Provinces of Columbia
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Columbia is a federal dominion of nine provinces, all of which are self-governing and share sovereignty with the federal government. Linguistically diverse, what is now Columbia was home to some of the earliest European colonies in the Americas, dating back to the early 17th century, alongside several Native American tribes. The modern dominion was formed in 1856 upon the enactment of the Commonwealth of Columbia Act, that united the colonial provinces of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Allegheny and Pennsylvania into a single federal state. In 1862, further negotiations led to the incorporation of Genesee Iroquoia, more commonly known as Genesee, as the country's seventh province. In 1866, New York was partitioned into the modern provinces of Adirondack, Nassouwen and New York City and Long Island, bringing the total number of Columbian provinces to nine.
Under the Commonwealth of Columbia Act, and the later codified Constitution of Columbia, the provinces have plenary legislative power except on matters reserved for the federal or imperial parliaments. Similar to neighbouring Canada, whose constitution is modelled on Columbia's, any change to the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment, and the provinces have a great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation. Like subdivisions in other federal dominions, they receive "transfer payments" from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes.
Columbia is one of the most linguistically diverse dominions, with English and Dutch having official status at the federal level, while French, German, Swedish and the Iroquoian languages are recognised minority languages. The province of Nassouwen is one of two majority Dutch-speaking parts of North America, while Swedish is spoken in small populations throughout New Jersey and Delaware, and Pennsylvania is home to populations of Welsh and Palatine German speakers. Adirondack in the north of the country, is the most linguistically divided province, with an equal three-way split between English, French and Dutch speakers. About a third of the population of Genesee Iroquoia speak one of the Iroquoian languages fluently, and the demographics, politics and culture of the province are heavily influenced by Native American history, making it distinct amongst the varied regions of Britain-in-America. Two of Columbia's provinces, Pennsylvania and Maryland, are viceregal palatinates with hereditary viceroys, styled as "Duke and Lord Governor" in Pennsylvania and "Earl and Palatine" in Maryland. Unlike other large dominions, Columbia is home to no major secessionist movements although there is a movement in Bermuda for the territory to be integrated into Columbia as a province.
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