Hello! Since we already have established equators and latitude and longitudes now, I would like to present a collaborative worldbuilding project about the history as to how the Prime Meridian was established. The Prime Meridian was canon-ised via this map courtesy of @Haven .
I will be posting the final draft for approval by the Conclave in this OP. I will inform the Conclave once this is done The current draft is in the second post, and the invitations for additions will be in the third post. Feel free to post your suggestions
Draft Text of the Proposal (version 3, 3 Jan 2021)
A prime meridian is the arbitrarily-determined line of longitude in a geographic coordinate system, at which the longitude is defined to be 0°. Usually, one reckons directions of East and West from the defined prime meridian (ie. “40 degrees West of the Prime Meridian”).
History
The concept of a prime meridian was in existence ever since the planet was proven as a sphere. Various countries, especially seafaring nations, use a north-to-south line (a longitude) based on their capital or major port city to reckon distances and location at sea. For instance, Saintonge has a Saintes meridian, Mošordia had the Ordjan meridian, Korova had the Korovka meridian, Kamaheo/Skanda had the Kuhena meridian, and Merilia had the Meridian of the Rose (Fhadlíne an Rós). Geographic maps and globes were also drawn according to such local lines of reckoning where the cartographer is based. For example, the 1478 Ortell Globe, the oldest extant globe in Saintonge, indicates the main meridian passing through Saintes.
Meridians and determination of location at sea
The main use of such meridians, in determining the location/longitude at sea, was made more important in 1673 with the development of the chronomètre de marine (marine chronometer) by Prydanian scientist Constantin Joüye. Joüye was among the foreign scientists invited to the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences working at the court of King Archambault VII ‘the Magnanimous’ of Saintonge. Determining the location at sea was further improved by the creation of star charts in the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the development of the octant by Vadim Yakov of Korova in 1730. This was improved into the sextant by Thibault-Marc Dinocheau from Saintonge in 1750. Both the octant and the sextant were used to estimate latitude and longitude while at sea, in reference to various celestial bodies, thus the necessity for star charts.
These star charts of varying accuracies were produced by different countries, but each relied on their own meridians (or another country’s) to determine the location of the ship by longitude. Thus it was common to hear statements such as “20 degrees east of Saintes” or “40 degrees west of Kuhena”, which caused confusion, even though they refer to the same longitude.
International Study
No country was dominant enough to establish its own meridian as the standard. Though it did not intend to set the standard, in 1780, a group of scientists from several countries embarked on two different, but linked, studies. These astronomers and geodesists had all studied and met at the prestigious Astronomy School at the University of Plaisance (Saintonge) under the Santonian astronomer and geodesist Nicholas-Charles de la Caille.
The geodesy study group included the following:
Pierre-Corneille Baudinot from Plaisance
Marc-Childéric Grandin de Taxandre from Novale
Thea Nordlund from Xentherida
Connor Dunn from Merilia
Ivan Ostala from Ulstome
person N from Mošordia
Braun Schlausenweiger from Faltsu
Leonid Tyan from Korovka
Their task was to estimate the distance from the north to the south pole by surveying the straight line that crosses (from south to north) Andaría (Merilia), Tiría (Merilia), Larenchester (Ulstome), Oštra (Mošordia), Novale (Saintonge), Alexandrie (Saintonge), Plaisance (Saintonge), Barie (Saintonge), and Rilga (Xentherida). (may add more cities on the meridian, esp. Sasten)
The astronomy group initiated a collaborative effort to systematically name and map out all the constellations, by studying the entire skies from different locations and observatories. Headed by de la Caille’s protégé Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin, members of the study group include:
(NB: limit up to 7-10, ideally. Please name the scientist and the observatory of work)
Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin at the Plaisance Observatory (Plaisance, Saintonge)
Matthieu-Gontrand Grandin de Taxandre at the Alexandrie Observatory (Alexandrie, Saintonge)
Lizette Bruun (Rilga, Xentherida)
Dražen Budimir Koprivnjak at the Oštra Royal Observatory (Oštra, Mošordia)
Person P from Sasten
Saoirse Ó Conaill at the Royal Observatory of Tíria (Tíria, Merilia)
Aoife Ó Conaill at the Royal Observatory of Andaría (Andaría, Merilia)
Thrôros Kadžum at the Nińriel Observatory (Loth Londin, Alnaria)
Albrecht Manninger at the Hintzenhaven Observatory (Mintoria)
Naru Masakazu at the Kuhena Royal Observatory/National Astronomical Observatory of Skanda (Kuhena, Skanda)
Uranometria meridian
In 1801, the group published the Uranometria: les cartes de toutes les constellations (“Uranometria: maps of all the constellations”), a comprehensive star chart that became popular among mariners and the wider scientific community. Its popularity was such that it was translated into many other languages. The prime meridian in Uranometria was the Rilga-Plaisance-Alexandrie-Oštra-Larenchester-Andaría-Tiría line surveyed by the Baudinot group. The Uranometria meridian passes at or near the observatories used by the scientists. The book also contains conversions of the Uranometria meridian to other known meridians in use, such as the Saintes meridian, Korovka meridian, Kuhena meridian, and the Rose Meridian.
By 1830, the Uranometria meridian was widely quoted in measurements of longitude. In 1836 the Royal Santonian Navy and the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences abandoned the Saintes meridian and adopted the Uranometria meridian; even earlier in 1803, the Royal Cadastral Survey (Arpentages cadastraux royaux) of Saintonge already chose the better-surveyed and characterised Uranometria meridian than the Saintes meridian.
Skanda (known as the Kingdom of Kamaheo at the time) adopted the Uranometria meridian quite early on in 1847. As a major seafaring nation in South Iteria it was vital for them to have a standardized meridian. Researchers from the newly established Saitō Royal University (1840) compared it to the then-used Kuhena meridian, looking into how it could improve their already quite advanced seafaring techniques and technologies, and were quick to adopt it. They presented their findings to the Kōʻi (equivalent to a king), Sakayu Kamaheo (known more prominently as Auwayohau), who was initially opposed to the idea. The Kuhena meridian had been in use for centuries by this point and there weren't any glaring flaws so there was also little need to replace it. However, pressure from the University, other academics and scholars, and his wife, the Waʻina (equivalent. to a queen) Itsuko Kamaheo, who was a renowned astronomer in her own right, eventually forced Sakayu to cave and publish an edict establishing the Uranometria meridian as Skanda's standard.
Alnaria adopted the Uranometria meridian likely sometime in the 1830s after heavy campaigning from Thrôros. It was recognized by the Government, but many holdouts argued Alnaria to maintain its own meridian. Haor Chall adopted the Uranometria meridian in 1876, after the end of the civil war and the formation of the Confederated Republic. The decision was part of a raft of modernisation and secularisation reforms made by the new government and was based, largely, on the fact the Charrian navy had used the Uranometria meridian between 1842 and 1859, and the significant influence of the maritime sector in Chall.
Other countries that had adopted the Uranometria meridian included Ulstome (1840), Mintoria (1850), Mošordia, Faltsu, {insert other countries that adopted the Uranometria meridian before the 1885 conference with a short history, if they want to add it}
Meridians and time
With the advent of trains, standardisation of time also became an issue. Many locations relied on local time, reckoned by sundials, gnomons, public clocks, or the hourly tolling of church bells. Keeping track of time and the complexity of railway timetables became an issue.
Left: Gnomon at the Cathedral of Saint-Colomb in Plaisance (Saintonge). Centre: 18th century astronomical clock at the Cathedral of Cathedral of Saint-Expédit in Creusenac (Saintonge). Right: Public clock at the City Hall of Plaisance (Saintonge). Before time zones and standardisation of time, such clocks used to be the main references for local time.
In 1850 Saintonge, for example, when the Val d’Epte Railway leaves Saintes at 12:00 local time, it arrives at Corbeil station at 12:45, despite having a travel time of 48 minutes. Such time differences were magnified with greater distances. At 12:00 Saintes time, it was 11:39 in Nyon and 12:18 in Plaisance. Railway timetables, especially for long lines, usually include dazzling and confusing arrays of local times – which sometimes led to accidents. In 1854, the Société saintongeaise de chemins de fer (SSCF), the country’s railway operator, petitioned the government to have one unified time for Saintonge. The Santonian government passed a law in 1856 putting all of Saintonge on a standard time to be recommended by the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences. The Academie recommended that Saintonge be put on “Plaisance time” – that is, the local time at the Uranometria meridian. It was also possibly a nod to King Brice of Saintonge, who was a mariner and thus familiar with the Uranometria meridian.
The main railways of Goyanes came together to create a standard time in 1844. The use of solar local times was disrupting railway timetables, and the use of a coordinated time nationwide would be beneficial to passengers and railway operators alike. As such, they decided that time observations would be made at Gojannesstad's Stortoghass Station, and all times in Goyanes would be based on this time. In 1848, the time calculation was moved to the Imperial Observatory on Governor's Island in Gojannesstad's upper harbor, so that work with coordinated time could be combined with work that was used for calculation of Goyanes' domestic meridian, which was also based there. The protectorate of Allia followed Goyanes's time standardisation in the 1840s due to the construction of Goyanean railways in the country. However, prior to that, the merchants of Allia had came up with the Mercantile Standard Time (Merkantiltids in Alliaronian), in which they took other nations' time(zones), and the other time zones used by other areas in the protectorate. In the Confederal Kingdoms of Ronland, the confederation came up on the idea of standardising and unifying its time by using one solar local time - primarily on the principality of Braüsnatte. When Allia and the Ronland kingdoms united its crown in 1861, Allia opted to use their Goyanean time standard to prevent any confusion with their neighbours. Other countries that had close ties with Goyanes, such as Prydania, followed the Goyanean reckoning of time.
The growth of railways also provided the impetus for time standardisation in other countries. In Haor Chall, standard time was introduced in 1854, based on the time in Xi Char and using a meridian which ran exactly through the centre of the Cathedral of Xi in the city. Xentherida standardised its time in 1845-1860 (after the Xentheridan Revolution, as Aterkom, a very xenophobic regime, made it impossible for railroad technology to be introduced from foreign countries) when railways were introduced and a standardised timezone was needed for proper scheduling.
Ulstome standardised its time in 1857. The main momentum for standardisation came following the series of accidents around the Festival of Senuli, an important religious festival, lead to numerous deaths and injuries which prompted the public pressure on their elected officials for the adoption of standardisation in order to avoid more accidents in the future. The injury of Lord Krinva, a popular figure and a representative in the Ulstome Montonget gave the final push to pass the law which would standardise Ulstome's time.
Standardization of time in Merilia occurred in the mid-1800’s when industrialization brought about rapid changes to society. It was primarily driven by the merchant societies who sought more accurate timekeeping and ensuring that there was one standard in place everywhere they traded. In 1848, the merchant societies of Alcária coordinated with the Grand Temple of the Elenath in creating a standardized time across the Merilian Realm. Previously, time was reckoned by the various astronomical clocks built across the nation by the Grand Temple of the Elenath. Merchants argued that a standard time would be useful to not only businesses doing trade but to their clients and customers as well. After much back and forth deliberation in the Parliament of Mérilia, the nation established Merilian Standard Time.
Alnaria also stadardised timezones in 1871 through a decree by High King. Time had also been standardised in Kamaheo/Skanda (1866), Lanceria, Faltsu before 1885 (Insert other countries that standardised their time before 1885)
International Meridian Conference
The benefits of time standardisation in Saintonge, Xentherida, Goyanes, Kamaheo/Skanda, Merilia, Haor Chall, Lanceria, Faltsu, Alnaria, Mintoria, and (insert other countries that had standardised their time before 1885) became readily apparent among governments and the wider scientific community. Pressure was also mounting from transport sectors (railways, navigation/maritime sectors) to establish a standardised prime meridian – which would also standardise both time and reckoning of longitude. Several influential groups had expressed that governments around the world. A group of railroad executives from various countries met in Gojanesstad* in 1877 and issued a statement urging the governments around the world to standardise their time to a single meridian. This was supported by the 1879 International Geographical Congress held at Kuhena (Skanda). The scientists at the congress also released a similar statement and started hashing out technical details. This group of scientists circulated the proposals to countries throughout the world.
The proposals gained the backing of Saintonge, Goyanes, Merilia, Faltsu, Alnaria, Ulstome, Kamaheo/Skanda, Alliaronia, Lanceria, Haor Chall, Prydania, Mošordia, (insert countries who supported early, 1882-1884). This culminated in the organisation of the International Meridian Conference in Irinría (Elentári, Merilia) in September 1885. # of delegates from # of countries met to discuss the proposals. Attendees include:
Alliaronia
Alnaria
Faltsu
Goyanes
Haor Chall
Kamaheo/Skanda
Lanceria
Merilia
Mintoria
Mošordia
Prydania
Saintonge
Ulstome
<insert your country here>
The meeting was co-chaired by Gordan Kraljić of Mošordia, an astronomer for the then-Royal Observatory who pushed and urged for the establishment of a time-keeping model for his mathematical calculations, the practical use of which gained much popularity throughout the country. Queen Suzana Srbljić of Mošordia sent Gordan as the official envoy for the Meridian Conference.
The delegates discussed the scientific proposals and agreed on the following:
That it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations for the reckoning of time and location, in place of the multiplicity of meridians in existence.
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that the prime meridian to be adopted shall be the Uranometria meridian, which passes through the Observatories of Plaisance, Alexandrie, Rilga, Oštra, Larenchester, Andaría, and Tiría.
That from this prime meridian shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus (+) and west longitude minus (-).
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that a standard time/s shall be established within its territories, or zones within its territories.
That a universal day shall be adopted for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable.
That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; it is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the prime meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted from zero up to twenty-four hours. This time shall be called Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).
That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight.
After the International Meridian Conference, many other countries followed in establishing standard time zones, with offsets from the UTC. (May insert when your country recognised the meridian and adopted a time zone).
Draft Text of the Proposal (version 2, 7 Nov 2020)
A prime meridian is the arbitrarily-determined line of longitude in a geographic coordinate system, at which the longitude is defined to be 0°. Usually, one reckons directions of East and West from the defined prime meridian (ie. “40 degrees West of the Prime Meridian”).
History
The concept of a prime meridian was in existence ever since the planet was proven as a sphere. Various countries, especially seafaring nations, use a north-to-south line (a longitude) based on their capital or major port city to reckon distances and location at sea. For instance, Saintonge has a Saintes meridian, Mošordia had the Ordjan meridian, Korova had the Korovka meridian, Kamaheo/Skanda had the Kuhena meridian. Geographic maps and globes were also drawn according to such local lines of reckoning. For example, the 1478 Ortell Globe, the oldest extant globe in Saintonge, indicates the main meridian passing through Saintes.
Meridians and determination of location at sea
The main use of such meridians, in determining the location/longitude at sea, was made more important in 1673 with the development of the chronomètre de marine (marine chronometer) by Prydanian scientist Constantin Joüye. Joüye was among the foreign scientists invited to the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences working at the court of King Archambault VII ‘the Magnanimous’ of Saintonge. Determining the location at sea was further improved by the creation of star charts in the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the development of the octant by Vadim Yakov of Korova in 1730. This was improved into the sextant by Thibault-Marc Dinocheau from Saintonge in 1750. Both the octant and the sextant were used to estimate latitude and longitude while at sea, in reference to various celestial bodies, thus the necessity for star charts.
These star charts of varying accuracies were produced by different countries, but each relied on their own meridians (or another country’s) to determine the location of the ship by longitude. Thus it was common to hear statements such as “20 degrees east of Saintes” or “40 west of Kuhena”, which caused confusion, even though they refer to the same longitude.
International Study
No country was dominant enough to establish its own meridian as the standard. Though it did not intend to set the standard, in 1780, a group of scientists from several countries embarked on two different, but linked, studies. These astronomers and geodesists had all studied and met at the prestigious Astronomy School at the University of Plaisance (Saintonge) under the Santonian astronomer and geodesist Nicholas-Charles de la Caille.
The geodesy study group included the following:
Pierre-Corneille Baudinot from Plaisance
Marc-Childéric Grandin de Taxandre from Novale
Thea Nordlund from Xentherida
person I from Merilia
Ivan Ostala from Ulstome
person N from country O
Braun Schlausenweiger from Faltsu
Leonid Tyan from Korovka
Their task was to estimate the distance from the north to the south pole by surveying the straight line that crosses (from south to north) Larenchester (Ulstome), Oštra (Mošordia), Novale (Saintonge), Alexandrie (Saintonge), Plaisance (Saintonge), Barie (Saintonge), and Rilga (Xentherida). (may add more cities on the meridian, esp. Sasten and Merilia)
The astronomy group initiated a collaborative effort to systematically name and map out all the constellations, by studying the entire skies from different locations and observatories. Headed by de la Caille’s protégé Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin, members of the study group include:
(NB: limit up to 7-10, ideally. Please name the scientist and the observatory of work)
Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin at the Plaisance Observatory (Plaisance, Saintonge)
Matthieu-Gontrand Grandin de Taxandre at the Alexandrie Observatory (Alexandrie, Saintonge)
Lizette Bruun (Rilga, Xentherida)
Dražen Budimir Koprivnjak at the Oštra Royal Observatory (Oštra, Mošordia)
Person P from Sasten
Person Q from Merilia
Person T from Country V
Thrôros Kadžum at the Nińriel Observatory (Loth Londin, Alnaria)
Albrecht Manninger at the Hintzenhaven Observatory (Mintoria)
Naru Masakazu at the Kuhena Royal Observatory/National Astronomical Observatory of Skanda (Kuhena, Skanda)
Uranometria meridian
In 1801, the group published the Uranometria: les cartes de toutes les constellations (“Uranometria: maps of all the constellations”), a comprehensive star chart that became popular among mariners and the wider scientific community. Its popularity was such that it was translated into many other languages. The prime meridian in Uranometria was the Rilga-Plaisance-Alexandrie-Oštra-Larenchester line surveyed by the Baudinot group. The Uranometria meridian passes at or near the observatories used by the scientists. The book also contains conversions of the Uranometria meridian to other known meridians in use, such as the Saintes meridian, Korovka meridian, and Kuhena meridian.
By 1830, the Uranometria meridian was widely quoted in measurements of longitude. In 1836 the Royal Santonian Navy and the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences abandoned the Saintes meridian and adopted the Uranometria meridian; even earlier in 1803, the Royal Cadastral Survey (Arpentages cadastraux royaux) of Saintonge already chose the better-surveyed and characterised Uranometria meridian than the Saintes meridian.
Skanda (known as the Kingdom of Kamaheo at the time) adopted the Uranometria meridian quite early on in 1847. As a major seafaring nation in South Iteria it was vital for them to have a standardized meridian. Researchers from the newly established Saitō Royal University (c. 1840) compared it to the then-used Kuhena meridian, looking into how it could improve their already quite advanced seafaring techniques and technologies, and were quick to adopt it. They presented their findings to the Kōʻi (rough eqv. to a king), Sakayu Kamaheo (known more prominently as Auwayohau), who was initially opposed to the idea. The Kuhena meridian had been in use for centuries by this point and there weren't any glaring flaws so there was also little need to replace it. However, pressure from the University, other academics and scholars, and his wife, the Waʻina (rough eqv. to a queen) Itsuko Kamaheo, who was a renowned astronomer in her own right, eventually forced Sakayu to cave and publish an edict establishing the Uranometria meridian as Skanda's standard.
Alnaria adopted the Uranometria meridian likely sometime in the 1830s after heavy campaigning from Thrôros. It was recognized by the Government, but many holdouts argued Alnaria to maintain its own meridian. Haor Chall adopted the Uranometria meridian in 1876, after the end of the civil war and the formation of the Confederated Republic. The decision was part of a raft of modernisation and secularisation reforms made by the new government and was based, largely, on the fact the Charrian navy had used the Uranometria meridian between 1842 and 1859, and the significant influence of the maritime sector in Chall.
Other countries that had adopted the Uranometria meridian included Ulstome (1840), Mintoria (1850), Faltsu, Laeg {insert other countries that adopted the Uranometria meridian before the 1885 conference with a short history, if they want to add it}
Meridians and time
With the advent of trains, standardisation of time also became an issue. Many locations relied on local time, reckoned by sundials, gnomons, public clocks, or the hourly tolling of church bells. Keeping track of time and the complexity of railway timetables became an issue.
Left: Gnomon at the Cathedral of Saint-Colomb in Plaisance (Saintonge). Centre: 18th century astronomical clock at the Cathedral of Cathedral of Saint-Expédit in Creusenac (Saintonge). Right: Public clock at the City Hall of Plaisance (Saintonge). Before time zones and standardisation of time, such clocks used to be the main references for local time.
In 1850 Saintonge, for example, when the Val d’Epte Railway leaves Saintes at 12:00 local time, it arrives at Corbeil station at 12:45, despite having a travel time of 48 minutes. Such time differences were magnified with greater distances. At 12:00 Saintes time, it was 11:39 in Nyon and 12:18 in Plaisance. Railway timetables, especially for long lines, usually include dazzling and confusing arrays of local times – which sometimes led to accidents. In 1854, the Société saintongeaise de chemins de fer (SSCF), the country’s railway operator, petitioned the government to have one unified time for Saintonge. The Santonian government passed a law in 1856 putting all of Saintonge on a standard time to be recommended by the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences. The Academie recommended that Saintonge be put on “Plaisance time” – that is, the local time at the Uranometria meridian. It was also possibly a nod to King Brice of Saintonge, who was a mariner and thus familiar with the Uranometria meridian.
The main railways of Goyanes came together to create a standard time in 1844. The use of solar local times was disrupting railway timetables, and the use of a coordinated time nationwide would be beneficial to passengers and railway operators alike. As such, they decided that time observations would be made at Gojannesstad's Stortoghass Station, and all times in Goyanes would be based on this time. In 1848, the time calculation was moved to the Imperial Observatory on Governor's Island in Gojannesstad's upper harbor, so that work with coordinated time could be combined with work that was used for calculation of Goyanes' domestic meridian, which was also based there. The protectorate of Allia followed Goyanes's time standardisation in the 1840s due to the construction of Goyanean railways in the country. However, prior to that, the merchants of Allia had came up with the Mercantile Standard Time (Merkantiltids in Alliaronian), in which they took other nations' time(zones), and the other time zones used by other areas in the protectorate. In the Confederal Kingdoms of Ronland, the confederation came up on the idea of standardising and unifying its time by using one solar local time - primarily on the principality of Braüsnatte. When Allia and the Ronland kingdoms united its crown in 1861, Allia opted to use their Goyanean time standard to prevent any confusion with their neighbours.
The growth of railways also provided the impetus for time standardisation in other countries. In Haor Chall, standard time was introduced in 1854, based on the time in Xi Char and using a meridian which ran exactly through the centre of the Cathedral of Xi in the city. Xentherida standardised its time in 1845-1860 (after the Xentheridan Revolution, as Aterkom, a very xenophobic regime, made it impossible for railroad technology to be introduced from foreign countries) when railways were introduced and a standardised timezone was needed for proper scheduling. Ulstome standardised its time in 1857. The main momentum for standardisation came following the series of accidents around the Festival of Senuli, an important religious festival, lead to numerous deaths and injuries which prompted the public pressure on their elected officials for the adoption of standardisation in order to avoid more accidents in the future. The injury of Lord Krinva, a popular figure and a representative in the Ulstome Montonget gave the final push to pass the law which would standardise Ulstome's time.
Alnaria also stadardised timezones in 1871 through a decree by High King. Time had also been standardised in Kamaheo/Skanda (1866), Lanceria, Laeg, Faltsu before 1885 (Insert other countries that standardised their time before 1885)
International Meridian Conference
The benefits of time standardisation in Saintonge, Xentherida, Goyanes, Kamaheo/Skanda, Haor Chall, Lanceria, Faltsu, Alnaria, Mintoria, and (insert other countries that had standardised their time before 1885) became readily apparent among governments and the wider scientific community. Pressure was also mounting from transport sectors (railways, navigation/maritime sectors) to establish a standardised prime meridian – which would also standardise both time and reckoning of longitude. Several influential groups had expressed that governments around the world. A group of railroad executives from various countries met in Gojanesstad* in 1877 and issued a statement urging the governments around the world to standardise their time to a single meridian. This was supported by the 1879 International Geographical Congress held at Kuhena (Skanda). The scientists at the congress also released a similar statement and started hashing out technical details. This group of scientists circulated the proposals to countries throughout the world.
The proposals gained the backing of Saintonge in 1882, Faltsu, Alnaria, Ulstome, Goyanes, Kamaheo/Skanda, Alliaronia, Lanceria,Haor Chall, (insert countries who supported early, 1882-1884). This culminated in the organisation of the International Meridian Conference in Irinría (Elentári, Merilia)in September 1885. # of delegates from # of countries met to discuss the proposals. Attendees include:
Alliaronia
Alnaria
Faltsu
Goyanes
Haor Chall
Kamaheo/Skanda
Lanceria
Mintoria
Saintonge
Ulstome
<insert your country here>
The delegates discussed the scientific proposals and agreed on the following:
That it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations for the reckoning of time and location, in place of the multiplicity of meridians in existence.
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that the prime meridian to be adopted shall be the Uranometria meridian, which passes through the Observatories of Plaisance, Alexandrie, Rilga, Oštra, and Larenchester.
That from this prime meridian shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus (+) and west longitude minus (-).
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that a standard time/s shall be established within its territories, or zones within its territories.
That a universal day shall be adopted for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable.
That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; it is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the prime meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted from zero up to twenty-four hours. This time shall be called Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).
That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight.
After the International Meridian Conference, many other countries followed in establishing standard time zones, with offsets from the UTC. (May insert when your country recognised the meridian and adopted a time zone).
*OOC note: I mean, where else?
A prime meridian is the arbitrarily-determined line of longitude in a geographic coordinate system, at which the longitude is defined to be 0°. Usually, one reckons directions of East and West from the defined prime meridian (ie. “40 degrees West of the Prime Meridian”).
History
The concept of a prime meridian was in existence ever since the planet was proven as a sphere. Various countries, especially seafaring nations, use a north-to-south line (a longitude) based on their capital or major port city to reckon distances and location at sea. For instance, Saintonge has a Saintes meridian, Mošordia had the Ordjan meridian, country A had a meridian B, country C had meridian D. Geographic maps and globes were also drawn according to such local lines of reckoning. For example, the 1478 Ortell Globe, the oldest extant globe in Saintonge, indicates the main meridian passing through Saintes.
Meridians and determination of location at sea
The main use of such meridians, in determining the location/longitude at sea, was made more important in 1673 with the development of the chronomètre de marine (marine chronometer) by Prydanian scientist Constantin Joüye. Joüye was among the foreign scientists invited to the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences working at the court of King Archambault VII ‘the Magnanimous’ of Saintonge. Determining the location at sea was further improved by the creation of star charts in the 17th and 18th centuries, along with the development of the octant by person E from country F in 1730. This was improved into the sextant by Thibault-Marc Dinocheau from Saintonge in 1750. Both the octant and the sextant were used to estimate latitude and longitude while at sea, in reference to various celestial bodies, thus the necessity for star charts.
These star charts of varying accuracies were produced by different countries, but each relied on their own meridians (or another country’s) to determine the location of the ship by longitude. Thus it was common to hear statements such as “20 degrees east of Saintes” or “G degrees west of City H”, which caused confusion, even though they refer to the same longitude.
International Study
No country was dominant enough to establish its own meridian as the standard. Though it did not intend to set the standard, in 1780, a group of scientists from several countries embarked on two different, but linked, studies. These astronomers and geodesists had all studied and met at the prestigious Astronomy School at the University of Plaisance (Saintonge) under the Santonian astronomer and geodesist Nicholas-Charles de la Caille.
The geodesy study group included the following:
Pierre-Corneille Baudinot from Plaisance
Marc-Childéric Grandin de Taxandre from Novale
Thea Nordlund from Xentherida
person I from Merilia
person J from country K
person L from country M
person N from country O
Their task was to estimate the distance from the north to the south pole by surveying the straight line that crosses Oštra (Mošordia), Novale (Saintonge), Alexandrie (Saintonge), Plaisance (Saintonge), Barie (Saintonge), and Rilga (Xentherida). (may add more cities on the meridian, esp. Sasten and Merilia)
The astronomy group initiated a collaborative effort to systematically name and map out all the constellations, by studying the entire skies from different locations and observatories. Headed by de la Caille’s protégé Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin, members of the study group include:
(NB: limit up to 7-10, ideally. Please name the scientist and the observatory of work)
Brice-Sylvain Pellegrin at the Plaisance Observatory (Plaisance, Saintonge)
Matthieu-Gontrand Grandin de Taxandre at the Alexandrie Observatory (Alexandrie, Saintonge)
Lizette Bruun (Rilga, Xentherida)
Dražen Budimir Koprivnjak at the Oštra Royal Observatory (Oštra, Mošordia)
Person P from Sasten
Person Q from Merilia
Person R from Country S
Person T from Country V
Uranometria meridian
In 1801, the group published the Uranometria: les cartes de toutes les constellations (“Uranometria: maps of all the constellations”), a comprehensive star chart that became popular among mariners and the wider scientific community. Its popularity was such that it was translated into many other languages. The prime meridian in Uranometria was the Rilga-Plaisance-Alexandrie-Oštra-[other cities?] line surveyed by the Baudinot group. The Uranometria meridian passes at or near the observatories used by the scientists. The book also contains conversions of the Uranometria meridian to other known meridians in use, such as the Saintes meridian, B meridian, and D meridian.
By 1830, the Uranometria meridian was widely quoted in measurements of longitude. In 1836 the Royal Santonian Navy and the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences abandoned the Saintes meridian and adopted the Uranometria meridian; even earlier in 1803, the Royal Cadastral Survey (Arpentages cadastraux royaux) of Saintonge already chose the better-surveyed and characterised Uranometria meridian than the Saintes meridian.
{insert other countries that adopted the Uranometria meridian before the 1885 conference with a short history, if they want to add it}
Meridians and time
With the advent of trains, standardisation of time also became an issue. Many locations relied on local time, reckoned by sundials, gnomons, public clocks, or the hourly tolling of church bells. Keeping track of time and the complexity of railway timetables became an issue.
Left: Gnomon at the Cathedral of Saint-Colomb in Plaisance (Saintonge). Centre: 18th century astronomical clock at the Cathedral of Cathedral of Saint-Expédit in Creusenac (Saintonge). Right: Public clock at the City Hall of Plaisance (Saintonge). Before time zones and standardisation of time, such clocks used to be the main references for local time.
In 1850 Saintonge, for example, when the Val d’Epte Railway leaves Saintes at 12:00 local time, it arrives at Corbeil station at 12:45, despite having a travel time of 48 minutes. Such time differences were magnified with greater distances. At 12:00 Saintes time, it was 11:39 in Nyon and 12:18 in Plaisance. Railway timetables, especially for long lines, usually include dazzling and confusing arrays of local times – which sometimes led to accidents. In 1854, the Société saintongeaise de chemins de fer (SSCF), the country’s railway operator, petitioned the government to have one unified time for Saintonge. The Santonian government passed a law in 1856 putting all of Saintonge on a standard time to be recommended by the Académie royale saintongeaise des sciences. The Academie recommended that Saintonge be put on “Plaisance time” – that is, the local time at the Uranometria meridian. It was also possibly a nod to King Brice of Saintonge, who was a mariner and thus familiar with the Uranometria meridian.
Other countries also started standardising their time. Xentherida standardised its time in 1845-1860 (after the Xentheridan Revolution, as Aterkom, a very xenophobic regime, made it impossible for railroad technology to be introduced from foreign countries) when railways were introduced and a standardised timezone was needed for proper scheduling.
(Insert other countries that standardised their time before 1885)
International Meridian Conference
The benefits of time standardisation in Saintonge, Xentherida, and (insert other countries that had standardised their time before 1885) became readily apparent among governments and the wider scientific community. Pressure was also mounting from transport sectors (railways, navigation/maritime sectors) to establish a standardised prime meridian – which would also standardise both time and reckoning of longitude. Several influential groups had expressed that governments around the world. A group of railroad executives from various countries met in Gojanesstad* in 1877 and issued a statement urging the governments around the world to standardise their time to a single meridian. This was supported by the 1879 International Geographical Congress held at city W (country X). The scientists at the congress also released a similar statement and started hashing out technical details. This group of scientists circulated the proposals to countries throughout the world.
The proposals gained the backing of Saintonge in 1882 (insert countries who supported early, 1882-1884). This culminated in the organisation of the International Meridian Conference in city Y, country Z in September 1885. # of delegates from # of countries met to discuss the proposals. Attendees include:
Saintonge
<insert your country here>
The delegates discussed the scientific proposals and agreed on the following:
That it is desirable to adopt a single prime meridian for all nations for the reckoning of time and location, in place of the multiplicity of meridians in existence.
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that the prime meridian to be adopted shall be the Uranometria meridian, which passes through the Observatories of Plaisance, Alexandrie, Rilga, and Oštra.
That from this prime meridian shall be counted in two directions up to 180 degrees, east longitude being plus (+) and west longitude minus (-).
That the Conference proposes to the Governments that a standard time/s shall be established within its territories, or zones within its territories.
That a universal day shall be adopted for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, and which shall not interfere with the use of local or standard time where desirable.
That this universal day is to be a mean solar day; it is to begin for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the prime meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day and date of that meridian; and is to be counted from zero up to twenty-four hours. This time shall be called Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).
That the Conference expresses the hope that as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight.
After the International Meridian Conference, many other countries followed in establishing standard time zones, with offsets from the UTC. (May insert when your country recognised the meridian and adopted a time zone).
Hey RPers! We're giving you an opportunity to add and collaborate with this draft post! All the bold red stuff needs your input/contribution!
We have general questions for all RPers:
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
We invite all RPers to answer the questions with regards to their country!
Also! We need people to suggest the following: Countries that had their own meridian: Country A, Meridian B
Country C, Meridian D
City H
Inventions Person E from Country F (octant)
Collaborators
Person I, Person Q (specifically for @Nightsong ) person J from country K
person L from country M
person N from country O
person P Person R from Country S
Person T from Country V
Conference Location City W, Country X (International Geographical Congress)
City Y, Country Z (International Meridian Conference)
For the suggestions, I will be accepting them if there is enough basis and justification. (For instance, it would be weird if a country far away from the Prime Meridian collaborates - probably this will be proximity-based to the meridian; or a scientist from a landlocked country invents the octant) EDIT: Also, I reserve the reserve the right to not include any suggestion if I deem it as unsuitable for the proposal.
Could the Korovka Meridian, from Korova, potentially stand as one of these major meridians? I suggest this due to the sheer reach and economic influences the Ganze League had in Craviter and beyond, spreading primarily regulations but at times language and technologies putting them in a prime spot to make the Korovka Meridian known.
Octant (Person E/Country F)
May I also suggest this be attributed to Korovka (Vadim Yakov, of the Republic of Korovka)? Again I reason this with the Ganze, being such a widespread organisation would mean developing new technologies in navigation would be an essential thing for streamlining their processes and it would also be in a prime position to spread the Octant as a technology considering this as well.
Geodesy (Person J/Country K)
For this one I want to suggest Leonid Tyan of Tura, Republic of Korovka. Mostly for the same reasons, but also for my own things to push that Korovka wasn't completely inactive and awaiting its death prior to the 1800s but actively engaging with other nations.
As for your 5 questions in the last post, the Republic of Korovka and so the Ganze was dead by the late 1800s (the Ganze itself may have persisted in Kalety very briefly idk) and the new Korovan State would likely follow any new meridians, conferences, and conventions as soon as it would've been clear that they would be the new, standard path and would've at the very least attended any events regardless.
(Note, the difference between Korovka and Korova is very big. Korova is the modern state, while Korovka is the city and historic republic)
I’d like to add Thrôros Kadžum of the Nińriel Observatory in Loth Londin, Alnaria to the Astronomer sky mapping team if you’ll have him.
Alnaria’s Meridien was known as the Elenias
1. Alnaria would have adopted the Uranometria meridian likely sometime in the 1830s after heavy campaigning from Thrôros. It would be recognized by the Government, but many holdouts would argue Alnaria to maintain its own meridian.
2. Alnaria likely did not standardize its time until the 1860 or 1870 when Rail came to the nation in force.
3. Alnaria would support the conference.
4. Alnaria would send delegates
5. In the end trade, travel, and military synchronicity would outweigh local timing conventions. Standard time zones would be put into force in 1871 by decree of the High King.
Laegian Institute of Time
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885?
Yes
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885?
Yes
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884?
Yes
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian?
Yes
5. Laegia has almost always tried to stay with the future, with the exception of 1953-2017. To stay with the future Laeg decided to adopt the System
Ulstome
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- Yes it was adopted around 1840.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- Yes, Ulstome standardised its time in 1857, before the various and influential maritime organisations and businesses had been pressuring the government to standardise. The main momentum for standardisation came following the series of accidents around the Festival of Senuli, an important religious festival, lead to numerous deaths and injuries which prompted the public pressure on their elected officials for the adoption of standardisation in order to avoid more accidents in the future. The injury of Lord Krinva, a popular figure and a representative in the Ulstome Montonget gave the final push to pass the law which would standardise Ulstome's time.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
- Yes, yes can be added to draft.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
- Yes, yes can be added to draft.
I would like to request that Ivan Ostala from the Prince Institute of Ulstome be part of the Geodesy Group.
Larenchester could be a city used as it sits on the furthest point of land south on the meridian.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
No, Goyanes used a domestic meridian before 1885, which was centered on Gojannesstad's Imperial Observatory until 1885.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes, Goyanes' railways engaged in a time-standardization project in the 1840s, which used time measured from Gojannesstad Stortoghass Station, and later at the Imperial Observatory on Governor's Island in Gojannesstad. You may add this blurb.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes. You may add my country to the draft.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes. You may add my country to the draft.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
Also mentioned in #2. In 1844, the main railways of Goyanes came together to create a standard time. The use of solar local times was disrupting railway timetables, and the use of a coordinated time nationwide would be beneficial to passengers and railway operators alike. As such, they decided that time observations would be made at Gojannesstad's Stortoghass Station, and all times in Goyanes would be based on this time. In 1848, the time calculation was moved to the Imperial Observatory on Governor's Island in Gojannesstad's upper harbor, so that work with coordinated time could be combined with work that was used for calculation of Goyanes' domestic meridian, which was also based there.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes! Skanda (known as the Kingdom of Kamaheo at the time) adopted the Uranometria meridian quite early on in 1847. As a major seafaring nation in South Iteria it was vital for them to have a standardized meridian. Researchers from the newly established Saitō Royal University (c. 1840) compared it to the then-used Kuhena meridian, looking into how it could improve their already quite advanced seafaring techniques and technologies, and were quick to adopt it. They presented their findings to the Kōʻi (rough eqv. to a king), Sakayu Kamaheo (known more prominently as Auwayohau), who was initially opposed to the idea. The Kuhena meridian had been in use for centuries by this point and there weren't any glaring flaws so there was also little need to replace it. However, pressure from the University, other academics and scholars, and his wife, the Waʻina (rough eqv. to a queen) Itsuko Kamaheo, who was a renowned astronomer in her own right, eventually forced Sakayu to cave and publish an edict establishing the Uranometria meridian as Skanda's standard.
2. Did your country standardize your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Also yes! With the introduction of the railway to the country, Skanda standardized it's time in 1866, following the Goyanean example in doing so.
3. Did your country support the organization of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, the Kingdom of Kamaheo/Skanda supported the organization of the IMC.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, Kamaheo/Skanda attended the IMC.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardized your time in the end.
The Kingdom of Kamaheo was, from it's perspective, in a constant race against imperialist northern powers. They were an isolated independent South Iterian nation, and they felt that modernization and standardization, so that they may keep up with those imperialist powers, was vital to maintaining their independence. It led to a wave of industrialism within the country, and the subsequent introduction of trains and railways. Following the example from Goyanes, who had colonized the neighboring Ascalon region, Kamaheo would standardize their time based on observations made from their first observatory, the Kuhena Royal Observatory (now known as the renowned National Astronomical Observatory of Skanda) in 1865. Unlike Goyanes, Skanda had abandoned it's domestic Kuhena meridian back in the 1840s and so worked using the Uranmetria meridian. Kamaheo/Skanda, using these observations, standardized their times in 1866.
Also, I think Skanda could fill in a couple of those spots! Country A had a meridian B for instance- As mentioned above, Skanda had it's own domestic Kuhena meridian for a long time. City W, Country X could also be filled by Kuhena, Skanda, since it was a major South Iterian port city and an early adopter of the meridian, plus home to the long prestigious Kuhena Navigators Guild. Skandans had been navigating the seas for many many centuries at this point, reaching just about every continent except Gothis. Person R from Country S could be filled by Naru Masakazu from Skanda at the Kuhena Royal Observatory/National Astronomical Observatory of Skanda for the later study group.
I have referred to Skanda as Kamaheo at some points within this, if you do include them on the document you can just use Skanda, or you can do Kamaheo/Skanda, I don't have a preference.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- No. While Valland and Allia entered into a personal union in the 1870s, the Allians followed the Goyanean meridian and the Vallish had and followed their own meridian, centered on Draanikaarus University in Nidaros.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- Yes; both of them. Alliaronia, in particular, followed along the railway time standardization project led by Goyanes in the 1840s.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
- Yes. You may add Alliaronia and Valland to the draft.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft
- Yes. You may add Alliaronia and Valland to the draft.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
Alliaronia followed Goyanes's time standardization in the 1840s exclusively only for the construction of railways in the country. Domestic time standardisation, on the other hand was done through the usage of the Æstfolzea Vanligetids (Æstfolzea Standard Time), which had been in the works even during its campaign for independence. One sole exception to this was Ølfets which then used Merkantiltids (Mercantile Standard Time) and continued to remain using it even after it was peacefully re-annexed in the 1860s. The Merkantiltids eventually displaced the Æstfolzea Vanligetids shortly after major confusion.
We have general questions for all RPers:
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
No. 2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes, as a result of certain influences from maritime shipping organizations. 3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, the Lancerian Empire did. 4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, the Lancerian Empire, spoke in support, attended, and promptly approved the establishment of the Prime Meridian.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes, but only in 1876 - after the end of the civil war and the formation of the Confederated Republic of Haor Chall. The decision was part of a raft of modernisation and secularisation reforms made by the new government and was based, largely, on the fact the Charrian navy had used the Uranometria meridian between 1842 and 1859, and the significant influence of the maritime sector in Chall (the eastern most part of Haor Chall).
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes, standard time was introduced in 1854, due to the demands of the new railroad industries. It was based on the time in Xi Char and using a meridian which ran exactly through the centre of the Cathedral of Xi in the city.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
No.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes. It is believed that time-keeping in the Tusacaway has remained consistent since at least the iron age due to the country's small size and tight-knitted communities.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
The Tusacaway was unaware of the IMC, and thus did not support it.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
No.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardized your time in the end.
Time may have been 'officially' standardized during the industrial resolution when 24 hour clocks grew in popularity around the country, however an official concordance on time-keeping has never been necessary.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
No, Prydania used Goyanes' domestic meridian before 1885.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes, Prydania adopted Goyanes' standardization in the 1840s. You can add that to the draft.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, and yes you made add Prydania to the draft.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, and you may add Prydania to the draft.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
Prydanian time standardization began in 1844 when Goyanes' standardized time was used to calculate Býkonsviði standard time.
Elenathism has always had a deep appreciation for the stars and the divine. The Moon has been viewed as the personification of the Lady and the Sun has been viewed as the personification of the Lord. The stars were associated with the elements of the world, the cyclical seasons of the world, with the natural rhythms of the world, and with wisdom and knowledge. The position of the stars has been vital to the Merilians in tracking the annual seasons, the equinoxes, and the solstices.
The Realm of Elentári in Merilia has been the home and center of Elenathism since antiquity. Elentári draws its name from the Elenath and means “the star queen” due to the many stargazing sites throughout the valleys that make up the realm. These sites have contributed to timekeeping and astronomical studies throughout the ages. The most important contribution from the Gilrain Observatory in Irinría was the naming of Elenion Ancalima (or Elenion for short), the brightest star in the southern night sky and the basis upon which future star charts were built. (This is the Merilian equivalent of the real-life Polaris Australis (the South Star). Other names for the star may exist in other nations that are in the southern half of Eras.)
Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
After the Uranometria maps were published in 1801, the Merilians took them home and over the next four years worked to incorporate them into their own Elentárian Map of the Stars. In 1805, a revised work, the Elentárian Stars and Constellations, was published; it incorporated the stars from Uranometria as well as the stars from the Elentárian Map of the Stars. The Meridian of the Rose (Fhadlíne an Rós) was kept as the central meridian upon which navigation in Merilia took place. It would not be until 1885 that the nation would switch the meridian and use one that had been globally accepted by the world.
Did your country standardize your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Timekeeping has been an honored tradition in Merilia since the 1100’s though the notion of keeping time dates to antiquity and the seasonal cycles of nature. Throughout the 14th to 16th centuries, various astronomical clocks were built across the nation by the Grand Temple of the Elenath. Standardization of time did not occur until the mid-1800’s when industrialization brought about rapid changes to society. It was primarily driven by the merchant societies who sought more accurate timekeeping and ensuring that there was one standard in place everywhere they traded.
Did your country support the organization of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, Merilia would have supported the organization of the International Meridian Conference.
Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes, Merilia would have attended the International Meridian Conference to approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian. The Meridian of the Rose would have been maintained though shifted slightly to match the new Prime Meridian. The name would also be kept for use on astronomical and navigational charts printed in Merilia.
You can add a short blurb about how your country standardized your time in the end.
In 1848, the merchant societies of Alcária coordinated with the Grand Temple of the Elenath in creating a standardized time across the Merilian Realm. Though many cities had astronomical clocks for keeping time, there were still discrepancies. Merchants argued that a standard time would be useful to not only businesses doing trade but to their clients and customers as well. After much back and forth deliberation in the Parliament of Mérilia, the nation established Merilian Standard Time.
Historically, the Meridian of the Rose ran through the city of Irinría (the capital of Elentári). However, after 1885 and the International Meridian Conference, the Meridian of the Rose was shifted and today runs through the cities of Tíria (in northern Elentári) and Andaría (in southern Elentári).
Person I from Merilia (Geodesy Group): Connor Dunn Person Q from Merilia (Astronomy Group): Saoirse Ó Conaill (Royal Observatory of Tíria) and Aoife Ó Conaill (Royal Observatory of Andaría)
International Meridian Conference Location: Irinría (Capital of the Realm of Elentári in Merilia)
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft. Yes. It had gained wide use in larger port cities and along the coast in the early 1880s mainly due to foreign mariners who brought the concept to Mouxordian shores.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft. No. It was in wide use by the populace, but the concept of a standardized time wasn't officially set into place until the International Meridian Conference.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft. Yes.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft. Yes.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
Due to efforts of Gordan Kraljić, an astronomer for the then-Royal Observatory pushed and urged for the establishment of a time-keeping model for his mathematical calculations, the practical use of which gained much popularity throughout the country. Queen Suzana Srbljić sent Gordan as the official envoy to sign Mouxordia as a nation for participation in the Meridian Conference.
1&2. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885?
No and yes. For a long time, the Empire had its own domestic meridian - the Svargakaradhana - the "Girdle of Heaven". The Svargakaradhana was mandated for all Imperial maps and was both enforced in all prefectures both on the Home Islands and overseas and also heavily suggested and advertised to foreign states near any of said prefectures trading with the Empire. When it was first being debated during the reign of Emperor Shaktinatha, who ruled the Empire at its height of power, there was significant disagreement amongst the assembled committee of Imperial scientists and court officials over where it would be. The three primary candidates were the Jade Palace (in Pataliputra, obviously), the Great Temple of Merunagar, and the Imperial Observatory in Pataliputra. The committee ended up deciding on the Jade Palace by a slim vote.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes and no. The Empire did attend the International Meridian Conference, but did so with the hopes of getting other countries to adopt the Svargakaradhana due to the Empire's influence in the Meterran Sea, a central global trade route. However, at this point in time, that influence was not what it was a hundred years prior; not to mention the Uranometria was planned beforehand by various other nations. Therefore, the Uranometria was approved by most of the countries in attendance. The Empire abstained when it came time to vote.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
After the adoption of the Uranometria by most of the international community, the Empire stubbornly refused to fully adopt it. The Uranometria was used, but only sometimes in certain places and circumstances, and always as a lesser, additional, and comparative meridian to the Svargakaradhana; not unlike, for example, how Quebecois signage treats English, with French always larger and always used first and foremost. The situation with the dual usage of the Svargakaradhana and Uranometria across the Empire continued all the way up until the Fascist Wars, when the Empire quietly initiated full adoption of the Uranometria in order to better coordinate with Goyanes and the other Allied Powers.
I'd like to suggest Vasiliy Siyantsev for the geodesy group and Taras Fedorov for the astronomy group.
1)Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes. In the 1850's, while the new Second Republic was reforming the nation, many politicians within the new government as well as the navy and maritime trade companies urged then-president Sergei Kariyev to adopt a standardized meridian for the nation. Proposals were put forth for an Arcanstotskan prime meridian, however the Uranometria meridian was ultimately adopted in 1852 so as to better sync Arcanstotska with nations abroad.
2) Did your country standardize your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes. Standardization of time in the Second Arcanstotskan Republic was passed via legislation in the National Assembly in 1862 due to mounting pressure from railway and telecommunication companies, the scientific community, as well as many members of the Arcanstotskan government who believed it would help simplify the government's activities. It was signed into law by President Khalski on 4 January 1862. This did see backlash from many ylkentic politicians and movements, who argued that this was infringing upon the traditional ylkentic time system, though these individuals were ultimately outvoted in the National Assembly.
3) Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes.
4) Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes. Anton Dvornikov, a politician and lover of astronomy, served as the Second Arcanstotskan Republic's representative to the International Meridian Conference.
ASTURICA
I'd like to suggest CountArtur Narciso Tadeu de Parada for the geodesists and BaronXenaro de Cilistro for the astronomers.
1) Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes. The Uranometria meridian was adopted by the Kingdom of Asturica on 4 February 1871 by King Tomas II in order to better coordinate maritime and economic activity with Saintonge as well as other nations. This also had a great deal of support from the Royal Society of the Sciences as they wished to "standardize international astronomical studies." However, the Uranometria prime meridian was thrown out in 1998 by the fascist National Prosperity Party who then reintroduced an Asturica-centric prime meridian.
2) Did your country standardize your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
Yes. The Kingdom of Asturica instituted standardized time on the order of King Tomas II on 13 January 1842 after being pressured to do so by the Royal Society of the Sciences
3) Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes. There was significant support from the Asturican scientific community for the monarchy to officially support the International Meridian Conference. Though King Tomas II was initially uninterested, he eventually announced that Asturica would support it.
4) Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
Yes. King Tomas dispatched Duke Paulo Andre Lois de Varela, a prominent member of the Royal Society of the Sciences, to represent Asturica at the International Meridian Conference.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885?
The Uranometia meridian would be adopted by Mintoria by 1850 following increased support and calls for its adoption. Prior to this, the country was using its own standard of time known as the Imperial standard. The astrologist Albrecht Bernhard Manninger, who was staffed at the Hintzenhaven Observatory, was part of the astronomy group tasked with naming and mapping out all the constellations. Manninger, for his part, conducted most of his work at the observatory. The Uranometia meridian was adopted by members of the scientific community in Mintoria, and was used as a reference point by mariners, railway and telecommunications companies, and in fields where concise and accurate timing was necessary. Eventually, the Uranometia was spread to other businesses and was being used in all aspects of life. This led to calls for the standardisation of time and the adoption of a uniform standard that would help keep the country in sync with other states that had also adopted the Uranometia meridian. After increased pressure, the Mintorian parliament (Reichstag) would adopt it on 23 August 1850.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885?
The Reichstag standardised time in the year 1850, due to the widespread use of the Uranometia meridian in Mintoria, and the increasing pressure from various groups from the scientific community to merchants and other businesses for the state to adopt a uniform standard of time.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884?
Yes.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian?
Michael Myrthenbaum, a renowned astronomer, would be sent to represent Mintoria at the conference.
Additionally, if I may, and it’s not too late at this point, I would like to propose Wolfgang Guttenberg for the geodesy study group.
1. Did your country adopt the Uranometria meridian before 1885? If yes, we can add your country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- Yes, in 1856.
2. Did your country standardise your country's time before 1885? If yes, we can add you country and your blurb (if any) to the draft.
- Yes, in 1857. The Kingdom of Caselania followed the footsteps of its southern neighbour, Xentherida. This, along with complaints from Montendria, a Caselanian territory at that time, fueled the demands for the Litasanno regime to fully implement the Caselanian Standard Time, modeled after its neighbours. However, frameworks of a pseudo-standard time had been in effect, though de facto, since the 18th century, and was only centric within the time of Grande Hauvre, the national capital.
3. Did your country support the organisation of the International Meridian Conference between 1879 and 1884? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
- Yes.
4. Did your country attend the International Meridian Conference and approve the establishment of the Prime Meridian? If yes, we can add your country to the draft.
- Yes.
5. You can add a short blurb about how your country standardised your time in the end.
- As development in Caselania was reaching new highs in the 19th century, and news that the Aterkom regime had been toppled in Xentherida, scientists and businessmen created a coalition in Grande Hauvre to force the Litasanno regime to fully implement a de jure and approved Caselanian standardised time system. The pseudo-standard time system, known informally as Temps capitale, had created extensive conflicting issues especially for scientists in Montendria, which was a Caselanian territory. Adaptation of the Uranometria meridian in 1856 was also seen as a major catalyst for the implementation of CST, and by early 1857 Montendrian scientists arrived in Grande Hauvre, joining the coalition of the mainland scientists and businessmen. With further research, the coalition eventually made the Litasanno regime to implement CST, as well as the addition and subsequent creation of the Montendrian Standard Time, which is offset due to its position in eastern Collandris.
The current draft is in the second post, and the invitations for additions will be in the third post. Feel free to post your suggestions 
