Amand War of Independence

Amand War of Independence
Top to bottom: The Battle of Colombe 1807 Peace deliberations in Priscille Naval engagements in the Adrienne Sea during smuggling raid
Date 17 May 1801 – 2 November 1807 (1801-05-17 – 1807-11-02) (6 years, 5 months, 2 weeks and 2 days) Location Marceaunia Minor, Adrienne Sea, Rum Gulf Result Formal recognition of the Republic of the Amands Formal dissolution of the Low Crown Colonies Normalization of relations with Republic of Rythene Saint-Baptiste remains a Blaykish colony Purging of anti-Sarbéliard dissidents
Belligerents
Kingdom of Blayk New Blayk	Republic of the Amands Rythenean volunteers Free Audonian Army Saint-Bapitois volunteers
Commanders and leaders
Gilbert II Samuel Lebas Emmanuel Vallotton	Charles Belmont Charles Laurent Jacques Gerald Robert Morris Jean-Jacques Celice
Casualties and losses
170,000	210,000

The Amand War of Independence, also known as the Amand Revolutionary War, was a political, social, and cultural revolution against the colonial Sarbéliard Monarchy of Blayk between 1801 and 1807. The revolutionary Republic of the Amands achieved independence, having successfully severed ties with the long ruling Kingdom of Blayk.

Resentment toward Blaykish rule heightened during the War of Tyrnican Succession. Nominally ruled under the Blaco-Vervillian Union, the Low Crown Colonies had been administered by Vervillia since their founding in 1510. However, the War of Tyrnican Succession saw Blayk side with Tyrnica against Vervillia, splitting the Union apart. As a consequence of Blayk’s victory, Vervillia ceded the Low Crown Colonies to Blayk. To address the debt accrued during the War, the Chaudoir Monarchy levied significant taxes on their acquired possessions. The increase in taxes alone sparked protest, but the subsequent increase in direct administration from Blayk to enforce the taxes drove frustrations. Chaudoir-installed courts and legislatures began to systematically discriminate against Vervillians, such as punitive property transfers and exclusive land rights to Blaykish settlers.

The Rythenean Revolution (1790 to 1793) accelerated anti-Blaykish sentiments through the ideas of republicanism. With the overthrow of the Rythenean monarchy for the liberal ideals of the Republic, subjects in the Low Crown Colonies began to consciously associate Blaykish monarchical rule with tyranny. Stories of the war disseminated across the colonies, with the veterans of the war becoming symbols of resistance to the perceived Blaykish oppression. In 1796, aristocrat, socialite, and polymath Charles Belmont led the first formal rebellion. Not ideologically-driven, the Rebellion of 1796, or locally coined the Belmont Revolution, saw widespread destruction of government property in northern towns and ports. It was swiftly trounced; among many uncaptured co-conspirators, Belmont fled to Rythene for safety. The succeeding Sarbéliard Monarchy imposed punitive legislation to quell lingering sites of violence. Namely, the Immunity Act of 1799 and the Agricultural Privileges and Means Act of 1799 condemned the Vervillian subjects to second-class citizenship for their disproportionate support for the Belmont Revolution. Efforts were made to demographically transform the Low Crown Colonies through Blaykish immigration via the Marceaunian Emigration Acts of 1800.

Open warfare reignited in 1801 in response to mandatory conscription in the Blaykish Civil War. With the Sarbéliard Monarchy struggling against the republicans, subjects in the Low Crown Colonies were required to participate to bolster their numbers. Riots proceeded. Fighting quickly became organized upon Charles Belmont’s return. In 1802, the revolutionaries declared the Republic of Amands in Piaget. The Blaykish Monarchy was displaced by the Republic, having relocated to Tyrnica, so the War goals focused on a policy of attrition to continue the conflict until the revolutionaries ran out of supplies. The Amand revolutionaries spent the War’s duration claiming loyalist strongholds and securing the coasts. Robert Morris’ Free Audonian Army provided significant relief that extended Amand war logistics. Meanwhile, high rates of smuggling between the Amand government and sympathizers in New Blayk and Saint-Bapiste, as well as Nova Kovaria, kept the revolutionary efforts afloat.

By 1805, the War of Independence was largely concluded, with the Storming of Nouvelle Valden. The Treaty of Priscille was signed in 1807, putting an end to all conflict and recognizing the independence of the Republic of the Amands. The Treaty of Rue Blanc was signed with the Republic of Rythene, where both republics normalized relations. Throughout the conflict, Vervillian revolutionaries actively targeted Blaykish individuals as counter revolutionaries or pro-Sarbéliardists. The National Consensus was a great purge that lasted from 1806 to 1809, extending beyond the War of Independence into a radical phase of post-war governance.

Legacies

Media Portrayals of the War

Actor Willelm Simon, posing for a headshot to promote Season One of Fort Isabella, 2006.

The Amand War of Independence features prominently in Amandine's popular culture and media, as well as across Marceaunia. One of over a dozen film depictions of the conflict, Upheavalists (Principean: Les bouleversateurs), released in 1981, is lauded by fans and critics alike as one of Amandine's cinematic achievements for its storytelling and aesthetics. Upheavalists largely positively portrays the Amand revolutionaries–the upheavalists–as they navigate the meaning of independence in the winter of 1802. The film was inspired by the best selling novel, Within My Reach (Principean: À ma portée), published in 1940. In 2011, "Within My Reach was declared one of the 50 most impactful novels of the 20th century by news outlet The Marceaunian. Many novels, books, comic strips, and other forms of written media focus on the War, making it the most popular event fictionalized in Amand popular culture, followed by the Second Great War and the Continental War. While individuals mentioned in these media forms is diverse, figures like Charles Belmont, Jacques Gérald, Augustin Olivier III, Charles Laurent, Robert Morris, and Samuel Lebas feature prominently. In Saint-Baptiste, film and literature has paid special attention to the contributions of Jean-Jacques Celice, an upheavalist who has historically received little outside attention.

Amand plays were a popular format for depicting the War of Independence in the 19th century. One of the most common tropes in Amand plays is portraying King Gilbert II as a bafoon and inept. While this type of entertainment has drastically reduced in interest, the image of Gilbert II as a weak leader unbecoming of royalty or leadership has persisted in common archetypes of Amand storytelling. The 2006 television series, Fort Isabella (Principean: Fort Isabella), satirizes the events that led to the Fort's downfall, with Gilbert II making several cameo appearances across the show's four seasons. Actor Willelm Simon received numerous accolades for his role as the King.

Internationally, the War has taken on a much more negative connotation, especially in historically monarchical countries. Much attention has been drawn to the National Consensus by filmmakers and writers in Albrennia, Blayk, Nilasia, Palia, and Tyrnica. This negative connotation stems from propaganda by Blaykish and monarchical countries during the war that depicted the Republic of the Amands as anarchistic during the volatile period. Themes and symbols of mass murder, the breakdown of the rule of law, and discrimination have plagued the Amand War of Independence in foreign interpretations. Specifically, the Blaykish refer to Amands derisively as matelots, the name of the most radical group during the National Consensus. Architect of radical phase of the War, Robert De La Fontaine, is often used as a stand-in for Amand characters in many novels in Nilasia and Blayk.