Baker Park

Baker Park, officially the Commonwealth of Baker Park, is a nation located in Atlantian Oceania on the southern end of the Calanian landmass, near the geographic center of the region.

Geography
The full understanding of how the area that is now Baker Park came to be has only been arrived at in the last 35 years or so. Intensive study and comparisons of bedrock from different regions of the country have conclusively proven what was long suspected since the county was originally settled--until at least 50-75,000 years ago, all but the southwestern most 10% of the land was under glacial ice for extended periods going back at least 200-300,000 years before the final retreat. Additionally, in the period following glaciation, the higher elevations in the south, southeast and eastern margins of the nation were formed as other tectonic plates slid beneath the Calanian plate, forcing the the bedrock upwards.

Discovery & Origins
Much of the effort that has gone into piecing together the geological record is a function of the absence of evidence that any permanent settlement has ever existed in this area, probably due to the fact that much of it was under water until 15,000 years ago.

The first known exploration began in 1879, when the ships Omergen & Belhaven, belonging to George W Baker & Sons, Ltd., found the mouth of the present day Belle Haven River; after determining the depth of the estuary, the ships anchored just south of where the Victoria River flows into the Belle Haven, near where NSC Newport Naval Base now stands. A party of 12 stepped ashore on August 25, 1879, and marked the spot with a pair of 3 foot fence poles.

Omergen had a crew of 45 and carried an additional 30 men, while Belhaven had a smaller crew of 38 and carried 26 additional workers. Each ship carried a small steam powered boat, which were unloaded and prepared for use. The immediate area was the first to be explored; along the shore, hugging the coastline westward; and up the smaller tributary to determine how far inland it could be traveled.

After sixteen days, the ships weighed anchor to return home, leaving behind a description of the area that was being claimed in a canister attached to one of the poles; it was described as, "(t)he entire watershed of the river that this is the estuary of; with a southern boundary established by measurement of an unbroken line along the recognized latitude measured from the headland on either side of the mouth of the river, in both directions with a parallel line at an undetermined point to the north inclusive of 25 miles from the source of the farthest tributary of the previously claimed watershed". It was almost the exact area that came to be Baker Park.

Based on that description, a Charter was granted to the Baker Company to have exclusive right to the stated territory for a period of 99 years, effective January 2, 1880 (Although the Charter was voided upon the passage of the Commonwealth of Baker Park Act 12 years later, there was a celebration in 1979 marking the date when the 99 year term would've expired). Seven months after their previous arrival, the same ships returned along with a third vessel, Analise, bringing additional men, supplies and a mandate to establish a permanent presence. The claim marker was found untouched when the ships dropped anchor on April 17, 1880, so the text of the Charter was read aloud to make the claim official.

It had been decided upon arrival that the area on the left bank of the river at the mouth was more desirable than where the original landing had taken place earlier; on a nearly direct line from the fence posts across the river, the New Port was established as the first permanent settlement in the Baker Company Lands.

One ship was instructed to continue up river along the channel that was deemed the main (widest) one in search of a suitable location that wouldn't require much if any tree clearing in order to begin settlement. This was left to Belhaven, which set off on April 28 to explore beyond the immediate safety of the already secure river estuary.

With the assistance of two of the shallow bottomed, steam-powered river craft to lead the way, it covered 55 miles over the daylight hours, then another 65 on the 29th once it rounded the peninsula where Ezriquay is located; just after luncheon on the 30th, Duncan Evans Jacoby, the Scots captain of Belhaven, instructed that one of the river boats make soundings to determine how close the ship could come alongside the shore off the port side. He turned to the company men who were nominally his guests (and superiors), stating without hesitation, "this is th' spot, gentl'men. Get th' rowboats o'er the side, boys." Jacoby had commanded Belhaven on the 1879 trip as well, and made sure that enough of the party were put ashore along with someone to hammer the iron bars into the ground as markers (the more permanent representation of ownership had been planned; the one Jacoby himself took the sledgehammer to is now in the Commonwealth State Museum).

History
Over the first half century of its history, Baker Park was largely dependent upon the Baker International Corporation, which replaced George W Baker & Sons, Ltd. in 1935 as the name of the business. In a period when vertically integrated companies were seen as monopolistic and anti-competitive, BI was a benevolent financial giant. The company encouraged the government to help develop competition in the areas that BI controlled, and began a long process in the 1950's that saw it spin off much of the core of its domestic industries and services into independent, publicly traded entities. Prior to that, nearly 1 of every 3 workers in the nation had a job related directly to The Company, and it was said that the Commonwealth was "the world's largest company town".

Education
There are 35 institutions of higher learning in the Commonwealth that offer four year baccalaureate degrees; nearly all offer two-year associate degrees or professional certificates, and many offer post-graduate degrees. There are also 18 county, community, or technical colleges that offer only two year degree programs, or provide the option of course hours being transferred to a four year school.

Primary & secondary school education is mandatory for all children between the ages of 6-17, completing 12 full years of education and passage of 7 sections of the Comprehensive High School Standards Examination (generally shortened to HSE).

Private school education is nearly non-existent in Baker Park; only around 1.1% of school age children attend a school not publicly funded. Currently, only 3 four-year and 1 two-year college are privately funded, the most notable being one of the nation's best, Endborough College. The Free School Law of 1893 (as amended) prohibits the use of state funding for any school not open to all children.

Baseball
The Baker Park Baseball Association governs the sport in the Commonwealth. A league consisting of 20 clubs in 19 cities plays annually to determine a champion.

Basketball
The Commonwealth Basketball League (CBL) consists of 14 teams that play from late autunm to spring. For international competition, the sport is governed by Baker Park Basketball (BPB)

Football
Gridiron, or American style football, supplanted rugby as the main contact sport beginning in the early 20th century. The sport was first played in Baker Park in October 1911 when a group of students from University of Baker Park challenged their counterparts at the Agricultural & Mining College (now Baker Park A&M University) to a game of 11-a-side American football, to be played under the latest rules in use. The mining students had the advantage of having several of their number who had studied abroad and had seen & participated in the sport. The game was held on a Thursday half-holiday at a park near the A&M campus. A small crowd of students from both schools watched as the Baker Park contingent outlasted their hosts 10-5.

Approximately 2 weeks later, another student club at University of Osheana, with members who had experience with the game, challenged a group of interested men from the University of Ezra. The connection that led to this matchup were a pair of cousins who shared a fascination with the sport--Donald McInnis and Peter Frasier--who were members of the Osheana and Ezra clubs, respectively. They made arrangements for the Osheana team to travel by train to the University Park campus of U of E on a Saturday morning, for a contest to be played that afternoon, followed by a stag mixer. The hosts came out on top in this contest 8-5 and all of the players considered the game a success and arranged to play again the next year with Osheana hosting.

Intercollegiate Football
The Universities Athletic Coalition (UAC), founded in 1929, is the governing body for intercollegiate sports in Baker Park. Presently, there are 28 universities that sponsor football, divided among four conference groupings; each team plays twelve contests between September & December, and the four champions of those conferences, plus the two best second placed teams face off in a final weekend playoff--the top ranked team faces the second ranked; third & fourth play one another, as does fifth & sixth.

Professional Football
Baker Park's Professional Football Division (PFD) is the second oldest sports league in the Commonwealth; it is made up of 12 clubs, each playing a 14 game schedule, with the top six finishers advancing to a playoff of three rounds.

Ice Hockey
The Commonwealth Hockey Association (CHA) organizes it's 14 member clubs to play a 64 game schedule followed by an eight team playoff. The Commonwealth Hockey Federation (CHF) is the international representative of the nation.

Soccer (Association Football)
The Football Association of the Commonwealth is the governing body for the sport; it is represented by the Baker Park National Team in international competitions.

Professionally, the sport is under the authority of the National Soccer League, which has recently began branding itself as The National League to have a more consistent identity across it's various competitions.