Toubacterie

Gaullican explorer Michel Masson was one of the first white leaders in Bahia, becoming Mayor of Sainte-Germaine in 1656.

Toubacterie (lit. "rule by the white man" - of Ndjarendie origin), also referred to as Murungocracy or Murungerie in Estmerish colonies, is the name given to the period of time where white Eucleans ruled over Bahia. During Toubacterie the Euclean colonial powers rooted out or siginificantly altered the semi-feudalistic system of Hourege that had dominated Bahian civilisation for centuries prior, and was influential for the migration of people groups into Bahia such as the Yebase in Garambura and Murungu in Rwizikuru.

While the start of Toubacterie and its initial relationship with Hourege is debated, many agree that the settling of trading cities such as Sainte-Germaine and Port Graham in the 17th-century kicked off the rise of Toubacterie, which was influenced further by the Floren Empire's conquests of Tsabara during the Pereramonic Wars. Toubacterie also did not become the antithesis of Hourege, nor actively sought to remove it from Bahian society, until the scramble for Bahia began in the 19th century, and vast swathes of land were claimed or conquered for the Euclean powers.

Before Toubacterie

Main article: Hourege

A 1400s Euclean depiction of a Bahian Hourege, believed to be Selime Maal of Kambou

Precolonial Bahia was marked by the Houregic system, a semi-feudal system of administration which had dominated the region since the Bahian Consolidation. Under Hourege Bahia had entered a golden age due to trade off its precious materials, particularly gold and ivory, which were traded with the outside world. Several strong states had emerged, such as the veRwizi Empire and Kingdom of Kambou, which became centres of education and arts. The capitals of these larger Houregic states were, at their peak, able to rival the great cities of Euclea and other areas in Coius. This prosperity was only temporary, however. The upper castes grew increasingly affluent and concentrated more wealth into themselves. This was most notable among the clergy, who were not taxed under the conventional Houregic system and therefore their riches were essentially untouchable. The warrior castes as well became complacent in their wealth, preferring to use slaves in combat than risk themselves and demanding privileges from their Karanes in return for their support. This meant that the Houregic system became increasingly inefficient and became a burden on progress. Notably, the disenfranchisement of the mercantile caste effectively blocked the development of an urban middle class and caused the economies to stagnate. This corruption, in turn, led to the weakness of the education system and meant that Bahia began to trail behind the Euclean powers of the age.

Slavery had always been a part of Bahian culture, and slaves were often bought and sold as property in Bahian societies before the arrival of the Eucleans. However, the taking of slaves was a ritualised part of warfare in Bahia and as such a relatively rare occurrence, with most slaves being born into captivity. The arrival of the Euclean nations, which sought cheap labour for the cultivation of labour-intensive crops such as cotton within their Asterian colonies, created a strong market for slaves, one which the elites of the Houregic states were eager to fill. The slave trade started out slowly, but as the existing market of slaves was too small to account for the demand of the Euclean nations Karanes began to wage wars in order to take more slaves. This caused instability in Bahia, which created an opening for the Euclean nations to take a foothold in the subcontinent in order to protect these interests.

Religiously, Bahia was still highly divided. Eastern Bahia was dominated by Irfan, which had swept across the continent at the beginning of the Bahian Consolidation and continued to spread by trade and conquest. Large Orthodox Sotiran communities were also present in Djedet and northern Mabifia, with smaller communities spread across the rest of the subcontinent. Notably, there were significant numbers of Mirites dispersed in most major Houregic states. The rest of the population practiced forms of Bahian Fetishism, a traditional polytheist faith group which was not centralised and primarily revolved around the worship of individual gods using idols. The advent of Catholic missions in Bahia is highly linked with the start of Toubacterie as a historical era.

Houregic Toubacterie

A 1680 map of Port Graham, the first Euclean settlement in Bahia.

At first, the goals of the Eucleans were limited to the economic sphere instead of direct control. The start of Toubacterie is generally accepted to be in 1628, with the foundation of Port Graham by Estmerish merchants in modern day Rwizikuru. This was the first permanent settlement by Eucleans in Bahia, and marked the beginnings of the shift from trade as equal partners to Euclean hegemony. This was followed by the foundation of several other settlements by other Euclean powers on the Banfuran coast of Bahia. Initially, the purpose of these settlements was for their economic benefit, as by building their own ports the Eucleans escaped the need to pay port duties to the coastal Karanes. However, these settlements also attracted Sotirian missionaries who wished to evangelise the Bahian population. Military forces were also dispatched into these settlements in order to protect them from attack from the local Karanes, who recognised that if they lost their monopoly on berthing rights they would lose a large portion of their income.

The Evangelisation of Hourege Pierre Kadokamera of Bouïzou in a Yebase artwork, circa 1646.

Seeing the weakness of the corrupted Houregic system, the Eucleans initially used it to their own advantage. Seeing that stable states on their borders were the easiest to deal with, puppet states were established. The Hourege of Bouïzou, a Barobyi state in Mabifia, converted to Solarian Catholicism in 1640 and chose to collaborate with the Gaullicans, leading to their domination of the area. Other local Karanes were also converted, providing the nascent Euclean presence with buffer states to protect them from the larger Ndjarendie and Rwizi states which were still able to pose a threat despite their decay. In the areas under indirect Euclean control, life more or less continued as normal. The main changes came with the suppression of the merchant caste who found themselves subjected to high taxation, sometimes having to pay duties both to their Karane and to the Eucleans. The Euclean powers ensured their dominance of the slave trade by forcing local authorities to sign decrees that only permitted the sale of slaves to Euclean merchants. The caste system itself was not touched in this period, and while Catholicism was encouraged Bahians were able to practice their own religions.

The early Toubacteric era also marks the emergence of the Yebase in Bahia, as well as the rise of the Mirites to a dominant position. The rise of Euclean involvement in Bahia necessitated a local administrative cadre and constabulary, as there were not sufficient numbers of Eucleans who migrated to the new settlements. The Mirites were seen as an ideal partner for Euclean control. They were already Sotirians, albeit of a mystical branch, and were well integrated into the local power structures. In addition, they often suffered persecution at the hands of the local populations and so had no qualms about working with the Euclean administrations. Mirite clerks and administrators would form the backbone of Toubacterie in its initial stages, and even after the development of a domestic Solarian Catholic population would remain influential. The Yebase were another Bahian Sotirian group who were employed by the Euclean powers. Meharic Sotirians, the Yebase were employed primarily in Garambura. A versatile caste, they were able to fill the roles of merchants, warriors and administrators. This flexibility, combined with their religious similarity, meant that the Yebase were an ideal tool for Euclean control.

Decline

The decline of Toubacterie is conventionally linked with the rise of Pan-Bahianism and anti-colonialism as prominent political ideologies within Bahia. The first concerted anti-colonial uprising took place in Mabifia in 1883, when Irfanic Ndjarendie soldiers of the warrior caste were forced to lodge themselves with former slaves. Rather than accept this slight, the soldiers set fire to their barracks and fired upon their Gaullican officers. As news spread of the act, soldiers across Mabifia and even in other regions of Bahia took up arms. The revolt soon evolved from a complaint based on caste affiliations into an uprising against Toubacterie in general, especially the cultural suppression which took place. Lacking a central figure, the mutiny was eventually crushed by the Euclean powers who sent in troops in order to protect assets such as the Adunis to Sainte-Germaine Railway. In early 1884 the largest of the rebel groups under Irfanic cleric Saïkou Ahmed Bamba was crushed, with any last armed resistance ceasing by the end of the year. The failure of the resistance encouraged the Euclean powers to continue their suppression of Bahian culture but envigorated the ideological beginnings of Pan-Bahianism as the weakness of a divided Bahia in the face of a strong Euclean response had been shown.

Samhuri Ngonidzashe was a pivotal figure in the downfall of Toubacterie.

By the end of the Great War in 1935, the desire to maintain a global colonial empire and significantly diminished, especially in a now fractured and destroyed Gaullica. Most of the former empire's possessions were either transferred to Grand Alliance colonial powers - Estmere, Werania and Etruria, or gained their independence in the ensuing peace treaty. With colonialism in Estmere especially going out of the fashion, combined with the new government's desire to decolonise their colonial empire, save a few key settlements, the established colonies in Bahia began their preparations for independence. Most Bahian colonial holdings declared or gained their independence throughout the 1930s and 1940s, beginning with Djedet in 1933 and white rule effectively ending with the Treaty of Ashford in April 1950, which saw Tabora secure its independence, which until then was the final Euclean holding in Bahia.

As such, for most of Bahia, Toubacterie had ended in 1950, however in Garambura the end of Toubacterie is placed at 1969, as the rule of Rwizikuru is often seen as an oppressive one comparable to Toubacterie.