A Modern World (AMW) Applications Center

[Europe - Prussia]

Seconded. Chrin seems enthusiastic about the idea and pretty much invalidates all the objections raised. Everybody is happy at the end .....



.... Or I hope so, at least.

[Chrinthanium]

So, to get a smaller claim and keep some aspects of what I wanted to keep, I decided to remain in Europe. Yes, I know, I'm still in Europe.....

Federated States of Chrinthania

Claim: Czech Republic, remainder of Poland, small portion of Slovakia
Approximate population: 31,847,417 (I need to talk to Beeg about what parts of Slovakia remain open, but I count 226,166 remaining unclaimed there)
GDP per capita: 34,750
Total GDP: 1.1 Trillion
Capital: Prague

As far as history, I am up for this being one of those "part of this, part of that, eventually independent" over the years. Probably not gaining much in the way of independence until after the Great War (in which we're just.... overrun, frankly). I think only the Shield was less fortunate.

Fortunately for Poland, while its main administrative divisions don't always follow the Vistula River, it's voivodeship's internal divisions do, so calculating population was pretty easy though time consuming. To give you a break down, there are 20,976,409 Poles in the claim, the remainder being mostly in the GFR and some in Amberland. There's 10,644,842 in Czech Republic per CIA and roughly 226,000 remaining in Slovakia. Ian may or may not know that of the two main cities along the Vistula (Krakow and Warsaw), there are 1,114,463 people in Warsaw in Chrinthania and 465,245 people in Krakow in Chrinthania. The CBD of Warsaw would be in Chrinthania with its buildings looking across the river at the GFR with sorrow.

I know this is a shaky app to start, but I'm running out of time to post it before I have to go to bed, so I will flesh it out more after work. Wanted to get the territorial claim down and let discussions begin.

[Beddgelert]

Though the application's a bit bare it's not like you're a stranger and I'm all for having an active neighbour I know and massively distrust

In Slovakia all I know is that I have the city-proper of Bratislava (the numbered districts, Bratislava I - V) and I believe that the outer-suburbs were initially Nibelung while the rest was Shieldian. I believe EP didn't take the Slovak bit of Nibelunc so I think that leaves Senec, Malacky, and Pezinok districts? 170k in 2001, could be way different now (Slovakia shrinking, but maybe Bratislava growing for all I know!).

[Chrinthanium]

Though the application's a bit bare it's not like you're a stranger and I'm all for having an active neighbour I know and massively distrust

In Slovakia all I know is that I have the city-proper of Bratislava (the numbered districts, Bratislava I - V) and I believe that the outer-suburbs were initially Nibelung while the rest was Shieldian. I believe EP didn't take the Slovak bit of Nibelunc so I think that leaves Senec, Malacky, and Pezinok districts? 170k in 2001, could be way different now (Slovakia shrinking, but maybe Bratislava growing for all I know!).

At least I have a rough reckoning about what is open in Slovakia. EP has no portion of Slovakia. His claim doesn't even reach out to Slovakia because the Czech Republic is in the way And you can always trust us **offers asylum to Celt-fleeing Slavs from the CSR**

The application is beyond bare, it's transparent. I've had a really big week with the roommate who was causing issues finally gone and me working my buttocks off to cover a full months rent on short notice. I know absolutely nothing about the area claimed at this time apart from where it is on the map, so I have a lot of reading to do before I fill in all the blanks. Of course, I am not beholden to its RL history, in all honesty. Furthermore, I'll probably concoct something a bit different for there. No surfing, no tropical weather.... should be a real thrill to work on something new. Oh, I have some things I'm transplanting, but it will be what it will be.

I am going to double check my maps to make sure I didn't miss anything to make sure I've got the breakdown of what parts of Poland I have and what their populations are, but apart from having an over calculation in Slovakia, I'm 99% certain I've got the population right elsewhere.

[Acadzia]

Hey all

I'm interested in coming back, probably as Atlantis again, in Sumatra, though I'd be open to other suggestions.

[Chrinthanium]

Hey all

I'm interested in coming back, probably as Atlantis again, in Sumatra, though I'd be open to other suggestions.

Up to you where you want to go. The map is a bit off, but not by much. Happy to have you return!

[Beddgelert]

Yes, I'd be happy for Acadzia to come back. Have a look about and see what works. There's plenty of space.

[Acadzia]

Thanks! I've got a fair bit of time (not a ton), and the fact that things are going even a bit more glacial makes me think I can keep up again for a while.

North America looks really interesting nowadays.

[Chrinthanium]

Thanks! I've got a fair bit of time (not a ton), and the fact that things are going even a bit more glacial makes me think I can keep up again for a while.

North America looks really interesting nowadays.

The whole world is interesting.

[Amerique]

Hey Acadzia, great to see you back! I'd love to have you as a neighbor if you did want to place your new nation in North America, especially if we can work out some common history.

[AMW Applications]

AMW Map Change Log
29 January 2016

---

REMOVED

COUNCORDIA: CTE'd
MANCHURIA: Lack of participation (no posts since arriving)
KOREA: Lack of participation (no posts since arriving)

ADDED

CHRINTHANIA: Czech Republic, Poland west of the Vistula, suburbs of Bratislava (Slovakia)

TERRITORIAL CHANGES

An agreement between Ian and Chrinthanium has shifted the borders of their respective nations in relation to one another. The Vistula River is no longer the border between the two nations and the Polish portion of the GFR now contains only the following administrative divisions: Podlaskie Voivodeship, Lubiln Voivodeship, and Subcarpathian Voivodeship as well as the following powaits in Masovian Voivodeship: Ostrowski, Skolowski, Siedlecki, Losicki, Siedice. CHRINTHANIA will gain all GFR territory east of the Vistula in Poland with the exception of the aforementioned locations. The border with AMBERLAND remains unchanged.

[Acadzia]

Hey Acadzia, great to see you back! I'd love to have you as a neighbor if you did want to place your new nation in North America, especially if we can work out some common history.

Thanks man! I mentioned on IRC that I think I'm going to bring Atlantis back, but in the South. Ancient Minoans coming to America, interbreeding with the locals, changing this history of pre-colonial America. I imagine we'd also have lots of kerfuffles, including a "Civil War" as I'm thinking perhaps my Atlanteans would have brought slavery with them.

[United Kongo]

Hey everyone, sorry to drop out before but i'm interested in coming back and staking out a claim in the Egypt/East Africa region, although a claim might look a bit awkward with the sinai claimed.

[Chemaki]

Hey everyone, sorry to drop out before but i'm interested in coming back and staking out a claim in the Egypt/East Africa region, although a claim might look a bit awkward with the sinai claimed.

Yeah, I always thought the Italian Siani looked a... 'little bit'... ugly. Turns out the Egyptian governates don't even match with the subdivisions on the handy map we use, including a non-existant Italian-claimed 'South Suez' territory that doesn't border the canal. Seems better to just paint in a border parallel to the Suez canal rather than have it extending to almost touch Cairo itself (or at least, its metro area), as it does currently, though I can hardly speak for Hibernordia on this.

[Chrinthanium]

I liked the idea of a Slavic claim, but the more I worked on it, the more I tried to put it together, the less interested I became in actually playing it to any degree. Perhaps this is just a sign of the times for me, but I'm dropping the idea of Poland and Czech Republic in favor of a new (old) idea with some slight changes. And, as I worked on Sunday morning, the idea gave me a good deal of excitement and happiness, so I'm staking my claim (so to speak) on this.

Federated States of Iberia

Claim: Portugal (minus the Azores, which are part of Amerique's claim); Spain (minus Melilla and Ceuta, which are part of Italy's claim, and including the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands which are a part of Spain); Gibraltar
Population: 58,567,845 (2015 estimate)
GDP: 1,171,356,900,000
GDP per capita: 20,000
Government: Federal Constitutional Republic
Leader: President Enrique Suarez
Legislature: Congress (House of Deputies, lower house; Senate, upper house)
Judiciary: Constitutional Court with lower courts
Capital and Largest City: Madrid

History: Sorry for this short, short history, but I'm over having empires and dealing with external populations. If we had an empire in the past, it'll be because future AMWers need/want Spanish and Portuguese influence in their history.... but, we'll be a part of the Roman Empire, then a bunch of kingdoms that, over time, get subsumed into a greater Spanish Kingdom. Portugal will remain independent until the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 when their government goes into collapse after the tragedy and is brought under Spanish control (somewhat peacefully, somewhat hell-no-we-won't-go). It functions from then as the United Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal for about 75 years (because monarchs like to marry other royal families) until the monarchy is thrown off and a fledgling Confederation of Iberian States is born (due to infighting between the various regions of the country). However, it suffers from much more infighting between the regions (the damn Basque and Catalonians just don't want to play ball) until the mid-1900s when it is finally, once and for all, united as a Constitutional Federal Republic (probably after the Great War around 1950).

Military: Definitely has one. The Iberial Defense Force, created in 1950, is used as a defensive mechanism against foreign invaders. It might be able to lend a hand in various global League of Nations conflicts, but the Iberians aren't that keen on spending billions of Pesetas on foreign intervention. It would be better at a regional conflict helping to ensure Iberian interests are protected, evacuation of Iberian nationals, and other peaceful uses. Yet, again, the Iberians aren't that keen on intervening in foreign wars.

Government: As stated, it is a Federal Constitutional Republic which is divided into three branches: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. A system of checks and balances helps to ensure no singular branch of government becomes more powerful than the other (usually), is responsible for the common defense, taxation, diplomatic relations, and all other duties reserved to such governments. While the monarchical family still has living members, none of their titles are recognized by the Federal Government (obviously). It's main goal internationally is to promote peace and diplomacy between allies and other nations globally. War is considered the very last result when all other avenues have been exhausted or when Iberian sovereignty is directly threatened by an outside force (as stated in the military section). The official national languages are Portuguese and Spanish (Castilian). All citizens are required to learn at least one of the national languages, though a majority often learn the other one to some degree.

The country is divided into 18 states (17 Spanish States which correlate to RL Spanish Autonomous Communities and Portugal). No two states may join together to form a single state, though a state may subdivide to create two new states. All states are bound to the Federal Union by law and no state may leave the union without a super-majority vote of the rest. States may make laws within their own territory and tax their citizens, but no law can subvert or otherwise conflict with the Federal Constitution. No state can enter into diplomatic and/or trade relations with a foreign government as that power is reserved exclusively to the Federal Government. Individual states may designate their own official state language, but all citizens are still required to learn Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Elections for the Congress are done as follows: Members of the House of Deputies are elected every 4 years and have a 4-term limit. Members of the Senate are elected every 8 years and are bound by a 4-term limit with half of the Senate being elected every 4 years. House members are elected from districts in every state. Each state is apportioned Deputies based on population. Senators, to which there are 5 in every state, are elected at large.

The President is elected to a 4-year term and has a 3-term limit. Like the RL USA, the President isn't exactly elected by direct vote, but each state is given electoral votes and the candidate who reaches a majority of electoral votes (273) is elected president (done as a way for smaller states to have more control, blah, blah, blah). States are apportioned electoral votes by the following formula: 1 for every Deputy plus 1 for every Senator (Thus, bigger states have more electors while smaller states have less).

The highest court in the land is the Iberian Constitutional Court. It has final say over all matters brought before it and only a subsequent Constitutional Court ruling can overturn it. Below the Constitutional Court are appellate courts, district courts, state courts, and local courts. Civil Courts fall under state rules and regulation.

Culture Rough Idea Well, the population may be majority Catholic by admission, but a majority of the population also states religion doesn't play a large role in their lives. This is evidenced by the liberal ideals of social equality that the country aspires to as well as its Constitutional proclamation that Church and State are separate. Furthermore, abortion and gay marriage as well as gay adoption are very much legal. Gun ownership is outlawed by Constitutional provision. The country is very much into the Culture of Youth with the young up and comers being the "in" thing every year. Profanity and nudity are permitted on television as the people believe in the ideal that if someone doesn't like what they're watching or hearing, they can always change the channel.

The Iberians enjoy sports and are extremely competitive. The national sport is football (soccer) and is, hands down, the single most attended and watched sport in the country. The top level is the Iberian Super League. Tennis, motor racing, swimming, and surfing are also popular sporting endeavors. Iberians are also body conscious to a degree and a profitable market in gyms and exercise/diet fads is sweeping the country.

Media & Communications Television Iberia is the state-owned public broadcaster in the nation and is the most-watched broadcaster. Smaller networks have been granted license to broadcast nationwide and the most popular of these are Network 3 (owing to its original channel in Madrid being 3). The largest newspaper in circulation is the Diario Madrid which reaches a circulation of 19 million nationwide. The largest telecommunications provider is ComMed, which operates cable, internet, home phone, and mobile telephone service throughout Iberia.

[Chrinthanium]

So, I postulated an idea on IRC and I really want to run with it, so here goes... this would be a 2nd claim and an attempt to give North America something to think about.. even if every nation on that continent can kick our butts till Saturday after hell freezes over.


The Kingdom of Esplanadia

Claim: Remainder of Mexico
Population: 112,653,422 (2015 estimate)
Capital & Largest City: Ciudad de Cortez (Cortez City, RL Mexico City)
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Head of State & Government: HRM Enrique V (Since 3 November 1995)
GDP per capita: $11,000
GDP: 1,239,187,642,000

History:

The earliest traces of human habitation come from stone tools and campfire remains around the central valley estimated by radiocarbon dating to be around 10,000 years old. It was in this hotbed of burgeoning civilization that maize, tomato, and bean were cultivated. In fact, such cultivation lent itself well to agricultural surplus. As small villages began to grow into larger towns and cities, complex religious and mythological ideas began to pervade the masses. The cultures which called Esplanadia home prior to European contact even had their own number systems and hierarchical systems of government.

Then, in 1519, Hernan Cortez and his Conquistadors arrived in the Yucatan. From there, with frightening pace, the defeated the great Aztec Triple Alliance at the Battle of Tenochtitlan in 1521. It would take more years (around 170 in fact) to subdue the land aided by better weaponry and smallpox. It was this territory that become a province of an Iberian empire. The province would be named Esplanadia, in deference to the fiction romantic hero in the book Las Sergas de Esplandián. This hero, named Esplanian, teamed up with his father to face off against the Californian Amazonian women. While such notions of romantic and chivalry were the intended ideal, the reality of the situation was that the Pope wanted more Catholics and who better to try to convert than heathen natives of the New World.

By the late 1600s, even the colonists were getting restless. With half of the taxes for Iberia coming from Esplanadia, and with the discouraging of competition with the homeland by the ruling class, people began to speak of insurrection. The first such occurred at Veracruz in 1670 followed by Campeche in 1674 and Acapulco in 1680. The then-governor of Esplanadia declared the land independent from Iberia, which resulted in Iberia sending troops to subdue the insurrection. Sending troops full speed across the Atlantic may not have always been good for the troops, but the majority did land in the Yucatan and attempt to squelch the rebels.

While both sides would argue they were winning or had won, the effective result was a stalemate in which a new kind of power sharing between the colony and the motherland would operate. Under the Treaty of 1701, Esplanadia would become a Commonwealth where the Iberian monarch was, by rights, King of Esplanadia and Iberia. Both nations would have separate legislative bodies and laws, however. If the Iberian monarch failed to recognize the independence of Esplanadia, then they would put a cadet royal branch in power in Ciudad de Cortez. Of course the Iberian monarch wouldn't agree to such a thing and, by 1703, King Enrique I was crowned King of Esplanadia. While Iberia would attempt to retake their colony, this time the Iberian army was defeated in 1710 at the Battle of Guadalajara and Esplanadia granted independence.

By the 1900s, what had started as simple idea to wrest independence from Iberia turned into tyranny. In 1975, King Enrique V was enthroned. Under his Nueva Vista, or New View, he restored political stability to the realm. He achieved gains in economic, administrative, and diplomatic initiatives and brought life back to a once weary people. He doubled down on the oil wealth of Esplanadia bringing an economic boom to the nation by 1985. By the 90s, laws restricting rights were eroded. The world was even welcomed to visit the "untold beauty of the Esplanadian coasts" bolstering cities like Cozumel, Mazatlan, and Acapulco. It is a nation on the verge of something great. It is a nation that is moving towards a goal that will one day be realized.

Military

The Fuerzas Armadas Esplañadas (Esplanadian Defense Forces) are the nations military arm. They're divided into three branches: army, navy, and air force. The FAE currently has around 300,000 full time personnel and around 2.5 million reserves thanks to Servicio Nacional which requires all citizens ages 17-24 to be enrolled in the reserves program. The army is the largest of the three branches with the navy and air force in 2nd and 3rd place respectively including reserve personnel.

Culture

Much of modern Esplanadian culture dates back to the colonial days. A fusion of Iberian and native culture has created a unique identity in the nation. Though the fusion of cultures hasn't prevented the problems of social classes predominantly by race. Those of a pure Iberian blood remain the wealthiest and most educated while those with a purely native ethnicity remain at the bottom with Mestizos having some upward mobility. The by-far dominant religion is Roman Catholicism. The majority of Esplanadians say that religion plays at least a "somewhat" important part in their daily lives. The nation is fond of sports with the singular most popular sport being Futbol.

Economy

The economy has seen a recent boom thanks in large part to the reforms of King Enrique V. A growing electronics sector has caused a new waves of middle class Esplanadians to emerge in the recent decade. Automobile production, communications equipment, new investments in the tourism sector, and the ever-present oil industry are the current driving forces in the modern economy. Under the new reforms, a more hands-off approach has been applied to the economy with many government monopolies being chopped up and sold to the highest bidder. It is no surprise that the king himself has a high stake in the nation's lucrative oil industry.

The economy also has a strong drug trade underbelly that, which is something that is allowed to flourish providing the right people get their cut. It is simply something that isn't talked about much.

Government

The recent reforms has seem to point to a decline in the power the monarch has over his government. A permanent congress was established in 1979 which is directly elected by the people. Of course, all bills require royal ascent to become law and there is no overriding the king's veto. The nation is divided into 29 provinces, though provincial government are fairly weak. The primary advisers to the king are his Consejo Privado or Private Councilors. They are appointed by the king to serve at his pleasure. The King is the Commander-in-Chief of the FAE and has the power to request congress to declare war. In spite of all the advances in recent decades to a more democratic nation, the king is still very much in control of the government and he knows it, too.

[The Crooked Beat]

It certainly seems plausible to me, Chrin, and additional activity in North America is always to be sought, so it has my approval, recognizing of course that the opinions of other, more proximate players will naturally count more than mine.

Also, in line with all my recent yammering about changes to Gandvik, I'd like to tentatively mark-down a new geographical shape which, I think, represents a compromise of sorts between present Gandvik and the maximum program of change which I'd been thinking about.

To begin with, I'd be looking at re-acquiring Sweden and Norway in their full extent, while dropping the Russian Volga Federal District and everything east, plus the federal districts of Kostroma, Vologda, and Arkhangelsk, which would, I think, leave enough of Russia left over to make for a viable state with (albeit not entirely ideal) ocean access through the White Sea, and would also retain a land border with Depkazia.

The potentially most controversial aspect of this change would involve the addition of the Czech Republic, and the Polish Pomeranian, West Pomeranian, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Greater Poland, Lodz, Lublin, Lower Silesian, Silesian, and Opole Voivodeships.

In terms of total population, then, we would be looking at a figure of around 118,214,275 people, provided my addition is correct, which is not something I feel in any way able to guarantee!

This total might break down, along religious and linguistic lines, to about 40% Fennic-speaking Lutherans, 10% Fennic-speaking Calvinists, 5% Slavic-speaking Lutherans, 10% Slavic-speaking Calvinists, 10% Celtic-speaking Lutherans, 20% Fennic-speaking Muslims, and 5% a mixture of Polytheistic, syncretist, Jewish, and other minority groups.

Administratively, this new Gandvik would be a far more decentralized and federated state, to an extent almost a Protestant take on the Holy Roman Empire whose present-day territorial extent, certainly in Central Europe, probably relates back to Gandvik's generally successful championing of the Protestant cause during the Thirty Years' War, its ability to take advantage of declining Shieldian fortunes, and a long-running program of conquest and annexation aimed at Muslim-Tatar kingdoms descended from the Depkazi horde to its east.

At present, Gandvian federal unity would probably have to be based on a certain degree of shared bureaucratic administration and a common civil service and military, factors which might work to create a sense of common interests among the ruling classes at least who profit from a system which both permits a high level of local autonomy and guarantees the strategic and economic security inherent to a large nation, especially given AMW Europe's long history of tension.

There's obviously a lot of room for additional historical discussion, and I'm open to any and all of it.

My initial thought was that the remaining parts of Poland could be re-absorbed into Thortraia, which might either expand back to its earlier borders, on the Vistula, or expand to cover those certain provinces as they are drawn on the real-world map.

[Chrinthanium]

Can't argue with your proposal, TCB. You've got my approval for your expansion/revision understanding that I wouldn't border you, so others might want to chime in.

[Amerique]

Could probably do with some Scandinavians but seems good to me. Finnish Super Sweden has my approval. Chrin's claims are both good and I'm looking forward to Esplanian Mexico being a pain in the ass in my North American neighborhood.

[Chrinthanium]

Could probably do with some Scandinavians but seems good to me. Finnish Super Sweden has my approval. Chrin's claims are both good and I'm looking forward to Esplanian Mexico being a pain in the ass in my North American neighborhood.

It's not Ricky Riccardo Esplanin' things to Lucy It's Esplanadia.

[Amerique]

No, it's Empanada

[The Crooked Beat]

Certainly it would be a lot better if we could get a new or at least a different player into Poland and the Czech Republic, and the solution which I've put forward, namely tacking them onto Gandvik, is definitely quite far from an ideal one.

Could it maybe make more sense to establish a few almost committee-run NPCs in that area? Even if this proposal of mine does receive general approval, I'd be most strongly inclined to fill the region with quasi-independent and heavily autonomous kingdoms and duchies to begin with.

[Chrinthanium]

Meh, I like where your head's at, but one of the things about AMW is vacant land is null and void until someone comes along to claim in. Yeah, AMW isn't full up, I know. I just don't like the idea of having NPCs as a general rule.

[Nova Gaul]

Hi everyone. I mentioned this all on the community board, but wanted to put forward an early idea here for the claim. I would like to introduce a (more realistic) Kingdom of France into AMW. This is *not* the old AMW Restoration France, but rather a state that has remained under the control of the Bourbons (more or less, depending on history) for a long time with (again, depending on history) brief intermissions of a Napoleon or Republic.
I would also like to claim an African state as a colony, perhaps two or three, as struggling appendages of a weakened and weakening French state. They’d give room to do a bit more RP and would make sense. I think it would be fun to deal with an independence movement on top of other things and see where it leads. I’ll propose a few ideas and see what the community thinks. This is just an informal first idea, I’ll write up a more complete proposal once I can get the community’s opinion.

Kingdom of France (Royaume de France)

Claim: France, Corsica, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire
Approximate population: 133 million (60 million French, 73 million Africans)
GDP per capita: 30, 503 (France)
Total GDP: 2.806 Trillion (France)
Capital: Versailles (de facto), Paris (de jure)

My rough idea is for a Kingdom of France that has battered off several attempts to overthrow the Bourbon monarchy. Unlike RL France, the attempts at establishing republics failed. In AMW these attempts would have occurred majorly in 1789, 1848, and 1920. At each interval the monarchy and its government became more authoritarian. Recently, in 2014, in line with the Gull Flag Revolution, there would have been renewed riots in France which probably saw the king grant the gendarmerie permanent emergency powers. Somewhat negating this oppressive trend was the formal establishment of a welfare state in France probably in the 1950s à la Attlee in Britain, under the last king (whose dead) and an influential minister (akin to a Kissinger/Metternich hybrid whose still very much alive). The welfare state in France, however, with free education and health care, would be run by the Catholic Church.

It is an officially Catholic kingdom, however probably with strong Gallican leanings. Although Catholicism isn’t mandatory, to participate in society at any level—whether enroll in education or health services, join the military, become ennobled, etc. one must be a Roman Catholic. I do see the Church as being a bit more liberal, probably less so than Chrin’s Iberia, but along the lines of Vatican II beliefs i.e. Mass is usually in the vernacular. That isn’t to say witchcraft and homosexual marriage would be legal, but homosexuality would not be punished by death either. There are probably some openly gay figures even in the nobility, but there's no question gay marriage would ever be possible. France would still consider itself to be the Eldest Daughter of the Church, and this ‘liberal’ attitude depends much on the particular attitudes of the reigning monarch. Nonetheless the Church does mostly follow the pope’s lead, unless it were to interfere with the king’s prerogatives.

The nobility is divided into two classes. Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of the Gown are French aristocrats whose ranks come from holding certain judicial or administrative or corporate posts. As a rule, these positions do not of themselves give the holder a title of nobility, such as baron, count, or duke (although the holder might also hold such a title), but are almost always attached to a specific function. The offices are often hereditary, and by 1789 most Nobles of the Robe had inherited their positions. This inferior class is distinct from the "Nobles of the Sword" whose nobility is based on their families' traditional function as the knightly class, and whose titles are usually attached to a particular feudal fiefdom, a landed estate held in return for military service. A commission to the French officer corps de jure requires membership in the peerage. This system of nobility, codified in the 1950s reforms, allows ambitious people to join the nobility rather than plot against it, coopting much of the ambition within France on the monarchy’s behalf.

After the 1950s ‘reforms’ the king and his ministers have ruled without the Estates General, France’s traditional legislative body, and since the 2014 riots which followed the revolution in the Shield without even a judicial body. Instead police forces and the military have been placed effectively outside the law by the king’s orders and extrajudicial arrest is fairly common. The Bastille was rebuilt massively in the 1950s as well, and is tellingly the largest sight in Paris’s skyline, the Eiffel Tower never having been built. Maybe the Arc de Triomphe was, depends on whether we had a Napoleon or not. The King and the aristocracy, Nobles of the Sword at least, spend their time in fairy-tale isolation at Versailles, Saint-Cloud, Fontainebleau, etc., doing an endless round of entertainments throughout the year. The Court goes on now as largely indistinguishable from courts of hundreds of years past: dancing, debauchery, gambling, balls, hunting, substance experiences et al. occupy their time, keeping them in a pink haze overlaid with a thin veneer of Catholicism and chivalry. The formal fashion of the Court remains as it was in the 18th Century, although outside Court or formal functions more modern couture would dominate. Depending on the quality of the ministers who rule for the king the government is either effective or a shambles. Since the 1950s, this Kissinger/Metternich hybrid has kept things running well enough.

Given the unstable nature of France’s government, then, France’s foreign policy revolves around keeping a balance of power in Europe existent so France herself isn’t threatened. They probably swap favors and switch allegiances fairly adroitly between the Empire, Valendia, Iberia, Italy and Gandvik. That said, the more reactionary forces probably favor a formal alliance with Gandvik while the liberals want one with Iberia. The religious probably want an alliance with Italy. The Empire is distrusted and Valendia is too strong and too close to trust too much. I imagine that this Kissinger/Metternich chief minister (not prime, merely first, as the king retains absolute control) is adept at a balancing act—whether his successors will be or not remains to be seen.

The middle class are happy (though they make a lower wage than RL France because of the concentration of wealth in the aristocracy’s hands) and the poor somewhat satisfied with a sub-par welfare system. However, as the 2014 riots showed (when the police probably resorted to gunning rioters down in Paris) there remains rebellious elements under a just better than choppy surface. The Kingdom, as past circumstances justify well, is terrified of another revolution. Therefore arrests of subversives by means of a royal writ remains common, and there are no human rights in the Bastille or its sister institutions across France.

Despite the bad stuff French fashion I imagine remains excellent, as does the cuisine. Football is the national sport. I would imagine there are internet firewall systems akin to Korea more than China, but there is certainly heavy censorship if not outright propaganda.

France retains several African colonies, plundering the wealth thereof to make the welfare system possible. Administration there is probably a mix of Catholic proselytization, human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and generally piss poor management. The colonies would also be convenient places for the king to banish less ardent subversives to a life of hard labor or colonial militia service. I imagine (especially if I am allowed the sprawling Congo with Lusaka its neighbor) much of the backlands of these colonies is in open rebellion with many different factions rebelling. But as of 2016 the major cities and petro-mineral facilities would remain in French hands. Versailles would be leery to try and engage major efforts to crush insurrection, because they’d not do anything that could upset the volatile French population. Therefore the French probably just engage in token raids and such, whatever wouldn’t cost much money or any manpower. But things could quickly change if any of the rebellions gathered steam or got serious.

Questions I have for the community off the top of my head now would be:
*Does AMW want a Napoleon? I’d need to work in a successful 1789 Revolution for that to happen. And, if so, which countries helped restore the Bourbons?
*Would Italy be okay with some Suisse being in the King’s Swiss Guard? I have a fetish for this I know, but I’d like to ask!
*Were there wars over colonies in the past between France and WoS? If so, over what?
*Was France in the Great War? It's participation in it might have engendered the 1950s revolution and subsequent crackdowns a.k.a. 'reforms'
…overall, what do you all think of the general proposal? As regards the military I’d use item for item (mostly) what France has today. No more super battleships etc.

Thanks for letting me write again here guys, look forward to your feedback!

[Chrinthanium]

Well, we certainly got an application going, didn't we? I think I shall have to buy a tank. I'll just post my reply as I read it.

Personally, and maybe this is just me... I'd rather you not go for DR Congo. That's a pretty large population in and of itself. As far as my Iberia, we're just not a religious sort anymore. The main religion is still Roman Catholicism with those who still go to church. Considering Iberia threw off monarchy and oppressive religious morality, we're probably not going to be good friends if you are that against same-sex rights.

If your government is unstable, how do you maintain such a high standard of living? I would assume that a government that has so many issues wouldn't attract a lot of foreign investment. Unless the French government is China and simply building things that aren't necessary to inflate the economy. Ghost cities and the like are what I'm referring to.

Gunning down rioters would definitely cause Madrid to simply write France off as irredeemable in its mind and hope that a new government would be established like we did in the 1950s when we tossed off the monarchy and went full republic. We probably feel the same way towards Esplanadia, our little mistake in North America.

Speaking of the Esplanadians, they're full-on absolute monarchy with a low standard of living. The monarch, currently a bratty 19 year old teenager, probably thinks that gunning down protesters is something he'd do if it came down to it. Even with a decidedly more religious nation, there's still a large contingent of people in charge who turn a blind eye to what people do behind closed doors, but gay marriage isn't sanctioned by the state. Cortez City (RL Mexico CIty) probably considers Paris a friend, even more so if it pisses off Madrid.
That's my first impressions, NG.

Overall, even if there is a Napoleon, he didn't cross the Pyrenees. I'd rather not have Napoleon in my history. Also, with your military having such powers, don't be surprised if our border is highly protected and your citizens can't even look in our direction without a proper passport and a visa. Madrid has probably done everything in its power to make sure you thought twice before even thinking about crossing the mountains into the peninsula. Of course, your college kids wanting to get away for a week or wanting to spend a gap year outside the reach of French military hands can so do in the Balearic Islands, our little slice of heaven.

I'll give a partial supportive stance with the exception of DR Congo. That's just not working for me. Others might feel differently.