Fascinating update, hopefully the two Johans can keep the peace in the Netherlands.... I wonder who the young Johan will marry? Maybe a German Princesss would send a messsage of tolerance to the Dutch...
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat: A Timeline
- Thread starter pandizzy
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Considering that he has already been described as sickly, and only one of Philip II's sons IOTL with his niece (Elisabeth's sister) survived childhood, odds are on the little infante not making it to marriage.
Perhaps, though maybe Juan/Johan will live just long enough to govern for a while, have some kids and then die.. Like maybe he lives to his thirties...
Philip III of Spain, who for all intents and purposes is our OTL counterpart for Johan, was described as sickly as a child and lived till his early forties after having at least five children.
I already have a wife lined up for little Johan who I think the Dutch will like very much.
Chapter Seventeen - John Sigismund
The Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania in 1572.
The Lithuanian Revolt of 1579 was the first major conflict that Jadwiga and Henry faced during their reign. It was a direct result of the Union of Lublin when King Sigismund II weakened the Lithuanian state by annexing most of its powerful lands to Poland, and the rule of Jadwiga and Henry. Although Jadwiga was a direct descendant of Władysław II Jagiełło, the first ruler of Poland and Lithuania united, she was a woman, and Henry had no blood claim to the throne, merely ruling by jure uxoris.
The war was declared on January 2, 1579, when John Sigismund of Transylvania declared himself the Grand Duke of Lithuania as John I. John Sigismund himself sent a letter to his cousin Jadwiga, advising her to accept the demands made, which were full independence and the return of the annexed provinces of Podlasie and Volhynia. In return, John promised to never wage war against them for what he called his rightful claim to Poland and even proposed a wedding between Jadwiga and Henry’s daughter Anna and a future son he might have with Krystyna Radziwiłł to ensure the peace.
Although Jadwiga had her own issues with her husband, she did her best to be a good mother to their children. At the time, only Anna and Sigismund were born and, due to being under the age of twelve, were considered too young for a formal betrothal, but this didn’t stop anyone from seeking their tiny hands. King Henry, for example, hoped since her birth that his daughter would one day be the queen consort of his native France, and was only deterred by the birth of his niece, Catherine Valois (1576). For her part, Queen Jadwiga wished her children to have the same stable childhood that she had in Broniszów and often paid attention to their lives and wellbeing.
As such, her anger at John Sigismund’s boldness was hard to contain. Although John Sigismund had no son, and it was still unknown whether the Polish army could defeat the rebellion, Jadwiga answered her cousin in a very angry letter. “I would rather condemn my daughter to a lifetime in a nunnery than to tie her with your unborn lot. Your futile attempts to take what is rightfully mine have not gone unnoticed by your betters, and I will remind you that, unlike you, I am a Jagiellonka and will not let you steal my inheritance from me. The next time we see each other, cousin, will be on the battlefield.”
The first major battle of the rebellion happened around Volhynia in February 1579. Five hundred men sent by Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł attempted to take the city of Zvyahel, a major town that had once belonged to the Lithuanian noble family Ostrogski before being annexed to the Polish crown. As the city was caught by surprise, the small army easily overrun the three hundred guards present, killing two hundred and imprisoning fifty. Although twenty later died of their wounds, thirty men managed to flee for the safety of Rivne, where the garrison sent desperate letters to their monarchs for help, letting them know what happened.
Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł.
Other letters were sent to Volhynian cities of Lutsk, Volodymyr and Iziaslav. As Jadwiga and Henry gathered the Sejm for permission to use the royal army against the rebels, these three cities attempted to form a sizeable army to retake Zvyahel. Prince Janusz Ostrogski, the voivode, or governor, of Volhynia, brought out his own personal guards to the camp stationed outside of Zvyahel. His wife, Zuzanna Seredi, was remarked as following her husband to the field, cooking and making sure that his shirts were clean and folded for him.
At the time of the seizure of Zvyahel, Jadwiga and Henry were personally preoccupied with the matters of Prussia. Duke Albert Frederick had begun to exhibit signs of mental disorder in 1572 and by the late 1570s, it was clear that a regency would soon be needed. Albert Frederick’s cousin, George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, put himself as a candidate, even going so far as to propose the marriage between himself and Albert Frederick’s sister, Elisabeth, who was then 28 years of age.
There were many who feared George Frederick’s rule over Prussia and the consequences this could have on the country. As Margrave of Brandenburg, he owed his allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II, and since Albert Frederick still had no living sons, his sister’s husband could very well succeed him. If George Frederick and Elisabeth ever had children, there could be a possible future union between Brandenburg and Prussia. Jadwiga, however, refused to consider his candidacy, gaining the unanimous approval of the Sejm. Ever since her mother attempted to abduct her at the Siege of Broniszów in 1561, there was a growing anti-Austrian sentiment amongst the higher polish nobility. The nobles saw an Archduchess trying to take control of the heir as a representation of Austria attempting to rule over Poland, and its arrogance.
Because of this, as her husband worked to consolidate the army to retake Zvyahel, Jadwiga appointed Marek Sobieski as regent of Prussia and took custody of Albert Frederick’s two young daughters, Anna and Marie. More importantly, working with Sobieski’s consent, Jadwiga promised the hand of the Prussian heiress, Anna, to her son and heir, Sigismund. Since the two children were still under the age of consent, Jadwiga stood for Anna and her advisor, Stanisław Żółkiewski, stood for the Grand Duke as proxies during the ceremony. This match could possibly make the dukedom of Prussia belong to the crown, as it had long been just a fiefdom of Poland, and also alleviate the worries of the Sejm, who feared that, with a French father, the heirs to the throne would be too foreign for comfort.
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia.
Although George Frederick was insulted by what he had seen as an offense against his rights, there was little he could do. In fact, shortly before his death in 1581, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II wrote a letter to his niece, congratulating her on the birth of her third child, Henryk, and making no mention of the Prussian matter.
But, when 1579 ended, the Lithuanian revolt was still ongoing. A long battle between the forces of the cities of Rivne, Lutsk, Volodymyr, and Iziaslav and the army of John Sigismund led to a draw between the two sides, failing to retake Zvyahel. Although John Sigismund didn’t lead the army himself, he was seen around the camp, reading speeches in an attempt to raise the morale of his men, most of which were mercenaries.
John Sigismund only managed to disappoint the rebels, however, by failing to be able to speak Lithuanian. He delivered his speech in Polish, which he learned during his years in exile at the court of his uncle, King Sigismund II Augustus. Jadwiga, however, could speak Lithuanian perfectly, and visited the country after her father’s death, gaining some respect for dressing in traditional Lithuanian clothes. In fact, many members of the powerful Radziwiłł family began to wonder the reason for everything, as the months passed without Krystyna announcing a pregnancy that could secure their rebellion. Without a son to show God’s approval and John Sigismund failing to understand their language or customs, some wondered if it had been worth going against the crown just for a male ruler. Some wondered, and others acted.
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sorry for the delay but this time around the year is literally the busiest time of my life, because besides the usual christmas/new years things i had to do, well, it was my birthday two days ago. I also bought the game crusader kings iii and spent the last two days playing it nonstop so that left me no time for writing! hoping to mend that with another update in the next few days, we'll see!
also the polish war isn't over yet! i wasn't a fan of my Scottish civil war chapter only having one major battle, i thought that was pretty weak of me, so I'm kinda trying to redeem myself by being a little more... should i say grim?... in my writings
hope that doesn't bother anyone. i wont do anything too drastic, don't worry!
also the polish war isn't over yet! i wasn't a fan of my Scottish civil war chapter only having one major battle, i thought that was pretty weak of me, so I'm kinda trying to redeem myself by being a little more... should i say grim?... in my writings
hope that doesn't bother anyone. i wont do anything too drastic, don't worry!
It’s the 16th century. Barring a POD centuries in the past, it’s probably going to be grim. I think you’ve done a solid job so far of making it plausibly better here and there .
How is CKIII? I burned out on grand strategy Paradox myself a long time ago—if there’s a Victoria III it might get me back lol—because I loved the idea of the games but hated fighting the stupid systems in them.
. How is CKIII? I burned out on grand strategy Paradox myself a long time ago—if there’s a Victoria III it might get me back lol—because I loved the idea of the games but hated fighting the stupid systems in them.
Happy belated birthday, I was also born on Christmas Eve! I got Crusader Kings III myself and I'm loving it so far... Great update, it's interesting to see how the challenges of being a female ruler affect Jadwiga, and yet through having a male heir she secures her throne against a childless man...
Oh my god what year? I literally love meeting people who were born on the same day as me. My dad tried to convince me that my great-aunt, who is still alive, was born on december 24th and I said, no dad I would remember that!
Yeah, I mean, having a son is basically saying "Look this whole, woman ruling over you is just a phase. Just wait and see, and everything is gonna go back to normal."
It’s the 16th century. Barring a POD centuries in the past, it’s probably going to be grim. I think you’ve done a solid job so far of making it plausibly better here and there
How is CKIII? I burned out on grand strategy Paradox myself a long time ago—if there’s a Victoria III it might get me back lol—because I loved the idea of the games but hated fighting the stupid systems in them.
Yeah, I just thought my Scottish civil war ended too easily. Like I mentioned before, I'm a perfectionist at heart.
It's going okay, I'd say. I wish I had other start dates, specifically later, but I'm guessing that's gonna come with DLCs. My computer isn't made for games, so it's quite laggy, but I don't mind it.
Shouldn't he send letters to Moscow first? I mean expecting that Jadwiga will accept these demands is really foolish and Moscow would probably support this rebellion, as supporting it is in it's best interests - it weakens the concurent and makes independent Lithuania easy prey for them. They should shit their pants out of happiness and attack Livonia. Speaking of which, does it support John Sigismund or Jadwiga?
Issue of Livonia was complicated, because Poland and Lithuania had equal right to it, and how to maintain that with John Sigismund making himself Grand Duke of independent Lithuania?
I doubt if they would care. They advocated for Lithuanian political independence, yes, but they usually didn't know Lithuanian, and regarded it an peasant language.
I cannot wait to see how he'll turn out (as a person). But him being married to Anna probably means that duke of Prussia would be Polish counterpart to Prince of Wales or Dauphin.
Anyways, happy birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy New Yer!
I still don't know what I'll do in regards to Russia. It isn't an Austria situation where I have some ideas, its more like, I'm sort of pretending it doesn't exist until I have any idea on what to do and hoping others won't notice it 😬
There is another country that will also take an interest in this rebellion that will be mentioned in the next Lithuanian revolt chapter which is the ottoman empire. Maybe I will mention them both together, who knows.
If George Frederick marries Albert Frederick's sister Elisabeth a future union between Brandenburg and Prussia will not happen, because George Frederick is just the margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (a small principality located in the region of Franconia), not the ruler of the proper Margraviate / Electorate of Brandenburg.
Furthermore, if ITTL Albert Frederick begins having children in 1576 as IOTL, his eldest son or daughter will inherit the Duchy of Prussia, not the children of his sister Elisabeth.
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Still, who does Livonia and it's inhabitants support? It might be crucial in outcome of this war.
I just started reading about Livonia. We'll see in the next polish chapter.
hey, at least you're better than me. I didn't even know there was a Livonia in Michigan.
Such a great update - I am officially a member of the Jadwiga fan club! Wonderful TL, always so happy to see it come up in my notifications!
Thanks!!! I think Jadwiga is great! I'm trying to decide on some flaws for her, to make her more three dimensional and more real, but for some reason, I keep focusing myself on the seven deadly sins? Lol