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Canon to the right of them, Canon to the left… Introduction This
article intends to examine the place of Uncontroversial
Characteristics Appendix 1: Design Notes canon (WRITINGS) Traveller:2300
and 2300AD canon is often seen as a single body of work which is self
reinforcing and internally constant. This is, however, patently untrue.
2300AD canon was written over the course of several years by numerous
different authors, many of whom had differing conceptions of what 2300AD
should be. For
example in the original Traveller:2300 boxed set it was clear that In
a wider context 2300AD writings are not always consistent with each
other and indeed are contradictory in places. Indeed most of the later
works were written by people who had no involvement with the initial
development of 2300AD. Some later articles in a variety of magazines
were anointed by GDW as ‘officially approved’
for 2300AD, however these are often far from consistent with the original
2300AD concepts and are little more authoritive
than the fan websites that would develop afterwards. As
a result the reader must make their own mind up which part of canon
will take precedent in their interpretation of canon. As
has already been stated Traveller:2300
Boxed Set, 1986 -
Argentine-British Rivalry[2].
A ‘long term friction’ with ‘governments… more often than not… at odds’
dating from the Falklands conflict, an Antarctic showdown, the Alpha
Centauri War and British denunciation of the Inca Republic. -
Bonds of ESA[3]. A ‘tradition
of cooperation’ and ‘bond of friendship’ between -
Wellon[4].
The former British colony on -
The Royal Society[5].
Notes that -
Foundation for Practical Knowledge[6].
This notes the links between the FPK, founded
in the British Alpha Centauri colonies, and the Royal Society. The FPK
is credited with being behind the peaceful succession of Wellon. -
Nations and Colonies of Earth[7].
Notes -
The Game[8].
Notes that the background of 2300 was developed by a process of wargaming and that -
The Assumptions The
obvious assumptions to be made from this work is that 2300AD Britain
is a relatively powerful and wealthy nation still involved in expansion
with its economy reliant on its off world holdings. One colony has gained
independence but retains friendly relations with Contradictions The
only major contradiction is raised by the Ships
of the French Arm, 1987 -
-
-
Donovan Class Fighter[12].
An older class of ship which was shipped to the colonies when newer
models were produced. It notes that ‘historically’ these ships would
use massed volleys of missiles. -
BC-4 Cargo Carrier[13].
Notes that British space transport needs increased in the first half
of the 2200s, as previously needs were met from mine in -
BC-7 Robot Cargo Carrier[14].
Notes that the British followed the ‘Chinese’ in introducing robot cargo
ships, which are commonly used in QAS and
Henry’s Star Systems. -
Faidi Class Courier[15]. Notes
a British corporation buying the first of these class of ships. -
Assumptions From
the SotFA it could be assumed that the British
do not have a particularly modern space military and it has not seen
action since the Alpha Centauri War, although there have been some close
calls. However Contradictions
The
depiction of Nyotokundu Sourcebook, 1987 -
Attitudes to -
ESAS Pathfinder[18] . A multi-nationally crewed ship built
in -
OMS Andrew Carnegie[19].
Details an Orbital Mining Station and its predominantly British owning
company AMEC as well as details of the evolution of belt mining from
the early 2100s. -
Benjamin Whitman[20].
One of AMEC’s OMC’s is named for this man
described as a pioneer of British spaceflight and living between 1977-2073.
-
Characters[21]
. The crew of the OMS Andrew Carnegie are largely British. The
include a former member of the Royal Space Corps and scion of the nobility.
Assumptions Nyotokundu makes it clear that Contradictions The
heavy involvement of Beanstalk,
1987 -
The British Continent[22].
The British colony on Beta Canum is described in detail as being established
in 2207 on the smallest and least easily commercially exploited colony.
The colonisation effort is low key, left mainly to adventurous colonists
and infrastructure developed to serve as a link between French and Bavarian
(later German Continents.) However by 2300 the colony has thrived and
expanded and is commonly referred to as ‘New Africa’. -
British colonial policy[23].
The British choice of colony on Beta Canum and low key expansion is
noted as being part of a plan to gain better leverage for exploitation
of future worlds to be opened up on the French Arm and to save resources
for this. It is noted that Henry’s Star was -
French protectionism[24].
A major plot device is French protectionism over food standards preventing
British farmers from entering a key market in off-world food exports.
Assumptions That
Boxed
Set, 2nd Edition, 1988 The
2nd Edition, complete with a change in name, has only a few more elements
to add about -
The Black Scorpion Company[25].
A rather ludicrous mercenary company is described with its leader rising
from membership of a Assumptions The
SAS and the British Army still exists. There are still slums and gangs
in major British cities. It is possible to rise up the ranks of the
British Army despite poor origins to become an officer. Colonial
Atlas, 1988 -
New -
Neubayern mines[27]. The
British possess active mining concessions on Neubayern
VIc -
Alicia[28].
The British possess a colony on Beowulf at Queen Alice’s Star. Discovered
by ESAS -
Nature of Alicia. The colony is concentrated on the eastern coast of
its continent and has some 26 million population. Predominantly ‘English’,
with Scots, Irish, Canadian and Australians, non-‘British’ emigration
is not encouraged. The colony has a burgeoning industrial base, much
in orbit, as well as agriculture. -
Alician government. The colony has ‘Associate Member’ status of the
-
Alician nobility. There is an Alician peerage, which is not entitled
to sit in the House of Lords. The most powerful of these is the Duke
of Alicia, who has been created a noble in the British establishment
who can. -
Alician conflict with the French. There is tension and some violence
between the British and French colonies over a number of islands. -
British Beta Canum colony[29].
This section of the Colonial Atlas is written by the writer of Beanstalk
and is consistent with that work. It stresses the importance placed
by the British on smoothing diplomatic difficulties between French and
German colonies. -
Henry’s Star colony[30].
A ‘thriving’ British colony called Crater is found at Henry’s Star.
It was surveyed in 2182 by the ESAS Endeavour
under the command of another famous explorer Sir Henry Spence. The stars
were named after Queen Alice’s Prince Consort. -
Nature of Crater. Established in 2217 and now has 1.6 million inhabitants
concentrated near the city of -
Government of Crater. The colony of Crater is governed in ‘neocolonialist’
fashion[31]
with a Governor-General appointed from Earth by the Foreign Office.
The colony is somewhat authoritarian with trade restrictions and lack
of self-sufficiency causing problems. There is a corrupt Colonial Constabulary
under the command of the governor. -
British Joi Colony[32].
The British have a colony called New Cornwall in the 61 Ursae Majoris
system. Founded in 2254 it has grown very slowly to just under 300 000
population. It is a very advanced colony, which expects to grow significantly
in the near future. It is under the aegis of the Colonial Office. -
British colonial policy[33].
There is a section which describes the reasoning behind the slow expansion
of New Cornwall, describing rushed colonisation efforts so far, leading
to dissipation of effort, corruption and poor returns. It mentions that
‘forceful methods’ had been used on Alpha Centauri and had led to independence
movements. -
Links with -
British colonists on Syuhlahm[34].
There are British ethnic colonies on the world of Syuhlahm, some in
the Manchurian colony and others in a FPK
sponsored settlement of New Liverpool. -
Anglophone peacekeepers on Vogelheim[35]. In
the aftermath of the War of German Reunification ground units mainly
from Assumptions
That
British
explorers were active in the early years of ESA explorations. A Queen
Alice oversaw a period of strong growth in the mid- to late- 2100s.
That Contradictions -
The main contradiction with previous work is the naming of the British
Alpha Centauri as ‘New Albion’ rather than the previous ‘Wellon’. Also
by the naming of the colony as a ‘national favourite’ it raises questions
as to whether the colony is still under direct British control or not
and it is still referred to as a colony. -
The depiction of Crater ‘thriving’ after 80 years with fewer than 2
million colonists, and New Cornwall, with fewer than 300 000 after 40,
is at odds with the ‘revitalised’ colonisation effort directed at these
worlds mentioned in the Boxed Set. It also contradicts the colonial
policy described in Beanstalk with effort saved from Beta Canum for
rapid exploitation of Henry’s Star. -
The description in the New Cornwall article of British colonial policy
and ‘forceful methods’ used in Alpha Centauri leading to independence
movements contradicts the description of ‘New Albion’ and previous writings
of Wellon describing a peaceful succession. -
It would perhaps be fair to say that the above three contradictions
are mainly the result of there being three different writers covering
the colonies. Loren K Wiseman wrote the New Albion section, Lester W
Smith the Beta Canum and J Andrew Keith detailed Beowulf, Crater and
New Cornwall once. This is why New Albion is described as ‘a national
favourite’ and Alicia the ‘showpiece’ in the same work. However even
with articles written by the same author, with the Foreign Office in
charge of Crater and the Colonial Office in charge of New Cornwall. -
There is a minor contradiction between the longevity of Queen Alice
described in this work, described as similar to that of Queen Victoria,
so between 50-60 years and so reigning from 2141 until around 2190-2200.
She is still Queen by the discovery of Crater in 2182. The ‘official
2300AD’ list of British monarchs[36]
has -
Another minor contradiction comes not with canon but historical British
practice in governing colonies. Alicia is described as having an elected
Governor supported by an unelected Privy Council. It was British practise
to appoint a Governor-General as the Monarch’s representative to act
as head of state. Local governments would be headed by a Prime Minister
selected by the elected ruling party. As colonies matured the Governor-General
would still be appointed by the Queen, but on the advice of the local
government not the British one, as still happens in modern Invasion,
1988 -
British Royal Space Navy[37].
The module details the size of the British space force and its deployments
at Earth, Beowulf, Beta Canum, Beta Comae Berenices and Vogelheim. It
includes 11 heavy warships, 30 light warships and 41 fighters including
one ‘newly fielded[38]’
deep-space fighter carrier. (Listed equivalents are -
A British privateer[39].
The activities of British privateer Avenger under the command
of a British aristocrat are noted. Several members of the crew are ex-RSN
and the captain is the brother of the Duke of Alicia. The ship is an
Exeter Class acquired as a result of the captain’s wealth and connections.
-
2nd -
The Fall of Beta Canum[41].
The Kafers attack Beta Canum destroying the Beanstalk plunging the colonies,
especially -
The Fall of Crater[42].
Crater is attacked and occupied without resistance, however the government
and miners in cooperation set up a guerrilla war against the aliens.
Eventually the colony is liberated by Rochemont although Kafer remnants
escape to the fringes of the colony. -
The Attack on Joi[43].
The Kafers launch and attack on Joi. British ships are involved in the
battle, but the colony of New Cornwall is unaffected by the invasion.
-
Peacekeepers on Vogelheim[44].
Under a Treaty of Darwin British, American and Australian warships are
present as are ground troops from these nations and -
British leadership of the Reserve Fleet[45]. The
Terran Reserve Fleet which eventually halts
the Kafer is based in the Beowulf system and includes British, French,
German, American and Ukrainian ships under the command of the British
Admiral Graham. The decision to remain at this chokepoint is taken by
the British government on Earth but backed by most commanders. Internal
and external coordination is poor, with French and Ukrainians uncooperative,
but the fleet’s combat power allows it a decisive victory. Assumptions That
Contradictions -
The main and glaring contradiction is with the Ships of the French Arm,
which insists the British have not built a new warship since the late
2270s, whereas Invasion has the British fielding a new carrier warship.
However this does fit with the depiction of -
A minor contradiction is the use of ‘Royal Space Navy’ rather than ‘Royal
Space Corps’ seen in Nyotokundu. -
The fall of Beta Canum, and indeed other colonies, stands in contrast
with the defence of Aurore depicted in the Aurore Sourcebook. A world
of 12 million with only militia to defend it from a shock attack survives
for 3 months before help arrives in spite of losing its power supply.
A world of 45 million with internal tensions between French and Germany
and with months to prepare for the invasion looses its power supply,
falls in a week and becomes largely collaborationist. -
Not a contradiction, but where did the British squadron based at Beta
Canum go? It is mentioned in the opening order of battle but then refuses
to make an appearance leaving British colonies on Beta Canum, Crater
and Joi undefended. Guesses would be it either joined Rochemont’s Fleet
for the Relief Expeditions, joined the squadron at BCB and escaped to Grosshiddenhafen or it retreated to join
Graham at Beowulf. Or maybe the author just forgot about it. Bayern, 1988 -
British crewman[46].
There is a British interface pilot with the AR-I
ship Bayern. -
HMS Impressive[47].
At some point in the late 2280s a British vessel rescued the survivors
of a German cruiser in the Beta Canum system. Ground
Vehicle Guide, 1988 -
German AFV[48].
It is mentioned that a German hover APC, the
GfPzTr-XIII is in British service. Earth/Cybertech
Sourcebook, 1989 -
-
-
British trade. Key trading partners are -
Links with -
The Royal Navy[51].
In the mid-2100s Britain is described as having the world’s largest
naval force which it uses to win a bloodless standoff with Argentina
over Antarctic resources by ‘vastly outgunning’ the Argentines. This
further strained relations between Assumptions That
Contradictions The
population of Uncontroversial
Characteristics The
following are what I believe are uncontroversial characteristics of
Allies
Enemies Development
of Space Economy
and Trade The
British economy seems to have finally recovered from the Twilight Era
in the early 22nd Century and went through a period of rapid industrialisation.
This process was fed by mineral resources from Colonies
and Outposts In
addition to these there are several characteristics that rise from contradictions
in canon and can be somewhat controversial. Royal
Space Navy The
most significant of these arises in respect to -
That -
That In
the author’s opinion either of these view points are valid, although
the second seems more likely given acknowledged British industry, technology,
ship building capability and reliance on off-world trade. Wellon
or New The
question of the status of -
Wellon. The colony is called Wellon and it gained home rule and then
independence from -
New In
the author’s opinion the Colonial Atlas is simply wrong and there was
poor fact checking and editing by GDW and the colony is Wellon and independent. However the
imminent 2320AD has both an independent Wellon, and a much smaller New
Albion. Colonial
Management There
is some contradiction as to -
That British colonies are given increasing internal sovereignty as they
develop. Wellon having been given home rule and then independence, Alicia
effectively has home rule. Crater and New Cornwall are still relatively
immature and are under direct control. Nothing is known about the Beta
Canum colony. This pattern of development is implied rather than stated,
but would fit with past British practise for example with Canada, Australia,
South Africa and New Zealand and British policy since the Durham Report
of 1838. -
That British colonies are by and large badly run and authoritarian and
in some cases force has been used. This is stated in the work of one
writer in the Colonial Atlas and draws upon the historical example of
the British colonies in The
author’s opinion is that both of these can be true. By and large the
British policy is for colonies to head towards home rule and self sufficiency,
yet there are instances of bad management and corruption.
Colonial
Population. Or whatever happened to Henry’s Star and 61 Ursae Majoris? An
interesting question arises from the examination of earlier with later
works of canon. The Boxed Set and Beanstalk both mention that a major
effort was made in the colonisation of Henry’s Star and Joi, which was
the raison d’être of the 13+ York Class vessels. Beanstalk mentions Henry’s
Star progressing nicely in the 2260s. The However
when details are provided in the 1988 Colonial Atlas Henry’s Star/Crater
has a population of just over 1.5 million after 80 years of colonisation.
Joi/New Cornwall has a mere 0.3 million after 40 years. That ‘large
proportion’ is in fact actually turns out to be a whopping 3%. Beta
Canum’s British Continent, largely neglected
in favour of the two outer colonies, has 10 million colonists by this
stage. The
suspicion is that the writer dealing with the later works simply made
no real reference to the earlier work. Indeed there is a wide variation
of scale in colonial populations across the Colonial Atlas, very large
in others and very small elsewhere. Poor editing would again seem to
be largely responsible. This
brings us to the 50% of In
conclusion it seems that the main characteristics of canon This
article was started to check my own assumptions about canon This
article aimed to look systematically at Appendix
2: A Pentapod’s View of An
alternative view is provided by KevinC in
his work on Colonial Demographics, Status of Wellon/New Albion and the
Decline of the Status
of British colonies on KevinC follows Colin Dunn’s 2320AD in positing there being both
an independent Wellon and a New Albion still controlled by His
clinching argument are the missing 72 million colonial Britons, which
he has as the population of the loyalist New Albion. Kevin also notes
that for there to be a ‘national favourite’ there must two colonies
on However
Kevin has somewhat misquoted what GDW wrote.
The quote about ‘colonies’ actually says that ‘…the British Alpha Centauri
colonies, [on independence] , making the Commonwealth Nation of Wellon.’.
This has historical analogy in Similarly
the quote about ‘national favourites’ is, in full: ‘Now the English
have colony worlds along the entire French Arm, but New Albion is arguably
the “national favourite.”’ The quote refers to New Albion’s position
amongst other British off-world colonies, and not between two entities
on KevinC’s statement that ‘GDW clearly
intended for the In
fact what KevinC (and Colin Dunn in 2320AD) describe is actually a very
interesting location to set an RPG, however it is, to use KevinC's own
term, a variant setting. In
this article KevinC sets out to use the preceding article and other work
on colonial demographics to set out his reasons why KevinC’s key reasons are: -
The lack of new ships from 2280 onwards stated in Ships of the French
Arm. The building of patrol craft for in-system duties is seen as a
weakness. -
The failure of -
That Invasion has ‘most of the British fleet in reserve’ and with reference
to Ships of the French Arm that ‘Invasion's positioning of the British
fleet only makes sense if these are relatively old ships ( built in
the 2260s or earlier). If the -
In his conclusion KevinC takes it as a further sign of decline that Whilst
in fact there is no canon statement that states -
Ships of the French Arm absolutely says that the last British ships
were built in the late 2270s. -
There are no canon statements as to why -
Lastly KevinC’s reading of Invasion is flawed.
It is clearly stated that new build British ships are present, in addition
military naval forces require a balance of new and old ships in order
to maintain their strength and run efficiently. KevinC’s comments as to the positioning of the British ships
are puzzling as at the start of the Invasion there are 8 ships ‘forward’
of Beowulf and 5 ships at Beowulf. Invasion also states that the decision
to keep the Reserve Fleet at Beowulf is both a British and international
decision and taken at the time of the fall of Beta Comae Berenicies
i.e. from which time QAS essentially becomes
part of the front line. Lastly the notion that a reserve force is where
you keep your worst troops would surely come as news to Napoléon’s
Garde Impériale. -
It is true KevinC basic argument is that the loss of an Alpha Centauri
colony has led to a British decline, which is a valid argument and one
equally as applicable to However
his supporting quotes are flawed and he tries to support the position
painted of the British Ships of the French Arm by transposing his interpretation
of canon onto Invasion, which does not support his interpretation or
his strategic theorising. Lastly there are no direct quotes in canon
supporting the supposition that Once
again KevinC presents an interesting RPG background
which is supported by one element of canon, however it is contradicted
by several more. What is presented in this article would definitely
fall under the variant category. [1] Rear of Traveller:2300 Boxed Set ‘The world is dominated by the Third French Empire.’ [2] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.9 [3] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.9 [4] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.16 [5] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.18 [6] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.19 [7] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.46-47 [8] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Referee’s Manual Inside Cover [9] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Referee’s Manual pp.29-30 [10] Ships of the French Arm, pp.28 [11] Ships of the French Arm, pp.32 [12] Ships of the French Arm, pp.34 [13] Ships of the French Arm, pp.60 [14] Ships of the French Arm, pp.62 [15] Ships of the French Arm, pp.72 [16] Ships of the French Arm, pp.88 [17] Nyotokundu Sourcebook, pp.3 [18] Nyotokundu Sourcebook, pp.3 [19] Nyotokundu Sourcebook, pp.32-33 [20] Nyotokundu Sourcebook, pp.33 [21] Nyotokundu Sourcebook, pp.xx [22] Beanstalk, pp.9-10 [23] Beanstalk, pp.9 [24] Beanstalk, pp.10 [25] 2300AD Boxed Set, pp.13 [26] Colonial Atlas, pp.5 [27] Colonial Atlas, pp.9-10 [28] Colonial Atlas, pp.11-14 [29] Colonial Atlas, pp.19-21 [30] Colonial Atlas, pp.22-25 [31] How can a colony be neo-colonialist? [32] Colonial Atlas, pp.26-29 [33] Colonial Atlas, pp.28 [34] Colonial Atlas, pp.55 [35] Colonial Atlas, pp.35 [36] Best of
the 2300AD Mailing List http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/2303/kevin.htm
[37] Invasion, pp.6-7 [38] Invasion, pp.52 [39] Invasion, pp.5, 10, 12 [40] Invasion, pp.27-28 [41] Invasion, pp.34-37 [42] Invasion, pp.38-39 [43] Invasion, pp.42-43 [44] Invasion, pp.44-45 [45] Invasion, pp.52-54 [46] Bayern, pp.16 [47] Bayern, pp.29 [48] Ground Vehicle Guide, pp.60 [49] Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook, pp. 49 [50] Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook, pp. 28 [51] Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook, pp. 28 [52] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Referee’s Manual pp.29-30 [54] Traveller: 2300 Boxed Set, Player’s Manual pp.19 [55] ‘The loss
of
12 August 2004 Copyright D Hebditch, 2004 |