History of Urcea (1902-1955)

The History of Urcea from 1902 to 1955, sometimes called the Restoration Period consists of the time period between the restoration of House de Weluta in 1902 and the formation of the League of Nations in 1955 specifically but more generally the end of the Second Great War and beginning of the Occidental Cold War. This period was characterized by Urcea's participation in Levantine affairs for the first time since the end of the Second Caroline War, culminating in its participation in the Second Great War from 1927 to 1953. During this period, Urcea became a globally recognized. The first several decades of this period saw Urcea in a period of reconstruction following the Red Interregnum, while the remainder of it was consumed with the nation's involvement in the Second Great War.

Restoration
King Patrick III assumed command over a broken nation; the organs of the Constitution of Urcea were non-functioning (the "Concilium Daoni" convened at gunpoint was of dubious legality), the landscape was torn apart, and the national economy was disrupted. The King ruled over the Kingdom with an absolute level of authority not seen before or since by an Apostolic King of Urcea; the functions of government on every level were controlled by an occupying army that had spent the last half decade fighting to put him in the Julian Palace. The King, taking lessons from his father, decided to make his first priority the restoration of government with reasonable reforms included. The very first act the King made was to declare that the Urcean Republic was never legal and that the Concilium Daoni had no authority to dissolve the Apostolic Kingdom and, further, that no power on earth had the authority to abrogate the Golden Bull of 1098. The King, controversially, decided to accept the results of the 1900 Daoni election. Despite giving legitimacy to a controversial election, many of the socialists who had been elected had since been killed, and in the ensuing by-elections the National Pact filled the vacant seats and were compelled by the King to form a temporary unity government with the remaining National Democratic Party delegates in the Daoni. Having restored some semblance of organized government under the Constitution, the King turned to unpacking the reforms of the Crown Regency and deciding what to do with the last decade of laws while also considering new reforms that would prevent such a seizure of power from occurring again.

The King decided to consult with the leadership of the Concilium Daoni to determine the fate of the last near-decade and a half of laws, and the solution reached was considered novel by contemporaries. Every action taken by the Government of Urcea since December 21st, 1889 (the date of the death of King Aedanicus VIII), besides the election of 1900, was considered illegitimate and void, and instead, the Daoni would pass an omnibus bill containing all of the reforms that the King and Daoni leadership wanted to retain. The Concilium Daoni then, on December 4th, 1902, considered and passed the "Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902", including an extremely broad array of legislative initiatives codifying what had occurred in the last decade and a half. Questions regarding the power and status of the office of Procurator were left to be settled at a later time. King Patrick III also began to reform the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, recalling dismissed or deserted officers and soldiers from the past years back into service and issuing wide-reaching pardons to all but the highest commanders of the Regal Army, restoring normalcy in the armed forces. The pardon was particularly necessary for the reestablishment of the Royal Navy, as the experience of former Regal Navy officers and sailors would be critical for maintaining a navy going forward. The Daoni, on a request of the King, passed a law compensating large landowners who had lost their land during the war, especially under the Urcean Republic, but instead opened the land settlement and residency for the widowed families of soldiers - both Legitimist and Regal forces - in the last large scale Ómestaderoi program. The final major act of 1902 was by the King himself, upon prompting by the Concilium Daoni, issued his reform for Social class in Urcea. Rather than using FitzRex's system which lowered property requirement for optimates to nothing, the King decided to use his authority to completely abolish the optimate class, elevating the entire citizen body to the rank of privilegiata, thereby making it coterminous with citizenship in Urcea. Despite having been in the deepest throes of civil war just the month before, the war-weary populace received the various reforms and post-war expeidents well, and the 1902 Nativity season was characterized by a sense of cautious optimism and renewed trust in national kinship; it was recorded in many papers at the time that Christmas in 1902 saw many exemplary (and sometimes outlandish) acts of public charity, an event which would be remembered by the nation for years to come.

In addiiton to domestic reforms, Patrick III also formally recognized the independence of New Archduchy, which had declared independence in the early years of the Regency in 1890. The King's proclamation indicated that the rift between the nations was "regrettable" but that the more-than-decade of independence made any Urcean claims to the colony a dead letter. This decision enabled Urcean interests to begin trading in southeastern Crona once again, as privateers from New Archduchy had been causing a significant disruption in the twelve years of low level hostilities between the two countries.

Entering his first full year on the throne in 1903, the King next turned to the permanent status of the office of Procurator. Some in the Concilium Daoni advocated abolishing the position and dividing its authority between the King and Chancellor. The King, however, saw the value in a non-Royal executive and decided to retain the position. Prior to the Regency, the office was appointed by the King with approval from the Daoni, which allowed for some abuse - especially given that FitzRex was functionally able to force his own appointment. Taking cues from the Collegial Electorate, the King decided to adopt a new system, the Procuratorial College. The Procuratorial College would meet every five years following regularly scheduled Concilium Daoni and local elections. Its membership would consist of the Governor from each province, the senior-most delegate of the Concilium Daoni from each province, and from each Royal Hold and State, five specifically elected designees. The Procuratorial College, with 83 members, would meet in December following the election for the Daoni and elect a Procurator, sometimes from among their ranks and sometimes not. This Procuratorial settlement also saw the King confirm the Procurator retaining the rank of Magister Militum that had been given to it during the Regency period, and the authorizing law for the changes also included more clear delineation of the Procurator's powers, replacing earlier precedents. The King decided the first election for Procurator would occur on schedule in December 1905; until then, the King would continue to exercise broad executive authority in order to ensure the security of the transition. This was confirmed by the "Enabling Act of 1903", which, among other provisions, gave the King broad latitude over economic programs and expenditures within the Royal Budget and also gave the King the ability to directly implement new economic law until the next election in 1905. The passage of the Act lead to a two year long political controversy known as The Enabling, as National Pact delegates split decisively on the matter, creating the Julian Party. The Enabling Act would allow the King to bypass a Censorial veto on allowing loans at interest later in 1903; this action was later considered to be the foundation for the later Great Depression in Levantia.

With the various constitutional issues finally settled by the early summer of 1903, the King's focus turned to other matters. While the Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902 had invalidated all actions taken by FitzRex and the various Daonis under his administration, the King nevertheless issued a formal statement of commitment to the Holy Levantine Empire and fealty to the Emperor of the Levantines, known popularly as the Patrick Confessional, and formally rebuked the 1905 secession deadline set by FitzRex, stating that the Gildertach could not have lawfully approved the decision to leave the Empire (and thus its trade system) on the basis that there was no Apostolic King to preside over the meeting of the Gildertach. This statement is widely considered to be the formal end of the Recess of the Julii which had began nearly a century prior. The relationship between House de Weluta and the Empire had been mended by the Empire's support for the Legitimist cause during the Red Interregnum, but the formal acknowledgement set the tone for Urcea's involvement in the Empire going forward. Consequently, with Urcea restoring its relationship with the Empire, Urceopolis sought to strengthen trade ties with Burgundie. The relationship with Burgundie also saw increased joint military exercises and exchange of military technology and intelligence, strengthening the commitment between the two that would form the basis of the later Levantine Union. Beginning in January of 1903, representative from Urcea sat in the Imperial Diet - the first time they had done so since 1816. In 1911, King Patrick III would sit Collegial Electorate as Elector of Canaery, the first time the Apostolic King of Urcea exercised his electoral rights since the 1790s. The King's diplomatic overtures were not entirely friendly, however; Urcea began to strengthen its ties to Veltorina in an effort to isolate and threaten Caphiria, given the latter's intervention in the Red Interregnum.

As 1903 came to a close and 1904 dawned, the King began to prepare for the 1905 election and subsequent transition of power to elected officials as well as a new, full Concilium Daoni. He decided to set forth a handful of policies in order to finish the restoration work he had began in 1902. Namely, the King began an extremely extensive infrastructure project which would not only rebuild the nation's wartorn railways, bridges, and buildings, but also construct many new ones. The King also took an interest in the construction of airfields and hangars for airships. His continued interest in the emergent technology of airships and, to a lesser extent, airplanes, lead to his creation of the Royal Air Fleet in 1904, the precursor of the modern Urcean Royal Air Force. The King's interest in military affairs did not end with experimental air technology, however. The complete failure of the Regal Navy during the Red Interregnum allowed for successful operations for the Legitimists including the noteworthy Fall of Cana. King Patrick III was deeply influenced by the effect of sea power on the outcome of the war. Like his father, the King proposed a major renovation of the navy. Integrating Regal Navy personnel, the King began construction of a modern fleet of ships. Uniquely for the time, the King decided to invite foreign military advisers to Urcea. Many radical naval thinkers from Burgundie came to Urceopolis in the period between 1904 and 1910, giving significant input on how a new and modern navy should look, how it should operate, and how it should be made up. Many of these advisers, like the King, had the lived experience of the Red Interregnum to provide key lessons. The King's naval reconstruction effort provided a major boost to the reconstructing economy, and the industrial base of the nation was up to the task. By 1912, the navy that the King had called for was largely in place, and most contemporaries noted that it was large enough and advanced enough to give Urcea the ability to project power on a nearly global basis and certainly in the Sea of Canete. Part of this effort saw the design and construction of the very first dreadnought in Levantia - the HMCMS Royal Hound - launched in 1909. The naval reconstruction effort centered around the Royal Hound and its sister ships in the Archduchy-class as well as the general-use Coria-class, among many other ship classes. From that point onward, the Navy overtook the Royal Army as the area of special focus for the Government of Urcea. King Patrick III has been considered by some historians to be the father of the modern Royal Navy, and an architect of Urcea's coming naval dominance in the Second Great War two decades later.

In 1905, the National Democratic Party won a landslide victory over the National Pact, creating the first non-Pact government in decades and ending the temporary unity government established by King Patrick III. While his various infrastructure and military reform efforts would continue unabated, the King handed over primary governing responsibility to the elected government, earning him the admiration of leaders on both sides of the political aisle for his commitment to the Constitution of Urcea. Although the second half of the King's reign would not see as much vigorous activity in reshaping the nation, it nonetheless saw the continuation of development and advancement in most fields, including the economy, political stability, military technology, and social cohesion. In most ways, Urcea emerged from the crucible of the Red Interregnum stronger than it had been than any time since the 18th century. King Patrick III decided to use this strength in 1908, when he deployed parts of the rebuilt Royal Navy to New Harren in an effort to expand the colony there. His father's effort to do so in 1881 had lead to the colony being considered a discredited vanity project. The technological advances of the Army combined with the Navy's strength were no match for the overwhelmed Confederates, who believed Urcea a paper tiger; Urcea successfully annexed Schoharie, a tribe of the Northern Confederation, and secured an equal trading rights agreement with the Confederation. The demonstration lead to many in the Occident taking notice; the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea were equally as up to the task of displaying Urcean might as its political, social, and economic sectors were.

The Urcean economy became increasingly unstable due to the loosened restrictions on usury proclaimed by the King several years earlier. In 1908, the Royal Bank of Urcea informed the Concilium Purpaidá that received interest on its excessive lending was insufficient and that the Bank may face an insolvency issue by the late 1910s. This fact became public in February 1909, leading to major concerns of debts being called in. On 12 February 1909, a massive market sell off began as speculators sought to have enough liquid capital to cover a debt recall. This sell-off lead to a chain reaction beginning the Great Depression in Urcea and Levantia as a whole. The National Democratic Party-lead Concilium Daoni passed the "National Banking Act" on 12 March 1909, which reinforced pre-Interregnum anti-usury laws and ordered the Royal Bank to restructure by changing from an interest-based to a non-interest based system. These moves stabilized the economy for the time being, but the country was plagued with some political turmoil for a decade to come. While the country remained more stable than it had been in the period of the Regency, a low-level war began between the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration and the insurgent National Republican Army, whose ranks swelled with unemployed, especially unemployed veterans.

Imperial resurgence
With Urcea as a fully integrated member of the Holy Levantine Empire once again and a seat in the Collegial Electorate, King Patrick III fully committed the Kingdom to supporting the cause of Emperor and Empire. In 1911 he cast his vote for the election of August I of Burgundie, both because he sincerely believed in his capacity to rule but also as part of a larger effort to continue courting Burgundie as a close ally. The Collegial Electorate believed that Burgundie, as the relatively-new premier power in Levantia (given Urcea's isolation since 1889), could be trusted to lead the Empire back to stability. Derian nationalists, already in revolt or planning revolt in some principalities in Dericania, severely resented the notion of a Bergendii ruling over them. For most Derian nationalists, the memory of the First Fratricide - and the effect it had on the possibility of a unified Deric Republic - was an open wound, and resentment against an Emperor from Burgundie worsened the situation "on the ground" in most Deric principalities.

In 1911, the Derian state of Anivania in Dericania declared itself a Serene Republic, creating the inference of its own independence; Emperor August had already committed Burgundie and some Imperial states to the War of Faskano Strait, precluding any intervention. Many of the princes of the Kingdom of Dericania decided to take matters into their own hands only to find themselves in danger of being overthrown by their own subjects once military mobilization began. The Emperor's diplomatic efforts precluded the outbreak of war, but low-level domestic violence began to occur throughout Dericania and between the various principalities within it. Though his confidence in the Emperor was deeply shaken with Burgundie's failure in the War of Faskano Strait, he nonetheless committed Urcea to the Emperor's program of connecting railroads and constructing a telegraphy network. King Patrick III died in 1917 and was succeeded by his 57-year old son, Niall, who became King Niall VI. King Niall kept Urcea committed to the Emperor's infrastructure efforts, which strengthened the physical connection between Urcea and Burgundie even if the efforts were a failure in some other parts of the Empire.

Despite King Patrick's support for the Emperor and the importance of the relationship between Urcea and Burgundie, it became clear by 1919 that Emperor August was no longer capable of serving as Emperor of the Levantines with any sense of legitimacy. King Niall nonetheless remained a silent critic of the Emperor and made no public call for his abdication, but the King made it clear in private channels that he had no confidence in the Emperor's ability to remedy the deteriorating situation in Dericania. In December of 1919, Emperor August proposed a compromise with the Derian liberal nationalist faction: he would divest himself of the title of King of Dericania, granting it to a reform-minded Derian prince, with Dericania being modeled on Fiannria's position within the Empire. This move, which would transform the Holy Levantine Empire into something resembling a loose alliance between Urcea, Fiannria, Dericania, and Burgundie, was viewed as completely unacceptable by a majority of representatives of the Imperial Diet, who voted to reject it in December. Though the King-Elector maintained public silence, the Emperor asked him for his support and confidence in late January 1920, and King Niall sent no reply. Without Urcean support and facing increasing opposition in Burgundie for accommodation with the hated Derian people, Emperor August announced on January 29th, 1920, that he would abdicate the throne on the 8th of February, and the Collegial Electorate immediately met in Corcra to ensure that the Imperial Throne did not sit vacant at such a critical hour. The Collegial Electorate met for the entire week prior to Emperor August's abdication, unable to choose a candidate. Eventually, the compromise notion of electing King Niall of Urcea as Emperor of the Levantines - completely unthinkable a few decades prior - became a real possibility. He was not Bergendii, and the wounds of the Third Caroline War were not as deeply felt in the Kingdom of Dericania as the First Fratricide was. Further, the Collegial Electorate believed the Royal Army was strong enough to intervene and ensure that the Deric princes could retain their thrones in the face of revolutionaries. It was also believed that Urcea leading the Empire would command supreme respect, not only among the subjects of the Empire, but also abroad; evidence of Caphirian intervention became more and more evident by the year, and the Electors believed only Urcea could prevent Caphiria stoking the fires of Latinic, Derian nationalism. On February 7th, despite the misgivings of nearly every member of the Collegial Electorate, including King Niall himself, the Collegial Electorate elected King Niall VI of Urcea as King of the Levantines. The next day, Niall was given the traditional coronation ceremony by the Pope in the Imperial Palace in Corcra, becoming Emperor Niall II. He was the first Urcean and the first member of the House de Weluta to sit on the Imperial Throne since 1798, more than 120 years prior.

Preparing for the next war
Urcea's performance in the '97 Rising and First Great War was noted by most observers to be relatively poor, with both factions fighting using lackluster equipment with poor logistical support and antiquated tactics. King Patrick III spent a considerable amount of time during the early restoration rebuilding the Royal Navy such that by the 1920s the Navy was among the world's finest and also the most modern branch of the Urcean military. The Royal Air Fleet also remained relatively state of the art, but the newly rechristened Royal and Imperial Army was woefully unequipped for another Great War, and most observers and policymakers in Urcea knew it. The newly elected Emperor Niall II knew that Urcea's ground forces would be called into some kind of action in Dericania, and when - not if - that conflict came, he sought a significant reform to the Army to ensure it was ready for the next war. Consequently, the Government of Urcea spent considerable funds and effort bringing about army reform during the early 1920s.

Urcea had been an early pioneer in the area of, logistics, and supply, building a major supply hub in the 18th century. The Royal and Imperial Army was still largely reliant on the 18th century model of supply, one intended to provide for the nation's defense rather than power projection beyond its borders. The existing supply hub also only barely made use of railroads, instead primarily basing itself around the nation's rivers. A new series of depots and forts began construction in the early 1920s along commercial rail lines, including in the region of Transionia, where the Army would likely be heavily deployed in the years to come. Many accomodations would need to be made for developments and technology and the requisite doctrinal changes that come with new technology. The Government provided for the hiring of many military experts from Burgundie who had fought in various overseas colonial conflicts for the Imperial War College - these experts would prove extremely influential on the officers that would emerge during the Second Great War. These experts collaborated with leading thinkers in the Army to help drive doctrinal developments going forward. Many senior officers from the First Great War were also quietly forced into retirement or reassigned to foreign colonial duty in the early 1920s in order to prevent calcification of the military.

Imperial reign of the de Welutas
King Niall VI as Emperor of the Levantines, photographed in 1924.

Emperor Niall II's first act was to enter into negotiations with Anivania in order to reestablish Imperial supremacy in exchange for recognition of the Republic, an effort that would end in failure. Despite the efforts he and his father had been working on for nearly two decades, the Emperor still felt that the Royal and Imperial Army - which had just gained its Imperial designation - was not ready for a major armed conflict. Instead, he convinced the princes of Dericania to eject Anivania from the free trade area of the Holy Levantine Empire, totally isolating the country economically and diplomatically. The Emperor's move had the intended effect - the government of the Serene Republic of Anivania collapsed by June 1920 and the Duke of Anivania was restored the same month. Unfortunately for the Emperor, the starvation conditions in Anivania had the effect of radicalizing the Derian nationalists, who were soon dispersed throughout the Kingdom of Dericania. Though history has recorded agitating groups in the Kingdom of Dericania as "Derian nationalists", in truth there were many different groups with entirely different ideologies and motives united by the belief of a united Deric republic. Among these groups were socialists agitating for the abolition of monarchy and independence of the Derian people, many of whom were involved in the government of Anivania. Many of these individuals fled to the Electorate of Aescarata, which erupted in a socialist revolt in 1921. From the perspective of Urcea, the Electorate falling to rebel groups was an entirely different proposition than Anivania as the Electorate sat on Urcea's border. On August 1st, 1921, the National Democratic Party-controlled Concilium Daoni gave its overwhelming support to Emperor Niall II for a military intervention. The Royal and Imperial Army, which had not fought in a real battle since the Red Interregnum, invaded Aescarata on August 15th. The reformed Royal and Imperial Army quickly subdued the rebellion and occupied the country by the end of August. Seeking not to repeat the failures in Anivania, the Emperor traveled to Corcra to put the matter before the Imperial Diet. Following weeks of debate, the Diet finally returned a solution. Aescarata was not strictly Derian like its neighbors, having Urcean, Gassavelian, and Bergendii influences besides a unique local culture. Consequently, the Diet decided that removing Aescarata from the Kingdom of Dericania and reassigning it to the legal fiction of the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea, putting the Electorate under the Emperor's direct supervision. The Diet also offered the Emperor, if the Concilium Daoni approved, the right to garrison the Royal and Imperial Army in the country for a period of ten years in order to restore order. The Daoni approved, and the Imperial Charter was officially changed on March 1st, 1922. Derian nationalists, far from placated by the removal of a marginally Derian country from Dericania, considered this an insult to the dignity of the Derian people and a repeat of the First Fratricide, where the proposition of a united Deric state was fractured. Derian nationalists, socialists, and independence-minded liberals began agitating at a level unseen, and during this period Caphiria made formal contact with these subversive groups via a series of agents. Despite the unrest, most considered the Emperor's interventions in Anivania and Aescarata to be a success, and for the time being the geopolitical situation in the Kingdom of Dericania was stable. The Emperor was aware things were not what they seemed; that unrest, plans for revolt, and Caphirian ties were bubbling under the surface, but Emperor Niall II felt his hands were tied; the Aescarata situation had been a risk, and further provocations in the Kingdom of Dericania could make it appear as if Urcea was planning to dominate the Empire, not restore it to stability.

As the Apostolic Kingdom prepared to focus on its external affairs and the duties of the Emperor of the Levantines, a decade and a half of instability and political turmoil came to a close. Following about fifteen years of unsuccessful efforts to restore the Urcean Republic, the National Republican Army decided to disband in 1924. As a consequence, the Republican Party was legalized and became a legitimate political party, though in the upcoming 1925 Concilium Daoni election it would fail to gain seats. Improving economic conditions in Urcea in addition to effective techniques employed by the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration lead to the NRA's significant decline by 1919. The negotiated end to the NRA lead to increased public scrutiny against the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration, which was viewed as an unnecessary. Although the nation's secret police was used sparingly between 1924 and 1927, it continued operations until its final abolition in 1927.

Early in 1925, an election in the Republic of Lutsana - a state in the Kingdom of Dericania - returned the Lutsana Worker’s Party in the government. The LWP appointed an openly communist Prime Minister. The Emperor was compelled by the princes to suppress the results of the election and adopt an Empire-wide policy of rollback in order to combat revolutionary threats. The Diet and Emperor issued a joint proclamation demanding a new election, but the government of Lutsana refused. The conservative-minded Army of Lutsana viewed this proclamation as delegitimizing the new LWP-lead government, and consequently the Army launched a coup, but were soon defeated by an army of workers and peasants. The Emperor sought to intervene, but the 1925 Concilium Daoni was considered close and, as Apostolic King of Urcea, Niall did not want to take any drastic moves to interfere with the normal functioning of government. This, combined with the attention the King was increasingly showing towards the growing crisis in the Kingdom of Dericania, lead to a further strengthening of the precedent of Royal withdrawal within the Constitution of Urcea. The 1925 election saw a resurgent National Pact threatening the now two-decades long control of the National Democratic Party. The National Pact was sympathetic towards the liberals in the Kingdom of Dericania and was concerned with the growing power the King was accumulating as Emperor. The National Democratic Party, on the other hand, viewed themselves as fierce defenders of the existing Constitutional settlement and champions of stability and order in Levantia; the NDP held that the existence of the Holy Levantine Empire was absolutely necessary to ensure stability and prevent open war, a position it had dramatically reversed on since the party's founding during the FitzRex era. It additionally campaigned on the notion that a challenge to Niall as Emperor was a challenge to Urcea and an insult to national pride. This attitude was increasingly being felt throughout Urcean society, and the refusal of Lutsana to comply with the Emperor and eject its radical socialist party - one that many Urceans associated with the horrors and excesses of the Urcean Republic two decades earlier - resonated with the people. The National Democratic Party won a commanding majority in the Concilium Daoni in 1925 and the government consequently created a series of temporary laws - collectively known as the Regional Stability Acts of 1926 - allowing the Apostolic King of Urcea absolute carte blanche control of the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea for use in Levantia. The government issued a statement of support for the King's reign as Emperor. These policies were collectively referred to by a phrase used in a speech made by then-Chancellor Seán Virius: "The Emperor's word is Urcea's word", or in other words, that the will of the Emperor was the will of the Government of Urcea, and to refuse the lawful demands of the Emperor was an insult of Urcea's national pride. Though the situation in the Kingdom of Dericania was rapidly declining by January 1926, the supreme confidence invested in him by the Government of Urcea gave him renewed confidence to impose the will of the Empire in the Kingdom of Dericania.

In February of 1926, another imperial state, Geneseo, elected a syndicalist government and the election results were confirmed by the Duke of Geneseo before he fled the Duchy. The Emperor issued another proclamation demanding the election be reconsidered, and like in the Lutsana case it was refused. Unlike in the case of Lutsana, the Emperor sent an expeditionary force of the Royal and Imperial Army through Dericania to subdue the government of Geneseo. The Royal and Imperial Army was stopped at the border of the Margraviate of Novaustramark, which refused entry to the Royal and Imperial Army. Following three days of tense standoff, the Derian nationalist-filled Novaustramark army began firing on the expeditionary force, causing a major international incident. The Emperor appeared in person before the Imperial Diet and demanded the Duke of Novaustramark be censured and asserted that the Imperial Army could enter any territory within the Holy Levantine Empire in order to execute the business of the Empire. The princes of Dericania, though appreciative of the Emperor's efforts, chafed severely under this assertion and refused to censure Novaustramark. The Concilium Daoni was outraged and demanded the King take action. Seeing no other option, on March 3rd, 1926, King Niall VI began the full mobilization of the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea. The mobilization was enough to break the will of Novaustramark and compel the Diet into censuring the Duke; the mobilization was partially canceled although the Army was now on permanent elevated alertness. The Army quickly restored the Duke in Geneseo and crushed the rebellion. After the incident, the Royal and Imperial Army pulled out but established heavy garrisoning on Urcea's eastern border as well as positions in Burgundie. The Emperor's garrisoning of Burgundie was intended to be a vote of support for Burgundie against the increasing pressure it was put under from neighboring Derian nationalists. Derian nationalists and the princes alike viewed this as an insult and implicit threat, and the entire Novaustramark incident had severely polarized the Imperial Diet. The Emperor decreed at the end of March that Novaustramark, Aescarata, and Geneseo would be responsible for footing the cost of the bases in Burgundie, yet another severe insult to the Derian national consciousness.

Despite the fact he himself was a constitutional monarch, Niall himself deeply believed in the rights of the princes of the Kingdom of Dericania and the principle that Urcea ought not and, legally, could not be concerned with the internal affairs of other members of the Holy Levantine Empire. Following the conclusion of the Novaustramark incident, a faction within the National Democratic Party met with the Emperor and tried to steer a change of national course. It was suggested that the Emperor should force the princes to attempt reforms, aligning the institution of the Empire with the various reform-minded liberals and the majority of the Derian people rather than with the princes. This course of action was secretly endorsed by Prince Brian of Halfway, though his involvement in organizing the conference was not revealed until the 1950s. The meeting was a failure as the Emperor rejected the course of action as cowardly and an illegal intervention in Latin affairs. Despite this, the Concilium Daoni continued to support the Emperor and applauded his successful intervention in Novaustramark and Geneseo. The Urcean people also generally approved of the Emperor's actions and felt that the national honor had been avenged. The remainder of spring and early summer were peaceful and stable, though the Imperial Diet was now a contentious place where, on June 3rd, fist fights broke out between the members. In July, the peace was disrupted in multiple states as Imperial Tax Collectors meant for Novaustramark were viciously assaulted, branches of the Imperial bank were robbed and destroyed, and the residents of several Imperial princes were violently attacked. The Emperor again announced the mobilization of the whole Army; this time, there would be cancellation. Fifteen states were in some kind of conflagration by the middle of fall, and the Emperor was hesitant to fully use the might of the Royal and Imperial Army lest the Imperial Diet begin to turn against him.

2nd Great War Domestic bits (salved from main)
1929 was a momentous year for the Empire and for Urcea. In February, Emperor James III announced that his son, Brian, the Prince of Halfway would be assuming the role of Crown Regent of Urcea so that the Emperor could fully devote his attention to the affairs of the Empire. Early in the year, the King decided to reform the Royal Air Fleet into the Royal Air Force given the growing importance in heavier-than-air airplanes in emergent modern warfare. The Royal Air Force was comprised of air corps units from the Royal and Imperial Army as well as other independent agencies within the Government of Urcea devoted to airplane research and development.

On October 2nd, 1929, the 70-year old Emperor James III - King James VI of Urcea - died. In Urcea, the ascension of King Brian IV was met with considerable optimism, as the new King was very popular and well-liked during his eight months as regent. The members of the Collegial Electorate and Imperial Diet - both of which were now meeting in Urceopolis - were sharply divided on the prospect of electing another Urcean to sit as Emperor of the Levantines. Given the emergency environment, the Electorate was convened the same day as the Emperor's death. Following hours of debate and rounds of voting, King Brian IV was eventually elected Emperor by a plurality of 12 votes. The next day, October 3rd, he received a dual coronation from the Pope in St. Peter's Archbasilica, receiving the traditional coronations due the Apostolic King of Urcea and Emperor of the Levantines. The campaign season ended soon after, but the new Emperor - Brian VIII in Levantine numbering - took steps to put Urcea on a total war footing, bringing the entire industrial base of the country into the war effort with approval of the Concilium Daoni. His predecessor, Emperor James III, had been of the opinion that the rebellion in Dericania could be subdued with expeditionary forces and Urcea's current supply system, but Brian recognized that, even if that were true, war with Caphiria was probably inevitable. The Concilium Daoni, on the King's request, also introduced a limited conscription program.

With the war devolving into a static boundaries, enthusiasm for the National Democratic Party and its handling of the war began to fall, while Urcean public support for the war was still high. Also during the summer of 1930, Urcea agreed to support Burgundie in its ongoing war in Audonia, which soon became the eastern theater of the expanding Second Great War; Urcea and Burgundie agreed upon a Kingdom of Dericania-first strategy, prioritizing the existential threat to Burgundie and the Empire over what Urceopolis considered a "colonial squabble". In November of 1930, the National Pact won a majority in the Concilium Daoni and elected a Procurator, allowing it to form its first government since the national unity government of King Patrick III prior to the 1905 election. The National Pact renounced the policy of "The Emperor's Word is Urcea's Word", but nonetheless promised King Brian IV that his emergency war powers were safe for the time being. Instead, the King had a new popular mandate from the National Pact government: preservation of the Holy Levantine Empire was important for regional stability and should be a priority, but the first priority for the Emperor was to attain an honorable end of the war. A secret conference between the King and the incoming National Pact leaders held on December 11th, 1930, set forth the nation's policy.

In addition to the developments in the Second Great War, 1938 was also a momentous year for the Constitution of Urcea. Public opinion had changed considerably during the war years as popular input was growing increasingly valued given the contributions of the Urcean people to the war effort. No major democratic movements formed, but across the political spectrum there had existed both ideological and practical concerns with the 83-member Procuratorial College system to elect the Procurator. While there was democratic input in the system, many believed that a more direct election system - namely, a nation-wide popular vote - would be the best way to select a Procurator. This impulse was not only based on a desire to increase popular input, but also due to complaints from the members of the College themselves that selecting a Procurator was a major distraction from their primary responsibilities as Governor or member of the Concilium Daoni. Consequently, on 7 May 1938, King Brian IV gave his assent to a measure abolishing the Procuratorial College and replacing it with a nation-wide vote for Procurator beginning with the 1945 Election. This system would retain some provincial input as the party primary process for Procuratorial candidates was still to proceed on a province-by-province basis. This change was the most recent major change to the Constitution of Urcea and governs how the Government of Urcea presently functions. It marked the final step on the transformation of the Procurator from a Royal functionary to a true pseudo-chief executive, and also elevated the mandate of the Procurator above that of the Chancellor and Temporary President.

Lucás IV entered his fifth year as Apostolic King of Urcea in 1952; as a reversal of his earlier posture, the King began working with the National Pact-led government in order to try and bring the fighting to a peaceful settlement, an effort with which he met considerable resistance. Particularly, the Minister of State wielded particular influence within the government, and his view - that a negotiated peace was essentially a zero sum proposition - meant that most within the Pact would not accept anything besides the total defeat of Caphiria, a goal that looked increasingly unachievable despite victories in the Valcenian Theater of the war. Specifically, the government's stance was that of "no peace without Veltorina", or in other words, Urcea would not accept an end to the war that did not include the full sovereignty of Veltorina being respected, a stance that the King and opposing National Democratic Party viewed as unreasonable and as an unnecessary waste of men and resources. Although the King had the authority to contradict the government and bring an end to hostilities through his own authority - a power the Apostolic King of Urcea still retains - the King was unwilling to push the boundaries of the Constitution of Urcea. Consequently, he began a whistle-stop campaign throughout the country by meeting with governors, local officials, and members of the Concilium Daoni in their districts rather than in Urceopolis. His intention was to bring awareness to how unlikely an outright victory in the war was and to implore officials to begin calls for an end to the war that the King himself could join later. On July 30th, 1952, this campaign took him to Fort St. Andrew in Eastvale to meet with the Governor of the province. At the Fort St. Andrew Station, a car bomb detonated, and though the explosion did not directly harm King Lucás IV, the force of the explosion tipped the King's car on him as he was about to enter it. The King, crushed under the car, was still alive though unconscious when a group of armed men stormed the area. The King was not shot by the men, but the desperate attempts by the outnumbered Life Guard to hold the perimeter meant that the King could not be given help in time. King Lucás IV, 32 years old, died later that night in the Hospital of St. James. He was the first Apostolic King of Urcea to be assassinated. The next day, Derian extremists claimed responsibility for the assassination, claiming that House de Weluta was responsible for the misery and bloodshed of the ongoing Third Fratricide.

What King Lucás IV could not achieve in life, he achieved in death. Lucás's brother, the new King Patrick IV, was informed by the Procurator on August 2nd, 1952, that the government intended to try and achieve a "peace with honor" on Sarpedon so as to focus on the Third Fratricide, as links had been decisively established between the extremist cell and the Derian Liberation League. Popular support for the Second Great War in the 1940s had turned to resigned apathy by the 1950s; popular focus now began to shift in favor of war in Dericania to avenge the fallen King, as the Rally 'round the flag effect came into full effect in the weeks following the King's assassination. In response, the Government of Urcea began arms shipments to the Dericania National Congress beginning on August 10th, though no full military response could be mustered without removing significant forces from the Second Great War. Popular opinion had begun to grow to anger by October, as polls indicated that most Urceans believed the National Pact government had "not sufficiently responded to the assassination" and that the assassination was a "grievous insult to Urcean nationality and the pride of the Kingdom". On his part, King Patrick IV associated himself with the views of the people and began to urge the Government - in private and in public - to reach some kind of accord with Caphiria to end the conflict.