The Goldenblock Series (Episode 1) -- The Founding of Europeia and the Prime Ministership of Rotalsia






The Goldenblock Series (Episode 1)
The Founding of Europeia and the Prime Ministership of Rotalsia

Transcribed and Summarized by Comrade Prim
From a Mixlr Broadcast by HEM and Sopo






The Goldenblock Series Episode 1 -- Mixlr Broadcast (March 16, 2019)

This series of broadcasts on Mixlr begins a recounting of the history of Europeia from its earliest days. HEM and Sopo will explain the history of Europeia, the state of the game at the time of founding, and Europeia's place within it. As Europeia has been an active region for just over twelve years, a recounting of the entire history, especially the earliest years, can be difficult to recall and relay to others, but it is also critical for retaining our unique culture and history within NationStates and passing it on to new citizens.


Overview

(August 29, 2019) -- HEM begins the story with Founding of Europeia, on March 6, 2007, and explains that the first episode will cover through the Prime Ministership of Rotalsia, which ends on April 14, 2007. Much of the earliest history is obscured due to the loss of all the threads and posts from this time. HEM describes having to piece together some of the earliest history from his own writing a year later, and some screenshots that he was able to save that described the earliest moments as well. One of the most detailed descriptions of that time comes from a post retelling in dramatic style the beginning of Europeia.

HEM then steps back to describe the world of NationStates at the time. The ADN (Allied Defense Network) was the largest group of defender regions at the time, a major force in NS. However, by 2007, there was a steep decline in the Raiding/Defending community due to the introduction of the new Influence mechanic in NS, which abruptly changed the way raiding was handled. Influence gave preference to established and long-standing delegates and limited the power of raiders to take full control of regions. This change put a strong damper on the R/D dynamic and led to the dissolution of the ADN. There were some areas of NationStates that were doing well, mainly in User-Created Regions (UCR). A coalition of four regions that would later be allied together in the Congress of Sovereigns, including Great Britain & Ireland, Empires of Earth, The New Inquisition, and the Land of Kings and Emperors, was thriving. This group was to be a sort of nesting ground for a strong resurgence of gameplay-focused UCRs, usually with strong fundamental themes, in this case, Constitutional Monarchies.

The Land of Kings and Emperors (LKE)

The Land of Kings and Emperors (LKE) was a very active and political region within NS, with a slightly unseemly underbelly, with some backstabbing and serious political intrigue, a vibrant political simulator even compared to other regions in NationStates. Europeia is sort of a spin-off of the LKE, from whom Europeia took some of its initial foundations. One of the key players who held citizenship in both the LKE and Europeia was Lord Alphanesia. While the LKE was a region of political scandal, Lord Alphanesia (LA) was one of the more corrupt, in comparison. He frequently came to blows with many in the LKE and was eventually tried for treason, and after some delay, was banned from the region. It was from events like this that Europeia was born, bringing many from LKE, along with their explosive squabbles and conflicts.

One of the first promising players to arrive in the nascent Europeia was Rotalsia. Volunteering to serve in the Interim Government, Rotalsia was appointed by King HEM to be Interim Prime Minister. Much of the initial work was based on late-night MSN chats between several members of the interim government in developing the constitutional documents. Several key positions began to coalesce: a popularly elected Prime Minister, head of the House of Commons with members elected by a First-Past-the-Post system; and a popularly elected Lord Chief Justice, which was soon changed to Lord Chancellor, a borrowed title from the LKE, which was used for the chief judicial officer. These two positions were the crux of the government, apart from the Monarch, King HEM.

Origins of Europeia

Recruitment in the early days was quite successful, both through regular telegramming and also recruiting people directly from the LKE. The region grew rapidly and, as were prominent in the LKE, many political parties began to form with some notable early players being Lord Alphanesia, PRA, Kazaman, Sargon II, Rotalsia, SenatorTC and Lethen. A natural divide seemed to arise between Pro-LKE players and Anti-LKE players. HEM, Lethen, and SenatorTC were strong Pro-LKE players early on, with the Anti-LKE faction comprised of Lord Alphanesia, Verteger, and some Europeian Natives who were not very connected to the LKE.

While HEM noted that the Pro-LKE and Anti-LKE factions were probably the undercurrents within the region, there were official parties within the region providing surface-level divisions. Some notable parties were: the Norsefire Party, led by Lord Alphanesia; the Democratic Socialists, led by PRA; the Bunny Rabbits of Sigma Tau, led by Hyanygo; and SPEAR (Sane People for Europeia And Right), led by Lethen. Several of these parties were a bit aimless and created simply to officialize a clique of a few members, but HEM did note that PRA's Democratic Socialists had some strong values of direct democracy and overarching goals.

One of the first Major incidents in Europeia occurred when Lord Alphanesia brought Kazaman to court on trumped-up charges, essentially for defending the LKE, but nominally on grounds that he was committing treason by violating a call by HEM for activity, ostensibly by being inactive. Lord Alphanesia, being the Lord Chief Justice, pledged to "be impartial" and demanded that proof of Kazaman's innocence be shown in order to dismiss the case.

Lord Alphanesia was ultimately attempting to rabble rouse to start a war with the LKE to drive a wedge between the regions. Deciding to force Europeia's hand, he initiated a joking discussion with the Prime Minister of the LKE, SenatorTC, about a fake war between Europeia and the LKE, but following the conversation, he cropped the chat log in such a way as to make it sound like SenatorTC was planning to initiate war with Europeia. Bearing this "damning evidence" in hand, he approached Rotalsia, Europeia's interim Prime Minister, with the news and agitated for war. Before the situation spiraled out of control, cooler heads prevailed through an MSN chat with the leaders of both regions, where the LKE adamantly denied the existence of any war declaration, while Lord Alphanesia began to grow more vitriolic, claiming that a war already existed.

Prime Minister Rotalsia

After this situation was resolved, cracks began forming between the leaders in Europeia. Interim Prime Minister Rotalsia became increasingly dramatic and unstable, often threatening to leave the region and occasionally moving his nation out of the region, just to bring it back shortly after. Having to contend with Rotalsia's large and fragile ego, King HEM would often have to try to beg and cajole Rotalsia to remain in the region, setting up an unhealthy dynamic for the early, interim government. As there were very few active players in the early days, keeping every player in the region was a critical task, but led to clashes of personality. This is the environment in which the first Government elections occurred.

The first government elections would include the Prime Minister, the Lord Chief Justice, and five seats in the House of Commons. Running for Prime Minister were Rotalsia and a player named Sargon II. Rotalsia eventually won the election and appointed Sargon II as his deputy in response. HEM notes that this early period of elections was marked by very weak Prime Ministers, despite the position having significant power in the region, including the ability to veto any bills passed by the House of Commons and pass unlimited Executive Orders; even the Monarch was restricted to three Royal Decrees in a given term. The first term was short-lived however, ending on April 14. The termination of the first government was prompted by the destruction of the forum.

During Rotalsia's first term, he began to grow restless with the influx of new players, desiring the small-scale feel of the first weeks of the region. He became more inactive and bored of the region. On the sidelines, Hyanygo and his Bunny Rabbits of Sigma Tau party were secretly discussing how to seize the major positions in the region, including the Monarchy itself, held by HEM. Growing increasingly concerned with the bizarre rhetoric in Hyanygo's party and becoming frustrated with the agitation by Lord Alphanesia, HEM ultimately decided that it was probably time for a change in the region, suggesting that Hyanygo should take over as Deputy Prime Minister, hoping to "sate" Hyanygo's thirst for power. This proved to be a grave mistake, as the Deputy Prime Minister held moderation power and the ability to delete threads and posts. On April 14, 2007, Hyanygo, newly appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister, deleted every thread on the forum within the span of around 10 minutes, except for the forum of his own Bunny Rabbits party. Left in the wake of the destruction was a single thread, posted by Hyanygo, titled "Why I Rule", in which he said, "When HEM announced that he was angry about a takeover, you know why, because all I wanted was a bit of a spark. Let's face it, this region is boring and it seems like only me, Lord Alphanesia, and PRA were ever active. Your stupid King decided to get all high and mighty, so I decided to make everyone burn in the inferno I created. Mwa ha ha ha. ( :Gun Emoji: :Gun Emoji: :Gun Emoji: )"

The Aftermath

Following the destruction of the forum, HEM effectively took emergency control of the region, ending Prime Minister Rotalsia's term. Ultimately, the region began as a powder keg of lingering animosity from conflicts in the LKE, the machinations of an embittered Lord Alphanesia, and the destructive rise of Deputy Prime Minister Hyanygo. With tensions causing many members to seek an exit, the forum destruction created a strong unifying event that brought many in the region back together. Around six weeks in total, the first term in Europeia was a short and tumultuous one, but may have kept the region from slowly dying from infighting and burnout.
 
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Fantastic job, Prim. A mammoth of a task, I'm sure, but one that I know I've wanted since Goldenblock first aired. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this. Many, many thanks to you!
 
I remember listening live and being amazed by the show and all the historical insight. It was great fun and I thank you a lot for putting it into an article.
 
This is a great write up and I only wish this will be more than a two article series :p
I don't want to put too much pressure on HEM/Sopo to continue the series, as they have been rather busy recently, but yes, I think a continuation of Euro History podcasts would be an overall good idea in the long term.
 
I can't believe I didn't comment on this before but woo! Thanks for the great article, Prim!
 
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