Vesienväl: Difference between revisions

Line 105:

Toward the later end of the suffrage movement in the 1920s, socialist theory began to gain traction in activist circles. The ultimate approval of universal suffrage in Vesienväl occurred largely because the King and the nobility feared a socialist uprising if the measure did not pass. However, the victory emboldened the socialists, and instead of decreasing their pressure on the government they increased their activist efforts. The government began to crack down on left-wing political activity, including imprisoning known socialists and, in 1941, the explicit ban of socialist and communist political parties. While officially socialist politics were relegated to the underground, many socialists were active "undercover" in the Liberal Party.

The Kingdom of Vesienväl hosted the 1947 edition of the International Winter Aldanic Games in the capital, Vällilä. The Conservative Party government at the time believed the games would strengthen the economy and bring the country international prestige. The general public, however, broadly opposed the games due to the overwhelming cost. The winters of 1945 and 1946 were particularly harsh in Vesienväl, and in both winters there were fuel shortages. The government declined to reallocate funding from the games to provide aid to people who were having difficulty heating their homes. There were several riots leading up to the games, but in November 1946, the national gendarmerie was ordered to shut down any protest regarding the games by any means necessary. Hundreds of people were arrested on charges of sedition, and dozens of people were injured by the police. These events led a groundswell of opposition to the government and support switching to the Communist-backed Liberal Party.

⚫

In the elections of March 1948, the Liberal Party won a supermajority of the lower house of the maapäivät, 205 out of 300 seats, on a platform that echoed the socialist goals of improving workplace conditions, reducing hours, making factories safer, and reducing the power of the King and the nobility. However, after the results, the King ordered that the Liberal Party be declared retroactively ineligible to stand because of the socialist element in party leadership, and also stated that their platform of reducing royal power amounted to treason. Royal guard troops sealed the doors of the lower house to physically prevent the Liberals from taking their seats. The upper house passed a bill, called the Treason Act of 1948, retroactively disbanding the Liberal Party and the King accepted it as a law, stating that the upper house was the only legally constituted house of the maapäivät at that time.

⚫

In the elections of March 1948, the Liberal Party won a supermajority of the lower house of the maapäivät, 205 out of 300 seats, on a platform that decried the games and echoed the socialist goals of improving workplace conditions, reducing hours, making factories safer, and reducing the power of the King and the nobility. They also proposed that the government provide free heating fuel to citizens. However, after the results, the King ordered that the Liberal Party be declared retroactively ineligible to stand because of the socialist element in party leadership, and also stated that their platform of reducing royal power amounted to treason. Royal guard troops sealed the doors of the lower house to physically prevent the Liberals from taking their seats. The upper house passed a bill, called the Treason Act of 1948, retroactively disbanding the Liberal Party and the King accepted it as a law, stating that the upper house was the only legally constituted house of the maapäivät at that time.

These actions were enormously unpopular and led to riots in every major city in the country. Significant portions of Pohjoinen were destroyed by a fire started by protesters, and the King was evacuated from the capital by military plane. The King ordered the military to restore order and gave an explicit order to kill any rioters and "any and all persons, no matter station, sex, or age, seen to give the anarchists aid, comfort, succor, or support in any fashion." While in some areas the military acted as ordered, in most major cities the soldiers dispersed when attacked by local residents, as the rioters significantly outnumbered the soldiers. On March 20th, an armed rebel group that contained several elected members of the lower house besieged and eventually overtook the parliament building in Välillä. At the same time, the nobles who had remained in the city were attacked and killed in their homes. On March 22nd, in a reversal of the Treason Act, the lower house declared itself the only legitimate house of the maapäivät, as the members of the upper house were either dead or in hiding, and passed a resolution ordering the arrest of the King for crimes against the state.

@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 Toward the later end of the suffrage movement in the 1920s, socialist theory began to gain traction in activist circles. The ultimate approval of universal suffrage in Vesienväl occurred largely because the King and the nobility feared a socialist uprising if the measure did not pass. However, the victory emboldened the socialists, and instead of decreasing their pressure on the government they increased their activist efforts. The government began to crack down on left-wing political activity, including imprisoning known socialists and, in 1941, the explicit ban of socialist and communist political parties. While officially socialist politics were relegated to the underground, many socialists were active "undercover" in the Liberal Party.
+The Kingdom of Vesienväl hosted the 1947 edition of the International Winter Aldanic Games in the capital, Vällilä. The Conservative Party government at the time believed the games would strengthen the economy and bring the country international prestige. The general public, however, broadly opposed the games due to the overwhelming cost. The winters of 1945 and 1946 were particularly harsh in Vesienväl, and in both winters there were fuel shortages. The government declined to reallocate funding from the games to provide aid to people who were having difficulty heating their homes. There were several riots leading up to the games, but in November 1946, the national gendarmerie was ordered to shut down any protest regarding the games by any means necessary. Hundreds of people were arrested on charges of sedition, and dozens of people were injured by the police. These events led a groundswell of opposition to the government and support switching to the Communist-backed Liberal Party.
-In the elections of March 1948, the Liberal Party won a supermajority of the lower house of the maapäivät, 205 out of 300 seats, on a platform that echoed the socialist goals of improving workplace conditions, reducing hours, making factories safer, and reducing the power of the King and the nobility. However, after the results, the King ordered that the Liberal Party be declared retroactively ineligible to stand because of the socialist element in party leadership, and also stated that their platform of reducing royal power amounted to treason. Royal guard troops sealed the doors of the lower house to physically prevent the Liberals from taking their seats. The upper house passed a bill, called the Treason Act of 1948, retroactively disbanding the Liberal Party and the King accepted it as a law, stating that the upper house was the only legally constituted house of the maapäivät at that time.
+In the elections of March 1948, the Liberal Party won a supermajority of the lower house of the maapäivät, 205 out of 300 seats, on a platform that decried the games and echoed the socialist goals of improving workplace conditions, reducing hours, making factories safer, and reducing the power of the King and the nobility. They also proposed that the government provide free heating fuel to citizens. However, after the results, the King ordered that the Liberal Party be declared retroactively ineligible to stand because of the socialist element in party leadership, and also stated that their platform of reducing royal power amounted to treason. Royal guard troops sealed the doors of the lower house to physically prevent the Liberals from taking their seats. The upper house passed a bill, called the Treason Act of 1948, retroactively disbanding the Liberal Party and the King accepted it as a law, stating that the upper house was the only legally constituted house of the maapäivät at that time.
 These actions were enormously unpopular and led to riots in every major city in the country. Significant portions of Pohjoinen were destroyed by a fire started by protesters, and the King was evacuated from the capital by military plane. The King ordered the military to restore order and gave an explicit order to kill any rioters and "any and all persons, no matter station, sex, or age, seen to give the anarchists aid, comfort, succor, or support in any fashion." While in some areas the military acted as ordered, in most major cities the soldiers dispersed when attacked by local residents, as the rioters significantly outnumbered the soldiers. On March 20th, an armed rebel group that contained several elected members of the lower house besieged and eventually overtook the parliament building in Välillä. At the same time, the nobles who had remained in the city were attacked and killed in their homes. On March 22nd, in a reversal of the Treason Act, the lower house declared itself the only legitimate house of the maapäivät, as the members of the upper house were either dead or in hiding, and passed a resolution ordering the arrest of the King for crimes against the state.

Vesienväl: Difference between revisions

Navigation menu

Search