Editing Iustitian War for Independence (section)

=== Initial Fighting ===
In 1792, a number of Iustitian merchants and lesser nobility gathered in Iustitia City to push for limited independence at the behest of Ross Ashley, Baron of Machlain and advocate for total Iustitian autonomy, but they were rebuffed by the Valhahandian Governor, Sir James Collins. What followed was a series of political maneuvers by pro and anti independence leaders to oust the other side from local power in the colonies. The two sides clashed in the streets of Iustitia City and nearby towns on a number of occasions over the next three years, resulting in dozens of deaths and the eventual flight of Collins, who feared assassination, from the colony in 1795. Collins was replaced by Sir Kenneth Hunt, who was somewhat sympathetic to Ashley's cause, but did not support full independence. Hunt worked to mend the growing rift between Iustitian and Valahandian commercial and political interests, but was stonewalled by Ashley and his compatriots. Unknown to Hunt, Steven Brannock, a former Iustitia City garrison captain who had been instrumental in ousting Collins, was recruiting an army of commoners in Via Regis, a large fishing town on the island's north coast, while Ashley and his associates cajoled several neutral and loyalist noblemen into joining their cause. On March 8, 1798, Brannock moved his army of more than two thousand to the governor's manor, forcing Hunt to resign. That afternoon, twenty eight noblemen (including Ashley) and some number of merchants met in the governor's manor to formalize their break from Valahandia.