Pre-BombNES IV: A New Hope

Matsumae (The Matsuame Clan): Though in theory, the Matsumae Clan is a retainer to the overlords of the kita kenrai, in practice they are all but independent of not only the Hōjō lords of northern Honshu, but the imperial court in Kobe as well.

The Matsumae Clan’s domination of Hokkaido began in the early seventeenth century, when they were granted the southern half of the island as a march fief, with the purpose of defeating the local Ainu chieftains. This task, seen as a burden, would give the clan a special exemption from paying the annual tribute to the Shoguns, freeing them to largely proceed with their own policies. Free from taxes, the small Matsumae fiefdom soon expanded to dominate the entire island when it became clear the only way to stop the Ainu raiding parties was to expel them altogether. When the four Kenrais were created in 1650, the Matsumae found themselves now a part of the Kita Kenrai, though their relatively secure position in Hokkaido would prevent the status quo from changing much.

By the 1700s, the Matsumae were in contact with China, Korea and the Demir Qoyunlu, making trade agreements entirely independent of the rest of the empire. A desire to find new fishing grounds and raid “barbarian” settlements on the Asian mainland would soon lead to the Matsumae gaining permission from China to explore and trade in Northern Asia in exchange for paying tribute directly to the Chinese Emperor. The arrangement would prove a profitable one for both parties, as the Nan-Song had little interest in the far north, and the Matsumae were more than happy to expand their power base in a way that did not draw the attention of their theoretical masters on Honshu. A constant market for furs would only further ensure continued Matsumae interest in the region, and by the 1850s, the Matsumae had leased over 1,400,000 square miles of land, giving them claims as far as the Arctic Circle, though minimal surveying and poor maps made the exact amount of territory under their jurisdiction unclear.

In the 1870s, the Matsumae moved their capital from Hakodate to the newly founded port city of Ezotsu, farther to the north. It was this move which finally drew the attention of the Hōjō to such an extent that they could no longer be ignored. It was only with the discovery of vast gold deposits on the mainland in the 1880s, did the Hōjō Clan accept the Matsumae’s position, as the Daimyo agreed to pay a portion of the gold to the Kita Kenrai.

A final lease was taken from China in the 1890s, pushing Matsumae Land as far as the Manmosu Gawa (Lena River), named for the bodies of frozen mammoths unearthed near its shores. A recent colonization scheme has relocated numerous ethnic Japanese settlers to the mainland, with the town of Kitazaki becoming a particularly attractive location, not just to settlers from Ezo, but from elsewhere on the islands as well. Though the colony has thus far been successful, it is beginning to receive scrutiny from the Nan-Song, as Chinese merchants, ministers and citizens alike begin to grow concerned of the growing Japanese presence on the continent.

United Dominions: The United Dominion of British North America is a union of twelve dominions within the British Commonwealth, governed together within a loose federal structure. Despite being part of the British Empire, the UD, as it is commonly known, is a power in its own right, possessing the greatest industrial strength in the western hemisphere.

The United Dominions owes its origins to the founding of the city of Castlereagh in the dominion now known as New England. Castlereagh was the first truly successful British colony in North America, owing in part to its fine natural harbor and substantial population of Beatifian Christians, a pious sect who highly stressed the importance of education, hard work and self-sufficiency. Though it was the Beatifian attitude towards life which turned Castlereagh into a stable settlement, it would be the swelling of the British population in the seventeenth century that would truly see the Eastern Coast of North America blossom into a region of importance, as immigrants flooded the continent. Over the next few decades, several cities would be founded along the coast. In addition to Castlereagh, the largest cities to develop would be Roxburgh, Edwardsville, New Edinburgh and Excalibur. The capture of several Burgundian colonies in the early eighteenth century would also add the large settlement of Apeldorn (which would in time become known as Appledorn) to the colonies.

The Nine Years War would prove costly for the British colonies in North America, as French forces from Ohio and Quebec would launch several successful raids into British territory. Though no land was ultimately lost, the war did halt westward expansion for the better half of a century, creating discontent in many of towns across the colonies. As a result of the loss, riots occurred in the cities of New Edinburgh, Appledorn and Edwardsville in 1748, but these were quickly brought to a halt when savvy British governors accused the rebels of being supporters of France.

Unlike the Nine Years War, Britain’s entry into the Theodosian Wars would prove to be highly beneficial to the colonies. Though Britain’s conscription policies were met with outright hostility in many cities, particularly amongst the religious minorities and Burgundian inhabitants of Appledorn, a desire for revenge against the French kept the colonies mostly in line. France, tied down in Europe, was unable to respond to the British offensives in North America, and by 1811, Britain had successfully captured Ohio, Quebec and Louisiana.

Though Louisiana was placed off limits to new settlers, London was quick to realize that the cramped conditions of their northeast colonies, coupled with an inability to pay their soldiers, meant that new lands would have to be opened up for settlement. In 1815, the British gave their North American veterans massive land grants in the Ohio Valley, creating a mass exodus from the coast to the lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains. By the late 1820s, English speaking settlers comprised about one third of the population of Ohio, and by 1840 slightly more than half. Unsurprisingly, this led to a great deal of discontent amongst the French population of the region and would be a major contributing factor in the coming uprising.

In 1841, slavery was outlawed across the British Empire with the passing of the Universal Abolition Act. Though the act was widely praised in the Northern colonies, as slaves were few and far between there, the southern colonies of Carolina were quick to revolt. While most predicted that the Carolinian insurrection would be quickly crushed, a string of revolts by the French populations of Quebec, Ohio and Louisiana added unexpected complexity to the situation. This was soon followed by Mexican entry into the war in the November of 1841, which itself incited the French to intervene on behalf of their former subjects in December. By early 1842, the Great North American War was in full swing, prompting the British to launch the largest conscription in North American history.

By the beginning of 1845, the revolts in Quebec and Ohio had been crushed, though little headway had been made in Louisiana or Carolina. The conscription of nearly every able bodied adult male within the colonies proved to have little effect, as French guerillas and Mexican regulars prevented the British from gaining any ground. In May of 1845, a British army officer fired upon a group of Batesian war protesters in New Edinburgh, starting a series of riots. By June, the riots had completely overtaken the city, forcing British troops to retreat to the outskirts of town. Similar uprisings over the draft would soon overtake the cities of Castlereagh and Edwardsville, as information spread about the British government firing upon peaceful protesters. Though the population of the colonies was still roughly tied in their support of the war, the unrest nonetheless prevented the shipment and manufacture of needed supplies, making the war situation untenable. In 1846, the Treaty of Copenhagen was signed, ending the war in favor of the rebels.

The Treaty of Copenhagen would create three new states in North America: Carolina, Louisiana and Obregon. Though the latter was not among the revolting regions, it was largely comprised of British dissidents and was presented as a sort of fait accompli in the signing of the treaty. The remaining colonies, it was decided, would remain with Britain, though it soon became clear that if measures for self-government were not put in place, these would soon be lost as well. In 1847, a conference was held in Roxburgh with the purpose of reorganizing the remaining British colonies in North America into a new government, and on July 8, 1848 the United Dominions of British North America was created.

The government of the UD would be roughly democratic in nature, with elected representatives from each of the twelve dominions serving in a parliament in the small town of Colchester. In addition to Parliament, there would also be a President to represent the union as a whole, a Premier to lead the people and legislature and several Lieutenant-Governors who were tasked with representing the interests of the Imperial crown. The French speaking dominions of Ohio, Huron (carved out of greater Ohio) and Quebec would have much more powerful Lieutenant-Governors than the other dominions.

In 1850, the Parliament of the United Dominions passed the Freedonia Act, which authorized the creation of an African homeland for the emancipated blacks remaining in Dominion lands. Though the law was passed as an act of goodwill, in reality it was little more than an attempt to remove “undesirables”. Over 80% of the black population (and numerous Native Americans) were rounded up and placed on ships, bound for the new colony, with the first settlement Christianville, being founded in 1851. Though Freedonia was technically an independent homeland, a governor appointed from Colchester would act as the executive officer of the colony.

The next fifty years would see the development of two primary political coalitions: the Optimals and Progressives. While the two coalitions roughly represented the standard conservative and liberal dichotomy often present in politics, in truth the situation was much more complex, and the movement of parties between the two coalitions was quite fluid. The largest parties were the United Bloc, a party representing the interests of the French speakers within the nation, the Union Party which represented populism, labor and small farmers, and the local branch of the Imperial Defence Party, which primarily represented the interests of the moneyed elite and British crown.

Since independence, the UD has yet to fight a major conflict, though the increasing industrialization of the east coast and growth of the UD military has created serious concerns in Mexico, Louisiana, Obregon and Carolina. The UD has responded to this by seeking friends in South America, roughly picking up where the Empire of Great Britain left off. A series of investments in Maracaibo and Santiago has proven very profitable for those involved, while continued interests in the Caribbean has seen a push for London to place the Bahamas and Jamaica within the UD’s jurisdiction as well. Regardless of the UD’s growing influence and enormous economic potential, it remains a very loose confederation and still mostly untested when it comes to exercising its political power on the global stage. No war with a foreign power has been fought since the Great North American War, and the largest global crisis thus far, the recession of the 1880s, was not nearly as dire for the UD as it was for the rest of the world. Nonetheless, if the UD wishes to survive and turn its economic muscle into political muscle, it will have to unite to a greater extent than it ever has before.