Low-Years

The Low-Years is the name given to a severe worldwide economic depression in the early First Industrial Revolution lasting from 1748 to 1780. The recession began with the near extinction of Baleen Whales and the decline of industry. Without the whales' oil many industries began to fall.

Start of the recession
In the early years of the First Industrial Revolution, the Kingdom of Ciloumante nearly hunted Baleen Whales to extinction. Ciloumante was able to avoid the blunt impact of the recession by selling excess oil to the Kingdom of Irieu. The Kingdom of Irieu was able to avoid economic collapse by buying oil from Ciloumante. The whales became rare by the start of 1748 and became extremely rare by 1752. By 1760 whales were not seen for 9 years until a small pod was spotted in the Pavaros Sea. Irieu attempted to hunt the whales but were stopped when Pavaros warships opened fire. This started the Cilou-Irieu War.