| ||||
| Motto: E pluribus Romero | ||||
| Capital | City 01 | |||
| Largest City | Whyalla | |||
| Official Languages | None at federal level; English de facto | |||
| Government • Steve Romero • Minister of Defense • Minister of External Affairs • Minister of Internal Affairs |
Romerocracy Steve Romero Grand General of the Armies Bob White Edward Gawler Ricardo Aguilera de la Corsava Ayala III | |||
| National Animal | Appaloosa Horse | |||
The Ingsoc Dominion of the Australian Outback, also known as IDAhO or Idaho, is a nation in Australia. A Romerocracy, or "government where Steve Romero holds power", Idaho is located on the Eyre Peninsula (later renamed the Idaho Peninsula); it is bordered on the east by Spencer Gulf (later renamed Romero Gulf), the west by the Great Australian Bight, and to the north by the super-state Oceania. Its capital is City 01.
The Idaho Peninsula has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After the 18th-century colonization of the continent, Australia began to grow as its own nation in the twentieth century. Shortly after World War II, around the year 1950, when the world was being taken over by the three super-states Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia, Australia was claimed by Oceania. After several decades of this, the dominance of the three superpowers around the globe was starting to weaken. A man named Steve Romero siezed the opportunity to incite a rebellion on the Idaho Peninsula, and he was able to oust The Party government and establish control for himself.
Origin of Name[]
It is an interesting bit of trivia that the name "Idaho" is actually the result of a hoax; when the new government established by Steve Romero after the overthrow of The Party was trying to decide on a name, eccentric Minister of Defense George B. Eeda suggested the name "Idaho", which he claimed was derived from an Aboriginal term meaning "gem of the mountains".
When it was discovered that Eeda had made up the name himself, Steve Romero had him killed and replaced as Minister of Defense by Grand General of the Armies Bob White. However, Romero liked the joke so much that he decided to use the name anyway. He turned it into an acronym (Ingsoc Dominion of the Australian Outback) so that it would seem that he thought up the name himself.
Eventually Romero became aware that an American state by the name of Idaho had existed, before the superpowers took over the globe. He immediately issued propaganda declaring that the state of Idaho had never existed, and if it had existed then it was the state that had stolen the name from the nation of Idaho, not the other way around.
That night Steve Romero threw a swell party for all his top-level government official friends, in honor of the memory of Ex-Minister of Defense George B. Eeda, "Whose legacy still lives on", thought Steve. "Now there's a guy who can really pull off a practical joke; even being dead doesn't stop him!"
History[]
Prelude[]
OOC: The Nation of Idaho exists in a fictional alternative history set in the world of George Orwell's 1984. This hisory takes place after the events of the book and is entirely the product of my imagination. Except the parts that happened in the book. And a couple other references to the Real World. The Nation of Idaho is set in the current time, around the year 2006; but keep in mind that the last half century has been vastly different for Idaho than for us. Orwell published 1984 in 1948, so 1948 is when (for my purposes) the alternative history branched off from the real one.
The (Political) Climate is Good for Gardening (of Rebellion)[]
Read the book to get filled in on everying that happened between RL WWII and the events described below.
A Seed (of Dissent) is Planted[]
Around the year 1990 C.E. (although this is disputed; no accurate records from the period have survived), Oceania was losing its war against Eastasia. Although in the mid-1980s the war was going favorably for Oceania, and its forces had conquered nearly all of Africa and were pushing on into the Asian continent with the help of Eurasia, it was not long before Eurasia became greedy for power and moved to check its ally's advance. Eurasian forces quickly moved down the east coast of Africa, taking Oceania by surprise and severing its supply chain from the Americas. With their armies in Africa being devastated, The Party payed little heed to the small skirmishes and insurrections which were popping up more and more frequently in the outlying regions.
A Seed (of Revolution) Sprouts[]
One of these uprisings, on the Eyre Peninsula (now the Idaho Peninsula) in Australia, was gaining more and more momentum. Led by the charismatic Steve Romero, guerilla raids were shattering Party defenses in the cities of Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Augusta, and providing fuel for the revolution. Although Oceania still controlled the Australian continent, and it was uncontested by both Eurasia and Eastasia, the war in Africa was preventing The Party from doing anything to stop Steve Romero. Since the majority of Oceania's citizens were either stupid and happy with their government or smart and bitter at their government, taking control was not hard. Romero ambushed any travellers outside the main cities and towns, preventing all supplies from reaching the cities. After days, or in some cases weeks, of this siege Romero merely had to ride into the famine-stricken city on his mighty steed, tear down the Oceania flag, and declare the people free.
The people adored him. (At least, they adored him once he game them food.)
The first thing Romero would do upon riding victorious into a city was burn the Oceania flag. In its place he flew a new banner, a banner that the Australian people had all but forgotten. The banner was a defaced Blue Ensign. It was the Australian National Flag. (Although it should be noted that Steve Romero did not, at this point, have control of the Australian continent beyond the peninsula.)
Roots (of Government) Begin to Take Hold[]
He established his capital at Tumby Bay, a small town on the Spencer Gulf coast (now the Romero Gulf) of the peninsula which he chose because it was rural enough to have escaped the worst of Party oppression. Romero called his new seat of power City 01, for reasons which will be explained in a later section.
The Other Trees (Nations) Pay No Heed[]
Oceania was aware of the rebellion, but rather than wasting resources quelling it, decided to issue propaganda stating that the rebellion had been a miserable failure right from the start, and leave Steve Romero and his people alone. (For the time being.)
The Seed (of Dissent) is Now a Tree (Nation)[]
Idaho was now officially a nation, according to Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention:
- The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
(a)The populace of the towns and cities liberated by Romero gladly flocked to his banner; he was their savior for freeing them from The Party's oppression.
(b) Idaho controlled the entirety of the Idaho Peninsula, bordered on the north by the Gawler Ranges. The mountain passes across this natural border were so treacherous, and the Idahoan soldiers stationed to guard the passes were so deadly, that Oceania decided it would be better to let Romero keep his peninsula. (For the time being.)
(c) Steve Romero established a Romerocracy, which is a government in which Steve Romero holds power. However, it is much more complicated than that. For more information, see the section on Government, which will be written at a later date.
(d) None of the three super-states acknowledged Idaho's existence, but as the superpowers were dissolving Idaho looked forward to increasing relations with other nation-states. In the meantime, Idaho was slowly but surely building up its military might, preparing to extend its borders further into the Australian mainland. If Oceania wouldn't pay it any attention, then it would make them listen.
Government and Politics[]
This is all coming soon.
Capital City[]
Notable Persons[]
Steve Romero[]
Fred[]
Grand General of the Armies Bob White[]
Edward Gawler[]
Ricardo Aguilera de la Corsava Ayala III[]
I will finish this at a later time. There is PLENTY more to write about, from the workings of the Idahoan government to Steve Romero's talking horse.