Republic of Inner Banks (1983: Doomsday)

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Republic of the Inner Banks
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
OTL equivalent: Areas around Albemarle Sound in North Carolina

Flag of Inner Banks Location of Inner Banks
Capital	Williamston
Largest city	Greenville
Other cities	Washington
Language	English
Area	3523 sq. mi.
Population	52,300 (approx)
Established	July 4th, 1984
Currency	American Dollar, barter

The Republic of Inner Banks is a American survivor nation located around Albemarle Sound in the former US State of North Carolina. At present in consists of six counties: Beuford, Bertie, Chowan, Martin, Pitt and Washington. It is neighbored on the east by Outer Banks and to the north by Elizabeth City. Due to its isolationist tendencies, it currently has not applied for League of Nations membership.

Pre-Doomsday

The coastal area of North Carolina was home to many indigenous peoples dating back to AD 200. Most recently, before the coming of Europeans, there were three bands of tribes: the Algonquin, the Iroquois, and the Eastern Sioux (Catawba). The best known of these tribes were the Roanoke, the Cherokee, and the Catawba. The area was the site of the earliest English settlements, including the ill-fated Roanoke Island, site of the first English birth of Virginia Dare in 1587. Earlier exploration of the area by Spanish explorers had not resulted in any settlements.

In 1655, Nathanial Batts settled south of the Chowan River to be followed soon by full scale colonization in the Albemarle Settlements in the new Carolina Province set up by Charles II of Britain. The area's rich soils proved excellent for tobacco and later for cotton. This lead to a robust economy that lasted after the American Civil War when slavery was abolished and the economy turned to more mixed crops.

British American inhabitants of the Inner Banks tended to be sympathetic to the British in the American Revolution, but the state as a whole was led by Scots-Irish in the west who had been run out of the British Islands due to political differences. Both the Carolinas were divided in this way, the west and northwest corners being far removed from the coast. It would be the coastal areas, though, that would play a greater role in the Civil War both because the opposing forces had entry into the states by sea and because the plantations where slaves were used were nearer the coast.

The Inner Banks area continued to be the center of agrarian production even as the economy in the west shifted to manufacturing -- mostly textiles. The population began to shift to the cities, though, and the Inner Banks region lost much of its labor force in the twentieth century. The largest city is Greenville (42,000) and the capital is in Williamston.

Doomsday

On the evening of September 25, 1983, the citizenship in Greenville, North Carolina, like that of every town in the United States, was shocked to hear that the nation was under attack. Town leaders suspected that Seymore Johnson Air Force Base in nearby Goldsboro would be a likely target and prepared for the worst. They were correct, and at 8:20 PM a 140 kiloton nuclear bomb struck the base in a strategic ground strike. This meant fewer deaths in the surrounding area, but also sent deadly fallout into the air and headed directly towards Greenville. A high pressure system along the coast caused much of that fallout to fall locally, devastating the city of Greenville. With nowhere to go, people were forced to stay indoors for months and many died of exposure to radiation just trying to get food and water.

With the explosion on the southwest side of town, much of Goldsboro was destroyed outright by the resulting shock wave and fire storm. Those in the northwest of the town that were able to escape traveled north to Wilson only to overwhelm that city to the point of near destruction. The city, on its own, attempted to form an interim city-state but fell by the end of 1984. Attempts to contact Greenville to the east had failed due to the pattern of the spreading fallout. When explorers from Blue Ridge had flown over, they had seen no life in the city. It is assumed that the people there eventually migrated into the surviving cities of the Inner Banks.

Those cities, just towns for the most part, had all suffered to some extent from the fallout as well. Though fallout from down the coast and from the center of the state drifted over the area, for the most part the fatal radiation was dispersed within about 40 miles upwind. Greenville would suffer about 50% fatalities and would be evacuated while massive cleanup was performed over a period of 20 years.

Each town in the along the rivers and bays of eastern North Carolina would pull together to deal with refugees and fallout in the best way they knew. Churches and city councils, for the most part, were the support structure as it became clear that there was no help coming from Washington or Raleigh.

Post-Doomsday

Building a new republic

For the most part, the towns along the rivers and bays of eastern North Carolina fared well on their own during the fall and winter following what came to be called Doomsday. The EMP over the eastern states had effectively cut all communication and much of the transportation off from the rest of the state. Even as early as New Year's Day of 1984 couriers on horseback or diesel tractors had found their way between the towns to arrange a meeting in Williamston to form a regional government for mutual support. Largely leaders of churches and civic groups, the delegates met in May to establish their self-governing state, or a "nation" run as a republic. They chose the name of the region preferred by some eager for the tourism of the barrier islands: The Inner Banks. They would find out soon enough that the Outer Banks had formed a republic of their own which would prove detrimental for their own development.

The relationship between the two regions should have been cordial, for they shared state citizenship and a long history. However, the relations soured when bridges and ferries between the two regions were closed in the name of local security. Any goods that might have come into the ports at Washington and Belhaven, for example, had to get past the Outer Banks. When the goods on hand began to run out in the winter of 1984, minor riots broke out in both these cities. However, control of the farmland in mainland Dare County had not been secured by the Outer Banks and for years the independent growers there had a brisk business with the Inner Banks.

Old battery-operated radio sets that had not been destroyed by the EMP (most because they were in storage and not plugged in) were utilized to get the word out as the summer of 1984 began. The date of July 4th was chosen as the founding date of the new "Republic of the Inner Banks." Elections were scheduled and postponed several times before an official government was in place over two years later. The co-operation between the towns, though, sufficed in these early years in order to survive in the new world.

Economy

Like most nations post-Doomsday, farming took the center stage as the main industry. However, in recent years many other industries have also started to become a part of the economy. However, for now it appears that agriculture will remain the staple.

Farming

The largest industry by far. The region before Doomsday had long been associated with farming, but post Doomsday it became a critical industry as thousands of refugees flooded the area. The main crops grown in the Area are Rice, Soybeans, Grain, blueberries, peaches, and strawberries. In recent years Hay and Tobacco have started to return as cash crops.

Foreign Relations

In the Inner Banks, much fear still exists over the possibility of another Nuclear War. As such, the country has remained in isolation for much of its history. As early as the summer of 1984 some knowledge was acquired of the survivors on the barrier islands of the Outer Banks. However, all bridges to the islands had been barricaded to keep the islands from being over-run by refugees. When the government of the Inner Banks had been formed, the decision had been made to leave their neighbors alone. To the north, the town of Elizabeth City had been inhospitable to the "country folk" that had "invaded" them the fall of 1983, so they had been spurned by the Inner Bankers for years. It was only in the mid 2000's that relations had warmed between the communities even to allow much trade.

As recently as 2010, though, when explorers from the LoN and Blue Ridge discovered the area, the Inner Banks would receive them cordially, but would reject any suggestions of any alliance with either the international organization or representatives of their former state.

When word of a restored United States on the great plains reached the Inner Banks in 2010, there was much rejoicing, Within days, the government of Inner Banks passed the Unification Bill, which stated the Inner Banks would join the new US when it was became viable.