Capois Rebellion

Capois Rebellion
Date October 15, 1862 – September 5, 1865 (1862-10-15 – 1865-09-05) 2 years, 10 months and 21 days Location Viceroyalty of the New Aurean Result Decisive Legitimist Victory Rebellion crushed New Aurean Reforms of 1865
Belligerents
Gaullican Empire Viceroyalty of the New Aurean Satucin Légitimistes	Autonomistes Sainte-Chloé Saint-Brendan Parane Îles Émeraude St John Republic
Commanders and leaders
Albert III TBD TBD TBD	Louis Capois † Philippe de Berry (POW) Jacques Dumas † Claude Vermillon † John Brown  †
Strength
15,000 regulars 2-3,000 militia	7,500-9,000 (initial) 5-6,000 (Autonomistes) 2-3,000 (Républicains) 2,000 (Amendistes)
Casualties and losses
1,386 killed	2,410 killed

The Capois Rebellion, sometimes referred to as the Arucian War of Secession, was a failed rebellion in the Viceroyalty of the New Aurean, primarily on Sainte-Chloé but also extending to the other Gaullican islands. With the effects of the abolition of slavery in 1830 resulting in radical changes for the planter class, the wealthy planters wanted increase the autonomy of the Viceroyalty and demand its reorganisation into a Dominion like Cassier and Satucin. The petition of the planter-led Arucian Congress, lead by Louis Capois, was rejected by the Gaullican government, instigating a rebellion which attempted to declare the Gaullican owned Arucian islands as an independent Arucian state, spreading to multiple islands across the Arucian. They were joined by Amendist Bahian freedmen, led by John Brown from the former Estmerish colony of St John that was reorganized into the colony of Saint-Brendan. While they fought with the rebels, they sought full independence under the St John Republic. However, infighting and disputes between independence groups and failure to seize strategic goals led to the defeat of the rebellion and some reorganisation of the plantation economy on the islands, but did see some concessions such as the admission of representatives of the Viceroyalty in the Imperial Gaullican Senate.

Background

Gaullica owned extensive colonial possessions in the Asterias. The Arucian settlements comprised some of the first Gaullican colonisation in the Asterias, with Sainte-Chloé being the first major settlement of Gaullica in the new world, and became a prominent centre of trade and settlement. The settlement was used as a springboard to expand into the other Arucian islands and then into the settlement of Satucin. Although not all of the Arucian islands would belong to Gaullica, Gaullica later would annex Carucere from Estmere and add it to its territories in 1854. The Gaullican colonies were organised into Viceroyalties, with subdivisions known as Themes answering to the Viceroy. The Arucian possessions were organised into the Viceroyalty of the New Aurean, based out of Port de la Sainte. As time progressed, the islands began to rely heavily on cash crop plantations, driving by slaves imported from Bahia.

Over the course of a century, the situation in the Gaullican colonies in the Asterias changed. The Continental Decree of 1757 saw the Gaullican territories in Cassier incorporated into a centralised dominion, which had much more autonomy as a whole, being expected to take care of its own affairs without too much recourse to the central government, dominated by elites from the colonies. Cassier would be the first Gaullican territory to do be granted this model, and it would serve as an enticing prospect for those who desired increased self-rule away from the metropole. In addition, the Asterian War of Secession against Gaullican rule from 1764-1771 would also begin a period of other wars of independence in the Asterias in the lands surrounding the Arucian- Eldmark (1771), Belmonte (1771), Arbolada (1784), Aucuria (1794), Adamantina & Gapolania (1808), and Ardesia (1813).

Abolition and Change

The abolition of slavery in the Viceroyalty in 1830 caused many significant changes throughout the islands. Without slave labour, many smaller plantations were unable to keep the same degree of operation and efficiency. This began to result in various changes in practices in land ownership and in the types of products grown. Some plantations developed into systems of metayage, and many former slaves migrated to the capital region or took up substinence farming. Plantation owners who could not afford to adapt sold or leased their plantations to wealthier owners, or some wealthy planters were forced to sell off land which they could not maintain. These changes and social upheavals caused tensions within the islands, with distinctions growing between the planters in the northern peninsula of the island of Sainte-Chloé (sometimes called Pays du Sucre) from the capital and the rest of the islands. Eventually, the immigration of Gowsa began to revitalise the planation economy as a new source of cheap labour arose.

Ongoing from 1811 to 1845, the low-intesity Amicable War in Satucin was fought on the issue of self-rule. The end of the fighting in 1845 resulted in the creation of the new Dominion des Satucins from many of the former provinces of the Viceroyalty of Françoisinae (barring territories such as the Azure Coast), much in the model of the Dominion of Cassier. This outcome inspired many of the wealthy planters in the Arucian, who thought that the establishment of a Dominion would allow them to have more influence over the workings of the Arucian and to better take care of their interests. With the annexation of Carucere from Estmere in 1854, there would be more land for which the planters to expand plantations into, allowing them to increase their influence and profitability, and several planters began to become more supportive of the idea of pushing for Dominion. They became known as the Autonomistes ("autonomists"), in contrast to the Légitimistes, those who supported royal oversight of the Viceroyalty.

Arucian Congress

In 1861, due to declining prices on sugar and colonial policies which were increasingly opposed to the Planter's wishes, the Autonomistes decided to take action. Louis Capois, an ideological plantation owner, decided to call together a covert meeting with fellow planters in order to discuss a plan of action in March of 1861. Meeting together at Capois' residence, they agreed to begin preparation for arming militias and preparing to use threat of violence to force the administration of the Viceroyalty to cave to their demands. In addition, unsure that a potential rebellion in Pays du Sucre would be the most effective, they agreed to meet and assemble a congress in the following year with representatives from all of the major islands of the Viceroyalty. Managing to keep their intentions secret from the eyes of the administration, they managed to covertly facilitate the distribution of arms to Planters and get word to sympathetic planters on the other islands.

On March 16th, 1862, Planters from across the Arucian met in Tranquille to discuss the issues brought up at the previous meetings. Calling themselves the Arucian Congress, there was much initial debate about what course of action they might take. Talk of secession from Gaullica was dismissed at first, instead the goal was to increase self-government on the islands with a Dominion like Satucin and Cassier, ultimately leaving the Planters with a significant say in the government. Gaullica perhaps would be amenable to the situation, with the economic incentives of prosperous planters boosting chances for success. However, they also realised that it could be rejected, and so agreed to take common measures for their security, and began to openly form militias with the arms which had been distributed a year prior. They combined their demands into a list of demands known as the Articles of Petition, and submitted it directly to the Emperor, side-stepping the Viceroy.

News of militias arming in Pays du Sucre reached the Viceroy in Port de la Sainte, although with unclear motivation. Seeking to find out more about the situation, forces of the Viceroyalty began to investigate the situation. They discovered that Planters had convened in Tranquille, although not much else about the Congress could be discerned at the moment, other than that the Planters had been the ones responsible for raising militias. Concerned, the Viceroy ordered the Congress disbanded immediately. Colonial forces were limited in Tranquille, and failed to apprehend the Congress. The Congress returned with armed militias, who drove the colonial forces out of the city in a brief battle. However, just as they had won a victory and controlled the second largest city in the Viceroyalty, word returned from Verlois- the Emperor refused to meet the demands listed by the Planters.

Rebellion

Declaration of the Arucian Union

Flag of Autonomistes and the Arucian Union.