A Tale of Two Empires - Graphics, Maps and Flags

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In the leadup to 1911, a fierce and bitter war of succession (the "Brothers' War", as it is commonly known) was fought between two contenders to the throne. When the civil war finally ended, the people of Russia were sick of the Tsar and the institutions he represented. The Tsar eventually abdicated in 1911 to the Provisional Government, but it consisted of only upper-class liberals and military men. Extremist parties that had been excluded, such as the Bolsheviks and the SRs, fought back and overthrew the Provisional Government in a brief civil war that finally ended in 1912. The new state, the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) slowly regained most of the former imperial territory and even more in some places. The Franco-Russian rivalry did not disappear with the Tsar.

Map of the Russian Empire and its dependencies in 1911

Flag of the Russian Empire

Flag of the Military Governate of Turkestan

Flag of the Kingdom of Georgia

Flag of the Kingdom of Koreya

Flag of the Military Governate of Manchuria

All of the Russian Empire's flags used a 1:2 ratio in order to "refuse French standards", even though Russia had already been using 2:3 ratio flags long before Napoleon I.

 

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The Americas in 2009

Dark Blue: French Community (like British Commonwealth)
Blue: United States
Light Blue: French allies

Green: Brazilian Empire
Light Green: Brazilian allies

The Brazilian Empire is the reformed remnants of the Portuguese Empire, after mainland Portugal was occupied and annexed by France.

The Republic of Central America is the remnants of the Spanish Empire after mainland Spain was occupied and annexed by France. The monarchy was overthrown by a socialist revolution, but the socialists were later overthrown by a dictator with help from Mexico. The RCA still holds a few overseas territories that were originally Spanish, such as the Canary Islands and Fernando Po, which France has neglected to invade.

Alaska was invaded by a joint Canadian-French force after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1912, and an independent republic established.

Newfoundland and Labrador were split between Canada and France after the Franco-British War of 1870, as part of the treaty where Canada became a dominion of France (Napoleon V is the monarch of Canada). All schools and documents are required to be bilingual (English and French), which is not too shocking considering the massive increase in French immigrants since 1870.

 

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The Republic of Canada - 2009

Prime Minister Laurent Beaudoin

The Republic of Canada in 2009

The flag of the Republic of Canada

Since the end of the war in 1870, Canada has changed drastically. The monarchy was dissolved, and Canada officially became a republic. The Governor General was replaced by an elected President and the Red Ensign was replaced. French was given equal status to English, and Metis were to be recognized as full citizens. A massive increase in French immigration followed, and French Canadians became the new ruling class. While most citizens are happy with the current situation, the Anglophone community in the province of British Columbia has strong separatist tendencies, and almost voted for independence in 1995. After the vote, the Canadian government devolved language responsibilities to the provincial governments. British Columbia has since passed many laws promoting and protecting the status of English.

 

[PolishMagnet]

The Kingdom of Poland in 2009

King Kazimierz V Poniatowski
(Note: This is Polish actor Marek Kondrat, not a claimant to the Polish throne. In real life, there is no surviving male heir to the Poniatowski dynasty, but ITTL there is.)

The Kingdom of Poland in 2009

The current Kingdom was formed in 1913 by the union of the Kingdom of Poland (Koszalin) and the Republic of Poland, which had just won its independence from the crumbling Russian Empire. The current borders stand from after the Second Great War against Germany and Russia.

 

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The Republic of Comayagua in 2009

President Óscar Arias

The Republic of Comayagua in 2009

The National Flag, Rojigualda. The four stars represent the provinces Central, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

The Republic of Comayagua is the remains of the old Spanish Empire. When continental Spain was annexed by Napoleon, the King and his court fled to the Captaincy of Guatemala. The Spanish colonial empire began to fall apart piece by piece, and eventually all that was left was Guatemala and the African colonies. The African colonies were later lost in the Second Great War, and the Spanish Empire subsequently suffered a communist civil war. The Communists, though mostly victorious, were later overthrown with Mexican aid. The new state, the Republic of Comayagua, seeks to abandon the revanchist attitude of monarchist "Spain" and form a new identity, though it is a very slow process.

 

[PolishMagnet]

Should the Monarchy be Abolished in Poland?

Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm going to try to make more diverse content, not just small wiki-boxes

 

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Internet and Social Media in 2009

A Quick Overview of Internet and Social Media:

Internet is a word used to described the Western and Eastern networks, L'intercon (started in France, popular in the West) and Sovset (started in the Soviet Union, popular in Russia and the East). Since the two networks are completely separate, Social Media platforms are also unique to each network. Today I will discuss French platforms. L'intercon comes from "interconnexion".

facile: Users manage their profile and share pictures or stories about their lives. The name comes from their slogan, "sharing is easy" ("le partage est facile"). Their logo is blue with a white "f".
çava: Users can communicate privately or in groups. The name comes from the phrase "ça va?" The logo is light blue with a white question mark bubble.
coucou: Users can post short messages to the world, that everyone can see. Coucou is popular with celebrities because they have large followings that like to stay updated all the time. The logo is red with a white chicken (chickens go "cou cou!").

French Emperor Napoleon V is infamous for posting announcements, insults, and gossip on his coucou account, which has upset the modern tradition of Emperors being silent figureheads.

 

[PolishMagnet]

The Empire of Brazil in 2009

Brazil is technically the remnants of the Portuguese Empire, and still holds some islands off the coast of Africa. Brazil also annexed land from the former British Empire when it collapsed, though those territories are governed with a high degree of autonomy. The Imperial Family is still popular, though there was some trouble when Pedro II's daughter succeeded him. On more than one occasion, however, military coups were thwarted thanks to the Imperial Family and their loyal followers.

(I wanted to experiment with a slightly different style. While keeping the wikibox format I want to have a solid description of a nation at a glance - their flag, land, anthem, language(s), and leader. Please let me know what you think)

 

[PolishMagnet]

Finally, a Francewank that doesn't include Algeria! How did decolonization go ITTL?

Well...

The National Emblem of the Algerian Republic

National Flag of the Algerian Republic

A profile showing the status of the Algerian Republic in 2009.

Algeria, like other French colonies in the 20th Century, was granted a constitution shortly before World War 2. This was in line with the "First Step" - the name given to the Évian Accords, which had formalized the new relationship between France and the newly-founded Communauté Française (French Community). France accepted the sovereignty of her colonies, and would work towards total independence in the near future (though exactly when was left vague).

As the Soviet Union later fought against France in World War 2, many islamist groups tried to gain power or take control of outlying regions, and France countered this by funding any and all anti-religious groups. In the end, this led to the neo-fascistic, yet secular, Ba'ath party gaining control in many northern African states. In 1965, the "Second Step" was taken - the name given to the Oran Agreement. The last nail in the coffin in the French Empire, it gave up all French governmental connection to Africa. The FLN subsequently took control, but by this point it was largely overtaken by the secular Ba'athist faction. Algeria became more socialist and authoritarian, as did the other North African states.

Slight democratization has occurred since then, with 2004 bringing in the first non-Ba'athist President.

 

[PolishMagnet]

The Status of Newfoundland

Newfoundland has been a French Overseas Territory since the end of the Franco-British war of 1870. Since then, it received autonomy in the "First Step" of the Évian Accords and the right to independence in the Oran Agreement. Newfoundland, however, chose to remain an autonomous part of France. This status remained for a long time, but now France wants to "let go" of Newfoundland, as French voters do not want to "keep giving money" to the far-flung territory, but also do not want to make them an integral part of France. The easiest solution, which some parties have called for, is to sell Newfoundland to Canada.

Recent polls have shown that some Newfoundlanders want to stay with France (26%), others want independence (17%) and some want to join Canada (25%). Like many issues of the day, the majority of those polled said "don't care" (32%). The harsh reality is that, if France wants to sell Newfoundland, they would have to do so against the peoples' will. The most likely situation is a referendum on the island itself, for the people to choose between independence, Canada, and France.

 

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The Republic of Japan in 2009

Japan was invaded numerous times by Russia. The first war took Korea (which had been subjugated by Japan in the Imjin War), the second took Ezochi, and the third stopped an attempt at modernization and restoration of the Emperor. Japan has since modernized, but in the shadow of Russia. The Third Russo-Japanese War was accompanied by a mass invasion of Honshu and the Japanese homeland. The invasion, also known as 大洪水 or "Daikouzui" ("The Flood"), led to the pillaging and mass destruction of Tohoku and the former capital of Edo, which was burnt to the ground. In a desperate attempt to save the Japanese Empire and make a last call to the supposed divinity of the Emperor, the young Emperor Meiji led an army from the temporary capital of Nara and met the Russian army. Unfortunately, the Emperor was killed and his army decimated. The Russian army moved on to Nara and sacked it, destroying ancient monuments and slaughtering the Imperial Family.

Japan was slow to recover, but eventually began to drift into the arms of the French. The Ryukyu Islands, which never really submitted to mainland Japan, were traded to French Canton in exchange for trade agreements and economic support from France. With a source of revenue secured, Japan needed to reorganize itself. The Imperial Family was completely gone, so the Japanese Empire became simply Japan (or the Republic of Japan). The familiar words of "Kimigayo" were forgotten as the Imperial Majesty's Reign had ended. New words for the song were written, and the new name, "Jidai no Owari", was learned by all. The new words mourned the Imperial Family and made a call for peace and stability. Also, with the country in ruins and warlords beginning to appear, a strong executive branch was conceived and the country became a Presidential Republic (Though today it is fairly democratic).

Nagasaki is the largest port, serving connections to former French Canton, and Hiroshima is the largest city due to its strategic position as a hub for all of south Japan.

edit: fixed map to have correct borders for China

 

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The Tsardom of Bulgaria in 2009

Tourism graphic of modern Bulgaria

Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is one of the former "administrative nations" of the Russian Empire and later the Republic. While not an autonomous military governate like Turkestan, it was governed as a single entity with the belief that slavs should be ruled locally but subordinate to the Russian Tsar (and briefly the Vysshiy Tsar / Most High Emperor). This backfired to an extent during the Brothers' War and subsequent Republican Revolution of Rykov, when Bulgaria broke off from Russia as a single unity entity with its own army and government. Though independence was gained, there was nothing to gain from leaving the Russian Bloc. The Prince of Bulgaria, though immediately crowned as Tsar Boris III, quickly sent word to Moscow that he would respect Russian interests in the Balkans. Rykov and the Russian Republic respected Bulgarian "independence" in return for unquestioning loyalty.

Unfortunately, the Second World War in the late 1950s led to a loss of territory and prestige. Boris III was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Simeon III, reparations were to be paid, and all ties to Russia were to be cut. France quickly lost interest in enforcing those terms, having exhausted themselves and their alliance with the war, and son allowed Bulgaria to restore trade with Russia but not a military alliance. Bulgaria subsequently declared itself neutral and joined the Non-Aligned Movement.

Territorial Evolution of Bulgaria (1912-1956):

• Green: Bulgaria as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
• Yellow: Ceded to Roumania as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
• Beige: Ceded back to Bulgaria in the Treaty of Cross-Balkan Commerce and Goodwill (1956)
• Purple: Ceded to Montenegro as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
• Pink: Granted to independent Albania as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
• Blue: Ceded to Greece as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)

The Treaty of Bucuresti (1955) stipulated reparations, transfer of territory, and establishment of Bulgaria as a buffer against Russia. The treaty was deemed as too harsh by Bulgarians and many French politicians, who argued Bulgaria could not pay reparations without causing social unrest and reverting to pro-Russian government.

The Treaty of Cross-Balkan Commerce and Goodwill (1956) was a concession that the 1955 Treaty had been too harsh. Its declared intent was to create trade and good will between the various updated and new Balkan nations. As it was promoting trade, it abolished tariffs between Bulgaria and the French Bloc as well as the rest of the bloc. Trade with Russia was to be allowed but highly taxed.

 

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The "Three Chinas" - Yun Republic in green, North China in red, South China in blue

The Yun Republic first existed as the Yunnan Clique, a loose assemblage of warlords in the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and early Chinese Republic. As time went on, the Yunnan Clique sought to exit the Chinese Civil war and saw an opportunity in the growing independence of the British Raj. Becoming essentially a buffer state between India and China, as well as between India and French Indochina, Yunnan prospered as a safe haven for refugees and rich merchants who moved their operations out of communist North China. Nation-building was the next step, and a non-Kuomintang flag was decided: the Yunnan camellia was the perfect symbol, and the colors of the flag were changed to suit the region's identity. The name "Yunnan" ("South Yun) was altered to "Yunguo" (Yun Nation) as the former implied a region within a larger China, and the latter promoted "Yun" as a new identity and state.

National flag.

Naval ensign and war flag

The British Raj no longer exists, but the new India has maintained the same style of relationship with Yun. It remains an effective buffer state between India and her more powerful would-be neighbors, though it is still a source of tension as the territory is claimed by both North and South China.