Ómestaderoi: Difference between revisions

[[Urcea]] dramatically expanded during the 16th century by the acquisitions of [[Gassavelia]] and [[Ænglasmarch]] from defeated foes prior to or during the [[Great Confessional War]]. The [[Dragonnades]] lead to the mass dissolution of Protestant estates in this country, leaving large portions of the country in the hands of the Crown. Concurrently, [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and the [[Urce River]] valley were reaching overcrowding as many refugees from the war years had permanently settled within the city. Not only did the Kingdom's leadership, especially King [[Leo III, Emperor of the Levantines|Leo II]], see that the latter problem could perhaps be solved by the former, but that the lack of agricultural productivity in the newly conquered lands - as well as a lack of loyalty to Urcea - could be resolved by appropriating the land to smallholders rather than giving the large estates to [[Social class in Urcea|Optimates]]. In 1590, King Leo decreed that the Crown would divide most Crown-owned lands in the new territories into 40 acre parcels. This decree originally only covered Gassavelia and small portions of Ænglasmarch for the time being, but it would come to include newly conquered or reclaimed portions of [[Dericania]], [[Southmarch]], and [[Carolina]]. The Leonine Land Decree, as it would become known, would remain in effect until 1892, when it was formally repealed by the [[Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892]] implemented by [[Gréagóir FitzRex]] that year. Despite this, a final wave of Ómestaderoi settlement would occur a decade later.

The ten westernmost polities of the [[Kingdom of Dericania]] were annexed into [[Urcea]] in [[1848]] following the [[Third Caroline War]]. These territories, collectively known as [[Transionia]], experienced considerable population decline as militia-waged atrocities and other factors lead to a large scale exodus of [[Derian people]] from the territory by the 1850. The Rectory for the Eastern Valley, the territorial government established following the war, formally petitioned the [[Concilium Daoni]] to expand the Leonine Land Decree of 1590 to include the new territory. The Daoni passed the law in 1852, leading to a large influx of settlers into Eastvale. The Ómestaderoi soon owned 85% of all private lands within the Rectory and the program was halted in 1880. This generation of settlers lead to [[Urcean people]] becoming the majority population of the province.

The possibility of reclaiming lands for profitable use lead to a boom industry of innovative - and often fraudulent - methods to make both marsh and arid lands habitable, leading to rampant land speculation. The pressures of the boom and several high profile frauds lead the [[Concilium Daoni]] to officially pass a new amendment to the Leonine Land Decree in 1831, appropriating the vast majority of land in the frontier areas for Ómestaderoi use while compensating the owners.

In addition to general impacts on Urcean society - both intangibly and in terms of socio-political geography - the Ómestaderoi also had a major impact on the [[Culture_of_Urcea#Cuisine|cuisine of Urcea]]. Throughout the entire era of pioneer settlement, frontier necessity lead to the creation of new, ad hoc food preparation methods as well as specific dishes. Urcea's well-developed {{wp|diner}} culture is thought by most scholars to be the result of prefabricated restaurants imported into Widowland areas for quick eats and soon became a staple nationwide.