User:Benrey/Sandbox:ZZZ
History
Precolonial History
Human habitation of the territory that would become Nuvania has been estimated to have been confirmed as early as 41,000 years before present, with some of the oldest pottery in Asteria Inferior found at a number of sites in the Arucian Range, the largest being the Poebenza and Zipakwirë sites in the Arucian Range. These nomadic peoples eventually settled in Nuvania, establishing the many indigenous cultures and civilisations that existed prior to Euclean colonisation.
From these early settlers arose a number of cultures that would inhabit Nuvania prior to the arrival of Eucleans. One of the earliest to arise out of these settlements was the Inza culture, whose origins date to around 3300 BCE. The Inza predominantly inhabited the southern highlands of the Great Asterian Range in southern Nuvania, and were one of the longest extant cultures in Nuvania in the pre-Euclean period. They inhabited areas close to other cultures and tribes, particularly the Pajaan to the southwest and the Tumako to the south along the coast close to the border with Belmonte. The Kalima and Kimbaja inhabited the Great Asterian Range further to the west, with some influences on the coastal peoples who lived there.
Nuvania's northern coastline was inhabited by a range of peoples and cultures. In the northwest, the predominant culture was the Zenû, which was known for goldworking and extensive waterworks of the rivers in the region, with the Zenû being the largest and most advanced culture in the northwest of Nuvania. Further east, the Tairona inhabited a region consisting of modern-day Etten, their domain extending from the coast well into the highlands of the North Asterian Range, border with the Mwiska that lived to the south and southwest of them. Between the Zenû and Tairona were the Mokana peoples, a subgroup of the Kalina that inhabited a wide area of the north coast of Asteria Inferior. In particular, four tribes occupies the area between modern day Pietersburg and the domain of the Tairona; the Barû, the Kalamari, the Karex, the Kospike, and the Jurbako.
Central Nuvania was inhabited by a number of tribes, including the Akwe, Akuwe, Awen, Ini, Krahô, and Rikbaktsa. These tribes were less developed than those in the mountains or along the coast, and share a common language family. The tribes that inhabited central Nuvania were known for their body painting, colourful headdresses made from parrot feathers, as well as body modifications.
Euclean Exploration
Nuvania was discovered by Hennish explorer Johannes van Twiller in 1512 during his voyage along the northern coastline, detailing the northwestern portion of the continent. Although not landing on the continent, he was the first Euclean to not only discover the continent, but to affirm that the two continents were separate landmasses. Van Twiller's expedition was intent on ascertaining the extent of the continent and to look for possible sites for suitable colonisation. Van Twiller was the first Euclean to sight Native Asterians on Asteria Inferior, making a note that the continent contained "a number of thatched hamlets inhabited by people of a darker complexion." Van Twiller had identified two potential areas of possible colonial sites on the mainland, one at the tip of the Mascarenhas Peninsula, and one located at the eastern base of the peninsula. He returned to Hennehouwe in 1533 with a map of the northwestern portion of Nuvania's northern coastline.
Simultaneously, Iusitan explorer Álvaro de Mascarenhas launched his expedition on the behalf of the Empire of Gaullica, with the intent of finding additional colonial territories for the Gaullicans. Mascarenhas sailed down the western coast of the continent and discovered the island of Satavia, assuming it to be an extension of the continental landmass. During this expedition, Mascarenhas landed at what is now Colonist's Beach in the far northwest of Nuvania, having spent the better part of six months at sea. The landing, on August 10 1533, marked the first landing of Eucleans in Nuvania. Mascarenhas noted that while the peninsular was "most excellent for the regarding of shipping", the lack of suitable water sources would likely hamper the development of any settlements. He also noted that the area appeared to be sparsely populated, writing of the "scattered glimpses of what I assume to be natives in the jungle beyond". Mascarenhas departed on August 12, and sailed south, marking out the coastline of the western side of the peninsular, the northern coast of Satavia, and the southwestern coastline of Asteria Inferior. He then made for Gaullican trading ports in southern Coius on August 21, 1533.
The Hennish crown approved the creation of the Asterian Company (AK) in 1533 to pursue colonisation and trade in Asteria Inferior, and to join the rush to acquire territories in the Asterias alongside other Euclean colonial powers. Plans were drawn up for two trading ports in the areas recommended by van Twiller. In order to get a better lie of the land, the Crown sent Jacobus van Achelen, who sailed on September 1, 1533, to gather more information. Van Achelen sailed to the northern Mascarenhas Peninsula and down its eastern coast to the area where Pietersburg would later be founded. Van Achelen noted that "many people inhabit the coast in this area", and would be beneficial for prospective trade. Landing at what would become the settlement of Fort Willem and at the site of Pietersburg, van Achelen affirmed the decision to promote this area for Hennish colonisation. He returned to Hennehouwe and arrived there in October 1534.
Colonisation
King Adriaan-Willem I approved the Asterian Company's plan for two settlements in northwestern Nuvania on February 9, 1537. However, these plans were shelved as the death of the king prompted civil war in Hennehouwe and the partition of the country between the Kasperist north, supported by the Kingdom of Estmere, and the Catholic south, which became the Duchy of Flamia under the rule of Adriaan-Willem II. The latter had inherited the plans for the establishment of colonies in the Asterias, including those of the now-defunct Asterian Company. Adriaan-Willem II established the New Asterian Company (NAK) on June 1538 for the purpose of establishing colonies in the Asterias. The first colonists were recruited from those that had lost their homes during the partition of Hennehouwe. They set sail on December 19, 1540, and landed in Nuvania on May 19, 1541. The colonists were lead by Jacobus van Achelen, who had extensive knowledge of the area. There, they established Fort Willem, in honour of the Duke of Flamia.
Fort Willem was intended to act as a trading and military outpost from which further expansions and settlements could originate. Unsure of the intent or the number of the native inhabitants of the region, Fort Willem was fortified from its inception, which made it one of the more better defended settlements from native attacks. In 1542, Petrus Boerhaave landed to the southeast of Fort Willem at the mouth of the Konrad river, and established the settlement of Pietersburg after his sponsor, Pieter van Meetkercke, the first settlers following four years later in 1546. A number of smaller settlements and bartering posts were progressively established by a number of colonists from different countries with the permission and oversight of the NAK.
Following partition, the First Hennish Republic explored the possibility of establishing colonies in the Asterias themselves. They were aware of the existence of both the Asterian Company prior to the dissolution of the Kingdom of Hennehouwe, as well as the existence of the New Asterian Company. In 1545, Stadtholder Cornelis van Heemskerck established the South Asterian Company (ZAK) to establish colonies in areas outside the NAK. Under the direction of Fransz de Veer, the first ZAK settlers arrived in northeastern Nuvania on August 5, 1547, establishing the settlement of Port Veer, which later became the city of Windstrad.
By the turn of the century, there were over eighty Hennish settlements in northern Nuvania, the majority of them in the northwest of the country. Most of these were small bartering posts and hamlets supporting small areas of agriculture, often cooperating with or incorporating the native inhabitants. A few attacks on these settlements were reported, but the coexistence between the Eucleans and Native Asterians was largely peaceful.
The early colonisation period marked the beginning of the wider Hennish expansion into northern Nuvania, bringing it into contact with different native peoples. The ZAK in particular began to move into the domain of the Tairona, as well as westwards along the coast, gradually pushing out the tribes that lived there. One of the more notable expeditions was that of Herman Hasselaer, who led an expedition into the mountains of the Arucian Range, and made the first contact with the Mwiska people in October 1556. The discovery of arable lands in the Arucian Range, as well as the vast amounts of gold worked by the Mwiska, prompted further expeditions that established a long-standing trade relationship with the Mwiska that lasted into the 17th century.
Sotirian Commonwealth
Nuvanian colonisation accelerated under the Sotirian Commonwealth, which sought to improve its standing as the greater economic and military power of the two Hennish polities. In particular, the knowledge of the vast amounts of gold that could be taken from both the Tairona and the Mwiska was considered to be very attractive to the Commonwealth leadership, and thus the government under Stadtholder Jan van Etten approved the creation of transferrals of soldiers and materials for the expansion of colonial military units in areas controlled by the ZAK, which the Commonwealth had inherited from the First Hennish Republic. Van Etten appointed Emmanuel van Leeuwenhoek as the commander of these forces, with the first instance of expanding ZAK and by extension, Commonwealth territories, southward.
The first expansion of the ZAK's territory came with the conquest of the Tairona between 1643 and 1647, with the process hampered by the thick jungles of the lower elevations and coastal plains in northern Nuvania, as well as guerilla tactics from the Tairona, and ever present issues with diseases and attacks from wildlife, particularly snakes and crocodiles. However, the ZAK plundered significant amounts of gold and other valuable artefacts from Tairona settlements and tombs, shipping these treasures off to Euclea. Van Leeuwenhoek returned to the Commonwealth in June 1650 to receive commendations from van Etten, before being granted personal command of the Army of the Asterias, a military force that was to
Mwiska Wars
The wealth of the Mwiska had been known to both the Duchy of Flamia and the Sotirian Commonwealth for a number of years, but the rivalry between the two countries inhibited the ability for either government to fully explore the Mwiska domains further. The Sotirian Commonwealth had already been expanding its territory southwards into the North Asterian Range, having already conquered the Tairona by 1650. Emmanuel van Leeuwenhoek, commander of the Army of the Asterias, pushed further to the south in 1654 beyond the domain of the Tairona, encountering a number of other tribes as well as the Mwiska, themselves already well aware of the Euclean presence in the lowlands. The first of these expeditions south saw van Leeuwenhoek lead 800 men into the highlands of the North Asterian Range. The ruler of the eastern domains of the Mwiska, Tiskwesusa, learnt of this expedition south and was suspicious of the intention of the Eucleans, dispatching a force to observe the Eucleans as they progressed southwards. When word reached him that the Eucleans were armed and in significant number, Tiskwesusa ordered a much larger force commanded by his brother, Sajipa, to confront the Eucleans at a site of his choosing. Sajipa then ambushed the force led by van Leeuwenhoek near the indigenous settlement of Chirigwana, successfully stopping the Eucleans and causing many casualties. Having suffered significant losses, van Leeuwenhoek was forced to retreat back to the relative safety of the ZAK settlement of Fort Nieuw Voorzienigheid, today Vryburg.
Van Leeuwenhoek's defeat at Chirigwana spurred the Commonwealth on, and upon his return to Windstrand, van Leeuwenhoek requested more men for further attempts at conquest. His request was granted, and by January 1656, van Leeuwenhoek had amassed a force of 1,200 men. Augmenting that force were a further 1,600 local warriors and volunteers from the settlers on the coastal plains. Van Leeuwenhoek set off to the south again, this time following a different route. The force encountered numerous obstacles along the way, and suffered from attacks by both indigenous peoples as well as from the local wildlife, particularly crocodiles and jaguars, and despite suffering significant losses, managed to make it to the settlement of Tamalameke, abandoned by its inhabitants before the Eucleans and their allies arrived. Sajipa was subsequently sent to defeat van Leeuwenhoek's force with a superior force of 5,000 gwecha warriors. Unlike the previous battle, Sajipa believed he could defeat the Eucleans. In the first pitched battle on Nuvanian soil, Sajipa and his warriors fought against the Eucleans and native allies led by Van Leeuwenhoek in the battle of Tamalameke. The superior armour and weaponry of the Eucleans proved decisive, and Sajipa's force was decimated. Despite this, the force was unable to pursue the defeated Mwiska, and returned to Vryburg.
Sajipa's loss at Tamalameke caused chaos in the domains of the Mwiska and lead to a civil war between the western and eastern portions of the Mwiska domain, the western domain believing it could take advantage of the weakened eastern domain. The zake of the western domain, Kwemuwenchatocha, invaded the eastern domain under the rule of Tiskwesusa, believing that he could conquer and unite the domains of the Mwiska. The conflict began with a confrontation between the two armies at the town of Chokonta, the first major battle of the war. A second battle was fought at Macheta, followed by more battles at Lengwazake and Gwacheta, as the forces of Kwemuwenchatocha attempted to push to the northwest, in an attempt to outflank the main eastern army and approach the eastern capital, Hunza, from the north, the western army defeated at the battle of Sachika in January 1657. Both Twiskesusa and Kwemuwenchatocha were killed at the second battle of Gwacheta, prompting an end to the conflict.
Concurrent with the ZAK attempts at conquering the Mwiska and the Mwiskan Civil War were the Flamian conquests of the Tolima peoples, which brought them into the western part of the North Asterian Range, and on the border with the western domain of the Mwiska. The NAK had similar difficulties and the first expedition in 1649 into the mountains was a failure, its leader Adriaen Berckheyde killed in a jaguar attack just six days into the expedition. The remaining soldiers and men returning to the main settlement of Halsstad on the western coast. The second expedition in 1652, lead by Gerardus Janzoon Seghers, was successful, making good progress and finally coming into contact with the Tolima on July 29, 1653, precipitating a conflict that would last into 1654. Seghers would lose an initial skirmish near Puli in July 1653 before winning decisive victories at Bituwima on August 15 1653, and later victories at the battles of Apulo and Tokaima on January 5, and March 20 respectively, only suffering a small setback at the battle of Chagwani on September 7.
Following the conquest of the Tolima, the NAK involved itself in the conflict between the two Mwiska domains, backing Kwemuwenchatocha against Tiskwesusa. The presence of Eucleans in the western domain alarmed Twiskesusa, who approached the ZAK, requesting a truce between the conflict and to assist in the defence of his rule, promising vast amounts of gold and precious stones in return for their assistance. Van Leeuwenhoek, in command of the Army of the Asterias, agreed, and sent small detachments of his men to Tundama where they camped. ZAK and NAK forces participated in the second battle of Gwacheta on January 27, 1657 but did not come into direct contact with each other. After the battle, ZAK forces relocated to Hunza and NAK forces to Kahika.
The ZAK demanded more gold as payment for their services, and when Sajipa, who had assumed control over the eastern domain after the death of his brother, Twiskesusa, refused to meet the demand, the ZAK contingent seized a proportion of the land and threatened to kill him unless he met their demands, with more gold and allowing the ZAK to keep the seized land. In addition, Sajipa sought promises from the ZAK that his rule would be respected, this state of affairs lasting until an attempted conversion to Sotiranity which he had refused, and was summarily imprisoned and then executed through hanging. A similar fate occurred in the western domain, with Akwiminza, the nephew of Kwemuwenchatocha, who renounced Catholicism after converting in 1658, and was executed via beheading as an apostate in 1659, mere weeks after the execution of Sajipa. The domains of the Mwiska were split between the NAK and ZAK.
Duchy of Flamia
The annexation of the former Sotirian Commonwealth in 1719 was an important part of Nuvanian colonial history, and saw the amalgamation of the various NAK and ZAK colonial settlements and trade posts into one centralised colony, composing most of the conquered lands in the north of Nuvania, the interior over much of the South Arucian Range, as well as the entire west coast of modern day Nuvania. In addition, the colonies on the island of Satavia were incorporated into the new colony, known as Flamian Asteria, representing Flamia's only extant colonies in the New World.
NAK governor Gustaaf van Leeuwenhoek was appointed governor of the new colony by Grande Duke Loudewijk V, and was also given the task of integrating the former ZAK colonies of the Commonwealth into the new colony, particularly that of Pietersburg, which was the largest settlement in the ZAK province of the same name. Van Leeuwenhoek opted to select it as the capital for the new colony, one of the many powers and responsibilities which had been bestowed upon him in order to expedite the integration of Flamia's new colonial possessions. Van Leeuwenhoek travelled to the cities and towns of the former ZAK provinces, believing that listening to the residents and colonial officials there in order to hopefully reduce tensions and anti-Catholic sentiment of the Amendists living along Nuvania's northern coastal plains. Van Leeuwenhoek spent six weeks meeting with political and religious leaders, and assured them that their right to practice their religion as they saw fit was respected. In addition, van Leeuwenhoek made assurances that their way of life would not be changed and that the colonial authorities in place in the former ZAK provinces would be retained with little to no changes.
With the devastation of the Hennish Wars producing thousands of families who had become dispossessed and homeless, the new Flamian government offered to resettle them in their new colony, providing them with land and funding to establish homesteads, farms, and even whole settlements. Entire villages that were razed during the fighting were resettled in Nuvania and Satavia, and numerous new settlements were established, and existing towns began to see substantial population increases. The new migrants were a mixture of Catholics and Amendists, and largely reinforced existing populations in the colony. In addition to the integration of new colonies and a wave of settlers, van Leeuwenhoek presided over the creation of new provinces. In addition to the extant provinces within the ZAK, new provinces were created along the west coast of Nuvania and in Satavia. Albina was created in 1721, and Mahaika followed in 1724, both created out of lands formerly controlled by extant provinces. By 1730, the integration and territorial reorganisation was largely complete.
Van Leeuwenhoek died of malaria in 1731 was succeeded by Laurens van den Gheyn who promoted exploration of what would become Pomeronia. Van den Gheyn was keen on discovering more of the interior of Nuvania, and commissioned a series of expeditions into central Nuvania, both from the South Arucian Range and from the Kinsella Wetlands in the west, sailing up the Pomeron River, opening up lands for more homesteaders as well as relieving the pressure on the fast-growing coastal settlements. The first expedition was launched by Gottfried van Angelbeek in 1736, travelling up the Pomeron River. Van Angelbeek's expedition lasted four weeks, before it was ambushed by members of the Akwe tribe close to modern day Jacobia, with van Angelbeek killed in the ambush himself.
The expedition of Paulus Keun, known as the Overland Expedition, provided one of the few successful explorations of the central Nuvanian veld. Keun noted that the vast central plains were "composed of great tracts of grasslands, describing the lands as "flat lands of great extent" and noting patches of open grasslands interspersed with pockets of dense forest. Keun noted that the land "appeared to be suitable for the raising of beasts". Further expeditions did make some headway into the centre of Nuvania, but often encountered hostile Asterindian tribes, Keun's expeditions notably coming into repeated contact with the Ini, which lived in the northern and northeastern areas of the central plains region. Keun himself would suffer the same fate as earlier explorers, killed by an arrow after encountering the Ini along the Takwarë River, later found to be a tributary of the Pomeron.
Nuvania became the main economic engine of the Duchy of Flamia throughout the remainder of Flamian rule over the colony, with the country producing cash crops as well as precious metals in increasing numbers, allowing for the flourishing of both the colonial and Euclean economies. This growth saw a marked increase in the wealth of the local colonial elite, many of whom were now born and raised in Nuvania and Satavia. The growth of their wealth translated into social influence and increasing political power, which began to alarm not only colonial authorities, but also the government in s'Holle. Significant numbers of soldiers were subsequently transferred to Nuvania and Satavia as a show of force to the local elite, quelling any notions of independence or an uprising. Until the Estmerish-Hennish Wars, the colonies of Flamia were among the wealthiest in the Asterias.
Kingdom of Estmere
Estmere had long harboured ambitions to strengthen their position within Euclea and within the Asterias, owing to their longstanding rivalry with Gaullica and the comparatively smaller colonial empire within the Asterias. The Gaullicans had not only much larger colonies, they also controlled part of the Arucian Straits, through which substantial proportions of trade passed through between the East and West Arucian Seas. In addition, many of their colonies in the tropics were becoming significantly wealthy off the back of fast-growing cash crop production, particularly of crops such as sugar cane and tobacco. Outside of her colonies in Asteria Superior, Estmere possessed just one other colony in the Asterias: the islands of Imagua and the Assimas. Although strategic in of itself, it was alone in a the West Arucian Sea, and within two days sailing for significant Gaullican colonies in Sainte-Chloé and Satucin. Nuvania and Satavia also offered a significant strategic advantage, being close to the western entrance to the West Arucian Sea. Wealth from Nuvania and Satavia had also bankrolled the reconstruction efforts throughout the Duchy of Flamia, and thus was indicative of significant wealth within the colonies.
The ensuring Estmerish-Hennish War was split between the campaign in Euclea and the colonial campaign in the Asterias, in which Nuvania played the most important part as the largest and most populous of the three colonies. Initial engagements between Estmerish and Hennish colonial forces were primarily naval, including the crucial naval battle off North Point in which the Estmerish Asterias Fleet destroyed the similarly named fleet of the Royal Flamian Navy. Successive naval victories allowed the isolation of the remaining Hennish colonies, the Estmerish opting to divide and conquer, beginning with Satavia and then moving into Nuvania. Estmerish Royal Marine Forces came ashore near the city of Witsand in northwestern Etten and began progressively pushing inland. Flamian colonial forces responded, engaging the Estmerish in both pitched battles and hit and run engagements using local militias. A second landing south of the port of Wetting caused the collapse of the Flamian forces in the north of Nuvania, the colonial government abandoning Pietersburg and fleeing to Daalensfontein in an attempt to reach Constantia. A third landing in northern Albina sealed the fate of the colonial government, which after a brief final battle ensured the surrender of the colonial government. An official ceremony took place on October 30, 1749 in which Estmere claimed Nuvania in the name of the reigning monarch, Mary II. Military operations, however, continued, especially in central and southern Nuvania which were yet to have come under Estmerish control. Sporadic conflicts and skirmishes continued until 1778.
The newly conquered colonies were placed under the control of a new colonial governor, Lord Fairburn, who arrived in October 1751 to replace Lord Bolton, the military governor of the Conquered Territories as the former Hennish colonies were known as between 1749 and 1751. Lord Fairburn returned the colonies to their Flamian names, and alongside Imagua and the Assimas, were referred to as Meridian Asterias, differentiating them from the colonies in Asteria Superior. Each colony was administered independently from one another and was ruled from a different capital. In Nuvania, the government was reestablished in Pietersburg, with the Hennish-speaking civil service remaining largely intact. However, as more and more officials were sent into these new colonies, the more and more Hennish speakers were pushed out of the civil service. By 1800, less than five percent of civil servants were Hennish speakers.
Lord Fairburn imposed a wide variety of reforms as to how the colonies functioned as well as new laws, taxes, and restrictions imposed on the Hennish to open up both land and employment for Estmerish settlers. These laws became known by the Hennish name De Oplegging, or "The Imposition", with resistance to these laws and regulations punished severely. Taxes were imposed on materials that previously remained untaxed. Glass, wallpaper, and windows were among the new taxes introduced from 1752 onwards, with other taxes introduced periodically. This had little effect on the colonial settlers, and principally affected those already living there. As with other impositions, tax evasion and resistance was punished severely.
The conquest of Flamia and her Asterian colonies had opened up new lands for settlement for the Estmerish. However, unlike other colonies, the former Flamian colonies were well developed and had plentiful cheap labour, which was expanded further beyond newly freed Bahian slaves, Creoles, and indigenous peoples to include poor or dispossessed Asterianers. While ordinary citizens immigrated to Nuvania by the thousand, it also saw a mass migration of wealthy people who wished to carve for themselves a new landed gentry in the colonies. Estmerish rule also opened up avenues for other migrants from northern Euclea, including Borland and Caldia. In addition, limited migration was allowed from the parts of Hennish-speaking Estmere that had been conquered.
Immigration swelled the numbers of people living in coastal cities, with Pietersburg and Windstrand seeing their respective populations double within two decades. This also created significant migration inland from the northern provinces, as Asterianers moved further into the interior of Nuvania. Initially Asterianers settled in the North Asterian Range, but as more newer migrants also settled within the range due to the more agreeable climate, Asterianers moved further into the interior, beginning a mass settlement of provinces such as Albina and Pomeronia, the latter seeing a substantial amount of internal migration that resulted in significant changes both to the landscape of the central plains and to the indigenous peoples that lived there. By 1770, conflicts between Asterianer settlers and indigenous Nuvanians living in the central plains were common place, and as a result, indigenous communities were decimated from conflict and introduced diseases. Missionaries were also active during this period, actively converting indigenous communities resulting in the destruction and extinction of indigenous religions and languages.
Dominion
War of the Triple Alliance
The outbreak of hostilities in Euclea in 1853 initially had little impact on Estmere's Asterian colonies. Trade between colonies and between continents was not disrupted and for the first two years of the conflict, this state of affairs continued. However, with the entry of Estmere into the war in March 1854 came the concerns that her colonies could be dragged into a conflict that had nothing to do with them. A petition of concerned residents in Pietersburg was delivered to the Governor at the time, Alexander Moorehouse on April 2, 1854, demanding that the colonial government take no part in the war. Moorehouse accepted the petition and discussed the matter with General Percival Phillips, commander of all of Estmere's colonial military formations in Nuvania and one of the overall military commanders in Estmere's Asterian colonies. Phillips stated that he has received orders to place Nuvania's forces on increased alert, and be aware of any Gaullican movements in the West Arucian Sea.
As the war in Euclea ground to a halt, both Estmere and Gaullica looked to alleviate pressure elsewhere. The colonies, which were within a week's sailing of each other, looked to be the best way to divert attention and resources for both colonial powers. Gaullica mobilised its fleet in the Asterias in November 1854 and moved westwards, rendezvousing near Sainte-Chloé before sailing south to try and blockade Nuvanian ports. The fleet was intercepted by Estmerish vessels based in Imagua, where they clashed near the Assimas Islands. Although a decisive defeat for Estmere, it delayed the rendezvous of the Gaullican fleet in the West Arucian Sea by some time, and allowed a much larger fleet to assemble off Nuvania. As word reached Morwall about the naval engagement and Gaullican intentions, the Estmerish war ministry issued orders to General Phillips for mobilisation. The order caused consternation among the populace, especially Asterianers, many of whom filled the ranks of military formations raised in Nuvania. As the naval campaign raged off the northern coast of Nuvania, where the Estmerish Asterias Fleet and the Gaullican Flotte Orientale engaged in two largely inconclusive battles in the West Arucian, the Admiralty in Morwall planned for a decisive campaign in the West Arucian, both to capture and control entry points into the West Arucian Sea. The plan called for an invasion of Sainte-Chloé, from which the Asterias Fleet could control the western entrance to the sea alongside ships based in Nuvanian and Satavian ports, in addition to an expedition to capture the islands in Parane province in the Arucian Straits, as outright capturing Gatôn was ruled out as being too difficult.
The battles of the West Arucian Sea had not been as decisive as the Admiralty was hoping for, but were nonetheless convinced that the proposal for an invasion of Sainte-Chloé was worthwhile, denying the Flotte Orientale a major port in which to repair and resupply. Sainte-Chloé was very well defended owing to its strategic value. By January 4, 1855, a finalised invasion plan was completed, and General Phillips, now under the command of Rear Admiral Godfrey Proudfoot, was tasked with assembling enough regiments for an invasion force. This included raising additional regiments and training them, while also issuing mobilisation orders for the colonial militia that would garrison important fortifications along the coast. A mixed invasion force composed of regiments from Nuvania and Satavia set sail for the island of Sainte-Geneviève with the intent of securing a foothold in the Gaullican colony before progressing to Sainte-Chloé proper. The invasion of Sainte-Geneviève commenced on February 1, 1855 and took longer than the Admiralty expected, but was successful in capturing the island from the Gaullicans. A decisive Estmerish naval victory at Point Bellay gave the admiralty confidence in attacking the mainland. On March 7, the invasion of Sainte-Chloé began. Estmerish forces took significant casualties and established a beachhead. However, they were unable to progress any further, and two months later on May 10, the force was evacuated.
The Admiralty continue to look for a decisive breakthrough victory in the West Arucian, and reckoned that the damage caused by the fighting to that point had significantly weakened the Gaullican naval forces within the West Arucian Sea enough that, while still posing a threat, were not threatening enough to prevent a new force from being sailed to force the Arucian Straits from the west. The Forcing of the Straits was considered by many to be a suicide mission, and after the failure of Sainte-Chloé, many soldiers within Nuvanian colonial formations refused to board transport ships upon hearing of where they would be going, as rumours spread about the proposal. The July Mutiny began on July 18, 1855 in which thousands of armed soldiers, most of whom were Asterianers, converged on the governor's residence in Pietersburg refusing to board transport ships for the proposed military operation. A tense standoff occurred, before other colonialist ships and threats to bombard the mutineers with artillery fire forced them onboard. In what became one of the most controversial aspects of the West Arucian campaign, the Forcing of the Straits ended in utter failure, with a number of ships picked off by Gaullican Navy attacks or from shore batteries along the Sautcin side of the straits themselves. The rest of the fleet returned, and was greeted by largely Asterianer protesters.
The return of peace to Euclea did not stop the increase of tensions between the colonial government and those who had served in the failed campaigns in the West Arucian. Calls for independence began to grow louder, with threats of armed rebellion being made against the colonial government. These threats were taken seriously by Governor Moorehouse, who issued a message requesting for additional soldiers in August 1855 to the Colonial Office in Morwall. Unwilling to commit to another significant conflict in the Asterias and believing the government in Pietersburg had sufficient numbers to mobilise if such threats were made, the Colonial Office believed that the issue could be dealt with by Pietersburg. On June 16, 1855, a column of kommandos was observed advancing along the coastal road from Wetting, prompting Moorehouse to mobilise all the resources he had in the capital and march eastwards, meeting the Asterianers at Oosteplaas, 12 kilometres east of Pietersburg.
Free State
The defeat at Oosteplaas forced Nuvanian nationalists to rethink their approach to their goal of independence from Estmere. Moorehouse's willingnes to use military force demonstrated the resolve of the government to keep Nuvania as a part of the wider Estmerish Empire, and that a war of independence would inflict suffering on the Asterianer population, which many of the moderates within the nationalist movement did not want to see. A rift began to form between the hardliners and the moderates within the nationalist cause, particularly within the National People's Party. These factions formed under two different banners; the matige led by Diederick Laubscher who wanted to achieve independence through the established political system, and the totaaliste who favoured independence by any means necessary. Led by Piet van Kyl, the totaaliste faction was far more militant and willing to use violence, which caused concern among Laubscher and other moderates within the NVP.
Divisions were also present within the government and mainstream Estmerish parties. Issues surrounding Asterianer nationalism and independence came to be referred to as the "Asterianer question", a term coined by journalist Karl de Witte in an opinion column written in the Pietersburg Gazette in September 1855. The column, entitled "Political Solutions for the Asterianer Question", outlined the argument for a more moderate response to the economic, political, and social grievances of Asterianers. Debates arose in the Grand Coalition over which course of action to take in response to increased nationalism and calls for independence. Dominionists under Joseph Kitchens preferred a hardline approach to Asterianer nationalists, calling for mass incarceration and suppression of any nationalist movements and political groups. Liberals and Reformists, lead by Alexander Pickering, prefer to negotiate for a political settlement with Asterianer nationalists, working towards greater autonomy and political representation. Pickering also believed that neither Nuvania nor Estmere could survive another costly war, particularly in Nuvania itself, and wanted to avoid further conflict as much as possible.
The differences between the hardliners and moderates within the Grand Coalition created tensions within the government over differences in policy and on how to handle nationalist political organisations. As the Grand Coalition was more or less a plurality between the three mainstream Estmerish political parties, none of the parties within it could dominate. Kitchens found himself increasingly frustrated by the actions of Pickering and Liberal Party leader Vincent Wickham, and announced his party would leave the coalition in January 1857. Wickham called an earlier election for June, and met with Governor Moorehouse to dissolve parliament in preparation for general elections on January 19. The campaign for the 1857 general election revolved around the differences between factions within opposing parties and coalitions. The Liberal and Reform parties campaigned together on the same ticket and committed to negotiations for greater autonomy as well as reforms for better Asterianer representation, policies which were supported by Laubscher and the NVP. Dominionists campaigned on preserving the status quo and stamping out the "nationalist menace" within Nuvanian society. Hardline nationalists campaigned for more extreme policies and advocated for armed insurrection against the government. In response, Laubscher forced the hardliner nationalists out of the NVP, and under the leadership of van Kyl, announced the formation of a new political party, the Asterianer Emancipation League, in May 1857. The election was conducted without the threats of violence made by both Dominionists and hardliner nationalists, delivering both the Liberal Party and Reform Party a plurality of seats. The NVP would be the largest of the nationalist parties, with the Dominionists and the Emancipationists winning a handful of seats each. As the leader of the moderate faction in the former Grand Coalition, Alexander Pickering was sworn in as Chief Minister on July 2, 1857.
Pickering kept his promise regarding negotiations with the NVP, and on July 30, began the first of a series of formal talks with Laubscher on greater autonomy for Nuvania as well as addressing the grievances of Asterianers. The talks would take place over three years, resulting in substantial changes to how Nuvania would be governed and how greater Asterianer representation could be achieved. In June 1860, the Treaty of Cuanstad was signed between Estmerish Prime Minister Richmond Burke, Nuvanian Chief Minister Alexander Pickering, and NVP leader Diederick Laubscher on greater autonomy for Nuvania within the Estmerish Empire. Nuvania would become a Free State within the Empire, under which the role of Governor would be replaced by a Governor-General who would be able to act independently of both the new Nuvanian government and the Estmerish government. As a result of the negotiations and the Treaty of Cuanstad, Nuvania became de facto independent from Estmere, with the government now having the ability to set up independent bilateral relations and trade agreements, establish high commissions in foreign countries, establish a supreme court independent of Estmere, and raise an army and a navy for national defence. Nuvania would also become known as the Nuvanian Free State internationally.
For the Asterianers, the new Parliament would establish an upper house, the Legislative Council, which would reserve seats for Asterianer representation as well as have more weight towards Asterianer seats in the House of Assembly. Asterianers would also be entitled to the same welfare entitlements for housing and spousal support as Estmerish Nuvanians, and voting restrictions were loosened to allow more Asterianers to vote. This also had the secondary effect of enfranchising a significant number of coloured and black Nuvanians, who voted en masse for Reform and became staunch Reform supporters well into the 20th century. This was enough to assuade most of the Nuvanian nationalists, save for the hardliners in the Asterianer Emancipation League, who criticised the treaty and the derestricting of voting rights for Asterianers, seeing them as ways to placate the populace and prevent Asterianer independence.
Although Pickering and Laubscher were lauded for their achievements, there was significant concern among many Estmerish Nuvanians that the government had made too many concessions to the Asterianers, and that further autonomy threatened their connections with Estmere and the Crown. A majority of Estmerish were still monarchists and believed in a Nuvania still ruled by a monarch in some capacity, and were swayed by the Dominionists and their condemnation of the reforms in the campaign leading up to the 1861 general election. As a result, the Dominionist Party won a plurality of the seats in the House of Assembly, forcing the Liberal and Reform parties to form a coalition with the NVP to form another Grand Coalition in order to isolate the Dominionists. Pickering would remain Chief Minister, now elected to his second term in office.
The Second Grand Coalition would embark on a major infrastructure investment program that would kick off the first period of industrialisation in Nuvania. This primarily focussed around the development of railways, which had begun in the previous decades, with over one hundred kilometres of track completed by 1860. The Pickering Plan would see all major cities and important towns in all Nuvanian provinces connected by the end of the century, and would be an enduring legacy of the Pickering government. Alongside the railways was an expansion of the domestic and international telegraph system; telegraph lines would follow the expansion of railways into areas which had little to no prior infrastructure, as well as connect Nuvania to neighbouring countries. By the end of the decade, telegraph lines linked Nuvania to Aucuria and to Belmonte, undersea cables linked the country to Satavia and to the Estmerish colony in Imagua. This massive expansion of infrastructure resulted in significant economic growth and investment in the Nuvanian economy.
In June 1863, Pickering died in office from a heart attack, and was replaced by his deputy V.F Caufield, who continued the same policies as well as expanding them beyond transport and communications to include social infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, and public libraries. This lead him to comfortably win two general elections in 1865 and 1869. This stability would end in 1870 when gold miners and prospectors in Pomeronia rose up against the provincial government who failed to prevent attacks from indigenous peoples as well as unfair allocation of mining concessions and lawlessness in many areas of the province. Premier J.M van Dalsen petitioned Caufield for additional support but this did not occur, as Caufield did not regard the complaints as important enough for central government to address, and left it for the provincial government to resolve. Caufield's primary concerns were the creation of a public library system and the establishment of a state railway company to consolidate passenger and freight operations on the growing railway network. As a result of this negligence, miners and others who had grievances against the government rose up, deposing van Dalsen as premier, and establishing the Pomeronia Republic in June 1875. Caufield orders troops into Pomeronia to restore order, and fighting breaks out between government soldiers and local Asterianer kommandos, with order restored after a month of low level conflict. The rebellion in Pomeronia soured relations between the NVP and the Reform Party, with Laubscher blamed for not acting quickly enough to resolve the conflict. As a result, during the NVP conference in the leadup to the 1877 general election, Laubscher stood down from the leadership role and was replaced as leader of the NVP by Piet van Kyl, who readmitted the more militant Asterianer nationalists back into the NVP.
The 1877 election saw the return of more antagonist politics between newly revitalised pro-monarchy and pro-independence parties. The Reform Party saw its vote share collapse amidst infighting and disagreements over how the rebellion in Pomeronia should have been handled. The Dominionist leader, C.K Peacock, became Chief Minister, with van Kyl becoming leader of the opposition. During his single term as Chief Minister, Peacock and van Kyl engaged in bitter debates in the House of Assembly, in which increasingly violent rhetoric was being used. Politics began to be drawn down ethnic lines as the NVP once again returned to being a party purely for Asterianer interests. Eventually, the loss of Estmerish supporters from the NVP and the loss of Asterianer monarchists from the Dominionists had granted the NVP a narrow edge over the Dominionists. In the 1881 general election, van Kyl and the NVP win their first election, van Kyl running his election on a platform of total independence for Nuvania. Following his victory, van Kyl begin Nuvania's path towards independence.
War of the Arucian
Independence
Great Collapse
On December x, 1913, the Weisstadt Stock Exchange collapsed, precipitating a much wider financial and economic crisis and broader economic recession that became known as the Great Collapse. The economic crisis and downturn did not arrive in Nuvania until mid-January 1914 in which global commodity prices significantly declined. As the Nuvanian economy was predominantly focussed on agriculture and resource extraction, the decline in commodity prices in key export markets, particularly Asteria Superior and Euclea, meant significant hardships and economic impacts on farmers, mining corporations, and other export-dependent industries.
The ways in which the Great Collapse affected Nuvanian society where varied. Asterianers, who were predominantly farmers and working class within white Nuvanian society, suffered from widespread poverty and financial hardship from the loss of income from the collapse of wholesale prices for produce and other agricultural goods. Rural communities began to experience depopulation as farms failed and were subsequently repossessed by banks, often run by Estmerish Nuvanians. Thousands of Asterianers moved into the cities in search of work, and often found themselves competing with black, coloured, and indigenous peoples for employment. This created extensive resentment among Asterianers who blamed government policies and a lack of financial support for farmers and farming communities for the major expansion of poverty among Asterianer communities. For black, coloured, and indigenous Nuvanians, the impacts of the Great Collapse were also severe, as they too relied on largely Asterianer farmers for income and employment. The collapse and loss of farms meant tens of thousands of farm workers migrated into the cities searching for work. Vast shanty towns and slums appeared at the urban fringes of Nuvania's major urban areas, and crime began to increase significantly.
The Greate Collapse also exposed Nuvania's reliance on commodity and agricultural exports and the economic and financial policies that successive governments had instituted as a result of this reliance. Nuvania following independence had still continued to place itself as a primary provider of goods for Estmere, as well as other Estmerish speaking countries and territories in the Asterias, the largest of which was Satavia. Revenue from commodity and agricultural exports drove demand for infrastructure development, with banks and provincial governments encouraged to provide additional funding for these projects through the issuing of bonds and loans acquired by the central government on the behalf of provincial governments. This largely deregulated system collapsed during 1914 and 1915, putting thousands of people out of work and forcing the government to assume the responsibility for outstanding loans issued on the behalf of provincial governments. With drastically reduced tax revenues, the Hardy government was forced to institute a period of financial austerity, beginning in May 1914, which drastically cut spending across all areas of government in order to find money to service debt repayments.
Hardy's austerity policies were widely disliked among the vast majority of the Nuvanian public and alongside rising ethnic and sectarian divisions, contributed to a fracturing of Nuvanian society along ethnic, political, and sectarian lines. This division resulted in the outbreak of sporadic violence and civil disorder, the worst being the Roseverbranding in June 1914 in which Asterianers attacked Estmerish neighbourhoods and businesses. Initially beginning in Pietersburg, the violence soon spread across most of Nuvania's cities, prompting Hardy to declare martial law and mobilise the Nuvanian Army in order to restore peace. The violence began on July 14 and ended on July 28, during which 225 people were killed, 416 wounded, and thousands of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed. This violence would be followed by two more rebellions; Swart's Rebellion in September 1915 that occurred in Constantia in which striking coal miners attempted to seize the city in response to reductions in wages, and the Bruinspels Rebellion in Etten in which a strike by black and coloured factory workers in Vryburg turned into an armed uprising. Both were crushed with heavy loss of life.
The Roseverbranding and the investigation into the cause heavily influenced the outcome of the 1914 general election, during which the political fractures within Nuvanian society were on display. The investigation into the Roseverbranding found that the violence had been caused by the arrest of an unemployed Asterianer worker stealing a loaf of bread from an Estmerish-run bakery, which was later found to have been setup by radical Asterianer nationalists to justify the violence. The Volksfront regarded the investigation as a cause célèbre and used it to further their political ambitions as well as further entrench political division in Nuvanian society, causing a rift between the Volksfront and the NVP as part of the broader right-wing coalition. Opposition also came from the far left, with the United People's Front, a collection of smaller left-wing parties, uniting to challenge the Hardy government. The end result in the election saw both the Volksfront and the UPF make significant electoral gains, and the NVP, which was now almost exclusively a party for right-wing Estmerish, enter into a grand coalition with the Reform Party in order to isolate the Volksfront and UPF.
Although the Reform Party had campaigned on ending the austerity policies of the Hardy government, the party found itself in the position of the junior partner in the coalition, which caused tensions between Reform and the NVP. Hardy continued the policies he had instituted at the beginning of the year and became concerned with the lack of industrialisation in Nuvania. Attempts to attract investment into Nuvania failed as he lacked the support, even from his own coalition partner, to pass legislation that would essentially dismantle the strong union presence within the Nuvanian workforce, viewing the labour unions as an impedence to Nuvania's economic recovery. Further complicating matters was the worsening economic situation and degrading social cohesion, as rival political groups began to openly fight in the streets and millions of Nuvanians became unemployed. Between 1916 and 1917, a further six million Nuvanians found themselves out of work, and strikes began to cripple the economy. Further violence between the state and striking workers culminated in the 1918 Schoemansville massacre in Constantia, in which 5,000 striking farm workers were attacked by 700 armed police and soldiers. Over two days between February 20 and February 22, 77 people were killed and 157 injured. The response to the protest caused significant tensions between Reform politicians and the Hardy government. However, the coalition held until the 1918 general election.
.jpg)
The 1918 general election would see the first ever election loss for the NVP, which had ruled Nuvania since independence, as its vote support declined significantly. Support for Reform collapsed, instead replaced by a collection of smaller parties allied under a reformed political bloc known as the Democratic Action Alliance. Throughout the election, the campaign was marred by violence between rival political groups, resulting in a low turnout as people were either scared to vote or intimidated into not voting. With no effective opposition to the Volksfront, G.B van Deventer became Chief Minister two weeks after the election.
Van Deventer blamed the violence and economic conditions on the political opposition to the Volksfront, although leftist groups and anti-government unions bore the brunt of government persecution. In January 1919, van Deventer publicly announced that a plot to overthrow the government had been discovered, and announced a series of emergency powers and restrictions. In addition, the government began a series of mass incarcerations in which thousands of predominantly leftist politicians, union members, and other activists were imprisoned on a variety of charges, mostly related to sedition. His government also launched a series of seizures of various properties and businesses from prominent Estmerish Nuvanians. Agricultural land was redistributed among personal and political supporters as rewards. Further seizures took place, including the nationalisation of various media companies, banks, construction firms, and manufacturing plants. With substantially boosted government revenues, van Deventer set about implementing policies that would generate rapid industrialisation for Nuvania into the 1920's, attracting foreign investment from numerous private enterprises, particularly those of functionalist Gaullica and Satucin, both of whom were heavy investors in the Nuvanian economy during the immediate pre-war period. This resulted in returned economic growth and prosperity for Nuvania, in spite of continued civil disorder.
In December 1921, white mine workers began striking for better pay and working conditions in southern Etten. The strike was organised by a non-approved labour union, and as a result, the government cracked down on the striking miners, which then led to an armed rebellion against the state. Unlike previous rebellions, what came to be known as the Last Chance Rebellion spread across into Kanaän and Rand, with those taking up arms against the Volksfront regime including both white and coloured workers. The rebellion lasted for a year and ended in December 1922. During the rebellion, 293 people had been killed and 1,968 wounded. It's defeat marked the last large-scale organised resistance against the regime. Following the end of the rebellion, the Volksfront began a series of border disputes with neighbouring Aucuria as a means of distracting the Nuvanian public from the suppression of the Last Chance Rebellion. This did not prevent further uprisings from occurring, with localised rebellions in 1924, and 1925, and 1927, but these were successfully put down by the Volksfront by military force. The Volksfront used these rebellions as a means of justifying increased military spending and a reorganisation of the Nuvanian Armed Forces, including expansion of military capabilities.
Great War
With the beginning of rapid industrialisation and the reforms being introduced into the Nuvanian Armed Forces, van Deventer and the Volksfront began to place Nuvania on a path to eventual conflict with its neighbours. Realising that the country would be surrounded in the event of a major regional war, van Deventer and various military officials travelled to Satau in 1925 in order to strengthen ties between Nuvania and Satucin. At the same time, Nuvania strengthened ties with the functionalists in Gaullica, signing a military cooperation and aid agreement in August 1925, as well as signing a secret mutual defence pact with Satucin the following month, with conditions that should either country be attacked that they would come to the aid of the other. The central point of the defence agreement was a future war with Aucuria, which was looking increasingly likely, particularly as the Aucurian government was increasing irredentism as a means of distracting from the continued economic problems within the country. In addition, the Gaullicans approved licenced Nuvanian production of weapons and other materiel that was already in use by Gaullica and Satucin, as well as licenced production of aircraft that had low production or little interest in by the Gaullican authorities.
The irredentism proved to be of benefit for the Volksfront, who used the threat of Aucurian nationalists to crack down on internal dissent within Nuvania, especially with additional uprisings and social unrest. The province which saw the greatest amount of focus was Takana, with the city of Fresenburg subject to a curfew as the military strengthened its presence there, this presence mostly taking the form of army regiments as a means of intimidation and deterrence against an Aucurian invasion. By the end of 1926, at least 40% of Nuvania's standing military strength is deployed to Takana. Commanders within the Nuvanian military were unsure about the country's preparedness for war, owing deficiencies and planned reforms which were not expected to be completed until the following decade.
Soon after hostilities broke out in Euclea, Aucuria declared war on Satucin and launched an invasion on February 18, 1927, with Satucin swiftly responding to the invasion, invoking the treaty signed in 1925. Nuvania, already mobilising, declared war on Aucuria three days later on March 21. Hours after the declaration of war, Nuvanian aircraft bombed Aucurian positions along the border, as well as numerous raids on the cities of Mariunis and Rietavas, with another raid conducted against the port at Apvaizda. Naval vessels began bombarding Aucurian ports further afield, as well as the principal ports of Mariunis and Naujoji Šilokrautė. In some of the first naval engagements of the Great War in the Asterias, Nuvanian capital ships as well as other elements of the surface fleet engaged the Aucurian Navy in a series of one-sided naval engagements, knocking the Aucurian Navy out of the war. The ground invasion began on March 30, 1927, with Nuvanian soldiers making steady progress up the western coast of Aucuria as Aucurian resistance stiffened which began to slow the advance, especially as many major cities in the west of Aucuria lay in the lower ranges of the Vaskaranas Mountains, particularly the cities of Lurivajas and Rietavas which took several weeks to capture. The Nuvanian offensive was finally halted just outside Biržuventis after three months of fighting, where the Nuvanians were forced into a standstill by a combination of the onset of the wet season, geography, and determined Aucurian resistance. Fighting resumed on December 8, 1927, with two more months of fighting before Aucuria surrendered in February 1928, almost a year after the invasion began. The new government lead by Karolis Tarvydas, was permitted by the Entente to create a collaborationist regime, working alongside domestic functionalists. Nuvanian operations in Aucuria subsequently went from conventional warfare to irregular warfare, assisting the Second Aucurian State in increasing control over the Aucurian countryside and fighting against the National Redoubt Government lead by Feliksas Lupeikis.
Prior to the outbreak of war, Nuvania had known that it would have to fight on two fronts and so it had hoped to force Aucuria and Satavia into capitulation in order to avoid this scenario, especially as a substantial amount of Estmerish and Satavian soldiers were stationed in Satavia itself. By mid-1928, Estmere had not taken any offensive actions against Nuvania and had instead fortified itself against any invasion, although the local administration was sceptical of the ability of Satavia to resist invasion for a prolonged period of time. Nuvania did not want to divert resources from ongoing offensives in Aucuria if it didn't need to, and so had spent much of late 1927 and early 1928 trying to get a commitment of neutrality from Satavia, or at least an advanced capitulation requiring only token forces to occupy the island and disarm the military garrison. However, the island's government refused, and so Nuvania began hasty preparations for a seaborne invasion. These preparations were expedited by a series of air raids against Nuvanian port cities along the coast of the Van Horn Strait, which were largely unprotected. Raids were also made against the major naval base at Philipsbaai, but these not as successful owing to the much greater defences, and raids ceased after April 1928 owing to losses of Satavia's bomber fleet.
Nuvania's invasion of Satavia, codenamed Operation ''Fregatvoël'', began on June 19, 1928. Invasion points were made along several areas of the northern Satavian coastline, particularly in Orange and the Western Free State where there were larger Satavian Hennish populations. Simultaneous with the landings, Nuvanian naval vessels and aircraft from the air force attacked various targets around Satavia, focussing on the areas around major ports as well as the capital. A large naval fight, the Battle of the Van Horn Straight, saw a Nuvanian naval force engage and destroy a task force sent north by the Satavian Navy, in which the battlecruiser HMS ''Satavia'' was sunk, in addition to a large number of Satavia's surface fleet. The battle proved unique in that conventional land based aircraft proved incredibly important in deciding the battle. While the naval battle was important in determining the outcome of the overall invasion, it exposed vulnerabilities in the Nuvanian Navy, especially in fleet numbers. Furthermore, the battleship NSM ''Etten'' had been damaged during the battle and spent several months in Philipsbaai for repairs. Despite the initial landings being successful, the fight for Satavia was a long one, taking just over six months, with the campaign coming to an end with the surrender of all Satavian forces on December 23, 1928.
The invasion of Satavia meant that Nuvania had to relocate valuable resources in the fight against the redoubt government in Aucuria. In addition to the substantial number of soldiers being tied down in fighting in the north of the country, significant numbers were also in central-eastern Nuvania protecting the vulnerable centre of the country against attack. By 1929, these forces were coming under attack themselves, resulting in Nuvania switching from broader conventional operations to counter-insurgency and irregular warfare, something which it had experience in. In order to reduce the redoubt government's ability to conduct offensive operations and secure its principal supply lines, Nuvania launched a series of operations throughout 1929. However, the terrain and the environment that they were fighting in made it difficult for progress to be made, and Nuvanian forces began suffering increased losses, particularly from disease.
These losses made it difficult for Nuvania to maintain full field strength of divisions and regiments, and this came to the fore when it had to start reducing garrisons in cities and important military instalments in order to bring divisions and regiments assigned for the invasion of Belmonte to full strength. Belmonte itself was neutral throughout the initial part of the conflict but had routinely supplied the redoubt government in Aucuria with supplies and weapons, utilising the South Asterian Range as a means of doing so as it was virtually undefended and rarely patrolled. Satucin had long suspected that Belmonte had been supplying Aucuria with weapons and supplies, and this was confirmed by intelligence reports in December 1929. Both Nuvania and Satucin planned their invasion throughout the wet season, and invaded Belmonte on June 1, 1930. Unlike the previous campaigns, Nuvania found itself attempting to advance down Belmonte's west coast against a well organised and well equipped enemy. Satucine forces were also encountering stiff resistance. Nuvania underestimated the time it would take to reach and take the city of Pinheiros, the closest major city to the Nuvanian frontier. As the campaign dragged on, interrupted by the arrival of the wet season, Nuvania's military commanders became increasingly aware that their supply lines and capacity to keep formations at full strength were becoming more difficult.
The demands of fighting partisans and the redoubt government in Aucuria, as well as maintaining a garrison on Satavia, and the needs of the continued offensive into Belmonte meant that supplies and supply lines were being stretched to breaking point. The redoubt government in Aucuria became aware of this, and as Nuvania effectively abandoned the countryside, Aucurian partisans began attacking the roads and railway connections in the interior, and eventually on the coast, forcing most of Nuvania's supplies to be sent by ship. The attacks on Nuvania's supply lines did not stop there, and Nuvanian borders towns came under attack from early 1932, prompting the activation of Nuvania's kommando units in border areas. Increasing losses from naval actions and attacks by Allied aircraft further made supplying soldiers in Aucuria difficult, and this caused significant concern among the Nuvanian high command. By 1934, the only way soldiers in Aucuria could be reliably supplied was by coastal shipping.
The situation worsened in the early part of 1934 when Aucuria and Belmonte opened up major offensives that put significant pressure on Nuvanian forces operating in both countries. Facing these offensives on two fronts, Field Marshal J.S van Stoffel approved a covert plan to launch a coup against the Volksfront government and Chief Minister van Deventer. On April 1, 1933, the Nuvanian Army launched a coup against the government and deposed van Deventer, with van Stoffel becoming Chief Minister. On learning of the coup, Satucine forces in Nuvania, as well as those retreating from Belmonte, launched a counter-coup to place Volksfront hardliners back in government, putting War Minister H.A van der Walt in as Chief Minister, who begins a purge of the army high command. Leaderless and with low morale, the Army fought on. As the situation worsened further, spurred on by the surprise surrender of Gaullica and the collapse of Satucine forces, Nuvania's hardliner government was removed by a final military coup, which installed Rear Admiral C.R Harrington at the head of an interim military government.
Nuvanian forces began pulling out of what footholds they had in Aucuria and Belmonte in September 1934, with Nuvanian government representatives, including reinstated Field Marshal J.S van Stoffel, meeting Allied officials in the newly liberated Assimas Islands to negotiate a return to the pre-1927 borders, the delegation making the argument that Nuvania had no territorial ambitions on Aucuria and therefore should be allowed to keep the pre-1927 borders. Fearing that the Alliance would accept the Nuvanian offer, Aucuria invaded Takana on October 1, 1934. Initially the Nuvanians were determined to resist, but a lack of air cover and heavy weapons prevented them from doing so effectively, the Aucurians making rapid progress, taking the city of Steinau, now Ačukalas, on October 20. On October 22, Aucurian forces reached the coast west of the city of Fresenburg, cutting off 50,000 Nuvanian soldiers in the city. Faced with the prospect of advances further into Nuvania, especially towards the city of Windstrand, the Nuvanian government signed a declaration of unconditional surrender on October 29, 1934. Throughout November, Nuvanian representatives and representatives from the Grand Alliance participated in negotiations around reparations, limitations on military size and equipment, as well as transferrals of territories and population. On December 1, 1934, Nuvania and the Allied powers signed the Treaty of San Pietro in the Allied occupied Assimas Islands, bringing peace to Asteria Inferior once more.
Post War
Following the Treaty of San Pietro, the interim cabinet headed by Field Marshal van Stoffel agreed to step down as soon as an interim Allied government could be established. Nuvanian territory in the east and south would also be occupied by soldiers from Aucuria and Belmonte respectively, with occupations of other parts of Nuvania to occur from 1936 onwards. Aucuria assumed control of parts of Nuvania that it had lost in the War of the Arucian, while Belmontese soldiers occupied a ten kilometre deep strip of border between the coast on the Vehemens Ocean and the South Asterian Range. In addition, Belmontese soldiers also occupied Niekerk, including the port, where Belmontese naval vessels were also present. Soldiers and officials from Marchenia and Rizealand arrived in December 1935, and formally assumed control over the government of Nuvania. van Stoffel and the other members of the military leadership were formally placed under arrested and detained inside the Grantleigh Hotel in central Pietersburg under armed guard.
Beginning in January 1936, Nuvania began its defunctionalisation process. Although the Volksfront was not officially a functionalist party, it had functioned in a similar way to many functionalist parties elsewhere, and was therefore treated as one. Trials of higher ranked members began on January 14, and continued throughout the year and well into 1937. Most of the trials were of civil servants and military personnel who had carried out, or issued, orders that contributed to the massacre and mass detention of civilian populations both in Nuvania and in countries it occupied, including an estimated 22,000 civilians in Aucuria, 7,161 civilians in Belmonte, and 4,016 civilians in Nuvania. Those who could be proven to have had direct involvement in the massacres were sentenced to sentences ranging from life imprisonment to death, the latter most often handed down to military personnel. The final trials were held between September and December 1937, in which members of the government and military central command were placed on trial, with many officials also receiving life sentences or capital punishment.
Against the background of this was a rebuilding effort in terms of rebuilding Nuvanian state institutions as well as replacing the existing constitution. A panel of legal experts was convened on January 19, 1936 with the intention of writing a new constitution. In addition, the Allied administration of Nuvania was gradually replaced with Nuvanian civil servants and appointees in the higher offices. Political parties were granted permission to form in June 1936, with the National People's Party and the Democratic Action Party reforming to contest planned elections for 1937, with the election the only one in Nuvania held without a constitution in place. Under the supervision of the Allied Civil Government, the election took place in June 1937, with Nuvania's first post-war Chief Minister, J.P van Vollenhoven, sworn in later the same month.
Van Vollenhoven's first term would be spent rebuilding Nuvania's diplomatic relationships as well as civil service, as the government departments and agencies were progressively returned to Nuvanian control. On December 1, 1937, the Nuvanian House of Assembly unanimously ratified the 1936 Constitution, allowing Nuvania to be completely free from the control of the Allied Civil government, which took place formally on New Years Day in 1938. van Vollenhoven embarked on official diplomatic visits to Aucuria, Belmonte, and Satavia throughout 1938 and 1939, formally re-establishing diplomatic ties and relationships. He also spent much of his first term re-establishing the powers of the state, reconstituting or reforming pre-Volksfront laws and abandoning those deemed unconstitutional. He also began the long process of economic reorganisation, ranging from the approval of the reformation of labour unions to the nationalisation of strategic national industries. Enough progress was made that van Vollenhoven won a second term in office in 1941.
The outbreak of the Solarian War in 1943 created significant economic problems for Nuvania as well as a number of countries in the Asterias. The economic shock caused by the outbreak of hostilities in Euclea and in Coius prompted the government to act, as much of the significant sectors of the Nuvanian economy were under control of the private sector. In what became known as the Great Consolidation, the government nationalised and consolidated numerous companies and entire industries in order to protect them from the economic shock and recession that followed. As the war progressed, the demand for war materials became significant, and this drove economic growth across the Asterias. Having nationalised and consolidated numerous strategic sectors of the Nuvanian economy, the government began to see a massive increase in revenues, and these were reinvested back into infrastructure, healthcare, education, and welfare. Van Vollenhoven utilised the revenue to substantially expand and improve vital infrastructure in Nuvania, as well as improve the literacy and living standards of Nuvania's ethnic minorities. These policies drew ire from the conservative right wing of Nuvanian politics, and were in part responsible for the forced snap elections of 1943 and 1945, both of which van Vollenhoven's government and the DAP easily won. However, these policies were one of the factors that would ultimately see van Vollenhoven and his government defeated at the 1949 general election.
Conservative Rule
Despite the economic propserity, Nuvania ended the 1940's with growing violence between different ethnic groups as well as violence against and from the state itself. Much of the violence was predominantly centred in Etten, where conflicts between white farmers and the Makusi people had been occurring in the Upper Barimanna Valley since the mid-1940's. Ethnic tensions between the Gowsa and black residents of Windstrand had boiled over into violence and rioting in the streets of Maitland over serveral days in early June 1949, resulting in the deaths of over 140 people as well as tens of thousands of Gowsas who were rendered homeless by the violence. In addition, striking black miners in 1946 were cracked down on by local authorities across both Etten and Kanaän, which the conservative National People's Party alleged was instigated by communist groups looking to overthrow the government. In addition to government policies drawing concern from white Nuvanians, the NVP won the 1949 general election, taking a majority in both houses of Parliament.
The new Chief Minister, Charles Wakefield, campaigned on a promise to address the violence emerging in Nuvania, as well as restoring the rights and dignity of Nuvania's white working class, many of whom had benefitted from the social policies of van Vollenhoven, but were nonetheless convinced that they were being left behind by the government. Wakefield capitalised on this support from the white working class by beginning a policy of privileging poor white families and the broader white working class over other people groups. This was partly achieved through the passing of the Racial Quota Act in January 1950, which allowed government departments and agencies to set quotas ranging from composition of schools to social housing complexes, to unskilled labour, especially in the manufacturing sector. It meant that the white working class received preferential treatment, with Creoles secondary, with both black and indigenous Nuvanians last. The Racial Quota Act also paved the way for additional institutional discrimination across other areas of national and local governance. Beginning in 1951, local authorities controlled by the NVP began implementing restrictions on where Creole and black Nuvanians could live. Confrontations and resistance to the state saw violent responses from state authorities. In November 1950, the dispute in the Upper Barimanna Valley came to a violent conclusion, when police moved in to arrest individuals accused of vandalism. In a series of clashes and gun battles with police, 16 people were killed and dozens injured. More were killed and injured in clashes between police and striking sugar cane plantation workers between June and August that year.
The Wakefield government also utilised the fear of increasing violence to introduce restrictions on union membership, essentially only allowing unions that advocated for the rights of white workers. Restrictions on political membership of certain parties and organisations were introduced. Sedition laws were strengthened. Much of the media at the time, however, remained untouched by the government. Wakefield also pursued a more confrontational foreign policy, aligning himself with the new military regime in Aucuria as well as the hardliners in Belmonte. Outside of the Racial Quota Act and other restrictions on political participation, little else changed from the van Vollenhoven government. One major difference was the introduction of the Franchise System in the manufacturing sector which required joint ventures with local companies and firms by foreign companies looking to establish manufacturing plants in Nuvania. In addition, tariffs protecting Nuvanian manufacturing and agriculture were strengthened. These came into force throughout the early and mid-1950's, and resulted in substantial increases in economic output and significant reductions among the white and Creole work forces.
With the introduction of institutionalised racial discrimination by the Wakefield government, opposition to this discrimination began to materialise. Opposition groups began to appear not only among non-whites opposed to racial discrimination, but also among liberal whites, particularly Estmerish Nuvanians, who not only oppose racial discrimination but also oppose the increasing authoritarianism and populism of the Wakefield government and the NVP as a whole. These were formed mostly from left-wing or progressive politicians, particularly those aligned with the DAP and other opposition parties and political organisations. In addition, support came from a variety of sources, including military personnel and civil servants. Although opposition to the Wakefield government gained significant momentum, the groups organising protests and other actions were disparate and uncoordinated. White support for opposition to the government reached its peak in July 1952, when 75,000 people attended a torchlight protest on July 19, 1952. However, as the movement failed to achieve the task of forcing the government from power or to change any of the laws, the movement began to wane, with the government taking note of the popular sentiment against it. As broader white interest in opposing the government began to fall by late 1952, the anti-government protesters began coalescing around groups that sought to end racial discrimination as well as bring attention to the issues surrounding the exploitation and abuse of black and indigenous workers, particularly in Nuvania's agricultural sector.
In January 1953, the leaders of these groups, including official unions for agricultural labours, among others, organised into a unified front known as the Direct Action Movement, which sought social and legal reform through boycotts, protests, strikes, and other non-violent actions to achieve the goals of ending racial discrimination and worker exploitation. Although the DAM would form later, it has its roots in two protest actions in 1952: the potato boycott, launched in June 1952, and the protests against discrimination in social housing being constructed in Blairmont, near Windstrand, which began November of the same year. While the potato boycott was largely peaceful, the social housing protests became violent, often clashing with police. On January 29, 1953, nine protesters were killed in a police crackdown involving the use of live ammunition. From this protest came a number of leaders of the DAM movement; Abel Malan, the organiser of the protests in Windstrand, and Edmund Liebrecht, one of the leaders of the potato boycott. The boycott attracted enough attention that throughout 1953 and into 1954, it expanded beyond potatoes and into fruit and sugar. It lead to the formation of the Agricultural Labourers Union and the first industry agreements on better wages and working conditions.
Simultaneously, the DAP formed a coalition with the Liberal and Reform parties in Parliament to challenge the rule of the NVP for the 1953 general election. Although there was still substantial opposition to the government from a number of groups, they failed to capitalise on the discontent, and as a result, made little gains in the 1953 general election. The NVP were returned with a slightly reduced majority, with Wakefield winning a second term as Chief Minister. This proved to be fortuitious for the NVP, as not only did the economy continue to improve throughout the 1950's, but with the invasion of Dunhelm by Maracao in 1955, the NVP were able to convince much of white Nuvania of the threat posed internationally and domestically by communism. This paved the way for Wakefield to introduced crackdowns on left-wing groups as well as strengthen existing sedition laws and introduce more wide ranging censorship in domestic media.
In August 1956, Wakefield suffered a heart attack and while on medical leave, announced his resignation as Chief Minister. He was succeeded by his deputy and finance minister Owen Fraser, who acted as interim Chief Minister until being sworn in the following January, with Wakefield recovering and eventually returning to politics in 1957, but remaining a Member of the House of the Assembly. Fraser inherited a cabinet of largely Estmerish Nuvanians, but internal politics meant that the cabinet had bee under the influence of Asterianer nationalists. This was initially tolerated in the short term, but ultimately disagreements about the direction of Fraser's government into the 1960's, while beneficial economically, these policies increasingly became untenable for the nationalists in the NVP. Despite the tensions, the economic prosperity increased the NVP's popularity going into the 1961 and 1965 general elections, and ushered in the years in which the NVP would chieve a supermajority in the House of Assembly, beginning in 1965 under the leadership of F.A Vredeling.
Sugar Crash
Nuvania's post-war economic growth came to end in the mid-1960's with the advent of the Sugar Crash, a period of economic decline and recession that began in March 1964 and was directly attributed to the massive decline in sugar prices, the effects of which also significantly affected the Nuvanian economy as a whole.
Sugar prices had remained steadily but had climbed to a 44 year peak in 1963, before undergoing a massive decline throughout 1964. The drop in prices resulted in a drop in profitability of a number of sugar manufacturers and sugar cane plantations. As prices continued to drop, in May 1964, the Fraser government initiated a series of protections in order to prevent plantations and manufacturers from going bankrupt, including subsidies and government loans. The crash affected the 1965 general election in which Owen Fraser was ousted from the NVP leadership by the more conservative and protectionist F.A. Vredeling, who lead the NVP to a majority win.
As Nuvania slid into an economic recession, Vredeling expanded state protections for important industries and companies, expanding tariffs and subsidies well beyond agriculture to protect Nuvania's finance, manufacturing, and mining industries. New regulations on bank operations were implemented, along with controls on capital investment. In addition, a range of new tax reforms were implemented between 1965 and 1968 which raised existing income taxes as well as raised the corporate income tax to 20%. However, Nuvania slid further into recession, losing 3.5% in economic growth by 1968. These measures also did little to top unemployment rising, as well as mass bankruptcies of sugar producers and sugar plantations. In 1969, Vredeling passed the Industrial Sugar Production Reform Act, which amalgamated all the sugar mills, refineries, and production in Nuvania into several companies, all with an equal proportion of the domestic market and exports in a policy called "market balance". Attempts to introduce this policy outside of the agricultural sector were made, but were unsuccessful.
Vredeling began an expansion of the welfare state in Nuvania which was intended to reduce the negative social impacts of the Sugar crash on Nuvanians. Beginning in 1969, these including the introduction of employment insurance for all Nuvanians, as well as an expansion of social housing, the latter introduced in a manner that often excluded Nuvania's indigenous population. It also introduced free tertiary education, expanded social benefits for Nuvania's working class white and creole populations, and began to subsidise trades programs for unemployed farm workers and agricultural employees put out of work by the economic situation. Vredeling also began investment in the diversification of the Nuvanian economy, introducing the National Economic Development Program in 1970 which placed significant amounts of government money into an investment fund to be used to grow industries in Nuvania's primary and secondary sectors. These included finance, manufacturing, mining, and tourism.
An increase in sugar prices came with renewed confidence in the economy and economic growth, and Nuvania entered into a period of economic prosperity. In addition to the economic prosperity came a wave of social changes, beginning in 1971 with demands to liberalise existing abortion laws, as well as making homosexuality legal, among other social reforms. In addition, movements regarding labour rights and indigenous rights began to form and demonstrate for greater rights for both workers and indigenous peoples. Nuvania also experienced the formation of its own environmentalist movements during the early 1970's, opposing the expansion of mining activities in different areas of the country. These movements would have an impact on the 1973 general election, in which the DAP would be elected to government for the first time in 36 years, with party leader William Bosman sworn in as Chief Minister on December 20, 1973.
Recovery
Bosman would preside over the second half of the short period of economic prosperity brought about by the Sugar High, a period of inflated prices for sugar that saw significant reinvestment into the sector as well as overall confidence in the economy return, and economic growth skyrocket, hitting an all time high of 10.33% in 1973. Bosman continued the policy of economic diversification initiated by Vredeling through the National Economic Development Plan with significant investment into manufacturing, construction, and especially in the service sector. The effects of the Sugar Crash were by now mitigated by the large scale development of factories and other manufacturing plants, as well as increased employment opportunities in mining and service sectors, although the latter suffered from a lack of qualified personnel in a number of industries. The latter became a catalyst for a raft of social reforms introduced in the 1970's that would build on the protest movements throughout the Vredeling government.
In 1974, Finance Minister Simon Kirk introduced a budget that would reflect the social changes occurring at the time. These included an expansion of tertiary education access for creole and indigenous Nuvanians, including the abolition of dedicated quotas for white, creole, and native applicants for both university courses and vocational schools, a liberalisation of the income requirements for student allowances and other support, and greater investment into schooling for creole and indigenous Nuvanians, setting a goal of 70% and 50% literacy rates by the end of the decade. In addition, the National Employment Assurance Scheme was introduced, a form of employment insurance that would cover all employed Nuvanians. Government welfare and allowances were expanded significantly, and farmers could access government loans to cover costs during difficult economic times, although this was largely unnecessary as the economy continued to grow significantly.
The Bosman government would pass additional social reforms in 1974 and 1975, beginning with the decriminalisation of abortion with the Pregnancy Termination Act in 1974, which allowed abortions to be performed in cases of rape and incest, if there was significant foetal defects, and for physical and mental health reasons. The abortion reform was considered controversial, although it did not result in substantial drops in government support. In 1975, the government introduced the Sexual Relations Act, which decriminalised same sex acts for men and women, although homosexuality continued to remain illegal. This was also considered controversial, and did result in a drop of support for the government. Paid maternal leave was also increased in 1975 from two weeks to five.
Politically the Bosman government distanced itself from the Sprogys regime in Aucuria, while seeking closer ties with the now democratic government in Belmonte, as well as maintaining the good relationship with the government of Eric Edwards in Satavia. With Bosman's re-election in 1976 and the election of the Satavian Labor Party the same year, relations between the two countries became significantly closer, with both governments signing the Memorandum on Closer Economic Relations and Travel Arrangements in 1977. In addition, Bosman committed Nuvanian military advisers and soldiers to Satavia to support the Edwards government, which was coming under attack from right-wing paramilitaries.
That year the Nuvanian stock market experienced a flash crash when details of that year's budget were leaded before they could be announced, severely damaging the Chief Minister's credibility. Further issues came with a bombing in Pietersburg in August which killed 11 people. The government was alleged to have bungled the investigation, and this further damaged the Bosman government. On February 16, 1978, Bosman was voted out as leader of the Democratic Action Party during the party's annual conference, and Bosman resigned as Chief Minister two days later. He was succeeded by the Deputy Chief Minister, Jan Jonker.
Jonker was unprepared to lead the DAP into the 1977 general election, and while he acquitted himself well in the campaign leading up to the election, the Nuvanian electorate had swung back in favour of the NVP, who under the leadership of P.K Burger, had retained the same kind of broad popular appeal to conservatism that the electorate favoured. Burger and the NVP won the 1978 general election. Burger did not reverse the law changes to the status of abortion or homosexuality, instead refusing to allow further changes to those respective laws in favour of greater liberalisation. Amendments to these acts were passed to place restrictions, principally on abortions, which were made more difficult to access.
In February 1979, NLM Flight 627 was bombed over south-eastern Satavia, resulting in the deaths of 59 passengers and crewmembers onboard, including 26 Nuvanians. While speculation became rampant that the aircraft had broken apart on its own accord, the subsequent investigation into the crash found that a bomb had brought the airliner down. Until that point, Burger had pursued a wider policy to reduce its military commitments in Satavia beyond a token peacekeeping force which had been formed with the intervention of the Organisation of Asterian Nations in 1978. The bombing and the debate precipitated a struggle for control of the NVP between the conservative and neoliberal factions of the party, the latter gaining a foothold having forced Foreign Minister Edgar de Villiers to resign in December 1979 through his refusal to expand Nuvania's involvement in Satavia.
In January 1980, Nuvania launched Operation Granular, the biggest operation the Nuvanian military undertook since the Great War, in which hundreds of military personnel were deployed to Satavia alongside OAN peacekeepers, and the Nuvanian Air Force conducting air strikes in Satavia against right-wing paramilitary camps and positions. Political infighting and military action caused economic uncertainty to rise, and growth slipped below that of 1979, as the Nuvanian economy struggled to recover from the flash crash that occurred in 1977. While the economy stabilised, support for the conservative policies of the NVP waned, especially economic policies in which the state was heavily involved. By 1981, the internal civil war within the NVP became public as the economy began to slide into recession again.
Economic Reforms
As the economy worsened, it became apparent that the economic policies of previous government were causing significant structural issues in the government and in the economy. There were significant disagreements regarding what direction to take in terms of economic policy, and within the NVP there was fierce debate on where the direction of the party should go. The more radical faction of the party under Johnathan Keaton proposed significant economic reforms to improve efficiency and encourage investment into the economy from overseas, as well as financial reforms to remove restrictions on the flow of capital in and out of Nuvania, which the conservative wing of the party rejected. The party membership disagreed, voting against Burger at the 1981 NVP National Conference, affirming Keaton as the candidate for that year's general election.
Keaton would win the 1981 general election but on a reduced majority within Parliament. He began his cabinet appointments and from 1983, began to enact his reforms. Controls on capital flow were removed, and foreign investment made easier. The goude, which had been pegged to both the Estmerish shilling and the Hallandic pound, was floated for the first time. Tariffs on finished products and manufactured goods were removed, which began to negatively affect Nuvanian manufacturing output and saw unemployment begin to rise, as smaller businesses no longer received support or protection from the government. These were then applied to agriculture, which created additional problems not helped by another fall in agricultural prices, especially that of sugar.
The policies of the Keaton government caused significant rifts between it and conservatives within the NVP, including many of those from rural seats which had seen increased in unemployment and financial hardship when financial support for the sector ceased. In Februrary 1984, Minister of Agriculture, Eric Myburgh, confronted Keaton during that year's annual NVP party conference in Constantia, accusing him of putting ideology before people. The argument became heated, and as a result, over 30 sitting Members of Parliament and three cabinet ministers resigned from the party. This caused concerns among the remaining members of cabinet and within the party to question whether or not Keaton had the leadership to continue them going forwards. However, Keaton managed the crisis well, and confidence was restored in his ability to lead.
In addition to economic reforms, regulation around businesses was slashed, making the ability to start and manage a business much easier. In 1984, the government introduced tax reforms that slashed income taxes for Nuvania's highest incomes, as well as corporate taxes. Stamp duty was abolished, as were wealth taxes, and taxes on luxury goods. Capital gains taxes and windfall taxes were slashed, and the levying of land taxes was transferred to provincial governments. Other charges and fees levied by the government were slashed or removed. Public sector staff levels were also trimmed down beginning in 1984, with the reduction of staff levels or closure of some departments, while others were merged. This saw a spike in unemployment from the public sector, and what could be corporatised or sold of completely was.
Privatisation was one of the key features of the Keaton government throughout the 1980's. Assets sold by the state were often corporatised first, and state owned enterprises were sold to private bidders and corporations. These happened periodically throughout the length of the Keaton government's two terms in power. The first to be broken up and privatised was NLM, which spent 1982 and 1983 restructuring before being split into two entities, NLM and NLM Express, and sold off in 1984. In 1985, the Department of Forestry was corporatised into the Nuvanian Forestry Corporation, and sold off in 1987. This was followed by the Post Office, which included telephone and other telecommunications services, and the railways. The National Ambulance Service was abolished and replaced with a provincial contract system to encourage private investment in emergency medical services.
Following the economic and financial reforms, Nuvania entered into a period of renewed economic growth, although this was considered modest by the standards of the previous decade. Keaton, knowing that further reform was necessary, placed the NVP on a platform of social liberalism and reform of social welfare services going into the 1986 general election. In order to counter the DAP, Keaton promised a full legalisation and liberalisation of laws regarding abortion and homosexuality, as well as a review of the death penalty. These promises gave the NVP a firm majority in both houses of Parliament, although they had lost a number of seats to the newly created Nuvanian Agrarian League, formed in 1984 in response to Keaton's agricultural policies.
Beginning in 1987, the government began reforming social welfare in Nuvania. Public healthcare spending was slashed and privatisation occurred where services could be transferred to the private sector. Education spending was also slashed, and reductions to the eligibility of scholarships at universities was revised. Free tertiary education was limited to public universities. In addition, student allowances and support was revised so only the most needy students could receive assistance. Overall welfare payments were slashed, and public pension contributions from the government were reduced, although the government would honour contributions made prior to 1987. A "work for the dole" scheme was introduced to reduce unemployment. Despite the reductions in overall amounts spent, welfare services were considerably expanded to include greater sections of the creole and indigenous populations. The Employment Reservation Scheme, which prioritised white and predominantly Asterianer workers over creole and indigenous workers, was abolished, and this was met with a broader reduction in overall minimum wage as "parallel rates" were introduced, based on assumed expenses and needs of workers. This meant that creoles and indigenous workers could earn less than their white counterparts and continue to earn an adequate living.
With a greater pool of cheaper labour to be accessed, the composition of workforces in factories began to change dramatically, and as a result, substantial numbers of creole and indigenous workers moved into the cities to find employment. This caused substantial problems for city planning which was unable to deal with the sheer volume of internal migration. As a result, numerous slums and informal settlements began to appear or grow on the fringes of Nuvania's major urban centres.
Social policy changed significantly after 1985, with the government fulfilling its promises made during the campaign during the 1985 general election. In late 1987, an amendment to the Pregnancy Termination Act was introduced to Parliament, and passed votes in both houses of Parliament before coming into force in June 1987. The amendments included reversing the restrictions imposed by P.K Burger in 1979 as well as expanding access, and removing prior restrictions in the original law. Further amendments to the Sexual Relations Act was introduced in mid-1988 and saw substantial protests both for and against it. Initially, the law was set to fail in Parliament, however, a mass shooting in Pietersburg perpetrated by Karl Steyn, who opposed the legalisation of homosexuality, saw a massive swing in public opinion and that of Parliament, with homosexuality legalised in February 1989. Not long after, Nuvania abolished capital punishment.
After six years of substantial economic and social reform, and an increase in material and financial hardship, many Nuvanians began to dislike the policies imposed by Keaton during his two terms as Chief Minister, and by 1990, public opinion had swung back in favour of the Democratic Action Party. Furthermore, Keaton had also created rifts in the National People's Party, and despite being endorsed as the candidate for the 1990 general election, few of those within the conservative faction of the party enthusiastically supported his campaign. The DAP, under David van Deventer, won the 1990 election with ease.
New Society
The 1989 general election saw the continuation of social reforms initiated by the Keaton government, this time under the DAP, who won power in the first change in government since 1949. Under the leadership of Keith Hawkins, the DAP would begin its own long period of governance over Nuvania, which would last until 2013.
Hawkins promoted a manifesto to the DAP at the annual conference in the leadup to the 1989 general election as a way to transform Nuvanian society and bring an end to nearly two decades of civil instability and terrorist attacks conducted by organised groups sympathetic to the Direct Action Movement. Negotiations with the latter were part of the manifesto, entitled the New Society. Through this social reform, Nuvania would abolish discriminatory policies against racial minorities and women, as well as expand social programs to increase both the standard of living and level of education for impoverished Nuvanians. Under the New Society program, abortion was fully legalised in 1991 alongside universal suffrage, which was also fully mandated with the passing of the Elections Act 1886 Amendment Act, which removed the barriers for racial minorities to vote and reduced the voting age from 20 to 18. Legislation banning discrimination in employment and by government services was passed in 1992. Healthcare programs and services were expanded into more rural areas and mass literacy programs were introduced into impoverished communities. Between 1990 and 2000, the total literacy rate increased frim 78% of the population to 89%. Economic outcomes for non-whites improved drastically on the back of strong economic growth between 1989 and 1997, particularly after Nuvania's entry into the Asteria Inferior Common Market in 1992.
Negotiations with the Direct Action Movement began in 1990, with the government looking to seek an end to the campaign of attacks against infrastructure as well as government and civilian targets. Although initial negotiations progressed well, two mass shootings at the end of 1992 and mid way through 1993 attempted to derail the talks between the government. Instead, the attacks and the promise of a final agreement allowed the DAP to win a landslide victory in 1993, paving the way for the Pietersburg Agreement between the government and the Direct Action Movement signed in November 1993.
Although the Direct Action Movement had been disbanded following the Pietersburg Agreement, Nuvanian society still contended with the legacy of long term racial discrimination. In spite of strong economic growth and an overall reduction in poverty between 1990 and 1997, crime began to increase in many areas around Nuvania. In addition, the response to the mass shootings in Vryburg and Pietersburg resulted in significant search and seizure powers being awarded to police. This would manifest in a deadly raid in the suburb of Bethania in Pietersburg in December 1993, in which three children were killed by police conducting a search for illegal firearms. Although this practice was stopped, police brutality and discrimination against non-white Nuvanians would be confronted by Nuvanian society throughout the 1990's, particularly in the inquiry into the deaths of 27 predominantly black Nuvanians in a crowd crush at the main stadium in Philipsbaai in June 1991, and again in police clearing out an illicit nightclub in Wetting on New Years Day in 1994 with teargas, resulting in the deaths of ten teenagers.
Despite the success of the New Society policies in reforming and improving social liberties and equality within Nuvanian society, Hawkins had proven to be unpopular overall and his term in office was mired with controversies and gaffes. At the DAP's annual convention in February 1997, Hawkins was replaced as leader of the party by his finance minister, Arnold Hofmeyer, who lead the DAP to a reduced majority in Parliament in the 1997 general election.