Colonisation War
| Colonisation War | |||||||
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 Liúşai League |
 Ŋej state | ||||||
Part of a series on the |
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| History of Gylias |
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The Colonisation War (French reformed: Guerre d'colonisation), also known as the Subjugation War (French reformed: Guerre d'assujettissement), was fought between the Liúşai League and the Ŋej state from 1695 to 1704. It ended with the annexation of the Liúşai League, but the annexation of the Ŋej homeland in the process, leading to the formation of a new state, Xevden.
The Ŋej people began to arrive in the 17th century, trading with Gylics and settling in the Nerveiík peninsula, at a time when the League was weakened by a series of setbacks and natural disasters. The Ŋej's rapid growth in numbers and activities provoked suspicion and ethnic tensions. Gylics' suspicions that the Ŋej had a hidden agenda were later proven correct: the Ŋej state had decided based on reports about the League's situation that it was a good target for colonisation.
Tensions erupted in 1695, when the Colonisation War began. From their base in the Nerveiík peninsula, the Ŋej advanced steadily northwards. Although the League put up fierce opposition and used guerrilla warfare tactics, their weakened state left them vulnerable to Ŋej strength in numbers. Additionally, the Ŋej used divide and conquer tactics, formenting tension and conflict between member states.
The war itself caused a disaster in the Ŋej homeland: with the entire Ŋej army committed to conquest, its neighbours seized the opportunity to attack and annex the Ŋej state. The Ŋej elite, military, and many civilians fled by sea towards the conquered Gylic territories, settling mainly in Nerveiík.
The war ended in 1704, with a final defeat in battle for the League, and the formation of the new state of Xevden. Although the Gylic and non-Gylic populations suffered the most under the subsequent centuries of Xevdenite oppression, the Colonisation War itself was also a disaster for the Ŋej: they had now lost their homeland and were trapped in the role of a numerically inferior alien elite, ruling over a vast territory inhabited by hostile populations. The trauma of the war determined the course of Xevden for the rest of its history.