1812: Alternative Divergence [AH][OOC-DEAD]

[Dentali]

WIP
Full Nation Name :East African Federation
Majority/Official Culture : Ethiopian but fairly cosmopolitan
Territorial Core : IRL Modern Day Countries of...
Etria, Djibouti, Somali, Ethiopia, part of Kenya

Territorial Claim : All East Africa
Capital City : Addis Abbaba
Population : WIP but lets say 15 million?

Government Type : Federated Empire
Government Ideology/Policies : Mercantile, Defensive, Cosmopolitan, Diplomatic
Government Focus : Economic, Economic, Economic
Head of State : Emperor Dawitt V
Head of Government : First Minister
Government Description : Federation of States

Majority/State Religion : Ethiopian Orthodox, Islam
Religious Description : Ethiopian Orthodox, Islam

Economic Ideologies : Capitalism
Major Production : Mining, Agriculture, Manufacturing
Gold, Iron, Soda Ash, Gemstones, Limestone, niobium, salt, potash, copper, platinum, Zinc, textiles, wheat, coffee, beans, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, Maize, beef, pork, tea, tropical wood
Economic Description : Control of the Horn of Africa gives the EAF control of many major trade routes connecting the east and west, as well as the African interior as they possess exclusive trading relationships with many peoples in the heart of Africa. In addition the nation possesses vast mineral wealth and mines which fund the many projects propelling the nation forward.

Development: Industrializing
Development Description : Over the past 200 years Ethiopia and later the East African Federation (EAF) has embraced Westernization and Industrialization embarking on a major public works program funded by the mineral wealth and trading of the nation. Schools, institutions, roads, businesses, hospitals, rose up allowing Ethiopia to compete and thrive with a liberalizing and advancing world.

Army Description : The Rough terrain of Ethiopia and East Africa gives the army a massive defensive advantage, its troops and equipment are specialized in defensive warfare with an intricate series of fortresses crossing the nation at key areas and chokepoints as well protecting the many trading ports. While a each state in the federation has a substantial national guard a strong and highly trained federal army is the core of the military.
Army Weakness : Offensive Actions, Calvary,
Naval Description : A Large fleet of smaller and more nimble ships meant to patrol and escort trade vessels or hunt pirates
Naval Weakness : Lack of Large vessels, spread out over world, lacks naval combat experience beyond fighting pirates and protecting trade

National Goals : $$$$
National Issues : Vast cultural and linguistic diversity, decentralization
National Figures of Interest : Ethiopian patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
National Ambition/Aspirations : [[OPTIONAL]] WIP

History : Susenyos I drowned in 1607 the day after his coronation leading to the 72 year Reign of Dewitt III which was marked with massive expansions of trade networks, mining, and infrastructure projects




RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]

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[The New Byzantine II]

(Image)

FLAG OF BRAZIL

Full Nation Name: La République Fédérale du Brésil (Federal Republic of Brazil)
Majority/Official Culture: The culture of Brazil is primarily Western and is derived from French culture, but presents a very diverse nature showing that an ethnic and cultural mixing occurred during the French colonial period involving mostly indigenous people of the coastal and most accessible riverine areas, French people and African people who are part of Brazil's slave labor in the North - creating the Brazilian culture.
Territorial Core: Brazil, Uruguay, and French Guiana
Territorial Claim: Modern-day Paraguay, Suriname, and Guyana although these territorial claims aren't part of the federal government's priority as of this moment.
Capital City: Coligny [Rio de Janeiro]
Population: 3.8 million

Government Type: Federal presidential constitutional republic
Government Ideology/Policies: Capitalist
Government Focus: The government's focus as of this moment is to make Brazil industrialized nationwide. As of this moment, the government is trying to find a way to industrialize the poor North.
Head of State: Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Head of Government: Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Government Description: Brazilian government system is based on the civil law legal system of mainland Europe and civil law concepts prevail over common law practice. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretive guidelines; however, they are seldom binding on other specific cases. Doctrinal works and the works of academic jurists have strong influence in law creation and in law cases.

The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, promulgated and ratified on 1768, and the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution. Municipalities and the Federal District have "organic laws" (lois organiques), which act in a similar way to constitutions. Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may enact legal norms. Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare situations the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments. There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts. The highest court is the Supreme Federal Court.

In terms of the executive powers of the state, the main official holders are the President who is the head of state & the government and the Vice-President. The Cabinet of Brazil also exists as they serve as senior advisors of the executive branch of Brazil. Just like in real life Brazil, cabinet officers are appointed and dismissed by the President.

In the legislative branch, OTL Brazil and Brazil in this timeline are pretty much almost the same, with its congress being bicameral called National Congress (Congrès National). The bicameral National Congress consists of the Federal Senate (Sénat Fédéral) which houses 81 seats; they serve eight terms and the Chamber of Representatives (Chambre des Représentants) which houses 513 seats; serve four terms. There are two major political parties who dominated the Brazilian politics; the Conservative Party and the Democratic Party.

Majority/State Religion: Reformed Protestantism
Religious Description: It is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians.

Economic Ideologies: Mixed economy; between capitalism and agriculture
Major Production: Sugarcane, soy, coffee, orange, guaraná, açaí, Brazil nut, maize, papaya, tobacco, pineapple, banana, cotton, beans, coconut, watermelon, lemon, cocoa, cashew, avocado, tangerine, persimmon, mango, guava, rice, sorghum, tomato, grape, apple, melon, peanut, fig, peach, onion, palm oil and natural rubber.
Economic Description: The reason why it's mixed economy because the French settlers in Coligny post-independence who are mostly Huguenots in origin are known to be business-minded and mercantile prowess - were spread out thru southern Brazil to establish their own businesses and industries which attracted a lot of people who are unemployed; regardless if the unemployed came from the indigeneous native background or a colonial descendant with a Catholic background. Meanwhile, in the northern parts of the country, it remained agricultural as slavery is heavily dependent in that part of the region. Southern Brazil just begun its industrialization process and Northern Brazil being agricultural.

Development:
1. Southern Brazil - the southern portion of the country have begun its industrialization process in terms of mechanized textile production, iron industry and steam power following the arrival of French and other European businessmen to the country. These "foreign" businessmen often made deals with Eurocentric Brazilians who are mostly colonial descendants and Huguenots as they are more comfortable with them than the Native Brazilians.
2. Central & Northern Brazil - pre-industrialized; heavily-based on agriculture.


Development Description : Southern Brazil is where the French colonization of Brazil began in the first place and is the center of the Brazilian civilization. It's not a surprise that the southern portion of the country have begun to get industrialized with its magnificent French architecture which attracted European travelers and businessmen; specifically the French. Northern Brazil is heavily agricultural and dependent on slavery from the French colonial era up to the present day which is the reason why the northern portion of the country remained underdeveloped and it'll remained underdeveloped for several decades.

Army Description: The Armée Fédérale Brésilienne or the Federal Brazilian Army, is the name given to the land and main force of the Federal Republic of Brazil. The Federal Brazilian Army was formed after the independence of the country from France in 1763. There are 28,000 active forces and 100,000 reservist in the Federal Brazilian Army.
Army Weakness: Due to the territory size of Brazil, the Federal Brazilian Army's weakness is obviously logistics as there are a lot of roads that need to be built across Brazil and the lack of real war experience. Brazil hasn't experienced a conflict since the war of independence against France fifty years ago.
Naval Description: The Marine Fédérale Brésilienne or the Federal Brazilian Navy, is the name given to the naval force of the Federal Republic of Brazil. The Federal Navy came into being with the independence of the country in 1763 to fight and to expel the French troops dispersed by the territory. The navy was involved in Brazil's war of independence from France. Most of France's naval forces and bases in South America were transferred to the newly independent country. Some of its members were native-born Brazilians, who under French rule had been forbidden to serve, while other members were French born who adhered to the cause of independence. The Federal Brazilian Navy has 38 ships which are composed composed of one ship of the line, four frigates, and smaller ships by 1812. The navy has 96 modern warships of various types with over 690 cannon.
Naval Weakness: Just like their Federal Army counterpart. The navy's weakness also lack of real war experience.
Further Military Description: Army officers' training was completed in the Académie Militaire des D'aiguilles Noires (or in English; Military Academy of D'aiguilles Noires, also known as the Federal Military Academy), although it was not obligatory for personnel to study there to advance in the profession. Personnel from the infantry and cavalry branches only needed to study the disciplines of the 1st year (arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and technical drawing) and 5th year (tactical, strategy, camping, fortification in campaign, terrain reconnaissance and chemistry). Engineers and artillerymen were obliged to study the complete course, which resulted in their branches being considered the most prestigious.

However, if they preferred, infantrymen and cavalrymen were allowed to study the disciplines of the 2nd year (algebra, geometry, analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, descriptive geometry and technical drawing); 3rd year (mechanics, ballistics and technical drawing); 4th year (spherical trigonometry, physics, astronomy, geodesy, geography and technical drawing); 6th year (regular and irregular fortification, attacking and defending strongholds, civil architecture, roads, ports, canals, mineralogy and technical drawing); and 7th year (artillery, mines and natural history).

National Goals and Ambitions/Aspirations:
1. To industrialize.
2. Become the titan of South America; basically spreading Brazilian culture and influence in the continent.
3. To ensure peace and stability nationwide to ensure that a rebellion wouldn't happen again.

National Issues: Brazil is a capitalist society where socioeconomic hierarchy is evidently seen. The federal government is trying to find a way to end poverty in the country, the only way was to industrialize.

National Figures of Interest :

HISTORICAL
1. Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon; the French admiral who marked the beginning of French colonization of Brazil. Even though he was removed by the Calvinists, he still plays the role of the beginning of French colonization of Brazil - making him one of Brazil's national figures of interest.

2. Gaspard de Coligny; leader of the French Huguenots.

3. John Calvin; is a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He founded the Reformed Protestantism which is the largest religion in Brazil with Reformed Protestantism having the most adherents. Brazil possesses a richly spiritual society formed from the meeting of the Reformed Protestant Church with the religious traditions of African slaves and indigenous people.

History :

In 1555, due to the non-existence of the Portuguese/the lack of Hispanic presence or rivalry with other European powers in the continent, specifically in South America - the French colonists in one of the islands of Guanabara Bay (IRL and this timeline called Villegagnon Island) under Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon successfully established a fort colony which the colonists called Coligny (Rio de Janeiro) in honor of Villegaignon's supporter and friend, the French Admiral and leader of the Huguenots, Gaspard de Coligny. This marked the beginning of French colonization in modern-day Brazil.

Since there is no contest in South America by other European powers, this was a ripe for the taking by France and this is the opportunity for France to claim eastern South America as a whole. By 1556, Villegaignon endeavoured to expand the colony by calling for more colonists in 1556. He sent one of his ships, the Grande Roberge, to Honfleur, entrusted with letters to King Henry II, Gaspard de Coligny and according to some accounts, the Protestant leader John Calvin.

After one ship was sent to France to ask for additional support, three ships were financed and prepared by the king of France and put under the command of Sieur De Bois le Comte, a nephew of Villegagnon. They were joined by 14 Calvinists from Geneva, led by Philippe de Corguilleray, including theologians Pierre Richier and Guillaume Chartrier. The new colonists, numbering around 300, included five young women to be wed, ten boys to be trained as translators, as well as 14 Calvinists sent by Calvin, and also Jean de Léry, who would later write an account of the colony. They arrived in March 1557. The relief fleet was composed of:
1.) The Petite Roberge, with 80 soldiers and sailors was led by Vice Admiral Sieur De Bois le Comte.
2.) The Grande Roberge, with about 120 on board, captained by Sieur de Sainte-Marie dit l'Espine.
3.) The Rosée, with about 90 people, led by Captain Rosée.
Doctrinal disputes arose between Villegagnon and the Calvinists, especially in relation to the Eucharist, and in October 1557, the Calvinists managed to have Villegagnon removed from the command of the colony. Gaspard de Coligny was then called to act as governor, and arrived shortly after Villegagnon had left, in 1558. The newly established colony soon became the heartland of Calvinism traditions and theology. In short, the heart of Reformed Protestant.

For the next few decades, the Huguenot-majority French colony in modern-day Brazil were thriving and expanding further in the deep jungles of the continent with the French colonists being friendly with the indigeneous natives (specifically Tupi, Puri, Aimore, and Maxakali peoples) and indigeneous natives being included in the colonial society vice versa, resulting an intermarriages between the natives and the colonists. However, back in mainland France, it was really unstable - the religious civil war between Catholics and Protestants engulfed Europe. France was one of these nations where the Catholic royal family - the Bourbon dynasty with its Catholic devouts and followers frequently persecuted the Huguenots and non-Catholics alike. Because of these unfortunate events that happened to the French protestants and mainland France being unstable by a religious civil war and Huguenot persecution, it sparked a mass migration of the French people to French Brazil to fled from the violence in the mainland. The mass migration would be around 40,000-50,000 who are mostly Huguenots and people from the marginalized sector [in short; poor people] of the mainland French society.

At the end of the civil war, French Brazil’s population in 1650 would be around 100,000 and the colonial society would be ethnically diverse with people coming from the indigeneous natives and French colonial descendants who are now used to the tropical climate. Brazil is also a safe haven for mainland French Huguenots, oppressed families from France, Puritans from Great Britain and European merchants or migrants coming from Iberia and Great Britain. Back in mainland France, the mainland remains Catholic however Protestants were "tolerated" while French Brazil is obviously a Protestant-dominated colony thanks to the mass migration from the Huguenots during the equivalent of a Thirty Years’ War in this timeline and the Huguenot persecution. Migration still continues so that the Huguenots could exist in the majority of the Protestant society but would later slow down nonetheless in the future.

In 1685, Louis the XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which deprived the French protestants of all religious and civil liberties in mainland France. This resulted in another mass migration of Huguenots or the third Huguenot migration to the Protestant-dominated colony French Brazil while others went to the British colonies and other Protestant nations like Germany. While Louis the XIV forbade the Huguenots to go to French Brazil - this wouldn’t be a case as French Brazil is majority Protestant and has a deep hatred towards the mainland especially that there are a hundreds of thousands of Huguenot population that had migrated and settled to the colony thus resulting a large amount of population which have reached by 500,000 at this point. Descendants of the first and second Huguenot migration are now used to the tropical climate. In addition, French Brazil was established 150 years prior to the Edict of Nantes would even be considered - the forbiddance of Huguenot migration to French Brazil is seemingly impossible. At this point, by the late 17th century - most of the indigeneous natives in Brazil - specifically in the east coast of the continent - falling under the influence of French Brazil as Coligny became the center of civilization; culture, arts and religion in the region. In addition, Indian natives were tolerated in colonial society and were seen as equals. This resulted in the successful expansion of the Brazilian colony in the entire Brazilian coast in the future.

Not to mention that the majority Huguenot colony of French Brazil by the late 17th century developed a large African populations coming from the Atlantic slave trade. Same as in the real timeline, Brazil sucked up some truly massive part of the Atlantic slave trade simply because the climate of Brazil was designed for it. Massive industries like sugarcane and diamond mining required a massive poorly treated labor population, specifically the African slave population which were mostly built in the sparsely-populated North led by French nobles and Amerindians. At this point, French Brazil has reached a million population. The African slave labor has grown crops like cotton, rice and sugar that are labor intensive which resulted in an economic prosperity of both the colony of French Brazil and the mainland France.

However, this economic prosperity created a rift between the colonial government of French Brazil and the mainland French government which created a great deal of tension between the two. France becomes a centralized, authoritarian mercantilist and a very Catholic nation. This represents the Huguenot-dominated colony's justification as to why they hate France. There are huge difference between them as French Brazil is decentralized, possibly a democratic capitalist and a Protestant colony. The French authorities had viewed the colony specifically the Huguenots as trash, dangerous dissidents at worst while the colony of French Brazil viewed mainland France as tyrants, arrogant mainland nobles that tells them what to do (since mainland nobles/mainland French looked down on the French who are born and raised in French Brazil) and mainland nobles wanted to get more land. This relationship between the two would be similar to the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain in our timeline but to a greater extent.

Since France became a more centralized and a “corrupt religious society”, a critical crisis of philosophy and understanding resulted in the Brazilian Revolution in 1756. As the revolution swept across the colony, the British saw discontent in French Brazil which they saw an opportunity to wipe out French influence in the continent. Thus, the British supported the rebellion in the colony against the French. Since the British dominate the oceans, the revolution succeeded with British support. By 1763, a Huguenot nation of Brazil is now internationally recognized by the European powers. La République Fédérale du Brésil was born and has the same technological level with the great European powers and of East Asia. The government system is the same as IRL post-Imperial Brazil; a federal presidential constitutional republic. First presidential elections were held soon after Brazil gained its independence from France.

Even though Brazil had gained its independence from France, there are people which are mostly nobles from the mainland - aren't contented to this new Brazil as they see it as a "lost tradition". They didn't recognized the Federalist government that is centered on Coligny which is firmly controlled by the government forces. Few years later, a military commander named Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers; a French-born who belonged to a prominent military in France, organized & united the mainland-born nobles and started a rebellion in 1767 which was five years after the independence. The goal was to establish an empire under Gilbert d'Orvilliers and reconnect its relations with France. It was dubbed as "Flower Rebellion" by the Brazilian government due to the rebel flag resembling that of the Bourbon France. The imperialist Rebel forces numbered around 3,000 men while the government forces numbered on almost 6,000 men who are mostly veterans of the Revolution. Most of the battles occured in one of the northeastern states of Brazil called Bahia. During the first months of the rebellion; the Rebel forces would win a series of battles against the government however the Rebellion would met their fate in Salvador, Brazil including Gilbert d'Orvilliers where the rebels failed their siege on the city. After the death of Gilbert d'Orvilliers, the hopes of creating the Empire of Brazil under French nobles had come to an end. Northeastern Brazil including its economy is crippled for at least a decade. Northeastern Brazil would become a Conservative powerhouse in the future due to the large influence of the mainland nobles have in that region.

By the mid to late 18th century, the first years of the young Huguenot nation is that their economy are poor as they are recovering from the revolution against France and the rebellion in northeast Brazil that are caused by mainland French nobles. Of course, their economy both in pre-revolution and post-revolution were based on the African slave trade. At this time, Brazil’s economy isn’t exactly thriving unlike hundred years ago and the poorest regions of Brazil are dependent on slavery. On the other hand, citizens of Brazil whether the citizen is an indigeneous native, colonial descendant, or a Huguenot are blessed with property rights. Brazilians in this timeline are known for their mercantile prowess, since Brazilians are mostly Huguenots - they are being drawn disproportionately from the upper and mercantile classes in France and thus built a society that is strong with merchant rights. In this timeline, Brazilians in Coligny (Rio de Janeiro) found a way to uplift their economy back on track as Huguenots (Brazilians) helped establish industries in Brazil since the Huguenots are known to establish a business industry whenever they went. French Brazil is in a weird position as French colonial descendants and Huguenots in Coligny spread southwards to the Pampa grasslands, settling as free farmers while others spread south to other southern coastal cities to establish their own businesses. This resulted in a divide between a poor North and a wealthy South.

By the early 1800s, the south of Brazil are slowly industrializing following the arrivals of European businessmen to the country while the north of Brazil remained dependent on the slave and agricultural economy. The slave proportion in the young Huguenot nation is much larger than IRL USA. On the positive side, Brazil is poised to become an economic titan in South America in the future. Southern Brazil may be wealthy but their industrialization has just begun while Northern Brazil are still poor due to the slave economy (South Brazil would be North USA while North Brazil would be South USA in comparison). Brazil’s presence in South America is vigorously felt and its economy is slowly thriving. Brazil is a sleeping giant for now and they are only focused on their internal problems.

RP Sample:

1948: Burning Powder Keg
Byzantine Dreams
Star Wars: The Era of Strife
Fallout: Incursion

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[Elysian Kentarchy]

Full Nation Name : Catepanate of Italy/Katepaníkion Italías/κατεπανίκιον Ἰταλίας
Majority/Official Culture : Roman (officially)
Territorial Core : Reference map, south Italy
Territorial Claim : Traditionally they claim to be the rightful rulers over all of Italy,, though they seem less concerned with expansion and more with consolidation of what they have.
Capital City : Naples (Neápolis in this RP and current capital), Bari (historical capital)
Population : 6,700,000 (estimated population of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily circa 1800)

Government Type : Absolute Autocracy, subpart of the Roman Empire
Government Ideology/Policies : Absolutism, Conservatism, Orthodox Traditionalism, Pragmatism, Italian Reclamation.
Government Focus : Ensure Roman control over southern Italy is maintained at all costs, develop their lands in order to ensure they have the industry for national defense and that they can be a strong force.
Head of State : Athanasios Komnenos, Despot of Italy
Head of Government : Same as head of state
Government Description : De jure the Catepanate is part of the Roman Empire but de facto an independent nation of their own thanks to centuries of Constantinople being focused on other problems while the Komnenoi Despots handle things and conducts their own diplomacy. In theory the Basileus has the power to remove the Despot but in practice it has only occurred once in the Catepanate's history after the Komnenoi took power. Overall the government is structured with the Despot having absolute power and, on paper, is only answerable to the Basileus in Constantinople and the internal structure largely follows a mirror of the ERE theme system with certain alterations made in the name of expediency. Advising the Despot is a council composed of representatives of the aristocracy, the military, the clergy, and, recently, merchants and large, non-aristocratic, landowners.

Majority/State Religion : Roman Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholics form a good minority.
Religious Description :

Economic Ideologies : The Despot reserves the right to intervene in and regulate the economy as he sees fit but, besides matters of war, historically he tends to be hands off when it comes to regulation so long as taxes are paid. The state is fairly involved when it comes to developing industry as well.
Major Production : Sulfur, gunpowder, cast iron, weaponry, agricultural products, wheat, olive oil, wine.
Economic Description : They have large sulfur mines and a good sized agricultural economy based around things like wheat, grapes, and olives. Thanks to recent loans from Constantinople they are working on expanding the sulfur industry even further and are quickly becoming one of the world's lead producers of it. Similarly they are expanding their weapons and cast iron industries (more or less what they were OTL)

Development: Industrializing in certain cities, preindustrial elsewhere.
Development Description : There has been an increasing emphasis on industrialization in certain cities and efforts, including loans from Constantinople, to expand their industry, especially when it comes to sulfur. They also have invested a good amount of money on expanding and modernizing their road system. However they have a lot of farmers and miners leading to other areas to be preindustrial. Overall they are one of the most industrialized areas of Italy (basically it is developed exactly the same as it is OTL but with a bit more of an emphasis on military and no British control over their industry).

Army Description : The army is basically structured after the Roman Army though there are notable differences when it comes to specializations and certain departures. The tagmata is mostly the same, although smaller obviously, and while considerable elements are stationed in Neápolis you can find elements of them stationed in Sicily and in the forts along their northern borders, they also train regularly on matters related to mountain warfare. The akritai is also mostly the same however a good amount of elements of them are incredibly focused on mountain warfare and harassment (which leads to them having the largest cavalry units). It is also notable that, thanks to the work of a previous despot, they have elements of the Palatine Schools mixed in, mostly just the Noumeroi and Hikanatoi but those are relatively rare and rarely committed, more they are kept on hand for training purposes or, in the case of the Noumeroi, used to crush internal dissent. If their Hikanatoi elements have to be committed to open battle instead of their usual training and guerilla roles, you know something has gone wrong. Their army doctrine consists of the following: troops at the border, presumably, will be facing a superior force therefore the tagmata and the themata on hand are to either have a series of battles aimed at stalling any advance while the akritai harass them or they are to hole up in nearby forts (of which at their current borders there are several large ones) and hold as long as possible. Both serve the same purpose: to buy time for the rest of the Stratós to arrive and then win through overwhelming local power. It is a strategy that has served them relatively well in their history but has not been really tested against a major power.

The higher ranking officers tend to be trained at the Basilian Military Academy in Thessaloniki while lower ranking officers consist of a mix of the native Latins and Greeks, proficiency in either Greek or Italiot Greek is required to be an officer of any rank and those with potential are normally taught one of the two if they cannot speak it already. In a notable departure from Constantinople they are willing to consider conscripting non-Romans into the themata if the situation calls for it, though that is relatively rare due to territorial constraints. They also devote a good chunk of the budget towards weapons research, fortification building, and modernization to ensure their forces remain the best on hand. Thanks to the sulfur industry, therefore having plenty of gunpowder on hand, they are able to be well drilled without concern for supplies. For now anyway.

Army Weakness : Their army doctrine makes a war on multiple fronts difficult to manage unless victory is achieved quickly on one front. Also related to doctrine if they cannot mobilize quickly enough troops arriving to reinforce the borders will take some time leading to a weaker frontline. Another flaw in it is that if someone strikes first with overwhelming power to the point they can't really hold the borders they will be put on the backfoot. There are also linguistic issues that arises if the none of the available officers can speak one of the regional languages and dialects, though Italiot Greek is pretty common so it isn't as common an issue but things can still be lost in translation.

Naval Description : The Catepanate's navy, excluding the merchant fleet, is not that much of a navy and more an extension of the army. The ships that fly its flag are primarily dedicated to three things: moving troops from different parts of their territory to others as quickly as they can, to patrol their shores and prevent an amphibious invasion, and to cooperate with the Empire's navy to bottle up the Adriatic should war break out with the HRE and Constantinople tells them to get involved in it. They also have a long system of naval forts to defend their coast and the men crewing them are well drilled.

Naval Weakness : The primary weakness of the navy is the fact that, excluding the merchant fleet which is sizable, it isn't large, isn't well funded, and it is more or less an arm of the army given its dedication to troop movements. It is very much a local force and not one they have focused much on power projection.
Further Military Description :

National Goals : Preserve and (if possible) expand Roman rule over the rest of Italia. Ensure the Catepanate does not collapse no matter what.
National Issues : Tensions between the Greek and Latin populations that never truly died down, tensions between the Catholic and Orthodox populations (essentially the same thing really), the administration's resources has long been noted to be strained in several areas and it is hoped that industrialization will increase the available funds in order to expand it to meet modern needs.
National Figures of Interest :
-Despot Athanasios Komnenos
-Anastasia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Petros Komnenos (younger brother of the Despot)
-Evangelia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Elenia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Sofia Komnene (mother of the Despot)
-Archbishop Demetrios (Archbishop of Neápolis and All Italy, spiritual advisor to the Despot)
-Strategos Spiro Valilis (second in command of the military, military advisor to the Despot)
National Ambition/Aspirations :

History: While I can't really point to an exact moment and say "this is where things changed" I will summarize the divergence as follows: essentially the Norman invasions of Sicily and south Italy was not nearly as successful as it was and ERE managed to fight them off even though they did wind up losing a good chunk of their territory. Since that time they have worked on clawing their way back, launching limited wars of aggression when they see an opportunity and had a steady advance until they have reached their current borders. In acknowledgement of the familial ties between Palaiologos and the Komnenoi that the two families occasionally renew, as well as acknowledgement of the fact that they have done a good job of ensuring Italy is not a problem/descended into flames, the rank of Despot was bestowed upon the Komnenoi Katepano in 1448, who was the then Basileus's son in law, and since that day the title had been passed down their family line there wih the only interruption being when the Basileus removed the Despot Sergius from his position and appointed his nephew Zacharias Despot in the 1600's. The current Despot is the young Athanasios Komnenos who succeeded his father who was recently assassinated.
RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=38149381#p38149381

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[Elysian Kentarchy]

Not perfectly happy with everything but I will expand upon it and correct things as needed.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Ecclastical State, the Papal Diocese
Territory: The City of Rome and environs
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Ecclastical State, the Papal Diocese
Territory: The City of Rome and environs
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

reservation accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : Catepanate of Italy/Katepaníkion Italías/κατεπανίκιον Ἰταλίας
Majority/Official Culture : Roman (officially)
Territorial Core : Reference map, south Italy
Territorial Claim : Traditionally they claim to be the rightful rulers over all of Italy,, though they seem less concerned with expansion and more with consolidation of what they have.
Capital City : Naples (Neápolis in this RP and current capital), Bari (historical capital)
Population : 6,700,000 (estimated population of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily circa 1800)

Government Type : Absolute Autocracy, subpart of the Roman Empire
Government Ideology/Policies : Absolutism, Conservatism, Orthodox Traditionalism, Pragmatism, Italian Reclamation.
Government Focus : Ensure Roman control over southern Italy is maintained at all costs, develop their lands in order to ensure they have the industry for national defense and that they can be a strong force.
Head of State : Athanasios Komnenos, Despot of Italy
Head of Government : Same as head of state
Government Description : De jure the Catepanate is part of the Roman Empire but de facto an independent nation of their own thanks to centuries of Constantinople being focused on other problems while the Komnenoi Despots handle things and conducts their own diplomacy. In theory the Basileus has the power to remove the Despot but in practice it has only occurred once in the Catepanate's history after the Komnenoi took power. Overall the government is structured with the Despot having absolute power and, on paper, is only answerable to the Basileus in Constantinople and the internal structure largely follows a mirror of the ERE theme system with certain alterations made in the name of expediency. Advising the Despot is a council composed of representatives of the aristocracy, the military, the clergy, and, recently, merchants and large, non-aristocratic, landowners.

Majority/State Religion : Roman Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholics form a good minority.
Religious Description :

Economic Ideologies : The Despot reserves the right to intervene in and regulate the economy as he sees fit but, besides matters of war, historically he tends to be hands off when it comes to regulation so long as taxes are paid. The state is fairly involved when it comes to developing industry as well.
Major Production : Sulfur, gunpowder, cast iron, weaponry, agricultural products, wheat, olive oil, wine.
Economic Description : They have large sulfur mines and a good sized agricultural economy based around things like wheat, grapes, and olives. Thanks to recent loans from Constantinople they are working on expanding the sulfur industry even further and are quickly becoming one of the world's lead producers of it. Similarly they are expanding their weapons and cast iron industries (more or less what they were OTL)

Development: Industrializing in certain cities, preindustrial elsewhere.
Development Description : There has been an increasing emphasis on industrialization in certain cities and efforts, including loans from Constantinople, to expand their industry, especially when it comes to sulfur. They also have invested a good amount of money on expanding and modernizing their road system. However they have a lot of farmers and miners leading to other areas to be preindustrial. Overall they are one of the most industrialized areas of Italy (basically it is developed exactly the same as it is OTL but with a bit more of an emphasis on military and no British control over their industry).

Army Description : The army is basically structured after the Roman Army though there are notable differences when it comes to specializations and certain departures. The tagmata is mostly the same, although smaller obviously, and while considerable elements are stationed in Neápolis you can find elements of them stationed in Sicily and in the forts along their northern borders, they also train regularly on matters related to mountain warfare. The akritai is also mostly the same however a good amount of elements of them are incredibly focused on mountain warfare and harassment (which leads to them having the largest cavalry units). It is also notable that, thanks to the work of a previous despot, they have elements of the Palatine Schools mixed in, mostly just the Noumeroi and Hikanatoi but those are relatively rare and rarely committed, more they are kept on hand for training purposes or, in the case of the Noumeroi, used to crush internal dissent. If their Hikanatoi elements have to be committed to open battle instead of their usual training and guerilla roles, you know something has gone wrong. Their army doctrine consists of the following: troops at the border, presumably, will be facing a superior force therefore the tagmata and the themata on hand are to either have a series of battles aimed at stalling any advance while the akritai harass them or they are to hole up in nearby forts (of which at their current borders there are several large ones) and hold as long as possible. Both serve the same purpose: to buy time for the rest of the Stratós to arrive and then win through overwhelming local power. It is a strategy that has served them relatively well in their history but has not been really tested against a major power.

The higher ranking officers tend to be trained at the Basilian Military Academy in Thessaloniki while lower ranking officers consist of a mix of the native Latins and Greeks, proficiency in either Greek or Italiot Greek is required to be an officer of any rank and those with potential are normally taught one of the two if they cannot speak it already. In a notable departure from Constantinople they are willing to consider conscripting non-Romans into the themata if the situation calls for it, though that is relatively rare due to territorial constraints. They also devote a good chunk of the budget towards weapons research, fortification building, and modernization to ensure their forces remain the best on hand.

Army Weakness : Their army doctrine makes a war on multiple fronts difficult to manage unless victory is achieved quickly on one front. Also related to doctrine if they cannot mobilize quickly enough troops arriving to reinforce the borders will take some time leading to a weaker frontline. Another flaw in it is that if someone strikes first with overwhelming power to the point they can't really hold the borders they will be put on the backfoot. There are also linguistic issues that arises if the none of the available officers can speak one of the regional languages and dialects, though Italiot Greek is pretty common so it isn't as common but things can still be lost in translation.

Naval Description : The Catepanate's navy, excluding the merchant fleet, is not that much of a navy and more an extension of the army. The ships that fly its flag are primarily dedicated to three things: moving troops from different parts of their territory to others as quickly as they can, to patrol their shores and prevent an amphibious invasion, and to cooperate with the Empire's navy to bottle up the Adriatic should war break out with the HRE and Constantinople tells them to get involved in it.

Naval Weakness : The primary weakness of the navy is the fact that, excluding the merchant fleet which is sizable, it isn't large, isn't well funded, and it is more or less an arm of the army given its dedication to troop movements. It is very much a local force and not one they have focused much on power projection.
Further Military Description :

National Goals : Preserve and (if possible) expand Roman rule over the rest of Italia. Ensure the Catepanate does not collapse no matter what.
National Issues : Tensions between the Greek and Latin populations that never truly died down, tensions between the Catholic and Orthodox populations (essentially the same thing really), the administration's resources has long been noted to be strained in several areas and it is hoped that industrialization will increase the available funds in order to expand it to meet modern needs.
National Figures of Interest :
-Despot Athanasios Komnenos
-Anastasia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Petros Komnenos (younger brother of the Despot)
-Evangelia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Elenia Komnene (younger sister of the Despot)
-Sofia Komnene (mother of the Despot)
-Archbishop Demetrios (Archbishop of Neápolis and All Italy, spiritual advisor to the Despot)
-Strategos Spiro Valilis (second in command of the military, military advisor to the Despot)
National Ambition/Aspirations :

History: While I can't really point to an exact moment and say "this is where things changed" I will summarize the divergence as follows: essentially the Norman invasions of Sicily and south Italy was not nearly as successful as it was and ERE managed to fight them off even though they did wind up losing a good chunk of their territory. Since that time they have worked on clawing their way back, launching limited wars of aggression when they see an opportunity and had a steady advance until they have reached their current borders. In acknowledgement of the familial ties between Palaiologos and the Komnenoi that the two families occasionally renew, as well as acknowledgement of the fact that they have done a good job of ensuring Italy is not a problem/descended into flames, the rank of Despot was bestowed upon the Komnenoi Katepano in 1448, who was the then Basileus's son in law, and since that day the title had been passed down their family line there wih the only interruption being when the Basileus removed the Despot Sergius from his position and appointed his nephew Zacharias Despot in the 1600's. The current Despot is the young Athanasios Komnenos who succeeded his father who was recently assassinated.
RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=38149381#p38149381

#AltDiv

Looks alright to me!
With the notion that the parts of the history that aren’t dependent on the ERE app should be expanded upon a little now that you’ve got a northern neighbour, accepted!

[Kenobot]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Ecclastical State, the Papal Diocese
Territory: The City of Rome and environs
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Yay the Pope! HRE, Spain and France have another friend!

[Alt Div Admin]

(Image)

FLAG OF BRAZIL

Full Nation Name: La République Fédérale du Brésil (Federal Republic of Brazil)


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

Overall very close to being accepted, just a few small details that still need to be fixed:

• I'm not fully sure what you mean by "Mixed economy; between capitalism and agriculture". A mixed economy is a market economy with state interventionism, so it could be overall capitalistic with some state control if that's what you mean - though it's likely that mercantilism would still have some influence. Agriculture is however simply a field of the economy
• I am confused about your naval numbers. You say that the navy has 38 ships, and then that it has "96 modern warships of various types"

[Draos]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Ecclastical State, the Papal Diocese
Territory: The City of Rome and environs
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Yay the Pope! HRE, Spain and France have another friend!

stop calling me spain

[Revlona]

Yay the Pope! HRE, Spain and France have another friend!

stop calling me spain

Whatever you say Spain

[Elysian Kentarchy]

Yay the Pope! HRE, Spain and France have another friend!

stop calling me spain

I understand Portugal.

[The Orson Empire]

I have a potential idea for Russia ruled by Novgorod, with Muscovy never rising to prominence. Novgorod emerges from the Mongol conquest pretty much intact, on a far better position than many of the other devastated principalities. Novgorod plays the game of thrones in the post-Kievan Rus' principalities better than they did in OTL, picking the right allies and carefully considering their moves. The Prince of Novgorod marries the sister of Uzbeg Khan and makes an alliance with the Golden Horde, and the Prince also gains the the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal (a move the Muscovites made in OTL, which allowed them to interfere in the affairs of Novgorod). In the late 14th century, Novgorod leads a coalition of the principalities and wins a great battle against the Golden Horde, marking the start of its decline and the rise of Novgorod as the preeminent powering the region; Moscow is burned to the ground by the Tartars during this war and never really recovers, with Novgorod eventually conquering all of its lands by the mid-15th century. From there, Novgorod vastly expands its realm, conquering all of the Russian principalities, destroying the Golden Horde, and expanding its borders to reach Wei in the east and Germany to the west. By 1812, the Novgorod Republic is one of the most powerful nations in Europe and is in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.

Reservation

Nation Name: Novgorodian Rus'
Territory: Essentially all of the OTL Russian Empire in 1812 from Germany in the west to Wei in the east.
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[Tracian Empire]

I have a potential idea for Russia ruled by Novgorod, with Muscovy never rising to prominence. Novgorod emerges from the Mongol conquest pretty much intact, on a far better position than many of the other devastated principalities. Novgorod plays the game of thrones in the post-Kievan Rus' principalities better than they did in OTL, picking the right allies and carefully considering their moves. The Prince of Novgorod marries the sister of Uzbeg Khan and makes an alliance with the Golden Horde, and the Prince also gains the the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal (a move the Muscovites made in OTL, which allowed them to interfere in the affairs of Novgorod). In the late 14th century, Novgorod leads a coalition of the principalities and wins a great battle against the Golden Horde, marking the start of its decline and the rise of Novgorod as the preeminent powering the region; Moscow is burned to the ground by the Tartars during this war and never really recovers, with Novgorod eventually conquering all of its lands by the mid-15th century. From there, Novgorod vastly expands its realm, conquering all of the Russian principalities, destroying the Golden Horde, and expanding its borders to reach Wei in the east and Germany to the west. By 1812, the Novgorod Republic is one of the most powerful nations in Europe and is in the midst of the Industrial Revolution.

Reservation

Nation Name: Novgorodian Rus'
Territory: Essentially all of the OTL Russian Empire in 1812 from Germany in the west to Wei in the east.
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You certainly seen to know your Russian history, and the concept works pretty well

Border-wise however I'd have to initially very slightly limit your borders on account of the fact that we've been hoping to also get a player in Poland. So I will reserve the borders of our first Russian app (European Russia + Ukraine to the Dniepr and the Caucasus), plus Estonia and Latvia on account of Novgorod being a trade power after all, and I'll talk with the CO-OP's. If we won't get a player for Poland or Scandinavia within the next few days I'd be in favor of just giving you everything, but I'll have to see what they say. Something like this

Would that be alright with you? I'm also going to ask you the same thing I ask all Russian players, do you want Crimea? I've been holding it as the ERE for the past few iterations on account of the fact that it makes the situation in the Black Sea more interesting and all previous players wanted it to stay Roman, but if you want Novgorod to have Crimea I can give it to you.

[Alt Div Admin]

Map and list updated, France is in need of a player

[Great California State]

Reservation

Nation Name: Great Northern Republic - Stora Norra Republiken (sw) - Den Store Nordrepublikken(fn) - Pohjois-Tasavalta (no), commonly: Swedish Republic/Sweden
Territory: https://ibb.co/5sptXwZ
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[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Great Northern Republic - Stora Norra Republiken (sw) - Den Store Nordrepublikken(fn) - Pohjois-Tasavalta (no), commonly: Swedish Republic/Sweden
Territory: https://ibb.co/5sptXwZ
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Estonia and Latvia have already been reserved by Novgorod, but the rest of your main reservations are accepted. As for your colonies, the borders of your American colony might have to be reduced, I'm accepting your other colonial reservations and I'll talk with the CO-OP's about that specific area.

[The Orson Empire]

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[The Orson Empire]

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[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Kingdom of Soissons/Regnum Romanorum
Territory: Grand-Est, Hauts-De-France, Ile-De-France, Normandie, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, Centre-Val-De-Loire, Pays-De-La-Loire, Bretagne
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FRIENDSHIP WITH ROME ENDED

NOW ANCIEN RÉGIME IS MY BEST FRIEND

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Kingdom of Soissons/Regnum Romanorum
Territory: Grand-Est, Hauts-De-France, Ile-De-France, Normandie, Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, Centre-Val-De-Loire, Pays-De-La-Loire, Bretagne
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Reservation accepted

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Full Nation Name : The Papal Diocese and Apostolic State
Majority/Official Culture : Latin, Roman
Territorial Core : The City of Rome and environs
Territorial Claim : The Entire World (Catholicism claims to be the Universal Religion, and the Pope presents himself as the leader of that religion)
Capital City : Rome
Population : 1.500.000

Government Type: Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies : Conservative theocratic
Government Focus : The focus of the Papal Diocese is the advancement of Catholicism around the world, be it the safety of the children under her guidance or the expansion of states that follow the Catholic doctrine. The Pope also makes sure Canon Law and religious dogmas are properly followed.
Head of State : The Pope, Pius Septimus
Head of Government : See Head of State
Government Description : The City of Rome and the Catholic Church are headed both by the Pope; the most holy bishop in all of Christendom. The election of the Pope has always been a difficult subject; at the start of the medieval era, the Pope was no different than any other Bishop, and his position was therefore an elected one; to be chosen by the people of his diocese. However, this was more and more unbecoming as the Patriarch of Rome came to hold an important position in Western Christianity, what would later become Catholicism. Two Roman patrician families constantly vied to have their loyalists on the Papal throne, and because of this the Papal seat became a political device for these families. At one point, the Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Germans, was forced to intervene, and came to appoint Popes in the following years. After this, a new system was devised, where a Pope would divise the manner of appointment for his successor, usually involving the College of Cardinals having some sort of vote.

Now, this is all important for understanding how the current system came to be. In 1565, Pope Pius Quartus passed away. He had been a controversial figure, reconvening the Council of Trent as a perpetual ecumenical council to consult in matters of faith. This coincided with the restructuring of the Theological University of Rome, which would serve at the pleasure of the Ecumenical Council. Altogether, the basis of the Church would be more seated in rational debate than in pure Church dogma, in the hopes of undercutting the criticism of protestantism and other reformist groups. On his death bed, Pius Quartus also signed his final Will and Testament, which decreed that his successor would have to be elected by all Dioces across Europe, as the will of God would show itself through the whole mass of Christendom. The Cardinals objected, but the Will contained such a detailed description of what procedures to follow that they dared not cast it aside. So, the first Papal election in history was held. It was mostly farsical; rife with voting fraud on all possible levels, since there was no history for such an event, and the high illiteracy among Catholic peasants did not help the matter, but the farsical nature did not deminish the revolutionary act.

Pope Pius Quintus did not repeat this experiment, but did increase the role of the ecumenical council as well as the college of cardinals in selecting candidates, while giving the ecumenical council representative seats from all Dioces. This turned the ecumenical council into something resembling a parliament, although they lacked any sort of power and remained a purely deliberative and scientific body. It was pope Urbanus Septimus who once again let his successor be decided by general vote, although this time, he prepared for it. The voting procedure would be done over a period of half a year, during which votes would be cast under seal of confession. This helped reduce fraud as well as make the election part of church doctrine. Throughout the 17th century, popes were elected in this manner sporadically. Until Pius Septimus; this pope has since decreed that, from his death onward, every pope will have to be elected by secret ballot from candidates nominated from the college of cardinals by the ecumenical council. The 19th century is a new century, after all, and the revolutionary fervour of the world shows that the Church has to grow alongside. Still, it is important to note that the Church still supports the theological basis for the divine right of kings; however, they make a difference between the Papacy and the Temporal Kings, whose authority eminates from the Holy See.

Majority/State Religion : Rastafarianism

Economic Ideologies : Mercantalism, with heavy Christian overtones
Major Production : Religious texts, wine, early tourism (due to Rome being a site of pilgrimage)
Economic Description : The economy of the Diocese is pretty unique: it depends almost entirely on the spending of the Catholic Church, from money that is mainly collected from donations and state sponsors, as well as some banking duties and investments performed by the Church. This influx of money means that the Diocese does not export much in the traditional sense, and the economy is almost entirely geared towards supporting the headquarters of the Universal Religion. Local economy is also supported by tourism from wealthy pilgrims from all over the world, seeking the most holy site in Catholic christianity.

Development: Mercantile and mostly urban, based on the ownership of various patrician, semi-noble classes in the Roman countryside.
Development Description : Rome is mostly urbanised with some farming gentry in what countryside it possesses. It has no interest in machines, rather wanting to keep their estates pure and close to nature. The Church abhors any investment into factories, not least because the creation of a poor working class would be a threat to the Vatican.

Army Description : The Roman army consists of two major parts: the smallest, but most well-trained, is the Swiss Guard. This papal honour guard, grenadiers all, acts as an elite police force and the personal guard to the Pope. It consists of two regiments, the Saint Peter and Saint Paul regiments, and totals 4.000 men. Despite the name, the Swiss Guard is formed from all German-speaking lands that will allow expatriats to Rome. The larger part, the Holy Legion, is bigger: five regiments, 10.000 men in total, and acts like a kind of foreign legion. People join it to escape some form of justice. At any moment, only one regiment is active, while the others are kept in reserve, to be called on. Their quality is poor, but their devotion to the Church is unrivalled, and they can be called upon when the Swiss Guard lacks the strength to protect Rome.
Army Weakness : It's size. The Roman Army cannot project strength far beyond its borders, and serves only to protect the City itself from incursion. The armaments of the Swiss Guard are stellar, but the Holy Legion is poorly equipped with antiquated weapons.
Naval Description : The Roman Navy is nearly non-existent; Rome is kept safe by naval forts and shore batteries, rather than an active navy. The Pope has a small personal fleet for when he needs to travel, but this fleet is only lightly armed, and depends on the strength of other nations to protect it from harm.
Naval Weakness : You can't have naval weaknesses if you don't have a navy.

National Goals : It depends on what Pope is on the throne. Generally, the Church balances between peaceful, theological contemplation and charity on the other hand, and vengeful spreading of the Faith by Fire and Sword. The basic goal of the Church is to become the Universal Church, to herald Jesus' peace to all corners of the globe. Eventually, the Church must rule supreme, and all heretics and heathens must be accepted into the bosom of the Mother Church. However, Catholicism stands on the back foot, and colonisation will be the greatest boon to the church since the printing press.
National Issues : Uppity kings who have their own goals aside from the Holy Goals of the Church, a division among the clergy on what the Church needs to accomplish, and the prominence of large Orthodox, Muslim, Heathen and Protestant powers all over the world.
National Figures of Interest : The Pope, Pius Septimus, who is more and more interested in claiming the mantle of the Roman Empire from the Austrians, who are beginning to annoy him through lack of missionary zeal.

History :

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[Novacom]

Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων
Basileia tōn Rhōmaiōn
The Empire of the Romans

Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
Basileía Rhōmaíōn
The Roman Empire

Η βασιλεύς Σύγκλητος και ο Λαός της Ρώμης
I Basileus Sýnklitos kai o Laós tis Rómis
The Emperor, Senate and People of Rome

Accepted

[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Kingdom of France
Territory: Modern French territory, Tunisian Coast, Alegeria northern coast, East Madgascar Coast, this pink stuff (minus the Pondichery region), West Bengal, Bangladesh
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[Madrinpoor]

Full Nation Name : Sumatran States Confederacy (Sumatran States, or SS)
Majority/Official Culture : Malay
Territorial Core : Sumatra and Borneo's coastlines facing towards each other as well as surrounding islands. Kind of the coastline in between Java and Malay Peninsula. They operate (I will explain later) in Malacca, the Riau Islands, and all over the South China Sea near Indonesia and Malaysia.
Territorial Claim : Parts of Northwestern Java
Capital City : Each state has its own capital, but all meet in Palembang for the council, which decides trans-state issues.
Population: around 4-5 million

Government Type : Devolutionized Confederacy
Government Ideology/Policies : Okay. Finally. This nation is basically the Indian Ocean version of the Barbary States. There are six states, which each control different land as well as their own fleets. They raid ships coming through the Strait of Malacca and the rest of the South China Sea, as well as make attacks on other colonies that are not their own. Originally they were all different and independent states, which raided each other's boats and cities. In the 1780s, four of the states met in the city of Palembang, which was neutral at the time, to discuss forming a federation to protect each other from pirate raids and focus on the better targets, like that of the European ships. Eventually that number expanded to six and the Sumatran States Confederacy was born.
Government Focus : Piracy! They are pirates. They care about robbing ships and they are good at their job. Each state has a fleet run by a demilord, a very good pirate who also owns a stake of land and controls a government fleet. They go on raiding missions, usually for boats but occasionally even for towns. Often when they sack a town they might take it over too, and add it to their territory. The economy is based on this, but also some exports are produced.
Head of State : Faisal of Bangka (There are technically six, for each of the Sultanates. They have a council where they meet once every six months to discuss important matters, and there is a Head of the council, which rotates every meeting. In the meantime the head has duties and is responsible for affairs between the states.)
Head of Government : The six sultans of the states. They are Faisal of Bangka (Bangka), Ahmad of Jabung (Tanjung Jabung), Yohanes of Sambas (Mempawah), Arif of Ketapang (Ketapang), Bagus of Meranti (Meranti and Siak), and Firdhaus of Kayong (Kayong). They run their own states, but also meet every six months to discuss affairs of the states. One of them serves as Head of the council, a rotating position, but he doesn't really have much mroe power and just passes decrees the council votes on, with a ceremonial role.
Government Description : I just described it. I will copy and paste what I already wrote. There are technically six heads of state, for each of the Sultanates. They have a council where they meet once every six months to discuss important matters, and there is a Head of the council, which rotates every meeting. In the meantime the head has duties and is responsible for affairs between the states. The six sultans are the Heads of Government. They are Faisal of Bangka (Bangka), Ahmad of Jabung (Tanjung Jabung), Yohanes of Sambas (Mempawah), Arif of Ketapang (Ketapang), Bagus of Meranti (Meranti and Siak), and Firdhaus of Kayong (Kayong). They run their own states, but also meet every six months to discuss affairs of the states. One of them serves as Head of the council, a rotating position, but he doesn't really have much mroe power and just passes decrees the council votes on, with a ceremonial role.

Majority/State Religion : Islam
Religious Description : Majority Muslim, about 60%, but there are many Hindus and Christians and 30% Buddhist. One of the states, Meranti and Siak, is majority Buddhist.

Economic Ideologies : They are pirates. Their economy is based on stealing from other nations. But of the economy they have, it is essentially Social Market Capitalism, because the government awards pensions to the poor and disabled. They are actually very good rulers for pirates, at least to their citizens. Successful pirates are also awarded other titles and become demilords, in charge of fleets.
Major Production : Rice, as well as rubber, sugarcane, and other fruit. But most of their economy is piracy.
Economic Description : Copy and paste again.Their economy is based on stealing from other nations. But of the economy they have, it is essentially Social Market Capitalism, because the government awards pensions to the poor and disabled. They are actually very good rulers for pirates, at least to their citizens. Successful pirates are also awarded other titles and become demilords, in charge of fleets.

Development: Not very developed because it is a pirate confederacy. So...nonindustrialized.
Development Description : Because the government has not paid much thought towards developing the economy, instead focusing on their navy and piracy efforts, the economy is very agricultural and unlikely to industrialize soon. Technology is not advancing rapidly, and most of it comes south from China or East from India or is stolen.

Army Description : Not strong and quite small. No inter-confederacy army, really just each Sultan has his own army that he uses for protection, policing, and small-scale land expansion.
Army Weakness : Small, and not used often. Kind of self-explanatory.
Naval Description : The navy is very strong, and is mostly used for piracy efforts. I already explained demilords.
Naval Weakness : Not used for much fleet fighting, mostly just piracy.
Further Military Description : The states also hire privateers and independent pirates, or just conscript them. They almost NEVER fight fleet-to-fleet unless they are caught up in a battle or VERY unlucky, but mainly raid and give a cut of their earnings to the states. If they cheat the cut they are executed and their ships/treasure confiscated.

National Goals : Really to make money I guess. The government lets its citizens enjoy a relatively high amount of personal freedom, but no political freedom (sultans) and little economic freedom due to the piracy-based economy.
National Issues : Well the very idea of the nation isn't very effective, because the sole purpose is to benefit the pirate Sultans and their other pirates. So...because the potential has kind of already been met since there isn't much of one...nothing? A larger fleet I guess, and expansion of operations into the Malay Peninsula and Java would be helpful, but those pesky colonizers...good for business with their trading ships but not with the territory they take.
National Figures of Interest : None really
National Ambition/Aspirations : I really have nothing to say here.

History :
- Before 1780: Several different pirate states compete against each other for sea access when they could be fighting their targets. How inefficient.
- 1780: Four states; Bangka, Tanjung Jabung, Mempawah and Kayong, agree to a treaty and a confederation for their collective benefit.
- 1791: Meranti and Siak joins the confederacy
- 1802: Ketapang, originally many different smaller pirate city-states, are united under Arif. He joins the confederacy that same year.
RP Sample: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=497719&p=38404188#p38404188

A handy map
(https://i.imgur.com/27JLSCD.png)

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