Kauane

Kauane Yrasêma Arandu (1811-1887) was a Ta’arohan and military leader who ruled first as the Duke of Arandu, before serving as the first Minister-Chancellor of a united Ta’aroha from 1846 until 1885. His most significant accomplishments during his reign include the founding of the modern Ta’arohan state and national identity, his reorganization of the nation’s armies, his military successes against neighboring states, and his patronage of the arts and foreign scholars. Kauane was the last monarch to rule over the nation, as he abolished the position and established Ta’aroha as a modern centralized state partially modeled after Edury. Ta’aroha greatly increased its territories and became a leading regional military power under his rule. He became known as Sapy’a Tetâ, or “The One Who Splits the Earth.”

In his youth, Kauane was more interested in hunting and music than the art of war. Nonetheless, upon ascending to the seat of the Dukedom of Arandu, he immediately set out on a campaign of equal parts diplomacy and warmaking, winning military acclaim for himself and Arandu. He continued growing his realm for his entire reign, and toward the end, he attacked and attempted to annex most of the Empire of Riyude. Although these efforts failed, he is remembered as an influential military theorist, whose analysis emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issued of strategy, tactics, mobility, and logistics.

Kauane has been described by some as an enlightened despot. He stated on numerous occasions that the leader of a state should be its first servant, among other, similar sentiments in his writings. He unified and modernized the young nation’s bureaucracy and civil service and pursued religious and cultural policies throughout his realm that ranged from tolerance to segregation. He reformed the judicial system and made it possible for men not of noble birth to become judges and bureaucrats. Kauane also encouraged integration and tolerance of various nationalities and faiths within his nation, although he enacted oppressive measures against Western Riyudic subjects in the eastern part of the country. Kauane supported artists and thinkers from nations he admired, such as Edury, embracing ideas such as freedom of the press and literature to a much greater degree than any of his predecessors. Kauane never sired any children, instead hand-selecting his protege Tatapyu as his successor. He is buried in the National Gardens in Pirami.

Nearly all 19th century Ta’arohan historians framed Kauane into a romantic model of a warrior-leader, praising his leadership, administrative efficiency, devotion to duty, and success and building Ta’aroha into a great power. Kauane remained an admired historical figure through Ta’aroha’s defeat in the Summer War, despite attempts by the authoritarian regime to lessen his importance due to his ideas. Regardless, historians in the 21st century now view Kauane as one of the finest generals and most enlightened leaders of his age, as well as a capable leader who built the foundation that allowed Ta’aroha to contest Riyudic dominance in the region.

Youth
Kauane, son of Kauane Arandu I and his wife, Yrasêma Mburukuja, was born in Tuvicha in the later winter of 1786. His birth was welcomed by his grandfather the Duke Ko’eti, as their previous child had died in its infancy. With the death of Duke Ko’eti in 1787, his son Kauane I become Duke of Arandu, thus making young Kauane II his heir. Kauane I ruled as a modernizer, wishing for Kauane to have the finest tutors. He had been educated by the Eduran tutor and political writer Vrouw Lieke Slager, and had her educate his son as well. Kauane I, remembered as a Warrior-Duke, created a large and powerful army led by his famous “Aresra Demons”, carefully managed his treasury, and worked to strengthen and centralize governance of the duchy. What would become Ta’aroha was divided into several such duchies and other, smaller divisions, each vying for dominance. Kauane I and his wife Yrasêma are both recorded as having been polite, charismatic, and learned, often having the finest fashions and appliances imported from abroad to show off at parties. The two spent large stretches of time apart, with Yrasêma spending long stretches of time in her native countryside at various manors. She normally brought Kauane II and her younger siblings (eventually two sisters and a brother in total) in tow, along with whatever tutors and attendants they required. Vrouw Slager taught the children in Kanasa and Ecoralian. In spite of his father’s desire that Kauane’s education be entirely pragmatic, young Kauane II developed a love for music from a young age. Kauane I tolerated the hobby, allowing Vrouw Slager to import several instruments and books of sheet music from Edury.

Heir Apparent
In the mid 1790s, Duchess Yrasêma attempted to arrange the marriage of Kauane II and his sister Irupé to her cousin Tihuara Tipausi’s children Miroté and Pitaro, respectively. Tihuara had been married to a mid level noble of the Tipausi family of Riyude, which came with promising connections. Fearing an alliance between Arandu and Riyude, Commander Cambuci, a diplomat from the rival duchy of Jasy in Grana, bribed several ministers. This group slandered Arandu in the eyes of the Riyudic court, leading to the collapse of the proposal. Eventually another match was arranged, this time with the daughter of the duke of Pykasu, Ysyry Pykasu.

The two met only twice before their wedding day, surrounded by courtiers and attendants. They were wed in the Summer of 1797 in a ceremony held in the countryside outside Tuvicha. Kauane had little in common with his bride, as she was quiet and polite yet not an intellectual firebrand like him. Nevertheless, the two resided together continuously during their early married life, and Ysyry played an active social role at court.

Inheritance
Kauane II was twenty-three when his father Kauane I died and he ascended to the Dukedom of Arandu. At the time of his ascension in 1834, Kauane II was named the “Duke in Arandu”, his realm consisting of scattered territories, some technically within the territories of others. Indeed, his territory included only part of historic Arandu, explaining his title. In one defining respect Kauane would come to the throne with an exceptional inheritance. Kauane I had left him with a highly militarized state. Arandu was a middling sixth or so in terms of size behind other regional duchies, but its army was the single largest. It had one soldier for every 28 citizens, and the military absorbed over 80% of the state’s budget. Moreover, the rank and file troops trained by Kauane I were, at the time of Kauane’s ascension, arguably unrivaled in discipline, experience, and firepower, armed with imported Eduran firearms. After his father died and he secured the throne, Kauane II and Ysyry largely separated. He granted her Kuãytasã Palace and the apartments at the Tuvicha Summer Palace, but she told to never visit his court in the main Royal Palace of Tuvicha. The two had no children, and it was expected for Kauane II to name his younger brother, Jeruti, as the next Duke. Both Kauane and Ysyry are recorded to have had extramarital affairs, largely kept discreet and known to only a few. After this separation, the two would only see each other on state occasions. These included visits on one another’s birthdays and visits from important foreign officials.

First and Second Jaysic Wars
Kauane’s goal was to modernize and unite his vulnerably disconnected lands; toward this end, he fought two early wars against the neighboring duchy of Jasy, a larger but more thinly spread military that had long stood against Arandu. Before going to war, Kauane secured the aid of several smaller powers surrounding Jasy, eager for revenge and conquest. Thus, upon succeeding to the throne, Kauane declined to endorse what was called the Pragmatic Accession, a legal mechanism meant to ensure to inheritance of Jasyic domains. Upon the death of Duke Aravera Jasy VI, Kauane disputed the 15-year old Pakuri Jasy’s right of succession to these lands, while simultaneously asserting his own right to several key provinces based on a number of old, though ambiguous, Arandu claims to the region. Accordingly, the First Jaysic War began in 1836 when Kauane invaded Jasy from the south and east, occupying most of his claimed territory within a matter of seven weeks. Though he justified his occupation on dynastic grounds, the invasion of this militarily and politically vulnerable part of of Vatupaya also had the potential to provide substantial long term economic and strategic benefits.

In late 1837, Kauane set out on campaign again to capture the few remaining fortresses in Jasy that remained as holdouts. However, he was surprised by the arrival of a Riyudic Expeditionary Force, which he fought at the Battle of Vakara'y. Though Kauane had served under his father and other commanders, this was his first major battle in command of an army. In the course of the fighting, Kauane’s forces were disorganized by a charge by the Riyudic cavalry. However, Kauane succeeded in rallying the disciplined Arandun infantry to victory, routing the Riyudic forces who had been expecting an easy victory. Encouraged by Kauane’s victory at Vakara'y, regional allies formally entered the war and attacked. Wishing to focus on a new threat to the capital city of Pirami, the Jasyic and Riyudic armies withdrew from the regions bordering Arandu. When Kauane pursued them and blocked their path home, the coalition forces counterattacked, initiating the Battle of Pyapêakua. The battle provided Kauane with another major victory thanks to the discipline of his infantrymen. This victory forced Jasy to seek peace, virtually relinquishing all territory that had been lost.

By 1840, the Jasy had managed to undo the damage done by Kauane’s smaller allies. Kauane strongly suspected that they would resume war in an attempt to recover the regions lost to him. Accordingly, he renewed old alliance and preemptively invaded once more in 1841, beginning the Second Jasyic War. By 1842, Kauane’s army had besieged the capital of Pirami, which surrendered later that year following a three-week bombardment. Kauane’s troops immediately continued marching into the heart of Jasy. However, Riyude had now deployed another force against Arandu. Although the Riyudic and Jasyic forces outnumbered Arandun forces slightly, they refused to directly engage, instead harassing his supply lines. With winter approaching, Kauane retreated to more assimilated territory. Coalition forces crossed the Kyse mountains in 1843. After allowing them to cross, Kiane pinned them down and decisively defeated them at the Battle of Katupyry. Kauane subsequently advanced back into Jasy and defeated a counterattack by Riyudic forces at the Battle of New Arai. This victory virtually ended any chance of Jasyic resistance, ended the Second Jaysic War.

Ta’aroha Declaration
Following the end of the Second Jaysic War, Arandu was uniquely situated as a large, continuous, and economically and military powerful state in the region. It was at the head of a complex network of alliances that allowed it to boost its already prolific military. Kauane acted immediately to secure the unification of the region, a goal he’d had since its formulation in his mind as a youth. He sent diplomats to negotiate with representatives from smaller states, offering special concessions and preservation of certain privileges if they agreed to unification. The negotiations succeeded; the era of growing peace and stability allowed for an upswell of popular support that aided in the decisions.

While the Second Jaysic War was in its final phase, Kauane was proclaimed leader in a ceremony conducted in front of the Old Sun Gate of Pirami, one of the city’s oldest monuments, that came to be known as the Ta’aroha Declaration. The new empire was to be a federation of several constituent states (duchies, principalities, free cities, and more), with each retaining some autonomy. At the declaration, Kauane announced that he would be retiring the mantle of Emperor; he would be the last to bear it. He instead created the office of Minister-Chancellor, a first among equals who would hold the presidency of the legislature, which in turn would meet to discuss policy presented by the Minister Chancellor. The system took a great deal of inspiration from Edury and its Lord Magister, but added Kauane’s own twists and certain regional idiosyncrasies. It was during the Ta'arohan Declaration that Kauane also announced the new name for this new political entity; Ta'aroha. The Land of Bundled Spears. The name would define the new nation: a country of formerly disparate polities coming together to make something much stronger than the sum of its parts.

War with Riyude
Kauane’s victory over Jasy and the subsequent Ta’aroha Declaration increased the already palpable tensions with Riyude. The Riyudic Empire had attempted to play the region’s duchies against one another in order to keep the region divided and snatch up territory when possible. Jasy had been Riyude’s strongest ally in the region, and Riyudic military leadership was disappointed by the surprisingly quick outcome of the war. In the fervor following the Ta’aroha Declaration, many claimed that it had been Riyude, not Jasy, that had really been defeated in the fighting. Kauane, at the same time, did not avoid war with Riyude, although he had feared direct confrontation with them for a number of reasons. First, he feared taking the war directly to Riyude before getting the chance to properly unify and industrialize Ta’aroha; war with remaining straggler states allied with Riyude could harm the reunification process. Similarly, he feared Riyude might receive aid from Ecoralia to counter Eduran influence in his own nation, as part of their great game of influence and intrigue. Still, however, Kauane believed that if the remaining petty states perceived Riyude as the aggressor, they would unite behind him and Ta’aroha.

A suitable pretext for war arose in 1850, when the Grand Duke of Tiepu died, leaving no direct heirs. Baron Kuairũ of Ta’aroha, a nephew, was the closest living relative, and by all rights the throne was his. Not content with this, Riyude demanded that Kauane personally assure that no Ta’arohan nobility would ever seek the crown of Tiepu. To provoke Riyude into declaring war, Kauane published a series of carefully edited dispatches making up a conversation between him and the Riyudic ambassador. This conversation had been edited so that each nation felt its ambassador had been slighted and ridiculed, inflaming popular sentiments on both sides in favor of war. Kauane said to others at this time that he “had no doubt that a Ta’arohan-Riyudic war must take place before the full construction of a Greater Ta’aroha may be realized.” Despite its larger numbers, he felt confident that the Riyudic army was not prepared to face Ta’aroha’s battle-hardened, experienced forces. He was also convinced that Riyude, as the larger and ostensibly more powerful of the two, would not be able to find allies since, “Riyude, as victor, would be a danger to all - Ta’aroha to none.”

Riyude mobilized and declared war later that year. Despite Kauane’s wishes, many of the remaining, smaller states remained neutral, although some volunteer regiments did report for duty out of a sense of nationalism and patriotic zeal. Tiepu’s response was particularly lukewarm; the region had been practically a Riyudic possession for some time, meaning that what support that could be offered was limited. Still, the war began largely as Kauane predicted, with two Riyudic armies being lured in Ta’arohan territory and defeated at Mbói and Tatatĩ, tilting the war in his favor at the start. However, when he attempted to push the initiative into Riyudic territory, his forces were bogged down by the numerically superior Riyudic forces. Riyude’s generals declined open confrontation at this time, instead preferring area dental as a strategy and funneling Kauane and his forces deeper into the country. This culminated in the Siege of Angeha, which began with the city’s being “ineffectually bombarded” by the Ta’arohan artillery. Riyudic forces then attacked his army from both sides; Riyudic armies attempted to relieve the siege from the outside with large waves of attacks, while fighting in the city devolved into increasingly bitter partisan warfare. Finally, four months into the siege, Kauaune elected to withdraw his forces back to Ta’aroha and cut his losses.

Peace was negotiated with Riyude a few months later, with both sides having sustained serious casualties and destruction of their infrastructure. In 1854, the Treaty of Monstad was signed between the two nations, formally bringing an end to the hostilities, for the time being.

Social reform
In domestic policy, Kauane pursued a state building strategy designed to make ordinary citizens of the new Ta’aroha, not just the hereditary elite, more loyal to the burgeoning nation. He implemented the beginnings of a welfare state following the end of the First Riyudic War in 1855. The main objective of his new policies was to grant social rights in order to enhance the integration of Ta’aroha’s hierarchical society. Kauane himself expressed in speeches his desire to forge bonds between the working people of his nation and the state so as to strengthen both. He worked closely with big industry and aimed to stimulate Ta’aroha’s economic growth by giving workers greater security. Kauaune invited many Eduran captains of industry to build factories in their nation in exchange for their aid in providing modern infrastructure. In a speech, before the legislature, he delivered his thoughts in full, urging them to pass a bill he had proposed.

“The true grievance of the working man is the insecurity of his existence. He is unsure that he will always have work or food, he is unsure that he will always be healthy, but he is certain that one day he will be old and unfit to work. If he falls into destitution, even if only through a short illness, then he becomes helpless, left to his own devices. Society does not currently recognize any real obligation towards him beyond the usual calls to help the poor, even if he has been working ever so faithfully and diligently.”

Kauaune’s desire was to implement social programs modeled from the ideas of Eduran political thinkers without creating any laws that directly harmed the economy. He was personally dubious about laws protecting workers in the workplace, believing that such regulation forced both workers and bosses to reduce production and thus hurt the economy. Kauaune’s program centered squarely on these broader social programs, designed to increase productivity and focus the political attentions of Ta’arohan workers on supporting the new government. The social reform implemented by Kauane at this time played a key role in the sharp increase of immigration from surround areas to Ta’aroha. Young men considering emigration looked not only at the gap between hourly “direct wages” in prospective destinations, but also the differential in “indirect wages” such as the social benefits, which favored Ta’aroha. The young men went to Ta’aroha’s growing industrial cities, which also offset emigration rates that had temporarily spiked during the war.

Administrative modernization
In the famous Ta’aroha Declaration, Kauaune famously declared that the sovereign is the first servant of the state. Acting in that role, he helped transform the region from a backwater to an economically strong and politically reformed state. He protected his industries with selectively high tariffs (allowing for and even favoring the import of certain goods from Edury) and minimal restrictions on internal commerce. He permitted far greater freedom of speech and press than what had come before, as well as abolishing the use of judicial torture and reducing the number of crimes punishable by the death sentence. Working with his Grand Chancellor of Justice Kundaha Taʼỹi (who had also been educated by an Eduran tutor), he reformed the judicial system and made it more efficient by taking inspiration from the Eduran model once again. He moved the courts toward greater equality of all citizens by removing special courts for special social classes. These reforms were completed shortly after Kauane’s death in 1889 resulting in the Ta’arohan Law Code, which balanced absolutism with individual rights and corporate privilege with equality before the law. Around 1876, Kauane founded the Japete Company to promote trade with Edury and a few other select nations. He introduced the lottery, fire insurance, and a giro discount and credit bank to stabilize the economy. He instituted control of grain prices during the First Riyudic War, whereby state storehouses enabled the civilian population to survive in needy regions where the harvest was poor or had been destroyed.

Kauane modernized and unified the bureaucracy and civil service of each disparate region into a single system under Ta’aroha, as well as promoting religious and social tolerance throughout the nation to attract more settlers to northern, somewhat unsettled parts. With the help of Eduran experts, he organized a system of indirect taxation, which provided the state with more revenue than direct taxation. In 1884, Kauane made sugar a national monopoly and employed disabled soldiers, the sugar tasters, to spy on citizens illegally purchasing the stuff, much to the annoyance of the general populace. Though he began many reforms during his tenure, the true legacy of most of Kauane’s reforms only became fully evident following his death.

Arts and education
Kauane was a great patron of music, with several court musicians enjoying his support throughout his reign both from Ta’aroha and abroad. He was a talented musician and composer in his own right, composing several pieces (most of which were written after the style of popular Eduran ones). Kauane adopted Eduran tastes and manners in many aspects, many believe in reaction to the austerity of the family environment created by his father, who himself had a deep aversion to foreign culture and promoted an austere culture for his state. Kauane was educated by Eduran tutors, and almost all the books in his libraries, covering topics as diverse as mathematics, art, politics, and literary works, were written in the Eduran dialect of the Ecoralian language. Kauane commonly wrote in Ecoralian when addressing Eduran or Ecoralian officials, though he had to rely on proofreaders to correct his difficulties when spelling.

Though it was his primary language and used as his working language within his administration and with the army, Kauane claimed to dislike the Kanasa language. He claimed to have found it “unpleasant and base” compared to others. He considered the Kanasa culture of his time, particularly music and literature, to be inferior of that of other nations, chiefly Edury, believing that Kanasan culture had been devastated by centuries of division and infighting. He suggested that it could eventually equal or surpass its rivals, but that this would require a complete codification of the Kanasa language with the help of official academies, the emergence of talented Kanasa authors and extensive patronage from the nation’s rulers, a project of a century or more.

Despite his apparent distaste for the Kanasa language, Kauane sponsored the foundation of the National Kanasa Academy, the aim of which was to promote and develop the Kanasa language. He promoted the academy extensively, although occasionally butted heads with the leadership as to whether the Ecoralian alphabet ought to be used instead of the traditional Kanasa syllabary. He also mandated the use of Kanasa throughout all state schools created under his rule, which aided in the spread and standardization of the language throughout the nation.

Land reform
Kauane was keenly interested in land use as well, especially draining swampland and opening new arable lands for farmers who would increase the nation’s food supply. Thousands who had left during the war with Riyude as refugees returning thanks to land grant programs begun at this time. He wrote to a minister, “Whoeever improves the soil, cultivates land lying waste and drains swamps, is conquering new land for his people.” Using improved technology enabled him to created new farmland through a massive drainage program in the country’s south and south-west. Kauane saw this project as the “conquest” of nature, which in its wild, unutilized form, was useless. He presided over the construction of canals for bringing crops to market, and popularized the growing of certain old world crops, such as turnips.

Balancing his land reforms, Kauane also founded the first nature preserve in Ta’aroha. An avid hunter from youth, he emphasized the importance of the preservation of “certain wild places, to be used and enjoyed by the succeeding generation as we have.” He loved raising and hunting with dogs, and kept a stable of Eduran thoroughbreds at his favorite hunting lodge in Jatyta in the north of the country.

Later years and death
Near the end of his life, Kauane grew increasingly solitary and bitter. His close circle of friends at court gradually died off with few replacements, and his failure to decisively defeat Riyude lingered in his mind as his greatest failure. He became increasingly critical and arbitrary, to the frustration of the civil service and officer corps. Kauane was immensely popular among the people of Ta’aroha due to his reforms and military glory; the citizens of Pirami always cheered him when he was seen in the city. His popularity with the common people provided some comfort according to his journals, which he saw a partial fulfillment as his mission. Still, he preferred hunting and the writing and performance of music to governing as he aged, even as he was increasingly crippled by asthma, gout, and other ailments. In 1885, he announced that he was ending his term as Minister-Chancellor, instead naming his close advisor Tatapyu Nomongeta as his immediate successor. Despite his personal wishes, he attended Tatapyu’s swearing in before the legislature, somewhat stealing the show due to the throngs of loving citizens who came to witness their Minister-Chancellor one last time.

After leaving office, Kauane retired to his favorite lodge in Jatyta for the remainder of his days. There, it is said that his spirits improved somewhat, and that he welcomed each day with six to eight mugs of mate “laced with peppercorns and mustard” and often hosted company with his characteristic tenacity. He died early in the Summer of 1887, found peacefully in an armchair in his study. He left instructions that he should be buried on the grounds of Jatyta, near his dogs and horses, but Tatapyu instead ordered his body be entombed at the recently-built National Gardens in Pirami. During the Summer War, it was ordered that his coffin be hidden in a salt mine northeast of the city as protection from destruction. The military junta government that took power shortly after relocated the remains to the small city of Mombayha, before returning them to the National Gardens seven years later.

Legacy
Kauane’s legacy has been subject to a wide variety of interpretations. In Ta’arohan memory, he became a great national icon, with many claiming that he was the greatest leader of his era. Ta’arohan historians often make him a romantic model of a glorified warrior who abandoned his title of nobility to help build the nation, praising his leadership, administrative efficiency, devotion to duty, and success in building up Ta’aroha to a leading role in Vidina.

In the years leading up to and during the Summer War, Ta’aroha’s nationalist regime minimalized Kauane’s importance as a historical figure due to his fixation with foreign culture, particularly Eduran. In an attempt to legitimize the regime, propagandists instead focused on other figures, such as his successor Tatapyu. Kauane’s reputation improved following the end of the war, as his connection with Ta’arohan militarism allowed the military junta to utilize his image to legitimize themselves somewhat. Today, the view of Kauane as a capable and effective leader remains strong among Ta’arohans, and he is held in high regard for his patronage of the arts and his numerous reforms.