Grand Duchy of Pallamara

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The Grand Duchy of Pallamara is a sizable island, roughly 1,000 miles off the coast of India, (replacing Diego Garcia) settled in the 1600s under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company. It's people are a mixture of Dutch, French, and German, with a recent influx of Afrikaaner, and other white African immigration.

The origins of the name are obscure, but are attributed to the Italian navigator Piccolo Palamara, who may or may may not have discovered the island in 1527 while working for the Spanish. During the Eighty Years War, the fort on the island was seized by the Dutch, the island eventually becoming the domain of the VOC in 1627. There were no indigenous peoples on the island, but indonesians were imported to the islands to work the plantations, but after the disasterous Smallpox Epidemic of 1645, their numbers were much reduced, along with the Dutch population. Shortly after this date, one of the VOC directors hit upon a plan to settle the island with German refugees displaced by the Thirty Years War in 1649, offering cheap passage. By 1675, over 60% of the Island's population was German. From 1687 these were joined by French Hugenots displaced by the Edict of Fontainbleu, who came to constitute the other major ethnic group of the island. By the Mid 1700s the island was turning into a prosperous colony, a bit of Europe transplanted to the Indian Ocean. For the most part, the colonists preferrred to work their own farms and plantations, disliking the importation of Indian or Indonesian workers, and soon, the island was beginning to gain its own identity. When the Dutch Republic was overthrown by French Revolutionary forces in 1795, Pallamara refused to recongnize the ensuing Batavian Republic or the later Kingdom of Holland, fighting against the French alongside British forces. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the island's independance as the Grand Duchy of Pallamara was established. In 1820, the first of the present house of the Von Ravensbergs, a cadet branch of the Habsberg dynasty came to the throne through marriage, and have ruled the island in an unbroken line of succession to this very day.

During WWI, Pallarmara was neutral, despite the largely pro-Central Powers attitude among the populace, and continued this policy of neutrality during the beginning of the Second World War. When Japan invaded the Netherlands East Indies, however, the Grand Duchy formally declared war on Japan, with Pallarmaran submarines and aircraft being a thorn in the side of Japanese operations in the Indian Ocean. Pallamaran ground forces fought in India, Burma, and New Guinea. During this time, the Grand Duchy formed its first close ties to the United States and Austrailia. After the War, the island once again experienced another wave of immigration, this time from Dutch colonials from the Former Netherlands East Indies after it became independant from Dutch rule. In 1962, large offshore oil deposits were discovered which provided a major economic boosts to the island, and futher large deposits were discovered in 1978, 1983, and 1987, though the most recent of these is also claimed by Indonesia.

Though some American administrations were cool towards the monarchist government, the Von Ravensbergs were staunchly anticommunist, and this, combined with the nation's growing importance as a strategically located, oil producing nation ushered in a wave of military cooperation which peaked during the Reagan Administration as the island became a major bastion of American influence in the Indian Ocean, with American air and naval assets operating out of several Pallamaran bases to dominate the region. At some point during the 1960s, the Grand Duchy began a secret nuclear program in cooperation with the South African government, and later Israel, during which time an unknown amount of Uranium was shipped to the island, which commissioned its first nuclear power plant in 1972. Details of the nuclear program were kept secret until the early 1990s, when it was revealed that the United States had also cooperated in the nuclear program, seeing the nation as vital to American interests in the area. Tests in the Indian Ocean took place in the 1970s and the early 1980s, with the latest round occuring in the late 1990s.
The final wave of immigration, which continues to this day, occured from white Africans as the end of European rule wrapped in Africa, as thousands of whites from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, and other former European colonies immigrated to Pallamara who eagerly welcomed them. When South Africa transitioned to ANC rule in the early 1990s, another landslide of immigration was triggered, as Afrikaaners joined the already diverse European ethnic mix.

The nation remains an absolute monarchy, despite some calls for a switch to a more constitutional form of government. The monarchy has ruled with a firm but mostly fair hand during the island's history and continues to do so. Being surrounded by populous nations of noneuropean descent and of Hindu or Muslim pursuasion has created a fortresslike "us and them" mentality among Pallamarans, especially those hailing from Africa or the former NEI, and this segment of the population is where the Monarchy draws its strongest support. Historically, the nation has had a very strict immigration policy that some accuse of being rascist motivated, but Pallarmarans deny this, pointing to laws that forbid discrimination and intolerance, saying the immigration policy is necessary to preserving the nation's unique heritage.

_________________
We can't stop here--this is Bat country!

If it's close enough to cast a shadow, I think the flying house wins initiative.

Bronies are like the Forsworn. Everyone agrees that they are a problem but nobody wants to expend the energy rooting them out.

"That is a very graphic analogy which aids understanding wonderfully while being, strictly speaking, wrong in every possible way."

PALLAMARA

GEOGRAPHY

Location: Indian Ocean, replacing Diego Garcia.
Border Countries: No land borders, maritime nation
Coasts: Indian Ocean
Total land area:

DEMOGRAPHICS

Population: 25,000,000
Nationality: Noun - Pallamaran ; Adjective - Pallamaran
Religion: 98% Christian Protestant, 2% Catholic
Language: Dutch, German, and French.

GOVERNMENT

Country name: The Grand Duchy of Pallamara
Conventional long form – The Grand Duchy of Pallamara
Conventional short form – Pallamara

Government: Absolute Monarchy

Head of State: His Royal Highness, Grand Duke Valentinian XII

Government Ministries:
Ministry of the Interior
Ministry of Foreign Relations
Ministry of State Security
Ministry of Media & Public Relations
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Transportation
Ministry of the Exchequer

Capital: Ravensberghaven

ECONOMY

Population: 25,000,000
Type: Mixed Market
GDP: $950,000,000,000
GDP per capita: $38,000
Unemployment Rate: 4%
Main Industries: Agriculture, Fishing, Chemicals, Munitions, Oil/Petrochemicals, Shipbuilding & Tourism
Currency: Guilder (Gd)
Conversion rate: 1Gd = 1.288 US Dollars
Taxes: 40%
Tax Revenue: $380,000,000,000

Administration: 7%..............................................26,600,000,000
Social Welfare: 5% .............................................19,000,000,000
Healthcare: 10%.................................................38,000,000,000
Education: 12%...................................................45,600,000,000
Religion & Spirituality: 0.........................................0
Defence: 20%......................................................76,000,000,000
Law & Order: 8%.................................................30,400,000,000
Commerce: 15%..................................................57,000,000,000
Public Transport: 4%...........................................15,200,000,000
Environment: 4%.................................................15,200,000,000
Social Equality: 2% ................................................7,600,000,000
Infrastructure: 4%................................................15,200,000,000
Science & technology: 12%...................................45,600,000,000

Military (Rijksmacht): 250,000 personnel: 105,000 active, 145,000 reserve
Spending per soldier: 304,000

Landsweer: 40,000 active personnel
Yearly Budget: $22,800,000,000
Maintaince, contracting, payouts, manpower & misc expenses: $18,240,000,000
Budget Available for New Acquisitions & Upgrades: $4,560,000,000

Luchsmacht: 15,000 active personnel
Yearly Budget: $15,200,000,000
Maintaince, contracting, payouts, manpower & misc expenses: $12,160,000,000
Budget Available for New Acquisitions & Upgrades:$3,004,000,000

Rijkszeemacht/Rijksmarines: 50,000/10,000 active personnel
Yearly Budget: $38,000,000,000
Maintaince, contracting, payouts, manpower & misc expenses: $30,400,000,000
Budget Available for New Acquisitions & Upgrades: $7,600,000,000

MILITARY

Landsweer: 40,000
6 x Expanded Heavy Combat Brigades + support

Luchsmacht: 15,000
Interceptors: 30 x F-14 Super Tomcat 21
Fighters: 50 x F-18F Super Hornets
Bombers/Attack: 30 x F-111H Aardvarks (New versions with Silent Eagle mods)
Armed Trainers: 24 x BAE Hawk T.1
AEW: 4 x E-5 (767 airframes) 4 x P-3 AEW
Transport: 15 x C-130J, 10 x C-17
Tankers: 6 KC-10s
Helicopters 30

Rijkszeemacht: 50,000
Warships: 81
Aircraft Carriers (CVS): 2
Battlecruisers: 2
Destroyer AAW: 6
Frigates: 21
Submarines: SSK: 9
Mine Warfare Vessels 9
Patrol Craft/FAC: 15
Amphibious Warfare 6
Aircraft
Fixed Wing: 40
Helicopters: 70

Rijksmarines: 10,000

As a note, elements of this are still very much a WIP, and will be updated as such, as I recieve input from other sources and boards. Immediately, I can see that naval numbers will have to be altered from the original, scaled for a smaller nation. Any constructive input from board members is welcomed. I should begin posting naval drawings (alterations, really) soon.

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I thought I'd start off with something large, so I went with this:

The Monarachy had always been interested in the Alaska Class, primarily as a national status symbol, considering the vessels perfect for the role of fleet flagship and otherwise useful for the NGS Role. Acquired along with spare barrels and liners in 1959, the vessels underwent a through drydocking and overhaul which lasted until 1963. When the vessels joined the fleet, they were some of the largest remaining capital ships in the world, superseded only by the briefly reactivated Iowa Class. The Pallamara was used as fleet flagship, while the Ravensberg was used as a gunnery and Cadet training ship. During the early 1980s at the same time as the USN was reactivating the Iowas, the vessels were given another comprehensive overhaul and modernization, entailing the fitting of many new systems. Both Vessels were active as part of the Pallamaran contribution to Operation Desert Storm, taking part in shore bombardment duties there. In 1993, the Ravensberg was placed in reserve status, then opened up as a museum, though the ship is still nominally on the naval list, and could, in theory be returned to active status if required. In the meantime, the vessel serves as a popular tourist draw, drawing over 100,000 people each year.

The Pallamara in the meantime has taken over the Ravensberg's role of training vessel, making a goodwill cruise to distant parts of the globe each year, always drawing a large crowd when she arrives in port. Though some have called for the role to be performed by a smaller, more cost, and manpower efficient vessel, the Monarchy has saw fit to maintain the Pallamara in this role for the concievable future, claiming no other vessel can represent the nation abroad in the quite the same fashion.

Though the USN always referred to these vessels as "large cruisers," in Pallamaran service they are officially rated as Battlecruisers.

(I'll change the ClearType as soon as I figure out how to do so, I thought it more important to credit for the moment)

You've used the awful old Alaska.

Redo it with the updated one I drew not too long ago.

[ img ]

All right, here is the updated image. I've been up all night and though they allude me at the moment, i'm sure there are all sorts of errors lurking, waiting to be discovered.

The Ariadne Klass were a series of export frigates built for Pallamara in the late 1970s through the early 80s. Based in no small part on the earlier Knox and Brooke Class frigates, they embodied improvements over either, notably in the replacement of the earlier Mk 22 launcher with a 40 round Mk 13 system, and the addition of an extra missile director. More capable and rather more expensive than the American Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate, a total of nine were built, the first three in American yards, the remaining six in Pallamara.

All vessels recived a through modernization package in the late 1990s to allow the firing of the SM-2 missile, (since support was no longer going to be offered for the Standard SM-1) as well as extensive electronics, ECM, and Decoy systems. Despite this, the ships are being transferred to reserve as more modern FREMM vessels join the fleet. Despite the age of the Ariadnes, they offer a capability few indigenous powers can boast of, and are expected to remain in the reserve fleet for quite some time.

I'm quite impressed by your map. How did you draw it? (And can you add a scale?

)

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A lengthy recolor job, but I'm getting tired of looking at haze gray, so went with a horizon blue theme, and will likely be experimenting with a few Indian Ocean paint schemes here.

Quote:

I'm quite impressed by your map. How did you draw it? (And can you add a scale? )

Thank you. I didn't exactly draw the map, (having no real artistic skill) rather I took an existing map of the Falklands, erased all the names, pixel edited the contours back, joined the islands together, adding a few features of my own, then named all the cities, and expanded the roads a bit. I haven't added a scale just yet, as I haven't determined the final size.

Shipbucket

Grand Duchy of Pallamara

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