Northland (The Shores of Northland)

The Federal Commonwealth of Northland, commonly known as Northland (Spanish: Norteterra, La Septentrion) is a federal republic in eastern North America. Comprised of twenty-five states, three territories, and one federal capital district, Northland is an influential regional power and commands significant political, cultural, and financial power in the Western Hemisphere.

With a population of 126 million living on over 2.5 million sq. km of land, Northland is one of the world's most culturally diverse and industrialized nations. Its geographic and ecology diversity gives range to thousands of mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, jungles, and other natural features. Urban centers, such as New York City, Jamestown, and Savannah, are bastions of culture and international trade, while rural regions of the southeast and west form the country's agricultural, hunting, and fishing economies. In the Caribbean, Cuban states and the island of Puerto Rico hold important naval outposts and are markedly strong spots for global tourism. The exclave states of the Yucatán peninsula offer incredible biodiversity, thus leading to an economy centered around wildlife research, biotechnology, medicine, and renewable energy.

Pre-Columbian History
Indigenous peoples first came to what is now Northland through Asia, 15,000 years ago. Since then, centuries of cultural and political development occurred under various Native American tribes.

European Arrival and Colonization
Europeans first landed upon the continent in the late fifteenth century, and since then, a long-period of colonization and settlement violently swept away indigenous prevalence in place of western European dominance. The first permanent European settlement in present-day Northland was San Juan, established by Spanish traders in 1521 and still inhabited today. Saint Augustine, a city in East Florida, was founded as a Spanish Mission by Pedro de Aviles in 1565, and is the oldest established and continously inhabited city on continental Northland.

English settlement began in 1585 when English nobleman Walter Raleigh founded the settlement of Roanoke. A few decades later, the outpost of Jamestown was founded in 1607 and gave birth to the colony of Virginia. English settlement then expanded south to the Carolinas and Jacobina, and to the north with Maryland. Extensive English Puritan colonies were founded in modern-day Quebec, in areas then known as New England, but were lost to the French following the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763). Also lost in the Seven Years' War was the prized colony of Pennsylvania.

French settlement was mostly prevalent in modern-day western Northland, in states such as Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tanaskee. Other European peoples, such as the Dutch and Swedish, left their imprints as well, especially in the Atlantic region states, like New Coventry and Delmarva. However, by 1700, most Dutch and Swedish settlements were owned by England

Indepedence and Issues of Territory
Modern Northland emerged as the Seven Colonies, which were controlled by England. After the loss of New England in 1763 and the stringent restriction of further settlement, colonists were humiliated, impoverished, and disillusioned with English authority. Hatred of the English was so strong that the colony of Georgia was illegally renamed to Jacobina, after German colonist-rebel Jacob Leisler who lived in the seventeenth century. After the enactment of several devastating taxes and a crushed coup, the Seven Colonies revolted in 1768, and all had individually seceded by Spring of 1769. What followed was a six-year war that had spelt devastation for both England and the Colonies, but none-the-less earned Northland its indepedence.

An elective constitutional-monarchy with a limited centralized government was established in 1776. A parliament was founded with King George I presiding over it. However, years of instability caused by governmental incompetence, several tax revolts, and the assassination of George I prompted Northland to adopt a better method of governance. In 1790, the Parliamentary Convention greatly re-adjusted the national structure, abolishing the monarchy and instituting a complex legislative and judiciary system, with a capital in Washington, D.C., named after the late King.

From 1792 to 1795, Northland, under the leadership of President XX, waged war on France in the Reclamation War, which aimed to retrieve former New England and Pennsylvania colonies. The war did not achieve its goal and enacted a large cost on Northland, but still allowed for the annexation of Kentucky and Tanaskee. Furthermore, the war caused extreme financial crises in France which soon amounted to a violent period of Revolution that brought down the French monarchy and introduced an unstable republic.

In 1800, this new French Republic was suffering from staggering amounts of public hostility and debt. In hopes of filling the national treasury and lifting some financial burden, the French government sold a small portion of the Louisiana to Northland. While not willing to sell the entire Louisiana territory, the French gave Northland the vitally important southern region, which contained the port of New Orleans. Naming this new state Louisiana, Northland then pursued a period of extensive North American trade and commerce, making the new country rich and wealthy, especially after nearly twenty years of violent warfare. The rest of the crumbling Louisiana Territory declared independence from France in 1803 and formed the Ohio River Valley Republic. After 1803, French influence was only limited to Tuskegee and Pearl River, as well as Texas, an area formerly owned by Spain but won by the French after their victory in the Seven Years' War.

Political Change, Party Politics, Democratization, and Expansion
The wealth and prosperity of the early nineteenth century was once more diminished by warfare. This time, the Ohio River declared war on Northland in 1807 following several trade tariffs upon the country. The war, lasting until 1811, was mostly inconclusive but led to greater strife in the Ohio River Valley and an economic panic in Northland.

The thereafter-named Panic of 1811 consequently produced a large political discourse in Northland. Primarily centered in New York City and Raleigh, the so-called Little Enlightenment led to calls for greater male suffrage, increased democratization, political stability, and diplomatic isolation from the French and Spanish. These calls were successful, when a series of parliamentary reforms in 1815 increased male suffrage and removed various voting fees and requirements. The Government itself was reformed in 1816, with the previously despotic presidency given clear definitions and limitations, and term-limits, as well as several reorginizations of parliamentary and senatorial structure, and finally an expansion of the judiciary.

Occurring simultaneously to economic strife was the development of solidified political parties. Even before independence, many various factions representing various issues to colonists. However, after independence, many people were polarized by the issue of governmental power. Those who supported George I were named Royalists, while those who supported a Republic, such as Person X, were aptly named Republican. In the nineteenth century, as a clear class distinction began arising, Royalists transitioned into Territorialists, those of the upper class who supported expansion and war, and the still-strong Republicans, a party which soon came to be stocked by the lower-class males who recently earned suffrage, supported civil development and peace. The Party system remained strong as various factions came and went.

Just as the Little Enlightenment stressed democracy, it also engendered hostility towards France and Spain. Starting in 1820, the Northland government began supporting Spanish Floridian separatists and Pro-Northlanders. Northland, led by President XX, sent weaponry, money, and settlers to both East and West Florida, acts which perturbed Spanish authority so much that the Kingdom of Spain declared war on Northland in 1822, and was joined by France later in the year. Unlike the Ohio River War, the Florida Wars were certainly not inconclusive, and carried heavy consequences for all parties involved. After suffering a string of defeats in 1822, and an invasion of Jacobina, Northland forces eventually turned the war to their favor after British support was earned in 1823. After that, Northlander and British forces crusaded through Tuskegee and Pearl River, quickly occupying them while making their way to Florida. West Florida fell easily after the quick siege of Pensacola in August, while East Florida, a strong Spanish bastion, gave the Northlander and British forces quite a fight. Regardless, the East Floridian capital of Orlando fell in May of 1824. After sporadic fighting for a few more weeks, peace was achieved through a series of Treaties in New York City.

The war carried strong symbolic benefits for both Britain and Northland, and healed the previous hostility that existed between the two countries. Northland obtained both Floridas, Tuskegee, and Pearl River, while Britain recovered New England, Quebec, and Pennsylvania. In return for war co-operation, but not wanting to cede all of their war gains, the British government granted Northland parts of New York province and the prized city of Philadelphia. Despite the small cession of lands, most Northlanders had given up on the notion of taking back New England following the failed Reclamation War. New England essentially lost its status as a core Northland region.

Following the war, Northlander political discourse moved farther away from domestic territorial expansion, and more towards the idea of maintaining the current political boundaries while advancing democracy, patriotism, and Northlander cultural independence. A literary movement subsequently began, romanticizing the industrial, urban centers such as Jamestown, Richmond, New York, and Philadelphia, while pointing to the glory and pastoral vitality of rural Northland. The movement, named the Northstar Movement, spawned several great literary classics and created a wholly new political thought in the country. Social distinctions between the rich and the poor were lessened as nearly all stressed civic duty, communal unity, and a more patriotic sense of citizenship.

Texas, Technology, and Industrialization
Despite the growing, anti-expansionist movement among the lower class and burgeoning middle class, the government and upper-class still supported expansion. Finding opportunity in French Texas and a newly independent Mexico, the Northland Parliament devised a series of bills aiming to weaken French and Spanish control in the region. A series of settlement bills appealed to settlers who did not care for Northstar liberalism, and by 1826, hundreds of families were settling communities west of Lousiana.

Soon, Northlander settlers were bumping shoulders with new generation French colonists in Texas. Further south, planters and slavers from Jacobina and the Floridas accrued the chagrin of Mexico. By 1835, nearly 10,000 Northlanders lived in French Texas and along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. In 1836, parliament petitioned France to cede Texas to Northland for a price of sixteen million dollars, citing the instability of the colony and how it would excel under Northlander leadership. The French Republic rejected the petition, and several more that followed after. In response, President XX sent troops into Texas. Supporting the president, parliament issued several hundred patents and commissions to manufacturing companies and a nascent railway industry. The patents caused a technology boom in 1836 and led to a huge push towards greater industrialization in the country.

Industrialization had already started slowly in Northland in colonial days, picking up speed in the 1800s with the advent of steam power. Industrial efforts subsided after the Panic of 1811, and remained a low priority until the 1830s when new technology, railways, and increased demand for coal renewed efforts. As Northland troops occupied French Texas and naval battles raged in the Atlantic, railways were popping up all over the country as manufacturers were given increased impetus and opportunity. This increased opportunity won the war for Northland, but also muddled party politics, as the lower class manufacturers who were traditionally aligned with anti-expansion Republicans were now being courted and aided by pro-war Territorialists. This resulted in a growing pro-industrial wing of the Territorialist party, and gradual flight from the Republicans which would soon spell their demise.

By 1837, French Texas was hastily admitted as state as settlers continued moving to Mexico. Mexico itself was in no state to fight against Northland. A civil war begun in 1834 was still raging across the country after Northland obtained Texas. Issuing a Presidential Decree, XX declared that all predominantly Northlander areas in Mexico are thereby considered Northlander property. Once more, the pro-expansion majority of Parliament supported his actions and the next year, in 1838, eastern portions of the region were admitted as the state of Mexico.

Further Development of Political Parties in the mid-Nineteenth Century
As mentioned earlier, party politics were muddled in the 1830s when the working classes began identifying with Territorialists, a party previously associated with pro-war aristocrats. As more and more of the lower and middle classes began partying with Territorialists because of their pro-industrial stance, the Republicans lost support and moved closer to an anti-industrial, pro-slavery, and pro-isolationist platform.

By 1840, Territorialists, popular in the North and most urban areas of the south, diversified their platform by appealing to both pro- and anti-expansion voters, supporting immigration and industrial development, and taking a clear stance against slavery. On the other hand, Republicans struggled to maintain political relevancy. Originally solely standing against monarchism and George I, Republicans gradually moved towards supporting civic duty and personal liberty. However, as the Territorialists grew stronger, Republicans attempted to compete with them by abandoning aforementioned issues and adopting others in an attempt to draw more voters in. A realignment thus occurred after Republicans went hardline conservative by openly supporting slavery, agrarian interests, and diplomatic isolation. However, a left-leaning, anti-slavery wing of their party remained active, and had accustomed to calling themselves "True Republicans".

By 1844, the Republican Party could not compete with the Territorialists, and mostly collapsed by that year. True Republicans soon began immersing themselves in Northstar political thought, and thusly reformed themselves as the Northstar Party. The rest of the Republicans faded into obscurity until 1849, when they returned as the popular Conservative Party, which took the southern states by storm. Before that time however, politics was mostly dominated by pro-industrial politics for nearly ten years.

While appearing strong, even the Territorialists began decaying after the Texan and Mexican annexations in the 1830s, as well as the lack of solid opposition in the form of the Republican party. Their entire platform concerned expansion, and its alleged benefits to modern society. After the annexation however, with public opinion once more favoring anti-expansion, the popularity of Territorialism declined significantly after 1845. After a strong loss in the mid-term elections of 1846, the Territorial Party was disbanded by XX. Many voters and party bigwigs found a niche in the Northstar Party. However, the strong pro-industrial section of the Territorialists straggled on, leading to the founding of the Democratic Progressive Part in 1847, finding popularity in Virginia and North Carolina, while Northstar found popularity in Maryland, Delmarva, and New Coventry as well as many western states and Mexico. The rest of the states, such as Texas and the south, voted Conservative.

Despite the disbandment of two major parties and established of three new parties, the ideological status of Northland remained much the same. There existed either urban, pro-industrial, anti-slavery mindsets, or agrarian, anti-industrial, pro-slavery mindsets.

Slavery
As the issue of expansion was moot after 1850, the question of slavery arose in territories recently annexed. Slavery was legal and prevalent in most of the south, including both Carolinas, both Floridas, Jacobina, Tuskegee, Pearl River, Tanaskee, Kentucky, Texas, and Mexico. It was illegal in Delmarva, Maryland, New Coventry, and after a Northstar resurgence in the late 1840s and a strong cultural push against slavery, Virginia. North Carolina went through instability in 1852 when the Northstar state legislature voted away slavery, but a Conservative majority four years later brought slavery back. Despite the return of slavery in North Carolina, coastal counties outright banned the practice.

In general, slavery was a low-priority issue before the 1820s. It was declining in the South, and most northern states had banned it between 1800 and 1811. However, the increasingly prevalent role of industry in the South led to a greater dependence on black slavery. By 1830, nearly 1,567,000 individuals were slaves. By 1850, that number had tripled, as the South became an industrial hotstop. Landowning families, planters, and industrialists benefitted greatly from the system, while millions of blacks suffered as human chattel in an incredibly brutal, violent, and torturous system.

Over the course of the nineteenth-century, abolitionism, or the total banning of slavery, seeped into American minds. Initially, most anti-slavery proponents were early Territorialists, and saw slavery as detrimental to white settlers. However, as the repugnancies and horrors of slavery became widely known, a total moral stance against the institution soon developed. Joan Arkwright's pro-slavery 1831 novel The Necessary Evil was celebrated by southern Republicans and slaveholders, while its brutal honesty and accuracy disgusted and shocked most northern audiences. In response to her book, Bernard Page published Tuskegee Rosewood Plantations in 1833, which told the fictional story of a slave family brutalized by their white owners. It outselled Arkwright's work and fueled the fames of the pro- and anti-slavery issue.

State legislatures felt the turmoil as well. The only new state to ban slavery at the time was Virginia, while all other states in the South virulently defended the institution. Nationally, the issue was just as tense. Beginning in 1829, several Territorialist Senators and Assemblymen began proposing industrial slave regulation in the south, while their Republican counterparts blocked nearly every resolution or bill. Similarly, many ferociously debated slavery in Mexico. The Mexican Republic banned slavery when it achieved independence from Spain. In the state of Mexico, most residents wanted to keep slavery out, but Northlander settlers, mostly coming from Jacobina and Florida, wted slavery to be re-introduced. The state legislature, already wary of Catholic Mexicans, disenfranchised them and proceeded to institute a slave system in 1839.

Under the Presidency of XX, first elected in 1840 and the first anti-slavery president, several attempts to ban slavery failed miserably, as well as any attempts to regulate it or make the lives of slaves any easier. XX was killed in 1843 after a bomb went off in the White House, set off by pro-slavery, Jacobinian nationalist Arthur J.L. Dabney. After XX's death, the fight to stop slavery died, but only for a short time. It was revived in 1848 elections when Democratic Presidential candidate XX pioneered a compromise which would establish a Department of Slave Regulation and alleviate the horrors of the system while appeasing southern slavers. Despite the compromise, most Conservatives rejected XX's plans. XX lost the election, but a wave of anti-slavery sentiment swept over the north, and XX won the elections in 1852, thus beginning the First Southern Revolt.

First Southern Revolt
The First Southern Revolt began on January 4, 1853 after Democrat XX won the Presidential election of the previous year. Fearing the instituion of slavery would be banned and their lifestyle lost, state legislators from South Carolina and Jacobina declared XX's electoral win illegal and threatened secession. Both states raised army levies and defied federal orders. From 1853 to 1854, both states were virtually seceded, and a year of bloody battles and civil war cost about five-hundred thousand lives. Charleston was razed by Northlander forces, and both states were placed under military law by the time the conflict ended in the summer of 1854.

The revolt only increased sectional tenstions in the country. Southern Conservatives saw the North as evilly oppressing their homeland and god-given rights, while the Democratic and Northstar northerners saw the South as a fortress of barbarism, slavery, and cruelty.

Politically, slave codes were tightened in other southern states, while North Carolina once more attempted to ban slavery in 1855. Succeeding permanently, slavery was abolished in that state, and it only further instilled fear in white landowners in the rest of the south.

Second Southern Revolt
After the abolition of slavery in North Carolina, XX managed to win re-election in 1856, and promised to strengthen the cause of abolitionists and follow the lead of states like Virginia and North Carolina. Incensed by the martial rule of South Carolina and Jacobina, both Floridas and Texas proscribed abolitionism as an illegal faction, and began tightening slave codes all over their respective states. Several slave revolts broke out in both regions, and XX was forced to dispatch federal troops to deal with the issue. The invention of the telegraph, and the prevalence of railways in the south, made the Presiden'ts job relatively easy, but only so much.

In response to federal troops, the Governors of West Florida, East Florida, and Texas informally encouraged their private militias to engage federal troops and crush any slave revolt. President XX found out about this, and declared all three states in rebellion. Fearing violent action, the three governors retracted their militias, but were still arrested and executed for treason following the subset of the Revolt in 1858.

President XX left office in 1860 a highly polarized man, having weathered two revolts, being adored by the north, and despised by the south, but not having quite eliminated slavery. Violence in the South gradually increased following the Second Southern Revolt, and culminated in the War of Slavery in the 1870s.

The Cuban War
Following the Second Southern Revolt, southern state legislatures were embroiled with fear and anxiety over the survival of slavery. They also feared federal action and flat out war if they made any brash decisions. Instead, they turned to Cuba, one of the last colonies of Spain in North America. Beginning in 1858, several southern states funding Cuban separatists and nationalists, hoping that the island would revolt and join Northland. A civil war occurred that year, but it was not as quick as southerners would have liked.

In an informal war lasting from 1859 to 1863, Southern states, at times aided by Conservative presidents, fought on ground in Cuba, and at sea against Spanish and allied French vessels. The war was costly, but by the end, Northland had control of Cuba. After pressure from the South and from a Conservative string of Presidents, Parliament incorporated the island as four states, including the capital of Havana. Of course, the island would be a slave haven for Southern Conservatives, but little did they know that the acquisition of Cuba would only energize abolitionists in their fight to get rid of slavery.

The Road to the War on Slavery
Between 1863 and 1870, the nation was consumed by the slavery debate. The majority of states in the country had legalized slavery, while only North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., New Coventry, Maryland, and Delmarva had banned it. The rest of the states, including Texas, Mexico, and the Cuban states, allowed it.

1863 surely represents a pivotal year for the country, for it is when Northstar Maryland Senator XX announced his campaign for slavery.