1900: Steampunk Divergence [AH][OOC-OPEN]

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

WiP

Republic of Japan

Full Nation Name: The Republic of Japan
Territorial Core:
Territorial Claim:
Capital City: Nagasaki

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Japanese
Other Cultures:
Majority/Official Religion: Fukansai Christianity
Population:

Governance

Government Type: [[Monarchy, Republic, etc.]]
Government Ideology: [[OPTIONAL]] [[Monarchism, Communism, Nationalism...]]
Head of State: [[The highest-ranking individual in the nation ]]
Head of Government: [[If different, the highest-ranking individual who actually runs the nation]]
Government Description: [[A short description of how your government is organized]]

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: [[Capitalist, Mercantilist, Socialist...]]
Major Production: [[The most important industrial and agricultural products of your nation]]
Economic Description: [[A description of your economy and industrial development]]

Military

Army Description: [[Describe your nation's army in as much detail as you can]]
Naval Description: [[Describe your nation's navy in as much detail as you can]]
Air Force Description:[[Describe your nation's air force in as much detail as you can]]
Further Military Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

History and Aspirations

National Goals: [[What are the main objectives of your nation?]]
National Issues: [[What needs to be fixed in order for your nation to achieve its true potential?]]
History: [[Can be formatted in paragraphs, but we would recommend a bullet-point timeline.]]
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]

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[Sao Nova Europa]

Reservation

Nation Name: Βασιλεία της Ασίας
Territory: India (including Nepal and Bhutan)
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Βασιλεία της Ασίας
Territory: India (including Nepal and Bhutan)
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Reservation accepted

[Empire of Techkotal]

Reservation

Nation Name: Die deutsche Hanse / The German Hanseatic League
Territory: The Central European Empires's colonies + Hanseatic towns in the empire
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Arvenia]

Are the Baltic states still free? I thought they were reserved.

[Empire of Techkotal]

Are the Baltic states still free? I thought they were reserved.

Revlona / Poland withdrew his reservation and became the US instead.

[Tracian Empire]

Are the Baltic states still free? I thought they were reserved.

They are free since Revlona withdrew his reservation for Poland, but I wish to keep them open with the hope that we will receive another player with a Polish/Commonwealth/Baltic concept.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Die deutsche Hanse / The German Hanseatic League
Territory: The Central European Empires's colonies + Hanseatic towns in the empire
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Since I've already been informed that you discussed this with Exil, accepted as a member state of the Central European Empire.

[Sao Nova Europa]

EDITED

[Tracian Empire]

Commonwealth of Northern Socialist Council Republics
Nordiske Socialistiske Rådsrepublikkenes Samveldet

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As per the discussion, accepted

[Revlona]

Full Nation Name: Commonwealth of America
Territorial Core: The Continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Pacific Islands yet unclaimed.
Territorial Claim: Canada, the Caribbean
Capital City: Philadelphia
Flag: The Grand Union Flag

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Anglo-Americans
Other Cultures: French, Iberian, Nordic, and really any and all minority groups who fled to the new world.
Majority/Official Religion: Non-Catholic Christians make up the majority of the nations religious inclined citizens.
Population: 76,000,000

Governance

Government Type: Representative Republic
Government Ideology: While not an independent republic in the exact definition of the law, the founding fathers of American sovereignty paved a path of Enlightened Liberalism and Republicanism that the members of the Continental Congress still follow to this day.
Head of State: Queen Victoria
Head of Government: President William Mckinley
Government Description: Very similar to the IRL United States of America with a few key differences. Congress is a single Chambered legislative body simply called the continental congress with 10 members from each of the fifty states, they have similar powers of the irl American congress. The Presidential office is the same with the key difference that upon being elected, the President must be confirmed by the British Parliament and then approved by the reigning monarch. While neither has failed to happen in history and the requirement has turned mostly ceremonial, there have been times when it has been threatened to not be approved. Finally, the supreme court of the United States is the same, with the constitution instead being ratified in 1820.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: America is America, a extremely capitalist economy with strong ties of trade with the rest of the Empire.
Major Production: America produces many different products, ranging from civilian to military goods. If a need is great enough it can be found on the American Market. Agricultural, southern america is a massive exporter of cotton while the midwest is a major producer and exporter of wheat, corn, and dairy.
Economic Description: [[A description of your economy and industrial development]]

Military

Army Description: The Royal American Guard is the primary standing army of the American Commonwealth. With a standing force of 105,000 due to perceived Aztec and Nordic threats, the Guard is the largest standing force in the British Empire. With a doctrine of highly disciplined and well trained infantry supported by mass artillery and mechanised forces, the RAG is among the greatest land forces in the western hemisphere.
Naval Description: Irl American Navy of the Spanish-American War.
7 Battleships with 3 being commissioned within the year, another 3 within 2 years.
3 armoured cruisers
13 Protected Cruisers
16 TBDs laid down and on the way
18 torpedo Boats
whole bunch of auxiliary vessels
Air Force Description: The Royal American Air Service is the arm of the Commonwealths military focused on Airship warfare. With 9 airships termed as Battleships, 14 as heavy cruisers, 20 as light cruisers, and 22 as escorts, with perhaps 450 more light flyers and scout craft, the RAAS is perhaps one of the strongest air fleets in the world.
Further Military Description : While not entirely separate from the Guard, the Royal American Walker Forces are the arm of the Commonwealth military dealing in Walker warfare. With 2 mainline Walker variants the RAWF is a the heavy hitting spear head and support unit of the RAG. The GE-11 Rifleman is the most populous walker in RAWF hands with 8 independent battalions for a total of 406 units, The Rifleman is a lightly armored and highly mobile walker which carries a 57mm rifle with an underslung bayonet. The GE-20 Sasquatch is the heavy hitter of the RAWF with 6 independent platoons there are 30 GE-20s in service. With extremely heavy armor and 2 305mm cannons, the GE-20 is the epitome of fire support, both in direct and indirect capacity. Finally the GE-17 is the indirect support weapon of the RAWF, mounting a 30cm howitzer and quad legs it is aptly named the Bison. Their are 5 independent battery battalions with 90 GE-17s in total.

History and Aspirations

National Goals: Secure greater autonomy or even outright independence from great britain, secure more of the north american continent.
National Issues: Racism against non-angloamericans is prevalent, social classes are de facto a thing thanks to extremely wealthy individuals.
History:
1775- The Battle of Bunker hill ends with mass loss of life on both sides, nearly 2000 people are killed in the first true battle of what people now expect to be a long and bloody war in the colonies.
1776- Parliament, horrified by the loss of life at Bunker Hill, bequeaths great authority onto the Earl Carlisle and his peace commission, they are given authority to negotiate with the colonies and grant their requests with the sole exception of independence. Congress receives them and first puts forward a request for American independence which is swiftly denied, this being without a Deceleration of Independence as public opinion on such a move is hotly contested after bunker hill. Carlisle then puts forward the offer of self governance, autonomy, and many other items core to modern Commonwealth status in the Empire.
1777- The Treaty of Anglo-American Co-dependence is signed, ending the hostilities, and setting pardoning all who had taken part in the rebellion up to that point.
1785- The Treaty of Philadelphia is signed, guaranteeing the Commonwealth as the dominant British North American holding in North America and ceding crown control of all territory in North America (with the exception of the Carribean) to the Commonwealth.
1787- The British Parliament passes the Supremacy clause, reaffirming Americas right to self governance but also confirming that it had the right to legislate for the entire Empire still, including America.
1803- The Louisiana purchase is made. While officially sold to the British Empire, it was bought with American diplomacy and money and through the Treaty of Philadelphia immediately ceded to American governance.
1807- Parliament bans the importation of slaves throughout the Empire.
1808- Under pressure from Parliament, Congress bans the trade of slaves across state lines.
1810- Congress ratifies the American Constitution along with the Bill of Rights.
1819- Florida is purchased from Iberia in the same manner.
1821- The Seminole wars proceed in the same manner as irl.
1833- Parliament passes the Abolition Act, De Jure freeing slaves across the Empire. Southern slave owners see this as trampling on their rights and press congress to declare the Abolition Act null and void in the Commonwealth. Congress refuses.
1834- After Congress refusal and after several months of tension, a large gathering of wealthy slave owners and their states uses their influence to Revolt. John Jenkins War, named after the ring leader and South Carolinian slave owner John Jenkins, lasts 3 years and kills 100,000 people. Others have termed this event the American Civil War.
1837- John Jenkins War ends and John Jenkins himself is tried for high treason against the crown, sedition, and murder, and is hung in Philadelphia.
1844- Occupation of the Southern Commonwealth ends and several laws are added to the constitution which affirmed the Rights of former slaves as subjects of Her Majesty and citizens of the Commonwealth.
1850- Washington, California, and Oregon are officially made territories of the Commonwealth, officially ending Westward expansion on the Commonwealth in North America.
1855- Now Termed the "Pacific Expansion", starting in 1855 many American colonies are established throughout the many Islands of the Pacific, culminating in the crown jewel of the Pacific, Hawaii, being occupied.
1877- On the 100th year anniversary of the Treaty of Anglo-American Co-dependence, both Congress and Parliament sign the document once more, reaffirming their commitment to each other and the Empire.
1890- Following long periods of American business, the Kingdom of Hawaii is occupied and declared a territory of the Commonwealth.
RP Sample:

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[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name: The Roman Empire (Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων-Basileía Rhōmaíōn|Imperium Romanum), the Empire of the Romans (Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων-Basileia tōn Rhōmaiōn|Ἀρχὴ τῶν Ῥωμαίων-Archē tōn Rhōmaiōn|Imperium Romanorum). The phrase: the Emperor, Senate, and People of Rome (Η βασιλεύς Σύγκλητος και ο Λαός της Ρώμης - I Basileus Sýnklitos kai o Laós tis Rómis|Imperator Senatusque Populusque Romanus) is used to officially refer to the Roman state, which is also commonly referred to simply as Rome (Ρώμη-Rómi|Roma) or the New Rome (Νέα Ῥώμη-Néa Rómi|Nova Roma). Other names like the Roman Republic (Πολιτεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων-Politeia tōn Rhōmaiōn|Res Publica Romana) and Rhomania (Ῥωμανία|the Land of the Romans), or Rhomeis (Ῥωμαΐς|Rhōmais) with the derived (Βασιλεια Ρωμανια-Basileia Rhōmania|Imperium Romaniae) also exist.
Territorial Core:

Territorial Claim:

Capital City: Constantinople, Konstantinoupolis, the New Rome, the Second Rome, the Eastern Rome, Roma Constantinopolitana, the Queen of Cities, the Great City, the City of the Emperors, the Reigning City, the City, the God-Guarded City, the Great City of the Romans, the Throne of the Romans, the Eye of the World, the Envy of the World, the City of the World's Desire.
Flag:

• Flags
• Dynastic Banners
• Army Flags
• Naval Flags
• Greater Coat of Arms
• Lesser Coat of Arms
• Dynastic Emblem
• Chi-Rho Monogram

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Roman (Ρωμαϊκή-Romaïkí). The Roman view on the culture of its citizens is different from that of other nations, as it is based on the concept of Ρωμανότητα-Romanótita (Romanity, or Romanism). This is the idea of the Roman civilization and culture rather than the ethnic reality. The use of the true Roman language, the (Ρωμαικα-Romaika|Roman/ Roman language) what some may call “Greek”, the one true Orthodox Christian faith, and subordination to the imperial authority are the main pillars of this identity. Other cultures which refuse to acknowledge this divinely ordained scheme of things or dare to challenge are guilty of a form of heresy in the eyes of the Roman culture, to be pitied or to be condemned, as people of the nations (έθνη), and as barbarians (βάρβαροι). Such cultures present throughout the Empire are then actively persecuted using this reasoning, being forced to go through a cultural process known as Romanization, a process of acculturation, integration and assimilation.
Other Cultures: Albanians and Vlachs are the most notable minorities in the European side of the Empire, while Anatolia still has Armenians and Kurds. The Levant contains Arabs, Assyrians, Maronites, and small groups of Jews and Samaritans.
Majority/Official Religion: Imperial Roman Orthodox Church.
Population:~41 million

The total population in real life was around 35.879.661. The data I found combines estimates with the Ottoman censuses (one was done in 1881-1882, focused mostly on Anatolia and Europe, while the one from 1905 focused mainly on Iraq so it's not useful). The population of 35 million is roughly in between what Wikipedia says and what Populstat says, so it's a good middle ground.

I am increasing that base population of 35 million to 41 million, a 17% increase, which is based on avoiding the demographic collapse of the Byzantine provinces later in that empire's life, and on a much better advance of irrigation, infrastructure, and industrialisation when compared to the near collapse of the Ottomans.

Governance

Government Type: Caesaropapist absolute monarchy with bureaucratic and militaristic elements
Government Ideology: Monarchism, Roman and Orthodox traditionalism, Roman universalism
Head of State: Basileus Autokrator Mikhail Palaiologos Doukas Komnenos Ioustinianos Sebastos (Short Title)
His Imperial Majesty, Mikhael Palaiologos Doukas Komnenos Ioustinianos, in Christ Basileus and Autokrator of the Romans, Kaisar and Despot of the New Rome, Forever Sebastos and Sotiras, Sebastokrator and Nobelissimos, Porphyrogennetos, Viceroy of Jesus Christ on Earth, the Pious and the Blessed, Defender of the One True Orthodox Faith, Great Protector of the Holy Cities of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, Lord of Our Sea, Sovereign of the Holy Order of the True Cross, Grand Master of the Order of Saint Andrew, of the Order of Constantine the Great and of the Order of Justinian the Great, King of Kings, Ruling Over Those Who Rule (Grand Title)
Head of Government: Grand Logothete and Hypatos Alexandros Kantakouzenos
Government Description:

The Roman Empire is a highly administrative and bureaucratic caesaropapist absolute monarchy, with the Roman Emperor holding the supreme authority in both secular and religious matters. In practice however, the empire has certain elements which would belong to a more mixed type of government. The monarchy is of course, clearly embodied in the person of the Emperor, which rules the nation as a hereditary despotic autocracy. He is sacred, elected by God as the Viceroy of Jesus Christ, and is considered to be the law animate. All the authority in the state emanates from him.

Beneath the Emperor stands the bureaucracy, a well-developed civil-military administrative formed by offices that are arranged in a clear order. The administration is highly ceremonial and intricate, but also efficient and flexible, a dual legacy of the Empire's long existence. The most important officials are the Logothetes, who serve as ministers and secretaries of state with clearly specified functions.

While power is centralized in the capital, it is practically delegated in the themes (θέματα - thémata), provinces with a dual civilian and military role. The civilian administration is led by a governor known as a kephale (κεφαλή), while the provinces are also used for the administrative division of the military and the military recruitment, which is led by a person known as the strategos (ςτρατηγός).

The Senate, despite still being portrayed prominently alongside the Emperor in official phrases, is still limited in its powers, despite its authority having slowly expanded over the past century. The Senate is still de facto appointed, but in practice a considerable number of senators are chosen through a directly democratic system known as the acclamation of the demes, through which regular people in the Empire's major cities can acclaim their preferred candidates. Various organizations throughout the empire are asking for a great role for the Senate, and the notion of an elected Senate is perhaps one of the greatest popular wishes in the Empire at the moment.

The demes, previously mentioned, are chariot associations which play a political role through their position, one where they serve to express the popular will to the Emperor through their acclamation during the races, functioning as the equivalent of political parties in a way that bypasses the traditional restrictions on political organizations. The Blues (Βένετοι - Venetoi), are traditionally associated with the aristocracy, particularly the senatorial aristocracy in the major urban centers. They support an increased political role for an appointed Senate and checks on the power of the Emperor, but without further political concessions. The Greens (Πράσινοι - Prasinoi), are associated with the more progressive elements of the Empire's aristocracy, particularly the military aristocracy in Anatolia, and the bourgeoisie in the major urban centers. They support larger political concessions, included an elected Senate or a bicameral senate with an appointed upper chamber and an elected lower chamber, though they still wish to limit suffrage to land owners. The Whites (Λευκοὶ - Leukoi), have broken off from their past position as a junior partner of the Blues, and they advocate for more clearly liberal views, including a fully elected Senate, universal male suffrage, and a limiting of the powers of the aristocracy. Meanwhile the Reds (Ῥούσιοι - Rhousioi) are seen by many as the sole legally allowed social-democratic and socialist organization. They are a big tent of several different factions, ranging from those which simply support more rights for the workers, to those calling for the implementation of some socialist elements, to fully social-democratic and socialist positions.

A theocratic element is also present through the power of the Orthodox Church, which while subject to the Emperor's authority, is a rich and strong institution with an influence that can permeate the entire imperial administration.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Generally capitalist, but with a strong amount of state control.
Major Production: Agricultural products, iron, coal, minerals, silk, textiles clothing, industrial products
Economic Description:

A regional economic power, the Roman Empire is economically divided between its industrialized western provinces, like its European possessions and Asia Minor, and its still mostly agricultural and mining regions in the Levant. The Roman state has actively supported and encouraged the development of its industry for the past half century, but its Middle Eastern provinces have remained focused on agriculture, and in the past few decades, have started to shift towards the mining of Ki, which is of a much better quality than the lignite that is predominant in Anatolia.

The ultimate aim of the Roman economy is to increase the state revenues without damaging the prosperity of its citizens, in order to prevent the emergence of social disorder and to keep the traditional organization of the Roman society intact. The Empire attempts to exercise a formal control over interest rates, and to set the parameters for the activity of the guilds and corporations inside of the empire. In the last decades, the imperial government has slowly relaxed its control over trade, resulting to the development of capitalist elements in its developed provinces. The Roman Empire is also trade hub between Europe, Africa, and Asia, with its position, control over the states and control over the Pelusium Canal through its Exarchate of Egypt. The state still reserves the right to control its internal and the international trade if needed, maintaining a durable and flexible monetary system adaptable to its trade needs.

The western regions of the Roman state, are the most developed, from the point of view of infrastructure. The other regions of the empire are somewhat lacking, but railways unite most major cities, and many more are planned to be developed. Rhomania also maintains a vast and well-developed system of paved roads throughout all of its provinces, and most of its provinces enjoy a modern and significant network of irrigation systems, inherited through the centuries and modernized with each passing generation.

Military

Army Description:

The Roman Army (Ρωμαϊκός Στρατός- Romaïkós Stratós|Exercitus Romanum) is the land force of the Roman Empire. A direct and uninterrupted continuation of the Roman army of old and of its traditions, the Stratós is renowned for its level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, and the quality of its soldiers. The empire's military works on a system which combines compulsory conscription with a professional core and officer staff. The Roman soldiers themselves are still called "legionaries" (λεγεωνάριοι-legeonárioi), in part due to a culture that is still in many ways martial. Soldiers perform a personal oath to the Emperor and are followed in battle by priests and holy icons in order to increase morale.

The Stratós uses a conscription system that combines the old themata with more modern elements. The themes serve as the core organization unit of the army, transitioning from purposes of administration and of recruitment to becoming the equivalent of a corps once war is announced. All able-bodied citizens serve a three-year term in the main army, from which only a small core of professionals is kept during peacetime. The rest then spend four years in the active reserve, the Auxiliary Force (Συμμαχία- Simmakhía), which trains regularly and is ready to be mobilized in case of war. After that, the soldiers are moved into the normal reserve up to the age of 45, but a part of them can volunteer to join the Akritai(Aκρίται), local militia forces normally formed specifically in the border regions. They are specialized as irregular units to be used in case of an enemy invasion, using guerrilla tactics and their knowledge of the land in order to harass the invading forces. This system provides a large reserve force that can be mobilized in case of war, and the organization provides both a certain regional pride and loyalty to the units - being tied to their respective theme, but most of the army's units can trace their lineage even as far back as the creation of the themata system, or to the Roman units of the late Empire.

The officer corps is a professional institution, with a core of experienced, veteran officers, and at least in theory, it emphasizes the need of meritocratic advancement, but it still often tainted by aristocratic influence. The importance of having a good career, both for commoners seeking to climb the ranks, and for the members of the old military aristocracy seeking to maintain the tradition of their families means that the Empire does not lack candidates, but which also pressures officers to bring in results and victories in the field.

The army is overall also well equipped, as the empire has the industrial base to sustain its forces, and the interest to do so. As such, the imperial forces enjoy domestically produced bolt action rifles, machine guns, and artillery, and are also able to use a few unique weapons - mostly centered around Greek fire using flamethrower units, and experimental uses of the substance. Artillery has been a main focus of the Empire's military development, with the steam engine allowing them to develop larger and yet more mobile units. Tanks have also been developed, with a great focus on heavier "breakthrough tanks", known as cataphracts, that are meant to break through the enemy defenses alongside specialized infantry units that make extensive use of flamethrowers, artillery, and superior firepower.

In terms of strategy and tactics, the Romans have essentially developed their own theory, which focuses on defense in depth in general, and forward defence where possible. Wars have to be short and to be won before attrition can bog down the Roman forces and give the enemy the advantage, which is particularly important for a nation that has two potential enemies that are roughly of the same size as the Empire, and another enemy that is three times as large. On the borders that are easier to defend, fortifications and the use of mobile reserves are to make an enemy invasion as difficult as possible, weakening the enemy until a counterattack can be mounted, while in the regions which allow it, a strong and direct offensive is preferable to defeat the enemy before it can invade. In both situations, the Romans focus on superior firepower - making the enemy bleed while sparing Roman manpower. Defensive fortifications and trenches exist to blunt the enemy, while on the offensive, superior artillery, ground support from the air and extensive use of explosives and flamethrowers are meant to breach through trenches as quickly as possible.

Naval Description:

The Roman Navy (Ρωμαϊκό Ναυτικό-Romaïkó Nautikó|Classis Romanum) is the naval force of the Roman Empire. The Nautikó is a well-organized and moderately sized force in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is not a weak force, as its vessels are fairly modernized, and they do maintain a degree of discipline and organization like that of the army. Mainly oriented towards defense, and benefiting from a series of ports, bases, and forts along the coasts of the Empire, the Nautikó is a force that would deter enemies from attacking the Romans without thinking twice. As such, the Nautiko excels at defending the Roman coasts, the Bosporus, the Dardanelles and the Pelusium Canal, and it does so with the help of a strong network of coastal forts, with bases in important fortified islands such as Crete and Cyprus, with irregular naval forces formed by smaller ships which can harass the enemy with the help of the Aegean Sea's many islands and with the help of a very well organized minelaying effort that can be deployed in case of war. At the same time, the empire employs a moderately effective brown-water force on the Danube, with a strictly defensive and auxiliary role.

The network of defensive forts is from certain points of view a marvel, even more so than the Navy, with an excellent coastal defense augmented by the use of a secret weapon, the Greek or the Roman Fire, an extremely inflammable substance that can even burn on water. Even if it is no longer what it used to be, now in this era of ships of steel and steam, it is still employed on naval and coastal fortifications, and in defensive operations, while secret projects exist that are trying to use in various other ways. The defense of both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea is crucial for protecting Constantinople and keeping the enemy away from it.

For the fleets used further away from the empire, to patrol in the Indian Ocean and to reach for the Empire's interests in Hong Kong are organized differently, in smaller squadrons which emphasize the use of cruisers, and lately, marked by an effort to integrate battlecruisers into their system. Such fleets are not meant to be used in direct naval combat, but to allow the Nautiko to patrol and reinforce the areas it's interested in, or to shadow hostile forces. Generally speaking, the actual Imperial Navy very rarely sends forces away from the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, relying instead of the naval forces under the Exarch of Egypt.

Air Force Description:

]The Roman Aerial Legions(Ρωμαϊκές εναέριες λεγεώνες-Romaïkés enaéries legeónes) are the air force of the Roman Empire, and the youngest part of the Roman forces, having only developed during the Great War of 1877. ZThey is not a fully independent branch, as they answer to the Megas domestikos or the Megas doux respectively. The Aerial Legions have two broad roles - to defeat enemy air forces and to ensure the protection of the skies, and to then use their position to support the army or the navy. Roman airships are colloquially called dromon, or air dromon (αέρας δρομών), in the honor of the Roman galleys of old. The main focus of the Empire is on the so called chelandion (χελάνδιον), large battleships that have the dual role of defeating other airships with their large assortment of heavy calibre guns, and providing ground support with guns and bombs. They are usually assisted by the moneres (μονήρης), smaller airships with a focus on speed which act as escorts, and the sandalion (σανδάλιον), one or two men airships that function as fighters, being even faster and being normally only armed with machine guns. Gyrocopters are a more recent addition to the Aerial Legions, and they're generally only used for ground support or for scouting.

The Romans have also been experimenting with the use of incendiary bombs filled with Roman fire, to be used against enemy troops, due to the ability of the substance to be spread on larger areas and to stick to its targets.

Further Military Description :

The Varangian Guard (Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων - Tágma tōn Varángōn) is an elite unit of the Roman Army, having been created in the 10th century under Emperor Basil II. The Varangians are different from the rest of the units of the Roman Army, as their ranks are mostly formed by foreigners. The Guard is no longer formed only by men of Nordic or Germanic heritage, but the Varangians still maintain the traditions of their unit.

Varangians are only recruited from among foreigners, though, the Romans normally avoid recruiting their guards from neighboring countries and declared enemies, and they usually also attempt to recruit from only the best candidates. They must be able to fight both as a conventional army unit, armed with rifles, but also in unconventional situations and in close quarters combat. They are also trained to perform bodyguard, ceremonial and police duties. They serve as the Emperor's personal bodyguards, swearing an oath of loyalty to him. Their loyalty is in most cases, unquestionable, they are extremely well paid, and they enjoy a sense of prestige that can rarely be found somewhere else. When the monarch natural death, the Varangians have the unique right of running to the imperial treasury and taking as much gold and as many gems as they could carry.

It is a tradition for most of the Varangians to have long hair, and all of them wear red rubies in their left ears. Their ceremonial uniforms are decorated and ornamented with dragons sewn on their shirts and tunics. Their Guard is organized as a tagma unit, commanded by a trusted, native Roman officer known as the Akolouthos (Aκόλουθος). The unit itself is traditionally divided into two. The Hetaireia (Ἑταιρεία-the Company), formed by those Varangians known as the Companions (Εταίροι), is the part of the Varangian Guard directly responsible for guarding the Emperor and the members of the imperial family, while the Warriors (Πολεμιστές-Polemistés) are those Varangians which are used as a regular army unit.

The Palatine Schools (Σχολαί Παλατιναι-Scholaí Palatinai|Scholae Palatinae) are an elite unit of the Roman Army. Even if they have lost their role as the main guards of the Roman Emperor, they continue to exist as a separate military formation. Formed by native Romans, the Schools are used as guards in Constantinople and other important cities, but also as special forces deployed during the critical moments of a battle. The entire unit is organized as a tagma, with each individual school being organized as a tourma, though, it should be noted that the Schools do not follow the exact same organization in terms of numbers as the regular army.

The Scholai are led by an officer known as the Domestic of the Schools (Δμέστικος τῶν Σχολῶν- Domestikos tōn Scholōn). This elite guard is divided between multiple so called "schools", each of them with its own origin, emblem, history, and name.

• The Exkoubitoi or Exkoubitores (Excubiti|Ἐξκούβιτοι, "the Sentinels"). Established by Emperor Leo I, the currently serve a role similar to the Varangian Companions. They guard the Emperor and the members of the imperial family. During times of war, they have the honor of guarding the Emperor's camps.
• The Vigla (Βίγλα, "guard watch") another one of the Schools. Smaller in terms of the numbers of its members, it has the honor of guarding the imperial palaces and other important buildings under the Emperor's authority.
• The Noumeroi (Νούμεροι, from the Latin numerus, "number"), are a unit used as an elite police force. They started as one of the garrison regiments of Constantinople, tasked with guarding the Great Palace and the Noumera prison. Now, while they still sometimes retain their position as prison guards, they are mainly used as a shock force in internal affairs, against internal dissent, and in order to maintain public order.
  
• The Hikanatoi (Ἱκανάτοι|"the Able Ones") are a specialized unit of the schools, mostly used for covert and guerrilla operations.
• Teichistai (Τειχισταί) or the Schole tōn Teicheōn (Σχολή τῶν Τειχέων|" School of the Walls"), are another really old unit. They started as the regiment of the Schools manning the walls of Constantinople, and they have evolved to become an elite unit specialized in defensive operations, like protecting forts and defending rivers and mountain passes.
• The Optimatoi(Ὀπτιμάτοι|"the best"), are an unit of the Schools specialized in performing missions with a very low rate of survival. As their name might indicate, they follow a different recruitment system, taking their members directly from among the elite veterans of the army and the navy.
• The Immortals (Ἀθάνατοι - Athanatoi) are an elite cavalry unit, created in the 10th century. Probably inspired by the old Immortal Guard of the Persian Empire, today they are used as an elite unit of cavalry, with a particular emphasis on their use in the desert and for raiding and reconnaissance.
• The Archontopouloi ( Ἀρχοντόπουλοι|"sons of the Archons") is the smallest of the Schools. It is most often considered to be a palace officer-training corps, and it is formed by orphans of Roman officers and soldiers who have died in battle. The orphans are taken by the state immediately after the deaths of their fathers, and they are trained and indoctrinated, turned into a loyal unit that is often described as fanatic.

The Eastern Romans have for nearly a thousand years used a particular inflammable substance, known by many names. The "sea fire" (πῦρ θαλάσσιον - pŷr thalássion), "Roman fire" (πῦρ ῥωμαϊκόν - pŷr rhōmaïkón), "war fire" (πολεμικὸν πῦρ - polemikòn pŷr), "liquid fire" (ὑγρὸν πῦρ - hygròn pŷr), "sticky fire" (πῦρ κολλητικόν - pŷr kollētikón), or "manufactured fire" (πῦρ σκευαστόν-pŷr skeuastón). Or as it is known to the West – Greek fire.
It is a highly combustible substance that can burn even on water, and the exact secret of the compound has been kept secret by the Romans for more than a millennium now. It was developed around 672 AD and it was used to great success in the two Arab sieges of Constantinople, becoming an integral part of the tactics and weapons of both the Roman Army and the Roman Navy. Its naval use was a lot more widespread from the beginning, but the beginning of the industrial era has limited its effectiveness, though its use by the military is increasing through the improvement of old concepts like the flamethrowers, or the development of new concepts like incendiary bombs.
The part of the Roman military that deals with the Greek fire can be in many ways described as an almost a caste. The actual secret of the composition is known only to two men – the Emperor and his successor, while three handpicked chemists who oversee its production each know a part. The production itself is highly divided and compartmentalized, so that no single manufacturer has the entire recipe, with the entire process closely guarded by the , the Roman secret police, and this in turn is also the Greek fire’s greatest weakness – all the precautions taken in order to keep the production a secret means that the Romans are unable to mass-produce it on an industrial scale.
The caste-like connotations continue to its actual usage. Those in charge of the fire, whether in the navy or the army are known as “fire-wielders” (πυρχειριστές - pirkhiristés), and have a special status when compared to normal soldiers.
The Romans use the fire in a few different forms. In the Navy, the fire continues to be used through a tubular projector known as (σίφων - siphon). The evolution of military ships has greatly reduced the role of such projectors, so they have been mostly relegated to coastal forts and coastal defense ships. In the Army, the fire is used through a hand-held projector, a flamethrower, known as a hand-siphōn (cηειροσιπηōν - cheirosiphōn). Experimental fire bombs also exist and are planned to be used by the air force.

History and Aspirations

National Goals: A series of reforms meant to strengthen the Empire and to avoid the fall of its autocratic system, continuing the development trade relations with the Oriental nations, improving the Empire's diplomacy, resolving the tense relations with the West.
National Issues: A heavy and often cumbersome bureaucracy and administration, tensions between the aristocracy and the general population, a general desire for more reforms conflicting with the conservatism of the government, the rising popularity of movements demanding democratic concessions, the rising popularity of workers’ movements, conflicts with some the neighbors, a navy that might not necessarily match the empire's ambitious foreign policy, religious tensions between Orthodox Christians, Oriental Christians, and Muslims, a resistance against Romanization in certain parts the Middle East, differences between more developed regions and those who are still underdeveloped, and a geographical and regional position that is a double edged blade.
History:

• 1071 - After losing the Battle of Manzikert, Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes is captured and then released by the Seljuk Sultan. With the Mamluk guards the Sultan had given him, Romanos captured Andronikos Doukas, the traitor who had caused the rout of the Roman army during the battle. Romanos, the Mamlukes and his loyalists then clashed with the traitor Roussel de Bailleul and his mercenaries, killing him. Romanos remained in Anatolia for a few more years, strengthening the remaining garrisons, his survival also guaranteed the survival of the treaty he had signed with the Seljuks, meaning that most of Anatolia was spared from a heavy Turkish invasion. After his eventual death at the hands of his co-emperor, Michael VII Doukas, years later, the Seljuks moved against the Romans but they did not have the success they did in real life.
• 1081-1186 - Under the Komnenoi dynasty, starting with Alexios the Great, the Romans rallied against the Seljuks. Alexios called for Western help, being surprised by the movement of the Crusades, but with the Roman army in a much better position, they were able to fight alongside the Crusaders and to force at least a de jure recognition that the Crusader states were to become Roman vassals. Relations eventually broke down, leading to the Roman-Crusader Wars, but under a series of highly competent military Emperors, the Empire recovered significant territory in both Asia and Europe.
• 1186-1204 - The last Komnenoi emperor, Andronikos I Komnenos, was overthrown by the new Angeloi dynasty, which in their short reign proved to be one of the worst dynasties the Romans have ever had. Also known as the "Decades of Anarchy", their period of rule was marked by palace coups, internal conflicts, civil war, and a collapse of imperial authority. The Muslims and the Crusaders reconquered parts of the Levant, the remaining Slavs revolted in the Balkans, and many other conflicts weakened the state, which proved to be unable to maintain the centralized and highly professional army of the Komnenoi Emperors, while theme system, long ignored, was unable to provide reinforcements. The Roman state essentially started to crumble, and this all culminated in the Fourth Crusade, which the Venetians diverted from its original purpose of striking against Egypt in order to support the claims of an Angeloi claimant. The Crusaders besieged the city and took advantage of the disarray of the Roman forces to break through the coastal walls, but the defenders were rallied by megas doux Alexios Palaiologos, a military official and relative of the Komnenoi dynasty. The Romans managed to take advantage of the fact that the Crusaders had started to sack the city and that their cohesion had been broken, and recovered the walls, while using Greek fire to burn Venetian ships. The Crusaders inside the city were massacred, and the city was saved. Alexios Palaiologos married Princess Eirene Komnenoi and was acclaimed Emperor by the people of Constantinople.
• 1204-1261 - The Latinokratia (Rule of the Latins) marked the period in which Catholic principalities were formed throughout former Roman territories with the help of the Venetians, including a Latin Empire in Thessaloniki, led by Count Baldwin of Flanders who married an Angeloi princess. This was combined with a civil war, as several other claimants refused to recognize the new dynasty, including an Angeloi state in Nikaea, a branch of the Komnenoi family in Trebizond, and in Epirus under the Doukai family. This was a general period of war and conflict, even worse than the Decades of Anarchy, and were marked progressive massacres against the Orthodox population by the Catholics, who were hoping to occupy all former Roman territories as a new Catholic Roman Empire, and then to continue with Crusades against the Muslims. The Palaiologoi, centered in Constantinople, began a campaign of reunification and reform, earning the support of the Ecumenical Patriarch and of the Orthodox Church, which proved to be fundamental in their reconquest. The new dynasty first dealt with internal dissent, conquering the rebel areas and strengthening their claim through marriage - the son of Alexios Palaiologos, Andronikos Palaiologos, married an Angeloi princess, while his son, Michael Palaiologos, married a Doukai princess. Andronikos Palaiologos, now known by the epithet "Soter", the Saviour, died in 1248, and he was followed to the throne by his son. Michael, with a more secure position, focused on the Latin states - culminating in 1261 with liberating the old co-capital of the Empire, Thessaloniki, and the destruction of the Latin Empire. This was however done at the expense of the security of the eastern borders, which soon led to other wars with the Turks.
• 1261 - 1491 - The Palaiologoi restoration deeply reformed the empire, with reforms in nearly all fields. The new emperors were particularly careful to restore the system of the themes that had been so necessary for the protection of the empire before, fighting aggressively against the pronoia system and feudal elements, centralizing power and expanding the imperial bureaucracy. A proper Imperial fleet was restored, and by the mid 1300's it began aggressive campaigns against the Venetians and the remaining Latin states in the Eastern Mediterranean islands. Crete, Naxos, Cyprus and Corfu were all recovered, one by one, as the Romans took advantage of the wars Venice had in Italy, and defeat its remaining forces in the east in the Second Battle of Cephalionia. On land, the major rivals of the Palaiologoi were the Serbians in the Balkans and the Ottoman dynasty of the Seljuks in Asia. To counter the Seljuks, better diplomatic relations were sought with the Christian-leaning Ilkhanate of the Mongol Empire. In a major diplomatic breakthrough, Michael married his daughter, Maria Palaiologina, to Abagha Khan, which further strengthened Christian influence among the Mongols. The Mongol-Roman alliance bore fruit as at the behest of his father in law, the Mongol khan conquered the Empire of Trebizond for the Romans, quashing the Megas Komnnenos claimants, and let his soldier plunder their way through the Seljuk lands. Michael's successor, Andronikos II Palaiologos, oversaw the destruction of the Seljuk state, with the fall of their capital of Sivas (formerly the Roman Sebastia).
  Despite their military focus, the Palaiologoi did not want to repeat the mistakes of the soldier emperors at the beginning of the millennia, and sponsored artists and scholars, leading what would become known as the "Roman Renaissance", while also establishing libraries in most major cities of the Empire - unwilling to repeat the risk of losing them all as when the imperial libraries in Constantinople were nearly set on fire by the Crusaders. Diplomatically, the Palaiologoi attempted to improve relations with the Papacy, which had opposed the Fourth Crusade and had excommunicated its leaders, and to perhaps mend the Great Schism, though that was not to be. This, combined with the establishment of good relations with some of the Italian states that had opposed Venice led to greater communications between Constantinople and Italy, with Italian scholars coming to learn in the East - and leading to the Great Renaissance of Europe.
• 1491 - 1600 - With the borders secured, further Palaiologoi continued to strengthen the empire, waging continuous wars. In the West, successive emperors managed to restore the Danube border and to reconquer what had once been Bulgaria and attempted to avert other possible conflicts with Catholic states by establishing buffer vassal states, but this brought them into conflict with other European states. This led to many conflicts between the Romans and the Hungarians, and later on with several Roman-Habsburg conflicts, although most of them were resulted with compromises and neither side believed it had the resources for a full war, and both sides had issues elsewhere, resulting the permanent crystallization of this system of buffer states.
  Meanwhile in the East, the Romans began a massive conflict with the Mamluk Sultanate and the Caliphate, as the Romans finally went on the offensive. Antioch was liberated in 1510, Damascus had fallen in 1521, and despite setbacks like the defeat in the Battle of Sidon, the Romans gained the upper hand, liberating Jerusalem in1528. This led to a rapid decline of the Mamluk Sultanate, and with collapse of the Mamluks as a threat, and the end of the Golden Horde to the north, the relations the Romans and the Ilkhanate rapidly cooled. With the reasons for their alliance gone, tensions over exact borders between Anatolia, the Levant, and Persia led to a rebirth of the old rivalry between the Romans and the Persians. The Romans wished to restore their old border in the east, and the perceived barbarian status of the Mongols, along with religious disagreements between Orthodoxy and Nestorianism made a war inevitable. The Mongols attacked first, the Romans managed to defend their cities and to annihilate a Mongol force, only for their counterattack to end in blood. Different players, but the same old war that had been fought since before the birth of Christ. New tactics and weapons however did make their mark - unlike the underdeveloped Mamluk forces, the Mongols made use of cannons, arquebuses, and modern formations, forcing the Romans to once again adapt. After three years, the first war ended without any major changes, but the strategic situation had changed rapidly for the Romans. Defense against the Ilkhanate became the main objective of the Roman strategy, and the focus shifted to once again fortifying the eastern border, with Dara as the centerpiece, a fort created with the help of Western engineers. Once that was done, the Romans once again turned towards Egypt. The Mamluks had been desperately trying to recover their forces and to modernize them with European advisors and mercenaries, but their treasury was empty, and their economy and agriculture collapsing. The Romans, having learned their lessons in the war in the East, won a massive victory in the Battle of Khan Yunis in 1538, which proved the superiority of the Roman approach of using muskets and cannons. A few more battles in Egypt proper ended with the liberation of Alexandria in 1541, but although the Mamluk armies disintegrated, the population proved hostile to its conquest by a Christian power, and more than once the Muslims rebelled, both in Egypt and in the Levant. It was only with the defeat of the Great Arab Revolt of 1561 that the Levant and Egypt were secured, but the military effort spend on pacifying the newly acquired provinces weakened the Roman state. The Romans began to use the native Christian population, Maronites, Syriacs, Assyrians and Copts in order to better govern their newly acquired territories, and a general policy of acceptance was extended upon the now Muslim subjects of the Roman state, not too dissimilar from the earlier policies of the Muslim states in regards to the Christians. Direct efforts to convert them were avoided, instead indirect cultural and and economic policies were used to promote new Christian elites. Religious attempts to mend the schism with the Oriental Orthodox Churches failed, approaches were made, with both churches recognized each other as spiritual brothers and as having validly apostolic priesthoods.
• 1600-1790 - The next century was one most profoundly marked by a certain decline. The liberation of Egypt and of the Levant had essentially accomplished the main goal of the Roman state ever since the times of Nikephoros Phokas, and the difficulty of reimposing imperial rule in what had become a foreign land in the last thousand years was slowly sapping Rhomania's resources, combined with the necessity of maintaining a long fortified border with the Mongols. This was somewhat countered by the newly found access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Without having to face Muslim intermediaries, Roman merchants once again developed their role in the trade with Asia, establishing contacts with Asian nations directly. Conflicts with the Ilkhanate however continued. The Mongols, which in the latter part of the 16th century had tried to expand their influence in Arabia and in Ethiopia, to limit and encircle the Romans, and with their power grown, they became Constantinople's main rival. Throughout the 1700's, three more wars were fought between the two Middle Eastern states, all costly in lives, but with the border moving slower to the east each time. After the Fourth Roman-Mongol War, the Romans reached Lake Van, or Thospitis limne as they knew it, for the first time since the 11th century.
  While the nation prospered economically, a certain distance began to form between it and Europe. In the 18th Century, the Palaiologan Enlightenment saw attempts by a series of Emperors to reinforce their autocratic rule through an Orthodox form of enlightened despotism, while Egypt, reorganized into an Exarchate, became more and more autonomous.
• 1790-1848 - The Revolutionary Wars in Europe caught the Roman Empire unprepared, despite the already existing spreading of Enlightened and revolutionary ideals among its population. The Era of the Four Revolts, as it was known, gripped the empire at the end of the 18th century, with Muslims in the Levant, Kurds in Anatolia, and Albanians in the Balkans revolting against the autocratic rule of the Roman Basileus, while uprisings in Constantinople, Athens, and Thessaloniki were made by the Filiki Eteria, the Society of Friends, a revolutionary organization with republican and liberal ideas which emphasized them by seeking inspiration from the ancient Hellenic city states like Athens. Combined with a series of foreign wars, the Empire struggled to contain the revolts. Justin III abdicated, and he was replaced with his energetic son, Manuel IV, who requested help from the Exarchate of Egypt. Reforming the military, and making great use of the Varangians and of the troops from Egypt, Manuel crushed the revolts without mercy, but also initiated an era of reforms known as the Anadiorgánosi (Αναδιοργάνωση), which expanded the role of the Senate and of the demes, increased the role of education, ended serfdom and slavery in the Levant, earning him the nickname of "the Liberator" (Ελευθερωτής). His death was followed by the reign of Ioannes IV, a markedly indecisive monarch who continued his father's policies of economic and military reform but attempted to limit political reforms. This led to the 1848 Student Revolt, named as such due to its origin in the University of Constantinople, which argued for liberal reforms like a fully elected Senate. Initially granted by Ioannes, the reforms scared the aristocracy, which forced him to abdicate and replaced him with his son, Alexios XII, who used the military to crush the revolt.
• 1848-1890 - The reign of Alexios XII is commonly known as the "New Autocracy" (Νέα Αυτοκρατορία - Néa Aftokratoría). Educated in both European and traditional Roman ways, Alexios firmly supported the necessity of reform, but also strongly believed in his own divine right and duty to rule the empire as an autocratic monarch. Industrialization was accelerated, although hampered by the use of lignite, and technological development was promoted both directly, with the use of state contracts, and indirectly, by expanding higher education. The Basileus himself was a strong proponent of new technologies, and many Roman firsts were marked during his reign, including the first airship, and the development and opening of the Pelusium Canal. The aggressive expansion of industry, along with the associated elements like the rural-urban migration, and the impact of new technologies on the life of regular people left the Empire radically changed in the wake of the reign of Alexios. Constantinople, a city of marble and gold, was now as much of a city of iron and steam, with train and airships connecting its cities, and clockwork automata serving as the pinnacle of Roman ingenuity. Workers' strikes and uprisings were crushed several times throughout his reign, and the rise of socialism convinced Constantinople that it was a thread, leading to the ban on all socialist organizations, and attempts to keep workers away from such positions, through the first decrees for the rights of workers, and the establishment of kollegia, state and church sponsored associations with inspiration from the ancient Roman collegia and the old guilds, intended to replace workers' unions. Political movements were also funneled through the demes, which became the principal associations which could express political views in the Empire.
• 1890-1900 The death of Alexios XII led to the ascension to the throne of Andronikos V Internally, he began campaigns against the non-citizens in the East, he further limited the Senate, and relied heavily on the aristocracy and the Blue deme. His reign marked an increase in the power of the messengers (ἀγγελιαφόροι - angeliaphóroi), the Roman secret police, and an aggressive foreign policy that further antagonized many of Rhomania's neighbors. The military however benefited from his reign, with the expansion of the Aerial Legion, and the production of the first tanks and walker prototypes. Andronikos died in his sleep in December 1899, and was followed by his son, Michael X Palaiologos.

RP Sample: Here

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

[Empire of Techkotal]

Full Nation Name: Die deutsche Hanse / The German Hanseatic League
Territorial Core: Colonies of the Central European Empire + Hanseatic cities within said empire
Territorial Claim: Danzig, Königsberg and Riga
Capital City: Hamburg
Flag:

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: German
Other Cultures: Congolese, Papuan, South African
Majority/Official Religion: Lutheran Protestantism
Population: 30.733.136
Hanse Cities: 3.026.000

Colonies: 28.707.000

1 German South Africa: 5.000.000
2 Kongo dya Ntotila/ Kingdom of Kongo: ca. 23.000.000
3 German Papua: 501.000
4 Suriname: 86.000
Others: ca 120.000

Governance

Government Type:Federal Republic
Government Ideology: [[OPTIONAL]] Capitalism
Head of State: Emperor
Head of Government: Geschäftsführer Klaus Dödelbecker
Government Description: The Hanseatic League is a federal republic with the cities acting as federal states. The citizens of the cities elect their own local government the town council and their representatives for the Hansetag, but not all votes are equal. The voting power of the individual depends on his wealth.

The Hansetag elects the Geschäftsführer, who form the government. The Geschäftsführer also acts as the representative of the League to the emperor. Furthermore he oversees the colonial empire of the Hanse and appoint the governors of the colonial governments and he is capable of engaging in diplomacy on behalf of the Hanse not the empire. As such the empire may not always support the Hanse.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Capitalist
Major Production: The cities of the Hanse produce mainly rubber products, ships and airships and large caliber guns for the empire, while the Kongo produces rubber and refines it, it produce gold and diamonds used in the local jewelry production and the mined copper is mainly sold to Germany. South Africa on the other hand as one of the few modern colonies in the world produces all sort of things from agricultural exports like meat to plantations with citrus fruits, sugar cane peanuts and tobacco, though the country is mostly know for its extensive mining operations. It is the largest African steel producer and produces ample amounts of armaments and industrial goods. In Suratte the main production is pepper and agricultural products.

Economic Description:
The Hanseatic League's rush for steam began quite early with the adoption of steam engines, bought from Britain, in their dockyards as water pumps. But due to political instability and the northern war in the early 19th century the industrial development in Europe stalled and was only continued in the Hanseatic colonies. During the years of political instability the government and the merchant families had moved to the colonies. There large factories were constructed, the infrastructure was improved and a school system was established to produce a new qualified generation of workers. As such German South Africa soon outpaced the Hanseatic League in terms of production. This means that the European Hanseatic industrial sector is a bit behind in terms of investments compared to the settler colony of German South Africa.

Even though the government and many merchant families returned with after the end of the occupation to Europa, the old trade cities had been severely damaged and suffered from neglect. In a bid to catch up with the rest of Europe that was quickly developing the Hanseatic League lowered interest charges dramatically and invested large sums of many into their ports and modernization efforts. The new wave of capital in Germany lead to rapid growth in the industry. With many cooperation's from the HRE lending themselves money from the League. With increasing stability and rising profits from the colonies and trade the Hanseatic League started to pay of their debts.

The Hanseatic League has since then become a modernized economy in northern Europe although its small size in continental Europa makes them one of the smaller industrial competitors. As such the Hanseatic cities have become very specialized.The financial market of Hamburg is one of the worlds leading and the specialized Hanseatic airship production, focusing on large transport airships, is the best in the world. With their newest model allowing up to 500 tons to be transported all the way over the Atlantic. The airship transports of the Hanseatic league and their construction airships are unique in the world, but also expensive. While the colonial empire of the Hanseatic league is at least in Africa the most modern and developed of them all. The industrial output of German South Africa is already above that of the Hanse cities and the Kongo kingdom is quickly catching up.

Military

Army Description: The Hanseatic Schutztruppe consists out of 80.000 soldiers ready to die for the fatherland and around 110.000 reservists. They are special trained soldiers equipped with the best European weapons the arms market can offer and they are usually deployed in the colonies in case of uprisings, but their purpose is more offensive. Their purpose is to fight other regular troops and armies. Which is why they have fields guns and heavy artillery.

The settler army of South Africa is part of all operations of the Hanse, which are fought outside of Europe. As such they can also be grouped together with the Congolese forces, in case the Hanseatic Schutztruppe is bound to fights in Europa. They have a force of 30.000 soldiers and a reserve force of another 190.000 soldiers. The South African troops also operate small steam tanks, which is not much more then a steam tractor armed with either a canon or a machine gun. Depending on the canon size its in a turret or in the chassis. They are lightly armored, but thanks to that and their relatively large tracks they can be deployed in jungles and moors. They were developed with these characteristics in mind as rebellions in the Congo most often occur in the vast jungles.

Naval Description: The Hanseatic navy has been modernized after the great war and with their renewed colonial focus more ships were constructed. Though some of the funding, which would normally be given to the navy was given to the new experimental force of airships. There has been a heavy focus on cruisers, as they are the ships which will most likely fight in colonial wars, due to their long range.

As such the Modern Hanseatic fleet numbers:
6 Battleships
5 armored cruisers
17 unprotected cruisers
4 Torpedo boat destroyers
3 Torpedo boats.

Air Force Description : The Hanseatic ballon force originates from the first experimental usage of balloons with artillery observers and communication balloons. The airships are all prototypes and have no common tactic. With the increasing worldwide attention to the Principe of airships in modern warfare, the Hanse tested their feasibility and the result was rather mixed. While they were surely capable of bringing great destruction to the enemy. They were rather big targets in the sky, slow, lightly armored and the earlier models were not really stable gun platforms. Newer models fair better in terms of gun handling and aiming not to mention, that they are better armed and armored especially thanks to the advancements in Ki technology and implementation. With their increasingly better performance the budget allocated to mechs and land cruisers went to airships.

The current airship fleet consists out of:
2 Goliath Air battleship
3 air heavy cruisers
6 light air cruisers
11 observation airships

Further Military Description :

The Congo army:

The Congo kingdom fields an impressive army of 250.000 Askari soldiers. The army is up to modern standards and self sufficient. Congolese ammunition and guns factories produce nearly all the weapons needed and artillery is imported from South Africa. The Congolese army is well structured and has good officers. The army is used in combination with the South African troops and forms the backbone of the African army. In case of a larger war they will act together with South Africa and the Hanses Schutztruppe.


Papua has a force of 10.000 personnel. Which is employed in the local forts and as local militia.

Suriname has only 2.500 soldiers.

History and Aspirations

National Goals: Regain its position as a great power or at least stabilize the current position.
National Issues: The Hanses dwindling influence and eventuality of the Congo rebelling should things go south.

1143 Reconstruction of Lübeck and first recorded mentioning of the Hanse. The Hanse operated as a sort of security group formed by merchants to protect themselves.
1159 The Hanse purchases ground in London for the construction of the "Stallhof".
1160 Lübeck receives the Soedster City right.
1161 The Hanse merchants were equalized with the Godlandic merchants through the Artlenburger Privileg.
1200 After a fight between Godlandic and German merchants, the Hanse establishes the Petershof in Novgorod.
1250 The Staufer emperor Fredrick II. dies. The protection the merchants enjoyed as "mercatores imperii" vanishes. On request of the merchants many cities come together to establish diplomatic ties with each other
which ensure security and fair trade laws.
1270 The Hanseatic cities further grew together and trade in they started to dominate the east and north sea as the largest merchant group (and the only one backed by dozens of cities). The Hanseatic merchants get
privilege rights in the Hanseatic cities.
1300 The Hanse expands south to Italy.
1356 The first Hansetag began. The Hanseatic cities came together to embargo Flanders. This meeting also see the Hanseatic League further unifying.
1361 Conflict with the Kalmar Union over trade in the North and the Baltic sea erupted with an indecisive war in the following years. With both powers starting a fierce rivalry over trade in the Baltic and North sea,
while consolidating their hold on their respective side of the sea.
1400 The Hanseatic League grew to over 200 cities all over Europa.
1420 The Hanseatic league proved itself later in the fight against the pirate association of the Vitali brothers, who were being supported by the town of Emden.
1435 Faced with the growing influence over ever more centralized territorial states and decreasing trade margins for the merchants, the towns of Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck found the Hanseatic Federal republic as a
counterweight to the territorial states surrounding them.
1450 Through changes in technology the Hanseatic league had been left behind. Many trading offices became obsolete and had to be closed and due to many ports being to small for larger ships types the trade margins
for German merchants further diminished. The Hanseatic Republic took in new cities with the offer of modernization and the allocating of much needed funds for smaller cities to increase their port size.
1460 The first Geschäftsführer was appointed at the Hansetag in Lübeck.
1480 Establishment of the first colony of the Hanseatic League on Sao Tome and Principe.
1483 Established Contact with the Kingdom of the Congo.
1489 A new colony was founded on the Virgin Islands.
1491 Establishment of a colony on ST. Helena.
1497 Established a colony in the region of Suratte in India.
1523 The war on piracy begins. The Hanseatic League now sends armed ships to protects its merchants. Special fleets are build to seek out pirates and kill them.
1555 A colony gets established at the Cape of good hope.
1569 After explorers reached Papua a colony is established.
1573 The Hanseatic League recruits colonists in order to make its colonies more self sufficient, due to a lack of exploitable natives.
1600 The city of Kapstadt gets recognized as a Hanseatic city and is allowed into the Republic as a federal city.
1618 Start of the thirty years war. The Hanseatic League remains neutral for the first years and later joins the Catholics. They help the Catholics in a successful campaign against the dutch.
1648 End of the 30 years war. The Hanseatic League focuses more on trade with the colonies after trade in Europa has broken down.
1650 Establishment of the colony of German Suriname.
1669 Saw the establishment of a coastal city in the kingdom of the Kongo.
1675 After several attacks from natives in South Africa a Expeditionary Corps is send to improve the situation. The commanding military leader is a seasoned veteran from other colonies known for his brutality.
1676 The first all out German African war starts in South Africa.
1678 During a war of succession between Kimpanzu and Kinlanza, sensing an opportunity the Hanse sends a mercenaries army to aid Kimpanzu and ensuring his rise to the throne. In return the Hanse merchants were
granted privileges and the Hanseatic mercenaries became the new de facto Congolese army.
1692 After several years of Guerrilla warfare the South African tribes near the colony are beaten and put into special camps, where their population "unexpectedly" declines.
1702 German pirates operating from Papua run wild in the pacific.
1705 The Hanse establishes several trade offices in the Congo kingdom and sends advisors to king Kimpanzu.
1708 The Hanse establishes further administrative offices in the Congo to help out with the tax collection. The offices are tasked with conducting a census and collecting the shells from the local population.
1723 King Kimpanzu dies. His underage son was to young to take the throne. So the Hanseatic advisors take over as regents. A bloody war with the local elite starts.
1729 The local elite was either crushed or switched sides.
1732 The young heir ascends the throne as an absolute Monarch. Who relies on a Hanseatic army, Hanseatic bureaucracy and Hanseatic advisors.
1749 The Hanse sends an admiral to Papua, with the task of stopping pirat activities and further strengthening the colony through the construction of several forts and the construction of a large port for their new
naval ships.
1763 Fredrick of Brandenburg unexpectedly declares war on Saxony threatening the current status quo in the HRE. The Hanse decide to go to war with Brandenburg.
1771 The Hanse manages to force Frederick back.
1778 The Hanse orders a large amount of steam engines from Boulton and Watt's, starting the industrial revolution for the Hanse. Although the engines were only used for pumping water out of mine shafts in the
colonies and across Germany.
1789 With the Kalmar Union in turmoil the Hanse gathers its fleet to blockade the Union. Effectively blocking the revolutionaries from the north sea.
1792 As the Kalmar Union transforms into the first Scandinavian Republic the monarchies of the HRE join a coalition against the new found Republic. As a result of this, Hanseatic privateers were allowed and encouraged
to attack Scandinavian ships.
1796 The battle of Jutland between the Hanseatic and the Scandinavian navy takes place. The Hanseatic navy losses badly and the blockade gets lifted.
1797 Scandinavian troops siege Lübeck and Hamburg. The Hanseatic government flees to German South Africa.
1798 The colony of German South Africa is reorganized and the war continues from the cape of good hope.
1799 A rebellion in the Congo against the Congos king breaks out. The Hanse has to divert its attention from the Scandinavians to crushing the rebellion.
1802 The rebellion in the Congo has been subdued and the Congo king has been secured. To prevent further such rebellions the Hanse increases its hold over the Congo. They establish more administrative offices and
recruit a militia unit tasked with patrolling the Congo. A network of spy's is being set up to observe potential enemies of the state.
1803 A Hanseatic fleet on patrol is sunk in the north sea. To avoid further losses all naval ships are being recalled from Europe.
1804 The kingdom of the Congo becomes an official dominion of the Hanse. The king of the Congo approaches the Hanse with a bid for money in return for Congolese recruits. As king (who was never taught how to rule
by the Hanseatic advisors) he had wasted his finances for the construction of palaces and lavish feasts.
1806 The Congo king suffocates with a chicken bone stuck in his throat. He is succeeded by his younger brother, Kabala. An enigmatic young man, who sadly was quite a liberal thinker and great fan of the Scandinavian
revolution.
1807 The new king of the Congo reforms the Congo kingdom into a constitutional monarchy and reforms the school system. Most of the old privileges of the nobles are abolished. With ever increasing popularity the king
engages in the state craft and begins to transform the Congo.
1808 The special privileges of the Hanseatic merchants are abolished. But before he can do to much harm to Hanseatic league he is stopped by the Hansetag. He is imprisoned in his own palace and de facto exiled from
politics.
1809 The Hanse reorganizes its colonies. Suriname and the Virgin Islands are reformed into modern colonies with investments going into their ports and infrastructure construction. The old forts are renovated and the
older naval vessels are pulled out of service.
1814 The Hanse returns to Europa after the defeat of the Scandinavian Republic.
1815 Old dockyards and ports are modernized and enlarged. Steam engines are imported from Britain for the dockyards and ports.
1820 Having emerged from the rubble of the Scandinavian revolutionary wars. The Hanse went from a once mighty naval power with respectable wealth and influence to a minor power.
1821 A new revolution in Scandinavia was promptly crushed by garrisoned troops of the coalition.
1823 The industrialization of the Hanseatic cities starts.
1832 Adoption of the locomotive from Britain. The first railway between Hamburg and Berlin is opened.
1841 Adoption of the railways in South Africa and the Congo. The South African mining operations are expanded in order to feed the growing steel production in Africa.
1848 Following the second Scandinavian revolution a wave of protests and uprisings hit the HRE. The Hanse is also affected. In order to reestablish security the Hanse requests Askari regiments from the Congo.
1849 The uprisings in the Hanseatic cities are crushed with the Askari regiments, but the HRE had to give in and accept the "Volksversammlung" and had to centralize. Furthermore the Hanse was forced down as a
political entity in the HRE and lost on paper the right to conduct foreign policy.
1853 The territory of German South Africa joins the Hanseatic League as several federal states. The Hanse starts a new fleet program and builds a dozen ironclads.
1854 With the death and subsequent ascension of a new Congo king the Hanse is faced with a militaristic king.
1856 The Hanse begins with the construction of a new fleet.
1855 The new Congo king Milambo bolsters the Congo military and expands the Congo's arms production. With the reluctant help of the Hanse, the Congo builds up an army of 450.000 Askari.
1857 After the 1857 Hansetag slavery is forbidden in the colonial empire and the Hanse. As subservient as it one could expect the Congo king officially bans slavery, but he kept several hundred slaves for himself.
1860 Under king Milambo the Congo centralizes and secures its borders. Arabic and Roman slavers are hunted in the jungles and the Congo kingdom strengthens its rule over the vast jungle. The construction of several
new roads, railways and forts helps control the regions further away from the capital of M'banza.
1862 South Africa surpasses the European territories of the Hanse in terms of production.
1870 The Great War begins.
1871 The third Scandinavian revolution begins. The Hanse joins the coalition against the red scum in the north.
1872 The Intervention is over.
1874 The Great War ends.
1875 Ki is being researched and airships are being developed. The Congo expands its own industry now it owns a large copper production and it is exporting large quantities of rubber.
1876 The Hanseatic steam tractor works in South Africa start development of tanks. In order to stay competitive the Hanse increases its ports size.
1879 After a series of debates the colonies of Sao Tome and Principe, ST. Helena and the Virgin Islands are allowed to join the League as federal states.
1880 A Congolese scientist publicizes his work on genetics and proves the racial theory of German scientist wrong. Though the superiority theory has already lost its credibility in the Hanse, due to them being faced with a remarkably prosperous Congo.
1881 Another scientist proposes the theory of domination, due to technological superiority explaining the current situation of the world.
1882 The Hanseatic Landwehr is reformed.
1888 The Hanseatic League approves a new naval budget.
1893 After realizing, that they wouldn't be able to compete with other European navies. A new bigger naval budget got accepted in the Hansetag.
1896 The air navy is being increased.
1900 The king of the Congo presents a modern army to the Hanse at the ceremonial visit to M'banza by the Geschäftsführer Dödelbecker

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[Upper Magica]

The Great Khanate of the Mongol Empire

Full Nation Name: The Great Khanate of the Mongol Empire, although it is known simply as the Ilkhanate to Western cartographers, mirroring how the Eastern Roman Empire is typically called 'Romania' or 'Byzantium'.

Territorial Core: Persia, Transoxiana, Khorasan, Baluchistan, Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia

Territorial Claim: The Ultraimperialist doctrine, in various writings, principally those of Anush Barseghyan, envisages a reborn Mongol Empire stretching from the Indus to the Bosphorus, from the Yemen to the Volga. This concept is, in true ultraimperialist fashion, intentionally vague, and a variety of conflicting statements have been made in public and private by the Party's leadership, but a consistent theme of Ultraimperialist rhetoric in terms of territorial claims have been the reclamation of Central Asia and the humiliation, if not submission, of the Russian menace.

Capital City: Taysafun(Ctesiphon)

Flag:

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Demographics

Cultural Overview:

The Empire, such as fits its metropolitan and diverse nature, does not have a majority kind of culture: indeed, its generous policies towards cultural and religious minorities could be taken as a sort of 'divide et impera' strategy, learning from the sad tale of Kublai and his descendants, whom were overthrown by a unified Chinese nobility and peasantry. Indigenous minorities to the remaining territories of the Empire such as the Afshar, Assyrians, Armenians, Balochs, Kurds, Lurs, Mandaeans, Mazanderani, Mizrahi Jews, Seljuk, Talysh, Tats, Qashqai, Yazidis and so on have been allowed to prosper in their regions - often at the expense of the Persians and Arabs, who are offered soft incentives to either move away or assimilate into their communities.

Indeed, the Mongol Empire's strategy of building up power bases of loyal minorities does not end with simply bolstering existing loyal communities of minorities; historically, it has taken pains to build new communities, taking in Sino-Mongol nobility and tribesmen fleeing the chaos of the Yuan Empire's violent collapse, Oghuz Turks from Anatolia driven off by the incoming Roman state, Tatars and other steppe peoples driven deeper into the Siberian wilderness by the expanding Russian Empire, and even paying Christian minorities from as far as France, England, and Germany to settle on prime arable land in the Mesopotamia.

Over the centuries, too, pains have been taken by successive Khagans to encourage the divide between those Persians who follow the old ways of Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and so forth against the Muslim majority; the result has been the fragmentation of Persian culture largely along religious lines.

In contrast to similar societies in the New World, the policy of the Khagans on minorities is not borne by notions of political citizenship and humanism, but is instead a policy aimed squarely at purposeful disenfranchisement of the native inhabitants of Persia, while also feeding into the xenophile tendencies of the Perso-Mongol elite.

The ruling classes of the Khaganate are as diverse as the people they govern - Armenians, Assyrians, Mizrahi Jews, Turks, and Iranis - Zoroastrian Persians - feature prominently and disproportionately in the lower ranks of the governing class and bureaucracy, while the highest echelons of power in the form of the Huleguid dynasty and its allegiant tribes of the Kurultai are held by, at least by a slim majority, Perso-Mongols.

This historical policy of divide and conquer has a real downside - the Ultraimperialist regime is forced to lean on notions of civic nationalism and supremacy in its propaganda, as opposed to the type of traditional ethno-supremacy leveraged by similar regimes; notions of blood are easier to exploit. Rather, the Ultraimperialist regime will have to prove to the people that the Revolutionary State imagined by its leaders is an ideal worth investing the zeal demanded by its totalitarian nature.

Breakdown -

Shia/Sunni Persians - 18%
Irani(Zoroastrian Persian) - 14%
Assyrians - 12%
Perso-Mongols - 10%
Azeris - 10%
Turkish - 9%
Other - 8%
Kurds - 7%
Mandaean - 5%
Mizrahi Jew - 4%
Yazidi - 3%

Majority/Official Religion:

The majority religion of the Empire is Nestorian Christianity in the form of the Great Patriarchate of the East. However, the Mongol state observes a tradition of equal representation for all the faiths of the Empire, favoring no particular faith or confession; indeed, the state furnishes both pastor and mullah with the necessary funds to operate as they wish, even funding the construction of new fire temples, churches, and cathedrals. In terms of familial and religious law, the State defers to religious authorities, designated by the Khagan, of course, on those matters.

Population: WIP; rough estimate is 31,137,098 persons

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Governance

Government Type:
Totalitarian dictatorship with monarchical trappings

Government Ideology:
Ultraimperialism, as advocated by the All-Imperial Revolutionary Society, centers around the all-encompassing glory and supremacy of the State and Khagan and the heavy emphasization of the extant threat that Western Imperialism poses to the traditional peoples of the Orient in the form of both Socialism, Liberalism, and all the trappings of such barbarous, degenerate ideas, such as women's rights and naked, unrestrained capitalism.

As such, Ultraimperialism as an ideology aims to theoretically protect the "people's community" of serfs and right-thinking peoples of the Empire by the interposition of the State as sole mediator between the capitalist class and the proletarian and middle classes, acting to replace the rotten capitalist class of usurers and foreign interests with a professional class of engineers and true captains of industry. Although on paper this seems similar to more liberal and moderate interpretations of Marxism, in practice, it means that the State and the corporate entities that have slithered their way into the reins of power, acting in concert, have total bargaining control over the working class, adjusting both wages and the working day as they see fit in order to further both state development.

In addition, the need of the State to protect the people's community is used as an excuse for the State to intervene in a variety of areas that would otherwise be anathema to most liberal societies of the time: the freedom of speech is curtailed significantly - 'incitement of the people' carries a hefty prison term - freedom of the press is non-existent, and the judiciary and legislature merely serve to legitimize decisions that have already been made by the Mongol military in secret. Indeed, another hallmark of Ultraimperialism is the construction of a massive apparatus of state security that often operates in the shadows with little to no public oversight.

Most alarmingly though for the world at large, is the inherent doctrine of civic Social Darwinism expressed by Ultraimperialism - stating that the people's society must rejuvenate itself through perpetual and constant struggle. Although a modest welfare state and the right to life are provided for the citizens of the State, sans those found deficient(i.e. thought-criminals/political prisoners, the work-shy, drug addicts, and the genetically ill) the meaning of 'constant struggle' in Ultraimperialist dichotomy usually means armed conflict against other nations and political systems.

Head of State:
Kundegh Khan, Emperor of all Mongolia, Great Khagan, Protector of the East

Head of Government:
Grand Vizier Anush Barseghyan, Paramount Leader of the All-Imperial Revolutionary Society

Government Description:

At the top of the pyramid that is the Imperial Government, theoretically, lay the Khan, who is responsible for all the decision making of the Khanate, even with the constitutional reforms following the Great Eurasian War, he is all-powerful. Theoretically. In reality, most of the power in the Empire is held by the Grand Vizier, appointed by the Kurultai and his Cabinet of Councils. In the Mongol system of government, the Grand Vizier is a check to the Khan's power, while the Khan is a check to the Vizier's own power.

Under the Grand Vizier, who is the head of the government, the Councilors of Military Affairs, of Economics, of Education, of Public Health, of Confessions, of Agriculture and of Internal Security serve at his or his party's pleasure. These Councilors are the direct analogue to most countries' Ministers, and they lead the bureaucracies of these various state organs with absolute power, having final say on most matters regarding major decisions made within the confines of their respective areas of government, although most tend to delegate.

At the next step of the executive ladder, Provincial Governors rule geographical regions defined by the Khan in the name of and at the pleasure of the Khan, though the Kurultai may elect to remove a Governor in his stead. These Governors are responsible for the effective implementation of national policy in the provinces, while also being responsible for the administration on a provincial level of the sub-offices of the ministries of public health, internal security, and education. Below them are mayors, village chiefs, and so on - municipal and local leaders, responsible for the administration and planning of their towns and, simply put, keeping the water running, making sure the streets are swept, that garbage is properly disposed of.

At the legislative level, the Kurultai is the Khanate's sole legislative body - one-quarter of its 319 seats are appointed by the Khan, while the other three quarters of its seats are elected, contested every five years. It is responsible for the drafting of bills and their passing into law; these laws may be vetoed with no legislative mechanism for recourse by the Khan.

Lastly, the judiciary is composed of two parts - the Secular Court, which is organized for matters pertaining to civil and criminal law, consists of a singular High Court, and its chief official is the High Judge of the Khanate, who solely rules on cases that make it to his attention after all the proper channels have been followed. Under this High Court are provincial courts that rule on matters of appeal, while local courts rule on civil suits and contractual disputes. Criminal courts are seperate from local courts, and their officials act as not only judge and jury, but prosecutor. Secondly, the Confessional Courts are organized to rule on matters of religion and family law, and are segregated - seperate courts exist for Christians, for Muslims, and for Zoroastrians; and may, with the permission of both plaintiff and defendant, rule on cases of civil law. Confessional Courts tend to be organized by province. Unlike secular courts, the ruling of Confessional Courts are absolute; appeals are hardly granted, for the word of any of the Gods represented by these courts is perfect, and the Gods do not make mistakes.

Of course, waiting in the wings are the All-Imperial Revolutionary Society, who have a different plan for the Khanate's government after their ascent to power..

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Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Industrialized capitalist economy soon to be in transition into Ultraimperialist corporatism
Major Production/Economic Description: The Great Khanate/Ilkhanate is one of the world's top producers, if not outright the top producer of ki, which is found in abundance in not only the desert sands of Mesopotamia, but the drylands of Persia and Afghanistan. Major deposits are noted near the Persian Gulf region, specifically in Khuzestan and Kuwait, as well as in Kurdistan and the Dulaim Governorate further inland.

Its metallurgic and mining industries are strong, with centers of the steel industry being in Esfahan and Khorasan, fed by the mines of Gol Gohar and other iron ore mines of the Yazd and Kerman Governorates. High quality bituminous coal and some anthracite are produced in bulk in its main coal fields in the Alborz mountain range and the coal basins in Kashan and Khorasan. Indeed, due to this wealth of resources, Persia is home to most centers of heavy industry within the Khanate, producing not only complex finished goods such as analytical engines, gearboxes, machine parts, steam engines, boilers, furnaces, and so forth, but also a variety of light industrial goods, such as processed/tinned foods, Persian carpets and miscellaneous textile articles, such as clothing, drapery, and so forth, and liquors. Although far from the 'Workshop of the World', Persia is firmly the Workshop of South Asia.

Its expansive urban settlements and factory towns, tied together by both railways and the emergent and blooming air travel sector, are fed by an intricate system of irrigation agriculture centered around the Khuzestan and the age-old Mesopotamian Breadbasket that mostly relies on steam-powered tractors and agricultural equipment; the Khanate is also among one of the world's top producers of gypsum, a key ingredient of modern fertilizer, which it produces in bulk, exporting a great deal to nearby Roman Syria and India. Besides for staple goods, such as wheat, barley, rice, and so on, Persian and Mesopotamian agriculture is famous for its millennia-old wineries and expansive - but heavily expensive in terms of water - cotton fields. And in the plateaus of Persia, although unsuitable for most agricultural purposes, ranching thrives, especially with the introduction of veterinary inoculations; beef, lamb, and chicken as well as byproducts thereof are produced for the consumption of the Khanate's domestic markets. In general, though, the Khanate tends to import foodstuffs, though not necessarily any industrial byproducts.

With the advent of the airship, many of the Khanate's dockyards have fallen into outright disrepair and bankruptcy as most state funds - primarily lucrative military and government contracts - have instead fallen into the hands of the emerging, expansive, and still-expanding aeroyards of Central Persia, while a burgeoning aeronautical industry has emerged thanks to early research into Ki applications and government investment into Aetherial science.

Military

Army Description:
The Glorious Army of the Great Khan, is the first and foremost branch of the Imperial armed forces, composed of 480,000 regular troops divided between 36 tumen, the prime combat unit of the Mongol army - the rough equivalent of a Western division, divided further into 437 jalayir, the Mongol equivalent of the western regiment, of various type, specialization and equipment load. These jalayir tend to be geographically and demographically based, drawing upon local manpower for their recruitment needs, utilizing conscription when necessary to maintain troop strength; in this way, the Mongol army can rapidly raise manpower, though the decimation of a jalayir could disproportionately affect the community in which it was raised. Some special purpose jalayir are disconnected from this territorial system - to be precise, 11 of them - they are mechanized jalayir, utilizing cutting-edge tanks and skiffs to maneuver on the battlefield and create breakthroughs in enemy lines for skiff-mounted infantry to exploit, while two experimental and elite jalayir, known as the Immortals for their high rate of fatal accidents during combat-descent exercises, are mounted exclusively on airship transports.

The equipment of the Grand Army is standardized - bolt-action smokeless cartridge rifles, bayonet optional, are the main infantry weapon of the soldier as well as both hand-crank and steam powered Gatling-type machine guns, though the latter is a quite rare and expensive design albeit capable of an absurdly high rate of fire. The concept of the Obus gun, once an anachronism a century ago, has been modernized, and these breech-loaded pneumatic rifles, powered by a small steam engine running on gasified coal, are used to lob explosive shells and pellet shot into an enemy line. Experimental models of the Obus gun feature a second pressure tank, theoretically able to provide enough pressure per shot to penetrate armored vehicles and walkers, albeit trials are ongoing. Howitzers are an integral part of the armed forces, the majority of which are field guns of 76mm caliber, easily transportable over the rough terrain of Persia, while lighter pieces in the form of 56.2mm pack artillery are utilized where needed. Like lighter pieces of artillery, siege mortars and heavy artillery are also situationally used, and kept in divisional reserve; in this way, the commander of a tumen has a great deal of flexibility on tactical usage of artillery, albeit the logistical impact is significant.

Of revolutionary importance, though, are the introduction of vehicles into the doctrine of the Glorious Army and its mechanization. Combat skiffs - essentially small scale airships roughly the size of a small rectangular-hull riverboat designed to hover slightly off the ground - can ignore the traditional constraints of terrain on mobility save for the most mountainous and hilly of areas, while forested areas pose an inherent threat to the safe operation of the skiff. In Mongol doctrine, skiffs act as 'battle ferries' for infantry, supporting them in their advances by way of their modest deck-mounted armament of Obus and Gatling guns and their lightly armored troop compartments.

Tanks, a Western invention, have also been eagerly adopted by the Mongol army, albeit in limited numbers, as most of the terrain of both the Khanate and its potential adversaries proves difficult for these vehicles to operate. These tracked - opposed to wheeled - burdensome titans of combat are best exemplified in the Type 1 Ram - which, true to its name, bears a siege ram on its front to theoretically deal with other enemy tanks and fortifications, a turreted 56.2mm cannon, two side-mounted Obus gun emplacements, as well as a singular Gatling gun mounted on the commander's cupola while running at a cool 11 kilometers per hour at top speed under ideal conditions.

Ornithopters, a uniquely Mongol invention, and to a lesser extent, the gyrocopter are also in limited and expanding usage in the Army - unlike the skiff, these novel inventions can glide in the air itself, and within the context of the Army are used to spot for artillery and scouting missions. Newer, larger - and highly experimental - types of ornithopter utilize a Ki engine and are equipped with a rudimentary An ballast in order to accommodate a modest armor package to deflect small-arms fire from the ground while also bearing a load of pseudo-Congreve rockets or bombs to support the Army in its offensive maneuvers.

As can be gleaned from its equipment, the doctrine of the army of the Khanate is based upon quick, decisive, and brutal aggression in the best traditions of Genghis Khan. From induction, its officers and NCOs are taught to control the conditions of battle and rapidly, giving its opponents as little of a chance as possible to respond to its offensive maneuvers. For an officer of the Khanate, there is no way but 'forward', and no word such as 'retreat'. After the crude defeat of the Great Eurasian War, an emphasization has been placed on maneuver, coordination, and logistics, rather than firepower, in order to reach the enemy rear lines, where headquarters and critical logistics lay, a doctrine made possible by the ongoing mechanization of the Army. To the Mongol army, victory is not defined by how many men are killed, for the Khanate's enemies have an endless well of manpower - victory is defined by how quickly the enemy's will and capability to fight are whittled down to nothing.

NCOs are expected to operate autonomously in their decision making; where most armies operate from the top-down, cogs in a machine of marshals to generals to field officers, independent thinking in the pursuit of tactical objectives is not only allowed, but encouraged. Continuing on this theme, generals are given wide latitude on how to conduct operations in their areas of responsibility, while the General Staff merely provides a rough outline of operations and critical objectives in their strategic planning.


Naval Description:
The Grand Fleet of the Mongol Empire has seen a steep decline in recent years. In fact, it is the most neglected part of the Empire's armed forces, barely deserving of its title, nor is it able to project power out of the Persian Gulf. Many see the Fleet as an unnecessary expense - especially with the advent of the airship - although for now some see some value in its continued existence.

As such, with most of its former budget appropriated to the Air Fleet, it only consists of two ironclad screw battleships, five protected cruisers, and twenty-one torpedo boats, all of which are horribly outdated dating back to the 1870s and in ill repair, suitable only for protecting trade against piratical elements.

Air Force Description:

The ship types of the Air Fleet are divided simply into five types - aerobattleships, aeromonitors, air cruisers, air destroyers, and merchant raiders. Aerobattleships serve as principal fleet-to-fleet combatants, bringing to bear heavy artillery to a fight while bristling with secondary armaments suitable for dealing with lesser types of airship. Heavy cannon armaments on a battleship in Mongol design tend to be a single dorsal twin-gun 200-246mm turret while secondary armaments, such as 154.2mm guns, 62mm light guns, and rapid-fire 50mm and 30mm cannon tend to be located in casemate walls on the sides of the ship, though some - with a particular focus on light guns in this respect - are placed on dorsal and ventral mounts. Armor tends to be moderate compared to its counterparts to allow for greater maneuvering capability, though critical areas such as propulsion, fuel, and the magazine are armored heavily compared to the hull itself.

The Aeromonitors, simply put, are heavily armed warships much like its aerobattleship counterpart, only its arrangement of primary armament is inverted, with a twin-gun 200-246mm ventral turret while the thickest armor is placed on the ground-facing side. Less of an emphasis on speed and maneuverability is placed, with additional armor plating compared to the Aerobattleship; these slow hulks are designed to provide ground support to the Army and engage naval forces, acting as sort of an analogue to the 'coastal defense ship'.

Air cruisers and air destroyers form the basis of the Great Air Fleet's fast strike capability and scouting forces as well as to act as an escort for heavier ships. Both are designed with speed in mind, and where applicable, armor is placed exclusively in vulnerable areas - the magazine(s), propulsion and lift systems, and so forth. Air cruisers tend to be armed with a 154.2mm single mount gun turret on both dorsal and ventral sides, a modest armament of four 100mm gun turrets on starboard and port, divided equally, and casemate walls on both sides of the ship holding a complement of 62mm light guns and rapid-fire 50mm and 30mm cannon.

Air destroyers, significantly lighter than their cruiser cousins due to their armor being solely focused on its lift and propulsion mechanism, are armed simply with a modest complement of a ventral mounted and dorsal mounted 100mm gun turret, with six to eight side-mounted 50mm cannon turrets, while a handful of deck-mounted and firing port-mounted Gatling guns provide a semblance of light firepower against potential combatants such as boarding craft, the gyrocopter or the ornithopter. Some specialized variants of the air destroyer are equipped with torpedo/bomb bays, allowing the air destroyer to engage ground or sea targets.

Merchant raiders are simply that - merchant ships armed with a jumble of light weaponry no larger than a few hidden 130mm and 62mm guns in concealable casemates and deck-mounted Gatling guns. In peacetime, they are listed simply as auxiliary ships, and act as such, holding supplies and fuel for the Fleets they are attached to. In wartime, much like their seaborne counterpart, they are meant to travel in contravention of the laws of civilized war in enemy sky-lanes, splashing down enemy merchant craft, or, on the defensive, engaging any potential enemy's own merchant raiders.

The Glorious Air Fleet of the Mongol Empire is the newest and up-and-coming branch of the Mongol military; its history begins when in 1884, reeling from defeat, research was undertaken to copy Western as well as those Russian airship designs which were so critical in the defeat of the Khanate's military in the latter days of the Great Eurasian War, outclassing the Khanate's own early designs. New and modern classes of airship resulted; several such prototype craft being commissioned and built by the mid-1880s.

Reformist military thinkers that, in the wake of the Great Eurasian War, gained significant influence over the Great General Staff proposed a radical change that would earn it the title, in foreign eyes, of the worst General Staff in the civilized world: a drastic cut in the Fleet's funding, sidelining it in favor of an airship fleet of cruisers, destroyers, and other small craft that could operate with impunity ruling over the air and, by extension, the sea and the land, providing the Khanate's military with the most pop for its limited amount of pounds, strategically speaking. The new Air Fleet would also be independent of Army or Navy control, further enraging most of the other parts of the General Staff.

To much consternation from the Admiralty Board and reluctantly by the Kurultai, this plan succeeded, and many Mongol naval ships were broken up to either be repurposed, in part, in the new aeronaval construction program of the late 1880s or sold in whole units or as scrap to finance it - it is said that more ships were stricken by the military's own hands than by any given enemy fleet during any period of Mongol history during this time, excluding the infamous kamikaze typhoons of the Yuan period.

The Air Naval Edict of 1887, authored by the Kurultai in cooperation with the Air Fleet Board, provided for a fleet size of four aerobattleships, two aeromonitors, ten aerial cruisers and twenty-seven sky-destroyers, as well as 19 raiding craft. Of these, three Ishtar-class aerobattleships, two Shara-class aeromonitors, four Abaqa Khan-class air cruisers, five Iskandar-class air cruisers, nineteen Baatar-class sky destroyers, and all 19 Wolf-class auxiliary raiders are operational. One Ishtar-class aerobattleship, one Iskandar-class air cruiser, and eight Baatar-class destroyers are currently fitting out and undergoing aetherial trial.

It is rumored that another Naval Edict is in the works in the Ultraimperialist-dominated Kurultai; the most recent draft of the bill, voted down due to the Kurultai's divided nature, provided for an increase of two more aerobattleships, nine air cruisers, and twelve sky destroyers, as well as the funds to construct a mothership - a new class of airship dedicated to the launch and retrieval of ornithopters and smaller parasitic airships that would otherwise be incapable of independent long-range operation, such as the boarding craft, which is a self-explanatory ship class, used to effect the forcible seizure of an enemy airship and the rocket boat, a class of small fast attack airships whose armaments are primarily armor-piercing rocket based.

Further Military Description: The Törge Bayraq, translated into English as the Assault Banners, are the All-Imperial Revolutionary Society's black-shirted private militia and paramilitary. Its officers are not chosen for any particular competency, but rather are politically loyal appointees; the organization is headed by notable Left-Ultraimperialist Togtoon Bayarsaikhan. The Assault Squads, officially and on paper, number approximately 650,000 bannermen, though in reality its capacity for combat potential amounts to 48 bayraq/standards - the Assault Squad's equivalent of a jalayir worth of men. They are poorly disciplined, poorly armed, and little more than thugs used for political repression.

The Qorğaw Ulanıtay, also known as the Protection Squadron, are the Paramount Leader's personal bodyguard; three jalayir, the 'Genghis Khan' jalayir, the 'Paramount Leader Barseghyan' jalayir, and the 'Eternal Empire' jalayir are elite, heavily organized, well-armed and well disciplined formations in contrast to the Society's other paramilitary, the Assault Banners. Its leader is the neo-Sufi mystic and failed ox farmer Önör Jaqsylyq, by all accounts a despicable and loathsome man, who is well known to invest most of his personal funds into supernatural quackery.

History and Aspirations

National Goals:

The All-Imperial Revolutionary Society has taken control of the Khanate at long last. By any means, its power must be secured through a process of 'bringing into order', the removal of what little lackluster constitutional safeguards exist that are currently in between the Society and absolute power. But this process goes much deeper than anyone knows - unbeknownst to all, plans exist deep within the minds of the Society's brutes in charge; they envision a Khanate swiped clean of its 'parasitical elements' - the Marxists, the trade-unionists, the liberals, foreigners, nationalists, and the peaceniks. It is only after these elements are destroyed ruthlessly that the Empire can truly thrive.

And after affairs are settled at home, the rightful lands of the Khanate - the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Punjab, Anatolia, the Arabian desert - these will be brought back into the fold and revenge wrought upon the less-than-human Russians and their collaborators upon the steppe, their cultural and governmental influence wiped clean from the land that rightfully belongs to the children of the Khan. And, afterward, the Revolutionary State will take its place at the center of a new ideological world order - a righteous one, having prevailed over the weak and effete systems that have come before its time.

National Issues:
In the wake of the Revolutionary Society's questionably legitimate rise to power, a variety of political threats exist; the first and foremost of which is the threatened general strike in the aftermath of the recent elections, which are rife with allegations of elections fraud and tampering. Secondly, the Left-Ultraimperialist Assault Banners have supported the Society so far based on populist promises of land redistribution, of workers' self-management, and of supplanting the Khan's Army as the main arm of national defense. These goals will be impossible to meet, as the State will most assuredly need the assistance of landowners and of capital in order not just to secure its own political power, but to efficiently meet the Revolutionary Society's ambitious goals of economic autarky and building the Armed Forces onto a war footing. The Armed Forces, its officers and generals more or less monarchists and reluctant Ultraimperialists all, are also greatly disturbed by the Banners' ambitions and excesses, as well as by the Revolutionary Society's goals; they will need convincing, else the conditions for a successful coup could be created.

History:

See here, since I went over the character limit:

viewtopic.php?p=40407712#p40407712

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

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

[Stollberg-Stolberg]

WIP

Full Nation Name: Reichsbund Deutscher Nationen [Federated Empire of German Nations]
Territorial Core:

Territorial Claim: Dalmatia, [Alsace-] Lorrain, the rest of Germany, and Venetia as well as Lombardia
Capital City: Salzburg is the City with the location of the Bundesrat and the Council of Members, the Members have their own Capitals [Austria: Vienna, Württemberg: Stuttgart, Hesse-Darmstadt: Darmstadt, Bavaria: Munich, Liechtenstein: Vaduz, Baden: Karlsruhe, Alsatian States: Straßburg]
Flag:

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: [South-] German
Other Cultures: Czech, Slovene, Italian, French, Slovakian, and Polish are all Minority Cultures in the Empire. Although Czech and Slovene get treatment as Recognized Minorities and thus can teach their Language in their respective Provinces alongside German their counterparts of French, Italian, Polish and Slovakian do not have such protected Status and will have to learn their language in their Free time and at home. The Nobility primarily consists of German and rarely sees other Nationalities in their Ranks, most often Czech or Slovene if found.
Majority/Official Religion: Christianity, especially of the Catholic Variety is the biggest Religious Group, with Protestants and Jews also existing in the Bund.
Population:
Bavaria: 6.176.057
Baden: 1.867.944
Württemberg: 2.169.480
Alsatian States: 1.154.641
Hesse Darmstadt: 904.626
Liechtenstein: 8.531
Austria: 17.466.647

Governance

Government Type: An Confederation of many States which are often Absolute Monarchies, these all send out representatives to elect an Emperor who rules as the first among equals.
Government Ideology: Deutscher Bund Monarchism
Head of State: Emperor Franz Joseph von Habsburg of the Bund of German Nations
Head of Government: Emperor Franz Joseph von Habsburg of the Bund of German Nations, though the current Head of the Bundesrat is Ratsvorstand Theodor Fuchs who only is Head of the Advisory Bundesrat

Government Description:
To begin with, the easiest to describe and least Influential Part of the Government is the Bundesrat. It consists of 203 Members, 200 Representatives and 3 Upper Members, the Ratsvorstand, the Kassenwärter [who does the accounting] and the Sprecher des Äußeren [Who announces the Decisions and Problems to the Public]. Currently, the politics are Conservative with 114 being members of the Conservative Christian Party and they are mainly willing to cooperate without incident. The rest is more or less liberal and socialist parties currently in the minority, if the 1895 election had gone less favourably for the conservatives the Liberals or Nationalists might have had a better chance of gaining some power. This body is advisory and is being manipulated to fit the Ruling Classes' wishes. It was established in 1850 to satisfy the Liberals, it passed the 1850 Constitution in the year 1850.

Next to be analyzed is the Council of Members [Also Nicknamed "The Seven Autocrats", Kaiserliche Mitgliederrunde] which elects the Emperor after the old one dies, it also votes on different matters of the exterior and interior. Only rarely it unites all the Monarchs of the Bund and because of this representatives are often other Nobility outside of the Line of succession. The only woman on the Council is Maria Klara von Liechtenstein, Representative of the Liechtenstein Principality as it does not contain more Noble Houses. It also contains the delegations of the Ministry in an adjacent room, also made up of Nobles. However, Liechtenstein employed a High Ranking Civilian as again, there were not many suitable Nobles. It consists of a Treasurer, a Minister of Outer Relations, 7 Ministers of Inner Policies, a Minister of War, a Minister of Development; Agriculture; Health, a Minister of Education and finally a Minister of Justice. The Council votes on decisions, the Ministers have the right to deny the requests if deemed unfit, the only voting needed is if something happens if it affects the Inner Workings as there are 7 Ministers for Inner Workings.

The High Court is an Independent Part of the System as it is the only one which can fairly judge the Nobility and other Higher Security Affairs of the nations. It is based in Ulm.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Capitalism with certain aspects of other Systems.
Major Production: Various Mining resources, Industrial Products like Textiles, Chemicals and Machinery for civilian and Military use. Agriculture and Livestock also comprise a portion of the Economy.
Economic Description:
The Economy of the Nation is almost entirely Industrialized and based on Mining and Manufacturing. In the West is Alsace, in the East the Tetschener Duchy and in between more Mines that produce vital Coal for the Industry. A lot of other things are also being mined like Iron, Silver and salt. Having that much development in mining the Industry also is quite heavily influencing the economy, Bohemia is the most Industrial Part of the Nation with Central Bavaria also creating some heavier Industry, though here is mainly the Military Industrial Complex Located. Then there are smaller Industrial Sectors like near Krain, Stuttgart or Mühlhausen with other Cities featuring some too. The West and the North of the Nation see greater numbers of Textile Mills and Trade. Triest, being the 3rd largest Imperial City while being near the sea also sees quite the Industry near it. Though that often consists of Maritime Economies like Fisheries, or the creation of various Boats for civilian and Military purposes.
Trade also has great value for the Economy of the Nation. While Trade with the Northern Section of the [Old] Empire is damaged, the Idea of absolutely having no trade is also not thinkable, Saxon borders are favourable for it. In France, bigger Quantities of Resources can be bought, especially Luxury Items that have most of their origin here. In the Hungarian Kingdom, Agricultural Trade is primarily conducted.

Military

Army Description:
The Army is mostly centralized. Multiple Branches make up the Land Forces. First and foremost is the Grenzschutz [Border Security] that does most civilian work to control the Trade, People and Possible incursions against the State. It consists of mostly lightly Armoured Professionals, though they are a majority of sharpshooters. As their equipment does not make the tactic of suppression fire possible this is their preferred method to protect the border from incursions. Their maroon-coloured Uniforms and Black and Yellow Tschakos give them the most iconic and Parade-like normal action wear.
Next is the Kaiserliche Zentral Armee [Imperial Central Army] which consists of Recruits that make up a centralised Army controlled by the Emperor and their high command, every Landwehr has to contribute to this Force and Relieve themself of those troops, with Austria having to contribute the most and Liechtenstein the least. Pooling from this Force are the ones who would like to contribute to a professional career in the Military. It does operate many types of machinery for destruction and mobility. Mobile Artillery is one of the best-known assets. Artillery is one of the biggest priorities in the Armed Forces, using Land and Air scouts to give information on important targets a tactical bombardment is made to destroy command, critical Infrastructure or any valuable targets like other Artillery or simply walkers. To maximize efficiency on Bombardments and scouting close cooperation with the Air Force is needed. Walkers are used, but mostly for their Mobility and Artillery capabilities, they are seen as too overengineered and unreliable so they most often find themself at a distance as when they break down they can be safely removed for repairs or destroyed in case of a routing of the Main Force. The Train System, which is under Imperial Control and the Telegraph are important to coordinate and relocating resources.
One of the most elite Regiments is the 4th Regiment of the k.u.k. Infantry, the Hoch- und Deutschmeister which is stationed in Vienna, these troops are called when battles are believed to be of special strategic importance.
Every Man in the Bund has to join the Armed Forces or adjacent Military Branches, if he chooses to join the Army, the participant must first join his local Landwehr, there are six in total, one for every member State minus Liechtenstein for which they go to the local Austrian Landwehr. They will have to serve for at least 3 Years during which they will learn the basics of Fighting and Defending themselves. This need for soldiers is driven by the uneasy situation in the German-speaking World with war possible at any moment. If they won't join the Imperial Central Army [which is very advisable due to the great bonuses] they will be put into a reserve which can be tapped when war breaks out. The training these soldiers receive is mostly uniform across the Bund tough different regions will value other methods. If a Man in the Range of Service attends a University or Academy of Higher Learning then he will be excepted from doing his duties to the Landwehr.
Patriotism and Propaganda which exploits fears are great tools of the Military with which it can bring more people into its fold. There have been Posters, Plays and other various things created to help the Military to achieve its goal of keeping up in terms of numbers. Criticism is rarely tolerated except when it comes from above because of which former and current Playwrights like Georg Büchner had to hide the criticism of it in their plays. Exceptions for lower class people are of course the University that can bring in some structured criticism if it fits into their curriculum so that Geology, Physics and various other subjects have voiced select flaws in tactics or equipment. Tough one should not forget that during this time a couple of Officers will sit in the back of the class.
Naval Description:
The Bund Navy is almost exclusively controlled by Austria with exceptions being River Boats for the Rhine, Main and Danube. The Blue Water Fleet consists of surface ships alongside only three Submarines. The Official title is Bundes Marine [Confederational Navy], and the pride of the Fleet is a Dreaghnought called BM Wien which is docked in Trieste alongside most other Ships tough Fiume is also home to a small Military Port. There are 2 Dreadnoughts.
Air Force Description:
The Air Force of the Nation is very important for cooperation with the Army and to a certain extent the Navy. It has one of the most moderns Airships, with the Bavarian Economy having large Aeronautics Works and Graf Zeppelin having invented and refined the Type of Airship. It is of utmost importance to keep it modern, the Planes are mostly used for Scouting and small-scale bombings which are extremely required for the Army. The Airships which are big and stable can bomb to a greater extent, having precise Bombardment Cannons and the ability to ascend altitude faster than planes while being horizontally somewhat slower.
There is a Military Academy for Airship Pilots and Specialists to invest in the best for the future. Training Exercises are conducted often and onto Wooden Cities so that the Accuracy can be adjusted while keeping track of possible failures. This is done in case of a War with the more populous northern side of the Empire.
Further Military Description :
There are Hitmen & Spies installed in the Military as a more secretive branch to get an advantage over the enemy, though it is a very small department it can become one of the most crucial ones at times.

History and Aspirations

National Goals:
Unification: Unification under our Half of the Germans is of utmost importance to solidify our presence and remove the pretenders.
Arts and Sciences: Being a Cultured Place is always a good thing, and being Innovative is even better, the Universities must be funded.
Italian Lands: There are only a couple of Places where one can expand in Europe, and Italy just happens to be one of them.
Advisable Politics: Diplomatic Isolation is very Bad, a Web of Diplomacy must be spun to create favourable terms for the Bund.
Outward Goals: If something monstrous like the Central Empire can hold colonies why should it not be possible for our half?
Friends with Freemasons: Although Freemasons are very incorporated into the Highlife of the South German Elite, a further expansion and use must be found for them.

National Issues:
Question of Funding: The Spending on the Military, Education and Culture is quite expensive and the Government wants more funds for other things.
Diplomatic Problems: The Bund has some claimed territory, to combat this Clever Diplomacy must be conducted
Internal Threats: There are Minorities and possible Spies in the Nation and they must be removed.
Naval Incompetents: The Navy of the bund is horrible, it lacks modernisation and is slow to react, unlike its other two counterparts.
Call Everyone for Help: Although great strides in centralisation have been done due to the possible threat a great number of things are very decentralized and unknown to even the best Lawyers, this must change for true progress.
The Swiss: The Swiss are not too pleasant to have existed in the Backyard, no claims on the Land have been made so far though this might change in the future.

History:
1400 to 1499: Time of Consolidation
From 1400 onward, the current Emperors of the thriving Holy Roman Empire were ever so ambitious in their policies and decided that the time was crucial to the Austrian lines. They were allying themself with many south German Electors and Saxony to ensure a continued vote for at least years to come. During that time great investments were made like the annexation of Bregenz and the Defence of the Western Territories. So did the Emperor's Realm grow and then stop after the Death of the Emperor, his heir took over and focused more on intermarriage with the Noble Houses of Europe, and many Marriages arranged themself. Sadly the Burgundian Succession could not have been done due to them being ruled over by a woman, so the only thing the New Emperor could do is threaten the release of the Lowland Countries into the Holy Roman Empire outside of Burgundian Domination.

1500 to 1599: Conquest and Diplomacy
The Marriage Diplomacy paid off for the Emperor who now had great connections throughout Southern/ and Central Germany. After some deliberation, the Southern States started to homogenise into bigger States, for example, Bavaria formed. This started to help the connections, as now fewer and fewer rulers needed to be controlled by the Habsburgs. Progress in the East wasn't made and further heavy diplomacy was not seen as necessary for the Habsburgs. The Crown of Bohemia was a Major Addition to the Realm of Austria, this caused cultural strive in the new Lands and religious unity also was not preserved. Though after a couple of revolts and some autonomy for the locals, these started to go down in size and were popping up only rarely. During the Hungarian Revolution, the Habsburg Monarchy saw room for expansion and occupied the Areas near Vienna to acquire better security and more room for air. Although Sopron was also a target for further expansion and was supposed to be captured by 2 Austrian Divisions, the Austrian Military was beaten in a Battle near it and negotiations were done that reaffirmed the slight Border changes in return for Cash.

1600 to 1699: Art and Science:
Even though some wars were being fought and the Alsatian Lands were not so peacefully incorporated into France, progress in science and Art could not be hindered. Lusatia was lost to Saxony and parts of Silesia to Brandenburg while Borders in South Germany consolidated. Many Developments in Music and Poetry were done, as the Habsburgs had funnelled much money into the Cultural Sector. The Liechtenstein Royal Family has become more powerful due to the Austrian Empire during this period of History and their low power rose even further. Some Academic reforms were passed giving new curriculums with less need for religious approval, and a new age of medicine and science was introduced, although Cities profited, the reforms saw mainly pushback in the extremely religious Rural Areas.
The latter half of the Century saw many involvements in the Italian Peninsula and the Istrian Peninsula, conquering Venetian and Lombardian Lands became a great goal for Emperors during that timeframe.

1700 to 1799: Strife
Even though War was not the main problem any more, the country's stability did affect the politics of the early 18th Century. The quick death of two Emperors, an economic crisis and the biggest Rebellion in some of the Bohemian Lands was caused by an increase in Germanisation efforts that happened in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. This saw the occupation of the rest of Silesia by the Brandenburgian Army. Eventually, the Rebellion was crushed, though some concessions had to be granted like the ability to teach their Language in local schools in return for the promise of ceasing any revolts. While still weak the second biggest Minority, the Slovenians, had given threats to the Austrian Government that if their Language did not be respected, the possibility to unite themselves with Hungary would be likely, so to counteract this threat similar concessions had to be made. Although smaller Minorities tried their luck the Austrians could repress them more easily and with less danger. After years of reform, the economy recovered from its low. The French Revolution saw the breakthrough for Austria and the South German States again, being moderately fast to deploy they could return prestige and view the problems of their armed forces which had not been fixed after the Bohemian Revolution. The French War Reparations could also be used to invest in the economy, during the Revolution the Austrians occupied Alsace and due to the inability to fight back the Old French Regime promised them this as payment for fully helping them against the revolution in return.

1800 to 1899: Fast Modernisation and Reforms
The French War Reparations and the use of imported, as well as local Scientists, Engineers and Businessmen started a huge push for Modernization and Innovation. Many Universities were expanded and the newest technologies were being implemented or expanded. Sadly, due to the involvement in the Nordic Revolutions, the Emperor of Germans got heavily injured and passed away due to an infection years after the 19th Century started. This left the Holy Roman Empire without an Emperor and in the following elections something unexpected happened for the Habsburgs, even though there was a direct heir of the deceased emperor the Electors voted 4-3 for another Candidate. This naturally shocked the Ruler of Austria, Heir to the Emperor and he went on many secret rounds of negotiations that lasted decades and were made to ensure loyalty among their peers to overthrow the clear pretender when the time came. During a reception in the 1830s under the Influence of Alcohol the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt slipped up and caused quite a stir and the possible negotiations with the Thuringians and Saxons had to be cancelled and the plan put into Action.
This was of course more dangerous for the South German participants with their loyalty to the Habsburg Emperor as they were outnumbered, but due to defensive terrain and good defensive tacticians the Armies of the bund could withhold the northern German Attack, sadly the Italians saw the opportunity to attack.
What happened was a series of Border Clashes at first and then a full-scale Invasion of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom that was only stopped when the Alps were reached. There was no way that any attack might be done while a war was still being fought with the other Germans, and to wait until the Conflict ceased would mean taking the risk of a potential breaking of the line. As there was no choice left for the Austrian Government the Majority of Italian Regions that could be conquered by the Italian Army were ceded to Italy. Since the threat would not be over as there were still Italian Majority Regions in the Bund, a small force was required to be near the Italian Border, though now more Troops could be fuelled to the German-German War.In the End many losses and captured Walkers later the War came to a standstill while the future borders had to be drafted. Peace was very uneasy and there were diplomatic incidents that could have resulted in the continuation of that war. Though the situation had stabilized more and more over the Yearspositive relations were only achieved decades later.
The damage done by the Civil War led to a weakened state of the South German Military and during the Revolutions of 1848 a slow reaction was amassed which soon retook the cities from Liberals and Students, these sentiments would not disappear though and some concessions like the Bundesrat and a constitution were given to appease the more liberal sectors of society.
During the latter half of the Century, a young Graf Zeppelin build the Zeppelin after a Baloon Ride during the Great War and was funded heavily by the Bund Government which saw great potential in this. During the Great War Austrian Involvement was minimal as the HRE-HRE War caused a lot of dislike for war and damages that did not want to be replicated. Soon the Project took about 5% of the War Fund and proved successful. A quiet establishment of the Zeppelin Fleet was done and the Bavarian Aeronautics Industry grew to accommodate the wish for modernisation and improvement of the Technology.

RP Sample: viewtopic.php?p=40067180#p40067180

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

[Asturies-Llion]

WIP

Full Nation Name: Democratic Federation of Iberia and the Macaronesia
Territorial Core: https://imgur.com/a/aJ49aXg
Territorial Claim: [[OPTIONAL]] [[The territories that your nation desires]]
Capital City: Toledu (Toledo)
Flag: [[Your nation's flag or equivalent main symbol]]

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Leonese
Other Cultures: Castilian, Galician-portuguese, Granadine, Guinean
Majority/Official Religion: Carthaginist Catholicism, however, the Federation is secular itself.
Population: 19,158,785

Governance

Government Type: Federal Directorial Republic with elements of Direct Democracy
Government Ideology: Cantonalism (Based on the concepts of Radicalism, Federalism and Mutualism, with an emphasis on the lower bourgeoisie, peasants and working class)
Head of State: Federal Council (It is collective)
Head of Government: President of the Federal Council (rotative among members of the Federal Council)
Government Description:
The Federation is formed by 16 Communities, with their own Cantons, which at the same time are formed by Municipalities. Even though Communities are the second level of the administration, the main subjects are the own Cantons. This way, the Communities were made in order to settle issues between Cantons more easily.
The Federation has three branches:

Legislative branch: The Cortes are composed of two chambers, the Congress of the People, and the Senate. The first represents direct vote, so it is a proportional chamber, while the second represents cantons, which elect one representative each.

Executive Branch: The Federal Council holds the executive power, and at the same time is the collective Head of State. This Federal Council is directly elected by popular vote as a closed electoral list. The Federal Council is presided by a President, which is rotative among its members.

Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court is the highest representative of this power, which is presided by a President, directly elected, who, at the same time, chooses the rest of the Court.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Mutualist
Major Production: Coal, Iron,
Economic Description: [[A description of your economy and industrial development]]

Military

Army Description: [[Describe your nation's army in as much detail as you can]]
Naval Description: [[Describe your nation's navy in as much detail as you can]]
Air Force Description:[[Describe your nation's air force in as much detail as you can]]
Further Military Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

History and Aspirations

National Goals: [[What are the main objectives of your nation?]]
National Issues: [[What needs to be fixed in order for your nation to achieve its true potential?]]
History:

The early Leonese Crown

1126: Alfonsu VII becomes King of Galicia, León and Castile in 1126, uniting the realm and turning it into the Leonese Crown. He is the first King of the House of Ivrea.
1135: He is crowned as Imperator Totius Hispaniae in the Cathedral of León. Thus, claiming to be the heirer of the old Visigoth Kingdom of Hispania.
1157: Alfonsu dies, with his son Sanchu III suceeding him as king of the Crown of León.
1158: Sanchu dies too, leaving his young son Alfonsu VIII as king. His age would lead to an internal fight between houses for the control of the regency, resulting in a civil war. Navarre would conquer La Rioja during this period.
1170: Alfonsu is crowned by the Cortes in León. He founded the Studium Generale of Palencia, which would become the University of Palencia. During his reign he tried to unite the nobility of the realm by reactivating Reconquista, which led him to ally with Navarre, Aragon and Portugal in order to fight the Almohad Caliphate.
1195: León loses the Battle of Alarcos against the Almohads because the King didn’t wait for allied forces in order to attack the area of the Guadiana valley.
1212: Battle of Navas de Tolosa, which results in a victory of the christian coalition.
1214: Alfonsu dies, Enrique I is crowned.
1217: Enrique dies, leaving her sister Sancha I as queen. However, the dinastic rights of the cousin of king Alfonsu VIII, Infant Alfonsu “the Captain”, leads him to start a war. The Infant had a particular level of popularity among the nobility because of his role in the battles against the Almohads.
1219: The war ends with the victory of Infant Alfonsu, who would be know as Alfonsu IX. He conquers the remaining muslim territories of the Guadiana valley.
1921: Alfonsu IX founds the Studium Generale of Salamanca, which would become the University of Salamanca.
1230: Alfonsu IX dies, with his son Fernandu II succeeding him.
1236: Cordoba, the capital of the disappeared Caliphate of Cordoba, is conquered by the Leonese.
1240: the Studium Generale of Palencia is closed, and the remaining resources are moved to Salamanca, thus beginning the future debate of which is the oldest University of the country.
1245: Murcia is conquered.
1246: Jaen is ceded by the Emirate of Granada, which becomes a vassal of the Leonese Crown.
1248: Seville is conquered.

Same history till 1468.

The last years of the Crown of Leon

1474: Enrique IV dies, beginning a dynastic dispute, with his sister Sabela and his daughter Xuana both claiming the throne. Xuana was commonly called “La Beltraniella”, because the Leonese nobility accused her of being daughter of Beltrán de la Cueva.
1479: Xuana wins the war with Portuguese help, thanks to her marriage with the heirer of the throne, Xuan II, becoming Xuana I.
1492: Cristopher Columbus arrives to an island of what would be named as America. In the same year, in the peninsula, the Emirate of Granada is conquered, Reconquista finishes.
1495: Xuan II dies in Portugal, his son Alfonsu is crowned as Alfonsu VI of Portugal.
1530: Xuana I dies, Alfonsu becomes Alfonsu XII of León. After this, both crowns will be held by the same king.

The Colonies

Colonization of America:

The new Spanish Crown after the unification of Portugal and León decided to boost the colonization of America. However, at the same time, the Crown keeps the Portuguese eastern routes, that lets them trade with Asia without the need of passing through the Eastern Roman Empire.
Even though the Spanish attempts to conquer the Aztec Empire, they fail again and again. Because of this, the Crown decides to focus on South America and some islands in the Caribbean. The harsh treatment of the natives as cheap workforce, even after the attempts of the Crown to count them as equals to the peninsulars, leads to the death of many. The laws created in 1542 and this drop in the native population makes African slave workforce cheaper in many areas, specially in the Caribbean.
The Crown finally enforces its laws in America, with some exceptions, and creates an administration there. Cartagena d’Indies becomes the center of the American territories.

Colonies in Africa:

The need of African slaves favours the establishment of coastal cities in the African mainland, which are used at the same time as stops for the trade from Asia. In this context, after decades of trade with Asia, some other colonies are created in the eastern continent, which lead to the creation of companies in the area.

Spanish mainland:

The Spanish Empire kept itself out of the matters of Europe for most of its history, with a rather tolerant stance on non-catholic faiths. These stance helped in the popularization of certain re-interpretations of Catholicism, which were capitalized during the 16th century by the Spanish Crown in order to keep control over the clergy in its territory. This re-interpretations backed by the Crown became known as “Carthaginism”, based on how it interpreted that the Toledu diocese should be a primus inter pares in the peninsula. The attempts of Spain to keep a pseudo-schism of Catholicism were never accepted by the Papacy, but their geopolitical position in Europe favoured the focus of the Papacy on other European matters most of the time.
The flow of products and resources from the colonies helped in the manufacture of the early Spanish industry, which was specially centered around wool in the interior, while the coast focused more on the transformation of said American resources.

By the 18th century, the developing liberal movement in Europe entered in Spain, but after some good years of acceptance of the Crown during the second half of the century, the monarchy decided to prosecute it after the beginning of the Revolutionary Wars in Europe.

The 19th century

Liberals and revolts:

The repression of the liberals sparked a rebellion in 1804, known as the Rebellion of Lisbon, which attempted to create constitutional monarchy. However, the absolutist troops managed to control the movement, which was suffocated in other cities. Lisbon suffered a siege, and the absolutists retook the city by 1805.

During the century the different colonies in America would start independence wars, in which many ranks of the Army grew liberal sympathies. The colonel Fael del Riegu leadered a mutiny in Western Andalusia in 1821 with troops that were ready to ship to America to fight in the wars of independence. Fael del Riegu gathered support, and after two weeks most of Andalusia followed him. At the same time, many cities like Prasencia, Lisbon (Llisboa) or Murcia rebelled. By March of the next year, the capital had rebelled two times, but the third was impossible to tackle. The people of Toledu stormed the Alcázar, the main symbol of the power of the monarchy in the city. King Bastián III wasn’t in the Alcázar, the royalists managed to take the royal family of the city, he was in the Palace of Aranzuez. The royalist troops sieged the capital, but the combined forces of Fael del Riegu and other liberal troops broke it, finally taking the king out of his new headquarters. In May, the king surrendered, and accepted the Provisional Government.

The first Spanish Constitution was enacted on September 24, 1822. The Constitution established a restricted suffrage and an executive power controlled by the monarch. Lower classes grew suspicious of the new order, feeling they were excluded from political life. After this event the lower bourgeoisie, the proletariat and the peasantry started to have a certain disconnection from the original liberal movement.

In 1835, the Liberal Party suffers an internal division leadered by Xuan Álvarez Mendizábal. Mendizábal became President of the Council of Ministers in 1834, but his early progressive reforms were not supported by his party. This way, the Progressive Party is created after Mendizábal got kicked out of the government by the Congress.

The tensions after the next elections in which most Progressive seats were lost because of the rejection of their project by the elites, end up in a revolt in 1841, in which general Esparteru coups the Moderate government. A Constitutional Convention is created, and in 1842 there is a new Constitution. The new Constitution expanded the vote, but didn’t manage to make it universal, but the most important reform was the exclusion of the monarch from the Executive branch. For years, the moderates of the Liberal Party and the Progressive Party held control over the government from time to time.

However, as time passed, corruption started to spread in the administration. The most important scandal was the one of Xulio Gómez’s (Minister of Treasury) confiscation of lands, in 1854. Confiscations consisted on the forced expropriation of land and property from the "mortmains" (i.e., the Catholic Church and religious orders, which had accumulated it from grants, wills, and intestates) and from municipalities. The government then sold the property on the market or through public auctions, but there were rumours of manipulation of them, favouring land tenants tied to the administration. This scandal caused a split in the Progressive Party, with its left wing creating the Democratic Party.

Through the years of the Constitutional Regime industrialization accelerated, creating a seizable proletariat that started to organize itself. This way, syndicalism appeared in many industries, in many cases supported by members of the Democratic Party. However, the growing working class started to make political clubs, in which the theories of relevant socialist figures were debated. The first important strike was the General Strike of 1855.

The colonial switch:

While the Empire kept losing control of America, it decided to move its interests towards an easier to defend zone: Africa.
The colonization of Africa wasn’t very important till the beginning of the 19th century, which was centered in the area of the north-west, using the city of Bixáu (Bissau) as the _de facto_ capital of the colonies. For years, the Spanish Kingdom tried to expand its control over African territories, in which many tribes posed a problem for the conquest of the inland. The said expansion saw a significant impulse during the decade of 1860.

In 1868 the expansion of the colonial territories clashed with French interests, escalating into the Colonial French-Spanish War after a disagreement over control of territories in Morocco. As the war raged, levies were called and thousands of young citizens were moved to the complex African terrain. There, some officers with radical sympathies leadered troops against their own will, resulting in a growing discontent even among the professional soldiers. On July 17, 1872, the shipping of soldiers to the colonies that should leave the port of Cádiç that morning was stopped by unrest in the streets. The soldiers joined the workers that were protesting against the levies in the port, and the revolt expanded. The government tried to repress the revolt, but the workers, who had assaulted barracks, answered with arms. A Commitee of Public Safety was created, leadered by Fermín Salvochea, which proclaimed the Canton of Cádiç in a manifesto that called for the creation of a Federal Democratic Republic. Other cities followed, in which some other levies supported the takeover by the people. By October half of the peninsula had proclaimed Cantons and the government barely kept control of Toledu.
After the notice of the ongoing revolution reached Africa, many radical officers started plots with the soldiers. Some were captured before defecting and were put into military trial, but some others started to conveniently not advance or delay their moves. After the first defecting brigades appeared, the government chose to remove suspected radical officers from key operations. However, when Captain Colás Estévanez received the new orders, he started a mutiny. Loyalist troops tried to capture him and his followers, but they captured a frigate in the port of Bixáu and started gathering support among divisions in coastal bases of the Spanish.
The unrest in the peninsula and behind the front in Africa favoured the French in their advance, which captured acres and acres of land. France kept a blockade in the archipelagos of the Atlantic, keeping an important grip over the Canary Islands. When Estévanez appeared in the Canaries, he negotiated with the French in order to let him land in Gran Canaria, where he was from. There, he sparked a rebellion in the island, and seized the ships of the Navy, who he used for supporting the revolution in the rest of the archipelago.
With the situation of civil war in the islands and the peninsula, the government is finally captured the morning of February 5 of 1874 in Toledu. The cantonalist troops entered in the government buildings and the Palace of Aranzuez, putting the royal family under arrest. The Provisional Junta calls for the creation of a Constitutional Convention, which with the participation of representatives of the various cantons creates a Constitution enacted in June 12. After two weeks the Committees of Public Safety dissolve themselves, and elections are held by the Provisional Junta in July. The Democratic Federation of Iberia and the Macaronesia has been founded.

The new Federation

An armistice with France is signed in 1874, with Iberia ceding all its territories in mainland Africa except Guinea-Bixáu, which becomes a Community of the Federation due to the local participation in the revolution and creation of a canton. Also, the armistice compelled to let the arrested in the revolution to exile, including the royal family. Since then, the Federation has been more or less silent in the international stage, with only a few meetings with various leaders of other countries. The revolution has put the lands into the hands of the peasants and the factories into hands of the proletariat, while the intellectuals and scientists roam freely innovating and offering new perspectives. The revolution has also been a technological revolution, and the Federation has not lost the time since 1874. Only time will tell if Iberia can become an influential player on the world arena.
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]

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[Krugmar]

Full Nation Name: Exarchate of Egypt
Territorial Core: Light Purple
Territorial Claim: Kenya, Hejaz, Venice, Ethiopia
Capital City: Heliopolis (Cairo)
Flag: Uses the ERE flag, along with the Barbarigo personal standard

Demographics

Culture and Religion The Exarchate of Egypt, and the Katepanates under its control, are highly diverse. The three cultures which sit at the top of each province: Graeco-Venetian, Greek, and Frank, are themselves small urban minorities in each province. The Graeco-Venetians are the Barbarigo family, and a few other interlinked families similarly from Venice (or elsewhere in Italy) who took up residence in Constantinople and became particularly Graecified and part of the Roman world. The Greeks are themselves a diverse group, referring to any Orthodox group within the empire, such as the Helleno-Romans, Albanians, Bulgarians, Armenians, Maronites, and others. Franks are similarly diverse, being any more recent arrivals from Europe, tending to be Catholic or Protestant.

In the centre of the Exarchate, Egypt, the majority of the populace are Coptic Egyptian, and by the 19th century they are usually just referred to as 'Egyptian'. They largely practice the Coptic Christian faith, though some have converted to Orthodoxy, and a small minority have taken up the Coptic identity and language but remained Muslim. A significant minority remain Muslim and use the Arabic language, being the Arabic Egyptians or 'Arabs' for short. While they were the majority when the Romans first reconquered Egypt, they have dwindled since and now represent around 15 to 20% of the population. Berbers, Bedouins, and Nubians make up the rest of the population, the former two tending towards Islam though less of late, and the latter being Christian, usually Coptic.

Cyrenaica is a part of the Egyptian Exarchate, but was under Constantinople's control until the early 19th century. The Roman Emperors took great pains to Hellenize the province, seeking to 'restore' what they saw as an integral part of the Greek world. Extensive settlement programs, coupled with pressure, massacres (both state sponsored and by local opportunists) has resulted in the population of the coast and highlands being Greek-speaking and identifying as Roman. Further inland it remains largely Arab, Berber, and Muslim.

Nubia was on the verge of Arabization and Islamisation before the Roman conquest of Egypt. The Christian kingdoms of Nubia had given way to invaders such as the Fur people. Expeditions stabilised the region and restored the kingdoms, allowing the Christian Nubian identity to survive. The growth of Roman control over the region has seen a Christianisation of the region. The Nubians largely adhere to the Coptic church, while other peoples, such as the Fur, are mixed in allegiance to the Orthodox and Coptic churches.

The island of Socotra is home to the Socotrans, a South Arabian people who have been largely converted to Greek Orthodoxy. They were formerly Nestorians, though their isolation from the wider Christian world had left them with dwindling knowledge of their own faith, and by the time Rome reached them they had begun converting to Islam.

Zanzibar and East Africa are largely split between the Arabs and Bantu. The Arabs are a minority, descended from those who migrated from the Peninsula, particularly from Oman. They largely adhere to Islam, mainly Sunni but also Shi'a and Ibadi, while a minority have converted to Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and Catholicism. The Bantu are highly diverse culturally, split between various groups, though the Swahili have emerged the most prominent and it is their language which has become the lingua franca of the region. The Swahili largely adhere to Islam, with some Christian minorities, while the more inland groups are split between Christianity and traditional religions.

Yemen is an Arab land religiously split. The majority adhere to Islam, though they are divided between the majority Sunni, who inhabit the coastal lands, and the minority Zayidi Shi'a, who make the highlands their home. An indigenous community of Jews, the Teimanim, have lived in Yemen for millennia. A small minority have converted to Christianity.

The coast of Malabar is home to many groups, near all of whom share the Malayalam language. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims call the coast their home.

The Moluccas are home to a thousand groups, each with their own languages, traditions, and customs. Some have converted to Islam, while others mix native beliefs with Hinduism and Buddhism, or others keep to the religion of their ancestors. Others have converted to Christianity, as missionaries become more and more common.

Population: All taken from populstat, some with small increases
Overall: 45,500,000
Egypt: 15,000,000 (slight increase from technological progress, can reduce down to IRL 12 mil)
Rwanda-Burundi: 1,500,000
Sudan: 11,000,000 (Sudan's IRL pop was about 6 million, but this reflects a lack of Mahdist War near halving the pop. and increased development + some small scale settlement)
Tanzania: 4,500,000
Uganda: 1,500,000
Malabar: 5,000,000 (pure guess, will accept any more accurate figure)
Moluccas: 4,500,000 (10% of Indonesia's pop + 150,000 from East Timor)
Yemen: 2,500,000

Governance

Government Type: Monarchy
Government Ideology: See Barbarigo Plans below
Head of State and Government: Valerio Barbarigo
Government Description: The Exarchy ostensibly functions as an autonomous province of the Roman Empire. In reality the Barbarigo family have developed a parallel state which holds real power over their territories. While candidates sent from Constantinople are accepted and placed in positions of governance, they quickly come to the realisation that they are mere figureheads. Real power is concentrated in the hands of 'residents' appointed by the Barbarigo family, and the residents are always either Barbarigos, related families, or other loyal allies. The top jobs, the Katepans, are reserved for the Barbarigos. To have reached them means the Barbarigo in question has climbed the 'cursus honorum' and has almost reached the pinnacle that they could aspire to. That pinnacle of course being the vaunted position of Exarch.

The Exarch is in reality the autocratic ruler of the Exarchy of Egypt and the East. The Exarch is chosen by the family's senior council when the previous one dies or abdicates, though by convention it is a member of the Lucanine branch of the family. If the senior council is unable to come to a decision they draw lots to elect 15 members of the family. Those 15 then nominate three of the senior council to make a decision. If those three are unable to come to a decision the process is repeated until every member of the senior council has taken part. If there is still no decision then every member of the senior council nominates a candidate, the names are then drawn randomly and discarded until only one remains. The winner is chosen to be the next Exarch. Given the cutthroat nature of the election, the bribery and threats involved, it has never gotten to the stage of drawing lots.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Capitalist
Major Production: Crops such as Cotton, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, tobacco, and beans. Gold and iron ore, textiles and clothing. Exotic goods such as spices from the Moluccas.
Economic Description: Taking full use of their international connections and Eastern Roman Support, the Barbarigos have developed Egypt significantly, though outside urban areas things remain relatively the same for rural folk. The colonies provide raw materials which are increasingly being processed in Egypt, rather than exported immediately to more developed centres in the ERE or the West. Other than Egypt some development has occurred in Zanzibar City, as the Barbarigos seek to make it the premier port for all eastern Africa. Though not lacking in desert from which to harvest Ki, their empire has few sources of coal and so that must be imported.

Military

Army Description: There are three military forces operating under the Barbarigo: the Roman Army in Egypt, the Auxilia, and the Kolemen.

The Roman Army in Egypt has been steadily removed from Constantinople's control. Its officers are Franks and Copts, and the few Greeks trusted by the regime, while it is largely made up of Copts and Nubians. It is not as disciplined or equipped as the Roman Army elsewhere, Constantinople diverting its best away from a force it knows it has little control of.

The Auxilia is not a uniform force. Regiments range from highly skilled, disciplined, and equipped Frank or Greek mercenaries, to local forces cobbled together from native troops. The Auxilia allows the Barbarigo to complement the more rigid Roman Army with highly skilled troops, and native allies. More importantly it is a way to check the power of an army that cannot always be trusted.

The Kolemen are the elite of the Barbarigo state. They are drawn from three sources: the African interior, India, and the Moluccas. Each regiment is kept regionally and religiously separate. In times past they were slaves, the personal property of the Barbarigo family, though with that institution officially waning they are now volunteers, though for many the lure of a better life meant they had little choice. Though given some privileges, they face sharp restrictions. They are not allowed to marry, and they are kept separate from local populations. They may only retire at the age of fifty, or being otherwise honourably discharged. If they leave earlier they sacrifice any perks gained. When retiring they have a few choices: they can plie their trade as mercenaries or officers abroad, hope for continued employment by the Barbarigo in the military or bureaucracy, or agree to settle in a military colony. the Kolemen Colonies are villages and towns being established in the Moluccas and African interior. They serve the Barbarigos twofold: they establish loyal garrisons, and they help develop areas. Those already inhabiting the areas are not particularly pleased about them.

Naval Description: The Roman Navy of Egypt and the East exists on paper. Even the archaic ships mentioned on the rolls have been sold or scrapped. Names on papers are allegedly paid for services rendered as sailors, but imaginary men need no salaries. It is an open secret that the Barbarigos have let the official navy rot and decay into nothingness. The only reason it has not been disbanded is to maintain the supply of Greek fire. If Constantinople were to end this then the fragile relationship between it and Heliopolis may suffer. Besides most in the City know that even if it were to exist, it'd just be a tool for the Barbarigo anyway.

Instead the Barbarigo rely on their East India Company.

The East India Company is an institution founded and run by Barbarigos. While formerly responsible for governing all eastern possessions, it is now focused entirely upon maintaining trade and policing said trade. Its navy is mostly mercantile, though it maintains a sizeable military contingent. Its navy, known as the Armada, is a private navy owned purely by the Barbarigo family. Despite this it is as large as the navy of most nations, having taken on the role of the official navy. It is a vast enterprise, ranging from small riverine vessels to grand cruisers. It is one of the premier forces of the Indian Ocean, a role for which it has been designed, though it maintains a sizeable presence in the Mediterranean as well.

Air Force Description: A new force, the Barbarigos have not even had to diminish or decay an existing Roman institution. Through private investment they have created a fairly modern, if somewhat small compared to European, air force. While they see much potential in its future, it is extraordinarily expensive and requires a long chain of factories and immense amount of resources to maintain and expand. If it is to grow further, then Egypt must be developed further, another expensive thing to consider.
Further Military Description : tbd

History and Aspirations

National Goals: The Barbarigo main line seek to extend their control over the African continent, they seek the status quo with Constantinople, and they agree with the other branches of the family that a Great War would be an acceptable proposition, particularly one which wiped out the Socialist plague.
National Issues: For the Barbarigos, it is the need to modernise. This means a dependency on Europe and the ERE for experts and resources. They have had success in establishing a native industry in Egypt, but it will take more time and money.
For the peoples they rule over, the problem is the Barbarigo family. The native peoples will never be free or allowed to prosper so long as they are ruled as colonials by a family that cares nothing for them or their lands.
History:
pre-1501 - Zanzibar was visited by Arab merchants, who spread Islam across the coast and helped in the formation and spread of Swahili. Many urban centres appeared during this time, with the elites being Muslim and Swahili-speaking Bantu peoples, who often established for themselves Persian or Arab genealogies. Over time Nestorian Persian and Indian merchants began arriving and settling in these cities, particularly Zanzibar Town
1541: Alexandria is conquered by the Romans, marking the beginning of Roman Egypt
1601 - 1635 - Roman merchants become increasingly prominent along the East Coast of Africa, and establish their own quarter in Stone Town.
1635 - The Roman Merchants banded together to overthrow the Sultanate of Zanzibar and institute their own oligarchic republic, though they were quick to establish links and recognise the sovereignty of the Empire. Among these merchants were the Barbarigo, who quickly became one of the premier families of the young republic.
1648 - Aureo Barbarigo is elected Duke of Zanzibar, and the post becomes de facto hereditary from this point onwards.
1675 - The Duke of Zanzibar is awarded the title of Katepan by the Emperor. Other than being a ceremonial recognition of Zanzibar as a client of the Empire, it also gives the duke power over all Roman subjects in the Indian Sea, and the ability to establish diplomatic ties on Constantinople's behalf in the Maritime East and African interior.
1701 - Luca Barbarigo is appointed Exarch of Egypt, and moves the family's power base from Stone Town in Zanzibar, to Heliopolis in Lower Egypt. He remains dually Exarch and Duke, though the functions of the latter are carried out by his brother, Dragano. His enemies (correctly) accuse him of bribing his way into the position, and the Senate is outraged that an "Italian barbarian" is given such a high position. Two mutinies (1705, 1711) to remove him fail, and he is still the present Exarch.
1711 - After the failure of the latest mutiny, Luca holds a grand celebration. The invited Mamluks are slaughtered, and in the chaos many Greek dignitaries, loyal to Constantinople, are unfortunately killed. Luca blames it on an attempted coup by the Mamluks, and uses the opportunity to place his lackeys into positions of power and purge the remaining Mamluks.
1711-1900 - The Barbarigo continue to expand their empire, securing the port of Aden to ensure access to the Red Sea. They make deals with native princes of the Malabar Coast, establishing factories and eventually assuming control over the region. They seize or purchase from Europeans parts of the Moluccas, later achieving full control over the area and the lucrative spice trade. Expeditions are sent down the Nile and into the African interior. Medical advancements allow for permanent control over these areas to be established. Technological advancement is embraced by the Barbarigos, though they lag behind Europe due to a lack of resources until the discovery of Ki. Through bloody conquest, avaricious bargaining, and vile treachery they are able to establish themselves as one of the foremost powers of the Indian Ocean.
1890 - Valerio Barbarigo is elected as the new boss of the family, and Exarch of Egypt. He has increased communication with the various branches of the family, entrenching his own power as the head of the entire family. While he has operated along similar lines to his predecessors, he has sinister plans for Europe.

Barbarigo Family and the Camarilla

The "main" line of the family, descended from Luca Barbarigo or his brother Dragano Barbarigo.
Lucanine
[*]
Draganine
[*]

The eastern branch of the family.
Banu Ariju
[*]
Hu
[*]
Bae
[*]
Sanarigo
[*]

The Mediterranean branch of the family, and technically the oldest
Barbarigo of Venice
[*]
Barbarigo of Constantinople
[*]
Barbarigo of Rome
[*]
Barbarigo of Seville
[*]
Barbarigo of Novgorod
[*]

The northern branch of the family
Barbarigo of London
[*]
Barbarigo of Ghent
[*]
Barbarigo of Rotterdam
[*]
Barbarigo de Marsan
[*]
Barbarigo of of Hamburg
[*]
Barbarigo of New York
[*]

Camarilla

Barbarigo Bank

East India Company
Governor and Company of Merchants of Alexandria trading into the East Indies

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[Elysian Kentarchy]

Full Nation Name: The Kingdom of France/Royaume de France
Territorial Core: France with the addition of the claimed parts of the Netherlands, French Madagascar, Morocco excluding Raf, and the parts of Africa and Vietnam shown on the world map.
Territorial Claim: Alsace
Capital City: Paris
Flag: Was having some trouble with the image so instead doing it via url.

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: French
Other Cultures: Breton, Occitan, Dutch, Vietnamese, Malagasy, Berber, various African tribes.
Majority/Official Religion: Roman Catholicism
Population: 44,720,000+18,500,000 from various colonies, mostly Vietnam

Governance

Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Government Ideology: Monarchism, absolutism
Head of State: King Jean III
Head of Government: King Jean III
Government Description:The King of France rules as an absolute monarch however he also rules with the advice of his council which he is free to ignore, though that is rarely done. Power is delegated from the king to various councils that he trusts to carry out his will. A very notable power of the French king is that he is the one with the power to appoint any and all judges in the country, this in part is to ensure that the judiciary remains loyal to the monarchy and also as a way for the king to show which noble families he favors. Of course one cannot talk much about the French government without mentioning the Order of Sainte Jeanne d'Arc. Officially speaking the order is a fraternity consisting of military officers, government officials, and nobility stating that they as simply supporters of the crown and wish to express that devotion and protect it. However, it must be noted, there are many rumors swirling around them, claims of them guiding the King's decisions, ideas that they exercise influence over French foreign policy, even the slanderous idea that they are the real power behind the throne. Whatever the rumors or claims, it is an undeniable fact that there are indeed many in the government, military, and nobility, including the royal family itself, who profess membership (however the King is avowedly not a member).

When it comes to colonial rule, France tends to take a hands off approach, cooperating with locals. So long as the resources are sent to France and the law is followed, France tends not to care. However if they do have to wind up caring a sizable colonial army is also something that is kept on hand. Of course to facilitate this France does invest quite a bit in infrastructure in the colonies, whether that be airships, roads or railroads.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Capitalist with royal control over certain industries.
Major Production: Luxury goods, textiles, wine, steel, machinery, chemicals, various agricultural and mineral products from the colonies, coal, a rather notable arms industry covering most armaments.
Economic Description: Enjoying massive industrialization, a large colonial empire, and a history of an eye for quality, France is very much a wealthy nation. It is very much a capitalist system with the nobility and capitalists and their own industry in frequent competition with one another. However, it must be said that the Royal family does have a significant involvement with the military industrial complex and does exercise control over it, which makes sense given how, besides foreign contracts, the monarchy is their biggest customers. The French are currently experimenting with large scale merchant airships, designed to carry vast loads of resources from the colonies to either other colonies or France itself and carry trade goods out.

Military

Army Description: Riding high from their victories in the Great War, one would expect the French Army to be willing to rest on their laurels, and such people would be wrong. While the French military does expect a trench warfare and have gotten a taste of industrial scale warfare in the Great War, the army still considers its most valuable resource to be infantry supported by liberal amounts of artillery, the introduction of tanks, airships, and mechs has not changed that much. A notable formation in the French Army is the Order of Saint Louis. Donning experimental armor and mounting mechanical horses these modern knights serve as the elite cavalry force of the French Army and are designed to act as line breakers, if there is a break in the enemy's trenches or positions the knights are to be deployed to exploit it.

French mech doctrine is born out of the lessons of the Great War, either mechs that are designed to be functional hard points in fortifications that massively sacrifice speed for firepower and armor and general all rounders. When it comes to the former, the Forteresse-class mechs, nicknamed bunker mechs, and equipped with large guns, light anti-infantry weapons, and heavy armor, they are more or less designed to lock down an area. Naturally, fitting their nickname, they are slow enough that a man at a brisk walk can outpace them. The bunker mechs have had production outside of replacement and spare parts mostly cease due to expense and the feeling that a more mobile mech force is the future. The other category of mechs, and the one where the French feel though they have hit their stride, is defined by the Vaillant-class mechs, designed to fill as many purposes as they can from mobile artillery, to anti-infantry to anti-tank to even anti-mech, the Vaillant-class's biggest strength is that weapons on it can be swapped out before going into battle depending on the situation. While the Vaillant-class may not be the fastest, most powerful, or most protected mech, it makes up for it in terms of versatility. There is a third type of mech that often does not get mentioned since it is delegated to colonial duty, the Éclaireur-class mech, designed for long range operation, it sacrifices heavy armor and guns for endurance and speed.

Tanks have had more investment, partially because they are cheaper than mech, with some saying that they might just replace cavalry in some respects. Some tank designs serve in an infantry role to support them and others are more designed to kill other tanks. France does well enough in it that they actually license some designs and also send surplus to the colonies.

Naval Description: Noting that keeping parity with the British is a fool's errand, especially when the entire British Empire is taken into account, the French intend to keep a navy that can effectively rival the navy of their Garman neighbors and inconvenience anyone else. Split between the Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets, the French navy consists of 12 battleships which vary from very modern to ships that should be consigned to the second line, 8 heavy cruisers, 27 light cruisers, 43 destroyers and 25 submarines. France's navy also includes a large amount of support vessels, including coaling vessels, to ensure the Marine Royale can act wherever it is needed to act and the airships of the French fleet can resupply easily.

Air Force Description: When it comes to air forces the French realize that they cannot really hope to outnumber the British, especially with American backing, so they instead aim for quality over quantity with the designs of their larger vessels. However the French airships are not their own branch of the French military and are instead subordinated to both the army and the navy depending on context and suffers from it. The army makes frequent use of lighter ones in infantry support roles (including tactical bombers) or flying artillery platforms and have built up a sizeable number of lighter craft to serve as interceptors for people who would disagree with the tactical bombers or flying artillery platforms. When it comes to the navy many are designed to serve as scouting forces or bombers. Though given the Channel Dash France also maintains a line of relatively quick airships that, while they may not be particularly heavily armed or armored, speed is their own advantage. The French King has taken the stance in recent years that France's lack of capital class airships and the fact that the largest ships are basically heavy cruisers and so there have been efforts to build up French industry and design new airships.

Further Military Description: Per a law enacted by King Henri V in the aftermath of the Great War, it is the goal of the Kingdom of France to have an army consisting on 1% of the population, at minimum at all times, not counting colonial forces. Noting that when it comes to large scale airships, France is very much behind and convinced it must make up for the gap, France paid the Americans a couple years ago to construct them two modern air battleships that they expect to be finished soon, both to increase France's air power and also to serve as a way to improve their industry by learning from people who know what they are doing. A not often mentioned but relevant formation is the Maréchaussée Royale, France's national police force that also carries military grade weaponry.

History and Aspirations

National Goals: Preserve the Monarchy at all costs.
National Issues: Need to reform the French air forces, France not exactly having many allies in Europe
History:
-October, 1791: Paris descends into chaos and violent revolutionaries manage to capture King Louis XVI before he could flee the city. His wife and heir both manage to escape thanks to several royalists.
-December, 1791: King Louis XVI executed after a hasty trial. The Dauphin, his child Louis, is proclaimed King Louis XVII with Louis Joseph de Bourbon as his regent, by royalists rallying around him and people shocked by the execution of the monarch, denouncing the revolution as being against Crown, God, and France. French soldiers loyal to the crown and the Maréchaussée Royale begin to mobilize and several regiments that had initially sworn to the Republic fell into infighting. The regency reaches out to the Austrians and others for aid.
-April, 1792: The Royalist French Army begins its march on Paris led by General Jacques Cathelineau.
-June, 1793: The Siege of Paris begins as Royalist armies encircle the city after the defeat of the Republican army.
-September, 1793: After the failure of several hastily raised Republican armies to relieve the city, Paris surrenders, much of the city being turned into rubble by the royalist siege guns, the rebuilding would take many years.
-December, 1793: The Revolt of the Commons as it is commonly known is declared to be at an end and many gallows are quickly erected and filled. Beheading is declared illegal in France due to what happened to King Louis XVI.
-1803: After intense negotiations and a rather big pay off, France sells their Louisiana territory to the Commonwealth of America
-1804: The Regency of King Louis XVII is at an end and King Louis XVII takes the reins as an absolute monarch. Growing up with the memories of what happened to his father he takes a firm and absolutist stance when it comes to reigning.
-July, 1806: The Order of Sainte Jeanne d'Arc is founded by French royalists, led by the Secretary of State of War Henri de la Rochejaquelein.
-1848: Louis XVII dies, his son Henri V takes the throne. Henri V's reign would be one known for extreme militarism and a shocking abdication.
-1868: Colonial war breaks out between France and Spain leading to the Colonial French-Spanish War which ends in decisive victory for France.
-1874: Armistice signed by France and the new Federation of Iberia. While France detests having such a nation bordering them, needs must and at least they had managed to negotiate the exile of the royal family and many of their royalists along with their considerable territorial gains.
-1877: Great War begins.
-1882: Citing a desire to become a monk, Henri V abdicates in favor of his son, Charles, and he goes and becomes a Carthusian monk. Charles X becomes King of France, a reign that reflected the glory of France but ended in tragedy.
-1885: The Channel Dash, a race across the English Channel from France to England and back is instituted and the first race is carried out, ending in an English victory. Notably the captain for the French team was the king's brother, Jean. This would become a yearly tradition for both nations and yet another chance to show off their splendor.
-1890: King Charles X dies in an airship accident with his son and heir on the Pacificateur. His brother, Jean, enjoying popularity among both the common citizens and the military, ascends to the French throne as King Jean III with much fanfare.
-1892: King Jean III begins a series of reforms of the French bureaucracy and colonial administration.
-1893: King Jean III institutes several reforms to French court life and ceremony, mostly designed to reduce expenses to the crown, much of the money is routed to either the treasury or donated to charity.
-1899: France, for the first time in six years, wins the Channel Dash with the United Kingdom in an airship captained by King Jean III's second son, Philippe.
-1900: Present day
RP Sample:

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

[Sao Nova Europa]

Reservation

Nation Name: China
Territory: Qing China
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Oscalantine]

Full Nation Name: The Most Serene Imperial States of Korea 대숭한합중국 (大崇合衆國)
Territorial Core: Korean Peninsula (including Jeju Island, Ulleungdo, and Dokdo), Southernmost section of Vietnam (Mekong River Delta), Cambodia, Southern Laos (provinces including and lower than Bolikhamxai province), Thailand, Southern Myanmar (Tenasserim Hills), Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and surrounding isles, Borneo and surrounding isles, Sulawesi and surrounding isles Northern Philippines (Luzon except Bicol Region), Sri Lanka, Socotra, Andaman Islands
Territorial Claim: The Most Serene Imperial States consider the oceanic route from Korean Peninsula through the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean, and ending on Horn of Africa as a region that is rightfully theirs to share and control as they see fit. While the Imperial States has thus far felt fit to share this waterway with all involved parties, should the Korean prosperity be challenged the Imperial States will not hesitate to fight to exercise this "right."
Capital City: 한성부
Flag:

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Korean
Other Cultures: There are many ethnicities in the Imperial States that creates a very large minority group, with some of the most noticeable ones being Ethnic Malays.
Majority/Official Religion: Donghak (동학), Cheondoism (천도교)

Meaning “Religion of the Heavenly Way,” Cheondoism and its predecessor Donghak started in IRL several decades after the 1850 period. In this timeline, however, the religious tone of the movement started much earlier, as Korea met with the Europeans earlier.

The main cause of the movement is relatively the same: pressured by the “Western learning” (called 서학 in Korean), the Koreans felt pressured to keep what was uniquely eastern… or simply be more Korean. As Koreans started to separate form the Ming’s sphere of influence to create uniquely Korean way of thoughts, Confucian thoughts had no opportunity to grow into neo-Confucian movement within Joseon Dynasty. Instead, a different, radical ideology was conceived to preserve Confucianism sprang from the mainland Korea, calling itself Donghak (동학), which literally means “Eastern Learning.” Founded in the 1790’s, this radical teaching saw revival of the Confucian ideology and anti-Christian theology. Donghak has since mixed with the local Shamanist superstitions and became a single, monotheistic belief of “the Heaven” (하늘님) with dogma focused on loyalty to the Imperial Throne and the lineage of Royal Bloodline who is ordained by the Heaven to rule in his stead. Donghak emphasize heavily on keeping old traditions of unknown number of gods and spirits alive all across Korea not as a way of worship, but as a means to preserve old traditions and honoring the ways of forefathers.

While Donghak movement gained steam in mainland Korea, in the colonies from as early as 1820’s there was a new heretical religion that was gaining steam. While in IRL Cheondoism was revival of destroyed Donghak movement, in this timeline Cheondoism is created not based on Korea Shamanism, but rather from mixing the Donghak Confucian ideology with the Orthodox Christianity and Sunni Islam. Keeping with the spirit of the Donghak movement, Cheondoism instead seeks tolerance and religious harmony in belief of slow and deliberate assimilation of multiple monotheist faiths into a singular Orthodox faith. While still missionary religion at heart, Cheondoism’s light stance against Sunni Islam and various Christian faiths such as Catholicism and Protestantism is a necessity caused by the melding pot of various religious beliefs shared within the colonies. By accepting and slowly assimilating them into one, single, Cheondoism, much of the religious strife that would have plagued any single-faith religion has been largely tolerated for nearly a century. With the Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do officially approving the ideology into colonial religious options, the mainland Korea has since been warming up to the idea.

As Korea started to interact more and more with Western culture, however, Cheondoism has started to focus more on being recognized as a sect of Christianity than part of Islam. While it does not openly persecute Islamic faith from its core tenants, majority of the priesthood adheres to the rituals of Orthodoxy, as Korean interactions with Roman Empire has opened opportunities for religious scholars to directly study faith in Constantinople. Thus, Cheondosim has started to be recognized as an Eastern heresy to Christianity rather than Islam, which is contrary to its conception. While the dogma of Cheondosim is far from pure Christianity and focuses on open dialogue and debates of faith, it cannot be argued that the religious leaders of Cheondoism considers it almost a requirement to study under either Orthodox or Catholic virtues before being introduced into the priesthood.

Population: 59.64 million

Governance

Government Type: Absolute Monarchy
Government Ideology: Economic, political, and cultural Imperialism
Head of State: Hist Most Serene Imperial Majesty, Emperor Lee Yue (이유황제)
Head of Government: The Emperor shares his power with the Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do (축제도 총독), former in the mainland while latter in the colonies.
Government Description: From its start as a minor power on the fringe of the orient, the Most Serene Imperial States has a sprawling colonial empire that competes with Europeans and other nations in Far East alike. As with many Oriental traditions, the core of Korean diplomacy is in its legitimacy, which can be generally summed up towards concept of earning and demanding as much “respect” for its neighboring powers as possible. And with expansionary window slowly closing due to arrival of European powers, “respect” is the only thing that the Imperial Throne views as something worthy of going to war for.

It is important to distinguish between the Viceroyalty and Imperial Throne when discussing Korea: the Viceroyalty of Chuk-Jae-Do is focal point of “colonial” foreign relations and official colonization efforts while the Imperial Throne of Korea deals with its immediate oriental neighbors and issues with its vassals. While there is indeed a significant distinction, the Imperial Throne views Viceroyalty actually as a very large, very independent vassal of Korea, who deals with all the colonial expansion under the grace of the Emperor. While de-facto power of the Viceroy comes very close to the Emperor himself, it is important to understand that the Viceroyalty pays not in taxes, but in tributes much like other vassals of Korea. As a result, it allows colonies under the authority of the Viceroy a significant room for independence, freely engaging in foreign relations and even colonial efforts that the Imperial Throne might not agree with. Furthermore, the massive sum of gold necessary for yearly tribute always forces the Viceroyalty to be very diligent in generating capital, but also desire long-term relationships that will continuously pay dividends. For this, it is not unheard of for the Viceroy to engage in questionable dealings with foreign powers to ensure that money always flows through Chuk-Jae-Do even at the cost of their discovery angering the Imperial Throne.

Imperial Throne has relatively stayed the same from Joseon Period, with the following departments designated for different roles in the government, with the Emperor of the Most Serene Imperial States as an absolute authority and final decision maker of all departments.

• State Council (의정부) is the highest political department of Korea who deals with key issues of state and advises the Emperor on these said issues. It is comprised of 12 officials with Chief State Councilor (영의정) being the head of the Council. It is important to understand that State Council is not the Emperor’s cabinet, but rather has evolved from Joseon era to act a sort of “think tank” to key issues that the Empire has. While the Council has some authority over the Ministries, the ultimate power still lies with the Emperor, and the State Council is only one of many instruments at the disposal of the Emperor to enforce his will on the Ministries.
• Ministry of Rites (예조) is probably the Ministry that has evolved the most from Joseon Dynasty, with its focus primarily on foreign relations rather than on rituals and culture, which has become the responsibility of the Empress of Korea, who oversees all rituals as well as cultural customs that the Empire needs to follow. Due to increasingly complicated needs of diplomacy, Ministry of Rites have grown in authority as Korea grew in political power, resulting in Ministry of Rites being relatively free of authorities of the State Council, and instead directly answering to the Emperor.
• Ministry of Works (공조) is a Ministry that only exists to relay information to center of engineering that exists in Chuk-Jae-Do. Due to influence of Second Guild War changing the political landscape of mainland, most engineers and technicians have moved alongside merchants to Chuk-Jae-Do some centuries ago. As a direct result, vast majority of technological innovations is focused on the colonies, resulting in the Ministry of Works to only serve as a governing body to independent Engineer-Scholars in Chuk-Jae-Do and to commission Imperial Project when necessary.
• Ministry of Justice (형조) hasn’t changed much from Joseon period and acts exactly the same: to be the administrator of law, order, and slavery in the mainland. While the Ministry of Justice advises on what is the norm in the Most Serene Imperial States, it actually does not enforce any laws in the colonies and vassals. However, Ministry of Justice also enforces what goods and services are legal or controlled in Korea. As a result, despite this ministry’s de jure jurisdiction not reaching towards the colonies, the Ministry of Justice’s indirect influence is still very significant, and its “encouragements” are usually enforced in order to ensure that the merchant guild’s goods and services are available on the mainland.
• Ministry of Taxation (호조) still maintains its census and taxation authority, but its concerns with finance and land policies has actually been taken to under the direct control of the Imperial Throne. In its place, the Ministry of Taxation also communicates with vassals and Viceroyalty to relay the amount of tributes desired by the Imperial Throne by end of fall harvest. In order to ensure that the right amount of tributes are levied to all vassals and especially to Chuk-Jae-Do, the Ministry tirelessly sends officials to these regions to oversee the economic prosperity of the region and to make sure that no corruption or underhand dealings syphon valuable imperial wealth.
• Ministry of Arms (병조) is relatively the same as in Joseon Dynasty. What has changed, however, is the sheer size of persons manning the military operations of Korea. As each vassal as well as Chuk-Jae-Do is allowed its own military, the Ministry of Arms spends part of its funds to ensure that soldiers in these regions are properly fed and trained. At the same time, the Ministry of Arms also sends out officials to root out any rebellious or treasonous elements from these independent regions to make sure that Korea’s vassals remain firmly within the Emperor’s grasp. The Ministry of Arms is also the sole authority within Korea to operate a navy, ensuring that no vassals would, even if rebelled, escalate the situation beyond their own borders. The vast armada of Korea is thus controlled almost exclusively by the Imperial Throne, further creating a situation where rebellion is very difficult within Korea.
• Ministry of Personnel (이조) hasn’t changed at all in the scope of its authority. It ensure that right officials are given to right people. However, its authority is only within the mainland, with independent vassals only needing to inform the Ministry of Personnel changes to any offices after the new officials are selected for the job.
• Imperial Throne (황제부) is a special office that is not affiliated with any Ministries or the State Council. It answer directly to the Emperor and acts as a voice of the Emperor and a representative of Imperial Will upon all Ministries. Its responsibilities include finance as well as land policies, and advises Empress’s role in the head of rituals and culture. Furthermore, the Imperial Throne acts as a check to State Council, and ensures that bureaucracy of Korea answers to the Emperor and to no one else.

It should be noted that Korea doesn’t have laissez faire economy, but heavily leans towards command economy. However, this isn’t the case in Chuk-Jae-Do, the nation’s colonial authority. Colonies of Korea, therefore, is not in the state of laissez faire, but in the state of perpetual economy anarchy where no control is exerted by the mainland government. Controlling this anarchy is the colonial governance of Chuk-Jae-Do, whose Chaebol groups form a secret council around the Viceroy and act as his advisor.

• The Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do (축제도 총독) is the only official recognized by the Imperial Throne in the colonies, apart from governors of various vassals. The office of Viceroy holds complete authority over all the colonies of Korea and has liberty to create whichever means necessary to properly rule over these lands under the Emperor’s name.
• Kim’s Chusu Enterprise (김대가[金大家] 추수사업), or more simply Chusu Enterprise, is one of the major Chaebol Groups in Chuk-Jae-Do with near monopoly in all agricultural products in Korea. While there are other families especially in the mainland who produces agricultural products, the sheer quantity of foodstuff produced by Chusu Enterprise’s plantations takes care of over 70% of all the nation’s food needs. Due to their influence in Chuk-Jae-Do, Chusu Enterprise effectively serves as governing body within Siam Agri-District (샴 농업지구) located in Thailand and Tondo Agri-District (톤도 농업지구) situated in Philippines. Chusu Enterprise not only produces crops, but also processes them, forming a cartel of all things related to food. Although mostly enforced by the Ministry of Taxation to ensure quality control, Chusu Enterprise prides itself of high-quality food production eaten even by the Most Serene Imperial Majesty as well as the Grand Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do.
• Jagyeong Sangdan (자경[蔗境] 상단) is, just like every Chaebol Groups in Chuk-Jae-Do, run by one of the prestigious merchant households of Korea. Created by Koh Family, the JS Group, as it is primarily known, concerns itself mostly with the production and packaging of luxury goods that are coming to and from Korea. Although at a first glance, the Koh Families may compete with Chusu Enterprise in the areas of cash crop. However, this isn’t necessarily the case, as the only cultivation that JS Group does is with nutmeg plantations in Malay Peninsula, while rest of the cash crops the Group work with Chusu to purchase and package. This deal is further expanded to many other Chaebol Families, as JS Group works with different companies to purchase and gather luxury items to the Chuk-Jae Island to be sold to the UMM at a margin. And perhaps because of this precarious position, JS Group is only situated in the Chuk-Jae Island proper, with even its plantations being on a leased contract with the UFC. However, JS Group is perhaps the most connected of all major Chaebol families, with having deep reach within the Ministry of Rites, Taxation, and Justice. It is well known and to distaste of many nobles in mainland that Left State Councilor (좌의정) of the State Council is a member of Koh Family, and has been responsible for staggering growth in influence of JS Group within the mainland of Korea.
• Unity Merchant Marines (결합상선) is probably the most influential Chaebol Group in Korea, run by Kwon Family who has secured Viceroy position in Chuk-Jae-Do for over five generations. As the term “Merchant Marines” suggest, the UMM holds all maritime trades under its grasp, working closely with JS Group to ensure that all trade inside and outside Korea is done under Kwon Family’s ships. The UMM has several branch companies including Unity Maritime Industries (결합조선산업) responsible for much of the commercial shipwright in the colonies and Unity Heavy Industries (결합중공업) whose processed materials fuel Korea’s industrial efforts. It isn’t too surprising thus that UMM holds exclusive governance of both Sumatra Industrial District (수마트라 상업지구) and Brunei Independent District (브루나이 독립지구). UMM also holds significant influence in Northern part of Korean Peninsula, and holds exclusive rights to all minerals in the nation. UMM holds significant influence in the Empire as it almost exclusively relies on UMM for raw materials production necessary to run most factories.
• Unity Financial Concerns (결합금융사업) is a sister company to UMM that provides most of the financial needs of the colonies. UFC gains this ability as holding monopoly on all gold and mint production in Korea, a feat that is only possible due to Kwon Family’s continued line of Viceroys. UFC is responsible for circulation of golds in the Korean market, and strictly imposes quality and quantity check in the nation. As this is the case, UFC has far reach even to the black markets in Korea, often times officially hiring organized criminal organizations to actively enforce their rule of commerce in the colonies. UFC also is the largest bank in Korea, acting as a central bank for the nation. UFC’s IOUs thus function as a quasi-credit within Korea’s influence, allowing Unity Credits (결합신용증) to function as a gold-backed notes within Korea. UFC has other divisions that deal with financials, such as insurance companies covering the needs of UMM and other Chaebol Groups as well as being the commercial and corporate bank for large transactions in Korea. It isn’t surprising, thus, that almost 90% of all lands in Chuk-Jae Peninsula (Malay Peninsula) including Chuk-Jae Island is owned by UFC, with most Chaebol Groups renting the land for a period of time rather than owning any lands in the region.
• Gwang Jeon Electronics (광전전자) is a fledging Chaebol Group run by Park Family. GJ Electronics has a history of financial difficulties in the past, with its parent company of Gwangu Financials (광우금융) being left behind by UMM’s sister company of UFC. While the primary culprit of Gwangu’s fall was heavy investment into steam generators, which was unproven technology during the 1850’s, the Park Family’s Gaju (head of large merchant families) never let go of his dream of steam-powered future. Although he died before the first generators in Chuk-Jae-Do started to churn out energy, his dream of steam power was later realized by Park Family who salvaged what they could to make a new company of Gwang Jeon Electronics. Alongside providing energy and maintenance for factory alternators and household electronics use, GJ Electronics also serve as a parent company of GJ Chemicals and GJ Telecommunications. GJ Chem, as it is widely known, is in the forefront of Korea’s alchemical drives to further expand the capabilities of steam engines and even war machines, while GJ Telecom’s telegraphs and printers are a common use within Korea with “Park Code” being used throughout the Orient as Korea’s go-to code for transmitting information across the empire.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Chaebolism, a corporatocratic offshoot of Korean capitalism
Major Production: Owing to its strategic location within Southeast Asia as well as the Orient, much of Korea’s civilian economy consists of various luxury items that are highly valued in all parts of the world. Korean Ginseng, silk, porcelain, and various medicinal herbs are cultivated and produced in the Korean Peninsula, form which it is shipped not only to China and Japan, but also towards Korean colonies and eventually end up in the Roman Market in the West. Korean colonies have been a consistent producer of not only rice and other staple foods, but also cash crops in the areas of nutmeg, cloves, peppers, and tropical fruits and spices that are sold at a premium across the world.

In terms of industrial production, much of Korea’s industrial capabilities is in the colonies, although significant portion of Korea’s military capability is still situated in the northern side of the Peninsula where large deposit of iron and coal is positioned, making the location ideal for steel mills and other industrial districts. This is not to say that colonies do not have large steel mills, and high quality coals are produced in Borneo, which fuels steel mills in both Borneo and Sulawesi, where iron mines discovered has been fueling the industry of Korean colonies. Despite these internal sources of iron, coal, and other metals, Korean industry has been exceeding the amount mined locally. This has led to Korea to rely exceedingly greater number of sources of natural resources from China and Indian region.

Korea’s financial wealth comes from its gold and silver deposits in both mainland and in its colonies. Korean Peninsula has had large gold and silver mines which has been gradually replacing copper coinage as the economy grew ever larger creating scarcity of the resource in industries. Large gold mines in Malay Peninsula and Sumatra has also been under the operation of UFC for significant part of the colony’s history, and has been allowing the goodwill of Union Credits to become default currency to be used wherever major significance of Korean economy can be felt.
Economic Description:

Korean corporation developed very different from its Western counterparts in that Korean firms are a form of family business. Of course, the scale of this “family business” is beyond even that of western corporations. Called Chaebol, these corporations are headed by each Merchant Families who founded the Chuk-Jae-Do. The evolution of Chaebol, however, was from Merchant Guild and was not created by the government like IRL, creating a unique business entity that came to function almost like a line of nobles in Korean Peninsula. Most Chaebols have series of businesses that help synergize with each other in mostly a horizontal integration, although conglomerate-like branches are also common depending on the characteristic of each merchant families. While many have trade and commerce in mind, Chaebols are heavily integrated part of Korean economy, and it can be almost accurately criticized that they are the said economy of Korea.

The greatest difference between Korean Chaebol and European Corporations would be the amount of political power that Chaebols have. Chaebols collectively operate with impunity within the colonies of Korea and elect the Viceroy who will represent them in the Imperial politics. The Viceroy, in turn, provides general regulations for Chaebols to follow, which are observed strictly. Furthermore, the Viceroy grants large swaths of lands to the governance of these Chaebol Groups which in turn use the lands for their benefit as well as to improve the economy of Korea. While it was very common that each merchant families basically exploited their political advantages, the economic recession during the 1870s leaving the country in panic have changed the opinion of Korean Chaebols in the long run, seeing that they are responsible for the economy of Korea and thus willing to collectively agree on goodwill policies that support the wellbeing of all Koreans.

This new “merchant’s responsibility” is the key tenant of “Chaebolism,” which forces social responsibility to firms and bring a refreshing viewpoint of coporatocracy where the corporations take responsibility for the economy of a nation by becoming the economy of that nation. The interesting tenants of Chaebolism, however, is that the ideology believes that nation’s nobles are a plague upon the mankind, and without proper group responsibility that can only be brought by the corporations, the individual nobles can become too corrupt and thus their capital has potential to be a liability that can cause recessions and depressions. This reflects not only historical grudge of Korean merchant class against the nobility, but also the historical dissonance that Korean nobles had during the recession, seeking only to hoard their health unlike the merchant families who invested so heavily into recovering the destroyed economy of Korea.

Military

Army Description: The ground armed force of Korea is mostly decentralized depending on the needs of the individual regions sponsoring them. Despite such decentralization, all individual groups that have armed themselves must have an annually renewed license detailing information on their armed forces. This is to aid the Ministry of Arms in the event of full mobilization, where in which decentralized elements of Korea’s total military potential can be gathered towards collective objective as needed by the Imperial Throne.

The Imperial Army of Korea is mostly stationed within the Peninsula and are divided into Expeditionary Subjugation Force (원정토벌군), Imperial Central Army (대한제국 중앙군), and District Security Force (지방 치안군). By and large, the most well trained and consistent military organization of the Most Serene Imperial States is the Imperial Central Army and is tasked with protection of the nation’s capital (금군 or “Restraining Army”) and acting as the central professional army from which the Expeditionary Subjugation Force will be consolidated. The Central Army is unique in that its training is done by retired commanders and officers of Roman Empire. This creates an interesting dynamic among the Korean military organization in that while the Central Army has unflinching morale and supreme discipline equal to that of Roman Legion, rest of the military divisions are far less capable and can be accounted for in battle.

The District Security Force is thus far less trained aspect of the Korean military which makes up large percentage of the Korea’s standing army during times of peace. Tasked with border controls and supplement to the regional police force, District Security Force is the frontline of all Korean defense in the mainland. While not as disciplined as the Central Army, District Security Force nevertheless are a key aspect of Korean military with professionalism to match that of most military police force in other nations. And it is precisely this role that District Security Force serves when their shift is assigned away from the northern border of Korea, as they man the various posts to operate alongside secret agents of the Imperial Throne to make sure that the secrets of Korean Peninsula stays in and foreign elements out.

Compared to the professionalism of the mainland forces, the colonial militia of Chuk-Jae-Do is far less capable. Each Gaju of the prestigious merchant families of Chuk-Jae-Do hire a significant private military force to assist in keeping law and order in otherwise lawless region, and thus most of the military potential in the colonies also serve as colonial police force as well. Dedicated to the cause and yet working for coin, these mercenary groups vary widely in discipline and morale and are not necessarily reliable as a whole. However, as merchant families protect their colonies with great jealousy, they hire, train, and brainwash into service some of the greatest sociopaths in known world. These weapons of each merchant families, collectively known as 금은사군 (禁隱司群, Kum-eun-sa-gun. Many in Korea would see the word and associate it with “gold-silver-private-army” as they should, for it is known in by foreigners as “Gold and Silver Legion,” but the actual meaning of the organization is “restrain-hide-task-army” of “Clandestine Task Force” as much of the operations are put into strict secrecy), are some of the worst elements of humanity broken and bent into the service of each family towards not only individual family’s agenda, but larger agenda of Chuk-Jae-Do in maintaining sovereignty within the lands that they own from both the foreign powers as well as the mainland government.

It is within all these separate military elements does the temporary Expeditionary Subjugation Force is consolidated. Should the need of the Empire require military presence beyond its borders, the Ministry of Arms with the blessing of His Most Serene Imperial Majesty may call upon all military personnel within the Imperial States to arms to a single fighting force. While for the most part this conscription occurs within mainland for the ease of training and organization, during times of stress the Ministry of Arms has the authority to seek conscription from the mercenaries of Chuk-Jae-Do. This process of mobilization necessarily takes time and resources, but once mobilized, the Ministry of Arms project that elements of Subjugation Force would have the discipline and professionalism mirroring that of the Central Army.

Naval Description: Historically, Korean innovation was among the very first to create the design of ironclad, the now-famous “Turtleships.” While only operable in limited regions and had several difficulties during its conception, Korean innovation has since improved upon those designs to create a sizable armada consisting of heavily fortified, dome-like protective outer shell in their cruisers. This led to early industrial era’s Korean ship doctrines separating from “interdiction fleet” which consisted of high-sea-capable fleets much the same as European “ship of the line” frigates and a “core fleet” which consisted of Korea’s treasured “Turtleships” that were constantly improved to become not only the first true ironclad of its time, but also the most protective cruisers in the seas. In the shallow sea of Southeast Asia and seas surrounding Korea, Turtleships provided a sense of security and staying power that was often lacked from other naval powers, and for a time, allowed Koreans to protect their precious Southeast Asian holdings against European and other Oriental powers.

Over time as the Europeans started to develop ironclads of their own and caught up to Korea’s superior cannons technology, Koreans also adopted European style of steam engine-driven turbines which added much needed maneuverability to Korea’s core fleet and started to slowly replace wooden ships of the interdiction fleet towards becoming a true modern navy. Having advantage of understanding the limitations and specifications of ironclad technology far earlier than any other nation, many rival factions naturally saw Korean Turtleships as a prime target and testbed for the first torpedoes as early as 1870s. This led to Koreans to develop sectioned hulls and anti-torpedo measures earlier than European ships. While still experimental, more recent Korean ships are now increasingly arriving with various measures to prevent torpedoes from sinking them with a single shot. Experimental measures such as extra “bulge” to protect vulnerable interior hull to simply increasing plating around areas where previous ships received fatal impact due to torpedoes, in this way, Korea is still among the world’s leaders in naval technology, boosting various improvements which would allow for ships to stay within combat for a much longer time as both technological and human resources have been dedicated to repel the challenges that Koreans have faced while operating iron-clad defensive ships for far longer.

With the discovery of An and the coming of Steam Age, Koreans have been quick to implement these technologies to the navy to provide much more maneuverable cruisers and even speed up the production of its vaunted dreadnaughts. As ironclads became more and more widespread norm among aspiring imperial powers, naturally Korean navy was given even greater challenge to increase performance of their own vessels to remain competitive despite the limitations of steam engine. As European vessels caught up to ironclad techniques, Korean navy found itself making larger and yet much less maneuverable Turtleship advancements due to Korean navy’s insistence of armored interior deck configuration. Aether Engine, therefore, was a true boon for Korean navy as An allowed naval vessels during combat to engage their Aether Engine to boost their mobility significantly owing to the ship simply “becoming lighter” due to the effects of Aether. The resulting retrofits made the existing Turtleships far more maneuverable cruisers without compromising any armor, allowing Koreans to have best of both protection and maneuverability in the high seas. Furthermore, the problems with balancing the size of the ship against the capabilities of the engine was solved overnight, resulting in production of even larger superior battleships which are now on the production lines to wrestle the control of the seas once again definitively in the favor of the Koreans.

As for doctrines, Korean navy has a rich history of various naval battles in the past, and its commanders are taught early the Battle of Myeongnyang and the importance of understanding the flows of the sea to their advantage. Korean naval officers are thus very capable in navigating through waves and currents, allowing the Korean navy to position themselves in the regions where they can maximize the waves to their advantage. This is the lesson that many Korean officers have taken to heart even as the technologies of tomorrow have largely made such legendary feats as ocean currents leading ships to crash into one another largely impossible.

Nevertheless, Korean navy is a master of positioning and situational awareness, and are able to not only follow the leading flagship into the battle, but also take micro-precautions to ensure that each ship is in its best position to defeat the enemy. In terms of grand admiralty, Korean navy adopts two doctrines into consideration: escort of interdiction. Due to its precarious historical position of owning colonial regions that are considered to be of prime value, much of Korean navy’s focus was on how to best keep its naval advantage rather than conquering enemy fleets. This tactic largely involves fleets largely being present with superior range and firepower to keep the enemy in the state of embargo, and engaging enemy fleets only when both the numerical and positional advantage is absolutely in the favor of the Korean navy. Korean admiralty thus relies on reconnaissance of large fleet movements of rival nations and would even resort to inviting enemies into large, fortified harbors by keeping its navies within the well-guarded military ports that it has positioned across its colonies into spending meaningless days in standoff while situations with supply, number, and firepower of the navy becomes concentrated enough for Koreans to strike back with brutal efficiency.

Air Force Description: Historically, Koreans have explored with the concepts of gliders as early as during Imjin Wars, where experimental gliders known as 비거 (飛車, Vigger. Source: https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B9%84%EC%B0%A8) were used sparingly as a light reconnaissance and communication methods for castles trapped against enemy siege. Korean innovation into such technology continued abit at a slower pace as focus of Korean military innovation were focused more towards exploration of gunpowder and naval technologies instead of flight. However, with the discovery of An and alchemical process of obtaining readily available source of flight achieved by the Western powers, Koreans have quickly started to integrate lighter-than-air aviation into their original design of gliders.

In modern context, the term “Vigger” has evolved to simply refer to all non-airship light aircraft employed by Korean military. This is largely divided into two contexts: gyrocopter and atmospheric flier. The Gyrocopter variant of Vigger is most of the times called “Vicha” (비차, same Chinese characters) and serves a purpose of low flying mobile auxiliary force for the Korean military, where they are mostly used to patrol the harsh jungles of Korean colonies. During large-scale conflicts, Vichas are capable of loading Shingijeon weapons platforms and can serve as a mobile support firepower to the Korean ground troops. Vichas are also capable of being loaded with heavier Daejangun-Shingijeon weapons platform to serve anti-ship capabilities under Korean navy, serving peripheral heavy weapon mounts to be called upon to take advantage of such maneuverable weapons system.

While Vichas are often times utilized by other branches of Korean military, Viggers are almost exclusively used by Korean Airforce who deploy these aircrafts from the airships in order to serve as interceptors and air superiority fighters. Viggers have not changed much from its past as a glider, but owing with great propulsion through steam engine and using of Aether Engine to give it flight, Viggers have become a small “airships” of their own capable of gliding through the skies to weave and bob between enemy lines. While not necessarily fast but highly maneuverable and capable of carrying lethal Shingijeon weapons platforms, Viggers fill the niche that Korean airforce, which lacks several advancements that allow Western airships in taking a more advantageous positions through maneuverability.

This lack of maneuverability in airships is in part due to technicality of distribution of innovative resources as much as fault of design themselves. Korean airships, taking notes from Turtleships of the sea, is far more armored than other airships in service by the developed world. However, as Korean development budget and innovative talents were more focused upon improving weapons systems and workings of naval warfare, Korean airships are not advanced enough to compensate for heavy armor that they done. As a result, Korean airships are not as maneuverable and cannot take advantage of positional doctrines of Korean navy. This has led towards greater reliance on using Vigger as a chief offensive solution in wars in the sky, with Korean airships, called 방선 (防船, Bang-sun or “Shield Ship”), serving as hardpoints of air defense tasked with holding the line and refuel stations for fleets of Vigger to take to the skies.

Thus the doctrinal discipline of Korean airforce is largely divided into two roles: that of ace fighters learning 3D positional warfare and that of unflinching engineering core keeping the slow and lumbering Bang-suns for as long as possible. While Bang-suns are not entirely defenseless, hosting a number of cannons and Shingijeon and Daejangun-Shingijeon platforms of their own, they are not necessarily able to move due to their engineering flaws. Thus, engineers are tasked to stand unflinching in the face of incoming damage and quickly proceed to repair the ship to maintain atmospheric stability. Meanwhile, Vigger pilots are given training to make best of their Aether Engine for lift and using gravity as a friend in increasing acceleration as they dive upon enemy airships armed with guns, Shingijeons, and even larger Daejangun-Shingijeon.



Further Military Description:

Korean cannons, called Chongtong (총통) were built to be efficient in fuel and accuracy, as Koreans were besieged early in the history against military either too numerous or too disciplined with consistent pattern. In order to keep consistent results, Korean military instead turned to gunpowder-related weapons that could cause as much damage as possible, and hence the coming of many gunpowder-related innovations like Chongtong. Since its initial innovation, Imperialized Korea has continued to work on its superior cannon technology, creations new era of Chongtongs which can outclass any European batteries.

Chongtongs are unique to their western counterparts in that they are shorter, yet were much more fuel-efficient and have much longer effective range. This tradition comes from historical significance as early as 16th century, where Cheonja-Chongtongs (천자총통) used in Imjin Wars during 1592 boasted cannon length of 1.3 m, weighed 300 kg, and charged with 2.4 lb of fuel to approached maximum range of 960 m (effective lethal range of 500 m). Meanwhile, the European equivalent of Culverin in English during the same period, had length of 3 m, weight of 1200 kg, and used 12 lb of gunpowder to reach maximum range of 450 m. (source, [Namu-wiki, Chongtong], [Wikipedia, Culverin]) Considering that both cannons were in action at the same time and had same diameter, this can be a measuring stick of Korean ingenuity in the field of artillery.

Since then, Chongtongs have only increased in effectiveness. The current iteration of Chongtong most frequently used by Korean military is Wangja-Chongtong (왕자총통) and Hwangja-Chongtong (황자총통), literally meaning “king” and “emperor” level cannons. Both cannons boast superior range and more efficient use of gunpowder, although the difference has become relatively equivalent and not doubling effective range like in the past.


Wangja-Chongtongs are predominantly used in the land battles and is towed weapons platform. It has effective range of roughly 8,500 meters and length of 2.5 meters. Taking inspiration form earlier Chinese literatures and European breach-loading system, the Wangja-Chongtongs have integrated quick-fire gun system, with firing rate of roughly 25 shots per minute. It has caliber of 160 mm and primarily utilizes solid and shrapnel rounds, while the rifling within the cannon provides for accuracy that pars European counterparts.


Hwangja-Chongtong is not intended for the use of field cannons like Wangja, but instead to be used as ship mounted or coastal batteries. In order to increase efficiency, the Hwangja-Chongtongs have 160mm caliber just as Wangja, but the gunpowder utilized during the casing is far greater, creating effective range of 17,000 meters. The barrel length is thus increased to massive 6.5 meters, making the cannon extremely impressive feat of military engineering. Due to increased firepower, Hwangja-Chongtong does not utilize rapid-fire system but a simple breach, reducing its fire rate to roughly 15 rounds per minute. Another issue for Hwangja is that at a sacrifice of increased range and firepower, Hwangja is prone to overheating after about 60 minutes of sustained fire. When this occurs, the accuracy which the Korean navy boasts is greatly diminished as the cannon starts to warp, needing engineers to compensate for this warping by adjusting the aim constantly. While this issue can be readily fixed after the conflict with on-board engineers, the warping issue significantly reduces the range and fire rate of the ships to 13,000 meters and 7 rpm respectively.


While the slots for massive cannons are filled by Wangja and Hwangja, the smaller caliber field cannon role is met with remodeled Cheonja-Chongtongs. The remodeled Cheonja-Chongtong utilizes 50 caliber, 1.5 meter length barrel that can boast an impressive 35 rpm fire rate. Cheonja is used alongside both Wangja and Hwanja as field cannons and ship-mounted cannons respectively to ensure that there is no interruption in the rain of fire. The advantage of Cheonja is that it is not as likely to overheat and warp the weapon, making the weapon much more accurate, rapid response platform for use in both military and navy. However, this comes at the cost of weapon’s range, which can only reach 7,000 meters.

Alongside the usual cannon shells, all Chongtongs have a variant of explosive shell called Bikyukjin-Cheonrei (비격진천뢰), which is fragmenting shell designed for anti-personnel purposes. Invented 25 years prior to Imjin War, this overtechnology of Korea required separate delivery mechanism and had effective range of 900~1000 m. After landing on the ground, the separate fuse which was lit before firing would detonate, scattering metal fragments as well as destroyed shell in a wide range. This technology has been perfected into cannon shells, which allows the shell to deliver a punishing shrapnel to enemy forces who try to brave Korean firing line. Due to advances in cannon technologies, Bikyukjin-Cheonrei’s disadvantage of range has mostly been solved, and comes in both 160 and 50 mm rounds, which are caliber of choice for most Korean guns.

The ultimate weapon of choice for Korean army, the Shingijeon (신기전) is anti-personnel rocket platform that has existed since 14th century. During that time, the weapon was a monster to use… in both effectiveness and resources required. It wasted quite a massive amount of gunpowder… even more so than Cheonja-Chongtong. While this may not sound much for Western standards (as some cannons during the same era used 12 pounds per round of cannon), Koreans needed to import all aspect of gunpowder at this time, and thus the weapon was deemed extremely expensive to use. However, Shingijeon served its purpose as both destructive in close range and devastating to morale of armies. With effective range of roughly 1000 m, Shingijeon fired rocket-propelled arrows in massive succession, firing with a particular whizzing sound. While accuracy was something to be desired, Shingijeon did its job in scaring the barbaric foes in the battlefield at the cost of much-expensive gunpowders.

While the technology fell out of favor during the 15th century, the rush of resources from colonies saw its revival as effective anti-personnel weapon of choice to morale-depraved Korean armies. Continued development has for the most part fixed the accuracy and misfire issues, and synchronized machined parts have created a more systemized reloading mechanism to be used. Due to advances in rocketry, the 1900 Shingijeon have range of roughly 7500 meters, which is roughly the range of most cannon lines. This provides powerful advantage for Korean armies as Singijeon can be used to fire down on artillery lines to more effectively destroy cannons and, more importantly, cannon crews that need to be stationed alongside the cannons.

Shingijeons in Korean military today uses metallic frames and encased rockets rather than arrows outfitted with gunpowder propellant. This has allowed Shingijeon to pack more explosive and even fragmenting rounds in its package, taking full advantage of two-stage rocket systems rediscovered from Sejeong the Great’s era. Shingijeon fires 40 small rockets all at once, with firing rate of roughly 5 rounds per minute. This piece of weapons platform essentially is guaranteed to create havoc in the enemy lines, as rain after rain of explosive rounds falling down upon the enemy formation before any small arms can be fired. One disadvantage of Shingijeons at current atmosphere is in its rather precarious position: Shingijeons are so effective as both removing the cannon crew as well as incoming soldiers, generals are often times stuck between how to best use Shingijeons in field battle.

Today, Koreans rarely deploy Shingijeon on its own due to difficulty in storage and integration. Rather, groups of three Shingijeons are usually packed into Shingijeon weapons systems much the similar way that a bullet if packed into a cartridge and then into a magazine. Needing only pressurized steam chamber to cause the initial discharge and to time the lighted fuse, Shingijeon weapons system is crucial hardpoints of any Korean military hardware found in ever branch of military. This uniquely Korean weapons system can be on top of Hwachas or mounted in Viggers and even on the deck of ships, and continue to serve the role of smaller, more package explosive option open to Korean military that can be easily carried and integrated into Korean grand battleplan tactics.

Considered pinnacle of Korean rocketry technology, the Daejanggun-Shingijeon (대장군신기전) is armor piercing rocket developed by Koreans to specifically pierce steel-plated ironclads of enemy navy. The inspiration came from 15 Century Shingijeon variants called Dae-Shingijeon (대신기전) and Sanhwa-Shingijeon (산화신기전). These two prototypes in Munjong era were considered too expensive to be practical, and their lethality was considered lacking compared to the cost involved. The two saw brief use in few conflicts, but were ultimately written down as failed weapons.

The development of Daejangun-Shingijeon began at around late 1870s with the scholar-engineers of Chuk-Jae-Do integrating the Aether Engines into military hardwards. Koreans at the time heavily relied on Daejanggun-Jeon (대장군전), a cannon-loaded anti-armor shell of Korean navy, to puncture wooden hulls of enemy ships of the line. However, it became increasingly apparent that Daejanggun-Jeon were ineffective against ironclads of major powers, who would shrug off iron-tipped missiles and come into direct combat with Turtle Ships, leading to unexpected casualties where previous era wooden ship combat would have seen zero Turtle Ship loss. The scholar-engineers estimated that with the popularity of ironclads in modern naval combats, the Daejanggun-Jeons will become completely obsolete by the end of the century.

Thus, the efforts were given to create weapons system that would give extra punch to Daejanggun-Jeons, which was needed to punch through the tough steel armors of modern ships. The result came from previous obsolete Sanhwa-Shingijeon, which provided secondary propulsion that would further propel the rocket through. Scholar-engineers thus believed that a secondary rocket after initial launch would provide an ample strength necessary for completely-steel Daejanggun-Jeons to puncture all the way through the iron hulls of ironclads.

The development of this new Shingijeon met a radical shift in doctrinal directive in 1890 as airships became more and more prevalent, leading to solutions that necessitated a solution from both the sea and ground that could reach the skies. This completely eliminated the possibility of new Shingijeon system from being launched from cannon mounted system like Daejanggun-Jeon. Not only was it becoming apparent of how dangerous loading explosive rocket into explosive cannon rifle, there was not enough gunpowder in the world to send the Shingijeons flying.

The solution to this predicament came from the very substance that allowed the Age of Steam to come and outpace Koreans from its place of comfort in the seas: Aether. Taking inspiration from yet another ancient relic, the Dae-Shingijeon (대신기전) and Sanhwa-Shingijeon (산화신기전), which were the ancient weapons systems of Korea that relied on mounted fire rocket system and two-stage propulsion system respectively. While at the time they were considered highly ineffective and incredibly resource-wasteful(roughtly 3kg of black gunpowder was used at the time to fling 3 meter-long rocket across 900 meters with explosive roughly that of irl grenade, and Sanhwa being even worse in terms of tradeoff since it required another timely fuse to propel the rocket forward) fringe invention by Korean military, Korean engineers utilized Aether Engine as a solution to this ancient inefficiency.

Thus the creation of Daejangun-Shingijeon was completed in 1889 as a total solution of the Korean navy and land-based fortifications against far greater aerial powers. Daejangun-Shingijeon utilizes steam and Aether Engine to launch armor-piercing missile far into skies, where upon reaching predetermined desired altitude a secondary explosive will trigger, causing the rocket to gain acceleration as it reaches the target with incredible speed and explosive firepower.

Daejangun-Shingijeon is Korea’s answer to airborne rivals in the Orient, as the Korean airforce is far smaller and less advanced than most of the imperial powers, as they focused more significantly into advancement of its naval vessels and relies on smaller aircrafts (Viggers) to catch enemy forces in advantageous positions. As Korean airforce cannot be everywhere at once and is often unable to engage enemy airforce in the fight of equals, Korean navy and ground fortifications widely use Daejangun-Shingijeon as a way to counter airborne targets to deny aerial superiority as well as to support Korean airforce. Although there are many limitations to this technology such as practically zero way to redirect the missile once fired and cumbersome loading mechanism preventing ground troops from easily mounting one in the field, enemies of Korea that fly into Korean airspace will be met with both anti-aircraft guns as well as dozens of Daejangun-Shingijeon stations spearing 3 meter-long missiles into the atmosphere.

[Oscalantine]

History and Aspirations

National Goals: To protect its trade interests and increase the wealth and legitimacy of Korea.
National Issues: Even when Korea has become a recognizable great power in the world, its struggle and division between the nobles of mainland and merchants of Chuk-Jae-Do has only deepened. This has been further divided after the 1870 recession, where Korean merchants blame nobles for not assisting in the reconstruction of the nation. The resulting divide between classes has transformed Korea into a nation with an internal cold war between two dominant classes. While the peace is maintained by relationship between the Most Serene Imperial Majesty and the Grand Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do, should the leaders of each side break ways Korea may see a scale of internal unrest unseen in any nations of the world.
History:

Joseon Dynasty, after initial years of instability and issues with heirs, finally settled down when Sejong the Great was seated on the throne. Under his guidance, the Joseon period achieves the second wave of industrial and scientific revolution, where progress in the civilian sector was taken as a priority. The subsequent agriculture revolution also raised the standard of living for Koreans everywhere, creating a ripe situation for Korea to consider expansion once more. Hangul Alphabet is also invented at this time, spreading fast through the industrializing Koreans as a new, easy way to read and write. The literacy level in the kingdom explodes, and the populous becomes much more conscious about their standard of living.

The legacy is continued with Munjong, whose innovations in military are to be noted even in our timeline. While Munjong did not reign more than two years IRL, in this alternative timeline he overcame his sickness early in his time as crown prince and ascended to throne full of vigor and wisdom. As Seijong allowed participation Munjong in politics early in his life, Munjong’s reign was met with stability that was unseen in Joseon’s short history thus far. Various fortifications both around the capital and in the north was erected which would be useful against the frequent raids by the Jurchen tribes. Against the Japanese piracy, Munjong would also vitalize the navy and sponsored programs dedicated in creating seaworthy vessels to fight against the pirates. During Munjong’s time military doctrines were re-written and military innovations were revitalized, shifting Joseon slightly more towards neutral society from scholar-focused society of Goryeo era.

Thus, when Danjong inherited the crown in 1461, the line of kings of Joseon was deeply stable and was able to think about expanding its interests beyond its borders. As the line of unbroken kings continued, the authority of the throne increased against the nobles, which allowed greater political stability. Munjong’s military reformation created a strong, centralized military force which was loyal only to the king, and driving away pirates and barbarian raiders from the borders brought increased prestige and public support of the king’s rule. Danjong rose to the throne at the height of such a success, and was able to better able to steer Joseon’s history away from a tributary kingdom of Ming towards a more absolute and independent monarchy.

Thus it was during Danjong’s era where he sought to see beyond the pale. Actively sponsoring exploration and impressing Japanese pirate ships and their crew into service for greater understanding of the high seas, Danjong was among the first in the history of the peninsula to look towards external sources of wealth. This was only possible due to increased authority of the crown and pushed by the needs to generate more wealth to continue to sponsor military buildup that Joseon has augmented during Munjong’s reign.

Thus the first official attempts at exploring the Philippines begin in 1478. Despite the enthusiasm, the colonists sent were never able to establish foothold in the area due to native aggression and tropical climate. Despite the failures, trade centers were established in the area, bringing spices and other luxury materials to Joseon, which in turn fueled the spice trade through the Silk Roads. This made Korean merchants among the wealthiest and the more influential merchants in the region, allowing merchant class to amass wealth that surpasses even the nobles who owned plantations and factories.

By the early 1500’s, the colonization attempts are abandoned in favor of establishment of trade ports. Many of the trade in the Malay Archipelago is directed by independent merchant guilds which focused on amassing wealth through trade and competing with one another in often times violent manner. This era is known as “Guild Wars” or 조합전쟁 in Korean. The era is marked with disturbing amount of naval conflict among Koreans in the route between the mainland Peninsula and the Spice Islands. Korean Pirates run rampant in the seas, creating needless violence that hurts both the Korean economy and military potential.

The growing power of the merchants were initially overlooked by the crown as merchant class served both as a counterweight to increasingly disgruntled nobles as well as a large source of income for the crown. Growing bold by the aloof nature of the government against their more restricted trade policy under previous times, the merchant class grew in strength and influence to challenge the old caste system which saw merchants as beneath most commoners let alone nobles. But as Danjong’s laxed approach was replaced by his successor in the 1530s, nobles increasingly petitioned the crown to bring order to the merchant class. As the king relented and started to make arrests against the more rowdy merchants and their families under the guise of “aiding the enemy through internal conflicts,” Guild Wars came to a halt almost overnight, with merchants increasingly growing distant from the capital to evade capture.

While state-sponsored colonial efforts halted early in Danjong’s reign, the merchant families’ influence in the region grew and expanded. Coasts of Philippines Archipelago were dotted with fortified trade ports which served merchant family’s expansion further south, where Korean merchants influence not only the trade, but politics of the region as they grew in influence and power. Merchant families of Korea grew fond of such political leverage given to them in the region, and exerted no small expense in creating their own sphere of political influence into controlling nations in the Southeast Asia. Taking advantage of power vacuum during the end of 1400s as Hindu empire fell and Islamic Sultanate began, Korean merchants entrenched themselves in the region as dominate independent entity in the region, pushing away or even aligning with Portuguese explorers and merchants during the 1500s to expand their strength in the region.

And as the political influence in the unofficial “colonies” of Korea grew in the Southeast, the more these merchant families longed to be treated the same in their homes. Seeing the disparity between receiving kingly welcome in Southeast and a commoner’s scorn in the mainland, merchants often lamented about their social standings as equal with the poorer farmers and desired nobility status. Scientists and Philosophers, who were also considered of lower class due to their distinction as “craftsmen,” were also in the similar grounds, many times having their work stolen by the nobles who desired fame and fortune for their innovations. This led to the exodus of these two classes to the Malay Peninsula. Korea innovation melded with European discoveries as Korean merchants often traded exotic technologies from the west with the Portuguese in exchange for spices and safe passage. And by the 1530s, merchant families were wealthy enough to create their own solid foundation from which to expand their existing influence in the region: a privately sponsored colony of Joseon.

The first attempt at permanent settlement was in Chuk-Jae-Do (IRL Singapore) where the Koreans created permanent dwellings and factories to produce goods closer to the native market and interact with Europeans. This soon grew into a powerful city state which influenced nearby nations and even set out forces to subjugate them as necessary. The main part of success was Korean Reflex bows, which worked extremely well in jungle climate as a long-range weapon that surpassed the native gruella tactics with surprise attacks of their own. This paved a crucial role in dominating the native population and creation of permanent settlements in the area.

As the Korean colonies grew without proper permission by the government, the Crown naturally attempted to control these faraway claims, which led to Battle of South China Sea, where colonial privateers decimated unsuspecting royal transports in an extremely one-sided surprise offensive. This caused the Second Guild Wars to erupt, where the merchant guilds actively declared allegiance to Chuk-Jae-Do and moved their assets from the Korean mainland. This significantly weakened Joseon both militarily and economically, as the battle was mostly waged in the ports on the mainland, where merchants were seizing control of the ports to ship their goods back to the colonies while the loyalists were preventing their escape. By 1580’s, Joseon was devastated of both manpower and trade, and were forced to acknowledge the independence of Chuk-Jae-Do in 1585.

The weakened Joseon was a tasty target for the Japanese invasion in the 1592. The initial start to the invasion was Joseon’s refusal to acknowledge Japanese advancement through Korean territory to China, which Korea considered was a “brother country” at the time. While the declaration of the war was much the same as IRL timeline, the Imjin War was not as sorely one-sided in this timeline due to increased focus on military budget by the crown early in Joseon history. However, due to the exodus of merchant class, the warchest of Joseon was significantly depleted, and Joseon lacked crucial navy to halt the arrival of fresh men and supplies from Japanese Island. Well-defended fortifications fell one after another, and Joseon military was pushed towards the Han River, where the nation’s capital became the foremost frontline of one of the bloodiest war in Korean history.

Meanwhile, however, Chuk-Jae-Do was at its heyday. Free from influence of the nobles and objections from the crown, merchant guilds fully declared independence as a merchant republic and annexed the puppet regimes of Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra which were nationstates in name only by this time. Competing with Javanese Kingdoms, Korean engineers invented Turtleships which were used to provide naval supremacy against Javanese fleet and allowed uncontested dominance in the region.

Despite honoring Ming as a big-brother state, Joseon received no help from the Chinese, as Ming was having difficulty with the Oriat at the time as in IRL history. Ming also saw the rising power of Joseon and its military buildup since its early periods as a potential threat to its eastern regional stability, and wished for Joseon to be reduced in strength before they send their aid. As their most humble call for aid fell on deaf ears, Joseon was doomed into Japanese subjugation as the defensive line in Han River fell and the nation’s capital was besieged. However, in 1595, a fleet bearing the sigil of a peacock-pheasant was sighted in the Japanese-controlled port in the coast of Yeosu. The merchant guilds of Chuk-Jae-Do, headed by a single viceroy in a unified republic government, successfully gathered support of the merchant families to aid their once-home through counter invasion from the southern Korean coasts. Headed by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the Japanese navy was completely caught unaware by the unparalleled firepower of the Turtle Ships and the battle-hardened privateer fleet of the Chuk-Jae-Do.

After crushing defeat at the coasts of Busan and allowing liberation forces to land, the Japanese were forced to retreat without gathering their ground forces in the Korean Peninsula. Trapped and cut from supplies, the combined Joseon forces vanquished the Japanese invaders in a siege to liberate the capital. This Battle of Hansung in 1596 signaled the end of the Imjin War, where the two nations signed a peace treaty and exchanged prisoners. Although the war was in Joseon’s favor, the negotiations were done on relatively equal grounds as Joseon did not know whether the aid from Chuk-Jae-Do was here for their own conquest.

In a surprising turn of events, the Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do came to the mainland following the peace negotiations not as a conqueror but as a servant to the crown. In the following meetings between Joseon monarch and viceroy that followed, a settlement was met in 1599 just before the turn of the century. According to the agreement, the merchants of Chuk-Jae-Do will be hailed as equals by the Joseon government, where only the reigning monarch will be held in higher regard. Furthermore, independence of the colonies will be guaranteed as long as the merchants pledged their allegiance to the king. The Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do will oversee the governance of the colonies, while a collective navy will ensure that disagreements must be settled through talks and without armed conflicts. After the settlement, a full peace was called by the Japanese Empire in favor of trade and friendly relations. It was the Viceroy who advised the Emperor at 1600 to accept the terms of peace and trade, paving the road to Viceroy’s influence and power within Korean politics.

As the century turned, Josen became a colonial power fully independent of Ming. The departure of Joseon from Ming’s sphere of influence further decreased already precarious prestige that Ming held, and yet Ming was unable to challenge Joseon at the moment. Joseon quickly aligned itself with renewed friendship with Japan as they sought to recognize each other as equals free from influence of Chinese superpower. The instability which this caused would later down the line be counted among the contributing factors of decline of Ming and rise of Shun.

Freed and yet terrified of punitive actions by the Chinese, Joseon threw themselves wholehearted towards greater military augmentation to the defense of its home peninsula. Taking inspiration from both the Oriental neighbors and European inventions, Korean engineers of Chuk-Jae-Do mastered the art of gunpowder and created numerous weapons systems that are still improved upon to this day. And as increased military spending sapped at Josen’s fleeting warchest, greater and more aggressive colonial expansion took place. Unlike before, the colonial effort was fully supported by the Joseon government, where the government openly declared war against the Indochina kingdoms for coastal provinces. Trade with the Europeans increased tenfold as spice trade with the Europeans became a core of Korea’s wealth generation as the Silk Road became closed to Korean trade. Despite this setback, Korean merchants were also freed from limitations of tributary missions to obtain goods from Ming. As the bureaucratic control of Ming eroded with its prestige, Korean merchants were free to establish their own local trade relations with Chinese merchants to siphon wealth away from the Ming government. This led to the Silk Road of the sea to open up where Koreans became a crucial partner of the Europeans in obtaining Oriental goods. In exchange, Koreans were always eager to trade various exotic goods and services found in the West, and openly accepted Western ideas and inventions to improve upon their own..

Despite this trade relations, the relationships with the West weren't always cordial. Joseon often had conflicts of interests with Dutch and Portuguese, whose ambitions in the region was denied by the growing power of Korean merchant class in the region. The rise of importance of trade in the region also contributed to growing influence of private navies as Western powers sought privateers to check Josen’s dominance in the region. However, due to development efforts in the coastal regions by the time of arrival of Europeans made developed colonial cities owned by Koreans much more appealing to pirates, who often sided with the Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do more often than any other sides. This led to Koreans eventually to wholly own the privateering operation in the region, making European attempts at controlling trade in the region difficult without Korean approval.

It was at around this time in 1600s when Roman explorers arrived at Chuk-Jae-Do, and exchanged wealth of the Roman Empire. Friendly Westerner was rare sight during the 1600s, and the discovery of safe trade routes to the West from the safety of Eastern Roman Empire. The end result was the trade between Korea and Roman Empire intensifying over the years, which would result in the trade route between Chuk-Jae-Do to Aigyptos becoming an official trade route between two empires.

Regardless of dominance in the Southeast Asia, Joseon’s bureaucracy was seen as wholly inefficient to hold proper hold of its now impressive colonial holdings. The unease of holding onto traditional beliefs completely shattered as Ming Dynasty, the oldest Oriental government at the time, were destroyed by far more modern and fledging Shun. Even as Koreans supported the rise of Shun and sought diplomatic relations with this new state, hushed discussions were held between closed doors as to whether Joseon and its own centuries old way of dealing with ever-changing world will one day come to shatter the kingdom.

Eventually this unease led to an internal investigation and reformation away from the traditional model of a kingdom and into the rise of an empire, creating Imperial States of Korea in 1760 CE. The “states” part was largely due to two governing jurisdictions: mainland which was directly controlled by the emperor and the colonies which were under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do. As the new century came, the newly christened nation began to create nationalist movements and progressively modernized and improved their military powers to compete with an increasingly threatening world.

Despite the rapid social reformation, the Korean states were stable due to prosperity in the colonies, which saw complete monopoly in the maritime commerce of the region. The control of European spice trade made trade wealth circulate in the colonies’ Merchant Guilds, which transformed the merchant society further and further into status of colonial nobility. These Merchant Guilds actively hired mercenaries and pirates in the region in order to keep each other in constant check and to threaten European trades who didn’t pay a premium to Korean rule. This unfortunately had a negative side effect of Pirate Revolt in the Chuk-Jae-Do in future events. However, it was clear at the time that the wealth of Korea came from its colonies, which made Korean authorities uneasy that Merchant Guilds would once again declare independence from the mainland and create its own, merchant nation.

This dominance became even more severe with the cultivation of and cloves in the Malay Peninsula. This venture was well-known by the Imperial Government, as it was the combined efforts of numerous merchant families to stop reliance on the volatile trade competition with Europeans in the Banda Islands. It was proposed on numerous occasions to fully conquer the Islands of Java and further reach into Banda Islands to fully control the spice trade in the region. However, time and time again this was rejected by the Imperial Throne, which saw the colonies’ reliance on navy as a protection against pirates in the region to be a vital leverage against the merchant families. This successful sustained cultivation after two decades of failure came thus as a surprise to the mainland, as success in the Malay Peninsula provided the colonies with a safe source of the world’s most precious supply of spices.

In the middle of 1800s, Koreans further ran into issues with pirates of Chuk-Jae Peninsula openly revolting against Korean Merchant Guilds. This is called the Third Guild War (제3조합전쟁) in 1845 and it was predominantly a war between pirates around Korea’s trade routes and Korean trade guilds. The new Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do Kwon Dong-Nyuc oversaw this conflict as first major issue in office, where he cleverly allied with the so-called “Queen of the Spice Islands” to conquer all opposing pirates back to the Viceroyalty’s sides. This paved a way for private navy of the colonies which were not before seen in Korean history, and was seen as open objection to the Korean nobles.

The Third Guild War left Korea with a sour taste. The war was won, and the control of the Southeast Asia was even further strengthened towards Korean favor. However, more than one occasion was there a trace of European support of the pirates in creating its own independent pirate republic. The investigation of the aftermath gave Imperial Throne a chilling reality that, should the exploit of Viceroy have failed, the establishment of pirate republic would have ruined Korea’s dominance in the region. The Imperial States badly needed allies. European allies.

The solution was rather simple to Koreans. During the Third Guild War, few pirates traveled as far as the Red Sea in order to disrupt Korean trade and to have the Imperial States submit to their demands. During the time, Koreans received much help from their Roman friends in rounding up pirates and securing one of the pirate trade ports that now became a member of Korean Imperial States known as Republic of Ifat centered around the city of Yibuuti. Discussion over the jurisdiction of pirates soon became talks of friendship and mutual prosperity, which led to treaty between Viceroy Dong-nyuc and Romans that grew into the lasting alliance and even recruitment of retired Roman officers into Korean military.

It was at this time that the Roman construction of the Suez Canal was in progress. The Treaty of Yibuuti in 1848 thus included the Imperial States’ assistance in construction of this canal alongside permanent diplomatic connection between the two empires. And in exchange for assisting in the project, the free trade agreement to eliminate tariff between two nations served to immensely increase the profit of Korean merchants in trading through the Roman territory. This good relations and fair economic treaty further expanded towards a fully political alliance between the two nations in the Treaty of Constantinople, where the Roman representative was invited to the Imperial Palace in the mainland to discuss the terms of alliance between the two countries. And with the Viceroy’s travel to the Constantinople to finalize the contract, the Treaty of Constantinople (콘스탄티노플 조약) of 1854 affirmed the Eastern Roman Empire as the one and only Western nation to have a full embassy within the Imperial Capital of Hansung. The treaty also entailed exchange of military expertise, where the gunpowder specialists of Military Academy of Gunpowder were sent in exchange for contingent of Roman tagmata and themata alongside academic scholars from the capital to train the Korean ground forces in discipline and military reform. The result was not only a strong alliance, but also a foundation for a competent and modernized armed force of Korea.

Following the peace talks and victories over several European powers over various conflicts, Korea was recognized as a regional power with legitimacy that was firmly established. The prosperity that followed saw Korean merchants’ and nobles’ greed grow, as they continued to exploit lands and people to grow in wealth. First business collectives and corporations formed by Merchant Guilds were recognized by the Viceroy and the divide between rich and poor widened in drastic levels. Laborers were forced to work 15 hour shifts and given next to nothing in return, and slavery and debauchery was rampant in the areas, where kidnapping children to bolster factory manpower was a frequent sighting as debtors seizing girls from families to put them through brutal prostitution.

Eventually, the lower class completely collapsed, unable to bear the weight of upper classes’ greed. This was something that came completely unexpected by the Korean bureaucracy, as Koreans never knew this kind of collapse before. Laborers simply ran out of their spending power, struggling to buy pouches of rice to feed their family to spend on other goods. The resulting domino effect made factories shut down as demand for all but the most crucial of necessities became nonexistent. This brought Korea economy into 10 year recession known today as Recession of Arrogance (오만의불황). Many Merchant Families fell from their wealth and support for the Viceroy plummeted.

Most historians widely consider the beginning of Recession of Arrogance to take place in 1868, with the unexpected implosion of Baek Family, who was widely known industry lead among the Merchant Guilds responsible for production of furniture that even went as far as tribute to the Emperor himself. As the Baek Family’s corporate empire fell, Park family soon followed due to Park Family’s financial investments being closely related to Baek’s ventures. With Park Family’s banks calling on all loans, several smaller merchant families started to file bankruptcy one by one until by 1870 nearly half of the Merchant Guilds were threatened with financial crisis.

Fortunately, this recession wasn’t without a solution. The Emperor immediately called for all Merchant Guilds, leaders of the new social movement of labor unions, and nobles of mainland to forge a solution. Gold was still present in very few elites in Korea, and trade revenue and its respective industries were still making profits. The economy was not completely lost to Koreans. However, the nobles and merchants present in the meetings were ill-considered of the situation at hand: they were still wealthy and were not affected by the recession. The negotiations drone on for several years with no one wishing to lose any profit.

Finally in 1874, Viceroy of Chuk-Jae-Do acted. Mobilizing Viceroy’s own military, he led a bloodbath through Chuk-Jae-Do slaughtering private guards of Merchant Guilds’ most influential leaders and dragging them into the Viceroy’s manor. The Merchant Guilds were forced at gunpoint to formulate a self-humbling resolution of responsibility, which was to be binding agreement punishable by death. The Viceroy took this document along with leaders of Merchant Guilds to prostrate before the Emperor to beg for forgiveness. This event, now known as Enlightenment of Capital (자본의계몽), served to chastise the merchants into negotiation with the working class to find a socially responsible way to gather wealth.

While the merchants were initially forced into this act, the merchant classes soon began to realize that the flow of capital was vital for continued wealth of a nation. This was in part assisted by various theories of capitalism which were circulating in the Chuk-Jae-Do, which was sponsored and punished by the Viceroy. Following 7 years saw the dictatorship of Viceroy in the colonies, which forced Korean merchants into a period of “experiments” to see if these theories of corporate social responsibility would indeed lead to economic recovery. This is later recognized by scholars as the onset of Chaebolism, an exclusive Korean virtue of hereditary capitalism that imposes social responsibility and noblesse oblige to the merchants and wealthy.

It is important to understand that nobles did not take part in this new reform, which, despite the Emperor's pleas, fell on deaf ears. However, the recovery of colony’s economy eventually trickled down to Korea mainland, which have slowly adapted into changes in social patterns such as human and worker rights.

The scholars widely regard the end of Recession of Arrogance as the same year that the Viceroy declared its end, which was in 1881. Following this announcement, the Viceroy gave up his “emergency” power, and was promptly tried and fired from his office due to abusing his powers. However, it was clear that the Viceroy’s efforts have led Korea out of its greatest economic recession and possible destruction, which was highly praised in the subsequent trials on the fate of ex-Viceroy. Ex-Viceroy Dong-Nyuc was lauded as hero of the merchants and were given retirement celebration to live out rest of his life peacefully in the Jeju Island, and his son was unanimously selected as next Viceroy to rule Chuk-Jae-Do, first time in Korean history where not only did on merchant family rule the colonies for 5 times in a row, but also the first time that the Viceroy position as inherited from father to son.

The new Viceroy Kwon Na-Jae continued his father’s efforts into his office, sponsoring scholars’ efforts in creating a new theory of economics. This brought along Chaebolism, which came to rule the corporate values of Chuk-Jae-Do as a dominant ideology of the land. The first Chaebol of Kwon Family filed a request for the Viceroy to accept the family clans into business in 1882, signaling the beginning of Second Korean Renaissance, where the reconstruction efforts of Korea from the recession saw new heights in technology and philosophy in all aspects of society.

The golden age of Korea is claimed to be ongoing progress, with revolutionary new technologies being born from ancient technologies in Joseon Dynasty being reviewed, creating new waves of military technologies. Korean firms’ focus on circulating capital and social responsibility continues to pour capital in the colonies and even in the mainland to promote a second wave of industrialization and urbanization in leading Korea into a second age of prosperity.

It is well-known for Koreans that its colonies did suffer in radical political climates during the Recession of Arrogance, which included losing valuable colonial lands long been recognized as Korea’s core lands. Furthermore Korean merchants have given ways for European powers access to spice markets which the Koreans have monopolized, with several losses in key naval conflicts that threatened to dismantle the nation. With the economy stabilized, Korea is once again seeking to find dominance in the region and beyond, finding new sources of capital and brining Korea into another age of wealth and prosperity that will be hailed as fist Golden Age of Korea.

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

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[Arvenia]

Nation Application

Full Nation Name: Russian Empire (Russian: Россійская Имперія/Rossiyskaya Imperiya)
Territorial Core: The dark green area on the map
Territorial Claim: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Armenia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Poland, Xinjiang, Alaska, Kaliningrad Oblast, Outer Manchuria, Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Karafuto Prefecture, Kuril Islands and some parts of Iran
Capital City: Moscow
Flag: Same as IRL

Demographics

Majority/Official Culture: Russian
Other Cultures: Belarusian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Karelian, Georgian, Rusyn, Ainu, Mongolic, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Tajik, Azeri, Abkhaz, Ossetian, Chechen, Circassian, Jewish, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Sami, Crimean Tatar and countless more
Majority/Official Religion: Russian Orthodox Church (Eastern Orthodoxy)
Population: ~97,000,000

Governance

Government Type: Federal Semi-Constitutional Monarchy
Government Ideology: Tsarist Autocracy, Cultural Nationalism, Russian Chauvinism, Russian Irredentism, Patriotism, Eurasianism, Industrialism, Pragmatism, Anti-Socialism, Pan-Slavism, Traditionalism (factions) and Reformism (factions)
Head of State: Empress Alexandra I
Head of Government: Prime Minister Ismail Ibrahimovich Golitsyn
Government Description:
Since 1860, the Russian Empire is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy, which means that the monarch (Czar/Czarina) has limited power, while more power is given to different institutions. However, the monarch still has considerable influence within Russian society. Some territorial subdivisions enjoy a lot of self-governance, while others don't. The Union Council was formed to represent the interests of various subdivisions, while the State Duma only serves to represent the general population. Together, these houses make up the Russian Parliament. The monarch is assisted by a group of ministers, who are led by a Prime Minister. Russia is ideologically divided between anti-Western traditionalists and pro-Western reformists. Also, Russia has a somewhat deep hatred for socialist ideologies, especially in regards to the current Russo-Nordic tensions.

Economy

Economic System/Ideology: Mixed economy
Major Production: Mining, forestry, farming, machinery, fishing, woodwork, steelmaking, shipbuilding, vodka, trains, chemicals, textiles, medical supplies, steam cars, luxury products and arms manufacturing
Economic Description: The Russian economy mixes economic liberalism with economic interventionism. Before the 19th century, the Russian economy relied on agriculture and feudalism. However, once Emperor Alexander II came to power, everything changed. The Russian economy started to shift its focus towards industrialization, while the country's feudal system was completely abolished in favour of state capitalism. Since then, Russia is one of the world's industrial powerhouses. Originally mercantilist, Russia has since started to minimally open itself to the outside world. There are also plans to implement a welfare system in Russia, mostly to appease poor people. Regarding railroads, the Russian Empire has managed to build a major railway in the Caucasus called the "Transcaucasus Railway", while another one is in the process of being made for Central Asia.

Military

Army Description: The Grand Army of the Russian Empire (Великая Армия Российской Империи/Velikaya Armiya Rossiyskoy Imperii), also known as the Russian Army, is the primary military arm of the Russian Empire. It is primarily divided into the Siberian Army District, the Caucasian Army District, the Balto-Finnic Army District, the Far Eastern Army District, the Turkic Army District, the Muscovite Army District and the Western Army District. These army districts are then divided into army groups, field armies, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, companies, platoons and squads. Since the 18th century, the Russian Army has seen modest modernization and its manpower is completely made up of professional soldiers. The Russian Army also uses mobile artillery, tanks and bipedal (two-legged) war machines called "chicken walkers". The Russian Army consists of more than 900,000 regular soldiers and nearly 250,000 irregular ones (most of them being Cossacks). Due to Russia's enormous population, the Russian Army heavily relies on offensive military action and tends to utilize the so-called "new order regiments", who are better trained and equipped for special assault operations. As a result, the Russian Military focuses on overwhelming enemy forces, with standing regiments being utilized for breakthroughs.
Naval Description: The Grand Fleet of the Russian Empire (Великий Флот Российской Империи/Velikiy Flot Rossiyskoy Imperii), also known as the Russian Navy, is the naval arm of the Russian military. It is considered to be big due to the fact that Russia has access to the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Russian Navy is mainly divided into the Western Arctic Fleet, the Eastern Arctic Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet, the Caspian Flotilla, the Baltic Flotilla, the Okhotsk Fleet, the Imperial Airship Force and the Imperial Marine Corps. The main five fleets are divided into squadrons, divisions, flotillas and task forces, while the Imperial Marine Corps is divided into brigades, regiments, battalions, companies, platoons and sections. Ship types ranges from battleships, frigates and corvettes to destroyers, gunboats and submarines. Due to obvious circumstances, the Russian Navy focuses on defensive military action, in which it has to strategically defend Russia's coasts from enemy powers. As a result, the Russian Navy may not be built for offensive military action.
Air Force Description: The Imperial Airship Force is the airborne branch of the Russian Navy. It is mainly divided into squadrons, wings, air divisions and air fleets. It is fully composed of airships. It is mostly focused on both providing ground support for the Russian Army and bombing hostile territory.
Further Military Description: The Cossacks form an elite part of the Russian military. Empress Alexandra I has her own cadre of bodyguards dubbed the "Alexandrian Cossacks". Meanwhile, the Russian military follows a rigid doctrine centered around "superior firepower", which means the Russian Army tends to favour its artillery units over the regular infantry, although mobility isn't unheard of.

History and Aspirations

National Goals: Conquer other countries, keep Russia unified, oppose socialist influence and achieve industrial hegemony
National Issues: Less industrialization in some parts of the Russian Empire, some claimed territories being controlled by other countries, Norden being a socialist country, political tensions between traditionalists and reformists, skepticism regarding the current Czarina and potential rebellion among workers, farmers, power-hungry noblemen and cultural minority groups.
History: Click here for details
RP Sample: A War of Blood and Steel

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[Obrela]

Just thought I'd let you know that my app is complete!

[Ralnis]

Reservation

Nation Name: Kingdom of Songhai
Territory: Mali
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*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Wheath]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Katapanate of Dyrrhachium, the Barony of Albania (Baronia e Shqipëria)
Territory: Albania, capital at Dyrrhachion (Durrësi)
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Relevant portions from Rhomania/Empire of the Romans
1790-1848 - Albanians in the Balkans revolting against the autocratic rule of the Roman Basileus. Manuel IV crushed the revolts without mercy.

1890-1900 - The death of Alexios XII led to the ascension to the throne of Andronikos V. The military however benefited from his reign, with the expansion of the Aerial Legion, and the production of the first tanks and walker prototypes. Andronikos died in his sleep in December 1899, and was followed by his son, Michael X Palaiologos.

Subject to further edits:
Baron Franz Nopcsa is born 50 years earlier, in 1827. To prevent the crushing of the Albanian democratic revolt by Manuel IV, the Albanophile offers to serve as the Albanian katepano; the Albanians receive Albanian-elected Baron (position named in honor of Nopcsa), along with ethnic protections and religious freedoms; forced participation in Roman wars is prohibited unless the campaign begins in Albania, is accessible from the Albanian coast, or crosses less than two Roman themes. Gunther Burstyn (born 1859 instead of 1879), promoting his Motorgeschütz (1891), gains sponsorship from Andronikos V. Inspired by the eccentric paleontologist (who died of various illnesses in 1883), he designs one of the first LANDCRUISER prototypes. Power to make war is invested in the Rhomanian emperor (although Albanian armies can be raised and used for defense of Albanian land by the Baron), who can also regulate naval tonnage.

*Note: Reservations will last for 72 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.