Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
I wasn't planning on taking it that far
Well that would be up to me then, wouldn't it?
CTL: Cortesia
- Thread starter John Fredrick Parker
- Start date
Well that would be up to me then, wouldn't it?
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
OOC: What this needs is another update; I suppose going a little out of order couldn't hurt...
IC:
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(taken from Life of the Malinches by Diego Tizoc)
After Colon, some say, the first Malinche desired greatly to have peace and to turn to administrating his realm; others, that he was still restless for greater glory still, and more influence. Whoever is correct matters not, for it was the Spanish who, after Colon's failure, sought to take down Cortes by other means...
...
Meanwhile, the Tarascans were receiving Spanish ambassadors from their Western shores, looking to ally them against Cortes' rising power; it is unlikely that, without such a promising alliance, they would have dared enter the war that would prove the end of their state...
IC:
-----
(taken from Life of the Malinches by Diego Tizoc)
After Colon, some say, the first Malinche desired greatly to have peace and to turn to administrating his realm; others, that he was still restless for greater glory still, and more influence. Whoever is correct matters not, for it was the Spanish who, after Colon's failure, sought to take down Cortes by other means...
...
Meanwhile, the Tarascans were receiving Spanish ambassadors from their Western shores, looking to ally them against Cortes' rising power; it is unlikely that, without such a promising alliance, they would have dared enter the war that would prove the end of their state...
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Don't worry. Though Diego is nothing equal compared to Hernan Cortes in military leadership, I will probably say it's safe to say he'll fight another day.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Political Realism of a Man
- an excerpt from Malinalli Isabella Miahuaxuchitl's Book One of The Purepecha Sagas
- an excerpt from Malinalli Isabella Miahuaxuchitl's Book One of The Purepecha Sagas
"I saw those creatures and I knew I must have beasts like them. "
- quoted from an nameless Chichimecha ruler upon witnessing the Purepecha horses.
Caconzi Cristobal de Olid-Tangáxuan took advantage of the turmoil resulting from the war with the Spanish that has consumed the rest of Mesoamerica in rebuilding the weakened Purepecha state into a rival to his former master Hernan Cortes' Naiua empire and perhaps a superpower on its own. He ruled from the city of Tzintzuntzan, heart of the Purepecha lands. A mixed company of native slaves and pale-skinned Spaniards, now serving as the new administrative class in the empire, accompanied their ruler as he contemplated the future of his empire and the people living in it. He was given multiple offers by Diego Colon, leader of the Spanish invasion army, and a group of several Spanish soldiers in Tenochtitlan who history had come to remember them as the Alvaradoists, supporters of the late Pedro de Alvarado who led opposition against the Cortes dynasty for the next couple hundred years. The former pleaded him for military assistance against the Naiua and the Tlaxcallans in exchange for recognition of his dominion over the Purepecha. It is unknown what the Alvaradoists wanted but it is presumed from secondary sources that they wanted to crown him malinche in exchange to march down to Tenochtitlan and overthrow Cortes' regent Geronimo.
Cristobal thought it over and in response, rejected both offers from Colon and the Alvaradoists.
He was not as wise as Hernan Cortes is reported to be in Naiua accounts but he was was no fool; he knew that despite how he could look around and notice how jovial his court was with the servants enjoying the music and the food, things were different outside the palace. The Purepecha had been weakened with the influx of foreign European diseases and it had left his kingdom completely depopulated though in the end he used the plagues to legitimize his rule and imposition of the Roman Catholic religion on the native population. He could not afford a war with anyone at the moment no matter how weak they might have seemed. Cristobal sent multiple emissaries to the Naiua malinche Hernan and his regent Geronimo de Aguilar, securing a deal which assured his dominion's autonomy from the Naiua empire in exchange for a lessened annual tribute of gold and other treasures, as well to the neighboring native peoples like the semi-nomadic Chichimechas and others, securing permission from its rulers to send merchant caravans to travel and set up shop in their cities in exchange for them doing the same in Purepecha cities. It was a victory for Cristobal who saw his coffers fill up with income attributed from trade with the north that was needed to reorganize the empire along the lines of a legitimate European power on the continent though the Chichimechas benefited as well with the introduction of the horse and gunpowder weapons like the musket. They would learn to produce them en masse and use them against other, less technologically advanced natives.
Meanwhile Hernan Cortes and Xicotencatl II The Younger had met in Vera Cruz and agreed to an mutually beneficial alliance between the Naiua Empire and the Tlaxcallans. The first move to cooperation between the two nations was the temporary unification of the two armies into a single command structure with Aztec, Spanish, and Tlaxcallan generals and soldiers serving alongside one another. They headed out to hunt down Diego Colon and the remnants of his army.
Cristobal thought it over and in response, rejected both offers from Colon and the Alvaradoists.
He was not as wise as Hernan Cortes is reported to be in Naiua accounts but he was was no fool; he knew that despite how he could look around and notice how jovial his court was with the servants enjoying the music and the food, things were different outside the palace. The Purepecha had been weakened with the influx of foreign European diseases and it had left his kingdom completely depopulated though in the end he used the plagues to legitimize his rule and imposition of the Roman Catholic religion on the native population. He could not afford a war with anyone at the moment no matter how weak they might have seemed. Cristobal sent multiple emissaries to the Naiua malinche Hernan and his regent Geronimo de Aguilar, securing a deal which assured his dominion's autonomy from the Naiua empire in exchange for a lessened annual tribute of gold and other treasures, as well to the neighboring native peoples like the semi-nomadic Chichimechas and others, securing permission from its rulers to send merchant caravans to travel and set up shop in their cities in exchange for them doing the same in Purepecha cities. It was a victory for Cristobal who saw his coffers fill up with income attributed from trade with the north that was needed to reorganize the empire along the lines of a legitimate European power on the continent though the Chichimechas benefited as well with the introduction of the horse and gunpowder weapons like the musket. They would learn to produce them en masse and use them against other, less technologically advanced natives.
Meanwhile Hernan Cortes and Xicotencatl II The Younger had met in Vera Cruz and agreed to an mutually beneficial alliance between the Naiua Empire and the Tlaxcallans. The first move to cooperation between the two nations was the temporary unification of the two armies into a single command structure with Aztec, Spanish, and Tlaxcallan generals and soldiers serving alongside one another. They headed out to hunt down Diego Colon and the remnants of his army.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
And I have a map. A badly made map showing Mesoamerica as it is.
and you missed what would potentially be a American analogue to the Mongols beyond Mesoamerica.
and you missed what would potentially be a American analogue to the Mongols beyond Mesoamerica.
So, this Timeline seems pretty good. Interesting POD, nice take.
Yet, I do have two things I want to critique about it. Firstly, I feel like theres very little discussion of what the native elite is doing. How are the Nahuatl elite responding? What kind of interface is there between them and the Spanish? Intrigue? I don't think it's currently implausible, but I think that writing more about that could help explain the TL.
Scondly, and I know this is going to be very nit-picky but I'm finding it really annoying; please use either P'urhépecha or Purépecha. The accent is rather important.
Yet, I do have two things I want to critique about it. Firstly, I feel like theres very little discussion of what the native elite is doing. How are the Nahuatl elite responding? What kind of interface is there between them and the Spanish? Intrigue? I don't think it's currently implausible, but I think that writing more about that could help explain the TL.
Scondly, and I know this is going to be very nit-picky but I'm finding it really annoying; please use either P'urhépecha or Purépecha. The accent is rather important.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Colonization of Bacalao Island
As 8 November 1519 would hold an important meaning for the Naiua as it would set the seeds for their Empire to come to existence as well as its neighbors in modern day 21-st century Meso-America , it was an important date for the people living in another section of the New World, far removed from the affairs of people like Cortes, Xicotencatl, Diego Colon or Cristobal de Olid. It was on this date that Portugal officially began their colonization in the New World in an obscure island far out in the north, named Terra Nova do Bacalhau* by an obscure Portuguese explorer named Joao Vaz Corte-Real several decades back. Five caravels landed on Bacalao Island's shores and came out a large number of colonists, mostly farmers coming from the Azores Islands. It is estimated that four hundred to nine hundred people were on this group of ships and were given permission by their King João III to leave Portugal and secure its claim on its piece of the New World by settling it. The colonists established a settlement right on the coast and named it São João or Saint John's as in the English translation. It is believed by local historians that the name is not derived from King João as is popularly assumed by foreign tourists but from Saint John the Baptist who was named as the patron saint of the colony.
It would not take long for the Portuguese settlers to make contact with the local natives who were curious of their odd-looking vessels and garments. Cordial relations were though quickly established between the two groups and it was common to find the natives coming to São João to exchange crops and game for European oddities like steel swords, clothes and alcoholic beverages. The native populations eventually declined as more and more settlers from Portugal came to Bacalhau Island, bringing in new strains of European diseases. One hundred years after Portuguese settlement of Bacalao Island, it is estimated that only a few dozen thousand natives existed in isolated sections of the island though those numbers declined with cultural assimilation enforced by Portuguese colonial authorities and intermarriage between the two groups. Nowadays though the vast majority of population of Bacalao are considered ethnically white by outsiders, there are many a man or woman of Bacalhau who have significant native ancestry in their blood and this is reflected in Bacalao Portuguese, in where it is estimated than fifty eight percent of the words are of native extraction.
*Newfoundland.
It would not take long for the Portuguese settlers to make contact with the local natives who were curious of their odd-looking vessels and garments. Cordial relations were though quickly established between the two groups and it was common to find the natives coming to São João to exchange crops and game for European oddities like steel swords, clothes and alcoholic beverages. The native populations eventually declined as more and more settlers from Portugal came to Bacalhau Island, bringing in new strains of European diseases. One hundred years after Portuguese settlement of Bacalao Island, it is estimated that only a few dozen thousand natives existed in isolated sections of the island though those numbers declined with cultural assimilation enforced by Portuguese colonial authorities and intermarriage between the two groups. Nowadays though the vast majority of population of Bacalao are considered ethnically white by outsiders, there are many a man or woman of Bacalhau who have significant native ancestry in their blood and this is reflected in Bacalao Portuguese, in where it is estimated than fifty eight percent of the words are of native extraction.
*Newfoundland.
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Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Well since Spain is pretty much on the verge of losing their New World empire as well as their supremacy over the Atlantic, it is safe to say that European powers will begin their own forays in colonization of the Americas fairly more earlier and because of the butterfly effect, Portugal will concentrate its attention [at least for the first century or two] on securing its claim over Bacalao Island and much of North America's eastern coast. You might see a few OTL European powers take charge while you'll see a lot more unique countries taking their own slice over the Americas though the Native Americans will have a more level playing field. Canada might just end up existing as Kanata as it is in its native form, who knows?
I think you can handle the war.
I think you can handle the war.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
1523 - 1528
The kingdom of Spain was in a precarious situation. Its various possessions in the New World were collapsing one by one due to rebellions that drenched the colonies in a pool of Spanish blood. The native Taino and Ciboney Indians in Hispaniola and Cuba had enough of being treated like slaves by the Spaniards who forced them to staff the plantations and mines to extract crops and raw resources which were then sold by merchants to the motherland with little compensation. Even after most of the native population had converted to Roman Catholicism thinking that they would be protected under Spanish law, they were still treated like garbage and this infuriated them. They, in combination with black African slaves coming in droves to the New World who were also opposed to their treatment, rebelled against the Spaniards and quickly within a matter of months, conquered the majority of both islands asides from a few isolated settlements like Havana and Santo Domingo. Troops were hard to come by with a commitment to send troops to Diego Colon in his war against Hernan's Naiua breakaway state and their Tlaxcalan allies. The local militia had a hard time defending themselves against the rebel from the walls though things got worse for the Spaniards.
Hernan Cortes and Xicotencatl in their pursuit of Diego Colon and his army had captured several abandoned Spanish vessels on the coasts. The advanced European naval technology intrigued the Tlaxcalans especially their ruler Xicotencatl who immediately inquired Hernan Cortes about them. He had a look of astonishment and when Cortes met him inside his tent, the Naiua malinche was reported to know that the man was amazed and wanted to know of this technology. He, in accordance to the arrangement he made with Xicotencatl, loaned several naval experts to Xicotencatl in order to replicate the technology. Cortes seized the ships and quickly manned them with his own loyal soldiers under the command of his third in command Juan Cortes, a former black African slave who upon the declaration of independence was promoted to command a contingent of Naiua, to be sent to capture and sack Havana as a show of strength to the Spaniards.
The plan succeeded. Several hundred people were killed in the attack while the remainder of the entire population was captured by the Naiua army and sent to the acquired ships to be sent back to the mainland where they would be sold as slaves. Juan Cortes burnt the town's buildings and destroyed its remaining defenses, save for the governor's mansion which was used as a headquarters to garrison the army and Juan Cortes. He then did the next smart thing and sent a delegation of diplomatic emissaries to sent a delegation to the leader of the combined native-African slave rebellion, a man by the name of Enriquillo. He was a Taino cacique who after years of mistreatment demanded freedom from the Spanish making him a living symbol to the natives who revered him as a saint. Juan Cortes' delegation made it safely to Enriquillo's headquarters where they bowed in the man's presence and addressed him as Rey and offered him recognition and assistance in their attempt to drive the Spaniard in exchange for trading rights in Taino-controlled towns.
Enriquillo accepted the deal and thus allied himself with the Naiua. It was also in this moment that Caobana was officially born as an independent nation, considered to be the first "true" native state to appear in the post-Columbus New World. In Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, the native Taino and Africans heard of the news and quickly declared their own petty states though unlike the natives of the former Spanish colony of Cuba, they were a bit more disunited.
The kingdom of Spain was in a precarious situation. Its various possessions in the New World were collapsing one by one due to rebellions that drenched the colonies in a pool of Spanish blood. The native Taino and Ciboney Indians in Hispaniola and Cuba had enough of being treated like slaves by the Spaniards who forced them to staff the plantations and mines to extract crops and raw resources which were then sold by merchants to the motherland with little compensation. Even after most of the native population had converted to Roman Catholicism thinking that they would be protected under Spanish law, they were still treated like garbage and this infuriated them. They, in combination with black African slaves coming in droves to the New World who were also opposed to their treatment, rebelled against the Spaniards and quickly within a matter of months, conquered the majority of both islands asides from a few isolated settlements like Havana and Santo Domingo. Troops were hard to come by with a commitment to send troops to Diego Colon in his war against Hernan's Naiua breakaway state and their Tlaxcalan allies. The local militia had a hard time defending themselves against the rebel from the walls though things got worse for the Spaniards.
Hernan Cortes and Xicotencatl in their pursuit of Diego Colon and his army had captured several abandoned Spanish vessels on the coasts. The advanced European naval technology intrigued the Tlaxcalans especially their ruler Xicotencatl who immediately inquired Hernan Cortes about them. He had a look of astonishment and when Cortes met him inside his tent, the Naiua malinche was reported to know that the man was amazed and wanted to know of this technology. He, in accordance to the arrangement he made with Xicotencatl, loaned several naval experts to Xicotencatl in order to replicate the technology. Cortes seized the ships and quickly manned them with his own loyal soldiers under the command of his third in command Juan Cortes, a former black African slave who upon the declaration of independence was promoted to command a contingent of Naiua, to be sent to capture and sack Havana as a show of strength to the Spaniards.
The plan succeeded. Several hundred people were killed in the attack while the remainder of the entire population was captured by the Naiua army and sent to the acquired ships to be sent back to the mainland where they would be sold as slaves. Juan Cortes burnt the town's buildings and destroyed its remaining defenses, save for the governor's mansion which was used as a headquarters to garrison the army and Juan Cortes. He then did the next smart thing and sent a delegation of diplomatic emissaries to sent a delegation to the leader of the combined native-African slave rebellion, a man by the name of Enriquillo. He was a Taino cacique who after years of mistreatment demanded freedom from the Spanish making him a living symbol to the natives who revered him as a saint. Juan Cortes' delegation made it safely to Enriquillo's headquarters where they bowed in the man's presence and addressed him as Rey and offered him recognition and assistance in their attempt to drive the Spaniard in exchange for trading rights in Taino-controlled towns.
Enriquillo accepted the deal and thus allied himself with the Naiua. It was also in this moment that Caobana was officially born as an independent nation, considered to be the first "true" native state to appear in the post-Columbus New World. In Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, the native Taino and Africans heard of the news and quickly declared their own petty states though unlike the natives of the former Spanish colony of Cuba, they were a bit more disunited.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Hm, this may become something of a Cortesia wank after all -- I mean, to start with, it's looking like the Imperium Nahua is set up to become the only real naval power in the region...
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
Not really. Cortesia is very much smaller than the original Aztec empire. Hell even Tlaxcala has more land at the moment [they seized it from Colon]
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
I'm just thinking about future generations -- but you do have a point, nonetheless...
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
JFTC, I do plan to get back into this once I'm clear on the outcome of the war (so far, it's held some nice surprises for me ) and the parameters this will set on what's to come, though the events will be somewhat more condensed.
) and the parameters this will set on what's to come, though the events will be somewhat more condensed.
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
JFTC, I do plan to get back into this once I'm clear on the outcome of the war (so far, it's held some nice surprises for me
Of course with all the events happening, everyone can assume what will happen to Diego now that he's cut off....