Terms in the ASB
This page is for explaining some of the vocabulary used in the project.
Race and Ethnicity
For the main broad racial groups, I have consistently used the terms Black, White, and Indian. I find these to be the most durable and the least baggage-heavy that I could choose. They were current in the colonial era, and they are current now. The people of the ASB might use a variety of other racial terms, some polite, others not; but these are the standard ones. In more recent material, I find myself gravitating to the word indigenous more and more, especially when I'm trying to make a comparison between the societies of the ASB and our own Latin America.
I have introduced the term Mixt to refer to descendants of White and Indian people. It's just a translation of the French Métis and the Spanish Mestizo, and it is an important term in a world where the English were much more willing to engage in such mixing. In some places I've used the French or Spanish words instead, not very consistently. In-universe, I imagine that Mixt emerged as a modern consensus from numerous related terms used locally: Mixtus, Mixee, Mixto, and, of course, simply Mixed, alongside more colorful and sometimes offensive terms like Melungeon. (Many pages on this site still say Mixed.) The anglophone equivalent to the prairies Métis, largely descended from Scottish fur traders, tend to call themselves Countryborn.
I have also mostly been careful to use the word English instead of British when talking about the nation that founded most of the English-speaking colonies. The timeline isn't finished yet, but I know that in the world of the ASB, England and Scotland did not stay together. Some of the older pages on this site still refer incorrectly to "British" colonies.
I have introduced the term Mixt to refer to descendants of White and Indian people. It's just a translation of the French Métis and the Spanish Mestizo, and it is an important term in a world where the English were much more willing to engage in such mixing. In some places I've used the French or Spanish words instead, not very consistently. In-universe, I imagine that Mixt emerged as a modern consensus from numerous related terms used locally: Mixtus, Mixee, Mixto, and, of course, simply Mixed, alongside more colorful and sometimes offensive terms like Melungeon. (Many pages on this site still say Mixed.) The anglophone equivalent to the prairies Métis, largely descended from Scottish fur traders, tend to call themselves Countryborn.
I have also mostly been careful to use the word English instead of British when talking about the nation that founded most of the English-speaking colonies. The timeline isn't finished yet, but I know that in the world of the ASB, England and Scotland did not stay together. Some of the older pages on this site still refer incorrectly to "British" colonies.
Government and political terms
Political terms are utterly inconsistent at all levels of the ASB, as fits its crazy quilt structure. I call the constituent members States as a general term. Some of the states actually call themselves that, but a lot of other words are used. Some call themselves Commonwealths, like in the United States. Some states call themselves Provinces; confusingly, some of the states are themselves subdivided into units called "provinces".
The ASB as a whole is usually called a Confederation, and we often use the word Confederal to refer to the central government. But even this is not consistent, because a few states are also called "Confederations," even if they are not confederal in structure. Calling the ASB a country or a nation can also create ambiguities: for one thing, many people do not think of the ASB as a single nation, but as a union of sovereign states; for another thing, both of those terms are also used at the state level! Some states call themselves Nations, and the Upper Country is not only thus called, but it is divided into more than twenty smaller units which are themselves called Countries or Constituent Countries.
In short, almost every political term in the ASB has multiple meanings depending on the context in which it's being used.
Often a state's identifier is a clue to its origins and history. States that call themselves Republics and Free States often had a violent revolution in their past. Most Provinces, by contrast, separated peacefully either from the mother country or from a larger state. Nations and Confederations were generally founded as Indian polities. States that were created via diplomatic compromise tend to be called States or use no identifier. The greatest variety of names can be found among the ASB's remaining monarchies, which use names from their respective traditions.
All together, the ASB has ten States, ten Provinces, seven Republics, four Commonwealths, three Nations, two Free States, two Confederations, a Realm, a Dominion, a Principality, a Captaincy-General, a Collectivity, and a Royal Province. Six of the ASB's members use no identifier in their official names.
The ASB as a whole is usually called a Confederation, and we often use the word Confederal to refer to the central government. But even this is not consistent, because a few states are also called "Confederations," even if they are not confederal in structure. Calling the ASB a country or a nation can also create ambiguities: for one thing, many people do not think of the ASB as a single nation, but as a union of sovereign states; for another thing, both of those terms are also used at the state level! Some states call themselves Nations, and the Upper Country is not only thus called, but it is divided into more than twenty smaller units which are themselves called Countries or Constituent Countries.
In short, almost every political term in the ASB has multiple meanings depending on the context in which it's being used.
Often a state's identifier is a clue to its origins and history. States that call themselves Republics and Free States often had a violent revolution in their past. Most Provinces, by contrast, separated peacefully either from the mother country or from a larger state. Nations and Confederations were generally founded as Indian polities. States that were created via diplomatic compromise tend to be called States or use no identifier. The greatest variety of names can be found among the ASB's remaining monarchies, which use names from their respective traditions.
All together, the ASB has ten States, ten Provinces, seven Republics, four Commonwealths, three Nations, two Free States, two Confederations, a Realm, a Dominion, a Principality, a Captaincy-General, a Collectivity, and a Royal Province. Six of the ASB's members use no identifier in their official names.
Glossary
's instiAcadia: (1) The four states of East Acadia, New Scotland, St. John's Island, and West Acadia. (2) The geographic region comprising those states plus adjacent parts of New Hampshire and Canada. (3) Historically, the French colony that claimed that region.
Acadian: (1) As a civic term, a citizen of one of the four states of Acadia. (2) As an ethnic term, a member of a French-speaking ethnic group that settled in Acadia in the early 17th century; sometimes called Acadien or Franco-Acadian for clarity.
Accomac: (1) The Lower Virginian peninsula that we generally call the Eastern Shore. (2) The mixed-race ethnic group originating on the peninsula.
Affiliation: The gradual process by which the separate states formed the permanent confederation called the ASB. The term is especially used for the historical era between roughly 1810 and 1880, when Affiliation was the leading political question, and when the ASB's institutions became more powerful and permanent.
Alleghenies: Usual name for the Appalachian Mountains.
Ángela: Style of whiskey from the Great Plains, originating from Mexican settlers appropriating Allegheny-style whiskey, particularly the variety called Monongahela, the source of the name.
Anishinaabe: Large Indian ethnic group whose largest tribes are the "Three Fires" of the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi, together with smaller tribes such as the Nipissing.
Aquamarine: Color representing the pro-statehood movement in Turks & Caicos.
Ashkany: The Thames River of Ontario; an English borrowing of the Anishinaabe name Deshkan Ziibi.
Avus: Latin for "Grandfather," historically used as a title by members of the Chiefly Council, though this has become less common. The feminine form is Ava.
Black: (1) People descended from Africans. By far the majority are descended from people forcibly brought to America in the slave trade. (2) In some states, people with partial African ancestry.
Black English: The most common term for the English-speaking ethnic group of African ancestry on the mainland. English-Speaking Black people on the islands usually identify as belonging to their island rather than as part of this broader stock.
British: Pertaining to the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland considered together. Historically, Wales and Ireland were part of the Kingdom of England and were much influenced by English language and culture; while Scotland and England were united under one king for a brief period in the seventeenth century. While a unified state called Britain has never existed, the cultures have many things in common and their people intermingled in the colonies, generally using English as a common language.
Cantucky: (1) The Kentucky River. (2) The region around the river, the center of population and culture for Upper Virginia; also called Bluegrass Country. (3) A whiskey style from the region, made from maize and equivalent to our bourbon.
Caribeño: Term for the Spanish-speaking people of Cuba, West Dominica, and the Floridas. The group has a mix of Spanish, Indian, and African blood.
Carolian: Pertaining to the state of Carolina. There is also an English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, called Low Carolian.
Cayanos: People of the Florida Keys, considered to have much closer cultural ties to Cuba than to their state of Seminol.
Cazique: The lower rank in Carolina's aristocracy.
Central States: Region usually defined as the states between Massachusetts Bay and Maryland, and sometimes Lower Virginia. These states are the wealthiest in the confederation and exerted a great influence on its development, in particular its foreign policy and the growth of Congress.
Chesapean: An English ethnic group, or stock, originating in Lower Virginia and Maryland. Also called Waterman in Maryland and often simply called Virginian elsewhere.
Chief: (1) Depending on the context, any influential person, especially in local politics or society. (2) More specifically, a leader from an established family of wealth or influence. This can apply to people from traditional Indian ceremonial bloodlines and to descendants of old colonial gentry; these groups intermarried widely, so many are of Mixed blood. Chiefs holding a formal position due to their family are sometimes called hereditary chiefs, and most of these sit as members of the Chiefly Council.
Commonwealth: (1) Name chosen by some states when they renounced English rule, whether to become a Jacobite monarchy (the Bahamas) or a republic (Pennsylvania and Virginia). (2) The Imperial Commonwealth is the community of nations under the crowns of Russia, Poland, and Sweden. Within the ASB, Christiana is a member.
Confederal: Related to the ASB as a whole or its government. The Confederal Languages are Dutch, English, French, and Spanish.
Confederation: (1) The ASB as a whole. (2) The official name of the states of Iroquoia and Muscoguia. (3) The late 18th-century movement to permanently unite the newly independent English republics. The movement mostly failed but was subsumed into the cause of Affiliation among all the states of Boreoamerica.
Congress: The deliberative body that originated with meetings between the English-speaking colonies and various Indian nations. It grew into the Congress of the Nations, the first permanent institution of the ASB. The Congress still exists in theory but almost never meets.
Congressional Delegate (DC): The title of members of Congress. Most members are officeholders throughout the states for whom the title is merely honorary. The title is most often heard when referring to diplomats from the eight nations considered to have historic ties to the ASB's institutions, and for them the title Congressional Delegate is used in lieu of Ambassador. The eight foreign DC's come from England, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Ireland, and Wales.
Congressional Delegation (or Delegation): The term used instead of embassy for a diplomatic mission from one of the eight foreign nations entitled to send a Congressional Delegate.
Constituent Country: (1) In the Upper Country, one of the subdivisions of the state. (2) The traditional divisions of the realms of the Russian Imperial Commonwealth. Within the ASB, the Realm of Christiana comprises a single constituent country.
Country: (1) The ASB as a whole. (2) In colonial usage, a broad region of the continent. Some of these regions have become states, such as the Illinois Country, the Ohio Country, and the Poutaxat Country. (3) A region of the ASB. (4) The official name of the Upper Country. (5) One of the divisions of the Upper Country.
Countryborn: The English-speaking equivalent to the Prairies Métis, the descendants of Scottish fur traders and Indian women. They are most numerous in and around Winnipeg and in nearby parts of Assiniboia, the Upper Country, and Dakota.
Crown: As a geopolitical term, a crown refers to all the territories under the rule of a given monarchy. The Imperial Commonwealth is officially divided into four crowns, for example, with Christiana in the ASB being part of the Crown of Sweden. Other states can be described as being under the English or Jacobite crowns.
Dominion: (1) A self-governing nation under the English Crown. The Dominion of New England, today consisting of five states, was the earliest one. Other known Dominions include Newfoundland in the ASB, New Albion in California, and the independent country of Rupertsland. (2) Any ASB state, whether republic or monarchy, that maintains a connection to a European power.
Father: Historically, a colonial governor who acted as protector to allied Indian groups.
Floridas: The region comprising the states of East and West Florida and Seminol.
Freethinker: Most common term for an organized churchlike secularist organization. The term comes from Central European groups; others with different ethnic origins may describe themselves as Humanists, Ethicalists, or Universalists.
Grand Council of State: Body that serves as the collective head of state of the ASB. Its predecessor, the Grand Council, governed the alliance between France and the nations of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence valley.
Grandfather/Grandmother: Indigenous form of address for a respected person; officially it is used for some Chiefs and for a European monarch who has realms in North America.
Greater New England: States and regions outside of New England that have deep connections to Yankee culture, such as Upper Connecticut, St. John's Island, and parts of the Upper Country, Ohio, and Poutaxia.
Green: A broad political coalition across different states. Some state Green parties are from an older, well-established agrarian movement, the "Rural Greens". In other states, the movement is newer and focused on environmentalism, the "Urban Greens". The two branches of the Green movement share similar goals but have very different cultures and flavors.
Governor: Most common term for the head of a state in the ASB. Governors' titles, roles, powers, and method of selection vary widely from state to state.
Ha-nu-nah: Iroquoian name for the giant turtle whose back forms the continent of North America, according to indigenous folklore. He appears on the ASB's flag.
Hautois: French demonym for someone from the Upper Country.
Hornkills, the: Cape Henlopen at the entrance to Delaware Bay; also the city located there, our Lewes, Delaware. (See Poutaxat.)
Île Royale: Cape Breton Island.
Imperial Commonwealth: International organization united by loyalty to the united monarchy of Russia, Sweden, and Poland. In the ASB, New Sweden is a member.
Imperial era: Period ending in 1833 when the Francophone world was ruled by the Bonaparte family. Occasionally called the Kingdom Era when referring specifically to the states of New France.
Independence: In ASB history, "independence" often means separation from a colonial power or another state, while remaining part of the ASB confederation.
Indian: Most common general term for the indigenous people of the Americas.
Jacobites: The line of kings descended from James II and VII of England and Scotland, and their supporters. The states of Maryland and the Bahamas recognize the Jacobite heir as their sovereign. Outside of those two states, the Jacobite movement mostly faded away long ago.
Landgrave: The higher rank in Carolina's aristocracy. Only a handful of Landgraves remain, as none have been created since the 18th century.
Leatherstocking: Stories set in colonial or early post-colonial days in Upstate New Netherland. New Netherland's role as a cultural and media hub have spread these stories throughout the ASB. They are strongly associated with early television.
Legitimist: In 19th-century East Dominica, a political faction that began as Spanish loyalists, and became a more general conservative party. The party opposed closer ties with the ASB and had a separatist element.
Little Island States: The states of Bermuda, the Vineyards, the Cayman Islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and (since 2018) Turks and Caicos. The five are similar in size to each other but a good deal smaller than any other states.
Louisianas, the: The states of Lower Louisiana, the Arques, and Upper Louisiana, occasionally (but not usually) including Illinois and Dakota. The three Louisianas were united as a single state until late in the 19th century, with Dakota being associated with it for most of that time and Illinois breaking away some decades earlier.
Low Carolian: English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, in the Low Country of Carolina and parts of West Florida. This stock is largely of English ancestry and has historically dominated the politics and economy of Carolina.
Loyalist: (1) Favoring a colonial monarch over a republican government; see Tory. (2) The conservative political faction in East Florida; the state has no organized political parties.
Maroons: Historically, escaped slaves and their descendants living an independent existence on the fringes of colonial society. A few communities continue to identify as Maroon to this day or remember their Maroon heritage. This is especially the case in the Spanish-speaking states of the ASB, where the term is Cimarrones.
Melungeon: A Mixt English-speaking ethnic group from mountainous parts of Carolina and Upper and Lower Virginia.
Métis: French-speaking people descended from both French and Indians. Prominant Métis ethnic groups include the Assiniboia Métis and the Illinois.
Mixed: People with ancestry from any multiple races. English-speaking people from a particular culture of both White and Indian heritage are more likely to spell it Mixt or use a local term.
Mixt: Most common English term for people with both White and Indian ancestry. Related terms used locally include Mixtus, Mixee, Mixtee, Mixto, et cetera.
Moravian: Related to a Christian denomination that, despite its name, is most strongly associated with German Americans and certain Indian groups. Moravians are most prominent in Labrador, where they form a majority of the population, and in parts of inland northern states like Poutaxia and Ohio.
Nationalism: WIthin the ASB, Nationalism usually refers to a francophone movement, centered in Canada but present in other states, that asserts French language and identity in opposition to perceived encroachments by English and Dutch.
New England: The eight states between New Netherland and Acadia, which share a common history and culture.
New France: (1) Historical name for Canada. (2) The Kingdom of New France, a superstate that united most of the French colonies during the Napoleonic era. (3) Occasionally, a term for all the French-speaking states of Boreoamerica.
Onontio: A title for the governor of Canada. It is derived from the Iroquois words for "Great Mountain", a translation of the name of an early governor, Charles de Montmagny.
Parliament: (1) The unicameral elected legislature of the ASB. (2) The name of several state legislatures.
Pays-d'en-Haut, the: French name for the Upper Country, often used even when speaking another language.
Pennamite: (1) As an ethnic term, a member of an ethnic group (or stock) with origins in 17th- and 18th-century Pennsylvania. Pennamites speak English and German and have spread throughout the ASB. (2) As a civic term, any person or thing related to Pennsylvania. Now the general rule is that "Pennamite" is the proper ethnic term, and the civic term is Pennsylvanian; however, this rule is not followed consistently.
Petunia, Pétunie: The Bruce peninsula in Lake Huron; so called because it is the ancient homeland of the Pétun people.
Piedmonter: An English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, of largely Scots-Irish ancestry in the highlands of Carolina, Watauga, and nearby areas.
Populist: The progressive political faction in East Florida; the state has no organized political parties.
Poutaxat, the: Delaware Bay and the Delaware River.
Praderal: Related to the culture of the Mexican Great Plains, or to Spanish speakers who have settled across the border in Dakota, the Arques, and Upper and Lower Louisiana.
President: (1) The President of the Grand Council or PGC is the first among equals within the Grand Council of State, which functions as the ASB's collective head of state. The PGC also has the ultimate say over the ASB's foreign policy and represents the confederation in international contexts. (2) Several states use the title of President for their heads of government (see Governor).
Proprietor: Also Lord Proprietor, a landowner who was granted governing powers in a colony. Both Pennsylvania and Maryland still have sitting Proprietors, heirs to the famous Penn and Calvert families. The one in Maryland functions as a junior constitutional monarch, loyal to the "King over the water" (see Jacobite). The one in Pennsylvania has a more limited but still significant role as a member of the state's Executive Council.
Race: Within ASB society, the broadest ethnic classification. Traditionally, most people identified as one of the three main races (White, Black, and Indian) or as a mix of two or three of them. Modern-day immigration has expanded the number of racial groups in the country.
Realm: The general term for self-governing nations under the crowns of Sweden, Russia, and Poland. Christiana is the only one within the ASB.
Red Strait: Northumberland Strait in Acadia.
Republican: (1) Of a person, opposed to monarchy. (2) Of a state, non-monarchical. 38 of the ASB's 50 states have republican governments.
Revolutionary era: The period from the mid-1760s to about 1810 defined by struggles between English loyalists and republicans, and between England and France.
Saint Dominic: The most common name in English for the second-largest island in the Caribbean, divided into the states of East and West Dominica. The indigenous names Haiti and Quizqueia or Kiske are still used poetically. Columbus's name Hispaniola has fallen into disuse, it being deemed inappropriate for an island that is half Spanish and half French.
Separatism: Any political movement that suggests withdrawing from the ASB.
State: One of the fifty-one constituent members of the ASB confederation.
Stocks: Most common name for the English-speaking ethnic groups that descend from different colonial populations. The main ones are the Yankees, Pennamites, Piedmonters, Low Carolians, and Black English. Smaller groups may or may not be referred to as stocks.
Tanasi: The Tennessee River, which flows through the states of Watauga, Cherokee, and Upper Virginia.
Tory: (1) Loyal to the English crown. (2) Conservative, in some English states.
Transylvania: (1) An independent principality in Europe under the Polish King. (2) A region of Upper Virginia named for an English colonization project in the late eighteenth century.
Tribe: (1) An indigenous ethnic group, usually geographically dispersed. Today, tribes may or may not have a formal organization. (2) In some Indian states, a civil grouping encompassing all citizens of a state or subdivision.
Upperlander: English demonym for someone from the Upper Country.
Viceroy: General term for the representative of a monarch in a state, whatever his or her official title. Seven viceroys serve within the ASB today. The term is sometimes extended to the representatives of the Scottish and French republics in the states of New Scotland Saint Pierre and Miquelon, who have roles similar to those of the representatives of monarchs.
Watauga: (1) The State of Watauga. (2) The Watauga River. (3) Especially outside Boreoamerica, the name for what domestically is called "Watauga whiskey".
Waterman: A name for the English stock, or ethnic group, with origins in Lower Virginia and Maryland, synonymous with Chesapean. The term is mostly used in Maryland and Christiana; both in the Virginias and in other states, the stock is generally called Chesapean or simply Virginian.
Wendake, Sea of: Georgian Bay in Lake Huron.
Whig: Historically, people in the English-speaking world who were opposed to the monarchy or to royal power.
White: Most common general term for Europeans and their descendants.
Yankee: English-speaking stock (ethnic group) with origins in colonial New England.
Acadian: (1) As a civic term, a citizen of one of the four states of Acadia. (2) As an ethnic term, a member of a French-speaking ethnic group that settled in Acadia in the early 17th century; sometimes called Acadien or Franco-Acadian for clarity.
Accomac: (1) The Lower Virginian peninsula that we generally call the Eastern Shore. (2) The mixed-race ethnic group originating on the peninsula.
Affiliation: The gradual process by which the separate states formed the permanent confederation called the ASB. The term is especially used for the historical era between roughly 1810 and 1880, when Affiliation was the leading political question, and when the ASB's institutions became more powerful and permanent.
Alleghenies: Usual name for the Appalachian Mountains.
Ángela: Style of whiskey from the Great Plains, originating from Mexican settlers appropriating Allegheny-style whiskey, particularly the variety called Monongahela, the source of the name.
Anishinaabe: Large Indian ethnic group whose largest tribes are the "Three Fires" of the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi, together with smaller tribes such as the Nipissing.
Aquamarine: Color representing the pro-statehood movement in Turks & Caicos.
Ashkany: The Thames River of Ontario; an English borrowing of the Anishinaabe name Deshkan Ziibi.
Avus: Latin for "Grandfather," historically used as a title by members of the Chiefly Council, though this has become less common. The feminine form is Ava.
Black: (1) People descended from Africans. By far the majority are descended from people forcibly brought to America in the slave trade. (2) In some states, people with partial African ancestry.
Black English: The most common term for the English-speaking ethnic group of African ancestry on the mainland. English-Speaking Black people on the islands usually identify as belonging to their island rather than as part of this broader stock.
British: Pertaining to the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland considered together. Historically, Wales and Ireland were part of the Kingdom of England and were much influenced by English language and culture; while Scotland and England were united under one king for a brief period in the seventeenth century. While a unified state called Britain has never existed, the cultures have many things in common and their people intermingled in the colonies, generally using English as a common language.
Cantucky: (1) The Kentucky River. (2) The region around the river, the center of population and culture for Upper Virginia; also called Bluegrass Country. (3) A whiskey style from the region, made from maize and equivalent to our bourbon.
Caribeño: Term for the Spanish-speaking people of Cuba, West Dominica, and the Floridas. The group has a mix of Spanish, Indian, and African blood.
Carolian: Pertaining to the state of Carolina. There is also an English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, called Low Carolian.
Cayanos: People of the Florida Keys, considered to have much closer cultural ties to Cuba than to their state of Seminol.
Cazique: The lower rank in Carolina's aristocracy.
Central States: Region usually defined as the states between Massachusetts Bay and Maryland, and sometimes Lower Virginia. These states are the wealthiest in the confederation and exerted a great influence on its development, in particular its foreign policy and the growth of Congress.
Chesapean: An English ethnic group, or stock, originating in Lower Virginia and Maryland. Also called Waterman in Maryland and often simply called Virginian elsewhere.
Chief: (1) Depending on the context, any influential person, especially in local politics or society. (2) More specifically, a leader from an established family of wealth or influence. This can apply to people from traditional Indian ceremonial bloodlines and to descendants of old colonial gentry; these groups intermarried widely, so many are of Mixed blood. Chiefs holding a formal position due to their family are sometimes called hereditary chiefs, and most of these sit as members of the Chiefly Council.
Commonwealth: (1) Name chosen by some states when they renounced English rule, whether to become a Jacobite monarchy (the Bahamas) or a republic (Pennsylvania and Virginia). (2) The Imperial Commonwealth is the community of nations under the crowns of Russia, Poland, and Sweden. Within the ASB, Christiana is a member.
Confederal: Related to the ASB as a whole or its government. The Confederal Languages are Dutch, English, French, and Spanish.
Confederation: (1) The ASB as a whole. (2) The official name of the states of Iroquoia and Muscoguia. (3) The late 18th-century movement to permanently unite the newly independent English republics. The movement mostly failed but was subsumed into the cause of Affiliation among all the states of Boreoamerica.
Congress: The deliberative body that originated with meetings between the English-speaking colonies and various Indian nations. It grew into the Congress of the Nations, the first permanent institution of the ASB. The Congress still exists in theory but almost never meets.
Congressional Delegate (DC): The title of members of Congress. Most members are officeholders throughout the states for whom the title is merely honorary. The title is most often heard when referring to diplomats from the eight nations considered to have historic ties to the ASB's institutions, and for them the title Congressional Delegate is used in lieu of Ambassador. The eight foreign DC's come from England, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Ireland, and Wales.
Congressional Delegation (or Delegation): The term used instead of embassy for a diplomatic mission from one of the eight foreign nations entitled to send a Congressional Delegate.
Constituent Country: (1) In the Upper Country, one of the subdivisions of the state. (2) The traditional divisions of the realms of the Russian Imperial Commonwealth. Within the ASB, the Realm of Christiana comprises a single constituent country.
Country: (1) The ASB as a whole. (2) In colonial usage, a broad region of the continent. Some of these regions have become states, such as the Illinois Country, the Ohio Country, and the Poutaxat Country. (3) A region of the ASB. (4) The official name of the Upper Country. (5) One of the divisions of the Upper Country.
Countryborn: The English-speaking equivalent to the Prairies Métis, the descendants of Scottish fur traders and Indian women. They are most numerous in and around Winnipeg and in nearby parts of Assiniboia, the Upper Country, and Dakota.
Crown: As a geopolitical term, a crown refers to all the territories under the rule of a given monarchy. The Imperial Commonwealth is officially divided into four crowns, for example, with Christiana in the ASB being part of the Crown of Sweden. Other states can be described as being under the English or Jacobite crowns.
Dominion: (1) A self-governing nation under the English Crown. The Dominion of New England, today consisting of five states, was the earliest one. Other known Dominions include Newfoundland in the ASB, New Albion in California, and the independent country of Rupertsland. (2) Any ASB state, whether republic or monarchy, that maintains a connection to a European power.
Father: Historically, a colonial governor who acted as protector to allied Indian groups.
Floridas: The region comprising the states of East and West Florida and Seminol.
Freethinker: Most common term for an organized churchlike secularist organization. The term comes from Central European groups; others with different ethnic origins may describe themselves as Humanists, Ethicalists, or Universalists.
Grand Council of State: Body that serves as the collective head of state of the ASB. Its predecessor, the Grand Council, governed the alliance between France and the nations of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence valley.
Grandfather/Grandmother: Indigenous form of address for a respected person; officially it is used for some Chiefs and for a European monarch who has realms in North America.
Greater New England: States and regions outside of New England that have deep connections to Yankee culture, such as Upper Connecticut, St. John's Island, and parts of the Upper Country, Ohio, and Poutaxia.
Green: A broad political coalition across different states. Some state Green parties are from an older, well-established agrarian movement, the "Rural Greens". In other states, the movement is newer and focused on environmentalism, the "Urban Greens". The two branches of the Green movement share similar goals but have very different cultures and flavors.
Governor: Most common term for the head of a state in the ASB. Governors' titles, roles, powers, and method of selection vary widely from state to state.
Ha-nu-nah: Iroquoian name for the giant turtle whose back forms the continent of North America, according to indigenous folklore. He appears on the ASB's flag.
Hautois: French demonym for someone from the Upper Country.
Hornkills, the: Cape Henlopen at the entrance to Delaware Bay; also the city located there, our Lewes, Delaware. (See Poutaxat.)
Île Royale: Cape Breton Island.
Imperial Commonwealth: International organization united by loyalty to the united monarchy of Russia, Sweden, and Poland. In the ASB, New Sweden is a member.
Imperial era: Period ending in 1833 when the Francophone world was ruled by the Bonaparte family. Occasionally called the Kingdom Era when referring specifically to the states of New France.
Independence: In ASB history, "independence" often means separation from a colonial power or another state, while remaining part of the ASB confederation.
Indian: Most common general term for the indigenous people of the Americas.
Jacobites: The line of kings descended from James II and VII of England and Scotland, and their supporters. The states of Maryland and the Bahamas recognize the Jacobite heir as their sovereign. Outside of those two states, the Jacobite movement mostly faded away long ago.
Landgrave: The higher rank in Carolina's aristocracy. Only a handful of Landgraves remain, as none have been created since the 18th century.
Leatherstocking: Stories set in colonial or early post-colonial days in Upstate New Netherland. New Netherland's role as a cultural and media hub have spread these stories throughout the ASB. They are strongly associated with early television.
Legitimist: In 19th-century East Dominica, a political faction that began as Spanish loyalists, and became a more general conservative party. The party opposed closer ties with the ASB and had a separatist element.
Little Island States: The states of Bermuda, the Vineyards, the Cayman Islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and (since 2018) Turks and Caicos. The five are similar in size to each other but a good deal smaller than any other states.
Louisianas, the: The states of Lower Louisiana, the Arques, and Upper Louisiana, occasionally (but not usually) including Illinois and Dakota. The three Louisianas were united as a single state until late in the 19th century, with Dakota being associated with it for most of that time and Illinois breaking away some decades earlier.
Low Carolian: English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, in the Low Country of Carolina and parts of West Florida. This stock is largely of English ancestry and has historically dominated the politics and economy of Carolina.
Loyalist: (1) Favoring a colonial monarch over a republican government; see Tory. (2) The conservative political faction in East Florida; the state has no organized political parties.
Maroons: Historically, escaped slaves and their descendants living an independent existence on the fringes of colonial society. A few communities continue to identify as Maroon to this day or remember their Maroon heritage. This is especially the case in the Spanish-speaking states of the ASB, where the term is Cimarrones.
Melungeon: A Mixt English-speaking ethnic group from mountainous parts of Carolina and Upper and Lower Virginia.
Métis: French-speaking people descended from both French and Indians. Prominant Métis ethnic groups include the Assiniboia Métis and the Illinois.
Mixed: People with ancestry from any multiple races. English-speaking people from a particular culture of both White and Indian heritage are more likely to spell it Mixt or use a local term.
Mixt: Most common English term for people with both White and Indian ancestry. Related terms used locally include Mixtus, Mixee, Mixtee, Mixto, et cetera.
Moravian: Related to a Christian denomination that, despite its name, is most strongly associated with German Americans and certain Indian groups. Moravians are most prominent in Labrador, where they form a majority of the population, and in parts of inland northern states like Poutaxia and Ohio.
Nationalism: WIthin the ASB, Nationalism usually refers to a francophone movement, centered in Canada but present in other states, that asserts French language and identity in opposition to perceived encroachments by English and Dutch.
New England: The eight states between New Netherland and Acadia, which share a common history and culture.
New France: (1) Historical name for Canada. (2) The Kingdom of New France, a superstate that united most of the French colonies during the Napoleonic era. (3) Occasionally, a term for all the French-speaking states of Boreoamerica.
Onontio: A title for the governor of Canada. It is derived from the Iroquois words for "Great Mountain", a translation of the name of an early governor, Charles de Montmagny.
Parliament: (1) The unicameral elected legislature of the ASB. (2) The name of several state legislatures.
Pays-d'en-Haut, the: French name for the Upper Country, often used even when speaking another language.
Pennamite: (1) As an ethnic term, a member of an ethnic group (or stock) with origins in 17th- and 18th-century Pennsylvania. Pennamites speak English and German and have spread throughout the ASB. (2) As a civic term, any person or thing related to Pennsylvania. Now the general rule is that "Pennamite" is the proper ethnic term, and the civic term is Pennsylvanian; however, this rule is not followed consistently.
Petunia, Pétunie: The Bruce peninsula in Lake Huron; so called because it is the ancient homeland of the Pétun people.
Piedmonter: An English-speaking stock, or ethnic group, of largely Scots-Irish ancestry in the highlands of Carolina, Watauga, and nearby areas.
Populist: The progressive political faction in East Florida; the state has no organized political parties.
Poutaxat, the: Delaware Bay and the Delaware River.
Praderal: Related to the culture of the Mexican Great Plains, or to Spanish speakers who have settled across the border in Dakota, the Arques, and Upper and Lower Louisiana.
President: (1) The President of the Grand Council or PGC is the first among equals within the Grand Council of State, which functions as the ASB's collective head of state. The PGC also has the ultimate say over the ASB's foreign policy and represents the confederation in international contexts. (2) Several states use the title of President for their heads of government (see Governor).
Proprietor: Also Lord Proprietor, a landowner who was granted governing powers in a colony. Both Pennsylvania and Maryland still have sitting Proprietors, heirs to the famous Penn and Calvert families. The one in Maryland functions as a junior constitutional monarch, loyal to the "King over the water" (see Jacobite). The one in Pennsylvania has a more limited but still significant role as a member of the state's Executive Council.
Race: Within ASB society, the broadest ethnic classification. Traditionally, most people identified as one of the three main races (White, Black, and Indian) or as a mix of two or three of them. Modern-day immigration has expanded the number of racial groups in the country.
Realm: The general term for self-governing nations under the crowns of Sweden, Russia, and Poland. Christiana is the only one within the ASB.
Red Strait: Northumberland Strait in Acadia.
Republican: (1) Of a person, opposed to monarchy. (2) Of a state, non-monarchical. 38 of the ASB's 50 states have republican governments.
Revolutionary era: The period from the mid-1760s to about 1810 defined by struggles between English loyalists and republicans, and between England and France.
Saint Dominic: The most common name in English for the second-largest island in the Caribbean, divided into the states of East and West Dominica. The indigenous names Haiti and Quizqueia or Kiske are still used poetically. Columbus's name Hispaniola has fallen into disuse, it being deemed inappropriate for an island that is half Spanish and half French.
Separatism: Any political movement that suggests withdrawing from the ASB.
State: One of the fifty-one constituent members of the ASB confederation.
Stocks: Most common name for the English-speaking ethnic groups that descend from different colonial populations. The main ones are the Yankees, Pennamites, Piedmonters, Low Carolians, and Black English. Smaller groups may or may not be referred to as stocks.
Tanasi: The Tennessee River, which flows through the states of Watauga, Cherokee, and Upper Virginia.
Tory: (1) Loyal to the English crown. (2) Conservative, in some English states.
Transylvania: (1) An independent principality in Europe under the Polish King. (2) A region of Upper Virginia named for an English colonization project in the late eighteenth century.
Tribe: (1) An indigenous ethnic group, usually geographically dispersed. Today, tribes may or may not have a formal organization. (2) In some Indian states, a civil grouping encompassing all citizens of a state or subdivision.
Upperlander: English demonym for someone from the Upper Country.
Viceroy: General term for the representative of a monarch in a state, whatever his or her official title. Seven viceroys serve within the ASB today. The term is sometimes extended to the representatives of the Scottish and French republics in the states of New Scotland Saint Pierre and Miquelon, who have roles similar to those of the representatives of monarchs.
Watauga: (1) The State of Watauga. (2) The Watauga River. (3) Especially outside Boreoamerica, the name for what domestically is called "Watauga whiskey".
Waterman: A name for the English stock, or ethnic group, with origins in Lower Virginia and Maryland, synonymous with Chesapean. The term is mostly used in Maryland and Christiana; both in the Virginias and in other states, the stock is generally called Chesapean or simply Virginian.
Wendake, Sea of: Georgian Bay in Lake Huron.
Whig: Historically, people in the English-speaking world who were opposed to the monarchy or to royal power.
White: Most common general term for Europeans and their descendants.
Yankee: English-speaking stock (ethnic group) with origins in colonial New England.