02-05-2013, 08:09 AM | #91 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Dallas, TX
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Re: [IW] Tsar
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02-05-2013, 08:14 AM | #92 | |
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Dallas, TX
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Re: [IW] Tsar
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02-05-2013, 03:42 PM | #93 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Denver, Colorado
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Re: [IW] Tsar
I actually kicked around some ideas about Utah, but wanted to give everybody a break from my blathering.
The area lies at the extreme extent of both Iberian and Russian power projection, and in the weaker U.S. I postulated, the Americans can't extend past the Rockies until after the River War. Moreover, the area has four reasonably viable American Indian Nations -- the Nez Perce, to the north; the Utes, to the east along the Western Slope of the Rockies, and the Dineh (Navaho) and Hopi to the south. None of them are really strong enough to secure their territories even from the Iberians, and the Dineh and Hopi have a history of bad blood. I'd think the Nez Perce dislike the Russians (the Snake River Valley was always the heart of their territory, and they've been driven out), while the Utes have always been fairly numerous, and centered around the Colorado River. It seems to me the area from the Western Slope, to around the Great Salt Lake, would nominally fall under Iberian control, but in actuality act as what Political Scientist-types call a "shatterzone" -- a no-man's land between the spheres of influence of competing powers. Essentially, local leaders have control of the area, generally "lean" toward different large-power patrons, act as a buffer between them, and opportunistically play them against one another while trading with (or raiding) each other and everyone else. As far as the Mormons go, I think their presence in Utah would add interest, but I would change it up a little. Both the Russian and Iberian emperors claim they rule based on Divine Right, and such rulers tend to act on behalf of a recognized church as a way to enhance the legitimacy of their authority. As such, I don't think the Iberians would favorably view any expansion of the Tabernacle's power in the secular realm, and I think the Russians would actually oppose any such development. However, the lack of ability to project secular power into the area means that any such opposition would come primarily from the Roman Catholic Church (in the form of the Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisicion, which needn't have ended in the 19th Century, on Tsar) and the Russian Orthodox Church -- primarily the Eparchy of Reka Zmeinyj. Those organizations responded to the arrival of the Mormons with an influx of inquisitors and missionaries, backed by legal sanctions from the Iberian throne. The thing about religion is that it's a lot like a nail -- the harder you hit it, the deeper it goes. The Mormons responded to these theological assaults by digging in their heels, and creating insular, conservative communities. The revelation of LDS President Wilford Woodruff never happened, on Tsar, and he never pronounced the 1890 Manifesto that prohibited polygamy. As such, most Mormon communities on Tsar resemble the Apostolic United Brethren's communities on Homeline, with a smattering of reactionary settlements that resemble the FLDS. All are fairly self-sufficient, heavily-armed, and react poorly to the presence of foreign missionaries. This doesn't stop the zealous missionaries, of course -- it just makes them more careful. There are any number of quiet inquisitors poking into anything out of the ordinary, and would-be father superiors attempting to set up autonomous exarchates. Add to that the occasional Church of England mission whose members have more enthusiasm than common sense, and a distressing number of missionaries quietly disappear -- all of which means those that remain are no fools. The Indians watch all of this with passing interest, and reactions range from bemusement to irritation. Most don't really have a problem with LDS theology, although they do find the young men expelled from FLDS settlements a persistent source of juvenile violence. In the past, those young men would seek wives from amongst the Indians (especially the agrarian Hopi), and many still do, but the work of the Catholic and Orthodox missionaries amongst the Indians have made Mormonism less attractive, generally speaking. The history of ties between the LDS and the Hopis mean a fair number of indians in that nation pay at least lip-service to LDS theology, while the Utes and Navaho mix native spirituality with the teachings of the patient priests of the Roman Catholic Church. The Russian Orthodox made some inroads with the Nez Perce, but for the most part the animosity of that nation toward the Tsar's government limit the success of Orthodox attempts at conversions. I thought it would be cool to have the site of Salt Lake City have a large trading community, that started out as an Iberian plantation that cleaned and packed salt for export. Now, what is jokingly referred to as "La Ciudad del Lago Salida" is a mostly-lawless trading-town, with a reputation as "the worst hive of scum and villainy in North America." At least some of the frustrated young men from reactionary LDS settlements make their way to the fleshpots of La Ciudad del Lago Salida, try to make a living any way they can, and wind up mixed up with the wrong sorts of people. In short, "La Ciudad" is a great place for the clandestine insertion of an ISWAT team. :)
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-- MXLP:9 [JD=1, DK=1, DM-M=1, M(FAW)=1, SS=2, Nym=1 (nose coffee), sj=1 (nose cocoa), Maz=1] "Some days, I just don't know what to think." -Daryl Dixon. Last edited by tshiggins; 02-05-2013 at 07:58 PM. |
05-29-2014, 08:00 AM | #94 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
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Re: [IW] Tsar
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