Heathen Wars
| Heathen Wars | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Messenian conquest of the Seranias | |||||
 Savamese ships surrounding the Mirokrainy flagship Hand That Binds as it explodes during the Battle of St-Claude (1797). | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Odann  Savam (from 1798 onwards) Dordanie (until 1798) Quenie (until 1798)  Siurskeyti  Zeppengeran |
 Second Kingdom of Mirokrai  Azophin | ||||
The Heathen Wars were a series of colonial conflicts fought between Messenian powers and the Second Kingdom of Mirokrai over control of Serania Major during around the turn of the 19th century. These conflicts saw Messenian powers, namely Odann, Savam, Siurskeyti, and Zeppengeran, secure colonial possessions on mainland Serania Major at the expense of Mirokrainy colonial empire.
The Messenian gains in the Heathen Wars were a significant turning point in the history of Serania, putting a definitive end to any pretense of exclusive Joriscian hegemony over the New World, with lasting consequences for global affairs. In particular, Mirokrainy defeats in Serania hastened the end of the War of the Third Emperor, pushing the parties involved towards the Everlasting Peace in response to a perceived existential threat to Vaestdom. To the Messenians, access to the land and resources of continental Serania set the stage for Messenian powers to steadily catch up with Joriscian powers over the following two centuries.
Background
While the West Wind Treaty (1656) recognized an exclusive Mirokrainy claim to eastern Serania, these rights hinged on the relationship between Mirokrai and Great Neritsia, and were only respected within the Jorisician world. However, the collapse of the Neritsovid empire and the overwhelming size of Mirokrainy Serania opened the floodgates to competing interests from within Joriscia and beyond. Messenian powers chipped away at peripheral Jorisician claims to Serania Major, aided by its remoteness from major colonial centers in Serania Minor and the Joriscian metropole. But for much of the early 18th century, the Messenian presence on continental Serania remained limited to small footholds, mainly due to the difficulties in keeping these small colonies supplied, given the even greater distance between Messenia and Serania Major along the Great Belt Route.
The Felician Gold Rush of the 1760s and changing economic circumstances across Messenia made the prospect of more intensive exploration and settlement of Serania Major far more lucrative among the Messenian powers. Furthermore, growing Joriscian competition in Ascesia facilitated through the Joriscian-Ascesian Trade Route depended on Seranian ports gave Messenian states an impetus to close off the Joriscians' eastward routes to Ascesia. During this time, Quènian explorers and privateers escalated their activities in Roriks Gulf, disrupting Joriscian trade routes towards Ascesia and more vigorously contesting control of the Felician and Tatuln peninsulas. Consequently, Quènian engagements in northern Serania made Mirokrainy attempts to reassert authority further along the east coast of Serania Major even more difficult, giving Siursk, Odannach, and Zepnish ventures a free hand to deepen their continental presence. Messenian powers inevitably came into conflict over their contested claims, but the Seranian Treaties in the second half of the 18th century saw Messenian states settle many of the most glaring overlapping claims through bilateral agreements. With the most glaring disputes among the Messenian powers resolved or averted by the 1790s, they enjoyed a free hand to deal directly with their Joriscian competitors.
Events
- War in Felicia: Mirokrainy and Azophine forces against Savam and Siurskeyti
- Tatuln War: Zepnish and Savamese contesting Mirokrainy control over Tatuln
- Coactian campaigns: Siursk vs. Terophan and everyone else
Role of the Pirate States and the New Zaavic League?
Agreement at Mudry (1802)