Jamesland (Differently)

Republic of Jamesland
*Republiek Jamesland*
Timeline: Differently
OTL equivalent: Victoria, Australia
Republic of Jamesland Republiek JameslandTimeline: Differently ; OTL equivalent: Victoria, Australia
Flag	Coat of arms
	Motto: ; Peace and Prosperity
	Anthem: ; Stockade March;
Capital; (and largest city)	George Bay
Official languages	English, Dutch
Religion	85.1% Christianity; -72.9% Protestantism (official); -8.7% Roman Catholic; -1.9% Orthodox Christianity; -1.6% other Christian; 14.9% other/none
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Legislature	Jamesland Congress
Establishment
Area
Population
GDP (nominal)	estimate
Currency	Jamesland Dollar ($) (JLD)
Drives on the	left

Jamesland, officially the Republic of Jamesland (Dutch: Republiek Jamesland) is a country located on the southeastern portion of Australia. It is a bilingual nation, with speakers of Dutch and English. Its form of government is presidential republic. It borders New Holland to the north and Mystras Australis to the northwest. With a surface area of 281,588 square kilometers, it is Oceania's seventh-largest country, ranking 81st globally. Its population of 9.3 million inhabitants makes it the sixth most populous country in Oceania and the 120th-most populous country worldwide.

History[]

As part of New Holland (1610–1919)[]

What would become Jamesland was settled by the Dutch as part of the colony of New Holland in 1610 after Dutch settlers under the leadership of Willem Janszoon would establish the settlement of New Rotterdam in modern-day George Bay. Dutch settlers, primarily merchants, moved to the colony in relatively large numbers, displacing many Aboriginals and Byzantine settlers already present in the region.

By 1650, there were over 100,000 Dutch settlers present in New Holland, almost 40,000 of them located in Jamesland. Many English settlers would also end up New Holland, primarily due to a shared Protestant religion and a desire to escape the hostile desert environment of Swania. As a result, the English began to make up a sizable minority within New Holland, many of them settling in Jamesland.

Despite cultural similarities, tension remained between the English settlers and the Dutch majority throughout New Holland's history. This led to the formation of an English separatist movement which sought to bring southern New Holland under the control of the British Empire. This movement gained significant support throughout the 1800s as British presence on the Australian continent increased. The election of Prince Alexander as King of New Holland in 1890 only intensified these desires even further.

British hegemony and independence[]

New Holland, while officially neutral in the Great War, formed a strong diplomatic alliance with Germany and Mystras Australis during the War. As a result, tension emerged between the British population living within New Holland and the New Hollander government, culminating in a British revolt based out of South New Holland in 1918. The British intervened almost immediately and the New Hollander government surrendered South New Holland to the British.

The territory would soon be reorganized as the Dominion of Jamesland, which would be finalized on January 1st, 1919.

Jack Lang 1928 — Jack Lang, prominent Anglo Jameslander independence activist and two-time Prime Minister of Jamesland

Dominion of Jamesland (1919–1950)[]

For four decades, Jamesland enjoyed its status as a constitutional monarchy within the British commonwealth, although the Dutch population began to push republicanism in order to secure their interests and ensure Jamesland was not just acting in the interest of its British citizens. As a result, the Tory Party of Jamesland was largely supported by the British Jameslanders while the Republican Party of Jamesland was largely supported by the Dutch Jameslanders.

The victory of the Republican Party of Jamesland in the 1948 election was regarded as an upset and also saw the balance of power in Jamesland shift away from the pro-British faction in favor of the Republican faction. The Parliament of Jamesland would officially voted to abolish the monarchy on June 5th, 1949 in favor of a new Republican constitution to be drafted. The constitution went into effect on November 1st, 1950 and the country officially became the Republic of Jamesland.

Republic of Jamesland (1950–present)[]

Upon gaining independence, Jamesland maintained its alliance with the British by remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Jamesland would join the Australian Council in 1990.

Demographics[]

General[]

Statistics 2022:

Birth rate: 18.7
Death rate: 6.3
Fertility rate: 2.35

In 2020 Jamesland had a population of 9,302,087. Of which 49.4% was male and 50.6% was female. 26.8% of the population was under 15 years old, 65.8% was between 15 and 65 years old and 7.4% was above 65 years old. The median age was 29.2 years old. Around 71% of the population live in urban areas.

Ethnic groups[]

Unlike the most other countries in Australia, ethnicity in Jamesland is determined by race and language, which results in each ethnic group having all kinds of different ancestries (for example, according to the 2016 census, there are 90,000 Welsh people living in the country, but about 25% of the population claim at least partial ancestry). The percentage of each ethnic group is:

45.2% English/Swanian
33.7% Dutch
6.5% African Jameslander
5.8% German
3.1% Aboriginal (about 9% of the population claim at least partial ancestry)
5.7% other (this includes other races too)

Cantons by population[]

Code	Name	Capital	Population	English	Dutch
01	Ballarat	Ballarat	407,124	63.9%	24.2%
02	Bendigo	Bendigo	821,682	39.2%	46.6%
03	Canberra	Mypolonga	575,329	70.7%	10.8%
04	Eureka	Star city	352,067	61.1%	25.4%
05	George Bay	George Bay	2,013,069	51.4%	28.8%
06	Gouden Kust	Rotsstad	367,524	11.2%	85.6%
07	Gunai	Hafen	1,057,918	25.4%	42.1%
08	Mildura	Mildura	257,610	76.2%	14.4%
09	Neuschwaben	Staustabt	231,849	12.7%	44.2%
10	Rodlanden	Johannesburg	602,531	16.1%	80.7%
11	Victoria	Warrnambool	1,222,788	46.5%	19.8%
12	Wellington	Tantanoola	849,502	71.6%	13.4%
13	Wustenland	Staufenberg	302,262	15.5%	33.2%
14	Bass Islands	Palana	241,087	38.2%	31.8%