Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the son of an Italian weaver, was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. He made his first sea voyage in the mid-1470s as part of a trading expedition to the island of Khios (or Chios), in the Aegean Sea. In 1476 he sailed as a member of a convoy bound for England. Legend has it that when this fleet was attacked by pirates off the coast of Portugal, Columbus's ship was sunk, but he swam to shore and took refuge in Lisbon, where his brother Bartholomew Columbus was working as a cartographer. He was married, in 1479, to the daughter of Porto Santo's governor.

In 1484, Columbus petitioned the king of Portugal (John II) to finance a westward crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to prove his radical theories that the world was some 25% smaller with considerably more land mass than was popularly believed. These faulty beliefs led him to decided that Asia could be reached more quickly by sailing directly west than by the current practice of sailing around the tip of Africa and to the East. His proposal was rejected by a royal maritime commission.

Having been embarrassed by the findings of the Portuguese Maritime Commission, Columbus moved to Spain. There, his plans won the interest and support of several wealthy and politically influential persons. He again petitioned the king and queen of Castile (Ferdinand V and Isabella I) to fund an exploratory voyage, and was again rejected at the recommendation of a royal maritime commission. However, Columbus continued to seek support and in April 1492 was finally able to convince Ferdinand V, king of Castile, and Queen Isabella to agree to sponsor the expedition.

The first expedition was minimally funded, and consisted of the Santa Maria, a decked ship of some 100 feet, which he used as his command ship, and the Pinta and the Niña, two small caravels of some 50 feet in length, which were commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon and his brother Vicente Yanez Pinzon. On August 3, 1942, the fleet set sail from Palos, Spain. The entire crew compliment of all ships was less than 100 men. Three days out from Palos, the small fleet encountered a violent storm and the mast of the Pinta was damaged. The expedition was forced to stop at the Canary Islands so that the ship could be repaired. On September 6 the three vessels again weighed anchor and sailed due west. Columbus maintained this course until October 7, when, at the suggestion of Martin Pinzon, it was altered to southwest.

Early in the morning on October 12, 1492, the expedition landed on Guanahani, an island in the Bahamas. In the presence of the stupefied and uncomprehending natives, Columbus claimed that, by right of conquest, their island now belonged to Spain and renamed it San Salvador ("Holy Savior"). Columbus made additional landings during the next few weeks, including landings at the islands of Cuba, which Columbus named Juana, in honor of a Spanish princess, and Espanola, later corrupted to Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Columbus believed all of these islands to be part of Asia.

The Santa Maria was wrecked off the coast of Espanola in December of that year. A makeshift fort called La Navidad was built from materials salvaged from the vessel and garrisoned with about one third of the personnel from the expedition, in all less than 40 men. Columbus moved his flag of command to the Niña, and with the Pinta in escort began the homeward voyage in January 1493. Winter storms drove the ships first to the Azores and then to Lisbon. It was March before Columbus was finally able to return to Palos, Spain.

When Bartholomew returned to the island of Morada de Los Olvidados in 1495, he brought 165 Spaniards and an unrecorded number of 'natives' exported from other islands. They fortified the original structure, and they started a bare bones settlement. With little in the way of refined materials, the 'colonists' were forced to learn the ways of the island. They quickly put the imported area natives to work clearing fields for planting and the building of quarters.

The Spanish writ as far as the indigenous population went was very open ended. The natives were to be 'Christianized,' and if they accepted the faith were to be treated as free men, but stipulations allowed Spaniards to return natives to worker status if they felt that the person in question had not totally accepted conversion. Needless to say, there were few 'free natives.'

The first few years on the island were harsh for the colonists who were not used to such a hot climate (considered vastly unhealthy by European standards), and who had to deal with the continual depredations of the local Carib tribes. It was not unusual to have a foraging party come back minus one or more members due to a Carib ambush. The Spanish historian Bernardo Panorbo, who relocated to Morada at Bartholomew's insistence, said that the Carib raids were, in the end, their downfall. In 1497, Panorbo recorded that the local tribes seemed to be staging fewer attacks. A scouting party discovered that the Carib population had suffered what appeared to have been a 'plague' and that their numbers had been reduced to about a third. Seizing the opportunity, one of the leaders, Alonso Martin Bernal, led a group to take the much weakened Caribs as slaves, or to kill them outright. Bernal's plan worked somewhat, and many Caribs were added to the labor force -- although many of the efforts to 'civilize' the Caribs met with total failure.

By 1501 the colonists had started manufacturing native dyes that were highly superior in color and fastness to those used in Europe, and the growing of sugar cane was going well. Communications from Spain were sporadic at this point, though trade with the other Spanish colonies was satisfactory if not extensive. It seemed as if Spain's rulers had forgotten Morada completely.

However, interest in the island within the private sector had started with a letter that was sent to mainland relatives by Alonso Martin Bernal. He asked them to send supplies, more colonists and any agreements with the Spanish Trade Houses that they could manage for import of sugar and dyes. By spring of the next year, Bernal had trade agreements in his hands as well as a writ of Senorio, giving him the right to hold as Lord what lands he could claim. (Who authorized this writ is still uncertain. If it had come from Isabella, then it is certain that Morada would have been more in the royal eye. As this was not the case, some speculate that the writ was forged.) With the rights of Senorio, Bernal established himself as the island's Governor, and went about setting up his own council. Within two years, Bernal and his Mainland connections had import agreements with most of the Trade Houses in Spain.

Despite Queen Isabella's creation of the Casa Contratacion (Colonial Offices), which sent out royal governors and treasurers to each territory to supervise and control trade, several of the smaller islands, including Morada, were overlooked, and did business how ever they saw fit. Messages from Spain took months to reach the Governors and by that time the subject matter was usually moot. When Isabella died in 1504, the colonies were left to their own devices, and were not adequately governed by Spanish rule for almost a decade. By that time there would be little that would change even with a direct ruling from Spanish authorities.

Morada saw its first import of Black slaves in 1517, and Bernal and his council quickly decided to take advantage of this swell of 'cheap' labor. Several more plantations for sugarcane were established, and land was cleared for the import of grazing animals. Now with ships at their disposal, Bernal's government decided to quietly enter the Black slave trade.

In 1521 it was shown that Bernal's Senorio, though intelligently (often ruthlessly) run, was not entirely secure. The increase in naval activity in the island's vicinity drew the attention of the Corsair fleet that had been marauding the area for years. From 1521 to 1533 the wealth of Bernal's Moradian Senorio had been reduced by half. Most of that was due to the sinking of Moradian ships by the Corsairs, but during that time several hurricanes blew across the island destroying the crops and much the town. The next decade was spent rebuilding from these catastrophes. Spain abolished Indian slavery in 1540, but by this time many tribes had completely died out, had intermarried with runaway slaves, and had begun losing their cultural identity.

The tides of fortune changed for Morada again in 1545 when an uprising of the slave population took place. A portion of the town was burned to the ground, and Governor Alonzo Martin Bernal was assassinated. His grandson, Manuel Garcia Bernal, took over the Senorial duties. Don Manuel was less inclined to continue in the slave trade, and heavily curtailed his government's involvement therein. He also decided that the current site of the town was too close to the ocean to be safe from either the Corsairs or the high waters brought up most years by hurricanes. So, for the third time, the town was rebuilt. By 1549, the town called Villa Hermosa was completed. Built in the fashion of the more orderly cities in Europe, Villa Hermosa boasted of some of the finest buildings in the Caribbean.

After the building of the town, Morada settled down for a while. Trade with the other Spanish colonies and the Mainland was going well, and the Corsairs found much to plunder in other areas of the seas. The most notable event was the sinking of the treasure galleon Santa Magdelaina, off the Moradian coast in September of 1592, due to a severe storm. A few of the crew survived, but the gold, gems and jewelry were never recovered.

Towards the middle of the 1600's British interest in the area increased, and in 1646 the British crown occupied the islands in the Bahamas. Trade agreements were renegotiated with the new British 'owners', but Morada's isolation from interference from the Spanish crown was over. A copy of a trade agreement found its way to the desk of a Spanish Secretary to the Crown who was at work on a treaty to mark the end of the French-Spanish war. In 1697 the Peace of the Pyrenees was signed, and Morada de Los Olvidados was given to the French as part of the marriage settlement on Marie-Therese, daughter of Philip IV of Spain. Spain got peace at a minimal cost and France was given a thriving island economy. As for Juan Diego de Alvarez, then Governor of Morada, he swore the oath of fealty to France and hoped to keep his lands intact. It was during this transaction the official name of Morada de Los Olvidados was shortened to simply Morada. The treaty involved clearly defines the island it terms of location, but lists it as "The colony known as Morada."

The French had influenced local culture throughout the 1600s with the ever-present threat of piracy. While there were pirates of all nationalities, the most prolific were those from Normandie. That Morada was now under French rule did not stop pirates from plundering cargo ships and making the occasional foray into the island itself.

Proprietary rule under the French ended after 1661, when Louis XIV needed to increase tax revenue to support his European wars. Colonies were now governed directly from Europe, with the attendant difficulties in communications. French planters paid lower taxes than their counterparts on British islands, but lacked the representative assemblies of the British islands and other opportunities for self-government.

The French Ministry of the Marine appointed military, administrative and judicial authorities for each colony. The first French Governor of Morada was Gabriel Onimous; he supervised all military affairs and the court system. Although well-liked by the planters, he had a reputation for most firmly supporting the Crown in all matters.

France engaged in a series of wars with Britain, from 1665-1815, for control of the colonies and trade. For the Caribbean, these wars were primarily fought by the Crown navies and buccaneers. Pirates would land and destroy rival nations' sugar fields and steal slaves. Morada fell victim to several of these raids during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and France found it difficult to replace the slaves lost to raiders, driving the price of slaves higher.

The introduction of slavery had resulted in a rigid society where color and status played a major part. The white minority consisted of plantation owners (grands blancs) and merchants and poorer whites, who were free and could own property (artists, musicians, craftsman, etc.). The majority of the black population were slaves. This was the farm hands and domestic servants. In the middle was the "gens du couleur" and mulattos, a group that was free and could own property. They were never accepted into the high class and refused to deal with the slaves.

In 1685, Governor Jean-Pierre Toussaint found himself having to face the new French Code Noir (Black Code) authorized by the crown. The Code Noir was a set of laws governing all black slaves in French colonies. British law was made by each colony, and was often barbarous, but the Code Noir was frequently more oppressive than British island law. The punishment for rebellion or striking a master could be slow death by torture, or a "mild" reproof of the loss of an ear, hand or leg.

As the number of slaves declined through disease, injury and theft, the numbers of freedmen greatly increased, and they became a powerful political force on the island. In the mid-1700s, the runaway slaves had organized into self-sufficient bands in the mountains known as the Maroons, which occasionally made brief assaults on the plantations. Freedman Henri Dessalines successfully negotiated a truce between the French Morada government and the Maroons, which provided a homeland of 2,500 acres in the mountains for the Maroons, in exchange for which the Maroons promised their help in recapturing future runaway slaves and suppressing any slave rebellion. This successful treaty greatly enhanced the status of freemen on Morada.

While the British and the French continued to war with one another from 1744 to 1783, both groups recognized that continual plundering of the colonies was futile and helped neither country. Regular navies guarded the seas of the island. A descendant of Governor Onimous, Gaston Onimous, formed the first official militia of Morada. Frustrated with the lack of arms and training assistance from France, he and his band of followers took to the high seas raiding British and other cargo ships for all the plunder he could gather. His bold exploits and continued successes against often impossible odds became legendary.

By 1789, the French were in revolt on the continent. This was the year of the French Revolution, and similar sentiments existed in the Caribbean. The "grands blancs" demanded colonial autonomy. The "gens de couleur" wanted equality that was being endorsed by France. While these groups argued, the slaves on many of the islands led revolts. One of the larger revolts occurred in August of 1791, butchering many of the whites. Small armies of Jacobin commissioners were sent from France and caused more confusion. In 1793, fearful of more interference led the "grands blancs" to transfer their allegiance to England under the condition that when the Bourbons regained power, the island reverted to France. This was agreed on and for many years, things ran quietly under this status and France and England battled it out in the Napoleonic Wars.

Napoleon lost to Wellington at Waterloo and in the Treaty of Vienna, signed in 1815, France ceded the territory to Britain permanently.

Britain cut off the importation of slaves to her colonies as of 1808, the first step on the road to abolition. Slave registration began in 1815 in an attempt to prevent illegal imports and to serve notice of any slave mistreatment. Morada was immediately subject to this requirement upon transfer to British rule.

The first Governor of Morada, Lord Edwin Lamprey, supported abolition. His was the first plantation on the island to use paid field labor. While slave rebellions increased greatly from 1815 - 1834, Ocean Wind was never touched.

Anglican and Roman Catholic churches had competition from the many Methodist and Baptist missionaries coming to Morada. These strong abolitionist faiths pushed the local legislature further. The Amelioration Proposals of Britain in 1823 proved they were having an effect not only on Britain, but Moradians.

Morada's colonial assembly in 1825 passed the Amelioration Proposals, largely due to Lord Lamprey's promotion within the council and the Methodist and Baptist missionaries' promotion outside government circles. Religious instruction and church marriages for slaves were encouraged, and working Sunday was forbidden. Physical punishment of slaves was restricted. The breakup of slave families was outlawed, and slaves were allowed to testify in court under some conditions.

Abolition came to Morada in 1834. The transition was largely peaceful, probably because the Amelioration Proposals had been in force for some time and other members of the gentry had followed Lord Lamprey's lead on their own estates and plantations.

Unfortunately, with abolition came economic disaster. The population grew rapidly, doubling by 1880, but cane prices fell almost as drastically, more than 47% by the 1840s. By the 1850's, many plantations were operating at a loss. Missionaries began buying out plantations and selling them to their congregations. Methodist and Baptist churches with all-black congregations, deacons and preachers had flourished in the Amelioration and Abolition years. Lay preacher Clark Jacobsen personally oversaw the dismantling of five plantations on Morada.

No one wanted to labor in the cane fields. While the former slaves all wanted to own a piece of property, few of them wanted to farm cane. Black workers largely sought wage employment in the villages; some marketed small amounts of other crops, such as citrus. Without workers for the fields, the cane industry collapsed further. The entire island economy was in disarray by the 1870s.

Britain attempted to strengthen the island economy by subsidizing the import of indentured labor, bringing 15,000 East Indian laborers in over the next 10 years. The remaining plantations recovered to a degree, but would never again reach the production peak of the 1700s. The island gradually made the transition to other crops and the economy strengthened, but did not prosper.

In 1886, Morada became a crown colony and rule passed again to the mainland. Colin Lamprey, grandson of the original Governor, became the appointed Governor. A hand-picked Executive Council ran day to day operations, while a Legislative Council advised the Governor and made local laws.

Colin Lamprey continued his grandfather's tradition of social liberalism, working to extend political rights to all members of the colony's population but was continually hampered by British rule. From the 1920s to the 1940s, only those meeting strict property requirements, white or black, could vote for some members of the advisory councils.

Beginning in the 1890s, professional men and planters formed associations and lobbies to protect their economic interests and lobby the colonial government. Labor unions grew in response to collapsing sugar prices economic depression, including black and Indian members.

Morada, as part of the British Empire, was at war with Nazi Germany automatically when the British government declared war on Sept. 3, 1939. This meant very little at first. Two thousand volunteers joined Royal Moradian Regiment and went off to England. They eventually played a gallant part in the North African and Italian campaigns, suffering heavy losses. Ninety percent of the Moradians never returned home.

For those that remained, life went on much as before. The sugar and other foodstuffs exported by the island were important, if not vital, to England, and Moradians worked industriously to provide what they could. Stir was caused by some wealthy British citizens arriving on Morada to sit the war out. They were afraid of war and certain that Germany would prevail.

Morada's position in the mid-Atlantic meant it was away from the main convoy routes. A small squadron of British ships -- one cruiser and three destroyers -- was based there to counter German surface raiders in the south and mid Atlantic. This flotilla went into action against the German cruisers Prinz Frederick and Saarland north of the Cape Verde islands in December of 1939. While they destroyed the raiders, three of their own four ships were also sunk. The remaining ship, HMS Artbuthnot, limped home and became the colony's only link to the war. Britain could not spare reinforcements from the combat zone further north, and the Americans did not include it in the lend-lease program because it was too isolated.

The German Admiral, Erich Raeder, saw an opportunity. His U-boats and armed merchantmen raiders were scoring some successes against British shipping, but the lack of a base outside Europe was a major weakness. Morada was only lightly defended.

Ten armed merchantmen -- regular cargo vessels each packed with 250 troops -- set out from Kiel on April 25, 1940. Their plan was to slip into the North Sea during the confusion caused by the invasion of Norway on April 30. This worked, and the Germans headed south towards Morada.

The force arrived at Morada on May 8 under British flags and sailed right up to the naval docks. The ruse de guerre worked; raiders boarded the Arbuthnot and captured the captain while he was eating his kippers and tea. The rest of Morada fell within 6 hours. The troops marched across Spanish Neck into the capital and arrested the governor, Sir Randolph Chesterton-Smythe III, and all the other colonial officials. The conquest of the island was completed without a shot being fired.

The German colonel, Jorgen Klement, was a harsh master. Any sign of resistance led to exile on Prison Island, little more than a small rock off the west coast of Morada. It was the same island the French had used as a prison centuries before. Food and shelter were meager, and many of the prisoners died.

Any hope Moradians may have had of relief was dashed on May 10. Germany invaded the Low Countries and France, and Britain was fighting for its very existence. Not a single ship or plane could be spared.

Colonel Klement went to his task with a will. His job was to turn the old British naval docks into a facility for the German U-boats, and to protect this facility. Klement had brought artillery to defend the fortifications with him, but everything else had to be built from scratch. Able-bodied male islanders were conscripted to expand the drydock and extend the old British docks so they could accommodate several U-boats. They were also made to build two forts, one on the end of the St. George Peninsula and the other guarding the entrance to Bartholmew Bay. This was a massive project.

The 2500 Germans guarded the island, oversaw the construction of a small military base, and attempted to reorganize Moradian society to support the German submarine war and its soldiers. The cane fields were uprooted and planted with survival crops. All services were suspended. The Germans stole the best of everything and their officers occupied the nicest houses in Cape Marassas. They generally behaved nastily, stealing what was worth taking and raping the women. In many respects the island reverted to the slave conditions of the previous century. All production, distribution and work were organized by the Germans. The men built war fortifications and the women tried worked in the fields.

Klement made sure the captive population was too exhausted to resist. The Caribs retreated to living in the jungle. The Germans considered them too worthless to work and ignored them, except for a shoot-on-sight policy.

The islanders were slow to take up resistance. Passivity to colonial masters had long been bred into them. The Germans were little different from the British, French and Spanish masters, even though Britain had not ruled with a heavy hand and the Germans were particularly brutal.

As 1940 passed into 1941 and 1942, the islanders struggled. At various times, groups of men broke away from their work camps and fled into the interior, where they were sometimes sheltered by the Caribs.

One man in particular, Matthew Alvarez, a brave and charismatic young islander with a pedigree tracing back to both the earliest Spanish and British eras, started to meld these into partisan units.

His bands of partisans sabotaged German construction where they could. The early efforts were disastrous. Although the entry of America into the war in late 1942 meant the German garrison was increasingly isolated and vulnerable, and the battle of the North Atlantic was being lost, morale was high. The Germans were living in an opulent tropical paradise, and they weren't going to surrender it without a fight. The early rebel raids were bloodily repulsed, and things went on as before.

Eventually the fortifications were completed, but as the base was finished, fewer U-boats came to call. The Germans, with less time to work, had more time to practice sadism, broadly encouraged by Klement.

The resistance groups grew bolder and smarter throughout 1942, raiding German food storehouses and establishing contacts in the cities. The Germans saw the threat as minimal and had grown lazy. The partisans became known as Matthew Men, and tales and rumors of their exploits grew ever larger and more embellished. Alvarez's fame became legendary.

In May 1943, the last U-boat to resupply at Morada came and left. The Germans were now holding on only or what they could still wring out of the repressed populace.

Alvarez then began to plan the final uprising. Six months in the making, the plan eventually grew to encompass thousands of islanders. In the early hours of January 15, 1944, a flotilla of Caribs canoes filled with Matthew Men sailed around to the two fortresses and took them both in a savage escalade. Germans died from ancient flintlock muskets, Carib spears, and anything else the rebels could lay their hands on. The population of Cape Marassas filled the streets, preventing the Germans from moving reinforcements around. A terrible massacre happened in the city's central square, but the people believed in Alvarez. The crowds faced down the guns with chants of "Matthew, Matthew." The partisan leader turned the guns of the fortresses on the German base. The unexpected barrage pounded the base into oblivion, killing most of the German troops, and sinking a damaged German battleship that was sitting in the drydock. The operation of the gun was helped by a German traitor, Karl Liederstein, who hated Klement and the barbarity of the Nazis.

After seeing their men killed and their fortress taken, most of the Germans just gave in. Klement and a few fanatics, holed up in Balmour House, fought to the end. They all died at the hands of the Matthew Men and the Caribs. The remaining Germans were put on Prison Island to await their fate. January 15 is now the national day of Morada.

Since the fighting had destroyed all means of communication with the outside world, the Moradians found that for the first time in centuries there was no outside political power running their lives for them. They knew that the British would eventually win the larger war and return to claim the island. The thought of again becoming subjects to King George did not appeal to them. Liederstein suggested that the islanders choose their own king in place of George, and thus avoid returning to colony status. The islanders thought this was an excellent idea, and King Matthew I of Morada was acclaimed by the people. Liederstein became the King's Steward and ran his household.

Eventually a massive, joint American-British fleet did land to retake the island in March 1944. Expecting to be greeted as saviors, they were utterly astonished to be greeted by 'His Royal Highness' and entourage. The story of King Matthew I became a minor sensation around the world, and put Morada briefly on the map.

D-Day beckoned and the invasion force left for Europe, taking the German prisoners with them and leaving Morada to its own devices until 1945. King Matthew used his power in this time to lead the people in cleaning up the island and establishing a sense of nationhood. Eventually the sugar, spice and timber plantations were rejuvenated and the islanders grew stronger.

After the war ended in 1945, a British mission was sent to Morada to determine the status of the island. King Matthew politely welcomed them to the sovereign nation of Morada and asked them what there was to discuss. Seeing a chance to be shot of what was likely to become a useless colony, the British negotiator advised the king that Britain would recognize Morada if some form of democratic government was installed. He also said Britain would support Morada's application to the new United Nations if they reformed their government.

The first elections were held in 1946, after the basic laws and constitution were written. The seven parishes became seven electoral districts, each choosing a governor to sit on the Board of Governors. King Matthew did not take part, but was active in advising the government and devising policy. Much loved by the islanders, he placed himself above the political debate and was always seen to be wise and helpful, as was Liederstein.

Morada eventually developed into a stable democracy, under the occasional guidance of King Matthew. The Caribs returned to the interior and were more or less left alone. They did not wish to become part of the islands greater society, and the King had no wish to force them to assimilate after the aid they provided in defeating the Germans. The situation was formalized in 1951 when some reserves were carved out of the southeast corner of the island, marking Carib territory.

Morada joined the Commonwealth as a special member, without recognizing the sovereignty of the British Crown, just like Pakistan or India. The remaining members of the Royal Moradian Regiment and the Matthew Men, about 2000 in all, became the Moradian armed forces. Eventually this was reduced to three companies of 300 men each, plus 100 members in the Moradian navy, which patrols Morada's 200 mile limit with six small boats and regulates the international fishing industry that goes on there. One company of the Moradian army is often on United Nations duty, and another has ceremonial duties with the king. The third acts as a paramilitary force where necessary for crowd control during events, emergency relief during hurricanes, overseeing public works, and so forth. The companies rotate. Over the years, restricted funding has restructured the Moradian Militia into both active and reserve forces. The current active, standing militia numbers about 500 regular troops and 500 reserve troops.

During the 1950s and 60s Morada prospered quietly. The social unrest and labor activism that marked the area in the rest of the still-colonial Caribbean were avoided because of the small size of the island and the small size of the government, as well as the fact of independence. Morada's main policy was to keep to itself -- the lonely, hard-won sovereignty of the island was ingrained on the inhabitants' psyches. After 500 years of colonial rule, they were still extremely sensitive about outsiders.

In this period, up to about 1967, Morada survived on subsistence farming, fishing, ship registry and exports of sugar, rum and spices. They also exported some rare timbers and plants, which were starting to be noticed by scientists around the world.

While the export industries of many smaller islands dried up, Morada was able to keep going because of its unique geographical location and very specialized exports. Though they could not compete in quantity, Moradian rum, sugar and other exotic agricultural products became known for quality and originality. Tourism slowly started to pick up. The island was mainly known as a health and relation destination for aging expatriates. The springs, baths, pools and climates of Morada had long been known as a balm among the European spa set. The islands excellent health care facilities were both a cause and effect of this sort of tourism.

In the late 1960s the economy slowed. Exports were down. Tourism was stagnant because of limited facilities and the limited tourism attractions. Come the 1970s, the oil shock hurt severely.

Politics grew heated in the early 1970s as real poverty began to make itself felt. The king was less active at this time, and a socialist movement quickly grew, led mainly by islanders educated in America or Europe. Their champion was Samuel Prior, who was in fact a fervent communist. The Soviet Union and Cuba secretly offered fraternal assistance to Prior. They would take exports and provide cash in return for air and sea bases that would allow them to control the a large zone of the Atlantic ocean.

In the elections of 1975, Prior presented a more moderate face and campaigned for economic justice and a sharing of the wealth for everyone. He spent enormous amounts of Soviet money in the elections, and he and his running mates won five of the seven seats and immediately started to pass laws nationalizing the export industries and forming collectives for nearly everything.

This was not what the people had expected, but most of them acquiesced -- until the Soviet and Cuban ships showed up to dock permanently.

The shocked Moradians, still intensely fearful for their independence, were roused by King Matthew, who was shaken out of his tiredness (mostly due to advanced age) by the crisis, and marched down to the docks. They refused to let the ships land. Prior ordered the armed forces to disperse the crowds and make room for the Soviets. They mutinied, dropped their weapons, and joined the protest in the harbor. Prior was forced to call another election, as four of his party members, shamed by the citizens, deserted him after they saw what he was really up to. Their vote of no-confidence triggered a new election, and a coalition government representing all views was formed.

After this brush with Communism, the United States began to take an interest in Morada for the first time. They came and offered aid and support. King Matthew cannily accepted what he thought would be best for the island. This was mostly money for economic development. No American military presence was ever established on the island.

As the 1970s wore on into the 1980s, things changed again. The arrival of American influence opened up Morada to the world somewhat. Agriculture and timber slowly recovered, and a large redevelopment process was started. Tourism expanded and grew more diverse. Offshore drilling found natural gas. The discovery of several deposits of precious stones led to a small gemstone industry. The unique flora and fauna of the island came under closer scrutiny, and a biomedical industry and university were formed. People started to come to Morada looking desperately for cures that did not exist. An entire quackery industry grew up alongside the serious biomedical research. Offshore banking and finance also came to the island in a small way.

As the modernization of the island continued, the government and bureaucracy also grew to deal with it. A large government structure grew beneath the simple seven-governor legislative and executive branch. The people were generally better off than before, but the gap between rich and poor grew rapidly in the new economy. The Caribs did not prosper in the new Morada. They turned away from the new governments and changes and stayed extremely poor.

King Matthew died on November 4, 1982. His passing was marked by a week of mourning across the island. His death also marked the end of an era. Uncertain about how much they wanted their traditions to change, the Moradians voted to make the King's popular son, Matthew, into the new king, Matthew II. A flamboyant and popular young man, Matthew II had his father's charisma but not his wisdom.

The islanders chose to have him for tradition's sake, but he was thoroughly modern. The new King was a great lover of modernity and technology and was enthusiastically in favor of further development. He flew planes, played with gadgets, and lives in a palace full of technological wonders and oddments. The developers and businsessfolk loved him, and he made many unwary friendships.

The election of 1984 was hard fought. Those who wished to halt the growth of the island opposed those in favor of further development and greater tourism. The modernizers had the King and the money on their side and won.

Morada became a major tourist destination and natural gas exporter. The poorer villagers stayed that way, the city slowly became glitzier. Crime grew with poverty and tourism. The Moradian police force grew as well. In the years since the election of 1984, the government has changed occasionally to a slightly less development oriented approach, but the King, his business friends, the government and bureaucracy have formed an alliance that has set the island on a mad-cap disorganized rush towards full membership in the 20th century. In many ways Morada is still backwards. Modernization has come intermittently. Huge, useless government projects, touted enthusiastically by the King, are started and abandoned. Companies and developers fall in and out of favor.

Though much change has come about and the islanders are growing increasingly worried about the future, things have generally held together; the economy is fairly strong and Morada is still Morada, and Moradians are still Moradians, even if their world is changing about them in the late 80s and 90s.