Opdamsland
| Opdamsland | |
|---|---|
| The Confederation of Opdamsland | |
| Opdamslandt
Tahlequah | |
| 1903-present | |
 | |
| Established | 1903 |
| Capital | Utrecht (Ayuhwa) |
| Largest City |
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| Population | 14 million |
| Government Type | Confederated Republic |
| Area | 999 000km |
| Languages |
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| Currency |
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Opdamsland officially The Confederation of Opdamsland is a landlocked 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).
Native Relocation
Between 1820 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 1832 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 their 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 Netherlands. 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.