Zagan
Donor
1. It is there, buried in the text:
2. It is probably somewhere in one of these:
Last edited:
"Io Mihailŭ, Împĕratul Românilor" - A Michael the Brave Romania Wank
- Thread starter Zagan
- Start date
1. It is there, buried in the text:
2. It is probably somewhere in one of these:
Zagan
Donor
Probably so...
One thing only: not a future war, but a past one.
In 1855, when the Article was written, the site of Troy was already in Romania, as can be deducted from the text.
Last edited:
I.38. The Great Powers Conference
Zagan
Donor
Romania ceded some territories with foreign populations
but gained internal cohesiveness and international prestige.
but gained internal cohesiveness and international prestige.
The Great Powers Conference
The Great Powers Conference was the most significant diplomatic and geopolitical event of the 17th century.
Between 15 September 1626 and 10 December 1627, Prague was the virtual Capital of Europe where the Kings and the Emperors of Europe decided its fate for the following decades.
The Conference produced hundreds of documents pertaining to all kinds of more or less important problems.
It also solved several international crises which broke out during the proceedings of the Conference.
The main subjects dealt with at the Conference are discussed in the following pages.
1. Method of Decision
Iberia, France, Sarmatia and Romania favoured a decision by majority, while Britannia, Germany and Scandinavia prefered all the decisions to be unanimous.
After more than a month of difficult deliberations and consultations, a compromise was attained: Quasiunanimity, meaning that for any decision to be made, all the Great Powers must approve, except at most one of them. If two or more Great Powers were to veto a motion, it would fail.
As there were 7 recognized Great Powers at that time, Quasiunanimity meant that at least 6 votes were necessary for each motion.
This will have very important consequences for the future, as all Great Powers will do their utmost not to get politically isolated and to maintain at least one ally all the time.
2. Theory of the State
The concept of State and its various attributes were clearly defined and explained. A List of States and their attributes was compiled:
1. Iberia (Great Power, Federal)
2. France (Great Power)
3. Britannia (Great Power, National)
4. Germany (Great Power, Federal, National)
5. Sarmatia (Great Power, National)
6. Romania (Great Power, National)
7. Scandinavia (Great Power, Federal, National)
8. Russia (Potential Great Power)
9. Slovakia (National, Neutral, Protectorate of all Great Powers)
10. Croatia (National, Protectorate of Germany and Romania)
11. Greece (National, Protectorate of Romania and Iberia)
12. Italy (Confederacy, National, Protectorate of all Great Powers)
13. Hungary (National, Protectorate of Germany and Romania)
14. Georgia (Protectorate of Sarmatia and Romania)
15. Armenia (Potential State, Protectorate of Sarmatia and Romania)
Any addition or removal of a State would need the approval of the Great Powers.
All Lesser Powers had to be under the Protection of at least two Great Powers in order to avoid its possible annexation by a Great Power.
3. Theory of Sovereignty
The concept of State Sovereignty was defined with all its properties and consequences.
The Suzerainty - Vassalage relation between States was abolished.
The concepts of Dependency and Colony were introduced and defined.
4. Birth of International Law
Important International phenomena and concepts were more or less thoroughly regulated:
- The States of War and Peace;
- The Casus belli and the Just War;
- The Declaration of War, the Ceasefire, the Armistice and the Peace Treaty;
- Truce, Surrender, Prisoners of War and their treatment, the White Flag, Occupation and Annexation;
- Perfidy in War and other Immoral and Illegal War Conduct;
- International Treaties;
- Territorial Waters and the High Seas;
- Cession and Purchase of Territories;
- Emigration, Deportations and Transfers of Populations;
- many others.
5. Standardization
Several International Standars were officially adopted:
- The Arabic Numerals and Names for Big Numbers and Fractions;
- The Gregorian Calendar and Rules for Writing Date and Time;
- The International System of Measures and Weights;
- Official Names, Flags and Anthems for all States;
- The Longitude, setting the Meridian Zero / 360 in the center of the Pacific Ocean such as the Meridian of Ferro to become Meridian 150.
- other less important standards.
6. Religion
The rulings concerning Religion can be summarized like this:
1. Roman Catholicism, Protestantism (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism) and Orthodoxism (Romanian, Greek, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Oriental) are all equal Christian Faiths.
2. States can have a State Religion or Freedom of Religion (mandatory for those States composed of territories with different religions).
3. Only Christians are allowed to live in Christian Lands. All Non-Believers must Convert to Christianity or Leave.
4. Europe has a Sacred Duty to Convert to Chrisianity the Whole World.
7. Prevention of War
Reasons were given for why a war between European States was an unfortunate thing for all sides involved:
- Soldiers and civilians are killed;
- Property is damaged and destroyed;
- Money is lost and the Treasury is depleted;
- A decisive result is unlikely because the other Great Powers would intervene to restore the Balance of Power;
- Famine, diseases, intestine conflict, etc;
- The resources necessary for war would be much better spent against the Muslims or other Savages.
All possible factors which could contribute to a conflict between States were investigated and some tentative solutions were proposed:
1. The natural desire of the State to expand its territory. Solution - conquer non-Christian territory (adjacent or in other parts of the World).
2. Troublesome Ethnic and Religious Minorities. Solutions - assimilation, conversion, deportation, exchanges of population.
3. Succession Crises. Solution - non-interference in the Internal Affairs of Sovereign States. Only the State in question has the right to settle its succession crises by freely choosing any Soveriegn it desires. No one is allowed to be Sovereign of more than one Great Power.
4. Other (honour, etc). Solution - diplomacy and mediation.
Before going to war, a State must first attempt to negociate with its foe and if the negotiations are unsuccessful, defer the matter to the Great Powers Council.
On the other hand, Holy Wars against the Muslims and other Heathens were warmly encouraged, the final purpose being the conquest of the whole World.
8. Great Powers Council
The need for a permanent decisional body was quickly recognized.
The Great Powers Council was thus born.
Its headquarters had to be in a neutral, safe and easily accessible location.
After many failed proposals, the Slovak City of Vacov (Weitzen / Vácz) was finally accepted by all the Great Powers. It was a rather small and quiet city on the Slovak bank of the Danube, with well developed portuar facilities and several nice castles and palaces. Its German, Hungarian, Slovak and Romanian inhabitants of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Faith were coexisting peacefully, as in all Slovakia.
Slovakia itself was one of the most peaceful countries in Europe and the only one which met all the following conditions:
- had no conflict with any of its neighbours;
- wanted no territory from any of its neighbours;
- none of its neighbours wanted any territory from it;
- did not desire to participate in any wars in the future;
- had extremely good relations with Romania, Sarmatia and Germany;
- wanted permanent neutrality, which was unanimously granted.
All Great Powers would send plenipotentiaries to the Great Powers Council who would live permanently in Vacov. The Lesser Powers would send observers.
The Great Powers Council started to function from 1628.
9. Balance of Power
The Balance of Power in Europe should be maintained indefinitely:
- No Great Powers should amass disproportionate power in relation with the others.
- No Great Powers should merge or otherwise get unnecessary close to each other.
- No Great Powers should attack and destroy another Great Power.
If the Balance of Power gets disturbed by one or more Great Powers, the other Great Powers should intervene with all their strength in order to restore it.
10. Colonies and Dependencies
It was declared that all Great Powers were entitled to have Colonies and / or Dependencies on other Continents.
The existing non-conflicting claims were officially recognized.
For a new claim to be recognized in the future it had to be enforced with a permanent presence of either colonists or soldiers. Some exceptions were granted.
1. Iberia:
- All American Mainland and Coastal Islands South of the Parallel 32 and 30 minutes North;
- All African Mainland and Islands North of both the Senegal River and the Parallel 16 North and West of the Meridian of the border between Tripolitania and Cyrenaica;
- All other Iberian possessions;
- The other Colonial Powers had to vacate the occupied Iberian territories (the Guyanas, the Honduras and the Caribbean Islands off the South American Coast);
- Iberia vowed not to pursue any other Colonial ventures in other parts of the World.
2. France:
- All the Hydrographic Basin of Saint Lawrence River;
- All other French possessions.
3. Britannia:
- All of North America between the Iberian and the French possessions and between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains;
- All other British and Dutch possessions.
4. Germany:
- All the Mainland and Coastal Islands of the Continent called Terra Australis Incognita.
5. Sarmatia:
- Muslim territory in Persia, Mesopotamia and Arabia.
6. Romania:
- Muslim territory in Asia Minor, Levant and Arabia.
7. Scandinavia:
- All the territories North of the Parallel 60 North in North America and Asia;
- All other Scandinavian possessions.
8. Russia:
- All the territory up to the North Pacific Ocean and the borders of China and India.
9-15. The Lesser Powers:
- In the unlikely event that these States would experience a massive increase of population, the Great Powers will accept to settle in their own Colonies the population excess of these States.
11. Ireland
The sovereign right of Britannia to deal with its Irish subjects in any way it sees appropriate was recognized by the Great Powers despite the viguruos protests of the Papal envoy.
12. Hungary
It was decided to create a Hungarian State within the former Ottoman territories occupied by Germany and the Romanian Province of Panonnia.
As all the other Lesser Powers, Hungary had to be a Principality, not a Kingdom and had to be under the Protection of its powerful neighbours.
13. Croatia
Romania accepted to cede to Croatia some territories inhabited mainly by Catholic Croats.
14. Greece
The rebellion of the Cretan Greeks against their Venetian masters had inflamed the spirits at the Conference, derailing the Conference for several weeks.
In the end, the Great Powers decided to accept the facts on the ground and assign Crete to Greece, much to the dismay of the Venetian delegation which left the Conference in protest.
The Venetian machinations in Italy must have convinced the Great Powers to curtail the power of Venice.
15. Italy
The situation in Italy was extremely complex:
- Iberia owned Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Malta.
- France had Nizza (Nice) and Piedmont under military occupation and wanted to incorporate them into France proper.
- France, Venice and Rome fought for influence in the other Italian States.
- An Italian Nationalist and Unionist Movement contributed to the ever increasing confusion.
- Various Italian Nationalists were supported by either France, Germany, Venice or Rome with the hope to finally unite Italy under their influence.
- Revolutionary movements began to gain strength all over Italy.
Italy was said to be the Powder Keg of Europe.
The major risk was a general insurection of the Italian Nationalists which could bring about a European War involving at least Iberia, France, Germany, Venice and the Papal States, if not Romania and Greece as well.
Fortunately, a compromise was achieved:
- Savoy remained part of France.
- The rest of Italy was confederated.
- Piedmont and Nice were placed in the French sphere of influence, ruled by a French Prince.
- Ticino and Milan were placed in the German sphere of influence, ruled by a German Prince.
- Mantua was annexed to Venice as compensation for the loss of Crete.
- Emilia and Genoa were placed in the Venetian sphere of influence.
- Greater Tuscany was placed in the Papal sphere of influence.
- The Iberian controlled States were to be separated from Iberia after the death of Emperor Philip. While his first born will inherit the Imperial Crown, his second born will be King of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and Protector of Malta.
The Italian Confederation was thus a loose Statal structure, similar to the former Holy Roman Empire, but it contained all the Italian States, at least in theory:
1. Naples (Iberian influence)
2. Sicily (Iberian influence)
3. Sardinia (Iberian influence)
4. Corsica (Iberian influence)
5. Malta (Iberian influence)
6. Piedmont (French influence)
7. Nice (French influence)
8. Ticino (German influence)
9. Milan (German influence)
10. Greater Venice
11. Emilia (Venetian influence)
12. Genoa (Venetian influence)
13. Rome (Papal States)
14. Greater Tuscany (Papal influence)
The Council of Italy was established in Rome, the designated Capital of Italy, in order to coordinate the laws and administration of the Confederation. All the fourteen States sent a representative to the Council, each having an equal vote.
The Italian Confederation would prove to be unstable and continue to be a powder keg for decades until the real Italian Unification.
Last edited:
Zagan
Donor
Important
I have to ask for help once again. Sorry for that.
This chapter was the most difficult of all and I am still not sure if I have done it right.
Are there things that I missed and should have been discussed?
Are there things that are implausible / bad and should be changed or removed?
Thank you.
Next in TTL:
- Romania: internal situation;
- Mihai: family and personal life;
- Europe: important events;
- Colonies: at last;
- Second Romanian-Ottoman War;
- More maps, tables, charts, data and statistics;
- Romanian Constitution?
- Mihai's death and succession;
- The 3 Empresses: Iulia (granddaughter), Maria (daugher in law, Iulia's mother) and Christine (widow);
- Romanian Colonialism: trouble in the Holy Land;
- Your Requests here.
I have to ask for help once again. Sorry for that.
This chapter was the most difficult of all and I am still not sure if I have done it right.
Are there things that I missed and should have been discussed?
Are there things that are implausible / bad and should be changed or removed?
Thank you.
Next in TTL:
- Romania: internal situation;
- Mihai: family and personal life;
- Europe: important events;
- Colonies: at last;
- Second Romanian-Ottoman War;
- More maps, tables, charts, data and statistics;
- Romanian Constitution?
- Mihai's death and succession;
- The 3 Empresses: Iulia (granddaughter), Maria (daugher in law, Iulia's mother) and Christine (widow);
- Romanian Colonialism: trouble in the Holy Land;
- Your Requests here.
Last edited:
Zagan
Donor
Spot on! You noticed it immediately: Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Antarctica, etc!... Trouble.
Last edited:
The amazing thing is that Europe figured everything out; this system may last for centuries with no need for war at all. Everything seems to have become standardised and federalised enough for a peaceful Europe until anything unanticipated occurs.
That is, until Italy becomes powerful.
Zagan
Donor
Cyrenaica, Egypt, Sudan, the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, Congo, etc.
The worst part of the World for purposes of Colonialism awaits the Italians.
Or they may try to conquer China. I bet that the other Powers would look amused at the Italian-Chinese War!
Last edited:
Scandinavian Alaska 
...
that said, facts on the ground would likely further down the road lead to Scandinavia pushing for rights down and around the Hudson bay (say, 50th parallel north in America, except for the already existing French Processions in and around Newfoundland), which as far as i recall of the french/british possessions, noone actually had stated any claims on that area yet, at least not any backed by any kind of boots on the ground. Hudson's Bay Company was first established in 1670
...that said, facts on the ground would likely further down the road lead to Scandinavia pushing for rights down and around the Hudson bay (say, 50th parallel north in America, except for the already existing French Processions in and around Newfoundland), which as far as i recall of the french/british possessions, noone actually had stated any claims on that area yet, at least not any backed by any kind of boots on the ground. Hudson's Bay Company was first established in 1670
It would be impossible for the Europeans to try and conquer China until the 19th century,and even after that,wholly unfeasible.
Zagan
Donor
Scandinavian Alaska
that said, facts on the ground would likely further down the road lead to Scandinavia pushing for rights down and around the Hudson bay (say, 50th parallel north in America, except for the already existing French Processions in and around Newfoundland), which as far as i recall of the french/british possessions, noone actually had stated any claims on that area yet, at least not any backed by any kind of boots on the ground. Hudson's Bay Company was first established in 1670
Correct.
There will be some small issues though.
The English and the French would most likely want to interpret the ruling of the Conference like this: "The Scandinaians are not allowed South of the parallel 60."
The Scandinavians will surely interpret it like this: "We have exclusivity North of the parallel 60, but we are allowed to go further South if nobody else is there!"
Sure. All of Europe combined could possibly have conquered China instead of doing WW1 for example.
Keeping it conquered would not have been possible IMO. At least not without large scale genocide.
Last edited:
Even if they did, though, it would ultimately only result in the swamping of "Western" civilisation with Chinese culture and philosophy.
Lest they try.
In that case Scandinavia can point out that if read the way the British and French would like to, France would not be allowed to expand out of their existing procession outside of within the Saint Lawrence River, and Britain wouldn't be allowed to expand west of Appalachian Mountains.
Truth is that even with that threaty, theres still large areas (specially in northwestern America and south/east of the Iberian Sphere in Africa) that aren't claimed by anyone (everything in the pacific could be said to be covered by Germans Terra Australis Incognita Mainland/Islands), and then its a question about who gets there first. And with Scandinavian right of ownership of everything north of 60th Parallel, they're the nation with the easiest access to the whole area, as everyone could be asked to go somewhere else while they're trying to get through the Hudson Strait as both sides of it is within Scandinavian sphere of interest. Two forts at its narrowest (~64 km) and a small fleet (and the fact that you can see quite far in the actics) should be able to police the area easily turning others away under right of threaty as they're where they're not allowed to be.
All that said, i could see Scandinavia scuffling with Russia using the threaty (not caring that they wasn't a signatory) to claim that all their arctic coastlands is rightfully Scandinavian, debating where the border between Europe and Asia is.
Last edited:
Zagan
Donor
I am sorry, but I don't think that would be achievable.
In TTL, Colonialism will be even more important and thorough then in OTL.
Just think about it. What do we have here? A Europe which had just decided to try and stop infighting in order to conquer the World and most importantly destroy Islam.
That means that Mali is toast anyway. Kongo will surely have the same fate. Of course, the interior of Africa will have to wait another 200 years perhaps.
On the other hand, East Asia might escape Colonisation.
Korea, for example, might take the example of the Europeans and modernize quickly to become a Great Power in East Asia... I will ask you for ideas when the time will be right.
Last edited:
Zagan
Donor
That is very much correct. I did not say that the greedy French were right!
Most of the Pacific Islands are already known and claimed.
Anyway, everything North of the Tropic of Capricorn cannot be assigned to Terra Australis Incognita under any circumstances. (except maybe the island around Australia)
Yes, the Hudson Bay will be a Scandinavian Lake. I can assure you of that.
I am curious about the supposed North-Eastern boundary of Europe at that time. Wasn't it firmly established at the Ural Mountains?
Last edited:
Zagan
Donor
You did not read with enough attention. They are listed there, just not in the last position.
Last edited: