alternatehistory.com

This is my first ATL and I'm dying to find out what more experienced AH lovers think of it. So I'm posting the whole set up in here and hopefully get some usefull and interesting comments. Can't wait!

Dawn of the Rosicrucian Empire, the order of Rosenkreutz.
An introduction to religion.

At the beginning of the 17th century the European world was one of chaos and uncertainty. The ideal of Christendom was shattered by the reformation, dynastic heritage created large empires which brought with them strong political tensions. Especially within the Holy Roman Empire this political and religious strife is widespread and heating up.
In this explosive mixture an unexpected event takes place. In three consecutive years an anonymous author or group of authors publish revolutionary manifestos. In 1614, 1615 and 1616 three manifestos are spread from a publisher in Kassel. Firstly of these documents is the Fama Fraternitatis Roseae Crucis oder Die Bruderschaft des Ordens der Rosenkreuzer. It speaks of a secret brotherhood by the name of The Order of Rosenkreutz. This order calls the people of Europe to participate in a second and complete reformation their wisdom would bring.
This publication stirred up a frenzy among intellectuals throughout Europe. Besides strong criticism many of them wrote positive reactions in newspapers and magazines and asked the brotherhood to contact them so they might join their ranks. Instead of answering the calls of these intellectuals, the brotherhood published a second manifesto: Confessio oder Bekenntnis der Societät und Bruderschaft Rosenkreutz.
This second manifesto tells more of the plans of the order and also gives reaction to the criticism they received in the year that had passed since the original publication of the Fama. No contact between the order and individual admirers is made.
The following year the last of the Rosicrucian is published. An allegoric novel by the name of Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459. Different from the other texts this book tells the story of Christian Rosenkreutz who goes on a journey to the magical and mysterious castle of a presumably fictitious royal couple. There he witnesses the most astonishing miracles which are believed to be an allegory to the practice of alchemy.

So much for historical truth. These three manifestos do exist and were published in the circumstances I just described. There is though, no reason to believe there was actually a Brotherhood of Rosenkreutz. The first provable existence of groups and organisations calling themselves Rosicrucian stems from the 18th century, well over a hundred years after the publication of the first manifesto. Since that time though several Rosicrucian organisations have flourished and today the combined membership of these organisations amounts to 15.000 members worlwide.
I would like to point out that I am in no way connected to any of these organisations. As a history student at university I delved into the history of the Rosicrucians for my Bachelor dissertation. During my intense study of Rosicrucianism, their manifestos and philosophy, I became profoundly interested in the matter. When I found this site last friday I immediately decided I would create an ATL in which the Order of Rosenkreutz would play an important role.

An introduction to politics.

The fiercely catholic Ferdinand II became Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia in the year 1617. Protestant elements in Bohemian aristocracy feared for their religious rights though and opposed to the election of Ferdinand II as king. The tensions grew stronger between protestant members of the Bohemian aristocracy and the representatives of the catholic Emperor during a disagreement over the building of protestant chapels on land that was owned by either the Catholic Church or the crown. In 1618 These tensions culminated into the second defenestration of Prague. (Defenestration is a term used to describe the act of throwing someone out of a window.) Two representatives of the Emperor were thrown out of a building in Prague and the protestant thereby symbolically renounced the rule of Ferdinand. Instead they elected Frederick V of the Palatinate to be their king.
Frederick V was the Elector Palatine and head of the Protestant Union (or League of Evangelic Union), a military alliance between protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire. This union was set up by his father Frederick IV in 1609 and contained the following members: The Palatinate, Anhalt, Neuburg, Württemberg, Baden, Ansbach, Bayreuth, Hesse-Kassel, Brandenburg, Ulm, Strasbourg and Nürnberg.
Frederick V happily accepted the honour of being elected King of Bohemia in November 1619 and travelled to his newly acquired kingdom the next year. Unfortunately for him his Protestant Union signed the Treaty of Ulm in which they decided not to support him in his inevitable struggle with the Emperor. Ferdinand II imposed a Ban of the Empire on Frederick, defeated him in 1621 at the battle of white mountain and sends him fleeing to the Republic of the United Netherlands where he lived until the end of his days in The Hague.
The Battle of White Mountain was mainly lost because of a shortage of men and their lacking quality on the side of the Bohemian protestants. They managed to raise 15,000 soldiers from all over the German lands while facing 27.000 well trained men under the Emperor and the Catholic League (a catholic military alliance set up to counter the Protestant Union).
The Protestant Union initially protested against Ferdinand’s actions but he simply ignored them and later in May 1621 ordered them to disband their armies. They complied and so came an end to organised protestant resistance to the catholic Ferdinand II.

Again, so much for historical truth. I believe Frederick V and his Union deserve a more glorious future than the embarrassing one they had since the beginning of all this in 1618. So in my ATL I want the Protestant Union to sign the Treaty of Ulm, but this time decide to support Frederick rather than to leave him at the mercy of the Emperor. For this to happen I decided the Union needed an extra member in order to give it a little more of a fighting chance. The large protestant state of Saxony never joined the Union for reasons unknown to me at this moment. Seems to be just a matter of choice to me, so it might as well have chosen to join them.
So with Saxony and maybe a more charismatic and persuasive personality for Frederick V he could gather the Protestant Union’s forces behind and effectively resist the Imperial and Catholic League’s troops at the Battle of White Mountain. Perhaps since the Union’s forces would be gathered from so many different places it would be hard for the Emperor’s troops to judge their adversaries' strength. This way their army of 27,000 could suddenly find themselves against 30,000 or 35,000 headed by Frederick I (Frederick V’s title as King of Bohemia) and be defeated.
This way Frederick could form a new empire, the Holy Protestant Empire (still working on the name) which cuts right through the Holy Roman Empire. It could find an ally in the United Netherlands, both because a Protestant Empire would be a helpful ally in the war against Spain and because Frederick I was a grandson of William of Orange (this is true).
Anyway, by now you might be wondering what those Rosicrucian have to do with it. Well, since a Protestant Union would be weak by internal differences between Calvinists, Lutherans etc. I figured it would be wise to twist things in such a way that would strengthen my newly created Empire. Since in my ATL the Order of Rosenkreutz does exist they could start a massive missionary service to unite the Protestants under their banner. And so, the Holy Protestant Empire becomes the Rosicrucian Empire.

And then the fun really starts…haha!

But before I start conjuring up ideas about what happens next, I would love to hear what you think of this introduction. Is it plausible? Is it exciting enough? Is it something you’ve seen before? Can you obviously tell I’m new at this? Whatever! Comment away!
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