| abstract
| - Osraighe is a term which refers to the modern state of Ossory and the surrounding lands which once formed a small empire of the same name. For thousands of years it was inhabited by a series of loosely allied smaller kingdoms who, when they weren't repelling foreign invaders spent most of their time fighting amongst each other. The old borders of Osraighe once encapsualted the western Fornax Musica peninsula and the bay to it's east which meant that it commanded an extremely important trade route. The location of the river Vert in the bay (on which the city of Kilkenny now lies) meant that goods could be easily brought far inland which is otherwise difficult to do in the Fornax Musica region, given the mountainous topography of it's inner region. This meant that Osraighe historically controlled a vast amount of wealth and was as such the subkect of repeated invasions. This has led to a wide culutural diversity and is now why English has replaced it's ancient native languages. Through the 3300's Osraighe's economic stability plummeted and the once prosperous state devolved into a state of chaos as the ruling Communist party failed to tackle the unemployment rate which soared to almost 28%. As a result of the chaos, three movements emerged, all wishing to take the country in different directions. The first movement to emerge was the Green Movement , completely opposed to the Soviet style of Communism and sought independence in order to restore order and achieve a capitalist, free destiny. To this end they declared independence on the 16th May 3371, calling thier nascent state the Ossorian Republic. A government was formed in Kilkenny and Osraighe's government fled to Marambaj in the province of Mí. The new Republic quickly formed a militia, comprising of compliant segments of the Osraighe's military. The territory of the Ossorian Republic expanded to the majority of the Ulaid, Laighean and Chonnacht provinces, although pockets of defiance refused to submit to the new government's rule. These pockets were viciously put-down, lresulting in uproar in the Chonnact region. The Reds, with their new seat in Marambaj immediately ceased the majority of Osraighe's military which was stationed in Mí. This included most of the navy. gathering their forces, the Reds invaded the new Republic on the morning of the 4th of June 3371. They quickly advanced through Chonnact and then Ulaid, but were unable to put-down the isolated Laighean which had been receiving military and material aid from Serenity. The Kilkenny government's tenuous hold on the new Republic was broken and the country collapsed. Only Laighean remained out of Red control. Largely documented evidence shows that there were atrocities on both sides although a policy of civilian murder has since been revealed to have been the official policy of the Red army as a means of reprisal against the revolutionary provinces. This heavily influenced public opinion across the now divided country. Unrecognised, Laighean managed to repel Osraighe's attempts to reestablish control over the region. After almost a year of relatively little activity, with the help of Serenity and foreign sympathisers, a second rebellion began after a series of Riots in Derry and Kilkenny on 27th August 3372. Exiled Ossorian Republican forces and their allies spilled across Serenity's and Laighean's borders into the Chonnacht region. This provoked an uprising of civilian forces within the former Ossorian Republic and after months of bitter conflict the Reds were pushed back into Mí and into the southern tip of Ulaid. After Derry fell to the rebels, the Reds abandoned the province, evacuating to Mí by sea. The Reds, utterly spent were unable to launch another offensive and kept within the border of Mí were they maintained popular support. For the Greens, the victory was a Pyhrric one and they too lacked the initiative to invade Mí in the winter and end the war. Instead, they chose to fortify the border and balance the now tattered economy. The capital of the new republic was situated in the town of Kussoto in Laighean, where the Green Movement was first established and enjoyed it's most popular support. Estimates carried out in this period find that between fpur and six million died as a result of the two conflicts, with about 760,000 of these deaths being military deaths. In addition, an estimated 100,000 civilians and political prisoners are estimated to have died in Red concentration camps throughout the region occupied by the second republic while up to 300,000 were taken to Mí where they suffered a similar fate in the Walsberg Extermination Camp. By September 3373 the situation in the second republic had somewhat normalised, with sporadic probing attacks by Red forces mostly contained to the border. The Greens, unable to stabilise the economy which had at this point been ruined for four years, now looked at cutting costs. Social security payments were reduced by 30% while expenditure cuts were made across the health and education sectors. The decision was also made to reduce the number of prisoners of war, which numbered around 180,000 at the time. Afraid the the Marambaj government would use repatriated soldiers to invade again, the Kussoto government made the decision to have these prisoners secretly exterminated. Over the course of two months this operation was carried out but a leak to the media caused outrage in the traditionally less extreme Chonnact region. Riots and protests were put-down harshly by the Green police and the death penalty was re-intorduced. At this point the White Movement emerged, seeking peace and stability in Chonnacht. Horrified, Serenity dropped it's support for the second republic, instead supporting a white, separatist undrground government in Kilkenny. Popular support went to the seperatists in Kilkenny and a civil war broke out within the republic in July 3374. The Green army, vastly outnumbered by the Chonnacht region gendarmerie and it's much larger population and industrial capabilities was forced to retreat to the regions of Laighen and Ulaid, where the new Kilkenny government refused to pursue them, knowing of the abilities of the Greens in their homeland from the first civil war. By the end of August the new Kilkenny government established itself firmly, stationing troops at it's borders to prevent reoccupation. Calling itself the Third Ossorian Republic, the Chonnacht region was now independent of the second republic. Osraighe, now shattered into four regions within three states was no more. Less than a year later, the Third Republic, unhappy with the persecution of White sympathisers within the Second Republic's borders, decided it could no longer sit back and watch. The White army advanced slowly through the territory of the second republic, neutralising it's government and assimilating it into the Third Republic as the Protectorate of Ulaid and Laighean. Public opinion shifted in this war from animosity towards the Greens towards sympathy after a corporation in the south sea was mistakenly hit by White forces resulting in over 20,000 civilian deaths. The Third Republic, injected trillions of dollars into the Protectorate, eventually managed to help it's economy recover while stablilising Chonnacht's economy. The war, now seen as a tragedy led to the alliance of the two states and the Green party became more moderate. After war tribunals and increased employment levels materialised, the Protectorate's populace, while allied with the White supporters, began a peaceful separatist movement. and in 3447, gained independence once more, naming itself the United Kingdom of Sonno Bet. Now at a new point in it's development, the Third Republic decommissioned 60% of it's military and announced the establishement of a fully democratic, socialist state, fully opposed to the extremes of the old Reds and the old Greens: the Fourth Republic of Ossory. Now with a recovered economy and a desire to enter the global political scene, the Fourth Republic reinitiated diplomatic relations with Serenity and a number of neighbour states within the Fornax Musica region, establishing the Fornax Musica Economic Communty and the Social Democratic Federation with the help of Serenity. Peace treaties were signed between member states and the region prospered. in the year 3463, an offer was extended to the Fourth Republic for the Social Democratic Federation to merge with the Soviet Federation. Initially wary of communism after the devastating wars in it's recent history, the Fourth Republic took time to consider the offer. Fearing another attack by the Reds who had not made a move in more then fifty years, the Fourth Republic cautiously accepted the offer in 3364. No other member states of the the SDF agreed to this proposal however and so the SDF was disbanded. The Fourth Republic maintains friendly relations with these nations. Immediately upon joining the Soviet Federation, the Fourth Republic was struck by an Earthquake. Unprepared, the economy was ruined by the sudden loss of industry and life. Aid from within the Soviet fedreation quickly helped the Fourth Republic to recover. In the end over 20,000 lives were lost but this number was significantly reduced by the aid provided by the federation. This bolstered national support for the federation and also peaked an interest in humanitarianism due to lingering wounds from the civil war and inspiration from other member states. Since then, the Fourth Republic has joined SovECON and had become an active member in the Federations affairs, often promoting conservative reforms while stating it's desire for the creation of a global humanitarian network and the establishment of a military standard banning attacks on civilian targets and banning the use of nuclear and chemical weapons. The Fourth Republic has stationed military units in the Socialist Union of Mandarr so that it may prevent atrocities around the globe and so that it ensures the support of other nations in times of war. The Fourth Republic was also requested, in 3487, to become the Governor General of the Federation and is now performing this role. It joined the Civic Democratic Union within the Federation in 3498 and is running for the position of council.
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