Crimson Revolution

The **Crimson Revolution** was a period of political unrest that took place between September 2544 and July 2545. It arose from backlash against the rise of an isolationist government in Eridu, and resulted in the deposition of this government and the installation of a new administration which opened borders and incorporated new areas into Eridu.

## Events

**Rise of isolationist government in Eridu (September - December 2544)**

The crisis began with the ascension of a new isolationist leader in Eridu on 20 September, who began implementing stricter controls on foreigners in Eridu in the first days of his tenure. By the start of October, Checkpoint Birch on the border with the Azure Order had been closed, and the Crimson Caravan had been recalled from Azure City. The government continued to consolidate its power throughout the remainder of 2544.

**Economic downturn (January - March 2545)**

New Year's Day celebrations were unusually muted in Eridu in 2545 due to the atmosphere of political unrest at the time. A report released by the government in early January showed negative year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2544, as well as the onset of an economic recession due to a massive decline in trade, contributing to growing popular dissent. As unemployment continued to grow through February and March, the country began to face severe economic difficulties, leading a small group of activists to call for protests against the government for its failure to maintain stable economic growth.

**Protests (April - June 2545)**

The first protest occurred on 4 April, with only a small turnout. The organisers of the April 4 demonstration were arrested hours later, triggering massive outrage over police misuse of force and unintentionally turning the arrested activists into "martyrs" for the cause. The second protest a week later gathered significantly larger crowds, and the police therefore refrained from taking overt action against most of the protests that followed, fearing that their actions would draw even larger crowds to future demonstrations. These protests soon became a weekly affair, becoming more organised every time, with plans for the protests to culminate in a massive week-long demonstration from 27 June to 4 July to mark National Foundation Day on 30 June, with a massive tent camp and sufficient facilities to allow the protest site to function as a small town for the week.

The planned week-long demonstration was disrupted in the early hours of 1 July, with massive police raids on the tent camp, forcing the crowd to disperse by dawn. This only further inflamed public opinion, with leaders of the protest condemning the police action as an affront to patriotism due to the arrests taking place the day after National Foundation Day. With the peaceful protests ended by violent government action, many began to turn to alternative means of regime change.

**Armed rebellion (July 2545)**

The underground April 4 Movement had been gathering weapons for an armed uprising against the Eridu government since May, and began receiving unprecedented numbers of recruits after the events of 1 July. New recruits were given basic training in the Movement's base located in the hills east of the capital, and supplies were brought in from neighbouring Broken Hills to supply the fight. With all preparations in place, the uprising began on 21 July, with attacks on the police headquarters in Eridu City. Government forces attempted to place the entire country on lockdown, jammed all signals in and out of the city, and gave orders to shoot at anyone attempting to cross the border the next day. Rebel forces quickly learned to deal with this by blocking Eridu soldiers with light barriers, and continued their offensive, making rapid gains in urban fighting. Rebel forces had secured the city by 25 July, forcing the loyalists southward. The final loyalist soldiers surrendered on 28 July after being surrounded in Chroma Valley, officially handing power to the revolutionaries.

## Aftermath

The new government opened Eridu's borders almost immediately after gaining power, with Broken Hills joining Eridu to create better conditions for continued economic development of both settlements.

The city's glass architecture suffered severe damage due to fighting during the final armed uprising at the end of the Revolution.