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United Republic of New Devon
Соединённая Республика Нового Девона

Timeline: Great White South

OTL equivalent: Portions of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Flag of New Devon
Flag of New Devon
Location of New Devon
Location of New Devon
Capital Amery
Largest city Davis
Language
  official
 
English and Russian
  others French, Māori
Religion
  main
 
Protestantism
  others Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy
Demonym New Devonian
Government Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
  Legislature Parliament
President Garry Molotov
Independence from the United Kingdom
  declared December 26, 1989
  recognized January 23, 1990
Currency Dollar (NDD)
Internet TLD .nd
Organizations AF, CoN, UN

The United Republic of New Devon (Russian: Соединённая Республика Нового Девона, Soyedinyonnaya Ryespublika Novogo Dyevona), colloquially known as New Devon (Новый Девон, Novyy Dyevon), and abbreviated as the URND (СРНД, SRND); is a sovereign state located in Eastern Antarctica. Originally comprised of territory claimed by the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom, New Devon declared independence in 1989. Prior to which, the nation was a dominion of the United Kingdom.

The period following World War II until the late 1980s, New Devon enacted Apartheid-like laws which disenfranchised the Russian minority in the nation. Many historians compared this treatment similar to the non-white communities of South Africa and the Southern United States during this time. A period of Russian terrorism began in the mid 1970s, eventually leading to these laws being laxed by the late 1980s. Growing anti-imperialist sentiment among the English-speaking population also came into play, resulting in the nation declaring independence from the Commonwealth Realm on December 26, 1989 (known as the "Boxing Day Declaration").

Today, New Devon has embraced bilingualism within the nation and has grown closer to its eastern neighbors (most notably Bellinsgauzenia). The nation contains large deposits of iron and other minerals.

History[]

Dominion[]

Flag of the Dominion of New Devon (Great White South)

Flag of the Dominion of New Devon (1948-1989).

After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the United Kingdom grew interested in claiming former Russian colonies in order to expand Britain's power on the continent. By 1920, the Viceroyalty of Yugosiberia was officially annexed by the United Kingdom. With the United States claiming New Irkutsk (modern day Byrdia) and the remaining Russian colonies fighting back, this was as far as Britain could go in Antarctica. In 1932, the newly claimed British regions were combined with the United Province of New Devon to form the Dominion of New Devon. The Russian-speaking regions of New Devon went through a period of "forced Anglanization."

During World War II, New Devon and Eduarda acted as the buffer states between Nazi New Swabia and Axis-supporting Bellinsgauzenia.

Referendum[]

By the early 1980s, the existence of New Devon as a nation was brought into question. During the late 1970s, the pro-Bellinsgauzenian movement, lead by the Russian Continental Army (RCA), began a wave of terrorism within New Devon and Eduarda. In northern New Devon, the ideals of self determination and political identity were put into question. Though claiming to be independent, the people felt divided between Eduarda and the British Empire. Though Eduardian-New Devonian relationship was favorable, the political similarities made New Devon fell more like a dependency of Eduarda than an equal member.

Sgarbi (cropped)

Former President Elmo Focker.

A republican movement (lead by newcomer Elmo Focker) gained strong support by the New Devonians, and would lead to more unrest for the nation. By 1985, the Dominion of New Devon held a referendum on the future status. In a stunning turn, 97% of the voters voted for a political change in the nation. Between 1986 until the final referendum to be held in 1989, several movements came out on the future of New Devon. One of the proposals (which was favored by the RCA) proposed splitting up New Devon between the Russian-speaking and the English-speaking. The Russian-speaking provinces would join Bellinsgauzenia as oblasts, while the English-speaking provinces could become regions within Eduarda, or remain under their own government. The second proposal (favored by the republicans) proposed forming New Devon into a confederate republic, in which English and Russian were the official languages, and each province worked as separate entities within a federal government.

In October 1989, the referendum was held. With a close race, 69% of the votes favored keeping New Devon together, but in a republican confederation. On December 26, 1989, the constitution of the Union of New Devon was signed (commonly called the Boxing Day Constitution). The United Kingdom and Eduarda would recognize this in 1990. New Devon officially left the British Imperial Confederation in March 1990.

Subdivisions[]

New Devon is a quasi-federation comprised of nine provinces. The federal ideas are comparable to that of Australia and South Africa. Four of the provinces (known collectively as New Vestfold) contain a Russophonic majority. The remaining five are predominantly Anglophonic.

  • Flag Cooksland
  • Flag East Vestfold
  • Flag New Somerset
  • Flag South Virginia
  • Flag West Bay
  • Flag West Vestfold
  • Flag ???
  • Flag ???
  • Flag ???
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