User:Legantus/Sandbox

Legantia, officially the Republic of Legantia (Ovantic: République d’Legantia) is a constituent republic of the Metropolitan Fraternity in Western Artemia. Legantia borders its sister republic of Ovantia in the West, Teutonia to its Southwest, Boaga and Austasia to its southeast, Mero-Curgovina to its east, and South Veikaia to the northeast. The Republic is composed of ten constituent states and has a territory covering approximately 763450 square kilometers (474385.837 square miles), with a largely temperate climate. Legantus has a population of roughly 174.751 million, making it the [x] largest state in Artemea. Legantus’s capital and largest city is Proventia, with Königkastel and Linkthoven the second and third most populous cities respectively.

The Republic of Legantia was originally founded after the Blue Rose Revolution in 1794 from the territories of the Kingdom of Legantia as a federal parliamentary democracy. While relatively insular diplomatically with Artemian nations, the Republic inherited or created a number of colonies in Avalonia and Kesh. These colonies and continued Artemian border tension lead to a number of border conflicts with the Empire of Ovantia. These conflicts eventually resulted in a significant border conflict in 1893 that saw the Legantine fleet decisively defeat the Imperial fleet, effectively ending the rivalry between the two. In an attempt to ensure the Empire would remain weakened, Legantia supported Republican movements in the nation. This support eventually resulted in the Ovantine revolution and the involvement of the Republic in the Grand Campaigns. The Channel Islands dispute and the slow recovery of the Ovantine economy led to the proposal and integration of the Metropolitan Federation in 1933.

Legantia is a federal constunent federal republic under the Metropolitan Fraternity. It is headed by a President elected by a National at-large vote. The president acts as the official representative of the Republic in the cabinet of the Prime Minister, tasked with communicating the needs and concerns of the nation to the federal government. The President also acts as the chair of the Senate, the assembly of the leaders of the ten provincial governments elected by a parliamentary system on that level. The Levantine government has few specific powers, having ceded the majority of its authority to the Federation or devolved it to the provinces. As such, Legantia has little power over foreign policy, though the Metropolitan Federation is a leading member of the League of Free Nations.

Blue Rose Revolution
While victory over the Ovantine Empire led to a brief respite for the Monarchy, their fortunes quickly began to decline as the costs of the war increasingly fractured Legantine society. The paths of armies through Aurelia saw significant portions of the local harvests either destroyed or procured for use by the warring forces. The region was gripped by famine almost immediately, with thousands dying to starvation. The state’s halting attempts to solve the crisis created increasing discontent in the nation proper as well. Farmers were required to give fifteen percent of their harvest to the crown for use fighting the famine, in addition to the ten percent already required by law. New taxes were levied on the majority of mercantile activities, devastating many middle class merchants who had already seen their profits lost due to the war. Public discontent with these measures was only compounded by blatant corruption in the distribution of these supplies, and the exemption of the majority of the nobility from the new levees.

The situation came to a head in 1793. A severe drought caused famine to spread throughout the country. Bread riots spread throughout the major cities. Proventia and Königkastel both saw these riots erupt into violence, with bread makers, clergy, and nobility all targeted on the belief they may have been hoarding food. In an attempt to calm the violence, the army was called up and deployed into the cities around major institutions. On October 3rd, soldiers of the Serene Kingdom fired into a crowd outside the estate of the Finance Minister, killing twelve and injuring an additional fifteen. The crowd panicked and fled, killing an additional four as civilians trampled or shoved aside their fellows in an attempt to get away.

The action led to an end to the riots, at least temporarily, but also caused a shift in public sympathies towards the idea of a general revolution. A group of prominent citizens, business leaders, and even low level members of the government began organizing in earnest for a revolt against the monarchy. As a means of communicating membership and maintaining a level of secrecy of the organization's meeting places, the blue rose was used as a signal. One placed in a vase in a window indicated the house was a safe place for a member to stay. Two in one vase indicated a meeting place, with a third indicating a meeting was to take place there. A bud in the lapel was used as a subtle show of allegiance to the growing movement. These subtle shows of rebellion did not remain subtle for long, with one pro-republican newspaper in Linkthoven noting that “...the Entire Marketplace appears to be in bloom come midday!”

The Monarchy was not blind to the growing discontent with the government’s policies. Attempts were made to prepare the army for a possible civil war, as it was believed by the government that only a decisive victory would prevent the eventual dissolution of the Legantine monarchy. This view, most notably espoused by the King’s brother Duke Adélard Lesauvage, saw any concession on the part of the Monarchy would simply encourage the growing republican movements and lead to either the dissolution or sidelining of the institution. To maintain the