History of The New Model Army

The New Model Island is comprised of the islands of Bama and Dama. Prior to the official formation of The New Model Army, the indigenous Umaro People inhabited the islands as a sophisticated political entity. Three migration periods mark the eras in the timeline preceeding the New Model Army.

The Umaro

Bama Island has been inhabited by the indigenous Umaro People since the Neolithic Era. Archaeological digs have unearthed evidence of a Bronze Age Phonecian settlement near Mt. Dama dating to the 7th Century BC. Evidence suggests that a devastating plague forced the Phonecians to abandon their settlement. Scholars also speculate that the settlement died out, as the Phonecian settlers did not have the foresight to bring any women with them.

The First Migration

Chinese and Indian traders have visited Bama Island since the 3rd Century BC, but the first major influx of immigrants occurred around 380 CE. Ethnic Han Chinese refugees and gentry, fleeing violence and chaos, sailed south and scattered, a significant amount (some 3000) reaching Bama Island. The Chinese settlers lived uneasily with the Umaro People and increasing tensions led to the Battle of Big Bridge in 403 CE, ending Umaro dominance of Bama and Dama Islands. Under the Treaty of Bama Island, the Umaro People would keep their territory on Bama Island, while the Chinese would relocate to nearby Dama Island.

In 630 CE a resurgent and expansionist T'ang Dynasty in China sent envoys to Bama Island, demanding an oath of alleigence. The Chinese settlers quickly submitted to T'ang authority, but remained nominally independant because of their distance from T'ang China.

The Second Migration

Between 630 and 1400 CE a steady trickle of immigration from South, East, and Southeast Asia arrived on Bama and Dama Islands. The new settlers created a thriving internal market and Dama Island's lagoons and shallows made for convenient natural harbors that were frequented by traders and pirates alike.

By the early 16th century piracy had become such a major problem the sea-faring peoples of Dama Island (mainly Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian and Malay) signed the Treaty Of Gió Nam, creating an allied fleet to patrol the coastline and crack down on pirate activity.
See The Fleet of Fox-Eagle

The Third Migration

The first Portugese traders arrived in 1513, the Dutch following two years afterwards. The Dutch and Portugese made no attempts at settlement and trade dwindled as Southeast Asia (and Singapore in particular) eclipsed the region in trade.

The most significant event in the Third Migration was the arrival of the British-Irish August Yvonne in 1656. 81 men, under the command of Richard Foxblack (a distant cousin of Thomas Fairfax) docked and requested sanctuary.

The Flight Of August Yvonne

The young Richard Foxblack had served with distinction as a hussar in the New Model Army during the English Civil War. After Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland in 1649 and the subsequent atrocities committed by his armies, Foxblack resigned his commission and along with like-minded individuals, both Irish, Scottish and English, he commandeered a small Portugese carrack in France and set sail from England in 1651. In his personal diaries he expressed "disappointment" at the savagery of Cromwell's campaign in Ireland and also "scorn" for Cromwell's betrayl of what he (Richard) thought was the republican ideals of the New Model Army.

Richard and his men sailed for Dama Island using a map they found aboard the August Yvonne. Their lack of naval experience proved perilous at first, but according to Foxblack's logs, the crew soon adapted to mariner life.

Richard and his men were granted sanctuary by the Umaro People and settled on a small strip of land on Bama Island.

French Indochina & The British East Indies Company

In 1889 seperate British and French fleets sailed for the region in an attempt to colonize the islands. The British claimed that Dama Island was housing pirates and the French claimed they were acting under the authority of the Vietnamese emperor (who by this time was merely a figurehead). The Fox-Eagle fleet, using antiquated tactics and arms, were decimated by the invading forces. The British and French fleets each began a seperate blockade of the area, landing on Bama Island and establishing headquarters at the Umaro village of Faith and Xoagi Hill, respectively.

Recognizing the need to unify in the face of increased turbulence and instability in China (the traditional protectorate since the T'ang Dynasty) and imperialist activity from the European powers, the leaders of the various peoples of Dama Island met and signed the Dama Pact, uniting their forces and merging as a single political organization. Lamont Foxblack du-Phien, great-grandson of Richard Foxblack, was elected supreme commander by the newly formed government, which adopted the title of "The New Model Army" partially in honor of the republican ideals of Lamont's great-grandfather, partially because the new government was more of an army than an actual government at the time.

The New Model Army eventually defeated the invading forces after a year of ferocious fighting. Heroes and leaders emerged from the conflict, and after the war became the first administration of the modern New Model Army.
See The Imperialist War of 1899

The 20th Century

The New Model Army's desperate struggle against Britain and France convinced its citizens of the need to industrialize. However, the memories of British soldiers fighting under the flag of the British East Indies Company also convinced them to be distrustful of corporations. Subsequently, The New Model Army was industrialized under a socialist republic.

The New Model Army managed to remain neutral in World War I, although many of its citizens returned to their ancestral homelands to fight against Japanese imperialism in the Pacific. The New Model Army declared its support of the Allied cause in 1939 and again a large number of young men returned to their native homeland to fight. Sadly, most were lost in battle and never returned.

Throughout the Cold War the New Model Army, because of its relative small size, remained beneath the notice of the two superpowers, although the country received some material and technical aid from the Soviet Union because of its leftist-leaning government. Although relations with the United States were cool, The New Model Army was able to obtain Western technology through trade with Japan.

Because of its distrust of corporations and imperialism, The New Model Army struggled to achieve self-sufficiency, although like many industrialed countries it depends on oil and natural gas from the Gulf states. However, having survived both World Wars with its infrastructure intact and relatively minor loss of lives, The New Model Army was able to attain a relatively self-sufficient planned economy by the 1960's.

After World War II, many Vietnamese citizens returned to Vietnam to fight against the French. The New Model Army condoned French imperialism but did not actively engage in combat, though it remained committed to its continuing policy of allowing its citizens to serve with foreign militaries. The New Model Army remained neutral in the Vietnamese Civil War, though once again its Vietnamese citizens returned to fight for both North and South Vietnam.

The 21st Century

With the end of the Cold War in the late 20th Century, relations with the United States improved. In the late 20th-early 21st Century the New Model Army entered the Information Age and became an infamous data haven, a lucrative trade that has guaranteed a comfortable, high standard of living for its citizens.