Montreal Convention

[TLS]

Summer, 1787

The Governor of Quebec, James Johnston, invites the representatives of the governments of Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire to a convention in Montreal to discuss the future of the Green Mountains. It is widely understood that Johnston's position as Governor has become problematic in London, as the Crown's threat to follow up and further the British sojourn south of the border has become increasingly hollow. Parliamentary debates have forced the Governor to back off of any maximalist proposals to re-integrate Vermont as a province of the Empire and, instead, seek to broker an honest end to the war. The New Hampshirites indicate their willingness to attend once it becomes clear that the New Yorkers will be sending a delegation, and the increasingly isolated Vermonters are essentially forced to make their case.

The Vermonters maximalist assertion, for full independence and the removal of all foreign forces, is not anticipated to make much leeway. The New Hampshirites note that the policy of New Hampshire, from day one, has been one of full respect for property rights and local government but a refusal to recognize the "national" characteristics of Vermont. They make a point of again emphasizing that, while the New Yorkers entered the Hampshire Grants with a policy of land seizure, enforced homelessness, and brutal justice, New Hampshire sought only to install peaceable rule of law.

The Libertarians, notedly excluded from the conference, begin making a huge push to discredit the conference once reports begin to arrive in Boston. Friendly presses are put into work to push pamphlets out to the neighboring New England states decrying British intervention, invoking the famous cry "The British are Coming!" to awaken fear of a returned British crown. The Connecticut and Rhode Island populations are not as receptive as necessarily expected, as both viewed New York's aggression as a far greater threat to the status quo, but it does raise the specter of foreign involvement as well as heighten fears in the former District of Maine. Libertaria's own territorial dispute with New Brunswick, after all, remains unsettled.

[Kilani]

The New Yorker position remains that the matter was purely internal; and indeed, that the borders were accurately drawn and that the matter was settled in both state court and by the British crown, which had jurisdiction at the time (which is not to say that the state accepts British overlordship or rights now, only that at the time, the matter seems to have been settled).

They reject New Hampshirite claims to the area and are also very unhappy with regards to the Vermonter ideas of independence.

At the very least, any sort of redrawing of the border should see New York properly compensated for the loss of land grants and potential resources.

[TLS]

March, 1788

The British interlocutors make a proposal to the assembled delegations that could favorably bring a conclusion to the conflict:

1) The territory of the Green Mountains, also known as the New Hampshire Grants or Vermont, shall be partitioned between the states of New Hampshire and New York as such:
-New York shall assert sovereignty over the islands of Lake Champlain, south of the Winooski river, east of the White River from White River Junction up its Third Branch near Bethel towards its nearest point with the Dog River near Roxbury, and east of the Dog River to its junction near Montpelier. (See map)
-New York shall therefore inherit 2/3rds of the territory, along with 60,000 souls and including the towns of Bennington, Brattleboro, Windsor, and Burlington, while New Hampshire shall inherit 1/3rd of the territory with 20,000 souls, including the town of Montpelier.
2) All pre-existing land rights of those currently inhabiting will be held as valid. No resident of the Green Mountains shall be evicted on account of disputes between grants issued by the governments of New York and New Hampshire.
3) All pre-existing local government officials below the county-level will be allowed to serve out their current tenure until elections can be held under the law of their new states.
4) All former officers and soldiers of the claimed Vermont Republic can, if they elect, remain in the area if they swear allegiance to the new governments without fear of reprisal. If not, their territory can be sold by the state and the proceeds used to fund their exile no later than 6 months after the signing of this treaty. If they elect to remain, the matter of their participation in further politics is up to the government of the new administration.
5) Lake Champlain shall be demilitarized.
6) The United Kingdom shall guarantee the terms of this treaty from outside forces by force of arms. In the event of a dispute between the states of New York and New Hampshire, the United Kingdom shall mediate.

[Kilani]

The legislature and governor are both dissatisfied with giving up territory to New Hampshire and with the idea that they will be cheated out of land grants, but there is also flagging public support for a war that has already cost the State much blood and treasure and a wish to no longer have to deal with potentially murderous bands of bandits roaming the countryside.

After much debate, the legislature approves the proposed terms.

[TLS]

The legislature and governor are both dissatisfied with giving up territory to New Hampshire and with the idea that they will be cheated out of land grants, but there is also flagging public support for a war that has already cost the State much blood and treasure and a wish to no longer have to deal with potentially murderous bands of bandits roaming the countryside.

After much debate, the legislature approves the proposed terms.

With New York's assent, the New Hampshirites quickly fall in line and also agree to the terms. The British, in turn, begin to put pressure on the Vermonters to accept the agreement. The most intransigent leaders of the Green Mountain Boys are offered financial and other incentives to agree to the terms, and the British crown also notifies the parties that they are willing to shoulder the debt burden incurred by the Vermonters as a token of good will.

In the end, the three main leaders of the Vermont Republic agree to abide by the terms. Ethan Allen, the leader of the Vermont military, elects to retire to Burlington to manage his lands. His younger brother Ira, on the other hand, elects to flee into exile in Libertaria, while the erstwhile president of the Vermont Republic, Thomas Chittenden, moves to the new Anglophone settlement of York in British Canada.

Game Effects:

Beginning 1789 build:
-New York gains 60,000 residents, .5 points of resources
-New Hampshire gains 20,000 residents

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