Florida War
 | |
| Name(s): | Florida War |
| Start of hostilities: | 2004 |
| End of hostilities: | 2005 |
| Winning side: | Losing side: |
 NAL-SLC |  Florida-Caribbea |
 Scandinavian Realm |
|
 Federated Kingdoms |
|
 Ireland |
|
 Latvia |
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 Republic of the Two Crowns |
|
 Danzig |
|
| Major consequences: | Break up of Florida-Caribbea, occupation by South Florida. /td> |
The 2004 War, also known as the Florida War, pitted a regional power, Florida-Caribbea and its bid for national integrity and international respect against the great powers of the world: the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Scandinavian Realm. Of short duration, the war itself was a long time in the making and even now (mid 2007), the reprecussions are still very much a part of daily life for the inhabitants of the shattered country.
Since a lot of what I'm about to write comes from a closed High Court proceeding (March and April 2005) and the closed Senate Hearings (June through Sept 2005) in which Mr Bush recounted the whole history, a lot of it will probably come as a bit of a shocker. Since Mr Bush ìs and always has been an American citizen, once he was returned to the NAL in late Februrary of 2005 (after some months of hiding in Florida and having turned himself in to Oregonian officials), a more or less pro forma suit was made out against him (NAL-SLC v. Bush). However, since his actions were commited as a foreign head of state, he could not be found guilty of violating and American laws. The long and short of it is that all of this is due to hit the news stands in a fortnight or so anyway, so why not pull a Drudge and preempt myself? ;) Mr Bush's comments / responses are in italics.
The Florida War took place in March, 2004. The immediate cause was the declaration of independence by the Cruzan Islands, but it is really much more complicated.
It was a very complicated matter indeed. On the one hand, traitorous elements within the Cruzadoe province were become more vocal and active: they wanted to stir up a revolt against the Floridian nation and we could not allow them to divide us in that way. The old purchase-governors of the Cruzadoes had been very lax in their governance and seem to have arrived at an "arrangement" of sorts with foreign powers who would invade and impose their will on the Caribbean state. Our administration instituted certain provincial reforms designed to put an end to this kind of involvement in Floridian affairs by foreign imperial powers. Certain traitors in the Cruzadoes saw this as the central government imposing its will on the locality, but they were very wrong.
The islands had long been an unhappy conquest of Florida-Caribbea, and a source of friction between FC and the Scandinavian Realm.
Of course, this sort of statement has long been bandied about in the foreign press. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Caribbean nation was a free nation: free to determine its own will among the brotherhood of nations, without the interference of foreigners and imperialists who would make us into colonies.
On the 30th of July, 2003, as part of Jaime Bush's Caribbean Plan, an FC-SR condominium status for the Cruzans was approved in a referendum.
It was rapidly becomming clear that the Cruzadoes wouldn't quell their revolutionaries, and the Plan was devised in order to both maintain the integrity of our national borders and the authority of our national government as well as work with the Scandinavians -- the former imperial overlords of the Cruzadoes -- in a common effort towards resolving the issues in that rebellious province.
However, a constitutional crisis then arose shortly afterwards. In the Cruzan Constitution, any changes of sovereignty must be approved in a referendum with a 75% yes vote and with more than 50% voter-turnout. While the voter turn-out was indeed way above 50%, the approval of the Caribbean Plan was just barely 53%. The question was whether the referendum was about a change in sovereignty. The Cruzan High Court resolved this when they ruled on the 12th of June, 2003, that the referendum was not about sovereignty issues. But rumours of corrupt High Court judges and payola stifled the credibility of this ruling for months to come.
Once again, the traitors in the Cruzadoes were resolved to destroy the province. It was well known even at the time that certain key members of the provincial government were traitors. It was also becomming clearer that the Cruzado press was acting more like our enemies' fifth column rather than supporting patriotic ideals and national unity in the face of foreign influence. ...
There were never any questions or doubts about the nature of the Plan and the Cruzadoe Islands part in it. The national integrity of the Caribbean nation was maintained intact and unviolated from before the Caribbean Plan, through the process of implementation and into the post-implementation time. There was never any change in sovereignty in any portion of the nation: this was explained well in advance of the referendum. Our administration instituted many reforms in the provinces, one of which was a more liberal allowance for local autonomy and elections schemes. Looking back, it may well be that the Cruzadoes were under the mistaken impression that local elections were the equivalent of independent action. We misunderestimated their ability to engage in democracy, and the results proved disasterous.
In September, 2003, the Cruzan Parliament passed a law, the Homesteading Plan, which allowed the Cruzan government the right of first purchase whenever an estate was for sale. Estates purchased by the Cruzan government were then to be divided into smaller portions, which were then to be sold as homesteads, where native Cruzado citizens have the right of first purchase, other Scandinavians second, and other Antilleanos third.
Yes, this was in clear violation of Floridian anti-discrimination laws. Once it became clear that the province was not going to back away from its illegal position, it became a de facto state of rebellion and certain aspects of martial law were enacted. Rather than submit to the decisions of the nation's High Court, the province continued on the road to full revolt.
In the following months, Cruzans started to discriminate against Hispanics residing in the islands in what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to force them to sell their properties. Hispanic owned shops were boycotted, and violence towards Hispanics increased as well. Hispanic residents began to pack up and leave.
This is another example of understatement in the foreign press. The Hispanics did not merely "pack up and leave" -- they were forced to leave by the actions of violent gangs of foreign backed rebels and local statutes compelled them to either sell their property at a pittance or else be forced to abandon them to the local government, who would then sell to local Nordes (at a tidy profit to the by now totally corrupt provincial government).
On the 5th of February, 2004, Cruzan Television broadcast a documentary, which claimed that two of the three Cruzan High Court judges were paid by Floridian Vice President Simon Eugenio Higgins-Calvo to rule in favor of the Floridian plan. The Cruzans were outraged. But so was Miami, claiming that the allegations were completely false.
The "documentary" in question was produced in the Pepper Coast: this was a clear example of interference by the Scandinavian Realm, our hitherto ally, and was in fact chock full of lies and half truths. The judges of the local Cruzado courts -- I should note that the provinces do not have "high courts", the only High Court was at La Habana -- were all duly elected or appointed officials, not int he pay of the Vice President.
Alleging that the Cruzan Islanders were ethnically cleansing the islands against Hispanic residents, Bush sent in a contingent of the Guardia Nacional. The Cruzan Islanders objected to the troops, objecting to the claims of ethnic cleansing, insisting that the emmigration of Hispanics was entirely voluntary.
Had the Cruzadoes not been in violation of national Law regarding both the civil rights of all Caribbeans and the rebellious nature of their actions, the Guardia Civil would never have been called into action. Had the Cruzadoes not instigated the treacheries of 2003, all would have been well. We know that the whole world was against us. We receive broadcasts from television stations in other countries and our press was free: we knew full well that the Scandinavians and Americans our chief enemies and that they were agitating for a war in order to sieze their liberated colonies. Had the Cruzadoes not engaged in ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide near the end, there would have been no need at all to treat them like the rebellious and traitorous scoundrels they proved themselves to be.
On February 20, the Cruzan Islanders called for a new referendum on full sovreignty to be held on the 29th.
This action was illegal and could be considered nothing short of a declaration of war against the Republic.
FC sent in more troops to "restore order".
It was our duty to restore order to any region in a state of rebellion against the sovereign integrity of the nation. How they could have sanely expected any other response defies reason.
A formal declaration of independance was made on March 12. Florida could not accept this declaration.
Would the Scandinavian Realm accept a similar declaration from the city of Upsala? Would England accept a similar declaration from Yorkshire? Of course not! It was a ridiculous and scandalous action on their part, and they sealed their fate. From this point, there was NO returning to any former state of peace with the province! They chose civil war, and in the end they reaped their just rewards!
They arrested several Cruzan personalities and executed them, including Alonso Rivera, former Floridian governor of the Cruzans and Nobel Peace Price candidate. Fighting then broke out between Floridian and Cruzan troops.
There were NO "Cruzan troops"! Only Floridian troops in open revolt! The Cruzadoes engaged in a unilaterally declared civil war. The fault lies absolutely with the traitors that made up the provincial government and press who egged the lot of em on!
On the 13th, in response to Floridian aggression against the Cruzan Islanders, the SR declared war on FC.
Scoundrels and bounders! Our so-called allies, in stead of stepping in to engage in the mutual defense of the region, turned on us and began to wage war on Caribbea! We expected little more from imperialists -- though we had hoped for much more.
The Commonwealth of Nations (represented by the Federated Kingdoms and the NAL) and Ireland soon joined the SR's call for a Grand Coalition against FC. During the course of the war, the Coalition would be joined by the Republic of the Two Crowns, Danzig (both March 22) and Latvia (March 24) as well. One of the first moves by the coalition was made by the Commonwealth's navy, which quickly liberated the Bahamas and a few other islands that were formerly part of the FK or the NAL. The Bahamas quickly became the base of operations for the coalition.
What started out as a purely internal Floridian affair was quickly trumped up in the world press. War of liberation indeed! How can it be that foreign imperialists are the "liberators" of an already free and integral nation?
While the coalition was gathering, unbeknownst to the world, a coup d'etat was taking place in Florida. On March 18, Jaime Bush was overthrown as President by General Silva-Gonzalez. He offered to return all condominium territories to their original preconquest status. But the next day, he detonated an atomic bomb in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the Cruzan Islands.
Silva the Nadder! A man without any shred of honour, a man who cared more for his own estates and bank accounts than for the welbeing of Florida! A man who would sell his own mother for sixpence -- and did worse in selling himself to the NAL in order to be rid of proven progress in the Caribbean! Yes -- I know that news of the Conservative Party's part in the downfall of Florida has not yet reached the press, but know ye all this: you can't sit there in judgement of me, Senator (censored)! I know it was you and you, Pennsylvaania and Virginia, and who knows what others -- that slick tongued nadder you groomed for your dirty work told me you'd paid him in Scandinavian gold to stage a coup, backed by Scandinavian military hardware. Oh yes, he thought he had slain me, which is why he became smug. He didn't know about my body doubles. I know that some day this will all out and you and your Scandinavian cronies will all come tumbling down. It will serve every one of you right for your crimes in Florida!
Mr Bush, having been removed from power, is naturally guiltless in the actions of his "successor"; but he still had valuable insight and commentary on the last days of his great experiment.
On the 23rd, the NAL invaded northern Florida, while the SR and the FK invaded in the South. Irish and SR troops also liberated the Cruzans. In Florida, SR forces went completely berserk and fought with frenzied rage after hearing that their West Indian capital had been completely destroyed by the atom bomb. Almost all of the Floridian penninsula was secured by the 24th. Only a small and isolated resistance was still holding out in the inland swamps, but mopping-up operations neutralized this resistance within a few days. In a last-ditch effort by FC diehards against the coalition, a second atomic bomb was exploded aboard a small boat in the Gulf of Mexico causing radioactive contamination of the entire lower Mississippi Basin, including much of what is now East Florida.
That fool! There's no sin in saying now that the bombs were for Philadelphia and Gotborg. The two bombs anyone knew about, anyway. Insurance policies, you see: you attack us and we will strike back!
Many SR troops could not control their rage, and let out on Florida's cultural treasures, destroying several monuments, burning museums, desacrating graves, and confiscated Florida's gold and silver reserves. The SR promptly received international condemnation for their excessively harsh treatment of Florida, but were allowed to keep the gold and silver reserves and other spoils to pay for the destruction of Charlotte Amalie. Silva-Gonzales and his cronies were also arrested by SR troops, and shipped to Gjebaland where they were tried for war crimes and have hence been exiled to Antarctica.
They were brutes and animals. I witnessed their atrocities and spoke with their victims. Everyone knows about the gold reserves and the statues. The world has quite forgotten the rape and murder victims! I can offer directions to mass graves near the swamps of northern East Florida, where I had wandered before surrendering to the Oregonian peace corps. If anyone deserves to rot in Antarctica, it's Archqueen Magrat and her bestial generals! Mark my words: one day Florida shall rise up and seek justice on the Nordes!
After the war was over, the SR handed their occupation zone to the Republic of the Two Crowns on March 26. However, the transfer was followed by a diplomatic incident between the RTC and the SR. The commander-in-chief of the Republic's occupying forces, general Marek Aldendorf, organised a huge parade for himself in Miami and depicted himself as the true liberator of Florida. This and Aldendorf's autocratic behaviour enraged foreign minister Bernstorff of the SR to such a degree, that the friendly relations between the two countries were seriously jeopardised. The conflict was settled with the dismissal of both men on March 30.
I have heard that this action was almost as criminal as the rape of our nation. I sometimes get to see a newspaper: I've read about the "relocation camps" and the "transfer camps" and "furacano relief camps" and even the refugee camps. Imagine! One day we are a sovereign nation peacefully going about our business and living with a decent status of living and another day, we're a nation of campers!
The entire south of Florida proper is currently known as the European Occupation Zone. Apart from the RTC's occupation zone, Ireland also has a share of Florida. It is unknown what will happen to it in the near future; although the Scandinavian suggestion of a returning it to Castille-Leon was not met with much enthusiasm, this option hasn't been ruled out completely. The American Occupation Zone has been welcomed back to the NAL as East and West Florida. The European Occupation Zone is still in limbo, hard hit by the furacanos of last year.
Oh, yes! The imperialists have had their say! The time is comming when they will earn their just reward for destroying a peaceful and prosperous nation through illegal and immoral warfare!
Cuba and Porto Rico have been restored as nations, while the rest of the Caribbean has been returned to its original, pre-conquest, status.
Farewell to ye o Cuba and Porto Rico! It seems you have escaped the ravages of Nordic racism and fanaticism and their desire to wantonly destroy!
On 4 September, 2004, noted American political commentator Trish Dunn (ABC, Philadelphia Post, Star of Georgetown, et al) offered some of her thoughts on the recent war in a television panel programme...
Chris Johnson (Herald of New Amsterdam, CBS radio) said: "Not just that: we would also have to deal with a mentally sick population."
Trish Dunn responded: "Now, that's a little over the top! In the last year (2003), the Floridians have fallen from the country's high point in history (with a rather reform minded President looking to take Florida into the 21st century and make it a nation to be respected for its national virtues and energy rather than its past military dictators' abuses of power) to the ravages of outside threats of war from the Scandinavian Realm, civil war in the Cruzados, military coup, abuses by those coup leaders leading up to needless atomic warfare, a war of overbearing invasionary force, and total destruction and desecration of fully one third of the land (and the most populous region of the country at that!); then subsequent partition by the victors where each segment of the country clearly receives a different quality of treatment, and to add salt to the wound, several major storm systems have ravaged what little was left over and there were no national reserves and services with which to rebuild.
"And you tell me these people are "mentally sick"? Please! "Mentally sick" is taking out one's revenge for the destruction of one city on the innocents of another. "Mentally sick" is ravaging and raping the land during war and then leaving the ruins in the hands of colonial incompetents (pace RTC!).
"Kindly note that there is NO anti-Irish hatred in the Irish Occupation Zone. NO anti-American hatred in the American Occupation Zone. And really no anti-RTC hatred, just plenty of exasperation and dissilusion. There is, however, much anti-Scandinavian resentment and hatred; and I can't imagine this emotion will dissipate in the near future."
Tobago, in the distant past a colony of Courland, has been claimed by Latvia; a pro-Latvian coup d'état on March 31 was followed by the proclamation of the Union of Latvia and Tobago on the same day.
Latvia's illegal occupation of Tobago was eventually and effectively dealt with by England. Latvia ignored the diplomatic channels, but the invaders weren't able to resist against irate natives and understandably upset Commonwealth armed forces in the region. More to come...
Hayti is still indecisive, having been declared the Empire of Saint-Domingue but still occupied largely by Nouvelle Francie, Louisianne and France.
One wonders if Hayti wouldn't have been better off if it had not been aggrandised into its present shape? Before their liberation by Florida-Caribbea, they were doing pretty well without the baggage of Santo Domingo attached!
