For Want of a Nail [OOC/AH/OPEN]

[Lunas Legion]

Hmm. Yeah, their defeat at Vienna in 1683 would've severely undermined both the position of the Hapsburgs and the confidence of the smaller states of the HRE in the empire itself. A League of some form, forming around one of the more powerful of the Elector States in the HRE would likely make the most sense but not be Emperor quite yet since Leopold I is still alive.

Such a thing wasn't necessarily planned, but I do personally think that it could make sense, so you could probably go for it

The idea could really be nice

I'll likely use the Margrave_of_Baden-Baden as the current leader of the League of Mainz although given his death in 1701, Prince Eugene will likely be chosen as the head of the League after Louis William's demise both for his role in stopping the French in the Nine Years War and the War of the Holy League which unlike IRL was to stem further Ottoman expansion into the HRE rather than roll it back.

[Tracian Empire]

Such a thing wasn't necessarily planned, but I do personally think that it could make sense, so you could probably go for it

The idea could really be nice

I'll likely use the Margrave_of_Baden-Baden as the current leader of the League of Mainz although given his death in 1701, Prince Eugene will likely be chosen as the head of the League after Louis William's demise both for his role in stopping the French in the Nine Years War and the War of the Holy League which unlike IRL was to stem further Ottoman expansion into the HRE rather than roll it back.

Void seems to be alright with the concept too, so your reservation is accepted.

And yeah, it would make sense for the War of the Holy League to simply be to stem further Ottoman expansion - but it would have probably been successful. Ever since the fall of Vienna, no major Ottoman operation on the same scale as the attack on Vienna would have been attempted - just smaller attacks and raiding forces.

[Nouveau Quebecois]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Kingdom of France / French Kingdom / France
Flag/Symbols:

Head of State/Head of Government: Louis XIV of France
Government Type: Absolute Feudal Monarchy
Population: 20 Million
Military Population:
- 110,000 Maréchaussée (National Gendarmerie)
- 10,000 Gendarme
- 10,000 Régiment des Gardes Françaises
- 70,000 Armée Royale Française

Territory: Corresponding to the territory of the Kingdom of France in the preset map.
History:
The Kingdom of France originated as West Francia, the western half of the Carolingian Empire, with the Treaty of Verdun in 843. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, when Hugh Capet was elected king and founded the Capetian dynasty. France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was abolished in 1792 during the French Revolution.

France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy. In Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France. Initially, West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, but the regular coronation of the eldest son of the reigning king during his father's lifetime established the principle of male primogeniture, which became codified in the Salic law. During the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years' War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars.

France in the early modern era was increasingly centralised; the French language began to displace other languages from official use, and the monarch expanded it's absolute power under Louis XIV, albeit in an administrative system (the Ancien Régime) complicated by historic and regional irregularities in taxation, legal, judicial, and ecclesiastic divisions, and local prerogatives. Religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and an oppressed Protestant minority which led to a series of civil wars. As the clock turns to the 1700s, Louis XIV in his declining state of health is left with the task of securing French dominance in mainland Europe and maintaining his empire in the afterlife through a suitable heir.

RP Sample: From an old account.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

[Grand Indochina]

REDACTED.

[Reverend Norv]

Application complete!

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Sometimes, inaccurately, called England. Most commonly called the Commonwealth.

Flag/Symbols: The Commonwealth Jack was adopted by Parliament in an attempt to increase Scottish and Irish identification with the young republic. In England, the St. George Cross is often still flown by itself. And the state Calvinism of the Commonwealth means that religious banners - typically Biblical verses embroidered on an orange field - share pride of place with Parliament's jack.

Head of State/Head of Government: Lord Protector Henry Montagu is the head of government. In theory, the people themselves are the head of state, or perhaps God; there is some legal controversy on this point.

Government Type:

The Commonwealth is a republic structured according to a heavily amended version of the Instrument of Governance of 1652. Its basic organizing principle is "that the people are, under God, the original of all just power; and that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation."

England, Wales, and Scotland are divided into 150 constituencies, ranging in size from whole counties to urban boroughs of London. Constituencies in England are smaller and more numerous than those in Scotland, which tends to dilute the individual voting power of the Scots. In general, constituencies are based on ancient boundaries and do not have to be equipopulational. Each of these constituencies elects two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons every two years; the House of Lords was abolished in 1649. Suffrage is limited to Protestant men of at least 21 years who either possess property of at least £100, or who have served in the armed forces, or who possess a degree in law or divinity. Together with these 300 elected MPs, the 100 so-called grandees complete the House of Commons; the grandees represent Oxford and Cambridge Universities; the aristocratic lords who retain extensive power in Ireland; and the New Model Army, which justifies its undemocratic authority in Parliament by citing its role as cor et conscientia patriae. This awkward distribution of power was a compromise to end the Fourth Civil War in 1658, and it has proved surprisingly durable.

Executive power is invested in the Lord Protector, who functions primarily as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is directly responsible for their administration. The Lord Protector is chosen by Parliament and serves the same two-year term as the a single sitting of the Commons. Thereafter, he may be retained or replaced at the pleasure of the House - though a Lord Protector who is popular with the troops is in practice difficult to remove, since soldiers and veterans constitute so much of the enfranchised public. Non-military administration is managed by the Council of State, whose members - each responsible for an aspect of administration, like the Exchequer - are also chosen by Parliament independently of the Lord Protector, but who are theoretically under his authority. In practice, there is an expectation of broad executive autonomy for the Lord Protector, but not for the Council of State, who are frequently asked before Parliament to answer MPs' questions. The result is a system of strong parliamentary control over all aspects of government except the military, which relies on Parliament for funding but is otherwise mostly self-regulating under the Lord Protector. This, too, reflects a compromise between pro-Cromwellian and anti-Cromwellian factions at the end of the Fourth Civil War.

Unlike almost every other country in Europe, the Commonwealth is avowedly a government of limited powers, whose commitments in the Instrument of Government clearly constrain its authority. The right of suffrage for all who serve in the military is guaranteed, as are regular Parliamentary elections and the required consent of Parliament for any tax or tariff. Astonishingly, there exists an enshrined right providing for equality of all persons before the law, and stipulated freedom of religion for all non-Catholics. Citizens of the Commonwealth have the right to jury trials lasting not longer than six months, with the accused to be considered innocent until proven guilty. These provisions were an essential part of the settlement of the Fourth Civil War: the Levellers' price for peace in the absence of universal manhood suffrage.

Population: 8.2 million: 5.1 million in England and Wales, 1.1 million in Scotland - and 2 million in Ireland, many of whom would dispute their identification as "members" of the Commonwealth.

Military Population:

Two generations after the end of the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth remains a disproportionately formidable military power. This power is expressed in its land forces, the New Model Army, and in its naval forces, the Commonwealth Navy. The common element that gives both their effectiveness is a specific Reformed, middle-class ethos that prizes hard work, results, innovation, discipline, and merit over the aristocratic privilege and tradition that dominates the officer corps of most of the Commonwealth's rivals.

The New Model Army is a standing, full-time force of some 40,000 volunteer professional soldiers: twenty regiments of foot, six of horse, and two of dragoons. For most poor men, military service is the only likely path to suffrage, and so there is never a shortage of volunteers. This allows recruiters to select for a specific demographic: literate or quasi-literate men from Puritan families, whose culture of disciplined self-control and rational thought is the basis of the Army's effectiveness. Neither gold nor aristocratic title can secure rank in the Army, whose officers are mostly selected from the younger sons of the merchant classes -literacy and mathematical ability are essential - and then promoted based on merit and experience. The Army as a whole leans toward Leveller ideas, and considers itself the guardian of England's revolutionary fervor: the heart and conscience of the nation, cor et conscientia patriae.

The key to the Army's effectiveness is that its resolutely middle-class and Puritan recruitment and culture make it both highly innovative and ruthlessly hard-working and disciplined. From its bourgeois officers and meritocratic promotion structure, the Army receives its willingness to think creatively about tactics and technology, to try new things, to invest heavily in the nitty-gritty middle-class work of engineering and logistics, to focus on firepower and terrain rather than the aristocratic glory of the cavalry or bayonet charge. These are important advantages against armies dominated by aristocrats wedded to notions of military glory and tradition. From its Puritanism, though, the Army draws other strengths: the intense morale of those who believe that they fight in the cause of God against the forces of Catholic or crypto-Catholic Antichrist, and the iron discipline of a community that believes that self-control and hard work are the surest signs of a godly spirit. These are the virtues, sustained by a military community that enforces them through regular catechism and self-examination, that have given Commonwealth troops their fearsome reputation.

The Commonwealth Navy began as an extension of the New Model Army - indeed, its first admirals were called generals-at-sea - and it was the beneficiary of a massive investment by Cromwell. It leans more conservative and Whiggish than the Army, and its culture is less radically middle-class: the strict hierarchies of shipboard life attract a different kind of man, and many naval officers are still members of the minor aristocracy or squirearchy. Having largely abandoned the Mediterranean to the Venetians, the Navy's fighting force is composed mostly of oceangoing ships of the line, from 100-gun first-rate threedeckers to 40-gun fourth-rate frigates. These ships are intended to secure the Commonwealth's dominance of the Atlantic, and they benefit from an island people's ancient tradition of seafaring - a critical asset in an era when naval victory largely depended on a skilled crew's ability to manipulate the natural wind. Commonwealth ships patrol the shipping lanes from London to the Cape, and across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon and the East Indies. While the Navy is not at its best in shallow waters or close to shore, on the open sea, the skill of its sailors and the size and heavy armaments of its expensive warships make it a dangerous foe indeed - and arguably the premier blue-water fleet in the world.

Territory: As on the map, but with four or five fortified trading ports on the West African coast, and a small colony at the Cape. The island of Ceylon is a presidency of the East India Company. These colonial possessions reflect Britain's ambition to draw at least some trade via the long route around the Cape, rather than to cede all the riches of the East to Venice's Red Sea route.

History:

English history began to diverge from the path we know in the mid-16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for two hugely influential reasons. First, in the absence of the New World, Spain was never rich or powerful to become England's archenemy, and to threaten it with invasion. This allowed England to establish a dominant position in the Atlantic trade with West Africa, gradually squeezing its main Portuguese competitors. Second, without the New World as a safety valve for Puritans seeking to escape England's compromise between Catholic and Protestant traditions, the Reformed community developed a much sharper focus on defending its position in the kingdom. These two changes were related: most of the merchants growing wealthy off the trade with Africa - and, later, the route around the Cape to India - were leaders in the Puritan community.

As happened historically, these tensions boiled over in 1642, during the reign of Charles II. By this time, the hand of the Puritans had been further strengthened by the union of England and Scotland under a single crown - because the most powerful church in Scotland was Presbyterian and Reformed. A strong believer in his divine right to rule, Charles repeatedly dismissed Parliament and attempted to collect funds without its consent. This radicalized feelings in Parliament, and the House's leadership became more and more Puritan in its makeup. At the same time, Charles married a Catholic queen and imposed a strongly Catholic-flavored version of Anglicanism on both England and Scotland. The Presbyterian Scots promptly rebelled, and when Charles recalled Parliament to ask it for funds to fight the revolt, Parliament responded by passing a series of laws expanding its own powers at the cost of the king. Charles attempted to arrest several MPs, and fled London when he failed. Fighting began only a few months later.

Over the next fifteen years and three wars, England lost ten percent of its population. Scotland lost six percent. Ireland lost perhaps as much as forty percent. The apocalyptic conflict unleashed powerful, unpredictable social forces. The Parliamentary army, initially a conservative force led by aristocrats, was remade by Oliver Cromwell into a meritocratic, highly disciplined force steeped in Puritan and republican ideals. With the gates of ideological possibility flung open, Englishmen began to discuss concepts hitherto unthinkable: the equality of all men before the law as they were before God, and government solely by the consent of the governed, and even the abolition of private property. King Charles was arrested, tried for treason, and beheaded: the first time in European history an elected body had asserted its absolute supremacy over a divinely sanctioned monarch. But the conflict metastasized: clashes between Puritans - especially English Congregationalists and Scots Presbyterians - led to two more wars. In Ireland, where the Catholic majority was seen as barely human by many Englishmen, war turned into massacre, and the country was pacified only with the ultimate brutality. At length, with the final defeat of the Scots, the two former kingdoms were combined under a single Parliament whose members were elected from both England and Scotland - while Ireland remained an occupied territory governed by military grandees. But what exactly the endless, exhausting wars had been fought for - that remained unclear. Godly Puritan society, or religious liberty? A traditional Parliament elected by property-holders, or universal manhood suffrage? Fundamental, unanswered questions left the Commons gridlocked and dysfunctional.

Oliver Cromwell responded with a coup d'etat. Dismissing Parliament and declaring himself Lord Protector with the support of the Army, he ruled for three years without recourse to Parliament. In some ways, those years were richly productive: they saw the birth of modern English naval power, and the revival of trade and manufacturing, and the modernization of infrastructure. But they were also remembered as a time of repression, when the property requirement for suffrage was raised, and local military governors punished Englishmen for performing plays or celebrating Christmas. A rift deepened among the men who had once fought together for the Good Old Cause of God, Parliament, and the Reformed faith. Some, known as the Levellers, believed that Cromwell had betrayed the revolution, failing to make all men equal and Parliament truly representative. Others, known as the Whigs, believed that Cromwell had already gone too far in his usurpation of power from Parliament. All could agree that the Lord Protector was a dead end.

And so, in 1655, it was no surprise when Cromwell was assassinated in a gunpowder blast in Kent. The exact perpetrators have never been identified. England collapsed into one final, bitter civil war: the mostly Leveller Army against the Whig Navy and local aristocratic militias, with unreconstructed royalists and a few apocalyptic cults thrown in for good measure. Nine months into the conflict, the Army itself schismed over the issue of religious toleration, with some Levellers repudiating Cromwell's imposition of Puritan values on a population that was still no more than half Reformed. After two years of bloody conflict, an unprecedented fact became clear: the Fourth Civil War had too many sides for any one of them to prevail on the battlefield. No victory was possible. A negotiated settlement was inevitable.

The result was the Compromise of 1658. After months of agonizing negotiations, the Whigs got their Parliament, with regular elections and a property requirement for voters - unless they had fought for the Commonwealth. The Levellers got guaranteed civil rights, including freedom of religion, and the enfranchisement of veterans. The aristocrats got their control of Ireland codified by law, and the Army got extensive autonomy under the Lord Protector - albeit one who would be chosen by Parliament. The deal left no one happy. But it ended the slaughter.

In the 42 years since, the scars of the conflict have begun to fade. The economy has prospered. The Commonwealth may be the only country in Europe where the bulk of the political power is held by the bourgeoisie, and so trade and manufacturing are readily acknowledged as the nation's economic base. Urbanization is gathering speed, and London and Bristol are clearinghouses for goods from across the Atlantic world. The East India Company, buoyed by a powerful navy and official support, seized the Cape and asserted its suzerainty over the island of Ceylon. The result, in 1700, is a bustling and prosperous British society: more middle-class and mercantile than in our timeline, much enamored of hard work and open markets, forward-thinking and optimistic. Only in Ireland, where rigid religious divides and powerful aristocrats still prevail, has the Commonwealth yet to emerge from the long darkness of the premodern era.

In England and Scotland, the religious and political compromise that ended the civil war is stable. A single Presbyterian state church encompasses both countries, but there is full freedom of religion for all non-Catholics. Puritan values are recognized as essential to the Republican character of the Commonwealth, and Puritans are over-represented in Parliament and especially in the Army, but Anglican and Baptist and even Quaker traditions remain vibrant, especially in Wales. Politically, the Levellers and Whigs have coalesced from armies into political factions, and though they continue strongly to differ over the extent of public enfranchisement, they quietly cooperate in sustaining a broad consensus around republican government, trade power abroad, and domestic peace. The New Model Army is still the third rail of English politics, regarding itself as the spiritual heart of the nation and largely beyond Parliament's full power to regulate. Royalism is a fading memory, though some Jacobite sentiment persists in the Highlands and in Ireland.

Internationally, though, the Commonwealth remains mostly isolated. It faces a largely Catholic continent where the struggle against the Turks has long been a defining matter of identity. Its main competitor for the East Indian trade, Venice, is a far more aristocratic and quasi-monarchical republic than the Commonwealth, whose radical Puritan-inflected egalitarianism is seen as a major potential political threat by many more traditional regimes. And so Britain looks to the sea for its destiny: to Africa, and to the vast Indian ocean beyond. And for the first time in generations, curious eyes turn west, and wonder if there might yet be a way to reach those riches - by going the other way around...

RP Sample: My credentials are in my sig.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

[Tracian Empire]

Are there any Western European states which would have allowed some Ottoman representatives to lurk around their armies? I need a model for the Nizâm-ı Cedîd Ordusu that the Sultan and the Köprülü family will be training in Anatolia to eventually oppose the Janissaries.

[Finland SSR]

Are there any Western European states which would have allowed some Ottoman representatives to lurk around their armies? I need a model for the Nizâm-ı Cedîd Ordusu that the Sultan and the Köprülü family will be training in Anatolia to eventually oppose the Janissaries.

Most likely France, if the Franco-Ottoman Alliance exists in this timeline as well.

[Tracian Empire]

Are there any Western European states which would have allowed some Ottoman representatives to lurk around their armies? I need a model for the Nizâm-ı Cedîd Ordusu that the Sultan and the Köprülü family will be training in Anatolia to eventually oppose the Janissaries.

Most likely France, if the Franco-Ottoman Alliance exists in this timeline as well.

Well, it probably would exist - although weaker than in real life due to no American colonies to exploit, the Habsburgs would have still been an European power and a threat to France.

But if we follow real life from that perspective, the alliance would be unofficial.

It depends on the French player, I'll talk to him - whether the informal alliance would have continued or not, or whether it would have been made formal after the Ottoman victory at Vienna.

[Reverend Norv]

All done my app. The Commonwealth would be an obvious partner for the Ottomans too: it doesn't care a fig what happens to Catholic Europe, and it's very interested in weakening Venice's hold on the East Indies trade.

[Tracian Empire]

All done my app. The Commonwealth would be an obvious partner for the Ottomans too: it doesn't care a fig what happens to Catholic Europe, and it's very interested in weakening Venice's hold on the East Indies trade.

The Ottomans might send an ambassador at some point. I don't know how willing would the English Commonwealth be willing to share information, but I sure do know that Ottoman privateers would be very interested to cooperate with the English in the Indian Ocean against the Venetians.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Most likely France, if the Franco-Ottoman Alliance exists in this timeline as well.

Well, it probably would exist - although weaker than in real life due to no American colonies to exploit, the Habsburgs would have still been an European power and a threat to France.

But if we follow real life from that perspective, the alliance would be unofficial.

It depends on the French player, I'll talk to him - whether the informal alliance would have continued or not, or whether it would have been made formal after the Ottoman victory at Vienna.

Legally, at least in the eyes of Catholic France, the Ottomans are incapable of concluding a treaty because they are not sovereign in the eyes of Christendom. Sovereingty (at this point a 50 year old concept) is limited to Christian nations, and includes the right to manage internal affairs and the right to conclude treaties. The Ottomans, as such, do not have the capacity to be bound in the eyes of Europe. So, I don’t think the alliance could ever become formal.

[Tracian Empire]

Well, it probably would exist - although weaker than in real life due to no American colonies to exploit, the Habsburgs would have still been an European power and a threat to France.

But if we follow real life from that perspective, the alliance would be unofficial.

It depends on the French player, I'll talk to him - whether the informal alliance would have continued or not, or whether it would have been made formal after the Ottoman victory at Vienna.

Legally, at least in the eyes of Catholic France, the Ottomans are incapable of concluding a treaty because they are not sovereign in the eyes of Christendom. Sovereingty (at this point a 50 year old concept) is limited to Christian nations, and includes the right to manage internal affairs and the right to conclude treaties. The Ottomans, as such, do not have the capacity to be bound in the eyes of Europe. So, I don’t think the alliance could ever become formal.

That is true, I probably expressed my thoughts badly. It's certainly not like Europe will acknowledge the Ottomans as equals anytime soon. But while an official alliance would be out of question, France might be interested in actually directly collaborating with the Ottomans against the Habsburgs. With the Habsburg power temporarily weakened, France could move against the HRE. The Nine Years' War ended only a few years ago after all, and later in 1700, Charles II will die, which could be the perfect opportunity to drag Europe into another war.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Songhai Caliphate, the Songhai Sultanate, Songhai
Flag/Symbols: Various national and local banners, religious banners, the star and crescent
Head of State/Head of Government: Dia (king) Askia Ismael II
Government Type: Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
Population: 10.000.000
Military Population: 50.000 standing, 200.000 can be raised at a time, 500.000 reserves
Territory: West Africa, Niger Valley
History: The history of this Songhai begins to differ from the real world on the 13th of March 1591. The Morrocan invasion force, incredibly outnumbered but armed with English cannon and arms, is attacked by a numerical superior Songhai army. Against orders, Morrocan cannon first target the densely-packed infantry formations, deeming those to be better targets. This mistake costs them: Heavy Songhai cavalry descends upon the undefended arquebusiers first, opening up the ground for infantry. The cavalry then moves to take out the battery. The battle is incredibly bloody, and losses on the Songhai side are almost catastrophic, but through the final cavalry charge king Askia Ishaq II won the day, saving his empire and earning him the nickname ‘Sword of Tondibi’.

While the results of the battle were relatively minor in terms of foreign policy (the king did not march north on Marrakech, choosing instead to seek immediate peace with the Saadi dynasty), the results for internal politics were monumental. In the battle, Askia Ishaq II had won eight English cannon, a large number of arquebuses, large amounts of gunpowder, Morrocan gun smiths, and importantly, the Morrocan commander: Judar Pasha, the Spanish-born eunuch who had been a favourite at the court of the Morrocan sultan. Besides being a superb field commander, Judar Pasha brought with him knowledge of Islamic bureaucracy and centralisation, as well as in-depth knowledge of Europe, whose love for gold was said to transcend their love for God and family.

The king, by winning himself modern guns and cannon, as well as the ability to make them, gained an enormous power base almost overnight. After returning home to Gao to a jubulent crowd, he marched south to defeat the Mossi raiders in battle, nominally subjugating them as a client kingdom. He strengthened the grip of his empire on the roads to the sea, exerting pressure on the Dutch and Portuguese trading cities in order to gain greater leeway in trade negotiations. Aiming cannon at their walls usually was enough to aquire some concessions. Askia Ishaq II was, however, weary to take the cities, as they were well-defended and provided him with access to European markets. With his new army, equipped with arquebuses and cannon, he secured his hold of the Niher river all the way to its delta, establishing his own royal port city there, and then marched west to conquer the Akan gold fields, the riches of which he kept for himself.

Control over vast gold fields granted the emperor the funds to implement reforms. A devout Muslim, he strengthened the presence of Islam by building mosques throughout his territory, and implementing a royal system of alms for the poorest (Muslim) citizens. In 1616, Askia Ishaq traveled to Mecca to perform the Hajj and to reintroduce his empire to the Islamic world. He traveled with his son and eventual heir, Muhammad, who both grew interested in the interconnectedness of the Islamic world and all the foreign ideas they came across alomg the way. Especially traveling through Cairo and Alexandria, two cities under Venetian control, made Muhammad intregued.

Askia Ishaq II stepped down as king in 1625 for reasons of health, allowing his son Askia Muhammad II to ascend to the throne without much bloodshed. While Ishaq had been mostly interested in internal affairs, Muhammad focussed on the external. He made huge investments in shipbuilding capacity, not only along the Niger river, but especially in the city of Dawud, which his father had founded at the Niger coast. Dawud became the Alexandria of west Africa, complete with (a significantly smaller) lighthouse built in the mud-and-clay style of Songhai. Ships from powerful Songhai merchants traveled the African coast, setting up small bases to gather resources. Unlike Europeans, the Songhai were perfectly capable to travel inland, where they traded for valuable commodities which, in turn, they could sell to Europeans.

A year after the death of Askia Muhammad II in 1653, and the assumption of the throne by Askia Benkan II, the first Songhai ships rounded the cape and connected to the east African trading network. There, gold and crafted items could be traded for ivory, which in turn could be traded with Europeans. Songhai became an important through-put for a large part of the spice trade, as knowledge of Bantu languages and Islamic customs, as well as acclimatisation helped them trade more efficiently with the existing Indian ocean powers. Learning from European travelers, many of whom had to dock at Dawud for ship repairs, the dockworkers there soon managed to build (small) ships in the European style, capable of carrying much more cargo than their own ship designs could.

Nowadays, the European competition is getting increasingly fierce. Their ships travel African waters freely, and as seafaring technology increases, fewer and fewer ships need to dock at Dawud, and fewer and fewer merchants have to buy Songhai goods. Pressure is upon the king to act against Europeans, either by seizing their African ports or seizing their ships, or both. The king is wary to antagonise the powerful Europeans, although the balance is not too heavily in their favour (due to the lack of American income). An alliance with the Ottoman empire to truly cut off the Europeans from India seems possible, but various factions have differing views on how European influence should be handled.



#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

[Nea Byzantia]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: Eastern Roman Empire|Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων|Imperium Romanum
Flag/Symbols:

(Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: Emperor Constantine XIII Kantakouzenos (ruled: 1668 AD - Present)
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 177,000
Military Population: 1,800 troops (plus Venetian forces and equipment leant by Republic of Venice)
Territory: Morea/Peloponnese
History: WIP

RP Sample: (at least one)
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

I have some ideas for starting to write the history; is it worth it though, or should I wait for OPs approval?

[Tracian Empire]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: Eastern Roman Empire|Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων|Imperium Romanum
Flag/Symbols:

(Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: Emperor Constantine XIII Kantakouzenos (ruled: 1668 AD - Present)
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 177,000
Military Population: 1,800 troops (plus Venetian forces and equipment leant by Republic of Venice)
Territory: Morea/Peloponnese
History: WIP

RP Sample: (at least one)
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

I have some ideas for starting to write the history; is it worth it though, or should I wait for OPs approval?

You should probably wait for him. He's in a place with spotty internet but he should review things soon.

[The V O I D]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: Emirate of Bactria
Flag/Symbols:

(Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: Emir Mirwais Hotak
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 12.4 Million
Military Population: 124 Thousand Active
Territory: Modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan
History: In the 1500s the Spice Trade was booming in the region. Karachi became a stopping port for trade entering and exiting the Persian gulf. Furthermore land trade routes passed through the region which began to bring great wealth to the local population. The majority of the population spoke Pashto instead of the Mughal's Urdu, and the growing wealth and influence of the local rulers earned the region autonomy from the Mughals. In the late 1500s and early 1600s a distaste grew against the Mughals, who were seen as stealing the regions wealth for themselves. The local rulers gathered to establish the Kandahar Council, were they began to plan acts of rebellion against the Mughals, local militias were formed and the military of the region was put under control sympathetic commanders. In 1680, the Hindus rose up in Rajastan, the Mughals deployed many of their forces to the Aravalli Hills to fight the rebellion. With their attention distracted, the Bactrians rose up, the Indus river and Karachi were quickly secured, so sympathizers in Europe and the Ottoman Empire could provide goods to the rebellion. The Bactrians beat back what little forces the Mughals could spare, with the Rajastani gaining more and more support. The Bactrian forces began a campaign toward Delhi. In 1682 the Mughals agreed to a peace treaty, and the Bactrian Emirate was formed. The Hotak Dynasty came to power as it was the most influential. In the following years, the nations Economy greatly grew, infrastructure was greatly improved. A grand library was constructed in Kabul, the expanding capital of the nation. Mosques were constructed throughout the country, and agriculture developed.

RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=35824961#p35824961
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

I'm going to need you to either expand your history, or separate it better into paragraphs, because as it is it seems a bit... rushed? I dunno. I'm willing to accept it, possibly, but that needs to happen first. I like the potential, I suppose.

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka Narodu Sarmackiego / The Noble Republic of the Sarmatian Nation
Informal names: Sarmatia, Poland-Lithuania, Poland
Flag/Symbols:

• (Image)
• (Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: By the Grace of God and the Sarmatian Nation, the Grand Hetman of the Noble Republic, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski
Government Type: A noble republic built upon the ideas of Sarmatism. The core belief of Sarmatism is that the Polish and Lithuanian people are the descendants of the Sarmatians, an ancient people and the legendary conquerors of the Slavs in antiquity. Followers of Sarmatism seek to espouse the virtues and values they believe to make them unique from any other nation in Europe - most notably "Golden Liberty", a belief in the equality of all of their peers between each other, and all of their common right to decide on matters of state. A Sarmatian must also be a pious Catholic, yet tolerant of other Christian denominations, a skilled horseback rider, invincible in the face of an enemy, and dress, act and talk appropriately. Knowing Latin is considered to be mandatory for any Sarmatian, and thus many Polish nobles speak not "Polish", but rather a Macaronic mix of Polish and Latin, a process known as makaronizowanie.

These Sarmatian values are expressed in the form of a republican government, as the elective Polish monarchy was abandoned for good during the Swedish Deluge. The Grand Hetman, elected for life, is the head of state due to his command of the armed forces, while below him is a complex conundrum of various positions and offices, and ultimately the Sejm, the legislature of the Sarmatian state. The nation is rather militaristic, its public life oozes with aristocratic manners and values.
Population: 12 million.
Military Population: Difficult to quantify, because the army of Sarmatia, much like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before it, is a highly complex and convoluted affair.

• The standing force, wojsko kwarciane ("Quarter Army", named after the Quarter Tax which went to maintaining it) has about 2500 men at peacetime.
• At wartime, the wojsko kwarciane would be supplemented by the wojsko komputowe ("Komput Army", named after the budget of the Commonwealth for military matters), mercenary units paid for by the budget of the state, numbering up to 60 000 men in wartime, and the żołnierz powiatowy ("Powiat Guards"), semi-standing forces organized in each powiat as a sort of local militia, used both for defense and offense, and numbering up to 40 000 men across the entire country.
• Unlike its neighbours and their professional armies, Sarmatia still holds a relic of medieval levy-based warfare, the pospolite ruszenie ("Mass Mobilization"). It is the duty of every noble in the country to pick up their banner at times of war, rally an army he trained from his pocket, and join the conflict. It is difficult to quantify just how many soldiers Sarmatia could be able to rally through the pospolite ruszenie - the nobility composes about 10-15% of the population, but many of those nobles are just as poor as peasants, while plenty of others would rather sit wars out in exchange for a tax.
• Aside for the formations already listed, there are a number of other formations and unofficial formations. The most notable of these is the Cossack Registry, a listing of military-able Cossacks in Sarmatian territory for recruitment during wartime - the same policy is also extended towards Lipka Tatars, living in Lithuanian territory. An another notable unofficial formation are the Lisowczycy or Straceńcy ("Lost Men"), free cavalrymen raiders who are under tenuous command of the Sarmatian military commanders and are allowed to loot foreign lands as they please.
• Needless to say, the Sarmatian military is under dire need of reform.

Territory: Corresponding to the territory of the Commonwealth in the preset map.
History: The history of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth remained unchanged from history until the Swedish Deluge. In the midst of the chaotic invasions from Sweden and Russia respectively, the last king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, John Casimir Vasa, caught a bullet in the retreat. The country was left in chaos, but its nobility remained stern in the face of adversity. They no longer needed to follow an ineffectual Swedish king, and rallied behind charismatic leaders calling for a new, free republican government, they managed to push the Swedish and Russian invaders alike from their premises. Most notable of them was John Sobieski, who would go on to become the first Grand Hetman of the newly established Noble Republic. The long held beliefs of Sarmatism among the Polish nobility, without a King serving as an anchor in reality, could finally be expressed to their fullest, the disparate Polish and Lithuanian nations united under a singular name of Sarmatia, and a republican form of government established.

Sarmatia recovered rather quickly from the Swedish Deluge - the lack of North America meant that local timber, furs and grain remain profitable, while many trade routes continue going through their territory instead of being redirected by the Age of Discovery. In the last 50 years, the population losses across the country have recovered and the economy has stabilized. The incumbent Grand Hetman of Sarmatia, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski, is turning older and older by the day, and it is expected that he will not remain in this world for long - his last dream before his inevitable demise it to somehow rally a coalition of Christian nations to rid central Europe of the Turks at last, a chance which they missed in 1683...

RP Sample: Here's the last time I participated in a worldbuilding exercise like this one - app IC post
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

So, this is in place of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth? Very well. It looks alright, so I'm going to accept it.

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: Eastern Roman Empire|Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων|Imperium Romanum
Flag/Symbols:

(Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: Emperor Demetrios III Palaiologos (Born: 1642 AD Ruled: 1642 AD - 1646 AD, 1660 AD - 1683 AD, 1684 AD - Present)
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 177,000
Military Population: 1,800 troops (plus forces and equipment leant by Republic of Venice, and other allies)
Territory: Morea/Peloponnese
History:

After the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, in 1453, and the death of Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos (ruled: 1448 AD - 1453 AD), the Imperial Title was taken by his brother, Thomas Palaiologos, the Despot of Morea, who crowned himself Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans, in Mystras.

RP Sample: (at least one)
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

I know this isn't complete, but even if it was... I'm going to have to go ahead and say no. I don't see how or why it would even make sense. Sorry, but - the answer is no.

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Kingdom of France / French Kingdom / France
Flag/Symbols:

(Image)

(Image)

(Image)

Head of State/Head of Government: Louis XIV of France
Government Type: Absolute Feudal Monarchy
Population: 20 Million
Military Population:
- 110,000 Maréchaussée (National Gendarmerie)
- 10,000 Gendarme
- 10,000 Régiment des Gardes Françaises
- 70,000 Armée Royale Française

Territory: Corresponding to the territory of the Kingdom of France in the preset map.
History:
The Kingdom of France originated as West Francia, the western half of the Carolingian Empire, with the Treaty of Verdun in 843. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, when Hugh Capet was elected king and founded the Capetian dynasty. France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was abolished in 1792 during the French Revolution.

France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy. In Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France. Initially, West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, but the regular coronation of the eldest son of the reigning king during his father's lifetime established the principle of male primogeniture, which became codified in the Salic law. During the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years' War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars.

France in the early modern era was increasingly centralised; the French language began to displace other languages from official use, and the monarch expanded it's absolute power under Louis XIV, albeit in an administrative system (the Ancien Régime) complicated by historic and regional irregularities in taxation, legal, judicial, and ecclesiastic divisions, and local prerogatives. Religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and an oppressed Protestant minority which led to a series of civil wars. As the clock turns to the 1700s, Louis XIV in his declining state of health is left with the task of securing French dominance in mainland Europe and maintaining his empire in the afterlife through a suitable heir.

RP Sample: From an old account.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

France is accepted.

Application complete!

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Sometimes, inaccurately, called England. Most commonly called the Commonwealth.

Flag/Symbols: The Commonwealth Jack was adopted by Parliament in an attempt to increase Scottish and Irish identification with the young republic. In England, the St. George Cross is often still flown by itself. And the state Calvinism of the Commonwealth means that religious banners - typically Biblical verses embroidered on an orange field - share pride of place with Parliament's jack.

Head of State/Head of Government: Lord Protector Henry Montagu is the head of government. In theory, the people themselves are the head of state, or perhaps God; there is some legal controversy on this point.

Government Type:

The Commonwealth is a republic structured according to a heavily amended version of the Instrument of Governance of 1652. Its basic organizing principle is "that the people are, under God, the original of all just power; and that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation."

England, Wales, and Scotland are divided into 150 constituencies, ranging in size from whole counties to urban boroughs of London. Constituencies in England are smaller and more numerous than those in Scotland, which tends to dilute the individual voting power of the Scots. In general, constituencies are based on ancient boundaries and do not have to be equipopulational. Each of these constituencies elects two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons every two years; the House of Lords was abolished in 1649. Suffrage is limited to Protestant men of at least 21 years who either possess property of at least £100, or who have served in the armed forces, or who possess a degree in law or divinity. Together with these 300 elected MPs, the 100 so-called grandees complete the House of Commons; the grandees represent Oxford and Cambridge Universities; the aristocratic lords who retain extensive power in Ireland; and the New Model Army, which justifies its undemocratic authority in Parliament by citing its role as cor et conscientia patriae. This awkward distribution of power was a compromise to end the Fourth Civil War in 1658, and it has proved surprisingly durable.

Executive power is invested in the Lord Protector, who functions primarily as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is directly responsible for their administration. The Lord Protector is chosen by Parliament and serves the same two-year term as the a single sitting of the Commons. Thereafter, he may be retained or replaced at the pleasure of the House - though a Lord Protector who is popular with the troops is in practice difficult to remove, since soldiers and veterans constitute so much of the enfranchised public. Non-military administration is managed by the Council of State, whose members - each responsible for an aspect of administration, like the Exchequer - are also chosen by Parliament independently of the Lord Protector, but who are theoretically under his authority. In practice, there is an expectation of broad executive autonomy for the Lord Protector, but not for the Council of State, who are frequently asked before Parliament to answer MPs' questions. The result is a system of strong parliamentary control over all aspects of government except the military, which relies on Parliament for funding but is otherwise mostly self-regulating under the Lord Protector. This, too, reflects a compromise between pro-Cromwellian and anti-Cromwellian factions at the end of the Fourth Civil War.

Unlike almost every other country in Europe, the Commonwealth is avowedly a government of limited powers, whose commitments in the Instrument of Government clearly constrain its authority. The right of suffrage for all who serve in the military is guaranteed, as are regular Parliamentary elections and the required consent of Parliament for any tax or tariff. Astonishingly, there exists an enshrined right providing for equality of all persons before the law, and stipulated freedom of religion for all non-Catholics. Citizens of the Commonwealth have the right to jury trials lasting not longer than six months, with the accused to be considered innocent until proven guilty. These provisions were an essential part of the settlement of the Fourth Civil War: the Levellers' price for peace in the absence of universal manhood suffrage.

Population: 8.2 million: 5.1 million in England and Wales, 1.1 million in Scotland - and 2 million in Ireland, many of whom would dispute their identification as "members" of the Commonwealth.

Military Population:

Two generations after the end of the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth remains a disproportionately formidable military power. This power is expressed in its land forces, the New Model Army, and in its naval forces, the Commonwealth Navy. The common element that gives both their effectiveness is a specific Reformed, middle-class ethos that prizes hard work, results, innovation, discipline, and merit over the aristocratic privilege and tradition that dominates the officer corps of most of the Commonwealth's rivals.

The New Model Army is a standing, full-time force of some 40,000 volunteer professional soldiers: twenty regiments of foot, six of horse, and two of dragoons. For most poor men, military service is the only likely path to suffrage, and so there is never a shortage of volunteers. This allows recruiters to select for a specific demographic: literate or quasi-literate men from Puritan families, whose culture of disciplined self-control and rational thought is the basis of the Army's effectiveness. Neither gold nor aristocratic title can secure rank in the Army, whose officers are mostly selected from the younger sons of the merchant classes -literacy and mathematical ability are essential - and then promoted based on merit and experience. The Army as a whole leans toward Leveller ideas, and considers itself the guardian of England's revolutionary fervor: the heart and conscience of the nation, cor et conscientia patriae.

The key to the Army's effectiveness is that its resolutely middle-class and Puritan recruitment and culture make it both highly innovative and ruthlessly hard-working and disciplined. From its bourgeois officers and meritocratic promotion structure, the Army receives its willingness to think creatively about tactics and technology, to try new things, to invest heavily in the nitty-gritty middle-class work of engineering and logistics, to focus on firepower and terrain rather than the aristocratic glory of the cavalry or bayonet charge. These are important advantages against armies dominated by aristocrats wedded to notions of military glory and tradition. From its Puritanism, though, the Army draws other strengths: the intense morale of those who believe that they fight in the cause of God against the forces of Catholic or crypto-Catholic Antichrist, and the iron discipline of a community that believes that self-control and hard work are the surest signs of a godly spirit. These are the virtues, sustained by a military community that enforces them through regular catechism and self-examination, that have given Commonwealth troops their fearsome reputation.

The Commonwealth Navy began as an extension of the New Model Army - indeed, its first admirals were called generals-at-sea - and it was the beneficiary of a massive investment by Cromwell. It leans more conservative and Whiggish than the Army, and its culture is less radically middle-class: the strict hierarchies of shipboard life attract a different kind of man, and many naval officers are still members of the minor aristocracy or squirearchy. Having largely abandoned the Mediterranean to the Venetians, the Navy's fighting force is composed mostly of oceangoing ships of the line, from 100-gun first-rate threedeckers to 40-gun fourth-rate frigates. These ships are intended to secure the Commonwealth's dominance of the Atlantic, and they benefit from an island people's ancient tradition of seafaring - a critical asset in an era when naval victory largely depended on a skilled crew's ability to manipulate the natural wind. Commonwealth ships patrol the shipping lanes from London to the Cape, and across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon and the East Indies. While the Navy is not at its best in shallow waters or close to shore, on the open sea, the skill of its sailors and the size and heavy armaments of its expensive warships make it a dangerous foe indeed - and arguably the premier blue-water fleet in the world.

Territory: As on the map, but with four or five fortified trading ports on the West African coast, and a small colony at the Cape. The island of Ceylon is a presidency of the East India Company. These colonial possessions reflect Britain's ambition to draw at least some trade via the long route around the Cape, rather than to cede all the riches of the East to Venice's Red Sea route.

History:

English history began to diverge from the path we know in the mid-16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, for two hugely influential reasons. First, in the absence of the New World, Spain was never rich or powerful to become England's archenemy, and to threaten it with invasion. This allowed England to establish a dominant position in the Atlantic trade with West Africa, gradually squeezing its main Portuguese competitors. Second, without the New World as a safety valve for Puritans seeking to escape England's compromise between Catholic and Protestant traditions, the Reformed community developed a much sharper focus on defending its position in the kingdom. These two changes were related: most of the merchants growing wealthy off the trade with Africa - and, later, the route around the Cape to India - were leaders in the Puritan community.

As happened historically, these tensions boiled over in 1642, during the reign of Charles II. By this time, the hand of the Puritans had been further strengthened by the union of England and Scotland under a single crown - because the most powerful church in Scotland was Presbyterian and Reformed. A strong believer in his divine right to rule, Charles repeatedly dismissed Parliament and attempted to collect funds without its consent. This radicalized feelings in Parliament, and the House's leadership became more and more Puritan in its makeup. At the same time, Charles married a Catholic queen and imposed a strongly Catholic-flavored version of Anglicanism on both England and Scotland. The Presbyterian Scots promptly rebelled, and when Charles recalled Parliament to ask it for funds to fight the revolt, Parliament responded by passing a series of laws expanding its own powers at the cost of the king. Charles attempted to arrest several MPs, and fled London when he failed. Fighting began only a few months later.

Over the next fifteen years and three wars, England lost ten percent of its population. Scotland lost six percent. Ireland lost perhaps as much as forty percent. The apocalyptic conflict unleashed powerful, unpredictable social forces. The Parliamentary army, initially a conservative force led by aristocrats, was remade by Oliver Cromwell into a meritocratic, highly disciplined force steeped in Puritan and republican ideals. With the gates of ideological possibility flung open, Englishmen began to discuss concepts hitherto unthinkable: the equality of all men before the law as they were before God, and government solely by the consent of the governed, and even the abolition of private property. King Charles was arrested, tried for treason, and beheaded: the first time in European history an elected body had asserted its absolute supremacy over a divinely sanctioned monarch. But the conflict metastasized: clashes between Puritans - especially English Congregationalists and Scots Presbyterians - led to two more wars. In Ireland, where the Catholic majority was seen as barely human by many Englishmen, war turned into massacre, and the country was pacified only with the ultimate brutality. At length, with the final defeat of the Scots, the two former kingdoms were combined under a single Parliament whose members were elected from both England and Scotland - while Ireland remained an occupied territory governed by military grandees. But what exactly the endless, exhausting wars had been fought for - that remained unclear. Godly Puritan society, or religious liberty? A traditional Parliament elected by property-holders, or universal manhood suffrage? Fundamental, unanswered questions left the Commons gridlocked and dysfunctional.

Oliver Cromwell responded with a coup d'etat. Dismissing Parliament and declaring himself Lord Protector with the support of the Army, he ruled for three years without recourse to Parliament. In some ways, those years were richly productive: they saw the birth of modern English naval power, and the revival of trade and manufacturing, and the modernization of infrastructure. But they were also remembered as a time of repression, when the property requirement for suffrage was raised, and local military governors punished Englishmen for performing plays or celebrating Christmas. A rift deepened among the men who had once fought together for the Good Old Cause of God, Parliament, and the Reformed faith. Some, known as the Levellers, believed that Cromwell had betrayed the revolution, failing to make all men equal and Parliament truly representative. Others, known as the Whigs, believed that Cromwell had already gone too far in his usurpation of power from Parliament. All could agree that the Lord Protector was a dead end.

And so, in 1655, it was no surprise when Cromwell was assassinated in a gunpowder blast in Kent. The exact perpetrators have never been identified. England collapsed into one final, bitter civil war: the mostly Leveller Army against the Whig Navy and local aristocratic militias, with unreconstructed royalists and a few apocalyptic cults thrown in for good measure. Nine months into the conflict, the Army itself schismed over the issue of religious toleration, with some Levellers repudiating Cromwell's imposition of Puritan values on a population that was still no more than half Reformed. After two years of bloody conflict, an unprecedented fact became clear: the Fourth Civil War had too many sides for any one of them to prevail on the battlefield. No victory was possible. A negotiated settlement was inevitable.

The result was the Compromise of 1658. After months of agonizing negotiations, the Whigs got their Parliament, with regular elections and a property requirement for voters - unless they had fought for the Commonwealth. The Levellers got guaranteed civil rights, including freedom of religion, and the enfranchisement of veterans. The aristocrats got their control of Ireland codified by law, and the Army got extensive autonomy under the Lord Protector - albeit one who would be chosen by Parliament. The deal left no one happy. But it ended the slaughter.

In the 42 years since, the scars of the conflict have begun to fade. The economy has prospered. The Commonwealth may be the only country in Europe where the bulk of the political power is held by the bourgeoisie, and so trade and manufacturing are readily acknowledged as the nation's economic base. Urbanization is gathering speed, and London and Bristol are clearinghouses for goods from across the Atlantic world. The East India Company, buoyed by a powerful navy and official support, seized the Cape and asserted its suzerainty over the island of Ceylon. The result, in 1700, is a bustling and prosperous British society: more middle-class and mercantile than in our timeline, much enamored of hard work and open markets, forward-thinking and optimistic. Only in Ireland, where rigid religious divides and powerful aristocrats still prevail, has the Commonwealth yet to emerge from the long darkness of the premodern era.

In England and Scotland, the religious and political compromise that ended the civil war is stable. A single Presbyterian state church encompasses both countries, but there is full freedom of religion for all non-Catholics. Puritan values are recognized as essential to the Republican character of the Commonwealth, and Puritans are over-represented in Parliament and especially in the Army, but Anglican and Baptist and even Quaker traditions remain vibrant, especially in Wales. Politically, the Levellers and Whigs have coalesced from armies into political factions, and though they continue strongly to differ over the extent of public enfranchisement, they quietly cooperate in sustaining a broad consensus around republican government, trade power abroad, and domestic peace. The New Model Army is still the third rail of English politics, regarding itself as the spiritual heart of the nation and largely beyond Parliament's full power to regulate. Royalism is a fading memory, though some Jacobite sentiment persists in the Highlands and in Ireland.

Internationally, though, the Commonwealth remains mostly isolated. It faces a largely Catholic continent where the struggle against the Turks has long been a defining matter of identity. Its main competitor for the East Indian trade, Venice, is a far more aristocratic and quasi-monarchical republic than the Commonwealth, whose radical Puritan-inflected egalitarianism is seen as a major potential political threat by many more traditional regimes. And so Britain looks to the sea for its destiny: to Africa, and to the vast Indian ocean beyond. And for the first time in generations, curious eyes turn west, and wonder if there might yet be a way to reach those riches - by going the other way around...

RP Sample: My credentials are in my sig.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

Accepted! It looks great, Norv.

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Songhai Caliphate, the Songhai Sultanate, Songhai
Flag/Symbols: Various national and local banners, religious banners, the star and crescent
Head of State/Head of Government: Dia (king) Askia Ismael II
Government Type: Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
Population: 10.000.000
Military Population: 50.000 standing, 200.000 can be raised at a time, 500.000 reserves
Territory: West Africa, Niger Valley
History: The history of this Songhai begins to differ from the real world on the 13th of March 1591. The Morrocan invasion force, incredibly outnumbered but armed with English cannon and arms, is attacked by a numerical superior Songhai army. Against orders, Morrocan cannon first target the densely-packed infantry formations, deeming those to be better targets. This mistake costs them: Heavy Songhai cavalry descends upon the undefended arquebusiers first, opening up the ground for infantry. The cavalry then moves to take out the battery. The battle is incredibly bloody, and losses on the Songhai side are almost catastrophic, but through the final cavalry charge king Askia Ishaq II won the day, saving his empire and earning him the nickname ‘Sword of Tondibi’.

While the results of the battle were relatively minor in terms of foreign policy (the king did not march north on Marrakech, choosing instead to seek immediate peace with the Saadi dynasty), the results for internal politics were monumental. In the battle, Askia Ishaq II had won eight English cannon, a large number of arquebuses, large amounts of gunpowder, Morrocan gun smiths, and importantly, the Morrocan commander: Judar Pasha, the Spanish-born eunuch who had been a favourite at the court of the Morrocan sultan. Besides being a superb field commander, Judar Pasha brought with him knowledge of Islamic bureaucracy and centralisation, as well as in-depth knowledge of Europe, whose love for gold was said to transcend their love for God and family.

The king, by winning himself modern guns and cannon, as well as the ability to make them, gained an enormous power base almost overnight. After returning home to Gao to a jubulent crowd, he marched south to defeat the Mossi raiders in battle, nominally subjugating them as a client kingdom. He strengthened the grip of his empire on the roads to the sea, exerting pressure on the Dutch and Portuguese trading cities in order to gain greater leeway in trade negotiations. Aiming cannon at their walls usually was enough to aquire some concessions. Askia Ishaq II was, however, weary to take the cities, as they were well-defended and provided him with access to European markets. With his new army, equipped with arquebuses and cannon, he secured his hold of the Niher river all the way to its delta, establishing his own royal port city there, and then marched west to conquer the Akan gold fields, the riches of which he kept for himself.

Control over vast gold fields granted the emperor the funds to implement reforms. A devout Muslim, he strengthened the presence of Islam by building mosques throughout his territory, and implementing a royal system of alms for the poorest (Muslim) citizens. In 1616, Askia Ishaq traveled to Mecca to perform the Hajj and to reintroduce his empire to the Islamic world. He traveled with his son and eventual heir, Muhammad, who both grew interested in the interconnectedness of the Islamic world and all the foreign ideas they came across alomg the way. Especially traveling through Cairo and Alexandria, two cities under Venetian control, made Muhammad intregued.

Askia Ishaq II stepped down as king in 1625 for reasons of health, allowing his son Askia Muhammad II to ascend to the throne without much bloodshed. While Ishaq had been mostly interested in internal affairs, Muhammad focussed on the external. He made huge investments in shipbuilding capacity, not only along the Niger river, but especially in the city of Dawud, which his father had founded at the Niger coast. Dawud became the Alexandria of west Africa, complete with (a significantly smaller) lighthouse built in the mud-and-clay style of Songhai. Ships from powerful Songhai merchants traveled the African coast, setting up small bases to gather resources. Unlike Europeans, the Songhai were perfectly capable to travel inland, where they traded for valuable commodities which, in turn, they could sell to Europeans.

A year after the death of Askia Muhammad II in 1653, and the assumption of the throne by Askia Benkan II, the first Songhai ships rounded the cape and connected to the east African trading network. There, gold and crafted items could be traded for ivory, which in turn could be traded with Europeans. Songhai became an important through-put for a large part of the spice trade, as knowledge of Bantu languages and Islamic customs, as well as acclimatisation helped them trade more efficiently with the existing Indian ocean powers. Learning from European travelers, many of whom had to dock at Dawud for ship repairs, the dockworkers there soon managed to build (small) ships in the European style, capable of carrying much more cargo than their own ship designs could.

Nowadays, the European competition is getting increasingly fierce. Their ships travel African waters freely, and as seafaring technology increases, fewer and fewer ships need to dock at Dawud, and fewer and fewer merchants have to buy Songhai goods. Pressure is upon the king to act against Europeans, either by seizing their African ports or seizing their ships, or both. The king is wary to antagonise the powerful Europeans, although the balance is not too heavily in their favour (due to the lack of American income). An alliance with the Ottoman empire to truly cut off the Europeans from India seems possible, but various factions have differing views on how European influence should be handled.



#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

The Songhai are accepted.

Lunas, your HRE reservation is noted.

I'm gonna be updating the roster with accepted nations in a moment, as well as the new reservation.

[Lunas Legion]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The League of Mainz (Holy Roman Empire)
Flag/Symbols: Flag and Coat of Arms
Head of State/Head of Government: The head of the League of Mainz, by common decision of the heads of the component states of the League, is Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden.
Government Type: Informal Supranational Confederation
Population: Approx. 6 million (accurate population figures for the Holy Roman Empire as a whole are difficult to find for this period, let alone the component territories. Based off of the figure of ten million total here combined with halving the numbers on the wiki page due to the inconsistency to figure out that the non-League territories would be roughly 4 million, leaving the League of Mainz with six million.)
Military Population: The armies of the League of Mainz are a disparate affair at best. Although numbering some 60,000 professional soldiers, the army suffers from being raised and drawn from numerous states, each equipped, raised and funded in different manners with levels of competence, morale and loyalty varying wildly between component parts. The lack of formal unified command structure likewise hurts the effectiveness of the League's army in battle, with the personal loyalties and prestige of commanders playing a major role in whether formations even show up to a battle. However, many of its generals are hardened veterans of the War of the Holy League and the Nine Years War, experienced in commanding the disparate League forces despite their shortcomings.
Territory: As per the map.
History: The League of Mainz is not really a nation; rather, it is a loose alliance of the minor states of the Holy Roman Empire, formed in early 1684 after the defeat of the Hapsburgs at the Siege of Vienna. Named after Mainz, where the leaders of the member states of the League met, the League was created to better protect the smaller states of the Holy Roman Empire and to coordinate their actions against the threat of the Ottoman Empire under the Holy League, bypassing the Holy Roman Empire due to the demonstration of Hapsburg weakness shown.

The armies of the League would play a crucial role in stopping the Ottoman behemoth from advancing much further, winning a decisive victory at the Battles of Linz and Steyr in 1685, which along with naval pressure from the Venetians, the ongoing wariness from war and that the Ottomans had achieved their objectives of breaking the Hapsburgs allowed a peace treaty to be negotiated. The League's armies, alongside those of the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, would, however, be defeated in the Nine Years War against France resulting in the loss of the Duchy of Lorraine to the French Empire alongside numerous other, smaller territories to the west of the Rhine. The defeat in the Nine Years War further undermined Hapsburg authority within the Empire, and prompted the League to strengthen itself further, more states joining for self-preservation until the majority of the Empire was part of the League.
RP Sample: Will find linky soon, have not done one of these for a while.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

[The V O I D]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The League of Mainz (Holy Roman Empire)
Flag/Symbols: Flag and Coat of Arms
Head of State/Head of Government: The head of the League of Mainz, by common decision of the heads of the component states of the League, is Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden.
Government Type: Informal Supranational Confederation
Population: Approx. 6 million (accurate population figures for the Holy Roman Empire as a whole are difficult to find for this period, let alone the component territories. Based off of the figure of ten million total here combined with halving the numbers on the wiki page due to the inconsistency to figure out that the non-League territories would be roughly 4 million, leaving the League of Mainz with six million.)
Military Population: The armies of the League of Mainz are a disparate affair at best. Although numbering some 60,000 professional soldiers, the army suffers from being raised and drawn from numerous states, each equipped, raised and funded in different manners with levels of competence, morale and loyalty varying wildly between component parts. The lack of formal unified command structure likewise hurts the effectiveness of the League's army in battle, with the personal loyalties and prestige of commanders playing a major role in whether formations even show up to a battle. However, many of its generals are hardened veterans of the War of the Holy League and the Nine Years War, experienced in commanding the disparate League forces despite their shortcomings.
Territory: As per the map.
History: The League of Mainz is not really a nation; rather, it is a loose alliance of the minor states of the Holy Roman Empire, formed in early 1684 after the defeat of the Hapsburgs at the Siege of Vienna. Named after Mainz, where the leaders of the member states of the League met, the League was created to better protect the smaller states of the Holy Roman Empire and to coordinate their actions against the threat of the Ottoman Empire under the Holy League, bypassing the Holy Roman Empire due to the demonstration of Hapsburg weakness shown.

The armies of the League would play a crucial role in stopping the Ottoman behemoth from advancing much further, winning a decisive victory at the Battles of Linz and Steyr in 1485, which along with naval pressure from the Venetians allowed a peace treaty to be negotiated. The League's armies, alongside those of the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, would, however, be defeated in the Nine Years War against France resulting in the loss of the Duchy of Lorraine to the French Empire alongside numerous other, smaller territories to the west of the Rhine. The defeat in the Nine Years War further undermined Hapsburg authority within the Empire, and prompted the League to strengthen itself further, more states joining for self-preservation until the majority of the Empire was part of the League.
RP Sample: Will find linky soon, have not done one of these for a while.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

Minor note: it seems you put down 1485, I assume you meant 1685 there. Also, Thrace says (and I agree) that the Venetian naval support probably wouldn't have put too much additional pressure on the Ottomans, so it was likely just the pressure in general that ended that war. But otherwise, it looks good so far.

Sending TGs to those who got accepted soon, with the invite to the discord server.

[Lunas Legion]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The League of Mainz (Holy Roman Empire)
Flag/Symbols: Flag and Coat of Arms
Head of State/Head of Government: The head of the League of Mainz, by common decision of the heads of the component states of the League, is Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden.
Government Type: Informal Supranational Confederation
Population: Approx. 6 million (accurate population figures for the Holy Roman Empire as a whole are difficult to find for this period, let alone the component territories. Based off of the figure of ten million total here combined with halving the numbers on the wiki page due to the inconsistency to figure out that the non-League territories would be roughly 4 million, leaving the League of Mainz with six million.)
Military Population: The armies of the League of Mainz are a disparate affair at best. Although numbering some 60,000 professional soldiers, the army suffers from being raised and drawn from numerous states, each equipped, raised and funded in different manners with levels of competence, morale and loyalty varying wildly between component parts. The lack of formal unified command structure likewise hurts the effectiveness of the League's army in battle, with the personal loyalties and prestige of commanders playing a major role in whether formations even show up to a battle. However, many of its generals are hardened veterans of the War of the Holy League and the Nine Years War, experienced in commanding the disparate League forces despite their shortcomings.
Territory: As per the map.
History: The League of Mainz is not really a nation; rather, it is a loose alliance of the minor states of the Holy Roman Empire, formed in early 1684 after the defeat of the Hapsburgs at the Siege of Vienna. Named after Mainz, where the leaders of the member states of the League met, the League was created to better protect the smaller states of the Holy Roman Empire and to coordinate their actions against the threat of the Ottoman Empire under the Holy League, bypassing the Holy Roman Empire due to the demonstration of Hapsburg weakness shown.

The armies of the League would play a crucial role in stopping the Ottoman behemoth from advancing much further, winning a decisive victory at the Battles of Linz and Steyr in 1485, which along with naval pressure from the Venetians allowed a peace treaty to be negotiated. The League's armies, alongside those of the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, would, however, be defeated in the Nine Years War against France resulting in the loss of the Duchy of Lorraine to the French Empire alongside numerous other, smaller territories to the west of the Rhine. The defeat in the Nine Years War further undermined Hapsburg authority within the Empire, and prompted the League to strengthen itself further, more states joining for self-preservation until the majority of the Empire was part of the League.
RP Sample: Will find linky soon, have not done one of these for a while.
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

Minor note: it seems you put down 1485, I assume you meant 1685 there. Also, Thrace says (and I agree) that the Venetian naval support probably wouldn't have put too much additional pressure on the Ottomans, so it was likely just the pressure in general that ended that war. But otherwise, it looks good so far.

Sending TGs to those who got accepted soon, with the invite to the discord server.

Yeah that was a typo, edited stuff so it hopefully makes more sense.

[Of the Quendi]

I would like to reserve the Tsardom of Russia.

[Tracian Empire]

I would like to reserve the Tsardom of Russia.

Accepted!

[Of the Quendi]

Accepted!

Awesome. Some version of Great Northern War here I come.

[Tracian Empire]

Accepted!

Awesome. Some version of Great Northern War here I come.

The Ottomans would love nothing more than for Russia to look to the north

[Of the Quendi]

For Want of a Nail - Nation Application

Nation Name: The Tsardom of Russia. Informally simply Russia. Sometimes also called the Tsardom of Muscovy or Muscovy.
Flag/Symbols:

Head of State/Head of Government: Peter I the Great
Government Type: Absolute monarchy
Population: 15,000,000
Military Population: In 1681 the soon to be "imperial" Russian army consisted of thirty three regular regiments (61,000 men) and twenty five dragoon or reiter regiments (29,000 men). At the onset of the Great Northern War, one year after Peter the Great instituted conscription, the Tsar could lead 110,000 men against his Swedish foes.
Territory: Same as map
History: Eleven thousand years before our time the vast ocean to the west, the all-encompassing sea some call the Atlantic but which navigators and explorers know as the Endless Ocean, was parted by a vast continent known as Atlantis, or so the philosopher Plato wrote. According to Plato this continent was home to a mighty pagan civilization that in its heyday ruled over many nations and tribes. Until it fell. The ocean's rose and swallowed all the might and majesty of the Atlanteans drowning their empire beneath the waves of the Endless Ocean. Or so Plato claims. The Church father's dispute it. After all when the world was created seven thousand years ago how then could this Atlantis have existed eleven thousand years ago? This pagan philosophers Plato must surely be a liar and the Endless Ocean must have always been endless, no mythical continent separating it in parts. No, Europe, the continent upon which our glorious state of Muscovy was founded lies not in the center of the world peering across a narrow sea to an Atlantean continent but at its western edge, with nothing but the Endless Ocean to its west, and Asia, the continent on which our future awaits, similarly sits at its eastern edge. Neither of these lands shall ever reach out across the Endless Ocean to verdant lands theirs to be conquered and colonized, while Muscovy sits isolated and alone. There is no mythical continent, and the Endless Ocean is too endless to ever connect Asia and Europe. The center of the world is not Europe, nor Asia, nor Atlantis. It is Muscovy. It is Russia. For we sit astride the only continent of important in the world. Through us and through us alone are East and West connected. Hence it is our fate to be master of the whole world.

Ours is a history long and filled with great glory. But when did it all begin? With God of course, as all things do. He who has created all things and ordained that Russia and its Tsar must rule all things is the beginning of all. But this is not a tale of Scripture or the works of God and Saints. This is the tale of Muscovy. A tale of kings and emperor's, of conqueror's and empire-builders, of Heathens, Christians and Mohammedans. Even of Hebrews.

Much of import could I say of the origin of our glorious state. Of the founding of the first Rome, four thousand seven hundred and fifty five years after the creation of the earth. Of Romulus, ancestor of all the Tsars and his brother Romulus, of all the kings who followed this first. Of the treacherous rebellion by their subjects and the overthrow of the natural and god-given order by the Brute and his followers. Of the restoration of god's order by Caesar and Augustus and the growth of the first Rome to span from the Pillars of Hercules in the West to the the borders of Persia in the East of the great emperor's of the first Rome.

More still could I say of Constantine the Great, most sainted Emperor of Rome, and the founding of his second Rome and the conversion of his empire to the one true Orthodox faith. Of the pious Theodosius who at long last stamped out the pagan filth in the empire. Of the division of the empire after Theodosius's death and the tragic, but unsurprising fall of the Western empire and its Catholic emperors. All these things are of great import for the story of our state, but as many has written much of it I shall turn to, or all things, a heathen in godforsaken Thule, in Scandinavia. I shall turn to Rurik, the founder of our great dynasty.

Of this Rurik we know that he was a formidable Varangian and great leader of his people and that he was born in or around the year 6338 Apo Kataboles Kosmou among a powerful tribe called Rus, when Theophilos was Emperor of the Romans and Antonios I Kassymatas was Patriarch in Constantinople. A great warrior, honored and respected even by his foes when Rurik was barely thirty strife and discord broke out amongst the Chuds, the Eastern Slavs, the Merias, the Veses, the Krivichs and many other tribes and nations. These tribes, having heard of Rurik, invited him and his brothers Sineus and Truvor to come among them to rule them and make peace. And so did Rurik and his brothers, bringing many Rus' people with them. They settled amongst the Slavs as lords and chieftains and in this way the founding of our nation was laid. Rurik established himself at Novgorod from which he and his Rus' chieftain's ruled over the many tribes of the area. He took many thralls and concubines among the Slavic tribes to toil in his field or to bear him children, and from thence began the practice among the Varangian's to keep the Slavs as serfs. Rurik had many sons by his concubines and he sent them, alone or in groups, to rule over the peoples of their mothers, but by his lawful Rus' wife he had only one, Ingvar, or Igor. When in 6387 Rurik lay dying in Novgorod his son was but a boy and the great Varangian chieftain turned to Helgi, or Oleg, his kinsman and bequeathed to him his realm and entrusted Ingvar to him.

Thus Helgi became ruler of the Varangian. Helgi proved a worthy successor of Rurik as he took the city of Kiev from two recalcitrant vassal's of Rurik's kin, Askold and Dir, who had converted to the True Faith against Helgi's will, and made it his capital. From Kiev Helgi would, as Rurik had before him, war with the Romans and in 6415 Helgi came to the very gates of Tsargrad and though he could not breach its mighty walls he had his shield fixed to the gates of the city of cities. Though Helgi was an unrepentant pagan, a priest of his savage tribe, prone to all manner of perversion and blasphemy from his seed a most wondrous saint was in time born. For among the many children Helgi sired with his Rus' wives and Slav concubines was one whom he named Helga and whom he betrothed to Rurik's son Ingvar. A most auspicious match and a most worthy bride for Rurik's son. When Helgi died in ripe old age Ingvar became the new Prince of Kiev and Novgorod and All the Rus', but early in his reign many of the Slav tribes revolted against their Varangian lords, tired of paying tribute and seeing their sons and daughters enslaved. He spent much of his reign subduing these tribes and visiting great slaughter upon them till they bowed before him. Twice in his reign Ingvar, a pagan all his life, attacked Tsargrad. More appropriately it was under his rule that the Varangians first sailed the Caspian Sea and attacked the Mohammedans beyond it, dragging many slaves and concubines and much wealth back to Kiev. Ingvar was killed by Drevlians when he sought to extract tax and tribute from them.

His throne, overlordship of the Rus' state, fell to his widow and queen Helga. Though only a woman she proved a worthy queen of the Varangians. Avenging her husband she destroyed the Drevlians and imposed harsher rule and greater taxes on the Slavs and refused to share her power with a new husband, remaining a widow. It was under her rule that the Rus's state began to develop into a proper kingdom. When Helga and Ingvar's son Sveneld came of age, Helga stepped aside willingly yielding the throne to him. A great warrior with little interest in administration he was wise enough to leave much of the running of the kingdom to his mother while he preoccupied himself with war, rarely spending time in Kiev or Novgorod but always with his army. He conquered or reconquered many Slav tribes and took thralls and taxes of them. It was during his early reign that his blessed mother in the year 6465, when Constantine VII was emperor and Polyeuctus Patriarch, on a visit to Tsargrad, that Helga became the first Varangian to embrace Christ.

Her son, the insensate barbarian that he was would however not join his mother in the true faith. He feared that his men would laugh at such a thing. But he could not deny his mother the right to welcome priests and establish churches and monasteries in his realm. Sveneld, having subdued all Slav tribes in his realm and desiring stronger foes, attacked the Khazar Khaganate, a Hebrew nation to the southeast of his realm. This once powerful state could not stand against the Varangians and Sveneld conquered them, expanding his realm to a greater extent than ever before. He should have destroyed the Khazar's completely and stamped out their false religion. But he did not. Rather he simply took tribute and tax of them as if they were but ordinary Slavic tribes. Worse still Sveneld settled among them and ruled over them, taking many Hebrew concubines who would later convince their sons to follow them in their shameful faith. Thus some of the Sons of Rurik would come in time to embrace the faith of Abraham. Brutish Sveneld however knew better than personally embracing the faith of Abraham. He did not long linger with the Khazars or unduly favor his Khazar concubines. Soon he attacked the Bulgars with his druzhina falling upon them with Patzinak and Magyar vassals as they warred against the Romans. The Bulgars he beat but against the Romans he could not prevail for they resorted to treachery. The Patzinak's, taking Roman gold, rebelled against Sveneld and attacked Kiev, which Saint Helga bravely held against them in her son's name with the blessing of God. Long was the war but in the end Sveneld and the Romans made peace and Sveneld withdrew from Bulgaria. But the treachery of the Romans was not thus sated for they endured the Patzinak's to attack Sveneld on his return home and they slew him in battle.

Between the sons of Sveneld a great strife now broke out. In Khazaria his Hebrew son's would rule over their people, but in Rus' itself the true born sons of Sveneld feuded with one another until at last Valdemar became lord. Under his early rule as a pagan Valdemar restored order to the Rus', though not to the Patzinak and Khazar lands ruled by his father. He took eight hundred concubines and sired a multitude of sons. But Valdemar, who had been raised by his grandmother Saint Helga soon came to understand that true greatness can only be had with the Lord and in that most blessed year 6495 he summoned envoys and holy men from the Mohammedans, the Khazars and the True Faith to Kiev where he discussed with his Boyar which should be the religion of his state. And he choose the True Faith. While both Mohammedans and Khazar-Hebrews would be allowed to live in peace in Valdemar's realm Christ alone would be lord of the Rus'. The year thereafter Valdemar, embraced the Christian faith and married the purple born daughter of the emperor of the Romans.

When Valdemar the Great died his empire was at its height. His Khazar brother's bowed before him and the Patzinak's dared not defy him. His sons ruled over the tribes and cities of the great realm under their father's overlordship and Christian churches and monasteries was being built throughout the land. Upon his death however the unity of Valdemar's empire, if not its greatness, would fall. His sons each the prince of a city of Slav tribe would owe little allegiance to Kiev itself.

RP Sample: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=452127
#FWOAN - Do Not Remove

[The V O I D]

I'm going to be fairly busy today, but tomorrow I will hopefully have increased availability to update the roster, post any updates to the map, and even launch the IC.