Opdamsland

Opdamsland
Confederation of Opdamsland
Opdamslandt
c. 1903
Location of Opdamsland
Established	1903
Capital	Utrecht (Ayuhwa)
Largest City	Etersheym (Burgos)
Population	14 million
Government Type	Confederation
Area	999 000km
Languages	Amerikaans (lingua franca) Spanish Sioux Choctaw Others
Currency	Opdamslandt Guilder (OLG)

Opdamsland (Amerikaens: Opdamslandt), officially the Confederation of Opdamsland, is a country in central North America. Created after the Great American Boer War in 1903 as a buffer state, Opdamsland borders Mexico, Tussenland and South Tussenland. It is the only landlocked North American nation and the only majority Amerindian nation on the continent. The capital of the country is Utrecht (Ayuhwa or Iowa) while the largest city is Etersheym (Burgos).

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

Forced relocation of indigenous peoples

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 multiple incidents of forced relocation by the Dutch military. 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).

Hispano-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 Shawnee politician and orator John White Owl was elected as the chief representative of the Shawnee 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 Shawnnee 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 Shawnee, 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.

Demographics

Language

A specific dialect of Amerikaens influenced by indigenous American languages and Spanish is used widely throughout Opdamsland as a lingua franca. This dialect also has miniscule influences from southern Chinese dialects and Dutch creoles.

Racial migration

Indigenous Americans

From 1750 to 1850, many native tribes within the Tussenland were displaced by the Iroquois, French Meerenland and Dutch Mississippian settlers. The Ozarks and the surrounding western borderlands with New Spain acted as a convenient place for displaced tribes to settle and congregate. Amongst these were the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Shawnee, Potawatomi, Fox, Missouri, Miami, Osage, Illinois and Iowa tribes. At the turn of the 20th century during and immediately after the Tussenland Independence rebellion, thousands of members of the Sioux nations were forced to migrate southward into the newly created Opdamsland.

European settlers

When Opdamsland was under Spanish and Mexican sovereignty from 1850 to 1903, a series of missions and forts were commissioned to solidify control over the region. In addition to this, 30 families of colonists from the Canaries were sent over to settle the region with loyal Catholics. This led to the long lasting presence of Catholicism in Opdamsland as well as other cultural and linguistic effects.

Chinese immigrants

A few thousand Chinese migrants from Mexico arrived in Acansa region in the aftermath of the mid-19th century Gold Rush. After the Second Spanish-Dutch War, the Chinese population became part of the region's commercial class. During the formation of Opdamsland in the late 19th century, a few Tussenlander Chinese emigrated to the area prior to independence in 1903, consolidating the position of the Chinese minority in the new nation. By the time of the Great War, much of the Chinese population had intermarried with indigenous tribes and adopted Western names.