The State of the World 1836
Part 3: The Holy Roman Empire
One Final State of the world post, this time talking about the Player Nation, and the Greatest Power in the world.
Austria, or the Holy Roman Empire as it is now known as once more, is a Global Empire, One with Holdings in every continent. At its Height the Austrian Empire controlled nearly all of South America in addition to its already vast Colonial Empire which includes the Dominion of California, Dominion of South Afrika, and the Japanese Protectorate.
We'll be starting our brief overview with the Dominion of California. California is the largest of Austria's dominions but not very densely populated. Though this has in the short term has made them loyal members of the Holy Roman Empire. Not willing to repeat mistakes of the past, Californians receive proper, and perhaps favorable treatment as a the first member of the Anniona Commonwealth a new system designed to keep the various colonial and Puppet nations of the Holy Roman Empire loyal and obedient.
California despite its population is one of Austria's richest and most valuable colonies. During the early 1800's Austrian prospectors found small deposits of Gold, Silver and Iron throughout the Pacific Northwest. Though with the chaos of the Napoleonic wars, such news quickly faded. Now with the Empire once more at peace, the colony is likely to quickly become a valuable gem in the Austrian crown.
The Dominion of Japan is Austria's most populous colony. When Sengoku Jidai started Japan knew only chaos for several hundred years. Though this Chaos eventually ended when the Takeda unified Japan it once again reignited when Catholicism was introduced to Japan via Andalusian traders and missionaries. Rather than rejecting Christ's holy power as Korea and the Chinese have done the Japanese Shogunate instead embraced it, sponsoring a second civil war between the Shogun and the reactionary Daimyo's of Japan.
The second Sengoku only ended when Austrian Naval forces arrived, and slowly began to conquer and Integrate the Japanese in the name of protecting Catholic interests in the Area. The Shogun of Japan reacted of course, westernizing both Japanese Arms and society but it was too late, the Austrians had captured the last Empress of Japan and made her an Anniona via marriage, much as they had to countless other dynasties in ages past. Though they fought bravely, the Japanese ultimately were put down and the Dominion of Japan was formally established.
Now Emperor Franz-Joseph stands as the rightful Emperor of Japan through the blood of his Grandmother Empress Meisho II. The Japanese are a prosperous and determined people, though are wholly mixed on Austrian rule. One one hand the Holy Roman Empire has brought order to a chaotic time of Japanese History, it is also a constant reminder of the humiliation and Embarrassment the Japanese people have endured.
Japanese Feudal culture is notable in that the rather than be seen as barbaric and uncivilized, Reactionaries within the Holy Roman Empire have seen the Japanese as an example of their Ideal society, one of little to no social movement, with the Emperor with nearly godlike despotic power over his country. The Japanese as a whole however are still treated as no better than Colonials by the Empire itself, making the Islands yet another Commonwealth state, no better than California or Africa.
Austrian Indonesia is a collection of lesser dominions, with little purpose or place in the Holy Roman Administration besides providing Naval bases for Austrian ships traveling across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Though New Guine and the Philippines have been the sites of Plantation they are rather minor and have remained undeveloped and neglected compared to the rest of the empire.
In Africa, things are slightly different. Austria originally started its African adventures as early as the late 1400's though such African colonies were primarily used for Naval bases on the way to America. This changed with the discovery of the Cape of Good hope, and the rise of the Slave Trade.
With Cordoba and Portugal each threatening to monopolize the Slave trade, Austria found a sudden need to take large amounts of African coastline to Bypass the Umayyad-Cordoban Monopoly on African trade, and thus the Kongo and South Africa was colonized. Later long after the abolition of Slavery Goldmines had been discovered in the Cape of good hope, leading to several short colonial wars in the 18th century where the remainder of south Africa was seized in the name of the Holy Roman Empire.
Now South Africa sits as the primary producer of diamonds and other precious materials in the world, having paid for itself nearly four times over in rare gems, gold and Ivory. With technology rapidly progressing, new Vaccines and new inventions may enable further European colonization of the interior of the dark continent, allowing further riches to be extracted from the heart of Afrika.
Onto the Holy Roman Empire itself, in its full glory. The Holy Roman Empire has been in existence for over 900 years since its original formation in 910 AD. Though the Empire has experienced Crisis, Invasions and Reformations it has never been truly destroyed and now stands as the most powerful country in Europe yet again.
The Empire consists of Several old Electorates, once Kingdoms and now Imperial Provinces. The First of which being Germany, which includes all German land north of the Alps, and west of Bohemia and Bavaria. Bohemia, is one of the smallest provinces in the Empire, consisting of the Czech peoples of the North. The Italian Peninsula is divided in Half, into Northern Italy and Southern Italy. The old lands of the Kingdom of Burgundy have been reconfigured into the Province of Occitania. Austria Proper is the largest and most populous state of the Empire, consisting of Bavaria, Upper Austria, the Duchy of Carinthia and Illyria. The last remaining states are, Carpathia, which consists of all remaining land within the Carpathian Basin, Wallachia which consists of all land to the east of the Carpathians and Bulgaria which includes the old Kingdoms of Serbia and Bulgaria.
The Cultural Makeup of The Empire reveals a diverse and multiethnic Empire under the normal, homogeneous grey. Germans(grey), Austrians (Who are functionally the same as South Germans), Bohemians(Bluish Purple), Goths(Orange), Tatars(Minorities in Bulgaria and Hungary), Greeks(Purple), North Italians(Light Green), Occitans(Off Light blue), Swiss(red), South Italians(Dark Green), Slavic Minorities(Light Green in Hungary) and Poles(Pink) all exist within the Empire.
While other Empires struggle with Multiethnic populations, The Holy Roman Empire takes a stern stance within the Empire on many Policies. German is the primary language of the Empire and is spoken by nearly all non-romance cultures within it and the Second and less popular legal language of the Empire is Latin, which the Occitans, Italians and small French and Greek Minorities speak.
Accepted Cultures such as the Czechs and Goths are at the same level as Germans in terms of citizenship, Public service and of course the Military. However due to these three cultures making up the Majority of the country's European population the Italians and Occitans have found it more difficult to properly Integrate with the Austrian Administration, while the Greeks do not try at all. Due to issues in the past the Italians and German populations of the Holy Roman Empire do not properly abide each other and a large portion of Austrian domestic policy in the last eight years has been to keep a second civil war from breaking out.
The Occitans while not especially rebellious or defiant are also not recognized properly by the Holy Roman administration and are expected to once again be given an Autonomous state within the Empire, much as they had been before the Napoleonic Wars. Something the Italians and Greeks had also demanded and been denied.
In General the largest culture within the Austrian Empire is i fact, the Japanese, who outnumber nearly any other cultural group including Ethnic South Germans which make up only 20% to the Japanese 22%. Though the Japanese still are a minority when weighed against the combined 20-8-3 Percents of South German, Gothic and North German Populations. Still overall the Empire is not predominantly German which has led to some issues in the past and likely in the future.
On a whole the Population of the Empire is primarily Catholic, with small minor protestant and Shinto Minorities still existing. Nearly one in Ten of the total population however is most concerned with the Integration of Church in state, favoring a continued Policy of Integration of the Emperor and his role as the religious head of the Empire. Something that makes sense as many people within Austria are either still Farmers or Laborers.
Currently nearly 70% of Imperial citizens show a conservative Bias, and agree with the NCP policies of Interventionism, Protectionism and Moralism. Though the Conservatives aren't in power in neither the Imperial council or Reichsrat, instead the Reactionary National Party controls the majority of the Reichsrat, though the Emperor of course is the end all Authority in Policy.
The Holy Roman Government is a simple system. The Emperor remains at the top of the System, is the Head of the Military and chief legislative Officer. Under him is the Imperial Council, an appointed small council of talented officials within the Empire that serve as the Emperor's chief advisors.
Under them is the Reichsrat, which has recently been reformed by the National Party following Napoleon's revolution to no longer include elected officials. Instead the Reichsrat is an appointed body of Noble representatives from across the country representing the interests of each region and demographic of the Austrian Population.
The Empire does not officially support any local elections or voting, though keeps several policies, One, being that No man for any reason shall enslave another and two, No man shall be deprived his right to assemble his peers in his own home, place of business or public place.
Though there is no voting, Reforms from the Original Holy Roman System have shown that representation based on states within the Reichsrat can cause issues, namely with the many minor states of Carpathia which used to dominate elections in the past. Thus The Reichrat has been reformed that referendums on certain issues are to use the Jeffersonian Method, an election system Popularized by the New Anglian Politician, Thomas Jefferson.
Divided once, but now once more Unified, the Holy Roman Empire now can strike out towards a new Destiny. With an Empire upon which the Sun never sets, and Descendant of two Sun Gods at the helm of the country it is time for the Holy Roman Empire to once more rise from crisis and war and take her place, as greatest Nation in the world, not only for the Modern Era, but for all time.