Novic Civil War

Novic Civil War
Date May 12, 1851 - May 9, 1855 Location Southern Novmir Result Royalist victory Territorial integrity of Novmir preserved Increased central power Foundation of the United Empire of Novmir
Belligerents
Royalists Macovy Floresque	Separatists Pelargir Stuv Oz
Commanders
Clement Alexanders Pembroke Archibald Buchanans Havelock	Separatist leaders
Strength
A lot	A lot
Casualties
A lot	A lot

The Novic Civil War, also known as the War Between the Duchies, was a civil war fought in the Kingdom of Novmir. A number of southern duchies, upset at a recent expansion of the central monarchy's power and perceived favoritism towards northern duchies at their expense, chose to secede. The royal government refused to accept these secessions and with the support of the remaining duchies went to war to force the separatist duchies to again accept the crown's authority. After four years of bloody fighting peace was established with the Treaty of Serebursk. Under the agreement the South was reabsorbed into the newly-christened United Empire of Novmir. The bitter restoration of the union, and the harsh terms imposed on the South by the new Imperial government, would leave scars on the nation that would take years to heal.

In the Decree on the Opium Trade, King Clement Alexanders Pembroke ordered a heavy tax to be administered to all opium grown in the nation. However, most opium grown in the nation was grown in the southern duchies, which were already underrepresented on the Ducal Council and poorer than the industrial North. This new tax was seen by the South as the final insult of many from the Royal government, and on April 4 Pelargir became the first duchy to secede. On May 12, a Royal division sent to take the Pelargiri city of [City] was attacked by militia at the Battle of the Armory. The division was repulsed and [number] more southern duchies seceded in response to the perceived northern aggression.

The separatist duchies formed the League of Free States, a rough international union far more loosely organized than the Kingdom of Novmir. Despite their claims for independence, no nation recognized LFS or the independence of any southern duchy. Ultimately, the King of Novmir would make the complete outlawing of opium a war goal, which dissuaded most other nations with large addiction problems from intervening.

Though at first the Separatists won battles on land, the vastly superior Royal Navy successfully blockaded the Southern coast, stopping any exports from leaving the region; this action deprived the South of any source of wealth. For the four years of the war, LFS was forced to become a complete autarky. In 1853, however, the Royalist army finally began to gain steam on land, and were able to take the Separatist capital of [City] in early 1855. By late spring, the Royalists had forced the main Separatist army to surrender and almost four years to the day after the start of the war, LFS was forced to surrender.

The Novic Civil War was one of the first true industrial wars in the modern sense of the term. Trench warfare fought outside Southern cities foreshadowed the twenty-year long Great War. The war remains the most deadly in Novic history; 10 percent of all Northern males aged 20-45 were killed in the war, as were 30 percent of all Southern males aged 18-40. Victory for the Royalists meant the outlaw of the opium trade and the preservation of the union. The central government, which previously had much less power than Novic kings desired, became the absolute authority in the nation. Only months after the surrender of the Separatist forces, Novmir was officially changed into the United Empire of Novmir, lead by Emperor Clement Alexanders Pembroke.

Background

Prior to the Novic Civil War, Novmir was a feudal monarchy composed of a number of duchies subordinate to Macovy and Floresque's royal House of Pembroke-Havelock, many of which had been forced to accept Pembroke-Havelock rule during the Unification Wars. Under this system the king's power over his dominions was formally absolute. In practice, however, Macovy and Floresque's powers were limited and they required some cooperation on the part of their often hostile vassals. To accomplish this King Martin Anatoles chose to exercise his powers sparingly. He also established and frequently sought the advise of a Ducal Council, composed of representatives from each of the duchies. In doing this he created a de facto system of federalism which succeeded in convincing the duchies of the kingdom to remain.

This system was respected by Martin Anatoles' heir Alexander Martins to the point that under his reign the opinions of the Ducal Council became informally binding. His forbearance saw off any potential insurrection and strengthened the union. His son and heir Clement Alexanders showed far less restraint following his coronation in 1845. Overestimating the degree to which his father's reign and the passage of time had dampened antipathy towards the House of Pembroke-Havelock, he began breaking the traditional limits on the king's power As part of a program designed to elevate Novmir to the status of the world power, he instituted unprecedented royal regulations on commerce, enlarged the royal armed forces and began an ambitious set of territorial expansions. These expensive programs in turn necessitated an equally unprecedented expansion of royal taxes and tariffs.

Dissatisfaction with this new show of power by royal government was especially keen in the southern duchies, where hostility towards the crown remained strong. Even under the less farreaching Martin Anatoles and Alexander Martins these duchies had felt that their interests had been ignored as a result of their underrepresentation on the Ducal Council and geographical isolation from the capital. The latest decrees of crown under Clement Alexanders, often significantly more beneficial to the northern duchies, were seen as an escalation of this systematic neglect.

These tensions would finally culminate over the issue of the opium trade. Opium poppies had long been grown in the south and the narcotics produced from them had become of the region's largest sources of income. The trade of opium remained largely a non-issue until the early 1800's. Rapid industrialization and urbanization was soon accompanied by the rampant spread of opium dens in the slums of northern cities. In response a strong prohibition movement advocating for the criminalization of opium quickly grew in popularity in the northern duchies until it had gained enough momentum to prompt the royal government to act. On April 2, 1851 Clement Alexanders issued the Decree on the Opium Trade, which imposed crushing taxes on the production and sale of opium. The decree was immediately seized upon in the South as the most egregious example of the royal government's preference for the North at the southern duchies' expense.

Aftermath

Not only did the Treaty of Serebursk end the war, but it also for the first time formalized parts of Novmir's government in written law. To emphasize the break with the previous national government, the country was restyled the United Empire rather than Kingdom and the title of king changed to that of emperor. To guarantee a quick and lasting peace some concessions were made to the South. To reform the feudal system previously in place, the new imperial government was made largely separate from those of Macovy or Floresque, though the House of Pembroke-Havelock remained the sole source of legitimate claimants to the throne. Duchies were guaranteed sole sovereignty over local matters and the Ducal Council's opinions were made formally binding. A second advisory body, the Popular Council, was established, with its members elected from districts of equal size and population and its opinions also binding. Together, the two councils constituted the Imperial Assembly, a national legislative body. These concessions were, however, limited and accompanied by losses for the South. The new imperial government retained broad powers which the treaty only served to legitimize, and the emperor kept an absolute veto over all legislative proposals. The opium trade abolished outright, and the duchies were forbidden from seceding without the imperial government's permission.

Details

[These northern duchies had a much larger population and industry base than the southern duchies.]