World in a New Age: Section V
South America
This great continent is one of the quiet battlegrounds of the Silent War. The cities are thick with intrigue, with revolutionaries plotting, policemen investigating and assassins plying their lethal trade. Crime thrives in an environment such as this.
New Granada
The United Kingdoms is an odd feudal arrangement, but that is a relic of the early 20th century when the French Empire yanked free several states from Iberian America and created vassals. Their failure in creating separate national identities was matched only by their success in creating a new united identity, forged in the fires of resistance to French rule. Ironically, the High King of New Granada is himself a Bonaparte, and the Lower Kings of the United Kingdom are either Bourbons or descended from French military commanders. They are by now thoroughly integrated, and nobody really thinks of King Joseph Bonaparte as French.
The state is not a democracy. It models itself after a combination of the old Iberian state and the French Empire. In other words, strong monarchs, a meritocratic aristocracy, and a weak overall government with most power delegated to the locals, and a uniting bureaucracy. Institutional racism from the days of the Iberian Union has been thoroughly stamped out and the new government is rather liberal in that respect.
The economy is strong, and a focus on resource extraction has given way to a local manufacturing base of their own. A curious relationship exists with the British Salutariat who have developed an understanding with them when it comes to trade. A large merchant marine also exists, and Granadine ships can be found as far afield as Ogwa, or Aotorie. The canal in Panama certainly is a great asset. The less said about how much the French were to thank for that the better.
The interior is dominated by the Marcher Lords, an odd arrangement of industrial combines, ennobled tribal lords, and military men. As the interior becomes ever more densely populated, there is talk of raising up a suitable commander to be King. But fears of upsetting the careful balance of the interests of the Lower Kings has prevented that from happening any time soon.
Guyana, and the Falklands
Whilst a key part of the British Caribbean Control, economically and ethnically it is very separate from it. Most of the islands of the British Caribbean are populated by the descendants of Africans, or from people of Northern European descent. In Guyana, while there a great deal of Africans and many Northern Europeans, there are also many people from Iberian descent, and many more people from India. There are many people from India in Florida, but Guyana is less of a melting pot and more of Sunday Roast. Everything is there on the plate and get along splendidly but they don't mix as much. There is a large and thriving New British minority, but nowhere else in the Salutariat with so many different groups will you find so few mixed people.
The economy is a thriving one, connected to the markets of its South American neighbours as well as Africa and the Caribbean. It is largely based on farming though mining plays a prominent role as well. The docks are also home to a great number of British naval squadrons.
The Falklands on the other hands are far more homogenous. They are almost entirely populated by white Britons, though with a not inconsiderable minority of Doradans and Patagonians. The economy is dominated by the oil rigs in the surrounding sea, alongside a thriving wool industry. The growth of some mills on the islands have fuelled economic growth in neighbouring Patagonia as well.
Surinam
Unlike other Belgic Kingdoms, Surinam is mostly Iberian in character. Dutch speakers cling to the coast, while most of the population consists of former Iberians and Brasilians. The economy of Surinam is weak when compared to many of the other Kingdoms and this is likely to have been caused by a failure to diversify the economy and a reliance of resource extraction. Corruption is rife in Surinam, where taxes are very low and corporations hold a great deal of power. Arguably, Surinam is close in character socially and politically to a Boulangist state. Economically however, while corporations hold a great deal of power, its hardly on the scale of France. And the most economically vigorous part of Surinam are the Belgic Antilles, whos industries are state subsidised.
Brasil
In the early 20th century, few would have believed you if you had told them that the Brasilian states would reunite, industrialise and bring back indentured labour. Yet that is precisely what they have done. In reaction to Doradan expansionism, the fractious Brasilian state reunited as a weak Confederacy, and it wasn't long before they slipped into Boulangism. With a government modelling themselves after France, and a growing corporate and industrial sector, there was a big labour shortage. And socially, Brasil was modelling itself after the United States. Justifying the change in Promethean terms, they began annexing the homeless and the poor into an army of mundanes, or de facto slave labour.
Today, Brasil is a reasonably important power in South America. Their extrem decentralisation and reliance on an extremely cheap workforce has made them economically powerful but a political lightweight. They rely on the United States to speak to the world on their behalf, but what passes for a government there is just happy that they get American atomic reactors out of the deal. The issue of the mundanes is not a problem within Boulangist states, but outside of that sphere, they receive a great deal of condemnation, and Brasil has a hard time trading with others in South America.
There is a streak of militarism and irrendentism in Brasilian culture stemming from the annexation of regions of Brasil either by the Dutch or Dorada. Fortunately, the decentralised nature of the Confederacy means that the military may not necessarily comply with the central government. War does not come naturally to the Brasilian system, and most security forces are employed in monitoring the mundanes or finding new ones on the streets or prisons.
Peru
The only Hispanic part of Iberian America to be taken into the Doradan sphere, the Peruvians defined their national identity in opposition to Dorada rather than France. They are not a democracy, and are a close ally of New Granada. On the other hand, they are no pseudo-feudal monarchy. They are a republic, and technically all are equal. But some are more equal than others. A clique of military men and former revolutionaries hold the reins of power and control the Republic. It is in this sense that they are Opprimerean, as they utilise strong man tactics and brute force to squash opposition whilst caving in to populist tendencies in economic and cultural spheres.
The economy is based on resource extraction but a domestic manufacturing sector is emerging, and they have a lot of trade with Aotorie, New Granada and are extending their growing corporate combines into Bolivia.
Peru's culture is defined by the resistance against the Doradan occupation, and their conquest by them. Militarism is glorified, Salutism and Boulangism detested. They are by far the most dogmatic of the Western Opprimerean and in that way they are most similar to the German form. However, occupation by a republican state meant that their culture became steeped in republican structures and ideas. When they ultimately gained independence, it was a republic not a kingdom like their Granadine neighbours.
Bolivia
Bolivia was the most underdeveloped region of Dorada before they gained independence, and it was in this deprived climate that their unique form of Salutism was developed. A peculiar form of agrarian Salutism emerged, combined with old Incan ideas and informed by a fortress mentality of being surrounded by hostile powers, Bolivia became reliant on Britain for support. However, since 1969, and the concentration of British resources in the Indian Ocean, North Atlantic and Caribbean, the funds to Bolivia have trickled away and her progressive social programmes have begun to disintegrate. As riots break out and the collective farm's yields drop, their regional enemies begin to look on hungrily.
The economy of Bolivia remains deliberately agrarian, though with pushing from London a domestic metals industry emerged. But now with no export market, the domestic situation is collapsing and their economy is becoming reliant on Peru for support. There is talk of a counter-revolution or coup to remove the dogmatic Workers' Union men from head office and establish a new government which will be able to take advantage of Peruvian support. However, popular support for the Workers' Union remains high.
Dorada
What was once the greatest power in the Americas, in only now recovering. Having lost Peru, and much of the Lusitanic interior, as well as Bolivia, and swathes of land to Patagonia, energies were redirected from an outwards facing vigorous foreign policy centred around domination of Latin America, to a more introverted perspective that is now centred around the new provinces in Africa. With a third of Doradan provinces in Africa, the balance of power in Doradan domestic politics is shifting.
Dorada is ostensibly a Hispanic republic, but since its foundation it has encountered waves of immigration from Europe and around the world, and a slow but steady integration of different groups. Native Americans were integrated only with great difficulty, culminating with the foundation of New France to the south. Again, Lusitanics from the conquests in then disintegrating Brasil proved difficult. But the integration of Africans into Doradan society has proved far easier, and people from the African provinces are now producing much of Dorada's wealth and global standing.
The culture of Dorada is informed by this. The base of old revolutionary spirit in the Hispanic colonies remains, but is now mixed with ideas of Brasilian confederate government, and with dynamic racial equality. In this way, Dorada is a mirror image of New Granada, a more racially homogenous and divided society, though politically they are more united.
The economy of Dorada is energetic and growing, with an increasing focus on Patagonia as the civil war between Francophones and Welsh-speakers gets worse. The African sphere is also vital to Doradan interests, with economic deals brokered with the East African Community, the Belgics and the French. On a more global scale, the Americans are Dorada's key ally, and it is with the atomic energy that the Americans can provide that Dorada hopes to storm into this new decade.
Patagonia
Patagonia was once a Principality within the French Empire, but come the revolution the more traditionally minded Francophones of Patagonia gained independence. When Dorada waned in power, the multiethnic state of Frenchmen and Araucanians liberated the Welsh-speakers of the north. But since that time, Patagonia and especially the Welsh regions became home to Britons uncomfortable under Salutism but equally disgusted by Borealia. For a time, this was stable. But at the moment, Patagonia is suffering a civil war as the Welsh minority grows ever larger and the Francophones stir uneasily at the size of the Welsh-speaking community. Much of this community is descended from English-speakers, but a Welsh education system enforced instruction in the Welsh language.
The division of the country is on roughly north-south lines with the Francophones in the south and the Welsh-speakers in the north. The Francophones tend to fishermen, sea traders and miners whilst the Welsh are more disposed towards the Pampas and farming. The Araucanian community forms a bedrock for both groups. Dorada is growing ever more assertive as their economy continues to thrive. They are supporting the Francophone rebellion, calling the Welsh a fifth column for radical Salutism or even possibly a southern front for Borealian dictatorship.
Before 1969, Patagonia would have been counted as a moderate Salutist state, within the British sphere of influence. Arguably the deterioration of civility within the state owes a lot to the withdrawl of British aid to the Republic. As British Salutism becomes more nationalist, Spartan and utopian so the power of the Patagonian government begins to dissolve.
South America
This great continent is one of the quiet battlegrounds of the Silent War. The cities are thick with intrigue, with revolutionaries plotting, policemen investigating and assassins plying their lethal trade. Crime thrives in an environment such as this.
New Granada
The United Kingdoms is an odd feudal arrangement, but that is a relic of the early 20th century when the French Empire yanked free several states from Iberian America and created vassals. Their failure in creating separate national identities was matched only by their success in creating a new united identity, forged in the fires of resistance to French rule. Ironically, the High King of New Granada is himself a Bonaparte, and the Lower Kings of the United Kingdom are either Bourbons or descended from French military commanders. They are by now thoroughly integrated, and nobody really thinks of King Joseph Bonaparte as French.
The state is not a democracy. It models itself after a combination of the old Iberian state and the French Empire. In other words, strong monarchs, a meritocratic aristocracy, and a weak overall government with most power delegated to the locals, and a uniting bureaucracy. Institutional racism from the days of the Iberian Union has been thoroughly stamped out and the new government is rather liberal in that respect.
The economy is strong, and a focus on resource extraction has given way to a local manufacturing base of their own. A curious relationship exists with the British Salutariat who have developed an understanding with them when it comes to trade. A large merchant marine also exists, and Granadine ships can be found as far afield as Ogwa, or Aotorie. The canal in Panama certainly is a great asset. The less said about how much the French were to thank for that the better.
The interior is dominated by the Marcher Lords, an odd arrangement of industrial combines, ennobled tribal lords, and military men. As the interior becomes ever more densely populated, there is talk of raising up a suitable commander to be King. But fears of upsetting the careful balance of the interests of the Lower Kings has prevented that from happening any time soon.
Guyana, and the Falklands
Whilst a key part of the British Caribbean Control, economically and ethnically it is very separate from it. Most of the islands of the British Caribbean are populated by the descendants of Africans, or from people of Northern European descent. In Guyana, while there a great deal of Africans and many Northern Europeans, there are also many people from Iberian descent, and many more people from India. There are many people from India in Florida, but Guyana is less of a melting pot and more of Sunday Roast. Everything is there on the plate and get along splendidly but they don't mix as much. There is a large and thriving New British minority, but nowhere else in the Salutariat with so many different groups will you find so few mixed people.
The economy is a thriving one, connected to the markets of its South American neighbours as well as Africa and the Caribbean. It is largely based on farming though mining plays a prominent role as well. The docks are also home to a great number of British naval squadrons.
The Falklands on the other hands are far more homogenous. They are almost entirely populated by white Britons, though with a not inconsiderable minority of Doradans and Patagonians. The economy is dominated by the oil rigs in the surrounding sea, alongside a thriving wool industry. The growth of some mills on the islands have fuelled economic growth in neighbouring Patagonia as well.
Surinam
Unlike other Belgic Kingdoms, Surinam is mostly Iberian in character. Dutch speakers cling to the coast, while most of the population consists of former Iberians and Brasilians. The economy of Surinam is weak when compared to many of the other Kingdoms and this is likely to have been caused by a failure to diversify the economy and a reliance of resource extraction. Corruption is rife in Surinam, where taxes are very low and corporations hold a great deal of power. Arguably, Surinam is close in character socially and politically to a Boulangist state. Economically however, while corporations hold a great deal of power, its hardly on the scale of France. And the most economically vigorous part of Surinam are the Belgic Antilles, whos industries are state subsidised.
Brasil
In the early 20th century, few would have believed you if you had told them that the Brasilian states would reunite, industrialise and bring back indentured labour. Yet that is precisely what they have done. In reaction to Doradan expansionism, the fractious Brasilian state reunited as a weak Confederacy, and it wasn't long before they slipped into Boulangism. With a government modelling themselves after France, and a growing corporate and industrial sector, there was a big labour shortage. And socially, Brasil was modelling itself after the United States. Justifying the change in Promethean terms, they began annexing the homeless and the poor into an army of mundanes, or de facto slave labour.
Today, Brasil is a reasonably important power in South America. Their extrem decentralisation and reliance on an extremely cheap workforce has made them economically powerful but a political lightweight. They rely on the United States to speak to the world on their behalf, but what passes for a government there is just happy that they get American atomic reactors out of the deal. The issue of the mundanes is not a problem within Boulangist states, but outside of that sphere, they receive a great deal of condemnation, and Brasil has a hard time trading with others in South America.
There is a streak of militarism and irrendentism in Brasilian culture stemming from the annexation of regions of Brasil either by the Dutch or Dorada. Fortunately, the decentralised nature of the Confederacy means that the military may not necessarily comply with the central government. War does not come naturally to the Brasilian system, and most security forces are employed in monitoring the mundanes or finding new ones on the streets or prisons.
Peru
The only Hispanic part of Iberian America to be taken into the Doradan sphere, the Peruvians defined their national identity in opposition to Dorada rather than France. They are not a democracy, and are a close ally of New Granada. On the other hand, they are no pseudo-feudal monarchy. They are a republic, and technically all are equal. But some are more equal than others. A clique of military men and former revolutionaries hold the reins of power and control the Republic. It is in this sense that they are Opprimerean, as they utilise strong man tactics and brute force to squash opposition whilst caving in to populist tendencies in economic and cultural spheres.
The economy is based on resource extraction but a domestic manufacturing sector is emerging, and they have a lot of trade with Aotorie, New Granada and are extending their growing corporate combines into Bolivia.
Peru's culture is defined by the resistance against the Doradan occupation, and their conquest by them. Militarism is glorified, Salutism and Boulangism detested. They are by far the most dogmatic of the Western Opprimerean and in that way they are most similar to the German form. However, occupation by a republican state meant that their culture became steeped in republican structures and ideas. When they ultimately gained independence, it was a republic not a kingdom like their Granadine neighbours.
Bolivia
Bolivia was the most underdeveloped region of Dorada before they gained independence, and it was in this deprived climate that their unique form of Salutism was developed. A peculiar form of agrarian Salutism emerged, combined with old Incan ideas and informed by a fortress mentality of being surrounded by hostile powers, Bolivia became reliant on Britain for support. However, since 1969, and the concentration of British resources in the Indian Ocean, North Atlantic and Caribbean, the funds to Bolivia have trickled away and her progressive social programmes have begun to disintegrate. As riots break out and the collective farm's yields drop, their regional enemies begin to look on hungrily.
The economy of Bolivia remains deliberately agrarian, though with pushing from London a domestic metals industry emerged. But now with no export market, the domestic situation is collapsing and their economy is becoming reliant on Peru for support. There is talk of a counter-revolution or coup to remove the dogmatic Workers' Union men from head office and establish a new government which will be able to take advantage of Peruvian support. However, popular support for the Workers' Union remains high.
Dorada
What was once the greatest power in the Americas, in only now recovering. Having lost Peru, and much of the Lusitanic interior, as well as Bolivia, and swathes of land to Patagonia, energies were redirected from an outwards facing vigorous foreign policy centred around domination of Latin America, to a more introverted perspective that is now centred around the new provinces in Africa. With a third of Doradan provinces in Africa, the balance of power in Doradan domestic politics is shifting.
Dorada is ostensibly a Hispanic republic, but since its foundation it has encountered waves of immigration from Europe and around the world, and a slow but steady integration of different groups. Native Americans were integrated only with great difficulty, culminating with the foundation of New France to the south. Again, Lusitanics from the conquests in then disintegrating Brasil proved difficult. But the integration of Africans into Doradan society has proved far easier, and people from the African provinces are now producing much of Dorada's wealth and global standing.
The culture of Dorada is informed by this. The base of old revolutionary spirit in the Hispanic colonies remains, but is now mixed with ideas of Brasilian confederate government, and with dynamic racial equality. In this way, Dorada is a mirror image of New Granada, a more racially homogenous and divided society, though politically they are more united.
The economy of Dorada is energetic and growing, with an increasing focus on Patagonia as the civil war between Francophones and Welsh-speakers gets worse. The African sphere is also vital to Doradan interests, with economic deals brokered with the East African Community, the Belgics and the French. On a more global scale, the Americans are Dorada's key ally, and it is with the atomic energy that the Americans can provide that Dorada hopes to storm into this new decade.
Patagonia
Patagonia was once a Principality within the French Empire, but come the revolution the more traditionally minded Francophones of Patagonia gained independence. When Dorada waned in power, the multiethnic state of Frenchmen and Araucanians liberated the Welsh-speakers of the north. But since that time, Patagonia and especially the Welsh regions became home to Britons uncomfortable under Salutism but equally disgusted by Borealia. For a time, this was stable. But at the moment, Patagonia is suffering a civil war as the Welsh minority grows ever larger and the Francophones stir uneasily at the size of the Welsh-speaking community. Much of this community is descended from English-speakers, but a Welsh education system enforced instruction in the Welsh language.
The division of the country is on roughly north-south lines with the Francophones in the south and the Welsh-speakers in the north. The Francophones tend to fishermen, sea traders and miners whilst the Welsh are more disposed towards the Pampas and farming. The Araucanian community forms a bedrock for both groups. Dorada is growing ever more assertive as their economy continues to thrive. They are supporting the Francophone rebellion, calling the Welsh a fifth column for radical Salutism or even possibly a southern front for Borealian dictatorship.
Before 1969, Patagonia would have been counted as a moderate Salutist state, within the British sphere of influence. Arguably the deterioration of civility within the state owes a lot to the withdrawl of British aid to the Republic. As British Salutism becomes more nationalist, Spartan and utopian so the power of the Patagonian government begins to dissolve.
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