History of Humerland

Ancient
'''Note: this section is subject to change and ought to be rectified. Some details are distorted, others missing.'''

Following the collapse of the large civilisation known to have conquered much of Borealis (known here as "the Empire"), Canciona, and Mediterrae, which was known to occupy Humerland as far north as the Homarus river, the nation split into various nations previously occupying the area. Humerland as a constituent state came into being c.1000, following a period of infighting among these states.

Homarism, the worship of Great Nephrops the great divine lobster, first began to become prevalent in the Homarus valley around this time, by tribes living by the Homaric Sea, where lobsters are plentiful and were regarded as the offspring of Great Nephrops.

These nations occupied roughly the same regions as the modern provinces of Humerland proper, with the exceptions of Région des Langoustes, later won in the Seventy Years War, and Montonia and Easthumer, which were colonised in the 11th century.

There were 4 such kingdoms; Norrhummerland, Homarus, Midland, and Suitland. The northernmost of these kingdoms, Norrhummerland, was a loose confederacy of local chieftains and their tribes. Ethnically, these people were similar to the Friesians; both migrated east from what is now Haluria around 2,000 years ago; they could not go further south, as the Empire still controlled the land south of the Homarus river. They are not, however, ethnically related to the current populations of Haluria. Norrhummerland being mostly marshy and devoid of materials, civilised society was difficult.

Suitland, or South Land, is ethnically related to the people of the Kneck/Amurrhine valley, including Borogravia and what is now the PRA. They migrated north following the collapse of the Empire, reaching the sea by c440. As a country they were always dominated by Borogravia, and at times threatened by the Inutilian Caliphate or Homarus. Nevertheless, they remained fiercely independent, and did not ally with any sides.

Homarus at the time occupied land on both sides of the Homarus river, as well as substantial holdings to the south. The two major cities of the present nation, Humerburg and Kreeftenstad, were both founded by the Empire and settled by the Homarus, although under the names Homar Burgus and Civilis Homarus. The Homarus river made trade and transport relatively easy, allowing the construction of large cities with grand buildings in addition to the Empire's, including the oldest stone buildings still standing in Humerland. Culturally, they were influenced by Carthaginian explorers, who founded the then royal family, the House of Himilcar, which continued until the First Unification. Carthaginian names became fashionable, the architectural style was influenced by Carthage, as was religion (although by 800 Homarism, the worship of Great Nephrops, was being adopted by the upper classes. This followed the conversion of King Hanno II, who was convinced by his mother-in-law to paint lobsters on his men's shields before going to battle, with the victory having been attributed to this). Carthage also introduced elephants and brought much technology, including large galleys, cranes, the alphabet, and advanced mathematics and astronomy, and architectural and engineering concepts such as the arch and bridge. The existence of the river, and Carthaginian ingenuity, stimulated ship design, allowing Homarus to trade all across the Homaric Sea and as far south as the Gulf of Basza. Already by 690, to protect the mouths of the Homarus river, King Carthalo IV (the royal family was by this time Carthaginian, and took Carthaginian names) built a navy of ships. Midland was essentially a vassal-state of Homarus, and provided it with grain and other produce. By 900 Homarus was taking tribute from even Norrhummerland.

Early Medieval - Egbreth
Around the year 960, a chieftain in Norrhummerland known as Egbreth began a revolt against the Homarus's tribute- and tax-collecting dominance of Norrhummerland. He was also angered by the destruction of the rock-pools where they worshiped the crayfish, destroyed by Homaric missionaries to make people worship Great Nephrops instead. He convinced other chiefs to band together, and they declared war against Homarus.

Homarus responded by sending a large army north to wipe Norrhummerland off the face of the earth. The army is said to have contained 100 elephants, as well as 50,000 men. Egbreth deployed a force of 100 warriors, whom the Homaric soldiers pursued. The warriors retreated into the swamps, inciting the Homaric army to follow. The Homaric army promptly got lost and was ambushed by around 10,000 Norrhummerland warriors, who set fire to the swamps and surrounded the army. Knowing the land, they had the advantage. They killed the entire army, captured the elephants and lots of weapons, mustered a force of 200,000 men, and marched down to Civilis Homarus. They beseiged it, and, taking it by surprise, captured it within a week. Leaving a garrison, they travelled along the Homarus river, looting and sacking as they went. When they got to Homar Burgus, they demanded the surrender of the entire city. This was granted, subject to the condition that Egbreth become a Homarist, that Homar Burgus be kept, and that the royal family be spared, in exchange for ownership by Egbreth of Civilis Homarus. Egbreth pledged compliance to this, was baptised as a Homarist, and was awarded ownership of the Civilis Homarus, which he renamed Kreeftenstad. He then allied with Homarus, to form a union of the two nations in 976, and together they invaded Suitland. He is remembered as Egbreth the Great. His heir, King Ethelred, merged Homarus and Norrhummerland to form Humerland in 1034.

Post-Ethelred
By 1200, Montonia and Easthumer were added to the Kingdom of Humerland, although it took a century, and vast resources and manpower, to subdue them. The nation vied with Valan and Friesland for trade on the Homaric Sea, and started trading extensively in iron mined in the Transhomaric Mountains, some of which has been found in swords from Omari Robusuta and Alituria. By then Omari Robusuta was known, although semi-legendary and thought of as a very rich, magical kingdom. Rumours of lands south and east of South Haluria began around this time, following tales by mariners who had sailed around the coast of Canciona, or travellers who had ventured through Borogravia and Inutilia.

- Unification
By 1340, the kingdom was in a sorry state of collapse and decline. It had reverted to its old kingdoms of Norrhummerland, Homarus, Midland, Suitland, Montonia, and Easthumer. Easthumer was cut off due to robber-barons in the mountains preventing trade, and much of the population was ruled by small fiefdoms and agrarian communities. Humerburg and Kreeftenstad were abandoned for the most part, and the House of Egbreth became one of the many small kingdoms.

This part is where Dierdrik comes in. The son of a baron in Midland, he, like Egbreth before him, amassed a large following. He united Midland and Suitland, and made it his goal to cross the mountains and conquer rebellious Easthumer, which required control of the passes. He succeeded in doing so, and many of the small castles built in the passes at this time to control movement still stand. He set up a vassal government in Easthumer, with its capital at Humerport. He then united the western part, setting up the new capital at Humerburg. This action took 34 years in total, and earned him the title Dierdrik the Uniter. He is the head of the House of Dierdrik.

As for the other events of Dierdrik's reign, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Humerland?

- 70 Years War, conquest of Langouste
In 1390, 10 years after Dierdrik's death, Humerland again had cause to go to war, this time against Langouste, a smaller nation on their coast. Langouste posed a problem, as it blocked much access to the Homaric Sea, and could potentially isolate Suitland if war broke out. Moreover, Humerland was hanging out for a war to boost its patriotism and morale. As such, they declared war on Langouste, and, after a period of fighting that lasted for 7 decades, known as the Seventy Years War, Humerland finally captured the last part of Langouste, the city of Crabenbourg. The nation was merged into Humerland as Région des Langoustes, but the language and culture are still very much independent, as reflected in the place names.

Modern
By the year 1500, Humerland decided that it would need to build a larger navy if it was to control trade on the Homaric Sea. By this time Valan was posing a threat, and Humerland's King Henri IV, the first king from the House of Crabenbourg, reacted by authorising the construction of over 40 ships, including both carracks and the new galleon design invented in Basza.

By 1600, Friesland was the dominant nation in the Homaric Sea. Immensely wealthy through trade with the Orient, including Alituria and Eleutheria, it had a larger navy than Humerland or Valan. It controlled most of the Homaric Sea, and considered itself to have exclusive fishing rights therein. Conflict over fishing rights led to the First Homardo-Friesan War, in 1646 (result: Homaric victory), 1684 (result: Friesan-Valanian victory), 1697 (result: stalemate), and 1786 (result: Homaric victory). In the end, Humerland gained complete dominance of the Homaric Sea, allowing further colonisation.

Both Humerland and Friesland allied during the 14 Seconds War against Haluria.

1800s onwards
In 1880, Humerland had a marriage alliance with Borogravia. This meant that King Claudius II, is the last king of the House of Westborough; his heir apparent, King Norbert VI, will be the first of the Westborough-Borogravian house. Due to the fact that the current Duchess of Borogravia has no descendants, when she dies, the King of Humerland will also be the Grand Duke of Borogravia.

Since 1890, Humerland has expanded its colonial Empire. This involved first taking Alituria, or part thereof, then colonising part of Occidentalis and the east coast of Australis. It has the largest navy in the world, with 14 pre-dreadnoughts, and in late 1905 launched the first Dreadnought-type battleship, completed in early 1906.

Soon after Alituria became inactive, Humerland, along with many other nations, decided to invade it. It was widely criticised for greedily claiming too much, which put strains on relations with the Solis Federation and West Carthage Company. As a result, it only kept the interior section; being rich in soil, this was likely to be its cause for colonisation.

Soon after this, war broke out between Humerland and various nations, mostly of the Socii Mundial, including Haluria, Solis Federation, the WCC, the PRA, Borogravia, and Omari Robusuta. This war had two major theatres; the Borealis and Aliturian fronts, as Humerland had no other colonies at this point. Haluria invaded via the north, but the attack was halted with Humerlandic forces using airships for close air support, and a peace deal with Haluria was signed. South of this, the PRA attempted to attack, but was too late, as Borogravia was already doing so. In Alituria, Omari Robusuta invaded Alituria; the Humerlandic garrison surrendered and in a magnanimous gesture was permitted to go home, with cruiser escort.

It is not known exactly how the war was resolved, but Humerland was permitted to keep its territories. The cause of the war was Humerlandic expansion and resentment at the rush for Alituria.

Humerland was a founding member of the Homaric Alliance, and alliance between Humerland, Borogravia, Omari Robusuta, and other countries.

Humerland has a very large empire, envied by many other nations for its size. After the colonisation of Alituria, it colonised more land. There is no evidence of them having explored, however; this makes people suspicious.

Humerland claims to have invented the dreadnought battleship, although other nations had launched them around the same time, and it is not clear who did so first.

Recently, Humerland was involved in a war against various other Socii nations. This was decanonised as being unfair to an inactive player. This has been criticised, as the admin have been said to be abusing their rights. This seems likely, and FishExist promised not to do so in future. Again, this war was against Humerlandish expansionism.

During the Scourge, it locked down hard. It is not known how many casualties it has.

During the Great War, Humerland did not originally involve herself, but did supply arms to other nations in Socii and the alliance under "lend-lease" terms.