Overview
Official name: The Principality of Cadaori
Common name: Cadaori (CADA-oar-e)
Demonym: Cadaorian
Government type: Enlightened Monarchy
Head of Government: Prince Roger de'Clai III
Currency: Cadaorian Foli
Main Languages: French
Capital City: Cadaori
Area-size: 274 sq mi
Population: 5,183,700 people
Population density: 18,943/sq mi
Main religions: Protestant Christianity (48%), Islam (30%), No Religion (17%), Others (5%)
History
Early History, 600 AD to 1167 AD
The first evidence that anybody lived on the Cadaori Isle traces back as early as 600 AD. These early settlers fled from a much larger Empire, who's name has since been lost to myth and lore, and found the isle by mistake. Comprised of a mixed range of ethnic and cultural groups from across this forgotten Empire, as obvious by the different alphabet systems and building styles in ruins found in the early 1800's, the founding of the Principality of Cadorai was a rough and tumultuous one. The clash of different cultures resulted in a huge amount of violence between the groups of settlers. Conflicts carried over from the "Old Land", as the place where the settlers came from is now called, was contiuned anew after the settlers landed on the isolated island.
What started as resource raids turned into, by 700 AD, full scale military engagements between the new feudal barony's. It was a cycle of constant warfare for increasingly meaningless specks of lands on the small island. Slowly, in this warfare as the stronger feudal lords (originally tribal and clan leaders who once hated one another) forged alliances with other lords that several hundred years ago would have been impossible to even conjurer in the imagination. Strange as it may seen, warfare brought the lords (or at least some of them) together rather than wrenching them apart.
In 998 AD, the marriage between the daughter and son of two of the largest Lords on the Island heralded in a period of tranquility between the various Lords on the island. For once, they were at peace since they first arrived on the Island. Trade flourished on the small island, and the Lords spoke of joining resources in order to explore and trade with the outside world. Despite military skirmishes did break out once in a while, the time of warfare and bloodshed was quickly passing on the Cadaori Isle.
In 1167 AD, through intermarriage and alliances, Lord James de'Foos I declared himself "Prince of the Cadaori Isle" with full support from the other nobles on the Island. For once, the Island was at peace since the settlers first stepped foot on it nearly 500-odd years ago. The resulting peace and unification of the Island led to a focus on outside interests rather than internal. Unlike the mish-mash of various cultures that led to violence, their was now one single culture that dominated Cadaori. Cadaorian.
1167 AD to 1701 AD
Lord James de'Foos I set a precedent for the rest of the Princes of Cadaori to follow up until they were colonized. Rather than internal squabbles, the Prince of Cadaori looked outwards for trade opportunities and to explore. Cadaorian ships quickly discovered their neighbors and began to set up diplomatic relations with them. With the diplomatic relations came trade. With trade, came wealth.
One of the early trading powers in the region, the small Island of Cadaori deftly maneuvered through International politics as a neutral power. They were friendly to none, hostile to none. They represented an area where all parties could do business with one another, and, as a result gained a reputation as a pirate and smuggler haven. While it was true that many pirates and smugglers did call Cadaori home, the accusations that they were harboring whole fleets are not.
The city of Cadaori was also established at this time. Rather than nobles holding court in a alternating circuit of forts and towns, a place for the Prince to hold court and the citizens to live. Finding a suitable location, the Prince of Cadaori ordered the construction. Using their vast amounts of money, they were quickly able to construct the city in such a short amount of time. Residents of the Isle flocked to Cadaori, and the city was quickly expanded past it's original area. The city saw a rise of wealth as ships visited the ports, eager to buy and sell in the Cadaorian markets that hosted supplies from across the world.
Drawing of the city of Cadaori when it was first built.
Despite this great prosperity and peace, dangers lurked in the shadows. The strictly trade-based economy was libel to fall at any period when the other nations no longer wished to trade or, worse, a new trade city emerges to compete with the Cadaorian power. The trade fleets were in constant danger of pirates or privateers who wanted the wealth of the Cadaorian trade fleets. In order to protect the city state, the Princes of Cadaori hired mercenary companies and instituted a militia comprised of almost all male citizens (although the option to "buy out" of military service existed for the nobility and the merchants existed).
In 1499 AD, a trade city known as "Kvatch" was threatening Cadaorian power. Although, at first, the rivalry was peaceful and the two sides remained cordial; as the years passed on and the trade ships from other nations started changing their routes to avoid Cadaori, raids on Kvatch's ships become common as Cadaorian-sanctioned privateers. Kvatch responded in kind, and war broke out between the two sides in 1510. Almost all other countries refused to participate, not wanting to get involved in a merchants dispute.
An example of a Cadaorian militiaman during the Trade War.
The war was short, ending three years later in 1513. Cadaori emerged victorious, burning Kvatch to the ground and (effectively) warning other trade cities of the time to stop what they were doing. However, despite their outward appearance of a successful conqueror, the war effectively destroyed the Cadaorian trade fleets from repeated attacks by Kvatch's ships and drained the Prince's coffers. Cadaori, by 1530 AD, was a shadow of it's former power and remained that way for quite some time.
Time passed by painfully slow for the people of Cadaori. They were quite aware of how powerful they once were and how weak they have become. They were truly a vestigial power, despite their airs of grandeur they liked to put on for foreign dignitaries. By the time the French arrived in 1701 looking for a new batch of colonies, Cadaori was standing on it's last legs and using a crutch for support. One official wrote "It seemed like they were begging us to just end their misery, like they couldn't take what they had become after so long with everything."
1701 to 1945
The French quickly managed to take control of Cadaori, signing binding agreements with the Prince of Cadaori in order to secure their hold on the new colony. The Prince of Cadaori still maintained control of his small Island, although he had to support a contingent of French troops to be garrisoned on the Island and was forced to recognize the French King and follow his decrees.
The result of the colonization brought mixed reactions amongst the populace. Most actually accepted the French presence, hoping that it would restore some of the further grandeur of their small country. Trade fleets from the French and France's allies visited more and more often, increasing the wealth coming into the falling-apart city state. Others hated the French soldiers presence and the increasing feeling like they were having everything taken away from them. French became mandatory to teach in all schools, built and run by French teachers in other to educate their new colonized people. French soldiers and citizens were given mandatory presence in everything, but, still. The people of Cadaori didn't mind. They were having their wealth slowly restored and, to many in Cadaori, that was enough reason for the French to stay.
Cadaori was rarely attacked by the enemies of France, and unofficially Cadaori was known as a de-facto neutral ports for all nations during the turbulent 1700's. Wealth was restored to the city, and almost everybody was happy with their French masters. These feelings contiuned really up until World War 1, despite the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars which brought violence upon the small city (in the case of the French Revolution, the French soldiers on the Island fought amongst themselves and in the Napoleonic Wars the European Powers bombarded Cadaori twice.) On the onset of World War 1, the French Government asked for their colony to raise five regiments for use on the Western Front. The Prince of Cadaori agreed and five regiments of able-bodied soldiers were quickly raised amongst the cities populace. The young, inexperienced soldiers were proud and confident that they would be home soon with stories to tell; much like every soldier in Europe and across the world at this time felt.
What resulted over the next four years was nothing that the world was expecting. Cadaorian soldiers were massacred, often placed in front of the French soldiers in order to protect native French lives. Cadaorians were drafted for a war they didn't even have a reason to fight. Mother's sons were returned physically or mentally shattered or not at all. Anti-French sentiment steadily rose throughout the war, and especially after when they felt like their service wasn't properly rewarded by the French goverment.
The costs of the first World War was staggering to Cadaori. Out of a nation of three million (at the time), over 300,000 Cadaorian troops died fighting for France. Protests against French rule became common-place, and the interwar years saw a marked rise in tensions between Cadaori and France. Despite the goverment of Cadaori being friendly with France, the people were not. Street protests exploded near weekly, starting a tradition within Cadaori known as the "Sunday Matinees" for the weekly protests or riots against the goverment for their contiuned alliance with the French. As time went on, however, the protests slowly began changing from the French goverment to the Cadaorian goverment themselves.
By the time of World War 2, talk of armed resistance against the French goverment was whispered in certain circles of Cadaori. However, once France was defeated in the early months of World War 2 by the German military, Cadaori calmed down slightly as the French troops left the city to join the Free French forces. For five years, they felt free. Still technically under French control, they were left alone by the Allies and the Axis (especially Germany) smuggled arms to Pro-Axis groups in hope that it would spark a popular revolt against the Prince of Cadaori and cause Cadaori to join the war on the Axis side. Eventually, these groups did rise up in 1941, in what is now called the "November Dawn".
A still from the movie "November Days", based upon the days that portray the events in a Pro-Prince light.
November Dawn was an uprising of various Pro-Axis groups that were, largely, against France and the Prince of Cadaori rather than supporting Germany. The short-lived uprising lasted for less than eight days before being put down the Royal Cadaorian Guard and the Cadaorian Police. Still, the uprising marked major concerns for the Prince of Cadaori. The people were unhappy and were going to contiune to violently protest until their demands were met. After the November Dawn, World War 2 remained almost non-existent in Cadaori.
