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Again, I had forgotten how the Celts had came to utterly dominate the northern continent.
 
So expansive was the Celtic Empire's American colony that two of the empire's five largest ethnic groups were Native Americans.

In light of our own history, this fact is at least mildly encouraging. With the hints about the various complexities of Celtic America, I would be fascinated to see an American independence movement actually led by First Peoples. Makes for a much better story than some rich slave owners not wanting to pay their taxes. :p
 
In light of our own history, this fact is at least mildly encouraging. With the hints about the various complexities of Celtic America, I would be fascinated to see an American independence movement actually led by First Peoples. Makes for a much better story than some rich slave owners not wanting to pay their taxes. :p

The USA could get really interesting. I don't know how things usually play out in V2 with regards to independence movement for colonies like this, but I could see a very interesting war happening if it goes that way.
 
The USA could get really interesting. I don't know how things usually play out in V2 with regards to independence movement for colonies like this, but I could see a very interesting war happening if it goes that way.

The rebel system is deeply frustrating so unfortunately it may prove a missed opportunity.
 
I was lurking during the CK2 period and the early EU4 period. Things look to have gotten more interesting. Subbed.

If you're better at the game than you thought you were, would you directly annex large swathes or land or pull a Napoleon, creating many puppet states?
 
I was lurking during the CK2 period and the early EU4 period. Things look to have gotten more interesting. Subbed.

If you're better at the game than you thought you were, would you directly annex large swathes or land or pull a Napoleon, creating many puppet states?

Happy to have you! That will depend on what happens politically - as it stands now I would look to create smaller satellites like the three I already have from EU4. But if we go back to an empire or if communism or fascism take hold later on, that might change.
 
You know, given the form the Celtic Empire has taken now, I can´t help but get Code Geass vibes from it. After all, it does look a smaller version of the Holy Britaianen Empire.:D

My how far the Aztecs have fallen to just be a buffer state between the Navajo and the Celts. And to think that they controlled large portions of Europe once. Kinda feel bad for them to be honest.:(

Also, given I missed the chance to comment on the previous update, I want to point out that I like how the Germans ended up controlling Constantinople when they themselves were ruled by the Byzantines in the Middle Ages. Seems like the tables have turned quite a bit.;)
 
Africa & The East - 1836 AD
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The Great Orthodox Empires

The history of the Near East from the late medieval period onward is the story of Orthodox Christianity and the struggle of its great empires to establish themselves as the most dominant power in Orthodoxy.

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When the short-lived Carolingian Empire was formed, the Byzantime Emperor and Patriarch of Constantinople took the coronation of Charlemagne as a grave offense. They questioned why the Pope of Rome should have the power to unilaterally crown a so-called "Holy Roman Emperor," and political and religious tension began to grow after that incident. Eventually, the Carolingian Empire was briefly folded into the Eastern Roman Empire before both realms suffered a violent collapse. The Carolingian Empire would never return, but the Emperors of Constantinople would manage to bring their realm back from the brink.

Malcontent would continue to grow between east and west, and it eventually came to a boiling point in the 10th century when the Kingdom of Italy began conquering territory in the Balkans. Patriarch Theophanes of Constantinople objected to the Italians' use of the Latin Rite, claiming that the Greek Church had jurisdiction and that newly-baptized Balkan Christians should use the Greek Rite. Byzantine Emperor Laurentios the Just called for an ecumenical council to settle the issue, but Pope Leo III refused to attend and threatened to excommunicate any Bishops who did. Accordingly, the Fourth Council of Constantinople proceeded with almost exclusively Greek clergy in attendance, joined by a small group of Iberian Bishops who were, as promised, excommunicated from Rome. The council decreed that the Balkans were part of Constantinople's jurisdiction, demanding that Balkan Christians be Baptized and catechized in the Greek Rites and threatening to excommunicate Leo III if he refused to comply.

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Leo refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the council without his presence, and declared Theophanes, along with every Bishop in attendance, to be excommunicated. Theophanes then returned the favor and excommunicated Leo III and any Bishops who would follow him into heresy. And as such, in 971 AD, the formal division between Catholic and Orthodox Christianity became clear. This event took place less than two years prior to the arrival of the Black Plague -- a fact which led many to superstitiously refer to the Plague as the "Scourge of Heaven," believing it to be a punishment from God for the schism.

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The Byzantine Empire would remain a dominant power in Greece and Anatolia throughout the remainder of the Middle Ages and well into the Modern Period, and would eventually be joined by two other large Orthodox empires. -- the Persian Empire and Arabian Empire, both of which united large stretches of territory under Christian rule. Throughout the Early Modern Period and into the era of the Estonian Revolution, the three empires developed an antagonistic relationship as each sought to become the sole great protector of Orthodoxy. Ultimately, the Byzantine Empire would be wiped out entirely, leaving Arabia and Persia to vie with one another for the honor.

As of 1836, Arabia held the clear advantage over Persia in nearly every regard -- larger territory, a stronger military, a richer economy, and extensive colonies in Africa and Oceania. Arabia also enjoyed the security of its long-running alliances with Italy and Estonia, all but ensuring its continued place as a leading Great Power. Persia, on the other hand, lacked any allies and bordered two powerful allied rivals -- a perilous scenario for the Shahanshah to contend with in an era marked by increasing international competition for greatness.
 
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Certainly if I were Persia I would be looking for allies as fast as I could.
 
Did we ever get the story of how the Persian and Arabian Empires formed, especially considering they're Orthodox? How did that happen?
 
Did we ever get the story of how the Persian and Arabian Empires formed, especially considering they're Orthodox? How did that happen?

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The Persian Empire came about from Azerbaijan (orange, next to bright green Suriya), an Orthodox kingdom that eventually conquered a lot of the Persian kingdom and then declared the restoration of the Empire. I believe, if memory serves, Filstain (grey, on the Arabian Peninsula) was the genesis of the Arabian Empire after it conquered a lot of land northward and declared itself an empire-tier realm. Islam in this game was very nearly wiped out entirely -- something which seems to happen in most of my AARs, for some reason -- so the Middle East is largely Orthodox all around.
 
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I wonder what the ruling dynasty of China is at the moment? I haven't read CK2 so I'm not sure what dynasties are in power at the moment.

I'm surprised Persia isn't in alliance with Estonia at the moment. Estonia did liberate them from German rule after all.
 
I wonder what the ruling dynasty of China is at the moment? I haven't read CK2 so I'm not sure what dynasties are in power at the moment.

I'm surprised Persia isn't in alliance with Estonia at the moment. Estonia did liberate them from German rule after all.

China didn't get a huge focus in the EU4 portion of the AAR, since most of what they were doing didn't have much direct effect on Estonia. They are still, however, ruled by the Ming dynasty as they were at the start to EU4.
 
The Americas - 1836 AD
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The Battle for the Americas - The Colonizers vs. The Natives
Ever since the Aztec Invasion tore its way through Europe at the beginning of the second millennium, a great many Europeans saw the distant homeland of the invaders as a place of unimaginable terror filled with bloodthirsty, dangerous savages. As a result, very little was about the so-called "New World" until Khatira I, Empress of Arabia, chartered the first major expeditions across the Atlantic in the early 16th century. Under her patronage, Al-Mansur Ashraf, after discovering the western coast of Australia, sailed westward until he landed on the northern end of the South American continent, near Colombia. Having made first landfall in the New World, Ashraf returned and informed the Empress, who sent thousands of troops to escort multiple expeditions through the new region.

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Through his exploration, the Arabians learned that the mighty Aztec Empire -- long the most feared entity in much of Europe -- had been reduced to a struggling minor power, usurped by the expansive and dominating kingdom of the Navajo, who replaced the Aztecs for some time as the dominant power in North America. A number of large states had been established by the native North Americans, but none had the reach, the power, or the wealth of the Navajo Kingdom. That dominance would continue on for many more years, until the arrival of overseas colonists began to change the fate of North America for centuries to come.

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None of the other American nations could stand up to the military power of the Navajo, but even their feared army paled in comparison to the endless legions of soldiers commanded by the Ming Chinese Empire. After establishing a colony in Alaska, Emperor Cihuan I Zhu sent his army to war against the Navajo and demanded their submission to China. the war was swift and one-sided, and after being humiliated by his newfound Asian rivals, Navajo King Ashkii Diyin II agreed to become a Chinese tributary in the latter half of the 16th century.

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While the Chinese Empire was establishing its dominance on the west coast, North America's east coast became the home to a small European colony that would eventually grow into the greatest superpower on the continent within the span of a few hundred years. The Celtic Empire was the first European nation to successfully land on North America, and they established a small colony in the frozen northeast of Canada, from which they provided a steady supply of luxury furs to the empire. When it was first founded, the colony was small, and even the smaller native tribal states of the Iroquois and Cherokee loomed as dangerous threats to the south. But with the extensive funding of the Celtic Emperors and a newfound zeal to conquer the North American natives in the name of the empire's branch of Reformed Christianity, the small Canadian colony expanded rapidly to the south until the Celtic Empire controlled roughly half of North America.

While some smaller neighbors like the Cheyenne and Aztec states remained, North America in 1836 was essentially divided between three competing major spheres of influence: Celtic America to the east, Chinese America to the west, and the Navajo to the south. All three had ambitions to embrace their supposed manifest destiny to rule the whole continent, but the latter of the three had begun losing territory to the superpower to the south: the Inca Empire.

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When European settlers began arriving in South America, the Inca occupied slightly less than half of the continent, dominating its Pacific coastal regions. A number of colonies were established by the European powers, but the most successful and extensive colonization was done by Andalusia. Andalusians settled dangerously close to the border of Inca territory, and early on came into armed conflict with the gold-rich southern empire over territorial disputes. All of these wars were easily won by the superior technology of the Europeans, and the Inca Empire, in spite of its size, was repeatedly humbled by its overseas rivals in their attempt to dominate South America.

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That began to change in the 17th century thanks to the involvement of Estonia in the race to settle the Americas. Estonia began its own colonization efforts many long decades after its European competitors, and Andalusia had successfully taken much of the South American Atlantic coast by the time the first Estonian settlement was completed. Hoping to gain an edge, Tietaja Aho sent envoys to Sapa Inka Capac II, appealing to their similar roles as Priest-Emperors and suggesting that they cooperate with one another. In exchange for the Sapa Inka's blessing of further Estonian colonization, Aho sent Estonian troops to south America to help defend the Incan border and fight back against Andalusian colonial efforts.

Although the alliance between the two nations would come to an end in the aftermath of the Estonian Revolution, the arrangement proved beneficial for both sides for many years. Estonia established a sizable colony in South America, and the Inca were able to expand out rapidly and bring the rest of the continent under their rule. Eventually, as the relations between the two powers broke down, the Estonian colonies were overrun and integrated into the empire, resulting in the Inca Empire of 1836 containing a small minority of ethnic Estonians, largely concentrated to the east -- with Estonians even making up the majority of the population in a small few areas.
 
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And with that, we've completed the whirlwind overview of the world scenario as of 1836! If there are any specific things you're curious about, feel free to ask me and I'll try to fill in the blanks -- other than that, however, it's time for me to start playing and working on updates moving forward!

As I mentioned, I am an absolute V2 virgin, so... I can't promise that we'll succeed, but at least we will hopefully tell an interesting story about the world in the process!
 
Seem like the odds are pretty stacked against the natives in their struggle with the Chinese and Celtic colonizers, but time will tell who comes out on top in the end. Guess it depends on how immigration to the Americas goes here.

Since. the Brazilian Estonians probably don’t have a relationship with their European brethren, as we disscused in EU4, I wonder how they are doing under Incan rule.

Also, are the Folkland Islands still ruled by a Gilterhoof by any chance? Would be funny to still see a horse in power after all this time.:p
 
Seem like the odds are pretty stacked against the natives in their struggle with the Chinese and Celtic colonizers, but time will tell who comes out on top in the end. Guess it depends on how immigration to the Americas goes here.

Since. the Brazilian Estonians probably don’t have a relationship with their European brethren, as we disscused in EU4, I wonder how they are doing under Incan rule.

Also, are the Folkland Islands still ruled by a Gilterhoof by any chance? Would be funny to still see a horse in power after all this time.:p

Amazingly....

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Yes, it converted over from EU4 lol
 
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From my one playthrough of Vic 2 (which I thoroughly enjoyed btw) I think it is fair to say rebels are in your future.

:D