resume their previous role as Governor.
The American alphabet consists of 30 letters (more than standard English). The most controversial change was the replacement of 'W, w' for 'Ꝩ
, ꝩ' or vend/wend. Other changes include the reintroduction of the ash (Æ, æ), the eth (Ð, ð), and more recently the eng (Ŋ, ŋ). Thorn (Þ, þ) has been dropped over time, simplifying in favor of the eth, although a minor portion of the elderly population within the American south still use thorn. The letter chi (Ç, ç) is used to represent the 'ch' sound as in 'chair' (çair). The letter has been losing popularity over time, while others substitute the 'X' for the sound 'ch' (i.e., Xair, xurx, or lunx). There has been rising popularity in creating a symbol for the 'sh' letter sound, and some scholars have suggested repurposing the 'long s' (ſ) for this use. A capitalization would need to be agreed upon, which the Dominion language community leans toward 'sh' becoming (ʂ, ſ) and dropping the 'long s' from its 'double s' origins. This would mean words such as 'ship' would become 'ſip' in lowercase while the uppercase 'Ship' would become 'ʂip.' 'The 'long s' (ſ) is no longer considered its own letter, and has been standardized to only be of use when preceding a typical 'double s' arrangement (Congress to Congreſs, progress to progreſs, but never Congreſ, Congreſſ, or Congresſ). Some pronunciations (especially concerning 'ash' and 'a's) vary greatly across the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies, which has led to many accents developing over time.
The Dominion of Sovereign American Colonial flag was originally based on the flag of the East India Company. As per the terms of the Staten Island Agreement of 1776, a redesign was necessary. It was determined that blue vertical stripes would be added for each new colony that came under the Dominion. This decision was made to reflect the blue within the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Others have said the stripes hang downward as a sad reminder of what brought the rebels to the negotiation table in the first place. Instead of the Union Jack being within the canton as standard on most United Kingdom possessions, the colonists were granted a unique privilege to display the St. George cross. Each star represents the original kingdoms with the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland). This satisfied the loyal faction within the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies as well as representatives from the United Kingdom.
The current members of the Dominion of Sovereign American Colonies are as follows:
1. New Amsterdam (NA)
2. Delaware (DE)
3. Massachusetts Bay (MB)
4. Pennsylvania (PE)
5. Virginia (VI)
6. Connecticut (CO)
7. New Hampshire (NH)
8. North Carolina (NC)
9. Maryland (MA)
10. New Jersey (NJ)
11. South Carolina (SC)
12. British Georgia (BG)
13. Rhode Island (RI)
14. Kentucky (KE)
15. Nova Scotia (NS)
16. Vandalia (VA)
17. Vermont (VE)
18. Mississippi (MI)
19. New Plymouth (NP)
20. Tennessee (TE)
21. Erie (ER)
22. Iroquois (IR)
23. Upper Canada (UC)
24. Indiana (IN)
25. Northwest Sylvania (NW)
26. Hudson (HU)
*POD goes back further than the American Revolution. I'm not sure where exactly (my thinking is somewhere around Plymouth being incorporated into Massachusetts which created a very different mindset in the American populace...subtle at first). The Staten Island Conference becomes a more 'So you want 'Join or Die?' We'll give you that. Prove you deserve our grace or you traitors will be crushed just like Washington and his men." As well, this flag is one of my poorer quality ones. I did not have access to my paint program, so this was completely made in the standard Microsoft Paint program. I put way more thought into the story than I had originally anticipated.