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==History== | ==History== | ||
===Pre-Corummese era=== | ===Pre-Corummese era=== | ||
Starting in the 1200's the island of Cao was colonized by a separate polity called the Axolotl who | Starting in the 1200's the island of Cao was colonized by a separate polity called the Axolotl who named the island, Uxma. The Axolotl were closely related with the Mixcala tribe which would later wholly join the [[Northern Confederation]] on the mainland, the cause for the separation is not a topic well explored by historians. The Axolotl repelled several Mixcalan attempts at reintegration through force and as a result of these attacks became involved in piracy as a form of retaliation. Raiding the Mixcala and their neighbouring tribes as well as the coasts of Quetzenkel, the Axolotl became a regular plague upon local trade, with plunder and slaves becoming a mainstay of the local economy. Many of the slaves taken by the pirates of Uxma ended up sold in the bazaars of [[Varshan]], and Varshanis were allowed to join pirate ships as crewmen. Several attempts at quashing piracy were made in the early 1500's and they succeeded in temporarily curbing their activities. | ||
During this period the island seems to have been directly ruled by the four strongest captains, who convened into the Council of High Captains to apportion trade routes, discuss common defense and settle disputes. Over time the position of High Captain became a hereditary one, passing from fathers to sons. It could also be inherited by killing the previous holder of the office. The Axolotl raids also seemed to have a religious component to them as a certain proportion of a captured crew would always be taken to be used in distorted M'acunism's rituals. Records sporadically show the existence of a 'High Celebrant' who appears to have been a position of great religious and sometimes political influence, eclipsing the pirate council at times. | |||
===Settlement era=== | ===Settlement era=== | ||
Corummese exploration in the late 1500's brought them to the gates of the Nysdra and Uxma. In 1504 the ship ''Shin's Pleasure'' carrying Zhong dynasty officials on an official embassy to the Quetzenkel chieftains, was set upon by Uxma pirates. The boarding attempt was repelled with heavy casualties on both sides and ''Shin's Pleasure'' left the area and headed back west. News of the attack left a powerful impression back at the Zhong court and a punitive expedition was dispatched. Consisting of ten ships armed with cannons and with close to twelve-hundred men, it was the largest naval show of force by the Corummese that moved so far north. A numerically superior pirate force was defeated(with two High Captains killed) by the Corummese at the Battle of the Straits before moving on to attack Uxma itself. | Corummese exploration in the late 1500's brought them to the gates of the Nysdra and Uxma. In 1504 the ship ''Shin's Pleasure'' carrying Zhong dynasty officials on an official embassy to the Quetzenkel chieftains, was set upon by Uxma pirates. The boarding attempt was repelled with heavy casualties on both sides and ''Shin's Pleasure'' left the area and headed back west. News of the attack left a powerful impression back at the Zhong court and a punitive expedition was dispatched. Consisting of ten ships armed with cannons and with close to twelve-hundred men, it was the largest naval show of force by the Corummese that moved so far north. A numerically superior pirate force was defeated(with two High Captains killed) by the Corummese at the Battle of the Straits before moving on to attack Uxma itself. | ||