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by The United Republics of Dormill and Stiura. . 158 reads.

Dormill and Stiura - History, Pre-Unification Period, Prehistoric - Colonial Eras


Eras | Prehistoric | Ardedan | Colonial | Stiuraian | Revolution | Young Union | Favre | Imperial | Post-Imperial | New Union | Dyson


Prehistoric Era (c. 3000 B.C.E - 800 B.C.E)

The first known records of settlement of Dormill and Stiura comes from clay pots made by Proto-Gaeltic migrants in Arvan and the North Coast region of Avillion and Lieurneux. These pots are dated to around 3000 B.C.E, and are painted with images of various mythical creatures, indicating religious or cultural significance. Over the passage of the ages, the Proto-Gaeltic peoples that had originally settled in the North Coast began settling in lands further south, populating vast amounts of Gael where they would become the basis for Central and East Gaeltic civilizations, including those of Ardeda and Liveri. Ardedan comes from Ardeda, believed to be either a portmanteau of Arné Teda (Eng. Autumn’s Trophy or Bounty) or a created word from Greek and Arabic words for “land” and “dirt” (‘ard and Édafos), although Ardedans refer to themselves as from the quasi-historical foundation story of the First Ardedan Kingdom (c. 800 B.C.E - 690 B.C.E). The etymological roots of Liveri remain unknown, although some believe the name was given by Italian explorers in western Doraltia. The development of Proto-Gaeltic peoples from the North are broadly split into two other distinct daughter groups, the Leiloan ancestors of Keomora and the eastern Druidos people of modern Roendavar.

Other artifacts recovered show a path of migration that trended towards the South, with settlements in modern Kapolder, Montrelais, Abancourt, Warnecque, Mala, Borey, and Broons. The history of these settlements has been lost, but most assumptions point to ancient civilizations even older than the Ardedan to have existed around 2100 B.C.E, most notably being the Kapolder River Civilization, which is assumed to have existed from 2850 B.C.E up until it mysterious disappearance in the early 1800s B.C.E, with some evidence suggesting the civilization was destroyed by outside invaders, thanks to evidence of weapons and tools not native to Gael at that time. Another prominent pre-Ardedan civilization that developed in the south was the Louisanan Civilization, centered on the Fort Louis area of modern central Ardeda, a large glacial valley carved during the Last Glacial Maximum. This civilization appeared to exist contemporary to the Kapolder River Civilization, although no evidence has surfaced that the two interacted.

Following the end of the Kapolder River Civilization, and most other proto-civilizations in the area, signs of sedentary societies were sparse in the North and East. In the West, thanks to minor interactions with Roendavarian city-states, some copycat cities formed among Liverian communities. In the South, the presence of written Early Ardedan around the late years of 1000 B.C.E. marked the first sign of written language in Doraltia proper. Little is known of the early history of the Ardedan civilization except for semi-mythical historical accounts which describe how the people of Ardedan descended from the sources of the Bret’a glitrittó arfo and Annura glitrittó arfo (Sky and Earth Rivers) and met in the “Twin’s Embrace”, where the two gods of the rivers, twins, met for the first time after being separated by their parents of the sky and earth. The Legend of the Twin Rivers continues, describing how the Earth and Sky each birthed men at the sources of their child’s rivers, which were then carried by the twins to the Embrace, where they established a town, the Crown City, now Tasofie.

After this meeting, so the history goes, the two tribes eventually became one and formed the First Ardedan Kingdom; known to them as Khufye pamua pra lyó Guna Glitrittó Arfola (Kingdom of the Twin Rivers).


Ardedan Era (800 B.C.E - 1595 C.E)

The founding of the First Kingdom was marked by the erection of the North Wall. As the core of the city was made on the banks of the Twin Rivers, the protection of the city was mostly vested in this wall, which was always defended by a garrison of several hundred men, as the city developed over the following years with the monarchy, this garrison became the Royal Greatshields, under the direct command of the King and tasked with his protection. Being located directly on the river, the Kingdom quickly developed a fleet of ships to sail the remainder of the southern River, encountering several Lesvan civilizations and eventually Lake Zrenla, which was initially thought was the vast ocean of the south for many generations up until explorers found the southern terminus of the lake and the Cazren River that terminates into the Sapphire Bay.

The early years of the Kingdom were marked by extended periods of expansion and prosperity, with a lack of significant rivals, the Kingdom quickly expanded along the southern river, establishing settlements along its banks as it went. Most of these settlements have since been abandoned but a few remain as small villages within the modern Ardedan Republic. Around 785 B.C.E, the Kingdom reached its territorial extent as their southern expansion was halted by a prominent Lesvan King that was based in modern Saela. This rivalry between Saela and Ardeda resulted in the formation of a fortress by King Iapetos Lathlaeril Ovru Loraxisys, which eventually became a major city in the form of modern day Garoire to defend the southern territories.

Governance in the early First Kingdom was a devolved pseudo-feudal bureaucracy, with individual cities being ruled over by a Lord-Governor, or Ine, (lit. Landlord) who were appointed at the will of the King, who also ruled over Tave’a’tapem (Crown City) as its Ine. According to recovered historical accounts, early Ine were considered in two parts as civil and religious leaders, charged by the divinely appointed King with extending the rule of his realm. Consequently, surviving artifacts and archaeological sites have notable religious significance. By the mid-760s BCE, there were approximately thirty settlements of significant enough size to have their own Ine and thus be considered a city. Other territories not directly ruled by an Ine, mostly the countryside of Ardeda of sparse farmlands and small villages, would gravitate towards associating with the nearest or most relevant city, leading to either their direct annexation or a close partnership that appeared as a personal union of the current Ine.

Each individual Ine, in his capacity as a civil servant of the Ardedan King, was required to tax the residents of not only their city but also a significant portion of the surrounding countryside (even those areas that were not associated with the city), which was frequently referred to in recovered writing as “the farmsteads no less than three days walk from the temples of the Ine.” Often, especially as the early Ardedan civilization grew beyond the strict confines of the Twin River valley, this scope was expanded with new temples being built as administrative hubs, though nominally under the control of the original Ine

Each Ine, as part of their civil and religious duties to the Ardedan King, would deliver these taxes in turn to Tave’a’tapem as tribute. The value of such tribute varied between Ine as time went on, but would be eventually standardized in the 630s BCE, though Ine were given latitude in what precisely constituted their tribute. Prior to this, a herald of the King would be sent regularly, sometimes annually to the most important cities and less often elsewhere, to assess the state of each city and determine what tax was to be sent back, often in an elaborate set of rituals that persisted throughout Ardedan history.

The need to accurately and reliably assign values to various items and goods sent as taxes to Tave’a’tapem, alongside the increasing prevalence of normalized trade across Ardeda necessitated the creation of money as a medium of exchange, soon standardized in the form of silver, gold, and precious stones. The bureaucratic apparatus to control the supply of money and flow of taxes also sped up the development of the First Kingdom as a civilization, increasing the power of Tave’a’tapem as the seat of a central government. Additionally, the settling of disputes as they related to this system of taxation spurred the development of early Ardedan legal systems, and thus the further advancement of writing and recordkeeping.

The earliest evidence of writing in the First Ardedan Kingdom was recovered from an old temple near the Doraltic-Lesvan border dating back to the 760s BCE. This site was likely the central temple of an ancient city, given further archeological evidence. This early writing is closely related to Cuneiform, though independently developed. This form of writing appeared to be short-lived as evidence points to early Roendavarian Branch Script being present at the same layer of other sites, suggesting the arrival of early Roendavarian as soon as the 760s BCE. As a result, early written Ardedan does not appear to be translatable despite continuing research.

Similarly, further early Roendavarian religious texts began to appear from the 760s BCE, around the time the Ferostiath of the three early Celionaths from Ariethos were ending. These provide evidence that Protacism had been spread into Ardeda alongside early Roendavarian literature, science, and philosophy. It is believed that the historian and philosopher Iovis lived during this time and was taught by a Roendavarian tutor, inspiring his collection of early Ardedan myths and history. Syncretism between Protacism and Ardedan religion is also evidenced around this time, emphasizing the growing connection between Roendavar and Ardeda.

In the late 700s B.C.E (725 - 700), attacks by Lesvans began to heighten, spurred on by a new Lesvan King that desired control over the Twin Rivers. These attacks culminated in the War for Retren Valley, where Lesvan forces began a widespread campaign in the area surrounding modern Garoire that lasted from 716 through 703, capped off by the three year long siege of Garoire. Being so distant downriver, the city could not be reinforced quickly enough by forces from the north, and food stores ran out eventually. The Lord-Governor of the City, Ine Troilos Vadithas Touyei, seeing no other option to end the siege or break out, surrendered to the Lesvan forces. His body would be taken back to Saela where he would be executed. The loss of the Garoire shook the First Kingdom to its core, causing many lords to question the power of their King, and in 699, revolted.

The Revolt of 699 tore apart the First Kingdom, and eventually it ended unceremoniously with the suicide of the King in 690 with no heir. In the wake of his death, the Lesvan King renewed his efforts to seize control of the rivers, and marched his armies north to sweep up the remaining lords and claim the prize of ruling Tave’a’tapem.

Unfortunately for him, the remaining lords, desiring independence, continued their revolt. This began the period of the South Doraltic Conflicts, which in all lasted ninety-five years as the various Lord-Governors, and their descendants, fought against each other for control. Around 650, the Lesvans, who took advantage of the chaos to invade north, managed to finally reach Tave’a’tapem, still recovering from the fall of the First Kingdom. However, the garrison of the north wall, the Royal Greatshields, remained in their post, making the city an impregnable fortress on all sides. Not easy to give up, enemy forces attempted three separate sieges to take control of the city, the first two were repulsed by the city itself while the third was broken when a united army of the remaining lords rallied from outside the city to break the siege. It would be this army that then proceeded to march south until Lesva finally relented, its King agreeing to establish a new border with the Ardedans in exchange for peace. The Lords who fought against the Lesvans, now knowing the benefit of working together rather than fighting among themselves, agreed to work on establishing a new kingdom, leaving their first order of business to attempt to find any descendent of the last King.

The Interregnum would last all the way through 610, but there was still no sign of anybody claiming to be King or related to the last King. As a result, the Lords eventually began to squabble over who would be declared the next King, with a council of 7 lords taking up residence in the palace and ruling the new “Kingdom” as Co-Regents until a new King could be declared, reforming parts of the original bureaucracy, initiating land reforms to quell the public, and building a base of power. One of the Seven Lords, Ine Ásmundr Ailwin Ailduin, had declared he had gained the support of the remaining six lords, and thus should be made King. A second claimant also appeared, Celion Pelleas Syldithas Theriolina also laid claims to the throne, claiming that it was his divine mission at the head of the Deriasthil expedition to spread Davari civilization to the far reaches of the world, presenting the locals of Tave’a’tapem gifts of science and art imported from across the united Davari City-States. The two men rallied the people of Tave’a’tapem throughout 610 and into 609, whipping them up into rioting bands, each of them demanding that their man should be made King of Ardeda.

Tensions throughout the capital would mount with the attempted bombing of the remaining six lords during religious celebrations, resulting in the deaths of hundreds within the city and a fire that consumed two-thirds of the entire capital, including the royal palace the Lords had been using since the 640s.

With no way to dispel the tensions and control over the capital shattered, the remaining Six Lords abandoned Tave’a’tapem in secret and traveled in the direction of the expedition took to reach Ardeda, but a missed turn took them off their course and lead them towards the base of the tallest mountain they saw. Seeing this as a sign from the gods they, alongside their followers, established a settlement near its base. Eventually, this settlement would become a pilgrimage site for Ardedan Protacists in worship of the smithing god Vardrathinas as the mountain was revealed to be a significant site of iron deposits.

In the distant future from these events, the Temple of Vardrathinas, a massive steam-powered complex of scale and complexity that would not be replicated until the creation of the first Industrial Age factories of the United Republics, would be gradually constructed. The Temple for which the modern city is named would remain, now in a shattered and non-functional state.

Back in Tave’a’tapem, the conflict between the two rival claimants exploded into an all out war both within the city and across the countryside as various Ine sought to take a side or escape to rule independently. Between the two men, Celion Pelleas had a more advanced army at his side, composed of several heroic Davari warriors and generals, and generally held the advantage in the battle to secure Tave’a’tapem. By contrast, though Ine Asmundr could not beat the Celion’s army directly, he had a more intimate understanding of Ardeda and its culture, allowing him to escape capture with several of his trusted warriors in 599 BCE. From then, he would fight what modern accounts call a guerilla war against Celion Pelleas, harassing his forces and denying them a clear victory as he attempted to assert control in the capital. Unfortunately for Asmundr, his luck would run out as one of his own men defected and informed Pelleas of his enemy’s current encampment. It is said that in the cover of night, this defector was sent back to Asmundr’s camp to assassinate the Ine in a show of loyalty, which he ultimately succeeded at. Asmundr’s death and the subsequent battle to capture his camp by Davari forces brought an end to the War of the Two Kings and established Davari control over Ardeda, the first step in a saga of cultural and political control of Ardeda by Roendavarians.

After Celion Pelleas won the War of the Two Kings, and was crowned King of Ardeda in 595 B.C.E, establishing the Second Kingdom, his first actions as King was to conquer the lands that belonged to his rivals in an effort to quell initial resistance to his rule and install other Davari nobles in his ranks to positions of power. Subsequently he had his younger brother marry into the family of the fallen Ine Asmundr to enforce his legitimacy to rule over Ardeda. Iapetos Celion Pelleas, who renamed himself after the semi-mythical first Ardedan King Iapetos as a show to gain Ardedan legitimacy, spent the remainder of his time as King establishing a new apparatus of the existing bureaucracy, a system that could wield the power of King without resorting to a repeat of the war.

As such, he ordained the creation of a new Temple in Tave’a’tapem over the site of the previous Royal Palace wherein his new government would be seated. The Gráe’jópo (lit. Group of Old Men), known also as the Ardedan Senate due to the similarities it shared with the Ariethos experiment with democracy, was composed of the oldest, wisest, and wealthiest men in the Kingdom at the time, including noblemen from across the realm alongside historians, military leaders, and great thinkers. The historians Iovis and Saevel would serve in the Senate during their lifetimes, alongside several famous generals, Princes, and other members of the Royal Family.

It was considered a prerequisite that a man must have service in the public interest of the Kingdom, either as a General, a Civil Servant, or an Ine, before standing for election to join the Senate, and must already contribute to the kingdom in the form of personal taxes. In order to stand for election in the Senate, a prospective candidate must make their announcement on the steps of the Senate Temple, declaring their history, accomplishments, and intentions to the citizens of Tave’a’tapem alongside paying the equivalent of a year’s worth of taxes in the form of a tithe to the Temple. During these announcements, a scribe of the Temple will record every word said by the candidate during their speech, and once they are done, the scribe shall submit it to the record of the Senate. The Senate can then decide, based on the candidate’s credentials, to add him to that year’s ballot, or reject his candidacy. This power to reject a candidate would be frequently used in the history of the Senate to reject those who don’t align with the Senate’s leadership or are members of a rival family to a prominent Jópo.

The subsequent election would then take place among the franchised men of Ardeda, those free men who could pay the poll tax. In the early form of the Grae’jopo, these elections would take place in the central square of the candidate’s home city, presided by the current Ine or a royal herald if the candidate was the Ine. This ultimately meant that only those cities ruled by an Ine could have a Senator, the number of which was a proportion of the population that the city was responsible for.

The Gráe’jópo took several years to establish their power in the Kingdom, and spent plenty of time formalizing their relationship with the Celion to create a fair and balanced system. Throughout the remainder of the time of predominant Ardedan rule, the Gráe’jópo would have the power of legislation, to raise and disband armies, to promote generals and leaders of the civil service, even some limited control over the appointment of Ines. They would have the power to declare holidays, levy taxes, and create or disband courts across the Kingdom. The most controversial power that was shared between the King and the Gráe’jópo was that, under the circumstances that either would be seen as unfit for their service in a court of law, their counterpart could end their rule and take over until such a time as the other would be able to assume their powers again. In the case of the Gráe’jópo’s relationship to the King, they could force his abdication if he was sick, dying, senile, or otherwise unable to perform his duties. In the case of the King’s relationship with the Gráe’jópo, the King could force the Gráe’jópo to disband if they are stuck in a gridlock, or are being influenced too greatly by one man.

Over the next several decades, the Second Kingdom went on to expand further to the East, past the historical borders and into the vast unknown of the upper Sky River. Respecting their border with the Aceanians, the Second Kingdom refrained from expanding further down the Earth River throughout its existence. This changed in 465 BCE when the famous general and politician Eviatar Vaeril Ilipeiros Loraxisys led a campaign towards the ancient city of Garoire, swiftly taking control of the city and throwing out the local Aceanian lord. This triggered yet another war between the Aceanians and the Ardedans that ended with Eviatar himself forcing the surrender of their king. Following this shocking show of strength, the Gráe’jópo alongside Iapetos Celion Pelleas Taveatapem began to consider how to deal with this potentially dangerous individual. After much debate as to whether he should be exiled outright or be barred from ever serving in the Gráe’jópo again once he returned to the capital, they eventually resolved to deploy him for a few years to on a campaign against the Valkoihet in modern Balnik. As they deliberated on the situation further, they became deadlocked, and unable to legislate as every debate circled back to the status of Eviatar. The Celion, annoyed at the deadlock, used his powers to dissolve the Gráe’jópo, and at the manipulations of those against Eviatar, declared the general an enemy of the Kingdom.

Well aware that his actions would eventually array the Kingdom against him, Eviatar had prepared by building alliances with other generals and his supporters in the Gráe’jópo and raising an army equal in size to the army that remained loyal to the Kingdom in preparation for his campaign across the Koltumi. After the King’s declaration, Eviatar began his civil war, plunging all of Ardeda into chaos over his ambition. The First Ardedan Civil War lasted for the following five years, with the army of Eviatar chasing the Royalist army across the Kingdom, eventually ending when the King’s guard mutinied and killed Iapetos Celion Pelleas Taveatapem, surrendering to Eviatar shortly thereafter.

Following the end of the First Ardedan Civil War, Eviatar briefly served in a position of absolute authority while he and his allies rebuilt the government to operate entirely without a monarch, creating the elected position of Másáóúa gá'laiba Gráe’jópo (Protector of the Senate, often shortened as Masaoua or Protector) to serve the old King’s capacity as a check on the power of the Gráe’jópo. As the new government began to take shape, a new name was given to the new nation, now free of the King, which the Gráe’jópo eventually settled on Sjíbo gá'laiba Gráe’jópo gá'lá Tŕit́aaib Píndavgá'lef gá'lá It́aegëgá'lef (lit. Land of the Senate and People of the Sky and Earth Rivers, Eng. The Ardedan Republic), and set to work on establishing themselves as a functioning government during the remainder of the 400s B.C.E.

Famously, one of the most progressive choices ever made by the Ardedan Republic was to permit women to serve alongside men in the civil service, though not to an equal capacity in the military in the early years of the republic. This decision was seen as highly controversial among the republic’s conservative Jopo but Masaoua Eviatar’s authority prevented substantial pushback, leading to the almost full integration of women into the Ardedan civil service. These efforts would, over time, bear fruit as capable women would fill the ranks of even the higher echelons of Ardedan civil service, most famously when the Priestess Cithrel took over governorship of Temple in 186 B.C.E from the suddenly deceased Governor, and managed to not only successfully levy that year’s taxes, but managed to do so while nearly halving the cost of the previous year’s and contributing the greatest amount of any province that year.

By the time of the Petal Expansions in the late 200s BCE, several women had become members of the Gráe’jópo, largely due to the expansion of the body under a series of Masaouas seeking power by weighing the senate with loyal appointees. The trend would persist even after Ardeda’s conquest by the Corinthusi Empire and in some form all the way through Ardeda’s final conquest by the Europeans, who would express surprise at the proportion of women in key roles of the Ardedan Empire.

The Second Petal Expansion saw much of Gael conquered by Aragonus the Great and the Empire of Corinthus between 217 BCE-212 BCE. As Ardeda was still deeply integrated into the Roendavarian system, Aragonus was welcomed as a civilizing force against a corrupt Gráe’jópo being constantly jockeyed between Masaouas every few years. The Empire of Corinthus was hegemonic and granted semi-autonomy to large portions of its conquests, as long as they remained loyal to Corinthus and cooperated with its trade routes. Each conquest was split into geographic areas called Thronai and they were administered basically like an elective monarchy with a democratic council within a larger empire. In exchange for the peaceful transition of power, Aragonus granted Ardedan lands a semi-autonomous status under the wider Thronai of Lorathunos, ruled from Távé'á’tápem by Celion Iapetos Lathlaeril Eviatar, who had renamed himself from a common Davari name to integrate more cleanly into Ardedan culture.

As the Republic kept expanding under Corinthusi rule, their conquests soon began to brush up on the banks of the Kapolder and Waalwijk Rivers, establishing new borders in the far north of the Republic. However, the division between the northernmost reaches of the Republic and the southern regions began to make things difficult.

Eventually, partly as a result of Ardedan law and dynamics within the Empire, the internal administration of the Thronai was split into five distinct parts; the North ruled from the fortress city of [Fort Louis] and covered everything from the northern coast down to the Sirbal, Ardeda, which consisted of the territory primarily held by a collection of nobles close to Celion Iapetos centered on the Twin Rivers valley, Vardrathinas, consisting of the temple that bore his name and parts of the Vichdaal region of modern Dormill and Stiura, Liveri, a new land to the northwest that was inhabited by a completely new Roendavarian-Doraltic civilization, and Loarien, controlling the sparsely populated eastern half of Gael beyond the control of Ardeda. This system would hold after Aragonus’ death in 181 BCE and solidify as Ardeda and the new vassal states interacted.

All the while this was happening, the Republic established its first settlements along the [Reannese] River around 15 C.E. After conquering the local area some time ago, these settlements would be the first instance of organized rule in Reann. Unfortunately, these settlements would be short-lived as the river suffered from yearly floods, wiping away the settlements in the area and making it too expensive for the Republic to return and reestablish their settlements. This loss in the far south compounded with heightened attacks the Valkoihet stoked tensions in the north of the Republic, with some leaders both in their home provinces and in the Gráe’jópo calling for greater autonomy to be given to the north. These requests were frequently denied by the southern members, causing yet another deadlock. However, unlike the King, who was mostly independent from the affairs of the Gráe’jópo and was willing to dissolve the body if it was incapable of acting, the current Másáóúa, Theodemar, the right hand of the Celion in Ardeda, was firmly on the side of the south and permitted the gridlock to continue, further driving the sentiment in the north that Távé'á’tápem no longer cared about the people, but more about preserving their own power. Lacking options, northern leaders began assembling armies and getting ready to rebel against the Gráe’jópo. However, a revolt would not be necessary as Theodemar was killed before the steps of the Senate Temple, and was replaced by the northern-aligned Ailduin, who immediately dissolved the Gráe’jópo and began new elections in an effort to stack the Senate in the north’s favor.

Obviously seeing the two events as planned, the former southern Jopo declared that their northern counterparts were enemies of the Republic, and had to be eliminated, starting the Second Ardedan Civil War in 59 CE. The war would consist of some of the most brutal fighting seen in Gael up until that point, with armies numbering in the tens of thousands arrayed by both sides and clashing with regular frequency. The fighting would buckle the logistical network of Lorathunos as a whole, cutting it off from Loarien and leaving it prime for increasing Keomoran attacks. By the mid-60s, a general exhaustion had swept across the entire realm, scarred by fighting, disease, and famine with no end in sight as imperial reinforcements continued to bolster the efforts of the south, regardless of any victories gained by the north.

Increasingly upset by the constant failures to truly end the war and harassed by a growing imperial army, the once-unified effort among the leaders of the northern rebels to throw out their southern oppressors collapsed, triggering a bloody two years of additional mutinies and revolts frequently remembered as the “civil war within the civil war,” ultimately dividing their armies in two between the generals Theophylaktos and Ryul, making their defeat at the hands of either the Republic or the wider Empire more and more likely. The fighting between the two generals would persist for another three years further, allowing the south and their imperial allies to regroup and marginally disarm, assuming that their enemies would be too busy fighting among themselves to dedicate forces to a renewed offensive.

However, agitations from the Valkoihet in 71 and 72 forced the armies of the South to leave and respond to them before Távé'á’tápem would be threatened with an invasion, granting the two generals a very brief window to set aside their differences and refocus on their common enemy. The Koltumi campaign that followed would be one of the bloodiest Ardeda would fight as their enemy grew increasingly competent in military affairs, further aided by covert assistance sent by the northern rebels. Ultimately, the renewed offensive that southern leaders feared would commence in 77, forcing them to choose between ending the rebellion or the Valkoihet. Choosing to deal with the rebels, the new Celion in Ardeda would agree to a peace that allowed the Valkoihet free reign to settle in the Vichdaal region independently of Ardedan presence.

The renewed offensive by the combined northern army would eventually break the defenses Ardeda had established along a key pass of the Sirbal at what is now Fort Louis, granting access to the entire Ardedan heartland which Ryul swiftly moved to exploit, generally ending the alliance he had with Theophylaktos and his forces, who remained in the north to establish a formally independent state.

By 100, the Republic would be reduced to only Távé'á’tápem, with rebel armies or foreign invaders surrounding them on all sides. However, the city remained as impregnable as always, the siege weapons of the northern armies were incapable of breaching the walls. Meanwhile, in the far north, the remaining armies increasingly under the control of Theophylaktos began to reinforce their new positions and threw out several vanguards of its rival armies, creating a stalemate around the Van Curan Valley. In 109, the two armies agreed to stand down and establish a new border between them, leaving the Republic a rump state surrounding Tafeath and the lands owned by the Celion nearby, its conquest forestalled by the long-impenetrable defenses of the city, the disbanding of most of Ryul’s armies, and the decades of exhaustion directly attributed to the war.

In 115, the southern lands conquered by Ryul broke out in a sudden revolt, the remnants of the Republic’s loyalists declaring that they would never serve a Northern Rebel. Over the following years, under the leadership of the legendary female general Varvara Ryllae Elasandoral, the Sjíbo’gá'laiba’máloum Píndav’gá'lef (Kingdom of the Sky River) was founded out of the loyalists that fought against Ryul, shielding Tafeath as a new overlord state. Through the formation of this sixth and final new state in 117, the Second Ardedan Civil War, fought over the course of 58 years, came to an end.

Seeking to entrench their power following the death of the Celion, Theophylaktos and Ryul sought to reward their armies with the vast riches that the cities of the south had left to provide, alongside vast expanses of land for colonies, particularly in the central valley of what would become Dormill between modern Abancour and Arette. Their dynasties would remain a steady source of tension within Ardedan politics from this point until the end of the Empire over a thousand years later.

After several years of border skirmishes, the northern realm finally began to settle on their own internal affairs. This began with the establishment of a new capital on the mouth of the Gá'lef’ŕítc'áút́'aét́'aéf (River of the Lake), the modern day St. Denis, which he would name T'aoif’tápem (New Crown). From here, Theophylaktos and his descendants would rule over Sjíbo’gá'laiba’máloum gr'áámjin'á’pímeu (lit. Kingdom beyond the Mountains), typically referred to as the Northern Thronai.

This era of the Six Thronai, the North, Tafeath, Temple, Liveri, Enoire, and Gellafrey was mostly peaceful as each focused its energies on their respective internal administrations, the Republic would finally collapse in 130 in an unceremonious fashion, the capital remaining the personal domain of the Celion. However, given the centuries of democratic rule the Republic provided, democracy would ultimately never die in Ardeda, with each of the successive kingdoms respecting and adopting these old democratic systems to aid in their internal administrations, ushering a golden age of wealth and prosperity that would rival even the greatness of the Corinthusi.

Coinciding with the end of the Second Ardedan Civil War and the establishment of the six kingdoms of Ardeda, the Empire of Corinthus redoubled its efforts to maintain the shaky peace that finally fell over its most chaotic Thronai, permanently stationing six total legion-sized armies across each kingdom to remind them of their ultimate loyalty to the Emperor.

    200 CE: Advancements in science, trade, and technology. Continuation of the golden age from the 100s under continued rule of the Empire. Would also be a good time to introduce Sunuwar and Arvan to the mix since there is now a significant Ardedan presence in the north.
    300 CE: Second verse same as the first for now, possible increase in tension between Ardeda and other parts of Gael to start long-term rivalries.
    400 CE: Cracks in the imperial system, which would start giving space for Ardeda to break free in the 500s.
    500: The Empire collapses and with it a whole power vacuum forms and starts a five hundred (or so, possibly shorter) year long dark age that overlaps with the Thorns period of Roendavarian history up until the mid 1000s.
    600: Warwarwarwar
    700: warwarwarwar
    800: warwarwarwar
    900: Slightly less warring as the Two Kingdoms began to take shape.

    1030: The Two Kingdoms solidify in power and assert full independence, any alignment made between the Rose Kings and Ivy Alliance are cut from here.
    1100: Stabilizing and first interactions with Noronica, Vaenland, and Ostehaar.
    1200: Unification of the two kingdoms into the Ardedan Empire.

    1200: Formation and initial expansion of the Ardedan Empire.
    1300: Stabilizing and internal administration, start of the Ardedan Imperial Golden Age.
    1400: Golden Age continues, revival of old Davari art, science, literature, and architecture.
    1500: Conflict with the Empire of Dacaria over influence in Gael and abroad, introduction of the Dutch to Gael.


Colonial Era (1595 - 1655)

First contact within the Western Isles by European powers were made when Ferdinand Magellan, during his circumnavigation, discovered the islands of Corindia in 1521. He would subsequently discover the islands of San Javier and then the continent of Argus later that very year before his death in the Spice Islands. The return of Juan Sebastián Elcano to Spain would set off European interest in the Western Isles fully. Subsequent missions by the French explorer Jacob Georges Rémy, Portuguese explorer Fernão Mendes Pinto, and English explorer Sir Francis Drake solidified the European image of these new lands by the turn of the century.

The first Dutch mission to the Western Isles was conducted from 1586 through 1601, culminating in the establishment of the first Dutch presence in the region with the conquest of the Portuguese Silmaniese city of Leeblie in 1595. The remaining Portuguese territory in Argus would be conquered in the outbreak of the Dutch-Portugese War. This tenuous foothold was what prompted the Dutch East India Company to further their efforts in exploring the Western Isles in search of a safe place to base themselves outside of the reach of their enemies. With English assistance and French neutrality in that particular conflict, the East India Company explored northwards through Argus, establishing relationships with early Torom, Segentova, and the Daciaran Empire.

The Ceasefire of Antwerp and the beginning of the Twelve Years Truce granted the Dutch access to Spanish and Portuguese ports in Salimanasia, allowing the VOC to expand its operations in the Isles. In order to establish new trading relationships in the west, the VOC Board sent Captains Mick Grottingon, Wacob Jillekens and Maikel Vroomen, all renowned Argean explorers, to accomplish such a mission. These efforts would see the Netherlands interact across the entire Western Isles, trading with nations of the Mesder frequently as well as those of the Southern Sea and Eastern Seas. While Jillekens would remain active until the 1630s, both Mick and Maikel would retire, leading their respective sons Tjeerd and Aric to lead efforts to establish a Dutch trading network across the Western Isles.

France, meanwhile, did not suffer much in the way of tensions or pressure in their efforts to colonize the Western Isles as the Compagnie des Îles Occidentales (French Western Isles Company) solidified their presence from Nouveau Toulon. The French monarchy soon stepped in to handle most of France’s affairs in the Western Isles with the establishment of the Royal Segen Colony in 1600.

In 1611, testing the Dutch willingness to stand up to the Peace of Antwerp, the Portuguese under Spanish direction began to close off its ports to Dutch ships, followed shortly thereafter by a Spanish-Portuguese embargo of all Dutch trade globally. This prompted the VOC to launch an expedition into Salimanasia, starting with an attack on Lman Bay. Led by Captain Wacob Jillekens and 1,700 VOC troops, the Dutch swiftly took over the city, and followed it up by taking Pappaloosh City, the center of Portuguese affairs in the region. These actions would prompt the local population, most especially the Chah-Chajd Empire, to fight off the European invaders over the following years. The Anti-Colonial War would further spread from Argus, negatively impacting European-Islander relations and prompting similar anti-European conflicts throughout the remainder of the 17th Century.

Simultaneously, the Netherlands found itself back in a fight with the Spanish as the Thirty Years War began in earnest, the Dutch government granted the VOC further powers in the Isles, including the power to issue their own colonial charters. This catalyzed the Dutch colonization of Gael, beginning later that year when it sent Maikel and Aric Vroomen with an exploration fleet into the Argean Sea, establishing contacts with Vaenland, Kudraela, the Third Ardedan Kingdom, the Sunuwar Hangate, and the Daciaran Empire. In summer 1621, Aric made a landing in the mouth of the River of the Lake, not far from the ruins of the city of New Crown, which was destroyed by the Sunuwar Hangate a decade prior. Seeing the value in establishing a permanent presence along the Argean, Aric and Maikel appealed to the VOC to begin establishing settlements in north Gael. Unfortunately, Maikel succumbed to scurvy during the following expedition, leaving Aric to return to the River of the Lake with the VOC’s blessing and establish a settlement along the south bank following the creation of a polder near the center of the river as a trading port. This polder and port city would eventually become Kapolder, named in his honor. As 1624 progressed, the situation in Salimanasia worsened as the English pressed their influence in the region further, threatening both Spanish and Portuguese control enough for both to cede control to the Netherlands. Though the fight was long from over as the VOC began to build up its power in Gael as a way to escape the situation.

Throughout the mid-1620s, with the success of Vroomen's city and the foundation of Ringoven further north of it, the VOC granted a charter to its first Gaeltic colony, naming it Kapolder after the same city and granting it dominion over all the Gaeltic lands explored and settled to that point. Eventually, after a brief war with the Ardedan Kingdom, the Dutch also seized a trade city on the north coast, which was then renamed to Waalwijk. Waalwijk would become a part of the Kapolder colony shortly thereafter. In the west, two other charters were established for the purpose of establishing more colonies for the Netherlands in Gael, these would form the basis of New Friesland and Batavia. The former was established on the Grottingon Bay to put pressure on the newly formed English colony of Kentshire (now the New Fife region), with Batavia given a mandate of everything to the east that wasn’t Kapolder. Around then, the Dutch made their first treaties with Dacaria formalize the western border, allowing the Dutch access to most of the Orange River in exchange for them recognizing the eastern bounds of the Deriasthil at the border. As the Dutch gained a greater understanding of the land they were colonizing, they ran into a very particular problem, even more European colonizers.

In 1627, the French fully established themselves in Gael following the erection of the royal standard on the north bank of the Kapolder, and began construction on a court to counter the in construction of the Kapolder Stock Exchange, this would begin the multiple year rivalry between the French and Dutch colonies in Gael up until the creation of the United Republics. Through the following year, the French began to entrench themselves further by establishing another opposing settlement to Waalwijk, forcing the two governments to come to terms to prevent a war from breaking out over the territories. In the subsequent treaty, the border between French Gael and Dutch Gael was established, with the French additionally respecting the existing Dutch coastal settlements in Ringoven, South Alban, and Waalwijk.

After the treaty, both the French and Dutch governments turned their focus back to European affairs, leaving their colonies to fend for themselves. While this period began with hostility between the colonies, it was the actions of Kapolder to increase their trade connections with the French colonies that began to bridge the gap between the two disparate cultures. However, as the 1630s began, the first vestiges of an independent Batavian and Gallic identity began to take shape.

The brief era of positive relations between the Ardedans, Dutch, and French would abruptly end in the turn of 1630. The economic consequences of the Thirty Years’ War in Europe began to ripple into the Western Isles, prompting both the Dutch and French Gaeltic colonies to levy increased taxes on its residents to fulfill the needs of the vast European armies fighting across Germany. In addition, the escalation of the war’s scope saw the withdrawal of all professional military forces from Gael.

Lacking protection from their mother countries and facing an Ardedan Empire poised to a resurgence thanks to support provided by the Lesvans and the Corinthusi Realm, the French colony of the North Coast (also known as the Emerald Coast) and Dutch Stiura conscripted and outfitted their own independent militaries, with the latter following it on by mandating all able-bodied men shall train in militias to take up arms in the defense of the colony. It would be the French who eventually struck the first blow, with a force of over 5,000 North Coast soldiers, reinforced by militias raised among the populace of what is now Dormill and Annecy, marched out from the gates of Fort Louis and into Ardedan territory in 1633.

While the reasons why the French-Ardedan War began remain clouded, it is widely believed that a false flag attack on Broons was used to justify a punitive expedition, the French demanding reparations in the form of gold and valuables from Ardeda and a concession to allow French military forces unfettered access throughout Ardedan territory. The expedition would be stopped only twice before they reached their target at Tafeath, and in both instances the Ardedan army was routed without a serious fight.

At the Ardedan capital, the French realized the weight of their folly, the soldiers anticipating little more than the stories of swift and easy conquest brought over from Mexico or Peru, rather than a wall that would rival Vienna or even the mighty Theodosian Walls. Lacking cannons or any means to lay siege, the French forces were eventually forced to retreat back to Fort Louis by the Ardedan Royal Greatshields, which had been dutifully holding the North Wall from attackers for well over two thousand years.

When the expedition returned to Fort Louis that August with no success, colonial governor Cyril Fabien Desjardin had assembled an army ten thousand strong and outfitted with sixty cannons, and ordered the original expedition to return to Ardeda with the Emperor’s Crown or his head. Now with a legitimate threat against Ardeda, the Ardedan Imperial Army quickly mobilized to face off the French Army, intercepting them at the north bank of the Sonnae river and a second time in the wooded hills north of Tafeath. In both instances, even though the Ardedans had access to gunpowder weapons, they lacked the effective numbers and training to stand up to the semi-professional French force. At Tafeath itself, the Royal Greatshields joined the conflict, holding back a French siege by sallying past the North Wall multiple times throughout the remainder of 1633 and into 1634, the French laid in for a siege that many feared they could not win. By the turn of February, conditions in Ardeda deteriorated when French forces managed to construct ships up both the Sky and Earth Rivers and mounted their cannons upon them.

Sensing that his Empire was soon to be crushed and no evident aid materializing from Daciara as he hoped, Emperor Iapetos Ariledhienas entered into negotiations, allowing now Duke Desjardin through the gates of the North Wall and over the Bridge of Heroes that led into Tafeath proper, the first time in centuries a foreign leader had walked through under arms.

Fortunately for the future of the Ardedan people, Desjardin managed to be surprised by the apparent ‘advanced’ nature of Tafeath and of Ardedan civilization in general, and treated his counterpart the Emperor Iapetos as he would have just short of King Louis back in France. Negotiations surrounding Ardedan concessions proceeded from April 1634 through early July as both sides attempted to use the ceasefire to build and show strength. In the end, on the 19th of July 1634, the Emperor of Ardeda conceded to most of the terms set forth by Duke Desjardin. Although the Ardedan Empire in name would continue to exist, it conceded all of the territory north of Tafeath to the French alongside paying the demanded indemnity. Further, from that point on, the trade of the Ardedan Empire would be directed north through Fort Louis and into Gaul, rather than south down the Twin Kings River as had been Ardedan tradition for thousands of years, essentially locking Ardeda as a vassal of the French.

The subsequent period of instability caused by the effective collapse of the Ardedan Empire was felt throughout southern Doraltia, as local authorities denied the French access into their lands and refused to pay taxes to Tafeath which would be funneled as tribute to Chery, the then capital of French Doraltia as Cour Rouge remained under construction and would not be complete for several more years. During the transitory period, Dutch explorers found their way into the city of Vardrathinas, home to the Temple of the Proacist God of Smithing and Forging. In their reckless exploration, the ancient steam works of the temple were irreparably damaged, ruining the site as a pilgrimage point for Protacists across Doraltia.

The Dutch exploration and desolation of Vardrathinas prompted the city’s authorities to appeal directly to Desjardin for reprieve, bypassing Emperor Iapetos entirely in the first sign of the decay of his authority. The appeal was eventually met by Deskardin who took it as a claim on the territory for the French. The Dutch, who had been exploring and trading in the area for quite some time by 1636, contested the French claims. This combined with the already tense situation over the ultimate control of the Vroomen River to produce the first time in the history of European colonization of Doraltia where both sides edged into a possible war.

The war was fortunately averted when Captain Vroomen called for a States-General with Stiura, New Friesland, Ringoven, South Alban, and Waalwijk, which was seen as potentially controversial but gained tacit approval from Batavia and Amsterdam through a now characteristic lack of response from the VOC board. The Treaty of the River would be signed in 1637 and defined the border between French and Dutch Doraltia, with the Dutch winning out the most territory by gaining control over Vardrathinas and its surrounding land. Objections raised by Ardedan authorities over the fact that land south of the Twin Kings was handed over to outsiders were ignored by Desjardin, who threatened to send a French force back into Ardeda to assert control. Like with the Dutch, King Louis did not interfere with Desjardin’s actions during the Treaty of the River, signaling his support for the creation of an authority in the Western Isles that reflected his own in France.

At the start of 1640, the Dutch had nominally completed efforts to explore northern and central Gael, mapping out the extent of southern Stiura, Eppendorf, and Feerwerd before reaching the Kotlumi mountains. Their attempts to cross it were halted at the mountain pass city of Aftavan, which represented the northernmost extent of the Kingdom of Balnik, though the lowlands from there to the Helle and Orange rivers were all feudal territories loyal to the Balniki realm.

Their southern border more or less established, the Dutch went forward with their plans to colonize the vast Vichdall region (which now composes modern Eppendorf, Feerwerd, and parts of southern Stiura and southern New Friesland) starting with the establishment of Eppendorf near the source of the Eppen River in late March. Tensions between Batavia and Balnik would further escalate after the discovery of gold near the source of the Helle River, the subsequent rush from across the continent prompting disagreements between the two governments over their sovereignty, which itself led to acts of violence on both sides. By the summer of 1640, several hundred Dutchmen and Balniki had died in clashes and Eppendorf had been attacked twice by Balniki mobs.

Though an attempt at negotiating was considered by the Dutch government in Veldzicht, a further attack by the Balniki prompted a response of war. The war itself would be surprisingly brief, as the modern Balniki army did not cross over the Kotlumi to face the Dutch army, which made quick work of the poorly armed and trained vassal levies and militias. By late November 1640, no real threat was posed to the Dutch in the Vichdall, though no peace could be reached with Balnik until the end of winter when the mountains became passable once again. Balnik and Stiura would make peace in the spring of 1641 wherein the Dutch gained sovereign control over the land a hundred kilometers inland from the banks of the Orange and Helle river and a preferential arrangement for the gold mines already opened in the southeastern region.

As French efforts to transform its Gaeltic colonies into a metropolitan authority became more evident in the early 1640s, the East India Company, which still had nominal control over the affairs of the Gaeltic colonies, additionally made efforts to increase its own power. During this time both colonies saw a spike in European-origin colonization as a mixture of government encouragement and a desire to escape the Eighty Years’ War drove many to the Western Isles. This was in addition to the mass importation of Indian, African, and Magrati slaves to both Dutch and French colonies, further building on the population increases and subsequently their relative power.

The French effort would ultimately end in the splitting of attention between the center of its operations in Pacifica, Gaul, and its remaining possessions to ease the administrative load across the Isles, though the nobility in Metropolitan France held favor to the Gallic colony with the hope that it could solidify and extend its influence to all the remaining French colonies in the region. Around the same time, the French also solidified its control over the Arvannan peninsula with the founding of the City of St. Isabelle (what would eventually become St. Recont) and dividing the administrative territory of their Gaeltic colony into four major Departments; Arvan, North Coast, West Coast, and Gaul. The formation of the Departments coincided with the formation of multiple Marches, most especially the March of Launey, March of Montrelais, and the March of Boissieux; which served to differentiate the stabilized colonial territories (North Coast and West Coast especially) from the non-stabilized territories (such as Boissieux and Launey). The main Chateau of Cour Rouge would become habitable in 1643, becoming the home to the Desjardin family from that point until the Dormillian Revolution.

The pan-Isle European conflicts that were a common sight since colonization began to wind down in the mid-1640s, especially as the English Civil War heated up and turned their attention from the Western Isles and as the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia continued in earnest. As a result, the first Treaty of Kapolder was signed by representatives of the colonial governments in Gael in 1646, solidifying the terms of the Treaty of the River signed a decade earlier. The Treaty of Kapolder additionally established the first regular trading relationship between the Dutch and French Gaeltic colonies, granting the VOC and the French Western Isles Company charters to that effect.

As a response to the reorganization of the French colonies, the VOC sought to replicate the same procedure in their possessions in the Western Isles, organizing a separate authority in Veldhaven around 1645 which formally separated it from Stiura, which had nominal control over Velder affairs as the focal point of the VOC’s activities in the Western Isles. Veldhaven was subsequently invited to the States-General of 1648-49 although their presence was mostly requested to iron out the trade relationship between the Dutch colonies now that the Velders were more independent of Veldzicht’s authority.

Also during the States-General of 1648-49, the combined colonies determined that they were going to start the process of a more permanent unified organization, petitioning The Hague to be admitted entirely as Provinces under the Union of Utrecht, however these efforts were rebuked by VOC authorities in Amsterdam which obviously did not want to lose control over the profitable territories between the Spice Islands and the Western Isles, preventing the petition from reaching the States-General back in Europe. This began to drive a wedge between Veldzicht, Kapolder, New Leeuwarden, and Batavia over whether these colonies would be allowed to unite with the remainder of the Netherlands or continue to be administered under the authority of a private company. Notable promoters of independence from the VOC included both Aric Vroomen and Tjeerd Grottingon, two of the three founding sons of the Batavian colonies. The old man Wacob Jillekens, who had been operating out of Veldhaven up until its split from Veldzicht, returned to Batavia to argue against breaking from the VOC, claiming that organizing the colonies as Provinces of the Netherlands would drag them into European conflicts they had neither the time or resource to respond to.

By the end of the States-General, several of the assembled colonies, especially Kapolder, South Alban, Ringoven, and Waalwijk, signed a resolution declaring that they would organize themselves as the Province of Kapolder with Aric Vroomen declared as the first Doraltic Staatskapiten. Though Stiura, New Freisland, and the remaining colonies did not openly support the move by Kapolder, a portion of each colony’s leadership generally approved of the move and began to consider taking the same course of action to unite the remaining colonies under a united province. These efforts would be spoiled by the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652.

Almost as soon as news arrived that English and Dutch forces were fighting across the Channel, both the English colony of New Fife (in what is now the northern Orange River Valley as far south as Zwolle) and the Dutch colonies began to arrange the mobilization of military forces. It would be the English who struck out first by attacking the New Frisian city of Grottingonshaven and burning several VOC ships in harbor. The outbreak of the war prompted the formation of the third colonial States-General and the formation of the first united Batavian Army, headed by Major General Rudyard Abelen. At the same time, Stiura and New Friesland agreed to sign the Union Resolution, forming the United Provinces of Batavia, which invited Kapolder but was rebuffed while the war was ongoing. General Abelen’s army met the English militias at Terborch and soundly defeated the untrained and disorganized English forces. The Batavian Army then successfully crossed the Orange River by the end of November 1652, seizing control of Waynesburg in the process. A second army made up mostly of Stiuraian militia simultaneously conducted operations around Banff and Dooyork, though in a more disorganized fashion than their counterparts on the Frisian side of the river.

When winter fell that December, General Rudyard Abelen’s army had made its way to the outskirts of Reading, the second largest English settlement in New Fife after Port Orange ~50 miles north. During the winter of 1652-53, English and Dutch forces mostly contained their combat to the seas as had become the case in Europe, with VOC and English ships clashing throughout the Western Isles. The loss of a major portion of the English fleet during this time would also compromise Cromwell’s ability to exert control over the many disparate English colonies in the Western Isles.

By March 1653, after the post-thaw muds bogged down General Abelen’s army during the initial march, the two main fighting forces met for battle in the fields of Port Orange. In all, an English army of around 7,000 met the Batavian Army of 7,200 and fought for two days, each day ending with the English conceding ground against Abelen’s drilled and cannon-armed forces. It is said that on the third day, the English flag was struck from its pole in Stafford by the Batavian militia, who had forced marched and stormed the town during the clash between the main armies on the other side of the river. The fall of the flag combined with rising dust and smoke from the east prompted the English general to surrender to General Abelen, who marched what remained of the English forces to Veldzicht as prisoners of war.

For his victory, the States-General awarded Major General Rudyard Abelen a Beloningspenningen, a gold medal, for his service. This was the first of its kind awarded to a Batavian and under an independent authority other than the States-General of the United Provinces. This action would, simultaneously with the negotiations of the Treaty of Westminster, prompt The Hague to assert its sovereign authority over the Batavian colonies, negotiating the handover of New Fife directly rather than allowing the Veldzicht States-General to lead the way as was the case for Ardeda.

Though the war had ended for Batavia, the Anglo-Dutch War would not end for several years afterwards, leading to the deployment of a large contingent of Dutch and VOC forces under the command of Johannes Jillekens, the son of Wacob Jillekens and third among the Founding Sons (alongside Aric Vroomen and Tjeerd Grottingon). Ostensibly, this force was organized to prevent English forces in Town-beside-the-Sea from organizing an effort to retake New Fife, though subsequent deployment of Dutch forces in Veldzicht, Kapolder, and Waalwijk prompted fears among Batavian leadership that this force wasn’t here to keep the English out, but rather hem in talks about Batavian independence. These fears would be confirmed in early 1653 when the VOC flag was replaced by the Oranges’ Flag in Kapolder. Following news would announce that “to ensure the continuing security and prosperity of the city of Kapiten’s Polder and the other possessions of the Seven United Provinces in the Western Isles, the VOC has transferred its administration of these lands to the States-General,” bringing a swift end to the VOC’s rule over Doraltia and exchanging control to The Hague directly. Among the first acts of the newly appointed Governor Boele Van Cann was to call for the end of the States-General in Veldzicht and the cessation of the Province of Kapolder and the United Provinces of Batavia.

This move would have allowed Van Cann the ability to reorganize the administration of the colonies in a way that would allow him, and by extension William of Orange (as he was an Orangist) more direct control of the colonies in competition with Desjardin in the adjacent Cour Rouge. Although the colonies signaled the disbanding of the Veldzich States-General shortly thereafter, the Batavian States-General would reconvene in secret in June 1653 in the young town of Helle to respond to the sudden growth of Dutch tyranny in the colonies. On 24 June 1653, news broke across Batavia that Aric Vroomen, the Staatskapiten of Kapolder, had died. The news shocked the nascent Batavian nation as Vroomen had been considered preeminent of the Batavian Founding Fathers; further shocks would reverberate out from Kapolder as Governor Boele Van Cann announced at Vroomen’s funeral that he would take over governance of Kapolder and reorganize the colonial borders to stretch from Kapolder City to Veldzicht.

Protests against Van Cann’s move to unite Kapolder and Veldzicht were almost instant, egged on by pamphlets coming from Helle claiming that Vroomen’s will expressed his wish to unite Kapolder with the remainder of Batavia as soon as the war formally ended and the Batavian States-General was allowed to reconvene. Though the details of Aric Vroomen’s will were never publicly revealed, the Vroomen estate would subsequently deny that any details relating to a Union Resolution was a part of his will. Regardless of the certain truth, the notion that Vroomen’s dying wish was to unite the Batavian colonies into their own complete union set an intense fire under the protests. This would drive the people of New Leeuwarden to demand the New Frisian governor, Gerhard Kloeten, to resist the efforts of Van Cann by force if necessary. The response New Friesland offered was to deploy its militia forces, most of whom were veterans of the New Fife Campaign, under Major General Rudyard Abelen to Stafford.

Seeing the movement of troops across the functional border of Batavia as insurrection, Governor Van Cann ordered Johannes Jilkens to march his army of now 12,000 strong to dislodge the rebellious army in Stafford and force Kloeten to recognize the central authority of a new Batavia. In order to save time for Abelen’s Army to withdraw and regroup with more forces, the States-General in Helle revealed their presence by declaring the independence of the United Provinces of the Batavian Republic (known commonly as the Stiuraian Republic) and raising a flag of revolution, striking out the State Flag of the Netherlands with a Gold and Black cross, the symbol of General Abelen’s medal and icon of anti-Dutch sentiments among pro-independence Batavians in the years leading up to the revolution.

Taking the bait, Van Cann ordered Jilkens south to Helle to arrest the States-General there for treason against the Seven United Provinces, sparing Abelen’s army of a fight and allowing them to regroup in New Leeuwarden. At the same time, Vaenland mercenaries managed to slip through the tightening blockade of New Leeuwarden and joined Abelen’s second United Batavian Army, which now numbered 9,500 and grew by the day with militias across New Friesland rallying to the cause.

Those loyal to Van Cann would face persecution for their choice, including a significant portion of the population of Helle which was not previously aware that the rebellious States-General had settled into their town. Stiuraian Patriots would drive out the loyalists from 30 June to 3 July 1653, most of whom died trying to protect their property or on the exodus across Liveri back towards Kapolder. During early July 1653, the remaining Kapolderian cities, Ringoven, South Alban, and Waalwijk joined the call from Helle and declared the independence of the Free Republic of the United Kapolderian Provinces, isolating the Stiuraian Revolutionary War to western Doraltia.

By mid-July, Jilken’s army arrived on the outskirts of Helle across the river and laid in to siege the city and find a way across the river. Although the States-General considered retreating from Helle into the Vichdaal, hoping to unite with General Rudyard Abelen’s army and find safety in New Friesland, President Maximiliaan Wauters decided to hold out in Helle instead, taking advantage of what few forces were in the city to deny the larger army a way in. This gambit, the Helle Holdout, would prove to be the most consequential action of the revolution as Wauter’s resolve restored confidence in the other revolutionaries of the righteousness of their cause, allowing them to rally and hold the main bridge over the river and into the city against four onslaughts by Jilken and his army. By this time, the Treaty of Westminster has been signed, officially handing over New Fife to the Dutch and opening up the Orange River to sailing by Dutch ships, allowing them to cut off New Friesland without resorting to a direct blockade as was being executed in Ringoven and South Alban to a costly success.

The Stiuraian Revolution would persist for the rest of 1653, signified by the retreat from Helle by the States-General and the Battle of Bovenstreek against Abelen’s Army, then followed by the crossing of the Orange into New Friesland. With Batavia nominally secured, aside from the far south that was functionally unreachable and unimportant to the revolution, Johannes Jilkens focused his efforts on starving out New Friesland with a direct blockade, conceding the remaining Kapolderian cities to redirect Dutch naval forces to constrict New Leeuwarden.

As the situation grew dire throughout 1654, the States-General, now situated in Kettingweir, judged that the only way the revolution would succeed was to bring down the only man with power among the Dutch loyalists, Johannes Jilkens. Determining that Jilkens held all of the power in his relationship with Governor Van Cann due to his control of the army, defeating him would be the fastest way to ensure the victory of the revolution. However, actually drawing Jilkens out into a pitched battle proved incredibly difficult since he refused to face his opponents on the field, opting to trust in the blockade to starve the revolution out. This effort would, however, fail as the garrison at the West Fort on the trans-Koltumi border with Roendavar mutinied in favor of the revolution, delivering vital food from their stores up the Orange River to Vlagberg. Seeking to prevent the 4,000 soldier garrison from joining the revolutionary forces in the north, Jilkens made his way towards Vlagberg to secure the town. Sensing their opportunity to take the fight to Jilkens, General Abelen’s army also marched south towards Vlagberg, sailing part of the way on the Orange thanks to revolutionary civilians providing the army with as many boats as possible to make the journey.

Several delaying actions were fought by militias across the southern plains between Helle and Vlagberg to stall Jilkens’ army for long enough to allow for the bulk of the main revolutionary army to arrive in Vlagberg by piecemeal. Fortunately for the revolution, the entire army plus the reinforcements from the south successfully formed just weeks before Jilken arrived with his army at the end of the summer of 1654. Deep in enemy territory and caught in front of an army that was now larger than his, Jilkens ultimately decided to enter into battle, writing in his diary of the day of battle, 10 October, “the only honorable option left for me is to lay down my life and honor to protect the land my father discovered.” His death during the battle broke the loyalist army and ruined Governor Boele Van Cann’s morale and will to prosecute the war, even though experts agree that he would have had plenty enough time to secure control over Batavia with another army and the fleet arrayed against New Leeuwarden.

Van Cann would negotiate his surrender to the Batavian States-General on 13 January 1655, marked as the day of Stiuraian Independence, through negotiation would take until 1658 with the Dutch government to determine the precise nature of this newly independent Stiuraian Republic.

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