The Republic of Obregon
Spoiler :
Obregon's position, bounded by mountains and rivers into the most remote northwest corner of the North American continent, led to its becoming one of the last temperate areas in the new world to feel the touch of western civilization. While the land was first explored by Spanish and English explorers during the late 1500s, it had little contact with the outside world thereafter, beyond the odd French Coureur du Bois, Spanish adventurer or Officer of the British North American Trading League (BNATL).
The 'Final Frontier' remained loosely contested between Britain, France, and Spain throughout the greater part of the next three centuries, with no permanent agreement being reached regarding the fate of the region north of the 42nd parallel and west of the continental divide. While French fur traders were to be found throughout the area for most of its early history, the main conflict at the turn of the 19th century was between the Intendancy of Alta California, who viewed the region as a Méxican frontier, and the BNATL, who brazenly operated dozens of trading posts within the de jure Méxican territory.
The region finally rose to prominence with the entry of Great Britain into the Theodosian Wars. Simmering religious and political dissent in the United Dominions was pushed to the breaking point by the heavy taxation and large-scale drafting and impressment. Several uprisings took place across the British Colonies, though they would have little effect on the outcome of the war. The poorly-coordinated, and often mutually uncooperative rebels were put down one by one, and the haphazard revolution was over within months. Faced with their defeat, the leaders of the abortive uprising gathered their supporters, and set out into the west. If liberty from the politics and theocracy of Britain and its Dominions could not be made at home, then it would have to be forged on the frontier.
The British, distracted with their conquest of French and Spanish North America, were all too pleased to see the self-exile of the malcontents. The Spanish Empire-in-exile in México, while wary of the English-speaking settlers, was pleased to see 'El Territorio de Obrégon' (still a thinly-inhabited frontier at the extreme fringes of the bustling Intendancy of Alta California) filling up with a population hostile to the United Dominions. At any rate, the Empire, distracted as it was by the process of re-establishing itself, had precious little ability to resist the migration even had it desired to do so.
The Migrations of 1803 saw the transcontinental transit of roughly a dozen parties, setting out down the Ohio River and up the Missouri, before ascending over the Rocky Mountains and crossing into the Snake River basin. Setting out downstream, towards the Pacific Ocean the Migrants established a collection of settlements on the lower Columbia and Wallamet [OTL Willamette] Rivers. The early years were harsh, and the greater portion of these settlements failed, due to agricultural failures, recalcitrant natives, and a lack of cooperation between a few of the more radical factions of migrants.
The survivors of the failed settlements migrated to the more successful towns, and by the 1810s the Obregonian Migrants had coalesced into four broad entities. They were all republics in name, and while possessed of names bordering on the poetic and grandiose, none possessed a population significantly larger than a few thousand, or spanned more than a handful of settlements..
The most radical of the four was the Wallamet State, based out of the Wallamet River Valley. Rainier was founded by the expedition of Theodore Ashley, a leader of the Batesian Church, a Puritan sect which had rejected the heavily political and worldly ways of the Britannic Rite. Ashley's Party had stormed the BNATL trading post of Fort Wallamet to establish itself, and formed an austere society which would thrive for several decades.
The remaining three parties were considerably more similar to each other, being founded on ideals of secular liberal democracy, and founded upon a strong cultural undercurrent of rationalist deism. Down on the coast, around the mouth of the Columbia, was Oswald Headley's 'Free Republic of America'. While small, Headley's maritime settlement, which would come to share his name, would play a major role as Obregon's gateway to the outside world.
The Redwood Republic, whose founding expedition had been led by Baldwin Colton, was the sole state to develop away from the Columbia, on Hawkins Sound [OTL Puget Sound]. Here, Colton made deals with the Salish natives, avoiding the hostilities that many other Migrants had unwisely aroused.
Finally, William Jordan's Columbia River Republic was based around the confluence of the Columbia and the Wallamet Rivers. By dint of the good nearby farmland and Jordan's hospitality towards several of the failed parties, the Columbia River Republic would grow to be the most populous and influential of the Migrant Republics.
The Obregonians would continue to quietly exist for several decades, nominally a part of México, but functionally independent. This early period would come to an end with the outbreak of the Great North American War. While the war's causes were very far removed from Obregon, its impact would be huge. With Carolina and all of non-Anglo North America in Rebellion, the Northwest received a second wave of immigration, a diverse group who would come to be known by the catch-all term of 'Latecomers'. The thousands of new arrivals came from tremendously diverse backgrounds, including freedmen blacks, displaced natives, conscientious objectors, religious minorities, French who rejected Louisiana, Carolinan Abolitionists, and more. The Latecomers swamped the Obregonian Republics throughout the 1840s, swelling its population from a handful of thousands to nearly one hundred thousand. Standing its ground, the Columbia River Republic took the lead in managing the tremendous influx, helping them to settle in their own lands, and making agreements to provide space in the neighbouring territories. Throughout this period, the Columbia River Republic constantly increased its clout with the other four Republics, ultimately coming to oversee their peaceful union into a single entity, proclaiming the Republic of Obregon on August 22, 1844.
Two years thereafter, William Jordan Junior presented the independence of Obregon as a fait accompli, and managed to attain international recognition in the signing of the Treaty of Copenhagen. México opted to accept Obregonian independence, preferring a friendly buffer state to a hostile rebellion which could potentially spread down the Siskiyou trail into the goldfields of Alta California. At Copenhagen, a southern border was established with México, and an eastern border formalized with Britain.
With independence secured, Jordan Junior returned, and established the National Assembly in the eponymous city founded by his father. William Jordan II was elected by the Aldermen of Obregon to serve as the nation's first Thane (Prime Minister). Since then, the Thaneship has remained in the hands of several of the more influential Migrant families, who form Obregon's social and political elite to this day.
Since independence, Obregon has grown rapidly, but it still remains a vast and largely-empty nation. While the core regions of Rainier Province serve as a fine agricultural heartland, much of Obregon has little economic value beyond fishing, logging and mining. Over the past half-century, Obregon has developed a very significant offshore fishing industry, and is a major exporter natural resources. However, Obregon's industries are badly underdeveloped, leaving the country largely reliant on trade with its neighbours, particularly México, to attain refined goods. Despite all of the changes it has gone through, the ideals upon which the nation was founded remain quite strong, and the Obregonian people remain committed to personal freedoms and secular governance, all the while maintaining a fiercely independent streak.
The 'Final Frontier' remained loosely contested between Britain, France, and Spain throughout the greater part of the next three centuries, with no permanent agreement being reached regarding the fate of the region north of the 42nd parallel and west of the continental divide. While French fur traders were to be found throughout the area for most of its early history, the main conflict at the turn of the 19th century was between the Intendancy of Alta California, who viewed the region as a Méxican frontier, and the BNATL, who brazenly operated dozens of trading posts within the de jure Méxican territory.
The region finally rose to prominence with the entry of Great Britain into the Theodosian Wars. Simmering religious and political dissent in the United Dominions was pushed to the breaking point by the heavy taxation and large-scale drafting and impressment. Several uprisings took place across the British Colonies, though they would have little effect on the outcome of the war. The poorly-coordinated, and often mutually uncooperative rebels were put down one by one, and the haphazard revolution was over within months. Faced with their defeat, the leaders of the abortive uprising gathered their supporters, and set out into the west. If liberty from the politics and theocracy of Britain and its Dominions could not be made at home, then it would have to be forged on the frontier.
The British, distracted with their conquest of French and Spanish North America, were all too pleased to see the self-exile of the malcontents. The Spanish Empire-in-exile in México, while wary of the English-speaking settlers, was pleased to see 'El Territorio de Obrégon' (still a thinly-inhabited frontier at the extreme fringes of the bustling Intendancy of Alta California) filling up with a population hostile to the United Dominions. At any rate, the Empire, distracted as it was by the process of re-establishing itself, had precious little ability to resist the migration even had it desired to do so.
The Migrations of 1803 saw the transcontinental transit of roughly a dozen parties, setting out down the Ohio River and up the Missouri, before ascending over the Rocky Mountains and crossing into the Snake River basin. Setting out downstream, towards the Pacific Ocean the Migrants established a collection of settlements on the lower Columbia and Wallamet [OTL Willamette] Rivers. The early years were harsh, and the greater portion of these settlements failed, due to agricultural failures, recalcitrant natives, and a lack of cooperation between a few of the more radical factions of migrants.
The survivors of the failed settlements migrated to the more successful towns, and by the 1810s the Obregonian Migrants had coalesced into four broad entities. They were all republics in name, and while possessed of names bordering on the poetic and grandiose, none possessed a population significantly larger than a few thousand, or spanned more than a handful of settlements..
The most radical of the four was the Wallamet State, based out of the Wallamet River Valley. Rainier was founded by the expedition of Theodore Ashley, a leader of the Batesian Church, a Puritan sect which had rejected the heavily political and worldly ways of the Britannic Rite. Ashley's Party had stormed the BNATL trading post of Fort Wallamet to establish itself, and formed an austere society which would thrive for several decades.
The remaining three parties were considerably more similar to each other, being founded on ideals of secular liberal democracy, and founded upon a strong cultural undercurrent of rationalist deism. Down on the coast, around the mouth of the Columbia, was Oswald Headley's 'Free Republic of America'. While small, Headley's maritime settlement, which would come to share his name, would play a major role as Obregon's gateway to the outside world.
The Redwood Republic, whose founding expedition had been led by Baldwin Colton, was the sole state to develop away from the Columbia, on Hawkins Sound [OTL Puget Sound]. Here, Colton made deals with the Salish natives, avoiding the hostilities that many other Migrants had unwisely aroused.
Finally, William Jordan's Columbia River Republic was based around the confluence of the Columbia and the Wallamet Rivers. By dint of the good nearby farmland and Jordan's hospitality towards several of the failed parties, the Columbia River Republic would grow to be the most populous and influential of the Migrant Republics.
The Obregonians would continue to quietly exist for several decades, nominally a part of México, but functionally independent. This early period would come to an end with the outbreak of the Great North American War. While the war's causes were very far removed from Obregon, its impact would be huge. With Carolina and all of non-Anglo North America in Rebellion, the Northwest received a second wave of immigration, a diverse group who would come to be known by the catch-all term of 'Latecomers'. The thousands of new arrivals came from tremendously diverse backgrounds, including freedmen blacks, displaced natives, conscientious objectors, religious minorities, French who rejected Louisiana, Carolinan Abolitionists, and more. The Latecomers swamped the Obregonian Republics throughout the 1840s, swelling its population from a handful of thousands to nearly one hundred thousand. Standing its ground, the Columbia River Republic took the lead in managing the tremendous influx, helping them to settle in their own lands, and making agreements to provide space in the neighbouring territories. Throughout this period, the Columbia River Republic constantly increased its clout with the other four Republics, ultimately coming to oversee their peaceful union into a single entity, proclaiming the Republic of Obregon on August 22, 1844.
Two years thereafter, William Jordan Junior presented the independence of Obregon as a fait accompli, and managed to attain international recognition in the signing of the Treaty of Copenhagen. México opted to accept Obregonian independence, preferring a friendly buffer state to a hostile rebellion which could potentially spread down the Siskiyou trail into the goldfields of Alta California. At Copenhagen, a southern border was established with México, and an eastern border formalized with Britain.
With independence secured, Jordan Junior returned, and established the National Assembly in the eponymous city founded by his father. William Jordan II was elected by the Aldermen of Obregon to serve as the nation's first Thane (Prime Minister). Since then, the Thaneship has remained in the hands of several of the more influential Migrant families, who form Obregon's social and political elite to this day.
Since independence, Obregon has grown rapidly, but it still remains a vast and largely-empty nation. While the core regions of Rainier Province serve as a fine agricultural heartland, much of Obregon has little economic value beyond fishing, logging and mining. Over the past half-century, Obregon has developed a very significant offshore fishing industry, and is a major exporter natural resources. However, Obregon's industries are badly underdeveloped, leaving the country largely reliant on trade with its neighbours, particularly México, to attain refined goods. Despite all of the changes it has gone through, the ideals upon which the nation was founded remain quite strong, and the Obregonian people remain committed to personal freedoms and secular governance, all the while maintaining a fiercely independent streak.