The Nuggian Territories
The Nuggian Territory was an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 3rd, 2321 until the Independence of Nuggia on March 17th, 2434. The territory encompassed the future Federal Republic of Nuggia.
History
Incorporation
The first planet to be colonized in the Nuggian Territory was on Nuggia on December 29th, 2286. Other colonies soon followed suit. Many of the ventures were sponsored by American companies, and there was a sizable American population in the area. This prompted the United States to claim the territories, consolidating them in 2321 into the Nuggian Territory.Further Growth
Following consolidation, the American government sponsored expanded colonization and expansion of settlements in the territory. On November 12th, 2332, the Congress passed the Colonial Development and Expansion Act of 2332, which created a system by which the US government would give a mix of grants and loans to private colonial ventures, both corporate and individually sponsored. It also designated areas of special interest which would gain extra economic aid and would provide a higher proprotion of grants to loans. The Nuggian Territories was one of these areas. This period also saw the decline in the importance of Nuggia as the regional center, with the growth of populations on planets like Eronus, Geroria, and Breslong. This created a more distributed economic system for the territory, and is noted as having an important role in the development of newer colonies. The Nuggian territories eventually began to overshadow the planetary United States in economic and political importance, but they remained unorganized unincorporated territories of the United States.Political Strife
The status of the Nuggian territories as an unorganized unicorporated territory had long caused political strife in the Nuggian Territories. The official reason was that the territory had only an ancillary role in the broader United States, but Nuggians have countered with the significantly larger population and economy than the planetary United States. Historians have noted among the American population a fear that a Nuggia with the full rights of American citizens would be able to overshadow the planetary United States or even replace it. The push for Nuggian recoginition prior to the revolutionary war was split into two major camps, a movement for statehood and a movement for indepedence.Movement for Statehood
The movement for statehood was the first of the two movements to form. The Society for Nuggian Statehood the first organization formed with the express goal of fighting for Nuggian Statehood was formed in 2346. Formed by regional figures and economic interests, the society pushed for statehood by using their political influence with the American government. Around the same time, other smaller organizations began to push for statehood. These smaller organizations tended to use methods such as protest and petition to achieve their goals. While there was still activity allowed, records have shown that the American government had a large operation attempting to undermine the statehood movement. Colonial governors responded to the growing movement by making piecemeal concessions to the populous, slowly granting the legislature more power. But, asides from the All Nuggia Assembly, there was no concerted push for Nuggian statehood by the colonial government. Colonial governors would also crack down on popular movements. Famously, in the Tal Street Massacre, the colonial government denied a permit for a statehood march. When organizers continued with the march, police were then deployed to break up the protest. After experiencing resisntance, police used force to try to disperse the crowd, resulting in the deaths of 11 protesters.Movement for Independence
As the statehood movement began to slow down in at the turn of the 25th century, independence movement began to pick up steam. This period is traditionally started on April 5th, when Cathrine Kenth left the Society for Nuggian Statehood and joined the Nuggian Independence Party, one of the predecesors to the Nuggian Revolutionary Front. In the following decade, the leadership of most organizations fighting for statehood had joined independence groups within the territory. With the shift to an independence movement, the movement also became more militant. Militias began to form across the territory preparing for an eventual war for indepdence. The All Nuggian Assembly began to flagrently ignore the colonial government. The assembly started the creation of the Nuggian People's Police, a seperate police apparatus seperate from the governor's control, in a flagrent violation of the territorial constitution. These officers then only enforced the laws of the Assembly, in many cases clashing with the colonial police. In a final attempt to regain political control over the country, the US and Colonial government started Operation Clear Cut. On November 19th, 2433, the Colonial Police Force began the mass arrest of the leadership of the People's Police, Nuggian Inpendence Party, and other prominent members of the All Nuggian Assembly. This action unintentionally started the Rapid Response Plan, a contingency created by high ranking members of the Nuggian Independence movement in the case that the leadership of the movement were arrested. This led to local militias rising across Nuggia, starting the Nuggian Revolutionary War.The Nuggian Revolution
During the Nuggian Revolution, all independent government was suspended in the Nuggian Territory. The colonial governor and supreme court were sacked, and the president assumed direct control of the remaining territory, ruling by decree. The previous system for colonial govevernment was subsumed by the President of the United States, and delegated to the Secretary of Nuggian Affairs. The Nuggian Territory was, in effect, dissolved until the end of the war.Dissolution
After the armistace of 2452, the colonial government was restored, with the notable exception of a largely empty All Nuggian Assembly. The territorialy government continued some basic governance of the remaining planets of the Nuggian territory until the signing of the Treaty of New Horizon on September 9th, 2438. The treaty came into force on January 1st, 2439, and all remaining planets were handed over Republican administration. The United States Congress passed the Nuggian Freedom Act, officially dissolving the territorial government on January 21st, 2439.Economy
The Nuggian Territories had a fully developed service economy, with major financial and industrial power. At the time of its dissolution, the territories had an estimated GDP of 87.4 trillian glass (2750 glass), an average annual growth of 3.2% between 2350 and 2420. At the time, the territory comprised 46% of the total American economy. The primary trading partner of the Nuggian Territory was the planetary United States and other American colonies. Due to its priveledged positions, historians have noted that the United States was able to undermine the value of goods and services from Nuggia by dramatically underpaying. This is estimated to have cost the colonial economy upwards of 10 trillion glass.Demographics
Population
The census of 2430 put the population of the Nuggian territory at a population of 263,837,923,233 people. The territory had a fertility rate of 1.9 children per person, making it one of the fastest growing parts of the United States and the galaxy. The territory was extremely ethnically diverse. The 2430 Census showed that 39.8% of the territory identified as Nuggian, 32.2% identified as American, 8.9% as Latine, 7.6% as Asian, 7.5% as African American, and 4% as other.Language
There was no official language in the Nuggian Territories, although English and Nuggian held this role de facto. By the time of the Nuggian Revolution, the majority of people in the territory could speake both Nuggian and English.Governance
The Nuggian Territory was governed by a governor and 11 seat supreme court appointed by the President and congress respectively, and an elected legislature, the All Nuggian Assembly. The legislature had the ability to create and pass laws, but the governor had veto authority. This led to tension between the popularly elected legislature and the appointed governor. This tension led many members of the legislature to join first statehood and then independence movements in the lead up to the revolutionary war.June 3rd, 2321 - March 17th, 2434
Type
Geopolitical, Colony
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