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History of Urcea (1798-1902): Difference between revisions
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== End of Imperial control == | == End of Imperial control == | ||
Undeterred by the Princes of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] taking advantage of him and despite his reduced force presence, King Brian III continued to prosecute the war in an effort to regain the Imperial Throne and restore order in the Empire. The Princes sued for peace following the election of 1799 on the terms of Brian merely accepting the election, but this time he turned the offer down. Fighting continued in the Second Caroline War at mostly a draw until 1802, where the Royal Army was ejected from [[Carolina]] following its defeat at the Battle of Durham in June. The King positioned his forces in a defensive position at the [[Northgate]] and tried to sue for peace under the same terms, but now the Empire demanded separation of the [[Grand Duchy of Carolina]] from Urcea, which was rejected. Imperial forces were unable to break through the Northgate until October of 1803, when a small force of [[Burgundie|Burgoignesc]] landed on the Odoneru coast south of the | Undeterred by the Princes of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]] taking advantage of him and despite his reduced force presence, King Brian III continued to prosecute the war in an effort to regain the Imperial Throne and restore order in the Empire. The Princes sued for peace following the election of 1799 on the terms of Brian merely accepting the election, but this time he turned the offer down. Fighting continued in the Second Caroline War at mostly a draw until 1802, where the Royal Army was ejected from [[Carolina]] following its defeat at the Battle of Durham in June. The King positioned his forces in a defensive position at the [[Northgate]] and tried to sue for peace under the same terms, but now the Empire demanded separation of the [[Grand Duchy of Carolina]] from Urcea, which was rejected. Imperial forces were unable to break through the Northgate until October of 1803, when a small force of [[Burgundie|Burgoignesc]] landed on the Odoneru coast south of the [[Pralia Mountains]] and advanced on the Royal Army from behind in a coordinated attack with the Imperial Army. The Royal Army disintegrated at the Battle of the Northgate and King Brian was forced to flee to [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] in disguise. The door was now open for the Imperial Army to sack much of the Urcean heartland, but it decided to take preparations the Northgate to prevent a counterattack on [[Carolina]] before marching. The Imperial Army's command began to discuss the possibility of partitioning the [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]], [[Gassavelia]], and, critically, the Electorate of [[Canaery]] and its neighboring duchies from the Urcean Crown. | ||
<br />A later depiction of Prince Niall in the highlands. | <br />A later depiction of Prince Niall in the highlands. | ||
In an event that would become legendary, the 22-year old Prince of Halfway, Niall, snuck out of Urceopolis on November 24th under the cover of night after having being forbidden to do so by his father, and rode from Urceopolis to the famously loyal [[Ionian Plateau]] alone on horseback. According to legend - and some scholars who have analyzed subsequent orders of battle have attested that it is plausible - the Prince was caught up to by a cohort of [[Life Guard (Urcea)|the Household Life Guard]], sent to detain him and escort him back to the [[Julian Palace]]. The Prince not only convinced them to allow him to proceed, but according to the legend the Cohort joined his party en route to the Highlands. Upon arrival, in a personal appeal not unlike that of his ancestor, [[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire]], Niall raised the clans of the Highlands and launched a guerrilla campaign in order to harass and impede the advance of the Imperial Army. The Highlanders lost every actual field battle they were forced to fight, but Niall's legend grew as he personally lead his men in the field and, unlike his father, never fled before his force retreated in good order. It was during this time that he acquired the nickname he would bear for the rest of his life, even after his accession to King - "The Black Prince", due to the Highlanders' frequency of night raids and strikes. The Imperial Army spent much of 1804 chasing Niall across the Ionian Plateau | In an event that would become legendary, the 22-year old Prince of Halfway, Niall, snuck out of Urceopolis on November 24th under the cover of night after having being forbidden to do so by his father, and rode from Urceopolis to the famously loyal [[Ionian Plateau]] alone on horseback. According to legend - and some scholars who have analyzed subsequent orders of battle have attested that it is plausible - the Prince was caught up to by a cohort of [[Life Guard (Urcea)|the Household Life Guard]], sent to detain him and escort him back to the [[Julian Palace]]. The Prince not only convinced them to allow him to proceed, but according to the legend the Cohort joined his party en route to the Highlands. Upon arrival, in a personal appeal not unlike that of his ancestor, [[Emperor Leo III of the Holy Levantine Empire]], Niall raised the clans of the Highlands and launched a guerrilla campaign in order to harass and impede the advance of the Imperial Army. The Highlanders lost every actual field battle they were forced to fight, but Niall's legend grew as he personally lead his men in the field and, unlike his father, never fled before his force retreated in good order. It was during this time that he acquired the nickname he would bear for the rest of his life, even after his accession to King - "The Black Prince", due to the Highlanders' frequency of night raids and strikes. The Imperial Army spent much of 1804 chasing Niall across the Ionian Plateau. The Prince also famously crossed the Ionian mountains and raised [[Ómestaderoi]] militia and raiders, striking at Imperial camps in [[Carolina]], previously thought safe. Despite his triumphs in every battle fought so far, [[List of Emperors of the Levantines#deChantil%20Dynasty|Emperor Mauricio I]] could neither pin down the prince nor conclusively determine how many soldiers were in the field against him, buying the Kingdom vital time. At the end of the 1804 campaign season, the Emperor attempted to bypass the Ionian Plateau altogether and marched down the [[Urce River]], but was halted by [[Castle Welute]]. With the Ionians at his flanks and the formidable Castle along the banks of the river, bypassing the Castle to march directly towards [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] would prove an extremely dangerous proposition, threatening to entirely cut off the Imperial Army from its line of retreat and supply line. The Imperial Army advanced towards the Castle and there was skirmishing between the Imperial Army and Castle garrison throughout the fall, but the Emperor thought better of a direct assault and retreated back to [[Northgate]] where the Army would winter. During that winter of 1804-05, the Imperial Army was constantly harassed by small bands of Ionian raiders loyal to the Black Prince, and by spring the Army was poorly supplied and in poro morale. | ||
By the time of the 1805 campaign season, King Brian had raised enough men to reforge the Royal Army, although he agreed to a concession to the [[Concilium Daoni]] in order to raise the funds to pay for it. He agreed to the demand that a [[Chancellor and Temporary President|Chancellor]] of the Royal Treasury, a vicar of the Procurator, be created and that the Daoni had the power to appoint one. He also agreed to the demand that a formal vote of approval had to be taken by the Daoni in order to approve the King's appointments to the [[Concilium Purpaidá]] - the Concession of 1747 only required a "general consensus of approval". With another important development in the [[Constitution of Urcea]], King Brian departed Urceopolis, marching north, and, combined with his son's forces he defeated the beleaguered Imperial Army at the Battle of Tarrin in May 1805, sending the Imperial Army back north of the Northgate. A subsequent victory occurred in the [[Ænglasmarch#Duchy_of_Holchester|Duchy of Holchester]] the same month, where the civil conflict between pro- and anti- Urcean nobles which began in 1798 was ended by a combination of [[Ómestaderoi]] militia from [[Carolina]] and local pro-[[House de Weluta|Velucian]] Dukes, who won a decisive battle not far from Holchester. King Brian's forces were unable to cross the Northgate themselves, but the Imperial Army and Emperor saw that their supply lines across Holchester were now cut, and subsequently sued for peace under the terms offered in 1802 - namely, the surrender of the [[Grand Duchy of Carolina]], which would be garrisoned by the Imperial Army from that point onward. The King begrudgingly agreed and spent the rest of his life cursing the decision, growing extremely obese and unable. The Black Prince, meanwhile, grew in popularity and became something of a Prince of the people before the King sent him away to study in [[Béyasar]], where he encountered students of the Kilikas Enlightenment. Though he rejected much of what he deemed their "excesses", Prince Niall learned many useful ideas for reform there before being recalled to Urceopolis in 1809 - his father had died, and he was to be crowned King. | |||
==Niall's reforms== | ==Niall's reforms== | ||
King Niall V sought to combine his experience during the war with his education to bring about a fundamental change in the way Urcea was governed and fought its wars. Niall sought to prevent Urcea from ever losing in a manner similar to the Second Caroline War again, but more aptly noted that Urcea had a far greater population than the [[Kingdom of Dericania]] but continually found itself at numerical disadvantages in wars with its neighbors. King Niall's reign - a key part of the so-called Reform Era - emphasized the realization that Urcea, if it engaged the collective will and resources of its entire population, the Apostolic Kingdom could dominate much of [[Levantia]] without any real competition. To this end, Niall's reign focused on a three-pronged approach: the first of which was administrative reforms aimed at creating a levée en masse, which included the first formal Kingdom-wide census in 1810; the second of which involved political liberalization aimed at increasing national "buy-in" and engagement for the Kingdom's policy decisionmaking, and; the third of which involved reforms implementing a basic national education as well as a publicly subsidized nationalistic art program, which included the adoption of a new national flag in 1830. The key plank of the second reform included the issuance of the [[Great Bull of 1811]], which guaranteed certain civil liberties and political rights. The Bull was developed by the King with significant input from his chief advisor Corio de Weluta, a distant cousin and member of the Royal dynasty. To this day the Great Bull is widely known as "Urcea's Bill of Rights", and played yet another key step in the development of the [[Constitution of Urcea]]. The third reform brought about the first organized national propaganda effort in Urcea and likely in [[Levantia]]. As part of that program, many drew parallels between King Niall and [[Saint Julius I]], who utilized the large numbers of Latino-Gaels and [[Gaelic people]] to field armies capable of defeating [[Gallawa]]. Besides the favorable comparison to the national founding father, this comparison also drew links between [[Gallawa]] and the present [[Holy Levantine Empire]], both as enemies of the Urcean people. | King Niall V sought to combine his experience during the war with his education to bring about a fundamental change in the way Urcea was governed and fought its wars. Niall sought to prevent Urcea from ever losing in a manner similar to the Second Caroline War again, but more aptly noted that Urcea had a far greater population than the [[Kingdom of Dericania]] but continually found itself at numerical disadvantages in wars with its neighbors. King Niall's reign - a key part of the so-called Reform Era - emphasized the realization that Urcea, if it engaged the collective will and resources of its entire population, the Apostolic Kingdom could dominate much of [[Levantia]] without any real competition. To this end, Niall's reign focused on a three-pronged approach: the first of which was administrative reforms aimed at creating a levée en masse, which included the first formal Kingdom-wide census in 1810; the second of which involved political liberalization aimed at increasing national "buy-in" and engagement for the Kingdom's policy decisionmaking, and; the third of which involved reforms implementing a basic national education as well as a publicly subsidized nationalistic art program, which included the adoption of a new national flag in 1830. The key plank of the second reform included the issuance of the [[Great Bull of 1811]], which guaranteed certain civil liberties and political rights. The Bull was developed by the King with significant input from his chief advisor Corio de Weluta, a distant cousin and member of the Royal dynasty. To this day the Great Bull is widely known as "Urcea's Bill of Rights", and played yet another key step in the development of the [[Constitution of Urcea]]. The third reform brought about the first organized national propaganda effort in Urcea and likely in [[Levantia]]. As part of that program, many drew parallels between King Niall and [[Saint Julius I]], who utilized the large numbers of Latino-Gaels and [[Gaelic people]] to field armies capable of defeating [[Gallawa]]. Besides the favorable comparison to the national founding father, this comparison also drew links between [[Gallawa]] and the present [[Holy Levantine Empire]], both as enemies of the Urcean people. | ||