This is technically an old map from 2015, but I suppose it still holds up pretty well. Once more, this is set in the RDNA-verse. The original can be found
here.
The map in question more specifically explores the New Austrian Duchy of Kuba, which remained in Spanish hands for much longer. The result being a peculiar version of Cuba that's at once recognizable and different, including a dynamic reminiscent of our world's Quebec. But in addition to further experimenting with map-making techniques, however, it's also an opportunity to polish and update some bits of the RDNA-verse itself, such as with the names of certain territories and parts of the backstory. All while incorporating some real historical and cultural nods in some of the details.
And as a little bit of an easter egg, the text has a certain annotated note scribbled on it. Take a guess who it is.
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The Duchy of Kuba
An introduction to Kuba.
The Duchy of Kuba (
Ducado de Cuba,
Herzogtum Kuba) is an autonomous realm in the Royal Dominion of New Austria. Named after a term from the long-extinct Taino natives, the island is situated in the Caribbean, with the Crown Provinces to the west and the New Austrian protectorate of Hispaniola to the east, with the American Federation’s States and Territories surrounding the rest of it. Kubanos/Kubaners however are also unique compared to their mainland brethren in their predominantly Spanish culture and heritage. An enduring legacy of their rather distinct past.
Discovered by Spanish explorers in the 1500s, the island soon became one of the first European territories in the New World. But even as settlers and
conquistadors made headways into the Americas, it soon began to set its toll on the Crown in Madrid, which would become one of the reasons behind the decision to delegate rule over “New Spain” to the Austrian Habsburgs in 1554 and formally pass sovereignty of what was by then “New Austria” to them in 1611. As a compromise, Spain held on to Kuba. Many of the remaining Spanish colonists left from the mainland were “enticed,” willingly or otherwise to relocate, which further helped guarantee the colony’s survival.
Thus for a time, what was called the Governorate of Cuba served as a crucial waypoint and mercantile hub between Spain and the burgeoning Viceroyalties in South America. As the 17th Century ended however, the colony’s growing rivalries with New Austria could no longer be ignored. By 1700, the island, for all its budding plantations and ports had also become more dependent on trade and food with its much larger neighbor. Coupled with the growing clout of what would later become Gran Patagonia and Spain’s own weakening position in Europe, it increasingly made sense to cede Kuba to sympathetic powers and keep British and American interests at bay, as much as the local
Audiencia begrudgingly acknowledged it. With the Treaty of Seville in 1726, a new era began for the colony as it was absorbed as New Austrian territory.
Much was made to guarantee the loyalty of – and order in – the newly christened Barony of Kuba, from preserving the local
hacienderos and granting noble titles for landed families to generally allowing Kubans to run some of its own affairs. But as generations passed, it wasn’t unknown for the fierce competition between local trading companies and those newly arrived from
Mitteleuropa or the mainland to turn cutthroat. Nor were accounts of bitter disputes over religious, cultural and social differences unheard of, especially involving the infamous Sugar Cane Question and the decision to permanently outlaw the use of slaves all across New Austria in 1793. But despite the tensions, mutual respect and fire-forged solidarity prevailed. The island’s growing integration into the intricate Habsburg system granted its people much prosperity, while Kuban regiments served with distinction in fending off raiders from the American Federation and even fighting in
Kalifornien during the War of the Western Frontier.
The simmering disputes between the Kubans and the mainland, however, never went away, which not even the plebiscite and Imperial Decree elevating the island to a Duchy in 1884 could quench. Ultimately, it boiled over in the wake of the Terror. Amidst a collapsing economy and a mass influx of refugees in the 1920s as well as disgruntled figures promising a new path from the chaos, it all culminated in 1928 with what‘s now called the Kuban Insurrection. New Austrian forces, at that point stretched to near-breaking point in both evacuating the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Crownlands and keeping some semblance of order close to home, were forced to rely on local resistance and
hacienderos to stop the self-proclaimed
Gaudillo-Kommandants from assuming full control. It wasn’t until 1931 and the breakdown of diplomatic efforts that the Habsburg Throne-in-Exile reluctantly approved a full military response to aid the besieged loyalists, resulting in a grueling campaign that cost the lives of many even as it undermined the rebellion’s support. As the last of the ringleaders surrendered in 1933, heated debates arose over the fate of the devastated island, resulting in the Carriedo Compromise the following year. In exchange for armed protection, mutual aid and equal representation in the
Reichstag, the Duchy was granted near complete autonomy, for all intents and purposes a country separate from yet remaining part of the R.D.N.A. This arrangement helped Kuba prosper over the 20th Century and continues to this day.
Contemporary Kuba.
Now under the ruling Montalban y Bergener line, in fealty to the Habsburg Throne-in-Exile, Kuba in the present is both a showcase of New Austria’s diversity and a success in its own right. From Havana’s historic and restored center to the famed plantations and picturesque beaches found across the island, this thriving, if stubbornly independent piece of the Caribbean has much to offer.
Its history and cultural heritage, for good or ill remain ever present, which is most evident in the people. Although some of the population claim lineage to
Mitteleuropan settlers, African slaves or Spanish refugees fleeing the Terror, the majority, full-blood or otherwise still traces its descent in one form or another to the original colonists and
conquistadors, whose arrival is celebrated in lavish
fiestas. Indeed, most Kubans continue to speak a form of
Español that is unique to the Duchy thanks to its incorporation of
Deutsche and other influences, in contrast to Gran Patagonia and the remaining Free Nations that make up
Hispanoamérica. This extends as well to its Spanish-derived dances and music, which have reached even the ballrooms of Neu Wien.
The island realm’s economy meanwhile continues to showcase just how far it’s come since the worst days of the Terror and Kuban Insurrection. Generations of modernization have helped make its factories and plantations among the most state-of-the-art in the Caribbean. Kuban cigars, sugar and fabrics are exported across the New World, and are especially popular among in the A.F. States of Florida and the Bahamas. And though traditional, albeit updated competition between the various hacienderos and companies continues to this day, all find a mutual foe in keeping “
der Americanos” from getting too ambitious in expanding. These have contributed to standards of living comparable with much of the Crown Provinces and leaps above the ruin brought about by failed revolution.
In fact, one could say with pride that despite old grievances, the bonds between Kubans and “mainland” New Austrians are stronger than ever. Long considered a “half- sibling” realm, Kuba is firmly represented in the
Reichstag and maintains a fair say in running the R.D.N.A., with local nobles and commoners alike having risen to powerful positions in government. While as part of the Carriedo Compromise and in return for the Duchy’s continuing loyalty to the Throne-in-Exile, it hosts a number of military bases for some of the
Reichswehr-Honvédség’s most distinguished regiments and fleets as well as some of New Austria’s vital defenses. All these, with the consent of its over 18 million inhabitants, helping keep the specter of the Collectivist Internationale and other would-be adversaries at bay while guaranteeing the island’s continuing prosperity.
There is little reason to suspect then, short of global war or massive “Red” incursion that this state of affairs will falter in the near future. Welcome news indeed for tourist and local alike.
P.S. I pray Kuba appreciates that my people did this rather than that Amerikaner. - Fraulein F.
- “The Knowledgeable Traveller’s Guide to North America.” Royal Dominion of New Austria. 2023 Edition. English Edition.
