A More Personal Union

[SavoyTruffle]

Native state in South America! Nice!

And the Evil Empire of the Americas lives.

[Thespitron 6000]

Island of Sudor: The Return of the Native

Spring 1599: As is so common, the chief killer in times of war is not combat but disease. So too it is with the Great War. Typhus, diarrhea, even the plague--all take their toll on League and Alliance soldiers alike. Medical science of the time is incapable of understanding the cause of these diseases, particularly the relationship between filth and transmission. Matters are worsened by the intermixing of soldiers from a dozen different countries and provinces, from all corners of the continent and some from beyond. As a result, for every one man who dies of wounds or on the battlefield, two die of old familiar friends.

But there is nothing that strikes fear into the hearts of the English especially than the mysterious return of the old nightmare--the sweating sickness. By late 1598, even as the fighting is drawing to a close, soldiers home from the Republic fall sick in Picardy and Normandy, some dying within hours of showing symptoms. First comes dread, then cold shivers, giddiness, and a headache. Severe pains in the neck, shoulders, and limbs follow, and after several hours of this agony, the “cold” phase ends and the “hot” phase begins. Sweat begins pouring from every pore, while delirium, rapid pulse, and heart pains soon come. At last the victim achieves the release of collapse and death. So feared was this disease during the days of Henry VIII that the King himself would immediately flee his own house upon discovery of an outbreak. Now, after a gap of nearly fifty years, it has returned, felling scores by the day in London, York, Dover, Bristol, and other major cities and towns of England, as well as across France, into Holland and Germany, and through Spain. Only Portugal, Italy, and Eastern Europe remain largely untouched, but the rich and the poor alike succumb.

“My Body Perish, But My Spirit Endures”

April 1599: One of those who are struck down by this terrible disease is the Queen of England. Sixty-five years old, Elizabeth is in no condition to fight off the sweats. Showing extraordinary dignity, she waves off any assistance, instead battling on against the sickness through pure will. But it is to no avail. A little after 2 PM on the afternoon of the 14th of April, it becomes clear she will not survive. Her retainers gather around her. For many, she is the only monarch they have ever known. Forty-one years on the throne, the third-longest reign in English history, it has seen the colonization of the New World, the defeat of Spain, the overthrow of the old European order, the birth of new forms of art and drama, and finally an alliance with England’s oldest enemy. Elizabeth can pass from this world secure in the knowledge that, when she took the throne, England was a backwater, but she leaves it one of the most preeminent, perhaps the most preeminent, states in Europe. Before she dies, she works the signet ring from her finger. Giving it to Walsingham, she whispers, “Take this to him. It all falleth upon him now.”

As her ladies-in-waiting watch, she scrawls a few notes on a piece of paper, and then says, in a surprisingly clear voice, “My body perish, but my spirit endures. Long have I been married to my Lord England, and now death divides us. I go first, He shall soon follow.”

Then she closes her eyes and slips from this world.

Her death means a number of things, but primarily it now means the accession of Henri III of France. Walsingham hastily embarks to deliver the signet ring in person to Henri at the peace negotiations in Geneva, where the powers of Europe are attempting to hash out a new world order, and to inform him that he is now Henry IX of England.

[Saya Aensland]

The Valois Kingdoms are a go! Long live Henry 1-3-9!

[Xgentis]

Dying like that so sad.
By the way the sweating sickness nobody know what it was till today.

[SavoyTruffle]

Ah, sweating sickness, a thing someone in my "needs to be reworked" TL has escaped...

And it begins. The Queen is dead, long live Henry, the Ninth of his name!

[jkarr]

Originally Posted by Saya Aensland

The Valois Kingdoms are a go! Long live Henry 1-3-9!

technically itd be 3-1-9 on the order of of succession....but shoudl be interesting to see which one he chooses fully as his primary title...and where he intends to make his primary country

[SavoyTruffle]

Originally Posted by jkarr

technically itd be 3-1-9 on the order of of succession....but shoudl be interesting to see which one he chooses fully as his primary title...and where he intends to make his primary country

He's French first and foremost - he's of the Valois line after all.

[jkarr]

Originally Posted by SavoyTruffle

He's French first and foremost - he's of the Valois line after all.

true, but james of scotland was scot, scottish as they came and still moved to england cos it was simply richer and took the english title as preference to the scottish..
.heny probaly will stay in france but he does need to figure out something regarding the governmental structure and how to keep the various lords and peasentry happy with where he decides to settle

[SavoyTruffle]

Originally Posted by jkarr

true, but james of scotland was scot, scottish as they came and still moved to england cos it was simply richer and took the english title as preference to the scottish..
.heny probaly will stay in france but he does need to figure out something regarding the governmental structure and how to keep the various lords and peasentry happy with where he decides to settle

France is also the more prestigious crown. I think he'll make sure a competent he can trust is regent in England.

[Xgentis]

Originally Posted by SavoyTruffle

France is also the more prestigious crown. I think he'll make sure a competent he can trust is regent in England.

I agree and France is poorer because of the war. I doubt he'll choose England as his primary title afterall his powerbase is still France. If he move he might piss off his support and lose the french crown.

[Pyro]

I wonder what will blossom from the seeds planted with Ferdinand's arrival in New Spain. Will we see a Spainish-speaking and monarchist version of "Decades of Darkness" *United States of America? (Or at least a state with similar ambitions.)

That along with what is happening in Peru, the St. Lawrence Valley, and the English colonies makes me wonder what the map of the Americas will look like in the future.

[SavoyTruffle]

Originally Posted by Pyro

I wonder what will blossom from the seeds planted with Ferdinand's arrival in New Spain. Will we see a Spainish-speaking and monarchist version of "Decades of Darkness" *United States of America? (Or at least a state with similar ambitions.)

That along with what is happening in Peru, the St. Lawrence Valley, and the English colonies makes me wonder what the map of the Americas will look like in the future.

Or LTTW's New Spain...

[Grouchio]

Is Spain going to become Protestant now?
Where's our map of 1600?

[Diez Mil Cantos]

HA! ISLA DE SUDOR! OH U SO FUNNY :P
im exaggerating but ya me gusta the pun

[Xgentis]

Originally Posted by SavoyTruffle

Or LTTW's New Spain...

What does LTTW mean?

[Diez Mil Cantos]

Originally Posted by Xgentis

What does LTTW mean?

Look to the West
TL by Thande

[Positively Indecent]

LONG LIVE THE KING!

[J. de Vos]

Whow... Interesting times are ahead of us.

[Thespitron 6000]

The Second Rome and the Third Rome: Russo-Ottoman Wars

Spring 1589: The accession of the weak Mohammed to the throne of Persia in 1586 means that Suleiman III can go ahead with his plans for an invasion of the Crimea, secure in the knowledge that his eastern borders are safe from Persian encroachment. Logistically, Constantinople is closer to the peninsula than Moscow, but the Russians can transport troops down the Dnieper easily, while the expanse of the Black Sea lies between the Turks and their target. Worse for the Turks, much of their military might in days past came from Crimean mercenaries, who are for obvious reasons now unavailable to them. Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire has extensive borders that need to be defended. Therefore, Suleiman cannot bring the full might of his military machine to bear against Ivan.

The war begins promisingly. Bombarding the Russian outpost at the new port of Ivanograd from the sea, Ottoman warships pound the city throughout the spring, preparing the way for a summer invasion. Finally putting men on shore in the month of July, Suleiman is dismayed to discover the bombardment was less effective than expected. Ivan Ivanovich, not a fool, has long been aware the Turks covet Crimea, and in such knowledge has fortified Bakhchisaray and the surrounding countryside heavily.

“So they desire a second Malta, do they?” says Suleiman. “I shall show them what my grandfather did at the first.” Besieging the peninsula, the Turks cut across the narrow Isthmus of Perekop, trying to isolate the Russian garrison from the mainland. However, the peninsula is much larger than Malta, which means a repeat of that siege is unlikely, especially as the Russians are able to continue to refortify and resupply their men across the Sea of Azov. As a result, by autumn the siege has gone nowhere.

As 1590 begins, Suleiman and his Turks begin invading the mouth of the Dnieper, hoping to push on into the territory surrounding Crimea, which if conquered would allow them to proceed against the Russians on the peninsula at their leisure. However, Suleiman must tread carefully here; moving too far west will bring him into confrontation with Poland, and a two-front war is what he does not want. He keeps his men mostly in the east of Little Tartary, a move which gives Ivan IV an opportunity.

Ivan is less concerned about antagonizing Augusta. His troops swing west, circling around the Turkish positions through Polish Ukraine, and smash into them from the rear. The battle is brutal, and by the end of it both sides have lost large numbers of men, but Ivan is victorious, checking Suleiman’s expansion north--for the time being.

While they are achieving nothing but losses in Little Tartary, in Crimea proper the Turks are having more success. Grinding away at Ivan Ivanovich’s positions, they’ve succeeded in restricting the Russians to the regions around Theodoro, largely liberating the Crimean Tatars and adding to their own numbers immensely. Things do not look good for the Russians in Crimea. 1590 brings significant losses to the Russian position, with the result that by winter, it looks as though the Russians will be unable to maintain their hold on the Crimea.

A sudden reversal occurs in the early months of 1591. The weakness of Shah Mohammed has attracted scavengers--the Bukharan Uzbeks, a Central Asian power which has long desired to expand southward into Persia. Invading Persia in spring 1591, they quickly overrun the border garrisons near the southern Caspian Sea, and move south and west. Threatening the Ottoman borders in the east, the Uzbeks--vigorous and commanded by competent generals--pose a far greater danger than the increasingly decadent Mohammedan Persians. Suleiman can no longer afford to leave his eastern frontier unprotected. He has no choice but to shuttle some of his men in Little Tartary and Crimea back to Anatolia and then across to the Persian border.

Taking advantage of this, throughout 1591 the Russians systematically recover the territory they’ve lost to the Turks, driving them out of Little Tartary entirely and beginning the reconquest of Crimea. Ivan Ivanovich and his men break out of the cordon the Turks have placed around them, moving from Bakhchisaray to Perekop and an intense battle with the Ottomans there that results in a narrow Russian victory.

His timing could not be better, for in January 1592, Ivan IV, the first to claim the title of Tsar, dies of an infection in Moscow. The Tsar, who reigned so terrifyingly and forcefully, is brought low by blood poisoning caused by a scratch on his thumb gained while sharpening his sword. Ivan Ivanovich, now rightfully Ivan V, quickly rides to Moscow to assure his succession, leaving a gap in leadership at the front. The two Ivans’ persistent persecution of the nobles means that there are few able leaders among the Russian elite. Fortunately, the continued Uzbek threat means that the Turks are able to make only modest gains in Ivan’s absence.

It quickly becomes clear that the two forces are in stalemate; Suleiman cannot risk invasion from his neighbors in order to bring enough force to bear to crush the Russians and the Russians cannot strike directly at Suleiman. Or can they?

With Ivanograd back in Russian hands by the summer of 1592, Ivan V decides on a radical course of action. Cobbling together a strike force of flimsy ships and hastily assembled men, in September he launches an audacious bid to prove to Suleiman that he is not as untouchable as the Sultan might presume. The little fleet’s target: the Bosphorus. Raiding the Bosphorus and perhaps reaching Constantinople is Ivan’s sally into Turkish territory, a move designed to cause the Turks to recognize their own vulnerability along the Trebizond coast and bring them to the negotiating table. But will it work?

Hitting the northern shores of the Bosphorus with a bombardment of cannon, Ivan’s little armada pushes deep into the strait before the Turks are able to rally and force them out. Returning north, they count the mission as a success. But they do not know what Suleiman’s reaction will be.

Suleiman is many things, a warmonger, a man convinced he is possessed by the will of Allah, a skilled general--but he is not a hothead. Nor is he a fool. He recognizes that although he had desired to bring Crimea back into the Ottoman sphere of influence, that clearly cannot be done at this time. There are other, more pressing threats and opportunities for the Empire that Russia merely provides a distraction from. Persia, North Africa, the Uzbeks, Serbia--all of these are of more interest to him than Crimea at the moment. The loss of the Crimean Tatars is a blow to Ottoman military strength, but as Suleiman is coming to see, it is a blow that might contain a blessing. Reform of the Ottoman military is desperately needed, for Suleiman’s father Selim had allowed it to go to rack and ruin. Peace with Russia will give him time to regroup, and deal with more urgent matters.

A ceasefire therefore falls in the winter of 1592, and starting in 1593 peace negotiations between Constantinople and Moscow begin. After months of negotiations, there is in essence a return to status quo ante, with no indemnities on either side. Ivan too is eager for peace; his reign is young and as yet shaky. He needs time to strengthen his own political power. So he agrees relatively easily. The treaty is capped by the marriage of Ivan to Suleiman’s most beautiful daughter, the stunning, shapely, and alluring Yagmur. Although the fifteen-year-old Yagmur is a Muslim, Ivan is not too worried about political backlash to his second wife. Having already been married, he has a son and heir, the six-year-old tsarevitch Vasili, and after sounding out his nobles, who are already terrified of him, he concludes there is no danger to himself in taking Yagmur (called Agnessa by the Russians) as his bride.

[Diez Mil Cantos]

Originally Posted by Thespitron 6000

The treaty is capped by the marriage of Ivan to Suleiman’s most beautiful daughter, the stunning, shapely, and alluring Yagmur. Although the fifteen-year-old Yagmur is a Muslim, Ivan is not too worried about political backlash to his second wife. Having already been married, he has a son and heir, the six-year-old tsarevitch Vasili, and after sounding out his nobles, who are already terrified of him, he concludes there is no danger to himself in taking Yagmur (called Agnessa by the Russians) as his bride.

And what if Vasili were to die from illness or an accident?
Muslim controlled Russia?
This will end wonderfully