Six Parishes
The Six Parishes (Commonspeak: Sëks Parishes) is the name given to a vast tract of land occupied by the Aerla. Occupied during the latter half of the Bloch-Dobbs Expedition, the Aerlan government aimed to make the flat, grassy fields of the area into a hotbed of agricultural and industrial activity. The resulting settlement of the area has brought this idea to fruition.
History
The towns of Newark and Azula, for a time, disappeared from the map. The area had been hit with a combined famine and disease epidemic that caused the entire population of the area to seemingly vanish. Taking this into account, no liaisons or military forces from Noursala were sent to the Six Parishes to annex it into Aerla.
Twelve years later in 1722 AN, the combined forces of the 103rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and the 39th Yasidi Rifle Corps, on their way back to the Aerla from the Bloch-Dobbs Expedition, rediscovered a small yet prosperous population in both Newark and Azula. Upon questioning the mayor of Newark, Arnold Fox,he stated that after the famine, many people fled into Aerla and left their lives and homes behind. Fox claimed that several families opted to stay behind in the area and wait the famine and epidemic out, using what little of the grain stockpiles that remained to sustain themselves. Hard times eventually passed, and these families would then spread back out and repopulate the towns and villages the others left behind.
The Aerlan government sent civilian and military officers and liaisons to the Six Parishes to establish a more formal system of government in the area. Tracts of land were offered to farmers who were willing to relocate to the area at a premier rate. These new homesteaders would help form the backbone of the strong agricultural community in the parishes.
Legal Status
In early 1723 AN, the National Assembly passed the Six Parishes Enabling Act, which authorized the settlement of the area and granted Aerlan citizenship to all current residents of the Parishes. The Parishes were to be still placed under a Military Governor until a sufficient population had been settled in the area. During this period, although technically Aerlan citizens, the people of the parishes cannot vote and do not have any representation in the National Asssembly. The Act also laid the groundwork for two Municipalities to be formed in the area, based out of Newark and Azula respectively.
In 1724 AN, after the area had reached a sufficient population in record time, these Municipalities were created and the military governing board was dissolved. Those residing in the area received full voting rights. By 1726 AN, the area had began to be industrialized, with the Noursala Military-Industrial Company and the Aerlan Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company created plants in Newark.
