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Revision as of 15:05, 1 June 2017

The British Empire
Union Jack.png
The Union Jack
CoN Flag 01.06.2017.png
Flag of the Commonwealth of Nations
Leader: Gildor_stinky
Founded: January 2015
Structure: Democratic Federation
Character: Peaceful
Allies:

The British Empire (BE) is the largest player made empire in PirateCraft. Headed by Prime Minister Gildor_stinky, the empire dedicates itself to international stability.


To apply for membership, any interested parties should contact the British Empire's Minister for Recruitment, Lazydog11.


Ideals

The primary interest of the BE has always been the security of its citizens and colonies. Originally founded as a tight-knit defensive alliance of civil players, it swiftly grew into a global community within a matter of weeks.

A secondary goal of the BE is expansion. New territories are accepted into the empire with open arms so long as the residents are deemed trustworthy. Existing colonies are encouraged to develop infrastructure and recruit fresh citizens. Construction projects and promotion of commerce have kept the British population wealthy and productive.

Over the years the BE has proved itself an effective state and emerged unscathed from server-wide wars which ended up destroying many communities for good.

Politics

Despite the use of the term "empire", the British state is more accurately described as a direct democratic federation with an imperial theme. Democracy and freedom of speech have been entrenched in British values from the very beginning. Territory and riches are not gained through conquest, but through labour, cooperation and trade. Players who disobey the rules of PirateCraft and lack in common decency are not welcome in the empire.

Foreign crews of players are treated in the same manner as they treat the British Empire. Individuals who call themselves pirates may enjoy a neutral relationship with the British Empire - so long as they leave British settlements in peace. Those who evoke the wrath of the empire incur it in full force.

The British Empire was formerly a member of the alliance known as the League of Nations. It consisted of six nations dedicated to world peace and stability up until its collapse in the aftermath of the "BExit" vote of late September 2016. Currently the BE is nurturing a new, reformed alliance known as the Commonwealth of Nations.

Current Government

The BE government, late spring 2016





















Charter

Scroll Banner 11.08.2015.png

Charter of the British Empire

The First Amendment - Amendment of the Lords

The Second Amendment - Amendment of the Hierarchy Tree


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

Justicia 11.08.2015.jpg

Laws of the British Empire


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.

Foreign Relations

Treaty Terms Participants Date Status
League of Nations [1] Membership Agreement BE & other Allied nations 24th June 2015 - 1st October 2016 Defunct
Raven Accords [2] Declaration of Alliance BE & Raven Pirates 30th June 2015 Defunct
Commonwealth of Nations [3] Membership Agreement BE & other Commonwealth Nations 1st February 2016 Active
Restoration of former alliance [4] Declaration of Alliance BE & Elven Empire 28th April 2016 Active
The Holy Ender Treaty [5] Declaration of Alliance BE & Ender 6th May 2016 Active
The Sun Never Sets - Again [6] Declaration of Alliance BE & Solis 6th May 2016 Defunct
A Treaty for the Elite [7] Declaration of Alliance BE & Elite 12th May 2016 Defunct
Declaration of Dependence [8] Colonial State Agreement BE(Suzerain) & Thirteen Colonies(Subject) 19th May 2016 - 22nd September 2016 Defunct

Current crews and nations affiliated the British Empire:

Current crews and nations in conflict with the British Empire:

  • n/a

History

Founding

Royal Dragoons riding into battle
British redcoats wearing the iconic British uniform
A British convention on 27.09.2015
The British Empire's pet punk
Lawzoneon's Build of the Month castle, Mariejois
Silverstone47 in his element
British and Elven shield bearers
CaptainCrackerz "taming" two guardians, both of which he named Jeffrey
Gildor_stinky testing out his new elytra at Delta Tower

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. [9]

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 Force

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. [10]

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. [11]

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.

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. The new cabinet was appointed in the following weeks.

Third Era of Reform

The Allied nations dominated international politics as the primary world organisation during the months following the 0utlaws' collapse. A period of mutual prosperity and world peace set in, allowing the empires of PirateCraft to recuperate.

In October 2015, it was discovered that the Allied nation of Verussia had been plotting against its supposed allies. The rogue nation was ousted from the organisation in accordance with a unilateral vote, allowing the elves to declare war. Other allied members and foreign entities gave their support in the Allied invasion of Verussia which left the cities of the Verussian continent plundered and in ruins. While the war was dominated by the elven forces, the Verussians never truly surrendered nor accepted demands regarding the abdication of KingRS.

Other crews had been growing in influence in the meantime, especially raider organisations with a strong focus on military might. It soon became apparent that upstarts such as Delta and CoV were capable adversaries and had established themselves as notable world powers.

Hand in hand with this change came the stagnation of British military strength. By this time British towns were largely siegeproof, yet most citizens lacked the sheer volume of gear that hardcore PVPers had managed to amass through daily raids. Groups of powerfully equipped raiders were able to beleaguer British ports and disrupt trade. Unsurprisingly, harassment reports coming from British members increased significantly.

Large-scale British projects were making progress in the meantime, including the development of a British HQ (later known as Venice), the rejuvenation of British business ventures as well as security development and political undertakings. The First Amendment to the British charter was passed, allowing the appointment of Lords as honorary advisers to the government. This was soon followed by a complete overhaul of the British charter and the establishment of new government positions and duties. The laws of the realm were revised to reflect this reform.

To cull the number of new, inexperienced players joining the British Empire, the British Empire Training Crew was founded as a means of improving the quality of new recruits. The construction of a training vault was commenced and Lazydog11, the empire's Minister for Recruitment, became the leader of this new sub-crew.

In early January 2016, tensions with Verussia grew again in light of the ever-present ruler, KingRS, making comments the British government found derogatory. The redcoats joined forces with their allies in the Xenon Empire and Thirteen Colonies and besieged many Verussian towns in a series of attacks. The Verussian resistant was fleeting and the damage dealt on Verussian lands great.

The newly reformed Elven Empire unexpectedly made an offer to the Verussian citizens to merge into their empire, which caused much friction in the League of Nations, the renamed "Allied". The Verussians agreed to the proposal. This action ultimately put an end to the war, but caused a deep rift between the former close allies.

At the end of January 2016, tensions grew between the British Empire and the radical revolutionary Ashikagan crew lead by Ultracreeper. Ultracreeper had been campaigning for a revolt against donators for some weeks. He took up contact with _Lego_, the British Empire's new Chief of Police and revealed to him a plan to topple the British government by rigging the elections. _Lego_ reported this and the story soon made headlines in the Ashikagan embassy [12]. Ultracreeper renamed himself "the Kaiser" and defended his actions by announcing he wanted to establish a Colrainist government with revolutionary ideals. His explanation was widely condemned, especially as the BE was well-known as the only big democracy on the server.

The Kaiser interrupted a British war vote by declaring war on the British Empire on 31st January 2016 [13] The conflict was short-lived, as CrazyPirate1 managed to plunder Ulracreeper's valuables, including a beacon, during a scouting raid.

Elections were held from 17th until 24th March 2016. For the first time three candidate duos emerged - CaptainCrackerz (PM) and iKeto (VPM) vs. BGraph (PM) and Crazy Pirate (VPM) vs. Bislo (PM) and Lawzoneon (VPM). Despite the usage of media such as posters and YouTube videos by the competition, Bislo and Lawzoneon won the election race with their promise of kickstarting the construction of the capital city of London.

Soon after the election the decision was made to merge the British Empire Training Crew (BETC) back into the main crew. The reason was that that too many recruits found friends in the BETC and didn't want to "graduate" into the British Empire for fear of losing contact with their comrades through /crew chat. The British Empire had been suffering a period of stagnation due to this effect and was in desperate need of fresh blood. The leadership recognised that in the long term, the BETC would end up smothering the group it had been designed to protect - thus the BETC had to be disbanded. Its legacy lived on, however, as Lazydog11's town Gloomsbay had been massively expanded due to the influx of new recruits and boasted, among other things, housing for dozens of active players and a large PvP arena.

On 16th April 2015 PirateCraft moved over to 1.9. The British Empire was actively involved in the opening event and managed to procure rare items such as elytras and dragon heads. The upgrade also enabled the construction of paths on grass blocks using the right-click function of shovels. With the aim of ultimately creating a global road network, the empire got to work connecting its northernmost and southernmost territories with roads. Within but a few days, it was already possible to travel several thousand blocks along a smooth roadway from Venice all the way up north past the Thirteen Colonies and into Port Gletscher.

Other projects also sprang to life, such as the construction of a fully automated infinite free wheat farm near spawn for deckhands as well as the construction of the first buildings and houses in London besides Buckingham Palace and the Globe Theatre.

Fourth Era of Eminence

May 2016: In a stunning turn of events the balance of power in PirateCraft was changed forever.

The build up began during the previous months. This was the time when CoV was at the height of its power and attracting an ever larger member base. Many of the new recruits, decked out in God, felt bold enough to raid and pillage as they pleased. In contrast to the older, more experienced crusaders the fresh blood acted more reckless and less adept on the battlefield. This change did not go unnoticed. Unrest was growing as the previously sedate crews of PirateCraft began to stir from their palsy. A breeze was picking up which would soon become a storm.

The first strike was dealt by the Elves. CoV raids lead by players such as JoeBlub and Bentas were halted in their tracks as the Elves amassed a large enough force to drive them back and even slay them. This was a big surprise to many on the server, as usually CoV members encountered little to no resistance owing to their reputation. Reptaria announced that he would from then on be actively hunting down crusaders himself.

Behind the scenes treaties were being signed. Now that CoV could be hurt, it was time to drive the blade in deeper. Solis and EE were the first to bring the battle to the crusaders. The sheer number of God geared players, often over a dozen, in comparison to the two to three CoV members at a time, proved simply overwhelming. In battle after battle, CoV for the first time met with defeat.

These were not the only crews to get involved though. The British Empire, recognising the potential of this grand alliance against CoV, joined in the fray on 19th May 2016 and sought to bring in more of the smaller crews to the frontlines. Within days, the gears of war were turning as no less than seven crews were actively taking up arms and pursuing their previous belligerents. In addition, it became apparent that CoV's reputation was disintegrating at a rapid pace. No longer seen as untouchable, players recalled the frequent raids, the driving of long-term players such as Konstruktor away from server as well as their arrogant demeanour of the past and used this this opportunity to shatter the crusader's hegemony for once and for all.

Within a week, a large number players of CoV had departed, leaving only the core crusaders behind. Many small groups such as Khaos emerged from the Exodus, but were much weaker than the old CoV. CoV itself didn't disband and remained a competent crew, but the wind had gone from its sails. Victory belonged to the entente who rose up against them.

The result of this unexpected upheaval was a change in the balance of power. Solis, EE and BE were suddenly seen as the new powerhouses of the server and many wondered if they would stick to their peaceful ideals or attempt to fill CoV's shoes as warlords. While the latter scenario did not immediately come into effect, it did not put an end to war either.

The first challenge faced by the BE was the reemergence of USE, who were in conflict with Thirteen Colonies over a name dispute. Verbal assaults were launched but no blood was shed.

Then out of the ruins emerged the resurrection of an old nemesis lead by Mandarin_Panda: Outlaws. While the fledgling crew was in itself no threat, the entente was aware that it would try to use its reputation to its advantage and attract capable PvPers. Sure enough, Outlaws declared its intention to become a powerful PvP crew in its own right. This announcement was met with declarations of war by the LoN.

The Heart Pirates ambushed and killed one British citizen which lead to a huge counter offensive at their base. Almost twenty British troops heeded the call to action, set up cannons and pounded their base with gunfire.

British redcoats were once again active, prowling the seas and dispensing "justice". This was met with mixed feelings within the government: Some wanted the BE to remain neutral and retaliatory as hitherto. Others demanded the crew take action, especially against scum of the server such as hackers. In particular the Juice Pirates were proven to contain a number of Italian hackers which British forces used as a casus belli to launch an assault - without a war vote. British PM Bislo demanded that the British should cease their offensive immediately in accordance with the charter or face consequences. In the midst of the turmoil screenshots from the Juice Pirates crew chat were revealed, some of which's contents seemed to infer that acceptance of hackers was commonplace in the crew and that a number of crew members - including the leader - were aware of perpetrators but not reporting them to the mods. This lead to a forum report by British members with tempers soaring and appropriate political fallout. After some weeks the situation deescalated. Apple crew members were no longer involved in reports and the two crews even started to work together.

BExit

On the 16th August 2016, the Templars, a close ally of the BE, unexpectedly declared war on their fellows. [14] The Templars' official casus belli was to avenge perceived transgressions by BE members and to promote a "fun war" on the server, as the summer had so far provided no new conflicts to partake in. This post ignited a furious wave of British indignation. Government officials and citizens alike proceeded to debunk many of the accusations as fabrications serving to justify the act of backstabbing.

BE turned to its allies in LoN for assistance in its defensive war against the Templars. However, like the BE, many members of LoN had close connections and friends within the Templar ranks. Only the EE and 13C answered the BE's call to war. This perceived act of treachery by LoN drove a wedge into the relationship between the BE and neutral LoN crews. This even led to players from within the empire demanding a British departure from LoN so as to seek true allies elsewhere.

The war against Templars proved short-lived as combined EE, 13C and BE forces held their ground. Internal conflicts within Templar ultimately led to the crew's dissolution and a continuation of world peace. Political changes were abound. 13C was permitted to depart from the BE and continue its existence as an independent but affiliated crew. Tensions continued to intensify within the grand alliance of LoN. A mere couple of weeks had passed since the war with Templar when anti-LoN sentiment met its climax: The "BExit" referendum. After a lengthy debate, the leave campaign prevailed with over three quarters of voters in favour of secession. Thus in late September 2016 the BE officially left the fourteen month old alliance for good. This caused a snowball effect within LoN: EE and 13C also announced their immediate departure whilst the small crews of LR, XE and IE ended up disbanding. The latter three crews would thereupon merge to form a greater, stronger entity know as the Xanthian Order (TXO). LoN ceased to exist.

Settlements and Forts of the British Empire

Atlas of the British Empire - 29.04.2016


Province of Canada:

Dalkon State:

Northern Territories:

Territories on the old continent:

South Seas:

Southern Territories:



Previous British Governments

Charts of Previous Governments


Former Settlements and Forts of the British Empire

List of Former Settlements


Old Documents and Images

Charter of the British Empire (Prior to 16th March 2017)

Outdated Images

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