Protectorate of Lancaster

A government that broke away from the Kingdom of South Anglia, the Protectorate of Lancaster is a theocratic government supported by the Coalition and aligned with Eurasia and Eastasia. Protectorate territory has risen and fallen throughout the Second 240-300 War but by the beginning of the Galactic War the tide is beginning to favor the rebels and their allies.

The Protectorate of Lancaster’s origins can be found during the rise of the Phoenix Party, when small groups of anti-Phoenix politicians met in secret to organize some sort of resistance. Democrats, communists, theocrats and other politicians who would otherwise fight amongst themselves were united by their mutual hate of the Phoenix Party. Many of these rebel cells were disconnected from one another and consequently most of their attempts to overthrow the Party only succeeded in justifying its increased stranglehold over Anglian society. Eventually, resistance efforts shifted from overthrowing the government to wooing separatist elements in far-off systems where Phoenix control was weaker. Over the years, the theocrats came to dominate the underground resistance as other groups were hounded out by the Party, many times with the theocrats turning a blind eye. When an unaffiliated Catholic anarchist nuked Parliament and started a short-lived anarchist revolution. While the revolution in South Anglia was crushed, the chaos that followed allowed the theocrats and various other anti-Phoenix elements to rise up. The staying power of this revolt was largely based on luck as many disparate cells took advantage of the chaos at around the same time. Phoenix garrisons were overwhelmed in rural areas on far-flung worlds and were forced back to major cities and spaceports. Fighting erupted in the streets all throughout South Anglia. The Anglian Civil War was in full swing.

Like most wars in the galaxy, the Anglian Civil War did not stay civil in either sense of the word. Foreign powers were manipulating events behind the scenes even before the war started and their machinations only became more apparent with the beginning of open hostilities. The United Technocracies supported Phoenix loyalists while the Coalition supported Lancaster. When the Second 240-300 War began, the warring powers eventually became sucked into the Anglian Civil War and the two conflicts became inseparable. Foreign intervention extended the lifespan of the civil war as both sides had a realistic chance at victory and therefore would not surrender to one another. The Protectorate of Lancaster, originally a secessionist movement, returned to its roots and established a regime change agenda. From the beginning of the conflict, the Phoenix Party accepted no agreement but complete unconditional surrender. Both sides mobilized for total war, with Lancaster generally controlling rural areas and far-flung systems while Phoenix loyalists controlled the cities and the central systems.

The Protectorate of Lancaster, while claiming to be a freedom movement, runs the territories it has captured with an iron fist. Its talk freedom of speech and worship are nothing but hot air, as theocratic rule is the order of the day. Sinful behaviors, such as the consumption of alcohol or refusal to go to church on Sundays, are punished with beatings. Heresy and blasphemy is punished with the firing squad. Collaboration with Phoenix elements or rebels unaffiliated with Lancaster is punished more severely. Collaboration is such a crime to the Lancaster government that collaborators are publically tortured, their corpses preserved and displayed for all to see. Captured Phoenix loyalists meet a similar fate, with the only difference being that their torture and execution are recorded and broadcast as battlefield propaganda. The rebels do not shy away from using chemical and biological weaponry to terrorize loyalist settlements. Lancaster troops are notorious for blending into the environment and are very hard to hunt down, but they are generally unable to field heavy weaponry. Protectorate control is very decentralized, with most power deferred to regional leaders with only very limited communication with one another and a central organizing body (if it exists at the time). Central leadership is very fluid, with leaders changing office frequently due to coups, denunciations or assassinations.