zompist bboard

Do Almeans have no concept of The Brown Man's Burden?

PS. They don't force the Be to clothe themselves since Christianity isn't strong enough on Eretald, but how about something related to manifest destiny? Don't they at least have expansionist ambitions?

I think you mean Verdurians and Kebreni? Certainly they do-- the Verdurians already have a large colony in Tellinor, and the Kebreni have taken over one Beic country. It's the dawning of the age of colonization.

zompist wrote:I think you mean Verdurians and Kebreni? Certainly they do-- the Verdurians already have a large colony in Tellinor, and the Kebreni have taken over one Beic country. It's the dawning of the age of colonization.

What's the administration in Tellinor like? Is it mostly a for profit colony, content to co-opt local leaders? Or are the Verdurians more concerned and interested in working on "reforming" it? Is there a large settler population? What's the prestige of being sent to Tellinor to be in the local government?

Actually, that's something that's interested me: how evangelical are the religions of Eretald? Do the Eledhi try to convert the Tellinorese?

zompist wrote:It's the dawning of the age of colonization.

Yes, but have technologically advanced nations expressed an interest in "reforming savages"? Do the Eledhe support foreign missions?

Or in a more extreme form, is there a popular feeling that much of foreign barbarism is comparable to Gelalhat and should be stamped out by force if necessary? If it hasn't come to that stage yet, do you think something like that can happen despite the present anti-catholic atmosphere where even analyzing other belief systems is frowned on?

The original purpose of the Verdurian presence was trade; to safeguard this fortifications were built, then they got into local politics and ended up taking over several states. There have been many schemes for settlement but few have succeeded— it's a long trip and not a very agreeable climate.

Eledhi have mostly concentrated on spreading their religion in Eretald, though there's been some missionary work in Téllinor. Again, the main problem is getting people to undertake what is almost sure to be a one-way trip.

Verdurian Eledhi are adapted to their environment— they live among pagans and are ruled by them, and can clearly distinguish them from Dhekhnami. Benécians are a different story— they tend to have little higher opinion of pagans than Dhekhnami, though they are also not very evangelical.

zompist wrote:Verdurian Eledhi are adapted to their environment— they live among pagans and are ruled by them, and can clearly distinguish them from Dhekhnami. Benécians are a different story— they tend to have little higher opinion of pagans than Dhekhnami, though they are also not very evangelical.

I assume this is due to the ethnic/isolationist nature of Arashát under the Empire? If so, it kind of makes sense that the Erenati might be more evangelical (and ecumenical, I guess? More prone to "interfaith" stuff?) than the Benécians.

Yep—the Cuzeians believed in the universality of their religion but did very little about it. And the Arashei were persecuted for centuries and got used to having a very low profile.

zompist wrote:The original purpose of the Verdurian presence was trade; to safeguard this fortifications were built, then they got into local politics and ended up taking over several states. There have been many schemes for settlement but few have succeeded— it's a long trip and not a very agreeable climate.

Has Tellinor suffered under Verdurian rule? I really hope we get to know more of it soon...

zompist wrote:Eledhi have mostly concentrated on spreading their religion in Eretald, though there's been some missionary work in Téllinor.

What about Arcel? Are converts only trained in Eledhe doctrine or are they also educated in Verdurian culture and learning? What do you think is the most important reason that Christians saw Europe as the epitome of civilization and as a result, tried to Europeanize the world? Because they considered European culture to be explicitly Christian? Implicit patriotism? Pride as a result of the renaissance and the birth of modern science? Or was it more a matter of xenophobic prejudice caused by unfamiliarity and nostalgia? Because the first reason would make the Eledhi less likely to identify with and act as transmitters of the Verdurian culture, leaving introverted peoples to fend for themselves.

zompist wrote:Verdurian Eledhi are adapted to their environment— they live among pagans and are ruled by them, and can clearly distinguish them from Dhekhnami.

Sure, Cadhinorian paganism, with a tradition of poetry, reason and dabbling in philosophy like Greek religion, but what about foreign barbarism? Even the most hardcore Christians often had a soft spot for classical paganism.

zompist wrote:Benécians are a different story— they tend to have little higher opinion of pagans than Dhekhnami, though they are also not very evangelical.

You know, Dawkins would probably accept Almea as evidence for the non-existence of a benevolent, all-powerful deity in the real world.

rotting ham wrote:leaving introverted peoples to fend for themselves.

Not that this is always a bad thing, mind you. I'm sure India could've effected a renaissance on her own without any "help" from the British. I'm not so confident about China though.