My, after all those voyages the only nations open to relations are Cree and Scotland? The Inuits have a tough road ahead if they wanna keep exploring...
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This is one of the best AARs I've seen in a long time - for any game. Keep up the good work! 
Sjiveru: To be honest I don’t know much about metalworking amongst Native Americans, so let’s just say they found a convenient place to mine it or something.
loki100, generalolaf, Slaughter, Selvetrica, Tufto: Thanks!
Mr. Santiago: They’re just being snobby about negotiating with ‘savages’. Once the Inuit civilize it won’t be a problem any more.
flyguy117: You’ll like this chapter.
Encyclopaedia Djata Entry
The Djata Kurufa
Founding
The Djata Kurufa (or Empire of Djata) was founded in 1399 by Sufi Muslim dissidents from the Mali Empire. (1)
When portions of the Algarve Expedition washed up on the shores of western Africa it caused serious turmoil within the Mali Empire. Being relatively isolated, the news that all of Europe was dying caught them by surprise. The Mansa at the time, Sandaki Mari Djata, advocated sending an expedition to claim the empty land for Mali before anyone else could. His obsession came close to bankrupting the empire as they tried to assemble a fleet capable of making the journey and in the ensuing political manoeuvring he was ousted from power. He was replaced by a Sunni Muslim radical who began hunting him down along with minority sects.
He believed that his only hope was to use the few ships he had built to escape the empire, and so he set off for the coast with only a handful of loyal followers at his side. Along the way he was sheltered by many Sufi Muslims who were also seeking to flee from the new radical regime. By the time he reached the harbour where the ships had been prepared he had an army of around ten thousand at his side, but the new Mansa had an even larger army in pursuit. The fleet was launched with as many people aboard as could fit while the remainder stayed behind to divert the pursuers.
The journey north was fraught with dangers and almost a third of the refugees died before reaching their goal. Finally, the fleet limped into the Bristol Channel in late 1398. After abandoning the barely held together ships the refugees came ashore. It is said that Sandaki Mari Djata himself managed to make it ashore and speak “an empty land for my people” before passing away from a disease he had picked up on the journey.
In his honour the new nation that the survivors established was named the Djata Kurufa. They quickly moved in and seized a few empty English villages in the area around Gloucester to feed themselves and settled down. Nearly twenty years passed as they slowly built up and began to forcibly integrate the few scattered inhabitants of the region into their culture. They were surprised when they started to get immigrants coming in, mostly Muslims of minor sects from North Africa who were also looking to escape repressive regimes. With these newcomers getting integrated and the population growing rapidly they started to expand into Wales and England. By the time they were contacted by the Inuit in the 1470s they were the premier power on the British Isles.
The roar of battle rang out across the fields as the Inuit charged.
“Volley!” cried out the voice of the young Chieftain Nakasuk, currently in command of the Abitbi Warband.
Heeding his call, the archer teams took aim and sent a deadly sheet of wood over the wall to smother any resistance. Under this cover the remainder of his forces moved in with ladders in hand to scale the walls and take this Anishinaabe fort. The defenders threw what they could at those below, but anyone who tried to look over the stockade was swiftly brought down by a well-placed arrow and so their attempts usually missed their mark.
“It’s quite disturbing isn’t it,” one of Nakasuk’s subordinates said as he stood next to his chieftain. Even from their position far from the wall the screams of the dying could be heard
“But it’s necessary,” Nakasuk said with a blank face, “war is always like this. I’ve been reading a lot of copies of the books from Europe. There they had castles far more deadly to assault than this collection of sticks. And yet they did so anyway, when it was necessary.”
“These used to be our people though,” the subordinate said. He knew that the chieftain was too young to remember a time when the Anishinaabe tribes had been united, but he was old enough to have been around before the Abitbi tribe had been absorbed by the Inuit.
Another roar came from the troops. The first men had reached the top of the wall and were launching themselves over with spears raised. Many would die before landing a single blow, as the enemy was no doubt prepared to meet the scaling soldiers, but still they went over with the hope that they would be the one to break the line of spears waiting for them and allow the rest of their comrades to enter safely.
“I know,” Nakasuk said as the beginnings of a frown formed. There was nothing he could do though, he was just one chieftain of many in this campaign and the council had forbidden any peace dealings with minor members of the enemy war effort, which meant no way to deal with the Anishinaabe except by violence.
“Then what should we do?” the subordinate asked.
“We have thrown our lot in with the Inuit, so I need to make them stronger. Once the Inuit nation is powerful enough then there will be no more need to keep the Shawnee placated. I just hope that the expedition we sent to Europe returns successfully.”
Suddenly a crash resounded from the battlefield and a cloud of dust burst out from the wall. Part of the stockade began to topple to the ground and a large hole was left exposed in the defences. The men had managed to secure a foothold and take down part of the stockade from the inside. Nakasuk raised his spear and caught the attention of the rest of his spearmen.
“Ready!” It was necessary. “Enter on my command!” If he held back, the Shawnee would be angry that the war effort was weakened, and the council would be angry that he worsened relations with them. “Take no prisoners!” Was it necessary? “Kill all who hold a weapon!” Perhaps not entirely necessary.
The troops’ shouts echoed across the battlefield and they began to storm forward into the gap in the walls. Nakasuk was not sure if the men would entirely follow his final, adjusted order and spare the non-combatants, but it soothed his conscience a little. Fighting in such a pointless war, such a thing would not happen if he had power over the council.
“Let’s go, Chieftain,” his subordinate said. Nakasuk noticed he’d been stood with his spear raised for a while now, just watching the unfolding battle inside the walls.
“Of course,” he said with a sigh as he ran forward to deliver his commands closer to the front. Right now fighting this battle was what was necessary, not thinking of the future.
By annexing the Creek, the Shawnee made themselves the most powerful nation in the south. Rumours were spreading that the Shawnee High Chieftain was pulling more and more power onto himself in an effort to centralise the nation so that it might match up to the Aztec Empire.
The explorer Ouibignaro returned with his expedition and good news. He had mapped out the north-western regions of Europe and contacted many nations, including Skandistan, Al-Alemand and Faransa.
He had returned from a surprising direction. As he travelled around Iberia supplies were getting low so he risked an ocean crossing back to Inuit land, and along the way he discovered usefully placed islands. Included in his report was the recommendation to establish a supply base there.
As Ouibignaro descended the steps from his ship he took note of the finely dressed young man awaiting him where the docks met the city. He seemed to be leaning on a wooden post and barely able to stay standing. Although the lack of full entourage worried him, he did know that he had returned from an unexpected direction so the spotters might not have sighted him early enough. With a shrug he continued down the dock with his hands full of parchment.
“Chieftain of Abitbi, is that you? It’s been so long!” Ouibignaro said cheerfully as he approached. When he left, Nakasuk had just been a boy who’d only just risen to lead his tribe.
“Captain, welcome back,” Nakasuk said. As Ouibignaro approached he could see the chieftain was breathing heavily.
“Are you okay Chieftain?” Ouibignaro asked.
“Sorry for my state,” said Nakasuk, “but I had to rush across the city to get here when news came of your return. I’m afraid the other members of the council who are in Innu right now are too busy to come and see your return.”
“Well that’s a disappointment. I have so many maps to show them,” Ouibignaro said with a frown. He hefted the armfuls of documents in indication.
“Shall we go and take a look at them somewhere else, it is fairly cold out here today,” Nakasuk said. He took a deep breath then stood up straight to lead the explorer away.
As they left, the chieftain looked behind him and spotted a small group of men heading up towards the docks. They hadn’t noticed the two of them standing besides some buildings, so it was working out smoothly for now. He’d have questions to answer later, but right now getting his hands on the maps first was essential. Ouibignaro did not notice the group of men, who were now looking around the docked ship in confusion, as he followed Nakasuk into the city.
In a minor government office Ouibignaro spread the largest of his maps across the table, displaying the nations he had encountered in north-west Europe.
“This is troubling,” Nakasuk said, “I did not expect Europe to be so populated already.”
He pointed at the mainland where large areas were marked with the names of the states of Faransa and Al-Alemand.
“I suspect that the tales they gave me of the size of their nations were exaggerated,” Ouibignaro explained, “but nonetheless they do exist.”
“Who are they?” asked Nakasuk, “the languages you said they speak, they are not like any European languages that we have records of.”
“There are some similarities, at least according to my linguist,” said the explorer. He pulled out a Faransi map and indicated the writing. There were some segments of it that even Nakasuk could recognise as derived from French, even though the rest of it seemed unintelligible.
“It looks like they’ve been adopting parts of the culture of the areas they’ve colonised,” Nakasuk said as looked over the map. There was more too it though, as parts of the map had different coloured crescents marked out on them. “What does this mean?”
“Well, the only people we met who completely ascribed to the Christianity we have read about are the Scots. All of these newcomers follow some form of Islam. The continental ones call themselves Kharijites, while the Djata Kurufa is Sufi and Skandistan is Shiite. Those all appear to be different sects of the religion called ‘Islam’,” Ouibignaro said.
“I think I read about that. The Europeans called it a distant heresy though. Could those heretics have survived the Ashen Death and moved in to claim the empty land?” Nakasuk wondered aloud. The situation was not nearly as simple as he or his predecessors had hoped.
“It seems so. Also, there was one interesting point,” said Ouibignaro as he pointed at Faransa, “these people have an interesting political system they call a ‘republic’. It’s sort of like how the High Chieftain is elected, but more of the ruling class is allowed to vote and the ruler is only kept for a set term instead of until death.”
“How strange,” said Nakasuk as he stared at the map. That did not seem like a stable way to run a country.
The Shawnee continued their campaigns in the north with another war against the Huron, who had conquered stretches of Anishinaabe territory in the interim. Nakasuk seized control of the army and marched into Huron territory personally. He had no intention of leaving without gains.
He returned with the lands of the Sault subjugated, finally linking the Inuit directly with their Menominee subjects.
This victory propelled Nakasuk incredibly high in the eyes of his fellow Chieftains, and so in 1483 he was elected as the new High Chieftain almost unanimously.
However, at almost the same time news came from Shawnee of an upheaval. The situation was still very confused, but the note severing the alliance with the Inuit mentioned “backwards tribal fools”. (2)
“And so, by the blessing of the spirits and the word of this council, you are now High Chieftain of the Inuit Tribes.”
The elder slammed his staff into the ground and applause broke out from Nakasuk’s supporters. The man himself stood at the head of the table and smiled slightly at the other chieftains. It had been fairly easy to get to this point. More and more these men had been spending time in Innu running the increasingly complicated society that was developing, so all it took was a little bit of hands on work with the troops to get the support he needed.
“What is your first decree, High Chieftain?” the elder asked.
“My first decree?” Nakasuk repeated. He raised his hand with his thumb pressed against his fingers. “My first decree is to order the immediate dissolution of this council as a political body, permanently.”
Immediately the rest of the council went into uproar as all yelled out in confused anger at the sudden development. How could Nakasuk disband the Council when it had help run the Inuit nation for centuries? What was he planning on doing for the succession? How would the loyalty of the tribes be kept?
“From this day forward the succession of the High Chieftain will be chosen not by you, but by the ruler himself!” Nakasuk said.
This was the final straw for many of the men at the table.
“You Cree scum!” cried out the Chieftain of Labrador, one of the most sceptical of his ascendance in the first place. He leapt onto the table and drew an axe he had hidden on his person.
Just as he was about to make a charge for the defenceless Nakasuk, the High Chieftain finally snapped his fingers. The loud crack echoed through the hall, and almost immediately the doors burst open and in poured countless warriors. The Labrador Chieftain had no choice but to lower his axe as countless spears were aimed directly at his heart.
“You are all behind the times,” Nakasuk said bluntly, “the tribes are more and more united. In the past you might have been able to go home and assemble an army, but now the warriors answer to me alone. I have been the one leading them in recent campaigns as they have been fighting alongside and developing bonds with their brothers from other tribes.”
The soldiers all nodded in agreement. They had seen their own chieftains sitting safely in Innu while Nakasuk made sure they were properly fed and drilled. The last campaign had cemented their opinion of him and their desire for even greater unity of the nation. They continued to display their assent as the High Chieftain continued to speak.
“We are divided tribes no longer. We are united. I hereby declare the end of the Inuit Tribes, and the official foundation of the Kingdom of the Inuit!”
With the dissolution of the council, all power was placed in the High Chieftain. Nakasuk officially changed the title to King, styling himself after the European monarchs he had read about. (3)
One of his first orders was to send men out into the neutral tribes along the coast and bring them into his Kingdom by any means.
The Inuit settlers brought their culture with them, even going so far as to rename places in their own language. (4)
The small wooden boat drifted slowly into the harbour as its crew carefully watched the amassing group of onlookers on the shore. Some of the men had already been ashore once to negotiate with the locals, but they were still unsure of exactly how well they had gotten their intentions across.
“What language was that?” Ouibignaro, now designated emissary to Europe, asked of his linguist who had been one of the first ashore.
“At the fundamental level it sounds like Latin of some kind, but there’s a definite twist that I cannot place,” the linguist said. This time he had brought with him a whole host of copied Latin texts to gain some kind of common ground with the land’s inhabitants.
“Keep at it, I want you to understand as much of what they say as possible when we land,” Ouibignaro said.
This would be the first proper diplomatic exchange, as opposed to stilted introductions, between Eurasia and the western lands, and he did not want anything to get in the way of the momentous occasion. He was also concerned by the apparent arrival of soldiers clad in gleaming metal to the landing site.
“Be careful everyone,” he said. He’d been in hostile contact situations before, so he knew exactly how quickly the situation could go badly.
The boat pulled up onto the sand close to the entrance of the large river. The crowd of onlookers had grown even larger to the point where the soldiers were all that was keeping them held back. It was a strange mixture of ethnicities with faces of many different colours present, although Ouibignaro had no idea which were which.
“Ave!” a voice shouted out from amongst the soldiers. Out stepped a swarthy man dressed in the finest purple cloth with a turban bearing a strange symbol of four stars upon.
“Ave,” the linguist said back as he stepped from the boat. The rest of the men stepped out and helped Ouibignaro.
“Salutem in pro Ruma Sultanı,” the man said with a smile.
“Welcome on behalf of the…er…Sultan of Rome,” the linguist translated. He was furiously going through his documents as words that he did not understand came up. He had heard the term ‘Sultan’ before, but not in this form.
“On behalf of Nakasuk I, ruler of the Kingdom of the Inuit, I thank you,” Ouibignaro said.
“Pro Nakasuk primum regnum Inuit rex, gratias tibi,” the linguist translated again. He was just going on pure Latin, so he hoped that the message got across.
For a few moments the man opposite them held a confused scowl on his face, before looking at the linguist and breaking into laughter. He moved over and held out his hand as if asking for one of the Latin book. The linguist obliged and allowed the man to look through them. After a few pages the man started speaking very quickly in the semi-Latin to the linguist, who seemed to be picking up the general idea and nodding. Ouibignaro just looked on, waiting for his subordinate to actually get back to his job.
“Oh, sorry sir,” the linguist said when he noticed the look the explorer was giving him. “I believe he said something along the lines of ‘these texts are from the Old Rome, we are the New Rome. We are Ruma.’”
“So does that help you?” Ouibignaro asked.
“A little. Apparently they speak Latin mixed with another language from the east, so if I could get my hands on a few texts from there...” the linguist trailed off as he saw some of the approaching soldiers carrying huge numbers of scrolls.
The man that had greeted them had a grin on his face as he said, “erit incipit müzakereler?”
Now that the nations would negotiate with the Inuit they were able to secure safe harbours all across Europe. Soon, the whole Mediterranean was mapped out and all of the new inhabitants of Europe knew of the visitors from the west.
To be continued…
(1) Technically, the neo-European nations start as Sunni or something else boring, but they get events which allow them to become something more interesting (such as Muslim minor sects, Buddhism, Judaism or even Zoroastrianism depending on which nation it is). For story purposes, the Djata Kurufa was always Sufi, and the others were all their new religion as well.
(2) They severed because non-tribals don’t like allying with tribals.
(3) These events bring all remaining tribals across the world to settled status. However, the events are fired at random so if you have tribes on your border it can cause an issue, which is why I tried to avoid a direct border with the Shawnee. In this case, because the Huron have a truce with us and the Menominee are vassals only the Anishinaabe have been a problem.
(4) Sadly this is the only Colony Name Change Mod (which is integrated into Miscmods) event that will fire for Inuit, and it’s a universal event rather than for Inuit specifically.
loki100, generalolaf, Slaughter, Selvetrica, Tufto: Thanks!
Mr. Santiago: They’re just being snobby about negotiating with ‘savages’. Once the Inuit civilize it won’t be a problem any more.
flyguy117: You’ll like this chapter.
Encyclopaedia Djata Entry
The Djata Kurufa
Founding
The Djata Kurufa (or Empire of Djata) was founded in 1399 by Sufi Muslim dissidents from the Mali Empire. (1)
When portions of the Algarve Expedition washed up on the shores of western Africa it caused serious turmoil within the Mali Empire. Being relatively isolated, the news that all of Europe was dying caught them by surprise. The Mansa at the time, Sandaki Mari Djata, advocated sending an expedition to claim the empty land for Mali before anyone else could. His obsession came close to bankrupting the empire as they tried to assemble a fleet capable of making the journey and in the ensuing political manoeuvring he was ousted from power. He was replaced by a Sunni Muslim radical who began hunting him down along with minority sects.
He believed that his only hope was to use the few ships he had built to escape the empire, and so he set off for the coast with only a handful of loyal followers at his side. Along the way he was sheltered by many Sufi Muslims who were also seeking to flee from the new radical regime. By the time he reached the harbour where the ships had been prepared he had an army of around ten thousand at his side, but the new Mansa had an even larger army in pursuit. The fleet was launched with as many people aboard as could fit while the remainder stayed behind to divert the pursuers.
The journey north was fraught with dangers and almost a third of the refugees died before reaching their goal. Finally, the fleet limped into the Bristol Channel in late 1398. After abandoning the barely held together ships the refugees came ashore. It is said that Sandaki Mari Djata himself managed to make it ashore and speak “an empty land for my people” before passing away from a disease he had picked up on the journey.
In his honour the new nation that the survivors established was named the Djata Kurufa. They quickly moved in and seized a few empty English villages in the area around Gloucester to feed themselves and settled down. Nearly twenty years passed as they slowly built up and began to forcibly integrate the few scattered inhabitants of the region into their culture. They were surprised when they started to get immigrants coming in, mostly Muslims of minor sects from North Africa who were also looking to escape repressive regimes. With these newcomers getting integrated and the population growing rapidly they started to expand into Wales and England. By the time they were contacted by the Inuit in the 1470s they were the premier power on the British Isles.
Go with the Floe: An Inuit Dark Continent AAR
Chapter Five
The Shawnee continued their aggressive expansion by turning on their allies in the south. This brought the Inuit against a coalition of tribes including the Anishinaabe, thwarting the council’s attempts at integrating them peacefully.
Chapter Five
The Shawnee continued their aggressive expansion by turning on their allies in the south. This brought the Inuit against a coalition of tribes including the Anishinaabe, thwarting the council’s attempts at integrating them peacefully.
The roar of battle rang out across the fields as the Inuit charged.
“Volley!” cried out the voice of the young Chieftain Nakasuk, currently in command of the Abitbi Warband.
Heeding his call, the archer teams took aim and sent a deadly sheet of wood over the wall to smother any resistance. Under this cover the remainder of his forces moved in with ladders in hand to scale the walls and take this Anishinaabe fort. The defenders threw what they could at those below, but anyone who tried to look over the stockade was swiftly brought down by a well-placed arrow and so their attempts usually missed their mark.
“It’s quite disturbing isn’t it,” one of Nakasuk’s subordinates said as he stood next to his chieftain. Even from their position far from the wall the screams of the dying could be heard
“But it’s necessary,” Nakasuk said with a blank face, “war is always like this. I’ve been reading a lot of copies of the books from Europe. There they had castles far more deadly to assault than this collection of sticks. And yet they did so anyway, when it was necessary.”
“These used to be our people though,” the subordinate said. He knew that the chieftain was too young to remember a time when the Anishinaabe tribes had been united, but he was old enough to have been around before the Abitbi tribe had been absorbed by the Inuit.
Another roar came from the troops. The first men had reached the top of the wall and were launching themselves over with spears raised. Many would die before landing a single blow, as the enemy was no doubt prepared to meet the scaling soldiers, but still they went over with the hope that they would be the one to break the line of spears waiting for them and allow the rest of their comrades to enter safely.
“I know,” Nakasuk said as the beginnings of a frown formed. There was nothing he could do though, he was just one chieftain of many in this campaign and the council had forbidden any peace dealings with minor members of the enemy war effort, which meant no way to deal with the Anishinaabe except by violence.
“Then what should we do?” the subordinate asked.
“We have thrown our lot in with the Inuit, so I need to make them stronger. Once the Inuit nation is powerful enough then there will be no more need to keep the Shawnee placated. I just hope that the expedition we sent to Europe returns successfully.”
Suddenly a crash resounded from the battlefield and a cloud of dust burst out from the wall. Part of the stockade began to topple to the ground and a large hole was left exposed in the defences. The men had managed to secure a foothold and take down part of the stockade from the inside. Nakasuk raised his spear and caught the attention of the rest of his spearmen.
“Ready!” It was necessary. “Enter on my command!” If he held back, the Shawnee would be angry that the war effort was weakened, and the council would be angry that he worsened relations with them. “Take no prisoners!” Was it necessary? “Kill all who hold a weapon!” Perhaps not entirely necessary.
The troops’ shouts echoed across the battlefield and they began to storm forward into the gap in the walls. Nakasuk was not sure if the men would entirely follow his final, adjusted order and spare the non-combatants, but it soothed his conscience a little. Fighting in such a pointless war, such a thing would not happen if he had power over the council.
“Let’s go, Chieftain,” his subordinate said. Nakasuk noticed he’d been stood with his spear raised for a while now, just watching the unfolding battle inside the walls.
“Of course,” he said with a sigh as he ran forward to deliver his commands closer to the front. Right now fighting this battle was what was necessary, not thinking of the future.
By annexing the Creek, the Shawnee made themselves the most powerful nation in the south. Rumours were spreading that the Shawnee High Chieftain was pulling more and more power onto himself in an effort to centralise the nation so that it might match up to the Aztec Empire.
The explorer Ouibignaro returned with his expedition and good news. He had mapped out the north-western regions of Europe and contacted many nations, including Skandistan, Al-Alemand and Faransa.
He had returned from a surprising direction. As he travelled around Iberia supplies were getting low so he risked an ocean crossing back to Inuit land, and along the way he discovered usefully placed islands. Included in his report was the recommendation to establish a supply base there.
As Ouibignaro descended the steps from his ship he took note of the finely dressed young man awaiting him where the docks met the city. He seemed to be leaning on a wooden post and barely able to stay standing. Although the lack of full entourage worried him, he did know that he had returned from an unexpected direction so the spotters might not have sighted him early enough. With a shrug he continued down the dock with his hands full of parchment.
“Chieftain of Abitbi, is that you? It’s been so long!” Ouibignaro said cheerfully as he approached. When he left, Nakasuk had just been a boy who’d only just risen to lead his tribe.
“Captain, welcome back,” Nakasuk said. As Ouibignaro approached he could see the chieftain was breathing heavily.
“Are you okay Chieftain?” Ouibignaro asked.
“Sorry for my state,” said Nakasuk, “but I had to rush across the city to get here when news came of your return. I’m afraid the other members of the council who are in Innu right now are too busy to come and see your return.”
“Well that’s a disappointment. I have so many maps to show them,” Ouibignaro said with a frown. He hefted the armfuls of documents in indication.
“Shall we go and take a look at them somewhere else, it is fairly cold out here today,” Nakasuk said. He took a deep breath then stood up straight to lead the explorer away.
As they left, the chieftain looked behind him and spotted a small group of men heading up towards the docks. They hadn’t noticed the two of them standing besides some buildings, so it was working out smoothly for now. He’d have questions to answer later, but right now getting his hands on the maps first was essential. Ouibignaro did not notice the group of men, who were now looking around the docked ship in confusion, as he followed Nakasuk into the city.
In a minor government office Ouibignaro spread the largest of his maps across the table, displaying the nations he had encountered in north-west Europe.
“This is troubling,” Nakasuk said, “I did not expect Europe to be so populated already.”
He pointed at the mainland where large areas were marked with the names of the states of Faransa and Al-Alemand.
“I suspect that the tales they gave me of the size of their nations were exaggerated,” Ouibignaro explained, “but nonetheless they do exist.”
“Who are they?” asked Nakasuk, “the languages you said they speak, they are not like any European languages that we have records of.”
“There are some similarities, at least according to my linguist,” said the explorer. He pulled out a Faransi map and indicated the writing. There were some segments of it that even Nakasuk could recognise as derived from French, even though the rest of it seemed unintelligible.
“It looks like they’ve been adopting parts of the culture of the areas they’ve colonised,” Nakasuk said as looked over the map. There was more too it though, as parts of the map had different coloured crescents marked out on them. “What does this mean?”
“Well, the only people we met who completely ascribed to the Christianity we have read about are the Scots. All of these newcomers follow some form of Islam. The continental ones call themselves Kharijites, while the Djata Kurufa is Sufi and Skandistan is Shiite. Those all appear to be different sects of the religion called ‘Islam’,” Ouibignaro said.
“I think I read about that. The Europeans called it a distant heresy though. Could those heretics have survived the Ashen Death and moved in to claim the empty land?” Nakasuk wondered aloud. The situation was not nearly as simple as he or his predecessors had hoped.
“It seems so. Also, there was one interesting point,” said Ouibignaro as he pointed at Faransa, “these people have an interesting political system they call a ‘republic’. It’s sort of like how the High Chieftain is elected, but more of the ruling class is allowed to vote and the ruler is only kept for a set term instead of until death.”
“How strange,” said Nakasuk as he stared at the map. That did not seem like a stable way to run a country.
The Shawnee continued their campaigns in the north with another war against the Huron, who had conquered stretches of Anishinaabe territory in the interim. Nakasuk seized control of the army and marched into Huron territory personally. He had no intention of leaving without gains.
He returned with the lands of the Sault subjugated, finally linking the Inuit directly with their Menominee subjects.
This victory propelled Nakasuk incredibly high in the eyes of his fellow Chieftains, and so in 1483 he was elected as the new High Chieftain almost unanimously.
However, at almost the same time news came from Shawnee of an upheaval. The situation was still very confused, but the note severing the alliance with the Inuit mentioned “backwards tribal fools”. (2)
“And so, by the blessing of the spirits and the word of this council, you are now High Chieftain of the Inuit Tribes.”
The elder slammed his staff into the ground and applause broke out from Nakasuk’s supporters. The man himself stood at the head of the table and smiled slightly at the other chieftains. It had been fairly easy to get to this point. More and more these men had been spending time in Innu running the increasingly complicated society that was developing, so all it took was a little bit of hands on work with the troops to get the support he needed.
“What is your first decree, High Chieftain?” the elder asked.
“My first decree?” Nakasuk repeated. He raised his hand with his thumb pressed against his fingers. “My first decree is to order the immediate dissolution of this council as a political body, permanently.”
Immediately the rest of the council went into uproar as all yelled out in confused anger at the sudden development. How could Nakasuk disband the Council when it had help run the Inuit nation for centuries? What was he planning on doing for the succession? How would the loyalty of the tribes be kept?
“From this day forward the succession of the High Chieftain will be chosen not by you, but by the ruler himself!” Nakasuk said.
This was the final straw for many of the men at the table.
“You Cree scum!” cried out the Chieftain of Labrador, one of the most sceptical of his ascendance in the first place. He leapt onto the table and drew an axe he had hidden on his person.
Just as he was about to make a charge for the defenceless Nakasuk, the High Chieftain finally snapped his fingers. The loud crack echoed through the hall, and almost immediately the doors burst open and in poured countless warriors. The Labrador Chieftain had no choice but to lower his axe as countless spears were aimed directly at his heart.
“You are all behind the times,” Nakasuk said bluntly, “the tribes are more and more united. In the past you might have been able to go home and assemble an army, but now the warriors answer to me alone. I have been the one leading them in recent campaigns as they have been fighting alongside and developing bonds with their brothers from other tribes.”
The soldiers all nodded in agreement. They had seen their own chieftains sitting safely in Innu while Nakasuk made sure they were properly fed and drilled. The last campaign had cemented their opinion of him and their desire for even greater unity of the nation. They continued to display their assent as the High Chieftain continued to speak.
“We are divided tribes no longer. We are united. I hereby declare the end of the Inuit Tribes, and the official foundation of the Kingdom of the Inuit!”
With the dissolution of the council, all power was placed in the High Chieftain. Nakasuk officially changed the title to King, styling himself after the European monarchs he had read about. (3)
One of his first orders was to send men out into the neutral tribes along the coast and bring them into his Kingdom by any means.
The Inuit settlers brought their culture with them, even going so far as to rename places in their own language. (4)
The small wooden boat drifted slowly into the harbour as its crew carefully watched the amassing group of onlookers on the shore. Some of the men had already been ashore once to negotiate with the locals, but they were still unsure of exactly how well they had gotten their intentions across.
“What language was that?” Ouibignaro, now designated emissary to Europe, asked of his linguist who had been one of the first ashore.
“At the fundamental level it sounds like Latin of some kind, but there’s a definite twist that I cannot place,” the linguist said. This time he had brought with him a whole host of copied Latin texts to gain some kind of common ground with the land’s inhabitants.
“Keep at it, I want you to understand as much of what they say as possible when we land,” Ouibignaro said.
This would be the first proper diplomatic exchange, as opposed to stilted introductions, between Eurasia and the western lands, and he did not want anything to get in the way of the momentous occasion. He was also concerned by the apparent arrival of soldiers clad in gleaming metal to the landing site.
“Be careful everyone,” he said. He’d been in hostile contact situations before, so he knew exactly how quickly the situation could go badly.
The boat pulled up onto the sand close to the entrance of the large river. The crowd of onlookers had grown even larger to the point where the soldiers were all that was keeping them held back. It was a strange mixture of ethnicities with faces of many different colours present, although Ouibignaro had no idea which were which.
“Ave!” a voice shouted out from amongst the soldiers. Out stepped a swarthy man dressed in the finest purple cloth with a turban bearing a strange symbol of four stars upon.
“Ave,” the linguist said back as he stepped from the boat. The rest of the men stepped out and helped Ouibignaro.
“Salutem in pro Ruma Sultanı,” the man said with a smile.
“Welcome on behalf of the…er…Sultan of Rome,” the linguist translated. He was furiously going through his documents as words that he did not understand came up. He had heard the term ‘Sultan’ before, but not in this form.
“On behalf of Nakasuk I, ruler of the Kingdom of the Inuit, I thank you,” Ouibignaro said.
“Pro Nakasuk primum regnum Inuit rex, gratias tibi,” the linguist translated again. He was just going on pure Latin, so he hoped that the message got across.
For a few moments the man opposite them held a confused scowl on his face, before looking at the linguist and breaking into laughter. He moved over and held out his hand as if asking for one of the Latin book. The linguist obliged and allowed the man to look through them. After a few pages the man started speaking very quickly in the semi-Latin to the linguist, who seemed to be picking up the general idea and nodding. Ouibignaro just looked on, waiting for his subordinate to actually get back to his job.
“Oh, sorry sir,” the linguist said when he noticed the look the explorer was giving him. “I believe he said something along the lines of ‘these texts are from the Old Rome, we are the New Rome. We are Ruma.’”
“So does that help you?” Ouibignaro asked.
“A little. Apparently they speak Latin mixed with another language from the east, so if I could get my hands on a few texts from there...” the linguist trailed off as he saw some of the approaching soldiers carrying huge numbers of scrolls.
The man that had greeted them had a grin on his face as he said, “erit incipit müzakereler?”
Now that the nations would negotiate with the Inuit they were able to secure safe harbours all across Europe. Soon, the whole Mediterranean was mapped out and all of the new inhabitants of Europe knew of the visitors from the west.
To be continued…
(1) Technically, the neo-European nations start as Sunni or something else boring, but they get events which allow them to become something more interesting (such as Muslim minor sects, Buddhism, Judaism or even Zoroastrianism depending on which nation it is). For story purposes, the Djata Kurufa was always Sufi, and the others were all their new religion as well.
(2) They severed because non-tribals don’t like allying with tribals.
(3) These events bring all remaining tribals across the world to settled status. However, the events are fired at random so if you have tribes on your border it can cause an issue, which is why I tried to avoid a direct border with the Shawnee. In this case, because the Huron have a truce with us and the Menominee are vassals only the Anishinaabe have been a problem.
(4) Sadly this is the only Colony Name Change Mod (which is integrated into Miscmods) event that will fire for Inuit, and it’s a universal event rather than for Inuit specifically.
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Fantastic stuff.I wonder what the Muslims will become to the Inuits,friends or foes.Keep going,man
the Creeks are being a bit of a pain, hope they don't turn on you too soon.
and Europe looks interesting, there are not many spare spots to start an Inuit state within looking at those maps
and Europe looks interesting, there are not many spare spots to start an Inuit state within looking at those maps
At last someone reasonable in Europe to talk to, and who knows, get the upper hand technologically over the Aztecs and Shawnee. So far the Inuits are the only ones crossing the Atlantic, right?
EDIT: Now that I think about it, if the Rumans send a delegate back to Inuit, he'll be the first European to set foot on America (Disregarding the vikings of course). Sort of reversed Columbus
EDIT: Now that I think about it, if the Rumans send a delegate back to Inuit, he'll be the first European to set foot on America (Disregarding the vikings of course). Sort of reversed Columbus
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“Be careful everyone,” he said. He’d been in hostile contact situations before, so he knew exactly how quickly the situation could go badly.
Lesson's learned the hard way methinks. Hopefully, no one is wearing a red shirt.
Interesting that the political power is now concentrated to deal with the threats from the South and East. The Innu will have some interesting situations to deal with in the "New" Europe.
Lesson's learned the hard way methinks. Hopefully, no one is wearing a red shirt.
Interesting that the political power is now concentrated to deal with the threats from the South and East. The Innu will have some interesting situations to deal with in the "New" Europe.
Very good AAR, though I have to point out that the whole Sunni-Sufi distinction you set out for Mali wouldnt make sense in its proper historical context - if anything, the experiances of West African Islam is very much oriented around Sufism (I dont understand why there is a distinction really in the mod except to make the gameplay interesting. Technically, Sufism enmeshes as a spiritual practice very easily within both doctrinal Sunnism and Shiism. Its very folkish in that sense.) So a 'radical' monarch is well, dosent make sense. The tariqqah's after all were the basic bulwark of rule (and I know people have certain perceptions about Sufi groups, which are mostly wrong.)
In anycase, very good AAR. Will subscribe.
In anycase, very good AAR. Will subscribe.
Wouldn't Nakasuk have the latin title of rex and not princeps? As far as I know the latter means "first among equals" and was basically used in the early Roman Empire, to officially at least conceal the ambition for autocratic power. Thus, it would be a strange title to use for a chief who dissolved the council of elders (aka senate) and established a monarchy.
Other then that, I can't wait for the future of both reverse colonisation and the tribal shenanigans at home......
Other then that, I can't wait for the future of both reverse colonisation and the tribal shenanigans at home......
Nomad93, Tufto: Thanks!
loki100: It all depends on how quickly they expand. Hopefully I can get enough tech or a core in range before its too late.
Mr. Santiago: As far as I know the Inuit are the only ones to contact Europe. So far. However, contact between America and Europe is not the only possibility...
blsteen: The concentration of political power definitely helps. Mostly because it means I can negotiate properly.
Calipah: Thank you for the information regarding West African Islam. Unfortunately like you say the game makes the distinction and all the backstory I give the neo-Europeans is based on how things are in-game. I'll see if I can rework it anyway.
Memento Mori: You're absolutely right. Serves me right for using Google Translate and not really looking at the results properly. I'll change it.
Encyclopaedia Djata Entry
Sultanate of Ruma
Founding
The Ashen Death ravaged Greece far later than other parts of Europe, most likely because the initial few cases were all aboard ships that had already departed to the western Mediterranean. The Ottoman Empire, having heard of the chaos in Europe, sealed the Bosphorus in time and combined with the natural immunity bestowed by the Black Death were able to prevent it from spreading too far into their territory. The city of Constantinople, the last refuge of the Byzantine Empire as the plague wiped out Greece, locked its gates and came close to starvation as it waited out the disease.
By 1398 the plague seemed to have burnt itself out. The Ottomans were quick to cross the border and take the weakened city, cementing their claim as the inheritors of the Roman Empire. However many of their own border regions were also ravaged by the plague, preventing them from making serious inroads further into Greece until the early 15th Century.
While the value of the rest of Greece was not worth the effort for the manpower it would take, there was another prize that would be worth any cost. Shortly after the fall of Constantinople the Ottoman Sultan ordered an expedition to be sent to Rome to claim it in the name of the Ottoman Empire. Such a prestigious prize could not be left to the other powers that all had their eyes set on the empty continent.
The expedition was led by a man named Basir, an ambitious general who was part of the effort to finish off the Eastern Roman Empire. When he arrived in Rome he found the city was already in the process of being repopulated. A wide array of survivors had flocked to Rome either as people eager to claim to glory of the Roman Empire like the Turkish force or desperate pilgrims looking for religious support from the Pope (deceased by this time). The Ottoman army was far larger than any of the other groups already in the city and so easily seized power.
With a city already half-filled, Basir found himself in an excellent position. He declared himself to be Basir I of Rum, ruler of a new Rome. The Ottoman Sultan was furious when he found out about the betrayal, but internal troubles and conflict with the Golden Horde as it looted the ruins of the Balkans prevented him from dispatching another force to deal with the upstart Sultan.
The Sultanate of Ruma was modelled after the old Roman Empire even more closely than the Byzantine Empire was. Latin was adopted as the official language and many of the emblems and symbols of Rome were also taken on. The sudden resurgence of a power in Rome attracted thousands of people seeking stability in post-plague troubled times from around the Mediterranean who helped power the expansion of the nation as it moved into the lands around Rome and ultimately the rest of the Italian peninsula.
The Saguenay Valley was alive with activity as the Inuit party established their base camp for the construction of a new city. On the shores of the river the boats were being drawn up and dismantled for wood while even more men disembarked and went further inland to clear out the nearby wildlife for food, and eventually to clear the vegetation to establish simple farms and further expand the buildings.
“It’s all going smoothly,” a man said to himself as he stood atop a rock. After landing he had been quick to head up and get a proper lay of the land. It was in his role as commander of this colonisation effort. He continued to watch for a while until his thoughts were interrupted by a pair of warriors who were dragging behind them a boy who was barely an adult.
“Ootek, sir, we found this boy sneaking around the edge of the camp,” one of the soldiers said. “What should we do with him?”
The boy struggled against the men as they forced him in front of the Inuit leader. He was covered in mud and wearing rough furs. For someone brought up in the new order, seeing a tribesmen that had not caught up with the times was slightly disconcerting. Ootek shook it off as he bent down to speak to the interloper.
“What’s your name, boy?” he asked.
“Donnacona,” the boy said with a glare, “my father’s the chieftain of Stadacona, you know. He won’t stand for you capturing me!”
“Stadacona?”
Ootek knew he had heard that name somewhere before. He wracked his mind for a while longer before figuring it out and looking back at Donnacona with a little bit of regret. Just a little though, what they were doing was necessary for the advancement of the Inuit nation.
“By now we should have taken Stadacona. It’s too well-placed to not use for the colonisation of that region,” said Ootek.
“What?!” the boy exclaimed as he struggled against his captor’s grasp even harder, “then father…”
“We don’t want to wipe you out. He may yet be alive,” Ootek said before Donnacona could get desperate and vengeful. “What are you doing so far from home anyway?”
“Father had heard that big things were going on to the north, so he sent me along with some men to see what was happening. It was supposed to be my test of manhood,” Donnacona said as he calmed down. “I wanted to be a diplomat, not watch as you conquered our lands.”
“We’re doing this for your good as well as ours,” Ootek said. He pulled the boy up straight and brought him forward to look over the valley.
Already the first buildings were going up and a simple road had been cleared through the vegetation heading further up the valley. Through preparation and technology, simple shelter and infrastructure would be set up by nightfall. By the end of the month the settlement would be a proper village. Within years it would be a proper town and be able to be a proper part of the Inuit kingdom and begin spreading its influence and securing the surrounding countryside. It was nothing like the slow and steady living that had been the way for thousands of years previous.
“This is future, and like it or not you are part of it now,” said Ootek.
Donnacona did not reply. He just continued watching as he processed it all. Things were changing. Perhaps, if he made it home, he would try and convince his father that joining with the Inuit would be for the best.
Under Nakasuk’s instructions the Inuit expanded their control across the north-eastern regions of the continent.
Further south, the Aztec Empire grew relentlessly. After reforming its government to a more European style of Empire it easily overran its Zapotec and Mayan neighbours.
Ouibignaro returned in 1488 having spent the past few years mapping out the coasts of Europe. His travels had uncovered even larger nations in the eastern parts of Europe.
“And then I saw countless men on horses rushing across the plains. The Estonians stood no chance,” Ouibignaro said with a sweeping arm gesture that came close to spilling his drink. His Gaelic was hardly perfect, but he knew enough to get his message across.
“That sounds amazing,” the Scottish man opposite him said as he drank deeply from his own mug.
Ouibignaro had sailed up the Thames after hearing rumours of survivors in the city that lay upon it, but he had only found a group of Scots who had travelled south to occupy it. Upon coming ashore he had quickly befriended the isolated Scottish colonists and in return they had given him a tour of the parts of London they were restoring, eventually ending up in the pub they were now sharing stories in.
“So what happened next?” the Scottish man asked with a grin.
“Not much; the Jochi Horde ended up wiping out the Kingdom of Saaremaa. They weren’t really eager to have us poking around any more after that, so they chased us back to the ship,” Ouibignaro said with an unfittingly amused expression.
“Those damned newcomers are messing everything up. Whatever happened to Europe for Europeans?” the Scot said as his expression sunk and he pulled another beer from the bar.
“Yeah,” Ouibignaro said in agreement after a few moments of silence. He was glad now that he hadn’t cared to publicize his secondary goal of scouting out landing sites for full Inuit expeditions.
The melancholy hung over the bar for another few minutes before being rudely interrupted by a deafening crashing sound from outside followed moments later by a wave of dust blowing in through the doors and windows. Coughing, an Inuit man burst into the pub and waved his hand and made a ‘come with me’ gesture towards Ouibignaro.
“Captain, it’s the Djata Kurufa! It looks like they set up a catapult on one of the western streets,” the Inuit explained in a rushed and breathless voice.
Both men at the bar jumped to their feet, almost all their alcoholic daze driven off by adrenaline, and rushed out behind the man. Bursting out onto the street they found themselves in the chaos and confusion of the attack. One of the restored building across the street had collapsed completely from a well placed impact and the screams of the trapped could be heard coming from inside. Everywhere the Scottish colonists ran to try and find shelter, help the injured, or take up arms and prepare for the attack.
“I’ve got to help!” Oubignaro’s drinking buddy said, possibly more to himself than his companions, before he too rushed off and disappeared into the chaotic scene.
“I think we’ve spent enough time here,” Ouibignaro said. It was happening again. There was nothing he could do this time either except retreat, not matter how much he wanted to stay and help those in trouble.
“Sir, we have to go!” the other Inuit said quickly as he glanced around. A battle cry rang from a few streets away and the sound of clashing metal could be heard over the general disorder. The Malal were beginning their attack, and they probably would not discriminate between Scots and Inuit.
“Of course,” Ouibignaro responded. He began to jog towards the ship, which was just outside the Scottish district. Luckily that meant it would not be a target while the artillery was focused on the Scots. As he ran he hoped that the rest of his men would follow orders and keep out of this, but he had seen so many of them getting friendly with the natives
His worst fears were confirmed when he arrived and found the carrack barely half full. So many men had stayed behind to defend the Scots that he only just had enough men to set sail. He briefly contemplated staying and waiting to see if anyone else would come, but a catapulted rock smashing into one of the dock buildings and sending showers of wood over the ship convinced him that it was time to go. He boarded and ordered the ship to immediately leave London and begin plotting a course home. There was no way he could continue with so few.
Perhaps one day the Inuit would not have to retreat from a situation like this, but that was not this day.
He also told of wars fought between the newcomers and the old Europeans. One of the biggest sources of attrition for his men was them getting too entangled in local affairs and refusing to leave when ordered to.
While many of the nearby nations were forming more stable governments, others such as the Sioux were stuck in the old ways of raiding and plundering. (1)
Nakasuk was sure to lead the armies personally to show that he was dealing with this threat. Under his command the Sioux fell and were forced to concede defeat.
“We simply don’t have the capacity, sire,” Ouibignaro said as he placed the map on the table. “I have explored all of the west coast of Europe and there is nothing that is within our capability to reach except for Iceland, and that is already inhabited.”
King Nakasuk looked over the maps he had been presented. It was certainly a conundrum. He had hoped that Ouibignaro’s expedition would provide something for him to work with. Besides Iceland the only other choice was that island chain in the middle of the ocean, but Nakasuk could see that would be terribly exposed as it was so far from the usual Inuit territory of the north. He looked at Iceland again.
“Could we not convince the Icelanders to allow our settlers to launch from there?” he asked.
“Unfortunately not, sire. Iceland still refuses to have any direct contact with us. I tried to land for supplies on the way back but I was driven off,” Ouibignaro said.
“There is only one choice then,” Nakasuk said, “we must take a staging area by force. Iceland is isolated and weak. I think we can handle it.”
“Sire!” exclaimed Oubignaro.
“Do you have a problem with that?” the king asked.
“Yes, sire. The native people of Europe are already being pressured by the newcomers, I don’t think it would be right to further oppress them,” Ouibignaro said.
“They’ll fall one way or another. Your reports even state that the new nations are far stronger and more organised than the European remnants. Better sooner than later, in my opinion,” Nakasuk said. He tapped at the large blobs of colour that represented the new and powerful nations.
It was hard to deny. Scotland was no match for the Djata Kurufa, Skandistan was slowly nibbling at the Sami lands and Estonia had already fallen to Jochi. Iceland would eventually fall under the control of another nation, mostly likely either Djata Kurufa or Skandistan. If Inuit wanted to secure a foothold on the continent this was the only way, and they had to take it before the opportunity was snatched away.
“Alright,” Ouibignaro said with a sigh. At least the Inuit would be kinder masters than the others.
“Good,” said Nakasuk as the explorer finally gave in, “now we just need to plan out the invasion. From your reports I believe four thousand warriors should be enough. Is that correct?”
“On land it is. It did not appear that the Icelanders had a strong army on the land. However, they do have several larger ships. In an ocean battle I do not think that my carrack could come out on top.” Ouibignaro continued to speak at length about the exact composition of the Icelandic navy. It was certainly larger than the Inuit navy, and probably a little more advanced as well.
“I see,” Nakasuk said while scratching his chin, in that case, I will commission even more carracks for your use. We have more men and money than they do, so it should be simple to assemble a force that can defeat theirs.”
“Very well, sire,” Ouibignaro said. He bowed and left to begin drawing up plans for the expanded fleet, and as he left he couldn’t help but smile a little. Even if they were going in as conquerors, with a larger fleet at his back he actually had a chance of being able to affect the flow of conflict in Europe and really making a difference.
The invasion of Iceland caused unrest in the population who thought it was risky and dishonourable.
While Nakasuk continued fighting abroad, the expansion of the nation continued. New cities were springing up all along the coast as the local tribes were integrated into the Kingdom.
The tribes found the new way of life very easy to enter as they had been observing the development of Inuit over the past eighty years and gotten used to the changes.
The invasion of Iceland was not without casualties. Ouibignaro, who had been placed in charge of the warships, was struck down by a stray arrow as he drove off the Icelandic coastal patrols.
Iceland fell without further incident. Nakasuk declared that the island would be the staging area for further explorations into Europe, although it would be a long time before enough infrastructure was established to launch expeditions directly.
A long way away, a whole ocean plus a continent away, in fact, another force was establishing its own staging area.
Pueblo scouts who had been negotiating with the west coast tribes watched with curiosity as the new arrivals stepped off their enormous ships and began to set up camp. They carried with them banners that looked nothing like the images they had seen of European heraldry that traders from the Gulf coast had brought with them. Nor did the clothes that they wore look like any kind of European outfit that the Last Fleet had carried with it.
One of the men placed a large box on the centre of the beach and lit a fire besides it. He quickly stepped away and took a banner from one of the other men besides him. With a dramatic flair he stabbed the banner into the ground and almost simultaneously a pillar of flame seemed to burst out of the box. The scouts watched with a mixture of horror and amazement as the pillar of flame reached high into the sky and exploded into a brilliant shower of red. Once the howling explosion had died down the man with the banner spoke up, although the language was completely unfamiliar to the Pueblo or indeed anyone on the continent.
“This land is claimed in the name of the Emperor of China and the Ming Dynasty!”
The arrival of foreigners sent shockwaves across the whole continent. The development of technology would have to step up now that the direct threat of being colonised themselves had suddenly appeared. (3)
To be continued…
(1) The Huron are not a problem because the Shawnee have them fully occupied.
(2) One advantage of the coring system is it makes provinces that should be easy to integrate gain a core very fast. Note that if this was in Europe it would have taken a lot longer, as overseas colonies take a large modifier to mtth.
(3) This event triggers when outside explorers arrive in the Americas and brings the American natives up to 100% tech speed (only in this scenario of course).
loki100: It all depends on how quickly they expand. Hopefully I can get enough tech or a core in range before its too late.
Mr. Santiago: As far as I know the Inuit are the only ones to contact Europe. So far. However, contact between America and Europe is not the only possibility...
blsteen: The concentration of political power definitely helps. Mostly because it means I can negotiate properly.
Calipah: Thank you for the information regarding West African Islam. Unfortunately like you say the game makes the distinction and all the backstory I give the neo-Europeans is based on how things are in-game. I'll see if I can rework it anyway.
Memento Mori: You're absolutely right. Serves me right for using Google Translate and not really looking at the results properly.
I'll change it.Encyclopaedia Djata Entry
Sultanate of Ruma
Founding
The Ashen Death ravaged Greece far later than other parts of Europe, most likely because the initial few cases were all aboard ships that had already departed to the western Mediterranean. The Ottoman Empire, having heard of the chaos in Europe, sealed the Bosphorus in time and combined with the natural immunity bestowed by the Black Death were able to prevent it from spreading too far into their territory. The city of Constantinople, the last refuge of the Byzantine Empire as the plague wiped out Greece, locked its gates and came close to starvation as it waited out the disease.
By 1398 the plague seemed to have burnt itself out. The Ottomans were quick to cross the border and take the weakened city, cementing their claim as the inheritors of the Roman Empire. However many of their own border regions were also ravaged by the plague, preventing them from making serious inroads further into Greece until the early 15th Century.
While the value of the rest of Greece was not worth the effort for the manpower it would take, there was another prize that would be worth any cost. Shortly after the fall of Constantinople the Ottoman Sultan ordered an expedition to be sent to Rome to claim it in the name of the Ottoman Empire. Such a prestigious prize could not be left to the other powers that all had their eyes set on the empty continent.
The expedition was led by a man named Basir, an ambitious general who was part of the effort to finish off the Eastern Roman Empire. When he arrived in Rome he found the city was already in the process of being repopulated. A wide array of survivors had flocked to Rome either as people eager to claim to glory of the Roman Empire like the Turkish force or desperate pilgrims looking for religious support from the Pope (deceased by this time). The Ottoman army was far larger than any of the other groups already in the city and so easily seized power.
With a city already half-filled, Basir found himself in an excellent position. He declared himself to be Basir I of Rum, ruler of a new Rome. The Ottoman Sultan was furious when he found out about the betrayal, but internal troubles and conflict with the Golden Horde as it looted the ruins of the Balkans prevented him from dispatching another force to deal with the upstart Sultan.
The Sultanate of Ruma was modelled after the old Roman Empire even more closely than the Byzantine Empire was. Latin was adopted as the official language and many of the emblems and symbols of Rome were also taken on. The sudden resurgence of a power in Rome attracted thousands of people seeking stability in post-plague troubled times from around the Mediterranean who helped power the expansion of the nation as it moved into the lands around Rome and ultimately the rest of the Italian peninsula.
Go with the Floe: An Inuit Dark Continent AAR
Chapter Six
Chapter Six
The Saguenay Valley was alive with activity as the Inuit party established their base camp for the construction of a new city. On the shores of the river the boats were being drawn up and dismantled for wood while even more men disembarked and went further inland to clear out the nearby wildlife for food, and eventually to clear the vegetation to establish simple farms and further expand the buildings.
“It’s all going smoothly,” a man said to himself as he stood atop a rock. After landing he had been quick to head up and get a proper lay of the land. It was in his role as commander of this colonisation effort. He continued to watch for a while until his thoughts were interrupted by a pair of warriors who were dragging behind them a boy who was barely an adult.
“Ootek, sir, we found this boy sneaking around the edge of the camp,” one of the soldiers said. “What should we do with him?”
The boy struggled against the men as they forced him in front of the Inuit leader. He was covered in mud and wearing rough furs. For someone brought up in the new order, seeing a tribesmen that had not caught up with the times was slightly disconcerting. Ootek shook it off as he bent down to speak to the interloper.
“What’s your name, boy?” he asked.
“Donnacona,” the boy said with a glare, “my father’s the chieftain of Stadacona, you know. He won’t stand for you capturing me!”
“Stadacona?”
Ootek knew he had heard that name somewhere before. He wracked his mind for a while longer before figuring it out and looking back at Donnacona with a little bit of regret. Just a little though, what they were doing was necessary for the advancement of the Inuit nation.
“By now we should have taken Stadacona. It’s too well-placed to not use for the colonisation of that region,” said Ootek.
“What?!” the boy exclaimed as he struggled against his captor’s grasp even harder, “then father…”
“We don’t want to wipe you out. He may yet be alive,” Ootek said before Donnacona could get desperate and vengeful. “What are you doing so far from home anyway?”
“Father had heard that big things were going on to the north, so he sent me along with some men to see what was happening. It was supposed to be my test of manhood,” Donnacona said as he calmed down. “I wanted to be a diplomat, not watch as you conquered our lands.”
“We’re doing this for your good as well as ours,” Ootek said. He pulled the boy up straight and brought him forward to look over the valley.
Already the first buildings were going up and a simple road had been cleared through the vegetation heading further up the valley. Through preparation and technology, simple shelter and infrastructure would be set up by nightfall. By the end of the month the settlement would be a proper village. Within years it would be a proper town and be able to be a proper part of the Inuit kingdom and begin spreading its influence and securing the surrounding countryside. It was nothing like the slow and steady living that had been the way for thousands of years previous.
“This is future, and like it or not you are part of it now,” said Ootek.
Donnacona did not reply. He just continued watching as he processed it all. Things were changing. Perhaps, if he made it home, he would try and convince his father that joining with the Inuit would be for the best.
Under Nakasuk’s instructions the Inuit expanded their control across the north-eastern regions of the continent.
Further south, the Aztec Empire grew relentlessly. After reforming its government to a more European style of Empire it easily overran its Zapotec and Mayan neighbours.
Ouibignaro returned in 1488 having spent the past few years mapping out the coasts of Europe. His travels had uncovered even larger nations in the eastern parts of Europe.
“And then I saw countless men on horses rushing across the plains. The Estonians stood no chance,” Ouibignaro said with a sweeping arm gesture that came close to spilling his drink. His Gaelic was hardly perfect, but he knew enough to get his message across.
“That sounds amazing,” the Scottish man opposite him said as he drank deeply from his own mug.
Ouibignaro had sailed up the Thames after hearing rumours of survivors in the city that lay upon it, but he had only found a group of Scots who had travelled south to occupy it. Upon coming ashore he had quickly befriended the isolated Scottish colonists and in return they had given him a tour of the parts of London they were restoring, eventually ending up in the pub they were now sharing stories in.
“So what happened next?” the Scottish man asked with a grin.
“Not much; the Jochi Horde ended up wiping out the Kingdom of Saaremaa. They weren’t really eager to have us poking around any more after that, so they chased us back to the ship,” Ouibignaro said with an unfittingly amused expression.
“Those damned newcomers are messing everything up. Whatever happened to Europe for Europeans?” the Scot said as his expression sunk and he pulled another beer from the bar.
“Yeah,” Ouibignaro said in agreement after a few moments of silence. He was glad now that he hadn’t cared to publicize his secondary goal of scouting out landing sites for full Inuit expeditions.
The melancholy hung over the bar for another few minutes before being rudely interrupted by a deafening crashing sound from outside followed moments later by a wave of dust blowing in through the doors and windows. Coughing, an Inuit man burst into the pub and waved his hand and made a ‘come with me’ gesture towards Ouibignaro.
“Captain, it’s the Djata Kurufa! It looks like they set up a catapult on one of the western streets,” the Inuit explained in a rushed and breathless voice.
Both men at the bar jumped to their feet, almost all their alcoholic daze driven off by adrenaline, and rushed out behind the man. Bursting out onto the street they found themselves in the chaos and confusion of the attack. One of the restored building across the street had collapsed completely from a well placed impact and the screams of the trapped could be heard coming from inside. Everywhere the Scottish colonists ran to try and find shelter, help the injured, or take up arms and prepare for the attack.
“I’ve got to help!” Oubignaro’s drinking buddy said, possibly more to himself than his companions, before he too rushed off and disappeared into the chaotic scene.
“I think we’ve spent enough time here,” Ouibignaro said. It was happening again. There was nothing he could do this time either except retreat, not matter how much he wanted to stay and help those in trouble.
“Sir, we have to go!” the other Inuit said quickly as he glanced around. A battle cry rang from a few streets away and the sound of clashing metal could be heard over the general disorder. The Malal were beginning their attack, and they probably would not discriminate between Scots and Inuit.
“Of course,” Ouibignaro responded. He began to jog towards the ship, which was just outside the Scottish district. Luckily that meant it would not be a target while the artillery was focused on the Scots. As he ran he hoped that the rest of his men would follow orders and keep out of this, but he had seen so many of them getting friendly with the natives
His worst fears were confirmed when he arrived and found the carrack barely half full. So many men had stayed behind to defend the Scots that he only just had enough men to set sail. He briefly contemplated staying and waiting to see if anyone else would come, but a catapulted rock smashing into one of the dock buildings and sending showers of wood over the ship convinced him that it was time to go. He boarded and ordered the ship to immediately leave London and begin plotting a course home. There was no way he could continue with so few.
Perhaps one day the Inuit would not have to retreat from a situation like this, but that was not this day.
He also told of wars fought between the newcomers and the old Europeans. One of the biggest sources of attrition for his men was them getting too entangled in local affairs and refusing to leave when ordered to.
While many of the nearby nations were forming more stable governments, others such as the Sioux were stuck in the old ways of raiding and plundering. (1)
Nakasuk was sure to lead the armies personally to show that he was dealing with this threat. Under his command the Sioux fell and were forced to concede defeat.
“We simply don’t have the capacity, sire,” Ouibignaro said as he placed the map on the table. “I have explored all of the west coast of Europe and there is nothing that is within our capability to reach except for Iceland, and that is already inhabited.”
King Nakasuk looked over the maps he had been presented. It was certainly a conundrum. He had hoped that Ouibignaro’s expedition would provide something for him to work with. Besides Iceland the only other choice was that island chain in the middle of the ocean, but Nakasuk could see that would be terribly exposed as it was so far from the usual Inuit territory of the north. He looked at Iceland again.
“Could we not convince the Icelanders to allow our settlers to launch from there?” he asked.
“Unfortunately not, sire. Iceland still refuses to have any direct contact with us. I tried to land for supplies on the way back but I was driven off,” Ouibignaro said.
“There is only one choice then,” Nakasuk said, “we must take a staging area by force. Iceland is isolated and weak. I think we can handle it.”
“Sire!” exclaimed Oubignaro.
“Do you have a problem with that?” the king asked.
“Yes, sire. The native people of Europe are already being pressured by the newcomers, I don’t think it would be right to further oppress them,” Ouibignaro said.
“They’ll fall one way or another. Your reports even state that the new nations are far stronger and more organised than the European remnants. Better sooner than later, in my opinion,” Nakasuk said. He tapped at the large blobs of colour that represented the new and powerful nations.
It was hard to deny. Scotland was no match for the Djata Kurufa, Skandistan was slowly nibbling at the Sami lands and Estonia had already fallen to Jochi. Iceland would eventually fall under the control of another nation, mostly likely either Djata Kurufa or Skandistan. If Inuit wanted to secure a foothold on the continent this was the only way, and they had to take it before the opportunity was snatched away.
“Alright,” Ouibignaro said with a sigh. At least the Inuit would be kinder masters than the others.
“Good,” said Nakasuk as the explorer finally gave in, “now we just need to plan out the invasion. From your reports I believe four thousand warriors should be enough. Is that correct?”
“On land it is. It did not appear that the Icelanders had a strong army on the land. However, they do have several larger ships. In an ocean battle I do not think that my carrack could come out on top.” Ouibignaro continued to speak at length about the exact composition of the Icelandic navy. It was certainly larger than the Inuit navy, and probably a little more advanced as well.
“I see,” Nakasuk said while scratching his chin, in that case, I will commission even more carracks for your use. We have more men and money than they do, so it should be simple to assemble a force that can defeat theirs.”
“Very well, sire,” Ouibignaro said. He bowed and left to begin drawing up plans for the expanded fleet, and as he left he couldn’t help but smile a little. Even if they were going in as conquerors, with a larger fleet at his back he actually had a chance of being able to affect the flow of conflict in Europe and really making a difference.
The invasion of Iceland caused unrest in the population who thought it was risky and dishonourable.
While Nakasuk continued fighting abroad, the expansion of the nation continued. New cities were springing up all along the coast as the local tribes were integrated into the Kingdom.
The tribes found the new way of life very easy to enter as they had been observing the development of Inuit over the past eighty years and gotten used to the changes.
The invasion of Iceland was not without casualties. Ouibignaro, who had been placed in charge of the warships, was struck down by a stray arrow as he drove off the Icelandic coastal patrols.
Iceland fell without further incident. Nakasuk declared that the island would be the staging area for further explorations into Europe, although it would be a long time before enough infrastructure was established to launch expeditions directly.
A long way away, a whole ocean plus a continent away, in fact, another force was establishing its own staging area.
Pueblo scouts who had been negotiating with the west coast tribes watched with curiosity as the new arrivals stepped off their enormous ships and began to set up camp. They carried with them banners that looked nothing like the images they had seen of European heraldry that traders from the Gulf coast had brought with them. Nor did the clothes that they wore look like any kind of European outfit that the Last Fleet had carried with it.
One of the men placed a large box on the centre of the beach and lit a fire besides it. He quickly stepped away and took a banner from one of the other men besides him. With a dramatic flair he stabbed the banner into the ground and almost simultaneously a pillar of flame seemed to burst out of the box. The scouts watched with a mixture of horror and amazement as the pillar of flame reached high into the sky and exploded into a brilliant shower of red. Once the howling explosion had died down the man with the banner spoke up, although the language was completely unfamiliar to the Pueblo or indeed anyone on the continent.
“This land is claimed in the name of the Emperor of China and the Ming Dynasty!”
The arrival of foreigners sent shockwaves across the whole continent. The development of technology would have to step up now that the direct threat of being colonised themselves had suddenly appeared. (3)
To be continued…
(1) The Huron are not a problem because the Shawnee have them fully occupied.
(2) One advantage of the coring system is it makes provinces that should be easy to integrate gain a core very fast. Note that if this was in Europe it would have taken a lot longer, as overseas colonies take a large modifier to mtth.
(3) This event triggers when outside explorers arrive in the Americas and brings the American natives up to 100% tech speed (only in this scenario of course).
wonderful, a compelling narrative for a new Rome, the race to gain control over N America and now the Chinese expanding into the Americas ... this is so dynamic and with wonderful characterisation
I wondr what has triggered the Chinese to colonise instead of seeking to reach "inward perfection"? Did Ashen Death reach there too? Or did Zheng He manage to do it this time?
Perhaps vassalizing the Scots instead of annexing (assuming they survive the Djatian onslaught for 50 more years) would be a good idea, for legitimacy purposes? Like "you know, we are strangers in Europe, but we just come here to protect their original inhabitants against the more malicious strangers, so we are the good guys and you should shut up and not DoW for no reason at all, mr. Aztec ambasador"
Perhaps vassalizing the Scots instead of annexing (assuming they survive the Djatian onslaught for 50 more years) would be a good idea, for legitimacy purposes? Like "you know, we are strangers in Europe, but we just come here to protect their original inhabitants against the more malicious strangers, so we are the good guys and you should shut up and not DoW for no reason at all, mr. Aztec ambasador"
Some great stuff going on here! I look forward to the future endeavours of the Inuit people!
Please be nice to the Sioux when possible? :3
I'm playing as them right now, inspired by this AAR, and I've expanded across North America, and have started colonizing Europe
also, can we get an update on what's going on in the rest of the world?
in my game Vij'y is almost readt to form Hindustan, and Malacca is close to forming Malaya.
So i'm just curious of that kind of thing in your game?
I'm playing as them right now, inspired by this AAR, and I've expanded across North America, and have started colonizing Europe
also, can we get an update on what's going on in the rest of the world?
in my game Vij'y is almost readt to form Hindustan, and Malacca is close to forming Malaya.
So i'm just curious of that kind of thing in your game?