User:Norcandy/Satavia
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Dominion of Satavia and Federation
In February 1811, Nuvania was granted home rule by Estmere. Previous requests by the colonies of the Satavian Isles for dominion status had been refused on the basis that officials in Morwall had ruled that for home rule status to be granted, federation must be achieved. Various proposals for federation had been brought up since the 1790s, but nothing of substance was ever agreed upon.
At the July Convention, representatives from the six colonies (Crown Colony of Andersland & Dukeminster, the Hope Colony, Crown Colony of Ballyleigh, the Orange Colony, Colony of New Furland and the East River Colony) met in Port Jago to discuss the proposition of federation in July 1812. Whilst several colonies supported federation followed by home rule, some (including the East River Colony and the Crown Colony of Ballyleigh) believed that economically it was disadvantageous to join a larger single entity. The following three years of negotiations, led primarily by the Hope Colony, saw the first of four bills submitted to each colony, the first entitled "On the Topic of Federation", introduced in 1814. The first proposal was accepted by the Hope Colony and the Orange Colony but was rejected by the remaining colonies. In 1815, the Hope Colony and the Orange Colony merged to form the Colony of Satavia, which marks the first time the name "Satavia" was used.
The other colonies initial refusal of federation is generally attributed to economic differences, as opposed to social and ethnic differences. Many of the colonies were worried that the Hope Colony, by far the most powerful, developed and influential would exploit the smaller colonies. In early 1816, the fourth and final bill was submitted to each of the remaining colonies not yet part of the Colony of Satavia - which included land transfers to Ballyleigh and the Orange Colony and the guarantee of a federal structure in which each province would retain the post of governor and each of the province's legislatures (which had been established in 1800 to manage local affairs).
The only province not to agree was Ballyleigh, which felt that it was not economically in Ballyleigh's interests to join the new Dominion. Consequently, Ballyleigh did not join the federation in 1816. When the Colony of Satavia was granted Dominion Status under the Satavia Act, 1816, it did not include Ballyleigh under the new Dominion. The new Dominion held it's first election before even gaining Dominion Status - so that on the 1st of October when home rule was officially transferred to Satavia, Richard Somerset, who was previously Governor of the Orange Colony, made it a priority to incorporate Ballyleigh into the Dominion. Somerset began talks with the Governor of Ballyleigh, Cedric D. Johnson, offering large financial bonuses and a land exchange that would see the major settlements of Kingsleigh and Port Jago both transferred to Ballyleigh. In 1818, Ballyleigh submitted a request to the metropolis for home rule and Dominion status - which was refused.
In 1819, Somerset tried again, offering an even more generous offer - but once again, Jonhson refused and counter-offered - if the capital of Satavia was moved to Port Arthur, Johnson would agree. Moving the capital to Port Arthur would give Ballyleigh the most power out of any of the Provinces - but this was refused by Somerset. Various attempts would be made over the next seven years of Somerset's premiership, but when he was defeated in the 1827 General Election, his successor, Arthur Mann, did not attempt to integrate Ballyleigh into the Dominion.
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In 1836, the Great Drought crippled Ballyleigh's largely agrarian economy. It also prompted the government of the colony, now run by Samuel O'Donovan, a descendent of one of the many Caldish migrants that emigrated to Ballyleigh in the 1700s, to ask for funds from Estmere, which was rejected. Next, he turned to the Dominion of Satavia, which largely had not been affected by the Drought due to the nature of the Dominion's economy, and large currency reserves. However, a certain level of animosity had existed between the Dominion and Ballyleigh since Ballyleigh refused federation. Following further talks and Ballyleigh's slide into an economic depression, O'Donavon agreed to admit Ballyleigh into the Dominion. Under the agreement, Ballyleigh received significant funding, and increased in size, gaining, as promised in 1815, Port Jago and Kingsleigh.
Ballyleigh's entry into the Dominion in 1838 meant that suddenly the Dominion found itself with the agrarian powerhouse that Ballyleigh was, and soon became known as the "Breadbasket of the Estmerish Empire". Within two years of joining the Dominion, Ballyleigh was lifted out of its economic slump, and in the 1839 election, representatives from Ballyleigh were sent to Port Hope for the first time.
In 1844, the Dominion entered a period called the "Estmerish Miracle". During this period, immigration to Satavia was at an all-time high, and business flourished. Soon, purchasable land in the East of the Country became scarce, and so, under the Grim-Morley administration, huge swathes of native land were repossessed from the natives. Previously, the Estmerish administration had retained previous agreements made between the colonies (and agreements made by the Hennish). Thousands of natives were cleared from their homes and often killed, by local militias tasked with expelling the natives from their land.
In 1845, less than a year after the expulsions began, the native Rookerama tribe began attacking convoys and rural settlements in the main interior, ravaging, in particular, the East River Province. This marked the first time of confrontation with the native tribes - and the beginning of the First Estmerish-Rookerama War. It would end only four months after it started, following the establishment of a native reserve that straddled the border of the East River Province and the Hope Province. However, the war hadn't solved the immediate need for land. So, in 1846, more land was seized from the Rookerama tribe, including the reservation, which led to the Second Estmerish-Rookerama War. The war saw a few pitched battles but was mainly a guerilla conflict. Despite the nature of the conflict and the Rookerama's expert knowledge of the area, they were eventually defeated in 1848 and were forced to flee westward, into New Furland, where they were allowed to roam the vast swathes of uninhabited lands, mainly in the Orange Mountains. The "Estmerish Miracle" never ended with a crash, it simply petered out, and by 1859, Satavia's economy was growing at a steady rate.
In 1855, the Dominion elected Johan van Vallier, a Conservative politician who would dominate Dominion politics up until 1879. Johan van Vallier was ardently pro-Pioneer and clashed with Morwall many times during his premiership, mainly due to the relatively liberal Estmerish foreign and colonial policy.
1883 saw the election of Arthur O'Connell - one of the three Political Giants of the Dominion - but it also saw the beginning of the War of the Arucian, which Satavia wasn't directly involved in, but it had a major political effect on the country. Nuvania was drawn into the war due to a secret treaty, whilst Satavia did not join the war as it was not involved in these treaties. When the war ended, however, it massively changed the political landscape - Nuvania, a fellow dominion, declared independence, whilst Satavia remained Estmerish. It also meant that Satavia itself was distanced from the continent and was largely cut off from Asterian affairs.
O'Connell's time as Prime Minister saw poverty skyrocket throughout the country - but also saw Satavia develop a distinct culture, and a sense of nationhood - and also increased calls for independence, with an Independence movement being established for the first time. Poverty reached an all-time high during the Great Collapse, where Sydney Warwick - the third of Satavia's Political Giants - was elected to help combat the Great Collapse, which he did. The collapse had ravaged the struggling dominion, which had previously relied on Estmere and Nuvania for everything other than agricultural products. Warwick's economic stimulus packages helped lift the Dominion out of poverty, whilst also helping with the pre-existing poverty problem.
In 1927, Estmere and Satavia joined the war that was quickly becoming global against Gaullica. Later that year, however, Nuvania joined the war on the side of Gaullica, and suddenly Satavia's position was no longer secure. Many of Estmere's troops and ships had been withdrawn, leaving only a small contingent of Estmerish soldiers in Port Hope, in addition to some poorly-trained Satavian forces.
Great War
On the 3rd April, a large force of 26,000 Nuvanian soldiers landed to the South of Port Hope, at Missionaire Baai. Despite the landings only being 3.5 miles from the outskirts of Port Hope, they were obscured by a thick mist and King Charles Mound, a strategic hill overlooking Port Hope. The landings were unopposed, and Satavian forces were overwhelmed very quickly. Regrouping, several pitched battles were made to retake King Charles Mound, but never succeded, and on the 9th General Harrison surrendered his forces in Port Hope.
Following the fall of Port Hope, any remaining Satavian forces were evacuated at Port Arthur, including the Royal Satavian Navy, and sent to Euclea. Sporaddic resistance continued for the next week, but soon Nuvanian forces were in control of the vast majority of the country. The defeat had been a propoganda disaster for Estmere, who now seemed as if they couldn't even protect their own colonies.
Satavian forces fought in Estmere and other Estmerish colonial possesions, but were distrusted by Estmerish commanders, and brushed off as "colonials". On the 3rd March 1934, a joint Grand Alliance force lead by Lt. Gen. James Warwick (Operation Blind Summit) landed near Northport, in the Orange Province. The landings were successful and within two weeks, any remaining Entente resistance was flushed out. A joint Hallandic-Satavian Military Command ran the country until the end of the war, when, on the 13th February, Prime Minister Edward Limes and Governor-General Sydney Warwick returned to Satavia.