A Looser Union

[Mumby]

Computer Technology in the 1970s

Computing stagnated in the early 1970s as energies were poured into alternative avenues, but the Information Revolution had truly taken wing by the time 1978 came around. Dozens of satellites transmitted messages across the Earth in the blink of an eye. Processing power was being increased and the size of a computer was growing ever smaller. Machines which would once have been driven by steam turbines and filled whole rooms, their noise and heat overwhelming to the layperson had now been replaced by electronic devices which quietly clicked as they calculated and extrapolated.

What added to the growth of computers was their utility and their adaptability. Once they had been used purely for bureaucracy, but now they could be used in the markets to calculate trends and stock prices. Programming could introduce ever greater subtelties to a computer's functions. In 1977, Neville Chamberlain arguably the architect of the Information Revolution passed away from old age. The men who had been Chamberlain's proteges became the arbiters of a new age of science and progress.

Silicon Valley is famous today, but in 1978 it was nothing more than a string of sleepy Welsh mining towns. When silicates began being refined into the integrated circuits which allowed the ever greater portability of computers as well as ever greater potential memories, three key successors to Chamberlain came here, to escape the hustle and bustle of Britain's cities as ever more refugees from India poured in, prior to being given a relocation package.

Bernard Wallace, Fraser Mbire, and Manmohan O'Brien set up what became known as the Chamberlain Set. They set out to build an institute devoted to the study and improvement of computers. The institute soon grew as applicants joined up in their hundreds. Before long, the valley had been reshaped, and the Chamberlain Set got a grant from the government to establish the British Institute of Computer Science, as a separate institution to the British Institute of Technology.

Silicon Valley became famous as it attracted wealth. The great and the good of British society believed that a role in the computer industry would be good for their children, so to the Chamberlain Set's shock, their classes were stocked with rich kids. Fortunately they engaged in the by now thoroughly British tradition of meritocratic purging.

The men and women who emerged from BICS became some of the greatest minds in British history. Some who failed their exams still left with a burning belief in progress and man's indomitable will. Ambitions were lifted, and eyes turned once more to the stars...

 

[Analytical Engine]

Nice updates. The Germans are going to have to liberalise soon, or something really, really bad is going to happen.

Speaking of liberalisation, who else might Russia form an alliance with now? Borealia is right out, and they may find the Boulangists(sic) distasteful, so they're probably out as well. Japan is a big no-no. Leaving either the Dutch (not very likely), the Doradans (quite likely) or the British (now that's irony for you ).

Also, go Madagascar - that's some regional power bloc going on there.

I'm getting a feeling that the states in British and American spheres of influence in central Africa (and Southeast Asia for Britain) may not remain entirely independent () for much longer.

 

[Mumby]

Nice updates. The Germans are going to have to liberalise soon, or something really, really bad is going to happen.

Speaking of liberalisation, who else might Russia form an alliance with now? Borealia is right out, and they may find the Boulangists(sic) distasteful, so they're probably out as well. Japan is a big no-no. Leaving either the Dutch (not very likely), the Doradans (quite likely) or the British (now that's irony for you ).

Also, go Madagascar - that's some regional power bloc going on there.

I'm getting a feeling that the states in British and American spheres of influence in central Africa (and Southeast Asia for Britain) may not remain entirely independent () for much longer.

Interesting thoughts. I'll address them individually.

Germania- I agree that they will have to liberalise if they want to avoid war with France or other rivals. But how do they do that without comparisons being drawn with these rivals. The social reformers of Germania do not like the corporate fiefdoms of France or the dynastic democracy of Russia. I suspect that if Germania does liberalise, they will be likely to take a path of moderate socialism, and in ways very different to Britain.

Russia- Perhaps Russia will attempt to align with America? They are less radical than France, and share many aspects with the Americans, though their continued use of serfdom makes many Russians rather angry. I was working for Dorada to become an American ally in South America (and Africa), whilst my plans for the Netherlands are still weak.

Anglo-American spheres of influence- Remember that the British are still dealing with cleaning up the nuclear war, and some of their sphere stretches into the neutral zone. I have some tentative ideas for the American puppets in Africa though I'm not sure.

 

[GeneralTigerXVII]

Computing ... stars...

Interesting. Germania legitimately seems to offer the best hope of one of the big powers turning nice-ish, which is pretty scary. Couple questions:

Is the german block still strong but disintegrating, or has the decline levelled off?

What's going on with New England? We hardly ever hear from them anymore. Are they still relatively liberal and peaceful? How's their economy/international power?

If Britain is still relatively democratic, would the public really tolerate such intense scrutiny, or do they think it's worth it?

Awesome TL, as always.

 

[Mumby]

Interesting. Germania legitimately seems to offer the best hope of one of the big powers turning nice-ish, which is pretty scary. Couple questions:

Is the german block still strong but disintegrating, or has the decline levelled off?

What's going on with New England? We hardly ever hear from them anymore. Are they still relatively liberal and peaceful? How's their economy/international power?

If Britain is still relatively democratic, would the public really tolerate such intense scrutiny, or do they think it's worth it?

Awesome TL, as always.

Thanks for the comments and compliments.

German Block: I don't think it ever disintegrated, I just don't think it is really a German block any more. Germania is a first amongst equals, and much of the real pushing around in the OstBlock is done by Hungary, Bulgaria and Assyria.

New England: Considering this TL began in America, I have been very poor when it comes to touching on issues over here. New England is well-functioning liberal democracy, even by our standards. Their economy suffered as did everybody else's after '69, but they faired better than most thanks to detachment from the war and a tolerant attitude to most comers. Some problems with cultists and people who blame them for inventing the nuclear weapon.

Britain: While Britain is undoubtedly a democracy, they carry a lot of psychological baggage from the revolution, and even more so since the Silent War began. They see counter-revolutionaries round every corner, and plots in every suspiscious gathering. The preoccupation with mega-projects and the idea of British Exceptionalism has also built up the idea that their democracy can only be defended by vigilant pursuit of equality and destruction of privilege.

 

[Mumby]

From 1969 to 1978, Japan carefully crafted together a puppet state. They had taken control of Outer Mongolia some time ago, but their acquisitions in the war with Russia had given them the other half. Early on a decision was made to combine the two halves and create a loyal puppet state. There was one key problem. Mongolian nationalism did not really exist. Outer Mongolia had been heavily Sinicised, whilst the Russians had made overtures to elites and successfully Russified the people Japan needed to appeal to.

So they constructed an identity. Taking elements of Russian and Chinese culture, pasting on various myths and legends of Mongol yore, and seasoning with Nipponification, their nine year project culmination in the declaration of the Khanate of Mongolia in 1978. Formed from colonial territory in former North China, and self-governing territory in the New Northern Japan, it was the first of several planned Japanese puppet states/protectorates. They also intended to give independence to the Uighurs with territory in central China added on.

Russians in the Japanese Northern Territories were encouraged to move to Mongolia, as were Chinese from the colonial territories. The nationalist project was quite successful, as a new party emerged calling for the annexation of all those territories which were governed as Mongolia under the Russian Tsardom. This was carefully pushed into the idea that the Japanese had been the patrons of a Mongolian independence movement.

 

[Mumby]

The New World

The atmosphere after the Second Great War, even after the French Revolution, was one of perpetuity. It felt to many that the world order was established, entrenched, and unassailable. The Long War was to be an infinite war, a symptom of an infinite global system.

But the nuclear war destroyed East Asia. It brought low one of the world's most successful and venerable cultures. Old religions and beliefs were pushed aside by new cults and ideologies. Northern India was ravaged. Global economies went into freefall, agriculture became harder than had been in more than a century. Things of the past re-emerged. Disease and starvation were commonplace in the most advanced of states.

In the aftermath of the nuclear war, there was a feeling that anything could and probably would happen. Japan, which had before the war had been a stable but irrelevant Great Power, was now one of the global military arbiters, but its stability was called into question by the political strength of its armed forces, and its irradiated domination of China and Siberia. Britain and France were finding that their grip on their respective former colonies was frowing ever more tenuous in certain places. Egypt had sat uneasily under the rule of the Salutariat ever since the revolution. They had only been cowed by the threat of massive population transfers from East Africa and India. These had still occurred but a new generation of Egyptians and their second generation immigrant brethren wanted to breathe as Egyptians free from the unblinking watch of the Central Committee. France had secured Indochina, but now dissent was rising in Cuba, and in parts of West Africa. The people were growing angry about corruption and crime within the Republic, particularly in the industrial complexes of the Sahel and the seedy ginsinks of Habana.

New powers were rising. The Americans were encouraging not only the Cuban nationalists, but also Iberians in their former African domains, Arabs under French dominion, Ethiopians, the newly rising power of Madagascar, the transcontinental federation of the Belgics, the Great Powers of South America, and the Russians.

The space race had been a solely scientific affair up to this point, concerned almost entirely with communications, observatories, and a few experiments, thanks to an informal agreements that ensured the military didn't take war to the final frontier. But with the nuclear war, the possible destruction of the human race was all of a sudden lethally clear. It was obvious now that if mankind was to have any certainty of survival, then it must find a way to spread beyond its natural confines on the surface of the Earth.

While the British struggled to preserve the revolution in Egypt, the French reacted pragmatically. Before the nationalist movements could get out of hand, they granted independence to many of what were considered the fringes of the Republic. All became Boulangist satellite states. The British on the other hand, when they eventually had to concede Egyptian independence, they had to take a long hard look at themselves and consider what it meant to be British. The French had no such concerns. The Republic existed merely to facilitate the interests of the individual. The British on the other hand had thought of themselves as a pluriethnic, pancontinental nation of which the Egyptians had been a part. Now what were they? The potential of independence for all other parts of the Salutariat existed. Just as they did in France. But in the French case, the corporations would still rule, and they ultimately answered to the Champs Elysee. And geographically, the French Republic was a lot more centralised, there was a lot more natural links between European France and African France. Once the less French areas of the Republic had been sheared off, the Iberian dominated parts of France in Cuba and Africa soon piped down. The nuclear war had spurred a reverse Indian migration. During the 19th and much of the 20th century, Indians had left their homeland and settled all over the Empire and later the Salutariat. Now, they were returning home to assist in the reconstruction of the motherland. If they stayed in India, then they would call the shots, and the British Salutariat would end. The New British were essentially the glue that held the Salutariat together. And they had emerged in the great colonial melting pots of Australia and East Africa. And it was there that the British idea was reborn. They returned to the old British stomping ground of the Indian Ocean and resolved to rebuild themselves there. Unfortunately this meant a few other projects fell by the wayside, particularly in South America. But they had a toehold on Europe, and their grip in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica was solid. The Salutariat was heading in a new more conservative direction, and as a new generation seized power in the 1980s, so their eyes turned skywards.

 

[Mumby]

World in a New Age: Section I

Confederacies of the United States

Columbia

Columbia has the largest population, and is the most dominant Confederacy. Composed of sixteen states, Columbia is the area most dominated by the American Planter aristocracy, and is also the area where serfdom is most clearly defined by race. The capital of Columbia is located in Jefferson city, between Virginia and Maryland. The greatest ports of the United States are in Columbia, as is much of the country's industry. A large white working class has emerged in the last sixty years for the first time since the American Revolution, largely due to the incompatibility of American serfdom with most industrial tasks.

Their are three clear cultural regions in Columbia. North, Upper South and Lower South. The North is dominated by Pennsylvania and New York, and is traditionally German and Dutch in culture. They are home to steel mills and the country's growing navy. Their culture is undergoing a revolution as internal immigration to the region in search of work has created a distinctly working class fusion culture. Serfdom is at its rarest here. The Upper South is the most politically powerful of the Columbian regions. Traditionally ruled by English Protestants, there were influxes of Spanish and German in the 19th century. Here, serfdom is common, but is more class based than race based. They are losing ground demographically to the growing cities of both the North and the Lower South. Jefferson City is notable for its crime and inclement weather. The Lower South is still largely rural, but increasing industrialisation of the serf labour has dramatically increased yields. Here, the people are informally divided on an ethnic basis, and the people who live here are much the same as they were one hundred years ago. Native American culture is important in the Lower South, and the fusion of English and Native cultures have produced some interesting cuisine and linguistics. Irish and Scottish immigration was important in the 19th century leaving behind a legacy of traditional attire.

Louisiana

Bought from the French by the legendary Thomas Jefferson, Louisiana retains a distinctly French culture. It is composed of ten states, and is dominated by those ones founded by the Columbian provincial committees. The capital is in Nouvelle Orleans, which is a city well known for its black subculture. Serfdom is a class based institution in Louisiana, despite its roots in racial division. In this sense, it is the most obviously American of the Confederacies. Their history is dominated by conflict, either with the Tejans, British, Comanche or Sioux.

There are no clear cultural divisions in Louisiana in the same sense as Columbia. However, the divisions established by provincial committees retain their hold. Those states that fell within the Carolinian or Virginian remit, still have flavours of Lower and Upper Southern cultures respectively. There is little industry in Louisiana, their culture being largely rural and based around agriculture. The States of Louisiana are home to America's most conservative politicians, the staunchest of the Jeffersonians. There is an almost reilgious hatred of industrial complexes, cities and mines. This is feeding into a growing green movement which is beginning to make Confederal politics rather less one sided.

Comancheria

Comancheria is the least traditionally American of the Confederacies, dominated by various groups which would traditionally clash with Columbians and Louisianans. Blacks have a great deal of say in the border states, which is still controversial in Columbia, and the power of the Native American aristocrats rather unnerves the Louisianans who have not easily forgot the wars their ancestors fought with the Comanche and Sioux. It is composed ofSerfdom is far less entrenched here, and industry is booming. Silver and gold mines litter the landscape, and some of America's densest rail networks are growing here.

Comancheria can be divided into about four cultural regions. Brownsland, in the west, Native in the middle and the Freemen in the East. Brownsland is largely white with remaining flavours of the Chinese migration which came and left in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They have almost no serfdom whatsoever, and what they do have they justify with religious reasons. They are highly conservative, and home to some of America's richest mines. The Native states are culturally dominated by the Comanche and Sioux, though other have made their way here over time. They are more clearly effected by Asian immigration, and indeed many tribes and clans within the states are majority Chinese. Serfdom has become rather a tradition here, since in the early days of independent Comancheria, labour was expensive and it was cheaper to buy a man than pay him. The Freemen of the East, are highly militaristic and efficient in their culture, comparable to the Prussian Empire of the early 20th century. Their commanders are by now hereditary, but they are still proud of their martial tradition.

American Guinea will be covered under Africa

The United States is rapidly industrialising, with roads and rails threading across this vast nation like never before. With access to the power of the atom, America is increasingly looking like a viable Great Power in its own right. However, most of its international appeal largely exists in the sense that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of states, and appears to be an unaligned power in the Long War. Its overtures for alliances are often marred by their particular national scruples like serfdom and an entrenched aristocracy.

 

[Mumby]

World in a New Age: Section II

Northern North America

Borealia

Most of the land north of the United States is held by the Kingdom of Borealia. While the government still proclaims itself as the legitimate successor to the British government, any pretence of rule over the domains under the control of the British Salutaruat have long been abandoned. Due to its colonial history, and different waves of migrants over time, Borealia can be divided into a number of geocultural regions.

In the east are the Maritimes, made up of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island and Newfoundland. While they have a broad range of migrant cultures (English, Scottish, Irish and French), they share a great deal of characteristics. Their naval prowess and reliance on fisheries and lumber is what defines the Maritimes. They are often referred to as 'Old Borealia' as they are made up of the old European groups who settled in Borealia in the first place. Miqmaq culture also has a large part to play in the culture of the region.

West of that are the Canadas. Lower Canada is majority Francophone, while Upper Canada is majority Anglophone. There is some controversy about grouping the two together, but despite their rivalry and differences, a greater culture of Franco-British fusion pervades the region. They are also the most urbanised part of Borealia, home to the greatest cities. Due to the wealth of the Canadas, the oppressive legislation that is needed to hold down unrest futher west is deemed less necessary. The aristocracy here is well entrenched.

Now we come to the Great Plains Provinces. Despite modern innovations, and high speed communications and travel, the people of this region are overwhelmingly rural. It is also at this point that we encounter the Asian peoples of Borealia in great numbers for the first time. While Borealia was merely a Control under the British Empire, Indians and Chinese were treated as equals and indeed rose high in society. While a few of these great men have left descendants in the Lord Halls of Borealia, most non-whites on the Great Plains are peasants and nothing more. Here in the overwhelmingly rural regions, a sort of neo-feudal society has emerged. Most of the poor, white or otherwise are tied to the land in a fashion similar to that practised in the United States. But their servitude is based on debt bondage which is nigh on impossible to work off.

Finally we come to New Caledonia, the Far West of Borealia. Here, the Asian population is at its highest proportionally, and they are treated equally to whites. Nevertheless, they look down on the Asian peasants of the Great Plains. New Caledonia one of the wealthiest regions of Borealia, and is home to great trading hubs. More immigrants come to Borealia through here than they do in the East. However, unlike the Canadas, New Caledonia retains the oppressive legislation as the class system here is stronger and less pliable.

The only other province is Bermuda, a tiny island which was formerly part of the British Caribbean Control. The Borealians seized it during the British Revolutions. Most of the people here work in the shipyards, and the island is de facto governed by the Royal Navy.

Other than that, there are the vast Northern Territories. The Eastern one, known as Ruperts Land, is dominated by Native Americans like the Inuit and the Cree. The Western one has other Natives, but is also home to the Alaskan Russians. These people have a high fertility rate and there is talk of splitting the Northwest Territory into several new territories, prior to admittance as provinces. Ruperts Land on the other hand looks like it will remain as a territory for some time to come, and there is talk of developing some alternative constitutional arrangement so the people here will not go without autonomy or a voice indefinitely.

The Borealians spend most of their money either helping out fellow monarchies in the Americas or working to destabilise the Salutist governments of the world. They have engendered a positive relationship with the United States hoping to push them towards a more international role. Little money is spent on social programmes, in a similar fashion to the American laissez faire model. However, this is primarily motivated by the old Logician belief that only aristocrats can put education to good use.

Hawaii will be covered under the Pacific
Nova Jamaica will be covered under Africa

New England

Unlike its neighbours, New England is rather a melting pot of peoples. Its freedom from colonial rule, its position of military protection under the British Empire, its love of democracy and hatred of slavery, made it an attractive prospect to immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its early industrial development means that compared to the United States and Borealia, its population is high, well-educated and prosperous. They also have a much lower fertility rate. While the strangely named 'Old New England' of the East is more ethnically homogenous than the West it is still home to large number of Irish, Italian, French, German, Russian and Jewish migrants. The West has large proportions of those descended from blacks and Natives fleeing persecution under the United States.

New England has maintained an isolationist foreign policy since the removal of military protection when the British Revolutions broke out. The legacy of its imitation of British Logician ideas have slowly faded away but remain strong to this day. The archaic familial bonds between high families and new money have evolved into a mixed economy of conversation between the state and corporations. The New Englanders have built up an impressive state education system which has produced some of the world's best known scientists. Due to their lack of allies on their continent, they have built up good relations with other powers, specifically the Russians, Doradans and to a certain extent the British.

Greenland (see Scandinavia)

The vast expanse of Greenland isn't green at all, and only the edges are populated to any great extent. The population fell into the tens of thousands at the height of the Scandinavian colonial empire, and there is a thriving Scandinavian community in Port Rico. However, as the empire came to an end, the population rose again, largely thanks to immigration from Borealia and New England by prospectors in search of gold or oil. They hopes are not unfounded, ad as the world begins to warm at an ever faster rate, some people think that the ice will uncover hidden treasures. For now though, Greenland is a backwater, and its primary importance is as a naval hub for the British Peoples Navy in the North Atlantic.

 

[Mumby]

Well, we've breached 46000 views.

 

[Mumby]

World in a New Age: Section III

Southern North America

Nuevizcaya

Nuevizcaya has completed her quest of reunifying the domains of New Spain, and of integrating them. Nuevizcaya has profitted immensely from its democratic political system and egalitarian society, having received large numbers of immigrants from Europe and Asia who have integrated well into Nuevizcayan society. Much of their wealth is derived from silver and gold, though oil deposits and industrial complexes are becoming ever more sophisticated. They are one of the major powers of the Americas. English is widely spoken in its northern provinces alongside Comanche and Navajo. This has worked itse way into the Nuevizcayan dialect of Spanish which is very different to normal Castillian.

A political and cultural divide is emerging in Nuevizcayan society. The more traditional, rural north where the centres of power are, and the more densely populated, industrialised south where a degree of Mexican nationalism remains.

Florida and Mesoamerica (see Britain)

The two remaining territories of the British Salutariat in North America. They have been referred to as the Second Crucible of the British Melting Pot, the First being the Indian Ocean. Here, Mayans and Seminole have mixed with Africans (of Caribbean and American descent), Britons, Chinese, Indians, and Hispanics. Migrants from the United States have also played their part, with many abolitionists moving here in the early days, and those opposed to serfdom and aristocracy later on.

Florida is the more ethnically heterogenous of the two, with the Seminole remaining in great number in the panhandle, descendants of Indian and Chinese coolies live on the great rice paddies, Europeans mingle in the cities and in the north on the border of the State of Yazoo, and Blacks are a common sight in all parts. Hispanics are concentrated on the very southern tip of the panhandle, where an illicit black market between the thriving hub of Habana and austere Britain is plied. Unlike much of Britain, the economy is still largely agricultural, but the oil fields are tapped and a large proportion work there. The British space programme is also centred here, on Cape Straw.

Mesoamerica has many minorities, but it is still dominated by Hispanics and Mayans. Most Europeans who have moved here have been integrated pretty swiftly. The Miskita are a proud warrior people, who form some of the best regiments in the Peoples Army. The economy here is primarily founded upon trade of commodities and the duties they can extract thanks to the Nicaragua Canal. Shipping is big business here. However in the countryside, agriculture dominated the landscape, though they tend to farm commodities rather than than staples like Florida. There are a great number of rocket installations here due to its equatorial position, but that is secondary to the big installation in Florida and in Asia.

Bahamas will be covered under the Caribbean

 

[Mumby]

New Map. MULTI-COMBO-BREAKER

 

[Mumby]

World in a New Age: Section IV

Caribbean

British Caribbean

There are three primary divisions in the British territories in the Caribbean Sea. First, and most obvious are the Bahamas. They are technically part of Florida, and are unique for their much larger Indian population. Second are the Greater Antilles, consisting of Jamaica, and of Port Rico. They have the largest European populations, though the combination of British, Scandinavian and Hispanic Europeans alongside African-Caribbeans have produced a very interesting fusion since the days of interbreeding was first encouraged. Then there are the Lesser Antilles, predominantly dominated by African-Caribbeans but with a compliment of Europeans, a mix of British and French of their own.

The economy of the region is based on trade, oil extraction, and cash cropping. Plantations are operated through local communes, and indeed as the home of the semi-legendary Jack Straw, the Caribbean is the most hard line Salutist of all the Autonomies.

There have been calls for many years now for the Free City of Ogwa, the only remnant of the British territories in West Africa to be directly annexed into the Caribbean Autonomy, though some worry that the security responsibilities that would have to be transferred to Kingston would imbalance the Salutariat. But what with government being reformed at all levels since the nuclear war, this dream may well become a reality.

Guyana will be covered under South America

French Caribbean

The jewel of the French Caribbean is without any doubt Habana. The City-State of Habana is a melting pot of Hispanics, Frenchmen, British emigres, Americans, Africans. Its public face is the great selling point of French Boulangism, and its famous skyline is plastered across many French propaganda posters. Of course the seedier aspects of Habana are known, as is the poverty of those who haven't reached the Promethean heights. Anything and everything can be bought in Habana, and if you are rich and therefore a Promethean you can literally get away with murder.

But east of Cuba and its microcosm of the dream and reality of Boulangism is the island of Saint-Domingue. It is ruled by the High Prince, a man descended from Toussaint Louverture, and it is a symbol of old French style. The Princes have always been tied to a social contract to their people and despite misgivings from the Elysee, Promethean ideals are not pursued to a great extent.

The other French islands, are mostly fuelled from plantations, but the French Caribbean in general is one of the wealthiest places in the world with mines, farms and a thriving tourist industry.

Belgic Antilles

The Belgic Antilles consist of only a few island, but they are governed from the local capital in Surinam. Unlike this large Belgic domain, most of the population of the Antilles are descended from former slaves, and the Apartness system is still informally enforced. The economy is largely rural, though shipping is also an important industry. On the other hand, an underground electronics industry is also emerging as the oppressed blacks seek to communicate with one another and organise protests. The docks in particular are home to vast shipments of electronics smuggled from Habana or Kingston. Just like the Belgic government, the civil rights activists are neutral when it comes to favouring either one ideology or the other.

 

[Utgard96]

When did France take over Cuba? Also, it's spelled Saint-Domingue, or at least it was when it was a French colony IOTL.

 

[Mumby]

When did France take over Cuba? Also, it's spelled Saint-Domingue, or at least it was when it was a French colony IOTL.

Thanks for that, will edit. France acquired Cuba after the Second Great War. Iberia was smashed, and the horror at was revealed in the Black Camps of Central Africa lead to a conviction to stamp out Iberian nationalism. The Iberian provinces of South America were broken apart, and to have an observation force close at hand, Cuba was annexed to the Empire. Iberian Santo Domingo had been annexed in the last war, so they were pretty certain they could integrate them effectively.

 

[Beedok]

Just finished this, and it's quite nice. I feel tempted to steal the name Salutist because it sounds awesome, though I don't think I actually have a use for it, so maybe not.

 

[Mumby]

Just finished this, and it's quite nice. I feel tempted to steal the name Salutist because it sounds awesome, though I don't think I actually have a use for it, so maybe not.

Only quite? Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. Salutist means welfare I think.

 

[Utgard96]

Only quite? Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. Salutist means welfare I think.

Salut, in French, means safety, health and/or welfare. All values near and dear to most forms of socialism, which makes the name highly appropriate.

 

[Beedok]

Only quite? Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. Salutist means welfare I think.

I was more going off of the idea of saluting a flag or something for an anglo-fascist thing. Also, 'quite good' for me is a step above simply 'good'. Like 'quite impressive' is above 'impressive', more or less equal with 'very impressive'.

 

[Mumby]

I was more going off of the idea of saluting a flag or something for an anglo-fascist thing. Also, 'quite good' for me is a step above simply 'good'. Like 'quite impressive' is above 'impressive', more or less equal with 'very impressive'.

I understand. I'm British, I speak in understatements. When I say 'rather', I mean 'extremely'. 'It rather hurt'.