Republic of Madawaska

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The Republic of Madawaska was a small, unrecognized state in the northwest corner of Madawaska County, New Brunswick (also known as the "New Brunswick Panhandle") and adjacent areas of Aroostook County in the American state of Maine and of Quebec. Its name is derived from the Madawaska River which flows into the Saint John River at Edmundston, New Brunswick and Madawaska, Maine.

The origins of the unorganized republic lie in the Treaty of Paris (1783), which established the border between the United States of America and the British North American colonies. The Madawaska region remained in dispute between Britain and the US until 1842.

In 1817, an American settler, John Baker, arrived in the region. Baker petitioned the state of Maine for inclusion in the state in 1825. In 1827, Baker and his wife, Sophie Rice, announced their intention to declare the Republic of Madawaska on August 10 of that year. On that day, the British magistrate confiscated Baker's American flag. Baker was arrested by the British on September 25 for conspiracy and sedition. This set off a diplomatic incident, which led to arbitration by the King of the Netherlands. His decision in 1831 was rejected by Maine. The U.S. and Great Britain signed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty on August 9, 1842, finally settling the boundary question.

According to a pamphlet entitled "The Republic of Madawaska" and published at Edmundston, "The myth of the 'Republic of Madawaska' (because it is not a true Republic in a political sense) draws its origins from an answer given to a French official on a tour of inspection during the troubled times by an old Madawaska colonist. Thinking the official a little too inquisitive he said 'I am a citizen of the Republic of Madawaska' with all the force of an old Roman saying 'I am a citizen of Rome,' and the pride of a Londoner declaring 'I am a British subject.' "

The Republic of Madawaska now exists for only tourism and marketing purposes. A flag of the republic was created in 1938, bearing an American eagle and an arc of six red stars on a white field. This flag flies at the city hall of Edmundston, New Brunswick and at Madawaska festivals. The sitting mayor of Edmundston, the largest municipality in the region, also assumes the honorary title of "President of the Republic of Madawaska".