When was Veruzia?
Remember how I previously said I would refrain from asking other Verussians about our history?
Quote warbluke:
“Do you remember the reason behind this date in Charbeyliene? I’ve wondered about it for a while”
To quote our Great Sovereign, KingRS:
“I think it is completely random lol”
“I guess it kind of fits the imperial/industrial era theme we were going for”
And WilsonManzer:
“Hey Warbluke"
“I can’t remember exactly who they’re from, but I took those banners from someone. I think I mined them off a building”
“It likely was a building in London”
Now you know that I can lie. Know also that I may do so again. More seriously, these questions helped clear up some important questions I had been thinking on. You see, according to the current timeline Charbeyliene was founded at some point in the late 19th century. Why then does the Veruzian parliament have “Founded: 1836” on it? Does this refer to the city, the building, the republic, or Veruzia as a whole? Knowing that this is the architectural version of a pass-made weapon both fits with the Veruzian character and maintains the current timeline. Toxic’s quote even reinforces the late 1800s era with the reference to imperialism.
So how does the timeline stack up against reality? What parallels can we find, and was Napoleon an Elf? As a reminder, here is the timeline of what will be covered today:
MERIYENERAH PERIOD:
The earliest certifiably recorded proto-Veruzian populations appear during the War of Austrian succession. This war saw the neutrality of the Republic of Ragusa, a potential inspiration for Veruzia, and conflict between Austria and Genoa over Italian possessions. According to ZackBacon and KingRS’ pages on the wiki, Pre-Polynesian settlement occurred on an archipelago known as “Meriyenerah”, a seemingly Semitic word which could indicate a relation to the Maltese, or perhaps an Arabic group. The description of these people as indigenous to Meriyenerah could hint at origins in the Middle East, or suggest that they were conquered by an Arabic-speaking power at some point in the past like Malta and Scicly were. At this point it can be said that the people of Meriyenerah were geographically located in a Mediterranean archipelago east of Scicily, with Islamic cultural influences. “South Verussi”, or sometimes “The Kingdom of South Verussi”, is a name which is also used to describe the Meriyenerah archipelago at this point. It most likely originates with trading connections if not outright domination by a trading republic like Venice or Ragusa, trading republics being notoriously rapacious for Adriatic islands. While both states were massively reduced in the 18th century, they retained control of islands like Corfu and Lastovo.
On the assumption that Meriyenerah was close to a trading republic, that would place it near the Adriatic, perhaps west or southwest of Crete. This would be located within the sphere of Arabic conquests during the early expansion of Islam, while also still close enough to the last possessions of Venice like the island of Kythira. If Meriyenerah was only conquered rather than settled, which is likely given its geographic position, it is probable the inhabitants originally spoke some version of Greek. I have decided that the most sensible scenario is that Meriyenerah was held by Venice for a time, before conquest by the Ottomans moved it to the Ragusan economic sphere. At a guess, this would have been around the War of Sinj in 1714. This ties into the later actions of the 0utlaws, and the history of the Veruzian royal family, which will be covered at a later date. Ragusa by 1742 was subordinate to the Ottomans, but with significant degrees of freedom despite being surrounded on all landward sides. It had a population of largely Slavic Catholic Croats, but also a significant influence of Italian which was the mandated language of state functions. This, and the period of Venetian control, can be assumed to have bled over into Meriyenerah through immigration and cultural shifts, producing significant Slavic and Italian strains which will become more and more influential in the future Veruzian state. An official history of Veruzia by KingRS mentions the “Polynesian-Verussian population” of this time, which suggests to me a hyphenated ethnicity, meaning that even during the Pre-Polynesian era there was a significant population of Ragusans or an equivalent group.
The modern Veruzian language is fully Romance, possibly related to Venetian as evidenced by the frequent use of the letter Z. As I am not much of a linguist, I can only roughly guess. The original Veruzian language would have instead been a Semitic one or a variation of Semitically-influenced Greek, the former resembling Maltese in some regards. By the 18th century my estimation is that it would have already been largely subordinate to the Venetian-derived modern form, with older place-names like Meriyenerah retaining a Semitic structure while newer settlements like South Verussi were Romance. The two settlements of note around 1742 were South Verussi, a city bearing the name of the whole archipelago in the same manner as the city of Corfu, and Arkeb, a large but remote mountain monastery complex. The latter in some respects resembles the Orthodox mountain monasteries of Greece at Meteora and elsewhere. This suggests a partial continuation of Greek Orthodox Christianity despite alternating Catholic and Islamic control. South Verussi meanwhile likely began as the primary Venetian port in the Archipelago. The non-urbanized population still existed in a tribal structure like the Albanians, fishing and farming in the region around South Verussi. There were also populations of this tribal culture outside the archipelago, even on the mainland near Albania, Dalmatia, and Greece. Under Ottoman control and Ragusan influence, this state of affairs could have continued forever. But Ragusa was not long for the world.
POLYNESIAN PERIOD:
The Polynesian Empire was born at the very end of the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. By this point the Republic of Ragusa had just been taken out of French control, but not freed. It would never again be independent. Napoleon’s Abdication in April resulted in the surrender of the island of Corfu. Greek Klephts, semi-independent bandit groups, thrive in a chaotic Ottoman Greece. In Serbia the remnants of the First Serbian of 1813 uprising are being put to the sword as the Second, of 1815, rapidly foments. The foundation of the Polynesian empire parallels these growing movements, with the new nation assaulted by the 0utlaw crew. For the purposes of this history, the 0utlaws represent the Ottoman Empire as a whole, but with a specific parallel to the loosely controlled pashaliks around Albania and Greece and the Barbary Corsairs of North Africa, both being peripheral subpowers of the central Ottoman Empire.
The period properly starts with the formation of the Polynesian Empire after the conclusion of the Adriatic campaign. It is highly likely that several outlying Veruzian populations were part of the French Empire’s consolidated Illyrian provinces or Ionian possessions before this point. These groups, armed with new Western ideals of democracy, statehood, and shakos, would form an anti-Ottoman core in tandem with former Ragusans in the archipelago proper to declare the new state. By entitling themselves “The Polynesian Empire” they seemingly sought to invoke the ancient Greek world, perhaps as a nod to a democratic tradition or to tie into mainland Hellenism. Despite this, the Polynesian empire was a monarchical state ruled by Romance speaking groups. Much like the 1814 revival of the Republic of Genoa, or the brief defiance of Ragusa following Austrian domination, the Polynesian Empire at this point was only on the verge of proper statehood. It took advantage of a chaotic situation to establish a tenuous independence, before rapidly biting off more than it could handle by declaring war on the 0utlaws with mild British support. After about two months Polynesia surrendered, collapsing as a proto-state. Why exactly this small state declared war is unclear, a best guess would indicate that they sought to gain control of other Veruzian populations beyond South Verussi.
This period ends with the Polynesians tied to the 0utlaws under the threat of force. British support of the war against the 0utlaws could represent official backing, or more likely a trickle of arms and wandering mercenaries. The war overlaps with the period of Napoleon’s abdication, which would likely have taken focus away from a localized conflict with a power uninvolved with the wider Napoleonic wars. Even in their very first experiment with statehood, the Veruzians declared war on a major power and were militarily crushed for their hubris. This would set the pattern for the remainder of their history.
EARLY VERUZIAN EMPIRE:
The Veruzian Empire was founded at or around the Congress of Vienna. The United States of the Ionian Isles were founded shortly after at the Peace of Paris. The latter existed as a client of the British, succeeding two periods of French domination and an intervening Septinsular Republic under the sway of the Russians and Ottomans. The region of Parga was sold by the British to Ali Pasha, the independence-minded Ottoman ruler of mainland Greece and Southern Albania. The Congress of Vienna meanwhile created and enlarged several states, from a semi-autonomous congress Poland to the United Netherlands. Neither Venice nor Ragusa were re-established, even though the latter had never formally surrendered its independence. Instead their possessions were split between the Ionian Islands and Austria. At the same time as the conference, the Second Serbian revolution was occurring. This saw the semi-independence of Serbia from the Ottoman empire confirmed. Putting the pieces together, it seems as if a larger second wave of revolt in Meriyenerah influenced the Ottoman ruler of the archipelago to grant partial independence to the Veruzians. This was potentially influenced by the British, seeking greater influence as they had when they quietly supported the initial Polynesian revolt. While the date of the empire’s birth is placed at the Congress of Vienna, this in reality could have happened in one way or another at any point following Waterloo during 1815. The congress may have confirmed the Veruzian revolt’s semi-independence instead, as several regions of the revolt this time would have been part of Napoleon’s Illyrian and Ionian holdings, and thus within the purview of the Congress. Veruzia would likely only have been granted a pittance of land from this confirmation however, as Austria greatly desired the sea access provided by a Dalmatian coastline. This begins to explain the later expansionism of the Veruzians, denied what they craved even at the very birth of their nation.
The city of South Verussi, partially destroyed by the two revolts, was declared as the capital of the new empire. During this time it went from a fortified trading city to a larger and more developed capital as the Veruzian tribal structure began a shift towards urbanism. The name of the Veruzian Empire, being an empire rather than a kingdom or a duchy, seems self-applied. An official Veruzian history states that the name was chosen to signify an intended reunification of wandering tribes and pre-Veruzian colonies. This again reinforces the ambitions of the newborn state. KingRS, now the sovereign of the Veruzians, directed the development of “North Verussi”, which was an island east of the British Port Lacomus. Port Lacomus was likely part of the United States of the Ionian islands, while North Verussi may have been one of the small remittances provided to Veruzia by the Congress of Vienna.
During this period of early growth, the Reaper’s Pearl, a ship owned by founding Veruzian Zackbacon, was sunk by unknown parties. Shortly after, Veruzia declared war on the British and Elven Empires, which the latter two shortly won. This war resulted in a full release of Veruzia from Ottoman/0utlaw control and a Veruzian alliance with the other two empires. The Elves in this instance are considered to be standing in for the French, due to their early wars with the British followed by a long period of cooperation and rivalry, their repeated governmental collapses, and an unserious antipathy towards both Frenchmen and Elves on my part. They know what they did. This conflict with the Veruzians parallels the bombardment of Algiers, where the Ottoman-connected Barbary corsairs were forced into submission by a British fleet. Given Veruzia’s early tribal structure and connections with the Ottoman empire, it is probable that they too participated in raids, but on a smaller scale and in the style of the Croatian Uskoks or Greek Corsairs of the region. The destruction of the state-built Reaper’s Pearl could have been a punitive attack by the Great Powers which spurred retaliation, and then immediate defeat after naval collapse. Now Veruzia would be theoretically a semi-independent power under the Ottoman empire, but in practice controlled by the French and British. There is a period of “Internal Trouble” noted after this initial raid, which likely means the expulsion of pro-Ottoman and Islamic individuals from positions of power.
Several weeks or years, depending on your calendar, pass. North Verussi continued to grow, until it was ransacked around 1824. Officially this was the result of renegade British sailors, but Veruzia maintained it was another punitive raid by the empire itself. At this time similar expeditions were occurring in North Africa, most notably at Algiers, which was bombarded again in the same year. Stolen goods would be returned by the British, and the Elves would assist in rebuilding North Verussi while the British empire assisted with the reconstruction of the still-damaged South Verussi. Both empires were still effectively in control following this incident.
The 0utlaws would return one final time in Veruzian history in 1828. As part of a wider war led by the British against the 0utlaws, the entire Veruzian archipelago would be conquered by the 0utlaws. This would be extremely short-lived however, as less than a year later Veruzia would be freed by the Elves and British operating together. During the period of occupation various defenses were built across Veruzia, but the initial conquest had practically levelled much of South Verussi, ensuring it would never again be habitable. This entire conflict parallels the Greek War of independence, with the notable exception that a server crew known as the Ottoman Empire actually participated on the side of the alliance against the 0utlaws. Ignoring that for the moment, although there is an interesting parallel to Ali Pasha to be considered, the conflict is otherwise a good framework. An allied force including Britain and France intervenes against an Ottoman-aligned polity, resulting in the final removal of Ottoman power in a region. The conquest of Veruzia by the 0utlaws may in actuality have been a side theatre to the wider Greek War of Independence, the Veruzians foolishly aligning with the Hellenists in the hope of expanding their empire. But once again, Veruzian ambitions led to massive destruction in their lands.
FIRST VERUZIAN WAR:
By the final conclusion of the 0utlaw wars, Meriyenerah was practically in ruins. Even the new developments in North Verussi were shattered. Veruzia now no longer just desired expansion, but needed it to survive. As it stood, the nation existed only in scattered settlements around a largely lawless archipelago, while the Veruzian culture was spread in pockets over a wider region from Meriyenerah up along the eastern coast of the Adriatic to around Dalmatia. Dalmatia formed the Kingdom of Dalmatia at this time, a substate of the Austrian empire. The part of Austria in the story of Veruzia was played by the Xenon Empire, who would later become the Xanthian Order. The Elven settlement of Vivenheim had been briefly part of Napoleon’s empire on a large coastal island, but was now controlled by the Austrians as a distant southern outpost of the Kingdom of Dalmatia. Though never officially awarded to Veruzia by the Congress of Vienna, the settlement nonetheless contained a large population of Veruzians as the Elven garrison had otherwise left it in ruins when retreating and the Austrians had no interest in developing the peripheral region. Seizing this advantage, WilsonManzer quietly landed on the island, taking the settlement and vast stretches of its desolate highlands, before entering into negotiations with Austria regarding the whole of the island. Rather than expel the Veruzians outright, the Austrians instead called on the British and Elves, reasoning that the two powers would still have influence in the nation they had variously defeated, freed, and rebuilt. But the Veruzians refused outright to bow to pressure. Rather than waste time and effort expelling them, the Allied powers decided to award the sparse Southern 75% of the island to Veruzia to quiet them once and for all. The Austrian presence on the island was already limited, while the Veruzians had at least a passing excuse for their actions. This decision was more than many nations in a similar position could have hoped for, but Veruzian sabre rattling continued. The Austrians meanwhile began to heavily resettle people to their Northern portion of the island, which was much more lush and habitable than the rocky, arid, and windswept south owned by Veruzia. Border skirmishes and raids were frequent in this time, until an agreement was made to harshly enforce against trespass. Events finally came to a head when Veruzia sheltered one Elexandre, a bandit based near the border who was wanted by both the British and the Elves for his actions against their merchants. The Veruzians had been hoping to use Elexandre’s fortified base as a strongpoint on the frontier, but instead found themselves as a target of two Great Powers. This situation went from bad to worse as a communication was intercepted revealing Veruzian intention to support revolts in British and Elven holdings across the region. The veracity of this remains in question, but there were rebellions against British rule in the United States of the Ionian Islands in the late 1840s which the Veruzians could have helped support. The Elves and British separately declared war on Veruzia in 1851.
The conflict would last nearly seven years. Veruzia, previously easily bested, held firm. The Elves were the first to declare war and the primary combatant during this conflict, with the British largely working to maintain a blockade on the seas. Austria, the Xenon Empire, provided effectively no military support and worked instead to reinforce their own holdings on the embattled island. The strategic goal of the Elves was nothing less than to drive the Veruzians wholly from the island, known now as Veruzia. The first period of the war saw skirmishes and minor actions across the western side of Veruzia as the Elves broke strong points of resistance in the rocky hills. The second phase was a haphazard siege of Vivenheim, the Elves assaulting the very stronghold they themselves had constructed fifty years prior. This time, however, the siege was countered with raids from both the countryside and sallies from within the city. The Crimean war was taking up Elven manpower while Austria seemed unwilling to involve itself while other powers were bleeding to punish Veruzia as it was still recovering from its own internal revolts of 1848. The Siege of Vivenheim would be the longest of any in Veruzian history, but not the most destructive. While Sevastopol was taken far to the east, Vivenheim stood. Even after the Crimean war ended and Elven manpower was freed up, Veruzia maintained a grip on its island. Terms were eventually asked for by KingRS, but the Elves demanded his abdication and a Veruzian retreat from their claimed homeland. In the twenty years since the 0utlaw wars they had dreamed of nothing but a defensible and safe land, and now that they had taken one they refused to back away. Veruzia, while not ruled by Croats, was nonetheless much friendlier to its constituent peoples than the Austrians and thus had the support of the local population, in addition to the numerous refugees from South Verussi and the native Veruzians as well. The Elves found the landscape deadly, both from the surprising heat and the ravages of disease, while local populations worked to hinder their campaign. The British blockade faced similar troubles as the Iborean empire, who could be any number of powers and will remain unidentified for the moment, ignored it entirely to continue bringing supplies to Veruzia from across the small gap to the mainland. This led to numerous diplomatic incidents, but in the meantime allowed Vivenheim to maintain supplies and contact with the outside world.
For almost seven years, Veruzia held its own against the strongest military of the age. The people, cities, and even the land itself fought the Elves until 1858, when the Elven forces withdrew. Veruzia never officially signed a treaty, but after the conflict fully died down they held only the southern half of their island, rather than the 75% they had begun with. KingRS remained in control, and Vivenheim was only significantly damaged as opposed to permanently crippled. In the history books, this conflict was an Elven and British victory. In practice, it was a triumph of Veruzia over the two greatest powers of the world by the virtue of survival. The Veruzians certainly took their “victory” to heart. For once, they had gone to war and survived mostly intact, all thanks to their patriotic fighting spirit. This was the wrong lesson, and Veruzia would burn for having learned it.
But that is a story for another day.
Ten years ago today, the Veruzian Cold War began following the annexation of Rohan. This would begin a chain of events leading to the Second Veruzian War, which would make every conflict before it seem a playground fight in comparison. Over the next month it is my hope that I can explore this period with greater depth, culminating in an examination of the Second Veruzian War on the anniversary of my original post on the subject. Or around the anniversary, if my track record with these things is anything to go by.
Until then, Viva Veruzi!
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