History of Yoahtl

The history and origin of Yoahtl lies shrouded mostly in myth, legend, and non-living memory. While Quauhtli_Mia has recorded most of Yoahtl's history into a series of volumes ingame, it is not complete. Yoahtl has divided its history into a series of 'Eras', each with their own feeling and style and population. There have been nearly a dozen of these, but for our purposes, Yoahtl's has defined its existence in four Eras in the Civ server genre:

Pre-CivClassic
Before CivClassic, there were two signature eras:

 The Era of Resettlement  was marked by the end of Meloncraft and the exodus of many Yoahtlans to Civcraft 2.0. This era began in Meloncraft and was characterized by a sense of being lost and purposeless. The community struggled to survive and adapt to the new environment of Civcraft. This era came to an end with the coming of the Goodspringers and St_Leibowitz, the future Alcuahtl, who took a look at Yoahtl's governing traditions and found them lacking.

 The Era of Dissent  was the era of Yoahtl's many attempts at a constitution and governmental reform. It was an era formed out of the necessity of change to the community that came from being on a new server. However, the incongruity between the attempted reforms and Yoahtl's traditions led to a period of intense disorganization and power struggles, allowing proliferation of selfish interests. Faced with the ongoing infighting and ineffective governance brought on by corruption and poor governmental reforms, the community split and shattered, leaving Yoahtl nearly dead. During the worst of these times, Yoahtl consisted of Quauhtli_Mia, Klasikrok, WackyAki, And St. Leibowitz.

The Era of Reclamation - July 2017 to April 2018
The Era of Reclamation is marked by the return to traditions and a more informal governing style and focus on community rather than politics. This era began after the arrival of Yoahtl to its current home. This era also is marked with the removal of redundant or useless laws and regulation and ensuring that those in power make rules to serve the populace and build community rather than gaining power. This era has come of age during the Somber War, but ended with the Lex vault break and the formation of SATO.

Axochitlan
At the start of CivClassic, Yoahtl was governed by Alcuahtl St_Liebowitz (who was largely inactive), Deputy Alcuahtl Asakuun, and Quauhtli_Mia. They established the town of Axochitlan, near the southeast worldborder, a short distance from Laconia.

Initially, Yoahtl was intended to function as a loose federation of smaller towns, with Laconia holding a prominent position. However, disagreements over the terms led to the First Yoahtl-Laconia War, starting around the 4th of July 2017. Several Yoahtlans were pearled, and the war concluded with Yoahtl’s surrender on the 7th of July.

Both before and after the war, Laconia (at the time consisting of BuckyHD, TofeeDodger, and FRESH_candy) conducted several raids on Axochitlan, using alt accounts to conceal their identity, and switching back to their main accounts when Yoahtlans called for help.

Exile
Resentment towards Laconia quickly boiled over in Yoahtl, within several days of the war’s conclusion bgbba ordered the evacuation of Axochitlan to a temporary site within Commonwealth, who had offered asylum, thirteen thousand blocks away. TheOrangeWizard, Link2006, 14uu, and other Yoahtl citizens camped at Northpoint.

While Yoahtl was in exile, St_Liebowitz removed Asakuun and Quauhtli_Mia from their positions in government and appointed bgbba as Deputy Alcuahtl.

Resettlement
On the 11th of July Yoahtl relocated to the island then known as Gapplar, within Vzis claims. The site was christened New Yoahtl City in honour of their migration and the date’s abbreviation, 7/11.

The Vzis War

Miscommunication between Yoahtl and Vzis meant that Vzis was not aware of Yoahtl’s decision to settle the island until public claims were posted on the 18th of July, by which stage Yoahtl had set up factories and was unwilling to leave when Vzis demanded they do so. In response, S4NTA, DroidJoe, Bluedillydilly, AkChaseKid, TheOGFormula, and Mickale moved to occupy NYC. INightLightDX was pearled, and Yoahtl made a call for help on the subreddit.

The call was answered by Bewsiej and Johnfairfax, part of Nudist Beach, who had prior grievances with some Vzis players. On the night of the 18th Bewsiej and Johnfairfax pearled TheOGFormula and rendezvoused with TheOrangeWizard, TheCowGunnerMoo, and Charlieseese to destroy the Vzis factory bunker.

On the 19th, Vzis surrendered, ceding Gapplar to Yoahtl and agreeing to pay a sum of diamonds in reparations, although this was never actually delivered.

Somber War
Yoahtl initially maintained neutrality throughout the Somber War until the defeat of Anguish and subsequent confinement of Lexington to their vault. After entering talks with Hjaltland, BlueSylvaer and bgbba agreed that Yoahtl would enter the Western Alliance and commit to the war effort. Yoahtl's presence was felt heavily at the final assault on Lexington, with many Yoahtlans participating on the skybridge including bgbba who was at the time the Deputy Alcuahtl and TheOrangeWizard the Alcuahtl. The defeat of Lexington led Quauhtli_mia to declare that the era had ended and a new era had begun.

Power Struggles
The Yoahtlan government upon the formation of SATO was dominated by a power struggle inside the Yoahtlan Council and government at large between various factions. The first faction was led by bgbba, the Deputy Alcuahtl and Chieftain, supporting TheOrangeWizard initially and later himself. This faction would later become the Cult of Bg which led Yoahtl to disaster and near ruin underneath his 3rd reign as Alcuahtl in the summer of 2019. Upon bgbba's ascension to the throne, TheOrangeWizard left Yoahtl for the first time joined by loyal Orange partisan Dr_Oracle, creator of the Antedeluvian Towers in NYC, one of the city's most architecturally significant landmarks.

Opposing bgbba's rise to power but also opposed to the Orange regime was Wingzero54, a powerful Councillor and Meat312 the General of Yoahtl. Initially bgbba supported Meat against the other Councillors, who were concerned about meat312's growing political power including ownership of the Yoahtl vault groups. The biggest flashpoint was over whether or not meat312 should be allowed free access to the government's treasury. This controversy began because the Council made the rules regarding the treasury but the General is an appointed position which at the time had an unstable legal basis. bgbba initially supported meat312's bid to be considered a full member of the government against the wishes of Orange and the Council but withdrew support after the meat312-Wingzero54 partnership began. Upon the final defeat of meat312's bid for access to Yoahtl's treasury and government communications he allied to Wingzero54. Together, meat312 and Wingzero54 made a strong bid to make Wingzero54 Alcuahtl in the wake of the increasingly overwhelmed OrangeWizard's decision to resign. This was stopped by an impassionated speech by Orangist partisan Dr_Oracle, who called Wingzero54 'uninspiring' and dealt a death blow to his bid for the Throne of the Rising Dawn. With Dr_Oracle refusing to support Wingzero's attempt to ascend the throne, bgbba became the Alcuahtl for the 3rd and final time. bgbba's 3rd reign marked the fourth and to date final time that the Chieftain and Alcuahtl were the same individual, with disastrous results.

The controversy badly damaged unity within the Yoahtlan government. Meat312 and Wingzero54 were alienated from the remainder of the government firmly behind bgbba and his growing cult status. Together they established XP infrastructure on Cat Island and began plans to defect from Yoahtl to form Caledonia. However, Dr_Oracle and TheOrangeWizard were equally opposed to bgbba's reign and defected outright. With all four major political figures neutralized via infighting and defections, the final barriers to the Cult of Bg were removed. As the summer began so did the cult of bg.

The First CivClassics Olympics
During the time of increased Yoahtlan prominence, the first Civ Olympics of CivClassics was hosted by Feathercrown and WackyAki, both future Alcuahtls. Most nations of the world attended, however FRIENDS partially boycotted the Olympics due to the Pinkerton Incident which had led to a radical rise of tensions due to bgbba's involvement. The Olympics was a major success and began a three year long tradition of the Civ Olympics being hosted throughout major cities on the server. See also: First CivClassics Olympics.

The Cult of Bg and the Laconian War
After bgbba's rise to power, the government decided to replenish the losses of productive members of the nation in the preceding political struggles by resettling and reclaiming Axochitlan. This was undertaken by Quauhtli_mia. The Laconians were inactive and unaware of the reclamation until Quauhtli_mia made a post taunting them on the subreddit. This began a rapid rise in tensions. The so called Cult of Bg, led by bgbba, increased hostile rhetoric and began diplomatic attempts to seize the land.

Yoahtl had already been involved in various controversies between SATO and FRIENDS and tensions were running high across the map. Laconia refused to give up the land but by this point Axochitlan had been reclaimed and settled. Minor skirmishes broke out across the territory between Laconia with assistance from their ally Rhodesia and Yoahtl with diplomatic support from some members of SATO. In a final attempt to reverse course, bgbba supported a proposal to buy Axochitlan and some of the land for 6,000 diamonds. It was too late. The Council, assured of victory by weeks of rhetoric by meat312 and bgbba, voted the proposal down. Preparations for war began immediately and Yoahtlan forces occupied Axochitlan. This culminated in the Battle on the Bridge in which Rhodesian and Laconian forces fired on meat312, beginning the Third Laconia War.

The Fall of Bg and the Orange Restoration
The Third Laconia War ended in catastrophe for Yoahtl. Abandoned by allies due to hostile rhetoric and with bgbba pearled, Yoahtl sued for peace. TheOrangeWizard and Dr_Oracle returned to Yoahtl, retook the Throne of the Rising Dawn, and instituted the 2nd Charter. Feathercrown, the hero of Yoahtl's efforts to host the Olympic Games, was appointed to lead diplomatic overtures because FRIENDS refused to discuss terms with anybody else. The terms were harsh. Yoahtl was to dig out a vault hole for Laconia, pay significant reparations, and bgbba was to be stripped of all titles. Chieftainship passed to WackyAki. Critically however, Quauhtli_mia remained in Yoahtl and was opposed to the entire settlement and Orangist regime. Despite critical reforms being instituted, including the separation of the judiciary from the executive and legislative branches under SpaceVolcano, the unpopularity of the Orangist regime began to rise due to hostile rhetoric by Quauhtli_mia and WackyAki. bgbba also during this time destroyed the reputation of Yoahtl by having a scheme to be freed and begin resuming tensions with FRIENDS concocted with Hjaltland Chancellor BlueSylvaer leaked to the subreddit, resulting in his ambiguous permapearl sentence being upgraded to an official permapearl. During this time, the infamous rant against ZachAttack occurred in mumble. Many remixes were produced.

CivEx First Light
Yoahtl decided to take a break from the CivClassic's drama to play on CivEx: First Light. This was a time of great success for Yoahtl. Neotide_ first began associating with Yoahtl during this period. The instability of playing on a different server combined with the unpopularity of TheOrangeWizard's new charter with the citizenry led to calls to create a new charter. The supporters were divided between remaining bgists such as WackyAki and Quauhtli_mia who favored restoration of the First Charter called Restorationists and the Reformists led by Tigen and SpaceVolcano who supported writing a new Third Charter incorporating the popular elements of the Second Charter such as the creation of the High Justice. Opposition to charter change mostly consisted of TheOrangeWizard, Dr_Oracle, and skeptics currently serving in government positions such as future Alcuahtl MightyOddish. After a series of discussions led by Tigen and SpaceVolcano's passionate advocacy of a renewed charter, the Restorationist faction merged under a united group of government members. WackyAki resigned from the Chieftainship after a particularly brutal roasting session for his unwavering support of Quauhtli_mia's rhetoric in favor of renewed hostility with FRIENDS, beginning the WackyAki Redemption.

The Third Charter restored much of the First Charter and brought back the Council as Yoahtl's legislature. However, lawmaking power for the general citizenry via referendums was retained as was the entire structure of the independent judicial system underneath SpaceVolcano. The Alcuahtl was stripped of most remaining powers and the concept of the General was defined explicitly as a legal position. While TheOrangeWizard remained Alcuahtl, he resigned in January of 2019 having lost too much influence to manage the Yoahtlan state when it was decided to return to CivClassics. With bgbba permapearled and completely unwilling to ascend the Throne of the Rising Dawn, Feathercrown was made Alcuahtl.

Stabilization of Political Leadership
This brought an end to nearly three years of rapid leadership changes and endless political instability within Yoahtl. In the three years before Feathercrown's ascendance Yoahtl had had almost a dozen separate Alcuahtlships. TheOrangeWizard and bgbba served three separate terms each, St_Liebowitz served twice, Klasikrok and M_M_Modshot served once, and Asakuun had served as Acting Alcuahtl for a week before being expelled for treason. The longest term was TheOrangeWizard who served for six months give or take, the majority of which was marked by brutal political struggles between Councillors underneath him.

Since Feathercrown's ascendance Yoahtl has had three Alcuahtls, all of whom served for long periods of time overseeing an era of political stability and relative unity. bgbba has also remained Chieftain since this time, but has never held the reigns of power again. This was the great gift of Feathercrown's leadership, wisdom, and political insight.

New Yoahtl City Redesign
On the return to CivClassics, Yoahtl was a shrunken community. Badly damaged by the rise and fall of the cult of bg, the loss in the Laconian War, and months of political division, reform of the city itself was needed. Initially led by Feather, many design changes occurred to the city. Old buildings were removed and public squares were brought back. LukasMaps, SpaceVolcano, Feathercrown, Sventhar, and XCstar led a redevelopment effort that cleaned the slate for the city that exists today. This included a major redesign and expansion of Yoahtl's train station, the creation of the Southeast District Homeowner's Association, and

Timeline of Government Changes
June 2017

CivClassic launches

St_Liebowitz becomes Alcuahtl, Asakuun becomes Deputy Alcuahtl

July 2017

Asakuun removed, bgbba becomes Deputy Alcuahtl

August 2017

5th TheOrangeWizard, Klasikrok, ArowShot win Council election

September 2017

8th St_Liebowitz abdicates, TheOrangeWizard becomes Alcuahtl, bgbba remains Deputy

18th Feathercrown wins Council by-election

October 2017

12th bgbba, Klasikrok, ArowShot, and Feathercrown win Council election

November 2017

12th TheOrangeWizard abdicates, bgbba becomes Alcuahtl

December 2017

10th TheOrangeWizard, WackyAki, Dr_Oracle, Amerikkalainen, and Mightyoddish win Council election

February 2018

2nd bgbba abdicates, M_M_Mod_Shot becomes Alcuahtl, bgbba becomes Deputy

11th bgbba, Wingzero54, Quauhtli_Mia, and Mightyoddish win Council elections

March 2018

9th M_M_Mod_Shot abdicates, TheOrangeWizard becomes Alcuahtl, Deputy left vacant

April 2018

11th bgbba, Wingzero54, meat312, and BustaNuht win Council election

12th Wingzero54 becomes Deputy Alcuahtl

June 2018

2nd TheOrangeWizard abdicates, bgbba becomes Alcuahtl

12th Feathercrown, Mightyoddish, Spacevolcano, and Tigen win Council elections

August 2018

19th Feathercrown, Spacevolcano, Tigen, and gbrbgryn win Council elections

21st bgbba abdicates, Feathercrown becomes Alcuahtl

September 2018

22nd TheOrangeWizard becomes Deputy Alcuahtl, Council dissolved, First Charter suspended

October 2018

5th TheOrangeWizard becomes Alcuahtl, Feathercrown becomes Deputy Alcuahtl

November 2018

26th Second Charter promulgated, bgbba becomes Chieftain, Deputy Alcuahtlship abolished

January 2019

19th TheOrangeWizard abdicates, Feathercrown becomes Alcuahtl