The Black Riots

The rise of The Pauper Kings

I doubt it's as simple as that, love. It's hard to imagine that all it took to end the world was the careless toss of a match after lighting a pipe. Money really does make the world go round, but I happen to believe that there was far more going on in that game than we were led to believe...

— Eirnan Clark, Captain of The Delerium

In the 1800s there was a massive crash in the world economy. Investors associated with the combustion engine as well as the uses of crude oil and gasoline immediately pulled funding for such ventures due to a series of unfortunate incidents.
Oil spills, prototype failures, and other accidents primed the world for this economic downturn. The straw that broke the camel's back was an explosion killing several working on a prototype rig attempting to harvest oil from the earth at an alarming rate.
This caused a chain reaction as investors began pulling their funding for such projects resulting in more investors pulling out of the projects out of fear. While this began in America it soon consumed the world.
It was a short war between the rich and the poor. The effects are still present to this day.

The Riots

The Black Riots, referring to the distinctive black color of crude oil, were the massive rise in crime and rioting that occurred over the months following this economic crash. Law enforcement was overrun or bought off in many parts of the world as the wealthy were hunted down, dragged out of their homes, and killed in humiliating and brutal fashions.

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by Aaditya

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The Pauper Kings

Many of the rioters were laid off workers or disgruntled inventors, all furious at what they had lost. Others were simply those less fortunate than others. The Pauper Kings are the direct result of The Black Riots. As the systems of government began to fall apart, the most influential among the rioters began forming organizations. Some were focused on criminal activity, while others focused on rebuilding what was lost. Small wars are fought in the city streets and skies to this day. Pauper Kings are the leaders of these organizations, men and women who started at the bottom and clawed their way up. They are the true rulers of many nations and even on the seas and in the skies, The Sky Barrons being a prime example.

Belligerents

Rioters

• The Pauper Kings

Law and Military

Strength

Due to it being a worldwide event, its unclear exactly how many rioters there were.

The actual strength was less than most would assume for the soldiers on the other side. Many soldiers abandoned their posts and left to protect their homes and family.

Casualties

Deaths ranged in the hundreds of thousands.

Toward the end of the conflict many soldiers became rioters, so its unclear.

Objectives

Depending on where you were, the objective was simply to get even. These men and women had lost everything and saw no other way out.

Quell the riots.

Response

Due to the fact that law enforcement had been overrun by the sheer amount of rioters, military forces began to move and quell the riots. While some areas of the world saw a swift end to the riots, America wasn't so lucky. The United States of America were caught completely by surprise. Most soldiers were fighting in the Civil War. Law enforcement have been paid to look the other way while the rides went on, especially in New York and other heavily populated areas.
America fell remarkably quick, the Civil War along with the unrest to the north led to a rapid surge in desertion. No battles truly took place. Hearing that their homes may very well be under siege and that their families could have been in danger proved more than sufficient to cripple the military of both the North and the South. Lack of funding to pay these soldiers and feed them also played a vital role.
While small skirmishes are still fought to maintain control, most individuals consider the Civil War and its current state a joke as well as the government's that these soldiers fight for.
Most of the first hand accounts from other nations depict similar results except when it comes to the British Empire. The British Empire had no true warning but fared remarkably better than America did. Their military forces were able to rally and push back against the riders with alarming speed. The British Empire in its entirety is still intact. Most other nations in Europe have fallen to ruin including Germany and France.

Results

As a direct result of the riots, the United States are at best disorganized territories sharing of allegiances or higher power in the federal government which only exists in the District of Columbia. The British Empire actually grew due to the crippled State the riots left neighboring Nations. The British Empire consume the most of the surrounding Nations and its various territories and colonies due to the fact that its military was more effective at quelling the riots. Most other nations were split into small territories. These territories are divided up among Pauper Kings. The nation of Africa is mostly unexplored, as is the Middle East in large portions of Eurasia.
Russia is one of the few Nations left relatively unscathed by the riots, although this changed not long after. China and Japan we're also fairly untouched. During this time the nations were fairly closed off to most outside interference. As such these nations have entered a golden age of sorts.

Legacy

This was a time that marks the change of history. This the moment that created a timeline different from our own. Effectively the Great Depression happened far earlier than It should have.
This postponed the ages of extravagance that the Victorian and Edwardian eras were known for, as well as the Roaring Twenties that led to the Great Depression.
this created little most post-apocalyptic landscape that would help shape the world that appears in the present

A Bored World

Artistic achievements and inventions inventions and pursuits of a mind fell to the wayside in favor of farming and more productive careers. This would change by the time The Delirium takes flight.
It was the Flight of The Delirium that brought about a new Renaissance for the world. Its efforts would make the skies safe to travel again to a small degree. It showed that artistic expressions and intelligence can most certainly be productive and profitable. This is primarily due to the efforts of The Locksmith and The Watchmaker

Setting The Stage

While many would disagree, the riots alone or not the cause of the current state of the world. They were many factors that lead to the collapse. Most nations were struggling in one form or another, investors were taking more dangerous risks, and growing divide between the rich and the poor created perfect storm that would consumed most of the world. While many were able to leave the event unscathed, it is an absolute fact that The Black Riots and the many poor decisions made after and in response to them, would shake the world.

A jagged rock flew through the air, cries of rage echoing from the crowded. A line of officers stood before them. They were imposing with their backs straight and caloused hands gripping their batons. No letal force, they were told... and the rock was thrown. It approached the window of the mansion, and time seemed to slow. The policeman saw it, and watched it as it shattered the glass. A scream echoed from within the house, and it acted as a trigger.
The crowded rushed forward, taking the officers by surprise. Guns were drawn... shots were fired. Several died, but it was not enough to save the officers or the aristocrats they sought to protect. The sound of gunshots only seemed to anger rhe mob more. The ripped the man from his home, a wealth businessman who laid off these angry men and women. They butcher him there on the streets in front of his own home. The Black Riots had no victors. There was no moral highground to take, no good guys to root for. It was just a tragedy.

— Accounts of The Black Riots