BT 1: 2120-2140
North American Events
The Dixie Confederacy Experiences Population Boom
Tallahasee, the Dixie Confederacy
The Dixie Confederacy's government, for now, centered it Tallahasee, Florida, has begun to unite the various far flung communities of what was the American South. People, for the longest time had looked at the central government as nothing short of the 'devil' in disguise. But a very focused public opinion campaign has brought a large portion of the people in Dixie to the agreement that sometimes more government, is in fact better. A sense of nationalism, if you could call it that, struck into the heart of Dixie, and soon flowed flowed outwards, via a growing number of Dixie settlers and traders.
In the 'wilderness', many Confederate settlers met people with a similar cultural history as there own, and were more then welcomed in what was the Carolinas, and up the Mississippi. Soon more and more towns and districts began pledging allegiance to the Stars and Bars, and the relative feeling of safety it gave them. The only '' that came in the Dixie dominance of the region, was the Republic of Virginia's growing influence in what was Kentucky.
European Events
Attempting to Unite the Emerald Isle
Dublin, Ireland
The Irish nation has been attempting to unite the entirety of the Island under one banner this year. Representatives from Dublin have been sent out far and wide, to meet with local governments in an attempt to convince them to join the democracy. More often than not, they were warmly recieved, and Ireland grew by quite a large margin, especially in the south. Roads connected the new lands to the old ones, and before long, it was hard to really differentiate between the two.
The west, and the north soon became a different story however. To the west, a friendly republic based out of Connaught soon arose. While it thus far has had peaceful intentions, this Connaught Republic has been more than open in it's critiscism of the current Irish Parliamentary system. The north, with a slightly more English culture than the rest of the island, has also resisted Irish attempts at annexation, albeit in a less polite manner. Armed militia units from various Northern Communities met Irish settlers and agents, and promptly turned them back. Tensions haven't escalated much further, though the reason behind that is probably due to the lack of a central governing body between the groups.
Old Ideas Rehashed
Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain
The Spanish Crown has begun to look towards the past as a way to the future. Utilizing old technologies mixed with a few new ideas, Spain has begun the slow, painstaking process of Industrial reconstruction. Along with that, Spanish ships have begun once again traversing the Mediterrenean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, looking for open ports. Spanish traders were especially well recieved in Cape Verde and Maderia, so much so that the locals began to swear themselves to the Spanish Crown. Having a lot of extra fod and medicine does help things like that, after all.
Regardless, in Europe proper, things are not going so well for the Crown. Tensions with the Portuguese Free-State have substantially grown in the Spanish annexation of what was Northern Portugal. Spain itself has found itself surrounded by a host of less-than friendly nations, though the crown has never had more power over its people than it currently does.
Alls Well That Ends Well..
London, The Republic of England
While across the Irish Sea, Ireland has been attempting to reunite its island, the Republic of England has been doing the same thing. Looking into Northumbria, the Republic began a slow, yet steady advance into what was once Scotland. Yet, constant coastal raiding on behalf of the Norse Imperium, and the transplant of a large number of Norse citizenry on the Eastern coast has stalled English advances enough to allow for a Scottish government to organize itself in Inverness.
The Norse raiding, as a fact, brought obvious tensions between the relationship between the Imperium and England. Before the initial settlement of actual Norse citizenry, the landing of Clergy and other military officials from the Imperium led to a fairly large pro-Norse base population in Northumbria. Of course, when the English military came around, many of those who would rather live under the gaze of the Norse Emperor headed to the coast which soon became thriving Norse colonies.
Heaven, I Am Coming
Copenhagen, The Norse Imperium
Similar to the Spanish crown, the Norse Crown began to revitalize it's otherwise non-existant industrial machine. Raiding the English coast for resources, while harvesting their own supplies from Norse colonies, the Imperium has managed to enhance its industrial and agricultural sectors to a fairly large margin. Homestead acts led to some fairly rabid population growth spurts in Scandinavia and the Eastern Baltic provinces.
Expansion in Scandinavia has lead to some increased tensions with the Imperium's growing neighbor Norway, a nation directly opposed to the Imperium's questionable resource gathering. But perhaps the most striking development that has occured in the Imperium, the growth and power that the Norse Church has been experiencing. The Norse Pope seems to be the second most powerful man in the entirety of the Imperium, and His Agents have been spreading the Word and aid to people across the Imperium's Empire.
St. Petersburg is Russian Once More!
St. Petersburg, New Russian Federation
After years of Russian traders, followed by settlers being welcomed by the City-State, finally after some, somewhat intense negotiations, St. Petersburg is very much, once again Russian Federation territory. Aside from a shared history and identical cultures, a large reason for this union was due to large food outputs by Russian farms that would be enticing to most people living in the half-starved city, and as always, the health benefits. This was largley the theme in a lot of annexations occuring in Eastern Europe, as Russian borders slowly crawled towards the already establish nations of the Imperium and the Franco-Germanic Empire. Russian traders, followed by settlers entered into Siberia, and the Causcaus, and were met with an almost outright hostile response.
The Federation's military attempted to act accordiningly, and tricked several towns in Siberia into asking for Russian protection, but destroyed those that didn't. After several times of this occuring, many Siberian villages and hamlets began forming together to prevent what they viewed as an obviously hostile Russian advance. A similar scene developed in Daghestan, however the Daghestani's were either outright annexed or killed from the get-go. Attempted seiges on behalf of the Federation's armies led to a fairly large anti-Russian feeling in the Causcaus. Russia's exploits might have given it some land, but it gave it even more enemies.
Asian Events
Seoul Extends Its Reach
Slow governmental reforms began to occur in Korea, as the system of Absolute Monarchy began to give way to a Constitutional Monarchy. A parliament was created, and the citizens were given a fair amount of rights,while the Emperor still reigns supreme. Korean traders made contact with Japan, and China, and a rather thriving East Asian trade began.
The benevolence shown by the Korean Emperor, and of course, the abundance of food and medicines attracted a lot of settlers to join the Kingdom, allowing for it to expand rather dramatically down the Chinese coast. Several islands off the coast of Kyushu were aquired also, without too many problems from the local populations.
The Project Begins
Vladivostock, Проект
Strange things have been happening in what was the Far-Eastern Soviet. Stranger then the fact that there is such a nation. The Soviet-style government has been mighty successful in collecting pre-Collapse technologies, and molding them into some new beneficial inventions. Scientists, or anyone who has any sort of intellegent grasp on science seems to of been grabbed up, and thrown into specially designed academies, highlighting the pre-war sciences of nano-technologies, bio-technologies, and chemistry. In fact, it seems like the entirety of the Soviet is being run by engineers and scientists.
Railroads from the pre-Collapse days have started being fixed up, along with a few factories, while a lot of farms have began again with a new vigor. Natural resources have begun being harvested once more, with the prime focus on minerals and fuels.
Communications with the Republic of Ezo led to the Republic begrudgingly giving up it's claim to Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands, and it also led to trade with Ezo and Japan itself. Expansion West-ward was fairly simple, do to the chillingly effective means the Project annexed Siberian towns and villages. Its border soon met with the Siber Confederacy, and trade began, if ever so hesitantly.
Siamese Trade Empire
Kuala Lampur, Siam
Taking advantage of the Collapse isn't nescessarilly a bad thing. The economists sitting around in Siam decided that, it is after all, a business oppurtunity. Siamese trade posts were quickly set up trade posts and forts throughout what was Indonesia. Timor, Hainan, parts of Burma and Maluku Utura all soon became very thriving Siamese trade colonies, the Siamese navy made sure of that. Siamese scavenging has also led to quite a few technological imports of materials and machines from before the collapse, which has thus far provided a much needed push to the Siamese industry.
Education became a prime focus of the nation, as schools and teachers began being subsidized by the government, with mathematics and sciences especially being focused on.
Finally, Buddhism became the religion of choice in Siam, though, according to the government, freedom of religion is still the legal status.
Dai Nippon Teikoku
Tokoy, The Greater Japanese Empire
The Japanese Emperor has sent out emissaries across Honshū and Shikoku in the hopes of enticing them to rejoin the Empire, and relive the glorious days before the collapse. And these emissaries were very well recieved, with both regions almost unanimously declaring themselves to once again be part of the renamed Greater Japanese Empire, save for the coastal Korean regions under Korean jurisdiction. To the north, peaceful relation began between the Greater Japanese Empire and the Ezo Republic.
. The Emperor has, in some respects, given way to a Parliament, though as with Korea, his final word is still law. And under his law, the 'Second Meiji Restoration" has begun, encouraging the industrial growth of the nation, with factories and other important industries being subsidized by the government. Along with that, the Japanese education system has gotten a slight boost from what it was.
The Japanese Army and Navy went under some major reforms this year, which has lead to some calling the IJN and IJA the most effective fighting force in the Pacific, though the validity of these statements is really anyones guess
The Winds of Change Hit Mesopatamia
Baghdad, The Empire of Mesopatamia
The Empire of Mesopatamia has begun heavily investing in agricultural development, and it's oil extraction industries, giving the government a fairly large source of revenue as oil ships began heading out of the Persian Gulf, and into the greater world at large. But it seems like the Mesopatamians have a larger view of things, investing an almost equally heavy amount of capital and resources in the development of 'Green Technologies'.
And while oil exports might be sent as far as Japan and England, for the most part, the Mesopatamians, are content to keep the rest of their production soley in-country, to help further their own industry and economies. Tax breaks to larger families have encouraged population growth to an extent, along with a slew of fairly liberal reforms, allowing things such as same-sex marriage and freedom of religion. Something many more classical conservative Muslims are less-that-thrilled about, though, the Jewish minorities in Israel have welcomed annexation a lot better than originally though.
To: The Project
From: The Republic of Ezo
We'll give you the entirety of Yamchatka, if we could reclaim part of Sakhalin.
To: The Korean Empire, The Greater Japanese Empire
From: The Republic of Ezo
We hope our relations can continue to be amiable?
To: The Project
From: The Siber Confederacy
We'd like to extand our hand of friendship to you. While we run our respective nations very differently, a common heritage should bring closer relations between us.
To: Siam
From: Grand Papua
We hope your extended reach into Indonesia stays with your area of influence..
To: Mesopatamia
From: Kurdistan
While we disagree with your.. liberal policies.. we do hope that we can stay friendly over these next few years.
To: The Norse Imperium
From: The Baltic Union, Norway
We're watching you.
To: The Norse Imperium
From: Scotland
You're raiding ships best stay far away from Scottish shores. If they do, perhaps we can start trading a bit more then we have?
To: The New Russian Federation
From: The Siber Confederacy, Daghestan
Stay away from us, you murderers.
To: The Norse Imperium
From: Poland
We'd love to have a corridor to the sea, if you'd let us..
To: England
From: Scotland
Assuming things continue on the route they're going, we'd hope for closer relations in the future. While we don't want to be a part of your nation, that doesn't nescessarily mean we have to be enemies..
To: Ireland
From: The Connaught Republic
Your government is mighty disagreeable. But we'll leave you alone, if you leave us alone. Hey, if you change your style a bit.. who is to say a union between us isn't possible?
To: The Dixie Confederacy
From: The Republic of Virginia
How do you want to slice up Kentucky?
From: The Basque Republic, Andulsia
To: The Kingdom of Spain
Leave us be, and we'll leave you be.
From: Occitania
To: The Kingdom of Spain
Keep what you managed to take, and leave the rest of France, French.
@All- I Like the stories so far.
@All- The BT is fairly boring, though their is only so much I could really write about. I feel like the map speaks for itself, for the most part. If you mentioned something in your BT orders, and it wasn't mentioned in the BT, assume it worked.
@Dread- The molding of your economy has begun. But due to the low focus you've put on your economics thus far, it may take another BT for it to really reach the point in which it'd be considered Laissez-Fair.
@LoE- Writing less in the future isn't nescessarily a bad thing.
@Eltain- If you could tell me what you're ranking your stats, that'd be appreciated.