Gran Colombia, H1/08

[miketr]

The Emperor Jamie would be interested in such a meeting.

Iberia

[The Rock Doctor]

President Alizandro's people would most certainly pencil one in - though the exact date will remain undetermined until other powers reply either way.

[Borys]

The President for Life and Spouse are invited to spend a few days in the company of the Imperial-and-Royal Couple

[The Rock Doctor]

Excellent...

[The Rock Doctor]

1 May 1908:  Pago Pago, Former Swiss Samoa

Malietoa Tanu stood amongst the small crowd that watched as two unfamiliar iron vessels dropped anchor off of the village.  A descendent of past kings, he'd held the post of Governor of Tutuila and the eastern islands since his father's passing nine years earlier, dutily collecting taxes and reporting birth and death rates to the distant Swiss government on a regular, but infrequent basis. 

The last few months had been quite unsettling for the islanders; first, the Swiss (not that there had ever been many of them) had been driven out by a great vessel of the Kaiser.  The Kaiser's flag had flown only briefly before it was replaced by the unfamiliar pennant of the Nipponese.  These newcomers from the northwest had stayed just long enough to erect some fortificatons here and there.

The senior Nipponese officer had informed Tanu, "Now you are a servant of the God-King Taishakuten, who shall, when He deems it fit to do so, deploy administrative personnel to this distant land.  Until such time as He graces you with this imperial presence, you are to govern responsibly in His name.  Have nothing to do with the Swiss, on pain of death, and do not interfere with the works my men have erected."

Then the Nipponese had left, their flag flying but not a single man apparently to be found.  Even their fortifications had proven, after careful reconnaissance, to be populated by uniformed mannequins.  Apparently, the Nipponese had now returned to assert their claim - albeit with different ships than last time.

The two new ships lowered boats into the bright blue waters of the bay, and smoke belched from slim tubes as the small craft chugged towards the village.  Upon their arrival, Tanu could not fail to see that the men aboard these boats were neither Nipponese, nor the Kaiser's men, nor Swiss.  Other than a couple of Polynesians, whom he did not recognize, all had unusual complexions and uniforms.

Nonetheless, playing it safe, he said, "Welcome to Pago Pago, fellow servant of the God-King Taishakuten", and bowed.

One of the Polynesians spoke in an unfamiliar tongue, to which one of the strangers replied.  The Polynesian then replied, "Captain San Martino thanks you for your welcome, and asserts ownership of this island by the Republic of Great Colombia."

Tanu frowned.  "By what?"

"Great Colombia.  A land far to the east.  They took ownership of Avarua not so long ago - that is where we have come from", the translator said. 

"And they now propose to take our islands away from the Nipponese?", Tanu remarked. 

The translator spoke again to the leader of the newcomers, who gave his own response.  The translator said, "The President of the Republic of Great Colombia has purchased these islands from the Nipponese, as he did with Avarua and our other islands from the Kaiser."

"So this 'president' is these people's king?", Tanu asked.

"They have insisted he is their leader, but I do not yet understand how he is not a king", the translator answered.

"Very well.  I doubt they intend to debate the matter, but as Governor, I accept their claim to the islands", Tanu advised.  After the translator conveyed this message, Tanu added, "But you should point out that the Swiss claimed the islands for some time, and will likely say that the Kaiser and Nipponese stole them away from them."

After consultation, the translator said, "The Gran Colombian king has also purchased the islands from the Swiss king."  Tanu's surprise must have been evident, for the translator added, "I have heard this Great Colombian refer to it as protecting one's posterior."


3 May 1908:  La Prensa Nacional

Foreign Minister Eduard Torres today confirmed that our great Republic has acquired ownership of the territory formerly known as Swiss Samoa.  "Our negotiations with the necessary foreign governments has produced clear and undisputable title to the islands.  We do not expect that the current war, unfortunate as it is, will complicate matters."

Lying just west of the Cook Islands acquired recently from the Deutcher Kaiserreich Brandenburg, the islands are most notable for the excellent natural harbour on the east side of the largest land mass, Tutuila.  The islands have a largely traditional economy, with a population of approximately six thousand.

A source within the Ministry of Defence confirmed that a portion of the garrison from the Cook Islands has been deployed to the islands, with a more permanent force having been dispatched from Esmeraldas several days ago. 

[Carthaginian]

Curiouser and curiouser...

[Desertfox]

Interesting...very interesting.

[The Rock Doctor]

The following is delivered to Governments of Rohan, the Confederated States of America, France, and Iberia on ~15 May 1908:

Dear Sir,

As has been publically reported, the Republic of Gran Colombia recently acquired ownership of the territories formerly known as Swiss Samoa.  A primary factor in the purchase is the presence of an excellent natural harbour at Pago Pago, on the east side of the island of Tutuila.  

Gran Colombia intends to develop a proper port, with drydock facilities, at Pago Pago.  This will support development of the economy and government of Colombian Polynesia [OOC:  Eastern Samoa and the Cook Islands] and aid the Armada in securing its sovereignty.

However, we also propose to develop Pago Pago as a safe-haven for neutral shipping crossing the Pacific in general.  With the current war in progress, there are no neutral ports in the Pacific between the Iberian Philippines and French Polynesia.  Should your nation contribute to the cost of construction of the port, your nation will be granted full rights for fueling, provisioning, and repairs at Pago Pago, under the benign protection of the Armada de Gran Colombia.

We are currently estimating the cost of construction to be $27 million [and 3 BP] for a Type One harbour and Type One drydock.  If your nation is interested in participating in this venture, please contact the Industry Attache at the Gran Colombian embassy nearest you.

Sincerely,

Sebastien de Soto,
Minister of Industry

(If there proves to be sufficient foreign interest, a Type 2 port and/or more/larger drydocks can be considered)

(The invite can be extended to other neutral nations if an expression of interest is received - I limited the recipients to those neutrals with existing Pacific interests).

[Borys]

The Austro-Hungarian Embassy, hearing various rumours as to the proposal extended to Neutrals, quietly inquires about the details. And would Habsburg participation be considered.

[maddox]

France agrees upon the Gran Colombian Proposal, to provide support for a neutral port in the Pacific, to better the world.

One condition. That this port, and future world city, will harbor the Pacific headquarters and world administrative center of the Green Cross.

[Korpen]

France agrees upon the Gran Colombian Proposal, to provide support for a neutral port in the Pacific, to better the world.

One condition. That this port, and future world city, will harbor the Pacific headquarters and world administrative center of the Green Cross.

As the Netherlands is an active party in this war we will of course no get involved in the GC sheme, but we thin it is no a bad one.

However, we think the French suggestion is worse then useless; it will guarantee that the green cross will never be a functional organization.

If that organization, created on Dutch initiative, is ever going to be able to function, It have to be operating from some area were it can be heard. Not an island in the middle the pacific that is thousands of kilometres from the closest city, and on the other side of the world from Europe. That is why we still suggest either, Ireland and Dublin, or in Brussels in the Netherlands itself as the HQ for the green cross. The later is due to the obligations on the Netherlands in art 28 & 31 of Hague III.

But the Netherlands is interested in why France want the green cross sidelined and exiled to the most isolated part of the world?

[Walter]

OOC: because the French are actually evil? :D
IC: Japan agrees with the Dutch statement.

[P3D]

Samoa looks like an ideal place for the Green Cross headquarters. The lack of telegraph cables is the most appealing to Orange politicians.

[Ithekro]

May 23, 1908

While Rohan will not directly object to this move by Gran Columbia, it does find that the dangers in those waters will likely be more dangerous than even the direct routes through Swiss and Brandenburg territorial waters because both sides can operate just outside these waters with raiders.

The Northeastern Pacific traffic has in particular been heavy hit by Swiss and Japanese raiders this month and even the prospect of a neutral port in the Central Pacific does not indicate that shipping will get better should the war continue.

A Green Cross station might be good for administrative purposes, but as the main headquarters it seems like a very vulnerable location, both to raiders and the elements.

[Carthaginian]

The CSA agree that it is a good idea to create a safe-haven where civilian shipping may find a place of protection during times of hostilities, and I also agree that Samoa is an excellent location for such a facility.

However, the CSA also believes that- as so many others have illustrated- the Green Cross should be headquartered in a more accessible location. Though Samoa is definitely a 'central' location in the Pacific, it is far from an accessible one. Thus, the French proposal seems a bit ill conceived.

In time, perhaps, such facilities could be developed on Samoa to support the GC, and at that time, the CSA will have no problem with it redeploying to this location. Until then, however, the CSA believe that Ireland would probably be the most equitable site.