Franziskanic era
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| Franziskanic era | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900–1991 | |||
 Franziska's commissioned portrait during her tenure as princess (presumably in the 1890s) | |||
| Monarch(s) | Franziska von Brandt | ||
| |||
The Franziskanic era refers to the period in Illuverendian royalty history that coincides with the reign of Franziska Dorothy the Great (1900–1991). The Franziskanic era succeeds the Victorian era and precedes two eras, the Ekelepoche, and the spiritual successor of the Franziskanic era, the current Alyssanian era.
Franziska as Queen of Illuverendia
The succession of Franziska as the Queen of Illuverendia occurred after Victoria VIII died in late 1899. The queen did not leave any heir and therefore caused a general panic among the Illuverendian populace and aristocracy. The House of Brandt, being descendants of the Victorian era, intervened, and they placed Franziska as the successor of the queen.
One of the primary reasons why Franziska was chosen was the Victorian era's final years were a period of mass stagnation. The Victorian era's progressive eras gradually exhausted all the pride and prestige of the country and caused massive dissatisfaction from the people of Illuverendia. With no hesitation and support from the townspeople, Franziska's ascension to the throne was immediately done on New Years Day, 1 January 1900.
Modernization of the military
Franziska's top priority, upon her ascension, was the poor condition of the Illuverendian military, most especially focused on the Royal Illuverendian Navy. During the union of the Illusian and Neverendian crowns under the tenure of Victoria IV, the state of the Illuverendian military was very well-disciplined and used state-of-the-art equipment of its time. However, due to sudden circumstances, after Victoria IV abdicated in favor of her successors, the Illuverendian military rapidly declined; and by Franziska's reign, the military was very undisciplined, unready, and outdated.
In a speech in mid-1900, Franziska berated her predecessors for "creating an appalling situation in the Illuverendian military; we are unready for any foreign invaders or anyone who dares to threaten the Illuverendian sovereignty". During that speech, she aggressively called for all current military officers to "drop your weapons and leave", a grave threat that proved to be helpful in the long run. She then called for the attention of Illuverendian military veterans to come out of retirement and reform the military in order to bring back the intensive discipline her other predecessors enforced on the Illuverendian military.
The current officers were then subjected into intensive re-training under Illuverendian veterans, and Franziska personally oversaw the widespread propaganda campaign for the new generation to join the military. In the first five years of her reign, the Illuverendian military grew rapidly and were properly disciplined. Coinciding with that, Franziska also called for Illuverendian scientists and inventors to contribute to the modernization of the military.
After focusing on such matters, she then sought to naval architects and shipyards to procure designs for dreadnought designs. In the first 15 years of Franziska's reign, the Royal Illuverendian Navy reported that the rate of shipbuilding rose rapidly, along with recruits, allowing a steady and stable flow of building and commissioning vessels.
In 1906, the first dreadnought battleship was commissioned in the Royal Illuverendian Navy, which is the SMS Weissebene. Weissebene is also the lead ship of her class; making the Weissebene-class battleships the first Illuverendian dreadnoughts.