History of Urcea (1575-1798): Difference between revisions

==Leonine reforms and 17th century expansion==

King [[Leo III, Emperor of the Levantines|Leo II]] reigned until 1597 and spent the remaining 22 years of his life after 1575 fundamentally remaking [[Urcea]], strengthening the Church, and attending to Imperial affairs, particularly the nuances and specifics of the victory terms and the division of land. Leo initiated a series of wide-reaching post-war reforms in which he sought to not only bring to Kingdom together into a cohesive unit, but also planned to undercut the [[Social class in Urcea|optimate class]], who he blamed for the war as well as the [[Saint's War]], and planned to simplify [[Social class in Urcea]]. The King reduced the number of classes to three and formally abolished serfdom in [[Urcea]], though the institution had already been rendered mostly nominal due to the devastation of the wars. Part of King Leo's program also included the famous Leonine Land Decree of 1590, which opened lands acquired as part of the [[Dragonnades]] to any family in the [[Urceopolis (Archduchy)|Archduchy of Urceopolis]] of [[Social class in Urcea|privilegiata or freeman]] rank without considerable land holdings. The Land Decree divided the acquired estates in [[Gassavelia]], and, to a lesser extent, in [[Ænglasmarch]], into 40 acre parcels to be used as smallholds. This created the first wave of [[Ómestaderoi]], and Leo intended for it to strengthen smallholders at the expense of the optimates, which, following several future waves of Ómestaderoi, proved successful.  In [[1591]], Leo organized the standing [[Royal and Imperial Army (Urcea)|Royal Army]] and [[Royal Navy (Urcea)|Royal Navy]] which were loyal only to the Crown, further reducing the authority of remaining local magnates. Leo's primary reform, however, was standardizing the legal code throughout nearly all of [[Urcea]] at the time, including the final elimination of the separate legal code in [[Canaery]]. By bringing the disparate duchies and territories under one standard code, Leo forged the legal nation of Urcea out of the medieval crown confederation of Urcea. With the standard legal code also came the abolition of internal tariffs, bringing about strong economic recovery following decades of war. His legal reforms also stripped the right of heads of the [[Estates of Urcea]] to appoint representatives to the [[Concilium Daoni]], and he began the process of creating "districts" for members to represent, though these districts were often coterminous with local communes - which elected members - or with lower vassals, who appointed members to the body. Leo's successors in the 17th century took part in the economic spoils and successively attempted to expand the country's eastern border, with several successful wars bringing neighboring duchies and counties to heel. It was also during this time the Crown began to devise schemes to acquire the [[Grand Duchy of Carolina]], a polity to the north, though such attempts would not come to fruition in the 17th century. The profile of Urcea in the Empire continued to rise under Leo's successors, greatly unified and strengthened by the victory of the War of Religion and with a powerful southern Gassavelia no longer extant to contain Urcea. The 17th Century, besides continuing expansion within the [[Holy Levantine Empire]], was a time of something of a second Renaissance in Urcea as the baroque period took off and the Crown focused on making internal improvements. The [[Julian Palace]] was given a major renovation at this time, building the [[Julian Palace#Caeline Palace|Caeline Palace]] which remains the core of the structure as of the 21st century. The Crown spent lavishly on infrastructure improvements as well as rebuilding several palaces and Churches.