Inguiu War: Difference between revisions
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| The Inguiu War | |||||||
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| File:Irunguyaa.png The Massacre of Grünholtz (1847) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mascylla | File:Irunguya.png Irunguya Confederacy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Theodor Von Stergen | File:Irunguya.png Asurina Tuarec | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 48,000 (1848) | 35,000 (1848), 1,350 runaway Irunguya prisoners and slaves | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8,470 - 11,000 | approx. 1,000 | ||||||
The Inguiu War of 1846 to 1848, often referred to as the Irunguya-Mascyllary War or Jungle War, was a two-year long conflict between the Irunguya tribes and the Kingdom of Mascylla on the shores of the Arubera Sea in Northern Rennekka. Following first colonisation campagnes undetaken to annex Northern Rennekka and establish a Mascyllary colony with the foundation of Goldbucht and Westhafen, the indigenous tribes of the inland severly protected themselfs against the continuous expanding of the colony of Inguien, named after the Inguiu river delta. In the decisive meeting at Akinixa, chiefs of the tribes agreed to form a united coalition against the Mascyllary colonisers, known as the Irunguya Confederacy. With the Battle of Westhafen, the war then began. The war was dominated by guerilla attacks of the native people, which led to enourmous casualties of side of the Mascyllary army, which wasn't able to use their conventional strategies, machinery, or predict the enemies' next moves. Furthermore, poison, famine, immense heat, traps, surprise attacks, sabotages, and dieseases led to a drastic decrease in army effectivity, which the Irunguya used to their advantage. It was also the first war where not only unconventional warfare was used, but also the first to include active enslavery and work camps, often associated with brutal torture. Both sides used torture and enslavery as psychological means of war too. Their expertise in hunting, trap building, and jungle tactics however made the unmanned and unequipped Irunguya the superior faction in the war. The Battle of Sankt Augustin in 1848 then finally obliterated remaining Mascyllary troops with the use of pig excrements as explosives, which lit the entire city on fire, thus winning the war on side of the Irunguya. The Peace of Xemiuc forced the Mascyllary to give up their plans of Rennekkan colonisation and to recognise the Confederacy as a legitimate state. The war shocked the whole nation due to its brutality and the fact, that Mascylla lost to indigenous peoples, unknown with weaponry, metal, or even the wheel. It gave the Mascyllary army a moral blow and led to the "Mockery of the Boys".
Background
After its foundation in 1793, Mascylla and its government, led by King Emperor Lukas I, followed the plan to establish a colonial empire like other Asuran nations at that time, which led to a fierce rise of nationalism and the desire to claim a place as a superpower via possesions all around the world. Rennekka, at that time yet largely unclaimed, had always been a wish by Lukas I to be ruled by him, and with its economic and industrial boom in the 1820s and 1830s, Mascylla had its financial and economical resources to attempt a colonisation, In 1840, first sailors of the Crowned North Rennekka Company landed in Arubera Sea's shores in Northern Rennekka, which was in immediate distance to the previously colonised island of Tainoa. The delta of the Inguiu river was enriched with nutricious soil to foddle crops, had an extensive population of fish and bird species, and large amount of timber, which led to the first people settling in the delta region. Sankt Augustin was the first city founded, built on an artifically dried out swamp and created island, and soon, thousands of civilians and tradesman flocked to the new established colony to find a better life, wealth, or new opportunities. Soon after, the cities of Goldbucht, Westhafen, Itchela and Neu-Halstein were founded to keep up with population growth and to further solidify Mascylla's claim on the territory, which was then assembled as the Colony of Inguia (Alemannic: Inguien). The new cities quickly rose in population, surpassing 10,000 only a few months after foundation, and so the colonies quickly expanded inland to build new agricultural areas for the growing population and to find more resources, a key target to further boost the industrial revolution taking place in Mascylla and Tainoa.
In the process of colonisation, coastal tribes and tribes near the coast were quickly overrun and killed, which led to a drastic decrease in the indigenous population of the Inguiu delta. Instead of the friendly handling of the insular native peoples of Tainoa, the Inguiu were genetically, culturally and ethnically seen as not "as worthy as Taino or Asurans", mostly to their darker skin colour and the belief that people living in the jungle would not be able to civilize and maintain their "barbaric" and "inferior" behaviour. Many people were either killed upon contact with the colonisers, taken as slaves, or in case of most women, raped and sexually harrased. Villages were burnt down, chiefs often taken as hostages to receive gold and jewelry as ransom, and culutral artifacts destroyed. Those who were captured were selled as house servants, labour forces, or prostitutes, in almost all cases against their will or forced to submit. The number of slaves is estimated to be around 5,000 in 1846, which made up half of the entire colonial population. Women and children were selled as sex slaves or for raping practices, which found great demand in taverns and other such establishemnts of the colonial cities.
Furthermore, violent and racial attacks on Inguiu, mistreatment, and brought diseases led to great suffering and population decimation among the native people, which resulted in a few riots and rebellions, often with singular deaths, which were however quickly crushed by their owners and police soldiers. One of those riots, the "Gerhard's Fist Riot" in March 1845 ended in a bloodbath, when police officers killed around 15 men, women, and children, which were accused of murdering their owner the night prior, although they just demanded fair judicial review and better life conditions. Following the information of the mistreatment of the Inguiu, the governemnt tried to slow down the rage against the indigenous asnd to prclaim new laws, which would protect them from further damage, but most officials, and the population refused to adapt to the lew laws. In fact, the aggressive expansion further inland was not able to be stopped, which further unsatisfied Taino on wether they should remain under the rule of Mascylla.
Surviving tribes, families, or other communities meanwhile fled into the more dense forests and higher hills to temporarily hide and seek shelter. Amongst those walks, hundreds of further Inguiu died of exhaustion and lack of expertise within the more dense rainforests, as most were still adapted to a coastal lifesyle. Many refugees were taken and integrated by other tribes, more socialised and militarily stronger, which founded more and more settlements to house the new popuklation. By then, the chiefs of the tribes realized the common danger, which could be able to threaten them, if they advance further inland to Lake Peagxi, where most of the political centres lie. in the decisive meeting of all chiefs at the Akinixa mountain plateau, most of them agreed to give up their privileges and reign to a larger tribal commmunity, led by the fierce warrior Asurina Taurec, which already succeeded in taking out key infrastructurial points, leaders, and fortifications earlier in particular attacks. The new confederacy was governed as a matriarchial monarchy under her rule,and quickly rose into a regional power, which was further boosted by the common hatred against the Mascyllary. In the spring of 1846, a wave of smaller attacks on bordertowns and rangers occured, in which the detah toll remained calm, hence the governemnt in Sankt Augustin not concerned to act in any way.
The final blow happened on 5 August 1846, when soldiers attacked an already conquered village, in which they brutaly murdered 43 men, 12 women, and 7 children, which would later become known as the "Bloody Rampage of 1846". News quickly spread, and, without any declaration of war, hundreds of Ingiui soldiers stormed the city of Westhafen, in which they were able to completely demolish the east entrance gate, kill dozens of soldiers, and take the city with heavy civilian losses. Around 400 were caught as porisoners, wehere many of them would starve, be killed in rituals or for cannibalism, or remain as slave workers until the end of the war. The city was burned with pig excrements, which surprisingly burned with various added ingredients known to elder chiefs at very hot temperatures, levaing only ash and rubber behind. The governemnt in Königsreh and Sankt Augustin quickly responded with a subseuqent declaration of war, which ultimately led to the Inguiu War.
The war
Jungle warfare
The war was mainly fought in the dense rainforests and hilly mountains of the further inland Northern Rennekka. Most of the stationed soldeirs in Inguien expected a quick defeat of the tribes with their superior manpower, firepower, and logistic abilities, however none of the advantages were able to be played out in the unpassable and undearable terrain in which they had to fight. The tribes seemingly knew the machinery they used, especially weapons with gun powder, and tried to attack in dense vegetation to block sight for weapons to target any soldiers. Furthermore, the wet and hot cliamte made gun powder unusable, and weapons quickly erroded under perfect circumstances to build rust. The hot days and cool nights led to sufferage among the Mascyllary soldiers, with many collapsing under exhaustion or indigenous diseases infecting them. The war, in fact, plays or hosts no real battle, as soldiers on both sides fighted continuously, with tactics or plans for any real battle confrontation seemed impossible. The guerilla warfare used by the Irunguya took huge chunks of the standing army, with their use of surprise attacks, traps, and other asymmetrical warfare actions. Food supplies were also mostly cut, when soldiers attacked colonnes and burnt the foodstuffs, which also led to a great famine among the frontlines. The Irunguya who were captured however, were sent to especially built camps, where they would often be forced to work even to death, and or tortured, many observes describing it as "just for fun".
War at sea
The war also expanded onto the sea. Indigenous sailors, known to master sailing and navigation, were able to lure warships anchoring off the coast to flatter waters and reefs, where many would sink and be attacked by soldiers later on. Most of the naval travel out of the Arubera Sea to Tainoa or Mascylla was largely surpressed, which took effect on troop, food, and weapon supplies. Fishing rods, paddles, wooden sticks, and anchors were used as weaponry by the Irunguya onboard their smaller and more maneuverable boats. Surprise attacks also included diving fishers, eqiupped with weapons, to sneak on board enemy ships, and sabotage them, or kill an important leader or figure. In the Battle of Westhafen, a large portion of the navy, mostly the biggest warships, was also burned, which weakened naval power to such an extent, that the sea was dominated by Irunguya vessels. Irunguya also, if a battle almost seemed lost, would undertake suicide missions by rammed into the enemy vassal, which in many cases resulted in the sinking of the ship. However, some Mascyllary ships were able to take down Irunguya boats and their crews, and most captured would be granted no mercy, instead they were tortured by hanging them, tied up, into the cold water, until they would almost drown. Sometimes they were also used as sexual entertainment for the ship's crew, or used as workforces.
Use of poison and traps
One of the key features of the war was its use of various poisions and traps. Since the Irunguya were hunters, they already knew how to use certain poisions, all of which extratced from indigenous plants or animals, which included hazardous plants, frogs and reptilians. They were then inched into arrows, other projectiles, or onto knifes and spears. Most of the toxins were severly damaging on contact and resulted in long-term burns, wounds, or even deaths. Traps were also commonly used to not only weaken enenmy manpower, but also to achieve a psychological effect. Many traps included hidden holes filled with carved and shard bambus and wood logs, falling logs, and hidden animals, like crocodiles and jaguars. One of the most ingenious traps included an especially built cooking place, in whihc the fire was lit. The smoking would indicate the location of the place, with Mascyllary soldiers expecting to find a camp. When they arrive, the Irunguya bake poisonous bread and leave it behind, to be eaten by the soldiers. In every case was it successful, and with this relatively easy trap aound a fifth of the entire army was killed during the war. Since the poisons were unknown to Mascyllary medicine, most infections were uncureable and led to death or long-term limitations.
The Peace of Xemiuc
The Battle of Sankt Augustin remained the last battle of the war, with the complete capitulation of the local colonial government after the death of its governor, Theodor Von Stegen. With delegations from Abaqey and Königsreh, a peace true and capitulation offer was then accepted and signed in January of 1848. The major peace treaty was drafted in the small Inguiu village of Xemiuc at the name-giving river near Lake Peagxi. Bearing its name, the Treaty of Xemiuc would deal with the final question on what would happen with the remaining colonisers and the river delta. It was determined, that Mascylla would let all its Rennekkan claims north the equator fall, and abandon the Inguiu river delta for good. It would pay little reparations as timber, jewelry, enslaved Inguiu, and previously taken cultural artifacts. Forced by the situation of being surrounded by Inrunguya warriors and the live of thousands of people depending on it, furthermore Königsreh demanding it, they signed the treaty, which formally ended the era of Mascyllary colonisation. The gulf was opened for the Mascyllary navy to leave, around a quarter of them remaining after the war. The confederacy on the other hand was declared dissolved, as its primary function, to protect themselfs from the Mascyllary colonisation, was upright solved. The remaining 9,800 troops were brought to Tainoa and Theresa, which also was the last time any Mascyllary soldier set foot on Rennekka. The Treaty remaines one of the most important documents ever written for Mascylla, which was however not drafted on Mascyllary soil.
Aftermath
Mascylla was drastically altered after the events in Rennekka. Not only gave it a huge blow to any imperialistic or nationalistic dream of a wide-spanned colonial empire in Rennekka, it also disgraced the entire military apparatus. Accusations of bad organising, equippment, or tactics quickly arose, with many attacks on military bases or soldiers at public places. They were further accused of letting the death of thousands of civilians happen, and even alledged trys to collaborate with the Inguiu and Irunguya. Extremists and Nationalists in 1849 even tried to storm a military base, but where stopped by military police, leading to the death of 25 civilian and 8 military personnel. Overall, even Lukas II, raging from the dramatic failure and harsh conditions of the treaty, attempted a purge on high-ranking officials, but was stopped by Parliament, leading to a constitutional crisis, in what is known as the "Easter Crisis" of 1849. Soldiers were also physically and psychologically effected from the war, which led to a mass hysteria on wether the surviving army could turn insane at any moment. Only Prime Minister Gäste was able to stop the escalating situation in Mascylla and introduced new policies to protect and take care of soldiers. The military in the Columbian was also heavily weakened due to the massive damage the war caused, especially on the navy. Almost every ship had to be repaired in some way, respectively.
Furthrmore, the treatment of Inguiu before the war also raised serious concerns on the ethic boundaries of the government. Especially in Taino, where the majority makes up indigenous peoples, questions on wether Mascylla could begin enslaving the Taino or not have drastically lifted the desire for reform. Many politicians also expressed their wonder, on why especially the Inguiu had been so mistreated, and the Taino not. This debate heated up quickly, and thus Prime Minister Gäste enacted a common law, which clearly defines on what Mascylla can and what it can't do. This framework, the "Ethical and Moralical Constitution of Mascylla (Alemannic: Ethische und Moralische Verfassung Maskilliens), is still used today, adn makes up the ground basis for the entire judicial system. Mass campaigns to wipe out racial beliefs had also started, since most of the mistreatment of Inguiu can be derived to the actions of the local colonial population and government. New laws restricted racial harassment and segregation even more, and slavery was then officialy declared abolished in the Constitution. After those reforms, around 12,000 Inguiu received citizenship within Mascylla, and became a noticable minority on Caylagua in Tainoa. Inguiu were recognized as a sovereign culture and language and free of any racial restrictions, while the last reparations following the Treaty of Xemiuc were paid on 13 July 2002. Today, the Inguiu and the Indruguya Confederacy are seen as "fighters of freedom" and "Rulers of Rennekka by right" within pop culture, with many online comics and stories adapting the war and its central moral. An annual street holiday on Caylagua remembers the battles of the war with carawanes and dressed people.
