South Tussenland: Difference between revisions

|local_name=ZuydSuydt-Tussenlandt

|established=18521855

'''South Tussenland,''' (Amerikaens: Suydt-Tussenlandt), officially the '''Republic of South Tussenland''' and formerly the Tussenland province of '''Elegastlandt''', is a country located in southern North AmericanAmerica. South Tussenland borders the former Spanish colonies of [[Florida]] and [[Mexico]] to the east and west (respectively), and [[Opdamsland]] and [[Tussenland]] to the North. The country's capital and largest city is the historic port city of [[Elegasthaven]].

Much of the nation's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibises and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish.

South Tussenland was a Dutch colony until 1855, and had the highest number of slaves in all Dutch American territorial holdings during the 19th century. This led to the large Afro-Amerikaner population in the present-day. South Tussenland is also the birthplace of the African diaspora religion known as [[Zoekerism]], which was South Tussenland's official state religion after their independence in 1855 until the republican revolution in 1911.

Before the arrival of Europeans, the region of what is now the country of South Tussenland was inhabited by Native Americans for many milleniamillennia. The first European explorers to visit South Tussenland came in 1528 when a Spanish expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez located the mouth of the Mississippi River. Two decades later, an expedition by Hernando de Soto skirted the northern region of South Tussenland and followed the Mississippi River arriving at the Gulf of Mexico in 1543. Although they were the first to explore and chart the area, the Spanish lost colonial interest in the region over the next decades.

In the late 16th century, Dutch explorer Cornelis Jacobszoon van Duvenvoorde Opdam was hired by the Dutch West India Company andto ledlead an expedition from the Dutch Tussenland Colony to find a route to the Pacific, following the Ohio River and then down the Mississippi River. He claimed the land around the river for the company and named it the Dutch Possessions on the Mississippi (Amerikaens: Nederlands Besittingen ter Misisibie) (although the country of [[Opdamsland]] formed in 1903 would be posthumously named after him). Along the journey halfway into present-day South Tussenland came an escort of Chitimacha Indians who Opdam had befriended. Opdam reached the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1679.

The territory of modern day South Tussenland was part of the charters given to the Dutch West India Company (in 1700) and then later the Royal Tussenland Company (in 1817). In the 17th century, the Southern Tussenland became one of the largest importers of African slaves, to work the sugarcane and cotton plantations. Slaves were introduced into the region, mostly from the Gold Coast and the Guineas.

The 19th century saw tensions increasing between the slaves and the Dutch minority.

[[File:Southern Tussenland in 1850.png|alt=|thumb|263x263px|Southern Tussenland in 1850 with modern-day borders in red.]]The Royal Tussenland Company (established 1817) was the successor of the defunct Dutch West India Company, which was disbanded in 1815 after financial troubles during the French Revolutionary Wars. The scope of the Royal Tussenland Company was smaller in scope than the Dutch West India Company, focusing only on the North American territory. The Royal Tussenland Company took over the operation of plantations in the South, as well as constructed new plantations in the northern part of the region. The taking over of the RTC saw the importation of more slaves.

Tensions between the slaves and the Dutch ruling minority was at ana high in 1840. The Royal Tussenland Company practiced harsh treatment towards the slaves, causing a lot of slaves to either die, flee to the Spanish colonies, or hide in maroon communities. However, a huge majority of slaves suffered under the Royal Tussenland Company's rule. A unique Dutch creole culture had evolved in the region. In the midst of the [[2nd Dutch-Spanish War]] that erupted between Spain and the Netherlands, Tussenland saw a slave insurrection beginning to form in the south,. spearheadedOne byof the leaders of this insurrection was a "prophet", Abajomie, who had claimed to be sent by God to liberate the slave-population of southern Tussenland. A religious movement soon formed in southern Tussenland, namedcalled the [[Zoekerism|Church of the Second Ascension]] (also called Zoekerism; from Dutch: ''Zoek'' 'to seek'). To undermine the Dutch, Spain had supported this slave insurrection. Theand southernreligious regionmovement. declaredHowever, independencethe officiallyprophet aswas captured by the UnitedDutch Gemeentenand (religiousdied communities)in ofcaptivity. SouthDespite Tussenlandthis, (Dutch:the ''Verenigdereligious Gemeentenmovement vanand Zuydinsurrection Tussenlandt''),was ledcontinued by thehis ex-slavefellow prophetrevolutionary, [[AbayomiTegbesoe, vanwho Tussenlandt]].would Spainproceed wasto become the firstleader nationof toan recognizeindependent thisSouth newTusssenland in nation1855.