The Faunus Rights Revolution (also referred to as the Faunus War) was a revolution staged by the Faunus in retaliation against Humans trying to centralize their race in Menagerie. As a result of winning the war, Faunus are allowed to live wherever they please within the four Kingdoms. It is not to be confused with the Great War, an earlier and far larger conflict based around social and cultural ideology, rather than racial politics.
Little has been disclosed about the Faunus War, nor has there been a definitive timeline given. Enough time has passed for Huntsman academy students to think of it as ancient history, but the war was actually very recent historically speaking, having occurred within the last two generations, and they are still susceptible to it's lingering social effects, such as the intense prejudice Weiss held toward Faunus up until her attendance at Beacon.
Despite any material gains the Faunus achieved during the war, they remain a subject of frequent discrimination, as exemplified by Blake's mention of Human shops refusing to serve Faunus shortly prior to the start of the series. The treatment they receive varies from place to place, as locations like Vale and Vacuo appear to be host to less discrimination than others.
History[]
Background[]
The aftermath of the Faunus War
Following the Great War, efforts were made for a worldwide compromise of policies, in hopes that the Kingdoms of Remnant would never go to war again. One such gesture was giving Faunus equal rights and legal ownership of the island of Menagerie. Some saw the gift as fair and just, as Menagerie is a symbol of their culture, while many others saw it as a slap in the face, as much of the island in reality is borderline uninhabitable. Over time, it became apparent that Humans were adamant about having all Faunus live there, forcibly if necessary. Such confinement would jeopardize the rights earned by Faunus in the Great War to travel freely and settle in other Kingdoms, thus the Faunus fought back, sparking the Revolution.
Chronology[]
Although little information is available regarding the proceedings of the war, it is known that it was a fairly large-scale conflict that lasted at least three years.
The Battle of Fort Castle in the third year is widely regarded as the turning point. The inexperienced leader of the Human forces, General Lagune, attempted to catch their enemy off-guard in a nocturnal attack. However, many of the Faunus were able to leverage their superior night vision to better coordinate their forces and soundly defeat the larger human army. It is unknown how much longer the war carried on after this.
Given that many Faunus are seen living among Human populations at present, it can be deduced that the war was at least successful in preventing the imposition of any discriminatory relocation or citizenship policies.
Post-War[]
The White Fang was set up in the ashes of the war
Sometime after the war, the White Fang political organization was founded for the purpose of acting as a prospective symbol of unity between Humans and Faunus. Nevertheless, Humans continued to blatantly discriminate against Faunus, leading them to become more akin to a peaceful protest movement. Five years before the beginning of the series, the White Fang's then-current leader, Ghira Belladonna, stepped down and was succeeded by Sienna Khan, who began to employ outright violent tactics over peaceful ones, carrying out criminal acts such as setting fire to businesses that refused to serve Faunus, hijacking cargo from companies that abused Faunus labor, and committing murder and abduction in multiple entanglements with the Schnee Dust Company. These actions began bringing Faunus better treatment in some circles, though out of fear rather than respect, while intensifying anti-Faunus sentiment in others. They would only trend further into extremism as particularly disgruntled agents such as Adam Taurus began to gain more clout within the organization, consolidating their poor reputation as an outright terrorist group.
Although the war was fought to prevent the forcible confinement of Faunus in Menagerie, the continent still boasts a major Faunus population, but as a truly independent nation rather than a pseudo-colony. For those who desire to be left alone by the rest of Humanity, many Faunus consider Menagerie to be a safe haven.
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