Annexation of Kū

Annexation of Kū
Eleven Estalian troops atop the Convention Hall in Kū-Lani during the annexation.
Date June 20th 2022 Location Communion of Kū, Middle Ocean Result Estalian Victory Communion of Kū annexed by Estalia Sanctions & embargoes against Estalia by various nations
Belligerents
Estalia	Communion of Kū
Commanders and leaders
Gregy165 ZabeKabir Watermashen ThePayman	Black_Fusion
Strength
11 Fighters	8 Civilians

The Annexation of Kū refers to the annexation of the Communion of Kū by Estalia prior to the former's forceful relocation to another location after a prior escalating conflict.

Series of Events

Initial conflict

Pre-annexation claims of Estalia (orange) and Kū (green) shown on a world map.

On June 18th, Black_Fusion, member of the Sacred Convention of the Communion of Kū, its main governing body, made a post to r/CivMC accusing Estalia of killing Kū officials, including himself, in Kū's own claims, providing a detailed explanation of events connected to his pearling by Estalia. Per Black_Fusion, he discovered an underground tunnel underneath the city of Kū-Lani while mining. After depositing what he had mined, he returned shortly thereafter to document "this new development in the building tale of Estalian colonialist aggression against the Communion of Kū". After taking screenshots of exposed diamond ore on the walls of the tunnel and exploring the entire section of it that was located in Kū, Black_Fusion was pearled by 3 Estalians on horseback in diamond armor, ZabeKabir, Watermashen, and ThePayman, though he was released with apologies a few minutes later, with those who pearled him having thought he had previously been warned not to enter the tunnel. After being led in the wrong direction by the Estalians escorting him out, Black_Fusion was left alone and eventually tunneled to the surface. The post ends with Black_Fusion indicating that his nation, before the incident, did not want to escalate any tensions with Estalia as they are a stronger country, and with a wish for the respect of their borders and cordiality when dealing with the Communion, as well as an offer to relocate the tunnel around Kū's claims in a gesture of good-faith.

Prior to this incident, Estalia had claimed and built infrastructure on land that Black_Fusion say was "already marked by posts labeled "Communion of Kū", accusing Estalia of knowingly ignoring their nation's claims and building around any stone-reinforced areas on the island.

An example of a popular anti-Estalia post on the subreddit in the aftermath of the annexation.

Demands and Annexation

In response to these accusations, Estalia made their own post, stating that Kū officials had been inconsistent on whether or not they could keep the tunnel, and that Estalia had sent demands (including the stipulations "Ku will not cede sovereignty to any group[...]" and "Kū will not allow foreign parties to operate from the islands", "Kū" being misspelled) that had been refused, and that the nation of Kū had been annexed and its people relocated, with as many as 11 players sent to annex the territory. During the annexation, buildings on the island were destroyed or griefed, including the Hall of the Most Sacred Convention, the "chief administrative building of the Communion".

Public Reaction

The annexation provoked a reaction of anger in the comments of the post (some such comments obtaining more upvotes than the original post by a wide margin), with large parts of the civ community feeling this was an unjust solution and imperialistic, as well as contrary to the image Estalia originally wanted to keep of themselves. The reaction through proper posts on the subreddit (as opposed to comments) also seemed to be largely anti-Estalian. According to a subreddit poll, less than 20% of players believed the annexation of Kū was justified.

On June 21st, Black_Fusion made another post regarding the annexation, recapping the situation and asking of the international community three actions: "an international embargo to contain Estalian expansionism"; "no recognition to be given to Occupied Kū or any puppet states which may be set up in the region that are not composed of its native people"; and "the declaration that Estalian players may not be armed or armored in any free-world nation".

Embargo

On June 22nd, an embargo banning the trade of "Goods or Services within the Borders of Estalia by a state or participating citizen" as well as with any Estalians "outside of their borders, within participating states or on the private property of participating citizens" was signed by 11 nations, the nations being: Kū itself, the CCTT, Yggdrasil, Rhode Island, Camiseo, the Potistani Host, Myra, Gensokyo, Melia, the People’s Republic of Western Boundary and the Empire of Khan, with Topaz4293 stating that the embargo "may be adopted at any time as well as dropped at any time".