Olden Glories

In yet another World Meeting, the various Nations were bored dry by the dull regular topics of economy and environment. Fortunately for them, that session was about to be over soon. Among them, the Baltic States happened to chat among themselves to pass time.

"Estonia, did you see how Belarus was staring at me?" Lithuania commented, "Maybe she's gazing into my charms."

"Lithuania, she had her knife in her hands!" Estonia cried, "I bet she planned to have you skinned alive and fed to Germany's dogs!"

"Mr Estonia, is there anything you would like to share about my dogs?" Germany yelled.

"Uh… nothing, I said nothing…" Estonia said, "Right, Latvia?"

As Estonia turned to face Latvia, he found the Latvian to be gazing at a girl from the Caribbean sector of the room. That girl had some tropical flower in her long dark hair, dark skin, and wore a sea green dress. She was seated next to a man as old as Lithuania, who wore a red suit. They seemed to be sharing the same flag together.

"LAATTTVVVIAAAA!" cried Estonia.

Suddenly, the Latvian bolted from his daze and looked at the Estonian.

"What…" Latvia asked.

"Damn it, I have to take Blackie for his walk now!" Germany exclaimed, "Everyone, this session is dismissed! We will continue this the following week, and I will not tolerate any interruptions!"

Suddenly, all the Nations dashed out of the Meeting Room at once and they continued on with their regular chit-chat.

"Brother, Brother… Marriage, marriage!" cried Belarus.

"Get away from me!" Russia yelled.

"Spain you bastard, get your hands off me!" Romano snapped.

"Greece, so you wanna fight…" Turkey cried.

Even the Baltics had gotten themselves out after pushing past several other Nations.

"Toris, you have to get this straight. Ms Belarus is dangerous, especially with that knife of hers," Estonia lectured, "and you Raivis!"

"Y-yes…" the Latvian shyly spoke out.

"Why were you also staring at girls?" Estonia questioned, "We the Baltics got to stand together now!"

"Chill Eduard," Lithuania said, "Raivis here has the right to fall in love too. He's no longer a child."

"But I am not in love!" Latvia pouted.

"They always deny at first, but then it will hit them hard," Lithuania said.

"You mean that time Ms Belarus threw you into the Black Sea," Estonia said, "You got hit hard alright, so hard that your logic went haywire!"

"Tobago is not my lover!" Latvia exclaimed.

To speak of the devil, the said girl Latvia stared went up in front of the three Baltics along with the male.

"Hello Courland," the girl greeted, "you seemed distracted today…"

"Courland? But that's Latvia's old name…" Estonia said, "So…"

"Guys, I never thought I would say this to you," Latvia said, "but well… this is Tobago, and she used to be my colony."

"And I am Trinidad, and both of us represent the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago," the male introduced.

"Colony?" exclaimed Estonia, "but Trinidad and Tobago were British colonies!"

"True, but many strange people did come to our islands," Tobago mentioned, "and Courland was the one of them."

"So when was that?" asked Lithuania.

"Uh… somewhere in the 17th century, when you were still with Poland back then," Latvia said, "and there was this man called Duke Jacob von Kettler…"

In the 17th century, it was Age of Exploration. Sailors and travellers would trek the wild seas in search for treasures, be it gold from the West Indies or spices from the Orient. Among the least known Nations to sail these waters, it was the then Duchy of Courland, vassal of Poland-Lithuania.

On board his ship, Courland was looking over the scenery of the seas with Duke Jacob Kettler.

"It feels nice to be out on the High Seas," Courland said, "Sweden and Poland are getting tenser, and Russia has been eyeing the region. It feels great to be away from such tense environment."

"Kurland, our men have spied land beyond there!" Duke Kettler notified his Nation, "we shall land there soon."

"It will be great; maybe I can have a new villa like Sweden and Finland!" Courland declared, "We are going to shore."

Courland grabbed a maroon cloak and put it on as he and his soldiers set foot onto the strange island.

"I wonder what new Nation I can find on this little island," Courland wondered.

Suddenly, the leaves rustled and something darted across the grass patch deeper inland.

"Herr Kettler, I think I saw something over there," Courland said, "I'm going in alone. Set camp out here in meanwhile."

"If you need help, do holler," Duke Kettler replied, "I will have men on standby."

Courland quickly went into the jungles inland and heard strange clashing sounds. Courland ducked behind a log and saw two other Nations were already there.

One of them was Spain, the famed explorer who grew rich with his explorations. The other man with the hair standing up and tobacco pipe was known as the Netherlands, a former colony of Spain who rebelled and joined in the game of exploration.

At the point, both of them seemed to be fighting. As Spain had his axe, the Netherlands held his broadsword firmly against the Spaniard.

"Out of here Netherlands, Columbus found this island first!" Spain cried, "So Bella Froma is mine!"

"Don't you have the big pieces of the New World already?" Netherlands said, "Don't you get greedy and leave some islands to me?"

"You just wanted this place to grow your tobacco and get in her skirt, right?" Spain said, "I won't yield her to you, not without a fight!"

"Persistent little Spaniard, I will let feel the sting of defeat again," Netherlands threatened while gripping his sword.

"Bring it on, amigo," Spain replied, swinging his axe at the Dutch.

"Oh no, both Spain and Netherlands are here!" Courland whispered to himself, "I can't match up against those two! They are way too strong! I'm just Poland's vassal, I can't do it!"

Courland peeped up again, and noticed that the two were heavy engrossed in their fighting to care about their surroundings.

"Okay… maybe I can get Kettler to burn down the camp and we head back to Europe pronto," Courland said, "it will be as though we never set foot here."

Courland took a step back and slowly retreated from the deadly fight. However, he bumped into something… or someone along the way.

"Sorry about that, please spare me," Courland pleaded.

"I am so sorry too," the reply came back.

Courland took a better look at who he bumped into, and found out she was a young girl. There was a flower in her flower and she wore only simple fabric to conceal her vital regions.

"Hello…" Courland greeted, "y-you… you must be a Nation, like m-me… ri-right…"

The girl only nodded her head in response.

"The people back home call me Courland," Courland introduced, "and I represent the Duchy of Courland."

"Courland?" wondered the girl, "so… you're my big bro?"

"Big brother?" exclaimed Courland, "…I-I… n-never…had t-this… y-your name…"

"I don't think I had one, but Uncle Spain once called me Bella Froma," the girl replied.

"S-since I'm y-your b-big brother now, I will g-give you with a new n-name…" Courland said, "S-so…"

Courland rubbed his head and thought for a while.

"Hey Courland, Ruotsi and I will be calling that new villa Nya Sverige," Finland told him, "That's Swedish for New Sweden by the way."

"If from Sweden comes New Sweden, then from Courland comes…" Courland said, "Can I call you New Courland?"

"So I get to be named after my new big bro," New Courland said, while hugging Courland, "you look so nice, unlike Uncle Spain and that strange guy with the weirdo hair."

"So… you accept me to colonise you," Courland wondered.

"You're so nice, of course I accept!" she replied.

Later, Courland and his new colony went out to shore where the Courlanders had already set camp.

"Ah Kurland, you've returned and you found yourself a new friend," Kettler said.

"Yes and I call her New Courland," Courland said.

Suddenly, some more weird noises were heard from the jungles and New Courland cowered behind her 'big brother'. Suddenly, Spain jumped out into the coastline and the Netherlands came out shortly after.

"Spain, I had beaten you up before and it gets really old now," the Netherlands said, "hand over the girl so we can end this charade."

"N-never, you bastard…" Spain said, coughing out blood.

The Netherlands took out his pipe and looked around the area. Then, he saw his target standing cowering behind the Courlander.

"Pipsqueak, that pretty gal is taken!" Netherlands shouted, "Get out of my way now!"

The Dutch man stomped through the coastline to attack the Courlander. While some Courlander soldiers fought back with their muskets, the Dutch quickly subdued them. As Netherlands swiped his sword at the Courlander, Courland ducked past the Dutch and brought New Courland along with him into the jungle.

"Run Kurland! I will hold off these two Nations!" called Kettler.

"That kid… he's a python…" Netherlands said, "But never mind, I have plenty of time left to claim this one."

"I won't lose my colony to my ex-colony or some random newcomer either," Spain proclaimed, "but first, I will head back to Europe to eat with Romano."

"And I have dinner plans with my sisters right now," Netherlands put in, "if I am late, they would be furious."

Courland would be safe with his newest colony; however things became messy when more countries became involved in this. By more countries, they were not just Spain and the Netherlands, but Sweden, France and England.

"Courland, you have no capacity to guide the girl!" cried the Netherlands, "my people have already built their fort on this island, and I won't lose to a pipsqueak like you!"

"No, New Courland w-wants t-to be with m-m-me…" Courland tried to argue back.

"So we are splitting the island between the both of us until the last man stands," the Netherlands said, "girl, this little fella here is just a mere vassal to a larger country back home. He can't even protect himself from danger. Join me, and I will embrace you so smoothly."

"Courland, that guy is scary…" New Courland pleaded, "Please don't have him occupy me!"

"Soldier, get… more c-colonists down h-here!" declared Courland, "we can't lose her!"

"France!" cried Spain, who went in on the two Nations, "these two are the ones stopping me from claiming Bella Froma."

"So it's Pays-Bas and…" France said, "Who is the petit gars?"

"I'm the D-duchy of C-Courland, and I'm with the Polish-Lithuanian Co-commonwealth," Courland introduced.

"He's a nobody in Continental politics," Spain remarked, "how he gets a colony is beyond me."

"That's because you were slacking, mon ami," France replied, "on the other hand, I can be a good big brother to the girl. I even got the looks for it."

"I thought you were supposed to be helping me get my colony back!" Spain hollered.

"I saw her first!" Netherlands exclaimed, "You just wanted her body!"

"Says the paedophile," France shot back.

"You want me to pull out the Gorges du Tarn from you," Netherlands shouted.

"C'mon, Big Bro France can take on you Dutchmen anytime anywhere," France proclaimed.

Suddenly, another Nation came and waltzed his way through them. He wore a red coat over a white shirt, along with a pirate's hat and cutlass that Spain instantly recognised.

"England?" the Spaniard exclaimed, "Even you are here!"

"Just saw a ship moving by and then a settlement on an uncharted island," England said, "I thought I would welcome them pirate style… I think those people were Dutch settlers."

"England, you're supposed to be my ally!" the Netherlands yelled.

"That was only for me to kick Spain's arse," England remarked, "I will claim this island in the name of the British Empire, thank you very for keeping her warm."

"The only one that's warming her bed is moi!" cried France, pulling at England's legs.

"You perverted frog, get your bloody hands off me!" England yelled.

"Uh, everybody… Bella Froma is missing," Spain noted, "along with Courland."

"See, if you never showed up, Mademoiselle can be enjoying French cuisine right now!" France yelled.

In another part of the island, Courland had gotten away with New Courland from the clutches of the Great Powers of the day.

"All of them look so scary," Tobago said, "thank you for saving me from them."

"But we can't hide from them forever," Courland thought, "they are right… my army can't match up to all of them…"

Suddenly, a little bird flew towards Courland and dropped a message to the Courlander.

"Huh?" he wondered, "this is… a message from Sweden."

Dear Courland

On behalf of the Kingdom, we would like to inform you that we of Sweden have captured Duke Jacob von Kettler. I apologise for this as you are one of my wife's friends, but politics do come first in times of war.

Berwald Oxenstierna

The Kingdom of Sweden

"He sure can write well when he can't speak fluently," Courland remarked, "but wait, my Duke is captured! I'm doomed!"

After the Napoleonic Wars, the world order had effectively changed. For one, Courland was sold into Tsarist rule of the Russian Empire. Another thing was that New Courland was given off to the United Kingdom, and rechristened Tobago.

"Sorry, but my boss has made the choice for me," Courland said, "I will have to live with a guy called Russia from now on."

"Can't I come with you?" asked Tobago.

"No, you can't, New Co… no wait, its Tobago now," Courland said, "I hope you do well at England's house."

"But you will be all alone there," Tobago said.

"No, I already got Poland, Lithuania and Estonia there too, so I will have familiar company," Courland said, "and besides, I recommend not going to Russia. It's cold there and in a year-long winter."

"So when will we meet again?" asked Tobago.

"I have no idea…" Courland replied, then walking away from Tobago, "but I really hope we can someday."

Back to the Present Day (that was somewhere in the 1990s),

"And now we finally meet again," Tobago said, "but even you have changed your name. I prefer Courland though."

"Yeah, my boss made that choice," Latvia said, "and I was annexed by Russia during the Second World War, only recently we declared independence."

"As for me, England decided to unite me with Trinidad here," Tobago said, gesturing to the male next to her.

"And we became a republic together," Trinidad said, "nice to meet some old friends and unlike the other colonial powers, you seem friendly."

"Maybe since Latvia used to be attacked by the Teutons and Danes back in the Crusades," Estonia remarked, "he knows what it felt like to be colonised against your will."

"Latvia, I can tell you that your presence in Tobago would not be forgotten," Trinidad remarked, "there's a Courland Monument at her place."

"Trinidad!" exclaimed Tobago, "it's kind of embarrassing. Let's all go out for lunch. Co-I mean, Latvia, come with us!"

Therefore, Latvia left with Trinidad and Tobago for lunch. The other two Baltics were left alone and amazed by Latvia's past.

"That's a side of Latvia I never knew of…" both of them exclaimed.

Suddenly, someone jumped in and covered Lithuania's eyes.

"Estonia, no hints," the voice said, "now Liet, like guess who am I?"

"Poland…" Lithuania answered.

The Pole let go with the Lithuanian, and Lithuania turned to face his friend.

"You're as fun as the Russian winter," Poland remarked, "Hey Liet, wanna come to eat with us?"

"By us, who do you mean?" asked Lithuania.

"Hungary, Austria, Ukraine…" Poland said, "Chances is that Prussia will invite himself there."

"Do I have a choice?" Lithuania asked.

"Silly question, of course… NOT!" Poland said, as he dragged Lithuania away.

"Poland, wait a sec!" Estonia cried, "I also want to join you guys for lunch!"

"I didn't like invite you," Poland cried.

"I don't care!" Estonia exclaimed, "Besides, Prussia's coming uninvited anyway."

"And the fact that I never colonised anything and even Latvia did it… that's way too much!" Estonia thought, "that Prussia better bring out his strongest beer today!"

Translations

Pays-Bas – The Netherlands

Petit gars – little guy

Original Character Profile

Name: Nicole Planter

Represents: Tobago (Autonomous Island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, formerly New Courland)

Age: 15

Gender: Female

Birthday: 31 August (same as Trinidad, independence from the UK)

Appearance: Dark skinned girl with long blackish hair. There is a flower placed in her hair, and wears sea green dresses.

Tobago was first encountered by Spain, though the Spaniard left her alone while seeking the riches of the New World. Over the years, she was juggled between Courland, Spain, Dutch Republic, France, Sweden and the UK for about 33 times.

After the Napoleonic Wars, England gained possession of Tobago. When she would be independent, England put her with Trinidad and declares them a united country free of British rule.

Tobago once treated Spain as a fatherly figure, but grew frightened of her. Likewise, she is quite frightened of the other colonial powers that entered her homeland. The sole exception was Courland, the then Latvia. The relationship with Trinidad can be described as unsavoury, but necessary for realpolitik.

Future Projects:

1. Falklands War

2. Poland during Napoleonic Wars (completed)

3. Singapore's birthday (reserved for 9 August/National Day, in progress)

4. Hong Kong Handover (reserved for 1 July, completed)

5. Sino-American relations (Nixon goes to China, completely)

6. Ypres and Hiroshima/Nagasaki