Treaty of Freijstad
| Treaty of Peace between Freijian and Her Associated Northern-Hibernia Colonial Territories | |
|---|---|
 The Treaty of Freijstad, translated into Freijian. | |
| Signed | 1 July 1814 |
| Location | Freijstad, Freijian |
| Effective | December 1st, 1814 |
| Condition | Ratification by all parties involved. |
| Negotiators | Helmuth von Renssaeler |
| Parties | |
| Depositary | Freijian Government |
| Languages |
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The Treaty of Freijstad (Freijian: Verdrag van Freijstad) was the peace treaty which officially recognized the Federal Republic of Rensselaerswijck's total and complete independence from Freijian. It ended the de-facto state of war between the two, which despite no shots being fired had existed for nearly 3 years. It was signed on July 1st, 1814 in the capital of Freijian, Freijstad. It was one of many peace treaties to bring to close the effects of the !Napoleonic Wars. Although no official state of war existed, the Cree Tribal Nation also took part in peace negotiations to make sure indigenous peoples were represented at the conference.
Background
!Napoleonic Wars
The beginning of the !Napoleonic Wars had caused mainland Freijian to be conquered and subsequently annexed into !Napoleonic France. The exile of the mainland had implications for the colonies overseas, with the Northern-Hibernia colony also feeling the effects. Without a government to report back to, the colonial administration of the territory leaned for further guidance by Freijian nobles and the very few oligarchs who had decided to own land in Northern Hibernia, rather than the lucrative and profitable !Hispaniola where most were.
With increasing noble and oligarchic influence over the colonial administration, internal dissent began to swell among the lower populations who chafed under the unequal priveleges and advantages the Freijian officals were granted. This created a common cause for Freijian colonist and indigenous person alike, creating an unlikely alliance between Cybellian colonists and indigenous Hibernian peoples.
May 21st Declaration
(For more, see May 21st Declaration) The dissent grew to a fever-pitch, and eventually one noble family by the name of Von Rensselaer took charge and supported the commoners' causes. Unlike before, the movement now had legitimate backing from a wealthy supporter, proprelling the anti-colonial administration sentiment mainstream in the common population.
On May 21st, 1811, a prominent noble of the von Renssaeler family, Helmuth von Renssaeler, penned the May 21st Declaration. Signed by dozens of common people and indigenous leaders, it was a unilateral declaration of independence from Freijian. Not even days after, a people's revolution swept the streets of Nieuw Hoop, deposing the colonial adminstration and placing many colonial officials under arrest.
From Declaration to Treaty
Nobles who refused to side with the revolution had their land taken, wealth siezed, and goods distributed to the people, the Northern Hibernia colonies lived in limbo with no offical leader or government. Eventually, restrictions eased, and the Unilateral Declaration of a Rensselaerswijck Republic was published in late 1813, the country being named after the "Father of the Revolution."
Although a bloodless revolution, it had a counter-effect on the colony's economy which lead it to financial disaster. A bad winter in 1813 further had the ocean freeze for over 5 months of the year, ruining trade.
Treaty Provisions
Rensselaerswijck Demands
Rensselaerswijck went into the peace negotiations demanded full, unwarranted independence. Freijian, just gaining back its mainland after the conclusion of the !Napoleonic Wars agreed. It is now represented by Article 1 of the Treaty of freijstad. In addition to total independence, Rensselaerswicjk demanded that Freijian nobles and oligarchs be exiled to Freijian and their lands revoked and their access to the country barred.
This is was rebutted by the Freijian government, who would not allow for such to occur, instead offering to recall the special priveleges held in place by nobles and oligarchs but keeping their traditional lands in place. Rensselaerswijck agreed, and nobles were granted their land status back, this time as equal as the common farmer or indigenous plot of land.
Freijian Demands
Freijian demanded early in the conference that the rights of the oligarchs and nobles be respected. Of course, disputes continued with their colony of the future of such nobles until an agreement was reached that their land would remain but their priveleges would not. Wealth siezed, however, could not be recovered from the colony as it was lost during the ensuring financial crisis. This angered Freijian negotiators, but in the end the Rensselaer government agreed to repay lost wealth incrementally as debt.
This debt has yet to pay off, and it is expected to be paid in full completion in 2003, nearly 200 years after the treaty was signed.
Cree Demands
The Cree nation originally wanted to demand the Freijians recognize indigenous equality in all of her colonies, but this was quickly shot down by the two other parties and frankly unrealistic. The indigenous nation settled on the Freijian government agreeing to recognize the Cree nation as equal to the Cybellum people, although this did nothing for any party physically except for a large morale boost for the indigenous populations in Northern Hibernia. The Cree managed to slip in provisions for the new nation which enshrined indigenous rights, representation, and equality under the law.