News and Stories from the Vilnius Union

[The Rock Doctor]

3 January 1910

It was obvious to even the most obtuse foreign agent and domestic civilian that Something Was Up in Amsterdam.  As home of the Union's High Seas Fleet, the city hosted up to seven armored cruisers and a variety of smaller vessels.

This morning, all seven armored cruisers had their boilers lit as cranes slung last-minute loads of materials aboard and men shuttled them below-decks.

Aboard the Dragon and Ulan, the captains unsealed their orders to find that they'd be travelling together for a while, in the company of two icebreakers and two transports.  Ulan's XO would later note that his captain seemed mildly appalled at their instructions.

The captain of the Kurassiere noted that he was accompanying a survey ship, collier, and transport.

The Jager's executive officer, awaiting word on his captain's illness, hummed nervously to himself as noted that he'd be escorting no less than five transports, a collier, and a survey ship.

Musketarare's commanding officer frowned and headed to the bridge for a look at his charts.

The captains of Grenadjär and Petyhorzac found that they'd be traveling together, with fairly specific instructions about what to do if they encountered certain other naval forces at their destination.  It would be they who departed Amsterdam first, meeting up with two protected cruisers, a survey ship, and a transport off the coast just before noon.  Once safely into the North Sea, they turned southwest and made for the English Channel* at ten knots.


*Or whatever it's called.

[The Rock Doctor]

11 January 1910

The voyage had been slow but uneventful, apart from sporadic contact with other European warships and patrol craft that had come out to have a look at them.

They'd arrived almost precisely north of their destination, prompting Grenadjär's captain to congratulate the navigator on his work.  While the armored cruiser and transport had dropped anchor, the survey ship was inching forward, taking soundings as a party of marines began mustering aft.  Once the survey ship was close enough, she'd lower a steam pinnace and the landing party would head ashore to claim the island.

Whether it had already been claimed was, of course, another matter.  All data presented by both the military and the Ministry of External Affairs indicated that the place was, at mosts, locally governed.  It wasn't even clear if these two particular islands were populated to any degree.  One of the light cruisers would be circumnavigating them to establish that.

Meanwhile, the other light cruiser would accompany Petyhorzac southeast, as they investigated the status of the remaining islands.  Ideally, they'd discover nothing at all exciting...

[Kaiser Kirk]

Interesting, 8 days at 10knts/hr?
Quite a potential range of locations, but one in particular is the right distance :)

I can assure you, there are no Parthian vessels... well actually there could one of the sailing brigs... but no Parthian claim.

[The Rock Doctor]

PM if you want to confirm your theory.

Congratulations on finally liberating Sri Lanka, by the way.

[The Rock Doctor]

15 March 1910:  Vilnius

"Right, then," the  Prime Minister drawled.  "That's bridge funding taken care of for the year.  Next?"

The Principle Secretary glanced down at his agenda.  "Overseas expeditions, sir."

"Right," the Prime Minister said.  "That.  What've we grabbed?"

"Grabbed is such an indelicate word, Sir," the Minister of External Affairs observed.  "Could we strike that and replace it with a more...diplomatic phrase such as "landed and took possession of?"

"Oh very well.  Let the record reflect as such," the Prime Minister said with a wave.  The note takers scratched out the one word and scribbled the phrase in the margins of their paper accordingly.

"Thank you, Sir.  If it pleases you, I will start closest to home and work my way further abroad..."

"Yes, yes."

"Thank you, Sir," the Minister said, adjusting his spectacles.  "Hmm.  Yes, the closest sortie was to the Azores, a group of islands west of Iberia.  The islands, while sparsely populated primarily by Iberian and Berber expatriates, had not been formally claimed or occupied by either power.  As instructed, our squadron confirmed this through local reconnaissance, then landed troops and established command and control of the chain."

"And we're wanting them for what, again?"

"Primarily as a re-coaling station, Sir.  There is, of course, some agriculture and fishing on and around the islands, but of limited value, really."

"Surprised the Iberians didn't snatch them up for themselves," the Prime Minister said.  "Strike that.  Surprised the Iberians didn't establish command and control for themselves."

"Indeed, Sir.  Our general sense is that the Iberians were just not quite prepared for it.  Now, our next destination was Bermuda, off the coast of the Americas.  In this case, the islands' limited population originates from the various coastal American states but was, again, not actually claimed by any of them.  Rather, there was a self-proclaimed king who was summarily advised of his new status as a governor within the Union," the Minister explained. 

"Well, good on him for seeing sense."

"Quite, sir, particularly with his miniscule capital being under the guns of an armored cruiser," the Minister added.  "Bermuda, of course, will also function as a coaling station, and has known economic opportunities in terms of agriculture and salt production."

"Are two coaling stations really necessary?" the Minister of Finance interjected.  "It's extra upkeep that I have to allocate funding for."

"Indeed, Gustav, but we opted to try for both sets of islands under the assumption that we might not be able to acquire one or the other.  Having both is, as you say, more expensive than just having one, but it does provide for easier logistics in the Atlantic, given the relatively low bunkerage of many of our ships."

The Minister of War sighed quietly.

"At any rate, let us now consider our third acquisition, the island variously known as Puerto Rico, San Juan, or Boriken.  It is not just a coaling station, but a source of limited gold production and subsistence agriculture.  It had been governed by a number of local chiefs of the Taino people, and our own people on the ground are now establishing a colonial government which will in large part leave that local framework in place."

"Very nice," the Prime Minister said.  "So it was all peaceful and good?"

"Not entirely, Sir.  Dispatches indicate that a couple of chiefs were uncooperative, requiring the landing force to detain them and some of their senior advisors.  Last indications were that they would be transported to Bermuda for detention."

"That will do.  Right, gentlemen, I have another engagement coming up."

"I'm only half done, Sir..."

"It will have to wait.  Speak with Franz about re-scheduling."

"Yes, Sir." 

[The Rock Doctor]

22 March 1910

"Right, then, sorry about the delay.  Where were we?" the Prime Minister asked.

Ignoring the fact that the delay had spanned a full week, the Principle Secretary replied, "In the midst of the Minister of External Affair's debrief on territorial acquistions, Sir."

"Ah, yes.  Splendid work there.  Do go on, then."

"Yes, Sir.  Er...of our mainland acquisitions, the most northerly is Tsenacommacah-"

"Tsena-what?"

"Tsenacommacah.  Slowly:  Se-ne-ko-ma-ka," the Minister of External Affairs replied.  "It's the home of the Powhatan Confederacy, and it is actually the underlying impetus for the acquistion of Bermuda.  Basically, the Confederacy had been gradually unravelling due to a power struggle between the three major sub-groups, the Nanticoke, Powhatan, and Pamlico.  We had some small but long-standing trading missions in these territories, and decided that the logical solution was to install a governing council representing all three groups on a per-capita basis, and having it answer to His Majesty.  The locals were not uniformly enthused about this latter point, but we are making it work through carrot and stick thus far."

"And what about this place makes it worth landing five brigades - or more - of His Majesty's Army?" the Prime Minister inquired.

"The land is fertile, the climate mild; malaria is relatively uncommon - thus, the location is favorable for a settler colony.  Additionally, much of the coast is a large estuary called Chesepiocc, sheltered from the Atlantic by a large peninsula, and there is an excellent harbour where we've established the trading factory of Nieupoort.  In time, it would be reasonable to assume we might expand into the territory of the neighbouring Tutelo and Tuscarora kingdoms."

"Very well then."

"Yes, Sir.  Further south, in northwestern South America, we are establishing control over a an area called Chocoland.  Why?  Reports from several explorers over the past fifty years who assert that a sea-level canal could be built by linking rivers on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.  Certainly we know right now that the Atrato River is navigable at least two hundred miles inland.  We're going to establish a port on the river and engage in survey work to establish a possible route."

"Okay."

The Minister shrugged.  "And finally, we've established an outpost near the mouth of the Shrimp River in northeastern South America; this to serve as a coaling station for traffic working down the eastern coast of that continent.  We have conflicting information on malaria prevalence here; some say it is bad, others that it is less of an issue than a great deal of the surrounding region."

"Let's hope so," the Minister of Health said.

"Indeed."

[The Rock Doctor]

OOC:  So in a nutshell:

Azores and Bermuda

Coastal Virginia and Maryland

Puerto Rico

Choco, Colombia

Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

[The Rock Doctor]

7 April 1910

The Union of Vilnius Union Shipbuilders (UVUS) is pleased to announce that its facilities are open for business to foreign buyers.  With access to premium quality steel and the latest in propulsion, armor, and naval artillery technology, there is no better place for the discerning navy to purchase new vessels!  Delegations are welcome to come and visit for tours of battleships, armored cruisers, protected cruisers, and torpedo-boats currently under construction for the might Vilnius Union Navy.  Contact us now, before your competitors do!

OOC:  The Union's looking to make use of 7 BP that will otherwise go unused in H2/10.  Looking for a premium of $1/BP (on top of basic shipbuilding costs) but will see what's offered.

[Jefgte]

That's interesting with my north neighbor...

[The Rock Doctor]

That's interesting with my north neighbor...

Parthian South Africa and the Roman Mississippi were the big surprises for me.

[Kaiser Kirk]

I didn't realize the Artrato was an alternate route :)

As for South Africa...Surprise !
I'll actually land there in tomorrow's news.

[The Rock Doctor]

18 April 1910

My Dearest Magda,

I trust this letter finds you and the boys in the best of health as our anniversary approaches once more.

Colonel Wojack has advised that the strict operational security around our deployment has been lifted, so I am able to tell you at last where I am and what I am doing.  Somewhat to my surprise, it is not in Lawrencia as I had speculated before my departure.  Indeed, it seems that was a ruse of some sort intended to confuse other powers who have set out to conquer lands on their own.

Instead, my love, I am in a place called Choco, in the southwest corner of the Caribbean Sea.  It is a lush, green, and incredibly wet place; not one day has passed without rainfall since our arrival.  The humidity is at times almost overwhelming and I have had men in the infirmary almost daily on account of hyperthermia.  Mosquitos are ubiquitous and we are having to take precautions with respect to malaria as well.  It is certainly not at all like home.

The region is home to a rather backward kingdom, the Embera.  Their capital lies to the north in the isthmus between North and South Amerigos; as yet, I do not believe our flag to be flying there, though I expect it will be in time.  The people are civil but distant and generally prefer not to interact with us.  They hunt, fish, and tend to crops such as bananas and cassava.  The former are a pleasant, starchy fruit, long and curved in shape within a green to yellow skin.  They grow in abundance in clusters atop trees.  The latter derives its value from underground tubers that must nonetheless be processed, lest toxins prove harmful in its raw form.

While there are indications of gold and platinum occurrences along the this main river, the Atrato, our actual purpose here is the evaluation of a potential canal route across the continent to the Pacific.  This would, of course, dramatically shorten sea voyages by allowing Pacific-bound trade to avoid the circuit around South Amerigo in much the same way that the Suez Canal permits avoidance of Africa to Orient-bound trade.  Supposedly, some Iberian explorers travelled these lands in the last century and consider this river, joined via canal to another draining westward, as a possible route - one avoiding the need for locks, no less.  This would require a lengthy, gently sloping river bed to achieve and in fairness the Atrato does seem to possess such a feature thus far; our survey ship is now hundreds of miles upstream and still going.

I myself am not overly busy at present.  I drill the company daily and otherwise strive to keep them moderately busy and ready.  The locals are, as noted, of no real difficulty and no foreign threat seems likely at present.  That may or may not make for a lengthy deployment, so I will pray for a short one and prepare for a long one.

On that note, my love, the sky is temporarily clear and I think it appropriate to mark the occasion with a good hike with the men.  Give my love to all,

Stephan

[Walter]

Now a few days ago, I read this interesting BBC article which made me think a bit about the American continent in Navalism and its name...

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180702-the-epic-story-of-the-map-that-gave-america-its-name

Significantly, the text also explains the reason behind the naming of the continent, which it claims was discovered by the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Since other continent names were feminine in Latin – Europa, Africa, Asia – the author reasoned that the name of this new land should also be feminised, into "America, after its discoverer"

... so based on that, the use of "Amerigo" is wrong as the feminized form would be used like with the other continents. I do not think that that would be different in Navalism.

Another thing is that he was not the one who discovered it in Navalism. If we are going to stick to Kirk's idea of the Romans in Brazil prior to Leif Erikson getting to the Americas in order to have the natives build up resistance to the Old World diseases, I would think that the continent would be named after the Roman who got there first instead of Vespucci.

Of course that would require a name of that Roman explorer who got there first... but that name is up to snip. (and I guess the Norse will forever refer to North America and "Leif's Land" :D )


Other than that, a nice start to the Panama Canal. :)

[The Rock Doctor]

That's a fair point - so a variation on Lief's Land or Eriksonland up north, and somethingtania down south, eh?

[Walter]

I looked around a bit and could not find a feminine form of Leif (though I got the impression it is sometimes used for females as well). His father Erik the Red might be a better choice (and having founded the first settlement on Greenland which is also part of the American continent makes him a valid person to use) as you could use 'Erika'/'Erica' instead (which is almost like America :) )

Now the Latin name might be a bit more challenging, I was looking at a list of female Latin names to see if there is something fitting as well as being a feminine form of a male Latin name. Nothing that really jumps out to me.