Map Thread XIV
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Here the map and my last turn for the 1838 map game. We could always do with some more support!
I figured I would create a map of the Empire upon the coronation of Napoleon II in 1847. Napoleon I expanded the empire until his death leading to the French controlling a vast amount of Africa due to the powerful influence generated by defeating the Ottoman Empire.
Napoleon also added more states to the French Empire such as the Saharan States (otl coastal Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal down to Dakar), the Zanzibar states, the Indian Islands (otl Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles etc.), the West African islands (otl Bioko and São Tomé), the states of Louisiana (New Orleans, Louisiana, Saint Louis, Dubuque, Du Luth, Lower Louisiana and Upper Louisiana), Guiana and the city of São José do Rio Negro in order to control the Amazon.
One of the first things Napoleon I did was to initiate a buyback of the Louisiana territory for the sum of 75 million Francs (which required the draining of the wealth of the Confederacy of the Rhine and other recently conquered lands), which in 1819 was gladly accepted by President Monroe who used the funds to rebuild the damages from the recently ended War of 1812. The French had one condition that the US also help to retake Haiti which would allow the United States to seize control of the Dominican Republic. This would change Monroe’s opinion on European encroachment (Monroe Doctrine) leading to a very different United States but that is a different map.
Following the acquisition of Louisiana, Napoleon I turned his eyes to Africa and set to conquest. In a risky maneuver Napoleon divided his Grand Armee and order an attack that would meet at the fabled source of the Nile. This eventually was abandoned as Napoleon marched his Armee from Lake ‘Napoleon’ to the sea following the River Kongo to the savannah of otl Cameroon where he met up with the other half of the Grand Armee which sailed south from Morocco to the Western turn of Africa.
The new States/Kingdoms etc. in Personal union are the Nomadic Confederation of the Sahara, the Kingdom of Denanke (otl Senegal), Kingdom of Songhai (otl Mali/Niger), The Duchy of West Africa, The Duchy of Central Africa, the Kingdom of Equatorial Africa and the Kingdom of the Kongo, The Duchy of the Horn and the Kingdom of Puntland (all of which are rump kingdoms and duchies).
Any feedback would be wonderful.
Sources:
Europe and the Middle Ages by Edward Peters
The Romans: From Village to Empire: A History of Ancient Rome from Earliest Times to Constantine by M.T. Boatwright, D. Gargola, R. Talbert
It can't be a real Francewank without puppets in Ireland and Scotland and colonial control of Indochina, Taiwan and Hainan. If not more parts of CHina...
Personally I'd avoid that, the surviving UK and mostly early 19th century inspired Borders give the map a unique Napoleonic atmosphere, rather then just a wanked rehash of the later French Empire. Plus a dismembered UK that still wins the War of 1812 is a little suspect. Indochina maybe? but I wouldn't shoot for more then that in Asia, even Indo-China is a little out of step for the scenario.
In any case, if you were going for "ultra France wank" rather then "Napoleon on crack" I'm surprised to see parts of China being discussed before Quebec. THAT said, for a Napoleonic wank, pressing Scandinavia (Denmark-Norway at least) into the continental system should be pretty easy and well in line with the setting; control the continent and bar out Britain.
I had it in my mind that the War was much more violent and made the US financially weak and basically unable to accomplish anything because of the heavy toll the War inflicted.
Rosenheim
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A work-in-progress of a very very large map I'm hand-crafting for a Bronze Age Dungeons and Dragons setting (this section is only about 2.5% of of the total area of the map), with the map itself based off of old maps of Japan.
Here is the largest island of the Urradi clan-groups, who only use stone tools, grassweaving, and driftwood/wood construction in their daily life. The largest mountain is considered the sacred birthplace of the God of the Earth for the main religion of the setting, hence the carved face temple area - though this has been vastly increased in size for representational purposes on the map.
The Urradi are politically disunified, and long-lasting settlements outside of villages, fishing camps, and religious sites are scarce. There are some trade routes between the major clans, as well as a few overarching (and competing) tribal structures, but by far the Urradi are the least centralized of the four major ethnic groups in the setting.
Beyond fishing, limited aquaculture, and a hunter/planter/gatherer lifestyle, it has been common during the last two generations for young Urradi to travel south to act as mercenary levies for the competing bronze-age city states. These warriors have brought back with them bronze weaponry, intricate jewelery, and - most dangerously - new ideas.
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This is good, but as other posters have mentioned, definitely add Quebec over Hainan or wherever. Also, that rump Kingdom of Egypt looks really ungovernable and impractical and should probably be split into a Kingdom of Egypt, in actual (western) Egypt, and a Kingdom of Abyssinia, in Ethiopia and north along the Red Sea.
Like so? Or should the empire be larger? What about India or Australia or would that be pushing it?
Beating Britain is pushing it.
At this rate you might as well give France the whole world!Beating Britain is pushing it.
So no puppet Ireland and Scotland? Just avoid tangling with Britain.
No Quebec or Canada, no Scotland or Ireland I think, if you want it to be plausible. France would need extreme luck to force terms on the British, and if the British do accept a Napoleonic hegemony in Europe (with the Continental System fully in place, which is hard to do to begin with), then after that they'll no doubt be financing and aiding the rebels in Latin America, propping their allies the Braganzas in Brazil, and seizing colonies left, right and centre to ensure they still control the global trade routes. By that point, the Royal Navy will be a goliath, nigh unbeatable (as it pretty much was right up until WWII in OTL anyway).
Plus, French Egypt will be a serious challenge. Egypt was Britain's gateway to India (as seen with the eventual Suez Canal), so if the British do lose it, it will be near the top of their priority list to get it back, I'd imagine.
That is sort of what I figured. As soon as I was done posting it with the British areas I realized that it would be outright impossible or damn difficult to achieve. Thanks for clearing me up on that one! That is what I figured would happen. They could take it but never hold it for long. As soon as I was certain on the map for the coronation I was going to make a map of a British Invasion of Egypt. That's my plan for now at least unless you or others have any suggestions.
Yeah that was the one hesitation I had about the British Invasion. How would they be able to accomplish it? As you said the French control Gibraltar and as long as they hold the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea as well as the Levant I don't know how the British would be able to pull it off but since Egypt is the gateway for the British to India I was sure they could pull it off. Now you have me thinking that the British would not be able to launch such an endeavor.
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