Hi. I'm the author of the Indonesian Improvement mod. I've spent some time researching the historical situation of maritime south-east Asia during this period and I have a few suggestions for improving the region without adding any new tags (though new tags would be great, incidentally). I've bolded some short sections for tl;dr purposes.
1. Palembang in 1444.
The PLB tag for Palembang already exists, but the country only appears in start dates after 1550 with no way for it to emerge in games starting beforehand. Palembang is a very important city in the history of maritime south-east Asia.
It was the capital of the Srivijaya Empire, a major regional power. Malacca in-game has the Srivijaya dynasty, which formed a significant part of the Malaccan claim to dominance. Though Srivijaya collapsed, the city remained an important population and trade center. In the early 1400's the city was captured by the Chinese pirate king Chen Zuyi. The pirates were eventually overthrown by none other than Zheng He, but another Chinese rogue Lian Daoming quickly took control of the city. Lian Daoming however was protected by the Ming Emperor via Zheng He, showing the city's continued importance. Chinese control was probably at an end by 1444, though the city no doubt retained its importance.
1550, the date from which Palembang starts to exist in-game, is the approximate date of the foundation of the Palembang Sultanate. That is, the date at which the city officially converted to Islam. The city-state was clearly extant and important before this time.
I suggest that Palembang be added as a Hindu or Buddhist kingdom in 1444, owning Palembang, Tulangbewang, and Bangka. This leaves Bengkulu "uncolonised", which is important since it was the first major British base of operations in the region.
2. Additional cores and nations on Java
Java is currently very simple. 2 nations (Sunda and Majapahit) with the same culture, and no additional cores. This leads to a Java that is quickly conquered by one of the two nations, and things tend to stay that way. I suggest adding cores for nation that already have tags, but cannot appear "naturally" in the game.
These are: Banten (provinces: Banten, Kapua, Kalapa), Cirebon (provinces: Cirebon, Kawali), Demak (provinces: Demak, Kendal), Mataram (provinces: Kendal, Karta).
Additionally, I suggest that 2 more nations be added to Java in 1444: Bali (BLI) and Blambangan (BLM). A short time into the game's timeframe, Blambangan fought a war against Majapahit, suggesting that it was not a part of the crumbling empire but rather a state that had broken away some time earlier. Blambangan should own and have cores only on the Blambangan province.
Bali meanwhile was nominally part of the Majapahit Empire, but by 1444 was so autonomous that it might as well have been independent. The Hindu countries in Borneo (represented by Kutei in-game) were also nominally part of Majapahit in 1444 yet are not represented even as vassals. For the sake of consistency, I suggest either making Bali an independent nation or making it a Majapahit vassal in 1444.
3. Islamisation events for Hindu/Buddhist/Animist countries
The following nations and regions eventually adopted Sunni Islam, yet there is no mechanism for the spread of Islam in the game: All of Java (incidentally, Blambangan was the last Hindu state on Java proper, another reason to add it in 1444), the spice islands (Tidore and Ternate), Kutei, and the Sulawesi nations (Makassar, Luwu, and Buton).
The Islamisation of Java in particular caused a major shake-up in the region. Its significance to the history of Indonesia can hardly be understated.
I suggest some series of events, or even the use of the center of reformation mechanic to spread Islam to these areas. I've given this some attention in my mod.
4. Bring back Aceh
Aceh (ATJ) was replaced by Pasai in the patch that came with AoW. It's good that Pasai, was added, but it gave the country vastly more power than it ever had historically. Aceh became a regional power later in the EU period under Iskandar Muda. While officially not founded until 1496 (again, "founded" is a relative term), the region was most definitely not part of the Pasai Sultanate either. Since the Aceh tag already exists, I suggest giving the western half of Pasai's current land "back" to Aceh. These provinces being Lamuri, Gayo, and Batak. Note that the latter two provinces were not historically conquered by any "nation" until much later Acehnese expansion; Pasai absolutely should not control these provinces in 1444.
Of course there's plenty more than can be done with the region, but these are the changes I think would make the most difference relative to their simplicity. If I could change whatever I liked, I'd also add a whole bunch of flavour events for various countries in the region, at least 2 new cultures, and loads more tags. But we can't have everything we want.
1. Palembang in 1444.
The PLB tag for Palembang already exists, but the country only appears in start dates after 1550 with no way for it to emerge in games starting beforehand. Palembang is a very important city in the history of maritime south-east Asia.
It was the capital of the Srivijaya Empire, a major regional power. Malacca in-game has the Srivijaya dynasty, which formed a significant part of the Malaccan claim to dominance. Though Srivijaya collapsed, the city remained an important population and trade center. In the early 1400's the city was captured by the Chinese pirate king Chen Zuyi. The pirates were eventually overthrown by none other than Zheng He, but another Chinese rogue Lian Daoming quickly took control of the city. Lian Daoming however was protected by the Ming Emperor via Zheng He, showing the city's continued importance. Chinese control was probably at an end by 1444, though the city no doubt retained its importance.
1550, the date from which Palembang starts to exist in-game, is the approximate date of the foundation of the Palembang Sultanate. That is, the date at which the city officially converted to Islam. The city-state was clearly extant and important before this time.
I suggest that Palembang be added as a Hindu or Buddhist kingdom in 1444, owning Palembang, Tulangbewang, and Bangka. This leaves Bengkulu "uncolonised", which is important since it was the first major British base of operations in the region.
2. Additional cores and nations on Java
Java is currently very simple. 2 nations (Sunda and Majapahit) with the same culture, and no additional cores. This leads to a Java that is quickly conquered by one of the two nations, and things tend to stay that way. I suggest adding cores for nation that already have tags, but cannot appear "naturally" in the game.
These are: Banten (provinces: Banten, Kapua, Kalapa), Cirebon (provinces: Cirebon, Kawali), Demak (provinces: Demak, Kendal), Mataram (provinces: Kendal, Karta).
Additionally, I suggest that 2 more nations be added to Java in 1444: Bali (BLI) and Blambangan (BLM). A short time into the game's timeframe, Blambangan fought a war against Majapahit, suggesting that it was not a part of the crumbling empire but rather a state that had broken away some time earlier. Blambangan should own and have cores only on the Blambangan province.
Bali meanwhile was nominally part of the Majapahit Empire, but by 1444 was so autonomous that it might as well have been independent. The Hindu countries in Borneo (represented by Kutei in-game) were also nominally part of Majapahit in 1444 yet are not represented even as vassals. For the sake of consistency, I suggest either making Bali an independent nation or making it a Majapahit vassal in 1444.
3. Islamisation events for Hindu/Buddhist/Animist countries
The following nations and regions eventually adopted Sunni Islam, yet there is no mechanism for the spread of Islam in the game: All of Java (incidentally, Blambangan was the last Hindu state on Java proper, another reason to add it in 1444), the spice islands (Tidore and Ternate), Kutei, and the Sulawesi nations (Makassar, Luwu, and Buton).
The Islamisation of Java in particular caused a major shake-up in the region. Its significance to the history of Indonesia can hardly be understated.
I suggest some series of events, or even the use of the center of reformation mechanic to spread Islam to these areas. I've given this some attention in my mod.
4. Bring back Aceh
Aceh (ATJ) was replaced by Pasai in the patch that came with AoW. It's good that Pasai, was added, but it gave the country vastly more power than it ever had historically. Aceh became a regional power later in the EU period under Iskandar Muda. While officially not founded until 1496 (again, "founded" is a relative term), the region was most definitely not part of the Pasai Sultanate either. Since the Aceh tag already exists, I suggest giving the western half of Pasai's current land "back" to Aceh. These provinces being Lamuri, Gayo, and Batak. Note that the latter two provinces were not historically conquered by any "nation" until much later Acehnese expansion; Pasai absolutely should not control these provinces in 1444.
Of course there's plenty more than can be done with the region, but these are the changes I think would make the most difference relative to their simplicity. If I could change whatever I liked, I'd also add a whole bunch of flavour events for various countries in the region, at least 2 new cultures, and loads more tags. But we can't have everything we want.
Last edited:
- 23
- 5
Upvote
0
