Kingdom of Piraea
Kingdom of Piraea Βασίλειον τον Πειραεάς | |||||||
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1830–1938 | |||||||
Motto: "Ἐλευθερία ἢ Θάνατος" "Freedom or Death" | |||||||
Capital | Hersonissos (1830-1835) Alikianos (1835-1938) | ||||||
Religion | Episemialism | ||||||
Demonym(s) | Piraean | ||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy (1830-1836) Constitutional monarchy (1836-1938) | ||||||
King | |||||||
• 1830-1838 (First) | Karl Theodor von Kotzauberg | ||||||
• 1924-1938 (Last) | Nikolaos II of Piraea | ||||||
Legislature | Piraean Assembly | ||||||
Historical era | Great War | ||||||
• Established | 1 November 1830 | ||||||
• Nikolaos II Abdication | 26 July 1938 | ||||||
Currency | Lira | ||||||
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Today part of | Piraea Etruria |
The Kingdom of Piraea (Piraese: Βασίλειον τον Πειραεάς, tr. Vasíleon ton Piraeás) was a South Euclean kingdom that existed between 1830 and 1938, and comprised most of the territory of today's Piraea. It was established with the recognition of the time's powers and was disintegrated with the establishment of the First Piraean Republic.
The Kingdom of Piraea was established through the Treaty of Verlois after several years of struggle for independence from Vespasian control, which had spanned from the middle ages to the early 18th century. The kingdom was proclaimed with the leadership of a foreign crown, the Weranian Kotzauberg and Elbenweis, which granted Euclean powers the direct influence in the politics and society of the recent new state. An absolutist monarchy at first, the Revolution of 1836 led to the introduction of a constitution and legislature, which turned the country into a constitutional monarchy that continued to be led by Karl Theodor von Kotzauberg. The early and unexpected death of the monarch in 1840 put the Kingdom in a tight situation again and fearing a second revolution that could overthrow the monarchy, Frederica von Elbenweis was crowned regent of Piraea until her son, Nikolaos I of Piraea could assume the throne. Under the reign of Frederica, Piraea saw numerous reforms, especially in the religious world with her conversion to Episemialism and the establishment of the Orthodox Piraean faith as the national church of Piraea.
In 1862, Frederica abdicated in favour of her son Nikolaos I and the end of the century brought to the country a wave of deep modernisations in numerous political and social aspects as well as the industrialisation of its economy, which was heavily reliant in farming. These changes provoked an expansion of urban centres like Alikianos, which outnumbered its population, and the growth of the Piraese diaspora, most particularly in the Asterias. During the reign of Nikolaos I, clashes with a new middle class of university professionals, merchants and people that sought to have political representation became usual and in 1911 the country turned into one of the first to institutionalise suffrage to all literate males —expanding it to women in 1912—, an event that deepened the country's parliamentary political culture. In 1924, his death granted the throne to Nikolaos II of Piraea, who saw an important opposition from the recently founded socialist parties and unions due to his conservative ideals; this opposition was exacerbated during the Functionalist government of Theodoros Strakidis that declared war to Etruria during the Great War and aligned the country with the Entente. The disastrous result of the conflict to Piraea and the subsequent invasion of Etruria, forced the abdication of Nikolaos II and the establishment of the First Piraean Republic under the leadership of the socialists Stephanos Vitalopoulos and Themistoklis Ioannopoulos.
The capital of the kingdom was declared to be in Hersonissos during the first five years due to its importance to trade. However, in 1835, the capital was moved to Alikianos, in an effort to build a historical national narrative. Alikianos, of less than 500,000 inhabitants back then, soon became the new political centre of the nation.