The Status of the Empire

The British Empire of 1870 is rather different from our modern world.

• Parliament represents only those British citizens living in Great Britain and Ireland.
• Residents of a British Colony are governed by a Colonial government. Colonial governments pass through the following stages:
  • All colonies begin as the private possession of a Governor, whose power is limited only by the Privy council.
  • Eventually the Governor selects an advisory council to assist him in governing the colony.
  • In time the residents of a colony may petition for the right to elect a body to advise the governor.
  • With the approval of the crown, the Privy council and the Governor, the elected body may mature into a full colonial parliament.
• We’ve chosen not to simulate the full range of British Government. We have only one house of Parliament, and no ministerial cabinet. The Privy council is the Prime Minister (Lord Rippon) and one other Minister (Ian Dunross). There are no backbenchers, etc.
• At the moment in Brassy’s world, the Conservative party is weak and lacks a coherent platform, other than opposition to the Liberal party. This is an accident of history, and could be corrected by a group of player characters (An editorial to the paper on this topic would be appropriate.)
• Secret ballots and other notions that the modern world consider to be "fair" are rather new to the British Isles. Despite the efforts of reformers like Lord Rippon, electoral corruption is still rather common.
• At any time, if the ruling party fails to carry legislation it proposes, the opposition party may call for a vote of no-confidence. In our world, votes of no-confidence will be handled as between-game-actions. After a vote of no-confidence, all members of the House of Commons must stand for re-election. Members of the House of Lords will automatically be part of the new Parliament.
• Bills submitted to the docket in our world must be about a single issue, and must be summarized in a few (100) words. This is an artificial restriction to allow everyone to participate in politics, and to reduce arguments about the meaning and implementation of a bill.

Famous People

The Second British Empire

We find ourselves in the midst of the second British Empire, a time which began with the creation of the United States in the 1780s. Our attentions have turned to Asia and we are considering Africa now. Under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli, now is a time where a good man can make a name, and perhaps a lordship for himself by exploring a new land and claiming it for the King and the Queen to the edification of the empire..

Our holdings include:

Africa

Antartica

No colonies as of 1874. Scientific expeditions and seal hunters have explored only fragments of its coasts.

Asia

Australia

Europe

North America

South America