View source for Manchester Directive

The '''Manchester Directive''' was a policy issued by [[First Consul of the Rim Worlds Republic|First Consul]] [[Gregory Amaris]] in [[2575]] outlawing membership in the [[Rim Republican Army]].

==Overview==
Following the imposition of the earlier [[Universal Act of Loyalty]] in [[2573]],<ref name=H:RWp127>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 127</ref><ref name=SLp45>''The Star League'', p. 45</ref> Gregory Amaris attempted to establish himself as "first among equals" in the [[Periphery]]. Whereas Amaris could have implemented the measures needed under the [[Pollux Proclamation]] earlier in 2575 by [[First Lord]] [[Ian Cameron]] to ensure peace with the [[Star League]] without too much protest from the population of the Republic, he doubled down and announced the Manchester Directive outlawing membership in the Rift Republican Army.<ref name=H:RWp130>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 130</ref><ref name=H:MPSp17>''Handbook: Major Periphery States'', p. 17</ref><ref name=SLp51>''The Star League'', p. 51</ref><ref name=TPp42>''The Periphery'', p. 42</ref>

Membership of the Rift Republican Army was a ceremonial position held by affluent citizens of the [[Rim Worlds Republic]], an honor reserved for former soldiers of the Republic from its days of colonization.  Descendants of these soldiers maintained membership in the Rift Republican Army as a tradition since the rule of the [[House Rowe|Rowe]]/[[House Durant|Durant]] family. The RRA had once been a military unit, but by the mid-[[twenty-sixth century]] those days were long past; membership of the RRA was still considered an honor, and the majority of the RRA were respectable ex-servicemen.<ref name=H:RWp130/><ref name=SLp51/><ref name=TPp42/>

The RRA radicals who had attacked Efrimal Long on [[Apollo (system)|Apollo]] and prompted the issue of the Universal Act of Loyalty were the exception to the norm, and anger at the subsequent Manchester Directive swiftly turned to dismay when forces loyal to Amaris began actively suppressing RRA groups, seizing property belonging to the RRA, and arresting some of its members.<ref name=H:RWp127/><ref name=SLp51/><ref name=TPp42/>

Amaris had already begun alienating the population years before when he began actively favoring foreign companies over domestic companies as a means of advancing the industrial and technological base of the Republic, a situation made worse by his high-handed approach to taxation and his willingness to seize property and land as a part of his planned economic development. His attack on the RRA was a tipping point that struck directly at the heart of the population and provoked outright defiance on many worlds and a steadily growing level of chaos in many areas.<ref name=H:RWp127/><ref name=TPp42/>

As a result of the Manchester Directive, the Rift Republican Army quickly devoted itself to partisan activity and an active insurgency, and within months of their disenfranchisement, the Rift Republican Army had successfully overpowered the [[Fourth Amaris Dragoons]], orchestrated the overthrow of the First Consul, and established the [[Rim Provisional Government]] on Apollo.<ref name=H:RWp130/><ref name=H:MPSp17/><ref name=SLp51/><ref name=TPp42/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]''
* ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Star League]]''


[[Category:Documents]]