Épinette-sur-quès

Épinette-sur-quès following the attack from Old Japan.

Épinette-sur-quès was a French settlement from Minecraft Attack inhabited by jusipat, Kjolt947 and bcfoss. It was located on the shore of a taiga biome. Its namesake is derived from the French épinette, meaning spruce, and the ocean which it was founded upon, La mer quès. Épinette-sur-quès was a powerful nation during Season 1 of the Minecraft Attack server. It was the largest francophone state prior to the establishment of L'Empire de la Citroye. Its slow yet steady expansion was brought to a halt when it was burnt and ransacked during The Calamity, and no attempt was made to resettle. The former province of Sableterre, which emerged from the war largely unscathed went on to succeed Épinette-sur-quès following The Calamity.

Foundation of Épinette-sur-quès

The sheep fields of Épinette-sur-quès.

Épinette-sur-quès was founded by players jusipat and Kjolt947 on the first day of the server. The first settlement would be a hovel dug into a small hill, with farms and a small motte-and-bailey fort built in medieval fashion by jusipat added later.

Early map of Épinette-sur-quès and the surrounding forest.

Épinette-sur-quès Expansion

Following the construction of the motte-and-bailey by jusipat, Kjolt947 began to build a home nearby. jusipat would go on to create numerous other buildings, such as an innhouse and smithy. The town was surrounded by an unlit radius of dense trees and berry bushes, rendering the approach inhospitable. This defense was further augmented by a small wall built along a naturally occuring valley dip outside of the western continental town limits.

The Charge of the Île-sur-quès

Upon his arrival, player bcfoss was charged with civilizing the Île-sur-quès, which was a small island off of the coast as a bulwark against any potential naval invasions from far-away lands. This colony eventually would become the Épinettean province of Sableterre.

Bridge to Épinette-sur-quès from the western wilderness.

Diplomacy

Épinette-sur-quès was one of the first established nations in the server, and it engaged in diplomacy middlingly with other powers at the time of its early formation. Épinette-sur-quès at this time entered in diplomacy with most nations of the world, including the growing power of Shanbao as well as engaging in economic negotiations over coal acquisition with Old Japan. Épinette-sur-quès was not militarily renowed at this time, nor was it economically significant. Mainland Épinette under the direction of jusipat would grow to become an insular state before the growth of Sableterre and the events of The Calamity.

Tentative Colonial Ventures

Prior to The Calamity, jusipat begin the construction of a large underground tunnel network to connect Épinette-sur-quès to a large continental mass in the west. Construction on a railway began but was never completed prior to the destruction of Épinette.

Language of Épinette-sur-quès at-home and abroad

In diplomacy, Épinette-sur-quès' envoys communicated in French towards the Chinese and Japanese nations, with no residents of Épinette-sur-quès commanding a sufficient level of Chinese nor Japanese to properly communicate. The three eventual residents of Épinette-sur-quès would all speak French until the lifting of the English ban with varying degrees of success.

Geography

Épinette-sur-quès was founded on the coast near a dense spruce forest; it was founded on the banks of the Quès Sea. Its English translation is "Spruce-on-quess".

View of the newly built forts and buildings from the west, before The Calamity.