2395 revolution
| 2395 Revolution of Empherias | |||||||
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 State of BrekenreidkegtPeople's Populist Party:  unaffiliated rebels: | ||||||
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The 2395 revolution, sometimes referred to as Rhommel's revolution was a period of political instability in Empherias between January 2395 and January 2396. The revolution was significant for shifting. The revolution was significant for shifting the political landscape by expanding the voting rights of people, expanding socialist ideas, and implementing a populist government. Following the end of the revolution, there was still significant unrest culminating in the Battle of Priscij Cathedral, several dwarven rebellions, and the executions of several nobles.
Background[edit | edit source]
Decades of a general political shift towards right wing conservativism and luceroanism in elitist circles saw both major political parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, adopt further out of touch policies to appeal to the very few elites who could vote in elections. Because of intense corruption, a restricted electorate, and a biased electoral system, there were no major opposition beyond ankrankist parties who couldn't gain more than a very few amount of seats. This led to a consistent back and forth of Liberal to Conservative governments with no major policy shifts in the latter half of the 24th century. There were some members of the parties, such as in the Liberal party, who did want to push for more liberalisation. These were the Mellow Evergreens, formerly part of the dominant but since defunct political party of the early 2300s, but were not able to gain enough political favour across the Liberal elite to create much change. This was even more apparent after the assassination of former prime minister Spencer Young, and the death of many Evergreen thinkers in the 2350s and 2360s.
General unrest was beginning to grow across the late century especially with growing religious divides with the common selbyists being treated less so by luceroanist employers. A growth of luceroanist employers also saw heightened discrimination against women and gay people, and a trend of disliking the poor. The affect of the industrial revolution on living conditions also saw many of the lower classes completely fed up with their government. With rising excess deaths and overworking, trade unions became very popular and democratic values spread intensely. Trade unions would even begin to help those discriminated against fight for better treatment. In some areas of the country, trade unions were very much in control of local governance and were sometimes trusted more than the government. A lot of these trade unions and other movements for change are labelled loosely as 'populist movements'.
Some of these movements blamed capitalism as a systemic issue and advocated for a more communal trade union approach. Others liked the ideas of their local trade union and would wish of a larger trade union for the entire country with a big government. Some were just dissatisfied with the most recent prime ministers - Jack Kaur and Russell Montgomery, who were brothers and benefited from nepotism and were considerably incompetent - and thought it was time for another shift back to the Liberal party. Some believed it was the royal family, or sometimes just incumbent rijkse James VII who was tyrannical. Many favoured a republic. But many agreed on the base ideas of necessary electoral reform and democratic values to be introduced, as well as regulations for working people. General strikes would begin across the late 2380s and 2390s, with the largest being a large shutdown to the Alexandria region of Wynnoa for 5 weeks across August and September 2391. However, the government would try and curb trade union powers in 2392 after at first promising some reform. They would also begin forcibly disbanding large trade unions who were governing towns and replacing them with unitary authorities ran by local nobility. One such town: Brekenreidkegt, in Esthullen, whose governing trade union, the Union of Brekenreidkegt, was disbanded in October 2392 and replaced by an authority ran by the Duke Anerheim Eystaveil. This happened to many other smaller towns across the country, but mostly on the Ewynn nearer larger cities. Strikes would continue across the 2390s in different varieties, with some trade unions even hiring well paid militia and having standoffs with the government. In some places far removed from the capital such as the far north, the largest trade unions were de-facto running independently of the government.
Brekenreidkegt Brekepaine rebellion[edit | edit source]
The Brekenreidkegt Brekepaine is widely regarded to be the spark for the full-scale revolution. The name is based off of the 2394 novel of the same name written by Lewis Rhommel. Rhommel had been a follower of populism in the country for many years and lived in Brekenreidkegt, one of the towns affected by the trade union crackdown. He wrote of his experiences in the two years and urged the public for action. He named prominent populist figures and urged for power to consolidate around them as ring leaders for a coming push to reform. Furthermore, across the nation several activists for a liberalisation of the nation, would use this ammo to fuel more discontent and raised the appeal for a revolution. The novel became one of the best selling of all time but was quickly outlawed - but remained alive due to underground selling. The novel also gained the support of many middle class people who were usually selbyist still and were feeling for the poorer or worse off than them. Although maybe some middle class people supported the movement because they felt the tide swinging and wanted to be on the right side. Some supported the movement because they believed that with the elite overthrown, they were next in the hierarchy to take over their roles.
After weeks of smaller scale protests, the Brekenreidkegt Town Hall building was seized in the early morning at around half past four on 25 January 2395 by around five hundred middle class civilians, with hundreds of lit torches and common weapons such as cricket bats, fencing swords and cooking knives. However, the pure amount of people forced the doors to break under pressure and the people to swarm through the front gates. One of the leaders of this protest was Edgard Morrison, an avid populist, who wanted to convince Eystaveil in the area to free up voting regulations and allow people to vote and elect a new representative of the people. This was important as a new tax law, which would've raised taxes, was about to be passed by the government. With windows smashed, royal guards stabbed and killed, the Duke fled the scene and declared an emergency to James VII and the prime minister. Brekenreidkegt is located very closely to Esthullen, the administrative capital, and so he was housed safely with the king and word spread quick. In total, there were 44 people killed in the rebellion, with 19 of those being royal guards, and the other 25 being civilians and protestors. Morrison would make a speech at the scene known as the Hopeful Declaration, declaring a 'new democratic age for our country and our people'. Morrison would establish a 'State of Brekenreidkegt' on 27 January 2395.
Aerogastnicht and other civil unrest[edit | edit source]
What followed was massive civil unrest, worse than ever before, across the country known as the Black Year. There were large numbers of protests in almost every town and city imaginable with government members in. In some areas, while the idea of independence hadn't been thrown around, dominant trade unions increased their militia and ordered the arrest of all government officials in the area. The government pushed for an expansion to the military to put down wide scale riots, such as the Georgina Riot on 3 February 2395, where 258 rioters were arrested, and 8 died.
Henry Alark, a former army lieutenant who was well known within the movement for his radical and militarist approach, led a large faction known as the Alarkists. In early February, he officially formed the Alark Corps with backing from a local trade union in Zerwynn and pushed to start a violent revolution to overthrow the king.
The Aergoastnicht took place on 28 March 2395. It was a night of murders of key autocratic figures leading to the death of twelve members of parliament, three royal guards, thirteen councillors, twenty-five upper class nobles, and two other deaths, with the attempted murder or serious injury of another 55. It had been planned in an underground newspaper and violent group for weeks and targeted people from across the country. Some spies did discover some of the plots for the government, leading to some plots being ousted in advance. The night allowed for the prime minister to begin major profile arrests under the guise of public safety concerns, notably the arresting of Felix D'laminet - a former civil servant and famous populist journalist.
The Storming of Parliament[edit | edit source]
Since February, Henry Alark had been planning an attempted coup. He moved to the small town of Skeulbourg to rally his troops and even recruit former troops of the national army. He armed his troops with military grade equipment and prepared to storm the government in April. Beginning at the King's Palace, five hundred troops and Alark himself stormed the capital which created mass panic in the city. The king had since fled to Rommes, while the prime minister had promptly left parliament after hearing about the incoming attack from intelligence. The national guard had been alerted and 1,000 troops from the army came to confront the Alarkists, believing that it was enough to 'destroy the malnourished'. During the seizure, Alark gained another 195 in milita-men and captured several rich manors, the parliament, and occupied the central town. In the parliament in particular, three members of parliaments and another 8 nobles were brutally slaughtered by members of Alark's militia. Some eyewitnesses saw famous local politicians on pikes around the city. Hoping to siege the city rather than engage, the royal guards were forced to confront Alark's troops after hearing of the brutal crimes being committed and fearing that the populists could claim themselves as the legitimate government. The government was also worried of other militias coming to Alark's defence and encircling the royal guards. Therefore, the Royal Guards engaged Alark's forces in a large park near the central town and an urban battle began on 26 April, a week into the populist occupation.
After eight hours of urban warfare, Alark's forces were forced to retreat due to the superior firepower and higher manpower of the army. Towards the battle's conclusion, several of the militia on the populist side fled and the side became incredibly disorganised while the army maintained organisation. Alark fled the city alongside prominent members, and many in Alark's forces were arrested and put on trial for treason. 201 were executed across May and June, with the rest in prison or escaped. Ultimately, the government had won the battle and managed to re-control the capital. They believed that they could now take control and end the revolution. The government would again arrest many prominent populists after their display of force. Edgard Morrison was captured after the government invaded the Brekenreidkegt state on 2 May 2395 where he was then sent to a detention centre in Vreimer. Morrison was executed on 5 May 2395 and became a martyr.
Protests and general strikes would continue less frequently throughout May and June with some fearing of the government's latest effective crackdown - although many still believed the government was weak after they lost the capital for 7 days. Winter would come and it would be quite brutal across June, July, and August. During the winter, D'laminet managed to create a network despite his imprisonment to distribute articles for newspapers to stir tension. Despite panic from the government that D’laminet was dangerous, some were concerned that his execution could lead to a similar fate as Morrison’s which could see more protests occur. Instead, the government continued to relocate him, and managed to intercept some letters, but many guards and even government officials allowed him to continue out of sympathy and loyalty to the movement.
The Princess Coup[edit | edit source]
James VII's government, fearful of the damage that these spreading ideas could have, clamped down on any free speech and brought on draconian measures. Mock executions on insignificant populists took place and the government sent disloyal army officials to re-education centres. In many towns and cities further away from the central government, some of these rules were ignored who believed that they were unjustified. Populist takeovers of towns, similar to that of Brekenreidkegt, took place - especially in the southeast and northwest. National strikes took place once again during the summer, with a major one occurring on 7 September 2395. Trade unions in particular would play a crucial part in weakening government control. Upwards of 90% of all towns in the modern day province of the North were completely controlled by independent trade unions who had began implementing some reforms already. Trade unions even grow in places where the government would ordinarily have great control, such as south of the Ewynn, in Palarya, and even some parts of Wynnoa.
With growing confidence, Henry Alark again recruited people, this time from several trade unions, and formed a new army of 2,500 troops. They were equipped with stolen army barracks after several raids in September and October. They laid low in November and sent out disinformation through known spies instead of imprisoning them. Then, when the time came, the spies were purged and Alark marched on Rommes to the King's residence on 29 December 2395. Aided by several loyal trade union-controlled towns on the way, Alark reached the royal palace with little resistance and little notice to the royal guards. Furthermore, the eldest daughter and heir to the throne Crown Princess Abigail, had been in correspondence with many populist figures since as early as 2393 and sympathised with their cause, and had been spreading disinformation to the king herself as one of his trusted members of the courts. Abigail had never liked her father, but didn't want to be disowned, and many believed she gained her position as an anti-establishment figure with liberal and socialist beliefs during her upbringing where her family was absent.
Alark was ultimately successful and defeated a contingent of 300 royal guards with ease and captured the palace. The King narrowly escaped in a small convoy and fled to the neighbouring country of the Hveden Federation, where their monarchy had only recently been re-established in 2390. Before fleeing to Hvede, the King was keen to try and remain in the country, but his small convoy encountered trade union militias in any major town they went - and thus they choose to go to a safe third option.
Abigail had moved to a safe undisclosed location in Vreimer just hours before the storm of the palace, but was quick to express her support for the revolution. Once her father had fled in early 2396, she took control and declared that James VII had de-facto abdicated by leaving the country. She was declared the Rijkdottir Abigail I on 11 January 2396.
She pardoned and released Felix D’laminet, and other populists persecuted for their ideology, from prison. She dissolved the corrupt parliament and installed her friend, Maisie Zoey King, as an interim Prime Minister. D’laminet met with Abigail many times and D’laminet used his influence over the populist movement to show support for the monarchy under Abigail, while she agreed to remove more powers from the monarchy - which she wished to do regardless. She was quick to remove all influence of her father and his noble allies across the country. She made frequent addresses assuring her citizens and both the army and now the populists embraced their new ruler.
The interim government pushed to immediately be more radical to gain the favour of the general public. They initially wanted to execute all former Conservative prime ministers on the basis they committed treason against the Empheri people. Of the surviving, the incumbent Prime Minister Russell Montgomery, the 2nd Lord Grey, was arrested and sentenced to death; his brother and former PM Jack Kaur, the 1st Lord Grey, had his titles stripped after he fled to Ahitereira; and Thomas Wright, Baron of Stonegrave was arrested but died of natural causes in custody. Former Liberal prime minister Wigfred Marksdottir would be put on house arrest until 2405, and would die in 2428 of natural causes aged 98.
Rijkdottir Abigail began finally began tweaking her government in December 2396, and invited Felix D'laminet to form a government as her prime minister on 1 January 2397.