[Forum Game] - World in Revolution: 1861 Mk. IV

[KeldoniaSkylar]

Infrastructural Improvements in the Ottoman Empire​

The difficulties given last years attempt to improve the infrastructure of the country are most unfortunate. The effort will thus be prolonged with further efforts to improve the infrastructure of the Empire to be ongoing. Noting the confusion of the previous year instructions will be relayed in both old Turkish and the new Standard Turkish, along with a primer in new Standard Turkish for each administrator. Otherwise, the intentions and goals of last year's program shall be carried out.

 

[Noco19]

The Confederate States of America
On the Belligerence of the Austrian Empire
​

Our Nation has fought and continues to fight for our liberation, a war which is driven by the fire of the Southern people forward into assured victory. Scorn from the Lincoln Administration was one to be expected; it has been his relentless position to oppose the natural order of man put upon this world by God, and likewise oppose the due rights of the States.

But it was an unexpected sort of scorn levied upon us across the Atlantic, one which has been originated and perpetuated by the government of the Austrian Empire, in stark contrast to the benevolence afforded to us by our British and French friends. Whereas we have extended the hand of peace, they have responded with blades drawn. It has been made in clearest terms that the Austrian Empire has seen fit to name us all manners of names reserved only for Nations at conflict.

Our Nation refuses to stand in the birthing battles of our liberation and yet be assailed with all manner of insults abroad - our brave Southern men deserve not to be maligned as pirates, our Stainless Banner stands as a symbol of pride not as banditry. And so it is that our Nation must take due efforts to defends its honor and oppose by manners of peace the gross slandering of our dear Confederacy.

Likewise, it is imperative to our Nation that we act to safeguard both our citizens and their property. And it has been made clear in no reserved words that the Austrian Empire aims to seize our nationals and their property for charges nonexistent and wholly unsubstantiated, without any sort of justification in the eyes of the law. We cannot in good faith impart to our Nation that the Austrian Empire is a land for decent commerce, when it is to our knowledge that they will be treated unjustly.

And so it is that the Confederate States of America issues a full embargo of the exportation of cotton and of all other trade goods to the Austrian Empire, to be in effect until such a time that goodwill is once more established with the Austrian Empire and its ability to provide the due safety of our merchantmen.

- Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State

 

[etranger01]

​

In light of recent events within the Kingdom of Denmark, which threaten the present stability and prosperity of the nations of Europe, His Imperial Majesty calls upon the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Kingdom of Italy to dispatch representatives to Paris, there to confer, to discuss the aforementioned events, and to craft a suitable response. The Kingdom of Denmark may also send a representative to explain the actions undertaken by the Danish crown and to hear the judgment of the Great Powers.

Until such time as a final decision has been rendered, His Imperial Majesty calls upon all participants in the conference to set aside aggressive measures and to actively oppose any action, military or otherwise, which might precipitate further conflict.

 

[MastahCheef117]

A letter from Major General George Gordon Meade to President Abraham Lincoln.
after the Battle of Chambersburg.
​

Commander-in-Chief,

Surely General Hooker before departing had give you at least some after-action-report of the battle at Chambersburg, and thus a report on the battle would be as useless to you as when the great men of Rome stabbed, on command, the seas at the behest of their Caesar. But as I am in a temporary position to lay claim over the great body of men known as the Army of the Potomac, I see fit to relay to you the status of this fine Army, as well as some very brief details of strategy, to be expounded upon in person when we next meet and a successor to General Hooker be properly chosen.

Having lost General Howard's 9th Division in the fighting on the third day of battle, V Corps under Genl. Kearny is exceptionally weakened and requires immediate reinforcement from new volunteers if it is to be brought up to battle-readiness soon. Generals Hancock and Reynolds performed admirably on the field and did their part in holding the center and right of our line. I regret that my corps was unable to successfully bear the weight of some one-and-a-half rebel corps perhaps outnumbering me twice or even thrice over, and then already after two full days of very disgusting combats. But for all the disgrace in that withdrawal, they reformed quite admirably in the fighting retreat east from our original defenses and forced General Lee to extricate his force from Pennsylvania and further south.

Tho this army has suffered greatly at Lee's hands it is even worse for the Virginians and Carolinians and Georgians. A far greater proportion of their force was lost on the field than ours; Genl. Lee knows he cannot sustain such losses and thus moves to directly threaten the Capital District. I am aware as are you of General McClellan's efforts to fortify the capital with his famed series of forts, which are impressive indeed; and while there is a good chance of them holding off any direct assault from Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet, we cannot allow his army to escape in one piece, or exist or escape at all; and therefore I propose the final destruction of the veteran rebel army with greater chances of success than we have had in over a year. One final grand victory in this autumn can very well mean the end of the war. Our men are tired for now but they are certainly not disheartened, as with Lee's invasion made a failure they realize their Union shall not only persist but be fully preserved and restored.

I am confident in our ability to prevent any sort of successful move on Washington, and if Lee does in his arrogance make such a move it shall cost him dearly in any case. But I imagine the damn press would make even the total destruction of Lee's damned rebels out into a terrible loss for Union and the right, if only because we did not take Jeff Davis with them.

With the resumption of our correspondence with your reply I shall begin suggesting structural reforms to the Army of the Potomac so as to maximize its effectiveness in the field.

I beg to remind you that I am your humble servant &c.,

Major General GEORGE GORDON MEADE
Commander of VI Corps
Acting Commander of the Army of the Potomac

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

The Prussian Representative at der Bundesversammlung
((Private - the German states)​

The 20th of November, 1863

Honored representatives, members of the Bundesversammlung, with the King of Denmark's signature on the blasted constitution called the November Constitution, the Danes have the nerve to break not one, but two treaties that they had promised to uphold. The first one was the Treaty of Ribe signed in 1460, where the Danish king promised that the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein where not to be seperated, Up Ewig Ungedeelt. The second, the London Protocol of 1852 that was signed to keep the status quo, after the Danes tried to divide the entities that are to remain undevided. Now, that status quo has been broken once again, with the foul Danes wishing to divide the undivideable, and make those areas who are not, and do not wish to be, Danish. This signing of the November Constitution is an insult to the German People, and it in due time that we recognize that those duchies are not to be in Danish hand no longer, as we have seen that they are unable to honour international agreements, and also unable to honour agreements that they made hundreds of years ago with the German people. It is time to recognize that the Danish king must relinquish his overlordship of the duchies, and it is time for a German to be in charge.
I yield the floor.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Assorted reactions from Vienna in regards to the Southern Rebels in the United States of America.

Forced by recent events to accept higher brokerage fees by working through Ottoman merchants in lieu of Western Europeans, Austrian wholesalers have begun to sign two-year contracts with Ottoman merchants to gain some degree of cotton supplies in the current climate. Ottoman merchants have equal preference in buying Egyptian cotton with British factors and the action by the Southern Rebels has only served to move commodities money away from Paris and London, and towards the Turks as a more direct source of supply. The act of shifting to Turkish merchants in lieu of Western Europeans may even reduce costs for Austrian wholesalers in the long-term, after short-term supply jitters are worked out over the next year or two.

 

[Frymonmon]

BE ADVISED

The following change has been made:

Civil War Tier - 2 Normal Orders, 3 War Orders, Election Order

• United States of America - MastahCheef117
• Confederate States of America - Noco19

 

[99KingHigh]

Chapter XX: The Indian Triumvirate: Cotton, Wheat, Bank.

Victorian Vice-Roy: A Biography of Lord Elgin

​

In 400 BC, Herodotus wrote that in India the lands were efflorescenced with "trees growing wild, which produce a kind of wool better than sheep’s wool in beauty and quality, which the Indians use for making their clothes.” Archeological evidence from the famous Ajanta Cave carvings depict the cultivation of cotton through advanced techniques that even included a roller machine to remove the seeds from the product. Within the next six-hundred years, particularly during the Guptan era, the Indians had established themselves as luxury cotton vendors in the east and the west—predominantly to the Chinese and the Parthian consumers. In the Roman Empire, the populace of that classical demense viewed cotton as a luxury more valuable then silk, which they purchased from Arabic and Parthian traders. Not unlike Herodotus, Pliny once declared about India that the "threes bear wool" and "balls of down from which an expensive linen material for clothes is made."

The rise of the Islamic Empires in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ensured that the production of cotton could not branch across the continents in stable supply lines. By the 700s, the Byzantine Empire had started growing cotton, while throughout West Asia and North Africa, cotton came into mass consumption, and by the High Middle Ages, Italian traders had become symposiarchs of the cotton trade. Remarkably, very little cotton cloth was imported to England before the 15th century, and the small amounts that were imported found almost exclusive usage in candlewicks. The discovery of cotton plants in the Americas sparked a renewed interest in the cotton product, which was further fueled by the desire of the East India Company to import rare fabrics from India, coinciding with the 1793 invention of the cotton gin—a machine that separated the seeds from the fiber and allowed cotton to displace flax and wool, eerily analogous to the carvings of ancient India.

With American cotton yield doubling each decade after 1800, and the demand for cotton increased by the necessitation of textile industries, Britain imported nearly 77 percent of American cotton between 1815 and 1862. The inauguration of the American Civil War seemed to bring no change to the policy; Confederate domination of maritime activities persisted into 1862 and the textile industry was unaffected by the events, but it soon became apparent to the British Foreign Ministry that superior Northern industrial power would eventually enclose Confederate ports to European access. The first recourse was to dependency on Egyptian cotton, but the outturn of that country's agricultural production was unsatisfactory to the demands of industrial textile manufacturing. The natural remedy was to pivot to the possessions of the British crown, which were ripe for agricultural action to complement the acclaimed financial reforms that established the solvency and adaptability of the monied system in the sub-continent. The departure of Lord Canning as Viceroy of India in 1862—an admirable reformer who had spent his political capital in the standardization of India's finances—enabled Lord Eglin, the shameless looter of the Old Summer Palace and ascetic old Tory to ascend to the Viceroyalty with fresh programs for the sub-continent. On the surface, Eglin would seem ill-suited to complement Gladstone's perception of the liberal national interest; Eglin was as inflexible as any member of the Conservative Party. This intransigence to any violation of aristocratic deference, however, proved timely for the British Empire.

In his preferential conception of British India, which tended towards support for local agrarianism, Eglin foresaw a mutual beneficence between the economic needs of homeland industry and the need to integrate the kshatriya rajput into the repository banking system established by Lord Canning; his ultimate aim was the absolute dependence of the latter class upon the former, with the Bank of India as the intermediate mechanism to serve both profit interests. In order to accomplish this aim, Eglin elevated the role of British Vice-Roy to some informal regal status, and courted the zamindras, jagirdars, thikanadars, and talukdars in a most fantastic display of colonial opulence. This campaign of flattery was directed at the adoption of a threefold economic function; the first was to induce the adoption of cotton farming in Western India, the second was to provide an indirect subsidy for wheat cultivation, and the third was to establish the Imperial Bank of India as the intermediary in all these transactions. The accomplishment of this goal required, however, more then entreaty; Eglin had to formulate a political plan that could supplement his desire. To this end he sought to engage the adolescent Imperial Bank of India, and without imposing further reforms, exercise its potency to the accomplishment of its goal. Awash with its budgetary surplus, London was none too reticent about the approval of Eglin's aspirations, and authorized a considerable sum, certainly in excess of several million pounds, for application in Eglin's program.

With the expected rise in the price of cotton, Eglin needed only to persuade the cultivators that the opportunity costs of redirecting production to cotton were lower then the consequence of doing nothing. He therefore invested nearly sixty-percent of the London provision into the government accounts of the Imperial Bank, and declared that the interest rates for the national credit originating from those invested governmental accounts would be artificially suppressed until this voluntary conversion to cotton farming had reached a suitable conclusion that could be empirically reviewed by the Indian Civil Service. Elgin hoped that this program would lower the barriers for entrance into the market by Indian cultivators, although he was forced to concede from London that these cultivators could only auction their product to British consumers. As compensation, Elgin stretched the interest rates on the so-called "Cotton Debtors," and moved to a direct subsidy for his second product, wheat, which the Vice-Roy worried would also be in short supply on the global market. For large growers in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab—the regions most hospitable to wheat cultivation—Elgin offered a direct endowment for an apportion of the dedicated land to comestible products, most obviously, wheat. Again, Elgin tied the agricultural advice to the economic artifact of his predecessor by guaranteeing that any excess wheat would be purchased for indefinite stockpile by the Imperial Bank of India. Therefore, by coincidence of conflicting interests, the Liberal Government and Conservative Viceroyalty pursued a complimentary course of action, complicated only by their vehemence in the Parliament of the two Houses...

 

[99KingHigh]

The Football Association

​

Ebenezer Morley, a London solicitor who formed Barnes FC in 1862, could be considered in the modern world the 'father' of The Association. Morley was no public school boy, but several gentlemen who could count themselves among that elitist class had joined Barnes FC and were 'feverish' about the way the game should be played. Morely wrote to Bell's Life, a popular newspaper, suggesting that football should have a set of rules in the same way that the MCC had them for cricket. His letter was the prelude to the first historic meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, near to where Holborn tube station is currently located.

At this meeting, on 26 October 1863, the FA was established on a Monday evening. The captains, secretaries, and other representatives of a dozen London and suburban clubs playing independent versions of football met "for the purpose of forming an Association with the object of establishing a definite code of rules in the regulation of the game." The clubs represented were: Barnes, War Office, Crusaders, Forest (Leytonstone), No Names (Kilburn), Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Kensington School, Perceval House (Blackheath), Surbiton, Blackheath Proprietory School and Charterhouse.

There could be no authority without laws, and six meetings therefore took place in 44 days before the new establishment was self-sufficient. The FA was formed at the first, while rules for the game were confirmed thereafter; the usual discussion on drafting the laws typically produced a game that included handling and dribbling. Players would be able to handle the ball: a fair catch accompanied by a 'mark with the heel' would win a free kick. There were some controversies in these discussions. Blackheath FC wanted to keep 'hacking,' which meant kicking an opponent on the leg. The laws drafted by Morley were finally approved at the sixth meeting, on 8 December, which abolished Hacking. The next morning the rules were published by John Lilywhite of Seymour Street n a booklet that cost a shilling and sixpence. The FA was keen to see its laws in action and a match was played between Barnes and Richmond at Limes Field in Barnes on 19 December. It was a 0-0 draw.

 

[Noco19]

​

The Confederate Far West
A New Commander, a New Governor​

While President Davis' eyes were firmly on matters more eastward, it was still a manner of government expectation that the Arizona Territory and its people would likewise be defended by the present Confederate forces. And so it had been in years past, as the Far West proved to be successful beyond estimation, Arizona mostly liberated with the Union's New Mexican lands under threat.

But over the course of 1863, the tides changed and the once tolerated John Baylor, who had proclaimed himself Permanent Governor over Arizona and had by all manners conducted himself as a hegemon over the region despite his minor status, came under the critical eye of Davis and the Confederate Congress. As Davis saw it, Baylor had proven himself incredibly incompetent losing Arizona without so much as a fight, instead concerning himself with erecting his own petty power base. Indeed, as Davis would be told, Baylor had even murdered a man in Mesilla and had himself pardoned by his personal cabinet.

Needless to say, Davis was not pleased and thus acted according, stripping him of both command and his office over Arizona. Baylor, furious that he had lost his gains, opted instead to devote himself to joining Congress, where he would successfully run as a member of the House for Texas. In his place, two men rose.

Firstly was Henry Hopkins Sibley, a move quite predictable. Sibley had without a doubt been a major factor in the success in the theater, despite his Navajo insurrection falling flat and nearly backfiring. Assuming command of the Army of Arizona based out of El Paso, Sibley was quick to write to Benjamin McCulloch, commander over the Trans-Mississippi District-turned-Department and established a plan of action. Soon enough, Sibley began correspondences with Texas state officials.

And for the office of governor was chosen Lewis Owings, again hardly a surprise. Before Baylor's declaration of power, Lewis Owings had been the Provisional Governor in 1860 when the territory of Arizona first formed itself, and was confirmed again by the secessionist conventions of 1861 in Tucson and Mesilla. Known for his quickness in establishing the Arizona Rangers and organizing local defenses, Owings was a known face in Arizona, and as he based his emergent government out of El Paso, he quickly bid the people of Arizona to stand with the Confederacy for their liberation once again.

 

[Noco19]

A Position Again Vacant
Secretary Randolph Resigns​

1863 saw the standing Secretary of War LeRoy Pope Walker resign amidst health issues begat by stress, and so came about the appointment of George Randolph as his successor. And soon enough, it became apparent Davis' goal for choosing Randolph, as his experience in drafting conscription for Virginia was put to quick use in securing conscription within the Confederacy as a whole.

However unlike Walker, Randolph did not enter into office a healthy man, but had already been of weakened health, a fact many knew would be exacerbated by the struggles of running the War Department. Davis himself was well aware of this and even as he appointed Randolph, he gave thoughts to replacements by the year's end. As the Congress adopted conscription, Davis wrote to Randolph, who had been suffering by this point from advanced tuberculosis, suggesting retirement in defense of his health. Simply tired, physically and mentally, from managing the War Department with Davis micromanaging nearly every detail, Randolph submitted his resignation October 30th, which of course Davis accepted.

In Randolph's journals, he would write on that day, "I have been an implement for Davis, and as a shovel after the dig, I have been put to shed."

In his place came another Virginian in the form of James Alexander Seddon. A lawyer and former Congressman for Virginia, Seddon's primary contribution had been his attendance during the 1861 peace convention in Washington D.C and thereafter his membership in the Confederate Congress where he would back a number of Davis' policies. Truly what was most beloved by Davis of Seddon was his reported malleability; Randolph had provided the conscription bill, and now Seddon would allow Davis the ability to utilize the War Department as he saw fit.

 

[Frymonmon]

BE ADVISED

It being one hour after the deadline, Ab and Watercress have officially been admonished for their lack of orders.

As such, Rolman99 has been removed from the game. Argentina is no longer a played nation. Denmark joins the list of nations with stats, played by Sneakyflaps.

 

[Cloud Strife]

On the floor of the Imperial Diet and other assorted diplomatic matters.

The twin issues of Denmark and the Southern Rebels convulsed the Diet. Foreign policy was not high on the agenda of Conservative and Liberal floor leaders for 1863 but had pushed to the top of the queue order; transportation issues and the larger issue of cost sharing between federal, local, and municipal authorities were the primary concern of this current session. The decision of the Danes to unilaterally change the political order of Northern Germany was a troubling development. News that the Southern Rebels had slandered the Kaiser and the Empire with harsh words--similar to those uttered by Prince Cuza of the United Principalities--were met disdain and anger by delegates, especially those Hungarians still angry at the United Provinces actions as of late. In this atmosphere of annoyance the floor leaders quickly communicated to the Executive Committee an across-the-floor majority for subsidies granted to Austria's textile industry in order to survive the onslaught of "cotton diplomacy" and additional monies allocated to ready Austria's contribution to the defense of the German Confederation.

The decision of the Empire to become involved in matters beyond Germany and its immediate borders had been triggered by two concerns; diplomatic isolation due to Austria's stance in the Crimean War and the ambitions of Romania. Austria's neutrality in the Crimean War had been rewarded by the Western Europeans with their meddling at the mouth of the Danube. The thought of London and Paris determining policy in Constantinople and the capitals of the Balkans pushed Austria closer to Russia. It had initially cost nothing to warm relations with Russia by backing its policies in North America but the seemingly random decision of the Romanians to legitimize a rebellion against a Christian, civilized power fueled tensions. Both the Tripartite Agreement and the decision of the Southern Rebels to declare economic war upon the Empire had eliminated institutional resistance in government to the Kaiser's shift towards St. Petersburg. The policymakers of the Habsburg Monarchy were wary of having to rely on Western Europe when Russia, and in a lesser sense Prussia, pursued diplomatic policies less offensive to Vienna.

While policymakers in Vienna laid the groundwork to shore up the Empire's position in Eastern Europe, the Kaiser's envoys descended on the Federal Convention of the German Confederation. The Prussians had taken a hardline towards Denmark's November Constitution and Franz Joseph was very conscious of his place as President of the Confederation, thus leader of the German states. The opinion of the German states would have to be gauged as was the opinion of the German street. A combined operation to restore the status quo would reaffirm the usefulness of the Confederation and possibly appease the demands of the Prussians. While the Kaiser was personally sympathetic to the proposes of other major capitals to solve the Danish Question permanently, Archduke Max and other members of the Kaiser's inner circle were anxious to avoid disregarding the opinions of the Empire's German allies and a de facto abdication of leadership in Germany. It would be the concerns of the latter than would win the day in Vienna.

 

[Frymonmon]

BE ADVISED

I also noticed that storm has not sent orders. He has been removed from the game. Please head to the signups thread to post new applications for a player nation.

 

[Frymonmon]

BE ADVISED

Harpsmobile joins us as Argentina. Storm remains as Spain. Sneaky remains as a new stat nation.

 

[Cloud Strife]

The Prussian Representative at der Bundesversammlung
((Private - the German states)​

The 20th of November, 1863

Honored representatives, members of the Bundesversammlung, with the King of Denmark's signature on the blasted constitution called the November Constitution, the Danes have the nerve to break not one, but two treaties that they had promised to uphold. The first one was the Treaty of Ribe signed in 1460, where the Danish king promised that the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein where not to be seperated, Up Ewig Ungedeelt. The second, the London Protocol of 1852 that was signed to keep the status quo, after the Danes tried to divide the entities that are to remain undevided. Now, that status quo has been broken once again, with the foul Danes wishing to divide the undivideable, and make those areas who are not, and do not wish to be, Danish. This signing of the November Constitution is an insult to the German People, and it in due time that we recognize that those duchies are not to be in Danish hand no longer, as we have seen that they are unable to honour international agreements, and also unable to honour agreements that they made hundreds of years ago with the German people. It is time to recognize that the Danish king must relinquish his overlordship of the duchies, and it is time for a German to be in charge.
I yield the floor.

"I bear the words of the Kaiser, who is President of this Confederation. His Imperial Majesty reminds this body that we only have remit over the members of our German Confederation. The question of the Treaty of Ribe is beyond this remit so far as the status of our member Holstein is not changed by its integration into the Kingdom of Denmark. The Danish constitutional revisions do nothing but change the status of Schleswig--a Danish fief--and do nothing towards Holstein. It would be impudent on our part to make policy for a polity not under our remit. Before we are quick to pass judgement, I on behalf of the Kaiser, call upon the Danish Ambassador to clarify, as we hope is the case, that this change in status of the Danish fief of Schleswig does not represent step towards altering the relationship between the Danish Monarch and his realms in Holstein and Lauenburg in regards to the German Confederation.

"Let me stress that the Kaiser remains committed to seeing we Germans settle this issue between Germans. While we do appreciate the invitation of the Emperor of the French for talks on this growing crisis in Paris, as Holstein and Lauenburg are members of this Confederation its only natural that this assembly be the primary forum where we discuss affirmative steps that the King of Denmark must take towards his possessions of Holstein and Lauenburg to preserve their membership within the German Confederation."

 

[etranger01]

To William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States of America
c/o the British Embassy, Washington D.C.​

Your Excellency,

I have recently been informed that a French national, Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac, the Prince of Polignac, is presently being held in a Northern military prison. I am further informed that he has been denied an honorable parole, as befits an officer and a gentleman. I am surprised at such behavior from the Union Army, of which I expected better.

On behalf of His Imperial Majesty, Napoléon the Third, Emperor of the French, I hereby formally request the release of the Prince of Polignac and his return to his native homeland. In exchange, the Prince shall be required to formally swear that he shall not bear arms against the Union for the remainder of this war, on pain of death. Such behavior is in conformity with that of civilized nations and we anticipate your speedy acceptance.

Your obedient servant,
Henri Mercier
Ambassador to the United States (fmr)​

 

[Olligarchy]

Regent of the Qing
Empress Dowager Ci'an
慈安太后
​

Born as a Lady of the Clan Niohuru which stood under the bordered Yellow Banner, the future Empress Xiaozhenxian's father stood one of the Middle Kingdoms most prominent men. A Duke, administrator and General. Given her background it came as no surprise when the Daoguang Emperor died and his fourth son took on the mantle of the Xianfeng Emperor, Ci'an was shortlisted for the position of Imperial Consort.

During the auditions which took place in 1852, Ci'an was shortlisted and favoured by the then Dowager Xiaojingcheng. She was not chosen for the position of Empress however, and entered the Forbidden Palace as a mere consort. A position which would not hold her back, as within scant few month she breezed through the ranks, using a combination of wits, beauty and as some less charitable individuals might be wont to say: poison. As such it came as no surprise to anyone paying attention when in July she was named the Empress of the Qing.

Though her rise had been sudden and meteoric, Ci'an proved unable to carry a child of the Dragon, forcing her to turn to a close ally within the Harem; the future Empress Ci'xi. Ci'xi successfully carried the future Tongzhi Emperor to term, and according to the pact struck Ci'an raised the boy for much of his early years, though not without some friction emerging between the two Consorts. With the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, the pair had to put aside their enmities however and work together lest they be ousted of power.

With the Xianhou coup successful however, the alliance between Prince Gong and Ci'xi began to fracture, and the realisation that Ci'xi meant to rule with her biological son... alone forced Ci'an to take a step back and consider her position as the third regent. Whilst Prince Gong had the command of the Army and loyalty of many of the ministers, and Ci'xi had used her charms on many of the courtiers and local governors, Ci'an found herself dangerously isolated with the support of few men of import, and only her family's arms and wealth to her back. With the Banners south battling the Taiping, she was soon lagging behind the other two in power, and stood mostly as a beloved ceremonial figure used to soothe the passes of Peking that the beloved Empress Consort yet stood at the helm of raising the new Dragon.

 

[Harpsichord]

República Argentina / Confederación Argentina
Argentine Republic / Argentine Confederation

​

"En unión y libertad"
"In Unity and Freedom"
​

Constitution (1853) (Presidential Federal Republic)

List of Presidents:

Spoiler

Justo José de Urquiza, federale, 1854-1860

Santiago Derqui, federale, 1860-1866

Juan Bautista Alberdi, progresista federale, 1866-

​

Foreign Correspondence of the Argentine Provinces:
Nicolar Molinas, concerning the invasion of Uruguay by Flores and the Brazilian ultimatum
President Derqui, acknowledging the 'belligerent status' of the Confederate States of America
Juan Alberdi, giving condolences to Chile
President Derqui, acknowledging the sovereignty of the Confederate States of America
Treaty of Rosario (1865)
Treaty of Buenos Aires (1865)
Don Mariano Balcarce,
Addition to the Treaty of Rosario (1865)

The history and development of the Argentine Provinces:
A brief history of the political movements within Argentina
The early development of rail road in Argentina
Foreign relations of the Argentine Nation
The relationship between the Republics of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1865
José de San Martin
"To rule is to populate"
Native Indians in the Pampa and Patagonia
The politics of Argentina leading up to the Presidential Election (1866)
Iron Horse to Mendoza, A touch of modernity to immigration

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

"I bear the words of the Kaiser, who is President of this Confederation. His Imperial Majesty reminds this body that we only have remit over the members of our German Confederation. The question of the Treaty of Ribe is beyond this remit so far as the status of our member Holstein is not changed by its integration into the Kingdom of Denmark. The Danish constitutional revisions do nothing but change the status of Schleswig--a Danish fief--and do nothing towards Holstein. It would be impudent on our part to make policy for a polity not under our remit. Before we are quick to pass judgement, I on behalf of the Kaiser, call upon the Danish Ambassador to clarify, as we hope is the case, that this change in status of the Danish fief of Schleswig does not represent step towards altering the relationship between the Danish Monarch and his realms in Holstein and Lauenburg in regards to the German Confederation.

"Let me stress that the Kaiser remains committed to seeing we Germans settle this issue between Germans. While we do appreciate the invitation of the Emperor of the French for talks on this growing crisis in Paris, as Holstein and Lauenburg are members of this Confederation its only natural that this assembly be the primary forum where we discuss affirmative steps that the King of Denmark must take towards his possessions of Holstein and Lauenburg to preserve their membership within the German Confederation."

At der Bundesversammlung

"The Treaty of Ribe is not at all beyond the remit of the German Confederation, as it encompasses both duchies. I wonder if the Austrian representatives have read the November Constitution. In that document, it is stated quite clearly that the Kingdom of Denmark and the Duchy of Schleswig are to have their own parliaments. The Danes have made a constitution not for the whole realm, but only for Denmark and Schleswig. This is their attempt at solidifying the slogan of the National-Liberals: 'Denmark to the Eider." This is their attempt at integrating Schleswig into Denmark, and keep Holstein and Lauenburg out. They have broken the status quo and the London Protocol by seperating the two duchies.
They laid the stones for this with the March Proclamation, which gives the Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg a much larger degree of autonomy, while the Duchy of Schleswig has the same degree as autonomy as before. This is unacceptable as well, the three duchies have an unbreakable bond in between them. The German Confederation asked Denmark to retract the Proclamation but instead they have decided to cement their seperation policy by passing the November Constitution which has fully and throughly broken the London Protocol.

While it is good that the Kaiser insist that this issue is to be handled between Germans and Germans only, I must say that Holstein and Lauenburg are to preserve their membership. The Kingdom of Denmark never insisted that they left the Confederation, for it is their policy towards Holstein and Lauenburg, that they be seperated from Schleswig so that the latter can be integrated within the Kingdom of Denmark."