Blue Oak (governorate)

Blue Oak Akulu-Oaga (Fontasian)
Former Governorate of the Kingdom of Fontasia
Governorate of Blue Oak
Flag
Motto:  none
Type	Governorate
Body	Governorate of Blue Oak
Annexed as Protectorate of Blue Oak by the Kingdom of Fontasia	2 November 2022
Established as Governorate of Blue Oak	2 February 2023
Dissolved and re-annexed by the Empire of Meritia	2 June 2023
Government
• Governor of Blue Oak	Joseph Montgomery (FFP)
• Governing Party	Free Fontasia Party
Population  (2023)
• Total	4
Time zone	EST

The Governorate of Blue Oak, often referred to as just Blue Oak, or even Fontasian Blue Oak to distinguish itself from the Meritian Province of the same name, was a Governorate of the Kingdom of Fontasia located in North America’s midwestern region. It’s Capital and only city was Blue Oak City, and it had a peak population of 4. It was the smallest of all the Fontasian Governorates, due to the factor that it only claimed strictly controllable lands as opposed to large masses of land already urbanized by the United States.

Etymology

The Governorate as well as the region surrounding it was all named during the Meritian Eastern Offensive, a major front in the Merito-American War in which two decisive victories by Meritia occurred. The name first came into use to describe the areas of military occupation following the Battle of Blue Oak, the first battle of war, in which the army discovered a large supply of cut oak wood just past the borders of the country at the time. Among these pieces of wood were several with blue paint on them, leading to Emperor Joseph I appropriately naming the zones of occupation the “Blue Oak” region, going on to name the battle in which this wood supply was captured the “Battle of Blue Oak”. This name was taken directly by Fontasia when they were given a Protectorate in the region, and today it is used to refer to both the Meritian Province, and additionally the region as a whole, comprising of territory from two different independent states including the Empire of Meritia and Kingdom of Scynja.

History

Pre-History and Occupation by Meritia

Originally a part of the wooded region surrounding Meritia and owned as private property, the area faced growing activity into the 21st century when pathways were created within it, however the use of the land is largely up to speculation, although most activity is believed to be from hunters, a common activity in the region. The areas which make up the modern day Blue Oak region were not claimed by Meritia until their first assault against the U.S. following their declaration of war in October 2022. With this, the once privately owned lot came under the occupation of the Meritian Armed Forces, under which it faced far more activity. This military administration continued to operate in the region known collectively as the Eastern Offensive Front, with both the Battle of Blue Oak and Battle of Timber Road taking place in this time span of a few months. After this, all claimed areas of the region were fully annexed into Meritia, solidifying both Scynn and Fontasian control over their small portions of land given to them prior in November. After this, Meritia established the Province of Blue Oak, which became the regional neighbor of the Protectorate of Blue Oak.

Establishment as a Governorate

On 2 February 2023, following the 3-month period which a Protectorate of Fontasia must wait to gain Governorate status, a referendum was held in the nation asking what should become of Blue Oak. It was decided overwhelmingly by the voters to admit it as a full Governorate of Fontasia, following which the incumbent Protector of the territory, Joseph Montgomery, became the Governor, with the territory becoming the 14th in Fontasia to gain this status.

Dissolution and re-annexation by Meritia

After concerns arose in Fontasia that King Conor I had been doxxed by Almendria, leading to his online activities being mass reported to his school, rumors began to spread in the community that Conor had dissolved the Kingdom of Fontasia, and subsequently abandoned micronationalism as a whole. This was used as a justification by both Almendria and Pontunia to lay claim to the remaining Fontasian territories, which at the time included Blue Oak. In response to this, the Meritian Military Forces ordered a full mobilization to secure Fontasian Blue Oak from these militant threats. The operation to do so was carried out on 31 May 2023 at 1:20 PM EST, and was declared successful by the government of Meritia. A couple days after this, Conor I would return, announcing his full abandonment of micronationalism and the deletion of all online forums related to the Kingdom of Fontasia. This action was seen as a massive betrayal by Meritia, who had previously been a major ally of Fontasia for well over a year. On 2 June 2023 the Blue Oak Governorate was re-annexed by the Empire of Meritia, who placed it under the authority of the Province of Blue Oak.

Government

Since it’s Organization in November and until it’s dissolution in June, the Free Fontasia Party or FFP had a strong hold over the Governorate, with the popular party leader Joseph Montgomery, who served as both its administrator and as the only territorial citizen. While only a small determiner in the Electoral College with just a single municipality, the Governorate still held the distinction of having its Governor additionally holding the office of the Fontasian Presidium, giving it special power over other Governorates due to its influence in the national government of Fontasia. This would last until 25 May 2023, when a new election would replace Joseph Montgomery as Praetor of Fontasia with Joseph Trick.

Geography

Similar to the homeland of Meritia, the area consisted of a temperate forest climate, with warm humid summers and cold snowy winters. It was the home to a great variety of wildlife, many of which are to this day protected through acts enforced by the Meritian Department of Natural Resources, and formerly by the Fontasian Department of Agriculture and Environment. It was home to the historical site known as the Battle of Blue Oak Site, which was established through law on 6 January 2023. While it’s small size didn’t give much opportunity for environmental diversity, it still was home to a few varieties of trees and local plants, and could be seen blooming with life in the summer.