Northern Commonwealth

The **Northern Commonwealth** is a country found in the northern half of the Shattered Isles, spanning from the old borders with Scotland to Leicestershire, bordering the Glorious Republic of Oxford and Anglian Union. Officially a union of many smaller Northern republics, the Commonwealth is ruled by a lifelong President-Dictator. As the single largest state in the isles, The Northern Commonwealth was the sole hegemon of the Shattered Isles during it's Golden Age, the economic, political, and cultural powerhouse of it's time. Years of decline and corruption have chipped away at it's authority, however, and the Northern Commonwealth is now engulfed in a devastating series of wars known as the Collapse.

## History

### Beginning of the Northern Rebellion:

Following the Great War and the bombing of London, Britain entered a state of emergency and a National Emergency Government was formed in an attempt to maintain peace and order.

Although details about this period are incredibly scarce thanks to the Great Anarchy and it's destruction of most valuable records, what sources are available point to increasing discontent as the second winter following the Great War approached thanks to the National Emergency Government being tarred with accusations of suppression of free speech and basic human rights. This discontent was especially prevalent in the North and Wales, where many citizens felt that they had been abandoned by the Government and expected to starve. Whilst there was isolated incidents of

In this political powder keg we can find the roots of the Northern Rebellion, although the exact spark which began the Rebellion is lost to time, there are several competing theories of which one or perhaps multiple could be true:

* The leaking of the Dudderidge Memo from within the National Emergency Government. The classified dossier, which was given to the press by an unknown source, pointed to a blatant government bias towards the South against the North, including numbers which would be seen as 'acceptable losses' in the coming winter.
* Massive power outages across the North. Whether these were a deliberate effort by the National Emergency Government or a freak accident thanks to crumbling infrastructure remains heavily debated. There is significant evidence to suggest a series of frequent and continued power outages across the north of England. This further increased the divide between North and South, whilst also causing several major cities to spiral into open riots.
* The Lincoln Massacre. Whilst details on this event remain incredibly scarce, there is some evidence to suggest that the Armed Forces opened fire on a peaceful protest occurring before the beginning of the second winter. However, most of this information is inferred through biased Northern sources or Northern Propaganda and no official record of such an event from Southern sources exists. This is the officially supported theory of The Northern Commonwealth.
* The Looting of Convoy 12. Another heavily debated event is the looting of Convoy 12. As part of a larger relief effort spearheaded by many liberal members of the National Emergency Government, Convoy 12 included many essential medical supplies and, more importantly, non-perishable food to be distributed through the North. Convoy 12, however, never reached it's destination. Whatever happened to the Convoy (if it even existed), fears of famine and societal breakdown were exaggerated and fanned by the media.

Regardless of it's origins; By 2022, riots and general lawlessness had begun to break out across Northern England. These scattered protests and looting was reminiscent of scenes following the Bombing of London but proved to be far more persistent. The National Emergency Government's response proved to be lackluster; Many Battalions stationed in the North either disbanded or mutinied.