North Point

North Point
Flag
Motto: "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Latin: Thus Always To Tyrants)
Anthem: When The Saints Go Marching In
Capital	Jacksonville
Recognised national languages	Praetannic
Ethnic groups (2010)	Praetannic, Questarian, Flamaguayan, Black Crataean
Demonym	North Pointer Northpointan (antiquated)
Government	Common law
• Association Chairman	Harry Paget Flashman
Establishment
• Discovery	April 1529
• Common Law polity	February 10th, 1810
• North Point Company regional government	April 17th, 1821
Area
•	136,057 km2 (52,532 sq mi)
• Water (%)	8
Population
• 2010 estimate	27,000,000
• 2010 census	27,102,387
• Density	130/km2 (336.7/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$1.2 trillion
• Per capita	$44,276.54
Currency	Oryontic Dollar (O$) (ORD)
Time zone	(UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	(UTC-2)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Drives on the	right

North Point is a Common Law entity located off the northwest coast of Veridis. The country is an archipelago famous for its scenic beaches and tropical islands. Geographically, North Point is an especially small nation; with a land area of only 59,000 square miles, it is one of the smallest countries in the world. Its capital city is Jacksonville.

The archipelago of North Point was first discovered by Flamaguayan explorers in 1529 during the first expeditions to western Veridis. Later surveying efforts by the Estates Navy led to peaceful contact with the aboriginal population of West Veridians and the establishment of trading and naval stations on the islands by the mid-1700s. In 1803, a Praetonian Association known as the North Point Company was founded to exploit the vast timber resources on North Point's largest islands. This Common Law association gradually grew to govern the entire territory of North Point, and remains the de facto government for the country.

The country's commanding position in the southeast Oryontic Ocean has placed it as a beneficiary of a three-way trade partnership with Praetonia and the Questers, which along with its shared language, culture, and legal system have made the country into a global commerce center which exercises influence out of proportion to its size.

Etymology

The islands of North Point form the northernmost extent of the continent of Veridis; early Wallasean geographers referred to the islands as "the north point", and this name has been used by Praetannic-speakers since. Flamaguayan explorers named the island chain the Santa Cruz Islands, but this name fell out of favor after the territory became a major Praetannic settlement in the 19th century. North Point is sometimes referred to as the Commonwealth Islands by the inhabitants of Questers and Praetonia.

The North Veridian islanders' traditional name for the islands is Kea'au, which translates literally to "rippling of the sea".

History

Fossil evidence shows early human habitation as early as 4,000 BCE. Archaeological research suggests that lower sea levels allowed early humans to walk across a land bridge extending from northern Veridis, but native oral tradition maintains that their ancestors arrived via canoe around 800 AD. Large tribes inhabited Grand Island, sometimes cooperating and sometimes fighting for resources. Their numbers remained relatively constant until the arrival of Wallasean explorers in 1529 introduced diseases for which they had no immunity.

The islands were first sighted by Wallaseans during the Franco expedition of 1529. Flamaguayans established the first permanent colony at San Salvacion, and missionaries began attempts to convert the natives to Oswinism. Praetannic and Cockay settlers began to arrive in the mid to late 16th century, establishing trading ports on the larger islands. Small-scale clashes between the Providentialist and Oswinist settlers were common throughout the region. Friction between the two culminated in the Subjugation of Jará; while this was a defeat for the Providentialist settlers on continental Veridis, it established Praetonian common law as the predominant force in North Point.

This same period coincided with a rise in piracy at sea, as no large naval force was available to patrol the islands. Attempts by the smaller defense associations to combat piracy met with moderate success, but this problem was not fully eradicated until the early 19th century. The Flamaguayan government unofficially encouraged piracy through its issuance of letters of marque to privateers to attack Praetannic shipping.

The first organized and intentional settlement of North Point by Praetonian-backed interests took place in 1803, with the arrival of Thomas Jackson and the Praetonian North Point Company (PNPC). Originally a chartered company tasked with development of a 200 square mile plot on the east coast of Grand Island, the PNPC grew to administer a sizable portion of the island. It first operated sawmills for the production of timber, but later expanded into pineapple, sugarcane, and coconut farming, and later still to mining and shipbuilding. Its significant Praetonian investment allowed it to fund Providence Squadron, and in a concerted campaign from 1810-1814, the PNPC virtually eliminated piracy within the North Point islands.

As the PNPC expanded, the smaller local associations became subscribers, contributing their ships and militia. By 1825 the PNPC was reorganized as the North Point Company and its headquarters was relocated from Haversham to Providence Town. Thomas Jackson, who had steered the local administration so well, became the first Association Chairman. Jackson oversaw steady expansion of the NPC throughout the 1830s, slowly but surely spinning off the commodity businesses into independent companies in which the NPC was a majority shareholder. Profit from these businesses, as well as subscription fees paid by subscribers, allowed the NPC to provide for the common defense.

File:NP sailing vessels 1.jpg

Sailing vessels docked in Jacksonville harbor in the 1870s

Throughout the 19th century, North Point's population and economy expanded. Its strategic position in the southeastern Oryontic made the islands a major stopping point for ships journeying from Questers and Veridis to Wallasea. By 1870, North Point had become an established banking and commerce center. Providence Town, renamed to Jacksonville in 1851 after Jackson's death, recorded a population of 300,000 in the 1880 census.

The Great War saw North Point commit its entire navy in support of the Commonwealth. Ground forces were mobilized and sent to Questers to join the fighting against Dumanum. In 1909, a North Point cruiser squadron narrowly defeated a superior Saratovian fleet at the Battle of the Motappa Trench, preventing the recapture of Saratovia's Crataean colonies. The long and bloody conflict resulted in the deaths of over 52,000 North Pointers, primarily in the stalemate actions in the Yehud.

North Point, already a shipbuilding center, saw increased industrialization during the Great War. The conversion of these industries to civilian use after the conclusion of hostilities led to an economic boom in North Point. Steady growth throughout the 20th century was coupled with North Point's rise as a global finance and banking center in the 1930s and 1940s. Fueled by abundant natural resources, high productivity, and well-developed infrastructure, North Point's economy had become the 9th largest in the world by 1950. North Point was embroiled in the Veridian Continental War from 1950 to 1954, a short but bloody regional conflict that resulted in Valimero coming under Commonwealth influence. Tensions on the continent remained high throughout the 1950s, finally stabilizing in the 1960s. The conflict established North Point as a serious regional player, butting up against the Flamaguayans, who had been weakened by their civil war in the late 1940s. The North Point economy grew steadily through the late 20th century.

North Point's military forces again deployed in support of the Commonwealth during the 1997 Lunar War. Despite taking losses early on, the successful conclusion of the war against Taihei Tengoku raised the North Point Company's standing both within the Commonwealth and worldwide. North Point troops were again committed during the Questarian Civil War, the largest conflict involving North Point since the Great War. The economic impact of the Questarian Civil War on North Point was substantial; even five years after the close of hostilities, North Point's stock market remains depressed, but each year has seen incremental recovery. The full impact of the Questarian Civil War on the Commonwealth and North Point remains to be seen.

Politics

As North Point is a Common Law country, there is no officially recognized state government or political authority in the traditional sense. Unlike the larger common law polities of Praetonia and Questers, North Point is governed by only one association: the North Point Company. This single association's military protects the country and all of its borders.

The North Point Company is controlled by the Association Committee, which is chaired by the Association Chairman.

Law and order

Internal security is provided by various Night Watch sub-associations of the North Point Company. These sub-associations are generally distributed throughout the various administrative regions of North Point, and most share a high degree of commonality with each other in techniques and equipment. Nightwatchmen in North Point are usually unarmed.

Armed forces

Main article: North Point Security Forces

The North Point Company provides for the collective defense of the nation through its own private military, which is known as the North Point Security Forces. Unlike Praetonia, North Point maintains a professional standing army and air force, with a highly-trained cadre of officers, most of whom generally serve several years in the militaries of the Estates General or Questers in exchange programs. North Point units are often used as shock troops in Commonwealth formations. The North Point Company's War Department administers the North Point Army, North Point Sea Command, and North Point Flying Corps.

The North Point Company also raises and equips a ground reserve force, which can be used to reinforce the army if necessary.

Geography

A physical map of North Point

North Point is an archipelago comprised of one large landmass (Grand Island) with dozens of other islands surrounding it. The island chain of North Point sits off the western coast of Veridis, bordered to the south and east by Valmiero. The submerged Great North Point Ridge extends nearly 500 kilometers to the north of the country, and its collection of coral atolls and shallow shoals and banks poses a significant navigational hazard.

To the west of North Point, the Lauderdale Trench drops off steeply at the subduction zone between the Crataean and Veridian continental plates. The Albion Deep, the deepest surveyed point on Earth, lies just 100 kilometers west of Commander's Point on Lauderdale Island. Geologists largely agree that the islands were the result of volcanism along this subduction zone some 40 million years ago.

North Point's islands generally fall within the tropical climate classifications, though humidity and temperatures are less extreme due to nearly constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs usually reach 88°F (31°C) during the day and 73°F (24°C) at night. Winter day temperatures are usually around 80°F (28°C); at low elevation they seldom dip below 60°F (15°C) at night. Snowfall occurs regularly in the higher elevations in the mountainous interior of Grand Island. Most of North Point experiences only two seasons; the dry season runs from May to October, and the wet season from November to April.

The warmest temperature recorded in North Point, in Northreach on June 7th, 1941, was 99°F (37°C). The record low temperature was -24°F (-31°C) on December 19th, 1978, on the summit of Longs Peak on Grand Island at 14,256' elevation.

Environment

Environmental issues

Vast inland forests were logged nearly flat in the late 19th/early 20th centuries; nearly all forests on the islands are 3rd and 4th growth. Hurricanes sweep north through the Questarian Sea and batter the islands each hurricane season (August-November, generally) and have resulted in North Point having well-developed meteorological and weather-research groups. Earthquakes along the subduction zone west of North Point sometimes cause damage in the islands and tsunami warning systems are in place in most cities.

Settlement by Wallaseans in the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in a 15% decline in biodiversity among the existing animal species. Chronic over fishing, illegal dumping of toxic waste, and several large oil spills during the 20th century have led to dead-zones, coral bleaching, and sea life decline, a problem only fully understood by 1970. Resulting attempts by the North Point Company to reduce impact of human activity on the environment have been mostly successful in halting additional damage.

Economy

Services-based and rich. Lots of tourism. Some heavy manufacturing (mostly ships). Raw materials are imported. World leader in fossil fuels extraction and refining (North Point engineers invent oil drilling etc). Timber industry existed in the early days but now largely works overseas.

Demographics

Largely homogenous society of white Praetannics, with a variety of Wallaseans and other foreigners thrown in for good measure. A small population of indigenous Maori/aboriginals who are very much assimilated and considered equals with the Wallaseans.

Language

English with a small subset of Spanish and Portuguese speakers due to proximity with Veridian narco-states.

Religion

Likely some form of Christianity practiced in Praetonia or elsewhere.

Education

"The Rugby school had me back a few years ago to give a speech. On courage, of all things! Which proves they're just as big of hypocrites now as in Arnold's day."

Health

Highly-developed but likely very expensive healthcare system. Location of first heart transplant, leader in medical advances, etc etc etc.

Culture

Arts

Electronic dance music

Media

The North Point Times newspaper published worldwide and mostly-respected. Lauderdale Inquirer provides all the latest Kardashian and Bruce Jenner headlines, to much dismay.

Cuisine

Mexican food

Sport and recreation

Soccer, tennis, shooting, North Point rules football, rugby, basketball, hunting, fishing, sailing