Occidental Cold War

Occidental Cold War
Date 19 May 1950 – 15 August 1984 (31 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 6 days) Location Primarily Sarpedon and Levantia Result Peaceful coexistence and end to hostility reached following the Assumption Accords
Belligerents
Caphiria	Levantia and Odoneru Treaty Association (LOTA) Urcea Burgundie Aciria Yonderre

The Occidental Cold War, sometimes referred to as just the Cold War, was a period of geopolitical tension primarily between the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea and its allies and the Imperium of Caphiria and its allies which lasted for more than sixty years, though with intermittent intensity. The Cold War grew out of a period of tension prior to the Second Great War as part of Levantine Creep and counter-creep, and continued as a direct result of unresolved issues between the two great powers following the conclusion of the Second Great War. Control of Imperial Diplomacy on Sarpedon also played a major role, as Aciria contended its continental hegemony by formation of the Eastern Imperium. The Cold War, along with the Second Great War, are considered the nadir of Levanto-Sarpic relations.

History

1970-1979

Burgo-Caphirian Thaw

In 1974, Burgundie's economy and cultural stamina was flagging as Operation Kipling dragged into its 8th year without an end in site. The Burgoignacs of Equitorial Burgundie, Flordeterra, Port de Vent, and Sudmoll were feeling neglected as all of the aid money promised to them for reconstruction efforts after the Second Great War had been diverted to Operation Kipling. Looking to stimulate these economies and to thwart any resentment boiling over to the point of the New Burgundie Secession War, economists and strategists weighed the option of reopening trade with Caphiria. The idea was particularly resisted by the public in Flordeterra, who had been nuked by Caphiria in the closing weeks of the war. As a trial effort the trade between Escal and Sudmoll was opened in the summer of 1974. The islands had long been trading partners and during the Second Great War and the opening phases of the Occidental Cold War when trade was officially shut down, they maintained a strong black market and smuggling economy to maintain their economies. It was determined that regulating this trade, normalizing prices, and taxing would be beneficial for both the governments of Burgundie and Caphiria. The move was well received and tax revenues exploded, causing the government of Port de Vent to petition for the same agreement in the fall. A trade commission saw their trade open just before Christmas. In the proceeding three years trade was cautiously opened more and more, at first on a province by province basis and eventually nationally.

Burgundie's grand scale adoption of containerization (greatly bolstered by the logistical requirements of Operation Kipling) meant that it was able to ship goods more efficiently by an enormous factor and needed new markets to keep up with its new capabilities. Companies like O’Shea Container Shipping took this opportunity to aggressively market the companies of Caphiria and became a major import-export carrier of Caphirian goods by the early 1980s. It is estimated that the "Thaw" contributed to the global rise of the Economy of Burgundie in ways and to a degree that no other single piece of legislation as come close to encountering.

Burgo-Urcean Nadir

As a result of the Burgo-Caphirian Thaw relations between Burgundie and Urcea soured as Urcea accused Burgundie of abandoning the cause and in some fringe cases of treason to the Levantine Union altogether. Both countries kept a united front publicly, especially around Urcean involvement in Operation Kipling and Burgundie remaining in the Levantine Union. However, from 1974 until after the Assumption Accords in 1984, there was over a decade of political and military infighting, as well as mudslinging in the media, on both sides. It was not until a new generation of politicians emerged in the 1990s that the two countries fully repaired their relations.

1980-1984

Assumption Accords

Main article: Assumption Accords

The Framework for Peaceful Co-Existence on Urlazio and Sarpedon, more commonly known as the "Assumption Accords" was an agreement reached by the governments of Caphiria and Urcea, settling longstanding disputes over territorial boundaries on Urlazio. The agreement entailed territorial cessions of the Ecinis peninsula of Lariana and the island of Maristella to Caphiria in exchange for Caphirian recognition of New Harren and Urcea's involvement in The Deluge, a demilitarization of Urlazio and the greater Lariana region, in addition to creation of free trade zones in the same areas. As part of the agreement, Urcea ceased recognition of the Veltorine government-in-exile and ordered it to leave Lariana, where it had resided since the end of the Second Great War. The Accords are widely agreed to have brought about the end of the Occidental Cold War, and also opened the door for further negotiations that resulted in the Eight Points Agreement decades later, ending the schism between Caphiria and the rest of the Catholic Church.