Florida: Difference between revisions
→The Everglade War and Floridian Independence
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After the deposition of the communard government in Spain and the restoration of the Spanish king to the throne, viceroys of New Spain and Peru declared independence (due to numerous growing political and economic differences as well as colonial elite anger at the King's reforms while in Mexico) as the Kingdoms of Mexico and Peru, respectively. This led to panic within the Spanish Empire and after numerous failed attempts to retrieve the rebellious viceroys (in which Florida was used as base of operation) the Spanish government recognized the independence of their former colonies. Loosing their richest and most profitable colonies created a profound shift in Spanish internal policy towards empire and in their remaining American colonies (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Florida) the Spanish allowed for a greater degree of self governance, but also started to crack down on rebellious or seditionist actively through the creation of a royal secret police force. On June 28th, 1887 Cuba, Puerto Rico and Florida were granted popular sovereignty as royal dominions of Spain. This change in colonial status was perceived and ennact very differently amongst the colonies due to each royal Dominionship charter being created jointly with the governors of the colonies. In [[Puerto Rico]] 1887 marched the beginning of democracy and mostly free elections, while in [[Cuba]], not much changed in governance and in 1890 the long and bloody Cuban war of independence kicked off. In Florida much of the charter was written in order to favor the eastern San Agustin elites and their interests. In fact, many of the poorer classes remarked that life was better and the government less harsh prior to the reforms; the last decade of the 19th century in Florida was marked by increasing class and regional tensions within society.
=== The
Since the 1850 Dutch-Spanish war class and ethnic tensions had been growing in Spanish Florida with western Floridians feeling increasingly marginalized by the consolidated economic and political power with in the hands of the criollo and mixed race elites of San Agustin. In addition the system of sharecropping in western and central Florida created a poor quality of life for many low class Floridians.
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# Stop cruel labor practices and establish a labor rights law
It is notable that at this point Floridan rebels weren't actively republican but instead were focused on improving their quality of life and with issues of economics and labor relations. The Dominion government in San Agustin completely rejected these demands. In fact Floridian governor Fernando Macías stated "If they are hungry let them eat lead". The Floridian Dominion forces struck back at the rebels with increasing hostility which in turn led to further discontentment against Dominion rule and by the winter of 1923 the rebellion spread to central Florida and the peninsula. Fearing that the Dominion didn't have the ability to effectively deal with the rebels, the Spanish crown sent in troops to help suppress the rebellion and on Dec 27th 1923 they retook the city of Mobile from rebel forces. During the next year of fighting the rebels became increasingly a guerilla force that sought to wage a protracted war of attrition using hit and run tactics, their popularity with the countryfolk and knowledge of the local terrain to great effect. During the summer of 1924 the recently formed Mexican Republic (along with South Tussenland) started to build ties with the rebels and push them towards ideological republicanism. In January of 1925 the government of New Netherland declared support for the Dominion government (fearing a Mexican puppet state in Florida) and started to give support in form of aerial scouting (using newly invented aircraft) and economic funding to the Dominion war effort. The aerial scouting missions during the war garnered massive interest in the American northeast due to the use of aircraft and stories of the pilots (along with special forces and Amerikaener mercenaries) were widely publicized. The battle of Amarillo in the Floridan everglades was in fact so widely publicized for it's stories of daring aircraft pilots and Amerikaener and Spanish forces fighting guerillas side by side that in most of the western world the war instead is known as "The Everglades War" even though most of the war took place outside the everglades in western Florida.
{{Nations of the World}}
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