Wilfran and Rapha

Wilfran and Rapha, officially the Republic of Wilfran and Rapha (Portuguese: República de Wilfran e Rapha) and (French: République de Wilfran et Rapha) is a nation located in the South America and a member state of the Alliance of Independent Nations.

Early History
The Wilfran and Rapha Islands is, in geological terms, recent islands. His training began about 10 million years due to a series of eruptions in Dorsal mid-Atlantic. Samples of rocks found on the islands date back to 8 million years.

On the confluence of cold water coming from Antarctica, which are with the hot water coming from the tropics, guarantee a condition of exceptional wealth of marine life, which contrasts with a little size vegetation, although very characteristic, punished by the cold, snow and by winds and torrential rains.

Discovery and Exploration
The island was discovered in1.501 by the Galician navigator João da Nova, who at the time was working for Portugal and was heading to India. The first permanent inhabitants on the island was the soldier Portuguese Ferdinand Lopes, who remained isolated on the island in 1.515-1.545, except during a brief visit he made to Europe, after 10 years of isolation.

Colonization
Portugal never colonized the island definitely been occupied by the British navy in the nineteenth century. The Englishman Francis Drake, most likely would have put the island on the final lap of his world-navigation circumnavigation 1.577-1.580. Follow-up visits were new to English explorers, and from the point where the location of the islands became well defined on maps, English naval boats began using the site for ambushes to Portuguese ships coming from India.



In 1.657, Oliver Cromwell authorizes the English East India Company to govern the island. The first governor was Captain John Dutton, who arrived in 1.659. After the restoration of the English monarchy in 1.660, the East India Company received a royal decree giving it the exclusive right to fortification and colonization of the island. His first building was the James Fort.

In 1.766 the French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville, received from King Louis XV of France the mission to sail around the world on an expedition. Bougainville sailed in 1.766 with two ships, La Boudeuse and L'Etoile. Been to Rio de Janeiro in 1.767 and gathered data on the fortifications, administration and local businesses.

In the same year, Bougainville saw the Atlantic islands, and the French soon called them Îles Wilfranouines. Unaware of the British presence, established a base north. In 1.780, the British declared war on French presence on the islands, but the dispute ended the following year, in agreement, decididindo the part north would be controlled by France and the south part by the British.

In the nineteenth century, the end of the revolutions in France, the then political and military leader Napoleon Bonaparte was to command the expansionism of the new French Empire the old continent. The Napoleonic Wars had repercussions on the English colonies present on the islands. Spain saw its empire in America is threatened by the British and thus joined France in the war. The confrontation between the Franco-Spanish and British colonies occurred in 1.806. The Franco-Spanish victory south of the Atlantic Ocean known as "La Campagne", and forced the British to leave the archipelago.

In retaliation the first French invasion of Portugal in 1.807, the then Prince Regent D. John the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, invaded the islands of Wilfranouines in 1.810. One of the objectives of the campaign was to define strategic territories to his Kingdom in South America.

Supported by the squadron of the Royal Navy, led by the head of the naval forces James Lucas, The UK-sailors Marines of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve won the Fort Angers, Fort Alban and subsequent Fort Echelles in the southern region of Wilfranouines islands. The ground troops landed in St. timides Banques, whose governor Gerard Pierre surrendered and signed the French surrender without resistance, on 15 September 1.809. Wilfranouines was administered by John Severiano Maciel da Costa, with the new title of Colony Wilfranvinas the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve.

In 1.814, then shall begin the struggle of European coalition against France at the Battle of Nations, which will end the French defeat, where Napoleon Bonaparte was eventually exiled to Elba.

With the defeat of Napoleon, the possession of the colony was again claimed by the French government, now under Louis XVIII domain. But the French proposal of terms were not accepted by King John VI and the issue began to be discussed by the Congress of Vienna. France agreed to limit their colony to the boundary proposed by the Portuguese Government, by establishing a border between the two territories.

On 26 February 1.815, Napoleon escapes and recaptures power with the intuited to establish a constitution based on liberalism. Europe related resumes his fight against the French army that has just won again, effectively ending the Napoleonic empire. Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned and then exiled by the British on the island of Wilfranvinas, Portuguese side of the island, on 15 October 1.815. There, he lived until his death.

On 7 September 1.822, Pedro declared the independence of Brazil, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, and the same year, Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil and crowned Dom Pedro I on 1 December, founding thus the Empire of Brazil. The Wilfranvinas portuguessa become colonies of the Brazilian Empire.

From 1.830 to 1.890, large landowners are allowed to establish colonial settlements. The main settlements were the Boa Vista, Santo Amaro and Bahia de São Jorge. The city of St. timides Banques, now renamed as "Bahia dos Santos" doubled from 15,000 in 1.835 to 40,954 in 1.900.

Despite being a colony of Brazil, the United Kingdom maintained a strong political influence and had free trade in Wilfranvinas Brazilian. Created a strong maritime and commercial pressure, forcing the Empire Brasiliero to leave in 1.840, the international slave trade, 10 years before there is the same on the continent.

Across the border, the French Wilfranouines was on the domain of the monarchy of France, which will end by socialist revolutions. The days of February 1.848, created the Second Republic in France, which lasted until 1.852. Then came the second empire that lasted only until the disastrous Franco-Prussian War in 1.871, with the emergence of the third Republic in France.

In 1.862, Brazil and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations at the initiative of Brazil, due to various events, mainly by "Christie Question". Only when the British government apologized to the formal Brazilian emperor in 1.865, is that resumed diplomatic relations between the two nations.

In Brazil, on 15 November 1.889, worn out by years of economic stagnation, at odds with the officers of the Army and also with rural and financial elites, the monarchy was overthrown in Brazil by a military coup.

Robert York (1.857-1927) was British, but the Brazilian citizenship, was a nationalist of Wilfranvinas Brazilian and an insistent advocate of equality of the colony to Great Britain. Robert York promoted the creation of a railway across the island, initiated in 1.881, where he opened the access of valuable ores routes, reducing the almost total dependence of agriculture. York advocated closer economic ties with the British and became the leader of the liberal party in 1.899.

After the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars, the United Kingdom became the main naval power of the nineteenth century. The United Kingdom remained an eminent power until the mid-twentieth century, and their empire reached its maximum in 1.921, winning the League dominance over the German and Ottoman former colonies after World War II.

In 1.923, at a cost of 25 million pounds, the Brazilian Wilfranvinas were acquired by Britain. The Brazil which was under a military regime agreed to sell the islands because besides getting a major financial factor, the English were propusem to share military technology information to the Brazilians. England bought them because they considered strategic for with the South Atlantic.

From 1.925-1.932 the islands has nearly a decade of peace and tranquility. But that was purely local, since the situation in the four corners of the world was constant conflict.

State Wilfran
In 1.933, proclaimed unilaterally a "state of Wilfran" in Stibbankoy during the call (MAG) Movement of self-government. The revolt was quickly put down by British forces, assasinando most of its leaders. What happened led to an increase in the support given by wilfranvinenses the MAG; The Declaration of Independence was ratified by a self-appointed parliament in 1.934. There followed an Anglo-Wilfranvinense war, from January 1.935 to June 1.936.

The Anglo-Wilfranvinense treaty of 1.938, negotiated between representatives of the British Crown and the new state Wilfranvinense, establishing the so-called Free State Wilfran at first as a British Empire area such as Canada or South Africa.

World War II
On 1 September 1.939 began World War II, with the German invasion of Poland; Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. Followed fully by all independent areas of the Commonwealth - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the Free State of Wilfran - declared war on Germany, but have provided little support to Poland.

The Wilfran Free State mobilized all the booking the service of the British Commonwealth forces. Some 25,000 soldiers, a total of 19% of its entire population, participated meaningfully the war, both in Africa and in Asia.

In December 1.940, British forces of the Commonwealth began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa. In early 1.941, after the Italian forces are now dropped back to Libya by the Commonwealth, Churchill ordered a dispatch of troops in Africa. The Germans soon intervened to assist Italy. Hitler sent German forces to Libya in February and by the end of March they launched an offensive against the weakened forces of the Commonwealth. In less than a month, Commonwealth forces were pushed back to Egypt. The Commonwealth attempted to dislodge Axis forces in May and again in June, but failed on both occasions. In the Middle East, Commonwealth forces canceled a coup in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases inside Syria, then, with the help of the Free French, invaded Syria and Lebanon to prevent further occurrences.

The participation of FSW (Free State Wilfran) in World War II in May 1.941 became the most important part of the history of the country in wars. Occurred in the Atlantic and supported by the RAF, sank the German battleship emblematic "Bismarck".

The country also stood out, mainly due to its geographical position, the manufacture of weapons and military equipment, manufacturing is destined exclusively to britâncicos. At the end of World War II in 1.945, with the victory of the allies, some of these military industries remained on the national scene in the country. In 1.947 is officially founded the Saint Eliot Company, by Thomas Eliot, firearms manufacturer and manutentora electricity generation.

Around the same time, the island entered the route of European immigrants, mainly from the north of Italy. The main Immigrant Families of Piedmont were Fávaros, the Filoti, the Fontanella, the Geraldi, the Gronda, the Lazzaroni, the Misalulli and Vaula.

Independence
So that prosperity returned during the war, unrest began to run with the Commission. national. Francesca Wilhelmina was a known personality, nationalist, was a long time criticized British rule. In 1.955, London announced a National Convention in Wilfran, and can thus elect the constitutional choices to be adopted in the future. Again unite Britain was a possibility, but the vast majority rejected this option. The other opçõesera to maintain the status of the Commonwealth or become independent.

The British issued an official invitation to Wilfran to join the United States in generous financial terms. Francesca Wilhelmina was elected to the convention, where he became a leading advocate of independence. Displaying a field of propaganda technique, courage and cruelty, she could have the support they wanted on the referendum. His main opponents were John Peter and Manuel Assadi. Peter, a former finance minister, led the League of Responsible Government (LRG), warning against independence, as would limit imports of British goods and increase the tax on the income of taxpayers. Assadi, an industry leader, led the Party of Economic Union (PEU) in favor of keeping government accountable Commonwealth, followed by closer ties with the British, which could be an important source of capital. Francesca Wilhelmina was victorious in the 1958 referendum, with the choice of Wilfran of Independence, with a total of 207,745 votes, ie 52.3% of the population.

The Free State Wilfran leaves the Commonwealth to become a republic without constitutional ties with Britain, on March 23, 1.961.

In the same year the volcano Queen Mary, now renamed Volcano Redoshitti, became active forcing the next evacução the population. The ash and the smoke affected all the nearby towns, causing huge financial losses. This the only time the volcano became active.

In 1.974 it signed the decree of independence of Rapha region, French border of the island, Independence brings the unification of Wilfran Republic with the Rapha region, thus becomes as we know it, and Republic of Wilfran and Rapha.

Falklands War
Of 02 April 1.982 began the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom occurred in the Malvinas Islands (Falklands in English), South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. The United Kingdom had sovereignty over these southern archipelagos, however, Argentina the claimed as an integral and indivisible part of its territory, whereas they found themselves "illegally occupied by an occupying power" and included as part of the province of TIerra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands.

During the conflict known as the "Falklands War", Wilfran and Rapha positioned exclusively to support the British, because in addition to maintaining historical and cultural ties, also enjoyed a strong economic policy with the United Kingdom. Despite the support, Wilfran and Rapha maintained a discreet participation in the fight, serving only as British military bases, strategic point in the South Atlantic.

The final balance of the war was the recovery of the archipelago by the United Kingdom and the death of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British and 3 civilians from the Falkland Islands. In Argentina, the defeat in the conflict strengthened the fall of the military junta that ruled the country and what had happened the other military juntas installed through the State 1.976 coup and the restoration of democracy as a form of government. On the other hand, the victory in the confrontation allowed Margaret Thatcher Conservative government get the victory in the 1.983 elections.

Present Times
The decade of 1.990 is marked by public riots, civil strife between the government and the militants A.Z.U.L. In the decade of 2.000, highlighted you win government incentives to develop technology for the extraction and rifino oil and also the extraction of natural gas, both strongly linked to the country's economy.