Black Hat Movement
| Black Hat Movement | |
|---|---|
| Aldebrance Bösch, Founder of the Black Hat Movement | |
 Portrait of Aldebrand Bösch by Luther Ziegler |
The Black Hat Movement was a major social and political anti-monarchy movement that occurred during the 16th century in Nisserige. The Black Hat Movement was primarily composed of noblemen, scholars, lords, and other such secondary elites who disapproved of the Royal House of Leonhard.
Differentiation
The Black Hat Movement differs from the Black Hat Society and from the Black Hat Party. The Black Hat Movement was an unorganized political movement against Nikolai I mainly in the late 16th century. The Black Hat Society was an organized society of land owning elites who aided the revolutionaries in overthrowing the Nisser Monarchy. The Black Hat Party is a contemporary political party originally founded upon the principles of the Black Hat Society.
Origin
The Black Hat Movement was ideologically based upon the writings and theories of a royal scholar named Aldebrand Bösch. Bösch wrote several works on his theories, such as Theorien det Monarchie and Das Wahlrecht, which expressed his anti-monarchical sentiments. After the execution of Bösch for charges of treason, many other noblemen, such as Erwin Kooning and Duncan Lied, began to wear black hats in solidarity with Bösch and his beliefs.
Bösch’s choice to wear a Black Hat in the presence of other noblemen became an iconic idiosyncrasy of Bösch, and would later become an iconic symbol of the Black Hat Movement. In memoirs written by Bösch, he explained that he wore a black hat in protest to the King’s Courtly Dress Code, in which noblemen were mandated to wear white hats. Bösch wrote that he found the dress codes ridiculous, and wore a black hat to every consecutive formal meeting from then onward.
Those associated with the Black Hat Movement were oftentimes noblemen who were dissatisfied with the House of Leonhard’s practice of consolidating power toward the central monarch. This dissatisfaction stemmed mainly from the execution of Bösch, which was viewed as oppressive and cruel. The noblemen who ultimately came to the conclusion that the monarch’s power should be limited called themselves the Black Hats and began to oppose any further efforts of centralization of the Kingdom.
Political Beliefs
The Black Hat Movement often aligned itself with anti-monarchical thought. Unlike its successors—such as the Black Hat Society—which were expressly against the institution of monarchy as a whole, the Black Hat Movement supported a more limited interpretation of the monarchy. Also differing from its successors, many in the Black Hat Movement still advocated for mercantilism.
The basis that forms Black Hat ideology is that a society fundamentally functions in a better fashion with a limited authority figure as its head rather than an authoritarian king. While the Black Hats during the Black Hat Movement’s beginnings did not advocate for democracy, many of these theories and ideological foundations would end up supporting the Nisser Revolution.
Achievements and Legacy
The Black Hat Movement was successful in its goal of limiting the power of Nikolai I through the Volkscharta, which removed some of his powers and privileges, including issuing executions without a trial. Other such powers that were taken away include but are not limited to: the ability to create and repeal laws without a consensus of the noblemen, the ability to be above the law, the ability to confiscate the property of a noble without a trial, and the ability to raise taxes on a single nobleman without due process.
Many powers that were once considered to be standard for the King became illegal via the Volkscharta. Many future incidents involving monarchical overreach often cite this document as proof of the King’s violations. The monarchs following Nikolai I often violated the document and did not treat it as a legitimate legal document. This further widened the divide between the monarch and the rest of the Nisser as monarchs became to be seen as more and more out of touch with the rest of the country and their pleads.
While a vast majority of the ideals created by the early Black Hat Movement weren't initially impactful during their time period, the movement would go on to inspire many similar anti-monarchical movements including the Nisser Revolution.