New Netherland (13 Fallen Stars)

New Netherland, officially the United States of New Netherland (U.S.N.N.), is a n nation which governs land in the northeastern part of the continent, as well as several islands in the. The Union was established in 1792 with the unification of and, and was the last unification to take place after the  in 1788.

New Netherland is ranked as Great Power, and a main player in (along with the ). New Netherland has one of the largest economies of the world, with (the largest and most populous city) being a center of global economics. New Netherland is the only non-European power to be a, having claims in , , and the.

Etymology
When the states of and  agreed to form a union, the initially used name was the United States of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey was named after the, while New York (despite the misconception it is named after /) was named after (the  at the time).

When the constitution was ratified, the name was changed to the United States of New Netherland. The name was in honor of the which included the two states. As the name would suggest, it was named after the. The word "Netherlands" literally translates as "low countries" or "lowlands" in. Unlike the European nation from which it is named from, New Netherland is always written in the singular form (as opposed to the plural Netherlands in Europe).

Independence and Vermont War

 * Main article: 

With the failure of the to form a stabilized union between the colonies,  become one of the first states to declare independence from the United States of America on November 9, 1787. continued to participate in the confederation until its dissolution on March 24, 1788. During this time, talks were made on a potential union between the. The union was intended to compete between the establishment of in the northeast, and the military might of  to the south.

This proposed union ultimately failed by November 1789, when New England and New York over the Vermont Republic. Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania remained neutral during the war, despite many Jerseyites supporting New York. The war would soon turn sour in Vermont, as the pro-New England region was able to push New York's control out of the region. Despite the losses, New York was able to keep Vermont control out of the region. In the Battle of the Hudson River, Mohawk leader and his men would successfully push Vermonters from gaining grown on the river.

The war officially ended on August 1, 1791, with the Treaty of Providence. New York would loose its control of Vermont (as well as claims to the Northwest Territory of modern day ).

Unification


Shortly after the conflict, talks on a union resumes. Despite Pennsylvania abandoning any union attempts, New Jersey continued in talks. But by this time, New Jersey was being, with the northeast supporting New York, and the southwest showing more support for Pennsylvania. At the same time, people in rural Long Island were growing separate from New York. In the later-half of the war, a pro-New England group (called the "Long Island Boys") attempted to separate the island from New York (inspired by Vermont). Unlike Vermont, the separatist movement gained little support (especially in the western parts), allowing the movement to be crushed out. Despite this, the region began to support separation from New York in a potential federation.

Beginning in April 1792, New Jersey and New York began greater discussions on union, eventually leading to the creation of the "United States of New York and New Jersey" on June 26, 1792. During the constitutional convention, the name was officially changed to New Netherland, which was chosen as a unified name for the new nation. The convention agreed to divide the two nations into four states and one district. New Jersey was divided into two states (East Jersey and West Jersey), Long Island becomes a separate state, the (Staten Island) would be soled to East Jersey, and the upstate region of New York became directly controlled by the new federal government (which will eventually be sold to settlers and divided into new states). The remainder of New York became the State of Hudson. The city of Albany was chosen as the capital, which was chosen to encourage inward population growth. New Netherland became the third and final union to be established from the former colonies (New England and were the first two). In the following presidential elections, former New York Governor and outspoken anti-federalist would be elected as the nations first president.

Post-Unification growth
During the post-unification period, the new government of New Netherland began to encourage northern growth as a means to protect their rights to the and discourage neighboring  and  from moving in &mdash; an initial fear to Britain's occupation of the  throughout the American Revolution, and New England's push towards gaining a footing on the River during the Vermont War. Among the maneuvers to encourage northern growth was making the northern city of the permanent seat of government for New Netherland (which had previously been held in ). The city's location on the Hudson River and proximity to the border with New England showed New Netherland's ambitions towards its territory.



New Netherland took an early role among the American Republics, becoming a mediator during the (which ended the ). New Netherland's population boomed during the early 19th Century, going from about half a million people at unification, to over three million by 1850. By the 1820s, New Netherland ranked 2nd in population of the former United States of America (second only to ). New Netherland's position as a continental power became apparent by the 1820s after the completion of the &mdash; which allowed ships from  to travel along the canal, down the, and into. The canal opened up the and the  of  to global markets, increasing the economy and population of New Netherland in the process.

Despite the benefits of the canal, the debate over its construction lead to growing political spits among those who supported it (lead by President ) and those who opposed it. It was around the late 1820s that the political split lead to a within New Netherland. The Liberty Party (founded by President ) formed from the anti-canal factions, while the Union Party formed from the pro-canal factions. Despite the evolution of party platforms over the decades, the division between these two parties would dominate Federal Assembly throughout the 19th Century.

New Imperialism
By the 1850s, New Netherland's economy and influence in the Western Hemisphere were gradually growing. By the same time, the by the European powers lead many in New Netherland to consider similar moves towards global expansion. Despite growing support within the nation, New Netherland lacked the military capabilities of Europe to secure a colony on their claims on their own power. During his administration, President advocated the expansion of New Netherland by peaceful means. His work was achieved in 1863 with the purchase of, opening New Netherland to and legitimizing colonial expansion through peaceful means.



New Netherland would expand its claims in the Caribbean during the 1870s. First with the purchase of the in 1876, and  from  in 1878. By the 1880s, political turmoil within the lead to the largest land purchase by New Netherland to date. In 1883, negotiations by President lead to the purchase of  and ; opening up New Netherland to  and the. This move transformed New Netherland from an American power into a global player.

In the waning years of the 19th Century, New Netherland's military power was growing due to its new claims. Expansion continued with the annexation of, the , and in 1886 &mdash; with the later becoming a protectorate 1900. Tensions in the late 1890s with lead to, ending with the occupation of the disputed coastal islands by New Netherland; a move which further placed New Netherland's efforts towards being a continental power (especially in the newly independent republics in Central and South America).

The most recent territorial claims of New Netherland took place in the early 20th Century. The first was the designation of the, which (while under limited New Netherlander sovereignty) holds troops to protect trading interests. The second was the establishment of the, which is currently the largest territory of New Netherland.

Presidency
The is elected for a single six-year term. Prior to the 1950s, the President was elected for a three-year term, which had no constitutional limits. The current President of New Netherland is former Brooklyn Mayor and Long Island Governor.

Legislature


The of New Netherland is the Congress of the Union. The Congress was structured under the notion that all states were equal, which was initially used under the and initially  during the Constitutional Convention in 1787 by. Under both congresses, the legislature contains only, with each state having the same amount of say as the other states.

Unlike the Articles of Confederation, each state is allowed more than one delegate. Based on the amount of delegates, the state is thereby divided into congressional districts &mdash; all of which contain an equal amount of voters. Due to varying populations of states, the amount of voters for each state's districts can vary.

The modern day Congress contains 300 seats, with each state having 27 congressmen and the Capital District receiving three congressmen. All the territories of New Netherland elect a. All congressmen are democratically elected to a three-year term (with no term limits set).

Political parties
New Netherland is a de facto, with the Liberty Party and the Progressive Party being the two dominant political parties.

The Liberty Party was established in the 1830s, with President being influential in the party's founding. Today, the Liberty Party is a conservative-based party, supporting limited government control and fiscal conservatism. The Progressive Party was established in the 1912, with President founding the party during his campaign to gain a third-term in office. Today, the Progressive Party is a liberal-based party; supporting progressivism, populism, government support, and socialism.

Other noted political parties of New Netherland include the Communist Party, the Green Party, and the Rent Is Too Damn High Party.

Political subdivisions


New Netherland is a federation made up of 11 states and one federal district (the Capital District). The majority of these states are located on the n continent, while two states (Curazao and Statia) are insular states located in the.



Geography
The United States of New Netherland has an area of about 166,514 sq km, and includes parts of North America and the Caribbean.

New Netherland borders to the east,  to the southwest, and the  (via ) to the northwest. Via the Caribbean, New Netherland also maritime borders with, (via Puerto Rico), and the United Commonwealth (via the ). On the island of, New Netherland shares a land border with (via the ).

Religion
New Netherland is a which promotes the  and secures the rights and securities of all religious practices within the nation. Demographically, New Netherland is a nation, with the majority of New Netherland's population being part of several denominations of Christianity. is currently the largest denomination, followed by (with  being the largest Protestant group). Following Christianity,, , and mark the largest groups.

During the 19th Century, several were established and practiced in Western New Netherland; including, , and  to name a few.

As of 2010, about 20% of the population refers to themselves as or.