History of Urcea (1798-1902): Difference between revisions

FitzRex's regime heavily relied upon the veneer of legitimacy granted by the [[Concilium Daoni]], whose flag and arms he adopted as the de facto symbols of the nation during a regency period. While continuing to push new laws through the Daoni, observers noted an increasingly autocratic tendency as members of his [[Concilium Purpaidá]] were Generals or other army officers loyal to him. The election of 1895 was mired in allegations of fraud, ballot-stuffing, and violence that returned an overwhelming majority in the Daoni for independent politicians aligned with the Crown-Regent. In 1896, FitzRex began to spearhead two of his other major initiatives. He announced the formation of a commission that would disentangle Urcea's economic and political institutions from the [[Holy Levantine Empire]], and that Urcea would secede from the Empire by 1905. His proposal to secede was approved by the [[Gildertach]] in February of 1896. Second, he passed the Property and Holdings Requirement Act of 1896. This law reduced the property requirement to join the noble [[Social class in Urcea|optimate class]] to virtually 0 [[Taler|talers]], and also suspended the mechanisms necessary to enroll and maintain membership in the optimate class, functionally abolishing the class by attrition. While most - even traditionalists and conservatives - had little to offer regarding his class changes, given how irrelevant the optimates were, the decision to pull Urcea out of the Empire was highly controversial. Despite the animosity between Urcean nationalist tendencies and the Empire spawned by the [[Recess of the Julii]], Urcea still had some national pride in its role in such an ancient institution.

In spring [[1896]], FitzRex began to circulate the notion of a new [[Apostolic King of Urcea]] being crowned by [[1905]] upon the exit of the Kingdom from the Holy Levantine Empire. While FitzRex never formally proposed a candidate to the Daoni, he unofficially negotiated with Daoni leaders and prominent military officials about the possibility of crowning Aedanicus Mandt as Apostolic King. Mandt was the head of the House of Mandt, a relatively prominent [[Social class in Urcea|optimate]] family with historic ties to the [[Creagmer republics]]. He had descent from a daughter of King Brian II (reigned 1768-1781) and had long maintained his historic relation to [[Gaius Julius Cicurinus|Saint Julius of the Caeline]]. Despite this, the Mandts did not claim to be part of the [[Julian dynasty]] and openly eschewed the Julian identity, instead emphasizing their identity as Custóirs of the [[Estates of Urcea|Scipii estate]]. Mandt had a degree of public noteriety and his father had served with distinction in the [[Third Caroline War]], bringing the family public noteriety and fame. Aedanicus Mandt had been responsible for overseeing, during the later reign of Aedanicus VIII, for several building projects in [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]], using the opportunity for self-aggrandizement and political fame. FitzRex alluded to his support for Mandt in a public letter written in March 1896, referring to Mandt as a "prince of the people" both due to his popularity and membership in the Scipii estate. Mandt was broadly unacceptable to nearly all prominent political and military leaders excepting those closest to FitzRex. Many would simply not accept any non-Julian candidate, and many found Mandt to be personally faulty as many leaders believed Mandt's desire for fame would make him a King that could be easily manipulated by FitzRex. The proposal enraged Ionian delegates in the [[Concilium Daoni]] and Ionian military leaders, who FitzRex had previously hinted to that he may appoint an outlying member of [[House de Weluta]], who still enjoyed the loyalty of the people of the [[Ionian Plateau]]. Many Ionian senior officers and delegates resigned in protest and returned to the Plateau in May 1896. By the end of that month, even FitzRex's closest advisors and supporters believed Mandt to be untenable, and by early June FitzRex conceded in his private writings that Aedanicus Mandt would never be Apostolic King. The Mandt Affair had the effect of consolidating Ionian opposition to the Crown Regency and lead many of FitzRex's supporters to question his political instincts. Following the collapse of Mandt's viability, some scholars believe that FitzRex was considering suggesting Prince Arathvesur of [[Paulastra]]'s [[Paulastra#New_Royal_dynasty|House of Newaster]]; the two had previously corresponded and the Newasters were members of the [[Julian dynasty]] yet had already accustomed themselves to constitutional monarchy. FitzRex noted in a journal that "Arathvesur or some other distant [[House de Weluta|Velucian]] relation abroad...may suit the purpose". To what extent FitzRex seriously considered Arathvesur is unknown, and he never suggested him as a candidate to any other public official. Arathvesur would later go on to become King of Paulastra following the childless death of his brother Paul I, in [[1920]].

Behind his public persona, FitzRex worked to consolidate power by moving away from the bourgeoisie-backed [[Crown Liberalism|Crown Liberal]] system of Urcea into a more dictatorial, military, technocratic apparatus. This division between the urban [[Social class in Urcea|privilegiata]] and the military privilegiata created most of the political fissures in his regime. The [[National Pact (Urcea)|National Pact]] began to openly contest the 1895 election results in July 1896, resulting in the [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Regal Army]] being called in to seize their headquarters and dissolve the party, though most party leaders learned of the operation beforehand and fled to the [[Ionian Plateau]], receiving protection from the recently alienated local leaders. Meanwhile, Crown-Regent [[Gréagóir FitzRex]] claimed plausible deniability by decrying the operation having occurred "at the hands of rogues" who "must face the rule of law", but no charges were filed. In 1897, the Crown Regent announced that provincial Governors would not be elected as per the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892, but rather would be appointed directly by the Crown-Regent with approval of the provincial legislatures, most of which were lead by FitzRex loyalists. This lead to widespread protests, and by July 1897, the [[National Pact (Urcea)|National Pact]] had been outlawed by the Crown Regency on account of it being a "criminal conspiracy against the stability of the state". National Pact leaders fled [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and rallied clans in the [[Ionian Plateau]] into open revolt. Civil war had begun, and it took the names "'97 Rising" or "Red Interregnum" for the blood spilled during the conflict, though some historians use that term to refer to the entirety of FitzRex's administration.