British Empire

The Union Jack, flag of the British Empire

The flag of the Allied

The British Empire is the largest player made empire in PirateCraft. Headed by Prime Minister Michty, it triumphs over all with superior manpower and sheer determination.

Ideals

The main interest of the British Empire is to secure the safety of its colonies. Originally founded as a tight-knit defensive alliance of honest players, it soon grew into a friendly community that swiftly spread across the world.

The British Empire usually maintains a neutral relationship with individuals who call themselves pirates - so long as they leave British settlements in peace. Those who evoke the wrath of the empire incur it in full force.

Other groups of players are treated in the same manner as they treat the British Empire. Small groups of players are advised not to act rashly towards the empire as the British usually have the superior pool of resources, allies and troops required to win a conflict. Currently the British Empire is a member of the alliance known as "The Allied".

A common theme of the British Empire is its focus on expansion. It is unknown how long the empire will continue to grow at its current pace. The limit may quite possibly be the capacity of the government's ability to maintain lawful order among its citizens.

Current Government

The BE government, winter 2015

Prime Minister -o- Michty

Vice Prime Minister -o- DirectorAnivian

Minister for War -o- CaptainCrackerz

General -o- Zoroax999

Minister for Justice -o- Bislo1

Chief of Police -o- Gottalovepunks

Minister for Recruitment -o- Lazydog11

Election Commissioner -o- PaulOnFire

Charter

Charter of the British Empire

Introduction

The British Empire serves as a democratic fellowship of sovereign territories ruled over by sovereign rulers. To be part of the British Empire is to be a shining beacon of order amidst the chaotic world of PirateCraft.

Article I - Organisation

• Citizens of the British Empire are entitled to the benefits of being part of a globe-spanning Empire. They may request assistance from their fellows towards founding their own colony or join one of the existing settlements which are open to new residents. The Empire extends its arm of protection to all those who are in the Empire. Every citizen may cast one vote in parliament regardless of strength and creed. Only one government position can be held by one individual player at a time.

• The Prime Minister shall be the citizen who heads the Empire and whose duty is to speak for the alliance, ratify treaties and sign declarations of war. The Prime Minister's vote shall be the deciding vote should a vote end up tied. He or she has the right to implement emergency decisions during the time a vote is taking place. These decisions may be overwritten by the result of the vote. The Prime Minister is elected newly every six months by the citizens through a majority vote.

• The Vice Prime Minister shall be the citizen who was paired with the Prime Minister during the elections. He or she shall speak for the Empire in absence of the Prime Minister and help mediate conflicts in his spare time. If the Prime Minister is absent for longer than a week, the Vice Prime Minister may automatically take over full Prime Ministerial duties until the Prime Minister returns. The Vice Prime Minister is superior to the Ministers.

• The Minister for Defence is responsible for the security of the colonies and for organising war efforts. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• The Admiral is responsible for running the British navy. He works alongside the Minister of Defence, who is his or her superior, and the General, who is his or her peer. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• The General is responsible for running the British armed forces. He works alongside the Minister of Defence, who is his or her superior, and the Admiral, who is his or her peer. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• The Minister for Recruitment is responsible for hiring and training new recruits and ensuring their loyalty. He or she manages the recruitment camps, heads development projects and assists in assigning residents to towns. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• The Minister for Justice is responsible for dealing out sentences in accordance to the law of the realm. He also organises efforts to bring criminals to justice. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• The Chief of Police is responsible for organising the British Empire's police force. He is the chosen by the Minister of Justice and is also his subordinate.

• Police Officers are responsible for keeping order in the Empire. They may use force against proven criminals and confiscate their items if necessary. As enforcers of the law, they must strictly adhere to police guidelines.

• The Election Commissioner is the citizen or Governor responsible for ensuring the lawful conduct of free and fair elections as well as referendums. The Commissioner is selected either by majority vote or by general consensus. He or she is sworn to confidentiality.

• Applicants are members of the British Empire who do not yet enjoy the same bandwidth of rights as full citizens do. They may not vote on political matters but are entitled to protection and may request assistance.

Citizens and Governors are the backbone of the Empire. They have the authority, by majority vote, to pass laws or motions, approve wars, to appoint members of government, to approve or expel citizens and, by a two-thirds majority vote, to amend the Charter.

New government positions may be added to the Charter by choice of the Prime Minister without the need of an amendment. They may only be removed or altered by a two-thirds majority vote as laid down in Article VI or by general consensus.

Article II - Membership

Candidate members start out as applicants. To become a citizen their membership must either be approved by a majority vote, general consensus or by the Prime Minister. To become a Governor, a citizen must found their own settlement and be appointed by the Prime Minister.

A player who desires to leave the Empire may do so freely and without fear of reprisal provided that he or she posts a resignation on the forum or contacts the Prime Minister in-game, discharges his or her debts and cedes any government position he or she might hold.

Any citizens may propose a vote to expel a member or remove an incumbent government official. This must be posted in the appropriate PirateCraft forum group section by the Election Commissioner. Discussions shall last for at least 2 days before the vote is initiated. The vote shall last for 3 days and shall pass by a majority vote. Temporary banishment of the subject player may be immediately initiated by choice of the Prime Minister. If the vote fails, all actions against the subject player shall be reversed and seized property shall be returned forthwith. Alternatively, a player may be expelled from the Empire by general consensus.

Article III - Uniforms and Banners

Citizens of the Empire are encouraged to wear a redcoat uniform and fly the Union Jack. Individual tastes may be accommodated for.

Article IV - Raiding and War

Members of the Empire may not engage another player, group of players or nation without the consent of a majority vote unless in defence of themselves or another citizen. Individual players and groups of players who act physically aggressively, regardless of nationality, may be immediately targeted for retribution. No citizen may engage another member of the Empire without their consent unless in self-defence.

The penalty for breaking this article may be, among other things: Carrying out penance; paying reparations; being declared a rogue member; suffering uncompensated retribution; seizure of assets; expulsion from the Empire, by choice of the Prime Minister or Minister of Justice, a majority vote or general consensus. The decision of the majority vote overwrites the decision of the Prime Minister or Minister of Justice.

A declaration of war requires the approval of a majority vote as well as the approval of the Prime Minister.

Article V - Justice

Disputes among citizens will be aired on the PirateCraft forum under the appropriate group section. The Prime Minister or Minister of Justice shall mediate the dispute in accordance with the laws and traditions of the Empire.

Foreign players claiming citizenship of the British Empire without authorisation will be treated as hostile and may, after 24 hours of fair warning, be subject to the articles of war or other action as decided by the Prime Minister, a majority vote or general consensus. The decision of the majority vote overwrites the decision of the Prime Minister.

Article VI - Laws & Amendments

The Election Commissioner is responsible for running all referendums in a fair, lawful and timely fashion.

Any citizen may propose an amendment to the charter which must be posted in the appropriate PirateCraft forum group section by the Election Commissioner. Discussions shall last for at least 2 days before the referendum is initiated. The referendum shall last for 3 days and will pass with a two-thirds majority vote.

Any citizen may propose a change to the laws of the realm which must be posted in the appropriate PirateCraft forum group section by the Election Commissioner. Discussions shall last for at least 2 days before the referendum is initiated. The referendum shall last for 3 days and will pass with a majority vote.

The result of a referendum on an amendment, law or motion is based on the total number of citizens who cast their vote, not the total number of citizens in the Empire.

A new law may neither conflict with any other law nor the with the charter.

A new amendment may not conflict with any other amendment and shall render any conflicting laws defunct.

Article VII - Elections

The Election Commissioner is responsible for running all elections in a fair, lawful and timely fashion.

The positions of Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister shall be voted upon newly at least every six months after the last election under the appropriate PirateCraft forum group section. The candidates must always run in pairs and the candidate for Prime Minister must be a Governor. The election runs for 7 days, whereupon the pair with the most votes gains the seats.

All government duties and permissions shall be transferred onto the players with the most votes 14 days after the voting session ends at the very latest. The precise date may be individually agreed upon between the respective incumbent government official and the successor. A government position may my ceded at any time. If the Prime Minister cedes his or her position, they immediately spark an election. No player may be elected against their will.

The result of an election is based on the total number of citizens who cast their vote, not the total number of citizens in the Empire.

In the case of a draw, the election must be rerun if the candidates are not willing to make an arrangement with each other. If the election process if suspected of being corrupt, disproportional or infiltrated by outsiders, the electorate may, by majority vote or general consensus, decide to rerun the election. An election may be boycotted if over 2/3 of the participants hand in an empty ballot, which also results in the election being rerun.

No government position may be held by the same player for more than three terms in a row unless there are too few citizens in the Empire to fill all the government positions or unless no one but the player who previously held the position wishes to run for it.

Signatures:

Prime Minister - CrazyPirate

Vice Prime Minister - michty

Minster of Defence - Chailey

Minister of Recruitment - greengreen90

Minister of Justice - Bislo

Election Commissioner - PaulOnFire

Admiral - DirectorAnivian

Date:

01.05.2015

The First Amendment - Amendment of the Lords

Article I - Introduction

Lords of the British Empire shall be citizens who are life members and advisers of the British government unless stripped of their title. They are permanent members of the British government group and may view participate in the discussions as if they were a appointed member of government. They have no control over any government functions, however.

Lords who take on a government roll do not relinquish their title of Lord and may remain in the government chat even after resigning from their post unless their title is revoked as laid out in article III.

Article II - Electing Lords

There are two ways of being elected as a Lord:

1. The first method is by a simple majority vote performed by the current government, including the current serving Lords, if any.

2. The second method is by a simple majority vote performed by the populace. If the majority vote is successful, the proposal is brought before the current PM and if he or she approves, the individual becomes a Lord.

The Election Commissioner may be contacted to perform these votes. If there is general consensus that an individual should become a Lord - that is to say, every party is satisfied that no vote needs to be held - the motion automatically counts as passed.

Article III - Dismissing Lords

If any two or more Ministers agree to dismiss a Lord in accordance with the PM, the Lord shall be stripped of his or her title. Government positions below Ministers cannot vote to dismiss a lord.

Lords need to state their continued wish to retain their title of Lord after every held election. If a Lord does not, the PM can freely dismiss him or her one week after the election. After that period, Lords are no longer entitled to claiming their title.

Lords with an inactivity of over three months can be freely dismissed by the PM.

Article IV - Privileges of Lords

Lords may participate in government votes. Their votes count as equal to all other votes.

The Charter of the British Empire serves as a basic set of principles that every citizen must adhere to. It was signed by the incumbent government officials at the beginning of May 2015.

Laws

Laws of the British Empire

Laws concerning attacking an individual (must be followed by all within the BE)

§1 Must not engage in PvP with peaceful players.

§1.1 Must not engage in PvP with a fellow British citizen at any point in time unless there is consent of all parties involved or the engagement is inside an inclosed PvP- or arena-designated area. [fine: 3 diamonds]

§1.2 Must not engage in PvP with an ally of the Empire at any point in time unless there is consent of all parties involved or the engagement is inside an inclosed PvP- or arena-designated area. [fine: 3 diamonds]

§1.3 Must not engage in PvP with foreign players who are not in conflict with the Empire unless the Minister of War, Vice Prime Minister or Prime Minister has granted this. [fine: 10 gold ingots]

§1.4 Must not engage a fellow BE member, ally or peaceful foreign player in PvP through “poking” them, also referred to as harassment with weapon, or fists. This law only applies when it is so obvious that the individual poking is doing so to provoke another player. [fine: 5 gold ingots]

§2 If an individual is a listed criminal in the “crew message of the day”, displayed when logging in, or displayed at local KOS boards, it is allowed to both steal from and raid the individual.

§3 If a player is attacked within a British designated trade town (warp trade and warp market), with anti-PvP laws, the aggressor will be put on KOS boards and banned from BE.

§4 If being attacked, self-defense is acceptable, but there must be no doubt about the aggressors intention to kill, harass or cause harm.

§4.1 An individual who has been killed by another, who is claiming to defend him/herself, can report “false self-defence” at the police office, if he/she knows the killer did in fact not defend him/herself, but seeks to frame the individual. Reports must go in the hopper, at the front desk, inside the police office.

General laws concerning ALL members

§5 Must only be associated with BE and no other empires. (special cases allow certain players to hold a dual passport). [fine: 2 diamonds, individual must choose which empire to side with]

General laws concerning CITIZENS only

§6 Must have a Governor that they belong to. Government officials will help bring newcomers to colonies with room for new citizens.

§7 Must have a passport and store it in a secure chest, and show it to any officer of the law or any government officials in case there is doubt that the citizen truly is a Brit. (A Passport may be acquired from your governor.) [fine: 5 gold ingots]

General laws concerning GOVERNORS only

§8 Must openly welcome citizens assigned to them by any government official. If the Governor is not in a position to take in new citizens, Government officials should provide aid in order to help the Governor become able to accept the citizens assigned to them.

§8.1 Furthermore they shall make sure new citizens get a passport. (Passports must be delivered to the passport office at warp trade, for final signature by PM or Vice PM.) [fine: 2 diamonds]

§8.2 Must provide a home, either pre-built or an open plot to build on, for new citizens. [fine: 1 diamond]

General Laws Concerning LAW ENFORCERS only

§9 Must also follow citizen laws, though they have the right to employ force against citizens if necessary. [fine: dismissed as officer]

§9.1 Must not kill a British citizen without proof that they cause immediate threat to their surroundings, to BE diplomacy or to the BE's reputation. [fine: 2 diamond, after two kills the individual will be dismissed as officer]

§9.2 If an individual is a known criminal, proof is not needed, and §9.1 can be exempted.

§10 Items taken from killed citizens must be stored in the confiscation chest, found in the police office. Officers must store ALL items taken from criminals and store it in an empty chest and put a sign on it, with a name of the criminal. [fine: 3 diamonds, if not stored 3 times, the individual will be dismissed as officer]

§11 Must not accuse any BE citizen of stealing, killing etc. without proof or at least one witness. [fine: 12 gold ingots]

§12 Must make reports about incidents, that they themselves have responded to, involving PvP, stolen goods, insults made towards the empire. Reports must be stored in the reports chest at the police office. [fine: 3 gold ingots]

Laws for reclaiming items confiscated by the government

§13 A British citizen can at any time reclaim items from the police office if they have been taken by an officer during an incident where the citizen was killed. This law only applies to innocent citizens.

§13.1 If the citizen has broken any law, the items taken by police officers will only be returned after the given fine has been paid. If the citizen claims that he/she cannot pay the given fine, the items will then be taken to be inspected by any higher ranking officer and the value of the items will then be decided. The value of the citizens debt(fine) will then be seized by the government, and the rest will be given back to the citizen.

Signed:

Bislo

Governor of Port Hope,

British Minister of Justice

Date:

01.07.2015

The laws of the British Empire are rules which must be complied with by all British citizens. Breaking a law may result in a punishment. The point of laws is not to catch players out - with a little bit of common sense a citizen should never be involved in criminal activities. Players who unintentionally break the law may be dealt with leniently under circumstances. Peacekeepers are expected to act sensibly and fairly when dealing with felonies.

History

Founding

Atlas of the British Empire - 11.08.2015

Royal Dragoons riding into battle

British redcoats wearing the iconic British uniform

A British convention on 27.09.2015

The dissolution of the Queendom of Evermoor at the end of 2014 resulted in both a power vaccuum as well as many homeless players. The time was ripe for new great crews to emerge. Of all the upstarts, the British Empire was the most successful. Founded in January 2015 by CrazyPirate, its growth skyrocketed and within a couple of weeks the British Empire already counted 20 citizens.

Most of the newly acquired territories were focused around the North Sea, which quickly became the safest area for British citizens to reside. Expansion into other quadrants provided mixed results. Heavy pirate activity in the east led to many new British colonies being raided, which in turn resulted in frequent skirmishes between buccaneers and British redcoats. In particular a British retaliation raid on pirate-controlled Havanna led to much bloodshed, the battle was however ultimately lost and the British forces opted to abandon their struggling eastern colonies and instead claim new territories on the far western side of the world.

First Era of Turmoil

After a brief period of respite, petty conflicts expanded to previously peaceful colonies. For and foremost pirates Bensterpc and Pipsterpc utilised the opportunity to plague weak members of the Empire. At the same time, elections were taking place in order to determine the first government of the British Empire. The first round of voting was mired by rogue voters who weren't part of the British Empire as well as multiple ballots being cast per elector, so the position of Election Commissioner was bestowed upon PaulOnFire to manage the elections in a fair and transparent manner. The results were close but clear: CrazyPirate and Michty beat Chailey and Bislo1 to the posts of Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister.

The first action of the new Prime Minister was to try and appease the boiling tensions between the raiding pirates, the returned former Queen of Evermoor, Reptaria, and the head of the TUPE alliance, Unic0rnjunk101. Peace deals were consistently breached, which led to bold British action against Bensterpc and Pipsterpc: Their southern fortress near to British controlled Port Royal was assaulted and damaged, their fleet set ablaze. Attacks were expanded to Havanna, which was damaged in multiple raids. The newly revived elves of Evermoor who had formerly announced their friendship to the British Empire now declared war, which resulted in the streets of Evermoor being blown up with cannons.

Shortly thereafter peace was agreed upon by all sides. The elves of Evermoor rebranded themselves as the Elven Empire of Lothlorien. The British forts surrounding Havanna remained claimed as a monument to the war and attacks on Port Hope by Unic0rnjunk101 ceased.

The Planning of London

The newfound peace led to an explosion of construction projects across the Empire, the biggest of which was the planning of the capital city of London. The city was to function as a semi-historical replica of 17th century London and would serve as the main centre of commerce, culture and recruitment in the British Empire. Each building would be custom designed by the Empire's architects.

An area was selected to house the capital city. Deforestation went quickly and a storehouse was erected to contain the building materials for London. The first wall of Buckingham Palace was built and The course of the river Thames was plotted and partly excavated with TNT.

This prosperous time was not to last. Two British government officials defected to the elves, sparking an internal crisis. The government took its time properly assessing the individual applicants for the empty government positions.

Conflicts during this time were mostly with the 0utlaws and their subject territory of Verussia. After a series of skirmishes, the British Empire managed to convince the Verussians to split themselves off from the 0utlaws' influence and go their own way.

The Elven Ball

A brief distraction came in the form of the Elven Ball, a majestic celebration event organised by the elves. The British Empire received an special invitation - five of its members were welcome to attend. The Prime Minister and a few high-profile members were chosen to represent the British Empire.

The Elven Ball started out well, there was much dancing and many drinks to go around. Elven security guards were the only players allowed to carry weaponry at the event and were responsible for maintaining order.

Accounts vary as to what happened next. What is certain is that TUPE troops appeared out of nowhere and forced their way into the ballroom. The Elven guards were no match for them - chaos ensued. Some say the bartender took cover behind the counter, dodging arrows as they flew. Others say that Queen Reptaria managed to climb onto the chandelier to escape TUPE's blades. Many players met their death that day.

Second Era of Reform

Once the new British government had been appointed, things began to ease a bit. An influx of new recruits brought the British Empire's all-time member count over 100.

The British Empire now found itself able to exercise influence on a global scale. The armed forces felt increasingly confident and boisterous in the aftermath of their previous victories and started intervening in foreign affairs more often. Several botched military operations tarnished the British Empire's image, however. One such operation was led on Verussian soil. Due to misinformation and bad assessment of the situation, British troops marched into North Verussia and sieged the storage compound in order to retrieve "stolen goods". The badly armed Verussians became increasingly unruly and every wrong move on their part was punished with an execution.

The operation became a big topic of discussion on the forums and led to an agreement between the elves and the British to supply the Verussians with reconstruction materials. It also led to an overhaul of the British military system. This did not stop unknown parties from mass-griefing the North Verussian island with TNT in an attempt to frame the British Empire, however.

Such acts of slander, which had been common during the previous large-scale wars against the British Empire began flaring up again and took much effort to lay bare.

The War against the 0utlaws

In May 2015, the 0utlaws, TUPE and various other crews and individuals declared war on the British Empire. A combination of badly equipped, rowdy new recruits of the British Empire and difficulties collaborating efficiently led to many disastrous skirmishes. The difficulty of running such a big empire was painfully evident.

Many hours of brainstorming and careful planning helped improve British performance on the battlefield. Morale was low, yet the British refused to bow and bit by bit the tide began to turn. The elves joined the British forces in their defence against the 0utlaws and together they managed to ransack one of HardTimez' bases.

The war dragged on and neither side was willing to capitulate. The 0utlaws' pride would not let them make peace and the elves scornfully turned down an offer to let them retire from the conflict in return for a donation of significant amounts of cash and materials to the 0utlaws.

In July 2015 an alliance was forged between the main empires of PirateCraft. The combined Elven, Verussian, Iborian, Ottoman and British forces - the "Allied" - began to score victory after victory against the 0utlaws, allowing daily life to return to normal.

On 30th July 2015, video evidence was obtained by Zindarak showing the 0utlaws and their allies harassing, spawn killing and allegedly hacking. HardTimez was permanently banned from the server and his crew members were issued a two-day temporary ban as a warning. Upon returning to the server, they chose to join the crew known as Red Lotus whose captain was the infamous long-time player KingKarim. The fighting continued for another week until KingKarim was, in turn, banned for harassment. The remnants of the crew split up. Some formed a smaller crew known as Black Flag, others allowed themselves to be assimilated into the Starks and the Elven Empire. The main perpetrators were not granted peace until they'd paid war reparations.

The Autumn Elections

CrazyPirate resigned as Prime Minister in August 2015, leaving Michty as head of state during the election period. The elections were conducted in the same manner as in March. Two candidate duos emerged: Michty with DirectorAnivian as Vice Prime Minister versus Bislo1 with CaptainCrackerz as Vice Prime Minister. The victors were ultimately Michty and DirectorAnivian with their promise of bolstering the military and economy of the Empire in addition to reforming the British recruitment strategy.

Present Situation

The new government of the British Empire has appointed the cabinet and is working to implement a multitude of projects across the British Empire.

Settlements and Forts of the British Empire in Alphabetical Order

• Corfadia
• Gloomsbay
• Goldton
• Karjat
• London
• Newfoundland
• New Zealand
• Vendigroth
• Port Hope
• Port Oribi
• Port Panem
• Port Royal
• Port Vernesse
• Province of Canada

Allies

• The Elven Empire
• The Iborian Empire
• The Verussian Empire
• The Raven Pirates

Enemies

• 0utlaws
• Red Lotus

Previous British Governments

The BE government, spring 2015

The BE government, summer 2015

The BE government, autumn 2015

Former Settlements and Forts of the British Empire in Alphabetical Order

• Bridgetown
• Fort Crater
• Port Alexandria
• Port Blue
• Seastone
• Virgin Islands
• Westeros

Old Documents and Images

Map of the first colonies of the British Empire

Map of the provinces of the British Empire at the end of April 2015 (click to view in higher resolution)