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AH Run-downs, summaries and general gubbins

Welsh soldier with their red dragon symbols playing the loveable comic relief to the Zimbabwean colonial hero
This is a beautiful piece.

Since I'm married into a black Zimbabwean family, and spend a lot more time with my inlaws than my blood relatives (because geography), am one quarter Welsh, and have a Chinese godmother, I was about to complain about a personal attack before realizing you've created a world I'd fit into perfectly.
 
Class: Examining Modern American Literature (GA #134F)
Campus: New York National University (Bronx, N.Y.)
Type: Reading group
Convener: Prof. Dana Gioia

Schedule: Biweekly, Thursdays 6:00-8:30

Course outline: American authors have written hundreds of classic works of literature since the end of the Global War Against Imperialism in 1939. In small groups of students, we will read and discuss a series of novels and short stories from different eras of modern American history, focusing on the theme of the "common American" and how the idea of the "common American" has changed over time.

Reading materials:
  • August 9, 2012: Introduction, expectations
  • August 23, 2012: Rising With The Ranks: John Steinbeck, Skid Row (1944)
  • September 6, 2012: Strangers In A Familiar Land: Flannery O'Connor, "The Comforts Of Home", "The Valley", and "The Way of all Flesh" (in The Comforts of Home and Other Stories, 1953); Richard Wright, Stranger in a Strange Land (1950)
  • September 20, 2012: Alienation: Kurt Vonnegut, The Prodigal (1961)
  • October 4, 2012: How The Other Half Lives: Joyce Carol Oates, Infinity (1968)
  • October 18, 2012: The Revolution Grows Up: Saul Bellow, Klein (1977)
  • November 1, 2012: Lost Generation: Don DeLillo, Alone (1986); Bret Easton Ellis, Big Nothing (1989)
  • November 15, 2012: The New Immigrants: Julia Alvarez, Trespass (1993); Amy Tan, The Gambler's Daughter (1994)
  • November 29, 2012: Black Voices: Toni Morrison, Babel (1990)
  • December 13, 2012: Final papers due
 
He's Just Not that into EU (Pocket edition)
or
How Jeremy Corbyn lost the Labour Party but destroyed the Conservatives

2016-2017: Theresa May (Conservative)

-’17 election

May 2017- Grenfell Tower disaster



2017-2019: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Minority with SNP S&C)

July 2017: Boris Johnson Elected conservative leader

October 2018- Govt fails first vote on Labour deal

October 2018- Several Labour and Conservative MPs form the Progressive Party

November 2018- Multi Party agreement over Labour Brexit Deal

June 2019- EU Deal Referendum 50.5% leave.

30th June 2019: UK Enters transition period with EU

October 2019: Scotland Votes to remain by 58%

October 2019: Nicola Sturgeon Resigns as SNP Leader

November 2019: Liberal Democrats and Progressives form electoral alliance

November 2019: Angus Robertson becomes leader of SNP and First minister of Scotland

December 2019: General election



2019-2020: Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Minority with Liberal Democrat/Progressive Supply and Confidence)

December 2019: Boris Johnson Resigns as Conservative Leader, Angus Robertson resigns as SNP Leader

February 2020: Liz Truss elected as Conservative Leader

February: Joanna Cherry elected SNP Leader and First Minister of Scotland

February 2020: First case of COVID 19 in UK

March 2019: UK goes into first Lockdown

March 2019: Government faces some backlash over COVID-19 Relief bill spending, Lib Progs say it is “insufficient” to protect Businesses despite strong support for individuals

April 2020: Prime Minister Corbyn is hospitalised with COVID



2020-2022 Claire Wright (Independent leading National Government)

April 2020: Claire Right becomes Prime Minister leading a National Government of Labour, Liberal Progressive and Greens with Some “National Conservative” support and Plaid Cymru, SDLP, Alliance and SNP support for Nationwide matters. Jeremy Corbyn appointed Deputy Prime Minister

June 2020: Government begins slow phase out of First lockdown

October 2020: Mhairi Black and Several other SNP MPs and MSPs form Alba Party over Joanna Cherry’s stance on Trans rights. Form electoral alliance with Scottish Greens

October 2020: Lawrence Fox elected leader of UKIP on anti-lockdown and “anti woke” platform.

November 2020: Government Enters Second lockdown

February 2021: Govt Begins roll out of vaccines.

April 2021: Government Begins slow phase out of Lockdown

May 2021: Government holds referendum on Electoral reform. Public votes to change from First Past the Post, then selects the Additional Member system to replace it

May 2021: Labour-Liberal Progressive Government elected in Scottish Elections as SNP loses significant votes to Green-Alba Alliance.

January 2022: Jeremy Corbyn announces he is standing down as Labour leader

March 2022: Angela Rayner elected leader of Labour, narrowly defeating Rebecca Long-Bailey.

March 2022: Radical Alliance alliance formed for next General election. Formed of Scottish, Welsh and English Greens, Alba and Plaid Cymru on platform of “Green Federalism”



2022-2027 Angela Rayner (Labour-Liberal Progressive-Radical Alliance Coalition)

May 2022: Sinn Fein become biggest party in Northern Ireland Assembly as Alliance makes significant gains from Unionist parties.

May 2022: Tamsin Ormond becomes first openly non-binary MP

June 2022: Angela Rayner finishes negotiations with Liberal Progressive party and Radical alliance. Forming a (technically) six party coalition.

June 2022: Government votes through Gender Self ID Laws and introduces gender neutral markers on official documents

September 2022: Government Unveils plans to roll out universal basic income

September 2022: Scotland act introduces Devo-Max for Scotland, followed by acts increasing Welsh government powers. It is worth noticing both first ministers are part of the Labour party.

November 2022: Charlie Blake (List MP for Southwest England) comes out as transgender, becoming the first openly trans MP

March 2023: Scotland act introduces Devo-Max for Scotland, followed by acts increasing Welsh government powers. It is worth noticing both first ministers are part of the Labour party.

April 2024: House of Lords reformed. Shrunk to 400 seats, 80% of which will be elected by Closed list Proportional representation. The actual role of the lords is mostly unchanged

May 2025: President Donald Trump makes a faux Pas after a state visit to the UK when he claims Angela Rayner was crossing and uncrossing her legs to distract him.

May 2026: Conservatives suffer significant loses in Scotland, Wales and Local elections. Labour-Liberal Progressive government stays in power in Scotland. Labour forms majority government in Wales. Liz Truss stands down as leader

September 2026: Grant Shapps elected leader of the Conservatives.

September 2026: Black Tuesday. 24 MPs defect from Conservatives to Liberal Progressives to



2027-2031: Anegla Rayner (Labour-Radical Alliance Government)

May 2027: Poor weather in summer and winter 2026 see rise in Green Party vote. Radical alliance also benefit from increase in demand for Plaid Cymru calls for Welsh Devo Max, increased demand for English Devolution (which is now a policy of the Green Party of England and Wales) and collapse of SNP, making Alba the largest pro independence (such as the term is) party. Allowing Labour and RA to form slim majority without the Lib Progs. Conservatives lose significant ground to both Liberal Progressives and UKIP. Also a movement from Liberal Progressives towards Labour. Grant Shapps resigns as Conservative Leader

May 2027: Future Prime Minister Charlie Blake is made Health Secretary.

June 2027: Alex Chalk (SW List MP) Elected Conservative leader

May 2028: English Devolution Referendum delivers result in support of devolution. England is to be split into 8 regions (including London) with their own regional assemblies along the lines of Wales.

January 2029: Prime Minister Rayner makes public support for President-Elect Ocasio-Cortez over claimant President Taylor-Greene during the

May 2029: First elections for English Assemblies deliver a mix of results with the Liberal Progressives leading governments in the South west, South East and North West.



2031-2032: Charlie Blake* (Labour-Radical Alliance Government)

February 2031: Charlie Blake elected Labour leader, Becomes first trans head of government in the world and first LGBT+ Prime Minister.



2032-2037: Charlie Blake* (Labour-Liberal Progressive Grand Coalition)

May 2032: Liberal Progressives narrowly replace the conservatives as biggest party and the only combination of parties to form a majority would either be a Lab-Lib grand coalition or would break the cordon sanitare with regards to UKIP. This leads to a decrease in the popularity of Labour as they are seen as conceding too much to the Lib Progs

May 2033: Border Poll in Northern Ireland delivers a pro-reuinification result

April 2035: Ireland is Reunified.

Summer 2036: A series of storms hit Britain, leading to severe flooding and damage to the Labour Government’s reputation over climate change.



2037-Present: Dehenna Davison (Liberal Progressive-Conservative Government with Green S&C)

May 2037: Labour maintain position as biggest party but Liberal Progressives and Conservatives (almost on equal seats). They come to an agreement to prioritise green policies with some members of the Radical League. Leading to a significant chunk of Radical PMs leaving the Greens to form the Radical Party. It remains to be seen whether the Radical Alliance will reform for the next General election. Charlie Blake asks the King to invite Ms Davison to form a government, then tenders his resignation as Labour leader.

With a large number of left wing people joining Labour following the collapse of the Radical Alliance. The current favourite to win the Labour election is 72 year old stalwart of the party left, Dawn Butler

Rayner Cabinet, Following the post local elections reshuffle May 2023

Prime Minister: Angela Rayner (Labour)
Deputy Prime Minister: Layla Moran (Liberal Progressive)
Deputy Prime Minister: Carla Denyer (Radical Alliance- Green)

Chancellor of the Exchequer: Rebecca Long-Bailey (Labour)
Foreign Secretary: Emily Thornberry (Labour)
Home Secretary: Sir Ed Davey (Liberal Progressive)
Defence Secretary: Nia Griffith (Labour)
Secretary of State for Education: Munira Wilson (Liberal Progressive)
Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Molly Scott Cato (Radical Alliance: Green)*
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care: Heidi Allen (Liberal Progressive)
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry: Chuka Umunna (Liberal Progressive)
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Margaret Greenwood (Labour)
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Lisa Nandy (Labour
Secretary of State for the Environment: Adrian Ramsay (Radical Alliance- Green)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Owen Smith (Labour)
Secretary of State for Scotland: Patrick Harvie (Radical Alliance- Scottish Green)
Secretary of State for Wales: Liz Saville Roberts (Radical Alliance- Plaid Cymru)

Leader of the House of Commons: Valerie Vaz (Labour)
Leader of the Senate: Lady-Senator Angela Smith (Labour)



*Really not sure about this one pals
 
The Pendulum Swings Back, Hard: America Under Clinton (Andy Slavitt, 2021)

CHAPTER ONE - Election Night In America, 1992 ('It's Not a Landslide, It's a Motherf*cking Avalanche')
CHAPTER TWO - The Transition ('From Neoliberalism to New Liberalism')
CHAPTER THREE - First 100 Days ('1933-1993: The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same')
CHAPTER FOUR - Healthcare Reforms ('Fear, Bribery, and Bargaining and The Successful Fight For Universal Healthcare')
CHAPTER FIVE - Judicial Reforms ('Equal Justice In All Regards: The 11 Member Supreme Court')
CHAPTER SIX - Carbon Tax ('Tax The Air, Not The People: Al Gore's Carbon Tax')
CHAPTER SEVEN - First Midterms ('The Pendulum Swings Back, Hard, Again: The 1994 Midterm Elections')
CHAPTER EIGHT - Gridlock ('Ruling By Fiat: The White House in 1995')
CHAPTER NINE - 1996 Primaries ('The Circus To Defeat Socialism: The 1996 Republican Primaries')
CHAPTER TEN - Re-Election ('Returned To Deliver: The 1996 Presidential Election')
CHAPTER ELEVEN - Foreign Policy ('Let's Bomb Some Serbs: Foreign Policy Under Clinton)
CHAPTER TWELVE - Education Reform ('We Are Number One: The Most Progressive Legislation In American History')
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Scandal ('What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: The Monica Lewinsky Debacle')
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Final Years ('Least Lame Duck: Laying The Groundwork For 2000')
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Exit Stage Gore ('Riding High With Pardons: The Final Days of the Clinton Presidency')
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Legacy ('Clinton 20 Years On: A Look Back At A Presidency That Transformed America, Forever')

42. Bill Clinton (D), 1993-2001
43. Al Gore (D), 2001-2005
44. Pete Wilson (R), 2005-2013
45. Tom Steyer (D), 2013-2021
46. John Kasich (R), 2021-Incumbent
 
The Centre for Sexual Research and SGRM rights in Revolutionary Britain

Male sexuality variance was a crime in Britain prior to the British Revolution, most famously leading to the conviction of Oscar Wilde. Female variant sexuality was never officially illegal, but was nevertheless discriminated against.

There were similarly no laws specifically targeting gender minorities, but in the public mind this overlapped with sexuality variance and was discriminated against accordingly, while sexual relations between what would now be considered a neo-woman and paleo-man were still punishable under existing anti-sodomy legislation.

The laws targeting sodomy were effectively voided similarly to the Alien Act and other bourgeois legislation, and male variant sexuality was formally decriminalised by the Constitutional Convention of 1921. This should not be understood as a liberal attitude; male sexuality variance was still considered abnormal, the new government simply treated it as a mental illness and personal defect rather than a criminal offence.

The terminology of SGRM in Britain changed significantly over the period. At the time, the most common term was ‘invert’, popularised by Ellis and based on the theory of sexual inversion. Other terms included ‘Eonist’, ‘homophile’ and a host of other terms. This changed starting in the 1970s, when the central government recognised the acronym ‘SGRM’ (Sexual, Gender and Romantic Minorities) as the official term, similar to ‘BIJA’ (Black, Irish, Jewish and Asian), the acronym used for ethnic minorities. While this remains the term recognised by the government and used by most organisations, by the 1990s members of the SGRM community had embraced new terms, such as ‘bonnie’ and ‘sapphic’.

Nevertheless, this was something of a liberalisation, and groups advocating for SGRM rights could now organise openly. The Centre for Sexual Research was chief among these groups.

The Centre for Sexual Research was founded in London in 1922 as a co-operative research institute, and was the first British research institute dedicated to the study of sexual and gender variance. It was effectively the descendent of the pre-war British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology, which had much the same aims of better understanding sexual and gender minorities as the Centre would have, but was stifled by pre-war British law. The new Centre aimed to inform and educate, as the Society had done, while also functioning as an operational clinic to serve London’s SGRM community; the Centre is credited with the first successful example of neo-gender alignment surgery.

It brought together some of the brightest minds in the emerging field of sexology, drawing from related fields such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, biology and healthcare. The most prominent figures were Havelock Ellis, Edward Carpenter, Norman Haire, David Eder and Eden Paul. The Centre was also buoyed by foreign experts, most notably the significant number of German Jews who fled that county prior to the German War, such as Magnus Hirschfeld, Helene Stöcker, John Flügel and Ludwig Levy-Lenz. Alongside the experts, the Centre also became the headquarters of the first SGRM movement in Britain. Figures such as George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Christopher Isherwood, Ethel Mannin, Vera Brittain, Dora Russell, Stella Browne, Laurence Housman and George Cecil Ives all associated with the Centre at one point or another.

The Centre remained controversial in British society throughout its early existence; as said, while sexual and gender variance had been decriminalised, it was still viewed with stigma. The Centre continuously dealt with threats and violence from Christian and conservative groups, which the London Council of Workers’ Deputies and law enforcement (at that time, much muted regardless) routinely ignored. This came to a head with the burning of the Centre in 1933, and the refusal on the part of the council or government to allow the Centre to be rebuilt until after the German War, almost a decade later, in 1944.

It was after this second founding that the Centre truly became a hub for SGRM rights activists; and the Centre was at the centre of the movement in the 1950s and 60s, at the helm of the campaign in support of the famed computerist and economic planner Alan Turing. This, along with the concurrent movements for BIJA rights and against eugenics, will be covered in Part Two of this book.
 
Last edited:
Elections for the American House of Representatives- and therefore the Presidency and Senate- were held on November 3, 2020. The incumbent National-Conservative government of President Nicole Kim was defeated at the polls, with the left-wing Social Democratic Party winning a historic victory and getting a mandate to form a government. Social Democratic leader James Kaufman (OC) was therefore elected President in December in an agreement with the rest of the Pan-Left coalition. President Kim initially looked like a decent bet for re-election, with her moderate policies on gay rights and healthcare being mostly popular. However, relative mismanagement of the COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in rising numbers for the left, particularly the long-struggling Social Democratic Party, which had made large gains in the previous elections. The SDP promised increased relief checks, more spending on healthcare, and a continuation of socially liberal policies. In the concurrent Senate elections, the Pan-Left coalition gained a majority. Despite the popular vote disparity, Liberal candidates won more coalition primaries and more were therefore elected in November.

Kaufman and his SDP-ALP-GRN cabinet were sworn in on January 31, 2021 for a term ending four years later.

2020 United States General Election:
Social Democratic (SDP) - 46,797,330 (29.3%) | 146 Representatives
National Front (ANF) - 38,651,719 (24.2%) | 121 Representatives
Conservative Union (CU) - 29,547,802 (18.5%) | 93 Representatives
Liberal Party (ALP) - 25,075,702 (15.7%) | 79 Representatives
Green League (GRN) - 16,291,220 (10.2%) | 51 Representatives
Libertarian Party (LIB) - 3,354,074 (2.1%) | 11 Representatives

PAN LEFT: 88,164,252 (55.2%) / 276 Representatives
PAN RIGHT: 71,553,595 (44.8%) / 225 Representatives

2020 United States Presidential Election:
James M. Kaufman (SDP) - 269 Votes

Nicole A. Kim (ANF) - 204 Votes
Gary E. Johnson (LIB) - 18 Votes
Hillary R. Clinton (ALP) - 4 Votes
 
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PAN LEFT: 88,164,252 (55.2%) / 276 Representatives
PAN RIGHT: 71,553,595 (44.8%) / 225 Representatives

2020 United States Presidential Election:
James M. Kaufman (SDP) - 269 Votes

Donald J. Trump (ANF) - 204 Votes
Gary E. Johnson (LIB) - 18 Votes
Hillary R. Clinton (ALP) - 4 Votes
Fascinating
How do the number of representatives relate to the number of presidential votes, if at all?
 
Fascinating
How do the number of representatives relate to the number of presidential votes, if at all?
The Presidency is voted on by Congress. In the early years this would operate akin to a convention vote, where the members would choose a President behind closed doors. Now, parties will endorse candidates beforehand, often under coalition agreements where the party with the most votes out of said coalition will be entitled to the other party's votes.

Naturally this doesn't always go perfectly, which is why a few defections usually happen.
 
Fun With Words (Amarillo Star, June 5, 2010)

Find all forty people depicted on currently-circulating American banknotes!


TEKMIRGTSLRTRCQLYDYXSLSHA
AKCIWTODYHCVKJNQIAEPPHETZ
JHEXFKTLZAUWUSJLTKLJIIQVT
GNILUAPOMOAHAYWOODTDNDUDU
HPLGLVIBLWICGSPINJALOHJTB
NGAVHELMGSAOEVHNZGEAZUXQM
LWKXLQRUCGTQZDQIZIHKAZQRA
ABLPJAUHAXUOSTLLNRWDCVHYN
ZWQYUTYWJOSSYIBKPGZUTYTHI
IWQPKGELYQUBIOENRATTUCKSS
RGFPJAEALRNPRNEAOLIOEUHIV
KAEEZMHDEKYLHWZRPCKNNURBF
KREINDEDVAACDNYFOZAMEGRNZ
SIAXKBWTEUTOBODBOGPBAGPBK
TBOHSOXNGISQZPUPXAAIWNTAR
OAXRRDJEFFERSONGLZCTVISTM
WLBBQKVLKPNFMASILLCNXJYTP
EDZEGQAMUZETNOMNAAEXOQQUL
WIYOTSFHJFWTEDCLSRSNVWLTG
HFAETHDNXHBOETCORIESNAAAK
PTPUEQUIANOWTSWCXSUHSOIEJ
XBYUHSDNBQEFMNCNTMZKFICNQ
YNOSKCAJEYZDNMMIODIAFXOOG
OZTNEFJBYYAQWELLSGDKNSXZW
KYBHNXVQMNNAOCCGXUKIMFVKF
 
Fun With Words (Amarillo Star, June 5, 2010)

Find all forty people depicted on currently-circulating American banknotes!


TEKMIRGTSLRTRCQLYDYXSLSHA
AKCIWTODYHCVKJNQIAEPPHETZ
JHEXFKTLZAUWUSJLTKLJIIQVT
GNILUAPOMOAHAYWOODTDNDUDU
HPLGLVIBLWICGSPINJALOHJTB
NGAVHELMGSAOEVHNZGEAZUXQM
LWKXLQRUCGTQZDQIZIHKAZQRA
ABLPJAUHAXUOSTLLNRWDCVHYN
ZWQYUTYWJOSSYIBKPGZUTYTHI
IWQPKGELYQUBIOENRATTUCKSS
RGFPJAEALRNPRNEAOLIOEUHIV
KAEEZMHDEKYLHWZRPCKNNURBF
KREINDEDVAACDNYFOZAMEGRNZ
SIAXKBWTEUTOBODBOGPBAGPBK
TBOHSOXNGISQZPUPXAAIWNTAR
OAXRRDJEFFERSONGLZCTVISTM
WLBBQKVLKPNFMASILLCNXJYTP
EDZEGQAMUZETNOMNAAEXOQQUL
WIYOTSFHJFWTEDCLSRSNVWLTG
HFAETHDNXHBOETCORIESNAAAK
PTPUEQUIANOWTSWCXSUHSOIEJ
XBYUHSDNBQEFMNCNTMZKFICNQ
YNOSKCAJEYZDNMMIODIAFXOOG
OZTNEFJBYYAQWELLSGDKNSXZW
KYBHNXVQMNNAOCCGXUKIMFVKF
I only got Jefferson,Wood,Wells and Cories.

Am I meant to do it only horizontally?
 
M. Leresoma Dodoné (5398-) is a Chimo apothecary, merchant, natural philosopher, and politician who currently serves as President of the College of Electors.

Dodoné was born in the Northern Sono District to Adaromo Dodoné and Paro Hedora. His father was a member in good standing of the Guild of Tailors until his 5403 death by drowning; after his death, Dodoné moved with his mother and sisters to the Talané, where his maternal uncle Duraso Hedora, a printer by trade, served as military governor of the Hakahe Valley. They would live there for two years, returning to Chimo at the end of the Third Tea War; Dodoné was enrolled in the prestigious HH Dotora Beno School at the age of eight and apprenticed to Sachira Utemo, an apothecary and former comrade-in-arms of Duraso Hedora, at the age of twelve. Though dismissed from his apprenticeship at fifteen due to a conflict with Utemo, he was restored a year later, and attained journeyman status at the age of nineteen. He began cohabiting with Venaro Dosasava, daughter of another apothecary, in 5420.

That same year, he entered into a business partnership with school friends Deromo Kasakera (a journeyman doctor) and Nenema Valavé (a journeyman notary) to grow tea in the Talané and upper Rasana, dry and process the leaves in local factories, and import the results. Dividing his time between his career as a journeyman apothecary (in 5426, he would be acclaimed master status and marry Dosasava) and the new venture, he would see significant success, in particular by standardizing both processing and marketing and introducing fermented tea leaves as a delicacy.

In 5434, seeking to improve his social standing, he sold his stake in the tea business to Kasakera's cousin Romura Mosiso to devote his full time to apothecary business and moved his shop from the Soho District to the more central Kohako. Taking Utemo's grandson Sadavaro Korolé as an apprentice in 5438, he also joined the Silver Circle, writing monographs on soil chemistry, the classification of herbs, and the distillation process, and contributing editorials to periodicals like the Star of the Morning and the Light of the Sea on labor relations, priestly unification, and the pacification of the west. His efforts paid off in 5454, when he was appointed to oversee the Guild of Apothecaries and Painters in the Palaro District; after respectable service there, his guild elected him as their third alternate elector in 5458, and he proceeded to normal electoral status in 5463.

Considered a modernizer due to his early career and past political stances, he was associated with the Seven Angels as early as 5461, but broke with them after his formal ascendance to sit with the reformist government of Sakalero Damira, where he was assigned to draft the section of the annual statute on charity in 5465 and 5466 and the section on worker's rights in 5466. Though Damira was forced out that year in favor of the more conservative Kitaro Lavaná, Dodoné became a significant voice for the opposition, drafting an overall statute in 5469 adopted by at least twelve electors. In 5470, he was elected President-in-Waiting to Lavaná after the retirement of Lonita Varanika, narrowly defeating reactionary Enenasa Lupiré by a margin estimated in the single digits; this led to his elevation to the Presidency two years later.

As President, Dodoné is a controversial figure. Respected for his intelligence and rhetoric, he is nonetheless slightly looked down upon for his origins; business outside the guilds, especially business that takes one outside the city and province of Chimo, has long been considered inherently suspect and unworthy of respect. Additionally, though Dodoné publicly sold his stake in the tea trade, he is widely believed to be independently wealthy through investment in commercial interests and real estate, raising questions about conflicts of interest. Politically, he is a nationalist and a modernizer, supportive of universal education, linguistic standardization, religious establishmentarianism, the use of military force in the Four Districts and Two Provinces, provincial centralization, a formalized Labor Law, and a stronger role for the Board of Imperial Trade short of total unification. Despite a brief health scare in the winter of 5476-7, he now appears to be in good health, and may well serve until his mandatory retirement in 5386.
 
M. Leresoma Dodoné (5398-) is a Chimo apothecary, merchant, natural philosopher, and politician who currently serves as President of the College of Electors.

Dodoné was born in the Northern Sono District to Adaromo Dodoné and Paro Hedora. His father was a member in good standing of the Guild of Tailors until his 5403 death by drowning; after his death, Dodoné moved with his mother and sisters to the Talané, where his maternal uncle Duraso Hedora, a printer by trade, served as military governor of the Hakahe Valley. They would live there for two years, returning to Chimo at the end of the Third Tea War; Dodoné was enrolled in the prestigious HH Dotora Beno School at the age of eight and apprenticed to Sachira Utemo, an apothecary and former comrade-in-arms of Duraso Hedora, at the age of twelve. Though dismissed from his apprenticeship at fifteen due to a conflict with Utemo, he was restored a year later, and attained journeyman status at the age of nineteen. He began cohabiting with Venaro Dosasava, daughter of another apothecary, in 5420.

That same year, he entered into a business partnership with school friends Deromo Kasakera (a journeyman doctor) and Nenema Valavé (a journeyman notary) to grow tea in the Talané and upper Rasana, dry and process the leaves in local factories, and import the results. Dividing his time between his career as a journeyman apothecary (in 5426, he would be acclaimed master status and marry Dosasava) and the new venture, he would see significant success, in particular by standardizing both processing and marketing and introducing fermented tea leaves as a delicacy.

In 5434, seeking to improve his social standing, he sold his stake in the tea business to Kasakera's cousin Romura Mosiso to devote his full time to apothecary business and moved his shop from the Soho District to the more central Kohako. Taking Utemo's grandson Sadavaro Korolé as an apprentice in 5438, he also joined the Silver Circle, writing monographs on soil chemistry, the classification of herbs, and the distillation process, and contributing editorials to periodicals like the Star of the Morning and the Light of the Sea on labor relations, priestly unification, and the pacification of the west. His efforts paid off in 5454, when he was appointed to oversee the Guild of Apothecaries and Painters in the Palaro District; after respectable service there, his guild elected him as their third alternate elector in 5458, and he proceeded to normal electoral status in 5463.

Considered a modernizer due to his early career and past political stances, he was associated with the Seven Angels as early as 5461, but broke with them after his formal ascendance to sit with the reformist government of Sakalero Damira, where he was assigned to draft the section of the annual statute on charity in 5465 and 5466 and the section on worker's rights in 5466. Though Damira was forced out that year in favor of the more conservative Kitaro Lavaná, Dodoné became a significant voice for the opposition, drafting an overall statute in 5469 adopted by at least twelve electors. In 5470, he was elected President-in-Waiting to Lavaná after the retirement of Lonita Varanika, narrowly defeating reactionary Enenasa Lupiré by a margin estimated in the single digits; this led to his elevation to the Presidency two years later.

As President, Dodoné is a controversial figure. Respected for his intelligence and rhetoric, he is nonetheless slightly looked down upon for his origins; business outside the guilds, especially business that takes one outside the city and province of Chimo, has long been considered inherently suspect and unworthy of respect. Additionally, though Dodoné publicly sold his stake in the tea trade, he is widely believed to be independently wealthy through investment in commercial interests and real estate, raising questions about conflicts of interest. Politically, he is a nationalist and a modernizer, supportive of universal education, linguistic standardization, religious establishmentarianism, the use of military force in the Four Districts and Two Provinces, provincial centralization, a formalized Labor Law, and a stronger role for the Board of Imperial Trade short of total unification. Despite a brief health scare in the winter of 5476-7, he now appears to be in good health, and may well serve until his mandatory retirement in 5386.
Is this part of anything?
 
F6D31834-2524-48D0-9B8A-86A91E3CB37F.jpeg

1943 - 1964: King Owain ap Cynan (House of Aberffraw)
1964 - 1965: Prince Oskar ap Cynan (House of Aberffraw - Waldeck) versus Princess Dyfwn ap Cynan (House of Aberffraw - Nassau)
1965 - : Queen Dyfwn ap Cynan (House of Aberffraw - Nassau)



1943 - 1950: Sir Rhodri Gruffydd (Union)
1943 (Majority) def. Roderic Wyn Jones (Liberal), Iwan Bowen (Social Democratic), Col. Ifor ap Collwyn (National Association), Goronwy Williams (Workers)
1947 (Majority) def. Gwylim Howells (Liberal), Iwan Bowen (Social Democratic), Goronwy Williams (Workers)

1950 - 1954: Gwylim Howells (Liberal)
1950 (Majority) def. Sir Rhodri Gruffydd (Union), Iwan Bowen (Social Democratic - Workers)
1954 - 1959: Emlyn Griffith-Jones (Union)
1954 (Majority) def. Gwylim Howells (Liberal), Rhodri Abse (Social Democratic)
1957 (Majority) def. Geriant Wyn Jones (Liberal), Arthur Rees-Owen (Social Democratic)

1959 - 1960: Alun Wyn Collwyn (Union Majority)
1960 - 1964: Owain Gruffydd (Union)

1961 (Majority) def. Emrys Dafydd (Social Democratic), Geriant Wyn Jones (Liberal)
1964: Split Between Pro and Anti-Oskar Wings of the Union Party lead to a collapse in the Government.

1964 - : Field Marshal Llywelyn Harlech (Military leading Pro-Oskar Government)
1964 - 1965: Dr Gwynfor Cynan (Independent leading Constitutional Alliance)
1965 - : Emrys Dafydd (Social Democratic)

1965 (Majority) def. Dr Gwynfor Cynan (Constitutional), Gwyneth Saunders (Liberal), Alun Wyn Collwyn (Reformist)

“The Constitutional Crisis of 1964 - 1965 was fairly unprecedented in the Kingdom of Cymru. Ever since their defeat in War of the Triple Alliance in 1905, the nation of Cymru had been rebuilding itself in its overseas colonies. King Owain would officially declare what had once been know as Y Wladychfa Gymreig as the Kingdom of Cymru in 1943. Sir Rhodri Gruffydd, the Premier of Y Wladycha Gymreig and a close ally of the King to declare elections under the new constitution. The Union Party, the stalwart of the nations Centre Right would win handsomely.

During the subsequent coronation and decoration of this new nation, Owain and Rhodri would work to forge new alliances, particularly with the Dutch and Germanic nations who had a ongoing cold conflict with the Commonwealth of Britain over colonial ventures. Whilst Owain would marry Elisabeth of the Orange-Nassau family, his brother Ifor would marry Augusta of the Waldeck Royal Family.

International recognition secured, commerce and finance would flood into the nation. Seventeen Years of Union domination would be secured through a careful balance of ‘Pragmatic Conservatism’, Nationalism and a neutral if Pro-Dutch/Germanic foreign policy.

A brief respite from this would be the Liberal tenure of Gwylim Howells but his inability to unite the Economic Liberals and the Social Liberals to provide a cohesive alternative to the Union party would see the party lose the following election and subsequently after a progressive decline in voter support as the decade went on.

But one movement would go from strength to strength. The unification of the Social Democratic Party and the Labourist Workers Party would unite the forces of the Centre Left in Cymru. As Union control intensified and building industrial and economic prominence came over the rights of workers and the citizenry, the party would gain support.

The one thing that helped secure the Union Party’s consistent position was its close relationship with the Royal Family. Owain was popular, and the creation of a personality cult around him, ensured his soft touch rule through the machinations of Constitutional Monarchy. As long as Owain was healthy, then the Union Party would be healthy.

It was in 1960, under the Premiership of Alun Wyn Collwyn that the King started to show signs of mental decline. Alun Wyn Collwyn would use the opportunity to begin questioning the future of the royal family.

Prince Oskar, the King’s Nephew was Heir Presumptive and was seen as reminiscent of a Germanic Autocrat than a Constitutional Monarch. Whilst Oskar had declared he would support the Rule of Law and the Constitution, his Conservative supporters had a habit of saying differently, one of those allies being Owain Gruffydd who would push out Alun Wyn Collwyn in the aftermath of his unfortunate attempts to change the constitution.

Princess Dyfwn, the King’s Eldest Daughter was popular amongst Liberals, certain Nationalists and the Reformists, particularly after the scandal of Dyfwn marrying Prince Carlos Hugo, a member of Bourbon Dynasty and a Catholic, leading to her being nearly disowned by the Nassau’s.

An uneasy peace would occur in the years leading up the Constitutional Crisis. Whilst Owain Gruffydd was Prime Minister, having beaten the Social Democrats in the aftermath of a Red Baiting Campaign, the issue of who would succeed the King was pushed aside. But in March of 1964, King Owain would collapse from a stroke and be rushed to hospital. Whilst surviving, his state mean that he would be able to unable to properly take part in official royal duties.

Suddenly the stalemate was broken, Oskar and Prime Minister Owain went into action. A hasty abdication later and Oskar was declared to be the new King. But reaction to the declaration was swift, the Anti-Oskar faction within the Union Party crossed over to the opposition. Suddenly Prime Ministers Owain’s Majority collapsed.

The sudden political vacuum lead to panic, the ceiniog collapsed over night, supporters of Oskar and Dyfwn would rally onto the streets and eventually fights would break out. Not long after, Rioting would occur and eventually the Army was to be deployed and martial law declared.

The Army was institutionally Pro-Oskar and a brief military government would ensue, supported by Business and Pro-Oskar politicians. It was this that would usher in the Social Democratic Party and the Trade Unions into action. Whilst the party was institutionally Republican by nature, the leadership of the gruff former Miner Emrys Dafydd had decided that Princess Dyfwn was a more moderate candidate as Monarch and disliking the increasingly dictatorial ambitions of the Oskar Supporters.

The General Strike that followed would cripple the Oskar Government, the strikers demands were simple; constitutional reform, parliamentary democracy and the establishment of Queen Dyfwn. The strikers represented almost every class, creed and religion in Cymru, over Seventy Five percent of the working population would support the strike.

Suddenly fears of Socialist revolt erupted and the government would after a week and half of striking, the government collapsed and Prince Oskar would find himself on a plane to New Hibernia, to live out his days in exile.

The Constitutional Government of Dr Gwynfor Cynan, was an all party coalition lead by a former Civil Servant, Former Liberal politician, Constitutional Lawyer and a distant cousin of the Royal Family would oversee the constitutional reform over the course of the next half a year. Emrys Dafydd as Deputy Prime Minister ensured the enshrinement of rights for Trade Unions, Workers and Minorities into the new constitution.

The new constitution would take effect on the 1st of January 1965 and a month and half later, Queen Dyfwn ap Cynan of House of Aberffraw - Nassau would have a rapturous coronation. In the warm after glow of that event during the mild March that followed, an election would be called.

The new Constitutional Party lead by Gwynfor was certainly popular, Gwynfor was mobbed at almost every single event he attended, the soft spoken man suddenly thrust into the hurley burly of politicking. But the Social Democratic Party had shown itself to be competent and willing compromise, and hadn’t suffered on the constituency level unlike the other parties.

The fifty seat majority that the Social Democrats gained stunned the whole world. Emrys Dafydd was vindicated, and not long after meeting the Queen, in his first Prime Ministerial speech he declared that the force of ‘Constitutional Socialism’ would be brought to Cymru. The enshrinement of Cymru’s New Social Democratic ideals was about to take place…

Inspired by @Meppo
@Turquoise Blue @OwenM hope I haven’t let the side down.
 
Universal Expositions are held to show the achievements and innovations of nations through the presentation of cutting edge innovations and demonstrating modernity to the world at large. While varying in theme and character, they are consistently moments of national and municipal identity-building.

Expos emerged out of industrial exhibitions, which emerged out of the Industrial Revolution. The first one of these generally held to be notable occurred in Prague in 1791, aimed at promoting the budding Bohemian identity of the era by displaying the industry of the nation. In this it proved largely successful, and today Prague continues to host the Bohemian Industrial Exposition, an annual event to present the achievements of national industry and, by doing so, promoting unity between German and Czech Bohemians.

France, however, would turn it into something more international. The French Revolution was a period of immense uncertainty and chaos, and so the Directory which sought to close that uncertainty sponsored industrial expositions. Their goal was to declare that the root of the French Republic was not revolutionary violence, but industry, which it sought to promote, and to show that France could rival the British. The 1798 Industrial Exposition saw manufacturers from across France present their products from scientific equipment to china and glassware to silk, and the best were given awards in the form gold metals. Following the overthrow of the Directory, these events did not end; the next French Industrial Expo was held in 1803, then another 1805, and then the Council of State declared they would be held every three years. Gradually escalating, it was in 1844, with the Industrial Revolution truly underway in the Flanders and Rhineland regions of France, that they turned into something grander. The Exposition de l'Industrie Universelle (1844) was a much grander event - and guests from across Europe were invited to attend and even present some of their own products. Held in the Champ de Mars, the event was centred around the innovative Temple des Fenêtres, a building constructed with innovative techniques entirely with glass and iron; itself a manufacturing wonder, it became a symbol of the era - however, visitors from more reactionary states, Russia in particular, shuddered at it and regarded it as an unnatural republican abomination. Other grand, temporary buildings presented visitors with a more typical French exuberance. This event was an extraordinary success and it impressed many. The Temple des Fenêtres would be made permanent and made the centre of the annual French National Exposition, held annually.

Not one to be outshone, Britain planned its own event. The outbreak of war in Europe led to it deciding to delay its plans, and finally, the Grand Festival of Industry of All the Nations (1855) was held in London. Held as it was only a few decades after the Popular Revolution and under a decade of the end of the disorder of the Headless State period, it aimed at exhibiting a newfound stability to the world at large. Its centrepiece, Fox Palace, was a glass building twice as large as the Temple des Fenêtres, and brought along were so many products that further temporary buildings needed to be constructed to house them. And along the Thames, the Monument to the Charter of Liberties and Securities, a 152 metre victory column in honor of the Revolution's most tangible achievement, too saw its unveiling, and it became the tallest structure in the world. In this, it proved a large success and improved Britain's reputation as a whole. In the eyes of Europe, no longer was post-revolutionary Britain a land of highwaymen and wild militias, but instead a great manufacturing shop aloof from the mainland.

France, seeking to outdo Britain in turn, held the Exposition de l'Industrie Universelle (1859), holding it in Cologne in the Rhineland as a pointed refutation of German irredentism. As such, a few German states boycotted it, and in turn the French government made sure to give German and Bohemian political exiles special pavilions. This made this expo more explicitly a cultural and political event. This, however, did not mean that France wanted to turn away German visitors, and many still came. The event would ultimately have a profound impact on Cologne, and the many different cultural pavilions displayed there presaged the later migrations that turned it into a cultural melting pot. But in turn this led the Austrian government to retaliate, and it decided to hold the Deutsche Weltausstellung (1865) in Frankfurt, in part as a great display of German unity against the French. This colossal event served as a spotlight on the rising industries of lands considered Germany - the Eastern Ruhr, Saxony and (more controversially) Bohemia - with Austria seeking to serve as its head, and above all with the Reichsadler flying over the Palast der Industrie.

As the Habsburgs made sure to exclude Prussia from this "pan-German" expo, it led to it holding its own Preußische Weltausstellung (1869) in Berlin. In this it spotlighted its industry from its growing centre of Silesia, and it also made sure to include products from its great Polish and Lithuanian populations. However, its attempts to undermine Austrian pan-Germanism by inviting German states to erect their own pavilions generally failed. But nevertheless, it did well in showcasing Prussian industry. Britain held another Grand Festival of Industry of All the Nations (1871), seeking to outdo France from 1859, and it successfully demonstrated the great advances from the 1855 Festival. Notably, it even reused Fox Palace, which remained as striking as ever.

In honor of the Mazzinian constitutional revisions that turned it from a confederacy of French-aligned sister republics into a fiercely independent federation, and to assert its independence from France, Italy decided to hold its own Expo. The Esposizione Internazionale dell'Industria (1874), held not in the half-French metropolis of Milan but in the ancient capital of Rome, consecrated Italian industry. It was a celebration of Italy's history along with a promise of its future, and many were amazed at the Palazzo della Repubblica, which seamlessly joined neoclassicalism with iron modernity. However, this expo caused an international incident; the Pope, in exile in Madrid, formally condemned it, and many Catholic countries refused to send pavilions. But despite it all, it showed a new Italy, breaking away from being France's vassal and instead a power of its own; the tumult of the 1880s would be but the final event of this.

In 1879, the Expo crossed the shore. The United States was mired in civil war from 1869 to 1876; its beginning with a disputed election threw the entire American experiment in doubt, but its victory by the Constitutionalists, the flight of the Richmondites from Mobile over the water, and the destruction of slavery, brought it new hopes. The Centennial Festival (1879) was a representation of this. Held in Philadelphia, in honor of its role as capital both in the first years of the republic and the first few months of the Civil War, and a slightly belated mass celebration of the Centennial, it was a massive festival with more than 300 buildings displaying virtually every facet of American public life, as well as many of the innovations that would transform American life in the Reconstruction Era. It was also a firmly patriotic event, and it was fully decked in the purple flags and Phrygian caps used as emblems by the Comunero Clubs and the Justice Party. However, it is best known for the tragedy that ended it. President John Wentworth was shaking hands with the public when a man shot at his chest, killing him instantly. Veterans immediately stopped him from fleeing, and when questioned he was revealed to be a sympathizer for the Congress over the Water, operating as part of a terrorist cell calling itself the "Secret Service of the True Government of the United States". In its wake, crowds became frenzied and tore apart the temporary buildings before they could be brought under control. Attempts to continue it notwithstanding, it came to an end, and Philadelphia attained infamy for the Expo despite its initial success.

For all that the Centennial Festival ended in tragedy, it nevertheless opened the door to other Expos across the pond. The next city to do this was Montreal, with the Exposition de l'Industrie Canadienne (1883). This emerged in a peculiar time; though Montreal was indisputably the grandest city in British North America, Lower Canada was facing a moral crisis. The expansion of Upper Canada to the Rockies and open talk of it getting the remainder of the North-West, made Lower Canada a small country. Internationally, when people talked of Canadians, they no longer meant Francophone Lower Canadians, but rather Anglophone Upper Canadians. The 1883 Expo was an attempt to change that. International visitors, though less than the norm due to the German Unification War brewing in Europe, were impressed at not only the extravagance of the festival, but also the city itself, as modern and industrializing as any great American city, and visitors would find themselves intrigued by its bilingualism and diversity. It proved a grand success in this regard, and it remains commemorated in Montreal to this day - even if it did not succeed in taking back the name Canadian.

The Netherlands, since 1795 a sister republic of France, suddenly broke its alliance in 1880 and refused to join it in the German Unification War. This inspired a period of war scares and sudden anxieties of being left defenceless; to improve this mood and assert its independence against both the French and the Germans, the Government planned an Expo of its own. One year following the conclusion of the German Unification War, it held the Bataafse Wereldtentoonstelling (1886) in Amsterdam, a massive celebration of Dutch culture and industry. It showed products from all around the Dutch Empire, from Kaapenaar wine to Javanese coffee to Guianese sugar - all revealing of its desires to maintain a new aloofness from European chaos, and to portray itself as a large country.

Meanwhile, the United States was still angry over the Centennial Festival. Though the Cuban War of Independence forced the Congress Over the Water from Havana to Belem, it did not erase that a sitting president was killed by a terrorist inspired by their ideology, and Philadelphia in particular sought to show its defiance. And so, it held the Constitution Festival (1887) in honor of the centennial of the Constitution, an event as great as, if not greater than, the Centennial was meant to be - though few could ignore that the streets were well-patrolled by the new Civil Guard. And when President Chamberlain attended the Festival, many held their breath - but no assassin or terrorist came running, and Chamberlain attended it as defiantly as ever. But most magnificent of all was the presentation of the world's new tallest structure, the National Liberty Pole, a 305-metre tower of iron framed by a cone of lattice with an observation deck at the top, with its roof shaped like a Phrygian cap in honor of the Civil War, and above that an American flag. During the Festival, it also served as a great lamp illuminating the city - to the detriment of Philadelphians' sleep schedules. It was a grand success, and it showed the world the rising power of America.

1889 was, momentously, the centennial of the French Revolution, and despite feelings of malaise from its defeat following the German Unification War, France sought to celebrate it grandly. Therefore, the Exposition de la Revolution (1889) was a grand celebration of the French Revolution and the joyous achievements of French nationhood afterwards. The monarchies of Europe shuddered as they watched the storming of the Bastille re-enacted complete with the burning of a wood replica. And that famous symbol of France, the grand Marianne statue seated on her throne with the Declaration of Rights of Man on one hand and the French flag in the other and a Phrygian cap on her head, was unveiled to the public at large. Imminent too was a newfound centrality of French language and culture, product of the ethnic nationalism stoked by the war - no longer were there multiethnic pavilions but instead a celebration of one country, one language pervaded the whole expo. And though German visitors were welcomed, many of them were met with scorn.

Despite Europe shortly afterwards consumed with yet more war with the outbreak of the Hungarian War of Independence, two more Expos were held during it. The Columbus Exposition (1892), commemorating the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage, celebrated the rapid growth of San Francisco and its transformation from the city burnt by retreating Spanish troops in 1867 to the great cosmopolitan and commercial centre of the new country of Buenaventura. While in British Australia, the long-feuding cities of Sydney and Foxton held rival Expos, the Sydney Industrial Festival (1893) and the Foxton Industrial Festival (1894). Postwar, despite the loss of Hungary, Germany held the Deutsche Weltausstellung (1896) in Frankfurt as a celebration of German culture, and soon afterwards Prague held the Národní Průmyslová Výstava (1898) to assert Bohemian identity against the new German behemoth it was now tied to, and in the same year Hungary held the Országos Világkiállítás (1898) in celebration of its reclaimed independence. It was clear to everyone that Expos were getting out of control and becoming unprofitable. For this reason, in the spirit of the era's growing internationalism, nations formed the International Forum Committee for World Expos (Comité du Forum International pour les Expositions Universelles; CFIEU) under the augeis of the International Forum to grant countries the right to hold them.

The first expo held under this new system was the Pan-American Exposition (1903) held in St. Louis. Visitors who remembered the city being a battlefield during the Civil War were amazed at the modern, booming city that had recently become the second-largest city in the United States and, with the destruction of the Congress over the Water following the Internationalization of Grao-Para, one which had put the Civil War decisively in the past. The unveiling to the world of the steel Union Tower, resembling six arch lattice bridges merged together and topped with a mast, and its height of 343 metres making it taller than any structure built up to that point, would amaze visitors, and it having been painted patriotic purple in honor of the Civil War, made it as great a nationalist monument as the National Liberty Pole. To call this Expo a success would be a massive understatement; rather, it would be remembered by St. Louisans for decades to come as defining its self-image as America's second city.

Though neighbouring Buenaventura planned an Expo in San Francisco for 1907, the 1906 earthquake meant it had far larger issues to deal with. Instead, Prussia held the Preußische Weltausstellung (1909) in Berlin, a full-throated refutation of the Habsburgs' leadership of Germany and a celebration of Prussia's many diverse cultures. Visitors were presented with a dizzying variety of peoples, from Prussogermans to Poles to Lithuanians to Silesians, and the now truly vast industrial capacity of Silesia was presented to the rest of the world. The event, displaying a diverse array of peoples, was a success which showed a harmonious country pointed to the future, under its king.

The next country to hold an Expo was not any country in the west, but one in Asia. Punjab had sought to hold one for some time, to celebrate the Punjabi Revolution that turned it from a feudal monarchy into a modern centralized republic - and if some spoke negatively about its tendencies towards military dictatorship, most ignored them. But the CFIEU had been wholly reluctant to hold one there - unsubtly, this was for racial reasons as much as shudders of its violence. Finally, it relented, and Punjab held the Prudurshunee-e-Dooneeyah (1912) in Lahore. Many were impressed by Punjab's impressive modernization, with buildings rivaling any in Europe, citizens dressed in the finest European suits, and a new coffee culture rivalling that of France or the Netherlands. And the products of its newfound industrialization were presented to the world, and in particular this shaped the ideas of visitors from the neighbouring British Raj who hoped for effecting something similar in their homelands. This event had a deep impact on the vision of Punjab abroad and showed a nation on the cusp of modernization to the world at large.

Soon afterwards, the Expo would return to San Francisco. The 1906 earthquake flattened the city almost entirely, and its economic shockwaves devastated Buenaventura's economy. But with rapid speed, the city was reconstructed, larger and better than before, suburbs were annexed to it, and new immigrants came in. The iconic city of today, of neoclassical midrises, came into its own in this time. And to show this recovery, it held the Resurgence Exposition (1915). A few blocks in the Presidio were made the site of the Expo, with grand buildings meant to last to posterity. The extravagant pavilions and palaces constructed for it amazed visitors, as did all the new streetcars which allowed them to travel without tiring themselves up and down the city's infamous hills. The Expo reached its peak with the unveiling with the great Statue of Queen Califia, dressed (in contrast to the sixteenth-century fantasy novel in which she, and the name California, came to be) in Mayan-inspired garb and with a grand cape behind her. This statue was intended to show her as the "Spirit of California", but instead it quickly became a symbol of Buenaventura as a whole. Today, the Expo, showing a San Francisco resurgent, is still regarded as one of the defining moments in Buenaventuran history, as part of San Francisco's grand recovery from the disaster of 1906, and the neighbourhood around where it took place is still known as Expo today.
 
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