MotF 189: This Sceptred Isle

[Kaiphranos]

MotF 189: This Sceptred Isle

The Challenge

Make a map of an empire ruled from an island. (Both the empire and the island may be of any size you like.)
The Restrictions

There are no restrictions on when the PoD of your map should be. Fantasy, sci-fi, and future maps are allowed.

If you're not sure whether your idea meets the criteria of this challenge, please feel free to PM me or comment in the main thread.
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Entries will end for this round when the voting thread is posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2019.
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PLEASE KEEP ALL DISCUSSION ON THE CONTEST OR ITS ENTRIES TO THE MAIN THREAD.​

Any discussion must take place in the main thread. If you post anything other than a map entry (or a description accompanying a map entry) in this thread then you will be asked to delete the post.

Remember to vote on Map of the Month 6!​

 

[Crazy Boris]

Behold, the great Inuit Empire of Ungasittuqavannarleq!

I ended up picking Baffin Island for the center of this, because I wanted to set up some kind of Inuit-led Arctic Thalassocracy. This was quite a lot of fun to do, even if all those arctic islands were kind of a pain to map, mainly because it was interesting to find all the Inuit names for different towns in the arctic, and coming up with transliterations for Svalbard and Anadyr.

I also did a writeup for this, but I'm honestly not to happy with it, I think it kind of gets messy when Alaska gets split, but its not too bad and I think it explains things fairly well.

 

[rexnerdorum]

A Brief History of the Unified Command

The United Nations of Earth, formed November 1, 2081, was a short-lived experiment into a global democracy. Economic dysfunction, civil strife, and political ineptitude led to the April Fools Coup, April 1, 2086. The coup was instigated by Admiral António del Toro, who became the first Supreme Commander of the Unified Command, a reformation of the old UN.

Less than a decade later, the remains of an ancient alien mining vessel was found under the ice of Europa. Unified Command scientists reverse-engineered the alien hyperdrive, opening up the wider galaxy for humanity.

Humanity found itself not at the top of the figurative totem pole, but also not at the bottom. The Unified Command established contact with thousand-year star empires as well as Iron Age primitives. Overall, the Unified Command managed to win more than they lost, conquer more than they were conquered. The Unified Command is still far from the premier power in the Orion Arm, but they are holding their own.

Military conflicts in the Orion Arm are frequent. It is only fitting that Humanity be led by their warriors. The Unified Command never stopped being a military government. All power is ultimately held by the Supreme Commander of the Unified Command, the first of whom was António del Toro. The Nine Departments, five armed services, two uniformed services, and two civilian, report to (and nominate) the Supreme Commander. The majority of powerful positions within the Unified Command are open only to members of the military. Even civilian leaders are usually veterans.

 

[Xibalba]

Author's note: This map is based on an ongoing CKII campaign.

Excerpt from "When Sardinia Ruled The World”

While not an empire as we know it today, during the 11th and 12th centuries the isle of Sardinia was the dominant power in the Mediterranean Sea. The lands under it's crown stretched from Spain to Greece. While it is hard to just find one explanation for the sudden rise in power, you can't forget the role it's monarchs played. With cunning, guile, sheer will and sometimes dumb luck, they propelled the island center stage in European affairs. From the Reconquista in Spain to the Crusade for Thrace, The Di Zori dynasty was in the thick of it all.

 

[Gwrtheyrn Annwn]

~The Empire of the Britons~

The backstory is pretty much all on the map, if you would like more detail then check out my timeline. Credit to deviantart user Gouchecevalier for the CoA.

 

[TapReflex]

The beginning of Bengali colonization of Africa began with minor presences in East African cities, trading spices, muslins, and salt for ivory, gold, and lumber. The number of Bengali in Africa before 1680 rarely exceeded more than 1,000 people at maximum. However, around 1680, in part due to growing population pressure in Bengal, land reforms favoring labor saving technologies, and the formation of mercenary companies, the population steadily began to grow to roughly 10,000 by 1730.

The colonization picked up significant speed in the 1740s and 1750s. The Bengali revolution against the Mughal Empire had set off a chain reaction across the Indian Ocean world, beginning with the collapse of the Mughal Empire. Northern India was plunged into chaos as struggles between the emboldened merchant class and ruling landed elite unfolded. This instability sent many Indians across the subcontinent fleeing for safer regions in Southeast Asia, Meragah, and Africa. The taboo of Kala pani was eroded by two decades of violence, and Bengal, already facing severe labor price drops, began an extensive resettlement program abroad.

The Ahwari revolution in the Persian Gulf expedited the planning and construction of the First Suez Canal in 1753, which presented the Bengali investors with a problem. Franco-Ottoman dominance of the Suez project would produce a loss of profit the Bengali received from direct European shipping around the Cape. Silver from the Americas, the Spanish peso, would likely be rerouted through the Franco-Ottoman canal given the faster, safer route it presented. With this in mind, many Bengali expeditions would be sent West to establish a direct and secure trade route with the colonies in the Americas.

Many explorers and settlers flocked out across the African coast, from Asmara in the North to Kaapstad, but the most successful venture was the Ansidarate of Qumur, a project launched by the First Musharaka of Bogra, sponsoring Qadi Abdullah Mustafi to conquer the islands. Conquering Mahorey from the Dutch, and battling native Sultanates on the rest of the islands.

 

[Mina-van-Mako]

https://nsa40.casimages.com/img/2019/01/21/190121095038435063.png


Here is a map from the Faraway Empire, written by Jean de Castel, based on his grandmother's notes and drafts. His mother, Christine de Pizan, was a very famous author, the first french woman who lived with the money of her writing. This book was published in 1445, and was met with a huge success.

It depicts a small Empire, composed of several small kingdoms who voluntarly stay together. This Empire is united by the power of the Angel Stone : since the Empire was terribly far away from any other land, Jesus couldn't reach it at all with it's word. God, willing to save them, sent an angel, who made everyone benevolent. However, the Angel having taken a mortal form soon deperished, and turned into a stone that makes everyone benevolent in a single touch. This made the former dynasty abdicate to let people decide who they wanted to be King. Every child is baptized in the light of the Stone, and thus everyone in the Empire is nice and virtuous. Everyone in this Empire learns to read, and the peasants can keep most of their harvests.

These people elect their Emperor or Empress by choosing the most virtuous and intelligent person in the Empire. The former capital was Ancien Palais, but after the fall of the former dynasty, the former court chose to stay around the ruins of the ancient Kingdom, and a new, small but charming palace, the Neufpalais. The country is ruled from Neufpalais, by the Emperor and a Council composed of a delegate from every city. Since the King is chosen by the people, its person is not sacred, and thus the Emperor can be forced to abdicate if he is too old, or choose to abdicate if he is tired of ruling.

The book follows the adventures of a girl from France who wakes up on the shore, and starts discovering these people. She is extremely surprised and even tries to use their niceness to her advantage at the beginning, and then becomes nicer and nicer when she explores this place. Christine de Pisan was probably inspired by Jean de Mandeville's litterary style, because she presents beautiful places : the Pink Cliffs to the West of the Crown Island having been tainted by the light of the Angel's Stone, and shine on the Neufpalais. The other beautiful spot that Christine de Pisan longly describes is the Baye aux Anciennes, the "Elder's Bay" : two giant rocks that seem to be in the shape of two women on both extremities of the beach.