Map Thread XIX

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Fear Nothing But God: Africa, 2019

I've been working on a world map of a TL I'm finally putting into practice almost non-stop for the last few days and I'd say 2/3rds of that has been invested in an Africa. I thought I'd upload it as a bit of a teaser and to get throughts before I move ahead! The middle eastern and South African borders aren't final and a few labels need fixing but its nearly 2am and I've decided I want to leave it for now. Interior borders are hopefully final!


As a brief explanation, TTL's Africa has had reduced (but still present) European influence and several large powers, particularly the baKongo, Tswana and Mupata have established modernised, powerful sub-saharan nations. The Sahara itelf is a "Nondominion", effectively half way between a massive UN Mandate, a Neutral Zone and a Reserve. The map is set in 2019 and European colonies persist in the Dutch Cape and Portugese southern Africa, though both have lost territory to Native kingdoms in the past few decades and the Portugese situation looks bleak. The rest of Europe, particularly the Fraternal Commonweath, Kingdom of France and United Kingdoms of Norden exerpt power though small "factories", concession cities that litter the coast much as they did in OTL's 17th century.

Anyway if you have any more questions please feel free to ask!



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Nice map!
although if I may add some criticism
That Sahara non dominion includes a lot of the Sahel, over a hundred million people will live there, seems a bit shitty to put them under an international control

You got some names wrong in Southern Africa BaKongo are the people, the country would likely just be called Kongo, similarly AmaXhosa. Refers to the people while such a country would be called KwaXhosa (like in KwaZulu-Natal), same for WaYao->UYao, it would be better if you add republic or kingdom or whatever to these names if you keep them like that.


Also I find it hard to believe the Dutch cape wouldn’t expend in Khoi-San territory, also you could argue about the plausibility of a Xhosa becoming the major ethnic group in south eastern SA without Mfecane, or that a Khoi-San nation appears in the place where the toughest Nguni lived, but eh let’s forget that.

The Omani-Zanzibar fraternity must not be very “Fraternal” to its hinterland inhabitant.....
 
Sorry to be the village idiot here, but could you please ad some bit of text explaining what is what? I get the impression that you turned Portugal into Mississipi, but I'm not sure.
Portugal's NFL, Bulgaria's missisippi. If you need any help, then look at the NCS (worlda) color scheme
 
United States of Native Americans, carved out of areas with high Native population:

- two Pacific Ocean ports
- access to the Great Lakes
- access to Canadian border
- access to Mexican border

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Non-Hispanic whites would be less than half of the total population in this country.
 
Nice map!
although if I may add some criticism
That Sahara non dominion includes a lot of the Sahel, over a hundred million people will live there, seems a bit shitty to put them under an international control

You got some names wrong in Southern Africa BaKongo are the people, the country would likely just be called Kongo, similarly AmaXhosa. Refers to the people while such a country would be called KwaXhosa (like in KwaZulu-Natal), same for WaYao->UYao, it would be better if you add republic or kingdom or whatever to these names if you keep them like that.


Also I find it hard to believe the Dutch cape wouldn’t expend in Khoi-San territory, also you could argue about the plausibility of a Xhosa becoming the major ethnic group in south eastern SA without Mfecane, or that a Khoi-San nation appears in the place where the toughest Nguni lived, but eh let’s forget that.

The Omani-Zanzibar fraternity must not be very “Fraternal” to its hinterland inhabitant.....


Thanks for the feedback! :)

The Sahel point is well made and I'll adjust accordingly.

The use of the names of peoples instead of nations is deliberate; the baKongo and amaXhosa subscribe to an ideology (Syganadism, of North American origins) which emphasises cultural identity over polities. I'll actually have something up on it in the graphics thread soon but any country that subscribes to Syganadism titles itself simply by the name of its inhabitants (ie Japan is at one point the "Nihonjin" whilst a British Syganadist state would literally refer to itself as "The Britons".

The Cape is also an example of where European powers *have* expanded previously and been pushed back; both to their north by the Khoisans (who only declared independence recently) and to their east by the Xhosa. On the note of the Xhosa as well, whilst the PoD butterflies Mfecane, many of its causes developed as OTL. Whereas OTL it was Zulu and Boer pressure that pushed smaller groups towards the Xhosa where they were absorbed, here it is the Xhosa and not the Zulu who took best advantage of western food supplies and technological development, causing a population boom and violent expansion. This all happened a generation or two ahead of the birth of Mzilikazi or Shaka and whilst there is Ndebele resistance to this expansion, they more than have their hands full with the Mutapa and Tswana expanding themselves.


In terms of the Khoi territory, if by "expanding into the toughest Nguni territory you mean the Zulu, the Zulu never gained any real prominence ITTL. The pod is 1685, the Zulu OTL were established as a regional power around ~1709. Zulu kaMalandela is slain before he can expand Zulu territory, leading to regional chaos and fighting which is only made worse by the pressure of Portugal. The region goes on to be dominated by an exodus of Khoekhoe, who had been driven out of their traditional homelands by Dutch and Tswana expansion.

As for Oman, its (or was) a pretty expansionist empire and subjugated a great portion of East Africa. Fraternity here just means federation and they reorganised from an Imperial structure to a fairer around the mid-20th century. Omanis remain economically and politically dominant in the OZF but both independence movements and attempts at social reorganisation have been mounting since the 60s.

Hope some of that explains things which might at first not make sense!
 
Here's another new map for the RDNA-verse! This one, being for the Legitimate Union of Brazil, also known as Portuguese Brazil, Legitimist Brazil or simply Brazil. In a sense, it's a murkier and tragically less successful mirror of New Austria, to put it lightly. The DeviantArt version can be found here.

While a distant remake of the Portuguese Brazil map-profile from 2011, it's also been significantly updated and revised. In addition to expounding significantly on lore that had, up until this point been ignored and lacking, it's also a good opportunity to really hone some of the finer details.

And just to be on the safe side, this is a work of fiction. While the map itself is framed as something from within the setting (including references to politically incorrect terms in our reality), this is not meant to be an ideological or propagandizing work.

At any rate, I hope you all enjoy this piece. Independência ou Morte!


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The Legitimate Union of Brazil: A General Overview

The Legitimate Union of Brazil, more commonly known as either Portuguese Brazil, Legitimist Brazil or simply Brazil, has traditionally been one of the leading nations of South America. Nominally a constitutional monarchy under the Braganza dynasty, the so-called Lusitanian Brigantine Throne has formally remained empty since 1992. In reality, it remains a dictatorship under a"Military Interregnum," presided over by Regent-General João Figueiredo Barbosa since 2001. While its standing in the Free World may remain firm on paper only, despite being one of the founding members of the Assembly of the Free World, this realm's clout and prestige remain undeniable.

A self-proclaimed successor to the lost Kingdom of Portugal since the 1928 Reconsolidation, the country has over the centuries embraced its peculiar heritage. Many of Brazil's 19 Provinces, indeed, could be traced back to Portuguese colonization and the early frontier settlements, with the capital of São Paulo being on par with New Vienna (Neu Wien) as one of the oldest major cities in the New World. The Congresso Nacional ("National Congress") is the realm's legislative body, comprised of a National Senate (which still retains an aristocratic element) and Chamber of Deputies, which has endured in spite of the suspension of elections until the easing of "emergency powers" in 2017. While the Regent-General and the Junta da Renovação Nacional ("Council of National Renewal" or simply the Junta), comprised of elements from the Forças Armadas Brasileiras ("Brazilian Armed Forces") and what's left of the monarchist parties, still remain a firm grip, political power has traditionally been split among the nobility, Prime Minister and Braganza monarch. Also of note is how, in addition to various military and autonomous territories - which include the former Portuguese colony of Angola, the Açores and Madeira - the Brazilians still proudly host the Vatican-in-Exile, alongside their old New Austrian allies.

Despite not being as prosperous as it once was, the economy of Portuguese Brazil has proven itself to be resilient. Whether it be the bustling factories of Rio Grande do Sol, the thriving financial banks of São Paulo, the sugarcane plantations of Goiás, the myriad historic towns or Grão-Pará's mecantile ports, the country has more than its fair share of homegrown industries that even the ruling Junta have tried to support. Thus, while its reliance on neighboring Gran Patagonia has grown over decades, its over 200 million-strong people have refused to allow themselves to be dependent or impoverished.

Mirroring both New Austria and certain corners of the old Latin Alliance, Brazilians are a rather blended, diverse populace. Many could justifiably claim Portuguese lineage through settlers, immigrants and refugees, in addition to the descendants of African slaves, Angolans and other European arrivals (including Italians some Dutch). At the same time, however, the definitions for what constitutes Blancos ("Whites") and Pardos ("Mixed"), as well as Pretos ("Blacks") and Indígenas ("Natives"), have broaded and blurred over centuries, resulting in overlapping more often than not. Most if not all, nonetheless, are united by shared lingua franca (such as Brazilian Portuguese and local creoles), a common history and sense of patriotism, whether to the formally empty Throne or to their homeland. That many remain firmly Roman Catholic (thanks in part to the Vatican-in-Exile) while embrace their culture and independence has certainly helped.

This is not to downplay how deep Portuguese Brazil's predicament is. The local political landscape has since been split in a tenuous status quo between the ruling Junta and Coalizão pela Liberdade ("Coalition for Liberty"), an alliance of opposition parties increasingly dominated by republicans, until the question of the surviving Braganzas is resolved. Both camps, however, are said to be backed by Gran Patagonia, if New Austrian and certain monarchist claims are to be believed. Although officials in Buenos Aires repeatedly deny such accusations aside from offers of aid in 1992, despite reports to the contrary, few could deny how their supposed influence in Brazilian affairs have helped provide the current regime a sense of legitimacy and hold back potential Collectivist designs. Which haven't squashed growing concerns over whether this realm even deserves its place in the sun.

A Brief History of Portuguese Brazil

While the ancestors of today's Indígenas, particularly the Taino, have lived in the vicinity of what would become the Legitimate Union of Brazil, the country's origins are tied with Portugal's exploration of the New World. In 1534, the myriad budding colonies and outposts along the coast were consolidated under a more centralized authority. Over the next several decades, colonists and slaves alike began arriving in growing numbers, while missionaries and groups of bandeirantes explored more of the unknown interior. Though such ventures at first didn't quite match with the Austrian Habsburgs further north or the Spanish efforts elsewhere, time would be on their side.

As the Portuguese invested ever more on their South American territories over the next 200 years, a complex relationship with the homeland emerged. More of the colonists, who grew increasingly prosperous from produce like sugarcane and eventually gold, had begun seeing themselves as "Brazilian." Meanwhile, mutual co-existence and intermingling with the Indígenas (initially tolerated to ensure order) grew increasingly acceptable, though similar trends involving Pretos gradually led to concerns over matters like slavery as an institution. Although such issues would be the cause of several disputes and more than a handful of revolts (including the so-called Quilombo War of 1768), a series of hard-won compromises helped set colonial society on a path to not only the formal abolition of slavery in 1799 or greater ethnic integration. But in the process, it also fostered ties with New Austria and more importantly, raised the colony's standing in the eyes of Portugal itself.

Brazil's ascension as a Co-Kingdom in 1825 would spur a period of expansion and development. More immigrants and settlers, including those from outside Portugal, flocked in with new industries and technologies, while further contributing to the nascent Brazilian national consciousness. Within a generation, the realm came to be more than firm enough to challenge the states that emerged from the wars of independence against Spain, rivaling the republican upstarts of what is now Gran Patagonia. It wasn't long, however, before this rise fostered a growing sense of Lusophone solidarity and loyalty. By the dawn of the 20th Century, Brazil and Portugal increasingly saw each other as equals more than anything else. From what's known, there were even plans to formalize a genuine union between the two, which had started with the Common Settlement of 1887, that would have solidified the ruling Braganzas' peaceful hegemony with popular acclaim.

The Terror brought such dreams to a halt. Despite the valiant efforts by the Portuguese, by 1925 what remained of the Kingdom's territories were handed over to Brazil, as the old homeland crumbled before the Collectivists. Amidst the chaos, the heir-apparent Prince Afonso assumed control in São Paulo in 1926, his quick actions decisive in helping preserve the realm in the face of seeming destruction. When it became evident, however, that Portugal itself was beyond saving, he reluctantly oversaw the formal Reconsolidation in 1928 and was crowned King Afonso VII. His reign saw his country through the next few decades as one of the most dominant of the Free Nations. Though gradually, conditions were unraveling.

While his efforts to ensure both Portuguese Brazil's survival and that of the Lusitanian Brigandine Throne were initially successful, these would have unintended consequences. Even with New Austrian support, the Brazilians found themselves harder pressed by the 1950s to sustain efforts to directly contain the Collectivist Internationale's machinations along its extensive borders. This wasn't helped by the growing economic and political clout of its long-time rival Gran Patagonia, especially as it became more successful in promoting republicanism as an alternative. Meanwhile, the special mandates given to the Forças Armadas Brasileiras (originally meant to help quell Collectivist influence) over time allowed it to establish "Military Districts" and gain greater say in political affairs. While the monarchy and civil government tried to maintain a balance, which for a time work, it fell apart during the Belem Incident of 1992.

In a heinous bombing instigated by Collectivist sleeper agents, King Pedro V, along with immediate members of the royal family and hundreds of bystanders, was killed while on a landmark tour across the realm. While the fractured nobility and what remained of the Braganza line bickered over the line of succession, however, military elements led by General Fernando Silva e Oliveira (himself a descendant of a family of military commanders) invoked "emergency powers" and, as the first Regent-General, formed what would become the Junta. It wouldn't be until 2017 that some of the excesses, including the suspension of elections and curtailment of many political freedoms, were lifted.


Time will tell, however, if this storied country could truly regain its place in the Free World.

- “Atlas Sans Frontieres: The Gaspereau-Thomson Guide to the New World.” Loyalist Canada. 2023.


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As a bit of trivia, some of the placenames are archaic or earlier forms of actual Brazilian cities and states. Whether it's Grão-Pará still being somewhat intact, or Parahyba being what would have been the city of João Pessoa.

Aspects of Brazil's history is a melange of various elements across its actual past, from Portuguese colonization to the War of the Triple Alliance and even the military dictatorship during the Cold War. The latter point, though, is in part due to considerable Gran Patagonian meddling. There are also some influences from Portuguese history and even some aspects of Inter-war Hungary (with the "Regent-General" not too unlike "Regent-for-life").

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Hi!

First a disclaimer before posting the map: this was originaly done for the MOTF 203 about Pan-Nationalist maps, but i didn't have the time to finish, the map then languished for nearly a month on my laptop until a few days ago.


The basic concept of this map is that it explores Irredentist claims by a pan-Sotho-Tswana organisation in a world where 1) the Mfecane never happened and 2) the Austrians kept their colony in southern mozambique they briefly had in the 1770s; One of the result of this is that instead of Nguni groups running amok in southern africa and moving everyone around, there is a slower movement caused by the massive settlement of Central Europeans following gold rush in the second half of th 19th century. As a result the entire ethnic make-up of southern africa is different from IRL.

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REDLOG POST: Short Introduction to the Bassut Peoples and their Nationalist Movements (1/2), by Paul Heinz


Hello,

I think many of you have become accustomed to Bassut Union President Tau Medupe's public declarations since he was elected 4 years ago, his impassionated rethorics have given rise to much discussions since, but when we thought he had said it all, the "Lion of Austral Africa" seemingly outdid himself yesterday when he publicily endorsed the irredentist claims of the fringe Pan-Bassut organisation called "The United Bassut Society", I think it is an understatement to say that this produced strong reaction in neighbouring countries. As such i was thinking it would be relevant for me to write a Redlog post on the history of this movement, to keep my Dear readers informed about current geopolitical happenings.

Pan-Bassutism finds its origins in Pre-Colonial time, before the founding of the Austrian fort of Sankt Joseph, at the time the Bassut people all lived in the Hohefeld, the vast plains of central Theresia, few ventured beyond the Drachensberg mountain to the south, which separated them from the coastal Umguni peoples, while the Rozwi kingdom created a barrier to the north. This period of geographic unity would end with the encroachment of the Austrians. Astonished by the growth of the small forts of St. Maria and St. Joseph in the 1770s which quickly became a center of trade on the eastern coast of Africa, the Austrian king decided to allocate more ressources and a stronger garrison to the forts, in an attempt to steal trade from the French, who had the strongest presence on the coast at the time, this garrison would be crucial in defending against a surprise attack by the Portuguese, which made the crown realise the tenuousness of their foothold in Delagoa Bay, and so he decided to settle 3,000 german volunteers, mostly from the Rhineland and South Germany. While many settler, once arrived, would become trader for the bustling factory, a significant number would flee the disease ridden coast and attempt to reach the highlands, many would die on the way, but those who succeeded became the first Europeans to meet Bassut people. The next decades didn’t bring massive change as the relations between the few hinterland European settlers and the various Swati and Bassut people was mostly limited to trade, and beside some upheaval among Umguni people south of Delagoa Bay in the 1810s which was quickly put down by a joint Austro-British expedition (the latter having established themselves in Natal to counter Austrians and Dutch), the region was mostly calm.

But on a morning of 1847, a Frontierman of Sudeten origin struck gold near a Bafokeng town name Egoni, the word quickly spread to the local settler population, and eventually made its way to the coast and Europe, stories of never ending gold veins attracted struggling farmers and urban workers, while many liberal bourgeois disgruntled by the European conservatism went to southern Africa in hope of a clean sheet.
Within less than six months, over a hundred thousand prospectors came, contemporary account tells it was as if the entirety of Central Europe had fled to Southern Africa, and the large wealth of the region quickly distinguished the rush from other contemporary one in Mexican California or Australia. Native Bassut people, who previously had relatively peaceful relations with settlers were suddenly evicted from their own ancestral land.

This started the period known to Bassut people as “Lifakane”, “forced migration”, The Native people of the Hohefeld were forced to flee in various directions, some, like the Dahung , the “people of the lion”, went west, but in this they would become stuck between Griquas or Cape Dutch frontiersman, and Prospectors seeking new veins, other went north west, pushed to arid land and encroaching over previous San and Kowango land, mostly, many went wherever they could, themselves evicting previous population. At the same time the neighbouring Dutch and English tried to negotiate boundaries with the Austrian, the latters having by far the largest presence in the region, they managed to keep English and Dutch border to their effective zone of influence, these new borders however had no meaning to the displaced Bassut people, and people of the same tribe suddenly became divided by invisible lines.

Two Bassut groups however managed to take advantage of the situation, the first were the Bassut of Mount Botha-Buthe under the rule of Moshoeshoe I, he managed to turn the mountains where he lived into a fort and created and administration and an army that could defend, for a time, its ressources from Austrian prospectors and Cape Dutch frontiersmen, but he realised that he couldn’t fight alone, and so went against his advisor and allowed his kingdom, the Moshesh kingdom, to become a british protectorate, trading independence for long term survival.

The other group were the Hurutshe, displaced from their land by the non-Bassut Wenda people, they headed north and encountered the declining Rozwi empire, they managed to invade its traditional Center, and brutally evicted or assimilated the preexisting Waschona groups, their chief Mosimane managed to use the vast land they conquered to strengthen their base in the Region, at the time relatively far from Austrian control, they made treaty wih the northern Bulozi, used the local Waschona’s renowned building skill to create defences and accepted the fleeing Fokeng tribe under the condition that their chief, Sebitsuane declare allegiance to Mosimane. The latter knew that due to their isolated location he couldn’t play european powers against each other to protect his rule and his people, so he decided to build up militarily as much as possible before the Austrian came, which eventually did in 1876, which the Hurutshe managed to defeat through sheer number and preparation, from this position of strength Mosimane offered to become an Austrian protectorate, if a large autonomy could be kept, the Austrian accepted, not wanting to pay for another expedition while they already had enough problems in Europe.

These two protectorates would become the centers of Bassut culture and identity, while the two were separated by over half a thousand miles, intellectuals and politicians tried to bring the two protectorates together during the colonial period, the main exemple being the standardisation of written Sessut, each protectorate had their own writing system developped by missionaries and in the 1950s linguists managed to standardise both writing systems, bringing the intellectuals of the two protectorate closer.

Due to their special status as protectorate, instead of mere territory or autonomous region, and because of the insignificant white settler population in each protectorate (in part due to border change during the colonial era, as fertile land and rich mines was regularly stolen from the Austrian Bassutland and given to Theresia proper), the two protectorates were given independence in 1966, their status as the only native states south of the Zambezi strengthened Pan-Bassut ideas and the growing mediatisation and literacy brought these ideas to the masses. One obstacle was their respective monarchies, in the Moshesh kingdom there was a longer lasting tradition of liberalism and democracy inspired by the British protectorate, and the king Moshoeshoe II was forced to step down, which he did peacefully in 1979. The former Austrian Bassutland however had a more powerful king, Lekabe, who constantly tried to prevent unification effort and limited the spread of Pan-Bassut ideas, he would eventually be toppled by one of his minister with support of the army, predominantly of Fokeng origin, the resulting regime was definitely not as democratic as in the Bossut republic (the former Moshesh kingdom), but it still pursued a Pan Bassutic foreign policy.

Eventually after years of negotiation the two countries, Bassutland and the Bossut Republic united in 1989 and became the Bassut Union, the formation of the non contiguous state was celebrated across Southern Africa, particularly by Bassut people living in the cape or Theresia, but reality quickly hit it, the two parts of the Union had entirely different administration and laws, inherited from two different coloniser, the former Bassutland had a larger population and economy , although with a significant Waschona minority which stayed despite population transfer in the colonial era and was alienated by the Pan Bassut policies, while the economy was more based on farming and ressource extraction, in comparison the former Bossut republic was seemingly poorer, but had a better education system and was more integrated with its neighbouring countries, this latter point was also a problem as trade with neighbouring countries was larger than trade between the two parts of the union.

Linguistic issues persisted, despite the standardised writing system two speaker from each part of the Union often have trouble understanding themselves, especially if they are not urban and did not grow up in contact with the other dialects of the languages. Finally religion is still a significant divide between the two parts of the union, with the former Bossut republic being mostly Protestant from British influence, while the former Bassutland is mostly catholic from Austrian missionaries.

The difficulties encountered by the union since its inception severely disheartened the proponent of Pan-Bassutism, who initially saw the union as the first step for the unification of all Bassut people of Southern Africa. Polls show that Urban Bassut in the cape and theresia overwhelmingly don’t want to join the Bassut union, the poorest country in the region per capita, and both capelander and theresian government have closed talks for organising referendum in Bassut-majority regions, even the poorest one, while they had previously been open to it. The Pan Bassut ideal of linking the two members of the union appears harder than ever, especially since the region which separate them aren’t continuously majority Bassut. Nevertheless some of the less radical Pan nationalist groups have some achievable goals, for exemple the Bassut Institute is currently focusing its effort in making the Netsoanatsatsi, the place where the first Bassut was born according to their legends, under joint Theresian and Bassut administrations.

Come here tomorrow for the second part of this Redblog post where I will explain the role of Pan-Bassut ideas in the policies of the Union and the election of Tau Medupe.


[1] From Spanish "Red" ("Net") + Log, term coined by North Mexican Pascalator (Computer) users equivalent to our blogs.

[2] Bassut refers to Sotho-Tswana people interchangeably. Sessut is their language, Bossut, their country.
 
An alternate map of the US, with 53 states; in this TL: they bought the Virgin Islands in 1867, the annexation of Santo Domingo is successful in 1870, then, in 1898, in addition of the annexation of Hawaii, the US bought Micronesia and Porto Rico to Spain.

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An alternate map of the US, with 53 states; in this TL: they bought the Virgin Islands in 1867, the annexation of Santo Domingo is successful in 1870, then, in 1898, in addition of the annexation of Hawaii, the US bought Micronesia and Porto Rico to Spain.

There are 52 states. Michigan (MI) owns Micronesia (MI).
 
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