Our continent as we know it is made up of 23 countries, with the two largest being the United States and The Great White North. This is grade school stuff so we’re sure that most of you probably already know this. However, what you might not know, is that a long freaking time ago, there actually used to be a country right in the middle of the two. Here is the “very brief” history of the Republic of Indian Stream, the country that just couldn’t survive sharing a border with the US and Canada.
Although we’d love to tell you that our transient neighbour was born out of love, that would be a lie. After winning the Seven Years War in 1763 and ruling over a large part of North America for 13 years, Britain introduced a new taxing system.
Recent Posts:
10 Socially-Distant Things To Do In Calgary This Week (April 19-23)
The best Canadian movies you can stream ahead of National Film Day
Colonies under the thumb of King George the III weren’t a fan and declared independence in 1776 (which, if you hadn’t already made the connection, is also where Hamilton the Musical really picks up.)
Obviously, this whole ‘free agent’ thing didn’t sit well with all parties, so several years of fighting ensued until 1783 when they signed the Treaty of Paris, which established a border between the US and British Canada.
This line separating the two was supposed to be drawn through the “westernmost head of the Connecticut River,” unfortunately, both sides had a very different idea of where exactly that was.
Without comparing notes, the US and British Canada began running their sides of the border, leaving a large unclaimed gap between where they both believed the line would go.
After realizing that they had totally screwed the pooch, both sides basically called dibs… without actually calling dibs. Instead of sitting down again to re-establish a new border, they both just threw police officers into the area and began taxing them with their own systems.
This didn’t fly with residents and they declared independence as the Republic of Indian Stream. Surprisingly, it was the US who actually recognized their government, law, constitution, and their own systems and let them be. British Canada, on the other hand, didn’t and actually tried to get them to join their military.
In order to get out of these military duties, citizens of the Republic of Indian Stream decided it would be best to join the US as a new state. The government said yes, but no to the whole state thing, and soon the territory was a part of New Hampshire.
If you’d like a more ‘visual’ explanation, this video is the best that there is!
Anywho, now you guys have one more thing to say at those parties none of us are going to right now. Hopefully, it sticks until we’re able to socialize again, but until then… Maybe your dog would like a history lesson? They might actually be pretty into it, in which case… You’re welcome.
