[size=100]History[/size]
First Fortunan Empire
The Great Civil War and Separation (1641-1644)
Period of Isolation (1650s-1850s)
War Against Caliphate Aggression (1961-1973)
Between 1961 and 1973, the War Against Caliphate Aggression, also known as the War of Aggression, took place between the Caliphate-leaning government of Toscani under the Islamic Movement of Toscani (IMT) and the fascist-leaning governments of Emili and Ancona as the Alliance of Fortunan States (AFS). Majorly supporting the IMT was the Caliphate of Pax Draconica, while the AFS received support from the Veridian Union.
In October 1956, the Islamic Movement of Toscani seized control of Toscani in a coup d’état. In the following months, protests broke out across Toscani, especially in the southeastern part of the island where the majority of Toscanians were Claritists. The governments of Emili and Ancona during this time condemned the government takeover of Toscani by the IMT, stating it as anti-Fortunan and anti-Claritist. With the support of Emili and Ancona, the protests in Toscani slowly grew into revolts and then into a full on civil war nationwide by February 1957. The Emilian government played the largest role in training and arming rebel groups, even sending dozens of their own military advisers into Toscani to support the rebels. After a few humiliating defeats, the IMT turned towards the Pax Caliphate for assistance in the early 1959. With a superpower behind them, the IMT were able to push back the rebel groups to the southeastern coast of Toscani, specifically to the city of Terine and the surrounding towns.
On December 31, 1959, dozens of explosions took place across Emili and Ancona, targeting military personnel and large crowds celebrating the new year. The next morning on January 1, 1960, the governments of Emili and Ancona both condemned the attacks and declared war against the IMT government, calling themselves the Alliance of Fortunan States. In an unexpected turn though, the IMT made the first move by invading Emili, taking control of the Guiliano Strait and allowing the IMT to surround the remaining rebel groups in Terine with ease. For the next year, the city faced unending bombing and artillery attacks with the death toll rising up to 10,000 by 1961. By 1962, the city of Terine finally fell to the IMT.
To defend fascism in the region and prevent the spread of the Caliphate’s influence, the Veridian Union came to the aid of the AFS in the mid 1961, sending military equipment, military advisers, and spec ops groups. The war went on as a stalemate over the Guiliano Strait until 1965 when AFS troops were successful in pushing the IMT back into Toscani. By the end of 1966, the AFS were able to take the southeastern part of Toscani and liberate the city of Terine. For the next four years, AFS troops slowly pushed their way north across the mountainous landscape, both sides receiving heavy casualties.
By 1971, an AFS victory seemed inevitable as the rest of the IMT were held up in the northern mountains. Their fate was finally sealed in 1972 when the Caliphate pulled support out of the region to focus on a conflict elsewhere. A year later, the remnants of the IMT surrendered and the war officially ended on May 12, 1973. An estimated 2,160,000 people were killed including civilian casualties.
Aftermath
Following the defeat of the IMT, the government of Toscani was replaced with a more favored government by the AFS. During this time, nationalism was on the rise and a majority of Fortunans wished to return back to their roots as a united nation. The three states reluctantly agreed, however the head of states still wished to keep their sovereignty. Instead of unite under one government, the three states joined together as the Allied States of Fortuna where each state still had their own separate governments. To appeal to the people of Fortuna, the head of states set up the closest heir to the royal family, Roderick Verdi, as emperor who ruled from the Imperial Fortunan City. However, he had no control of the nation and merely sat as a mere cultural icon.
The Purification Period (1973-1979)
Known as the Purification Period in Fortuna, this was a time period between 1973 and 1979 where the states of Fortuna targeted certain species, religious, and political groups.
On November 2, 1973, inspired by fascism brought in during the War of Aggression, the ASF signed into law the Fortunan Purification Act which allowed for the arrest and deportation of individuals who were considered non-Fortunan, the demolishing of un-Fortunan buildings and sites, and gave law enforcement the right to arrest and detain anyone they believed was an enemy of the state. The main purpose of the act was to purposely allow for the targeting of Caliphate-leaning communities in an effort to push Caliphate influence out of the region. Anyone considered a supporter of the Caliphate were rounded up and forced to leave the islands without their consent. The majority were sent to the mainland, however others found shelter in the Medium Islands. Although they were they were the main target, Caliphate communities were not the only ones that received discrimination. Another religious group that faced discrimination was the Christian community who too were forced to leave or convert to Clarityism.
Speciesism was also on the rise during this time and many minority groups were targeted, specifically Nekos due to their relation to the Caliphate. Vulpines also faced a level of discrimination, but the majority of the vulpine community were allowed to stay due to their support during the war and their entwined history within Fortuna.
During this period, communist and socialist parties were also considered un-Fortunan by the majority fascist-leaning government. In 1975, the Nationalist Act was passed which banned any communist and socialist parties and led to the arrest of 4,000 individuals. With the removal of “competition”, the ASF became a fully fascist nation. However, due to internal conflict and disagreement, the fascist parties of Fortuna would be split and at odds with each other until the 1990s. This is one of the main causes that it took so long for the states to reorganize under one central government.
By the end of the decade, more than 500,000 individuals were arrested with more than half of them deported out of the archipelago and more than 500 significant buildings were demolished. In the early 1960s, around 20% of the population were Muslim or Christian. By the end of the 1970s, that number dropped down to less than 1%. An estimated 70,650 people were killed during this time period, many due to mass slaughter of villages which the government still denies to this day.
Instability and the Rise of Fascism
Following the end of the War of Aggression, Fortuna fell into instability with the states losing control of chunks of the archipelago to crime gangs and rebel militant groups. In the mid 1970s, the ASF began campaigns to retake the islands. However, due to a lack of a central government and the reliance of the states’ personal military, the campaigns was a slow process that lasted into the late 1980s.
With the war still fresh in many Fortunans’ minds and annoyance with the current ruling government, the want of a more unified nation under a strong government increased. The idea was headed by the Unitary Nationalist Party (UNP), a fascist political party whose goal was to unite the islands under one government and bring Fortuna back to its roots. Their popularity slowly began to rise within the Fortunan population, peaking in the early 1990s after prominent UNP members in the military were able to defeat infamous militant groups with ease. One of these members was a young officer named Tristan Lytle, a soldier in the Emili military who gained immense popularity for his victories. As the campaigns to retake the islands came to an end in 1989, Lytle moved away from the army and looked towards politics.
Unitary Nationalist Party Takeover (1990-2000)
By 1990, the UNP held almost half of the seats in all three governments: 45% in Emili, 47% in Ancona, and 38% in Toscani. The UNP’s main goal was to gain full control of all three governments and then unite as one, but that was not their only goal. Many of the higher ups of the party wished to set up a one-party state like many other fascist nations led by the UNP. Even with barely half of the seats in the chambers, the UNP began working to set up Fortuna to be easily taken over in the up coming years such as replacing leadership roles of prominent organizations with UNP sympathizers and party members. Still, they needed someone to rally around and that came in the form of Tristan Lytle.
Following his entering into politics, Lytle took advantage of his military background, popularity, and charisma to lead many UNP rallies where he gained even more notoriety for his inspiring speeches. As he slowly gained more and more followers, he also slowly began to rise up in the ranks of the UNP. Seeing an opportunity with this young, charismatic speaker, UNP leaders convinced Lytle to run for Prime Minister of Emili in the 1996 Grand Elections. With a majority vote of 52.5%, Lytle won the seat of Prime Minister of Emili and was the youngest person in Fortunan history to become a head of state at the age of 27. In Ancona, Bernard Leon, another prominent UNP member, became Prime Minister of Ancona with a majority vote of 53%. The party also gained a majority of the seats in the legislative branch of the three governments with over half in all: 75% in Emili, 80% in Ancona, and 66% in Toscani.
With control of the executive branches in Emili and Ancona, and control of a majority of the seats in all three legislative branches, the party’s next goal was to bring all three states under one centralized government, but first they needed something for Fortunans to come together for or against. On July 26, 1997, Edward Vicino, a prominent UNP member, was assassinated by a radical “anti-uniter”. During this time, tensions were high between Fortunan “uniters”, those who wish to unite Fortuna under one government, and “anti-uniters”, those who promoted state separation. Both were fighting for control of the government to complete their goals, so to gain the upper hand the UNP quickly took advantage of the current situation. Tristan Lytle publicly announced that this as the start of a anti-uniter takeover and ordered for the targeting and arrest of known anti-uniters within Emili for treason, he was soon followed suit by the governments of Ancona and Toscani. The main target was the State Independence Party with over 4,000 known members were detained. Anti-uniters and sympathizers across the nation were attacked by UNP-led rioters who caused immense damage and casualties. By the end of August, over 15,000 individuals were arrested due to their background and an estimated 539 deaths were caused. On September 8, the ASF passed the Political Protections Act which banned any political parties that were deemed “anti-Fortunan” or those who promoted a non-centralized government such as the State Independence Party, removing any rivals that the UNP had in one blow.
During his term as prime minister, Lytle traversed the islands of Fortuna to hold rallies to promote a united country under a central and powerful government, gaining more and more followers as he went on. It was during this time that he began to gain popularity among the Claritist community who began seeing him as the “Chosen One,” a prophesied leader who was said to be the one who would be successful in uniting Fortuna. This idea slowly grew until it was believed by a majority of Claritists within the region. Seeing another opportunity, prominent UNP leaders in the early months of 1997 made statements declaring Lytle as the Chosen One, setting him up to be the leader of Fortuna once fully united. On September 16, 1997, in one of his rallies Tristan Lytle himself declared he was the chosen leader and that it will be he who will unite the islands once again.
Finally on August 25, 1998, with full control of the government, Tristan Lytle held a referendum within Emili asking citizens if the Allied States of Fortuna should be abolished in placed with a more centralized government. By a landslide, a majority of Emilians by a vote of 98% voted for the end of the ASF. The next day, Lytle declared that Emili will leave the ASF and abolish the Emili government to form the Second Fortunan Empire (SFE), centralized in the city of Destino. Not wanting to be left behind, the state of Ancona declared that they too will be leaving the ASF and abolish their government to join under the government of the SFE. As the only state left in the ASF and pressured by it’s fellow states, Toscani did likewise and on March 11, 1999, all three states were finally under one centralized government, officially forming the Second Fortunan Empire.
In this new government, Tristan Lytle had set himself up to be the new head of state and take on the title of High Commander. However, he still had a handful of rivals who too wished to become head of state. So to solidify his rule, Lytle invaded the Imperial Fortunan City, the city where the emperor resided and the only place who showed no loyalty to the UNP, and personally executed the emperor in public for treason. While this was taking place, Lytle had his rivals and top officials in the government arrested or assassinated. With no one left to challenge him (with exception of Bernard Leon who escaped to the Medium Islands), Tristan Lytle publicly pronounced himself as absolute ruler of Fortuna as High Commander on May 17, 1999. Thus began the Second Fortunan Empire under the rule of a fascist dictatorship.
Second Fortunan Empire (2000-Present Day)
Following the rise to power of Tristan Lytle, he declared the 10 Year Plan, a period to allow him and the UNP time to reshape the nation and make it independent from the rest of the world. In doing so, Lytle closed the nation from outside interaction. During this period, Lytle first worked on insuring the one-party state will prevail for years to come by setting the government up with many of his loyal followers. His next step was a complete update of the military, believing that Fortuna’s military lacked far behind the rest of the world, especially compared to it’s neighbors. This update included the purchasing new weapons and military equipment, while at the same time placing loyal followers in command of this new army. However, this closing of the nation did negatively effect the nation economically, but Lytle believed it was necessary for Fortuna become an autarky. By 2010, the plan was unsuccessful in a way as the economy dropped drastically. However, this did allow for the UNP time to gain full control of international communication, limiting internet and phone access. The closed borders, limited communication, and economic drop also benefited the government by forcing the population to become reliant on them, growing Lytle’s strength over Fortuna drastically. By 2010, the Fortunan government slowly began reopening it’s borders, allowing for international trade and movement. This sudden change quickly boosted Fortuna’s economy, but now it was under full control of the government. Fortunans were still not allowed to leave the islands with few exceptions.
Following their return to the international community, Fortuna set to work to grow its influence within the region and better its reputation with other nations. The most prominent action that Fortuna did was with the annexation of the Medium Islands in 2012. During this year long campaign, Fortuna was able to secure all islands between them and the nation of Eridani Theta, giving them control to more shipping lanes, fishing spots, and oil reserves. The campaign did not go without bloodshed though, especially on Linaro Island where the remnants of Lytle’s opponents were residing and the Telga Islands where protests broke out which to soldiers firing upon the protesters, now known as the “Telga Massacre.” By the time the violence started slowing down, the Fortunan government started “Fortunification” of the local people. By 2016, the whole Medium Islands were successfully annexed and it’s people were completely absorbed into Fortunan society.
On November 1, 2017, The former nation of Eridani Theta broke apart following the decision of the Eridani Thetan 2017 Referendum. Following years living under a dictatorship and the unending growth of both speciesism and Fortunan nationalism, the southern provinces of Eridani Theta decided to break away and unite into the Fortunan Empire. The remnants joined together and formed the Republic of Ambravia, a small, vulpine majority nation. Fortunan troops quickly moved into the newly claimed territory to secure strategic positions and cities. This received some backlash from the populace that opposed Fortuna, especially from Eridani Thetan loyalists and vulpine extremists. Skirmishes continue to be reported to take place between Fortunan forces, Ambravian forces, and Eridani Thetan loyalists. Much of the conflict is currently focused around the city of Equilara, the former capital of Eridani Theta, which is held by the Eridani Thetan loyalists as both Fortunan and Ambravian troops try to claim the city before the other. On December 6, 2017, representatives from both Fortuna and Ambravia came together to sign the Slens Agreement which solidified Fortuna’s claim in Eridani Theta.
