La Denunzia

La Denunzia
A photograph of Tolia in the evening of 12-2 5 PC, hours before the Denunzians would overthrow the government and Giulio Falcone be coronated in the Palazzo Barozzo.
Date	1 PC - 12-2 5 PC
Location	La Rossa
Causes	• economic depression caused by depletion of silver • mass unemployment • crackdowns on freedom of speech• rising anti-elite sentiment
Goals	• the violent overthrow of the Six Families • wealth redistribution • democratization of the Republic of La Rossa
Parties
Denunzians (led by Giulio Falcone) • Alessandra DeGaio • Dario Silvano • Writers and intellectuals • Students and youth • Small business owners • Workers	Dux Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio • Six Families • Rossan Moschettieri
Casualties
• 19,000 arrested (released) • 1,763 killed • 3,823 injured	• Leadership arrested • 297 killed (Moschettieri) • 1058 injured (Moschettieri)
Results
• rule of the Families overthrown • elections temporarily abolished • Dux Falcone installed as leader • Rossan society restructured

La Denunzia was a popular revolt in La Rossa that resulted in the overthrowing of Dux Mario Buonestrotti di Buglio and the island's ruling aristocracy. The rebellion followed the collapse of the Rossan Silver Age brought on by the Silver Crisis, a period of economic depression and uncertainty created by the near-complete depletion of silver on the island, a crucial commodity used as its backing currency. A destabilizing moment in the country's history, the Dux immediately vowed to send out seeking expeditions in search of unknown deposits. The initial wave of support, mobilized in hopes that an end to the woes may be established, slowly started to wane. The panic in the markets that followed led to a gradual but drastic decrease in production, causing massive unemployment over time. The financial hardships prompted many Rossans to walk out to the streets, though the political instability caused by the shaking popular confidence in the rule over the island resulted in a great number of arrests.

Early Reactions and Government Response

The average GDP per capita (O) and median personal income (▽), before and after the Silver Crisis and La Denunzia, adjusted for PPP.

A program of jewelry buybacks was established by Dux Buonestrotti soon after the beginning of the crisis in an effort to spring up the economy after it had wound down, with further measures of austerity being implemented in the following months. Such measures soon proved to be highly unpopular, as the rising poverty often times required Rossans to part with family heirlooms in order to keep up their finances, a fact that soon became sharply contrasted against the mostly unaffected daily lives of the Six Families, the island's aristocracy. Consisting of large webs of economic and political magnates, tied together through familial and marital relations, they had ruled over the island throughout most of its recorded history, with the Dux elected directly by those with familial links for the first nine hundred years since the unified nation was established. Even after the Spirit Revolution, which introduced major electoral reforms, the Dux was not yet elected by a universal nationwide ballot (with only property owners being given rights of vote), and the re-election of the increasingly unpopular leader in 3 PC caused even greater uproar. Barely winning re-election, something that has happened to only a handful of previous incumbents, the Dux's unpopularity, even among the ruling class, soon became apparent. Calls against him only grew louder as the months went on. Although few, loud radical voices from the other Families started to call for secession from the state compact.

Protests remained a common occurrence on the island, with formal arrests by the Rossan Moschettieri occurring even more. Though discontent remained sharp, the increased presence of armed forces across the major population centers on the island remained enough to keep order in line. The most radical threats by the ruling political class failed to materialize, as not even actions as drastic as secession would serve to halt the material problem that lied at the center.

Revolt

Violence once more erupted when the Dux was again re-elected in 5 PC. Facing loud opposition from non-aristocratic candidate Giulio Falcone, the first in history to ever gain such prominence, the Dux was re-elected with razor-thin margins in an election that was widely disputed among the populace, many of whom had lost their right to vote as they sold their properties in years past. A popular movement known as La Denunzia (Ros. for "The Denunciation") marched to the streets, overflowing all six of the major cities with a sea of people. Although the Moschettieri were called in order to quash dissent, they were soon overrun by the crowds. After days of rushing at the door, the reigning Dux resigned, and the people stormed the palace. Without holding another election, yet with much fanfare, Giulio Falcone was crowned Dux in Tolia, the city most hit by the recent chaos. The Advisory Council was similarly thrown out, and popular leaders from each of the cities were instead appointed. Among them included was Alessandra DeGaio, a leader of the Women's Labor Rights Movement, and the first woman to hold such a position of power.

In many ways inspired by La Libertà, a short political text published during the Spirit Revolution, Dux Falcone (5 PC - 15 PC) promised to end the "sham democracy" of the past eras, and enter a new age in the island's history. A sharp progressive taxation rate was placed upon the populace, in an effort to lessen the load of the austerity measures on the poorer parts of the nation, and redistribute the wealth of the founding Families. Utilizing the same methods as the past rulers, military force was used to quash pro-aristocratic voices, many of whom retained their powerful sway even after La Denunzia, with most of the old leadership arrested and imprisoned after public trials. Dux Buonestrotti, already of ill health due to the stress imposed on him by the revolution, died in prison in 10 PC. Although elections were supposed to held in 7 PC, two years after the previous ones, as is custom, the Dux used his still high popularity to show there was no reason for another to be held this year, claiming it could easily be compromised by the aristocrats of the past, as he claimed they had done previously, and that corruption still remained to be rooted out. No elections were held until 15 PC, following the resignation of the Dux.

Legacy

The turmoil of La Denunzia had a profound effect on the Rossan political system going forwards, and the end of the sole rule of the Six Families. With much of their wealth being redistributed in the years following, their total grasp on wealth and power across the island shattered overnight, drastically affecting the state of the country moving forward, and allowing people outside of the previously noble lineages to rise in status. With a sharply egalitarian, if authoritarian focus on sharing the wealth of the nation, the rule of the Dux heavily softened the blow of the still ongoing Silver Crisis, even if it did not find a way to stop it. Establishing the foundations for a welfare state that continues to this day, La Denunzia set an important precedent, and emphasized the importance of easing widespread pain in the face of catastrophe. Despite the economy remaining in freefall, living standards for most sharply rose.

Despite a decade-long period of electionless dictatorship under Dux Falcone, full democratic elections were instituted for the first time following the voluntary end of his reign. Representing the true possibility of a Dux being ousted by the masses, La Denunzia continues to hold a background role in the current day, and is held as a strong reason for why basic democratic institutions continue to be preserved in a system that allows for unchecked and absolute power.