Dilu Island
Dilu Island
| |
|---|---|
Island | |
| Dilu Island | |
 | |
| Micronations |  Fontasia Meritia Kingdom of Scynja  Kingdom of Bristolia  Empire of Shahawkia Roscamistan |
| Dilu Bay Micronations |  South Dilu |
| Micronations with disputed claims |  Zeprana |
| Discovered by Fontasian Republic | Summer 2014 |
| Dilu Island Partition | 16 February 2022 |
| Government | |
| • Body | Dilu Conference |
| • Protector | None (officially) Antonio V. (De facto) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.08 km2 (0.03 sq mi) |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Total | 1 |
| Demonym | Diluese |
| Time zone | EST |
Dilu Island, (pronounced DEE-loo), known in the United States as Colonial Acres Beach is a barrier island located on the northern coast of Lewis Bay in the central Cape Cod Peninsula. Currently the island is divided between the Kingdom of Fontasia, Empire of Meritia, Kingdom of Scynja, Kingdom of Bristolia, Empire of Shahawkia, and the TDC Empire. The site of many micronation disputes, most occurring in 2022, the island has maintained a descent amount of intermicronational publicity and has became in some ways famous. Dilu Island is a municipality within the Lewisport Metropolitan Area.
Held at various times by micronations including the Democratic Christian Federation of Melite, Creek Conservative Republic, Commonwealth of Ballinfoyleburg and briefly the Kingdom of Zeprana, the island was the center of the Dilu Island Dispute and Dilu War.
Etymology
The name "Dilu" is mostly unknown and is said to had first been used in Assemblian colonial maps of the region during the Assemblic Imperium in 2020 or 2021. The northern coastline east of Prussian Cove and west of Crocus Harbor was referred to as the Dilu Coast or just simply The Dilu. Modern Admiralty Point in Lewisport was once named Dilu Point in reference to the overarching name.
The most possible plausible root for the word Dilu comes from Diu, a former Portuguese colony in India. It is still a mystery on how the two names got correlated.
Dilu Island itself, before being known as Dilu had a variety of different names dating back to the original exploration of the region by Fontasian colonists in 2014. One prominent name for the island was Brandenburg Island as up until 2020 the region of Dilu was mostly named after German regions, hence Prussian Cove. Dilu Island remains known outside of micronationalism as Colonial Acres Beach.
History
Pre-Modern History (2013-2022)
Dilu Island and the region surrounding it was undiscovered by Assemblian explorers until summer 2013, when Lewisport was established. However it wasn't until 2014 when the first expedition to the area was held. Fontasian explorers discovered the region to the west of Dilu Island across the narrow opening to Prussian Cove, now modern West Dilu. The years following there was little to no exploration of the region. However, by 2019, during the time of the First Assemblic Federation increased focused on Assemblian colonies occurred, beginning with thorough charting of each colony. Dilu Island was named Brandenburg Island by Assemblians circa 2019, and the cove north of it was named Prussian Cove. The land east of the opening to Prussian Cove was believed to be known as Frederickland in honor of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Some maps however name the area New Prussia but this remains disputed. Dilu Island was within the city of Lewisport and continues to be within the metropolitan area.
In May 2021, during the time of the Assemblic Imperium, an Assemblian expedition was planned to be sent from Lewisport to Dilu Island. The expedition was launched in late June, where the Assemblic Emperor and a few other surveyors biked from the Summer Palace down to the mainland entryway to the Island. They crossed the Dilu Strait over the Dilu Bridge, discovering the major tidal changes of the strait. They made it onto the island and began exploring the mostly unknown and less populated interior of the island, finding a vast, sandy area of seagrasses and a few wooden pallets. They took a detour onto the Dilu Beach, which at that point was crowded with visitors. The expedition then discovered the Dilu River, a tidal estuary that connected and flowed in the Dilu Strait in the far eastern portion of the island. They followed the northern coast along the Strait to find small bluffs caused by erosion.
The expedition attempted to return to Lewisport by crossing the connected beach to Admiralty Point, however they decided to return by road.
After that expedition, the Island was determined to be of little value except a tourist attraction.
The Dilu Island Dispute (15 February-28 March 2022)
Main article Dilu Island dispute
In February 2022, the Assemblic Emperor wanted to cede land to Zeprana to have closer borders. These plans were only an idea, as no formal documents designating the eastern half of Dilu Island being ceded to Zeprana were ever made. A few weeks later, the Emperor changed his mind and decided to begin making Dilu Island "international territory." Once hearing of this, the Zepranan President, Terry McKeen III began threatening war over what he claimed was Zepranan land, though no documents were ever signed. This was the first escalation of tensions between Zeprana and the Allied Powers in the Dilu Island Dispute. Shortly after these threats, the Nexan Chancellor, Desslok V. Nafage and the King of Fontasia, Conor I defused the conflict, leading to the lands being ceded to Zeprana.
A day later, after reports of a covert Zepranan operation to raid the State of Norton Discord server was released, the treaty was immediately voided, with the Kingdom of Fontasia and its allies breaking ties with Zeprana. The island, now with no true owner, was then partitioned between many Fontasian allies, including the Empire of Meritia, the Nexan Republic and the Conservative Creek Republic. An uninhabited tidal island known as Purple Island was divided between the Nexan Republic and Empire of Meritia. The Conservative Creek Republic then ceded its claims to the Nexan Republic due to it being afraid of being dragged into conflict, and two empty plots were left open for any other power to claim. The Kingdom of Ščynja claimed one of these plots and eventually the Empire of Meritia, creating the so-called "Dilu Corridor", a pocket of land that cut the western and eastern portions of the island off. The Empire of Meritia created the Protectorate of Dilu and the Territory of Purple Island in their nation. The partition of Dilu Island was formalized by the signing of a treaty, therefore making all claims legitimate on the island.
A day later, the Democratic Christian Republic of Melite was given a two-year lease of the Dilu River Territory, a small portion of land situated between the Dilu River Marshes to the north and Lewis Bay to the south. The Zepranan President once again heard of the news that the island was once again given to another nation and repeated that the island was Zepranan. This was met with harsh criticism from claiming nations, and Terry McKeen III was further ridiculed. On 20 February 2022, McKeen made remarks about invading the Republic of Finlandia, a nation he was presumably a governor in. A day later, President McKeen made more remarks through Discord that Dilu Island was Zepranan territory, further heightening tensions. The next day, the Conservative Creek Republic was given land once again on the island. A few days later, an agreement between the Fontasian King and President McKeen was made, and the newly established Republic of Pearlocha was given the Terry Arthur McKeen III Memorial Toilet on Dilu Island, ending the Dispute for the time being.
On 27 March 2022, Terry McKeen vandalized the Dilu Island Dispute Microwiki page, falsely claiming Zeprana won the dispute alongside Zepranan allies, a clearly false and despicable statement. He also announced an expedition of his own to the island, which was received as an act of aggression towards the Kingdom of Fontasia and her allies. It was later discovered the next day McKeen claimed the island for Zeprana, which even worsened the situation. The King of Fontasia announced that any attempts of Zepranan expedition on the island would be treated as an act of war against the Kingdom of Fontasia and its allies, and that the war would cause cyberattacks on Zeprana and all micronations associated. Shortly after the King's declaration, the Empire of Meritia issued a treaty to be signed between the Allied Powers to ensure Dilu Island's claims are not infringed and condemnation against Zeprana, naming them a rogue state and terrorist organization.
Dilu War (28 March 2022-1 April 2022)
Main article Dilu War
At around 10:00 PM EST, the Kingdom of Scynja officially declared a state of war with Zeprana, for laying claim to Dilu Island, of which Scynja controls a part of it. This is considered a separate conflict from the Dilu War by some, however by many is considered to be the first official declaration of war of the Dilu War. Shortly after, Vinkaland joined the war on the side of Scynja. Two days later, at 9:00 PM EST, the Kingdom of Fontasia officially declared war on the Republic of Zeprana, evolving the crisis into the Dilu War. The King of Fontasia demanding that plans for defense of the island would begin sometime in April, with military equipment such as rifles and Phaeton-11 Rocket Artillery to be transported to the island. He also reassured the Fontasian people that all Zepranans discovered on the island would be forcibly driven out with McKeen stating that Fontasia has "zero chance" of driving out Zeprana. The Empire of Meritia, shortly after the Fontasian declaration of war officially declared war on Zeprana.
Zeprana refused to recognize the declaration of war, stating that it is a member of the Union Against Micronational War and cannot go to war, nor did it intend to. However, Pearlocha, Yaspaistein, Sharlino, all declared war. As a response to this outrageous claim made by Zeprana, the King of Fontasia remarked it as "Pure B.S." stating that Zeprana made an entire section about how it was preparing for war against Fontasia the previous night, claiming it was an attempt to make Fontasia seem like the aggressors, because the next day it was deleted. He reiterated that war would continue until Dilu Island was securely under Allied control. McKeen replied stating that Fontasian Aggression will be met with a fierce resistance, despite Zeprana's supposed allegiance to the Union Against Micronational War.
As this interchange was occurring, the Republic of Averna declared war on Zeprana, widening the conflict from just Dilu Island, causing the creation of a new front in Rhode Island. The King of Fontasia towards noontime made remarks on how if Zeprana was a peace-loving micronation, why it was instigating conflict rather than conducting diplomacy, and was confused by the lack of communication between Zepranan leadership and the Fontasian government about the conflict, as war could have been easily avoided. With McKeen saying Fontasia choose the war when they claimed Zepranan Territory, even though there was no legal documents or treaties ever signed by Fontasia that confirmed this, and furthermore Dilu Island was historically and ethnically Fontasian, the island being under Fontasian and Assemblian control for nearly 8 years.
Minutes later, McKeen said that negotiations will only start if all claims on Dilu from other nations are dropped. At 12:44 PM EST, the Senate of Zeprana voted to send lethal military aid such as AR-15's and M16's as well as ammunition to the Pearlochan Coalition, which consists of Sharlino and Yaspaistein also. This vote was done with a 277/300 Majority Vote. In response to this, the King of Fontasia declared that the Zepranan allies were completely "fake".
Later on the same day, at 9:35 PM EST, McKeen ceased claiming all of Dilu, henceforth ending the war. Stating that he would rather see peace prevail supreme, as did Pearlocha, Yaspaistein, and Sharlino, who were all placed under new leadership. McKeen also stated that he looks forward to re-establishing and re-building ties with the Kingdom of Fontasia if possible. Shortly after, McKeen called for a special session of both the Senate and Congress, with the main discussion being re-establishing ties with other nations and adapting a more isolationist foreign policy to prevent conflicts. Shortly after the sessions began, the Senate and Parliament instituted an isolationist policy until June 1, 2022, which was violated as Zeprana returned to the micronational community a month later. At the end of the Parliament session at 11:02 PM EST, Parliament (both houses) agreed to also drop claims of Seprana.
Later the next day, the King of Fontasia declared the victory in his nation, causing some celebrations to occur. The military incursion to Dilu Island was delayed as there was now no true urgency to defend the island. An hour after this, the King still said that he is still skeptical about the abrupt surrender of Zeprana, as he feels the Zepranans could still easily secretly invade Dilu Island. The Kingdom of Scynja and Empire of Meritia even more skeptical about the surrender as well. This skepticism would persist as anti-Zepranan hysteria would plague the Dilu Powers until May 2022.
Dilu War Aftermath (1 April 2022-5 May 2022)
Immediately after the war ended, an intense anti-Zepranan fervor spread across the Allied micronations on Dilu Island. The King committed to sending a Fontasian military force for the first time in 10 months to the island. This expedition would prove Fontasia and her allies could defend Dilu Island from any other possible Zepranan attacks if another war broke out again. The Allied powers received no formal apology from the Zeprana government and the Zepranans never truly accepted their defeat in the conflict, keeping tensions for any supposed secret invasions high. On 23 April 2022 the Fontasian Defense Force's occupation of the island occurred, where the territories of each allied powers were thoroughly explored and the Fontasian flag was planted on the island for the first time. The Fontasian soldiers humorously wrote "Terry go f*ck yourself" in the sand of the then-dry Dilu Strait. The occupation reassured Fontasia and its allies and gave them a much-needed morale and nationalism boost. Melite, the next day awarded all Dilu Powers' leaders the Dilu Ribbon, the highest military honor in Melite at the time. The Zepranan response, isolated on Twitter was of comments about the quality of the Fontasian flag planted and reassurement that Zepranan vengeance and reclamation occurred, which highly alarmed the Dilu Powers. The Zepranan response raised panic that a potential second wave of attacks against the Dilu Powers was coming, and that the war had never officially ended.
However weeks later, on 5 May 2022, Terry McKeen officially accepted Zepranan defeat and formally apologized to the Kingdom of Fontasia and the allies, with the King of Fontasia demanding afterwards of Avernan independence.
Modern Era (5 May 2022-present)
After the end of the Dilu Crisis, a surveying expedition was sent by Fontasia in late May to do a checkup of allied territories on the island. For a brief time, the Creek Conservative Republic held territory on the island, however the claim was annexed by Melite sometime in early June. On 17 June 2022 Melite ceded its territory back to Fontasia and withdrew from the Partition treaty. The territory was proposed to become an Intermicronational Territory or apart of Roscamistan, however no true decision was made. On 30 July 2022 the Kingdom of Bristolia was ceded former Melitian Dilu. Another expedition was sent to Dilu in August for another routine checkup, and on 26 August, Thomas Jacobs acquired personal territory on the island. In early September, yet another expedition was sent to Dilu, and a small crisis began in Meritian Dilu as the Protector of Dilu, the King of Fontasia Conor I did not confront illegal immigrants into Meritia. However, it was a popular beach day and the Protector could not truly enforce Meritian territory without causing a disturbance. Governments of Meritia and Scynja demanded a military occupation of the island, however an agreement was made between the Empire of Meritia and Kingdom of Fontasia on seasonally claiming the island. From that point on, Meritian Dilu would remain under Fontasian control from 15 September to 1 May, and it would remain under Meritian control from 1 May to 15 September, eliminating any future immigrant crises that could arise.
On 22 September 2022 Thomas Jacob's personal territory on Dilu was purchased by the Commonwealth of Ballinfoyleburg, establishing the Reichskommisariat of Dilu under Ballinfoylish control. The final Dilu expedition for 2022 occurred on 10 October 2022, when the Dilu War Memorial Monument was constructed and dedicated by the Protector of Dilu. It was constructed out of three wood pallets discovered on Meritian territory.
On the 6th of February 2023, Thomas Jacobs established the United Dilu Movement, for the purpose of uniting Dilu as a United Provinces of Dilu.
On 16 February 2023, one year after the partition of Dilu Island and the beginning of the Dilu Island Dispute, the first annual Dilu Conference was held through Discord between several Dilu micronations and former micronations who held territory on the island. In the Conference, several new areas, notably West Dilu and the Dilu River Territory Extension were able to be annexed by any new micronations who were interested in the territory. The Empire of Shahawkia became the newest Dilu micronation, annexing some parts of West Dilu and the Extension territory. The Empire of Meritia and Kingdom of Scynja also acquired new lands. Plans of a potential Trans-Dilu Passageway, running from Crocus Harbor, Fontasia up the Dilu Coast to Dilu Beach, Fontasia were proposed as well. The Dilu Conference also became the official intermicronational governing body of the island.
A day later, the Kingdom of Pontunia, after the Conference expressed interest in potentially becoming an observer state to the Dilu Conference, arranging plans for a proposed annexation of lands near the island. Also on 17 February, the Commonwealth of Ballinfoyleburg formally relinquished its Dilu claims, allowing for the establishment of the unrecognized Republic of Dilu, established by Thomas Jacobs. This was later deemed defunct and dissolved by the Kingdom of Fontasia, with the territory being shortly after given to the TDC Empire.
On 3 June 2023, Lewis bay was renamed Dilu Bay by the Free Kingdom of South Dilu while still leaving the name Lewis Bay as a secondary name of the bay next to Dilu island.
Geography and Climate
Dilu Island is a coastal barrier island on the northern coastline of Lewis Bay in the central stretch of the Cape Cod Peninsula in the United States. Dilu Island in actuality is a peninsula, as eastern Dilu Beach connects to the stretch of coastline leading to Admiralty Point in Lewisport, Fontasia. However this stretch cannot be accessed due to it being a private beach. To the north of the island is the Dilu Strait, the tidal mouth of the Dilu River, which flows to the north in Bristolian Dilu to a tidal marshland. To the south of the island is Lewis Bay. To the island's east is the entrance to Prussian Cove, a series of inlets northwest of the island. A jetty creates a trail from Dilu Island back to the mainland, however the trail is mostly blocked.
The geography of Dilu Island itself consists of sandy shorelines, both on the north and south sides, and in the central inland part of the island consists of a grassy shrubland similar to a savanna. This Dilu Grasslands stretches from the central to the far eastern parts of the island and it connects to the Dilu River Marshes as well. The north shore along the Dilu Strait faces extreme tidal changes, during low tide the Dilu Strait consists of merely a small stream and at high tide some of the northern shoreline becomes flooded, creating a wide and deep river. There are limit amounts of foliage on the island except for a couple of shrubpines. Seagulls and other birds mostly inhabit the island, as well as sea creatures such as crabs and fish.
The two major access points to the island is the Dilu Bridge which connects Dilu Beach and the mainland parking area for the recreational beach and the narrow pathway jetty that is the only access point to the Port of Dilu, a small boat dock along the Jacobs Narrows.
The Diluese climate is a coastal climate exactly like Lewisport, Fontasia. The island has cool, rainy winters and warm, humid summers. Since it is along the coast it experiences much cooler temperatures in summer and warmer temperatures in winter. Very rarely does the sea surrounding the island freeze in winter, unless in major snowstorms. Snow is relatively rare but occurs occasionally. The most snowfall usually occurs in February.