Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles was a period of political instability in The Furbish Islands. The period saw a number of conflicts between the federal government and provinces, and other militant groups. It also saw 23 attempted coups in the federal government, 14 of which were successful. The period ended when Jozef van Biddinghuizen took power after the Coup of 27 Pluviôse, restoring order and establishing the Third Republic.

Two major factors caused the Time of Troubles. One is the Second Republic's treatment of minorities by the Fluvan-speaking majority, which was exemplified by many cases of corruption and discrimination on a smaller scale and refusal of the federal government to assist them in cases such as the Siege of Fort Hillen in 1869. The second is the increasing power of the stadtholder, which coincided with democratic backsliding and increased power of the Gendarmerie. A series of political crises between 1862 and 1873 caused the federal government to lose all legitimacy.

The Burger Rebellion began in May 1873. Rather than suppress it, the government ordered the Gendarmerie to set up concentration camps for the Eilandwons in areas not rebelling. Gendermarie Captain Jean de Flandre then ordered his company to storm the largest camp. He later joined the Burgers and a month later attacked Boston, which spurred a coup by Milton Carnell against Drumpf. Rebellions then sprung up in Tasmana and the La Nouvelle-Bourgogne Peninsula. In early September Carnell was overthrown by Gendarmerie chief of staff Ignatius Risewell. Risewell oversaw the Burgers capturing Harrisbarig and Noorderstein, leading to the bloody sieges of both cities. The sieges caused the creation of the Northern League and Eastern Alliance, and wars in Dampiera and Bedfordshire. Risewell was overthrown by mid-September by his vice chief of staff, Dalton Barbary.

The average leader lasted a little over a month by that time, especially as federal forces faced defeats in all fronts. The Nieuw Maasland War was the only major conflict federal forces saw significant victories in. Guerilla campaigns in Nieuw Maasland and Van Riemsdijk by the Burgers, and in Dampiera and the La Nouvelle-Bourgogne Peninsula weakened them by mid-1874. By that time, rebel forces captured all of Tasmana outside Middleborough and surrounding towns, and federal forces were completely gone from some island territories and Loaísa. During this time period, order was enforced by provinces through their militias, who also fought the Interior Wars as the Army was absent. Also during the time, Jozef van Biddinghuizen worked to gain support from many local governments. In early 1875, they launched coordinated offensives and van Biddinghuizen led the overthrow of Stadtholder Smith Bethune in February XX, ending the Time of Troubles.

The Time of Troubles is the most written about and debated period in Furbish history. It left a lasting legacy on the government and provinces. The Third Republic government was created to prevent abuses of power seen in the Second Republic, and equality under the law and government accountability were enshrined in the constitution. Provincial militias, which later became the Furbish National Guard, remain powerful as a check on federal power.

Provincial Wars

The Provincial Wars refer to conflicts fought between provincial and territorial militias against federal forces, or in some cases other provinces.