Opdamsland: Difference between revisions
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=== Native Relocation === |
=== Native Relocation === |
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Between |
Between 1800 and 1850 the government of Tussenland relocated between 30,000 and 40,000 Indians from the southeast and western great lakes region to west of the Mississippi bordering New Spain. This was done through a series of treaties between the Dutch government, their Iroquoian allies and private Dutch settlers and merchants as well as at least 5 incidents of forced relocation by the Dutch military. One most notable relocation occurred in 1812 at the aftermath of the [[Cherokee wars]] where the Dutch government gave the Cherokee nation 8 months to relocate to land in present day Opdamsland (known at the time as Tussenland Indian territory). By 1845 Amerikaans had been established as a lingua franca amongst the tribes of the area many of the tribes adopted Dutch cultural practices (if they hadn't already). |
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=== Spanish-Dutch War === |
=== Spanish-Dutch War === |
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Revision as of 02:29, 13 January 2021
| Opdamsland | |
|---|---|
| The Confederation of Opdamsland | |
| Opdamslandt
Tahlequah | |
| 1903-present | |
 | |
| Established | 1903 |
| Capital | Utrecht (Ayuhwa) |
| Largest City |
|
| Population | 14 million |
| Government Type | Confederated Republic |
| Area | 999 000km |
| Languages |
|
| Currency |
|
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 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
Native Relocation
Between 1800 and 1850 the government of Tussenland relocated between 30,000 and 40,000 Indians from the southeast and western great lakes region to west of the Mississippi bordering New Spain. This was done through a series of treaties between the Dutch government, their Iroquoian allies and private Dutch settlers and merchants as well as at least 5 incidents of forced relocation by the Dutch military. One most notable relocation occurred in 1812 at the aftermath of the Cherokee wars where the Dutch government gave the Cherokee nation 8 months to relocate to land in present day Opdamsland (known at the time as Tussenland Indian territory). By 1845 Amerikaans had been established as a lingua franca amongst the tribes of the area many of the tribes adopted Dutch cultural practices (if they hadn't already).
Spanish-Dutch War
During the Spanish-Dutch war of 1850, the area of land that is currently Opdamsland was lost by Dutch Tussenland and gained by the Spanish crown colony of New Spain. In 1855 the Spanish started calling the region Territorio de Acansa. During Spanish rule, Indian tribes that were relocated from Tussenland were mostly left to their own devices. In the 1860's the Spanish founded the cities of San Pedro (modern day Sint Pietersdorp) and San Sebastian and settled 22 families from the Canary islands and Galicia in the territory. Additionally a substantial number of non-relocated Indian tribes from Tussenland migrated into the territory voluntary between 1850 and 1895 in order to escape enclosure, land cessions and unequal treaties made by Dutch settlers.
Independence
Former the disputed former Indian territory was Opdamsland gained independence as the nation of Opdamsland after the Mexican-Dutch Boer War (1901) in the Treaty of Williamsburg (1903). Opdamsland was meant to act as a buffer state between Mexico and Tussenland and a homeland for native non-Iroquoian peoples of Tussenland. During the first few months after the creation of the new country, the last series of native relocations from Tussenland occurred with over 8,000 Sioux Indians being forcibly relocated by the Tussenland military from Tussenland to the north-west of Opdamsland.
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, there 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 New Netherland. Also during this time, a small but influential amount of Tussenland Amerikaaners 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, the Cherokee politician and orator 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. This coup caught Tussenland off guard. After some saber-rattling and threats to invade Opdamsland, the government of Tussenland reluctantly recognized the new Opdamsland government, fearing 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 were 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
After the death of John White Owl, his populist coalition dissipated and while Tussenland lobbied for the return of the tribal council; in 1950 a new democratically elected president won on a liberalization, middle class urban and pro North American unity platform. During this period Dutch culture and language was allowed back into Opdamsland and relations between Tussenland and Opdamsland were normalized. During the governments first term, Opdamsland joined the Association of North American Nations (A.N.A.N.). In their second term in power the new government (known informally as the Liberal-democrat coalition) privatized the oil industry and enacted economic reforms to attract foreign investment to the country but the policies ended up being widely unpopular amongst the population and the government's consistent record on voting with Tussenland and the NNL in the ANAN alienated the military.
In the background, the strong entrenched military bureaucracy that was set up during John White Owl's government became resentful of the liberal-democrats government and favored an isolationist foreign policy and heavy nationalization. On August 12th 1958 the military deposed the liberal government and a military junta was installed in Opdamsland. The new military government tried to rebuild John White Owl's populist coalition while not undertaking the cultural polices of the former government. In 1959 Tussenland proposed a motion to conduct a peacekeeping mission in Opdamsland to restore the democratic government to the ANAN but it was narrowly rejected.
