Niagara Union

The Niagara Union
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Unity gives Strength
Anthem: Eternal Strength
Niagara Union, 2006
Capital	Gettysburg City
Largest city	New York City
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	N/A
Recognised regional languages	Ruthenian
Ethnic groups (2005)	79.2% White 11.8% Black 6.7% Asian 3.3% Other
Demonym(s)	Unioner (official) Niagaran (semi-official, popular)
Government	Federal presidential one-party state
• President	Ernest Hutchinson
• Vice-President	Roman Dean
Legislature	National Congress
• Upper house	Upper Committee
• Lower house	People's Council Defunct
Union formation between Gettysburg and the Antes Republic (1992)
• English colony at Jamestown	1604
• Ruthenian settlement of Eastern Canada	1691
• American War for Independence	1775
• American Civil War	1861
• Formation of the Union	1992
• Annexation of the Federation	2000
Area
• Total	19,819,000 km2 (7,652,000 sq mi)
Population
• 2006 estimate	296,000,000
• 2005 census	289,000,000
• Density	14/km2 (36.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2005 estimate
• Total	7,601,000,000,000
• Per capita	$26,032
HDI (2005)	0.774 high
Currency	Niagaran Dollar
Time zone	UTC−4 to −12, +10, +11 (Pacific Standard Time (PST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Central Standard Time (CST), Eastern Standard Time (EST))
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.na

The Niagara Union, commonly known as "Niagara" or "The Union", is a country located in North America and the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the north by the Pavlovski Arctic, the south by Toluca and Santa Rosa. The Union is massive federal state made up of 14 administrative regions and multiple territories, as well as presently one military occupation zone. At 19,819,000 km2, the Union is the second largest nation on the planet, only behind Pavlovsk. With roughly 296,000,000 people, the Union is the 4th or 5th most populous nation on Earth. Niagara is a diverse nation, made up of a predominantly white population (divided among many different cultural and ethnic groups) with significant Black and Asian minorities. The capital of the Union is in Gettysburg City, and the most populous city is New York City.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago, and European colonization began in the 16th century. The American Federation emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Albion and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783, leading to independence. Beginning in the late 18th century, the American Federation vigorously expanded across North America, gradually acquiring new territories,killing and displacing Native Americans, and admitting new states. By 1848, the Federation spanned the continent. Slavery was legal in much of the United States until the second half of the 19th century, when the American Civil War led to not only the abolition of slavery but also the creation of Gettysburg, the United Pacific States and the Texas Confederacy.

The Union was a mutual uniting of the Antes Republic and Gettysburg, two socialist republics who merged in 1992 to break the North American deadlock. These two highly developed and militarily powerful nations banding together gave the Union impressive military capabilities from the outset of it's existence, and this military dominance only grew through out the territorial acquisitions of the 90s, culminating in 2000 with the annexation of the American Federation, solidifying Niagaran rule over the entire continent sans Toluca.

Currently, the Union is a federal presidential one party state, led by the Hutchinson Coalition, effectively under the military dictatorship of Ernest Hutchinson. After fighting a costly civil war, President Ernest Hutchinson has solidified his rule over the Union.

History

Colonisation of North America

Albonian settlers arrived in North America in 1604, settling the colony of Jamestown (named after the current King of Albion). Jamestown was the third attempt by Albion to settle the continent of North America, following failed attempts on the East Coast of Canada and Roanoke, not to far from Jamestown.

Jamestown became the capital of the Colony of Virginia, Albion's first organised colony on the entire continent. Virginia's first governor was Sir Edwin Lee, a skilled admiral in the Royal Navy. Lee ran Virginia with a brutal and harsh fist, using extreme measures to further the growth of the young colony. These included the routine capturing and imprisonment of the Native American population, execution of colonists for minor crimes, cruel and inane laws, among other acts. Despite Lee's tyranny, or perhaps as a result of it, Virginia grew extremely quickly.

Later, in 1691, the first Ruthenian ship arrived in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, landing somewhere around the mouth of the Quebec River. It's unknown what happened to the first Ruthenian settlement of Canada, but what we know is that it began the colonisation of Quebec by Ruthenians and Pavlovskis. Over the next century, the Pavlovski Empire sponsored the settlement of the Empire's poor or undesirable to the New World, mostly of Ukranian or Ruthenian origin. These settlers called their new home the "Antes Colony".