La Fédération - An Amerigan Divergences AAR

[Orlov Kruskayev]

La Fédération Amazonienne​

Amazonie lies in the western most part of Ameriga, the continent between the South Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The untamed vastness of amazonian rainforest and the Amazonas basin lie to the west and the north, claimed by many and controlled by none. To the west is the Atlantic, the window to the world at large, greedy eyes of Burgundy, Spain, and the Dual Monarchy looming in the distance. To the southwest and south are the unwelcoming Atlantian Highlands, extending from the coast as far as Amazónie Inferieure and shared by Lotharingia; beyond that, the Argent Basin, controlled by them.

The Federation, the sole democracy in the Amerigan continent, is at a crucial point in history. Lotharingian regime defies freedom itself, Gran Colombia rumbles like a giant waking up (or crumbling), incans and beornians cry their own woes. Port Libérté gathers up its strenght to weather the storm to come.

Contents
​

Amazonian Federation:
1. Introduction (Anselme, P)
2. Justified Expansionism (Anselme, P)

Stories:
1. Welcome to the Jungle (Atlantique, Mission Françiscaine)
2. Fog of War (Lotharingian Atlantic Hills, Saxi Bourdon)

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This is a Divergences AAR

For those of you unfamiliar with the great world of Divergences (DVG), first and foremost, shame on you.
It's a great Alternate History mod, born in the wake of civilization (around 2010). It answers 4 main what-ifs:

- What if the Duke of Burgundy decided to help the Plantagenet King in the Hundred Years war?
- What if Chenghua Emperor did not abandon Ming China's legacy on exploration, but instead committed even more to it?
- What if Isabella of Spain married João of Portugal instead of Ferrán of Aragon?
- What if The Kalmar Union evolved into a unitary and strong state in Scandinavia?

Add butterfly effect and you got an interesting if not contentious world that constantly evolves.

If you are reading this AAR and realize you don't understand something I assume you did, here is the place to go looking for answers, the glorious History Thread. There be Short Stories explaining succinctly how the various nations developed after the Point of Divergence, and a pretty handy timeline with the main events to go with them.

Here is the last version of the mod for download in Github. Beware, it's addictive.

This is the main thread, where you can go discuss the mod and linguistics, mostly. But also polyglot prime ministers, bugs you might find, tell us your game story, give suggestions, etc.


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I don't remember which version it started, though. Attalus has been rather trigger happy with the updates (which is far from being a bad thing, don't get me wrong) and I'm quite slow with this, so it is an old version, unfortunately.

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

1. Welcome to the Jungle

Colonial Houses near the river dock, St. François, Mission Françiscaine
​

*****

A well dressed man enters the shop, the bells ringing as the door closes behind him. A light, tropical-wooden door, intricately worked. Through small holes you can see the street outside, and the St. François flowing behind it. Jungle covered hills complete the scenery. Seconds pass until the shopkeeper appears from a door, leading to a back room. The man takes his hat off and nods.

Bookshelves tower around them and make the room feel smaller. A globe sits by the corner and some delicate plates decorate the place. The walls are covered with various drawings, paintings, maps and some weird baskets panels made of soft woven wood, with exquisite patterns. There is an open window covered by red curtains, the fabric coloring the light from the hot day outside.

“Hello.” The silence is broken, “I need a map of the region. A map of the country would also be good.” His accent sharp, guttural and somewhat cold, in no mistakable English.

“Oh, Anglois I see. First time in the colonies?” he laughs. The accent coming from the shopkeeper distorted and tortured the language in ways the man didn’t think possible. He has greyed out hair and a pronounced widow’s peak, dark eyes and a sharp nose. He wasn’t particularly short, nor particularly fat, but the way he was sitting behind the counter makes those characteristics jump out.

“I’m not anglois, I’m English.”

“You are one of those, uh, séparatistes? Yes I tell you, you people have to fight for freedom, those Parisien only know the language of f-”

“I’m not from the isles, I’m from Neo Anglia. We have won our freedom long ago.”

“Oh.” An awkward pause, “of course, Beornia. I’m sorry I didn’t notice. Not many of you come up north. And you speak differently from English people I’ve known so…”

“…I still need my maps.”

“Of course. The region and the federation. Right.”

It took some seconds for the shopkeeper to pull one of many drawers, and then grab a rugged piece of paper and spread it open in the counter. The map was beautifully done.

*not actually beautiful
I - France Antartique
II - Equinoxea, Amazonas
III - Atlantia, Cóte du Café
IV - St. François river, Mons Diamans
V - Vaura
VI - Lotharingia
VII - Proche Amazonie
VIII - Granada

“It is pretty. But these are old borders in the amazonas and Lotharingia.”

“Yes, I’m afraid our cartographer went to change the borders himself and didn’t come back.”

“Oh.” The man was caught off guard.

He chuckles, “you see, he went to some university across the sea and got ideas. You young people. When he came back he kept saying these beautiful words and was very happy to go fight ‘for freedom and the Fédération’.” He almost sang these words. “He found some sud girl there and stayed, but he still sends letters. Never sent any map, though. His name is Henri.”

Behind the counter, the clerk laughs loudly and a smile cracks in the man’s face. A woven-wood panel gets his attention.

“That is very pretty.”

The shopkeeper talks while opening and shoving drawers, looking behind books, “yes, I like them. There is this pretty tupinamba girl who makes those things.” He stands and walks to a tall shelf, then leans on his toes to reach behind a book,” I taught her how to read French and she sometimes appears with these panels. A pretty good deal if you ask me. Did I mention she is adorable?” He then scratches his head, seems to remember something and go grab a paper roll under the counter. As he was done spreading it by the side of the other map, the man’s eyes seemed to shine.

“This map is one old beaten piece, with all the Françiscaine missions to this province… But it has all physical –“

“...this is perfect, in fact. I will take both.”

“anything of the city in this map is old, you see. There is no new port, and no railroad still.”

“Yes, I still need the maps I came looking for. But these will be rather useful.”

“Well, good,” the man smiles. “Can I ask your name, sir?”

“I’m Robert of Wessex, and you?”

“I’m Mehmet-öglu Orhan, pleased to meet you.” Orhan laughs loudly at the perplexity in Robert’s face, “my mother and I came from Anatolia many years ago, I’m Turkish.” He seemed to realize just now, “you have nobility name.”

“My father is the Duke of Eoferwic”

“I sometimes forget we have an European king in Ameriga. You Beornians fled the French monarch just to have an English monarch.”

“We hold our english traditions dear.”

“HA, I’m sure you do” Robert had met quite a few republicans with similar scorning attitude in Amazonie, he was used to it by now. The shopkeeper was friendly in his weird ways, however, “what do you say we have tea and some chat later this afternoon? I want learn few things of New Anglia, and make my English better. You are staying in town I guess, the boat sails downstream tomorrow. And you still have to find your maps.”

“Well, why not? Can you tell me where I might find those maps?” He stopped for a moment, “also, are you selling that panel?”

The turk looked to the panel “Well, you could go to the docks for the province map. The Fédération map will have to wait for Port Libérté, I’m afraid. About the panel, we can discuss that later.” Orhan smiled, then started wrapping the maps “these will be 90 francs, and I’ll give you this map container. If you are patient I can ask Counémucú to make a woven map case-basket thingy, but that would take some days.”

“Is that your tupi girl? 90 francs could buy me the map and the panel I want to go with it…”

****

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

So, this is my first AAR so please bear with me.

I may rip off without a shame have been inspired by several AARs, so if it happens to sound too much like something you have read before, I may be doing that a bit too well.
Please excuse my gratuitous french

Spoiler

I don't speak french

and my bad english

Spoiler

I think I speak english but I really don't.

the gratuitous french is very fitting, you'll see.

 

[Attalus]

Yay a Divergences AAR, moreover with Amazonia, very good choice Orlov.
If you want some details about the whole thing you can ask me since I wrote the SS for them.

If you haven't advanced much into your story I'd advise you of getting the github version. Especially for the eventuality that Spain wins the Colombian War. (you really want these Habana treaties ) An Anglois path unsuccessful could make a good narrative

Anyway I wonder what a Beornian noble would want from the Amazonian Jungles....

 

[Ab Ovo]

I approve

 

[Athalcor]

A DVG AAR! (not actually written in all caps) Count me in .

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

Extract from “The Early years of the Fédération: Amazónie, Atlantia, Lotharingia, Equinoxea and Guiana.” ANSELME, P., 1996, Saxi-Bourdon University Press


Chapter 3: History and the people of Ameriga: The foundation

Section 2 “early modern history: transition from the colonial period and the status quo”

After the first turbulent years of independence from their European metropolis, forces pulling to all directions, from different sources, tore Ameriga apart:

1) Entrenched in the southern Andine range were the Incans, struggling with their tribal roots to join the civilization club, pulling west to the pacific, pushing north and south to reclaim their glorious empire of ancient times.

2) From the Northern andine range, as far as the Magdalena valley and Andagoya, east to the Caribbean and as far as the Guiana shield was Gran Colombia, struggling in their independence war against the Spanish and pulling north to Arcadia with their centralized government in Mexico and northwest to Europe, because of the strong Spanish presence in Guiana, Yucatan and Bahia.

3) Down south in the St. Georges' Plains and the western band of the Riviére de l’Argent is Beornia, bound by their old English customs and sparse populated territory. More or less devoid of force, acting as a vacuum, Incans, Amazonians and Lotharians all trying to influence the Neo-Anglish senile king’s decisions. Much later there would be a timid push into the southern mapuche lands, but only so far.

Also pictured: Lotharingia

4) The dense jungles of Amazonia claimed by most countries in the region but inhospitable and inaccessible, isolating the north and northwestern regions from the southern power struggle

5) Last but not least, foreign (read European) presence in the Caribbean (Burgundy, The Dual Monarchy, Spain) and the South Atlantic (Scandinavia, Burgundy, the Dual Monarchy)

And then, Lotharingia and Amazónie. I strongly recommend the work of Calderas and De Alençon on this subject, I will be following their framework myself. From this eastern axis, between the Amazonas, Sainte François and Riviére de l’Argent, these two states would defy each other for control over the Atlantic, the Atlantian Highlands, Lower Amazonia and the Grand Chaco. Despite fighting over their own interests for power, the energy from this conflict had the force to pull the continent together.

Not properly pictured: Lotharingia

Later in this work, we’ll discuss the sources and meaning of power and its balance in the international scene, if only to pay homage to the classics. In this section, however, I would rather point to the obvious: the status quo, as established by the Lotharian Civil War (or coup d’etat) of 1825, Amazonian Declaration of Independence and the Atlantian Revolt could not be further from stability.

Amazónie had an already promising nascent industry (O’neil, 1910). Amazónie had control over the rich and lucrative port of Nouvelle Amsterdam, coupled with the industrial base in the hinterlands of Cóte du Café. Amazónie had Equinoxea working in unison for once in history (you’ll have to trust my word on that). Amazónie had her main economic driver in Port Liberté far away and untouched by conflict.

Lotharingia had King Edward’s half promises. Lotharingia had De Aigle and his cabinet’s revanchist views. Lotharingia had an outnumbered and outsupplied army. The revolution had brought the Restorationists (Loyalists) to power, but the insurgents were everywhere (Dubois, 1992), so even though technically Lotharingia could muster an army maybe greater than that of Amazonie by 1836 (again, Dubois, 1992), they were spread thin and mostly unmotivated for a foreign war.

This sad state of affairs led to the war of 1836. Expecting help from Camelot, Lotharingian forces advanced in Vaura and Gouas, and a main army engaged in Nouvelle Amsterdam. De Aigle's limited early success must have appeared thin as paper to the Beornian King, as help never arrived. Only some bold words and a half-hearted diplomatic “support” came from the south (Wright, 1975).

It is interesting to note this early lotharingian success, however, as an ingenious work from individuals with scarce resources (Junkers 1983). The actual army was far away from the hinterlands, down the coast of Nouvelle Amsterdam engaging in a catastrophe. While that happened, smaller regiments, with surprisingly functional command chains, took charge of Mons Noir highlands and strangled Equinoxean and Amazonian interior by raiding the rivers and the roads, as far north as Missión Franciscaine.

Much more effective than the coastal strikes, these raids would prove disastrous for the coffers of the Fédération, and are one of the main reasons that actually cause it to declare bankruptcity by 1839 (de Alençon, 1991). However the case, the harsh defeats by the main forces, coupled with the unyielding advance of the Amazonian Army, better equipped and better drilled, would spell disaster for De Aigle’s “republican” regime.

****

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

I approve

A DVG AAR! (not actually written in all caps) Count me in .

Thank you.
There is always the Holy Britannian Empire to look up to when bulding a proper empire.

Yay a Divergences AAR, moreover with Amazonia, very good choice Orlov.
If you want some details about the whole thing you can ask me since I wrote the SS for them.

If you haven't advanced much into your story I'd advise you of getting the github version. Especially for the eventuality that Spain wins the Colombian War. (you really want these Habana treaties ) An Anglois path unsuccessful could make a good narrative

Anyway I wonder what a Beornian noble would want from the Amazonian Jungles....

I'm a bit far for that.
My internet right now is bitchy about what it wants to download anyway.

I may or may not bother you in the near future with stupid questions regarding some aspects of colonization and french dialects, yes.
Your short story is being, rather obviously, the MOST useful. Such is the nature of well thought out lore.
About the Anglois, I will reserve that for the future.
Thank you.

 

[Attalus]

Just a small thing that is bothering me : "ó" is not used in French so you might want to change that

If you would have wanted to go monarchist you should lose the opening war with Lotharingia but well I don't think you want an Amerigan Empire from what I've seen here.

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

Just a small thing that is bothering me : "ó" is not used in French so you might want to change that

If you would have wanted to go monarchist you should lose the opening war with Lotharingia but well I don't think you want an Amerigan Empire from what I've seen here.

Fixed, thanks.
I've been more or less "ignoring" the names of the parties because I don't like them very much, but I was Nationalist only for the first years, then Monarchists took over anyway. IIRC I liked to be able to build factories.

 

[Attalus]

Fixed, thanks.
I've been more or less "ignoring" the names of the parties because I don't like them very much, but I was Nationalist only for the first years, then Monarchists took over anyway. IIRC I liked to be able to build factories.

No I meant litteraly go monarchist, with a king

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

No I meant litteraly go monarchist, with a king

...Oh. lol
In this case down with the monarchy.

 

[Athalcor]

Yeah, the party names are waay off. So it often bothers me bit that in the country stories, they are often used.

Ooc: as Britannia, I was national democratic throughout the majority of the game.

 

[shadow121292]

Yeah, the party names are waay off. So it often bothers me bit that in the country stories, they are often used.

Ooc: as Britannia, I was national democratic throughout the majority of the game.

Fixed, thanks.
I've been more or less "ignoring" the names of the parties because I don't like them very much, but I was Nationalist only for the first years, then Monarchists took over anyway. IIRC I liked to be able to build factories.

I am liking this story a lot! Orlov I'd like your opinion on names for potential names for Amazonie parties as they are next on my list to make more unique parties for them. I'd also be very open to doing any other parties in the nearby area for you like Lotharingia and Gran Colombia(Gran Colombia's member states would also share the same parties as with the mother state.)

 

[Athalcor]

(Gran Colombia's member states would also share the same parties as with the mother state.)

Would they? I doubt it a bit. I find it hard to believe that even Mexico and GRC would share their party list.

 

[shadow121292]

Would they? I doubt it a bit. I find it hard to believe that even Mexico and GRC would share their party list.

I thought they might out of partial laziness and also because in some ways its like the USA of OTL being a large state with smaller variants that can break away and those variants would have a state version of the national party but obviously the parties are an open idea of suggestion so that's a fair point as well.

 

[Athalcor]

I thought they might out of partial laziness and also because in some ways its like the USA of OTL being a large state with smaller variants that can break away and those variants would have a state version of the national party but obviously the parties are an open idea of suggestion so that's a fair point as well.

Well, IMHO the very reason the GRC is not the US of these times is the desire of its parts for freedom and independence. Hence 'petty' parties different from those 'great'.

But let's not derail this thread, there is a story to be told here .

 

[Orlov Kruskayev]

I am liking this story a lot! Orlov I'd like your opinion on names for potential names for Amazonie parties as they are next on my list to make more unique parties for them. I'd also be very open to doing any other parties in the nearby area for you like Lotharingia and Gran Colombia(Gran Colombia's member states would also share the same parties as with the mother state.)

Well, IMHO the very reason the GRC is not the US of these times is the desire of its parts for freedom and independence. Hence 'petty' parties different from those 'great'.
But let's not derail this thread, there is a story to be told here .

Thank you shadow.
I want to help with the parties, and I agree there with Athalcor about GC. I'll discuss that in the main thread indeed.

 

[Attalus]

This thread only needs a linguistics discussion and it will be a true Divergences thread !

 

[InvisibleSandwi]

I wouldn't be surprised if you successfully united Ameriga under your watchful gaze, but whether it takes bloodshed or ends up peaceful is still to be seen.

Amazonie may or may not be Super Brazil - it is certainly ahead of its OTL counterpart in technology and literacy, but a little behind in population. The Amerigan Federation option might change this, but to my understanding, it's also available to Lotharingia, so that's worth noting.