Part 75: Bonus Congress of Cádiz - Part 1

The Congress of Cádiz

Part 1: Internal Matters

In the dying days of 1835, the great powers of Europe, North Africa and the Near East agreed to meet in a series of conferences to partition the Tirruni Empire, widely referred to as the Congress of Cádiz.

The Congress was first formed between Morocco and Russia, who agreed that a post-war balance of power had to be established in order to prevent such ruinous, devastating wars from breaking out in the future. These two powers were quickly joined by Hannover - the dominant German state, and a great power in its own right.

As word of these negotiations began to spread, the Grand Vizier of Al Andalus offered Qadis as the staging ground for this congress, a suggestion that was ratified by the leading powers. Before long, the other victors of the Tirruni Wars had also flocked to Qadis, along with a wide array of minor powers and distant spectators. This would be the largest and most influential peace settlement in history, and everyone wanted to be a part of it.

And with that, these nations all come together to begin the negotiations regarding their historic claims and deserved rewards. There are nine nations in all: Morocco, Hannover and Russia as the leading powers (each of whom will have 2 votes in international issues); and France-England, Al Andalus, Hungary, Bavaria, Egypt and Armenia (each of whom will have 1 vote in international issues).



One of the most contentious points between all of these powers is the division of the Tirruni Empire, of course, but before that knot can be untied, there are internal matters that must be dealt with.

Whilst the congress powers begin meeting at secret parlours and extravagant dinners, Grand Vizier Zulfiqar summons the Majlis al-Shura to settle an important issue. Al Andalus is the only power in the Congress that doesn’t have a hereditary monarch - a major sticking point in relations between them and us, especially since a fifteen year war was just fought in the name of monarchism and absolutism.

So Grand Vizier Zulfiqar addresses the Majlis with a simple question: is it time to crown a new Sultan of Al Andalus?



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And so the Congress finally begins!

So basically, this congress will consist of 5 voting sessions that will help set up the opening scenario in Victoria 2. The first voting session will simply settle the internal matters of the various victors of the Tirruni Wars, but the other four will be centred around redrawing the borders of Europe and the Near East, and establishing a new balance of power that will (allegedly) lead to an enduring peace.

In this first vote, we’ll be deciding whether Al Andalus should become a hereditary monarchy once more. This is an internal issue, so the other congress powers have no say in what will happen, they have their own internal matters to deal with.

So yeah, this comes down to the Majlis al-Shura. The options are:

A - Yes, let us crown the current Jizrunid claimant!

Effects: we invite the strongest Sunni Jizrunid claimant to become Sultan of Al Andalus; this will give us a significant relations boost with the other members of the Congress, which may be important in winning over allies and supporters, and there will be other dynastic effects that come into play later in the game.

B - Yes, but we grant the crown to a more deserving king…

Effects: with this option, we will offer the crown to Raed Zulfiqar, bringing a new dynasty to power; this will also give us a relations boost with the other members of the Congress, but the long-term dynastic effects will be different from those in Option A.

C - No, the Majlis will retain absolute power!

Effects: with this option, the hereditary nobles of the Majlis al-Shura continue to rule Al Andalus. We don’t get any relations boost with the other Congress powers, but there are no other effects.


That’s pretty much it. I think I’ll leave around 24 hours for each vote, but I may end them a few hours earlier if everyone’s going for one option.