Semi-Independent Nobles
They speak Latin officially but the common language is a bit of a hybrid. It's kind of like English, with Italian standing in for old English and German standing in for French.
Map Thread XXII
- Thread starter Balkanized U.S.A
- Start date
Is that through out the Ostrogothic realm or only within the former Romance speaking areas?
Layout of airship gondolas featured in the 1945 book WHY? Why has America no Rigid Airships? by then-Goodyear President Paul Litchfield and Goodyear publicist Hugh Allen. This was published 8 years after the Hindenburg disaster.
Image courtesey of Airships.net
Reminds me of my idea of an Ice Age Middle Earth, where Elves were Neanderthals, Dwarves Denisovans and Hobbits Homo Floriensis. The Hobbit was the tale of a Homo Floriensis who accompanied a band of Denisovans to reclaims their mountain stronghold and its gold from a Megalania Priscus.Hmm. Feeling about done: in any case, I've taken waaaay too much time on this. Criticism, suggestions? I need to write a setting description and then put up a (possibly) refined version of this up on my ASB thread.
(A take on Conan's world, some decades in the future, after Old Man Conan has taken part in the last battle against the evil priesthood of Set and sailed off into the sunrise. Drawing on the Marvel Comics map of Conan's world and Sapiento's work in Conan alternate geography https://www.deviantart.com/sapiento/art/The-Hyborian-Age-524644374 )
Mainly the former Romance-speaking areas, though it's spreading throughout the empire.
This is a map of the decolonization process of an alternate Germanic Empire, and its situation in the (alternate) present day:
Former overseas territories:
1.- The Nordic Islands (Faeroe and Shetland): they were a former Danish-Norwegian crown dependency, so they had been attached to the Old Germanic Confederation since the 12th century. However, they were not incorporated into the metropolitan Gaue system until 1947, as two separate Gaue: Gau Thorshaven (Faeroes) and Gau Lerwig (Shetlands).
2.- Iceland (including Jan Mayen): as well as the Nordic Islands, it was another Danish-Norwegian crown dependency. The first attempt to incorporate it was in 1917, but it was then rejected by the Reichstag due to its low and sparsed population. Finally, it achieved Gau status in 1944. In 1992 it was split into two: Gau Raucherwig and Gau Ackererde.
3.- Spitzbergen: these islands were only settled during the first half of 19th century. In 1972, a referendum in the islands granted them the Gau status as new Gau Spitzbergenstadt.
4.- Greenland: unlike the Nordic Islands and Iceland, this territory was not attached to any Germanic state after 1098, but under joint rule of the Old Germanic Confederation, and since 1792 under the modern Germanic Empire, at first jointly with Helluland. In 1956 a referendum granted Gau status to the territory. In 1985 it was split into two: Gau Guthoff and Gau Julienshoff.
5.- Helluland: a former dependency of Greenland Territory, it was separated in 1867. In 1956 the territory held its own referendum to become a new Gau, called Frobischer after its capital town.
6.- Markland: a territory slowly settled between the 11th and the 16th centuries, it was later divided after the disasterous Germanic defeat at the Vinlandic Wars (1755-1763) against the rising North American Federation. West Markland was incorporated into the NAF, while the Old Germanic Confederation retained joint control over East Markland. In 1932, East Markland local politicians pushed for full incorporation and the territory was divided into two Gaue since then: Gau Nain and Gau Gänsebucht.
7.- Newfoundland: maybe the oldest Germanic self-governing territory in the New World, it avoided the disasterous effects of the Vinlandic Wars, receiving many settlers who left mainland Vinland after that. Newfoundland's incorporation was delayed due to some political lobbies who pushed for independence rather than full incorporation into the Germanic Empire, but the agressive foreign policies of the NAF during the 1940s finally made them to accept incorporation after a positive referendum held in 1949. The territory was divided into two Gaue since then: Gau Sankt Johannes and Gau Waskenshaven.
8.- Vinland (today only Long Island): the richest colony in the New World was fully occupied by the NAF after 1763. The Germanic states only managed to keep Long Island, where the biggest and best fortified town (Neuamsterdam) was located. After the loss of the mainland, many Germanic settlers moved to the island. As soon as 1917, the authorities of Long Island pushed for fully incorporation in order to prevent the increasing aims of annexation coming from neighbouring NAF. The island was further divided into three different Gaue: Gau Neuamsterdam, Gau Neunassau and Gau Hamtun. Today it is commonly refered as Vinland, even if the island is just a small remainder of the ancient territory.
9.- Virgin Islands (today only Saint Croix): the islands were purchased to the Spanish in 1687 and later ceded to Britain in 1917 as a compensation for the North Atlantic War (1914-1917). The island of Saint Croix was kept and later incorporated in 1947 after a positive referendum, as the new Gau Christianstadt.
10.- Germanic Antilles: the islands were legally purchased to New Granada in 1830, even if many Germanic missions were already established there since the late 17th century. In 1983, after many local debates between pro-incorporation and pro-independence factions, the island of Aruba was incorporated as Gau Oranienstadt. The other two islands were set to become independent in the 1990s, but at the end they accepted a draft for full incorporation in 2001, becoming the last Germanic territory to be decolonized as the new Gau Wilhelmstadt (Curasao) and Gau Koralendam (Bonaire).
11.- Germanic Guayana: settled during the 18th century in the border of former British Guayana and Spanish Brazil (today independent states), it gained Gau status in 1975 as the new Gau Sürinam.
12.- Germanic Brazil (today only Southern Atlantic Islands): the northwestern part of former Spanish Brazil was occupied by the Germanic states between 1620 and 1664, when they were finally expelled. However, the Old Germanic Confederation retained sovereignty over three archipelagoes which previously depended on the Germanic Brazil governorate: Fernando de Noronha, Asuncion and Saint Helena, called the Southern Atlantic Islands. In 1983, the Germanic government decided their incorporation as they were mostly inhabited by recent Germanic settlers as three new Gaue: Gau Ferdinandstadt (Fernando de Noronha), Gau Jürgenstadt (Ascension) and Gau Jakobstadt (Saint Helena).
13.- Kamerunstadt (or Douala): an old city port in the gulf of Guinea, administered by the Germanic states since 1702. In 1968, a referendum approved the full incorporation of the city and its surrounding territory as a new Gau.
14.- Germanic South Africa: settled by the Germanic states since 1489, the former colony gradually expanded to the northwest until 1822, when the border with British Tsambia was finally delimited. In 1911, the five Gaue of Kapstadt, Parel, Friedenburg, Neugänsebucht and Bredasdorf were the first non-European territories to be accepted in the Germanic Reichstag. In 1948, other five further Gaue (Mosselbucht, Neuheidelberg, Sonderende, Friedenstal and Breiterburg) were incorporated while the rest of the colony (except the Province of the Tsuana) were granted independence as the Republic of the Bantu-Zulu. In 1990, Tsuana achieved its independence, excepting their two southeastern districts (Oranienmund and Lüderitz), which were incorporated as two new Gaue.
15.- Mascarene Islands: inhabited prior the arrival of Germanic settlers in 1598, they were incorporated in 1968 after a positive referendum. Initially divided into two Gaue (Gau Ludwigshafen for Mauritius/Rodrigues and Gau Sankt Dyonis for Reunion), a third one (Gau Mathurin) was created for Rodrigues and the smaller islands in 1994.
16.- Tanganika (today only Zanzibar): a quite late acquisition in 1845, the country gained its independence in 1962. However, many of the Germanic settlers relocated to the Zanzibar archipelago, which opted for full incorporation as the new Gau Sansibar.
17.- Germanic India (including Ceylon): settled by the Germanic states since 1610, the continental part was ceded to the recently independent India in 1945, while the island of Ceylon decided through referendum to constitute its own state.
18.- Germanic Insulindia: settled by the Germanic states since 1632, in 1945 the colony was reformed as two separate protectorates, the Sultanate of Sumatra and the Sultanate of Java, with both achieving full independence in 1960. However, the district of Batavia (in Java) which was mostly inhabited by Germanic settlers, was detached from the Sultanate and incorporated as a new Gau (Batawien) which also included the Cocos and Christmas islands, as they were dependencies of the former colony not ceded to the sultanates. Gau Batawien was later split in 1978 when another Gau (Seran) was created. In the other side, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were also detached from Sumatra and incorporated as Gau Andamanshaven.
19.- Germanic Australia (today only Shark Bay): the western part of Australia was ceded to the new Republic of Australia when this country achieved independence of the British Commonwealth in 1932. However, the area of Shark Bay was retained as a strategic military outpost. In 1968 Shark Bay citizens decided on referendum to incorporate in the Germanic Empire as new Gau Haibucht.
20.- Germanic New Guinea (today only Bougainville): settled by the Germanic Empire since 1819, it was lost to the British in 1914, at the beginning of the North Atlantic War, excepting the island of Bougainville, which resisted the siege until 1917. In 1975, Bougainville voted for incorporation as new Gau Arawien.
21.- Taiwan (today only Penghu islands): the island was under Germanic protection since 1655. In 1947, by the Zonqqo Agreement, Taiwan acquired full independent status and ceded the Penghu islands to the Germanic Empire, where a strong military complex is set to defend Taiwan from the Chinese aims of annexation. The islands were immediately incorporated as new Gau Penghaustadt.
22.- Manchuria (today only Dalian): the area of Manchuria was occupied by the Germanic Empire between 1878 and 1905, when China recovered it. However, the Germanic Empire managed to retain the strategic Dalian peninsula, which was later incorporated as Gau Dalien in 1922.
23.- Hormuz: the small peninsula of Hormuz was purchased by the Old Germanic Confederation in 1733, as the Omanese were unable to defend it themselves from Arabians and Persians. Despite some negotiation in order to return it to either Oman or Arabia in the 1950s, the territory pushed for a referendum of incorporation in 1968, which resulted in the creation of the new Gau Hormutz.
24.- Hippona: this North African territory belonged to Savoy prior to their incorporation to the Germanic Empire in 1809. This exclave was administered as a colony until 1922, when it was granted Gau status as the new Gau Heyffen. In 1948 a second Gau (Thinisen) was created.
Former overseas territories:
1.- The Nordic Islands (Faeroe and Shetland): they were a former Danish-Norwegian crown dependency, so they had been attached to the Old Germanic Confederation since the 12th century. However, they were not incorporated into the metropolitan Gaue system until 1947, as two separate Gaue: Gau Thorshaven (Faeroes) and Gau Lerwig (Shetlands).
2.- Iceland (including Jan Mayen): as well as the Nordic Islands, it was another Danish-Norwegian crown dependency. The first attempt to incorporate it was in 1917, but it was then rejected by the Reichstag due to its low and sparsed population. Finally, it achieved Gau status in 1944. In 1992 it was split into two: Gau Raucherwig and Gau Ackererde.
3.- Spitzbergen: these islands were only settled during the first half of 19th century. In 1972, a referendum in the islands granted them the Gau status as new Gau Spitzbergenstadt.
4.- Greenland: unlike the Nordic Islands and Iceland, this territory was not attached to any Germanic state after 1098, but under joint rule of the Old Germanic Confederation, and since 1792 under the modern Germanic Empire, at first jointly with Helluland. In 1956 a referendum granted Gau status to the territory. In 1985 it was split into two: Gau Guthoff and Gau Julienshoff.
5.- Helluland: a former dependency of Greenland Territory, it was separated in 1867. In 1956 the territory held its own referendum to become a new Gau, called Frobischer after its capital town.
6.- Markland: a territory slowly settled between the 11th and the 16th centuries, it was later divided after the disasterous Germanic defeat at the Vinlandic Wars (1755-1763) against the rising North American Federation. West Markland was incorporated into the NAF, while the Old Germanic Confederation retained joint control over East Markland. In 1932, East Markland local politicians pushed for full incorporation and the territory was divided into two Gaue since then: Gau Nain and Gau Gänsebucht.
7.- Newfoundland: maybe the oldest Germanic self-governing territory in the New World, it avoided the disasterous effects of the Vinlandic Wars, receiving many settlers who left mainland Vinland after that. Newfoundland's incorporation was delayed due to some political lobbies who pushed for independence rather than full incorporation into the Germanic Empire, but the agressive foreign policies of the NAF during the 1940s finally made them to accept incorporation after a positive referendum held in 1949. The territory was divided into two Gaue since then: Gau Sankt Johannes and Gau Waskenshaven.
8.- Vinland (today only Long Island): the richest colony in the New World was fully occupied by the NAF after 1763. The Germanic states only managed to keep Long Island, where the biggest and best fortified town (Neuamsterdam) was located. After the loss of the mainland, many Germanic settlers moved to the island. As soon as 1917, the authorities of Long Island pushed for fully incorporation in order to prevent the increasing aims of annexation coming from neighbouring NAF. The island was further divided into three different Gaue: Gau Neuamsterdam, Gau Neunassau and Gau Hamtun. Today it is commonly refered as Vinland, even if the island is just a small remainder of the ancient territory.
9.- Virgin Islands (today only Saint Croix): the islands were purchased to the Spanish in 1687 and later ceded to Britain in 1917 as a compensation for the North Atlantic War (1914-1917). The island of Saint Croix was kept and later incorporated in 1947 after a positive referendum, as the new Gau Christianstadt.
10.- Germanic Antilles: the islands were legally purchased to New Granada in 1830, even if many Germanic missions were already established there since the late 17th century. In 1983, after many local debates between pro-incorporation and pro-independence factions, the island of Aruba was incorporated as Gau Oranienstadt. The other two islands were set to become independent in the 1990s, but at the end they accepted a draft for full incorporation in 2001, becoming the last Germanic territory to be decolonized as the new Gau Wilhelmstadt (Curasao) and Gau Koralendam (Bonaire).
11.- Germanic Guayana: settled during the 18th century in the border of former British Guayana and Spanish Brazil (today independent states), it gained Gau status in 1975 as the new Gau Sürinam.
12.- Germanic Brazil (today only Southern Atlantic Islands): the northwestern part of former Spanish Brazil was occupied by the Germanic states between 1620 and 1664, when they were finally expelled. However, the Old Germanic Confederation retained sovereignty over three archipelagoes which previously depended on the Germanic Brazil governorate: Fernando de Noronha, Asuncion and Saint Helena, called the Southern Atlantic Islands. In 1983, the Germanic government decided their incorporation as they were mostly inhabited by recent Germanic settlers as three new Gaue: Gau Ferdinandstadt (Fernando de Noronha), Gau Jürgenstadt (Ascension) and Gau Jakobstadt (Saint Helena).
13.- Kamerunstadt (or Douala): an old city port in the gulf of Guinea, administered by the Germanic states since 1702. In 1968, a referendum approved the full incorporation of the city and its surrounding territory as a new Gau.
14.- Germanic South Africa: settled by the Germanic states since 1489, the former colony gradually expanded to the northwest until 1822, when the border with British Tsambia was finally delimited. In 1911, the five Gaue of Kapstadt, Parel, Friedenburg, Neugänsebucht and Bredasdorf were the first non-European territories to be accepted in the Germanic Reichstag. In 1948, other five further Gaue (Mosselbucht, Neuheidelberg, Sonderende, Friedenstal and Breiterburg) were incorporated while the rest of the colony (except the Province of the Tsuana) were granted independence as the Republic of the Bantu-Zulu. In 1990, Tsuana achieved its independence, excepting their two southeastern districts (Oranienmund and Lüderitz), which were incorporated as two new Gaue.
15.- Mascarene Islands: inhabited prior the arrival of Germanic settlers in 1598, they were incorporated in 1968 after a positive referendum. Initially divided into two Gaue (Gau Ludwigshafen for Mauritius/Rodrigues and Gau Sankt Dyonis for Reunion), a third one (Gau Mathurin) was created for Rodrigues and the smaller islands in 1994.
16.- Tanganika (today only Zanzibar): a quite late acquisition in 1845, the country gained its independence in 1962. However, many of the Germanic settlers relocated to the Zanzibar archipelago, which opted for full incorporation as the new Gau Sansibar.
17.- Germanic India (including Ceylon): settled by the Germanic states since 1610, the continental part was ceded to the recently independent India in 1945, while the island of Ceylon decided through referendum to constitute its own state.
18.- Germanic Insulindia: settled by the Germanic states since 1632, in 1945 the colony was reformed as two separate protectorates, the Sultanate of Sumatra and the Sultanate of Java, with both achieving full independence in 1960. However, the district of Batavia (in Java) which was mostly inhabited by Germanic settlers, was detached from the Sultanate and incorporated as a new Gau (Batawien) which also included the Cocos and Christmas islands, as they were dependencies of the former colony not ceded to the sultanates. Gau Batawien was later split in 1978 when another Gau (Seran) was created. In the other side, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were also detached from Sumatra and incorporated as Gau Andamanshaven.
19.- Germanic Australia (today only Shark Bay): the western part of Australia was ceded to the new Republic of Australia when this country achieved independence of the British Commonwealth in 1932. However, the area of Shark Bay was retained as a strategic military outpost. In 1968 Shark Bay citizens decided on referendum to incorporate in the Germanic Empire as new Gau Haibucht.
20.- Germanic New Guinea (today only Bougainville): settled by the Germanic Empire since 1819, it was lost to the British in 1914, at the beginning of the North Atlantic War, excepting the island of Bougainville, which resisted the siege until 1917. In 1975, Bougainville voted for incorporation as new Gau Arawien.
21.- Taiwan (today only Penghu islands): the island was under Germanic protection since 1655. In 1947, by the Zonqqo Agreement, Taiwan acquired full independent status and ceded the Penghu islands to the Germanic Empire, where a strong military complex is set to defend Taiwan from the Chinese aims of annexation. The islands were immediately incorporated as new Gau Penghaustadt.
22.- Manchuria (today only Dalian): the area of Manchuria was occupied by the Germanic Empire between 1878 and 1905, when China recovered it. However, the Germanic Empire managed to retain the strategic Dalian peninsula, which was later incorporated as Gau Dalien in 1922.
23.- Hormuz: the small peninsula of Hormuz was purchased by the Old Germanic Confederation in 1733, as the Omanese were unable to defend it themselves from Arabians and Persians. Despite some negotiation in order to return it to either Oman or Arabia in the 1950s, the territory pushed for a referendum of incorporation in 1968, which resulted in the creation of the new Gau Hormutz.
24.- Hippona: this North African territory belonged to Savoy prior to their incorporation to the Germanic Empire in 1809. This exclave was administered as a colony until 1922, when it was granted Gau status as the new Gau Heyffen. In 1948 a second Gau (Thinisen) was created.
“Oh, that’s nice. You wanted to go to the naked URL for the image file? You actually thought you could get away with viewing one of our images at full resolution? NOPE! NOT FOR YOU! BACK TO THE WRAPAROUND PAGE EVEN IF YOU DELIBERATELY GO DIRECTLY TO THE IMAGE URL!” ~ Imgur
After a quick test, as long as the link contains the image's file extension, (e.g. .png, .jpg etc.), it should still show up properly
Example:
Example:
The latest and greatest map of the TSM-verse -- now showing land claims! Isn't Britain-in-exile so pretty like this?
Questions? Feedback? Comments? Suggestions as to how I could make the admittedly drab map more interesting?
Questions? Feedback? Comments? Suggestions as to how I could make the admittedly drab map more interesting?
Yes, Vienna is the capital. I plan on putting out a map with province names.
The HRE consolidated in a much slower, more bloody German mediatisation, but there's still a few low-level subdivisions where lords have absolute power. There are many "free states" with elected governments, like in that Belgian province. The electorates are abolished, since there's no more electors, but there is a Reichstag which all the states send members to. The "Holy Roman Emperor" title is officially made a heriditary title under the Habsburgs, causing a civil war, the aftermath of which leads to most of the mediatisation.
If there is even WW1 at all. German-Austrian Empire might be such empire that no one is able to challenge that.
Almost done with another decadal retrofuture map, this time it will be the 1950s! (I also have a 1980s, a half-done 1990s, and a barely-started 2000s). Fun to make, and truly alien.
I've decided to make this map's current year 2015, as opposed to my 1980s and 1990s retrofutures (in which the current year is 2045), it doesn't really make much sense to project forward an entire century into the future. As always, my maps are set mainly from the American POV.
I'll have an entire essay explaining this world when it is done, but suffice to say, it's a world polarized on Cold War lines, with a US-led NATO/IPTO (Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization, think OTL's SEATO on roids) face off against a gargantuan Warsaw Pact. There are three major unaligned powers, Brazil (much more populous and stronger than in OTL), the United Arab Republic (in this world the 1967 War never happened, so Nasser was never disgraced and pan-Arabism never discredited), and India (a populous, fractious proving ground for the great powers, with socialist guerillas infesting the eastern regions).
What about the United States, the star of the show as always? Well, when you look at them in detail, the 1950s were not the conservative Elysium that we regard them as today. On the contrary, New Deal Liberalism was a powerful political force, and Eisenhower was a moderate forced to give ground to it. The 1950s were before the political parties polarized ideologically (the 1964 election) in any case. The elites took a view of skeptical detachment towards religion (remember, this was before American culture underwent southernization, and Evangelicalism became a potent political and cultural force). On the other hand, the Civil Rights Movement remained more moderate and assimilationist and "Black Power" didn't exist yet. The Sexual Revolution hadn't happened yet either. Nor had the popular disillusionment with institutions that occurred in the wake of Vietnam/Watergate/1973 Embargo/etc, everyone is a lot more earnest in this world.
As I said, projecting forward the 1950s leads to a truly alien world, one which defies simple political characterization.
I've decided to make this map's current year 2015, as opposed to my 1980s and 1990s retrofutures (in which the current year is 2045), it doesn't really make much sense to project forward an entire century into the future. As always, my maps are set mainly from the American POV.
I'll have an entire essay explaining this world when it is done, but suffice to say, it's a world polarized on Cold War lines, with a US-led NATO/IPTO (Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization, think OTL's SEATO on roids) face off against a gargantuan Warsaw Pact. There are three major unaligned powers, Brazil (much more populous and stronger than in OTL), the United Arab Republic (in this world the 1967 War never happened, so Nasser was never disgraced and pan-Arabism never discredited), and India (a populous, fractious proving ground for the great powers, with socialist guerillas infesting the eastern regions).
What about the United States, the star of the show as always? Well, when you look at them in detail, the 1950s were not the conservative Elysium that we regard them as today. On the contrary, New Deal Liberalism was a powerful political force, and Eisenhower was a moderate forced to give ground to it. The 1950s were before the political parties polarized ideologically (the 1964 election) in any case. The elites took a view of skeptical detachment towards religion (remember, this was before American culture underwent southernization, and Evangelicalism became a potent political and cultural force). On the other hand, the Civil Rights Movement remained more moderate and assimilationist and "Black Power" didn't exist yet. The Sexual Revolution hadn't happened yet either. Nor had the popular disillusionment with institutions that occurred in the wake of Vietnam/Watergate/1973 Embargo/etc, everyone is a lot more earnest in this world.
As I said, projecting forward the 1950s leads to a truly alien world, one which defies simple political characterization.
