alternatehistory.com

So much stuff to think about, so little time to get it down.

I wanted to get stuff down and now, here's more of the good stuff.

Although, I have it broken down a little bit more. So, here it is.


The Republic of Dithmarschen had its peace secured by Lübeck and the dying Hanseatic League cities. In the years after the war, there was a thinning and a thinning of Lübeck’s trading opportunities. But something was clear. Dithmarschen would not forget the great help that Lübeck had put forward in the name of its independence. Traders and merchants from the Hanseatic League were allowed to export beef, wool and timber to the rest of Europe. In return, the Hanseatic League would not put duties on the Dithmarschen imports.

During the start of the new decade, Dithmarschen would start to get more of a flow of migration than what was expected. Danes and Germans from Jutland, North Friesia and Holstein would come in. Farmers with their livestock and their families would try and find patches of land to graze in. Disputes already occurred, as native Dithmarschen started having confrontations with immigrants as they tried to raise livestock on land that was already claimed. The Council of 48 put forward resolutions that would try and remedy this before it combusted into actual conflict. The landowners would surrender a portion of their land, in return for compensation from the Republic of Dithmarschen. Given the amount of wealth that was coming in from Dithmarschen’s trade, it seemed that the plan would come forward. There were difficulties at first, but by 1512 they would be remedied as the Republic of Dithmarschen underwent advancement

Such advancement included the creation of three factories. These factories, based on the industry of Lübeck, would be based on creating goods that were made of imported raw materials. As this occurred, a standardisation of military training occurred for the militia. As the peace lasted longer and longer, the more improvements were made. Pikes were being made by peasants in the smithing areas that they made in Husum. Firearms such as arquebuses were being obtained via Spanish and English traders. Cannon was even gained for the border against the Danes. All of this required a greater workforce and a greater access to resources. On and on, the peasants in Denmark and even in the Holy Roman Empire proper would try to get to Dithmarschen. Attempts to stop them succeeded, as the distance from Dithmarschen made many change their minds.

This did not stop the whole migration of peasants from Denmark to Dithmarschen, mind you. By 1520, the total population reached 90,000 people. By this time, some of them were landless, they had no farm to look after and instead took a home in one of the many villages and cities in the Republic. It was where the factories managed to get their new labour, backed by engineers and builders from Lübeck, who would be paid to keep the agreement going on.

It was the start, as men began to hear the news of lands far away to explore. Some of those men working in those three factories wondered if it was possible for any exploration of those areas. But they didn’t know the answer, so they went back to work.


Sweden was the great winner of all of the nations in the War of the Kalmar Kings. There was a great peace in relations, as Danish people fled back to Jutland and all the other areas that were marked for Swedish territory. King Eric XIV would have to grow up with neither his father or mother in his life, instead dealing with his stepmother Queen Regent Margaret Tudor (Margaret of England, as the Swedes called her) and Erik Johansson Vasa as his personal advisor. He would celebrate, as well as those of his court when the Kalmar Union was officially dissolved at war’s end, but he would lament at his father’s sacrifice.

During his more formative years, King Eric would struggle with his stepmother Margaret Tudor. He would try as hard as he could to obey the royal duties, but he felt estranged from his stepmother’s pronunciations of Swedish as well as how strict she happened to be in the aftermath of Sten’s death. Harold and Eric were the only two people in the Sten Royal Family line, which made marriage all the more apparent. Out of all of the people chosen, he would marry Sophie of Pomerania on the 17th November 1518. Meanwhile, Harold would marry Helen of the Palatinate, a member of the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the House of Wittelsbach, on the 9th March 1519.

Work was put forward towards rebuilding Kalmar, which would be the official capital of the Kingdom of Sweden. As this occurred, the Royal Swedish Navy would take its form as 29 ships that were all built by the year Swedish industry would grow as factories were established out in Finland as well as Gotland and the southern regions that were once held by the Danes. More and more trading ships would come out of Sweden, as part of a way to muscle into the trade and eat away at the dominance of the Hanseatic League. As this occurred, Sweden had a jump in births as these new people began to fill the south emptied out by the Danes as well as the north near the territory of Finland. By 1515, the population managed to grow back to 550,000 people across the entire Kingdom of Sweden (after losing 90,000 people in the War of the Kalmar Kings). This would increase as news of New World colonies begin to increase the merchant’s fervour for raw materials as well as the desire for King Eric XIV to oversee a new Swedish power. The colony of New Norway had reached the ears of King Eric XIV, who gave support for ships that would try to mount an exploration of North America.

A group of four ships (containing 492 sailors, 50 soldiers, 12 cows, 14 chickens and tools) would leave Kalmar on the 27th June 1517. It would take over two months to get to the New World, where the Swedes would end up in a stranger place than what they had imagined. Their records and their calculations showed them to be further south than what they had predicted. Once there, they happened to meet the Algonquin people in the region. Giving them 2,000 Danish rigsdaler, the Algonquin happened to exchange a tract of land that was more than enough for the Swedes to use. The first thing that was done was the establishment of a Fort, known as Fort Kalmar. It was there that the Swedes would build several houses and a church. On the 9th March 1518, a Swedish ship would leave Fort Kalmar for the homeland itself. When it returned in late 1519, a total of 11 ships would go to Fort Kalmar.

By 1520, the population of the Kingdom of Sweden happened to be 560,000 while Fort Kalmar would have a population of 2,000.


Norway. King Canute II attempted to rebuild much of Oslo, as the Danes deserted it and the people were coaxed into it. The rebuilding of Oslo was, at first, a hard and gruelling effort. But as people realised that the fighting was over, the rebuilding became a symbol. A symbol of national rebirth, of a revitalised sense of being. The Norwegian was not going to be dominated by his neighbours be they Danes or Swedes. This was the time to rebuild and to grow and to be strong.

Being of an origin of struggle made Canute II more aware of the significance of maps and information that relayed information of the New World and the possibilities that it held. He believed that Norway had no where else to go. At the commencing of the Thing in Oslo, King Canute II stated that Norway must go west, that it would find more opportunities than trying to fight Denmark or Sweden. It was something that gripped the merchants as well as the sailors of Norway. For some, it triggered a renewed admiration of their Viking ancestors. Of the stories of the far west, of what was far beyond Iceland. They would look through their treasury, to find their wealth mostly in Danish rigsdaler and the newly minted “kongekrone” (King’s crown), which would soon become the national currency. There was about eleven million rigsdaler in the national treasury right now, as much of the wealth had been taken away by Danes before and after the surrender.

It was a desperate gamble, but the King wanted to take it. Denmark would not be so easily conquered and Sweden would gain its independence. Iceland was Danish territory and King James IV of Scotland declared himself Lord of the Isles, ruler over lands which had been Norwegian centuries past. Instead, King Canute wanted to look west. Taking one million rigsdaler, King Canute wanted to find any Norwegian sailor that was ready to take the plunge, that was ready to explore what Vikings would have explored centuries ago. At the first word of such a reward, over two thousand men rode or ran to Oslo pledging their services in September 1512. At first glance, it seemed that the King was in safe hands. Many hands made light work after all, but there was something that had to be stated.

The men would have to take on the trip without their families. They would find a place to settle and ensure that there would be a way to make it permanent. In the months of October 1512 to February 1513, the men discussed the plans as well as prepared their tools and their kit. On the 16th March 1513, seven ships would sail from Oslo to the west. The plan was to find a place where they could settle in North America. The trip would take two months, in this time a total of 17 men would die. As each man was cast aside, their will would hold. The Norwegians, descendants of the Vikings and veterans of the War of the Kalmar Kings, would not be so battered by death as some would assume.

25th May 1513, they would sight land. It was the island of Labrador, named after the Spanish explorer Lavrdor. Too bad the Spanish claimed it for themselves. Cannons on shore would deter the seven ships southward. Upon researching the history of Spanish exploration of the Americas in 1916, Professor Henrik Ericsson from the University of Sankt Olaf (OTL St. John, New Brunswick) would discover that the Spanish would number no more than 2,900 men on that island. Had their been a closer confrontation, there would have no doubt that the Norwegians would have won due to their larger cases of firearms and cannon.

But that is an alternate history for someone else to write.

On the 28th May 1513, the Norwegians would once again find land, this time with no Spaniards and no cannons going around. As they landed on shore, they would be greeted by natives of the area known as the Mi’kmaq. The 1,983 men would name the settlement Port Mi’kmaq (OTL Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia) and they would name the colony New Norway. Communications between the two sides seemed to be shaky at the start, as neither side could understand one another. It would be one of the major reports that a group of 211 sailors would make upon their return to Norway when they landed in Oslo in September 1514. It was there that the King suggested that more experience people could make way with the natives. 15 Catholic priests, 700 soldiers and 400 additional sailors would go to New Norway.

It was there that Port Mi’kmaq would be the centre of Norwegian colonial efforts. Shipyards were established and as many as 1500 men were dedicated to finding as much fish in the local waters as possible. Whilst this occurred, land clearing began for more houses and the start of farms across the land. They claim it in the name of King Canute II, as Norwegian fishers discover an island to the northwest which they name Leif Ericsson Island (OTL Prince Edward Island) on the 26th September 1515. More and more Norwegians came as supplies of fish and wood and wild berries came from New Norway. This time, the families of the original inhabitants came along. This led to over 246 births in the year 1516 alone, which would contribute to the first generation of Europeans born in North America. A second town was built to the west which was named Vestbukten (West bay or OTL Truro, Nova Scotia). Explorations of the interior were mounted, but with little success.

Thorbjørn Andresen would be made as the first Governor of New Norway on the 24th April 1519, as the population of the colony reached 12,000 by 1520. Meanwhile, Norway itself reached 290,000 by that same year.


Denmark. A nation that had fallen upon hard times. Frederick was ostracised from court, from what he had done in Dithmarschen. King John himself went into a fury about what he had failed to achieve with Denmark. A war with Dithmarschen had humiliated him and it would break him given the news of Sweden’s guarantee of the Republic on the 23rd November 1509. The King had no more future in Scandinavia and proclaimed to all of his advisors and even his brother Frederick that a war against Dithmarschen, Norway and Sweden at the same time broken them. "A second war", he said, “would be suicide”. Thus, following January 1509, the Kingdom of Denmark followed the obligations of the Peace of Lübeck.

It was decided then, that there would be a better for ships to take part in exploration. After all, there was no need to take efforts south. North and east would end up with another war with Sweden and Norway together perhaps. Under the command of João Fernandes Lavrador, a dozen Danish ships were to explore an undiscovered and uncovered area of the New World. Lavrador was enticed to the King of Denmark’s employ following the announced payment of 10,000 Danish regsdaler or an equivalent amount in pesos. Lavrador would be the pilot of this mission, as the Danes travelled from Copenhagen on the 12th June 1511.

On the 6th September 1512, Lavrador would manage to direct the ships of the Danes to a place where it was one part of a larger mass. It would be called, in honour of the Danes, Hugleik (after the first king of Denmark). It would be here that 1,836 men would make their settlement. With the tools they had, the started fishing in the bay, as well as logging the local area to make sure that this settlement would not go by the wayside. Lavrador would return to Denmark on the 28th January 1513, returning before Copenhagen as a rich man. He was then made Pilot-General by King John himself on the 14th February 1513, as he travelled once more to Hugleik. Once there, the total population would be 7,000 men. About 50 guns were carried over the trip, as part of their defences, as well as hundreds of personal firearms with enough gunpowder and shot to last. Pikes, swords and shields were with them as well.

The Maya would not, unlike other natives near the Swedish and Norwegian colonies, be so nice. Attacks during 1513 got so severe that it cost the lives of 550 Danes, at the expense of 7,800 Maya soldiers. The spreading of the common cold, not to mention an outbreak of smallpox within the Danish colony, would lead to a knock on effect for the Maya that dared to attack. They would be repelled, however, following the repeated use of firearms and cannons in the hands of the Danes.

Explorations were well armed and they went deep, as far as fifty miles from the settlement. Danish soldiers would report of more and more settlements, places that could be filled with food as well as wealth. It would be there that 53 Danes would encounter the King of Campuche on the 15th of August 1514 after being captured by Mayan soldiers. After showing off the workings of their guns, the King managed to let them go, after seeing them as gods. In the sum of six weeks, up to 20 of these men learnt the local language. After getting the King of Campuche to let them go, the 53 Danes managed to return to the colony on the 19th December 1514. It was there that one of the bilingual Danes, Knut Berthelsen, would be made Governor of Hugleik on the 25th December 1514. It would be there that the Danes would plan on advancing along the coast. A post was established on the 5th February 1515 in the Totonac territory by the name of New Copenhagen (OTL Boca del Rio). With five of the Danes providing translation, the local Totonac leaders happened to tell the Danes of their grievances with the Mexica.

This matter was reported back to Knut Berthelsen, who was then given explicit orders by the new King of Denmark, Frederick I (King John’s brother), to claim as much of the land as possible. Berthelsen would follow the orders that were given. By this time, the Danes have been capable of bringing in not only enough food to sustain themselves but to also export back to Denmark. Mahogany and cedar are some of the tropical hardwoods that have returned to Denmark, to then sell to the rest of Europe. The same is to be made of the corn and sorghum and beans in the area.

On the 26th March 1515, a total of 1,500 Danes (armed with guns, swords and shields and pikes with 20 cannons) would arrive to Totonac under the leadership of Knut Berthelsen. Seeing the sight of gold, Berthelsen would agree to help the Totonacs with their fight against the Mexica. A total of 20,000 Totonacs would march with the 1500 Danes to the heart of the Aztec Empire. The force of men would march forward, with the Danes either on horseback or on foot. They would be noticed by the plate armour they had, as well as the swords and shields and pikes that they held. 27 guns were brought with them. They would march onto the city of Cholula on the 4th April 1515. Knut Berthelsen would attempt to enter the city, which he did at the head of 400 armed Danes. These men, in their shiny metal armour, would be greeted with much fear. Berthelsen had one of the Tlaxcalans provide translation for him. The Cholulan leaders were to either join the Danes and the Tlaxcalans or to pay with food and gold and 400 men to be used as scouts for the city of Tenochtitlan.

On the 6th of April 1515 the leaders of Cholula, Tlaquiach and Tlalchiac, would be given the tribute and ordered to get out of the city by the next morning. Berthelsen agreed to this. At that night, the Tlaxcalans and Totonecs as well as other allies of the Danes warned Berthelsen of an ambush by the Cholula soldiers. As they went to bed, every Dane in the expedition was ordered to sleep with their sword and their shield resting against the bed. In the wee hours of the 7th April, 30 Cholula men attempted to attack Berthelsen’s quarters. Hearing the noise, Berthelsen (according to written sources) would pull out his sword and he would begin fighting off the attackers, as would a dozen other men from their beds. By the count of five minutes, a total of 300 Danes were clothed and ready to fight. By the time the 30 men were dead, a total of 350 Danes arrived at Berthelsen’s quarters to await orders.
Berthelsen gave the order to attack.
As all 1500 Danes had been awakened, they raised their weapons in their hands and they began to attack the city. Any man who fought back was given no mercy, as the Danes and their allies killed as many people as they could. It was a brutality that would be the precedent for further exploration by other European powers, one that would mark itself deep in the hearts of Cholulan people that survived.

23 of the Danes were killed, along with a total of 400 of their Totonic and Tlaxcalan allies. This was compared to a reported 9,000 Cholulans killed.
it was here that the Danes and their allies held onto the city, with Knut Berthelsen ordering a column of 150 Danes to head back to New Copenhagen and onto Hugleik. The purpose would be to bring more reinforcements against the Aztecs and to ensure that the Danes did not get slaughtered. The column would leave on the 15th April 1515.

Whilst they were in the city of Cholula, Berthelsen ordered a mass seizure of as much gold and silver as possible. On the 19th April, the Totonic and Tlaxcalan allies of the Danes pleaded for Berthelsen’s audience after being by the side of the Danes for a while. Two days pass before Xicotencatl the Younger and Maxixcatl would be able to ask for special favour with the Danes, that King Frederick of Denmark would give them a reward for helping the Danes keep the land that they were in. Berthelsen stated that he would plead with the King personally if the Tlaxcalan and Totonic soldiers helped him discover as much gold as possible as well as help bring more Danes into the New World.

By this time, the massacre at Cholula had spread across the various city-states aligned with the Aztecs. The stories of their guns and their weapons and how “they just glistened like the sun” (according to a fragment from the “Tenochtitlan Files”, a archaeological discover in 1843 and translated in 1866). These stories, no matter how realistic or embellished they were, happened to promote the Danes well before their mere presence. From this observation, one would see no difference between the Vikings that once raided places like Lindisfarne in England and the Danes that now held Cholula. There would be no difference in the brutality or even in the stories. Aztec observers would report back to Moctezuma, confirming that Cholula was being held by the Danes. Upon seeing these Aztec observers, Berthelsen sent 40 of the Tlaxcalans forward to Moctezuma, stating that the Danes and their allies had been tricked.
Such a story was not believed, with Moctezuma ordering the messengers be sent away.

On the 6th May 1515, the 40 messengers return to Cholula. They state what had happened, to be interrupted by Aztec messengers. Berthelsen and 400 Danes and Tlaxcalans assembled to meet with the 100 or so men from Moctezuma. Berthelsen stated that it was his intention of fighting the Aztecs, given how the people of Cholula attacked his own men. The Aztecs, as reported by the Copenhagen Codex (written in 1526 to 1537), would laugh at the sight of the few soldiers in the city. As they did this, they presented gifts, as part of Aztec culture meant that being polite was a symbol of supremacy over others. The following exchange occurred.
Aztec Messenger: (after putting down the gifts along with his fellows) This shall be a wonder for all of the ages, if we could have peace while you left our city in peace.
Berthelsen: You are the enemies of the Tlaxcalteca. Why?
Aztec Messenger: There is no need for a reason. They are our enemy and we are theirs -
Tlaxcalan: You have taken our men and kept them fighting in your petty wars. The Danes have a word for you. Coward -
Aztec Messenger: - You dare to speak to us like this! My master, Moctezuma, will not be insulted. With these gifts, we are kind to you because we are stronger than you -
Berthelsen: - Yet nine thousand Aztecs died. So much for being stronger.
Aztec Messenger: You shall not walk out of these lands alive. My master will see to it.
After walking away with the rest of the Aztec messengers, Berthelsen orders the fortification of the city. The native Cholulans are put forward to work, while the Danes manage to spare food and drink for those that they once sought to kill. Later that day, a messenger arrives on horseback.

The news is such. Hugleik has now 10,000 Danes, with over 1,000 women and New Copenhagen has 1500 men stationed there. A total of 2,000 Danes have arrived from New Copenhagen. On the 7th May, they all arrive. 2,000 Danes with 25 guns and over 700 arquebusiers of their own. A total of 3,480 Danes overall with 6000 Tlaxcalans and 1200 Totonics in the area. Berthelsen, that night, orders a change of plans. At midday on the 7th, the Danes and their allies march out of the city with the intent on marching onto Tenochtitlan.

It would not be until the 9th May 1515 when these Danes and their allies would reach the shores of Lake Tenochtitlan. It would be here that the first battle began. At the middle of the day, the Aztecs arrived with their army. 25,000 soldiers would face them, under the command of Moctezuma’s brother Cuitláhuac. Berthselsen ordered his men to fortify their position where their guns happened to be, long before the enemy attacked. The conch shells and the drums were sounded and the order was given. Projectile weapons such as blowguns and bow and arrow happened to sent objected flying into the ranks of Danes, Tlaxcalans and Totonic soldiers. With their metal shields raised, the Danes came off the best compared to their allies. With no great injury, Berthelsen ordered his men to raise their pikes forward as the Aztecs advanced. 8000 men advanced onto the Danes and their allies. It was there that Berthselsen gave the second order. A total of 40 guns had been taken on the march to Tenochtitlan, something which proved devastating. It was not long before the power of firearms and artillery began to break holes into the enemy. Within ten minutes, the Aztecs broke rank and ran away with only 2,700 survivors. Afterwards, long shots of arquebuses became common, as they tried to shoot and avoid the random hit of a dart from an atlatl.

The Aztecs would, in their buildup to the melee, maintain discipline along the line. Their goal was to surround or outflank the enemy while they broke off for individual hand to hand combat. The Danes however, did not do this. With their pikes raise forward, they cut through the first wave of Aztec soldiers. The Danes would stay in their place, as arquebuses shot through to hit a target or guns were able to be shot at a large group of Aztecs. The native allies of the Danes followed their tactics to much success. Their blowguns and bow and arrows would end up hitting more targets compared to the guns and the arquebuses of the Danes. The Aztecs, after an hour of fighting, ran away in an attempt to create a feint. However, this gave a chance for the gunners to take more shots. The ordnance would end up carving through a large amount of bodies as the Danes and their allies stood their ground.

A second assault by the Aztecs occurred, with well over 12,000 Aztecs advancing. It was there that the pikemen in their formations began to break. In desperation, Berthselsen mounted a horse and led a charge. A total of 600 Danes rode on horseback and charged into the back of the Aztec force. Caught unawares by the sight of these horses, many of the Aztecs would break off and flee. The infantry and cavalry of the Danes and their allies would push on until the Aztecs gave way. Cuitláhuac would order a retreat.

Casualties:
653 Danes killed, along with 1,200 Totonecs and Tlaxcalans
17,500 Aztec soldiers killed.

It was there that Berthelsen gave two orders. The first was for 200 Danes and 1,000 natives to rush back to New Copenhagen for reinforcements. Also, he would press onto the city of Texcoco, which would be their staging ground for the attack on Tenochtitlan. The remaining 2627 Danes as well as the 5000 Totonec and Tlaxcalan soldiers would march north to Texcoco.

On the 10th May, Berthelsen and his men reached the walls of Texcoco. Armed with whatever shot left from yesterday, he ordered that the place be taken. After several shots from the 40 guns, the Danes and the native allies advanced. It was at night that they managed to take the place for themselves, as they were able to bring back the guns inside the city. It was there that raiding for gold had occurred. For over a week, Berthelsen and his men would take as much gold and silver as they could. It was on the 19th that another group of Danes and natives (200 altogether) would leave for New Copenhagen. It would be there that they would transport the gold and silver back to Denmark.
During the rest of the month, Berthelsen would fortify the city proper. All stone ruins would be converted into a wall, with hastily made paste to somehow keep it all together. In other parts, wood would be used in order to fill the rest of the way around. Gaps would be left open for a few of the guns to shoot through, enough space also to allow a group of pike men to kill as many Aztecs as they could should the hole be breached. While the city was being upgraded, the area around it began to fill with camps of native allies. The declaration of war had led to an upswell of Tlaxcalan soldiers arriving on the shores of the lake. A total of 45,000 overall had camped outside Texcoco and its walls.

With the increase in men, Berthelsen ordered the construction of boats. 25 of these boats would carry a gun each, powerful enough to bombard the city of Tenochtitlan if he happened to attack. Attacks from Aztec soldiers occurred only five times during the month. Each time, they came close to the city, but the sheer fire power as well as the numbers of the native allies kept them back. In the maddening situation, Moctezuma ordered as many troops as possible to keep close to Tenochtitlan.

June comes now and so do the Danes. A total of 6,000+ Danes come, with 2,000 horses and 2,000 arquebuses. No guns arrive. This would increase the amount of Danes in the area to a total of 8,000 compared to over 70,000 Totonic, Tlaxcalan and other native soldiers. The first duty of the new Danish reinforcements were to come build more boats. By the 17th June, 70 boats had been made with 25 of them fitted with guns. Plans were made, as more and more gold was being shipped away.

On the 20th June 1515, Knut Berthelsen gave the order at sunrise. The men started going into the boats. The guns were first, being crammed alongside native soldiers. Within two hours, 15 guns and 2,000 native soldiers had landed. By 10am (according to researchers from the University of Hugleik’s History Department), 5,500 Danes and all 70,000 native warriors managed to land on the opposite side of the lake. The guns were move to position as the natives waited for the signal.
The gunboats, commanded by Knut Berthelsen himself, travelled down Lake Tenochtitlan (OTL the combined name of Lakes Chalco, Xochimilco, Texcoco, Xaltocan and Zumpango). Once the city was in their sights, Berthelsen ordered them to shoot. One by one the guns would start to send shots. They would hit either a temple, a marketplace or even homes. The madness was enough to wake people up from sleep. The gunfire was loud enough that it would alert Moctezuma and all of the nobles of the Aztecs. They would question one another, as they had no idea how to act. Moctezuma ordered that boats take back the control of the lake. Within ten minutes, 20 boats would meet the Danes out on the water. They had figured out that it would occur, sooner than later. The fight begins on the water, as bows and arrows are shot into the hull of the Danish boats. Arquebuses are used constantly, with as much shot being expended on the attackers. Pikes kept the Aztecs from storming these boats as their guns kept firing. Out of 20 boats, only 4 came back with crew as survivors. Their city, meanwhile, was being taken down one bit at a time.
As fires started and as the madness reached its peak, the land forces made their attack. 15 guns went off from the north, hitting targets as they came closer and closer to the city. Arquebuses would soon be used along with the bows and arrows of the native allies. After much damage had been made, the 75,500 Danish and native allies soon made their way into the city itself.
All options were closed, as Tlaxcalans and Totonecs began to surround the city. Messengers could not get in or out, but the smoke from Tenochtitlan would be more or less explicit about the danger that it posed. The Danes began to cut down as many of the Aztec warriors as they could, before they could link up with any reinforcements.
Taking one of the boats out to shore, Knut Berthelsen happened to get himself inside the city to find Moctezuma and his fellow nobles. Drawing his sword, Berthelsen stormed the room where Moctezuma was and demanded that the city surrender.

Later that night, Moctezuma would order all of the Aztecs to surrender on pain of death. When they rioted, the sheer stress and the danger of the moment led Berthelsen to kill Moctezuma and all of the people there. All of Moctezuma’s concubines, his wives, his nephew and his brother and his children were all killed by Berthelsen and his Danish and native soldiers. Upon hearing this the following morning, the city broke into rioting which had to be quelled by a further day of violence against the Aztecs. During this time, the Danes and the natives would take some percentage of the gold in the city and then take it by boat to the Danish-held city of Texcoco before going on to Chalula and then New Copenhagen for Denmark.

Smallpox would soon take a grip onto the city, as well as other diseases that Aztecs had not known before. While the violence kept going on and on, disease began to ravage the young, the old and the citizenry of Tenochtitlan. Aztec forces began to march from Azcapotzalco on the 28th June to try and attack the Danes and their native forces from behind. A total of 60,000 Aztecs began to pour into the city, as the Danes and the natives considered retreating. Berthelsen would have none of it, as he took part of several cavalry charges onto the causeway. A total of 1500 men on horse would charge headlong into the Aztecs forces. The threat of atlatls meant nothing, as Aztecs either jumped either side, were slain or ran away and block the shots of those that could hit. In that rush alone, the Aztecs pushed back onto the mainland as the Danes returned into the city. That charge alone killed a total of 4,200 Aztecs at the expense of 250 Danes and their horses. The Danish ships would sent 50 Danes on horseback to alert New Copenhagen of the necessity of more soldiers and settlers in the area. As for Tlaxcalans, they were more than happy to provide for more soldiers given the decades of hatred.

By July, most of Tenochtitlan had been destroyed by gunshot or fire. One third of the city was dead from violence, fire, gunshot from the ships or from disease. One third had left the city when they could and the remainder lacked the weapons and the chances to rise against the Danes and their allies. 1,500 Danes had been killed along with 20,000 of their native allies compared to 110,000 Aztec soldiers and citizens. To the survivors that stayed behind, they were witnessing the destruction of their own culture. The pantheon of gods was replaced with statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and Moses. The gold was being shipped out of the city every single day, on its way to Denmark. Berthelsen declared that human sacrifices and cannibalism would be punishable by death and that all would have a chance to convert and live a life under Christian teachings.

On the 17th July 1515, Xicotencatl the Younger would be asked if he would join Berthelsen on a trip to Denmark to petition the King on indigenous rights. He stated that he would be honoured if he could take a contingent of his men with him. Berthelsen agreed.

From then until mid 1517 was dedicated to the destruction of the city, as well as the subjugation of the rest of the neighbouring city-states. It would take a further 15,000 Danish troops, 30 guns and 3,000 arquebuses as well as 90,000 native soldiers to conquer Teotihuacan, Chalco, Xochimilco, Culhuacan, Tlacopan and Azcapotzalco. A total of 7,000 Danes, 30,000 native allies and 300,000 Aztec soldiers and citizens would die until Knut Berthelsen would establish the creation of what would become West Zealand City (OTL Mexico City). As this occurs, more than 5,000 Danish settlers move inland into Texcoco and Cholula as well as New Zealand City itself as part of the Danish colonial process. One by one, the Aztec city-states surrender and their tributaries soon pay the tribute to Berthelsen and King Frederick of Denmark. Catholic churches were established, as well as metal working and timber mills.
Leaving West Zealand City, Berthelsen reaches New Copenhagen with Xicontencatl and 60 of his men on the 6th August 1517. By this time, 8,000 Danes call this place home and business as Danish ships tour the coastline. Purchasing three ships, Berthelsen is given the chance to leave for Denmark on the 15th August 1517.

Xicotencatl the Younger would return to Denmark with Knut Berthelsen in 25th February 1518. It was there, in front of the King of Denmark, that the first Native Americans had stepped foot on Europe. He and Berthelsen stated the great riches and land would all be for Denmark, if the Tlaxcalan and the Totonec people were recognised as equals with the Danish people. Xicotencatl, having understood Danish for over a year, speaks to the King of Denmark and states of the great evils that the Aztecs committed and of the great power that he would serve. He would go on to say that King Frederick of Denmark would be recognised as King unless he makes equality between the Danes and himself and that he enforces it.
King Frederick is then given another proof. Xicotencatl and the 60 men all carry a vast amount of gold (which was appraised as $120 million AUSF). Seeing this wealth, the King allows it. Xicotencatl and his men return with Berthelsen to Hugleik, along with a fleet of ten Danish ships. These ships have a total of 628 people bound for the New World.

Denmark, in the time of the Colony of West Zealand, would grow in spite of the loss of its great territories of Norway and Sweden. The rush of gold and rare goods would allow Denmark a greater purchasing power in the European trade. The wealth went towards the upgrading of Danish soldiers with arquebuses as well as developing better artillery and fortifications for Copenhagen. By the year 1520, the population increased to 2,350,000 people. This would be compared to a total of 21,000 Danes living in West Zealand (9,000 in Hugleik, 5,000 in New Copenhagen and the other 7,000 people living inland). This would be compared to the 30 or so million Native Americans who would soon be forced to recognise King Frederick I of Denmark as King of West Zealand.

Denmark was not going to be taken out of the fight. Not now, not ever.

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