FREE CITY OF TRI-INSULA |
|
|---|---|
| Name: | Free City of Tri-Insula |
| Independence: | September 8, 1861 (from FFA) |
| Re-Conquest by FFA: | November 17, 1861 |
| Land Area: | 303 square miles (786 km) |
| Water Area: | 164 square miles (425 km) |
| Former NY Counties: | Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island |
| Population: | 813,669 |
| Major Ethnic Groups: | American, Irish, German, many others |
| Languages: | Officially English, dozens of others spoken |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Executive: | Mayor Fernando Wood |
| Legislature: | Tri-Insula Council |
| GDP: | $358 million |
| Currency: | Tri-Unsula Dollar |
| Major Industries: | Trade, ship building, textiles |
After the 1860 US Presidential Election a number of northern states seceded from the United States of America and formed the Federation of Free America. When fighting broke out between the US and the rebels FFA President, Abraham Lincoln, began calling for the states to initiate a draft to raise troops. In August 1861 New York approved a draft that allowed for exemptions by those willing to pay $300 to the State.
The draft, and the general unpopularity of leaving the Union, caused Mayor Fernando Wood to call the city council together along with representatives form local governments of the five county area. He pushed a proposal to form an independent city-state that could easily survive on trade between the warring states alone. After long days of negotiations an agreement was reached. On September 8, 1861 the City State of Tri-Insula was born.
Lincoln was not amused. He felt that the states has the sovereign right to leave the Union, but a city had no legal standing to secede from a state. The need of New York Harbor and the manpower of the city led to an ultimatum being issued to Wood. Armies from New York State and New England were diverted to surround the rebellious city. After about two months of a siege the troops finally moved in. The Tri-Insulan milita was quickly scattered with the deaths of 57 FFA soldiers and 188 rebel militia, over 2,000 in total were wounded from all sides.
When the city was brought back into New York Lincoln was generous with pardons for most of those behind the uprising. Fernando Wood and his closest advisers were imprisoned until the end of the FFA war for independence.
NOTES
1) Secession in New York
2) Data from US Census Bureau
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