Iron and Blood: A Change of Worlds - Signups/Pregame Threads

[ChiefDesigner]

Tentatively,

Louisiana, Kansas, Quebec,

 

[filli_noctus]

Republic of Colombia​

Claims: Venezuela, New Granada (capital), Ecquador

Presidente: Fernando Simón Bolívar

History: Following the Separation of the Crowns that resolved the War of the Spanish Succession the New World colonies of the former Spanish Empire were split between the two successor states. The colonies of Ecuador, New Granada and Venezuela were all assigned to Castille - despite strong pro-Aragonese sentiment in coastal Venezuela and northern areas of New Granada.
What followed was years of small scale proxy wars and privateering between the two nations, predominantly carried out in the New World. As the border colonies Venzuela and New Granada suffered disproportionately from the border skirmishes, buccaneering and Aragonese sponsored uprisings.

By the late 18th century the majority of the Spanish speaking colonies were growing disgruntled with the Iberian nations and independence movements were quietly gaining steam. Generalissimo Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (known to history as Francisco de Miranda) took action to achieve this by approaching the Aragonese aligned militia in his native Venezuela. He managed to convince them of his course of independence from Iberian domination and they agreed to join with his forces when the time was right.

The right time came in 1804. At a time of rising tension in Europe the Iberian powers once again increased spending on harassing each others colonies. During the intervening period Miranda had been building support in New Granada and Ecuador. This meant the funds and materiel that both Castille and Aragon poured into the three colonies was nearly all diverted straight into the coffers of the independence movement.

Miranda dispatched a delegation, led by his protégé Simón Bolívar, to Europe to negotiate with Castille's rivals for logistical and financial support for the revolution, returning with some money and promises to interdict Castillian vessels bound for South America.

The revolution was launched with the first hurricane of the season, to maximise the length of time before word could reach Europe. By the time Castillian reinforcements could arrive in early 1805 the revolutionaries had the upper hand and it seemed victory was inevitable.
The reinforcements did manage to drag the conflict out, however, but in the end the King of Castille was forced to relent in the face of more serious issues in Europe and so in 1807 the colonies of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador were granted independence. A constitution was drawn up merging the three colonies into a single Republic of Colombia headed by a president. By general acclaim of the constitutional council de Miranda was appointed acting president. He was subsequently elected in the inaugural general election of 1808 as the first official Presidente de Colombia.
He was re-elected in 1813 and 1818, eventually dieing in office in 1821, leaving vice president Simón Bolívar to act as interim Presidente.
Bolívar was himself elected in 1823 but his authoritarian streak and planned changes to the constitution made him unpopular. His nephew Fernando strongly denounced his changes as a Caesaresque power grab and defeated Simón in the 1828 election.

Foreign policy:
Despite clauses in the 1807 Treaty of Lisbon forbidding the released colonies from interfering with Castillian governance of the other South American colonies Colombia contributed covert assistance to the other breakaway colonies during their own revolutions. With the majority of the Spanish speaking America's free of Iberian domination Colombian foreign policy is now focused on securing her own borders and strengthening relations with nations in both the Old and New Worlds as surety against Castille launching a South American Reconquista.

Domestic policy:
With independence won the greatest threat to Colombia is from within. Domestic policy is focused on forging a national identity that all Colombians can share in to build unity among her people and prevent old inter-colonial rivalries from flaring up and bringing the young nation down.

 

[W|M]

Tropico

Capital: Santo Domingo
President: Juan ''Juanito'' de los Reyes
Vice-President: Domingo ''Penultimo'' Castillo
Currency: Tropican Peso
Principal exports: Iron, Gold, Cotton, Clothes, Tobacco, Cigars, Sugar, Rum, Cocoa, Lumber, and Coffee
Official language: Spanish
Official religion: Catholicism

 

[christos200]

Roman Empire

​

Capital: Constantinople
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Emperor: Christophoros I
Megas Domesticos: Nikitas Choniatis
Claims:

Spoiler :

History:

The Ottoman Turks may have been able to conquer the Roman Empire in 1453, but the Romioi had never forgotten their heritage. The Greek language, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Roman Imperial past were connecting people all over Rumelia and Anatolia and allowed them to resist Turkification and Islamization attempts by the Ottomans.

In 1702, a secret Company, the Order of Constantine, named after the last Roman Emperor, was created by three friends, all descendants of Roman Aristocrats. Soon, thousands of Romioi from all over Rumelia and Anatolia joined the Order. Many Bulgarians also joined the order, connected with the Romioi due to both being Orthodox Christians.

In 1715, a revolt broke out: the Romioi of Constantinople assassinated the Sultan and captured Constantinople, while the Maniots of Sparta rose up in revolt and conquered the Peloponnese. Meanwhile, the Suliotes of Albania rose up too and advanced into Epirus and Macedonia. Soon several Klefts (Irregular Romioi) joined the revolution and a revolt in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1716 secured Ottoman Europe for the Roman Empire.

In 1717, the Romioi of Smyrna and of Pontus also rose up in revolt and in 1718, Romioi troops from Europe crossed into Asia and pushed the Turks back to Central Anatolia. Eventually, at Ankara, at the same site were the Mongol Timur had crushed the Ottomans in 1402, the Romioi crushed the Turks and by 1719, aided by sympathetic Armenians and Kurds, all of Anatolia was Roman.

In 1720, Prince Alexandros, a descendant of the Komnenos Dynasty, was crowned Emperor at Hagia Sophia. He died in 1769 and was succeeded by his Constantine, who died in 1800. The next Emperor was Nikos, who reigned until 1830, when he died and the current Emperor, Christophoros, came to the throne.

The Romans governments, since 1720, have tried to force the Turks to learn the Greek language and change their faith to Orthodoxy, with moderate success.

Note: See this about why the Greeks are called Romioi (Romans).

 

[Tyo]

Claiming Muscovy, Ukraine, and Livonia

changed claims

 

[Bair_the_Normal]

What else but Honshū, Hokkaidō, and Kyūshū.

日本帝國
Empire of Japan​

Capital: Suruga no Shizuoka [駿河の静岡] [shortform: Suruga OR Shizuoka]

Imperial Capital: Kyōto [京都]

Government: De jure absolute monarchy; De facto feudal military dictatorship

Emperor: His Imperial Majesty the Emperor [Ayahito; posthumous will be renamed to Ninkō] [天皇陛下 (恵仁;仁&#23389]

Shōgunate: Teramura Shōgunate [寺村幕府; Teramura Bakufu] under the Teramura Clan [寺村氏; Teramura-shi or Teramura-uji], seated in Kakegawa Castle [掛川城; Kakegawa-jō]

Spoiler Teramura Mon :

'丸に隅立四つ目結'
'Maruni Sumitate Yotsumeyui'

Shōgun: Teramura no Masato [寺村の仁人]

 

[Nuka-sama]

How about California, Texas, and Oregon?

 

[Terran Empress]

can someone give me an updated map? Also I'm running out of ideas XP

 

[cpm4001]

The Empire of United Provinces of La Plata

Huge flag, will resize tomorrow:

Spoiler :

Claims: Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay
Capital: Buenos Aires
Color: Purplish-Blue (Red 84, Green 85, Blue 136 - gotta love that Vicky II color scheme.)
Government: Constitutional Monarchy with moderately-extended franchise (nominally universal but gerrymandering is widespread); current monarch is one Thomas Cochrane
History:

Spoiler :

The Viceroyalty of La Plata was initially fairly loyal during the 1774 revolt of the Alto Peruvian* provinces - the lure of that land, as Castile had promised to unite Alto Peru with La Plata, was enough to suppress much dissent - but the crushing and shocking defeat of Platinian forces during the ill-fated attack on Potosì in 1776 changed the diplomatically landscape drastically. Since the weakened Kingdom of Castile (practically a shell since the 1715 Separation of the Crowns) had largely been relying on troops from La Plata to suppress the Alto Peruvian revolt, there emerged a notable sense of resentment at the lack of any sort of assistance. Though the Viceroyalty didn't go so far as to proclaim full independence, an act of clear rebellion against foreign rule occurred in their outright refusal to raise further armies (and incidentally secured Alto Peru their independence).

A formal rebellion in the provinces occurred in 1809, when a group of wealthy merchants and capitalists in Buenos Aires seized the opportunity presented by Columbia’s successful independence war and ousted Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. This, perhaps logically, sparked civil war, as one Juan Manuel de Rosas, leading a mob of peasants and pro-Castilian landowners, besieged Buenos Aires with the intention of reinstalling the viceroy. An attempt to end the revolution by executing the unfortunate de Cisneros failed miserably (de Rosas seized the chance to proclaim himself next in line for the viceroyalty), and while Castile was tied down with difficulties in Europe and the stirrings of revolts in the sparsely-settled Patagonian provinces, they were nonetheless able to send enough colonial troops to make pests of themselves against the limited independence armies. The next five years consisted of little but bloodshed, as revolts in Paraguay and the Banda Oriental were brutally suppressed by whoever happened to be controlling the province at the time. The funds and volunteer troops covertly supplied by Columbia and Aragon partially counterbalanced the advantages enjoyed by the anti-independence forces, but things looked quite bleak.

Intervention by Scotland – or, more specifically, one Scot – saved the Platinian revolution. Thrown out of his own country for questionable reasons, a minor nobleman and brilliant army strategist** and adventurer by the name of Thomas Cochrane arrived from Columbia, where he and his family had relocated. Eager for an opportunity to aid in the South American independence struggles, he offered his skills to the independence rebels, who, desperate, accepted. It was, quite honestly, the best choice they had made during the entire war.

In a brilliant, though dangerous, maneuver, Cochrane brought the entirety of the independence army out of Buenos Aires, a city that had been steadfastly defended for the entire course of the war (even as cities in the Entre Rios province had changed hands multiple times). The besieging army, the vast majority of the anti-independence forces, eagerly poured into the city, only to discover that the defenses had been strategically weakened and large sections of the city flattened. The tables had flipped, and the anti-independence forces found themselves under siege – without the ability to fight back effectively (carefully-placed casks of wine may have played a role as well). In one night, the independence rebels routed their enemies, killing de Rosas in the process and forcing a settled peace with Castile the next year.

La Plata was, at long last, independent, but the challenge of forming a functional nation remained. The death of de Rosas and subsequent military campaigns pacified the countryside, and a triumphant Cochrane was proclaimed Emperor of La Plata (a title he made a public point of disliking, but didn’t refuse), pleasing many of the independence supporters but angering many of the provincial residents, who were used to a fair degree of autonomy under colonial rule. However, the original independence supporters were hardly eager to see their power weakened by permitting the peasant rabble to have a full voice in their government. To forestall the seemingly inevitable future rebellions, a constitution was carefully crafted establishing a nominal constitutional monarchy, with the Cochranes as the hereditary emperors, and an elected parliament – carefully organized so as to keep as much power in the hands of the elite in the rebuilt Buenos Aires and what passed as the nation’s other population centers.

A decade and a half on La Plata is rebuilding slowly; a few stirrings of industrialization are beginning in the area around Buenos Aires and in the Banda Oriental, but the economy remains almost entirely agricultural, based largely on ranching. Furthermore, the Banda Oriental and Paraguayan provinces have never entirely accepted their status (nor been totally accepted by the Argentinians) as part of La Plata, and tensions threaten to spill over and break the nation. Finally, while relations remain amiable with Aragon and Columbia for their assistance in the independence war, it is unknown how other nations of the world will react to La Plata’s ambitions to become a Great Power – an important question at a time when some extremists are calling for the annexation of Alto Peru and, in a few fringe cases, parts of Patagonia.

*That's Bolivia in OTL, but Bolivar wasn’t involved in it winning its independence.
**It’s alternate history.

 

[Polyblank]

THE GERMAN REPUBLIC​

Flag of the Städtische Deutsche Republik​

Capital: Berlin

Government: Federal State Republic

Anthem: Die Gedanken sind Frei (Thank you Calgori for giving this to me!)

Stadtvertreter: Bernhard von Lindenau (From Saxony)

Stadtführer: Maximilian Josef Garnerin (From Bavaria)

Currency: Deutschmark

Official Language: German

Stance on Religion: Secularism

More to come.

 

[mrrandomplayer]

Claming Siam, Indochina, and Burma. More to come later.

 

[Calgori]

Corona d'Aragón
Crown of Aragon

Colour: Maroon
Capital: Zaragoza
Government: Absolute Monarchy
King: Leopoldo Chuán III d'Aragón
Claims: Catalonia, Sicily and Florida.

History:
In 1715, neither side in the War of the Spanish Succession was close to a victory. Despite the Grand Alliance outnumbered the armies of the Party of the Two Crowns, the French resisted to surrender, lenghtening a war which was becoming more a more costly for both belligerent parties. Willing to end a conflict which was bleeding the most part of european economies, Charles of Austria and Phillip of Anjou signed the Treaty of Utrecht by which the Kingdom of Spain was again divided in the crowns of Castille and Aragon and given to Phillip and Charles respectively.

 

[Terran Empress]

Gona grab Chihli, Kiangan, and Szechwan

Stepping out of my comfort zone and playing china

more later

 

[GreekAnalyzer]

Claiming Norway Sweden Denmark

 

[JohannaK]

Gona grab Zhili, Jiangan, and Sichuan

Wade-Giles is the only reason I can think of to bring back death penalty.
That extends to TK, unfortunately.

 

[Gurra09]

I've never played anything like this before but stumbled across this thread by accident and it sounds like a lot of fun so I'll join!

I'll form the Patagonian Republic of the Southern Seas out of the provinces of Patagonia, Chile and the Southern Pacific Islands.

Spoiler a map of my claims :

The Patagonian Republic of the Southern Seas is a seafaring nation born out of the ashes of the former Castilian colonies of Chile and Patagonia. Its history as a sovereign nation is fairly new, the Republic of Patagonia was formed in 1813 when revolutionaries took control of Patagonian territory after several local uprisings in the recent years had weakened Castille's grip on the region, which was already weak after the revolution in La Plata. A new capital city, Magallanes, was founded at the southern end of the continent, where the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans meet, after pushing back the last remains of the Castilian colonial forces into the Chilean Andes. Over the next few years (an unspecified amount of) people from Castilian controlled Chile migrated to Patagonia to find a new life in freedom, and with the help of new information and manpower the Republican forces were able to liberate Chile in 1818. Many of those who migrated from Chile chose to stay in Patagonia even after the liberation of Chile, mainly living in the capital Magallanes (thus giving the region a slightly higher population than it has in the real world.)

After the liberation of Chile the Republic of Patagonia gained control of a large portion of the Castilian Pacific Navy, and when several island kingdoms in the Pacific were threatened by European colonists the new Patagonian Navy helped defend their lands. In 1827 the five kingdoms of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti and Rapa Nui elected to join the Republic and were incorporated as the Patagonian Pacific Territory, forming the Patagonian Republic of the Southern Seas along with the states of Chile and Patagonia.

Capital: Magallanes, Patagonia
Color: Blue (preferrably the one used in our flag; RGB 12,15,131)
Government: Federal republic
President: Dolores María de la Paz (since 1828)
Currency: Patagonian peseta
Official language: Spanish (however, several languages native to the Patagonian Pacific Territory are recognised locally)

Most of the political power lies with the federal government in Magallanes but the degree of state independence differ between the states. The Patagonian Pacific Territory could be considered semi-independent from the Republic, mostly co-operating with the federal government when it comes to military defense and various economical agreements. The continental states of Chile and Patagonia are more closely linked to the federal government while still having their own local governments.

Every fifth year citizens* of all states elect representatives to the Patagonian Republican Congress which holds legislative power, where the seats are divided equally between representatives from all states (1/3 from Patagonia, 1/3 from Chile and 1/3 from the Patagonian Pacific Territory.) The Congress then elects a President who holds executive power. To this day only one election has been held in this new fashion, in 1828. A similar system is used to elect the local governments of Chile and Patagonia, while the Patagonian Pacific Territory makes use of a different system.

The Patagonian Pacific Territory is divided into five sub-territories corresponding to the five kingdoms that formed the territory: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti and Rapa Nui. Each sub-territory is lead by an elected monarch who is elected directly by all local citizens.

*All citizens regardless of gender, social class, ethnicity, or any other factor are allowed to vote and to be elected as representatives in general elections.

Before the adoption of a new constitution in 1828, the Republic's government was more that of a unitary republic where neither Patagonia or Chile had any form of significant local government.

The President currently in office, Dolores María de la Paz, is of Chilean origin and the first woman to hold the position. Overall she is the third President of the Patagonian Republic since the declaration of independence.

This is the Republic's flag:

Edit: I changed my claims, and with that some major points in the nation's history.

 

[BSmith1068]

Welcome!!

 

[Bair_the_Normal]

Dearest TK, what is the provincial status of the Ryūkyū Islands?

 

[christos200]

They are Chinese.

 

[SouthernKing]

Egyptian Empire

Capital: Cairo
Colour: Gold
Government: Absolute Monarchy (Pharaoh Napoleon II Bonaparte/Vizier Muhammad Ali)
History: In 1798, a Corsican officer and minor noble by the name of Napoleon Bonparte led a French campaign to Egypt, ostensibly with the interest of protecting French trade interests. Having defeated the British handily, Napoleon thus entered Cairo victoriously. However, the political situation back in France was quickly untenable for Napoleon and his quite loyal men, and so in Egypt they stayed, refusing orders to return home. Napoleon established himself as a temporary "Provisional Governor" of Egypt. But the situation became less and less temporary, and Napoleon found himself beginning to curry local interests - even religious ones - in hopes to.

This culminated in 1804, when Napoleon finally ended all semblance of provisionality in the government. In a series of events that shocked Europe, he converted to Sunni Islam, at the behest of an influential local imam, and, culminating it all, had himself crowned Pharaoh in an elaborate ceremony - thus establishing him as the direct successor to Cleopatra VII Ptolemy and making him the first Pharaoh in over eighteen centuries.

Of course, while much of Napoleon's army converted to Islam with him and to Pharaoh Napoleon, there were dissenters. Jean Baptiste Kléber, Napoleon's second in command, attempted to depose the "madman," but a combination of Napoleonic loyalists and Egyptian forces led by Muhammad Ali meant that Kléber was easily defeated, and the anti-Napoleonic force dispersed quickly.

Over the next decade and a half, Napoleon would centralize his realm's control as far south as Khartoum, and aided by his vizier Muhammad Ali, reforms were passed to modernize the state and bring it to parity with Europe. However, his son by a local Arab princess, Napoleon II, was still a teenager when Napoleon died of stomach cancer in 1821. So Muhammad Ali established control of the state. Napoleon II has thus far been more interested in his personal life than running the country, so the Egyptian state's day to day affairs are managed by Muhammad Ali - for now.