The Deluge
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| The Deluge | ||||||||
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.jpg) Urcean Royal Navy ship HMCMS Attendant firing a missile at Sons of Levantia positions in Quetzenkel | ||||||||
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 Sons of Levantia(to 2035) |
 Nanseetucket Algoquona Western Alpachnee Confederation | ||||||
The Deluge is an ongoing set of related conflicts in Crona. While many Occidental powers maintained a minor colonial presence in the area prior to the 2010s, Urcean involvement in the War of the Northern Confederation and Corumm's simultaneous war against Nanseetucket created a cascading period of instability throughout northwestern Crona that lead to an even greater level of Occidental involvement.
New Yustona
More Information: War of the Northern Confederation
Though Occidental colonies had dotted northwestern Crona for decades or, in some cases, centuries, prior to the early 2000s, many of these colonies were relatively small, extending perhaps a hundred miles or less in from the coast. One of the major powers working to isolate the Occidental colonies was the Northern Confederation, a union of some five native Cronan nations. While the Northern Confederation successfully managed to limit Occidental expansion during the 20th century, it descended into infighting in the 21st century between several of its members. The newly-ascended King Riordan VIII of Urcea directed the Government of Urcea to intervene, and Urcea began the slow work of dismantling the Northern Confederation.
In 2008, the Confederation dissolved following a sack of one native capital city by another tribe. Following contact with some of these native nations, the Royal and Imperial Army was deployed to settle scores between the natives, and following a three year campaign of diplomacy and arms, the Kingdom of New Yustona was established as a new confederation with the Apostolic King of Urcea at its head. The expanded Kingdom, which revealed huge deposits of uranium, opened the door for further Levantine involvement in Crona.
Quetzenkel
More Information: South Nysdra War
In 2013, Archchief Quetzen XXIII ascended to power in Quetzenkel following the assassination of his predecessor and great uncle, Honau V. Much of Honau's reign had been consumed with the geopolitical question of how Quetzenkel should respond to the War of the Northern Confederation, and Honau - like Quetzen - assumed a position of status quo and peaceful relations with the Occident in order to ensure Quetzenkel's survival. Radicals assassinated Honau for this stance, and Quetzen declared martial law over the country in order to establish order. By 2014, martial law continued, and most of Quetzenkel's military forces were committed to maintaining domestic order and were spread thin. The Sons of Levantia, who had been preparing for over a year, launched a surprise invasion in the country. Quetzenkel's military was able to win several engagements, but elements of the Sons bypassed Quetzeni defenses, captured Akwesasne, and executed Quetzen XXIII. This execution had the desired effect as the organized military resistance to the Sons of Levantia collapsed and Quetzenkel was thrown into turmoil. The Sons of Levantia had captured large parts of Western Quetzenkel by the middle of 2015, sending refugees flooding into the eastern half of the country, further destabilizing the fragile military regime that had taken power. The already rural western half the country had been largely depopulated, with records showing a population in the low hundred thousands by the end of the year when it had been more than five million in 2010. The South Nysdra War was concluded with the intervention of Urcea, establishing the Kingdom of Quetzenkel and Cetsencalia as separate territories.
Nanseetucket
Corummese involvement and interest in northern Crona sought to preempt Western domination of the continent and to carve a place for Corumm as a vital player in the region. Following the violent acquisition of the island of Cao in mid 2000, the Corummese government set its long term sights on the fragile state of Nanseetucket. Inhabited by myriad tribes and subdivided into precarious statelets and city states often hostile to one another, it was considered a target ripe for conquest. While the validity of the Corummese casus belli has been called into question at the League of Nations and by academics all over, the 2015 war waged upon Ixa'Taka; one of Nanseetucket's sub-entities covering all of its western territory, was swift and quite brutal on the local populations. Two Ixa'takan monarchs were killed in the process and several cities were effectively flattened by Corummese bombing runs. By late 2015 all attempts at military resistance had been quelled and tens of thousands of refugees had flooded across the border into Vespia. Corumm's Assembly of the People swiftly passed an annexation bill that created the overseas state of 'Xisheng' and made it an integral part of the republic.
Nanseetucket's 'central' government was hardly agreeable to these developments but could hardly even think of doing anything about it in the face of Corumm's clear intention to continue eastwards with the invasion. Likewise the near simultaneous attack by Kiravia put Nanseetucket into a position of extreme disadvantage. A renewed push by both colonial powers saw Nanseetucket's government crumble by the end of 2017 and the divvying up of its territory into separate zones of influence.
Alpachnee
Algoquona
More information: Operation Mission Shield, Operation Western Blizzard
In the aftermath of the War of the Northern Confederation, one of the constituent tribes of the Confederation - Algoquona - filled the native power vacuum by establishing control over most of the free tribes and city-states which had previously comprised the Confederation. It claimed legal succession from the Confederation and continued to fight Urcea in the last months of the War before agreeing to a ceasefire. Lengthy negotiations lead to the Treaty of Narasseta, intended to establish a lasting peace between Urcea and Algoquona and settle ongoing border disputes. The treaty also formally established the Unnuaq mission exclusion zone in the northern, arctic parts of the former Confederation, protecting 18 Church missions in the region. The Treaty of Narasseta broke down by the end of 2016, however, as Urcea's involvement in the South Nysdra War and establishment of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association lead to Algoquona's decision to abrogate the treaty on 28 November 2016. Two weeks later, on 15 December 2016, Urcea took military action by seizing the Unnuaq Chain in Operation Mission Shield, reestablishing the Unnuaq mission exclusion zone by force.
Concurrently with and continuing after the conclusion of hostilities in Operation Mission Shield, Yonderre and the United Kingdom began Operation Western Blizzard, an operation to destroy the military hierarchy of Algoquona. The operation was devised as a punitive action following Algoquona's encouragement and mishandling of the Khurnwah embassy siege. The resulting weakening and destabilization of Algoquona allowed for further territorial cessions, as Pachaug and Housatonic established their de facto independence under Urcean protection.
Land of the Long Night
More Information: Land of the Long Night
In March of 2017, the League of Nations Security Council voted to establish a multi-national League of Nations Mandate over the Land of the Long Night. The decision, initiated by Urcea, was aimed at ensuring the instability gripping the rest of Crona would not spread to the territory and to protect the independence of the tribes and cities living in the then-unclaimed territory. The Mandate - known as Mandatory Venua'tino - was established on 5 March 2017 on a provisional basis and became firmly established by the end of the month. The Commission for Venua'tino'pouri'tino'nui, centered in Shenendehowa Bay, began implementing a series of reforms in order to unify the peoples of the region while investigating ways to enhance infrastructure, healthcare, and economic development.
Legacy
Demographic effects
The emergence of Urcea as the largest power in western Crona lead to significant out-migration of people from Urcea, reducing and stabilizing its population growth while leading to an explosion of population growth in Crona. As of the 2040 census, it is estimated that slightly more than 20 million Levantines (not including Veltorines) immigrated to Urcea's Crona possessions. These migrations lead to the further expansion of Cronin people and intermarriage between Levantines and Cronites. Populations analysts projected, as of 2040, that the Levantine-Cronin population of Urcea's Crona possessions could reach nearly 200 million by the year 2100.