The War of Independence

## The Newport War of Independence (1901-1905)

### The Background

The Newport Island range had been a Swedish colony for almost 5 years, following the Swedish Invasion of 1896 and life was difficult for most citizens. Many sought to break free of their Swedish leaders, while others remained silent and continued their lives as normal despite the terrible working and living conditions throughout every city.

### Johnathan Roberts

Just 6 months after The Newport Free Republic was founded after it was granted independence from The Russian Empire by Tsar Nicholas II, The Empire of Sweden took over control and made the country a Swedish colony. A Politician named Johnathan Roberts had been calling for the Swedish to grant independence to the Newport Islands, but the Swedish parliament refused and instead warned that if he called for independence again, he’d be imprisoned.

Shortly after this, Roberts was involved in a protest in the City of Byron and was arrested. 8 days later, Roberts was released from prison after being heavily beaten & tortured. The public were outraged and thought the Swedish had crossed the line.

### Lee Jackson and the Parliament Massacre

Lee Jackson was a Canadian that moved to Newport in 1899 that formed a resistance named 'The New Republic'. Shortly after the execution of Johnathan Roberts, Lee Jackson ordered the members of The New Republic to meet at the city docks. At 8:30 that day, Jackson called for his group members to arm themselves saying, “Tonight, we take back our nation!”. The group stole guns from a nearby barracks and surrounded the Swedish that were inside. Soon, however, more Swedes showed up and a riot broke out. Suddenly, more people joined in the heckling while soldiers showed to defend the building. This new group named themselves the Newport National Army. The Swedish soldiers opened fire, killing 23 people and this day would be known as the “Parliament Massacre” and this moment is seen as the beginning of the Newport War of Independence.

The Swedish government immediately called for the arrest of the National Army but they had already gained thousands of members across the island were ready to fight. More rebel groups started to appear. A mostly Norwegian and Russian force named themselves The Rebel Army, but they were only fight to earn themselves official recognition.

They eventually merged with the Newport People’s Liberators and a Phoenix organisation named the Newport Free People’s Army was formed, but all three were heavily disliked and the Newport National Army declared to be illegitimate rebels and were branded terrorists, never the less, they continued fighting. The National Army and the Rebels controlled the countryside while the Swedish controlled the major cities.

The Nationals declared the headquarters would be Yorkshire, a small town outside of the capital city of Newport. The National Army raided supply bases and farms in to find food and gunpowder. They main aim was to capture the National Prison in Newport City. The army fired at the building and the soldiers inside were forced to surrender.

The army freed the prisoners and most of them joined the nationals. They made that this wasn’t a rebellion, this was a war. The Swedish were furious and declared that everything must be done to crush the rebels. But the Newport people decided to do everything to fight for there independence.