GraveTrout
New Member
Sorry for such a late submission, I was swamped with schoolwork last week. I finally finished my sheet, better late than never I guess?
Bergsriket
Statehood:
Absolute monarchy with technocratic leanings
Leader:
Konung Rävaktig Anförare
Capital:
Skapa
Currency:
Kassala
Political tenets:
Autocratic, Service to the country and to the king, compulsory education up to the age of 15, nation-wide standardized exams, appointment through merit, separation of church and state, slavery is illegal, criminals are sent to forced labour camps
Civil services:
The royal science and research council, courts of law in every major city, municipal and federal police forces, municipal firefighters, public hospitals in cities run through the province, Bergsriket national railroad company
Diplomacy: (Allies and Enemies)
No enemies right now, open to alliances
Geography and Culture
Map:
(Apologies, I’m not quite sure how to do this myself)
Bergsriket is a very mountainous country, with most of the kingdom residing at high elevation and much of the population living in valleys between ranges.
Population:
Roughly 23 million
Languages:
Samtala (swedish), Kieli (finnish)
Culture:
Svenska (swedish) is the dominant culture. The people of Kärna identify overwhelmingly as Svenska, and the culture is also highly prominent in Vestur and Ösel. Livländska (livonian) is the prevailing culture in Ösel, and a small majority of the population of Vestur still considers themselves Norsk (norwegian). The people of Viljelysmaa almost uniformly identify as Finsk (finnish), and the province is the only area of the country where Kieli is popularly spoken, alongside Samtala.
Natural resources:
coal, tin, copper, iron, other minerals and metals, lumber, sheep, fish
Major Cities:
Skapa: 3.2 million
Kust: 1.2 million
Växa: 890 000
Tillverkning: 710 000
Sten: 280 000
Himmel: 145 000
Gräns: 80 000
Provinces: 4
The provinces of the kingdom are divided upon historically cultural lines. Kärna is the largest province and occupies the center of the Kingdom as well as some of the northern coast. Vestus encompasses a large swath of mountainland in the northwest of the kingdom, and it borders Kärna where the northern coast flattens on the map. Ösel, the smallest province, consists only of the island above the rest of the country. Viljelysmaa lies to the south of Kärna, it’s that upside-down anvil-looking piece of land.
Kärna
Kärna is not only the largest province in terms of land mass, it is also the most populated. It’s capital is also the country’s capital, Skapa. The great river Hjärta runs up the center of the province all the way to the northern coast, supplemented by streams from the mountains which flank it. This river used to keep the capital connected to the port of Tillverkning in the north, but has since become too shallow for all but the smallest of ships. Railroads now run parallel to the river, fulfilling the same journey once braved by riverboat.
The capital, as well as being the country’s political center, is also a strong cultural, academic and industrial hub. Tillverkning, always an important city in Bergsriket, has become even more so since it became the last stop on the national railroad company’s main line and a factory hub where nearly all the country’s exports are produced and shipped out of the country.
Gräns, on the eastern border, is a trade city through which much of the country’s land trade flows, although Bergsriket’s geography has always made trade over land unappealing.
Ösel
Ösel is the country’s newest province. 50 years ago the island was its own kingdom, but relatively small and sharing a common language it came under greater and greater influence from neighboring Bergsriket. When the last Livländskan king died with no heir the country’s administration accepted integration into Bergsriket, under the condition that it could remain largely autonomous.
Ösel is a part of Bergsriket, but it has certain flexibility when it comes to internal and external policy which other provinces do not. They have used this privilege to eliminate tariffs on imports, essentially undercutting the mainland, and to loosen laws around foreign investment and foreign ownership of property. Kust, the capital, has become a huge trade hub as a result, with most all of the country’s imports and exports being organized and funnelled through the city, and with powerful trade companies, foreign and domestic, setting up shop there.
Vestur
Vestur is the Kingdom’s most sparsely populated province. It is mountainous, even for Bergsriket standards, and although nominally it has been a part of Bergskiret for a very long time the harsh geography surrounding the region as well as a perceived lack of important resources in the area has made it so Vesturs small settlements operated pretty much totally independent of the crown in Skapa. This changed three decades ago when large gold deposits were accidentally discovered in and around the isolated mount Galen. Gold was later discovered in the neighbouring mountains as well. These discoveries provoked the Galen gold rush, which prompted greater investment in infrastructure, in the form of railroads and such, and mass immigration to the area from other parts of the country. The province’s capital, Sten, saw massive population growth over these years, and it’s population today is almost entirely comprised of gold prospectors who chose to stay after the reserves depleted and gold became scarce. A successful mining industry has been established in Sten and the surrounding settlements to fill the void left by the end of the gold rush, and Vestur’s mining towns now sustain themselves through the extraction of less exciting metals.
Viljelysmaa
Viljelysmaa was long ago its own kingdom, before Bergsriket armies conquered it for its rich and fertile soil. The province contains 80% of the country’s farmlands, and produces roughly half of the country’s food supply. There is a conspicuous lack of mountains in Viljelysmaa, which sets it starkly apart from the rest of the country. It’s strong agricultural sector made it historically a very wealthy region, and there was a time when Växa, the province’s capital, rivaled Skapa in size and influence. That time has passed however and with the rise of manufacturing strong agriculture has grown less and less valuable. While still an essential region, as the mountainous Bergsriket struggles to produce enough food to feed itself and relies on food imports, many Finsk have in recent years been leaving the province in search of wealth and employment in the capital, or in Sten. Nearly as many Finsk as Svenska settled in Vestur during the Galen gold rush, despite both there being significantly more Svenska overall and Kärna’s favorable proximity to Vestur.
On the east coast of Viljelysmaa (in the right armpit of the anvil) is the Finsk port of Himmel. It is neither as developed nor as important as Tillverkning or Kust, as trade along the southern ocean is far from busy. It is still the country’s largest southern port however, and products arriving sporadically from the far east keeps the port relevant. There has been talk in recent times of modernizing the port and using it as a base from which to send expeditions eastward.
Religion
Religion generally does not play a very large role in Bergsriket society. Around a century ago, King Gustav (honorably titled post-mortem King Gustav “The Asshole” of Bergsriket) pursued and violently enforced a policy of state atheism, both because he was a non-believer in the traditional Svenska gods and because he abhorred the fact that he had to share power in the realm with the council of Elder Shamans. Policies on state atheism loosened after his death and eventually were repealed altogether, but all the institutions which had propped up the traditional shamanist religion were gone, and now people simply make do with run-of-the-mill superstition. Today ethical and moralistic guidance, formerly religion’s realm, is a responsibility taken upon by the Royal Board of Education and Apprenticeship, and the state encourages the celebration of cultural icons as opposed to religious ones. What’s left of the old shamanism is concentrated now in Ösel, where the most zealous worshippers fled during the reign of Gustav, but even there religion is undermined by the inevitable heathen influence which comes from being an interregional trade center.
The Finsk are an exception, as they are actually a deeply religious people (it is suspected that this is because they get off on being different). Their form of paganism, known as uskonto, is centered around a perceived union between the sky, the ocean and the earth. It demands of its adherents that they attempt to achieve “yhtä suuri”, or “perfect balance”, in all things. All immoral actions are, according to the uskonto, the result of individual imbalances.
Economics
Economy:
Strong industry and production capabilities in Kärna, especially in the capital and Tillverkning. Goods and materials are created in Kärna out of the raw resources shipped by train from Vestur and Viljelysmaa. Viljelysmaa is the only place in the country with strong agriculture, although it is lacking in development and production abilities. Ösel benefits greatly from receiving and managing pretty much all of the country’s trade in the north, although it neither grows nor produces very much itself. Vestur has a significant and growing mining industry. The specialisation of regions in certain economic areas facilitates administration and policy, but it creates inefficiency as it promotes unnecessary transport costs. Some animosity arises as well from the fact that the trade-focused and production-focused provinces of Ösel and Kärna are generally wealthier than the other two.
Even though Viljelysmaa pulls its weight and then some, Bergsriket has always had to rely on importing food from the east and north, sometimes at extortionary prices in especially bad years. This has been the largest roadblock to the country’s longstanding aspirations of autarky, and may in the future lead to expansion eastward where the mountains are few and the soil more promising.
Infrastructure:
Bergsriket jumped on the train train pretty much immediately. It has created an extensive railroad network throughout the country, and this has greatly helped overcome many of the natural geographic difficulties that come with travel in the Kingdom. Better roads have also begun to be a priority in the cities. It is planned to organize ferries out of Tillverkning to Vestur’s north and western coastal settlements in order to tie them to the rest of the country in some way. All the major cities have power, with power stations being supplied with coal from the west.
Military
Army:
Military service is seen as the honorable alternative to menial labour for young men who don’t achieve good standardized exam scores. The army stands at 420 000 footmen. They are supported by 140 artillery batteries (1680 pieces). The Bergsriket army made away with mounted cavalry early, although important officers still get horses.
Navy:
The bergsriket navy is far from impressive. Of its four battleships only one is ironclad. The navy also controls a dozen smaller frigates, and is responsible for nationally-organized trade and transport by sea.
Other Units:
Bergsriket’s mountain topography has encouraged national investment in aviation projects, and a minute air force is already in place consisting of three semi-rigid airships, used for scouting and observation missions (helps with initiative I would think). They have also been used for travel to the less accessible areas of the country.
Technology:
Percussion cap rifles are being phased out and replaced with the bolt-action kriga mark I, infantry companies are supported each by a single Maxim gun (primitive recoil-operated machine gun), artillery batteries are comprised mostly of the armstrong field gun. Public support for greater national investment in aviation has meant that more rigid zeppelin-like airships are currently in development and should at some point be integrated into the army. There has also been some attempts with experimental heavier-than-air aircraft, but no significant successes yet, nor are any expected anytime soon. High-ranking military officials have been seen in and around the Royal Chemist’s Association’s headquarters, although what they could hope for from a bunch of dusty academics is anybody’s guess…
History
WIP
Bergsriket
Statehood:
Absolute monarchy with technocratic leanings
Leader:
Konung Rävaktig Anförare
Capital:
Skapa
Currency:
Kassala
Political tenets:
Autocratic, Service to the country and to the king, compulsory education up to the age of 15, nation-wide standardized exams, appointment through merit, separation of church and state, slavery is illegal, criminals are sent to forced labour camps
Civil services:
The royal science and research council, courts of law in every major city, municipal and federal police forces, municipal firefighters, public hospitals in cities run through the province, Bergsriket national railroad company
Diplomacy: (Allies and Enemies)
No enemies right now, open to alliances
Geography and Culture
Map:
(Apologies, I’m not quite sure how to do this myself)
Bergsriket is a very mountainous country, with most of the kingdom residing at high elevation and much of the population living in valleys between ranges.
Population:
Roughly 23 million
Languages:
Samtala (swedish), Kieli (finnish)
Culture:
Svenska (swedish) is the dominant culture. The people of Kärna identify overwhelmingly as Svenska, and the culture is also highly prominent in Vestur and Ösel. Livländska (livonian) is the prevailing culture in Ösel, and a small majority of the population of Vestur still considers themselves Norsk (norwegian). The people of Viljelysmaa almost uniformly identify as Finsk (finnish), and the province is the only area of the country where Kieli is popularly spoken, alongside Samtala.
Natural resources:
coal, tin, copper, iron, other minerals and metals, lumber, sheep, fish
Major Cities:
Skapa: 3.2 million
Kust: 1.2 million
Växa: 890 000
Tillverkning: 710 000
Sten: 280 000
Himmel: 145 000
Gräns: 80 000
Provinces: 4
The provinces of the kingdom are divided upon historically cultural lines. Kärna is the largest province and occupies the center of the Kingdom as well as some of the northern coast. Vestus encompasses a large swath of mountainland in the northwest of the kingdom, and it borders Kärna where the northern coast flattens on the map. Ösel, the smallest province, consists only of the island above the rest of the country. Viljelysmaa lies to the south of Kärna, it’s that upside-down anvil-looking piece of land.
Kärna
Kärna is not only the largest province in terms of land mass, it is also the most populated. It’s capital is also the country’s capital, Skapa. The great river Hjärta runs up the center of the province all the way to the northern coast, supplemented by streams from the mountains which flank it. This river used to keep the capital connected to the port of Tillverkning in the north, but has since become too shallow for all but the smallest of ships. Railroads now run parallel to the river, fulfilling the same journey once braved by riverboat.
The capital, as well as being the country’s political center, is also a strong cultural, academic and industrial hub. Tillverkning, always an important city in Bergsriket, has become even more so since it became the last stop on the national railroad company’s main line and a factory hub where nearly all the country’s exports are produced and shipped out of the country.
Gräns, on the eastern border, is a trade city through which much of the country’s land trade flows, although Bergsriket’s geography has always made trade over land unappealing.
Ösel
Ösel is the country’s newest province. 50 years ago the island was its own kingdom, but relatively small and sharing a common language it came under greater and greater influence from neighboring Bergsriket. When the last Livländskan king died with no heir the country’s administration accepted integration into Bergsriket, under the condition that it could remain largely autonomous.
Ösel is a part of Bergsriket, but it has certain flexibility when it comes to internal and external policy which other provinces do not. They have used this privilege to eliminate tariffs on imports, essentially undercutting the mainland, and to loosen laws around foreign investment and foreign ownership of property. Kust, the capital, has become a huge trade hub as a result, with most all of the country’s imports and exports being organized and funnelled through the city, and with powerful trade companies, foreign and domestic, setting up shop there.
Vestur
Vestur is the Kingdom’s most sparsely populated province. It is mountainous, even for Bergsriket standards, and although nominally it has been a part of Bergskiret for a very long time the harsh geography surrounding the region as well as a perceived lack of important resources in the area has made it so Vesturs small settlements operated pretty much totally independent of the crown in Skapa. This changed three decades ago when large gold deposits were accidentally discovered in and around the isolated mount Galen. Gold was later discovered in the neighbouring mountains as well. These discoveries provoked the Galen gold rush, which prompted greater investment in infrastructure, in the form of railroads and such, and mass immigration to the area from other parts of the country. The province’s capital, Sten, saw massive population growth over these years, and it’s population today is almost entirely comprised of gold prospectors who chose to stay after the reserves depleted and gold became scarce. A successful mining industry has been established in Sten and the surrounding settlements to fill the void left by the end of the gold rush, and Vestur’s mining towns now sustain themselves through the extraction of less exciting metals.
Viljelysmaa
Viljelysmaa was long ago its own kingdom, before Bergsriket armies conquered it for its rich and fertile soil. The province contains 80% of the country’s farmlands, and produces roughly half of the country’s food supply. There is a conspicuous lack of mountains in Viljelysmaa, which sets it starkly apart from the rest of the country. It’s strong agricultural sector made it historically a very wealthy region, and there was a time when Växa, the province’s capital, rivaled Skapa in size and influence. That time has passed however and with the rise of manufacturing strong agriculture has grown less and less valuable. While still an essential region, as the mountainous Bergsriket struggles to produce enough food to feed itself and relies on food imports, many Finsk have in recent years been leaving the province in search of wealth and employment in the capital, or in Sten. Nearly as many Finsk as Svenska settled in Vestur during the Galen gold rush, despite both there being significantly more Svenska overall and Kärna’s favorable proximity to Vestur.
On the east coast of Viljelysmaa (in the right armpit of the anvil) is the Finsk port of Himmel. It is neither as developed nor as important as Tillverkning or Kust, as trade along the southern ocean is far from busy. It is still the country’s largest southern port however, and products arriving sporadically from the far east keeps the port relevant. There has been talk in recent times of modernizing the port and using it as a base from which to send expeditions eastward.
Religion
Religion generally does not play a very large role in Bergsriket society. Around a century ago, King Gustav (honorably titled post-mortem King Gustav “The Asshole” of Bergsriket) pursued and violently enforced a policy of state atheism, both because he was a non-believer in the traditional Svenska gods and because he abhorred the fact that he had to share power in the realm with the council of Elder Shamans. Policies on state atheism loosened after his death and eventually were repealed altogether, but all the institutions which had propped up the traditional shamanist religion were gone, and now people simply make do with run-of-the-mill superstition. Today ethical and moralistic guidance, formerly religion’s realm, is a responsibility taken upon by the Royal Board of Education and Apprenticeship, and the state encourages the celebration of cultural icons as opposed to religious ones. What’s left of the old shamanism is concentrated now in Ösel, where the most zealous worshippers fled during the reign of Gustav, but even there religion is undermined by the inevitable heathen influence which comes from being an interregional trade center.
The Finsk are an exception, as they are actually a deeply religious people (it is suspected that this is because they get off on being different). Their form of paganism, known as uskonto, is centered around a perceived union between the sky, the ocean and the earth. It demands of its adherents that they attempt to achieve “yhtä suuri”, or “perfect balance”, in all things. All immoral actions are, according to the uskonto, the result of individual imbalances.
Economics
Economy:
Strong industry and production capabilities in Kärna, especially in the capital and Tillverkning. Goods and materials are created in Kärna out of the raw resources shipped by train from Vestur and Viljelysmaa. Viljelysmaa is the only place in the country with strong agriculture, although it is lacking in development and production abilities. Ösel benefits greatly from receiving and managing pretty much all of the country’s trade in the north, although it neither grows nor produces very much itself. Vestur has a significant and growing mining industry. The specialisation of regions in certain economic areas facilitates administration and policy, but it creates inefficiency as it promotes unnecessary transport costs. Some animosity arises as well from the fact that the trade-focused and production-focused provinces of Ösel and Kärna are generally wealthier than the other two.
Even though Viljelysmaa pulls its weight and then some, Bergsriket has always had to rely on importing food from the east and north, sometimes at extortionary prices in especially bad years. This has been the largest roadblock to the country’s longstanding aspirations of autarky, and may in the future lead to expansion eastward where the mountains are few and the soil more promising.
Infrastructure:
Bergsriket jumped on the train train pretty much immediately. It has created an extensive railroad network throughout the country, and this has greatly helped overcome many of the natural geographic difficulties that come with travel in the Kingdom. Better roads have also begun to be a priority in the cities. It is planned to organize ferries out of Tillverkning to Vestur’s north and western coastal settlements in order to tie them to the rest of the country in some way. All the major cities have power, with power stations being supplied with coal from the west.
Military
Army:
Military service is seen as the honorable alternative to menial labour for young men who don’t achieve good standardized exam scores. The army stands at 420 000 footmen. They are supported by 140 artillery batteries (1680 pieces). The Bergsriket army made away with mounted cavalry early, although important officers still get horses.
Navy:
The bergsriket navy is far from impressive. Of its four battleships only one is ironclad. The navy also controls a dozen smaller frigates, and is responsible for nationally-organized trade and transport by sea.
Other Units:
Bergsriket’s mountain topography has encouraged national investment in aviation projects, and a minute air force is already in place consisting of three semi-rigid airships, used for scouting and observation missions (helps with initiative I would think). They have also been used for travel to the less accessible areas of the country.
Technology:
Percussion cap rifles are being phased out and replaced with the bolt-action kriga mark I, infantry companies are supported each by a single Maxim gun (primitive recoil-operated machine gun), artillery batteries are comprised mostly of the armstrong field gun. Public support for greater national investment in aviation has meant that more rigid zeppelin-like airships are currently in development and should at some point be integrated into the army. There has also been some attempts with experimental heavier-than-air aircraft, but no significant successes yet, nor are any expected anytime soon. High-ranking military officials have been seen in and around the Royal Chemist’s Association’s headquarters, although what they could hope for from a bunch of dusty academics is anybody’s guess…
History
WIP
