We still need Great Powers. Only one slot has been taken! Jump in!

Alright then I'll claim the islands, I'll have a sheet up for tomorrow.

I am interested in this.

Here's a WIP :)

Nation Name: The Kingdom of Nehalenia
Brief Nation History (No need for any history before 1700): The kingdom of Nehalenia was founded back in 1132 when Richard Valhal unified the 7 kingdoms of the Nehalenian peninsula and declared himself king of Nehalenia. The house of Valhal managed to maintain in power until the merchant revolution of 1389. During the 14th century a new social class emerged in the kingdom, the merchant class. Regular citizens saw the opportunity to gather wealth by sea based trading. By the 1385 the wealth of the merchants vastly exceeded that of the traditional landowning nobility. Jealous of the wealth and influence of the merchants, the high ranking nobility started to pressure the king to decrease the merchants influence and shift wealth towards the nobility. The king soon adopted new laws that vastly limited the size of merchant guilds and heavily taxed trade. This led to a revolt as wealth merchants hired mercenaries and defeated the kings forces in the battle of Valhalia.

With the kings forces defeated, the house of Valhal was exiled to Thennia and the merchants put George Therus, leader of the wealthiest merchant family of Nehalenia on the throne. The King George quickly turned back all the laws against the merchants and started to reform his country towards a trading empire. One of his first acts as king was the establisment of the Ostara Naval Engineering Academy, a University dedicated to develop the most modern sailing ships in the world. The second act was to actively promote and finance the exploration of the world. However, it was under the reign of king Philip Therus in 1492 that Nehalenian explorers discovered the Western Sides.

In order to explore and exploit these new lands the Western Sides Company (WSC) was formed in 1550. The WSC was granted the state monopoly for trade with this new world. Initially the WSC setup trading posts along the New worlds coast in order to trade with the local population. In 1604 the first settlers arrived and the colony New Nehalenia was formed. From this point on the WSC would gradualy colonize more territories in the Western side.

It was back in 1741 that the king ordered the foundation of the Serrantia Trading Company (STC) for th trade and exploitation of the continent of Serrantia. The first colony was established only 5 years later. Throughout the 18th century the Nehalenian monarchs and merchants continued to further expand their colonial holdings in The Western Sides and Serrantia. They continued to strive for a monopoly for the trade between the old world and these newly discovered continents. This lead to some violent clashes with competing old world powers such as Kunania. The second Nehalenian-Kunanian war of 1785-1788 saw many naval engagements and eventualy lead to Kunania giving up some of its Western Sides colonial territories to Nehalenia.

Nehalenia strives for domination of the valuable sea-based trade between the new worlds and the old ones. It tries to maintain peaceful relations with the other great powers while expanding their colonial influence throughout the Western Sides and Serrantia.

Government: Absolute monarchy
Political and social classes:
- The royal family is by far the most richest family of the kingdom. They have monopolized the trade with the new world on two state run companies. This gives the state a vast amount of revenue but a good sum of it flows into the private pockets of the royal family.

- WSC is headed by the board of directors. A council of 5 experienced merchants chosen by the king himself. On paper this gives the king a great influence on the WSC but in reality they act mostly independant. By law the WSC is granted the right to raise its own army, navy and conduct diplomacy with new world civilizations in The Western sides. The WSC appoints the governors of colonies and can choose to expand the colonial empire without the permission of the king.

- STC is a similair organisation as the WSC, only focussed on Serrantia. In terms of organisation and political powers they are granted the same rights on Serrantia as the WSC has on the Western Sides.

- The Union of Independant Merchants is a political organisation that represents the interests of the merchant class. The merchant class is the class of wealthy citizens, entrepeneurs in trade, industry and banking. These class has become increasingly unhappy with the policies of the monarchy. Especially the fact that the colonial exploitation is organised in a state monopoly. Entrepeneurs and independant traders cannot benefit much of the wealth the colonies have to offer.

- The nobility are the greatest losers of the revolution. A noble title no longer commands respect within the Nehalenian society. It is all about who has the most gold in their pockets. Prior to the revolution their political influence and wealth was great. As the Nehalenian economy became more trade focussed their wealth decayed and most where forced to sell much of their lands to agricultural entrepeneurs. Now the nobility is a disgrunteld relic from the past that longs for the glory and recognition of the middle-ages.

- The peasants are the class of the landworkers, carpenters, small farmers, craftsmen, factory workers, beggars, soldiers and sailors. Some manage to make a good living while others struggle to feed their kids. Only a few manage to climb the social ladder but most can only watch in awe how the merchants manage to gather more wealth for themselfs every day while they struggle to get by. With the industrial revolution kicking in, this class will once more learn the hard way that they are the slaves of the merchants and captains of industry. If only two philosophers would write down the challenges and solutions for the working class into a political manifest.

- The colonial subjects are the native population of the Nehalenian colonies and are by far the worst off in Nehalenian society. The Nehalenian system of taxation and currency was forced down upon them destroying their traditional tribal ways of live. Once they became subjects of the Nehalenian king they we're forced to pay taxes to the WSC and STC. They are locked in a system where they have to work in order to pay their boss. They are often forced into labor on plantations and mines. Wages are so low that colonials never can pay for education and thus never can rise on the social ladder. The colonial system only serves to enrich the Nehalenian state and citizens.
Landmass:


Spend points here
-- Population: (3 points) 22.000.000
-- Martial Prowess: (5 points)
-- Cultural Unity: (0 points)This gives historical claims to your nation, making it easier to expand, grow and maintain cultures within a growing empire.
-- Navy: (9 points) 27 third rates, 18 second rates, 10 first rates
-- Colonies: (8 points) 2 Colonial holding, 1 in Serrantia, 1 colonial holding and 1 major holding in The Western sides.

The map for the New World is up.

I'll add rivers, forests and Nehalenia to the Old World soon.

What would be the climate for the land North of the Luthoan Desert (particularly by the river)?

Similar to the Ohio River Valley. Arable, fertile.

I just wanted to get this idea approved before I complete the Brief Nation History. Thought it was ingenious to have a country in the "New World" that were actual Amazons (explorers called what is now the Amazon because they thought they mistook some of the native population as Amazons ). Just let me know whether this is cool or not. It's not like I'm asking for a race of Centaurs or Orcs.

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NATION APPLICATION
-- Regional New World Powers have 15.

Nation Name: The Queendom of Amazonia
Brief Nation History:
Little is know about the history of the Amazons prior to the arrival of Old Worlders in the Western Sides. Those peoples indigenous to the Western Sides do tell of the Amazons originated from a people who arrived from across the sea centuries ago, whom the natives call the the Asgaya-dihi, or 'the man-killers'. It is rather unclear whether this actually means that the ancestors of the Amazons were actually originally from the Old World or that they came from elsewhere from the Western Sides. Some claim that the former is true because of the Amazons' greater resistance to Old World diseases, the uncanny familiarity of their language and religion, and their physical appearance seems more of a mixture between those of the Old World and the Western sides. However, detractors of this theory point out that the relative lack of Old World interaction with the Amazons could also explain the low rate of infection in the Amazon populations, while their 'Old Worldness' could be explained by their tradition of kidnapping women from neighboring communities (which as of recently have included Old World settlements).

The majority of the Amazon population lives along the Thermodon River, which begins at its source in the Luthoan Mountains in the South and flows northward until it empties out into the Bay of Myrine. The largest city (which also serves as the capital) in Amazonia is Themiscyra. Amazonia itself is actually divided into four tribal associations, or Phyla, each governing over a separate section of Amazonia and having their own leaders. The four groups are the Phyla Sogila, the Phyla Tsytla , the Phyla Adylisa, and the Phyla Daksa. However, each Phyla admits subordinate to a single queen (basilea), whom is drawn from one of the four Phyla. Whenever a heir to the thrown is unable to be found for whatsoever reason, the elders of the four Phyla assembles a council where they select a new bloodline to wield the royal power. The current dynasty of queens have been drawn from Phyla Daksa for the last several generations.

While Amazonia is a matriarchal society and the majority (although not the entirety) of its slave population is male, the male 'Amazon' population is not considered to be inferior to the womenfolk, but they rather have a position of equality. Although there is definitely a division of labor in regard to gender roles, military service is not one of them, which allows Amazonia to muster forces that are slightly larger than a population of similar size. One ritual that the Amazons hold dear is their annual raids upon their neighbors. In these raids, a band of young women are sent out to a neighboring village. Besides material plunder, the Amazons kidnap young women, whom are assimilated into Amazonian society, and young men, who are placed into slavery. Once the Old Worlders started to make settlements within the traditional Amazon "hunting grounds", the Amazons eventually raided these communities too. These incidents have caused negative relations between the Amazons and the Old Worlders.

However, the most significant event in Amazonian history was the introduction of horses to the Western Sides. Almost immediately the Amazons adopted horsemanship into their culture, both militarily and domestically. In combination with their finesse at archery, the introduction of cavalry into the Amazon military culture generated one of the most feared weapons on the northern portion of the Western Sides. Although the Amazons have been importing firearms for both military and domestic uses, the trade of these items are at such a small scale that the majority of the Amazonian fighting forces would not be wielding them.

Government: Matriarchal Monarchy (current basilea: Thalestris)
Landmass:

Spend points here
-- Population: 13,000,000 (1 pts.)
-- Martial Prowess: (7 pts.)
-- Cultural Unity: (6 pts.)
-- Navy: 3 Third Rate, 2 Second Rates, and 1 First Rate ship (1 pts.)
-- Colonies: None (0 pts.)

Definitely works. You'll be a non-Old Power nation, which means less civilized since although the Old a World is akin to North America in a way, there is no United States equivalent for modernization.

But yeah, looks good! Get your application fleshed out and I'll put you on the map! That's a third player. Two more and the game will start!

Nation Name: The Empire of Zellon
Brief Nation History (No need for any history before 1700):The Empire of Zellon started out as a small duchy that war amongst other duchies for control of the small resources the island had. Eventually after many generations the duchy grew through diplomacy and war into the single most powerful house in the entire island. It remains at peace with much of the mainland and wishes to expand their interests in the new world to trade.
Government: Monarchy
Landmass: gyazo.com/5f612eb24e967a92f6e121c07a05..

Spend points here
-- Population: 10,000,000 3 points.

-- Martial Prowess: 10

-- Cultural Unity: 4 Points

-- Navy: 18 Third Rates, 12 Second Rates, 7 First Rate (6)

-- Colonies: 6 points

@Dedonus New world bros? I was going for a very Aztec/Maya styled nation, and definitely think there could be some tribal diplomacy going.

As for land claim, I'm looking at the entirety of the desert region in terms of spiritual lands, and will have a more definitive claim for the actual country soon-ish.

@Alfhedil We need to kick these "new" world people (in the actual new worlds' prospective) out of our continent! Or, if this plays like Victoria 2, get freaking screwed by this roleplay's version of the United Kingdom. :S

@TheodorableI am not sure I have the capacity with so many other RPs I'm in but in case I do... what are your views on fantastical races?
I'm thinking of something like elves, dwarves and such.
They have advantages and disadvantages compared to humans and of course there's no magic involved.

Glad to see some people joining! Nations will not be accepted until their applications are complete. So we can begin fleshing out the world.

Feel free to make backstory with other player nations for your histories.

And also to WillyVereb, unfortunately this is a stark historical-esque RP. Only humans. No magic. Feel free to still jump in, however!

@Alfhedil We need to kick these "new" world people (in the actual new worlds' prospective) out of our continent! Or, if this plays like Victoria 2, get freaking screwed by this roleplay's version of the United Kingdom. :S

Yes, we need a little bit of a Funset Invasion to introduce these easterners to our culture o3o

I'll be getting to my NS here shortly, though I have no idea what to do with these "points" as it were.

@Alfhedil You have a set amount of points to spend, the number is based on what sort of power you are, an Old World Major power gets 25, Regional powers get 15 and can be anywhere in the world. You can spend these points on 5 stats; Population, Martial Prowess, Cultural Unity, Navy and Colonies. On the front page in the NS it explains more as to how much each point will get you.
Theodorable will tell you the size of your army and their ability at combat which I assume is based on military prowess and population respectively. Claims on other factions is decided by Cultural Unity, both of these stats will be given, after you have announced how many points you are spending on them.

Edit: Not sure if I like my new history I wrote and it may be altered.
Edit 2: Fixed year dates.
Nation Name: Imperium Of Skeptoni (Global Power)
Brief Nation History (No need for any history before 1700):

In the year of 1778 the region of Skeptoni was made up of city states all apart of a league of nations known as "The Konfødererede". The Konfødererede did protect the region from external threats well enough and internal struggles were rather unheard of mostly due to the fact that the leaders and the general population of the region all got along pretty well without many issues. The house of Skaneg weren't exactly the most humble of families and had ambition for more power. The brilliant young leader Herlad Skaneg at only the age of 19 years old had begun his life long goal of taking control of the region along with its surrounding areas and rule as Keiser.

Herlad began by forming alliances with other powerful houses of the regions, courting their daughters, impressing their sons, bribing the sleazy officals and minor nobles. Soon enough Herlad's ears and influence were all around the entire region. By then most of the houses in the region unoffically served Herald and respected his power, and even feared it. In 1793 the house of Knýtlinga a rival of Herald's that had resisted his control over the region and one of the only remaining regional powers that could match him in wealth, army size, and influence had become infuriated over the death of its house head King Anders, they foolishly accused Herald of poisoning him and declared war. The young, overconfident, and stupid son of King Anders has inherited his father's position. He moronically declared war onto Herald Skaneg but then quickly realized he didn't actually know how to lead an army, administrate a kingdom, or how to handle real power. As you can imagine the war ended quickly in Herald's favor and immediately solidified his power over the region.

With little protest from the other houses of the region Herald declared himself Keiser of Skeptoni. At age 34 Herlad had successfully ruled over the region as Keiser. Although the other houses at the time hadn't protested to Herald ruling over them they did get disgruntled and annoyed that they now had someone to serve. Instead of Herald quickly continuing his expansion like he planned at first he decided to remain in the region to solidify his power and make good with his new vassals. By 1803 Herald at age 59 had made his power a reality, vassals served him loyally, peasents loved him and did their duties for him, he had even started a family with his wife Anna. He had a son named Ragnar, and two twin daughters named Aimi and Kari.

Government: Absolute Monarchy.
Landmass: imgur.com/z0xabnJ
Population: 35,000,000 (5 Points)
Martial Prowess: (9 Points)
Cultural Unity: (1 Point)
Navy: 30 Third Rates, 20 Second Rates, 11 First Rates (10 Points)
Colonies: (0 Points)

I'll add the Kingdom of Skeptoni to the map sometime tomorrow. We have enough players to begin the game, but we need more finished applications! Skeptoni looks good.

Skeptoni and the NPC nations of the Maljuk Caliphate and the Kingdom of Thennia were added. These NPC nations are all important because they can be conquered, allied with, or traded with.

Seeing a lot of maritime powers with little populations and thus armies. Heh, perhaps the Commonwealth can find more land in the Old World, than the new.

I'll really giving free reign here, though every "turn," as it were (once everybody posts once) there will be an EVENT/CRISIS that the Great Powers will have to respond to. I'll try and involve everyone that I can, of course.

Tomorrow I'll add rivers to the Old World and roll the stats for Thennia and Maljuk.

Again, I'll reiterate: YOUR NATION WILL NOT BE ALLOTTED FOR PLAY UNTIL YOUR APPLICATION IS 100% FINISHED AND ACCEPTED. That means you too Lone Wanderer!

EDIT: And actually Thennia will be moved because Nehalenia took that spot. That's my mistake, actually.

Seeing a lot of maritime powers with little populations and thus armies. Heh, perhaps the Commonwealth can find more land in the Old World, than the new.

I think a population between 20 and 40 milion is far more accurate for a great power during the early 19th century then 50 million+. France for instance had a population of around 35 million people, Great Brittan had less then 20 million (excluding their colonies). I found this list on some forum. Also take into consideration that Germany as a unified nation did not excist yet in 1840 same for Italy I think. As far as populations goes for great powers I think anywhere between 15 to 40 million would be accurate. Regional powers between 5-10 million and micro old world (NPC) up to 5 million.

1) Russia : 62.4 million
2) Austria-Hungary : 34.9 million
3) France : 34 million
4) Germany : 32.5 million
5) Italy : 22 million
6) England + Wales : 16 million
7) Spain : 14 million
8) Ireland : 8.2 million
9) Belgium : 4.1 million
10) Sweden : 3.1 million
11) Netherlands : 2.9 million
12) Scotland : 2.5 million
13) Finland : 1.5 million
14) Denmark : 1.3 million
15) Norway : 1.2 million
16) Greece : 0.9 million

A massive population during the early 19th century would also require a massive land size. This is because argicultural production methods where still very labor intensive and inefficient. During the late 19th century you can see a massive population boom that has been made possible by the industrial revolution. With the industrial revolution kicking in, the agricultural sector became much more efficient because of mechanisation. Basically less people could work more land.

Also a massive standing army is a giant liability. Expensive to maintain and impossible to supply and live on the land while being on campain. Just ask Napoleon how much fun he and his 800.000 soldiers had in Russia. His campain failed because of the technology of that time could not support the logistics needed for such a large army. The logistical problems where mostly solved with the invention of railroads and motorized transportation by the start of the 20th century.

Also I assume that the ship clasification is based upon the Brittisch system (first, second and thirth rate ships of the line). The truth about first rates is that they where expremely expensive to operate to the point that they where kept in harbor mottballed during times of peace in order to avoid damage and wear to the ships and thus expensive repair costs. I don't think that the Royal navy had more then 5 first rate ships of the line at any point during the 19th century.

On the point of colonization. Basicly all the european powers colonized large territories with small armies by making use of their technological advantage and clever diplomacy with the various tribes, societies, princes and whatever. Support 1 tribal faction to subdue the other. Give some power to local leaders while maintaining control. This way the Dutch colonized Indonesia and never had a large army present. The British used the same tactics in India and by 1857 only had about 35.000 Native British soldiers in India.