British Republic

British Republic
	British Republic
	; Flag
Capital	London
Government	Parliamentary republic
Legislature	Parliament
History
	Population
Today part of	United States of America

The British Republic was a sovereign state in Europe established in western Europe from 2047 to 2073. During this time, England and Wales were governed by a Parliamentary Republic due to changes caused by The Flood and the Revolutions of 2027. The Republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England and Wales a Republic", adopted by the Provisional Parliament in Winchester. Power in the Republic was vested primarily in the Parliament and the Prime Minister as Head of Government, with a President as Head of State and the British Senate.

History[]

Decline of the United Kingdom[]

The United Kingdom was a member state in the European Union from its founding in 1991 until 2020 following the BREXIT referendum. Following the UK's disengagement from the EU, the country's economy underwent a major contraction from the reduction in its access to European markets. By 2030, the median household income after taxes and benefits in the UK had fallen to among lowest among advanced economies. Recovery efforts using largely domestic solutions were unsuccessful in arresting the economic decline, leading to increased political instability during the 2020s and 2030s. A major feature of this period was the growth of xenophobia and nationalism that led to anti-immigrant policies that only exacerbated the Labor Crisis and deepened the economic decline.

This era saw a turning point in Britain's Americanization after the British government secured its entry into the the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement's free trade zone between the US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and New Zealand. This gave Britain access to American capital markets, and included it in the new Free Travel Zone for guest workers. However, this new relationship also included an agreement to organize the British Navy under the US unified command system, effectively making the British Navy subservient to American admirals.

Establishment of the Winchester Government[]

The surge in glacial calving events in Antarctica through 2039 to 2041 significantly increased global sea levels, while the progressive erosion of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) led to more severe winters in the North Atlantic. In the Summer of 2043 the British Isles were struck by a series of storm surges that damaged or destroyed the majority of the region's flood prevention systems. In addition to the immediate economic devastation, the destruction of so much of the region's essential infrastructure threatened the now displaced populations of the British Isles with starvation and death from exposure during the hard Flood-era winters of the North Atlantic.

In the immediate aftermath of the crisis, the United Nations attempted to organize an international humanitarian mission to the British Isles. Polling data from this period indicated that most Britons did not have high hopes for the future of their country, and many, including 15% of those who were not displaced, intended to relocate within the next 5 years. Virtually every member nation of the UN humanitarian mission sought British refugees as potential additions to their labor pool and refugee camps functionally became recruitment centers. Many residents of the UK had taken advantage of NAFTA or European immigration programs to settle in France, Germany, Spain or the Americas in prior decades, but the 2043 Storm Season kicked of a wave of migration that would last until the end of the 2040s. 53% of the British population would live outside of the former United Kingdom by 2050. During this period, the British economy would fall out of the G20.

Meanwhile lawlessness was on the rise as Parliament, having relocated to Wembley Stadium, struggled to maintain the legitimacy of the government. While many in Parliament expressed their belief that there was no immediate threat to continuity of government, even as other powers were actively trying to poach British citizens, news that 30% of the international relief money was being used to supply and protect the Royal family at Windsor significantly eroded confidence in the government. Windsor castle and its grounds were sufficiently elevated that they were largely unaffected by rising sea levels, and over 35,000 refugees occupied the grounds and what remained of the town of Windsor east of High Street. However, the castle itself which accounted for around 20% of the unflooded lands, had sealed all points of entry to protect the Royal Family.

King William V attempted to raise morale of his Kingdom and the refugees on his land specifically with a public address, but polling data indicated this only soured the population on the monarchy. The tipping point came when Army helicopters carrying food and medical supplies, landed inside Windsor Castle's walls. While additional helicopters were being flown onto the East Lawn, the refugees were so angered by this act that they began attempting to break the castle walls. The violence led to the relief helicopters diverting, which led to a string of rumors online that the King had ordered the Army not to aid his hungry citizens. When the Household Division soldiers began firing on the rioters, the refugees answered with bricks, rocks, and Molotovs, eventually overwhelming the castle defenses, and leading to a hasty flight of the Royal family aboard the very aid helicopters that had landed within their grounds.

The incident at Windsor led to riots across the UK, and Parliament informally disbanded to flee the angry citizens. The royal family elected to leave England entirely for Balmoral Castle in Scotland, while King William's children were sent to stay with their uncle, Prince Harry, at his private home in Santa Barbara. Fearing a general collapse of social order in the UK, the United States deployed its military to impose martial law. A provisional government was established within the Winchester Green Zone, and included members of the UK Parliament and military. While the Provisional Authority of the United Kingdom was intended to only exist until the country could be pacified, the British public had so completely soured on the monarchy and the old parliament, that the Winchester government's only hope of maintaining legitimacy was to call for a constitutional convention.

Establishment of the Republic[]

For 4 years, the United States military and UN Peacekeeping forces effectively administered Great Britain on behalf of the provisional government in Winchester. The Winchester Convention had spent the intervening years drafting and attempting to ratify a series of constitutions, with the first maintaining the monarchy in an entirely ceremonial capacity, and even the House of Lords. This first constitution was immediately rejected and many members of the Convention resigned rather than endorse the establishment of a Republic. By 2045, a second Convention passed a constitution that dissolved the monarchy that had stood for 12 centuries. The Republic of Britain was formally created in 2047 with the narrow ratification of the constitution. However, with the country experiencing a significant reduction in its labor pool and overall economic activity, the Republic was heavily dependent on foreign aid and remittances from its diaspora population economic survival.

The BR's economy faced major headwinds after its establishment. Plans to build a Great British Seawall were shelved after the UN reported that Briton simply did not have enough working-age people to actually execute the program while continuing other essential economic activities. A scaled back program to clear land of storm surge water, and build a few smaller sea walls was all that could be executed with the domestic population. Foreign workers were brought in to help as part of a humanitarian program, but as the geopolitical situation deteriorated in advance of World War III this also stalled out. Further, the BR's labor shortage only got worse as its population exited the country for better opportunities and those that remained behind continued to age into retirement and infirmity.

World War III did little to unite the British people but merely reminded them of how far they'd fallen as American troops poured into their island only to leave for the European Theater. When the war was done, Britain was made to establish a new Atlantic-European defense bloc to prevent Polish expansion westward, but the degree of integration of Britain into the American system was already so entrenched that the British found themselves in a Free Association with the United States, along with Newfoundland and even Australia by the end of the 2056. With the Earth Working Group's efforts coming to fruition in the mid 2060's, there was hope that Britain and Ireland would be repopulated after the water receded. Unfortunately London was little more than a drained reef, and would require many more years of reclamation before new construction could even start. Further, more than a generation of Britons had no memory of their mother country, and a majority of both diaspora Britons and their children expressed no desire to return.

After World War III, Britain saw a period of increased economic growth. Wartime and post-war increases of the US military presence to foster a stable economy that could guard against future threats from the Trimarium provided a well needed boost to the economy. Meanwhile, the Refreeze, paradoxically, made winters in the North Atlantic more mild, improving agricultural output and attracting foreign agribusinesses to the British Isles.

American annexation[]

As new robotics and longevity technologies began to ease the burden of the labor shortage in the UK, and the the Refreeze led to widespread land reclamation, Anglo-American business activity surged. New real-estate opportunities and access to European markets spurred investment from American financial institutions and venture capital, while the free travel provisions of NAFTA further helped restore the British labor pool. Following the First Nations War the US sought to resettle displaced populations from the Arctic Nations, many of whom were British immigrants who had grown exceedingly rich living and working in the Arctic frontier. Their resettlement brought with it not only an injection of capital, but business acumen and high value skills that fueled what was coming to be known as the British Economic Miracle.

The idea of annexing Britain and the broader anglosphere had floated in geopolitics for the better part of a generation. The US had been administering resettlement in Australia, New Zealand and Britain since the end of the Flood, and was paying for most of the efforts to restore these nations economies and greatest cities. For all practical purposes the US already had administrative control over these countries. After a lengthy debate in Congress the President signed the Union Act of 2073 that formally annexed those nations under free association with the United States. Six years later, after a series of plebiscite votes, England became the last territory in the Anglosphere to join the Union.

Today England's population has reached some semblance of normalcy with 22 million residents, making it one of the larger states in the Union. London's major historical sites have been restored, but the rest of the city has both shrunken inward and grown taller as it was simpler to tear down the suburban sprawl than to restore it. Some of the old ways remain; England is governed by a parliament who chooses the Governor from within their own ranks rather than a popular election (though there are some who want to change that); but the resettlement saw many federal laws implemented and the customs of the decedents of the Anglo-Expats have eroded or melded with those of those who remained behind. Gridiron and Field Football are both popular sports, the head of the Progress Party has been from England four times since its admission to the Union; and President Cora Fabian was a born and raised Londoner.