Empire of the Mediterranean: An Interactive Hispania AAR

[DragonOfAtlantis]

Name: Antonio de la Cuesta e Silva
Date of Birth: 07/12/1803 [DD/MM/YYYY]
Class: Nobility
Relligion: Catholic
House: Upper House
Party: Partido Anti-Revolucionario
Occupation: Liutenant General
Military Especiallity: Infantry
Bio: Antonio is considered one of the few in the young generation that Vomits when hear about Progressivism and liberalism.
During his Infancy he liked to play war games with other childs where he lead them to battle with wooden swords.
During his teenager times he dedicated himself to study in the Military College of Barcelona where he graduated as the first of his class.
He is a devout Religious and is a supporter of the old ways, his innovative strategies show a great future ahead.
He also likes to Be in Politics and he defend the Anti-Revolutionario Party wherever he goes.

((Sorry, you can't start as a general character, you can however start in the military at a lower rank, and request a promotion after the game starts.))

 

[ML8991]

((guys, don't forget to use double brackets if speaking OOC- yes I know we haven't started yet, but it is good to get into good habits early ))

 

[Michaelangelo]

((Sorry, you can't start as a general character, you can however start in the military at a lower rank, and request a promotion after the game starts.))

((You're becoming like this iAAR's personal guide on its rules. I appreciate all the clarification you're providing for new players and helping to fix any issues. ))

Name: Antonio de la Cuesta e Silva
Date of Birth: 07/12/1803 [DD/MM/YYYY]
Class: Nobility
Relligion: Catholic
House: Upper House
Party: Partido Anti-Revolucionario
Occupation: Division Commander
Military Especiallity: Infantry
Bio: Antonio is considered one of the few in the young generation that Vomits when hear about Progressivism and liberalism.
During his Infancy he liked to play war games with other childs where he lead them to battle with wooden swords.
During his teenager times he dedicated himself to study in the Military College of Barcelona where he graduated as the first of his class.
He is a devout Religious and is a supporter of the old ways, his innovative strategies show a great future ahead.
He also likes to Be in Politics and he defend the Anti-Revolutionario Party wherever he goes.

((Almost forgot, but if your character is going to be in the upper house, I need to know his title, seeing as only titled nobles can sit there. It can be anything from count or below, as long as it doesn't conflict with other players.))

* * * * *

((EDIT: With the large influx of Lieutenant Generals we have, mostly from past players adding in their inactives at the end of the previous part of the iAAR, @Duke Dan `the Man` your guy is getting a promotion to Captain General. He probably should have received it much earlier due to the amount of time he's served as Lieutenant General.))

 

[Michaelangelo]

((Just wanted to state that I've updated the Laws post to include any laws from the previous part of this iAAR that should still be relevant for this part. I may have missed a few that should have been kept around, but for the most part those excluded are irrelevant, outdated, or have been revoked since then. I've also moved all amendments and placed them in with the law they amend so people don't have to go searching for them, although separate laws that alter previous ones are not grouped together.))

Position: Duke of Valladolid

((Guess I didn't catch this earlier. I'm afraid that players cannot claim the title of duke when making a character, at least at the start. That title can only be handed out by the Crown, so the only ones with such a title have earned it from the EUIV portion of this iAAR. You'll have to start with a rank of count or lower. You can check the list of titles on the first page to make sure you don't unintentionally claim another player's title.))

 

[zenphoenix]

((Oh, I'd like to point out that you might have forgotten to include one player on the Cortz list. There should be 5 Reconquistadores instead of 4, since there are 7 on the main player list and 2 on the Assembly list.))

 

[Macke11]

((I find only 6 people from the Reconquista on the main player list.))

 

[Qwerty7]

Sergio sneaks into a man's home to play his guitar (1834)​

Name: Sergio d'Ambrosio
Date of Birth: 1798/1799
Class: Lower Class; Bard
Religion: Catholic
House: None
Party: None
Bio: Supposedly descended from a line of Italian Counts in the Mediterranean, Sergio d'Ambrosio was born to a craftsmen who produced wooden musical instruments in Cagliari. Sergio, having an inkling of talent, would often play a guitar for customers at the front of his father's shop. Sometimes during his teenage years Sergio's parents were killed by robbers, forcing Sergio into vagrancy. Having scrapped up enough spare coins plucking his guitar strings for curious listeners in the streets, Sergio paid for a boat off Cagliari and would travel throughout Hispania as a traveling bard.

 

[ML8991]

((woop @Qwerty7 ya here, he can strum my guitar strings any time, idk about Antonio's yet though, haven't thought about it much tbh))

 

[Michaelangelo]

((Oh, I'd like to point out that you might have forgotten to include one player on the Cortz list. There should be 5 Reconquistadores instead of 4, since there are 7 on the main player list and 2 on the Assembly list.))

((I find only 6 people from the Reconquista on the main player list.))

((Macke11 is right. I only have six Reconquista members on the list.))

Sergio sneaks into a man's home to play his guitar (1834)​

Name: Sergio d'Ambrosio
Date of Birth: 1798/1799
Class: Lower Class; Bard
Religion: Catholic
House: None
Party: None
Bio: Supposedly descended from a line of Italian Counts in the Mediterranean, Sergio d'Ambrosio was born to a craftsmen who produced wooden musical instruments in Cagliari. Sergio, having an inkling of talent, would often play a guitar for customers at the front of his father's shop. Sometimes during his teenage years Sergio's parents were killed by robbers, forcing Sergio into vagrancy. Having scrapped up enough spare coins plucking his guitar strings for curious listeners in the streets, Sergio paid for a boat off Cagliari and would travel throughout Hispania as a traveling bard.

((woop @Qwerty7 ya here, he can strum my guitar strings any time, idk about Antonio's yet though, haven't thought about it much tbh))

((I see the Ambrosio family has moved on from lutes to guitars. Hopefully he possesses the same skill-set as his ancestor Giuseppe. ))

* * * * *

((I've been considering how best to start this iAAR off. Seeing as we don't start with seats for the Assembly, I'll have to make up the house composition for the start. I'll be going off of recent events and player support for parties. With that in mind, we can either start with elections or I'll just do that myself and we can start by forming a government and moving onto actual gameplay. I'm favouring the latter since players choosing parties for their new characters is pretty much voting during elections, and electioneering may be tricky for those who don't have a full grasp of Hispania's political situation. Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?))

 

[zenphoenix]

((Macke11 is right. I only have six Reconquista members on the list.))

((I just counted again, and it looks like you're right. My bad.

On the subject of starting the iAAR, I'd be fine with just forming a government and skipping elections. Elections at the very start would be a bit confusing, since we don't have a previous election to build upon.))

 

[Macke11]

((I'm fine with going on immediately to forming a government.))

 

[Rabbit Burgher]

((I'd recommend the elections after some time as it'll also allow new players to get a firmer sense of the political situation for them to base their votes off)).

 

[DragonOfAtlantis]

((It would probably be good to form a government and start playing before we start elections.))

 

[Michaelangelo]

((Okay, I'll probably just write something up for the elections on my own. I originally was aiming to post it on Sunday, but more realistically it will be Monday because I forgot that it's Easter this weekend.))

 

[hirahammad]

Later Romanticization of the Archbishop

Name: Gregory Diego
Date of Birth: 1799
Class: Archbishop
Religion: Catholic (CJC)
Party: None, though anti-Phoenix leaning.
Bio:
Gregory Diego, Archbishop of Grenada, had been chosen with the intent of being a politically neutral and weak Archbishop by the other powers which had influence in the proceedings of Grenada. After the death of Archbishop Lagos, who had left no successor, they had gone through an interregnum of sorts for four years. During this period, outside agents gained great power in the proceedings of the Archbishopric of Grenada. They intended to keep it, so, after blocking the proceedings for quite a while, they had chosen one they had thought to be safe, Bishop Diego, a man known to be above-average, but not too above-average, who had little ambition in worldly matters, an easy man to placate.

How wrong had they been. Archbishop Diego spent the years rebuilding the power of the Archbishop, and slowly gained enough power and support to cause a silent coup in Grenada, overthrowing the private influences on the Archbishopric, and establishing the Archbishop as the supreme figure in the Archbishopric. Fortunately, the Church had been an easy way for the corrupt to keep control of the province, so once Diego wrestled the Church under his control, so too did much of the de facto power in Grenada fall. With this power base secure, Diego gradually grew his influence to the west, across the lands of the heathen kingdom of the area, so that nearly all Bishops in the three provinces knew his name.

Diego was not content, however, and in the summer of 1834, began his presence at court.

((For any new players wondering about the political situation, remember there is only one rule, from which everything else stems. Never the dirty Phoenixes! ))

 

[alscon]

((For any new players wondering about the political situation, remember there is only one rule, from which everything else stems. Never the dirty Phoenixes! ))

((Oh, but we have changed. Just as we will continue to change. But if you prefer to be a slave, just follow the path of the ruling elites.

And don't forget that I have my factory in Granada. Cause problems for me and you are playing right into the hands of the Fénix agenda.))

 

[Vals]

Name: Alejandro Manuel Maximillian Regidor
Date of birth: 4th July 1799
Class: Aristocrat
Religion: Catholic
House: Cortz
Party: Faccíon Imperial
Bio: Born as the first son of the late Count of Calabria, Alejandro inherited the title of Count at the relatively young age of seven, after his father died of a stroke. Being mostly brought up by his uncle - A staunch Catholic - who made sure that Alejandro was educated properly at home by various paid tutors who instilled into him a sense of superiority over the masses and a deep feeling of duty to maintain the old order of things. When he was old enough he studied at a millitary academy, yet never actually joining the Military himself, prefering instead to stay at home reading books and getting involved in politics. A conservative in every sense of the word Alejandro believes that the nobility has a god given right to rule over the lower classes, believing them to be rude and undereducated not fit to partake in decision making which should be left to those of proper blood. Alejandro has a son and two daughters all whom he loves dearly, it's his hope that one day when he passes from this Earth that his son will be able to pick up the mantle and continue fighting for the priviliges of the nobility.

(( This is the first iAAR I'll be participating in on this forum so hopefully everything is according to the rules and if not I'll be happy to listen to advice))

 

[BelisariustheGreat]

Name: Severo Miguel Jimenéz
Date of Birth: 9th July 1789
Class: Capitalist
Religion: Catholic
Party: None
House: Lower House
Bio: Severo is the eldest of three sons. His father was a trader in Santander. When Severo was nine, his father lost all of his money in a risky deal. Severo started working at one of his uncles factories, with the age of 14.
Severo learned how to succsessfullynlead a company. With 26 he had earned enough money, so that he could move to Oviedo, one of the major mining cities in Hispania.
He and some new friends gathered the money to start a factory. After the first years, which saw great trouble, the company finally became prestigous and well known for it's quality.
Many investors wrote to Severo, who was the unofficial leader of the company, and invested many. Both the factory and the company grew.
A sudden change came, when one of the major investors, Alejandro Francesco Exito, died and his sucsessor, his son-in-law, wanted all the money back. Severo had to give it to him, and so the production saw a break down. Many other investors now recognized that the company crippeled, and in the end, Severo sat on a great loan.
A american bank gave him money to pay off the loan and to restart the factory. Nowadays he is one of the major Capitalists in Northern Spain.
((Hey, I'm back again. Hopefully for a longer time. So... I thought a while about, which factory to choose, and in the end I would probably go with a Steel factory in Oviedo. If I made a grammatical mistake, please tell me.))

 

[Michaelangelo]

(( This is the first iAAR I'll be participating in on this forum so hopefully everything is according to the rules and if not I'll be happy to listen to advice))

((Everything is all good. Welcome to the iAAR. ))

Name: Severo Miguel Jimenéz
Date of Birth: 9th July 1789
Class: Capitalist
Religion: Catholic
Party: None
House: Lower House
Bio: Severo is the eldest of three sons. His father was a trader in Santander. When Severo was nine, his father lost all of his money in a risky deal. Severo started working at one of his uncles factories, with the age of 14.
Severo learned how to succsessfullynlead a company. With 26 he had earned enough money, so that he could move to Oviedo, one of the major mining cities in Hispania.
He and some new friends gathered the money to start a factory. After the first years, which saw great trouble, the company finally became prestigous and well known for it's quality.
Many investors wrote to Severo, who was the unofficial leader of the company, and invested many. Both the factory and the company grew.
A sudden change came, when one of the major investors, Alejandro Francesco Exito, died and his sucsessor, his son-in-law, wanted all the money back. Severo had to give it to him, and so the production saw a break down. Many other investors now recognized that the company crippeled, and in the end, Severo sat on a great loan.
A american bank gave him money to pay off the loan and to restart the factory. Nowadays he is one of the major Capitalists in Northern Spain.
((Hey, I'm back again. Hopefully for a longer time. So... I thought a while about, which factory to choose, and in the end I would probably go with a Steel factory in Oviedo. If I made a grammatical mistake, please tell me.))

((I'll add a steel factory for you in Oviedo then.))

 

[Michaelangelo]

The Election of 1836​

Going into 1836, the people of Hispania were filled with hope, something that had been lacking for quite some time. The restoration of the Assembly was a symbol, one of change or at least a return to calmer times. All the chaos of the past decade and a half could be forgotten or pushed aside as everyone looked to the future. The more conservative members of society yearned for a restoration of order, of a return to times where rebellion and dissent were almost nonexistent and a strong government made Hispania flourish. The liberals instead dreamed of seeing Parliament take on the shape it had under Alfons IX, where free thought and reform was favoured in the name of progress. As men went to the polls, albeit those who met the much stricter requirements, only one of these groups seemed likely to achieve their goal.

As the results came in, it became clear from the start that one or two parties would be dominating the Assembly. The Facción Imperial received a whopping 199 seats, making them the largest party. While their numbers had been high before the dissolution of the Assembly, the increase in seats could easily be attributed to changes in government policy. The Regent wielded the new Clarification of Elected Positions Act to weed out the undesirables in other parties, finding anyone with ties to the earlier parliamentary coup or the Lisbon Assembly. Many of the parties found themselves struggling for seats or pushed from their former prominence due to these efforts. The Partido Fénix alone nearly found itself disbanded as many members found themselves ineligible to run, although the efforts of Lluis Faixòn prevented the party from fading into complete irrelevance, holding onto a mere 6 seats. Facción de los Campos dropped dramatically in membership due to their blatant connections to the Lisbon Assembly, only able to keep 28 of their previous seats. Many of their members turned to the Imperials or the new Partido Anti-Revolucionario as an alternative, although the latter made only minor gains seeing as it was only founded in the past few years, managing to claim 15 seats. The Partido Reformista picked up the more hard-line conservatives, although most favoured the Imperials over them, gaining 19 seats. Even the Parta Marina suffered a loss in votes, although the key support of the merchant class kept them from being hit as hard as some of the other parties, giving them 45 seats. Out of all the other parties besides the Imperials, it was the Partido Reconquista that was the only one to see massive gains, rising to 133 seats. With the Imperials siphoning off the conservative votes, the Reconquista became the bastion of the left.

At first glance, while it was not all that surprising that the Imperials had the most support due to government support, it was quite shocking to some to see many of the other parties fall so far. How had they lost so many seats compared to the previous Assembly? One of the biggest factors was the presence of small gangs of men hanging around the polls, harassing voters and pressuring them into voting for the Facción Imperial. While there was no outright evidence of government involvement, it seemed clear that they had the implicit support of the Regent. Many voters found themselves swayed to vote for the Imperials, perhaps even fearing for their own safety if they did not. As for why the Partido Reconquista might also rise, it could be explained based on two factors. Support for the Reconquista had often been focused in key areas of the country, such as Leon and Sardinia, so just like the Marina they had a strong base holding them up. Perhaps more importantly though, the Reconquista was the one liberal party that the Regent and Imperials tolerated, for they had cooperated well in the past. This played a major role when it came to actually voting, for those voting Reconquista faced less harassment than those voting for some of the other parties. This helped to lead to the Imperials and Reconquista becoming the two largest parties. However, the Imperials benefited even more from the Regent’s support. With Joan in control of the 50 appointed seats in the Assembly, it was no surprise when they were all given to known Imperials, raising the Imperial seats to 249, just shy of a majority. It seemed that no government would function without the support of the Imperials.

While the Cortz had not been disbanded, it had faced some major changes over the past few years, specifically in allowing the Crown to have greater control over membership. Those who had been tied to the earlier coup found themselves removed and their seat predictably filled with known Imperials. The Parta Marina found their support amongst the nobility reduced to almost non-existence, relying entirely on the Duke of Barcelona. The Facción de los Campos saw a dramatic drop down to 7 seats, again in part due to ties to previous anti-government movements, although the stalwart presence of the Grand Duke of Navarra kept the party’s core from disintegrating. The Partido Anti-Revolucionario gained the favour of the Count of Valladolid, giving the party its first seat in the Cortz. The Partido Reconquista held onto what seats it had managed to acquire over the years, as well as managed to gain further support amongst the nobility to rise to 35 seats. The Facción Imperial, of course, saw a significant increase in seats, rising to 55 seats. The Regent had made full use of the changes to the Cortz to put as many Imperials as he could on the body, giving them control over well over half of the Cortz. The Regent’s party was practically cemented into power, for no government could function without them. And now Joan would be deciding the first government since the restoration of the Assembly, for he refused to step down as Prime Minister either. This was perhaps an alarming prospect for those who wanted change, for it seemed more than clear that the Regent would be ruling as he did before, just now with parliamentary support. The Crown Prince remained present at court, but who knew if his presence was enough to moderate the Regent’s policies. Those voices of dissent could only remain quiet for now and hope for better results in 1840 or find another way to seek reform.

Assembly

Independent - 5
Reformist - 19
Imperial - 249 (199 + 50 appointed)
Los Campos - 28
Anti-Revolutionary - 15
Reconquista - 133
Marina - 45
Phoenix - 6


Cortz

Independent - 1
Imperial - 55
Los Campos - 7
Anti-Revolutionary - 1
Reconquista - 35
Marina - 1

​

((Well these results were interesting to say the least. VP was a major factor here, and the Imperials and Reconquista had so much more than everyone else for the Assembly's election, and the former had half the VP in the Cortz. The fact the Imperials have the backing of the Regent, and thus count as the previous ruling party, made me give them a larger starting base due to our current reforms. I had to buff up a few smaller parties just so they wouldn't be reduced to complete insignificance. At least this fits the narrative from right before the election. I expect that once we start using the game results as a base, it might be more balanced, but it appears that player VP has a major impact too. Also, while it may not be ideal for the GM to serve as the first Prime Minister, based on how I've developed Joan as a character, there was no way he'd hand over that position. I'm sure though he'll stop being an obstacle at some point.

Also, just a heads up that these numbers may fluctuate when new players join. If they join a party, nothing should happen unless that party doesn't have enough seats in that house yet. If they are not part of a party, I'll have to take one seat from a random party and make it independent so they can have someone to vote through.

Onto some business for now. Obviously we'll need a government now, and I'll be getting to that as Joan. Negotiations and all that fun stuff can happen through PM to speed up the process with the final Cabinet posted here. Once that is down, we also have other matters to deal with. The Assembly is lacking a Speaker. Members of the Assembly should start considering whether they want to nominate themselves for the position, or whether they will put forward an NPC from their party if they would prefer that. If you have any laws or reforms in mind, you can start working on them. Keep in mind that if they're related to the in-game reforms, they can only change them by one level, so no swapping to universal franchise without first going through wealth and weighted universal first. I ask that you refrain from nominating a Speaker or proposing laws until a government has formed, upon at which time I will open the floor for such things. Ideally I want these negotiations to finish within 48 hours, but seeing as this is the first government and not everyone is familiar with each other or the changes to the Cabinet, I may extend it.))