I like it. Obviously inspired by Rvbomally's worlda maps, which isn't a bad thing because informative and clean maps are important. Also stuff like that heavily fragmented India is quite interesting.
Map Thread XIII
- Thread starter Pragmatic Progressive
- Start date
- Status
I like it. Obviously inspired by Rvbomally's worlda maps, which isn't a bad thing because informative and clean maps are important. Also stuff like that heavily fragmented India is quite interesting.
Thank you
I'm a big fan of his work, and it played a huge influence in how I do my maps. Plus I just like clean maps. As for India, Rajasthan and Hyderabad almost ended up independent in OTL, and I figured it wouldn't be hard for them to stay out of India ITTL. The Anglo-Indian/Anglo-Burmese state in the Andaman and Nicobar islands was another way to balkanize India further, and almost done anyways in OTL. The Anglo-Indian state is very close to the Federation - actually has the Queen as head of state, and there's talk of allowing them into the Federation. They already have free-trade with them, use the Federation pound, and have a Federation military base in Port Blair (in OTL, it's an Indian military base).
Witch0Winter
Banned
Full size here.
Possibly my most ambitious project to date, this is a map of a German East Africa that managed to survive World War I (thanks to a German victory in the war) and prosper afterwards, eventually winning its independence years later. I hope you all enjoy.
***
The year is 2004: 40 years after the full independence of the United Republic of East Africa, in which the colonies of Tanganyika, Rwanda, and Burundi united with the British breakaway Zanzibar colony to form a single nation; a commonwealth within Germany's overseas empire rather than a directly-ruled colony. As one of the largest economies in Africa, it is little wonder that East Africa remains an important asset of Germany's sphere of influence even after independence. After all, with so many ties to the fatherland, it is hard to imagine the two nations permanently separating, even all these years later.
To understand East Africa's rise to dominance, one would have to trace the history back to the First World War, in which German forces successfully defeated the Allied Powers and had, by 1917, ended the war effectively and decisively. Germany's African colonies were eventually spared due to problems in Europe for the Allied powers and German negotiations. The saving of her overseas colonies would soon prove to be a boon to Germany, as a series of mineral resource rushes would occur throughout German East Africa in the years following the war.
Former soldiers and displaced civilians, primarily from East Prussia and Posen, streamed into the colony in the 1920s and 1930s, brought by the prospect of steady work and plentiful land in East Africa's highlands. Unlike other African colonies, the cool, temperate, and relatively disease-free highlands of East Africa offered the Europeans a habitable area of their own in the country, not dissimilar to the cape and highlands of South Africa. Centered around the growing town of Bergen, German settlers would quickly expand mining and farming operations throughout the highlands, making the nation a place to call their home.
It was through this settlement, too, that whites would come to form a symbiosis with their black countrymen. In order to ship their extracted resources and refined materials to market, German settlers built an intricate and advanced series of railways and roads throughout East Africa's interior, and quickly helped transform Dar Es Salaam into one of the most prosperous ports of trade in Africa. The more white business in the highlands grew, the more black business in the coastal lowlands grew. It is a symbiosis that carries over to this day, though the goods sent to market are manufactured and crafted rather than extracted from the fertile Earth.
The Second World War would bring about more change to East Africa, as black and white men from the colony fought alongside the Germans who, after years of heavy fighting and help from the a united Europe, drove the Russians back out of Europe which they had so eagerly conquered. It was hard fighting that left millions dead and millions more homeless and distraught. A number of those without a home to return to would make the journey to East Africa for a new life. These Europeans would help form the basis of a new middle-class less made of miners and farmers, but of white collar workers in the office buildings springing up in Bergen, Dar Es Salaam, and Neu Langenburg.
East Africa's new middle class, mostly white but with many black Africans as well, would help shape the transformation of East Africa from resource colony to developed country throughout the 1950s. An East African scientist, Albert Hoffman, would contribute to the creation and detonation of Germany's first atomic bomb in the Namibian Desert in 1949. Manufacturing, crafting, and financial business began to take hold of the East African population, particularly the whites and the mixed "coloureds" (a term borrowed from South Africa), and with it came calls for independence from the German government who attempted to continue to rule East Africa from Berlin.
Germany had begun transitioning East Africa from colony to commonwealth in 1961, but events in 1963 sped up the process. Zanzibar, a British protectorate, declared independence and violently overthrew their government, installing a militant, extremist anti-Arab dictator who massacred hundreds of Arab and Asian citizens before German, East African, and British authorities stepped in and removed him from power. When a subsequent referendum established Zanzibar's desire to separate from the British but to not seek independence, Germany granted East Africa the power to draft itself a new constitution, which Zanzibar joined in making, creating the United Republic of East Africa.
Since independence, East Africa has become a bastion of democratic strength in eastern Africa, particularly during the rough years of the 1980s when it seemed half the continent was in an uproar. East Africa's economy has continued to grow, and is on par with the likes of South Africa and Nigeria, and even head of its longtime rival in the region, Ethiopia. However, many problems have plagued East Africa, and many are still yet to be faced by the government. Though not nearly as bad as the apartheid of South Africa, racism against the Black African majority in East Africa did not begin to fully erode until the mid-1980s, and even today in the government center of Dodoma and "white" province of the Southern Highlands, whites dominate. Despite this, the symbiotic relationship between highland whites and lowland blacks has managed to keep outright violence from erupting, and with each passing year the sides grow less extreme and more tolerant of each other.
Economically, East Africa has continued a long, sustained period of growth as more and more of the country moves from subsistence farming into the developed world. Even with a rapidly-growing population of over 55 million, East Africa has more than enough room for all at over twice the size of Germany and the resources to enrich them all. Ongoing tapping of East Africa's vast mineral and agricultural resources has swelled the nation's GDP since the early 1990s. Though the economic divide between provinces can be stark, ongoing efforts to close the gap have expanded the nation's roads and railways, given schools and hospitals to towns in need, and allowed for the growth of newer cities, particularly in the Lake, Rwanda, Burundi, and Southern provinces.
Overall, the United Republic of East Africa is a nation that has enjoyed a unique and rich history that propelled it from third-rate colony to first-rate power in Africa, allowing the many peoples of East Africa to unite together under one banner and look forward to a future that can only be bright. If the past 40 years of independence have brought so many good things to the country, it is hard to imagine what the next 40 will bring.
***
If you liked this map, considering donating to my Patreon!
Possibly my most ambitious project to date, this is a map of a German East Africa that managed to survive World War I (thanks to a German victory in the war) and prosper afterwards, eventually winning its independence years later. I hope you all enjoy.
***
The year is 2004: 40 years after the full independence of the United Republic of East Africa, in which the colonies of Tanganyika, Rwanda, and Burundi united with the British breakaway Zanzibar colony to form a single nation; a commonwealth within Germany's overseas empire rather than a directly-ruled colony. As one of the largest economies in Africa, it is little wonder that East Africa remains an important asset of Germany's sphere of influence even after independence. After all, with so many ties to the fatherland, it is hard to imagine the two nations permanently separating, even all these years later.
To understand East Africa's rise to dominance, one would have to trace the history back to the First World War, in which German forces successfully defeated the Allied Powers and had, by 1917, ended the war effectively and decisively. Germany's African colonies were eventually spared due to problems in Europe for the Allied powers and German negotiations. The saving of her overseas colonies would soon prove to be a boon to Germany, as a series of mineral resource rushes would occur throughout German East Africa in the years following the war.
Former soldiers and displaced civilians, primarily from East Prussia and Posen, streamed into the colony in the 1920s and 1930s, brought by the prospect of steady work and plentiful land in East Africa's highlands. Unlike other African colonies, the cool, temperate, and relatively disease-free highlands of East Africa offered the Europeans a habitable area of their own in the country, not dissimilar to the cape and highlands of South Africa. Centered around the growing town of Bergen, German settlers would quickly expand mining and farming operations throughout the highlands, making the nation a place to call their home.
It was through this settlement, too, that whites would come to form a symbiosis with their black countrymen. In order to ship their extracted resources and refined materials to market, German settlers built an intricate and advanced series of railways and roads throughout East Africa's interior, and quickly helped transform Dar Es Salaam into one of the most prosperous ports of trade in Africa. The more white business in the highlands grew, the more black business in the coastal lowlands grew. It is a symbiosis that carries over to this day, though the goods sent to market are manufactured and crafted rather than extracted from the fertile Earth.
The Second World War would bring about more change to East Africa, as black and white men from the colony fought alongside the Germans who, after years of heavy fighting and help from the a united Europe, drove the Russians back out of Europe which they had so eagerly conquered. It was hard fighting that left millions dead and millions more homeless and distraught. A number of those without a home to return to would make the journey to East Africa for a new life. These Europeans would help form the basis of a new middle-class less made of miners and farmers, but of white collar workers in the office buildings springing up in Bergen, Dar Es Salaam, and Neu Langenburg.
East Africa's new middle class, mostly white but with many black Africans as well, would help shape the transformation of East Africa from resource colony to developed country throughout the 1950s. An East African scientist, Albert Hoffman, would contribute to the creation and detonation of Germany's first atomic bomb in the Namibian Desert in 1949. Manufacturing, crafting, and financial business began to take hold of the East African population, particularly the whites and the mixed "coloureds" (a term borrowed from South Africa), and with it came calls for independence from the German government who attempted to continue to rule East Africa from Berlin.
Germany had begun transitioning East Africa from colony to commonwealth in 1961, but events in 1963 sped up the process. Zanzibar, a British protectorate, declared independence and violently overthrew their government, installing a militant, extremist anti-Arab dictator who massacred hundreds of Arab and Asian citizens before German, East African, and British authorities stepped in and removed him from power. When a subsequent referendum established Zanzibar's desire to separate from the British but to not seek independence, Germany granted East Africa the power to draft itself a new constitution, which Zanzibar joined in making, creating the United Republic of East Africa.
Since independence, East Africa has become a bastion of democratic strength in eastern Africa, particularly during the rough years of the 1980s when it seemed half the continent was in an uproar. East Africa's economy has continued to grow, and is on par with the likes of South Africa and Nigeria, and even head of its longtime rival in the region, Ethiopia. However, many problems have plagued East Africa, and many are still yet to be faced by the government. Though not nearly as bad as the apartheid of South Africa, racism against the Black African majority in East Africa did not begin to fully erode until the mid-1980s, and even today in the government center of Dodoma and "white" province of the Southern Highlands, whites dominate. Despite this, the symbiotic relationship between highland whites and lowland blacks has managed to keep outright violence from erupting, and with each passing year the sides grow less extreme and more tolerant of each other.
Economically, East Africa has continued a long, sustained period of growth as more and more of the country moves from subsistence farming into the developed world. Even with a rapidly-growing population of over 55 million, East Africa has more than enough room for all at over twice the size of Germany and the resources to enrich them all. Ongoing tapping of East Africa's vast mineral and agricultural resources has swelled the nation's GDP since the early 1990s. Though the economic divide between provinces can be stark, ongoing efforts to close the gap have expanded the nation's roads and railways, given schools and hospitals to towns in need, and allowed for the growth of newer cities, particularly in the Lake, Rwanda, Burundi, and Southern provinces.
Overall, the United Republic of East Africa is a nation that has enjoyed a unique and rich history that propelled it from third-rate colony to first-rate power in Africa, allowing the many peoples of East Africa to unite together under one banner and look forward to a future that can only be bright. If the past 40 years of independence have brought so many good things to the country, it is hard to imagine what the next 40 will bring.
***
If you liked this map, considering donating to my Patreon!
Hey, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front proves these things don't always work out.
That's a really interesting scenario!
How does the rest of the world look like? Who are the big players? Does Africa at large have it better than OTL?
Narodist Russia
In our world the Narodniks, often known as populists, were a quite divided group, mixed on their approach to capitalism and the rising pro-urban elements of Russian society, and although a significant ‘green force’ remained after their failure, they were quickly swallowed up into Bolshevism. In this world however, they remained relatively united in their aims of revolution against the central Russian government, as despite the disposition of the feudal serfdom laws, there was major upheaval with the rest of the Russian Empire that made it highly unstable. The movement was thus able to gain more support with the help of charismatic leadership, such as that of Mikael Romansky (yes he's fictional), a devoted Narodnik who wished to apply the agrarian views to help empower the peasants of the country, as the country’s slow modernisation was putting more emphasis on the urban environment and on centralised authority, both of which the Narodniks were becoming opposed to.
With increased popularity, the Marxist elements never really caught in Russia and other such places, and thus the movement developed. After a disastrous campaign against Japan over Korea and Manchuria backfired in 1902, the Narodist movement finally rebelled, with the support of the peasantry. Soon the cities were overrun, and the royal family escaped to London, where they would remain. Romansky’s Narodnik’s preached empowerment of the peasants to have their own choice in leading the country, and appeals to many people, as they lack the anti-religious and pro-urban tones of Bolshevism. Nevertheless, a significant intervention effort occurs from other nations, with Finland, the Baltics and even the Ukraine going their own way, falling under German influence. Japan attempted to form a satellite state in Vladivostok and Outer Manchuria, but this ultimately failed, as did a British attempt to secure Central Asia.
The Caucasian nations make a bid for independence, but the Ottomans wish to take them into their influence, which the British refuse to allow to happen, leading to a crushing defeat for the former, and the establishment of Transcaucasia as a nation, while a battered but still strong Ottoman Empire still existing. Italy also took the chance to seize the unstable Tripolitania while the Ottomans were distracted. The Romanians seize Bessarabia as a way to cement their grip on power, and the world is horrified at the rise of this new form of government, calling itself ‘the Popular Union of Russia’. After a mixture of foreign interventions and local agrarian groups inspired, the revolution also spreads into Mongolia and Xinjiang, following a collapse of the Chinese Empire, caused partially by the economic instability up north. Soon a war broke out in Europe over the awarding of Morroco to the Spanish rather than the French, which led to a stalemate of sorts. Germany lost her overseas posessions, but gained control over Luxembourg and legitimised control over its new satellites.
Narodist Russia is not quite as authoritarian as the government of Lenin and gives a considerable degree of power to local peasant communes, who involve democratic election. and also manages to give political autonomy to the peoples of Central Asia, who are given equal rights in terms of culture and religion, helping them keep into this new nation. these local communes are very popular with the farmers and more traditional peasants, though the Kulaks are able to manipulate the system to favour them in some areas. While the countryside is relatively free, the people in the cities are strongly discouraged in favour of moving to the countryside and working the fields, due to the Populists anti-Urban nature, and wish to not have completely centralised authority through cities. Thus ironically, those who aren’t able to move are put under strong surveillance to make sure that they are not trying to undermine the new state and allow a capitalist upper class to exploit the farmers for their own benefit. This results in almost khmer like emmigrations to the countryside, where many city immigrants face harassment and persecution by the much more free peasants, who ironically are left more to their own devices, and even allowed to have some private property as long as they are able to benefit the state in general. Romansky’s government thus asserts authority through local autonomous counsels dedicated to populism, while he frequently tours the country rallying people to the cause and to remove reactionary elements through mobs. His government does set themselves up in a capital in Moscow, which at first appears hypocritical, but this allows them to have a central base, and even then, they are trying to deconstruct the power base in the city in favour of rural councels.
This form of government is already beginning to take route in other regions, and of course the Popular republic funds others, particularly in Ukraine, the Baltics, the Balkans and even China. Agrarian movements have already rose to power in Serbia, Ethopia and even Peru, and rumours of a revolution building up in southern Italy is alerting much of Europe, which could begin to trigger a major war.
The year is now 1913 and the world has dramatically changed already, though instead of the industrialised Marxism, a very different socialist movement is spreading across the world.
In our world the Narodniks, often known as populists, were a quite divided group, mixed on their approach to capitalism and the rising pro-urban elements of Russian society, and although a significant ‘green force’ remained after their failure, they were quickly swallowed up into Bolshevism. In this world however, they remained relatively united in their aims of revolution against the central Russian government, as despite the disposition of the feudal serfdom laws, there was major upheaval with the rest of the Russian Empire that made it highly unstable. The movement was thus able to gain more support with the help of charismatic leadership, such as that of Mikael Romansky (yes he's fictional), a devoted Narodnik who wished to apply the agrarian views to help empower the peasants of the country, as the country’s slow modernisation was putting more emphasis on the urban environment and on centralised authority, both of which the Narodniks were becoming opposed to.
With increased popularity, the Marxist elements never really caught in Russia and other such places, and thus the movement developed. After a disastrous campaign against Japan over Korea and Manchuria backfired in 1902, the Narodist movement finally rebelled, with the support of the peasantry. Soon the cities were overrun, and the royal family escaped to London, where they would remain. Romansky’s Narodnik’s preached empowerment of the peasants to have their own choice in leading the country, and appeals to many people, as they lack the anti-religious and pro-urban tones of Bolshevism. Nevertheless, a significant intervention effort occurs from other nations, with Finland, the Baltics and even the Ukraine going their own way, falling under German influence. Japan attempted to form a satellite state in Vladivostok and Outer Manchuria, but this ultimately failed, as did a British attempt to secure Central Asia.
The Caucasian nations make a bid for independence, but the Ottomans wish to take them into their influence, which the British refuse to allow to happen, leading to a crushing defeat for the former, and the establishment of Transcaucasia as a nation, while a battered but still strong Ottoman Empire still existing. Italy also took the chance to seize the unstable Tripolitania while the Ottomans were distracted. The Romanians seize Bessarabia as a way to cement their grip on power, and the world is horrified at the rise of this new form of government, calling itself ‘the Popular Union of Russia’. After a mixture of foreign interventions and local agrarian groups inspired, the revolution also spreads into Mongolia and Xinjiang, following a collapse of the Chinese Empire, caused partially by the economic instability up north. Soon a war broke out in Europe over the awarding of Morroco to the Spanish rather than the French, which led to a stalemate of sorts. Germany lost her overseas posessions, but gained control over Luxembourg and legitimised control over its new satellites.
Narodist Russia is not quite as authoritarian as the government of Lenin and gives a considerable degree of power to local peasant communes, who involve democratic election. and also manages to give political autonomy to the peoples of Central Asia, who are given equal rights in terms of culture and religion, helping them keep into this new nation. these local communes are very popular with the farmers and more traditional peasants, though the Kulaks are able to manipulate the system to favour them in some areas. While the countryside is relatively free, the people in the cities are strongly discouraged in favour of moving to the countryside and working the fields, due to the Populists anti-Urban nature, and wish to not have completely centralised authority through cities. Thus ironically, those who aren’t able to move are put under strong surveillance to make sure that they are not trying to undermine the new state and allow a capitalist upper class to exploit the farmers for their own benefit. This results in almost khmer like emmigrations to the countryside, where many city immigrants face harassment and persecution by the much more free peasants, who ironically are left more to their own devices, and even allowed to have some private property as long as they are able to benefit the state in general. Romansky’s government thus asserts authority through local autonomous counsels dedicated to populism, while he frequently tours the country rallying people to the cause and to remove reactionary elements through mobs. His government does set themselves up in a capital in Moscow, which at first appears hypocritical, but this allows them to have a central base, and even then, they are trying to deconstruct the power base in the city in favour of rural councels.
This form of government is already beginning to take route in other regions, and of course the Popular republic funds others, particularly in Ukraine, the Baltics, the Balkans and even China. Agrarian movements have already rose to power in Serbia, Ethopia and even Peru, and rumours of a revolution building up in southern Italy is alerting much of Europe, which could begin to trigger a major war.
The year is now 1913 and the world has dramatically changed already, though instead of the industrialised Marxism, a very different socialist movement is spreading across the world.
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I love this, it's always refreshing to see a new take on Russian revolutionaries rather than the bland standard of Bolshevism.
shiftygiant
Gone Fishin'
This is great
It's always nice to see the colony survive and become a nation, and for be prosperous. Can we expect to see more for other Post-Germany states?Well, it would be something like VROA in German. At least according to Bing translator.
Hoping to avoid end of page syndrome.
In any case, my almost finished map of a continuing Ancien Regime France with potential democracy, perhaps with a PoD in the Fronde or so. The country is formed by quite autonomous provinces, themselves divided into bailliages, senechaussées, payses, vicecomtés, vigueries, presidiaux or prevôtés or other kind of smaller units, depending on the region. This is after a process of consolidation and merger of many units, as many of these so-called circonscriptions had very different roles depending on the region.
Right now I'm trying to figure out how to translate the basemap's scale in kilometres into one or two of the tens of pre-metric scales that France had.
WOW! What a fantastic map! Congratulations!
Basically done with my Greater Indian Territory map. The Northern Indian nations might need some work. Some input on that would be nice. And is there a qbam of alternate Canadian provinces thats usable? Any other comments or ideas feel free to criticize.
Excellent map. Population might be a little high for 2004, given greater prosperity, but then the demographic transition/increasing wealth relationship seems weaker in Africa OTL than most places...
What happens when Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri doesn't take place on Alpha Centauri? What happens when Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth doesn't go beyond Earth? Lots of fun (and poverty and scarcity), that's what!
Provided are both a 100% and 200% (for legibility) version of the map. The 200% version can be found here, whereas the 100% version is directly shown below:
1) There were some excellent mining opportunities in western Alaska. There was also oil. Perhaps there was more to be found westwards, and lo and behold, suddenly the American Reclamation Corporation owns all of Alaska and a huge part of the surrounding territory.
2) Canada has been placed under the protection of the United Nations, rapid, pillaged, and deserted as it is. Guess this goes to show that even the closest of allies can't be trusted; the collapsing USA ran roughshod over Canada in a last, desperate gambit to feed her populace, and while the Lord's Believers are very much supportive of underdogs (provided they convert) and have actually returned a lot of Canada to Canada, the American Reclamation Company is just as opportunistic as the USA. And the North Sea Alliance twice as much as that.
3) The ARC's latest acquisition. Canada's government has trouble letting go, and the ARC can barely do anything without spending months of time and millions of money on the most inane bureaucratic procedures.
4) Nobody is quite sure who is in charge of Minnesota, and, indeed, most legal experts are of the opinion that both are in charge of Minnesota, somehow. Fortunately enough, while there's a lot of subterfuge going on, there are few actually violent acts. And Minnesota's own state government chugs happily along.
5) During the 'collapse' of the USA, what with scarcity setting in and brother turning on brother just for a bottle of water, the North Sea Alliance decided to plunder the USA for all its worth. Ulrik Svensgaard, from his home in Gloucester, started a militia - called the Nautilus Pirates, to keep with the North Sea Alliance's theme - and played a key role in driving back the invaders. As his army enforced peace and security, both from the North Sea Alliance and the internal disorder - if not outright civil war - seen throughout all of the USA, Ulrik quickly found himself leading a new nation. He called it Haven, as it was the only safe place in the USA (or so he said), and demanded tribute from any non-citizen wishing to enter Haven (as a safety measure, but also as a means of funding his nation). Eventually, his militia evolved into a full-fledged, hyper-modern army, bankrolled by the ARC, and unofficially speaking, Haven is a (more or less domestically independent) part of the ARC now.
6) Ulrik's expedition to Bermuda proved the superiority of his navy; after all, they had beaten the mysterious Bermuda Triangle! What happened then, and what's happening now, nobody really knows... The more rational people talk about a secret science facility. The less rational people carve bloody runes in their body and scream "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." A tiny and rather unknown cult even speaks about the planet communicating directly to humans here - what preposterous nonsense!
7) The rising sea tide and all the natural disasters that followed caused southern Florida to turn en masse to the ARC. With success; it's 45% richer than the rest of Florida, and citizens are on average 2.7 points happier with life (8.8 versus 6.1, out of 10).
8) The ARC's reconstruction projects were remarkably successful, lifting a large part of the Caribbean up to modern standards. Now, a lot of Atlantic trade is controlled by the ARC thanks to the Caribbean, which upsets the CSA.
9) The Trans-Mississippi Recovery Initiative was the first large project the ARC worked on. Since then, Mississippi has become the ARC's headquarters - but the religious nature of Mississippi also made it a breeding ground for the Lord's Believers. Politics in Mississippi are violent - people speak of legalised terrorism - and while the state is officially part of the Christian States of America, unofficially, the ARC has probably slightly more power.
10) Utah is completely sealed off from the outside world, except for air drops from the rest of the Christian States of America. However, Utah's leader - Brother Warren Jeffs, whom some claim is in love with Sister Miriam Godwinson - has proclaimed planes are actually metallic angels sent by God, and is apparently trying to turn Utah into a technologically backwards commune of God-fearing farmers, or somesuch.
11) The San Andreas fault line was pretty frightening, and the Lord's Believers proclaiming that the San Francisco Peninsula would drift off from the mainland, that San Francisco would crumble apart, and that the whole Bay Area would be flooded and cleansed... Well, California was quick to turn to the ARC.
12) The richer part of Mexico turned to the ARC, and became even richer as a result. Supposedly, there are documents somewhere stating that all of Mexico is property of the ARC, but better informed Mexicans (and ARC representatives) say that this is libel, slander, propaganda, and a lie manufactured by the Christian States of America.
13) Said Christian States of America found quite the breeding ground in Mesoamerica, and indeed, the old WASP might as well be replaced by the LASP (Latino, instead of White). It helps that Mesoamerica is one of the most densely populated regions.
14) Only the Panama Canal was important to the ARC. There are some shiny military bases and fortresses here, though, and rumour has it various less-than-ethical prisons (torture) and laboratories (biological warfare) operate here as well.
15) Many here have turned to the Lord's Believers, as Data Angel anarchists tear apart the country, but faith doesn't seem to help much against the IT savvy wizardry of the Data Angels. The Spartan Federation would lend its considerable military strength (and thereby acquire another country for its federation), but the inevitable re-education of the Lord's Believers - because there's no way such a religious movement is allowed to hold any strength within the Spartan Federation - could see the Christian States of America coming down upon the Spartan Federation. And in that case, Brasilia may just decide to dog pile the Spartan Federation.
16) On the other hand, Brasilia would be very interested in wiping out the Data Angels, as they thrive on chaos, anarchy, freedom, and in specific, the free flow of information. Which are about the exact opposite of the morals of both the Spartan Federation and Brasilia; order, obedience, discipline, and strength. It was bad enough when the Data Angels, originating from Trinidad and lead by Sinder Roze, took control of many of the Caribbean islands, operating as mercenaries and pirates. But when they outright seized abandoned European colonies, that, by geographic location, should be Brasilia's... Perhaps the Spartan Federation can lend its support to Brasilia, as Brasilia claims what should be theirs.
17) Embittered by ARC's seizure of Puerto Rico, Corazón Santiago fled to Argentina, and vowed to never let anyone humiliate her again; she would become the strongest, the best, the most powerful... And she did. She took the nationalistic Argentinian populace, angered by Brazil's 'Organisation of South American States' (that is; Brasilia), and forged them into the Spartan Federation. She does have a healthy respect for Brasilia though, viewing it as a cunning creation that has guaranteed the survival of Brazil and its sphere of influence. The fact that Brasilia is quite militaristic, just like the Spartan Federation, helps as well.
18) Santiago's first act was, of course, a show of strength and nationalism; retake Las Malvinas from those whose strength made them control the whole world for centuries.
19) The ice caps became quite important, as resources dwindled into nothingness and climate got out of control. Various ecological groups - as well as the United Nations - still vehemently protest the North Sea Alliance's acquisition of these, but what can they do? Still, it would seem that out of any faction, the North Sea Alliance is at particular risk, should all the ice melt, so... They can be trusted to try and preserve them, right? But then what are those documents about that Scotland has released, concerning Royal Northern Shell's excessively polluting operations amongst these ice caps? Oh well, it only makes Free Scotland fight harder against Northern imperialism.
20) Aki Zeta-5, leader and creator of the Cybernetic Consciousness, hasn't left her basement, nor the virtual reality machine inside it, in five years now. She knows her body is becoming obsolete, as cybernetics become more and more advanced, but oh well, she has virtual reality, and thanks to highly experimental technology, she can even 'possess' the bodies of her fellow cyborgs (though only acting as an observer). Soon, scientists say, this possession can be extended to include telepathic communication.
21) Free Scotland rejected the gunboat diplomacy and outright plundering of the neo-imperialist neo-Vikings (Lady Deirdre Sky's words), better known as the North Sea Alliance. Now, they are a nativist society that's trying to preserve and aggressively expand their own small piece of the environment... Hopefully they aren't too late; the sacrifices they make for the ecology are quite horrifying. But if not them, who else?
22) Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom when a second potato famine struck. Funnily enough, the United Kingdom has dissolved since then, leaving Ireland as the sole member.
23) Belgium, containing the former 'capital' of the EU, is actually an honorary member of Franco-Iberia, Italy's bloc, Germany's bloc, and the Baltic Federation. Brussels has also become a very important city for the United Nations, and Belgium is officially under the UN's administration.
24) Even Switzerland - and still independent Liechtenstein, last of all micro states! - has lost its neutrality, what with the resource scarcity. Although, one supposes the United Nations is as neutral as possible.
25) Italy is... Sort of part of Franco-Iberia, but it's also an independent country with an independent union of various countries. It's complex, and nobody is really sure.
26) Italy has built up its own sphere of influence, based on Rome; Hellenic Greece (rescued just after passing the brink of mass-starvation and reverting to a bartering economy), Roman Romania (muh heritage! Muh non-Slavicness! And muh economic prosperity, glory to western Europe, all hail the new Rome, we submit ourselves to Caesar - wait, you're Italy, with a president? Well okay, that works too), Hellenic Macedonia (turns out economic interests beat nationalistic interests), Roman Tunisia (Carthago delenda est!), and... Whatever could be saved of Libya.
27) There's something to be said for Turkey helping out the Greek people here, who were starving left and right. But in the private rooms of Turkey's president, more is said about 'doing away with the eternal enemy' and 'more bodies to labour in slavery for our glorious nation'. Well, those might be dreams... Or nightmares... But they could turn into reality, couldn't they?
28) Yugoslavia 2.0 has had more success than its previous incarnation - but that might be because of grotesque resettlement programs and a massive influx of resources that left Ukraine starving - but this 'Yugoslavia', so close to the west, must show itself to be superior to the west.
29) Hungary is fiercely independent; not German enough to want to join Germany's bloc, not Roman or Hellenic enough to want to join Italy's bloc, and not suicidal enough to want to join the Slavic Federation. The Slavic Federation does desire a land route towards 'Yugoslavia' though...
30) When the EU collapsed into various smaller coalitions - first unofficially, then officially, such as Franco-Iberia or the North Sea Alliance - Germany was a bit late to the game, trying to maintain the EU as a coherent whole to the very end. Even then, it took some time for Germany to begrudgingly admit that the EU had failed, and that perhaps a smaller organisation could work better. Together with Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia, this 'smaller organisation' now consists of Germany, smaller Germany, tiny Germany, and mini Germany.
31) As everyone left the EU, the European Union reformed itself into the Baltic Federation, also known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - but don't say that last name anywhere in Finland.
32) LOOK! KALININGRAD CAN INTO INDEPENDENCE! And, what a surprise (not), Germany hasn't invaded to regain its rightful homeland (or something)!
33) Moldavia went with the Slavic Federation, so as to free itself from Romania. Little did they know then, that they also freed themselves from a non-starving populace. It's the GDR and DDR all over again.
34) Some say Crimea houses secret research facilities where the Slavic Federation and the University of Planet combine their powers in the name of science; orbital and industrial might from the Slavic Federation, and extensive scientific knowledge about geology, chemistry, and physics from the University of Planet. One wonders what nightmares are dreamed up here, if that is true.
35) An absolutely massive country such as Russia cannot easily survive a time of poverty and scarcity like this - definitely not without the rich, western part. As such, drastic measures had to be taken; the creation of a technocratic dictatorship lead by Prokhor Zakharov, the focus of science above all else (more efficient ways to extract energy, to produce resources, and ever so on), and worst of all; the redrawing of Kazakhstan's border into a straight line.
36) If joining Al Falah is the only safe way to guarantee independence from the Slavic threat - not to mention resources - then so be it. And thus strongly Orthodox Georgia joined dominantly Muslim Al Falah.
37) This was also the thought process of the other Caucasian nations, the Kurdish people, non-IS dominated Syria, Afghanistan after Kavithan fundamentalists launched suicide attacks and declared war... Well, behind a lot of people. Funny how these things work though; Kuwait joined for protection against Iraq, and now Iraq is also a member for protection against the IS.
38) Cyprus was seized by the United Nations' Peacekeeping Forces as a safe haven for the Jewish people. The Israeli bodies that continue to wash up on the shores of Cyprus at least have a safe mortuary, one supposes.
39) Lebanon joined just in time to (mostly) stay out of the horrifyingly barbaric and violent (both sides) war against Israel. Turkey launched various offensives against the IS, though the Kurdish people were making things hard for both the Turkish army and the IS, supported by Al Falah. The newborn Al Falah, only consisting of Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait, was more concerned with keeping the current borders of the IS as they were, than with launching operations to drive the IS back, and although they did engage in a few offensives, this did lead to Al Falah becoming the eventual mediator for peace. 'Course, peace was a long way ahead yet; the IS fought tooth and nail, employing chemical and biological weaponry - all kinds of nerve gasses, an upgraded Agent Orange, and even a tiny few dirty (nuclear) bombs are but a few examples - and when Arabia decided it'd be a good idea to seize Israel...
40) Saudi-Arabia, of course, saw the writing on the wall; oil was the first to run out, after all, and a desert doesn't provide one with much fertile farmland either. Through diplomacy ('look at our mighty military!'), Saudi-Arabia united the whole of the Arabian peninsula, but even that wasn't enough. Al Falah, the creation of Iran, was Arabia's natural enemy, and thus couldn't be relied on. The Suez Channel was lucrative, and had potential, but Egypt's borders were guaranteed by the western powers and various international corporations (which, of course, had their own armies); cutting off the seaway through the Suez would seriously hurt them (and Egypt's agricultural exports were nice). Israel, however, as a pearl of wealth and prosperity. And with the USA collapsing, who was going to protect it now? Arabia teamed up with the IS and invaded Israel. Arabia won the war, too, though it lost the peace; IS fundamentalism had spread everywhere, and de facto, Arabia is now ruled by the IS...
41) Iran, long since using the power of religious fervour to get an obedient populace, discovered the power of Kavithan religious fundamentalist fervour was stronger. Nobody is happy with the situation as it is, but, it seems that the borders have stabilised for now. Some have joined Al Falah, some have joined the Kavithan Protectorate, most have had civil wars and / or have been invaded by one of the two powers, and all suffer. Except for the core parts of both powers; eastern Iran / western Iraq and India. It's just a play for power to them, one side promoting it as supporting independence in the face of foreign aggression, the other promoting it as spreading the word of god so that they may all be protected (or return to his light in death) during these harsh times.
42) Theoretically part of the Kavithan Protectorate, but that's becoming more and more theoretical as Cha Dawn and his Cult of Planet gains prominence. They're apparently obsessed with Bermuda and view Scotland as the promised land. Weirdos. Al Falah has been successfully courting them to fight against the Kavithan menace, but as a result, Al Falah has slightly (ever so slightly) wavered from its stance of 'independence at all costs', opting for a more ecologically friendly approach.
43) Tajikistan opted to join the University of Planet at the last moment (Kavithan missionary-armies and Al Falah's guerillas were already at the borders). Prokhor Zakharov agreed, and his armies made sure no foreign forces would occupy the country - but said armies then installed quite horrific facilities throughout the country, all in the name of science. The experiments that take place there... Well, there's probably a reason why there are so many refugees originating from Tajikistan.
44) There used to be water here, but Lake Balkhash is gone now. Oh, the things we do for SCIENCE! And the continued survival of humanity, of course. That's not unimportant either.
45) Buryatia seceded from the University of Planet shortly after Lake Balkhash dried up. Perhaps they were worried about Lake Baikal - it does have an odd green tint these days, and people living on the coast report suddenly crying for no reason. Already, they are known as 'Weepers'.
46) The people of South Korea barely noticed it when North Korea invaded, and laughingly surrendered (drugs might have influenced this). Confused, the North Korean soldiers turned around and went home, where they were promptly shot under the mistaken assumption that they were deserting, retreating, or loitering. Eventually, after even North Korea's leadership couldn't gain access to food (see, you kinda need farmers to produce food, and if all the farmers starve...), china took them in and put them all to work as what we'd call slaves.
47) Cybernetics and virtual reality give a whole new dimension (literally, even) to hentai and tentacle-porn and who knows what. At this point, one might wonder; this sounds way too good to be true, the Cybernetic Consciousness lives in a utopia while the rest of the world deals with resource scarcity, climate change, and all-around misery? Well, yes. But there is one catch; the people of the Cybernetic Consciousness don't have a lot of resources either. That means they will die. And, why not enjoy life to the fullest, before dying? Why not lock yourself up in virtual reality, so as to not have to face the poverty of the outside world? Of course, you'll die soon enough, provided you don't have people feeding you and all - but if happiness is one's life goal, well... It makes sense, doesn't it? It's the rational thing to do... Right?
48) Taiwan has finally given up on being China, and now thrives under the aegis of the United Nations (as do a few islands to the north-east, having been more or less abandoned by Japan). Well, 'thrives' in a relative sense; at least whole neighbourhoods don't explode or starve to death.
49) China became increasingly democratic, which paved the way for increasingly large and violent protests - resource scarcity - which paved the way for large swathes of the country to secede (and do even worse than before). The new Pan-Asian Cooperative will bring all the countries together in harmony, so that, together, a solution to this scarcity may be found. Often, these cooperative solutions seem to exist of China taking things from others, oddly enough.
50) China would like Tibet back. Similarly, a random person would like to win a trillion of whatever the local currency is. Fat chance of that happening though; the Dalai Lama is a close friend of Kavitha Thakur, leader of the Kavithan Protectorate.
51) Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang didn't like the democratic bent of China. Luckily, Myanmar was more receptive to his peculiar solutions to the problem of resource scarcity. And Yang, in turn, was very receptive to the armies controlled by Myanmar. Thus, the Human Hive was born.
52) Bangkok has uploaded itself into the Cybernetic Consciousness. LGBT+ rights are better than ever, what with instant transitioning into whatever body one wishes - oh, the joys of cybernetics and virtual reality. Why Bangkok hasn't been razed to the ground yet by Chairman Yang, nobody knows, though some suspect Chairman Yang wants to make use of cybernetics to make his Hive even more efficient.
53) Singapore is a very unique society; half of it lives within the virtual reality of the Cybernetic Consciousness, while the other half lives and works and dies like any other human, profiting from the free trade of Polystralia. Violence and resent against the virtual half of society is non-existent, which may be correlated to the existence of omnipresent surveillance and autonomous police robots that do not comprehend the term 'excessive violence'.
54) For all the United Nations' talk of non-aggressiveness and peacemongering, Sri Lanka resembles a Floating Fortress from 1984 more than it resembles an actual island. Not surprising, though, what with it being the home of Pravin Lal.
55) Polystralia's free trade policies are great, and Polystralia's people are, on average, the most wealthiest (yes, 'most' and 'wealthiest'). Unlike Morgan Industries, where only the elite is wealthy, for example. But this is balanced by the fact that Polystralia doesn't have a lot of industry or luxury products to spend all this money on; there's an abundance of basic food and water and all, and it's very easy to have a nice house on a random tropical island... But that's it. It's rather primitive, all in all.
56) Foreman Domai's Free Drones are the opposite. Sure, they don't hold much hope for science either, but they also reject wishy-washy idealism and a 'manjana' plus 'carpe diem' attitude to life, which is a core component of Polystralian culture. Further, the Free Drones have polluting industry everywhere; hell, they toiled and slaved for the bourgeoisie oppressors before, and now, thanks to the bourgeoisie, all of humanity is screwed - well then, the Free Drones may as well profit from the fruits of labour and industry before the atmosphere breaks down or whatever kind of horrific ecological disaster is bound to happen in the near future. Foremain Domai is actually a bit disgruntled; he gambled big, and lost. He predicted Polystralia would evolve into something like Morgan Industries, with the capitalist upper-class ruthlessly exploiting the common people. He rejected that, staged a rebellion, and carved out his own empire. And now... Now they all live a life hard work, while the common Polystralian relaxes on their tropical beaches and maintains a small family farm for food.
57) Speaking about tropical beaches, most of the Pacific is up for grabs, as most nations had more pressing issues at home than in the middle of a violent ocean. Individuals can easily set sail and claim an island for themselves. Polystralia does maintain nominal control over all these islands though, but that's more theory than practice.
58) Egypt is a totalitarian military dictatorship, entirely sealed off from the outside, except for carefully controlled trade. Egypt is considered to be some kind of promised land, as Egypt's borders are entirely sealed off, and the government engages in active population control (birth quotas, for example, or giving certain criminals sentences that are just a tad harsher than usual and lead to either their impotence or their death). That means there are a lot of trade opportunities here for foreign countries or companies, if the government allows it. There's the Nile, too, as well as agricultural exports (nifty, those population controls; we can just lower our population depending on how much food we're selling, so that everyone always has enough to survive - barely).
59) Libya's tale is a sad one... But in the end, it kind of worked out; Italy liberated quite a bit of Libya (with the help of Franco-Iberia - primarily Algeria and France - and Tunisia) and has managed to rebuild the country. It's about as prosperous as the rest of western Europe now (that is to say, not much, but better than most of the world).
60) This part of Libya wanted to go on on its own, but quickly faced resource scarcity and had no idea how to run a government in the first place. It eventually became a member of Al Falah, which helped. The wiser choice would have been to stay with Italy - Libya knows that door is always open, but Al Falah has quite thoroughly convinced this Libya of not needing 'western imperialist help'. Al Falah basically took control of Libya to restructure it so that it'd become a functional country - but that isn't >western< imperialist help, you see (it was quite benevolent though, and the results speak for themselves).
61) The third part of Libya... Well, that fell to the IS - though Pol Pot would feel right at home, considering what happened. Eventually, the IS was defeated - because there was simply a lack of people to purge and go to war against, and only the most ardent IS-supporters supported the Lovecraftian horror that was going on - and Libya joined the People's African Union. On the upside; the fact that the populace is still lower than 50% of what it was in 2015 might actually be a good thing, what with resource scarcity.
62) Tunisia is definitely in the top five of 'best places to live'. Europe is jealous - but Italy is also proud.
63) The rich (and more Frenchified) part of Algeria was allowed to join France outright. Not that there is much of a practical difference between both parts of Algeria; in fact, Algeria still has one government, and everyone perceives Algeria to be one country - different from France, especially by the more xenophobic French! But, this supposedly looks better on maps; more multicultural or something.
64) Resource scarcity sometimes makes old conflicts have an extremely logical solution; more land is less scarcity, thus more land it is, and Morocco grew larger. Some wonder whether this land offsets the increase in population - some say it probably doesn't... How's that for extremely logical?
65) Mali's confederation was short-lived (though surprisingly successful at making the area more prosperous for the people living there). One confederation was easier to 'acquire' than multiple nations, though. And now, 'the Morgan regime' (as some embittered old people call it - they don't even realise how good they have it, I bet!) has been going strong for more years than this previous confederation. It's surprisingly successful at making the area more prosperous, too, just like the confederation was. Except that it's mostly prosperous for Morgan Industries and affiliated actors - not so much for the people living there.
66) This tiny part of Angola was handily acquired by Samatar after a popular uprising against Morgan Industries. The people were upset at Morgan ruthlessly industrialising the coastal area, establishing gigantic harbours for massive container ships. Samatar, on the other hand, offered the people a lot of jobs, which made them happy and content. Jobs that eventually lead to the construction of gigantic harbours for massive container ships.
67) Of course Morgan bought Bir Tawil and the Hala'ib Triangle. Cries of imperialism were ignored, as literally nobody lived here anyway. It is, however, rumoured that Morgan found an ancient pyramid here, hiding documents detailing some kind of planet-wide consciousness.
68) The Sudanese civil war, mostly over oil, was settled quite fairly by Morgan when he made the various actors involved rich beyond their wildest dreams; now all oil is controlled by Morgan Industries, leaving none for Sudan. That isn't to say Sudan hasn't seen any improvements; it has become quite a commercial nation with lots of trade flowing through it.
69) Eritrea and Djibouti were being forcibly kept in Ethiopia's sphere of influence - they're also known as Ethiopia's Harbours - which is why recently, a curiously coordinated popular uprising slaughtered the whole government of both countries and installed someone who's very much in favour of the People's African Union. Said someone now rules both countries and will soon surrender the newly merged country's sovereignty to the PAU. Suspicious.
70) The East African Union is seen as the spiritual and conceptual birthplace of the People's African Union, but the visionary - and current leader - who made it all possible, Samatar Jama Barre, was born in Somaliland. 'Course, Morgan bought Somaliland, and this naked capitalism made Samatar Jama Barre turn to a combination of socialism and intra-nationalism (that is to say, nationalism, but for the People's African Union, and not for the individual member nations of the PAU). He played the game cleverly though, forging connections and exploiting the opportunities provided by capitalism to the maximum - until he had his PAU and came down upon all those who thought they could profit from poor, black Africa. He has described Morgan as his arch-enemy, and demands Somaliland for the PAU. Somaliland was all Morgan could get without Ethiopia outright declaring war. Ethiopia feels very threatened, both by Morgan Industries and by the People's African Union.
71) Madagascar and the surrounding islands were bought by Morgan as some kind of vacation resort (France got compensated with the islands to the north and north-east). Rumour speaks about a 'Vault City' being established here too; a gigantic underground complex to seal away thousands of humans, to hopefully protect them from the horrors above ground, should something go terribly wrong. Well, I guess we all know who these 'thousands of humans' will be; the elite of the elite of Morgan Industries.
72) Here the Firaxians wait, in their hidden houses deep underneath the frozen surface, dead but dreaming. They know the secrets of the singularity, and they'll abandon this godforsaken rock the moment they finish constructing the device that allows them to transcend their fleshen shackles. So long, and thanks for the fish. Funny thing is, they once tried to reach out to humanity, but the woman they approached went insane. Or maybe the Firaxians didn't have a good grasp on the way we pronounce and hear things; after all, 'Cthulhu' doesn't at all sound like 'Firaxis', does it?
73) Somewhere in that black void of space, fast approaching Earth, are the Manifold Usurpers and the Manifold Caretakers. They have heard Planet - Earth - calling, a bitter cry for help, one last desperate plea... They have come here on a mission of perseverance, to protect our whole ecosystem against wanton exploitation, and to save our species from utter extinction... Well, from utter extinction by our own hands. Nobody said anything about extinction by alien hands.
Provided are both a 100% and 200% (for legibility) version of the map. The 200% version can be found here, whereas the 100% version is directly shown below:
1) There were some excellent mining opportunities in western Alaska. There was also oil. Perhaps there was more to be found westwards, and lo and behold, suddenly the American Reclamation Corporation owns all of Alaska and a huge part of the surrounding territory.
2) Canada has been placed under the protection of the United Nations, rapid, pillaged, and deserted as it is. Guess this goes to show that even the closest of allies can't be trusted; the collapsing USA ran roughshod over Canada in a last, desperate gambit to feed her populace, and while the Lord's Believers are very much supportive of underdogs (provided they convert) and have actually returned a lot of Canada to Canada, the American Reclamation Company is just as opportunistic as the USA. And the North Sea Alliance twice as much as that.
3) The ARC's latest acquisition. Canada's government has trouble letting go, and the ARC can barely do anything without spending months of time and millions of money on the most inane bureaucratic procedures.
4) Nobody is quite sure who is in charge of Minnesota, and, indeed, most legal experts are of the opinion that both are in charge of Minnesota, somehow. Fortunately enough, while there's a lot of subterfuge going on, there are few actually violent acts. And Minnesota's own state government chugs happily along.
5) During the 'collapse' of the USA, what with scarcity setting in and brother turning on brother just for a bottle of water, the North Sea Alliance decided to plunder the USA for all its worth. Ulrik Svensgaard, from his home in Gloucester, started a militia - called the Nautilus Pirates, to keep with the North Sea Alliance's theme - and played a key role in driving back the invaders. As his army enforced peace and security, both from the North Sea Alliance and the internal disorder - if not outright civil war - seen throughout all of the USA, Ulrik quickly found himself leading a new nation. He called it Haven, as it was the only safe place in the USA (or so he said), and demanded tribute from any non-citizen wishing to enter Haven (as a safety measure, but also as a means of funding his nation). Eventually, his militia evolved into a full-fledged, hyper-modern army, bankrolled by the ARC, and unofficially speaking, Haven is a (more or less domestically independent) part of the ARC now.
6) Ulrik's expedition to Bermuda proved the superiority of his navy; after all, they had beaten the mysterious Bermuda Triangle! What happened then, and what's happening now, nobody really knows... The more rational people talk about a secret science facility. The less rational people carve bloody runes in their body and scream "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." A tiny and rather unknown cult even speaks about the planet communicating directly to humans here - what preposterous nonsense!
7) The rising sea tide and all the natural disasters that followed caused southern Florida to turn en masse to the ARC. With success; it's 45% richer than the rest of Florida, and citizens are on average 2.7 points happier with life (8.8 versus 6.1, out of 10).
8) The ARC's reconstruction projects were remarkably successful, lifting a large part of the Caribbean up to modern standards. Now, a lot of Atlantic trade is controlled by the ARC thanks to the Caribbean, which upsets the CSA.
9) The Trans-Mississippi Recovery Initiative was the first large project the ARC worked on. Since then, Mississippi has become the ARC's headquarters - but the religious nature of Mississippi also made it a breeding ground for the Lord's Believers. Politics in Mississippi are violent - people speak of legalised terrorism - and while the state is officially part of the Christian States of America, unofficially, the ARC has probably slightly more power.
10) Utah is completely sealed off from the outside world, except for air drops from the rest of the Christian States of America. However, Utah's leader - Brother Warren Jeffs, whom some claim is in love with Sister Miriam Godwinson - has proclaimed planes are actually metallic angels sent by God, and is apparently trying to turn Utah into a technologically backwards commune of God-fearing farmers, or somesuch.
11) The San Andreas fault line was pretty frightening, and the Lord's Believers proclaiming that the San Francisco Peninsula would drift off from the mainland, that San Francisco would crumble apart, and that the whole Bay Area would be flooded and cleansed... Well, California was quick to turn to the ARC.
12) The richer part of Mexico turned to the ARC, and became even richer as a result. Supposedly, there are documents somewhere stating that all of Mexico is property of the ARC, but better informed Mexicans (and ARC representatives) say that this is libel, slander, propaganda, and a lie manufactured by the Christian States of America.
13) Said Christian States of America found quite the breeding ground in Mesoamerica, and indeed, the old WASP might as well be replaced by the LASP (Latino, instead of White). It helps that Mesoamerica is one of the most densely populated regions.
14) Only the Panama Canal was important to the ARC. There are some shiny military bases and fortresses here, though, and rumour has it various less-than-ethical prisons (torture) and laboratories (biological warfare) operate here as well.
15) Many here have turned to the Lord's Believers, as Data Angel anarchists tear apart the country, but faith doesn't seem to help much against the IT savvy wizardry of the Data Angels. The Spartan Federation would lend its considerable military strength (and thereby acquire another country for its federation), but the inevitable re-education of the Lord's Believers - because there's no way such a religious movement is allowed to hold any strength within the Spartan Federation - could see the Christian States of America coming down upon the Spartan Federation. And in that case, Brasilia may just decide to dog pile the Spartan Federation.
16) On the other hand, Brasilia would be very interested in wiping out the Data Angels, as they thrive on chaos, anarchy, freedom, and in specific, the free flow of information. Which are about the exact opposite of the morals of both the Spartan Federation and Brasilia; order, obedience, discipline, and strength. It was bad enough when the Data Angels, originating from Trinidad and lead by Sinder Roze, took control of many of the Caribbean islands, operating as mercenaries and pirates. But when they outright seized abandoned European colonies, that, by geographic location, should be Brasilia's... Perhaps the Spartan Federation can lend its support to Brasilia, as Brasilia claims what should be theirs.
17) Embittered by ARC's seizure of Puerto Rico, Corazón Santiago fled to Argentina, and vowed to never let anyone humiliate her again; she would become the strongest, the best, the most powerful... And she did. She took the nationalistic Argentinian populace, angered by Brazil's 'Organisation of South American States' (that is; Brasilia), and forged them into the Spartan Federation. She does have a healthy respect for Brasilia though, viewing it as a cunning creation that has guaranteed the survival of Brazil and its sphere of influence. The fact that Brasilia is quite militaristic, just like the Spartan Federation, helps as well.
18) Santiago's first act was, of course, a show of strength and nationalism; retake Las Malvinas from those whose strength made them control the whole world for centuries.
19) The ice caps became quite important, as resources dwindled into nothingness and climate got out of control. Various ecological groups - as well as the United Nations - still vehemently protest the North Sea Alliance's acquisition of these, but what can they do? Still, it would seem that out of any faction, the North Sea Alliance is at particular risk, should all the ice melt, so... They can be trusted to try and preserve them, right? But then what are those documents about that Scotland has released, concerning Royal Northern Shell's excessively polluting operations amongst these ice caps? Oh well, it only makes Free Scotland fight harder against Northern imperialism.
20) Aki Zeta-5, leader and creator of the Cybernetic Consciousness, hasn't left her basement, nor the virtual reality machine inside it, in five years now. She knows her body is becoming obsolete, as cybernetics become more and more advanced, but oh well, she has virtual reality, and thanks to highly experimental technology, she can even 'possess' the bodies of her fellow cyborgs (though only acting as an observer). Soon, scientists say, this possession can be extended to include telepathic communication.
21) Free Scotland rejected the gunboat diplomacy and outright plundering of the neo-imperialist neo-Vikings (Lady Deirdre Sky's words), better known as the North Sea Alliance. Now, they are a nativist society that's trying to preserve and aggressively expand their own small piece of the environment... Hopefully they aren't too late; the sacrifices they make for the ecology are quite horrifying. But if not them, who else?
22) Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom when a second potato famine struck. Funnily enough, the United Kingdom has dissolved since then, leaving Ireland as the sole member.
23) Belgium, containing the former 'capital' of the EU, is actually an honorary member of Franco-Iberia, Italy's bloc, Germany's bloc, and the Baltic Federation. Brussels has also become a very important city for the United Nations, and Belgium is officially under the UN's administration.
24) Even Switzerland - and still independent Liechtenstein, last of all micro states! - has lost its neutrality, what with the resource scarcity. Although, one supposes the United Nations is as neutral as possible.
25) Italy is... Sort of part of Franco-Iberia, but it's also an independent country with an independent union of various countries. It's complex, and nobody is really sure.
26) Italy has built up its own sphere of influence, based on Rome; Hellenic Greece (rescued just after passing the brink of mass-starvation and reverting to a bartering economy), Roman Romania (muh heritage! Muh non-Slavicness! And muh economic prosperity, glory to western Europe, all hail the new Rome, we submit ourselves to Caesar - wait, you're Italy, with a president? Well okay, that works too), Hellenic Macedonia (turns out economic interests beat nationalistic interests), Roman Tunisia (Carthago delenda est!), and... Whatever could be saved of Libya.
27) There's something to be said for Turkey helping out the Greek people here, who were starving left and right. But in the private rooms of Turkey's president, more is said about 'doing away with the eternal enemy' and 'more bodies to labour in slavery for our glorious nation'. Well, those might be dreams... Or nightmares... But they could turn into reality, couldn't they?
28) Yugoslavia 2.0 has had more success than its previous incarnation - but that might be because of grotesque resettlement programs and a massive influx of resources that left Ukraine starving - but this 'Yugoslavia', so close to the west, must show itself to be superior to the west.
29) Hungary is fiercely independent; not German enough to want to join Germany's bloc, not Roman or Hellenic enough to want to join Italy's bloc, and not suicidal enough to want to join the Slavic Federation. The Slavic Federation does desire a land route towards 'Yugoslavia' though...
30) When the EU collapsed into various smaller coalitions - first unofficially, then officially, such as Franco-Iberia or the North Sea Alliance - Germany was a bit late to the game, trying to maintain the EU as a coherent whole to the very end. Even then, it took some time for Germany to begrudgingly admit that the EU had failed, and that perhaps a smaller organisation could work better. Together with Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia, this 'smaller organisation' now consists of Germany, smaller Germany, tiny Germany, and mini Germany.
31) As everyone left the EU, the European Union reformed itself into the Baltic Federation, also known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - but don't say that last name anywhere in Finland.
32) LOOK! KALININGRAD CAN INTO INDEPENDENCE! And, what a surprise (not), Germany hasn't invaded to regain its rightful homeland (or something)!
33) Moldavia went with the Slavic Federation, so as to free itself from Romania. Little did they know then, that they also freed themselves from a non-starving populace. It's the GDR and DDR all over again.
34) Some say Crimea houses secret research facilities where the Slavic Federation and the University of Planet combine their powers in the name of science; orbital and industrial might from the Slavic Federation, and extensive scientific knowledge about geology, chemistry, and physics from the University of Planet. One wonders what nightmares are dreamed up here, if that is true.
35) An absolutely massive country such as Russia cannot easily survive a time of poverty and scarcity like this - definitely not without the rich, western part. As such, drastic measures had to be taken; the creation of a technocratic dictatorship lead by Prokhor Zakharov, the focus of science above all else (more efficient ways to extract energy, to produce resources, and ever so on), and worst of all; the redrawing of Kazakhstan's border into a straight line.
36) If joining Al Falah is the only safe way to guarantee independence from the Slavic threat - not to mention resources - then so be it. And thus strongly Orthodox Georgia joined dominantly Muslim Al Falah.
37) This was also the thought process of the other Caucasian nations, the Kurdish people, non-IS dominated Syria, Afghanistan after Kavithan fundamentalists launched suicide attacks and declared war... Well, behind a lot of people. Funny how these things work though; Kuwait joined for protection against Iraq, and now Iraq is also a member for protection against the IS.
38) Cyprus was seized by the United Nations' Peacekeeping Forces as a safe haven for the Jewish people. The Israeli bodies that continue to wash up on the shores of Cyprus at least have a safe mortuary, one supposes.
39) Lebanon joined just in time to (mostly) stay out of the horrifyingly barbaric and violent (both sides) war against Israel. Turkey launched various offensives against the IS, though the Kurdish people were making things hard for both the Turkish army and the IS, supported by Al Falah. The newborn Al Falah, only consisting of Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait, was more concerned with keeping the current borders of the IS as they were, than with launching operations to drive the IS back, and although they did engage in a few offensives, this did lead to Al Falah becoming the eventual mediator for peace. 'Course, peace was a long way ahead yet; the IS fought tooth and nail, employing chemical and biological weaponry - all kinds of nerve gasses, an upgraded Agent Orange, and even a tiny few dirty (nuclear) bombs are but a few examples - and when Arabia decided it'd be a good idea to seize Israel...
40) Saudi-Arabia, of course, saw the writing on the wall; oil was the first to run out, after all, and a desert doesn't provide one with much fertile farmland either. Through diplomacy ('look at our mighty military!'), Saudi-Arabia united the whole of the Arabian peninsula, but even that wasn't enough. Al Falah, the creation of Iran, was Arabia's natural enemy, and thus couldn't be relied on. The Suez Channel was lucrative, and had potential, but Egypt's borders were guaranteed by the western powers and various international corporations (which, of course, had their own armies); cutting off the seaway through the Suez would seriously hurt them (and Egypt's agricultural exports were nice). Israel, however, as a pearl of wealth and prosperity. And with the USA collapsing, who was going to protect it now? Arabia teamed up with the IS and invaded Israel. Arabia won the war, too, though it lost the peace; IS fundamentalism had spread everywhere, and de facto, Arabia is now ruled by the IS...
41) Iran, long since using the power of religious fervour to get an obedient populace, discovered the power of Kavithan religious fundamentalist fervour was stronger. Nobody is happy with the situation as it is, but, it seems that the borders have stabilised for now. Some have joined Al Falah, some have joined the Kavithan Protectorate, most have had civil wars and / or have been invaded by one of the two powers, and all suffer. Except for the core parts of both powers; eastern Iran / western Iraq and India. It's just a play for power to them, one side promoting it as supporting independence in the face of foreign aggression, the other promoting it as spreading the word of god so that they may all be protected (or return to his light in death) during these harsh times.
42) Theoretically part of the Kavithan Protectorate, but that's becoming more and more theoretical as Cha Dawn and his Cult of Planet gains prominence. They're apparently obsessed with Bermuda and view Scotland as the promised land. Weirdos. Al Falah has been successfully courting them to fight against the Kavithan menace, but as a result, Al Falah has slightly (ever so slightly) wavered from its stance of 'independence at all costs', opting for a more ecologically friendly approach.
43) Tajikistan opted to join the University of Planet at the last moment (Kavithan missionary-armies and Al Falah's guerillas were already at the borders). Prokhor Zakharov agreed, and his armies made sure no foreign forces would occupy the country - but said armies then installed quite horrific facilities throughout the country, all in the name of science. The experiments that take place there... Well, there's probably a reason why there are so many refugees originating from Tajikistan.
44) There used to be water here, but Lake Balkhash is gone now. Oh, the things we do for SCIENCE! And the continued survival of humanity, of course. That's not unimportant either.
45) Buryatia seceded from the University of Planet shortly after Lake Balkhash dried up. Perhaps they were worried about Lake Baikal - it does have an odd green tint these days, and people living on the coast report suddenly crying for no reason. Already, they are known as 'Weepers'.
46) The people of South Korea barely noticed it when North Korea invaded, and laughingly surrendered (drugs might have influenced this). Confused, the North Korean soldiers turned around and went home, where they were promptly shot under the mistaken assumption that they were deserting, retreating, or loitering. Eventually, after even North Korea's leadership couldn't gain access to food (see, you kinda need farmers to produce food, and if all the farmers starve...), china took them in and put them all to work as what we'd call slaves.
47) Cybernetics and virtual reality give a whole new dimension (literally, even) to hentai and tentacle-porn and who knows what. At this point, one might wonder; this sounds way too good to be true, the Cybernetic Consciousness lives in a utopia while the rest of the world deals with resource scarcity, climate change, and all-around misery? Well, yes. But there is one catch; the people of the Cybernetic Consciousness don't have a lot of resources either. That means they will die. And, why not enjoy life to the fullest, before dying? Why not lock yourself up in virtual reality, so as to not have to face the poverty of the outside world? Of course, you'll die soon enough, provided you don't have people feeding you and all - but if happiness is one's life goal, well... It makes sense, doesn't it? It's the rational thing to do... Right?
48) Taiwan has finally given up on being China, and now thrives under the aegis of the United Nations (as do a few islands to the north-east, having been more or less abandoned by Japan). Well, 'thrives' in a relative sense; at least whole neighbourhoods don't explode or starve to death.
49) China became increasingly democratic, which paved the way for increasingly large and violent protests - resource scarcity - which paved the way for large swathes of the country to secede (and do even worse than before). The new Pan-Asian Cooperative will bring all the countries together in harmony, so that, together, a solution to this scarcity may be found. Often, these cooperative solutions seem to exist of China taking things from others, oddly enough.
50) China would like Tibet back. Similarly, a random person would like to win a trillion of whatever the local currency is. Fat chance of that happening though; the Dalai Lama is a close friend of Kavitha Thakur, leader of the Kavithan Protectorate.
51) Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang didn't like the democratic bent of China. Luckily, Myanmar was more receptive to his peculiar solutions to the problem of resource scarcity. And Yang, in turn, was very receptive to the armies controlled by Myanmar. Thus, the Human Hive was born.
52) Bangkok has uploaded itself into the Cybernetic Consciousness. LGBT+ rights are better than ever, what with instant transitioning into whatever body one wishes - oh, the joys of cybernetics and virtual reality. Why Bangkok hasn't been razed to the ground yet by Chairman Yang, nobody knows, though some suspect Chairman Yang wants to make use of cybernetics to make his Hive even more efficient.
53) Singapore is a very unique society; half of it lives within the virtual reality of the Cybernetic Consciousness, while the other half lives and works and dies like any other human, profiting from the free trade of Polystralia. Violence and resent against the virtual half of society is non-existent, which may be correlated to the existence of omnipresent surveillance and autonomous police robots that do not comprehend the term 'excessive violence'.
54) For all the United Nations' talk of non-aggressiveness and peacemongering, Sri Lanka resembles a Floating Fortress from 1984 more than it resembles an actual island. Not surprising, though, what with it being the home of Pravin Lal.
55) Polystralia's free trade policies are great, and Polystralia's people are, on average, the most wealthiest (yes, 'most' and 'wealthiest'). Unlike Morgan Industries, where only the elite is wealthy, for example. But this is balanced by the fact that Polystralia doesn't have a lot of industry or luxury products to spend all this money on; there's an abundance of basic food and water and all, and it's very easy to have a nice house on a random tropical island... But that's it. It's rather primitive, all in all.
56) Foreman Domai's Free Drones are the opposite. Sure, they don't hold much hope for science either, but they also reject wishy-washy idealism and a 'manjana' plus 'carpe diem' attitude to life, which is a core component of Polystralian culture. Further, the Free Drones have polluting industry everywhere; hell, they toiled and slaved for the bourgeoisie oppressors before, and now, thanks to the bourgeoisie, all of humanity is screwed - well then, the Free Drones may as well profit from the fruits of labour and industry before the atmosphere breaks down or whatever kind of horrific ecological disaster is bound to happen in the near future. Foremain Domai is actually a bit disgruntled; he gambled big, and lost. He predicted Polystralia would evolve into something like Morgan Industries, with the capitalist upper-class ruthlessly exploiting the common people. He rejected that, staged a rebellion, and carved out his own empire. And now... Now they all live a life hard work, while the common Polystralian relaxes on their tropical beaches and maintains a small family farm for food.
57) Speaking about tropical beaches, most of the Pacific is up for grabs, as most nations had more pressing issues at home than in the middle of a violent ocean. Individuals can easily set sail and claim an island for themselves. Polystralia does maintain nominal control over all these islands though, but that's more theory than practice.
58) Egypt is a totalitarian military dictatorship, entirely sealed off from the outside, except for carefully controlled trade. Egypt is considered to be some kind of promised land, as Egypt's borders are entirely sealed off, and the government engages in active population control (birth quotas, for example, or giving certain criminals sentences that are just a tad harsher than usual and lead to either their impotence or their death). That means there are a lot of trade opportunities here for foreign countries or companies, if the government allows it. There's the Nile, too, as well as agricultural exports (nifty, those population controls; we can just lower our population depending on how much food we're selling, so that everyone always has enough to survive - barely).
59) Libya's tale is a sad one... But in the end, it kind of worked out; Italy liberated quite a bit of Libya (with the help of Franco-Iberia - primarily Algeria and France - and Tunisia) and has managed to rebuild the country. It's about as prosperous as the rest of western Europe now (that is to say, not much, but better than most of the world).
60) This part of Libya wanted to go on on its own, but quickly faced resource scarcity and had no idea how to run a government in the first place. It eventually became a member of Al Falah, which helped. The wiser choice would have been to stay with Italy - Libya knows that door is always open, but Al Falah has quite thoroughly convinced this Libya of not needing 'western imperialist help'. Al Falah basically took control of Libya to restructure it so that it'd become a functional country - but that isn't >western< imperialist help, you see (it was quite benevolent though, and the results speak for themselves).
61) The third part of Libya... Well, that fell to the IS - though Pol Pot would feel right at home, considering what happened. Eventually, the IS was defeated - because there was simply a lack of people to purge and go to war against, and only the most ardent IS-supporters supported the Lovecraftian horror that was going on - and Libya joined the People's African Union. On the upside; the fact that the populace is still lower than 50% of what it was in 2015 might actually be a good thing, what with resource scarcity.
62) Tunisia is definitely in the top five of 'best places to live'. Europe is jealous - but Italy is also proud.
63) The rich (and more Frenchified) part of Algeria was allowed to join France outright. Not that there is much of a practical difference between both parts of Algeria; in fact, Algeria still has one government, and everyone perceives Algeria to be one country - different from France, especially by the more xenophobic French! But, this supposedly looks better on maps; more multicultural or something.
64) Resource scarcity sometimes makes old conflicts have an extremely logical solution; more land is less scarcity, thus more land it is, and Morocco grew larger. Some wonder whether this land offsets the increase in population - some say it probably doesn't... How's that for extremely logical?
65) Mali's confederation was short-lived (though surprisingly successful at making the area more prosperous for the people living there). One confederation was easier to 'acquire' than multiple nations, though. And now, 'the Morgan regime' (as some embittered old people call it - they don't even realise how good they have it, I bet!) has been going strong for more years than this previous confederation. It's surprisingly successful at making the area more prosperous, too, just like the confederation was. Except that it's mostly prosperous for Morgan Industries and affiliated actors - not so much for the people living there.
66) This tiny part of Angola was handily acquired by Samatar after a popular uprising against Morgan Industries. The people were upset at Morgan ruthlessly industrialising the coastal area, establishing gigantic harbours for massive container ships. Samatar, on the other hand, offered the people a lot of jobs, which made them happy and content. Jobs that eventually lead to the construction of gigantic harbours for massive container ships.
67) Of course Morgan bought Bir Tawil and the Hala'ib Triangle. Cries of imperialism were ignored, as literally nobody lived here anyway. It is, however, rumoured that Morgan found an ancient pyramid here, hiding documents detailing some kind of planet-wide consciousness.
68) The Sudanese civil war, mostly over oil, was settled quite fairly by Morgan when he made the various actors involved rich beyond their wildest dreams; now all oil is controlled by Morgan Industries, leaving none for Sudan. That isn't to say Sudan hasn't seen any improvements; it has become quite a commercial nation with lots of trade flowing through it.
69) Eritrea and Djibouti were being forcibly kept in Ethiopia's sphere of influence - they're also known as Ethiopia's Harbours - which is why recently, a curiously coordinated popular uprising slaughtered the whole government of both countries and installed someone who's very much in favour of the People's African Union. Said someone now rules both countries and will soon surrender the newly merged country's sovereignty to the PAU. Suspicious.
70) The East African Union is seen as the spiritual and conceptual birthplace of the People's African Union, but the visionary - and current leader - who made it all possible, Samatar Jama Barre, was born in Somaliland. 'Course, Morgan bought Somaliland, and this naked capitalism made Samatar Jama Barre turn to a combination of socialism and intra-nationalism (that is to say, nationalism, but for the People's African Union, and not for the individual member nations of the PAU). He played the game cleverly though, forging connections and exploiting the opportunities provided by capitalism to the maximum - until he had his PAU and came down upon all those who thought they could profit from poor, black Africa. He has described Morgan as his arch-enemy, and demands Somaliland for the PAU. Somaliland was all Morgan could get without Ethiopia outright declaring war. Ethiopia feels very threatened, both by Morgan Industries and by the People's African Union.
71) Madagascar and the surrounding islands were bought by Morgan as some kind of vacation resort (France got compensated with the islands to the north and north-east). Rumour speaks about a 'Vault City' being established here too; a gigantic underground complex to seal away thousands of humans, to hopefully protect them from the horrors above ground, should something go terribly wrong. Well, I guess we all know who these 'thousands of humans' will be; the elite of the elite of Morgan Industries.
72) Here the Firaxians wait, in their hidden houses deep underneath the frozen surface, dead but dreaming. They know the secrets of the singularity, and they'll abandon this godforsaken rock the moment they finish constructing the device that allows them to transcend their fleshen shackles. So long, and thanks for the fish. Funny thing is, they once tried to reach out to humanity, but the woman they approached went insane. Or maybe the Firaxians didn't have a good grasp on the way we pronounce and hear things; after all, 'Cthulhu' doesn't at all sound like 'Firaxis', does it?
73) Somewhere in that black void of space, fast approaching Earth, are the Manifold Usurpers and the Manifold Caretakers. They have heard Planet - Earth - calling, a bitter cry for help, one last desperate plea... They have come here on a mission of perseverance, to protect our whole ecosystem against wanton exploitation, and to save our species from utter extinction... Well, from utter extinction by our own hands. Nobody said anything about extinction by alien hands.
Witch0Winter
Banned
As Bruce pointed out, the acronym works in German, which was mostly what language I was considering when making this, being a student of German. Glad you like the map, too!
I did show some of the world, particularly Europe under the German "Europe Common Market Organization" that is something like a more economically-focused EU. For the rest of it, Russia is still something of a big power and leaning toward fascist, the British have agreements with their dominions to have a little federation of their own comparable to Germany's commonwealth realm, and then a different Pacific War/Second Sino-Japanese War led to a Sino-American alliance that essentially dominates East Asia. Britain and Russia don't get along with Germany too well, but America is relatively friendly.
I don't quite think I'll be covering the other post-German states as the rest aren't nearly as interesting, but I will be doing at least one more map set in this world, of a different nation off in Southeast Asia.This is great
Yeah, I considered the population, but figured immigration and a still somewhat rocky transition to modern, developed country would still give it a big population, though I doubt it'll go any higher than, say, 80 million by 2050 as demographics slow down. Glad you like the map, too.
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