A Dropped Pen

[Jasen777]

Discussion thread here: http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...ad.php?t=83873

Prologue

July 2, 1505 - Erfurt

"Come back Martin, you've dropped your pen," his teacher called out to him.

Martin had been about to exit the building, but he turned around and walked back towards his teacher. He was glad his teacher called him; his father would be most upset if he lost any more pens. "Thanks," he mumbled as he picked the pen up. His teacher might know law, but he was a bit of a dodder. He didn't really want to get trapped into a conversation with the old man, listening to him read from books for lectures was bad enough…

It was 20 minutes before Martin could break away from his teacher. Martin still did not care much for the man as a teacher. He had to admit though that he was a nice guy. It was unfortunate that he had taken his wife's death so harshly.

So it was that Martin was just opening the door when the large lighting strike hit. "St. Anne!" Martin exclaimed. It was probably the largest lighting strike he had ever seen. If he hadn't dropped his pen he might have been right under that strike. He had experience doubts, but this had to be Providence. He was now certain that he was meant to be a lawyer.

Religious Turmoil in 16th Century Europe


The Great Peasant Revolt and Thomas Muntzer

The background against which the revolt occurred was an ever increasing squeezing of the peasantry by both the secular and scared rulers. So much land had been declared noble possessions that many peasants had no place where they could legally gather wood or fish. Church officials often charged peasants for their services and sold indulgences at rates that they really couldn't afford. Even given all this, the peasant revolts may have remained small and scattered where it not for the presence of Thomas Muntzer.

Thomas Muntzer was a priest at Braunschweig in Thuringia. He came to strongly identify with the peasant's grievances and his message, that all things should be held in common for the benefit of all, was just the message the peasants wanted to hear. His famous pamphlet, All in Common, was spread widely throughout the Holy Roman Empire.

Muntzer was an extreme anti-cleric, denouncing the clergy for their moral laxity, spiritual impotence, and their oppression of the common people. Another of his famous works, Of the Priesthood of all Believers, amounted to a rejection of the whole administrative structure of the church. He stressed that every believer had the right to administer the sacraments, or even to preach if the were called by God - no appointment by man was needed.

Fanned by Muntzer's ideas, by 1522 large revolts were present not only in Thuringia, but Saxony, Hesse, Palatinate, and Swabia as well. Emperor Charles V, who was facing a French incursion into Italy and a major threat from the Ottomans, was initially unable to respond to the revolt.

By 1523, the peasants had defeated several small imperial forces and had begun to organize a system based on Muntzer's ideas of common holdings. Muntzer was heavily involved in this process, and emerged as the de facto leader of the movement. It was at this time that he popularized the idea of continual revelation, that God's revelation was not complete in the Bible nor handled by Church tradition, but that God speaks new truths to modern apostles.

Historians like to speculate what would have happened had the peasants been allowed to form a lasting government, but it was not to be. Still unable to bring most of his main force to bear, Charles IV nevertheless was able to raise an army of 20,000 consisting in large part of Swiss mercenaries. The army plundered it's way through the empire, as mercenary armies often did, and initially ran in to little in the way of resistance.

Muntzer was working to form a true army to oppose them, but the peasants were poorly armed and still poorly organized. He did manage to meet the mercenary army with a significant force (reported by temporary accounts at 50,000, although that is likely 3 or 4 times the true number) outside of Braunschweig on May 8, 1524. In the resulting battle, Muntzer was killed and the peasant army was dispersed, with the well-trained mercenary army taking few causalities. This ended the Great Revolt, although small disturbances would continue for some time. All told, an estimated 150,000 people died in the four-year conflagration.



Switzerland and a Precursor to Reformism

Before the disturbance to the north was put down, a new one just getting started in Switzerland. It was launched in 1523 when Ulrich Zwingli convinced the Zurich town council to adopt his proto-reformation views. Some point to an influence from Muntzer in his ideas, but this has now been largely discredited. In any case, Zwingli was a much more consistent theologian than Muntzer, and was not at all as radical socially.

Zwingli viewed the Catholic Church as having been corrupted by tradition. He believed that anything that the Church did that was not supported by scripture should be ended. To this end he lead Zurich in stripping churches of icons and finery, promoting the marriage of clergy, and ensuring that priests were educated and of high moral character. Theologically, he opposed the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, teaching instead that the bread and wine at mass were only symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. He also oversaw the city takeover of church property and social work, and began the practice in paying the priests from the city's coffers.

Zurich sent priests to convert other Swiss cities to the views of Zwingli, and was successful in the case of Mulhouse and Berne. Other areas refused, perhaps associating these reforms with the peasant revolts to the north. This was a mistake as they were nothing alike; indeed, there are signs that Zurich clamped down harshly on a pro-Muntzer movement. Another factor may have been that Zwingli taught strongly against the mercenary practice, something that several of the Swiss cantons were economically depended upon. These factors lead to the Swiss Religious War of 1528.

The immediate cause of the war was the execution of a Zurich priest in the Canton of Unterwalden, leading to a declaration of war by Zurich, Mulhouse, and Berne. The other cantons took little time in deciding in favor of Unterwalden. The 3-city alliance was initially successful, winning the First Battle of Lake Lucerne over the army of Unterwalden. However, two days later (April 7), while they were still regrouping, they were attacked by the combined armies of Uri, Schwyz, Lucerne, and Zug, and were utterly defeated in the Second Battle of Lake Lucerne. Among the causalities was Zwingli himself, who died the next day. As part of the peace settlement, Zurich, Mulhouse, and Berne had to reverse their religious reforms, and thus Catholicism triumphed among the Swiss.

Apostolicism: Sweden and England break from Catholicism

Sweden was a newly formed country, having won its independence from Denmark in 1523. The leadership of Gustav the Great was crucial in this achievement. Upon this victory, Gustav asked for Pope Clement's consent to replace Trolle as the archbishop of Sweden, since he had been heavily involved with the Danes. The Pope refused to do so however, which put Gustav in a tight spot.

An ecclesiastical tug of war broke out, as the Gustav and several of the individual bishops sought to hamper Trolle's influence. This continued for several years, until the arrival of Hans Meier from the HRE in 1527. Meier had been a follower of Muntzer and was an outspoken proponent of continual revelation, although he had come to the opinion that Muntzer's "All in Common" ideas were unworkable. Gustav was intrigued by the idea of continual revelation, and Meier became one of his close advisers. Shortly thereafter, Gustav announced that Meier had received a new revelation from God, that the Bishop of Rome should no longer have the power to appoint archbishops that were objectionable to sovereign secular powers. He then moved to make a man loyal to him the archbishop.

This move, along with the general resentment of their economic burden, lead to scattered peasant revolts throughout the country. These remained small and uncoordinated however. Many seemed to not care about Gustav's ousting of the Pope's influence in Sweden, or even his seizure of church property. The seized property was used to pay off Sweden's debt, and therefore allowed Gustav to slightly ease the economic burden on the peasantry (at least temporarily). Catholic doctrine and practice, outside the rights of the Pope, went unchanged.

The Pope was upset with this turn of events, and encouraged Denmark's King Frederick to invade Sweden. A Denmark army invaded Sweden in 1531, but was soundly defeated by Gustav's army. The result was so devastating to Denmark's army that Frederick was forced to cede the province of Bohuslan to Sweden. The province was of strategic value because it allowed Sweden direct access to the North Sea, thus circumventing Danish taxation of the North Sea to Baltic trade route.

England

England and the Papacy had a long history of conflict that provides the background for the importation of Apostolicism. The final straw was King Henry VIII's desire to secure a divorce from his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. It is commonly held by historians today that Henry wanted the divorce because Catherine had not provided him with an heir.

Henry sought the approval of Pope Clement for an annulment. However, this was seen as being against church law (since Catherine had been married to Henry's brother the marriage needed special permission to be allowed in the first place). In addition, Catherine was the Aunt of the Emperor Charles V who had recently sacked Rome and imprisoned the Pope for a time.

King Henry still had no approval by 1529, and was now willing to look at other options. A few of his advisors then suggested they follow the example of Sweden. Henry seized upon this, and declared that he had had a revelation that his current marriage was immoral and needed to be ended. Parliament gave consent, and Henry was shortly after wed to the Lady Anne Boleyn. This marriage met with more success for Henry, as Anne soon gave birth to a son, Edward. She went on to have two more children who survived infancy, Elizabeth and John.

This break from Rome continued, in culminated in the Act of Supremacy of 1532. It provided that England and England's Church had no ruler other than the King of England. This effectively blocked the Pope's influence in the country. As was the case with Sweden, little in the way of doctrine or practice of the church was changed, other than the idea of Apostolicism.

The Advent of Reformism and John Calvin

John Calvin had previously been expelled from France, but he found a welcome at the University of Paris when he returned in 1533. He was quickly tabbed to teach theology, and it was during this time that the doctrines of Reformism were first clearly expressed.

It's unclear how familiar Calvin was with Zwingli, Hus, and other proto-reformed figures, but he certainly shared some of their views. The authority of scripture was held prominent in Calvin's thinking, and he clearly defended the Zwinglian idea of the Lord's Supper as symbolic. He taught that the church needed reform, and controversially, that reform may have to be imposed by secular authorities since the church had become so corrupt.

Calvin of course was the great theologian of Reformism. His work, "On Religion," is still used as a standard text in many Reformed schools today. It was a systematic theology more consistent and elaborate than anything that had come before. Other than the previously mentioned position on biblical authority and the Lord's Supper, Calvin's chief contribution to theology was likely his advocacy of predestination. He taught that God had chosen the elect for salvation before time, to suggest otherwise would deny salvation by grace through faith or God's sovereignty.

Due to printing presses, Calvin's work was spread widely throughout France, and indeed beyond the country as well. At first his views were largely limited to the universities, but they gradually spread to the populace, especially in the larger cities. A turning point came in 1539, when King Francis became interested in Reformed ideas. The result would be years of warfare.

A Summary of European Religious Wars 1540 - 1565

French Conflicts of Religion - Francis' promotion of Reformism lead to a revolt of the southern nobility in 1540. The revolt was crushed at the Battle of Guise. In 1546 Francis moved to make reformism the established religion and himself the head of the French Church. This lead to scattered revolts, all of which were short lived. In 1550, some of the nobility led another revolt, this time with the aide of an imperial Hapsburg army. It's defeat a mere 12 miles outside Paris marked the last organized resistance to Reformism in France. These events lead to the settling of Guiana in South America by French Catholics.

Wars of Netherlandian Independence - Reformism had been spreading into the Netherlands since it became popular in France. Religion combined with repressed Netherlandian nationalism in 1551 causing a revolt against Haspurbg rule. It saw a war of seige and counter seige that lasted for 6 years before the 8 northern counties were granted their independce. William, the Count of Nassau-Dilenburg, was crowned William I, King of the Netherlands.

The Death of William I in 1559 sparked an attempt by Phillip II of Spain to regain the northern counties. He armies enjoyed some initial success, but the tide turned against them when his German allies were distracted by events closer to home and France and England (which had gradually rejected Apostolicism for Reformism under Edwards VI) entered the war in support of the Netherlands. The war continued until 1565 when Spanish finance reached a breaking point. The concluding Treaty of Utrecht saw the southern counties added to the Kingdom of Netherlands, and the Bishopric of Liege ceeded to France. Seperately, England gave Calais to France in exchange for a small payment and the renouncing of French land claims in North America (which at this point was unsettled by either French or English).

War of Swedish Ascendancy - Sometimes grouped with the 2nd War of Netherlandian Independence as the Great Religious War. Muntzerian revolts broke out in Germany in 1560, which the Princes found difficult to fully suppress, as the Ottomans were once again pressing on the eastern borders. They asked the Danish Monarch, Christian IV, to intervene on their behalf. He did, and his army was able to help the princes restore order.

Gustav the Great of Sweden saw a big chance and pounced, seizing Denmark's eastern provinces and invading Norway as well. After a combined Anglo-Swedish fleet destroyed Denmark's navy, Copenhagen was put at risk and a Swedish army was landed in Holstein. The Swedish army defeated the Denmark army returning from Germany, and Christian IV had to sue for peace. Sweden gained Denmark's two remaining eastern provinces, and acquired Norway as a vassal state. England gained the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.

The Second Wave of Colonialism 1560 - 1610

The first wave of colonialism was largely the work of the Catholic powers of Spain and Portugal. Spain had conquered the Aztec and Inca empires and held sway over much of the southern two-thirds of the Americas. Portugal for its part had a thriving colony in Brazil and a chain of highly profitable trading posts stretching all the way around Africa to India and even to Japan.

The second wave was largely driven by the Reformed powers. The had largely secured their safety in Europe and were now free to pursue their ambitions elsewhere.

French Colonialism

The French were largely driven by financial purposes for their colonization and were not all that interested in settlement, with the noted exception of Guiana. Guiana had been settled by French Catholics, and had been de facto independent. This was not a state of affairs the French crown was prepare to overlook once troubles in Europe died down. In 1571 a French fleet sailed to Guiana and captured it. French Reformists were encouraged to settle there, and Catholics were faced with the decision to convert or be expelled to the Spanish or Portuguese possessions. Thus, Guiana was secured for the French crown.

The main objective of French colonialism was to secure trade with Asia. To this, they needed to face down the Portuguese. This was accomplished in 1568 when the French Navy defeated the Portuguese Navy at the battle of the Azores. This allowed the French to capture the Azores and Canary island groups. Spain was not happy with this, and King Phillip II organized a grand fleet of Spanish and Portuguese ships with the intention of crushing French sea power. The Reformed powers were aware of this however, and gathered a combined fleet of their own, consisting of ships from France, England, and the Netherlands. They met in the Bay of Biscay on June 2, 1569 in the Battle of the Five Navies. The Reformed gallons, although smaller, proved more maneuverable, and it seems they had the advantage of numbers as well (although accounts of the number of ships involved in the battle vary). The battle resulted in a great victory for the Reformed powers, and secured their supremacy on the oceans.

The Portuguese fleet was especially devastated by the Battle of the Five Navies, and would never truly recover. The French did not throw away their advantage and over the next couple of decades picked off the Portuguese outposts one by one. By 1600, virtually the entire Europe to East Asia Portuguese trade network was taken over by the French, the exception being a few Portuguese holdouts in Ceylon, and the Japanese trading post, as Japan had closed itself off from the world.

English Colonialism

The acquisition of territory from Denmark (the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland) pushed England to a new age of exploration. A key motivation was the search for a northwest passage through the Americas to Asia, as England was barred from the African route by the Portuguese, and then later granted only limited access by the French.

The main force in this effort was the North American Company, which was chartered by Henry IX in 1562. Their explorers followed up earlier explorations, especially on the Cabot River (1), and eventually followed the Misizibi River (2) to its outflowing into the Caribbean. After the search for a northwest passage and gold failed, the NAC settled down to practice of fur trading. The whole of the English claim in North America was named New England; its key city of Edwardsville (3) was founded in 1588.

Netherlander Colonialism

Netherlander motivations for colonialism were the same as England's, a desire for a northwest passage and trade with the natives in general. Their main city of New Amsterdam, was founded to the South of the main English presence, on the Island of Manhattan. From there, their interests went north following the Nassau River (4). Their interests, like the English, was largely in the fur trade.



1 - The St. Lawrence River renamed by the English.
2 - OTL's Mississippi River. Etymology isn't my thing, but I spelled it differently since here it goes straight from the native to English without going through French.
3 - At the location of OTL's Quebec City.
4 - OTL's Hudson River.




Summary of Religious Differences from OTL as of 1600:

Holy Roman Empire: The Lutheran Reformation in the H.R.E. never happened. Instead they had the Muntzerian attempted reformation / peasent revolt in the 1520's. It was put down by force. Scattered Muntzerian rebellions in 1560 were put down with the help of Denmark (as the main imperial armies were deployed against the Ottomans). The H.R.E. is solidly Catholic, but with pockets of resentment among the lower classes.

Switzerland: The Zwinglian Reformation didn't spread as far, and was crushed by Catholic cantons. Switzerland is completely Catholic ITTL.

Sweden: Became an Apostolic state church, which is mainly Catholic doctrine with Muntzer's "new revelation from modern prophets" idea and monarchical leadership of the church. Muntzer's economic ideas and his more radical ideas about church hierarchy were not adopted. With the spread of Reformism, Sweden gradually began to deemphasize its Apostolic ties, and has tended to a moderate position between Catholic and Reformed doctrine. Similar to OTL's Church of England.

England: Henry VIII's followed Sweden's example and started an Apostolic state church. Later under Edwards VI (ITTL a healthy son of Henry and Anne Boleyn), it became a Reformed state church.

France: John Calvin launched what is considered the Reformation ITTL here. France adopted Reformism, which is pretty much OTL's Calvinism.

Netherlands: Has a Reformed state church, religiously not much different from OTL, but the country itself is.

Denmark and Scotland: Have remained Catholic instead of adopting Lutheranism and Calvinism respectively.

Here's a map of 1600. Due to my limited map skills, it should probably only be considered a rough guide. Lines in the new world represent claims not backed by settlement. The white outlining of represents a vassal state of the interior color.

There's a few butterflies that I haven't previously covered. The two of note are that Spanish King has not inherited the crown of Portugal, and Prussia is an integral part of Poland-Lithuania.

[Jasen777]

1st Great Northern War (War of Russian Ascendancy)

The immediate cause of the war was the Polish-Lithuanian King Batory's desire to form a grand alliance against the Ottomans. The Habsburgs expressed interest, but the other wing of Batory's envisioned alliance, Russia, firmly declined the invitation. It's thought that Tsar Feodor II was offended by the tone of the Polish diplomat, which gave him the impression that Russia would be a rather junior partner in the affair.

Feodor's reply enraged Batory, who began to plan an invasion of Russia. He launched the invasion in 1608, after having secured an alliance with Sweden. Sweden under the Vasa Kings had remained aloof from continental European affairs, but Gustav IV saw the war as an opportunity to gain land from the Russian Baltic and independent Baltic territories.

That war started well for the Polish-Swedish alliance, as Sweden successfully gained it's Baltic objectives, and Poland had entered Russian territories and defeated two Russian armies before winter halted the campaign. The following spring, a joint Polish-Swedish army advanced on Moscow and occupied it after a battle outside the city. Feodor however had escaped. This was to mark the high point of both Polish and Swedish power.

In the winter of 1609, while the allies were discussing how to divide the spoils of war and what to do with Russia (there was talk of either putting a relative of Batory's on the Russian throne, or joining Russia to the Polish Commonwealth), Batory died. This, as was to often the case, plunged the Commonwealth into civil war. It also marked one of the most dramatic turnarounds in history. The Polish army disintegrated and/or withdrew to Poland to participate in the multi-sided civil war. This left the Swedes in Moscow, but with no real hope of holding the country without the Poles, they withdrew after facing the beginnings of a popular revolt organized by Orthodox priests.

As 1610 dragged on with no clear victor in the Polish civil war, a group of Polish nobles offered the crown of Poland to Gustav IV. Gustav accepted, but faced several rival claimants. Meanwhile, Feodor had reappeared in Moscow, and had organized a large army. In the spring of 1611 the army successfully moved against he lightly defended Swedish positions in the Baltics. The army then marched south, facing little opposition until meeting a Swedish lead army at Wilno. The resulting Battle of Wilno on August 6th 1611 resulted in a route of the worn-out Swedes, and marked the accession of Russia to great power status.

Aftermath

The result of the peace settlement saw Russia occupy the Baltics and the Russian-Swedish border restored to status-quo ante bellum. Polish-Lithuania did not escape as easily, as Feodor made Lithuania into a Russian vassal state, as well as created the new Duchy of Ukraine. Eventually, these states were annexed into Russia proper.

This left a rump Poland, consisting of around half the crown lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish Civil War continued, until the noble Jan Sawicki secured the Polish throne in 1613. Sawicki proved a shrewd administrator, and was able to centralize the new Poland to a good degree.

Questions remain about some of his methods, such as the possible mistreatment and expulsion of ethnic minorities from the realm and the questionable deaths of several Polish nobles. In any case, the state was more Polish than it ever had been, and it became increasingly so in the few decades after the war. Thus, some historians consider it the first true modern nation-state, put together on the basis of nationality rather than on the basis of feudal rule.

Map of the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after the 1st Great Northern War.

[Jasen777]

Akerism

Richard Akers was an English scholar in the theology department at the University of Paris. He grew disenchanted with the increasingly hard-line stance taken towards predestination by the university. This led him to an intense study of the doctrine, and ultimately to his rejection of it. Akers came to believe that the Bible taught that people had free will and that the Reformed doctrine of souls being predestined to heaven or hell before the creation of the universe painted an unfavorable picture of God. Stemming from this, he also rejected infant baptism, as he believed that people should only be baptized after making a profession of faith.

Akers' teachings were quite controversial, and were not meet with approval from the University of Paris or the French Church. In 1602, he was expelled from the university, and a year later, the French Church found his teachings to be heretical. Akers moved to London, and gained a few hundred followers before his death in 1606. Akers' death didn't hinder the growth of the movement at all, and by 1610, Akerism had a few thousand followers throughout England.

The Church of England was quite alarmed at this growth, and wanted them declared heretical. Henry X was slow to act however, as the Akerites agreed with the King's headship of the church, and did not seek to break from it. however, he finally agreed to place restrictions of the practice of Akerism in 1612. He also thought to get rid of the problem by encouraging them to emigrate. Some went to the new world, but more went to Germany.

In Germany Louis VII, the Palatinate Elector, welcomed the Akerites. Louis was famous for his staging of theological debates, and was interested in learning about Akerism. He liked what he heard a lot, and soon came to be an open supporter of Akerism. In 1622, he renounced Catholicism and announced the foundering of the Church of Palatinate. Most signs point to this being a genuine conversion, but some historians think he merely had his eye on the territory of nearby bishoprics. In any case, the stage was now set for the Great Religious War.

A Brief Overview of the 40 Years War

The Forty Years War is sometimes referred to as the Great Religious War. That name is misleading, as many other issues were at stake, including: France vs. the Hapsburgs for European supremacy, the rivalry between German States, the backlash against religious power over secular affairs in general, and proto German and Italian nationalism. The term "Forty Years War" is also a bit misleading; since it implies one war, when the conflict is more accurately described as a series of wars, sometimes separate, sometimes overlapping, with little break for 40 (38 would likely be more accurate) years.

The immediate cause of the conflict was the decision of Hesse-Kassel to declare a state church after the example of Palatinate in 1626. The H.R.E. Emperor, Maximilian III, had had enough with this heresy and gathered his imperial forces to put an end to it (and not uncoincidentally increase his power over the empire). As the series of wars are too complicated to detail here, what follows will be a run down of the participants.

Austria (Hapsburgs) - Started the war to ensure religious uniformity and to establish a greater authority for the imperial crown in the Empire. It failed in these goals. Many of the imperial cities came under the control of states, and the Peace of Geneva provided for the ruler of a state to freely determine the state's religion. The war wasn't a complete loss for the Hapsburgs however, as they gained Bavaria and most of Switzerland.

Denmark - Entered the war in support of the Hapsburgs, specifically seeking to prevent Sweden from gaining influence in Germany, which they were able to do.

France - Emerged as the major winner of the war and the supreme power in Europe. Under the able diplomacy of Charles X and Louis XII, France was able to line up its opponents, manipulating alliances for their benefit. France fought against Switzerland with the Hapsburgs, with the Akertie and Italian states against the Hapsburgs, and with the Swedes and Netherlanders both for and against other German states. This lead to famous quote, "And whose side are the French on today?" thought to be first said by Augustus II. The end result however was quite positive for the French, as they gained significant territory on their eastern border, gaining part of Switzerland, and various pieces formerly part of the H.R.E. including most of what was held by the Spanish.

German States - Palatinate and Hesse had prompted the war by turning from Catholicism; they (with Mecklenburg) formed the three Akerite states after the war, having been successful and gaining recognition of their state churches. Other winners were Brandenburg, Saxony, and Wurttemberg, all of whom emerged from the war with more territory and influence then they had before. The big loser in Germany was the Catholic Church. Nearly all the scared land holdings were secularized, and the three bishoprics were removed from elector status. They were replaced by the new duchy of Switzerland, and by the elevating of Hesse and Wurttemberg to elector status.

Italian States - Savoy and Milan, greatly aided by France, successfully fought against the Hapsburg attempt to keep them in the empire (or reincorporate them, depending on who you ask). The Papal States were excluded from the Empire by the comment consent of everyone except the Pope.

Netherlands - Was not that interested in the war, preferring to seek trade opportunities elsewhere. They did however get involved occasionally, and were essential to the defeat of the Hapsburg army at the Battle of Munster in 1653.

Poland - A Relatively minor player in the war, the kingdom was a strong, but occasional, ally of the Hapsburgs. Their cavalry gained a ferocious reputation, and was central to the defeat of the Swedish lead army at the Battle of Cottbus in 1650.

Spain - Often fought on the side of their Austrian Hapsburg cousins, but sought to avoid too direct of a conflict with France. The end of the Spanish Hapsburg line with the death of Phillip III in 1662 was a major factor in the winding down of the war. The Spanish Crown passed to the Castilian Miravalle line, and Spain was once again bankrupt and unable to conduct war. In the Peace of Geneva, Spain had to renounce all claims to territory in the H.R.E.

Sweden - Under the leadership of the Vasa kings, Sweden often intervened to assist the Akerite states or against the Hapsburgs. Sweden sought to gain influence in northern Germany. They were successful for a time, but largely withdrew from the war after Cottbus.

Switzerland - Was one of the major losers in the war. For the first part, they were content to set the war out and merely send mercenaries to all sides. This changed when during the chaos of the middle years of the war when they tried to grab some land in Swabia. This managed, in a rare period of cooperation, to bring down both the French and the Hapsburgs on them. The Swiss fought valiantly, and they still possessed some of the best pikemen in the world. They were worn down and defeated however by the superior musketry and artillery of the French and Austrians. At the Peace of Geneva in 1666, Switzerland was divided largely on language lines. The French speaking area were annexed by France, while the rest was incorporated into the H.R.E. as the Duchy of Switzerland, under the rule of one of Maximilian's innumerable cousins.

Summation

The Forty Years War was a confusing series of wars fought for religious, dynastic, and proto-nationalistic reasons. It was hardest of the German peasantry; with perhaps 15% of the prewar population dying of various war related causes.

The major results were:

Establishment of French supremacy
The principal of rulers' right to establish religion
The Hapsburgs desire for greater imperial control largely thwarted
A more secular and more German Holy Roman Empire
The extinguishing of many small German territories


The War of English Succession and the Irish Rebellion

The Tudor line of English Monarchs came to end with the death of Queen Jane in 1630. This lead to a succession crisis, because the most legitimate claimant to the throne was Robert V, King of Scotland. The English populace nor Parliament were prepared to accept a Catholic king, and Robert was not willing to forswear Catholicism (which would disqualify him from the Scottish throne). Parliament declared for Arthur Pole, a more distant Tudor relative (ironically a York).

Robert, backed by a few English allies, led a Scottish army into England in the spring of 1632 in an attempt to enforce his claim to the throne. He was defeated however by Pole's army at Pickering on June 2. This effectively established Arthur's reign.

In revenge, Arthur ordered the invasion of Scotland in 1634 with the intent of ending the Scottish problem once and for all by conquest. The English campaign met with initial success, and gained the support of a fair number of people in the southern part of Scotland. Robert (who had escaped from the battle of Pickering) remained elusive, and the further north the English pushed the less success they had. Thus the English hold was still tenuous in 1636 when an Irish Rebellion broke out.

It wasn't long before England was on the verge of bankruptcy in the effort to both invade Scotland and put down the Irish rebellion. Frustrated by the failure to break Scotland to heel, the English finally withdrew in 1640. Arthur was able to force an official recognition of his English kingship from Robert, who publicly renounced his claim to the English throne. England was then freed up to focus solely on putting down the Irish rebellion. The rebellion proved remarkably tenacious, but was finally extinguished in 1649.


North American Settlement 1610-1666

The established colonies saw little additional immigration from Europe during this period, what growth they experienced was from internal sources. There were however, two significant new colonies established during this time.

Vasaland

Gustav V of Sweden ascended to the throne in 1615, and it soon become evident that he had an interest (an obsession according to most of the Swedish nobility) in founding a colony in America. Because of his drive, the Swedish colony of Vasaland was established on the North American continent, to the south of the Netherlander possessions. Centered around the town of Gustavia, the colony struggled initially because its plan of fur trapping proved unsuited to the environment, as well as a mixed reception from the local American Indians.

The colony failed to attract many settlers from Sweden and was in danger of failing completely. The new governor appointed in 1630, Lord Friggeberg, was able to solve the settler issue by attracting several thousand German colonists over the course of the Forty Years War.

Henry's Land

This colony was founded by English Akerites, who where discriminated against in England and were encouraged to emigrate. Henry X grated them permission to set up a new colony north of the Spanish possessions in America. This colony allowed the Akerites to freely practice their religion. Although they were still technically a part of the Church of England and acknowledged Henry as the head of the church, in practice they decided church issues for themselves, apart form the rest of the hierarchy of the English church.

The colony was a success, as it attracted a steady stream of colonists from England. The colonists were able to grow food crops as well as tobacco and cotton for export. As the colony grew, slaves were imported from the Spanish Caribbean or Africa to work in the fields.

[Jasen777]

Map of 1666, after the Peace of Geneva. Lines in new world show claims not backed by settlement or actual control. I couldn't get Portugal's color right, it keep looking like the Ottoman's, so I got mad and just made them the black and yellow stripes (that where gray on the last map, but that's actually the border color of the HRE).

The map of the American coast wasn't very detailed. The Swedish colony is supposed to be in OTL Virginia and the new English colony is supposed to be in the OTL Carolinas, roughly from Charleston to Wilmington.

[Jasen777]

Catholic Renewal and the Surprising Pope

The Papal election of 1680 was likely the strangest in the long, tortured history of the Papacy. The title had been passed around the noble families of Rome for centuries and had become hopelessly corrupted. The loss of the Church's secular influence in the Forty Years War only intensified the problem, as the Popes sought in vain to expand their land holdings in Italy and often ignored the doings of the church completely.

By 1680 the people of Rome had had enough, and a riot broke out when the Cardinals gathered to select the next pope. The Cardinals called on the minor country nobility of the Papal States, but they were feed up with the church as well. They were tired of the fruitless wars of the popes and refused to help.

The Cardinals grew increasingly cowed by the mob. This pressure lead them to their surprising election of Amadeo Bianchi as Pope Pius IV. Bianchi had been a simple priest at one of the smallest churches in Rome, but his selection proved quite popular with the mob.

The Cardinals went to Spain where it is commonly thought they planned to elect one of their own as pope and denounce their previous election. The Spanish King, Pedro II, however was a pious man who saw Pius IV as the best chance in a long time to purify the Church. He had the Cardinals arrested and refused to release them until they swore loyalty to Pius, which they all eventually did. Pedro's strong support kept the Italian nobility from objecting to Pius, who enjoyed a long tenure as Pope.

Pedro turned out to be right about Pius, as they shared the idea that the Church needed purification. Pius demanded that the Church focused on the spiritual needs of the people. He also lead many purification movements. He stopped the massive sexual promiscuity of the priesthood, ended the practice of charging money for indulgences and even for routine services (officially banned but often practiced in some areas), and ended the Church's focus on gaining temporal power. This lead to, in large part, the restoration of the Church's spiritual authority in Catholic lands.

A Summary of Major European Wars 1686-1724

This period saw the continuation of France as the leading power in Europe. The strategy of the French Kings changed during this period however. Territorial enlargement (at least in Europe) was no longer a prime consideration. The French Kings were content with the size of their kingdom and were satisfied to grow rich off the Asian trade and to arrange things to their liking on their borders.

One would have hoped that the fatigue from the Great Religious War would have lasted longer, but as we will see, it was a mere 20 years until Europe was set for another round of major wars.


Second Great Northern War

The cause of the war was Poland continuing interference in Lithuania and Ukraine, encouraging and sometimes financing anti-Russian movements in those Russian vassal states. Russia had had enough of this, and war broke out in 1686. Sweden, seeking territory in the Baltic, joined the war on Poland's side. This of course brought Denmark in on Russia's side, as they sought to settle old scores with Sweden.

The war remained stalemated until 1689. In that year, the minor Ukrainian nobility finally decided they'd prefer to remain a vassal state of Russia than be back under Polish rule. The final nail in the coffin for the Polish/Swedish alliance was the entrance of Netherlands into the war. New Netherlands had independently taken control of the Swedish colony of Vasaland (which fall easily since the majority of it's inhabitants were Germans and dissatisfied with their Swedish Governor), so Netherlands entered the war in order to make this seizure official. The Netherlander fleet drastically altered the naval balance in the Baltic, and forced Sweden and Poland to the negotiating table.

In the peace settlement, Poland managed to escape unscathed despite their role as the primary instigator of the war. Sweden was not so fortunate, losing Vasaland to Netherlands and being coerced to give Norway back to Denmark. The saddest episode of the post-war was that of Ukraine, they had turned against Poland and fought for Russia with the understanding that they would remain a vassal state, but they were betrayed and incorporated (along with Lithuania) directly into Russia.


War of Milanese Succession

Victor Emmanuel 1, the Duke of Savoy, inherited the Duchy of Milan in 1687. France disputed this claim, supporting instead the claim of a minor Tuscan noble. The French invasion of Savoy drew a response from Spain and the H.R.E. (in a rare moment of agreement between it's German and Austrian parts). The two sides meet in the Battle of Ceva, which resulted in a draw, as both sides were plunged into disorder by the battle. Nonetheless, France withdrew its objection to the succession and the war ended. This was one of the few political defeats for France in this time period.

War of German Independence

The War of German Independence had roots dating back to at least the Great Religious War. The minor nobility of the H.R.E. felt continuingly squeezed by the great princes. Saxony, Brandenburg, Mecklenberg, Oldenberg, Hesse, Wurttemburg, and Palatinate had come to control most of the territory of the non-Hapsburg H.R.E. It seemed to the remaining minor states and to some of the minor nobility within the major states that there was a tacit alliance amongst the seven major states - one that was aimed at them.

These feelings led to the so-called "Knights Revolt" of 1701, which saw widespread fighting throughout Germany. Although this revolt to much destruction, it was nearly contained within a year because the anti-state forces had difficulty gathering a large army at any one place.

This changed in 1702 however, when Emperor Maximilian VI sought to take advantage of the situation to increase imperial power in the H.RE. He found in favor of the knights and ordered the Imperial army to break the back of the large states. This campaign meet with success, as by the winter of 1702, Imperial forces had defeated a combined Saxon/Brandenburg army and had overran Wurttemburg.

France, as might have been expected given its long-standing policy of checking Hapsburg expansion, grew alarmed by the Imperial success and intervened in the war for the German States. The French army decisively defeated the Austrian army and revived the cause of Saxony and Brandenburg. The cost was high for the French however, and thus the war was concluded with the Peace of Erfurt in 1704.

By terms of the peace, Austria kept most of Wurttemburg. The remaining non-Hapsburg states formed the Confederate States of Germany. Each state was independent in domestic affairs, but agreed to a joint foreign policy determined by a committee made up of the rulers of each state. Though the H.R.E. was not officially dissolved, historians commonly mark this as the end of the H.R.E. in practice.


Italian Wars of 1713

In the south, the cause of the war was the attempt by the Spanish King Pedro III to join the crown of Naples to the crown of Spain directly. This led to a revolt in Naples and caused France to declare war on Spain (France held that previous treaties forbid the union of the two crowns). France had long been the dominant naval power in the Atlantic, but their victories over Spain in the Mediterranean were unexpected, especially to the Spanish.

The French Naval victories, combined with expeditionary forces to Naples and Sicily lead to the defeat of the Spanish there by 1715. The head Italian nobles agreed to the formation of the new kingdom of Naples-Sicily, under a newly crowned King Louis I, the younger brother of Charles XI, King of France.

The Papal States were largely neutral in the war, but fell into chaos after the defeat of Spanish forces on the peninsula. Thus, French forces marched on the Papal States with only scattered resistance. Charles XI decided to create another new kingdom, and had one of his cousins crowned as King Phillip I of Rome. Pope Pius V was left with the secular rule of Vatican City, a concession made so as to not alienate Catholic countries too badly. French troops had to stay in Rome after the war to ensure order and Phillip's throne.

In the north, the war was started by a alliance of convenience between Savoy and Austria (now officially Austria-Bohemia). Seeing France occupied with Spain in southern Italy, the two made an agreement to divide northern Italy between them. Austria invaded Venice while Savoy's well trained army invaded Florence and the other independent states of northern Italy. Both of these campaigns were successfully completed in 1715, before the French could substantially intervene. The Ottomans also got a piece of the pie, scooping up Venice's oversees possessions.


War of Irish Independence

The War started with another border conflict between England and Scotland, at which the Irish seized the opportunity to rebel again in 1718. This stretched English forces quite thin, and then to the breaking point when France joined the war against them in 1720.

The English Naval deployed in bases on the English Channel to prepare for a direct French invasion. This feared invasion never occurred, and the English navy was left incapable of contesting French landings in Ireland and Scotland. With French assistance, the Irish rebels cleared Ireland of English forces and Scotland managed to finally mount an offensive into English territory.

In 1723, seeing the handwriting on the wall, Spain and Netherlands declared war on England with the intent on seizing England's overseas possessions. Spain succeeded and the capture of Ft. Misizibi [1], and Netherlands seized the Northern Islands [2] that England had previously received from Denmark. Netherlander attacks on New England [3] and Henryland [4] were repulsed by the English colonists.

In 1724, facing defeats from the Scottish/French on English soil, and flat broke; England was forced to come to terms. The terms of the treaty of Edinburgh were harsh on England. The territories captured by Spain and Netherlands were to be kept by those countries. England had to pay an indemnity to Scotland and France. Ireland became an independent kingdom under King Ruaidri II, an Irish rebel who claimed descent from the last High King of Ireland, Ruaidri Ua Conchobair. To help bolster his legitimacy, Ruardri was married to Mary, Princess of Scotland.


1) A small English settlement near OTL New Orleans
2) Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland
3) The English colony around OTL Canada
4) The English colony around OTL Carolinas.

[Jasen777]

And a map.

[Jasen777]

Pax Gallia

This term, popular amongst French historians, is used to refer to the last three fourths of the 18th century. It is misleading for several reasons.

First, it ignores the role of Spain. French and Spain maintained an understanding during this period. Though Spain did not have the same level of power as France possessed, it was still quite arguably the only other Great Power in Western Europe. It was the concert of these two powers that was responsible for the age, and not simply the glory of France.

Another reason is that the view is very Western European centric. Even Western Europe wasn't without wars. There were two more wars between Sweden and Denmark, in which Sweden managed to regain Norway from Denmark. England had a short and indecisive war with Scotland-Ireland. Savoy and Naples-Sicily had an undeclared naval war. There were skirmishes between several kingdoms with Germany and between the Germans themselves. As a whole though, Western Europe was more peaceful than it had been in previous periods. But no so the rest of the world.

A third reason the term is rather dubious is that it ignores that European countries were engaged in wars (especially France!), just not so often as before in their back yard. The European powers cooperated admirably in their division of the Americas, though at the often unfortunate expense of the natives. The Europeans warred against the native peoples all over the world at this time, the highlight of this being the successful French campaign to reduce the Mughal Empire to vassalization. The most serious wars involving Europeans however, where the long running Ottoman Wars...


Examination of the 18th Century Decline of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire suffered a decline in status in the 18th century. At the time, it was thought that it was because the Ottomans had become weak. Later, the blame was placed upon the rulers, Ahmed II, Mustafa III, Osman II, and Ahmed III, who were viewed as incompetent.

Modern historians reject both of these ideas, and suggest merely that the empire had become over-extended. Arabia and North Africa particularly proved difficult to keep under control. In addition, the relative peace in Europe meant that the Ottomans often faced coalition of nations that were simply beyond the capacity of any one nation to resist.

For instance, in 1761, the Ottomans faced a war in North Africa against Spain and France (who sought to crush the Barbary piratery the Ottomans had difficulty controlling), war in Europe against Austria and Russia, war against Persia, and a serious rebellion on the Arabian coast. The fact is that the Empire weathered this period with its core territories intact, which under the circumstances should be considered a remarkable achievement...

[Jasen777]

Map of the year 1800

Note Scotland and Ireland have been joined in a personal union. And I can't get the effing colors to work right. In the Americas, I have switched over to show agreed upon land claims rather than areas of actual control. Actual settlement of the North America is running behind OTL's levels.

[Jasen777]

Age of Revolution

The early 19th century is rightly called the Age of Revolution. And not only of Revolutions (both political and otherwise) but also of squashed rebellions. The anti-slavery movement, the introduction of Industrialism, and the development of humanism were revolutions as well. Some say that 1801 was the time the world went to hell in a hand basket, where roads that should have been taken were wrongly discredited. Others laud it as the time when secure rule and capitalism would be established for all time, at least in most of the world. Inarguably, it was the time that gave birth to the modern world.

Perhaps the German Revolutionary Friedrich Buchner put it best:

"It was the time of fire, the time of destruction, the time we took back what was ours. It was the time of rebirth, the time of great sadness, the time of pain, and the time of joy. It was the dawn of a new age. It was the time everything changed." [1]


[1] - Yes, largely stolen from the Babylon 5 intro - season 4.



Excerpts from the biography of Friedrich Buchner

Friedrich's family was from what was once Germany's minor nobility before the great princes had ground that class out of existence. His father, Adalbert, never forgot his heritage and was constantly scheming, mostly in taverns, to restore the fortunes of the nobility. This sort of thing drew the notice of the princes' enforces (which ironically missed out almost completely on the growing neo- Muntzerian movement)...

Friedrich came back from hunting one day alarmed to notice that his house was on fire. He rushed to the scene and tried repeatedly to enter in an attempt to rescue his family, but it was simply too hot. His father and mother, along with his two sisters perished in the fire. Upon learning from witnesses that the fire had been set by mercenaries in employ of the Prince, he set off immediately to seek revenge.

Fortunately before he had a chance to do anything overly reckless Friedrich ran into Hartmut Weld, the man who was destined to be the political and religious genius of the revolution. Hartmut was able to calm Friedrich down, convincing him that headlong recklessness would not give him the revenge he sought...

The relationship between Friedrich and Hartmut was not one-sided however. If it was Hartmut who taught Friedrich to plan carefully (advice he only sometimes heeded) it was Friedrich who plodded Hartmut into the action that launched the revolution. Hartmut was the key figure in the Muntzerian movement in central Germany. The movement had grown massively in the past few years, riding a wave of popular resentment of the wealth the great princes kept for themselves. The old Muntzerian doctrine of "all in common" was back with avengeance amongst the lower classes.

Hartmut gathered his followers and started the march on Erfurt. His band attracted many more on their journey, to the point that it was a numerically impressive army by the time it reached Erfurt - if under equipped, extremely ragged, and with little cohesion. Nevertheless, the city garrison fled at the sight of the army and the revolution was on…

Hartmut's influence had obtained a captaincy for Friedrich despite his young age of 19. It was put to the test in April of 1804 when he was assigned to the revolutionary army gathered to oppose the Polish incursion...

The Poles had shattered the German left and center. Friedrich however was everywhere on the right flank, rallying the men and urging them to stand fast, often with threats to shoot anyone fleeing. A threat he is said to have carried out on one of his superiors, though the accuracy of this report is in some dispute. The right wing took massive causalities but was able to hold until nightfall, thus preventing a disaster for the German cause.

Amongst the causalities or fled were many officers, and to his surprise, Friedrich found himself the highest ranking officer that he on the field. He knew that the army was likely doomed the next day if he did nothing, so he decided on a reckless course. He silently moved all the men he could during the night, gathering an attacking column on the Poles' flank. His bayonet charge recklessly launched before dawn against an army with three times the effective combatants was the stuff of legend. The Poles were thrown into disorder and failed to reorient their forces to oppose this unexpected attack. In just a few hours, the Poles were retreating from the field, thinking that the Germans had received reinforcements during the night…

If it was the Poles who met Friedrich's recklessness, it was the Danes who met his technical genius in the form of his reverse slope tactic…

His popularity as the most renown general of the revolution and the clear favor of the Hartmut lead Deacon Committee lead to Friedrich's landslide election victory as the first Chancellor of Commonist Germany...


The Foreign Policy of King Charles XIII

Charles XIII lacked the confidence and adroit diplomatic ability that had marked the French monarch for so long. Despite his hesitancy, it is hard to find much fault the overall outcome however. The early 19th century was not an easy time for any policy maker.

1801 saw the outbreak of the Netherlander Civil War, with Republicans pitted against the monarchy. While Charles dithered over it, the German Revolution broke out the next year. Although against the German Commonists on ideological grounds, Charles eventually decided that the war in Netherlands was more important and committed the French army to the support of the Netherlander Monarchy. He did nevertheless fund Danish and Polish attempts to crush the German Revolution. These failed however.

1806 saw the Netherlander Republicans still fighting and the German Commonists in solid control of Germany. The Mughal revolt also broke, demanding a large number of French troops to deal with it. They meet with, at best, a partial victory. Mughal broke free of French vassalage, though France came out of it with direct control of more land in India than before. There were also revolts in North Africa.

Because of these events, Charles agreed to not oppose Russian and Austrian intervention in Germany. Nether intervention achieved its stated goal however. Austria was suffering its own Muntzerian revolts and as a result couldn't supply a large army in Germany. Russia was sidetracked into the conquest of Poland, which many suspected was the Tsar's goal in the first place.

France also was dragged into involvement with the Italian nationalist revolts, especially in Rome. Some Italians had dreams of uniting Savoy, Rome, and Naples-Sicily into a single Italian state. This failed, likely because Savoy and Naples-Sicily had begun to develop their own identities. French forces were necessary in the defense of Rome from Naples-Sicily in 1810 however.

1810 saw a major shift in European politics. The Netherlander Civil War was over, with victory for the Monarchy (which now faced revolutions in New Netherlands and Iceland). Charles, already concerned with the raise of Russian power, grew outright alarmed after their conquest of Poland. He thus militarily opposed Russia and Austria when they invaded Germany the following year. That launched an extremely costly war, but Austria still suffered from Muntzerian rebels and now also faced a Hungarian revolt, and Russia was fighting a long way from its power base. These factors eventually lead to a Franco-Germany victory and the Council of Erfurt in 1814, which saw some redrawing of Europe's borders.

Germany emerged from the wars, not only communist, but also enlarged by the Swiss duchy and Wurttemburg. Poland disappeared into the Russian Empire. Charles, at considerable cost in blood and treasury, had kept France's status as the leading power of Europe. Perhaps his most significant achievement was fostering the beginning of France's cooperation with the Ottoman Empire in opposition to Austria and especially Russia.

Excerpts from The History of the Americas

It wasn't merely Europe that saw upheaval at the start of the 19th century, the Americas were prominently involved. Chaos struck New Netherlands in 1801 due to the outbreak of the Netherlands Civil War in Europe. New Netherlands heavily favored the Republican cause, especially in New Amsterdam. The New Netherlands Loyalists were unable to effectively organize and suffered persecution by the Republicans. Many loyalists emigrated back to Europe or to New England to avoid this.

That was not the end of difficulties in New Netherlands however. The Germany majority in the Vasaland region was indifferent to the Netherlands Civil War. They were not indifferent to land issues however. Netherlands had drawn a straight-line border in New Netherlands, north of which Vasaland Germans were discouraged from settling. Irregular warfare erupted between the German settlers and New Netherlanders along the border, neither side being organized enough to mount a proper campaign.

Oddly enough, the two sides came together after the Netherlander Civil War. Republican New Netherlands declared Independence after their cause had failed in Europe. Vasaland joined them in declaring Independence, something New Netherlanders were willing to accept in order to bring them into the revolution on their side.

The Netherlander Monarchy after securing power in Europe sent an army of some 5,000 men to New Amsterdam to regain control of the territory. They were meet north of the city by a Colonial army of over 8,000 commanded by the famous republican, General Van Vleck, who was to achieve his revenge upon the monarchy that day…

After the debacle of the Battle of New Amsterdam, the monarchy, already bankrupt from the Civil War found itself unable to mount another expedition…


Some Notes on Governments

Germany - A Commonist Theo-democracy. A complete state controlled economy, based on the concept of everything being given to the church state and then redistributed based on need. Inspired by the Early Church in Acts, although in this case it's not optional.

There is complete freedom of religion for Christians as long as the "all in common" principal isn't questioned. On the national level, the elected Reichstag rules Germany. Members are elected by an electorate of all male head-of-households. There is also a Chancellor that is democratically elected that shares executive power with the Prime Minister (appointed by the Reichstag). All political candidates must be ideologically acceptable to the national 7-member Deacon Committee and/or its local dependencies. Members of lower committees are appointed by the national committee, members of the national committee name their own replacement.

Western European Monarchies - (Spain, France, Netherlands, England, Scotland-Ireland, Savoy, Rome, Naples-Sicily, Denmark, Sweden): All are following to various extents a developing ideology of Monarcho-Capitalism. It holds that a strong monarchy is the best guarantee of a capitalist system. Big merchants have substantial influence. While there are parliaments that prevent absolute monarchy, they tend to be weak and most members are hereditary or elected in elections that have a high standard to qualify to vote.

Austria is an absolutist monarchy on the federal level, but there are various degrees of decentralization.

Russia is an absolute monarchy.

New Netherlands (possible name-change pending) is a unitary republic with a relatively strong parliament. Qualified voters, males who can afford the poll tax, elect the Prime Minister for life. The Prime Minister can however, be removed by a 3/4 vote of the parliament.

Vasaland - A unitary republic with a Prime Minister appointed by parliament. All male landholders are eligible to vote.

[Jasen777]

Map - 1820:

I've put little blocks representing the ethnicity of people in the independent American countries, although they're hard to see.