Palimede incident

Palimede incident
Part of Kindred Wars
Battle of Palimede island by Pelaxian painter, Nino Godoy
Date August - November 1783 Location Kindreds Sea Result Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth victory
Belligerents
House Lian House Kou	Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth
Commanders and leaders
Smaragdus Prince Kou Megabazos Pixodarus †	Pedro de La Cosa Esteban Descoteaux Juan Abrao
Strength
10,000 men 30 ships	13,000 40 ships
Casualties and losses
thousands	hundreds

The Palimede incident was a battle between a Qian slaver fleet and forces of the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth. By the late 1780's the volume of slaves acquired by the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth began to decline steeply due to labor reforms favoring the use of indentured workers and serfs from Vallos which represented a readily available pool of workers at cheaper rates. Certain powerful slaving interests at the Qian court at this point advocated a policy of armed coercion against the weakening Commonwealth. Without waiting for imperial assent, the noble houses of Kou and Lian which relied on the slave trade around Vallos assembled a fleet of their own and augmented it with Loa and Muslim privateers. Their plan was to occupy some or all of the Jusonia Islands and threaten the Carto-Pelaxian capital of Albalitor unless the new labor reforms were withdrawn by the Commonwealth's government and an indemnity was paid. After some initial success, this slaver coalition was ultimately repulsed in both land and sea battles by the Carto-Pelaxians, one of the last notable military victories of the crumbling Commonwealth. Albeit unsanctioned by Qian imperial authorities, the incident soured relations between Daxia and one of its most important trade partners; the sale of slaves to the Commonwealth all but dwindled into nothingness as that government put new legal roadblocks on the flesh trade and the Qian court destroyed the participating noble houses in retaliation for their insubordination.

Background

The slave trade along the southern route was still incredibly lucrative going into the 18th century, both the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth and the Imperium were reliable buyers. Independent Daxian slaving cartels owned by noble houses dominated most of the route east of Truk and into the Kindreds; the most prominent of these houses were House Lian and House Kou. The continued prosperity and profits of these slaving actors would eventually be threatened by political currents from within the Commonwealth itself as several political groupings in Parliament backed by the local Catholic curia put forth proposals that if implemented would end the practice of slavery in the Commonwealth. The Qian ambassador to Carto-Pelaxia, an habitual ally of slaver interests, quickly relayed the new developments to his masters across the Cathay. The reaction of the Qian court was mixed, Emperor Chanzui and many of his ministers were of a mind that the issue could be addressed politically and in any case more than slaves were traded with the Commonwealth. The noble houses of Kou and Lian on the other hand were outraged at the prospect of lost revenues but their entreaties for the sending of a Qian fleet to intimidate the Carto-Pelaxian parliament were rejected out of hand. Undeterred, Prince Kou and Prince Lian put forth a secret plan in motion to put a stop to anti-slavery legislation on their own. Under the pretext of fighting off the incursions of Loa pirates, they assembled a fleet of thirty ships in Peratra and raised a small army of 7,000 mercenaries which would later be augmented by some 3,000 pirates. This force would sail to the Kindreds Sea and under threat of bombarding the Commonwealth capital of Albalitor would secure the withdrawal of any anti-slavery legislation from being considered by parliament in addition to financial compensation to the sum of two million pesetas; if its demands were met the fleet would withdraw peacefully.

Opposing forces

Slaver alliance

Smaragdus was a renowned corsair and captain for hire who operated in the eastern Cathay and Kindreds in the 18th century.

House Kou and House Lian assembled a strong naval fleet composed of 30 ships of which eleven were ships of the line, ten were frigates and the rest were a combination of smaller galleys, frigates and slaver hold ships retrofitted to carry troops. The fleet was led by a mercenary admiral named Smaragdus, some sources place him as an ethnic Caphirian and others as an Istroyan. The land forces were composed by an elite core of two thousand household troops equipped by Princes Kou and Lian, five thousand mercenaries recruited from Lakdu, Truk and Peratra and finally some three thousand Loa and Tainean pirates and corsairs were enticed to join the expedition later on by the prospect of looting.

Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth

The Commonwealth's Kindreds fleet during the 17th century was a much diminished force, it had a dedicated force of forty ships of which at least twelve were well armed ships of the line, fifteen frigates and an assortment of galleys, sloops, cutters and corvettes. While both opposing fleets had an almost near parity of ships of the line, the Carto-Pelaxians had the advantage in training and discipline; Smaragdus's fleet was crewed exclusively by corsairs who were not known for discipline under fire. One decisive factor in the battle was the use by the Carto-Pelaxians of fire ships, a practice relied on by the Commonwealth to deter larger navies but which the slaver coalition was not familiar with. The Commonwealth was able to draw troops from the Albalitor military zones and neighboring regions and assemble a sizable relief force for the garrison of Aguaverde; like the fleet the discipline of these troops would prove critical in the land battles.

Occupation of Palimede

The combined slaver fleet under Smaragdus left anchor in late August, picking up supplies on Truk in early September. Smaragdus's next stop was at Aetialo, Loa Empire to recruit more troops, the majority of which were from the kingdom of Isuekende. Parts of the fleet tried to pressure Smaragdus to raid the coast in the Krasoa Islands, but such attempts were crushed by Smaragdus with the Kou household soldiers. The appearance of such a sizable slaver fleet in the Kindreds raised alarms, even the biggest slave ship convoys did not surpass fifteen ships; Albalitor gave orders to recall the Kindreds fleet but as it was engaged in other battles it would take some time for it to return. Smaragdus was counting on speed and the element of surprise to gain the advantage over the Carto-Pelaxians. To be able to approach Albalitor with his fleet, he first needed to neutralize the coastal forts on Palimede island that protected the approaches to the city. Bypassing Jusonia Mayor and its well defended garrison, Smaragdus sailed straight for the southern coast of Palimede and landed his troops virtually unopposed; he also dispatched six frigates to raid Telenea in hopes of dividing the resources of his foes. The presence of Commonwealth defenses on the island of Palimede were concentrated in the fort of Aguaverde, built in the 16th century and manned by a garrison of four hundred soldiers. Despite defense cutbacks in other areas, the closeness of Palimede to the capital meant the Aguaverde fort was diligently maintained by the Commonwealth and properly provisioned. Prince Kou's troops advanced into Palimede and took the town of Valvita without a fight, looting it. Thinking to take Aguaverde by surprise, Kou sent two hundred men under cover of darkness with grappling hooks to scale the walls of the fort, hoping they could open the gates. The sneak attack was detected and repulsed by the garrison while incurring heavy casualties by the attackers.

The slaver coalition then pretended to settle in for a longer siege, building a mock circumvallation of the fort, this was with the intent of luring the defenders into relaxing their vigilance. In a stroke of luck a local informant told Prince Kou that the wife of one of the Aguaverde commanders, who then sent raiders to kidnap her. Having done so, the woman was tied to a battering ram which was then pushed towards one of the fort's side gates. Unable to destroy the ram without injuring the commander's wife, the defenders watched as the ram broke through the gate after which Kou's force streamed into the fort. The battle inside Aguaverde continued on for fifteen hours before the surviving Commonwealth soldiers were pushed into the barracks building, shortly after under threat of the building being set on fire they surrendered. Kou's forces flew the Commonwealth upside down to signify their occupation of the fort. The survivors of the garrison were disarmed and thrown out of the fort but were otherwise left to their own devices, being thought of no consequence anymore. Kou dispersed some of his forces to occupy the unguarded small towns of Palimede, keeping his professional troops and most of his mercenaries at Aguaverde and its environs and letting loose most of the pirates on the island. They proceeded to enact a brutal spree of lootings, rapes and random killings still remembered in the island as 'La Gran Infamia' (The Great Infamy)

Carto-Pelaxian counterattack

While the struggle for Aguaverde went on, Smaragdus took the fleet north, hoping to surprise the Commonwealth's Kindreds fleet. The Carto-Pelaxian fleet was spotted northwest of Maristella moving east towards the Pelaxian coast, Smaragdus directed his force to shadow them from afar. Don Elver Galarga, the commander of the Kindreds Fleet had received orders to return to port in Albalitor to transport forces to Palimede island to retake it from the invaders. Halfway to Albalitor and within sight of Palimede island (but importantly, out of range of the shore batteries of Aguaverde), the Commonwealth turned and arrayed itself to give battle to the pursuing Smaragdus. The Kindreds Fleet arrayed itself in a three straight lines, the front line consisted of the ships of the line and frigates, the second line the larger galleys and the third line the corvettes, sloops and cutters. Of the cutters present, all four were intended to be used as fire ships at a crucial moment of the battle. Smaragdus arrayed his fleet in a half-moon formation and although his force was smaller as he had previously sent a detachment of frigates on a mission of distraction he was confident of defeating the wings of the enemy formation and enveloping the fleet. Smaragdus positioned his flagship and the ships of the line in the center and his frigates and smaller ships filling out the rest of the line. His cousing Megabazos commanded the right wing and a certain Pixodarus the left.

The Carto-Pelaxian fleet, in combat formation, emerged through the gap left between the islands of Cúcuta and Cáduga, followed by the right wing, which faced the open sea, under the command of Commodore Pedro de La Cosa, while the left wing, closer to the coast, was commanded by Abrao. The reserve division had not yet reached the islands and likely went beyond the gap. As the forces advanced, they encountered a shift in the wind direction, which began to blow from the west, favoring the Commonwealth fleet. The priests aboard the Christian ships of the line believed this was due to divine intervention.

Despite having a similar number of soldiers, the shipmen of the frigates of the Albalitor, unprotected and poorly armed, were likely of little use. However, in the case of the Cartadanians, although inadequately prepared, they had almost all of the recruited cannoneers and well-equipped marine infantry, nearly tripling the number of combatants. According to historians, the "secret weapon" of the Commonwealth was the skill of the Imperial Marine Infantry. At first, the contingent led by Megabazos flanked the Sarpedonian fleet from the left. Abrao intercepted them and fought with the first four frigates that arrived, and later, the reserve group dealt with them.

Later, De La Cosa’s ordered ten fire ships to be lit up and dragged into the center line, a maneuver that broke through the Daxian line. After this, the strongest units gathered around the flagship vessels of both fleets. As the crowded ships of the line gathered in the center, there was no room for elaborate tactical maneuvers. Throughout this time, support frigates continuously supplied reinforcements to the two large ships of the line via the ladders situated at both sterns. The left flank of the Daxian battle line faced the right flank of the Commonwealth fleet, defended by Isurian frigates. The outer Vallosi squadron on the right side was almost entirely annihilated by the frigates in front of them.

Siege of Aguaverde

The remaining core of the slaver fleet fled into the open sea, leaving the fortress of Aguaverde completely unprotected. De La Cosa ordered Abrao to pursue the rest of the slaver fleet to prevent them from anchoring or regrouping, with the goal of isolating the invading force on land. He gave strict orders not to lose sight of the fleet, even if it moved beyond the Catenian waters.

For his part, De La Cosa found himself in a precarious situation with two options: to advance decisively toward Aguaverde with a weakened force at this stage or to stop at the port of Greater Jusonia to repair and resupply. The Commodore chose to proceed to Fuentealba in Greater Jusonia, disembarking his Imperial Marines, who would continue on foot toward Aguaverde under the command of Colonel Esteban Descoteaux, while the fleet would continue to the fortress and begin the siege bombardment. The goal of the marine force was to clear the territory of potential pirate looters who might have been wreaking havoc.

The fleet arrived at night and began a night bombardment that overwhelmed the slaver forces holding out in the fortress. Two days later, Descoteaux’s marines reached the walls and established a siege camp. After more than fifteen days of bombardment, the slaver forces under Prince Kou surrendered. All of the corsairs under his command were hanged by Descoteaux while his surviving household guards and himself were imprisoned on the mainland; they would be ransomed by the imperial government three years later.

Battle of Valdria

Battle of Valdria by Nino Godoy

After receiving De La Cosa's orders to keep the slaver fleet in sight, Abrao quickly mobilized his left wing, knowing he was chasing an enemy well-acquainted with those waters and likely to attempt to scatter or slip away to friendly ports or isolated islands. However, Abrao decided to employ a different tactic than just a simple pursuit: to anticipate their possible escape route. With the wind turning against them and the sea conditions becoming uncertain, Abrao ordered his fleet to be divided into several smaller squadrons, each assigned to patrol key trade routes and nearby sea passages. He knew that the slaver fleet, though scattered, had to head toward one of the few available havens in the region. After analyzing navigation patterns and local knowledge, Abrao deduced that Valdria Island, a small pirate refuge, was the most likely place where the slavers would try to resupply and regroup. While Abrao's main fleet sailed toward the waters near Valdria, his small vanguard fleet, led by his trusted captain Nuno Alarcón, was sent directly to the strait surrounding the island. For two days, Abrao and his officers studied the currents and potential routes, using the geography of the area to their advantage. Abrao's decision was to make the slaver fleet believe they had lost their pursuers. The slaver fleet, confident they had gained an advantage, let their guard down as they approached Valdria, thinking they had escaped danger. But Abrao was already waiting for them.

On the morning of the third day, Abrao's lookouts spotted the enemy sails on the horizon, moving toward Valdria's harbor. Abrao immediately deployed his fleet in an enveloping formation, blocking any escape routes. Abrao had carefully coordinated his attack. As the slavers began to approach the port, they were caught off guard by a simultaneous offensive from three flanks. Abrao's ships cut off their retreat, first attacking the smaller, more vulnerable ships, quickly eliminating any possibility of scattering.

Alarcón, who had been hiding behind a small chain of islets, emerged with his vanguard fleet and struck the main slaver ships trying to take refuge in Valdria. The slaver ships, trapped and with no room to maneuver, found themselves surrounded. Abrao's cannon fire began to destroy the enemy ships one by one, and confusion reigned among the slaver ranks. Seeing the battle lost and with his flagship in danger, Smaragdus abandoned it and managed to slip away in a single sloop, eventually making it to the Krasoas.

Aftermath

The defeat of the slaver coalition at sea and their expulsion from the stronghold of Aguaverde signaled the death knell of their ambitions to force Carto-Pelaxia to bend to their demands and much reduced the strength of non-state actors in the Kindreds. The incident soured relations between the Commonwealth and the Qian dynasty for a number of years although this was of minor importance as the former power dissolved barely a decade after and its successor states were interested in resuming trade relations. The naval battles of Palimede and Valdria are considered among the finest moments of the Carto-Pelaxian navy, which remained a professional force despite the political infighting in Albalitor. In Daxia the noble houses of Kou and Lian were not only economically ruined by the failure of the venture but they were disgraced and removed from any influence that remained to them. The pirate Smaragdus was never able to raise an independent naval force to operate in the Kindreds again, he was forced into service with the Qian around Peratra.