Whilst I to may have my reservations about this document, for the sake of stability and the unity of England, I call upon all representatives present at the conference to sign this document.
I, Henry Lawrence Bennet, hereby sign this proposal.
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I, Henry Lawrence Bennet, hereby sign this proposal.
The Kent Plan for Internal Reorganization
Proposal by General-Count Cendreford
Proposal by General-Count Cendreford
Henceforth, the Dual Monarchy shall be divided into a system of provinces, with their exact lines delineated below. Each province shall be overseen by a governor appointed by the King with the approval of the Estates-General. The provinces shall further consist of 2-4 districts each, which in turn shall consist of municipalities and communities. These provinces are non-sovereign entities established for administrative and cultural reasons.
The voting inhabitants of a province may, at their discretion, submit to the King a petition to assume devolved government over their province. Should the petition be verified as containing the signatures of one-tenth of the legitimate voting inhabitants of the province, the King shall certify the petition and forward it to the Estates-General for approval by majority vote. If approved, the petition shall be placed before the whole of the voting inhabitants of the province and shall require a majority of voters registering their approval. Following such approval, the Estates-General shall establish devolved government within that province, to be implemented prior to the next general election.
Devolved provincial governments shall have provincial legislatures, whose representatives shall be elected on the same basis and on the same schedule as national elections. These legislatures shall be delegated the power to propose and enact laws regarding cultural and educational matters by majority vote. The provincial governor may, at his discretion, refer any provincial law to the Estates-General, which may choose to nullify the law by majority vote; should the Estates-General not choose to review the law, it is considered automatically enacted.
The Crowns of England, France, and Navarre shall continue to exist as the legal and divine authority for the governance of the territories in question but shall not be used as the basis for divisions of administration. Elections for the Estates-General shall occur on the basis of provincial and district divisions. All legislative bodies besides the Estates-General and the devolved provincial legislatures above the municipal and communal level are hereby dissolved.
A brief letter is written to King Henry XI
To His Royal Highness,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. As the Dual Monarchy seeks to reform in the wake of the bloody civil war, no doubt the subject of your abdication is known far and wide. Despite your advisers, despite this letter, your decision is truly and entirely up to you, your majesty. Your actions during the conflict remain controversial. Many would see you banished forever and to never return again. You can make it so.
But also, you can return and right the wrongs. Your powers will be diminished but not your name and your royal and moral authority as damaged it has become to many. Remember that to others you are still welcome to return, it is being offered albeit with several stipulations. Your house remains popular and you have the opportunity to correct the recent failings of the crown. Whatever you decide, it will be the right decision.
The choice is yours.
Your humble citizen, subject and servant
~ Pierre Gitane
While all sides did not get everything they wanted, and with good reason, and with reluctance on the structure of governance beyond the local and provincial level, sans the Estate-General, we will in the interest of preserving the Union, the crown and democratic values support this agreement.
I too sign my name with the hope of a new and better era for the Dual Monarchy.
To His Royal Highness,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. As the Dual Monarchy seeks to reform in the wake of the bloody civil war, no doubt the subject of your abdication is known far and wide. Despite your advisers, despite this letter, your decision is truly and entirely up to you, your majesty. Your actions during the conflict remain controversial. Many would see you banished forever and to never return again. You can make it so.
But also, you can return and right the wrongs. Your powers will be diminished but not your name and your royal and moral authority as damaged it has become to many. Remember that to others you are still welcome to return, it is being offered albeit with several stipulations. Your house remains popular and you have the opportunity to correct the recent failings of the crown. Whatever you decide, it will be the right decision.
The choice is yours.
Your humble citizen, subject and servant
~ Pierre Gitane
While all sides did not get everything they wanted, and with good reason, and with reluctance on the structure of governance beyond the local and provincial level, sans the Estate-General, we will in the interest of preserving the Union, the crown and democratic values support this agreement.
I too sign my name with the hope of a new and better era for the Dual Monarchy.
A rather ill John Richards signs onto the the agreement, too sick to raise his voice above a whisper.
"What a rather poorly timed illness. At least there shall be peace in the realm."
He breaks into a fit of coughs shortly afterwards, returning to his room at the conference.
"What a rather poorly timed illness. At least there shall be peace in the realm."
He breaks into a fit of coughs shortly afterwards, returning to his room at the conference.
lol
So as many of you in the discord are aware, around roughly July I received a pretty nasty head injury at work, which delayed the start of the game considerably. After I had recovered, I had to work pretty much 7 hours a day to make up for the time I lost while injured, and then had to do it again when I lost all my savings trying to fufil certain insanely stupid Australian visa requirements*, leaving little time to play video games let alone run a game myself. Which brings us here. It is my intention to do this year all over again in New Zealand in January - essentially a colder, more sheep infested version of Australia with more cross-country accessible surf. Here's the facts: even as a simple IAAR, LML took over 1 real time year to get barely halfway through the game, and for most of that year I was living in a nice cosy English home and had a fairly unexhausting work schedule. I want to finish this story, and bring this world up to the 20th century, however if we want to get there considering my living situation we're going to have to make some sacrifices.
The remaining 50 years of LML will be condensed into 3 15-year-long updates, with votes in between determining the direction of the Dual Monarchy rather than the makeup of the (now insanely complicated) Estates General.
I know this is going to disappoint a lot of people, but in my view I would rather have a finished story with genuine closure than just to leave this AAR in limbo.
*Yes, I did try fruit picking. I got paid $35 a day.
So as many of you in the discord are aware, around roughly July I received a pretty nasty head injury at work, which delayed the start of the game considerably. After I had recovered, I had to work pretty much 7 hours a day to make up for the time I lost while injured, and then had to do it again when I lost all my savings trying to fufil certain insanely stupid Australian visa requirements*, leaving little time to play video games let alone run a game myself. Which brings us here. It is my intention to do this year all over again in New Zealand in January - essentially a colder, more sheep infested version of Australia with more cross-country accessible surf. Here's the facts: even as a simple IAAR, LML took over 1 real time year to get barely halfway through the game, and for most of that year I was living in a nice cosy English home and had a fairly unexhausting work schedule. I want to finish this story, and bring this world up to the 20th century, however if we want to get there considering my living situation we're going to have to make some sacrifices.
The remaining 50 years of LML will be condensed into 3 15-year-long updates, with votes in between determining the direction of the Dual Monarchy rather than the makeup of the (now insanely complicated) Estates General.
I know this is going to disappoint a lot of people, but in my view I would rather have a finished story with genuine closure than just to leave this AAR in limbo.
*Yes, I did try fruit picking. I got paid $35 a day.
I'm just happy to see more of a Divergences of Darkness AAR than anything else.
I hope things get better for you IRL especially in addition to any continuation of this.
I'm glad to see an end of it.
No worries, you need to do what is best/easier for you. We have no say in this.
I hope everything will be better for you IRL.
No worries, you need to do what is best/easier for you. We have no say in this.
I hope everything will be better for you IRL.
1887-1889
Delegates had made backroom deals. They threw things at each other. They accused each other of being traitors, of being socialists. Some wanted to go too far, some wanted to go not far enough. What eventually emerged was the Laon Consitution — at the time the most complicated constitution in the world. The Assembly (now only made up of the socialist parties and surviving Liberals) universally voted in favour and moved it on to the people directly. The ratification process took a week. A series of popular referenda held over the course of a few days on a region-by-region basis voted largely in favor of the Laon Constitution — most citizens were tired of war and a “Non” vote was, in most people's minds, an argument for further fighting. There were problems selling the constitution in Anglois England, of course, but a wide boycott of the referendum by the hard-right wing of the Faction Anglois removed most Anti-Treaty votes from the equation. There would be peace in our time.
Before the new constitution could come into force, the most immediate outcome was that Elisebet became Queen of England and France.
Her coronation was somber. Very little of the Parisian public attended, in part due to a heavy military presence but mostly because of heavy rainfall. Machine guns —a recent invention — were deployed uneasily on the exterior of Notre Dame to discourage those who might take advantage of the entire remaining ruling government standing in the same building. Bystanders claimed that Elisebet I audibly sobbed when the crown touched her head. This paranoia wasn't baseless. Tabloids, briefly unregulated in the fallout of the civil war, openly speculated that any new monarch would last a week before their murder. Elisebet herself wasn't particularly unpopular, but outrage in the far left and right that another person sat in the throne was overwhelming. Blanc was sensitive to this, deploying a hefty garrison around Paris in the week before the official crowning. The new Queen likely felt isolated from her courtiers, terrified of her future, but was also the most well guarded person in Europe. The event itself was over quickly. Nothing remarkable happened. Europe sighed in relief.
Though the continued Monarchy was at the forefront of many minds, the second issue of attention was the trial of those responsible for the war. Though a general pardon was issued to regular military officers and the entire Faction Anglois, the leadership was to be judged harshly. Journalists labelled Lemarque’s hearing as the “trial of the century”, and not without reason. Impassioned speeches and surprise witnesses kept the government’s attorneys at wit’s end, and spectators eventually had to be banned due to their constant heckling. Lemarque publically harangued Blanc for fighting the war to its conclusion and allowing the slaughter to continue, claimed his own coup was an attempt to prevent a full communist revolution, and had dire words for the nationalists who cooperated with the socialists. Lemarque would not convince the judicial committee, and was executed by firing squad on the 3rd of November, 1888, for “acts of treason”.
Lemarque was not the only one hauled in front of a court. His “right hand man”, d'Esperery, was given a 90 year sentence of imprisonment hard labour for “conspiring to overthrow the lawful government”, “inciting riot”, “inciting his majesty’s forces to mutiny”, and “treasonous co-operation with a rival force”. d’Esperery, it should be reminded, was head of the Royal Army and the main instigator of the coup — however also orchestrated the surrender of the Lemarquist forces. The Committee suspended his sentence in light of his “co-operation with lawful forces and contribution to preventing further illegal action” — rather than being pardoned of his crimes he would still be branded a criminal, but would not serve a single day in penance and remain in the Armed Forces. The uproar was immediate and violent — mobs in Paris burned down the homes of known conservatives. Radicals and nationalists hoped this would materialise into a revolution, but like many riots it failed the coalesce into something greater.
In retrospect, it should be noted that d'Esperery held far more responsibility for the coup than any other. While obviously viewed as a national traitor by the left, conservatives either thought of him as a coward who sold out the Royal Army or a glory-hound who started a war for personal gain. His suspended sentence was viewed by most people as a miscarriage of justice, especially when compared with the fate of Lemarque. This would not be the only stain on Blanc’s post-war record.
But, more bad news lurked around the corner. The "Southern Uprising" would be the real breaking point between social democrats and the communist movement. Blanc’s actions, and by extension those of the French Party of Labour, would be subject to recriminations well into the 20th century not only in France, but in the whole leftist world. It was, perhaps, a moment with greater ideological impact than the entire civil war itself. At this point in time the Dual Monarchy had two armies who hated each other dearly: the Royal Army and the Communards. Though the majority of the leftist forces were volunteers they by no means would lay down their weapons and go home if it meant their enemies would regain control of the military. To his credit, Blanc planned to integrate and reconcile the two halves of the Army, citing a threat of invasion from Italy or Spain. However, Blanc’s swing towards the center alienated the most die-hard of Communards.
The writings of Albert Boisier, a French radical, had been circulating throughout the Communards for some time, and his ideology was popular amongst the rank-and-file. Many were under the impression that a Blancist victory would set the foundations for a People’s Republic, nationalisation of land, and harsh treatment of the traitors. Blanc’s effective pardon for Royalist generals and continuation of the Monarchy was viewed as a betrayal. In Occitania, where some of the ugliest guerrilla warfare of the war had unfolded, regiments of the Communard Army mutinied, declaring the “French Socialist Republic” in the Western Alps and prepared to fight Blanc, the Royal Army, and whoever else wanted to smother the revolution. Blanc (correctly) did not believe Communard forces would fight their comrades in their south, but allowing the southern revolt to continue would endanger all that he had built. Though only a year earlier they had been bitter enemies, the Lemarqueist elements in the Royal Army promised to end the insurrection. The Royal Army swept into the south and commenced a brutal crackdown — many of the former Lemarquists considered it an act of revenge, a final victory to be had against the socialist enemy. The French Socialist Republic fell within months, but so did all legitimacy Blanc and the PTF had with the far left.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the workers of the world. Despite threats in Laon that the Dual Monarchy would intervene if Ireland became anything other than a friendly democracy, the Irish elected a communist government almost immediately. Anglois owned assets were quickly nationalised and — like in Scotland — the Paris government had no stomach to argue. Though Blanc attempted to save relations with Ireland, Dublin was having none of it. Ireland had, after several hundred years, finally freed itself from the Norman yoke.
As for the defeated general d'Esperery, Blanc sought to send him as far away as possible. Luckily, there was one place with a recent vacancy. He was exiled to the furthest colony possible — New Zealand — which was enduring a long insurgency from the native Maori. The settler government in New Zealand had been trying, and failing, to subdue the Maori. Attempts to burn down native bush and clear land for sheep and cattle had provoked a full-on revolt. In 1887, a Maori army, armed with looted Anglois weapons, successfully besieged the colonial capital in Wellington, and then the major South Island settlement Christchurch. The colonial administration escaped to Australia with only the clothes on their backs. With the homeland in the midst of a civil war there was not much that could be done at the time, but now Paris was sending an experience General with an attachment of Anglois exiles.
The crackdown was swift. d'Esperery, using soldiers levied from the Southeast Asian colonies, fought an extensive bush-burning campaign, flushing out the Maori from the heavily forested North Island and depopulating Maori pa. The Maori, now stylizing themselves as the Republic of Aotearoa, fought back with even more intensity. A bloody stalemate fought on around Lake Taupo — where local Maori lured Lemarque into the Waiotapu sulphuric wasteland, dooming many unfortunate conscripts who entered — eventually forced the hand of Paris, who ordered d'Esperery to end the campaign and negotiate peace. Both sides had suffered an emotional scar that would remain for generations. Nonetheless, the Republic of Aotearoa had pulled off what no other native population outside of Europe had done so far. Signed in 1889, the Treaty of Whitianga guaranteed Maori right to almost all unsettled land and a government conduct their own affairs, whilst external defence of the nation was the responsibility of the Dual Monarchy. White settlement not only slowed but reversed. Tracts of land, mostly in the sparsely populated south island, were "reserved" for Anglois settlements but the majority of the land belonged to the Maori Republic. Both sides claimed victory, but truthfully the Maori had won.
At home, the new federal system — the complicated, lumborous constitution that Laon had decided by compromise — was surprisingly effective. Though there continued to be gridlock in the National Assembly the powers granted to regional governments meant that the country would continue to function regardless. National elections became less relevant and major parties began to splinter. The future was in the hands of the local parliaments, not Paris. The Faction Anglois grumbled, but in truth the new status quo silenced violent nationalist discontent better than they could have ever hoped. Blanc's actions following the war had broken left unity, but the Parti Liberale bounced back, once again taking power but only with the support of a shifting alliance of national parties. There was, for once, a prospect of hope.
It was time for the Dual Monarchy to regain its standing.
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A government gridlocked on the national level but the local governments working surprisingly well? What I think we have created is called a "Belgium"
I quite like the idea of a Belgium-style Dual Monarchy
Great to see this back, Divergences of Darkness AARs are few and far between.
Great to see this back, Divergences of Darkness AARs are few and far between.