WEF - Event Thread

**Barry Goldwater** · September 09, 2010, 03:55 PM

Exactly what it says on the tin, this is the event thread for WEF. Please do not post here

**Barry Goldwater** · September 09, 2010, 04:17 PM

With the passage of the Trade Lane Establishment Act and the restoration of trade links with Great Britain, the British have sent William Franklin, son of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and prominent Loyalist who fled to Britain in 1782, to further assist Anglo-American reconciliation.

Mr. Franklin proposes the 'Anglo-American Treaty of Friendship'. Its terms are:

-opening of formal diplomatic relations with the establishment of a British embassy in Philadelphia and an American one in London
-opening negotiations to finalize the American-Canadian borders
-US assistance in repulsing attacks by French privateers on British merchant shipping in American waters

Other issues open to debate include:
-British impressment of American sailors
-rumors that the British are agitating the Natives in the Northwest Territory

It will be down to the President and the Secretary of State to argue in favor of or against this treaty, after which it will go to the Senate for approval.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 09, 2010, 07:05 PM

Shortly after the inauguration of President Robert Alexander, a mysterious letter demanding tribute (5% of the econ + 2% per turn) to the Beys of Tripoli, Algiers and Tunisia arrives at his desk. The letter warns that, should the Americans fail to pay tribute within this year, the safety of American ships and citizens in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Africa 'cannot be guaranteed'.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 13, 2010, 05:42 PM

It is the year 1797.

In Europe, Revolutionary France has conquered Venice and signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, almost completely ending the War of the First Coalition in a resounding French victory. The British are now the sole European power left standing before the wrath of Revolutionary France...

France, having crushed its continental opponents and still charged with revolutionary fervor, now sets its sights on the United States. Furious over the Jay Treaty of 1794 and the Anglo-American Treaty of Friendship (1796), and worried that the Americans may actually be aligning with Britain against them, the French have broken diplomatic relations with the United States. Three mysterious French agents ('X', 'Y' and 'Z') have sent an open threat to President Alexander's desk, demanding the repudiation of the Anglo-American Treaty of Friendship and a massive bribe of $1.25 million dollars* to 'guarantee' the safety of American merchants and restore diplomatic relations.

The Barbary Pirates, who have not received their tribute yet, have stuck to their guns and are now attacking American merchant vessels.

*20%

**Barry Goldwater** · September 19, 2010, 06:38 AM

Revolution in Greece!

The flag used by the Greek rebels

With the recognition of their independence by the United States, the Greek Filiki Etaireia ('Society of Friends') finally has the opportunity to kick-start their revolt in Greece, something they have been planning for almost thirty years. Within a few days, tens of thousands of Greeks have risen up all over the country, from the Peloponnese to Macedonia, and have begun to raid arsenals, ambush smaller Ottoman units and spread propaganda; even the noncombatants are trying their best to frustrate the Ottoman authorities by hiding or destroying crops and livestock and feeding disinformation.

The Ottomans, enraged by both the revolution itself and the Americans' support for it, have massacred most of the Greeks in the Greek quarter of Constantinople, hung Patriarch Gregory V and expelled the American ambassadors in the Queen of Cities.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 20, 2010, 05:34 AM

World events in 1798:

The French, in an attempt to cut off Britain's link to her Indian colonies and get a message through to their enemy Tipu Sultan, have invaded Egypt under the brilliant leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte. Within a matter of weeks, he has virtually annihilated the Ottoman and Mamluk forces sent to challenge him and has occupied the capital of Cairo.

Stunned by this sudden development, the British have sent a fleet under Horatio Nelson to assist the Turks and, more importantly, contain the French. The British fleet has wiped out its French counterpart, trapping Napoleon and his army in Egypt.

The French have also begun to attack American merchant shipping due to the American government's failure to meet their demands.

In other news, the French General Louis Alexandre Berthier has forced Pope Pius VI out of Rome and established a puppet 'Roman Republic'.

News in American protectorates:

Greece:

Heavy fighting continues throughout Greece. In the Morea, the Greeks have largely secured the countryside and are organizing a government at Mystras, the former capital of the Despotate of the Morea; this government, the 'National Assembly, was modeled after the American Continental Congress and incorporates elected delegates from liberated territories. The Greek admiral Anastasios Saronitis has resigned from his post to take a leading role as President of the Assembly at the request of the Assemblymen, leaving one Giorgos Metaxas in charge of the First Hellenic Fleet.

Further north, Larisa has fallen and Athens is under siege, although the amount of territory the Greeks actually control throughout Attica and Thessaly is limited. In addition, the Greeks have managed to push the Ottomans out of the Chalkidiki Peninsula, and it is rumored that Russian agents are sending them arms, supplies and even some cannon - the Greek arsenals nearly doubled over the course of a few months.

The Ottomans have sent the Army of the Danube south to deal with the Greeks, however despite an early victory at Kastoria the Turks have been stopped by a series of surprising reverses. A later Turkish attempt to force a landing in the Peloponnese was frustrated by the Greeks' fire ships.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 21, 2010, 03:57 PM

News in American protectorates:

Greece:

Fresh Ottoman forces, joined by local collaborators, have managed to secure the port cities of Argos (as well as a 'Road of Life' to Tripoli) and Piraeus. Both ports have allowed the Porte to send a trickle of much-needed arms, supplies and reinforcements to the beleaguered garrisons of Athens and Tripoli, and as their last few assaults failed horrendously it seems the Greeks will be unable to take either city until they occupy these key ports.

Both the Ottoman and Greek armies have grown in size and strength, the latter further bolstered by secret assistance from Orthodox Russia.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 22, 2010, 07:26 PM

News in American protectorates:

Greece:

The two competing Greek leaders - Anastasios Saronitis, left; Nikolaos Vafidis, right

Tension is developing between Anastasios Saronitis, the President of the National Assembly, and Nikolaos Vafidis, commander of the First Revolutionary Army presently operating in the Peloponnesus. While both men are formidable intellectuals, that is where the similarities end - Saronitis is an aged reactionary who spent over two decades in the reactionary court of the Russian Czars, a devout believer and a staunch ally of the Orthodox Church and the shipping magnates, and quite likely even holds monarchist sympathies; in contrast, Vafidis is a young reformer who lived through the French Revolution and was a supporter of the Terror, sympathized with the radical Hébertistes (and was even rumored to be part of their atheistic 'Cult of Reason', though these rumors have been dismissed as slander from his opponents) and has his support base in the army and the peasantry, both of whom he has won over with his fiery speeches.

A conflict between the wizened President and the charismatic Strategos appeared inevitable from day one, and indeed their supporters have already been working to undermine the other faction, assassinating major figures and jockeying for leadership positions. Saronitis' loyalists are convinced that if he gains power, Vafidis will try to export the French Revolution (specifically, its mad Reign of Terror) to Greece; on the other hand, Vafidis' partisans feel that if allowed to dominate Greek politics further, Saronitis will become no better than their Ottoman oppressors and even invite foreign princes to rule Greece.

While both men are fiercely opposed to each other, the ongoing Siege of Tripoli and a pressing need for unity in the face of the Ottoman threat have prevented an all-out civil war from breaking out between the two men and their factions...for now.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 26, 2010, 10:34 AM

News in American protectorates:

Greece:

The Greek declaration of independence & temporary constitution at Epidaurus

A compromise wartime constitution has been ratified by the National Assembly at Mystras. This constitution establishes:

-Two Consuls to serve as heads of state with powers modeled on those of the American Presidents, elected by the National Assembly for 4-year terms and with a one-term limit
-A Senate (Gerousia) with 27 members serving 8-year terms with no term limits, the power to shoot down bills passed in the Assembly, the exclusive right to overturn Consular vetoes and the power to remove Ephors from office with a simple majority vote
-A National Assembly (Ecclesia) with 104 members (and growing as more of Greece is liberated) serving 2-year terms with no term limits, the power to propose and pass bills and to remove Consuls with a 2/3rds vote together with the Senate
-A supreme court (Areopagus) whose members ('Ephors', named after the five leaders of ancient Sparta) are appointed by the Consuls, confirmed by the Senate and serve for life

This compromise has been agreed upon by both Saronitis's Party of the Right (popularly known as the 'Hippeis', after ancient Greece's equivalent to medieval knights or the Roman equestrians) and Vafidis' Party of the Left (popularly known as the 'Sans-Culottes', after the French egalitarian radicals of the same name), and a civil war has been averted for the duration of the War of Independence. Strategos Nikolaos Vafidis and mercenary captain Theodoros Papadopoulos have been elected Consuls, while Anastasios Saronitis was easily elected President of the Senate and Ioannis Plastiras, a friend and known stooge of Vafidis, has been narrowly elected Speaker of the Assembly.

More Greeks, now confident in victory with the elimination of the threat of internal struggles, have come forth to actually join the rebels.

**Barry Goldwater** · September 29, 2010, 05:31 PM

World events:

The Russians storm Chisinau

Much like the French after Saratoga, the Russians have decided that it would be in their best interest to intervene in the Greek War of Independence now that Athens (considered the greatest of the ancient Greek city states) has fallen to the rebels. Despite technically being on the same side as the Ottomans (the Second Coalition against France), Tsar Paul has declared war on the Porte, pointing out that he has no actual alliance with the Turks and that his Orthodox brothers need liberating.

While the bulk of their forces and their best commanders (the likes of Suvorov and Bagration) are presently away fighting in the Alps, the Russians have managed to spare 60,000 men for the war. 35,000 soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-General Mikhail Kutuzov have swept into Bessarabia and captured Chisinau in a matter of weeks, while another 25,000 men under the young Major-General Nikolai Kamensky moved into Armenia shortly afterwards and occupied Yerevan with minimal resistance.

The British are not pleased with this turn of events, as the French are still putting up a fight in Egypt and more Ottoman troops being pulled away to fend off the Russians makes their job in Egypt becomes even harder; it doesn't help that they are already quite worried about Russian territorial ambitions, either. British negotiators have been sent to Athens to try and work out a peace treaty before the Ottoman Empire completely collapses. Austria, which does not want a chain of Russian puppets to pop up on its eastern frontier, has also lent its support to the British.

News in American protectorates:

The Greek flag is raised at Athens

With the fall of Athens, the Greek Senate and Assembly have moved to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in the Athenian Acropolis. The Greek rebels have also benefited from a surge of recruits, as the fall of the city, the elimination of one of the larger Ottoman forces in their homeland and the intervention of the Russians have convinced most Greeks that their final victory and independence are now just around the corner.

Meanwhile, the panicking Ottoman authorities have drafted more men into 'suppression brigades' to crush the rebels before they cause the empire to completely collapse, or at least steal away its European half.

**Barry Goldwater** · October 04, 2010, 08:36 PM

World events:

Ottomans sue for peace!

With their disastrous defeat at the Axios River and Russian forces marching nearly unopposed through Romania and Armenia, the Sublime Porte has sued for peace. A ceasefire has been put into effect, and Britain has sent a sizable force under General Banastre 'Bloody Ban' Tarleton, the dreaded Revolutionary War general whose name still sends a chill down some Americans' spines today, as well as a White Squadron to Cyprus to enforce the ceasefire.

British General Sir William Howe invites representatives of the Greek, Russian and Ottoman governments, as well as US Secretary of State Chevalier and the American commanders in Greece, to a new round of negotiations in Gibraltar.

**Barry Goldwater** · October 05, 2010, 06:56 PM

Peace!

The USA, Great Britain, Russia, the Ottoman Empire and Greece have all come to a peace settlement to conclude the Greek War of Independence:

The Treaty of Gibraltar

1. The independence of the State of Greece is recognized by the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the United States of America, the Archduchy of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire.

2. The Greek state will include Hellas proper, Thessaly, Macedonia, the Aegean islands and the Dodecanese.

3. The Porte will cede Bessarabia and Eastern Armenia to the Russian Empire.

4. A ten-year pact of non-aggression between Greece, Russia and the Ottoman Empire is to be enforced.

5. The Porte will cede Cyprus to the British crown.

6. Greece will pay a sum of $800,000 to the Ottomans over a period of 10 years in annual $80,000 installments.

Celebrations have broken out in Greece and the United States, while several hundred Ottoman captains have been hung on charges of incompetence and treason. The Sultan is also working harder than ever to modernize and reform the Ottoman military and so avoid such a humiliating defeat in the future.

However, awfully few Greek politicians are participating in the celebrations - most are too busy drafting and arguing for or against a number of permanent constitutions to replace their wartime one, which both the Hippeis and Sans-Culottes consider to be no more than a temporary compromise drawn up out of necessity.

**Barry Goldwater** · October 08, 2010, 10:07 PM

World events:

Coup in France!

Napoleon and his fellow Consuls
General Napoleon Bonaparte has taken power in a coup against the Directory and declared himself First Consul of France! Bonaparte has moved to dispose of his political rivals, deporting many republicans to French Guiana and silencing the royalists after the failed plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise.

An olive branch from Paris!

With new leadership at the helm and the might of the United States proven on the fields of Greece, the French have sent emissaries to end the 'Quasi-War' being fought between the United States and France.

News in American protectorates:

Crisis in Greece!

The mob in Athens

After dragging on and on for months, talks to draft a permanent constitution for the Greek people have gone nowhere, as both the Hippeis and Sans-Culottes are unable to reach an acceptable compromise and the moderates lack a majority. Frustrated mobs rioted in the streets of Athens, Tripoli and other major Greek cities, occasionally joined by mutinous soldiers. Consul Vafidis has spoken to the Athenian mob and, after some deliberation, decided to lead it on a march to the Acropolis to force the Greek Parliament to accept a 'constitution for the people and by the people of Greece'.

In response, Senate President Saronitis urged the MPs to allow Consul Papadopoulos to use force to stop the mob; the leftists in the Assembly, led by Ioannis Plastiras, as well as some moderates who still believed they could solve the problem with negotiation, voted against the motion. A frustrated Consul Papadopoulos ended up storming the Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the Evzones behind him, expelling every single MP who voted against Saronitis' proposal at bayonet-point and getting the required approval from the remaining MPs. The 'Rump Parliament' went on to strip Vafidis of all offices and rank while making Papadopoulos 'Dictator', granting him absolute power for one year.

Now, the Evzones and the mob are at a standoff at the Propylaea. Talks between Vafidis and Papadopoulos have broken down, and civil war is imminent unless the Greeks' American protector throw their weight behind one of the two parties. Will the United States recognize the purged Parliament and, by extension, Papadopulos' right-wing dictatorship, or allow Vafidis to step up to the plate and set up a left-wing dictatorship along the lines of the French National Convention and with it, a possible Reign of Terror?

**Barry Goldwater** · October 09, 2010, 05:08 PM

News in American protectorates:

Crisis in Greece resolved!

The Rump Parliament gathers in the new Parliament building in Athens

With American support guaranteed to him, Dictator Papadopoulos ordered the Evzones to charge the mob. The rioters, disheartened by the news, dispersed in the face of the Evzones' bayonets. That night, Citizen Nikolaos Vafidis lamented America's betrayal of the Revolution while boarding the last ship to France. Over the next few days, the other mobs around Greece either dispersed on their own or were violently put down by Greek Army units. Having lost their greatest leader and spokesman and coming under active government repression, the Sans-Culottes faction would collapse within two weeks of the failure of Vafidis's coup.

The next few weeks would see at least several hundred prominent radical writers and revolutionary ringleaders arrested or summarily executed, while the Rump Parliament began drafting a new constitution under the careful supervision of the Evzones. Law and order have been restored in Greece, and the revolutionary rabble put in their place!

**Barry Goldwater** · October 13, 2010, 02:47 PM

News in America:

Indians ambush a cavalry patrol

The Westward Expansion Act, as expected, has not been received well by the local Indians. Three prominent chiefs - Buckongahelas, Blue Jacket and Tecumseh - have forged an alliance to oppose the settlers and American authorities; so far, they have kept a low profile, sticking to hit-and-run raids on isolated settlements and ambushing patrols. However, their activity is driving many settlers away from the frontier, and word has it that they are being equipped by smugglers from Canada and Louisiana Territory, though neither Britain nor France is known to be supporting them - indeed, quality rifles and European sabers have been found on dozens of Indian bodies, and even worse there is reason to suspect that a European mercenary is among their ranks, helping to train and organize the natives into a force that could potentially expel the US from the NWT entirely.

News in American protectorates:

A new crisis in Greece...

Dictator Papadopoulos about to ride to confront Taxiarchis Saronitis at Eleusia

Theodoros Papadopoulos's term as Dictator is coming to an end, yet the Generalissimo has vetoed the three constitutions drafted by the Rump Parliament so far (two monarchist, one republican) and has already pressed Parliament to extend his term. Many in Greece suspect that he is trying to keep himself in power, and several factions have conspired to bring him down; the most dramatic of these coup attempts was launched by Taxiarchis Demetrios Saronitis, son of President of the Senate Anastasios Saronitis, who mutinied against his superiors and attempted to march on Athens at the head of his brigade but was defeated by a loyalist army near Eleusina, captured and personally executed by the Dictator for high treason, despite his father's best attempts to convince Papadopoulos to throw him in jail instead.

Rumor has it that the enraged President of the Senate has been cooking up a plot of his own and has sent a letter to the President of the United States to seek his aid, but Saronitis has recently defended his innocence before a military tribunal and is acting normally so far...

In other news, Papadopoulos has also taken a hardline stance with his other opponents after the failed mutiny, suppressing monasteries and destroying printing presses that speak out against him and arresting several shipping magnates for opposing him (and, of course, confiscating their property) while working to build a new network of supporters within the commoners, small business and friendly clergy.

**Barry Goldwater** · October 13, 2010, 06:58 PM

News in American protectorates:

Second Greek Crisis resolved, monarchy declared!

The new Greek flag

Dictator Theodoros Papadopoulos was attacked at the Arch of Hadrian earlier today! While the assassin, exiled revolutionary Petros Rallis, was unable to kill him thanks to his misfiring pistols and forced to flee the scene, it would be of small comfort to Papadopoulos's supporters - the dictator took a throwing knife to the neck and bled to death within minutes while his guards were chasing Rallis away. Anastasios Saronitis, President of the Greek Senate, called a special session of the Greek Parliament to resolve the constitutional question; a monarchist constitution was passed unanimously in the Senate and with 90 out of 104 votes in the Assembly.

The most important parts of this new monarchist and highly conservative constitution are:

-establishment of a hereditary monarchy following cognatic primogeniture succession laws
-monarchs have theoretically absolute power, but are not to exercise them without Senatorial approval; sole exception to this is the authority to grant royal pardons
-Prime Minister from the majority party in the Assembly wields veto power and the authority to appoint a government cabinet with Senatorial and royal approval, but no authority to grant pardons
-Senate expanded to 30 men and made into an unelected body, comprised of 15 Worldly Men (hereditary peers or appointed by the monarch) and 15 Holy Men (Orthodox bishops) who serve for life
-Westminster system adopted for Assembly - the party that wins the most seats will go on to form His/Her Majesty's Government, the 2nd largest party forms 'His/Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition' - all MPs serve six-year terms unless Parliament is dissolved before their six years pass
-suffrage for all men over the age of 21 who meet property requirements (owning at least one hectare of land) and/or have at least 10,000 drachmas (equivalent to about 15,000 US dollars)
-permission for Orthodox clergy to run for and hold office
-establishment of the Orthodox Church as the state religion

In a surprising move, Saronitis had his fourteen-year-old grandson Michael elected King of the Hellenes with a unanimous vote in the Senate. Various European royals and personalities including Tsar Paul of Russia, George III of Great Britain and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, as well as American President Pappas and his cabinet and former General Thomasson have been invited to the coronation of the new King of the Hellenes.

Following this, he organized the Komma Ethnikofronon (Nationalist Party), a conservative and expansionist political party organized around the 'Megali Idea' (a desire for 'Greater Greece', an empire that includes Constantinople and Western Anatolia) as well as strict adherence to tradition and respect for the status quo - namely, keeping the 'triumvirate' of landed nobles, clergymen and shipping magnates (the support base of the Nationalists and, coincidentally, the only people allowed to vote under the new constitution) in their place at the top of Greek society.

In the 1801 general election, the Nationalists handily won 103 out of the 104 seats in the Assembly, and Saronitis was named Prime Minister of Greece. With the adoption of a permanent constitution and this recent peaceful election, it seems Greece has finally stabilized and can take serious steps towards economic recovery.

**Barry Goldwater** · October 14, 2010, 03:36 PM

News in America:

For King or Country?

The first rebels on the move

President Pappas' third executive order, in which he proclaims himself King John of America, has predictably angered countless Americans and led to open rebellion, especially in the (admittedly sparsely populated and rather poor) western states. On the other hand, Federalist New England is at least neutral if not (tentatively) supportive of the new King, and while poorer Southern whites are more than a little upset, the planter aristocracy either doesn't care as long as their power and privileges remain untouched or are openly supportive of the new monarchy.

Outside of the US/UK, the monarchies of Europe have recognized Pappas's government, and Britain and Spain are offering assistance to the new King.

British aid: