Astorian Confederacy

The Astorian Confederacy or Astorian Triumvirate, normally Astoria for short, is a nation located in North America. The nation is a result of the Norse colony of Vinland, instead of failing like many expected, became an unprecedented success, which attracted more and more settlers of Norse and other origins. As it expanded westwards during the next centuries, the colony is called Ásþora (anglicized Asthora) after the name of a ruler of the colony. The name, after hundreds of years of development in the Astorian language and loss in translation and documents, the name is changed into Astoria.

Etymology
The name of Ásþora (anglicized Asthora) is most likely derived from the given name of Asthor the Courageous, ruler and first de-facto king of. Likely, Asþor consists of two words; as and Þórr, the world for. Combined, asþórr means 'as Thor', meaning equality to Thor.

Arrival of Norsemen
In 999 AD,, son of , discovered the island of along with some other Norsemen, and established a colony. Although many expected it to fall, most of the colonists survived the winter. The colony started attracting even more Norsemen mostly of Icelandic descent. After the death of Leif Erikson, the small colony was in need of another strong leader. Thus, Thorgils Leifsson, son of Leif Erikson, was choosen the new leader of the small but attractive colony. After Thorgils' death in 1070, Asthor Thorgilsson was choosen the new leader of the colony.

Asthor Thorgilsson is considered one of the greatest leaders in Astorian history. He fought the  with courage and managed to conquer all of Vinland. Asthor Thorgilsson also made the colony de-facto independent from the. Around 1100, about 60,000 people lived in Vinland.

Kingdom of Astoria
After the death of Asthor Thorgilsson, his son, Thorvald Asthorrsson became leader of the colony. Thorvald was a weak leader and died three years after his accession. Thus, Erik Thorgilsson, the brother of Asthor Thorgilsson, became the new leader of the colony. In 1120, he became king of the colony. Under Erik Thorgilsson and his successors, Vinland developed, growing from 60,000 inhabitants in 1100 to 150,000 inhabitants in 1300.

Under the House of Leifsson, Vinland began expanding towards, and.

European colonization of North America
In 1498, the Venetian navigator sailed towards North America in order of the English crown. In the same year, he discovered New Trondheim Island, calling it Cape Breton Island, but not discovering that the island was already inhabitated. Later, Cabot 'discovered', naming it Newfoundland, claiming it for the English crown. Only in 1534 the French navigator discovered that Vinland was already inhabitated. In the late 16th century, trading got underway between, and. In 1606, French colonists established along the east coast of New Trondheim Island. The most successful of those colonies was Port Saint-Antoine, located near present-day. By the end of the 17th century, an estimated 50,000 people of French descent lived on New Trondheim Island.

Conquest by the British
In 1720, a trade agreement was signed in Paris between the Kingdom of Astoria and the Kingdom of France. Many people in Britain, including Prime Minister sought an opportunity to get rid of the Astorians. Finally, in 1730, the British sent an invasion force under the command of to conquer the Astorian lands. In September, the invasion force landed near and laid siege to. The Astorian government expected the French to come to the rescue, but King Louis XV of France decided not to interfer, fearing the British fleet. With no help available, the Astorians surrendered in March 1731. After being conquered by the British, the Kingdom of Astoria was transformed into the Colony of Newfoundland. was appointed Governor. Compton intiated a harsh policy of anglicisation, making room for British settlers by deporting the original inhabitants of Astoria. According to official accounts, between 1731 and 1743, 30% of the original inhabitants of Astoria were deported to Canada or the Thirteen Colonies.

Confederacy
In 1743, discontent with the English colonizers reached boiling point. In July 1743, the Earl of Wilmington left the Colony of Newfoundland to be appointed Prime Minister back home in Great Britain. Only days after Wilmington left for London, discontent boiled over. Armed groups of Astorians stormed the British colonial offices and the gubernatorial residence.

Government and Politics
The Astorian Confederacy is a. The head of state is the, currently Álan Eriksson-Leifsson.