1493 Glen Rework

[Glen]

Okay, here's my attempt to edit the timeline for plausibility. Lets see how it goes.

[Glen]

1493:

England:

John Cabot, after failed attempts to interest the Portuguese and Spanish in his services, moves his family to England in hopes of being engaged as an explorer.

Thomas Wittingham of Middlewich, Cheshire, England invents the toothbrush. Wittingham family tradition claims he was inspired by a dream.

France:

1493 Spring: Cem the Pretender, claimant to the Ottoman throne, flees his confinement in Paris.

Spain:

1493 March 15: Christopher Columbus regales Spain with tales of the riches he has seen in Asia after returning from his first voyage.

1493 April: Some of Christopher Columbus' companions on the journey tell a less flamboyant tale, bringing some of Columbus' claims into question. Word of this reaches the Spanish Court, making Ferdinand and Isabella weigh how much support to give to a second journey under Columbus.

1493 Summer: Word reaches the Spanish Court of the increased persecution of Christians throughout the Mameluke Empire, even in Jerusalem. Rather than causing a rescension of the expulsion of the Muslims or a softening of the Inquisition's attempts to find secret Muslims in Spain, it instead provokes an opposite reaction. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain are incensed by the persecution of Christians in Mameluke lands. The Spanish begin considering actions directly against the Mamelukes.

1493 Fall: When word reaches the Spanish Court of renewed war between the Ottomans and Mamelukes along their border, the Spanish see an opportunity. They prepare the Spanish navy and call upon their ally and fellow Trastámaran, the King of Naples to join with them.

Holy Roman Empire:

1493 August 19: The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III dies.

1943 September: In Wien, an obscure, but well spoken, priest from a middling background begins preaching about the need to reform the Catholic church. His message is clear and he is charismatic - he soon begins to attract a following.

Saxony:

Henry, second son of duke Albert of Saxony, is attacked by bandits while riding to Leipzig. After reportedly praying to God for deliverance, Henry is rescued by a party of armsmen in service to his father. Henry thanks God for his deliverance, and promptly announces his intention to enter the priesthood. His father and brother are shocked, but they will not go against a calling from God. So Henry enters the priesthood, thus taking him out of the Albertine succession.

Northern Italy:

1493 March 20: William Palaeologus, the six year old eldest son of Margrave Boniface of Montferrat, dies from a fall. His young brother Boniface is now the defacto heir to Montferrat.

Milan:

An attempt is made on Duke Gian Galeazzan Sforza. The assassin is killed. He is linked to the Duke's uncle Ludovico Sforza. This kind of familial 'tension' is common in Renaissance Italy. Ludovico still looses his head.

Italian Peninsula:

Florence:

1493 April 1: Piero de' Medici dies in a drunken fall down the stairs of his palace. Some believe he did not fall but instead was pushed, but there is no proof. His brother, Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, is now the head of the family.
The Cardinal immediately sets to work expanding his families' interests. He first turns his eyes to the small independent Republic of Lucca...

The small Republic of Lucca lives in peace while warily watching surrounding lands. Especially of concern is Florence, again growing in power and influence. Florence has long sought bring Lucca under its sway. The ascension of the powerful and cunning Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici in place of his dead fool brother Piero was especially alarming. The commune decided late in 1493 that the defenses of the Republic had to be improved, and the hiring of mercenaries was authorized. Lucca would also need allies, and many options considered.

Meanwhile, Savonarola, a fiery orator who had often blasted the Medicis in his sermons for their wickedness and impiety from his pulpit at San Marco, gained a large following after the death of Piero, who was often a target for his extravagance. Savonarola's preaching of the end of days and of the judgment of God upon all men scared the normally free wheeling Florentines into contrition. He also made attacks on the immorality of the Church, which many saw as veiled attacks on the Cardinal de' Medici. There was also the prospect of invasion from France on the horizon, which just served to increase the tension

Naples:
Renaissance sculptor Francesco Laurana returns to Naples from France. He is commissioned to build a statue of King Ferrante (Ferdinand I).

A medical school is built in Salerno to attract physicians and natural philosophers from across Europe.

Papal States:

1493 May 5: Inter Caetera of Pope Alexander VI issued:

We (the Papacy) command you (Spain) to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents and dwellers therein in the Catholic faith, and train them in good morals. Further, grants of land are to be given unto the Holy Catholic Church, in so that churches and missions may be established, to bring them more fully into Grace.

1493-98: Pope tries to bring under control the territories of the Papal States, in an effort to create a new Duchy of Romagna for his son Giuffre. By 1498 he has largely succeeded, and the creation of the Duchy is pronounced.

Scandinavia/Baltic:

King Hans (John) of Sweden enters an alliance with Russian ruler Ivan III.

King Hans has the Sjaelland Thing recognize his claim to Copenhagen effectively removing the city from the Bishop of Roskilde. His sole claim to Copenhagen makes him able to better support English merchants traveling to the Scania herring market.

King Hans encourages merchants to take up state responsibilities by working for the King and offers the possibility of being created nobility.

A letter is sent to the Friedrich von Sachsen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from the Hansa:

At present our trade is being severely curtailed by the Dutch and Scandinavians. I propose that we work toward a cooperative understanding with one or the other, and work to undermine our remaining competitor in whatever way possible. We are also interested in possibly capitalizing on the discovery of the new world by establishing a trading colony there.
Finally, I will be moving the Baltic cities toward a more official federation of free cities, and hope to invite both the Rhenish and Prussian cities to join. Should this not be possible, the Wendish Federation would simply act as a unified entity within the league.

This letter is the answer the Grand Master had been looking for. As far as he was concerned, the writing was on the wall. Prussia would sooner or later have to be abandoned. There were simply not enough knights to control and defend the land. A letter was sent in response, and a partnership begun.

1493-99: The Teutonic Order begins working with the Hanseatic League. Knights begin to be stationed in Hansa Cities for defense, and the island of Gota and Teutonic possessions in Prussia are open for Hansa trade and settlement. Shipyards are built in Konigsberg, and a new Teutonic fleet is built, financed and manned partly by the Hansa. Finances began to improve, and more knights were recruited. The local economy also improved and the people were mostly left alone, so they were content.

There was involvement in Sweden, with the League and Knights supporting Sten Sture in return for trade concessions.

There was also talk within the League of possibilities in the new western route to the Indies. Perhaps exploration and profit could be made there. But that would cost a lot of money, and even with the increase in wealth, more was needed.

Eastern Europe:

Moldavia, Wallachia, and Austria form the Anti-Ottoman League to drive the Muslims out of Europe.

Poland:

John Albert, newly elected King of Poland, is not pleased by the abrupt formation of the Anti-Ottoman League. Not only does he think he should be at least informed of this by his Moldavian vassals, he also dreams of his own victories against the unholy Turk; yet he is hamstrung in his ambition by the need to pacify his unruly Polish nobility and wheedle money for his military enterprises from the Seim. So he swallows his pride (or, at least, the most prickly parts of it), and by the next year at Leutschau, the Polish king met not only with his brother Wladislaw of Hungary, Elector John Hohenzollern of Brandenburg and Moldavian gospodar Stephen, but also - with great reluctance - with representatives of Maximilian, whom he would rather see as an open enemy. Hopes that any kind of united Christian front against Ottomans would be established were small...

Russia/Muscovy:

1493 July: The Great Fire destroys a large part of the old portion of Moscow. Ivan declares that no new building anywhere in Moscow is to be built out of wood or other flammable materials. A large area around the Kremlin is left open for the market (roughly equivalent to 240 meters in OTL), but the shops must be temporary and portable.

Rhodes:

1493 Summer: Cem the Pretender, claimant to the Ottoman throne returns to Rhodes, calling on Pierre DAubusson, the grand-master of the order, to lead a crusade on Cem's behalf. Cem makes vague half-formed promises about converting to Christianity. Debate rages across Rhodes as to what should be done. DAubusson knows that the order is in far too vulnerable a position for a crusade at this point. Yet can he pass up the possibility of a Christian Ottoman emperor? As time passes however, it becomes clear that Cem's promised conversion to Christianity is less than genuine. Cem still promises the Rhodeans rich gifts of territory and possible restoration to Jerusalem (on which promise he's in little position to make good). Ultimately, DAubusson rejects this call for a crusade, claiming that "as the last Christian presence in Ionia it is paramount upon me, as grand-master, to look first to the order and it's preservation." Later historians have claimed that DAubusson truly was the first grand master to turn away from the crusader ideal, but this is far from the truth. In reality, DAubusson did not want a crusade which he could not win.

1493 Fall - Winter: DAubusson learns through his connections with the Neapolitan Court that the Spanish and Neapolitans are considering a foray against the Mamelukes in retaliation for their persecution of Christians, especially now that they are tied up in a war with the Ottomans. This seems to be the opportunity DAubusson was waiting for. He sends messages of alliance to Spain and Naples. He ponders what use Cem could be in this endeavor, but for the time being decides to hold him in reserve.

Ottoman Empire:

1493 April: Prince Ahmed enters into secret negotiations with the Mamelukes to assist him in overthrowing his father, Sultan Bayezid of the Ottoman Empire.

1493 November: As the Ottoman navy masses to assist in repelling Ahmed's faction and their Mameluke allies, a terrible storm strikes, causing the loss of a large number of Ottoman ships, and damaging most.

Mameluke Empire:

1493 Summer: The Mamelukes increase persecution of Christians throughout the Empire, not just in Syria, in response to the expulsion of Muslims from Spain the previous year.

The Mameluke Sultan, az-Zahir Sayf-ad-Din Jaqmaq, orders the mobilization of all troops in Eastern Egypt and Sinai to confront the advancing Ottoman troops. Upon reaching an agreement concerning Prince Ahmed's claim to the Ottoman throne, and adjustments to the border in favor of the Mamelukes, the Mameluke troops of Eastern Egypt and Sinai were deployed to Syria to assist Prince Ahmed in his quest. He also sends some troops with supplies for the Arab/Berber kingdoms fighting Alodi.

1493 Summer: Makuria and Nobatia begin winning some battles pushing Alodi away from the Coast. The king of Alodi sends envoys to Ethiopia requesting aid.

1493 Fall: Ahmed leads a faction of Ottomans and a large Mameluke army over the border between Syria and Anatolia, intent on wresting the Ottoman Empire from his father, Bayezid II.

Maghreb:

1493 Spring: Muhammahad XII has a fight with his Mother, and moves along with most of the Army of Granada [and the Treasury] to Zarzis in southern Tunisa. Most of Moorish Granadians fleeing from Spain go either to Tielsim [small kingdom now part of Morocco] if followers of Muhammad XII’s Mother, or to Zarzis if a followers of Muhammad XII.

1493 Spring: The Mamelukes begin their westward expansion toward the Barbary Coast. The Sultan sends a small but powerful army he believes will be able to conquer Tripolitania and Tunisia easily, as both are suffering from warlordism.

1493 Summer: The Mamelukes recapture all of Libya east of Tripolitania. The remains of the Granadian army have settled in Zarzisi; they prevent the Mameluke from conquering Zarzisi when they take the rest of Libya.

Yemen:

The Tahirid Sultan, having examined the shape of the world around him, with the Mamelukes to the north and the Europeans beginning to move forcefully into the traditionally Arab trade routes of the Indian Ocean, decided to embark upon a series of policy initiatives in order to buttress Yemeni economic and military strength against potential outside threats.

The main portions of this initiative were threefold. First, a proclamation was made of the willingness of Yemen to accept the expelled Jews and Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula, along with other such unwanted (and productive) minority religions that other states might wish to dispose of. This proclamation was disseminated throughout the Indian Ocean by Arab traders, reaching throughout the known world by spring of 1494.

Second, the Yemeni Sultan, after consultation with learned scholars as to the legality of such a move, proclaimed himself the Defender of the Hajj, in so far as that the Tahirid Sultanate would escort shipbound hajjis from Socotra to Jiddah, protecting them from pirates (and other potential marauders) along the way. Furthermore, it was announced that any attempt by merchants to take advantage of the hajj with exorbitant price increases would not be tolerated by the Sultanate.

Third, in order to fulfill the above duty, and incidentally to safeguard the Indian Ocean trade network that was Yemen's lifeblood, a major increase in naval construction was to occur. Realizing that Yemen itself did not possess an abundance of forests from which to harvest wood for shipbuilding, the decision was made to look southward, toward the heavily forested island of Madagascar. With longstanding trade contacts already present there, particularly with the Sakalava tribe along the island's western coast, the Sultanate would use Madagascar as its primary source of raw material for new naval construction.

Contacts would also be strengthened with the Swahili city-states along the East African coast, as certain other materials (hemp, for example) would be needed for the naval expansion. Over the next two years, a series of marriages would be arranged between the Yemeni throne and the ruling families of those city-states. In particular, a series of emissaries were sent to Sofala, offering the local ruler Tahirid protection in the event that ill-intentioned European visitors came to call. While the Sofalan emir declined the full Yemeni offer, he did agree to allow a small Yemeni garrison to remain in the area in order to safeguard the expanded degree of trade visiting the port.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

The king of Benin, marries one of his daughters to a high chief of the Oyo. He also builds up his contacts with the surrounding area, with a mind to marrying into, or outright taking the lands to the North West he thinks are in need of better leadership.

Delhi and Mewar:

1493 April: Sultan Sikandar Lodhi orders a massive Survey of All the Sultan’s Lands & Peoples in the Delhi Sultanate. The Sultan had been looking for a way to solidify his rule, and appears to have chosen to emphasize his knack for administration.

Barbak Shah Lodhi interprets his brother’s survey not as a show of strength but as an opportunity for his own advancement. He begins audaciously building and training his army. Sikandar decides to revoke Barbak’s title as Shah of Jaunpur and instead make him Grand General of the Armies. Barbak accepts. Both seem convinced that the other is the fool.

1493 May: Rawat Surjamal, cousin of the Rana of Mewar Raimal, strikes and spits on the Rana’s son Jaimal after an argument. All Mewar is aghast at his rudeness.

1493 June: Rana Raimal has had enough of his sons’ and cousins’ feuding. He sends them all off on “humility quests.” His sons are all sent to religious schools – Prithviraj to a Jain colony, Jaimal to a Buddhist monastery, and Sangramsingh to apprentice to the young Hindu theologian Nanak Dev (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Nanak_Dev). His cousins are given much more humiliating assignments – Rawat Surjamal is to manage a farm, and Rawat Sarangdeo is to manage a construction company. The cousins are furious that they are to be treated so far below their caste, but they know that the alternative is death.

1493 July: Rana Raimal sets about creating a detailed Oligarchic system, based on what scholars have told him of the great administrations of the past. His guiding principle is to make no one man have so much power over anything that he could abuse it for corrupt purposes. For now, this system is just a way to improve Mewar’s government, but it is clear that Raimal has designs on converting it into a far grander system.

Gowan Domestic Affairs: 1492-1500

The new Karaeng of Gowa, I-Pakere'tau Karaeng Tunijallo'-ri Pasukki' Somba-ri Gowa (henceforth referred to as I'Pakere'tau I, or just 'the king'), was crowned in 1492, as in OTL. Subsequently, Gowan politics split into two predominant factions, or 'parties', each trying to gain influence over the young and inexperienced king:

The 'imperial court' faction, centered on those ministers directly responsible to the Karaeng, who sought an isolationist foreign policy and conservatism. The predominant figure in this movement was the Tuma'bicara-butta ('spokesman of the land', or prime minister) until 1493; after his death, the movement splintered into competing factions. The movement's prime goal was protectionism; they felt that Macassar, the capital of Gowa (and often identified with it), needed to be protected from foreign influences. They can be considered the 'Tories' of Makassar.

The 'noble' or 'parliamentary' faction, centered on the Bate Salapang (the supreme council of nobles, akin to a Parliament). These nobles, eager to increase their own wealth and power, aimed for a program of rapid economic and military expansion. This faction was largely responsible for the Yolgnu Wars, the conquest of Garassik, and the establishment of trading stations on Marege. They also urged the expansion of foreign trade and the liberalizing of trade barriers. They can be considered the 'Whigs' of Makassar.

{In OTL, the conservatives triumphed; delaying Makassar's rise for centuries. By then, the Dutch had gained a strong enough foothold to conquer the region. In TTL, however, the economic opportunities provided by Marege prove sufficient inducement for the triumph of the nobles, who dominated the decade and the rest of I'Pakere'tau I's reign.}

A virus mutates randomly in Indonesia some time in 1493. The virus, although harmless to humans, proves virulent when introduced into trepang (sea cucumber) stocks. This results in a 50% reduction of trepang stocks around the Indonesian archipelago by 1500, and with the almost complete extinction of trepang in the waters surrounding Makassar.

Thus deprived of their prize catch, the trepangers of Gowa, a small kingdom centered on the port city of Makassar, are forced to look further afield...

Majahapit:

King Girindrawarddhana is informed by his ministers that the price of trepang has more than tripled recently due to local stocks dying off. The King decides that trepang is too important to the economy, and sends ships to scout out and secure new island sources.

Excerpt from The Birth of the Yolgnu Nation: 1493-1501

In 1493, the Yolgnu existed primarily as a concept; a series of traditions, religious practices, and linguistic dialects, with all those identifying themselves as 'Yolgnu' linking themselves to a particular territory: specifically, eastern Marege (OTL's eastern Top End)

Beyond that, however, there was very little in the way of unity. The Yolgnu were divided into clan groups and bands, who functioned largely autonomously. Without any significant foreign threats, there was no reason for unity-or, indeed, technological developments. So the Yolgnu survived, for tens of thousands of years, largely as they always had.

However, Yolgnu history can be said to have truly begun, from the day the Invaders arrived. The first contact with the traders dubbed generally the 'Macassans' could not have begun more inauspiciously. The exhausted and lonely traders attempted to abduct a party of Yolgnu women; the Yolgnu reacted violently, spearing several Macassans. Unlike the other Aboriginal tribes of Marege, who generally experienced positive first contacts, the Yolgnu recognised, from the beginning, the threat which Macassan influence posed to traditional tribal culture.

To this end, the Yolgnu began to unify politically, through a series of corroborees and tribal meetings. It was decided to oppose the Macassans, and hopefully to drive them back where they came from. A previously insignificant band 'headman' rose to prominence for his vitriolically anti-Macassan stance. According to legend, one of his sisters was one of those women attacked by the Macassans. His name has been lost to history, but Gowan records call him Gallarang-the leader.

The Macassans had no understanding of tribal borders. As such, trepangers frequently strayed into Yolgnu territory, where they were immediately set upon by hunters.

Due to their comparative size (unlike many other tribes in the region, who comprised only hundreds of individuals, there were over two thousand Yolgnu), the Yolgnu came to dominate the burgeoning anti-Macassan movements. Through both ideological sympathy and intimidation, a loose confederacy of tribes began to form, devoted to opposing the Macassans. Over the next decade, an undeclared war for influence would develop between the two nations, as both sides sought allies and prestige in the region.

The First Yolgnu War of 1507-1511 proved disastrous for both sides. The Macassan invasion force floundered, unable to strike at the Yolgnu, and proved a heavy drain on the Gowan treasury. The Yolgnu, however, faced even harsher conditions. The Macassans' tribal allies, eager to gain favour, committed atrocities against Yolgnu civilian populations, most notably in the Gagadju Massacre.

Far more deadly, however, was a virus brought by the soldiers: smallpox. The disease wreaked havoc on the Yolgnu population, killing over half the population, most notably the previously dominant elders. The Yolgnu were devastated, reduced to only a few hundred individuals from a height of thousands-all radicalised against the Macassan invasion. This allowed Gallarang, already a hero for his guerrilla activities, to gain effective political control over the Yolgnu.

But even he realised that the Macassans could not be driven out. Instead, he decided that to preserve Yolgnu independence, an accomodation must be made. In the Makaratta (treaty) that ended the war in 1511, predictably harsh terms were imposed: the Yolgnu allies were annexed, and they were forced to swear friendship to Gowa and send hostages to Makassar guarantee the peace. Yet they were granted their independence, and Djerrkura was recognised as bate (prince) of Yolgnu. He quickly set about creating the foundations for an independent Yolgnu state. Within a few years, hostages returning from Gowa told Gallarang of the ways of the Gowans. A council of elders was convened to serve a similar role to the Bate Salapang.

However, the Yolgnu still faced formidable difficulties. Their population had been ravaged, the war had led to the burning and destruction of much of their territories, and their population were inevitably beginning to gravitate towards settlements on the coast. However, such challenges remained for another decade to resolve.

Japan:

In 1493, Hojo Soun set the precedent for aspiring samurai after he acquired Kokukuji castle in Izu. Following his lead in the next decades many other men will rise from obscurity to greatness at the expense of their former masters, rivals, or even family members.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane attacks Hosokawa Masamoto over a dispute regarding the accession of a new Shogun following the death of Ashikaga Yoshihisa in 1489. Yoshitane is defeated and exiled; Ashikaga Yoshizumi becomes puppet Shogun. However, the authority of both the Imperial court and the Shogunate is is sharp decline, and the country is plagued by civil war, insurrection, and rife political instability. There is little faith in either the court or the Shogunate and many Samurai are showing aspirations of grandeur. Hojo Soun acquires Kokukuji castle in Izu (Shizuoka prefecture), becoming the first 'sengoku daimyo'.

On the occasion of the birth of an heir to the Ming throne, the Ashikaga shogunate commissions an embassy to the Chinese court, presenting gifts to the Imperial family, especially the Emperor, the new heir, and the child's mother. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane is looking to foster better relations with Ming China (although relations between the two countries are not bad).

Ryukyku likewise sends an embassy. Although humble, it is still lavish. Ryukyu is of course a Chinese quasi-vassal, so the Ryukyuan embassy is not as surprising as the Japanese one.

New World:

Word of the arrival of people from the sea, has trickled throughout the Caribbean. They seem to have a lust for Yellow metal, spreading over-all distrust of these foreign wizards.

The Narragansett, claiming to be responding to an insult (the story, of course, varies widely depending on who it telling it), stage a major, successful raid on the Poccaset, a Wampanoag tribe that lives near the border between the two groups. An overly quick counter attack fails to do much, leaving many young Wampanoags angry. The older chiefs start looking for allies.

April 1493: The Seneca send out scouting parties to found new villages in the fertile lands to the south that have been abandoned after the recent wars. They set up a string of tiny farming communities at Kinzua Rapids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinzua_Dam).

June 1493: The Susquehanna get word of the Seneca’s expansion and send out their own scouts. They will eventually set up several small fishing and trading posts along the Juniata River (http://www.rootsweb.com/~paperry/perry_indians.htm), pushing the crippled remnants of the Onojutta onto even more marginal land.

December 1493: A bitter winter forces some Cayuga and Onondaga villages to head further south than usual in their search for game, into the lands of the weak Wyoming Tribe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Valley). The Onondaga Eldest – oral tradition holds that it was the legendary Hiawatha – states his opposition, not only because this abuses the last peace treaty with the Wyomings, but also because it may provoke the Susquehanna, whom he calls the “warm blood brothers” of the Haudenosaunee.

1493-1495: The princess Porâsaia, only child of a major Guaraní community-Chief Abaangui, dies, leaving Chief Abaangui heirless. The old man wanders off in mourning, and is never heard from again. In an unheard-of move, a young man named Kurepi, declares himself a living god, and performs several "miracles," in various Guaraní communities. Guaraní priests throughout all the communities reaffirm his claims. By the fall of 1495, he has formed a substantial following, and tentatively united the Guaraní people.

Incan Empire:

Thupa inca dies. Wayna Qapac accedes to the throne. He begins consolidation which will last until about 1520.

[Glen]

1494:

England:

1494 January 14: Princess Mary Rose Tudor of England is born.

Holy Roman Empire:

Brunswick:

Henry IV of Brunswick and Eric I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel divide the territory between them; Eric becomes duke of Brunswick-Kalenburg

Burgundy:

Philip of Burgundy turns 16 and takes over the rule of Burgundy from his father who had been regent.

Florence:

A young man named Niccolò Machiavelli is appointed as a clerk to the Florentine government of Giovanni de Medici.

The firebrand Savonarola is killed by street thugs one night. Rumors persist that it was not a random encounter, but there is no proof.

Naples:

King Errant dies. His son Alfonso II is crowned. He manages to diffuse tensions with Milan. Royal marriages are established between the two nations.

In a departure from his Spanish brethren, the Neapolitan King Alphonso II welcomed Jews (esp. merchants, scholars and other people concerned with economic) into his Kingdom, as it was in dire need of economic reform.

Scandinavia:

During Easter, the Royal Steward Poul Laxmand meets representatives of the Swedish nobility who make the Swedish Council of the Realm agree to Sweden’s re-joining the Kalmar Union.

A commoner member of the chancellery, Anders Nielsen is hanged accused of embezzlement - a reaction from the nobility to the King’s encouragement of the previous year. The King, however, decides to continue getting merchants to work for him, if only to get access to their wealth.

Ottoman Empire:

1494 Winter:

Led by Prince Selim, the army of the Ottoman Empire marches toward their southeast border, intent on repelling the Mamelukes and Ahmed Ottomans from the area. The majority of those Janissary's who aren't in the Rumeli of the Empire are accompanying the army. The remnant of the Ottoman navy takes anchor outside of cannon range for now, off the coast of the Mameluke encampment.

A significant portion of the janissaries who were in the Ottoman army meant to fight the Mamelukes join with Ahmed (their favorite to inherit the Ottoman throne). The other half of the janissaries, fearing loss of privilege and status - not to mention the very existence of their Order - met them in open and pitched battle on the plains north of Damascus. The Bayezid-loyalists under the command of Selim win the day. The disloyal ones flee to Egypt and Mesopotamia, while the loyal ones were given residences in Rumeli. Poets in the ensuing weeks and months would call this the Janissary Civil War.

1494 – 1519: In the Ottoman Empire, the recruiting and training of janissaries was not interrupted by the Janissary Civil War (ref: the War against the Mamluk). However, the Janissary Civil War *did* disrupt the flow of new janissaries; it had always been traditional for a young janissary, upon the completion of his training and education, to be an apprentice in another part of the Empire…ie, apprenticed to carpenters, shipbuilders, etc. What the Janissary Civil War did was leave a lot of apprentices in the field they were apprenticed to; over the next two decades, through a policy of what one might consider benign neglect, very few janissary apprentices were brought into the military after the end of their apprenticeship.

Mameluke Empire:

1494 Winter: Taking advantage of the fighting to the North, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Rhodean ships launch an invasion of Lebanon and Palestine, eventually marching for Jerusalem, laying siege to the city and calling for it's surrender. While the army encamps and part of the navy begins ferrying supplies inland, a large portion of the Rhodean and Spanish fleet begin harrying the Egyptian coast, feinting toward Alexandria. DAubusson also calls on the Maronite Christians of Lebanon to aid his army, as well as the Lebanese Druze.

1494 Summer: Mameluke forces have been nearly driven out of the Levant, and European and Ottoman forces meet on the plains of Megiddo. Tense negotiations between the two forces go forward, with both seeing the threat of the other combining with the Mamelukes to oppose them. Eventually, an agreement is hammered out leaving the Holy City of Jerusalem as a free city, though with a Knights Hospitaler commandry being allowed to be stationed there. The King and Queen of Spain being unacceptable to the Ottomans, the King of Naples is declared as the Christian protector of Jerusalem, and Sultan Bayezid II as the Islamic protector of Jerusalem. While the name Kingdom of Jerusalem is specifically avoided during negotiations, much of the territory formerly encompassing that land is ceded to Neapolitan control, with the Sultan granted special rights with regards to protection of the faithful in this land.

Later, Ahmed is captured by soldiers loyal to his brothers Selim and Korkud. Invited to dine with his brothers, Ahmed is poisoned during the dinner.

Taking advantage of the losses of the Mamelukes in the Levant, a combined force of Alodi and Ethiopians strike against the Mamelukes and their Arab/Berber allies. All of Upper Egypt is ceded to the Alodi up to the ancient Nubian cities of Aswan and Luxor on the River Nile.

1494 Fall: The Mameluke Sultan is overthrown by another faction within the Mamelukes and the war ends. The Ottomans receive Syria, and the Levant outside of most of the former territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which goes to the Europeans under the authority of the King of Naples. Alodi receive all of Nubia south of the old pre-Mameluke border. That there are two Muslim Kingdoms in the area, is ignored in the peace settlement.

Ethiopia:

Pero da Covilhã, an envoy from the King of Portugal to the Kingdom of Prester John, discovers a plot against the 22 year old King Aslander by the family of the deposed Bitwooden [Prime Minister] and several of the provincial strongmen. King Aslander moves against the Plotters.

Timurid Empire:

Since the establishment of the Timurid Empire under Tīmūr bin Taraghay Barlas in 1369 with its capital at Samarkand, the Timurids have been in a position that granted them access to both great opportunities for wealth, as well as a position that placed them between two settled civilizations: Islamic society to the west, and Indian and Chinese society to the east. However, in 1494, the Timurid Empire, and the dynasty itself has been in a state of flux with dynastic rulers claiming legitimacy in Herat and Samarkand. Along with the two heirs in Herat and Samarkand, Abu'l-Khayr Khan (1428-68) and his two grandsons have been moving to organize the Uzbek tribes since Abu'l-Khayr Khan took the throne in 1428. With the confusing and ever shifting alliances of the successor states of Genghis Khan, there is little stability in the region.

In the Timurid Dynasty in Herat, Husayn Bayqarah has been trying to hold the empire together amidst a series of attacks by Uzbek and Kazakh tribal attacks, and failed attacks against successor states in the steppe.

In the Timurid Dynasty in Farghana, a tributary of the Samarkand Timur Dynasty, Umar Sheikh Mirza has been attempting to ready his 11 year old son, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, to lead the kingdom.

China:

February 18, 1494: Perhaps a sign from the elders, or perhaps not, the empress gave birth to Zhu Houcong on New Years Day, ensuring that his birth would fall under the year of the tiger, under the alchemist mark of wood, his full sign was the Yang Wood Tiger: Strong, yet flexible, good fortune, and generosity, royalty, and cooperation all rolled into one. This was a very good sign for the young prince to be born under, and has been seen by some eunuchs in the court to be a sign from heaven that perhaps he should inherit the throne after his father's death, and not his brother.

Japan:

Hojo Soun extends his influence into Sagami province (Kanagawa prefecture) after taking Odawara castle from the Omori.

Majahapit:

The King's ships return, only to report the same thing; the trepang is in serious decline all over the archipelago. Reports from the north indicate that the Macassans are equally troubled, and that their king is considering sending ships further afield. King Girindrawarddhana decides to do the same.

Gowa:

The newly crowned Karaeng of Gowa, I-Pakere'tau Karaeng Tunijallo'-ri Pasukki' Somba-ri Gowa (henceforth referred to as I'Pakere'tau I) is informed by his Shahbandar (Foreign Affairs Minister) of the decline in trepang stocks across Indonesia. The young king is advised by the Bate Salapang (the supreme council of nobles, akin to a Parliament) to send ships to discover new trepang stocks.

Meanwhile, however, war clouds are brewing between Garassik, another small port kingdom in South Sulawesi, and an alliance of Gowa and Tallok. The current Tuma'bicara-butta ('spokesman of the land', prime minister) manages to advise I'Pakere'tau to avoid war, but his rivals in the court, particularly in the Bate Salapang, resent his autocratic ways and his control over the king.

Australia

A charismatic and rather uncharacteristic leader takes over the Arrente, conquering nearby Aborigine tribes.

North America:

The Powhatan begin to strengthen ties with surrounding tribes in hopes of building a larger confederacy of natives in the region.

February 1494: The Onondaga Eldest calls a Grand Council of All Iroquois Peoples. Stunned by this unprecedented request from the aging spiritual giant, virtually all of the tribes pledge to show up, including such far-flung bands as the Nottoway, Meherrin, Erie, Attawandaron, Susquehanna, and the various Laurentian tribes. The faraway peoples of the south, who speak the languages of Tuscarawas and Cherokee, plead that the distance is too great, but most villages send gifts of amulets.

October 1494: The Grand Council of All Iroquois Peoples meets at the Onondaga Council Fire. The Onondaga announce their intention that all Iroquoians should band together into once colossal council. The more distant Iroquoians find this concept preposterous, and it is voted down. According to the oral traditions, Hiawatha then smiles and says, “it is you who have voted.” The legends say that few understood the remark at the time. Later generations know that those who voted against the union had in fact given the union credence by submitting to the voting procedures of the Grand Council.

December 1494: The tiny Stadacona and Hochelega join the Haudenosaunee, the only ones to answer the boldest call of the Grand Council. The Susquehanna, however, agree to sit a diplomat at the Haudenosaunee Council Fire. This is enough that the Councilors who doubted such a grand scheme acknowledge that the Grand Council was a huge success.

October 1494: The Wampanoag are allowed to observe the Grand Council of All Iroquois Peoples. The Council agrees that the Wampanoags are "strange-tongued friends."

[Glen]

1495:

Ireland:

1495 November 22: {Alison FitzEustace does not die.}

England:

England commissions construction of the first drydock in Europe since antiquity.

Backed by Bristol Merchants, John Cabot obtains an audience with King Henry VIIth of England. King Henry VIIth is impressed with Cabot's plans and grants him letters of patent authorizing his mission in the name of the English Crown.

1495 July 4: Perkin Warbeck attempt to raise rebellion in England fails, and he is killed during the attempt to return to his ships.

France:

1495 December: Though measles ravages the city of Amboise, draconian measures ordered by the King manage to isolate the Dauphin, Charles Orlando, from the disease.

Portugal:

John II dies and is succeeded by Manoel I as king of Portugal.

Holy Roman Empire:

Eric I of Brunswick-Kalenburg gains the Principality of Göttingen.

Saxony:

Frederick of Saxony and Berthold of Mainz begin discussions about needed reforms within the empire. This partnership is to last until Berthold's death, and forms a longer-term 'special relationship' between Mainz and Saxony.
1498: Duke Frederick marries Elizabeth, daughter of Philip the Count Palatine.

Hanseatic League:

1495 January 5: King Hans' naval build-up serves to unite the Wendish cities even further and make their unification into a federation all the more paramount. With the consent of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Wendish Federation is signed into law on this date, and immediately begins work on an extensive naval build-up at Luebeck, Hamburg, Bremen and Wismer. Messages are sent to the Teutonic order and the Rhenish cities calling on them for aid, and negotiations are opened with Sweden. Emissaries are also sent to the Dithmarscher Republic with promises of possible aid against any Danish aggression.

Northern Italy:

1495 March 15: Michelle Antonia of Saluzzo born; daughter of Margrave Ludovico II of Saluzzo.

Scandinavia/Baltic Region:

A Russian army enters Karelia laying siege to Viborg but the fortress commander Knud Posse repel the invasion. The Council of the Realm convince King Hans that the Russian alliance is going to lose Sweden for ever.

Wolter von Plettenberg gets word from the Teutonic Knights about the call for arms and pledges a force of 7,000 knight and heavy Calvary at their disposal.

Ottoman Empire:

Hearing of unprovoked attacks conducted by the sect he had so recently granted amnesty to, Sultan Bayezid II sends a hundred janissaries to sort out those who were made gazis. Two dozen of the sect are hung for heresy. The remainder takes this as the warning it is. The Ottoman border quiets down.

Holy Land:

The Grand Commandry of the Rhodeans in Jerusalem is officially established. Over time, this will grow into one of the major Hospitaler commandries in the world.

Ethiopia:

The small civil war in Ethiopia is over and the power of the provinces is broken for now. King Aslander has a daughter by his wife.

Maghreb:

Camel traders from the Kel Ahaggar tribe and Kel Aijer tribes find gold along their camel trade routes near to where both are based in the Sahara.

Timurid Empire:
Umar Sheikh Mirza dies of an infection caused after a hunting trip gone wrong left him with a shattered leg that was a result of loosing control of his horse and being thrown to the ground with such force that it shattered his femur. The 12 year old son of Mizra, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, is too young to be an effective leader, yet under the inheritance laws, he must take the throne. (In OTL, Mizra would die in 1498 when Babur was 14 years old.)

With Babur's inheritance, a cabal of his father's best generals and high ranking community leaders, rather than shoving the 12 year old Babur off the throne and out of the kingdom, decided that the best alternative was to kill Babur on the eve of his 13th birthday in February and claim legitimacy on their own, rather than risk his gaining support from the rest of the kingdom.

Indian Subcontinent:

November 1495: The Delhi Sultanate completes its Survey of All the Sultan’s Lands & Peoples. The Sultan orders his advisors to each report to him on what the study means for their areas of rule. The survey is quickly becoming one of the greatest bureaucratic projects in the Sultanate in almost 200 years.

China:

Following the birth of his third child, the second to live past birth and early infancy, the Hongzhi Emperor began a series of auspicious tax and bureaucratic reforms. In order to make the flow of revenue much easier into the capital, and to ensure that corruption and bribery were less prevalent, the emperor began to cut out branches of the bureaucracy which he felt were less than worthy of remaining a part of the functioning bureaucratic arm of the Ming Dynasty.

Along with that, increased communication between the bureaucratic departments was encouraged, along with the sharing of records and transactions to allow for greater bureaucratic and imperial oversight into government business.

In a year's time, over 700 bureaucrats operating in the Ming heartland had their positions cut in efforts by the imperial government to smooth out the rough edges in the bureaucracy. The emperor was gracious enough to allow these bureaucrats a choice: Stay in the heavily populated areas, or migrate to the periphery of Ming society. Most decided to stay in the heavily populated areas.

Majahapit:

A small group of Macassan ships is intercepted near Bali. The crews are brought before the King, and explain they were sent from their Karaeng to seek out new trepang stocks. They had skirted a large island to the south, whose waters were abundant with trepang, but were chased away by hostile natives. They were on their way home to report when they were intercepted.

The King decides this new land is worth exploring, and decides to send his own ships south with the captured crewmen as guides. Several ships are built, and the expedition leaves Majahapit in early 1496.

Gowa:

The first Macassan voyages of exploration, sponsored by the king, set out. The first three disappear without trace. The fourth, however, encounters a large, tropical land to the south. First contact between the Macassans and Yolgnu occurs-the Yolgnu spear the ship's captain, and drive their crew back into the sea. It is not an auspicious start. The ship's remaining crew return to Makassar with news of fantastic riches and abundant stocks of trepang. The new land is dubbed 'Marege' by the king.

The Tuma'bicara-butta dies of malaria. The warhawk Tuma'ilalang Toa, president of the Bate Salapang, is appointed as the new prime minister by the king, who is still young and inexperienced. The new Tuma'bicara-butta's reign will be marked by an increase in the powers of the Bate Salapang, but of growing conflict between the monarchical and noble factions in the council. War breaks out between Garassik and the Gowa-Tallok alliance.

North America:

January 1495: The Grand Council having highlighted the great distances that separate the various tribes, the Haudenosaunee vote to construct new roads connecting the Seven Nations and their neighbors.

April 1495: Construction begins on Great Peacemaker Road. It will run a north-south from Stadacona to southern Mohawk lands, and then broaden and improve the existing east-west route connecting the Five Nations.

June 1495: The Erie begin growing sumpweed and using fish-farming techniques that they learned from tribes to the west. With so many Haudenosaunee devoted to construction, the Erie see profit in trading food to the Seneca for furs.

South America:

1495-1496: Chief Kurepi marries a niece of the former chief, and a son is born. He is named Tupã. The Chief sets a precedence of naming Guaranís after their gods.

[Glen]

1496:

England:

{1496 September: Perkin Warbeck dies in 1495, and thus he does not stir trouble between Scotland and England; while tension remains on the border, the peace holds.}

1496 April 20: John Cabot departs from England heading West in search of 'Asia'.

1496 July 25: John Cabot returns to England after a successful journey to "Nor'Asia."

1496 August 1: John Cabot tells King Henry VII of his trip to "Nor'Asia." He proposes to the King that China must lie to the South along the coast. Henry VIIth gives support to an expanded second journey.

Portugal:

Manoel I marries Isabella of Asturias.

Benelux:

Jan of Cleve (duke of Cleve and count of Mark) and Wilhelm of Julich-Berg (duke of Julich and Berg and count of Ravensburg) make a deal to join their duchies to try to form a counterbalance against Burgundy. It was decided that Jan’s son Johan (who was born in 1490) will marry Wilhelm’s daughter Maria (who was born in 1491) in 1509 and will inherit the Duchies of Cleve, Julich and Berg and the counties of Mark and Ravensberg.

Holy Roman Empire:

Burgundy:

Philip of Burgundy marries Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, in Lier.

Piedmont Region:

As most of Europe's attention is drawn to the Holy Land, three nations seize the opportunity and seek to band together into a Northern Italian Pact. Negotiations begin in 1496.

Duchy of Savoy:

{1496 April 16: Charles II, Duke of Savoy, does not die.}

Spain:

Juan of Asturias marries Margaret of Austria, but on a trip through Salamanca he becomes ill. Fortunately for Juan, he is saved by a doctor who recently converted from Judaism. This leads their grateful Catholic majesties to make a rich gift to the University of Salamanca, which will enjoy heightened royal patronage, and in the life of which Juan will be heavily involved. Privately, it also makes Juan question the policy of his parents toward the Jews, and begins a long process of liberalization in Juan's thinking.

Scandinavia:

King Hans raises a large army and the navy is commandeered to sea. All Hansa ships found in Danish waters are obliged to supply the Kings ships with two able seamen. Among the troops raised are the Saxon Guards commanded by Junker Schlentz.

Eastern Europe:

Due to ongoing tensions and the weakening forces of the two nations, Vlad the Monk of Wallachia and Stephen of Moldavia call a conference between the two kingdoms. What results is a mutual defense pact and a blockade of the Ottoman border.

Ethiopia:

The mini civil war over in Ethiopia, King Aslander sends an Army north to help his Christian Brother in Alodi. Most of the troops sent are followers of the provincial strongmen, farther weakening them.

King Aslander has a son by his concubine; the son is named "Eon" after the great king from the 6th Century.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

The Ndongo-Matamba alliance is sealed with the only daughter of the Matamban king (and thus heir) to the eldest son of the Ndongolese king. Expansion into Ngoyo continues.

Timurid Empire:

February 14, 1496: An assassin, under the orders of the cabal, attempts to poison Babur in his sleep. What the assassin failed to notice was the dagger Babur had taken to sleeping with since his Ascension to the throne the year before, and the fact that Babur was a notoriously light sleeper. Once he entered the chambers of Babur, he awoke to see the assassin opening a bottle of poison. Babur immediately drew the dagger from under his pillow and in one swift motion, drove it directly through the heart of the assassin. It is with this gesture of self-defense that Babur uncovered his own strength as a leader. (Babur would not truly become a respected leader until he was driven out of his father's kingdom in 1500 and became ruler of Kabul in 1504).

After the killing of the would be assassin, Babur took it upon himself to uncover who had sent the assassin. After several of the members of the cabal were too careless and mentioned in passing their relationship to the assassin during court conversations, Babur began to systematically hunt down and kill those who attempted to kill him. Their deaths were not a public spectacle. Instead, Babur would enter their sleeping chambers by himself, and kill them in the way that they tried to kill him, with a bottle of poison in their sleep. With some of the married men with families, Babur would not only kill the male, but his wife and children as well, sometimes in gruesome manners used to frighten other members of the cabal out of hiding. By the end of the year, the 13 year old Babur had gone from being a frightened, naive leader who only ruled because of his father's death, to becoming a ruthless style of leader who used cruelty and violence to enforce his rule.

Indian Subcontinent:

March 1496: The Delhi Sultanate’s advisors report on several obvious ways to improve the civil service, tax collection, and the living standards of the common people. The Sultan accepts most of the proposals and takes an active role in carrying them out. This attention to the common people has made the Sultan enormously popular, so he continues to work on domestic affairs and not worry about the extensive resources that his brother Barbak is putting into the military, now the world’s largest south of the Himalayas.

The Deccan Sultanates are defeated by Tuluva Narasa Nayaka the Supreme General and Regent, under Narasimha Raya II of the Saluva Dynasty.

Majahapit:

The fleet heads south, and eventually reaches a large island. The waters are indeed rich with trepang. Going ashore, the sailors discover signs of recent activity. In fact, it seems as if the place was recently abandoned. The Macassan crewmen identify the remnants as being from Gowa. The crew explores along the coast, and meets up with some locals, who speak words in Macassan. They want to trade, which the crew gladly does. The crewmen also learn of the Yolgnu, and their fight against the newcomers. The ships are restocked, and head back to Majahapit to report.

The king is delighted by the tortoise shells, pearls and especially the trepang brought back. When he learns that the Macassans have been active in this new land, he can't sit idly by; A new bigger, stronger fleet begins construction. The King sees a possible friend and ally in the Yolgnu, and plans are made to seek them out....

Gowa:

At the start of the next trepang season, the first Macassan praus begin to arrive, cautiously, in Marege. Those which land in Yolgnu territory are attacked. Some other tribes, however, react in a friendly fashion. The first stocks of trepang are harvested and returned to Makassar, from where they are traded on to China. However, the land to the south does not yet gain much interest; there are still trepang stocks in Gowan waters, albeit diminishing rapidly, and Marege is too far away and too hostile to yet risk a business venture. The Garassik-Gowa war ends, with the burning of Garassik. The humiliated royals of Garassik return to their ruined city, and agree to accept vassal status to Gowa. The successful war solidifies the alliance between Gowa and Tallok, and grants the Bate Salapang much-needed influence over the king.

News of the new land takes time to disseminate; as such, no fleets are sent to Marege. The Yolgnu presume, falsely, that the invaders have been scared off.

China:

The tax reforms imposed the year before by the Hongzhi Emperor were beginning to take shape. Land taxes on the middle class were lowered 15%, while taxation of the upper crust gentry was increased 20% to balance out the revenue imbalance, and bring in extra revenue for the imperial government. Along with that, a more uniform system of business taxation was imposed, taxing the yearly revenue of the businesses that was liquid capital, while failing to mention the static capital (commodities) gained during the year.

Japan:

Political authority in the peripheral provinces is in the brink of collapse. In southern Shikoku and western Kyushu, many lords are seriously struggling to maintain their hegemony. However the situation is most volatile in the frontier provinces of northern Honshu, where regional lords have to contend with not only insurrection and rebellion, but the restless Ainu (indigenous people of Japan), who they have been slowly displacing and pushing northward.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi and his puppet-master Hosokawa Masamoto become increasingly distressed as more and more regions succumb to instabilities.

North America:

March 1496: The race to settle the empty lands heats up as the Erie begin an ambitious new settlement, Mahonik. With 1,000 adults, it is the largest of the new settlements.

December 1496: As the builders head to their hunting camps for the winter, the Stadacona and Mohawk are proud to have a crude path blazed all the way to each other’s border villages.

1496 June 12: John Cabot and his crew find land, which at the time they believe to be Northern Asia. John Cabot claims the land in the name of Henry VIIth. An abundance of fish in the area is noted.

South America:

A khipumaynac (khipu scribe/reader) begins using the khipu to record not only numbers, or act as a mnemonic aids, but also as a word. There are a series of binary choices (6 of them) plus 24 possible colors that together make up a word. Living in Cuzco he quickly influences the other scribes there and they also adopt this system. By 1500 over a hundred words are in use, most being important goods (potatoes, llamas, and quinoa) and people to owe it to.

1496 Summer: Chief Kurepi begins attacking Tupi villages in the hinterlands of the Great Forest, starting the conquering of the Tupi people and lands.

[Glen]

1497:

England:

1497 January: John Cabot's map of his first voyage is printed in Bristol, showing the northern coastline as 'Norasia'. Scholars to this day debate whether the spelling was intentional or a printing error.

1497 April 30: Cabot and a small fleet head out for his second journey to the west.

1497 August 30: Cabot's re-united fleet returns to England with word of a large waterway, which many begin to refer to as the Cabot, and the beaver pelts, which are viewed with great interest by Henry VIIth and Cabot's Bristol backers.

Portugal:

The decree to expel all Jews from Portugal is signed by King Manoel I.

Isabella of Asturias dies in childbirth; the baby is stillborn.

Upon the death of Isabella of Asturias, the decree is practically ignored and only a token effort to enforce it was made by the King. However, the existence of the decree allows for the church to begin making moves against Jews in Portugal. The church was willing to force baptism and conversion upon the Jews, but Manoel I tended to look the other way. The Portuguese still needed the Jews, as they filled a vital role in the running of the economy and without them havoc might ensue.

Mecklenburg:

Duke Magnus II von Mecklenburg sat in his castle and waited. Events were unfolding around him, and if he played his cards right, perhaps a Kingdom could be gained. His family had long claimed the throne of Norway, but could not take it. With the trouble between Denmark and Sweden, and the interference of the Hansa and Teutonic Knights, Magnus plotted how he might benefit. Letters were sent to the Hansa, The Swede Sten Sture, and the Grand Master of the Order, making overtures of alliance to each. He would gladly give up a Duchy to gain a Kingdom. So he waited for a response and plotted his future, raising what funds, men and ships he could.

Benelux:

Everhard van der Marck, the son of Robrecht I van der Mark, restarts the civil war in Liege and tries to succeed where his father and uncles have failed, become the bishop of Liege. The current bishop of Liege, Johan IX van Horn, is supported by Burgundy. The Duke of Guelders supports Everhard trying to limit the power of Burgundy in the region.

Milan:

Milan answers the call to redeem Jerusalem as well, though they send mostly money rather than soldiers.

Scandinavia:

The Danish army is transported to Scania.

After having been recognized King of Sweden in 1483, but not yet crowned, Hans finally looses patience in 1497 and enters Sweden with a strong army under command of the skilled Junker Thomas Schlentz and incl. several German mercenaries.

Sten Sture's army is decisively defeated at Rotebro on 28. September 1497 and flees into Stockholm castle. Siege is laid on Stockholm which surrenders on 6th of October 1497. Sture now now has to recognize Hans as King of Sweden (incl. Finland) and Hans is crowned.

Svante Nilsson attacks the Russian fortress of Ivangorod on the Nava. The fortress is destroyed. A truce is made with Russia. Svante Nilsson joins the nobility against Sten Sture and on March 7. the Swedish Council of the Realm depose Sten Sture as Regent.

Muscovy:

Sudebnik of 1497 is slightly changed from article 57, (which requires a peasant to pay his lord a certain fee in the week before or the week after St. George's day if he is to have the right to move elsewhere) to removing the fee but stipulating that peasants could ONLY move during the week before and after the Fall St. George's day, and with permission of both Landowners. While the Law doesn't require the fee, many Landlords demand it in order for the Peasant to move. This allows more movement of peasants and increases settlement in the annex territories Ivan has claimed during his reign.

Eastern Europe:

As a show of a renewed effort of friendship, Radu and Bogdan, the heirs to the Wallachian and Moldavian thrones respectively take two daughters, Maria and Anne, of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid as their wives. The Ottoman blockade relaxes and Vlad allows free trade across Wallachian borders. Moldavia follows suit two months later.

Maghreb

Death of Muhammad Al-Maghili, a renowned theologian from Tlemcen. There are accusations of assassination, though nothing is ever proved.

Enough Moors have immigrated to the region south of Zarzis that it is being referred to as New Granada by Europeans. Due to the expulsion of Jews in Europe, Boabdil has also attracted a significant number of the Sephardic Jews from the old Granada, who still remember the tolerance of that nation. The presence of significant numbers of the Granadian army allows the Kingdom of Tiesliem to hold off annexation by Morocco.

A small war of supremacy breaks out between two tribes, the Kel Ahaggar and Kel Aijer.

Ethiopia:

King Aslander's warriors begin reporting about the hundreds of books and pieces of art in the old Byzantine churches being ""Liberated"" from the Berber/Arab Muslims.
Remembering the tales of Axum having had a copy of the famed Library of Alexandria, King Aslander orders as many as possible of these liberated books and art to be sent south to Ethiopia. This will be a ongoing project of the King for the rest of his Life. The King also begins hearing about the musketeers attached with the European forces. King Aslander sends a Letter to the King of Portugal requesting some Gunsmiths, to teach how to make these new weapons. He also requests some Soldiers to teach the use of these Muskets.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Though fighting a losing battle, the Ngoyolese offer to ally themselves with the Kakongolese. The Kakongolese, under a vassal to the King of Kongo (also overlord of Ndongo,) refuse.

The Ndongolese king, crown-prince, and nobles throughout Ndongo are baptized by Catholic missionaries from Kongo. The king is christened Emmanuel I, and his son Diego. The Matamban king refuses to be baptized, however, he reluctantly allows baptism for his daughter. She is christened Isabella. Various Matamban nobles are baptized as well.

Catholicism is spread in Matamba, but is not as readily received. Portuguese priests meet severe resistance in many desolate Matamban villages.

Timurid Empire:

With the events of the last year still fresh in his mind, Babur began the long, difficult process of solidifying his power base. Rather than attempting to draw support from the generals and high civilian leaders as his father had, Babur found that going to the leaders of the individual clans and tribes himself and working out deals face to face got him farther with them than going through middle men as his father and predecessors had. The concept of a council of elders, where the elders/leaders of the different tribes would come to Ferghana and meet with Babur to discuss important domestic issues, sprung forth in the next decade due to Babur's growing connections with the tribal leaders rather than the old gentry of generals, ministers, and imam's.

Also, Babur found out by the end of the year that many of his uncles were in the planning stages of a coup to remove him from his father's throne in a power grab. With these reports, Babur's paranoia, left over from the events of the last year of dealing with the cabal, grew larger and more prevalent in his decision making.

China:

In the two years since the firing of the 700 bureaucrats and the tax and bureaucratic reforms, government revenue was up nearly 30% compared to the 1493-94 fiscal year. The extra 30% revenue was poured into new infrastructure development, namely the renovation of the great wall, but also the creation of new trade networks into Korea.

Indian Subcontinent:

January 1497: Barbak Shah Lodhi makes his quest for glory by launching a mission to re-conquer the ancient Lodhi homeland in Afghanistan. His army is massive – surely not the “Seven Lakh Army” that history will record, but at least 150,000 men and 1200 elephants.

January 9, 1497: Barbak gets off to a strong start by steamrolling the unsuspecting, tiny principality of Thanesar.

February 7-20, 1497: The Battle of Lahore sets the tone for Barbak’s War – bloody. At least 20,000 die, and Barbak celebrates his “victory” by burning Lahore. This inhuman tactic works: minor tribes from all around the Panjab pledge their entire armies to Barbak, fearing that any lesser show of loyalty will lead to their own destruction.

March-April 1497: The First Battle of Peshawar. Barbak meets his first real resistance here, and the battle ends in a stalemate. 25,000 die, and Peshawar earns its nickname, “KhunsnaCity”, or The Spiteful City.

May 4, 1497: Aladdin Husain, Sultan of Bengal, marches across the undefended eastern Lodhi border.His troops move quickly and loot indiscriminately.

May 19, 1497: Barbak circles back and conquers Multan, hoping to march back toward the new Bengali threat. His army soars to its apex, an unwieldy 250,000 men – but his enemies are growing, too.

May 24, 1497: Gondwana and Berar, fearing that Bengal will emerge as the new dominant power, send troops to defend the eastern Lodhi border. Local nobles take up arms as well, and some of the fighting moves into the cities – a rarity in Indian warfare. Aladdin Husain fumes that he will kill every nobleman who had sworn allegiance to the Lodhis.

June 1497: Several Pashtun armies in India commit to the “Lahore Vengeance”, as do many small tribes to the north.

June 1497: Rana Raimal calls his sons and cousins back from their semi-exiles. The Rana rewards them by giving them ministerial control over various domestic affairs – but in following with his advisor Ajja’s counsel, none has power independent of the others. He then sets out to win support among the other Rajput principalities for a “Grand Rajputana Army” under his command.

June 9 - July 23, 1497: The Massacre at Mathura. An ordinary battle turns into a total nightmare as several armies switch sides, and finally, the Monsoon and the ensuing disease kills off most of the remaining soldiers. At least 250,000 die, but rumors spread of 700,000 dead, perhaps in reference to the “Seven Lakh Army.” Among the dead are the Sultan of Berar Fath-Allah, the Sultan of Gujarat, and Sultan of Bengal Aladdin Husain. The Bengali and Berar armies are broken from death and desertions, but the Delhi Sultanate fares even worse. Barbak Shah Lodhi is forced to flee to the north.

July 4, 1497: Rana Raimal recruits soldiers from the last holdout Rajput principality. Most nations are represented only by token forces who fight without the approval of their leader, but Raimal is still fairly justified in his boast that he was done the impossible and united the Rajputs in one month.

July 23, 1497 – January 23, 1498: Guru Nanak Dev, saddened by the suffering at Mathura, spends 6 months meditating on the battlefield, almost motionless even as clergy and workers bury bodies all around him and turn the battlefield into a graveyard.

July 25, 1497: Rana Raimal’s Grand Rajputana Army, which had been quietly watching from a nearby town while the Massacre at Mathura unfolded, finally declare war on the Delhi Sultanate and capture Mathura. The contrast of the repugnant fields of death and decay with the joy of the Mathura people, whose food and water supplies had been running low, will become the subject of art and literature for countless generations.

August 5-15, 1497: The Second Battle of Peshawar spells the end of the Lodhi Dynasty. Barbak dies on the 14th in a blaze of glory, with a desperate final charge in which 80,000 soldiers die.

August 11, 1497: Rana Raimal and marches on Delhi, collecting Rajput and other Hindu vassals along the way. Sultan Sikandar is helpless to defend himself, and Delhi is a Hindi city for the first time in 300 years. In a gesture that no educated Indian could mistake, his son Prithviraj actually leads the troops back into Delhi.

September 1497: Rana Raimal invites all of his sons’ religious teachers to Delhi, and has them jointly coronate him as the Rajamaharana Raimal I of Rajputana and Bhārata. His son Prithviraj is named Raj Prithviraj IV of Delhi.

September 1497: Acting quickly before they can rebuild their troops, Sangramsingh leads a small contingent to conquer the chaotic Bengali Sultanate, while Rawat Sarangdeo leads another contingent of troops into Berar. Otherwise, the armies are sent home to recuperate.

China:

April 1497: The Hongzhi Emperor dispatches invitations to the leaders of several regional kingdoms, and much larger kingdoms, all over Eastern and Central Asia, to come to the imperial palace to celebrate the birth of his second son, Zhu Houcong, and give tribute to the emperor in return for the emperor graciously opening up the imperial palace in two year's time.

Southeast Asia:

Le Thanh Tong leads an attack on Champa and conquers it. {Le Thanh Tong doesn't die.}

Australia:

The leader of the Arrente dies and a new one takes over this time urging consolation with the other tribes as they are part one big family effectively - of the Arrente “Federation”.

At the start of the next trepang season, the first Macassan praus begin to arrive, cautiously, in Marege. Those which land in Yolgnu territory are attacked. Some other tribes, however, react in a friendly fashion. The first stocks of trepang are harvested and returned to Makassar, from where they are traded on to China. However, the land to the south does not yet gain much interest; there are still trepang stocks in Gowan waters, albeit diminishing rapidly, and Marege is too far away and too hostile to yet risk a business venture.

Oceania:

Nan Madol:

Relaying a message from the nahnmwarki to the people, the Nahnken ordered construction to begin on another of the pyramid-like volcanic structures.

North America:

The Nipmucs to the west, theoretically allies to both sides in the Narragansett-Wampanoag conflict, hold back the Narragansett from launching a second great raid. As rumors spread, a couple Massacusett tribes pledge to support the Wampanoag if they are attacked again.

February 1497: Although it taxes their economy, the Susquehanna begin to make a show of strength and expand the trails along the Susquehanna River and up into Haudenosaunee and Wyoming lands. Only a few years ago, the Haudenosaunee Council would have interpreted this as a threat, but in light of recent events, they see that the Susquehanna are silently signaling that they are ready to go in for the kill and split the lands between their two nations.

April 1497: Workers on Great Peacemaker Road begin laying down logs and gravel.

1497 June 21: John Cabot and his fleet find a promising waterway near their original landfall, and split a small group off to explore it while the main fleet follow the coast south.

1497 July 10: Cabot makes contact with the Lenape near the head of a large river he names the Meryk river, after one of his major sponsors. Cabot trades for samples of beaver pelt.

November 1497 – The Mohawk approach the Mohican about broadening the Mohawk Trail so that the Mohicans and Wampanoag can trade more easily with the Haudenosaunee (and, in the lands beyond, the Erie).

An Alibamu chief named in later legends Hassi Locha (Black Grass) convenes a meeting with the Kosaatiha and hammers out what could be described as a defense pact/military alliance. The Albaamaaha and Kosaatiha call up quite a few younger men and launch what comes to be called the Pasaaya (A Loud Noise) on the nearby towns and territories that are not allied to them, often these are just simple enough raids.

[Glen]

1498:

England:

1498 May 10: John Cabot's third journey to Norasia gets a later start compared to his previous journeys.

1498 September 10: Cabot and his ships finally reach England after a rough journey home in which two ships were lost to storms.

France:

1498-1510: King Charles VIII of France dies. He is succeeded by his son, Charles Orlando. A regency is established under his mother, Queen Anne of Brittany. Charles Orlando is tutored by many French humanists in the Renaissance tradition. As Regent, the Queen successfully keeps France out of major conflict, and was able to prepare an acceptable court for her son, the King. When faced with the Burgundian/Anti-Burgundian conflict, the Queen placed France in a neutral position. However, it was well known as to how the French felt should the Burgundians attempt to expand into the French realm. The Queen-Regent's Court was very much a Renaissance Court, as the Queen introduced many new theories to the court, and even wrote a court etiquette manual.

Benelux:

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian makes Albrecht (the Elector of Saxony) governor of Friesland. The population of Friesland resists this appointment (as they never had a lord because of the traditional Frisian freedom) and are supported by Edzard, the count of East-Frisia, who hopes to add the area around the city of Groningen to his County.

Everhard van der Marck’s troops manage to capture the city of Liege and Johan van Horn. Worried by the prospect of an unfriendly neighbor and encouraged by the prospect of enlargement of his territories, Philip of Burgundy enters Liege with a large force and manages to defeat the troops of Everhard. Everhard is captured in the process. Johan van Horn was restored as bishop, but the county of Loon, which was part of Liege since 1366, would be annexed by Burgundy. Philip was now the count of Loon.

Holy Roman Empire:

Philip, elector count Palatine, gives his daughter Elizabeth in marriage to Frederick III, elector of Saxony. Duke Frederick marries Elizabeth, daughter of Philip the Count Palatine.

Johann of Baden succumbs to an illness.

Oldenburg:

Count Adolph of Oldenburg dies. He is succeeded by John XIV.

Piedmont Region:

1498 Spring:A treaty forming the North Italy Pact is signed.

Milan:

Leonardo da Vinci publishes several treatises on various subjects, including anatomy, mechanical engineering and the mechanics of flight.

Naples:

The King of Naples offers a large sum of gold to Spain in return for the island of Sicily.

Papal States:

A new Duchy of Romagna led by the Pope’s son, Giuffre is pronounced.

Scandinavia:

King Hans issues a declaration which says that every Danish student must commence studies at Copenhagen University for three years before going to study at any foreign University. The Copenhagen University has an excellent staff of professors and has no lack of students.

Ottoman Empire:

1498 Fall: Bayezid embarks on the hajj, dining with regional nobles and notables on the road to Mecca. Bayezid falls ill and dies as he is making his return from completing the hajj. Selim, closest to Constantinople, grabs the throne; most of his brothers are already dead from battle and disease, but Selim orders the death of every surviving brother, save for Korkud, whose loyalty Selim considers to be beyond question.

To mark the coronation, a sailor brings to Constantinople something he has found and wrapped with the greatest of care: a relic he claims is the hand of John the Baptist, found abandoned in a cave.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

The Matamban and Ndongolese kings begin to plan to offer to ally the soon-to-be-united land of Ndongo-Matamba with Kongo and a Ndongolese princess, in return for releasing Ndongo from vassalage.

The Matamban king is killed by a royal guardsman. It is widely thought this is the work of the Princess Isabella and the Catholic Matamban nobility. Regardless, she is crowned "Isabella Ngala," as Queen of the Matambans. She renews the alliance with her father-in-law, now Emmanuel I of Ndongo.

Shortly after her ascension, the Matambans attempt to rebel, demanding the expulsion of the white priests.

Indian Ocean Region:

Vasco Da Gama stops in Mobassa, when he begins to demand trade concessions, the Sultan has him, and his ship thrown out. He then proceeds to Melina where he hires a Pilot for the trip to south India.

Timurid Empire:

January-May, 1498: In a five month orgy of bloodshed and inter-familial violence, Babur dispatches four of his uncles who were involved in the plot to overthrow him to take power for themselves, as well as laying siege to, sacking, and burning many cities, towns, and villages where his uncles held sway among the population. It is said that in several villages high in the mountains, none were left alive to tell the gruesome tale of slaughter to relief expeditions mounted by Babur's uncles, leaving only empty villages filled with frozen corpses in the winter to mark the trail of death and destruction Babur blazed to secure his legitimacy. By the end of May 1498, Babur had killed three of the four uncles involved in the plot, and had driven the last uncle and his pitiful, starving band out of Ferghana and into the Taklamakan Desert in western Turkestan.

June-December 1498: In the wake of his successful quelling of civil insurrection lead by close family members, Babur began to solidify his power base in Farghana in preparation for possible expansion west and south into the areas under the control of Samarkand, as well as Husayn Bayqarah in Herat. However, while Babur's plans for expansion and conquest in line with Timur's founding of the Timurid Empire are realistic and possible, the long term emotional and psychological effects of his struggles to survive on the throne have yet to fully manifest in his outward actions. Within his personal thoughts, however, Babur is beginning to show signs of increasing paranoia and delusions that members of his court are plotting behind his back. These ideas are made apparent in his journal entries of the time, with his repeated paranoid rants that include, "...should my father have been alive, I am sure he would have enjoyed the slaughter of his unfaithful brothers and uncles...there are those within the court who I believe would follow in their footsteps, I will be sure to guard my flanks against any threats to my legitimacy...I will not make the same mistake twice." These paranoid rants will become more and more frequent as the years go by and will seize control over his every waking moment, turning into an obsession that controlled his actions in the decade leading up to his death.

Indian Sub-Continent:

January 1498: Rajamaharana Raimal I launches two major policy initiatives. One is to follow all of the recommendation of Sultan Sikandar’s survey. The other is a tax on all Muslims, akin to the tax that the Sultanate once placed on all non-Muslims.

Heartbroken by the stunning reversal of fortunes, many first-generation Muslims living under Rajamaharana Raimal I move back home. For those who have lived in India for generations, though, relocation hardly seems a viable prospect. These Muslims find consolation in an unlikely source: Royal Guru Nanak Dev. The Great Guru has developed a new form of Hinduism that recognizes many of the most sacred tenets of Islam. From a Guru who was less wise than Nanak Dev, or who had less Royal favor, this might be considered double heresy. Instead, the practice of “Vāhigurū Sikh” spreads rapidly.

1498 May 20: Vasco Da Gama arrives in Calicut, India. Sometimes violent negotiations with the local ruler (usually anglicized as Zamorin), the Wyatt Enourato ensued, in the teeth of resistance from Arab merchants. Eventually Gama was able to gain an ambiguous letter of concession for trading rights, but had to sail off without warning after the Zamorin insisted da Gama leave all his goods as collateral. Vasco da Gama kept his goods, but left a few Portuguese with orders to start a trading post.

Australia:

The Yolgnu convene a meeting, or corroborree, to discuss the issue of 'the invaders'. In their first contact, the Macassans attempted to kidnap three Yolgnu women, sparking a skirmish. The various headmen of the Yolgnu bands agree to a policy of 'total resistance'. They will attempt to drive off the Macassans with a policy of hostile force. A small number of Macassan ships arrive in Marege, but steer clear of the Yolgnu. However, the large profits from their ventures bring the nation to the full attention of merchants in Makassar.

North America:

English fishing fleets begin traveling to the fishing grounds in Norasia discovered by Cabot.

1498 March: Sunflowers begin growing alongside the Great Peacemaker Road. The workers had been eating sunflower seeds in large quantities while working, hence the sprouting flowers. The Haudenosaunee decide to cultivate the roadside plants, so that travelers on the Road will always have an emergency food source.

March, 1498: In response to the threat of the Mohawk, the L'nuk (Micmac) push westward along the Gespedeg ("last acquired") Peninsula and begin intensively scouting and fortifying the borderlands. The Grand Chief of the L'nu has been paying close attention to developments among the Haudenosaunee and gathers with the sakmowk of all seven L'nu districts to decide what to do. They decide to call for a large-scale conference of all five allied nations of the Waponahkiyik Confederacy at their meeting place of Mniku at Pitu'pok.

April, 1498: The Waponahkiyik Confederacy gathers at Mniku to form a stronger alliance, which they all agree upon. It is then that the leaders of the other four nations also take a strong interest in the logographic mnemonic device used by the L'nuk in their learning, and see a potential in it. For the next few months, work will be done developing a crude writing system based on Lnuísimk "hieroglyphics".

During an extended fishing trip, a Manisses party discovers land approximately 12 miles east-southeast of their island, and see it is inhabited by a strange tribe they have never met.

June 1498: After tense negotiations, Stadacona agrees to let the English set up a trading post. They choose a location just upriver from the island on which the major Stadacona settlement lies. It is called Fort Venture, and the mixed English-Iroquoian settlement that develops around it is called "Red Slope (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap-Rouge%2C_Quebec)."

1498 June: John Cabot negotiates with the Lenape to set up a trading post on the island he visited his last trip there. It is named Fort Henry, in honor of the King. Meanwhile, his ships explore up the waterway at the head of the island, encountering another tribe willing to trade, the Mohegans.

[Glen]

1499:

England:

King Henry VII proclaims that no weapon may be sold or traded in Norasia without the recipient pledging loyalty to the English Crown.

1499 February: A revised version of Cabot's map showing more extensive cartography is printed, though the name 'Norasia' remains.

Saxony:

Elizabeth bears her first son, christened Ernest Frederick. Frederick of Saxony dotes on his young wife, and his son. Meanwhile his brother John is considering joining the Teutonic order.

Naples:

King Alphonso of Naples commissions a fleet of ten carracks and five caravels.

King Alphonso agrees to open ports and enter a exclusive trade agreement with the Hanseatic league.

A school for engineering, history, philosphy, law and natural philosphy is established in Messina.

Scandinavia:

1499 May 29: Hans' son Christian is recognized as heir to the throne of Sweden (and the Union).

The Ditmarschen support the Archbishop of Bremen in conflict with King Hans and plunder Ejdersted. In reparations King Hans demand 15000 marks and right to build three castles in Ditmarschen.

Eastern Europe:

Russia and Livonia go to war over demands for back taxes and the closing of the Hansa office in Novgorod.

Ivan’s daughter Helena, Alexander of Poland/Lithuania comes to visit him and try and talk him out of attacking her husband, instead offering to sell a portion of the lands that Ivan claimed where Russian and also promising not to intervene in any war with Livonia and in exchange they would get Courland and Semigallia.

Russia contacts the Kalmar Union about a partition of Livonia. It is decided that the Union will take Estonia, but Estonia will be added onto the Duchy of Finland, ruled by Duke Sten Sture, under the sovereignty of the Kalmar Union.

Maghreb:

The Kel Ahaggar and Kel Aijer tribes end the fighting against each other and instead agree to work together to take advantage of the gold reserves; a very small tax was put on the gold.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Mbanza Ngoyo, the Ngoyolese capital, is captured, along with its king. The victorious Ndongolese and Matamban forces present the king and captured treasures to King Emmanuel of Ndongo at the Ndongolese capital of Kabasa. King Emmanuel proclaims Diego and Isabella as 'Lords of the Ngoyolese'.

Prince João-Baptista of Ndongo, Son of King Emmanuel, sets off for Europe aboard Portuguese ships, along with Queen Isabella of Matamba's uncle, Prince Fernando-Kiluanje of Matamba.

Timurid Empire:

Plans are finalized by Babur and his trusted generals to march on Samarkand and kill off his greatest perceived rival, Muhammad Shaybani, khan of the Uzbeks. These plans are part of a greater strategy put together by Babur and his generals to first regain control of Samarkand, then to march on Herat and Kabul, seizing control over the largest cities of the Afghan area, and setting Babur up for an eventual march on Baluchistan or Persia, depending on what he feels would be the better option.

China:

The imperial renovation of the Badaling section of the Great Wall, just north of the capital city of Beijing, has become an effort of pride for many of the imperial workers. It is said that when the final stone was laid down atop the guard tower to the far eastern zone of the Badaling section in early January, a single cherry blossom landed atop the tower on the last stone placed. This symbolic event, while most probably just a myth, shows the great promise of prosperity and hope that the Hongzhi Emperor brought to the Chinese people.

Japan:

The Ainu, recognizing the increasing inability of the Shogunate to maintain control, launch offensives into Mutsu and Dewa provinces. Towns are raided and prisoners are taken. The Shogunate responds with a plan for a campaign to drive the Ainu out. However, regional lords in Mutsu and Dewa are the ones who show the initiative, recognizing the ineffectiveness of the Shogunate.

The Akita clan of northern Dewa and the Nambu clan of northern Mutsu each gather an army to repel the Ainu warriors and 'drive them north into the sea'. Forming an alliance, they move swiftly and aggressively to rebuff the threat. By the end of the year, the combined armies have forced the Ainu back as far as the Oga peninsula.

A Ryukyuan merchant fleet is forced ashore on Taiwan by bad weather, where they are forced to stay for several days after many of their ships are wrecked in the storm. The merchants attempt to trade with the local aborigines for the resources they need to repair their ships, but after apparently violating a local law some of the sailors are attacked by the locals and a violent skirmish ensues, ending with the slaughter of many of the sailors. Survivors flee in what ships can be salvaged and return to Ryukyu. Upon hearing of the news, Ryukyuan king Sho shin vows revenge.
He commissions an embassy to China requesting that Ming authorities bring the restless natives to justice.

Southeast Asia/Australasia:

Vietnam begins a period of settlement in the new Champas region.

Following a particularly good trading year (perhaps sparked by what is happening in Brunei), the ruler of Sulu proposes to the ruler of Maguindanao that the two groups should cooperate in trading with the Chinese who come to the north islands, the better to profit from them. The offer is turned down, at least for the moment.

This year sees a massive rise in the number of Macassan ships arriving off the coast of Marege. The Gunbalang nation, willing to cooperate with the newcomers, sign a treaty with Macassan fishermen: in exchange for trade goods, they will provide labour for the Macassans and allow the construction of temporary camps on their land. Some other Aboriginal tribes follow suit; most others, however, remain cautiously indifferent.

Three praus (Macassan fishing ships) attempt to fish in Yolgnu waters. They are attacked by Yolgnu fishermen. Over two dozen Macassans are killed, and their boats are destroyed.

North America:

Over a year after the original gathering, the Waponahkiyik Confederacy meets at the largest settlement of the Abenaki, Norrigewock, to sign their first written constitution, outlining a stronger political alliance between the five nations that elects a representative government similar to the Haudenosaunee.

August 1499: Great Peacemaker Road is complete.

December 1499: Border skirmishes break out along the Wyoming Valley.

[Glen]

1500:

Great Britain:

England and Scotland agree to a treaty of peace, with Mary Rose Tudor promised in marriage to James IV of Scotland.

England:

1500 Summer: Prince Arthur of England falls ill, suffering from sweating spells. He has a long but full recovery. During his convalescence, he wiles away the time reading through the newest edition of Le Morte D'Arthur.

Prince João-Baptista visits England, travelling with a Portuguese diplomatic delegation. Most of the English find him exotic, but keep their distance. An exception is young Prince Arthur, who still convalescing from his prolonged illness, spends much time with the visiting prince and is entranced by his tales of the jungle lands of Africa.

Spain:

1500 Summer: Prince João-Baptista is received briefly with the Spanish Court. The Spanish are somewhat impressed with his show of piety, though many have difficulty seeing him as much more than a dark Moor.

Juan and Margaret's first son, Ferdinand, is born.

Using the gold which they received from the sale of Sicily to Naples, the Spanish outfit Columbus with a moderately-sized flotilla, instructing him to sail to the new world. Columbus sets out, planning to map the Caribbean.

Building on the cores of veterans from the reconquista and the campaign against the Mameluke, Spain begins expanding it's army and navy. Though they will have great success in both these areas, Spain's financial situation will worsen greatly as a result.

Portugal:

{Bartholomeu Dias’ ship is not wrecked off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope.}

1500 April: HRH Prince João-Baptista arrives at the Portugese Court.

Negotiations with England on the issue of a new wife for Manoel I come to a close as they agree that Manoel I will marry Margaret Tudor in 1502.

Pedro Alvares Cabral sets sail for India, there are no problems in the voyage. Cabral, using his superior weapons and soldiers, manages to get trading concessions out of the rulers of Sofala (Mozambique), Kilwa (Tanzania), and Melinde (Kenya). Cabral then arrives in India. The larger amount of ships allows for him to make demands upon the ports he arrives at. Calicut and Cochin accept trading agreements, but Calicut is displeased with the actions of the Portuguese while Cochin warmly welcomes the Portuguese.

Holy Roman Empire:

In 1500, Maximilian I finds his newly acquired Emperorship already slipping away as the southern parts of the Empire, Switzerland and Tyrol, begin to seem out of hand. Frustrated, he orders one of his generals to take 4,500 men to the border of the Swiss Confederacy, while he himself takes a larger army into Tyrol. In Tyrol, he allows his troops to do as they please, something which alienates the locals - soon what little support he had in that region is evaporating, and the Tyrolians are calling for Switzerland to come to their aid. At the same time, Heinrich Schneider is getting out of hand, acquiring more and more support, while at the same time becoming more and more extreme in his views. When he issues a sermon that seems highly critical of the local bishop, and that sermon is greeted by cheers from a huge crowd, the bishop and the conventional clergy begin to become nervous. As some low ranking priests begin to join Heinrich Schneider in his views, his support within the local nobility begins to weaken. However, by that point he no longer needs that support - on November 14th 1500, soldiers are sent to arrest him under the orders of the city government. The soldiers arrive at the church he was in, and are met by a huge crowd. They say that they were sent to get Father Schneider and bring him to speak to the city government, but the crowd does not believe them. As they nervously hesitate, the inspiration of the crowd speaks - he calls for the Restoration of the Church to the position of moral purity that it had once had. The crowd listens, and rapidly becomes a mob - it attacks the soldiers, killing many of them, and in moments the survivors are in flight.

While the revolt in Wien is by no means widespread, it does take control of the city - when the followers of Father Schneider seem certain to triumph over the garrison, a large portion of the garrison switches sides.

Hearing of the situation in Wien, Maximilian I is caught indecisive - he hesitates for a week, then orders most of his army in the Tyrol back to the north, to besiege Wien. He himself joins that force, and ensures that it consists of most of his best troops.

Burgundy:

In Ghent the first son of Philip of Burgundy is born, he is named Charles named after his greatgrandfather Charles the Bold.

In light of the events in Liege Charles of Egmond (duke of Guelders), Jan of Cleve (Duke of Cleves/Mark) and Wilhelm of Julich-Berg meet in Arnhem to create an alliance as a counterbalance against Burgundy. At this meeting are also representatives of Frisia and of Oversticht. The bishop of Utrecht (Frederick of Baden), who is a strong supporter of Burgundy, was not amused the representation of oversticht, which belongs to his Bishopric.
Charles of Egmond had tried to add Rene, the Duke of Lorraine, who was married to his sister, to this alliance, but even though he was sympathetic, he was not interested in joining.

Trier:

1500: Jacob of Baden is appointed to the bishopric held by his uncle. His tenure is unremarkable and brief, clouded with accusations of nepotism.

Saxony:

Frederick, duke of Ernestine Saxony, founds a University at Wittenberg, at which a young miner's son named Martin Luther will study and teach cannon law and theology.

Italian Peninsula:

Gian Galeazzo Sforza dies from sickness. He is succeeded by his son Francesco Sforza as tititular Duke of Milan. His mother Isabella of Naples hold the real power as regent. Milan and Naples move much closer together due to their bloodline relations.


1500 Summer: HRH Prince João-Baptista is granted a brief audience with His Holiness the Pope.

Prince Alphonso of Naples has a boy with his wife Maria Christina. He is named Philip.

Leonardo Da Vinci moves to Messina to become a professor at the Messina Academy. He teaches a wide variety of subjects including engineering, anatomy and natural philosophy.

Muscovy:

Upon hearing of the letter the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent to the Pope, Spain and Naples proposing being crowned Caesar as a successor to Rome, Ivan writes the Following to the Sultan:

To Selim Ibn-Bayezid Sultan of the Ottoman Empire,

I must object to your claim as the successor to Rome, and appeal that this coronation does not go through as I, Tsar Ivan III claim this title based on my marriage to Zoe Palaiologina (Sophia Paleologue) niece of Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. I demand that I be recognized as such, my son Vasili be placed as Co-Regent of Constantinople, and you impose strict restrictions on your vassal the Meñli I Giray, Khan of Crimea in his raids for slaves. In return, I will support your title as Caesar of the Mohammedans as long as my Son Vasili (and his descendants) remains as Co-Regent.

Tsar Ivan III

Egypt:

The Shia of Egypt flee in two major directions, and one minor direction. Most emigrate to Persia, some others head to Mamluk North Africa in the hopes of finding favorable rulers there, and a few families head deeper into Africa.

Subsaharan Africa:

Ndongo:

King Emmanuel I dies, and is succeeded by his son as "Diego I Ngola," King of the Ndongolese. The Macota, parallel to a European 'privy council', arrange with Matamban lords to have him crowned Ngola a Matamba, as well. His wife, however, the current queen-regnant refuses to surrender her power. The Matamban lords are outraged at her refusal to follow the traditions of marriage and of past Matamban queen-regnants; and they lead an uprising against her. She is imprisoned in Kabasa, while her husband is crowned king of the Matambans. She is released weeks after his coronation, and settles down as the royal consort. Few Matambans remain supportive of her cause.

Akkoyunlu (Mesopotamia/Persia):

1500 January 1: Safaviyeh's young leader, Ismail, is assassinated by a rival within the Sufi sect. Rumor has it that he was paid to do so by the Akkoyunlu, who were concerned about their strident brand Shi'a destabilizing their rule. Whether true or not, history has no doubt that this benefited the Akkoyunlu as the Safaviyeh were thrown into a intercine strife that would tear the movement apart in mere years.

Timurid Empire:

April 20, 1500: One week after the spring campaigning season opened, Babur lead an army of 27,000 men, mostly Mongol horsemen, footmen, archers, and a handful of men who wielded crude muskets who were either veterans of his campaigns two years prior to eliminate his disloyal relatives and members of the so-called, "cabal," or men who served under his relative's banners and came to his army instead, in an effort to bring Samarkand under his control.

On April 20, 1500, on the hills and grasslands outside of Samarkand, Babur engaged in combat against an army of equal or greater strength lead by his chief adversary, Muhammad Shaybani, khan of the Uzbeks. In a struggle lasting most of the day, no less than 65,000 men engaged in battle. The fight between Babur and Shaybani became a hand to hand struggle late in the day when the sun was beginning to set in the west. It is said that when Shayabani drew a bag of gunpowder to throw at the feet of Babur's horse, he proclaimed, "No man claiming lineage from the great Genghis Khan would stoop to such lows to secure victory!" With one swift motion, Babur removed the head of Shaybani with his sword, letting it fall to the ground, mouth still agape, before stabbing the head, raising it in the air, and screaming at the top of his lungs to the still battling armies, "Look how your bastard half-khan has faired in battle!"

While most did not bother to pay attention, within hours of this disasterous turn of events, the army of Muhammad Shaybani dissolved under the directed pressures of Babur's repeated cavalry charges and cleaver use of his small number of musket armed men in tangent with archers to scare the enemy horses as well as drive gaping holes in their defenses.

It is said that as day turned to night and as the forces of Shaybani either fled to the hills or surrendered to Babur's army, the crescent moon rose over the cupola of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built by Timur in 1404. With this, Babur declared, "It is the will of Timur and the past leaders of the Mongol people that I should have this day as mine to celebrate this glorious victory!"

Afterwards, Babur entered the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and prayed for the first, and only, time in his life. Close advisors to Babur would claim in later decades that his prayers were only of one thing, that Allah would bless his armies in all their campaigns in the future and would see fit that it would be his rule from a throne in Samarkand that would be the litigating factor in Earthly politics with his authority answerable only to the will of Allah and the will of Timur.

The last effort which Babur undertook on this day was to take the severed head of Muhammad Shaybani and place it in a box of salt to keep it safe and remind him of what must be done to secure that which he wanted most, power.

May-December 1500: In the wake of his successful capture of Samarkand, Babur's securing of his domain takes a brutal toll on the subjects of Samarkand who still held loyalty to the fallen Khan, Muhammad Shaybani. Those who refused to submit to Babur's authority, most of whom were more wealthy landowners, were killed outright, without any warning. The family of those landowners killed had their familial rights of inheritence stripped of them, their wealth was taken, and their land and wealth was distributed amongst the peasant farmers who lived on and worked the land, some for generations on end. Finally, the bodies of the landowners were decapitated, the heads placed on pikes outside their homes and their bodies thrown to wild animals to be devoured as a warning to all those who would oppose his domain over the lands.

These actions may be seen as being revolutionary for the time, however Babur carried with him alternate motives. He needed a strong power base in Samarkand and the surrounding regions to have legitimacy in his rule, and to eliminate any future threats from the peasantry. With the peasantry behind him, the greater majority by numbers, the elites would have little choice but to fall in line and agree with his rule.

With the placating of Samarkand by the end of 1500, Babur began planning his next moves: The conquests of Herat and Kabul.

Indian Subcontinent:

1500 June: Repairs are finished in the battle-scarred areas of Bhārata. Work still continues, however, on a monument at the Mathura Battlefield. Raimal has made a daunting request – the monument must rejoice in how the Muslim nations’ misfortunes allowed the Rajputs to rise to prominence, but also reflect the sadness of the great loss of life; it must commemorate the Great Guru’s now-famous meditation, but not imply that the empire endorses any particular religion.

Pedro Álvares Cabral arrives in Calicut, and finding that those at the trading post had been murdered, and encountering further resistance, bombards Calicut. After, he sails south of Calicut to reach Cochin, a small kingdom where he was given a warm welcome. He also brought back silk and gold to prove he had been to India once again.

Australia:

The fifth year since the discovery of Marege sees the largest fleet of praus exploring Marege's waters yet. Amongst these is a pearling fleet, which explores the coast of Kai Djawa, setting up temporary pearling camps along the coast. The local Aboriginal people are cautious, but avoid conflict.

In Marege, more Aboriginal tribes sign treaties with the Macassan invaders, allowing for the construction of trepanging camps on their land for up to six months at a time. The people of Marege not only provide labour for the Macassans but also supply tortoise-shell, pearls and pearl-shell. Tribute payments are made as well to local Aboriginal groups for the right to fish in their waters. In exchange, the people of Marege obtain dugout canoes with sails and stone anchors, bronze fish hooks, harpoons with detachable heads, iron, iron knives and axes, glass, pipes, cloth in the form of calico and wool, belts, beads, string, alcohol and some foods. In some cases, local leaders are taken back to Makassar, where they are paraded before the karaeng.

East Asia:

Death of Emperor Go-tsuchimikado. He is succeeded by Emperor Go-kashiwabara. By now the imperial court is in such financial ruin that they can't even afford a burial for the late Emperor befitting his divine status.

Following the reply of the Ming Emperor to the Ryukyuan requests of 1497, Ryukyuan naval and land forces embark for Taiwan to contribute to the occupation of that island. Since the incident that sparked the tensions (two years since the Ming reply), the Ryukyuan navy has been expanded to a size able to protect Ryukyuan interests.

At the death of the Japanese Emperor Go-tsuchimikado, and the subsequent ascension of the Emperor Go-kashiwabara, Ryukyuan King Sho shin commissions an embassy of tribute to sponsor improved relations with the secondary trading partner of the archipelago kingdom. The Japanese Imperial court is very pleasantly surprised at the lavishness of the Ryukyuan embassy, and express their wishes for closer ties between the two nations.

Ryukyuan King Sho shin has increased royal influence across the archipelago, expanding the army and placing outposts on all major islands north to south. Previously Ryukyu had been very Okinawa-centric. The Taiwan incident has changed that thinking.

North America:

Norasia:

A Manisses lookout spots a strange cloud formation on the horizon, moving seemingly against the wind straight for his island. As it comes closer, he can see it appears to be more of a moving mountain than a cloud formation. He runs and alerts the chief, who meets a smaller boat that comes ashore on the crescent beach. He has met the Cabot-led English Fleet.

1500-1502:

John Cabot, accompanied by his son, Sebastian, sets out for his most ambitious journey yet with a small fleet. Cabot intends to sail south until he finds China.

The early part of the journey goes smoothly as the fleet retraces the route of previous journeys down the coast of Norasia. They discover a major bay to the South, making note and heading further south. Eventually, they find that their journey South is ended without hitting China. Determined, John Cabot continues hugging the coast and finds that they have rounded a peninsula. Heading west now along the continental coast, they find a large river rivaling the Meryk, but still no clear sign of the wonders of China. Eventually the coast curves to the south once more. Finally, they begin to encounter a complex civilization that John Cabot believes could be China. However, they possess no silk nor porcelain, and use sharp obsidian glass rather than steel. Eventually, they reluctantly decide that this can not be China. Obsessed, Cabot pushes the crews further South until they need to make repairs after a tropical storm. Some of the crew, including young Sebastian, take the opportunity to explore inland. To their surprise, they discover another ocean, which Sebastian Cabot names after the Prince of Wales, the Arthurian Ocean. John Cabot comes to believe that they are on another peninsula, and they attempt to round it, but the land curves away to the East. After several hundreds of miles, John Cabot reluctantly admits that they are not in Asia, and that China must still lie beyond yet another continent and possibly even another ocean. Reluctantly, the ships turn back. John Cabot dies of fever on the long journey back, and his son takes command, leading them back. Eventually, they return to England, with incredible tales and exotic trade goods and much more complete charts of the New World, but still no route to China.

1500 January: The Haudenosaunee warriors generally outclass the Wyoming in battle, but the winter forces them to retreat.

March 1500: Encouraged by the Stadacona's excellent relationship with the English, the Hochelega eagerly allow a trading post near their settlement. The crew quickly settles on a magnificent natural harbor (http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/plaque/horizon/eng/ruptura.htm). It is originally known as Fall Line, for being located as far inland as any oceangoing ship can reach. Later, when word of John Cabot's death reaches the crew, they change the name to Cabot Harbor.

1500 September: The Cayuga and Onondaga fortify their camps in the Wyoming Valley. These are the beginnings of the towns of Wagyeh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkes-Barre,_Pennsylvania) and Swadyeh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scranton,_Pennsylvania). The population growth in the homelands ensures that these camps are well populated from the beginning.

1500 December: The Susquehanna attack the Wyoming from the south while the Cayuga and Onondaga attack from their fortified camps. The Wyoming are expelled. Most bands flee deep into the western mountains, but some become absorbed into the Susquehanna and Haudenosaunee settlements; these people become known as the Scahentoarrhonons. The Susquehanna in particular make use of them to populate the burgeoning farm belt just south of the Wyoming Valley.

[Glen]

1501:

England:

1501 August: Arthur Prince of Wales marries Catherine of Aragon.

Navarre:

John and Catherine's first son, christened Andres Febo DAlbrett, is born.

Portugal:

Cabral returns to Portugal with 11 of his 13 ships. Richly laden and richly rewarded by King Manoel.

1501 March: Prince João-Baptista returns to Portugal, and travels by land to meet their Catholic Majesties of Spain.

Holy Roman Empire:

With the threatened loss of Wien, Maximilian is interested in settling the matters to the South at any cost. However, the news becomes worse as many parts of the County of Tyrol join in the revolt that has spread from Brixen. The Swiss forces in the area are by and large greeted warmly by the peasantry. When the forces left behind by Emperor Maximilian faced the Swiss in open battle, it would prove a disaster for this part of the Empire. Though initially the small contingent of artillery and guns with the Imperial forces slowed the Swiss onslaught, a poorly guarded flank were their undoing as the Swiss were able to get into the Imperial lines and throw them into disarray, leading to the capture of the artillery and the utter destruction of Maximilian's forces. Left with the choice of widening the war or cutting his losses, Maximilian decides narrowly on negotiating.

1501 June 3: The Treaty of Basal is signed by the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss Confederacy. Swiss de facto independence is now recognized de jure. It allows for the new Tyrolean League (including the City of Brixen and the alpine section of Gorizia) to enter association with the Swiss Confederation as well as the host city of Basal, that had been agitating for such an association over the past several years. The remains of the Archbishopric of Brixen and Gorizia are confirmed as direct possessions of Habsburg, and the Swiss and its associated Tyrolean League foreswear any future claims to them. Though the Swiss gain their political independence, they are required by the treaty to side with the Holy Roman Empire and Habsburg in any conflict with France. In addition, the Swiss are pledged to provide captains and training cadre for a new Habsburg army being built, in an attempt to address the deficiencies so recently demonstrated in the war, that would be known to Swiss history as the War of Swiss Independence, or the Tyrolean Campaign in the Holy Roman Empire.

Baden:

The cities in Oversticht start to resist the rule of Frederick of Baden (Bishop of Utrecht) more and more. The bishop sends a small armed force to Oversticht to enforce his rule.

Saxony:

Henry Wettin, second son of duke Albert of Saxony, makes pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem. Though he is impressed with the Holy City and the Rhodean knights, Rome is another matter.

Italian Peninsula:

King Alphonso claims that Pope Alexander VI is interfering with the secular affairs of Naples. He uses this as a pretext for and invasion of the Papal States.

Start of the Venetian-Genovese War.

Ottoman Empire:

Emperor Selim orders that Bulgaria begin shipping large quantities of nails and hemp (for rope) to the shipyards in Galata and Gallipoli. In addition, he demands a large number of Roman-style shortswords be delivered to Constantinople. In the shipyards of the Empire, construction begins on more ships to supplement the ones presently at port and those on patrol.

1501 March: Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire sends one of his sisters (still in her early twenties) to the Khan of the Krimea, in appreciation for Krimea's loyalty.

1501 Late April: Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire sends an embassy (led by his older sister, who's in her early or mid thirties) to the lord of the White Sheep Turks, with the intention of opening relations between the White Sheep and Ottoman Turks.

1501 Late: Selim writes the following to the Tsar:

"To Ivan (third of your name) III Vasilevich (Иван III Васильевич), Tsar of the Rus’ and Tsar of conquered peoples of the North,

I confess I am confused. You state that you will allow me the title “Caesar of the Muslims,” yet refuse to recognize me as “Caesar” and refuse to recognize the very successor nature of my capital, founded by Emperor Constantine himself?"

Holy Land:

The Grand Commandry of the Rhodeans in Jerusalem is officially established. Over time, this will grow into one of the major Hospitaler commandries in the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

1501 Spring: Prince Emmanuel is born to King Diego and his queen. The King creates him Duke of Benguela. The Queen dies shortly after giving birth. A Catholic Matamban lord is created "Viceroy of Matamba," by King Diego.

1501 Summer: Portuguese missionaries from Ndongo are sent back into Matamba by King Diego, and meet a less forceful resistance from the Matambans. The Ndongolese seminary is finished. King Diego declares all Ndongolese must begin to learn Portuguese. A handful of Ndongolese lords complain.

1501 Fall: King Diego I marries a converted daughter of the Kongolese king, the Princess Maria. The King's brother, Prince Sebastião, is sent to conquer the Jaga Casangi in the southwest.

Indian Subcontinent:

Several Ethiopians travel with Arab traders and arrive in South India and begin hiring ship builders.

Following the collapse of the Deccan Sultanates north of the Vijayanagara Empire, the empire had sent troops north to resolve some border issues. In the west this brought the border to Mumbaiand followed Mountain ridges and the Rivers [Godavari] and other defensible landmarks east. The empire begins constructing a series of forts along the new border.

China:

With the improvements of the Great Wall continuing unhindered and the situation on Taiwan resolved, the Hongzhi Emperor took it upon himself to begin dealing with something which had plagued his father and grandfather before him for nearly a century, the Manchu peoples. While the Manchu peoples were considered a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and supplied the Ming armies with a good percentage of their war horses via trading posts, the increasing sinification of the Jurchen people, the native Manchu population was causing issues for some of the local tribal leaders. The growing political and economic clout of the Ming was beginning to disturb Sibeoci Fiyanggū, the chieftain of the Jurchen people. Sibeoci Fiyanggū was of the Odoli Clan, a people located on the banks of the Hun River, who were known for their horsemanship and skill with a bow and arrow. Fiyanggū could claim lineage from Genghis Khan, giving him legitimacy among many of the tribes of Jurchen who practiced their nomadic lifestyles unchanged for many centuries.

By 1501, Fiyanggū's people were becoming a minority. Migrations into Manchu lands by non-Jurchen peoples, specifically ethnic Han Chinese, were becoming much more frequent and were forcing many clans off ancient tribal claims to pasturage that were the only source of food for their animals. Many of the pastures taken over by Han Chinese migrating into Manchuria were turned into farms to feed families, and to send food to markets in the south, leaving the native Manchus with a shrinking area of untilled land in which to practice their ages old lifestyle of moving from field to field with their livestock, stopping only to sleep.

Another troubling trend among younger Jurchens was a trend to give up their nomadic lifestyles and take up sedentary lives as farmers, or worse, move into North China and set up trading posts to make a profit. It was with this trend, began only three years prior in the lands of the Ming, that Sibeoci Fiyanggū came to the conclusion that this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Before the end of the year, Sibeoci Fiyanggū would draw many neighboring Jurchen tribes, as well as other Manchu tribes, into an alliance to drive the Han Chinese out of their lands, and reclaim their lands rather than letting them fall into the hands of the settled Chinese.

East Asia:

Ryukyuan troops and government officials complete a cartographic survey of Taiwan.

Australia:

The Yolgnu begin to form an anti-Macassan alliance. Their stolen ships prove useful as a bargaining tool, as technology can be used as a means for securing allies. They begin to engage in acts of piracy off the coast of Marege, attacking Macassan sailors, taking their ships, and killing their crews.

Norasia (North America):

1501 February: The Susquehanna, hearing from their southern brethren about the good trade to be had at the south of the bay, send a few of their largest canoes along the coast to the Powhatan shores

1501 March: Noting the difficulty of casting canoes from the shore, the Susquehanna mimic some of their neighbors and build a crude dock so that the canoes do not have to start in the shallows.

1501 Spring: The Waponahkiyik, having witnessed the strange "sea monsters" off the coast, sends messengers to the Haudenosee seeking a mutual trade and defense pact.

1501 April: The first Native-European marriage takes place in Red Slope. Stories claims the ceremony is mostly Catholic, but the priest accords great respect to "the curious customs of these Eden-like people." Some attribute the marriage ceremony to the legendary figure called 'Brother John'. The Stadacona woman takes on the name Rebecca, while the Englishman takes on the name Karaken ('white one').

1501 August: The Haudenosaunee agree to the Waponahkiyik pact, and send a group of diplomats to live amongst them as a show of their loyalty. The group is led by a young woman named Hurit who (according to tradition) is Hiawatha's granddaughter.

[Smaug]

Very nice. I'm inspired to step up the volume of my posts....

[Glen]

1502:

England:

Vanilla is an instant hit in England when the Cabot Expedition returns with samples from a place called Cempoala. More missions are planned in future.

Spain:

Their Catholic majesties begin a policy of favoring the Castilian and Aragonese towns at the expense of the great nobles. Thus begins the rise of the communeros.

Portugal:

King Manoel I marries Margaret Tudor of England.

King Manoel I begins expanding the shipyards and the size of Portugal’s trading fleet and navy.

Burgundy:

The second son of Philip of Burgundy is born. He is named Ferdinand.

Saxony:

John, the unmarried brother of Duke Frederick of Saxony, goes on a pilgrimage after hearing of Jerusalem from his cousin, and there is so taken with the Rhodeans that he immediately announces his intention to join their order.

Frederick and Elizabeth's second child, a son (Philip Albert) is born.

Utrecht:

The battle of Kampen. Near the city of Kampen the troops of the Bishop of Utrecht are destroyed by troops from various cities of Oversticht, who are secretly armed and trained by Guelders. The bishop decides to send more troops. For the next 5 years a civil war . The bishop is supported by Burgundy, while Oversticht is supported by Guelders, Cleves/Mark and Julich/Berg. Most of the battles are being fought in Oversticht, but also in Guelders and Nedersticht skirmishes take place.

Italian Peninsula:

Neapolitan armies arrive outside of Rome and Romagna. The latter falls by the end of the year, while the former holds.

Rhodes:

Cem the Pretender dies. Upon his death, a shocking discovery is made when a young Greek lady of Rhodes comes forward as Cem's mistress, who has born him a son, named Constantine by her. The girl has a wild notion of using her son to launch a crusade for Constantinople, or at the very least, making him king of Rhodes, and this latter idea gains popularity with Greek Rhodeans. Crowds throughout Rhodes demonstrate for young Constantine (who has a claim to the Byzantine throne through his grandmother) to be made King of Rhodes.

Hanseatic League:

1502 Winter: Prince João-Baptista stays the Winter with the Hansa, a second visit.

Muscovy:

Ivan, under pressure from his wife for Vasili to be crowned co-regent, he keeps his promise to Dmitriy Ivanovich. Having different plans for Vasili. Vasili and his mother are hysterically upset about the move. In order to keep a civil war from happening while in the mists of the war with Livonia, Ivan reveals his plans for his son to both Vasili and Dmitriy, and asks that they keep the plans secret until they can be put into motion. Vasili is appeased and vehemently supports Dmitriy’s regency.

1502 September 13: During the battle of the Seritsa River (Battle of Smolin) Wolter von Plettenberg was turning the tide of the war until he is killed by Russian artillery while attempting to take on the Russian forces. (OTL he is able to defeat the Russians with a force of only 12,000 against anywhere between 30-40,000) The demoralized Livonian army retreats toward Riga in hopes of help from abroad.

Timurid Empire:

For the coming 1502 campaigning season, Babur and his generals devised a series of four benchmarks to prepare for either a late Summer 1502, or early Spring 1503 campaign south to seize control of Kabol. In the south, the lands of the Tajik people, especially the cities of Dushanbe, Panjakent, and Denow were to be besieged and captured. With those three cities captured, the roads from Farghana into the lands of the Afghan tribes would be easier to cross.

In the north, the flanks of Farghana were to be strengthened by the capture of the city of Toshkent (Tashkent) by one of his generals. Due to Babur’s rising paranoia, the capture of Toshkent was to take place after the Tajik campaign, for Babur to ensure that his generals did not try to take advantage of his previous engagements in the south and march into Farghana to claim legitimacy.

To the west, the city of Bukhoro (Bukhara) was to be captured to ensure that none who remained loyal to Muhammad Shaybani would attempt to take advantage of Babur’s distance to make a bid at regaining Samarkand. With the capture of Bukhara and the surrounding regions, the campaign routes through the Garagum Desert and the Garabil Plateau would be secured, due to the lack of any significant resistance in the area, allowing Babur a free hand in either the Afghan campaign that would follow, or in some future Persian expedition should fate deem Babur worthy of such a task.

By the end of 1501, Babur’s infrastructure development plans for the roads, water wells, and granaries were beginning to take shape. With local tribute and taxes flowing in, Babur began to use local labor sources to start building his new roads and gave some villages, namely those who proved their loyalty by sending additional tribute to him or who sent additional soldiers to him, were granted more leeway in their development, but not that much.

April-September 1502: Babur’s campaigns in the Tajik lands and in Bukhara went entirely according to plan, with Dushanbe, Panjakent and Denow falling to his forces before the end of July 1502, and Bukhara falling by the end of August. Issues arose, however, with the planned capture of Tashkent. Tashkent was supposed to fall, according to plans, no later than August. Local resistance was stronger than initially perceived, leading to an extended siege by Babur’s generals dispatched to the region. With the campaigning season coming to an end and the siege of Tashkent continuing on with no sight in end, Babur had a difficult decision to make. To break off the siege of Tashkent was to admit defeat, something which could, possibly embolden his enemies in the north and allow them a free hand in raiding his northern border. To continue the siege as it was proceeding, meant supplying an army of thousands during the bitter cold of the winter months, something that was equally unsettling to Babur. On September 3, Babur left Farghana with a contingent of his most loyal soldiers as bodyguards, and rode north to Tashkent to take personal command of the armies there.

September 15, 1502: After arriving in Tashkent a few days prior, Babur was stunned to see the lack of progress by his generals in securing the city. The local population had been allowed to go out at night and secure food from their fields, local dispatch services between Tashkent and outlying regions was allowed to continue unhindered and worst of all, some of his generals were seen fraternizing with local women. This was too much for Babur to bear. In short order, he dismissed several generals, and even put one man to death for, according to the scant records, “Taking tribute in name and using it to pay for lavish social gatherings as well as importing copious amounts of liquor and other luxury items.”

By September 15, all connections between Tashkent and the outside world were cut off. Dispatch riders were shot on sight by archers on horseback patrolling the countryside; local farms were raided and burned by Babur’s men, and citizens of Tashkent found outside the city walls were disposed of post haste. The city had been completely cut off, and Babur had taken to brutal tactics to attempt to bring the siege to a speedy end. Under orders from Babur himself, the bodies of the dead were flung over the city walls and into Tashkent. The bodies of both locals and his own men who died of illness were also flung over the city walls to encourage the spread of communicable diseases. Finally, the use of fire and gunpowder was endorsed to terrorize the population into coming to their senses. None of it had worked to bring the population to their senses, leading Babur to take bold action.

On September 15, the gates of the city of Tashkent were subjected to an all out assault by Babur’s men, using everything from swords and axes, to gunpowder and flame, in an attempt to break into the city and bring the siege to an end. In the afternoon, Babur’s efforts paid off. The gates into Tashkent finally collapsed after hours of intense attacks by Babur and his men. Babur’s army of well over 10,000 men entered the city of Tashkent and slaughtered the garrison who resisted the siege for so long. The worst was yet to come.

When city leaders refused to give into Babur’s demands to pledge oaths of fealty and allegiance to Babur, he became so enraged that he killed all 30 local officials who refused his order. Keeping this news to himself, the remaining 40 leaders who did swear their oaths were invited to a banquet in Babur’s tent later on that night, where they too were dispatched by Babur and several of his guards. This was not all. After the end of the battle, many of Babur’s men, tired and hungry from the long siege, began looting the city for everything of value and nutritional value. When shop owners and homeowners refused, many were outright killed rather than attempting to barter with them. This lead to Babur’s standing orders that would be applied to all conquests afterwards, excluding conquests in Afghanistan which he would personally oversee. The men were to slaughter any who refused to give into Babur’s demands and burn their shops or homes to the ground without regard for those who lived or worked there.

[B]Egypt:

An Ethiopian delegation arrives in Egypt, hoping to restore relations between the two nations. They present the Sultan with a large trapesty showing ships transversing the Nile Canal. It shows the ships paying tolls at either end. It also shows a map along the bottom of where the canal was.

Holy Land:

The Ethiopian mission travels from Egypt to Jerusalem, ostensibly as a pilgrimage. However, they also make contact there with the Knights Hospitaler and make arrangements to travel to Naples.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

King Alphonso sends his youngest son, also named Alphonso, to the court of King Emanuel at the request of the Ndongo. It is for several purposes. Establishing a Neapolitan connection in Ndongo is considered of great importance.

1502 Winter: A majority of the Ndongolese now profess to be Catholic; only a few Matambans do.

De Gama sets up a fort at the harbor of Sofala, Kilwa, Mozambique, Melinde, and in Mogadishu. De Gama sacks the coastal city of Mombasa and builds a fort there. He also takes Zanzibar Island and claims it for Portugal.

Ethiopia:

Shipwrights from Southern India arrive in Djibitiuo, along with their families, establishing India's first African settlement.

A diplomatic expedition leaves Ethiopia, headed for Europe. In particular the Ethiopians look to resurrect the previous plan for cooperation attempted between Alfonso V of Aragon and Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia in the 1450s.

Indian Subcontinent:

Vasco De Gama sails with 25 warships to India, to keep control of the trading ports that Cabral has opened for the Portuguese. He forces Calicut to agree to renewed trading concessions, after smashing their fleet and bombarding their city. The ruler is forced to allow them to set up a factory and gives them land upon which they can set up a trading enclave. In time it becomes a heavily armed fortress.

Bhārata’s administrative reform program is now generally in place, making tax collection and government services much more efficient. And a good thing too – the triple disruptions of war, a change in administrations, and the Muslim exodus are still affecting the economy.

1502 September-December: Rajamaharana Raimal sends Rawat Surjamal on a military expedition to shore up the eastern border of the Bengal province, where border raids had compromised the empire’s legitimacy in recent months. Militarily, the mission is a resounding success, as Surjamal is able to secure the border all the way to Chittagong. Tragically, though, Surjamal is injured in battle. He dies in Dhaka.

Australasia:

The fifth year of trepang fishing in Marege brings closer links between many Aboriginal tribes and the Macassans. Some tribes have become nearly sedentary, using Macassan fishing technology to feed villages. Needless to say, these tribes form close links with the Macassans, to the extent of economic dependence upon Macassan trade. In particular, western Marege is dominated by Macassan 'treaty tribes', bands linked by economic exchanges with Makassar.

China:

Sibeoci Fiyanggū spent two years building up his alliance of Jurchen and Manchu tribes to prepare for the struggle against the Ming. Fiyanggū was not a fool, he knew that the Hongzhi Emperor could bring many thousands of men to bear against the much smaller number of Manchu warriors. However, he had no choice in the matter and he believed that he no longer had the time that was needed to prepare his people for the war with the Ming.

Far East:

The tax collected from Taiwanese inhabitants by the Ryukyuan army as retribution for the 1497 incident is deemed sufficient; most Ryukyuan naval and land forces return to the home islands. A few small garrisons remain in the north of the island to 'maintain order and protect Ryukyuan interests' - this is not received well by the natives but is considered necessary by King Sho shin.

Japan:

The allied armies of the Akita clan of Dewa province and Nambu clan of Mutsu province reach the northern shores of Honshu. The Ainu have by now been almost completely pushed out of Honshu and have been forced to flee to Ezo (OTL Hokkaido). To guarantee that the Ainu will pose no threat in the future, the Akita clan decide to establish outposts on the OTL Shimokita and Tsugaru peninsulars. They are simply named Shimokita and Tsugaru.

New World:

Bartholomeu Diaz is sent to scout out the territories of the Spanish. He instead discovers a large land to the south (OTL Brazil) and claims it for the Portuguese. He reaches a stormy strait (OTL Straits of Magellan) before turning back. Upon his return, he is proclaimed the greatest living explorer in Portugal. The straits discovered during the expedition are named after their discover the Straits of Diaz.

[Glen]

1503:

England:

1503 March: Sebastian Cabot departs for the first time as commander of the English Expedition, determined to complete the mission of his dead father. This time he intends to head south along the European and African coast before crossing the sea.

Navarre:

Henry, second son of John and Catherine, is born. However Andres survives and remains heir presumptive.

Portugal:

Anti Jewish riots rage in Lisbon, at the behest of Catholic priests, killing 3000 Jews. Manoel I stamps out the riots and executes the leaders. This definitely does not sit well with the Catholic Church.

Vasco De Gama returns to Portugal. Due to his great success in India and his expanding of Portuguese interests, Manoel I entitles Vasco De Gama to be the first viceroy in India. He accepts.

Spain:

Juan's second son, Juan-Philipe, is born.

Burgundy:

The first daughter of Philip of Burgundy is born. She is named Eleanor.

Saxony:

Henry begins writing his first commentaries on the Bible. Though not deeply scholarly, they do possess a "back to the Bible" character which makes them quite popular. Henry also begins to write copies in German.

Frederick and Elizabeth's first daughter, named Clara Helena, is born.

Northern Italy:

1503 December 8: Boniface Palaeologus, the child Margrave of Montferrat, dies after a bout of measles. Young Duke Charles II of Savoy claims the Margravate through his mother, Blanche of Montferrat. Troops from Savoy back up his claim.

Italian Peninsula:

1503 Spring: Representatives from Ethiopia arrive in the court of King Alphonso II, seeking to make trade agreements given their Levantine territories so close to the Red Sea. One of their number speaks Italian, learned from expatriates 'hosted' in Ethiopia. They also seek passage to Spain.

King Alphonso II of Naples meets Duke Giuffre of Romagna for peace negotiations. Giuffre Borgia agrees to give the title Duke of Romagna to Alphonso's eldest, Ferdinand. In return Giuffre marries one of Alphonso's relatives.

King Alphonso II meets with representatives of the Hanseatic League. After negotiations Alphonso agreed to the sale of Malta to help offset costs of the Levantine campaign of the 1490s.

Mediterranean Sea:

Venice steps up its attacks on Genoan settlements and depots.

Black Sea:

The Genoan ports in the Crimea and elsewhere in the Black Sea are reduced to a state of ruin by the Venetians.

Baltic Region:

After a long and tiresome siege with little help from the outside, the Remaining leaders of the Livonian Confederation send out request for help to the Kalmar Union, who rejects the Livonian request, and the Hansa/Teutonic Knights.

After the fall of the Livonian Confederation, the Territory is split between the four powers (see division map in the map thread). The remaining Knights of the Order are given an Option, be expelled from Russian controlled Livonia (including Riga) or convert to the Orthodoxy and become Crusaders for the Patriarch. Most of the order leaves either retires in the Catholic Poland/Lithuania territory of Courland or goes to join the Teutonic Knights.

However a small band of about 175 Knights and 200 apprentices and squire’s stay, lead by a young, charismatic captain, convert to the Orthodoxy and Establish the Knights of St. Andrew. These knights are sent to Moscow to start a school and training center, and will become the core of Russia’s future military.

Ottoman Empire:

Emperor Selim, taken aback by the rumors that he has a cousin as close as Rhodes, fires off a message to Grand Master DAubusson. Selim instructs that the boy be brought to Constantinople.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Queen Maria gives birth to her first son, who is named Prince Marcos. King Diego. His brother Prince Sebastião, off fighting the Jaga Cassangi he names the Ngolambole, or "military leader," and his daughter Duchess of Dvando. The King announces his plan to eventually construct a European-style building to house the Macota.

Ndongo:

1503 Spring: Prince João-Baptista returns to southern Africa.

1503 May: Sebastian Cabot's fleet pays a visit to top off supplies in Ndongo, delivering letters from King Henry VIIth and Prince Arthur to the Royal family of Ndongo.

Ethiopia:

A small Rhodean commandry is opened in Djibouti, consisting of knights, a hospital and a few chaplains, as well as Rhodean shipwrights. DAubusson also begins quietly encouraging some of the more difficult Orthodox Rhodeans to move to Djibouti.

Indian Ocean:

Vasco De Gama continues to reinforce and expand Portuguese trading ports in East Africa and India. He sets up a fortifications on the island of Angediva, he crushes Arab shipping and pirates among the trade ships sent from the Muslim kingdoms.

Indian Subcontinent:

Cochin is also added to the ports that the Portuguese now trade at. They are once again warmly received by the local ruler and they manage to buy some land upon which they set up a small fortress and warehouses. This will be the main area from which they will work for some years to come.

Bharata diplomats learn about the printing press from their travels abroad. Raimal, excited as usual about anything that can help refine the administration of government, commissions several craftsmen and scribes to travel abroad and learn the art.

1503 February: A Hindu soldier launches a coup and takes control of the Orissa Sultanate. In an over-ambitious attempt to cover for being the wrong caste to rule, he coronates himself with the audaciously blasphemous name Raja Jagannath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath).

1503 August-December: Jagannath launches an aryavarta to confirm his legitimacy, and is rather successful. He reaches the GodavariRiver in the south and crushes Gondwana in the east. Most significantly, Jagganath, and puts a terrible scare into the Bhārata troops defending Bengal – Lord Jaimal is forced to retreat to Dhaka before driving Jagganath back. The two grow to respect one another in battle, and they soon reach a peace treaty – Orissa will keep eastern Gondwana, while the west becomes a Bhārata dependency, and Bhārata will cede the city of Midnapore to Orissa. They also agree to an “everlasting promise to defend against mutual enemies.”

The Vijayanagara empire, watching Raja Jagannath drive south to the Godavari River steps up the building of it's fortifications along the south bank of the river.

Viranarasimha Raya becomes regent of the Vijayanagara empire.

Australasia:

A brief war between the Dangbon and Yolgnu effectively consolidates Yolgnu domination over eastern Marege. As the largest tribe in pure numbers, and the only united nation (the rest of the tribes are divided up into 'bands', who function independently), they are able to function as an effective fighting force against the Macassans, and to intimidate other bands into joining their cause. They begin to openly attack Macassans in the territory of other nations. In retaliation, pro-Macassan tribes carry out attacks on the Yolgnu.

The exploitation of pearls continues in Kai Djawa, where some pearling stations have come to operate as semi-permanent settlements. The scarce food and water in the region leaves the tribes there open to advanced Macassan technology for fishing, leading to very good relations.

China:

1503 - 1505:

The emperor began to look into his trading situation on the periphery of the empire. Trade with the nomadic Mongols in the north, and Jurchens in the north-east was paying off for the empire. However, they could not continue the tea-horse trade as it stood and reports of inept commanders along the border began to trouble him more frequently. In 1503, the emperor summoned 30 regional commanders who he was informed were the most inept to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, and proceeded to verbally rebuke them, calling them lazy and incompetent. By the end, he informed army generals that they were to execute all 30, "with extreme aggression, something they lacked against the enemies of the state," according to some eye witness reports. The army was also informed that it would be forced to take offensive measures should the Mongol tribes be found to be uncontrolable. The process of installing competent leadership in the border areas would not be completed in 1505 when the first Jurchen lead attacks into Ming claimed lands would take place.

Japan:

The Nambu clan establish a small outpost on the southern tip of the Oshima peninsular of Ezo, and explore northwards, encountering many far less hostile tribes of Ainu. Later that year, the Nambu clan complete a coastal survey of Ezo. They also encounter but do not explore the Chishima islands, and another island, Kitaezo (now OTL Sakhalin), previously thought to be a peninsular.

Norasia (North America):

1503 March: The Susquehanna and Haudenosaunee complete the (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_81) road (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_88_(east)) connecting the central Susquehanna lands with the Mohawk, via the Wyoming Valley settlements. They agree to call the new road Wolfpack Road, commemorating how the sister nations hunted down the Wyoming like wolves.

1503 April: At the point in southern Mohawk lands where Wolfpack Road, Great Peacemaker Road, and Mohawk Trail meet, the Mohawk build a new city, Sganeda’dih (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenectady). Although the Mohawk are late to the settling game, Sganeda’dih will soon outclass all of the new settlements and become a bursting metropolis with a few thousand inhabitants.

English traders of the Society of Venture Merchants retrace the route of John Cabot to the lands of the Haustecs and the Totonac. The contrast between the two neighboring states is amusing, given the Haustec perchant for nudity and the Totonac for fine vestments. Trade relations are established, but both groups as for aid against a dominating group inland that requires taxes in human sacrifices, the Azteca. The English provide some arms, but by law can only offer them to those who swear loyalty to the English Crown.

South America:

1503 October: Sebastian Cabot's expedition sight land, begin heading south down the coast.

1503 November: Sebastian Cabot rounds the Straits of Diaz of the Southern Continent and strikes out into the Arthurian Ocean.

Arthurian Ocean (Pacific):

1503 December: Sebastian Cabot lands on an island filled with massive Statues. He names it Giant Island.

[Glen]

1504:

England:

1504 November: Sebastian Cabot returns to England to a hero's welcome. Though several ships have been lost to storms, the bulk of his ships remain intact and are laden with treasures of the Orient.

Europe:

Not to be outdone by Ndongo, King Joao sends his son Aphonso to Europe, where Aphonso follows a route similar to that of the Ndongolese, with particular attention paid to Spain. Aphonso secretly begins negotiations for a Spanish-Kongolese alliance.

Burgundy:

The second daughter of Philip of Burgundy is born. She is named Isabella.

Portugal:

More anti-Jewish Riots pop up in and around Lisbon and other cities, most encouraged by Catholic priests. The Church is putting heavy pressure on Manoel to expel the Jews, but it’s more becoming a fight for who has the most power, the King or the Church than the issue over Jews continuing to live in Portugal.

Margaret of Portugal gives birth to a healthy baby boy, named Manoel II.

Vasco De Gama and 30 ships leave for India, with orders to solidify Portuguese claims and to create a monopoly. He also takes a long a young squadron captain named. Alfonso De Albuquerque, later to be known as the De Gama’s Mastiff for his willingness to go and fight where De Gama points.

Venice:

1504 - 1509: The Doge of Venice begins to get the upper hand in his dealings with the Council which usually runs Venice, presumably due to the Doge's successful management of the war with Genoa.

Malta:

The Hansa takes control of Malta, with plans to establish a "Christian Republic" under the sovereign direction of the Hansa.

Rhodes:

DAubusson, alarmed by these events, returns to Rhodes, and promises to consider native rule for Rhodes when Constantine comes of age. In the meantime, DAubusson takes the boy as his ward, with the previso that he will be raised an Orthodox Christian. Requests are sent to Constantinople asking for Orthodox spiritual advisors to be sent to the boy. The situation on Rhodes calms, and jubilant Greeks begin anticipating the day when Rhodean independence will (hopefully) come.

Ottoman Empire:

In the Ottoman Empire, al scaloccio (a technique wherein all the oarsmen on a single bench share a single oar) and galleasses are adopted from the Venetians and other Italian expatriots who’ve taken residence and service under the Sultan’s banner.

Construction begins in Galata and Gallipoli (in the Ottoman Empire) on galleons suitable for warfare.

Holy Land:

Prince Alphonso makes pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and his talks with DAubusson about the possible establishment of a small Hospitaler commandry in Mbanza-Kongo, the Kongolese capital.

Muscovy/Baltic:

With the establishment of the Knights of St Andrews, plans for the proposed training facility, School and Cathedral/Monastery are drawn up to build near Tver. The building is slow and steady and takes about 5 years to complete but when it is, it becomes one of the Chief training areas for Russian Military Leaders. Eventually all Russian Princes are required to spend at lest 5 years training at the Facility. In the mean time a temporary facility is based in Moscow.

May 1504: Riga is reopened as a free trade city under the auspice of the Grand Duke. Ivan sends Dmitriy on a trip to Europe to open trade routes. While abroad Dmitriy hears of the adventures of Columbus, the Cabots, and Diaz. He marvels at the news and rumors of the New World and dreams of Russian outposts, but first Russia must build merchant and military navies.

Ndongo & Matamba:

1504 Spring: Prince Sebastião returns to Kabasa to gather more soldiers. The King agrees. 1,000 soldiers return to Jaga Casangi country under the command of Prince Sebastião Ngolambole.

1504 Summer: The King's sister, Princess Maria-Joana, dies and her fifteen year old son Henrique is adopted by the King and made a prince. He is sent to study with priests.

King Diego renames the city São Rafael o Arcanjo de áfrica, "City of Saint Raphael the Archangel of Africa."

1504 Fall: Queen Maria dies giving birth to a son, Miguel; who is created Marquis of Rainha-Santa-Isabel-de-áfrica. King Diego marries his cousin, Princess Maria-Betânia. She is crowned Queen Betânia of the Ndongolese, but not of the Matambans, who object to the marriage. An attempted rebellion to place the baby Duke of Benguela as sovereign king of Matamba fails, and many are executed. The husband of Princess Maria-Isabel, the King's sister, is made Viceroy of Matamba.

Africa:

Vasco De Gama solidifies and strengthens forts and harbors along Eastern Africa.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1504 Summer: A local outbreak of an unknown disease decimates the population of Sasaram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasaram). By the end of August, 30% of the town is dead.

Thailand [Kingdom of Ayuthaya]:

With the collapse of Burma, the Thais had taken back the coastline they had lost, but attempts to move north had lead to a major defeat at the hands of the Rajputs in 1503. As such they had returned to Nibbling their way south in Maylaysia and Khmer.

Gowa:

A low-level border dispute between Gowa and Polombangkeng is exacerbated when ships from Polombangkeng are discovered trading with tribes in areas in Marege annexed by Gowa. Claiming a violation of their sovereignty, Gowa declare war.

In need of troops, Gowa offer the benefits of citizenship to many of their more compliant client tribes in Marege-with offers of self-government and honoured status. The majority refuse, but some tribes accept. The remaining independent tribes are increasingly squeezed between Gowan areas. Yolgnu remain strictly neutral.

The war, however, does not go well. After initial advances, the Gowan advance is bogged down. An alliance of states in the region opposed to Gowan expansionism destroys the Gowan army at Bungaya, and takes Garassik. Gowa sue for peace after only four months of fighting.

The terms are harsh. The Gowa-Tallok alliance is broken off. Some areas in Marege are granted to the principalities of Galesong, Polombangkeng, Siang, and Maros. In Gowa, the power of the Bate Salapang is at last broken, as the general nobility are discredited due to the war.

As 1504 ends, Marege has been divided up amongst rival Sulawesian principalities, proxy tribes, and independent tribes such as Yolgnu.

Australia:

The first 'proxy war' between the Yolgnu and the Macassans begins, when the Burarra, a tribe on the Yolgnu border, decide to sign a treaty with Gowa. The Yolgnu subsequently carry out raids on Burarra bands, hoping to intimidate them into the anti-Macassan alliance.

A Macassan prau enters into Yolgnu waters, blown off course in a storm. Its crew are massacred and the items onboard are stolen. In response, the karaeng of Gowa nearly declares war, only being dissuaded by the advice of the Bate Salapang.

China:

1504 May: Sebastian Cabot arrives in Southern China. His father's dream is fulfilled.

East Asia:

1504 April: Sebastian Cabot arrives in the the East Indies (OTL Philippines), confirmed by an interpreter on board. A Cabot has finally reached Asia. He obtains directions to China.

Japan:

Nambu ships complete a coastal survey of the Chishima islands and Kitaezo.

Mutsu province, home to the Wakamatsu clan in the south and the Nambu clan in the north, is divided between those two clans into two provinces - Muzen in the south (Wakamatsu) and Mugo in the north (Nambu). The Akita then cede Shimokita and Tsugaru and return to their home province.

Ryukyu:

Relations are improving between Ryukyu on one hand and Japan and China on the other. The volume of trade passing between East and South-East Asian nations, with Ryukyu as the 'middle-man' is slowly but surely increasing. The rule of King Sho shin - a golden age for Ryukyu - shows great prosperity for that nation. King Sho shin, seeing an opportunity for expansion of Ryukyuan production and commerce, announces the establishment of a colony in northern Taiwan. The purpose of this colony will be for acquisition of timber, metals, and other supplies needed to feed the emerging Ryukyuan production industries.

Arthurian Ocean:

1504 February: Sebastian Cabot's fleet lands in Tahiti. Near mutiny occurs when Cabot wants to press on from this hospitable land.

Norasia:

1504 November: The man whom the legends call Hiawatha dies. A Clan Mother takes on the new name Chiefess Orenda and becomes Chiefess of the Onondaga. Hurit immediately returns to the Onondaga Council, where she begins writing “The Funeral”, a 1000-word poem that, while written in Waponahkiyik characters, is written in Iroquoian grammar and is therefore considered the first Iroquois writing. In addition to describing the funeral, it predicts a horrible holocaust, a revelation, and a golden age to come. It opens with the line, “If the snow buries my neighborhood, and if my parents are crying, then I'll dig a tunnel from my window to yours.”

[B]1504 December: A month after Hiawatha’s death, Grand Council Iroquoians and other well-wishers from the farthest corners of TurtleIsland are still pouring into the city of Onondaga. Those who visited 10 years ago for the Grand Council are stunned by the prosperity that strong government, good harvests, and wide roads and brought the Haudenosaunee. Many of the southern tribes resolve to bring this prosperity to their own lands, and they stay for months afterward learning all they can from each other. Many return home with painstakingly copied engravings of “The Funeral”. Although almost none of them have learned how to read it (they simply memorized the story, as they always do), the fact that a common document is spread among dozens of locations, some a million paces from each other, provides the travelers with great spiritual satisfaction.

1505 January: Hurit marries a Waponahkiyik man. The Haudenosaunee pronounce it proof that the two nations are now forever linked in peace.

Mesoamerica:

Though slowed by translating problems, the Totonac indicate their desire for English assistance in throwing off the rule of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Merchant Adventurers from the Society agree to lend aid in return for some vague pledge of loyalty to the English Crown and promises of tribute. The Totonac begin recruiting other disgruntled tribes in the region.

South America:

The Muisca Confederation, having finally reached the Great Sea ( The Caribbean), at an area that is blessed with both a brackish fresh water lake, and the open Sea (Maricaibo). The area is quickly built up due to Carib raids. Trade with sea-going people is vigorously encouraged.

[Glen]

1505:

Ireland:

1505 April 23: A daughter named Alice is born to Garrett Og Fitzgerald, son of the Earl of Kildare.

Portugal:

Several priests and even some bishops are caught plotting a series of riots against Manoel I, using his lack of action on expelling the Jews as a sign of his lack of devotion. He exiles them.

Trier:

Jacob of Baden dies of a passing illness. Bertholt of Mainz appoints Henry Wettin elector Archbishop of Trier. Henry recommends young Martin Luther as a private secretary to his cousin Frederick the Wise of Ernestine Saxony.

Henry, upon hearing of his father's death, goes briefly into mourning, and becomes deeply introspective. After half a year, he emerges from his solitude a changed man, believing firmly that Albert's loyalty to an empire given to decadents and corruption helped cause his death. Henry, like Frederick the Wise and Bertholt of Mainz, becomes an advocate of widespread reforms. He begins aggressively with these reforms in Trier, stamping out the practice of indulgences and begins supporting more radical causes, such as the translation of the Bible into German and broader ecclesiastical reforms. Bertholt of Mainz largely goes along with Henry's reforms.

Wittenberg: Martin Luther enters Wittenberg University, studying cannon law and (to the consternation of his father), theology.

Albertine Saxony:

Active resistance to Albertine rule in Gruningen intensifies into outright rebellion. Albert is forced to start campaigning there on a regular basis. Albertine Saxony officially goes broke.

Northern Italy:

1505 Winter: Taking advantage of the ongoing naval war between Genoa and Venice, Milan demands heavy territorial concession from Genoa to allow Milanese better access to the Mediterranean. Genoa eventually refuses.

1505 Spring: Milan declares war on the already embattled Genovese. Although an offensive alliance, the rest of the Northern Italian Pact shortly follow suit.

1505 Summer: Genoa falls, being pillaged by the Piedmonters from the North and ravaged by the Venetians at sea. Milan and Savoy split the Ligurian region, with Milan gaining Genoa and parts east, and Savoy gaining the western half. The treasures of Genoa are split between the Pact. A substantial portion of the Genoese nobility are evacuated to Corsica. The Genoese in Corsica sue for peace. Venice is deeded several Genovese overseas locations.

Kingdom of Naples:

1505 Spring: A small Neapolitan expedition make their way towards the New World. Signed up for the expedition is a young Florentine named Giovanni da Verrazzano.

Malta:

A new government is formed along roughly republican lines. Hansa factors begin recruiting a Maltese national guard and constructing a small navy. Construction of a port city is begun.

Muscovy:

What is left of the Livonian and hired Dutch shipwrights are set to work building the first Russian merchant ships and naval vessels. Grand Prince Dmitriy orders Russian wood-working tradesmen to work with them, to learn shipbuilding.

August, 27 1505: After returning from his trip in July Dmitriy is married to Solomonia Yuryevna Saburova (Vasili’s OTL wife) a descendent of the Tartar Khans.

Oct 27, 1505: Ivan III dies and Dmitriy assumes the title of Grand Prince of Muscovy.

Oct 28, 1505: Dmitriy formally places the Sect of Skhariya the Jew, which he and his mother are members of, under direct protection of the Grand Prince.

Maghreb:

For the past 8 years, Tunisia, due to the urging of Muhammahad XII has been encouraging the Portuguese Jews expelled under the 1497 degree to immigrate to Tunisia. In this year the first Jewish run bakery and the first Jewish farms are started.

Muhammad XII leads his army to Tunis where the Sultan agrees to appoint Boabdil as his Heir.

The Granadian Army begins to reassert control over the countryside, and bring the period of warlordism to a end.

Ndongo:

1505 March: After delayed visits and tours, Prince João-Baptista arrives back in Ndongo with a group of Franciscan monks and a lady of the Neapolitan court as his future wife. He also has secret agreements for Spanish and Neapolitan aid in future. King Diego and his Queen throw a large celebration to honor the Franciscans.

1505 May: Prince João-Baptista and his betrothed, are married in a small Franciscan parish Church of Santa Chiarra in the capital. Queen Betânia gives birth to a daughter, who is named Maria Anna-Clara.

1505 Summer: King Diego orders the beginning of construction on a cathedral in São Rafael. Prince Sebastião returns, having victoriously conquered the Jaga Cassangi. He is created "Principe-Conquistatore del Regno," and marries an Ndongolese noble woman, who has taken the name Anastasia-Cristina.

1505 August: TRH Prince João-Baptista, Princess Anna Christina of Naples, and the infant Infanta Maria Anna-Clara depart for Portugal, though relations have chilled between the two nations, but to send a lesser representative to the Portuguese court would be an insult. Prince Fernando departs for Naples, and Prince Sebastião and Princess Anastasia-Cristina depart for Spain.

1505 September 17: Under influence from his Franciscan tendala, or Chief Advisor, King Diego signs the Act of Unification, unifying the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba as the Realm of Ndongo-Matamba. King Diego declares Saint Lambert of Maastricht, whose feast day falls on this date, a Patron Saint of Ndongo-Matamba.

1505 November: More Ndongolese-Matamban troops are sent to help fight in Lunda.

1505 Christmas Day: Legend claims the first Ndongolese bishop, Saint Lorenzo, is consecrated as Bishop of All Africa-Australis.

De Albuquerque is charged with putting down rebellions in East Africa. He does so brutally and efficiently. He also is charged with pirating Arab/Muslim trading vessels, which he also does efficiently.

Ethiopia:

The Knights of Rhodes (the Hospitalers) establish a small presence in Djibouti by invitation of the Ethiopians. In return, the Knights of Rhodes send a Rhodean shipwright to teach the Ethiopians.

Indian Sub-Continent:

Narasimha Raya II of the Saluva Dynasty dies without Heir.

Viranarasimha Raya becomes Emperor founding the Tuluva Dynasty.

Vasco De Gama continues to fortify his positions in India, Calicut and Cochin. Explorations are made along the India Coast. Sri Lanka is discovered and trade is set up with the local rulers.

Australia:

The Burarra, on the verge of surrender to the Yolgnu, are instead provided with weapons by the Macassans. This allows them to launch counter-raids into Yolgnu territory, nearly leading to the breakdown of the anti-Macassan alliance. The war becomes bloodier, with massacres on both sides. A Yolgnu-war party intercepts a Macassan weapons shipment, though these are only limited amounts.

China:

1505 February 10: In the dead of winter, Manchu warriors attacked a border outpost in Duoyan serving as the defense of the local settlers. The garrison of 500 men was slaughtered down to the last man as a message to the locals, leave or end up like them.

By early Spring, Manchu tribes were leading multiple raids into villages of settlers up and down the border in Duoyan, Jianzhou, and Chahar. The Hongzhi Emperor had little choice but to dispatch 45,000 men under the command of several generals. Unlike expeditions mounted under the Song Dynasty or earlier in the Ming Dynasty, the Hongzhi Emperor was unwilling to take command of armies in the field, preferring instead to let his generals do their job and he would do his. This 45,000 man expedition would not reach the border until late July.

When offensive operations were undertaken in early August, they were an unmitigated disaster. Nearly 10,000 men were killed or wounded in two months of campaigning from August to late September, with the slaughter ending only with the onslaught of the Manchurian winter. No progress had been made, and worse still, settlers were reporting many neighboring villages simply disappearing overnight, leaving ashes and blood where once thriving settlements existed hours before.

Vietnam:

As Viets move in and start taking land, more Champas move into the cities, there they become Merchants, and begin expanding thruout Vietnam. and Khmer. They also expand their traditional Maritime trade areas.

Japan:

Fishing operations begin in waters off Ezo.

The Nambu begin trading with the Ainu of Ezo.

Ryukyuan:

First colonists leave for Taiwan.

Taiwan:

Ryukyuan colonists arrive on Taiwan to establish a settlement for resources. That year, mining and lumber camps are built in north Taiwan.

Norasia:

1505 January: Hurit marries a Waponahkiyik man. The Haudenosaunee pronounce it proof that the two nations are now forever linked in peace.

Columbus sends expeditions to Florida and Central America.

Caribbean:

1505 Fall: The Neapolitans explore a wide channel between the penninsula that Cabot described and a large tropical island, which the lead explorer names 'Messina'. It is only much later that they come to realize it is the other side of Cuba.

South America:

The Muisca in (OTL Maricaibo) are visited by a far-wandering Mayan who impresses the local chief in the area with his abilities, and is quickly sent to the Hunza, where his knowledge of astronomy and ability to write impress the Zaque to no end. He is offered a position as educator to the nobility and also given a position as translator of the stars.

[Glen]

NOTE: In 1505, I edited in a new event, the Northern Italian Pact also declaring war on Genoa and dismembering it. The Venetians gain most Genoese overseas possessions, the Milanese gain Genoa and eastern Liguria, and Savoy gains western Liguria.

A substantial Genoese presence remains in Corsica, however.

[Glen]

1506:

Scotland:

1506 January: Twelve-year-old Princess Mary Rose Tudor of England is married to King James IV Stewart of Scotland.

Portugal:

Manoel I enacts strict laws that are designed to curb the Church’s power in Portugal. The lack of funding has already dried up a lot of the political activeness of the priests, but it’s not enough for Manoel who’s whispered to be becoming more like his predecessor John II, which terrifies the Nobility into siding with him.

Margaret of Portugal gives birth to her second child, a son named Henrique.

De Albuquerque is sent back to Portugal with treasure laden ships.

Burgundy:

The third son of Philip of Burgundy is born. He is named Maximillian.

Holy Roman Empire:

Luther reads Henry's commentaries and is impressed. The bold young student writes to the Duke's son, and they strike up a life-long friendship. Henry's phlegmatic personality complement's Luther's volcanic one. As Henry begins disputing with other theologians Luther quickly becomes established as "Wettin's bulldog"--a gifted polemicist for Henry's ideas. As yet however, Henry's thought is not particularly radical.

George, heir to the Duchy of Albertine Saxony, dies in a hunting accident. Henry, still intending to hold to his monastic vows, rejects the heir's title.

Muscovy:

Dmitriy, having been a supporter of secularization, starts moving the government and church apart. While Dmitriy still supports the Church and in particular the Knights of St. Andrews, he feels that the teachings of the heretical group the Sect of Skhariya the Jew and the teachings of Nil Sorsky are right. Though he knows that he can’t force the ideology on the people let alone the Church. The Support of Nil Sorsky, his teachings, and the losses of church monastic holdings leads to more of a “liberalization” of the church where self rule is taught but the Sect’s ideas of Jesus and the Trinity are dropped as this is far and above anything that the Church can except. These teaching will lead to a Synod in 1508

1506 September 13: Dmitriy’s first son Ivan Daniil Dmitriyevich, Ivan is confirmed as heir to Dmitriy’s entire domain.

1506 November: The Church starts to split between those in favor of new ideas being presented by Nil Sorsky and Joseph Volotsky with his outspoken support for the status qua. The two men, bitter rivals for nearly 20 years have many heated debates, many of them public during services. Vasili, in the meantime, while no supporter of Dmitriy’s plans and actions, does not say or do anything. Even with widespread calls from conservative Clergy and Boyars. Instead he has been preparing for his eventual trip to Constantinople where he will take his Great Uncles Crown. He does however, at his nephew’s request, start sending out invitations to the more conservative members of the Church hierarchy and Boyars, offering them places in his court.

Rhodes:

The Knights of Rhodes officially vote to change their name to "The Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Jerusalem and Rhodes". Commonly however, people begin once again referring to them as the Hospitalers. As more and more Hospitaler strength becomes concentrated in Jerusalem, questions are raised as to the future of Rhodes.

Kongo:

Aphonso returns to Kongo just in time; King Joao has become sick and will soon die. Aphonso is named successor to his father. Flush with his European tour, he begins Europeanizing his court.

Ethiopia:

The Royal Shipyard launches it's first Indian-style dhow, followed a week later by a Maldives dhoni. These are basically enlarged rowboats. With a maximum cargo of 10-15 tons in the larger dhows, and 2-5 in the dhoni. By the end of the year, they will be carrying small cargoes around the Red Sea and north to Egypt. Between the various Indian and Mediterranean shipwrights they were able to bring from overseas, Ethiopia continues development of larger ships.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1506: The first four printing presses in Bharata open: At the royal palace in Chittor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittorgarh), the princely palaces in Delhi and Dhaka, and at a new theological school in Mathura.

1506 January-June: The Bharata forces launch a siege on Ahmedabad. They make little progress after 6 months. Learning from the disaster at Mathura, though, they divide and retreat into various captured Gujarati towns when the monsoons hit.

1506 June-September: Gujarat attempts several raids on the occupied towns. They are able to push Bharata forces out of the east and south, but only at tremendous loss of life on both sides. Since Bharata's forces are more numerous and healthy, Raimal is willing to take the loss.

1506 October: Raimal again attacks Ahmedabad, and this time overwhelms the Gujarati forces and takes the city. The Sultan and his family are all executed, and Rajputs installed as governors. Raimal is injured in the final raid.

1506 October: Trade is opened between Portugal and the Bharata Empire, mainly taking place out of Diu in Gujarat.

1506 November: Expressing fears of mortality, Raimal finally begins to act on his proposals for an oligarchic government. Bharata territory is rationalized into distinct plots. Localities can act autonomously (except on defense) if all the local leaders are in agreement, but otherwise loyalty flows upward to the Rajamaharana. Trade groups, castes, and non-Hindu minorities each have the right to appoint representatives to a (toothless) Imperial Advisory Chamber. These groups can also buy a certain amount of autonomy by paying more in taxes.

Australia:

Cowed by superior numbers, the Burarra finally surrender, acceeding into the anti-Macassan alliance. The Yolgnu confiscate from the Burarra all Macassan weaponry and goods. It is a severe setback for Gowa.

China:

In two years of open combat against the Manchu tribes under the command of Sibeoci Fiyanggū, the Ming Dynasty suffered almost 80,000 casualties, 3/4 of who were reported killed or wounded with the last 1/4 reported as missing in action or deserters. Incompetent leadership was labeled as the leading cause of such casualties, with general after general leading failed assaults on Manchu tribes who would simply negotiate around the large, unwieldy formations of foot soldiers and archers and strike them from behind.

Japan: Whaling operations begin in waters off the Chishima islands.

Ryukyu:

Ryukyuan ships return to Okinawa with supplies from the colony.

First colonists return to Ryukyu. While the initial outlook for the colony is good, government expenditure is a high, and benefits are not felt for some time.

Norasia:

August 1506: The largest Wabanakiyik settlements of Norridgewock, Jipugtug, Nashwaak, Abegweit, Sebayik, Oromocto, and Mniku all grow and prosper due to trade with the Haudensausee and the southern tribes. The Wabanakiyik also begin to move into the island of Newfoundland.

September 1506: The Wabanakiyik encounter English fishing camps on the shores of Newfoundland, as the English have taken to referring to this first land of Norasia discovered by John Cabot.

November 1506: English mariners establish contact with the Lnu'k (Micmac) heartland. The Waponahkiyik grant the English permission to trade from the burgeoning port of the Segepenegatig Lnu'k, Jipugtug. The English take to calling the town "Chiptoc".

1506 November: The Haudenosaunee Council approves Hurit’s written version of the Gayanashagowa (http://www.indigenouspeople.net/iroqcon.htm), or Constitution. Each clan in each of the 7 nations now has at least one person who can read and write Waponahkiyik-form Iroquois.

Mesoamerica:

The English Crown, having heard rumors from returning sailors of plans to assist the Totonac, sends a small force to make certain that the rebelling tribes owe their allegiance to the English Crown, and not the Society of Merchant Venturers. The Great Uprising begins, with allied enemies striking against the Aztec Triple Alliance. A small number of English firearms and a few horsemen from England help to give a great boost to the rebelling tribes. The Aztec fall to great slaughter. The Totonac pledge an end to human sacrifice and allegiance to England's 'Great Speaker across the Waters'. The Totonac stand to gain great wealth from the overthrow of the Aztec, and also pledge an annual tribute in return for a small but continuing supply of English weapons. The Haustec are granted independence of sorts as a separate protectorate of England.

A small expedition of Englishmen sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers is established in the Isthmus (OTL Panama) to clear a road from the Atlantic to the Arthurian Ocean.

[Glen]

1507:

Portugal:

1507 Summer:

The Catholic Church in Portugal has been rabble rousing through the kingdom, trying to turn the people against Manoel and occasionally trying to get them to attack the Jews. Archbishops and cardinals meet with Manoel I for a three day long meeting to determine the course of Portugal's religious matters. After heated debates and barely veiled threats, Manoel I cuts most funding to the Catholic Church. Church rabble rousing begins in earnest again.

Manoel begins great works, building roads, canals, and shipyards using the incoming wealth from the Far East. He increases the size of the army and the size of the navy, he also begins sending out more nobles into Africa to oversee the construction of forts and harbors and extract tribute from the conquered tribes and cities in Africa.

De Albuquerque returns from India. He is immediately sent back with orders for De Gama to start taking control of Muslim ports and cities. De Albuquerque returns with 30 ships and hundreds of troops.

Margaret of Portugal gives birth to her third child, a girl named Beatrice.

Burgundy:

The civil war in Utrecht comes to an end. The Bishop of Utrecht has spend all his money in the war and is broke. He has not managed to regain control over Oversticht. He decides to sell his territories to Burgundy. Philip of Burgundy accepts even though part of the country is not under his control.

Saxony:

Duke Albert is killed in a skirmish with partisans from Gruningen. His duchy now passes to his fourth son Frederick, grand-master of the Teutonic order. In Saxony, resentment of the Hapsburgs begins to grow, even in Ernestine Saxony where Frederick begins to think that the Emperor has treated his brother shabbily.

Northern Italy:

1507 May 10: Duke Charles II of Savoy ends the long standing feud between Saluzzo and Savoy by marrying his cousin, Michelle Antonia of Saluzzo and laying claim as well to the Margravate of Saluzzo.

Milan:

To celebrate the Duke Francesco’s coming of age, he and his grandfather Alphonso II of Naples sign a treat of friendship, peace, and alliance. It includes articles on mutually beneficial trade and defense.

Papal States:

Alexander shuffles off the mortal coil. He is replaced by Oliviero Carafa. He takes the name Innocent IX.

Naples:

Prince Ferdinand of Naples and Prince Piero of Rossano are killed by assassination. It remains undiscovered whom had ordered it. Prince Alphonso, the ambassador to Ndongo, is first in line to the throne. Alphonso inherits his brother's title as Duke of Romagna.

Muscovy:

1507 May: The first of 2-dozen new Russian Merchant vessels are finished and launched. The first of 10 new Russian galley’s are also launched, they are built mostly for coastal defense and training.

1507-1509: Nil Sorsky decides to start evangelizing to the peasants. He tells his “Sorskivtes” that he will be leaving for the Russian countryside teaching, preaching, living off what the Lord provides. He does not ask any of them to follow him, but would not reject any company. A small band of 20 set out to preach the about reforming and going back to a simpler, apostleistic approach to God.

This move is at first seen as a bit of a joke by the Hierarchy, particularly Joseph Volotsky, until Sorskivites gain strength through the peasant population and lower clergy. Hoping to crush the heresy, the Josephineians start a smear campaign against Sorsky and his followers.

During this time, the Sorskivtes develop the reformations basic doctrines, while most don’t differ from the Orthodox, such as the Trinity, Iconography, the Resurrection, the infallibility of the Bible and the Orthodoxy’s idea’s on “Sola scriptura”. However the reformers believe that the Individual only way to God is through ones own inner world and personal emotional experiences of faith, Monks should use their time for productive labor, a modest lifestyle as well as going about seeing to the peasants and those that are sick and unable to care for themselves.

A group of Sorskivites takes it upon themselves to start learning what they can to treat the sick and heal using Christ as an example. They also glean what they can from Local healers and star experimenting with different cures for various ailments.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Oroduwa, the king of the Oyo, receives word of fabulous tales of pale skinned peoples from the North, who tell tails of eternal life for a those who believe in a man who was nailed to a tree. These people are amazingly cunning artisans, and ride the sea in massive canoes. The people to the South are benefiting from thier patronage. He send an Embassy to the Kongo, wishing to receive an ambassador of these people. He promises safe passage in his lands, and a very healthy gift to both the King of Kongo, and the White Skinned people who follow the Man Who was Nailed to a Tree.

1507 Spring: King Diego, and a two-thousand man strong army of Ndongolese and Matambans leave to fight in Lunda. Breaking from tradition, he appoints Queen Betânia as Regent, instead of a senior member of the Macota. Acting as Regent, Queen Betânia recieves the Kongolese emissary, and signs their proposed alliance. The Macota question her eligibility to sign alliances, however the Franciscan Tendala, explains to them the powers of a Catholic regent in Italy.

1507 May: After discussions with the Franciscans from Rome, the Regent signs the proclaimation establishing the Ndongolese Inquisition. With threats of secession from the Matamban lords, the proclaimation was declared specifically foe the Ndongolese realm. Bishop Lorenzo of São Rafael is made Grand Inquisitor. Unlike its European counterpart, the Ndongolese priests give their fellow countrymen "one month's time," to convert and prove themselves good Christians. A little less than three-hundred pagani, those who refused to convert, fled into Matamba. The rest were burned at the stake. A non-Christian Matamban lord by the name of Lukeni Ndambi gathered a large Matamban following in opposition to the monarchy.

1507 Summer: Ndongo-Matamba breaks out in Civil War. The Ndongolese and Matamban Catholics against the unconverted Matambans. With her husband and a large part of the trained army off fighting in the jungles of Lunda, Queen Betânia asks the Christian Kongolese to help crush the rebellion.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1507 January: Work begins on the Imperial Road, a wide, tree- and canal-lined, brick-laid road from Diu via Chittor to Chittagong. It is for Raimal what the temples were for more architecturally-minded emperors – audacious and labor-intensive proof of his greatness.

Australasia:

Resistance to war in the Bate Salapang, after a year of prevaricating, finally collapses. The karaeng decides, for the protection of Macassan fishermen, to declare war on the Yolgnu. The First Yolgnu War begins.

Gowan soldiers are dispatched south on warships. The Gowan army land in the territory of the pro-Macassan Gunbalang, and advance east. Pro-Yolgnu tribes are massacred.

However, the Gowans quickly become stalemated in a guerrilla war against the Yolgnu. As there are no permanent settlements to occupy, the Yolgnu can rapidly vanish into the bush; dozens of soldiers are killed in raids. In retaliation, any person believed to be of Yolgnu culture is killed on sight.

China:

1507-1508: After three years of mass slaughter, the Ming armies finally had several strong victories that they could write home about.

1507 May Late: Five Jurchen tribes launching raids on Ming settlements in Duoyan were defeated by Ming generals who were finally beginning to adapt their tactics to Manchu fighting styles.

1507 Winter: By the time winter rolled in, Ming armies had marched well north of their military encampments in southern Duoyan and hot on the heels of retreating Manchu clans who now found themselves on the recieving end of punitive raids.

In 1507 and 1508, these victories were followed up on by additional Ming armies dispatched to the region, driving the Manchu tribes further north into the cold lands of the Siberian tundra, referred to in official court documents as Seber, a reference to the local Tartar tribes name for this area.

Ryukyu:

To improve volume of trade and prosperity of the colony, an adviser to King Sho shin suggests trading directly with the local people. This suggestion is put into action later that year.

New World:

Neapolitans from Messina (OTL Havana) explore the coast of the Yucatan, making contact with Mayans.

As per the treaty with their Catholic Majesties and the Pope, The island of Puerto Rico is granted as a papal fief.

The first colony in Florida is established at Saint Augustine (same location as OTL).

Totonac Protectorate:

The Speaker of the Totonac converts to Christianity after hearing the teachings of the legendary 'Brother John', an itinerant monk with the Society of Merchant Venturers. Brother John is reputed to have claimed that Quetzlcoatl was just another name for the White Christ, and that the coming of the Church represented the return promised in legend. In addition, he provides further justification for the recent ban on human sacrifice by bluntly asserting that the sacrifice of the Son of God on the Cross makes all other sacrifices unnecessary. This teaching greatly assuages the general populace, who had begun to grow concerned about possible calamities should there be no sacrifices to placate the gods. In years to come, first the nobility, then the general populace, would start to turn to Christianity, though a strong strain of native tradition would color their interpretation of the religion.

The resupply ships sent to the English workers in the Isthmus (OTL Panama) is shocked to find the entire expediton missing. There are many graves along the route of the barely begun road, and a diary kept by the leader of the expedition tells of death by pestilence and occasional raids from hostile tribesmen out of the swamps.

[Glen]

1508:

France:

Marriage of King Charles IX to his cousin the Lady Marguerite d'Angoulême, which kept France from forming a foreign alliance, and secured the succession.

Benelux:

Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, joins the anti-Burgundian alliance of Guelders, Cleves/Mark and Julich-Berg.

Holy Roman Empire:

Henry Wettin, upon hearing of the death of his father, goes briefly into mourning, and becomes deeply introspective. After half a year, he emerges from his solitude a changed man, believing firmly that Albert's loyalty to an empire given to decadence and corruption helped cause his death. Henry, like Frederick the Wise and Bertholt of Mainz, becomes an advocate of widespread reforms. He begins aggressively with these reforms in Trier, stamping out the practice of indulgences and begins supporting more radical causes, such as the translation of the Bible into German and broader ecclesiastical reforms. Bertholt of Mainz largely goes along with Henry's reforms.

Albertine Saxony is deeply in debt, and attempting to remedy the situation would harm both Frederick and the Hansa. Therefore, Grand-master Frederick sells his claim to the duchy to his cousin, Frederick the Elector of Ernestine Saxony. Grand-master Frederick and the Teutonic Knights and Hansa benefit richly from the sale, balancing their books and pouring more money into their richly outfitted expedition to the new world. Duke of a now reunited Saxony, Frederick offers Gruningen for sale to the highest bidder.

The Elector of Upper Palatinate throws his hat in the ring, relying on the rich iron mines of his realm to finance his bid for the purchase of Groningen and other lands purchaseable.

Groningen is transferred to the count of East Frisia.

Marriage of Barbara, daughter of Philip the Upright, Elector of the Palatine.

Muscovy:

With the increase in trade between Moscow and Riga, Dmitriy annexes the autonomous reigns of Pskov and Volokolamsk.

Middle East:

De Albuquerque is sent to conqueror the Island of Hormuz, with 20 ships and 1000 troops. There’s a fierce battle, but in the end the Portuguese manage to take the island. They begin setting up a fort there. De Albuquerque is there for most of the year, fighting back counterattacks by the local rulers.

Subsaharan Africa:

King Aphonso warmly receives the embassy from the Oyo, and sends a diplomatic mission, including several priests, back to the Oyo court.

The army arrives on the coast and sails a few miles inland to Sao Rafael. The army is split into two groups. The larger one is headed by Frederick and is sent to combat the pagan separatists alongside the King. The smaller one is headed by Prince Alphonso and is sent to trek into the Lunda Empire to assist in the conquest.

Manoel I sends settlers to the Cape of Good Hope; the increasing travel and the growing power of the Western African Nations are becoming something of a threat. The city of Porto Manoel is established.

Indian Ocean:

Lorenco de Almeida is sent to explore up and down the eastern coast of India, they come across Sri Lanka and set up trading relations with the Kingdom of Kotte and attack the Kingdom of Jaffna, looting it’s port cities. Portuguese ships manage to reach Bengal later that year.

Marege (OTL Australia):

A permanent military base, Tunijallo, is set up in occupied Yolgnu territory. It becomes the first permanent Gowan settlement in Marege. The karaeng declares the annexation of all Yolgnu and anti-Macassan tribal territory.

Smallpox is introduced into Marege for the first time. The effects are, predictably, catastrophic.

Sibir Khanate:

Late 1508: An influx of people from the east causes Khan to call a council of tribal elders to discus what to do about these new people and their tales of the war between the Manchu and Ming. The Council for the moment decides to monitor the situation, but the elders also agree to expand the army and send an emissary to the Manchu to find out their intentions and strength.

Vietnam:

Champas Merchants bring home the story of the Taiwan natives attack on the Ryukyu merchants. This along with increasing attacks by pirates prompt the Champas to request protection. In response the Vietnamese begin stationing Soldiers of the Champas Ships. From 4~5 on Small vessels to a couple squads on the large vessels. They are put to work by the Champas, who have no room for dead weight supercargos. From this would grow the Viet Navy & Marine Corp.

East Asia:

Ashikaga Yoshizumi is replaced as Shogun by Ashikaga Yoshitane (who was Shogun from 1490-1493), who had secured the support of a powerful daimyo from Yamaguchi, Ouchi Yoshioki. Yoshizumi's puppeteer Hosokawa Masamoto was killed a year earlier

Pirates ransack Tsushima city, while bakufu trade ships bound for Korea are in port. They manage to escape to the Asian mainland with a huge bounty of precious goods. Newly restored Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane, intent on preserving his seat of power and being seen as a powerful ruler, declares a 'war on piracy and pirates'. Unfortunately the bakufu has basically no navy. Fortunately, the clans of Kyushu and Chugoku have ships that they can commit to the campaign.

Norasia:

Another attempt is begun by the Society of Merchant Venturers to build a road through the Isthmus (OTL Panama) is begun, this time heavily relying on labor shipped in from the Totonac and the recently acquired Aztecs. The Totonac actually do better in the climate than the Aztecs, though it is still the English who suffer the most, but in future keep to the coast to avoid the miasma of the interior. Fire is used to clear large swaths of forest for the road.

South America:

The Zipa, who heads the Southern Muisca Confederation dies without a male child. His wife, having seen the success of the Hunza, suggests to the Zaque, that he betroth his youngest son to her eldest daughter, and completely unify the Confederation. The Zaque agrees immediately, with promises of spreading his successes to the Southern peoples.

Caribbean:

Pope Innocent sends a contingent of priests to set up a Church on the Island of San Juan in the Carribean, and to educate and Christianize the natives. They are sent with a Spanish ship.

Having conflicting claims to the largest island in the Carribean, the kings of Spain and Naples sign a treaty to resolve the territorial issue. Naples would receive the western half (everything from OTL Ciego de Ávila Province west) while Spain would receive the eastern half. They two countries also agreed to send a joint expedition to the mainland south of the island (Central America). However, Columbus dies, briefly throwing the Spanish Caribbean into turmoil. Though his son is quickly able to reestablish authority over the fractious colonists, expeditions beyond the Caribbean are temporarily curtailed.

[Glen]

1509:

England:

1509 September 19: Henry VII Tudor, King of England, dies on this day. He is succeeded by his son, Arthur Prince of Wales.

1509 December 25: Arthur Tudor is formally crowned on Christmas Day, taking the regnal name King Arthur II. Historians formally mark this date as the beginning of the "Second" Arthurian Age. The new King Arthur the Second has the title, ‘King of the Britons’ added to those of the coronation ceremony.

Portugal:

Manoel I sends out ships to explore the lands discovered by Diaz in 1502.

Holy Roman Empire:

Marriage of Helene, daughter of Philip the Upright, Elector of the Palatine.

Marrying two of his daughters to the biggest patriarchs of the Rhenish free cities helps, but just as big (if not a bigger) factor was the Elector’s ordering the construction (at his expense) of new and repaired churches for all those cities who wished one built or repaired. The end result is the free cities come under Philip’s umbrella of protective authority.

At the final meeting of the Thirds (the Wendish, Rhenish, Teutonic Knights) before the dawn of the 1510 decade, Philip assures the heads of the Hansa that these cities are still free cities. The churches and cathedrals built and repaired are staunchly pro-Papacy, pointedly denouncing the teachings of Wettin.

Saxony:

Upon the recommendation of his cousin the Archbishop of Trier, Frederick of Saxony appoints Martin Luther one of his personal secretaries, and a tutor to his ten-year-old son, the precocious Ernst Frederick.

Duke Frederick of Saxony begins looking for a means of ensuring a smooth succession from this point forward. He turns to the estates, a combination of higher clergy, town burgers and nobles, and considers leaving the succession, partially at least, in their hands.

Milan:

The Duke of Milan marries Princess Anne of France. This help alleviate tensions between the two countries. France quietly drops its claim to the ducal throne.

Muscovy:

A peasant brings his 7-year-old son, Alik, to the Knights of St Andrew. The Grand Master asks why he doesn’t send him to a Monastery instead, the father replies that he did but they threw him out because he kept escaping and was leading the other boys on “crusades” to route out the heathen Mongols. The boy is very intelligent and absorbs everything he’s learned, but is undisciplined and vivid imagination, and can’t be controlled. The Grand Master accepts the young Alik, and keeps an eye on the boy.

Ottoman Empire:

1509 September 10: A great earthquake takes place at the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Annals record it as “Lesser Judgement Day.” Istanbul and the surrounding area is devastated.

1509 November: Prince Osman, son of Emperor Selim, has already begun amassing a following in the province of Istanbul: his speeches, given between the times of prayer for devoted Muslims. Osman tells of God’s impatience, that the Lord Allah indeed blesses the Empire, but has sent the earthquake to remind the people that He desires action be taken against the unbeliever – translation: Osman has been tasked by God to raise a war against the Christians in the Levant.

Jerusalem:

1509 July: Pierre DAubusson, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Prince of the Church and Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaler, dies.

1509 September: The Hospitalers select Sir Thomas Docwra, an Englishman, as their new grand master. Docwra becomes the first ever English grand master of the order.

Middle East:

De Gama sends De Albuquerque and De Almeida to Yemen to raid it for what’s needed and pirate among the Arab ships.

De Albuquerque launches an attack upon Aden, in Yemen. After brutal fighting the city is taken, but not for long as reinforcements manage to drive the Portuguese out, but not after taking what they came for.

De Almeida ravages the Arab shipping along the Yemen and Oman coasts.

Indian Ocean:

De Gama sends out ships to a place called Malacca. The Portuguese under Lorenco De Almeida discover Malacca and tell tales of the major trading going on there. A captain named Ferdinand Magellan dies in Malacca after taking ill. Lorenco De Almeida explores in and around Malacca for the next year.

Twenty ships under Francisco De Almeida arrive to reinforce De Gama.

De Albuquerque successfully returns from fortifying and laying claim to Hormuz.

Vijayanagara Empire:

De Gama strikes a deal with the Vijayanagara Empire as one of it’s provinces rises up in rebellion. They’ll provide horses and artillery for the Vijayanagara in return for Goa.

Viranarasimha Raya is killed while putting down a revolt , His Half brother Krishna Deva Raya becomes Emperor.

Marege (OTL Australia):

The war continues to go badly for both sides; the Yolgnu cannot score a decisive victory to drive away the Gowans, yet the difficulties of sustained guerrilla warfare cost the kingdom heavily.

In desperation, the Gowans turn to the use of proxies. Pro-Macassan tribes are used for the bulk of the fighting, and commit some of the war's most notable atrocities, including the massacre of Yolgnu women and children.

Gallarang, a Yolgnu resistance fighter, becomes unofficial leader of the Yolgnu through his efforts as a general and a warlord. The demands of the war make his rule increasingly authoritarian.

Sibir Khanate:

The emissaries of the Sibir reach the Manchu early the next year and meet with the leaders and hear exaggerated stories of their slaughter by the Ming. The stories surprise and alarmed the Siberian emissaries; they send word back to the Khan. The Siberians' sympathy brings them to invite the Manchu back to Qashliq.

China:

1509 - 1510: Two additional years of warfare lead the armies of the Hongzhi Emperor to a status quo victory over the Manchu tribes who now found themselves subjugated under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Sibeoci Fiyanggū and his Odoli Clan were driven north, beyond their native Manchurian fields, into the frozen tundra and forests of Eastern Siberia (Seber). After their defeat at the hands of the Hongzhi Emperor's armies and the splintering of the Manchu clans, it would take several decades for any semblance of order to be restored to the now entirely nomadic Manchu tribes, who found themselves without a home, and without much grazing land available to them. Only at the turn of the 17th Century would the Jurchen clans again find themselves to be in an advantageous position to threatten to the northern Ming flanks.

In China, while the loss of many tens of thousands of lives in the Manchu conflict was regrettable and caused the emperor much anguish, the victory over the Manchu tribes and the opening of all of Manchuria to Han settlement opened a doorway to the Ming not opened since the days of the Han emperor. The Ming now had access to all of the horses, grazing land, and fertile farm land necessary to quench the thirst of the peasant class for generations to come. Along with that, it was no longer necessary for the Ming armies in the west to continue treating the other nomadic peoples, the Mongols, as unequal trading partners.

By the end of 1510, the Ming armies would begin the process of becoming entirely self-sufficient in horses needed by their cavalry. Within a few decades, the hearty horses of the steppe would be bred by the thousands in Manchuria and interior China, leaving the Mongol tribes increasingly on the losing end of Ming trading policy.

Japan:

Ouchi Yoshioki rallies clans from around his home province of Suo who are loyal to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane. Pro Ouchi/Ashikaga clan leaders talk of forming a league to protect the unstable Shogunate, and their own positions of power in western Japan.

East Asia:

The Ryukyuan colony in northern Taiwan is taking too much government time away from domestic affairs. In the past few years, word has reached Okinawa of a new commercial concept emerging out of China - called the 'joint stock company', or something similar. Ryukyuan government officials and rich commoners are sent to China to learn of this concept, and the ramifications it may have for Ryukyu - a small nation with disproportionately high commercial influence.

South America:

The Zaque spread East and completely surrounds the lake (Maracaibo) and even further along the coast. He avoids war where possible, and fight when necessary.

He therefore tries to marry into tribes when possible, and when war is the last option, to be forgiving when hostilities end. To this end, he never takes control of villages and cities, but rather, sets up fortified trading stations with a mind to bringing the less civilized peoples into the Confederation. He tries to place these stations at strategic points that will benefit trade for the most part, but they are truly fortified.

The Muisca have made their way to the Orinoco Delta. Many fortified trading posts are built in the area. After this they will fortify the coastal areas against the Caribs, and turn inwards in regards to extending their trading network.

Incan Empire:

The number of words in use has doubledd to two hundred , and the Inca is taking a very serious interest in this. One of his (many) sons, Washkar, who is a favorite of the Inca after Atawallpa and a few others, takes a serious interest in this and learns the khipu. He then begs the Inca to allow him to build a "library" and academy for khipumaynacs. The Inca agrees and construction begins.

[Glen]

1510:

England:

King Arthur the Second forms a new order of knighthood, the Order of the Round Table. Among the first to be inducted into the prestigious new order is his brother, Henry Tudor.

France:

King Charles IX takes the throne in his own right. A son was born to Queen Marguerite months later, whom they named Philippe. He was made Dauphin soon after. Quite the humanist himself, the King invited many humanists to France and his court. Like his mother, the King appeared to be against using military force as much as possible. However, unlike his mother, he believed the State should be protected. By carefully raising taxes on small items for the nobility, Charles IX was able to raise a formidable army, while keeping the third estate placated.

Portugal:

Queen Margaret gives birth to her fourth child, a boy named Francisco.

Lorenco De Almeida returns from Malacca and the surrounding areas, he tells the tales of the rich trade and the wealth that flows through there.

Spain:

The Spanish army and navy, which have been steadily building up since the Mameluke War, continue to build. This worsens the Spanish financial situation.

Saxony:

1510-1511: Frederick begins streamlining the administration of his reunited duchy, and promulgates a succession law by which the estates will choose from among the sons of Wettin "one duke for all of Saxony", by which decision all of the other sons will be bound, andall of the estates likewise. While the duke remains sole ruler over Saxony, this decision helps strengthen the power of the estates.

Hanseatic League:

The addition of Lucca and Ostia to the Hansa has forced a reorganization. The league meets in a grand council at Lubeck. The grand council agrees to the division of the Hansa into new thirds: Rhenish, Wendish and Italian. The former Prussian third, which had been suffering after the Levonian war, was absorbed into the Wendish Federation, though the grand-master of the Teutonic Order greatly feared that the Elector of Brandenburg and others would probably end up with most of the old Prussian lands. The grand council was confirmed as a biannual event, with the council of each third to meet once a year. The Rhenish and Italian thirds were tasked with expanding Hanseatic networks in their areas. Malta was given semi-autonomous status.

The Hanseatic League launches an expedition to the new world, supported by several German nobles including the count Palatine and Duke of Saxony. Their object is the tip of the southern continent, and a possible route into the Arthurian Ocean.

Milan:

A cadet branch of the Abravanal family moves to Milan to help the Duke finance the construction of several public works projects designed by da Vinci.

Muscovy:

The monk Philotheus of Pskov records the Legend of the White Cowl, which asserts the historical and religious inevitability of Russia's place as the heir to the Byzantine Empire's temporal and religious authority.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

1510 Spring: The "Decisione vittoriosa," is decided upon by King Diego and the Macota of the Kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba. In return for complete internal autonomy, and freedom to practice their own religions, over 4,000 Jaga Cassangi mercenaries are sent to finally destroy the Lunda empire, under to command of Prince Marcos, King Diego's brother.

1510 Summer: The King's eldest son, the Duke of Benguela, is betrothed to the daughter of the chief-king of the Lunda states, the king of Luba. She is christened Maria-Caterina, and upon marriage to the Prince, styled Duchess of Benguela. She brings with her a large dowry of iron ore, salt, and palm oil- main items of the Lunda state of Luba.

1510 Fall: A company of jungle-crusaders capture the Luba king, and revoke all treaties with him. With the other Lunda states captured, the Crusade has proven successfull. The king of Luba is executed in his capital immediatley after declaring his Catholic daughter, the Duchess of Benguela, "Empress of Lunda and Queen of Luba." The other Lunda states acknowledge her as their sovereign.

1510 Winter: An extravagant three-week long celebration of victory in the Crusade and of Christmas is held in Ndongo. King Diego is crowned "Emperor of Lunda, King of Luba and Kazembe-Lunda," by the Bishop. Following the festivities, many missionaries and soldiers are sent into the Lunda states, forcing the peoples to either convert or die. Food supply is cut off to the quarantined states until the entire state is either converted or killed.

Middle East:

Francisco De Almeida is sent back to ravage the Yemen and Oman coasts.

Indian Subcontinent:

Rajamaharana:

Portuguese establish their dominion of India in Goa.

1510 June: Raimal takes a celebratory tour along the first stretch of the Imperial Road to be completed, from Chittor to Mathura.

De Gama takes possession of Goa, from the Vijayanagara Empire. He makes it the capitol of the State of India.

De Gama sends de Albuquerque and Lorenco de Almeida back to Malacca, to take the city. He leaves with a hefty 26 ships and 1600 troops.

Trade is opened with the Bengal.

Australasia:

A heavily armed fleet under Francisco de Almeida and his son launch an attack upon Malacca and the surrounding areas. it takes six months to fully subjugate the trading city, de Almeida massacring thousands of Muslims to break their hold on the city.

Marege (OTL Australia):

In Kai Djawa, the first permanent Yolgnu trading station, for pearls and trepang, is established. Similar settlements are set up in Marege.

Macassan economic influence begins to spread inland through the use of proxies. The first treaty with an inland tribe is concluded, by which they will supply labour for technology and food.

Yolgnu: The Collapse, 1510-1530:

By the end of the First Yolgnu War, Gallarang had been established as paramount leader of the Yolgnu. This status was confirmed in the First Makaratta, which established him as bate, or prince, of Yolgnu.

Gallarang was a warlord, and ruled his nation as such. Recognising the adaptability of the Gowan state system, he established a Yolgnu Bate Salapang, a parliament of respected elders and military leaders. The devastation of smallpox led to the realisation that, to prevent conquest by one of the ambitious military powers off the Australian coast, the traditional Yolgnu life was not, in the long term, viable.

Gallarang's 'land clearance' policies were brutal, harsh but ultimately effective. Coastal tribes were forced into fishing settlements along the coast; as no crops had yet been established in Marege due to the inclement climate, their survival was dependent upon fluctuating fish stocks. The already imperilled Yolgnu population was put at further risk by growing exploitation of their waters. Each village maintained, to a degree, traditional forms of government, with a strong emphasis on respect for elders and tribal consensus. However, Gallarang's authority was not seriously questioned at the time.

Unfortunately, the power that Gallarang hoped to establish proved ultimately unstable. He was killed in a military coup in 1520, with subsequent warlords proving ineffective. The Yolgnu lacked the infrastructure, the numbers or the stability for a lasting state, at least at this point; lacking writing, metallurgy, or close allies, the state was ultimately doomed.

By 1530, the Yolgnu nation had broken down into a series of coastal fishing villages, without any central authority. Each was ruled by a council of local elders, who ruled by consensus; however, there was no serious attempt at the development of national forms. The first Yolgnu nation had collapsed, and their numbers had been reduced to mere hundreds.

Sibir Khanate:

After hearing the Manchu’s story, the Khan offers the Manchu Land in the Southern Steppes as well as possible revenge against the Ming. Privately the Khan doubts that anything will be able to be done. However realizing the dangers of the Ming he starts a modernization of the Army. He asks the Manchu leader to send some of his most experienced soldiers to Qashliq to help train his Army.

Japan:

This years marks the first major engagements in the pirate wars. Warships of the more seagoing clans of western Japan (Kyushu, Shikoku, Chugoku districts) are committed against pirates operating in Japanese waters. The policy of interception soon becomes more aggressive when ship captains are encouraged to pursue pirates into international waters. At first casualties among the Japanese are high, but they are soon reduced when they gain experience in naval warfare.

The Nambu clan establish more fishing villages and colonies on the east coast of Ezo (OTL Hokkaido).

Norasia:

1510 January: The Stadacona and Hochelega tribes officially expand from one clan to three. This reflects the fact that roughly a dozen villages of formerly independent Iroquois-speaking peoples along Kaniatarowanenneh River (http://www.wampumchronicles.com/kaniatarowanenneh.html) have fallen into the orbit of each tribe over the past few years. The whole river from Lake Ontario to the Waponahkiyik lands is now solidly Haudenosaunee territory.

Caribbean:

After arriving in San Juan, the priests from the Vatican find the island in a state of chaos as smallpox ravages the natives. They quickly establish a hospital and church and get to work healing and converting.

[Glen]

1511

England:

King Arthur II declares that Wales shall be known henceforth as Britain, in honor of its heritage. For years, Britons had complained of being known as ‘Weales’ or foreigners in old Anglo-Saxon.

1511 June 28: King Arthur the Second, on the occasion of his brother Henry’s twentieth birthday, declares him ‘Lord Champion of the Realm’.

Portugal:

1511 January 23: Margaret of Portugal gives birth to her final child, Anna.

Manoel I begins the renovation of Lisbon, creating new aqueducts, expanding its already massive harbor and shipyards, roads, and various other city infrastructures, creating a new Rome in the West.

New schools and universities are built due to Margaret of Portugal’s encouraging. The music and arts are also heavily patronized.

Benelux:

William of Julich-Berg passes away. His son-in-law Johan (married to his daughter Maria) succeeds him as duke of Julich and Berg and count of Ravensberg.

Charles of Gueldres marries Anna, the second daughter of William of Julich-Berg.

Saxony:

Frederick of Saxony sells Groningen to Edward of East Frisia, and Frisia to Philip of the Palatinate.

Naples:

Prince Alphonso of Naples returns to Italy. He bring with him his family, consisting of his wife, Maria Christina, his sons, Filippo and Ferrante, and his daughters, Leonora, Diana and Giovanna. The Kings brother Frederick takes over his role as ambassador to Ndongo.

Russia:

The Russian Navy and Merchant Marine continue to grow. With the help of Dutch ship designers the first carrack. In honor of Dmitriy’s Grandfather, the ship is named Ivan the Great, this is also the first time that Ivan III is called such. The Russian Navy now consists of the Ivan, 30 galleys, and about 20 smaller ships. The Russian Merchant fleet has increased to 50 ships. Most of the sailors of the Russian Fleet, both naval and merchant, are still foreigners, though the number of former Livonian’s and Russians are increasing.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

When King Diego orders the extermination of the entire Lunda and non-Catholic Matamban people, he is officially deposed by the Macota of Ndongo-Matamba, and the Kingdom is placed under the Regency of the former king's sister and brother-in-law Prince Marcos and Princess Maria-Joséphine. The Duke of Benguela is crowned "King Emmanuel II."

Prince Marcos and his Franciscan advisors divide the Lunda states into two provinces; in the north, Luba, and in the south, Lunda. Meanwhile, in order to thank the Kongo, he cedes to them the Kongolese-speaking kingdom of Ngoyo, and promises to send soldiers to help the Kongolese in the conquering of the heathen empire of Luanda.

Ethiopia:

Prince Eon accompanies his father, King Eslander, to visit the shipyard in Djibouti listens to the Imans calling the Faithful to prayer, and asks his father-
"But are not we Christians, also the Faithful of the Lord? Should we not also pray?" Maybe it was the odd light in the Prince's eyes but the King agreed.
Due to Prince Eon, Christian Priests in Ethiopia begin calling the Christian Faithful to Prayers at the same time the Muslim Imans do. This would be later considered Saint Eon's first saintly act.

Marege (Australia):

The war enters its third year, with no signs of abating. In desperation, the Shahbandur (Gowan foreign minister) decides to enter into negotiations with the Yolgnu. The Yolgnu, heavily weakened by smallpox, agree. By this time, smallpox has devastated the Yolgnu, destroying entire bands, ravaging families and wiping out entire tribes of their allies.

In the First Makaratta (treaty), Gallarang is recognised as bate (prince) of the Yolgnu, independent of Makassar but in a pact of permanent friendship. His allies are not so fortunate, with Gowa annexing the territory of any tribe to ally with the Yolgnu.

The ravages of smallpox force the tribes of Marege to gravitate towards the Gowan settlements along the coast, where they are given food for labour. They remain nominally independent, but the collapse of Yolgnu's alliances effectively grants the Gowans regional hegemony. Similar processes take place in Kai Djawa.

Meanwhile, Gowan praus continue to explore Marege, reaching the eastern side of OTL's Gulf of Carpentaria. Several trading stations are established, but many tribes, newly contacted, react badly to the intruders.

In Yolgnu, the population begin to gravitate to fishing settlements along the coast, established by Gallarang.

Japan:

The Nambu clan send a delegation of troops to explore the interior of Ezo and investigate ithe potential for trade, etc. The Nambu leaders are pleased with the reports but decide not to commit to any definite action.

Ryuku:

Trade with the Taiwanese people is strengthened. More colonies are established along the north-east and north-west coasts and further inland. Several hundred Ryukyuans have now permanantly relocated to Taiwan.

King Sho shin recalls the Royal navy that was built for the 'invasion' of Taiwan. All the navy was required to do was escort merchant and fishing ships to and from port, and occasionally run patrols outside of the principle harbours. Many individuals later doubted that this was the real reason the navy was recalled, as it was noticed that a high percentage of the sailors appeared to be becoming restless during the period of inactivity.

Later that year however, the navy became occupied with a much more serious task. Two years before, Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane had declared a 'war on piracy'. In the years following the new-found Sino-Ryukyuan political and diplomatic equality, King Sho shin, whose reign has long since been considered synonymous with a Ryukyuan 'golden age', attempted to gain further recognition amongst the states of East and South-East Asia as a powerful and independent nation. It was a matter of international prestige, as well as national security, that drove Sho shin to commit the bulk of the Ryukyuan navy to the war on piracy.

[Glen]

1512:

England:

King Arthur the Second declares a new order, the Order of Merlin. The Order of Merlin is awarded solely to Englishmen of Arts and Letters such as Natural Philosophers, and allows for them to sit in Parliament, to better advise the nation.

France:

News of England's commercial success in Norasia and of the New World in general led to King Charles IX sponsoring the Norasie Company of Paris in 1512. Three ships were sent to discover and lay claim to an area in the New World.

Portugal:

Tensions between the Church and the State come to a head as priests and clergy rouse the people in Porto to attack the administration centers of the city. They are demanding that Manoel I abdicate and allow a clergy member to become regent until his son is old enough to take the throne. They are also demanding their share of the wealth coming into Portugal.

King Manuel I ruthlessly crushes any opposition. The Catholic Church in Portugal is only a former power of what it once was. Manoel I is completing the work begun by John II in focusing all power upon the crown.

Needless to say, Rome is not pleased.

Benelux:

Johan IX van Horn, the bishop of Liege passes away. Adolf of Cleve, uncle of the Jan the Duke of Cleve, is appointed as his successor. Philip of Burgundy fears that Liege would ally itself to the anti-burgundian Alliance and opposes this appointment.

Charles of Gueldres becomes the father of a daughter named Catharina.

Saxony:

Philip Melanchthon begins studying at the University of Wittenberg, under the patronage of Martin Luther.

Hanseatic League:

The Hanseatic League was able to confirm the fact that the decade of 1500-1510 had been the most profitable in a century.

Further Hansa ships and settlers set out for Fredericksberg, building it up to a population of 1,000. Many of these settlers are from poorer families from the Baltic coast, or even peasants from Saxony and the Palatinate who have been promised freedom from their feudal obligations. Others are Teutonic knights.

Papal States:

Innocent IX dies, and is replaced by his relative Alessandro Carafa. He takes the name Innocent X.

Knights Hospitaler: Thomas Docwra orders that a census of all the knights, sergeants and chaplains be taken, and an account made of all the order's property.

Portugal:

The Catholic Church in Portugal is only a shadow of what it once was. Manoel I is completing the work begun by John II in focusing all power upon the crown.

Spain:

Now desparately strapped for cash, the Spanish sell Jamaica to the Hanseatic League. Spain also permits some of her major cities--such as Toledo, Corduba, Barsalona and Madrid to join the Hansa, after confirming their free city charters. However Spain is still deeply in debt--with a large military and, at the moment, nothing to do with it...

Muscovy:

In order to increase the Education of his People, two Universities are established, one in Moscow and one in Novgorod. Due his journeys, Nil Sorsky refuses the offer of being the first Headmaster at either School; instead Dmitriy offers the Headmastership of the Moscow Academy to his long time friend and confidant Vassian Patrikeyev, who accepts. A request for Teachers is sent though Europe offering teaching positions at the new Universities.

Maghreb:

New Granada:

Juan Carlos Muhammad XIII --son of Boabdil Muhammad XII of Granada--marries the Daughter of Mohammad Hasfid IV.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

1512 - 1515: The Lunda province is established as the seat of the second diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ndongo- the Diocese of Inner Africa. The Bishop in Sao Rafael is re-titled Bishop of Sao Rafael, the Franciscans place on of their own as Bishop of Inner Africa. The missionaries work in Luba and Lunda proves more successful than in Matamba, and stories of monotheistic coastal landers on the other ocean are told of. Prince Marcos begins the Construction of Ndongo- that, is the beginning of building permanent structures and walled cities throughout the heartland of the kingdom- Ndongo. Co-Regent Princess Maria-Joséphine dies on the voyage home to Ndongo.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1512 March: Raimal dies. His obsession with government administration pays off, as there is no succession crisis. Prithviraj is crowned Rajamaharana, virtually all of the royal family and Imperial Advisory Chamber continue in their old posts.

Varajanas:

The trade disputes between Chola and Jaffna lead to Emperor Raya sending troops to conquer the Kingdom of Jaffna. He requests help in this from the Portuguese that are moving in from the south. In return He will grant some trade concessions in Pondicherry, allowing Portugal onto the east coast.

Gowa:

Victory in the Yolgnu Wars has led to a widened national prosperity in Gowa, thanks to a flood of trepang, pearls and exotic foods into Makassar. In recognition of this, the Gowan Shahbandar opens up the port of Makassar to all foreign nations-effectively, becoming a free port, without tariffs or boundaries.

The karaeng of Tallok marries a Gowan princess, creating closer links between the two nations.

Marege:

Gallarang's land clearance practices begin. Although they are widely unpopular, they serve to transform the Yolgnu from a primarily hunter-gatherer society into a fishing-based economy.

An attempted coup by Gallarang's brother is put down harshly, but Gallarang is seriously weakened, physically and politically.

Southeast Asia:

As the Viets moved into the land along the southern and western borders of the Champas region, they came into contact and conflict with the Khmer, who were just across the poorly defined border.

Japan:

A Nambu flotilla explores the Chishima Islands and lands on Kitaezo (OTL now Sakhalin), meeting and trading with locals. Reports of the terrain, climate, and and environment are similar to those given of Ezo. Later that year a second expedition circumnavigates Kitaezo. While passing between the narrowest point between the island and the mainland, they are forced ashore on the island by bad weather.

Ryuku:

The somewhat nervous Ryukyuan navy begins its campaign against piracy. Operating in the waters between Ryukyu and mainland China, they see little action, involved in the occasional minor skirmish. What action they did see gave them the experience neccessary to handle the next opponents. With each battle, they show signs of improvement, slowly becoming a more coherent force.

Norasia:

Smallpox breaks out among the Lenape and Mohicans along the Meryk River. The contagion rages like wildfire, turning whole villages into ghostly places. The suffering is terrible, and spreads as fast as word of the plague, impacting all the tribes in the region.

Haudenosaunee:

A flesh-eating disease comes in from the east and rips through Haudenosaunee land, spreading as fast as a man can walk on the great roads, and into the Erie, Susequehanna, and Powhatan lands.
The old and the young are especially hard-hit; remote villages fare best. Medicine masks have some effect in slowing the disease, but not nearly enough. Generally, there are only two kinds of survivors -- those who never got sick at all and those who battled back from the absolute brink of death. It is widely agreed that this is the great holocaust predicted in the poem "The Funeral."

1512 September: The Chief of the Onondaga dies. The Clan Mothers elect an unknown man as Chief.

French ships arrive in Norasia and establish "Fort Nouvelle-France," (OTL Jacksonville, FL) and claim the areas of land surrounding it as "Carolina," in honor of the King. It is only a few miles north of the St. Augustine colony.

South America:

The Muisca begin to spread influence into OTL Trinidad, and the other Islands visible from its coasts. The Taino are instrumental in this work. Assistance from the Muisca against the Caribs, will hopefully draw the Arawak people to the Confederation. The Zaque of the Muisca has received word that the Inka are gearing up for conquest. He sends an emissary to the Inka in the hope of strengthening ties between thier peoples. He sends his own weight in Emeralds and a variety of other trade goods in the hope of receiving information on the Inkas new method of writing and accounting, and
stonemasons who can act as a cadre to his own growing engineering corp. He promises trade concessions, and to share knowledge of the newcomers, and their curious gadgets.

[Glen]

1513:

England:

Young Christopher Walker, on the recommendation of his captain, Sebastian Cabot, is given a captaincy with the Society of Merchant Venturers and a charter to search for a Northwest Passage to Asia.

Upon hearing tales of the devastation occuring in Norasia, King Arthur requests of Thomas Dowcra a contingent of English Hospitalers to be sent to Norasia to minister to the ill, and to provide for the care of orphans of the plague. Thomas Docwra pledges to do so, putting his son Lancelot Docwra in charge of the mission.

Benelux:

After secret negotiations with Charles of Gueldres, Oversticht declares itself independent of Burgundy and appoints Charles of Gueldres as their new ruler. Charles’ troops enter Oversticht and remove the few Burgundian troops from Oversticht’s territory. The other members of the anti Burgundian alliance (Edzard of east Frisia, Gerard of Julich-Berg and Jan of Cleve-Mark) support these actions. Adolf, the bishop of Liege also voices his support. Philip of Burgundy prepares for war.

Portugal:

Spring – Manoel I enacts laws that further weaken the power of the Nobility, in it’s stead raising the position of the merchant class that has grown to power in the last decade.

Due to the long distances and far-flung ports in South America, Africa, India, and Asia, the Portuguese begin developing specialized warships. Fast, agile, maneuverable, and heavily armed, these are set apart from the generally large and slower ships that have been used for decades in trading and war.

Alfonso De Albuquerque is named the second Viceroy of the State of India. Vasgo De Gama returns home to a hero’s welcome.

Muscovy:

With the increase in demand for Flax, a group of 10 flax farmers in the former Livonian region get together in order to sell their flax at higher prices than what they are getting currently. Though they receive more than what they have in the past for their crop, the group doesn’t do as well as they hope to and disband after the first year. The idea catches the ear of a man who is in Riga from Moscow on business, and he starts to contemplate how make it a more effective business practice.

Venice:

Early in the shipping season, the Doge receives an anonomous tip* that a tradesman is planning to take Venetian secrets out of Venice. The Venetian agents capture the tradesman in question, finding shipbuilding drawings among his effects. As the year progresses, and little information is forthcoming, the Doge puts increasing pressure on the tradesman’s fellows: the inhabitants of Venice’s Armenian quarter. Late in the shipping season, almost too late to do anything, Ottoman Emperor Isa sends a messenger to Venice, commanding the Council to cease this action with the Armenians, as they are under the protection of the Sublime Porte. Isa himself is of Pontus Greek extraction, but both his first wife (of three) and favorite concubine are Armenians.

1513-4:Over the Venetian winter, the Doge fumes…all his hard work, his return to the prominence which Doges once held in Venice, which certain spies have reported to the Sultan (after all, its what Venice would do unto other states)…and the Sultan acts as though the Council were still calling the shots. He stops the torture of random Armenians in Venice, though he does not call for the stopping of torture being meted out to those accused of crimes against Venice. In addition, the Doge isolates the Armenian quarter from the rest of Venice, encouraging its fall into disrepair.

Eastern Mediterranean:

Prince Eon visits the Patriarchs in Alexandria & Constantinople, to his dismay He finds them more interested in Temporal matters, than in the problems of a Church 2~3,000 miles away.

Knights Hospitaler:

Realizing that the order is badly over-stretched, Docwra begins determinedly setting out to increase the order's men-at-arms, offering a payment of debts and a silver piece a month to any Christian who will take the cross. Sergeants and men-at-arms are also freed from all vows, save obedience to the order and mother church.

Indian Sub-Continent:

The Vāhigurū Sikh religion ends its period of mass conversions (Lord Prithviraj’s beloved Jainism takes a rare turn as the fastest-growning religion). Vāhigurū Sikh now enters a period of theological deepening and cultural cohesion, as the Great Guru devotes much of his time to encouraging his disciples to debate religious issues in order to discover which tenets were vital and which were merely custom. It is from this period that the Four Tenets – equal rights, meditation, work ethic, and communalism – emerge.

Vietnam:

Prince Tang, one of Le Thanh Tong’s 14 sons, succeeded his father as Le Hien Tong . He was 54 years old at the time of his father's death.
He was an affable, meek and mild-mannered person. Due to his short period of rule and the fact that he didn't pass many significant reforms, his reign is considered to be an extension of Le Thanh Tong's rule.

East Asia:

Champas traders land on the south end of Taiwan and establish a small trading post.

Lorenco discovers Korea and Japan. He receives initial hostility at his first landing, but is welcomed when he arrives into Kyoto.

A large fort is build upon a port that has been purchased from the king of the Kotte kingdom in exchange for guns and weapons. The King begins brutally unifying his kingdom under his sole control, with Portuguese aid.

Haudenosaunee:

1513 January: Again, the Chief of the Onondaga dies. The Clan Mothers elect Hurit as Chiefess.

The smallpox outbreak has now spread to most of the English tradeposts and the neighboring tribes. In the north, whole villages are often wiped out. In the South, the more populace civilizations do not have complete destruction, but the numbers of dead are truly horrifying.

1513 Spring - Summer: Knights Hospitaler arrive under the command of Lancelot Dowcra. They begin work conforting the ill, burying, or when necessary, burning the dead, and caring for invalids and orphans of the disease. Their deeds more than their words convince several of the surviving Norasians near the English trading posts to convert to Christianity.

1513 Fall: Volunteers among the Hospitalers decide to stay through the harsh Norasian winter to continue their work. Their leader, Lancelot Dowcra, will not leave without them.

1513 - 1514 Winter:

Hospitalers and Norasians have to cooperate to survive through the second winter of the smallpox plague. By spring, some Hospitalers have taken Norasians as wives.

Totonac Protectorate:

Some claim that the plague is a punishment for abandoning the old gods, and there is a brief revival of pagan religion. However, the Speaker of the Totonac crushes the pagans by force of arms before they can take over entirely.

South America:

Incan Empire:

The library/academy called the churay jap'eqay khipu (place of khipu learning), with Washakr and his family being the main financiers. It is located just off the plaza of Awkaypata, and is quite large, being 200m by 150m in length. A hundred students are enrolled. Washkar finances a grand history of the Inca, and writing down of the religion. The history is notably pro-Washkar.

[Glen]

1514:

Scotland:

1514 May - September: Spurred by the growing success of the English in Norasia, King James IVth, finally satisfied with the growth of his naval forces, sends an expedition to the New World. While the English claim that all of Norasia is under English protection, King Arthur II chooses not to go to war over the issue for now.

England:

King Arthur the Second creates a companion order to the Merlins, the Order of the Venerable Bede. This is an honorary order for foreign men of Arts and Letters. It does not confer any rights within the Empire. Leonardo da Vinci is among the first offered the award.

Portugal:

The Passover Plot occurs, when seven young noble men are caught plotting the overthrow of the Portuguese crown. Some call it overreacting, but by year’s end, the seven young noblemen’s families and associates are rounded up and executed, their lands confiscated, and their titles revoked.

Burgundy:

Seeing the announcement of independence from Oversticht as the perfect opportunity to add Gueldres and Liege to his domains, Philip of Burgundy’s armies enter Liege from Luxembourg and quickly defeat all opposing armies as Liege was not expecting to be involved in this war and wasn’t prepared. From Limburg, Loon and Brabant Armies enter Gueldres Overkwartier, but find more opposition. They manage to conquer a couple of isolated pockets like Nieuwstadt and Roermond, but soon reinforces from Julich arrive. From Utrecht Burgundian troops enter the Veluwe and make battle with troops from Gueldres, who are reinforced with troops from Cleve. From Holland ships cross the Zuyderzee and enter Oversticht, where they already find troops from Gueldres and East-Frisia. The war both sides have been expected to occur for years has started and will last the for the next four years.

Hanseatic League:

Dietrich Segelmeister, a young ship captain (born 1493) from Lubeck, sets out with a fleet to sail into the Arthurian ocean. His voyage will last five years, and will lead to contact with many nations in the Arthurian Ocean (I'll need to talk to people in the Philippines if there are any). Segelmeister will return with rich treasures to a hero's welcome.

Holy Roman Empire:

Henry IV of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel dies. He is succeeded by his son, Henry V.

Trent:

{Bernardo Clesio does not become Bishop of Trent.}

Naples:

Prince Eon visits Naples. Ethiopia is very interested in strengthening ties with Naples, as the Kingdom of Jerusalem lies at the top of the Red Sea,
and Naple's, Semi control, of Alexandria [along with the Knights of Rhodes] gives it control of the Nile Delta. [portage from the Red Sea]

Ottoman Empire:

Emperor Isa receives the Doge’s emissary, who tells him that the tortures have stopped. The emissary then makes the mistake of relaying the next part of the Doge’s message: to stop being so commanding of him, for the Sultan still needs Venice. Isa, the mastermind behind Selim’s expansion of the navy and building of new docks, sees things differently. The Sultan feels that, if Venice is so eager to cut the apronstrings it has with the Empire, then so be it…after all, the Ottomans can easily bottle Venice up in the Adriatic.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Benin:

The King of Benin, sends an Emissary to the Ndongo, hoping to meet with these new peoples. He hopes to talk to these people who worship the ,"Man who was Nailed to a Tree", and hopes to learn more about the ways of these people. He sends 1,000 slave along with his emissary, and a plethora of goods in the hope that his request is well received.

He's knows that thier are factions among them, and requests that they send the Fransinkin (Franciscan) variety. Traders have spoken well of them, compared to some of the more ruthless Tree-man worshippers.

Kongo:

A Kongolese mission--including Franciscans--is sent North.

King Aphonso begins to question the morality of slavery. Though he is not deeply troubled by it at present, this is the first point at which the morality of the issue seems to cross his mind.

China:

The president of the "Xiao Trading Company," Xiao Li, died in March, leaving his son Xiao Lin to inherit control over the company. Lin decided to expand the company's warehouses in Guangzhou and neighboring Zhangzhou, as well as investing the large profits that the company had brought in via its Ryukyuan and Taiwanese trade routes into the construction of ship yards in Guangzhou on the Pearl River. The greatest of all changes initiated by Xiao Lin in his first year was the decision to dispatch Xiao trading junks, along with 150 men armed with the latest in musketry, crossbows, and cannons, to Pa-Outchow (Isle of Gems), the island of Sri Lanka to establish a trading post and secure a harbor.

Gowa:

A low-level border dispute between Gowa and Polombangkeng is exacerbated when ships from Polombangkeng are discovered trading with tribes in areas in Marege annexed by Gowa. Claiming a violation of their sovereignty, Gowa declare war.

In need of troops, Gowa offer the benefits of citizenship to many of their more compliant client tribes in Marege-with offers of self-government and honoured status. The majority refuse, but some tribes accept. The remaining independent tribes are increasingly squeezed between Gowan areas. Yolgnu remain strictly neutral, increasing caught up in its own political problems.

The war, however, does not go well. After initial advances, the Gowan advance is bogged down. An alliance of states in the region opposed to Gowan expansionism destroys the Gowa-Tallok-Marege army at Bungaya, and takes Garassik. Gowa sue for peace after only four months of fighting.

The terms are harsh. The Gowa-Tallok alliance is broken off. Some areas in Marege are granted to the principalities of Galesong, Polombangkeng, Siang, and Maros. In Gowa, the power of the Bate Salapang is at last broken, as the general nobility are discredited due to the war.

Marege:

Hearing tales of a new land far to the south Champas traders arrive in Marege.

As 1514 ends, Marege has been divided up amongst rival Sulawesian principalities, proxy tribes, and independent tribes.

By now, the impact of Macassan technology has led to the creation of multiple semi-independent Aboriginal villages along the coast, dependent upon trade and fishing.

Japan:

Ouchi's league of clans formally declare for the Shoguante and form and alliance. the dominant members of the Union are the Ouchi, Mouri, Amako, and Hosokawa clans. Most of Chugoku region and Shikoku is under their control. Neither the Otomo or Shimazu of Kyushu formally declare for or against the Union.

Norasia:

The Scottish establish a trading post at the mouth of a river they name the James (OTL Charles River) and establish a trading post there (OTL Boston).

The outbreak of smallpox in Norasia has started to reduce the volume of the fur trade. For the first time, the Society of Merchant Venturers sends out a significant number of men to Norasia to do the trapping, rather than relying solely on natives for their supply. Many of them are Englishmen from the Southwest or Britons (OTL Welsh). Most of these men are sent to the Cabot Waterway and along the Meryk River. Not all of the men sent go out trapping. Several are set to work building upon the work of the Hospitalers to turn the trade outposts into true settlements.

South America:

1514 Spring: Manoel I, to protect his interests and claims in the New World, sends 1000 political prisoners to start up a colony in Brazil called San Juan. By next year, only 200 will have survived.

[Glen]

1515:

England:

Prince Eon visits France and England. He is accomplied by some of the English Adventurers King Henry had sent to Ethiopia back in 1503. As such he speaks perfect English. He is interested in the two new orders [Merlin & the Bede]. but as in most countries spends most of his time talking to the Religious Scholars.

For service to the Crown, Thomas Docwra is inducted into the Order of the Round Table.

Portugal:

Manoel I names Vasco De Gama Grand Admiral of the Oceans, in honor of his long service and dedication to the Kingdom.

Due to the vast amount of wealth that has been spent on building projects, expansion in the textile and manufacturing fields, in hospitals, universities, and it’s every growing army and navy, the Portuguese population has exploded in the last decade. Manoel I begins overhauling the farming practices in Portugal.

Marghreb:

New Granada:

Boabdil leads the Army as it reconquers Tlemcen. There Boabdil reconciles with his mother on her deathbed.

Ethiopia:

Ethiopia expands it's small settlement in the north of Madagascar, and increases its timber harvesting.

Nineteen years after first trying to get gunsmiths, Ethiopia starts producing it's own muskets, mostly bronze, as steel is too expensive.

China:

Fifteen trade junks and the 150 man expeditionary force of the Xiao Trading Company land on Pa-Outchow south-west of the city of Gimhathiththa (Galle) at the southern most tip of the island of Pa-Outchow. The Ming trade junks anchor themselves just off shore, offloading the 150 man force and setting themselves up close enough to fire their cannons in support of the expeditionary force should they run into any trouble. While many of the natives were highly suspicious of the intent of the armed expedition, the Xiao expedition was able to buy off many of the local tribes with gold, porcelain, and silk in exchange for securing the rights to construct a trading post on the coast. By the end of the year, the trading post on Pa-Outchow called 平安的沿海 (Peaceful Coast) was a hub of Xiao trading activities in the Indian Ocean.

Gowa:

The karaeang of Gowa dies, of natural causes (as in OTL), and is succeeded by his brother. In the early hours of his reign, the Bate Salapang are called to a meeting in the palace, where they are hacked to death for their failure in the Sulawesian War.

The new karaeang is a bitter hawk, contemptuous of his brother's weakness and determined to restore Gowan greatness. The laissez faire policies of the previous administration are repealed, and a military buildup begins.

A proxy war breaks out between tribes on Marege controlled by Galesong and Siang. The war shatters the fragile anti-Gowan alliance.

Vietnam:

Le Hien Tong dies.

Le Tuc Tong (ruled 1504 - 1505)
Succeeding to Le Hien Tong was his third son who took the reign name as Le Tuc Tong. However, he fell gravely ill and died just two months after assuming the throne.
Given his older brother's subsequent history of ruthless abuse of power, there is suspicion that Le Tuc Tong was in fact murdered.

Le Uy Muc
His older brother succeeded Le Tuc Tong as Le Uy Muc. The first thing the new Emperor did was to take revenge against those who had barred him from the throne by having them killed. Among his victims were the former Emperor's mother - which was considered a shocking display of evil behavior. Le Uy Muc was described as a cruel, sadistic, and depraved person, who wasted the court’s money and finances to indulge his whims. Well aware of the fact he was detested by his subjects, Le Uy Muc protected himself by hiring a group of elite bodyguards to surround him at all times. Among them was Mac Dang Dung who became very close to the Emperor and eventually rose to the rank of General.
Despite his precautions, in 1517 a half-brother who Le Uy Muc had put in prison, escaped and plotted with court insiders to assassinate the Emperor.
The assassination succeeded and the killer proclaimed himself Emperor under the name Le Tuong Duc.

About all Mac Dang Dung did was continue His war with the Khmer along Vietnam's southern and western borders.

Japan:

Clans in the east of Japan, fearful of the combined powers of the Union, enter in to their own confederacy. Led by the Hojo and with support from the Nambu, Uesugi, and Takeda clans as well as the recently emerged Miyamoto of Musashi and Arima of Shimotsuke, they have control of most of Kanto and Tohoku. Their goal, while not overt, is apparently the overthrow of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

South America:

Incan Empire:

1515 Winter - Spring: Nina Cuyuchi convinces his father (the Inka) to give him an army to conquer the forest of Peru to the northeast of Cuzco. He heads off with a few thousand men and leaves in spring. Attawalpa (the Inka's favorite) begins considering sending an army to the north to conquer more in his fathers birthplace, to get back the favorite position of his father.

1515 Summer: Nina Cuyuchi suffers a defeat by the hands of the jungle tribes. He does have a small victory, and sends word of only the victory to Cuzco. Waynu Qapac is pleased, and Atawallpa gets very nervous.

[Glen]

1516:

Atlantic Ocean:

While looking for more straightforward routes to Norasia, the Scottish happen upon Bermuda and claim it for Scotland.

Portugal:

Manoel I begins selling large estates in East Africa and South Africa to merchants and nobles alike, in order to encourage settling and to lessen the expenditure required to maintain the fortresses and harbors in those conquered regions. Some merchants and nobles begin buying up plots, in hopes of striking it rich. He does the same in Brazil and South America, but there are few takers.

Northern Europe:

Prince Eon visits Germany and Sweden. Where he meets Henry Wettin, and has several philosphical conversations with him, and some of his supportors.

Malta:

The great port city being constructed in Malta was named Saint Mary's, though locals soon took to calling it Sanmaria. It was officially designated Malta's new capital, and the Maltese senate and assembly held their first meeting in the half-completed capital building. Money from Germany and Italy poured into the construction of Sanmaria, which was intended to be an elegant but spartan fortress city and trade (and piracy) hub.

Knights Hospitaler:

Docwra, having made a full recovery, begins ambitious plans to reform the order's administration. As a result, the order's profits increase.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

1516 Spring: Queen Maria-Caterina gives birth to a son, who is named Giuseppe. He is made Duke of Benguela. Prince-Regent Marcos marries a Jaga princess, against the will of the Macota.

Ethiopia:

The Arch Bishop of Ethiopia dies.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1516 December: The Imperial Road is finally finished. Thanks to the unprecedented investment in irrigation, it is a record year for Bharata farmers, and thanks to the brick-laid path, the farmers quite easily get their bumper crop to cities throughout the empire.

Varajanas Empire:

The Empire has conquered the Kingdom of Jaffa.

Marege:

The first hostages sent to Gowa return, bearing word to Gallarang of the ways of the Macassa. Gallarang convenes a council of elders to serve a similar role to the Bate Salapang.

Taiwan:

A small group of Buddhist monks arrive at the trading post in Taiwan.

Japan:

Given the recent series of events, the Nambu decide to formally annexe Ezo.

The political situation in the home islands begins to polarise. More clans in the west rally behind the Ouchi-led pro-Ashikaga union. Likewise, clans in the east join the Hojo-led confedaracy. The confederacy as yet has not formally declared that it is anti-Ashikaga.

Emperor Go-kashiwabara declares his distress at the political polarisation of the country. He urges both factions to seek unity, harmony, and peace, and to reconcile their differences.

South America:

Incan Empire:

1516 Spring: Attawalpa, convinces his father to go north with him, the best generals, and 10,000 troops. Washkar remains in Cuzco, and is there at the first graduating ceremony at the Churay'eqay. he begins pondering whether to open up other classes, such as engineering, math, religion, health, and the sciences. unfortunately he is running out of money, so he decides to go and see if he can convince some other investors in Cuzco to fund the Churay'eqay.

1516 Spring - Fall: Attawalpa has a brilliant success in the north in the jungles of Ecuador, before being defeated in the fall.

Waynu Qapac builds a pleasure palace in Cuenca. He drinks a lot of chincha, parties, and leaves administration and war to his son.

Washkar gathers a large group of patrons (nobles, and some priests) that agree to support the Cheray'eqay, with a couple of conditions. Every patron noble will receive a khipumaynac certified at academy. Any priest may receive training for free. Further demands can be made in the future, by investors. With the resources gained the academy expands once again, beginning construction of an off “campus” library and secondary building. In the secondary building there are math/science classes, and a few religious classes (all aproved by the priests of course). The main building now houses a engineering/architecture, class too. There are now 200 students, all of them from a noble background, or priests.

Muisca:

The Zaque's advisor hears word of a mud pit that burns. A wild fire passed near OTL Maracaibo. While the fire eventually burnt out, the black mud kept burning for weeks. The Maya has heard of people using it to waterproof boats, but didn't realize it could be used as a fuel. He begins to experiment with the substance, and to try to find more seeps.

[Glen]

1517:

England:

1517 May: England makes a treaty with Spain and Naples wherein those nations recognize England's claim to all of Norasia and sell to England their Norasian and Caribbean possessions and claims thereof. The Spanish and Neapolitans had originally been contemplating a much smaller sale, but with war against the Portuguese, money is desparately needed and the New World is considered indefensible.

Portugal:

1517 April 25: The Portuguese declare war on the Spanish and their allies in response to continued encroachments on Portuguese spheres of influence and the increasing religious animosity between Portugal and the Pope.

The bulk of the Portuguese fleet had been recalled in anticipation of this action.

Spain:

1517 May 1: The Portuguese and Spanish fleets meet in battle off the coast of Spain. Though the Spanish give a good account of themselves, they are nearly destroyed by the more numerous Portuguese. The remnants of the Spanish fleet retreat.

1517 Spring: Spanish forces invade southern Portugal. The Portuguese army adopts a defensive strategy. However, this strategy is hindered by the defection of a number of Portuguese nobles to the Spanish.

The Portuguese ‘Inquisition’ begins; it’s not a religious inquisition, but a political one. Thousands of men and women are rounded up for suspicion of acting against the crown. Unsurprisingly most belong to either the church or nobility.

Alfonso De Albuquerque is called back to Portugal to face charges of possibly disloyalty of the Crown. But due to Vasco De Gama’s exquisite letter to the King proclaiming the virtues and loyalty of De Albuquerque, he is cleared of the charges.

Holy Roman Empire:

Bertholt of Mainz dies, and is replaced by Henry Wettin, making him the highest authority in the German church. He is replaced in Trier by a friend of his, Johann von Staupitz.

Naples:

Alphonso II, King of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem, dies at the age of 68. He is suceeded by his son Alphonso III, Duke of Romagna. Prince Filippo 'Il Turcu' become heir apparent.

1517 July 3: The Portuguese fleet catch up to the remainder of the Spanish fleet who have taken refuge with their Neapolitan allies. The Neapolitan fleet joins in the defense, but it is not enough and the Portuguese win the sea battle. From this point on, the Portuguese have complete naval superiority.

Western Mediterranean:

1517 Summer: Portuguese forces capture Sardinia and the Balearic Islands from the Spanish.

Muscovy:

Prince Eon arrives in Russia, Meeting the Tsar, but again spending most of his time with the Religious Scholars.

Rhodes:

1517 April: Constantine, son of Cem, reaches his majority and is duly crowned King of Rhodes by the Orthodox Archbishop of Rhodes. His first official act is to formally invite the Hospitalers to retain their grand commandry on the island, and ask for their help in forming an independent Rhodean navy. His second act is to send a letter of friendship to the Ottoman Emperor promising his friendship.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Hearing of Christian Africans across the Continent, the Kingdoms of the Kongo and Ndongo-Matamba send a joint-expedition to find them. Two-hundred men, four Europeans, with a few guns, and mainly African weaponry begin the voyage through the rivers of the Congo to the mountainous lands of the East- from there they will rely on their fellow Africans to guide them to this Christian kingdom.

1517 Summer: The Macota declare Prince Marcos unfit to be Regent. Captain Benedetto is declared "Regent of the Kingdom," and is made a Dicota (Privy Council member,) and declares himself his own Tendala, or chancellor, sending his Franciscan predecessor to convert the Luba. He dies on his way.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1517 January: Having completed his father’s great imperial project, Rajamaharana Prithviraj begins his own – a series of schools, one for every town with at least 50,000 people. Prithviraj declares that the schools are open to any citizen, regardless of age, creed, or gender (with proper decorum, of course), who can afford tuition. The Brahmin vow to avoid the schools, but the project is well-received by most other groups.

Varajanas Empire:

The Empire grants the Champas trading rights in a few East coast cities.

Vietnam:

Le Tuong Duc proved to be just as bad a ruler as Le Uy Muc. He reigned from 1517 to 1519, all the while spending down the royal treasury, and doing nothing to improve the country. He was heedless to the reaction that his taxes caused throughout the country. His rule ended in 1519 when a group of officials and generals stormed the palace and killed him.

Japan:

Major operations of the pirate wars in northern waters cease. They continue however, in the South China Sea, alongside the navy of Ryukyu. With major operations over, the warships return to ther home towns - most of these are in pro-union territory. This only leads to more confidence for the union and more concern for the confederacy.

After five years of active duty in foreign waters the Ryukyuan navy had been planning to return home. Piracy in the south China seas had been slowly decreasing, but then a sharp increase in the number of pirate vessels intercepted was noticed. It later became apparent that the Japanese navy had forced a large number of pirates operating off the northern Chinese coast south, who naturally encroached on the waters in which the Ryukyuan navy was operating. Over the next two years, the Ryukyuan navy, in association with elements of the navy of the dominant clans of eastern Japan, continued their struggle against the final rogue pirates.

South America:

Incan Empire:

Attawalpa suffers a humiliating defeat, but defeats the barbarian tribes over the summer. He is still publically berated by his father. A delegation is sent to the Muisca bearing stone masons, smiths, and khipumaynacs.

[Glen]

1518:

Portugal:

1518 Winter: Margaret of Portugal dies. Manoel I begins plans to build a massive church in honor of his wife. He intends that the Margaret Church will be a marvel of engineering and beauty for generations to come.

1518 Spring: With the death of his heir and wife, and the continued unrest among his nobles, Manoel agrees to a peace with the Spanish and their allies. Portuguese claims in Africa, India, the Indies, and the New World are recognized. The Portuguese trade back Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, taken by the Portuguese navy, to Spain in return for the Spanish occupied southern provinces of Portugal. Many rebel Portuguese will remain exiles in Spain.

Benelux:

The Burgundian War in the Netherlands comes finally to an end. The anti-Burgundian alliance managed to stop the Burgundian growth of power in the Netherlands. In Arnhem peace is signed. Burgundy loses Oversticht, which is divided between Gueldres and East Frisia. East-Frisia gains the poor part of Drenthe, while the richer part of Overijssel is added to the Duchy of Gueldres. Burgundy is allowed to keep the Liege.

Maghreb:

Mohammad IV dies, and Muhammad XII becomes King of the Hasfids.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Though a baptized Catholic, Captain Benedetto cares little for religion, and begins to focus on agriculture and mining. He grants more the Neapolitans exclusive trade over Ivory, and splits the products 60-40 with them. He also signs an alliance with the Bemba people, recognizing their sovereignty, and non-Catholic status as an African nation; ensuring peace on Ndongo-Matamba's southern border. He then marries another Lunda princess, who's Christian name is Elisabetta. He makes himself Marquis of Dominio-Meridionale. He also establishes the Jaga Cassangi country as it's own province.

Ethiopia:

King Eslander, begins attemping to increase Ethiopia's Iron and Steel prodution.

Prince Eon arrives Home, One of his first acts is to visit the just arrived new Arch-Bishop. No one knows what was said, or maybe it was the eyes again.
Two hours later the Bishop had resigned and left the country in Haste, the next day. Two days later King Eslander appointed Prince Eon -Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church.

Middle East:

1518 Winter: The Ottomans sweep down upon the Yemenis, annexing the nation. However, significant resistance remains in the interior.

Marege:

A group of Buddhist Monks arrive in Marege from Vietnam.

Japan:

Fearful of being dragged in to either the pro- and anti- Ashikaga camps, a few minor clans living in and around Kyoto start promoting the idea of abolishing the Shogunate and reinstating the Emperor as supreme and absolute ruler of the country. These acts create a third party in the conflict.

South America:

Incan Empire:

Nina Cuyuchi is forced to pull back from the jungles, and begins heading back towards the foothills. His standings fall accordingly.

[Psychomeltdown]

Okay, everything up to now has more or less been my attempt to reconcile the timeline material to date.

Starting in 1517, I will be doing that, but also posting a proposed resolution to the war question.

Well, i have to say, i can't really do anything until the war is actually resolved, since it's eventual outcome effects Portugal greatly.

[Glen]

Well, i have to say, i can't really do anything until the war is actually resolved, since it's eventual outcome effects Portugal greatly.

Okay, I have taken all the PM responses from the participants to come up with a course and solution for the war.

The participants were independently asked when they planned to go to war. Portugal was contemplating war against Spain at an earlier date than Spain was contemplating against Portugal, so Portugal gained the critical initiative.

With the Portuguese being able to pull together their far flung navy, they gained a critical advantage at sea. However, I did actually assign odds and then roll the dice, so there was a significant chance that despite that, the Spanish might get lucky. However, the Portuguese luck held and they won the engagements.

On land, the participants spelled out their attack, with the Portuguese going with a defensive strategy and the Spanish with an invasion through the South. The Portuguese were somewhat outnumbered on land, and had further problems with defections due to Manoel's rather draconian rule and alienation of the Church, so Spain actually did manage to occupy a fair amount of Southern Portugal. However, this is a generation later than their previous triumphs in the 1490s, so they've lost a lot of their edge.

The sale of the New World had been previously proposed by the Spanish in PM in order to fund their own plans for attack. Here I guestimated that the earlier onset of the war would induce them to move ahead with this plan. While initially we had determined to have the Spanish and Neapolitans keep everything between PR and Trinidad, with the worse situation of the Portuguese naval offensive, it seemed likely to me that the Spanish would either sell or lose those to the Portuguese, so took the liberty of extending the sale. If people disagree with this, let me know.

The sale along with a friendly France actually does allow the Spanish and Neapolitans to persecute the war far longer than they otherwise would have, and is important to the outcome.

The Ottomans had a completely different campaign in mind in the same timeframe, thus sidelining themselves.

In the end, the war worked out to only an edge of a victory for the Portuguese. Basically the Portuguese control the seas, but are still dangerously threatened on land by the Spanish. So a trade of territories to the Status Quo seemed in order. Basically the Portuguese gain acknowledgement of their overseas empire and keep the Spanish and Neapolitans in the Med only for another generation. The sale of the New World assets keep these regimes from going completely bankrupt, and the fact that the Spanish have a clear line of inheritance and have not been invaded on land hold them together as a unity still.

Comments?

[Glen]

One comment that I need some help on.

I am convinced that sometime in the 1500s, for political reasons, the Pope will excommunicate Manoel I. The question is when?

[Glen]

1519:

England:

Thomas Docwra's son Lancelot is awarded the Order of the Round Table.

Anglo-British Empire:

1519 June: King Arthur's brother, Henry Tudor, is married to Alice Fitzgerald, the young daughter of the Earl of Kildare.

1519 December 25: On the tenth anniversary of King Arthur the Second’s investiture, Parliament declares the realm an empire, raising Britain to full kingdom status alongside England, raising Ireland to a principality, and confirming Cornwall’s status as a duchy. The heir designate continues to hold the title ‘Prince of Britain’. The Lord Champion, Henry Tudor, is named Prince of Ireland.

Holy Roman Empire:

Henry Wettin orders an immediate cesasion of the sale of indulgences within Germany. When asked to defend his actions by the Pope, Wettin writes his "Treatise on the Righteousness of God and Man", in which he claims that all righteousness which man possesses must come as a gift from God through Christ alone, and that, while it is the place of the church to uphold good doctrine and teaching and lead people to Christ, that salvation belongs to Christ Alone. Wettin quotes heavily from Augustine and other church fathers.

Frederick von Saxon is deeply torn. On the one hand, Henry Wettin is his brother, and reform is deeply needed. However, Frederick fears to weaken the papacy. After contacting his brother Henry (who is still somewhat surprised that his 'little book' caused so much controversy), Frederick sends a letter to the Pope calling for a council to determine the rightness of these matters. He suggests that it be convened in Jerusalem as soon as practicable, and assures His Holiness that his brother has no intention of taking the German church outside the Papal fold. A similar letter comes from John Wettin, now the grand commander of the Lange of Germany in the Knights Hospitaler. Thomas Docwra, grand master of the order, supports his lange commander in the need for a council.

Spain:

After three years serving in Jerusalem, Francisco DeVitoria leaves for the University of Salamanca, where he takes up a quite influential professorship.

Portugal:

The Seven Companies Compact is created. Seven trading companies are allowed by Manoel I to operate in the areas held by Portugal, including East Africa, India, and Asia.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

King Emmanuell II takes power in his own, and sends Marquis Benedetto to Jaga Cassangi to serve as Governor. The King appoints a Catholic Matamban Franciscan monk as his tendala. The Queen gives birth to a daughter, who is named Princess Maria-Iosephina.

Ethiopia:

Patriarch Eon, establishes a Semimary . He also sets up an Order of Priests, for the training of Priests, and Teachers, and requires all religious orders in Ethiopia to send some members to help.

Vietnam:

At barely 17 years old, Le Tuong Ducs son, prince Le Y, was enthroned as the new emperor Le Chieu Tong. As usual when a young Emperor came to the throne, factions within the court vied with one another for control of the government. One powerful and growing faction was led by Mac Dang Dung. His growing power was resented by the leaders of two noble families in Vietnam: the Nguyen, under Nguyen Hoang Du, and the Trinh, under Trinh Duy Dai and Trinh Duy San.

Japan:

With Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane declaring and end to the ten year war on piracy, the ships committed by King Sho shin to that confrontation are recalled. The Ryukyuan navy had gained invaluabe experience throughout that struggle, and was now more powerful than it had ever been. It became a beacon of pride for Ryukyu contemporarily and in future generations. Indeed the pirate wars have been attributed as the event that turned Ryukyu from a seagoing people into a regional naval power.

However, rather than risking the sailors sitting idol again, King Sho shin decided to occupy them with a series of voages. The first of these involved a journey south. That year they circumnavigated Luzon and Mindanao, bringing back maps they had drawn, as well as various goods they had traded with the locals. This apparent success only drove not only Sho shin, but many in the navy, to higher aspirations. It was for this reason that they were sent in the direction that held the most unknown - east.

South America:

Incan Empire:

Attawalpa begins Consolidating his hold on Ecuador, and preparing to move north into the jungle. his previous small forays have ended in defeat. He is gathering more troops, more supplies, and more copper axes, and prepares to absolutely destroy the coastal peoples, and (hopefully meat the Muisca)(Hopefully he's not looking to turn us into food).

The Zaque makes arrangements to meet with Attawalpa or a minister of his choosing. He has high hopes of opening up new markets for his goods, and with ensuring that he and the Inka will be on friendly ground.

The disturbing tales he hears from the island peoples, being killed with fire sticks, horrible plaques, and massive canoes, that spit fire, goad him into insuring that he has powerful allies on the Mainland.

[Atom]

Nice work with the Inca events, Glen. They feel way more plausible, even if it's just phrasing. Nice textbooky feel.

[Glen]

A comment for our Ottomans and Neapolitans.

With the successes of the Ottomans in Egypt and Yemen, and the fleet losses of the Neapolitans in the war with Portugal, there is likely to be a 'reconsideration' of the status of Jerusalem and the Levantine holdings.

What I think might be reasonable is if, in 1518, the Neapolitans agree to accept Ottoman surazeinty over Jerusalem and the Levant in return for keeping the Neapolitan King in charge of that region.

[Glen]

1520:

Holy Roman Empire:

Wettin's actions cause great controversy in the papacy, as theologians and cannon lawyers scramble to refute (and in a few cases confirm) his arguments. Stunningly forceful and popular polemics on Wettin's behalf are written, in German for mass consumption, by Martin Luther, and more scholarly stayed works are written by Melanchthon and Staupitz. Throughout Germany, the Wettinite ideas grow in popularity, and are combined with calls for a German liturgy, German Bibles and a violent reaction against hyper-scholasticism. Henry Wettin gets behind these reforms, quickly called the Evangelical Reform Concord officially and the Wettinite Manifesto unofficially. Duke Frederick of Saxony, Philip the Elector Palatine, the Duke of Mecklenburg and notables within the Wendish Federation also get behind the Wettinite movement, and many of the secular lords press for reforms within the Holy Roman Empire such as a universal diet, not unlike the estates in Saxony or the council in the Wendish Federation, which can both help better organize the empire and potentially check the power of the Emperor.

Maghreb:

1520 - 1530: Thanks to heavy rain and a unified group of tuareg tribes as well as information and resources from europe thanks to the gold trade water is found although a relativly small amount the tuareg can live off ita new town is founded with the largest building going to the head of the tuareg chiefs with slightly smaller buildings for his closest in command although slightly difficult at first to manage given the tuaregs nomadic history by 1530 the tuaregs have a town in the middle of the gold trading route.

Vietnam:

After a year of increasing tension, the Nguyen and the Trinh left the capital Hanoi and fled south, with the Emperor "under their protection".

Norasia:

Scotland establishes a second trade outpost in the area of OTL Fort Christiana at the mouth of the OTL Delaware River.

[Psychomeltdown]

Okay, I have taken all the PM responses from the participants to come up with a course and solution for the war.

The participants were independently asked when they planned to go to war. Portugal was contemplating war against Spain at an earlier date than Spain was contemplating against Portugal, so Portugal gained the critical initiative.

With the Portuguese being able to pull together their far flung navy, they gained a critical advantage at sea. However, I did actually assign odds and then roll the dice, so there was a significant chance that despite that, the Spanish might get lucky. However, the Portuguese luck held and they won the engagements.

On land, the participants spelled out their attack, with the Portuguese going with a defensive strategy and the Spanish with an invasion through the South. The Portuguese were somewhat outnumbered on land, and had further problems with defections due to Manoel's rather draconian rule and alienation of the Church, so Spain actually did manage to occupy a fair amount of Southern Portugal. However, this is a generation later than their previous triumphs in the 1490s, so they've lost a lot of their edge.

The sale of the New World had been previously proposed by the Spanish in PM in order to fund their own plans for attack. Here I guestimated that the earlier onset of the war would induce them to move ahead with this plan. While initially we had determined to have the Spanish and Neapolitans keep everything between PR and Trinidad, with the worse situation of the Portuguese naval offensive, it seemed likely to me that the Spanish would either sell or lose those to the Portuguese, so took the liberty of extending the sale. If people disagree with this, let me know.

The sale along with a friendly France actually does allow the Spanish and Neapolitans to persecute the war far longer than they otherwise would have, and is important to the outcome.

The Ottomans had a completely different campaign in mind in the same timeframe, thus sidelining themselves.

In the end, the war worked out to only an edge of a victory for the Portuguese. Basically the Portuguese control the seas, but are still dangerously threatened on land by the Spanish. So a trade of territories to the Status Quo seemed in order. Basically the Portuguese gain acknowledgement of their overseas empire and keep the Spanish and Neapolitans in the Med only for another generation. The sale of the New World assets keep these regimes from going completely bankrupt, and the fact that the Spanish have a clear line of inheritance and have not been invaded on land hold them together as a unity still.

Comments?

So.. Portugal barely won the war? It seems reasonable, They can more than hold their own in the seas, but on land they suffer from a bit of lacking the man power to keep the barbarians away due to their small population.

What territories did Spain and Naples lose? If things went bad for them on sea, then I'm guessing they've lost their New World colonies to Portugal or gave them to someone else.

How badly were their respective militaries and fleets mauled in the war? Losing a lot of ships will be a blow to Portugal's trade empire for the next decade or so. How badly was Spain effected, they technically did occupy portions of Portugal, but they probably lost much of their ships against Portugal, which means a weakening of their ability to hang onto their colonial assets and projecting power to places beyond Iberia.

Hmm... As long as Lisbon and Porto weren't taken, then things should be able to bounce back relatively quickly for the Portuguese, all of their industry and power is basically situated in those two areas. Though I'm suspecting that due to Spanish Occupation, much of the rural areas of S. Portugal have been devastated and will take some time to rebuild...

Well, at least we now know who has patronage over Africa. :D

One comment that I need some help on.

I am convinced that sometime in the 1500s, for political reasons, the Pope will excommunicate Manoel I. The question is when?
I'm thinking it would be accelerated due to the 'losing' the war, Naples and Spain will be moving to attack them politically and having the Pope excommunicate Manoel I will be a major blow to the political climate of Portugal.

[Glen]

So.. Portugal barely won the war? It seems reasonable, They can more than hold their own in the seas, but on land they suffer from a bit of lacking the man power to keep the barbarians away due to their small population.

What territories did Spain and Naples lose? If things went bad for them on sea, then I'm guessing they've lost their New World colonies to Portugal or gave them to someone else.

They sold them to England at the beginning of the war to keep them out of Portuguese hands and to keep their economies from collapsing during the war. They had actually intended to do something similar before striking at you, but you struck first, so I interpolated their likely response to the situation. I would like AJ and Mess to confirm, though really their choices are sell to England or lose to Portugal.

How badly were their respective militaries

Spain and Naples armies came out reasonable. There were significant but by no means unsustainable losses. Actually, this will season their forces for another generation, and should they seek any adventures on the continent rather than overseas, they have some good troops for it.

and fleets mauled in the war? Pretty badly mauled. They will take many years to recover, and that only if they choose to spend a significant percentage of their economy to do so.

Losing a lot of ships will be a blow to Portugal's trade empire for the next decade or so.

True. Think the Portuguese will have to spend the next decade consolidating their gains rather than making new ones. Also gives those upstart French a window to expand into, though they may pay for it by the 1530s.

How badly was Spain effected, they technically did occupy portions of Portugal, but they probably lost much of their ships against Portugal, which means a weakening of their ability to hang onto their colonial assets and projecting power to places beyond Iberia.

Basically Spain has no ability left to project power beyond the Mediterranean at this point, at least for the next generation. Naples is about the same in that regard. However, their land forces are intact, just in need of funds....hmmm, I can see the merc market getting some Spanish and Neapolitans on it in the next several years.


Hmm... As long as Lisbon and Porto weren't taken, then things should be able to bounce back relatively quickly for the Portuguese, all of their industry and power is basically situated in those two areas. Though I'm suspecting that due to Spanish Occupation, much of the rural areas of S. Portugal have been devastated and will take some time to rebuild...

True and true. Lisbon was threatened, but never taken. I'm not familiar with Porto. If South of Lisbon, it was probably taken at some point, if North of Lisbon, it was never taken.

Well, at least we now know who has patronage over Africa. :D

Who? The French? Nope, just kidding. Kongo and Ndongo are now at the mercy of your navy.


I'm thinking it would be accelerated due to the 'losing' the war, Naples and Spain will be moving to attack them politically and having the Pope excommunicate Manoel I will be a major blow to the political climate of Portugal.

Ah, you misunderstand the thrust of my thoughts on this. I am pretty certain that Manoel I would have been excommunicated, most likely BEFORE the war, and without a doubt if not before, then at the beginning of the war he would have been. Its just a question of how much earlier.

Note that I took that into account when referencing your rebellious nobles. That was a real pain for you during the war. On the other hand, the war gave you the final excuse to clean house entirely. All that will be left by the end are your loyalists, though there will be plenty of ex-pats in Spain who hate your guts.

PS, you should probably consider having Manoel take the Portuguese into the Wettinite camp, if for no other reason than political. Having allies against the papists is probably a good thing for you at this point.

[Psychomeltdown]

They sold them to England at the beginning of the war to keep them out of Portuguese hands and to keep their economies from collapsing during the war. They had actually intended to do something similar before striking at you, but you struck first, so I interpolated their likely response to the situation. I would like AJ and Mess to confirm, though really their choices are sell to England or lose to Portugal. Ah, I see. the New world divided amongst England and Protugal. Well at least you got it peacefully, whereas I was offering if if you came into the war on Portugal's side. :D Though this purchase will be straining you financially as well as navally.



Spain and Naples armies came out reasonable. There were significant but by no means unsustainable losses. Actually, this will season their forces for another generation, and should they seek any adventures on the continent rather than overseas, they have some good troops for it.

Pretty badly mauled. They will take many years to recover, and that only if they choose to spend a significant percentage of their economy to do so.



True. Think the Portuguese will have to spend the next decade consolidating their gains rather than making new ones. Also gives those upstart French a window to expand into, though they may pay for it by the 1530s. But it also gives a good and solid trained commanders from the India campaigns and from this mainly Naval war with Spain. I was going to have de Gama and de Albuquerque leading the forces.

Basically Spain has no ability left to project power beyond the Mediterranean at this point, at least for the next generation. Naples is about the same in that regard. However, their land forces are intact, just in need of funds....hmmm, I can see the merc market getting some Spanish and Neapolitans on it in the next several years.
That makes the whole keeping order in Spain a bit dicey. You've got all these soldiers that have suddenly lost the war, without really suffering any lasting damage. Spain probably barely has enough to pay the troops and not enough to keep them on, since there are no wars in the near future. That means a large number of soldiers suddenly released, and soldiers released tend to go bandit if they can't make a decent living. Which would be the case with Spain, since it had to fund it's war against Portugal with the sale of it's colonies, and now has to move to somehow keep afloat financially.

I'm thinking there'll be some internal problems coming up in Spain for a couple of years.

Who? The French? Nope, just kidding. Kongo and Ndongo are now at the mercy of your navy.
Huzzah.

Ah, you misunderstand the thrust of my thoughts on this. I am pretty certain that Manoel I would have been excommunicated, most likely BEFORE the war, and without a doubt if not before, then at the beginning of the war he would have been. Its just a question of how much earlier.

Note that I took that into account when referencing your rebellious nobles. That was a real pain for you during the war. On the other hand, the war gave you the final excuse to clean house entirely. All that will be left by the end are your loyalists, though there will be plenty of ex-pats in Spain who hate your guts.

PS, you should probably consider having Manoel take the Portuguese into the Wettinite camp, if for no other reason than political. Having allies against the papists is probably a good thing for you at this point.
Ah, i see.

Well in that case Manoel has increased his whole political inquisition and now sends delegates to talk with the Wettinites.

[AJNolte]

Okay, I have taken all the PM responses from the participants to come up with a course and solution for the war.

The participants were independently asked when they planned to go to war. Portugal was contemplating war against Spain at an earlier date than Spain was contemplating against Portugal, so Portugal gained the critical initiative.

With the Portuguese being able to pull together their far flung navy, they gained a critical advantage at sea. However, I did actually assign odds and then roll the dice, so there was a significant chance that despite that, the Spanish might get lucky. However, the Portuguese luck held and they won the engagements.

On land, the participants spelled out their attack, with the Portuguese going with a defensive strategy and the Spanish with an invasion through the South. The Portuguese were somewhat outnumbered on land, and had further problems with defections due to Manoel's rather draconian rule and alienation of the Church, so Spain actually did manage to occupy a fair amount of Southern Portugal. However, this is a generation later than their previous triumphs in the 1490s, so they've lost a lot of their edge.

The sale of the New World had been previously proposed by the Spanish in PM in order to fund their own plans for attack. Here I guestimated that the earlier onset of the war would induce them to move ahead with this plan. While initially we had determined to have the Spanish and Neapolitans keep everything between PR and Trinidad, with the worse situation of the Portuguese naval offensive, it seemed likely to me that the Spanish would either sell or lose those to the Portuguese, so took the liberty of extending the sale. If people disagree with this, let me know.

The sale along with a friendly France actually does allow the Spanish and Neapolitans to persecute the war far longer than they otherwise would have, and is important to the outcome.

The Ottomans had a completely different campaign in mind in the same timeframe, thus sidelining themselves.

In the end, the war worked out to only an edge of a victory for the Portuguese. Basically the Portuguese control the seas, but are still dangerously threatened on land by the Spanish. So a trade of territories to the Status Quo seemed in order. Basically the Portuguese gain acknowledgement of their overseas empire and keep the Spanish and Neapolitans in the Med only for another generation. The sale of the New World assets keep these regimes from going completely bankrupt, and the fact that the Spanish have a clear line of inheritance and have not been invaded on land hold them together as a unity still.

Comments?

So the war mauls both participants, Spain sells it's Caribbean possessions (the Hansa had previously bought Trinidad and the Pope had purchassed PR), and Portuguese dominance over India and Africa was acknowledged by Spain and Naples. France neither gained nor lost anything. Portugal keeps it's empire but has some rebuilding to do at home. There are Portuguese expats in Spain.
Yeah, if Portugal actually started the war, that sounds reasonable.

Were there any caps on military strength?

I think Portugal will probably work on developing it's army quite a bit after this, as well as on-land fortifications.
Spain is going to be bitter enough to want a rematch, but not destitute enough to fall apart.

Probably a bad outcome for everyone. But I can work with that.

[Psychomeltdown]

How long did the war last?

I'm thinking at least two years. That'd be about enough time for Spain to slog it's way toward capturing most of S. Portugal...

spring 1517 to summer 1519?

[Psychomeltdown]

I think Portugal will probably work on developing it's army quite a bit after this, as well as on-land fortifications.
Yup. especially the defenses.

Spain is going to be bitter enough to want a rematch, but not destitute enough to fall apart.
But I'm thinking Spain won't be able to mount such a large army as before for a while. until they manage to get their finance and infrastructure together. They've got no more colonies to sell off piece meal, therefore... I think this would be pretty devastating for Naples also, they've just lot A LOT of money with their overseas adventures. They've basically been shoved back 20 years.

Probably a bad outcome for everyone. But I can work with that. True. War wasn't fully resolved, but then again most wars in this era didn't really have a victor.

[Glen]

Ah, I see. the New world divided amongst England and Protugal. Well at least you got it peacefully, whereas I was offering if if you came into the war on Portugal's side. :D Though this purchase will be straining you financially as well as navally.

So far, though there's a few pesky others nibbling at the edges.:rolleyes:

The purchase was significant, but not a financial strain. This is 1517 we're talking about. We've had almost a monopoly on the fur trade for 20 years, the vanilla (still the most expensive bean per weight in the world) trade for over a decade, and silver and gold coming in as tribute from the Totonacs for their English sponsored conquest of the Aztecs (still have to put those in formal entry format). The Spanish and Neapolitans hadn't done much to develop the properties they sold, and were in a rush to raise capital, so while they did get a good amount, it was within the means of the English.

Naval-wise, on the other hand, you are correct. While this ATL English navy is by now much further developed than its OTL equivalent, Norasia is vast. We are not masters of the seas there yet. However, we do have enough that attacking us would have costly ramifications.

But it also gives a good and solid trained commanders from the India campaigns and from this mainly Naval war with Spain. I was going to have de Gama and de Albuquerque leading the forces.

True, true.

That makes the whole keeping order in Spain a bit dicey. You've got all these soldiers that have suddenly lost the war, without really suffering any lasting damage. Spain probably barely has enough to pay the troops and not enough to keep them on, since there are no wars in the near future. That means a large number of soldiers suddenly released, and soldiers released tend to go bandit if they can't make a decent living. Which would be the case with Spain, since it had to fund it's war against Portugal with the sale of it's colonies, and now has to move to somehow keep afloat financially.

I'm thinking there'll be some internal problems coming up in Spain for a couple of years.

Really all depends on how AJ plays events over the coming years. I can see several ways he can handle this, some of which work to Spain's advantage, some of which work to Spain's detriment. Let's see what he does.

Ah, i see.

Well in that case Manoel has increased his whole political inquisition and now sends delegates to talk with the Wettinites.

Yes, I think that likely. Just need to pin down when the Pope would do the excommunication. Any ideas on that one, people? I'd argue for anytime between 1507 and 1517.

[Glen]

So the war mauls both participants,

Yes, though asymmetrically. It mauls Portugal on land and Spain at sea.

Spain sells it's Caribbean possessions (the Hansa had previously bought Trinidad and the Pope had purchassed PR),

Yes, I note that. I expect the Hansa Trinidad to be unmolested. The Papist PR is an open question. The Pope may be seen as siding with the Spanish, and the Portuguese might consider action. Or the Pope might seek English protection for PR, or the Portuguese might decide that one island in the Caribbean is not worth their time and energy, or all of the above or none of the above.

and Portuguese dominance over India and Africa was acknowledged by Spain and Naples.

Indeed.

France neither gained nor lost anything.

Indeed. The war developed too quickly for France to really make a big impression. Given Aussey's previous postings, I hypothesized that France plays a vital role for Spain by keeping supplies coming in over the border that they wouldn't be able to get with the Portuguese on the high seas. However, the French would be insane to enter the war directly after the massing of the Portuguese fleet. The problem basically is that the Spanish fleet was mauled before they had the chance to combine with their allies to help make the numbers less overwhelming, and that was due to the Portuguese launching the first strike. France stayed officially neutral, but clearly sided in spirit and material support with Spain and her allies.

Portugal keeps it's empire but has some rebuilding to do at home.

Yep.

There are Portuguese expats in Spain. Yeah, if Portugal actually started the war, that sounds reasonable.

Glad you agree.

Were there any caps on military strength? Nope, that's a 20th century conceit, and we are way too early for that to the best of my knowledge.

I think Portugal will probably work on developing it's army quite a bit after this, as well as on-land fortifications. Spain is going to be bitter enough to want a rematch, but not destitute enough to fall apart.

One possible direction. Time and your entries will tell.

Probably a bad outcome for everyone. But I can work with that.

Bad for Spain, mixed for Portugal. However, there are always ways to make a victory of defeat and a defeat of victory. How you guide these nations in the years to come will determine what happens. Remember, there are centuries yet to go.

[Glen]

How long did the war last?

I'm thinking at least two years. That'd be about enough time for Spain to slog it's way toward capturing most of S. Portugal...

spring 1517 to summer 1519?

That would be a reasonable possibility, but I posited that it actually only lasted a little over a year for two big reasons.

1) Manoel lost his heir, his wife, and half his country in that first year. Enough to make anyone wish to come to the bargaining table and get peace; he needs now to mourn AND to shore up his domestic control.

2) The Spanish and allies can't AFFORD a two year war. Once the navy is kaput AND the advance into Portugal starts to slow AND the treasury starts to look thin (even after the sale of possessions) they are also going to be willing to come to the table to negotiate.

Basically, having the war extend for even another year would have been disasterous for both Portugal AND Spain, and I posit both sides are smart enough to know that. If Portugal continues to push for war, Manoel may lose more home territory, including Lisbon, and this could throw the rest of the country into full scale rebellion. If Spain continues to push for war, they go bankrupt and the economy will be trashed, and all those soldiers may start deserting and setting up bandit territories in Spain and conquered Portugal.

Therefore, for all these reasons, I posit a war that only lasts a little over a year. Both sides really through their all into this one, not some simmering border war, so I think that too makes a faster resolution reasonable.

[Glen]

Yup. especially the defenses.

Look forward to those events.

But I'm thinking Spain won't be able to mount such a large army as before for a while. until they manage to get their finance and infrastructure together.

They can't keep a large standing army, true. Then again, most nations didn't in this time period. Again, I expect there will be a glut on the market for Spanish mercenaries for the next decade.

They've got no more colonies to sell off piece meal, therefore...

They need to think of alternatives....

I think this would be pretty devastating for Naples also, they've just lost A LOT of money with their overseas adventures. They've basically been shoved back 20 years.

Yes and no. Other than coastal raids, their nation is relatively intact. Sicily was too close to the boot for a successful seizure by Portugal, though it probably suffered a bit from blockade. However, the rest of Naples fared better.

Their dreams of overseas adventures are definitely on hold for this generation, but they still have a good basic infrastructure, didn't go broke due to the sale and lesser investment in the war, and have a lot of prospects in the peninsula that they can develop.

True. War wasn't fully resolved, but then again most wars in this era didn't really have a victor.

True enough.

[Keenir]

1512:

England:

King Arthur the Second declares a new order, the Order of Merlin. The Order of Merlin is awarded solely to Englishmen of Arts and Letters such as Natural Philosophers, and allows for them to sit in Parliament, to better advise the nation.

France:

News of England's commercial success in Norasia and of the New World in general led to King Charles IX sponsoring the Norasie Company of Paris in 1512. Three ships were sent to discover and lay claim to an area in the New World.

Portugal:

Tensions between the Church and the State come to a head as priests and clergy rouse the people in Porto to attack the administration centers of the city. They are demanding that Manoel I abdicate and allow a clergy member to become regent until his son is old enough to take the throne. They are also demanding their share of the wealth coming into Portugal.

King Manuel I ruthlessly crushes any opposition. The Catholic Church in Portugal is only a former power of what it once was. Manoel I is completing the work begun by John II in focusing all power upon the crown.

Needless to say, Rome is not pleased.

Benelux:

Johan IX van Horn, the bishop of Liege passes away. Adolf of Cleve, uncle of the Jan the Duke of Cleve, is appointed as his successor. Philip of Burgundy fears that Liege would ally itself to the anti-burgundian Alliance and opposes this appointment.

Charles of Gueldres becomes the father of a daughter named Catharina.

Saxony:

Philip Melanchthon begins studying at the University of Wittenberg, under the patronage of Martin Luther.

Hanseatic League:

The Hanseatic League was able to confirm the fact that the decade of 1500-1510 had been the most profitable in a century.

Further Hansa ships and settlers set out for Fredericksberg, building it up to a population of 1,000. Many of these settlers are from poorer families from the Baltic coast, or even peasants from Saxony and the Palatinate who have been promised freedom from their feudal obligations. Others are Teutonic knights.

Papal States:

Innocent IX dies, and is replaced by his relative Alessandro Carafa. He takes the name Innocent X.

Northern Italy:
The upperclasses of Mantua begin to flee to Milan.

LATE 1512:

Northern Italy:

Their army exhausted, Mantua requests support and sanctuary from the Alpine Pact.

Knights Hospitaler: Thomas Docwra orders that a census of all the knights, sergeants and chaplains be taken, and an account made of all the order's property.

Portugal:

The Catholic Church in Portugal is only a shadow of what it once was. Manoel I is completing the work begun by John II in focusing all power upon the crown.

Spain:

Now desparately strapped for cash, the Spanish sell Jamaica to the Hanseatic League. Spain also permits some of her major cities--such as Toledo, Corduba, Barsalona and Madrid to join the Hansa, after confirming their free city charters. However Spain is still deeply in debt--with a large military and, at the moment, nothing to do with it...

Muscovy:

In order to increase the Education of his People, two Universities are established, one in Moscow and one in Novgorod. Due his journeys, Nil Sorsky refuses the offer of being the first Headmaster at either School; instead Dmitriy offers the Headmastership of the Moscow Academy to his long time friend and confidant Vassian Patrikeyev, who accepts. A request for Teachers is sent though Europe offering teaching positions at the new Universities.

Maghreb:

New Granada:

Juan Carlos Muhammad XIII --son of Boabdil Muhammad XII of Granada--marries the Daughter of Mohammad Hasfid IV.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

1512 - 1515: The Lunda province is established as the seat of the second diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ndongo- the Diocese of Inner Africa. The Bishop in Sao Rafael is re-titled Bishop of Sao Rafael, the Franciscans place on of their own as Bishop of Inner Africa. The missionaries work in Luba and Lunda proves more successful than in Matamba, and stories of monotheistic coastal landers on the other ocean are told of. Prince Marcos begins the Construction of Ndongo- that, is the beginning of building permanent structures and walled cities throughout the heartland of the kingdom- Ndongo. Co-Regent Princess Maria-Joséphine dies on the voyage home to Ndongo.

Indian Sub-Continent:

1512 March: Raimal dies. His obsession with government administration pays off, as there is no succession crisis. Prithviraj is crowned Rajamaharana, virtually all of the royal family and Imperial Advisory Chamber continue in their old posts.

Varajanas:

The trade disputes between Chola and Jaffna lead to Emperor Raya sending troops to conquer the Kingdom of Jaffna. He requests help in this from the Portuguese that are moving in from the south. In return He will grant some trade concessions in Pondicherry, allowing Portugal onto the east coast.

Gowa:

Victory in the Yolgnu Wars has led to a widened national prosperity in Gowa, thanks to a flood of trepang, pearls and exotic foods into Makassar. In recognition of this, the Gowan Shahbandar opens up the port of Makassar to all foreign nations-effectively, becoming a free port, without tariffs or boundaries.

The karaeng of Tallok marries a Gowan princess, creating closer links between the two nations.

Marege:

Gallarang's land clearance practices begin. Although they are widely unpopular, they serve to transform the Yolgnu from a primarily hunter-gatherer society into a fishing-based economy.

An attempted coup by Gallarang's brother is put down harshly, but Gallarang is seriously weakened, physically and politically.

Southeast Asia:

As the Viets moved into the land along the southern and western borders of the Champas region, they came into contact and conflict with the Khmer, who were just across the poorly defined border.

Japan:

A Nambu flotilla explores the Chishima Islands and lands on Kitaezo (OTL now Sakhalin), meeting and trading with locals. Reports of the terrain, climate, and and environment are similar to those given of Ezo. Later that year a second expedition circumnavigates Kitaezo. While passing between the narrowest point between the island and the mainland, they are forced ashore on the island by bad weather.

Ryuku:

The somewhat nervous Ryukyuan navy begins its campaign against piracy. Operating in the waters between Ryukyu and mainland China, they see little action, involved in the occasional minor skirmish. What action they did see gave them the experience neccessary to handle the next opponents. With each battle, they show signs of improvement, slowly becoming a more coherent force.

Norasia:

Smallpox breaks out among the Lenape and Mohicans along the Meryk River. The contagion rages like wildfire, turning whole villages into ghostly places. The suffering is terrible, and spreads as fast as word of the plague, impacting all the tribes in the region.

Haudenosaunee:

A flesh-eating disease comes in from the east and rips through Haudenosaunee land, spreading as fast as a man can walk on the great roads, and into the Erie, Susequehanna, and Powhatan lands.
The old and the young are especially hard-hit; remote villages fare best. Medicine masks have some effect in slowing the disease, but not nearly enough. Generally, there are only two kinds of survivors -- those who never got sick at all and those who battled back from the absolute brink of death. It is widely agreed that this is the great holocaust predicted in the poem "The Funeral."

1512 September: The Chief of the Onondaga dies. The Clan Mothers elect an unknown man as Chief.

French ships arrive in Norasia and establish "Fort Nouvelle-France," (OTL Jacksonville, FL) and claim the areas of land surrounding it as "Carolina," in honor of the King. It is only a few miles north of the St. Augustine colony.

South America:

The Muisca begin to spread influence into OTL Trinidad, and the other Islands visible from its coasts. The Taino are instrumental in this work. Assistance from the Muisca against the Caribs, will hopefully draw the Arawak people to the Confederation. The Zaque of the Muisca has received word that the Inka are gearing up for conquest. He sends an emissary to the Inka in the hope of strengthening ties between thier peoples. He sends his own weight in Emeralds and a variety of other trade goods in the hope of receiving information on the Inkas new method of writing and accounting, and
stonemasons who can act as a cadre to his own growing engineering corp. He promises trade concessions, and to share knowledge of the newcomers, and their curious gadgets.

[Keenir]

1511

England:

King Arthur II declares that Wales shall be known henceforth as Britain, in honor of its heritage. For years, Britons had complained of being known as ‘Weales’ or foreigners in old Anglo-Saxon.

1511 June 28: King Arthur the Second, on the occasion of his brother Henry’s twentieth birthday, declares him ‘Lord Champion of the Realm’.

Portugal:

1511 January 23: Margaret of Portugal gives birth to her final child, Anna.

Manoel I begins the renovation of Lisbon, creating new aqueducts, expanding its already massive harbor and shipyards, roads, and various other city infrastructures, creating a new Rome in the West.

New schools and universities are built due to Margaret of Portugal’s encouraging. The music and arts are also heavily patronized.

Benelux:

William of Julich-Berg passes away. His son-in-law Johan (married to his daughter Maria) succeeds him as duke of Julich and Berg and count of Ravensberg.

Charles of Gueldres marries Anna, the second daughter of William of Julich-Berg.

Saxony:

Frederick of Saxony sells Groningen to Edward of East Frisia, and Frisia to Philip of the Palatinate.

Naples:

Prince Alphonso of Naples returns to Italy. He bring with him his family, consisting of his wife, Maria Christina, his sons, Filippo and Ferrante, and his daughters, Leonora, Diana and Giovanna. The Kings brother Frederick takes over his role as ambassador to Ndongo.

Northern Italy:
Venice's army begins marching into Mantua. The success of this venture strengthens the Doge at home against the Council.

Russia:

The Russian Navy and Merchant Marine continue to grow. With the help of Dutch ship designers the first carrack. In honor of Dmitriy’s Grandfather, the ship is named Ivan the Great, this is also the first time that Ivan III is called such. The Russian Navy now consists of the Ivan, 30 galleys, and about 20 smaller ships. The Russian Merchant fleet has increased to 50 ships. Most of the sailors of the Russian Fleet, both naval and merchant, are still foreigners, though the number of former Livonian’s and Russians are increasing.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

When King Diego orders the extermination of the entire Lunda and non-Catholic Matamban people, he is officially deposed by the Macota of Ndongo-Matamba, and the Kingdom is placed under the Regency of the former king's sister and brother-in-law Prince Marcos and Princess Maria-Joséphine. The Duke of Benguela is crowned "King Emmanuel II."

Prince Marcos and his Franciscan advisors divide the Lunda states into two provinces; in the north, Luba, and in the south, Lunda. Meanwhile, in order to thank the Kongo, he cedes to them the Kongolese-speaking kingdom of Ngoyo, and promises to send soldiers to help the Kongolese in the conquering of the heathen empire of Luanda.

Ethiopia:

Prince Eon accompanies his father, King Eslander, to visit the shipyard in Djibouti listens to the Imans calling the Faithful to prayer, and asks his father-
"But are not we Christians, also the Faithful of the Lord? Should we not also pray?" Maybe it was the odd light in the Prince's eyes but the King agreed.
Due to Prince Eon, Christian Priests in Ethiopia begin calling the Christian Faithful to Prayers at the same time the Muslim Imans do. This would be later considered Saint Eon's first saintly act.

Marege (Australia):

The war enters its third year, with no signs of abating. In desperation, the Shahbandur (Gowan foreign minister) decides to enter into negotiations with the Yolgnu. The Yolgnu, heavily weakened by smallpox, agree. By this time, smallpox has devastated the Yolgnu, destroying entire bands, ravaging families and wiping out entire tribes of their allies.

In the First Makaratta (treaty), Gallarang is recognised as bate (prince) of the Yolgnu, independent of Makassar but in a pact of permanent friendship. His allies are not so fortunate, with Gowa annexing the territory of any tribe to ally with the Yolgnu.

The ravages of smallpox force the tribes of Marege to gravitate towards the Gowan settlements along the coast, where they are given food for labour. They remain nominally independent, but the collapse of Yolgnu's alliances effectively grants the Gowans regional hegemony. Similar processes take place in Kai Djawa.

Meanwhile, Gowan praus continue to explore Marege, reaching the eastern side of OTL's Gulf of Carpentaria. Several trading stations are established, but many tribes, newly contacted, react badly to the intruders.

In Yolgnu, the population begin to gravitate to fishing settlements along the coast, established by Gallarang.

Japan:

The Nambu clan send a delegation of troops to explore the interior of Ezo and investigate ithe potential for trade, etc. The Nambu leaders are pleased with the reports but decide not to commit to any definite action.

Ryuku:

Trade with the Taiwanese people is strengthened. More colonies are established along the north-east and north-west coasts and further inland. Several hundred Ryukyuans have now permanantly relocated to Taiwan.

King Sho shin recalls the Royal navy that was built for the 'invasion' of Taiwan. All the navy was required to do was escort merchant and fishing ships to and from port, and occasionally run patrols outside of the principle harbours. Many individuals later doubted that this was the real reason the navy was recalled, as it was noticed that a high percentage of the sailors appeared to be becoming restless during the period of inactivity.

Later that year however, the navy became occupied with a much more serious task. Two years before, Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane had declared a 'war on piracy'. In the years following the new-found Sino-Ryukyuan political and diplomatic equality, King Sho shin, whose reign has long since been considered synonymous with a Ryukyuan 'golden age', attempted to gain further recognition amongst the states of East and South-East Asia as a powerful and independent nation. It was a matter of international prestige, as well as national security, that drove Sho shin to commit the bulk of the Ryukyuan navy to the war on piracy.

[Glen]

Ah, I see, you took my instructions for the 1521 to 1530 threads and applied it here for retro events....good idea!:D

[Keenir]

1513:

England:

Young Christopher Walker, on the recommendation of his captain, Sebastian Cabot, is given a captaincy with the Society of Merchant Venturers and a charter to search for a Northwest Passage to Asia.

Upon hearing tales of the devastation occuring in Norasia, King Arthur requests of Thomas Dowcra a contingent of English Hospitalers to be sent to Norasia to minister to the ill, and to provide for the care of orphans of the plague. Thomas Docwra pledges to do so, putting his son Lancelot Docwra in charge of the mission.

Benelux:

After secret negotiations with Charles of Gueldres, Oversticht declares itself independent of Burgundy and appoints Charles of Gueldres as their new ruler. Charles’ troops enter Oversticht and remove the few Burgundian troops from Oversticht’s territory. The other members of the anti Burgundian alliance (Edzard of east Frisia, Gerard of Julich-Berg and Jan of Cleve-Mark) support these actions. Adolf, the bishop of Liege also voices his support. Philip of Burgundy prepares for war.

Portugal:

Spring – Manoel I enacts laws that further weaken the power of the Nobility, in it’s stead raising the position of the merchant class that has grown to power in the last decade.

Due to the long distances and far-flung ports in South America, Africa, India, and Asia, the Portuguese begin developing specialized warships. Fast, agile, maneuverable, and heavily armed, these are set apart from the generally large and slower ships that have been used for decades in trading and war.

Alfonso De Albuquerque is named the second Viceroy of the State of India. Vasgo De Gama returns home to a hero’s welcome.

Muscovy:

With the increase in demand for Flax, a group of 10 flax farmers in the former Livonian region get together in order to sell their flax at higher prices than what they are getting currently. Though they receive more than what they have in the past for their crop, the group doesn’t do as well as they hope to and disband after the first year. The idea catches the ear of a man who is in Riga from Moscow on business, and he starts to contemplate how make it a more effective business practice.

Venice:

Early in the shipping season, the Doge receives an anonomous tip* that a tradesman is planning to take Venetian secrets out of Venice. The Venetian agents capture the tradesman in question, finding shipbuilding drawings among his effects. As the year progresses, and little information is forthcoming, the Doge puts increasing pressure on the tradesman’s fellows: the inhabitants of Venice’s Armenian quarter. Late in the shipping season, almost too late to do anything, Ottoman Emperor Isa sends a messenger to Venice, commanding the Council to cease this action with the Armenians, as they are under the protection of the Sublime Porte. Isa himself is of Pontus Greek extraction, but both his first wife (of three) and favorite concubine are Armenians.

1513-4:

Over the Venetian winter, the Doge fumes…all his hard work, his return to the prominence which Doges once held in Venice, which certain spies have reported to the Sultan (after all, its what Venice would do unto other states)…and the Sultan acts as though the Council were still calling the shots. He stops the torture of random Armenians in Venice, though he does not call for the stopping of torture being meted out to those accused of crimes against Venice. In addition, the Doge isolates the Armenian quarter from the rest of Venice, encouraging its fall into disrepair.

Eastern Mediterranean:

Prince Eon visits the Patriarchs in Alexandria & Constantinople, to his dismay He finds them more interested in Temporal matters, than in the problems of a Church 2~3,000 miles away.

Knights Hospitaler:

Realizing that the order is badly over-stretched, Docwra begins determinedly setting out to increase the order's men-at-arms, offering a payment of debts and a silver piece a month to any Christian who will take the cross. Sergeants and men-at-arms are also freed from all vows, save obedience to the order and mother church.

Ottoman Empire:
Emperor Selim 1st retires from public life. Prince Isa rises to take the throne in time to mark Ramadan.

Indian Sub-Continent:

The Vāhigurū Sikh religion ends its period of mass conversions (Lord Prithviraj’s beloved Jainism takes a rare turn as the fastest-growning religion). Vāhigurū Sikh now enters a period of theological deepening and cultural cohesion, as the Great Guru devotes much of his time to encouraging his disciples to debate religious issues in order to discover which tenets were vital and which were merely custom. It is from this period that the Four Tenets – equal rights, meditation, work ethic, and communalism – emerge.

Vietnam:

Prince Tang, one of Le Thanh Tong’s 14 sons, succeeded his father as Le Hien Tong . He was 54 years old at the time of his father's death.
He was an affable, meek and mild-mannered person. Due to his short period of rule and the fact that he didn't pass many significant reforms, his reign is considered to be an extension of Le Thanh Tong's rule.

East Asia:

Champas traders land on the south end of Taiwan and establish a small trading post.

Lorenco discovers Korea and Japan. He receives initial hostility at his first landing, but is welcomed when he arrives into Kyoto.

A large fort is build upon a port that has been purchased from the king of the Kotte kingdom in exchange for guns and weapons. The King begins brutally unifying his kingdom under his sole control, with Portuguese aid.

Haudenosaunee:

1513 January: Again, the Chief of the Onondaga dies. The Clan Mothers elect Hurit as Chiefess.

The smallpox outbreak has now spread to most of the English tradeposts and the neighboring tribes. In the north, whole villages are often wiped out. In the South, the more populace civilizations do not have complete destruction, but the numbers of dead are truly horrifying.

1513 Spring - Summer: Knights Hospitaler arrive under the command of Lancelot Dowcra. They begin work conforting the ill, burying, or when necessary, burning the dead, and caring for invalids and orphans of the disease. Their deeds more than their words convince several of the surviving Norasians near the English trading posts to convert to Christianity.

1513 Fall: Volunteers among the Hospitalers decide to stay through the harsh Norasian winter to continue their work. Their leader, Lancelot Dowcra, will not leave without them.

1513 - 1514 Winter:

Hospitalers and Norasians have to cooperate to survive through the second winter of the smallpox plague. By spring, some Hospitalers have taken Norasians as wives.

Totonac Protectorate:

Some claim that the plague is a punishment for abandoning the old gods, and there is a brief revival of pagan religion. However, the Speaker of the Totonac crushes the pagans by force of arms before they can take over entirely.

South America:

Incan Empire:

The library/academy called the churay jap'eqay khipu (place of khipu learning), with Washakr and his family being the main financiers. It is located just off the plaza of Awkaypata, and is quite large, being 200m by 150m in length. A hundred students are enrolled. Washkar finances a grand history of the Inca, and writing down of the religion. The history is notably pro-Washkar.

[Keenir]

1515:

England:

Prince Eon visits France and England. He is accomplied by some of the English Adventurers King Henry had sent to Ethiopia back in 1503. As such he speaks perfect English. He is interested in the two new orders [Merlin & the Bede]. but as in most countries spends most of his time talking to the Religious Scholars.

For service to the Crown, Thomas Docwra is inducted into the Order of the Round Table.

Portugal:

Manoel I names Vasco De Gama Grand Admiral of the Oceans, in honor of his long service and dedication to the Kingdom.

Due to the vast amount of wealth that has been spent on building projects, expansion in the textile and manufacturing fields, in hospitals, universities, and it’s every growing army and navy, the Portuguese population has exploded in the last decade. Manoel I begins overhauling the farming practices in Portugal.

Adriatic:
Emperor Isa of the Ottoman Empire sends the Ottoman fleet north into the Adriatic; squadrons of the fleet are tasked with beseiging the Venetian territories along the Balkan coast, allowing them to revert to the Empire; the majority of the fleet focuses its force on Venice itself, the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Marghreb:

New Granada:

Boabdil leads the Army as it reconquers Tlemcen. There Boabdil reconciles with his mother on her deathbed.

Ethiopia:

Ethiopia expands it's small settlement in the north of Madagascar, and increases its timber harvesting.

Nineteen years after first trying to get gunsmiths, Ethiopia starts producing it's own muskets, mostly bronze, as steel is too expensive.

China:

Fifteen trade junks and the 150 man expeditionary force of the Xiao Trading Company land on Pa-Outchow south-west of the city of Gimhathiththa (Galle) at the southern most tip of the island of Pa-Outchow. The Ming trade junks anchor themselves just off shore, offloading the 150 man force and setting themselves up close enough to fire their cannons in support of the expeditionary force should they run into any trouble. While many of the natives were highly suspicious of the intent of the armed expedition, the Xiao expedition was able to buy off many of the local tribes with gold, porcelain, and silk in exchange for securing the rights to construct a trading post on the coast. By the end of the year, the trading post on Pa-Outchow called 平安的沿海 (Peaceful Coast) was a hub of Xiao trading activities in the Indian Ocean.

Gowa:

The karaeang of Gowa dies, of natural causes (as in OTL), and is succeeded by his brother. In the early hours of his reign, the Bate Salapang are called to a meeting in the palace, where they are hacked to death for their failure in the Sulawesian War.

The new karaeang is a bitter hawk, contemptuous of his brother's weakness and determined to restore Gowan greatness. The laissez faire policies of the previous administration are repealed, and a military buildup begins.

A proxy war breaks out between tribes on Marege controlled by Galesong and Siang. The war shatters the fragile anti-Gowan alliance.

Vietnam:

Le Hien Tong dies.

Le Tuc Tong (ruled 1504 - 1505)
Succeeding to Le Hien Tong was his third son who took the reign name as Le Tuc Tong. However, he fell gravely ill and died just two months after assuming the throne.
Given his older brother's subsequent history of ruthless abuse of power, there is suspicion that Le Tuc Tong was in fact murdered.

Le Uy Muc
His older brother succeeded Le Tuc Tong as Le Uy Muc. The first thing the new Emperor did was to take revenge against those who had barred him from the throne by having them killed. Among his victims were the former Emperor's mother - which was considered a shocking display of evil behavior. Le Uy Muc was described as a cruel, sadistic, and depraved person, who wasted the court’s money and finances to indulge his whims. Well aware of the fact he was detested by his subjects, Le Uy Muc protected himself by hiring a group of elite bodyguards to surround him at all times. Among them was Mac Dang Dung who became very close to the Emperor and eventually rose to the rank of General.
Despite his precautions, in 1517 a half-brother who Le Uy Muc had put in prison, escaped and plotted with court insiders to assassinate the Emperor.
The assassination succeeded and the killer proclaimed himself Emperor under the name Le Tuong Duc.

About all Mac Dang Dung did was continue His war with the Khmer along Vietnam's southern and western borders.

Japan:

Clans in the east of Japan, fearful of the combined powers of the Union, enter in to their own confederacy. Led by the Hojo and with support from the Nambu, Uesugi, and Takeda clans as well as the recently emerged Miyamoto of Musashi and Arima of Shimotsuke, they have control of most of Kanto and Tohoku. Their goal, while not overt, is apparently the overthrow of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

South America:

Incan Empire:

1515 Winter - Spring: Nina Cuyuchi convinces his father (the Inka) to give him an army to conquer the forest of Peru to the northeast of Cuzco. He heads off with a few thousand men and leaves in spring. Attawalpa (the Inka's favorite) begins considering sending an army to the north to conquer more in his fathers birthplace, to get back the favorite position of his father.

1515 Summer: Nina Cuyuchi suffers a defeat by the hands of the jungle tribes. He does have a small victory, and sends word of only the victory to Cuzco. Waynu Qapac is pleased, and Atawallpa gets very nervous.

[Keenir]

1510:
1510 August 15: Vasili getting frustrated with his nephew’s rule and lax policies regarding the reformers and feeling that the third Rome is losing it’s prestige, finally sets out for Constantinople. When he leaves he offers Joseph Volotsky, Clergy and Boyars that are loyal to him as well as feed up with Dmitriy’s rule to join him. He promises to get land and positions in his court for the Boyars, and High Ranks in the Orthodox Hierarchy in Constantinople.

1510 September: Vasili arrives in Constantinople with an about 150 priest, monks, Boyars and the Boyars families. Emperor Ahmed and Princess Fatima receive him in the Throne room where a descendant of the Shishemid Tsars of Bulgaria is also present. Though irritated by the small jab, Vasili recognizes the significance, and says nothing.

Ottoman Empire:

When the Russian Prince Vasili arrives in Constantinople, he is met in the throne room not just by Emperor Ahmed and Princess Fatima (who will marry the Russian), but also by a descendant of the Shishemid Tsars of Bulgaria – Ahmed is hoping that this gentle reminder is sufficient: unspoken is “my family and yours aren’t the only ones with a claim to this City.” To mark this day, the provinces of Albania and Bulgaria begin construction on their own shipyards, intended to supplement the docking locations elsewhere in the Empire. Also, work begins on a Russian Orthodox cathedral intended for the use of those who came with Prince Vasili…and Vasili is reminded that the Russian Orthodox in his party are his responsibility.


we need to delete that; sorry.

ps: thanks to Portugal for ravaging Yemen for me.

[Keenir]

NOTE: In 1505, I edited in a new event, the Northern Italian Pact also declaring war on Genoa

no argument. makes sense. (I was starting to worry the Pact had no teeth)

and dismembering it. The Venetians gain most Genoese overseas possessions,

one more step towards their rise to ego, nice.

A substantial Genoese presence remains in Corsica, however.

can't be helped. :D

[Glen]

we need to delete that; sorry.

ps: thanks to Portugal for ravaging Yemen for me.

That was done, btw.

[AJNolte]

1. Spanish economics: expect some majorly interesting developments there in the next two decades. You're right about Spanish mercs. However I'm thinking the Hanseatic Federation might hire them. Would help them create a better standing army, and forcibly retired Spanish mercs could make pretty good training cadres. Just in case, you know, the war of religion breaks out in the HRE or something. I'm also thinking the endemic Burgundian/Anti-Burgundian conflict might be a draw.
Excommunication: no earlier than 1519. Henry Wettin wrote On Righteousness (the justification tract) in this year. Definitely still see Portugal going Wettinite. You'll need a Thomas Cranmer equivalent, but finding a stray Wettinite priest and making him Archbishop of Lisban shouldn't be too difficult for Manuel.

[Glen]

Ottoman Empire:
Emperor Selim 1st retires from public life. Prince Isa rises to take the throne in time to mark Ramadan.

Ramadan is rather late in the year. I have moved this to 1512 so that your events involving Emperor Isa and the Venetians aren't questionable.

Also changed Selim's 'retirement' to death. Can't see him retiring so quickly or easily given his OTL exploits, but death was easy and capricious in this time period.

[Glen]

1512:

Further Hansa ships and settlers set out for Fredericksberg, building it up to a population of 1,000. Many of these settlers are from poorer families from the Baltic coast, or even peasants from Saxony and the Palatinate who have been promised freedom from their feudal obligations. Others are Teutonic knights.

Moving this to 1513, and will specify that Fredericksberg is in Trinidad.


Spain:

Now desparately strapped for cash, the Spanish sell Jamaica to the Hanseatic League. Spain also permits some of her major cities--such as Toledo, Corduba, Barsalona and Madrid to join the Hansa, after confirming their free city charters. However Spain is still deeply in debt--with a large military and, at the moment, nothing to do with it...

I believe that this was changed to Trinidad, so making it such. Also modifying the deal with the Hansa so that the Spanish allow Hansa factors in those cities. No way they would have been given outright to the Hansa.

Should have the same effect on giving the Spaniards some more cash on hand and on commerce in future, however, which is the important thing.

South America:

The Muisca begin to spread influence into OTL Trinidad, and the other Islands visible from its coasts. The Taino are instrumental in this work. Assistance from the Muisca against the Caribs, will hopefully draw the Arawak people to the Confederation. The Zaque of the Muisca has received word that the Inka are gearing up for conquest. He sends an emissary to the Inka in the hope of strengthening ties between thier peoples. He sends his own weight in Emeralds and a variety of other trade goods in the hope of receiving information on the Inkas new method of writing and accounting, and
stonemasons who can act as a cadre to his own growing engineering corp. He promises trade concessions, and to share knowledge of the newcomers, and their curious gadgets.

Just brought this back down a notch or two so that there's not so specific requests to the Inka and so that the Muisca aren't already in Trinidad so early.