Aftermath of Empire [closed]

[Plzen]

2401: The Aftermath of Empire
What if the Renaissance happened in a different continent?


Image Credit: Henry Fong, 2013AD

It's the first day of the first month of 2401 and people around the world are celebrating the dawn of a new century. But it's not 2401 years from the birth of Christ, as the quaint peoples of the Europan State still insist on counting the time, but twenty-four centuries since the birth of Confucius.

The foundation of the modern world was built, perhaps, from small swings in fortune in the distant past. By the year 773, the customary cutoff date that modern historiographers use to differentiate the Early Imperial Era from the Dark Interregnum, the civilised world was dominated by two vast continental empires. To the west, stretching across Southern Europe, stood the European Empire - or, as the people at the time called it, Rome. To the east, stretching across the Continental mainland, stood the Central Empire - or, as the people at the time called it, the Han.

But history sometimes swings on a knife's edge and the fates that befell these empires could not be more different.

Europa... was Europa, here always and forever. While it would have its moments of turbulence, being invaded or sometimes even conquered by barbarian hordes from the north, suffering civil wars of ambitious generals and overeager provincial administrators, and counting the costs of droughts and floods alike, Europa stood and Europa endured, with wealth unparalleled anywhere in the world and a government more enlightened and sophisticated than any other known by man.

On the other side of the world, the abdication of Emperor Xian in 772 broke the Central Empire and the subsequent invasions by nomadic barbarians shattered what pieces were left, crushing the Eastern heartland into a dozen shards of broken glass that never put themselves back together. For centuries thereafter, the petty warlords and barbarian chiefs that ruled over these splintered pieces would dedicate their none-too-substantial resources mostly to more war and more destruction, their egos grasping at the glory and fortune of the long-dead Empire.

It may therefore have come as a considerable surprise to any immortal observers of history, if there were any, that when the descendants of the Han finally stood face-to-face with the descendants of Rome, it was the former who utterly humiliated the latter and not vice versa.

In retrospect, though, it is obvious enough why. The Europeans never had any incentive to innovate. The struggles of Rome, Constantinople, or Lutetia were always internal, the constant political intrigue against rival factions in government and rival interests in the civil service, with the occasional swatting of irritating barbarians. But the wealthy and powerful of Shanghai, Kwangchow, or Hanseong? They knew very well just how weak and vulnerable they were. A small ripple in the diplomatic scene next year and their country could disappear overnight, absorbed into some hated rival or nearby powerhouse. A stateman's duty was not to play the court, but to amass as much land as possible - or trade, or loyalty, or whatever else brought in the coin to pay mercenaries with.

In retrospect, it seems almost inevitable that the people who discovered and colonised the New World were the same people used to endless wars of conquest and risky ventures, who were keenly aware of their small place in and great ignorance of the world - not the self-assured and so-called "civilised" aristocrats dismissive of anything the barbarians outside their borders might put out.

In the end, not even Europa, with its wealth and might that in the past seemed so endless, could make a stand against the horde of gunpowder-armed, commerce-savvy, and steamship-sailing Easterners that East Asia put out by the millions.

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Greetings! This is a nation-based alternate-history RP with a simple concept: what if it was East Asia that collapsed into a dark age and moved forwards into the age of exploration, instead of Europe? If Asian culture survived to evolve into the modern era, instead of being suppressed by European thought, what would that have looked like?

The world of Aftermath of Empire is, technologically, identical to our information-era world of 2020, and there are eerie social parallels, but many things have been completely changed. Because the American west is a far more hostile place than the east, the American natives have survived in much greater numbers. Liberalism and conservatism in this world are not extensions of Christian thought, but extensions of Confucian philosophy.

Suggestions for this RP are very much welcome - what else do you think would have changed, socially, economically, politically, and diplomatically, if the bedrock of modern international culture was Chinese instead of Western European?

Comments on this RP, even if it isn't a suggestion, are also very welcome.

Zhongchow (East Asia)

Although its glory has somewhat faded from the heady days of imperialism and industrialisation, the aptly-named Central World remains to a very large degree the centre of global finance and diplomacy. The term refers to the area covered by the former Central Empire and a few neighbouring regions. As is usual with these general regional labels, there is no clear consensus on what "neighbouring regions" include - Korea, Japan, Sinkiang, and Tibet are usually included, but depending on who's counting it might also include Mongolia, the Sibir States, Vietnam, or the Philippine Archipelago.

The heartland of imperialism and the birthplace of industrialisation, the small states of Zhongchow subjugated far greater empires across the world and, in their heyday in the late 2200s, there was a time when "world politics" meant whatever happened in Zhongchow. But after a series of devastating conflicts in the early 2300s and the rise of nationalist, anti-Sinitic sentiments across the world and especially in the former colonies and protectorates that they used to dominate exposed the weakness of the disunited Sinitic states.

Still, the legacy of this era continue to define the modern world - notably, the standard global language of trade and diplomacy remains Cantonese despite decades of attempts by Europa to spread the use of Latin abroad.

Tensions both ideological and practical still remain high between the more economically prosperous coastal states of the east, mostly following a conservative-Confucian approach to governance, and the more militarily-powerful landlocked states of the west, generally following radical 23rd Century reinterpretations of Legalist thought. Meanwhile, the influence of an old superpower in the New World and a rising superpower in Europa continues to unnerve the faded glory of former colonial powers.

The population of the entire region adds up to about 700 million people.

Sinchow (Americas)

The New World, accidentally discovered in 1870 by a Korean explorer seeking a sea-based alternative to the traditional Silk Road, still retains many of its frontier characteristics. While the maritime states of the Central Continent had an almost overwhelming technological superiority over the native populations of Sinchow and, after the devastation of native populations by imported Old World diseases, an almost overwhelming numerical superiority as well, the harsh natural conditions of western Sinchow which are characterised by high mountains and deserts on both the northern and southern halves of the continent constantly hampered serious attempts to colonise the area.

As a result, by 2401, the area has coalesced into a hodgepodge of states, with the western coast dominated by the remnants of Sinitic colonies and independent former-colonies - of which one, Jinshan, has developed into a veritable superpower of the late 2300s - while in the open plains and jungles east of the great New World mountain ranges, former-colonial frontier states and anti-colonial native powers still struggle over endless controversies and bitter feelings over the region's troubled past of atrocities both imperial and anti-imperial. These small, impoverished, and unstable eastern states are a major exporter of radical nationalism, racial strife, and ideological fanaticism, and are a general headache to the more prosperous Sinitic colonial states of the western coast.

Disenchanted descendants of Roman immigrants turning to Christian radicalism and carrying on guerrilla insurgencies against the pagan majority of the region don't help the whole stability issue, either.

A few small city-states on the Gulf of Mexico, with unbelievably wealthy aristocrats living off the sweet sweet oil money flowing from their territories and coastal waters, do break up the general poverty of the East Coast, but these states make up for their lack of poverty by being religiously radical in addition to being politically radical, with Nahuatl priests performing human sacrifices even well into the late-2300s.

While geographically very much a part of the Old World, the continent of Nanchow, south of the Indonesian Archipelago, is often considered a geopolitical extension of the New World, dominated by colonial states not significantly different from those that fill the western coast of Sinchow.

The population of the entire region and Nanchow adds up to about 700 million people, of which maybe two-thirds are descendants of immigrants, whether that be Sinitic colonists or later immigrants from the West.

Sichow (Europe and West Asia)

The faded remnants of a once-glorious empire continue to dominate the Western World, broadly defined as that region north of the Sahara Desert and west of the Tianshan range. Referring to this vast region populated by a diverse range of peoples and cultures as simply being "the west" is generally considered ignorant and politically incorrect among more internationalist circles in Sinitic discourse these days, however, and among these circles the region is often spoken of as being composed of three sub-regions.

The first is Ouchow, or Europa, referring to the remnants of the Europan State. While the civil wars of the 2200s and 2300s have stripped the vast country of its imperial heritage and Europa now styles itself a republic, the country nonetheless insists that it is a direct successor to the Roman Empire established so many millennia ago, with its borders stretching from the English Channel and the Rhine River to the Caucasus and the Levant. Centuries of humiliation and unequal treaties imposed by the Sinitic powers have left the country with an aggressively nationalistic and assertive approach to international diplomacy, which many coastal states of the Central World see as a threat to regional peace and harmony. These concerns were only exacerbated by recent Europan attempts to purge former colonial trade port concessions like Rotterdam and Brigantium, which has been heavily influenced by Sinitic culture during the long period of colonial rule, of its foreign influences and re-Romanise the inhabitants. Yet, although the country remains devastatingly poor with real per-capita income only in the range of one-fifth of the Central World, Europa is no longer the paper lion it was a century before and has steadfastly refused any attempts by foreign powers to interfere in what it sees as its internal affairs.

Europa has a population of about 650 million inhabitants.

North of Europa and west of the Ural mountains lies Geli or, as is often romanised, Germania. At the western corner of Germania lies England, which joined the Sinitic powers in humiliating and colonising its neighbours after a relatively early industrialisation in the mid-to-late 2200s and early 2300s. Although it still retains a fairly nationalistic stance on international politics and insists that its former colonial subjects are exaggerating their so-called "crimes", the British position is growing increasingly awkward amidst frequent disputes between themselves and their more-powerful-every-year neighbouring states as Europa rapidly rises into a new superpower and the Scandinavian states catch up in economic influence to the rest of the developed world.

Between Scandinavia and Europa lies a multitude of small Germanic and Slavic states of middling development, which serve as the chessboard on which all neighbouring powers - British, Europan, Scandinavian - fervently compete for influence. Thanks partially to the fact that borders in this region were often drawn up by colonial powers dividing colonies between themselves - and thus make absolutely no geographical, cultural, religious, or economic sense - the region is wracked with religious disputes with Roman Christians, the Norse Asatru, the Caucasian Islamists, and the Slavic Rodnovery all clashing against each other. While the region is stable enough that full-on religious wars such as those seen in the New World don't happen here, smaller and less disruptive religious struggles such as terrorism and public demonstrations are frequent.

This religious dispute did, however, produce one horrifying anomaly - the United Baltic Duchy, a small, desperately-poor, and Christian country of about 12 million people surrounded by hostile polytheist-majority states, running a completely isolated and totalitarian theocracy which probably would have been bombed into nonexistence decades ago if it wasn't for the fact that they possess long-range nuclear missiles.

Germania has a population of about 800 million inhabitants.

Between the Ural mountain and Europa, on the west, and the Tianshan range and Bharat, on the east, lies a stretch of land generally referred to as the Middle West. In the northern part of this region, the disintegration of the Mongol Empire which used to rule over the region in the early 2300s have re-ignited suppressed tribal tensions and on top of that put on a layer of a wealthy but culturally foreign Mongol and Manchu and cut up the region with colonial administrative borders that, just like the ones in Germania, make no geographical or demographic sense. Religious conflict between Nestorian Christians, Sunni Islamists, and the Buddhists further complicate the situation. The region remains, as a result, desperately impoverished and politically unstable.

Towards the south, however, ancient and more stable countries that have never been fully colonised - although they have certainly been economically and politically dominated - by the Sinitic colonial powers still exist and are flush with oil money flowing from the Gulf of Persia, although they have to keep a keen eye lest the instability of their northern neighbours spill over into their borders. While these southern nations do have some disputes with each other - mostly motivated by a greed for a larger share of the oil money and by internal sectarian disputes within Islam - these countries of middling development do have an unspoken understanding that war isn't good for anyone.

The Middle West has a population of about 600 million inhabitants.

Feichow (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Africa south of the Sahara has in its heart one large postcolonial state, which continue to frustrate those developmental scholars who believe that good governance leads to good economic growth. The Republic of Sokoto, which controls almost the entirety of West Africa with a population of 400 million people, is a corruption-free (at least in comparison to other countries in the region), politically stable (again, in comparison...), and egalitarian textbook model of a liberal-meritocratic republican principality. It's also desperately poor, with real per-capita incomes of less than one-tenth the Central World norm, although there are hints that growth might have picked up in the last decade or so.

To the east and south of this vast country lies a collection of small-to-medium-sized postcolonial states, far less stable and well-governed compared to the Sokoto giant. These East and South African postcolonial states generally have mixed-race populations, with a varying portion being descendants of Central World colonists and varying portion being African natives, with the occasional Roman or Arabic immigrant community thrown in. With many of these states still being de-facto governed by their numerically-inferior yet wealthier and politically dominant Sinitic minorities after their independence, popular dissent was rife and the region was war-torn and unstable over the early-to-mid 2300s as postcolonial states sought both to resolve disputes with their neighbours while also trying to solve racial violence at home. While inequality and tensions still remain high, the quality of governance throughout the region has dramatically improved in the late 2300s and the region is, for the moment, both peaceful and fairly prosperous.

Feichow has a population of about 1,300 million inhabitants.

Tianzhu (Southern Asia)

Having been heavily colonised throughout the 2200s and mostly gaining their independence in the early 2300s, the countries of the Southern Sea have traditionally been fairly sharply divided into the Bharatiyan states of the west such as Delhi or Bengal, which did not see heavy Sinitic settlement during the colonial era and in the early 2300s were essentially agrarian states with only a smattering of light industry, and the Oceanic states of the east such as Siam and Java, which saw significant displacement of native populations by Sinitic immigrants during the colonial era and in the early 2300s were not substantially behind the Central World in terms of development. Economic growth in this region through the 2300s, however, have been seriously hampered by rampant private and public corruption in these states. As a result, the Bharatiyan states have only shown fairly modest growth, but even this have let them make significant progress towards catching up to the Oceanic states, which have as a region seen almost no economic growth since the 2350s.

Corruption is still rampant in this region and the rule of law remains weak, which have in recent decades led to a general distrust of the government and mass public demonstrations. Although the region remains relatively stable for now, with the populace being whipped into more and more of a revolutionary frenzy by the huge economic inequalities and blatant abuses of power, it's an open question if that will last.

Tianzhu has a population of about 1,800 million inhabitants.

Code: Select all

[box][size=150][b](Your Country Name Here)[/b][/size]
[i]Application[/i]

[b][u]DEMOGRAPHICS[/u][/b]
(how many people your country has, where they live, what religion/culture/language they follow, any notable trends in immigration/emigration, etc)

[b][u]DIPLOMACY[/u][/b]
(the geopolitical situation of your country, any notable alliances/rivalries, trade relations, your military capabilities and typical deployment, etc)

[b][u]ECONOMY[/u][/b]
(how developed your country is, what its key industries are, what kind of economic policy your government follows, etc)

[b][u]GEOGRAPHY[/u][/b]
(at the very minimum there should be a description of your borders; you may also wish to discuss administrative divisions, natural environment, etc)

[b][u]HISTORY[/u][/b]
(your nation's history; the point-of-divergence is the 221AD, or 772 Confucian Year)

[b][u]POLITICS[/u][/b]
(discuss the structure and legitimacy of your government, how stable your state is, norms of governance, ideology, etc)
[/box]

Code: Select all

[size=150][b]Legacy of Empire[/b][/size]

[b]Suggestion:[/b] (in what way do you think this world will be different from our own?)

[b]Justification:[/b] (why do you think that?)

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Accepted Players

Japan, the Empire of
Lechia, the Kingdom of

[Mathuvan Union]

do you put your real countries name in it?

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

This is great, Plzen. If I feel better on time, I will certainly get in on the action.

[Arvenia]

This sounds very interesting, so I can possibly join it, but not until we got some applications made (since I don't know about the RP nations here).

[Lord Dominator]

Fascinating idea indeed

[The Pearl River]

Min Confederation
Application

DEMOGRAPHICS
(how many people your country has, where they live, what religion/culture/language they follow, any notable trends in immigration/emigration, etc)

The Min confederation contains about 15 Million people, With the Fujianese people like Teochew, Hokkien, Fuzhouese, and Hoklo being the majority at about 60% of the population, The Mestizos or Mixed race between the Fujianese and the natives at about 10% of the population, The Native Filipinos, and the Tawainese Aborigines at about 10% of the populations, The hakkas or han chinese who emigrated from the mainland into the confederation at 10% of the population, The Yues from mainland china also has a considerable number being 5% of the population, and various other races such as the Sundanese, Indians, and Arabians at about 5% of the population.

Chinese religions such as Daoism, Shenism, Confucianism, are the majority religion of the Min confederation with 50% of the population devoted to them, Buddhism are in second place with 30% of the population following them, Islam at about 15% of the population mostly in Mindanao, 1% are unaffiliated or are atheist, while the rest of the 4% are other religions like Hindu, Chirstians, and other minority religions.

The population are concentrated on the Mayi archipelago with 99% of the population residing on them, the rest are from Taiwan and Fuzhou SAR. Birth rates are stable over the years with the number of births just slightly above the number of deaths per year, Immigration to the confederation have increased over the years from Han chinese and Yue looking to settle in the confederation, while emigration have stabilized.



DIPLOMACY
(the geopolitical situation of your country, any notable alliances/rivalries, trade relations, your military capabilities and typical deployment, etc)


ECONOMY
(how developed your country is, what its key industries are, what kind of economic policy your government follows, etc)

A major trading power, the top products from its overseas territories are tobacco, sugar, gold, pearl, tin, spices, porcelain, textile and even machinery. By consciously exhausting the possible agricultural potential of the mainland without greatly endangering themselves, Man chose to invest more in their overseas territory for a strong agricultural base. Ma-i (modern Philippines) has received the most investment for any region of Min, this transformed it into a base for great infrastructure and raw materials. Nevertheless, the homeland has been greatly urbanized with Confucianism or Taoism aspects being observed for aestheticism and balance with nature. The agriculture centres for the confederation are northern Luzon, The Minnan Homeland of Fujian, and The breadbasket of mindanao, whilst the industrial areas are concentrated in Southern Luzon, Northern Mindanao, and the Visayas. Being a major trading power the Man confederation are pretty developed with bustling metropolitan areas in mindanao and Luzon, and bustling ports filled with ships with the key ports being: New Fuzhou (Manila), Quanzou (Cebu), Kuanyin (Batangas), Kowloon (Subic), and Amoy (Cagayan de Oro)

GEOGRAPHY
(at the very minimum there should be a description of your borders; you may also wish to discuss administrative divisions, natural environment, etc)

The core territories of the Min confederation are located on the Mayi archipelago sharing a maritime border with the Cantonese, the Viets, and other nations in the southeast. The extent of Min control over the Mayi archipelago streches as far north as liusung, and as south as Mindanao. Liusung and Mindanao holds the most concentration of min population with the largest city and capital New Hokciu, located in liusung. Aside from the Mayi archipelago, the Min still controls small parts of the mainland like the city of old fuzou and the province of Fujian, and the nearby island of Taiwan. The Min confederation is made up of 10 Kingdoms, 7 Provinces and 3 Territories, The capital New Hokciu, the Special administrative region of Fujian, and The State of Taiwan.

HISTORY
(your nation's history; the point-of-divergence is the 221AD, or 772 Confucian Year)

The mercantile people of southern china thrived during the renaissance, a growing middle class made up from merchants, poets, writers, and etc. Fueled the renaissance in southern china by developing art, music, literature, and architecture. Like their cantonese siblings, the hokkiens helped the spread of the chinese renaissance through trading with southeast asian kingdoms and the merchants maintained very good relations with the city states of the Filipino archipelaho. After the fall of the Han dynasty, fujian was under the control of warlord Liu Yao who thought that the non-han barbarians would try and declare their own state, So Liu Yao began a series of expedition against the Min people that caused the great Min exodus, Where min people fled fujian and resettled in other places (mostly in the filipino archipelago)

At first the Min people settled on the coast, and most of them settled in filipino city states. The spread of Min culture throughout the filipino archipelago lead to a sense of a cultural identity between the Min immigrants and the Filipino natives. There has been numerous attempts to unify the archipelago but none of those attempts ever come into fruition. At 350 AD, When after usurping the kingdom of Cagayan’s tyrannical monarch, in a bloodless coup and placing a child emperor to the throne. Chou hsu became the grand Secretariat of the kingdom of Cagayan. As a follower of Mozi, he despised the idea of war, therefore during his rule, he improved the relations of cagayan with the neighboring kingdoms of Illocos, Pangasinan, and Kumintang. Hsu improved the defense force of Cagayan, and frequently talked with the common folk and members of the court alike to unite luzon under one banner. When the old king of Illocos died and the only heir to the throne was his only daughter, Hsu took this opportunity and made the 15 year old king of Cagayan married a bride ten years his senior. Therefore the kingdom of Illocos and Cagayan were united in a way, Illocos had the king of cagayan as the co-monarch of the kingdom. but the real power was held by the eunuchs of both Illocos and Cagayan.

Hsu died in 386 AD, his rule was considered by some to be a sort of benevolent dictatorship. Hsu was succeeded by Suyuan Li, an influential eunuch from Illocos. Suyuan made many reforms that gained popularity with the peasant, and merchant class of the two kingdoms, and strengthen the armed forces of Illocos-Cagayan. Suyuan then stirred up revolutionaries and supplied them with weaponry on Pangasinan, the revolutionaries proceeded to overthrow the Pangasinan king, and declared the new kingdom of Yan. Yan opted to join Illocos-Cagayan and the three formed the Kingdom of Liusung. Kumintang, knew of Liusung’s involvement against the Pangasinan king, declared war against the kingdom. Suyuan died in 419 AD due to natural causes just as the Pangasinan surrendered and Luzon was united under one banner. Suyuan died without an heir, leaving the royal court in complete dissaray. Royalist from the north wanted to restore the monarchy and rule without the involvement of a grand Secretariat, while Confederates in the south wanted a goverment that served the people instead of an absolute monarch’s desired. A civil war raged on for five years until in 424 AD, The Confederates won the war and they declared the new Confederacy of Min.

By 490 AD, the confederacy gained the territories of the Mindoro kingdom who controlled the the outlying islands near mainland Luzon after the king opted to join the confederation to help against a peasant uprising against them. The uprising was curshed and advisors were sent to the kingdoms and outlying islands to help stabilize the territory. During this period of peace, the min goverment poured their money into their navy to help the min conquer the seas. The min goverment also established the consulate of the seas, a quasi-judicial body set up in the Min confederation, that later to spread throughout the south china sea, to administer maritime and commercial law. The min confederation also expanded their trade routes going as far south as sunda, and as far north as Baekje. The min economy steadily grew from the trade routes.

by 550 AD the hindu kingdom of Panay, built a large and extravagant temple dedicated to the god vishnu, one that has the world has never seen. However this extravagant temple came at a large cost of their own kingdom, after peasant revolts spread throughout the land and the invasion from the nearby kingdom of Negros put an end to the hindu kingdom. Meanwhile, the buddhist kingdom of Leyte was absorbed into the kingdom of Samar after their king was poisoned by his sister who ascneded to the throne and married his lover, the King of samar who might have a part in the assassination plot. That left the region of the visayas under the kingdom of Negros and the Kingdom of Samar. Both kingdoms weren’t too keen on joining the confederation, however both kingdoms disliked each other due to their religious differences. Enter, Wuling Yan who became the Chancellor of the confederation in 570 AD. Wuling had been well known throughout the confederation as a cunning man, from his humble beginnings as a scholar in Taichung (Tuguegarao) he rose through the ranks and became Chancellor at the age of 36.

Wuling knew that war is inevitable between the three nations and a two front war against Samar and Negros would be too costly for the confederation. So, he did what any good statesmen would do and pit the two visayan kingdoms to fight each other for dominance. Wuling sent spies and bribed court officials of the two kingdoms to push the courts of the two kingdoms against each other, The powderkeg then blew when the king of Samar was murdered by a Cebuano. This sparked a long war between the two, that the min profited from by selling weapons and equipments to both sides. Unfortunately for the two kingdoms, the min saw an opportunity as the war grew to a halt and the armies of both sides were weakened at 610 AD, the min navy launched a campaign against both kingdoms. The Samar capital of Tacloban was captured in 620, with Cebu, the capital of the kingdom of Negros falling by a year later.

The Min then looked towards new horizons as a new and powerful dynasty had taken control over mainland china. The Confederacy proceeded to have good relations with the new chinese dynasty, frequently exchanging goods and services between the two nations. A new period of peace swept through the confederacy, during this time art and literature boomed and great works were written or great works from other places like india were translated into Hokkien the lingua franca of the confederation, This period of peace lasted for three centuries. Until in 940 the Min confederation, lead by Chancellor Xiang Shanyuan declared war against the Mindanao kingdoms to unite the Ma-i archipelago once and for all. The invasion went wel for the Min and the Min had captured most of Eastern mindanao, however on 1020 AD Mt.Pinatubo erupted causing volcanic ash to spew out across the island of Luzon, and spread to the visayas causing crop failure. A ceasefire was quickly proposed by both sides, and the war ended with the Confederation taking it’s occupied land.

The great famine that soon followed afterwards due to crop failures and food shortages made the hungry and discontent farmers unhappy on how the confederation dealt with the problem. The casualties varied from hundred to thousands but this is not the highest causualty the confederation will experience nor will it the last. The famine paved way for land reforms and other reforms within the min goverment, the reformist movement was lead by Sheng Xiaoping. The min population eventually recovered from it’s pre-famine population at 1210 AD just two centuries later, Mindanao would be conqeuered far later in min history. For there are more pressing matters to attend to. Across the south china sea, the mongols loom in the distance already expanding their territory into Manchuria and the taklamakan desert.


During the Mongol invasion of southern china many han chinese fled to the Min confederation and became the ancestors of the modern day hakka people, the hakka people of china brought new ideas, inventions, and art from mainland china that helped paved the way for the Min golden age. After the mongols had conquered mainland china and most of southeast asia, the min maintained diplomatic relationship with the mongols and frequently traded in hopes that they wouldn’t invade the small confederacy. After genghis khan’s death and the dissolution of the mongol empire, the great khan of the Yuan dynasty sent an envoy to the confederacy to become a mongol tributary state. The confederacy accepted the offer seeing that a war against the mongol empire would be a war they couldn’t win. The confederacy expanded their trade routes into the indian ocean and the arabian sea to possibly gain allies to the south and the southeast if a war against the great khan were to happen Bengali, Persian, and arab traders started to spread islam in the visayas, and mindanao. Acculturation of islamic culture is most prevalent in mindanao, and western visayas, as mosques and madrasas were built. Many kings in the south converted to islam and some even declared themselves as sultans

The frequent trade the min had done with mainland china has resulted in many stowayas in min ships, specifically rats. These rats that got into ships in mainland china resulted in the deaths of half of the min population, and some historians might suggest that the min maritime trade routes are what helped the spread of the black plague across south and southeast asia. The black death resulted in 60% of the Min population wiped out, the min population might not even have surpassed it’s pre-plague population. the aftermath of the black plague lead to the Min age of exploration that paved the way for the Min golden age.

Books, Scripts and Ideas brought by the southern chinese, and arab traders were of interest by the then Min Emperor Abdullah II of Davao. Emperor abdullah had great interests in the works of arabs, and indians. He built grand libraries and campuses across the Min domain, and convinced the confederal diet to increase spending on education. During his reign many min cities had new working sewage systems, and had built more hospitals to prevent a catastrophic pandemic to spread like the black plague in the future. The min fleet was reorganized and was better equipped, and by the time was one of the largest naval fleet in east asia.

By 1352 the Min confederacy decided to unite the islands once and for all. The confederacy declared war against the sultanate of southwestern mindanao, the min confederacy did well against the muslim sultanates. However by spring of 1353 the min were repelled after the battle of the sulu islands. After losing battle after battle, the Min decided to send in their secret weapon. By winter of 1354 the min called in their ally the Majapahits, the Majapahits conquered the sulu colonies in borneo and by 1354 the combined majapahit-min forces captured the capital maimbung, and the Sulu capitulated. The min and majapahit divded the remnants of the sultanates with the majapahits taking the territories in borneo.

At 1414 AD. lead by Zheng He, Min sailors and merchants sailed across the indian ocean building small trade ports in foreign land, The min empire had control over the indian ocean trade. The confederacy eventually expanded their control over the trade ports and took over the small kingdoms and tribes under the name of the confederacy, the first colony that min established would be the Tamil island of Eelam (Sri lanka) that became the foothold of min control over the indian subcontinent. the Min then established a second colony at 1432 on the southern tip of africa, and a third one in 1441 on the island of Pemba to trade with the swahili kingdoms of the east african coast. Zheng he then lead the expedition to the east crossing the pacific eventually reaching the new world in 1450, during his voyage back he told the min court of news about the legendary fusang lands. The min confederacy sent settlers and soldiers dubbed Zhengfus to Fusang to establish a colony there, the colony of Zhao was established (located in modern day LA).

This period of exploration and trade lead to the Min golden age in which Min trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the known world. The transition by the Min condederation to becoming the foremost maritime and economic power in the world has been called the "Min Miracle" by historians. Skilled craftsmen from the mainlnd traveled to the min confederation for opportunity, and the Min west african company was made leading to the birth of corporate finance. The min confederation made it’s way to the gold coast where it would establish the colony of New Luzon near the ashanti people’s domain in modern day ghana. The Min confederacy began eyeing up on the new kingdoms that the majapahit empire produced during it’s collapse, The min swiftly took the kingdoms in north borneo as territories and kept a sphere of

(WIP)


POLITICS
(discuss the structure and legitimacy of your government, how stable your state is, norms of governance, ideology, etc)

Government Type: Constitutional Confederal Monarchy

By the name alone, the Man Confederation is a perpetual confederation the sub-states of the former Kingdom of Min. The Emperor of Min is formally elected to a five-year term by and from the Seventeen rulers of the Min states (Ten of the twenty states of Min that have hereditary royal rulers), who form the Conference of Rulers. After a ruler has served as the Emperor, he may not stand for election until all rulers of the other states have also stood for election. In the event of a vacancy of the office (by death, resignation, or deposition by a majority vote of the rulers), the Conference of Rulers elects a new Emperor as if the previous term had expired. The new Emperor is elected for a full five-year term. After his term expires, the Conference holds a new election, in which the incumbent would not be re-elected.

The position de facto rotates among the Ten rulers. The selection of the Emperor initially followed an order based on the seniority (calculated by length of reign) of each ruler. The Conference of Rulers, which has the power to disqualify a candidate, has sometimes varied the original seniority order, as noted above. Since then, the states have followed a de facto established rotation order. Minors are automatically disqualified from office.The Conference of Rulers has met regularly. The seven governors (the heads of states without hereditary rulers) also attend the Conference, but only Rulers are allowed to vote and stand for election as Emperor.

The member states of the Min confederation have almost unlimited freedom to do with their respected internal affairs but their external, economic and military will be handled by the confederation. A confederate government is led by a Chancellor which is appointed by the Emperor, who is also a member and the immediate leader of the Court of Man. They have been delegated to do the duties of the king with each minister having their own role and leading their own ministry.

The legislative branch of the government would be the 'Confederal Diet' which is composed of elected representatives from all over the confederation, the number per state varies between their population and influence. Subsequently, a representative from each province is also present. All legislation passed from here will be reviewed by the Chancellor before recommending it to the King for it to be either signed or vetoed.

The heads of goverment of these regions will be chosen through local elections that happens every five years, the candidates are selected from representative of a party that is most suited for the job. To become a bureaucrat, one must go through the imperial examination, once passed you could join a political party best suited to you. The prime minister acts as the head of goverment of the nation

Heavy WIP, but i’ll need to post it since it’s a shame that a good concept of an rp dies before it even starts

[Plzen]

Heavy WIP, but i’ll need to post it since it’s a shame that a good concept of an rp dies before it even starts

Thankee~ I’m also a bit disappointed by the lacklustre response this concept got.

Do note that the population of your region is a lot lower than it is IRL!

[The Pearl River]

Legacy of Empire

Suggestion: Maybe change the starting date to like, the 1700-1800s

Justification: It makes it so that players can start as a nation untouched by the sinosphere Like native americans, Warring europeans, and inland africans. It also gives a chance for one of the europeans (though unlikely) to become a proper rival to the grea sinitic powers (kinda like the ottomans are to the europeans)

[The V O I D]

There is an absolutely massive temptation to play the Japanese Empire as some sort of equivalent to the Modern UK; I'm not 100% sure it'd work, though?

Tell me if that'd work or not, please, before I get my hopes up.

edit: also - hello, Plzen, long time no see.

[Barapam]

Is the Renaissance and the Reformation linked together in this timeline too? I'm thinking that northern European kings who didn't like the Pope might've looked to the east in this case

[Plzen]

There is an absolutely massive temptation to play the Japanese Empire as some sort of equivalent to the Modern UK; I'm not 100% sure it'd work, though?

I don’t see why not. It was never the unchallenged naval power that UK was IRL, though - the premier international language is Cantonese, which reflects the global presence of south-Chinese colonial powers.

But an island country that both sort of identifies with the mainland but also sort of identifies away from it, a former superpower trying to preserve its international glory in a world stage where its economy and military are growing increasingly irrelevant... those things, Japan can certainly be.

---

Is the Renaissance and the Reformation linked together in this timeline too? I'm thinking that northern European kings who didn't like the Pope might've looked to the east in this case

Both European Christianity and European polytheism would have been heavily influenced by eastern religions and philosophies. How, and what form that influence takes, is left up to your creative freedom.

Because eastern religions tend to be a lot less exclusive than the Abrahamic ones of Europe and the Middle East, though, there never was a bloody era of reformations in the Central World that parallels RL 1500s Europe.

---

Legacy of Empire

Suggestion: Maybe change the starting date to like, the 1700-1800s

Justification: It makes it so that players can start as a nation untouched by the sinosphere Like native americans, Warring europeans, and inland africans. It also gives a chance for one of the europeans (though unlikely) to become a proper rival to the grea sinitic powers (kinda like the ottomans are to the europeans)

To be fully honest, I’m skeptical of the idea. If a lot of people are in favour of it, I’ll go for it, but the intention was and remains to have a modern-tech RP with many parallels to contemporary political, social, and diplomatic issues.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

I like the idea of the 21st century better. The fact that everything is loaded with Chinese influence is the point, I think. To mirror the modern-day American hegemony.

[The V O I D]

There is an absolutely massive temptation to play the Japanese Empire as some sort of equivalent to the Modern UK; I'm not 100% sure it'd work, though?

I don’t see why not. It was never the unchallenged naval power that UK was IRL, though - the premier international language is Cantonese, which reflects the global presence of south-Chinese colonial powers.

But an island country that both sort of identifies with the mainland but also sort of identifies away from it, a former superpower trying to preserve its international glory in a world stage where its economy and military are growing increasingly irrelevant... those things, Japan can certainly be.

Perfect. In that case, reserve Japan - I'll try to get an app up tomorrow. I'm thinking Japan's “golden age” as a superpower has only really waned as colonialism has, and it still has its own sort of “Commonwealth of Nations” around - countries that are nominally subservient to the Chrysanthemum Throne, and officially acknowledge the Japanese government as superior, but are otherwise mostly independent. If that's all okay, anyways, I just kinda wanna run with this now that I've confirmed that Japan can have such a position.

What countries, if any, would be best/allowed to be under Japan's “Commonwealth” and formerly of its Empire? And can it keep any colonies beyond its main island chain, such as maybe Hawaii or something in Australasia/the Americas?

[Plzen]

What countries, if any, would be best/allowed to be under Japan's “Commonwealth” and formerly of its Empire? And can it keep any colonies beyond its main island chain, such as maybe Hawaii or something in Australasia/the Americas?

Any discussion of exact former-colonial borders will really have to wait until we have a couple more former-colonial powers. Just put down a Commonwealth for now, without specifying exact location.

Any current colonies will be limited to small islands and the like - I can see Hawaii as being viable, maybe Galápagos Islands.

[HypErcApitAl]

Way better than the other series (gotta be frank), I like the idea of "what if Asia conquered the World instead of Europe,' but it's kinda off.

Firstly, France and Spain wouldn't even be powers. It'd probably be Vietnam and the Philippines. (they're impoverished today, but technically, they're second-world. In this time, I think they'd be firmly first-world like Scandinavia or Canada.)

Secondly, the USA would be the PSA (Pacific States of America) and I don't even know what the Latin(o/a) world would look like. (Brazil and Peru have some Asians)

Third, the Asians would indeed colonize Africa (and probably would be way more barbaric than the Europeans. Africans and Middle-Easterners did some messed-up stuff to Africa, and China's awful. I don't think China would be strong in this world, but IRL China is brutal to non-Han Chinese.)

Fo(u)rth, I don't know what Russia/Moscovy/the Hordes would be like, since they're Eurasian. Same goes for Australasia. (though Australasia is both American and Asian, tbh)

Fifth, I don't even know if China, Japan and Mongolia would still be empires, or even Russia. Tibet was an empire, but then, they're cucked irl. Korea barely even was an empire (they were cucked by both China and Japan)

Sixth, what even would the Caribbean look like? Would Haiti still be Haiti? How about Cuba? The Hispanics held so much influence on the Carib (and also the Bourbon Empire/Kingdom - both France and Spain combined, and then, the Iberian Union.)

English and Dutch were minor powers, and America was a major power in the Carib/West Indies. Canada could've had Turks-&-Caicos, but they didn't. (they squandered it)

Seventh, I don't know about Gran Colombia or Simon Bolivar's vision, and if he/they would've succeeded.

---

In the end, I may join this. (though the world would be vastly different)

Vietnam/Laos is interesting. I'm not sure about Cambodia. (I could do like irl and milk them for Milk and the Agrarian Industry/Textiles/etc)

I like Taiwan/Formosa and Japan too much. Korea is only interesting b/c of the Soviets and Kim Il-Sung. (though they've had their dynasties and kingdoms)

Chine itself is split. Han Chinese, Indochinese, Tibetians (and Buddhists/Jainists/the main 'Eastern' religions), Islamists (the Uyghurs and Xibet San Ma), Mongols (both Inner and Outer Mongolia), and then you have Tannutuva which is a Mutt State (between Russians, Chinese and Mongolians), the Manchurians and Koreans, and the Triads/City-states, Cantonese.

I can't decide, and I wouldn't be able to know/find out which China would be "Best China" or The Supreme, or if the Mandate of Heaven would still be upheld.

(Chinese ideologies)

• Democratic-Republican China (Kuomintang)
• Autright (Authoritarian Right) China (also the KMT)
• DemSoc/SocDem China (the Left KMT)
  
• Communist-Socialist/Syndicalist China (Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping)
• Dynastic/Monarchistic China (Mainly the Qing Dynasty)
• Triads and Lawless/Anarchic/Criminal China (Triads and the zones held after the Boxer Rebellion)
• Theocratic China (Mandate-of-Heaven, either Abrahamic ((Christian or Islamic/Mohammadan)) or 'Eastern')
• Colonized/China-under-Junta/China-in-exile (Indochina under both England and France, also America and Japan)

Japan, no matter what, did the same crap. (Monarchism but w/ different flavors. It's still monarchist irl, but technically it's Democrat(ic).)))

[HypErcApitAl]

Chine influenced ideology (Legalism v. Vigilantism, like I had w/ Quebec) but Chine was never really Vigilant or a Vigilante/'superhero'/'heroic' state. They were either crony, legalist, or criminal.

If I do app, I don't know what I'll do w/ my Viet. (Vietnam, VietCong, Saigon, whatsoever you'd call it)

I like the idea of being monarchistic, though. Plutocracy, Longism, Technocracy and other ideologies from the 1910s/Great Depression are nonissues/don't work in this time. I love Technocracy (as you could prob. tell) but I don't think it'd be used in this.

I don't know which economic system I'd use (capitalism or feudalism or merchantilism), I'd want to have a cryptofeudal/classist/aristocratic structure but w/ a Monarch. (Crown, Throne, etc)

The Cast(e) System would be dank, but I feel like that'd only apply to India.

Communism is out of the question. (yes, I do know about Monarcho-Communism and alot of weirder Communisms, but idc)

Egoism, Nihilism, Antipathy, Misanthropy and similar philosophies/schools-of-thought could work in Asia. (Already the Chinese and Japanese Empire abused their peoples and treated 'em like Soil.)

[Plzen]

-snip-

I’m going to have to ask you, again, to refrain from spamming OOC posts like you did in our previous RP.

If you can’t collect your thoughts enough to put down everything you wish to say into one OOC post instead of making multiple in a row with just a fee paragraphs each, then don’t write posts until you can.

I’ll also ask that you read the regional descriptions. Most of the points you raise have already been answered.

[The V O I D]

What countries, if any, would be best/allowed to be under Japan's “Commonwealth” and formerly of its Empire? And can it keep any colonies beyond its main island chain, such as maybe Hawaii or something in Australasia/the Americas?

Any discussion of exact former-colonial borders will really have to wait until we have a couple more former-colonial powers. Just put down a Commonwealth for now, without specifying exact location.

Any current colonies will be limited to small islands and the like - I can see Hawaii as being viable, maybe Galápagos Islands.

Gotcha. I've already worked some on my app, but it's like 4 am and I'm gonna go crash. I'll finish the app and post it as soon as I can tomorrow, though.

[Sarderia]

Just in Case... can I reserve Indonesia, Malaysia, and Andaman and Nicobar? SE Asia would be more than likely an emerging superpower by now... and I wouldn't pass on the concept of "Greater Nusantara" being ignored

[Plzen]

Just in Case... can I reserve Indonesia, Malaysia, and Andaman and Nicobar? SE Asia would be more than likely an emerging superpower by now... and I wouldn't pass on the concept of "Greater Nusantara" being ignored :p

That... seems rather large for that region.

[Sarderia]

Just in Case... can I reserve Indonesia, Malaysia, and Andaman and Nicobar? SE Asia would be more than likely an emerging superpower by now... and I wouldn't pass on the concept of "Greater Nusantara" being ignored

That... seems rather large for that region.

It is a hypothetical scenario wherein the Majapahit Empire survived for about 200 to 300 more years before being overthrown in a revolution.

[Plzen]

It is a hypothetical scenario wherein the Majapahit Empire survived for about 200 to 300 more years before being overthrown in a revolution.

I was thinking more in terms of geopolitical implications. A country with that population in that region is likely to be a superpower in its own right and, well, I don’t really want one there.

I’ll consider this reservation under the understanding that it’s going to be a decentralised, bureaucratic nightmare.

[The V O I D]

Hey, Plzen, would it be okay if I TG'd you a copy of my current app so we can hash out any issues before I post, or would you prefer if I just posted it here? It's just about done, I think, just want to know if you can help me hash out my app to make it good one way or the other.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

The Republic of Hofakana
Application

DEMOGRAPHICS
(how many people your country has, where they live, what religion/culture/language they follow, any notable trends in immigration/emigration, etc)

The Republic of Hofakana holds a total of 4,697,452 inhabitants. Demographically, it is divided as follows:
10% Ethnic Japanese
35% Hofakana (Japanese-native mix)
15% Cueva (native)
13% Chocoan (native)
10% Chinese
9% Mitei (some mix between native populations)
8% Chibchan (native)

Socio-economically, however, the wealth of the Republic is not shared equally among the various ethnicities. Most property is owned either by the Japanese-controlled government or by Japanese-controlled companies, which use Hofakana as a regional hub and headquarters. Small businesses are either part of a larger chain or are owned by the Hofakana plurality. Since the Hofakana ethnicity differs hugely in appearance, how 'Japanese' you look is a determiner in success, as well as how Japanese your name sounds. The Native and Mitei populations generally only own businesses within their own communities, but these are relegated to the city's dense slums of inadequate social housing. Crime among these groups is also rampant, as is gang crime between the various groups. However, the Hofakana-staffed police makes sure that in the touristy areas near the sea and the city center, this is all kept in check. The Chinese are the only group with a representative division of wealth internally.

The state religion of the Republic is Shinto-Buddhism, which is followed by the ethnic Japanese and most of the Hofakana. A shinto education is provided by the State. Among the other population group and some of the Hofakana, a Shinto-Mesoamerican syncretic faith has many devout followers, although the differences between it and orthodox shinto are stark enough that the ethnic Japanese stick mostly to their old faith. In fact, the defiance to Shinto-Mesoamerican syncreticism is so stark that many less orthodox shinto beliefs, as they might be professed on Japan, are taboo in the Republic. Finally, there are the two minority religions that, although they have limited following, are important in Hofakana society: Jesuism and Neo-Nahuatl. Jesuism is an extremist import from Europe, and combines tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and combines religion and politics. Followers of Jesuism want a more equal distribution of wealth, as well as a government that operates in accordance with strict religious law. Neo-Nahuatl is a nationalist faith imported from Mexico, and professes pan-American ideals. This, despite the fact that Nahuatl did not exist in Hofakana before the arrival of the Japanese. Its followers are known to sacrifice humans and seek the expulsion of everyone they deem a foreigner.

DIPLOMACY
The Republic of Hofakana is a very reluctant member of the Commonwealth of Imperial States. Following the construction of the Hofakana canal and the discovery of large quantaties of oil in the region, which had to be shipped through the canal, the city-state has grown increasingly rich, and increasingly wary of its former coloniser. Nowadays, Hofakana serves as a tax haven for rich aristocrats everywhere, but especially in Japan. This has caused somewhat of a diplomatic falling-out between Japan and Hofakana. Not only that, but the hard-line, nationalistic policies of the latter have caused an outrcry in Japan, especially in the popularly-elected House of Commons. However, internationally, Hofakana presents itself as an example for more illiberal governments, hosting many international sporting tournaments as well as a high class tourism industry combined with casino's. It is rumoured that Hofakana is a hotbed for fraud and money laundering, although those reports remain unsubstantiated.

ECONOMY
(how developed your country is, what its key industries are, what kind of economic policy your government follows, etc)

GEOGRAPHY
The location of Panama city today, including the canal and Gatun lake up to the Caribbean coast

HISTORY
(your nation's history; the point-of-divergence is the 221AD, or 772 Confucian Year)

POLITICS
(discuss the structure and legitimacy of your government, how stable your state is, norms of governance, ideology, etc)

This is all still a work in progress, but I wanted to have something down before writing a whole history. It's a tiny city-state, filling a niche that is filled by Singapore and Monte Carlo today.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Way better than the other series

I liked the old RP...