Capture of Truk
| Capture of Truk | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Daxian Filibuster Wars | |||||||
.png) Drawing of one of the Emirate's ships | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Emirate of Truk | Daxia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Akhmat Tidore IV | Marquis Shenbao | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
8,500 men 35 ships |
5,000 Daxians 20 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| thousands | 750 | ||||||
The Capture of Truk was the conquest of the independent Emirate of Truk by a military force of Daxia's Qian dynasty in 1673. Part of the Daxian filibuster wars, the capture of Truk was long desired for its valuable position on the Southern route and close to the Kindreds, its saltpeter mines and to bring to heel a troublesome independent polity.
Background
The islands of Truk has been inhabited by polynesian peoples since at least 600 BCE, with settlers possibly arriving from Vallos. The polynesian people of Truk developed in isolation for hundreds of years, limiting their sailing to nearby archipelagos. In the year 1251 an Islamic mystic by the name of Sayed Ali Qumi arrived by accident on the islands with a few companions, their ship having sunk in a storm. Qumi proceeded to successfully spread Islam to the people of Truk who were so impressed with the tales of martial conquests by Muslim armies that they agreed to convert. The King of Truk of the day adopted the islamic first name of Akhmat to signal his new piety and began to style himself as emir. Shortly after Syed Ali Qumi departed for the east, his original destination. Another gift they had been left with was the secret of producing iron, something the people of the new Emirate took to quickly for Qumi also left them with a warning: that the seas were full of infidels and they would need to protect what was theirs. It is believed by modern scholars that Qumi could have originally been from what is now Rusana. Energized by their new faith, the elites of the new Emirate of Truk looked to spread to neighboring islands. Two years of rigorous campaigning saw the nearby atolls and reefs conquered by Akhmat Tidore and its backward inhabitants incorporated into the ummah. Unlike mainstream conquests in Audonia the Muslims of Truk left no room for dhimmis to exist, forcing every tribe to convert or be destroyed; by the 1270's the islands were uniformly Muslim and Islam was the official religion of the state.
Over the next two hundred years the emirate would become a local trading power, welcoming merchants from Daxia, Caphiria, the Loa and Pelaxia. Truk's wily rulers managed to tiptoe around the various powers and avoided committing to any one side for too long, making Truk an important component of the southern route and the Audonia-Sarpedon trade. Beginning in 1642 Emir Mahmud Tidore II agreed to a loose compact with Daxia to counter encroachments by the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth. Mahmud allowed the Daxians to build a fort on the island; the emirate's forces also received some shipments of weapons such as muskets to increase their battle worthiness. In time the Daxians would station a permanent representative on Truk to oversee relations with the emirate and steer its pro-Daxian stance. In return for their protection, Mahmud sold them saltpeter, sago(a type of starch used for bread) and cassava at greatly discounted rates. Mahmud's son, Akhmat opposed his father's pro-Daxian policies and anti-Daxian courtiers and officials banded around him; creating a powerful clique. Akhmat resented non muslims having such influence over the affairs of the emirate and considered the discounted prices on goods sold to Daxia ruinous to local finances. Emir Mahmud fell gravely ill during the spring of 1675; prompting the prince to launch a coup. Akhmat and his loyalists in the royal guard seized the palace complex and produced a fatwa by the Grand Mufti deposing Mahmud in favor of his son.