Flintist Party

The Flintist Party technically refers to two separate parties of Seven, the Flintist Party of Harrison and Oliver Flint, which ruled Seven between 1905 and 1915 and the resurrected party, run by James Nelson, which however had different policies and was not supported by the original Flints.

Flintist Party (1905 - 1915)
The Flintist Party was not a political party in the usual sense of the word, with aims and policies, but rather more a support group allowing first Harrison Flint, and later his son Oliver, to win the gubernatorial elections.

Flintism originated with the State Elections, 1905. Harrison Flint, as the leader of the group that founded Kinley, was the natural choice for governor, especially considering the fact that almost no Novosevenskians, the major potential threat, voted. He counted on the personal loyalty of most of the citizens of Kinley, to whom he appeared as a visionary, having led them to Lovia. In the 1905 and 1907 elections, in fact, he remained the only candidate. Policies were fairly isolationist and he did not attempt to exert authority over the inhabitants on the other islands. He did very little campaigning.

In the 1909 elections, however, Flint faced opposition from three different candidates: Pieter Juriaans, a representative of the growing Dutch community, with conservative Lutheran ideals; Roman Abakovski, a representative of the Russian communtity, and Mark Bristol, a fringe candidate supporting the abolition of states altogether. The fragmentation of the opposition, however, proved their downfall, and they were unable to compete with Flint's wealth, popularity among American Seveners, and prestige in the community. Flint won with over 80% of the vote.

Although Flint retired after that term, the immigration of Europeans and southern Lovians created a demographic trend that was to prove the downfall of his successor and son Oliver Flint. This was accelerated by Flint Jr.'s decision, after his election in 1911, to curry favour with his electorate by displacing farmers on the northern islands to make way for American-owned farms. Immigrants had poured in the last few years into the northern and less fertile islands, which were still available for settlement, assuming that as they were virtually uninhabited they were free to take. The population of Kinley was rapidly expanding, however, and Flint Jr.'s decision to begin the Northern Clearances, as they were known, was immensely popular with the inhabitants of Kinley, who wanted new land available for farming.

Flint sent a message to the northern farmers ordering them to leave, citing the authority of the Governor over all the islands of Seven. Understandably, the settlers refused, and the Seven Armed Police were sent to evict them. It appears from State records that recruitment into the Armed Police after the message was returned quadrupled, as Flint urged citizens of Kinley to take their part in the eviction. On the 15th of September 1911, around 50 men landed on British Island and began evicting. At one of the farms, an enraged settler fired a gun and was hung immediately by the Police. This sparked off an armed uprising across the islands, and the next day, the Police were met by a mob of determined farmers. In the fight that ensued, nicknamed the 'Battle of British Island', ten men were killed, including four policemen.

Flint now faced censure from the King, as well as a sudden drop in popularity with the citizens of Kinley who had not expected bloodshed, and was forced to back down. He met with rebel leaders a few months later and an agreement was drawn up whereby in exchange for a quarter of northern land, the Government of Seven recognized the farmers' ownership of the rest.

The fragmented opposition now drew together in the so-called Unionist Party with the express aim of toppling Flint in the 1913 elections. Flint's skillful negotiation out of the crisis, which had allowed him to save face, ensured he remained popular, and he beat Samuel Sawyer, Unionist candidate, with 59% of the vote.

Nevertheless, as ever more immigrants poured into Seven, Flintism was clearly an out-of-date movement. Facing Henri James Rutherford, Jr. in the 1915 elections, he only achieved 34% of the vote. Bowing to the inevitable, he retired from politics, and the Flintist Party effectively ceased to exist.