Part 61: Victoria: Chapter 1 - Prologue: Into the Modern World

Victoria
Prologue: Into the Modern World

Swabia in 1800 is a great power of indisputable power and influence. As the figurehead of the 1000-year old Holy Roman Empire, it leads the forces of conservatism and monarchy against the dangerous new ideas that have taken hold in France and Iberia to the west.


Economically and politically, Swabia is conservative and stable. Its court is currently dominated by the Fortschrittspartei, a moderate clique who are backing the interests of the growing number of capitalists and businessmen that have achieved wealth and power in recent years.


With its vast colonial empire, only a third of Swabia's population are germans, the rest being mostly the indigenous population of its east indies colonies such as Java. After Swabia's defeats in the last war, its population is pessimistic over another confrontation with Zuhriman and strongly opposed to military adventures.


Swabia's industralization efforts so far have been modest, with production largely limited to military materials and the production of base goods such as cement and lumber.


Lacking much of the good coal and iron mines of North Germany, Swabia's economy is heavily based on agriculture, especially the production of fruit, grain and livestock, although sulphur mining has emerged as a profitable new industry in Mainz and Alsace.


Zuhriman's expansion of Iberia's industries has propelled it to the position of the largest economy in the world, and its army is widely recognized as the best in the world, making it first among the great powers. Swabia holds a strong second place, with Byzantium taking up third. The United Kingdom maintains a tenous grip on fourth place, largely thanks to its powerful fleet. Mazula's rapid industralization has brought it up the ladder quickly to fifth place, while Austria, Lithuania and France compete for the sixth, seventh and eight places. Scandinavia has fallen out of the great power position altogether, while Dauphine and Persia are on the rise.




Unsurprisingly, the Qin Empire is the most populous country in the world, followed by the Sibir Khanate, which has taken over some of the richest parts of Northern China. Byzantium at third place is a vast multicultural empire, while Lithuania holds fourth place thanks to its large Russian population.


Swabia stands at the brink of the industrial revolution, but only if it can first survive the revolution of Zuhriman.