Chapter Summaries

After Queen Wilhelmina called Dutch veterans back to the army, the Netherlands asked Australasia to extend the deadline for suppressing the Dutch East Indies revolt. Arthur rejected the request and ordered Director Barty to intensify the rebellion by arming native factions, leaving Australasia’s covert support underway.

• Queen Wilhelmina promised returning Dutch veterans their former salaries and job security, prompting many to enlist.
• The Dutch Foreign Minister requested more than five months to suppress the revolt, but Arthur told Director Daze to warn the Netherlands to act quickly.
• Arthur ordered Director Barty to make the rebellion more intense and supply weapons to native rebels so the Dutch would see their military disadvantage.
• Bob, an Australasian intelligence agent, persuaded Noor Bradi Hakala to cooperate by offering support for a new sultanate and promising Australasia sought profit rather than control.
• Bob offered Noor Bradi Hakala rifles, ammunition, machine guns, and artillery as an initial shipment, with further aid possible.
• Australasia began discreetly shipping weapons to native factions, using airships for some deliveries.

Queen Wilhelmina pressed the Dutch Prime Minister to address the crisis in the Dutch East Indies while distancing the royal family from responsibility. The government prepared reinforcements and considered negotiating with Australasia, but it left the chapter committed to a military campaign to suppress the rebellion.

• Queen Wilhelmina demanded that the Prime Minister propose a solution to the crisis in the Dutch East Indies and rejected blaming Australasia without evidence.
• The Prime Minister proposed negotiating with Australasia and offering Sumatra or Borneo if the rebellion could not be suppressed.
• The Prime Minister ordered conscription to continue, and the Defense Minister reported that 24,000 reinforcements were ready to depart for Batavia within three days.
• The Prime Minister ordered the reinforcements to suppress the rebellion as soon as they arrived and pledged the government's full support.

With Australasia’s support, Noor Bradi Hakala restored the Batu Papan Sultanate and other native states rose against Dutch rule across the Dutch East Indies. In Batavia, Eric approached General Muhammad to recruit him for a native nation, offering him the post of Minister of Defense.

• Bob helped Noor Bradi Hakala seize Batu Papan and restore the Batu Papan Sultanate, which quickly gained followers and expanded its army.
• More than a dozen native states declared independence or restored their sultanates across the Dutch East Indies, and Noor Bradi Hakala planned to capture Palembang and expand across southern Sumatra.
• Arthur redirected the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau’s attention to Java as he recognized the island’s importance to Dutch rule.
• On September 11, 1925, Eric visited General Muhammad in Batavia and discussed how the Dutch colonial government had denied him real military authority because of his mixed ancestry.
• Eric revealed that he worked for the Australasian Royal Security Intelligence Bureau and urged Muhammad to join Australasia, but Muhammad refused.
• Eric then offered to recommend Muhammad as Minister of Defense for a native nation supported by Arthur.

Eric offered Muhammad Australasia’s support to establish a native country on one of the Dutch East Indies’ three major islands in exchange for leading a rebellion against Dutch rule. Muhammad accepted and agreed to help capture Batavia once Australasia assembled forty thousand troops, while acknowledging that he would need Australasia’s backing to unite and rule the natives.

• Eric told Muhammad that the natives could establish a country on Sumatra, Java, or Borneo, and offered him a chance to lead it.
• Muhammad considered the islands’ strengths and asked whether Arthur truly would let the natives choose any one of them.
• Eric promised support for Muhammad’s rise and offered to make him Minister of Defense or potentially ruler if he led the resistance and helped capture Batavia.
• Muhammad accepted Eric’s proposal but said his single brigade could not take Batavia without reinforcements.
• Eric agreed to assemble forty thousand troops, including forces from the two sultanates and Sumatra, and urged a swift attack.
• Muhammad agreed to ambush the Batavian garrison and seize the colonial government, while asking for Australasia’s support to unite the natives.

Japan’s attempt to gain influence in the Dutch East Indies was rejected by the Netherlands, prompting Australasia to accelerate its plans. As more than forty thousand rebel troops advanced on Batavia, Governor Dirk prepared the colonial defenses and agreed to bring Muhammad’s brigade into the city’s defense.

• Japan offered the Netherlands assistance in the Dutch East Indies, but the Netherlands rejected the proposal and expressed displeasure.
• After learning of Japan’s approach, Arthur’s opinion of Japan worsened, and Australasia hastened its efforts to take control of the Dutch East Indies.
• On September 23, 1925, Java’s native forces joined more than ten thousand troops brought from Sumatra and attacked Batavia with over forty thousand soldiers.
• Governor Dirk reviewed Batavia’s troops, food, weapons, and ammunition, then urged his commanders to defeat the rebels before Dutch reinforcements arrived.
• A general proposed adding Muhammad’s brigade to Batavia’s defenses, and Governor Dirk agreed to summon Muhammad and use his troops.

As the Dutch Army fought the native forces outside Batavia, Muhammad planned to seize the city and break Dutch rule. With Eric promising Australasia’s protection and his trusted aides agreeing to join him, Muhammad began preparing the surprise attack.

• Governor Dirk ordered Muhammad’s army to serve as a reserve between the front line and Batavia, prompting Muhammad to consider capturing the city.
• Muhammad asked Eric for heavy weapons, and Eric supplied artillery, heavy machine guns, and an autocannon.
• When more than forty thousand native troops attacked the Dutch front line on September 28, Muhammad urged his mixed-blood aides to join his rebellion.
• Eric promised that Australasia would protect the rebels and their families and support their new country, winning the aides’ agreement.
• Muhammad outlined a plan to enter Batavia, overwhelm its guards, and seize the colonial government before Dutch forces could react.

After Batavia fell to Muhammad, Queen Wilhelmina and the Dutch Government faced the loss of the Dutch East Indies and the encirclement of their colonial army. Arthur offered to buy the territory from the desperate Netherlands, while its leaders prepared to blame Muhammad and Governor-General Dirk for the disaster.

• The Prime Minister told Queen Wilhelmina that Muhammad had captured Batavia, taken Governor-General Dirk and the colonial government, and surrounded the Dutch Army.
• Queen Wilhelmina left the response to her Government, and the Prime Minister accepted that the Netherlands might have to give up the Dutch East Indies.
• The Dutch Ambassador asked Arthur to help suppress the rebellion, but Arthur proposed purchasing the Dutch East Indies for thirty million Australian dollars instead.
• Queen Wilhelmina ordered the Government to prioritize saving Dutch soldiers, while the Prime Minister instructed the ambassador to seek a sale for one hundred million Australian dollars.
• The Prime Minister arranged news reports blaming Muhammad's betrayal and Governor-General Dirk's incompetence to shield the Government and royal family from public anger.

After Australasia took control of the Dutch East Indies, Arthur’s government negotiated with the indigenous forces over their future. Minister Daize proposed an Elective Sultanate on one island, leaving its rulers to consider a system under Australasia’s supervision.

• The Dutch Prime Minister sold the Dutch East Indies to Australasia for 35 million Australian dollars and promised to rescue Dutch soldiers and officials.
• Arthur ordered Australasia’s armed forces to intervene, and they captured Batavia, rescued Governor-General Dirk, and suppressed the rebellion across Java, Sumatra, and Borneo.
• Eric told Muhammad that the indigenous forces could still choose an island, while Commander Martin summoned allied leaders to discuss their future.
• Martin announced that the indigenous people could establish an independent state on one island, while Australasia would rule the other two and bar indigenous residents from them.
• Noor Bradi Hakala asked what an indigenous United Nations would entail, and Minister Daize explained that the new state could be an Elective Sultanate with local Sultans and a lifetime Grand Sultan elected by a council.

Minister Daze explained Australasia’s influence over the proposed Grand Sultanate and directed the indigenous Sultans to relocate their peoples to Borneo. The migration plan set deadlines, rewards, and territorial arrangements, while Muhammad sought a population base to strengthen his own position.

• Muhammad asked Minister Daze whether the Sultans could choose any island, and Daze confirmed that they could while Australasia covertly steered them toward Borneo.
• Noor Bradi Hakala, Muhammad, and the other Sultans accepted that their peoples would move to Borneo despite their reluctance.
• Minister Daze offered food aid to the first three sultanates to complete migration and barred the last to finish from the first Grand Sultan election.
• Minister Daze gave the Sultans three years to relocate and promised Australasia would provide transport ships between Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
• The Kutai and Bulungan Sultanates were required to cede land on Borneo, while Australasia planned to redistribute populations to prevent any Sultanate from becoming dominant.
• Muhammad recognized that he needed a population to support his army and establish his own indigenous force.

Arthur reviewed plans for the Hercules-class and Hurricane-class Aircraft Carriers and approved building both designs. Australasia then adopted a five-year naval construction plan centered on secretly building four Aircraft Carriers and submarines while misleading other nations with a nominal battleship program.

• Sumatra and Java remained under military administration as their indigenous populations began migrating, while Borneo declared independence as the United Sultanate of Kalimantan.
• Britain secured Germany's admission to the World League as an ordinary member after promising France that Germany would not become a Permanent Member and restrictions would remain in place.
• Arthur received designs for the Hercules-class Aircraft Carrier, which emphasized size, armor, and aircraft capacity, and the faster Hurricane-class Aircraft Carrier.
• William suggested that Arthur build both Aircraft Carrier designs, and Arthur decided to do so.
• Arthur's Cabinet unanimously approved the two Aircraft Carrier designs and a five-year shipbuilding plan that included four Aircraft Carriers, thirty-two submarines, and other warships.
• Arthur's plan listed four battleships as a disguise, although Australasia would secretly build four Aircraft Carriers and leave its existing battleships in service.

Australasia prepared a massive twentieth-anniversary parade in Saint Arthur's Fort, using the event to strengthen national unity and display its military power. Arthur welcomed foreign leaders and reassured George V that Australasia would focus on developing the Murray River Basin rather than expanding its territory.

• Australasia invited Britain and several other countries to send representatives and troops to its twentieth-anniversary parade, while planning to showcase its Guard Army, Third Generation aircraft, aircraft carriers, and battleships.
• The New Royal Palace and transport infrastructure in Saint Arthur's Fort were completed, and the government prepared for the expected crowds and future capital relocation.
• Foreign delegations arrived in Sydney, and Arthur personally welcomed George V and Grand Duke Dmitri while representatives from the Philippines and El Salvador met him through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Arthur showed George V Saint Arthur's Fort and the New Royal Palace, explained Australasia's plans for the Murray River Basin, and said the country was unlikely to expand further.

George V toured the Murray River Basin with Arthur and concluded that Australasia remained a reassuring ally rather than a threat to British supremacy. Arthur met Finland’s Grand Duke Dmitri, advised him to prepare for a possible economic crisis, and heard Finland’s request to buy warships.

• George V admired the Murray River Basin, while Arthur said its development would take many years because Australasia lacked enough people to cultivate it.
• George V considered Australasia a stable ally and regarded the United States and France as Britain’s main competitors.
• Arthur met Grand Duke Dmitri, who reported organizing the Grand Duke’s Guard, reclaiming some financial authority, and promising that Finland would remain Australasia’s ally.
• Arthur warned Dmitri to reduce Finland’s economic dependence on Britain, France, and Germany and keep funds in reserve against a possible economic crisis.
• Dmitri told Arthur that Finland’s government wanted to spend about four million Australian dollars on a battleship, ten smaller warships, and ten submarines.

Arthur used Australasia’s twentieth-anniversary National Day celebrations to formalize an alliance with Finland, the Philippines, the United Sultanate of Kalimantan, and El Salvador, then showcased the nation’s growth, honors, and military strength. The parade began in Saint Arthur’s Fort with the Guard Army and a cavalry company passing before Arthur.

• Arthur agreed to Finland’s naval order and accepted its request for closer cooperation and an alliance treaty as Russia sought reunification.
• Arthur signed an alliance treaty with Finland, the Philippines, the United Sultanate of Kalimantan, and El Salvador, making Australasia the alliance’s mediator and leading power.
• On January 10, 1926, Arthur opened Australasia’s twentieth-anniversary National Day celebrations with a speech and watched the national flag being raised.
• Arthur and Prime Minister Roger oversaw honors for scientists and other contributors, including Tsiolkovsky, Hermann, and Royal Shipyard researchers; Australasia’s nobility reached 315 members.
• The Government presented a report on Australasia’s achievements and commemorated fallen soldiers and heroes before the military parade began.
• The Guard Army and then a company of white-horse cavalry marched past Arthur, shouting praise for him and Australasia.

After the National Day parade, Arthur and George V signed a confidential cooperation treaty that would promote British emigration to Australasia. The chapter compared the Great Powers’ populations and economies, leaving Australasia poised for rapid growth but still far behind the United States in overall strength.

• The Australasian Army received greater praise than the other participating forces, with the British Army singled out mainly for its weaponry.
• Arthur and George V signed a treaty under which Britain would encourage emigration to Australasia, potentially sending up to 500,000 people each year.
• The chapter described Russia’s high population growth despite losing more than 1.3 million emigrants annually, including hundreds of thousands who went to Australasia.
• Early 1926 population figures ranked Russia first, the United States second, and Australasia eighth with 29.76 million people.
• The chapter noted that the United States’ unified mainland economy surpassed any single nation’s, while Britain’s colonies together only barely matched it.

Australasia reviewed its strong economic and fiscal results for 1925 before Arthur’s Cabinet debated when to relocate the capital to Saint Arthur's Fort. The ministers split over the move, and Arthur prepared to let a Cabinet vote guide his final decision.

• Australasia reported record 1925 growth, rising industrial output, and a fiscal surplus while Arthur ordered close monitoring of foreign currency depreciation.
• Prime Minister Roger urged the Cabinet to move the capital to Saint Arthur's Fort before midyear.
• Minister Lutherga opposed an early move, warning that Saint Arthur's Fort was too small and little known to match Sydney’s draw for immigrants.
• Industrial Minister Joey supported Roger, arguing that relocation would promote development across the Murray River Basin and create industrial opportunities.
• Arthur recognized the Cabinet’s competing interests and planned to use a vote to make the final decision without appearing arbitrary.

Australasia’s Cabinet approved the immediate relocation of the capital from Sydney to Saint Arthur’s Fort, and Arthur moved his family into the new Palace of Nations. After settling in, he considered his children’s military training and future titles, then took the family to explore the Capital Territory.

• Prime Minister Roger’s faction secured more than ten Cabinet votes, and Arthur ordered the capital relocation to begin.
• The government announced that Saint Arthur’s Fort would replace Sydney as the capital starting February 15, 1926.
• Arthur and his family traveled from Sydney to Saint Arthur’s Fort on February 1 and moved into the Palace of Nations.
• Arthur considered William’s military service and decided to create new ducal titles for his children rather than grant them Australia or New Zealand.
• Arthur took Queen Dowager Marie and the children to inspect the Capital Territory, then invited William and Peter to join him hunting.

Arthur discussed possible marriage partners for William and Anna, then returned to the new capital and approved plans to expand its higher education. The chapter ended with Minister Kello tasked with establishing a National University branch campus and an agricultural school in Saint Arthur's Fort.

• While hunting, Arthur, William, and Peter shot wild rabbits, and William encouraged Peter after he missed his targets.
• At lunch, Arthur and Queen Dowager Marie discussed marriage prospects for William and Anna, but neither child had a preferred candidate.
• Arthur returned to the kingdom and urged the children to focus on their demanding studies, while William’s future plans included military service and university.
• The government completed its relocation to Saint Arthur's Fort, which officially became Australasia’s capital on February 15, 1926.
• Education Minister Kello Jefferson proposed a National University branch campus and an agricultural school in Saint Arthur's Fort, and Arthur approved both projects.

Arthur approved plans for a major industrial base at Broken Hill and heard a proposal to expand farming across the Murray River Basin. The chapter left both projects poised to strengthen Australasia’s industry, employment, and food supply.

• Minister Joy presented a two-phase plan for a Broken Hill industrial base that would eventually provide 500,000 jobs, and Arthur approved it.
• Arthur increased the Ministry of Industry’s budget by 10 million Australian Dollars to speed up construction.
• The Minister of Agriculture proposed large-scale development of the Murray River Basin, including new state-owned farms.
• The Minister of Agriculture argued that expanded grain production could feed Australasia’s population and help shield the country from economic crises.

Prime Minister Roger warned Arthur that the expulsion of indigenous people had sharply reduced rubber production in the Dutch East Indies and threatened Australasian industries. Arthur refused to reverse the policy, insisting foreign plantation owners follow Australasian law and suggesting the Royal Consortium could step in if needed.

• Prime Minister Roger reported that rubber output had fallen by more than a quarter and could drop below half its peak as plantations lost workers.
• Arthur asked whether anyone was deliberately driving the rubber crisis, and Roger said there was no evidence of that but plantation owners were demanding indigenous labor be retained.
• Arthur ordered that foreign plantation owners be told to obey Australasian law and hire legal local citizens or Australasian workers.
• Prime Minister Roger worried the policy would harm Australasia's reputation among Europeans, but Arthur dismissed the concern and said the Royal Consortium could acquire plantations if necessary.

Arthur discussed rubber production and immigration with Prime Minister Roger, planning to expand plantations and direct settlers toward underdeveloped regions. The chapter left Australasia preparing to develop Java, Sumatra, and its newer administrative regions while limiting Sydney and Melbourne’s growth.

• Arthur asked Roger about rubber plantations, and Roger said the earliest plantations were ready to harvest while most would mature in two to three years.
• Roger reported that plantations in the Royal Territory, Sulawesi, and New Guinea covered more than fifty thousand hectares and could produce thirty-five thousand tons of rubber, with output potentially exceeding fifty thousand tons if Australasia acquired plantations on Sumatra and Java.
• Arthur considered rubber production and the Dutch population on Java and Sumatra, noting that Dutch residents had to accept Australasian citizenship or leave.
• Roger said January brought 154,000 tourists and 148,000 immigrants, more than half of them British, and projected further strong immigration.
• Arthur instructed Roger to direct immigrants to Java, Sumatra, the Capital Special Zone, and North Australia, while reducing immigration to Sydney and Melbourne.
• Roger agreed to encourage settlement in other regions and temporarily restrict the populations of Sydney and Melbourne.