New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme

The New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme was a plan by the colonial government of Riziland to bring in immigrants from Estmere to the northern regions of the Northern Territory to both alleviate a housing crisis in Estmere that forced many white Estmerish to leave for Riziland, and to strengthen colonial control over the northern periphery. First organised in 1938 by Chief Minister Byron Wigram, the scheme was designed to attract 100,000 Estmerish settlers to the area by 1948, but only managed to succeed in attracting around 30,000 settlers by the time the scheme was terminated in 1945 under Chief Minister Zophar Bohannon, due to a combination of economic factors and conflicts with the Akortu and Makomo populations.

Background

View of Mount Rekusununguka near Godfredson, 2007

In the aftermath of the Great War, Estmere faced significant housing shortages and lack of economic opportunities as a result of its occupation during the Great War by Functionalist Gaullica. As the country rebuilt, many Estmerish people, particularly from the lower classes left for the Colony of Riziland, as one of the few major Estmerish colonies remaining in the Estmerish Empire, which unlike Satavia or Imagua, lacked self-government.

With the influx of Estmerish immigrants to the colony from 1936 onward, most of them moved to Port Fitzhubert, with some of the immigrants, particularly the more affluent, headed to the White Highlands. This led to competition between the newly arrived working class white immigrants and the working class Bahian population present in the city: while the colonial government supported the white population "to the extent of its abilities," due to the financial situation in both the colony and the metropole, it put pressure on the government to find "a suitable site that is as close as possible to Estmere in terms of climate."

At the same time, the colonial government sought to focus on increasing its authority on the peripherial regions of the country, including the northern areas of the Northern Territory, which outside of Rusere had very limited control from the colonial government, despite a continuous presence since the early 1890s in Rusere. This area was dominated by the Akortu north of the Tedawabe River, who also inhabited adjacent parts of what was then the Gaullican colony of Haute-Gond, which in the post-Great War period became the Weranian Mandate of Obergond. Thus, by 1936, outside of Rusere and the Port Fitzhubert-Rusere line, this region of the Northern Territory was not under colonial control.

History

Selection

Chief Minister Byron Wigram, 1937

In 1937, Chief Minister Byron Wigram began considering plans for "an extensive area of settlement along the periphery of the colony." As the first Chief Minister of the newly self-governing colony, Wigram sought to increase the numbers of the Estmerish population within the colony "to counteract the influence of the Gaullicans in East Riziland and Kigomba." In addition, with immigration numbers rising, it became urgent to encourage varungu to settle in other areas of the colony, as most of the good land around Crogan was now owned by long-time residents, while prices in the White Highlands left many unable to move there permanently.

In addition, strategic considerations had to be taken into account: with much of Riziland's borders now adjoining Estmerish mandates administered from Port Fitzhubert, and with a high likelihood that these areas would become part of Riziland, the colonial government felt that there was little need to exert influence over the former border regions, which given the limited budgets in the post-war period, meant that the colonial government had to choose a location "close to or on the border with the former Gaullican colony of the Upper Gonda."

Thus, two options were presented for the proposed scheme: the first option was in North Balisaland, which had the advantages of easier terrain to construct at, and its larger area meant that more land could be "repurposed from tribal use to white use," although it had the disadvantage of poor infrastructure, as the railway line to Chekumabvazuva ended in Mutupo, which would necessitate building an extension of the railway line to the area. The second option was in the Northern Territory, which although the area was dominated by the Ambakaran Mountains, and would be significantly smaller than "any area carved out of North Balisaland," had an advantage of already-existing infrastructure, as there was a railway line connecting Rusere to Port Fitzhubert, which would enable settlement of the area to be done cheaply and without much prior investment on the part of the colonial government.

With both areas having a subtropical highland climate, it was decided in January 1938 that the Northern Territory would be the site of the settlement scheme, as it had fewer up-front costs for the Estmerish and colonial governments, which reduced the likelihood of the project "proving ruinous to the Estmerish economy." Over the next six months, surveyors would survey the "flatter regions" of the area in order to divide the area up for Euclean settlement. Land surveying was done "with little to no regard" to traditional ownership, as due to the historical lack of authority over the area, Estmere never paid attention to land ownership in the area, and thus assumed that the lands were all public lands. Furthermore, the surveyed areas were declared to be "exclusively for the use of Eucleans," prohibiting virtually all Bahians (excluding Mirites and Freemen) from owning property in the area. These policies would lead to tensions between colonial officials and the Akortu and Makomo peoples living in the surveyed areas, as their lands were stolen for the purpose of the scheme.

Settlement

A farm near Newstead, 1941

In June 1938, the New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme officially began, with Byron Wigram planning for the area to "accommodate 100,000 Estmerish people in an outpost of Empire in Bahia." Based on the information he received, Wigram declared the area "New Longwoodshire," comparing the Ambakaran Mountains to the Neeves within Longwoodshire.

Migrants willing to settle in rural areas were given 160 acres of land, under the condition that they build a "suitable" dwelling within a year, and cultivate at least 40 acres within five years. In addition, this scheme was restricted to immigrants from Estmere (including Borland) and to native-born whites who demonstrated a "clear knowledge of Estmerish," effectively precluding Chennois and other Gaullophone whites from settling in the area.

Initially, the settlement scheme progressed relatively well: while due to copper mining near Rusere, few farms were set up around Rusere, farms were established on the banks of the Tedawabe River, while infrastructure improvements were made to connect the farms and the new villages established by the Estmerish settlers, such as Godfredson and Newstead, with Rusere. However, tensions with the Akortu and Makomo would rise, with the Akortu in particular beginning to attack settlers living in the countryside, beginning the Akortu insurgency which lasts to this day, as Akortu separatists fought against the colonial milita, who were seen as protecting the interests of the white settlers. This greatly hampered settlement, particularly outside of Rusere, while many settlers lacked the skills to farm, as they generally came from industrial centres in Estmere.

By 1941, of the 81,959 Estmerophone whites in the colony and mandates, 27,491 were living within New Longwoodshire. However, of the 27,491 whites in New Longwoodshire, 18,975 lived in Rusere, with only 8,516 living elsewhere within New Longwoodshire. This was in contrast to the 109,491 natives residing within New Longwoodshire, "with only trace amounts of Mirites and Freemen present, all entirely in Rusere." These figures were disappointing to the Estmerish authorities, as this scheme seemed to have done little to actually develop the periphery.

That year, Byron Wigram was succeeded as Chief Minister by Jean-Louis Milhaud. Under Jean-Louis Milhaud, he expanded the scheme to "all Eucleans seeking a better life," which enabled Chennois and other Euclean groups to immigrate to New Longwoodshire. This move was initially objected to by many Estmerish setlers, who feared "becoming a minority in our own land," but as the Akortu insurgency intensified, Estmerish settlers were willing to accept "any newcomer so long as they are willing to defend our outpost of Estmerish civilisation."

The growing violence in New Longwoodshire against both the settlers and the colonial government would reduce immigration to the area, while many of those who settled abandoned their farms and properties, or otherwise sold them to the local population. Furthermore, as Estmere's economy recovered, there was less of a desire for Estmerish people to immigrate to Riziland, as they could find more opportunities in Estmere than in Riziland. Thus, by 1945, the white population of New Longwoodshire was estimated at only around 30,000 people, with the colonial government admitting that "there is practically zero chance that the 100,000 white immigrant target will be met by 1948," with optimistic projections now predicting 50,000 by 1948, and 100,000 by 1958, assuming current rates of immigration.

In 1945, with the election of Zophar Bohannon as the third Chief Minister, and the first Bahian to occupy that role, he prepared Riziland for independence. As part of the process, in 1945, he ended all official racial segregation, which effectively put an end to the settlement scheme, as the area could now be settled freely by Bahians. However, the scheme officially continued until the colony obtained its independence the following year: by that point, it was estimated that 31,692 whites were residing in New Longwoodshire, with 27,572 living in Rusere, and 4,120 elsewhere. Virtually all of the settlers would take on Estmerish citizenship, with few taking on Rwizikuran citizenship.

Extent

The area designated for the creation of the New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme was defined as "all parts of the Colony of Riziland north of a diagonal line from TBD to where the Tedawebe River empties out into the Rwizikuru River, and south of the border with the Weranian mandate of Obergond." This gave the area of New Longwoodshire of 15,052.8 square kilometres, or around 5,811.92 square miles.

The primary urban centre in the area covered by the New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme was Rusere, due to its position as the northern terminus of the Port Fitzhubert-Rusere railway line, and its location along the confluence of the Tedawebe and Rwizikuru rivers.

Legacy

The New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme is generally seen as a failure, as it failed to attract the expected number of white settlers, and the implementation of the scheme would backfire against the colonial government, who intended to stabilise the periphery, but instead destabilised it to the point that as of 2020, the Akortu insurgency continues to rage in the area.

Former Chief Minister Byron Wigram would see the New Longwoodshire Settlement Scheme as a failure, primarily as "working-class people from Morwall and other cities would prove themselves to be poor farmers," while "the level of immigration to New Longwoodshire never reached the expectations that the government of Riziland planned [for the colony], even after Jean-Louis Milhaud opened up settlement to all Eucleans."

However, historian Rungano Mutambara from the University of Rwizikuru says that the settlement scheme was a failure as "Akortu people, and to a lesser extent, Makomo people, saw the settlement scheme as an infringement on their traditional ways of life, which worsened relations between the native populations in the Northern Territory and the government, which persists to this day, as the Akortu fundamentally distrust the Rwizikuran government for what their predecessors have done against them."

Today, the area formerly part of the New Longwoodshire settlement scheme continues to have low levels of government control, especially outside of Rusere, with the Rwizikuran government rarely able to affect events in the area. Virtually all of the varungu present in the area would leave by the 1960s, as most of them kept Estmerish citizenship, and today, only Rusere has a relatively sizable varungu population compared to other areas in the former New Longwoodshire settlement scheme.