History of the Errikan Empire
The Errikan Empire, the major power of northern Mucro, has a long history, tracing back to the earliest settlement of Errikan peoples in Mucro in the early middle ages and extending to the modern Empire.
Contents
Early History
Migration and Settlement
According to early Errikan records, our sole source for information on the subject, Errik was a Germanic warlord in the early Christian era. His father, the leader of his tribe, was betrayed and murdered by his friend, who then siezed power for himself. Errik, then a young boy, had to flee to avoid being slain as well, though, upon departing, he swore he would return to avenge his father and bring justice to his murderer. He arrived in the Roman Empire, and developed a taste for their civilization. This did not temper his desire for revenge, however, for when he was old enough he returned, gathered an army, and fought his father's murderer, killing him personally and siezing power back.
However, he was still smitten with civilization, and incorporated much of what he had learned into his dealings as tribal leader. His connections with the Roman Empire, which brought fourth technologies and mannerisms as well as classic stories and philosophies, also brought fourth Christianity. Influenced by a Roman retainer, Errik read a Latin translation of the Christian bible, with which he quickly found himself equally smitten as he had found himself with civilization. He Christianized his population (the sagas say peacefully, but some historical scholars argue otherwise) shortly thereafter.
At some point, the exact circumstances of which remain unclear, there began a great migration of Errik's people. Those who were Christianized, most of his tribe and a few families from surrounding tribes, left with Errik, who led this new migration to find his people's "promised land." There is great question as to how he organized the navy necessary to transport the people, but they left Europe via the North Sea, eventually, miraculously, arriving in Northern Mucro. Though there are no Errikan records of it, it is believed that, on their way into what would come to be the Errikan gulf, they stopped off on the isle of Multan, where, according to Multanese tradition, they destroyed the local civilization and carried off their wealth. This, real or fictional, would prove to be an important factor later in Errikan history. Shortly after that may event would have taken place, Errik and his people, who would come to be known as Errikans, landed on the eastern coast of the Errikan gulf, beginning their settlement of what would someday become Errikland.
Inland Expansion
Feudal Era
The Feudal War
789-899 AD
High Medieval Era
Gradual Social Revolution
The collapse of the Feudal System was due to many factors. Foremost among these was the dramatic rise in literacy, a result of the increasing importance of professional soldiers. As professional soldiery continually proved their worth against conscript armies, and as labor for conscription grew far less cheap, all remaining factions put more of their resources towards training professional soldiers. Most soldiers were given not only formation training and drills, but also basic literacy. As more and more people learned to read, more actually read the bible, rather than taking the word of clergymen, who, as a literate elite, had a vested interest in placing certain emphasis. The concept that all Errikans were equal in the eyes of God spat in the face of an inborn aristocratic system, and the general populace quickly grew dissatisfied with their circumstances as even those who remained illiterate (a solid portion of the population for many years) were introduced to this concept by those who were. Many just walked, leaving their fiefs and settling and cultivating new lands.
This migration was made possible by the rapid growth of technologies, encoraged by the rise in literacy and driven by a population rapidly regrowing to grow up to its pre-war/plague levels, which not only allowed cultivation of more local areas and (more importantly) expansion into further regions, but also allowed the former feudal lords to maintain their production with less available labor. Though some of this was the result of conscious research and testing on the part of established lords in their fiefs (often with the aid of agricultural texts from antiquity), most of it was the result of the experieces of newer farmers on the frontiers, whose trial-and-error development was often a life or death matter and whose newfound indepenence drove the expansion of Errikdom.
These changes in the fifty years following the true end of the Feudal War forever changed Errikan society and culture, and would, over time, have far-reaching effects.
Rising Kingdoms
A half century following the Feudal War, a new Errikan system became established. Feudal power would never rise again, but the factions that came out of the Feudal War to form early states; the war had demanded creation of the basis for these reforms, particularly military professionalism, and the aftermath provided a more dynamic economy and relatively independent and rapidly reproducing citizenry who, though now far less suitable for the mass levy armies, would form the proper basis for the more professional armies of the time. These people, relatively new to the advantages literacy offered them, would take great steps to maintain and expand these advantages not only for themselves but also for their families. The population also grew outwards more than ever before, as more land was cultivated and more resources were sought. Of course, this naturally led to greater conflict between the new and improved states.
Various history of warring kingdoms.
The Crusade
The stability brought about by this alliance allowed the Errikans, led by William of Fehrburg, to focus their forces on preparing for the crusade. Their total military forces from the outset were over 100,000, with the largest part coming from William's northern alliance and the next largest part coming from Frederick of Vahnville's south.
The Crusade went very well, with the Errikan forces and their Latin allies handily defeating several far larger Saracen forces and taking Jerusalem in late 1196. However, it was then that a dispute broke out between the Errikans and the Catholics: it was initially centered around the treatment of the Jews, whom the Errikans thought should be treated repectfully as God's chosen people and the Catholics thought should be slain as pagans, but soon moved on to a question of religious authority. The Catholics argued for the ultimate supremacy of the Pope, while the Errikans contended that all Christians were equal in the eyes of God, and the Pope had no more authority than the Errikans' own religious scholars. This ultimately led to the Errikan withdrawl from the Crusade, and ultimately the vast majority of the Errikans returned to their homeland shortly thereafter (bringing the majority of the remaining Jewish population with them so as to spare them from molestation at the hands of the other Crusaders).
That sudden end of the Errikan Crusade also resulted in a rapid cooling of Errikan-European relations, which in turn resulted in the end of the period of close trade and interaction with Europe and a lasting anti-Catholicism in Errikdom that lasted for many years.
Late Medieval, Early Modern Era, 1200-1750s
Slow Decline, Isolationism
The Crusade turned out to be the last great hurrah not only of united Errikanism for hundreds of years but also of the great powerful kingdoms. William and Frederick's alliance held together longer than one would have expected, probably due to increased sentiments of Errikan unity in the face of anti-Romanism, but it ultimately broke down into new wars in 1215. By that time, neither William's northern alliance nor Frederick's southern were as fully behind them as in the past, and no mass warfare on a large scale involved most of the Errikan peoples; instead, indecisive skirmishing over a couple years led to minor exchanges of territory and short-lived peace in the spring of 1218. Similar wars took place in 1220-23 and 1225-1226. The last case was different from the others, however, involving the Watter Campaign, with the large, if not decisive, battles of Rach and South Watter. It substantially weakened both William and Frederick's respective armies, and resulted in the Peace of South Watter, which would prove to be a lasting one. Not only did it take time for the respective powers to rebuild their military forces, but by this time both leaders were relatively old, and somewhat weary of campaigning. They spent their remaining years in power on domestic issues, investing in matters such as infastructure and the arts. Oddly enough, both men passed away on the same day in July of 1238.
The 1240s and '50s saw relative peace throughout most of the Errikan lands, though minor border skirmishes between minor states were common. Increasingly, the great alliances of the previous years grew much weaker, kingdoms more decentralized. This trend continued through the 1260s beyond, though the peace of prior decades broke down as the minor border skirmishes became more common and more intense, with the plentiful minor states often going to full scale war with one another.
Stuff from 1300-early 1800s
Rising National Identity
Ideological Foundations, Foreign Invasion
This
Political Stability, Economic Transformation, Social Upheaval
Formation of Alliance, Confederation
Some semblence of industrialization had been around in Errikland for centuries; the high era for kingdoms had seen vast forges that mass produced military equipment, which remained in use to one degree or another until the early 1800s. The late 1700s had seen some adaptation of industrialism for commercial and merchant purposes, and these extended and expanded in the early 1800s. However, Errikland remained a largely agrarian society, with most of the population being small farmers, Errikan cities and industries being dwarfed by the leading cities and industries of the major powers of the region.
However, this was to change in the nineteenth century. Increasing agricultural efficiency had been an ongoing process since the inland migration of Errikan peoples in the first centuries since their settlement. The industrial growth in the years following the Napoleonic Wars, however, disproportionately represented itself in this area, resulting in an unprecedented explosion in agricultural production. This production also made such production far less labor intense, allowing smaller farmers to cultivate more land and larger farmers to lay off most of their hands. Though a considerable portion of those who found themselves on the revieving ends of these layoffs, along with the surplus result of a high population growth rate, were able to move on to found their own farms, or otherwise join the societies of small towns that covered much of Errikland, a hisorically unprecedented amount of them flocked to the cities. The rising urban areas, which had been growing steadily with gradual industrialization in the decades prior to the Napoleonic Wars, exploded in the mid-nineteenth century, with the urban population growing by a factor of four in ten years.
The falling prices in foodstuffs and raw materials made this urban growth possible, and, along with the new abundance of labor, fostered another explosion, this one in industry. There was rapid industrial growth in Errikan urban areas in the 1860s-80s, with the Confederation of Errikdom passing up most their neighbors in industrial production in 1871 and finally becoming the largest individual producer of steel in the region in 1889. A true middle class, which previously had been based largely on the small farmers, and, to a far lesser extent, merchants, sprung up seemingly out of thin air to represent a large part of the population and formed the backbone of the new Errikan economy and culture. This also led to the growth of urban underclasses, who would be the source of most labor for the burgeoning Errikan industry and the primary source of social unrest. This class was initially made up primarily of former country poor and their descendents, but also had the majority of the poor, uneducated immigrants and other social and cultural outcasts. Actually, the industrial explosion saw a rise in the overall quality of life in Errikan cities, especially for the urban underclasses. However, this was not necessarily readily apparent to those very underclasses.
A relatively new group of people, which came in increasingly around the turn of the century, was that of immigrants. Though Errikland was not nearly as large a destination for migration as was the United States in this time period, large numbers of migrants came to Errikland looking for employment in
Setting the Stage
The Civil War
Opening Moves
The Sweep, Foreign Intervention
Endgame
The Errikan Empire
At the end of the civil war, the victorious Nationalist forces found the whole of Errikland in the palm of their collective hand. Their enemies had been utterly vanquished, the vast majority of them and their supporters dead, and the population now overwhelming supported them. They found that they could do as they pleased. However, they were far from united as to what to do now. Though some wanted a military government, and these some were far from underrepresented amongst the Nationalist leadership, others, perhaps the most, wanted a monarchy. A smaller faction, those who had focused the most on the postbellum situation in their thoughts, wanted a Republic.
Ultimately, the overwhelming popularity of Commanding General Christian Victor, the overall commander of the Nationalist forces and newfound idol of the Errikan people, would be the deciding factor. In Sadet, on the 29th of June, during the ceremony that peace was declared and the united nation of Errikland founded, he was offered the crown by the Nationalist leadership. He took it into his hands, turning to the people and asking their decision. They cheered in unison, and he looked to the sky and swore an oath before placing the crown upon his head.
He said "Before God, History, and My People I do hereby swear to protect and advance the Errikan nation and her Empire."
With that, the Errikan Empire was founded.
From Absolutism to Constitutionalism
The appointment of General Victor to the emperorship, that is, Emperor Christian I, satisfied both the militarists, who idolized him for his performance in the civil war and saw him as one of their own, someone they could trust, and the monarchists, who recieved their monarch. However, the one faction that an absolute monarch could not possibly please was the republicans. However, their interests were actually far from forgotten: the new Emperor was a staunch republican himself. He would soon make his mark in this respect, but he had a few things to take care of first.
The civil war had wrought a great deal of destruction, with nearly a third of the total pre-war population dead, cities and infastructure damaged and destroyed, among the normal problems that one would expect in founding a new country. Over the next year, there was spectacular regrowth, later to be called the Errikan miricle, which, while far from completely repairing all of the damage the war inflicted, brought the nation up to a position of a regional power. Many factors contributed to this.
During this first year, the emperor devoted much of his time and effort towards developing a Constitution, which would be the basis for the Republic. It is unknown when the document was completed, but its ultimate implimentation was on June 29th of the next year, the first anniversary of the foundation of the Empire.
