Balearic War

The Balearic War (Veikan: Balari Kriga) was a primarily naval military conflict fought between the Kingdom of Veikaia and a large coalition force composed primarily of Tiperyn and Agranian vessels. It began in 4th March 1687 when a large contingent of Tiperyn and Agranan ships entered the Balearic Sea and initiated a standoff against an almost equally matched Veikan force. The Coalition force presented an ultimatum demanding the lowering of tariffs and the halting of all taxation levied against foreign merchant ships traversing the Balearic Sea, which was declined and triggered the start of the war. The conflict ended in the signing of the Treaty of Tariffs and Taxation and the signing of all demands by the royal family of Veikaia. The war directly led to the total collapse of Veikan Balearic domination, and the last portion of the Veikan golden age decline.

The primary cause for the Agranian-Tiperyn coalition was the ongoing friction between them and Veikaia over trade rights in the Balearic Sea, with Gardic furs and Quakaliq ivory and slaves generating large profits for the mercantile Veikan crown. Veikaia had secured a near complete monopoly over Balearic trade thanks to excessive taxation of foreign vessels and a large fleet to back its claim to the waters. Foreign traders had already long demanded a lowering of taxation and persuasive attempts by the mercantile class to the Agranian and Tiperyn royal families are believed to have led to the creation of the coalition. Veikaia had also grown exponentially in power for the past centuries and presented a possible future threat to Tiperyn interests in the region, and Veikan traders had begun to operate at a significant scale within the Eurybian Sea also threatening Agranian trade.

Escalation towards all out war began when Tiperyn agents and merchants exchanged firearms for furs, ivory and slaves with a number of Quakaliq tribes. These Tiperyn loyal tribes then began to attack their competitors trading with Veikan merchants, inflicting heavy casualties and slowing down the Quakaliq trade due to tribal warfare. Very quickly this evolved into a proxy war as both sides continued to funnel weaponry into both sides of the conflict in an attempt to end the war and return trade to a status quo. A series of Quakaliq Fur Wars erupted from 1685 to 1691 when the last tribes loyal to the Kingdom of Veikaia surrendered or were entirely eliminated by their enemies. The tribal proxy conflict extended through the Balearic War and was the primary grounds for land combat outside of a single failed naval landing in Ostovo.

Background
One of the primary causes for the Balearic War was the increasing pressure of Veikan trade policy on foreign traders, particularly those from Tiperyn and Agrana y Griegro. Veikan traders and the royal family itself held near absolute control over trade within the sea, with large taxes and tariffs being levied to any foreign vessel traversing it. This led to increasing friction particularly with Tiperyn, and eventually with Agrana y Griegro as rich Veikan traders began to venture into the entrance of the Eurybian Sea. Traders from Veikaia grew increasingly rich from the trade of furs, ivory and Quakaliq slaves with Gardarike and tribes inhabiting what is now modern day Thuyiquakliq. Some treaties were signed that alleviated the pressure on Tiperyn traders but they were rarely observed by Veikan authorities in their entirety and as such incited the ire of the Tiperyn merchant class.

Due to the aforementioned concerns, the mercantile class of Tiperyn raised several requests to the crown for intervention in the Balearic sea to force the Veikan royal family into the negotiation table and agree to better terms. The first move of the Tiperyn crown was the intervention in the thuyiquakliq slave, fur and ivory trade through the trade of firearms in exchange of goods with tribes opposing the Sakhoy Confederation and its allies, which were aligned with Veikan traders at the time. This led to a reaction by Veikaia who in turn armed and partially trained the Sakhoy in an attempt to strengthen their position and defend the trade network across the island. This led to the beginning of a proxy war of varying intensity between various tribes opposing the Sakhoy, supported by Tiperyn, and the Sakhoy and their allies, who were supported by Veikaia. The Quakaliq Fur Wars, as they are known by modern historians, lasted over a decade and caused severe damage to trade in the region, debilitating the Veikan position in the Balearic and Boreal Seas.

Tensions had also began to rise within Gardarike as Gardic fur traders found themselves unable to trade with the large economies of Tiperyn and Agrana y Griegro among others, unable to reach favorable prices due to the Veikan monopoly in the region. As such, trading posts and merchant vessels started to become targeted by Gardic mobs armed with axes and torches and eventually pirates funded by Gardic trades and even the Tiperyn crown in some cases. In the year leading to the Balearic War these attacks intensified. They were at first responded to by garrisoning Veikan forces in the affected regions but it quickly became apparent that the matter was becoming uncontrollable as merchant vessels began to be attacked in large numbers and trade posts were overwhelmed.

Further escalation towards war began when a number of Tiperyn merchant vessels outright refused to pay tariffs and taxes for entrance into the Balearic, leading to a minor skirmish and the sinking of a single merchant vessel before the Tiperyn ships retreated. This is believed to have sparked the ire of the Tiperyn royal family, which in conjunction with the Agranan crown decided to organize a coalition force to dispute Veikan Balearic domination. Agranans had also experienced difficulties trading in the region for several decades and the recent incursions of Veikan traders in the Eurybian worried the crown. A large combined naval force was organized and arrived in the Balearic Sea demanding a meeting with representatives of the crown to sign a treaty on tariffs and taxation of merchant vessels. The request was declined and after a short standoff the coalition forces attacked the Veikan vessels, beginning the Balearic War.