AMERICA: SPOTLIGHT ON COLUMBIA (AMERICA IN 1789)
1) The Dominion of Columbia
Portrait of Charles III of Columbia
Charles II was invited to the colony of Virginia by Governor Berkeley after the Cromwellian takeover, and was given the support of the governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Rhode Island. The New England Confederation, however, remained in the hands of the Protectorate.
The death of Cromwell and his succession by Henry Lawrence effectively ended any hopes of monarchy returning to the Isles.
Stuyvesant's War ended in victory for New Netherland - causing great damage to Carolina's internal system - which was followed by the Bacon Rising of 1676 that ended with Bacon's own death.
Following Charles' death, the position of King went to his brother, James - an open Catholic with much support from colonists. James' reign saw the creation of one of the first Virginian titles of nobility for a non-Royal - to Nicholas Spencer, the Earl Spencer of Westmoreland. Sir Spencer was followed by his daughter, while John Washington was granted the title of the Earl Washington of the Potomac for his service during Bacon's rising.
King James died in 1701, and was succeeded by his son - Charles III and II - or 'Charles the Reformer', a Protestant who established Carolina and Virginia's home rule, and united the two provinces into Columbia. The Prince Charles married Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (one of Columbia's chief allies), after much hesitation from the Austrians' side, and died in 1748.
The War of Spanish Succession - fought from 1701 by the alliance of the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Prussia, and France against the Austrians saw some action in the colonies. The Dutch invaded the land south of the River Delaware and so on. The War ended in Austrian defeat, and the coronation of Prince Philip as King of Spain, or Charles III. Following Columbia's defeat, many political leaders asked whether the Kingdom was on its last legs. This, and the death of his eldest son, James (the Prince of the Chesapeake) significantly damaged Prince Charles' own personal life, and he spent more time away from court.
Prince Charles was succeeded by his younger son, Henry I, who was heir apparent following his elder brother James' death. Henry came into power at a time when his Columbia fought against the French, Spaniards, and British for control over the Caribbean, and a time where geopolitics in North America had begun to greatly shift. The 1760s saw Columbia's hundredth anniversary, and the formation of the first Columbian Parliament - following the abolition of the Houses of Burgesses and the Governor's Council. Peyton Randolph, the Duke Randolph of Williamsburg of the Tory party, was elected the first Chief Minister of Columbia.
In the 1770s, Randolph's reforms were continued by Thomas Pinckney, the Baron Pinckney of Charlestown, the current Columbian Prime Minister (as of 1789). King Henry himself died in 1775, and was succeeded by his son, Charles.