News and Stories from the Vilnius Union

[The Rock Doctor]

11 May 1910


Dear Mother and Father,

I hope this letter finds you well.  I am happy to say that I not in the cold north and fighting Northies like I thought I would be. 

However, this place called Shrimp River is not very nice either.  It is very hot and sticky and some of the boys have got sick.  Others have been shot by the local people.  They (the local people, who are called Shrimp Eaters) were not happy that we have come here and some have rebelled against us.  It is a good thing that we have better guns and cannons and the big guns on the ships to back us up.  The Shrimp Eaters have had more men than we but we have killed many of them and not lost many ourselves.  I am sure I have killed a few myself although it is hard to tell in all the confusion.

The captain has said that we are making a fort and port here so that our ships have a place to stop when going south.  The coast has no good harbours but the river itself is very wide and deep and even the big cruiser with us can sail into it safely.  When we are not killing Shrimp Eaters, we are helping to build walls and clear the land around it so we can see Shrimp Eaters coming toward it.  Navy people are building the docks and warehouses and coal sheds.  They and we get into fights sometimes which makes all our officers angry.  I have had a couple extra days of latrine-digging duty because of that.

It does not sound like we are going to try and beat all of the Shrimp Eaters to take all their land.  The sergeant says the government will try to make a deal with them once enough of them have been killed.  He says there are some good trade goods here besides shrimp.  There are big, tasty nuts called cashews and there is a tree called sandalwood.  Some people also grow sugarcane. 

I have only this one piece of paper so will stop now.  I hope everybody is well and hope you will write to me.  It is not very exciting here when we are not fighting Shrimp Eaters so a letter would be nice to get.

Love your son,

Niels


OOC Note:  The  "Shrimp Eaters" are the Potiguara of northeastern Brazil.  It's literally what the Portuguese called them and I'm assuming that in this game, they'll have the same name but in Swedish.

[The Rock Doctor]

18 June 1910

"A year ago, my father was the king of the Nanticoke people; now he is the subject of the King in Vilnius.  Do you expect me to be pleased by this?" the young man demanded.

"I recognize that seems like a step downward, but that is not our intention at all," the governor replied.  A veteran administrator from the west, he'd long been accustomed to dealing with Deutsch princelings who longed for the old days of tiny, bizarrely shaped kingdoms everywhere.   Granted, most of those kingdoms had ceased to be legally recognized before anybody currently alive had been born.  Such was not the case in Tsenacommacah, where the vast majority of births pre-dated the Vilnius Union's involvement in affairs.

"It seems to me that it is," the Nanticokan retorted.  "This is colonization."

"...No," the governor said.  "Colonization is what happened in the Azores, Bermuda, and elsewhere.  The Confederacy has not, for the most part, lost its powers - they have simply been moved from the purview of unelected kings to an elected body."

"Which answers to the King in Vilnius," the Nanticokan noted.

"Whose own role in the matter is largely symbolic."

"Symbolism matters."

"...True," the governor agreed.  "But consider this:  Centuries ago, Europe resembled...Turtle Island," the decision to use the local term for Erika being a last moment one.  "Tribes and small states everywhere, keeping apart, falling to larger external enemies such as the vast Mongol hordes to our east.  It was only with the creation of the Union that peace and prosperity came to our lands:  Open trade, exchanges of ideas, a united military capable of warding off all threats.  The Powhatan Confederacy itself has been a success, but times are changing and the Confederacy must evolve or perish."

"So you think you're doing us a favor?" the prince asked, incredulously.  "Is that really what you're saying?"

"Frankly, yes," the governor replied.  "Your own kings have proven quite incapable of leaving petty grudges and powerplays out of national affairs.  How long until one of them reached out to the Tutelo or Tuscarora and offered favors in exchange for support?"

"My father would never stoop to that.  Far more likely, the Tuscarora and Tutelo will perceive us a threat and attack to prevent their own subjugation."

"And we're well aware of that possibility," the governor agreed, not mentioning that the military garrison was actively preparing for that scenario.

The prince brought a hand up to smack his own face in frustration.  "Is this just a game to you?  The future of my people is at stake, Governor."

The governor waved the concerns away.  "You're under the protection of the most powerful state in the world," he said in a possible case of exaggeration.  "You and your people will be fine."

The prince sighed and his eyes turned to a map of the continent, with prominent blotches of yellow, red, and green where the European powers had started to intervene.  "I suppose the Romans and Northerners tell their subjects the same thing."

"Yes, but the difference is that I mean it," the governor declared.

"Thank you for your time, Governor," the prince said flatly.

[The Rock Doctor]

OOC:  I'm coming around to the general idea that the Vilnius Union - as a sort of space-filling empire - has taken on the mission of expanding that space-filling empire to foreign lands in the name of common markets, shared defence, and multiculturalism.  Maybe like a militant European Union or Canada.

This will be colored by the Union's paternalistic opinion that it knows what is best for other peoples and the view that while those other people would eventually buy into the Union's ideals, there's no point in making them go through all the pains associated with figuring it out gradually.  Better, the Union would say, to endure some short-term pain imposing their way of governance so the locals can realize the "benefits" sooner.

That's not to say that there won't be moments of flat-out aggression, but most Union land-grabbing is going to rationalized away as "being in the greater interest" in some fashion.

[Walter]

"I suppose the Romans and Northerners tell their subjects the same thing."

Hmm, reading this again, I kinda feel that I must now write a story where the exact same is being said to the locals in my area. :)

[The Rock Doctor]

I think each and every one of you needs to write it, or some variation thereof.

[Kaiser Kirk]

That's not to say that there won't be moments of flat-out aggression, but most Union land-grabbing is going to rationalized away as "being in the greater interest" in some fashion.

The Parthians believe they are seizing other folks lands for the greater good as well !
However, how they approach it depends on the "Civilization" of the others.

[The Rock Doctor]

September 5th, 1911
Dear Father,

I am not certain this letter will reach you, given that the last five I have sent have garnered no response from you.  This might reflect raiding by native bandits, but more likely reflects active censoring by the army or incompetence by the Union Mail Service.

At any rate, let it be known that I am in good health, more or less, as I write this.  Admittedly, I have a gash across my left forearm where a Tutelo tomahawk caught me, but it has been sewn up and is healing nicely.  Private Vandervliert was kind enough  to shoot the tomahawk's wielder in the chest before said wielder could add to that gash, so I am most appreciative and have resolved to buy him a watch when we return to more civilized environs.

In the grand scheme of things, it was not a tremendous surprise that the Tutelo, Tuscarora, and other tribes declared war upon us; the timing did, however, present them with an element of tactical surprise that permitted them to over run a number of our frontier outposts and commit most reprehensible brutalities upon those they captured.

They have also been somewhat indiscriminate about attacking civilian communities, including those of the friendly natives, and so have very much turned the Tsenacommacans against them.   One of the Tsenacommacan princes is apparently very vocally in favor of war against the Tutelo et al, which I personally attribute more to ambition than traditional enmity.  The right local fellow could rise to considerable power within the Union if he were to play his cards correctly.

But I digress. 

For several weeks after the initial incursions, we did little more than trade territory for time, making what utility we could of our superior firepower on land and in the rivers.  This did result in some tragic setbacks, given the native's propensity for unconventional tactics and overland mobility.  However, it also meant that General Steinberg and his staff were able to identify the primary thrusts of the native attacks, concentrate his forces, and then attack them in detail.  The Tuscarora were first to feel our wrath, being defeated with heavy losses mere leagues from Nieuwpoort.  We then pivoted north to catch the Tutelo between ourselves and one of the area's lengthy bays, forcing them to weather both our own firepower and that of a naval task force that happened to stop by.  It was a darned glorious sight, father, with many thousands of the enemy slain in total.

We have since moved back to face the Tuscarora once more; it seems we will eliminate them as a threat in their entirety, then deal with the Tutelo once more reinforcements arrive from home.  I had heard that we would be receiving some sooner rather than later, but apparently those boys have landed further south to cut off the Catawba from the coast.  I cannot say I have heard much about those particular natives getting uppity, but consensus around the officer's mess is that they will probably get involved sooner or later, and we might as well take the initiative.  If that means cutting them off from any hope of European arms, so much the better.

A definitive downside to the conflict is that I, like so many other young officers in the garrison, have been obliged to leave behind the enjoyable social scene in Nieuwpoort and the fair ladies therein.  I had hoped to dance with the daughter of one Master Karlsson, a local purveyor of fine furs, at a harvest ball to be held eight weeks hence, but do not expect that the conflict will be decided by then.  One can only hope that our reinforcements do not include any other gentlemen similarly inclined to court young Miss Inga, and that the natives do not permanently dampen my own ardor.

On that cheerful note, I wish you, mother, and my dear brothers the best of health and hope to hear from you soon.



Sincerely,

Jacob

[The Rock Doctor]

January 28, 1911:  Ponta Delgada, Azores

Izabella traipsed into the little house with a broad, gap-toothed smile, waving a folded sheet of paper around with her right hand.

"What's this all about?" Mama asked from the tiny kitchen, where she was in the midst of de-boning a cod.

"It's my report card," Izabella proclaimed, kicking off her sandals.  "I'm supposed to give it to you and Papa."

"That's new.  It must be a Union thing.  Bring it over, then."

The girl skipped across to her mother, unfolded the paper, and showed it to Mama, who made no effort to actually touch it.

"I don't...what is this, Polish?" Mama asked.

"Yes."

"I can barely read Iberian, child.  What am I supposed to get from this?"

"It's a list of the things we learn about and how good I learn them."

"How do you know that?"

"We're learning Polish," Izabella shrugged.

"You are?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"You've never mentioned it."

"You never asked."

Mama frowned.  "I ask you almost every night what you learned in school and you tell me nothing or nothing interesting."

"Oh," Izabella said, thoughtfully.  "Polish isn't interesting."

"Very well, so what does it say?

"This word matematyka means mathematics and this word srepni means good," Izabella half-lied.  "And that's Language and that's Social Studies and that's Science and they're all good also."

"And these two with za...zawodzi?" Mama shook her head sadly.

"That means okay.  I need to do better," Izabella half-lied again.

"Oh," Mama said.  "Then do better.  Now fold that up, put it on the table, and start your chores."

Izabella nodded, bouncing over to the table to set down the paper, then skipped outside and let out a huge sigh of relief.

[Walter]

Liar, liar, skirt on fire. :D

Evil Vilnius Union. Forcing the people to speak Polish. ;D

[The Rock Doctor]

The Union's evil is subtle, and sometimes difficult to pronounce.

[The Rock Doctor]

January 24, 1911:  Czarny, Bermuda

"So how is the food?" the Governor asked.

"Terrible.  These people make the most appalling slop imaginable," the prisoner sighed.  "All these 'noodles', and so much cream and butter as to make my thighs swell.  I would not feed it to my pigs were I in a position to do so."

"That's unfortunate.  Would it help if I spoke to the garrison commander?"

The prisoner shrugged.  "I don't know.  Do they listen to you?"

"I'm the Governor.  They have to."

"You were a king before you were a governor..."

"You were a king before you were a prisoner," the Governor said.  "How is that working out for you?"

"I don't regret it," the prisoner replied, defiant for a moment.  "Not yet, at any rate.  You?"

"No," the Governor said.  "Had I done anything other than roll over, I'd be dead or a prisoner in one of their other conquests, I've no doubt about that.  Serving the king in Vil-ni-us - I still have trouble with the word - is better than not serving him."

"Your son will not succeed you," the prisoner mused. 

"No, I expect not - but he is young enough to adapt to that reality.  I'll direct him and his brother toward the private sector as they grow older.  There will be no lack of businessmen keen to earn my favor," the Governor noted.

"True."

The prisoner slapped at a fly that had alit on his forehead, too slow to slay the insect.  "Do you think they'll ever let me go home?"

"Not for a long time," the Governor said.  "Not while you, as a man, can lay claim to your homeland.  That could be decades from now.  But with luck, in just a few years, you can be granted parole and take up a little estate somewhere on the island.  It wouldn't be freedom, but it wouldn't be incarceration, either."

The prisoner grimaced.  "We'll see."

"We will.  Anyway, it was good to see you but I must move on; three other Taino kings are here besides yourself and I need to see them all before three o'clock."

"Of course, of course.  I do appreciate you looking out for us," the prisoner said.

"It's the least I can do," the Governor replied, beckoning at the two Union guards to unlock the cell door.  "Until next month..."


*Czarny is the OTL Hamilton, renamed in this case from an unspecified Rappahannock term to instead honor a Polish knight named Zawisza Czarny.

[The Rock Doctor]

23 September 1911:  Frankfurt, Vilniusunion

"Much as I'd like it to happen, I don't foresee it," Gunther shrugged as they plodded along the path next to the Main. 

"I think it's a risky investment, but with a great deal of upside in the best case," Heinz shrugged.  "Do we, ourselves, have that much sea trade that we require a shortcut through the Erikas?  Arguably not.  Does the world?  Arguably so."

"That's a commercial issue, my friend," Gunther said, glancing at a passing barge on the river.  "In which case the private sector should resolve it.  The government should not be acting unless there is a strategic argument for it - which there really isn't."

"I assume you don't see the settlement of South Erika as such, then."

Gunther shook his head.  "We're settling South Erika - Choco, the others - in order to secure a trans-shipment route.  To then argue a full canal is required for their defence is somewhat circular, is it not?"

Both men doffed their tophats to a pair of ladies walking in the opposite direction, then Heinz replied, "I cannot disagree in good faith."

"At any rate, a government venture would undoubtedly pull away considerable funding for the military, and that won't happen," Gunther said.  "Can't win the war in Tsenacommacah, cow the Erikans, deter the Horde and build all these new battleships on a reduced budget.  Industry wouldn't stand for it anyway."

"Or they protect the military but cut investments in infrastructure and industry," Heinz countered.

"Also unlikely.  This government is in the pocket of all industry, not just the armaments suppliers."

"Perhaps they can cut back on welfare, education, and health care," Heinz suggested, and then both burst out laughing.

"That will be the day," Gunther grinned.  "The election's not for another two years, and I've little doubt the current government will find ample ways to spend ample funds on vote-pleasing triffles before then."

"True.  We should head back to the office," Heinz mused.  They turned off the path, heading up a side street toward the city's banking district and their own offices.  "How is your brother-in-law doing?"

"Recovering, slowly," Gunther said.  "Whatever native shot him was no doubt mowed down by a machine gun soon afterward.  To read his correspondence, at least, one would be surprised that these people have managed to hold up our army as long as they have.  Still, a bullet in the stomach is a bullet in the stomach."

"I imagine," Heinz agreed.  "The paperboy's busy, I see.  Perhaps another victorious battle to announce?"

Indeed, the paperboy who sold morning and afternoon editions of Frankfurter Vereinigung Zeitung had a quite crowd around him, mostly dressed in suit and hats such as those worn by Gunther and Heinz.  Many looked rather astonished at what they were reading, though a few seemed rather pleased. 

Heinz handed the boy a few coins and took a copy.

"Oh," Gunther said.

The headline read, "STABLEHAND STABS PRIME MINISTER, CLAIMS SELF DEFENC.E"

The subtitle read, "CATHOLIC PARTY LEAVES GOVERNING COALITION; OTHERS MAY FOLLOW."

"Maybe the election will be sooner than we thought," Heinz mused.

[The Rock Doctor]

15 October 1911:  Vilnius, Vilniusunion

"We've identified two options at the Darien Gap," the chief engineer said, "Sea level or locked."

"Right," the Deputy Minister of Transportation replied.

"The sea level canal actually isn't quite a sea level canal because we've got to factor in tides and the different elevations of the Atlantic and Pacific sea levels," the engineer began, slowly and cautiously on account of not knowing whether the deputy minister was at all familiar with such matters.

"Very well," did not really answer the question.

"Consequently, we're accounting for one pair of locks, at either end.  Since we're putting them in, we'll make full use of the elevation that can give us, nine metres.  That leaves us with an average of seventeen metres of terrain to remove, plus thirteen metres of depth at the center of the channel, for a total of thirty metres maximum depth. 

"The channel itself will be thirty-five metres wide in the shipping lane, more than sufficient to accommodate even the most fanciful capital ship design put forward by your counterpart in the navy," the engineer continued.  "Given the rather unfortunate geotechnical conditions, the slopes of the channel will be at thirty degrees.  This means the top of the excavation, on average is one hundred fifty-five metres across.  All total, we're estimating that we'd need to remove 234 million cubic metres of material.  When we add in the pair of locks, the estimated cost is [$118 + 6 BP].  The excavation itself would take a considerable amount of time – ten years, perhaps."

"Indeed, it is a lot of material," the Deputy Minister agreed, visibly doing the math.

The chief engineer continued, "The locked canal involves much less excavation but three sets of locks.  Based on a thirty-four metre width at twelve metres depth – yes, a metre shallower and narrower than the sea-level option – with the same slope, we're estimating just fifty-five million metres of material to move.  The cost, however, is much higher on account of the lock system, estimated at [$194 + 18 BP].  The locks themselves would take a minimum of three years to build; the excavation itself might be doable in five years if funding allows for it."

"Well then," the Deputy Minister said.  "That is a stark choice to be made."

One of the officials leaned forward.  "That's Darien – where is work at on the Atrato option?"

"...slowly," the chief engineer said, also slowly.  "The horizontal distance from the river to Humboldt Bay on the Pacific side is shorter, approximately seventy kilometres.  However, there are two noticeable ridges in the way, and it would be simpler...or should I say, less complicated...to tunnel under them."

The Deputy Minister turned to look at the official, who exclaimed, "Tunnels?  Large enough for ships?"

"I'm afraid so," the chief engineer confirmed.  "And while some of the project personnel remain convinced it can be done, I'm personally skeptical."

"I would imagine," the official said.  "Let's set that aside for now, shall we?  The Darien sea-level option – that's one lane?  No room for passing?"

"That's correct, although a passing or turning basin could be added, I'm sure."
The official continued, "And the lock model?"

"Two-way traffic would be possible in the artificial lake that would be required, and tie-up stations would be possible in the large cut at peak elevation," the chief engineer noted.

"Okay, so we need to see some estimates around giving the sea-level option a passing lane or turning basin," the official said.

"I'll work it in," the chief engineer nodded.

"And perhaps see what non-tunnel options exist for Atrato, if any," the official added.

"Very well."

[The Rock Doctor]

July 15th, 1912:  Vilnius

"What do you mean, he cut a deal?" the Prime Minister blurted.

The Minister of External Affairs cocked an eyebrow.  "He cut a deal with the Parthians, Prime Minister.  Cancelled the landings at Buenos Aires in return for defined borders with them to the north and south and commercial interests in Buenos Aires."

"But...we wanted that place?"

"Not that badly, Sir," the Minister replied.  "Yes, we understood that the Parthians were not interested in that area after their initial landings further south in 1910.  That was evidently either wrong or no longer valid.  More to the point, the governor felt that the Parthians had made a convincing case that their own discretion in 1910 was the reason we took Montevideo in the first place.  As I understand it, the governor felt the loss of an underdeveloped port was more than offset by goodwill and secure borders."

The Prime Minister sat back and sighed.  "Well, I guess that's why we give them such broad discretion.  What about the rest of South Erika?"

"Our occupation of Caracas went as planned; curiously, the Mayans of all people landed further east."

The Minister of War smiled.  "A convenient little buffer from Parthia, I like it."

"That it is," the Minister of External Affairs agreed.  "In Choco, it seems that our interests intersect with the Incans.  Preliminary reports indicate that there have been multiple contacts with Incan settlers and troops but no significant use of force by either side.  The governor there is no doubt examining his options.

"North Erikan movements went off as planned, no obstacles, but the Iroquois expanded both south and west.  The southerly is uncontroversial but we may need to consider whether we wish to push north toward the Great Lakes to secure access or whether we let the locals insert themselves as a buffer between ourselves and the Northmen."

"We'll need a recommendation from your people on that," the Prime Minister said.

"Certainly, sir."

"How about that big African mission?"

"Mostly as planned - but the expedition did find the Romans unloading at one of the port towns on the delta..."

"Oh come on," the Prime Minister grumbled. 

"Yes, well, I have reached out to Rome directly to see if arrangements can be made," the Minister said. 

"Well, don't give up the farm like Montevideo did...," the Prime Minister said.

"No, sir."

[The Rock Doctor]

Stockholm Globe, 24 July 1912

Sources within the Government have told this publication that a diplomatic mission has been dispatched to the mysterious 4th Incan Empire following efforts by both nations to take control of a lush valley in the northwestern tip of South Erika. 

"It's lush agricultural land, obviously to be highly prized by any and all," one official noted on condition of anonymity.  "Farmers would find it most suitable for a variety of cash crops."

The government has not officially commented on the specific situation on the ground in South Erika, but this publication has it on good authority that military forces from both nations, along with Incan migrants, are playing something akin to the ancient game of Go, scattering outposts and settlements in areas of local utility or value.  No fighting has been reported at this time but observers suggest there is considerable avenue for accidents or unintended incidents to ignite the area.

The mission is expected to arrive off the Incan coast in late February, after first crossing the Atlantic and Caribbean, then travelling overland through the Erikan Isthmus and finally boarding one of the few Union vessels present in the Pacific.  It is believed that the mission will seek Incan recognition, then table a proposal to divide the valley on a mutually agreeable basis.