1827-1828 - Blood & Ballots
Besieged both from inside and out, Hispania was plagued with problems going into 1828. The attempt on Emperor Pere VI's life required immediate attention. As overwhelming evidence kept popping up pointing at Italian separatists as the ones who had ordered the attack, Regent Joan de Trastámara pushed for a crack down on Italy to stamp out separatism once and for all. There were those who suspected Joan's involvement, although there was no evidence of it other than his ambitions. With the Emperor in a coma due to the actions of some of these separatists, Parliament saw the need to take action. Martial law had already been instituted, but now the task of finding those responsible could be fully carried out. One by one, the various separatist groups were rooted out, their members imprisoned or executed. No group, no matter their ultimate goal, could go unpunished after such a heinous act. Support for these movements had mostly died after the assassination attempt, putting an end to the dream of an independent Italy yet again, but who knew when or if it would revive again.
With such a blatant example of dissent, a conservative shift was felt in Parliament. Memories of the Greek Revolution decades ago resurfaced as some feared that Hispania was doomed to face similar events. With the lower classes requesting the right to vote without wealth restrictions, a slippery slope into anarchy was starting to be perceived by many. It was time to pull back. Support for the reinstatement of the property restriction and a weighted system saw growing support. Ultimately, the actions of Regent Joan proved the tipping point. With the government becoming more unified in view, and with the powers of the Crown now in his hands allowing him to place those he preferred in appointed positions, Parliament passed a law restricting the vote to those in the upper and middle classes, with a weighted system instituted.
There was still the financial state of Hispania to consider. With the nation on the verge of bankruptcy, immediate action was needed. The government immediately instituted cuts to administrative spending, letting large numbers of civil servants go and other cost-saving methods. It would help fight the growing deficit at the cost of government efficiency, but immediate funds were needed. A loan would solve that problem, if someone was willing to provide the funds. Finding a nation able to do so would be difficult. Everyone was facing problems brought on by the worldwide depression, but some less than others. France, while one of the wealthier nations, was in no condition to do so after the brutal French Succession War. Most of the rest of Europe did not possess the finances to offer a loan or simply had no desire to aid Hispania. The one exception was Byzantium. Their economy was less reliant on trade, and thus the less affected by global events. They had remained relatively untouched during the French Succession War, and had even prospered to some extent. Best of all, they were more than happy to aid Hispania in its time of need. They extended a loan out to Hispania, providing enough funds to fend off bankruptcy for some time. Hopefully Hispania could recover to repay the debt later.
Even as Hispania dealt with its internal problems, Najd was causing disturbances of its own. Their outright refusal to hand over those responsible for the attacks in Mecca and Medina, along with their demand that Hispania hand over the rest of Arabia to Muslim hands was not taken well. Despite their supposed vassal status, Najd was acting far too unruly for Parliament's liking. This situation could not be allowed to escalate further now that Hispanians had been attacked. An invasion of Najd was called for, setting into motion a series of event that would devastate Arabia.
An invasion that should have been an easy war turned into a bloody affair. The Hispanian army was not exactly in a position for such an attack, for troops were still recovering from the French Succession War. The Exercits Jerusalem and Arabia alone were to conduct the invasion. Najd, who must have expected the attack, launched the first strike, their armies driving straight for Mecca before either Hispanian army could arrive. Hispania had the numbers, even with just two armies, but Najd's army had the support of the locals. Whenever the Hispanian army drew close, Najd's forces slipped away into the night. The oppressive heat of the Arabian climate did not help matters either. The only way to catch the Najd army was to harass the locals helping them, something that did not exactly please the people. In most cases it led to outright resistance and entire villages withheld food or launched guerrilla attacks on the Hispanian forces. While they did not possess the manpower or resources to strike any serious blow, it was greatly damaging to morale.
It took months before the first actual battle occurred, achieving Hispania's first major victory. The Najd army was no match for Hispania's forces, fleeing back over the border. Hispanian Arabia had been devastated by the pillaging Najd army for the past few months and with the locals aiding them, but now it was time to take the fight to the enemy. Hispania was only destined to face more of the same there. The Hispanian soldiers met resistance everywhere they went. The Najd people did not want them there and did whatever they could to stop them. The Najd army, knowing that to engage in open battle would doom them, resorted to more deceptive tactics, striking at the fringe of the army during times of inconvenience. Over time, Hispania lost thousands of men with little to show for their efforts. Najd was proving far too resilient.
In the end, there was only one way to end this conflict, and that was to cut the head off the snake. The Hispanian army gave up on trying to capture Najd's in the open and went straight for the capital. The new Sultan fled before the army could arrive, but resistance began to flag as he went into exile. Not wanting to let him escape their grasp, the Hispanian army scoured entire towns for him, eventually catching him near the Persian border. With Najd's leaders in their hand, the desire to continue fighting flagged. Resisting any further seemed fruitless. The Sultan, after some forceful persuasion, revealed the location of those who had led the attacks on Mecca and Medina. The men responsible were captured and executed for their crimes. The Sultan was replaced with a much more amiable leader, one who would do whatever Hispania told him to do. Hispania had come out victorious, restoring order to Arabia, but had paid for it in blood.
The famine in India claimed many lives, but its true consequences were yet to be felt. Fearing another rebellion, the government ordered the Exercit Colonial to return to India and gathered what aid they could for the subcontinent, a difficult task considering Hispania's finances. Even with these preventative actions, it was not enough to stave off a rebellion. The relief that had been sent from Europe arrived too late, and what did arrive turned out to be less than expected. India was suffering, and they took out their anger on their overlords. Groups gathered to rise up against Hispanian rule. The two armies in India were soon put to work quelling these uprisings before they spiralled into a full-on independence war. The extra troops improved the situation, maintaining order on a greater level. As more aid trickled in, attempts to dispel this dissent proved somewhat fruitful, as one group after another gave up their attempt at freedom.
The difficulty of sending aid to India brought to attention a growing problem, mainly that of piracy. After the attack on the Suez Canal and growing dissent in Arabia, the number of pirates in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden had increased dramatically. The unknown ships attacked trading vessels with impunity. Attempts to eradicate them met great difficulty, for Hispania's resources were always focused elsewhere. Then there was the fact that the pirates simply disappeared, hiding in some unknown locations, whenever they were attacked. Now that they had disrupted the attempts to send aid to India and spark a rebellion, they needed to be dealt with. If they could be wiped out, the problem would be removed. There was also the concern that someone was financing them, encouraging them to attack Hispanian trade. Finding the one responsible could allow Hispania to cut them off at the source. One of these approaches would require the bulk of Hispania's attention.
Despite the rollback in voting reforms, the question of the franchise had not died, although this time it was focused on region rather than class. The people of North Africa had watched Hispania grow and prosper, as well as face recent troubles, and continuously been unable to have a say in any matter. Only minor attempts had been made to extend the franchise to the North Africans, and they were growing tired of being ignored. Some of them, particularly those in parts of Morocco and Algeria, had lived in Hispania for centuries and were generally accepted as Hispanians, although they could not vote. While the matter of the vote for the lower class was tactfully avoided, the middle and upper classes in North Africa pressed for representation in Parliament. Why could those in Iberia, Italy, and Greece vote, but those in North Africa could not? They had been part of Hispania for just as long. Was not Hispania an Empire of the Mediterranean? It seemed but a reasonable request to extend the vote to citizens who had served the Empire faithfully for so long. To ignore this demand would be to show that Hispania only cared for its citizens in Europe. Of course, to agree to such demands might open up the idea of other parts of the Empire receiving the same rights and weaken the influence of those already with the vote, a threat to power of those in Europe. It was a delicate matter to consider.
As the North Africans spoke their mind, so did the Bavarians. The French Succession War had left its imprint on Bavaria. While Hispania had contributed men to the French cause and lost many of them, their land had remained untouched. Bavaria, on the other hand, had faced the full wrath of Germany. There was growing displeasure with Hispania, for Bavaria had fought for them and taken the brunt of Germany's attacks as a result. It was true that in the end they had received parts of Germany to compensate them for losses during the war, but Northern Bavaria had been devastated by the war and was still on its way to recovery. It seemed almost silly to some that a country with one of the largest armies in Europe was taking orders from another and fighting their wars for them. Many in Bavaria started to look to Byzantium as an example. They had gone through something very similar, where they had taken orders from Valencia and felt stifled or held down. Perhaps it was time for Bavaria to follow a similar path. The Bavarian Parliament petitioned the Crown and Hispanian Parliament requesting a change in status for the Kingdom of Bavaria. Their request was simple: control of their own foreign affairs and the crowning of a new Bavarian king to represent the new independent status of Bavaria. For the latter, Bavaria offered Hispania the opportunity to choose the candidate, preferably one of the Bavarian dukes or another Trastámara. It was made clear that ties with Hispania would be retained, much as Byzantium had done before under similar circumstances. It was either time for Bavaria to make it's own way in the world once more, but as a dependable ally of Hispania's, or for the leash to be pulled tighter.
((Whew, had another close roll there. The one for Najd was literally one off, so we almost lost Arabia. India went a bit more smoothly thanks to some stability boosts. At this rate we'll never lose any land by 1836.
Now to lay out what we'll be voting on. First we have the pirates operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. We can either work on eradicating them or find who is hiring them. This is another focus one, where both options will happen but we decide which is more important. Next is whether to extend the franchise to North Africa or not. It should be noted that when I say North Africa, I mean everything from Morocco to Jerusalem, with everything included roughly down to Southern Egypt, basically all the bits bordering the Mediterranean. This would not affect Arabia or anything south of Morocco or Egypt. Our last topic to vote on is Bavaria. Here we decide whether or not to grant their request of independence. If granted, we also choose whether we want a Bavarian duke on their throne or a Trastámara. Keep in mind that if given independence, they would become our ally much like on the same terms as Byzantium was.
Pirates:
Hunt them down/Find who hired them
1.
2.
North Africa Franchise:
Extend franchise/Deny request
1.
2.
Bavaria:
Grant independence/Deny request
1.
2.
Bavarian king (if independent):
Bavarian duke/Trastámara
1.
2.
The vote will last until
Wednesday at 12PM PST. Remember to post your votes in your order of preference, although that doesn't really matter here since they all have two options only. Now is the time to make use of stability or instability actions if not used yet.))