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====The Lousquarii Empire (1573 - 1586)====
Shortly before the Surrender of the mainland, the Arcturia territories of Kormistazm declared themselves to be a separate empire under the rule of former General Ñazj al-Qeeora. Originally from [[
In 1578 Ñazj met with a delegation from Morstaybishlia to formalise a peace declaration, as the two had not yet officially ended the state of war, as well as define what the borders of the new status quo would look like. Still maintaining a relatively strong navy, Ñazj only offered the Lousquarii holdings on the mainland and refused the Morsts demands for the return of their colonies, [[New
===Morstaybishlian rule (1575 - 1969) ===
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After mainland Kormistazm surrendered to Morstaybishlia and was formally annexed, the following years provided the empire with significant trouble asserting its control over its new land. Whilst the empire had nominally surrendered as a whole, many large regions did not acknowledge or recognise it, declaring de-facto independence and continuing to fight Morst soldiers. Even in areas already under firm control, the Cavan lords of several cities and regions saw the Morst army and their recently coronated king, [[Redrugus V]], as weakened by the five decade conquest, and attempted to negotiate for autonomous status and freedom from imperial law. Peasant revolts were also common, often driven by ideas circulated by several Morst generals that the Cavan population of the peninsula should be wiped out to make way for human settlers that spread through the populace via rumour. A diaspora of Cava fled the peninsula, mainly travelling to Arcturia but also finding their way across the planet. The threat of regional powers seceding from the empire and unruly peasants saw occupational garrisons spread thinly across the peninsula. These garrisons were often army conscripts who had fought in the crusades and were often paid poorly or not paid at all due to the financial strain on the empire during the transitional era. Redrugus V was reportedly in very poor health due to the stress associated with managing the occupation and died only two years into his reign, being succeeded his son [[Lambertus V]].
The death of Redrugus, however, was the spark for a number of significant problems. Some local powers went on the offensive, driving occupational forces on their borders away and reconquering territory. The
Over the next half a century, efforts to pacify the population and accustom them to Morst rule were violent, involving sieges of rebellious cities and the destruction of crops and property. Many soldiers and civilians were brutalised and summarily executed. Human settlers in the North Lyr valley and South Corstania often fell victim to raids from cavan guerrilla forces, resulting in gruesome retributive attacks and collective punishments on cavan settlements in the area. Approximately 10-20% of the peninsula's total population perished by the turn of the century, primarily as a result of war-related famine, displacement and disease, and is considered a genocide against the Cava species. Organised, violent resistance to imperial rule never truly subsided until the death of king Lambertus V in 1621 and the ascension of Queen [[Florence I]]. The Queen set out to consolidate imperial control of the peninsula by uprooting most of the remaining Kormistazic Cavan nobility, quashing the autonomy of integrated provinces and bringing all persisting satellite regions to heel as loyal client states, usually with promises of legal and financial protection. After this former Kormistazm was solely administered by the Morstaybishlian sovereign and a select ascendency of Lords and governors under their direct purview as a wholly subservient polity of the empire collectively known as Axdelia. Power below the level of the lords remained largely in local hands, as even for Morstaybishlia the territory was far too large to govern directly, but the system was rigidly set up such that authority came top-down from loyal governors.
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After conquering Kormistazm and consolidating control over its vast mainland, Morstaybishlia began looking increasingly outwards from Aurora with the goal of overseas exploration, expanding trade and establishing new colonies. This was largely borne out of competition with other Auroran powers, who were also pursuing similar goals in Arcturia and the [[Cerenerian Ocean|Cerenarian ocean]]. the MBE was uniquely experienced amongst its competitors with its numerous developed ports, large presence on the east Arcturian seaboard and its successful domination of Kormistazm. The lessons already learned from its enterprises in the previous centuries and its vast labour force it could draw from gave it an immense advantage, and lead to the empire becoming a powerful influence across the globe. Long term economic downturn from the collapse of the Kormistazic empire alongside its rapidly growing cities meant the majority Cavan labour from the area was amongst the cheapest and often the most willing for the difficult work of establishing colonies overseas. Whilst Cava were legally protected against slavery, transportation to penal colonies was a common punishment for minor crimes such as theft or vagrancy until the late 19th century, providing a bountiful supply of workers. This was reinforced and justified by the emerging culture of human supremacist speciesm, where Cava quickly became seen as 'tamed savages' by the broader population of the empire. Many Cava, including those outside the Axdelian peninsula, emigrated voluntarily as a result of the pressures on them, travelling in large numbers to any more accepting country or colony. The vast majority would travel to other Cava majority countries such as [[Qayam]] and [[Quariin]], but also to other welcoming destinations like [[Antora]].
Internally, the integration of Axdelia was endorsed by the Thaerist church, which had heavily emphasised the theological aspect of the west Aurora crusades. Many of the politically and economically active population (largely local and municipal governors) converted relatively quickly to avoid harsh penalties imposed on non-Thaerists. However, the drive to proselytise was also concerned with the population at large, as it was by far the largest concentration of non-Thaerists in the empire and there were questions about how it would affect their loyalty. As well as converting Kozamists and [[Aqlanism|Aqlanists]], building Thaer temples and removing other religious icons, church missionaries riled up fervour against non-thaerists which escalated into attacks and riots. After a monastic Kozam school in Koliqon was burned down by militant Thaerist partisans in 1643, monks across the peninsular protested in what would become known as the [[Revolt of the monks|Revolt of the Monks]]. The protests were largely nonviolent, but earned a great deal of sympathy from both Aqlani imams<ref name=":0">placeholder as of feb 24</ref> and a significant amount of the public. In Koliqon, the monks and their followers walked en-masse into the residence of the governor and occupied it for several days, and refused to leave unless demands for religious protection and top-level political representation were met. Tragedy was averted when the Morstaybishlian government conceded to their primary demand of protecting followers and buildings of non-Thaerist religions. Many Kozam schools and monasteries that had been shut down were able to reopen and resume their practice as a result. An act enfranchising the local aristocracy and allowing them to serve as lords was also considered but it was vetoed by [[Florence I]], believing that granting such a privilege would cause similar demands from other conquered territories. Thaerist missions and proselytes continued to convert the population, however with their reputation besmirched and Aqlani Mosques<ref name=":0" /> and Kozam monastic schools continuing to operate, their success was limited compared to other regions and colonies of the empire.
After the Revolt of the Monks, incidents of organised resistance reduced significantly across the region and the next century and a half was considered relatively peaceful. During this time the population rose tremendously whilst Morstaybishlia as a whole was enriched by its burgeoning network of colonies and reaped the rewards from it's competition against other powers to monopolise global trade. Axdelia was not seen as a core territory of the empire, and was affected by several acts affecting sea trade with [[Staynes]] and [[Kaltariezh]] which imposed tariffs on goods exported but exempted imports, which worked to keep Axdelian peasant workers impoverished. Despite this, Axdelia's seperate culture and convenient position on the periphery of the empires core made it infamous as a place where dissident Morstaybishlian academics would convene to discuss controversial ideas in politics and science. Such intellectuals usually met in the well established Qayami style coffeehouses in major towns and cities, using the stimulanting drink to excite thought, and thus they quickly became popular as centers of conversation. They were also notable in that Cavan intellectuals were also welcomed into such spaces, many of which would subsequently spur on a domestic scientific movement, reinvigorating old universities and founding new ones that would host the conception of the modern scientific method and produce numerous advances in technology over the years. Many principles of the Auroran democratic and republican movements were developed in Axdelian coffeehouses, as well as several influential theories of economics. Whilst certain products of academia were eagerly embraced by the empire, the right of the Morstaybishlian monarchy to absolute rule was keenly defended. Generally, throughout the 17th and 18th century, all attempts to reform the overall structure of society were resisted. Even reforms being increasingly accepted by other monarchies, such as an independent legislature, were considered seditious. Regardless of the political tension, as academia became centralised and institutional, Axdelia cemented itself as a center of science, engineering and philosphy.
===== Early Industrialisation =====
[[File:SteamEngine Boulton&Watt 1784.png|thumb|Sketch of a Qishal engine designed in 1782]]
Axdelia's mountains had become an important source of metal and minerals for Morstaybishlia, particularly iron and coal, as Axdelian ore was noted as being very rich. As the manufacturing boom in the prelude of the industrial revolution continued to drive up demand, devising an efficient means of draining waterlogged mines became a far more pressing issue, which spurred engineers in Anyuur to develop various steam-powered pumps for the purposes of reducing the time and labour cost of drainage. This culminated in 1710 with the [[wikipedia:Newcomen atmospheric engine|vacuum engine]] which utilised the partial vacuum pressure produced by condensing steam to pull a piston, the first of its kind and a design used in mines across the Teban mountains. An automatically operated and far more thermodynamically [[wikipedia:Watt steam engine|efficient design]] would invented by the polymath Aeuwe K. Qishal in the 1770's, a design which would quickly spread across Aurora and soon find its way to other continents. For his achievements in chemistry and the development of increasingly efficient Qishal engines, he would become the first Cava to be accepted as a fellow in the Staynish royal society in Sani Bursil; although he would cause later controversy after his death when it was revealed he was biologically female.
With the turn of the 19th century, the high pressure steam engine would be invented by Axdelian mine engineers specifically for use in first steam locomotives which drew carriages along iron tramways. The value of such a technological leap would quickly be realised, and high pressure steam engines in factories and steam locomotives for transportation would completely transform the Morstaybishlian economy over the next century.
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