A House of Lamps | Part 10
"The whole world is like a house filled with lamps, rays, and lights through whom the things of the house are elucidated…"
Ibn Barrajan, 12th century CE
Een man van het Menorca
A Menorcan man of Arab descent, but in a European coat. By Van Stuyt, 1695.
The Waning of the Islamic West
The Late 17th century was characterized by both the further growth of European colonial empires and the looming realization among Islamic Empires that something needed to be done to reverse this. The Ottomans continued to suffer setbacks in their sprawling eastern European territories as internal rebellions and foreign invasion eroded the considerable gains of the last two centuries. Andalusia, still recovering from internal political crisis struggled to maintain control of its huge maritime empire, even as it was able to continue expansion into the unknown. Both empires had over-extended themselves, while rival powers had the luxury to pick scraps of the edges. It is simplistic to characterize this as an equal ratio, however. That is – as much as Islamic empires declined the Europeans benefited. The largest European colonial power, the Kingdom / Union of Valois could not fully express its ambitions of international empire due to its own internal ethnic tensions. With its capital at Paris, perhaps it was inevitable that this lopsided state would become merely another French empire, but the succession of increasingly Francophile kings greatly accelerated the process. This alienated the kingdoms many non-French subjects who felt – rightly – that their concerns were less meaningful to a distant court in the heart of the
langue d'oil.
As Catholic Valois waned, Protestantism leapt at the opportunity. Spurred by an economic recovery on the mainland and growing political stability, German, Dutch, and Scandinavian rulers consolidated their powers. The many divided protestant kingdoms of northern Europe seemed to be circling closer and closer together as the century drew to a close. The medieval world-order was growing dimmer by the year.
Timeline
1677
The Declaration of Nazur by the Sultan Mufarrij ibn Ubada grants equal rights to mixed-race Arabs. He begins raising regiments composed fully of these
hamiho Arabs for defense of the vast colonial borderlands, amid rising tensions with European powers.
The Cachurata (
Kashuratiyya) War erupts in the Arab hinterlands of
Salinah [American Southwest / far northern Mexico]. This marks the explosion of the Cachuran Confederacy outwards along the Arab border. Composed of several native peoples, it uses mounted horsemen in lightning raids to control a wide expanse of scrubland along the border.
The lord of Tzintzuntzan, Zurunaban, fends off an coup led by his younger brother Hireti. With the decline of the other native states in the area, it remains the largest non-Arab ruled polity in Mishikah [Mexico], even if it pays tribute to Arab colonial overlords.
1678
Peasants in
Al-Mansha [La Mancha] riot against tax officials in the area.
Arabs erect a small mosque and outpost at
Alaqay [Puerta la Esparanza, Paraguay].
Danish armies defeat an expansionist Poland at the battle of Rostock. This reversal marks the end of the so-called Polish Golden Age and the ascendency of Denmark as the most powerful state in the Baltic region. The subsequent disintegration of Poland into warring rump states, which lasts for the next half century, devastates the region.
Spanish sailors build the fort of San Francisco on the coast of Java [Cilegon, Indonesia]. This region has long been visited by Arab merchants, and even Ottomans, but the decline of Arab sea-power in the Indian Ocean is opening up the region for more intense colonization efforts. Massive pirate fleets around the Spice Islands discourage movement farther east. They begin to trade with the local Hindu kingdom of Banten, which controls much of the island.
Ibn Ubada goes on Hajj, he takes the opportunity to tour the Ottoman empire en route. By lavishing praise on the Ottomans, he secures his friendship with the Ottoman state. He also hopes to secure new trade agreements to protect Andalusian goods from European competition.
1679
Ibn Ubada sends Muhammad Sayf al-Sadr to negotiate a border treaty with Valois in Iberia.
The
Al-Jahidi (Islamized Mishikan polity) Lord of Kuyulaban, Talashital, is granted the title
Amir al-Bariya. He rises as an important figure over the other
Al-Jahidi statelets after his victory at Shalangu [Chalcatongo de Hidalgo].
Abdullah Ibn Jasir al-Fath, the Andalusi admiral notorious for raiding English settlements, scores a major victory by sacking the town of Graysden [Natal, Brazil]. The governor of Virginia, Sir Charles Longstreet responds with a colony-wide mobilization effort. Sailing in a fleet of rafts, several hundred English soldiers ambush the moored Arab ships at night and set them ablaze. Al-Fath is slain in the fighting. The incident rouses national pride in England where Longstreet is hailed as a hero. A popular comic depicts him battling the Arab leader across the yard of a burning Arab ship with the caption: “
Longstreete roasts the Muhammaden atop his own fire”
1680
The Treaty of Soria settles border disputes between the Wazirate and Valois in central Iberia. The rapacious border-crossings of Portuguese minor lords do not stop however. That this was an original point of the border treaty frustrates Ibn Ubada greatly. However, he is unwilling to risk a direct confrontation with Valois over the situation.
The pirate Raymon Barbet attacks the Dutch colony in Brania [South America]. Believing Raymon to be acting on the orders of James II, the Dutch seized the Valoisian ship
Le Superbe in the Atlantic as retaliation.
Riyshi authorities exert their power over Mishika by appointing Riyshi officials to local administrative positions. Because Mishikah is still treated as an extension of the Riyshi colonial system, continental Arabs are viewed as subservient to that system rather than equal partners – as they considered themselves to be. In addition, growing cultural differences between the two regions is instilling separatist feelings in both parties. The governor of Muluk, the informal authority over the entire Riysh, Mustafa al-Mudhuk al-Sufi, places strict tariffs on Mishikan ships as the first part of several restrictive trade policies meant to coerce Mishikan authorities into compliance.
1681
Moroccans petition the sultan for redress against exploitative practices by Andalusian landowners. They find sympathetic ears inside the
shura, but not enough to get proper legislation passed.
The Dutch seizure of
Le Superbe begins a tit for tat of escalating incidents until James II dispatches an army to take Brussels. This city had been seized by the Dutch during the War of the Dutch and German years earlier but retained a prominent catholic minority. James II hoped to capture the Catholic territories in the Netherlands to curb Dutch power, with especially the port of Antwerp a prominent target. Under Jean de Montfort a French army with substantial German mercenary forces marched from the fortress at Maubeuge into the Low Countries in June.
The Dutch call on their English allies for aid but find that Crown unwilling to aid in a war they see largely to be entirely of the Confederations making. The English are fully engaged in colonial wars with Iberia. Charles II did not want to reignite war with Valois after putting in great effort to heal relations several years earlier. Despite this, he turns a blind eye as the usual host of English mercenaries travels to the Netherlands to fight for Dutch coin.
In July after several inconclusive skirmishes Jean de Montfort is recalled to court and replaced by Charles of Ghent, Count of Flanders. Charles is a middle-aged noble who had actually been born in the Low Countries, and spoke fluently Flemish, Dutch, French (and even Greek). It was believed that his intimate association with the region would enable him to fare better than Montfort, who had significant difficulty defeating Dutch skirmishing attacks. These hopes are confirmed when Charles defeats the main Dutch force at Nivelles. The Dutch flee in disarray to Brussels, where they are soon surrounded by Charles, who divides his armies to sweep the countryside. He is reinforced by Westphalian cavalry who engage in raiding reminiscent of a medieval
chevauchee. Charles did hold sympathies for the local people. He tried to curb the excesses of his troops, but when Brussels finally fell in a brief, but violent, siege in October his army ransacked the city. Twelve Dutchmen were lynched and hung from the cities Town Hall after (allegedly) refusing to remove their hats before a German soldier. This incident becomes a rallying cry for Dutch soldiers for years to come.
The Wazirate passes laws further penalizing the sale of certain goods to non-Muslim natives, fearful of the growing arms trade into the hinterlands of the New World. Especially on the northern frontier, the rise of large, organized, and mobile native nations with access to firearms threatens Arab settlements.
1682
The Valoisian war in the Netherlands, or King James War (called Barbets War to avoid confusion with the several other wars of that name) stalls following a Dutch victory in relieving the fortress of Puurs. Without a way to securely encircle Antwerp as he had with other cities, Charles withdraws south for winter. Valois attempts to draw the Holy Roman Empire into the conflict but just as the Dutch were unable to garner English support so too did James II fail in his efforts.
James II favoritism to some of his subjects over others reaches a head when in a land dispute between Gascon and Spanish settlers in the
Castillineans [Carolinas] he appoints the entirely foreign governor of
Chesepiac [from Chesapeake, modern coastal Virginia, North Carolina] Roger Caron to adjudicate the dispute. In theory this made sense – Chesepiac colony contained the disputed lands, but in name only. The dispute was over farms deep in the interior where Caron represented coastal, largely francophone population. The rural Iberian frontiersmen felt their voices were not heard. When Caron ruled in favor of the Gascon side, the Spanish took the lands anyways. Brutal punishments on the Spanish families in the area lead many to flee farther into the lawless frontier.
1683
Ibn Ubada comes down with a serious illness and loses the use of his legs. It is viewed by his enemies in Iberia as a sign of Gods disfavor in his rule. Criticism led by the Iman Ibrahim ibn Muhammad becomes the first serious challenge to his rule after Ubadas initial rise to power. Ibn Ubada responds by showing airs of great piety, exchanging his usual lavish robes for plain cloth and consulting with clerics in the
shura. Sympathetic Imans portray his disability as a challenge by God rather than a condemnation, making reference often to Surat An-Nur 24:61:
“There is not upon the blind any guilt or upon the lame any guilt or upon the ill any guilt [for remaining behind]. And whoever obeys God and His Messenger - He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow; but whoever turns away - He will punish him with a painful punishment.”
Ubada concedes to orthodox demands on certain issues, including the restriction of Jews and Christians, construction of more mosques in the colonies, and the cracking down on prostitution in major cities.
Charles of Ghent is attacked by a Dutch army at the battle of Wesenbeek. In a daring maneuver the Dutch commander William de Dunne moves 20,000 men east of Brussels and caught Charles entirely off-guard. It is debated how William managed to march such a force without resistance. What is generally believed is that an extensive network of double agents fed the Valoisians false intelligence as to the location of the Dutch army. While Charles was fortified at Grandmont farther west, he received word the Dutch were building fortifications inside the border established by the last years campaign. He carried out a quick march and fought William at the battle of Wesenbeek. It was a catastrophic defeat for the Valoisians. Charles was taken captive while his army, near twice the size of Williams, was routed. The defeat was so harrowing that King James II was said to have wept, allegedly saying
amissa est, in Latin: “it is lost.” The Dutch could not capitalize on the victory due to their own losses and have to retreat north without capturing meaningful territory.
Venetian warships capture the port of
Sabtan [Ceuta] after the authorities in Morocco threatened to expel foreign ships. This came at the head of a long diplomatic crisis that neither side was interested in peacefully resolving. With three ships a contingent of marines stormed the city at night and captured the city center. The daring operation was reinforced by a larger fleet soon after. Andalusian authorities agreed to preserve the ports status as a free city in exchange for the withdrawal of the enemy fleet. This shows in a new, visceral, way the bravado that European admirals are developing as Andalusian sea power wanes.
1684
William de Dunne recaptures the conquered territory in the south, as Brussels and other cities capitulate without a fight. He marches into Flanders against the orders of the
Zuidhoff, the leading council of the Confederation. William wins several other battles against increasingly hastily assembled forces, first at Bouchain, then at Montagne Road, and then at Cambrai. However, the more he fights the more his own small army needs to be supplemented with ill-trained reinforcements or mercenaries. He runs the risk of the same poor discipline that poisoned Charles of Ghents force.
A slave revolt in the Castillineans succeeds in wresting several dozen miles of coastal territory from the crown. Led by ‘
Malond’ as the slaves leader is called, plantations are destroyed and the owners killed. Local authorities suppress the revolt, but it is the last straw for Castillinean slave-owners. They demand representative leadership instead of governments sent and appointed by the royal court. This is
not representation in the democratic sense. Despite being overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking, the Castillineans are governed by French and even Italian administrators appointed by the court and sent from Europe. The goal of the petitioners was simply to replace those administrators, with local, Spanish ones. King James II grants this request under advisement from his uncle the Duke of Normandy, who perhaps recognizes more than most the growing ethnic tension between the kings subjects. Caron for one, is replaced by the Spanish plantation owner Don Carlos de la Herrada. The French administrative class naturally is upset by this, and instead of calming tensions this only continues to inflame them.
The Ottomans invade the Adriatic but are defeated at the Battle of Pomena by a Venetian fleet. The rise of Venice to conquer a sprawling territory on both sides of the Adriatic came with it an even more formidable navy, one that was playing a decisive role in reversing Ottoman naval power.
A bomb underneath the grand
Majlis chambers in Seville detonates, completely blowing out the foundations under one of its towers. This then collapsed on the main chambers, killing several dozen lawmakers, along with some guards and servants. Notable casualties include the
amir of the Algarve Abu Muhammad al-Qala and the respected Riyshi politician Bashar bin Yaqub. An extensive investigation turns up a group of Riyshi separatists who are subsequently executed. Authorities soon persecute many leading Riyshis, jailing many others.
Spanish sailors establish further colonies in the far east, building forts in southern China with permission from the Shun Emperor. The Shun dynasty was a rump state of the former Ming, that controlled the valuable south Chinese coast. It had successfully fought off several Qing attempts to conquer it. Seeing a chance to turn the tide, the Heping Emperor contracts Spanish privateers to attack Qing vessels along the coast. In return, he allows silver trade with Valois in addition to existing Muslim enclaves already operating in the region.
Aragonese fortunes stabilize under the new Catholic regime of Queen Catherine (Catarina) of Girona. She crushes the last vestiges of the protestant faction in the court, deporting many thousands of protestant
normanos, moors, and other ‘dissidents’ to the rural hinterlands in northern Aragon, formerly Navarre. Unsurprisingly these flee across the border to Valoisian Spain. The narrow, ill patrolled, and rugged terrain of the region begins to crawl with refugees, soon bandits. This adds to the ills compounding in Valoisian Spain.
1685
William de Dunnes force splits in two after a vicious disagreement between him and his senior commander (and lifelong friend) Wim Pier Duivenkaate. While Duivenkaate counseled against over-extending the army so deep in enemy territory, de Dunne adamantly wished to march on Paris itself. The argument ended with Duivenkaate taking two-thirds of the army with him back to the Low Countries, where they ran into the vanguard of a Valoisian force hastily called up from the Italian border. Duivenkaate escaped, but lost many men in the attack. Later that month, the
Zuidhoff signs the Treaty of Charleroi with King James II, which ceded Flanders to the Confederation, along with the empires possessions in Brania (except for the fort at San Cristobal del Mar near the Mar Dulce). This is all conducted while de Dunne was still encamped deep within France, who discovered the news after the treaty was signed. Upon hearing soon after that a party had been sent to arrest him from the Confederation, de Dunne flees to England.
Moroccan intellectuals call for a general uprising against the Wazirate. Rebel forces throw out Arab officials from the Rif region in northern Morocco, but expected supported from supposed wealthy backers does not materialize, and the rebels are forced to flee to the hills. They continue to fight a guerilla war for another decade.
An economic boom in Brania encourages rapid settlement of the region. English ships begin to trade amicably with the local Arabs rather than the vicious sea-fighting of previous years. It has been suggested that a growing number of native raids forced the two groups to ally against a common foe – but given that both used native allies against the other that is unlikely. It is more plausible that simply, they are weary of fighting.
1686
The
Tar [Peru approx.] begins to cool down after intensive suppression of local rebels. Several hundred Mishikan families are sent to the region as part of colonial efforts. Local authorities develop silver mines in the hills.
The Dutch Confederacy allies with Denmark. Along with England and Norway they form the Quadripartite Alliance, or: King Christians Bond (after King Christian IV of Norway and Christian V of Denmark). Sweden, smarting from an economic downturn and military setbacks, remains a bitter rival of the Danes.
The short-lived Kingdom of Karelia bursts into existence after a Swedish-backed rebellion defeats a Russian army at the Battle of the Thousand Lakes. In the subsequent campaign, the Russians are driven out of the region. The Kingdom exists until it is formally absorbed into Sweden several decades later.
1687
The Spanish defeat an Arab-Malay fleet to uproot them from the East Orioles [Indonesia] off the coast of Java. A second fleet however, succeeds in destroying the resupply force intended for the Spanish garrison. The Spanish spend the next three years under blockade before events elsewhere in the archipelago force the opposing navy to withdraw.
1688
The Cachurata Wars continue to rage in the northern desert frontier, with reprisals on both sides. Native fighters targeted mixed-race, and Islamized natives for especially brutal treatment, while Arabs committed multiple massacres against native civilians. Worsening conditions along the frontier lead many to move to the more peaceful Yikaqi coast [Western Gulf coast].
Europeans, Arabs, Natives, and African slaves mingle freely at the growing port cities in Al-Yikaq [Western Gulf coast].
1689
Arab and Portuguese ships fight in Africa and the Indian Ocean over control of trade routes. The Arab
Amir al-Bahr in the region Abdul Rahman al-Basa is killed in a skirmish with European forces. The multinational Acra Company, from the port its ships often resupplied at [Accra, Ghana] establishes trading posts along the southern coast of Africa and as far as India and Indonesia. In an effort to control European infringement on Arab shipping lanes, Ibn Ubada begins granting
tasamah to non-muslim vessels: written agreements for European ships to use Arab ports in Africa in exchange for a portion of all revenues. To enforce this policy the Cinarian fleet [Canary Islands] is doubled, at considerable expense, to watch the African coast.
Ibn Ubada sends an expeditionary force to support the Adal Sultanate in its war against the Christian Ethiopian state inland. With this aid, the coastal Muslims successfully sack the Christian heartland, reversing decades of hard-fought gains by the Christian rulers. The reigning emperor Asres II is captured and ransomed. This expedition is an intentional gesture by Ibn Ubada to demonstrate the capabilities of his military to rival powers. Despite what one might think, the gesture was targeted as much to the Ottomans as to the Europeans. Overtures of friendship do not change the fact that the Ottomans are a major competitor for trade control in the Indian Ocean – Arab troops carrying out operations so close to Ottoman-held Arabia is a clear message to the Sublime Porte of the far-stretching power of the Andalusi state.
1690
French explorers explore the complex seaways of Découverte Bay [Hudson Bay]. They trade fur with natives in the interior.
Danish settlers establish a minor colony near Dutch Barnooga [Brazilian coast]. The humidity, disease, and heat ravage the settlers within a year, many who move up to live near Dutch settlements instead of the remote settlement of St. Anders (their original landing point).
King James II cracks down on informal colonial courts that had sprung up to adjudicate the many disputes between the multiethnic European colonies along the Oriolan [North American] coast. Since they existed without royal permission, he treats them as an affront to his rule. Unresolved cases are passed to formal courts in the larger coastal cities where they quickly create a backlog.
England dispatches an expedition to secure whaling rights in the north Atlantic, fighting the short-lived Whalers War. It ends in an inconclusive stalemate.
1691
King James of Valois dies similar to his father, of syphilis. He is succeeded by his eldest James as James II. James II continues his father’s Francophilia to the dismay of his Spanish nobles.
1692
The Cachuran nation is wiped out at the Battle (Massacre) of Wadi Jaya. Over 2000 tribal warriors are killed, and a large civilian population enslaved or executed. In the aftermath Arab settlers move farther north into the interior. Arab slave raids probe deep into the wilderness, as do Christian missionaries as part of a vast covert network funded, in part, by King James II.
1693
Soldiers of the Basa Sultanate on the west African coast [southwestern Nigeria] defeat their rivals in battle after battle, expanding the kingdom to cover a long strip of valuable coastline. The Basa Sultan Iginuwa drives European merchants from cities under his control with Arab aid. A Venetian fleet prevents Porono [near Lagos, Nigeria] from falling. The city becomes the sole point of European contact for that part of the African coast.
1694
Ibn Ubada succumbs to his many ailments. He had attempted to pass his rulership to his eldest son, Umar, but the
shura intervened to elected the statesman Khaled Abdullah Al-Khuraq as Sultan. Al-Khuraq is of Riyshi descent (on his mothers side), and speaks with a distinctively colonial accent. Al-Khuraq gives Umar a prestigious ministerial position. Surprisingly, Umar accepts this demotion with remarkable grace, likely out of fear for his life should he act out. As much as Ibn Ubada enjoyed strong support, his son lacks the same magnetism.
1695
In a traditional show of force for Andalusian rulers, Al-Khuraq moves to secure his force by jailing or executing suspected political rivals. This includes former allies of Ibn Ubada, but not the Sultans family itself out of fear of public backlash.
Romanian rebels defeat the Ottoman Empire at Cheia. This remarkable upset combined with Ottoman setbacks in the Adriatic, Persia, and factionalism at court, bring Ottoman expansion to a grinding halt. In particular, the victory of the charismatic Romanian general Daniel Viteazu inspires copycat rebellions all across Ottoman territory in Eastern Europe.
Labor reforms in the Riysh improve living conditions for debt-workers (
‘ayedi).
Discouraged by a poor economy at home, many English travel to the colonies.
1696
Extensive campaigning to pacify territories in Eastern Europe exhausts Ottoman military resources. The betrayal and brutal execution of Romanian independence fighters makes them martyrs, and one of them – Sorin the Gentle, is canonized as a Catholic saint. It is said that as the Ottoman executioners made him eat his own severed hands, he said nothing but that they “needed some salt”.
James II is assassinated by disgruntled nobles. His death ignites a conflict in the Valoisian court, with multiple parties putting forward claimants to the throne. One faction unites behind the
infante Jean while three other groups press forward adult princes for the throne. Protestant nobles from northeastern Spain back one of their own in Hernando de Cotes. They enjoy significantly more independent military backing then the other factions. After a dramatic showdown at court in summer, they withdraw to Bilbao and crown De Cotes King of Spain. They have strong support in Navarrese regions and Gascony. Gascon nobles were promised support for their own separatist movement, which had been suppressed by the centralization efforts of previous monarchs. Because the Normano leadership had no interest in controlling Gascony, they had no qualms about fomenting independence movements in the area. The immediate goal was to ‘reconquer’ the perceived heartland of northern Spain, which included northern Aragon and the Sultanate, along with Galicia, Cantabria, and Portugal. Spanish commanders called up a large volunteer army along with their own private forces with plans to march on the regional capital of Burgos.
Catholic leaders in Cantabria are similarly dissatisfied with Valois, but also oppose a Protestant monarch, for obvious reasons. They declare King James II the rightful king of Spain, hoping the crown will alleviate their claims if the protestant rebels are defeated. Under the Italian captain Gianfrancesco Fiamolin and the aged general Antonio Escobar de la Vega Catholic forces are massed around Burgos to protect the city.
1697
An English fleet sails in support of the Protestant rebellion. They land outside Porto on the western coast. With an English army in the west, and a rebel army in the northeast, the hope is to divide the Catholic forces along a undefendable front. The Valoisian Regent Louis of Oisans is busy fighting off factions in Paris still vying for the throne and tells Escobar de la Vega in no uncertain terms to hold the Spanish possessions without royal aid. Escobar de la Vega instead turns to a new source for extra manpower: the Portuguese border lords, or
Atacantes. These men were entrusted with protecting rugged terrain from Muslim attacks for centuries. In recent years they have become infamous as roving, almost piratical figures (and to local Christian peasants, folk heroes). Atacante groups attack English supply trains all throughout the year. The English bombard cities from the sea to support their army as they move up and down the coast. It is a coordinated campaign to strangle the local economy so much the Catholics would be forced to respond.
Escobar de la Vega chooses to cluster his forces around major cities central to Valoisian rule rather than protect the countryside. The rebel army met the Catholics at the battle of San Zadornil. It was a prolonged standoff due to both sides not wanting to commit out of fear of casualties. Several days of minor skirmishes ended when the Protestant general Eud de Queden withdrew to the east. The year ends with a stalemate while the English continue to cut away at the Catholic economic base.
Maps