The battle of Waterloo has gone down in history as the climactic ending of the Napoleonic Wars, the largest conflict to change the socio-political landscape of Europe before the Great War of 1914-18. Twelve years of conflict, plus other wars during and prior this time period, had brought French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte into conflict with most of the major powers of Europe; during this time, he had won battles against all of them at least once. However, by 1815, Napoleon was forced to battle, and was laid low for the first time. France’s dreams of empire in Europe were dashed, and fiery, passionate, nationalist feelings were brought to the surface across much of the continent, from France to Russia. This was a radical change to the European spectrum – never before had armies and men (particularly officers) fought for their country out of the love of it. Previously, most men fought as part of an oath of fealty to the monarch or leader, but rarely to the land itself.

It is quite surprising then, to see that macronationally (in countries recognised by the United Nations), Waterloo is not commemorated as an international event in a similar way to the First and Second World Wars (neither is the Seven years War, which was similarly global), not even in Continental Europe. Whether this stems from national rivalry or the fact that the commemoration is merely overlooked, it is unclear. However, in the Theodorist Regional Dominion of Burnham and its Land, where the primary focus of historical enthusiasts is the Napoleonic Wars, it was sure to become a day of remembrance, and it did, during the May 31st Theodorist ‘revolution’.

Remembrance in Theodorist Burnham is a relatively ad hoc affair. Although it is recognised that setting time aside to remember the dead that changed Europe’s history so would be the proper thing, it must also be recognised that Burnham’s citizens often do not have a lot of contact with each other (some living all across the United Kingdom and beyond), and with the hectic modern lifestyles everyone leads, it would be unfeasible to set a single time to remember the fallen. Therefore, any available free time in a citizen’s day may be taken for remembrance; just a single minute of silence is needed to show the necessary respect. So it was that at 11:26PM GMT on the 18th June 2013, in Burnham’s capital city of Saint’s Rest, Basileus Justinian I spent a single minute of his time to contemplate the fallen British, Hanoverian, French, Swiss, German and other European soldiers, and how Europe’s history was irrevocably changed by them.

In addition to this sombre event, work is being undertaken by the Basileus to renovate Burnham’s Minecraft claim, the Settlership of Nova Extremus Castella (NEC). Although not a real-world location, the NEC Settlership is a cultural symbol for the Theodorist Regional Dominion of Burnham and its Land, showing what our construction would look like if we had the land, finances and resources to carry out such an endeavour. There is potential of the NEC being divided into two Minecraft ‘worlds’ to give more space and ability for variation in the Settlership. This could be imagined as each ‘world’ being a city of the Settlership, divided by vast distances preventing them from being in contact with one another.

Overall, the Waterloo Memorial Day and the work on NEC are showing signs that Burnham, in it’s new iteration under Theodorism, is far more active than ever before, a comforting sign for a nation struggling with activity ever since the February of 2012, under the banner of the St Peters Republic.