The Faraway Kingdom

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Chapter One - Home Away From Home
January 1645 to May 1646​

In the midst of the English Civil War, the pendulum of momentum swung heavily in favor of the Parliamentarian forces led by Lord Fairfax and one Oliver Cromwell. Many of Fairfax's top generals predicted that the war would soon be over by the end of the year, seeing as how the majority of the royalist land was hold up in Northern Wales and Cornwall. However the Parliamentarian forces had learned news that a large portion of King Charles I and his royalist were holed up in the castle of Oxford. The Parliamentarians sat and wait for the perfect opportunity to lay siege to the castle at Oxford. When news hit from a local spy amongst the town that Charles I had sent one of his top generals, Lord Astley to retrieve reinforcements from Wales. Sir William Brereton was given the responsibility to intercept Astley’s forces on the return journey back from Wales. Brereton and his forces routed Astley and his men, then quickly captured him as a prisoner of war. On the 18th of March, the committee in London ordered that 2,000 Parliamentarian troops, led by Colonel Charles Fleetwood, would besiege and take back the castle of Oxford and Charles I who had been holed up in the castle since early November. On the 30th of March Fleetwood and his troops met with Fairfax’s best men, and began to quickly stage skirmishes on the outskirts of the town of Oxford.

It was not until the 4th of April, that Fleetwood and his men began the actual siege of the actual castle of Oxford. The royalist were given extra support from incoming Colonel Henry Ireton to help relieve the pressure from Fairfax and his men in Oxford. For 11 long days, both sides traded blow after blow, neither side able to gain the advantage against one another. Though at around 6:00 PM, cannon shots were heard coming from the Woodstock Manor House, in which Commander Rainsborough and his men were able to finally punch a hole in the castle’s defenses, although he was quickly routed from the defending royalists forces, losing nearly 100 men and his life. On April 26th the House Manor finally surrendered the Governor and his soldiers, without their weapons. However news reached Fleetwood and his officers that the king, the royal family, and his loyalists were able to escape in the early morning of April 27th. Disguised as mere peasants trying to escape the war. On April 29th the House of Commons hearing of the King’s escape, prompted that “no one be allowed in or out of Oxford, and that the former king and his loyal dogs be apprehended as soon as possible.” Though many politicians and even Cromwell himself would not expect the interesting news that would hit them later...

This sudden string of events prompted King Charles I to escape from England entirely. It would take him a long time, and he knew that most would probably consider him a traitor to England itself. However, he believed the entire nation to be tainted beyond fixing, due to the six years of war that had wrecked most of the governmental infrastructure and alliances. He knew he would have to leave, but most places weren’t available for urgent living. He predicted that Scotland would simply let him be seized by Cromwell’s forces if he attempted to go there, and he didn’t believe that his allies in the Rhine would help him and his entire gang of royalists. Most of Europe was inaccessible, due to many nations not wanting to be involved at all with the ordeal. However, in early May, he came up with a risky plan to ensure his survival and the survival of his children. For an entire week he conspired, meeting up with high officials who were loyal to him. He snuck on seven ships with his followers and family, most of which disguised themselves as colonists (some pretended to be rich traders, or captains). A merchant named Ainsley Smith accompanied them on this long trek across the Atlantic, to their new home in the Americas. Eighteen thousand people in Virginia would be there to welcome him, after he finished his journey to America in late June. Over the next few years, the Americas would experience a massive influx of more of his followers due to his rule in the region. This began the reign of the Kingdom of Carolina.

“Our homeland has been tainted; we must go find a new one, pure of all corruption and fallacy.” - A famous quote by Charles I, as told in one of the autobiographical recountings of his life.

Charles I, eternal and constant king of England, and ruler of Virginia and the Americas​

 

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Chapter Two - An Angry Leader, and a Dawning Kingdom
May to September, 1646​

When the news finally hit Cromwell and his men in Wales that Charles I, his family, and his most trusted band of loyalists had escaped. He put out an open call and open bounty to both commanding officers and soldiers, to capture those who held information to where the king could possibly be heading. Though, they had no such luck. As the only group who actually held knowledge of Charles’ location and plans, were his most trusted loyalists, who escaped with him the same day. The Parliamentarian forces, continued their search of any information to where Charles could’ve left to. The House of Commons went as far as hiring common peasants to help in their aid to track down Charles and his group. On May 11th, when the Parliamentarian forces were ordered to move out and continue their clean up of the royalists within the region, they came across someone who they believe would know where Charles I would escape to. Prince Rupert of the Rhineland.

Rupert was originally ordered by Charles I, to help escort him to the Scottish border, where he could hopefully seek refuge from the Parliamentarian forces. Rupert’s first sight upon coming to Oxford was the Parliamentarian colors, flying where the royalists’ should’ve been. He still believed Charles I was still held up in Oxford and made a desperate attack on the town and castle to protect his ally. He would soon figure out from captured Parliamentarian soldiers, that Charles had escaped near the end of April, and were currently searching for Charles and his band of escapees. Rupert hearing this would order an immediate retreat from Oxford, to regroup to a more defensible position in the county. While retreating Rupert would sustain a bullet to the upper part of his arm, from a raiding party, sent ahead by Thomas Fairfax to slow down Rupert’s retreat. Thinking he would know where Charles would be. They would get no such opportunity to seize Rupert, as he had split off from his assisting officer, Sir Thomas Glenham, who served as a distraction for Rupert’s get away. Glenham would eventually be captured by Fairfax and his men, meanwhile Sir William Waller, was sent to hopefully track down Rupert, he had no such luck. With no information gathered from Glenham or any of his troops, Fairfax was to send Glenham to be tried in court in front of the House of Commons. On the 17th of May, reports came from a local port town that, a man long brown haired man and his troops boarded a ship, the man seemed to have suffered a sever injury in the upper part of his arm. By the time the House of Commons and Cromwell heard of both Rupert’s escape and no new information about Charles’ location, they were set on ending the war in England first, then finding Charles location.

Cromwell and the Parliamentarian forces made quick work of the remaining royalists, quickly stomping out any resistance in Northern Wales or in Cornwall. After securing the nation from royalists forces, the Parliament and Cromwell immediately set out on hopefully tracking down Charles. The sent diplomats to the two most suspicious nations. The Rhineland, thinking that Rupert may have tricked them and Scotland, thinking that the distraction caused in Oxford would buy Charles time. Both nations denied him hiding out in their kingdoms, they were surprised by Rupert and his kingdom’s denial of harboring him. They then set off diplomats to Normandy, France, and the Irish isles. Both came up negative. It was not until late June, that Cromwell and Parliament learned that Charles had sought passage to their colonies in the Americas from a merchant by the name of Ainsley Smith. To say Cromwell was upset was an understatement…

The decision made by Charles was not without rationalization. For a long time he had considered escaping to Scotland, and only realized later on that it might not be the best idea. The colonies in Virginia, being one of the only places that would accept Charles, was probably the best place for him to spend his time outside of England. On the tenth of July, 1646, in a document known as the “Declaration of Dominance”, Charles declared Virginia the true “place of rule” of England. He didn’t declare independence, since he believed the place of rule was where he lived. He called the place of his new rule the “English Kingdom of Carolina”, symbolizing both the roots of the nation, as well as the person who discovered the land it was built off of. Soon after he did this, he publicly denounced Cromwell’s rule, calling it “fortuitous” and “unconscionable”. He ruled from a small house in Jamestown, but didn’t let the information about the place of his rule get far. News of his residence in Virginia. didn’t get back to Britain until early August, but when it did, Cromwell became quite quite angry.

“I had never seen a man get so red and upset over such a piece of news. Cromwell was as red as a ripe radish, sweating, eyes bulged out, his voice even wavered for a bit. I was thinking that Fairfax was going to get up out of his seat and knock him on the floor. Before he hurt anyone… or even himself for that matter. Luckily a little alcohol calmed the man down. It usually does. At least that’s what my Mary says.” - From the diary of House of Commons Representative, Neville Hayward.​

After hearing about Cromwell’s reaction, Charles only became more adamant in his claims. People who supported Charles began to flock to Virginia, better known as “Carolina”. By late August, most of the people living in the southern colonies agreed that Charles was a good ruler, especially since he actually lived in the same region that they did, and not across an entire ocean. A high “dissenting” (against Cromwell, anyway) population arose, and any pro-Cromwell person who tried to find Charles’ place of rule was quickly turned back. This early period of Carolinian history was chaotic at best, and caused many small battles and arguments to break out in bars and taverns. The largest of these was on September 13th. In the very small town of Charleston, founded by Carolinian supporters, some of Cromwell’s agents attacked a group of houses, setting fire to the entire main street. However, they were quickly turned back, and two were publicly hanged.

North America in September, 1646

 

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Chapter Three - Afterglow
1646 to 1648​

By mid-September, the bounty hunting for Charles had mostly stopped, which allowed him to expand his reach much wider than before. On October 1st of 1646, he moved out of his small house in Jamestown, heading towards the small city of Charleston. He ordered the construction of the Manor of Stuart, a large house which would act as his place of governance until his death. The newly formed city of Charleston was quite an undertaking for the small population that was present there before Charles’ arrival, the amount of work required overwhelming them. The continuously growing city was located on the small peninsula where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic met. Supplies were easily delivered to the fledgling city via the Potomac River. Such easy access soon proved to be both a blessing, and a hindrance, as Royalists fleeing the tyranny of Cromwell began to flood the city, overstretching her meager capacity. The swamp lands surrounding the city, were wild, untamed, but the Royalists did not care, even mother nature would bow before the King. Thus began the process of “de-swamping” the region, and Charles was in no shortage of manpower with the constant stream of loyal citizens or colonists wanting to find a better life in the colonies. In addition to this massive undertaking, Charles and his main associates began the construction of a primitive parliament building in Charleston. They figured with a population of roughly 25,000 people in Carolina (both Virginia and Maryland), that 1 seat per every 500 people would be sufficient enough to represent the people. When the small parliamentary building was finally constructed along with the manor that would house the royal family, Charles requested the stitching of a new flag that would fly over the entirety of the nation, from Royalist vessels surfing the waves, to military ranks, the newly created Parliament building, to even the Manor of the King himself. Multiple designs were brought forth to Charles, the King had eyes for only one. A flag similar to England’s, except with a crown in the center representing the king’s new home and green on the cross instead of the red. Charles loved the color green on the flag, and spoke frequent praise about the specific color that was used.

“It’s a beautiful color, as it represents how fresh this land is. It also reminds me how this land has so many trees that bless its soil. Something England was sorely lacking, and I’m glad we can find it here.” - Excerpt from the meeting of Charles I and his advisors on the final design of his new flag.

The first flag of the English Kingdom of Carolina.

New England was quite a touchy subject in Carolina, during the 1640's especially. Charles had designs to capture New England, then perpetrate a purge of the Puritans living there. He wanted to either kill them or exile them, back to England and Ireland. The English and the Dutch had very different plans. however. Prince Rupert of the Netherlands was very afraid that Carolina would attack the colonies in New Netherland, and asked for Cromwell’s help to send more settlers. This was very beneficial for both nations; soon afterwards, Willem Kieft (director of New Netherland at the time) extended an alliance and trade agreement to the Massachusetts Bay colony. It was accepted soon afterwards, and began an age of cooperation between England and the colony of New Netherland. While this mostly squashed Charles’ plan, it gave him a new place to dump his “undesirables”. Many of the people who didn’t follow his faith, such as the Lutherans or the Puritans, were sent northwards to the outlandish locations of New Haven or Maine. New England itself was thriving, however. While Carolina constantly plotted against it, it did little to deter the large influx of German and non-Anglican English. New Netherland was doing just as well as the English colonies. Under the guidance of Willem Kieft, and later on Peter Stuyvesant, New Amsterdam grew into a large port city with an abundance of English and Scottish citizens. Kieft was described as a “motivating leading man, but a little off his rocker”. His attempts at deporting the Native Americans were quickly turned around by his successors, and turned New Netherland into a bit of a melting pot of cultures. The population of New Amsterdam itself spiked, from 700 in 1645 to 1050 by 1648. In North America, much like in Europe, the peoples of the colonies began to settle down. An afterglow of a series of events no one would forget in the near future.

A Puritan ship arriving in an uninhabited region of Maine.

 

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Chapter Four - Continental Matters
1646 to 1649​

With the final defeat of the remnant Royalist forces in England in late 1646, all strata of society, be they soldier, peasant, merchant, priest, could ready themselves to fix their torn and battered nation . When Cromwell returned home to London as a hero of the English Civil War, he was a prime choice to be promoted as the new head of state.Cromwell was offered the position of Lord Protector of the nation, but he declined, simply stating that the common people weren’t ready for a single person to hold that again, and chose to remain as part of the Parliament. The Parliament had a large task ahead of them, rebuilding and recovering the war torn countryside of England, and rebuilding relations with their European neighbors. The Parliament decided on renaming the nation to the “Commonwealth of England”, to distance itself from the recent toxin that was Charles’ former kingdom.

Of all the nations the Commonwealth could chose to create relations with, the Commonwealth decided to improve relations with the Dutch Republic first. Which had recently had signed the Peace of Munster on January 30, 1647. A large majority of the Parliament saw it key to secure greater relations with the Dutch Republic, before Frederick Henry died and his son William took power, as many believed that his wife Mary would possibly sour any relations that the Dutch Republic could have with the newly formed Commonwealth. Though luckily the Commonwealth and Frederick Henry were able to work out an alliance and good standing relations between the two nations, after a health scare in early March of that year. Afterwards, Henry was suggested to take a leave of absence and relax to hopefully improve his health, as his top doctors had advised him to do after the war with Spain and such stressful peace talks. Luckily, the relaxation did him good, as he healthily ruled until his peaceful passing in 1653. By that point the Commonwealth and William II had come to an understanding as to maintain their relationship. As William II had promised to not taint England as his wife’s father had done.

The Peace of Westphalia was a great victory not just for the Protestants, but also various sovereign kingdoms across Europe. The Swedes made great gains after the peace signings, claiming the former Danish lands in Northern Germany and knocking the Danish off their thrones as the proclaimed “strongest military of Northern Europe” and quickly saw fit to claim that title after their poor choice of joining the Habsburgs and Catholics. The Habsburgs supremacy was curtailed by their loss in the Thirty Years War; having to recognize the independence of the Dutch Republic and being passed over by the French and Bourbon Dynasty as the new supreme power in Europe struck at their pride greatly. They even opted to end their war with the French sooner to further avoid any more humiliation by their hands, paying them reparations and making small territorial exchanges with them. The Holy Roman Empire and Catholic Church’s power continued to decline after the peace signings, as many rulers in the Holy Roman Empire were allowed to choose their kingdoms religion and protestants and catholics were now seen as equals. An estimated 25-40% of the German State’s population did not survive the war, and as such would not see this “victory” as it was called, as they had lost their lives in the raids and battles of the Thirty Years’ War.

Map of Europe, following the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, 1647

 

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Chapter Five - New Sweden Rises
1649 to 1650​

New Sweden was a talking point in many of Charles’ meetings as of 1649. In response to the conjuncture of the colonies of New Netherland and New England, Carolina would attempt to create an alliance with Sweden, and thus her colony of New Sweden. The main reason behind this was to provide a counter to the influx of settlers to the north, as well as to entice more Swedish to move to the region. A meeting was made between the two nations in Stockholm, where Charles sent a diplomat to convince Queen Christina it would be in her best interests. He promised a larger amount of immigration to New Sweden, especially from Carolinian tenants. He also promised a trade agreement, which would be quite easy to accomplish, due thankfully to the large amount of tobacco crops in Carolina. Queen Christina was not entirely interested until Charles offered her the military support of Carolina. If she ever got into war with any major European nations over the state of her North American colony, Charles was required to send in his small militia to help. When news got back to Charles of the demands used to make the deal, he was furious.

“His anger seeped through the walls. I could sense how the meeting went the moment he came out of the room. It went well, apparently, but he still didn’t get exactly what he wanted from it. He lets his temper get the best of him, sometimes.” - Excerpt from the journal of Charles’ attendant.​

New Sweden’s population in 1649 was around four hundred, which was nothing compared to the near two thousand person population of New Netherland. Nonetheless, the population of Carolina was nearing thirty thousand, with the city of Charleston having over five hundred tenants. Over the next twelve months, Charles would move another six hundred people north, to form Carolinian settlements in the area of New Sweden. Nya Stockholm quickly became a port of trade between New Sweden and Carolina, as well as the newly formed towns of Aikensburg and New Jamestown. Exploration and trade began to boom and expand in the region, with both Dutch and Carolinian settlers going on long expeditions to buy furs and other materials from the Iroquois. Charles’ plan was shaping up to be a successful one, which lead Christina to begin to rope more colonists to move to New Sweden, after seeing the success of his idea. However, this only made the strain between Carolina and the Netherlands even larger. The large English plurality in New Netherland was all against growth from the south, and called upon military help to solve it. The leader of the Dutch declined for the moment, but was very close to forcing his hand to go up against New Sweden.

The settlements of New Sweden as of late 1650.

 

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Chapter Six - Death of a Tyrant
April and May 1651​

Charles unending scheming to reacquire the English mainland began to hinder, and even annoy, his government . Many of his advisers began to wonder about his health and sanity, and his family even began to consider if Charles was still capable of ruling the young kingdom. Charles II, son of, predictably, Charles the First, was in the midst of preparing to take the reins of ruler ship from his father as his sanity declined and declined further. As this unfortunate event was ongoing, Charles and his wife Catherina kept in constant contact with her father, then King of Portugal, via letter. Catherina had married Charles due to her infertility, as her father believed it would be best to get her out of his sight. The two both believed that it would be best to keep the improving relationship out of Charles's father’s mind, as he was too preoccupied with his neighbors to the north. Sadly for them, on April 23rd, 1651, Charles II and Catherine were awoken by their servants and some of his father’s most trustworthy advisors that Charles I had passed away because of a heart attack in his sleep. His personal physician believed Charles’ death was caused by the recent travels to New Sweden, and increasing tensions and stress with New Netherlands and New England. This stress added to the already inexorable decline of his sanity. The medicine at the time didn’t allow for a full diagnosis, and some of the doctors simply believed it was a matter of sinning against God.

“I saw him laying there, looking paler than a full moon. I could not even comprehend it. I always knew I was beleaguered to succeed my father, but I did not think it would be this soon. My mother wept for hours on end, while James kept silence throughout the day. Elizabeth had locked herself in her quarters, and Henry and Henrietta hid away to not face the reality. I tried my best to help them, but I presume the shock is still fresh. However, it does not change the fact that I am the new ruler of my father’s young kingdom. I will hopefully make him proud, while he watches down from his chamber in heaven…” - Journal of King Charles II, April 24th, 1651​

The day after the death of Charles the First was a flutter of hurried activity, as his son, Charles II, began to send out many letters. He also sent letters to places his father had formerly held connection to. Places like Portugal, to be given to John IV of Portugal, who in return sent his heartfelt condolences and hoped his daughter was maintaining composure. He sent one to his sisters, Mary, who returned a letter alongside her husband William, hoping the best for the families health. Prince Rupert was even sent a letter, who in return also sent his condolences, and returned the medals Charles I had given him during the English Civil War. While the relationship between Carolina and the Netherlands had grown cold, this event brought them briefly closer together, for a time. Sending letters to Sweden was for strictly business purposes, in order to inform Queen Christina that business would now be between them for any more dealings. The hardest letter he was forced to send was the letter to the Commonwealth of England. Charles humbly said that his father was dead, and hoped that he would be a valuable successor to him. Hoping to at least get a some what respectful return letter, the letter he received back nearly broke the sliver of respect he held for the Commonwealth. Most of the letter was rude, and much of it seemed to be personal retorts against Charles I himself. It seemed oddly unprofessional for the Commonwealth, and seemed to be spurred from a sudden outburst of Cromwell. This would end up only pushing relations to get even worse between the two nations.

“Your father was a tyrant, clear and simple. He betrayed his country, and hurt his people. All tyrants deserve to die, and he has joined the ranks of the worst in hell.” - Letter from the Commonwealth of England, upon learning of King Charles I death.

Charles II, the second King of Carolina.

 

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Interlude One - Carolina in 1651​

Population: 30,504
Capital: de jure Jamestown, de facto Charleston
Largest Cities: Jamestown (~3,000), St. Mary’s (~1,000), Charleston (~750)
Current Leader: King Charles II
Leader of Parliament: Sir Francis Moryson
National Anthem: None

Cultural Groups:

• Major cultural groups: English, Scottish, Irish, African
• Groups with a plurality: German, Dutch
• Groups with a minority: Swedish, French

Current Relations:

• Good: Sweden, Portugal
• Neutral: Spain, Denmark
• Bad: England, Netherlands, New England

Territory of Carolina as of 1651

 

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Chapter Seven - Pressure Cooker
June 1651 to January 1652​

Many of the members who made up the government of the English Commonwealth were shocked at the news of the late Charles’ death. After the Commonwealth learned of his death, they shortly celebrated it. However, many had gotten over the lust for wanting to put the man on the chopping block when they discovered his escape to the New World and the announcement of his new kingdom. This mellowing led to very mixed feelings when the letter was finally officially read. In the letter Charles II apologized for his father’s actions and promised to the Commonwealth he would be a better king than his father. Many wanted to at least send a respectful letter to Charles II, but Cromwell insisted that Parliament send a letter back, insulting his father and reminding him of how much of a terrible ruler and tyrant he was. When the Commonwealth had learned of Carolina’s increasing relations with Sweden and the reignited relations with Portugal, they began to fear that New England would come under threat from Sweden and Carolina. They searched for an ally which could support them in the Americas, and they found one in the first nation who recognized them; The Dutch Republic.

In October of 1651, the Commonwealth sent a diplomatic team led by Oliver St. John to The Hague to begin delegations with Dutch diplomats to negotiate the terms of the alliance. While the alliance was being signed in The Hague, all was not well with the Dutch Royal Family. Many noted that William II and his wife Mary would argue endlessly over the coming alliance with the Commonwealth. William believed it was merely to secure his colonies in the Americas, and to not slight Mary’s younger brother, Charles II, who had only been king for a mere five months. When Charles II learned of this news, he quickly sent a letter to the Dutch Republic, wanting to know why his brother-in-law would sign an alliance treaty with the English Commonwealth. William simply said it was to protect his colonies in the Americas, due to growing Swedish power. This was a complete lie, as William only said this to protect Charles’ trust and to not strain his relationship with Mary. Over time, this alliance would grow. Later on, it would be this alliance that started one of the bloodiest wars of the 17th century.

William II, diplomat of the Dutch.

 

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Chapter Eight - Protector of the Old Home
Late 1651 to Early 1652​

Now that the Commonwealth was finally wrapping up the last remnants of the Civil Wars, they needed allies on the mainland. By the end of 1651, they found themselves being very good allies with the Dutch. With recovery finally complete, the English Parliament brought up the topic of having an official executive position for the Commonwealth. Many believed that Oliver Cromwell would again be the most popular and best choice to rule the titled “Lord Protector” position. However, ever since the end of the English Civil War and Charles I’s escape, many saw Cromwell’s poor behavior break out in important meetings, the most recent example being the letter back to Charles II. A recent incident between Cromwell in Ireland caused a commotion in England, and put his Protectorship in danger. His racism and discrimination against the Irish and non-Puritans turned out to be against his favor. While most of the English didn’t like the Irish themselves, most didn’t advocate exile as much as Cromwell did. Much of the good reputation from Cromwell’s victories in the Civil War were wearing off. And it could not have been at a worse time, as the revolts in Ireland were reaching near peak-velocity (this event will be one of the precursors to the Irish Revolution, and the later foundation of an independent Ireland). Cromwell’s influence was beginning to do more bad than good, and his ideals were so heavily against him.

Many members of Parliament wanted a man who also helped lead the Commonwealth in their victory in the Civil War; Sir Thomas Fairfax. Many began to spread rumors about him being the true hero of the civil war, and called him a much better leader than Cromwell. Fairfax was much more collected and well centered in his policies, which was something many at the time did not like during the times of the Civil War. However, now that the war was many years behind them, many saw that Cromwell’s radical nature would not be best to lead the Commonwealth. So, when it was decided to hold a Parliament-wide meeting of both the House of Commons and Lords to elect their first Lord Protector, it was down between the two contenders, Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax. On March 25th, 1652, the Parliament tallied the votes of the election and decreed their first Lord Protector as Sir Thomas Fairfax. While Cromwell wasn't particularly pleased with these results, he couldn't do much to stop them.

Sir Thomas Fairfax, The First Lord Protector of England

 

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Chapter Nine - The Great American War
April 1652 to Late 1654​

Ever since the Commonwealth began to support New Netherland, tensions were rising. Feuds along the border towns of New Sweden caused frequent squabbles, ever since Carolina became a strong ally to Sweden. Ever since the 1640’s, when Charles I agreed to help Christiana I in times of war over colonial disputes, war was seemingly on the horizon. New Netherland expanded rapidly, while New Sweden did the same to counter it. Meanwhile, tensions between Carolina and the Commonwealth were rising just as quickly. The somewhat recent letter from Oliver Cromwell to Charles II about the death of his father destroyed any good relations that they could have had, and even the election of a new Lord Protector didn’t help much. However, all the events going on in North America had a huge affect on European politics. Ever since the Thirty Years’ War ended, the relationship between the Dutch and Sweden had been ducking rapidly. Fights over custody of land in the New World shouldn’t have mattered much, but the way the Dutch leaders handled it plunged relations down the toilet.

On April 14th, 1652, Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden, officially declared war on the colony of New Netherland. Peter Stuyvesant called for support from the Dutch Republic, and gained it within weeks. Sweden did the same with New Sweden soon afterwards, which forced Carolina to join immediately after. Battles went on by sea and over rivers, but it was slow until the summer came. The Commonwealth, then known as the Protectorate, decided to send in a few of their ships to aid New Netherland against the Carolinian threat. However, Carolina began to plan their militaries poorly, which lead to England and the Netherlands winning close to every battle. That was until a shady ally emerged. Spain, a long time skeptic of Carolinian help, decided to aid them against the Protectorate. From 1553 to 1554, they sent in ships from their Florida colony, in exchange for help if it ever tried to rebel from Spain in the near future. Soon afterwards, the tide of the war changed. While it would later move into Europe from North America, it officially ended in the region on August 16th, 1654.

The terms of the Treaty of Jamestown were good for Sweden and Carolina, and were arguably not terrible for the Dutch. While the Dutch got to keep New Amsterdam, they were forced to give their territory in OTL Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Long Island to the Swedish. While Long Island was given back to the Dutch soon afterwards (due to a different culture and nationality), Pennsylvania was kept in strictly Swedish hands. This wasn’t terribly bad for the Dutch, as they got to keep their two largest cities, New Amsterdam and Fort Orange. Spain also fared pretty well. At the price of a few good ships, they managed to gain the allyship of the only independent state in the Americas (at the time). While they would stay cynical of Carolina for years afterwards, it would depend on its help in later wars with the Protectorate in the Caribbean. Carolina gained an influx of Spanish and Dutch settlers, and began to mark out the southern borders of its nation with Florida. The Protectorate, however, failed the worst. They spent a small but valuable portion of their military on the war, and losing it all was a huge blow to their honor and relationships with other nations. They were also forced to give a large amount of ships to Carolina, as well as promising to never invade them again. While Sir Thomas Fairfax didn’t particularly want to do this, he knew it would surely lead to war with both Sweden and Spain if he didn’t.

New English ships preparing to fight in the Battle of New Amsterdam.

 

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Chapter Ten - The Irish Revolts
Late 1654 to Early 1656​

The loss to Carolina, Sweden, and Spain was a severe setback to the Protectorate, its newly formed relations with the countries of Europe had already begun to strain, though the two biggest hits to the Protectorate was to its pocket book and their pride. The ships lost during the war would have to be rebuilt and that would take time and money, something the Protectorate was starting to strain on. Though many in Parliament agreed they could not simply wait for their coffers to grow to fill once more, not while the Carolinians were hard at work expanding into the new world. Lord Protector Thomas Fairfax was heavily against interfering with the economy of the Protectorate, as their favor with the people was very tense, the effects of the war had hurt their way of living. It was not until a certain man had gained enough power in Parliament to enact his plan to hopefully place the Protectorate’s economy back on track as well as its relations with other European countries. The plan was was to raise taxes in England and in Wales, but his plan was to drastically tax the people of Ireland more than anyone else. He even had planned on taxing people higher for their practice of Catholicism within the Protectorate. The man who came up with this plan was none other than Oliver Cromwell.

Cromwell’s plan was working, the economy back on track, many in Parliament even saw past Cromwell’s known hatred of the Irish and Catholics just to get the economy and nation back on track and not suffer the revolts of their citizens, though the people in England and Wales were blind to the tensions rising and the hatred brewing in Ireland. The Irish citizens were angry to put it nicely, they discovered their taxes were considerably higher than the English and Wales tax rates combined. They also discovered that they were taxed for practicing their beliefs. It was only a matter of time until the Irish people began forming underground militias to prepare for their eventually revolt against the English who had been wronging them. It eventually occurred after a group of English soldiers sent to collect taxes in a small Irish town had forced their way into a catholic church and forced the citizens to hand over their dues. When they came up short, they took valuables from the citizens as reparations, taking money from the church, and even burning down the church itself. After a group of Irish citizens attempted to stop them, only to have their lives cut down, many watched their church burn. That was enough to ignite a full revolt, as thousands of Irish militiamen took to arms and began to fight back against the stationed English soldiers in Ireland. News eventually reached England and Parliament of the Irish revolts, but by the time reinforcements arrived on the islands, they were vastly outnumbered and had a severe disadvantage against them. For nearly a year the English would attempt to push into and regain Ireland, but all offensives were deemed failures, as the Irish were fighting for their lives and not for money and pride as the Protectorate were. The Irish eventually won the revolt, with them declaring independence from their Protectorate rulers, though the English would never recognize it, to spite them and remind them that they were only years away from another war between the two. The Irish had won their freedom for now and England’s pride and coffers were still hurt. Cromwell was shamed yet again for his attempts to advance the Protectorate only to have hurt it even more. The Protectorate was in a very precarious situation at this point, with only a few bad decisions would cost them their power and place in the world. Meanwhile the Carolinians were sitting high and proud with a potential close ally next to their enemies.

The "Three Crowns" Flag, the first flag used for the Kingdom of Ireland.

 

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Chapter Eleven - L'amour Entre Les Pays
1656​

Whilst the English were recovering from both economic and civil problems in their young nation, the French were sitting high and mighty. Inside the palace of Versailles, Louis XIV had simply watched as events unfolded in the British Isles. He seemed to have found himself another ally in the Isles. Ireland would prove as a worthy friend to keep a watchful eye on the former Commonwealth, now known as the United Protectorate (fully known as the United Protectorate of England and Scotland (or the UP)). Though Louis and his advisors were considering somehow forging an alliance with the Protectorate, the English still didn’t like them very much. Louis was still contemplating his options in the British Isles, and was going to attempt to keep an alliance with Ireland, and possibly even try to get Scotland to separate from the UP itself.. Though Louis knew the Protectorate could prove to be a much greater ally than both the Scottish and Irish kingdoms combined, he was still considering his options.

Louis’ biggest worry was still coming from the original Englishmen. Even if they had found a new home to call their own, the Kingdom of Carolina was a large threat and danger to any of their colonies in the New World. Any colony within distance of Carolina would probably just be absorbed by it, before any French ships and soldiers could leave the docks to defend themselves. That was, unless, he secured an alliance with the new nation. The colony in Quebec was not under any threat as of the moment, as the New England colony was still busy filling out from the flood of English colonists. The distance between the two colonies also proved helpful as well. The colony of New Netherland, and the Netherlands in general, could also prove to be a potential ally, though their sheer cultural and religious differences were proving difficult to be on steady terms. The bad taste in Dutch mouths’ left by the Catholics still lingered, and Louis knew it would be a while until they were on better speaking terms. Sweden was proving to be, along with Carolina, another big pain. New Sweden grew due to both its and Carolina’s victory in The Great American War, and both nations were a large threat to his colonies. Instead of trying to ally with Carolina, Louis believed it to be best to secure alliances with the colonies directly bordering Louisiana and Quebec. Jean de Lauzon, leader of New France at the time, was ordered to meet with Edward Hopkins, the leader of Connecticut. This time was around the time that New Haven merged with Connecticut itself, which meant that it could have been a good trade ally in New England. He would later schedule a meeting with the Massachusetts governor, but it would crash and burn.

Jean de Lauzon, colonial governor of New France.

 

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Chapter Twelve - An Issue of Borders
1656 to 1657

Spanish Relations​

Carolina and Spain’s alliance had increased over the past few years. King Charles II and King Philip IV had a few meetings with each other over the course of their lifetime. However, the thing that separated Spain from Carolina the most was the belief that they would capture and seize Florida. While they weren’t very powerful at the time, they could take over and secure the colony before mainland Spain could even respond. While England and the Netherlands might offer help to them, if only to help stop the Carolinian menace, it would surely be short-lived. So, Diego de Rebolledo, the somewhat corrupt governor of Florida at the time, decided to meet with Jacob Smith, a diplomat of Carolina. They planned to set an official southern border, even though they both knew they couldn’t really defend it. It would basically be for show, and doing it would demonstrate the loyalty Carolina had to their Spanish friends. Charles II didn’t want to sacrifice this, and decided to go ahead with the meeting.

The meeting was scheduled for July 15th, 1656, and the initial confrontation went quite well. Both sides were well versed in trickery, so the process of outlining a latitude involved much negotiation. Rebolledo suggested the border be set at the 34th parallel. He claimed that everything north of the original land set for the Virginia colony should belong to Carolina, while everything south should belong to Florida. Smith rescinded this, saying that Carolinian settlements were already below the proposed threshold. He then proposed the 31st parallel, claiming that it was the farthest north the Spanish would settle for many years. Rebolledo was easily convinced, but still saw opportunity for more land. They settled on a border at the 32nd parallel north. King Philip IV of Spain was satisfied with the outcome of this, while Charles was quite delighted. While most of the land was swampland, Smith had convinced Rebolledo that there were Carolinian settlements as far south as OTL northern Georgia. In reality, they had barely expanded past the original borders set for the Virginia colony by England in 1606.

England and the Dutch​

The colony of New England had been overlooked by England for years, ever since Carolina declared independence. They had barely taken any action to expand it, although it did grow on its own at this point. They had used a good portion of their civilian ships as military ones in the past, and many were sacrificed in the Great American War. The population of the colony was around 23,000, while Carolina’s was over twice that. Meanwhile, the governments of the colonies within New England frequently squabbled with each other. Saybrook and New Haven were both quickly absorbed into Connecticut, while Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay frequently fought over the state of their governments. Plymouth became more and more conservative, while Massachusetts Bay became slightly more liberal. This would eventually highlight the differences between the two, and would result in the regions being separated for a very long time. New Hampshire formally received a charter from Thomas Fairfax in 1654, which separated the few settlements in the region from Massachusetts. The people living north of the newly chartered region were annoyed they were skimped out, and they wanted their own colony. Nonetheless, they wouldn’t get it for a long while. Meanwhile, the border between New England and New Netherland was poorly drawn, and even more poorly defended. The settlements made by the Dutch were scattered, but most were centered on the Hudson river. While there was never an official straight border set between the two colonies, it would eventually just morph into a shaky, poorly-walled border.

The colonies of New England as of 1657.

 

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Chapter Thirteen - North Sea War
1658 to 1661

Background​

In 1655, Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded and occupied the western half of Poland–Lithuania, the eastern half of which was already occupied by Russia. The rapid Swedish advance became known in Poland as the Swedish Deluge. With a Swedish victory against Poland-Lithuania in 1655, the war devastated the nation, losing land to both the Russians after their invasion and then to Sweden after their invasion. Sweden gained the Duchy of Lithuania from Poland, which turned Lithuania into a Swedish fief. The Polish king, John II Casimir Vasa, was forced to flee to Habsburgian lands in Austria. After a large portion of his regular armies had been either captured or killed in battle against the Swedes, Vasa hoped to find aid in the arms of the Habsburgs. Unfortunately, they only went as far as to hold him safe within their empire. Vasa attempted to reorganize his armies to fight back against the Russians and the Swedes, but failed to organize his armies in time. By 1656, he was forced into signing a temporary peace treaty with the Russo-Swedish alliance.

Fighting a Multiple Front War​

During those two years of peace, quite a bit had changed in the political spectrum of Northern Europe. Brandenburg had become staunchly loyal allies to the Swedes, after they gifted Brandenburg the region of Prussia after their victory against the Polish. Vasa had finally been able to reorganize his forces, after being soundly beaten and humiliated by the Swedes and Russians. On June 16th, 1658, Vasa declared war and began his offensive on Sweden, in his attempts to reclaim Lithuania. However, he made little to no advance, as a majority of the Swedish forces had been prepared for the war that Poland would eventually try to wage. The Russians attempted to help, and joined the war on the side of Poland a few months later. They would only do this to keep the balance of power in check. Although the combined forces of the Russians and the Polish seemed powerful, they were stretched out much too far in this attack against Sweden. Transylvanian rebels began to rise up, as they saw an opportunity to gain new land. Poland was fighting on both sides of its country. The Russians, on the other hand, were having constant supply issues. As the lands they were invading from were being constantly raided by Swedish forces. These factors, along with an ally in Brandenburg, showed that this would be a long war between both sides.

In 1659, the Swedes would feel the pressure that came from fighting a multiple front war, as the Danes sought lands the lost to them in the Thirty Years’ War. To make matters worse for Sweden, the formerly Swedish ally of Brandenburg quickly jumped sides to the Danes, Russians, and Polish. This was because it also had a dream of gaining land from the possibly overextended Swedes. Though they felt the pressure for quite a few months, thankfully the Russians began to see the war as unnecessary. Too many large nations had joined the war, so their potential gain (which was getting smaller every day) was not worth the risks they were taking. Their dropping out of the war lifted pressure off the Swedes in the Lithuanian Front. While the war continued into 1660, the Polish called upon their allies of the Habsburgs to aid them in their war. The sheer size of the Habsburg-Polish-Brandenburg army began to push the Swedes back slowly in Lithuania. This and the damage being done by the Danes was bleeding the Swedes, and the wound was getting worse and worse. Thus, in an attempt to protect the heartland of Sweden first, Charles XI, after his father’s death, abandoned his position in Lithuania in favor of fighting the Danes. In the winter of 1660, Charles XI and his army made a daring invasion of Denmark. They marched straight to Copenhagen, and surprised King Frederick III and his armies’ with their pants down. The ships sent north to fight the Swedes were quickly boarded and taken over. Brandenburg quickly switched sides once more, jumping ship on the Danes. In the matter of a months, the Swedes had control of a large portion of the island of Amager, and were making headway into Norway.

Peace Declared​

Brandenburg completely dropped out of the war in mid-1661, and agreed to give back Prussia back to Sweden (along with the northern part of the Hinterpommern), to ensure peace for the foreseeable future. By the end of 1661, the Danes were forced to surrender, and sign a peace treaty with the Swedes as well. Their treaty was much harsher, as they were forced to give the entire north part of Norway to the Swedes, along with their Indian port of Tranquebar. The Polish had officially finished their offensive in Lithuania in mid-1660, even though they were fighting well into 1661. Although they were able to capture a portion of Courland, the war was seen by both the king and his people as not worth it. Vasa eventually signed a peace treaty with the Swedes, in exchange for the portion that they were able to capture (which was most of it). Though the Swedes may have not ‘won’ on the Lithuanian front, they were undoubtedly the winner of the North Sea War. They had fended off the combined forces of the Danes, Brandenburg, Russians, Polish, and Hapsburgs in a single war, even if they all fought at different times.

King John II Casimir Vasa, winner of the Lithuanian front.

 

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Chapter Fourteen - Tug o' War
Early 1663 to Late 1664

Cromwell’s Town​

In the late-1640’s, a multitude of Cromwellian supporters moved south, founding multiple small towns along the coast. Most of these settlements died soon afterwards, with the surviving members moving back to their towns of origin. However, one of these towns thrived, and acted as a bastion of hope for supporters of the UP. In June of 1649, a well-known merchant named Joshua Bakersfield founded a town right near OTL New Bern, North Carolina. People flocked to the town, as it was well organized and had a well-built dock. Most of the other anti-monarchists weren’t well-versed in establishing new towns, so the city of Bakersfield became the ideal place to live for a lot of them. As time went on, the population jumped from 52 to nearly five hundred. However, the high taxes and frequent discrimination from Charles and the rest of the Carolinian government annoyed Joshua, leading him to near-insanity. It was officially an unorganized village, due to its staunch stance against the Carolinian government. After his death, he passed the ownership of the town to his son, Jacob. He was even more radical than his father, and organized some quite interesting reforms to the town. He quickly worked on making the settlement self-sufficient, and tried to get their only necessary imports from the colonies of New Netherland and New England (the UP itself had a trade embargo on the entirety of Carolina at the time). Charles was suspicious about this act, but didn’t have the power to do anything. As time went on, the small town separated itself more and more from the main government of Carolina.

On March 15th, 1663, Jacob did the most radical thing he could; he tried to start a war. The Bakersfield Constitution was a document written by the high ranking officials of the town. The document declared their neighborhood as “officially independent of Carolinian rule”, and called for “the establishment of an independent state under the autonomous rule and jurisdiction of the United Protectorate”. It basically declared independence from Carolina, which angered Charles very much. Just a few years earlier, he had made a deal with Spain over their southern border. With a newly independent nation to their south, it would ruin all of his plans. Not only that, but it would also damage his reputation with the other, much stronger nations (who he had tricked into believing Carolina was stable). He sent a small military regiment to secure Bakersfield, hopefully without causing a massive battle. It didn’t work. The residents knew this would happen, and decided to raise a small army of their own. But two hours and eight troops later, the “Massacre of Bakersfield” was over. The independent state, which had lasted for nearly eight days, was reabsorbed into Carolina. However, it did lead to a new act being passed soon afterwards. While the residents were still very much against the monarchy, they had no choice but to be subjugated to it.

Charter Act of 1664​

Nearly a year later, things were turning out the exact same. There was frequent unrest in Bakersfield, which was growing in people by the day. The population was nearing nine hundred, which was nearly half the amount of residents as Charleston. It still belonged to the “Virginia Colony”, which meant that it might overtake Charleston and Jamestown for domination of the province. Speaking of the Virginia Colony, people still referred to the inner regions of Carolina as “colonies”. Charles I never had the foresight to officially abolish them, which meant that there was still individual rulers to both Virginia and Maryland, separate from King Charles II himself. He was fine with this, as they both got their membership in Parliament, and he still got to preside over the entire nation. However, the growing population of Carolina meant that it would be abnormal and strange to keep using colonial governments. The “Charter Act”, signed on October 16th, 1664, meant that Charles could create new states out of the former colonies. All colonies would keep their semi-autonomy, but would be officially renamed to provinces. The new provinces would each have a say in Parliament, but would all swear fealty to the king. The colonial governments were officially abolished (even if they were replaced with similar governments). While some provinces of Carolina considered seceding as a republic, they knew that it would result in conquest by the UP. At first, it was just Maryland and Virginia who had provincial status. However, Charles knew of the recent unrest in Bakersfield, and gave them province status as well. This mostly quelled the discomfort in the region, and gave them official permission to expand their province west and south.

A painting of Joshua Bakersfield, founder of the town of Bakersfield.

 

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Chapter Fifteen - The Final Band-Aid
1664​

When Cromwell passed away, the people in the English Parliament saw it as a blessing, especially Lord Protector Thomas Fairfax. He was quite thankful that Cromwell was dead, the man had been stubborn to a point (sometimes out of spite). His stubbornness was a hindrance to Fairfax’s plans for the UP. Fairfax, along with many of his supporters, wanted to introduce a council that was impartial in rulings and well educated, and who knew the laws like the back of their hand. Cromwell easily had a problem with this as he believed it was taking away his power to make decisions for the Protectorate. While he wasn’t the official Lord Protector, he still managed to be a large part of the the UP through bribes and corruption. Many of Cromwell’s supporters, as well as those who just hated Fairfax in general, banded together to make sure Fairfax’s new council could not be formed. For several years, many arguments would occur between the two sides, over whether or not to enact his bill to make it official. They were very close at one point in 1652, when Fairfax brought in the people who would be appointed to sit on this new council. Even after various amounts of tests to prove their impartiality, Cromwell was as annoying as ever, and stubbornly argued against it, making accusations against the scholarly men who were chosen. Thus the arguments and squabbles in Parliament continued, until one fateful day.

When Cromwell passed away in early 1664, the reaction was fairly mixed amongst the people of England. The common man who did not know of Cromwell’s outbursts in Parliament saw it as the death of a hero, since he helped to pave the way for their new nation. The same happened to Cromwell’s faction in Parliament. But those who truly knew of Cromwell’s actions were thankful that he passed away. As a large headache had now gone away, large steps of progress could actually be made in Parliament without Cromwell’s constant arguing. Fairfax and his supporters were finally able to get the council established, with a vote in Parliament of 126 to 114. The official name given to these men was the title of “Justicar”, giving them the name of the high officer in a king’s court with specific knowledge of law. The new and official Council of Justicars proved effective in their rulings. They were impartial, and not once did they ever speak up negatively in Parliament. Although they were quite effective in their rulings, they still held a large prejudice against the Catholics and Irishmen who were unlucky enough to live in England. The Protectorate was now “officially” a democratic, nearly-republican commonwealth, but it still officially kept the name of the United Protectorate.

The first flag of the United Protectorate of England and Scotland.

 

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Chapter Sixteen - Richard’s Army
April to May 1665​

After his father died a few years earlier, Richard Cromwell wasn’t very happy to be left out of political events so often. While he wasn’t as crazy as his father, he still was disappointed that he was left out simply by proxy. He felt as though many of his father’s opposition simply forgot the achievement and sacrifices his father had made to make the Protectorate what it is today. Richard would make various attempts to get into Protectorate politics, but always found himself road-blocked due to his association with his father. The citizens believed he would carry on his father’s name, but politics were entirely another thing. Fairfax and his men were very wary that Richard would end up just like his father, so they actively began to try and slow his progress in politics. Meanwhile, Cromwell’s faction of politicians were accepting of Richard, though some viewed him as using his father’s name as a way to get ahead in Protectorate politics and not achieving his status on his own merit. Besides all of that, Richard was making a name for himself. He was able to become the representative for Cambridgeshire, though it was a close race. When he actually made it to Parliament he was seen as the enemy by many other politicians, and not even his father’s closest confidants could help defend him. They were effectively trying to force Richard out of parliament, though just like his father he was stubborn. Thankfully, he didn’t have his father’s temper.

But a terrible turn of events would occur, as Richard was ousted by Fairfax and a large majority of parliament, after they learned of his affiliation with local Puritan meetings in Cambridgeshire. Richard would make it known that these were simple visits to friends and associates. However, his most well known feat was calling out Parliament for their hypocrisy, as they were basically throwing him out simply for who his father wa.

“You sit there and judge me, how dare you! You and your ilk are nothing but hypocrites and liars! Who gives a damned if I have associates that are Puritans!? The Puritans haven’t done a damned thing for decades! What I do during my free time is none of your god damned concern! You all judge me preemptively, simply because I carry the name ‘Cromwell’! Well, I should be doing the same to all of you for trying to remove me from parliament! I do not give a damn if you think I’m like my father! I idolized my father, because he believed what he was doing was for the betterment of this country. But, I see now that it was filled with just as many snakes, cowards, rats, liars, and backstabbers as he says they were.” - Richard Cromwell, transcript of Parliament hearing, 7th of April 1665.

By the end of the day Richard was effectively removed from his seat in parliament, due to the Justicars deeming him “not fit to achieve what is needed of a representative, due to his insanity”. Richard would return to Cambridgeshire an angry and bitter man. He despised all of those in Parliament after that day. His anger would soon reach the meetings with his friends and associates at local Puritan meetings, telling them the details of Parliament’s hypocrisy. His constant spouting of the wrongdoings in Parliament would not only bring in more and more Puritans to rally around him, but also those who saw faults in Fairfax and his factions rule. Parliament would later learn of Richard’s meetings and the rallies he had around him, and would soon send the military to seize Cromwell and cease all Puritan meetings in Cambridgeshire. Though Cromwell was prepared, as in his spare time he had raised a militia willing to fight Fairfax and his men. When Fairfax’s army arrived in Cambridgeshire, they were outnumbered and outwitted, and were forced to retreat back to London to bulk up their force to end Richard’s uprising quickly.

Richard’s militia of Puritans and Fairfax’s army would eventually fight outside of Cambridgeshire. Fighting would ensue, and the Puritans were the ones stomped in the fight; a third of them were killed in the battle. When Richard heard of the casualty number, he was forced to turn himself in. In return, his men associates would be left to go home and live their lives freely. He was berated in front of parliament, being called a crazier radical than his father, and a tyrant waiting to happen. For once Richard held his tongue, simply saying…

“I was right all along… you are all truly snakes… I don’t give a damned anymore. Kill me. Do what you wish, just let my men go and let them live their lives.” - Richard Cromwell, Parliament transcript, Richard Cromwell’s Trial, 18th of May 1665.

Richard was not killed. however. Parliament and Fairfax gave him what they deemed a fitting punishment. Exile. Exile to the new world, specifically to the colony of Connecticut. He would spend a good portion of his dying days trying to refund the colony of Saybrook, which his father had wholeheartedly supported when he was alive.

Richard Cromwell, commencer of the Puritan Rebellion of 1665.

 

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Chapter Seventeen - Scandinavian Intervention
1663-1665​

The Holy Roman Empire was in a precarious situation, due to the certain empire who had risen up three years ago. The Swedes were in control of what was claimed as Holy Roman land. A majority of the lands they held in Germany were mainly along the northern shores of the region, and not yet holding provinces inland. Leopold I of Austria, also the current emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was under pressure from the various German kingdoms on what his stance was with the Scandinavians and their hold over German lands. Many believed that including the Swedes into the Holy Roman Empire would allow the various German kingdoms to impede and hinder its expansion, as being a member would stop their annexation of any smaller kingdoms in Northern Germany. The opposition believed that the Swedish were corrupting the German lands by spreading the Scandinavian culture in German lands, however little. The opposition was willing to declare war on the Swedish, to reclaim the lands and return them to their German kings and princes. Leopold was not willing to give into either side, and merely chose to not allow Sweden to be involved in decisions involving the Holy Roman Empire.

Leopold’s decision could not please everyone, and both factions were upset still. Some were mad that Leopold would not take back lands rightful to the German peoples. In Early 1664, two or three German kings and princes rose up against the Holy Roman Empire in attempts to overthrow Leopold and his allies and prop up their own ‘pure’ German Empire. As the small civil war raged on, Leopold was only left with allies either very close to him personally or those who incidentally wanted to include Sweden in the Holy Roman Empire. Leopold eventually gave in, and enlisted Sweden’s help in return for their puppets’ inclusion into the Holy Roman Empire. By late 1664, Swedish armies were sweeping through the German rebels, and were slowly retaking lands for the HRE. Sweden’s help eventually alleviated pressure on all fronts, allowing for the short war to end quickly in early 1665. Sweden’s intervention in this affair was a first for many things, as it was a first that someone outside of the designated Holy Roman territory came to the aid of the current emperor, and the first time that such a large entity was allowed to join (NOTE: Sweden itself was only a part of the HRE for five years. It’s German regions would remain in the organization for the next few decades). Sweden made sure that those who officially ruled over lands in Northern Germany would be the ones who would represent Sweden in the Holy Roman Empire, as they were still having to deal with issues in Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, Sweden was allowed into the Holy Roman Empire for a brief time, and were finally allowed to have their voice heard and make decisions concerning the empire’s future. It was the most they could ask for, for simply ending a rebellion much sooner and preventing it from raging on for more than a decade. They would later withdraw, due to them not wanting to be under the hegemony of Leopold himself.

Leopold I, a famed Holy Roman Emperor.

 

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Chapter Eighteen - Expansion of the Mughals
1667 to 1670​

The Mughals were always one of the more stubborn nations in India when it came to politics. The so called “invasion” and colonization of the sub-continent were only adding fuel to the stance of “the Europeans are here to take our continent.” Jahandar Shah was using the recent paranoia of the final transition of Danish ports to the Swedish and the establishment of new Dutch ports in southern India as a way to declare war in Central India. Whilst the Europeans were busy trying to establish colonies and buy ports in the southern portion of India, Jahandar Shah used this as a chance to push farther south, taking advantage of the many disunited and small Indian kingdoms. They were making quick progress into the Gondwana region of India, easily toppling many kingdoms and annexing them into their empire. Though progress was being halted into the Deccan Plateau, due to the region’s naturally hilly landscaping and higher ground. It gave the defending kingdoms a greater advantage over the invading Mughals. However, Shah was taking a large portion of his armies in Deccan and pulling them back for an unknown reason.

Shah was pulling his forces in Deccan back for something secret. He knew that he may not be able to defeat the Europeans, due to their advanced armies. Even with their few ports, they could still easily gain land back. So he devised a backup plan. He drew back large portions of his Deccan armies, for an invasion into OTL Pakistan and potentially farther into Central Asia. Due to the Mughals being a Muslim nation, they thought it might be simpler to go after other Muslim regions. However, they still didn’t want to trouble the Ottomans or the Chinese. Shah knew that annexing the native muslim populations in Central Asia would cause less trouble than annexing the many Hindu kingdoms in Central and Southern India. His conquests into western Persia and Central Asia were going much smoother than the ones in the Deccan, due to the region being way more underdeveloped and lacking a true centralized government for the people to stand behind. His forces in the Deccan were slowly pulled back until they were basically sitting near the border of various Indian kingdoms, to prepare for another offensive. His forces in western India were sweeping through the lowlands and quickly annexing various pieces of the Persian and Bukharan empires. Though all of his uniting and conquests could not prepare the empire for the eventual wars against the Europeans and their allies.

The Mughal Empire, as of 1670.

Full size map: http://imgur.com/RvAD6CF​

 

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Chapter Nineteen - Catawba Confederation
1669 to 1675​

Ever since their first contact with European settlers in the early 1600’s, the Catawba Indians had been oddly friendly to their new neighbors. While they called themselves the Issa, the Carolinians who had explored in earlier decades had come to know them as the Catawba. However, due to exploration, they were pushed in multiple different directions. By the time the 1660’s rolled around, their principal settlements resided in (OTL) southern North Carolina. However, even though they had moved so much, multiple Carolinian authors had noted their ability to stay stable and organized for a long while. This organization even received notice from King Charles II himself, who wished to meet the chief of the tribe in person. But the Catawba weren’t dense; while they were nice to the English, they knew that the Carolinians were both very similar and very different to them. However, they also knew that the Carolinians didn’t have the power to expel or completely genocide them from their homeland, they just didn’t have the compatibility. Or so they thought. On November 15th, 1669, the chief of the Catawba tribe agreed to meet a diplomat of Carolina in the fringe settlement of Tansisurie, which was only a little ways away from Bakersfield.

“These Indians seem to be quite organized. Their towns are evidently very well constructed, and they even have managed to gain a somewhat detailed history of the English themselves. While the savages are sure to fall apart someday, they seem to be enjoying their brief period of prosperity.” - Ainsley Twain, diplomat to King Charles II.

The chief, at the time, was quite curious as to why he gained a visit from the Carolinian government itself. While he believed them to have innocent intentions, he still didn’t know why they picked them instead of some other tribe. Ainsley, the diplomat of Carolina sent to help, told them that it was due to their organized nature. He also said that Charles himself wanted to give aid to the tribe, to help them create a solidified confederation of all the tribes near their river. While Charles was extremely anti-native himself, he knew that he had to gain allies in small places. He also had ulterior motives, and was planning to use the Catawba to expand Carolina much more rapidly than they were currently. The meeting went very well, and lead to Ainsley going back to Charleston to tell Charles of the great qualities of the Catawba cities of Tansisurie and Ararain. Seeing the pieces of his expansionist plan fall into action, he sent out a military legion to aid the Catawba in some offensive expansion. They were quickly able to fix any internal strife due to the soldiers stationed there, and were able to expand back into their original homeland, where they lived before European contact. They also zipped through OTL South Carolina, taking a lot of land near Bakersfield.

Afraid of war between the newly recognized Catawba Confederation and the Province of Bakersfield, he quickly managed to use the conflict as a reason for tampering with the new Confederation. Charles didn’t expect them to expand north. He forced them to set up a few rough borders very far to the south of Bakersfield itself, creating shaky lines between Carolina and the new nation, as well as separating the Catawba from their major cities. While Bakersfield was still heavily against Virginian intervention in it’s own wars, it did bring the provinces closer for the time being. Meanwhile, the Catawba still managed to gain a lot more land to the south, which made Charles angry. He had hoped to keep them in check, but their vast knowledge of the land kept them one step ahead. However, due to brute force, he was still able to keep the situation from getting out of hand. He sent in an army about half the size of the Catawban one to invade the border city of Ararain. While he acted like he had nothing to do with the invasion, the Catawba weren’t that daft. His intense hatred for the natives had finally come out of the woodwork, and the chief couldn’t do a thing about it. He was under the hegemony of the Carolinians now. The English troops belonging to him quickly fell back to the Carolinian side, cutting his army in half. His entire empire, stretching down as far as OTL Georgia, became a toy for Charles’ reign. The town of Tansisurie would eventually become a small Bakersfield hamlet, while Ararain would fall apart in the mid-1700’s.

The Catawba Confederation over time, representing the gain and loss of their homeland.