Post by futbol on Sept 1, 2010 17:19:47 GMT 1
Country: Reino de España
Real name: Antonio Fernández Carriedo
Personality: Having been raised on the sunny, cheery Iberian plain, Antonio grew up carefree in spite of the fact that he had spent many of his formative years under the rule of two empires. However, once he obtained his sense of self upon the union of Castilla and Aragón, he found himself a blend of a series of cultures and intellectual ideas. Though this gave him a very rich personality, it did cause issues with the solidarity of his identity. This is primarily held together with the glue of Catholicism, something that would have a great influence, if not act as a driving force behind a lot of the decisions that he will make during his rise to power (it makes for a great cover for his secret thirst for power).
The Spaniard would definitely be described as adventurous, having been the first to create an empire upon which the sun never set. After all, he was always on a mission and was always looking for ways to better advance his vision (by funding his campaigns). During the latter part of the Reconquista, the Inquisition and the Italian Wars, Antonio does have a lust for blood and power at times and is willing to fight for his ideology and justice (his view of it). However, his side of him only really surfaces during his conquests as he tends to act very peaceful when he is back in Spain.
However, that is not to say that he did not care for his colonies and other nations that he took under his wing as he did develop an education system for the locals. However, his “boss/big brother” mentality proved to be an awkward way of showing his care and often isolated those he tried to bond with. It did not help that he also has a poor ability in assessing the situation and reacting accordingly as well, which creates a lot of tension in his relationship with others. That is not to say that his amiable personality did not earn him a few very valuable allies in the Americas and help him secure colonies there when others tried to cut into his territory. The Spaniard is also very loyal, as demonstrated when he defended Italy four different times form France and invested a lot in protecting the territory from invasion.
Perhaps it was his great achievements obtained earlier on than other nations, but he became a large target due to his wealth and the fact that he was very vulnerable. In general, Antonio is a very passionate person, willing to fight hard for what he desires and believes in, even when it is apparent that he is on the losing end. The spark he had for conquest when he was younger had mellowed out over the years, as shown in his attitude towards the Spanish American War (which he had worked hard to try to settle peacefully). When it is times of peace, Antonio is very carefree and optimistic, which probably helped him get through the last century, though he does come off as an airhead. This easygoing personality makes it easy for him to get along with others in recent years, though he seems prone to laziness. However, when his passion is ignited, he will continue to shoot for the goal until he has achieved it.
In modern times, anyone would find it hard to believe that the man could even hurt a fly, despite his history. Needless to say, Antonio loves people and feels very much at home striking up random conversations with random strangers and showering his affections on people, even when they do not want it. Having a very transparent personality, he is known to say what is often on his mind. He is light-hearted though often oblivious in social settings, which makes it easy to joke with him because he will usually just laugh off the awkwardness of the situation or just roll with the punches. Though he appears to be a pushover, it is generally because he is willing to let others have the last say for the sake of avoiding conflict. When given the choice, he would prefer light-headed banter and to stay in the company of people who can joke as oppose to those who take themselves too seriously and are matter-of-fact.
Likes:
☀ Tomatoes
☀ Dancing
☀ Fútbol
☀ Sunshine
☀ Playing guitar
☀ Traveling
☀ Churros
☀ Sunshine
☀ Children
☀ Fishing
☀ Hanging out with his friends
☀ Farming
☀ Joking
☀ Siestas
☀ Affection
☀ His adorable
☀ Pestering Italy
☀ Converting the natives
Dislikes:
✖ Things that are too complicated.
✖ Netherlands
✖ Napoleon Bonaparte
✖
✖
✖ Rebellions
✖ Economic recessions
✖
History:
- 711-1238 AD: A child between the ages of 6 and 8, Spain found himself captured by the Moors this time. During this time, the Umayyad Caliphate developed the strongest navy. During this time, he was highly impressionable, which resulted in him being exposed to a lot of ancient text that had been lost during the fall of Rome, and was learned a lot about people from different cultures. This is also when he really begins to develop a sense of self-awareness, when he realizes that he is what would become Reino de España.
- 722-1492 AD: Began missing his independence and decided that it was time to send the Moors away. He developed some physical strength and military prowl as he fought off the Muslims, who kept trying to re-establish rule over him.
- 1469: The unification of Spain due to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. During this time, he begins to exert some influence in the world by conquering some nearby islands and Granada and unifying the Iberian Peninsula. He also became very curious and started to adventure out west to discover new lands. He also brought Sicily under his influence as well and the two have had a great, though turbulent relationship. By the Reconquista, he appears to be an innocent teenager though his deeds suggest otherwise.
- 1492: Treaty of Granada signed, which completes the Reconquista and completely expelled the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula; during this time, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I finally grant Christopher Columbus funding to find a passage to the Indies by traveling west. During what could be considered his adolescent years, Antonio enjoys his first tastes of traveling far distances because he finally got to venture out and see a lot of different kinds of things. He looked around age 18 around this time.
-1494-1498: First Italian War begins, Spain becomes involved when he joins the war with Holy Roman Empire and a series of Italian powers against France. The victory eventually causes Charles VIII to abandon the campaign and return to France.
-1500-1504: Spain joins the Second Italian War with the intention of helping France conquer the Italian principles with the intention of splitting the booty with his neighbor. However, disagreement over the division causes him to turn against France and fight him. The end of the second Italian War placed Naples under the control of Spain. By this time, Antonio grows to look around 23 at this time.
-1506-1700: Spain becomes part of the Habsburg Empire, through the marriage of Joanna of Castile and Philip of Burgundy and begins his ascent onto the world stage.
- 1519: Charles V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor, giving Spain control of a large part of Europe. France tries to invade Italy in 1521, having felt bitter about not being able to receive the title. Since then, France and Spain enter into a constant war for the control of Italy. Due to the amount of experiences he had serving under the rules of the past few monarchs, he grows to look around 25 and his growth then plateaus around this time.
- 1568-1609: Experienced the Dutch Revolt, which caused Netherlands to leave Spain’s empire. Spain had originally kept the country from leaving, but after almost a decade long struggle, he let the country leave. However, as a result of the war, it had further aggravated the poor relationship with England and agitated his relationship with France. Additionally, since the Ottoman Empire joined the war against Spain, the kingdom felt a bit more annoyed with the Middle Eastern kingdom. That relationship would further deteriorate during the late 16th century when they send more pirates after their ships.
- 1580-1640: The formation of the Iberian Union when the Portuguese empire is incorporated into the empire, though it ends in 1640.
- 1585-1604: Though the war was never declared, Spain experienced a great deal of grievances when Queen Elizabeth I commissioned the pirates to attack his fleets. Since the struggles almost bankrupted him and barred further exploration in America, he developed a dislike for England and his backhand tactics. Additionally, he would try to invade England as a means to stop the privateering as well as put down the Protestant nation which had executed Queen Mary of Scots. The relationship between England and Spain became very sour ever since. In 1588, the defeat of the Spanish Armada proved to be devastating to the Empire, which was unable to successfully defeat the English at sea and also ended up losing almost the entire fleet. This also prevented the Spanish from successfully cutting off the aid that the English gave to the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands.
- 1618: Philip III form a truce with the Dutch, settling its dispute with the kingdom for now
- 1640: A war with central Europe led the rebellion of Catalonia and Portugal; Italy was also lost, though the Catalonia independence was squandered and French forces expelled from Spain; Spain is left without a leader at the end of the period
- 1701-1714: The War of Spanish Succession attempted to unite Spain and France together, though it ended up splitting up the Spanish Empire. The war pitted Spain against Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Prussia, Habsburg Monarchy and Portugal.
- 1715: Philip V, the first Bourbon king, signed Decreto de Nueva Planta, which revoked the power of the kingdoms forming Spain and unified them under the laws of Castille; the French influence caused Spain to become a cultural and political follower of France
- 1740-1748: War of Austrian Succession caused Spain to end up joining France and Prussia in the war. However, since he was pretty weak at this time, due to the fact that he was still recuperating from the last war, he managed to survive and even gained several parts of the former Holy Roman Empire.
- 1775: Almost as if he was trying to get back at England for all he had done, Spain provided the United States of America with aid in its fight for independence, which then caused England to have to give up Florida and Minorca to Spain at the end of the war.
- 1793-1795: Spain tried to take advantage of France, which looked like it was going through an identity crisis, except ended up getting betrayed by his own people, who accepted Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother as their leader. During this time, the relationship between Spain and France was mended as Spain became a client of the French. However, he realized that his relationship with France was not working as he kicked the French out in 1814 and reinstalled his own monarch. This also ruined Spain, who had lost many of his colonies during this time and found himself experiencing a financial crisis.
-1805: Battle of Trafalgar caused Charles IV to reconsider his alliance with the French and break off the Continental System
-1808-1809: Spain went through a series of loss of colonies and experienced a series of rebellions. It was a period of turmoil inside as nationalism developed in the country, which drained Spain's financial resources; Napoleon invades Spain during the Peninsular War, triggering the War of Independence
-1813: French defeated at the Battle of Victoria by the Duke of Wellington, Spain and Portugal; King of Spain restored to power the following year.
-1820-1823: Trienio Liberal broke out after the end of the Napoleonic Wars between the royalists and the liberals. The war ends with royalist victory (with French interference) and restores King Ferdinand VII on the throne.
-1833-1839: First Carlist War breaks out because KingFerdinand VII leaves no male heirs. His brother Carlos takes over as Spain begins to turn back to absolutism. Eventually the Cristinos win and make liberal reforms to the country, but was met with resistance.
-1846-1849: The Second Carlist War (Matiners’ War) breaks out in Catalonia, but was poorly organized and eventually suppressed in 1849.
-1872-1876: The Third Carlist War breaks out as rebellions break out in Navarre, Catalonia, Valencia and Aragon. However, the Carlist forces are unable to win, leaving Spain strangely conflicted.
-1868-1878: Ten Years war begins against Cuba, who was rebelling against Spanish rule when sugar mill owners declared the isalnd’s independence; abolition of slavery in colonies.
- 1898: Spanish-American War broke out when the United States could not stand the way Spain had treated Cuba for its acts of rebellion. After a few months, Spain had to give up the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the USA and left the Western Hemisphere. This caused his relationship with the United States to be bitter during the time and caused him to not talk to Cuba for a while, Spain’s relationship with these countries gradually improved over time.
- 1936: Spain then went through an identity crisis as he ended up going through a civil war. During this time, Spain found himself attempting to recover politically and economically, so he ended up becoming isolated. During this time, he was fascist, as Franco took over and ruled the country as a dictatorship. However, he did appear sympathetic to the Axis powers despite taking a neutral standing (though he did swear this was the last time he was going to have a civil ear).
- 1955: It formed a friendship with the United States, who needed his help to protect southern Europe during the Cold War. During this time, Spain experienced the “Spanish miracle” and industrialized. As a result, he recovered from the long sickness caused by his declining economy. During this time, he became more carefree than he was before.
- 1982: Spain joined NATO and four years later, joined the European Union. During this time, he experienced a period of economic recovery and became a strong performer in the EU.
Role Play Example:
From the Virginius Affair thread with the United States of America:
31 October 1873, Evening
The entire scene before him felt surreal.
Up close, Antonio expected the crew aboard the Virginius to appear frazzled, clear evidence of the stress of capture after successfully eluding capture for the last three years. However, most of the crew remained at attention on deck, surprisingly calm considering the fact that they had to be fully aware of the consequences of entering into Spanish waters. Though he was thankful for how peaceful the encounter was, Antonio could not help but remain suspicious of them, convinced that they had some type of ulterior plan.
As Antonio helped maneuver the boat towards the idle ship, he stopped humming as he caught sight of the red, white and blue of the American flag swaying gently in the breeze. So long as it flew proudly, it served as a glaring reminder of the fact that Los Estados Unidos de América was somehow involved with this ship. He could not help but feel a peak in the amount of annoyance he felt after the fact. To think that he would use to go over and play with Alfred when he was a child! Brooding inside, the Spaniard could feel the urge to shake the younger man violently when they met next time, though his expression was that of curiosity with a touch of eerie calmness.
Anxiety. Anger. He could feel the sentiments burning inside of him as he squeezed his fingers white against the gun.
When they approached the filibuster, he could see that most of the men were solemn, not that he had expected them to be leaping for joy at seeing their producers, though the least they could do was at least look more cheerful than they would at a funeral.
“Alfred,” the name escaped the Spaniard’s lips softly, sounding as if he was calling an old friend, though bitterness licked the edge of his voice. His gaze lingered a moment longer on the flag before turning his attention on the Virginius’ captain. Dressed in his naval uniform, the American appeared formidable, especially with his bushy facial hair flaring out across the front of his bust. Antonio had never been quite the person to grow a beard, it tended to ruin his youthful image and well, it was sure hard to maintain.
Besides, it wasn’t like he would want to look like him anyway.
When they reached the Virginius, they boarded the ship without any struggle much to Antonio’s surprise (he expected at least some type of brawl and chaos to follow). He took a hard look around his immediate vicinity, emerald green eyes sweeping over a handful of men. He presumed some of the men to be from los Estados Unidos de América, but it was not difficult to pick out the ones that he would identify as his own.
Deep inside, the Spaniard could not help but feel pity towards the men. He was certain that the news of the revolution in France and the stories of los Estados Unidos de América’s struggle for independence, poisoning their minds into thinking that just because they need to become their own nation. To him, they were his precious people, seeing every single rebel felt like a needle driven into his heart.
His eyes continued to wander as they fell upon the carnage upon the ship. It was easy to see that it had been very active prior to their arrival. The empty crates remained strewn around on-board while some remnants of its contents remained scattered around it. It was not hard for even a young child to figure out what the ship had been carrying, especially when the crew looked as gloomy as they did.
“Dios Mio,” Antonio muttered as he looked away, meeting the eyes of Fabrégas, who sat next to him on the boat, and whistled, “looks like they are loaded.” The comment earned a snicker from the first engineer as they stood together. The evening breeze caused his hair to toss about as he laughed, his dark brown hair sweeping over his chestnut brown eyes.
“Yes, seems to be the case,” Antonio replied, “they’re gonna have a hella hard time explaining what they were carrying. Definitely not ponies.” Catching the widening grin on Febrégas’s face, Antonio smirked, the gleam dancing across his emerald eyes as he looked on.
And then a familiar face caught his attention. At first, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, convinced that the late night chase had caused his eyes to malfunction, but when he looked up again. He could never forget the familiar boyish features and sparkling blues eyes even if he was lost in a crowd. Lips pursed together, he could feel himself tense up. Though he had his suspicions, he never really thought that his suspicions would actually be correct. In fact, he hoped that he was wrong, he had been hoping deep inside that the little innocent boy he met during his exploration day had remained.
It clearly was not the case. In fact, he was replaced by something worse.
Los Estados Unidos de América, what the hell is he doing here? The Spaniard could not help but stare at the younger man, who was gathered amongst the crew. Shock ran through him as he continued to gawk, his mind going in a few million directions before he managed to smile a little, an attempt to ease the awkwardness of the situation before turning away. Resisting the urge to call out to the younger man, Antonio repeatedly reminded himself that there could be dire consequences if anyone around them found out that they knew each other.
Betrayal. Another sentiment grew took root in Antonio as he tried not to look too uncomfortable even though he was never very good at keeping such expressions from creeping on his face.
“Looks like those guys are looking at us,” Fabrégas said, jabbing a thumb in their direction. A sense of uneasiness sunk in as Antonio laughed uncomfortably and waved off the first engineer’s comment. “Ah, they might just be scared,” he offered casually, smiling tensely. “Say, you know what Ortiz is doing?”
The Spaniard turned quickly, eyes scanning the entire ship before his eyes fell on Ortiz, who had finally located the captain and began talking to him. Though picking up physical cues was not Antonio’s forte, he could tell that the conversation was very different from his light-hearted banter with Frabrégas. Standing at a distance, curiosity caused him to listen in on the conversation, straining his hearing as he eavesdropped.
Note: Los sientos, I tried to find the shortest writing sample I have. orz That and I apologize for any typos you find in advance because I can't go back and edit the crap out of this application. orz