Corbray Pacification Decree

The Corbray Pacification Decree was an edict issued by the Imperial Court of Emperor Lidnen Röt in 2387 IA. The decree sought to create a purely Imperial colony in the Corbray and Kepner regions while segregating and subjegating the local Freestater and Corbrayan populations. 
The decree established legal definitions for Freestater, Corbrayan, and Imperial within the Imperial territories, and following those definitions, stripped citizenship from those considered non-Imperial. The decree further forbid marriages and extramarital sex between Imperials and non-Imperials and outlined a plan to reduce the Corbrayan and Freestater populations in the Empire. 
The tensions fueled by the decree helped lead to the outbreak of the First Imperial-Union War. This war between the Corbray Union and Ivory Empire ended in 2394 IA with Imperial recognition of the Union's independence. 

Document Structure

Clauses

The Corbray Pacification Decree was formed of 5 sections. 
The first section of the decree outlined the definition of who was Imperial, Corbrayan, and Freestater within the Imperial territories. The bloodline status was established through the number of Freestater grandparents or grandparents of a person:

• Imperial = no Freestater great-grandparent
• Corbrayan = one or two Freestater grandparents
• Freestater = three or four Freestater grandparents

The second section declared that only those considered to be Imperial under the definitions established in the first section would be eligible to be Imperial citizens. Imperial citizens were granted certain rights and protections from the government, while all others were relegated to the status of "Imperial subjects" without any of these rights and protections. 
The third section forbade marriages and extramarital sexual relationships between Imperials and non-Imperials. The only legal marriage between Corbrayans and Imperials could occur between a Corbrayan with only one Freestater grandparent; all other marriages between Imperials and non-Imperials were forbidden. Any marriages between Imperials and non-Imperials dated before the issuance of the decree were declared invalid. 
Section 4 outlined Imperial plans to assimilate Corbrayans into Imperial culture. Corbrayan children were to be taken to the mainland and adopted into Imperial families in an attempt to raise them as Imperials, while adult Corbrayans were to be deported to the mainland as "Imperial subjects" to work as servants in Imperial households. Freestaters were to be deported to "reservations" east of the Kepner region or used as labor in the dynalite mines. 
The final section established the penalties for breaking the prohibitions under section 3. Persons found to engaging in extramarital sexual relations with forbidden individuals are punished with a prison sentence of hard labor or a jail sentence, while marriage against the decree proclamation was penalized with a prison sentence of hard labor.

Publication Status

Copies of the decree were created and posted in every public square in every settlement in the Corbray and Kepner regions.

Historical Details

Background

From the start of the Corbray colony, there was a level of segregation between Imperials and Freestaters (later including the mixed-race Corbrayans), though there was no strict enforcement of the laws governing relations between the groups by the colonial government.
The discovery of metallic dynalite in the Kepner region east of Corbray led to increased Imperial activity. These new colonists pushed for enforcement of the segregation laws, though this effort was met with indifference from the colonial government. Violence broke out between the Imperials and Freestaters. 
Efforts to establish local rule began shortly after the establishment of the dynalite mine. Although the colonial government was reluctant to enforce segregation, it was more than willing to violently suppress these protests, and many supporters of local rule were sentenced to hard labor in the dynalite mine.

Public Reaction

The colonial government in the Corbray region had no intention of enforcing the decree, and as a result, the government in the colony was dismissed and replaced with Imperial officials from Tarakai and Catal Hisarlik. Despite the initial reluctance to enforce the decree, the decree did inspire informal attacks against non-Imperials and the colonial government itself. Some Imperial soldiers rallied to the cause and assassinated prominent government officials and non-Imperials. 
For the most part, Imperials in the Corbray colony accepted the decree. Imperial propaganda had swayed opinion on the status of Freestaters and Corbrayans towards that of a second-class citizenship, and opposition to the decree opened oneself to social harassment and potential legal ramifications. Imperials gradually stopped interacting with non-Imperials, both socially and commercially. Those who continued to patronize non-Imperial businesses faced social ostracization. 
Freestaters and Corbrayans in both the Imperial mainland and Corbray region attempted nonviolent resistance to the decree. They organized various groups to petition to the Regent and Imperial Court. These attempts were met with failure. Non-Imperials were segregated into isolated ghettos in preparation for deportation.

Legacy

The outbreak of the First Imperial-Union War interrupted the implimentation of deportation of non-Imperials, but the process had begun, starting with Corbrayan children. Nearly 10,000 children were deported from the colony in the two years between the issuance of the decree and the outbreak of the war. These children, while considered Corbrayan, had only 1 or 2 Freestater grandparents, and they were forcibly adopted into Imperial families on the mainland. 
Nearly 12,000 Corbrayans were forced into servitude as "Imperial subjects" on the mainland. The children of these Corbrayans were further adopted into Imperial families, and the population was declared fully assimilated in 2533 IA.

Authoring Date

2387 IA