Okay, is the idea of the various British Imperial dominions being independent set in stone now? It's just that personally, I am of the opinion that in 1914 - as opposed to say, 1936 - the British Empire should be a single, unified state (in our mod's terms, anyway). There are several reasons I hold this view:
Firstly, in gameplay terms it means that along with Russia - and arguably the United States, once mobilised - the British Empire is the most expansive and micromanage-intensive country to play as. It requires the player to sufficiently garrison and defend the various outposts of the Empire, which in turn requires a far more realistic and resourceful use of the Royal Navy. This is a large, important and fun aspect of playing as the British Empire, and I truly hope it remains so. With the proposed advent of separate dominions, each one having its own navy (however small) significantly detracts from the Royal Navy's responsibility/need to maintain sufficient fleets in various parts of the globe. This means that a larger chunk of the navy may be used to bottle the High Seas Fleet in the Baltic - this is ahistorical, as although the Grand Fleet did indeed do so, many other smaller fleets were needed to protect British interests around the world.
Secondly, I am of the opinion that the Statute of Westminster (1931) is the true date of independence and realistic self-governance for the larger dominions. Dates before this are both spurious and wishy-washy, and although varying levels of self-governance are mentioned on several dates after 1900, the Imperial War Cabinet in London still (AFAIK) controlled both colonial foreign policy and the Empire's various armed forces. I honestly don't believe there is reason enough to break up the empire before 1931 - after the Statute, however, I am completely for this process. It is, of course, outside of the mod's timespan. Another point of argument could be the Balfour Declaration, but this too is further on in history, in this case 1926:
Thirdly, I do agree with maintaining the dominions as revolters in the mod database. By doing so, the player may grant independence as and when he pleases (should he wish to do so, for whatever reason); and of course should the Central Powers win the Great War, all of these dominions would be released.
Finally, I think that Drew probably had most of this in mind when he set this up originally.
Just my opinion, please comment.
Firstly, in gameplay terms it means that along with Russia - and arguably the United States, once mobilised - the British Empire is the most expansive and micromanage-intensive country to play as. It requires the player to sufficiently garrison and defend the various outposts of the Empire, which in turn requires a far more realistic and resourceful use of the Royal Navy. This is a large, important and fun aspect of playing as the British Empire, and I truly hope it remains so. With the proposed advent of separate dominions, each one having its own navy (however small) significantly detracts from the Royal Navy's responsibility/need to maintain sufficient fleets in various parts of the globe. This means that a larger chunk of the navy may be used to bottle the High Seas Fleet in the Baltic - this is ahistorical, as although the Grand Fleet did indeed do so, many other smaller fleets were needed to protect British interests around the world.
Secondly, I am of the opinion that the Statute of Westminster (1931) is the true date of independence and realistic self-governance for the larger dominions. Dates before this are both spurious and wishy-washy, and although varying levels of self-governance are mentioned on several dates after 1900, the Imperial War Cabinet in London still (AFAIK) controlled both colonial foreign policy and the Empire's various armed forces. I honestly don't believe there is reason enough to break up the empire before 1931 - after the Statute, however, I am completely for this process. It is, of course, outside of the mod's timespan. Another point of argument could be the Balfour Declaration, but this too is further on in history, in this case 1926:
Balfour Declaration said:
Thirdly, I do agree with maintaining the dominions as revolters in the mod database. By doing so, the player may grant independence as and when he pleases (should he wish to do so, for whatever reason); and of course should the Central Powers win the Great War, all of these dominions would be released.
Finally, I think that Drew probably had most of this in mind when he set this up originally.
Just my opinion, please comment.
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