History of Urcea (1575-1798): Difference between revisions

<br />King Leo IV, in a 1754 painting, depicted at the Battle of St. John's.

In 1702, King Riordan VII was elected Emperor Riordan I, beginning a string of five consecutive Kings who would be elected Emperor and also an increasing focus on the affairs of the Empire, which would dominate the country's foreign policy in the 18th century. Riordan's son, King Aedanicus VII, was also elected Emperor and ruled both the Empire and Urcea from 1727 to 1741. During his reign, he induced the [[Collegial Electorate]] to designate his son, Prince of Halfway Leo, as King of the Levantines, heir apparent to the Empire. During the successive reigns of Riordan and Aedanicus, relative stability was introduced to the Empire, although Electors continually grumbled Urceopolis grew more powerful vis a vis the other Imperial princes with each succeeding decade. Riordan in particular focused on increasing the professionalization and training of the Royal Army, and his investment paid dividends as Urcean forces developed innovative drill and discipline techniques. Alongside the widespread adoption of the socket bayonet in the last years of Aedanicus's reign, the Royal Army of Urcea was considered highly professional even if small relative to the Kingdom's overall population.

A war was fought between [[Kiravia]] and [[Urcea]] during the Caroline Succession known as the [[Cronan Beaver War]]. The conflict, a primarily naval campaign, was resolved in 1748 as part of an effort to exchange concessions to foreign powers in exchange for recognition of Leo's Imperial claims. As part of this agreement, Urcea ceded a string of colonies in [[Crona]] known as the [[Julian Belt]] which had largely fallen into neglect. It retained the [[New Archduchy]] colony as part of the peace terms.

During the war, King Leo required huge sums of [[Taler|Talers]] in order to keep the army on its feet, and while on campaign he asked the [[Concilium Daoni]] to raise taxes. The Daoni agreed to do so in exchange for concessions in the form of general consent of the Daoni for Royal appointments to the [[Concilium Purpaidá]], the ministry. The Daoni also asked as part of concessions that the King's judicial appointments had to be confirmed by the Purpaidá, and further that all districts of the Daoni be elective rather than the mixed elective-appointive system. This latter proposal was offered as not only a demand of the Daoni but as an offering of benefit to the King, as it allowed him to take the final steps in destroying the power of landed vassals. King Leo received these demands in 1747 after several inconclusive battles that pointed to a long, expensive war. In absentia, he agreed to the concessions. This agreement, called the Concession of 1747, was among the first major developments towards the modern [[Constitution of Urcea]], and following the war Emperor Leo agreed to permanently uphold this concession.