Pachoy Rebellion

The Pachoy Rebellion is an ongoing armed uprising in Pachaug, an international charter city in Crona.

Background
Pachaug was a member of the Northern Confederation for centuries prior to the events of the War of the Northern Confederation and Algosh Coup, after which time it fell under the political dominion of Algoquona. It, along with sister-city Housatonic chafed under ethnic Algosh domination, and sought ways to regain political autonomy. The end of the Treaty of Narasseta between Algoquona and Urcea provided this opportunity. Urcea's Levantine allies launched Operation Western Blizzard, which allowed Pachaug to declare de facto independence and sign an international charter city agreement with Urcea in 2017, giving Urcea some economic control over the city in exchange for a high degree of political autonomy and military protection. The agreement greatly benefitted nearby Housatonic, but Pachaug's economic position declined relative to it and generally throughout the 2020s. Additionally, the Final War of the Deluge brought about Algoquona's destruction, meaning the threat to Pachaug had largely receded by the late 2020s. Many Pachoy also began to feel that the Urceans exhibited favoritism towards Housatonic. In 2029, Housatonic was given full permission by Urcea to abrogate its charter and convene a constitutional convention, and Housatonic became a republic in February of 2030, even receiving the Unnuaq Chain territories from Urcea following their full independence. Perceptions of anti-Pachoy bias, the negative results of 13 years of the charter agreement coupled with the decreasing need for military protection led to a major political change in the 2030 elections, as 14 members who were partly or completely anti-charter were elected to the Pachaug Communal Council, an increase of 6, which gave them the majority. Taking office in 2031, the new anti-charter majority worked slowly and deliberately at first, especially considering that the charter agreement itself required a unanimous vote of the Communal Council to abrogate. Negotiations with Urcea were slow, and many Pachoy perceived that Urcea was intentionally blocking efforts to reform. As a largely symbolic gesture, the Communal Council voted on 15 February 2032 to unilaterally abrogate the treaty. The vote failed, with 14 voting for and 6 against, failing to meet the unanimous threshold.

Among the Pachoy people, the vote on 15 February was taken in a different light than was originally intended. The Communal Council intended this vote to be a symbolic show of displeasure rather than an actual effort to unilaterally become independence; the fact that it was a "political play" of sorts was not well understood by the Pachoy public. The public felt that the vote should be binding and that the unanimous requirement was a new hurdle imposed on the Pachoy people. Accordingly, large street demonstrations began to develop in Pachaug over the course of late February and early March 2032. The intricacies of the Communal Council vote soon gave way to a general wave of displeasure with the existing charter regime. A general strike was organized and executed on 25 March 2032, and by the end of March a large number of Pachoy were demonstrating against the charter. Resistance was fiercest in the inner ring, Pachaug's city core, where once-prosperous merchants and their workers were most disadvantaged by Housatonic's perceived ascendancy at their expense. Though most of the protests were against Urcea generally and the charter specifically, they also gradually took on a more virulent anti-Housatonic character, and on 28 March the government of Housatonic issued a directive for all of its citizens to leave Pachaug for their own safety. By the middle of April, the Pachoy economy had virtually shut down, forcing Urcean negotiators back to the table. On the night of 16 April, a false rumor spread on Thinkpages that the Urcean negotiating team had refused to meet with the Pachoy government's representatives. The rumor was dispelled by the Mayor-Intendent, but it had inflamed passions such that overnight between 16 April and 17 April various protestors began rioting throughout the city.

Seizure of naval base
On the morning of 17 April, much of Pachaug was in significant tumult from the previous night's rumors, and most demonstrating Pachoy felt that tensions were coming to a head. Many of the Pachoy members of the Nysdra Sea Guard had been deeply alarmed by the reports that negotiations had been a ruse, and many of them spent the night of 16 April planning to make a move. A majority, but not all of the Guard members stationed in Pachaug, were supportive of against the Guard and the charter, and throughout the night many Guard members who were thought to possibly betray the plan were gagged and hidden in a secluded warehouse at the naval base. At the morning changing of the guard at 7:02 AM, 17 April, the plotters executed their plan: men who were to take guard were either plotters or replaced by men who were, and the guards coming off their post were quickly arrested. Before there was time for the base commanders to formulate a response, it was already too late - the base headquarters were seized by plotters and the commanders - all New Harrenic men - were arrested. At 7:18 AM, the plotters announced to the people of the city that they had seized control of the naval base and that their aim was to remove all foreign influences from the country. The lowering of the NSTA flag at the naval base was met with cheers by all demonstrators who saw it, and many in the streets took this as a signal to move. An uprising had officially begun.

Barricades erected
After the previous night's rioting, much of the streets of Pachaug were in a state of disorder on the morning on 17 April. Many protesters had remained encamped and had formed mutual protection "neighborhood watch" type agreements among their camps, forming the basis of later militia organizations. The sound of gunfire combined with the lowering of the NSTA flag at the Nysdra Sea Guard naval base at 7 AM led to many being awakened by cheers. As radical action was taking place at the base, many separate groups and individuals decided to take their own next move, and by 8 AM street barricades began to be constructed at most major thoroughfares and checkpoints. By the early afternoon, transit in and out of the inner circle of the city was almost entirely controlled by barricades. City police initially attempted to maintain order the night before but, with the fall of the naval base, many walked off the job or some even joined those atop the barricades. As darkness fell on Pachaug the night of the 17th, an increasing percentage of the city-state was falling under the control of the rebels. Street demonstrators also arrived at the naval base in the afternoon and were welcomed by the mutineers, and together both groups began to fortify the ground outside the base. Not all of the city-state was uniformly against the charter, however, and in more pro-Occidental quarters order remained in place to some degree. The inner circle presented the most radical anti-charterist presence, with support for the new uprising varying in the areas radiating out from it. The more remote parts of the city-state's territory - beyond the actual city limits - remained primarily in pro-charterist hands throughout the remainder of the conflict.

Unity government attempt fails
As Pachoy rebels seized control of the inner city and mutineers controlled the naval base, Mayor-Intendent Mikaere Arono and Communal Council abandoned the inner circle of the city and held an emergency meeting in a nearby church at 11 PM on 18 April. All 20 members and the Mayor were in attendance, beginning an all-night debate as to how to respond to the uprising, and representatives of the Urcean-appointed Charter Administration were barred from entering. Though the Council had voted 14 to 6 in favor of abrogating the treaty earlier in the year, a number of pro-abrogation councilors were not necessarily in favor of resistance to Urcea but rather a renegotiation of the treaty. Accordingly, a key group of moderates from this faction - about 5 in number - became key in deciding a course of action that night. They were joined by the 6 members who voted against abrogation as well as the 9 other pro-abrogating members who were perceived to be more radical. By 2 AM, a general consensus around the 9 pro-abrogators and Mayor-Intendent Arono emerged that the government should make a show of unity with the protestors and join the barricades. The moderate bloc opposed joining the barricades but were generally partial to the notion of a show of solidarity with the people, while the pro-charter faction would not even consider that notion. By 4:30 AM, the moderates and pro-charter faction had reached a compromise, agreeing that the Council would adopt a resolution calling for peaceful protest, continued orderly and lawful function of the city government, and a vague acknowledgement of the need to jointly reexamine the charter while condemning any violence or unlawful acts. After five and a half hours of debate and off-the-floor negotiating, the 9 anti-charter members grew increasingly frustrated and agitated. They issued a final threat - the moderates and anti-charter members must get together and pass a proclamation expressing solidarity with the people and opposition to the charter, or they would walk out and deny the body a quorum. The moderates refused this threat, and the 9 anti-charter members promptly left the church where the meeting was taking place. The Mayor-Intendent announced he would join them, but as a show of respect to the remaining majority of the body he was going to resign. This left the remaining 11 members of the Communal Council without a quorum, and the 9 members and former Mayor-Intendent crossed over to the inner circle and mounted the barricades to cheers.

After consulting with the Charter Adminsitration commissioners - the representatives of Urcea - the remaining Communal Council members met again on the afternoon of 19 April. They declared the 9 seats vacant, filled them temporarily with moderates, and appointed a new man, also a moderate, to serve as Mayor-Intendent. From then on, this moderate government would be referred to as the "Charterists" in the press, though their post-rebellion aims were largely in favor of charter revision. Inside the city on the 19th, after hearing the news, the 9 Communal Councilors declared the other members to vacated their office by their lack of solidarity with the Pachoy people. The 9 voted to abrogate the treaty and voted themselves as the government of the Provisional Republic of Pachaug. Mikaere Arono recognized the new body but refused to serve as its leader, and instead the Provisional Republic appointed a three man executive committee. Additionally, it expanded their numbers from 9 members to 17, appointing 4 additional new members from among the ranks of the radical street protestors and 4 new members representing the mutineers at the naval base. On the 21st, the Provisional Republic adopted a new flag - the "Blue Flag" - to replace the flag of the city-state, which had traditionally been associated with the social and political elite.

Chenango intervention
The rebellion settled into relatively stable boundaries after the events of late April 2032, with most of the country under the control of the Provisional Republic (with varying degrees of authority) and small pockets under the control of the remaining Charterist Government. The Republic's authorities opened negotiations with the Charterists in an attempt to avoid conflict and restore national unity, and separately the Republic also secretly opened negotiations with Urcea.