Estmero-Verizi War

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Estmero-Verizi War
Part of Toubacterie
Final moments of the Battle of Munzwa, 1884
Date 22nd May, 1882 - 24th January, 1884 (1 year, 8 months and 2 days) Location Rwizikuru Result Estmerish victory Abolition of the Verizi Empire Destruction of Munzwa Rebel leaders executed
Belligerents
Template:Country data Estmere	Verizi Empire
Commanders and leaders
Template:Country data Estmere Richard XII Template:Country data Estmere Seymour Parnell Template:Country data Estmere Baldwin Verley Template:Country data Estmere Conrad Markham Template:Country data Estmere Orville Bramer	Tamutswa   Nhoro  † Diindingwe Shingirai  † Karikoga
Strength
Template:Country data Estmere 13,000	c. 60,000
Casualties and losses
626 killed 311 wounded	8,409 killed 3,000+ wounded

The Estmero-Verizi War was a war between the Kingdom of Estmere and the Verizi Empire, over Estmere's ambition to expand the Colony of Riziland to the central plateau, as well as over Estmere's colonisation of present-day Rwizikuru, which saw murungocracy be implemented over Riziland. This war lasted from 22 May, 1882, when Emperor Tamutswa issued a call to arms to all Rwizi men to expel the varungu, until 24 January, 1884, when the Battle of Munzwa saw the destruction of the Verizi capital of Munzwa, and the capture of Tamutswa.

The war is today seen in Rwizikuru as a last stand of the masimbe system and its associated structures against the murungocracy, with some academics, particularly Peter Nkomo, claiming that the Estmero-Verizi War was part of the broader Bahian Mutiny, as it occurred around the same time, and like many rebellions in the region, sought to preserve the existing social order.

Background

After Saint Geoffrey's Company had their charter revoked in 1863 by the Estmerish government, the Estmerish set up the Colony of Riziland, with Charles Fitzhubert establishing a "permanent foothold" of Estmerish control in southern Bahia. Throughout the 1860s and 1870s, Estmerish soldiers consolidated Estmerish rule over Manathea and the southern coast of South Balisaland, until by 1875, Estmere had control of Riziland's coast east of the Muganhu River, and west of the Maghedi Corridor.

Due to Riziland's position of being surrounded by Gaullican colonies to the west and the east, Estmere felt the need to expand the colony inland to prevent Gaullica from controlling the Plateau and effectively surrounding the Colony of Riziland on three sides. This forced Estmere to begin expanding further inland.

As Estmere expanded inland, while many chiefs signed agreements that in the eyes of Estmerish authorities, accepted Estmerish hegemony over the region, some, particularly in the Plateau, felt threatened by Estmerish soldiers encroaching on their villages. This was not helped by the Fatougole in the nineteenth century, which saw the complete collapse of the masimbe system across Bahia, and the reversion of villages to the village system that existed prior to the Bahian consolidation. Furthermore, the increasing presence of Sotirian missionaries within the Plateau was seen as a precursor to the arrival of murungocracy itself.

Thus, in June 1881, the chieftains of the villages met in Munzwa, which had been the capital of the Rwizi Empire before its complete collapse by 1655, to discuss a response to the growing Estmerish influence in the Plateau. There, the chieftains decided to create the Verizi Empire to fight Estmere, and to restore the Rwizi Empire to its former glory. The chieftains there decided that due to Munzwa's status as the former capital of the Rwizi Empire, the chieftain of Munzwa, Tamutswa, was to be the Emperor of the Verizi Empire.

By December 1881, Crogan was founded as a fort along the banks of the Mavirazuva River, and the colonial government planned to launch an offensive to secure Munzwa.

Verizi attack

Depiction of Verizi warriors running into battle at the Battle of Weropa Field, 1882

On 22 May, 1882, Tamutswa called for all Rwizi chieftains to "expel the varungu" from Rwizikuru, and restore the Rwizi Empire under Tamutswa, and declared war on the Estmerish Empire.

Although Tamutswa's forces were initially disorganised and had inferior technology in comparision to their Estmerish counterparts, Tamutswa was an excellent military commander, and he had good knowledge of the Plateau and how to exploit it to help the Verizi prevail over the Estmerish soldiers. Thus, throughout June and July, the Verizi Empire were able to secure victories over Estmerish scouts. This, combined with the increasing consolidation of Verizi forces enabled Tamutswa to have the advantage.

In September 1882, Tamutswa secured a victory at the Battle of Weropa Field against Estmerish forces. Emboldened by this victory and by the defeat of Estmerish forces at the Battle of Weropa Field, Tamutswa advanced upon Crogan. By 8 November, Tamutswa's forces arrived at Crogan, and finding the Estmerish garrison at the fort refusing to surrender, Tamutswa ordered that Crogan be sieged until "the varungu surrender." The Siege of Crogan would last until 17 February, 1883, when after running out of food, the Estmerish defenders surrendered.

After the surrender of Crogan, most of the Estmerish men were killed, while all women and children were enslaved. Crogan itself was sacked by Tamutswa's forces, with a survivor saying that "the savages took the guns and ammunition with them, while sending things they felt to be very worthwhile, such as coinage, to Munzwa." In the aftermath of the sack of Crogan, Tamutswa ordered his forces to advance along the Mavirazuva River towards Rutendo, with the idea of cutting off Port Graham in the west from Port Fitzhubert in the east, in order to "cripple the varungu's reach." In addition, he sent messengers to villages in the Plains to try and persuade them to join the Verizi Empire and stand against the Estmerish. However, few would do so, as they feared losing their positions were they to lose.

Estmerish counter-attack

Depiction of the Battle of Bohero, 1883

When news of the sack of Crogan reached Port Fitzhubert by 5 March, 1883, the Governor, Baldwin Verley, ordered that most Estmerish troops present in the colony, as well as colonial militias, be sent to attack the Verizi Empire, with Governor Verley demanding that Tamutswa be captured and brought to Port Fitzhubert so that he be "an example to all the savages in this land."

As the colonial militias were raised, Estmerish scouts were able to determine that Tamutswa's army was marching towards Rutendo on the mouth of the Mavirazuva River. This enabled the Estmerish forces to determine where to position their troops: by 20 March, with the colonial militias ready, Verley appointed Conrad Markham to lead the colonial forces from Port Fitzhubert to Rutendo, while ordering Orville Bramer to send forces from Port Graham to Rutendo.

On 3 April, Estmerish forces landed in Rutendo, where they began making prepartions for battle. On 12 April, Tamutswa's forces arrived on the outskirts of Rutendo, thereby starting the Battle of Rutendo. Despite larger numbers, the use of several gatling guns meant that after only a few hours, the Verizi were routed, with "thousands of casualties" on the Verizi side. In contrast, the Estmerish suffered "zero casualties" as a direct result of the Battle of Rutendo.

Emboldened by this success, Estmerish soldiers and militiamen began to pursue the retreating troops. Over the next month, Estmere suffered setbacks due to disease, as many fell ill with malaria, while Tamutswa conducted hit-and-run attacks against the advancing Estmerish army, hoping to wear them out. By 15 May, 1883, the Battle of Crogan took place, with the battle being similarly as short as the Battle of Rutendo, and ending in another Estmerish victory, with significantly more casualties on the Verizi side than the Estmerish side.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Crogan, after retreating to the Plateau, Tamutswa ordered his second-in-command, Nhoro to lead two-thirds of the surviving Verizi force to Munzwa, while the remaining third under Tamutswa's command would head to Irembo, with the hope that Tamutswa's fame would trick the Estmerish into following him and his army west to Irembo, instead of east towards Munzwa.

As the Verizi army heading west to Irembo was smaller, both Markham and Bramer agreed to follow that army westward. On 3 June, 1883, after catching up with Tamutswa's forces, the Estmerish launched the Battle of Bohero. Despite the poor conditions in the jungle, which prolonged the battle, and the death of 42 Estmerish soldiers, by 8 June, the Verizi forces were thoroughly defeated, and forced to retreat. Tamutswa barely escaped captivity with his life, and Tamutswa ordered that the survivors head towards Munzwa.

Retreat and Battle of Munzwa

Burning of Munzwa, 1884

During the retreat in the aftermath of the Battle of Bohero, Tamutswa and his surviving soldiers conducted hit and run attacks against the advancing Estmerish troops in an effort to slow down the Estmerish advance towards Munzwa. As Tamutswa's army crossed the Plateau towards Munzwa, villages previously loyal to Tamutswa's cause began to abandon him, with chiefs as early as July officially submitting to the colonial government and surrendering. This led to Tamutswa ordering some attacks against certain villages, most notably at Elephant Jump, where the village was "so thoroughly sacked that by the time we arrived, only charred remains of huts remained."

In Munzwa, Nhoro and his forces arrived on 22 August, 1883, and immediately set to work constructing fortifications to prevent an Estmerish attack on the city. As word spread of Tamutswa's defeat at Bohero, and of villages previously loyal to the Verizi Empire pledgling loyalty to the colonial government, Nhoro began anticipating that when Estmerish troops reached Munzwa, they would stage a last stand.

By the middle of October 1883, Tamutswa and his surviving men arrived in Munzwa with captured slaves from several villages who tried to switch sides. Tamutswa's arrival in Munzwa was marked by the realisation by Nhoro that the Estmerish forces were about to reach Munzwa.

On 2 November, Conrad Markham and Orville Bramer, as well as the Estmerish forces arrived on the outskirts of Munzwa. There, they demanded the "complete and unconditional surrender of Munzwa and the Verizi Empire," and offered Tamutswa amnesty for his actions. However, Tamutswa rejected the offer, telling a messenger sent to convey the offer that he would "prefer to die as a free man." This would mark the start of the Siege of Munzwa.

Over the next three months, Estmerish and colonial troops besieged Munzwa. While initially, Munzwa continued to receive food and supplies via sympathetic allies due to Munzwa's position on the Rwizikuru River, the Estmerish were able to completely cut off the city's supplies by Nativity. By January, the inhabitants of the city were starving, and many soldiers in Tamutswa's army demanded a battle.

Thus, on 21 January, 1884, forced by pressure from his own soldiers, Tamutswa and his soldiers threw open the gate to Munzwa, and began the Battle of Munzwa. Although Munzwa's architecture and fortifications were initially able to help Tamutswa repel the Estmerish assault, superior Estmerish weaponry meant that by 24 January, the Estmerish were able to storm the Citadel. They captured Tamutswa, and forced Tamutswa to surrender to the colonial troops, or else face execution. Left with no choice, Tamutswa surrendered at noon, thereby ending the Estmero-Verizi War.

In the immediate aftermath of the battle, Estmerish troops retaliated for the sack of Crogan by burning the entire city to the ground, and salting the site where Munzwa once stood. Shortly afterwards, a new townsite was established on the Rwizikuru River which bore the name of Munzwa: it is there that the modern city of Munzwa is situated.

Aftermath

With word that Emperor Tamutswa surrendered, the remaining chiefs still allied to the Verizi Empire surrendered to the colonial government throughout early 1884, with the final chief, Diindingwe, surrendering by June 1884. However, sporadic resistance continued in the Plateau region against Estmerish rule for the next several years, with occasional skirmishes between "wandering bandits who were part of the Verizi Empire" and soldiers continuing as late as 1897. Reprisals by the colonial militias were common, particularly against villages which remained loyal to the Verizi Empire until the bitter end. Furthermore, missionaries were sent further inland to spread Sotirianity, and to crack down on Fetishism. Mission schools were set up across the colony to further propagate the Sotirian faith, particularly the Embrian Communion, and by the turn of the 20th century, the prevalence of fetishism had become very limited in much of the colony.

Tamutswa was transported by barge to Port Fitzhubert, arriving on 2 February 1884. He was tried for banditry, murder, and high treason in March. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and was subsequently executed on 1 April, 1884 at Market Square. Tamutswa's body remained on the gallows at Market Square as a warning to other Bahians until July, when his decomposing body was removed from the gallows, and transported to the city's landfill in the present day borough of Marara. Furthermore, Tamutswa's sons were forbidden from becoming chiefs of Munzwa, and they were forced to live in Port Graham to prevent from inspiring another revolt in the Plateau.