A new nation is born!

Lbotu welcomes you!

     We are pleased to announce the birth of a new nation to in the African coninent, Lbotu!  As many miniature gamers know, it's sometimes easier to create your own country or countries than using an existing place with its people and institutions.  I can't get the drive to create one for my SYW Russians but for moderns, it's been floating around as an idea for a while.  I finally got down to business and, using AK47 1st ed. for the method, I creaed Lbotu as the home for my 1970-2017 games.  It's probably a mix of movie nostalgia and current issues that make it ripe for gaming ideas.  I plan on providing some background on the people, places, and things that make Lbotu a country of contrasts.  Mercenaries, guerillas, aid workers, well wishers, and business interests all swim around the cities and countryside, sometimes creating exciting reactions.  Some of the rulesets that I'll be using for games in Lbotu include Spectre Operations, At Close Quarters, Black Ops, Skirmish Sangin, and Dogs of War.  I hope to avoid reactions to games set in actual locations to avoid political and personal sensitivities that fellow gamers might have.  As an imagi-nation nobody's relative has seen service there and it's not in the news.  As a pretend place, I'm not making light of the difficulties that happen in that area of the world.  If anything it would be interesting to see more research done on the state of African affairs and ways to alleviate problems.  All commentary, news, reports from the field, and other material is a creation of my imagination and in no way represents any real people.

 Background:   Lbotu (el-bow-tu) was founded as a Belgian colony in 1630 as a friendly port on the western side of Africa for it's traders.  The coastal area was soon developed by European business interests, resulting in the cities of Elenville and Brudes, both on the coast and at the mouth of rivers.  The inland areas became sources of goods through farming, mining, and timber.  The harsh measures used to rule the Congo Free State didn't materialize in Lbotu, mostly due to the amount of foreigners doing business and residing in the country.  After the Treaty of Versailles Belgium ceded Lbotu to the British to run.  The constant mixing of nationalities, religions, and cultures created a system of "controlled chaos" in which it was easier for all involved to be accepting of each other because the alternative would be too costly (costly = trade).  Because of the open nature of Lbotu Britain was able to run Lbotu with a minimum of oversight and force.
     In 1964 independence was granted as Britain started to disassemble it's colonial empire and calls for independence within Lbotu grew.  The change to local government was relatively peaceful compared to other parts of the continent and the British system of government continued with the new ruling parties.

Resources:  The natural resources of Lbotu have become an important part of the national economy as trade routes around the Cape of Good Hope became less critical for the movement of goods.  After the 1964 independence the Lbotu economy fell as support from Britain fell off and a push to maximize national resources increased.  Past environmental impact from this period, "The Uprooting" as it was known, created tensions between business and environmental forces along with friction between urban and rural dwellers.  Fifteen years of unrest, including the birth of various resistance groups, was ended at the 1985 "Tcheweya Conference" which codified environmental laws and procedures that would allow sustainable use.   While the extremes were not happy with the accord reached, it did quell the growing violence that was disrupting daily living.


More work to come........