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Chapter 2.17: A Great Many Crowns
Kito's transition was much less smooth than this
The Kingdom of Kito was, in many ways, a deck of cards. It was a mask. The young King had no real power and no real claim to the throne. At the moment the strings to the puppet were in the hands of Wesler and Hutten. But the German adventurers still were atop a shaky pyramid. The tribal leaders who had supported them against Poma had not done so out of the goodness of their hearts and sought power for themselves. Their faith remained unpopular inside the Kingdom, and the Spanish surrounding it remained wary of their intentions. And they had made a very dangerous gamble.
When Welser had declared the Kingdom of Kito, he had accepted the protection of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He had very pointedly not accepted the protection of King of All Spains Charles I. As an imperial citizen, originally, it made sense for Welser to pay his respects to the Emperor. It also made more sense for a King to submit to an emperor than to submit to another King. And finally, it was a sly way to avoid the Spanish colonial bureaucracy that despised his family. He reported directly to Charles, not some Spanish viceroy. All in all, a clever stratagem.
Indeed, too clever by half.
The plan had been to take advantage of the fractured nature of the Hapsburg realms to game the system, but Welser had not counted on Charles V giving up the ghost and splitting his empire between his son and nephew. Now claiming the protection of the Holy Roman Empire left them isolated. And the Spanish did not recognize any “Kingdom of Kito”, they only recognized land granted to the Welser family by Charles, in his capacity as King of Castille. It had been possible to skirt by while Charles reigned, but Philip was not going to put up with these shenanigans.
Not taking any of this B.S.
With his dominions focused on Spanish holdings, Philip cared far less than his father did for the whims of some German banking clan. He was still in debt and did not see any reason to purge them in particular, but they would not have a free reign. Nor was he pleased to hear of another King in what was nominally his land. The Welsers back in Europe tried cajoling the King, and Hutten and Welser tried to rationalize their way out of the situation. They ludicrously argued that Charles V had not abdicated the position of “protector of the Kingdom of Kito” but to no avail. Philip stood strong, and the Welsers were forced to bend. Philp would maintain ultimate authority over what parts of America were claimed by Spain. He acknowledged that the private holdings of the Welsers were not Spanish domains, and he affirmed that the family had the right to manage their grants as they saw fit. But he did require any disputes between the Welsers and other governors to be directed to the Viceroy of New Spain and insisted on his royal fifth of all precious metals Hutten and Welser skimmed all they could, but the royal coffers looked just a bit more full. In official correspondence to Europe, King Tomay became a Prince but was still acclaimed as King in Kito. All was not lost on the imperial front either, as Welser’s cousin Philippine was on the verge of marrying the Emperor’s brother.
The forces inside Kito did not particularly care what King Welser paid homage to. They cared about how the Germans would run their petty kingdom. How would their allies be rewarded? How would they prevent the King from seizing actual power when he came of age? What would they do about religion?
Prior to the desperation of the Mummy Rebellion Welser had been undertaking a policy of letting local authorities do as they pleased, and he continued this policy. If tribute in the form of precious metals kept coming, and political submission maintained, local leaders could rule over their land as they saw fit. But Welser had learned from his mistakes and made sure that any local leaders disloyal to him were removed. In the North natives largely maintained control, but as one progressed south, more and more European leaders emerged, given vast tracts of lands for their loyalty. These new lords were most often brutal in their methods, seeking to offset the demands of the Crowns in Kito and Madrid with huge profits. In an age when the Spanish were trying to impose royal control and erode the power of individuals, Welser and Hutten were eagerly embracing a more feudal model.
The Kitan model of religion was also very loose. All those granted land by Welser and Hutten were required to be Christian, the nominal religion of the King. However, no one made any effort to enforce this provision. Local leaders mostly kept to their own faith, only entering churches when in Kito to meet their overlords. The Europeans were of course uniformly Christian. They varied in religious tolerance. Some were brutal in demanding catholicism, others were more hands-off on the matter.
The years of calm were ones of cautious growth for Kito. Like most places, the population was in a downward spiral, not helped by a generous and largely illegal slave trade up into the Central American holdings of Spain. In human terms, Welser rule was a disaster on par with all colonization efforts. But for its proprietors, it was going well. For the first time since they had entered the sphere, the New World might be profitable for the Welser colony.
And another opportunity soon arose. Castro had never been all that enthused about a neighbor to his north outside of his influence, but he was a pragmatist. He had grievously offended the local elites in Panama, and they had endeavored to make his life difficult, slowing shipments back to Spain, spinning lies about his governance, and other insults. He wanted to strike back. A deal was struck. Ships carrying good from Kito began to dip further south, and certain goods entering Panama under Welser protection often smuggled with them goods Castro send North. In return, Castro sent word to the king praising the Welsers, and the Germans granted a percentage of revenue earned from the transaction. Emboldened, they began to consider an ambitious project to send men to Klein-Venedig overland, although this would be stymied by hostile leadership in Bogota.
Against all odds, it seemed as if Welser and Hutten had righted the ship. And they had. When the peace hovering over the Andes departed, it would not come from them.
Kito's transition was much less smooth than this
The Kingdom of Kito was, in many ways, a deck of cards. It was a mask. The young King had no real power and no real claim to the throne. At the moment the strings to the puppet were in the hands of Wesler and Hutten. But the German adventurers still were atop a shaky pyramid. The tribal leaders who had supported them against Poma had not done so out of the goodness of their hearts and sought power for themselves. Their faith remained unpopular inside the Kingdom, and the Spanish surrounding it remained wary of their intentions. And they had made a very dangerous gamble.
When Welser had declared the Kingdom of Kito, he had accepted the protection of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He had very pointedly not accepted the protection of King of All Spains Charles I. As an imperial citizen, originally, it made sense for Welser to pay his respects to the Emperor. It also made more sense for a King to submit to an emperor than to submit to another King. And finally, it was a sly way to avoid the Spanish colonial bureaucracy that despised his family. He reported directly to Charles, not some Spanish viceroy. All in all, a clever stratagem.
Indeed, too clever by half.
The plan had been to take advantage of the fractured nature of the Hapsburg realms to game the system, but Welser had not counted on Charles V giving up the ghost and splitting his empire between his son and nephew. Now claiming the protection of the Holy Roman Empire left them isolated. And the Spanish did not recognize any “Kingdom of Kito”, they only recognized land granted to the Welser family by Charles, in his capacity as King of Castille. It had been possible to skirt by while Charles reigned, but Philip was not going to put up with these shenanigans.
Not taking any of this B.S.
With his dominions focused on Spanish holdings, Philip cared far less than his father did for the whims of some German banking clan. He was still in debt and did not see any reason to purge them in particular, but they would not have a free reign. Nor was he pleased to hear of another King in what was nominally his land. The Welsers back in Europe tried cajoling the King, and Hutten and Welser tried to rationalize their way out of the situation. They ludicrously argued that Charles V had not abdicated the position of “protector of the Kingdom of Kito” but to no avail. Philip stood strong, and the Welsers were forced to bend. Philp would maintain ultimate authority over what parts of America were claimed by Spain. He acknowledged that the private holdings of the Welsers were not Spanish domains, and he affirmed that the family had the right to manage their grants as they saw fit. But he did require any disputes between the Welsers and other governors to be directed to the Viceroy of New Spain and insisted on his royal fifth of all precious metals Hutten and Welser skimmed all they could, but the royal coffers looked just a bit more full. In official correspondence to Europe, King Tomay became a Prince but was still acclaimed as King in Kito. All was not lost on the imperial front either, as Welser’s cousin Philippine was on the verge of marrying the Emperor’s brother.
The forces inside Kito did not particularly care what King Welser paid homage to. They cared about how the Germans would run their petty kingdom. How would their allies be rewarded? How would they prevent the King from seizing actual power when he came of age? What would they do about religion?
Prior to the desperation of the Mummy Rebellion Welser had been undertaking a policy of letting local authorities do as they pleased, and he continued this policy. If tribute in the form of precious metals kept coming, and political submission maintained, local leaders could rule over their land as they saw fit. But Welser had learned from his mistakes and made sure that any local leaders disloyal to him were removed. In the North natives largely maintained control, but as one progressed south, more and more European leaders emerged, given vast tracts of lands for their loyalty. These new lords were most often brutal in their methods, seeking to offset the demands of the Crowns in Kito and Madrid with huge profits. In an age when the Spanish were trying to impose royal control and erode the power of individuals, Welser and Hutten were eagerly embracing a more feudal model.
The Kitan model of religion was also very loose. All those granted land by Welser and Hutten were required to be Christian, the nominal religion of the King. However, no one made any effort to enforce this provision. Local leaders mostly kept to their own faith, only entering churches when in Kito to meet their overlords. The Europeans were of course uniformly Christian. They varied in religious tolerance. Some were brutal in demanding catholicism, others were more hands-off on the matter.
The years of calm were ones of cautious growth for Kito. Like most places, the population was in a downward spiral, not helped by a generous and largely illegal slave trade up into the Central American holdings of Spain. In human terms, Welser rule was a disaster on par with all colonization efforts. But for its proprietors, it was going well. For the first time since they had entered the sphere, the New World might be profitable for the Welser colony.
And another opportunity soon arose. Castro had never been all that enthused about a neighbor to his north outside of his influence, but he was a pragmatist. He had grievously offended the local elites in Panama, and they had endeavored to make his life difficult, slowing shipments back to Spain, spinning lies about his governance, and other insults. He wanted to strike back. A deal was struck. Ships carrying good from Kito began to dip further south, and certain goods entering Panama under Welser protection often smuggled with them goods Castro send North. In return, Castro sent word to the king praising the Welsers, and the Germans granted a percentage of revenue earned from the transaction. Emboldened, they began to consider an ambitious project to send men to Klein-Venedig overland, although this would be stymied by hostile leadership in Bogota.
Against all odds, it seemed as if Welser and Hutten had righted the ship. And they had. When the peace hovering over the Andes departed, it would not come from them.
- King of the Uzbeks
- Word Count: 1.1k