History (and related anecdotes) of the Iberian Empire

[Darman]

During the Reconquest of Spain, the highest levels of the clergy responsible for rooting out non-Christians discovered that it was very difficult to get newly "saved" Christians to entirely renounce their old ways.  As the Inquisition wore on, secular authorities began to turn a blind eye towards these relapses, rarely encouraging it, but never discouraging it.   Over time the Inquisition itself faded away, and the nobility and monarch decided to allow the mingling of the different religions, a sort of religious toleration.  After several generations of marriages between Spanish and North African nobility (in between wars of conquest) as well as one monarchal match, Muslims and Christians were able to live side by side openly.  Part of the result of this was a mellowing of the attitudes of the nobility and rich merchant classes towards religion, pushing for a secular state with no religious influences whatsoever.  Unfortunately, they pushed a little too hard, and many of the common people, by this point considering themselves citizens of a United Iberian Empire, did not agree with the removal of religion from all aspects of life.  The removal of clergy and imams from the highest councils of the Empire, and the constant taxation of church and mosque funds (donations were taxed as income) has removed much of the wealth that one normally associates with large organized religious institutions.  In response to this, many religious-minded Christians and Muslims began to meet each other halfway, recognizing that they shared many similar beliefs and that the new "secularization" of the Empire was hurting them both equally.  Thus the seeds of dissension began spreading, infecting many of the scions of formerly wealthy families who had played important roles in the various religious organizations that had formerly wielded the powers of the State for their own purposes under the guise of religion.   

[Kaiser Kirk]

So, Iberia already has a history partially done, which Olekit wanted and has been woven into some of the other histories as part of a world history.
Sadly these these are scattered around and not consolidated in one place.

Overall our history is similar to OTL, with certain critical events changed.  This allows us to assume something similar to a historic event happened, but assuming it involved whatever countries we have....but

As the new Iberian player, you are welcome to define pretty much everything but those points.
What you've written can actually fit pretty well with what Olekit wanted, though probably set about 700 years after he had it.

However, one thing that Olekit wanted, and was built in, was that Iberia was not fully conquered, the reconquista was short, there was no great purge of other religeons, and it was all over by... oh I think it was the 750s, may have been earlier. Anyhow that's also worked into Rome's history, the history of North Africa, and so Mali, and then Aztec...

To make a lot of this alternate history possible, and for most of history to be fairly similar, Parthia has been repeatedly almost conquered and slowly reclaimed. 
Parthia has been overrun by the Arabs, the Mongols, and Tamerlane, when not fighting off Byzantine, the Horde, and Rajasthan.

Basically, the Muslim conquest of Parthia went well 633-651, but then the remnants of Parthia started retaking the Nation.
That slowly cut the economic base from underneath the  Umayyad Caliphate.
By time the Umayyads were taking southern Spain, they were loosing Parthia, so reinforcements and money could not be sent to cement their conquest.
That allowed the Iberians to organize and fight back.
That cut the Sahara Muslims off from the Caliphate.
So they worked south and made Mali. Who went West, and contacted the Aztec...etc.

I will try to find my notes and get them to you in a timely manner...heck I should probably try to consolidate the global history and put it in a place people can find.

[snip]

From the Roman side, I had run with the assumption that the Reconquista was closer to historical than not. Not sure when/where I became disconnected.

[Darman]

No problem. I can adjust things as needed.  I had done a cursory search for information on what Olekit had established for Spanish history and didnt really find much

[Kaiser Kirk]

No problem. I can adjust things as needed.  I had done a cursory search for information on what Olekit had established for Spanish history and didnt really find much

I don't think much adjustment is needed.
I just need to supply what has been worked out.

From the Roman side, I had run with the assumption that the Reconquista was closer to historical than not. Not sure when/where I became disconnected.

Exactly why I need to consolidate the histories and put the departure points in one place.

[Darman]

[editor's note: I realize that some of this might not work, I think it should though, but I figured I'd post it here and delete it if necessary for now. I have a few news items that I'll post under a new thread but I want the history thread available to try to flesh things out from time to time]

Iberia Catchup
Over the last few years, Iberia has been in a bit of turmoil.  Following the loss of the battleship Blas de Lezo during the battle of Dakar, the politics of the country began to roil a bit.  Many of the lower and middles classes are highly motivated by their traditional religious beliefs, to the point that Muslims and Christians have joined together to protect their traditional religious beliefs.  The Iberian Empire was originally based on an acceptance of local religious customs, Muslims and Christians were allowed and encouraged to coexist and live side by side.  Towards the end of the 19th century, the governing classes attempted to enforce a secularization of society, deeming this "secularization" to be more beneficial than the status quo of peaceful coexistence.  The peasants and middle classes did not appreciate this but lacked the political power to resist.  Until the loss of the battleship Blas de Lezo off Dakar.  The Captain in command of that warship was not exactly the most brilliant of men, but he was bull-headed and stubborn and determined to defend the honor of Iberia.  And when the politicos back in Madrid decided to blame the captain for the loss of his ship.... the populace wasn't buying it.  Combined with the forced withdrawal of an Iberian colonization expedition in the face of Wilno Union military force, the loss of face the Iberian Empire incurred during that little near-war action was unconscionable to the average Iberian.  Some of the more religious-minded political elites decided to take action and over the course of 1913 slowly started taking over the reins of power in Madrid.  More pragmatic but also highly cognizant that while Iberia deserves its place leading the world it isn't quite there yet, this new political force wants to build the Iberian Empire into a competitive world power. This means securing Iberia in a strong economic position position as an exporter of industrial goods,  Many regions of Iberia are still primarily agricultural, especially in North Africa, where most of the regions away from the coast are either pastoral or agricultural.  Even in the Iberian Peninsula itself, agriculture is still the strongest driver of economic activity and daily life for the majority of the population. 

[The Rock Doctor]

I don't see a problem with anything, but would it help the story if the battleship's captain was devoutly religious and known for such?  Provides an opportunity for the Christian and Muslim communities to see the secular political class as attacking one of their own.

[Kaiser Kirk]

No problem. I can adjust things as needed.  I had done a cursory search for information on what Olekit had established for Spanish history and didnt really find much

And I forgot all about the need to do digging at my end. Sorry.

[Darman]

Born on June 1st 1851, in Cartagena, Isaac Peral y Caballero was destined for a life at sea.  His father was a serving officer in the Iberian Navy and the family was not very wealthy.  It was only natural for him to enter into the Navy like his father and brother.  After two years studying at a military academy, Peral joined the Navy as a midshipman at the young age of 16.  During training maneuvers in the Mediterranean, Peral suffered an injury to his skull, after his recovery he was kept on shore duties, teaching at the newly established Escuela de Ampliación de Estudios de la Armada for midshipmen.  While there he began exploring the idea of a submersible torpedo boat run on electricity that could launch torpedoes while underwater.  And in 1885 he applied for, and received, a grant to perform experiments.  Eventually building and successfully testing a prototype of an electric-powered submarine capable of launching torpedoes while submerged in 1889, Peral had also made a lot of enemies among the Navy's vast bureaucracy.  Blessed with a doggedness that made his submarine possible, it also hampered Peral in his dealings with bureaucrats who he needed to convince to approve and fund his projects; oftentimes talking down to intellectually inferior bureaucrats who simply could not grasp the sheer brilliance of his ideas.  Despite his submarine passing all of its tests and trials, the Navy's bureaucrats got their revenge on Peral and completely defunded his project.  In a fit of anger, Peral destroyed the interior of the submarine, and destroyed many of the documents relating to its design.  In part because of this severe setback, Peral suffered from a bout of depression, and a brain tumor soon made an appearance within the scar of his old skull injury.  Retiring from the navy after 25 years of service and suffering severely from the brain tumor, Peral and his wife traveled to Stockholm, where a new medical procedure was being tested.  After a decade of tests and procedures and recovery, Peral finally decided to move back to his native country, settling along the coast near Barcelona in 1905.  Running across some of his personal notes from his experiments in the late 1880s, Peral began studying some of the advances other countries had made in submarine technology and soon was invited to collaborate on a design project.  The partnership blossomed into a small corporation with the backing of the Iberian Imperial Treasury to produce some small test submarines.  Peral had finally found what he had needed during his tenure in the Navy: a partner who could handle the bureaucrats while he concentrated on his research.  The new corporation was named Veinte Mil Leguas.   

[Darman]

15 January 1915

The longshoremen assembled every night at their various drinking establishments to spend away the day's wages.  They had no fear of losing out on more.  For the last several months the port at Dakar was busy, one continuous stream of merchant shipping off-loading men and guns and other material of war.  This provided them with steady employment and not a one of them doubted they would able to find employment on the morrow.  Dakar was hot, true.  And there were diseases that some of the men caught, from the air perhaps.  Many other diseases were transmitted through...other, more intimate, methods.  Men so disabled missed out on work during the time of their enfeeblement, but the Seamen's Institute was well-funded and was very lenient about serving the needs of men who worked on (or about) the seas, so they were usually well taken care of.  There were few Iberian women in Dakar, and the men were mostly bachelors, or living as bachelors and sending a portion of their earnings to families back home.  That's one reason why every night the "Sharie Almutati"* was the loudest and most raucous street in the whole city, as the dockworkers celebrated the wages in their pockets and their liberties from family.  In one corner a small group of overseers whisper excitedly: they have just received word that the government in Madrid is going to be constructing additional permanent fortifications, providing thousands of jobs for themselves and their dockworkers, hopefully for years to come. 



*I bastardized the Arabic words for "Street of Pleasure" to reflect the North African Muslim heritage of many of the laboring class in Dakar. 

[Darman]

1 Jan 1915 (this is considered common knowledge among governments)

The transfer of several fleet units out of the Iberian Navy occur on this day
Two old Pelayo-class battleships are being transferred to the Aztec Navy (formerly the Pelayo and the Fafila). 

The last remaining Blaz de Lezo-class battleship is being sold to Japan.  (former Alvaro de Bazan). 

Two out of three San Francisco de Asiz-class battleships are being sold to Japan.  (Former San Francisco de Asiz and San Marcos).