Please write the post about Keycatrich's destruction!!
[claps hands together]
So!
Keycatrich, per the almanac that you can pick up, was "once a residential area home to the Lucian rich and famous. Under the Wall's protection, the town flourished as an intercontinental trading post". Furthermore, when you talk to Weskham (one of Regis' former retainers/stewards) in Comrades he mentions that he was born in Keycatrich. Given what little we know of him, and the intentional parallels between Regis' retinue and Noctis', it's a decent assumption that Weskham is a noble akin to Ignis, especially given that he's run his own restaurant in Altissia. This is somewhat significant as a concept because it means that it wasn't just the rich and famous that lived there, but also Nobility.
We know that the New Wall extended onto the continent during the Lucis/Niflheim war of 726, and we can assume that one of the goals of the war was to force King Mors to pull the wall back. This would leave one of Lucis' biggest and most important mainland cities vulnerable, and we also know that Keycatrich was specifically invaded by the Empire [almanac] and then overrun by daemons, and left so many refugees that they were forced to scatter across Lucis. Keycatrich was probably a pretty big city (maybe rivaling Lestallum in size?) due to its status as a trading port and the proliferation of gil across the continent.
Anyways how much you wanna bet that the rich, famous, and Nobility of Keycatrich were evacuated straight to Insomnia? :)
Insomnia, moreso than a lot of real world cities, suffers from the lack of one major resource: space. Looking at an aerial view of the city shows that almost all of it is developed into towering buildings that go right up to the ramparts, even on rocky hills and deep valleys. There's an extensive subway system, none of the highways and roads we see are larger than 2-4 streets across, save for the Citadel district that you run around in game. (Which. Is a very, very small area).
In game a lot of the buildings are just 2d textures propped upright, as you only go to the Citadel in the center of the city-- it's easier to see in this video or this aerial view, both from @/dizzymoogle
Insomnia has buildings on buildings and there's even settlements outside of the ramparts because there's just not much space.
Now. You might be going "well that one corner has a lot of trees, right? So it's not like, all developed?"
So lets say that the Noble Houses driven from their homes in Keycatrich, the ones funding the war that King Mors was waging, demanded recompense in the form of land-wealth in Insomnia? They had estates in Keycatrich, and now the king wants them to only have one building in the Citadel district? Or worse, alongside the peasants? After all the money they put into the war, only for Mors to lose it and sign an unfavorable treaty?
So not only does the war of 726 feature regular refugees from one of the biggest cities in the Lucian continent, it also has wealthy nobility and other wealthy citizens (things like trade moguls, huge mercantile enterprises, government subsidiaries, etc) now demanding concessions because of how much money they're pouring into the war and also Insomnia.
So how does this all factor into the Galahdian Refugee Crisis? Well, when you've got limited space, a massive population, and hampered production, it's uh. Not pretty!
Now the Ramparts were built alongside the New Wall, some 150 years prior to the game, and stretched across most, if not all, of the continent. In real life, the Industrial Revolution (roughly 1760-1840) led to a massive population boom, and real life didn't have pesky little things like daemons creeping around at night and destroying villages and towns. It's pretty plausible to assume that the sheer size of the Ramparts was considered excessive back when it was first built, only for the population to balloon due to myriad factors. Like. I cannot emphasize enough how much good that New Wall did for the whole of the kingdom, if we're taking real world events like the Industrial Revolution into account.
(FFXV has always touted itself as a "Fantasy based on reality", hence the pull here. I know that Solheim left all sorts of technological junk around, and according to the bullshit Official Timeline, Niflheim had magitek soldiers when they attacked Lucis in 606. That being said, Lucis relied on their magical prowess and reigned near supreme for almost 1400 years. Niflheim's magitek was likely the first time they were ever able to contend against Lucis' might. Lucis, now on the back foot for the first time in their history, is slow on the uptake and takes a while to get on board with the technological advantages that the rest of the world is already quickly adopting.)
So the regions of Leide, Duscae, Cleign, Galahd, etc, they all enjoy prosperity for a period of about 120 years, leading to population boom on their parts. And when the New Wall was either destroyed or pulled back, they suddenly had no protection against things like daemons prowling at night, or Imperial attacks. Lestallum probably had a huge influx of refugees as one of the major cities, which it could support due to the energy plant, even if it meant cramped quarters -- they could still expand around the crater, across the mountain, etc.
Galahd, being close to Insomnia, was spared many attacks and skirmishes for about 18 years. If you follow KG movie canon, Galahd was likely on the land just across the Lucina Sound, to the west of Cavanaugh; whereas a pamphlet said that Galahd was on the islands to the northease of Insomnia. Either way Galahd is, quite literally, on Insomnia's back porch.
And It Was Attacked :)
Lucis now has to retaliate and shore up their defenses, because Niflheim has come sniffing at the edge of their fence like a hungry wolf.
We're not told the breadth of destruction that Galahd suffered, but we know it was pretty damn significant, given that Lucis retaliated by creating the Kingsglaive and taking in Galahdian refugees. These two problems are now exacerbating each other (even if Galahdians are now set to become the Kingsglaive), not only are they trying to fund a new militia, they now have thousands to tens of thousands of new mouths to feed. And Very Little Space To Do It.
Now by this point, Insomnia's probably somewhat recovered from the attack on Keycatrich and the refugee crisis there. People have settled, the war's been over for almost twenty years, they're safe and secure behind the Wall. Sure, Insomnia's a little cramped, but there's kids that were born there after their parents came from Keycatrich and knew nothing else. Besides, Keycatrich was practically part of Insomnia anyways, they fit in just fine!
The Galahd, however, do not. They have a culture that is distinctly not Insomnian, not Lucian. Things like tattoos on their faces, strange hair styles, different cuts of clothes, and their food is near inedible!
Libertus: What did you put in this!? Shopkeep: This ain't Galahd, that's the way folks around here like it! Libertus: Oh, well, I'm glad to see you're willing to sell out our heritage for a few extra gil!
Nyx: Oh, the gate watch are real sweethearts. Pelna: [chuckles] yeah, right. We all know they hate us outsiders more than anything.
It gets even worse when you start to look at where Nyx lives, presumably alongside the other Galahd refugees:
Even in daytime, the area where Nyx lives is still so deep in shadow. His apartment is a studio, with just a kitchenette and maybe a tiny bathroom. We've no reason to assume the other Kingsglaive live any better than he does either, based on where they all met up for drinks and food. They're just as part of the kingdom as the Insomnians, yet they're treated with disdain.
Not only do they not fit in, they remind the Insomnians one very important thing, something they don't like thinking about: There's a war going on outside the Wall, and Insomnia is not safe either.
So yeah :) That's how Keycatrich's destruction directly lead to the treatment of Galahdi refugees that we see in Kingsglaive :)
