Mississippia (Principia Moderni III Map Game)

Having its roots in the Cahokian civilization based around the city of Cahokia, the Mississippia Confederation was declared in 1533 as the Cahokian Empire, under Great Chief Antinanco the Restorer. Mississippia spans from Florida to Minnesota, along the Mississippia River, and includes a blend of many different people united in common Mississippian heritage.

The current ruler is Christophe the Christian, who is overseeing a period of Christianization and continuing modernization in Mississippia.

Early History (Pre 1400)
The early history of Mississippia was based in a series of similar cultures that all evolved into the modern Mississippian culture. Mississippia's first true predecessor was the Early Woodland Culture. The Early Woodland Culture was the dominant Borealian culture from 1000 BC to 0 BC, at which point it was overtaken by the Hopewell Culture.

The Woodland Culture...

Hopewell tradition,

Mississippian culture,

Early Cahokia

1400-1533
In approximately 1400, droughts began to appear along the Mississippi Valley region. Cahokia, being the largest city in the region, was flooded with refugees, making the city even more powerful. The city managed to recover from

By 1410, knowledge of iron working was discovered and began to be put into practice to use farming tools and weapons, making Cahokia the most powerful state in Borealia. Its supremacy ended up somewhat challenged by Moundville, which developed towards the south, but Moundville ended up reliant upon Cahokia for trade and ended up with great cultural similarities that continue to unite the region to this day.

Cahokia began to develop a greater structure to house its entire government -- the Epic Flying Serpent Mound as the population of the city began to skyrocket. By 1418, Cahokia dominated the majority of the Mississippi River as the Moundville culture was vassalized.

By 1430, it became quite clear that Cahokia had expanded much too rapidly, and some resistance began to be experienced, as exemplified in the 1433 Floridian Revolt. However, with the leadership of Rektaw the Proud in 1440, Cahokia quickly began to expand yet again.

Notably, major developments were made in the fields of sanitation and revival of the medicine man culture. A medical school was established in Cahokia in 1457, and a massive sanitation/sewer/water management plant constructed by 1468.

1462 - Census (1.1 million)

Cahokia then engaged in decades of peace and consolidation. Population exploded throughout the realm and all of the vassals began to merge into a common Cahokian culture. The medicine men who spread the Cahokian religion really helped spread the culture.

1533-Present
In 1533, the Grand Council of nobles elected a new royal house after Rektaw's family died out without a strong male heir. Antinanco, the new Great Chief, was deemed to be an Emperor, creating the Cahokian Empire, which evolved into the Mississippian Confederation.

Government
The government of Mississippia is a confederative central tribal chiefdom. What this means is that there is one central government overseeing a confederation of states (confederate members) and that these confederate members are also comprised of smaller tribal governments.


 * See also: Great Chiefs of Mississippia and Constitution of Mississippia 

Confederate States



 * Flag_of_Cahokia_State.pngia - Illinois, Michigan
 * Flag_of_Moundville.pngville - Louisiana, Florida
 * Flag_of_Etowah.pngh - Kentucky, Tennessee
 * Flag_of_Parkin.pngn - Arkansas
 * Flag_of_Odawa.png - Southern Ontario, CA
 * Flag_of_Santee.pnge - Minnesota, Wisconsin
 * Iroquois - Upstate NY

Census
(*) Estimates will not sum to estimated total.

Economy
Mississippia has the strongest native economy in Borealia, due to extremely productive farming, trapping and trading with various European nations and other American Indian nations.

The large population also helps support an extremely wealthy economy.

Trade
Trade is a large sector of the Mississippian economy. The location of Cahokia at the confluence of the two longest rivers in Borealia (the Mississippia and the Missouri) and the Illinois River, made it an ideal location for continental trade prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Since the arrival of Europeans, trade has generally been focused closer towards the coastlines. The Mississippians also are making a large profit as a middleman: Mississippia bought good from the inland tribes to sell to colonizers and bought European goods to sell to inland tribes.

The construction of roads, which began under Christophe the Christian and was overseen by Jean-Frances Desjardin, furthered the ease of access for trading.

OTL/ATL Locations

 * See also: Places 

Geography

 * Mississippia River - Mississippi River
 * Gichigami - Great Lakes
 * Mishigami - Michigan Panhandle

Cities

 * Cahokia - St Louis, MO
 * Miami - Detroit, MI
 * Moundville - Tuscaloosa, AL
 * Whapeton - Twin Cities, MN
 * Huron - Toronto, ON, CA

Culture
Mississippian culture has a few defining features that unite all of the Mississippian Confederation. These features are: Based upon these definitions, the area shown at the right is defined as Mississippian in 1400.
 * Mound-based architecture (pyramids, squares, circles);
 * Cultivation of corn for the majority of food produce;
 * Deeply interconnected trade networks across Borealia, from the east coast to the west coast;
 * Complex imperial system of tribal and inter-tribal confederations;
 * Use of iron tools; and
 * Southern Cult (Southeastern Ceremonial Complex), a complicated religion that is dying as Christianity is rising.

Since 1500, the culture has started to adopt Christianity, due to increasingly present French and European traders and missionaries.

The Mississippian language was never written down, but increasing use of French and Latin by medicine men has begun a small cultural revolution that is displacing some Mississippian cultural elements.

Foreign Relations

 * Allied
 * Zapotec
 * Friendly
 * Colorado
 * France
 * Neutral
 * Neu Pomerania
 * Hostile
 * War
 * War

To Do

 * Terraforming
 * Connect Kankakee River with Great Lakes (20 miles)
 * Connect Allegheny River to Genesee River in PA (13 miles)
 * Thicken St Clair and Detroit Rivers
 * Get Guns and modern tech
 * Continue to develop agriculture

1570
To be completed


 * In Mississippia, the presence of many French trappers, notably in the state of Cahokia, leads to an outbreak of some European diseases. This causes short-term panic around Cahokia's major cities and the City of Cahokia and its suburbs. However, the medicine men manage to mitigate the massive damage that could be done by using traditional healing practices. Many of the diseases are treated using a traditional healing mold (OTL predecessor of penicillin). Even others are cured with herbal remedies, but this does not mitigate the loss of at least 300,000 people. The census is still conducted as planned, but the population is short of expectations due to the diseases. In total, there are 6,163,811 Mississippians, with the most living in Cahokia State, followed by Moundville, Etowah, Parkin, Odawa, and Santee. The thousands of missionaries who largely brought the diseases continue to move into other tribal areas, notably targeting the Sioux. The medicine men return to Mississippia (notably Cahokia) in huge numbers to heal the ill, but some remain in Sioux and Algonquin lands. Jean-Frances Desjardin oversees the importation of horses and the management of maize production nationwide. The influx of Europeans begins to slow a bit, but more and more technology continues to be brought over. The nation continues to buy firearms and horses, while using the fur trade to fuel the economy. The work on a navy continues, with canoes being built throughout the Gichigami and along the Mississippia, as well as on the off-shoot rivers. The plan to connect the Kankakee River to the Gichigami is being built, and is estimated to be completed in 1589. Another canal is planned, which would connect the Allegheny and Genesee Rivers, also connecting the Mississippia with the Gichigami. All of the member states of Cahokia, Moundville, Etowah, Parkin, Odawa, and Santee expand their economies, while the Odawa, Santee and Etowah expand.