Long Peace
| Long Peace | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1855–1913 | |||
 | |||
| Location | Estmere | ||
| Including | |||
| Monarch(s) | Edward III, Richard XII, Edward IV | ||
| Leader(s) | Earl of Longwood, Baron Burke, Marquess Rhisling, Seymour Parnell, Earl of Tanqueray, Viscount Maraleigh, Marquess Ebrington, Baron Gorhambury, John Harris | ||
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The Long Peace was an era of Estmerish history generally agreed to have lasted from the end of the War of the Triple Alliance in 1855 to the Great Collapse in 1913, though some historians extend the period until the beginning of the Kireno-Estmerish War in 1916. The Long Peace coincided with the Prachtvolle Epoche in Werania, the Anni di Serenità in Etruria, Olsovian rule in Soravia, and the Xiyong era in Shangea.
The period was named retroactively for the unprecedented peace which citizens of the Estmerish metropole enjoyed at the time, in comparison to the Euclean Spring which came before and the Great War which followed. During this peace, Estmere experienced relative internal political stability, which contrasted with the uncertainty of the Spring, while also seeing the worst of the Viridian Reaction reversed as parliament achieved ascendency over the monarchy and suffrage gradually expanded. Economically, the period was characterised by slow but steady economic growth, while culturally the Romanticists were eclipsed by new movements such as the Realists, with Morwall emerging as a cultural as well as industrial centre. Innovations such as motion picture also flourished.
Characterised by optimism, relative prosperity, innovation, peace at home and expansion abroad, the Long Peace is seen as a Golden Age, in stark contrast to the Great Collapse which followed.
Terminology and periodisation
The Long Peace strictly speaking is agreed to start with the conclusion of the War of the Triple Alliance in 1855. There is some debate among historians as to whether the end of the period should come in 1913 with the Great Collapse, which marked a sharp decline in the standard of living and the end of political stability, or in 1916 with the start of the Kireno-Estmerish War, which saw the end of Estmere's peace at home. Most historians support the former interpretation.
The term Long Peace is an anachronistic term which has been applied to the era retroactively, contrasting the peace and prosperity of the era with the political turmoil, economic deprivation and conflict of the Great Collapse and the Great War.
The Long Peace has been divided into distinct periods; the High Peace until the 1890s and the Low Peace from the 1890s onward. The High Peace is characterised by liberalism, political reform and suffrage, economic growth and Realism, while the Low Peace is characterised by increasing factionalism, imperialism, economic slowdown and Modernism. It is sometimes said that the lordly, liberal reformer the Earl of Longwood epitomises the High Peace, while the common, populist radical John Harris epitomises the Low Peace. The era spans across the reigns of three monarchs; Edward III (who reigned from 1851 to 1871), Richard XII (1871 to 1898) and Edward IV (1898 to 1916). Royalists therefore split the era into the Third Edwardian, the Twelfth Ricardian and the Fourth Edwardian.
Politics
The politics of the Long Peace were characterised by a turn toward political liberalism, in a repudiation of the reactionary conservatism of the Viridian Reaction which had followed the Euclean Spring. The period ultimately saw the triumph of constutional monarchy and parliamentarianism over absolute monarchy and centralist republicanism, both of which had been attempted within Estmere, with Parliament gaining ascendency over the monarchy.
The period began with the Earl of Longwood transforming the informal Borough Party into the Constitutionalist Party, ushering modern political parties into Estmerish politics. Longwood overturned many of the conservative laws that the Viridians has instituted during their ascendency, extending the franchise and lifting political restrictions, such as those placed on the freedom of the press. At the same time, restrictions on social activities increased, with prohibition and other moral issues becoming topical political issues. This set the tone for the rest of the period, with liberal-leaning governments expanding the franchise and lifting political restrictions set by the Viridians, while conducting moral crusades of their own against perceived social ills ranging from alcoholism to prostitution, culminating in the implementation of prohibition at the end of the period.
When the Viridians reestablished themselves as the Unionist Party under Baron Burke, they generally accepted the changes to the political system and worked to establish an alliance between the working and upper classes to oppose the liberal excess of the middle class and prevent the radicalism represented by the Socialist Party of Estmere. The rivalry between Burke and his counterpart the Marquess Rhisling would become legendary.
In the later period of the Low Peace, the political system began to chafe under increasing populism, characterised by John Harris and his Radical Liberal Party. Harris' splintering of the Constitutionalists into radical and moderate wings created a political opening which led to the rise of the Socialist Party of Estmere. During the period, other major players in Estmerish politics emerged, such as the Sotirian People's Party and the Prohibition Party.
Rise of political parties
The period was notable for the emergence of modern political parties in Estmere. Historically, members of Parliament could be organised into loose factions which were often called parties, but they lacked many of the characteristics of modern political parties. These were the monarchist Viridians, the parliamentarian Borough Party and the republican Chartists. The Chartists had been banned in 1801 following the Weranian Revolutionary Wars. The Viridian faction was dominant after the wars, but in 1846 this changed. Sir Richard Hope reorganised the disparate Borough Party into the Constitutionalist Party, a modern political party with whips and party discipline.
Hope's creation of the Constitutionalist Party changed the Estmerish political landscape, as it created a party machine which succeeded in displacing the Viridians, beginning a period of liberal dominance and making formal political parties the norm in Estmerish politics. Additionally, the introduction of political parties shifted Estmerish politics from what Baron Burke described as a "collegiate, gentlemanly affair" to a "battle for the soul of the nation" every half-decade. This was also influenced by the increasing number of commoners active in politics, and the rise of more coherent political ideologies such as socialism, liberalism and conservatism. In the latter half of the period, the advent of modern political campaigning accentuated this, increasing the levels of political factionalism and eventually helping give rise to populism.
The creation of the Constitutionalists spurred on the creation of other modern political parties. The Viridians reestablished themselves as the Unionist Party, the temperance movement organised itself as the Prohibition Party, the Sotirian right eventually emerged as the Sotirian People's Party, the labour movement organised into the Socialist Party of Estmere, and later the radicals split from the Constitutionalists to form the Radical Liberal Party.
Liberalism and political reforms
The Earl of Longwood's first two ministries focused largely on the War of the Triple Alliance and the crises which preceded it, but in the third and fourth ministries Hope and his Constitutionalist Party embarked on a series of widespread political reforms. These reforms aimed to overturn the reactionary conservative consensus that had been established during the ascendency of the Viridians. Hope himself was a firm believer in a liberal democracy, but he gained support for his efforts by arguing that they were the best solution to sate popular demand for political reform enough to prevent militant revolution. This militancy had become clearer after the conclusion of the war, with protests in favour of suffrage having been organised by the Radicals. Longwood used these as both a show of popular support for his progamme, and as a subtle threat to other aristocrats.
The crowning achievement of Hope's political reforms was the Representation of the People Act 1857, which abolished rotten boroughs, expanded suffrage to all male heads of households, ended the royal vetting of candidates and standardised the electoral system into the block vote with two to four member constituencies. The act tripled the size of the electorate, and made the upper echelons of the working class a key voter bloc.
A number of political restrictions were rolled back and the political repression common to the Reaction came to an end. This started with Hope's removal of press censorship in 1859, and continued on to other reforms. Spy networks used to suppress unrest were dismantled, the secret police was abolished, bans on trade unions and collective bargaining were lifted, as were restrictions on most political parties and on public meetings beyond three or four people. Internment, exile and deporation of suspects without trial was graduall phased out and more independence was given to higher education as academic freedom was restored. The Constitutionalists were usually the most enthused about these reforms, but they were not alone in progressing them. The Unionists also advanced political liberalism to an extent during the period, seeing it as the only way to stave off revolution.
At the end of the period, political reforms were still sought after, but there was less optimism for them among the ruling class. Women's suffrage and truly universal suffrage were ongoing political issues, which were only resolved near the end of the era; women of means were granted the vote in 1886, and universal suffrage for all adults over 21 was achieved in 1891.
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