United Bahian Republic

United Bahian Republic 4 other official names isiBanu: iRiphabhuliki Izimo umBahia Beheiran: TBD weRwizi: Nyika yeKumusha Gaullican: République baïenne unie
1954–1965
Flag of United Bahian Republic Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Lève-toi, ô Baïen! Arise, O Bahian!
Status	Political union
Capital	Mina (1954-1965) Port Fitzhubert (1954-1965) Ntendeka (1954-1965)
Common languages	weRwizi, Sisulu, Njinji, Banu, Maswana, Beheiran, Makai, Badawiyan, Gaullican, Estmerish
Religion	Sotirianity Irfan
Demonym(s)	Bahian
Presidents
• 1954	Samhuri Ngonidzashe
• 1954–1965	Izibongo Ngonidzashe
• 1954–1956	Thamsanqa Nzimande
• 1954–1965	Tawadros Abdelmesseh
Historical era	Great Game
• Created	1 May 1954
• Dissolved	22 January 1965
Area
1954	1,874,449.92 km2 (723,729.16 sq mi)
1965	1,467,146.24 km2 (566,468.33 sq mi)
Population
• 1961	TBD
Currency	Rwizikuran nhovodiki Taborian denier Djedi dirham
Preceded by Succeeded by Djedet File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru File:Tabold.png Tabora Djedet Rwizikuru File:UBRflag.png Tabora File:Tabold.png
Today part of	Djedet Garambura Rwizikuru Mabifia Tabora

The United Bahian Republic was a confederation in Bahia which existed from 1954 to 1965. Comprised of the entirety of present-day Garambura, Rwizikuru, Tabora, and Djedet as well as parts of present-day Mabifia, it was intended as a political union between Rwizikuru, Tabora, and Djedet with the intention of inviting other Bahian states to join.

While it was initially a success, as the institutions of the United Bahian Republic were established, which helped increased cooperation between its member states, the United Bahian Republic was beset with a number of issues, namely foreign policy and whether member states have a right to express their own foreign policy independent of the United Bahian Republic, and what were the official languages of the United Bahian Republic. In addition, its lack of geographic contiguity also proved to be a problem, as Djedet was an exclave of the United Bahian Republic for the entire existence of the United Bahian Republic.

These issues only intensified as Rwizikuru renounced its socialist policies, albeit maintaining anti-imperialist policies, which exacerbated the aforementioned issues, all while Rwizikuru sought to further centralise the United Bahian Republic, while Djedet and Tabora opposed centralisation. After Izibongo Ngonidzashe crowned himself King in December 1964, both Djedet and Tabora withdrew from the United Bahian Republic the following month, effectively dissolving the organisation, as only Rwizikuru remained a member of the United Bahian Republic.

History

Formation

Delegation of the United Bahian Republic at the Games of the Red Star, 1954

While the intellectual origins of the United Bahian Republic were based in Pan-Bahianism, the catalyst that led to the establishment of the United Bahian Republic took place in 1951 when Djedet and Rwizikuru seized control of their sections of the Trans-Bahian Railway from (TBD), and nationalised the sections running through their countries.

Overnight, the status of President Samhuri Ngonidzashe of Rwizikuru, and General Secretary Tawadros Abdelmesseh among Bahians skyrocketed, with calls among many Bahians for a "Bahian federation." Thus, in 1952, under pressure from ordinary citizens, referenda were organised in Djedet, Rwizikuru, and Tabora, where the motion to establish the "Bahian federation" passed with an overwhelming majority.

Thus, over the next two years, negotiations took place between the leaders of Djedet, Rwizikuru, and Tabora, as they hammered out the details of the United Bahian Republic, until by early 1954, the Munzwa Declaration was signed which established the basic framework for the United Bahian Republic. This made the United Bahian Republic a confederation, with the United Bahian Republic only to have jurisdiction over a few key areas, namely foreign affairs, defence, monetary affairs, and over the capital of the new state, with the member states maintaining their authority elsewhere.

The official announcement of its establishment took place on 1 May, 1954, at the opening ceremonies of the first Games of the Red Star, which took place in Port Fitzhubert, when the three leaders opened the games, and the athletes from Djedet, Rwizikuru, and Tabora marched under the flag of the United Bahian Republic, and the leaders of the three nations opened the games on behalf of the United Bahian Republic.

Heyday

Mukoma in 1957

The United Bahian Republic faced challenges upon its creation, such as the geographic non-contiguity between member states, as Djedet was an exclave of the United Bahian Republic, official languages, as the framers of the United Bahian Republic did not want "colonial languages" to be official, and foreign policy issues as certain organisations like the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies and the Community of Nations still had the member states of the United Bahian Republic as individual members, as opposed to them being succeeded by the United Bahian Republic.

Despite these challenges, Djedet, Rwizikuru, and Tabora cooperated to establish the common institutions of the United Bahian Republic, such as uniting the Rwizikuru Navy and the Taborian Navy into the Bahian Navy, establishing a new capital for the United Bahian Republic in Mukoma (present-day New Mina, Garambura), and implementing freedom of movement between its members, in addition to create a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 between the currencies of the three member states.

By 1956, the United Bahian Republic was starting to join multinational organisations in its own right as one country, as opposed to three, exemplified by it being a founding nation of the Congress of Bahian States, with the institutions set out under the Munzwa Declaration firmly established.

However, problems arose as Djedet advocated for Badawiyan to be made a co-official language, while Rwizikuru argued that Badawiyan was not a Bahian language, and thus should not be made an official language. Although Beheiran was recognised as an official language, Djedet sought to have Badawiyan be recognised as well. This would start to weaken the stability of the United Bahian Republic.

Decline

Anti-UBR rally in Sainte-Germaine, 1964

As Rwizikuru's President Izibongo Ngonidzashe implemented anti-socialist policies within Rwizikuru, tensions started to grow between it and the other two member states, as although Rwizikuru was still committed to anti-imperialism and to the United Bahian Republic, the other member states felt that Rwizikuru was no longer properly socialist. As well, the issues surrounding official languages and foreign policy never disappeared, and in fact only intensified as member states sought to assert their own interests, especially as it was perceived by both Djedet and Tabora that the United Bahian Republic was "not beneficial to the Bahian people, but only to the Rwizi ruling class." This was not helped by the fact that Rwizikuru sought to further centralise the United Bahian Republic, while the other two members did not want to centralise the state.

Thus, by the early 1960s, cracks were appearing within the United Bahian Republic, due to all of these issues. Meetings between the three states became more deadlocked, and states began to refuse to pay their dues to help ensure the normal operation of the institutions. This greatly weakened the ability of the United Bahian Republic to continue operating.

1964 was when the United Bahian Republic entered freefall, with the navy split between Rwizikuru and Tabora in February 1964. While in May of that year, Mukoma (present-day New Mina, Garambura) was officially opened, the tensions between the three members only increased throughout the year, especially after it was announced that Izibongo Ngonidzashe would establish a Rwizikuran monarchy with himself as King. Despite criticism from the other two member states, who threatened to leave, Izibongo Ngonidzashe crowned himself King on 2 December, 1964.

By January 1965, at what would ultimately be the final conference in the history of the United Bahian Republic, both Djedet and Tabora announced their intention to leave the United Bahian Republic over these issues. Despite Izibongo Ngonidzashe's attempts to prevent the dissolution of the United Bahian Republic, with both Tawadros Abdelmesseh and Zweli Ndebele determined to leave the United Bahian Republic, and his unwillingness to "fight against fellow Bahian brethren," by 22 January, the United Bahian Republic effectively ceased to exist.

Government

Palace of the Republic in New Mina, Garambura, 2015

The United Bahian Republic was headed by a collective leadership, with the Presidents of the United Bahian Republic being designated as such due to their positions as being the country's leaders. This was organised so that no one person had too much power within the United Bahian Republic.

The legislature of the United Bahian Republic was the Bahian Assembly, comprising of 100 members. They had the power to legislate over the issues of foreign affairs, defence, and monetary affairs, as well as pass budgets for the operation of the government of the United Bahian Republic.

The institutions of the United Bahian Republic were located in the capital cities of its member state, albeit there were plans to make Mukoma (present-day New Mina, Garambura) the capital of the United Bahian Republic. While institutions were moving to Mukoma at the time of the United Bahian Republic's dissolution in January 1965, the dissolution meant that Mukoma never properly functioned as its capital.

Politically, the United Bahian Republic was meant to be a confederation, according to the Munzwa Declaration, with the federal government only having jurisdiction over foreign affairs, defence, and monetary affairs, and its member states maintaining sovereignty over all other affairs, with the exception of Mukoma, where it was to be under the direct control of the United Bahian Republic.

Foreign relations

While the government of the United Bahian Republic officially had jurisdiction over foreign affairs, during its existence, organisations across the world had varying policies, with some, such as the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies only having member states of the United Bahian Republic as members, while others, such as the Congress of Bahian States had the United Bahian Republic as a member, with no representation from the member states.

The continued participation of member states of the United Bahian Republic in certain organisations, namely the AESE and the Community of Nations would be an issue for the United Bahian Republic, as supporters of the United Bahian Republic believed it was necessary for the United Bahian Republic to speak "with one voice" as oppose to three, while opponents felt that having the United Bahian Republic represent them harmed their own interests.

Member states

During its existence, the United Bahian Republic comprised of three member states from May 1954 until its dissolution in January 1965.

Nation	Capital	Population (1961)	GDP (1961)	GDP per capita (1961)	Membership
Djedet	Mina	Example	TBD	TBD	1954-1965
File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru	Port Fitzhubert	16,120,793	TBD	TBD	1954-1965
File:Tabold.png Tabora	Ntendeka	Example	TBD	TBD	1954-1965

Prospective members

During the existence of the United Bahian Republic, some countries in Bahia expressed their interest in joining the United Bahian Republic. However, due to various reasons, the United Bahian Republic never expanded beyond its three initial members.