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The Anti-Academy City October riots were a worldwide series of violent demonstrations and protests perpetrated by Roman Catholics against Academy City, done through the manipulations of the Document of Constantine, in order to force the Russian Orthodox Church to join the Roman Catholic Church's side. The riots end with the Academy City invasion of Avignon.

Background[]

Document of Constantine[]

Main article: Document of Constantine

The spiritual item behind the riots, the Document of Constantine (or C-Document), was created in the past by the Roman Catholic Church because of fears that they would lose control of their world and the hearts of their followers, following multiple crises and challenges to the idea that 'God is absolute'. Said to be a document by Constantine the Great stating that the Roman Pope was the leader of the Christian Church and the lands which Constantine ruled (at the time, the majority of Europe) belonged to the Pope, its actual effect was to make believers of the church believe that everything the Pope said was true.[1]

Causes and Motivations[]

Anti-AcademyCityRiots

Catholic protestors confronting police during the riots as depicted in the manga.

After the attack on Academy City by Vento of the Front, many international disturbances were caused as a result and the Roman Catholic Church decided to use the opportunity to activate the Document of Constantine, in order to turn the tides early in favor of the Church for the upcoming war.[1] Their purpose was to force the Russian Orthodox Church to join their side. Originally, the Roman Catholic Church had preferred to get the other two great churches, Anglican and Russian, to come to their side, however they came to know that the Anglican Church had a relationship with Academy City, and with all the things that had transpired between the two churches, where they were at odds with each other, there was clear strife between the two, causing the Roman Catholic Church to give up on them. Though the power balance between Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church was seen as very equal, it was the joining sides that could tip the balance, so the Roman Catholic Church focused their attention on the Russian Orthodox Church to prevent them from joining Academy City's side.[2]

Though this was the prime reason, there were other reasons as well. According to Oyafune Monaka, the riots were a sign of the Church trying to completely win over and use their 2 billion followers, for though they were of the Church, not all were as zealous and steadfast in their belief, and lived in the benefit of both the Church and the influence of the science side. According to her pure science side point view, she saw that the Church was using this "chaos" to boost its numbers and using Academy City to strengthen their foundation in order to attack the world. The Roman Catholic Church was also gathering funds for a war in the form of "offerings" from believers of the church. They were doing it on the pretext of funds to help bring peace back to the world from the current chaos. The greater the chaos grew, the more "funds" they would receive. Moreover, she believed that even if the demonstrations did not bring people over to the Roman Catholic side, if the chaos continued for a significant length of time, it could have a negative effect on the economy and subsequently be the trigger for a world-wide panic. Even if the Roman Catholic Church did not grow due to this, it could end up tearing Academy City apart.[3]

Chronology[]

The Riots[]

Originally starting as a series of large-scale protests throughout Europe with great number of people marching around that ranged from men and women holding banners, youths were setting fire to Academy City posters and their actions centered around areas with Japanese companies.[4] Quickly around the world, the protests and the various overreactions to them began picking up pace as in Germany where a bulldozer thought to have been stolen was plowed into a Church, as a result of the escalation sports games were cancelled for safety’s sake. While at first only occurring within Europe, they soon begun within America as well, appearing in the major west coast cities and were expected to spread throughout America before long.[5]

Initial Responses[]

Toaru Majutsu no Index III E01 16m 54s

Academy City reporting on the protests in Toulouse, France.

The riots apparently set Academy City on edge, to the point of preparing for an economic bombing, as if the chaos continued for a significant length of time, it could have a negative effect on the economy.[3] Up to the invasion of Avignon however, their overall response to the riots was not to deal with the problem and let the chaos worsen.[6]

Many countries resolved the riots happening in their lands through the use of military force, though they were not stopped and continued. According to Oyafune Monaka, the countries were waiting for another country to make a move so they could see whether it worked and what effects the actions had. Because of their lack of knowledge regarding the magic side, no one could solve the problem as they believed there was no simple ‘reason’ or ‘cause’ behind it and no one can solve a problem that had no answer. So even though people investigated the problem for show, no one did anything about it.[3] She may have also feared the riots devolving into a conflict where anything and everything was destroyed.[7]

The Anglican Church's response to the riots was to become suspicious of its causes, and have the Amakusa Christians investigate the leylines and other magical properties of the land in France. The 52 combat-ready members of the Amakusa Church were sent towards major cities in France.[8]

List of affected areas[]

Avignon Riots[]

Main article: Avignon Cleanup Operation

Avignon had apparently experienced more than one violent protest, as evidenced by the injured civilians Kamijou Touma met in Drawly Coffee,[8] seemingly due to the fact that the very spiritual item that was causing it was in their own backyard.

The effects of the protests made people afraid of the demonstrations and riots, though they still had to go out to make a living. They were only going to the places they had to which concentrated the streams of people to specific areas. A majority of these people which were seen by Touma in Drawly Coffee had disheveled hair and clothing, covered in mud, had bandages wrapped around their limbs, and everyone from the strongest adult to the smallest child had bruises on their faces at the very least.[8]

Another riot was caused in order to intercept the Academy City forces that parachuted down in the city, Kamijou Touma and Tsuchimikado Motoharu. The magicians controlling the Document of Constantine most likely used their influence over the protesters to make them into fledged rioters that began hunting Touma and Itsuwa through the streets of Avignon, where they were also starting fires with gasoline.[8] In Drawly Coffee, the protesters smashed the windows of the café with their bare hands before hundreds of people stormed inside, suddenly leaving the store too full for anyone to move properly. Soon, the targeting chains of Japanese-owned companies or the attacking hotels that Japanese sightseers often stayed in was lost, and the protesters had lost sight of their original goal, flooding the streets causing mayhem.[8]

The riots were later violently suppressed by Academy City forces, isolating the city, destroying much of its infrastructure in the process and forcing its citizens to be relocated, in an attempt to totally destroy the Document of Constantine and kill Terra of the Left. This would be the last riot caused by the Document of Constantine before Touma destroyed it during the operation.[12]

Aftermath[]

Though the Document of Constantine was destroyed, the Roman Catholic Church achieved their original goal of getting the Russian Orthodox Church to ally with them.[2] It is unknown how many were injured or killed as the result of the riots, as well as the overall financial costs it inflicted. Of the economy, Avignon alone most likely cost a lot of money after Academy City destroyed a part of the Palais des Papes and the roads and pathways it had, to destroy the Document of Constantine. It is also unknown if other anti-Academy City protests occurred after this without the power of the Document of Constantine.

The overall incident dealt an economic blow which America took the brunt of - this led to investors moving their attention elsewhere and while facing a crisis, they feared the Euro and Yuan markets becoming more active, and were willing to sabotage their enemies. The war between the Dollar and Euro would later affect the circumstances of the European countries pressuring the United Kingdom under the Roman Catholic Church's influence and the Eurotunnel bombing,[13] which led to Carissa's coup d'état.[14][15]


References[]

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