History of the Magistracy of Canopus

File:Magistracy of Canopus.jpg

Crest of the Magistracy of Canopus

Founding

Captain Kossandra Centrella was a MechWarrior for the Free Worlds League Military when, due to the ineptitude of her superior officers, her unit was left behind during a general retreat from the Capellan world of Highspire. Captain Centrella managed to save her unit from destruction and return to the Free Worlds League, but she had become disillusioned with the incompetency of the FWLM and the patriarchal systems which dominated the Inner Sphere. Gathering like-minded people around her, she fled the Free Worlds and arrived in the Canopian star system in 2530, founding the Magistracy. By 2570, the Magistracy had grown to 36 star systems thanks to successful negotiations with dissident planetary rulers in the Free Worlds and Capellan Confederation.

Star League Era

Like the rest of the Periphery powers, the Magistracy was invaded in 2577 during the Reunification War by the newly-created Star League; while defeat was inevitable it was not as easy as the Star League hoped, with the war lasting twenty years and costing millions of lives. Luckily for the Canopians, Military Governor Melissa Humphreys was earnest in her stated goal of rebuilding the Magistracy. The realm was made whole and allowed limited home rule as a Territorial State in the Star League, and for the next century enjoyed a golden age of wealth and prosperity. That began to change starting in 2722 as the Council Lords enacted legislation which opened the Periphery up to burdensome taxation and exploitation by deceitful business interests. Events came to a head in 2765 when the Magistracy joined the other Periphery powers in the New Vandenberg Uprising, a rebellion which ultimately would lead to the Star League Civil War and the destruction of the League itself.

Succession Wars

The resulting Succession Wars did not directly touch the Magistracy, but the realm felt the effects all the same: trade and tourism plummeted, to be replaced by refugees and pirates. There were occasional incursions into its territory, including a brief conflict with the Taurian Concordat in 2813 that ended inconclusively, but for the most part the Magistracy stayed out of interstellar affairs until 3030, when it allied with the rebellious Duchy of Andurien to invade the Capellan Confederation. The Andurien Crisis ended badly for the Magistracy and Magestrix Kyalla Centrella, who was ultimately deposed in favor of her daughter Emma Centrella in 3040.

Clan Invasion Era

Emma worked to smooth over relations with the Free Worlds and rebuild the Magsitracy economically, helping it to become a dominate economic power by 3050. Years of careful negotiations eventually resulted in the Treaty of Taurus in 3056, a mutual defense and open trade pact with the Taurian Concordat which ushered in a joint colonization effort in the New Colony Region. This was followed shortly thereafter by the Trinity Alliance, allying the Magistracy and Concordat with the Capellan Confederation and involving Canopian forces directly in Inner Sphere conflicts.