Museum of the Empire, Eveari, Ananto

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ANANTO-KUNDRATI 6
Empress Carolina II Ananto


Empress Carolina II Ananto is crowned in Kaliburg, 5695

Upon formally becoming the Empress upon the death of her parents at the age of 11, Carolina Ananto-Connor began what would become the longest reign of any monarch in the history of the Empire. Her reign is known as moderate: While the Empress continued the long tradition of hostility toward liberal forms of governance and economics, she was a bit more tolerant of variation within the accepted realms of political activity. She was known to tolerate socialists and to some degree democrats as long as their activity remained within the realm of legal, legitimate political practice, and adopted a much less strongly nationalist approach in her foreign policy than her predecessors had.

Retrenchment and the End of the Anantonese Empire
Her coronation was greeted immediately with the condescension of Egelion, who clearly did not take the young intellectual seriously. This set a cool tone for the two major regional powers during the first part of her reign that were further irritated by aggressive Egelian expansion in southern Seleya and Dovani. She continued the Imperial cooperation with the major Kalistani exclave in Luncasi, opening the Luncasi commercial port in 5699. The next four years saw increasing tensions with Egelion until a final agreement was signed with the northern Kingdom in 5703 that established a long lasting armistice between the two empires. Kalistan left the agreement 21 years later, in 5725.

As things moved forward to the north, the situation in Gaduridos deteriorated rapidly. A new viceroy, Marisol Paz Alvarez-Navarro succeeded her mother, the former Viceroy Anantonia Alvarez-Urquizo, and to Gaduris, it appeared that Kaliburg was beginning to set up a hereditary succession scheme in Gaduridos aimed at making the Alvarez line, who were themselves the remnant of the Fourth Dynasty, as virtual monarchs while the actual Gaduri throne sat empty. An outraged Gaduridos then launched an unofficial work stoppage, aimed at crippling the Kalistani economy who was currently underwriting Gaduridos. Things got so bad that by 5705, Kalistan was ready to give the Gaduris what they wanted and cut them loose. Kalistani capital fled the country, selling off its assets at a loss, and more or less gutting the nation. The Empress could have prevented it, but she considered the loss of Gaduridos a personal issue, and spent the rest of her reign unwilling to reach out to the king when they were enthroned later in the century. Kalistan considered abandoning Bentasur, but later reconsidered, given its strategic importance to Fortress Kalistan. Instead a new Radar station was built on the base to replace the lost site on Marlingantos. The event, formally known as the Divorce, was completed in late 5706, and ended the Anantonese Empire in fact.

The loss of Gaduridos and the imminent return of Luncasi angered the Nationalist faction of the Institutional Party, and they very quickly asserted their power in the National Assembly: Upon the death of Orthodox Chancellor Reg Hanson in 5711, the Nationalists forced the nomination of the ultra-nationalist Melanie Alvarez-McLinn, who publicly aimed to pull the Empress to the Right on foreign affairs. She led the charge to keep Bentasur even though the rest of Gaduridos was lost to the Empire, and strongly supported other nationalists measures. The Chancellor also formally abolished factions within the Institutional Party, which had contended within the Party for about 25 years by this point. The move solidified Alvarez-McLinn's control over the Institutional Party.

The remaining major foreign policy affairs of the Empress' reign moved to a focus on fighting global pollution caused by fossil fuels and responding to a growing military alliance in Artania and Majatra. A Major bid to outright buy the recently discovered oil field in New Englia was defeated by capitalist forces with a very poorly executed extraction and transport deal signed with a number of parties that appeared to collapse immediately upon completion. Kalistan's investment went into the Green Terra Initiative, which has since had little interest. Luncasi has handed back peacefully to Kizenia in 5719, on schedule. Kalistan briefly waded into the internal affairs of Xsampa, backing the eventual historical loser, and damaging Kalistan's relations with the communist state, but also improved relations with Utaristan, securing rare earth elements, as well as a new source of diamonds.

The Red Empress- Carolina's Domestic Policy
Domestically, the Empress' administration was dominated by programs designed to strengthen Kalistan's infrastructure and open new sectors of production. Now housing initiatives, road repair and reconstruction, and rural health and education were promoted, demonstrating Carolina's strong commitment to ensuring that the benefits of Kalistani society were extended to as many people as possible. A major earthquake in Eveari destroyed much of the Imperial Town. Damage included the destruction of the Ananto Estate house and the Gem vault, and many of the facilities on the Estate had to be rebuilt along with much of the Southern part of the town. The Empress was so focused throughout her reign to make sure that Kalistanis were provided for that she earned the title "The Red Empress" early in her reign and kept it throughout the rest of her time on the Opium throne.

In 5723, the nationalist Chancellor was arrested on what has been described as operation of an independent prostitution ring out of her home. The charges were later commuted, following heavy intervention supporting the former Chancellor from the people that Kaliburg police counted as victims, and the Chancellor's orthodox replacement. The matter was resolved a few years later when Empress Carolina formally adopted Alvarez-McLinn into the royal family, making her Lady Melanie Ananto-McLinn, and putting her to work as head of House Ananto. The case of the Chancellor points to the Empress' personal philosophy of care.

The Philosopher Empress
Carolina was a philosopher Empress. She was deeply religious, a strong adherent of Brethrenism throughout her life. She was also an intellectual, publicly penning essays and delivering important policy speeches on philosophical topics. She was a very committed anti-liberal, highly critical of democracy and constitutionalism, and openly ultra-conservative when it came to the role of the Empress and the State in the lives of Kalistan's population. She was supported in this position by most of the people around her in Government, most importantly including Melanie Alvarez, who publicly disagreed with anything that sparked of moderation from the Crown, but who remained very influential in private. The Empress herself would not have needed any encouragement to remain conservative, but there was no active push to move her to a more progressive position, even after Alvarez McLinn left office.

She also selected a fellow intellectual as a husband, marrying a national go champion and instructor Elliot Rosenfeld, with whom she had three children. She promoted the expansion of Redn in the world, spoke Vrassan, Egelian, Canrillais, Valruzian, Dundorfic, and Redn by the end of her career. She is one of the only Kalistani Monarchs to study abroad, and one of the only to publish a peer reviewed article in a national journal. Learning was at the center of her personal life, and was strongly emphasized for her children. Her farewell speech, delivered ahead of her abdication focused on integrity and wisdom, two virtues Empress Carolina had long championed in her Empire. The Empress formally abdicated at 11:59:59 pm Kaliburg time in favor of her son, Emperor William II Ananto, and retired with the Prince Consort to her new home in Eveari.