History of Urcea (1955-present)

The History of Urcea from 1955 to the present, sometimes also called the Modern Period, encompasses Urcea's history from the formation of the League of Nations in 1955 through the present day. The consideration of Urcea in the "present" also includes the end of the Holy Levantine Empire, rise of the Levantine Union, and enmity with Caphiria, all of which resulted from the war. Regardless of how the period is framed, Urcea left the Second Great War considerably more powerful and wealthy than it had been when it had entered the war. Tens of millions of fighting men returned home in the mid 1950s, an age when the horrors of military development were transformed into an "age of wonders" in terms of civilian technology. The economy, which had been geared towards large scale military production, had lost most of its inefficiencies in the early to mid war period, such that Urcea's economy was undeniably the world's strongest by 1955. Many scholars have posited that the Great War brought to a conclusion the long period of reforms and modernization initiated by King Niall V, with Urcea becoming a consensus superpower featuring an illiberal constitution, rational administration, a large navy, and a powerful industrial economy.

Early Cold War
The end of hostilities in Sarpedon and elsewhere lead almost immediately to a bitter rivalry between Urcea and Caphiria due to lasting enmity but also unresolved issues from the war that the League of Nations could not or would not resolve. From the perspective of Caphiria, the creation of Valcenia and its addition to the Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association was considered the "crown jewel" of Levantine Creep, and consequently policymakers in Venceia believed it must redouble its efforts - rather than reduce them - to undermine the influence of Urcea everywhere. For Urcean policymakers, the occupation of Veltorina was unacceptable despite the fact they had agreed to it, and Caphiria's continuing suppression of Levantine Catholics was viewed as intolerable. Additionally, Urcea's role in the war had lead to it adopting a position of the "guarantor of Sarpedon's liberties", a worldview that directly contrasted with Caphiria's intentions to grow its own influence. Consequently, various posturing and other geopolitical efforts between the two powers would begin immediately, beginning the decades long Occidental Cold War that would dominate Urcean foreign policy for the next several generations. Politically, the National Democratic Party continued its majority in the Concilium Daoni in the 1955 election. John Kimmeralalia was elected Procurator and Chancellor and Temporary President, a role he would retain for more than a decade.

During this early period of the Cold War, officials from the Levantine Catholic Church and Imperial Church agreed to meet on Urlazio in the context of the new period of global peace. This meeting, a formal synod, would be aimed at increasing cooperation and dialogue between the two churches. The Urlazio Synod was to be the first effort at rapprochement since the beginning of the Great Schism of 1615. In a series of acts secret from both the public and Apostolic King of Urcea at the time, the Government of Urcea secretly collaborated with the Government of Caphiria to scuttle the plans for the synod by introducing travel bans and other incidents which convinced the Caphirian bishops that the Catholic Church was not operating in good faith. The failure of the Synod bitterly disappointed most Urceans, who passed blame to Caphiria, intensifying hatred for the country.

Urlazio controversy and Kipling
King Patrick IV unexpectedly took ill in December of 1966 and composed his last will and testament. The King showed signs of improvement throughout much of January due to rapid advances in medical technology, but his condition was determined to be terminal by 20 January 1967 and he entered rapid decline soon after. On 1 February 1967, following a decade and a half of rule, King Patrick IV died. His 62-year old brother, Donnchad IV, ascended to the throne. His first act was a public release of Patrick's will, which released to the public the details of the Urlazio Synod, including incontrovertible evidence that the National Democratic Party had organized the collapse of the Synod. By the end of February, John Kimmeralalia, leader of the National Democratic Party, admitted his responsibility and resigned both positions. The Government of Urcea was thrown into chaos; the National Democratic Party majority in the Concilium Daoni collapsed, and the remaining "mainline" conference had to rely on votes from the Julian Party to continue a governing majority under the leadership of Thorpe Aedansson. King Donnchad IV controversially decided to appoint the leader of the Julian Party, Petrio Amphár - considered to be a "neutral party" as a third party - as Procurator for the remaining term, an appointment Aedansson was forced to accept in order to retain the working majority in the Concilium Daoni. Far from serving as a "lame duck", Amphár and Aedansson embarked on an aggressive policy platform in order to retain control of the government and in order to move on from the fallout of the Synod Affair. Consequently, on 1 April 1967, Amphár received a semi-permanent appropriation for a military campaign in Alshar. On 15 April, Amphár announced it would join its Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association partner Burgundie in combating militants in Alshar, beginning Urcea's inclusion in Operation Kipling which would last nearly a decade.

Donnchad IV announced to the public on 4 August 1968 that he had lung cancer and was told he was not expected to reach age 70, the fourth consecutive Urcean monarch to not reach that age. Beginning in January 1969, his 44 year old son, Prince Aedanicus began to assume an increasing public role in government and was formally invested as Prince of Halfway. Donnchad lived to oversee the 1970 elections, which saw the National Pact victory. Felix Finnean was elected both Procurator and Chancellor and Temporary President in an election wherein the Urcean public were deeply disturbed by the revelations of the Urlazio Synod and were also largely opposed to involvement in Operation Kipling.

On 1 January 1971, the National Pact took office under the leadership of Felix Finnean, forming the first National Pact government since the end of the Second Great War. The first priority of the new government was opening a full investigation of the Synod Affair, particularly investigating whether or not senior members of the National Democratic Party had broken the law in coordinating the downfall of the Synod with Caphiria. The public initially supported the investigation, but members of the Julian Party successfully stalled and dragged out proceedings, reducing public interest as the Affair withdrew from public attention. The investigation had produced no clear results by 1974 and it was withdrawn, angering the party's base who believed the Affair to be among the darkest marks in the history of the Government of Urcea. The National Pact government had many priorities besides the Affair, primary of which was a withdrawal from Operation Kipling. Previous agreements with Burgundie were made within the context of the Levantine Union, preventing an immediate unilateral withdrawal. Negotiations began in February 1972 and concluded in August 1974, and it was agreed that Urcean forces would withdraw from the operation on 1 July 1976. The agreement was unpopular with the Urcean public who sought an immediate withdrawal. Public opinion turned decisively against the government's handling of the intervention when the June Offensive of the Kantoto-Shanjin War in June 1975 left more than three hundred members of the Royal and Imperial Army dead and a hundred captured. Aside from its two priority items, the National Pact's government was faced with a mild economic recession that began in June 1973 and lasted until September 1973. Though a small recession, the recovery was sluggish and the economy did not return to full health until 1977. The combination of poor economic conditions, ineffective responses to the issues it was elected on combined with a slew of minor scandals that plagued the Concilium Purpaidá, resulting in an electoral defeat for the National Pact in the 1975 election. Thorpe Aedansson and the National Democratic Party returned to power, though with a minuscule majority in the Concilium Daoni. Aedansson defeated Finnean 48%-45% in election for Procurator.

During the period of the Finnean government, King Donnchad IV died. Aedanicus IX became Apostolic King of Urcea on 3 October 1971, the first grandson of Brian IV of Urcea to take the Throne. Aedanicus was 44 upon assuming the Throne, the youngest age of ascension since Aedanicus VIII, who assumed the Throne at 21 years of age in 1841.