British Empire

The Union Jack, flag of the British Empire

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

Current Government

Prime Minister - CrazyPirate

Vice Prime Minister - michty

Minister of War - Ephrygian

Admiral -DirectorAnivian

Election commisioner - PaulOnFire

Minister of Recruitment - Dr_Solid

Minister of Justice - Bislo1

Charter

The Charter of the British Empire serves as a basic set of principles that every citizen must adhere to. It has yet to be offically signed by the government as of the end of April 2015.

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 of 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. The post is appointed by the Prime Minister.

The Minister of 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 of Justice is resonsible 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 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.

Article II - Membership

New 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 -

Minister of Recruitment -

Minister of Justice - Bislo

Election Commissioner - PaulOnFire

Admiral - DirectorAnivian

Date:

XX.YY.ZZZZ

History

Founding

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)

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 alliances to emerge. Of all the upstarts, the British Empire was the most successful. Founded in February 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 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 Michal_Tyrlik 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. A new influx of new recruits brought the British Empire's all-time member count over 100.

The flaws of the British Empire were becoming increasingly apparent, however. Botched operations brought attention to British failings and tarnished its image. 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.

Then, out of nowhere, the 0utlaws, TUPE and various other alliances 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 battles. The difficulty of running such a big Empire was evident.

Many hours of brainstorming have produced new models and possibilities of improving British procedures. It remains to be see how these reforms will be implemented.

Present Situation

Currently the British Empire is allied with the Elven Empire and is on the defensive in many regions against pirates and invaders.