The Giardist Revolution

The Giardist Revolution saw the overthrow of the Samoran monarchy and dramatic political shift into a republic. Initial discontent began with the Crown Prince spending frivolously and hiding the country's bankrupt finances. The king did nothing, instead only raising taxes on the poor. Rent and the cost of basic commodities increased dramatically, and many Samoran peasants were arrested and thrown into debtor's prison. Meanwhile, Enlightened thinkers published works criticizing the role of monarchies and religion in suppressing the will of the people. They believed that governments should work for the population and that if they failed to do that, then the only natural recourse was to remove them. Discontent reached a head when the army stormed a tavern that was popular for political discussion and arrested all who were inside. They were executed without trial as a public spectacle. The next day, protestors lined the streets demanding that the king abdicate and give way to a democratically elected government. Day by day, the riots increased, and Roucen was thrown into chaos. The army attempted to stand up against the rioters, however, many of the common soldiers who were from the working class, sympathized with the revolters and changed sides. Once control over the military was lost, the royal family attempted to sneak out in the dead of night. They were caught a few days later near the border with Retland and formally arrested. Back in Roucen, the revolutionaries imposed a temporary government to restore some order to the city. They had created a council that was in charge of redistributing food to the masses and turning much of the royal family's gold and silver into coins. When the royal family returned in chains, there was public demand for the execution. A few days later, they were beheaded, and the crowds cheered. Elsewhere, however, royalists recaptured several outer districts of the city and cut the revolutionaries off from several major roads.
Fights broke out in the streets between the royalists and revolutionaries. In response, the government imposed a strict curfew and attempted to negotiate with the royalists. They demanded that they leave the country in exile but would otherwise be spared. Many of the peasants felt that this was a weakening of revolutionary ideals and openly opposed to the interim government. Initially, the government had anyone who disputed their policies arrested and hanged. But, public opinion had already shifted, and the council was forced to disband. All of its members were beheaded, and a new council was formed. This one took a much more radical turn and killed anyone who was thought to have royalist sympathies. For the next year and a half, the streets ran red with blood.
Astoria and Petrek declared war on Samoir as they feared that such revolutionary ideas would spread. The new government was forced to form an army and chose a former captain to lead the new army. He insisted that the country impose conscription in order to field an army that could face some of the most well trained troops in the world. This was done, and eight months later, the new general deemed his army trained enough to fight. The army swept south in Astoria and nearly split the country in half with victory after victory. When winter set in, they retreated back to Samoir leaving only small detachments to hold the region. The next year, they redoubled their effort to conquer Astoria and eventually captured Wesshaven. The army continued south in Gora Nos.
In the north, a smaller army attacked north into Petrek. They were aided by sympathizers in Retland. With both Petrek and Astoria fighting, off invasion, they were largely unable to aid each other. War continued for the next twelve years. However, the long war took its toll on Samoir. They were unable to keep pouring money into the army, and most food was sent to the soldiers rather than the people. The army still starved and took to raiding farms and villages as they marched. The return of food shortages in Samoir shifted public opinion against the war even though they heard about victory after victory. Casualties were high, and the age for conscription expanded several times. Astoria and Petrek were able to push back against the Samoran army and eventually drove them back to just outside Roucen. On the open plains, the armies met and the Samoran army was finally brought to heel.