Capto Iugulum

[Double A]

To: USA
From: Poland

If you require more funding, we could negotiate terms for a loan.

[theDright]

@EQ should we update our manpower in our next set of orders? Or should we leave that to you?

[EQandcivfanatic]

@That's up to you, but I doubt it'll make a critical difference in anyone's plans at this stage of the NES.

[Luckymoose]

37 manpower is a big deal for my later invasions of USA.

[EQandcivfanatic]

Not saying the manpower won't be compensated, just referring to theDright's question about his orders.

[m.t.cicero]

Johannes Van Stappen stood in the doorway, his piercing blue eyes leering at the doctor standing in the doorway, expressing the Premier's displeasure in a way that words would never be able to.

"Are you serious about not letting me in there? The Prime Minister is not allowed to visit his King, even at a moment when our nation is facing a great crisis?"

The doctor, whose training had not prepared him for a politician's wrath, tried his best to stand his ground. "I-I c-c-cannot allow you t-to go in th-there. I...I am His Majesty's personal physician, and in a situation like this, my word is final! His Majesty's health is failing, and he needs all of the rest he can get!" He grinned after he finished, proud that he had managed to pull himself together in the end, even in the face of this legendary Premier, whose arguments in the Parliament chambers had been known to leave MPs speechless and to cause men to eagerly abandon ideals which they had held on to steadfastly for their entire lives.

Van Stappen was mildly impressed by the doctor's willpower as well, but only momentarily. He was not a man who would accept rejection, especially in a matter such as this. "You should be aware that what you are doing right now is tantamount to treason, a betrayal of all that our people, your ancestors, have worked towards throughout all of our history. Our very national identity is on the line at this moment, and if you do not step aside right now you will be an accomplice in its destruction. Now unless you want to be in prison for the rest of your life, hated by your countrymen, your brothers, you will step aside!"

The doctor was paralyzed with fear. He could hear the mixture of passion and rage which had made the Prime Minister's speeches so powerful as to change men's hearts, and he could see the fire in his eyes, a flame which seemed to be threatening to erupt at any moment and consume the entire Royal Palace in its passion. The doctor was unable to tell whether the flames were those of the Sun, which would light the world and lead it to a brighter dawn, or those of Hell, which would consume those who had the misfortune to be in its presence, to live in the same era in which it reigned. Without a word, he took a step sideways, his face still frozen in a strange contortion of awe and fear.

Van Stappen, having quickly reverted to the calm, cool demeanor which he held when not trying to sway the souls of others, walked slowly into the room, secretly fearing that to rush would cause victory to fall through his fingers, even as the virtually held it in his hands. He came to kneel at Charles III's bedside, and spoke to the king whose mind had already left him.

"Your Majesty, I beseech you to sign this Act of Commonwealth, which will ensure the independence and freedom of the Flemish people for all time..."

[m.t.cicero]

From A History of Flanders: 1844-1900: Constitutionalism to Commonwealth

Preface: With King Charles III on his deathbed at 54, dying within two months of the contraction of his illness, and with his heir being a rather obscure Spanish Duke, since he had failed to produce a male heir and had no Flemish relatives, Prime Minister Johannes Van Stappen decided to move fast, proposing the Act of Commonwealth to parliament, making what compromises he needed with conservatives, who required his assurance that the position of the nobility would not be threatened, in order to get it passed. Van Stappen's desperation is now viewed by historians as a consequence of both the fact that he, an ardent Social Republican, wished to see the end of the monarchy, at least as the people of his time knew it, and the fact that he wished to leave a lasting mark on Flemish history, with this Act as his magnum opus.

The Act of Commonwealth

The Act of Commonwealth of 1900 declared that upon the death of King Charles III Flanders would be declared a Commonwealth, with the Head of State being a Regent elected by the people. This Regent was to be a member of the Flemish nobility, born to Flemish parents and raised for the first 18 years of his life in Flanders. The Regent would be in office for life, but could be recalled if he were to commit a particularly egregious fault. He would have the same rights, responsibilities, and powers as the King had in the previous government.

This Act would liberate Flanders from the spider's web of dynastic ties that continued to plague Europe into the 20th century, allowing the country to move further towards its goal of true neutrality. This new system of government also, it was hoped, would place Flanders in a comfortable middle ground between Republics and Monarchies.



To: the Papal States
From: the Commonwealth of Flanders

We, the government of Flanders, as a majority Catholic nation, humbly request your approval of our change in succession law. We can assure you that the position of the church and of the nobility will not be threatened.


To: The World
From: the Commonwealth of Flanders

We humbly request your recognition of our new government and your continued recognition of Flanders' invaluable position as the neutral nation which serves as a mediator for the international community.

OOC: Sorry for the double post, but I had lot of information to convey.

[spryllino]

From the Confederation
To Flanders

In our opinion, this is reasonable in the circumstances, and even if it were not reasonable it would have no bearing on your neutrality.

[Circuit]

To: Empire of Spain
From: United States of America

We are very pleased to hear this.

To: Persia
From: United States of America

This is acceptable.

To: Poland
From: United States of America

We are open to these negotiations.

OOC: @Luckymoose: You may try...

And also personally am thrilled to see all these great stories.

[Justo]

Originally Posted by TerrisH

To Arabian Empire
We are currently trying to locate the group claiming credit for the recent attack on your ships. while we will not decry their motive, their methods and unprovoked aggression towards you is an insult not only to you, but ourselves and every Muslem. Their corpse will delivered to your border as we locate them, along with any who distastefully surrender bound by welded chains. we hope for continued neutrality along our mutual border.

OOC: wondering who funded those attacks myself. EQ, do I have any luck locating at least some of them?

OOC: Great update.

IC: To: Persia
From: The Arabian Empire

We are glad to hear Persia's response regarding this issue. We hope the perpetrators can be captured and put to justice for their crimes.

[spryllino]

From the Franco-Burgundian Confederation
To the World
Cc the Netherlands and Denmark

We hereby publicly announce the formation, already heralded in the international press, of the Triple Alliance, a defensive, economic and technological pact between the Franco-Burgundian Confederation, the Republic of the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Denmark. Long may it last and may it bring all our nations peace and prosperity.

The three nations of the Triple Alliance also agree to a joint centralised command in China and an immediate pooling of military resources against any attack on any of our colonies.

We ask our allies, the Netherlands and Denmark, to confirm the above.

On a separate note, the Franco-Burgundian Confederation would like to publicly state - in case this becomes an issue in the future - what it has already stated to various concerned parties with regard to central Europe. We intend to support our ally Austria however we can, and we stand to oppose any form of German nationalist unification with our full military strength, and we would not tolerate it if Brandenburg succumbed to internal pressure from nationalists and attempted to annex any of its neighbours' territory into a larger so-called German state.

[ZeletDude]

We confirm the newly established Triple Alliance between ourselves, The Franco-Burgundian Confederation and the Kingdom of Denmark.

[EQandcivfanatic]

Denmark confirms the Triple Alliance and would also like to echo the sentiments about a unified Germany made by the Franco-Burgundian Confederation.

[Ceoladir]

OOC: You do realize that it's Austria that's pushing for a German unification, right?

[TheLizardKing]

OOC: Uh, what?

[Milarqui]

OOC: BWAHAHAHAH! Had not realised until now that good old Winston Churchill is the inventor of the airplane.

Story time!

Torneo Imperial de Balompié Español

The entrance of balompié in the Empire of Spain was through some migrants and workers that had left England to try their luck in the Spanish mines and factories, during the 1870s. Although many people in England think that the game originated in their mines, in fact balompié first appeared among Spanish meat workers while they were on a strike. They spent their free time playing the game, and when asked about it, the workers taught the game to others. This would slowly expand to all of the Empire, following the internal migration routes.

The first teams appeared in the year 1879. Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, La Habana and San Juan had at least two organized teams by the end of the year, and Jaipur, Tehotihuacan and Manila had one. By the year 1885, teams in nearby cities were already playing against each other, and these games would attract a lot of people, who watched amazed how the players kicked the ball one way and the other, and cheered when goals were scored.

By 1895, the development of the railway network and of faster ships allowed teams to travel greater distances in order to play against other teams in the same regions. The first match between a Peninsular and another team was a match between the Habaneros and the Madrid CB, which was won by Madrid CB 1-3.

Five years later, in the advent of the first Olympic Games, held in Athens, representatives of the main teams of all of the Empire met, and agreed about the possibility that maybe they could hold a tournament that encompassed the whole Empire. They turned to the Ministry of Public Instruction, which was the one more related to the world of culture, and asked of them to authorize and help organize a tournament. Seeing in this idea a great one that could help keep people's spirits up, the Ministry started to organize a tournament that encompassed the whole empire. Given the extension of the Empire of Spain, it would be necessary to divide it in regions, so that most teams could just play against each other in their different regions, and then the best teams of each region would play in a shorter tournament that would determine the winner of the tournament.

The tournament, or Torneo Imperial de Balompié Español (TIBE), had as a prize a cup made of gold-plated aluminum that was engraved with the name of the winning team and the year it had been achieved, and the winning team could also engrave the names of the players if they so desired.

The first tournament would be held in the whole nation in the year 1901, with great success and attendance, thus convincing more teams to join the tournament and play for the glory of victory and of earning the Copa del Emperador, as the trophy was named soon...

The 8 Regions, each of which provides 4 teams for the finals, are:

• África Norte: formed by Spanish North Africa, Islas Canarias and Cabo Verde. Representatives in the first TIBE: Piratas de Orán, Santacruceros de Tenerife, Nómadas de Trípoli, Estrecheros de Tánger.
• África Sur: formed by Spanish South Africa, Madagascar, Guinea and the South Atlantic Islands. Representatives in the first TIBE: Oradores de Luanda, Cafeteros de Bata, Merinos de Tananarivo, Anglos de Malvinas.
• Caribe: formed by the Caribbean Islands. Representatives in the first TIBE: Habaneros de La Habana, Navegantes de San Juan, Veleteros de Bermuda, Salvadores de Samana.
• España: formed by Peninsular Spain, the Balearic Islands, Malta and Sicily. Representatives in the first TIBE: Caballeros de Madrid, Fogoneros de Bilbao, Águilas de Palermo, Leones de La Valeta
• Suez: formed by Egypt and the Holy Land. Representatives in the first TIBE: Libreros de El Cairo, Peregrinos de Jerusalén, Comerciantes de Beirut, Barqueros de Suez.
• India: formed by Spanish India. Representatives to the first TIBE: Príncipes de Jaipur, Batalladores de Mumbai, Vascos de Goa, Sacros de Kochi.
• Pacífico Este: formed by Nueva León and Eastern Pacific Islands. Representatives to the first TIBE: Aztecas de Tenochtitlán, Leales de Culiacán, Nativos de Nuevo Tenerife, Imperiales de Reynosa.
• Pacífico Oeste: formed by Philippines, Spanish China and Western Pacific Islands. Representatives to the first TIBE: Jungleros de Manila, Juncos de Fuzou, Marcopolos de Hangzhou, Independiente de Agaña.

There are also talks of the possibility of forming a national football team for potential international matches.

[EQandcivfanatic]

This is the less than 48 hour warning. top get those orders in.

[theDright]

OOC: I'd never heard football = balompié before. I learn something new everyday.

[Milarqui]

Originally Posted by theDright

OOC: I'd never heard football = balompié before. I learn something new everyday.

OOC: Balompié is an almost literal translation of football (foot=pie, ball=balón) to Spanish. It was not very expanded in Spain, as fútbol became more popular, but it survives in a team's name: Real Betis Balompié.

[Double A]

ooc: I got sick and dunno if I'll be able to get my orders in on time... or at all.