Chapter 0: Introduction
This is the continuation the story of the Egypt, which had its foundation in the medieval Mamluk state. The history of that nation from 1444 to 1820 can be found here. Between 1820 and 1836 is a fuzzy period. Most historical documents were destroyed in a series of suspiciously timed fires. The fact that most of the population is illiterate meant that not a lot of documents actually had to be destroyed to wipe out a decade and a half of history. We pick up the story in 1836, and find that only minor changes have occurred, but the world is largely the same.
The heart of Egypt was the Nile river. However, Egypt had grown to dominate Syria, Persia, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and even pushed west to conquer a good chunk of north Africa. The biggest threat to Egypt historically was the Ottoman Empire. But with the help of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, even the Ottomans could be brought down. In a war fought at the beginning of this century, Egypt took a decent chunk of Ottoman territory.
Egypt had also pushed south to control most of the eastern coast of Africa, as well as colonized South Africa. However, Portugal slipped in to grab a tiny piece of the coastline, probably just to be annoying. Now the map looks horrible with that green spot in between two sections of Egyptian controlled territory. Egypt also controlled several Indian ocean island like the Maldives, as well as those two island just to the east of Madagascar.
Warsangali, a former state in the horn of Africa had set up colonies in Sumatra, the Philipines and the island of Lombok. These colonies were absorbed into Egypt when Warsangali was conquered. Egypt also slightly expanded its territory in Sumatra in a war with Pasai, but not much attention was really paid to that region.
Egypt had also sent colonists to the continent Europeans called Australia, but was more properly known as Al Janub. Two large islands to the east were colonized as well. Unfortunately, the British managed to colonize a lot in the area as well.
Egypt also colonized one island in he south Atlantic. With the geographic information out of the way lets look at some stats.
Egypt has the fourth largest population in the world. Its not too surprising to see the major colonial powers of Europe leading the way in terms of population. One major issue for Egypt was its low literacy. European nations varied widely in Literacy, with the Papal state being the sole nation at 100% literacy, and others as low as 37%. But every nation in Europe was way ahead of Egypt, which had a pathetic 14% literacy. Egypt had been lagging behind Europe technologically for centuries. There was a brief period in the late 1700s when the technological gap started to narrow, but Egypt never really caught up completely and was still behind. This poor literacy meant that Egypt would probably fall further behind in tech. Promoting clergy and improving literacy would be a top priority for the Egyptian government.
Egypt was an absolute monarchy with most power concentrated in the hands of the Emperors of the Burji dynasty, who had ruled for centuries. One progressive monarch had banned slavery in the 1700s, but other than that, Egyptian rulers had resisted social and political reforms so far. An appointed legislature representing the traditional aristocracy advises the monarch on major legislative proposals, but has no say in the day to day running of the government. The Emperor's cabinet is dominated by reactionary ministers who favor high taxes and tariffs in order to pay for Egypt's powerful military. Their jingoistic philosophy aligns with the Emperor's own militaristic mindset.
Egypt is considered a secondary power, but with its incredible military power and moderate prestige, it should be recognized as a great power in about a year. No doubt the decaying Ottoman Empire will soon be kicked out of the ranks of the great powers. Although to be honest that should have happened long ago. Egypt is allied with PLC, Brunei and Oman.
Egypt was an ethnically diverse state. Although in theory Misri was the dominant ethnic group, Persians were actually the largest group in the country. In fact no group came close to forming a majority on its own. In order to maintain social stability, many groups received recognition by the government as accepted cultures, and had special legal rights and protections. Religion was far less diverse, with most of the country being Sunni. Some of the recently conquered areas in the interior of Africa still held their traditional shamanist and animist faith. Ethiopia was still predominantly Coptic. There was also a tiny Ibadi minority. Three quarters of the population were farmers, which is pretty typical for a nation at this level of technological development. Industrialization has not even begun in Egypt so their are no craftsmen, clerks, or capitalists. Manufactured goods are made the old fashioned way by skilled artisans.
That's it for the intro. Everyone should have a clear idea of the starting situation. Next time, we see what Egypt actually does.
This is the continuation the story of the Egypt, which had its foundation in the medieval Mamluk state. The history of that nation from 1444 to 1820 can be found here. Between 1820 and 1836 is a fuzzy period. Most historical documents were destroyed in a series of suspiciously timed fires. The fact that most of the population is illiterate meant that not a lot of documents actually had to be destroyed to wipe out a decade and a half of history. We pick up the story in 1836, and find that only minor changes have occurred, but the world is largely the same.
The heart of Egypt was the Nile river. However, Egypt had grown to dominate Syria, Persia, most of the Arabian Peninsula, and even pushed west to conquer a good chunk of north Africa. The biggest threat to Egypt historically was the Ottoman Empire. But with the help of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, even the Ottomans could be brought down. In a war fought at the beginning of this century, Egypt took a decent chunk of Ottoman territory.
Egypt had also pushed south to control most of the eastern coast of Africa, as well as colonized South Africa. However, Portugal slipped in to grab a tiny piece of the coastline, probably just to be annoying. Now the map looks horrible with that green spot in between two sections of Egyptian controlled territory. Egypt also controlled several Indian ocean island like the Maldives, as well as those two island just to the east of Madagascar.
Warsangali, a former state in the horn of Africa had set up colonies in Sumatra, the Philipines and the island of Lombok. These colonies were absorbed into Egypt when Warsangali was conquered. Egypt also slightly expanded its territory in Sumatra in a war with Pasai, but not much attention was really paid to that region.
Egypt had also sent colonists to the continent Europeans called Australia, but was more properly known as Al Janub. Two large islands to the east were colonized as well. Unfortunately, the British managed to colonize a lot in the area as well.
Egypt also colonized one island in he south Atlantic. With the geographic information out of the way lets look at some stats.
Egypt has the fourth largest population in the world. Its not too surprising to see the major colonial powers of Europe leading the way in terms of population. One major issue for Egypt was its low literacy. European nations varied widely in Literacy, with the Papal state being the sole nation at 100% literacy, and others as low as 37%. But every nation in Europe was way ahead of Egypt, which had a pathetic 14% literacy. Egypt had been lagging behind Europe technologically for centuries. There was a brief period in the late 1700s when the technological gap started to narrow, but Egypt never really caught up completely and was still behind. This poor literacy meant that Egypt would probably fall further behind in tech. Promoting clergy and improving literacy would be a top priority for the Egyptian government.
Egypt was an absolute monarchy with most power concentrated in the hands of the Emperors of the Burji dynasty, who had ruled for centuries. One progressive monarch had banned slavery in the 1700s, but other than that, Egyptian rulers had resisted social and political reforms so far. An appointed legislature representing the traditional aristocracy advises the monarch on major legislative proposals, but has no say in the day to day running of the government. The Emperor's cabinet is dominated by reactionary ministers who favor high taxes and tariffs in order to pay for Egypt's powerful military. Their jingoistic philosophy aligns with the Emperor's own militaristic mindset.
Egypt is considered a secondary power, but with its incredible military power and moderate prestige, it should be recognized as a great power in about a year. No doubt the decaying Ottoman Empire will soon be kicked out of the ranks of the great powers. Although to be honest that should have happened long ago. Egypt is allied with PLC, Brunei and Oman.
Egypt was an ethnically diverse state. Although in theory Misri was the dominant ethnic group, Persians were actually the largest group in the country. In fact no group came close to forming a majority on its own. In order to maintain social stability, many groups received recognition by the government as accepted cultures, and had special legal rights and protections. Religion was far less diverse, with most of the country being Sunni. Some of the recently conquered areas in the interior of Africa still held their traditional shamanist and animist faith. Ethiopia was still predominantly Coptic. There was also a tiny Ibadi minority. Three quarters of the population were farmers, which is pretty typical for a nation at this level of technological development. Industrialization has not even begun in Egypt so their are no craftsmen, clerks, or capitalists. Manufactured goods are made the old fashioned way by skilled artisans.
That's it for the intro. Everyone should have a clear idea of the starting situation. Next time, we see what Egypt actually does.
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