Occidentes Province
Imperial Province of Occidentes Provincia Occidentes | |||||||
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| 1634–1771 | |||||||
Flag
 Coat of Arms of House Exponentia
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| Status | Colony (Empire of Exponent) | ||||||
| Capital | Hamionacae (Hamanakai) | ||||||
| Common languages | Latin, English, Hamanakai | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 1634 | ||||||
• Disestablished | 1771 | ||||||
| Currency | Imperial Credit | ||||||
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The Occidentes Province (Latin: Provincia Occidentes) was an administrative district of Novum Hesperidesia. Under Imperial Exponential control 1634 to 1771, the area was first explored by Rufus Septimus Tullius during the late 1500's. It originally covered an expansive territory that included all of the land around Lake Hai'lu'kai, as well as a significant area to the north of it.
Although Imperial exploration of the area began during the reign of Tiberius III, Occidentes was not settled until nearly sixty years later, and even then it was not greatly developed due to a lack of human and financial resources. As a result of its defeat in the Aquitaynian War of Independence, Exponent was forced to sell of the territory in order to cover massive war debts that were incurred, effectively ending the Empire's presence in Lorecia.
Settlement and Geography
History
Exploration of Occidentes
In 1568, the Emperor Tiberius III undertook a policy of exploration into the far western reaches of Astyria with the objectives to expand the Empire's trade network; to exploit the territory's natural resources, such as fur and mineral ores; and to convert the native populations to Catholicism. Later that year, the explorer Rufus Septimus Tullius made landfal in the area, and fur traders began exploring the country around Lake Hai'lu'kai shortly thereafter. In 1609, Publius Goralius and Tullius Septarius reached the eastern end of Lake Hai'lu'kai, where the present day city of Hamanakai was established. As trappers set about their work looking for profits and moving ever deeper into the wilderness, priests followed just behind them founding missions. On May 17, 1614, the city of Hamionacae was established as both a trading post and mission, symbolizing a combination of the two goals of the Empire abroad.
In 1634, the Occidentes Province was officially established as a part of the Empire of Exponent, and a wave of emigration from Hesperidesia began to kick off. The first wave came in the form of four ships and 320 emigrants who made landfall at modern day Katowicze, establishing the area as a major coastal port. Additional waves would move north to Helksja, where another port was established to participate in a prosperous trade with the Aurorans just across the narrow strait.
Administration
Alongside Aquitayne, Occidentes formed part of a larger colonial unit, Nova Hesperidesia, which covered a significant portion of the Lorecian continent. Nova Hesperidesia was initially ruled by a viceroy and given a government similar to the rest of the Empire's overseas possessions. Its capital was at Telora city until the end of the Aquitaynian Revolution, whereupon it shifted to Hamionacae, where it remained for almost thirty years. In Occidentes itself, a governor general known as the Consul was charged with ruling over the area and its vast wilderness. In theory, Occidentes was subordinate to Aquitayne, and so it was explored and settled chiefly by Auroran-Imperial mestizos rather than colonists from the homelands. Given the enormous distance between Hesperidesia and Occidentes, communications to the homeland was limited.
Imperial settlements were widely dispersed in Occidentes, which afforded them some level of autonomy not seen in most other Imperial territories. In order to make administration in the area simpler, the government decided to break up governance of the colony of Novum Hesperidesia into three smaller provinces, centered around the modern cities of Helskja, Katowicze, and Hamanakai. Katowicze, being right on the coast, served as Fthe province's first "capital", but the seat of government moved to Hamanakai in 1694, as it was further inland and offered an excelletn port on Lake Hai'lu'kai. While the office of Consul was the most eminent, it was not the most powerful. His was a military position that required him to lead the troops and maintain diplomatic relations. The second provincial authority was the the Praetor, who oversaw justice, the police force, and finances. He also managed the budget, set prices, presided the Superior Council, and organized the census. Appointed by the Emperor, Occidentes's Preator had broad powers that sometimes conflicted with those of the Consul. The military outposts of the hinterland directed by individual centurions, praefects, or tribunes, depending on their size and importance
Society
Language
Occidental Latin is generally described as the form of Latin spoken in the province. The prestige dialect still used by some ???? is often identified as from Occidental Latin, but some linguists differentiate this into two seperate categories, with a more "pure" form of Latin being known as Plantation Society Latin. Historically spoken by the Conurbii population in the Occidentes Province, the Occidental Latin language is generally considered to have been adopted by whites, blacks and natives alike.
Following the Great Plague in the 17th century, when many Hesperidesians relocated to the Occidentes Province, and stemming from their meetings with local Hamanakai natives as well as interaction with free Hesperidesian natives who made the journey, the new language was born. Some scholars suggested that it survived as the prestige dialect spoken by ???, both white and of color, into the 21st century.
Linguists have pointed out this dialect is distinct from Aquitaynian Latin and even the Latin spoken by the upper classes of the area, and is largely derived from the standard Latin of the mid-17th century, Auroran, native Hesperidesian, languages, and Hamanakai languages. As such, in 1994 linguist Marius Pinewall of the University of Ravetta introduced the term "Plantation Society Latin" for the prestige dialect. There is a history of diglossia between Aquitaynian Latin, Plantation Society Latin, and Occidental Latin. The former two, at any rate, are quite close to the Standard Hesperidesian Latin of the time of its origin, with some possible differences in pronunciation and vocabulary use.
Civilian Life
Social mobility was easier in Occidentes than in Hesperidesia at the time. The seigneurial system was not imposed in the far flung territory, although the long lot land division scheme of the seigneurial system was adapted to some of the meandering rivers and lakes there. There were few corporations treated on a hierarchical basis and strictly regulated. Certain tradesmen managed to build fortunes rather quickly. The large planters of Occidentes were attached to the Hesperidesian way of life: they imported wigs and clothing fashionable from Paradisia. In the larger cities of Hamanaki, Katowicze, and Helksja, the wealthiest constructed stone-built houses and had several servants.
Military
The Emperor maintained a small military force in the area in case of conflict with the other colonial powers. According to a registry in 1720, the city of Hamanakai was defended by 300 soldiers, with just over 1,200 other men distributed throughout the province. The colonial army, like that of the Empire elsewhere, suffered from a significant problem of desertions. A number of soldiers fled to become trappers and mountain men. That said, however, there were few mutinies because repression was severe. The army held a fundamental place in the control of the territory. Soldiers built forts and frequently negotiated with the native tribes, and were allowed some bit of autonomy when in the field.
Natives
While the powers in Hesperidesia wished to make the native Hamanakai subjects of the Emperor and good Christians, the distance from Metropolitan Hesperidesia and the sparseness of Imperial settlement prevented movement in this direction. In official rhetoric, the natives were regarded as subjects of the Emperor of Exponent, but in reality, they were largely autonomous due to their numerical superiority. The local authorities (governors, officers) did not have the means of imposing their decisions, and often compromised. The tribes offered essential support for the Imperial settlers in Occidentes: they ensured the survival of the colonists, participated with them in the fur trade, and were used as guides in expeditions.
The two peoples influenced each other in many fields: the Hesperidesians learned the languages of the natives, who bought manufactured goods (fabric, alcohol, firearms, etc.), and sometimes adopted their religion. The trappers and the soldiers borrowed canoes and moccasins. Many of them ate native food such as wild rice and various meats, like bear and dog. The colonists were often dependent on the native tribes for food. Sometimes shamans shamans succeeded in curing the colonists thanks to traditional remedies which were unknown to the colonist, who were completely unfamiliar with the environment..
Many colonists both admired and feared the military power of the Hamanakai and other tribes, but others scorned their culture and regarded them as racially less pure than the Whites. In 1635, interracial marriages without the approval of the authorities were prohibited in the province. In spite of some disagreements, and sometimes violent confrontations, the relationship with the native tribes was relatively good. Exponential imperialism was expressed through some wars and the servitude of some natives, but most of the time, the relationship was based on dialogue and negotiation.