Guns of the Rapanui OR The Polynesian Colonization of the Americas
- Thread starter TheLordProtector
- Start date
Here! I wrote this today. I'll have more actually 'story' elements next time.
Intermezzo: Rapanui Society in the Last Half of the 11th Century
While most of the world stews in a cultural dark age filled with upheaval and warfare(1), the society of Nua’e Rapanui is developing increasing complexity and urbanization. While an official aristocracy has not yet developed, there is already the sense of “good family” versus “bad family”. The merchant dynasty established by Tuis-am-oa and the military and religious leaders of the city descended from Toi-kai-rakau are the most powerful families in the chiefdom, controlling a significant portion of the economic activity and a number of votes in the hopu council. A close third to these two families is the wealthy family of smiths founded by Wiki-li-ano(2). These three families, along with a few others led by other prominent political and economic figures, are increasingly dividing the nation between them. There are upstarts, though. Rapanui society, only settling down after the chaos of plague and the move, is fluid enough now—and will likely remain so—that any man with talent and brains in his head can make a fortune for himself and power for his family. Families can fall, too. The political machinations of the great families are indeed complex and dangerous. Any scion who pushes too hard for his family’s interest will probably end up in the city’s bay with a koa axe in his head.
Below this informal aristocracy is the powerful class of ivi-attua. As the selectors of the lower-class contestants who will select the hopus, they are regarded as the gatekeepers of power. Furthermore, they hold many of the secrets of Polynesian religion and technology—the methods of raising a moai, the rituals which must be performed to sanctify the moai, the carving of the sacred jade eyes which are placed in the moai’s eyeholes on certain full-moon nights. With a high amount of leisure, the ivi-attua are also Nua’e Rapanui’s primary philosopher/scientist class. Though many of them are content to simply laze around and enjoy the fruits of luxury, many others enjoy experimenting with such myriad things as metals, powders, plants, etc., to discover their secrets. This will lead to the accidental discovery of iron smelting methods in the last few years of the century(3). Unfortunately, these methods will remain secret until 1123 CE, slowing Rapanui technological development. Other ivi-attua enjoy philosophizing: one of these, attempting to record his thoughts for posterity and using the simple pictorial characters used by the Likan-antay merchants, will invent the Rapanui’s first system of writing (highly simple, but useful), which will subsequently yield a wealth of religious, philosophical, economic, and scientific literature.
The middle classes cannot be simply grouped into one over-class: no, every middle-class Rapanui male’s social and financial status is determined by their profession. The highest of these classes is most certainly the managerial class. Back on Rapa Nui, the food industry was dominated by the tribal chieftains. Unfortunately, these tribal chieftains were not able to spend their time doing the grueling, difficult work of Polynesian agriculture. This is where the managers came in. Highly-paid, strong, and influential, the managers essentially ran the farm completely and were in control of hiring laborers—an excellent position from which to embezzle more money. The former managers have retaken their places in Nua’e Rapanui. However, with the traditional aristocracy no longer ruling vast swathes of land, the managers now control their own large plantations powered by the sweat and labor of the lower classes. Reasonably prosperous because of the rise of currency (adopted from the Likan-antay), these plantationeers are nearly as influential as the political dynasties, and indeed, often become their newest members.
Just below the plantationeers stand the smiths. Rapanui metal-making is based around arsenic bronze and copper—long-term exposure to the fumes shortens lifespan, can damage brain functions, and can even cripple. Thus, smithing as a profession in Nua’e Rapanui has immense drawbacks. At the same time, however, smiths usually become fabulously wealthy and nearly as powerful as the ivi-attua. With clan(4) being considered far more important than the individual in Rapanui society, moderately prosperous middle-class families will often earmark one of their sons for the smith’s profession, so as to increase the clan’s power.
Fishermen and sailors are next. Their ancient importance in Polynesian life has now translated into social power for these otherwise destitute people. As the producers of an important food source(5) and the intrepid explorers of the Great Island’s coastline, they wield untoward influence among the ivi-attua and their brethren. A close second to sailors is the new, rising class of caravaneers and llama herders. The way to the Likan-antay states, Chachapoya, Pachacamac, Wari, and even distant Muisca, is deeply difficult and dangerous—nests of robbers everywhere--and requires a talented, experienced, hardened class of guides and travelers to protect the merchants and provide llamas for travel. The nomadic, usually ethnically Mapuche or Likan-antay llama herders are thus closely tied to the caravaneers, providing the transportation necessary for travel and the wool necessary for survival in the High Mountains. A note; these llama herders are the only prosperous class of Mapuche within Rapanui society. The rest are poor laborers or outcasts.
Finally, the lower classes. Urban and rural laborers, clothes-makers, artisans, stablers, innkeepers. All are poor in Nua’e Rapanui and are looked down upon by their richer brethren. Most of these professions are simply not regarded as honorable; otherwise, with the weight of their income, they would be much more powerful. An interesting new class in this group is the Mapuche émigrés, most of whom make their living cleaning the streets, begging, or as cheap artisans in the outskirts of the city. An almost racial divide has emerged between the Mapuche and the Rapanui, with the Rapanui looking down on these poor, primitive peoples with something like disgust.
Notes
(1) A notable exception being China, which is undergoing what some say was the first industrial revolution.
(2) Wiki-li-ano having been estranged from Tuis-am-oa and the rest of his brothers due to his own political dissidence.
(3) Meaning that somebody dropped a weird-looking rock into a really hot bloomery furnace for a short time out of curiosity, and took the metal out later. Not really accidental so much as scientific.
(4) The large, extended family of the Polynesians, including as many as four generations and hundreds of people.
(5) Fish, obviously.
Intermezzo: Rapanui Society in the Last Half of the 11th Century
While most of the world stews in a cultural dark age filled with upheaval and warfare(1), the society of Nua’e Rapanui is developing increasing complexity and urbanization. While an official aristocracy has not yet developed, there is already the sense of “good family” versus “bad family”. The merchant dynasty established by Tuis-am-oa and the military and religious leaders of the city descended from Toi-kai-rakau are the most powerful families in the chiefdom, controlling a significant portion of the economic activity and a number of votes in the hopu council. A close third to these two families is the wealthy family of smiths founded by Wiki-li-ano(2). These three families, along with a few others led by other prominent political and economic figures, are increasingly dividing the nation between them. There are upstarts, though. Rapanui society, only settling down after the chaos of plague and the move, is fluid enough now—and will likely remain so—that any man with talent and brains in his head can make a fortune for himself and power for his family. Families can fall, too. The political machinations of the great families are indeed complex and dangerous. Any scion who pushes too hard for his family’s interest will probably end up in the city’s bay with a koa axe in his head.
Below this informal aristocracy is the powerful class of ivi-attua. As the selectors of the lower-class contestants who will select the hopus, they are regarded as the gatekeepers of power. Furthermore, they hold many of the secrets of Polynesian religion and technology—the methods of raising a moai, the rituals which must be performed to sanctify the moai, the carving of the sacred jade eyes which are placed in the moai’s eyeholes on certain full-moon nights. With a high amount of leisure, the ivi-attua are also Nua’e Rapanui’s primary philosopher/scientist class. Though many of them are content to simply laze around and enjoy the fruits of luxury, many others enjoy experimenting with such myriad things as metals, powders, plants, etc., to discover their secrets. This will lead to the accidental discovery of iron smelting methods in the last few years of the century(3). Unfortunately, these methods will remain secret until 1123 CE, slowing Rapanui technological development. Other ivi-attua enjoy philosophizing: one of these, attempting to record his thoughts for posterity and using the simple pictorial characters used by the Likan-antay merchants, will invent the Rapanui’s first system of writing (highly simple, but useful), which will subsequently yield a wealth of religious, philosophical, economic, and scientific literature.
The middle classes cannot be simply grouped into one over-class: no, every middle-class Rapanui male’s social and financial status is determined by their profession. The highest of these classes is most certainly the managerial class. Back on Rapa Nui, the food industry was dominated by the tribal chieftains. Unfortunately, these tribal chieftains were not able to spend their time doing the grueling, difficult work of Polynesian agriculture. This is where the managers came in. Highly-paid, strong, and influential, the managers essentially ran the farm completely and were in control of hiring laborers—an excellent position from which to embezzle more money. The former managers have retaken their places in Nua’e Rapanui. However, with the traditional aristocracy no longer ruling vast swathes of land, the managers now control their own large plantations powered by the sweat and labor of the lower classes. Reasonably prosperous because of the rise of currency (adopted from the Likan-antay), these plantationeers are nearly as influential as the political dynasties, and indeed, often become their newest members.
Just below the plantationeers stand the smiths. Rapanui metal-making is based around arsenic bronze and copper—long-term exposure to the fumes shortens lifespan, can damage brain functions, and can even cripple. Thus, smithing as a profession in Nua’e Rapanui has immense drawbacks. At the same time, however, smiths usually become fabulously wealthy and nearly as powerful as the ivi-attua. With clan(4) being considered far more important than the individual in Rapanui society, moderately prosperous middle-class families will often earmark one of their sons for the smith’s profession, so as to increase the clan’s power.
Fishermen and sailors are next. Their ancient importance in Polynesian life has now translated into social power for these otherwise destitute people. As the producers of an important food source(5) and the intrepid explorers of the Great Island’s coastline, they wield untoward influence among the ivi-attua and their brethren. A close second to sailors is the new, rising class of caravaneers and llama herders. The way to the Likan-antay states, Chachapoya, Pachacamac, Wari, and even distant Muisca, is deeply difficult and dangerous—nests of robbers everywhere--and requires a talented, experienced, hardened class of guides and travelers to protect the merchants and provide llamas for travel. The nomadic, usually ethnically Mapuche or Likan-antay llama herders are thus closely tied to the caravaneers, providing the transportation necessary for travel and the wool necessary for survival in the High Mountains. A note; these llama herders are the only prosperous class of Mapuche within Rapanui society. The rest are poor laborers or outcasts.
Finally, the lower classes. Urban and rural laborers, clothes-makers, artisans, stablers, innkeepers. All are poor in Nua’e Rapanui and are looked down upon by their richer brethren. Most of these professions are simply not regarded as honorable; otherwise, with the weight of their income, they would be much more powerful. An interesting new class in this group is the Mapuche émigrés, most of whom make their living cleaning the streets, begging, or as cheap artisans in the outskirts of the city. An almost racial divide has emerged between the Mapuche and the Rapanui, with the Rapanui looking down on these poor, primitive peoples with something like disgust.
Notes
(1) A notable exception being China, which is undergoing what some say was the first industrial revolution.
(2) Wiki-li-ano having been estranged from Tuis-am-oa and the rest of his brothers due to his own political dissidence.
(3) Meaning that somebody dropped a weird-looking rock into a really hot bloomery furnace for a short time out of curiosity, and took the metal out later. Not really accidental so much as scientific.
(4) The large, extended family of the Polynesians, including as many as four generations and hundreds of people.
(5) Fish, obviously.
I want to move the time period forward a bit faster now, so there'll be more of these overview-type updates and fewer story-type ones. I hope that's okay!
Chapter Five: The Wisdom of the Gods
Now, as a sort of quasi-science begins to arise among the ivi-attua, along with the beginnings of a mathematics, the first, informal schools begin to pop up in the pleasant rural compounds where the ivi-attua live. These schools, at first simply one teacher expounding on religion and history to a restricted group of new ivi-attua, soon take on a much different tone, with many subjects—including statecraft, metallurgy, animal domestication, and warfare—being taught by many teachers to a wide range of students. Soon enough, the ivi-attua compounds begin to formally turn themselves into dedicated houses of learning and knowledge, and begin requiring not that the student become an ivi-attua before learning, but instead that the student’s clan pay a certain amount of currency or provide a service to the compound—known as the hare’ite, or ‘learning house’—for the student’s education. This, combined with a growing tendency towards cronyism in the relationship from hopus to ivi-attua, serves as the seeds of a nationwide administrative bureaucracy.
By 1150 CE, the hopu council has officially divided the ever-growing nation into large administrative provinces, each ruled by a hopu, which are further subdivided into smaller quasi-counties, which are themselves subdivided into administrative districts, which are both granted to politically friendly ivi-attua. Strict requirements are imposed, however, on the taking of a county or district; the ivi-attua selected must have spent at least six years in a hare’ite, must have legally-approved proof of this learning (which further spurs the creation of an administrative bureaucracy), and must take a nationally-imposed test every two years to test their worthiness (coinciding with the election of the hopus). Politically unfriendly ivi-attua are either confined to their hare’ite as teachers or philosophers by way of public scandal, or become one of the new masses of secretaries, accountants, and notaries now working in the capital for the hopu government. These secretaries, accountants, and notaries, collectively known as aho—literally, ‘well-made fishing line’, implying that the aho are the line to the government’s rod, fishing for citizens in the sea of the nation—wield ever-growing amounts of power as the lifeblood of the government, and often launch their own, legal palace coups by bribing other ivi-attua before the elections, replacing unfriendly hopus with their own candidates, thus leading to a changing of the guard in the provinces. Naturally, the rural, political ivi-attua are highly opposed to these changes and spends vast amounts of their own money on politically fighting the aho. Trapped in the middle are, of course, the hopus, who now must spend ever-increasing amounts of money on keeping their own aho and ivi-attua loyal.
Luckily, Nua’e Rapanui is growing ever more powerful as Mapuche power in the south wanes, allowing the Polynesians to edge their borders southwards. Wealth, too, in the form of bronze, iron, emeralds, rubies, gold, pineapples, pua’e, bananas, yams, pottery, textiles, and most importantly, knowledge, flow through the lands of the Rapanui, filling their coffers and their stomachs. A population boom—at least compared to the plague-stricken Great Island natives—is also leading to rapid urbanization and aggressive expansion over the eastern mountains into the lands of the primitive Toba, Rankuelche, Huarpe, and Tehuelche tribes. Pua’e and moa now spread around the Great Island as a food source, soon followed by llamas, which interest the Musica, the Chachapoya, and even the far-distant Tsalagi, who have begun to consolidate their own empire on the coast of what in our world would be Georgia and the Carolinas. This has led to a smaller population boom among the allies and trading partners of the Rapanui, and their allies and trading partners, and so on. A new golden age of learning, urbanization, and trade is settling over all the Great Island, bringing harmony and light in what is otherwise a worldwide Dark Age…(1)
Notes
(1) No notes today, I’m afraid.
Chapter Five: The Wisdom of the Gods
Now, as a sort of quasi-science begins to arise among the ivi-attua, along with the beginnings of a mathematics, the first, informal schools begin to pop up in the pleasant rural compounds where the ivi-attua live. These schools, at first simply one teacher expounding on religion and history to a restricted group of new ivi-attua, soon take on a much different tone, with many subjects—including statecraft, metallurgy, animal domestication, and warfare—being taught by many teachers to a wide range of students. Soon enough, the ivi-attua compounds begin to formally turn themselves into dedicated houses of learning and knowledge, and begin requiring not that the student become an ivi-attua before learning, but instead that the student’s clan pay a certain amount of currency or provide a service to the compound—known as the hare’ite, or ‘learning house’—for the student’s education. This, combined with a growing tendency towards cronyism in the relationship from hopus to ivi-attua, serves as the seeds of a nationwide administrative bureaucracy.
By 1150 CE, the hopu council has officially divided the ever-growing nation into large administrative provinces, each ruled by a hopu, which are further subdivided into smaller quasi-counties, which are themselves subdivided into administrative districts, which are both granted to politically friendly ivi-attua. Strict requirements are imposed, however, on the taking of a county or district; the ivi-attua selected must have spent at least six years in a hare’ite, must have legally-approved proof of this learning (which further spurs the creation of an administrative bureaucracy), and must take a nationally-imposed test every two years to test their worthiness (coinciding with the election of the hopus). Politically unfriendly ivi-attua are either confined to their hare’ite as teachers or philosophers by way of public scandal, or become one of the new masses of secretaries, accountants, and notaries now working in the capital for the hopu government. These secretaries, accountants, and notaries, collectively known as aho—literally, ‘well-made fishing line’, implying that the aho are the line to the government’s rod, fishing for citizens in the sea of the nation—wield ever-growing amounts of power as the lifeblood of the government, and often launch their own, legal palace coups by bribing other ivi-attua before the elections, replacing unfriendly hopus with their own candidates, thus leading to a changing of the guard in the provinces. Naturally, the rural, political ivi-attua are highly opposed to these changes and spends vast amounts of their own money on politically fighting the aho. Trapped in the middle are, of course, the hopus, who now must spend ever-increasing amounts of money on keeping their own aho and ivi-attua loyal.
Luckily, Nua’e Rapanui is growing ever more powerful as Mapuche power in the south wanes, allowing the Polynesians to edge their borders southwards. Wealth, too, in the form of bronze, iron, emeralds, rubies, gold, pineapples, pua’e, bananas, yams, pottery, textiles, and most importantly, knowledge, flow through the lands of the Rapanui, filling their coffers and their stomachs. A population boom—at least compared to the plague-stricken Great Island natives—is also leading to rapid urbanization and aggressive expansion over the eastern mountains into the lands of the primitive Toba, Rankuelche, Huarpe, and Tehuelche tribes. Pua’e and moa now spread around the Great Island as a food source, soon followed by llamas, which interest the Musica, the Chachapoya, and even the far-distant Tsalagi, who have begun to consolidate their own empire on the coast of what in our world would be Georgia and the Carolinas. This has led to a smaller population boom among the allies and trading partners of the Rapanui, and their allies and trading partners, and so on. A new golden age of learning, urbanization, and trade is settling over all the Great Island, bringing harmony and light in what is otherwise a worldwide Dark Age…(1)
Notes
(1) No notes today, I’m afraid.
This is very nice, but what's the POD for the Inca empire existing so early?
Oh, yes, I noticed that mistake and corrected it at some point, I believe. I think I said somewhere that it was not the correct historical era for the Inca to be existing. Lemme look...
EDIT: Ah yes, here it is. I'm terrible with maps, so I didn't change it.
Sorry, should have kept reading.
Question: how much trade, if any, do the South American Rapanui have with the Polynesian islands? Obviously, at the time of the POD, Easter Island wasn't deforested yet and the Rapanui still had the Polynesian navigation kit, so I assume they still knew where Tahiti was. There seems be a taboo against returning to the home island, but not elsewhere in Polynesia, and the Rapanui social classes include sailors, which wouldn't be necessary unless there are sea trade routes.
If the Rapanui are still trading with the Tahitians (and, at least indirectly, with Hawaii, Samoa and the Marquesas), they'll be able to get fabulous prices for the bronze tools and weapons that the Polynesian islanders don't have the resources or knowledge to make. They might even be able to conquer Tahiti, and the neighboring islands, although given logistical considerations, this would probably be more a filibuster expedition than the addition of a new province to the empire.
Another thing: the Rapanui have pigs but not cattle, so they and the other New World peoples will still be vulnerable to some European diseases. On the other hand, there will be a few centuries for pig-borne diseases in the Americas to mutate into forms that could, for lack of a better term, return the favor.
At the moment, there is no trade with the rest of Polynesia, though the South American Rapanui do have knowledge of Tahiti and all that. I'm going to cover the reestablishment of contact in the next update, in fact. Sea trade routes at the moment go up the coast of South America, towards Pachacamac and Muisca.
They also have chickens, which are a big provider of diseases like bird flu. Yes, they will still be vulnerable to diseases like smallpox, but their own virulent forms of swine and bird flu will put paid to the Europeans anyway (and, in a colder light, end the Malthusian crisis that led to such rampant settler colonialism).
He makes a very good point. Also, is it possible to see a Rapanui expedition to the Falklands? Who knows, if things progress fast enough, there might be Polynesians in the Atlantic
He makes a very good point. Also, is it possible to see a Rapanui expedition to the Falklands? Who knows, if things progress fast enough, there might be Polynesians in the Atlantic
Ooooh, that's a good idea. I might just use that, seeing as how the Rapanui are subjugating their way to the Atlantic coast at the moment. Also, like I said, the Rapanui will be reestablishing trade contacts with their brethren in the Pacific in the next update. Other stuff'll be happening too.
Ooooh, that's a good idea. I might just use that, seeing as how the Rapanui are subjugating their way to the Atlantic coast at the moment. Also, like I said, the Rapanui will be reestablishing trade contacts with their brethren in the Pacific in the next update. Other stuff'll be happening too.
The Rapanui could be like the Vikings of the Southern Hemisphere. If they are good enough, they might establish a very short lived colony in South Africa much like Vinland for the Vikings.
I don't know if that is too fanciful, but it would certainly be interesting. Europeans might run into Rapanui ships when they are exploring the Atlantic.
I found this TL randomly recently and LOVE IT. I love expanding my readings beyond Europe and North America whenever possible. This story has real promise, and your the writing style and prose of your post on the Plague traveling throughout the hemisphere was excellent and compelling. Even if the story ends shortly after European contact it will be very fun to read!
It would be very cool to have the Rapanui have contact with a united, powerful Maori, perhaps that colonise Australia. It would be ambitious, but awesome to have a parallel storyline.
Hey, I don't wanna write it, but if you do want to develop a powerful united Maori timeline, I'd gladly integrate it in.
Speaking of, the next update will be next weekend. We'll be visiting the northern part of the Great Island and going in-depth on some of the rising northern powers (now with domesticates!).
Chapter Six: Rise of the Younger Brothers
While all this fine nation-building effort was going on in Nua'e Rapanui, several important things happened in the Great Island outside of Polynesian borders--worth looking at.
(1)In the north, on the coast of what in our world would be Georgia and the Carolinas, several new polities arose somewhere between 1100-1200. These were dominated by the extremely powerful Tsalagi(2) tribe, who had conquered vast swathes of land in a peaceful war unlike any other ever seen. In Tsalagi culture, you see, there were two types of men; the "Whites" (or Ani-kutani), who represented the priesthood, the seven clans of Tsalagi political life, and all that is pure and good about life; and the "Reds", the tough, strong men who acted as the warriors of the clans. However, warfare, being seen as a polluting activity, was used only as a last resort, as it would force the Reds to undergo a long, sometimes years-long, purification ritual. Therefore, as the Tsalagi gained power and population via their newly-adopted mass agriculture, Tsalagi leaders cast around for a solution--you see, the Tsalagi were trapped in a small area of land encompassing our world's eastern Tennessee and western South Carolina, suitable for a hunter-gatherer population, but nowhere near large enough for a rapidly urbanizing, agricultural civilization. War, of course, was not an option, as it took far too many Reds (who were also responsible for agriculture) away from agriculture for purification. Then, in 1126, one Tsalagi leader, Untsaiyi, hit on an idea. Why not simply convert them?
Tsalagi religion is a bit of a complicated matter. While every animal is revered, it is not all the animals of the species that are revered. Rather, it is a perfect archetype of the species (i.e. the Tsalagi would worship a theoretical "perfect turtle", the ultimate representation of turtleness, rather than every turtle that happened to come around). These perfect archetypes also function as the patrons of various virtues and flaws, each having its own pair (i.e. the turtle would represent both patience and metal slowness). However, though these archetypes began as simple representations and ideas, they morphed soon enough into literal gods, who created the earth through their trickery and play, and continue to interfere in mortal life and occasionally require appeasement through sacrifice, as their strange whims will have it. Because of the rampant disaster caused by the widespread plague, the Tsalagi Whites were forced to adjust their views a bit, in the face of their own mortality. Now, though before all humans were to simply vanish when they died, the spirits of the followers of the animals would be summoned into the "sky vault" when they died, creating something of an afterlife and an enticement for converts. Now, with conditions perfectly set for a religious spread--power vacuum, widespread nihilism, societal collapse--the Tsalagi proslythesized, and spread their message from the Carolinas to Florida, absorbing surrounding tribes into their own clans through clever politics as they did so.
Though there was no formal leader of the clans, simply a tribal council that discussed things, Untsaiyi was clearly the top dog among the Whites. And, unfortunately for the unity of the Tsalagi state, he trod a very orthodox religious line, calling for strict traditionalism among the now much-inflated Seven Clans. Many of the new converts opposed this, calling for more incorporation of their own, now defunct religions. Tensions rapidly rose to boiling point as Untsaiyi refused to budge from his reactionary position, backed by three of the seven clans--the Ani-gilahi (Long Hairs), the Ani-sahoni (Blue Paint Clan), and the Ani-tsiskwa (Bird Clan). Their more co-religionists were represented by a man called Kana'ti, who was backed by two of the clans--the Ani-kawi (Deer Clan), and the Ani-waya (Wolf Clan). Kana'ti argued, at first, for simply reform of the Tsalagi religion and then, as more and more Tsalagi fled their own clans and flocked to his banner, for liberal Tsalagi to do the unthinkable--withdraw from the Union of the Seven Clans and create their own state on the Eastern Seaboard. The last two clans, the Ani-wodi (Red Paint Clan), and the Ani-gategewi (Blind Savannah Clan), claimed neutrality in all discussions between the two and simply wished to keep themselves to themselves. Their representative at the Council of the Clans, Nun'yunu'wi, pleaded for a peaceful, union-minded solution between both sides, but was largely ignored by both until, in a huff, he gathered the Whites of the Ani-gategewi and Ani-wodi and explained the worsening situation to them, then recommended that they secede from the union. While many were surprised by this, most had already come to the same conclusions as Nun'yunu'wi had; that there was no point in remaining in the union.
In 1173, the Ani-wodi and Ani-gategewi seceded from the union, creating their own state in Florida and the southern coasts (known today as Nun'yu after its instigator). This only paved the way for the end of the union. By 1182, the Ani-kawi and Ani-waya had seceded as well, forming Tiya--they were soon joined by the Ani-gilahi, who had flip-flopped between the two positions for several years. By 1200, three new states had emerged in the southeast--Nun'yu, Tiya, and Selu (made up of the last two clans), with Nun'yu rapidly becoming the most powerful because of its control of outlets to the sea and trade with distant Nua'e Rapanui. By 1250, metalworking would become common among the Tsalagi states, as would the animal domesticates raised by the Rapanui. Urbanization, accompanied by advanced and widespread monument-building (especially mounds), heralded the dawn of a new golden age for the Tsalagi. They were one of only two urban civilizations in the northern part of the Great Island at the time. The other one was the Muscogee mound-builders.
The Muscogee had been an advanced agricultural civilization for many centuries before the arrival of Rapanui disease and animals. However, the arrival of disease in the north, ironically, revitalized the Muscogee. Though many died, many others saw this as a sign from the gods at their displeasure for leaving the great city of Cahokia unmaintained and abandoning the old ways. Thus, large numbers of Muscogee returned to Cahokia and began rebuilding the ancient religious city. As Cahokia regrew, it spread its control--through a combination of warfare, clever politics, and religion, unlike its Tsalagi neighbor--through the Mississipi basin, as far north as Towosahgy, as far west as Spiro, and as far east as Bottle Creek by 1220. A thin sliver of "neutral zone" between the Tsalagi states and Cahokian land developed, populated by those who liked neither the human-sacrificing, extremely violent elements of the Cahokian religion, nor the pacifistic, quasi-republican elements of the Tsalagi religion. All four states rapidly grew wealthy off of the soon-to-be-famed "Maize Road" (in actuality a sea route) to Muisca; the valuable Tsalagi and Cahokian crops squash, little barley, goosefoot, knotweeds, maygrass, sumpweeds, and sunflowers also traveled along the road, becoming delicacies in far-off Nua'e Rapanui. All this rapidly fed the power of the four states, leading to ever-larger expansion on the parts of those that could expand; Cahokia west and north along the Mississippi (though the state's rulers were rapidly overextending themselves by growing so quickly), Nun'yu into the Caribbean, and Selu along the Eastern Seaboard. Only Tiya, which was rather sparsely populated anyway, was unable to expand. Such was the situation in 1300 among the four states....
Notes
(1) The Tsalagi were already an agricultural civilization, by the way, and as one of the lucky ones, they get to expand rapidly and get their hands on Rapanui technology. Same goes for the Muscogee.
(2) Cherokee.
Next time, we'll be going in-depth on the workings of the Musica state, as well as the development of a few small Carib states, and then head over to visit Pachacamac, the Chachapoya, and the Likan-antay before finally returning to the Rapanui.
Red is Nun'yu, orange is Tiya, yellow is Selu, and blue is Cahokia.
While all this fine nation-building effort was going on in Nua'e Rapanui, several important things happened in the Great Island outside of Polynesian borders--worth looking at.
(1)In the north, on the coast of what in our world would be Georgia and the Carolinas, several new polities arose somewhere between 1100-1200. These were dominated by the extremely powerful Tsalagi(2) tribe, who had conquered vast swathes of land in a peaceful war unlike any other ever seen. In Tsalagi culture, you see, there were two types of men; the "Whites" (or Ani-kutani), who represented the priesthood, the seven clans of Tsalagi political life, and all that is pure and good about life; and the "Reds", the tough, strong men who acted as the warriors of the clans. However, warfare, being seen as a polluting activity, was used only as a last resort, as it would force the Reds to undergo a long, sometimes years-long, purification ritual. Therefore, as the Tsalagi gained power and population via their newly-adopted mass agriculture, Tsalagi leaders cast around for a solution--you see, the Tsalagi were trapped in a small area of land encompassing our world's eastern Tennessee and western South Carolina, suitable for a hunter-gatherer population, but nowhere near large enough for a rapidly urbanizing, agricultural civilization. War, of course, was not an option, as it took far too many Reds (who were also responsible for agriculture) away from agriculture for purification. Then, in 1126, one Tsalagi leader, Untsaiyi, hit on an idea. Why not simply convert them?
Tsalagi religion is a bit of a complicated matter. While every animal is revered, it is not all the animals of the species that are revered. Rather, it is a perfect archetype of the species (i.e. the Tsalagi would worship a theoretical "perfect turtle", the ultimate representation of turtleness, rather than every turtle that happened to come around). These perfect archetypes also function as the patrons of various virtues and flaws, each having its own pair (i.e. the turtle would represent both patience and metal slowness). However, though these archetypes began as simple representations and ideas, they morphed soon enough into literal gods, who created the earth through their trickery and play, and continue to interfere in mortal life and occasionally require appeasement through sacrifice, as their strange whims will have it. Because of the rampant disaster caused by the widespread plague, the Tsalagi Whites were forced to adjust their views a bit, in the face of their own mortality. Now, though before all humans were to simply vanish when they died, the spirits of the followers of the animals would be summoned into the "sky vault" when they died, creating something of an afterlife and an enticement for converts. Now, with conditions perfectly set for a religious spread--power vacuum, widespread nihilism, societal collapse--the Tsalagi proslythesized, and spread their message from the Carolinas to Florida, absorbing surrounding tribes into their own clans through clever politics as they did so.
Though there was no formal leader of the clans, simply a tribal council that discussed things, Untsaiyi was clearly the top dog among the Whites. And, unfortunately for the unity of the Tsalagi state, he trod a very orthodox religious line, calling for strict traditionalism among the now much-inflated Seven Clans. Many of the new converts opposed this, calling for more incorporation of their own, now defunct religions. Tensions rapidly rose to boiling point as Untsaiyi refused to budge from his reactionary position, backed by three of the seven clans--the Ani-gilahi (Long Hairs), the Ani-sahoni (Blue Paint Clan), and the Ani-tsiskwa (Bird Clan). Their more co-religionists were represented by a man called Kana'ti, who was backed by two of the clans--the Ani-kawi (Deer Clan), and the Ani-waya (Wolf Clan). Kana'ti argued, at first, for simply reform of the Tsalagi religion and then, as more and more Tsalagi fled their own clans and flocked to his banner, for liberal Tsalagi to do the unthinkable--withdraw from the Union of the Seven Clans and create their own state on the Eastern Seaboard. The last two clans, the Ani-wodi (Red Paint Clan), and the Ani-gategewi (Blind Savannah Clan), claimed neutrality in all discussions between the two and simply wished to keep themselves to themselves. Their representative at the Council of the Clans, Nun'yunu'wi, pleaded for a peaceful, union-minded solution between both sides, but was largely ignored by both until, in a huff, he gathered the Whites of the Ani-gategewi and Ani-wodi and explained the worsening situation to them, then recommended that they secede from the union. While many were surprised by this, most had already come to the same conclusions as Nun'yunu'wi had; that there was no point in remaining in the union.
In 1173, the Ani-wodi and Ani-gategewi seceded from the union, creating their own state in Florida and the southern coasts (known today as Nun'yu after its instigator). This only paved the way for the end of the union. By 1182, the Ani-kawi and Ani-waya had seceded as well, forming Tiya--they were soon joined by the Ani-gilahi, who had flip-flopped between the two positions for several years. By 1200, three new states had emerged in the southeast--Nun'yu, Tiya, and Selu (made up of the last two clans), with Nun'yu rapidly becoming the most powerful because of its control of outlets to the sea and trade with distant Nua'e Rapanui. By 1250, metalworking would become common among the Tsalagi states, as would the animal domesticates raised by the Rapanui. Urbanization, accompanied by advanced and widespread monument-building (especially mounds), heralded the dawn of a new golden age for the Tsalagi. They were one of only two urban civilizations in the northern part of the Great Island at the time. The other one was the Muscogee mound-builders.
The Muscogee had been an advanced agricultural civilization for many centuries before the arrival of Rapanui disease and animals. However, the arrival of disease in the north, ironically, revitalized the Muscogee. Though many died, many others saw this as a sign from the gods at their displeasure for leaving the great city of Cahokia unmaintained and abandoning the old ways. Thus, large numbers of Muscogee returned to Cahokia and began rebuilding the ancient religious city. As Cahokia regrew, it spread its control--through a combination of warfare, clever politics, and religion, unlike its Tsalagi neighbor--through the Mississipi basin, as far north as Towosahgy, as far west as Spiro, and as far east as Bottle Creek by 1220. A thin sliver of "neutral zone" between the Tsalagi states and Cahokian land developed, populated by those who liked neither the human-sacrificing, extremely violent elements of the Cahokian religion, nor the pacifistic, quasi-republican elements of the Tsalagi religion. All four states rapidly grew wealthy off of the soon-to-be-famed "Maize Road" (in actuality a sea route) to Muisca; the valuable Tsalagi and Cahokian crops squash, little barley, goosefoot, knotweeds, maygrass, sumpweeds, and sunflowers also traveled along the road, becoming delicacies in far-off Nua'e Rapanui. All this rapidly fed the power of the four states, leading to ever-larger expansion on the parts of those that could expand; Cahokia west and north along the Mississippi (though the state's rulers were rapidly overextending themselves by growing so quickly), Nun'yu into the Caribbean, and Selu along the Eastern Seaboard. Only Tiya, which was rather sparsely populated anyway, was unable to expand. Such was the situation in 1300 among the four states....
Notes
(1) The Tsalagi were already an agricultural civilization, by the way, and as one of the lucky ones, they get to expand rapidly and get their hands on Rapanui technology. Same goes for the Muscogee.
(2) Cherokee.
Next time, we'll be going in-depth on the workings of the Musica state, as well as the development of a few small Carib states, and then head over to visit Pachacamac, the Chachapoya, and the Likan-antay before finally returning to the Rapanui.
Red is Nun'yu, orange is Tiya, yellow is Selu, and blue is Cahokia.
Hey, guys, sorry for the lack of recent updates. I've been a little busy, but I promise we'll have some updates by next weekend!