Bloxellian Independence

Bloxell was not always an independent nation. It was once an American territory, and they won their independence from America through a brutal war.

## History

The island was first settled in 1742 by Russian explorer Andrei Fedorov. The island was settled by many Russians during that time, and continued to be a part of Russia until 1867, when it was acquired by America as part of the Alaska Purchase. However, when Alaska was admitted statehood in 1959, the Island of Bloxell remained a US territory. This made the residents of Bloxell upset, leading them to push for statehood. Over the next sixty years, the popular support for Bloxellian statehood grew.

In December 2017, the United States sent a diplomat to Bloxell to negotiate statehood. Many Bloxellians cheered this decision, but a small group of Bloxellian nationalists wanted Bloxellian independence, not statehood, and thought statehood would solidify Bloxell's submission to the United States. When the American diplomat visited Bloxdover on December 9th, 2017, the nationalists took their opportunity to stop the attempt for Bloxellian statehood once and for all. Miroslav Đorđević, a member of the Bloxellian nationalist movement assassinated the diplomat in Bloxdover, which sparked riots around the city. The public was furious at the nationalists, but that opinion would soon change.

In response to the assassination of the diplomat, the American government placed sanctions upon Bloxell. Vladimir Milošević, the leader of the Bloxellian nationalist movement, stirred up the public by giving speeches about how America was putting sanctions against their own territory as if it was a hostile foreign power. The Americans were upset by Milošević, thinking he was inciting a rebellion. The American government ordered the Bloxdover Police Department to arrest Milošević, but his supporters rose up to protect him. This lead to a very large riot in Bloxdover, which resulted in several dead police officers and civilians. After the riot, the police, trying to cover up what happened, framed the riot on a local gang member, Stefano Palas. He was executed on the concert stage in the town's park by the Bloxdover Police Department.

Civilians, outraged by the execution of Stefano Palas, formed paramilitary groups. The two main groups pushing for independence were the GRAF, a group pushing for an independence fascist state, and the BNA, a group pushing for an independent republic. There were smaller groups pushing for different governments, but they never gained the large-scale support of the GRAF and the BNA.

The GRAF (Gitreich Armed Forces) were lead by Henry Metzger, while their political leader was Agrus "Gitrous Magnus" Kos. The BNA (Bloxellian National Army) were lead by Luka Kovačević, while their political leader was Vladimir Milošević. The two groups were not originally opposed, but the GRAF was upset with the BNA's friendly attitude towards Russia, since many of them were descendants of the original Russian settlers of Bloxell and Yugoslav ex-patriots.

In February 2018, the two paramilitary groups were gaining power and members. The Russian Federation was seeing an opportunity to gain an ally so close to America, so Kristijan Fedorov, an officer in the Bloxford Police Department and a member of the BNA, visited Moscow to begin negotiations with the Kremlin about support for Bloxellian Independence. He was selected to go not only because he was half Russian, but because he was a descendant of Andrei Fedorov, the explorer that found the Island of Bloxell. A few weeks later, several thousand firearms and twenty Mi-35 attack helicopters were given to the BNA. In addition to this, one thousand volunteers from Russia and one hundred volunteers from Serbia joined the BNA.

This was the last straw for the Americans. In Bloxdover and for the only time in the war, American troops were deployed in Bloxell. They shot at local civilians who were carrying firearms, and the nearby BNA reacted. Two thousand soldiers and three attack helicopters arrived in Bloxdover, and the fighters engaged the US force. Outnumbered and outgunned, the American forces were swiftly defeated by the BNA, and any survivors were executed. Humiliated but not wanting to invade the island and risk direct confrontation with Russia, the Americans began a bombing campaign. Factories, hospitals, schools, and bridges and other forms of infrastructure were bombed around the island, resulting in great loss of life.

Not everyone was supportive of Bloxellian independence though. In Bloxell City, the biggest city in Bloxell, an uprising of American loyalists began. This lead to heavy fighting in the city which lasted for four months, with the GRAF, BNA, and American loyalists fighting for control of the city. By the end of the war on June 10th, 2018, the city had been reduced to rubble, and there were over fifty thousand dead, many of those civilians.

On June 10th, 2018, the BNA with their superior numbers and equipment had destroyed the GRAF and American loyalists, and had control of the entire island. They established the Republic of Bloxell, and the war was unofficially ended. To this day, the United States refuse to recognize their independence, and the nation has reached an uneasy peace. In the three day civil war of February 2019, the monarchists were able to overthrow the Republicans, establishing the Kingdom of Bloxell, which is the current ruling party in Bloxell.