Lou Dubois

The Honorable Lou Dubois NH, OÎ
Lou Dubois, 1953
1st President of Île d'Émeraude
In office 1 February, 1953 – 1 February, 1961
Vice President	Gautier Blanchard
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Gautier Blanchard
Governor of Île d'Émeraude
In office 16 August, 1944 – 22 September, 1947
Preceded by	TBD
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	Lou Jean Dubois 26 August, 1898 Nouveau-Lavelle, Île d'Émeraude
Died	2 January, 1974 Port-au-Grégoire, Île d'Émeraude
Resting place	National Heroes Memorial Park
Nationality	Emeraudian
Political party	Union Party
Spouse	Maudeline Dubois (1922-1974)
Children	3
Profession	Politician, activist, author

Lou Dubois (26 August, 1898-2 January, 1974) was an Emeraudian politician, author, and activist who's most well known for being the first President of Île d'Émeraude. He served as President from 1953 to 1961. He was also the Governor of Île d'Émeraude while the island was still part of the Arucian Federation, a position he served in from 1944 to 1948.

Early Life

Lou Jean Dubois was born on August 26, 1898, in Nouveau-Lavelle, Île d'Émeraude. His mother, Julienne Dubois (nee Augustin), was of mixed Bahian-Gowsan ethnicity, while his father, Fabien Dubois, was Gaullois, though he also claimed partial Champanois ancestry. Lou was born as the 2nd of 4 children, having 2 younger brothers and 1 older sister.

Fabien worked as a fisherman, often making his catches in the Crystal Bay just off of the Nouveau-Lavelle port. His normal day at work, according to Lou Dubois' autobiography, included him "[going] out to sea at the crack of dawn to catch fish, and on the sea he would stay until the late afternoon." He would then sell most of the fish he caught, while reserving some for his family to eat. Lou recalled that "It was not much, by any means, but it was an honest living." Julienne, meanwhile, was an assistant at the local newspaper, the Nouveau-Lavelle Press. In his autobiography, Lou recalls that from a very young age he "inherited and shared" his mother's "keen interest in the art of writing and storytelling", and that while he was being homeschooled as a youth, his mother would "pay extra care to making sure [he] could properly read and write."

As he was wrapping up his secondary homeschooling, the Great Collapse reached Île d'Émeraude, and it's effect was significant. The economy suffered, with banks closing, businesses shuttering, and many finding themselves out of a job. This would give rise to the Emeraudian Spring, which first arose seeking the protection of worker's rights in the face of the economic depression. As the Spring grew, it caught the attention of a young Lou Dubois, who became interested in the expanded ideology of the movement. Through interest in the Emeraudian Spring, he also began to pay more attention to the politics of the island, and the wider Viceroyalty of the Emerald Isles that Île d'Émeraude was a part of. He grew to resent the "often repressive and tyrannical" policies of the Viceroyalty, and eventually the Gaullican Empire as a whole. He would begin taking a direct part in the Emeraudian Spring as in 1918 he joined the Progress Movement, a political organization at the forefront of the Emeraudian Spring. At the time, the organization was led by Jean-Baptiste Canmore.

Activism

See Also: The Chronicles of Liberty: An Address to the People

Along with the rest of the Progress Movement, Lou began to actively protest against the colonial government. With the Parti Populaire seizing power in mainland Gaullica, as well as in the government of the Viceroyalty, Lou Dubois and the rest of the movement reacted harshly. Many had viewed functionalism as "the logical conclusion of tyranny", and feverishly opposed it. Lou had been especially outspoken about his opposition, and as a result he began to rise to prominence among both the Progress Movement and supporters of the Emeraudian Spring in general.

Lou had become emboldened by the rise of his popularity, and he began to write a series of essays and pamphlets, feeling that they could reach a wide audience. Eventually, he would finish these and compile them into a single book, "The Chronicles of Liberty", which was released in 1922. The book had a total of 6 chapters, omitting the introduction chapter, and they were numbered as follows:

• The Gaullican System of Monarchy and Hereditary Secession, and How it Has Failed the People
• State and Church, and Why They Must Remain Separate Institutions
• The Demented Ideology of Functionalism, and Why It's Fall is Inevitable
• The Institution of Séparer, It's Intention to Keep Down the Colored, and Why It Must Fall
• The System of Imperialism, and Why it Must Be Overthrown
• Comments on the Current State of Domestic Affairs

In the first chapter, Lou laid out his criticisms of the system of monarchy, most namely hereditary secession. In this chapter, Lou writes, in part, "a monarch often claims a divine right to rule, insinuating that the Holy Father himself approves of their misdeeds, when nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, if the Holy Bible is to be believed, rule by kings is expressly disapproved as declared by the prophets Gideon and Samuel. These sections of scripture are conveniently looked over by the [Solarian Catholic] Church, who is quite arguably the biggest sponsor of Gaullica's system of monarchy." The most notable excerpt of the first chapter reads "why should the people of this isle proclaim loyalty to a crown that was both forced upon them and views their natural God-given human rights with, at best, indifference or, at worst, complete disregard?"

The second chapter offers his explanation on the development of both the state and religion. He claims that "The state was invented as a tool of governance as human civilization was conceived and gradually expanded. As man is nothing if not imperfect, this was made necessary for order to be maintained. While the state has undergone many transformations over the millennia since the first civilizations, its purpose has by and large remained the same." He also claimed that "Religion arose from two things; one being a general human ignorance towards how the world worked, and the other being the need for spiritual fulfillment that life was unable to offer up to that point." Lou argued that the institutions of church and state must remain separated, writing that "One exerting too much control over the other will always result in tyranny." In the third chapter, Lou strongly criticized the ideology of National Functionalism, calling it "the logical conclusion to tyranny". He writes that "[the] suppression of the people and their free will, which is actively promoted by functionalism, is not sustainable. The people will have enough of it and work to overthrow the system; it is only a matter of when they will and not if."

In the fourth chapter, he condemned Séparer, which was the system of racial segregation present in colonial Île d'Émeraude and the wider Emerald Isles. He writes that "it's basis is founded on the farcical notion that the colored man intermingling with the white man can only lead to disorder and chaos, when nothing could be further from the truth. It's true purpose is to keep the white man in the position of power that he has remained in since Gaullica first landed on this isle's shores, all at the expense of the Bahian and the Gowsan and even the Narapan man." In the fifth chapter, he condemns the imperial structure of the Gaullican Empire, writing that "no people should be subject to the exploitive and tyrannical rule of a crown halfway around the world, whether you inhabit Île d'Émeraude, Satucin, Bahia, Cassier, or any place currently suffering under the yoke of Gaullican greed." In the sixth and final chapter, Lou would advocate for "[Île d'Émeraude's] ties to the Gaullican crown [being] severed and never again be reinstated."

The book was immensely popular among the population, and was very significant, as it was the first notable case of arguing for the independence of Île d'Émeraude. This would cause the colonial government to ban the book and begin to hunt Lou Dubois down. As a result, Lou would be forced to flee Île d'Émeraude, taking refuge in Orlavo, Vinalia at the behest of Dymtro Antonov, who at the time was Vinalia's President. Meanwhile, underground distribution of his book continued for years following his forced exile.

While in Vinalia, he would continue to write various pieces criticizing the functionalist government of the Viceroyalty of the Emerald Isles, as well as Gaullica. He fostered good relations with the government, which many credit with influencing modern Vinalia-Île d'Émeraude relations. However, once the Chyhyryn War broke out, Lou was once again forced to relocate, this time to !Marchenia. There he would stay until the Great War ended.

Following the end of the war, Lou returned to Île d'Émeraude, and received a heroes welcome. He faced some mild criticism for fleeing, though his return was widely celebrated. He continued to advocate for the independence of Île d'Émeraude "in the near future".