President Mitt
Giovanni
Sr. Member
Posts: 3,347
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« on: October 10, 2009, 03:03:02 PM » |
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This is the story of a small island (fictional).
History of the Republic of Saint Pius
In 1632, three French vessels, the Magnificent, the Glorious, and His Majesty, landed upon an Island off the coast of Spanish Territory in Florida. The vessels were filled with three hundred men including Catholic Church Aristocracy, soldiers, bankers, and upper class merchants from Paris. The men claimed the island in the name of Pope Pius V, the pope who had excommunicated Elizabeth I of England, calling their new colony, The Island of Saint Pius. The leader of the expedition was a Paris Merchant named Georges de Colville, who was doing the expedition for the Caribbean Trading Company, headquartered in Paris.
Upon arriving, the colonists were quick to create a form of government. The Organe de la règle (Body of Rule) was created, where all landowning white males were allowed to vote. The expedition's leader Colville was elected the first President of the Colony.The settlement, in which the settlers built, was named St. Louistowne, in honor of the French King Louis XIII.
The native Indians there known as the Cuahlahicas (as named by Colville) were initially friendly to the Frenchmen, but the relation quickly soured. The Cuahlahican Chief was captured by the French and when he refused to convert to Catholicism, he was shot and his body burned. The Indians then waged a four month long war with the French, with the French coming on top because of superior weaponry.
President Colville soon realized the profitability of the Sugar trade as was evident of the English colonies in Jamaica and Barbados. Wealthy French-speaking land owners set up Sugar and Coffee plantations, but needed a labor force to work the plantations, an preferably a cheap one.
After the Cuahlahican-French war was over, the French were quick to put the defeated Native Americans into the slave chains, but as they soon found out, the Indians were ineffective slaves, as they knew the terrain of Saint Pius well, and the Indians also quickly died of diseases brought by the French. The first African slaves arrived in 1649, but also French immigrants started arriving as well, but mostly to set up small farms in the western part of the island, and work in the mines of the Southern part.
In 1699, the King of France, XIV revoked the charter giving ownership of Saint Pius to the Caribbean Trading Company, making it a French Royal Colony, and appointing Robert Montague as the Royal Governor, but kept the Organe de la règle to keep support of the French aristocracy in Saint Pius.
By 1700, there was a clearly defined Class system in Saint Pius, there was an upper class French Planter Aristocracy firmly entrenched, who basically ran the Government as the Governor was usually on the side of the wealthy. Second there were French Speaking farmers and miners in the western and southern parts of the Island. Most of the men could read and write, but could not vote because most did not meet the land requirements to be able to vote. Third were African slaves, who compromised one fourth of the population, and worked the Aristocrats' Sugar plantations. Finally were the Indians, who were not really citizens, had had no rights whatsoever.
The Yarborough Slave Revolt
This class system insured that the rich had the most opulent and happy lives, the white farmers and miners had average, but still poor lives, and slaves and Indians were treated the worst. Few people questioned this system as the Government and the Organe de la règle supported the French Aristocracy. One person did, a Catholic Priest named Joseph de la Guarde' went around speaking out against the Slave system, gaining a large following of Slaves, Indians, and even some poor whites.
De la Guarde' finally decided enough was enough, and marched on the capital of St. Louistowne on April 2nd, 1703.The March was peaceful, and was intended to persuade the Government to his point of view. The Government refused to meet him, and the Governor's mansion was locked out, and well guarded. De la Guarde' camped outside of Governor Montague's mansion.
Eventually, Governor Montague ordered soldiers to disperse the crowd, and several dozens of French troops marched into St. Louistowne and surrounded the crowd. The French fired into the crowd killing fourteen slaves, and one white man, that white man was la Guarde’.
Governor Montague knew that if news of la Guarde’s death reached the slaves, they would revolt, so the Governor sent soldiers into every major town and city on the island. There were little to no riots in the cities which Soldiers occupied, but the Governor had forgotten to send troops to the town of Yarborough, which was in the Southern Corner of the Island. The town erupted, and the governor’s men were unable to subdue the rebellion. The riot was only silenced when French troops dispatched from Haiti occupied Yarborough.
The result was that several very harsh Slave Laws were passed, which limited the already slim rights the African Slaves had. Slaves could no longer learn to read. And Masters could no longer free their slaves, and all already free slaves were forced to leave the colony.
The Island of Saint Pius is depicted in Red.
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