1680s-90s Timeline

1680s-90s Timeline

Early 1683:
Diplomatic tensions and rivalries in Europe were increasing at a rapid pace, and many believed that the continent would soon descend into war. The chief reason for this was the Diplomatic Revolution and its effects. To the surprise of everyone, France and the Habsburgs, including Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, allied in a new coalition called the Catholic League. Poland-Lithuania also joined the new coalition. This Diplomatic Revolution shook up the balance of power immensely, as the two greatest enemies in Europe were now allies. A new alliance was formed in opposition to this, called the Protestant Union. This organization included the countries of Denmark-Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Brandenburg-Prussia. Many Whigs in the English Parliament called on King Charles II to have England join the alliance, but he refused, citing his recent cooperation with Louis XIV in the Franco-Dutch War. Unbeknownst to the Protestants, however, was a secret term of the Catholic alliance. This term stipulated that at a near but unspecified date, France and the Holy Roman Empire would launch a join invasion of the Netherlands and would divide it up in half. The Empire would invade from the East and would take the northern provinces, while the French would be permitted to travel through the Spanish Netherlands and would annex the south.
 
Mid 1683: All of Europe was shocked when, in mid 1683, France and the Holy Roman Empire launched a joint invasion of the Netherlands. The Dutch, surprised and overwhelmed, were quickly and easily overrun by the massively numerically superior forces of the Catholic League. Soon after the invasion began, it was already over: The southern United Provinces were under the control of France, the northern ones were now under Habsburg control, and Stadtholder William of Orange had fled into exile in England. This invasion caused the Protestant Union to immediately declare war on the Catholic League. But just before the Catholic invasion, a momentous event had occurred in England. King Charles II had died and had been replaced by his brother James, the Duke of York. Now, with Catholic King James II on the throne, all hope of joining the Protestant Union was gone, and many feared that England would join the Catholic League. However, the Whigs had hope due to William of Orange. He was currently being sheltered by many of the Parliamentary Whigs, and it was a widely known open secret that if James II were to join the Catholic League, then Parliament would rise up and place William on the throne. Thus, Parliament presented a list of demands to James II. Some of the most notable demands on this list were that James must convert to Anglicanism, James must make William of Orange the lead general of the English Army, James must have England join the Protestant Union, and James must declare war on all of the countries of the Catholic League. James, in order to avoid a civil war, agreed to the demands, saying "London is well worth no mass." His decision was wildly popular among most Englishmen, but some Whigs still suspected that James held pro-Catholic and absolutist sympathies. Also notable during the middle of 1683 was that the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Holy Roman Empire and was now in the process of besieging the city of Vienna.
 
Late 1683: In late 1683, England was ready for war. War fever was very high, and Englishmen cheered as William of Orange's boat left the harbor, heading for Southern Holland. The English had decided that they would attempt to liberate this region of the Netherlands from French control, and William of Orange was at the head of the army that was attempting to take back his country. But when the English landed into Southern Holland, a massive French army was already waiting for them. Even though the attack was meant as a surprise invasion, the French somehow knew of the English plan already. In spite of William's best efforts to win the battle, his English army didn't stand a chance against the vastly larger French force. The English were smashed, and even William was almost captured, but he and a few of his top commanders managed to escape and pilot a ship back to England. In England, the populace was livid. Many suspected James of passing information along to the French, but he denied the allegations. However, the allegations were confirmed when a group of Parliamentary Whigs demanded to search James's quarters and found a series of letters he had written addressed to Louis XIV. James was then put on trial for treason and was executed. William of Orange was declared as the new King of England and assumed the throne as William III. At the same time, the new Tsar of Russia, Peter, was touring western Europe in order to model his country off of western models of absolutism. He was visiting the court of Louis XIV when he heard about the regicide. He was horrified by it, and Louis XIV convinced him that he must show Russia that such a murder would never be tolerated there. Peter returned to Russia and, in a show of force, declared war on the Protestant Union. At this point, things were looking very bad for the Protestants, but all that would soon change. In Vienna, the Ottoman siege had turned into a pitched battle when Habsburg troops attempted to break it. Jon Sobieski and the Polish Winged Hussars arrived to assist the Austrians, but during the battle Sobieski was struck by a bullet which pierced his heart, killing him instantly. The Polish troops then began a shattered retreat, and without their support the Habsburgs surrendered to the Ottomans. The Ottomans marched triumphantly into Vienna and held the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, under captivity. Leopold was forced to sign a humiliating treaty in which all Austrian lands not in the Holy Roman Empire were ceded to the Ottomans. This included most of Slovakia, Croatia, and the city of Zagreb. Leopold was also forced by treaty to withdraw his country from the Catholic League and make peace with the Protestant Union, as the Ottomans held an informal alliance with the Protestants. Additionally, since Leopold was leaving the war, the northern Netherlands were given to his ally France. With the Austrians out of the war, there was now hope for the Protestant side. King William III was overjoyed when he heard of the Ottoman victory, and he ordered new medallions to be printed that bore a traditional Dutch inscription from a century earlier: "Rather Turkish than Papist". Many Protestants now thought that the war would be quickly and easily won. But they had no idea of how long and devastating for all of Europe the war would really be...
 
Late 1683: .... At the same time, the new Tsar of Russia, Peter, was touring western Europe in order to model his country off of western models of absolutism.

The only problem is that in 1683 Peter is 11 years old. ;)

He was visiting the court of Louis XIV when he heard about the regicide. He was horrified by it, and Louis XIV convinced him that he must show Russia that such a murder would never be tolerated there. Peter returned to Russia and, in a show of force, declared war on the Protestant Union.

Russian Tsardom in 1683 was ruled by regent, Princess Sophia, and in 1683 Peter was just a junior Tsar (senior was his half-brother). Out of the Protestant Union Tsardom had common border only with Sweden and probably the last thing Russian government wanted at that time was war with Sweden.



Jon Sobieski and the Polish Winged Hussars arrived to assist the Austrians,

If he arrived only with the Winged Hussars, he could with the same success stay home: there were too few of them to make any difference (in OTL Polish contingent at Vienna was over 20,000).

but during the battle Sobieski was struck by a bullet which pierced his heart, killing him instantly. The Polish troops then began a shattered retreat, and without their support the Habsburgs surrendered to the Ottomans.

Taking into an account that the imperial troops outnumbered Polish contingent approximately 2:1 and that they were led by Charles of Lorraine, one of the best commanders of that time who soon afterwards will liberate most of Hungary, "surrender" is highly unlikely.

The Ottomans marched triumphantly into Vienna and held the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, under captivity.

Are you aware of the fact that Leopold left Vienna before siege started? (A rhetorical question).;)
 
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1684: Early in the year, a joint Anglo-Danish force assaulted the French-occupied Netherlands, liberating most of northern Holland. At the same time, momentous events were occurring in Spain. Spain demanded that Portugal join the Catholic League, but Portugal refused, mainly due to the fact that as recently as 16 years ago Portugal had been fighting a war of independence against Spain, meaning that lasting resentments from that war still existed. The Spanish responded by launching an invasion of Portugal, and within less than a year they were outside the gates of Lisbon. The Spaniards then began to bombard the city, inflicting heavy civilian casualties. Once the city finally surrendered, the Spaniards sacked the city in what was the worst atrocity of the war so far. Portugal appealed to the Protestant Union for help, so the English ordered one of their armies to head to Lisbon by ship, but they didn't arrive in time and wouldn't land in Portugal until the next year, 1685. Further east, more fighting was occurring still. The Ottomans launched a surprise invasion of Spanish-controlled southern Italy, taking parts of the "heel" and "toe" of the "boot" of southern Italy. The Ottomans also began an offensive destined for Kiev against the Poles, hoping to reach the city by next year. Poland-Lithuania captured all of East Prussia besides the city of Königsberg, of which they began siege preparations. The Russians also began a war of two fronts, launching an incursion into Swedish Finland and an invasion force into Ottoman-controlled Crimea.
 
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1685: 1685 would come to be known as the year of rebellion, for three separate rebellions broke out in three different countries. The first rebellion began in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, where Jacobites rose up against the government of William III. The Jacobites were rising up to place James FitzJames, the son of James II, on the English throne. Although FitzJames was illegitimate, he was still the best claimant to continue the Stuart line. The Scots launched a long march south, and because the English were distracted by the war in continental Europe, they made it past York and almost even went as far south as the city of Birmingham. The Irish declared an independent Irish Catholic Confederation loyal to James FitzJames. The second rebellion occurred in France and was in response to the intolerance of Louis XIV. Late in 1685, Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes. Louis sent dragonnades sweeping across France, hunting for Huguenots and harassing them. But the Huguenots of France refused to flee, and began an armed rebellion. All over France, those Huguenots who remained in the country rose up and fought back against the dragonnades. Drawing on the memory of the Huguenot rebels of a century before led by Henry IV, this rebellion was the largest that France had seen since the Fronde. The third rebellion occurred in Russia. The Streltsy, angry at Peter for rashly declaring war on the Protestant Union, began an uprising in Moscow similar to the one that had occurred three years earlier. The wider war between the great powers continued, though, even in the midst of these rebellions. The English finally reached Lisbon, and after a tiring and gruesome battle, they retook the city from the Spanish. However, the battle was generally regarded as a Pyrrhic victory, as the English suffered heavy losses. In the Netherlands, the English and the Danish continued their march south, but the French were assisted by Spanish troops who had traveled north from the Spanish Netherlands. The result was a series of bloody stalemates in which neither side gained much territory but both sides endured large casualties. Further east, the Ottomans reached as far west as Sicily and as far north as Naples. The Ottomans also reached the city of Kiev, capturing it from the Poles. With the Ottomans focused on offensive maneuvers in Italy and Poland, the Russians managed to reach the Crimean Peninsula and capture it. The Poles managed to succeed in their siege of Königsberg, as they captured the city from Brandenburg-Prussia. The Swedes capitalized on Russian political disorder and foreign engagement in Crimea to capture the Kola Peninsula.
 
Sorry to say but the parts relating to England are seeming a bit too wank-ish and completely out of the blue.

If anyone had tried to execute James so soon after the Exclusion Crisis there would have been a rabid counter revolution. Even in 1688 the intention was not to remove a king but to bully him into submission. The commitment to the succession was too popular a sentiment so soon after 1681.

Additionally, James possessed a large and professional army with many Catholic officers. The only reason that he didn’t fight William when he landed in 1688 was because he lost his nerve after army defections and the betrayal of some of his friends and family.
In this scenario, with no battle looming and the local government still under James’ control due to the abuses of Quo Warranto, I foresee James utilising the army to impose repressive measures and perhaps even hold William prisoner. Not only had the whigs been incomprehensibly fucked in the Exclusion Crisis but Charles had set about dismantling the Tory party and in its place were a collection of ineffectual yes men and sots.

James would have been reinforced in his efforts to hold onto control by Irish Catholics and loyalist highlanders, and with an incredibly powerful France (and Emperor) just across the channel I can only see him increasing in power, not getting his head lopped off by Parliament.

If you definitely wanted Parliament to take the reins, then rather than William becoming king (who is at this point some random Dutchman that the English have fought multiple wars against) I would have Parliament re-educate James’ son to accept Protestantism, kind of how James I and VI was “re-educated” after his capture, ready to be made king in adulthood.

The rest of the scenario makes for a very intriguing POD however and I’m excited to see what happens next :)
 
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