Confederation of British America

The Confederation of British America
The Flag of the CBA
Official Languages	English, French, Spanish, Inuit, Gaelic, Welsh
Religion	Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism
Capital City	Potomac City
Major Cities	New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Richmond, Whitworth, Montreal, Detroit, Miami, Slatyford, Pittstown, Quebec, Seattle, Beardsley, New Hannover, Vancouver, St Augustine, Georgetown, Sioux City
Currency	Pound (Sterling) (£)
Head of State	Queen Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Sir Michael Wheeler (Lord Nassau)
Prime Minister	John Kerry (Liberal Party)

The Confederation of British America (CBA) is a country in the continent of North America. Originally a number of British Colonies, the CBA was formed following the British victory in the American Revolutionary War (1775-77). Since the 1860s, the CBA has been a fully self-governing dominion and in 1901, the CBA joined forces with the United Kingdom to lead the United Empire (formerly known as the British Empire).

History

Early Settlers

The Mayflower, which transported Pilgrims to the New World, arrived in 1620.

Before the European colonisation of the Americas, a process that began at the end of the 15th century, the present-day CBA was inhabited exclusively by Native Americans, who arrived on the continent over a period that may have begun 35,000 years ago and may have ended as recently as 11,000 years ago. The first successful English settlement was at Virginia Colony|Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, followed in 1620 by the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, in what is now the county of Massachusetts, New England. Within the following two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (later New York City), were established; New Sweden was founded by the Swedes in Delaware, and extensive British settlement of the east coast continued making up the original thirteen colonies that would form the basis of the Confederation of British America in 1777.

The Revolutionary War

Presenting the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress

Tensions between American colonials and the British during the revolutionary period of the 1760s and 1770s led to open military conflict in 1775. George Washington commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1777) as the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776. However, the following month, the Continental Army suffered a shattering blow at New York when British Forces under the command of General William Howe trapped the Americans at Brooklyn Heights. Despite the inclement weather, Howe had ordered the significant Royal Navy fleet into the East River, cutting off any escape route for Washington's men. After several days, the American's supplies and morale ran low and Washington's forces, which numbered half of the entire Continental Army were forced to surrender.

In the months that followed, American forces simply melted away as the British set about offering local residents a Peaceable Agreement, respecting lives and property in return for an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Thousands took up the offer, and with American support ebbing and British reinforcements pouring in, events at Lake Champlain and Saratoga saw the Revolution crushed. When John Hancock, leader of the Congress learned of the final blow, he exclaimed "Oh my! It is all over!"

Reconstructing America

It is wrong to assume that all British people were unsympathetic to the American grievences before and during the war. In fact many in Britain agreed with them, and once the war was over, these voices became very prominant. The war had acted as a warning to the British government and showed them that the taxes in America had been harsh. It was agreed that the Americans would be taxed no higher than anyone in Britain. The thirteen colonies, along with British Canada were to be combined into the Confederation of British America. Each province (as the colonies had now become) would have a Provincial Assembly, as well as a Confederational Assembly to decide on matters such as taxation. In addition, American 'envoys' were to sit at Westminster where they could vote on issues concerning the CBA or the Empire in general, but not on exclusively British matters. On July 4 1777, the CBA was born.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary leaders stood trial in London and were all found guilty of Treason. Prominent figures, such as John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams and the English born Revolutionary supporter, Tom Paine were sentenced to death. George Washington and several others were sentenced to life imprisonment in England. Benjamin Franklin, who had acted as a Congressional envoy to the British government following the surrender escaped with a sentence which forced him to live the rest of his life as an exile in London.

Napoleonic Wars in North America

CBA and Louisiana forces at the Battle of the Illinois River

When war broke out in Europe in 1792, it was inevitable that the conflict would spread to North America and pit the Confederation of British America against the substantial French colony, Louisiana. As the Mississippi formed the boundary between the two, many of the battles took place along and around the great river. The fact that the Mississippi met the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans in Louisiana, gave the French colony a natural advantage. However the CBA had constructed the Whitworth Sea Way, a huge, wide canal designed by the Georgian born industrialist, Alexander Whitworth. The Sea Way left the Mississippi at a small Army Fort, which was to become the great city of Whitworth and met the Gulf at Biloxi, thus enabling the CBA and British access to the Mississippi from the sea.

The most threatening part of the war as far as the CBA was concerned came in 1813, when an offensive saw Louisianan forces break out of their stronghold at St Louis and advanced along the Missouri and Illinois Rivers. Despite significant CBA attacks, the Louisianans were able to advance north east towards the lakes and Fort Dearborn (Chicago) which was captured on September 4.

The liberation of the city is the stuff of legends. Lord Admiral Collingwood led his fleet through the St Lawrence and lakes to attack French positions in Fort Dearborn from the lake itself, whilst regiments from the east, including several Iroquois Regiments were able to break through Louisianan lines and encircle the city from the south. The Louisianan's siege of Fort Dearborn lasted ten days before they were starved into surrender, and pushed back far into Louisiana.

By late September, the CBA and British forces had taken control of much of the Mississippi following the Battle of Whitworth. Meanwhile, forces continued to push the Louisianans farther back into their own territory and the colony's second largest city, St Louis was by now in CBA hands, whilst the Royal Navy dealt a severe blow to the French fleet at New Orleans.

In Europe too, the French were being crushed and on October 20, 1814, French forces in Europe and North America surrendered.

Treaties

The First Treaty of Paris took place on January 17, 1815. It was a generous peace, which allowed France to retain its borders of 1792, whilst Malta, St Lucia and Mauritius were to be ceded to Britain. In North America all of Louisiana, north of the Missouri was ceded to Britain (who then made it territory to be administered by the CBA), whilst Louisiana south of the river was to remain in French hands. Louisiana's stretch of the Mississippi was placed under joint British and French control with New Orleans demilitarised and Britain given full access to the port and river.

Despite Napoleon's brief return to power, Louisiana was held down and did not rebel. At the Second Treaty of Paris in November, which followed the Allied Victory at Waterloo, it was announced that France would this time be made to pay reparations of 700m Francs to the victors, while France would be occupied by 150,000 allied troops under Wellington. French Louisiana too was to be occupied by British and CBA forces under the command of Sir Edward Packenham, Wellington's brother in-law.

New York Conference

The New York Conference took place in February 1816 to decide upon the restructuring of the Midwest Territory and the new territories acquired from Louisiana. It was decided that the Midwest would be divided into the five new Provinces of Illinois, [Michigan]], Ohio, Tennessee and Kingsland. Florida, which had been taken from the Spanish by Georgian troops was separated from Georgia and became a province in its own right. British Louisiana Territory was divided into three provinces, Missouri, New Hannover and Sioux. The CBA reached the full complement of provinces with the British Oregon country divided into the provinces of Upper Oregan and Lower Oregon. Meanwhile, the territory of Western Canada became Regent's Land, Manitoba, Alberta, North West Territory] and British Columbia.

Involvement in Mexican Independence

During the Post Napoleonic war period, the Spanish suffered from uprisings in Spanish America. Spain had been weakened by the war, and had lost the Viceroyalty of River Plate to the British. However, they were successful in crushing Simon Bolivar's Gran Colombia movement in South America. Further north in Mexico, or New Spain as it was then, they were encountering a much more difficult situation. The Spanish General, sent to quell the rebellion in Mexico, Augustin Iturbide defected to the Mexican cause and defeated Spanish forces, forcing the Viceroy of New Spain, Juan O Doneju to recognise Mexican independence at the Treaty of Cordova in August 1821. Though back in Spain, O Doneju's recognition was repudiated.

Following the Mexican Declaration of Independence, Britain was keen to offer a helping hand to Mexico. George IV offered his younger brother, Augustus Frederick to Mexico and the offer was accepted. Emperor Augusto Frederico I of Mexico was crowned the first Emperor of Mexico.

In March 1822, the British Empire and the Empire of Mexico signed the Treaty of Mexico City, recognising and respecting the borders between Mexico and the British Empire and officially proclaiming "a commitment to foster a close friendship, and to provide security, stability and prosperity to the North American continent."

The Mexican War

The Treaty angered the Spanish, who began an invasion of Southern Mexico, capturing the town of San Cristobal in the Chiapas region. The invasion resulted in both Mexico and Britain declaring war on Spain. Royal Navy fleets gathered at Mobile and Biloxi in preparation for an attack on the Spanish held Yucatan Peninsula.

The Mexicans quickly gained the offensive and retook San Cristobal. Meanwhile, the Royal and Spanish navies encountered each other just off the Florida coast in the Battle of Miami.

Mexican forces with British support continued to drive the Spanish south into Spanish held territory. Despite the efforts of the Spanish Navy, the Royal Navy provided strong support to the land forces. At the Gulf of Darian, the Spanish were subjected to a heavy bombardment from the Royal Navy, with British and Mexican troops closing in. It was then that the Spanish realised they were beaten, and sued for peace. The Treaty of Rio Sucio peace settlement ceded Spanish lands as far south as the Gulf of Uraba (on the northern tip of the South American continent) to Mexico.

The Slavery Problem

In 1833 slavery was banned throughout the British Empire. However, this was to cause significant problems in the southern provinces of the CBA, which used large numbers of black slave labour in the farms and cotton fields.The banning of slavery caused a huge decrease in cotton production, which in turn had a knock on effect on the textile industry of Northern England, where much of the cotton was sent. For a time, Southern Plantation owners proposed a second war of independence and the creation of an independent Confederate States of America (the name United States of America had also been proposed, but was generally disliked due to it's links to the failure of the Revolutionary War). In reality, though the problem was serious, such talk of war and independence was never a serious issue, with both plantation owners and their supporters and abolitionists in Britain and the Northern provinces keen to resolve the issue amicably.

A compromise was eventually reached in March 1861 with the passing of the Sharecropping Act, both at Westminster and at the Confederational Parliament in Potomac City. The Liberal Government was widely applauded, and the CBA Prime Minister, Sir Abraham Lincoln informed Queen Victoria that "Your Majesty's dominion of British America remains indivisible."

However, despite the Act, many feel that Sharecroppers are hardly much better off than the slaves. Southern Provinces passed laws known as Black Codes, restricting the freedom of many blacks. Many blacks across the South were prevented from voting through measures such as Literacy Tests. Racism was rife and would remain so until well into the twentieth century.

The German Riots

German immigrants had settled in North America since the late 1600s. Many had gone to Pennsylvania, settling in the Germantown area, which would eventually become a part of Philadelphia, whilst following the Napoleonic wars, many made their home in New Hannover. By the 1850s, there was a considerable number of German born and German descended people living in the CBA, indeed they represented the largest number from foreign countries, outnumbered only by those from the British Isles.

In Europe, Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck had ideas of creating a single German nation. In the late 1860s, Prussia had defeated Austria-Hungary, and was able to establish the North German Confederation (Germany). Bismarck's sites now seemed to be focusing on France before achieving his destiny of full German Unity. This concerned Britain and the CBA because of both France and Hannover. Anglo-French relations had improved since the end of the Napoleonic war.

Hannover had seen the benefits of an alliance with the British Empire (including the strong CBA) and in 1837, when Victoria was crowned Queen-Empress of the British Empire, the Hannovarians overturned their laws preventing female electors, and so Victoria became Hannover's first ever Electoress and Hannover officially joined the Empire as the Dominion of Hannover.

Therefore, when Bismark forced the French to declare war on Germany on July 19, 1870, The British Empire declared their intention to assist Hannover, and "any other state threatened by German aggression" the following day. Germany responded the next day by declaring war on Britain, thus creating the Franco-British alliance, which along with Austria-Hungary and Bavaria crushed the German forces in only a few months.

However the short war caused tensions amongst the German communities of the CBA, with German Protests against British involvement turning into full blown riots. In New Hannover, many in the German community had come from Hannover and were supportive of the British and French against the "Prussian aggressor", but there were many Prussians and some of the most fierce riots were between the Hannovarian and Prussian communities. In Germantown, the riot of July 27, 1870 left 16 dead and hundreds injured, while there were also fatalities in the German riots of New York, Chicago, New Hannover City and Blenheim.

The Early 20th Century

The period from 1870 until 1939 was a peaceful time in America, and a time which saw a number of technological developments. The Wright Brothers flew the first successful aeroplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, while Sir Henry Ford was one of the pioneers of the burgeoning Motorcar industry. In both the CBA and Mexico, the Movie industry began to boom, with much of the CBA's film industry based in Manhattan, New York City, while much of their Mexican counterparts began to spring up in the town of Madera del Acebo near Los Angeles, Mexico. By the late 1920s, the film world was transformed with the introduction of 'talkies'. Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of the period was that with the Radio boom of the 1920s in the CBA, people could now enjoy much more entertainment in their own homes than ever before. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began its radio service in London on November 14 1922, and in January 1923, the BBC began its 'American Service' from New York. In 1932, the BBC simultaneously launched Television services in London and New York. Meanwhile, Southern Blacks were flocking to the Northern cities in search of work and more freedoms. By the 1920s, large Black Communities had been established in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto and Montreal, where they brought their Jazz and Blues Music to White audiences.

The Road to World War

As in the War of 1870, the CBA had little military involvement in the Second Franco-German War of 1915. Once again, the Anglo-French alliance had, along with Austria-Hungary, Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemburg soon put pay to the triple alliance of Germany, Russia and Serbia. Both Germany and Russia had paid a heavy price, losing lands to the newly created Poland, as well as having to pay crippling reparations.

Following the war, both Germany and Russia had been plunged into crisis. While the Russians were gripped by Marxist Revolution which would see the birth of the Soviet Union, Germany was crushed by severe inflation and high unemployment which caused the German Mark to spiral out of control.

During the next few years, Germany's voters looked to the extreme left and right wings for their answer. It came from Franz Seldte, a War of 1915 veteran, who after the war had been a member of the Stahlhelm war veterans' association and the Freikorps, a right wing veterans group who violently quashed many Communist revolts in Germany. In 1918, Seldte formed the Vaterland Partei (Fatherland Party), dedicated as the name suggests of uniting all the German states under one 'reich'. Moreover, Seldte vowed to recover the lands "taken by the Allied Criminals" and "continue eastwards to populate land that is rightfully German".

As Germany lurched from one financial crisis to the next, mass strikes amongst workers and agricultural workers grew worse and worse. On February 8, 1921 over 400,000 workers went on strike, demanding improved hours and pay. Faced with the scale of such a strike, Chancellor Ulrich Reinhardt was left with little choice but to concede and so the week long strike ended. However, industrialists became ever angrier at Reinhardt's 'weakness'. Just over a month later, agricultural workers in Pomerania were encouraged by trade unions to occupy the land, demanding higher wages and guarantees of no lay offs, whilst attacking farmers and farm managers. Days later the strikers clashed with members of the Varterland Partei's private army the Sturm Abteilung (SA). May 1921 saw street battles between the SA and workers during a second wave of industrial unrest throughout Germany.

The actions of the SA during the strikes did much to pave Seldte's way to power. Four senior and army generals, close to Kaiser Wilhelm III, Heinrich von Lindow, Friedrich von Senden, Oskar von Büdingen and Franz von Elsdorf had been impressed, and offered their support Seldte. Further successes came in the form of the Reichstag elections on October 15, with the Vaterland Partei becoming the largest party. However, Seldte rejects the new Chancellor, Franz von Papen's invitation of a coalition government between the Centre Party and the Vaterlanders. Seldte was to change his mind. The next elections in April 1922 illustrated how meagre von Papen's support base was, and following another proposal of an alliance, Seldte accepted. However all the while, the Vaterlanders were not content with shared power and were scheming to take full control, planning a march on Berlin and the seizure of towns across the country. The plan was put into action on the night of April 27, with the SA taking control of town halls and telephone exchanges. Consumed by fear, von Papen was received by Kaiser Wilhelm III in the early hours of April 28. The chancellor begged the Kaiser to declare a state of emergency, which the Kaiser initially did. However, a breakfast meeting with the 'four generals' persuaded him to reverse his earlier decision, and von Papen on hearing of the reversal resigned immediately. The following day - April 29 1922, Seldte was invited to an audience with the Kaiser, in which he was invited to form a new government.

The World War

On August 17 1937 the fear of war became reality, as Prussian forces overrun the Kingdom of Bavaria and the German speaking Sudetenland area of the Austrian province Bohemia. On September 3, 1937 Austria declared war on Prussia, followed by France on the 4th and the British Empire on the 5th. At first it looked as though it would be another quick victory for the Allies, but Seldte and the Soviet Leader Stalin had signed a non aggression pact, which allowed the two dictators to split Poland between them. Italy, Japan and the Ottoman Empire also allied themselves with Prussia.

The first and most bloody battle was the siege of Vienna it took a long 5 days of constant shooting until german and soviet forces captured the Austrian capital. This was a huge accomplishment by seldte. When Germany annexed Prussia the stage was set for domination of Eastern Europe the next 4 months would be victory after victory for the U.P (ultra powers). The ottoman empire started their part by capturing all of North Africa. When CBA prime minister Harry Truman heard the controlling of North Africa he sent forces in the African front as the CBA closed in on the ottoman empire they also invaded Italy which king Heosa Pedro was assassinated soon the European front would soon close, but one more purge would be made by U.P forces which would be the invasion of France. The invasion turned out to be a failure to germany out of that one week 35,000 died for germany, and soviet forces could not aid them because of the British blockade.

The declaration sent American industry into overdrive. With young men drafted into the Imperial Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

There was now a demand for industrial workers which was filled by women and blacks.

Though the European theatre was over within 2 years, as Berlin fell to Allied troops on July 8, 1939, the Asian war was a long, drawn out and bloody affair against Japan. Forces from across the Empire including a significant number from the CBA were deployed to Northern Australia to halt the Japanese who had landed and captured Darwin in November 1941. This was followed by the devastating attack of December 7 on the Royal Navy base at Pearl Harbour in the Hawaiian Islands (an event that Harry Truman, Prime Minster of the CBA described during an empire-wide BBC radio broadcast as "a day that will live in infamy"). By 1942, the Japanese had become bogged down in Australia, and the Empire forces began the long process of driving them out of Australia and across the islands towards Japan. The decisive progress in the Asian war came in the autumn of 1943 when the Russian Civil War of 1941-43 ended in a victory for the Pro-Democracy forces who had been aided by the British Empire and Mexico. The new Russian government remained nominally neutral, but allowed the RAF to deploy squadrans to the Russian owned island of Sakhlin north of Japan.

Meanwhile deep in the remote desert of Western Australia, nuclear scientists from across the Empire had been working on the top secret Camden Project to produce an Atomic bomb. On May 4, 1944 the bomb was successfully tested in the desert, 70 miles east of Freemantle.

Two bombs were now sent to the RAF bases on Sakhlin, and on May 22, 1944 the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Sapporo, followed by a second 2 days later on Nagano. On May 27, 1944, Japan surrendered, and the World War came to an end after nearly 7 years and 8,000,000 deaths.

The Black Freedom Struggle

Although on the international stage, the Post War period has been dubbed "The Quiet Half Century", in the CBA the period has been dominated by the issue of equal rights for Blacks. Since the Sharecropping Act of 1861, Blacks in the Southern Provinces of the CBA had been subjected to a series of provincial laws known as Black Codes which have in many cases restricted Black people's rights to vote and even freedom of movement. Other laws introduced segregated and often inferior facilities for blacks. After the World War, in which so many blacks had contributed so much, many blacks and their British and Northern supporters began to criticise the Provincial laws. Blacks would sit in White only seats on buses, trains and in restaurants, whilst the power of TV beamed images of the violence they received from the southern authorities around the world. In June 1964, after an impassioned speech by Liberal Prime Minister, John Kennedy, the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed by the Confederational Parliament. The Act banned all forms of segregation in public facilities, employment and education. However, many prominent black leaders and personalities, such as Dr Martin Luther Kin] of Slatyford, Georgia and the World Heavyweight Championship Boxer, Cassius Clay from Windsor, Ohio insisted that the act didn't go far enough and its powers of enforcement were weak. Such claims were factual in the beginning, but the Acts powers grew and were further increased by Kennedy's 1968 Civil Rights Act. However it wasn't until 1983, that Prime Minister Robert Kennedy was able to declare that "all forms of discrimination have been eradicated in the CBA". Though in theory this was true, in practice Blacks are still in the lowest paid jobs, and have higher rates of unemployemnt and lower levels of education than other groups. Despite this, the CBA has had a Black Prime Minister in Sir Michael Wheeler from the province of the Bahamas, who is now the current Governor-General, Lord Nassau.

Government and Politics

The CBA is is a constitutional monarchy that recognizes Elizabeth II as Queen of the Confederation of British America (since February 6, 1952).

The Constitution (introduced in 1860) governs the legal framework of the country and consists of written text and unwritten traditions and conventions. The Constitution includes the British American Bill of Rights, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms for British American citizens that, generally, cannot be overridden by legislation of any level of government in the CBA. It contains, however, a clause, which allows the confederational parliament and the provincial assemblies the power to override some other sections of the Charter temporarily, for a period of five years.

The position of Prime Minister, the CBA's head of government, belongs to the leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are formally appointed by the Governor-General (who is the monarch's representative in the CBA.) However, the Prime Minister chooses the cabinet and the Governor-General, by convention, respects the Prime Minister's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of the CBA and become Ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister exercises a great deal of political power, especially in the appointment of other officials within the government and civil service. John Kerry, leader of the Liberal Party, has served as Prime Minister since May 5, 2003.

The Confederational Parliament is made up of the Monarch and two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords. Each member in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in a Parliamentary Constituency; general elections are called by the Governor-General when the Prime Minister so advises, and must occur every five years or less. Members of the House of Lords, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the Governor-General, and serve for life, unless they formally stand down.

Major Parties

The four major political parties in the CBA are the American Conservative Party, American Liberal Party, American Labour Party, and the Green Party of the CBA. The current government is formed by the Liberals.

Other Minor Parties

• Socialist Party of the CBA
• American National Party
• Communist Party of the CBA
• American Democratic Party
• Les Quebecois
• Confederational Party
• American Republican Party
• Coalition of Native American People

Law and Policing

The CBA's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Confederational High Court is the highest court and final arbiter and is led by the Right Honourable Chief Justice Stuart McNeill. Its nine members are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are appointed by the Viceroy on the advice of the prime minister and minister of justice, after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The cabinet appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments.

Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a confederal responsibility and is uniform throughout the CBA. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility.

Police Forces in the CBA

A New York Policeman on his 'beat' in Longacre Square, New York City

Law enforcement is the responsibility of each individual Province, but the structure varies. In some Provinces, there is a single, Province-wide Police force, while others are covered by several force, each covering their own region, county or city.

The Majority of Police Forces in the CBA, look like the traditional British bobbies seen in Great Britain, dressed in Blue. However, several provinces in the North and West of the Confederation, dress in red tunics and wear Stetson hats.

Geography and Climate

the CBA occupies the vast majority of North America, and is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area, behind Russia. It shares land borders with the Mexico and Louisiana to the south and with the Russian territory of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. The province of the Bahamas is an archipelago of some 700 islands and cays covering over 100,000 mi² (260,000 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean between Florida and Hispaniola. It's largest island, Andros is located 50 miles off the coast of Florida.

The CBA has an extremely varied geography, particularly in the West. The eastern seaboard has a coastal plain which is widest in the south. Beyond the coastal plain, the rolling hills of the piedmont region end at the Appalachian Mountains which rise above 6,000&nbsp feet (1,830 m) in North Carolina and New Hampshire. From the west slope of the Appalachians, the Midwestern prairie is relatively flat and is the location of the Great Lakes as well as the Mississippi-Missouri River]], the world's fourth longest river system. In the north east, the Saint Lawrence River widens into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary; the island of Newfoundland lies at its mouth. South of the Gulf, the Maritime Province protrude eastward from the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Ontario and Hudson Bay dominates the central north. West of Ontario and the Mid western states, the broad, flat prairie spreads toward the Rocky Mountains, which separating them from the west coast.

The climate of the CBA, is perhaps the most varied in the world, from the frozen arctic wastes of the extreme north, to the sub-tropical climates of Florida and the Bahamas, via the dustbowl of the mid west and the sweltering sticky heat of Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and Kingsland. The Martime provinces, New England and over on the west coast, the Oregans and southern British Columbia resemble the British climate, whilst cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto experience hot summers and cold winters.

The Central CBA experiences more tornadoes than anywhere else on earth, while Florida, the Bahamas and the Kingsland coast are vulnerable to Hurricanes.

Economy

Like all of the United Empire, the currency of the CBA is the Pound (also known as Pound Sterling) (£). The CBA like the rest of the Empire produces its own notes and coins, but the value of these are the same and can be spent across the Empire.

The currency was decimilised in 1956, following increasing pressure in America to ditch the old Pounds, Shillings and Pence (£ s d) system in favour of the decimal system of Pounds and Pence (£ p) in which £1 = 100p.

Coins

Coins come in the values of:

1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p £1 £2 £5

Notes

Notes (sometimes known as 'Bills' in American slang) come in the values of:

£5 £10 £20 £50

Ethnicity

The CBA is very ethnically diverse with communities and nationalities from all four corners of the globe. The majority of people are the descendents of white North European immigrants, primarily from Britain, Ireland, the German states, France, the Netherlands and the countries of Scandinavia. Large numbers of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland, the former Austrian provinces and a slavic nations have also settled in large numbers and make up the joint second largest group, along with the Black Americans, who are descended from African slaves and more recent immigrants from the Caribbean following the World War. There are also a sizable number of Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Arabs, Mexicans, Spanish Americans and Cubans living in the CBA, as well as the various native Americans who tend to live in some of the more remote areas.

Language

English is the most widely spoken language in the CBA, and all official business on a Confederational level is carried out in English. The CBA's other official language is French which is the first language of many in Quebec. The Quebec Provincial Assembly conducts is business in both French and English.

Other widely spoken languages include, Spanish, Hindi, Hebrew, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, German, Italian, Turkish, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Portuguese.

Religion

The official religion of the CBA is the Anglican branch of Christianity. In reality however, the country is fairly secular with religion playing less of an importance in the life of the nation. Roman Catholicism is the most practiced religion, followed by Anglicanism, Islam, the various Protestant sects, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism.

Education

Free schooling is provided to all children from the age of 3 to 18 and is compulsory from the ages of 4-16.

Schooling Structure

• Nursery School (3-4)
• Primary School (4-11)
• Secondary School (11-16/18)

Nursery school is optional, however all children in the CBA must attend both Primary and Secondary school from the ages of 4-16.

At 16, children have the option to leave school after taking their General Education Certificates (GEC), or they can continue at school or a Further Education College to study for their Advanced Education Certificates (AEC) or Vocational Educational Qualification (VEQ), which are needed if they wish to progress to University.

Universities

Universities across the CBA, charge annual tuition fees of £3000, although in some circumstances these may be paid on the student's behalf by their Local Authority. Students are also entitled to an annual loan of £4000. Additional grants may also be available depending on the student's circumstances.

Healthcare

As in Britain, a National Health Service was established in the CBA following the end of the World War. The Health Service is publicly funded through taxes and available to anyone. Extensive Private Health Care is also available.

Sport

The CBA is a Sport obsessed society.

Both the Association (commonly known in the CBA simply as Football) and Rugby codes of Football are played widely and professionally, with Association Football by far and away the most popular sport across the country. The CBA have been World Champions on no less than three occasions.

Americans also love the two 'bat and ball' games of Cricket and Baseball as well as Basketball, Boxing,Hockey,Skiing, and Motorsports.

Media

The CBA has 9 broadcast tv Networks CityTV, British North American Broadcast Company (BNABC), Global, CTV Television Network, National Broadcast Channel (NBC),A-Channel, Warner-Paramount Network (The WPN), Coporate Broadcast Network (CBN), and American Broadcast Company.

The most popular show is Mystery Science Theater 3000, which has lasted for 20 years since it began as a show on KTMA in Scottstown and latter moved to the Comedy Network where it still airs to this day and its quality managed to remain the same since its's second season.

There are 14 movie chamnnels, HBO, Movieland, Showtime, TorontoStar,Cinnevision, Movie Channel, Film, Cinnemax, Stardust, Theater Television, Starz, CityLights, Marquee, and Blockbuster Channel.

Sports channels include ESPN, NHL channel, Rugby Channel, Golf Channel, Tennis Channel and Football Channel.

Music Channels include MuchMusic, VH1, Song Channel, and Music Plus.

Reruns of Game shows appear on the Games and Sports network, Sci-Fi programing on SPACE, cooking on Food Network, cartoons on Teletoon, and Weather on the Weather Channel.

Other popular channels include:

• Spike Tv
• Jazz
• Discovery Channel
• Animal Planet
• World History TV
• TNT
• CWGN, Toronto's superstation
• WGN, Chicago's Superstation
• Channel 38, Boston's Superstation
• KSFS 9, Scottstown-Fort Snelling, The Twin Cities Superstation.
• TBS Superstation of Statiford
• KWGN Georgetown's superstation
• NFNL Newfoundland's Superstation
• BVAN, Vancouver's Superstation
• SeaTac TV, Seattle's Superstation
• YTV
• Casino Network
• the Travel Channel
• the Disney Channel
• Turner Classic Movies
• the Occult Channel
• TV LAND

Popular Music

The CBA are perhaps the pioneers of Popular Music. The Jazz and Blues of the 1920s, 30s and 40s became more electrified and intense in the 1950s, evolving into Rock and Roll, pioneered by the legendary Elvis Presley (known since 1987 as Lord Presley of Tennessee).

From the 1960s onwards, the CBA had enjoyed a healthy rivalry with Britain in producing some of the most prominent musical acts. During the 1960s, many bands in the CBA were influenced by British bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, whilst the Mexican band Los Chicos de la Playa also captured the hearts of many in the CBA with their jangly guitars, harmonious melodies and catchy tunes sung both in English and Spanish. In the late 1970s, London had a thriving Punk scene, which was mirrored in New York through bands such as The Ramones, Blondie and The New York Dolls. And during the 1990s whilst Britain boasted the likes of Oasis and Blur amongst their ranks, the CBA could answer back loud and proud with Upper Oregan's Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins from Chicago. Today, the CBA has a wide range of acts taking their inspiration from all of these bands and genres. Many Black Americans are inspired by the Black Mexican Rap artists of Los Angeles.