History of Porcu
Roman Times to Foundation of the Kingdom
Lusius, a Roman historian, is one of the few historians to actually write about the early history of Porcu and her people. Not much is known in terms of exactly what prompted the relatively small group of roman citizens to pack up there bags and leave but Lusius writes that during the latter part of the 2nd century AD a war had recently come to an end against the Parthians. As was tradition of the time soldiers were frequently paid with land as well as gold for their service in the legions of Rome and upon their arrival back to Italy were quick to ask for their rewards and pay. Unfortunately, lands were already tight in Italy; lands to the north and south were already settled and many soldiers were told that they would have to take the lands on the fringes of the empire. This certainly would not do for many veterans said they were promised by their commander prime land in Italy.
The Consul at the time, Caius Francus, who had lead these thousands of veterans to victory a few months before realized he had made a big mistake and immediately looked to relieve the situation. Rather than face a mutiny from several legions the Roman Senate decided to evaluate all landowners in Italy and assess which ones’ lands could be given to the legionaries. Eventually it was found that many farmers in the lands at the foot of the Alps were either lifelong famers or retired legionaries who had recently settled into farming. The area, which extended from the modern day western Swiss Nag Ehgoeg-Catholic Europe border to modern day Venice, also contained a large number of merchants. Many of these people had worked hard to obtain their roman citizenship and when they were told they would have to relocate on behalf of the empire simply stood stunned. Where would they go? Certainly at that time it was no easy feat to pack up and move out, many no doubt relied on the gods to assist them.
Some were also skeptical of the messengers who came to them baring news from Rome. They thought that they may be part of some clever plot to have their land stolen from them and taking themselves as decently intelligent people would have no part. Unfortunately for them this wasn’t the case and were quickly reminded of how serious the Senate was under pressure to follow through on Francus’s promise. Lusius writes that in a couple months time some 15,000 former legionaries, farmers, and merchants were chased out of their homes and off their lands by members of the Senate’s own cavalry force. None were meant to be killed but there certainly must have been casualties when a few decided to stand their ground and not give into the demands of the Senate. Upon hearing the news of the approaching wave many citizens decided to leave out of fear, not wishing to risk their lives over something they did not completely understand.
And so, some 15,000 Romans began their march north, banding together at crossroads along their journey. Lusius writes that an initial group of 9000 refugees was created in modern day Northern Switzerland at the conjunction of two major Roman highways. Stories would have most certainly been swapped and thus a bond was created between the two small groups. Although not writing with many details, Lusius states that eventually about 14,000 make their way to present day Netherlands. It is hard to imagine how such a large group of people could have met at one place so far from their starting point, but one must not cut out the power of the spoken word and its ability to travel hundreds of miles in a few days time. Modern historians believe that such a large group of people would have caught the attention of people already inhabiting the regions along which the group travelled. Through the power of gossip many historians believe that the small groups of refugees managed to find each other and band together, moving in whatever direction the latest villager said they saw another large group travel; inevitably north. Lusius says nothing contrary to this theory and despite his rather vague language his version seems to uphold this theory.
The year is now 221 AD, forty full years after the beginning of their migration, and the former Romans have managed to set up a new life in the area of the modern day Low Countries. Being on the fringes of the Roman Empire these former Romans, who now called themselves Porcuians although the exact reason is not known, ended up mixing with the barbarian populations of the area creating a sort of hybrid population with Gallic, German, and Roman blood. Creating various alliances with the local barbarian tribes, no doubt through marriage, the early Porcuians managed to establish themselves in the region as an autonomous entity through a combination of clever political dealings with Roman officials in Gaul and military force, once having to repulse a large Roman contingent which was looking to reassert Roman authority to the western Germanic tribes. These two powerful forces helped officially establish the nation of Porcu in the year 304 AD.
Important to note at this time is the rise of the Catholic Church, based in the city of Genesis City, and its influence over Europe. The Pope during the time of Porcu’s foundation was Alexander II and had a vision of converting all of the barbarians which had already begun to rampage border towns and run rampant through the Roman frontier. By this time Porcu had transformed itself into a minor kingdom although the Porcuian monarchy’s claims to title and land were not recognized by any of the major powers at the time. King Marcus Maxentius, whose grandfather Lucius Maxentius had been a former legionary and married the widow queen of a Germanic tribe, decided that Catholic Europe would be the boost necessary for Porcu to climb upward. In 407 AD Marcus Maxentius had a messenger sent before the Pope with a proposal. In return for a formal coronation and recognition by the Pope Marcus Maxentius would spread Genesian Catholicism to Northern Germania and Scandinavia. Pope Alexander II agreed and so Marcus Maxentius immediately set forth readying his forces for an invasion. By this time Porcu’s population had swelled to almost a million and an invasion would also provide an opportunity for further population increases as new land would be available. In the year 409 King Marcus Maxentius with his force of nearly 50,000 men along with several thousand Genesian Catholic priests set sail north. Staying close to the coast the Porcuian force landed first in Northern Denmark and dispatched a small force to assess enemy forces in the area. Taking note that the area was relatively uninhabited Marcus Maxentius decided to establish the first of Porcu’s trade posts, consisting of a small military guard, priests to convert the local population, and a good number of fur traders and fellow merchants. Soon after Marcus Maxentius ordered for the rest of his force to continue onward and in late 409 AD they landed near what is present day Stockholm.
Stockholm and its surrounding area quickly became a second home to the Porcuians, its miles of coastline providing excellent fishing and trading with the native population. Again, through careful diplomacy and the promise of marriage King Marcus Maxentius was able to relatively peacefully integrate the native population into the Porcuian population which had begun to arrive and settle the land. The capital of Porcu back on mainland Europe had been established around 306 AD as Amsterdam and by 409 AD Porcu’s borders stretched for much of the Low Countries and by 411 AD officially included the area of present day Porcu. By 413 AD Pope Alexander II recognized the work that Marcus Maxentius had done with agents of the Church reporting back to the Pope for sometime that Maxentius had indeed followed through with his promise to convert the formerly pagan population. By November of that same year the Pope traveled to Amsterdam to officially coronate Marcus Maxentius King of the Porcuians, providing the recognition that Porcu needed to solidify her reputation and sovereignty in Europe. Other Catholic rulers now had to carefully consider their actions against Porcu, lest they incur the wrath of the Pope.
Financial Rise to Benoit’s Reign of Tyranny and Establishment of Republic
With room to grow and develop without the fear of invasion by another Catholic ruler Porcu quickly was able to mature into a formidable nation, mainly relying on economic means to enforce their limited power. Over the next couple of centuries Porcu managed to solidify her position as an economic power, albeit not particularly strong militarily. It is for this reason that during the various Crusades that occurred over the long history of the Church Porcu was always a place the Pope could turn to for funding and financial support. For example, during the years leading up to the Second Crusade the Papacy had nearly emptied its accounts from lavish spending on the part of the Pope himself as well as many of the Church’s bishops and cardinals. Taking note of the riches that the Muslim nations to the East were swimming in the Pope decided to call a Crusade knowing full well that through plunder he could reboot the Papal account back to where it was several decades before or even better, however he did not have nearly enough funds to cover even the initial costs of a Crusade. By this time Porcu had managed to build its reputation even further, lending and managing the finances of kings and dukes from Spain to German kingdoms in Central Europe. However these amounts paled in comparison to the amount the Pope would need to fund his army. No one believed that the risk involved was worth it except for Porcu and the king at the time, Decius Maxentius IV, and after a few years of bitter fighting the nations who rallied around the call of the Crusade celebrated their victory.
Despite not sending one single soldier along with the Crusade the Pope, Sextus III, remembered well the people who helped him when it seemed Catholic Europe was in trouble. Ships and mule trains full of gold, silver, and precious stones made their way into Porcu; her risk paying off handsomely. Several Porcuians bishops were promoted to cardinals and the reputation of Porcu only grew by the day. With the sudden influx of money into the Royal bank as well as several other commercial banks run by powerful families the idea of expanding Porcu’s influence once again became plausible. In the year 882 AD Porcu began the first steps in its plan to create a trading empire, already posts had been set up throughout the Northern European coast and sights were set on the British Isles as well as North Africa. These lofty plans were abruptly halted with the death of Lucius Maxentius, son of Decius IV, in 885. Further complications would arise from Lucius’ death, mostly because there was no male heir to the throne. In the mix of everything were several powerful families, all of which had worked hundreds of years to get to their current position; no one could say they were undeserving of their current status. These families, essentially the bread and butter of the nation being the ones who controlled the financial transactions of the country, knew that they would have to unite at first in order to give themselves an individual chance at the throne later on. However, serious resistance was met by the Queen, Alessandra, as she refused to marry any of the noblemen presented to her. Porcu’s reputation among other European nations was still growing and despite several offers made from other royal houses Alessandra refused to hand over the crown she firmly believed was hers alone to wear. In order to combat this problem the noble families, lead by the House of Sittius, the House of Martelli, the House of Van Diepen, and the House of Bertrand, decided to immediately halt the royal family’s financial transactions. These transactions, however, included payments of tribute to the Pope in Genesis City and after taking note of the Porcuian royal family’s gracious contributions to the Church the Pope was stunned to find a valuable source of income suddenly cut, much like a faucet is turned off. Partly wishing to repay the royal family for all their assistance and partly to send a message to other Catholic nations Pope Pius VIII decided to send a Papal delegation to Amsterdam in order to set the record straight.
Over the next few weeks hundreds of Inquisitors and other Papal authorities made their way into Porcu demanding that full power be brought back to the monarchy, including financial freedom. Overseeing this effort was Cardinal Louis Benoit, a Porcuian himself and heavily pious individual who strongly believed in doing what was best for the Church. Not wishing to turn the heavily religious populace against them by defying the orders of the Pope and his minions the families went along with Cardinal Benoit and returned a vital lifeline back to Genesis City. Despite these actions Queen Alessandra would still not make any effort to place a male back on the throne and became ever more overbearing, eventually demanding that Cardinal Benoit order the Inquisitors and other papal authorities out of Porcu’s borders stating that decisions would now be made by herself rather than a Cardinal or the Pope. Tensions quickly flared between the two individuals with each believing that it was they who needed to assert authority over the kingdom.
It would not end well for Alessandra as in 891 she was murdered during the night, her body supposedly being found by Cardinal Benoit himself the next morning. No records remain of any communication between Cardinal Benoit and Genesis City leading up to Queen Alessandra’s demise but much speculation has been made of Pope Pius’ desire to reign in a nation which was certainly going astray in his eyes. In any case, after Alessandra’s death Porcu now remained in a difficult situation. No immediate family members were available to take the throne and with heavy Papal oversight on the families it was Cardinal Benoit which took the reigns as the leader of Porcu with the blessings of the Pope. The Porcuian people, which up until this time had remained fiercely devout Catholics, were now seen as not being “up to par”. Cardinal Benoit seemed to think that because of the years of uncertainty and instability the people had lost focus of their purpose. With no monarchy to guide them in the right direction it was now directly up to the Church to guide the masses in the right direction. Soon after taking lead Cardinal Benoit pushed new laws into action, many following the strict policies of the Church, and was met by small resistance at first. Porcuians, which by this time had found their identity and called themselves Swiss-Romans interchangeably with Porcuians, had always been a people of many individual freedoms. Trust in the monarchy was maintained unless the monarchy overreached their limits. Swiss-Romans clearly felt there was an acceptable different between personal and public life. They did not ever question their government unless their government questioned them and this was the predicament Cardinal Benoit found himself in. By enacting strict laws that breached past the public life and scrutinized every individual on a personal level Cardinal Benoit instantly made enemies among the average people of Porcu. With Inquisitors now everywhere and papal authorities constantly making themselves noticed the people began to get fearful and resentful. The real troubles began in 899 when a law was passed allowing Inquisitors to randomly detain a person based on an Inquisitor’s speculation of heresy. As part of his vision to “clean up” Porcu Cardinal Benoit made sure to stay aggressive and firm in his decisions.
Prostitutes, gamblers, drunks, and the like were immediately the first to go; no person acting indecently in public would see their families again. With the new law being implemented as well Porcuians had even more to fear and more to hate. The problem for the people was that while they had the desire for action they had no real means to act and that is where the families came into play again. Managing to stick together, setting aside rivalries, and keeping their common goal in sight the families were able to weather Cardinal Benoit’s tenure relatively well. With their vast resources and overflowing banks the families had no problem in providing the equipment necessary for a successful revolution: swords, bows, arrows, and alcohol. Being under relatively good terms with the papal authorities the families were able to smuggle in enough weapons to man a decently sized army, though this army would be made mostly of simple peasants. In transporting the equipment to villages and towns the word of mouth quickly assisted in putting everyone on the same page. Now all that was needed was a spark.
It would be provided in mid 902 AD when it was heard that a boy, only sixteen years old, was brought before the Inquisition in The Hague on charges of homosexual conduct, a terrible sin to the Genesian Church. This young man was no one special, his father was a blacksmith, but his public humiliation and trial were too much for many to sit through. After a quick and hasty public trial the boy, named Karel Meijvogel, was burned at the cross by agents of the Church. His death, violating every basic law that previously existed for a fair trial, angered the people to the point where the revolution actually began right there in the middle of the square. Thousands of people suddenly burst through the line of armed men and let themselves rampage the city. If one was wearing any papal insignia they probably wouldn’t see the moon rise that night, the mob spilling through the streets like a tide of water flooding the countryside. Again, the word of mouth quickly spread around and soon city after city had gone up in rebellion. Even a good number of soldiers participated in the revolution against Cardinal Benoit with the belief that the Church had betrayed their monarchy in order to assert power themselves. In the commotion of the revolution Cardinal Benoit was taken from his seat of power in Amsterdam to Stockholm by his personal guard, several attempts on his life being made along the ride to the docks before he was able to set sail. With no leader to protect and no other real reason to fight many who fought on behalf of Cardinal Benoit in the Netherlands now surrendered and quickly gave any information they had in order to spare their lives. In essence, the Netherlands now lay firmly back in the hands of the Porcuian people but unknown to them was a message sent by Cardinal Benoit to the Pope in Genesis City detailing the revolution and calling for papal assistance. Certainly annoyed at the change in events the Pope decided to send a small force to deal with the upstart population of Porcu. Numbering approximately 3000 men this force traversed all of Central Europe eventually crossing into the Netherlands but in order to make to The Hague where just a few days ago Cardinal Benoit had been brought back from Scandinavian Porcu after support for him had crumbled there as well the force had to travel through several areas of heavy forest. This is where, much like Germanic barbarians had slaughtered three Roman legions back in 9 AD, the Porcuian resistance would make their fight. Success was bitter victory as during the battle Guido Martelli, leader of the House of Martelli, was killed by an arrow to the neck. He and Lucius Sittius were the major leaders of the rebellion against Cardinal Benoit although all major families were instrumental in its execution.
With a solid defeat in the thick forests near the Dutch-Amish Children border Papal assistance vanished overnight and Porcu had freed herself from the grasps of an overzealous Cardinal. Sending a clear message to the Papacy Porcu pulled all financial assistance away from Genesis City and returned to building itself as a society. All laws passed under Cardinal Benoit were stricken away by a council of representatives, which was mostly made up of members of the various families, and it quickly became apparent that Porcu had another hard decision to make. Although no immediate family members in the Maxentius line were alive, King Lucius and Queen Alessandra never conceiving a child and dying themselves, there were various uncles who although lay claim to other lands where willing to step into the throne. The oldest of the three brothers of Lucius was Alaire, who decided for whatever reason to put the decision to the people. A popular referendum would be held, the vote being whether Porcu would become a republic or stay a monarchy. After several days of voting and a few re-counts the decision was overwhelmingly in favor of the republic and in mid 903 AD the Swiss-Roman Republic was born.
Early Republic to Modern Day
Immediately, old buildings reserved for the royal family were converted into spaces for the new Senate which would be the complete governing body of the Swiss-Roman Republic. With everything now being put up to vote it was decided that the Senate would comprise of 100 people, with leadership positions being assigned to various Senators. While a Senate building was being built the Senators made a converted horse stall their meeting place and passed a few very influential pieces of legislation. One officially excluded the royal family completely from politics, no longer having any part to play in running the country. The Senate, while new, wanted to send a clear message to not only their people but other nations as well; Europe’s first democracy would lead the way.
And so Porcu stayed relatively peaceful for the next several hundred years, never involving itself in regional wars or thrusting itself out in the international political arena. The Swiss-Roman Republic continued to grow and develop and with the passage of time had to let the Netherlands go due to a popular referendum in which the Dutch decided that they wished to pursue independence. Porcu obliged and her borders would now only consist of the lands in Scandinavia while a few decades later the Netherlands were put under the banner of another nation.
Even more isolated now due to its geographic location Porcu was able to progress well into the 20th century before becoming confident enough to step out into the European stage once more. With the help of a sound, intelligent, and strong Prime Minister in Richard Nixon Porcu has never looked back from its decision…
