K

Kachin Republic- The Kachins are an ethnic group of northern Burma. The Kachins seceded from Burma in the early 1960s, and quickly gained control of most of Kachin State. Kachin rebels were allied with the Kuomintang at Mong Hsat during the early 1970s, but switched allegiance to the Burmese People's Republic after the victory of Communism in Indochina. In 1987, the Burmese overran the headquarters of the Kachin army, and the Kachin Republic now controls less than half of the state's territory.

Kadesh- see Confederacy of Chittagong.

Kaffa- see Tana.

Kaifeng Jews- Jewish settlements existed throughout medieval China. The settlement at Kaifeng was notable for its size and duration. Founded around the year 1000, by the 16th century the Jewish community engaged in agriculture, trade, the civil service, and the army. The Chinese were tolerant of the Jews, who began to incorporate Confucian ideas in their thought, and who were gradually assimilated to the point where they were indistinguishable from other Chinese. The community's vibrant life suffered a dramatic shock in 1810, when Kaifeng's last rabbi died. Although most of the Jewish traditions have been lost and no organized Jewish community groups exist, the descendants of the Jewish colony still fiercely identify themselves as Jewish.

Kalakuta Republic- In the 1960s and 70s, Fela Kuti was widely recognized as the greatest musician in Nigeria. He owned a nightclub in a suburb of Lagos called the Shrine, where marijuana was freely available and Kuti would launch into nightly tirades against Nigeria's military government. During a tour of the United States, Kuti became involved with the Black Panthers, and his music became more openly political. Before long, most of the people involved with Kuti and his music had moved into a sprawling compound which surrounded the Shrine. Increasingly annoyed at Kuti's criticism, the military used his marijuana dealing as a convenient excuse to raid the compound and threaten him in 1974. After another raid, Kuti surrounded the Shrine with an electric fence and declared it the independent Kalakuta Republic. In 1977, after Kuti refused a command performance by the ruling General Obasanjo at a showcase festival, the military burst into the compound, raping many of Kuti's singers and throwing his mother out a window to her death. Kuti went into exile briefly, later returning to run unsuccessfully for President. He continued to face legal difficulties and occasional imprisonment until his death in 1997.

Kalat, Khanate of- see Baluchistan.

Kalgan- see Meng Chiang.

Kalmykia, Republic of- Kalmykia is a remnant of the Mongol Empire near Cossack lands north of the Caucasus. The Kalmyks seceded in June of 1918. The Bolsheviks annexed Kalmykia in 1920.

Kanaki- The Kanaks are the original inhabitants of New Caledonia, a French possession in Melanesia. In 1982, a pro-independence government was elected. Independence was set for September 24, 1983. On September 23, 1983, violence erupted between the Kanaks and French expatriates. The French government rescinded the promise of independence, and sporadic demonstrations have continued since then.

Karabakh, Republic of- Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh seceded in January of 1992 from Azerbaijan when Azerbaijan's president declared that Karabakh was under his direct personal control. After Armenian troops secured a corridor to Karabakh in 1993, the government submitted to Armenian authority. The shaky truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan is holding, but its future is uncertain. Armenia, now governed by the former president of Karabakh, is facing total economic collapse; the Azeris refuse to trade land for peace.

Karachai-Balkaria- see Karachay Republic.

Karachay Republic- The Karachays and Balkars are a Turkish/Caucasian people who live north of Abkhazia. Following the disintegration of the Southeastern Union, the Karachay Republic was declared in May of 1918. The Red Army overran Karachay in 1920. When the Wehrmacht reached the area in 1942, they encouraged the secession of the Karachay as the state of Karachai-Balkaria. The Karachay grew disgusted with German atrocities and distanced themselves from the Nazis, but Stalin declared them a traitor nation nonetheless. When the Red Army retook Karachai-Balkaria in October of 1943, the entire population was sent to Siberia, and over half died.

Karakorum- see Altai, Confederated Republic of.

Karelia, Republic of- Karelia, a Finnic region which comprises the eastern half of the Scandinavian peninsula, rebelled against the Russian Republic in February of 1917. British peacekeeping troops occupied the area until early 1920. In March of 1920, the Red Army occupied Karelia. The Karelians revolted again in early 1921 and declared their independence in April. The Bolsheviks reconquered Karelia in 1922.

Karenni States-The Karenni, a small group related to the Karens who reside in Burma's Kayah State, revolted against Burmese rule in August of 1948. After a few initial successes, the Karenni have been expelled from nearly all of their strongholds, but still maintain a battalion of guerrilla troops in Burma's interior.

Karens- see Republic of Kawthoolei.

Kasai- see South Kasai, Mining State of.

Kashgaria, Emirate of- also Jiti Shahar. The Muslims of Xinjiang Province in western China revolted in 1865 under the leadership of Yakub Beg. By 1873, Yakub controlled nearly all of Xinjiang and had received a level of recognition from Russia and Great Britain, and was technically a vassal of the Turkish Sultan. The Chinese began pressuring Kashgaria, and finally regained control of Xinjiang a year after Yakub Beg's death in 1877.

Katanga- Katanga is the southernmost province of the Congo, formerly Zaire. The Katangans, while composed of several groups, resented the intrusion of new tribes, especially from the Kasai region. Local Europeans also maintained a close-knit community, which grew increasingly antagonistic to the government at Leopoldville. The Belgian settlers wished to maintain control over Katanga's vast mineral wealth, something unlikely to happen if the Congo gained its independence. Following the elections of 1959, the nationalist party Conakat's President Moïshe Tshombe began preparations for secession.

Kawthoolei, Republic of- The Karens are a tribe of eastern Burma. The formation of a national identity began when American missionaries set up communications between the farflung Karen villages, a process spurred on by the need of Burma’s British colonial government for a native militia indifferent to Burmese demands for greater independence. Ironically, the resulting domination of the Burmese Army by Karens helped to forestall moves towards rebellion, especially when Karen units helped to suppress the Karenni States rebellion in 1948. However, in June, 1949, the Karen National Union rebelled against Burmese rule, and the army rallied to the Karen cause. Karen forces retreated to the Thailand-Burma border, which they then virtually completely controlled, after a civil war that killed 60,000. The state of Kawthoolei was established with its capital at Toungoo, and a complete civil government was formed. Toungoo was captured in 1950, and the new capital of Papun was captured in 1955. Following the military coup in 1988, the Burmese Army began cooperating with Thailand to reduce the Karens, who now hold few positions outside their last major stronghold at Manerplaw.

Kayans- In June of 1964, Ne Win, the dictator of Burma, introduced a disastrous monetary reform measure. The savings of many Burmese citizens were wiped out. The Kayan tribe of central Burma rose up against Rangoon. Neither the Kayans or the Burmese government have been able to make much headway in the subsequent war.

Kentucky, Provisional Government of- In April 1861, Kentucky's government chose the better part of valor and declared that the state would be neutral in the looming Civil War. This neutrality was ended when Confederate and Federal troops entered Kentucky in September; the Confederates retreated, and the Army of the Cumberland soon established a militia and a series of military camps. The sympathies of many Kentuckians lay with the Confederacy, however, and in November of 1861, delegates met at Russellville to declare Kentucky's independence. The new Provisional Government established its capital at Bowling Green and sent representatives to the Confederate government. It soon became apparent that the Provisional Government existed on paper only, and its governor left in February of 1862 to join the Confederate Army. Thereafter (although a government-in-exile continued at Richmond) Confederate Kentucky remained only a pipe dream.

Key West- see Conch Republic.

Khalistan- Khalistan, a fertile region in west-central India, is the homeland of the Sikhs. The Sikhs have a long martial tradition, and were semi-autonomous under the British. Tension between the Sikhs and New Delhi, including the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, culminated in a declaration of independence in April of 1986. The civil war which has ensued has claimed over 20,000 lives.

Khazars- The Khazars were a Turkish nomadic people who migrated to the north shore of the Black Sea in the eighth century. The Khazar nobility converted to Judaism, in order to maintain a distance from the Byzantine and Islamic spheres of influence. The Khazars maintained a hegemony over the area for several centuries, but went into decline in the eleventh century. Following the Crusades, a Khazar leader attempted to organize a Jewish Crusade with little success. There is some debate over whether the Ashkenazi Jews (who comprise 90% of the current Jewish population) are descended from the Khazar diaspora which followed the Mongol conquest.

Khotan Islamic Government- see East Turkestan, Islamic Republic of.

Kiangsi- In July of 1913, the Chinese province of Kiangsi declared itself independent in rebellion against President Yuan Shih-k'ai. Yuan had anticipated this action, and Republican troops overran Kiangsi within a month.

Klipdrift Republic- In 1866, the first diamonds were discovered in the interior of South Africa. Immediately, English settlers began flooding into the Boer-held Orange Free State and Transvaal. Friction quickly became unbearable in the diamond fields; they were claimed not only by the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, but also by the Batlapin and Korana tribes as well as the Hottentots under the son of Andries Waterboer. In 1870, President Pretorius of the Transvaal declared an Afrikaner monopoly over diamond mining. Outraged, an ex-sailor named Stafford Parker organized the British miners at Klipdrift and expelled the Transvaal officials. He then declared Klipdrift independent. By the end of the year, almost ten thousand English settlers lived at Klipdrift. Attempts by the Boers to secure the fields through arbitration failed, and the British marched an occupying force into Klipdrift on October 27, 1871.

Kobdo- also Khobdo. Kobdo is a district in western Mongolia, occupied mainly by Oirat Mongols. (Most Mongolians belong to the Khalkha group.) The Oirats joined the Mongol revolt against China in 1912 under Dambijantsan, also called Ja Lama. Ja Lama slaughtered most of the Chinese troops he captured during this revolt by personally tearing out their hearts. Although the central Mongol government appointed a governor to Kobdo district, Ja Lama installed him in his own headquarters, presumably within earshot of the constant torture of Chinese prisoners. With the legal governor sufficiently cowed, Ja Lama resumed his war of nerves with Ulaan Bator, threatening to form a new Oirat Empire. After he disrupted Russo-Chinese negotiations in 1914 by attacking Chinese border troops, he was seized by Russian consulate troops and sent to Irkutsk. Ja Lama reappeared after the Russian Revolution, but was unable to regather strength and he was killed by the new Communist government of Mongolia in 1922.

Kokand- see Turkestan, Provisional Government of.

Korçë- also Korca. Korçë is a town in southern Albania. During 1916, Albania (then an Ottoman province) was divided among a number of occupiers; besides rebels fighting to establish Albania's independence, the Austrians defended the northern area, the French controlled much of central Albania, the Italians controlled the port of Girokaster and the surrounding hinterland, and the Greeks controlled southern Albania. Rather than try to form a central government out of this mishmash, the French occupying authorities declared the region under their control the Autonomous Province of Korçë in December of 1916. Albanian-language schools, a modern administration, and other reforms were introduced. While this made sense from a military standpoint, it was a diplomatic disaster. The European press and overseas Albanians interpreted the move as establishing a new Albanian nation. The Greeks and Austrians moved quickly to declare their zones as new provinces as well, and Italy declared its zone of occupation the Republic of Girokaster (under Italian protection, naturally). Faced with this headache, the French backpedaled and revoked Korçë's autonomy.

Kororareka Association- Before New Zealand was annexed by Great Britain, it was overrun by foreign traders and settlers, all of whom were nominally the subjects of local Maori chiefs. Exasperated with the sheer non-Britishness of this system, a group of settlers at Kororareka organized the Association to guard their lives and property. All male members of the Association were required to carry a rifle, two pistols, and a cutlass. Judicial decisions were swift, and punishment ranged from stiff fines and horsewhipping to giving the most hardened criminals three coats of tar and feathers. Despite wide denunciation, visitors grudgingly admitted that Kororareka was virtually free of theft and other petty crimes. After the establishment of more lenient British law, Kororareka became famous for its women of loose morals.

Kosakenland im Nord Italien- see Ossola.

Kosovo, Republic of- Kosovo is a predominantly Albanian region in southwestern Serbia. Until 1989, it was autonomous, but Serbia's President Milosevic revoked that status. Kosovo declared itself an independent republic within Yugoslavia in July of 1990. In May of 1992, Kosovo declared its independence under President Ibrahim Rugova, who counseled a strategy of peaceful resistance. The fragile peace was shattered in 1996, when the newly formed Kosovo Liberation Army began armed resistance to Serbian rule. The Serbian reaction was swift and brutal. The NATO nations stepped in in November of 1998, and Kosovo has been under UN control since that time; the region's new governors have been quick to discourage any loose talk of independence.

Krajina, Serbian Republic of- Krajina is a region of western Croatia which was largely inhabited by Serbs before the Yugoslav Civil War. Amid growing tensions, Krajina declared itself an autonomous region in December 1990. A few months later, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia. After skirmishing began between Croatian army units and Krajina Serbs, the Krajina assembly voted for secession on December 19, 1991. In 1993, a referendum was held on union with Srpska. Krajina was used as a base by Serbs during the Bosnian Civil War, until NATO airstrikes in 1995 weakened Serbian forces sufficiently for Croatia to overrun the enclave. An agreement was reached in November of that year between the Croatian government and the Krajina authorities, agreeing on reintegration of that region into Croatia.

Kuban People's Republic- see Kuban Voisko.

Kuban Voisko- also Kuban Krai. The Cossacks of the Kuban first declared their independence after the October Revolution. Faced with wild unpopularity among the Russian workers who made up half of the population, the Cossacks offered to share power. The Voisko's offer was too little, too late; the workers declared for the Bolsheviks, and the Kuban government was encircled and trapped at Ekaterinodar. Heavily outnumbered, the Voisko withdrew in March of 1918. The Kuban army joined Denikin's White forces, and the Voisko was reinstalled at Ekaterinodar when Denikin took the city from feuding Communist and German troops in August. The city also served as headquarters for Denikin. Tensions between the Voisko and Denikin's putative Russian government ran high, aggravated by a Cossack attempt to reform an independent army in early 1919. The feud came to a boil when the elections of October, 1919 gave the Socialists a majority in the Kuban Rada (or legislature). Denikin declared martial law and installed a puppet ruler. This infighting allowed Red Army and Green peasant forces to overrun the Kuban in 1920; only the port of Novorossisk remained in White hands by March, and this redoubt was itself abandoned by April.

Kumul, Khanate of- also Ha-mi. Kumul was a petty principality of about twenty-five to thirty thousand Uighur Turks, located in Xinjiang along the main road to the rest of China. Following the Chinese conquest of the area in the 1870s, Kumul and several smaller khanates were allowed to retain a measure of independence. Following the death of Khan Maqsüd in 1930, the Chinese governor of Xinjiang annexed the Khanate. He immediately raised taxes and opened Kumul to Han Chinese immigrants.

In April of 1931, a particularly obnoxious Chinese official provoked Turkish villagers into killing him. The Turks then went on a frenzy, slaughtering over a hundred Chinese families. The rebels then attacked Kumul itself. Most of the city fell quickly, but the provincial garrison withdrew into the citadel of Kumul's Old City. The stalemate continued for several weeks, and the Chinese troops expressed their frustration by massacring whatever Muslims became handy. The rising attracted the attention of Ma Chungying, a Tungan Turk warlord from Kansu province. He began a siege of the Old City, which provoked Xinjiang's governor into assembling a raiding force of White Russian veterans. The Republican troops forced Ma to withdraw, and relieved the garrison at Kumul on November 1, 1931. They then levelled many villages throughout the Khanate and massacred its inhabitants. Refugees fled the area, and many later joined the revolts in Tunganistan and East Turkestan.

Kunas- The Kunas are an indigenous tribe of Panama, whose territory lies along the northern coast. The Kunas have long resented rule by the Spanish, and then by Colombia and Panama. In the late 19th century, this resentment boiled over into a guerrilla conflict that led to their secession in February of 1925. The Tule Republic lasted until Panamanian troops defeated the rebels in 1928. The area was granted autonomy in 1930; the Kunas continue to fiercely guard their independent identity.

Kurdistan, Kingdom of- In 1922, Britain's hold on the Kurdish region of northern Iraq was shaky at best. Rebels moved freely over much of the region, Turkish troops were moving across the border, and Iranian Kurds were flooding in in the aftermath of a failed rebellion against the Shah. In September, the British freed a former rebel leader held in Kuwait, Shaykh Mahmud of Sulaymaniya (a town northeast of Kirkuk), and made him governor of Sulaymaniya. Once in power, Mahmud quickly outstripped Britain's mandate, declaring himself the King of Kurdistan in November. While the British continued military operations against Turkish troops and rebels, Mahmud entered talks with the Turks to establish all of northern Iraq as an independent kingdom under Turkish protection. The British, who had granted autonomy to the Kurds to undermine Mahmud's support, had regained enough control over the situation to declare Mahmud ousted. He fled Sulaymaniya in the beginning of March, 1923, and Sulaymaniya was reoccupied by the British in May. Following the withdrawal of the British garrison, Mahmud re-entered the town in July. Periodic bombing campaigns lasted until May of 1924, and Mahmud fled again, becoming a bandit leader in the mountains of the border region.

Another Kingdom of Kurdistan was declared at Palu in southern Turkey in February of 1925. Following a clash between Turkish policemen and supporters of Palu's Shaykh Said, the Shaykh was forced by continuing riots to declare rebellion. Over the next few weeks, the rebels moved quickly, seizing several nearby towns and declaring a local Kurdish noble King of an independent Kurdistan. By the end of March, the rebels had overrun an area of several hundred square miles. The Turkish government responded belatedly, but halted the rebel advances. The rebellion was swiftly crushed, and Shaykh Said was captured on April 14. Several hundred rebels, including the Shaykh, were executed in the aftermath.

see also- Buhtan, Republic of Mahabad

Kwangsi- At the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the military commander in the poor southern province of Kwangsi was Lu Jung-ting, a decent and able if unimaginative general. When Lu realized that the Revolution was inevitable, he rallied republican elements around himself and declared Kwangsi's independence in September. His conversative bent was rapidly revealed, however, when he began a program of suppression against Kwangsi's radicals. The Chinese Republic recognized Lu as governor. In March of 1916, the increasingly autocratic President Yuan Shih-kai declared himself Emperor, and Lu seceded again. During this period of chaos, Lu also took control of Kwangtung Province, a rich coastal area where the port of Canton is located.

The government which took control in Peking in 1917 was fragile at best, and Lu declared Kwangsi independent a third time when Parliament was dismissed. Hoping to garner support among the growing Nationalist movement, Lu allowed Sun Yat-Sen to organize the Kuomintang in Canton. In short order, the Kuomintang declared itself the sole government of China. Annoyed by this rebuke to his hospitality, Lu dismissed Dr. Sun from his domain. However, the Nationalists became increasingly popular among the people of Kwangtung, who were annoyed at increasing taxation and oppression by their backwoods rulers. In the summer of 1920, Kwangtung revolted and the Nationalists took power. Lu organized a counterattack, but his generals deserted and his army rapidly dissolved. A year later, the Kuomintang scattered Lu's few remaining loyalists and he went into exile in French Indochina. In Lu's absence, seventeen major and countless minor warlords destroyed Kwangsi's unity and much of its productivity. Despite major invasions by several outside warlords, including Lu, Kwangsi was not reunified until the Kwangsi Clique took power in 1925.

KwaZulu- The Zulu nation of South Africa have long maintained pride in their military traditions and their independence. It therefore surprised few when the head of the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, demanded Zulu autonomy within South Africa during the reformist presidency of F.W. De Klerk. As negotiations for the end of white minority rule continued, it became apparent that Zulu agitation for a federal state was not winning enough adherents. Buthelezi’s Inkatha supporters were instrumental in forming the bizarre Freedom Alliance, along with die-hard Afrikaner rightwingers and the governments of several Bantustans, in order to fight a centralized government. After President Mandela's inauguration, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini gave a speech exhorting Zulus to die for their nation, and called for independence. Hundreds died in the riots that followed throughout Johannesburg and KwaZulu. A showdown appeared imminent as Zulus prepared to boycott the national elections of April, 1994. An emergency summit between Buthelezi, De Klerk, and Mandela a week before the elections managed to forge an agreement, and the Zulus agreed to accept a largely ceremonial autonomy.

Kweichow- Kweichow was one of many Chinese provinces to declare its independence during the Chinese Revolution, and a military government was established in November of 1911. The military was unable to maintain order against heavy elite opposition, and requested intervention by the forces of Yunnan. Yunnanese troops were able to quell unrest and Kweichow joined the Chinese Republic in 1912. Kweichow declared its independence again after President Yuan Shih-k'ai's self-crowning as Emperor, on January 27 of 1915. After Yuan was deposed, Kweichow rejoined the Republic.

L

La Paz- see Chuquisaca.

Lahu- The Lahu are a tribe of eastern Burma, just south of the Golden Triangle. After the Burmese armed forces confiscated an opium shipment owned by Lahu, the enterprising smugglers declared themselves the leaders of the Lahu and an independent state. Briefly allied with the Burmese Communists, the Lahu 'liberationists' are currently operating independently of Burma's numerous other ethnic guerrilla groups, thanks to their opium revenues.

Lake Michigan, Free District of- In 1886, a Chicago businessman named Cap Streeter built a steamboat. On its first voyage, the boat was grounded on a sandbar just off Chicago's municipal dump on the Lake Michigan coast. Sensing an opportunity to make the most of his loss, Streeter built a causeway to shore and underbid the dump. Soon, Streeter's sandbar had multiplied to 180 acres, and he filed for squatter's rights as a Civil War veteran. He soon opened up business selling alcohol, which was strictly regulated by Illinois law. In 1893, the Columbian Exposition created a boom along the Chicago waterfront. The wealthy landowners began to see Streeter as a threat instead of a nuisance, and hired street thugs to expel him. However, Streeter had hired a force of his own, and fought off the invaders.

The raids continued for several months, and Streeter, exasperated, declared himself independent of Illinois. The next day, Chicago police raided the Free District. After Streeter blackmailed and fought the police into acquiescence, the landowners brought in a group of Missouri bandits. When they attacked, Streeter shot and killed their leader. He was convicted of murder, and the Free District was torn down. When he was pardoned two years later, Streeter lost a suit to regain his land. He died in 1921, owning only a hot dog stand. His island is now the "Golden Coast", the most expensive land in Chicago.

Langhe- see Ossola.

Latakia- The coast of Syria is inhabited by Alawites. The Alawites are a sect of Shi'a Islam, distinctive for their use of pre-Islamic rites, such as the observance of Christmas. The Alawites were administered separately from Syria by the French. In June of 1939, the French bowed to Syrian demands and merged the two mandates. In response, the Alawites declared Latakia independent. The French swiftly intervened, and Latakia was merged with Syria. Many Alawites converted to Islam, but discrimination against them continued. Since most professions were closed to the Alawites in independent Syria, many joined the army. In 1963, the Alawites staged a coup and now control all major governmental and military posts in Syria, despite comprising less than a third of Syria’s population. President Assad (and his recently-deceased father) were Alawite by birth.

Latvia, Embassy of- see Embassy of Lithuania.

Left River Soviet- see Right River Soviet.

Lega Nord- see Padania, Federal Republic of.

Le Maniel- see Maniel.

Leninabad- see Badakhshan.

León- León, a province of Nicaragua, was ruled from Guatemala City under the Spanish Empire. When Mexico declared its independence in 1821, León followed suit, declaring independence from both Spain and Guatemala City. In January of 1822, Mexican armies marched into Guatemala City and Central America joined the new Mexican Republic. After Mexico’s President Iturbide declared himself Emperor in 1823, León joined the new United Provinces of Central America.

Leonor’s Palenque- Maroon rebels established several camps around the city of Cartagena in Colombia in the early 1600s. Following an attack by the provincial government, refugees from the settlements of Limón, Poloni, and Sanaguere formed a new palenque under the leadership of Queen Leonor in 1634. The Spanish governor Francisco de Murga feared that the united Maroons could ignite a slave revolt across all of Colombia, and stamped out the settlements a few months later. Queen Leonor disappeared from history, but was likely sold back into slavery, like those of her followers who were not immediately executed.

Libertatia- Published in 1724, Daniel Defoe's History of the Pyrates (written under the pen name Charles Johnson) was the definitive source for a great many years. Much of his research has been corroborated, but one story remains unconfirmed; that of Libertatia. According to Johnson, the French man-of-war Victoire was commandeered by two freethinking socialists, a Dominican priest named Caraccioli and a young French nobleman named Misson. Under the motto "For God and Liberty", the Victoire took to a genteel and civilized sort of piracy, looting ships with the greatest concern for life and protocol, as Misson made grandiloquent speeches and freed slaves. Eventually, the pirates settled on Johanna, an island off Madagascar. After marrying a great deal of the available females, the crew settled in a bay on Madagascar, naming their colony Libertatia. It was run along lines very reminiscent of America's 19th century communes. After many years of utopian bliss, a surprise attack by the natives drove Misson's followers onto their ships. While at sea, they were unfortunately drowned in a hurricane. Even if Libertatia never existed, Johnson's narrative is remarkable for its similarity to later utopian experiments in the United States.

Lijdensrust- see Upingtonia.

Lijien- Lijien (referring to Alexandria, the center of trade between Rome and the East) was the name used for the Roman Empire by Imperial China. It was also the name of a small town in Chinese Turkestan along its northern border. Around 40 BCE, Chinese troops attacked the capital of the Hun chieftain Jsh-Jsh, who had carved out a small chiefdom in the region between China's west frontier and the eastern borders of Parthia. They encountered and took prisoner a small band of Roman legionaries. They had been taken prisoner by Parthia during the campaigns of Crassus in 54 BCE, and sent to guard the border town of Margiana. The prisoners had abandoned their post to fight as mercenaries for Jsh-Jsh.

The Romans, anxious to avoid return to Parthia or abandonment on the steppes, readily agreed to form a military colony to guard China's border. Lijien's small Roman population gradually lost its distinctiveness, and the town itself was destroyed when the Tibetans overran Turkestan in 746.

Limón- see Leonor’s Palenque.

Lithuania, Embassy of- Throughout the Cold War, the United States refused to recognize the annexation of the Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) by the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Therefore, the United States maintained that the ambassadors of those nations in Washington still represented the only lawful authority in the Baltics, and that the embassies were sovereign territory controlled by the Baltic governments-in-exile. Until the Baltic republics regained their independence in 1990, the "Presidents" of all three nations resided for forty years at the still-independent embassy buildings.

Lithuania-Byelorussia, Soviet Republic of- also Litbel Republic. The Litbel Republic was declared in February 1919, in hopes of union with Bolshevik Russia. A swift invasion by the Polish Army quickly crushed the nascent republic.

Republic of Logone- The Logone River flows through southern Chad. Southern Chad, unlike the Arab north, is populated by black Christians, mostly of the Sara people. The south was dominant at independence, but a northern rebellion succeeded in ousting the southern government in 1975. The rebel factions squabbled amongst themselves. The Sara, after a series of bloody riots in 1979, set up a shadow government to administer the south. Kamougue, the leader of the Sara, obtained arms from Libya's Qaddafi, who hoped to use the Sara to further his own plans in Chad. After the collapse of a coalition government, Qaddafi made his move, invading in 1980. Faced with threats from the Western powers, Qaddafi soon retreated, leaving behind a vacuum. Kamougue seized his opportunity and declared the south the independent Republic of Logone in 1982. However, his troops, disgusted after all they had gone through in the name of Chad, deserted and Kamougue was forced to flee.

Lombard League- see Padania, Federal Republic of.

Long Republic- see Texas.

Los Altos- The United Provinces of Central America were riven by strife for much of their existence. This discontent came to a head in the 1830s. Guatemala, hit by a cholera epidemic, was especially wary of President Morazan’s Liberal program. Under the leadership of Rafael Carrera, the peasants of Guatemala rose up against the Liberal government in 1837, angered by new taxes, anticlericalism, and land grants. Guatemala’s ruling class was appalled by the thought of an illiterate and brutish peasant Governor, and led the six western provinces into secession. The new state of Los Altos, under Liberal leadership, appealed for recognition to the UPCA. In January of 1840, Carrera reconquered Los Altos, and then defeated the UPCA’s army in March, sounding the death knell for the United Provinces. Los Altos rebelled again when Carrera declared Guatemala an independent republic in 1847, but was again rapidly crushed.

Lower California, Republic of- Before William Walker conquered Nicaragua, he attempted to set up an independent republic in northwestern Mexico. On November 3, 1853, Walker captured the port town of La Paz in Baja California. After miraculously stumbling upon the Mexican governor, Walker kidnapped him and moved his headquarters to Enseñada. In mid-December, the Mexicans began a siege of the city. Walker managed to creak along under severe pressure from government and guerrilla forces. In fact, Walker grandiosely declared his state the "Republic of Sonora," and announced his annexation of that state as well. On February 13, 1854, his balloon was rudely burst when the Americans were forced to retreat. Walker wandered throughout the desert and into Sonora, when lack of food and water forced him to retreat back into Baja California. He was now accompanied by a mere twenty-five followers.

The small band, harrassed and fired upon, somehow made it back to Enseñada on May 1. A week later, Walker managed to break a Mexican blockade and arrive in California. He was arrested, but an impassioned jury acquited him of filibustering after eight minutes of deliberation. Ironically, the antipathy Walker's expedition generated in Mexico scuttled U.S. Ambassador Gadsden's negotiations to purchase Baja California along with the Gadsden Strip.

Lozi- see Caprivi Republic.

Luba- see South Kasai, Mining State of.

Lubicon Nation- The Lubicon Cree Indians live in northern Alberta, and were somehow overlooked in the Canadian government's push north. As a result, the Lubicon Cree have never ceded their lands or their rights to the Canadian government. In 1939, Canada promised the Lubicon they would establish a reserve, but no action was taken on this front. The Lubicon were largely ignored until 1979. That year, huge reserves of oil and natural gas were found beneath Lubicon land. The Albertan government lost no time in granting development rights to oil companies. Over 400 wells were drilled on Lubicon land, and amid the resultant chaos, moose and other game fled the area. Nearly overnight, the Lubicon lost their self-sufficiency. To date, the oil wells have produced $8 billion for Alberta, and not a penny for the Lubicon. The Lubicon tried to fight back, and found legal routes blocked as unfriendly judges dismissed their cases and the provincial government rewrote laws retroactively to deny them the right to sue. Tensions between the Lubicon and the oil companies mounted steadily. In 1988, supporters of the Lubicon protested the Olympics at Calgary, Alberta- where the oil companies making billions by ripping off the Lubicon Cree were sponsoring an exhibit of Native American art. In the fall, the Lubicon brought their resistance to a new pitch. They set up blockades around their land and asserted their independence, which, after all, had never been given up to Canada.

After five days, the provincial government of Alberta called in the Mounties to tear down the barricades. The Mounted Police came out in full riot gear and backed by helicopter gunships in order to arrest 27 people. These prisoners were soon released, and Alberta reached an agreement with the Lubicon on the boundaries of a new reserve. The federal government, which had to approve the deal, agreed to negotiate. The negotiations were broken off by Canada shortly after the conclusion of that year's federal elections. After all this, there was more to come- in 1989, logging rights were granted by Canada to the transnational paper manufacturer Daishowa. When Daishowa began logging Lubicon land despite Lubicon warnings, activists destroyed $25,000 of equipment. When Daishowa attempted to return in 1991, the Lubicon and their activist allies launched a boycott that cost the corporations millions. Daishowa took the Lubicon to court, where in January of 1996, an Ontario judge ruled that the boycott was illegal and had to stop... because it was working. This injunction was overturned in 1998, and Daishowa finally settled out of court in 2000, agreeing not to log Lubicon territory. At the present time, the Lubicon are in yet another round of negotiations with Canada's federal government. We'll see.

Lundy Island, Dominion of- Lundy Island sits off the north coast of Devon, England. In 1883, the island came into the possession of a Rev. Hudson Heaven. At the time, it was uncertain which county Lundy Island belonged to. Rev. Heaven argued that the British Empire therefore had laid no claim to the island, and that its inhabitants (namely himself) owed no taxes. The local papers mockingly called Lundy the "Kingdom of Heaven," but Rev. Heaven did not pursue the issue. In 1920, however, the island was purchased by Martin Harman, who declared that Lundy Island was an independent kingdom within the British Commonwealth. in 1929. He immediately began hawking coins and stamps to the tourist trade. Harman's ambitions were dashed by the Coinage Act of 1870, which forbade the minting of coins within the British Empire that did not carry the sovereign's effigy. Harman paid five pounds and the Dominion of Lundy Island closed up shop.

Lusatia, Republic of- The Sorbs of Lusatia are a remnant of the Slavic peoples that once occupied eastern Germany. Known in ancient times as the Wends, they were not subjugated by the Germans until the 10th century. The Sorbs seceded from Germany after the First World War, but the Allies refused to accept the declaration of independence and the Sorbs were reintegrated with Germany. The Sorbs were classified as "subhuman" by the Nazis, and their leaders were sent to concentration camps. Another abortive declaration of independence was proclaimed in 1945, but was withdrawn again following Allied disapproval. Today, there are perhaps 60,000 speakers of Sorbian.

Footnote: Khazars Consider this also- the Christian tradition forbids concubines, and Islam forbids wine. What choice but Judaism could a nomadic chieftain with no strategic borders be expected to make? Back.