Empire of the Mediterranean: An Interactive Aragon AAR

[Mach Twelve]

Let me alleviate one of the concerns towards my proposal - that there would be no regional governors. In fact, the act envisions small regions, not 'Italy', 'Castille' etc., but regions such as 'Barcelona', 'Naples' etc.. The nobility in these regions is often limited to one active at court, who would immediately fill the position. In the other regions, the nobles will surely know who amongst them is best suited as leader. As there is often a difficulty finding an able Steward, this would guarantee that there is someone else than the crown improving the provinces.

I suppose what you say is true, but we must be prepared for all eventualities. Should a region prove itself unable to function independently, the Crown, or rather the Steward, should be able to restore order and proper operation to that region. I will not see areas of the Empire fall to anarchy and ruin simply because they could not decide on what action to take. My grandfather worked far too long and far too hard for this Empire's benefit for me to see our prosperity reversed so soon after his death.

 

[alscon]

A Message from Duque y Conte y Conte Guillen II B.X. Etxeto of House Etxeto
​

"The position of Steward is limited only by the demands placed upon it by the Prime Ministers. When I was Steward, I engaged in localised charities, galas, and regional events throughout the Capitol Region and my lands. However the incessant drone of the Prime Minister to spend Royal funds on meaningless infrastructure projects was overwhelming. Thusly, when I rightfully ignored them in my own home, I was unceremoniously removed from the position.

Thusly, the real need is to remove the requirements placed on the Steward by such annoying consistent naggers like the Prime Minister and allow the Stewards to work at their own speed."

It is good to see that you haven't lost your sense of humour in this debate, Duke Etxeto. When I enquired about whether you wanted to form a plan for your very important ministry, you told me that you haven't set a foot into the capital in years. And, if I may cite freely, to 'shove the office where the Lord's light doesn't shine'. And I highly doubt that the esteemed Prime Minister Petros Mandromenos wanted to support meaningless infrastructure projects.
If such concerns existed, you may have brought them to the attention of His Imperial Highness, who holds and will ever hold the final authority in these matters. Under regional leadership, you may gain access to imperial funds for the important projects of your duchy, provided the Treasurer, as he already does currently, sets the priority on these buildings.

As for restoring order, what do you have in mind, as current Steward and Treasurer, Duke Mandromenos? In neglected regions, the crown might intervene if necessary, but only then, or the entire principle of the act wouldn't pay off. Of course, if a revolt erupts due to that neglect or such grave matter, severe consequences will have to be taken - perhaps the revocation of the concerned title. I will gladly listen to your suggestions.

 

[Mach Twelve]

As for restoring order, what do you have in mind, as current Steward and Treasurer, Duke Mandromenos? In neglected regions, the crown might intervene if necessary, but only then, or the entire principle of the act wouldn't pay off. Of course, if a revolt erupts due to that neglect or such grave matter, severe consequences will have to be taken - perhaps the revocation of the concerned title. I will gladly listen to your suggestions.

As you may know my education was not diplomatic, as my Grandfather, or military, as my Father, but in the legal spheres. I have studied and even taught law and its application from a young age until my Grandfather's passing. An interesting philosophy question posed to each student is this: Is is ethical, moral, and just for a man to steal to feed his family in lean times, provided his theft will not put another in danger? This is a difficult problem with many a good argument for both approval and disapproval. But ultimately there is only one solution to this problem: It is a ruler's responsibility to ensure that his land's stores are large enough to ensure that such actions are unnecessary. It is the burden of rulers, be they Counts or Emperors, to have a just, effective governance to ensure their lands prosper and continue to grow, so they may be capable of fairly taxing their subjects for such a grim time.

Without a Steward, Hispania will have no one seeking to continue to improve our infrastructure, which is the foundation of prosperity. How can one sail around Africa and do trade with India and China without the Ports we established around Africa after all? As our Empire grows, we need to improve our foundations to keep up. While the local lords may be active in a few regions, other regions may fall into neglect and depression. And as the prosperity of these regions disappears, lawlessness it rise as the people struggle to survive, or they will prove to be a burden on our Treasury as we seek to redistribute the prosperity from properly managed regions to the neglected. I refuse to allow either to happen. If the Treasurer is to approve the projects of the localized regions through the power of the purse, he must be given another power, the power to independently propose projects in neglected regions where the local nobility has been lax. This will allow the regions where the local leader are active to maintain their autonomy but allow the neglected regions the ability to prosper as well. And as the regions prosper, so will the Empire. And as the Empire prospers, so will the its Influence wax. And with that Influence Hispania will take its rightful place as this world's leader.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Spoiler: A letter to Crown Prince Pere

Your Royal Highness,
I write this letter to you to place my concerns regarding the current state of our country, county which you may have to rule. In my opinion if we continue to follow the path that Hispania is taking, the might be no Hispania left to rule in future. The continuous decentralization will only give more autonomy to the small groups, and we have to ask ourselves, how much longer before those small groups stop saying that are citizens of Hispania, but return to calling themselves by the names of their old countries? The people of Portugal, Castille, Italy will enjoy so much freedom that they will no longer see the point of identifying as Hispania! We mustn’t allow Hispania to crumble! The second matter that has been constantly bothering me is the current steward and treasurer. If you closely inspect his actions, you will notice that he only acted in the matters that granted him more power, and in fact I also believe the same can be applied to the Prime Minister. To me it seems that they are a part of small clique, that seeks to slowly take away the power of the Emperor and give it to themselves. If nothing is done to stop them they will succeed and leave the Monarch as nothing more but a simple puppet without and say in matters of State. Now I know that you are also concerned about the current path that Hispania is taking, otherwise I would not dare to disturb you with such a letter, especially since some might consider this a sign of treason or madness, but I only wish to see the country which I serve strong and united, not the opposite. I hope we can find a solution to all of this, before it is too late to save this magnificent Empire.

Alexis Cyril de Saint-Pierre,
Grand Admiral of Hispanai, Head of the Trans-Atlantic Trading Company, loyal serveant of the Crown and Empire of Hispania

Spoiler: Private letter to Alexis Cyril de Saint-Pierre

It is good to hear that my concerns are shared by others. My brother is too concerned with appeasing everyone that he refuses to see the consequences of such an action. Not everyone at court has Hispania's best interests at heart. Those living on the fringes of the empire do not know what is best for it. We must turn back to the Iberian heartland and strengthen the core of Hispania. Only then will the empire be strong. I assure you that I will continue to oppose my brother's misguided attempts at decentralization, and if I require support in such endeavours, I will make certain to contact you. I can only hope that you will be as willing as I am to take drastic measures if necessary.

- Crown Prince Pere de Trastámara, Duke of Murcia & Count of Alicante

 

[alscon]

At the counsel of Steward and Treasurer Mandromenos, I will amend my proposed law. It is merely an adaption to the political reality:

The office of Steward is not to be entirely abolished, but the crown instead assisted by the Treasurer in the regions without a leader, effectively merging these ministries. If a leader doesn't act for over thirty years, then the Treasurer might intervene.

 

[BelisariustheGreat]

Sancho wrote to letters: One to Alexis-Cyril de Saint-Pierre and one to the Emporers brother, the Crown prince

Spoiler: Letter to Crown Prince Peré de Trastámara

Your Imperial Highness,
iI know you have concerbs against the decentralization. And in this special case i share them! It seems like the steward and our Prime Minister are willing to weaken Hispania for their own wealth. And this is what i fear. The concentration of power, a to big decentrilazation and the reason from this is a ineffective government. I always served the Emporer as well as i could but i don't want to just serve him, i want to protect him from false decisions. And to pass this law made by the steward would be a big mistake.
I hope you can change your brothers mind,
with regards
Sancho de Burgundy-Ivrea-Orange
Grandmaster of Hispania
Count in Provence,
Only legit prince of Orange,
Prince of Aux-en-Provence
Baron of Greoux les banis

Spoiler: Letter to Admiral Alexis-Cyril de Saint Pierre

Dear Admiral,
i know you are a enemy of decentrilazation and in this special moment i share your concerns.
The concentration of power for the steward is something that will destroy our empire soon enough. we have to work together to stop this idiotic and bad law.
with regards
Sancho de Burgundy-Ivrea-Orange
Grandmaster of Hispania
Count in Provence,
Only legit prince of Orange,
Prince of Aux-en-Provence
Baron of Greoux les banis

 

[Michaelangelo]

Sancho wrote to letters: One to Alexis-Cyril de Saint-Pierre and one to the Emporers brother, the Crown prince

Spoiler: Letter to Crown Prince Peré de Trastámara

Your Imperial Highness,
iI know you have concerbs against the decentralization. And in this special case i share them! It seems like the steward and our Prime Minister are willing to weaken Hispania for their own wealth. And this is what i fear. The concentration of power, a to big decentrilazation and the reason from this is a ineffective government. I always served the Emporer as well as i could but i don't want to just serve him, i want to protect him from false decisions. And to pass this law made by the steward would be a big mistake.
I hope you can change your brothers mind,
with regards
Sancho de Burgundy-Ivrea-Orange
Grandmaster of Hispania
Count in Provence,
Only legit prince of Orange,
Prince of Aux-en-Provence
Baron of Greoux les banis

Spoiler: Private letter to Count Sancho de Burgundy-Ivrea-Orange

The best thing you can do at this moment is vote against this abhorrent proposal. My brother may be foolish in allowing these decentralization attempts to continue, but he is at least committed to ruling by consensus. He will not pass such an act without the court's approval. I hope that the majority shares my sentiment. If not, I may require your assistance in helping prevent further decentralization. For now, let us wait and see how the court responds.

- Crown Prince Pere de Trastámara

 

[hirahammad]

In between drills, Timur sent a letter to the court.

Spoiler: Letter to Court

Honourable Members of the Court,

There is mention of creating governors of small areas within Hispania, who may develop as they please their lands, with the consent of the Treasurer. This has arisen, it seems, due to a chronic lack of initiative on the part of the Stewards, understandable given their enormous task, but not acceptable.

In a Utopia, the Steward develops all the provinces of the empire as part of a grand plan to better the entire empire, not just Sicily, or Alentejo. If each area has its own caretaker, unity will falter, as how can the governor of Sicily know that both he and the governor of Tuscany wish to invest in trade depots. Then, both Sicily and Tuscany will have trade buildings, where in reality, only Sicily should have developed trade, Tuscany being more disposed to agriculture. Each area would become as a vassal to the Crown territories, working regradless of each other, just as often hindering as aiding one another.

The Steward was supposed to bind all Hispania towards a common goal, allowing each area to specialize. If Provence specializes in trade, increasing income by two ducats a month, to the behest of its farms, resulting in a food deficit, and the other regions, having enough food, do not increase their output, then Provence will be forced to despecialize, wasting its energies on ineffiecent ventures to support itself. If there were a Steward, he would increase trade infrastructure in Provence, and then, to feed the merchants, increase food production elsewhere.

An area is akin to a man. If that man is alone in the wilderness, the majority of his time will be spent crudely gaining the sustenance he requires to survive, there being no time to innovate. If, however, men band together, then those who can hunt, spend part of the day hunting, and those who forage, spend part of the day foraging, and by means of increased efficiency, they all have an increase is prosperity and time, which they can direct to innovation and the betterment of the group. If each area is kept under its own leadership, it will be as if it is a small nation, forced to labor to meet its needs, and nothing more. If Hispania has oversight, all the areas will come together to form a common civilization, and thus direct their energies towards innovation.

Thus, I believe small areas, each independent in their infrastructure, would be a detriment to Hispania. So what is to be done? We have seen from experience that being Steward of an inter-continental empire may be too much for one person, but that if each area were administered independently, the empire would be many small principalities protected by one arms, much like the Germans. Therefore, I believe that the Stewardship shall be split into three parts.

Under this plan, Alentejo, Asturias, Beiras, Castille, Leon, Lower Andalucia, Macaronesia, Toledo, and Upper Andalucia would be under the administration of the Steward of Iberia. Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia, Provence, and all of Italy would be under the administration of the Steward of the Mediterranean. All remaining land would be under the control of the Steward of Africa and Asia. I believe this way, each Steward has a large enough territory to join the energies of Hispania into harmony, without any Steward having to administer more than about 30 provinces. Each of the Stewards would serve on the Council.

I hope that you take this proposal into consideration, and remember that for Hispania to prosper, Hispania must work with itself.

Humbly,
Timur Shah

 

[Michaelangelo]

In between drills, Timur sent a letter to the court.

Spoiler: Letter to Court

Honourable Members of the Court,

There is mention of creating governors of small areas within Hispania, who may develop as they please their lands, with the consent of the Treasurer. This has arisen, it seems, due to a chronic lack of initiative on the part of the Stewards, understandable given their enormous task, but not acceptable.

In a Utopia, the Steward develops all the provinces of the empire as part of a grand plan to better the entire empire, not just Sicily, or Alentejo. If each area has its own caretaker, unity will falter, as how can the governor of Sicily know that both he and the governor of Tuscany wish to invest in trade depots. Then, both Sicily and Tuscany will have trade buildings, where in reality, only Sicily should have developed trade, Tuscany being more disposed to agriculture. Each area would become as a vassal to the Crown territories, working regradless of each other, just as often hindering as aiding one another.

The Steward was supposed to bind all Hispania towards a common goal, allowing each area to specialize. If Provence specializes in trade, increasing income by two ducats a month, to the behest of its farms, resulting in a food deficit, and the other regions, having enough food, do not increase their output, then Provence will be forced to despecialize, wasting its energies on ineffiecent ventures to support itself. If there were a Steward, he would increase trade infrastructure in Provence, and then, to feed the merchants, increase food production elsewhere.

An area is akin to a man. If that man is alone in the wilderness, the majority of his time will be spent crudely gaining the sustenance he requires to survive, there being no time to innovate. If, however, men band together, then those who can hunt, spend part of the day hunting, and those who forage, spend part of the day foraging, and by means of increased efficiency, they all have an increase is prosperity and time, which they can direct to innovation and the betterment of the group. If each area is kept under its own leadership, it will be as if it is a small nation, forced to labor to meet its needs, and nothing more. If Hispania has oversight, all the areas will come together to form a common civilization, and thus direct their energies towards innovation.

Thus, I believe small areas, each independent in their infrastructure, would be a detriment to Hispania. So what is to be done? We have seen from experience that being Steward of an inter-continental empire may be too much for one person, but that if each area were administered independently, the empire would be many small principalities protected by one arms, much like the Germans. Therefore, I believe that the Stewardship shall be split into three parts.

Under this plan, Alentejo, Asturias, Beiras, Castille, Leon, Lower Andalucia, Macaronesia, Toledo, and Upper Andalucia would be under the administration of the Steward of Iberia. Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia, Provence, and all of Italy would be under the administration of the Steward of the Mediterranean. All remaining land would be under the control of the Steward of Africa and Asia. I believe this way, each Steward has a large enough territory to join the energies of Hispania into harmony, without any Steward having to administer more than about 30 provinces. Each of the Stewards would serve on the Council.

I hope that you take this proposal into consideration, and remember that for Hispania to prosper, Hispania must work with itself.

Humbly,
Timur Shah

((If you want this reform to be official, I'll need it set up as a law so it can be posted with the others if it's passed. Also, if we're splitting it into three, I might have to rework which ones get VP since we shouldn't just keep getting free VP by making new council positions. I'd also assume that Greece and Anatolia fall under Mediterranean despite not being mentioned there, seeing as it'd be silly for them to be lumped in under Africa and Asia with the rest. ))

 

[Michaelangelo]

I feel that we are attempting to go about solving the problem of the stewardship the wrong way. Handing off the power to the local lords to decide how to use Crown funds will only turn the system into one of patronage, where those with the best relationship with the treasurer, or the most money to bribe him, will get their funding. Since the steward is directly responsible to the emperor and prime minister, he is accountable for his decisions, while the local lords may not entirely be when deciding how to spend Crown money. Splitting the office into three with equal ability to use Crown funds will lead to disorganized spending as all three push through projects without consulting each other, leading to triple the spending. A single steward removes this problem. No, the answer is not to spread out the power or give the duties to several equals, but to offer the current steward the resources to carry out his duties to the best of his ability. In fact, the same could be said of all ministers. Up until now, they have relied on a small team of confidantes and influential figures to carry out their respective duties, but this is unreliable and prone to supporting promotion through favouritism rather than merit. Thus I propose the following:

The Civil Service Act​

I. The Civil Service shall hereby be formally created within Hispania. The Civil Service shall operate in the capital of Valencia, with smaller divisions established in major cities of all provinces of the empire.
II. The Civil Service shall consist of various branches called ministries, represented by each position on the Council, which shall hereby be known as ministers.
III. Civil servants within the Civil Service shall be assigned to the various ministries, with each ministry receiving the appropriate number of civil servants needed for carrying out the duties of the ministry.
IV. All civil servants within the Civil Service shall be accountable to the Emperor, if he deems to intervene, and the civil servants in each ministry shall answer to the appropriate minister.
V. All civil servants will be required to have graduated from a recognized university within Hispania, have taken a special training course offered by a recognized Hispanian university, or have formally been trained by a qualified civil servant and have taken a civil service exam administered by a recognized Hispanian university.
VI. To provide for the above clause, all Hispanian universities will be required to offer a course designed to train civil servants. The curriculum shall be determined by the various ministers and shall be reviewed every ten years.
VII. Recognizing that the current universities in Valencia and Firenze are insufficient to provide the proper training to such a large Civil Service, universities shall be founded in Navarra, Madrid, Leon, Granada, Lisboa, Provence, Napoli, Palermo, and Athens.

I hope that this reform will go a long way towards fixing the apparent problems with certain council position, as well as serve as an adequate solution that does not utilize further methods of decentralization.

- Crown Prince Pere de Trastámara, Duke of Murcia and Count of Alicante

((In terms of gameplay, the only impact this will have is the construction of universities. The rest is all RP fluff to make it seem like the various ministers have people working for them and helping carry out their duties. It sort of follows in a similar vein to the earlier military reforms, in that people might have to start RPing that they've gone through the proper training if they're working for a minister.))

* * * * *

((Sorry for the slight delay in putting out the vote. I've been feeling a bit under the weather today, and I really wanted to get that reform out. Anyway, time to start voting. I'm going to include hirahammad's reform due to time constraints, although if he could write it up as a law before the end of the vote deadline, that'd be perfect. Also, seeing as only alscon suggested a name for the future colonial nation in Australia, it will officially become Nueva Sicilia, which amused me because I gave the continent a similar name in another AAR. Also, keep in mind for alscon's law that there's an amendment tacked on afterwards in a separate post, so I'll link to both in the same vote.

Regional Administration Act (Amendment): Yes/No/Abstain
Triumvirate Administration Act: Yes/No/Abstain
Civil Service Act: Yes/No/Abstain

The vote will last until Friday at 12PM PST. Please include your character's name and class. I will most likely not be around on Wednesday or Thursday, so I might not be able to answer any questions people have. Also, I'm going to try to get around to those coup reforms soon. I did change it from a flat rate to an exponential one for revolt risk, but I'm hoping to create an alternate system that will be more dynamic.))

 

[Robban204]

Regional Administration Act (Amendment): No
Triple Steward Reform: No
Civil Service Act: Yes

Nicolás de Alvaro, Duke of Sardinia and Corsica

 

[DragonOfAtlantis]

Abstain from all current voting

Sancho Villanova

 

[BelisariustheGreat]

Regional Administration Act (Amendment): No
Triple Steward Reform: No
Civil Service Act: Yes

------

Juan arrived at the port. It was incredible what he saw: Houndreds of people walking and running around. He smelled food and drink from other countries. At a big terrace tge old hispanian palace looked down to the city. ((in my imagination the "old palace" is a old palace sorrounded by houses, gardens and streets wich cbecame part of the palace after time. Ansd yeah i still imaginate that there is also a new palace, outside the city.)) Juan knowed why his brother invited him to Valencia: He knew that Enriques murders were paid by Juan. Or atleast the murders who should kill Enrique. But this wonderfull moment at the marektplace in Valencia made him happy.
------

((@DragonOfAtlantis you are okay that i married your son and my cousin in a secret ceremony? I hope it is. if your aren't okay with it we can write a little bit more about it))

 

[hirahammad]

Triumvirate Administration Act​

The Steward's Office shall be split into three positions: The Steward of Iberia, who administers the areas of Alentejo, Asturias, Beiras, Castille, Leon, Lower Andalucia, Macaronesia, Toledo, and Upper Andalucia, the Steward of the Mediterranean, who adminsters the areas of Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia, and Provence, as well as Hispanina holdings in Italy, Greece, and Anatolia, the final position being the Steward of Asia and Africa, who adminsters territory in Africa, India, and the like. Each Steward receive 0.5 VP, but they can increase their Voting Power by taking more Stewardly positions, up to having 1 VP.

((The VP part is fluid, so if it is unbalanced, it can be changed.
Sorry for the late reply. ))

((Edit: Including vote))
Regional Administration Act: No
Triumvirate Administration Act: Yes
Civil Service Act: Abstain

 

[DragonOfAtlantis]

((I don't mind the secret wedding, although it would be funny if the court found out, oh well.))

 

[Michaelangelo]

((The VP part is fluid, so if it is unbalanced, it can be changed.
Sorry for the late reply. ))

((Don't worry about it. There wasn't much time between when you posted and the deadline, so I expected you might not get to writing it as a law until later. What you've written sounds good. I might consider upping it back to 1VP to avoid decimals, but I'm not sure. It's tricky trying to keep VP from becoming overinflated.))

((I don't mind the secret wedding, although it would be funny if the court found out, oh well.))

((I could do a roll for it to see if it becomes public knowledge. ))

 

[alscon]

​

I do feel that Crown Prince Pere's idea of Civil Service is an excellent addition that will serve the empire well. But that the Regional Administrtion Act is more detrimentous than beneficial is something I highly contest. In the actual political reality, the Treasurer already decides where to spend the funds of the crown. It stays his responsability to set the right priorities, and no local lord will not want the best for their provinces, as it would benefit them as well. The Triumvirate Administration is failed in its concept if it includes the possibility to hold multiple of these split Stewards. The new man at court might have to get himself familiar with Hispania before trying to get involved.
Also, I wish to remind the Marshal that it might be time to promote new leaders for the army. Louis de Soneta would be suited as field marshal, while my son Vincent Alphonse could well be Captain General, having had quite some experience in the field so far.

Félicien Pierre de Montségur, Prime Minister and Chancellor of Hispania, Duke of Trinacria

((Regional Administration Act: Yes
Triumvirate Administration Act: No
Civil Service Act: Yes

[Duke, PM, Chancellor, Diplomat, Cortz, funded colony]))

 

[wzhang29]

Regional Administration Act (Amendment): No
Triple Steward Reform: No
Civil Service Act: Yes

 

[Mach Twelve]

While I feel that the Prime Minister's Proposal is a good one and deserved the debate, I must agree with the Crown Prince on this issue. While the Civil Services may be centralized, having the Universities in many Areas will result in a level of local control as these Universities diverge from another. I look forward to the debates on the Valencian, Athenian and other Schools of Thought that we will surely have. I only ask that we do not spend recklessly on the establishment on these Institutions.

Also, since my sons have not produced any sons, I have been forced to turn to my nephews to continue my line. Luckily, Philaretos's wife has given birth to a son a few years ago. Since he is the most likely to continue the Hispanian Branch of my House, I will be involving him in the affairs of the Empire. He has already graduated the Military Academy of Valencia and has been working himself up from a Captain as a Brigadier and now wishes to get promoted to a General's Position. I ask for the Marshal to consider this.

New Regional Administration Act (Amendment): No
Triple Steward Reform: No
Civil Service Act: Yes

((Duke/Steward/Treasurer/Funded Colony))

 

[DragonOfAtlantis]

((@Michaelangelo If you want to have a scandal for the week, by all means go for it.))