Authors Note: Sorry for the long delay! Had Exams and then Eid came and then a Vacation to Turkey! Expect regular updates after my long break! Once Again sorry! To make up for my missing time, comes a unexpected update
The Jacobites
Since the Treaty of Berlin in 1707 and after a secret arrangements between the British and the French it was agreed that the French would stop supporting the Jacobites and to kick them out of the country but the French secretly gave money and help to the Jacobites, especially the new Jacobite claimant, James III and provided them lands in the newly conquered lands north near Bruges where his half-brother, Duke of Berwick was given land.
The land was soon occupied by most of the Jacobite court and their supporters of English Catholics, exiled Highlanders and Irishmen. The land was soon called by the Stuarts and the local populace as Stewartville with a two palaces being built there named St. Thomas Palace for the Stuart Royal Family and the Berwick Castle for James FitzJames. The area near the palace as mentioned in earlier updates were made into a military academy where a large chunk of the later top graduates and great generals came from and from where the local populace could get their education.
Modern day photograph of St. Thomas Palace
After the Rebellion in Flanders with a large part of the population either moved or dead, the British quickly took over the population of western Flanders with the King of Lotharingia, the name replacing the old Belgique, Philip I calling the area,
Little London. Even Bruges in later years, the population would be speaking more in either Irish or English rather than French. The King was initially reluctant to accept the British people into his nation but after pressure from his grandfather and astonishment for these people speak both in their native tongues and also French which would help into his later francophone programs.
The Royals also grew in size when King James III's wife, Maria gave birth to two children, Charles Edward Stuart in 1720 and Henrietta Mary Stuart in 1725. These births were celebrated by the Jacobite and their supporters but was horrified by the nobility and especially the King who worried for the rise of the Jacobites in the name of the new heirs. Another celebration came with the marriage of the King's younger sister Louisa to Jan Klemens Branicki, a poweful Polish noble which grew concerns for the royalty in London and also a growing interest in the Jacobite and the exiled Stuarts [1].
The Two Children of James III, Charles Edward Stuart (Left) & Henrietta Mary Stuart (Right)
The Jacobite also knew that their stay in Lotharingia was fragile and required support from the new kings in Brussels and so with the help of the exiled nobility which included brilliant minds of finance and management helped the new kingdom in running the finances of the kingdom and to manage the unruly Flemish into submission and also with the help of Berwick, the principal leader of the Lotharingian military the Jacobite ensured themselves that they were to stay in Lotharingia and especially in Stewartsville. Their contribution was like the founding of a national bank to keep control of the finance of the country and to group the Flemish into a position where they themselves were stuck into and easily place the plan for assimilation. Because of these actions, both King Philip and Jean would tolerate the languages of English and Irish in their pocket in West Flanders.
Also the Jacobites in Lotharingia would grow with the rising discontent in the home islands where a lot of Irishmen and Anglo-Norman old families of Ireland came into the bracing embrace of King James III and his court. James would grow his base of supporters and had even compiled his own court of followers and a cabinet in which he would gather support from other nations. The most notable of these were Sir John Erskine or the Earl of Mar who was banished after a squabble with both Robert Harley and Abigail Masham. He was appointed by James as the Secretary of State and Erskine would plunge himself into the job with him easily convincing the new king of France, Louis XV [2] and secretly convinced the King of Lotharingia, King Jean I [3] to give support of ships and weapons to the Jacobites. He also made a secret meetings with the Highlanders and discontent Anglo-Norman Lords of Ireland to support the Jacobite when the time came with the condition of if they gained power they would be granted autonomy and more land and power which Erskine easily accepted. The seeds of a Rebellion have been planted.
John Erskine, Earl of Mar & Jacobite Secretary of State
Note:
1: Louisa OTL died in 1712 because of smallpox, ITTL she survives and marries Jan Klemens Branicki, a rich and powerful Polish Noble who OTL became a powerful Hetman and contended for the throne in 1764 whose role would be greater ITTL
2: Louis XV ITTL is the Grand Dauphin who lives a longer age and surviving his early death, including his son, the Duke of Burgundy and his wife survives whose OTL death of measles made him contracted it and died but ITTL they both survives and have greater roles in the future
3: Philip I abdicated ITTL like OTL because of his mental health but unlike Luis I of Spain OTL, Jean would live a longer live and so his father would live a normal life of an abdicated monarch