HIE 305 – The History of Nordstrum 1690 – 1811
Course Syllabus, Spring Semester 2016
Professor Johan Schmidt
University of Kreuzberg
Selected Readings
A History of Democracy in Finum Mundi
Chapter 3: Nordstrum
The modern concept of democracy in Finum Mundi had its beginning in the Northern War of 1692 and the emergence of Nordstrom from KaiserReich’s port lands. This catch all statement has been dominant in the field of history for the last century. However, a thorough examination will reveal the inaccuracy in this position. It is true that in name, the FolksParlament appears democratic and that there existed a moratorium on state-sponsored religion, yet as with many proto-democratic states, these factors were emergent properties of a system designed to further the power and wealth of an oligarchic few. As with any contemporary state, the common people were still exploited for the benefit of the elite, perhaps not in the fields but certainly in the docks, the forges, and in uniform. In fact…
Revolutions Before Industry
Chapter 11: The Northern War
The Northern War appears as an anomaly in the record of revolutions. Popularized as a movement of the people against monarchic oppressors, this struggle mirrors those of two centuries later. Yet any similarities between the Northern War and the populist uprisings of the mid 19th Century are superficial. At the heart of the revolution was an emergent class of elite that in the modern world would be classified as leaders of business. Like any of its contemporaries, KaiserReich was legally ill-equipped to interact with these ‘money kings’, as they would be later termed, as such the measures and laws that the KronzPrinz enacted were ineffective and often inhibitory to the interests of the money kings. The final insult would come in 1691 with the KronzPrinz making a declaration that the overseas colonies, the majority of which were privately owned and operated, would now fall under Imperial jurisdiction. This move threatened the lucrative business interests that many of the most powerful merchants relied upon. Within the year the war had begun and…
…making the revolution a mercantile one. Indeed, the populist labels and promises of the Northern War were nothing more than concessions made to the masses to win them over to the revolution. While the majority of the population and territory of KaiserReich would remain in Imperial hands, the port lands of the north with the highest percentage of urban population, were eventually won and kept upon the treaty of Kolbjerg, 1695.
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
Chapter 22: The Rise of the Mercantile State
As discussed in Chapter 2, the political direction and executive decisions of a state are tied with the agricultural, resource, and population considerations of its geography. Using Nordstrum to illustrate this concept we can see that its rise as a mercantile state was not based on a revolution in economics or a prophetic understanding of future political trends.
The geography of Nordstrum is primarily wetlands and fresh water lakes, deficient in timber, agricultural lands, and fodder. Mediocre mining does exist, sufficient for the national and military needs, but insufficient to form the basis of an economy. Thus, Nordstrom was naturally pushed into other arenas to secure its wealth, primarily its excellent ports, urban population, and refined products industries such as textiles, forges, and ship building. With these factors in mind, the rise of Nordstrum as a state based on trade, refined goods, and the taxation of imports and exports seems obvious. Of course there existed other factors in…
From Spear to Stealth: Military Tactics and Technology Through Time
Page 145
The concept of combined arms independent task forces, such as the Libagioni Marine Corps, did not truly come into being in the modern sense until the middle of the 18th century. The concept first arose in Nordstrum in the 1740 annual parliamentary report on the army, followed by its neighbours over the next two decades. The original idea was to combine infantry (both line and skirmish), cavalry, and artillery into a standardized brigade. The modern officer would recognize this as an independent task force that can operate alone and allow for a standardization of officer training. In reality the senior officers of the Nordstrum army were not that far-thinking. Faced with a smaller population than its neighbours and a parliamentary law against involuntary conscription they were forced to rely upon a small professional army that could operate in small units independent of the army. It is likely that without the restrictions placed upon them, the Nordstrum generals would have simply mirrored the armies of their contemporaries. Regardless, this…
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