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'''Opdamsland''' officially '''The Confederation of Opdamsland''' is a country in central North America. Opdamsland borders Mexico, Tussenland and South Tussenland and is the only North American nation that is landlocked. It was created after the Great American Boer War in 1903 as a buffer state between Mexico and Tussenland. Additionally Opdamsland is the only country in the Americas that is majority ethnically amerindian. The capital of the country is Utrecht (''Ayuhwa or Iowa'') while the largest city is Etersheym (Burgos).
== Names and Etymology ==
The region of what is now Opdamsland (Amerikaans: ''Opdamslandt'') was known by several names throughout history. During its time under the Dutch [[Tussenland]] colony, it was simply called the Tussenland Indian Territory (Amerikaans: ''Indisch Grondgebied van Tussenlandt''). After it became part of New Spain after the 2nd Dutch-Spanish War, the Spanish started calling the region ''Territorio de Acansa.'' The country that is now Opdamsland was created in 1903 after the [Https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/jqvghk/rtl treaty of williamsburg 1903 ending the/ Mexican-Dutch Boer War (1901)]. It is named after ''Cornelis Jacobszoon van Duvenvoorde Obdam (Opdam),'' who was the explorer and primary surveyor of the area during the late 17th century. There had been multiple attempts to change the country's name, most notably during John White Owl's regime, but none were successful.
== History ==
=== Tribal Council Period ===
The original constitution of Opdamsland was written by Tussenland authorities and as such was very pro-Tussenland in outlook in fact any tribal leaders such as [[Martin F. Semple]] thought that the constitution was created to make Opdamsland into a client state of the Dutch government. The government that was set up by the Dutch created 18 autonomous tribal districts each governed by an elected chief and two Dutch (in reality Dutchified-Cherokee and Iowan) autonomous municipal districts around the cities of Utrecht and Jongdorp which all each had one vote in a tribal council which functioned as both a legislature and executive. This created a nation that had a lot of regional autonomy and was conservative in making any decisions. Additionally, theirthere was disagreement over each district receiving equal representation regardless of district population. During this time period relations between Tussenland and Opdamsland were very strong and Dutch-Amerikaaner culture spread throughout the nation replacing most of Spanish and Mexican cultural influence that dominated between 1850 and 1903. Spanish influence wasn't completely erased, with the city of San Sebastian and the western border with Mexico retaining Spanish speaking communities and cultural influence. Staring in the late 1910's and proceeding into the 1920's Opdamsland went through an oil boom and by 1929 Opdamsland was producing more oil than any nation in North America besides Mexico. During the Opdamsland oil boom many businessmen and companies from Tussenland were given oil contracts by tribal leaders and chiefs in exchange for cash payments and as such the vast majority of oil wells by 1930 were owned by Dutch companies and the oil was being shipped to Tussenland and the New NetherlandsNetherland. Also during this time, a small but influential amount of Tussenland amerikaanersAmerikaaners migrated into Opdamsland in order to work in the oil industry and settling almost entirely within the booming new cities that sprung up around oil fields.
=== Opdamsland under John White Owl (Oukonunaka) ===
In 1936, athe Cherokee politician and orator named [[John White Owl]] was elected as the chief representative of the Cherokee and preceded to use the latent anti-Dutch sentiment to build a populist movement to replace the tribal council with a democratically elected chief executive of Opdamsland. By 1938 John White Owl was in control of a militia larger than the Opdamsland military and had complete political control of the Cherokee tribe (the largest and richest tribe in Opdamsland at the time) as well as strong allies in the Sioux and Choctaw tribes. That fall, John White Owl forced the tribal council to step down and appointed himself the 1st president of the Confederation of Opdamsland. TheThis coup of the tribal council government caught Tussenland off guard. and afterAfter some saber -rattling and threats to invade Opdamsland, the government of Tussenland reluctantly recognized the new Opdamsland government, (it has theorized that fears offearing a second war with Mexico who might intervene on the side of John White Owl's government). John White Owl's new government immediately nationalized the oil industry and enacted a series of political and cultural changes and policies that sought to build up Opdamsland's military and remove the economic and cultural influence of Tussenland. During the Opdamsland government, all cities were given an 'Indian name' and all education and administration waswere conducted exclusively in Cherokee, Sioux, Choctaw, or any native language of a recognized tribe of Opdamsland. The cultural reforms went so far that in 1942, the government announced that the nation would be looking to rename itself, this never materialized due to a lack of popular interest and the inability to find a name that didn't favor one tribe over another. Opdamsland under John White Owl was criticized by other nations in North America for corruption in its elections and the fact that John White Owl won 75%+ of the vote for each of his three terms. During this period, relations with Mexico and South Tussenland improved, and a long standing agreement between Opdamsland and South Tussenland was made to allow Opdamsland to ship oil from S. Tussenland's ports. In 1949 John White Owl was found dead under suspicious circumstances in his Utrecht (Ayuhwa) home.
=== Military Junta ===
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