Kentharu
Zebra Commander
First of all, glad to see you back Isrealite. Second can you point to any decent nations left, middle power or slightly lower.
YosefNES I: Oif Gelt, Oif Gelt, un Oif Gelt
- Thread starter Israelite9191
- Start date
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
OOC: You just HAD to go and destroy the update from being on top of this page didn't you.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Thank you for the welcome
. I would recommend the Aztecs, Djolof, Kong, or Oman. The Aztecs are obviously a survive the Europeans game; Djolof would have to survive the Europeans (and Songhai) as well, but have good potential as a future naval power/trade state; Kongo is well positioned to benefit from the Indian Ocean-Europe trade is probably the best positioned state in Africa to survive the Europeans; Oman could potentially compete with Portugal as a colonial/trade state in the Western Indian Ocean. You could also go for one of the Indian states of the northwest (Gujarat, (Hindu) Rajputana, Sindh, Lahore), but I personally find them to be less interesting options.EDIT: Oh, and England and Brittany. Brittany is in the Celtic Bloc, so it has good protection and options in the New World, but also needs to stay with the Irish/Scottish line. England is kind of neutered in TTL, but still has potential. There will also be some new states to consider with the update, so wait for that before making a choice.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Update 1
1504 1506
Our Father who art in heaven...give us this day our daily bread. The Gospel According to Luke, 11:2-4
In an age of greed and malice, when gold and silver ruled the hearts of men, many of this world have found comfort in the Lords Prayer, in the simplicity and humility of its message. Give us...our bread, not gold, not silver, not precious incense or exotic luxuries, just bread. The Our Father teaches humility of worth, moderation of desire, to ask for little, and to be content with what is given. The Our Father teaches love, charity, faith, and obedience before G-d; it is the plan for the Kingdom of Heaven.
If only the kingdoms of the Earth cared to listen to preaches as much as bankers. From the ragged western shores and far-flung missions of Ireland to the quiet stillness of the Japanese dawn, the world is guided by greed and want. Bread is not enough for the kings of men, nor is happiness, purpose, or faith; only gold and silver can even begin to satiate their thirst. With love, faith, and charity left by the wayside, the world stands now, as it always has, on three things: oif gelt, oif gelt, un oif gelt.
At the eastern edge of this world, among the islands and empire that are blessed to first witness the dawning of the sun, this axiom proves as true as anywhere else. Here, the seas are ruled by the Wokou, Japanese pirates who have taken advantage of the Ming Empires Sea Ban to dominate the black market, which is, in fact, the only market for Chinese goods. They have grown immensely wealthy, multiplying rampantly from the recruitment of impoverished and displaced Japanese peasants and building fleets larger than any of the surrounding kingdoms. With this immense power and wealth they have remained unchallenged for generations; that state of affairs has finally been brought to an end.
The Japanese, long reluctant to deal with the Wokou, have oddly enough led a united effort with the Ming and Ryukyu to target the pirates, seeking to destroy their bases in the Ryukyus and drive them away from the ports of China. Initially hopeful and certain of success, the efforts of the allies have been disastrous the Japanese and Ming navies have been devastated, the Ryukyuans have failed to drive the pirates out of their bases, the Japanese were prevented in their attempt to establish colonies on Taiwan (though the Ryukyuans managed to, establishing Kirun [1]). Even where the allies appeared successful, driving the pirates away from the southern coast of China, they have in fact only brought chaos upon themselves. With the pirates gone the black market for Chinese goods has disappeared, driving merchants across the great ports of China into poverty and causing the Ming economy to plummet, though the economy has started to rebound with goods making the long trek through China to Joseon, enticing the pirates to re-establish themselves on Jeju-do. Even so, the Chinese and Japanese are still suffering the repercussions, as would Ryukyu if not for the increased trade with the East Indies through Kirun.
Despite the failures of attempts to control the Wokou, there is good news yet for the hegemons of the Far East. In Japan rapid, through fragile, expansion across the Ainu territories of northern Honshu have accompanied two major projects, one run by the shoguns government, designed to reform the Bushido code and redefine it as an example for all those in service to the Shogunate and empire, and one run by the emperor, designed to revive the declining grandeur of Nara and reinvent it as the religious centre of Japanese society. The truly significant reforms, however, are across the straights, in Joseon. The Kingdom, for a decade now held hostage by the mad king Yi Yung Joseon, has begun to recover. In the palace coup of 1504, Yi Yung was quickly done away with and replaced with his half-brother Yi Yeok. An absolutely brilliant man compared to his predecessor, Yi Yeok has embarked on a massive program to undo the damage that Yi Yung inflicted on the Korean people, re-establishing Seonggyungwan Academy, legalising Hangeul, encouraging the redevelopment of Joseons once vibrant literati, and investing massively in the redevelopment of their economy. With the benefit of the economic upswing following the redirection of the Chinese black market trade to their kingdom, the reforms have had something of a jumpstart; there is still a long and hard road ahead for Joseon, but progress can already be seen.
At the other end of the world, in that other place known as the Dawn Land, a revolution is spreading. The native peoples of northeastern Columbia have remained disunited for generation upon generation, century upon century, millennium upon millennium, with the sole exception of the Haudenosaunee; no more. Under the leadership of the Haudenosaunee and mounting pressure from European colonial powers, three newly centralised and strengthened states have emerged in the Dawn Land: the Lenape Confederation [2], the Wampanoag Confederation [3], and the Wabanaki Confederation [4]. For now, the three have managed to maintain cordial relations with the Celtic Reformed Bloc, with the Haudenosaunee, and with each other, but how long this unprecedented state of peace can least is unknowable.
Perhaps the only reason that these new states have been so successful is that the colonial powers have found themselves perched on the very edge of war. In February of 1504, the Kingdom of Ireland, the Kingdom of Scotland, the Kingdom of Wales, the Grand Duchy of Brittany, the Kingdom of France, and the Kingdom of Portugal signed the Treaty of Naoned [5], dividing Columbia between the Celtic Bloc north of Fort Ste. Marie [6] and France to the south, while Portugal was guaranteed Africa. Both Kalmar and the Dutch happily chose to ignore this. First, in September of 1504, Icelandic explorer Jón Sigurðsson established St. Johns on the island of Newfoundland for Kalmar; then, in May of 1505 Adriaen Hartog, sailing in the service of the Honorable Gentlemans League, established the Netherlander port of Fort Leeuwarden [7]. So far, Scandinavian and Netherlander ships have come into conflict with Celtic fleets in the North Atlantic and French ships near Fort Ste. Marie on several occasions, but as of yet, the colonial conflicts have not sparked outright war back in Europe.
Elsewhere in Columbia the Irish have embarked on a new colonial strategy, using the Reformed Church as a conduit for their expansionary ambitions, establishing monasteries along the northward course of the Hudson River and as the nucleus of the southern port of Gearóidmór [8], centre of the new colony of New Mumha. Additionally, they have begun to seek out German experts, fresh from the War of German Religion, to aid in fortification and development of the colonial centres of Gearóidmór, St. Patricks Church [9], Kings Town [10], and New Waterford [11]. Lay missionaries and explorers, meanwhile, have chartered the course of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers (efforts to map the St. Lawrence failed, the explorers disappearing into the wilderness) with the aid of Haudenosaunee guides, a small number of whom have been converted to the Christian faith.
Further to the south the French explorer Jean de Satigny has followed up on the earlier exploration of Frenchman Jean de Lacaille, adding to Tegesta [12] and the St. Louis Islands [13] Cuba, the Isle of Pines [14], Jamaïque [15], and Haïti [16] before turning back to For Ste. Marie and France. A month later, in September of 1505, Italian ships showed up in Fort Ste. Marie seeking safe harbour. The French, abiding by the Treaty Naoned drove the Italian fleet back. Led by explorer Niccolo Patrucci, the Italians, desperate to find land and resupply, on 29 September, stumbled across a small island in the Atlantic which they subsequently named New Sicily [16] and on which they established the town of San Michele [17], named in honour of the archangels who day it was and to whom they believed they owed their salvation, before resupplying and heading back to Morocco.
Further south yet, on 10 April 1505, a Spanish fleet sailing with admiral Andrea DOria at the wheel made landfall in the new world. In honour of Easter Sunday, the Spanish named the isle San Salvador [18] and established a small mission. When they returned the next year, however, they discovered that the local natives had overrun the settlement. In its stead they found that the Portuguese had established an outpost of their own. Having set out with the intent of discovering, and conquering, the rumoured cities of gold said to lay somewhere far to the west, they instead discovered the small island of San Salvador and its abandoned Spanish town and chose to make it their own.
Even further to the south, much further to the south, across vast swaths of unknown territory, the Portuguese have been busy. Having mapped the route to India, the Portuguese have chosen to return across the Atlantic to explore the lands first discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1500.
Landing where he did at Porto Seguro, they sailed southwards to Rio de Janeiro before heading back northwards to Rio Grande do Norte where they establish the colony of Natal after which they return across Atlantic to Elmina. The Portuguese name the landmass, which they believe to be separated from Columbia by a water-way, Brazil [19].
As the Portuguese spread their influence over the eastern shores of this new continent of Brazil, on its western coast an even larger empire was at work. Tawantinsuyu, the behemoth of the Andes, turned their attention from the cold southern lands where Huayna Capac has spent the last decade in war, to the fiery north and the Quitu. A strong people, they did not give in easy. It took 15 thousand troops marching across its mountains, valleys, and beaches to subdue the last remnants of this once mighty kingdom. It was, however, obviously worth it, as wealth has begun to flow back into the region and trade has flourished both with the Inkas heartland in the south and with the wealthy Chibcha and others to the north.
It was also here, at the northernmost edges of Tawantinsuyu that a revolution in sea-going technology has occurred. Pachacutec, a noble in the court of the Sapa Inka, has spent the last three years at work combining the technology of the reed ships used on his native Lake Titicaca with the wooden rafts of the coast to create a new breed of Inka ship. Built on the design of the reed ships of Lake Titicaca but constructed out of more durable wood, these are ships that are truly sea worthy. Already, the ships are plying the ocean trade routes heading northwards, though for now direct contact has only been established with the wealthy city of Nicaraocali [20].
Among the people with whom the Inka has been attempting to achieve communication, war continues to rage. The Purhépecha of the Tzintzuntzani empire marched to the north against the Nahua and other native peoples, bringing their widely strewn villages under, very weak, control. The Aztecs, meanwhile, under Moctezuma II, have continued their southward push against the powerful Zapotec city states that remain to the south.
On the other side of the Pacifc, a far less successful war has been raging. Viet Nam, led by Tranh Lê, invaded their neighbour to the west. Initially achieving success against the smaller and less well trained Lao forces, the war soon enough turned in Lan Xangs favour. Raising heavy levies to bolster the ranks of their forces and calling upon Ayutthaya, who has for long now guaranteed the safety of their Tai kinsmen, Lan Xang quickly came to have the upper hand. Unfamiliar with the mountainous jungle terrain and unable to hold back the massed Thai and Lao forces, the Vietnamese began to fall in droves. Now, the very borders of Viet Nam have been threatened. Whether the Ming will come to the aid, whether the Thai will encourage their tributary to continue, and whether Lan Xang wishes to bring their wrath down on the insolent lowlanders, remains in question.
While the war raged to its north and east, Ayutthaya has turned its attention inwards and to the south and west. Within Ayutthaya Ramathibodi II has begun a refocusing of the government along theocratic lines, extolling the Buddhist model for government and emphasising a government in line with the teachings of the Buddha. He has also put his attentions into expanding the economy, into bringing expanded trade from the sea to the Thai kingdom and into expanding influence over more lands for the production of rice and spice. In pursuit of the latter Ramathibodi sent his troops, those not needed in the war in Lan Xang, to Sumatra, to bring under the Elephant Throne the great wealth of this island. While they have achieved some success in the southern territories of his aimed-for expansion, failure was all that was met in the north, where the mighty city of Aceh has stood in the way, rallying its rural hinterlands to fight off the invaders from the mainland. Within his own court Ramithibodi has faced similar resistance, this time from the higher nobility, who have forced the King to accept that his diplomatic deals have been more than a little extravagant; they have forced him to ratify the alliance with Lannathai, and nothing else.
At the southern end of Sumatra the power of the great Majapahit has finally come to an end, and in its place has come the Malaccans. Not wanting Palembang to fall into disuse, Malacca has taken the city and its hinterland for themselves; as of yet, the remnants of the Majapahit, now left with only the eastern end of Java, having lost the rest of their empire to local rebels and the newly emergent Sultan of Demak. The Malaccans have, in this time, also went about the pursuit of standardising trade, restricting vessels passing through the straights to docking at either Malacca or Johor, while also encouraging the actions of Muslim missionaries across the Malay peninsula.
Much like Majapahit, the Kingdom of Ava, long the behemoth of Burma, is collapsing under its own weight and the pressure of Shan and Bamar invaders. With the rise of Taungoo to its south, having gained the allegiance of many of Avas southern villages and quickly becoming the economic centre of the region, the fall of Ava has only been accelerated. So far, they still maintain control over the central heartland and hinterlands as far east as the Bay of Bengal, but these lands too may soon fall.
Across the Bay of Bengal is another old behemoth, long thought dead, continues its resurgence. After years of fighting rebel warlords, Vijayanagara has finally wiped most of them out. There are a few who remain in the far interior, terrorising civilians and building up wealth, but their time will soon be up. Meanwhile, the government has embarked on a program to improve the infrastructure of the country, building new roads across its forested expanses, connecting the interior cities with coastal centres.
Further west yet across the seas of the Indian Ocean far greater changes are taking place. The Portuguese, having rounded the Cape of Good Hope, have pressed on with their expansion into the Indian Ocean. Portugal has seized the great port of Zanzibar and set up camp there, creating from the island a base of operations for further action on the great ocean. Elsewhere in Africa, too, the Portuguese have been active. First, they have stopped the Spanish, driven from San Salvador, from establishing a colony in Africa. Then, north of the Gulf of Guinea they joined together with the king of Oyo-Ile to forge a new empire, dependent on them, across the cities across the southern reaches of the Niger. Though much of the region remains under the control of local rulers, the revived Oyo Empire has, with the help of Portuguese arms and Portuguese troops expanded new heights of power never before known by the city. This, of course, has led to great angst in Benin.
To the north, a new sort of state has emerged on the coast of western Africa. The Kingdom of Serra de Leão [21] is an un-abashed pirates lair, ruled by a former Portuguese pirate Fernão de Noronha. From across the Atlantic pirates have come to sake haven in its grand port, where in exchange for submitting to minimal taxes, they receive safety, place for repairs, a centre for recruiting, and a place to conduct trade before heading elsewhere to sell their pillaged goods and gain new plunder. So far, the nation is weak and fragile, and poses no real threat to the great trading states of the Atlantic, but they day may yet come when the pirate lords of the Lion Mountains are feared across the seas.
Further north and across the Sahel, in the realm of Askia Muhammed, the Songhai have pursued further reforms of the government and the country in pursuit of greatness. With the vision of a state for Allah set before them, Askia Muhammed has invested not only in reforming the operations of the government, banning non-Muslims from government as well as the military, but in the spread of Islam and in education, culminating in the construction of the Madrasah Islamiyyah in Gao and its counterparts across the great cities of the empire. Not quite a great work, it is nonetheless a symbol of the movement towards a truly enlightened society dedicated to the word of Allah. In tangent with this missionaries have been sent to preach among the people of Djolof and the Mossi Kingdoms. While they have been welcomed by rulers of Djolof, the Mossi have been another matter. Deliberately ignoring a guarantee of the missionaries safety by Askia Muhammed, the missionaries have been detained, some of them executed, and the rest sent back to the Songhai under pain of death.
And finally, in Europe, things have not been quiet either. Italy and the Commonwealth of Lithuania-Novgorod have lead much of Europe in signing free trade agreements. These agreements, removing the tariffs that have always been important to filling the coffers of the state, have proved disastrous. As tax revenues from the ports and trade centres plummeted, governments across the Continent were forced to back off of their deals and revert to the traditional means of trade, protecting merchants and allowing them free pass while collecting tariffs and taxes for the state. The economies of Europe have recovered, but the Free Trade Crash will not be forgotten.
Besides the disastrous attempts at encouraging free trade, the Commonwealth of Lithuania-Novgorod has embarked on a number of other internal reforms. Firstly, they have finally recruited the Cossacks of the south into the armed forces. For now, they remain largely independent, but should war come, they are prepared to serve the Commonwealth. Secondly, the Commonwealth has undertaken a number of economic and governmental reforms generally streamlining economic practices, expanding the economy, and encouraging tolerance in the name of efficiency, progress, and growth; tolerance, at least, of Christians. Muslims remain a lower class, restricted in territory and action, Pagans are now under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Yaroslavl, who is converting them eagerly, and the Jews now suffer even more greatly under the Commonwealths new policies, being exiled to the frontier and, though it has not happened yet, being forced to accept a policy of periodic relocation. This has greatly damaged the economy of the cities in the Lithuanian west, but for now other government policies have generally made up the difference. The relocation has also served some good for the Commonwealth though, lending a jumpstart to a new government program to bring some semblance of settlement to the frontier in the Ukraine, Ingria, and the northern and western Russian territories.
The Hungarians to the west, much the happier for the continued peace of Central Europe, has continued Hrvojes reformist policies. In the Crown of St. Stanislaus [22] the state has sponsored the development of the Vistula River basin as a key route of entry from the Baltic into Central Europe. While the project was slowed in its efforts by the Free Trade Crash, it has generally gone successfully. Likewise, the effort to establish two new universities, one in Buda and one in Krakow, have been largely successful, though the new institutions remain fledgling institutions largely reliant on the long established University of Pecs for support. Meanwhile, increased patrolling of the Adriatic has contributed to the growth of trade in the region, reviving the old trade routes around Split and Ragusa.
And, of course, there was the great state visit of Hrvoje I Kotromanić to the court of the Roman Emperor Andreas I Palaiologos in Constantinople. Cities visited by Hrvoje along the way received numerous royal gifts, as did the Roman emperor himself. The visit, besides spreading confidence in the emperor among his Slavic and Greek subjects in the south, was also quite beneficial for the relations between the Hungarian and Roman Emperor, recently having achieved supremacy over secular affairs following the Night of Broken Icons.
Oh yes, that little thing. On 20 July1504 a supposed attempt on the life of the emperor was uncovered and the nobles responsible, six of them, were executed by members of the Emperors personal guard. The Patriarch, believed to be behind the supposed coup attempt, is arrested and brought before the emperor to face charges. Athanasius III was subsequently forced to sign the Act of Patriarchal Hierarchy. Under the act, the Emperor agrees not to interfere in the spiritual realm, leaving the management of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Patriarch himself. Counterpart to this Athanasius is forced to renounce all claims to temporal authority in favour of the Emperor. Finally, the Law of Co-Succession is signed, guaranteeing that no Patriarch takes his seat without the endorsement of the emperor and no emperor takes the throne without the endorsement of the Patriarch. Accompanying this were a series of government reforms designed to reduce corruption in the government and encourage meritocratic practices.
The long, though no longer accurately), considered counterpart of the Roman Empire, the States of the Church, has been hard at work. The Pope has chosen to begin a new project, the Basilica of St. Churchill; unfortunately, since none of the cardinals had ever heard of such a fellow, the project has for now been forced to be renamed St. Peters Basilica. In order to support its construction priests and monks across the Continent have been sent out to gather indulgences. While largely successful, some among the peasantry have begun to grow discontent with such doubtful practices.
Northwards, at the other end of the Continent, the Free Empire of the German Nation has been constructing around it a new diplomatic wall, allying with the old war allies of the United Netherlands and Austria while signing a defensive alliance with Lithuania-Novgorod. In contrast, the Holy Roman Empire and the French have stood firmly on the grounds that rebuilding the old alliances of the German War of Religion would be beyond foolish. Instead, the Holy Roman Empire has embarked on the construction of the Großartiger Palast [23], a grand royal palace, retreat, and cultural centre in Mainz. And the French, besides colonial endeavours, have dedicated their attention towards building up infrastructure and the economy, ridding government of corruption, and finding a bride for the Dauphin, heir apparent, who has so far received offers from French Swiss nobles, but none from the royal families of Europe.
Then there are the Netherlanders, erstwhile allies of the Free Germans, colonisers, fortifiers, and great seamen, but most of all great merchants. In recent years the government has sponsored the growth of five new companies, not quite of the joint-stock variety but very similar, The Honourable Gentlemens League, The Most Honourable Company of Gentlemen Burghers, The Gentlemens Company of Honourable Merchants, His Most Honourable Servants, and The Burghers Society of Mutual Benefit. The first operates in Columbia and the Celtic Bloc, operating much of the trade between the Celtic colonies and their home countries. The second operates in Portugal, Spain, and the Portuguese colonies. The third operates in France and her colonies. The fourth operates on the North Sea, focusing primarily on the fish trade. Finally, the fifth operates primarily on the Mediterranean, focusing on the silk and spice trade flowing in from the Middle East. So far, The Honourable Gentlemens League has been the most successful, establishing the New Netherland colony of Fort Leeuwarden and quickly establishing themselves as the main outlet for New World goods heading to the Continent from Cork and Naoned. The other companies, particularly The Most Honourable Company of Gentlemen Burghers, have had far less success without the endorsement of local governments.
Besides these new, state-sponsored companies, the Netherlanders have taken advantage of the continued religious oppression across Europe to welcome refugees, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim, into the country. This has, of course, sparked some protests among the people, particularly in rural Wallonia and Friesland. Additionally, the Netherlanders have begun to expand the system of polders, reclaiming more and more land from the sea, as well as embarking on an operation to turn the Low Countries into one large, fortified entity, impregnable from the outside and safe within itself.
Across the North Sea, at the edge of Europe, lies the Celtic Bloc. Besides their exploits in Columbia, the Celts have been active at home, in matters of faith, in matters of war, in matters of money, and in matters of the mind. Beginning with mass on Easter Sunday, 1504 the great abbots, abbesses, bishops, and theologians gathered together at the monastery and convent of Kildare, under the leadership of its abbess Sister Brigid McAuley. The primary objective of the Second Council of Kildare was education, the reforming of the monastic education system to be more acceptable the people en masse, the spread of the Insular Script, the establishment of a sister university to St. Davids in Kildare [24], and the development and spread of Church Gaelic, a modernised version of Classical Gaelic. While unanimity was quickly achieved on the former points, the last point has proved contentious. Representatives of the Irish, Scottish, and Manx Churches have pushed hard for the spread of Church Gaelic as the literary language of the Bloc, desiring that all educated Celts from Naoned to the Hebrides be fluent in the tongue. The Breton and Cornish representatives, on the other hand, have proved quite stubborn, arguing that a key building bloc of the Celtic Church is the preservation of the local cultures of the Celtic nations. As of the end of 1506 the debate was still undecided, though the Gaels seem to be winning. There have also been discussions with the Lollards during the Council, though these have not borne fruit.
At the same time that the Second Council of Kildare the Celts called together two other councils, the Naval Council of Cork and the Army Council of Machynlleth gathered to discuss issues of common defence of the Celtic Nations. Far less eventful than the council in Kildare, these councils have also proved far more efficient and far more conciliatory in temperament. The Naval Council has resulted in an agreement to fund a new naval academy in Cork, while the results of the council in Wales have been kept quiet.
The Bohemians have likewise been council-happy. Following the Golden Bull of 1504 [25], which granted rights to the nobility similar to those granted earlier by the Magna Carta in England and the Golden Bull of 1222 in Hungary, and the Prague-Munich-Vienna rode designed to encourage trade between Bohemia-Bavaria and Austria, the King and leaders of the Reformed Churches of Bohemia and Moravia and Bavaria called the Council of Husinec. Bringing leaders of the Hussite Reformed Church from across the Continent together in Jan Hus place of birth, the goal of the Council was to bind the various national churches under a single leadership based in Bohemia; they were not successful. For now, the Council has agreed to further synods to discuss issues of the Church when necessary, but not to a centralised leadership.
1504 1506
Our Daily Bread
Our Father who art in heaven...give us this day our daily bread. The Gospel According to Luke, 11:2-4
In an age of greed and malice, when gold and silver ruled the hearts of men, many of this world have found comfort in the Lords Prayer, in the simplicity and humility of its message. Give us...our bread, not gold, not silver, not precious incense or exotic luxuries, just bread. The Our Father teaches humility of worth, moderation of desire, to ask for little, and to be content with what is given. The Our Father teaches love, charity, faith, and obedience before G-d; it is the plan for the Kingdom of Heaven.
If only the kingdoms of the Earth cared to listen to preaches as much as bankers. From the ragged western shores and far-flung missions of Ireland to the quiet stillness of the Japanese dawn, the world is guided by greed and want. Bread is not enough for the kings of men, nor is happiness, purpose, or faith; only gold and silver can even begin to satiate their thirst. With love, faith, and charity left by the wayside, the world stands now, as it always has, on three things: oif gelt, oif gelt, un oif gelt.
At the eastern edge of this world, among the islands and empire that are blessed to first witness the dawning of the sun, this axiom proves as true as anywhere else. Here, the seas are ruled by the Wokou, Japanese pirates who have taken advantage of the Ming Empires Sea Ban to dominate the black market, which is, in fact, the only market for Chinese goods. They have grown immensely wealthy, multiplying rampantly from the recruitment of impoverished and displaced Japanese peasants and building fleets larger than any of the surrounding kingdoms. With this immense power and wealth they have remained unchallenged for generations; that state of affairs has finally been brought to an end.
The Japanese, long reluctant to deal with the Wokou, have oddly enough led a united effort with the Ming and Ryukyu to target the pirates, seeking to destroy their bases in the Ryukyus and drive them away from the ports of China. Initially hopeful and certain of success, the efforts of the allies have been disastrous the Japanese and Ming navies have been devastated, the Ryukyuans have failed to drive the pirates out of their bases, the Japanese were prevented in their attempt to establish colonies on Taiwan (though the Ryukyuans managed to, establishing Kirun [1]). Even where the allies appeared successful, driving the pirates away from the southern coast of China, they have in fact only brought chaos upon themselves. With the pirates gone the black market for Chinese goods has disappeared, driving merchants across the great ports of China into poverty and causing the Ming economy to plummet, though the economy has started to rebound with goods making the long trek through China to Joseon, enticing the pirates to re-establish themselves on Jeju-do. Even so, the Chinese and Japanese are still suffering the repercussions, as would Ryukyu if not for the increased trade with the East Indies through Kirun.
Despite the failures of attempts to control the Wokou, there is good news yet for the hegemons of the Far East. In Japan rapid, through fragile, expansion across the Ainu territories of northern Honshu have accompanied two major projects, one run by the shoguns government, designed to reform the Bushido code and redefine it as an example for all those in service to the Shogunate and empire, and one run by the emperor, designed to revive the declining grandeur of Nara and reinvent it as the religious centre of Japanese society. The truly significant reforms, however, are across the straights, in Joseon. The Kingdom, for a decade now held hostage by the mad king Yi Yung Joseon, has begun to recover. In the palace coup of 1504, Yi Yung was quickly done away with and replaced with his half-brother Yi Yeok. An absolutely brilliant man compared to his predecessor, Yi Yeok has embarked on a massive program to undo the damage that Yi Yung inflicted on the Korean people, re-establishing Seonggyungwan Academy, legalising Hangeul, encouraging the redevelopment of Joseons once vibrant literati, and investing massively in the redevelopment of their economy. With the benefit of the economic upswing following the redirection of the Chinese black market trade to their kingdom, the reforms have had something of a jumpstart; there is still a long and hard road ahead for Joseon, but progress can already be seen.
At the other end of the world, in that other place known as the Dawn Land, a revolution is spreading. The native peoples of northeastern Columbia have remained disunited for generation upon generation, century upon century, millennium upon millennium, with the sole exception of the Haudenosaunee; no more. Under the leadership of the Haudenosaunee and mounting pressure from European colonial powers, three newly centralised and strengthened states have emerged in the Dawn Land: the Lenape Confederation [2], the Wampanoag Confederation [3], and the Wabanaki Confederation [4]. For now, the three have managed to maintain cordial relations with the Celtic Reformed Bloc, with the Haudenosaunee, and with each other, but how long this unprecedented state of peace can least is unknowable.
Perhaps the only reason that these new states have been so successful is that the colonial powers have found themselves perched on the very edge of war. In February of 1504, the Kingdom of Ireland, the Kingdom of Scotland, the Kingdom of Wales, the Grand Duchy of Brittany, the Kingdom of France, and the Kingdom of Portugal signed the Treaty of Naoned [5], dividing Columbia between the Celtic Bloc north of Fort Ste. Marie [6] and France to the south, while Portugal was guaranteed Africa. Both Kalmar and the Dutch happily chose to ignore this. First, in September of 1504, Icelandic explorer Jón Sigurðsson established St. Johns on the island of Newfoundland for Kalmar; then, in May of 1505 Adriaen Hartog, sailing in the service of the Honorable Gentlemans League, established the Netherlander port of Fort Leeuwarden [7]. So far, Scandinavian and Netherlander ships have come into conflict with Celtic fleets in the North Atlantic and French ships near Fort Ste. Marie on several occasions, but as of yet, the colonial conflicts have not sparked outright war back in Europe.
Elsewhere in Columbia the Irish have embarked on a new colonial strategy, using the Reformed Church as a conduit for their expansionary ambitions, establishing monasteries along the northward course of the Hudson River and as the nucleus of the southern port of Gearóidmór [8], centre of the new colony of New Mumha. Additionally, they have begun to seek out German experts, fresh from the War of German Religion, to aid in fortification and development of the colonial centres of Gearóidmór, St. Patricks Church [9], Kings Town [10], and New Waterford [11]. Lay missionaries and explorers, meanwhile, have chartered the course of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers (efforts to map the St. Lawrence failed, the explorers disappearing into the wilderness) with the aid of Haudenosaunee guides, a small number of whom have been converted to the Christian faith.
Further to the south the French explorer Jean de Satigny has followed up on the earlier exploration of Frenchman Jean de Lacaille, adding to Tegesta [12] and the St. Louis Islands [13] Cuba, the Isle of Pines [14], Jamaïque [15], and Haïti [16] before turning back to For Ste. Marie and France. A month later, in September of 1505, Italian ships showed up in Fort Ste. Marie seeking safe harbour. The French, abiding by the Treaty Naoned drove the Italian fleet back. Led by explorer Niccolo Patrucci, the Italians, desperate to find land and resupply, on 29 September, stumbled across a small island in the Atlantic which they subsequently named New Sicily [16] and on which they established the town of San Michele [17], named in honour of the archangels who day it was and to whom they believed they owed their salvation, before resupplying and heading back to Morocco.
Further south yet, on 10 April 1505, a Spanish fleet sailing with admiral Andrea DOria at the wheel made landfall in the new world. In honour of Easter Sunday, the Spanish named the isle San Salvador [18] and established a small mission. When they returned the next year, however, they discovered that the local natives had overrun the settlement. In its stead they found that the Portuguese had established an outpost of their own. Having set out with the intent of discovering, and conquering, the rumoured cities of gold said to lay somewhere far to the west, they instead discovered the small island of San Salvador and its abandoned Spanish town and chose to make it their own.
Even further to the south, much further to the south, across vast swaths of unknown territory, the Portuguese have been busy. Having mapped the route to India, the Portuguese have chosen to return across the Atlantic to explore the lands first discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1500.
Landing where he did at Porto Seguro, they sailed southwards to Rio de Janeiro before heading back northwards to Rio Grande do Norte where they establish the colony of Natal after which they return across Atlantic to Elmina. The Portuguese name the landmass, which they believe to be separated from Columbia by a water-way, Brazil [19].
As the Portuguese spread their influence over the eastern shores of this new continent of Brazil, on its western coast an even larger empire was at work. Tawantinsuyu, the behemoth of the Andes, turned their attention from the cold southern lands where Huayna Capac has spent the last decade in war, to the fiery north and the Quitu. A strong people, they did not give in easy. It took 15 thousand troops marching across its mountains, valleys, and beaches to subdue the last remnants of this once mighty kingdom. It was, however, obviously worth it, as wealth has begun to flow back into the region and trade has flourished both with the Inkas heartland in the south and with the wealthy Chibcha and others to the north.
It was also here, at the northernmost edges of Tawantinsuyu that a revolution in sea-going technology has occurred. Pachacutec, a noble in the court of the Sapa Inka, has spent the last three years at work combining the technology of the reed ships used on his native Lake Titicaca with the wooden rafts of the coast to create a new breed of Inka ship. Built on the design of the reed ships of Lake Titicaca but constructed out of more durable wood, these are ships that are truly sea worthy. Already, the ships are plying the ocean trade routes heading northwards, though for now direct contact has only been established with the wealthy city of Nicaraocali [20].
Among the people with whom the Inka has been attempting to achieve communication, war continues to rage. The Purhépecha of the Tzintzuntzani empire marched to the north against the Nahua and other native peoples, bringing their widely strewn villages under, very weak, control. The Aztecs, meanwhile, under Moctezuma II, have continued their southward push against the powerful Zapotec city states that remain to the south.
On the other side of the Pacifc, a far less successful war has been raging. Viet Nam, led by Tranh Lê, invaded their neighbour to the west. Initially achieving success against the smaller and less well trained Lao forces, the war soon enough turned in Lan Xangs favour. Raising heavy levies to bolster the ranks of their forces and calling upon Ayutthaya, who has for long now guaranteed the safety of their Tai kinsmen, Lan Xang quickly came to have the upper hand. Unfamiliar with the mountainous jungle terrain and unable to hold back the massed Thai and Lao forces, the Vietnamese began to fall in droves. Now, the very borders of Viet Nam have been threatened. Whether the Ming will come to the aid, whether the Thai will encourage their tributary to continue, and whether Lan Xang wishes to bring their wrath down on the insolent lowlanders, remains in question.
While the war raged to its north and east, Ayutthaya has turned its attention inwards and to the south and west. Within Ayutthaya Ramathibodi II has begun a refocusing of the government along theocratic lines, extolling the Buddhist model for government and emphasising a government in line with the teachings of the Buddha. He has also put his attentions into expanding the economy, into bringing expanded trade from the sea to the Thai kingdom and into expanding influence over more lands for the production of rice and spice. In pursuit of the latter Ramathibodi sent his troops, those not needed in the war in Lan Xang, to Sumatra, to bring under the Elephant Throne the great wealth of this island. While they have achieved some success in the southern territories of his aimed-for expansion, failure was all that was met in the north, where the mighty city of Aceh has stood in the way, rallying its rural hinterlands to fight off the invaders from the mainland. Within his own court Ramithibodi has faced similar resistance, this time from the higher nobility, who have forced the King to accept that his diplomatic deals have been more than a little extravagant; they have forced him to ratify the alliance with Lannathai, and nothing else.
At the southern end of Sumatra the power of the great Majapahit has finally come to an end, and in its place has come the Malaccans. Not wanting Palembang to fall into disuse, Malacca has taken the city and its hinterland for themselves; as of yet, the remnants of the Majapahit, now left with only the eastern end of Java, having lost the rest of their empire to local rebels and the newly emergent Sultan of Demak. The Malaccans have, in this time, also went about the pursuit of standardising trade, restricting vessels passing through the straights to docking at either Malacca or Johor, while also encouraging the actions of Muslim missionaries across the Malay peninsula.
Much like Majapahit, the Kingdom of Ava, long the behemoth of Burma, is collapsing under its own weight and the pressure of Shan and Bamar invaders. With the rise of Taungoo to its south, having gained the allegiance of many of Avas southern villages and quickly becoming the economic centre of the region, the fall of Ava has only been accelerated. So far, they still maintain control over the central heartland and hinterlands as far east as the Bay of Bengal, but these lands too may soon fall.
Across the Bay of Bengal is another old behemoth, long thought dead, continues its resurgence. After years of fighting rebel warlords, Vijayanagara has finally wiped most of them out. There are a few who remain in the far interior, terrorising civilians and building up wealth, but their time will soon be up. Meanwhile, the government has embarked on a program to improve the infrastructure of the country, building new roads across its forested expanses, connecting the interior cities with coastal centres.
Further west yet across the seas of the Indian Ocean far greater changes are taking place. The Portuguese, having rounded the Cape of Good Hope, have pressed on with their expansion into the Indian Ocean. Portugal has seized the great port of Zanzibar and set up camp there, creating from the island a base of operations for further action on the great ocean. Elsewhere in Africa, too, the Portuguese have been active. First, they have stopped the Spanish, driven from San Salvador, from establishing a colony in Africa. Then, north of the Gulf of Guinea they joined together with the king of Oyo-Ile to forge a new empire, dependent on them, across the cities across the southern reaches of the Niger. Though much of the region remains under the control of local rulers, the revived Oyo Empire has, with the help of Portuguese arms and Portuguese troops expanded new heights of power never before known by the city. This, of course, has led to great angst in Benin.
To the north, a new sort of state has emerged on the coast of western Africa. The Kingdom of Serra de Leão [21] is an un-abashed pirates lair, ruled by a former Portuguese pirate Fernão de Noronha. From across the Atlantic pirates have come to sake haven in its grand port, where in exchange for submitting to minimal taxes, they receive safety, place for repairs, a centre for recruiting, and a place to conduct trade before heading elsewhere to sell their pillaged goods and gain new plunder. So far, the nation is weak and fragile, and poses no real threat to the great trading states of the Atlantic, but they day may yet come when the pirate lords of the Lion Mountains are feared across the seas.
Further north and across the Sahel, in the realm of Askia Muhammed, the Songhai have pursued further reforms of the government and the country in pursuit of greatness. With the vision of a state for Allah set before them, Askia Muhammed has invested not only in reforming the operations of the government, banning non-Muslims from government as well as the military, but in the spread of Islam and in education, culminating in the construction of the Madrasah Islamiyyah in Gao and its counterparts across the great cities of the empire. Not quite a great work, it is nonetheless a symbol of the movement towards a truly enlightened society dedicated to the word of Allah. In tangent with this missionaries have been sent to preach among the people of Djolof and the Mossi Kingdoms. While they have been welcomed by rulers of Djolof, the Mossi have been another matter. Deliberately ignoring a guarantee of the missionaries safety by Askia Muhammed, the missionaries have been detained, some of them executed, and the rest sent back to the Songhai under pain of death.
And finally, in Europe, things have not been quiet either. Italy and the Commonwealth of Lithuania-Novgorod have lead much of Europe in signing free trade agreements. These agreements, removing the tariffs that have always been important to filling the coffers of the state, have proved disastrous. As tax revenues from the ports and trade centres plummeted, governments across the Continent were forced to back off of their deals and revert to the traditional means of trade, protecting merchants and allowing them free pass while collecting tariffs and taxes for the state. The economies of Europe have recovered, but the Free Trade Crash will not be forgotten.
Besides the disastrous attempts at encouraging free trade, the Commonwealth of Lithuania-Novgorod has embarked on a number of other internal reforms. Firstly, they have finally recruited the Cossacks of the south into the armed forces. For now, they remain largely independent, but should war come, they are prepared to serve the Commonwealth. Secondly, the Commonwealth has undertaken a number of economic and governmental reforms generally streamlining economic practices, expanding the economy, and encouraging tolerance in the name of efficiency, progress, and growth; tolerance, at least, of Christians. Muslims remain a lower class, restricted in territory and action, Pagans are now under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Yaroslavl, who is converting them eagerly, and the Jews now suffer even more greatly under the Commonwealths new policies, being exiled to the frontier and, though it has not happened yet, being forced to accept a policy of periodic relocation. This has greatly damaged the economy of the cities in the Lithuanian west, but for now other government policies have generally made up the difference. The relocation has also served some good for the Commonwealth though, lending a jumpstart to a new government program to bring some semblance of settlement to the frontier in the Ukraine, Ingria, and the northern and western Russian territories.
The Hungarians to the west, much the happier for the continued peace of Central Europe, has continued Hrvojes reformist policies. In the Crown of St. Stanislaus [22] the state has sponsored the development of the Vistula River basin as a key route of entry from the Baltic into Central Europe. While the project was slowed in its efforts by the Free Trade Crash, it has generally gone successfully. Likewise, the effort to establish two new universities, one in Buda and one in Krakow, have been largely successful, though the new institutions remain fledgling institutions largely reliant on the long established University of Pecs for support. Meanwhile, increased patrolling of the Adriatic has contributed to the growth of trade in the region, reviving the old trade routes around Split and Ragusa.
And, of course, there was the great state visit of Hrvoje I Kotromanić to the court of the Roman Emperor Andreas I Palaiologos in Constantinople. Cities visited by Hrvoje along the way received numerous royal gifts, as did the Roman emperor himself. The visit, besides spreading confidence in the emperor among his Slavic and Greek subjects in the south, was also quite beneficial for the relations between the Hungarian and Roman Emperor, recently having achieved supremacy over secular affairs following the Night of Broken Icons.
Oh yes, that little thing. On 20 July1504 a supposed attempt on the life of the emperor was uncovered and the nobles responsible, six of them, were executed by members of the Emperors personal guard. The Patriarch, believed to be behind the supposed coup attempt, is arrested and brought before the emperor to face charges. Athanasius III was subsequently forced to sign the Act of Patriarchal Hierarchy. Under the act, the Emperor agrees not to interfere in the spiritual realm, leaving the management of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Patriarch himself. Counterpart to this Athanasius is forced to renounce all claims to temporal authority in favour of the Emperor. Finally, the Law of Co-Succession is signed, guaranteeing that no Patriarch takes his seat without the endorsement of the emperor and no emperor takes the throne without the endorsement of the Patriarch. Accompanying this were a series of government reforms designed to reduce corruption in the government and encourage meritocratic practices.
The long, though no longer accurately), considered counterpart of the Roman Empire, the States of the Church, has been hard at work. The Pope has chosen to begin a new project, the Basilica of St. Churchill; unfortunately, since none of the cardinals had ever heard of such a fellow, the project has for now been forced to be renamed St. Peters Basilica. In order to support its construction priests and monks across the Continent have been sent out to gather indulgences. While largely successful, some among the peasantry have begun to grow discontent with such doubtful practices.
Northwards, at the other end of the Continent, the Free Empire of the German Nation has been constructing around it a new diplomatic wall, allying with the old war allies of the United Netherlands and Austria while signing a defensive alliance with Lithuania-Novgorod. In contrast, the Holy Roman Empire and the French have stood firmly on the grounds that rebuilding the old alliances of the German War of Religion would be beyond foolish. Instead, the Holy Roman Empire has embarked on the construction of the Großartiger Palast [23], a grand royal palace, retreat, and cultural centre in Mainz. And the French, besides colonial endeavours, have dedicated their attention towards building up infrastructure and the economy, ridding government of corruption, and finding a bride for the Dauphin, heir apparent, who has so far received offers from French Swiss nobles, but none from the royal families of Europe.
Then there are the Netherlanders, erstwhile allies of the Free Germans, colonisers, fortifiers, and great seamen, but most of all great merchants. In recent years the government has sponsored the growth of five new companies, not quite of the joint-stock variety but very similar, The Honourable Gentlemens League, The Most Honourable Company of Gentlemen Burghers, The Gentlemens Company of Honourable Merchants, His Most Honourable Servants, and The Burghers Society of Mutual Benefit. The first operates in Columbia and the Celtic Bloc, operating much of the trade between the Celtic colonies and their home countries. The second operates in Portugal, Spain, and the Portuguese colonies. The third operates in France and her colonies. The fourth operates on the North Sea, focusing primarily on the fish trade. Finally, the fifth operates primarily on the Mediterranean, focusing on the silk and spice trade flowing in from the Middle East. So far, The Honourable Gentlemens League has been the most successful, establishing the New Netherland colony of Fort Leeuwarden and quickly establishing themselves as the main outlet for New World goods heading to the Continent from Cork and Naoned. The other companies, particularly The Most Honourable Company of Gentlemen Burghers, have had far less success without the endorsement of local governments.
Besides these new, state-sponsored companies, the Netherlanders have taken advantage of the continued religious oppression across Europe to welcome refugees, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim, into the country. This has, of course, sparked some protests among the people, particularly in rural Wallonia and Friesland. Additionally, the Netherlanders have begun to expand the system of polders, reclaiming more and more land from the sea, as well as embarking on an operation to turn the Low Countries into one large, fortified entity, impregnable from the outside and safe within itself.
Across the North Sea, at the edge of Europe, lies the Celtic Bloc. Besides their exploits in Columbia, the Celts have been active at home, in matters of faith, in matters of war, in matters of money, and in matters of the mind. Beginning with mass on Easter Sunday, 1504 the great abbots, abbesses, bishops, and theologians gathered together at the monastery and convent of Kildare, under the leadership of its abbess Sister Brigid McAuley. The primary objective of the Second Council of Kildare was education, the reforming of the monastic education system to be more acceptable the people en masse, the spread of the Insular Script, the establishment of a sister university to St. Davids in Kildare [24], and the development and spread of Church Gaelic, a modernised version of Classical Gaelic. While unanimity was quickly achieved on the former points, the last point has proved contentious. Representatives of the Irish, Scottish, and Manx Churches have pushed hard for the spread of Church Gaelic as the literary language of the Bloc, desiring that all educated Celts from Naoned to the Hebrides be fluent in the tongue. The Breton and Cornish representatives, on the other hand, have proved quite stubborn, arguing that a key building bloc of the Celtic Church is the preservation of the local cultures of the Celtic nations. As of the end of 1506 the debate was still undecided, though the Gaels seem to be winning. There have also been discussions with the Lollards during the Council, though these have not borne fruit.
At the same time that the Second Council of Kildare the Celts called together two other councils, the Naval Council of Cork and the Army Council of Machynlleth gathered to discuss issues of common defence of the Celtic Nations. Far less eventful than the council in Kildare, these councils have also proved far more efficient and far more conciliatory in temperament. The Naval Council has resulted in an agreement to fund a new naval academy in Cork, while the results of the council in Wales have been kept quiet.
The Bohemians have likewise been council-happy. Following the Golden Bull of 1504 [25], which granted rights to the nobility similar to those granted earlier by the Magna Carta in England and the Golden Bull of 1222 in Hungary, and the Prague-Munich-Vienna rode designed to encourage trade between Bohemia-Bavaria and Austria, the King and leaders of the Reformed Churches of Bohemia and Moravia and Bavaria called the Council of Husinec. Bringing leaders of the Hussite Reformed Church from across the Continent together in Jan Hus place of birth, the goal of the Council was to bind the various national churches under a single leadership based in Bohemia; they were not successful. For now, the Council has agreed to further synods to discuss issues of the Church when necessary, but not to a centralised leadership.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Spotlight: Tfutses
We have no home. Reb Yitzchak Hen, Rabbi of the Murcia Central Synagogue
Reb Yitzchak Hen gathered together his belongings in haste. He still did not know where he was going, all he knew was that he had to get himself, his family, and his congregation out of the country as quickly as possible. It has become too dangerous to stay in Spain, indeed, it has become too dangerous to be anywhere on the Iberian peninsula since the fall of Granada. The Gentiles had become filled with crusading vigour, lynching Jews and Muslims, raiding Jewish stores, defaulting on debts, vandalising synagogues, and generally wreaking havoc on the Jewish and Muslim communities. The Hen family had lived in this country for centuries, first in Barcelona and then here in the south, but that didnt matter; all that mattered at this point was saving their own lives.
They could go east to Hungary, to Ragusa, Split, Naples, Budapest, or Krakow. There was good work there, as merchants and bankers. His congregation would go wealthy, but there were dangers also. Though the King Hrvoje was friendly to the Jews of his country, the people remained antagonistic. He had heard horror stories of the conditions in the Krakow ghetto, and of frequent attacks on Jewish merchants in Split. He knew that other congregations were heading there, his cousin in fact, Rabbi of Motril, had left for Ragusa already. But he would not go; Hungary was too dangerous.
There was also the Ottoman Empire, Greece, Bursa, Alexandria, Benghazi, Cairo, Damascus, and, of course, Palestine were all options. Violence was far less there he knew, and the Jews much more accepted. But would they thrive? The financial sector was already so locked up by the Baghdadi and Greek Jews that going there could mean poverty. And Palestine, as inviting as it was, did not offer the safety and security he needed, the Muslims and Christians there were more antagonistic than in Alexandria or Damascus and the meagre agricultural produce of the region would not be enough to sustain the wealth that his congregation was used to.
His thoughts were interrupted by dogs barking on the street. Reb Hen went to the window of his small study above the synagogues Beit Midrash to see what was happening. Below him, on the street, he saw twelve Christian youth with ten ferocious dogs, held back by their leashes. They were laughing as two young Jewish men stood in place, petrified with fear, unable to move their feet to run. Hen looked away; he could not bear to watch another lynching.
Perhaps the Netherlands? he thought, forcing himself not to consider the scene playing out on the street in front of his synagogue. His wife wanted to go there, to join her family, the Abulafias, who had settled in Amsterdam. They had grown extraordinarily wealthy, engaging in the trade in wood from Scandinavia and Columbia, in furs, in amber, and in fish. Her second cousin, Israel Abulafia, had even been a founding member of The Honourable Gentlemens League, travelling as far as Cork and the Columbian colonies. They had certainly done well for themselves, but Hen disapproved of the laxness he heard was prevalent among the Netherlander Jews. They mingled almost freely with the Gentiles, adopting their practices and mannerisms. He could not submit his congregation to such negative influences.
The men outside the window screamed; Hen did not go to the window.
France was obviously not an option; they were almost as bad as the Spanish were becoming. Portugal was the same as Spain, if not worse. Germany had nothing to offer, Kalmar and England had long banned Jews from residence, and going to Lithuania-Novgorod would be tantamount to a death sentence for the congregation. He had heard that some Jews were heading to the Celtic countries and even to their colonies in Columbia; he saw no advantage to this.
He heard the heard more screams and laughter outside the window; Hen did not look.
That left Italy. Hen was very nervous about Italy; the cities seemed almost schizophrenic, sometimes welcoming his kinsmen with open arms, sometimes slaughtering them and taking their money for themselves. At the moment Italy did some safer than the rest of Europe, and the communities there were both wealthy and faithful; but the risk remained. The only option then was the colonies, in North Africa. This was the most mysterious option, the most unpredictable; North Africa was changing constantly, with huge influxes of immigrants in a war for turf with the native Arabs and Berbers. For now, it looked promising, but Hen knew that could change. Even so, what other options did he have?
The noise outside the window came to a sudden halt. Out of the grim silence came suddenly a single snort and then laughter, which began to grow quieter as the men and their dogs walked away down the street and out of the ghetto. Hen did not go to the window.
Hen put down the books of Talmud commentary he had been packing and walked to his desk before collapsing into his chair and resting his head on the desk. We have nowhere to go, he said to no one in particular, We have no place where we belong, no place where we can live safely, freely, wealthily, and faithfully. We have no home.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Map 1506
Spoiler :
Out of Character
Notes:
Spoiler :
Messages:
Spoiler :
dldnjstjr
The Shrubber
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2006
- Messages
- 1,681
Excellent update!
To: Hongzhi Ming, Emperor of China
From: Yi Yeok, King Jung Jong of Joseon
Forgive the tribute unsent last year; Joseon has been going through a lot of changes. The tribute emissaries will certainly be recovered this year.
To: Go-Komatsu, Emperor of Japan
From: Yi Yeok, King Jung Jong of Joseon
We applaud you for your achievements in the East. With our nations progressing toward greatness, we would like for our nations to cooperate more in terms of both diplomacy and trade.
To: Hongzhi Ming, Emperor of China
From: Yi Yeok, King Jung Jong of Joseon
Forgive the tribute unsent last year; Joseon has been going through a lot of changes. The tribute emissaries will certainly be recovered this year.
To: Go-Komatsu, Emperor of Japan
From: Yi Yeok, King Jung Jong of Joseon
We applaud you for your achievements in the East. With our nations progressing toward greatness, we would like for our nations to cooperate more in terms of both diplomacy and trade.
Ace of Gold
MAKE WAY FOR THE BAD GUY
OOC: oh come on, No one has heard of Saint Churchill. 
Great Update
Great Update
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Nice, sad the attack didn't work.
You know where it is. Lan Xang.
You know where it is. Lan Xang.
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Wonderful update, and spectacular writing Israelite, I am thoroughly impressed. I hope that stats will be updated soon, and then I am sure I will swarm you with lots of diplomacy for NPCs.
Shadowbound
Incorrugible
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
- Messages
- 4,079
OOC: Woo. Look at me go in this wonderful update.
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
OOC: Will comment on the lovely update in more detail later 
IC:
To: Nations of Europe
From: The Kingdom of France
On the behalf of the royal Dauphin, Henri Valois, we announce that the House of Valois is seeking a suitable bride for His Royal Highness.
IC:
To: Nations of Europe
From: The Kingdom of France
On the behalf of the royal Dauphin, Henri Valois, we announce that the House of Valois is seeking a suitable bride for His Royal Highness.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Thank you everyone (especially Stormbringer)! Most stats outside of Europe are done, and the rest should be done tomorrow.
To His Majesty, the King of France
From His Highness, Grand Duke of Brittany
The Grand Duke's second daughter would be most welcome to a marriage with the Dauphin.
To His Majesty, the King of France
From His Highness, Grand Duke of Brittany
The Grand Duke's second daughter would be most welcome to a marriage with the Dauphin.
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Chagatai stats are not done, or did you decide to not accept my orders because I had to write them in a hurry? I know they were of awful quality. Let me know if that's the case, and then I will start the diplo for this turn.
Israelite9191
You should be reading
Stats are done, not posted. I took your orders.
Ninja Dude
Sorry, I wasn't listening...
That was a spectacular update Isry!
silver 2039
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
- Messages
- 16,208
Awesome update.
I just want to point at that at no point did I ever endorse this free trade thing, I was merely ensuring certain vital trade routes remained open, and tried to open routes to the Orient to make the Commonwealth a cross roads for trade. I don't believe I ever mentioned free trade in my orders.
I just want to point at that at no point did I ever endorse this free trade thing, I was merely ensuring certain vital trade routes remained open, and tried to open routes to the Orient to make the Commonwealth a cross roads for trade. I don't believe I ever mentioned free trade in my orders.
Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Might give those of us with kinda crazy schedules a little more time to get things done.
