1905: Alternative Divergence [AH][OOC-OPEN]

[Oscalantine]

Trace, I hast failed you T~T... but the app is technically ready.

I sort of wanted to be on time with everything (minus the hotfix that will naturally come with discussion of European history in the group-DM session) including history, but I am missing a whole century which is pivotal to my nation's adaptation of Social Darwinism.

However, besides that century, my nation's app is finished and ready to be sent to approval process. I'll continue to let the other OPs posted on my status and any fixes that I make... mostly going to be fixing inconsistencies in the history and less on my nation's details... which is ready as I will ever be.

[Fascist Republic Of Bermuda]

Good lord I underestimated the effort needed to basically make a nation out of whole cloth lmao. I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, I just haven't really had the time or brain cells to turn that into serious lore for the app. Also I'm just generally bad with numbers and names.

Anyways, finally in a state i could call done, barring talking about other people, especially getting Tyr's approval and also maybe Aztec/American stuff about Texas.

Full Nation Name : 扶桑 共和国 (Fusō Kyōwakoku, Fusou Republic)

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Still not in a state where i'm happy with the history, but it is technically complete.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Ahoy, neighbours.

Still not in a state where i'm happy with the history, but it is technically complete.

peers suspiciously over the colonial border

Trace, I hast failed you T~T... but the app is technically ready.

peers suspiciously with revolutionary fervour

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : République française (French Republic)

Accepted

[Tracian Empire]

I corrected the population and industrialization levels of the app. It should be more ready now.

it is, but please do also add the situation with the Holy Roman Empire from Lotharingia's app, and the ERE-Austrian stuff we discussed to the history and it will be accepted

[Speyland]

Is it possible to play as a nation with no military?

[Tracian Empire]

Is it possible to play as a nation with no military?

It depends on your definition. Few nations would be in a position to have no military at all, Lichtenstein is a notable real life example in the era.

Otherwise more primitive nations might lack an organized military, but would still have military forces.

[Old Tyrannia]

Good lord I underestimated the effort needed to basically make a nation out of whole cloth lmao. I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, I just haven't really had the time or brain cells to turn that into serious lore for the app. Also I'm just generally bad with numbers and names.

Anyways, finally in a state i could call done, barring talking about other people, especially getting Tyr's approval and also maybe Aztec/American stuff about Texas.

Full Nation Name : 扶桑 共和国 (Fusō Kyōwakoku, Fusou Republic)

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Still not in a state where i'm happy with the history, but it is technically complete.

As I said to Trace, I have no major objections, but one thing I'd mention is that Japan itself has no national legislative body akin to a parliament and is basically an autocracy. As such, I think you should include a couple of lines explaining how the idea of Fusō's Diet came about, as that would be a fairly significant political innovation.

[Tracian Empire]

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天下
"All Under Heaven"

Full Nation Name : Heavenly Kingdom | Heaven — (天囯, Tiēnkuo)


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As always, an absolutely incredible app. Accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

Nation Application

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Full Nation Name : The Aksuni Empire/ The Empire of Aksum

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Unless any of the CO-OP's see something I've missed, accepted

[Fascist Republic Of Bermuda]

Still not in a state where i'm happy with the history, but it is technically complete.

As I said to Trace, I have no major objections, but one thing I'd mention is that Japan itself has no national legislative body akin to a parliament and is basically an autocracy. As such, I think you should include a couple of lines explaining how the idea of Fusō's Diet came about, as that would be a fairly significant political innovation.

Understood, should be fixed now.

[Union Princes]

I expanded the history

[The Traansval]

Italia is here boys

viewtopic.php?p=38724103#p38724103

[Benuty]

Full Nation Name : The Golden State of the Rus.
Majority/Official Culture : A Polyglot identity based on the hybridization of the Rus' cultures and the Turkic Tribes in the south.
Territorial Core : The territory shown in the reserved map.
Territorial Claim : The vast expanses of Siberia.
Capital City : Sarai.
Population : Forty Million.

Government Type : Semi-elective monarchy.
Government Ideology/Policies : Preservation of the Nation, Industrialization, and Social Cohesion.
Government Focus : Cultural Hegemony.
Head of State : The Khagan/Golden Emperor Abd Al-Ahan Khan
Head of Government : High Prince of the Rus (incoming)
Government Description : A union state combined the former arrangement of the Golden Horde in the south and its former tributary states in the north. Reforms made for the sake of necessity have concentrated the polyglot identity of the nation into two power blocs. The Scandinavian aligned

Majority/State Religion : Sojournism.
Religious Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

Economic Ideologies : Mixed Economy with bickering between the imperial government, reformers, and traditionalists in the east.

Major Production : Copper, Bauxite, Nickel, Petroleum, Agricultural Products, Fishing, Coal, Gold, and other minerals.

Economic Description : Different areas of the country have vested themselves into different areas of economics. The port principalities cling to trading, and merchants while the interior Rus states prioritize agriculture. The heartland where Sarai is located is a polar opposite to the horde areas. Modern and industrialized clash with the horde areas that are sprawling with forests, and lands for grazing. Several noted bands raid the Siberians for spouses, resources, and anything not nailed down.

Development: Semi-Industrialized.
Development Description : The economic development of the Golden State is highly mixed, to say the least. Novograd, for example, is highly industrialized compared to some of the other Rus principalities which have an agrarian-based economy. The lands of the Sarai area are modernized by western definitions yet go to the east and witness life as the wild west. It's at a crossroads between modernizing and being traditional to put it lightly.


Army Description : [[Describe your nation's army in as much detail as you can]]
Army Weakness :
Naval Description : Multiple fleets of varying precision, and skill with a primary focus on defensive military stances, combating piracy, and the enlistment of private merchant fleets
Naval Weakness : The decentralized nature of naval forces has for lack of a better word established several navies who report to different areas. The imperial navy located in the Caspian, and baltic is the only officially controlled government force. Meanwhile, Novgorod pretty much has their own private navies and assist the imperial fleet in matters of piracy. The fleet of the east for all intents and purposes is privately owned by mercantile interests operating out of the western ports.
Further Military Description : There is disunity amongst the imperial command about the definition that should make up core doctrine for a new, and united military.

National Goals : 1) Revitalization vs Tradition 2) Reform vs Stagnancy 3) A Future vs being stuck in the past.
National Issues : 1) Industrialization needs to be uniformly enforced amongst the various regions, but local autonomy prevents such imperial overreach. As a result, the farther you get from the imperial territory, and the Rus heartland the more agrarian, and nomadic the commonwealth is. The very system which allows Sarai to profit by taxing its principalities to the north have ironically weakened it in other ways. In order to keep the various princes happy or distracted, the golden emperors/khagans over the past have granted them boons, privileges, and kept them bickering over one another.

2) Consolidation of an effective national identity, and government.
National Figures of Interest : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Are there any Mother Teresas or Moses that we need to know about?]]
National Ambition/Aspirations : Reformation into a federal structure, and clear definition of the various estates, and branches of power.


History : [[Can be formatted in paragraphs or as a bulletpoint timeline.]]
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]

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[Tracian Empire]

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Full Nation Name: Regno d'Italia (Kingdom of Italy)
Alternate Flags: State Flag (for the residences of sovereigns, parliamentary seats, offices and diplomatic representations), Merchant Marine Ensign, Royal Navy Ensign, and Naval Jack.

Majority/Official Culture: Italian, formed by a merging of Roman culture with the invading Ostrogoths, Lombards, and finally Franks. Under the Holy Roman Empire, the city-states of northern Italy developed interconnected by distinct regional cultures which intermixed under the unity of the Kingdom, forming modern Italian culture and subcultures.
Territorial Core: The regions of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, the Triveneto regions, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Latium, Abruzzo, Sardinia, Corscia, Dalmatia and Zara form the territory of the Italian Kingdom. Other lands of the Kingdom include the overseas territories of Guiana and Nigeria.
Territorial Claim: The Kingdom claims sovereignty over the entire Italian peninsula, a claim challenged by the southern Italian Capetanate. Italia thus claims the territory of the Capetanate including Naples and the island of Sicily.
Capital City: The official capital is the city of Milan; the city hosts much of the Italian government including the Chamber of Deputies, Senate, and much of the bureaucratic upper echelons. The royal court, however, including the King and his palace, is based in the city of Pavia, which serves as a kind of Italian Versailles.
Population: The Italian census of 1900 has registered a population of 26,796,154 persons, including immigrants and legal residents as well as Citizens.

Government Type: Unitary Constitutional Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies: Italy is a Constitutional Monarchy based upon the principles of the Rational State. The King rules in a limited role, acting as a check on the legislature and the democratic government. The ideal of the Rational State is a philosophical justification for the Italian Kingdom by which its benefits to its citizens justifies its existence. Very much a Hobbesian social contract idea, this philosophy means that the leading political parties and leaders of the Italian Kingdom focus their efforts greatly on appealing to their voting and influence bases in order to keep their elected seats, the most powerful of these bases being the Italian middle class. With a multitude of parties, some of which are regional parties, the Chamber of Deputies is split into two Parliamentary Groups; the Left and the Right. The Right, led by the Liberal Union Party, and including minor Conservative and Christain Democratic parties, is a Liberal-Conservative party supporting centralized government, restricted suffrage, regressive taxation, and free trade. The Left, led by the Constitutional Democratic Party, supports statist and progressive internal policies, expansionist foreign policy, as well as protectionist economic policies. A minor opposition group is the Extreme Left or the Party of Democracy, a Marxist party that can sometimes be in a coalition or in opposition to The Left. Despite attempts during the 19th century, the Right and the Left have been at odds over both established ideological points and regional differences, as the Constitutional Democrats gain votes primarily from middle-class individuals in Lombardy and north Italy while the Liberal Union bases itself in the rich port cities of the coast.
Government Focus: The new Constitutional Democrat government has pursued a heavy policy of Irredentism and Revaunchism against the southern Catepanate and has focused heavily on building up the Royal forces.
Head of State: King Galeazzo VII of House Visconti
Head of Government: Grand Chancellor Giovanni Giolitti
Government Description: In Italia, all power emanates from the King and from the People. This mixture of top-down and bottom-up power distribution exists throughout the Italian state, acting as effective checks on each other's powers. The Constitution of Italy is not a single document but a collection of legal documents, legislative acts and laws, and Royal decrees, the most central being the Galeazzan Statute which created the modern Italian state.

The Chamber of Deputies is the legislative body of the Kingdom, composed of elected representatives who, since 1892, have been elected via proportional representation. The Chamber is the only national body that is elected, with other elections being for local positions such as membership to the Regional, Provincial, and Municipal Councils and for Podesti (Mayors). The Chamber has complete legislative and limited oversight of the Royal government and the judicial system. Bills and Acts approved by the Chamber are sent to the Senate, a house of hereditary nobles and clerics appointed by the King to serve for life, with their seat passing to their heir. The Senate has the ability to review and either approve or reject acts of the Chamber of Deputies and has a judicial power to hear appeals of criminal convictions or sit as a jury to try cases of removal of government officers from their positions, cases of great felony misconduct by Peers, and cases of Treason; this judicial power is mostly exercised by a special committee of the Senate and rarely does the entire Senate sit as judge and jury in the modern-day. Acts rejected by the Senate are sent back to the Chamber where they can either be amended and sent back to the senate, abandoned altogether, or a vote can be held to overturn the Senate's decision. The last check needed is the approval of the King in writing and in his seal, which he can give to enter the act into law or refuse thus vetoing the law with no appeal. The King also has the power to call and dismiss the Chamber at his will, meaning that if he is displeased with the Chamber he can dissolve it and call for new elections, although there is a legal limit to how long he can rule without having called a Chamber to meet.

The government is led by autonomous ministers under the Council of State, who meet to advise the King and formulate state policy. The most senior officer of the Council is the Grand Chancellor, leader of the Chancellery, which fulfills a similar position to Prime Minister in other governments and is often referred to as such informally. This tradition began after the adoption of the Galeazzan Statute and the first meeting of the Chamber of Deputies; the Grand Chancellor had always been an important and prestigious position, and so when the first even majority was formed in the Chamber its leader requested the position for himself. Constitutionally, the Grand Chancellor is a position appointed by the King on the advice of the Chamber no different from the other ministers, but the tradition of the King appointed the majority leader of the Chamber to the position means the Grand Chancellor is always the Head of Government due not to the authority of the position but due to the influence as majority leader that the Grand Chancellor has. So while the Council of State is supposed to act on the King's policy and advise him, in reality, the King prefers to rule in a limited and often ceremonial fashion, leaving the Grand Chancellor to lead the council and set state policy. Italy is a unitary state with only very limited powers granted to regional, provincial, and municipal governments, so the Council and its offices are the effective government of Italy and hold a substantial amount of power.

Laws are enforced by the Captains of Justice, local officials appointed by the elected municipal (Communi) councils. These Captains of Justice then are responsible for leading and maintaining a department of police officers to enforce laws within their jurisdiction; legally there are no local police forces, only officers in the employ of Captains of Justice. Rural regions are policed by the Cacciatori Reali (Royal Hunters), the national police force, who also are responsible for guarding Italy's borders, maintaining public order, and protecting the Royal family and members of Parliament. The latter two functions are performed by special sub-units of the Cacciatori; the Carabinieri Reali (Royal Carabineers) who are an armed paramilitary used for special police actions and maintaining the peace, and the Corazzieri (Cuirassiers) officially known as the Carabinieri Guardie del Re Squadron (Royal Carabineer Guards Squadron) which protects the King in addition to the Royal Body Guards and also protects the government buildings of Milan. Each municipality has assigned to it a Tribunale (Tribunal) which acts as the main court of the first instance for most civil and criminal offenses. Italian Courts do not use juries like other western legal systems but have the guilt and sentence be decided by a judge, except for major felonies which will be tried by two professional judges and six "lay judges" who are randomly selected from a list of educated and reputable local citizens. Judges are appointed by the King on the nomination of the Chamber, except for a group of local magistrates known as "Pretore" (Praetors) who are elected and try minor criminal and civil cases.

Majority/State Religion: Catholicism is both the state and majority religion of the Italian Kingdom.
Religious Description: Since its adoption by the Roman Empire, Christianity has been the majority religion of the Italian peninsula. Following the East-West Schism between the Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople and the invasion of Lombard Italy by the Papal friendly Franks, Catholicism became the dominant Christain sect by way of the political dominance of the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire. While Italy hosts a minority of Jewish Italians (Mostly in the cities), Protestant Italians (Mostly on the border with Switzerland and Austria), and Orthodox Italians (Mostly near the border with the Catepanate), to the modern-day Italy is dominated by a faithful Catholic population. While all religions are tolerated and not legally discriminated against, Catholicism is the official state religion and is both promoted and supported by the state.

Economic Ideologies: Capitalism
Major Production: Major manufacturing sectors in many large Italian cities creating a large export of goods such as machinery, furniture, arms, clothing, and luxury goods. Italy also hosts a large agricultural sector, most famously producing Italian Wine along with olives, grain, citrus, and other foodstuffs.
Economic Description: The unification of Italy during the 16th century gave north Italy a political entity to unite the area and allow for the free movement, cooperation, and state support for industries across the north part of the peninsula. Italy initially industrialized through small firms across the country, although in the 19th century these firms consolidated in the cities leading to the "Industrial Triangle" of Turin-Milan-Genoa, creating a very densely industrialized area that is mimicked in other cities such as Florence, Rome, and Venice. Milan and surrounding Lombardy is most known for their manufacturing, including the famous arms manufacturing area of Brescia, which attracted many arms makers due to its native iron mining industry; these manufacturers included Beretta, Brescia Arsenal, and Breda.

Development: Modern
Development Description: The peace brought by the Visconti mirrored that brought by the French monarchs to France, the Austrian monarchs to Austria, and the Greek monarchs of Eastern Rome, in terms of a united nation not beset by constant warfare allowing for industry and infrastructure to develop naturally throughout the 16 and 17th centuries into the early industrial period of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Visconti unification, therefore, has allowed Italy to develop alongside its neighbors, although it inherently lacks the same kind of resources as France, Austria, and Rome and so cannot match them in pure numbers. Still, Much of the Industrial Triangle is well developed with modern infrastructure including a series of railroads connecting the industrial production centers in Milan, Turin, Venice, and others with the mining regions of the alp, and with the port cities of the coast, most notably Genoa.

Army Description: Il Regio Esercito, the Royal Army, is the land force of the Kingdom, charged with the defense of the realm on land. Like most armies, it's a primarily infantry-based force with permanent standing units recruited through conscription. These permanent professional units include the Reggimenti di Fanteria di Linea e Granatieri Esercito (Regiments of Line Infantry and Army Grenadiers), Reggimenti Alpini (Alpine Regiments), Reggimenti Bersaglieri (Bersaglieri Regiments), Reggimenti Artiglieria (Artillery Regiments), and Reggimenti di Cavalleria (Cavalry Regiments). Line Infantry and Grenadier regiments are grouped together into Brigades which are then assigned to Divisions, the main tactical unit of the Army, with typically 2-3 brigades per division. Bersaglieri are also formed into brigades but Alpini instead organize their regiments into flexible "Groups"; both of these types of units are specialists with Alpini trained in mountain warfare and Bersaglieri being an elite force of infantry trained to march at a very quick almost running pace, the purpose of which is for speed to give Italy a quick infantry unit to compensate for the overall lack of Cavalry. While Italy has some cavalry regiments, they are few in comparison to other nations and so the regiments aren't grouped into any larger unit, instead individually attached out to Corps. Army Corps bring together typically 3-4 Infantry divisions and an assortment of attached units including Bersaglieri, Alpini, Artillery, and Cavalry Regiments. These Corps are then placed under the overall command of an Army, although some Corps can be independent and operate as needed for individual actions.

Italy has, standing, five armies; 1ª and 2ª Armata deployed to the southern border with the Eastern Romans, 3ª Armata deployed on the western border with the French Republic, and the 4ª and 5ª Armata deployed to the eastern border with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in addition to four autonomous corps under Supreme command. A mostly universal uniform of Grey-Green cloth is used throughout the Royal Army with changes added for special troops such as the distinctive headwear and equipment of the Alpini and Bersaglieri, the latter of which wear a wide-brimmed hat with a large feather plume which gives them shade from the sun to better help their accuracy. Standard issue armaments include the Modello 1891 Carcano Rifle, the main arm of the Italian infantry units and also in use by cavalry with its shortened Carbine version, and also in use by police units of the Carabinieri and the Cacciatori. Officers, support troops, and specialty troops are issued the Modello 1891 Bordeo Revolver as a sidearm, although private purchase is allowed for officers who often purchase commercially available semi-automatic pistols. Around 300 Maxim Machine guns ordered from the British Maxim Company during the 1890s are in service with artillery regiments with plans to be used in supporting roles for infantry.

Behind the standing army is the Italian Militias, a three-level reserve force divided into the Milizia Mobile, Milizia Territoriale, and Milizia Comunale. All individuals who completed their four-year tour of duty in the standing army, when they retire to civil life, become registered to one of the Militia's; recently retired soldiers serve in the Mobile Militia as a reserve force able to be quickly called up for service. Older retirees between the ages of 30 and 50 move from the Mobile Militia to the Territorial Militia, which is supposed to be used in rear line formations to free up regular army units for the frontline or as emergency reinforcements. The third and final tier is the Municipal Militia which is a force of volunteers meant to perform support functions within their Communi, not expected to see active combat. As a reserve formation the Militia's are equipped after the main army, and if there is a shortage of Carcano rifles militia units use the older black powder Veterli-Vitali Modello 1870/87 rifle.
Army Weakness: Italy is a small nation in comparison to its neighbors and it also hosts a relatively small population giving it a smaller manpower pool. Conscription is used in peacetime to maintain a standing army capable of defending Italy but Italian tacticians rely on the idea of massed assaults concentrating much of the army in one offensive to quickly win victories, a strategy which would be difficult when faced with an attritional war, where decisive battles are few, or multi-front wars, where the army cannot be adequately concentrated. Additionally, Italian industry relies a great deal on imports to make up for the peninsula's lack of resources relative to the consumption of Italian industries, something which poses a risk to the army's supplies.

Naval Description: La Regia Marina, the Royal Navy, originated in the 1399 purchase of the Republic of Pisa by Gian Galeazzo Visconti. Pisa was one of the maritime Republics of Italy and the acquisition of the Republic gave Gian Galeazzo control over the Pisan navy, which now became the Ducal Navy of Milan. It was further expanded after the annexation of Genoa, granting the Duchy both the former Genoese navy and the well-developed port and drydocks of Genoa. After the declaration of the Kingdom of Italy, the old Ducal fleets were consolidated as the Regia Marina, based primarily out of the city of Genoa. The Marina receive a significant amount of attention as after the establishment of the Kingdom conflict was focused on the rival great powers of Europe, and control of the Mediterranean became a very important objective. Today the Regia Marina is a powerful naval force focused on protecting Italy and her colonies at sea, with officers trained at the joint naval academy at Civitavecchia.

The Regia Marina is a heavily battleship-focused force, stemming from a Mahanian Doctrine of the use of massed gunnery to win decisive battles and gain control of the sea. The first steamships of the navy were put through a baptism of fire against the Austrian navy during the Venetian War, and since the victories in that war, Italy has embraced and built steel steam warships, with a steady building program of three battles every three years to constantly rotate out older units in favor of newer ones, making the Regia Marina one of the largest defense costs for the Kingdom. In support of the battleships are cruisers, who often are placed in support roles to the battleships either in the line of battle for heavier Armored Cruisers or protecting the battleships from smaller Torpedo Boats, which the Regia also employs. The more common and doctrinal use of cruisers, particularly light or unarmored cruisers, is in patrolling shipping lanes to sink or capture enemy merchant ships.
Naval Weakness: In many ways the Regia Marina can be compared to an artillery gun balanced on a bamboo stick; a powerful weapon but one which can be decimated with a single strike. The powerful fleet of battleships have been built up over decades as the resources and shipbuilding facilities of Italy are limited in comparison to larger maritime nations. Losses sustained by the Regia Marina cannot be replaced quickly by new ships, making the loss of even a single battleship a large financial and strategic hit. The loss of a portion or, god forbid, a majority of the battleship fleet in a battle would cripple the Regia Marina for effectively the entire conflict.
Further Military Description: The Royal Army maintains a regiment of military balloonists for aerial recon and assisting in artillery spotting.

National Goals: Reunification of the Italian peninsula under the House of Visconti.
National Issues: The radical reforms of Giovanni Giolitti's government have been a pressing topic of debate among Italians, with great support from the urban populations but facing vocal opposition from the traditional middle-class elite.
National Figures of Interest: Grand Chancellor Giovanni Giolitti
National Ambition/Aspirations: Unification of the Italian Peninsula and the recognition of the Kingdom as a great power of Europe.

History: The fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the Italian peninsula by barbarian tribes culminated in the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, including its control over north Italy. With no King in Italy, but instead absent rule from German Emperors, the local Communi (City governments) gained great autonomy, eventually forming into local Lordships and Republics as City-States. One of these during the 13th century was the Lordship of Milan, where politics were controlled by two rival political parties; one surrounding the Della Tore family, and one surrounding the Visconti family. While the Della Tore had effective control of Milan, Ottone Visconti, head of the family, held the favor of the Pope and was appointed as Archbishop of Milan, a very influential position that challenged Della Tore supremacy. The Della Tore forces of Condotteri mercenaries and locally recruited militias drove Ottone out of the city, where he built up his own forces. A meeting was called by Pope Clement IV in which he sided with the Visconti in the dispute, but this did little to resolve the conflict which soon turned violent. At the Battle of Desio, Visconti forces triumphed over the Della Tore forces, and Ottone entered Milan underarms, driving the Della Tore out of the city. Seeking to establish his families control, Ottone appointed his grandnephew Mattero as "Captain of the People", making him his effective heir as Lord of Milan, and finally, Ottone obtained the title of Imperial Vicar from the Holy Roman Emperor, making him the official administrator of Milan on behalf of the Empire. In 1302 the Della Tore launched another campaign and managed to retake Milan, but mediation by the Emperor managed to end the conflict between the two, restoring Visconti rule.

After the death of Ottone, Matteo became the new ruler of Milan, and he undertook a policy of expanding his control by annexing the church properties in Milan and launching expansionist campaigns against his rivals in the Guelph League (Papal aligned city-states), the Della Tore family, and the House of Anjou, gaining the Communi of Bergamo, Tortona, Alessandria, Vercelli, and Piacenza. Matteo's fall from power wouldn't be from death or defeat but accusations of heresy, which stained him so badly that he stepped down and passed his power onto his son Galeazzo, his death coming during the final years of his life where he lived in a monastery, his final days spent dedicated to Christ. Galeazzo's inheritance established the dynastic nature of Visconti rule, although he died a mere five years into his reign. Galeazzo's son, Azzone, became a co-ruler alongside his two uncles (Galeazzo's brothers) Luchino and Giovanni. Azzone died in 1339, followed by Luchino in 1350; while Azzone was mainly a figurehead, Luchino was a great military command, and under the joint Azzone-Luchino rule Milan was expanded to include Cremone, Pavia, Como, Brescia, Parma, Mondovi, and Cuneo. While some of these were gained through conquest, some were gained through diplomacy as Pavia and Como were gained after having pro-Visconti rulers installed, and Parma was bought outright. The growing power of Milan allowed it to gain territory through purchase and diplomacy alongside military conquest, a stratagem that was expanded later on.

Giovanni became sole ruler in 1350 after the death of Luchino; he had previously served as a mostly local political leader for the Visconti, as he held the title of Archbishop of Milan, but on his ascension to sole rule he became a much more involved ruler. He obtained the city of Bologna from the Pepoli family, and in 1353 accepted the title of Doge of Genoa. After the death of Giovanni, control of Milan was divided between his two sons Bernabo and Galeazzo II, who ruled separately from Milan and Pavia respectively. Giovanni's death gave Genoa the excuse to regain its independence, selecting a new Doge, and Bologna revolted with the support of the Papal States. Bernabo led several campaigns to retake Bologna but all would fail, earning him ex-communication from the Pope. Galeazzo II consolidated his rule in Pavia, constructing a castle that would evolve over the centuries as the Visconti Palace; he also came into conflict with the HRE, as the Emperor appointed a new Imperial Vicar to take control of Pavia, but Galeazzo II drove him out with his forces. These conflicts, Bernabo against the Papacy and Galeazzo II against the HRE, deprived the Visconti of much legitimacy, and the two would spend much of their reign fighting off foreign incursions. Galeazzo II married Isabella of Valois, daughter of King John II of France, securing some legitimacy for his child, Gian Galeazzo, and friendly relations with France.

In 1378 Galeazzo II passed and was succeeded by Gian Galeazzo, who now became the new co-ruler with his uncle Bernabo. In 1385 Gian Galeazzo executed a successful coup against Bernabo, capturing him while he was vulnerable and imprisoning him. Now, sole ruler of Milan, Gian Galeazzo sent a gift of 100,000$ Florins to the Holy Roman Emperor, receiving in exchange the title of Duke of Milan. Gian Galeazzo established his official court at Pavia, moving back and forth between it and the official seat of government in Milan. Gian Galeazzo had a vision of a new Italian Kingdom in the image of the Lombards, and so began a campaign of great expansion. Verona and Padua were taken in 1386 and 1388 respectively, although Padua was later lost during a war with Florence and Mantua. Pisa and Siena were taken without force in 1399 and Perugia a year later. He conquered parts of Venice, Emilia, Umbria, and Tuscany, giving the Visconti much of central Italy. In 1402 Bologna was finally retaken and placed under Visconti lordship once more. Gian Galeazzo managed to avoid the outbreak of plague that ripped through Italy during the very early 15th century, although it did slow his expansion. At his court in Pavia, Gian expanded the administration of the Duchy, creating new organs of state, new tax collection administrations, and new legal bodies. In effect, Gian created the beginning of the Italian government. He also created the County of Pavia as a noble title given to his successor, his first son Azzone II whom he had with his now-late wife Isabella.

Gian Galeazzo’s later campaigns centered on the two states which could stand against the Visconti; Florence and Venice. After the success in Bologna, Gian initially waited but then pushed forward, fighting and winning another battle against the Florentines ending in the occupation of Florence in 1404 and the recapture of Padua in the same year. With one of his major rivals gone and the important city of Florence under him, Gian pivoted his attention towards the Republic of Genoa; massive bribes secured the election of a Doge allied with Gian in 1408. For the last decade of his rule Gian Galeazzo, now entering his 50’s and eventually 60s, looked towards securing his reign and his Duchy for his son Azzone. He further developed his bureaucracy creating a semi-professional state, and with the title of Count of Pavia, there was no question of succession. With a few minor campaigns gaining territories like the acquisition of Mantua from its now-deceased lord, the Duke finally passed from a heart attack in 1421. 43-year-old Azzone II became the second Duke of Milan. Immediately he faced challenges from rivals in Venice, the Papacy, Savoy, and discontent nobles. Riots in Mantua and other cities were put down, and after a revolt by the Genoans against their Doge, Milanese troops occupied and annexed the city, with Azzone II disbanding the Republic. After a brief war, a peace was signed with Venice giving over Rongo to Milan.

In 1424 a plot to assassinate Azzone II originating from his half-brother Giovanni Maria was exposed and Giovannia Maria was executed. His other half-brother Filippo Maria had been the one to expose the plot and gained expanded influence and powers as a military commander and confidant of Azzone II. After the death of the Duke of Forli, Azzone II undertook a campaign to conquer the Romagna region, creating a conflict with Venice and a war that ended in the occupation of the city. Another peace treaty ended with the annexation of the Romagna region, the city of Trevisto, and a military alliance, subordinating Venice as an ally of Milan. In 1430 Azzone II passed away childless and was succeeded by Filippo as Duke. While a cruel man, Filippo was a great statesman, and his reign steered Milan to greatness. His marriage to Marie of Savoy secured Savoy as an ally of Milan against the Papacy and also gave him his only son, Galeazzo III. A new pope was elected in 1431, a Venetian, who was hostile to the Milanese, and thus conflict erupted over the newly conquered Romagna region. A coalition of the Papacy, Ferrara, and Monferrato was defeated in battle, gaining for Filippo the cities of Ferrara and Modena, and for his Savoy ally the territory of Monferrato. Upon the victory against the Papal coalition, Filippo pressed forward through the Papal territories. Ravenna in 1433, the cities of the Lord of Malatesta between 1433 and 1444, and Montefeltro in 1444. Finally in 1445 Milanese soldiers and mercenaries installed the rule of the Antipope Felice V who was also the former Duke of Savoy. Filippo now effectively controlled most of Italy, either directly or through allies such as Venice, Savoy, and now a friendly Papacy.

Under Azzonne II and Filippo, the Visconti realm was centralized with the Duchy of Milan and the County of Pavia at its center. The Visconti expansion was one fueled by personal inheritance and conquest, not by the loyalty or fealty of vassals, and as such the local nobility could not be trusted to administrate in the Visconti name. Instead, much of the wealthy and landowning classes became empowered by showing loyalty to the Duke, gaining positions within the Ducal-controlled revenue offices, and appointed civil administrations. Many parts of the Ducal realm were given as Lordships to members of the Visconti Cadet branches such as the Visconti di Modrone, Visconti di Massino, Visconti di Crenna and the Visconti di Besnate; these cousins and relatives of the Visconti di Milan now formed an upper crust to the aristocracy, ruling areas in behalf of the Duke, with blood as their bond of loyalty.

Shortly after his victories, Filippo died, in 1447, being succeeded by his only son Galeazzo III. Galeazzo immediately was challenged in his rule by the mercenary Francesco Sforza who was married to his illegitimate sister and also one of the more experienced mercenary commanders in Milan. While dealing with this internal war, the Duchy of Savoy invaded from the west under Duke Louis, who had intentions of conquering Milan. Galeazzo III, faced with an invasion from the east and rebellious mercenaries in the east, got to work immediately raising the levies to form an army. With a hefty bribe, Sforza was brought back under the Milanese side, although later he would be arrested and executed, and the army of Savoy was beaten in battle near Turin, with that ancient city of Savoy being taken after a siege in 1451. With his main city taken, Louis agreed to peace, agreeing to an alliance with the Duchy in return for the return of Turin. However, that same year Felice V died, and a new pope, Nicholas V was elected. In a bid for peace, much of the Papacy's former territory was restored to it with the exception of the city of Ravenna and the Romagna region, which were to be administered by Galeazzo III as Papal Vicar. Galeazzo III spent much of his reign modernizing the state and promoting the burgeoning renaissance. He developed a friendship with Florentine banker Cosmo de Medici and helped promote banking through near unified Italy. His lavish sponsorships led to the building of a grand palace at Pavia, which became the official court of the Duchy under Galeazzo III. He conducted diplomacy with foreign powers in order to maintain his territory, playing the French and the HRE off each other.

Galeazzo III died in 1499 and was succeeded by Filippo II. Galeazzo’s last act as Duke was hosting the Congress of Florence which established the Italian League as an official confederate alliance of the Duchy of Milan, the Duchy of Savoy, and the various Visconti allies and realms. The League served to establish the Duke of Milan as the hegemon of north Italy, challenged only by the papacy and Venice, giving the Duke control over the diplomacy and military forces of the League members. The Visconti realm had expanded into such a large state that the status quo of Condottiero and small temporary militias were no longer viable, as the Duchy was threatened not by rival city-states but by the great armies of France, the HRE, and the Eastern Romans. Filippo II, a military man by education, took a keen interest in the military affairs of the Duchy and attempted to copy the French and the great Condottieri by organizing a system of village militias to provide levies alongside the raising of professional Man-At-Arms regiments, along with the hiring of foreign mercenaries from Switzerland, Germany, Poland-Lithuania and Vandalusia.

In 1525 the Thirty Years War began. While initially, Filippo II was initially hostile to the HRE, despite technically being one of its vassals, a deal was eventually struck where Milan reversed its relations and joined the Germans against the French. In return, at the Congress of Bologna in 1530, the Pope, with the blessing of the Emperor, granted the title of Rex Italiae upon Filippo II, crowing him with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, and reaffirming his title of Imperial Vicar. Up until this point the Visconti had relied on military strength, the loyalty of local gentry, and a complex web of titles and alliances gained through conquest, negotiation, and inheritance to keep together an ad hoc realm of what were technically dozens of different counties, with their only legally bestowed titles being Duke of Milan and hegemon of the Italian League. Now their expansion was legitimized by the Empire. Ducal forces fought a long campaign in conjunction with the HRE, but ultimately in the end were routed and forced to retreat from the Alps, readying for a fight in the interior of Italy, a fight that wouldn’t come as peace would come in 1556, five years after the death of Filippo II. The French annexed parts of the Duchy of Savoy, leaving a powerless House of Savoy with a rump area of control. Giovanni III, son of Filippo II and Catherine de Medici, used this to undermine the control of the Duchy, extending the authority of his bureaucratic institutions to Savoy, effectively ending the autonomy of the Duchy.

The 30 years war was the last war in which Condottieri was used, with the remaining forces hired phasing out of service under Giovanni III. In 1564 Giovanni III decreed the outlawing of condottiere. Many of the condottieres would turn to banditry, leading to an outbreak of lawlessness that local militias had trouble dealing with. Two years later, pressed by reports of Condottieri banditry, Giovanni III took several companies of Man-At-Arms and skirmishers and merged them into the “Cacciatori Reali” or Royal Hunters, giving them a directive to suppress banditry and maintain the peace. They were put under a new office, the Grand Captain of Justice, removing some of the law enforcement powers of the Chancellery.

As part of the extension of Ducal authority, the civil administration of the Duchy was expanded, reorganized, and most importantly codified in acts signed by Giovanni III. The Chancellery had grown to be the most important office of the state within the Ducal administration, but it had become bloated and overstretched with the expansion of the Visconti realm. Giovanni III detached the judicial and financial departments and lifted them up as national offices, giving them the independence and funding to more effectively administer the realm, and amalgamated several smaller offices such as the Masters of Revenue (responsible for tax collection) into one of the two offices as appropriate. The Chancellery as an office was kept but now focused primarily on diplomacy, internal order, and internal liaison between the Crown and the many local offices, modeled on the municipal offices of Milan, that were established in the cities of Italy. The ministers of these three main offices plus various royal advisors came to be informally but widely known as the Royal Council, with the Grand Chancellor as the most prestigious and important of the three, as all acts required his seal alongside the Duke’s.

Giovanni III died in 1574 and was succeeded by his son Giovanni VI, who himself died in 1610, succeeded by his son Galeazzo IV. The reign of Giovanni VI was a most uneventful reign that set the stage for his son, Galeazzo IV. For in 1631 the Duke of Urbino, a lord of the Papal States, died, leaving his infant son as the heir of the Kingdom, however within a year the son would also die leaving the throne empty. As a papal fief, the Pope ordered Urbino be annexed directly into the Papal State, but Galeazzo IV, as King of Italy, claimed that the Duchy should devolve back to him. He used the Papal Annexation as a pretext to invade with a well-equipped army utilizing modern musket and pike formations against papal mercenaries. Victories against the Pope during the Urbino Campaign were offset by the threat of the Greeks in the south, and so with the occupation of the city of Urbino Galeazzo IV sought peace rather than press his advantage, and received Urbino not as a Papal Fief but as his own territory in an official annexation, one also applied retroactively to Romagna and other territories. The Papal State was now reduced to Latium and the Marches.

The plague of 1630 and the later plague of 1653 devastated the Italian peninsula as a whole, as up to 25% of the population was lost to the disease, including Galeazzo IV in 1641. Having died childless, he was succeeded by his brother Giovanni V. The devastation of the Plague increased the independence of workers and eroded the power of the landed aristocracy. As an increasingly obsolete act, Galeazzo V personally led a military campaign against the island of Sardinia, which was an overseas territory of the Vandal Kingdom. The war lasted between 1648 and 1651, with Galeazzo VI himself dying in 1650 from a raging fever, although he had already given up much of his command to his generals earlier in the year.

Galeazzo VI was succeeded by Giovanni VI, also known as “Giovanni the Great” for his long reign, reformation of the Kingdom, and the prosperity under his reign. Beginning his reign as a teen, he was surrounded by a regency of ministers led by his mother. This lasted until he reached the majority and began his sole rule in 1658. In 1661 Giovanni VI signed a series of acts known collectively as the “Perfect Fusion”, removing the individual administrations, legal systems, and governments of the Visconti realm, creating a unified administration across the Kingdom and dividing the territory of said Kingdom into Provinces based on census demographics, cultural areas, and the borders of old duchies and city-states, administered by royally appointed governors. The fusion was combined with the publication of the Royal Legal Code in 1663, creating a uniform body of law across Italy, and the replacement of the Secret Council with a newly appointed Senate which enjoyed consultative powers and oversight over diplomacy. The fusion shifted much of the power of the aristocracy away from local administration and towards the new Senate, with only those loyal or influential being appointed to the several hundred man body. As part of the King’s program of consolidation of power, new regiments were raised of professional paid soldiers serving through peacetime under the banner of the King rather than vassal lords, and in 1674 he introduced a new grey uniform alongside other standards. Five years later, seeing the trend of European militaries, Giovanni VI approved the creation of the first companies of Grenadiers, and a year later abolished the use of Pikemen. The military household, the personal units of the King, was standardized and reorganized under Giovanni VI into a 50 man bodyguard corps, a regiment of guard infantry, companies of Men-At-Arms, Cavalry, and units of Swiss and Polish mercenaries. Seeking prestige, Giovanni VI also sponsored explorers abroad, mainly focusing on the new world of the America’s. With a land named after an Italian, it seemed obvious that Italy should claim land there and gain its own area under the sun. The most prominent of these was the 1664 expedition which resulted in the establishment of a colony in the bay of Cayenne. The colony would struggle for a while against the hot climate, Indigenous attacks, and conflict with competing colonies in the area, the latter two requiring a permanent garrison in the colony.

Giovanni VI was a great admirer of the French royalty and emulated them in many ways, including spending vast amounts on the arts and on his court. The consolidation of the Kingdom meant that the nobility no longer ruled areas on behalf of the King as his vassals, instead, governors and local administrators were appointed by the King or the Chancellery. To make up for this loss of power, the King would lavish the nobility with titles and new positions in the expanded Senate, officer commissions in the new army, and most famously with courtier positions in the Visconti Palace at Pavia. Giovanni VI nearly bankrupted the state treasury in spending on lavish parties, gifts, and general extravagance at the palace in order to match the extravagance of the French court. With thousands of aristocratic courtiers, graft and corruption became rampant, something which was overlooked by Giovanni VI. While wasteful, all this spending also served to sponsor artists and thinkers in the Pavian court, something which would contribute to the Italian Enlightenment at the end of Giovanni VI’s reign.

In 1712 the long reign of Giovanni VI ended with his death. He had fathered four children, but through misfortune, only one lived to adulthood; Azzone III. Initially the third in succession, Azzone had been raised to serve as an officer in the Royal Army, and he took his Soldier’s Spirit to the court when he was crowned King. The Royal Court was dramatically reduced in size, cutting costs at the palace and reducing it to a more spartan condition focused on housing the King and his ministry. Azzone III continued the centralization of the state, expanding and standardizing the bureaucracy, but most importantly instituting new meritocratic standards to reduce the amount of corruption and graft in the offices. Most famous of his anti-corruption measures was elevating a minor office of the Masters of Revenue into the Guards of Finance as a new royal police force focused on economic crimes, mostly against smuggling and graft. Despite these meritocratic reforms Azzone III was still first and foremost an Autocrat, focused on reducing the power of the nobility only to gain more power for himself and the court. In this vein, he focused more on the treasury and his own focus on the Royal Army, which was formally formed by an act of the King in 1721. New regiments were raised and Azzone III himself wrote new training and drill manuals with a focus on discipline and morale. Azzone III also embraced the ideal model of the Enlightened Autocrat that his father had created in Italy, sponsoring many great artists and in 1743 backing the founding of the Academy of the Transformed, where great thinkers of the Italian Enlightenment would coalesce around in Lombardy.

The King was tragically killed in a hunting accident in 1748. An investigation found the killing shot was delivered by the Duke of Mantua, one of the Visconti Cadet members, who held no ambitions or malice, and it was deemed a tragic accident. Many rumored it was an assassination but these were largely unfounded. Galeazzo V, the firstborn of now-deceased Azzone III, ascended the throne at the relatively young age of 22. Known as the “Philosopher King”, Galeazzo V took a deep interest in the rising enlightenment and would often spend more time with jurists or philosophers than with his own ministers, often giving said ministers informal autonomy in the running of the state. Under him, the Senate and the royal council took on more powers and responsibilities, with the Senate often drafting laws which the Grand Chancellor would submit to the king who would give his rubber stamp, offering a quasi-legislative role to the Senate. The King was deeply influenced by the published work of Cesare Beccaria, most importantly his book “On Crimes and Penalties”. Its influence was obvious in the “Galeazzan Codex”, a new legal code published by royal decree in 1771 which greatly modernized the Italian legal cannon, including such innovations as the abolition of the death penalty and many forms of corporal punishment or torture. Under Galeazzo V the justification of Divine Right was gradually put out of use in favor of what Galeazzo V called the “Rational State”, a justification for royal rule-based more on Hobbesian philosophy. The King viewed the state as less the property of the King and more a civil service that existed to serve the nation. The autonomy he granted to his ministers created a precedent where officers of the state would have complete jurisdiction over their department, creating the modern civil service. In 1780 Galeazzo V took the final step in the consolidation of the state when he ordered the nationalization of church and feudal properties, effectively abolishing the last vestiges of feudalism, reducing the aristocracy to their estates and wealth gained not by feudal titles. The Papacy spoke out against the nationalization of the church properties, as the peasants working church fields provided revenue, but without much power, it went unchallenged. Great land reform followed with a reorganization of the Royal Holdings and a redistribution of many feudal lands to peasant farmers, with the cost of this redistribution put onto the farmers.

In 1791, an unfortunate year, Galeazzo V died of a heart attack, according to legend, caused by the shock of the French revolution. His firstborn son, Galeazzo VI, had been raised in his father's enlightenment tradition and also had developed a Liberal streak, and so sympathized with the French revolutionaries, openly speaking about how he wished to see a constitutional monarchy develop in France. While the execution of Louis and the establishment of the Republic soured relations, Galeazzo VI attempted to steer a course of neutrality during the Revolutionary Wars. This included deciding to not intervene during the Venetian Revolution, which let the shriveled Republic fall and be conquered by the Hapsburg Austrians. Despite this neutrality, France would invade during the early period, attempting to cut through Italy to reach their enemy of Austria. Italian forces would initially be defeated in battle at Turin but the actions of a young Corsican officer of Genoese nobility, Napoleone di Buonaparte, would halt the French offensive on the outskirts of Genoa. His bravery and tact would be noted in dispatches to the King, and the praise of his superiors would convince the King to grant Napoleone a General’s commission, giving him a Division to command under Carlo Balabio, a command he would hold during the Milan Campaign when the French Army redirected their focus north towards swiftly capturing the Italian capital in a bid to capitulate the Kingdom swiftly.

Napoleone convinced Balabio to give him two other divisions and marched swiftly north while Balabio and the main army marched more slowly behind. Napoleone had correctly guessed that the French were moving towards Pavia and made it to the city first, setting up defenses with his divisions, employing the use of massed artillery batteries. When the French met Napoleone they attempted to use their superior numbers to break through his lines, which initially worked, only for them to discover it was a feint. Napoleone’s cavalry swung from the side with several lines and came behind the French, who had almost reached the gates of the Visconti Palace. Surrounded, many of the raw recruits of the French army surrendered or fought to the last. The rest of the French army retreated but were intercepted by Balabio’s cavalry who pinned them down in time for the main army to rout them two days later. The Battle of Pavia decisively ended the war in Italy, and France agreed to peace with Italy; it also launched Napoleone as a national hero for his defense of Pavia, which he would use to begin a successful political career, eventually becoming Grand Chancellor.

Despite the loss of the French, their incursion and their revolution would spark similar movements in Italy. In 1802 the city of Florence would be plunged into revolt as a popular Jacobin-Esq club there attempted to raise a militia to re-establish the Florentine Republic. General Antonio Bertoletti, in command of a brigade of Italian infantry, marched on the city and fought a brief skirmish before the Florentine militia retreated from the city. Bertoletti pursued them immediately, briefly leaving the city of Florence empty of authority until the Cacciatori Reali entered and assumed a quasi-military administration over the city. Bertoletti managed to catch the Florentine rebels in the hillside towards the Papal border and defeated the bulk of their forces, with much of their leadership going underground. In an attempt to appease the popular revolutionary sentiment running through Liberal and Enlightenment circles, Galeazzo VI assembled a legislative commission in 1803 whose original purpose was to provide oversight to the legislation of the King; this commission was drawn from many leading intellectuals, jurists, and politicians of the Kingdom, many with Liberal intentions sympathetic to the King. Two years later in 1805, the King instructed the commission to begin consideration of a constitutional statute to reform the Kingdom. Sequestered for 105 days, the Statute of 1806, also known as the Galeazzan Statute or the Galeazzan Constitution, created a popularly elected legislative body known as the Chamber of Deputies, whose power would be checked by the Senate and the King, along with a standardization of the royal council into the Council of State and the enshrining of religious freedom, civil and political rights, and more enlightenment principles. Another policy of Galeazzo VI was a relaxation of state intervention in the economy, promoting a new policy of free trade and the principle of free enterprise. After the end of the Revolutionary Wars, this policy bore new fruit for the Italian economy as trade-in southern Europe flourished and Italy entered the first stages of the Industrial Revolution.

In 1834 Galeazzo VI died and was succeeded by his son Giovanni VII. While his father had given great autonomy to his ministers and created a professional civil service with a democratic form of constitutional government, he would also be the last monarch to really rule as a powerful monarch. While no acts further restricted the King in any meaningful way, Giovanni VII entered Italy greatly changed from the times of the first Visconti; a vast growing industrial power ruling over millions of citizens, a land too large for one monarch to rule. Giovanni VII embraced the role of a constitutional monarch, as a check on the democratic mechanisms of the Chamber of Deputies and the Council of State, and as a figurehead to inspire his people, but not as an autocrat. One of the few things Giovanni VII was directly involved in was the Italian colonies, as he personally funded expeditions to explore and establish outposts on the Nigerian coast between 1836 and 1841, eventually resulting in the granting of a Royal Charter for the Nigeria Colony in mid-1841.

The year 1848 brought a wave of revolutionary Republican sentiment, and while there were small strikes and risings in Italy the major concern was in the Papacy. A popular uprising led by three prominent Republicans had forced the Pope to flee the city of Rome, and the new Roman Republic had been declared in the city. Fearing a new Jacobin threat, and bound by a sense of Catholic honor to assist the Pope, the Kingdom rallied against the Republicans and intervened, marching an army into the Papal States, routing the Republican forces, and occupying the Papal marches, province of Latium, and the city of Rome. While the Pope was returned to Rome, the Kingdom was not willing to restore its temporal powers, leading to a tense standoff between the two. The Pope decided to take up residence in the Vatican around Saint Peter's Basilica, making neither denunciation nor approval of the Italian occupation of the Pope’s temporal states. Eventually, the Kingdom simply passed a law organizing the new territory as provinces and created local governments, effectively annexing the areas into the Kingdom.

In 1860 the city of Venice once more rose up in revolt; a coalition of various groups in Venice had joined forces and formed armed militias. They ranged across the political spectrum but had been united by a streak of Italian Nationalism and opposition to the Austrian Empire. The Italian government decided that, as the protector of all Italians, they needed to intervene, and marched across the border into Venice, being welcomed by the local Venetians. This was, however, an act of war, and so began the Venetian War against the Austrians. The Battle of Venice, where soldiers of the Royal Army and Nationalist Partisans fought side by side, driving the Austrians from the field in a route. At sea, the Royal Navy defeated the Austrian fleet in a small battle, forcing the enemy to confine themselves to harbor for the rest of the war, giving Italy control of the Adriatic. When Italian forces reached Trieste and the Hungarians revolted, Vienna saw the writing on the walls and agreed to peace, granting the Italian Kingdom the territory of the Kingdom of Venice, the Austrian puppet established in the former Venetian Republic.

Since the Venetian War, the Kingdom has been through a period of peace and development, although constantly watching the border with the French, the Austrians, and most importantly with the Roman occupation zone in the south.

RP Sample:

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

Looks alright to me, unless I've missed something that my CO-OP's would notice, accepted!

[Alt Div Admin]

Map and list have been updated, expired reservations have been removed

[Tracian Empire]

Good lord I underestimated the effort needed to basically make a nation out of whole cloth lmao. I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, I just haven't really had the time or brain cells to turn that into serious lore for the app. Also I'm just generally bad with numbers and names.

Anyways, finally in a state i could call done, barring talking about other people, especially getting Tyr's approval and also maybe Aztec/American stuff about Texas.

Full Nation Name : 扶桑 共和国 (Fusō Kyōwakoku, Fusou Republic)


#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

Accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : Empire of Lothharingia / Kaisertum Lotharingien / Lotharingisch Rijk / Empire de Lotharingie


#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

The app looks great overall, though you should probably mention ethnic and linguistic issues as a weakness for the army.

[Benuty]

Yikes. I just noticed the updated map. I'll finish my app after I get back from work tonight.

[Guuj Xaat Kil]

Full Nation Name : Empire of Lothharingia / Kaisertum Lotharingien / Lotharingisch Rijk / Empire de Lotharingie


#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

The app looks great overall, though you should probably mention ethnic and linguistic issues as a weakness for the army.

When the Belgians sus:
BELGICUS

[Tracian Empire]

(Image)

Full Nation Name : The Empire of Hindustan, The Mughal Empire, India
Majority/Official Culture : Syncretic culture based on a blending of Hindustani and West Indian cultures with a Persian overveneer.
Territorial Core : As on map
Territorial Claim : Remaining Bengal buffer region, Kashmir region, desire to garner colonies in East Africa and Aden
Capital City : Delhi, Delhi, primary ports being Dhaka and Surat
Population : 210.000.000 core population, some thousands in the colonies.
     
Government Type : Constitutional Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies : Tolerance, Imperialism, recent trend towards Militarism
Government Focus : Most of the Empire's recent history has seen her focus on fostering a shared identity within her very diverse peoples, with this bearing fruit through the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s. Recent developments have seen an increased drive for international prestige, with the Emperor desiring to add colonial holdings to Hindustan's already vast empire.
Head of State : His Most August Imperial Majesty, Yaghub Iksander Muhammad, Father of All His Peoples, Protector of All Their Faiths, Beholder of All Their Hopes and Dreams, Author of Truth, Giver to the World, Lion of Hindustan
Head of Government : Yaghub Iksander Muhammad, with Speaker Kali Charan Banerjee being head of the Hindustani Congress.
Government Description : Following the Rising of 1857, the government of Hindustan is a secular constitutional monarchy, with the Emperor officially retaining all executive power, but in many cases delegating much of his authority to a Speaker of the Congress.

A well developed bureaucracy supports the Empire, with Departments including State, Treasury, Interior, Public Works, Transportation, Agriculture, and State Security.

The constitution of Hindustan was adopted following the Rising of 1857, it guarantees representation of the people in the legislature, secular governance, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement for citizens of the empire. The Congress of Hindustan is the primary legislative chamber of Hindustan, divided into the High Congress (Lords) and General Congress (People). The General Congress is subject to veto by the High Congress, though the Emperor has the authority to override this veto. The Speaker of the Congress is elected by the High and General Congress for a period of 10 years, and subject to approval by the Emperor. The Speaker is understood to be a representative of the Emperor's will, and as such maintains the same veto and override power the Emperor does, however they still may be overruled by the Emperor.

Local governments are organized under Subas that are run by regional governors. These Subas are administrated in much the same way as the central government, with allowances for slight local variation as needed by the populations.
     
Majority/State Religion : Syncretic Hindustani Islam is the plurality religion, though Hindustan maintains religious freedom for all of her subjects following the Charter of 1858.
Religious Description : Hindustan is a religiously diverse nation, with practitioners of Hindustani Islam, Hinduism, Alexandrian Islam, and Buddhism making the majority of worshipers. Christians and Jews have historically been welcomed into the empire and at times encouraged to relocate by the royal family, only further cemented by the religious freedom officiated in 1858.
     
Economic Ideologies : Free trade (To a pretty high extent, though we aren't talking completely here), Protectionism
Major Production : Textiles, Muslin, Silk, Dyes, Machine Parts, Chemicals, Rice, Tea, Spices, Fruit
Economic Description : The economy of Hindustan is an export based economy, with the factories and farms of the Empire supplying many nations across the world. Hindustan through much of its history has been a net exporter, with silver and gold specie being the primary good that the Empire has taken in. As such, it has developed a massive stockpile of precious metals, and the Rupee is pegged to a gold standard, with paper silver certificates also available. A national bank, established in 1872, regulates the Rupee and ensures that the value of the Empire's currency does not swing wildly.

Development: Industrialized
Development Description : Building off of the proto-industrialization of the Mughal Empire, Hindustan has continued to cement her position as a major manufacturing and economic hub in the world, at one point controlling a quarter of the world's production. Railroads and well paved roads connect major cities, with the automobile beginning to appear in the hands of some wealthier citizens. Telegraphs connect many major and minor cities, and a well funded public works committee ensures that Hindustan's infrastructure is kept safe and up to date.
     
Army Description : Imperial Hindustani Army is organized into four primary armies, with the East African Expedition Force and Special Expedition Force being created at the insistence of the Emperor in 1897.

The Imperial Army is a voluntary institution, with conscription constitutionally allowed in times of crisis, this has never been practiced though.

Army of Bengal 400.000 Troops

Army of the Frontier 250.000 Troops

Royal Army 500.000 Troops

Southern Army 600.000 Troops

East African Expedition Force 25.000 Troops

Special Expedition Force 15.000 Troops

The vast majority of the army is equipped with the Model 1885 Standard Issue rifle, a domestically produced rifle that is comparable to other contemporaries. The Model 1901 Experimental is a current development project, ordered by the Special Committee, it is more accurate at range and boasts a more impressive punch than the 1885 Standard.

The Imperial Army fields relatively few modern artillery pieces, instead having focused on development of rocket artillery based on designs coming out of Mysore and the South Indian states. These designs while potent are not comparable to the modern artillery and would prove a poor substitute for said equipment. The Special Committee is actively working to correct this, with several foreign contenders in mind to supply the Imperial Army's Artillery.

The army fields several observation airships and a couple bomber airships. These are the pride of the nation, and Hindustani airship technology is among the best in the world. Several further bomber airships have been ordered by the Imperial Army to assist in potential future operations.

Army Weakness : The army, while large and well equipped, has not seen military action in the last several decades. Many soldiers are more familiar more with assisting infrastructure and relief efforts after disaster than they are with actual combat or even police action. Further compounding this, Hindustan's command, while promoted on a meritocratic basis, is in much the same situation as the regular soldier, with the officer corps operating almost entirely on a military theory basis.

Naval Description :

3 Battleships
6 Coastal Defense Ships
7 Armoured Cruisers
42 Cruisers
5 Sloops
45 Gunboats
33 Torpedo Boats

The navy has been pursuing the potential of acquiring submarines since the exploration of the technology in 1901. While no vessels have been acquired as of yet, the navy is confident that it will be able to build a substantial submarine force by 1910.

Naval Weakness : The navy, while large enough to defend Hindustan's coast and potentially bully some of her neighbours, is not a modern force. Many of the ships, though well maintained, are outdated, with the most advanced craft being a trio of Battleships ordered in the late 1880s.

Further Military Description : Hindustan has begun to undertake a major military reform program, with both the navy and the army being heavily scrutinized in a special committee review ordered by the Emperor. With aggressive programs meant to both modernize the navy and army, the Armed Forces Special Committee expects Hindustan to achieve parity or even surpass her neighbours and other great powers within a span of 5 years. How true this will hold remains to be seen.
     
 National Goals : Survive, thrive, expand colonially
National Issues : Hindustan is in an awkward position. While military re-armament and revitalization is a must, many fear Yaghub Iksander is a bit too fond of the militaristic angle, and as such more want to get Hindustan into conflicts that could prove detrimental to her interests.
National Figures of Interest : Hasrat Mohani
Yaghub Iksander Mohammad
Kali Charan Banerjee

National Ambition/Aspirations : Colonies, global economic hegemony
     
History :

Much of Early History is the same, with the significant POD being the ascension of Dara Shikoh as Emperor of the Mughal Empire in 1660

-1658: Aurangzeb is assassinated by assassins dressed as musicians while at his camp. His army subsequently collapses.

-1659: Following his brother's death, Dara Shikoh ascends to the throne of the Mughal Empire, promoting policies of tolerance, while working to gently forge the diverse peoples of the Mughal Empire into a more cohesive cultural unit.

-1685: Dara Shikoh dies peacefully in his sleep. His son, Sulaiman Shikoh ascends to the throne, following in his father's footsteps where policies were concerned in the Empire.

-1689: The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Albion, with Sir Owain leading the revolt against High Queen Sulwyn.

-1708: The decisive battle of London sees the Jacobites largely routed by Lord Protector Aldon.

-1710: Sir Owain is exiled to India following the failed insurrection in Albion.

-1740: Carodoc Thomas Stuart, son of the pretender to the Throne of Albion, arrives in Surat. His plan is to amass wealth to use in a campaign to retake the throne of Albion. He will instead remain in Hindustan for the rest of his life.

-1751: Carodoc, after spending a decade in the court of the Emperor, is named heir to the childless Iksander Shikoh. This would divide the court, with Carodoc's supporters fighting against local insurrections for the next several years.

-1753: Carodoc nominally converts to Hindustani Islam, though he will maintain many of his Catholic convictions for the rest of his life.

-1756: The Great Afghan revolt occurs, eventually seeing several of the Mughal's border territories gaining independence. These are annexed later by the Alexandrians.

-1757: Order for the most part is restored in the Empire, with Carodoc marrying a Rajputana Princess to solidify his control over his various subjects.

-1766: The flying shuttle is adopted by many in the Bengal Subah. Hindustani textile production skyrockets as a result.

-1770: Generous subsidies by the Emperor and his court see the first of several factories open in Surat and Dhaka. This is generally accepted as the beginning of the first industrial revolution in Hindustan.

-1773: Carodoc is succeeded by Carodoc II as emperor of Hindustan.

-1780: A local inventor is credited with creating an independent replica of the spinning jenny.

-1790: The first textile mills are constructed on the Ganges.

-1795: Carodoc II is succeeded by Owain Muhammed.

-1799: The Protection Decree of 1799 is passed, raising tariffs on foreign produced textiles.

-1805: An the beginnings of an attempted conspiracy in the Bengal Subah are brought to the attention of the Emperor, and quietly snuffed out. In response to this, the Department of State Security is created, with the recruitment of secret police beginning within that year.

-1820: Power looms are incorporated into many Hindustani textile mills.

-1836: Owain Muhammed is succeeded by Dara Yaghub.

-1839: The first steamships are incorporated into the Hindustani Navy.

-1857: A major strike spurred by the corrupt and debilitating tax practices of the Nobility leads to a general uprising. Emperor Dara Yaghub, rather than supporting the nobility, seizes the opportunity to consolidate his power and proclaims support for the workers. The emperor then proceeds to order the army to capture any nobles who object.

-1857: The Armed Forces Decree of 1857 is proclaimed by the Emperor and his supporters, confirming the loyalty of the army and armed forces to the people and the nation, rather than local nobles.

-1858: The Charter of 1858 is passed by the newly formed Hindustani Congress, made up of two houses, the High Congress and the General Congress. Conspicuously more soldiers are present at the approval of the Charter during the High Congress's session.

-1859: The Tax Code of 1859 is passed, reforming and streamlining revenue collection throughout the empire.

-1863: The Infrastructure Act of 1863 is passed with the aim to modernize and expand Hindustan's aging transport and infrastructure network.

-1886: Fort Owain is established on the East African Coast, ostensibly to protect Hindustani trade in the area.

-1899: Yaghub Iksander Muhammed ascends to the Hindustani throne. Not content with the span of his empire, and seeking to emulate Alexander of Old, Yaghub begins pushing a vast program of military reforms and expansions to allow Hindustan to grow beyond her current borders.

-1904: The Naval Rearmament Act of 1904 is passed.

WIP

RP Sample: You know me
     
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

With the notion that further historical details will be discussed with the Alexandrine player, accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : Empire of Lothharingia / Kaisertum Lotharingien / Lotharingisch Rijk / Empire de Lotharingie


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Accepted!

[Alt Div Admin]

Map and list updated

[Alt Div Admin]

The IC has been launched!

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Short introductory IC post up, more to tag the thread than anything. Commentary welcome as usual.

tl;dr: Northern electoral law has a strange definition of 'eligible voter' and cultural violence is heating up between the Danes and the Saxons of South Jutland Region