TLC2: A Dropped Pen - Page 3

corourke · #41 April 4th, 2008, 06:41 PM

Wow, a map post with no replies after it?

Anyway, Russia's rise to power seems very fast! Is there a Peter The Great-like figure at work here, or just shrewd diplomacy? I'm not sure if Europe is ready for Russia to be this powerful.

Jasen777 · #42 April 4th, 2008, 10:11 PM

Russia got very lucky in the Great Northern War. They are too busy holding down their vassal states and fighting the Ottomans and Central Asian peoples to bother the rest of Europe.

fortyseven · #43 April 5th, 2008, 05:25 AM

Thanks for the map.

Jasen777 · #44 April 6th, 2008, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glen

I wonder if we shouldn't request that each participant post something weekly in their entry thread, even if its just a line.

Here's mine this week.

Catholic Renewal and the Surprising Pope

Jasen777 · #45 April 13th, 2008, 05:29 PM

The Papal election of 1680 was likely the strangest in the long, tortured history of the Papacy.

[I'm going slow to allow others to catchup - in the vain hope that others will join the contest]

Glen · #46 April 13th, 2008, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasen777

The Papal election of 1680 was likely the strangest in the long, tortured history of the Papacy.

[I'm going slow to allow others to catchup - in the vain hope that others will join the contest]

Good on you, mate!

Jasen777 · #47 April 21st, 2008, 02:52 AM

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.

Jasen777 · #48 May 19th, 2008, 02:37 AM

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.

Strategos' Risk · #49 May 19th, 2008, 04:05 AM

Glad to see more of this. Shame that Swedish colonialism got snuffed out.

Jasen777 · #50 May 19th, 2008, 04:10 AM

Just like OTL, Sweden doesn't really have the position or the population for much colonialism.

fortyseven · #51 May 19th, 2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strategos' Risk

Glad to see more of this.

Agreed

Jasen777 · #52 May 24th, 2008, 09:22 AM

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.