Gracchian Uprising

The Gracchian Uprising was a conflict which began the events which eventually resulted in the Mercatorius Crusade.

The conflict began after a gang leader, Gaio Graccho, had managed to unite and conquer many of the gangs which had grown in the derelict hive city of Varachia on Mercatorius Prime. While Graccho's initial aims were largely relating to the vast inequality between the citizens of Varachia and those living in Novus Mercatorius, exposure to the warp and a growing radicalisation during his years of war made the conflict increasingly one of conquest in the name of Chaos.

The uprising was sufficiently damaging to the Imperium to destabilise the entire system, with the uprising eventually being joined by Chaos during the Invasion of Mercatorius. These events would lead to the near conquest of Mercatorius Prime and the beginning of the Mercatorius Crusade.

The Gangs of Verachia
Following the Primus Ruining, the planet of Mercatorius Prime and its hive city Verachia were left arid and ruined. The city itself became a place of lawlessness, whereby in the city's ruins gangs could freely grow away from the watchful eyes of the Imperium. Citizens who survived the ruining found themselves effectively governed by gangs in particular parts of the city, with the local Planetary Defence Forces only making their lives more miserable in their raids on the city.

The gangs were emboldened also by the brutality and elitism shown by the inhabitants of Novus Mercatorius. Several 'peacekeeping missions' were launched, which generally involved the bombing of suspected gang areas and the deaths of countless civilians.

One particular gang, the Populares under Gaio Graccho, sought to use this disenfranchisement as a recruitment tool. In some parts of the city, the gang was seen to be a relatively benevolent group which would provide services to those who lived in areas under their control. This swelled the ranks of the Populares and allowed Graccho to subsume nearby gangs and territories into his growing legion.

The Great Demonstration
Graccho's initial aim was to control enough of the planet so that the planetary governors would allow him greater ability to manage Verachia's affairs. Given that the Populares rarely threatened the existing order, his activities were tolerated so long as citizens in their areas contributed to the system's taxes.

In 110.M42, this situation altered when Graccho ceased the payment of all revenue to the planetary governors. This was done, in part, to hide the scale to which the Populares had grown, in case this resulted in an attempt to reduce the strength of his forces. This was portrayed to the citizens as a demonstration against the raw deal which the local planetary governers had offered them.

In 111.M42, Commander Argus launched a series of peacekeeping operations in the city of Verachia to demonstrate the superiority of Mercatorius' planetary forces. The operation was largely a failure, simply driving more citizens towards the Populares and against the forces of the Imperium.

Within the Populares, dissatisfaction with the Imperium grew increasingly radical, with gang leaders muttering increasingly heretical ideas. The opening of the nearby Cicatrix Maledictum did nothing but exacerbate and corrupt these thoughts as more and more died in the Silver Legion's bombing campaigns. Some gangers began to worship a 'Four-Armed Emperor', inspired by the preaching of the Brotherhood of the Vicinial Majesty. Most aligned themselves with the increasingly radical Graccho, demanding that they liberate the planet from the corrupt Imperium.

The Uprising Begins
In 114.M42, Graccho began to enact the plans he had for the liberation and conquest of the planet. This plan involved the planting of sleeper cells amongst the Planetary Defence Forces of Mercatorius Prime and plotting a series of ambushes on the camps of the Silver Legion. The immediate battles resulted in devastating losses for the loyalists, who did not expect the attack nor the sheer numbers which confronted them. The disorderly manner in which the local forces were organised resulted in a slow response, with many soldiers choosing to defect rather than fight back against the hordes of Graccho.

Within a few months, much of the city had fallen to the legions of Graccho, with the capture of resources from the Adeptus Munitorum allowing Graccho's forces to expand outside of the city and move beyond guerrilla warfare.

By 115.M42, the forces of Chaos had heard about the uprising and come to assist. This invasion marked the change of the conflict from an uprising to a full-scale war, known as the Invasion of Mercatorius.