RossN said:Hardstuff: Well... not quite a Republic.
Hmm, a Habsburg would've been ideal, but a Bonaparte is fine too.
Looks quite interesting so far. Can't wait to get to 1836, and see the shape the Kingdom will be in.
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Hmm, a Habsburg would've been ideal, but a Bonaparte is fine too.
Looks quite interesting so far. Can't wait to get to 1836, and see the shape the Kingdom will be in.
The Bonaparte's messing around in Ireland can't be good for the Irish. Best throw out that lot along with the Brits and go it alone.
I like this so far. I can see me liking it in the future. I see me thinking this might be the next great aar with a k
with a k
Irish army officer
Prologue Part IV
1809, November: Lucien re-opens secret negotiations with the British, once more through Grattan and the Duke of Leinster. The Irish offer to pull out of the war at once and close their ports to France - as long as London recognises both Lucien an independent Ireland.
1809, December - 1810, February: Talks drag on. Spencer Perceval, British prime minister is very reluctant but with British resources pinned down in Spain he is unable to actively fight in Ireland. Eventually Lucien and Prince George come to a gentlemen's agreement. Ireland will sign a peace with Britain and supply her with food while denying trade to other countries in the Continental System.
A handful of French officers conspire against the King. An informer reveals their plans and Lucien has them arrested and hanged. The great majority of the French and Irish officers and men remain loyal.
1810 - 1814: Ireland remains neutral throughout the war.
Trading resumes with Britain and the Irish economy begins to recover.
1814 - 1815: Napoleon abdicates. Joseph and Louis Bonaparte are allowed to seek refuge in Ireland, but Napoleon is exiled to Elba (and subsequently Saint Helena).
Lucien's wife Queen Alexandrine and eldest son Prince Charles Lucien arrive in Ireland.
Congress of Vienna. Lucien sends Grattan to represent Ireland. Prussia, Russia and Austria recognise Ireland.
1815: 500th anniversary of the coronation of Edward the Bruce - last High King of Ireland. Widespread official celebration. Lucinis ceremonially crowned with a new crown made by Dublin silversmith Richard Williams.
The King and his family settle in the old Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle. Work begins on enlarging and ornamenting the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park as dwelling fit for a king of Ireland. The work will take over two decades.
1823: Death of Henry Grattan. He is given a state funeral for his services to Ireland, despite his misgvings about the regime.
1823: John Moore dies. Joseph Holt, ex-United Irishman becomes prime minister.
1826: Holt retires. Bartholomew Teeling becomes prime minister.
1827: Treaty of London signed between Britain and Ireland, normalising relations. Britain recognises Lucien. In return Ireland pays compensation to British landowners who have lost land in Ireland.
Irish peers are permitted to retain their titles, but Lucien introduces a new system of Irish nobility based on that of France.
1835: The New Palace - formerly the Viceregal Lodge - is completed.
To be continued...
Official independence and Lucien still on the throne. I wonder how long good relations with the English can continue.
I didn't mean for the background to take so long, but we have reached 1836 now and can begin the game proper.
robou, Eams, Sematary, TheDave, Masked Pickle and mad general: Welcome aboard.
Hardraade: Well elasts until 1836 at least.
Hardstuff: To get a Habsburg I'd need to go back to the 16th century. Just a little far...o
coz1: Bah.
robou, Eams, Sematary, TheDave, Masked Pickle and mad general: Welcome aboard.
Hardraade: Well elasts until 1836 at least.
Hardstuff: To get a Habsburg I'd need to go back to the 16th century. Just a little far...
o coz1: Bah.
Although good AARing is good AARing, an elongated intro can diffuse a stroy all together, its refreshing to see a 'spartan' detailing of events prior to the actual game.
I doubt a bonaparte will live long on the throne with Napoleon vanquished in Europe.
And we are to the start date. Bonaparte or not, I'm keen to see Ireland take the national stage.
Another RossN AAR? Excellent! You'd better ditch all this monarchist sentiment though before Connolly shows up in a few decades
Last edited:
What, you mean king James I?ComradeOm said:Another RossN AAR? Excellent! You'd better ditch all this if this monarchist sentiment though before Connolly shows up in a few decades
Ireland, 1836
The Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland
A wise man surveying Ireland at the beginning of 1836 would not perhaps have wagered on a happy future for the Emerald Isle. Almost six and a half million people lived in Ireland, more than in Brazil and not far less than in the Two Sicilies but of those six and a half million more than nine in ten lived directly or indirectly off farming. Ireland's slender industry (Liquor, Glass and Fabric) was not even adequately supplied with materials - coal and cotton had to be imported. Ireland had no navy at all and only a limited army of 20,000 men. She also lacked any allies on the international stage. A backwater fit only for squalid obscurity or succumbing to the might of some stronger power our hypothetical wise man might have concluded. Let's face it: he has a point.
Yet...
Lucien Bonaparte was no fool. He knew his adopted homeland was not without promise. The Irish, or at least 55% of them, could read and write: this might not seem impressive if the reader is German, Dutch or Scandinavian but believe me it is. Ireland was modestly wealthy thanks to its role as Britain's granary during the Napoleonic Wars. She was not as inherently unstable as France or Austria, as corrupt as Sicily or as weighed down by a heroic past and bitter present as proud Spain. When it came to friends she had none; but she had no true enemies either. A flicker of revanchism might remain in British politics, but for most of the population Ireland was a foreign country on the day they were born - after forty years the two countries have painfully come to an understanding of sorts. Ireland and Britain are not close, though some in both countries wish and hope that they will be one day.
An uneasy truce lay between the three great faiths of Ireland. Technically there was no state religion but the Catholic Church enjoyed a comfortable influence amongst the people (as, to a lesser extent did the Anglican and Presbyterian churches.) Tensions existed, but for the moment the sea of Irish domestic life had a gentle surface, undisturbed by the ripples of other countries.
A flat tax of 50% for all classes had proven sufficient to pay for maximum spending on education. The King aimed for nothing less than total industry. Perhaps giant Russia could afford to remain a nation of uneducated peasants. Ireland could not.
The King held a great deal of power but not quite in the manner of an autocrat. The House of Commons and the Senate that made up the Irish Parliament regularly met and passed laws, if always under the careful eye of the Crown. The Prime Minister, Mr. Bartholomew Teeling was a popular and romantic figure though at the age of sixty-one was not the force he was. An all to common problem; those of the Old Guard that had survived from the wild years of revolution had grown, well, old, in the service of the state. The United Irishmen had done great things in the past, but the thing about the past was that it was just that.
On New Years Day 1836 the King, in discussion with Teeling and his other ministers had decided to call an election that year. The public (or rather those men wealthy enough to pass the property qualification) would go to the polls in November for the first true election the country had faced. The outcome would help determine the course of the next century...
Our wise man might be willing to bet with Ireland but that is the trouble with the wise: they never chance their arm to win big.
Dr. Gonzo: Agreed. I had opriginally thought to start off with 1691 and the Stuarts, but that would havben a bit much.
robou: We'll see.
coz1: You are not alone!
ComradeOm and Eams: Heh!
Maximilliano and KanaX: Welcome.
robou: We'll see.
coz1: You are not alone!
ComradeOm and Eams: Heh!
Maximilliano and KanaX: Welcome.
This sounds exellent, i have not read any of your other AARs, like many others have, quite obviously, but i can see you style is unique and brilliant. I will wager that Ireland will see a prosperous future. My mind still, however, troubles over the question of the Bonaparte's. Perhaps if he can keep in control until Napoleon III comes to power in France, and perhaps Luciens cousin will be a willing freind to the Irish. Perhaps the mighty USA will no recieve quite so many Irish immigrants if there is a free Ireland. Who knows what the possibilities are....Irish troops fighting the Prussians at Sedan perhaps?....
Good start, and good luck!
Somehow this Ireland- fairly poor, agrarian and overshadowed by a larger western neighbour- reminds me of Portugal in the 19th Century. Perhaps you could follow in their footsteps and found an empire in Africa or elsewhere? That would at least help to pull you out of England's orbit...
Somehow this Ireland- fairly poor, agrarian and overshadowed by a larger western neighbour- reminds me of Portugal in the 19th Century. Perhaps you could follow in their footsteps and found an empire in Africa or elsewhere? That would at least help to pull you out of England's orbit...
Strong start, RossN. You've set the stage nicely. And a good overview of the opening position, and not just in Ireland but the European stage.
Will you still get the Potato Blight? Because that might ruin some of your plans pretty hard =P.
great start so far, though i'm interested how the potato famine will be working out... help from America? If their isn't a mass exodus of Irish from Ireland to America, wouldn't that change the Civil War? The Irish, both already in the US and coming in provided a significant amount of man power did they not? Very interesting stuff, i'll be sure to keep reading.
-Maximilliano
-Maximilliano