History of the NAL
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History of the NAL
Fearing an outbreak of anti-Protestant repression on the part of the home countries, especially England, and resisting taxation by the home Parliaments on constitutional grounds, representatives of a number of British north american colonies met in 1803 to issue the Solemn League and Convenant (SLC), declaring that the medieval doctrine of cuius regio, eius religio was a dead letter, and that "these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States subject only to Their Majesties"; independent, that is, of the home Parliaments.
The Solemn League was eventually, if reluctantly, approved by Costenhin XII for Kemr, and Henry VII for England and Scotland. The war against Napoleon was expensive enough without going to war in North America as well, which had not been paying its taxes since 1774 anyway, when a local tax revolt in Boston spread to the other states.
Other North American colonies and states joined the SLC in the following years after 1803, but for entirely different reasons. Native states joined to form an alliance with the SLC, while New Sweden and New Iceland joined for economic reasons. The larger union is therefore more appropriately known as the North American League, although "Solemn League and Covenant" is still part of the formal name.
Provinces in order of admission
(Italics represent former provinces)
Original 19 Provinces
- Alba Nuadh/New Scotland (1803)
- Virginia (1803)
- Castreleon New / Niuw Batavie (1803)
- Pennsylvaania (1803)
- Aquanishuonigy / The Six Nations (1803)
- New Hampshire (1803)
- Massachussets Bay (1803)
- Rhode Island (1803)
- Connecticut (1803)
- Kent (1803)
- Ontario (1803)
- West Florida (1803)*
- Ter Mair / Maryland (1803)
- Carolina (1803)
- Bahamas (1803)
- Jamaica (1803)
- East Florida (1803)*
- Jacobia (1803)
- Oxbridge (1804)
Later Admissions
- 20. Cherokee Nation (1806)
- 21. Tenisi (1812)
- 22. Kentucky (1816)
- 23. Mobile (1819**)
- 24. Mississippi (1828)***
- 25. Illinoise (1832)
- 26. Miami (1835)
- 27. Ouisconsin (1835)
- 28. New Sweden (1848)
- 29. Utawia (1877)
- 30. Mascoutensi (1883)
- 31. Mueva Sefarad / New Iberia (1899)
- 32. Les Plaines (1904)
- 33. Nja Island / New Iceland (2001)
- 34. Nunavik (2004)
- East Florida* (2004)
- West Florida* (2004)
*The Floridas were conquered by Castile-Leon in 1806, and readmitted 2004
**Represents the date that Mobile Province officially renounced claims to its former territory in Castilian West Florida, as part of the treaty selling the trans-Perdido
***Mississippi was returned to Louisianne and renamed St.Onge in 1831.
Bahamas and Jamaica were occupied by Florida-Caribbea in the 1970's, but the NAL never recognized FC's rights to them, considering them to be under foreign occupation.
Not exactly a province and not exactly Foreign Parts, the Unincorporated Territory is a patchwork of government lands, Company lands, Native national territories, private fiefs and the like, lying to the north of the "southern tier" of provinces.
The NAL was involved in a war with Louisianne in 1828. For more information, please visit The 1828 War.
Early Years
The NAL had quite a few growing pains in its early years, initially over the authority of the General Moderators. This caused the first real split into political parties, with what became the Whigs favoring a Parliament above the GM, and a coalition that eventually coalesced into the Conservative Democrats viewing the General Moderator-ship as the natural leader of Parliament.
Within a quarter-century, Slavery in the NAL had been ended, but within another generation or so civil war nearly loomed in the Crisis of 1875 which fortunately ended, if not without shedding blood, at least with an intact League a little less prone to factionalism.
Wars
Prior to the NAL's establishment there were several wars that impacted the League's future:
- The Wars for American Territory
- The 1755 War
The 1828 War
It has been Decided that Louisianne should extend down to New Orleans as it did as a French colony. But I don't like throwing out old ideas (in this case, the NAL having control of N.Orl.), so I'd like to make this proposal.
In the middle 1820s, France (who still controlled Louisianne) and the NAL got into a tiff over the Mobile region (what is now the Province of Mobile, and perhaps east into Cherokee and Jacobia, the last two already being Provinces at the time). Perhaps Napoleon was flexing some unused North American muscle, and felt the need to pad the lower Mississippi a little?
By 1828, the tiff had grown into a much debated war (what will be the NAL's first) and led to the occupation of New Orleans. There will be no Province of Louisiana, as it wasn't an NAL war of conquest, but a military district is created there to handle the city and the river traffic.
1830 is given as the independence year for Louisianne; and the NAL, who has no argument with a conciliatory new Republic, returns the occupied territory and may be given navigational and trade considerations.
The War, and the cutting off of Louisianne from France helps establish its de facto independence; and it helps explain some residual bitterness when the Mormons go tramping through a decade later.
It will also help to formulate military policy in a confederation like the NAL. It might be better to sort out how a gangly country like the NAL can wage war early on, rather than wait until 1898 or 1914.
The 1828 War between the Republique de Louisianne and the NAL didn't bring about an end to America's disdain for its western neighbour. The currency revaluation of 2004 brought on much discussion in New Amsterdam about the reasons for this switch. Speculation seems to rest on one of two chief possibilities: Louisiana is trying to hide some devaluation while skimming a little off the bottom; Louisiana is working up to some kind economic sabotage against the NAL, currently a lead trading partner, but never one that has been entirely trusted. The Times of New Amsterdam had only this quip to report: "The day Louisiana can honestly boast of a sound currency is the same day that the world shall crack apart and a large white pigeon shall be thus released into the Void."
The Times of New Amsterdam had this to say about Louisianna's recent shennanigans in forming the Régiment De Paix, a purportedly international organisation that will perform services similar to the Red Cross and other aid organisations: "The recent creation of the Régiment De Paix is certainly a step in the right direction for a newly awakening Louisiana, who have until this point been preparing to gaily step off a cliff." And "We in America shall have only to wait and see how serious our western neighbours are to engage in and propagate this benevolent society given their propensity for extravagant promises and spectacular failures in past decades."
In general, the Press from all parts of the NAL have a low opinion of Louisiana and its recent attempts at reversing its long-time sluggishness of character [2004]. The Herald of Chicago quipped: "Louisiana has a pretty damned high opinion of itself of late, for a country looking at the rest of the world from the bottom of the privy. Fear not -- but the rest of the world - and North America in particular - aren't holding their breaths for real change in that carrot shaped country!" The Tribune of Boston argues: "We surmise that once Young is at last out of office, Louisiana will snap back into its old shape of marginally tolerable rubbish heap of corrupt petty officials taped together by that body of senseless promulgations that in other countries might be termed laws." Not all of the thinking is negative, however. The Post of Alexandria has this to say of Louisiana's reversal: "Of course, Young and his cadre of reformers, surely the enticing pastry crust riding on top of an otherwise inedible lump of Helvetian minceloaf, are working at full steam to ensure that Louisiana might catch up to that other regional wonder: the Kingdom of Tejas."
The War of 1898
Between the Spains and the NAL/SLC.
There are a few other details on that [1898] war: It was a war over Piracy; the actual Pirates are not known (Kemrese, Mueva Sefaradi and other North American nationalities have been targeted); the war was a victory for the SLC; Cuba and other remaining Spanish colonies (Florida, Porto Rico, etc) took advantage of Spain's failing situation to declare independence. The SLC had no real interest in acquiring these newly liberated territories, unlike the USA *here*, so we end up with a bunch of new countries in the Caribbean.
By 1900, Florida was on the warpath and thereafter conquered Porto Rico and all those other little islands down there (i.e., Jamaica, Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago). Haiti and Cuba remained free, but the former was conquered in the early 20th century, but some short while thereafter liberated itself. Cuba fell to Florida only after embroiling itself in the 1953 Civil War. Florida is currently waging another war of conquest against Haiti.
The First Great War
This conflict (1914-18) initially had little NAL involvement. Sir Alfred Laurier was GM at the start of hostilities but he died suddenly. His two successors, as mandated by the Covenant, were Andrew Jan Volstead and Jeremiah Jennings Bryan, neither of whom wished to get involved in "foreign bloodshed." However, the election of Gwrthiern ffeil Gwilim in 1917 saw a great increase in American effort.
The Second Great War
For nearly the entirety of this conflict (1939-1949), the NAL was heavily involved under the leadership of Franklin Donald Rosenberg save for a short time when his wife Ruth Rosenberg became GM after his death.
During this time, the Solemn League Navy in many ways came into its own, especially in the Atlantic Air War with the development of the airship carrier. Among the veterans of GW2 were Edward Moore O'Kinneide, James Wainwright, Ronald William Regan and John Robert O'Kinneide. The war brought to prominence Admiral Johnathan Gotlieb Penn who became GM.
The Florida War
Taking place in 2004, while Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. was in Octagon House, this was an international effort directed against the aggressive state of Florida-Caribbea. That nation ceased to exist, and as a direct result the NAL gained (or re-gained) four provinces--East Florida, West Florida, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The atomic detonations which ended the war, and continued tensions over the territories which once made up Florida-Caribbea have ongoing consequences.
Source material
The American Question
Q. Can someone fill me in on the American revolution in Ill Bethisad?
A. It was postponed until 1800 or so, when the colonies declared themselves independent of the various British Parliaments, while still loyal to Their Britannic Majesties. It was a revolt on constitutional grounds, rather than a revolution. Similar arguments were used *here*: that the colonies were no part of the realm of England, and therefore they were out of reach of the Parliament of England and the laws passed thereby, though still within reach of the Privy Council. That was the theory of the Stamp Act Congress, e.g.
The British provinces of the NAL-SLC are therefore subject to either the Queen of England and Scotland or Ill Teruin (High King of Kemr), who are the (technical but not practical) heads of state over their respective American Provinces. Nevertheless, all of the provinces have their own parliaments and lord governors, elected officials who act as viceroy in governing the provinces; they also send representatives to the Convention at Philadelphia. New Sweden and New Iceland are in a similar circumstance, but are instead subject provinces of the monarch of the Scandinavian Realm. Mueva Sefarad, Nunavik, West & East Florida and the Native provinces are not subject to any overseas monarch; neither are the Unincorporated Territories or the various Company lands.
East Florida & West Florida
The whole of the northern portion of the former Republic of Florida was occupied by American forces, acting within the scope of the Commonwealth's alliance with the SR and the RTC to at last put an end to Florida-Caribbea's hijinks in the Caribbean region. American controlled territory amounted to a little more land than the original provinces of West and East Florida amounted to. The newly reconstituted provinces will include all reconquered territory; though the NAL is negotiating with the RTC to alter the boundary somewhat, so that certain major roadand railways that are primarily within American territory may remain intact.
A Bill of Extraordinary Admittance is being considered currently by the Convention which will expedite the reentrance of the once conquered territories (W&E Florida, Jamaica, Bahamas). Since Jamaica and Bahamas were Original Signatories, and that they were not properly or fully conquered, and since there are many residents of those provinces who lived there in the 1970s and before,it was felt that they ought to simply revert to their pre-1970s status as normal provinces.
Florida is a special case since there are no longer any living Floridians who were alive in the preconquest era. [There áre many Floridians who are crypto-citizens of the NAL - but that's a classified matter.] Due to the overwhelming desire on the part of the northern Floridians to return to the NAL, and given their status as Original Signatories, the usual review and acceptance policies are being modified for this special case. As of October 1, all Floridians who are named on the old republican census rolls are to be granted citizenship. They need only go to the county courthouse and turn over their old Floridian identity papers and show proof of residence to receive their new documentation.
The official readmission ceremony for all four provinces is slated for January or February of 2005.
The Caribbean Plan
The Caribbean Plan, offered by the Republic of Florida-Caribbea, was accepted by the General Moderator and Parliament of the NAL in July of 2003. The provinces of Bahamas and Jamaica which were lost to Florida-Caribbea during its expansionist period, are now returned to the NAL fold as condominium provinces [provincial governance is the internal domain of the Provinces; defense and foreign policies are handled in cooperation between the NAL and Florida-Caribbea]. On 4 July, 2003, the Right Honorable Marcus H. Garvey was sworn in as governor of Jamaica; and the Right Honorable Elizabeth P. S. St. Ives was installed as governor of Bahamas. They mark the beginning of the new condominium status formed between the NAL and Florida-Caribbea.
