One America

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 This article is a start-class article. It needs further improvement to obtain good article status. This article is part of Altverse II.

The term One America may refer to one of the following:

  • The One America principle is a policy position held by the United Commonwealth of Continental States (UCCS) that there is only one sovereign state under the name United Commonwealth and the Continental States in the American mainland is the legitimate government of that United Commonwealth and that the Antilles is a part of the Continental States as a Continental republic. It opposes the idea that there two sovereign states holding the name "United Commonwealth" and referred to as "America", the United Commonwealth of Continental States and the United Commonwealth of America (UCA); as well as the idea that the Continental States and the Antilles form two separate countries.
  • The One America policy refers to the overall policy of strategic ambiguity regarding the Antilles as a whole. Originating in the Kingdom of Sierra and long adopted by the wider Conference of American States (CAS). Originating in the 1970s, the policy acknowledges the Continental States as a legitimate sovereign state that governs the American mainland and doesn't officially declare the Antilles a sovereign state nor recognize its claims over the mainland, but simultaneously maintains informal relations with the de-facto island state and rejects the Continental government's claimed ownership over the Antilles as part of the country's territory. First adopted by Sierra, it has since been adopted by most other members of the CAS and other countries such as members of the European Community and several other countries in the wider international community in regards to the country's political status.
  • One America with respective interpretations refers to how the Treaty of St. Paul, the 1998 Saint Anthony Conference and other similar international agreements in regards to the Antilles' political status such as the Seattle Resolution of 1978 have been and can be interpreted in different ways resulting in varied perspectives by the governments of both countries. While acknowledging that two countries known as the "United Commonwealth" exist within the Caribbean, the Continental government asserts that it remains the one true country known as the United Commonwealth and the only sovereign state that can call itself America where as the Antilles remains only a de-facto polity and the legitimacy of the UCCS remains paramount. In the Antilles, it asserts that all treaties have done nothing to change its status as a continuation fo the UCA and that a viable path towards international recognition remains possible and can retain any form of involvement in international affairs both under the name as American Antilles or under any other designation.

After the Continentalist Party defeated the Federalist Party and loyalist elements in the Continental Revolutionary War and the subsequent retreat from the mainland in 1921 by remnants of the Federalist regime, the Continentalist Party formally established the Continental States in 1922 with the ratification of the Union Treaty and declared their new government the official successor state to the United Commonwealth of America while the UCA formally established control over the Antilles and the several outlying islands in the region of the same name. Following the war's end, the Treaty of Bernheim was signed between the early Continental government and countries that partook in the failed intervention in the war in which the legitimacy of the UCCS was officially recognized and the Antilles was not recognized as the continuation of the former government. Despite this, the Continental States was partially recognized until most of the international community acknowledged it as a legitimate state in the Interwar period.

The Antilles for the most part were immediately forced into ambigious political status from the moment it was established with the only time it was recognized by much of the wider international community was in the 1930s during Great War I by members of the Entente Imperiale, but said recognition was withdrawn in accordancd with the New Orleans Accords. The repression of Amelia Abarough during her presidency, especially after the start of the Great Blue Terror in 1956, caused most of the international community to ignore the Antilles and force it into a state of diplomatic isolation even among Western Bloc states, an alliance that the Antilles was a part of, and remained that way until Abarough's death in 1983 and the beginning of democratization. As part of these reforms, the Antilles transitioned towards western-style democracy and convined several Western countries to re-establish informal diplomatic ties with the CAS allowing the Antilles to become an observer state in 1992 after the Antillean War in 1987, the only time the United Commonwealth tried to reconquer the Antilles through military force.

One America as both a political and foreign policy concept remains a significant point within international politics, especiall within Anglo-America and the CAS as a whole. The Continental States remains the only country of the two to be recognized as the legitimate country to call itself the United Commonwealth while most CAS and European Community member states along with other countries retain informal diplomatic ties with the Antilles. As of 2022, ten countries recognize the Antilles as a sovereign state, starting in 1936 with the Sovereign Patriarchate of Avignon and most recently in 2020 with the United Kingdom. Major political controversies within the country have been cited as obstacles towards further international recognition by other countries.

Background

The Antilles would be colonized by the Spanish Empire during their colonization of the Americas starting in the 16th century after the region was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 during his arrival on Hispaniola during his first voyage. The Spanish retained control over the Antilles, however France would establish a presence on the western side of Hispaniola and established the colony of Saint-Dominque in 1625. European colonial grip over Hispaniola would begin to slip in the 18th century starting with the Haitian Revolution that ended French rule on the island and was followed up in 1844 by the Dominican War of Independence that ended with the island being split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In 1863, Spain returned and reconquered the island in the War of Reconquest with Spain re-establishing control over Hispaniola, reannexed the Dominican Republic and established the Captaincy General of Hispaniola, however Haiti remained independent as it retained stable ties with the Spanish as a result of the Spanish–South American War.

While the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean remained under Spanish control, there would be unrest in nearby Cuba in the late 19th century with the Cuban Wars of Independence in 1895 and in 1898, the Spanish–American War began between the ailing Spanish Empire and the various Anglo-American states of the United Commonwealth of America, the Kingdom of Sierra, Brazoria and the Northeast Union. American and Brazorian forces were responsible for taking the Antillean islands and following the war's end, the region was organized into overseas territory of the American Commonwealth while American political leaders debated the overall status and future of the region, mainlt continue the status as a territory to integrate it as a state. As this debate continued, the American companies began establishing bases of operation in the region such as the United Fruit Company and began growing fruit crops and plantations on the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Antilles became a popular tourist destination and early policies of anglicization began with teaching English to the Spanish-speaking native inhabitants.

In 1917, the Continental Revolutionary War began following a successful uprising by the Continental Revolutionary Army, the armed wing of the Continentalist Party, which inspired further rebellions across the American mainland. In response, the Martial Act of 1917 was passed by the United Commonwealth Congress and the Antilles was put under a state of martial law and was used as a base for the United Commonwealth Armed Forces, in particular by the army and navy. By 1920, the war had turned against the Federalists as they lost more and more control over the mainland and were forced to relocate into neighboring countries such as Florida, the Republic of Acadiana, and the Carolina Republic on the coast near the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Following the Continentalist victory at the Siege of Chicago in 1921, the remnants of the Federalist regime began to evacuate the mainland taking with them all remaining government and military personnel, pro-Federalist militia fightings, and any sympathetic American citizens who wanted to flee the country with the Antilles being the only spot for the retreat as it was the only territory of the UCA to have not been taken over by the Continentalists.

Viewpoints within the Antilles

Evolution of the One America principle

Policy positions in the UCCS

Policy positions in the UCA

Other countries' One America policies

Sierran and CAS policy

Japanese position

European position

Other positions

Cross-Sea relations

See also