Introduction
Welcome fellow adventurers! Let us embark on a journey to the other side of the world.
The far islands on the outmost southern edge of the world were deemed worthless for the British colonists. Until the year 1835 only a handful Europeans set foot on the lands inhabited by the mysterious Maori people. The soil seemed bereft of any valuable minerals, few fishermen could live off the shores but only sheep and cattle seemed to really thrive thereabouts.
Still... one could find peace here. One could elude his sorrows, Europe was a whole world away after all. So it came that some of the british settlers did not return home but remained there and established a new nation for all those who seek a new beginning.
About the AAR:
This is my first attempt at both writing an AAR and playing New Zealand as well. Since I read quite a lot awesome AARs about Vicky 2 I figured to make my own humble contribution. Any feedback/help is greatly appreciated since I am far from being a decent player. Accordingly my goals are as humble:
1. Stay independent until 1936
2. Build up a decent (or even strong) presence in the pacific theatre, colonize as much as possible
3. Become great power
This round will be played in AHD, version 2.31, without any mods, at normal difficulty.
Chapter One - Meet the Maori (1836 - 1846)
We start off January 1836 in New Zealand and a handful of british settlers are establishing a new nation. It is set out to be an open minded home home for everyone willing to risk the long journey to the end of the world. A small census is conducted to gain a little overview about our two islands:
We have 3 prestige points, no military and no industry whatsoever. Which is no surprise since we just got there. The only available resources are cattle and sheep which even had to be brought here from Europe. A literacy rate of 10% is pretty low but at least tiny NZ is considered a "civilized nation". We have no soldiers which is okay because we also have nothing to fear at the moment. Now lets take a closer look at the people:
About 98% of our people are Maori, unfortunately unaccepted culture, and only 250 are British. This will have to change. The vast majority of our people are farmers, expectedly, with a bit of artisans to produce some useful goods. There are also some local warriors who suffice to keep some wild animals away but not nearly enough to fit out a whole brigade. First thing to do is bringing the clergymen up to 4% via NF to ensure constant growth in research. After that the NF is used to get enough bureaucrats for 100% administration effciency. First field to conduct research in is Medicine which benefits pop growth and may bring us grood prestige through the "Pressure Chamber" invention. After that the prestige yielding techs seem appropriate for some particular reasons:
- we have neither military nor fleet nor industry to boost
- our economy-techs are already above average since we inherited all techs from the UK
- early prestige is needed to become secondary power and being able to colonize the rest
of our islands which of course is top priority by now
Interestingly the conservativeparty portion of the 250 British is more liberal than the liberals themselves. But as in need of high tax rates open minded as our country is destined to be, only the liberals are suited for government. Everything seems to be set for a rather slow and fragile developmentas all of a sudden ships appear at our shores!
Word of our freedom loving nation spread throughout europe which is full of unsatisfied, unemployed or persecuted people. There is a constant massive influx of immigrants which in the best times even makes the USA(!) jealous of our tiny two islands. Thanks to that and to an amazingly fast assimilation the literacy climbs up rapidly. (I did really not see that coming after my previous games with Texas and the USCA were very disappointing in those aspects.)
Ironically the wisest men in New Zealand are still the natives themselves who teach the Maori way of life to the new arrived immigrants. A few British clergy however managed to sneak into the sacred tribal initiation rite conducted every summer to prepare the new Maori clergy priests for their duty in local schools. After the first year much has changed. The working population has increased by 2000, literacy went up from 10% to 17% and now 15% of our NZ's people are British thanks to a thoroughly oiled assimilation machinery.
New Years Eve is celebrated with numerous Haka dances.
In the following years most things continue the way they started. The NF was used alternately to keep up clergymen or promote farmers and soldiers. Mid 1837 the first officers are sworn into duty, chosen only by their skill so that even forein immigrants can rise to highest ranks. As did our german fellow Reginald of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The newly promoted are still waiting for regiments to command.
(I noticed that even after 10 officers my military score is still 0. Do I miss some game mechanics here or has their influence on the score been nerfed since vanilla?)
In early 1844 due to its immense popularity among immigrants New Zealand is considered equal to the secondary powers in the world, thus enabeling the opportunity to claim more land in the name of liberty. Hastily outfitted expeditions are sent to all corners of the islands to make more land accessible for the growing nation. On September 1844 however all Nation is in shock!
The colonizing operations failed, several colonists are missing. Unconfirmed reports spoke of little whirlwinds racing throught the forests, called "tasmanian devils", mauling everything that stands in their way. Surely this was just an exaggeration.
A few weeks after the incident New Zealand had fallen to rank 17 which deemed further expeditions impossible for now. Surprisingly some published reports about the incident were rated rather popular in old Europe and considered "Realist Literature" which not only repaired but even improved the reputation of our beloved country. Ranked 12th now colonizing expeditions were immediately carried out again.
As the first 10 years of New Zealands existence come to an end, endless streams of immigrants have left their mark on this young nation.
Literacy has been brought to 55% of its inhabitants whereas only 17% of them still are of true Maori origin. Two reforms have been enacted in short time to attract even more immigrants to the edge of the world. The working population has more than doubled over the last decade, still there are not enough men to fit out an army division. Soon to be tested prototypes of muzzle-loaded rifles may find application in putting down cows in local slaughterhouses.
On a side note: switching to the colonize NF as soon as New Zealand hit secondary power status was too rash of me since I cant be sure to stay sp all the way through colonizing. But still, after the first interruption NZ was still ranked 16th for at least a week. That means it was either that Argentina visited rank 16 for just one day or some other unknown reason.
Not only New Zealand has changed but other countries did too.
Austria attempted to liberate Holstein but managed to only free Danish Ghana instead. Apparently their ships took the wrong turn after passing Gibraltar
Following that almost disaster Prussia took its turn and succeeded. Just to return 5 years later to also liberate Iceland. Meanwhile, exhausted from constant warfare Denmark went bankrupt - only to be stumped on even more. Surprisingly, Prussia considered Denmark its own private property by then and sphered it, just so to intervene and chase some other attacker away from its precious playground.
On the other side of the great pond Mexico maximized its territorial gains and rises up to GP status. This could be relevant for us since the more Mexico and USA fight each other the less they have time to care about NZ messing around in the Pacific. But only future will tell.
Utterly unimpressed by European and American affairs, the people of New Zealand are happily celebrating New Years Eve 1845 with several festive Hakas.
Welcome fellow adventurers! Let us embark on a journey to the other side of the world.
The far islands on the outmost southern edge of the world were deemed worthless for the British colonists. Until the year 1835 only a handful Europeans set foot on the lands inhabited by the mysterious Maori people. The soil seemed bereft of any valuable minerals, few fishermen could live off the shores but only sheep and cattle seemed to really thrive thereabouts.
Still... one could find peace here. One could elude his sorrows, Europe was a whole world away after all. So it came that some of the british settlers did not return home but remained there and established a new nation for all those who seek a new beginning.
About the AAR:
This is my first attempt at both writing an AAR and playing New Zealand as well. Since I read quite a lot awesome AARs about Vicky 2 I figured to make my own humble contribution. Any feedback/help is greatly appreciated since I am far from being a decent player. Accordingly my goals are as humble:
1. Stay independent until 1936
2. Build up a decent (or even strong) presence in the pacific theatre, colonize as much as possible
3. Become great power
This round will be played in AHD, version 2.31, without any mods, at normal difficulty.
Chapter One - Meet the Maori (1836 - 1846)
We start off January 1836 in New Zealand and a handful of british settlers are establishing a new nation. It is set out to be an open minded home home for everyone willing to risk the long journey to the end of the world. A small census is conducted to gain a little overview about our two islands:
We have 3 prestige points, no military and no industry whatsoever. Which is no surprise since we just got there. The only available resources are cattle and sheep which even had to be brought here from Europe. A literacy rate of 10% is pretty low but at least tiny NZ is considered a "civilized nation". We have no soldiers which is okay because we also have nothing to fear at the moment. Now lets take a closer look at the people:
About 98% of our people are Maori, unfortunately unaccepted culture, and only 250 are British. This will have to change. The vast majority of our people are farmers, expectedly, with a bit of artisans to produce some useful goods. There are also some local warriors who suffice to keep some wild animals away but not nearly enough to fit out a whole brigade. First thing to do is bringing the clergymen up to 4% via NF to ensure constant growth in research. After that the NF is used to get enough bureaucrats for 100% administration effciency. First field to conduct research in is Medicine which benefits pop growth and may bring us grood prestige through the "Pressure Chamber" invention. After that the prestige yielding techs seem appropriate for some particular reasons:
- we have neither military nor fleet nor industry to boost
- our economy-techs are already above average since we inherited all techs from the UK
- early prestige is needed to become secondary power and being able to colonize the rest
of our islands which of course is top priority by now
Interestingly the conservative
Word of our freedom loving nation spread throughout europe which is full of unsatisfied, unemployed or persecuted people. There is a constant massive influx of immigrants which in the best times even makes the USA(!) jealous of our tiny two islands. Thanks to that and to an amazingly fast assimilation the literacy climbs up rapidly. (I did really not see that coming after my previous games with Texas and the USCA were very disappointing in those aspects.)
Ironically the wisest men in New Zealand are still the natives themselves who teach the Maori way of life to the new arrived immigrants. A few British clergy however managed to sneak into the sacred tribal initiation rite conducted every summer to prepare the new Maori clergy priests for their duty in local schools. After the first year much has changed. The working population has increased by 2000, literacy went up from 10% to 17% and now 15% of our NZ's people are British thanks to a thoroughly oiled assimilation machinery.
New Years Eve is celebrated with numerous Haka dances.
In the following years most things continue the way they started. The NF was used alternately to keep up clergymen or promote farmers and soldiers. Mid 1837 the first officers are sworn into duty, chosen only by their skill so that even forein immigrants can rise to highest ranks. As did our german fellow Reginald of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The newly promoted are still waiting for regiments to command.
(I noticed that even after 10 officers my military score is still 0. Do I miss some game mechanics here or has their influence on the score been nerfed since vanilla?)
In early 1844 due to its immense popularity among immigrants New Zealand is considered equal to the secondary powers in the world, thus enabeling the opportunity to claim more land in the name of liberty. Hastily outfitted expeditions are sent to all corners of the islands to make more land accessible for the growing nation. On September 1844 however all Nation is in shock!
The colonizing operations failed, several colonists are missing. Unconfirmed reports spoke of little whirlwinds racing throught the forests, called "tasmanian devils", mauling everything that stands in their way. Surely this was just an exaggeration.
A few weeks after the incident New Zealand had fallen to rank 17 which deemed further expeditions impossible for now. Surprisingly some published reports about the incident were rated rather popular in old Europe and considered "Realist Literature" which not only repaired but even improved the reputation of our beloved country. Ranked 12th now colonizing expeditions were immediately carried out again.
As the first 10 years of New Zealands existence come to an end, endless streams of immigrants have left their mark on this young nation.
Literacy has been brought to 55% of its inhabitants whereas only 17% of them still are of true Maori origin. Two reforms have been enacted in short time to attract even more immigrants to the edge of the world. The working population has more than doubled over the last decade, still there are not enough men to fit out an army division. Soon to be tested prototypes of muzzle-loaded rifles may find application in putting down cows in local slaughterhouses.
On a side note: switching to the colonize NF as soon as New Zealand hit secondary power status was too rash of me since I cant be sure to stay sp all the way through colonizing. But still, after the first interruption NZ was still ranked 16th for at least a week. That means it was either that Argentina visited rank 16 for just one day or some other unknown reason.
Not only New Zealand has changed but other countries did too.
Austria attempted to liberate Holstein but managed to only free Danish Ghana instead. Apparently their ships took the wrong turn after passing Gibraltar
Following that almost disaster Prussia took its turn and succeeded. Just to return 5 years later to also liberate Iceland. Meanwhile, exhausted from constant warfare Denmark went bankrupt - only to be stumped on even more. Surprisingly, Prussia considered Denmark its own private property by then and sphered it, just so to intervene and chase some other attacker away from its precious playground.On the other side of the great pond Mexico maximized its territorial gains and rises up to GP status. This could be relevant for us since the more Mexico and USA fight each other the less they have time to care about NZ messing around in the Pacific. But only future will tell.
Utterly unimpressed by European and American affairs, the people of New Zealand are happily celebrating New Years Eve 1845 with several festive Hakas.
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