User:Gran Altiplano/history

Early Colonial History
1484 Founding of Catamarca
 * The discovery of Valeya by the explorer Santiago de Centerenas leads to the establishment of a fort at what is now Puerto Antiguo.

1561 Founding of Averillas
 * The city of Cedeño is founded to the northwest of the Catamarca colony, marking the beginning of the Averillas colony as a separate entity.

1633 Founding of Puerto Sierra
 * In response to a crackdown on Protestants in the (not!Portuguese / Gallego) province name of the Hyspanic Empire, a sizeable number choose to emigrate to the Valeyan colonies, moving to the north-east along the coast.
 * They found a colony of their own past the mouth of the Río Nevado, primarily to facilitate freedom of religion and to avoid any reprisal from the Horizon Catholic authorities.
 * This will be the earliest of the Hyspanic colonies to gain independence.

War and Secession
1790-1803 Hyspanic Civil War

1820-1830 Colonial conflict between New Hyspania and either Vandary or Shirakawa, possibly involving Osovan Shrirakolonies or perhaps the area around Ahrenrok.

1829-1831 El tiempo de espinas (A landowner / noble revolt against the Governor of Catamarca and Imperial authority)
 * Frustrated by levies for the war abroad and heavier taxes on them as the richest of the Valeyan colonies, some twelve noble families from agricultural regions in the northwest and far east of Catamarca refuse to pay Governor Juan Miguel de Tarancón.
 * The Governor promptly declares them in rebellion and threatens to strip them of their titles unless they come to the capital to negotiate their grievances.
 * Nobles refuse and begin to convene a militia of sorts to defend their claims; Don Jorge Alatorre de Salientes becomes the de facto leader of the rebels in the Río Narcea region.
 * Insurrection begins in earnest in the winter of 1829; de Tarancón begins making forays northwards and pursues a fairly hardline military approach to putting down the revolt.
 * What Hyspanic imperial forces remain stationed in Tarancón are convinced to support the offensive, and by the end of the spring it becomes apparent that the loyalist forces have the upper hand. However, a great number of vineyards and village in the coastal mountains are damaged or destroyed, mostly out of spite by peasants and small farmers caught up in the midst of the fighting.
 * Summer 1830 sees de Salientes privately negotiate a surrender with the loyalist forces; in return for the maintenance of his family's position he cedes a large portion of his personal wealth and betrays the location of the other rebel nobles.
 * By November, the western arm of the insurrection has been fully put down, although fighting in the east has proven much less successful.

1831 Secession of Roblemar
 * Eastern Catamarca, never a highly developed or profitable region but nonetheless one with a growing population due to the sugar plantations and growing textile industry, remains in revolt through the winter-time.
 * Despite the fall of the western revolt, a combination of guerrilla tactics and tacit support from the Álten Késaru canton authorities have made it clear to de Tarancón that this will not be so simple.
 * The remaining five noble families draft a constitution proclaiming a republican form of government, which is highly illiberal but nonetheless appeals to the (Etrulian? Shirakawan? Zossic?) government and gains them some foreign support.
 * With other goals of concentrating personal political authority in his sight, de Tarancón recognises it is unlikely that he will have necessary support to continue the campaign and accepts the independence of the easternmost three departments bordering Puerto Sierra.

1832 Catamarca negotiates Crown Colony status
 * With Hyspania now at peace and a quieter state of affairs in Catamarca, Governor de Tarancón drafts an ultimatum for the High Spheres.
 * He had long been dissatisfied with his inability to use his personal authority to influence domestic politics in New Hyspania as well as Imperial policy.
 * In return for greater contribution of professional soldiers (and more importantly sailors) and as a reward for his loyalty and putting down the insurrection, he becomes King of Catamarca and gains political autonomy and control over levying taxes independently, with a fixed amount of national output to be given as tax to the Emperor in New Horizon.
 * The capital is moved from Tarancón to the military seaport at Puerto Yunque, which is renamed Puerto Real, and de Tarancón, now King Juan Miguel I de Catamarca, begins construction of a new navy for both the Hyspanic Empire and himself.

1864 First Constitution of Altiplano
 * The leadership of all six cantons meets at Lake Akylaren in the northeast and draft a binding document confederating them into a more formal state.
 * A legislature is set up in Akylaren as the largest city of the country to govern, with a grand total of 42 members, seven elected from each canton.
 * The founders draft a system that includes a rotating presidency, to cycle between the senior councilman of each canton every two years.

1874 Independence of Catamarca
 * King Vicente I, second son of Juan Miguel I, has noted the growing industrial prowess of Catamarca, and this combined with his investment into a small but threatening ironclad navy for domination of the Centerenan leads him to pick a fight with the Empire.
 * some event that sparks the conflict
 * ''The Hyspanian Empire is involved in (other conflict) and can't properly devote its full attention across the ocean. They nonetheless engage the Catamarqueño navy at Cabo Miraflores and are roundly defeated in 1875, a loss that breaks any hope of a blockade and eventually leads to the annexation of Pereira and Isla Buccino.

1876 Averillas becomes the new Crown Colony
 * Despite their sound defeat in the war, Averillas' Governor Joaquín Lucio de Cedeño takes a page from de Tarancón's playbook and negotiates for special status with the High Spheres.
 * However, unlike Catamarca, Averillas' naval power has always been more mercantile than military, and this combined with Catamarca's own ascendance as a regional power renders de Cedeño less able to negotiate the terms.
 * While he does become in name King of Averillas, he is granted far less independence than Catamarca was, and despite gaining greater economic control over the country, is willing to accept higher taxes in return for continued Hyspanic military protection and the presence of a garrison.
 * This arrangement will in fact endure more or less unchanged until Eutanasio Rodríguez's coup in the 1930s.

1893 Penning of the anthem
 * The tune that will become known as the Himno de Marzo is composed as a Catamarqueño naval march in honour of the victory at Cabo Miraflores by Federico Valles Constanza.

The Turn of the Century
1912-1914 The Second Catamarqueño-Hyspanic War
 * Some sort of not-Maine'' incident takes place, drummed up as a pretext by Catamarca under the rule of King Vicente II during a phase of intense nationalism and irredentism in Catamarca. Manufactured anger over Roblemar and Hyspanic protectionism is used to get the country mobilised for war.
 * Catamarca allies with Cartageña for the sake of pinching Averillas, as this is their major target and Cartageña is interested in the annexation of Santander.
 * Overextension and underpreparedness cost Catamarca heavily, as New Hyspania invests fully in the war and possibly has backing from Shirakawa (?) at this time.
 * A defeat leads to the return of Pereira and Isla Buccino to Averillano control, and Catamarca signs a treaty rather than suffer further losses given how quickly the population became disenchanted.

The Endwar
1920s Rise of the Hyspanic New State
 * With the rise of the fascist/corporatist Eutanasio Rodriguez in New Hyspania proper, Vicente II continues to eye Averillas and the remnants of the Hyspanic colonial empire in Valeya for signs of executive instability and military overextension.
 * In 1925, Enrique de Cedeño dies, and the nobility and corporate elite of Averillas selects his second son, Guillermo, to succeed him since he is much farther towards the right-wing and is willing to support their fascist movement. This is fully supported if not engineered outright by Rodriguez's New State.
 * The death of Vicente II of Catamarca in 1928 delays the existing plans for starting a conflict with the Hyspanic Empire, and his son, King Rodrigo de Tarancón, inherits a country left shaken by economic downturns associated with rising tensions in the Varunan and the disintegration of trading ties with Orda.

1929 Turn towards the Valeyan Concordat
 * Catamarca signs the Acuerdos de Tres Puentes with Transoxthraxian representatives, formalising the alliance between the two and setting out goals of removing residual colonial influences from the Valeyan continent.
 * Several agreed-upon terms include the lease of several berths and coaling stations operated by Catamarca off the Sierreño coast to Transoxthraxian naval forces. This agreement will eventually be extending to Yamataian Imperial fleets operating in the Varunan as well.
 * Transoxthraxia agrees to support the Catamarqueño military in fighting against Hyspania and Averillas in the immediate future.

1930-1933 The Bay War
 * Bolstered by the confidence of having Valeyan allies, Rodrigo and his backing industrialists begin a series of aggressive patrols into the Bay of Averillas, often in blatant violation of existing maritime standards. This also serves as an opportunity to gauge the state of the Averillano fleet.

19??

1942

1949 Peacemaking and Treaties
 * Final peace between powers, restrictions on Catamarqueño naval power

The Post-War Period
1947 The Morrión Crisis
 * Localised depression in Averillas occurs where the agricultural part of the country felt the pressure of increased taxes.
 * Several food shortages ensue through a combination of bad harvests and high taxes.
 * The resentment of the small farmers boils over in April of 1947, when the town of Morrión in the departament of Coruña refuses to pay taxes.
 * King Fabián dispatches a company of soldiers within a week to quell the unrest, but they are met with a riot and driven off.
 * The people of Morrión begin to arm and train a militia, ignoring all further communications from the Crown, by mid-May.
 * Worried that this act of rebellion would destabilise neighbouring areas, Fabián drafts Missive Forty-Three in late June, ordering the Royal Army to treat the inhabitants of Morrión as in rebellion against the Crown.
 * All captured farmers are to be imprisoned and detained, and the army is given full permission to kill those who resist and do whatever necessary to crush the revolt.
 * Over two thirds of the population of Morrión dies at the hands of the army, and the village is razed in retribution. When protests erupt in three other towns across the country, the army opens fire there as well, killing ten more and wounding forty.
 * July of 1947 consequently becomes known as Julio Sangriento, or Bloody July.

1948 Rise of the ELN
 * Survivors of Morrión, as well as other peasants inspired by the village's defiance, take to the mountains in the south in particular, calling themselves el Ejército de Liberación Nacional.
 * These groups begin a guerrilla campaign that will last for nearly forty years, attempting to cause havoc for forces of the Crown.
 * Some groups at the beginning in particular lash out indiscriminately at public servants, meaning that the Royal Post did not deliver mail to some towns for as long as fifteen years.
 * However, most of the guerrillas are specifically focused on undermining the military and tax collection.

1951 Overcrowding and the working class' dilemma
 * The post-Endwar economic boom has subsided somewhat, a lot of folks have come to the cities or remained there after the war, and their living conditions are miserable.
 * Unionisation is banned to try and keep a lid on the issue.
 * Despite the economic boom, wages have not risen nearly enough to fully offset inflation and most of the money has gone into the pockets of the upper middle class and the nobility.

Prelude to Revolution
1963 First attempt to convene the FOC
 * A new tariff code is passed in 1962 to protect the few remaining agricultural departments leads to restricted imports of raw materials from Puerto Sierra and Altiplano.
 * This leads to rising prices and threats to lay off a number of urban industrial workers. Faced with rising prices, a general strike of shipbuilders is convened.
 * The Federación Industrial de Catamarca comes into existence as an organising force for this general strike in April 1963, and quickly becomes seen as a possible union for shipbuilders in Puerto Real and Tres Puentes despite unionisation being illegal.
 * They publicly petition the Cámara de Diputados and the King for permission to formalise their organisation and pursue collective bargaining.
 * Rodrigo II and his advisors, many of whom are the wealthy benefactors of manufacturing and heavy industry in Catamarca, refuse.
 * Two hundred people are jailed for participation in "seditious organisation" and "conspiracy to disrupt labour", though none for more than thirty months.
 * Conditions improve somewhat by the fall, when the government negotiates with Altiplano to change the tariff code.

1965 Return of the unionists
 * Upon their release from prison, the leaders of the past general strike begin meeting again to discuss conditions.
 * This time, instead of sticking merely to workers in the shipyards, these activists reach out to other manufacturing workers in the cities.
 * This partnership yields the new name, "Federación Obrera de Catamarca". Juan Armando Gutiérrez is appointed as the spokesperson of the movement on 12 May 1965.
 * Strikes across the coastal cities for the first two weeks of June paralyse the economy and force the King to the bargaining table. He agrees to legalise unions in 1970.
 * In the meantime, he will work with the leaders of the movement to improve labour standards and urban housing while negotiating rules and stipulations for unions with the nobility and the Cámara de Diputados.
 * The one concession immediately secured is the gradual adjustment of wages over that five-year period to offset inflation.

1969 Death of Rodrigo II
 * In October of 1969, the King dies suddenly of a stroke. His son, Rodrigo III, is too young at 7 to take the throne, and the Duke of Tarancón, his uncle, is appointed regent in the interim.
 * As the Duke was one of the hardliners opposing unionisation, he immediately cracks down on the FOC, who have been agitating increasingly to get other industries ready to unionise in 1970.
 * Martial law is declared in Tres Puentes when the workers stage a riot at the freezing of the process; this becomes a pretext to put out warrants for the arrest of the leadership, particularly Gutiérrez.
 * Gutiérrez flees to Altiplano and then Puerto Sierra, and the rest of the movement goes underground. However, they continue to reach out to additional workers and farmers to try and gain their support.

1973-1975 Radicalisation of the FOC
 * Gutiérrez formalises connections with the Partido Socialista Altiplanero by 1972, and places the underground labour movement in Catamarca in contact with its actively revolutionary wing, led by Francisco Áviles.
 * He and several members of the PSA's left wing also visit Puerto Sierra to coordinate with the radical Alianza Campesina Sierreña.

The March Revolution
1976 Stirrings of Revolution
 * In Averillas, public unrest led to the interruption of Fabián II's coronation. This is supported by ELN radio broadcasts demonising the monarchy and advocating for violent uprisings.
 * Most of the country did not like Joaquín IV, but they tolerated him as being better than his uncle, Fabián I of Endwar fame.
 * His son, however, is less tolerant and diplomatic, and the north of the country in particular has had it with him.
 * Following the delay of the coronation and the broadcasts by the ELN, several entire departments in the south refuse to pay local taxes and generally rebel against the Crown.
 * As this heats up, the efforts of the PSA to reach out to the leaders of the largest ELN groups pay off, as they are able to move into the areas in dispute and begin training the local farmers.
 * As the situation worsens, much of the nobility flees to the capital or Coruña and then to Santander by train or airline.
 * In late October, the countryside is in open revolt, but has not yet presented a unified platform to the government, which still holds the coast and the major cities.
 * As much of the Army is made up of conscripts, when the military is authorised to use force in the defence of the capital, most soldiers stand down and do not obstruct the leadership of the ELN. This also renders them unable to aid in Catamarca when asked.

Recent politics notes
Right. Foreign first. So immediately after the March Revolution, international relations were tense, to say the least. Nero put a lot of pressure on Khorn to prevent him from trying something really dramatic to reverse the Revolution itself, and so Gran Altiplano was fairly isolationist for the first five years or so as they sought to centralise the government apparatus of what had been five states. (Note: if I had neighbours, this would likely look different seeing as I'd need to contend with their influence / trade.)

Because Gran Altiplano had sufficient internal food production to be self-sustaining at this point, it was able to deal with sanctions placed on it by Entente powers and trade much more heavily with Nerotysia. This wasn't pretty economically, but it was overshadowed by the internal restructuring going on as well as the liquidation of the nobility's assets in Catamarca, Averillas, and Roblemar. Post-1980, with Áviles still at the helm of the PPA, foreign policy was geared fairly explicitly towards exemplarist goals– rapid standardisation of quality-of-life and right-to-work measures across the five provinces, as well as increased modernisation of agriculture, in a bid to make Gran Altiplano an example of a solidly second-world state that had self-improved greatly through reform and all. This meant that you were looking at a tightly controlled economy through as late as 1990. After Áviles' death, his successors (also avowed supporters of his internationalism, but moderates economically), pushed to decentralise and return "non-critical sectors" to a controlled market economy within ten years. Ironically, the costs of doing so were offset by the shrinking of government debt. At the same time, this period saw massive naval build-up in an attempt to be more self-sufficient in defense and more able to pursue international stances that didn' t necessarily line up with those of Nerotysia. This coincided with foreign policy focused on making the country seem reasonable and progressive to the non-aligned world; inviting foreign dignitaries, extolling the virtues of "market economics with an ethical foundation", et cetera.

The third phase, from about 2005 onwards, has been mostly under Menéndez's leadership. With the economy stabilised, global tensions de-escalating, and the world at large less opposed on principle to socialism, the goal became political diversity. I'll get back to that when I talk about domestic characteristics. The result with regards to foreign policy has been the pursuit of more common ground with traditional adversaries like Kolintha, largely on the back of the more centrist, internationalist generation that has only recently come to power in the State apparatus (as opposed to the leadership of the PPA specifically). Onto domestic. The roots of the March Revolution lay in the mismanagement of natural and human resources by the upper class in Catamarca and Averillas, as well as the rampant corruption in Roblemar and Puerto Sierra. In the first two (the wealthier northern states), you had a combination of pronounced social inequality (the nobility acted in excess in an attempt to demonstrate that they were better off than their Spanishlandic counterparts— think of it as ex post facto justification for their secession back in the day) and fiscal inequality since the richest cities were also home to a great number of industrial workers. Most of them worked in the lucrative shipbuilding industry, which was the backbone of particularly Catamarca's economy.

I reference more of the historical lead-up to the March Revolution on my IIWiki page. There are two important pieces to add, though. First, the ideological basis for the Revolution was mainly the product of thinkers from already-socialist Altiplano. The country was extremely rural, but industrialised to some extent at an early date due to its wealth of natural resources, but without a significant upper class for capital investment, the process stalled out and only mining really took off. This had the side effect of enabling the collectivists to extend their philosophy beyond merely agriculture. Fast-forward to the early twentieth century, and Altiplano is an early socialist republic. Anyway, because the would-be revolutionaries came from a collectivist and Catholic background, they based a lot of their goals on social equality and moral beliefs, which dovetailed nicely with the struggles of the unionists in Catamarca and Averilas against the greedy, conscience-less nobles. Two, the main agitators in the states mentioned were unionists— workers' rights and social equality were much more important than economic reform in the short run. When you combined that with the background of the folks from Altiplano, you got a more economically moderate set of revolutionaries than in Cuba or Russia, for example.

So that's the background. On to the way it's been borne out: Early on, they really went full command-economy. However, the first priority of the new government had to be the integration of what were formerly five distinct economies (ideally as intact as possible). What this meant was that instead of trying to set everything up by establishing arbitrary quotas, the revolutionaries instead simply tried to match existing targets for production, realising that preserving the areas where the economy was already strong would be necessary to avoid a crash. Meanwhile, the liquidation of the monarchy and nobility's assets gave the state a decent amount of capital with which to sponsor public-works programmes (mainly housing) and an improvement of working conditions in the cities in particular. Understandably, Nerotysia hated the gradualism with which economic reform was undertaken, since Gran Altiplano did not remove a good number of the managers and petit-bourgeousie, instead focusing specifically and narrowly on the landed elite. (This was made up for by instituting an absurdly steep progressive income tax to establish a hard ceiling and prevent opportunism in the vacuum left by the nobles' departure.) Following this and the publicly Catholic, almost liberation-theology-esque approach being taken, nobles weren't even forced to leave so long as they renounced literally everything and accepted state housing and employment. In that case, the state didn't end up even having the capacity to be truly centrally planned until after Áviles' death. Although that was slower than initially anticipated, it ironically prevented him from proceeding with the more hardline economic policies he had personally promoted. His successors continued heavily re-allocating resources to increase housing and infrastructure, but didn't attempt to pursue further heavy industry or agricultural reform, largely due to resistance from the Altiplano provice, whose leaders pointed to their model of success in the first half of the twentieth century and rejected more Stalinist levels of forced industrialisation and all. At any rate, post-1995, restrictions gradually disappeared from most sectors outside of manufacturing, shipbuilding, and agriculture, which still enjoys subsidies.Tax rates remain prohibitive at higher levels, but controlling all aspects of the economy was always significantly less important that social equality or, post-Revolution, simply further uniting the provinces. Yeah, that's a fairly significant textwall that I wasn't planning to write. I hope it answers a few questions at least?