Upper Johnstown

Upper Johnstown is New Dunston's oldest and most bitter rival. The cities have fought three wars, and since the last war ended in 1908, have quietly supported each other's enemies and tried to soften the other city. No one doubts that if New Dunston seems weak enough, Upper Johnstown will try to retake it.

Internal Structure

Upper Johnstown is ruled by a hereditary leader who styles himself the Margrave of Western Pennsylvania, a title granted to the current ruler's great-grandfather by the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Beneath the Margrave are the Freiherren, usually just called barons. Originally there were only four, each overseeing a geographical area under the Margrave's control. Now, however, these (the land barons) are considered the least important of the barons. The other barons, the guild barons, essentially run trade guilds. The current guilds are Mechanics, Technology (essential imports from the grim), Fine Work (actually three guilds covering various kinds of skilled but low technology labor), and Coal (which actually covers most raw materials).

(Note that it was due to their title in Johnstown that the New Dunston Steel Barons got their name. After they left, a new, more loyal, family was given the job.)

The Mechanics and Technology barons are relatively friendly with several New Dunston factions, who they have productive trade agreements with. The land barons, by contrast, remain extremely hostile.

The only other key figure in the Upper Johnstown government is the Burgrave, a sort of baron-at-large who advises Margrave and oversees various special projects. In particular, the Burgrave often serves as a representative of the government for key diplomatic negotiations.

The current Margrave is Rudolf III, the fourth Margrave (although his father held the title for only two weeks). He is quite old, but seen as a crafty and patient leader. He has managed to avoid fighting any open wars, but has managed to encourage his enemies to fight each other while lending small amounts of support. He has two sons, Frederick and John.

History

At the end of the eighteenth century, while the mundane portions of the Holy Roman Empire neared collapse, it's praetermundane leaders decided that influence in the new world then being colonized was necessary for a revival. For a variety of reasons, this ultimately did little to save the empire, and the remnants in the cracks dissolved only twenty years after the mundane portion.

But in the meantime, several military expeditions were sent to the Americas. One was led by Rudolf Hohenzollern, who arrived in the area in 1798. After obtaining title to the area from the empire, the new Margrave of Western Pennsylvania. When the British and French nobles in Pittsburgh rejected his rule, the first war began.

Five years later, Margrave Rudolf reluctantly signed a peace treaty, although he didn't officially renounce his claim to New Dunston. The Margrave turned his attention to arranging affairs in the area under his control, which was becoming known as Upper Johnstown.

In 1826, the Margrave died, and was succeeded by his son, Frederick. It had only been a few years since the last emperor had abdicated control of the empire's territories in the cracks, so Frederick felt the need to demonstrate that his authority. He did so by attacking New Dunston again, this time with much better preparations than his father had brought to bear.

Frederick was an able commander, and more importantly, a skilled diplomat. The Pittsburgh Trade Union, swayed by the Coal Barons, provided some support to the Margrave. Most of the war took place outside New Dunston proper—at the time, most members of the Peerage claimed significant swathes of territory outside New Dunston itself, and the Margrave focused his attention on these, knowing that he'd lose the Trade Union's support if he moved on New Dunston itself.

In 1852, the Margrave finally moved into New Dunston itself, taking control of half a dozen crucial pockets, including House Creoda's home. The Trade Union withdrew its support immediately, and, although it nominally stayed out of the war, its refusal of any provisions at all to the occupying soldiers and active efforts to prevent them from maintaining stable supply lines made it almost impossible for the Margrave to hold New Dunston.

In 1855, the Peerage agreed to a peace treaty with Upper Johnstown. In exchange for the return of their territories inside the New Dunston, they surrendered all claim to lands outside of it. This was particularly difficult for the Shawnee and Angleterre, which had previously considered their main base of operations to be in some of the pockets being given up.

Upper Johnstown has never managed to actively occupy more than a fraction of the territory in question (nor had the Peerage before them), and the Shawnee in particular have quietly reoccupied some of those pockets.

In 1889, Johnstown was hit by a severe flood, causing a significant loss of life and property damage. In 1894, the Margrave unexpectedly declared war on the Trade Union, accusing them of masterminding the flood. The war didn't end until 1908, when the Margrave and his only son were killed in two consecutive battles. The barons, acting as regents for the young Rudolf III, agreed to peace.

While relations between the cities have remained cool, Rudolf III has been more interested in other matters than resuming hostilities.