HRH Sehani Ifyiena Alexandra Carver
Interesting name isnt it?
No more interesting than her family: The Royal Family of Carver-Ajiyneate
Wait did I hear right?
Carver?
Like George Washington Carver?
Well yes you did. How is that possible?
"Carver is American the last time I checked." Someone said to me at a writing panel at DragonCon when I was pitching the story while waiting for all the authors to arrive.
"Not as far fetched as you may think....
The colonies of Liberia and Sierra Leone were populated by freed American slaves.
In fact until the 1980's and that coup of Samuel K Doe, Liberia was dominated by Americo-Liberian elite descendants of the freed slaves."
From the American Civil War to World War I
The Hapsburgs to the Hohenzollerns (And the Saxe Coburgs, Zahigrens, the Bernadottes too)
The Sarejevo incident and the few countries that managed to avoid colonization by the Europeans
Whew!
helps that I love to read.
And Thank heaven for Wikipedia!
Building the country of Akewiji was a very labor intensive yet fun task as it required a lot of research. Because I had to make it plausible and believable
Yes its fiction but fiction in a sense that one could see it happening
The country is actually a fusion of several countries including some that still retain their monarchies. I needed a country that interacted with everybody but as a whole did not show loyalties to one or any of the superpowers but individually expressed sympathies. A Switzerland with a monarchy if you may. Or a Luxembourg or Sweden if you will.
Hey c'mon its not such a far stretch when you think about it.
There were Swiss who were Nazi loyalists
Queen Victoria of Sweden was pro-German being a princess from Baden and made no secret of it
Princess Victoria Adelaide of Denmark was banished for her Nazi loyalties after World War II
The people in my Grand Duchy are no different
The Royal Family for the most part are pro British
With exceptions of course (namely Sehani and Zwendili)
The loyalties and sympathies reflect the times and the growing movements with some variations of course.
With no World War I, communism would remain a political ideology instead of a movement that toppled several governments.
The National Workers Party would still be meeting in beer halls instead of goose stepping in the streets and everybody's favorite person to hate (except for the Neo-Nazis of course) Hitler led a more mainstream life of obscurity as painter and occasional rabble rouser.
The Lusitania is not sunk and Germany is still a loose confederated patchwork of duchies and grand duchies, principalities, kingdoms and well....Prussia
wait.......WHAAT??!!
Yes people the Germany that most of us know today is no more homogenous than the good ol
US or any country for that matter. And my Grand Duchy is product of its times so why not?
"Ugh" said one of my friends "Youve Eurorized an African country."
"Eurorized?
Is that even a word?"
"Well you know what I mean. Its a country of Uncle Toms, Anglophiles.....really? If given a chance would a African country really do that?"
Well why wouldnt they? Why couldnt a country adapt itself to protect itself from the encroaching powers.
Best way.......become just like them while retaining their distinct identity.
Thailand did it
Japan to a certain degree did it.
I dont see the Akewejian people as Uncle Toms in the slightest. I could be viewing with rose colored glasses, but i see this kingdom as survivors adapters and chameleons of their time.
What do you think?
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