THE AGE OF NATIONS
SUMMER, 1836
ZelloniaWith a stagnating colonial presence, and the King's recent decision to deploy several thousand troops into the Murelian crisis, the rumblings of the lower class had started to be more audible. In a major port city on the eastern coast, a street side gathering of a few dozen started sometime in the early morning. Patrolling constables noticed it and stepped in almost immediately, citing several tickets and arresting two men responsible for the rabble rousing. Someone threw a rock, knocking one of the officers down and the crowd turned mad. The two police officers, attempting to haul the two men off were rushed by the gathering, severely beaten by the overwhelming number of protesters.
With blood on their hands, the crowd turned riotous and moved willfully down the street toward the ports. By midday the crowd had gathered several thousands and the mayor of the city had sent word to the nearby garrison to mobilize and help put the riot down. 350 Zellonian Regulars met the protestors at the gate of the docks, with a very prim and proper Captain immediately ordering the crowd to disperse. The standoff lasted only seconds. The crowd charged in and the soldiers opened fire. The front row was cut like wheat from the scythe but the soldiers were overwhelmed without time to reload or fix bayonets. The Captain yanked out his saber and cut several men down before being dragged to the floor and killed with a bayonet stolen off one of his own men.
Those not involved looked on in horror as the crowd boarded two of the ships docked there, a Third Rate and a First Rate. Without obstacle and after some mild trouble, they managed to start a fire upon both ships. They cheered and danced as flames licked at the sky, the ships smoldering in the very water they sat. As the sun finally began to sat on the horizon, the crowd petered out, eventually dispersing into the night. When military officials finally built up the courage to take an armed escort back into the port, they found the First Rate had been burned so bad it would have to be scuttled, and the Third Rate would need six months worth of repairs. Another garrison would need to be installed into the city.
While the snows melted and turned the harsh Anvegad steppes into a cool and mild summer, the graduating class of 1836 of the Anvegad Military Academy was shaping up to be a promising endeavor. Completing the entirety of his studies in two thirds of the regular length that it took many of his contemporaries, Lieutenant Pavel Tarkov, originally of the Anvegad Cavalry exemplified himself as not only a competent student and brilliant tactical mind, but as a self proclaimed military genius. So audacious was he, that upon his hasty graduation, he admitted a 51 page length paper detailing several daring plans for offensive military operations against neighboring states, as well as the Boletarian Commonwealth that would allow success based upon the strengths of Anvegad's military and the weakness of those. Members of the Anvegadian High Command reviewed the documents at length and found them risky, if not suicidal. When asked, Tarkov simply announced that many of those men, while proud Anvegadians, were members of a dying Old Guard, not fit for the future of the Anvegadian military.
Several members of the High Command voiced their opinion that this man is simply dangerous and should be relegated to a minor command, while a few others felt that they might be onto something much more grand than that. As a member of the graduating class, Tarkov's future assignment is in the hands of the Anvegadian commanders. He has made it well known however that he is an Anvegadian nationalist, and no matter his post, he will serve it to the best of his ability.
The Sino-Sanguine Mutual Defence Treaty of 1836Understanding safety and security to be a nation's top priority, The Imperial Authority of the Sanguine Empire proposes to the sovereign of the Kingdom of Sinesia a pact of mutual defence, to entail these conditions:
* If one nation is attacked, the other shall declare war on its attacker, and do everything in its power to aid the defender.
* During times of conflict, the two nations will allow military access to each other's territories and facilities, until such a time that the conflict is resolved.
* The two nations will not negotiate a peace within the conflict separate from the other. Conditions of victory must be agreed upon by both nations. Conditions of surrender are exempt from this.
[X] Emperor Damian Gregory Amoury
[X] King Quinn 'The Guard' of Sinesia
The Braiyusal ExpeditionThe Braiyusal expedition of Summer, 1836 was abysmal. Onset by harsh storms and sickness, the men fought and bickered among one another along the trip, several times contemplating returning. The natives were the only positive. Friendly, several times they approached the group and offered food when none could be found in the local area, and on the 14th day they offered respite during a tumultuous thunderstorm for the expedition. The Braiyusals, who realized they were the first to have ever come across these people (overlooking the initial Zellonian expeditions of the 1400's), named them the Sithiki people. They journeyed on, following along a thick forest until they saw the silhouette of a mountain in the northwest.
Braiyusal Expedition, Summer 1836The expedition eventually left Sithiki lands behind and moved inland. In June, they camped along the river in the shadow of the great mountain. That night, they were beset by several dozen natives wearing heavy furs. These natives were unfriendly, and in a frighteningly threatening standoff, a Braiyusalan Captain named Alfonso shot and killed one of them. The gunshot scared the rest off, but several in the party admonished the Captain for his cowardice.
Days later, the expedition journeyed north to the mountain and studied it and the surrounding area for several days. While they found trace amounts of iron, it was a three man journey into an immense crevasse that brought joy to the party.
Gold. More than had ever been seen in the Old World, even in the depths of the Murelian kingdom, where gold flowed like water. The largest gold deposit in the history of the world, Old and New alike.
The Sanguine EmpireA censor recently taken by the sociologist Karwin Bogdin of the Sanguine Empire has finally compiled a list of the various cultures of the vast, Eastern nation. His findings, published in the Summer of 1836 as
The Compendium of People's of the Eastern Nations under the Sanguine, was uninteresting to those outside of political spheres, but it found an immensely important revelation that the Sanguine had since not realized. The Ambrosians, a prominent cultural group in the empire, now make up 42% of the entire population. This near majority has created some very real consternation among the upper class. With their own cultural norms and traditions, many fear that in a few decades they may be clambering for dominance of their own rights in the nation.
Other sociologists of the era dismissed this, citing the Ambrosians natural inclination to larger familial units and last decades great harvest as an explanation. As the other cultures grow as well, the Ambrosians will dip back into joining the others as prominent, but less numerous compared to the population as a whole. Karwin, as an Ambrosian himself, was written off by the Sanguine as a brooding nationalist and his work mostly as inept propaganda.
A Dalatrian economist has published his
World Index, a lengthy work citing the organization of the world. The dalatrian, named Jeremy Halthorne, has ranked the Great Powers by virtue of their economic output, industrial might, military prowess and colonial resources. He has come under flak for not ranking his own nation, the United Kingdoms of Dalatrum, less than first, though he often cites that he is more interested in the truth, and not a nationalist agenda for his own nation. His rankings, for the year of 1836 are as follows.
1.
The Commonwealth of Boletaria: On a scale of 1 to 100, the Boletarian Commonwealth rates 75 in Prestige, and is unarguably the most powerful nation in the world. Though Halthorne cites the lack of industrial modernization and no colonial presence, the unity of these people have surpassed most of these errors.
2.
Zellonian Empire: Barely losing out to the Boletarian Commonwealth on a scale of 1 to 100, the Zellonian Empire has a ranking of 74 Prestige on Halthorne's scale. With the largest naval fleet the world has ever seen, it is unlikely than any one single nation could ever defeat the Zellonian Imperial Navy. With a disunited franchise at home and only a meager colonial presence, Halthorne cites that without it's navy, Zellonia might not rank as a Great Power at all.
3.
Skeptonian Imperium: With a promising political imperium and a navy that itself is worthy of acclaim, the Skeptonians rank number third with an overall rating of 63 Prestige. Only now beginning to colonize and explore Serranthia, Halthorne cites the eminent cultural significance of the Skeptonian people as a reason for being the third most powerful in the world.
4.
Nehalanian Kingdom: With an overall ranking of 54 prestige, the Nehalanian Kingdom is fourth on the list. Though with an impressive navy, the majority of this ranking stems from the immense industrial and economic might of the nation.
5.
United Kingdoms of Dalatrum: Only just making the list at 43 Prestige, the United Kingdoms of Dalatrum eclipse Great Power status, and only just so. Without an emphasis on anything in particular, Dalatrum is riding a status awarded to them in 1750 and may very well be simply place holding until another, more ambitious power takes their spot.
Braiyusalian-Amazonian TradeDue to a heavy presence in the Western Sides, on March 17th, 1836 the Nehalanian Royal Navy intercepted a lone Braiyusalian trading frigate along the northern shores of the Western Sides coast. Patrolling there while conducting shore raiding operations against the Amazonian tribes, the vessel was flagged down but refused to stop. The Nehalanian Second Rate fired a volley just shy of the ship and the Braiyusalian vessel dropped anchor. Upon boarding, the Nehalanians discovered that the vessel was carrying crates of ammunition and rifles, though the Braiyusalian captain said this was for the colonial garrison.
The decision to supply the Amazonians to undermine the Nehalanians, a rival colonial power, was a bold one. The Braiyusalian King was applauded in many circles for his decision to stand up to a Great Power, especially an auspiciously and ambitiously imperialistic one. However, trouble has found its way to the Western Sides. The
BNV Kilos has disappeared. Carrying over 500 muskets and shot, it left Braiyusal and landed in Colonial Braiyusal twenty-two days later. Restocking for supplies, it set sell across the inlet toward the Amazonian coast. It did not return. Whether because of a storm, bad navigation, or worse, supplies to the Amazonians has been temporarily stopped while the colonial governor asks for leadership from the Home Island.
Unbeknownst to the Braiyusalians, the Nehalanians immediately towed the captured vessel back to New Nehalania for the time being.
