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Tussenland: Difference between revisions
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With the French contained to their own land up north, the Dutch in the 1780s began claiming territory far west of territory they had actually controlled and had a presence in.
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In 1795, the French Republic subjugated the Dutch Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. Despite this, the Dutch West India Company in Tussenland remained loyal to the Dutch Republic government-in-exile in Britain and tried to prevent any revolutionary ideas from spreading from New Netherland (who had declared independence from the Dutch Republic during this period of turmoil).
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Tussenland entered the 19th century without the Dutch Republic. During the republic's absence, the Dutch West India company faced several problems, but were still able to keep the colony in order through a series of diplomatic and military actions. The mother country's absence also helped the Dutch West India company to consolidate and exercise greater power over the Tussenland colony.
===== The Iroquois Split (1805), and the Irokesenlandt Land Grant Treaty (1816) =====
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The Iroquois Grand Council was convened multiple times throughout the late 1790s and early 1800s over the matter. The Mohawk, Seneca, and Cayuga nations saw it necessary to move south, away from the influence and land claims of New Netherland, as the only and necessary way to protect their sovereignty. Furthermore, they feared that if they become part of New Netherland, the New Netherland government would stop paying land dues, especially now that the independent New Netherland was no longer subject to Dutch laws protecting the Iroquois. The other Iroquois nations (Onondaga and Oneida), however, wanted to stay in their traditional homeland. With the nations having different opinions on the matter (especially between the Cayuga and the Oneida, who had to reach the same consensus before the process progresses to the next stage), the Grand Council process was stuck on a deadlock and had to be dismissed and reconvened multiple times. Tensions between the Iroquois nation even became more tense as the Onondaga showed interest in the invitation to join New Netherland, offered by the New Netherland government led by [[Adriaen van der Donck]]. Eventually, it became clear that no decision could be made. In 1805, Cayuga, Mohawk, and Seneca migrated south and escaped to the Dutch Tussenland, without the approval of the other Iroquois nations. This effectively marked the end of the Iroquois confederacy.
After the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created after the end of the wars in Europe (1814), the fledgling kingdom still recognized the Treaty of Perpetual Alliance dating back to 1658. The kingdom, together with the Dutch West India company, offered the Cayuga, Mohawk, and Seneca land within the Tussenland colony which they could rule as their own. In 1816, the Irokesenlandt Land Grant Treaty was signed in Fort Hedel by the Dutch West India Company, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the sachems of the three nations. The treaty officially recognized the Iroquois nations ruling autonomously within the Tussenland colony.
This land grant put the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a strong position against the Iroquois. The Iroquois' influence started to wane and the Kingdom and the Dutch West India company manipulating Iroquois policy would be a common trend throughout the 19th century (including the controversial strong-arming and pressuring of the Dutch to sell the eastern part of Irokesenlandt to Virginia in 1848).
==== Negative Effects of the Irokesenlandt Treaty ====▼
▲This land grant put the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a strong position against the Iroquois. The Iroquois' influence started to wane and the Kingdom and the Dutch West India company manipulating Iroquois policy would be a common trend throughout the 19th century (including the controversial strong-arming and pressuring of the Dutch to sell the eastern part of Irokesenlandt to Virginia in 1848). However, settlers wishing to settle in Irokesenlandt were disgruntled due to this land grant, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands' heavy bias towards the Iroquois. They Some of the settlers in Irokesenlandt
The creation of Tussenland's first "nation within a nation", Irokesenlandt, was not without problems. New Netherland historian Lucile Hopkins had identified three key problems of the Irokesenlandt Land Treaty and their effects on the history of Tussenland, in her book ''A History of Modern Tussenland (1974).'' Although problematic, these problems and their effects are considered to be important factors that shaped future Tussenland policy. These three problems are:
# '''The Amerikaner Settler Dilemma:''' During the creation of the Irokesenlandt, there were already a few Dutch settlers setting up settlements in the area. They were disgruntled with this new land treaty and viewed it as an "eviction notice" for the Dutch settlers. They were displeased with the Kingdom of the Netherland's favoritism towards the natives instead of them. Despite protests, the kingdom enforced this treaty by coercing Dutch settlers to move westward, into what is now the predominantly Dutch/Amerikaner provinces of Mississippi. Some of the settlers even went as far as the west coast, in what would become known as the Voortrekker Trails, which would soon form the foundations of the modern nation of the [[Amerikaanse Free State]].
# '''The Native Dilemma:''' The borders of Irokesenlandt ignored the pre-exiting native population within. Initially, the Iroquois had adopted a policy of coexistence with these other natives. However, the other natives (most especially the Cherokee, Choctaw, Shawnee, and Chickasaw) were unreceptive to their new landowners, increasing tensions between the native groups. These tensions soon evolved into raids, attacks, and battles between the Iroquois and the other natives, collectively known as the Irokesenlandt Wars. The Iroquois won these wars. The natives, defeated, were forced by the Iroquois to migrate westward, just outside the southwestern borders of Irokesenlandt (in the regions of what would become the modern-day nation of [[Opdamsland]]). In the coming decades, the Opdamsland region would be used by Tussenland as a place for a series of native removals.
# '''The Virginian Settler Dilemma:''' Despite being claimed by Tussenland (and part of the new Irokesenlandt), the western regions of Irokesenland were also claimed by Virginia (which was a British colony at the time). Some Virginian yeomen had already migrated to the region since the late 1700s and established settlements there. The creation of Irokesenlandt would only agitate Virginia and would lead Great Britain to send more settlers in the region to reinforce their claims. The Kingdom of the Netherlands warned the Iroquois not to attack these Virginian settlers, as they did not want to get into a conflict with Great Britain.
==== Creation of the Royal Tussenland Company (1817) ====
[[File:Flag of the Royal Tussenland Company.png|alt=|thumb|200x200px|Flag of the Royal Tussenland Company (1817).]]
In the aftermath of these revolutionary wars, the new state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created in 1814. The Dutch West India Company swore loyalty to this new kingdom. However, the fledgling kingdom was wary of the strong influence that the Dutch West India Company held in the new world. Thus, the new state decided to dissolve the Dutch West India company and found new smaller and independent companies in its place. The goal was to spur innovation and competition between these companies and to prevent one company from becoming stronger than the other companies or than the kingdom itself.
One of these new companies was the Royal Tussenland Company (Dutch: ''Koninklijke Tussenlandt Compagnie''). As the fur trade started to decline, the new company would shift its focus to plantations in the southern regions of Tussenland and would employ slaves imported from the Dutch Gold Coast Company.
==== Virginia Purchase (1848) ====
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