How do kingdom invasions work? For those playing games like Final Fantasy XII, they would know that in fantasy stories/games, a kingdom would wage war against their neighboring kingdom in order to "take it as their own". 1. What are some reasons why a kingdom would invade the neighboring kingdom? 2. Also, what happens next after the war is over, with the invading kingdom being the winner? Does the new rulers immediately hold a public appearance in front of the entire people to tell them "the new rules, etc.."? 3. If a resistance against the new rulers is formed, what could be an ideal motivation for this resistance? How do they go about "resisting"? I'm not actually looking for the true answers.. I'm just trying to find out about the more ideal ways to write it.
I think you should read Machiavelli's (I hope I spelled that right) "The Prince." It's basically a how to guide on ruling a country, written during the era when invasions worked like that. It devotes a lot of time to subjects like whether it's better to rule through fear or love, how to ensure that newly conquered territories don't rebell, ect. It's very interesting. You can find copies of it online for free.
Yes. A quick look at the wars fought in History, there are a slew of motives that can range across the board as to why wars are fought. Smaller wars like Country to Country can be very spiteful motives while larger wars (involving Allies and multi-Country involvement per side) need more overall gain motives or broad base fear motives. For Example: King A Asks King B's for their daughter's hand in marriage. King B tells King A that he can take a long walk of a short pier. King A attack King B out of spite and anger - Welcome to your motive for a War. Another Example: A bit more petty. King A makes comment about how Ugly the queen of Country B is. The King of Country B declares war on King A to defend the Honor of the Queen. The list can involve any of the following or combinations there of: Money, Power, control, spite, greed, anger, ego, vanity, ideals, retribution, revenge, conquest, insanity, prejudice, fear, and the list can go on and on and on. That depends on the Winner and what they feel is proper protocol. In many cases a herald or other sub-official, most likely military would "Lay down the new laws" The ideal mainly is nationalism, freedom from oppression, things like that. They just do not like the new rulers, etc, etc, etc. Resisting normally takes the form of inciting riots and things like that. Huh?
These are pretty broad based questions. They're almost impossible to answer because invasions, the establishment of order, and possible rebellion against the new order all depend upon a myriad of factors including: * Economic motivations and military logistics ... this would include taxation, mandatory work service, the seizing of property or assets, reimbursement, free market economy etc. * Political motivations, style of government, and political orientation * Ethnic motivations and ethnic cleansing or subjection versus assimilation and cultural integration ... consider the way Rome treated newly conquered lands as opposed to the Han Chinese. Look at how the Normans treated the Saxons. * Religious motivations ... tolerance versus persecution * What's in it for me? Did the overall populace benefit from the invasion or not? Was their quality of life improved or not? The more people are happy and content, the less likely they are to rebel. I am minded of an old story about a Duke who spent the wealth of his land building his army, stockpiling weapons, and constructing fortresses. When a counselor told him that the people were suffering and that there was great fear, anger, and lamentations in the villages, the Duke replied, "I will be ready, come the revolution."
I'll try to answer from what I remember learning/reading. 1. Some possible reasons are: want to expand empire/kingdom, the country has something you want, the country is seen as a threat. It is also possible that the country is invaded in order to stop a genocide or something unjust. 2. The invaders tend to seize the land and either hold it for gov purposes or partition it and reward those who helped you. Usually, the ruler doesn't hold a public appearance. It's most likely the military leader who led the attack on that specific town. 3. Greed for power, corruption within the gov, unfair laws, bad ruler, etc. They resist by gathering people for their cause. Manpower is definitely needed or else the revolt would be shut down quickly. Weapons are needed. Intentionally breaking the law shows resistance towards the gov.
My answers here are very broad, but based on history and also somewhat on accepted genre conventions, both among fantasy, historical fiction, and intrigue--sci-fi conventions have recieved a bit less attention. More specific answers require more specific questions.
Other reasons for invasion ... Animosity between leaders ... I've never liked you, so after I conquer your country, I'll put you in chains! ... Because we CAN as in, I have the military power and the willingness to use it ... Envy because you have rich lands that I covet .... Rallying around the flag Have you noticed that some countries start wars to distract their citizens from concerns about their government? There's nothing like a "good war" to rally the citizens around the flag. History ... i.e. the land you occupy was owned by my people X years ago and we want it back ... look at the problems that Israel has had with Palestine ... Overpopulation ... our land cannot support our population so we'll conquer your country and issue land grants to our citizens ... and if some of the citizenry die in the process, this will at least decrease our surplus population ...
