The Nations of the world, alike in splendor and chivalry, were not to last against the ravages of time and decay...
The peace signed in the Syracuse Conference of 1729 and Trent Accords of 1730 promised to thrust the nations of Europe into a more civilized age. An age where none threatened the balance of power. Influenced greatly by a Colonial book making it's way through Europe at the time. The dignitaries, diplomats, and negotiators of this age of who attempted to redeem Europe had no way of knowing the entire effort was destined to end in blood and crisis.
It began with the collapse of the Aksumite Empire in 1759, which at it's height during the Scandinavian-Aksumite war stretched from the Red Horn to Moscow, for however brief that was. The Empire collapsed from all sides, sending the region into the chaos of a power vacuum. The region as a whole would not begin to recover for another forty years. From there, the seeds of rebellion, mistrust, and suffering would be sowed throughout the Byzantine Empire, setting it on a collision course for destruction in 1828, documented at length by the Greek Historian Μπλουτζέι's An Account on the Fall of the Rhomaoi Empire
The collapse of international trade from some of it's most vital trade routes to it's industries and food markets were felt especially hard in Italy. Relations still chilly with Byzantium, they found little friends to lean on. Starvation ran rampant in the North, with the Southern provinces hoarding food. The United Republics of Northern Italy would declare independence from Italy, with it's armies a shadow of their former selves since Cilli, and no food or money to raise another, the Italians were humbled into acceptance.
Although sheltering the worst of the economic storm with their vast colonies, Spain and Lotharingia also felt the pain of economic collapse across the entire Mediterranean. What ultimately contributed to these nation's particular dire decline was twofold, neglect and disease. Spain's Empire was a game of chairs, with every participant backed by powerful families that held sway over the Elective Monarchy. Powerful Catalan nobles held the true power behind the throne, eventually leading Portugal and the Maghrebi Governates to rebel against the Empire, who now all sit in an uncomfortable lull in the fighting. Lotharingia neglected their Empire not out of intellectual disability, but instead a misguided set of priorities, the Emperor of Lotharingia dedicated every possible resource, and even some that were needed for emergency action in Europe, and diverted them towards his bride's homeland; the Majapahit Empire. For their defense. This infuriated the Southern Duchies, who would eventually concoct a conspiracy with the old Dutch nations to break away from this tyrannical Empire, lest their entire nations starve from an ruinous dynasty. During these years preceding 1836 and succeeding 1759, Europe and particularly Western Europe were hit with repeat minor outbreaks of both the bubonic plague and typhoid fever saw to kill both the men to fight wars with and peasantry to run a nation on.
The Polish-Lithuanian Empire would be gravely injured by all of these occurrences. But would not buckle under the intense foreign pressure of the now global crisis. Instead the Commonwealth would collapse from within. It's roots back in the Commonwealth-Scandinavian War. A large number of North Slavic refugees fled South towards the Commonwealth to escape the Aksumite invaders who were perceived as the more savage of the two enemy armies. A Slavic refugee found himself in the Commonwealth, and by chance met the King, Vaclav XVIII. They became quite close friends, and Vaclav was 'enlightened' on the matter of Slavic Unity. His stubborn mind immediately cast in stone, the monarch set about creating a 'Slavic Commonwealth' where all were to be united under the banner of Slavic unity. This was resolutely rejected by the Sejm and various Radas of the Commonwealth, undeterred, Vaclav set about igniting a civil war between himself and his own country he ruled. Facing nearly a completely united opposition domestically, Vaclav turn towards his foreign allies, the Byzantines and Lotharingians. Bound by blood through their shared Kounic roots, and bound by honor of the Trent Accords to uphold the status quo, both parties lent significant military aid to the King. With his own military prowess and his foreign support, he was able to just barely best the Commonwealth armies in battle, almost completely annihilating them in the Battle of Pest. With his own country beaten, Vaclav took back up residence in Warsaw once again sovereign monarch, however he had permanently scarred relations with the people who did survive the civil war. To his dismay, much of the Commonwealth disintegrated overnight, with Vaclav powerless to help it.
After the majority of these events, the New World hatched a conspiracy that stretched from Lotellum to Argentina. Simultaneously and with much effort, the nations of the new world declared their absolute independence from the Empires of the old world, who had suffocated and strangled the industry and natural development of the two continents for hundreds of years. Faced with this show of overwhelming force from a huge portion of their overseas territory, Spain and Lotharingia were largely unable to respond, eventually forced into the humiliating Treaty of Cartagena which saw almost all new-world colonies leave foreign domination.
Completely separated from these all of these events was Japan, who with the successive succession of the Empire going to fools, unable to lead the nation effectively, was forced to evacuate the mainland after a series of decisive land engagements. From there, with the rebelling Ainu causing the Emperor much pain, the Otomo were supported by a certain Hispanic Empire to rebel, hoping to gain trade ports or favorable trade deals.
