Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-94.195.53.219-20160728132025/@comment-4010415-20160728223224

The Great War was definitely a war between the four Kingdoms, not the Kingdoms' citizens revolting against monarchs. It's not very clear in Ozpin's speech in Field Trip, but it's very, very obvious in WoR: Vytal Festival Tournament.

"The Kingdoms of the world had been locked in a violent struggle for years. But eventually, the great war of Remnant came to an end on the small island of Vytal. It was here that humanity's leaders chose peace over bloodshed, and constructed the future of modern society, establishing new laws, new academies, and new traditions.

The Vytal Festival was created to serve as a celebration of peace between the Kingdoms."

It even shows imagery that depicts the four Kingdoms fighting each other.

I'm pretty sure they're called Kingdoms just for the fairy tale aesthetic.