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by The Imperial Federation of Infiny. . 45 reads.

The Era of Trials and Tribulations

The Era of Trials and Tribulations (1914-1989)

The Third Republic of Infiny - 2 years
The Fourth Republic of Infiny - 27 years
Occupation - 2 years
The Fifth Republic of Infiny - 28 years
The People’s Republic of Infiny - 4 years
The Second Empire of Infiny - 16 years

In 1914, Franz-Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, plunging the entire European continent into a massive, catastrophic war. Infiny’s position in World War I was peculiar, fighting with the allies against Italy. The Italians had, two and a half decade earlier, taken control of Mogadishu, the former capital of the Infinian Empire. Infiny requested a carte blanche from the European nations in its attack on the Italian colony; in return, Infiny would align itself with the allies against Germany and Austria-Hungary. The allied nations, not wanting Germany to gain a solid base in Africa, accepted the assertive Infinian request. Through complicated diplomatic relations, the Infinian declaration of war on Italy resulted in a small-scale conflict, not stretching beyond the Horn of Africa, between just Infiny and Italy, without the involvement of the Entente. This was possible because before fighting Italy, Infiny had already officially joined the allied nations on September 13th, 1914. Besides fighting against German East-Africa, Infiny mostly provided supplies. Being outside of immediate danger, Infiny profited a lot from its contribution to the allied war effort, mostly as a supply base. However, Infiny changed its status when, as agreed several years later, the nation declared war on Italy. The European Entente nations refused to interfere, giving Infiny its carte blanche against the Italian administration of the Horn of Africa. Italy found itself in a tough spot, as turning against Infiny and the allies would hurt the nation. In October 1915, the first battles in the northeasternmost tip of the Horn of Africa occurred, as the Infinian Army swept into Vala, overwhelming the small Italian garrison. The first steps towards the reconquest of the realm had begun.

Over 1915 and 1916, Infiny fought its way down to Mogadishu. The Infinians had two crucial advantages against the Italians; first, Infiny was fighting much more near its core. For Infiny, it was basically a war at home, while the Italians had to deal with more complicated supply routes, and meanwhile holding off the Austrians in the Alps. Second, the Infinians enjoyed popular support in the region. Numerous local inhabitants had been born citizens of Infiny, and would help the Infinian army take down the Italian administrations in the colony. As Hordio, Galkayo and Hobyo fell, rogue units, loosely associated with the Infinian Army, took control over Kismayo and Merca. In late 1916, Infinians started their assault on their prime target, the former capital of Mogadishu. Mogadishu, both the former capital of Infiny and the contemporary capital of Italian Somaliland, was more fiercely defended than all other settlements together. It took the collective efforts of the Infinian army and revolting citizens to oust the occupiers from the former Imperial Capital. Mere days after its liberation, Mogadishu was declared the capital of a new Infiny. The Fourth Republic of Infiny was born. After the fall of Mogadishu, the Italians and Infinians signed an armistice to cease fighting in Africa. The Italian command had strategic reasons for this armistice, since they had to deal with the Austrians at home, and Infiny offered recognition of Italian Eritrea in return for the cession of Italian Somaliland to Infiny. Even though the agreement was made in late 1916, it took until the Paris Peace Treaty that the land was officially transferred. Infiny guaranteed a safe exit of all Italians who wished to leave the nation, and promised to treat those who wanted to stay like the nation would treat its own people. Infiny and Italy would only spend 3 years in agreement. In 1922, Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy and opposed the settlement. It would set the stage for a new conflict, and relations between Infiny and Italy deteriorated fast.

The war had left its mark on the reformed Infinian nation. Crippled, reborn, crippled again and reborn again, Infiny had rebuilding to do. In the 1920s, the nation engaged in deep economic ties with the west, particularly the United States. Infiny also enjoyed a large economic and cultural prosperity like the American 1920s, but when the bubble burst in the United States, so did it in Infiny. Cities like Mogadishu and Galkayo, the new financial centers of Infiny that saw a great rise in the 1920s saw a great decline in 1929. However, before the bubble burst, Infiny was thriving for a decade. The constitution of the Fourth Republic finally guaranteed equal rights to each citizen and explicitly forbade the discrimination that was widespread during the Second Republic. The coastal areas in Infiny became more connected due to advancements in railroads and highways, and Infiny even opened its first official commercial airport in Mogadishu. This was all in contrast to Ethiopia, which, embracing anti-modernism, fell into economic decline. During the 1920s, talks about reunification started, however, they did not progress a lot. However, like many parts of the world, tragedy struck when in 1929, the Wall Street stock market collapsed. As Infiny had been involved in world capitalism during the 1920s, the nation was hit just like the other members of the capitalist system were. Prosperity started to decrease, and unemployment rates skyrocketed. To put it simply, the nation was in great decline. Ethiopia, seeing Infiny no longer as a more successful version of itself, but simply a vulnerable alternative, refused to continue talks about reunification. The government believed that the way to deal with the crisis would not be government intervention, as liberal market theories dominated the government. The non-interventionist attitude of the government caused the popularity of the more extreme parties to rise. Both fascism and communism formed attractive alternatives to the democratic government of the nation. Even though the government started a direct economic intervention in 1936, a whopping 7 years after the crisis started, fascist and communist paramilitary units already fought in the streets. A popular front had kept Infiny democratic, as without communist support, the Infinian government would collapse under fascist pressure. Direct orders from Moscow prevented the communists from seizing power directly. Stalin believed that the best chances for communism would be to defeat the fascists first, and seize power later.

From 1936 onward, the world moved steadily towards a new World War, as Hitler started to roll back more and more of the Versailles Treaty, and Japan was preparing to invade more and more of Asia. Usually, Infiny was spared the destructive events of Europe. That is until Mussolini decided to take the fight to East Africa. Mussolini never recognized the armistice of 1916 and the ratification of it during the Paris Peace Conference which saw Infiny regaining ‘Italian Somaliland’. Mussolini believed it would be great for his - and Italy’s- glory if he were to capture both independent east African republics. In late 1936, he moved against Ethiopia. President Maximilan Cosobele realized that Infiny would be directly vulnerable if Ethiopia fell to Mussolini’s armies. As such, he advocated official Infinian entry into the war. This, however, was opposed by a majority in the Sobiraniya, which in turn merely allowed Cosobele the sending of equipment and volunteers. Still, Infiny had been hit hard by the Great Depression and was unable to produce even close to what the Ethiopians would need to hold off the Italian invaders. Ethiopia officially surrendered in 1937, with the fall of Addis Abeba. However, using Infiny as a base, a large scale guerilla war continued against the invaders. Being supplied and aided by the Infinians, Mussolini had even more reasons to go after the nation next. Having very roughly consolidated Italian control over Ethiopia, Italy declared war on Infiny in early 1938.

In direct combat, the Infinian armies were no match for the much better equipped, much better trained Italian units. However, the terrain was hazardous. The Italian units would have to cross the desert wastelands of western Infiny in order to reach the Atlantic shores. Italy would need 1938 to push the non-guerilla units out of the desert. Several naval assaults, most notably at Elliniko, Vala, Mogadishu and Merca, failed. However, when the Italian armies successfully crossed the desert, Infiny was in great trouble. Raids on Elliniko, Hargeisa and Galkayo were effective and the cities were quickly lost. Especially the fall of the Sacred City, Elliniko, had a huge effect on Infinian morale. In July 1939, the final stage of the war was finished as the Italians captured Mogadishu. However, the Infinian government, now led by President Lij Tafari Makonnen, who succeeded Cosobele after his death in 1938, refused to surrender. The president with royal blood instead went into hiding between his own population and went underground in order to personally lead the resistance. Days before the inevitable fall of Mogadishu, he had declared ‘I rather die here than flee. This occupation is only permanent if we accept it. We will not accept this occupation! Mussolini will know that if he wants this land so bad, he will need to accept that it will not be easy. I will not go into exile - I will fight until I drop dead, or until freedom is restored!’ After the fall of Mogadishu in July 1939, Mussolini declared Italian East Africa. In reaction, President Makonnen spread the message that ‘Infiny will be in an eternal war against the concept of an Italian East Africa.’ Due to the Infino-Ethiopian geography, President Makonnen was able to organize an effective, hard-to-take-down resistance.

Over the next two years, as war engulfed the rest of the world as well, Infinian and Ethiopian partisans resisted Italians anywhere they could. The guerilla war was long and brutal. The partisans raided Italian convoys, blew up railroads and bombed harbors and airfields. Moreover, they often showed violence against the occupying units themselves, raiding and mostly killing them in the nights, while hiding in the vast Infino-Ethiopian nature during the days. For Mussolini, the resistance in Italian East Africa was an absolute pain. The Italian answer to Infinian violence was often harsh and aimed at the civilian population of Infiny, which in turn outraged the partisans and caused them to be more violent. The Infinian partisans, however, did not attack Italian settlers by presidential decree. President Makonnen refused the meaningless slaughter of ‘men, women, and children who were sent here by a dictatorship. We should welcome them as refugees rather than invaders.’ The Infinian partisans, or Infinian Liberation Army as they were officially called, were not the only resistance movement in East Africa. Both the Oromo and Amharics had liberation movements, who, even though cooperating, had separate leaderships. An entirely different movement was the Infinian People’s Liberation Committee, which allegiance was to the Communist Party of Infiny, and thus to Moscow. The communists attempted to gain control over the country and establish a proletarian dictatorship, ousting president Makonnen. The fascist population, meanwhile, was divided. While some believed that this was a classic struggle of nations that fascism advocated, others believed the Italians to be liberators who would eventually grant Infiny its new place in the world order.

Meanwhile, Italy had made itself more enemies. By officially joining Germany in June 1940 against the western allies opened up new fronts in East Africa, most notably against Labyrnnan Djibouti and British Kenya. The Italians also suffered defeats from the British-owned Egyptian and Sudanese lands. Infiny officially aligned itself with the allies, however, the allied defenses in the region were insufficient, and before the end of 1940 Italy had seized control of Djibouti and Kenya, occupying the major cities and forcing the allies back to Uganda and Tanganyika. Even though the Infinian partisans attempted to sabotage Italian supply lines, their efforts fell short, on the short term anyway. For the first half of 1941, the situation seemed to change little. The Egyptians were unable to break the Italian defenses in the west, and the British and Italians couldn’t move the front in either direction in the south. However, this changed when Hitler commenced the invasion of the USSR on June 22nd. Stalin decided to officially support the People’s Liberation Committee, believing that if he diverted just a few soldiers to deliver a hit to the Italians, the committee would be able to take power and prove to be a valuable Soviet ally in Africa. As such, on September 1941, through a naval invasion, Soviet units successfully breach Italian defenses at Mombasa, just north of the front. The Italian units retreated chaotically north, fearing that their supplies would be cut. Meanwhile, communists partisans seized control of several other cities in Kenya, most notably Mogadishu. As the Italians were forced to reorganize, the Egyptians got a chance to all-out attack and break the Italian defenses in the west. The Battle of Cerene (Keren) in late October would be decisive in the fall of the Italian defensive lines in the west. The allied units also started pushing from Tanganyika.

President Makonnen faced a difficult dilemma. The situation was still dangerous to rise up against the Italians, but if he did nothing, Infiny’s future would be decided by the Ossoumese Egyptians and the USSR, a far from certain future for Infiny. As such, on November 1st, 1941, the Mogadishu Uprising began, in order to oust the Italian units from East Africa. President Makonnen had given orders to rise up just a few days earlier. For several days, as Infinian partisans fought against Italian garrison units to liberate every street of the city. After 12 days, Mogadishu was declared liberated. Over the next months, uprisings would occur in Galkayo, Hargeisa, Vala, and Elliniko. Meanwhile, Ossoumese-Egyptian units gained a hold over northern Ethiopia by taking Axum and Dire, and separating Italian Eritrea from the rest of the Italian units. By February 1942, most of northeastern Infiny had been freed. The Infinian Liberation Army moved to Kismayo and took it relatively easily. The USSR, meanwhile, forced its way through Kenya, solidifying communist control over Nairobi and ‘liberating’ Arba. The first contact between the Infinian Liberation Army and the Ossoumese led to minor clashes, but no escalation. Threatened by the Ossoumese and communist advances, President Makonnen, alongside the leaders of the Oromo and Amharic liberation armies, signed an agreement promising cooperation between their two armies, and aimed at the integration of Infiny and Ethiopia as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Ossoumese units had squeezed the Italians out of Eritrea and Djibouti, and the Infinians had advanced through the Ogaden desert and successfully forced the Italian occupiers to Finfinne, where they would surrender to Infiny. At last, in July 1942, all of Italian East-Africa had been conquered and the viceroy captured.

After the defeat of the Italian units, Infiny and Egypt, which occupied several northern areas, came to a settlement. This settlement would become internationally recognized after the World War, in 1945. With this settlement, Egypt, the political successor to Infiny's long rival, would transfer its occupied territory to Infiny, while Infiny would recognize the 1891 borders. Pursuing a settlement with the communists, however, would be more difficult. The Communist Party of Infiny refused to recognize the regime of president Makonnen as the one legitimate government over Infiny. Backed by the USSR and occupying several important cities in Infiny, a conflict between the Free and Communist forces would be brutal. As long as the Allies and the Comintern worked together against the Axis, the two regimes agreed to leave each other be for now, and work out a solution later. Between 1942 and 1945, Infiny would assist the Allies in their struggle against the Axis and Japan. When the war was over in 1945, and plans for a new world order were drafted, the strong communist presence in the south could not be denied. As such, after the war, Infiny would be split into two/ President Makonnen would only lead the northern part of the country, and the communist south would be its own nation, the People’s Republic of Infiny, with its capital in Nairobi, and led by Tsion Benti, one of the few female communist leaders.

To the capitalist West, Infiny was important as it provided easy naval access to south and east Asia. This geographic importance led to a significant amount of Marshall-aid to Infiny, which was desperately necessary. Even though Infiny emerged victorious in 1945, it had suffered a lot of casualties and destruction from years of guerilla warfare. Infiny’s GDP per capita was at an atrocious $843. Even though rebuilding was commenced, in 1949, another tragedy would strike Infiny. Supported by the USSR, the communist People’s Republic of Infiny started to fight against the democratic Fourth Republic. Without a declaration of war, the 2nd Infinian Civil War had begun. However, the communists had underestimated both their own strength and the lack of civil support due to president Makonnen’s popularity, who was still incumbent in 1949. With western aid, Infiny managed to make the war last from January 1949 until July 1949, when both Mombasa and Nairobi had been taken, which caused a swift collapse of the Communist hold of the South. In an act of mercy and national unification, Tsion Benti was not persecuted by president Makonnen. Instead, she was invited to form an active socialist opposition in the Sobiraniya, so Infiny could move on as a democratic nation without having some voices lost. She accepted, and the Communist Party of Infiny won about 20% of the vote in 1949. However, over time, many communists slowly became more moderate, and many joined the Social-Democratic or Democratic-Socialist party instead. In 2018, a mere 1.4% actually voted for the Communist Party. On July 23rd, exactly 7 years after the defeat of Italian East Africa, Infiny was reunified as the Fifth Republic of Infiny, with a new constitution that strengthened the executive, while more strongly enforcing term limits.

Between 1950 and 1958, one would not be able to speak of the Era of Trials and Tribulations. Even though President Makonnen had been slow with economic reforms, his successor and former vice-president, Mervyn Kallas, full-on embraced Keynesian economics in order to westernize the Infinian economy. Kallas’ presidency was largely owed to Makonnen embracing him, as he could not run for a new term due to the new constitutional term limit (he is memorialized on the 500 Icos bill). During this era, large-scale urbanization started to happen, and cities like Mogadishu, Finfinne and Nairobi grew exponentially. The population in general increased a lot, since, for the first time in almost a century, Infiny was stable, and at peace. The Keynesian economics proved to be a recipe of success for Infiny, and stable economic growth was achieved that would continue until 1973, when the Infinian GDP per capita reached about $3.400. Until that year, Infiny industrialized a lot, becoming one of the few industrialized nations in Africa. However, concerns about pollution soon rose. Sometimes, these concerns led to successful alternatives, such as the construction of the first windmills. The economy of Infiny was also much aided by its neutral stance in the Cold War. After 1949, in order to accommodate the USSR, Infiny had signed an agreement that would allow it to remain non-aligned and trade with both the capitalist and the communist world (insofar that was possible, anyway). But even though there was economic prosperity, the politics slowly descended into chaos. During the late 1960s and 1970s, disagreements about the social direction in which Infiny should go split politicians between parties. These disagreements got to the point where administration after administration fell, election were held at least once a year, which in turn affected the economy, which then affected the divisions in the Sobiraniya.

In 1973, the situation had become completely unmanageable. That is why general Zeljko Myra led a coup d’état against the just 3 months incumbent president Judith Azuma. The president did not enjoy a lot of support with the population, who had started to mistrust the Infinian political institutions. When Myra came along and presented a simple, easy to understand solution, he had gathered enough support to overthrow the president with minimal bloodshed. He instantly started referring to him as ‘Infico’ (Infico being ancient Infinian for 'protector of Infiny'). Infico declared the restoration of the Infinian Empire with himself as the Emperor. He would be one of the few rulers of Infiny that was not part of the Makonnen dynasty, since its start in 858. Even though he re-established the monarchy, he created an authoritarian democracy. The citizens retained the right to vote, but the Emperor was allowed to make and approve of his own laws. The independence of the judiciary was also questionable. Since he was able to rule independent from the judiciary and the legislative, Emperor Infico I was able to reform the realm significantly during his 16 years rule. Infico changed the stalling Keynesian economy to a neo-liberal economy, by loosening most restrictions on companies. He did, however, raise the minimum wage to $1.80 per hour, which boosted consumerism. Infico spent most of the government income on improving the national infrastructure and expanded industry into the more inhospitable areas of Infiny. Even though his policy was economically rewarding, it was bad for the environment, as pollution legislation was largely abandoned. The GDP per capita, however, increased to almost 7.000. But there were also major social downsides to Infico’s rule. The erosion of the social safety net gave rise to a new ethos, which was work, or drown. Only the best would get the best jobs, and if you did not do your best, you would end up as a factory worker or, jobless. This meritocracy pursued growth at all cost, but also caused depression and social hardships. Many workers worked around the clock to prove that they were a better employee than a potential rival.

This situation continued until 1989, a big year in Infiny’s history as well. Not just did communism fall, Emperor Infico I stepped down due to health issues, and was succeeded by his son, Infico II. Infico II was much more anti-meritocratic than his father, and cared more about environmental and social issues. He abandoned the idea of growth at all costs, and instead announced that ‘economic growth should only be pursued if it is beneficial to Infinian society.’ With the ascension of Infico II, the turbulent Era of Trials and Tribulations finally reaches an end. Infiny’s future seemed bright, stable and progressive, orientated towards the future while caring about its citizens. In a wave of optimism, Infiny entered a new era in its history. This would be an era where Infiny would often be socially speaking too far ahead of the rest of the world, the so-called Progressive Era.

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