N

Nacogdoches- see Fredonia, Texas- Long Republic.

Nagaland, Federal Republic of- The Nagas are a fiercely independent Christian tribe in northeast India. In August of 1947, the Nagas declared their independence, which India predictably refused. Negotiations continued against a backdrop of growing tension until Nagaland seceded from India in March of 1955. In 1963, India agreed to grant Nagaland state status, splitting the Naga. In 1975, most of the Naga leaders agreed to end the fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh- see Karabakh, Republic of.

NaGriamel Federation- see Espiritu Santo.

Nan Chao Federation- Nan Chao is a region of southern China occupied by the Tai people. The Tai once controlled a powerful kingdom, resisting all invaders until their surrender to the Mongols in 1253. In 1927, the Chinese Nationalist Army entered Nan Chao. Their arrogant and careless actions provoked the Tai into secession. The Nationalists managed to retake Nan Chao in 1929.

Nassau- Nassau is the main port of New Providence in the Bahamas. Burned and looted by the French and Spanish in 1703, the colony was largely abandoned. In 1713, Henry Jennings, a pirate captain, established a base at the port. Others followed, and Nassau's population in 1715 was over two thousand. The pirates soon crippled trade throughout the Caribbean. In the summer of 1718, Governor Woodes Rogers arrived and reasserted British control, although not until the death of Charles Vane and Blackbeard a year later did the pirates settle under colonial rule.

Natal, Republic of- also Voortrekker Republic. Natal was briefly independent as a Boer republic before its annexation by Britain in 1842.

Natchez- In the late eighteenth century, the region north of West Florida was controlled by the British. Although many of the inhabitants were Spanish, British immigration soon tipped the balance in England's favor. Although the area was ceded to Spain after the Revolution, the preponderance of English-speaking settlers was maintained by a flood of Loyalists. The Spanish governor, Gayoso, maintained a fragile peace, despite increasing chaos as increased immigration and restrictive Spanish land law created new pressures. The situation exploded in June of 1797. Protestant preachers began exhorting the colonists to overthrow the "despotism of Rome and Madrid." One preacher was savagely beaten by a group of Irish Catholics.

In response, several landowners took control of a large mob and foisted themselves upon Gayoso as a committee, to assist in restoring order. Gayoso agreed reluctantly and prudently excused himself to New Orleans. With Gayoso gone, the landowners organized a Committee of Public Safety. Although the Spanish ruled in name, the Natchez Committee was the only meaningful authority in the area. In early December, a detachment of American troops arrived to mediate between the area's factions to little avail. Meanwhile, the United States had hammered out a border agreement with Spain, which placed the Natchez territory under American control. On April 7, 1798, Congress created the Mississippi Territory, which encompassed Natchez. On August 6, the Territorial Governor arrived and the Natchez Committee was disbanded.

Negara Islam Indonesia- see Indonesia, Islamic State of.

Negros Republic- During the last years of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the southern island of Negros became the center of a millenarian peasant movement led by Dionosio Sigobela. The wealthy landowners of Negros feared both Sigobela's followers and the disorder caused by the American invasion of 1898. They decided to take action to protect their plantations, and overthrew the Spanish governor in November of 1898. The next day, Negros was declared an independent republic, allied with Emilio Aguinaldo's Biaknabato. On February 2, 1899, American warships appeared off the coast of Negros. The President rushed to arrange a conference with the commanding officer, and happily ceded control when guarantees of property rights were made. By this time, the peasants were on the brink of rebellion against the patrician government. Several thousand guerrillas had joined Sigobela's movement. After the arrival of the Americans, Sigobela declared himself the head of the Revolutionary Government of Negros. He was forced to go underground by Captain John White, the American commander on Negros. White took pains to establish trust and respect between the U.S. administration and the peasants. As his appeal to the peasants was thus defused and a coordinated manhunt began, Sigobela finally acknowledged his defeat and surrendered in 1907.

Negua- A Maroon settlement in Colombia's Chacó province; it flourished during the 1680s.

Nero's Town- Nero was a slave who escaped from a Georgia plantation in the late 18th century. He established Nero's Town in northern Florida as a settlement for escaped slaves. The village, which consisted of 300 or 400 people, was well maintained and prosperous, until Andrew Jackson destroyed Nero's Town in 1812 and returned many of the inhabitants to slavery.

Neutral Moresnet- see Moresnet.

New Atlantis- This nation was founded on an 8'x30' platform in the Caribbean by Leicester Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's brother. The nation boasted eight citizens during its brief independence in 1964, but was utterly destroyed by fishermen who tore up the platform for the lumber. They did not retrieve the anchor and Ford engine block which tethered New Atlantis. Undaunted, Hemingway anchored another platform christened Tierra del Mar. The U.S. State Department quickly contacted Hemingway and "actively discouraged" any claims of sovereignty, fearing Tierra del Mar could serve as a springboard for annexation of nearby islands from the Bahamas.

New Caledonia- see Kanaki.

New Caledonia- In 1698, an attempt was made to establish a Scottish colony at Acla, also called Darién, in northeastern Panama. The 1,200 colonists hoped to make their fortunes from the trading routes along the Spanish Main. Soon after landing in November, the colonists fended off a Spanish fleet. However, internal bickering and disease succeeded where the Spanish failed, and the colony was abandoned the next summer. The Bank of Scotland, which had bankrolled the expedition, lost a stunning amount of money. The destabilization of the Scottish economy that followed was a major impetus behind the Act of Union which merged the Scottish and English crowns.

New Connecticut- see Vermont, Republic of.

Newfoundland- Newfoundland, the easternmost of Canada's provinces, first gained independence as a British Dominion in 1855. Newfoundland rejected union with Canada when the other provinces formed a confederation in 1869. The dominion muddled along until the Depression crippled it in 1933. Out of money, the chagrined government gave up independence and again became a British colony. In 1946, Newfoundland regained independence, until a 1948 plebiscite showed a majority wanted to join Canada. On April Fool's Day of 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's newest province.

New Granada, United Provinces of- New Granada (now Colombia) seceded from Spain in 1811. The constitution of New Granada was conservative and gave little hope to the poor or to slaves. In addition, the government was fragile and incapacitated by constant bickering. These weaknesses were vital in allowing Spanish Royalists to recapture New Granada in 1816.

New Holland, Free Province of- see Afrikaner Republic.

New Iceland- also Nyja Island. In October, 1875, a group of Icelandic settlers founded the town of Gimli in western Manitoba. At the time, the province of Manitoba had not been organized. In order to protect themselves, the settlers formed the Republic of New Iceland, laying claim to over four hundred square miles of land. The Republic was absorbed into the new province of Manitoba in 1887.

New Nation- see Metis.

New Providence- see Nassau.

New South Wales- In 1806, William Bligh (of HMS Bounty fame) came to New South Wales as Governor of the colony. He was shocked to discover that not only was an illegal trade in liquor thriving, but that the ringleaders were the colony’s elite; its landowners, merchants, and military officers were heavily involved in rum smuggling. Matters came to a head after the arrest in January of 1808 of John Macarthur, one of the most prominent rum runners. Bligh ordered Lieutenant Colonel George Johnston, commander of the New South Wales Corps, to apprehend Macarthur, but Johnston instead released him. On January 26^th, Johnston arrested Bligh and held him on charges of tyranny, while Macarthur assumed the title of "Colonial Secretary" and control of the colony. In July, a Royal Navy ship arrived bearing a new governor and Macarthur stepped down. A year later, Bligh was cleared of the charges laid against him, Johnston was drummed out of the service, and Macarthur was banished from the colony.

New Utopia- Yet another platform nation scheme, New Utopia was scheduled to rise from the waters of the Caribbean near the Cayman Islands in 1999. However, funding has come slowly, and it appears that this new nation will come to the same end as its illustrious forebears.

New York- In 1688, James II abdicated the throne of England to William and Mary of Orange. However, the governors he appointed remained in power in most of England's colonies. After a chance remark infuriated Protestant leaders, the Catholic governor of New York was forced from power, and a Calvinist businessman named Jacob Leisler assumed control of the colony on May 31, 1689. After a few months, Leisler became dictatorial. He denounced the English ruling class of New York, began jailing his opponents, and sent an expedition to forcibly occupy Albany. King William appointed a new governor in 1690, but Leisler refused to acknowledge his deputies and fired on them. The new governor finally arrived in person on March 20, 1691, and Leisler surrendered the city after a standoff lasting several hours. Leisler was later hanged for treason.

New Zealand, United Tribes of- In the 1830s, New Zealand turned from an unknown backwater into an important stop for whalers and traders in the South Pacific. As settlers began to penetrate the interior, and firearms and liquor set off a series of vicious wars among the various Maori tribes, the British government began considering imposing order on the islands. James Busby was sent to New Zealand in 1833 to serve as the official British Resident. Anxious to set up a framework for trade between Maori and Europeans, the Maori chiefs of North Island agreed to meet with him in March of 1834. Discussions were initiated on the creation of a new federal state in New Zealand, but the United Tribes did not declare their new state until October of 1835, when rumors began spreading that Baron Charles de Thierry, a French landowner, was going to set up a republic at Hokianga in order to bring in the French. Busby's efforts were entirely too successful- as the islands settled down, the British began to consider an outright annexation, and in 1839 the United Tribes ceded power to the British Empire.

Ngatik- In late 1836, the British whaler Falcon ran aground on the island of Ponape in the Federated States of Micronesia. Tempers were short between the whalers and the islanders, and after one exchange, the Falcon's captain struck the chief of Ponape. Infuriated, the Ponapians gathered a war party and killed five whites. The castaways appealed to the captains of whaling ships gathered in Ponape's harbor. After they consented to help in exchange for the Falcon's cargo, three whalers led by the Lambton under Captain Charles Hart bombarded Ponape, inflicting heavy casualties. When the chief surrendered, Hart ordered him hung from the Lambton's yardarm.

Less than a year later, Hart was back in the Caroline Islands, at the island of Ngatik. During his earlier voyage, he had led a boat ashore hoping to trade for turtle shells he had seen on the beach. However, a party of armed men drove Hart back to the Lambton. This time, he led his men ashore, where they raked an ambush party with musket fire, and then torched the island's central village. Nearly every adult male was killed, and several mothers killed their children and themselves rather than wait for Hart's revenge. With nearly a hundred dead, Hart propped up a member of his crew, the heavily tattooed Paddy Morgan, as King of Ngatik, in return for rights in perpetuity to all turtles caught by the islanders. Morgan was removed two years later by a Royal Navy patrol, and Charles Hart disappeared into the Chinese opium trade. The islanders today, descendants of native women and warriors who Hart had brought from a nearby island to assist in his genocide, maintain a distinct identity and a thriving oral tradition of the massacre.

Nghe-Tinh- During the summer of 1930, the provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh in French Indochina suffered through a dramatic economic collapse, caused by corruption and stifling taxation as much as the Great Depression. With several villages on the brink of starvation, the peasants rose up under the guidance of Communist officials, organized soviets, and expelled the French. With superior equipment and numbers, the French were able to re-establish their authority in the spring of 1931. It is unclear whether the Communists were acting independently of their Chinese and Soviet patrons.

Niger Delta Republic- The delta of the Niger River in southern Nigeria is occupied by dozens of small ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Ijaw people. The region is the source of practically all of Nigeria’s oil wealth. The Ijaws are therefore subjected to particularly harsh scrutiny, especially when they raise their voices to demand a fair share of the oil money. (The Niger Delta is one of the poorest regions of the country- on average, there is one doctor for every 130,000 people.)

Resentment over this situation first boiled over in February of 1966, when a small group of young men declared the Niger Delta Republic, although they were soon defeated and captured by the Nigerian government. The Delta stayed quiet, as the inhabitants feared Igbo domination should the Biafra secession movement succeed. However, the situation has failed to improve, and the Niger Delta has been a tinderbox ever since. In the 1990s, protesters against President Abacha began calling for a new NDR, and have been met with vicious repression, which continued after the transition to elected government. The recent protests and clashes have centered on the Ogoni-inhabited regions of the Delta.

Nile Republic- The Nile Republic was declared in 1973 by Colonel John Garang, as a continuation of the Anyidi Southern Sudan movement. The resultant civil war in Sudan has lasted for twenty years, creating three million refugees and killing tens of thousands.

Ningxia- see Chinese Islamic Republic.

Nizhneudinsk Republic- During the Russian Civil War, the White 'Supreme Ruler' of Siberia, Admiral Kolchak, was forced to retreat from Omsk to Vladivostok. To add insult to injury, the Trans-Siberian Railroad was under the control of Czechoslovak soldiers who insisted on withdrawing their troops first. In December of 1919, Kolchak was stopped at the town of Nizhneudinsk while the Czech commanders there debated his fate. Aroused by the presence of the Supreme Ruler, and the billions of gold rubles from the Imperial Treasury also riding in Kolchak's train, local Red partisans took control of the town and declared it an independent republic. The Czechs eventually moved Kolchak (and the gold) out of the town, and Nizhneudinsk was absorbed by the rapid advance of the Red Army.

Nordalbingia- see Ditmarschen.

Nord-Ouest- see Métis.

Norosí- see Tisquisio.

Norte, Republica del- see Tejas, Republic of.

North Caucasia- The Circassians are an Islamic people who live north of Georgia. Threatened by both White and Bolshevik forces, the Circassians seceded in May of 1918. General Denikin took the area for the Whites in January of 1919.

North Chad, Islamic Republic of- Chad's northern half is mostly populated by Islamic Berbers. The south is primarily black. After the French withdrew in 1966, North Chad declared its independence. Control of the country has seesawed between the north and south several times since independence, with the French backing the south and Libya largely controlling the north.

North Dakota- In 1933, William "Fighting Bill" Langer took office as Governor of North Dakota. Although he was hugely popular, he soon exhausted his support when he demanded that state employees contribute to the state Republican party. As some of these salaries were paid with federal money, he was convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government in June of 1934. Langer refused to accept the verdict or to resign from office. Ole Olsen, the lieutenant governor, asked the state's Supreme Court to order Langer to resign. On July 17, 1934, the Supreme Court of North Dakota declared Olsen the legitimate governor. Langer's reaction was not what the Supreme Court expected- before the Court's order was filed on the 18th, Langer met with ten of his friends and declared North Dakota's independence. He then barricaded the governor's mansion and declared martial law. Not until the Supreme Court met personally with Langer did he relent, revoking his declaration and bringing North Dakota back into the Union.

Incredibly, Langer was later re-elected. From all accounts, he served out his second term in a much quieter fashion.

North Dumpling- North Dumpling is a scenic island (complete with New England lighthouse) off the coast of New York. It was purchased in the 1980s by inventor Dean Kamen (the man behind the Ginger scooter hoohaw). In the late 80s, Kamen decided to build a wind turbine to generate power for the island. When the state government refused him a permit, Kamen seceded from the United States, establishing a currency with the value of pi, signing a non-aggression pact with President George Bush, and naming Ben and Jerry Joint Chiefs of Ice Cream. Kamen's position as an inventor of medical devices and major player in the state politics of New Hampshire has probably saved him from the fate of, say, Justus Township.

North Epirus, Republic of- see Vorio-Epirus.

North Kalimantan, Revolutionary State of- North Kalimantan's independence was declared in December 1962 by leftists backed by Indonesia. Based in Brunei, their goal was to expel the British from Borneo and unite the area as Kalimantan. Brunei's army (comprised of crack Gurkha veterans of the Second World War) quickly suppressed the revolution.

North Katanga- see Katanga.

North-Peruvian State- see Peru-Bolivia Confederation.

North Solomons, Republic of the- see Bougainville.

Northern Caucasus, Soviet Republic of the- The Soviet Republic of the Northern Caucasus was founded on July 5, 1918. Moscow could not control the area effectively, and the local government was largely autonomous. Two generals, Sorokin and Matveev, sat on the Soviet and were the only real authority. Following a tactical disagreement, Sorokin arrested and executed Matveev. Sorokin then executed the rest of the Soviet, and instituted a reign of terror. The fighting ended only when Matveev loyalists killed Sorokin on November 2. A week later, the White general Denikin attacked the Northern Caucasus. It took the exhausted and demoralized Red Army only eleven days to crack, and the Communists retreated to the Terek on November 20.

Northern Cyprus, Turkish Republic of- also Northern Cyprus, Turkish Federated State of. In 1960, Cyprus gained its independence from Britain. The Turkish and Greek populations had tense relations, and civil war broke out in 1963. The war continued on and off until 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus. In February of 1975, the Turkish Federated State of Northern Cyprus was declared. Negotiations for peace and possible federation with President Makarios of Cyprus began, but talks ended when Makarios died. In 1983, the Turkish Republic was declared. Turkey remains the only nation to recognize Northern Cyprus.

Novorossiisk Republic- The Russian Revoluton of 1905 saw several uprisings in Siberian cities. The most serious to Moscow was the Novorossiisk rebellion. On December 9, 1905, the local Soviet seized the city and declared it independent. A battery of radical reforms was prepared, and preparations to launch a general rebellion throughout Siberia were begun. Nineteen days after the Soviet seized control, a Cossack detachment armed with artillery pounded Novorossiisk into submission.

Noxchijn Republic- see Chechnya.

Nzwani- see Anjouan.

O

Oaxaca - In 1823, the Free State of Oaxaca declared its independence from Spain, joining the other Mexican states in ratifying the Constitution of 1824. (see Zacatecas). Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, was largely quiet through the strife of the 19th century, but declared that it was withdrawing from Mexico in 1915 and resuming its independence in response to the rule of President Venustiano Carranza. Carranzista forces landed and seized Oaxaca City in March of 1916. By the end of the year, most organized resistance had collapsed, but sporadic guerrilla fighting dragged on through 1917.

Ocoyta- Ocoyta was a Maroon settlement in the mountains near Cartagena in Colombia. The settlement was destroyed in 1771.

Oglala Sioux Nation- also Wounded Knee. The 1970s saw a resurgence of Native American activism, sparked by the Alcatraz Nation movement. In late 1972, activists seized the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters and demanded recognition of Native American sovereignty. The government brusquely dismissed the request. The next confrontation occurred when American Indian Movement (AIM) members seized the town of Wounded Knee. As the confrontation between AIM and federal agents escalated into violence, the Oglala Sioux Nation declared itself independent. Plans to cooperate with the Iroquois and to send a delegation to the UN were formed, but collapsed quickly under federal pressure.

Ogonis- see Niger Delta Republic.

Oirats- see Kobdo.

Orange River Sovereignty- see Afrikaner Republic.

Ochirbat's Yamen- In 1932, the People's Republic of Mongolia was in crisis. Japanese troops were marching through Manchuria to the east, the army was disorganized and understrength, and the people were seething over the government's anti-monastic policies. Several groups of Buddhist monks had actually risen up against the government and been crushed, but when the government in Ulaan Bator expelled four hundred monks from a large monastery in the west, it triggered a full-scale rebellion in April. A central government called Ochirbat's Yamen was set up in a remote monastery in the west, and the rebels called for the destruction of the Communist government. Neither the rebels nor the government had sufficient power to force a victory, and the war devolved into a vicious stalemate, with both sides guilty of horrific war crimes. In June of 1932, Stalin ordered Soviet intervention, and the Red Army brought enough power to bear to end the rebellion. This intervention turned Mongolia into a puppet of Moscow and only accelerated the destruction of Mongolia's traditional society.

Ossetia- see South Ossetian Democratic Republic.

Ossola, Provisional Government of- In 1944, the partisan resistance in Italy staged an uprising behind German lines, led by the Committee of National Liberation of Upper Italy. This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of provisional partisan governments throughout northern Italy. The most important was centered on the town of Ossola, and which received recognition from Switzerland and from Allied consulates in Switzerland. By the end of 1944, German reinforcements had crushed the uprising, and the area's liberation had to wait until the final offensives of 1945. In one region, the valley of Carnia, anti-Communist forces from the Soviet Union were used, and promised the establishment of a Cossack republic in north Italy, to be called Kosakenland. The Nazi government, naturally, later reneged on this promise.

A complete list of the partisan governments:

Alto Monferrato (Sep-2 Dec), Alto Tortonese (Sep-Dec), Bobbio (7 Jul - 27 Aug), Cansiglio (Jul-Sep), Carnia (Jul-Oct), Friuli Orientale (30 Jun - Sep), Imperia (Aug-Oct), Langhe (Sep-Nov), Montefiorino (17 Jun - 1 Aug), Ossola (10 Sep - 23 Oct), Val Ceno (10 Jun - 11 Jul), Val d'Enza e Val Parma (Jun-Jul), Val Maira e Val Varaita (Jun - 21 Aug), Val Taro (15 Jun - 24 Jul), Valli di Lanzo (25 Jun - Sep), Valsesia (11 Jun - 10 Jul), Varzi (Sep - 29 Nov).

Outer Mongolia, Independent Government of- see Urga.

Footnote- Natchez Natchez was later the jumping-off point for Aaron Burr's aborted filibustering expedition into Mexico in 1807. Back.

Footnote- New Atlantis New Atlantis, along with the Isle of the Roses, is therefore one of the very few nations since Carthage to be utterly and completely destroyed by military action. Back.