[Story] The rise of Poland

[Aussie_Lurker]

Love the story so far.

I am so glad you're liking the story. When it comes to Civilization, I've always been a role-player, & this has been the best iteration since Civ4 for those of a role-playing/storytelling bent IMHO. I can't imagine how much better its going to be once Rise & Fall comes out.

 

[God of Kings]

I am so glad you're liking the story. When it comes to Civilization, I've always been a role-player, & this has been the best iteration since Civ4 for those of a role-playing/storytelling bent IMHO. I can't imagine how much better its going to be once Rise & Fall comes out.

Come R&F, it would be by far the best storytelling Civ ever, one all future Civ titles would have to follow.

 

[Icicle]

Yeah I have always been the same way, wanting to play it more as a simulation than a game and imagining it all play out in a fictional world. I haven't really been able to since Civ 3 but I'm glad to read the stories of others who do things the same.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

The March of Progress II

Eastern Orthodoxy caught on like wildfire within the Polish Republic. In less than 2 centuries, it had become the sole religion in Rodinia.

Indeed, the religion had spread so quickly that it was deemed necessary to have a critical examination of Religion-& The Divine-as an Academic Subject within the local campuses. Thus was the discipline of Theology born.

On the purely scientific front, great strides were also being made. Though they were only currently able to get hold of the more inferior ores, the craftsmen of Wroclaw had managed to successfully both refine & mold the iron that lay within them. Such feats added even greater weight to the need for a formal system of training the younger folk in those crafts that kept the empire going.

As a precursor to such training schemes, the construction of an Encampment in Warsaw also helped to spur on a more formalized system of training for the military....something that would come in very handy against the slowly growing threat of Tundra dwelling barbarians.

On a more domestic front, the Consuls of Poland gave thought on how to keep the populace entertained and....therefore.....distracted from the day to day business of government. These ponderings gave rise to ideas regarding the potential construction of various districts solely for the entertainment of the masses, as well as a plan to once again renew the cities of Poland, with the construction of housing more befitting the growing populations.

This policy of urban renewal, unsurprisingly, led to a significant improvement in the training & tools of those responsible for erecting & maintaining the buildings that housed the empire-& led to a whole subsection of the state workforce being especially trained in said field.

Poland's dominance at sea was also having an impact on the development of the Republic. The voyages of the Polish Seafarers was becoming a thing of legend-both oral & written. This spurred the newly developed construction industry to apply their tools & talents to a more rigorous form of ship construction, and these legends would almost certainly need a better place for their long-term storage than the Government Palace....

Not surprisingly, both the new construction industry & the slowly developing shipwright industry needed much greater precision than had been previously available-both in the areas of measurement & geometry. Fortunately, earlier developments in the formation of currency & building of new city districts had laid the groundwork for this new field of study.....Mathematics.

....and all this progress before the Republic had even entered the Common Era. With yet more discoveries still to come.

 

[God of Kings]

England occupies the other tongue that extends from the southwestern part of the southern continent.

That's the Great Peninsula of Britannia.

The tongue extending from the southeastern part of the southern continent is the Great Peninsula of Germania, or as the Polish sailors like to call it "Niemcy's Sore Tongue." After all, the Poles historically considered the Germans mute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany#Names_from_Nemets

Likewise, the Polish sailors also considered the Great Peninsula of Britannia "West Niemcy's Sore Tongue" after discovering that English is similar to German.

Thus, the Poles for the longest time considered the speakers of the languages of the southernmost part of the Southern Continent "mute" at best who live on very long sore tongues, thereby contributing to their "muteness." To most poles, the English and the Germans were splinter groups of the same "mute" tribe, hence the similar languages.

The Poles called the lands of the Romans "Wlochy" in that it's inhabited by foreigners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhaz#From_*Walhaz_to_Vlach

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

England occupies the other tongue that extends from the southwestern part of the southern continent.

That's the Great Peninsula of Britannia.

The tongue extending from the southeastern part of the southern continent is the Great Peninsula of Germania, or as the Polish sailors like to call it "Niemcy's Sore Tongue." After all, the Poles historically considered the Germans mute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany#Names_from_Nemets

Likewise, the Polish sailors also considered the Great Peninsula of Britannia "West Niemcy's Sore Tongue" after discovering that English is similar to German.

Thus, the Poles for the longest time considered the speakers of the languages of the southernmost part of the Southern Continent "mute" at best who live on very long sore tongues, thereby contributing to their "muteness." To most poles, the English and the Germans were splinter groups of the same "mute" tribe, hence the similar languages.

The Poles called the lands of the Romans "Wlochy" in that it's inhabited by foreigners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhaz#From_*Walhaz_to_Vlach

The Romans are jerks who need to mind their own business regarding how much of Rodinia I occupy .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Polski Legion Cudzoziemski

With Rodinia seemingly secured from further barbarian threats, & with proper walls now surrounding Krakow, it seemed an appropriate time for a contingent of the Polish Military to seek battles against barbarians on far off shores. Fortunately, the mariners of Poland had already blazed a clear trail along the shallow seas & coasts of the southern continents & islands. Now archers & newly outfitted swordsmen regiments embarked upon galleys to seek their fortune on those legendary shores.

Initially they disembarked upon the nearest shores of the Southern Continent, partly to silence Trajan of Rome.....a leader who had become increasingly nosy & arrogant in recent times.....

....yet their presence did somewhat unsettle the leader of India....who feared Polish Soldiers might hold hostile intent against them. A notion that Polish Delegates were quick to disabuse them of.

Soon, though, the Swordsmen Regiment had reached an island to the West of the Southern Continent, where they fell upon the barbarians encamped there with great gusto.

Meanwhile, a second Swordsmen regiment was befriended some friendly natives. Relieved that the barbarian threat had been eliminated, they were now quite happy to teach some of their secrets of even better wall building to their saviors.

These, and other military successes, earned these Polish forces quite a reputation.....both at home & abroad.....where they earned the nickname of "The Polish Foreign Legion".

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

The March of Progress III

Whilst Polish Soldiers made a name for themselves on distant shores, the Republic of Poland continued to make significant cultural & scientific advances as they moved into the Common Era. Reports coming in from distant forces were helping the Officer Corps to develop much more stringent training regimens within the encampment in Warsaw, and the shipwrights of Krakow were finally able to refine their building techniques.

The training techniques that were proving so useful for developing better soldiers also proved to be an excellent template for training young people in crafting & manufacturing techniques.

Indeed, the knowledge base of the Republic was growing so fast, that the single Campus of Krakow was no longer large enough to contain it all, & so another one was built just outside of Warsaw, which got the Scholars of the Realm thinking about how best to record the exploits of the Polish People.

Not surprisingly, with previous advancements in Mathematics & Manufacturing, it wasn't too long before the two disciplines gave "birth" to an entirely new discipline-namely Engineering. A Discipline which also greatly aided city planners in how to build better city defenses.

All of the Scholars, from the twin campuses of Krakow & Poland, worked at a feverish pace-pulling together various oral histories & snippets of written history, until they were finally able to piece together a definitive written history of Poland-from the founding of Krakow until the Modern Day. The record was so detailed & well written that hand written copies of it were read in places far from Poland's own shores.

One such copy found its way into the hands of a noted Physicist from Geneva, by the name of Emilie du Chatelet. She was especially impressed with the great scientific achievements made by the Poles, as well as their dedication to scholarship in general.....& so decided to pay a visit to the Capital.....

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

The arrival of du Chatelet

Emilie, chartered the fist galley she could find to take her to the Continent of Rodinia. Then sailed into Krakow Harbour. When she announced her name at the local campus, the scholars there were very quick to take her to meet with the latest Chief Consul. In the Palace, du Chatetlet discussed with Jadwiga (now more of a title than a name) how her studies of physics & chemistry had given her great insights into scientific ideas that could help Poland to develop its nascent military. Though Jadwiga & her people were not truly warlike, she still appreciated the need for a good military to protect Rodinia-in case Macedon or Rome decided to move from Denunciation to Invasion. So she asked Emilie du Chatelet to share whatever information she had with local Polish Scholars........which she happily did.

She went with the scholars to the library of Warsaw, & spent many nights writing down all of her thoughts & theories relating to a host of different disciplines.

Growth of the Republic

In the decades just prior to the arrival of Emilie du Chatelet, the Polish Republic gave great thought to the need to expand the republic to new corners of Rodinia. Several things drove these discussions. One was the rapidly growing population stresses facing the Capital of Krakow, the second was the veiled threats made by the Emperor of Rome & the third was the concern that, were war to ever break out, an enemy could easily block access to the sea via there one harbour in Krakow. So, once again, the Consuls of Poland voted to select the most worthy families to take a stipend as reward for settling a new township on the East Coast of Rodinia. A township that bore the jaw-breaker of a name: Bydgoszcz.

This town grew quite rapidly, thanks to the abundant supply of fish & fertile farmlands. Indeed, the amount of farmland throughout the Republic had grown so large, that it led to many of the Patricians-particularly those of the Aristocracy-taking on underlings to protect their holdings, in return for a share of those agricultural holdings-an arrangement that would ultimately lead to a wholly new system of authority.

Meanwhile, the growing population of the Empire necessitated a more structured system of teaching of the theoretical disciplines, to sit side by side with the teaching of the practical disciplines.....& thus was born Formalized Education:

.....and the rise of Vassals to protect the lands of the Patricians demanded that those Vassals be able to cover a large amount of ground, on horses that could be tightly controlled by their riders.....& the metal smiths of Poland were happy to aid in this endeavour.....by giving the Polish horse riders their first ever set of Stirrups.....

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

.....and with that, I am now in a position to pick up the game where I left off .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Rule, Rodinia! Rodinia rules the waves....Polish never, never, ever will be slaves......

As Poland expanded its control over the lands of Rodinia, so too did they expand their control over the seas around Rodinia. The epic feats of Polish Mariners, & the ever expanding number of Naval Trade Routes to the South, confirmed the need for a more regimented naval hierarchy & set of Standard Operating Procedures.

It also drove a growing desire to build a Great Monument to celebrate Poland's Naval Superiority. An enormous Statue of their Chief Deity, Posejdon-who it was still believed protected the People of Poland from Invasion, & protected all of Poland's mariners, to this very day-was constructed just outside the Harbour of Krakow. Posejdon's torch was said to be visible, at night, from as far away as Delhi & Pella.....with some even claiming it could be seen from Rio de Janeiro.

So was completed the Colossus of Krakow.

Construction of a lumber yard in Krakow also helped to produce more of the wood needed for the further expansion of the Polish Navy, & it wasn't long before Polish Shipwrights had constructed the very first squadron of Quadriremes.

These new ships were considered a marvel by the newly created Admiralty, as they adapted existing, land-based ranged weapon technology to easily project military force against inland targets. Sadly, though, like the Triremes that came before them, these new ships were currently still limited to coastal patrols.

However, with the construction of a new Harbour & Lighthouse in the Port City of Bydgoszcz, the mariners of Poland were feeling ever more emboldened at the possibility of traversing-& mapping-the open oceans that lay beyond Rodinia.

The upsurge in Naval activity, possibly coupled with the very ostentatious Colossus of Krakow, had caught the attention of high ranking naval personnel abroad.....in particular an Admiral from Brazil by the name of Santa Cruz.

When Santa Cruz arrived in the Port City of Krakow, he was immediately impressed by the extensive naval infrastructure he saw-fleets of fishing boats, trade ships, Triremes & Quadriremes....not to mention the glorious Colossus. Likewise, the Admiralty of Poland were greatly impressed by the intelligence, acumen & discipline of Santa Cruz. So they didn't hesitate to give him command of any ship in the navy he desired.

Santa Cruz was also instrumental in teaching the scholars of Krakow all he knew of Map-making which, along with all they'd already learnt of Celestial Navigation, Mathematics & Engineering, made them feel finally confident to refit their current ships to make them capable of surviving the open Oceans. Mariners were also quickly taught all they needed to know to both survive & document such a long journey into the unknown.

So with refitted ships & crews, a portion of the Polish Navy began the push out into the Eastern Oceans-where legends claimed.....Oto smoki!

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

The Voyages of Santa Cruz.......The New World.

The Wind propelled Triremes, Commanded by Admiral Santa Cruz, plunged ever further out into the unknown oceans. Meanwhile, a small fleet of Quadriremes took a similar path, only further north.

The journey was long & arduous, with no certainty that anything worth finding lay beyond.....but Admiral Cruz pushed his ships on regardless. Then came from call from the front of the ship....."Land Ho!"

Over the next few years, the ships under Admiral Cruz's command did a thorough map of the coastline of this strange new land. Landing Parties also went ashore to make contact with several lesser nations.....such as Jerusalem, Nan Madol, Preslav, Muscat & Kabul.

Landing parties also made contact with two entirely new major Civilizations. The Japanese & Sumerians.

When the reports of this new land began to filter back to the Polish Republic, it was obvious to the Consuls that they had found a new land in which to make large diplomatic inroads.....

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

All Hail, King Jadwiga

For Centuries, the people had been entirely happy with the pseudo-Republican model that had been laid down by their forebears. However, with the increasing power of certain Feudal Patricians & High Priests within the senate, & the ever declining power of the Chief Consul.....along with rising corruption within the Capital of Krakow......the ordinary people were again begging for a new system of government.

For her part, the latest Chief Consul (the latest Jadwiga in the hereditary line) was also desirous of change. So she met secretly with a small cabal from within the Senate-primarily made up of Merchants, Chief Academics, lower ranking Patricians & Clergy.....as well as the heads of the military.....to discuss the best way to move forward.

The view was unanimous. A strong state needed a strong central leader, one that was popular with both the common people & the ruling classes. Toppling the entrenched power of the dominant factions within the senate was also necessary in order to combat corruption.

So it was decided, dissolve the Senate & elevate Jadwiga as King of Poland.....anointed by Posejdon himself. By having the support of the Mercantile, Military, Academic & most of the Religious castes of Poland, the Patricians would have no choice but to accept their demotion.

,,,,,and so it came to pass. The "Coup D'etat" went off almost without a hitch, aided very much by a leaflet campaign that was widely distributed thanks to the newly developed Printing Presses currently controlled by the Academics.

The senate was dissolved & the High Priests were deposed in a bloodless coup.......& were exiled to the newly built Holy Site at Bydgoszsz. The new High Priests, declaring that they had received a vision from Posejdon Himself, called for Jadwiga to be elevated to the position of King.

So it was, in the year 1390 CE, that Jadwiga walked down the aisle of Krakow Cathedral in full regalia, & took to herself the Orb & Scepter that were the new tokens of high office.

Jadwiga was very quick to act on her new authority. She appointed a Privy Council, drawn from the cabal with whom she had plotted her ascension to the throne, but also hand-picked roughly two dozen people, from amongst the various Ruling Classes (Military, Academic, Mercantile & Aristocrat), to act as an informal "parliament".....though most people called it Izba Lordow. Those within her privy council swore fealty directly to Jadwiga, whilst the parliament swore fealty to the Privy Council, & so on through the land-owners & finally the commoners. She also ordered her military to enact a strict code of conduct, promising to act for the protection of the people, property & clergy of the new Polish Dominion.

Jadwiga also initiated a new round of urban renewal, seeking to build off the success of the Insulae that her predecessors had put in place. She quickly expanded the amount of housing built into the religious, harbour, academic & theater districts that surrounded the capital, as well as specialist districts of other cities, so as to take pressure off the urban centers.

She likewise suggested to the craftspeople & tradespeople of Poland to move away from the more Classical Styles they had previously been used to, & instead turn their attention to a more "Gothic" style of architecture.

Lastly, on the Diplomatic Front, she sent merchants off to join all of her envoys in City-States abroad, so as to turn a tidy profit from Poland's good relations with the various Minor Powers.

Now, all Jadwiga needed to do was turn her attention to dealing with the corruption within the fast growing Capital City.

 

[God of Kings]

With the invention of the Printing Press, the new King Jadwiga decided to promote Polish literature to attract the greatest writers of the world to her empire in the windswept continent of Rodinia.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

With the invention of the Printing Press, the new King Jadwiga decided to promote Polish literature to attract the greatest writers of the world to her empire in the windswept continent of Rodinia.

Yep, & pne should be along soon .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

The Birth of Bureaucracy

Krakow was a *mess*. The metropolis sprawled from the harbour in the West to the Oracle in the East, & from the Northern Hills to the Southern Mountain, with little differentiation between where the city center ended & the various districts began.
However, the greatest mess was in the startling lack of a paper trail for a city so well populated. Merchants & their customers were frequently unaware of how much things should cost. The Constabulary & the Citizenry often had little clue as to what was & was not legal. Worst of all, though, at least for the Polish Government, was there was little knowledge of how much monies had passed into & out of the government's hands. Jadwiga decided it had to be fixed, & soon!

The Privy Council knew that the best people to see about this matter were the Academics at Krakow University. Select members of the Council visited the University, & were shown a number of Printing Presses, on which was demonstrated how multiple copies of the same document could be made in a fraction of the time a hand-written copy would take. The more copies, the bigger the time saved.

The Council were impressed, of course, but the Academics explained that a large number of specialized individuals would be needed to create & copy the documents, not to mention ratification & storage of said documents. The Academics were able to pick out nearly 100 people, from the student body, who would be ideal for their needs.....& so was born the Civil Service.

The near miraculous nature of these printing presses, & the way they were rapidly organizing the business of government, started to reach the ears of notable people abroad......as was the Polish commitment to arts & culture. So it was that a young woman by the name of Margaret Cavendish decided to move to Krakow, in order for her latest works to be published, using these printing presses, for mass distribution.

After many years, the civil service was running almost like clockwork, & the entirety of the Polish Dominion was benefiting from their efforts. However, the Academics who helped set it up warned that, without organizations dedicated to passing on this expertise to others, they would all soon be back where they started.

So the Universities & the Civil Service worked together to help create a Guild System, wherein school & university students could learn the special skills needed to maintain the engine of government. Other disciplines took note of this, & went on to create guilds of their own.

In a short space of time, independent financial institutions sprung up to help fund these new Guilds.

After many more years, the king became aware of the huge headache she & her privy council were having keeping up with all the international agreements that Poland had going with various Major & Minor Powers. So they approached the Civil Service, & tasked them with created a sub-set of the organization, wholly devoted to managing international agreements.

Between the King, Privy Council, House of Lords, Civil Service & Diplomatic Service, the Engine of Government had begun to be far too large to be contained within the walls of Krakow itself, even with some functions moved to other cities.

Thus Jadwiga commissioned the construction of a "mini-city", just outside of Krakow, that would sequester the engine of government from the ordinary people. Indeed, it would be forbidden for ordinary citizens to enter this "mini-city" without the express permission of someone from the Privy Council or House of Lords.

In the year 1615, construction of this "Forbidden City" was finally completed.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Apologies for the delay in the update to the story guys, but I am now back at work......so play time & story writing time have once again become limited. I hope to rectify this at the weekend. I already have a theme in mind-The Age of Enlightenment & Religious Reform.

 

[God of Kings]

Apologies for the delay in the update to the story guys, but I am now back at work......so play time & story writing time have once again become limited. I hope to rectify this at the weekend. I already have a theme in mind-The Age of Enlightenment & Religious Reform.

I too am busy. Your work is much more important than this, as much as I enjoy your storytelling. After all, even the greatest storytellers need to have shelter, eat, sleep, and pay for all of them. Nothing is truly free.

 

[pietro1990]

Apologies for the delay in the update to the story guys, but I am now back at work......so play time & story writing time have once again become limited. I hope to rectify this at the weekend. I already have a theme in mind-The Age of Enlightenment & Religious Reform.

We didn't pay to see you're stories so you don't have to apologies for bad service. I allready am happy i can read this awesome storry for free

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

An Age of Enlightenment & Reform

With several of the greatest minds of the world, converging on Poland, over the course of the last Millennium-it is no surprise that the Intellectuals of Poland were inspired to discuss the deepest of social & philosophical issues. One of the issues that came up was if all human beings-regardless of their station in life-had intrinsic "Human Rights" & a desire for Self-improvement. From such humble beginnings did much of the massive reform of the next century originate.

Within just a few decades it had spurred a growing movement, especially within the intellectual & governmental classes, that sought to distance itself from the absolutes of Religious & Political Authoritarianism in favour of a more skeptical & rational approach....a Movement that was dubbed The Englightenment

This, unsurprisingly gave a leg-up to new ways of pursuing Science & Research......

Whilst the Intellectuals were discussing "The Rights of Man" from a largely theoretical perspective, the burgeoning Middle Class & Mercantile Class were considering the practical applications of those theories.

Since the days of the Polish Timocracy, the Mercantile Classes had largely been at the mercy of the more dominant Clerical & Patrician Classes-a situation that had only marginally improved under the Polish Dominion. However, with the growing Middle Classes arising from the Bureaucracy & the growing strength of the Mercantile Classes arising from rapidly growing Maritime & Domestic Trade, they finally felt they had the strength they needed to push for a reform to the current system of government.

Under a flag of truce, the leaders of the New Republican Movement marched on the Palace of the King & demanded an audience. The King was far too wise to anger those who controlled the purse-strings, & so accepted their demand & listened to their grievances.

Their key demand was to remove the Clerical & Patrician Classes from the government altogether, & instead have members of the Mercantile & Middle Classes of each city, as nominated & elected by the rest of the Mercantile & Middle Classes from those same cities, to sit on a Ruling Council not too dissimilar to the Senate of the Ancient Timocratic Era. Jadwiga would still be the head of this new government, though with the title of Doza, rather than King. Also, under the new Republican Model, Jadwiga could be replaced by the majority vote of the rest of the Ruling Council.

So was born the First Maritime Republic of Poland:

This government sought to promote anyone of merit-rather than the luck of parentage-to positions of authority, & sought to promote a Free Market Economy & the development of their Engineering & Crafts skill-base. The former would pay off in spades in the not too distant future.

To Celebrate the birth of this new government, a new Art Museum was erected, to house all of the greatest paintings & sculptures the Polish Artisans could create, even if they weren't recognized as great on the international stage.....as yet.

This interest in the visual arts also spurred on a desire to learn more about music & dance.....

The tales of the Economic Strength of the Polish Republic soon reached the ears of an Economist working in one of the Universities of England.....a man by the name of Adam Smith. Though he had heavily courted by the Brazilian Government, it was ultimately the Polish Republic that paid for his transport to Poland. Once there, he quickly distributed his treatise, known as "The Wealth of Nations" to every merchant, economist & civil servant he could find. The ideas within his tome helped to revolutionize the running of the new Polish Republic......and one thing the Senate learned from their studies was that-in order to be truly internationally competitive-it was necessary to seek expansion onto new lands.

The government also decided it was time to use the new Art Museum as a focal point for attracting artists from abroad.

Of course, under this new Republican Model, the Bureaucracy underwent another growth spurt and, even with an extensive range of printing presses, it was proving difficult to keep track of the large range of documents being created......leading many intellectuals to ponder if a better method for maintaining these records could be developed.

Meanwhile, at the Cathedral of Krakow, the loss of their temporal power got the Church Hierarchy to reconsider their "mission statement". Many within the middle ranks of the Church believed it was now high time to focus on the souls of their followers instead, & to perhaps push their message out to a much broader audience. This led to these Church Members to seek out the leading intellectuals, to see if their holy books could be printed in a language that was both more accessible to the working classes, as well as to potential followers overseas. The Academics were happy to help, & soon the Church had a new Holy Book with which to bring more people into their Faith.......