Great Hulstrian Empire

History:
The Great Hulstrian Empire was an empire that lasted from the unification of Hulstria and Gao-Soto in 1854 to its collapse in 1897. The empire expanded acquiring the now sovereign and independent nations of Ostland, Cifutingan, Utari Mosir, Suyu Llaqta, Rapa Pile, Kurageri, Liore, and Bianjie. This lasted until the collapse of 1897 when the empire collapsed from simultaneous revolutions. Only Ostland and Bianjie have kept some sort of ties with Hulstria since then. The rest have expelled and deported all Hulstrians from their lands.

Invasions/Annexations:
Annexation of Ostland in 1856:

After Hulstrian settlement in the region and several victories from Hulstrian militias, a referendum was cast to annex the nation. The House of Raauniyar the ruling dynasty protested against this. But threats of a civil war prompted them to allow a referendum. 53% of the population voted for annexation and on October 12th 1856 Ostland was annexed.

Attempted Annexation of New Verham in 1857:

Once Ostland had been anexed the next target for Hulstria was its neigbor to the south, New Verham, which already had a population of Luthori colonists. They smacked down an attempted referendum with only 3% voting in favor and almost caused a major war which was stopped when Hulstrian troops exited the country.

Annexation of Bianjie in 1860:

The struggling new nation of Bianjie had a monarchy that was incapable of leadership. The Hulstrians saw this weakness and planted colonists there. The town of New Kien still exists to this day in fact. The populous liked the idea of a strong diplomatic partner and so they joined Hulstria with a vote of 66% in favor.

Invasion of Eastern Dovani 1863: The Hulstrian Empire now stretched over 3 countries and its growing might was seen all over Dovani. The Kaiser attempted to settle the nations of Utari Mosir and the iron-rich Cifutingan and other countries but they resisted. Utari Mosir in fact even killed a full settlement of Hulstrians in retaliation. Kaiser Bartholomew ordered a full scale attack which lasted 1 and a half years. The swept through Utari Mosir, Cifutingan, Suyu Llaqta, Rapa Pile, Kurageri, Liore. The Imperial Navy blockaded these countries as the army swept in to conquer them.

Treaty of Kien and Aftermath:
The end of the war saw the complete domination of these countries. The Great Hulstrian Empire stretched thousands of miles across a continent and still avoided a war with another power. The rest of the invaded countries that had banded together to stop Hulstria and Gao-Soto each got annexed into the empire. They were put under colonial guard. Hulstrian peacekeeping troops kept curfews and strict Colonial Law during

this tense period. Soon however these countries fell into the fold and became crownlands to the empire.

The End of an Empire:
The Empire was stable throughout the late 1860s and 1870s as the Hulstrian military revitalized the economies of these crownlands. In the 1880s the Empire boomed as the Hulstria became a world powerhouse. However, the 1890s saw an economic depression which caused the empire to weaken substantially. This especially affected the crownlands as they plummeted into a sad state of affairs. By 1895 the countries that had been invaded in 1863 rebelled but it was squashed. This angered the people even more and one years later the crownlands were overthrown by Communist and Democratic revolutions and the empire crumbled. Only Ostland and Bianjie stayed loyal to Hulstria. Bianjie gained independence in March of 1897 and Ostland broke away in November of the same year. This marked the end of the Great Hulstrian Empire and the name was shifted to The Hulstrian Empire and later the Federalist Republic of Hulstria.