'Berwick' - Puritan World B

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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.
 
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Who are these "Scotch"

Just a gentle reminder...

"Scotch" is a whiskey distilled in Scotland...."Scots" are people who live in Scotland. :D
 

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1658
King Charles X Gustav of Sweden crosses the Little Belt and Great Belt during the dead of a very cold winter in January, as they had frozen solid, creating a land bridge between Sweden and Denmark. Just by the fact of this miracle, Denmark ceded much of their lands outside of their peninsula and home islands to Sweden, just to keep the rest.

However, in May, the Swedish king decides that this is not enough, and chooses to defy international equity for conquest. Charles desires to wipe this inconvenient rival from the map and control the glorious transit into the Baltic Sea forever. His armies land at Zealand and begin a siege of Copenhagen.

[In 1658, when King Charles launched his siege of Copenhagen, the Danish messaged the Dutch to save them according to a treaty of alliance signed in 1649. In TTL, however, the Dutch are more preoccupied with a pro-Swedish Cromwell to do anything. Their ships never come to rescue Copenhagen from the Swedes, and they never aid the Danish resistance at all, a horrible setback for the country.]

Copenhagen defends itself for a long while. King Frederick III of Denmark declares he will stay within the city defending it until his death. Every civilian is given a weapon. The walls are armed with 7000 cannons. However, after many casualties, and in the freezing winter, Swedes storm a weak point in the city walls, capturing King Frederick and forcing them to surrender on November 18th.

[The Dutch never take Ceylon [Sri Lanka] from the Portuguese.]

1659
Oliver Cromwell survives an assassination attempt. He bolsters his personal security force, and rarely journeys too far away from his home and offices.

Seeing Ireland once more as a hotspot for rebellious activity, the Lord Protector begins a purge of the island, but only a few executions are heard of. Instead, Cromwell deports another large Irish population to the New World, mainly Barbados, but also to New England.

Swedish King Charles X Gustav leads armies against armies in Jutland and Norway. His armies take victory after victory. The native resistance is weak, with a hard winter behind them, their capital city taken, their king kidnapped, and with no help in sight. Within months, the Danish Empire has been broken utterly.

The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, formally ending the existence of the Kingdom of Denmark. Sweden annexes the peninsula of Jutland, and all Danish territories, including all of Norway. King Frederick the Third is kept hostage at Stockholm. Monarchist forces in Jutland continue to resist his rule.

1660
Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell dies of natural causes. [In OTL he died in 1658, in Puritan World A he died in 1662.] His son Richard Cromwell takes his place. The two extra years has given Richard a little bit more experience, some of his father’s extremist, radical stance, and has made him an adequate leader.

However, there are many problems throughout the Anglo-Dutch Protectorate. There is a financial crisis within England, stalled by his father, now raging at his doorsteps. Wide-scale royalist rebellions begin with the news of Oliver’s death. The military demands new taxes upon the already high ones to support their ranks, though the nation is severely in debt. The Netherlands, beforehand treated with self-taxation, is now given taxes on par with those in Britain, to pay for the army.

The Parliament is recalled. [They do not dare resist the new taxes for the military, as a civil war is very close, and royalism is raging.] Several new Dutch representatives are adopted.

The Netherlands is suddenly not in a good position with the Cromwell regime. Representation, self-rule (excepting, now, taxes), and minority protection was evident throughout the Dutch provinces. However, many new taxes were suddenly issued, laws continued to be very strict and puritanical, and the Netherlands were enduring a military occupation. Internationally, the Dutch had been cut down. Denmark, a close ally of the Dutch, had been consumed by the Swedish Empire without any comment from the Lord Protector. The Baltics, a huge part of the Dutch merchant empire, had been shut off from the Swedish. Furthermore, Dutch colonies were completely overrun by the English, and the Netherlands was left with less and less of a navy to make a difference.

As such, an open rebellion begins in the Netherlands against the Commonwealth begins immediately following the death of the Lord Protector. A British blockade begins, but just as the Dutch helped the British in 1651, now they begin to fight back. However, since the British do have a large fleet (one unhindered by OTL’s First Anglo-Dutch War), many are cowed into submission. Battles rage throughout the Channel against rebellious Dutch ships of war.

The Dutch East India Company assumes control of the abandoned Danish colony at Trankebar.

[Because of the unrest and disruption of this period, the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge is not founded in this year, or indeed ever. Britain at this point is ruled by despotic King, returned to the throne after a very different and much more violent restoration of the British monarchy. Its political system has more emphasis on the King as an absolute ruler than in the real world, the persecution, imprisonment and execution of the enemies of the King is commonplace, and Parliament is much less powerful than in the real world. Because of all of this, Britain at this point in time has an intellectual environment that is much more hostile to an institution such as the Royal Society than was the case in the real world under Charles II at this time.]

[In the absence of the Royal Society, advancement in science and technology is slowed significantly compared to the real world.]

1661
In March, in London, a cooking fire gets out of control. The fire spreads rapidly throughout the city, beginning the Great Fire of London. [This happened in OTL in 1666, in Puritan World A in 1656.] The fire begins widespread royalist rebellion throughout England, who joins the Dutch against Cromwell and the Protectorate.

King Charles I return from France to head the restoration of the monarchy with a veteran army, once more. The Fourth English Civil War is in full swing, with major battles in Dover, Ireton, and the outskirts of London. The Parliamentarians are very quickly outmatched. Richard Cromwell finds wisdom in escaping the island, and takes his family and his secretary’s family on a ship to Boston. With his flight, resistance to Charles and the royalists quickly collapses. The Fourth English Civil War ends within six months. King Charles the First once again takes the throne, with the populace widely supporting him, and he sets about consolidating his rule.

In the Netherlands, the British and their militaries are ousted by a strong Dutch army. Much of the old order is restored. However, much is also changed. There is a much larger army, many veterans, and well-trained. The Orangists have been nearly totally expelled from the country, though some do return (though only in Brabant does an Orange take the position of stadtholder). The Provinces themselves are also very different. Some do change back things to the old ways. Utrecht is made a province again, as well as Groningen. Zeeland, however, decides to remain part of Holland (with its population overwhelmed as a concentrated area of Anglo-Dutch relationships). Brabant, with its other Generality-Lands intact, stays as a province, and is given the vote (having been settled much more by monarchists and anti-Cromwellists). A large number of Puritan and Parliamentarian English soldiers, fearing to return to the despotism of King Charles, desert into the Netherlands. As many as ten to thirty thousand British soldiers and refugees take up residence across the Dutch Republic. Some of the reforms were definitely appreciated. The States-General and their powerful assemblies are kept, and stadtholders are demoted to a near symbolic role. The Dutch Republic has returned, though many historians will come to note in the difference between the prior republic shattered by Cromwell.

The Peace of Oliva ends the quarrels between Brandenburg, the Swedish Empire, the Russian Empire and Poland. Sweden largely appears as the ultimate victor, taking and holding vast new amount of territory.

King Charles X Gustav of Sweden dies in his sleep, leaving the throne to his only son, five years old.

King Louis XIV, now being of age, takes power in France.

1662
With his rule put on a solid foundation, Charles I begins to deal with all those who acted against him. He reconstitutes his Star Chamber to do so, and rapidly becomes even more despotic than he was before his exile. Some of those he persecutes flee the country, but many are imprisoned, or executed, or both. He also reinstates Parliament, but in a very much reduced, and largely powerless, form. He now has complete power in Britain. Not being satisfied with just the victory, Charles also wishes to grind the faces of his opponents in it, and forces them to acknowledge his divine right to be monarch.

Charles also insists that all of the British nobility accept the Book of Common Prayer, and the pomp-and-ceremony version of the Anglican Church espoused by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Some do so, but many refuse, and are again either imprisoned, executed, or flee. They are replaced by Charles' supporters, including a number of Protestant members of the French nobility.

These 'reforms' of the Church of England are not popular. Many Puritans, and in addition many other Protestants, flee to North America, building new settlements there.

In Ireland, Catholic violence against foreign settlers in there becomes endemic. Charles, needing the support of the Irish, tolerates this.

On Charles' orders Christopher Wren begins work on a new and very grand, Whitehall Palace, from where he will rule. This will be on a par with the Louvre, in Paris. At the same time he also begins work on a new St Paul's Cathedral, the original having been destroyed in the Great Fire.

Some of the Irish who left the country during the Commonwealth return with the Restoration of King Charles. Those who return are particularly enthusiastic in their support of Charles, and their wish to remove the taint of Protestantism from their land, which Charles tolerates. As such the areas of Ulster, and particularly Belfast, become and remain strongholds of Catholic fervor.

Over the years of his second rule, King Charles I establishes a tradition of direct, personal, rule, with all the power in the land concentrated in one set of hands - his. With the British Crown able to tax at will, without legal controls, there is no incentive to develop the British financial system, and without that as a system for developing Britain's resources, Britain remains a poor nation. Likewise, the traditions of 'Englishman's rights' are swept by the board. Censorship is widely used, resulting in a fall in literacy rates as well as the stifling of scientific discussion and free debate. The main, and most serious, long-term effect is the destruction of the origins of many of the powerful democratic societies that exist in the real world, and the departure of some of the finest minds in Britain to countries where they are more appreciated, generally in Europe and particularly the Netherlands.

Ireland, however, is more peaceful, as Charles' use of Catholic troops from Ireland gives him an interest in being reasonably tolerant towards the Irish people.

Manchu Emperor K'ang Hsi comes to the Chinese throne.

Blaise Pascal, French theologian, mathematician and physicist, dies.

1663
With the 'reforms' of the Church of England going reasonably well, Charles I attempts to extend them into Scotland. The Scots rally to a call to fight this, and violence spreads. Anti-Catholics in England also rise up in support, and the Fourth Civil War begins.

With much to do at home, Charles allows the Puritan rebels in the New World to remain unmolested. However, he does what he can to ensure the 'loyal' settlements in the New World are well defended. Locals loyal to the King do their best to track down Richard Cromwell and his associates, but with no success, beyond sparking a number of violent incidents.

[Puritanism was slowly dying; the greater opposition it suffers here revitalizes and strengthens it.]

Continuing religious struggles and despotism in Britain hold back its development and industrialization. Many of its more radical, innovative and moneyed citizens flee to more peaceful and tolerant climes, often in Europe, particularly the Netherlands and some of the German states. Some, disillusioned with the state of the Netherlands, Sweden, and France, however, leave for America.

The Dutch Republic continues to rebuild their nation, especially their navy, though their boon of a land army is kept and many push for their use to attack the Southern Province. The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company desire to take back many of their colonies, but they do not believe they are powerful enough to stand the still strong British navy.

1663 to 1699
The Ottoman Turks, under Mohammed IV, assault central Europe for the second time.

1665
The very bright comet Hevelius is seen in the skies.

As the British Crown attempts to maintain control over the New World the people there see, again, the attempted imposition of Catholicism and the suppression of their own faith. Unrest grows.

1666
King Charles I of Britain dies of old age. He enjoyed five years of rule after attempting for twenty years to get it back. He is succeeded by his son, King Charles II.

King Louis XIV founds the French Academy of Sciences.

1667
The Fourth Civil War ends with the defeat of the rebels. The enforced 'reforms' of the Church of England move into high gear in both England and Scotland, driving even more Protestants into exile, either in the Netherlands or in the New World. The King encourages this emigration of malcontents.

An earthquake at Shemakha, in the Caucasus, kills about eight thousand people.
 

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King Charles II
"By the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc."

Charles, the eldest surviving son of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France, was born Charles Stuart in St. James's Palace on the 29th of May, 1630. During the 1640s, while he was still young, his father fought parliamentary and Puritan forces in the English Civil War. The Prince accompanied his father during the Battle of Edgehill and, at the age of fifteen, participated in the campaigns of 1645, when he was made titular commander of the English forces in the West Country. [The greater violence seen in these battles are remembered by the young Prince. He is made somewhat less sympathetic and just a little more violent in getting his way.]

In 1646, due to fears for his safety, he left England, traveling abroad in Europe for a time and then arriving at France to join his mother. In 1648, during the Second Civil War, Charles moved to The Hague.

Charles I was captured in 1647, escaped, and was recaptured in 1648. However, he was exiled to France instead of executed, and joined his son there to begin plotting his return. Charles II would then spend more than a decade trying to get his father back on the throne, often serving as his first man, moving to locations and courts around Europe to try and win allies against Cromwell and the British Commonwealth. In his pursuit of his father's dreams, he would become a good deal like him. He was, notably, more ambitious and opportunistic, a little less authoritarian, and he had a sense of humor and a good part of cheer about him. However, he inherited his father's lack of sympathy towards others, especially those who stand in his way, and his views on religion. [Because he lived a good decade extra with his father, Charles II is much more like him, with only a few personal traits kept.]

Charles II would endorse many of the moves his father would make in his second reign, from 1661 to 1666. When he took the throne as King Charles the Second after his father's death, the people of England suspected that no change in policies would come about of it.

Charles II.PNG
 

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1668 - 1669
King Philip’s War begins over disputes between the Indians and those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. [This had instead begun in 1675, however with a larger population, it begins eight years earlier.] In the end, more than 700 colonists and 4000 Indians will have been killed.

The War of Devolution
France demands that Spanish territory in the Netherlands should devolve to the French King. When this is rejected by the Spanish, the War of Devolution begins. The Netherlands immediately approach the Sun King with an alliance to take the Low Countries. They knew they could not form an alliance with Britain, France’s puppet state at the time, and still a strong naval power, without risking their own developing navy. They would not turn to the Swedish Empire for an alliance; they had committed themselves against them ever since Denmark had been consumed. Brandenburg was too far away to offer any hope. Furthermore, the bolstered veteran land armies of the Dutch were bristling to be used.

Spanish has little of a standing army in the Spanish Netherlands. They are crushed by the onslaught of French and Dutch armies. Within six months, the Spanish Netherlands had been consumed by the two nations. Seeing the Dutch as more favorable than the French, the Netherlands received more than their split share of the territory. The French receive Hainaut, West Flanders, including Dunkirk and Lille. The Netherlands take the rest of Limburg, the rest of Brabant, East Flanders, and Liege after a series of sieges. Luxembourg becomes independent.

The newly-gained territory in the Netherlands gains the status of Generality-Lands, though Brabant absorbs its sister territories, thus giving them the same amount of representation.

The French are somewhat angered at the fact that the Dutch Republic took much more territory than itself, at the end of the war. In compensation, however, the French gained control of the Franche-Comte. In the Treaty of Aachen, the map of Europe is once again changed, to the massive loss of Spain.

1668
Attention is afforded once more towards the New England Confederation, whose power had been slackening recently. With the Indian war raging, the Puritans declare a reformation of the laws of the Confederation, in particular creating a stronger central government in Boston to head attacks against the Indians. The New Netherlands area is adopted into the Confederation.

New Sweden is finally taken by New Englanders. Those within the small colony put up a small fight, but nearly half of their populace was British to begin with. Its territory is absorbed into the Confederation under the New Netherlands province.

John Milton publishes his epic 'Paradise Lost' in Boston. It serves as a rallying point for the Puritan cause. [It is not the same as the version published in the real world in 1667, being somewhat inspired by different things, and with a definite subtext of, by way of allegory, looking back regretfully at Puritan England, that causes it to become the rallying point that it does.]

The First National Bank of Europe is created in Stockholm, in the Empire of Sweden.

The bright comet Gottignies appears for several weeks.

1669
Spanish Jamaica is seized by Dutch ships, asserting the rise of the Dutch Navy after its crippling by Cromwell. Together with Suriname and Guyana, they become the few last colonies the Dutch Republic has in the western hemisphere. Many British ships, thanking Cromwell, still believe that all of Dutch colonies are theirs. The Dutch, who have been unwilling to challenge the British on this issue, have been letting it pass. However, there is growing opinion to take back Dutch colonies.

Famine in Bengal kills three million people.

The Hanseatic League, formed in the twelfth century.

1670
After continued emigration begins to de-populate parts of England and Ireland the King reverses his policy of encouraging emigration and instead introduces strict laws against emigration without permission. This slows the flood, but does not stop it, and leads to the creation of 'Freedom Smugglers', who secretly transport people out of England. [This de-population of Britain after the Restoration further hinders the development of Britain as a power.]

China recognizes the Portuguese colony of Macau.

Cossak Stenka Razin leads an uprising and marches into Russia to deliver freedom to the poor.

1671
Thomas Allen, a discontent yet charismatic backwoodsman, begins a rebellion in Virginia against Royal Governor William Berkeley. He channels the passions of lower-class planters, servants, and blacks. [This had happened instead in 1676 by Nathaniel Bacon. However, there was a greater migration of Catholics and royalists to Virginia during the days of Cromwell, leading to a more competitive, developed colonial atmosphere.] He raids Jamestown and burns the Virginian capital to the ground. Thomas Allen captures Governor Berkeley and has him bound and humiliated, before he is killed by an illness after being left out on the roof of a house.

Thomas Culpeper becomes the new Royal Governor, though he is much more concerned with his land than anything going on in the colony. This unique lack of authority or responsibility led to a lax atmosphere in Virginia.

The Dutch settlement of Cape Town begins to expand into a colony.

The peasant army of Stenka Razin is broken by the army of the Tsar, and Stenka Razin himself is captured. Taken back to Moscow, he is brutally executed, but nonetheless becomes a martyr for the poor.

1672
Virginian planters take to buying up African slaves instead of indentured servants. [The increased competition of Virginian planters leads to a much more enthusiastic period of slave purchasing.] Those discontent servants whose contracts are ended find themselves without work. Thus, so begins an emigration wave of poor whites southward along the coast, settling Albemarle Sound, the Cape Fear River, and further.

John Milton publishes his second epic, 'Paradise Regained', in Boston. Like its predecessor it also serves as a rallying point for the Puritan cause. [For the same reasons as did Paradise Lost, although in this case looking forward in allegory to the day when Puritanism finally triumphs.]

Leibniz invents the calculus. [Newton's work on this remains unpublished, and so is basically lost.]
 

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Berwick circa 1659

After the formation of the Anglo-Dutch Commonwealth and following the Treaty of Copenhagen.

Berwick-1659.PNG
 
Nice....I'm enjoying this as much as I did the original Puritan World. (I'm contemplating writing another version of Monarchy World eventually myself).

Keep it up!
 

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Hey thanks! I'm glad its as good as Puritan World. Hopefully people will like to read it, nevermind the fact that its very similiar to Tony Jones' first version (well, that'll start diverging pretty soon with the uber-Swedish Empire and the different Dutch Republic).
 
A cross between Anglo-Dutch Empire and Puritan World? I must be good! ;)
You can count on my commentaries. Since I helped to implement some "tweaks" to original Puritan World timeline few months ago I think my suggestions will be constructive here as well.

But for now I'l have to go on my university classes. :D
 
So I returned from my classes and can give you a few advices:

1. Avoid creating Puritan-wank. I know that creating strong puritan state is a main point of TTL, but be sure that New Commonwealth will have it’s share of losses and failures. (For example notice that toying with the Dutch gives you an opportunity of influencing Japanese. Remember that Britain-Netherlands will be stronger state, than original Britain from Puritan World, but probably still weaker than OTL Britain)
2. Avoid creating uber-Russia, which was a rather strange byproduct of Puritan World. While Russian India, and Russian Anatolia are very interesting possibilities it is quite impossible that “backwards Russian Empire” would be able to hold them and Siberia, and large share of lands in Europe. Maybe you might consider a stronger competition in the far east? Japanese Manchuria? Puritan Siberia?
3. Take extra care when dealing with the HRE. The existence of a state encompassing both German and Balkan territories must be carefully thought over.

Few other random ideas and comments:
1. About the Swedish national bank. Do you plan to make Sweden a financial power, in absence of strong Britain and Netherlands, or was that just one extra piece of information from OTL?
2. What about Swedish campaigns in Poland, like The Deluge. If Sweden would be interested in another such attack, you might consider earlier partitions of Poland, between Russia and Sweden. With a rump Poland, centered around Cracow being the puppet of Hapsburgs, later transferred into a buffer state. However royalist reforms in this rump Poland (notice that ifluence of the magnates is lost, as their lands are now in the hands of Sweden and Russia, and they are concentrated on preserving their privileges there), not unlike the latter Constitution of 3 May would turn into a small, but coherent and efficient state.
3. I don’t hide, that surviving and maybe even resurging Poland in Berwick Timeline would please me greatly.
 
Interesting world - I hope that Sweden can last longer as an empire...although I'm finding no countries as of yet to sympathize with....keep up the good work!
 

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Thank you, it'll be cool to see where this diverges around 1996.

Remember that, though the POD was the unification of the Netherlands and Britain in an Anglo-Dutch Puritan Commonwealth, I couldn't realistically keep them together with such royalist sentiment. They were broken apart. However, their short relationship had drastic effects. The Dutch colonies were swamped with Brits, and the Netherlands' home army increased while Cromwell crippled their navy. They were not there to save the Danes from Sweden, and thus Sweden gained a powerful new dominion, and shut the Baltic trade off from the Dutch.

Definitely, the Anglos and Dutch have some bond that they may use later, and who knows what may happen. However, I think at this point, the closest they can get to is some kind of alliance. But with Britain in France's pocket, that might not happen. More later.
 

Thande

Donor
Thank you, it'll be cool to see where this diverges around 1996.

Remember that, though the POD was the unification of the Netherlands and Britain in an Anglo-Dutch Puritan Commonwealth, I couldn't realistically keep them together with such royalist sentiment. They were broken apart. However, their short relationship had drastic effects. The Dutch colonies were swamped with Brits, and the Netherlands' home army increased while Cromwell crippled their navy. They were not there to save the Danes from Sweden, and thus Sweden gained a powerful new dominion, and shut the Baltic trade off from the Dutch.

Definitely, the Anglos and Dutch have some bond that they may use later, and who knows what may happen. However, I think at this point, the closest they can get to is some kind of alliance. But with Britain in France's pocket, that might not happen. More later.
Actually, I'd like to see more timelines like this. Too often we get things like, say, I don't know, "Random State That Lasted For 2 Days in OTL Wins One Battle And Thus Survives Forever". It's still interesting if it only lasts for another year, because that creates shifts in other countries, as you say.
 

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Well thank you. I strive to create timelines as realistic as possible. Its really hard not to fall in love with one country or person in your ATL. I will say, though, that I do want to see the Puritans to succeed at making some kind of power in North America that lasts until present day. Hopefully I can find a realistic path for them to do so. There's a lot of enemies for them to make and defeat.

After that, how do I make them a Great Power? How do you deal with all the staunch royalists and Catholics in North America... there's too many there already in Virginia and Maryland. Even if you could invade and force conversions or exile them... forced conversions would cause Civil War, unrest, and banishment would just lead to the creation of a Catholic state out west somewhere.

Avoid creating uber-Russia, which was a rather strange byproduct of Puritan World. While Russian India, and Russian Anatolia are very interesting possibilities it is quite impossible that “backwards Russian Empire” would be able to hold them and Siberia, and large share of lands in Europe. Maybe you might consider a stronger competition in the far east? Japanese Manchuria? Puritan Siberia?
Definitely. I want to follow Russia realistically. As of now I have no idea where they are going to go. The only thing different at this point for Russia is a more powerful Sweden at their borders (more militarisation, more anti-Swedenism, thus more disadvantages for the serfs, and more discontent, hmmm...) I like the idea of a different Japan. Maybe I'll have the Dutch settle/modernise them a good point sooner than in OTL.

Take extra care when dealing with the HRE. The existence of a state encompassing both German and Balkan territories must be carefully thought over.
The HRE was nearly de facto dead by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. They aren't going to do anything. Then again, without Napoleon (well, who knows if there might be some kind of equivalent conqueror) the HRE is going to stay for a good while longer. Who knows what might happen with them.

About the Swedish national bank. Do you plan to make Sweden a financial power, in absence of strong Britain and Netherlands, or was that just one extra piece of information from OTL?
They did the same in OTL. However, with the Dutch a little weaker, the British a lot weaker, it'll do better. Give Sweden a little extra push, but I don't plan on anything. One year at a time.
 
Just a few words in my own defence...

2. Avoid creating uber-Russia, which was a rather strange byproduct of Puritan World. While Russian India, and Russian Anatolia are very interesting possibilities it is quite impossible that “backwards Russian Empire” would be able to hold them and Siberia, and large share of lands in Europe. Maybe you might consider a stronger competition in the far east? Japanese Manchuria? Puritan Siberia?

I think the main thing from Puritan World is that the Russian Empire was not as backward as in OTL. They reformed and industrialised much earlier under Tsar Nicholas the Great and his successors, thus making them more able to hold onto more territory. Siberia is easy to justify with low native population and no real competition in taking it.

Russian India was a case of, without there being a single strong European state in control in India they win the Great Game by default, though not without a fight.

Anatolia is definately the hardest for them to take and keep, but I'm reasonably happy that this Russia could do so...

3. Take extra care when dealing with the HRE. The existence of a state encompassing both German and Balkan territories must be carefully thought over.

True. In my case it's also got Ottoman elements. Massive outside threats on all sides justify its pulling together to me...
 
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Well, just a note... I'm not writing this ATL as a revision to 'fix' anything. This is a divergence from yours. I think your timeline had a few developments that depended on a minority probabilty, but its the same with our timeline. You don't get exactly what's totally realistic.

In any case, I'm not trying to repair a TL that I find very interesting and enjoyable. I'm just trying to create a divergence to it.
 

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1673
Cooperstowne is founded by a small league of thirty poor planters [at OTL Charleston], headed by visionary Dutchman Willem Cooper, who dare to brave the unnamed southern coasts to find refuge from Virginia.

King Charles II wants a war against the Dutch, and working with King Louis XIV, begins funding massive amounts of privateers against ships hailing from the Netherlands, especially in the Americas. The Dutch recognize the action after a while, and fund their own privateers.

A French expedition takes Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from the Portuguese.

1674
Willem Cooper declares Cooperstowne and territory compromising of one hundred fifty miles to the north and the south, all the way to the Pacific Ocean, property of the Dutch Republic. This is in response to the lack of help from American and British ships in the area, and privateers attacking Dutch traders who were the only one’s trading with the colony.

The Dutch decide on sending a fleet of twenty ships of war to stake their claim to the area. They know it is an act of war, but pro-war speakers have been dominating the Provincial Councils for years. After official British ships of war are deterred from Cooper’s claims by the Dutch, King Charles II immediately declares war.

The Four Year’s War or Cooper’s War
King Louis XIV responded with a declaration of his own, with Munster and Cologne joining in as well. The Netherlands geared for war, attaining a polite alliance with Spain (against France) and Brandenburg (against Munster and Cologne). However, it was expected to fight the majority of the war. It faced enemies on all sides, by land and by sea. However, it was lucky that it was something of a military state. It had more than enough soldiers and ships due to years of build-up and expectation of a future war.

The Dutch were confident on all sides of the war, however. Those in the French Netherlands (conquered from Spain in 1669) were treated a degree worse than those in the new Dutch South. The peasants had designated the Republic as a sort of messiah figure. As such, their armies were able to move to the border of France Proper within a few months and several battles.

The Netherlands also made the intelligent move of a direct attack on River Thames. With more than 100 ships, the new, modern Dutch fleet commanded by Cornelis de Witt broke through the British line and arranged for blockships to be scuttled at one of the narrowest points of the River Thames. They enter and leave quickly; only a few ships lost, and with the Thames shut down entirely. From this point, Britain was nearly knocked out of the war. The Channel was taken by the Dutch, and though there were a couple battles lost against a combined Anglo-French fleet, by the time Britain had gotten the Thames back on their side, their fleets were scattered.

Meanwhile, the French received little support on land from Munster and Cologne, who they had bet a lot of money upon. The two French allies were determined to fight Brandenburg. The three quickly became locked into a stalemate.

What the British and French hadn’t won at home, abroad they won victories against the Dutch. Fishing was hugely disrupted in the North Sea, while the Dutch could barely connect with the Americas and their African colonies due to harassment. It was this that would largely cause Cooper’s to last beyond a year.

Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illinois Indians. [In OTL this would become Chicago.]

1675
The Four Year’s War continues.

Charles XI of Sweden is formally given imperial authority, ridding the Swedish Empire from the rule of the regents. A huge topic among Sweden is if they should join France and England against the Netherlands and her allies, to defend their interests in continental Europe, including Denmark and Scania. Many wish to invade Brandenburg to gain new territory. However, the Dutch Republic has been strong in pushing the Empire of Sweden to sign a treaty of alliance, to open the Baltic Sea so that they can be supplied during the Three Year’s War.

The decision goes to King Charles XI. However, he sees that his Empire would be destroyed if he would engage it in a major European war. Already, Danes and Norwegians are raising their voices in their regions, to take back their former lands. The Swedish King is also somewhat resentful of the French king, whom he views as an arrogant tyrant. Therefore, the Dutch alliance was granted yet another huge boon with the Treaty of Aarhus, with the opening of the Baltic Sea to the Dutch, supplying for them a large amount of goods. In return, the Netherlands acknowledged the Swedish Empire’s dominion over Jutland and Norway.

The Dutch navy continues a manhunt for every British ship on the sea, bolstering its own forces with stolen ships. Even after the Thames is reopened, the British fight just to keep the Dutch from entering. On land, the French army makes a subtle come back, as the war becomes one more of attrition. However, with small incursions from Spain, they fight two fronts. Dutch ships-of-war in the Mediterranean cut France from possible suppliers.

Charles II of England issues Royal Declaration of Indulgence, promoting freedom for Roman Catholics

1676
The British surrender with the Treaty of Dover. They cede all lands south of Cooperstowne’s northern border (about 150 miles northward), while the Dutch let them keep New Amsterdam (swamped by the British). British Suriname and various British holdings in Africa and Asia are also transferred to the Dutch Republic.

With the British leaving the war, Munster and Cologne surrender as well to Brandenburg, ceding small portions of land but escaping relatively unharmed outside of a military context. The war between the Dutch Republic and France continues, however.

Tsar Aleksey I of Russia, the second of the Romanov dynasty, dies of old age and is succeeded by his son, who becomes Tsar Feodor III.

Danish astronomer Ole Rømer makes the first measurement of the speed of light.

Robert Hooke discovers oxygen by heating lead and subsequently mercury oxides, proving that there exists different kinds of air. He calls oxygen, ‘dephlogisticated air’ due to the recent phlogiston theory proposed by Beecher.

1677
France makes a few bold offensives against the Dutch army. Waves of conscripts with prodigious French leaders are able to force the experienced and well-equipped Dutch armies into crucial defeats. However, the supply lines of the French Empire have been cut, with the Dutch taking French colonies and eliminating France’s ability to attain goods from the outside world.

Thus, the Treaty of Lille is signed. The French and Dutch agree to stop the Four Year’s War, and in return for the Dutch returning French colonies, the French cede west Flanders. Otherwise, Dutch promises to give back to Spain the French Netherlands are ignored. Dutch dreams of taking French colonies are abandoned. The war was quite taxing on the Netherlands, and now they wish to merely to take back their place as the world class merchant.

What becomes known as the Great Comet appears in the skies over Europe.

Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher, dies.

1678-1693
Cooperstowne finally becomes Dutch. It is renamed Kuypersten to glorify Dutch aspirations. The new colony becomes the focal point of the Colony of New Gelderland. Colonization is slow, but in the beginning there is a sudden burst of population, especially from a good part of the Protestant Huguenots. Most of those arriving in New Gelderland, however, will be from those dissatisfied in the northern colonies, especially in aristocratic Virginia.

1678
With anti-Protestant feeling in France high, the Edict of Nantes, signed in 1598, is revoked, removing various religious freedoms from the Protestant Huguenots. Half a million emigrate from France, many to the Netherlands or to Cape Colony. Brandenburg-Prussia is also a popular destination, with the Edict of Potsdam paying for free trips into the country. Others move to Protestant Switzerland where, despite their persecution in France, they continue to be bankers to the French throne. Some also move to the large, newly-won Colony of Kuyperston (Cooperstowne). [This happened in 1685 in the real world.] This is seen as a last potshot from the Three Year’s War.

1679
King Charles II by royal authority recreates the Honorable East India Company, in one of his most creative acts, by forming the Royal British Interests Company, giving them complete power over all of the remaining British colonies, mainly over North America and the West Indies. Somewhat lax laws concerning religion during the Four Year’s War now lead to Charles promoting again Catholicism in the New World.

1680
French physicist Denis Papin, working in London with Robert Boyle, invents the first pressure cooker and develops the basic design for the steam engine. [This happened in 1679 in the real world.]

The extremely bright comet Kirch is seen.

In the New World, there is religious conflict between British Protestant and Catholic settlers.

1681
The last Dodo is killed on the island of Mauritius.

1682
Tsar Feodor III of Russia dies of old age and is succeeded by his younger brothers (one from each of his father Aleksey I's wives), who, ruling jointly, become Tsars Ivan V (aged 16) and Peter I (aged 10). However, their older sister Sophia (aged 25) holds the reins of power as Regent.

The Turks lay siege to Vienna. Their defeat ends the Turkish pressure on Europe.

King Louis XIV of France passes the 'Code Noir', allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. [In the real world this happened in 1689.]

A bright comet appears. [This is what, in the real world, would be called 'Halley's Comet' however, Edmund Halley is never born, due to the effects of the changed Civil Wars.]

1683 to 1699
The Second Great Turkish War occurs.

1683
The French explore and claim the Louisiana Territory, largely in hopes to curb western claims of the Dutch, though the Dutch aren’t at this time looking for any kind of expansion from New Gelderland.

1684
Austria, Poland and Venice form the Holy Alliance against the Ottomans.

England has its coldest winter in living memory, with the Thames and the sea as far as two miles out from shore freezing over.
 
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