Re: [FT][SG][DS] structure of the NAC

Adrian spake thusly upon matters weighty: 

> I understand exactly where you're coming from - this point has been
raised
> twice now.  As I said in my response to John, when the NAC was
founded, it
> was ONLY Quebec, Canada, the UK, and the various bits of the former
US.  I
> assumed that the significant Hispanic portion of the population in the
US
> and Les Quebecois would have a real problem joining a new state which
> didn't give them protection for their language and culture -
particularly
> given that the Quebecois had gone through the process of gaining
> independance and the Hispanics had just finished fighting a race
war...

And you'd have to think that the asian majorities in some areas would 
be demanding language protection too. Then again, if most docs are 
electronic, and translation programs are good quality, and computers 
can speak and be spoken to by those not literate, then maybe ANY 
language would be available relatively easily. 

> So, my version of the NAC has integral protection for Spanish and
French
> built in from the beginning.

I think it should be for any language in an area where there is a 
significant minority population, else I think the asian groups along 
the western seaboard would be uninterested in reintegrating with the 
NAC. 

  English is the dominant force - lets be
> honest here, with two hundred million English speaking Americans,
seventy
> million English speaking Brits, and fourty million English speaking
> Canadians (OK, I'm inflating the numbers a bit, but I figure this
doesn't
> happen 'til several decades from now when the populations have grown)

I think you're population figures are a little out. Even assuming 
Canada's status as a deep water port on both coasts is established 
and the Northwest passage is opened up, I don't see us with forty 
million Anglophones. We might have 30-35 Million. If our pop grows 
rapidly, it will be due to immigration, many of whom will not be 
primarily Anglophone. I think you could expect an influx of asians 
and indians and people from the various trouble spots around the 
world. Of course, post ACW I'm assuming that we'd have a bunch of 
Americans who fled the US settle in Canada. But that's a minor point.

> joining up together, they're going to set it up with English as the
> dominant language.  Following the timeline as presented, with the
Monarch
> becoming the head of state of the new organization, English will be
> enshrined in the new constitution.  There are maybe 8 - 10 million
> Francophones and maybe 50 - 70 million Hispanics joining up at the
same
> time, which is a SIGNIFICANT number of people - hence my assertion
that
> their languages and cultures get official recognition and protection
from
> the beginning.

As I mentioned above, if you had the capability through computers 
(and I think you will), I don't think this is an issue - I think 
services can be delivered in any language easily. (The hard thing is 
the translation software but that's what we pay our coders for!).  

> Also, this conveniently works with the fact that the NAC absorbs
Central
> and South America later - they would have been more prepared to be
absorbed
> knowing that Spanish was protected in the NAC anyway...  (OK - Brazil
is a
> rather significant wrinkle, given that they speak Portugese, and
there's
> 120 million of them...  but we can iron that out later...)

Well, if you delivered services in any language required, you'd just 
extend that universal policy to Brazil. 
 
> What actually happens within the NAC as these large numbers of Spanish
> speakers are brought into the lap of Her Majesty...?	I figure it
could go
> two ways:  the Spanish speakers are second-class citizens with the
real
> political power being held by the "rich north Anglo-Gringos" - leading
to
> all kinds of social unrest and political upheavals OR there are a
couple of
> smart, wise people with foresight and a sense of historical
perspective who
> recognize this problem way back at the beginning, enshrine protection
for
> Spanish in the NAC constitution when it is written, and when the LLAR
is
> absorbed, there is a ready made support structure of senior
> bureaucrats/officials/etc from the NACs Spanish speaking areas to
welcome
> them and give them confidence SO the NAC avoids as much as possible
the
> severe social unrest that could happen if they tried to assimilate all
of
> South America by forcing them to Anglicize (*it wouldn't happen!!*)

But they may still, due to level of development, due to political 
snobbery, whatever, be viewed as new kids on the block (by the 
original founders) much as I'm sure the Canucks and Yankees are still 
viewed by some in the UK as Colonials. But the English Crown/Gov't 
has been reasonably bright about not mucking itself too deep into 
nightmares that it can't win (Northern Ireland being one exception 
but its in their back yard). I'd have to think they'd try to 
integrate South America slowly but fully.

  So, I
> write a slightly utopian ideal, in which the founders of the NAC are
> clever, anticipate the problem (initially because of the large
Hispanic
> population they have joining the NAC at its founding), and we don't
have
> another civil war within the NAC with the "Spanish" fighting the
"English".

Although you may have resistance movements and separatists in these 
countries. And you may have other powers formenting unrest to give 
the NAC grief. 

>  You could imagine a nightmare scenario, with the FSE backing Spanish
> insurgents throughout the NAC sphere...  hey, wait a minute...  that
might
> be interesting...  hmmm

And plausible. Or the ESU preaching to some socialist/communist roots 
in the southern hemisphere. Or the NSL appealing to the Aryan 
branches in the Pacific Northwest. All of theses things probably ARE 
happening. 
 
>   The name "New Anglian"  comes about for several reasons - the
simplest
> one being that the fine gentlemen at GZG who wrote the game wrote what
they
> thought was cool and wanted it that way - which is as good a reason as
any
> (they aren't making public policy, afterall, but writing a game that
they
> will enjoy).	Using the reasoning in the game universe - they picked
New
> Anglian 'cause it was the US, Canadian and UK that formed the real
core of
> the NAC at the beginning.  It had its large minority populations, but
the
> massive influx of Spanish people didn't come 'til much later, by which
time
> the NAC had matured and the Anglo populations had grown, etc etc etc.

It's also "NEW" anglian. Which means it looks forward rather than 
back and embraces other views and other ethnicities. 
 
> A sticking point for me in all this is the whole issue of Quebec
joining at
> all.	I wrote my history with the idea that the Quebecois joined
relatively
> easily, after they were guarenteed protection in the NAC constitution.
 I
> wonder, however, if it would go so smoothly.

Hmm. It might be it didn't go smoothly. How do we know some areas in 
the NAC still aren't protectorates forcibly held? (Just a thought). 
And even if it did join, it may have been due to huge economic 
pressures from everyone else joining. 

  If Les Quebecois, after
> trying for three decades to get their independence were to watch a
> race/cultural war in the US, why would they easily leap back into a
> political union akin to a larger version of Canada.

The realities of the economics. The NAC (controlling the Maritimes, 
the rest of Canada, and the US) could make life really hard for 
Quebec if it didn't join. 

  I think, in
> retrospect, that if I were writing this history from the beginning, I
might
> have Quebec not join the NAC right off, and either come to be a member
by
> economic necessity quite a bit later, be taken over by force, or most
> likely, join the FSE - which would throw a wrench into the NAC's happy
world.

Except, as someone rightly pointed out, the FSE wouldn't want Quebec. 
>From a military standpoint, it is indefensible, from an Economic 
Standpoint not well enough off, and from an administrative standpoint 
it could be quite a pain. And then there is the Nouveau Francais 
versus the Francais Anciens.  Lots of reasons. And the big market for 
the Quebec production centres will be the NAC, and through trade 
comes wealth! And the Quebecois have always shown an interest in 
doing business (sometimes in strange or questionable ways, but 
always with attention to the free market and making money). 

 
/************************************************
Thomas Barclay		     
Voice: (613) 831-2018 x 4009
Fax: (613) 831-8255

 "C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot.  C++ makes
 it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg."
 -Bjarne Stroustrup
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