Creation of Centuries: A civilization RP. (Chronic backstabbing disorder prevalent)
855 replies, posted
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];43228885']irregardless
who even uses this word irl
like what the fuck no one even says it it's not a WORD[/QUOTE]
you gonna harp on Sobot's English some more or let her do her thing? We don't need this kind of clutter in the thread.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];43228885']irregardless
who even uses this word irl
like what the fuck no one even says it it's not a WORD[/QUOTE]
lol
[quote]Irregardless is a word commonly used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795[/quote]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless[/url]
[url]http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/irregardless[/url]
[quote]Irregardless means the same as regardless, but the negative prefix ir- merely duplicates the suffix -less, and is unnecessary. The word dates back to the 19th century, but is regarded as incorrect in standard English.[/quote]
Language is a vehicle for transmitting messages. If people universally understand both words to mean the same thing, it still serves the purpose intended.
Ain't that annoying?
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;43229068]lol
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless[/url]
[url]http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/irregardless[/url]
Language is a vehicle for transmitting messages. If people universally understand both words to mean the same thing, it still serves the purpose intended.
Ain't that annoying?[/QUOTE]
I'm all for that but I'd honestly never heard anyone say it, I thought it was just one of them internet things.
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];43228885']irregardless
who even uses this word irl
like what the fuck no one even says it it's not a WORD[/QUOTE]
i don't care if it's a word or not i'll use it irregardless
like literally I have never actually [I]heard[/I] anyone use it
Does it matter?
For those wondering, the mission I made is for 10 people (Although I can increase the amount of people if there's interest)
I'll aim to set up the server at around 2100 hours on the twenty-first, if you want to play.
Creation of Centuries: A civilization RP (Profound linguistic discussion prevalent)
May [url=http://hoatay.com.vn]ao dong phuc lop[/url] dep va re
[highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Spam" - Swebonny))[/highlight]
Actually, who can make Sunday at 2100 GMT?
[QUOTE]1:40 PM - Mackalda2k6: I also request that we make it a rule that every page of the CoC thread starts with a picture of an african king
1:40 PM - Mackalda2k6: because I smile everytime I see zulu man up at the top
1:41 PM - Sobotnik: k
1:41 PM - Sobotnik: rule confirmed
1:42 PM - Mackalda2k6: I'll codify it on the thread in a second
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Mallow234;43239679]Actually, who can make Sunday at 2100 GMT?[/QUOTE]
Works with me.
If you have heli transport in there I call pilot of that.
I'm gonna play in the Arma server after Mack gifted me it.
<3
you guys should get DayZ. Me and Crossu played for a bit tonight.
ogodohgod
[img]http://www.5pillarz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/gaddafi.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Mackalda2k6;43239684]rule that every page of the CoC thread starts with a picture of an african king[/QUOTE]
VOSK, you don't have long.
Not a king but it will do for now.
We need three more people to play for the mission to be at full capacity (Which is what I'm aiming for)
[QUOTE=Mallow234;43248623]We need three more people to play for the mission to be at full capacity (Which is what I'm aiming for)[/QUOTE]
Invite Eli maybe
[QUOTE=Mr. Face;43254602]Don't troll in the server, you've done that before.[/QUOTE]
ahahaha
those were some good times
IT'S HAPPENING
READ ME, SEND IN TURNS AS TURN 20.
[i]It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.[/i]
[img_thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/4gJg0g.png[/img_thumb]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcO3sNjtbgM[/media]
Events of the years 1020 to 1040:
Europe:
-The Iberian Church undergoes large reforms when a former communist is elected pope. Promoting a kind of “Christian communism” that is counter to the new system he sees growing around him and to the atheistic Lendinists, he wants to improve the lives of the poor and dispossessed throughout the world. He is especially critical of the Aquinist churches, especially the reformed ones as being in the palm of the hand of their Kings and Emperors. The reasons for his ascent to the seat are poorly known, but it is rumoured as being a deliberate move by the church to cover up the fact the previous pope used funds to enrich him at the expense of others. Secondly, he voices concern at the debauchery and hedonism of Christians who take Xerxes drugs, saying that as he walked through the streets of poor cities, he observed people who were progressively destroyed by these drugs, sending money to “Hanajia scum” who profited upon misery.
-Spurred on by developed in international shipping and industrialization, it is becoming economically feasible for machinery and bulk goods to be shipped overseas. The prices of many “luxury” goods ranging from sugar, cocaine, tobacco, coffee, tea, and opium slowly decline during this time period despite exponentially growing demand. The lower and middle classes now have regular access to these popular and addictive products, often using and abusing them en masse as they spent their meagre surplus wages on whatever trivialities and novelties they can find. Xerxes and to a lesser degree parts of the Eastern Empire massively benefit from these changes, with consumption skyrocketing and the number of opium and cocaine dens exploding. People smoke, snort, eat, lick, drink, boil, and inhale in drug fuelled stupors. Xerxes uses the money to enrich their country, albeit at the cost of many European states. The use of hard silver and gold for payments is worrying, something that has been mitigated somewhat by the sale of manufactured goods (especially guns). Unfortunately, bullion crisis’s have led to several European states abandoning commodity based monies in favour of ones backed either by the country’s ability to repay debts via taxation or otherwise trying to expand gold and silver mining operations. Prices continue to fall, with wages often remaining stagnant or declining. Industrial workers do slightly better (at least they have access to education and the demand for technical jobs is always high), but for the vast majority of European rural labourers, the age of true penury has begun for them. Many turn to drink on hearing news that a clearance act was passed. After “crack” cocaine is developed by Xerxes merchants in response to a price glut, it quickly takes root among the poor and becomes heavily entrenched. Europe may be riddled with drugs, but Xerxes has used them to advance from being a medieval backwater into becoming a rich and powerful Empire built upon agriculture.
-Despite extensive offers from foreign merchants to avoid the Weissen customs union being established, it is successful in adding all members of the former Salzreich into a single customs union, and has adopted a single railway gauge for infrastructure purposes. There are further talks of adding more members within the rest of Germany, and potentially abolishing passports when travelling between member states.
[img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=462795&dateline=1358155119[/img][img]http://i.cubeupload.com/1TkTwz.png[/img]
[b]Damian0358 – Kingdom of Bohemia
Capital: Praha
Culture: Bohemian (Slavic)
State Religion: Christianity (Aquinism) [/b]
-With continuing improvements into the study of electronics, new equipment and materials have yielded fruitful results. It is known that one can send an electrical impulse down a wire, and use this impulse to induce motion in a needle connected to the wire. By connecting up the wires to a number of needles that point at letters, one can slowly send messages down an electrical cable (at effectively the speed of light) and retranslate them back into coherent messages. This electrical “telegraphy machine” is first trialled on a railway line, where the first message ever sent through such a method is officially “God bless you” but due to a fault in the equipment, was actually transmitted as “Dog bless you”. The telegraph machines begin to be made piecemeal by skilled craftsmen and are initially installed in railway stations as a way to coordinate timetables. Only at the end of this period do they first start to be used outside of the railways, mostly as a way for rich people to send messages quickly. The army modernizers advocate the widespread creation of a network for military purposes. Other lesser known inventions (at the time) includes the world’s first rechargeable battery, newer electrical motors and dynamos, plus transformers and interesting little devices called capacitors.
-In the aftermath of the Mongol Invasion, the Bohemian populace realized that Kiev, a great friend of Bohemia, had been vassalized by the Mongols (the news didn't report on it until after the invasion). Many called for war against the Golden Horde to free Kiev, whilst others wanted the return of the Romanian coast, currently held by Ruthenia, under Bohemian control, for the purposes of rebuilding Great Danubia. The influence of the idealists and romanticists had been gaining ground and was significantly fuelling nationalist feelings. Conquest of “rightful lands” was seen as a top priority and morally correct, even if the inhabitants had never been part of Bohemia, even culturally. This snag was worked around through the growing popularity of the Pan-slavic movement, advocating a union of all Slavs. Many archaeologists who had yet to fully integrate science into their studies often would collect old artefacts and claim that they were proof of the existence of the Bohemian culture in the area. This was satirised in the first science fiction novel, where a man travelled to the moon on a spaceship and found a rock that looked like a Bohemian emblem. He claimed the moon was settled by Bohemians many years ago and that the moon ought to be brought back under Bohemian control. Such views were taken at face value, leading to the massive expansion of the Empire both in Europe and overseas, whereas others began to think if one could really travel to the moon, and more importantly, how to do it.
-Military reforms are carried out to professionalize the army further and split it up into several parts for various duties. Of these are the home forces, the expeditionary corps, and the colonial force (to administer the newly named “Brazil”). In Brazil, the colony is largely dependent on exports of a prized wood used in dyemaking (named Brazilwood). The colonial government is established in the port town of “Sveti Pavel”, with a governor to administer the colony and raise large revenues for the crown. Initially, most economic activity is largely focused on gathering Brazilwood and growing trees in plantations as a source for the dye. With rising populations, self-sufficiency of some kind must be realized, and so large farms for growing food have also been set up. Grains, fruits, vegetables, and animals are all grown or reared. Given the large availability of land (after the natives are booted off) and good source of wealth, living standards are fairly high and people can afford to build fine houses and eat copious amounts of food. Warfare and the misery brought about by socioeconomic changes leads to many of the downtrodden and poor seeking new lives here. Many of course also find jobs in the colonial army, helping to shoot the hostile natives.
-In 1024, the Emperor goes to the colony of Brazil, as so to see its progress, as well as introduce himself to the natives. There, a native princess gained interest in the Emperor, and, after the Emperor gained an idea and shook a small bag of little coins, the two have sex. The princess then gave birth to a boy, who is named Dimitri. The scandal rocked the monarchy and much of high society to the core. When the baby boy returned to Bohemia, the crowds (most of whom had never seen a Brazilian before) thought the Emperor had been licentious. The newspapers went wild and proclaimed they could never accept the foreign boy as their Emperor. In a cunning move, the Emperor (after much discussion with parliament) made Dimitri the constitutional king of Brazil in 1040, creating the cadet branch of Hostes. The king of Brazil holds no power within the colony or the Empire, being limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours, essentially being "just for show". The Viceroy of Brazil is the one who holds power over Brazil, and is appointed directly by the Emperor whenever the previous Viceroy or Emperor dies or steps down. Dimitris power consists of being the only man in Brazil allowed to own a giant pair of scissors, used to cut ribbons when opening buildings.
-Traders and explorers, having come increasingly into contact with the Incans, decide to organise a trade with them, given the efficacy of cinchona bark extract in treating malaria. In return for the saplings and bark of cinchona trees, the Incans are given massive assistance with modernization of their armed forces, gaining firearms, ammunition and military advisers to teach them how to use them. As soon as the trees grow, they extract the Quinine within its bark and immediately use it to treat malaria, as well as to create tonic water. Of course, in order to get bark (especially when it comes to colonizing malaria ridden lands), the Bohemians are planting vast plantations of the stuff not only throughout Brazil (where they grow best), but also have brought them to the Kongo in Africa, where they not only intend to build a colony, but plant these trees and use the quinine from them to aid in expansion. When news of the potential Bohemian colony in Africa reached the Zulu Empire, the Emperor wrote a letter stating he will not allow it, as he wants to keep the rainforests of Africa safe. Such a reply was considered utterly bizarre. However after some discussion, the Emperor allows Bohemia to colonize only a small part of Africa on the exception that Bohemia did not harm the rainforest in anyway. Nobody asked the kings and chiefs and tribes of the Kongo of their opinion, but the King of the Kongo (increasingly a puppet both of Bohemia and the Zulu) does not care as long as the riches of the world keeps flowing to him so he can indulge in large banquets in his palatial home.
-The Bohemians also strike a good deal with the Phoenicians. In return for the secrets of electrical equipment and telegraphy (used to begin modernizing their communications infrastructure), the Phoenicians give the Bohemians brand new artillery pieces, rifles, a number of steamships, plus a contract promising assistance in any colonial wars if the savages get uppity and demand basic human rights.
-With the peoples demands for war heating up and the painful lessons of the war with the Mongols making itself felt, a large armaments and warfare preparation begins. Many older forts are either completely rebuilt or abandoned, and new fortifications with heavy gun batteries and ditches along with thick walls to soak up artillery bombardments are built. Most of these are built nearby cities and along the borderlands, with them being able to mutually support each other and finally force enemy armies to pass through unfavourable terrain or “killing fields” in order to reach populated urban areas.
-The parliament, having become vitriolic and angry with Polotsk, decides to take advantage of Polotsks declaration of war on the Rus and Mongols to the east. With assistance from the Eastern Empire, the Bohemians declare war on Polotsk, sending soldiers with modern arms by railways and coordinating them with telegraphy networks. The expeditionary force is chosen to carry out this operation, with one portion sent to conquer Polotsk itself, while the other travelled to Kiev to “free” it from the Mongol yoke. The forces sent to free Kiev are sent first, given that Polotsk and Bohemia both are opposed to the Mongols. Using modern firearms, telegraph networks, and railways, the Bohemians are able to push back the Mongols and free the whole of Kiev, before withdrawing their forces as Polotsk marches into Mongolian lands to continue their conquests.
-Quite quickly, the expeditionary forces take the railways to Polotsk, and after cutting some telegraph cables laid by Polotsk or listening in on them and sending false messages down them, quickly begin to occupy the country given that the Polotsk army is far away fighting unaware of this. The Bohemians even send false letters to the Polotsk commanders, informing them that supply situations are deteriorating due to raids and an economic crisis at home. The remaining Polotsk military units fight throughout the country, but eventually yield after a quick and brutal invasion by the Baltic Entente finally silences them for good. The remaining Polotsk army in Mongolian held lands eventually begin to dissolve, and within a few weeks Polotsk is under military occupation and without an army or navy (the new steamships blockaded the ports).
-The Bohemians force the dissolution of the Polotsk state, in which large tracts of land are annexed by her neighbours, the Kingdom of Prussia is formed within Polotsk, and Kiev becomes independent, with close political and diplomatic ties to Bohemia. Interestingly, both Prussia and Kiev cover lands between the Baltic Entente and Bohemia, with many people seeing the creation of Prussia as simply in order to create a convenient buffer state.
[img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=193052&dateline=1296445519[/img][img]http://u.cubeupload.com/Mackalda2k6/EasternFlag.png[/img]
[b]Mackalda2k6 – The Eastern Empire
Capital: Byzantium
Culture: Greek (Hellenic)
State Religion: Christianity (Aquinism) [/b]
-As the demand for mechanical power and efficiency continues to exponentially increase, engineers have come up with what they believe to be the solution. Called a “compound engine”, it reuses the steam multiple times. A “triple expansion engine” variant is adopted for use in steamships and factories, whereas the former sees application in railway locomotives. These powerful engines drive ships and locomotives even faster, allows them to be build bigger, and to pull more goods. The first locomotive to hit 110 km is built, and successive records keep being broken. The factories, now freed from using massive and relatively weak engines, can automate a number of tasks and drive ever more powerful machines. In fairs and exhibitions, there is a constant and almost fetishist talk of “raw power”, where numbers keep going to dizzying heights and the machines belch pitch black smoke and soot into the skies. A writer of the day, after watching a steam digger trundle forwards and dig a massive trench for it to run through, comments that the world is entering the “Age of the machine”.
-With the wealth and industry of the Empire growing, higher revenues from taxation are being reported, allowing for the army to be again reformed and expanded. Built up to pre-great war levels, they also introduce new tactics and training into armed forces. Equipping every musket with a bayonet and training soldiers extensively to use it. They adopt a massed volley system of line infantry and, using rifling gained from the Wapanese, equip riflemen units that skirmish the flanks of the enemy. Form two distinct heavy and light cavalry regiments, heavy relying more on armour and sword to hit the enemies hard, and the light using various firearms and lances to skirmish and maintain the advantage of mobility on the field. Wisely they also replace colourful uniforms with dull green and browns to help them blend in with the environment.
-In the new foundries, the machines are powerful enough to Cast solid pieces of metal and drill into them to make rifled gun and artillery. They diversify the artillery corps with different types of cannon with specialized crews (Field Guns, howitzers, mortars, and siege artillery), relentlessly training the artillery to be fine at their craft and to use heavy artillery bombardment to crush any forts or armies standing in their path. A reserve home force and an expeditionary army are introduced in order to cut down on costs, while the military industry is largely privatised, using contracts with companies to encourage cheap and efficient methods of production. They contract rifles that can be mass produced for all infantry and also mass produce paper cartridges. For some reason, there is a demand for paper cartridges to be made by businesses instead of the soldiers.
-The navy is no stranger to such reforms. Experimenting with new shipbuilding techniques, the Eastern Empire shifts away from sailing ships and gradually leans towards adoption of screw steamers. Large ironclads with compound armour plating, explosive shells, and powerful triple expansion engines driving screws are built at great expense, replacing paddle steamers with new propellers that Xerxes originally invented. They relentlessly drill and train their sailors to be the finest in the world, incorporating pickled foods into their diet as well as fresh fruits to keep them healthy. Unfortunately, all of these massive reforms and expenses have left the Empire with an eye-watering debt and huge deficit. These are largely ignored at the launching of their new ironclad “The Redoubtable” On her launch; she instantly makes every other ship in the world completely obsolete.
-Social problems continue to mount however, along with more economic ones. Citing their armed militia, the Empire declares all Lendinists outlaws and had the courts declare them rebels and their activities illegal. They send in the home-defence corps in large numbers to completely drive out the Lendinists, sack their headquarters, and dissolve their militia. Assassination attempts on the leaders are rumoured as well, and many of them are imprisoned or exiled.
-In a bow to appease the Arabs, Kurds, Jews, and other minority groups, the new census data recently collected tells the Congress that serious social inequalities and problems exist. To solve this, they divide the Empire into semi-autonomous states reflecting the cultural majority of a region. Keeping the Greek/Turkish/Egyptian territories under control of a centralized Congress, but devolving power to the other states, giving them basic autonomy as long as they pay their taxes, provide soldiers, and let the Supreme Eastern Congress declare wars as well as respect both capitalistic and democratic precedents. This manages to appease most of the liberals and reformers, cooling a great deal of tensions and making the Empire a whole lot less volatile. Unfortunately, with looser political cohesion and these states often using loopholes and bureaucracies to avoid contributing their fair share, the Empire is coming to gradually depend more on the resources they can muster within their own borders. Deep unpopularity with the wars of recent decades and the arms race is costing vast amounts of money. When it comes to taxation, many delegates (even a few Egyptian and Turkish ones) refuse to assist with budgetary concerns, making the raising of money difficult. Creditors have begun to become wary of the Empires debts, and interest rates are gradually starting to rise.
-Bowing to protectionist interests (particularly those of the Greeks), large duties and tariffs on the import of foreign goods are enacted, partly to raise revenue and partly to encourage the growth of national industries. The other states of the Empire are deeply hostile to these measures, accusing the Congress of enriching their own Greek constituents (and the Turks/Egyptians to a lesser degree). Other problems have also begun to arise as now the Egyptians have their own nascent nationalist movements (spurred on by memories of Ptolemy’s grabbing control centuries prior). Some Turks ironically think about the Empire of Dagger from antiquity, and begin to encourage education in the old tongues in order to reverse Hellenization now that the more unpopular policies have been dropped. Railway infrastructure continues to grow, and now Mesopotamia is prioritised as the main food source of the country. Cash crop cultivation is focused upon in Egypt with the poppy now being used for the production of opium. Opium dens grow throughout the Empire, and are deeply resented by the other ethnic groups. They accuse the Egyptians and Greeks of spreading degeneracy and undermining the moral fabric of their people by pushing these drugs onto them. The earlier Greek habit of supporting the hard liquor industry did little to calm these fears.
-Despite increased strains on the budget, more subsidies are lavished on the railways and locomotive industries, with networks now steadily building trunk routes and connecting the main towns and cities of importance. Journey times shorten, until eventually it takes a mere week to travel from the Persian gulf to Byzantium. These costs are so crippling that the Empire sells Cape Verde to the Phoenicians in order to raise funds, along with selling steam engine designs to Wapan and the percussion shell to Xerxes. The short term boost from the sale of Cape Verde helped the government through a minor crisis in 1026, but the loss of the islands has resulted in the complete collapse of their trade interests in the Atlantic, with the Phoenician merchant marine now heavily dominating overseas trade. Many businesses gradually make the transition away from shipping and focus into the growing railways, industries, and agriculture, aided somewhat by state help. The growth of the railways and industry is especially impressive, but with the state starting to break down under the strain of raising funds and managing one economic crisis or military excursion after another, the states are becoming more confident in their demands.
-To reassure the Greeks of their power and as a show of force to the other states in the Empire, the navy sails (all the way around Africa) to the Indian Ocean, where they land on and annex the semi-obscure islands of Socotra, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, the Egmont Islands, and Diego Garcia. The loss of influence and prestige in the west to the Phoenicians has brought them to focus on the east, where they work on building relationships with the Indian and Indochinese monarchies and republics. Trade has begun to improve slightly now that a railway crosses the Suez and major ports service both ends of the line, making it feasible for merchants to conduct large scale trading in Asia. They negotiate some favourable trading rights and permission to establish trade factories and forts, but at a great cost. They have to sell them a great deal of weaponry (often military surplus or obsolete equipment), along with ships, intricate devices, and even some steam engines. The King of Myanmar even buys a steam locomotive, not to ride in, but to decorate his palace and impress foreign dignitaries. Most impressive however, is when the Empire arrives in China. Completely disregarding any advantage they could potentially give the Chinese, they are forced (by lack of hard money to fill budgetary gaps) to sell the Chinese everything from guns, steam engines, ships, cannon, clocks, astronomical charts, and a great deal more of innovation. The Mongol rulers (who administer an increasingly rebellious China and Korea) see the practical benefit to adopting modern arms, buying them en masse, setting up armaments factories, and then drilling their men in the Greek style. Several centuries after the first crude guns left China, they have returned vastly improved, and in the arms of a growing number of capable and ambitious Chinamen.
-Finally, the Empire, in a bid to expand influence in Europe and to bring the Balkans under her wing again, invades Ruthenia. While largely a success (the ironclads completely smashed the ports), the mass produced paper cartridges deform, break, or become spoiled during transit. Problems with the machinery and workers that produced them, along with slippery fingered bureaucrats and private contractors are to blame as well. The private contractors are dismissed, but the damage has been already dealt. Many soldiers are forced to wait in the ports or even abandon areas when enemy reinforcements arrived. The war drags on for several more months as much of the surprised gained in the initial conflict is lost, and while the Empire replenishes the supply lines, it is a long and hard fought gruelling war lasting eight months, with the coup de grace being the intervention of Kievan and Bohemian forces to help force the Khans to sue for peace. Administration later becomes another massive headache, as there are now even more ethnic and religious groups to please (although the Greek colonists who hung on for all those years are pleased they can get the return of their privileges). The railways eventually arrive here, but the costs of administrating the area are considerably high until tensions cool and the economy picks back up again. Ironically, due to the tariff laws, the Ruthenians manage to turn the Empire into a captive market. They undercut Greek farmers heavily, causing their incomes to decline and in turn annoying the landowners who demand new protections from the congress. The farmers later hold a march, and when they arrive at the Congress, they are informed it is not in session today, because they did not have enough money to repair the building, causing a section of the roof to cave in during the weekend.
[img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=507230&dateline=1376613839[/img][img]http://i.cubeupload.com/ijCHd9.png[/img]
[b]StaleRye – The Baltic Entente
Capital: Riga
Culture: Livonian (Baltic)
State Religion: Deism[/b]
-In continuing improvements to electrical equipment, and increased knowledge of electrical science, a whole plethora of odd and weird devices and machines (many inspired or reimported back from the Bohemians) are introduced. It is well known that if one had 4 resistors and did not know the resistance of the fourth one, they could modify the resistance of one of the resistors until it created a “balanced” bridge where 2 resistors are in series and are parallel to another 2 resistors in series. (r1/r2 = rx/r4, where x is the unknown). When the current is zero, the “bridge” is balanced. The potential applications include heat sensors, whereby modifying the resistance of one resistor (which will experience a drop or increase as the temperature changes) will produce a signal. The main direction of work however, takes us to a strange machine that uses a small lever to press marks into a sheet of paper (or apply ink). By linking two such machines over a long distance, one can draw a dot on a sheet of paper from a great distance. Initially not well received, eventually these machines begin to be installed in the new railway stations, in post offices, and increasingly are being adopted not only to send simple messages, but entire written notes and codes. The first commercial telegraphy service in the world is soon inaugurated, with it costing a day’s wages for a labourer to send the first commercial messages.
-Rifling of firearms continues to spread throughout the military, eventually culminating with the entire army being equipped either with muzzle loading rifles or the more modern air rifles. At great expense the latter is favoured, and although costs of production are high and the machine is still somewhat fragile, enticements and other attempted improvements sees the air rifle become common among all skirmishers and light infantry units, along with a few being used by officers or senior soldiers among the rank and file. Drills are still important, but individual soldiers are starting to be noticed for merit, and the solid blocks of infantry previously used are gradually breaking up into smaller subgroups in which the soldiers and officers own initiative is gradually becoming more important. Soldiers are now using the terrain and attempting to encircle enemy forces along with increasing use of cover, a lack of willingness to meet with a bayonet charge, gradual abandonment of the bayonet itself, and increasing use of camouflage. Grenades are being gradually adopted by “shock” troops, but due to the problems with timing the explosion (mercury fulminate is useless for grenades) they do not see widespread adoption. Artillery begins to see steady improvement however, such as the adoption of small “scopes” made from telescopes attached to the top of the barrel to aid with aiming the gun. Sometimes a small metal shield is crudely bolted onto the front and painted over, partly to hide the gun, and partly to hide the crew.
-In Sweden, a 17 year old named Ingvar Kamprad begins making cheap, easily assembled parts kits for various pieces of furniture. He then names his business IKEA, and with help from Entente investors, is soon shipping his kits over Europe as a means to appeal to the aspiring middle classes who want to own affordable and functional furniture. This is part of the gradual shift towards consumer goods products (which is seen as key to future success of the lifeblood of the nation). With the spread of railways and increasingly faster and larger steamships and clippers (the latter are mostly used for long distance travel). To aid in this, small grants and loans with favourable interest rates are given out to aspiring grocers, who gradually begin to move increasing quantities of goods around for consumers. The adoption of ice houses to preserve food is spreading from Scandinavia into the rest of the Baltic, and farmers are subsidized so as to produce ever more food and to reduce prices. One factory manager responds by cutting wages, but a group of workers manage to sneak into his house one day and beat him senseless. After this he not only announces increased wages, but also that he will be moving abroad for the time being. The general trend however is for people to gradually have more to buy, and diets slowly improve. The new lower classes of the Baltic now own small houses with IKEA furniture, cheap cotton clothing, eat potatoes, bread, butter, bacon, fish, drink tea, and generally have enough left over to buy some newspapers or tobacco with. This is what most of the urban poor generally seems to aspire to.
-The Kalevala is written in Finland, and the Kalevipoeg is written in Estonia. Both are works of poetry focusing on the ancient mythologies of both these nations, helping to spur nationalistic feelings among the people here (who beforehand saw themselves as peasants living in one village) and helping to assist in the task of nation-building that intellectuals seem so keen on these days. The Baltic Entente, for some reason, requests that Finland join them in a political union. The publishing of the Kalevala meant this had stupidly backfired however, resulting in a great number of nationalists opposing union with the Baltic on the basis that it would be harmful to their independent nation. Soon afterwards, the Finnish decide to aggressively assert their right to independence by expanding north and east into Karelia and Lapland to take over the people there and to create a “Greater Finland”. The Entente responds by trying to expand in the same direction, but the Finnish unfortunately seem to have a head start and already block access to most of the land by virtue of their large borders.
-The Entente also declares war on the Kingdom of Polotsk helping the Bohemian and Eastern Empires in their other wars throughout eastern Europe (the so called “liberation wars”, where they liberate the many countries and lands there and then annex or put heavy political pressure on the liberated). Although the Baltic entente is not a great driver or initiator of such wars, their new military doctrine and soldiers prove their worth upon the field most excellently, and they gain not only some lands previously lost, but vast new ones full of peoples to rule over and derive power from.
[img]http://imageshack.us/a/img832/6236/ko5b.png[/img]
[b]Mallow234 – Phoenician Federation
Capital: Malta
Culture: Phoenician (Semitic)
State Religion: Canaanite[/b]
-With industrialization underway and heavily modifying society on every level, the Phoenicians have reported extensive problems with building many machines given the difficulty of finding the right parts that fit easily. Into this steps an engineer who, using the recently adopted metric system, invents a system of standardized screws and bolts for use in construction and metalworking. His system quickly becomes popular (especially with encouragement from the state), and soon whole factories begin to be built around the principle of integrated parts. If a part of a machine breaks, one can simply replace it with a spare part and have it quickly running again. Some far-sighted factory managers even apply the concept to the production of goods themselves and to workers. Jobs continue to be systematically studied at every angle, and scientifically broken down into smaller constituent parts consisting of a single action. Machines are soon designed to replicate these simple actions, gradually mechanizing the entire process from start to finish. Workers are hired based on their productivity, and if they do not match the average soon enough, they are quickly replaced with another worker on the line. These factory managers are deeply unpopular, and the workers feel angry at the fact they have to do simple, boring, and repetitive jobs, but the overall wealth of the nation improves. There is a significant time delay between what wages ought to be, and how long it takes for them to reach that level however.
-In return for giving Xerxes the use of the propeller as a means of driving ships, Phoenicia sends technicians and teachers to assist the country with the adoption of a metric system and gunpowder manufacture. They say “Thanks!” and repay by selling Phoenica cheap cocaine and tobacco by the shipload. The Phoenicians repay this by sending people over to kidnap Cinchona farmers and smuggle out seeds, before establishing plantations in their colonies. A similar deal is done with Wapan, where the Phoenicians adopt their rifling methods to rifle firearms and artillery pieces, and are now using powerful machines to bore standardized calibres into these new guns. Cannon are standardized with 50mm, 90mm and 130mm calibres respectively, and rifled muskets are issued to snipers. A sword-type bayonet is adopted (it can be detached and double up as a sword), being issued to every soldier in the army (including sappers and artillery crews). Another line of reforms sees the establishment of a permanent general staff, complete with an old pentagonal star fort in Malta being refurbished to serve as their headquarters. Electrical and mechanical engineers are adopted into the army to build bridges, lay railway lines and telegraph cables, along with other important infrastructure.
-The military also adopts fitness regimes and standards for their soldiers, with soldiers now requiring education in some military theory, foreign language, trades, or other important tasks that may be required when they travel overseas to fight on behalf of the Federation. Small fleets are subsequently based in the Bahamas and Bermudas along with offices and barracks to hold these soldiers (for overseas conflict). With several artillery batteries and fast steam powered frigates, they clear the north Atlantic of piracy in its entirety, contributing to a massive boom in overseas trade as insurance rates for shipping companies drop and more merchants are encouraged by the relative safety to invest overseas. The presence of ports and the growing number of lighthouses and accurate nautical charts continues this trend, and some Martello towers also double up as lighthouses. Despite this, the lack of lifeguard organizations and an integrated communications system (along with lighthouses in general) hampers further development of international trade.
-The Federation invades Mali, using the Cinchona bark extracts (heavily imported and subsequently grown) to treat malaria. The Malians are taken by surprise of the rapidity of the invasion. The use of railways and telegraphs proved crucial in bringing necessary supplies, reinforcements, and relaying messages quickly. The whole country is subjugated and put under colonial administration, which then sets itself on improving agriculture, building vast infrastructure networks, and then bringing the land separating them from the coast under control. Natives are hired as soldiers to assist in these endeavours, and the great rivers are soon lined with ports, railways, guns, and telegraph stations. “Shekel-counting” colleges are built to educate the people so as to prepare them for modern agriculture and industry, missionaries travel down to spread the good word (Iberian Christianity seems tolerated) as well, and the Pan-African line is extended southwards. Vast irrigation canals and networks are also constructed to provide the water supplies necessary for intensive agriculture and to water the growing population as well. The arrival of these iron monsters on rails heralds the glorious arrival of the Federations power. Of course, you may ask why they even conquered this land in the first place if it is so malarial ridden. The answer is simple. More land to grow cinchona in to make anti-malarial medicines with!
-A competition is started to create the fastest steam train in the world (and the fastest steamship). The winner of either will win the Golden Hexagram award, along with a generous cash prize. Up until now, the record for a crossing of the Atlantic is about 16 days length. However, a Greek shipowner (who bought a ship equipped with powerful triple expansion engines) claims the prize after he sailed the Atlantic in a mere 9 days and 23 hours, travelling at a speed of 20 km/h. This is followed up, embarrassingly, by a Greek railway engineer who claims the prize after building a steam locomotive that hit 110 km/h, going so fast that it showed the Phoenicians that from that point on, lines had to be built straighter and gentler if they wanted such fast and powerful engines on their railways.
-The Federation expands her naval and mercantile grip further into the Atlantic. Over several years, she colonises the Azores, Montevido, the eastern island of the Falklands, and then finishes up by sending gunboats to an obscure island in the Malays, where they bully the local King into granting them control of the swampy island populated by bands and tribes of indigenous Malay people. The Phoenicians then quickly build a fort and dock, followed up by a marketplace and several Martello towers to defend the island, before setting sail east in search of new lands. The Phoenicians did try to colonize an island called “Diego Garcia” in the Indian Ocean, but unluckily for them the Greeks were prepared to waste more money getting there first. Undeterred, the Phoenicians set up more plantations in their new possessions and sign trade deals with Asian rulers before meeting Waifuist missionaries and chapels already common to the area. The Phoenicians are informed of the many lands in the area occupied by a mostly backwards (but sometimes willing to convert) people, and of more innovations the Wapanese have. Buying their new rifles and schematics for rifling machines, the merchants go back home to make a lot of money mass producing these new rifles. The rest expand colonial operations, with the recent colonial acquisitions being turned into trading ports and being treated as bases from which to expand further overseas. The growth of coaling stations and the relative decline of the Eastern Empire (especially in the Atlantic sphere) allows them to dominate the seas.
-A trade deal is conducted with the Zulu Emperor. In return for fleet basing rights, the Zulu are to receive the equipment necessary for the construction of railroads and assistance with modernization of their ports (mostly in order to make them serviceable to steamships).
-The navy sails to Marseilles in Lombardy, where they annihilate the naval forces and destroy the gun batteries before assaulting the port with heavy infantry attacks. The fort takes longer, with several weeks required before the walls come down and the soldiers inside surrender. Of course, the French send for reinforcements, and with little time to lose, the Federation army digs a network of trenches and puts in heavy gun batteries around the city, along with setting up a supply system to maintain it by sea (complete with a light railway to service the city and her port). The French arrive and make several punitive assaults on the city, but are driven back multiple times. Naval assistance in the form of offshore bombardment is particularly devastating as well, eventually forcing the French to sue for peace when they find it impossible (at the time being) to break through into the city and retake it. The treaty is essentially the Federation annexing Marseilles for the simple reason that they could.
-The Phoenicians also reinvent an old and rather strange and odd holiday that takes place shortly after the winter solstice. In this holiday, one eats copious amounts of meat and then spends a lot of money on presents or donates to charitable organisations. They then have big meals with as many people as possible, and send mass produced printed cards to everybody they can think of. Too polite to reject these letters, complete strangers end up sending them back, and soon the postal service is choked with millions of letters and cards being sent around this time of year. Although life may be generally miserable for the factory workers who have low wages and take cocaine and alcohol, the rural farmers heavily in poverty and debt, the homesick soldiers far overseas suffering from exotic diseases, the bureaucrats and administrators suffering heatstroke and the threat of assassination, plus the tribes, bands, and chiefdoms all being slowly gobbled up, this is one time of year where people can forget most of these problems for a day or two. Amazingly, the factories close and managers give large meals to their workers, the co-operative societies donating vast sums of money to providing shelters and clothing to the poor, and even some old and quaint landowners have a tradition where they throw a vast feast reminiscent of the old medieval era, giving the children toys. Even the bureaucrats of the state are not exempt, for the colour of ink for pensions paid out is changed to be more festive colour, complete with an additional note informing the recipient they have received a ten pence bonus for Christmas.
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[b]cis. joshb – Kingdom of Polotsk
Capital: Polotsk
Culture: Polochan (Slavic)
State Religion: Slavic[/b]
-The Chief of Polotsk, deciding in that he ought to make his country slightly more modern, adopted the name “Kingdom of Polotsk”, crowning himself King in the process. With this change in outlook, he begins to seek out ways to reform the military and soon the political institutions of the state in conjunction with new economic reforms. The Chiefdom is declared a Kingdom by Chief Yaroslav, who becomes Yaroslav I of the House of Polotsk, with the crippled noble class being called to a grand palace built from fishing huts on the Baltic coast. Their lives are payed for with a reasonable standard of living. With the nobles gone, the King sends out administrators who derive their power from having the King's authorization, rather than ownership of local land. They administer things such as tax collection and conscription. The King hopes to gain centralized control of his nation this way. He starts by introducing new “breechloading” guns (based off the idea the Scots had) and having them produced en masse for the army. Unfortunately, they are unrifled and often fragile, plus the poor industrial capabilities of the country limit their spread and overall adoption. It is however, the first service firearm adopted in Polotsk, and over time the military gradually adopts the international metric system (redesigning their cannons with the standard) along with importing brand new artillery pieces and attempting to import Baltic air rifles. Unfortunately, the Entente refuses to send the designs, stifling further reform.
-The Chiefdom had been declared a Kingdom by Chief Yaroslav, (becoming Yaroslav of the House of Polotsk) with the crippled noble class being called to a grand palace built from a fishing village on the Baltic coast. Their lives are paid for with a reasonable standard of living in return for the clearing of their debts, and with the nobles gone, the King sends out administrators who derive their power from having the King's authorization, rather than ownership of local land. They administer tax collection and conscription, gradually centralizing power under the King. Unfortunately, this makes his attempts at bringing reform to the countryside difficult. His use of land captains to administer localities without bothering to check with the locals (merely taxing them or conscripting them) makes the matter worse. When the King encourages the use of potatoes, hoping it will help solve some hunger issues, the peasants refuse, viewing his imposed policies with great hostility. The peasants are increasingly angry at the squeezing out of their craftworks (as imported goods and the factories lower prices) and often just buy imported tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs to consume. When the first railways are built by the government, they are mostly in order to get supplies and soldiers from the developed land in Prussia to the frontier with Rus. Entrepreneurs ride on these to carry goods around the countryside, often acting as a link with the outside world for these isolated villages.
-Seeing that the peasants (based in rural kolkhoz communal villages) are still quite miserable, Yaroslav introduces land reforms aimed at creating a large class of landowning and conservative farmers to rely on for support. Sending in surveyors to chart the land and divide it up, many are often wary of these surveyors, and applications to privatise many plots are often withdrawn due to peer pressure. Insecurity means that these villages often form and are difficult to break up (as they are a way of getting through hard times), and given the monarchies lack of interest into developing the land, this is still a major problem. There is some minor success in more economically developed areas close to the urban areas, but the removal of the nobility and their lack of power later resulted in very few landowners with the money or power necessary to enact clearances so as to improve agricultural output. Using his centralized power, to appease liberals, the king establishes a parliament. It has 81 members. 20 from the urban poor and peasant/serf classes; 20 from the merchant, businessmen, horse-breeder and artisan classes; 20 from the nobility, 20 civil servants from the central government, and the king himself being the 81st member. The parliament is allowed to propose and approve laws about taxation and internal law; although it is neutered by the fact the king reserves the right to take precedence over the decisions of the parliament, with 70 members needing to vote to override him. Given that the votes disproportionately favour the nobility and government, the 20 civil servants almost always vote for the Kings decision, effectively leaving him with a monopoly of power and retaining the Kingdom as an autocracy.
-Star forts are gradually built along the coasts of the Baltic to protect shipping and to cover the approaches to ports, most of them intended to protect against Russian incursions. An army of 15,000 is conscripted (with many more in the reserves) to declare war against the Rus. 63 of the 81 members of parliament refuse to show up because they all were heavily opposed to the war as the King had recently become engaged in debauchery and allowing foreigners to peddle drugs in the Kingdom to his subjects. Ignoring the parliament, he dissolves it and sends the army into Russia, where they initially have several major successes against the Russians and their Mongol allies. The support promised by the Bohemians, Baltic, and Greeks fails to materialize, and much later it turns out that they were betrayed, backstabbed by those very “allies”. Appeals are made to France and Brandenburg, but both of these countries are already embroiled in heated conflicts and are marked by complete ineptness and failure against those very same Empires. The King of Polotsk, on realizing that the Bohemians are marching on his capital and his isolated army is being ripped apart by Mongols, develops a heavy cocaine addiction. On the day where his parliament is forced to sue for peace on his behalf, the King consumed a great deal of cocaine and went missing during the night. When he came to, a loud banging in his closet was heard, and upon opening there was a very small and very cross man standing there. As it turned out, the King had thought he had found a leprechaun outside and chased him around the streets before picking him up, locking him in the closet, and promising only to let him out if he gave him the pot of gold. The parliament signs a peace treaty with Bohemia, dissolving Polotsk and giving a large portion of the land to Bohemia and the Baltic Entente plus the creation of the buffer state of Prussia.
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[b]MrFace – Iberian Kingdom
Capital: Madrid
Culture: Spanish (Latin)
State Religion: Christianity (Iberian)[/b]
-The Iberians are always on the lookout to improve their ability to fight wars and project their power overseas. Very often, war isn’t about glory, sometimes it’s just about killing the enemy. To this end a new type of air rifle, adopted from the Baltic Entente, is introduced. Unlike earlier designs, it is one of the first heavily robust models, and now a special machine used to pump air into it is invented, reducing a number of the drawbacks behind it. By implementing small unit strategies using the new compressed air rifles. Small squads gradually become the norm and unit cohesion steadily grows. There is an increasing focus on damaging the infrastructure of the enemy (and consequently their ability to fight).These modern units are more or less tasked with maximizing damage to enemy infrastructure and wreaking havoc on supply lines. While rank and file infantry armed with muskets and bayonets are still the main force, the new type of soldier is gradually coming to the fore, with military reforms radically changing the nature of warfare in the future. Whenever this is for the better or not, is long debated.
-The navy also undergoes similar reforms, setting up vast shipyards (or improving existing ones in the former Misiryaban Republic) and building bigger and more powerful ironclad steamships. With heavier guns (some are 64lbrs), these can easily tear apart all wooden ships, and damage some of the older ironclads. They are however made obsolete by the Eastern Empires new ironclads with triple expansion engines, powerful machines indeed that put the Spanish at risk of quickly falling behind. The Spanish ships continue to patrol the high seas and protect convoys, projecting naval power as far afield as “Hanajia” as it is called by the Wapanese. The Eastern coast is finally charted in its entirety, with trade posts being set up and large scale trade with the “Americlaps” as they are called now underway. With the economic basis for cash crop agriculture in place in the east coast, many of the chiefdoms and kingdoms there are rapidly planting crops such as cotton and tobacco, then selling them in bulk to Spanish traders to be exported to Europe. Prices consequently begin to rapidly drop, and aided by the efforts of the Spanish, most people now can smoke tobacco and wear cotton clothing. Spinners and weavers have a hard time converting cotton en masse however, bringing an increasing demand for mechanization of the textile industry. The new ships are also used to bring supplies to the Bohemian and Eastern Empires in the liberation wars, and are much appreciated for the quality of the tobacco brought over.
-In a continued effort to promote industrialization and reinvigoration of the country’s economic and social structure, several reforms are enacted so as to turn Iberia into a modern state. All laws regarding feudal obligations, trade protections, and the old guilds are abolished, with amusing results. Firstly, the nobility begins to quickly throw unprofitable peasants off the land and start to convert the lands to pasture or intensive growing of various crops. Heavy machinery and tools are imported, and contrary to the high unemployment common in other countries, there is actually a net increase in labourers required. Vast estates (initially) need masses of workers to shape the land, build fences, barns, repair the existing facilities, dig canals and roads, and to generally reshape the entire landscape. This process starts to end in 1039 when the number of clearances underway peaks, with vast armies of former peasants travelling around the countryside to work on the new projects. Unfortunately, these start to drop within a few months, and now that all of the land has been finished, unemployment in rural areas has begun to rapidly accelerate. With no legal protections or any way to manage these problems (plus the avocation of a laissez faire economy), the first “boom and bust” cycle in Iberian history has happened. With little other prospects, the workers slowly move to the cities, accepting jobs marginally better paying than those in the countryside. For many other unlucky persons unable to manage the transition, they poach on the estates or starve, with some lying dead in ditches, their mouths full of grass.
-The nobility did not suddenly get granted these wide ranging powers to dismantle the poor laws and enact clearances out of nowhere. Over the years, the King was put under significant pressure to adopt a constitution, especially as the modern state grew out of his immediate control. Eventually, the nobles who made up a large part of government ministries and officers in the armed forces, along with allies in the new growing middle classes, presented a constitution creating a Congress for legislative purposes and a President for executive purposes. The Poder Judicial is also instituted; with a system of checks and balances introduced to ensure no one branch gains too much power (separation of powers). The King still retains some power (such as being able to veto any law minus budgets for a year, and the dismissal of members of the cabinet) but is largely a figure head. Free elections are to take place with all men (who own or rent land of a certain value) being able to vote for representatives of their choosing. The Liberal and Conservative parties form, with small minority representatives being less moderate and advocating reforms ranging from legal rights for women to strengthening the church). In a drunken fuelled rage later after seeing one of the delegates wearing a cloth cap, the King is heard shouting something about his hatred for "communism" and how the "commie bastards" that are the Lendinites are "literally Hitler, Mao, and Stalin rolled into one". There's still no word as to who Hitler, Mao, and Stalin are but they're thought to be bad, bad people. Soon afterwards, restrictions on the growing numbers of libertarians and socialists (as they call themselves) slowly grow, pushing several underground. Trade Unions are also banned due to some possessing a “socialist” nature. Anti-authoritarian groups are allowed, as long as they only criticise the enemies of the state.
The old pope dies (not that he did much other than sit around and cackle about having so much fucking gold because he was a massively greedy twat). After the elections, the new Pope hails from Madrid, and seeing that the urban workers and rural peasantry are desperately poor and losing faith in god, calls for a reinvigoration of the church to meet demands of the modern day. He starts by setting up soup kitchens and shelters throughout the towns and cities, but is hampered by indifferent support from the state.
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[b]Griffster26 – Scotland
Capital: Dùn Èideann
Culture: Scottish (Celtic)
State Religion: Christian (Iberian)[/b]
-Firearms manufacture is reasonably easy, as any fool can hammer a piece of metal into a tube or use the more modern machines to automatically melt them. However, munitions are more difficult, and are usually paper cartridges made by soldiers themselves in their spare time. The integrated metal cartridge is a massive step forwards away from this and revolutionary in firearms technology. By encasing the shot and powder in a metal case and using a mercury fulminate cap on the bottom, the weather is no longer a problem for firearms users and guns jam or misfire much less. Another advantage is that since all bullets are of the same standard size and shape, one can easily and quickly reload a gun using mechanical aid. In combination with the older beech-loading rifles and the manufacturing capabilities of Scotland, single shot breech loading rifles are now able to be mass produced on a large scale. The Scottish army has accurate rifles that can be reloaded quickly along with being reliable and cheap. The era of industrial warfare is being born.
-With continuing improvements to the navy and logistical capabilities, the Scottish government invests significant sums into a new colony in Florida, with the purpose of establishing a strong naval presence in the area and to bring some trade under their control. The first colony is a rather poor attempt, with most of the inhabitants dying to disease and being unable to stand the humid and hot climate. Several forts, towers, and even some tiny ports are eventually established and stocked with supplies, while the forests nearby are cleared for some agriculture. The presence of large pools of stagnant water provides breeding grounds for mosquitos though, and recently cleared vegetation is their favourite habitat. Attrition rates are horrifically high and migration to the colony is piecemeal and slow. It takes years for the worst of the mosquitos diseases to pass (people from West Africa do particularly well here, so a lot of them are hired or quietly bought to work here), but at the very least, the lucrative trading opportunities (rubber supplies are essential) make it worthwhile.
-Iceland is taken from Norway in another war. Unlike the previous war, this one was considerably much more difficult. The Norwegians had spent large sums of money on improving their navy along with modernizing their society, while also building Martello towers in Iceland to deter the Scottish navy. Six ironclads are used to capture the island, but at the cost of the crowning glory of the Scottish fleet (The Bawbag) to be crippled and eventually sink. The Bawbags sails were torn to shreds and the masts knocked down by cannonfire. The ship was forced to burn the furniture onboard to make it to the coast, whereupon it was caught on a reef and torn apart. The Scottish manage to beat off more Norwegian attacks, but after a long conflict and many ships crippled or sunk (including an incident where the town of Dundee was invaded, set on fire, and the local magistrates leg blown off by a cannonball), Norway sued for peace. To annoy the Scottish before they captured Iceland, an evacuation ship carried off most of the valuables, weakened the piers (one ship docked at one and when goods were being offloaded the pier collapsed) and greased the flagpole so nobody could take down the flag. When the Scottish admiral noticed this, he ordered the flagpole cut down.
-Education reforms and pollution standards are now being set throughout the country. A commission into workplace health has discovered that to their shock, many people are suffering from unclean drinking water and silicosis, and worse, many of them cannot even read. To rectify this, two acts are established to cover the worst excesses of such problems. The education act sets up regional and local schools in the countryside and cities to provide two hours of education for children per day. As for pollution, each council is now responsible for the digging of a standardized sewer system throughout the city. Many commercial and industrial organisations must be connected to them, along with some tenement owners (although these are often flouted). It’s a tiny step forwards in that now the rivers look light brown and have little things floating in them instead of deep brown and having big things floating in it.
-The Scottish state formally announces Iberian Christianity as the state religion. At this news, there is considerable civil unrest, riots, and even attempted assassinations and murders. The government does roll back many of the purported reforms in light of this to approach a more moderate stance, practically leaving it with no way to convert the country to this other religion (most seemingly for political purposes). The schools and religiously apathetic are a clearly good place to start, and by slightly reforming Iberian Christianity so that it can take the modern industrial world into account, the new movement begins to succeed in the cities, particularly among the younger industrial workers.
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[b]CapLaPorte – The Kingdom of Romania
Capital: Salona
Culture: Romanian (Latin)
State Religion: Christianity (Aquinism)[/b]
-The Romanian government, acknowledging that large reforms must be made to agriculture in order to produce the overall wealth of the land, begins to purchase foreign farming equipment and to build machine tool factories to provide for a domestic source of farming equipment. Unfortunately, most peasants cannot afford to buy these new machines. The government steps into dealing with this by deliberately ordering traction engines from workshops and lending them out to various agricultural communities, where they can be used to power threshing machines, pull ploughs, and other necessary improvements. Unfortunately, they are too big to be used on tiny fields, forcing many plots of land to be joined together. While some villages do successfully manage to communally agree on how to join up fields and manage the land, the vast majority of peasants simply sell their plots or tenancy rights and move to the cities. In cases where the nobles own the land and the peasants, they simply throw them off the land and join up the strips. Food prices begin to steadily drop and the cities begin to see a growing number of workers, but at the cost of slowly getting rid of rural communities. Those that do move to the cities, often make more money than they did on the farm, sending back some cash to assist the families at home. There is very little diffusion of cosmopolitan ideals here, save for tea-drinking and the move towards becoming literate enough to read the good book.
-The Romanian army undergoes reform in order to catch up with her neighbours, given significant problems posed by the retention of a near medieval military system and the reluctance of many in the armed forces to move towards a more modern system. A coherent, easy to understand chain of command is established however, along with a large bureaucracy to manage the allocation of supplies and general administration of the armed forces. The ministry of war is established, and gradually the military begins to become an arm of the state as opposed to a personal possession of the monarchy. The army also performs some peacekeeping duties, often being called in to control strikes and unions whenever they get big and dangerous enough to cause problems. Firearms factories are built and large numbers of artillery pieces and guns are produced, along with powder stores, bayonets, uniforms, and other necessary equipment needed for the army. A medical corps is established as well, complete with a brand new invention where by applying a liquid to a wound, heavily reduces the chance of infection. Of course, a good surgeon is still in high dem
i'll play arma 2 with u guys even tho i suck
Where the hell is the map and all the crap I sent you on Steam Sobotnik?
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