Ah, before that, I don't know where this is going to go. Historical? Gang warfare? Probably historical. I just wanted to throw in a gang to make things interesting. Oh, and if I've gotten anything wrong historically and it's so bad that you can point it out immediately, please tell me. This is coming from memory.
1841. Hong Kong has finally been put under British control thanks to the Convention of Chuenpi. For the past thirty years, England has only had temporary settlements in Macao, Canton, and Whampoa. Now, they "own", so to speak, Hong Kong. All for what? Conquest? No. Trade.
The traders wanted tea. China demanded silver from the traders in return. So much silver bullion was almost impossible to obtain, so, the British traders found a solution.
Opium.
Diplomatically and politically speaking, the Chinese have always despised the British, and the feeling is returned in full. They both grudgingly rely on each other and hate the trap that they're stuck in. If there was a way, they'd separate and have nothing to do with each other. But they need the wealth that comes with trade, so they stay the way they are.
Along with all this strife (as if we needed more), a huge, clandestine gang called the Hung Mun Tong has planted members among the coolies and servants who work for the traders. Even some beggars pay tribute (sometimes called "squeeze") to the Hung Mun Tong to avoid trouble. The Tai Shan Chu--the Supreme Leader of the Hung Mun Tong--has never been seen. His identity is unknown.
The Hun Mun Tong's objective is to expel the "devil barbarians" from Hong Kong, but slowly, in order to take their riches. Patiently.
The traders wanted tea. China demanded silver from the traders in return. So much silver bullion was almost impossible to obtain, so, the British traders found a solution.
Opium.
Diplomatically and politically speaking, the Chinese have always despised the British, and the feeling is returned in full. They both grudgingly rely on each other and hate the trap that they're stuck in. If there was a way, they'd separate and have nothing to do with each other. But they need the wealth that comes with trade, so they stay the way they are.
Along with all this strife (as if we needed more), a huge, clandestine gang called the Hung Mun Tong has planted members among the coolies and servants who work for the traders. Even some beggars pay tribute (sometimes called "squeeze") to the Hung Mun Tong to avoid trouble. The Tai Shan Chu--the Supreme Leader of the Hung Mun Tong--has never been seen. His identity is unknown.
The Hun Mun Tong's objective is to expel the "devil barbarians" from Hong Kong, but slowly, in order to take their riches. Patiently.
D: Guys, I don't speak Cantonese very well. Is Tai Shan Chu the correct term? Tai means supreme, and...ahh screw it.
...Ah, yeah, and because this is set in the past, some culture issues came into mind...
Things to note:
-This RP is focused on the strife between the Hung Mun Tong and the British. Lots of trade actually goes through the Hung Mun Tong, since Hong Kong has no mandarin. The British traders just aren't aware of it.
-CULTURE SHOCK. TONS AND TONS OF CULTURE SHOCK.
-Pidgin (extremely simplified English) is widespread among the Chinese who interact with Europeans, whether through trade or servitude. The servants are all Chinese.
-All currency is in taels (40 grams or .088 pounds of silver) or pounds (a pound of silver). A lac, the highest unit of currency, is about twenty-five thousand pounds sterling. One lac is considered to be an enormous amount of money.
-Yes, ships with sails were still used in these times. I think the first steamboat was introduced to Hong Kong like...two years after this. I don't know. But anyways! All sails! That means really slow transportation, guys. ...just a side note.
-Here's how things go. Traders sell to their Chinese compradores (one per company), who then sell to the general public. Traders can't speak the language, yanno, they just provide the goods.
-It was custom back then for Chinese men to have more than one woman. Their favorite might as well be called the "wife", and the others "consorts".
-European culture states that one man should have only one woman, but most traders break this rule by taking mistresses other than their wives, who are back home in Europe (there are European women in Hong Kong, but that's fairly rare). Note that some children on the island are half-European half-Chinese because of this. The other European children are there because some traders do bring their families all the way to Hong Kong.
-Yes, traders curse a lot. However, swearing in those days was more like "GOD'S BLOOD!" than "HOLY MOTHERF***ING--" yeah. You get the picture. But they still dropped f-bombs. Oh, yeah, and if you can like...type out accents, that'd be awesome. Not British accents, but Scottish and sailor speak, too.
-Remember that racism and sexism are huge here. European women wore the stuffy dresses with those disgusting whalebone corsets, and men ran everything. Girls had to get permission from their fathers, uncles, brothers, etc. to do pretty much anything. If they had no relatives, they had a guardian. Male. Just the way it was, people. And Chinese girls really had no place in society. If you're playing as a Chinese girl and you want to actually do something, you will be a mistress. And hey, nothing's wrong with that. You could be a spy for the Hung Mun Tong. Or just a regular mistress, whatever. Whatever suits you.
Too much reading, maybe? XD; Is anything confusing you?
Here's the breakdown of possible characters:
English:
Traders
Soldiers
Government officials/diplomats
Chinese:
Servants
Mistresses
Compradores
Hung Mun Tong (usually disguised as one of the above three)
Foreign(?):
Russian diplomats, I guess?
(And then there are the boring kids and pretty English women running around Hong Kong as well)
Flow of goods.
Traders give opium and other things like clocks and technology to compradores
Compradores give traders tea and sell European goods to general public
Traders sail the tea back to England, bring back more goods.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the pirates......oh, well. Pirate activity will be NPC and rare to keep things clean. XD
I was thinking...maybe this is too general? Too historical? Should I actually name different companies so that we can have competition among the traders as well? Is there not enough room for people to successively roleplay? Is there too much room? What do you think? D:
