Darkest
Banned
This is in respect of Tony Jones' awesome ATL, Puritan World. I love the concept, I like the detailed timeline, and many of the core ideas of the timeline. I would like to make a timeline branching off of his, specifically around 1651, when TTL's Cromwell attempted to create a union with the Puritan Netherlands. The Dutch turned him down just barely. This led to the First Anglo-Dutch War and further developments. But, what if, the Dutch had joined the British Commonwealth at this time?
My timeline will not follow what I want to happen (only in the first few years to create an Anglo-Dutch Commonwealth). After that, only plausibility and the butterfly are law... Well, actually, following TTL's core concept, I will enact a slight turn of the hand towards the Puritans in North America. But only within the realms of reality. Otherwise, I hope to illustrate a Puritan World timeline that diverges because of this crucial detail, and a timeline where I hope a few more realistic actions will be taken (with respect to Tony Jones' supporting facts and information, in my own opinion).
The name of this universe is Berwick, based upon the original point of departure with the battle fought on the River Tweed.
[As an aside, what sort of world might have grown up if Britain and the Netherlands had unified at this point?]
- Tony Jones, 1651 of Puritan World
1635 - 1649
These sections were originally written by Tony Jones. POD
1635
France actively enters the Thirty Years War, siding with Sweden and prolonging the war and the suffering it brings.
The Academie Francaise is established.
1636
A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the first college to be founded in the Americas.
The Chipangese [Japanese] attempt to halt foreign influence in their country by quarantining themselves. Foreign ships are banned from their ports, and their own ships are barred from leaving Chipangu, to the extent that Chipangese junks are to be designed with open sterns and large rudders so that they will be un-seaworthy far from shore.
A sermon preached in Salem, Massachusetts stating that the cross is a symbol of Popery and was therefore the symbol of the antichrist. John Endicott, the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, orders the cross removed from the flags used in Massachusetts. He is stopped by the local legislature, who decide that Endicott has exceeded the limits of his calling and strip him of office. They state that the standard bearers of the colony may adopt any flag they choose. Without exception they remove the cross from their flags.
With the aid of the Dutch, the Chipangese [Japanese] government quells the Christian Shimbara rebellion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury attempts to introduce the Book of Common Prayer into Scotland, by force if necessary. The Scotch, particularly the Presbyterians, seeing this as a shift towards Catholicism, join in a Covenant to resist its introduction, and rise up against the English. What become known as the Bishops Wars begin.
Swedish colonists establish first their settlement in Delaware, which they name New Sweden.
1639
Seeking financial aid for the Bishops' Wars in Scotland, Charles I calls a Parliament for the first time in eleven years. However, Parliament wants to discuss their issues with Charles' rule rather than do what Charles wants, so Charles dissolves what becomes known as the Short Parliament within three weeks.
After some doubt and indecision, an English Army, under King Charles, engages the Scotch Covenanter army on the banks of the River Tweed. Unfortunately, the doubt and indecision continues throughout the battle, and the English, after initial gains, lose heart with a successful Covenanter counter-attack that makes them believe the Scotch are fielding more forces than they actually are, and retreat. Following this Charles decides that an invasion of Scotland is now impossible, and instead negotiates with the Scotch, something both sides are willing to do, despite rumbles of discontent from some of Charles' nobles and army people. [In the real world Charles' army never even engaged the Scotch because of doubt and indecision among its leadership, leading to even more discontent. This is the point of departure of this timeline.]
In the subsequent treaty, the Pacification of Berwick, Charles regains all of his Scotch fortresses, including Edinburgh Castle, and the Covenanter government, the Tables, is dissolved. However, Charles concedes to the calling of a Scotch Parliament and a general assembly of the Scotch Kirk, neither of which are friendly to him.
Connecticut adopts its first constitution, the 'Fundamental Orders'.
The first printing press in North America is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1640
After the military debacle in Scotland, the King accedes to his opponents and summons what becomes known as the Long Parliament, which quickly enacts a series of measures intended to sweep away the various encroachments of despotic monarchy. This is done, but discussion on church reform cause rifts between the Commons and the Lords. However, Parliament still continues to distrust the King.
Portugal regains its independence from Spain. John IV of Portugal becomes its King.
The Bay Psalm Book becomes the first book to be printed in North America.
By now there are over forty thousand British colonists in the New World.
1640 to 1688
Frederick the Great creates the Brandenburg-Prussian state.
1641
A rebellion against British rule begins in Ireland. An army is needed to suppress the rebellion, but the Parliamentarians fear that the King will use it against them. Parliament adopts the Grand Remonstrance, reciting the evils of Charles's reign and demanding church reform and Parliamentary control over the army and over the appointment of royal ministers. These demands split the Parliamentary party and drive most moderates to the Royalist side.
The Dutch establish the first European trading post in Chipangu [Japan] on the artificial island of Dejima, in the bay of Nagasaki.
The Dutch oust the Portuguese from Malacca.
1642
The support of moderate Parliamentarians encourages Charles to assert himself, and in January he attempts to arrest in person five leaders of the opposition in the Commons. This action makes civil war inevitable, but no fighting breaks out right away. Instead, both sides move to secure fortresses, arsenals, and popular support.
In June, Parliament sends the King a statement reiterating the demands of the Grand Remonstrance. Since the proposals amount to a complete surrender of sovereignty by the Crown to Parliament, the King does not even consider them as a basis for discussion. Armed forces, including most Peers from the House of Lords and a nearly half of the Commons, gather about him in the north. [In the real world many peers and a sizeable minority of the Commons supported him.] Parliament organizes its own army and appoints Robert Devereux, Third Earl of Essex, to lead it.
On August 20th, Charles raises his standard at Nottingham. [Slightly earlier than in the real world, where this happened on the 22nd.]
The first major engagement of the armies occurs at Edgehill on October 23rd, and is a drawn battle. [The Parliamentarians do slightly worse in this battle than in the real world.] Charles then establishes himself at Oxford. The Royalist forces gain ground in the north and west, although repeated attempts by the King to advance on London prove to be abortive.
Cardinal Richelieu dies.
Galileo Galilei, Italian scientist, dies.
Georgeana, Massachusetts [York, Maine] becomes the first incorporated city in America.
The Dutch drive the Spanish from Formosa.
Abel Tasman makes the first recorded sighting of New Zealand and Tasmania.
Blaise Pascal produces a mechanical adding machine, the 'Pascaline'.
[Because of the slightly less indecisive performance at the River Tweed in 1639 there is somewhat more support for Charles than in the real world and less for Parliament, so battles are slightly closer and the Parliamentarians slightly less successful.]
1642 to 1659
Anthony van Diemen, Governor General of India for the Dutch East India Company, sends Dutchman Abel Tasman to explore the Pacific Ocean. In the course of his explorations Tasman discovers Mauritius, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), New Zeeland and New Guinea.
1643
Futile negotiations for peace are conducted at Oxford.
A number of indecisive and bloody engagements are remarkable mainly for the emergence of Oliver Cromwell, an inconspicuous member of the Long Parliament, to military prominence with his own regiment of 'godly' men, who soon become famous as the 'Ironsides'. [Cromwell still comes to prominence, as he did in the real world, but the battles, although still indecisive, go slightly less well for the Parliamentarians.]
Parliament secures an alliance with the Presbyterian Scots by accepting the Solemn League and Covenant. Scotch aid is obtained only by a promise to quickly submit England to Presbyterianism. This produces a reaction from the Independents and other sectarians (particularly in the army) who oppose the idea of any centralized national church.
King Louis XIII of France dies and is succeeded by his son, who becomes King Louis XIV at the age of four, with a regent ruling for him.
Cardinal Mazzarini replaces Cardinal Richelieu as Chief Minister to the French Crown, and continues his policies.
The French found Montreal, in Canada.
The New England Confederation is formed.
1644
A Scotch army advances into Yorkshire and gives aid to the Parliamentary army in the north.
Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert, helps to stem Royalist losses by retaking Newark, but only temporarily. Rupert's campaign to relieve the besieged city of York leads to the battle of Marston Moor, where Cromwell and Leslie inflict a crushing defeat on the Royalists.
Charles' forces manage to cut off Essex but shortly afterwards encounter Parliamentary troops from the north in an indecisive engagement at Newbury.
To stem rising dissension among Parliamentary leaders, Cromwell sponsors the Self-Denying Ordinance, by which all members of Parliament are compelled to resign their military commands.
The reorganization of the Parliamentary army into the New Model Army begins with Thomas Fairfax as Commander In Chief.
A peasant revolt brings an end to the Ming Dynasty in China. They are succeeded by the Qing Dynasty, sometimes known as the Manchu Emperors. The regent Dorgun founds the Manchu Dynasty.
1645
Futile peace negotiations occur at Uxbridge.
Charles I, hoping to join the forces of the Marquess of Montrose, moves north and storms Leicester. He meets Cromwell in battle at Naseby, losing a large part of his army. [The Parliamentary army takes slightly more casualties here than in the real world.] This loss renders the Royalist cause essentially hopeless.
Tsar Michael I of Russia, the first of the Romanov dynasty, dies of old age and is succeeded by his son, who becomes Tsar Aleksey I.
British Queen Henrietta Maria flees to France with her children.
1646
Unable to join Montrose, who is defeated in Scotland, and unable to secure aid from Ireland or the Continent, Charles I is unable to halt the Royalist losses. He surrenders himself to the Scots, who make vague but reassuring promises to him.
The First Civil War ends with the surrender of Oxford.
1647
The Scots hand Charles I over to Parliament.
Presbyterian rule in Parliament has alienated the army, who resist Parliament's proposal to disband it by capturing the King and marching on London. As time passes and Parliament refuses to accept the army's peace proposals, their discontent becomes more radical and is coupled with a growing desire to dispose of the King altogether.
Charles escapes and takes refuge on the Isle of Wight, negotiating simultaneously with the Scots and with Parliament.
Charles concludes an agreement with the Scots to accept Presbyterianism in return for their military support.
1648
The Scots invade England, and the Second Civil War begins. Parliamentary forces suppress uprisings in Wales, Kent, Essex and the Midlands. Cromwell defeats the Scots at Preston.
Charles I's appeals for aid to France and Ireland fail to win him any assistance.
The Second Civil War ends.
[Basically the Civil Wars run much as they did in the real world, with Cromwell rising to prominence and battles turning out as they did. However, the Parliamentarians take slightly more casualties and do slightly less well as they have slightly less support. However, this is not enough to seriously affect the overall sequence of events.]
The Thirty Years War ends with the Peace of Westphalia that creates the first secular and religiously tolerant states and re-draws many borders. France having come out of the war in a far better position than any other Power, it is able to dictate much of the treaty, via the work of Cardinal Mazzarini, the de facto leader of France. Spain is forced to recognize the Netherlands and loses its position as the pre-eminent power in Europe to France. Switzerland and the Netherlands officially leave the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire dissolves into separate German states. A key feature of the Peace of Westphalia is that nations no longer have the right to interfere with the internal affairs of other nations, even if they disagree with them.
The French nobility begin a revolt against the Crown over the loss of their political power.
Parliament attempts to reach an agreement with the King. However, the army, now dominated by Cromwell, disposes of its Parliamentary enemies in what becomes known as Pride's Purge, after the man who carries it out, leaving only a legislative remnant known as the Rump Parliament.
The Rump Parliament tries Charles I for treason and finds him guilty. However, there is not enough support for the execution of Charles for him to be condemned to death. Instead, he goes into exile in France, joining his French Catholic wife Queen Henrietta Maria, who has been there with their children since 1645. [This is the major point of departure for this alternate history, as in the real world he was beheaded at this point.]
Russian explorers discover the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alyeska.
1649
Charles I is sent into exile and a republic known as the Commonwealth is set up in Britain, governed by the Rump Parliament and an executive council of state. However, Oliver Cromwell is the real power in the land, and enforces the Puritan moral code under a strict military administration.
The former Charles I is received by the French King, Louis XIV, the Sun King, in Paris, where, with the backing of Cardinal Mazzarini, who sees potential benefits for France in this, he proclaims his support for his fellow monarch against these threats to the divine right of Kings. After considering his options, such as continuing his exile in the nation of his mother, Anne of Denmark, which he rejects due to his wish to avoid a long sea voyage, Charles remains in exile in France.
Many Roman Catholics begin to flee Britain, mostly to France, but some to the New World. Those in France call on Charles I to return to the British throne.
Cromwell requires all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the English Channel to salute any British fleet by lowering their flags.
In Russia, after a number of less extreme measures have failed to keep the peasants on the land, the Tsar imposes a new set of laws codifying serfdom onto the country.
--- 1650 - 1664 ---
1650
Because Charles has some support at home [somewhat more than in the real world, particularly among the nobility], he is able to convince the French King to help him re-take his throne. Although King Louis would like Charles to convert to Catholicism before doing so, his advisors convince him that this is impractical, as it would lose him the support of the vast majority of Britons. Instead, Charles agrees to help the French in a future war.
French money begins to support the British Royalist cause.
René Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, dies.
Archbishop James Ussher in Ireland uses the genealogy listed in the Bible to calculate the age of the Earth. From his calculations, the Earth was created at midday on October 23th, 4004 BC, and is thus some six thousand years old. This leads to the Doctrine of Catastrophism in which the Earth has been shaped by series of giant disasters, fitting many processes into a short time scale.
In the Netherlands, William II, Prince of Orange becomes involved in a quarrel with the province of Holland and the powerful merchants of Amsterdam over troop reductions following the Treaty of Munster. He puts many members of the provincial assembly in prison in the castle of Loevestein. He sends his cousin Willem Frederick of Nassau-Dietz with an army of 10 thousand troops with the aim of taking Amsterdam by force.
[In OTL and Puritan World A, bad weather foils the campaign of Amsterdam. Due to butterflies, the invasion comes a little earlier, and the bad weather is averted.]
After a bloody siege, William Frederick takes the city of Amsterdam, which Prince William II orders under military occupation. Many merchants are imprisoned. This is hugely embittering to Holland and other factions. The assemblies of Friesland and Zeeland come together with Holland to debate action over the matter. It is here that they begin to debate Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell's position as an ally.
[Another butterfly is that Prince William II does not die of smallpox. He lives to see his son, William III, born to his wife Mary Henrietta Stuart.]
1651
A number of Royalist uprisings occur across England, Wales and Ireland. These are brutally crushed.
Having imprisoned many of his enemies in the assembly, as well as powerful merchants that had joined a league against him, Dutch Prince William II feels confident. He makes measure to bolster his land armies, while he cuts funding to his fleets, reflecting his aspirations to conquer land on the European continent. The army was behind him.
In February, William II crowns himself King of the Netherlands and all Dutch possessions, fulfilling the dream of his father, stadtholder Frederick Henry. This begins a republican rebellion within Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, and Utrecht. Part of the army is also disillusioned with the monarchy of William, and turns against him, especially those in Holland who'd helped him imprison many of his enemies in the assembly.
Soon, rebels would take hold in many of the provinces. Many merchants did not like the idea of a King William II, fearing that the Generality Lands (Dutch territory unrepresented within Europe) would rebel and join the Southern Netherlands or France. Rebellion was further encouraged by the victorious raid on the Loevestein prison, which released hundreds of William II's angered enemies.
English royalists taking their homes in the Hague leave for France, ridding it of royalist sentiment. [In OTL and Puritan World A, the passionate royalists in the Hague created a poor environment for the English emissaries, leading to a inconclusive meeting.]
In May, a large English delegation of 276 arrives, somewhat armed, at the Hague, to negotiate the recognisation of the British Commonwealth, conditions under which the Dutch Republic might join the Commonwealth, and how to aid against King William II. At the time, King William II had left for Amsterdam, and republicans performed a bloodless coup and took over The Hague. It was the perfect environment for discussion with the English. Within three weeks the province of Holland and a few other provincial representatives detail a grandiose plan in which the Republic and all of its colonies would join the Commonwealth, the fleets partially combined, with a good amount of self-rule in the United Provinces, and a military contract of tight cooperation.
The Dutch had many reasons to befriend the English. They were both republics (in name more than reality at this point for the English), they were both puritan, they were each naval powers and desired colonies as well. Furthermore, without the regicide of Charles I of England, Cromwell had never enraged the Dutch and had never become an enemy in their eyes.
Oliver Cromwell immediately begins the mobilization of the British navy to create a blockade of the Netherlands. British ships were joined by a wide majority of the Dutch home fleet, who were angry over measures William II had taken against them. Together, they quickly began starving the provinces and landing armies.
The sudden blockade increased opinion against William II, King of Orange. Zeeland was taken very quickly by rebels and British soldiers, along with Friesland, a majority of Holland, and Groningen. Meanwhile, the stadtholders, William II and his new armies bolstered Utrecht and Gelderland. Conventional war began, with the British being turned back in a particularly bloody battle at Hilversum. At the end of the year, much of Brabant and Utrecht had been taken, with the British/Dutch republican forces making significant ground.
With both rumors and evidence of plots against the government supported by funds provided by Charles I in France, British Roman Catholics become persecuted increasingly harshly. Because of this the number of Catholics fleeing the country rises.
In Ireland perhaps half of the population is killed in the suppression of their revolt, with many fleeing to Europe or being sent to the New World as slaves. Many British and Scotch settlers move to Ireland, with the Irish they are replacing being transplanted to poor-quality land in the west of Ireland.
1652
In the early spring, an important battle at the Rhine in Gelderland sent the Orangist armies fleeing. William II later drowns as his ferry boat sinks while trying to cross the Waal River. His armies begin to disband immediately, and British soldiers along with Dutch militia, dissenters, and rebels, make sweeping conquests to ridding monarchist power in the provinces. By the summer Oliver Cromwell declares the war in the Netherlands over. The blockade was soon lifted.
Emissaries sent once more from the Commonwealth convene in The Hague with new representatives. The Dutch immediately began negotiations to adopt the United Provinces of the Netherlands into the Commonwealth. A union was eventually agreed upon, with a fair share of Dutch representatives in London, along with a good part of self-rule in the Provinces, in trade for a combination of Anglo-Dutch colonies, and for the cooperation (but not combination) of the two fleets and their leadership. Meanwhile, British and Dutch soldiers began a partial occupation of all of the Provinces, and began hunting down royalists and Orangists, banishing, imprisoning, or sometimes even killing them outright (though exile was the most popular choice).
The Dutch East India Company founds Cape Town.
Rhode Island becomes the first settlement in North America to make slavery illegal.
1653
Oliver Cromwell consolidates power in the Netherlands. A combined Anglo-Dutch army expands to create a strict authority in the provinces. It would become every bit of a dictatorship as that of Britain.
In Canterbury, England, a royalist uprising had begun. It was chaotic enough that King Charles I set sail from France with a small army to lead it, but was retreated back across the Channel only four hours after landfall when further news was received. The uprising is put down brutally, causing Cromwell to re-evaluate the situation at home.
Within a matter of months, radical changes in England take place. Cromwell dissolves the Parliament, believing it to have become a den of royalists. Accepting a constitutional document from a group of army officers, he assumes the title Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, agreeing to share his power with a Council of State and a Parliament of one house. Britain becomes a Protectorate, a dictatorship resting on the power of an army.
Furthermore, Lord Protector Cromwell divides the country into eight military districts, each under the administration of a major general who enforces the rigidly puritanical laws and collects taxes. With Royalist unrest in many across the country, harsh measures are sometimes imposed by the major generals of the various military districts, alienating significant sections of the population. [This actually occurred in 1655.]
Strict puritanical measures are established in Britain and somewhat in the Netherlands.
1654
The provinces in the Netherlands are reformed. Zeeland is absorbed into Holland. Groningen is taken into Friesland. Utrecht becomes part of Gelderland. The Generality-Lands, autonomous but without the vote, were also divided. A majority of them became the new province of Staats-Brabant, which absorbed the southern territories including Limburg. The new Provinces of the Dutch Protectorate now consisted of Holland, Friesland, Gelderland, Overijssel, and Brabant, creating a balanced five.
1654 - The Third English Civil War
More Royalist uprisings occur, and spread. They gain strength from those upset with the sweeping radical acts of Cromwell the year before. Royalist anger is cooked with the purging of their kind and the Orangists in the Netherlands. Charles I takes his chance; he fears the Commonwealth taking the Netherlands and using new territory to create an unshakeable empire. An army of expatriates accompanies him and sails for England. Landing in Dover, Royalist supporters rally to the King, while anti-Royalists rally to Cromwell. The Third Civil War begins.
In other news, the Commonwealth formally absorbs the New Netherlands into their other colonies on the American continent. Dutch ships open up in part to trade easier with English ports, increasing the status of life in the colonies. Dutch investors rush to make money off of the English colonies, while English Puritans make steady advancements into leveling the population difference between New England and the New Netherlands.
[No war breaks out between England and Spain here, as happened in the real world, leaving Dunkirk in Spanish hands. Jamaica also remains nominally Spanish, although in reality they had abandoned it by this point. Because of this abandonment it becomes a haunt for pirates and other unsavory types, even more so than in the real world, and without at least nominal British oversight.]
War begins between Russia and Poland over the Ukraine after the Russian Army seizes the city of Smolensk.
Uprisings up and down the country support the King, but the army is well-used to suppressing this sort of thing by now, and many of the people still support Cromwell, turning neighbor against neighbor yet again. Major battles take place at Naseby and Ireton.
[The Great Fire does not occur here as in Puritan World A, as such, this bastion of Parliamentarian forces prevails, and with more morale due to the conquest of the Netherlands and less Royalist morale due to the lack of a Great Fire, the Parliamentarians keep a strong advantage.]
French astronomer Abbé Jean Picard measures the length of a degree of longitude and computes from it the size of the Earth, at the same time defining a prime meridian of longitude running through Paris.
1656
With signs that the Parliamentarians were slowly but surely holding their weight, King Charles I decides to end hostilities, lest he burn out his armies, and he sails back to France. Nevertheless, large amounts of damage have wrecked a good part of the country. The flames of Royalist support has not disappeared, however, it was merely because of the army that the dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell survived. Indeed, a decent percentage of the British populace support King Charles I.
The war between Poland, Ducal Prussia, Russia and Transylvania ends.
The Dutch abandon attempts to oust the Portuguese from Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
1657
The Commonwealth extends toleration to Jews, Protestants (non-Anglicans), and Roman Catholics, upon aggressive measures from the Dutch communities.
The Netherlands left the Third Civil War with a little bit more approval for the Cromwell regime. Their ships and armies had played a small but significant part in the civil war, and many returned as veterans. Some Orangists and anti-Cromwell forces still remain in the Netherlands, especially in the southwest. However, the Dutch army has expanded greatly, and the same military dictatorship found within Britain begins to be very apparent in the Dutch provinces.
Cromwell reduces the money being invested in the Dutch navy, so as to try and finally gain a balance against them on the seas, while pushing forward the idea of Dutch land armies so that expansion could be possible, as well as for security. British soldiers in the Netherlands are slowly being phased out (yet many of them stay behind, with the Netherlands being favorable to Britain). Many attempts are made at Anglo-Dutch mixed fleets, with varying results, and no real resolution.
The Fire of the Long Sleeves lays waste to three-quarters of Tokyo's buildings and kills an estimated one hundred thousand people.
My timeline will not follow what I want to happen (only in the first few years to create an Anglo-Dutch Commonwealth). After that, only plausibility and the butterfly are law... Well, actually, following TTL's core concept, I will enact a slight turn of the hand towards the Puritans in North America. But only within the realms of reality. Otherwise, I hope to illustrate a Puritan World timeline that diverges because of this crucial detail, and a timeline where I hope a few more realistic actions will be taken (with respect to Tony Jones' supporting facts and information, in my own opinion).
The name of this universe is Berwick, based upon the original point of departure with the battle fought on the River Tweed.
[As an aside, what sort of world might have grown up if Britain and the Netherlands had unified at this point?]
- Tony Jones, 1651 of Puritan World
1635 - 1649
These sections were originally written by Tony Jones. POD
1635
France actively enters the Thirty Years War, siding with Sweden and prolonging the war and the suffering it brings.
The Academie Francaise is established.
1636
A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the first college to be founded in the Americas.
The Chipangese [Japanese] attempt to halt foreign influence in their country by quarantining themselves. Foreign ships are banned from their ports, and their own ships are barred from leaving Chipangu, to the extent that Chipangese junks are to be designed with open sterns and large rudders so that they will be un-seaworthy far from shore.
A sermon preached in Salem, Massachusetts stating that the cross is a symbol of Popery and was therefore the symbol of the antichrist. John Endicott, the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, orders the cross removed from the flags used in Massachusetts. He is stopped by the local legislature, who decide that Endicott has exceeded the limits of his calling and strip him of office. They state that the standard bearers of the colony may adopt any flag they choose. Without exception they remove the cross from their flags.
With the aid of the Dutch, the Chipangese [Japanese] government quells the Christian Shimbara rebellion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury attempts to introduce the Book of Common Prayer into Scotland, by force if necessary. The Scotch, particularly the Presbyterians, seeing this as a shift towards Catholicism, join in a Covenant to resist its introduction, and rise up against the English. What become known as the Bishops Wars begin.
Swedish colonists establish first their settlement in Delaware, which they name New Sweden.
1639
Seeking financial aid for the Bishops' Wars in Scotland, Charles I calls a Parliament for the first time in eleven years. However, Parliament wants to discuss their issues with Charles' rule rather than do what Charles wants, so Charles dissolves what becomes known as the Short Parliament within three weeks.
After some doubt and indecision, an English Army, under King Charles, engages the Scotch Covenanter army on the banks of the River Tweed. Unfortunately, the doubt and indecision continues throughout the battle, and the English, after initial gains, lose heart with a successful Covenanter counter-attack that makes them believe the Scotch are fielding more forces than they actually are, and retreat. Following this Charles decides that an invasion of Scotland is now impossible, and instead negotiates with the Scotch, something both sides are willing to do, despite rumbles of discontent from some of Charles' nobles and army people. [In the real world Charles' army never even engaged the Scotch because of doubt and indecision among its leadership, leading to even more discontent. This is the point of departure of this timeline.]
In the subsequent treaty, the Pacification of Berwick, Charles regains all of his Scotch fortresses, including Edinburgh Castle, and the Covenanter government, the Tables, is dissolved. However, Charles concedes to the calling of a Scotch Parliament and a general assembly of the Scotch Kirk, neither of which are friendly to him.
Connecticut adopts its first constitution, the 'Fundamental Orders'.
The first printing press in North America is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1640
After the military debacle in Scotland, the King accedes to his opponents and summons what becomes known as the Long Parliament, which quickly enacts a series of measures intended to sweep away the various encroachments of despotic monarchy. This is done, but discussion on church reform cause rifts between the Commons and the Lords. However, Parliament still continues to distrust the King.
Portugal regains its independence from Spain. John IV of Portugal becomes its King.
The Bay Psalm Book becomes the first book to be printed in North America.
By now there are over forty thousand British colonists in the New World.
1640 to 1688
Frederick the Great creates the Brandenburg-Prussian state.
1641
A rebellion against British rule begins in Ireland. An army is needed to suppress the rebellion, but the Parliamentarians fear that the King will use it against them. Parliament adopts the Grand Remonstrance, reciting the evils of Charles's reign and demanding church reform and Parliamentary control over the army and over the appointment of royal ministers. These demands split the Parliamentary party and drive most moderates to the Royalist side.
The Dutch establish the first European trading post in Chipangu [Japan] on the artificial island of Dejima, in the bay of Nagasaki.
The Dutch oust the Portuguese from Malacca.
1642
The support of moderate Parliamentarians encourages Charles to assert himself, and in January he attempts to arrest in person five leaders of the opposition in the Commons. This action makes civil war inevitable, but no fighting breaks out right away. Instead, both sides move to secure fortresses, arsenals, and popular support.
In June, Parliament sends the King a statement reiterating the demands of the Grand Remonstrance. Since the proposals amount to a complete surrender of sovereignty by the Crown to Parliament, the King does not even consider them as a basis for discussion. Armed forces, including most Peers from the House of Lords and a nearly half of the Commons, gather about him in the north. [In the real world many peers and a sizeable minority of the Commons supported him.] Parliament organizes its own army and appoints Robert Devereux, Third Earl of Essex, to lead it.
On August 20th, Charles raises his standard at Nottingham. [Slightly earlier than in the real world, where this happened on the 22nd.]
The first major engagement of the armies occurs at Edgehill on October 23rd, and is a drawn battle. [The Parliamentarians do slightly worse in this battle than in the real world.] Charles then establishes himself at Oxford. The Royalist forces gain ground in the north and west, although repeated attempts by the King to advance on London prove to be abortive.
Cardinal Richelieu dies.
Galileo Galilei, Italian scientist, dies.
Georgeana, Massachusetts [York, Maine] becomes the first incorporated city in America.
The Dutch drive the Spanish from Formosa.
Abel Tasman makes the first recorded sighting of New Zealand and Tasmania.
Blaise Pascal produces a mechanical adding machine, the 'Pascaline'.
[Because of the slightly less indecisive performance at the River Tweed in 1639 there is somewhat more support for Charles than in the real world and less for Parliament, so battles are slightly closer and the Parliamentarians slightly less successful.]
1642 to 1659
Anthony van Diemen, Governor General of India for the Dutch East India Company, sends Dutchman Abel Tasman to explore the Pacific Ocean. In the course of his explorations Tasman discovers Mauritius, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), New Zeeland and New Guinea.
1643
Futile negotiations for peace are conducted at Oxford.
A number of indecisive and bloody engagements are remarkable mainly for the emergence of Oliver Cromwell, an inconspicuous member of the Long Parliament, to military prominence with his own regiment of 'godly' men, who soon become famous as the 'Ironsides'. [Cromwell still comes to prominence, as he did in the real world, but the battles, although still indecisive, go slightly less well for the Parliamentarians.]
Parliament secures an alliance with the Presbyterian Scots by accepting the Solemn League and Covenant. Scotch aid is obtained only by a promise to quickly submit England to Presbyterianism. This produces a reaction from the Independents and other sectarians (particularly in the army) who oppose the idea of any centralized national church.
King Louis XIII of France dies and is succeeded by his son, who becomes King Louis XIV at the age of four, with a regent ruling for him.
Cardinal Mazzarini replaces Cardinal Richelieu as Chief Minister to the French Crown, and continues his policies.
The French found Montreal, in Canada.
The New England Confederation is formed.
1644
A Scotch army advances into Yorkshire and gives aid to the Parliamentary army in the north.
Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert, helps to stem Royalist losses by retaking Newark, but only temporarily. Rupert's campaign to relieve the besieged city of York leads to the battle of Marston Moor, where Cromwell and Leslie inflict a crushing defeat on the Royalists.
Charles' forces manage to cut off Essex but shortly afterwards encounter Parliamentary troops from the north in an indecisive engagement at Newbury.
To stem rising dissension among Parliamentary leaders, Cromwell sponsors the Self-Denying Ordinance, by which all members of Parliament are compelled to resign their military commands.
The reorganization of the Parliamentary army into the New Model Army begins with Thomas Fairfax as Commander In Chief.
A peasant revolt brings an end to the Ming Dynasty in China. They are succeeded by the Qing Dynasty, sometimes known as the Manchu Emperors. The regent Dorgun founds the Manchu Dynasty.
1645
Futile peace negotiations occur at Uxbridge.
Charles I, hoping to join the forces of the Marquess of Montrose, moves north and storms Leicester. He meets Cromwell in battle at Naseby, losing a large part of his army. [The Parliamentary army takes slightly more casualties here than in the real world.] This loss renders the Royalist cause essentially hopeless.
Tsar Michael I of Russia, the first of the Romanov dynasty, dies of old age and is succeeded by his son, who becomes Tsar Aleksey I.
British Queen Henrietta Maria flees to France with her children.
1646
Unable to join Montrose, who is defeated in Scotland, and unable to secure aid from Ireland or the Continent, Charles I is unable to halt the Royalist losses. He surrenders himself to the Scots, who make vague but reassuring promises to him.
The First Civil War ends with the surrender of Oxford.
1647
The Scots hand Charles I over to Parliament.
Presbyterian rule in Parliament has alienated the army, who resist Parliament's proposal to disband it by capturing the King and marching on London. As time passes and Parliament refuses to accept the army's peace proposals, their discontent becomes more radical and is coupled with a growing desire to dispose of the King altogether.
Charles escapes and takes refuge on the Isle of Wight, negotiating simultaneously with the Scots and with Parliament.
Charles concludes an agreement with the Scots to accept Presbyterianism in return for their military support.
1648
The Scots invade England, and the Second Civil War begins. Parliamentary forces suppress uprisings in Wales, Kent, Essex and the Midlands. Cromwell defeats the Scots at Preston.
Charles I's appeals for aid to France and Ireland fail to win him any assistance.
The Second Civil War ends.
[Basically the Civil Wars run much as they did in the real world, with Cromwell rising to prominence and battles turning out as they did. However, the Parliamentarians take slightly more casualties and do slightly less well as they have slightly less support. However, this is not enough to seriously affect the overall sequence of events.]
The Thirty Years War ends with the Peace of Westphalia that creates the first secular and religiously tolerant states and re-draws many borders. France having come out of the war in a far better position than any other Power, it is able to dictate much of the treaty, via the work of Cardinal Mazzarini, the de facto leader of France. Spain is forced to recognize the Netherlands and loses its position as the pre-eminent power in Europe to France. Switzerland and the Netherlands officially leave the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire dissolves into separate German states. A key feature of the Peace of Westphalia is that nations no longer have the right to interfere with the internal affairs of other nations, even if they disagree with them.
The French nobility begin a revolt against the Crown over the loss of their political power.
Parliament attempts to reach an agreement with the King. However, the army, now dominated by Cromwell, disposes of its Parliamentary enemies in what becomes known as Pride's Purge, after the man who carries it out, leaving only a legislative remnant known as the Rump Parliament.
The Rump Parliament tries Charles I for treason and finds him guilty. However, there is not enough support for the execution of Charles for him to be condemned to death. Instead, he goes into exile in France, joining his French Catholic wife Queen Henrietta Maria, who has been there with their children since 1645. [This is the major point of departure for this alternate history, as in the real world he was beheaded at this point.]
Russian explorers discover the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alyeska.
1649
Charles I is sent into exile and a republic known as the Commonwealth is set up in Britain, governed by the Rump Parliament and an executive council of state. However, Oliver Cromwell is the real power in the land, and enforces the Puritan moral code under a strict military administration.
The former Charles I is received by the French King, Louis XIV, the Sun King, in Paris, where, with the backing of Cardinal Mazzarini, who sees potential benefits for France in this, he proclaims his support for his fellow monarch against these threats to the divine right of Kings. After considering his options, such as continuing his exile in the nation of his mother, Anne of Denmark, which he rejects due to his wish to avoid a long sea voyage, Charles remains in exile in France.
Many Roman Catholics begin to flee Britain, mostly to France, but some to the New World. Those in France call on Charles I to return to the British throne.
Cromwell requires all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the English Channel to salute any British fleet by lowering their flags.
In Russia, after a number of less extreme measures have failed to keep the peasants on the land, the Tsar imposes a new set of laws codifying serfdom onto the country.
--- 1650 - 1664 ---
1650
Because Charles has some support at home [somewhat more than in the real world, particularly among the nobility], he is able to convince the French King to help him re-take his throne. Although King Louis would like Charles to convert to Catholicism before doing so, his advisors convince him that this is impractical, as it would lose him the support of the vast majority of Britons. Instead, Charles agrees to help the French in a future war.
French money begins to support the British Royalist cause.
René Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, dies.
Archbishop James Ussher in Ireland uses the genealogy listed in the Bible to calculate the age of the Earth. From his calculations, the Earth was created at midday on October 23th, 4004 BC, and is thus some six thousand years old. This leads to the Doctrine of Catastrophism in which the Earth has been shaped by series of giant disasters, fitting many processes into a short time scale.
In the Netherlands, William II, Prince of Orange becomes involved in a quarrel with the province of Holland and the powerful merchants of Amsterdam over troop reductions following the Treaty of Munster. He puts many members of the provincial assembly in prison in the castle of Loevestein. He sends his cousin Willem Frederick of Nassau-Dietz with an army of 10 thousand troops with the aim of taking Amsterdam by force.
[In OTL and Puritan World A, bad weather foils the campaign of Amsterdam. Due to butterflies, the invasion comes a little earlier, and the bad weather is averted.]
After a bloody siege, William Frederick takes the city of Amsterdam, which Prince William II orders under military occupation. Many merchants are imprisoned. This is hugely embittering to Holland and other factions. The assemblies of Friesland and Zeeland come together with Holland to debate action over the matter. It is here that they begin to debate Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell's position as an ally.
[Another butterfly is that Prince William II does not die of smallpox. He lives to see his son, William III, born to his wife Mary Henrietta Stuart.]
1651
A number of Royalist uprisings occur across England, Wales and Ireland. These are brutally crushed.
Having imprisoned many of his enemies in the assembly, as well as powerful merchants that had joined a league against him, Dutch Prince William II feels confident. He makes measure to bolster his land armies, while he cuts funding to his fleets, reflecting his aspirations to conquer land on the European continent. The army was behind him.
In February, William II crowns himself King of the Netherlands and all Dutch possessions, fulfilling the dream of his father, stadtholder Frederick Henry. This begins a republican rebellion within Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, and Utrecht. Part of the army is also disillusioned with the monarchy of William, and turns against him, especially those in Holland who'd helped him imprison many of his enemies in the assembly.
Soon, rebels would take hold in many of the provinces. Many merchants did not like the idea of a King William II, fearing that the Generality Lands (Dutch territory unrepresented within Europe) would rebel and join the Southern Netherlands or France. Rebellion was further encouraged by the victorious raid on the Loevestein prison, which released hundreds of William II's angered enemies.
English royalists taking their homes in the Hague leave for France, ridding it of royalist sentiment. [In OTL and Puritan World A, the passionate royalists in the Hague created a poor environment for the English emissaries, leading to a inconclusive meeting.]
In May, a large English delegation of 276 arrives, somewhat armed, at the Hague, to negotiate the recognisation of the British Commonwealth, conditions under which the Dutch Republic might join the Commonwealth, and how to aid against King William II. At the time, King William II had left for Amsterdam, and republicans performed a bloodless coup and took over The Hague. It was the perfect environment for discussion with the English. Within three weeks the province of Holland and a few other provincial representatives detail a grandiose plan in which the Republic and all of its colonies would join the Commonwealth, the fleets partially combined, with a good amount of self-rule in the United Provinces, and a military contract of tight cooperation.
The Dutch had many reasons to befriend the English. They were both republics (in name more than reality at this point for the English), they were both puritan, they were each naval powers and desired colonies as well. Furthermore, without the regicide of Charles I of England, Cromwell had never enraged the Dutch and had never become an enemy in their eyes.
Oliver Cromwell immediately begins the mobilization of the British navy to create a blockade of the Netherlands. British ships were joined by a wide majority of the Dutch home fleet, who were angry over measures William II had taken against them. Together, they quickly began starving the provinces and landing armies.
The sudden blockade increased opinion against William II, King of Orange. Zeeland was taken very quickly by rebels and British soldiers, along with Friesland, a majority of Holland, and Groningen. Meanwhile, the stadtholders, William II and his new armies bolstered Utrecht and Gelderland. Conventional war began, with the British being turned back in a particularly bloody battle at Hilversum. At the end of the year, much of Brabant and Utrecht had been taken, with the British/Dutch republican forces making significant ground.
With both rumors and evidence of plots against the government supported by funds provided by Charles I in France, British Roman Catholics become persecuted increasingly harshly. Because of this the number of Catholics fleeing the country rises.
In Ireland perhaps half of the population is killed in the suppression of their revolt, with many fleeing to Europe or being sent to the New World as slaves. Many British and Scotch settlers move to Ireland, with the Irish they are replacing being transplanted to poor-quality land in the west of Ireland.
1652
In the early spring, an important battle at the Rhine in Gelderland sent the Orangist armies fleeing. William II later drowns as his ferry boat sinks while trying to cross the Waal River. His armies begin to disband immediately, and British soldiers along with Dutch militia, dissenters, and rebels, make sweeping conquests to ridding monarchist power in the provinces. By the summer Oliver Cromwell declares the war in the Netherlands over. The blockade was soon lifted.
Emissaries sent once more from the Commonwealth convene in The Hague with new representatives. The Dutch immediately began negotiations to adopt the United Provinces of the Netherlands into the Commonwealth. A union was eventually agreed upon, with a fair share of Dutch representatives in London, along with a good part of self-rule in the Provinces, in trade for a combination of Anglo-Dutch colonies, and for the cooperation (but not combination) of the two fleets and their leadership. Meanwhile, British and Dutch soldiers began a partial occupation of all of the Provinces, and began hunting down royalists and Orangists, banishing, imprisoning, or sometimes even killing them outright (though exile was the most popular choice).
The Dutch East India Company founds Cape Town.
Rhode Island becomes the first settlement in North America to make slavery illegal.
1653
Oliver Cromwell consolidates power in the Netherlands. A combined Anglo-Dutch army expands to create a strict authority in the provinces. It would become every bit of a dictatorship as that of Britain.
In Canterbury, England, a royalist uprising had begun. It was chaotic enough that King Charles I set sail from France with a small army to lead it, but was retreated back across the Channel only four hours after landfall when further news was received. The uprising is put down brutally, causing Cromwell to re-evaluate the situation at home.
Within a matter of months, radical changes in England take place. Cromwell dissolves the Parliament, believing it to have become a den of royalists. Accepting a constitutional document from a group of army officers, he assumes the title Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, agreeing to share his power with a Council of State and a Parliament of one house. Britain becomes a Protectorate, a dictatorship resting on the power of an army.
Furthermore, Lord Protector Cromwell divides the country into eight military districts, each under the administration of a major general who enforces the rigidly puritanical laws and collects taxes. With Royalist unrest in many across the country, harsh measures are sometimes imposed by the major generals of the various military districts, alienating significant sections of the population. [This actually occurred in 1655.]
Strict puritanical measures are established in Britain and somewhat in the Netherlands.
1654
The provinces in the Netherlands are reformed. Zeeland is absorbed into Holland. Groningen is taken into Friesland. Utrecht becomes part of Gelderland. The Generality-Lands, autonomous but without the vote, were also divided. A majority of them became the new province of Staats-Brabant, which absorbed the southern territories including Limburg. The new Provinces of the Dutch Protectorate now consisted of Holland, Friesland, Gelderland, Overijssel, and Brabant, creating a balanced five.
1654 - The Third English Civil War
More Royalist uprisings occur, and spread. They gain strength from those upset with the sweeping radical acts of Cromwell the year before. Royalist anger is cooked with the purging of their kind and the Orangists in the Netherlands. Charles I takes his chance; he fears the Commonwealth taking the Netherlands and using new territory to create an unshakeable empire. An army of expatriates accompanies him and sails for England. Landing in Dover, Royalist supporters rally to the King, while anti-Royalists rally to Cromwell. The Third Civil War begins.
In other news, the Commonwealth formally absorbs the New Netherlands into their other colonies on the American continent. Dutch ships open up in part to trade easier with English ports, increasing the status of life in the colonies. Dutch investors rush to make money off of the English colonies, while English Puritans make steady advancements into leveling the population difference between New England and the New Netherlands.
[No war breaks out between England and Spain here, as happened in the real world, leaving Dunkirk in Spanish hands. Jamaica also remains nominally Spanish, although in reality they had abandoned it by this point. Because of this abandonment it becomes a haunt for pirates and other unsavory types, even more so than in the real world, and without at least nominal British oversight.]
War begins between Russia and Poland over the Ukraine after the Russian Army seizes the city of Smolensk.
Uprisings up and down the country support the King, but the army is well-used to suppressing this sort of thing by now, and many of the people still support Cromwell, turning neighbor against neighbor yet again. Major battles take place at Naseby and Ireton.
[The Great Fire does not occur here as in Puritan World A, as such, this bastion of Parliamentarian forces prevails, and with more morale due to the conquest of the Netherlands and less Royalist morale due to the lack of a Great Fire, the Parliamentarians keep a strong advantage.]
French astronomer Abbé Jean Picard measures the length of a degree of longitude and computes from it the size of the Earth, at the same time defining a prime meridian of longitude running through Paris.
1656
With signs that the Parliamentarians were slowly but surely holding their weight, King Charles I decides to end hostilities, lest he burn out his armies, and he sails back to France. Nevertheless, large amounts of damage have wrecked a good part of the country. The flames of Royalist support has not disappeared, however, it was merely because of the army that the dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell survived. Indeed, a decent percentage of the British populace support King Charles I.
The war between Poland, Ducal Prussia, Russia and Transylvania ends.
The Dutch abandon attempts to oust the Portuguese from Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
1657
The Commonwealth extends toleration to Jews, Protestants (non-Anglicans), and Roman Catholics, upon aggressive measures from the Dutch communities.
The Netherlands left the Third Civil War with a little bit more approval for the Cromwell regime. Their ships and armies had played a small but significant part in the civil war, and many returned as veterans. Some Orangists and anti-Cromwell forces still remain in the Netherlands, especially in the southwest. However, the Dutch army has expanded greatly, and the same military dictatorship found within Britain begins to be very apparent in the Dutch provinces.
Cromwell reduces the money being invested in the Dutch navy, so as to try and finally gain a balance against them on the seas, while pushing forward the idea of Dutch land armies so that expansion could be possible, as well as for security. British soldiers in the Netherlands are slowly being phased out (yet many of them stay behind, with the Netherlands being favorable to Britain). Many attempts are made at Anglo-Dutch mixed fleets, with varying results, and no real resolution.
The Fire of the Long Sleeves lays waste to three-quarters of Tokyo's buildings and kills an estimated one hundred thousand people.
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