History of the United Provinces

This article is about the history of the United Provinces from the dawn of time.

Before the Oslovens
The Snowinn Islands were first settled around 700 BC by various tribes. The first tribes were the Travans, the Jutans and the Letans. The Travans were the largest tribe there. Over time they grew and expanded and by 400 BC they created the Travan Empire (srb. Travansko carstvo), controlling nearly all of the east and northereastern parts of Snowiny. The tribes that soon arrived in Snowiny were the Pennes (Peni), Headans (Hejdi), Platons (Platoni), Recidens (Recideni) and Glodes (Glodi). The Pennic penguins used to be all over the island but Travan conquests pushed them further and further south, to modern day Penland, where they still live today. The Travan Empire collapsed by 95 AD thanks to Glodic invasions and the Glodic Republic (srb. Glodska republika) took its place. The Glodic Republic built a model society in Snowiny, and by 300 AD had control over the entire island of Snowiny. They had a democracy which functioned very well.



8th-11th Centuries AD
The Glodic Republic came to an abrupt end in 540 AD when the main island of Snowiny was attacked by the direct descendants of modern day Snowinns, the Oslovens (srb. Sloveni). They settled in the northern Snowinian lands (around the mountains) and northwest Puffepelago. Shortly after they expanded south, near Glodic capital Glodia (modern day Shallow Crossroads). They settled all over the north of the island of Snowiny.

The Oslovens invaded the northern Pennic lands and forced the Pennes to move south as far as central Snowiny. The Pennes could not accept what the Oslovens did and preparations for war started. The war between over 27,000 Pennic soldiers armed with sticks with sharp stones sticked on top of them against 9,000 Osloven soldiers armed with stone swords and bows arrows began. The Pennic surrendered within 46 minutes after 10,000 of their soldiers died, and the Oslovens occupied the Pennic lands and forced them into "tribal reservations".

In 767, The Osloven tribes created the Principality of the Oslovens (srb. Kneževina Slovena). In 976 the Osloven Empire (srb. Oslovensko carstvo) was created by King Tomislav I. It grew in size and conquered a lot of places around the Sub-Antarctic Islands and by 1000, became the leading Antarctic power, only to a few decades later lose their status as the leading Antarctic power to the High Penguin Confederacy. High Penguin Confederacy was rising in power and size and defeated many other great nations. Eventually, they attacked the Osloven Empire. The High Penguins conquered the territory what is now Penland in 1032 and eventually, in 1037, conquered half of the Osloven Empire. The Oslovens, after the wars, focused on making friends with all nations left. Osloven Empire "friended" the High Penguin Confederacy and peace continued for another century.



11th-15th Centuries
Osloven Empire reached peak of it's power during these times, but also had many powerful rivals, like Lisboagal, Castilla and the High Penguin Confederacy. They were all racing to conquer all territories they could possibly get. Oslovens dominated the Sub-Antarctic Islands while the HPC the entire of Mainland Antarctica By 1109, High Penguin Confederacy estabilished a larger navy and by 1120 had the largest navy in Antarctica. Another war started in 1125 between Oslovens and High Penguins, in which both sides had great casualties. Both nations were agreed to truce in 1129, because it was obvious neither of them would win in a very long time. Oslovens by 1138 surpassed High Penguins in terms of the largest navy. Lisboagal and Castilla also had VERY strong navies and other forces. In 1256, revolutions started in the Osloven Empire, resulting in the execution of their emperor. Government reforms started.

However, in the 13th century, around 1271, King Jovan VI of the House of Telobot died early, without a heir or a wife. The country went into a state of disarray - the dynasty split and 3 dynasties emerged - the House of Fronfir, the House of Aventin and the House of Vasilen. The three dynasties then fought: the House of Aventin was largely based in the north of the country and their emperor was Karlo, the Fronfir in the center and their emperor was Terencije and the Vasilen in the south, primarily Penland, and their emperor was Ričard.

In 1293, Richard bound his dynasty with Terence's dynasty through marriage and the two dynasties were united. The Fronfir-Vasilen Dynasty fought the Aventine for another 6 years, before being defeated at the Battle of Gronstay Bridge - the Fronfir dynasty faced the Aventin dynasty alone and was defeated by 1308 by the forces of Oktavija I who united the Snowinn lands after the war and forged a union with the dynasty of Fronfir.

Oktavija I in an attempt to reconcile married a noble of the House of Fronfir. She died in 1357 and her son Oktavije of the House of Fronfir succeeded to the throne. The House of Fronfir would lead the country for another 2 centuries, before the House of Aventin once more took the throne.

In 1430, the Eighty Years War began as the High Penguin Confederacy invaded the Osloven Empire with the intent of conquering it. The Osloven Empire defended their islands very well with a very large navy, although very weak and small land forces. The Osloven Empire raided a city which used to be in place of what is now Shiverpool in 1474. The city was razed to the ground and the war got tenser than ever. The HRC launched its largest invasion of the mainland Osloven Empire yet and most Osloven cities were in ruins. It is estimated around 40% of the population was killed during the entire war, which finally ended in 1510 with an Osloven Pyrrhic victory, although with a big cost; the Osloven Empire was in decline from that point on and it was not able to match the power it used to have before the Eighty Years War, while the High Penguin Confederacy also suffered immense casualties.

16th-19th centuries
The Osloven Empire and the High Penguin Confederacy tried to normalize relations during those few centuries but they had many territorial disputes, over the Ninja Archipelago and Asiapelago. Between 1510 and 1780s was a Golden Age in Osloven culture. Living conditions in the Empire were improved and the economy was doing very well, despite losing a lot of power in foreign affairs. The 1780s were very turbulent though as the economy got worse and the High Penguin Confederacy was trying to "sabotage" the Osloven Empire and to bring upon their collapse. In 1791 the Three Year War broke out between the HPC and the Osloven Empire, resulting in a decisive victory for the High Penguin Confederacy and vassalization of the Osloven Empire. Famous Osloven poet Marco Hanover (1739 - 1804) famously said that 1794 is the "beginning of the Osloven Dark Age" (srb. Oslovensko mračno doba).

Indeed it was a dark age. War and famine ravaged the Osloven Empire between 1791 and 1818. The Osloven Civil War (Oslovenski građanski rat) between 1803 to 1815 shook the Osloven Empire to its core. There were 3 sides in the battle: the Monarchists, the Republicans and the Workers. Despite the immense length of the war, massive amount of casualties and the destruction, the monarchy remained standing and the country became the Kingdom of Snowiny, a constitutional monarchy as a compromise.

Overtime, however, the monarchy became more and more limited, and by 1848 the Kingdom of Snowiny was a monarchy only in name. Starting 1815 it had a Parliament and elections every 4 years. By the 1860s the country was a mere shell of what it once was: a powerful imperialistic nation with good living standards. It became a weak nation, surrounded by powers who mean only harm, and in 1892 had to fight a war for independence from the High Penguin Confederacy, which it won in 1897 only thanks to support from Ninja Archipelago powers.



1900s - 2003
Living conditions remained poor and the economy was weak. The Kingdom in the 1910s saw yet another major military defeat at the hands of Khanzem. The Kingdom of Snowiny was annexed into Khanzem and torture camps were set up, with tens of thousands of Snowinns being forced to listen to polka music. The country was liberated by 1918. The economy was doing fine in the 1920s and the 1930s, but in 1937 King Steve I Lorens-Kanova was murdered by Gunter I of Martins, who in 1947 was also assassinated. This time, the monarchy was abolished, and the Republic of Snowiny, a totalitarian dictatorship, was formed under the leadership of Julien Lawrence.

In 1960, after the death of Julien, the country once again descends into Civil War. The War of Snowinn Succession is 7 months long and results in Stanley Lawrence's victory. He reigns until 1972, when he dies and Henry Horatio fights a violent political battle to succeed him. Horatio remains dictator, although benevolent, and brings many reforms to the country. In 1993 a coup by Francisco Ferinco forces him to resign and his reforms are reverted. Pennic peoples are once again attacked and are mass exterminated and genocided. They are sent to concentration camps and reservations in the south, in modern day Penland. In 1996 Snowiny descends into civil war, and by 2003 the civil war is over and Snowiny becomes a peaceful democratic nation.

2003 - present
Geronimo Stanling, popular Civil War military leader, became the first democratically elected president of Snowiny in 2003, winning in a landslide against independent Justin Horatio. His economic and military reforms failed and he failed to improve Snowiny's global standing, nevertheless, however, he was reelected in in 2007 to a second term, defeating Simon McClark (who would get elected President in 2015).

In 2011 Robert Smith barely defeats liberal Jacob Goldberg. Under his leadership he successfully transformed Snowiny into a global military and economic power, creating the Western Union and leading an international fight against terrorism. However, his popularity plunged as in 2014 he crowned himself king and the Kingdom of Snowiny was founded. He made the move in order to expand his powers. The move backfired with the public and in 2015, a democratic, peaceful revolution forced Smith to resign. Liberal Simon McClark was elected President on September 2nd 2015 and the country was renamed Republic of the United Provinces.

The merger into the United Provinces, however, was not supported by everybody. A poll showed that 67% of those surveyed in Snowiny opposed the merger and only 19% supported. In Puffepelago, it was 51% opposed and 36% in favour. There were massive protests across the city around 2 weeks later, mostly partaken in by nationalists and conservatives, against the UP reform and against the UP flag. People burned the UP flag and chanted "this flag is not my flag" in Serbian. An amazing crowd over 140,000 people partook in protests in Winsburg alone, and alone 70,000 more nationwide.

The situation calmed down after a while, but the situation would start changing once again in the 2017 as Simon McClark starts becoming less popular and the country starts destabilizing. There were two general elections in that year alone, and the current Liberal-Conservative coalition is still barely standing. A poll shows that more people than ever want to make the blue-white-green flag the national flag again - around 67% of the population does, that is. The blue-white-orange flag is seen as an flag representing the elite and not the people.

A referendum took place in early 2018 on national symbols and the name of the country - the country was officially renamed United Provinces of Snowiny and the flag changed back to the blue-white-green flag (the Zelenbojka - "green color flag"). Additionally, the rights of the states were increased.

(To be continued...)