The Deluge
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| The Deluge | ||||||||
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.jpg) Urcean Royal Navy ship HMCMS Attendant firing a missile at military assets in Varshan | ||||||||
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 Varshan (from 2021) Nanseetucket Algoquona Western Alpachnee Confederation | |||||||
The Deluge was a set of related conflicts in Crona. While many Occidental powers maintained a minor colonial presence in the area prior to the 2010s, Urcean involvement in the War of the Northern Confederation and Corumm's simultaneous war against Nanseetucket created a cascading period of instability throughout northwestern Crona that lead to an even greater level of Occidental involvement. It concluded with the end of the Final War of the Deluge and Treaty of Electorsbourg in 2024.
Background
Occidental involvement in Crona can be traced definitively back to Aster's expedition in the 1380s.
Urcea established its first colonial possession in the Nysdra Sea in the 19th century with the creation of the Rectory of New Harren. In the late 20th century, Urcea would attain significant more influence in the Nysdra Sea with the establishment of the League of Nations Mandate for Venua'tino in 1967.
New Harren
More Information: War of the Northern Confederation
Though Occidental colonies had dotted northwestern Crona for decades or, in some cases, centuries, prior to the early 2000s, many of these colonies were relatively small, extending perhaps a hundred miles or less in from the coast. One of the major powers working to isolate the Occidental colonies was the Northern Confederation, a union of some five native Cronan nations. While the Northern Confederation successfully managed to limit Occidental expansion during the 20th century, it descended into infighting in the 21st century between several of its members. The newly-ascended King Riordan VIII of Urcea directed the Government of Urcea to intervene, and Urcea began the slow work of dismantling the Northern Confederation.
In 2008, the Confederation dissolved following a sack of one native capital city by another tribe. Following contact with some of these native nations, the Royal and Imperial Army was deployed to settle scores between the natives, and following a three year campaign of diplomacy and arms, the Kingdom of New Harren was established as a new confederation with the Apostolic King of Urcea at its head. The expanded Kingdom, which revealed huge deposits of uranium, opened the door for further Levantine involvement in Crona.
Quetzenkel
In 2013, Archchief Quetzen XXIII ascended to power in Quetzenkel following the assassination of his predecessor and great uncle, Honau V. Much of Honau's reign had been consumed with the geopolitical question of how Quetzenkel should respond to the War of the Northern Confederation, and Honau - like Quetzen - assumed a position of status quo and peaceful relations with the Occident in order to ensure Quetzenkel's survival. Radicals assassinated Honau for this stance, and Quetzen declared martial law over the country in order to establish order. By 2014, martial law continued, and most of Quetzenkel's military forces were committed to maintaining domestic order and were spread thin. The Veltorine people in western Quetzenkel, which had been facing significant political and economic hurdles since having been settled in that part of the country in the 1970s, waged a rebellion in response to the martial law. Quetzen XXIII himself was killed by a Veltorine assassin as the conflict escalated. The status of Veltorine people in the country lead to Urcean intervention in favor of Levantine-educated Telucti I assuming the throne of Quetzenkel and agreeing to separate out Veltorine occupied lands as Cetsencalia.
Nanseetucket
Corummese involvement and interest in northern Crona sought to preempt Western domination of the continent and to carve a place for Corumm as a vital player in the region. Following the violent acquisition of the island of Cao in mid 2000, the Corummese government set its long term sights on the fragile state of Nanseetucket. Inhabited by myriad tribes and subdivided into precarious statelets and city states often hostile to one another, it was considered a target ripe for conquest. While the validity of the Corummese casus belli has been called into question at the League of Nations and by academics all over, the 2015 war waged upon Ixa'Taka; one of Nanseetucket's sub-entities covering all of its western territory, was swift and quite brutal on the local populations. Two Ixa'takan monarchs were killed in the process and several cities were effectively flattened by Corummese bombing runs. By late 2015 all attempts at military resistance had been quelled and tens of thousands of refugees had flooded across the border into Vespia. Corumm's Assembly of the People swiftly passed an annexation bill that created the overseas state of 'Xisheng' and made it an integral part of the republic.
Nanseetucket's 'central' government was hardly agreeable to these developments but could hardly even think of doing anything about it in the face of Corumm's clear intention to continue eastwards with the invasion. Likewise the near simultaneous attack by Kiravia put Nanseetucket into a position of extreme disadvantage. A renewed push by both colonial powers saw Nanseetucket's government crumble by the end of 2017 and the divvying up of its territory into separate zones of influence.
Alpachnee
More Information: Alpachnee War
Algoquona
In the aftermath of the War of the Northern Confederation, one of the constituent members of the Confederation - Algoquona - filled the native power vacuum by establishing control over most of the free tribes and city-states which had previously comprised the Confederation. It claimed legal succession from the Confederation and continued to fight Urcea in the last months of the War before agreeing to a ceasefire. Lengthy negotiations lead to the Treaty of Narasseta, intended to establish a lasting peace between Urcea and Algoquona and settle ongoing border disputes. The treaty also formally established the Unnuaq mission exclusion zone in the northern, arctic parts of the former Confederation, protecting 18 Church missions in the region. The Treaty of Narasseta broke down by the end of 2016, however, as Urcea's involvement in the South Nysdra War and establishment of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association lead to Algoquona's decision to abrogate the treaty on 28 November 2016. Two weeks later, on 15 December 2016, Urcea took military action by seizing the Unnuaq Chain in Operation Mission Shield, reestablishing the Unnuaq mission exclusion zone by force.
Concurrently with and continuing after the conclusion of hostilities in Operation Mission Shield, Yonderre and the United Kingdom began Operation Western Blizzard, an operation to destroy the military hierarchy of Algoquona. The operation was devised as a punitive action following Algoquona's encouragement and mishandling of the Kaigwa embassy siege. The resulting weakening and destabilization of Algoquona allowed for further territorial cessions, as Pachaug and Housatonic established their de facto independence under Urcean protection.
Venua'tino
In March of 1967, the League of Nations Security Council voted to establish a multi-national League of Nations Mandate over the Venua'tino, which would come under the pmernanent influence of Urcea later. The various concerns and priorities of the Deluge - particularly, Urcea's stated goal of assisting locals in creating "national states" - led to domestic and international pressure on Urcea to bring about the Mandate's final dissolution. Accordingly, the mandate's largest city, Shenendehowa Bay, achieved legally recognized self-governing status as an international charter city under Caphirian influence in 2017. The central, least-populous, portion of the Mandate was reorganized as the International Nature Preserve in 2018. In 2025, the remaining eastern part of the Mandate became independent as the Republic of Copake. Efforts continue to resolve the remaining parts of the Mandate.
Legacy
Demographic effects
The emergence of Urcea as the largest power in northwestern Crona lead to significant out-migration of people from Urcea, reducing and stabilizing its population growth while leading to an explosion of population growth in Crona. As of the 2020 census, it is estimated that slightly more than 30 million people within the NSTA sphere are either from Levantia or are of Levantine descent, including Nysdrine people. These migrations lead to the further expansion of Nysdrine people and intermarriage between Levantines and Cronites. Populations analysts projected, as of 2020, that the Levantine-Nysdrine population of Urcea's Crona possessions could reach nearly 220 million by the year 2100.