User:Vjaarland/Sandbox

Revolution and instability

Post-Imperial Cuthland proved to be a breeding ground for the ideals of the Enlightenment, which reached its zenith following the Empire's partition. The monarchy experienced a rapid decline in support as Cenhelm I's successor, Edward IX, imposed a steep and unpopular tax regime in an attempt to pay off the deep debts that had been incurred over decades of war and economic malaise. Consequently, liberal and republican ideals gained increasing acceptance among the burghers, which comprised the second estate of feudal Cuthland. These ideals were most notably promoted by the Council of Reason, a society led by enlightenment thinkers such as Alfred Harwood and Dunstan Millard that published various articles and pamphlets between 1765 and 1770. The publication of Just Governance and the Rights of Man in 1770 proved particularly controversial for its denouncement of the Cuthish monarchy, and led Edmund IX to order the arrest and execution of both Harwood and Millard for treason. The executions led to a rapid deterioration in relations between the estates, culminating on 10 October when a group of demonstrators protesting the executions were fired upon by soldiers of the Royal Guard in front of Gledworth Palace in Kingsham. The soldiers killed 14 demonstrators in what became known as the Gledworth Massacre, leading to waves of riots and unrest across the nation and signaling the start of the Cuthish Revolution.

The Gledworth Massacre caused outrage in the House of Burghers, which represented the second estate within the Wittenmoot as an advisory body to the Cuthish monarch. In March 1771, members of the House of Burghers established the Popular Committee with the intent of organizing revolutionary activities in Cuthland. The Popular Committee issued the Declaration of Rights and Liberties on 19 May, which condemned feudalism and absolute monarchism in Cuthland as infringements on the natural rights of man. The Declaration was accompanied by the Petition of the Burghers, which asked Edmund IX to abolish feudalism and provide for representative government based around the Enlightenment concept of popular sovereignty. The King attempted to quash the nascent revolution by sending soldiers to arrest the members of the Committee on 3 June, leading to a violent confrontation known as Bloody Monday when the soldiers clashed with peasant militias that had been raised to defend the Committee against royal interference. News of Bloody Monday led Cuthish soldiers assigned to the garrison at Leihstead-on-Fen to mutiny, occupying the city for 10 days until a contingent from Edgton was dispatched to restore order.

Fearing that the mutiny in Leihstead would spread, Edmund IX's advisors recommended that he accept the Popular Committee's demands in order to avoid a military coup d'état. After months of negotiations, Edmund IX signed the Cuthish Constitution on 17 September 1771, officially abolishing feudalism in Cuthland and reorganizing the Wittenmoot as a legislative body. However, the monarch retained substantial powers, including the ability to veto legislation and dismiss government ministers appointed by the Wittenmoot. These powers enraged the more radical members of the revolutionary movement, who had advocated for the monarchy to be abolished completely in favor of a republic. The schism between the republicans and constitutional monarchists became increasingly evident at the first meeting of the Wittenmoot, when radical leader Harold Blace famously denounced the body before storming out of the House of Burghers with 162 other republican members.

Tensions came to a head on 26 August 1772, when Edmund IX dismissed five republican ministers appointed by the Wittenmoot. Outraged by what they viewed as an undemocratic exercise of royal power, republican revolutionaries stormed Gledworth Palace and arrested Edmund IX on 2 September. The King and his family were tried for treason and famously executed on the steps of Bledworth Palace two weeks later on 16 September. The Wittenmoot subsequently declared the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the First Cuthish Republic on 6 October, marking the end of the revolution.

History of Cuthland-Waldrich

• Pre-6th century: Tribes and stuff from prehistory until circa 6th century
• 6th century: Various petty kingdoms, duchies, etc. emerge and dominate throughout early medieval period
• 6th-11th centuries: But oh no, they keep getting fucked by Mascylla from the east and the Nordics from the west
• 11th century: Probably better if we unite into two kingdoms instead, Cuthland and Waldrich
• 15th century: Yeah this is pretty cool but Masc keeps fucking us so let's form a political union and totally not rip off Poland-Lithuania in the process
• 15th-17th centuries: Wow I like this whole empire thing let's go invade not!Scandinavia and maybe parts of Mascylla as well
  • We should also be artsy and shit while we're at it
• 17th century: Oh never mind this is actually completely unsustainable, ethnic tensions are sucky and our economy is in the shitter
  • Guess we better partition the G L O R I O U S E M P I R E and return to getting railed by Mascylla
• 1818: Lol jk we're getting the band back together
• 19th century: Oh look, industry and colonies
  • Oh awesome now Dulebia wants in, maybe we can challenge Lavarian/Mascyllary dominance and in no way collapse spectacularly in the process
• Great War: Oh wow that was shockingly predictable guess we suck again
• 1920s: Yep we definitely suck, Masc took our monarchy and now the commies want in
• 1930s: But what better cure for communism than a return of the monarchy, this time with double the oppression
• 1930s: Guess we should invade/annex Waldrich again, as is customary
• 1930s-1970s: Oh wow this is much better than before, we're actually kind of feared
• 1970s: Whoops maybe economics aren't our thing, the people are restless again
  • Okay we'll give you more capitalism but the monarchy stays
• 1980s-2000s: Mmm yes the sweet taste of cold hard cash
• 2000s-present: Wow we're actually developed as fuck for once