Dale White

Dale White was the Gouvernour General of the Republic of the Isles of Birillum. In his function, he led the Isles on a path towards imperialism and eventual conflict with the Nations of the East.

## Biography

Dale White was born at an unknown date in the Wallaceian Empire. In August of 40 AUC, he founded the Duchy of the Islands as a semi-autonomous dominion of the Empire. White became the first Gouvernour General of the Duchy. However, quickly after its founding, a freedom movement began striving for independence of the Duchy from the Empire. That same month, the Gouvernour General secured independence in the Treaty of Birillum. White was elected as the first democratically elected leader of the Republic of the Isles of Birillum. White quickly established himself as a proponent of international cooperation, joining the International Community in 43 AUC.

However, when the 26 Minute War broke out, White was quick to offer the Wallaceian Empire assistance under the form of mercenariesand promised to provide various siege engineers and weapons of war, despite openly declaring his neutrality. Eventually, the Republic took part as a full co-belligerent alongside the Empire and the Kingdom of Desonia. Birillum's dubious role in the war earned them a denouncement from the Pontificate of Neo Boreopolis. Nonetheless, the Wallaceian Coalition was victorious and Birillum came out of the conflict strengthened by the alliance with the Empire and Desonia.

The victory in the 26 Minute War set Birillum on a path of nationalistic foreign politics. In May of 43AUC, they claimed land in the Nether, sparking the Nether Conflict with the Pontificate of Neo Boreopolis. Birillum eventually backed down and relinquished their claims under international pressure from the IC, but it did not stop Governor General White to test the limits of how far Birillum could go without being punished. In October of 43AUC, Birillum once again triggered an international crisis, this time with the Duchy of Montecazzo. Claiming a small strait between the Bay of Montecazzo and the Inner Sea, Birillum set of the Strait Crises. Birillum claimed that this strategically important position could not be held by a nation which was not part of the IC and thus claimed the Strait in the IC's name. However, Birillum's claim caused massive outrage within the IC and was rightly seen as an act of imperialism. War broke out between Montecazzo and Birillum and after a disasterous military campaign, Governour General White was forced to swallow his defeat and relinquish his claims.

Birillum triggered another crisis a year later, in October of 44AUC, when it settled an outpost too close to the State of Ardai, setting off the Ardai-Birillum Outpost Crisis. When Ardai denounced Birillum for settling so close to their borders, Birillum responded by issueing a trade embargo against Ardai. This in turn triggered an embargo from Tomopolis who in the Treaty of Ardai allied itself to Ardai. The Pontificate and Desonia both denounced Birillum's imperialist behaviour. The conflict eventually died down of its own, following the realisation by Birillum that a confrontation with the Nations of the East was not worth it. In June of 45AUC, Birillum and Ardai signed a non-aggression pact.

At this point, Governour General Dale White realized that running from one crisis into another had a negative effect on Birillum reputation and actively harmed the efforts to establish a global trade empire. As a result, his foreign policy shifted back towards peaceful international cooperation. Together with the Kingdom of Desonia and the Wallaceian Empire, Birillum founded the Western Union, an economic, military and free movement union based on the Nations of the East. Birillum also sent out invitations to the United Avian Kingdom and the Duchy of Montecazzo, the former of which eventually joined.

Following months of uneasy peace between the Nations of the East and the Western Union, a war finally broke out between Neo Boreopolis and Birillum, both imperialist nations set on expanding their influence around the world. Neo Boreopolis had used the Elinite Faith to establish control and form alliances around the world, while Birillum had used diplomacy and trade to establish its dominance over the west. The reasons for the final confrontation between the two are unclear, but the few sources that remain hint towards an incident involving a trade mission to Tomopolis gone wrong. Not much is known about the details of the Great War, but we do know that Neo Boreopolis, aided by Wineghem, Tomopolis and Montecazzo, faced off against Birillum, Chiyesa and the Wallaceian Empire. The war ended in a stalemate, but did result in the collapse of the Wallaceian Empire due to internal strife between religious and atheist groups. In Birillum, Dale White survived the post-war troubles and remained Gouvernour General of Birillum. After the Great Collapse and the eventual recovery of S-2020 in 1144 AA (S-2012 date), White signed the Frozyland Accords for Birillum, thus joining the United Nations.