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Rapa Rapa: Difference between revisions
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In [[1864]], a civilian rectory was established over the island. In [[1866]], the rector established the Municipal Corporation of Rapa Rapa, forming the basis of today's Rapa Rapa City. At the time, the municipality was envisioned more as a method to provide normal governance for the small civilian component of the naval base rather than the main island villages. The status quo remained in place on Rapa Rapa until around the late 1870s. The Urcean and indigenous parts of the atoll began to grow increasingly integrated due to the growing number of indigenous peoples working in and around the naval base in some form, and in [[1879]] the five villages submitted a petition for their incorporation into Rapa Rapa City. This request was granted and, effective 1 January 1880, Rapa Rapa City came to cover most of the atoll. Political and cultural integration were not instantaneous, however; most Rapans continued to prefer their village-oriented cultural and political structures for decades to come, with only the generation born in the 1880s and beyond viewing Rapa Rapa more as a cohesive whole rather than five villages. The villages had temporarily united to face the arriving Urceans in [[1862]] but the presence of the Urcean military had permanently halted the centuries of village feuding, allowing a new sense of the island's unity to grow in the following decades. Rapa Rapa remained relatively conflict free during the [[Red Interregnum]] and [['97 Rising]], recognizing whichever government held [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and its military forces being far too remote to participate in the conflict. | In [[1864]], a civilian rectory was established over the island. In [[1866]], the rector established the Municipal Corporation of Rapa Rapa, forming the basis of today's Rapa Rapa City. At the time, the municipality was envisioned more as a method to provide normal governance for the small civilian component of the naval base rather than the main island villages. The status quo remained in place on Rapa Rapa until around the late 1870s. The Urcean and indigenous parts of the atoll began to grow increasingly integrated due to the growing number of indigenous peoples working in and around the naval base in some form, and in [[1879]] the five villages submitted a petition for their incorporation into Rapa Rapa City. This request was granted and, effective 1 January 1880, Rapa Rapa City came to cover most of the atoll. Political and cultural integration were not instantaneous, however; most Rapans continued to prefer their village-oriented cultural and political structures for decades to come, with only the generation born in the 1880s and beyond viewing Rapa Rapa more as a cohesive whole rather than five villages. The villages had temporarily united to face the arriving Urceans in [[1862]] but the presence of the Urcean military had permanently halted the centuries of village feuding, allowing a new sense of the island's unity to grow in the following decades. Rapa Rapa remained relatively conflict free during the [[Red Interregnum]] and [['97 Rising]], recognizing whichever government held [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and its military forces being far too remote to participate in the conflict. | ||
By around [[1920]], life in Rapa Rapa had changed significantly. Modern roadways connected the five villages in the preceding decades, and Rapan people began to live outside their villages for the first time. Levantine people began settling on the main island - largely in the spaces between the villages - in the early 1890s, and the main island began to take on a new urban cosmopolitan character. Construction began on a major port on the main island in [[1925]] to correspond to the naval base and port infrastructure on Navy Island, which was completed in [[1929]]. Although foreign goods had become available via trade on Navy Island begnning in the 1860s, by the late 1920s Rapa Rapa was undergoing a cultural revolution as building materials, foods, clothes, and other outside goods became widely available for the first time. In the years immediately preceding the Second Great War, the island was undergoing a major transformation. | By around [[1920]], life in Rapa Rapa had changed significantly. Modern roadways connected the five villages in the preceding decades, and Rapan people began to live outside their villages for the first time. Levantine people began settling on the main island - largely in the spaces between the villages - in the early 1890s, and the main island began to take on a new urban cosmopolitan character. Construction began on a major port on the main island in [[1925]] to correspond to the naval base and port infrastructure on Navy Island, which was completed in [[1929]]. Although foreign goods had become available via trade on Navy Island begnning in the 1860s, by the late 1920s Rapa Rapa was undergoing a cultural revolution as building materials, foods, clothes, and other outside goods became widely available for the first time. In the years immediately preceding the Second Great War, the island was undergoing a major transformation. The 1910s and 1920s also saw the first widespread adoption of [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] by indigenous Rapans, with the first churches having been constructed on the main island in around [[1912]]. Missionary activity first began among the populace in around 1890, with only limited success among the workers of the Navy Island for the first several decades. | ||
===Second Great War=== | ===Second Great War=== | ||
The beginning of the [[Second Great War]] and subsequent conflicts between Urcea and [[Daxia]] introduced hardships to the island not present in the preceding decades. Though the atoll was never directly invaded, it was subject to occasional Daxian naval bombardment, aerial bombing, and blockade, and generally speaking supply by Urcea to Rapa Rapa was difficult due to the presence of superior Daxian forces in [[Truk]]. Daxian agents were captured on Rapa Rapa on four different occasions between [[1935]] and [[1937]] attempting to foment rebellion among the indigenous Rapan people. As Urcea and [[Burgundie]] gradually established global naval supremacy during the conflict, the supply crisis eased by around [[1938]], but rationing was still in place for years after the war. The war also saw the Urceans construct a [[Royal Air Force (Urcea)|Royal Air Force]] airfield on the atoll in [[1934]], and this base helped prevent significant attacks from Truk on Rapa Rapa. The shared hardship had the effect of easing decades-old tensions between those of Levantine-descent and the indigenous Rapans on the atoll. Contemporaries noted that the Daxians had a poor reputation on Rapa Rapa prior to the arrival of the Urceans, and that the presence of a common Daxian enemy solidified bonds between the Rapans and Urceans in a way that a different enemy would not have. | The beginning of the [[Second Great War]] and subsequent conflicts between Urcea and [[Daxia]] introduced hardships to the island not present in the preceding decades. Though the atoll was never directly invaded, it was subject to occasional Daxian naval bombardment, aerial bombing, and blockade, and generally speaking supply by Urcea to Rapa Rapa was difficult due to the presence of superior Daxian forces in [[Truk]]. Daxian agents were captured on Rapa Rapa on four different occasions between [[1935]] and [[1937]] attempting to foment rebellion among the indigenous Rapan people. As Urcea and [[Burgundie]] gradually established global naval supremacy during the conflict, the supply crisis eased by around [[1938]], but rationing was still in place for years after the war. The war also saw the Urceans construct a [[Royal Air Force (Urcea)|Royal Air Force]] airfield on the atoll in [[1934]], and this base helped prevent significant attacks from Truk on Rapa Rapa. The shared hardship had the effect of easing decades-old tensions between those of Levantine-descent and the indigenous Rapans on the atoll. Contemporaries noted that the Daxians had a poor reputation on Rapa Rapa prior to the arrival of the Urceans, and that the presence of a common Daxian enemy solidified bonds between the Rapans and Urceans in a way that a different enemy would not have. | ||