This episode is mostly centered on Bali again, but does contain some interesting foreign events—including the final segment of the "USA Slave Debate" aspect of this story. But I want to go ahead and admit that there was a few tweaks here and there, I'm obviously referring to the war Bali gets into in this chapter. Trying to not spoil anything, what 'actually' happened was that the island of Bali was getting overrun by enemy troops, but in the middle of my invasion, the 30k+ soldiers on my island all turned into rebels... so... realistically, I did simply modify my game and move them back to their home country, where the revolution was occurring. THAT is how I ended up winning the war, because I sent the rebel armies from Bali back to their own country through save game modifications. So in all fairness, there's a good chance I might have lost that war, but regardless, aside from sending the rebels home, I did win this war in all other aspects of fairness. And even if it is unfair to do what I did, I think it was for the best, given that this is a story—not a showcase of my skill.
So, here we enter from 1972, end on 1884. Almost to the 20th century! (Can you believe I've survived this long? XD)
Chapter 4 – Bali's Big Rise
April 4, 1872 would be the due date for the first Balinese presidential election. There were months to go, and so little land for candidates to debate through. The difference between a democratic United States and Bali, was that in the United States, candidates traveled many miles to speak in different states. As for Bali, each of the two islands equaled about 55 miles each. Aside from these two islands, there was Northern Borneo—controlled by Bali. This was much larger, but with less towns than the two islands. All in all, as awkward as it may be, each candidate was practically destined to run into one another throughout the election while out making speeches.
Despite all the good that the Liberal Faction had brought to the Balinese prior to forming a democratic Bali, the Liberal Faction failed to hide the simple fact of their past mistake... the mistake, that of the 12,000+ Balinese husbands and fathers to set sail for Zanzibar... not a single man returned home. The Liberal Faction couldn't keep the reality of the situation a secret, the war with a completely primitive tribe had been lost, a defeat for both Bali and the Liberal Faction—but the Liberal Faction above all. Because of this terrible war, support for the Liberal Faction decreased majorly. Now, three separate major opinions existed in Bali.
The Balinese had to decide on their first president. They could stick with the Liberal Faction and enjoy a series of continuing change, at the cost of less expansion due to their weak stance on war. They could vote in the Royal Faction once more—the party that started it all for Bali—though the complete opposite of the Liberal Faction. By electing a president from the Royal Faction, Bali would be looking at a complete halt in terms of reform, but perhaps more expansion—which means more death. Lastly, there was the Socialist Faction. By electing the Socialist Faction, Bali would slowly begin to transform into a People's Society—where equality is enforced and the workers unite for a common goal—to create a better nation and society. Of course, a socialist society also meant a heavier police presence and many more reforms. Anyone in support of conservatism would despise the Socialist Faction, and thus, the Royal Faction's candidate went out of his way to slander the Socialist Faction's candidate.
The drawback between the Socialist and Royal Faction was that the two parties spent much of their effort discrediting the other, rather than getting their word out. The Liberal Faction remained neutral in the situation, however, was unable to focus solely on their platform. The Liberal Faction, in place of discrediting a party, was forced to waste time and effort on damage control over such a horrendous war. They had to somehow convince the population that no tragic wars such as the one with Zanzibar would ever occur again. Of the three parties, the Socialist Faction had the most influence over the population, offering promises for change and new rights for the people. Given the enjoyment of private property, jobs, and a working economy—much of Bali's population agreed that perhaps more of this sort of change would be good.
Election night came, and the people of Bali waited for the results to come. The only problem with this democracy was that the only citizens allowed to vote were the richest. The Lower and Middle class citizens (about 80% of the country as a whole) were not allowed to vote. The end results were expected to be much closer, but nevertheless, there was a unanimous end to the very first election. The Liberal Faction had been removed from power in place of the Socialist Faction—the first party to win a Balinese election by a whopping 72% total vote.
That same night, immediately, the newly structured socialist congress and president announced to the Balinese public that there would be an immediate change in policy. From this day forth, citizens of Bali were now permitted to hold public meetings and rallies—previous illegal activities. This was a major step toward ultimate freedom of speech, as this ensured the citizens that they could express their opinions in civilized ways without fear of imprisonment or execution.
Clearly, Bali was looking toward massive changes down the road. The Socialist Faction followed a system of pacifism, only desiring war if it was absolutely needed. Little did the public know, the complete opposite would soon occur...
Meanwhile, in Europe, a crisis had been kick started by the British Empire and their new ally, Germany. Queen Victoria had been forced back into Scotland many years ago, the United Kingdom having been deconstructed and sent back to the 'British Empire'. Nevertheless, her lust for causing tension arose once more came with an opportunity in Lithuania—controlled by the Russian Empire. With dissent rising in Lithuania over independence, Queen Victoria, with her new ally, Kaiser William I, presented the Russian Empire with a demand to release the Kingdom of Lithuania. The general thinking was that considering Latvia had been freed many years ago with Queen Victoria's threats, perhaps a second Baltic kingdom could be freed. If successful, all that would remain to be freed would be Estonia.
Tsar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire found this demand overly ridiculous. There was no doubting Victoria's true intentions. She had freed Latvia, and in turn, gained an alliance with them; and now she wanted a second Baltic kingdom to befriend her. In the long run, she merely hoped to gain enough allies to make a comeback against England. Nicholas II saw straight through her plan like a window, and thus, used this theory against her. On April 20th, Tsar Nicholas II turned to England and offered a deal. Join Nicholas II in the crisis, and he would ensure that the British Empire cede Scotland to England—which would essentially reform Great Britain. England accepted, and soon after, France joined in with the Russian Empire.
Germany and the British Empire continued to argue against France, England, and the Russian Empire—all of which counter-argued that Victoria was actually trying to dismantle the Russian Empire piece by piece, declaring that soon after, Victoria would see to freeing Finland, Estonia, and Poland as well. Despite her rejection of this theory, the heated debate went on. Kaiser William I watched in the past as the Russian Empire practically conquered the North German Confederation twice, now he was determined to try a rematch—which would raise awareness of the true potential of a fully unified German Reich.
Between these events, on December 11 of 1872, Bali had experienced a major event for the second time—but this time it wouldn't fail. On this date, the fabric factory they had created many years ago had now been reopened. This time, however, there were Balinese citizens who were ready to work. Only 82 employees in total, but nevertheless, the money these 82 employees made left others jaw-dropped. Instantly, hundreds before thousands of citizens sought to understand the concept of machinery, hoping to one day work in this factory. Fabric wasn't an expensive resource, but necessary for a rising nation like Bali. This meant more money through trade, as nations would purchase Bali's cloth, and also more cloth for internal use. In one year, the socialist elected party brought public meetings and industry to the Indonesian country.
January 20, 1873 marked the end of negotiations between the two sides in the Lithuanian crisis. This time, Victoria's plan did not work, and Russia indeed stood ready to fight. Almost immediately, thousands of English soldiers marched into Scotland, but with different kinds of weaponry. They fought with machine guns, caliber pistols and revolvers, and very distant ranged rifles. Naturally, Queen Victoria was evacuated out of Scotland immediately and brought to Ireland.
Germany stormed into Russian controlled Poland without warning. Nearly 80,000 German soldiers, all wearing blue and red with black and gold pickelhaube helmets, took Poland by storm. The Russian Empire couldn't react fast enough to locate an area to attack—the Germans were everywhere. On the other side, Germany and France clashed blades in the Rhineland. Unlike with the Russian Empire, France and Germany had large battles of equal strength—many of which resulted in both armies retreating. It had been nearly a century since Prussia and the other German states fell constantly to Napoleon Bonaparte of the French Empire, now it was time to determine who the true superpower of western Europe was, now that the German states were united.
In Bali, things only progressed positively with every day. Money was coming in, the population was supportive of change, the military was growing back, and even technology had begun to appear throughout both Bali and Balinese Borneo. It was in Borneo, however, in the winter of 1873, that a great tragedy had befallen the Balinese. For long, Bali controlled Northern Borneo, and the Netherlands owned Southern Borneo. The middle section (equaling about 50% of the entire island) had remained uncolonized, given the unpredictable environment. Nevertheless, Bali planned to eventually expand downward. This dream was cut short, however, as the flag of Spain had begun to show up throughout Middle Borneo. It was an unexpected move, but of all nations, it was the Spanish who decided to colonize in Middle Borneo.
Ultimately, the Socialist Faction felt threatened, but confident enough that their operation would fail. No Spanish explorers had been sent to map out the island, henceforth, they were merely planting down flags and declaring whatever they walked on a Spanish colony. Within a month, hopefully, any plans to colonize Borneo would have been abandoned. If not, a decade of hate would exist between Bali and Spain.
In April of 1873, the truest weapon of fear had been invented in Bali—a weapon that not a single Balinese soldier could believe. Foreigners called it the 'machine gun', and after months of careful examination on a Dutch machine gun, Bali had invented their own. The 'kacangpemburu', a stationary weapon that could shoot off constant bullets without stopping. The weapon would take nearly ten minutes to set up, and to fire, would require the user to constantly spin a wheel. This machine gun was primarily helpful for defensive operations. Aside from this, it was an awakening for Bali. The kacangpemburu would lead to new and better inventions in the future.
On August 10, 1873, a very unusual event unfolded for the Socialist Faction. One day, a ship bearing a never before seen set of flags appeared in Bali's port. The ship was clearly from Europe and beared a short red flag with a white cross in the center; below this was an inverted flag—a white flag with a red cross on it. Several officials came off of the ship, greeted the Socialist Faction, had tea in the parliament building, then prepared a document for signing. The officials claimed to be representatives of Switzerland—a landlocked nation in Europe. Though Switzerland does not border the ocean, Austria-Hungary offered them this vessel.
On that day, the government of Bali was presented a document for signing—the Geneva Convention. By signing this document, which beared the signatures of nearly all European rulers, Bali would agree to abide by a set of laws when it comes to warfare. By signing this, no longer could Bali do as they plea in war, they would need to consider certain rules—such as the treatment of prisoners. This also meant that Bali could no longer declare war without warning. The Geneva Convention, as the officials explained, were watched over by the newly formed 'Red Cross'.
Despite the repercussions that could ensue by signing this document, the Socialist Faction—which advocates peace and to keep warfare to a minimum—agreed to these terms and had Bali added to the list. From here on out, if Bali were to do something that the Geneva Convention forbid, the nation could face serious sanctions by Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and other major nations. All in all, it was agreed upon to treat warfare with more respect—and to do everything possible to protect victims of war, specifically, the citizens.
In that same month of August, the crisis war in Europe hit a new low—yet, no one could tell who was winning. In Great Britain, the English had occupied half of Scotland, the French occupied half of Ireland. In a few more months, Queen Victoria would be caught and possibly even executed for causing unnecessary mayhem in Europe. For the British Empire, all seemed lost. However, the same couldn't be said for Germany. All of Poland had been occupied by the Germans, including Lithuania—the target. The Russian Empire was clearly down on their luck and without a chance. At this point, retaking all of this occupied land would be near impossible and not worth the economic hit that would come with fighting on. France and Germany continued to clash, however, it was indeed Germany who was, technically, beating France. They had merely occupied the Rhineland, but nothing else. Nevertheless, thousands of Germans and French soldiers alike died in fierce battle.
Despite the extreme gains in the British Empire, Tsar Nicholas II looked after his own empire and threw up the white flag. Lithuania was granted independence. France and England, understanding that all the Germans in Russia would soon be coming to fight France, both decided to surrender as well under terms of white peace. Nevertheless, the crisis war was won by Queen Victoria and Kaiser William I. Naturally, though, Victoria had no reason to celebrate. Had it not been for her strong German ally, the 'British Empire' would have been sent back into nothing more than Ireland. Queen Victoria dodged a fast bullet solely because of Germany. The question posed was whether Victoria would take this miracle war as a sign that she had to stop, or if she'd take advantage of her powerful ally. One thing was for certain, if she could get Germany to agree on an English invasion, they would win... and the United Kingdom would be reunited.
March of 1874 was a glorious time for the Balinese, as the concept of medicine had been researched. Some vaccines brought about cures for common diseases, others, simply eased the pain. This development was only made possible with the help of the Red Cross—who provided Bali with the tools to create such medicine. This would especially help the soldiers of Bali, who very well could find themselves traveling through diseased jungles again in the future. But perhaps on that final note, this was a coincidental time to research medicine, as a major event had struck the Socialist Faction... one that made them furious.
In the summer of 1874, it had become clearly evident to the Balinese that they had failed in colonizing Middle Borneo for themselves. The once completely silent and motionless land of Middle Borneo had suddenly been filled up with Spanish speaking colonists. Housings occurred, embassies were set up, and even ports were being constructed. This was an unacceptable offense in the eyes of the Socialist Faction and population alike. Bali, for decades now, had been transforming Borneo into a more civilized land; now the Spanish came to turn the land into a mere resting place for ships. With this logic, Spain was only causing conflict, as now there were three cultures sharing the island. Balinese, Spanish, and Dutch—but Bali only wanted to see one language spoken on this island.
On April 5, 1874, the Socialist Faction decided to respond to the colonization of Middle Borneo in a threatening way—but unknowingly to the Spanish. To further create a more powerful military, Bali had begun construction of artillery batteries—the first of its kind in Bali. If the Spanish chose to invade Northern Borneo, Bali would be destroyed by superior weaponry. To counter this, Bali had no choice but to spend extensive amounts of cash on developing weapons no Balinese soldier had ever seen before. Cannons on wheels that could fire far distances.
It was only natural with the British Empire's most recent decline that things would get worse before better, and New Zealand sending a referendum for independence only proved this point. Given that Victoria only held Scotland and Ireland, traveling all the way to New Zealand to fight patriots was, literally, the last conflict she would ever want to get in. There was no hesitation in her decision to make a counter-offer. Rather than starting a war over independence, Victoria offered independence in the form of vassalage—where New Zealand would exist, but still be forced to aid the British Empire in any conflict. The patriots in question, accepted, and New Zealand became a new country. For Bali, this was just another potential target, if New Zealand were to ever go all the way with their independence.
On January 1st, 1876, the first Balinese artillery unit had been created and merged into the main fighting force. There was, surprisingly, little misunderstanding with these new weapons. Over the decade much had changed. The Balinese were now equipped with personified rifles, American revolvers, machine guns, and now artillery batteries. The only part of the military that they lacked now was cavalry, which they could make, but preferred using horses for means of civilian transportation.
March 17 brought about the biggest news to the public. The Socialist Faction was not secretive of their new intentions, and it was a big gamble. It was declared on this date that Bali was mobilizing for war... with Spain, one of Europe's greatest. Many were caught off guard by this, wondering how Bali could possibly defeat Spain, when they couldn't even beat a native African tribe. The Socialist Faction took a second gamble, ensuring that they would not see a repeat of the war with Zanzibar. This war would take place at home, in Borneo, with the intention of seizing the newly colonized Spanish Borneo. If successful, Bali would control about 80% of the island.
The ironic part of the Socialist Faction's sudden decision to fight Spain was that Bali had just entered its second election. This election wasn't nearly as indecisive as the last. The citizens of Bali saw enough from the Socialist Faction to establish that this was the party they wanted to stay, even if they were about to send them at a powerful European power. The Socialist Faction won the election by 69% of the votes.
July 23 of 1876 marked Queen Victoria's day of ultimate regret for her past decision. At the time, giving New Zealand partial independence seemed like a good idea; but she now realized how this had backfired. In North America, citizens of Canada and Columbia (western Canadian state) took note of the deal made between the British Empire and New Zealand, and thus, made a very similar demand. Rather than asking for full out independence, both colonies demanded partial independence—like with New Zealand. All the same, Queen Victoria knew that she'd lose against Canada. Scotland and Ireland did not equal an entire North American country in terms of power. She was forced to accept, and thus, Canada and Columbia broke away from the British Empire as well. Now Victoria was left with only Scotland, Ireland, India, South Africa, and Australia. Altogether, none of this massed up to what England holds militarily. The end of the British Empire was coming as well, and Queen Victoria now knew that restoring the United Kingdom was quickly becoming nothing more than a silly concept.
It was a gamble of the century. On December 20 of that year, 12,000 Balinese soldiers, all equipped with their new weaponry, lined up in Northern Borneo in preparation for an attack. Orders were given to stay on the offensive until given the green light to advance, under the Geneva Convention, Bali was now obligated to inform Spain of the declaration of war before invading. The first moment a Spanish reaction was given, nothing more than a question on Bali's motive, the hammer struck down. The 12,000 soldiers of Bali rushed into the mountains of Tarakan, where they proceeded to set up an encampment. There wasn't a single Spanish soldier to be found in all of Borneo, despite being warned, this was a completely unexpected attack by the Balinese.
The very first reaction given to Spain was by their European neighbors, even Queen Victoria couldn't help but smirk and mock the Spanish. Being pushed around by a micro nation was practically a joke, but with the Spanish having lost the Philippines, they could only send troops straight from Spain all the way to Bali. This was both a dangerous and expensive operation. Desperately, Spain's only official response to the world was that they are not at war, they are fighting an 'illegitimate country', or another way of describing Bali, 'a mere tribe'.
Through the months, the Balinese had occupied the mountains and went down into the jungles of Middle Borneo. It was here, however, that they fared much better than they did when fighting Brunei forty-some years ago. They now had medicine, clothing, and most importantly, a supply line from Northern Borneo to keep the soldiers hydrated with food and water. To add on to Spain's humiliation, the 12 heavy warships full of soldiers they had sent to Bali—the first wave—mysteriously vanished between the months of June and September. It is unknown what may have happened to the expensive fleet of soldiers, but nevertheless, nearly 30,000 Spanish soldiers never made it to Bali. No one would ever know what had happened to the missing fleet, but it is mostly conceived that they had gotten lost or fell victim to violent storms.
Regardless, this was only one fleet, Spain's second fleet made it to the island of Bali by September 30. 32,000+ Spanish troops landed on the shores of Bali, but not Borneo—the place in question. This was especially bad for the Socialist Faction, as they were situated within the island of Bali. It was expected that the Spanish would land in Borneo and try to stop the invading army—not go straight for Bali's capital city. But they did, and the Spanish were fairly relentless on the buildings and infrastructure. The parliament building of Bali was set ablaze at least five times that month, but was put out each time by loyalists. The parliament building was heavily damaged, but still strong enough to protect Bali's government officials.
Despite the massive gains in Middle Borneo, the fact of the matter was that Spain had the capital city of Bali nearly under control—much more valuable to the Balinese than Middle Borneo. A miracle had occurred for Bali, however, as in the middle of this war, a violent revolution had taken Spain by storm. The old government of Spain fell immediately to the rebels, and thus, 'Republican Spain' was born, bearing a red, gold, and purple flag, rather than the traditional yellow and red flag.
The 30,000+ soldiers of Spain continued their siege of Bali, but soon, the soldiers stopped receiving supplies for reasons that eluded them. Spain had completely ceased the distribution of water and food to the oversea soldiers, and eventually, it had become unbearable. Due to attrition, the Spanish fled Bali and returned to Spain—where the surviving armies would eventually learn that their old leaders had been replaced through revolution.
Bali failed to realize the revolution as well and would continue seizing all of Middle Borneo. By December 15, 1877, the officials of Republican Spain would have eventually returned to Middle Borneo for a checkup on the colony. When they arrived, they would be met by a fully occupied colony under the Balinese flag. The officials were captured by Balinese troops, and after much negotiations and messages to Spain, it was agreed upon that Middle Borneo held little significance to the Spanish. Reluctantly, Republican Spain ceded Middle Borneo to Bali and went on their way. With this victory came the realization that Bali now controlled 80% of Borneo as a whole, leaving only Southern Borneo under Dutch hands.
Interestingly enough, only about 20 days after the Spanish surrender to Bali, the Netherlands approached the Socialist Faction with a trade agreement. An agreement was signed, and the Balinese would transfer about $65 worth of currency to the Dutch in exchange for Southern Borneo. With this agreement made, Bali could officially establish itself as the owner of a fully unified Borneo. The great part about this agreement was that the agreement only further extended the prospering friendship between the Dutch and Balinese—two nations once destined to be great enemies.
While Bali gained, two days later, the British Empire lost even more. The exact same situation occurred with South Africa as it did with Canada and Columbia. The South Africans made their demands for partial independence. This time, however, Victoria felt as though South Africa could be controlled through mutual threats. It wasn't until the South Africans sent their threat of war that Victoria stood down and accepted the offer—a very humiliating situation for the British Crown. And so, South Africa left as well, now leaving Victoria with only Scotland, Ireland, India, and Australia. At this pace, she'd have lost both India and Australia within years. After that, it'd only be a matter of time before England decides to stop sparing the British Empire.
With Bali having full control over Borneo and no threats nearby, the government called for a dropping of weapons, and that the people of Bali should unite to work on a massive project—a project that no colony had ever gone through. The project would be both expensive and time consuming, but truly beneficial if done right. By creating railroads all around Borneo and within, Bali could create the first ever fully industrialized island of the world. If plans went correctly, every strip of land in the massive island would have a railway. This could only, respectively, be called the 'Super Railway Network'. But this wasn't all, along with this, Bali had taken an excruciatingly large loan out from the Chinese Empire which would be used to create factories all across Borneo. If successful, Borneo would become the icon of industry throughout the entire world, only best compared to Detroit in the United States. With this, would come financial prosperity.
It was only shortly after starting this project that some disturbing news had hit the world. Unknowingly to anyone, the United States had once again fallen to revolution. Democracy had once again been removed from the crippled land of many states, but this time, it was replaced with an anarchic dictatorship. This meant that there was, essentially, no true leader in the country. The police forces of the United States had been disarmed and crime soared, the slaves of the United States were so close to freedom, close enough that they could taste it. Instead of freedom, the slaves pain intensified as the country now fell under a system of no actual rules. With this logic, slaves were now permitted to be put into barb wired camps and even cages. The country was surely on the wrong path.
It was near the end of April, however, that a diplomat from the anarchic states came to Bali seeking friendship. Stunned and unaware of the immoral actions being taken against slaves, the Socialist Faction requested an elaboration of the United States' intentions. It was then that Bali was offered their first ever alliance. Without hesitation, the Socialist Faction signed off with the United States in an alliance, the 'American-Balinese Pact'. This established Bali as a direct ally of the United States, and thus, could call on America's immense strength if ever put into war. Most importantly, this alliance made Bali a less likely target. No one would risk war with the United States by fighting Bali; a fight with Bali, now meant a fight with the United States. Bali, undoubtedly, was safe under the United States' cloak—but unknowingly to them, they had just signed off an alliance with slave supporting extremists. Bali was a nation that had never condoned slavery, thus making this an unlikely alliance.
September of 1878 brought about a new crisis at long last, and yet again... it was Russia taking the flak. France, who aided the Russian Empire against Germany and the British Empire, now aspired to rid Poland of Russian control—which Tsar Nicholas II thought Queen Victoria would try and do. The argument was plain and simply to liberate all of Poland from the Russian Empire, of all the crises the Russian Empire had been through, this was the most threatening. Poland was a critical asset in the Empire's power, losing this land could result in a collapse. There would be no negotiating on this matter, there would either be white peace or war—but no surrender.
Naturally, Queen Victoria joined up with France to help disarm the Russian Empire, but this led to a biased England joining Nicholas II's side of the conflict under the same terms—that England may receive Scotland if they win. Kaiser William I saw no reason to side with either ruler, so Germany remained neutral. England's entry into the conflict left Victoria at a loss for morale, as the English had proven themselves fully capable of conquering the British Empire in the last crisis war. Clearly, a hypothetical war between these four would see England vs. the British Empire, and France vs. the Russian Empire. France could very well defeat the Russian Empire, but there would be no saving Queen Victoria. Thus, Victoria had no choice but to support a white peace.
On January 30, 1879, white peace would be signed between the four, seeing little of a problem dropping tension and moving onward with their lives. Oddly enough, though, by August of that year, the exact same conflict would arise. France would once again renew the crisis to have Poland freed, only this time, Queen Victoria refrained from picking a side, and as Victoria refrained, so did England. This left England and the British Empire out, and still, Germany remained undecided. A series of the exact same arguments would ensue on the matter, a crisis between France and the Russian Empire, and no one else.
By October of 1879, it would have been made official that the Socialist Faction's plan to turn Borneo into a fully blown industry pot had succeeded. 80% of the entire island now had connected railroads that allowed citizens and military personnel alike to transverse throughout the island as needed. The only parts of the island that lacked rails were the dreadful jungles, as more work would be needed to make this very desired connection. Along with the many factories that opened with the rails, Bali within months, found that its economy improved four times as much. Foreign nations purchased produced goods, and by now, over a thousand Balinese citizens had become factory workers. This was the golden moment for Bali in their history. They had become a giant island of wealth and opportunity, but of course, this also meant that foreign powers may consider seizing the industrial filled island for themselves. With the United States backing Bali up, though, this was unlikely.
After months of debate between France and the Russian Empire, Belgium had finally decided to join the Russian Empire of all nations. This was surprising, given the geographic location of Belgium. Nevertheless, Belgium's place by Nicholas II's side would create a good distraction while the Russians prepare for war. Aside from Belgium, no other nation picked a side.
The third official election of Bali took place, and to no one's surprise, the Socialist Faction won by a mighty 81% of the votes. At this point, even conservatives accepted the socialists as the superior political party of Bali. Within no more than ten years, the Socialist Faction brought about a unified Borneo, new medicine, new weapons, new jobs, and a booming economy. There was, at the moment, not a single reason to rule the socialists out of power.
To finalize the crisis in Europe, both France and the Russian Empire had been turned off on the idea of fighting because of a single matter. Germany refused transit rights to both nations, and thus, neither France nor the Russian Empire could walk through Germany to reach their enemies. This meant that ships would need to be taken to reach the desired nations. Neither France nor the Russian Empire wanted to deal with naval conflict, so a white peace was made, again.
Throughout the course of Bali's existence, the Balinese and Dutch had remained close friends. The Dutch were the ones to sell guns to Bali, to train their soldiers, to train their naval academies, and to eventually sell Southern Borneo to the Socialist Faction. One could only wonder how it was that the two nations went so long without an alliance, and finally, on March 7 of 1882, the Dutch and Balinese signed the 'Dutch-Balinese Pact', which would go finely alongside the already existing 'American-Balinese Pact'. Officially, Bali could count on both the United States and Netherlands to aid them in conflict.
April of 1882 brought about a very important event for the world. The United States, still an anarchic dictatorship, soon realized that they wanted citizen rights, but they also needed a government. Thus, a new ideology was born in North Carolina. A radical branch of socialism, the concept of 'communism' had been born, but not officially enacted as the United States' new political party. Nevertheless, communism was a new ideology that instantly spread into Europe and beyond. Even Bali quickly became aware of the new ideology, but was set with regular socialism. Perhaps the United States could avoid becoming a communist dictatorship, but inevitably, some country in the world would become the very first communist democracy, if not a fully blown proletarian dictatorship.
On June 2nd, the foundation had been created for a railroad system going through the Kuching jungle—the jungle that took the lives of hundreds of Balinese soldiers during the war against Brunei. This would be a dangerous task, but if successful, would leave all of Northern Borneo with railroads, and ever again would soldiers need to travel through the dangerous jungle on foot. On February 11, in response to these outstanding achievements, Bali had been granted an immense honor throughout the world. Bali had set the record for most successful colony in the world—at the moment. Bali had turned a dangerous island into an industrial masterpiece that brought over immigrants seeking opportunities. Undoubtedly, Bali was becoming the United States of Asia. Depending on where Bali expanded next, they very well could live up to the title of being considered the United States of Asia, or more respectively, 'Indonesia'.
To close off the ten years of great success for Bali, the United States had been liberated in a flash revolution. A brief civil war had formed of loyal Republicans, led by General James G. Blaine (note that historically, Blaine was the Republican candidate who lost to Grover Cleveland in the election of 1884), resulted in the second restoration of democracy to the United States. The anarchic dictatorship had been removed and the Republican Party resumed control of the United States as it was supposed to be. President Blaine had at long last seen an opportunity. Since the Southern Democrats finally were at a loss, the Republican Party gained control of both congress and the presidency. As a result, at long last, a controversial but completely necessary executive order was made by President Blaine.
On May 20, 1884, President Blaine enacted the Emancipation Proclamation, thus freeing all Africans from slavery immediately. Unfortunately, they were too late. By now, the slaves had been tortured and murdered so much throughout the years by both the Southern Democrats and anarchic dictatorship, that only 6% of America's population were black (historically, 13% of the United States was black at this time). Nevertheless, the 6% that survived were at long last, given the long desired rights to live as they want within the United States. Most, despite the terrors of slavery, remained living in the United States.
Oddly enough, many of these freed slaves ended up leaving for Bali.
To be continued...