Province of Acadia

The Province of Acadia (French: Province d'Acadie), officially the Puffish Overseas Province of Acadia (French: Province Pufflais d'outre-mer d'Acadie), or just simply Acadia (French: Acadie), was the island of Acadia, along with a strip of land on the Antarctic Peninsula coast under Puffish rule from 1760 to 1999. It was succeeded by the Republic of Acadia, but the current Republic of Acadia only occupies around 7% of the territory of the Province of Acadia, with Acadia being forced to sell most of its territory to the United States of Antarctica.

Lasting for almost 300 years, during which Acadia went through a period of peace and prosperity, except for a few exceptions, the colony ended in 1999 as a result of the Acadian Revolution, which was part of the much larger Antarctic Revolution. The Acadian Revolution was sparked by increasing public opposition to many unpopular Puffish policies and taxes that had been introduced. During the Revolution, the rebels which overthrew the government of the Province of Acadia created the Republic of Acadia, an independent country, in its place.

History
Acadia was originally a county of the High Penguin Confederacy in the Province of Mhic Lonnai, but the island of Acadia was captured by Francterre in 1610, and Acadia was made into a Francterran colony. Over the next few decades, Francterran rule would drastically change the culture of Acadia, with the French language being introduced as the official language, replacing the German language. Thousands of Francterran settlers also moved to Acadia during this time, many of which became integrated into the population, and most Acadians today have both Francterran and Alemanian heritage.

In the mid 1700s, during a major war between Puffle'and and Francterre, Puffish forces began invading many Francterran colonies, such as Crebbec and Acadia. In 1759, 15,000 Puffish soldiers landed in the Province of Acadia and soon defeated the outnumbered Francterran troops. Francterre was forced to give up many of its colonies to Puffle'and in the treaty signed after the war, one of which was Acadia, and the Francterran colony was integrated into the Puffish Empire. After 10 years of being under the status of Overseas territory, the island was upgraded to Overseas province.

In 1770, Puffle'and purchased a small strip of land on the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from the High Penguin Confederacy, which expanded the size of the province. The Puffish also began fortifying the Province to prevent an attack from either Francterre or the High Penguin Confederacy, and began examining weaknesses in the existing defenses of Acadia to improve on. However, Puffish rule in Acadia was unpopular, and in 1815, a rebellion broke out in Acadia, with the rebels declaring an independent Acadian Republic, although the rebellion was crushed.

The rebellion led to the passing of the Acadia Act, which recognized French as the official language, recognized the use of Francterran common law in some cases, among other things, and from 1850 to around 1999, the colony stayed prospered as it did during the High Penguin Confederacy, as Puffle'and had passed the Shipping Acts in 1651, which only allowed colonies to trade with Puffle'and. Thus many other Puffish colonies had to ship their goods through Acadia before continuing on to Puffle'and, which allowed Acadia to make money on the goods passing through its ports.

When the Khanzem War broke out in 1913, Puffle'and began amassing troops in the Province of Acadia, as it was in danger of a Khanzem invasion. Puffle'and joined the war against Khanzem the next year, and began introducing conscription in the Province of Acadia to aid the Good Guys against Khanzem. At the peak of the war, there were around 120,000 troops from the Province of Acadia fighting in the war, mostly in trenches on the front lines. As Khanzem began losing the war, Acadian troops were known for liberating many towns and cities from Khanzem rule as well.

After the Khanzem War, Puffle'and continued to station troops in the Province of Acadia, since the Province of Acadia shared its only border with the Water Kingdom, which was Comintern leaning. Although neither the Water Kingdom nor any Comintern nation attacked the Province of Acadia during the False War, as it was called, there was some military buildup in Acadia. Puffle'and deployed even more soldiers to the Province after STINC overthrew the Olde Antarctica government during the STINC War, and a major Puffish invasion crossed the border into STINC-zachal.

The Province of Acadia was not incorporated into Colonial Antarctica after the STINC War, and thus the Province was not subject to many of Puffle'and's unpopular policies, such as segregated colonies, but Acadia was still subject to many unpopular taxes. Puffle'and also introduced many gun control policies to the Acadian population, who had historically owned many guns. These laws were often ignored, with Acadians often stocking up on guns in their houses or secret warehouses for a future rebellion against the Puffish administration.

In 1999, shortly before the start of the larger Antarctic Revolution on the continent, Acadia rebelled against Puffle'and, quickly defeating the Puffish forces and taking control over most of the Province in a few months, with the rebels declaring the foundation of the Republic of Acadia. The last governor of the Province of Acadia was evacuated by helicopter to a Puffish navy ship, and the rebels raised the new Acadian flag over the Governor's Palace, officially ending the Puffish colonial administration over Acadia, which had lasted since 1760.

Government
The government of the Province of Acadia was made up of two branches, the executive branch and the legislative branch. The Executive Branch was made up of a governor, who was appointed by the Puffish crown, and a council, which was appointed by the governor and served as the advisory board. The Legislative Branch consisted of the unicameral Colonial Assembly, which made laws, and introduced new taxes to the citizens. The Assembly could be dissolved by the governor, who also had the final decision. The Puffish crown had the highest authority, though they rarely interfered in the colony.

Economy
As with the modern day Republic of Acadia, the economy of the Province of Acadia was mostly based around trade and banking, although fishing and farming were more prevalent sectors of the economy than in the Republic of Acadia. The soil was fertile, which allowed for many large plantations to be built, and the waters were abundant with fish. Many goods were taken to the capital, where they were shipped to Puffle'and or the other colonies. The economy also created a hierarchy of sorts, with the large plantation owners, many of whom were Puffish nobility, at the top.

Culture
Since it was conquered by Puffle'and in the 1700s and held for nearly 300 years, the Province of Acadia maintained some Puffish influence, more so than the mainly Francterran influenced modern Acadia. Most of the culture of Acadia still retained its roots from the period of Francterran rule, but the newer parts of the Province that were annexed by Puffle'and later had a High Penguin Confederacy influence. Puffish architecture was common, traces of which remain in some parts of the former Province, while Puffish foods, such as fish and chips and tea were popular.

Geography
As the Province of Acadia was much larger than modern day Acadia, stretching from Acadia to a few miles south of Club Penguin, there was a much wider range of geography. The land was mostly flat, though inland there were a few hills, but aside from that, most of the Province of Acadia had low elevation. There were also a few small rivers and creeks, which irrigated many of the large plantations that contributed to the Acadian economy. Most of the Province of Acadia were covered in grassland, with a few forests inland and in the north of the province.

Transport
The Province of Acadia had an excellent transportation system, most built during the years of Puffish rule, and were well maintained by the Puffish colonial administration. In the 1800s, as the railroad became more commonly used around Antarctica, a rail system was also built, expanding to most of the Province. Eventually, many major roads were paved, creating a paved road system that stretched throughout the Province. In the 1970s and 1980s a system of divided highways were also built, starting with one stretching from the capital, Delphi, to Penguin Town.

Water travel remained popular, as throughout most of the Province's history it was one of the main and safest methods of travel. The Puffish expanded many of the ports built under the Francterrans and before, and also constructed many canals as well. The Port of Delphi on the island Acadia was and still is one of the largest ports in Antarctica, and was a major part of the economy. Beginning in the 1970s, the Puffish government also began expanding air travel through the construction of more airports and runways, although it was never finished.

Military
While the Province of Acadia didn't have its own military, it did have multiple Puffish units permanently stationed in the Province. The Puffish presence in the colony was increased depending on whether there was a threat to the Province of Acadia. There were also many Puffish military units made up of Acadian recruits, and a volunteer militia also provided additional defense as well. However, the volunteer militia was disbanded in 1997 by the provincial government as the Puffish increasingly became paranoid of a rebellion breaking out.