Otisco Purchase

Otisco Purchase

Long name: Bilateral Agreement for the Sale of the Otisco Territory
Type	Territorial cession
Signed	17 January 2032
Location	Port St. Charles, New Harren
Effective	17 January 2032
Parties	Owasco people Urcea
Languages	Julian Ænglish

The Otisco Purchase was an agreement between Urcea and the Owasco people of Venua'tino that conveyed the territory of Otisco to Urcea in 2032. Following years of Urcean use of the territory, the Owasco sought to pursue damages against the Urcean government for perceived abuses of their relationship. The Urcean government instead purchased the territory outright from the Owasco to avoid a public confrontation. The Owasco gained monetary compensation as well as a new focus of investment in nation-building by the Urcean government.

Background

In the 1970s, Urcea became responsible for the League of Nations Mandate for Venua'tino. Its responsibilities included protecting the territory from foreign encroachment, regulating the area's economic and social decoupling from Varshan, and building a nation-state or several nation-states that did not require foreign administration. The island of Skanateles and Martis Peninsula - collectively referred to as Otisco - had been the site of significant Varshani administrative activity during its occupation of Venua'tino and now fell into disuse as it was depopulated. The territory reverted to the neighboring Owasco people, who held ancestral claims to the territory. In the intervening decades since 1974, Urcea variously used Otisco as a military staging ground, as a temporary base for expeditions to scout the future location of the International Nature Preserve, as an approved base of operations for seasonal fishing operations and, finally, as a site of settlement for post-war Varshani refugees. On each occasion, the Owasco issued a formal complaint to the Urcean government and League of Nations for usurpation of their right to adjudicate affairs related to their own territory. In 2025, Urcea and Owasco signed the Southern Lands Use Agreement, an agreement which paid the Owasco for the right to "stage" war refugees in the territory on a temporary basis. Urcean administrators went beyond this limitation and opened the territory to permanent Varshani refugee settlement in 2028. Additionally, following the grant of rights, the Urcean government allegedly asked the Owasco for permission to build a Royal Navy base and veteran settlements in Skanateles on fourteen different occasions between 2025 and 2030, a process which the Owasco felt was disruptive to the administrative and political functions of their people. Accordingly, in December 2030, the Owasco filed an official complaint with the League of Nations and announced their intention to pursue adjudication from the International Justice Court. As a response, the Urcean government pursued various tactics to avoid a public confrontation between Urcea and the Owasco, both in order to maintain working relations between the two as well as to maintain stability in Venua'tino. A very public dispute would also have the effect of damaging Urcean credibility in the Nysdra Sea region. In August 2031, Urcea proposed avoiding court proceedings by offering to buy the territory outright from the Owasco for a very large sum. The Owasco, having already ceded certain rights to the land and not significantly populating it, agreed to come to the negotiating table.

Purchase and reaction

Negotiators for Urcea and the Owasco people began negotiations in October 2031 for the outright purchase of the territory as an alternative to a legal dispute. Owasco negotiators sought two primary objectives: significant financial compensation, both for the land and as damages for Urcean behavior, and; a renewed focus by Urcea on its nation-building mission in Venua'tino, focusing on the Owasco people specifically. Urcean negotiators were prepared for the former but unprepared for the latter, as it presented political complications for its relationship with the other peoples in Venua'tino. Negotiations dragged on and the Owasco refused to allow surveyors further into the territory until after the purchase, leading to additional complications. The impasse was broken in mid-December as the Urcean government agreed to capitulate on the issue of development focus. The lack of surveyed territory and specifics on current residents caused some delay in negotiations that both sides eventually agreed to take out of the treaty altogether. The Urcean Government agreed to survey all lands after the sale. With all issues resolved, the final treaty was drafted in early and mid-January, and officials of Urcea and the Owasco gathered for a formal signing ceremony on the morning of 17 January, 2032. The purchase was concluded for $100 billion USD.

Following the conclusion of the agreement, the terms of the purchase were sent to the Conshilía Daoni in Urceopolis, which had met in a special session. The Daoni approved the Purchase 389-72. Following its confirmation of the Purchase, it immediately adopted the Governance in North Nysdra Act, which provided for the establishment of a Rectory of Otisco. The Urcean military deployed to the territory late in the day on 17 January to begin establishing territorial patrols.

International reaction to the purchase was decidedly negative, though relatively muted. Condemnations were put forward by Ardmore and the Cape, though no great power issued a statement on the action. On 18 January, the purchase was quietly recognized by Caphiria and Kiravia and by Daxia on 22 January, effectively confirming international approval for the transaction. A League of Nations map published on 1 April 2032 included Otisco on it, signalling de facto recognition of the move.