First Civil War

From Iscoun

Revision as of 03:06, 17 March 2011

The first civil war of Iscoun was a conflict between Wemberley and the English colonies of Georgeland, Octavia and Brunswick from 1890 through to 1895.

Handover of Braganza

As part of the 1890 British Ultimatum in Africa, the British government also requested that King of Portugal, Carlos I hand Braganza to the United Kingdom. King Carlos I, not wishing to damage the alliance between Portugal and Britain agreed to the demand and on 1 October 1890, Braganza became Wemberley under British rule. The British sent nationalist Michael Thirlmire to be the new colony's governor and he immediately began a policy of "Englishisation" as called by the Portuguese settlers.

Thirlmire's first move as governor was to rename the colony Wemberley as it was a more "English" sounding name. He also renamed the towns of São Cristóvão, Migueles, Belem and Palmela.

The town hall massacre

At the time the English took over the Colony of Braganza, about ninety percent of its population were of Portuguese descent. These citizens were not concerned about becoming subjects of the United Kingdom but were concerned about the erasure of the colony's history. A group of concerned citizens called the Braganza Citizens for Preservation (BCP), led by José Eduardo Tavares Silva formed with the intention of reversing the "Englishisation" of the Colony.

Newpapers in Wemberley soon began publishing articles about the BCP which angered Governor Thirlmire. On 6 June 1891, Tavares Silva presented Governor Thirlmire with a petition, signed by 25,000 citizens demanding that the "erasure of Braganza's history" be ended.

In 1892, Thirlmire had Queen Victoria grant self-government to Wemberley. Thirlmire's government consisted of a 40 member elected Legislative Assembly with male British subjects over the age of 21 allowed to vote and a 20 member Legislative Council which was appointed by the Governor. When the first elections were held on 26 May 1892, less than 5% of Wemberley's residents were eligible to vote. Thirlmire had determined that British subjects would only include those born in the United Kingdom or in Wemberley since its handover.

The parliament was scheduled to meet on 20 June 1892 in Barrios but the Barrios Town Hall in which it was supposed to meet was barricaded by members of the BCP. Over 20,000 people convened on the hall in protest of what they called an "Imperialist invasion" and refused to allow for the members of the assembly and council to enter the building. Governor Thirlmire ordered for the Wemberley Corps to break up the blockade.

100 members of the Wemberley Corps, armed with muskets approached the building and opened fire on the unarmed protestors. After mowing down a line of protestors, some protestors fled and those which stood their ground picked up anything they could to disarm the militia. In all, 564 protestors were killed and a further 300 injured. Just 30 of the militia were killed with a further 51 injured.

Most of the newspapers in the Colony reported on the incident with the Braganza Post calling it the "Town Hall Massacre". The Braganza Post charged that the Wemberley Corps had murdered hundreds od protestors in the streets of Barrios and called for the immediate resignation of Governor Thirlmire.

Governor Thirlmire acted against the Braganza Post, ordering his corps to shut it down. On 22 June 1892, the newspaper's headquarters were raided with it's chief editor Juan Arcos Pecador killed.

Declaration of war

Following the killing of Juan Arcos Pecador, on 24 June 1892, Tavares Silva declared war on the Wemberley government and ordered citizens to take up arms against what he called the imperial government.

Governor Thirlmire failed to take the threat seriously and largely ignored the BCP's activities. On the evening of 29 June 1892, the Barrios Town Hall was destroyed by a fire which the BCP claimed to have started. The following day, a 1,500 man strong BCP army stormed the Wemberley Corps barracks and killed 78 soldiers.

Following these incidents, Governor Thirlmire declared that the Colony was involved in a civil war against the BCP. Knowing that it would take several months to send a message to the United Kingdom for assistance and for help to arrive, Thirlmire called on the Colonies of Georgeland, Octavia and Brunswick to send forces to defend the Colony.

Battle of Michaelstown

Tavares Silva, knowing that the port town of Michaelstown could be crucial in the war ordered that the BCP capture the town. On 1 July 1892 around 6,500 joined an already exisiting 2,500 man strong militia in the town and began attacking the Corps' strongholds. Citizens in the town were sympathetic to the BCP cause with many residents having BCP militia in their houses.

The first building to be attacked was the Michaelstown Barracks where around 3,000 BCP militia fought the Wemberley Corps for 26 hours. In the fight, 397 of the 560 men at the barracks were killed with the rest deserting. Just 114 BCP militia were killed in the firefight. With the Michaelstown Barracks captured, it became the headquarters for the BCP campaign.