P

Padania, Federal Republic of- Over the last few decades, many people in northern Italy have become irritated with what they perceive as corrupt and ineffective government at Rome, an opinion incidentally shared by many people in southern Italy and, for that matter, Rome. Disgust with the central government reached its height during 1996, under the administration of Prime Minister Dini. The northern secession movement was organized by Umberto Bossi, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, who began organizing a provisional government in 1995, called the Northern League or Lega Nord. In June of 1996, a constitutional convention met, declaring the Federal Republic of Padania a sovereign state. In September, Padania's Sunshine Government (so-called because of its opposition to Roman "shadow government") provided Rome with an ultimatum to negotiate a "Treaty of Separation" before Padania unilaterally seceded. The Padania movement inspired a similar organization called the Lega Sud, which called for the secession of southern Italy as the Federal Republic of Ausonia. The Federal Republic has lost steam since its 'secession'; it appears that Padania will remain part of Italy for some time to come. The Lega Nord is now part of Prime Minister Berlusconi's coalition government.

Palmares- Founded in 1605 or 1606, the Maroon kingdom of Palmares in the hills of northeastern Brazil fought off both Portuguese and Dutch assaults for nearly a century. Several thousand escaped slaves lived in Palmares, staging raids and establishing a viable agricultural base. The Portuguese finally managed to destroy Palmares in 1694 after forty years of continual warfare.

Panama- Many revisionist historians have argued that the United States manufactured the nation of Panama in the 1903 revolution that guaranteed Panamanian independence from Colombia. However, Panama had declared itself independent on three previous occasions. In 1830 and 1831, abortive attempts were made to gain independence during the breakup of Gran Colombia. A third declaration in 1840 (as the Free State of the Isthmus) lasted for over a year, but it took the overwhelming force of the United States to make the 1903 revolution permanent.

Pa-O- The Pa-O are related to their neighbors, the Karens of Burma. In 1949, Buddhist monks led the Pa-O in revolt against taxation by local landowners. The uprising soon acquired a nationalist flavor. The war for independence went poorly; in 1958, the leaders of the Pa-O forces took advantage of an amnesty offer to surrender their arms.

Paradise, Kingdom of- In 1736, a man named Johann Priber arrived in the Cherokee lands of western Georgia. He apparently arrived as an agent of the French government, tasked to scout the area and befriend the Cherokees. Priber succeeded on terms well beyond his mandate, and busily set about organizing the Cherokee into a utopian state. Visitors were lectured on how the Cherokee "Kingdom of Paradise" would serve as a model for the European states, where citizenship would be based on sworn principles instead of blood, goods would be owned and shared in common, and the leaders would be chosen by the people. The English authorities grew increasingly uneasy over Priber's influence in the Cherokee lands, and when Priber entered Creek lands on a trading mission in 1743, the local traders persuaded the Creeks to abduct him. Priber died in an English jail, and the Cherokee were quick to mend relations with the Crown.

Parihaka- The British came to New Zealand late, not annexing the islands until 1838. As the settlers began to absorb more and more land, the Maori tribes struck back, inflicting severe losses on the British in a series of wars spanning the 1860s. In south Taranaki Province, two prophets, Te Whiti and Tohu, gathered together a number of Maori followers and preached that a peaceful solution should be sought. While the British desired their land, there was little point in attacking Maori who weren't attacking them. Parihaka maintained a precarious independence throughout the Maori Wars. In 1879, the colonial government began surveying Parihaka, and Te Whiti commenced a remarkable campaign of civil disobedience, sending unarmed parties out to remove the survey markers and plow land appropriated for British settlers. As parties were arrested, Te Whiti would send out new ones, in the hopes of shaming the British into relenting. However, the government stood firm, and as Te Whiti's most dedicated followers went into jail, the British felt strong enough to cut a road through the area. In 1881, 1600 men were sent in to seize Parihaka, and Te Whiti sent into exile. Allowed to return in 1883, Te Whiti rebuilt Parihaka, but Maori resistance to the British onslaught was largely subdued.

Paris Commune- After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the revolutionary masses of Paris refused to accept the new French republican government. In March 1871, they declared Paris an independent socialist commune. Their policies were more in line with the ideas of the French Revolution than Marxism, however. The French government at Versailles sent troops to retake the city street by street. The last diehard Communards were summarily executed in the cemetery of Père Lachaise.

Patani- The southern arm of Thailand, the Patani region, has a heavily Malay-speaking population. The Thai government has long discouraged the use of Malay, in hopes of forging a national Thai identity. The Malays have long resisted this cultural imperialism, and the situation came to a head shortly after the Second World War. Thai collaboration with the Japanese and the annexation of parts of northern Malaya turned world opinion solidly against Thailand, and for a while after the war, it appeared that the border would be moved north. However, a Communist rebellion broke out in Malaya, and rapidly plunged the colony into crisis. Communist guerrillas were the de facto rulers of much of French Indochina. Hoping to avoid further instability, the British heavily discouraged the Patani independence movement. Without British support, the Malay leaders were left adrift. Frustrated, the Patani Malays turned to insurrection, and fighting broke out across the region in April of 1948. It soon subsided and Patani nationalism became a dead letter.

El Pato- also Caquetá. See Marquetalia.

Peru-Bolivia Confederation- Following the withdrawal of Simon Bolivar, Peru collapsed into anarchy. In 1836, Andrés de Santa Cruz, a former President of Peru and then President of Bolivia, marched his army into Peru and announced the confederation of the two nations. To alleviate Bolivian fears of its larger neighbor, Santa Cruz divided Peru into two separate republics, the North-Peruvian State and the South-Peruvian State. He declared himself Supreme Protector of both nations, and Supreme Protector of the Peru-Bolivia Confederation on October 28. Argentina and Chile were alarmed at this shift in the balance of power and promptly declared war. Santa Cruz defeated the Argentine forces sent against him, but lost to the Chileans at the Battle of Yungay. The Confederation was dissolved in February of 1839 at the behest of the victorious powers.

Philippines, Empire of the- The Emperor of the Philippines was named Florencio Entrencherado, a fish merchant from the central province of Iloilo on Panay. In 1925, he declared himself monarch of the archipelago. While his declaration was treated as a joke at first, within a year his stand against heaxy taxation and foreign interference had gained him thousands of peasant followers. In late 1926, he was brought to trial on a variety of charges. The presiding judge lost patience with the royal pomp which Florencio I insisted upon, and declared the Emperor insane.

An appeal to the Philippine Supreme Court failed, and a ship was sent in May of 1927 to bring Entrencherado to Manila. Armed followers of the Emperor staged an uprising, however, and burned land records and landowners' villas in several towns. Hundreds of Entrencheradistas protected the Emperor's compound with bolos, knives, and guns. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Philippine governor tactfully sent a team of officials to negotiate with Florencio on a diplomatic level. The Emperor quietly agreed to commitment at Manila, and died peacefully two years later. Entrencherado's followers, however, were tracked down and sentenced to long jail terms for their part in the uprising.

Pictish Free State- In 1984, Brian Robertson, an ardent Scots nationalist, legally changed his name to Robbie the Pict. (The Picts were the native inhabitants of Scotland, who were wiped out by the Scots. The irony is apparently lost here.) An admirer of Mr. Pict donated an acre on the Isle of Skye to him, which he has declared the Pictish Free State. While the British government has tried to politely ignore him, Robbie has recently launched a lawsuit against the government over bridge tolls on the island; is successful, he could cost the government millions of pounds in compensation.

Piratini-

Poland, Soviet Socialist Republic of- Polish Communists declared the PSSR in July of 1920, backed by the Red Army. Following a swift and decisive defeat by Polish forces, the Red Army quickly escorted the leaders of the PSSR back into Russia.

Poloni- see Leonor’s Palenque.

Port Royal- Port Royal was a fort along the Acadian coast, which played a key role in the constant warfare between France and England during the 17th century. In the 1690s, Port Royal was declared a free port; the city's council was French, although they were sworn in under the English flag. However, Port Royal's records do not refer to the council as the central authority, but rather to a "M'sieur Chevalier". Whoever M. Chevalier was, he managed to maintain the uneasy balance between the English and the French, preventing uprisings and keeping the port's piratical activities quiet, if not entirely suppressed. In 1698, the English annexed Port Royal to ensure that the Hudson's Bay Company would have no interference along the all-important fur trading routes.

Priamur, Provisional Government of- By 1921, White Siberia was in a state of collapse. Vladivostok was claimed by the Far Eastern Soviet and occupied by the Allied powers, although Japan was pre-eminent. In late May, the brothers S.D. and N.D. Merkulov proclaimed the Provisional Government of Priamur with support from Tokyo. A few days later, the Cossack ataman Semenov arrived and declared himself the rightful governor. He was largely ignored despite his fearsome reputation, since the Merkulovs' Japanese patrons refused to back his attempted coup. The anti-Communist forces remained divided, and any hope of a united front was shattered by the announcement of Japanese withdrawal. The Merkulovs were deposed and martial law declared.

In July, Vladivostok was the center of a surreal Zemskii sobor, an attempt to convoke the local councils of Siberia and form a democratic government. Despite the lofty ideals of the movement, the Red Army brushed aside the sobor's weak resistance and occupied Vladivostok on October 25, 1922.

Providence Island- 

Puerto Rico- Puerto Rico was declared independent at the town of Lares on September 23, 1868. The rebellion’s leaders massed their troops and began preparations to move into the hills. Before the planned guerrilla operation could get underway, local militias crushed the rebel forces and within a week the "Grito de Lares" was over. An amnesty was declared by a liberal Spanish government four months later, although Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule until 1898.

Puntland State of Somalia- Somalia has been torn by civil war since 1990, a war exacerbated when the Somaliland Republic declared its independence in 1991. While regional warlords have operated as de facto independent states, none took the step of declaring their independence until 1998, nine years after the beginning of the civil war. In July of 1998, Puntland in northeast Somalia was declared independent by its leader, Colonel Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed. He asserted that this was a temporary measure, and that Puntland would submit to a new Somalian government when peace came. Puntland has since been followed by Jubaland and the Central Somali States in preparing for independence. In mid-2001, Puntland's relative peace was shattered when the parliament suspended planned elections. The fighting climaxed in November, when President Ahmed was toppled by a rival leader, Colonel Jama ali Jama. The two Presidents, fortified in nearby cities, maintain an uneasy peace at the present time.

Pushtunistan- The Pushtuns seceded from Pakistan shortly after the Partition of India in 1947. The Pakistanis invaded the area, but found it impossible to subdue the Pushtuns. Finally, the Pakistanis gave up and simply bribed local chieftains to remain quiet. Agitation for independence, given renewed impetus by the influx of seasoned Afghan veterans, has been a continual thorn in Pakistan's side.

Q

Quilombo do Gabriel- Quilombo do Gabriel and another Maroon settlement, Quilombo Grande, were located in a swamp outside Rio de Janeiro. The quilombos survived for over a century through trading and some agriculture. Government forces finally captured the quilombos in 1876.

R

Rabat- see Salé, Republic of.

Rainbow Creek, Independent State of- In 1950, British policeman Tom Barnes moved to Australia to make his fortune. After serving in the Victoria state police, he bought a farm near Rainbow Creek in Gippsland. In 1979, floods washed out the area and devastated his land. The Victoria government refused to help the farmers in the region. To dramatize their plight, Barnes declared his farm the State of Rainbow Creek, and began printing stamps to raise funds. The government offered a limited amount of compensation, but this was rejected by Barnes and by other local residents. The State of Rainbow Creek dissolved when ill health forced Barnes to retire to Queensland in 1986.

Ralik Islands, Kingdom of the- On November 29, 1878, Kabua, a chief of the island of Jaluit in the Marshall Islands, declared himself King of the Ralik Islands, thereby annexing a kingdom stretching over several hundred square miles of the Pacific. An honor guard of German Imperial Marines stood at attention while the flag of the Ralik Islands (the same colors as Germany's) was raised. In a treaty of recognition, Kabua ceded extraterritorial legal and taxation rights to the German companies that controlled the economy of the Ralik Islands. A mutual defense treaty was signed, allowing the Germans to continue using the German-built coaling station in Paluit's harbor. After a brief war with a rival chieftain, in which Kabua's warriors occasionally ran onto the field and fired in the air while rebel troops bartered for food and gunpowder, Kabua reigned supreme, with the help of German civil servants and a German-trained army.

Ranter Bay- see Madagascar, Kingdom of.

Ras-al-Khaimah- The northernmost of the United Arab Emirates, Ras-al-Khaimah chose to remain independent when the UAE gained their freedom from Great Britain in 1971. The emirate joined the UAE a year later.

Rauracian Republic- see Jura.

Recife- see Confederation of the Equator.

Red River, Provisional Government of- see Métis.

Redonda- The island of Redonda is currently within the nation of Antigua, but it was briefly an independent kingdom. In 1865, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, who resided on the nearby island of Montserrat, proclaimed himself King of Redonda, as no nation had bothered to extend a claim yet. Four years later, the British Empire annexed Redonda, but allowed Shiell to retain the title of King. The kingship was passed on to his son, and from there things get fuzzy. There are currently several claimants to the throne, who maintain a barrage of mutual invective.

Rehoboth- Rehoboth is a city in central Namibia, located just south of Windhoek. The population contains a large proportion of self-described Basters ("Bastards"), the descendants of Khoisan natives and Dutch colonists. The Basters settled at Rehoboth in 1870, and established a community governed along European lines, under a Captain. This arrangement continued after the establishment of German colonial rule, but in an unofficial manner. After the First World War and the transfer of authority to South Africa under a League of Nations mandate, the Basters agitated for the extension of formal recognition. In 1919, a Baster representative approached the League of Nations, petitioning for formal independence. The South African government, attempting to defuse these demands, began negotiations which led to a 1923 proclamation granting limited self-government to Rehoboth. While the Baster Raad (Council) accepted this, many Basters refused the settlement, forming a Nuwe Raad which declared its independence. In 1924, citing the tensions in the Baster community, South Africa stripped Rehoboth of its self-government. The Basters rose in rebellion the following year, but surrendered after threats of bombing by the South African military. 43 Basters were sentenced to death for treason, but the League of Nations intervened, saving their lives literally at the last minute. The Basters have maintained their identity, and the last Kapteyn of the Basters, Hans Diergaardt, attempted to gain autonomy from the newly independent Namibian government in 1991. When Namibia refused, Diergaardt declared Rehoboth's independence on the same day as Namibia's in protest. The declaration was shortly withdrawn.

Rhineland, Republic of the- also Rhenish Republic. In 1792, the various baronies and bishoprics of the Rhineland fell to French Republican forces. General Custine, the French commander in the region, organized the Rhineland into a loose political federation called the Mainz Republic. He attempted, with very little success, to encourage a pro-French annexation movement.

The Rhineland fell under French control again at Versailles in 1919. Hans Dorten, a Rhenish businessman who narrowly escaped court-martial at the end of the war for criticizing the Kaiser, acted as frontman for the French and declared the Rhineland independent, with little success. A second attempt in 1923 (following the French occupation of the Ruhr Valley) garnered even less support, and Dorten fled to France. Dorten’s failure can largely be attributed to the fact that almost no one else in the Rhineland desired independence.

Rhodanic Republic- see Valais, Republic of.

Rhode Island- In the early 19^th century, Rhode Island's Constitution was still based on the colonial basic law of 1663. As a result, the restrictive land ownership requirements (not to mention the disenfranchisement of women and non-whites) disqualified all but ten percent of the total population from voting. Discontent over this state of affairs grew after the Revolution, and in 1833 an alliance of Providence workers and liberal patricians such as Thomas Dorr began the Constitutional Party. The push for reform lost momentum until after the 1840 elections. Angered by the results, the Rhode Island Suffrage Association called for a People's Convention, which drafted a new state code and elected Dorr as Governor in 1842. Dorr declared his intention to fight not only the state government, but the entire United States. The Convention called on the state government to resign. It refused, and Dorr led a brief raid on the state arsenal. When it became apparent that his troops lacked the enthusiasm to get into an actual fight, Dorr slipped away, but briefly returned to attempt revolutionary agitation in June. That attempt also failed and Dorr was jailed. It was not until after the Civil War that full suffrage came to Rhode Island.

Rif, Confederal Republic of the Tribes of the- The Riffians are a Berber people of northern Morocco. The Riffians revolted, and declared their independence in September of 1921. Although Berbers had fiercely resisted both Spanish and French advances into the desert, they had fallen prey time and again to tribal division; the great revolt of 1912 against French rule failed miserably when the unity of the Berber tribes dissolved within months. Muhammad al-Karim, the leader of the Berbers in the Rif, used his victory against the Spanish to fuse his followers into the semblance of a modern state. With an army and administration behind him and the Spanish pushed back to a few coastal enclaves, al-Karim moved to attack the French in the south. In late 1925, a joint Spanish-French army of over half a million men was sent against the Confederal Republic, which surrendered to this overwhelming force in May of 1926, although elements of the Rif army fought on into 1927. In 1934, the French army took the last redoubt of the Berbers in Morocco and resistance collapsed.

Right River Soviet- The Chuang are a native people of Kwangsi province in southern China. Tension between the Chuang and Han Chinese settlers exploded into outright warfare during the revolutionary fighting of 1920. Chuang peasants began organizing against forces controlled by local landowners and established an independent base at Tunglan in 1926. Communist organizers infiltrated to the area, and declared it the Right River Soviet in 1929, followed shortly by the Left River Soviet 100 kilometers to the south. Chuang resentment of the Soviet's Han Communist leaders contributed to desertion and loss of morale, ensuring the Left River Soviet's swift destruction. The Communists never realized that the Chuang distrusted Communist and capitalist Han alike, and the Soviet's disunity crippled it. Warlord forces broke the Chuang milita and occupied Right River in early 1930.

Rijeka- see Fiume.

Río Chiquito- see Marquetalia.

Rio Grande, Republic of the- General Antonio Rosillo Canales spent a good deal of the early 19th century conspiring to detach the states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo León from Mexico. After the successful secession of Texas, Canales felt the time had come. In September 1839, he organized an army in Texas and invaded Mexico with the help of José Carvajal, one of the prime movers behind Texan independence. After some initial successes, he settled into a protracted siege of the city of Matamoras. Near the end of December, the siege was abandoned, and after some further skirmishes, many of Canales' men, including most of his Texan filibusters, melted away to the north. Returning north, Canales held a convention declaring the independence of the Republic of the Rio Grande in January of 1840. After another defeat in March of 1840, Canales retreated across the Rio Grande, but soon rallied his men and charged south again. His Texan advance force brilliantly wiped out a Centralist force, despite the treachery of their guides. Despite this success, Canales failed to capitalize on the occupation of much of the state of Tamualipas. He later surrendered his forces to the government in November of 1840, cannily managing to convince the Mexican authorities that he had merely been involved in the Centralist-Federalist Civil War of the 1830s, and never meant to carve out his own nation. Incredibly, he was still in command of Mexican federal forces when the Mexican War broke out.

Carvajal and Canales met in 1846, and rumors were widespread that they intended to relaunch the Rio Grande rebellion, but this abortive resurrection ended with the reinstallation of a Federalist government in Mexico City, and the beginning of war with the United States. Canales served with distinction against the American invaders. Ironically, he was one of the Mexican officers who later stymied Carvajal in his repeated filibustering attempts to establish the Republic of Sierra Madre.

Rio Grande do Sul, Republic of- Geralia is a region comprising the three southern states of Brazil. Its inhabitants are largely Italian and German immigrants, who maintain a distinct identity and dialect. In September of 1892, the Geralians revolted. As other southern states moved towards secession, the Brazilian government abandoned negotiations and retook Rio Grande do Sul in 1894.

Rohinga- see Arakan.

Roman Republic- During the revolutions of 1848, popular demonstrations forced Pope Pius IX to grant a constitution and allow the formation of an elected Assembly. Alarmed by the people's increasing radicalism, Pius fled in November. In February of 1849, the Roman Assembly formally declared the Papal States the Roman Republic. The Republic was immediately attacked by the Austrians and the French under Louis Napoleon. The Republic surrendered on July 3, 1849.

Romanian National Council- see Transylvania.

Rome, Commune of- During the 1130s, a schism led to the anointment of three separate popes. The leading families of Rome established the Commune of Rome, expelling one of the Popes and instituting a democratic, non-hierarchical church. Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, crushed the Commune in 1155.

Rooigrond- see Stellaland.

Roses, Isle of the- In the early 1960s, engineering professor Giorgio Rosa constructed a platform eight miles offshore from the Italian city of Rimini. After a storm swamped the platform, another was erected in 1965. The 4,000 square foot platform boasted several businesses. The Italian authorities took little notice of the platform, since it was in international waters at the time, until May 1, 1968, when Rosa declared the platform an independent nation. Two months later, the platform was illegally occupied by the Italian Navy, who then illegally removed Rosa and proceeded to illegally destroy the entire country with dynamite. The Isle of the Roses is therefore, along with Carthage and New Atlantis, one of the few nations to be utterly removed from the face of the earth by military action.

Rotuma- Rotuma is an island in the nation of Fiji, which has long chafed under rule from Fiji, especially since the inaugaration of military government. Following the second coup in 1987, a Rotuman named Henry Gibson issued a declaration of independence, and many Rotumans rallied to his cause. Before the rebellion could take root, however, Fiji's military stepped in and 13 Rotumans were arrested for sedition. The island remains divided over the issue of secession to this day, and debate has been rekindled in the aftermath of George Speight's coup on Fiji.

Rough and Ready, Great Republic of- Rough and Ready was founded near a rich seam of gold during the California Gold Rush in 1849. By 1850, the town was thriving, and over a thousand people voted in the elections of that year. The flinty miners seceded from the Union that year to protest a new ore tax. However, the Roughandreadians rejoined the United States in June of the next year, in order to become the site of a new post office.

Rupununi- In 1969, Native American tribes in the south of Guyana seized several towns. They were urged on by the local ranching families, who hoped to throw off interference and taxation by the Guyanan government. Mrs. Valerie Hart, the self-declared Provincial Governor of Rupununi, received covert aid from Venezuela, which hoped to gain territory from the conflict. The revolt collapsed quickly, and Hart stepped down.

Russian Republic, Provisional- The Provisional Russian Republic, declared by General Dmitri Horvath, was unusual in that it was not located anywhere in Russia. At the time of the October Revolution, General Horvath was acting as Director of the Chinese Eastern Railway, a Russian-controlled route that crossed Manchuria. Upon receiving word of the Bolshevik coup, he declared himself Director General of Russia, and helped establish links between the Japanese and White units operating in Siberia. Backed by Japanese arms and Chinese Republican troops, he operated independently until Admiral Kolchak was declared Dictator of Russia at Omsk. Horvath offered Kolchak his services, and directed the railroad until 1920, when he handed control over to the Allies.

Ruthenia- see Carpatho-Ukraine.

Ruwenzururu Republic- Ruwenzururu is a region of southwestern Uganda, occupied by the Toro people. An independent kingdom until their conquest by the British, the Toro submitted reluctantly to Ugandan sovereignty upon independence. In 1963, the Toro rebelled and crowned a new king. The Ugandans did not defeat the Toro until 1970.

Footnote- Kingdom of the Ralik Islands In a shocking surprise manuever, Germany annexed the Ralik Islands in October of 1885. Back.

Footnote- Rhineland The public face of opposition to Dorten and the French was often Konrad Adenauer, then the mayor of Cologne and later the first Chancellor of West Germany. Back.

Footnote- Rough and Ready And also to enjoy the upcoming July 4th celebrations with a guilt-free conscience. Back.