Generic Info
Nation Name: United provinces of Kolumbia
Symbols: [url=img10.deviantart.net/9009/i/2014/306/3/3/dutch_north_america_flag_by_althistoryguy-d81bwlg.png]flag[/url]
Location: 93 (Number on Map)
Population: somewhere around 2.1 million however due to the spread out and disconnected nature of the united provinces it's impossible to be sure.
Capital City: waterkant
Government Info
Government Type: Presidential unitary republic
Brief Explanation of Government: The legislative branch of the Kolumbian government is divided into a bicameral system with the first chamber of the legislature being the Volksraad (People's council) which is comprised of 26 representatives each from one of the 19 provinces that makes up the united provinces. The second component of the legislature is the kamer van het bedrijf (company's chamber) which is composed of 12 representatives from the Kolumbian West India company, a reminder of how the united provinces first came to be, in recent years the company's chamber has become a largely ceremonial institution under the administration of Jan Timmerman with some calling for it to be abolished and the legislative to become a unicameral system.
Ideology: Christian libertarianism, colonialism, conservatism, nationalism
Leader/s: Head of state: President Jan Timmerman | Head of government: Prime minister Dirk Baas
Relations
- Despite the treaty of waterkant, the relations between the Dutch republic and Kolumbia have remained near non-existent with a mutual distrust of one another on both sides of the border. Not to mention that both sides have continuously issued statements of how the other's territories is rightfully their own.
- On the other side of the united provinces are the native states of the Sioux Nation and the Kansas Free State both of which have continuously been involved in a long string of border incidents with Kolumbian settlers who have strayed across the border. The continuing refusal of the Kolumbian government to compensate or even apologise for these incidents has lead to an intense rivalry between Kolumbia and the native states.
- Despite the fact that Kolumbia is largely surrounded by rivals there is still a friendly relationship between them and the American union with both nations finding solidarity in the fact that they both threw off the shackles of a European master, yet the two nations don't have any formal trade deals, many within Kolumbia fear that their nation would simply become a puppet of the union if that were to happen.
Population Info
Brief Description of your people: There is little to distinguish the people of Kolumbia to their Dutch counterparts living just over the border. In the 27 years since independence was achieved Kolumbian language has remained almost entirely like their motherland apart from a few slight differences is spelling and pronunciation. In terms of national spirit however the Kolumbians have developed a strong one, they hold an incredibly strong belief in libertarianism and democracy the only thing that could possibly override these beliefs is their incredibly strong Christian beliefs which they have vowed to spread across the continent.
Religion:Dutch reformed church
Ethnicity: European
Main/Accepted Culture(s):Kolumbian Dutch, Dutch
Other Cultures:English, Spanish, a large number of native populations
Military Info
Army: The Kolumbian army is a rather small force with only 9,000 men wearing the black and white uniform, if this wasn't enough of a headache for the Kolumbian military most of this small force is equipped with weapons dating back to the revolution or even further back to the days of the west India company, the Kolumbian army is also almost entirely lacking in an artillery component with only one artillery battalion to it's name. The Kolumbian army has made up for this by using it's expert knowledge of their terrain to their advantage, secondly the Kolumbian army has placed a specific emphasis on the training of their troops, training them to the utmost degree in fact it is quite a common phrase in the military that goes " 6 months is the average training time for most soldiers, by 6 months a Kolumbian has only just learned how to salute correctly".
total number:9,000
Infantry: 7,000
cavalry:1,000
artillery:400
presidential guard: 600
Another significant proponent of the Dutch military is it's militia which consists of around 13,000 men, these men are mainly just Dutch settlers who have acquired a rifle and have declared themselves a member of the Kolumbian militia, yet these militia may still prove themselves useful as the primary rivals of the united provinces, the native states, are still in the early stages of modernisation and when push comes to shove the miltia may be what pushes the united provinces to victory.
Navy: No sea access boi
Other Info
Brief Description of your Economy: The economy of Kolumbia is almost entirely based of agriculture, it's fertile fields have the potential to turn Kolumbia into one of the leading food producers throughout North America however the poor infrastructure and disconnected nature of Kolumbia has resulted in relatively low crop yields for the nation, however this has not deterred the government from trying to encourage and exploit the sector, offering large subsidies to anyone willing to start up a farm out on the frontier. The second largest industry within Kolumbia is it's natural resources more specifically the lumber industry, the vast chilly forests of Kolumbia are slowly but surely being pushed back as Dutch colonists rush to make a living in the colonial rush. There is a small industry developing in Kolumbia's major industrial areas however the nation is still in the very early stages of industrialisation and it will be a while until it overtakes the agricultural industry.
Goals: Fully industrialise, modernise the military, attain access to the sea, build up infrastructure links within the nation, bring the native states into the fold.
History: In the early 17th century the Dutch republic began it's exploration of the east coast of America, chartering the young and eager Dutch east India company to bring the prosperity that had been found by other European natures in the new world to the Dutch people. Over the course of a number of expeditions the West India company set up a number of forts and trading posts in an area they called Nieuw Nederland, in this area they found a number of native tribespeople who they set up a trade in furs with them. As more stories filtered back to the homeland about the wealth and fortune that their friends and family had acquired across the Atlantic and soon a great migration of Dutch people moved towards the new world, cities such as New Amsterdam began to pop up along the coast and all the while the Dutch West India company grew in both wealth and strength as they began to exert more and more control over the colonies, they had their own administrators, courts and even their own military.
In 1664 the Dutch colonial ambitions in America came under a severe threat, an English naval expedition, ordered by prince James, Duke of York, had come to the shores of Nieuw Nederland demanding that the colonies be turned over to the English, fortunately for the Dutch colonies their government had made an alliance with the Swedish in order to prevent such a thing from happening, as both had colonies in the region they would rather like to keep a hold on. While New Amsterdam was under blockade a joint Dutch-Swedish rushed out to meet the English forces. After a short skirmish the English fleet was forced to retreat in shame and humiliation. Following this incident the Dutch West India company continued it's waves of expansion. By the early 18th century the Dutch dominion stretched from New Amsterdam al the way to the great lakes, however it became increasingly inaccurate to say that the colonies were controlled by the Dutch government.
In the years since the Dutch first landed on the New world the Dutch west India had grown from a minor colonial company into a massive juggernaut, what some would call a nation in it's own right due to the massive amount of control they had over the Dutch colonies and as the Dutch West India company exerted their power more and more over the colonies the Dutch government grew increasingly concerned that same fate the befell the Spanish colonies would befall their own. In 1819 the Dutch government demanded that the current head of the Dutch West India company step down and be replaced with a far more loyal individual. The company head ,William De Vries, refused and declared that the West India company no longer had any obligation to serve the Dutch state and so the United provinces of Kolumbia was born under the leadership of the executive council .
When the war first began the United Provinces had the upper hand, company forces were easily able to overwhelm Dutch garrisons and allow the united provinces to easily take practically all of the Dutch colonies in the new world, however one thing that William De Vries neglected to acknowledge is the strength of the Dutch navy, for when the Dutch navy finally arrived in the Americas with an army of European soldiers aboard the pittance of merchant vessel and hired privateers that made up the Kolumbian fleet was easily wiped aside and by the start of 1821 New Amsterdam had been retaken by Dutch forces who were now proceeding to take all of Nieuw Nederland. By the end of 1821 William De Vries and the rest of the executive council ordered for the retreat of Kolumbian forces to the frontier, and the capital of the United Provinces was relocated to the small town of Waterkant. As Dutch European forces continued their advance they began to grow bogged down, the original momentum of their assault was gone and the Kolumbian's greater knowledge of their environment allowed them to inflict heavy casualties upon the Dutch.
Dutch forces could no longer continue the advance yet the Kolumbian forces were unable to push back and reclaim their territory, a stalemate that neither side could overcome. Gradually the Dutch government grew less and less interested in completely destroying the United Provinces and so in 1823 the treaty of Waterkant was signed, declaring that the United Provinces was henceforth an independent state however Nieuw Nederland was to remain under Dutch control and the United Provinces was to only hold onto the frontier provinces that it had secured during the revolution. In the aftermath of the revolution the United Provinces was unfortunately extremely unstable, after only 2 months protesters were gathered outside the company house demanding the dissolution of the executive council and the creation of the democratic government. Unable to withstand the pressure from the protestors William De Vries declared that the executive council was to be replaced by a Unitary republic, the newly renamed Kolumbian west India company still retained some measure of control over the government through the company's chamber.
Today the Kolumbian state still survives with relative stability however new revolutionary ideas from Europe are now beginning to have an effect on the youth of Kolumbia. Not only this but an increasingly jingoistic streak has passed through the Kolumbian people as Kolumbian look to the fertile lands of the native states as new Kolumbian territories and there are many an opportunistic officer and general ready to protect that claim. Yet Kolumbia is but one American power among many and not a particularly strong one at that yet there is still the ever present hope of potential that one day Kolumbia will stand as an equal among the great powers of Europe and America.
RP Sample:[spoiler= ere' ya go ye old blighter]Guilin
Along a slow river a rather small wooden boat was carrying Hans Fischer, a recently hired employee of the Chinese branch of the Opel corporation, who had been called to the capital of the AOG by Albert Muller, one of the major directors of the AOG. The boat eventually reached a small ramshackle wooden pier that was jutting into the river like a splinter. On this pier was a German man dressed in a full black suit despite the tropical temperature of the area around him. Hans was helped onto the pier by the Chinese rower who he had payed to bring him to this rather isolated part of the AOG and when he finally managed to clamber aboard the pier he began to wish he had come better dressed for the occasion for while the man in front of him was wearing an implacable black suit, he was wearing a that of what you expect of a filthy syndicalist.
"I trust that you are Mr Fischer" was the German man's unexpectedly enthusiastic question for Hans.
"Yes I've just arrived from Guangzhaou, anyways i'm here to meet Albert Muller so could you please give me directions to the Board of director's office it would be much appreciated"
The German man then gave Hans a rather odd look and said "Ah they mustn't of told you, you see I am Mr Muller, It is common knowledge here in the AOG that I do like to meet my employees face to face, it gives a me a good understanding of their character."
Hans was at first taken aback by this new information, in Germany he had rarely got to meet the enigmatic figures who ran the companies that he had worked for nevertheless he was quickly able to regain his composure and ask his next question "Well shouldn't we be going to the board of director's office, after all I imagine the climate there is far more agreeable with us there than it here"
Mr Muller than gave Hans a cheery smile and said "Well you see I was thinking that we should take a stroll through Guilin, in order to show you the current state of things and why I brought you here in the first place."
As Mr Muller gave him a tour around the 'city' Hans began to notice what Mr Muller had meant when he said that he would be showing him why he should be here. The roads he was walking down were made of nothing more than dirt, the houses around him were ramshackle at best and looked as if one storm would quite simply cast them aside and the dejected people on the streets looked as if they had been recently mugged. Perhaps the only building within thee entire city that fell into the area that Hans would call acceptable for Human habitation which was the AOG board of director's headquarters. It was at times like this that Hans could see what the godless syndicalists were talking about.
Mr Muller then stopped them in the middle of a quite busy residential area and then produced a small folded piece of paper from his pockets and then said to Hans "I hope you can now see the reason why we need well educated Germans like yourself in order to bring the AOG up to German standards, well at least until our education initiatives begin to bear fruit, now take this."
He then handed that small piece of paper to Hans which upon closer inspection proved to be a plan which outlined the ways to begin improving the infrastructure of the AOG. It included the creation of multiple factories in the Guangzhaou area, the building of railroads between the six provinces that the AOG controlled, the improvement of multiple urban centres throughout the AOG, the ones that were to be focused on were Guilin, Guangzhaou, Changsha and Nanchang, finally it outlined the importation and employment of a great deal of German engineers. As Hans was looking through these papers Mr Muller decided to interrupt his reading " Believe me it took a great deal if work to get the board of directors to agree with me on this proposition, most of them only want China for it's abundant resources not for the possibility of having an extremely powerful industrial state under their control, anyways I would like you to be in charge of this project."
Hans was at first completely shocked by this statement, Mr Muller continued on speaking talking all about his housing and what his wage would be however he had failed to register what was being said due to his initial shock. He was finally knocked out of said shock when Mr Muller asked "So do you accept my proposal to you, I can assure you that both the Opel corporation and the entirety of China would be extremely grateful.."
"Yes of course I accept!" Was Hans's quite immediate reply. For a long time now he had wished to have a position of some kind of importance within the em;ire and now he finally did.
State of the AOG
The Southern Chinese industrial development plan which had just been approved by the board of directors was now proceeding ahead at full speed with massive amounts of funding pouring in from all corporations who were represented on the board of directors. Companies such as Mauser, Opel and Krupp were also making efforts to introduce new agricultural and industrial techniques to the AOG's economy. The population of the AOG were now also beginning to benefit from the wealth of their corporate masters as educational initiatives and multiple public works now were finally receiving some funding.
The head of state for the AOG, Alexander von Falkenhausen, was now pushing for the greater development of the AOG's military with recruitment and training of the Chinese population and the importation of German weapons. The AOG military was also now receiving it's first armoured tank division which was to positioned with the majority of the AOG military on the border of the Yunnan clique, which many expected to be the main target for the AOG's new expansionist doctrine.
Alas not all things were chugging along so smoothly within the AOG as the republican movement was quickly gaining vast amounts of popularity as the mass industrialisation of the AOG while leaving many people very wealthy was also leaving many people in poverty and out of poverty grew dissent and crime. In order to contain this huge threat the board of directors are soon to meet in order to decide weather or not some kind of secret police should be commissioned in order to keep German control within their small corner of China. [/spoiler]
429 - Do not remove. This is for tracking purposes.
