Lands of Red and Gold
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Checking out the competition. This is a remarkable timeline: well-researched, incredibly detailed, and the amount of love and care that's gone into it is obvious to see. I'm proud to be in the company of such an excellent work.
While I'm not AHP, I can surmise one possible hurdle or incentive (depending on how one looks on it): would Mesopotamia be march-lands between the Ottomans and the *Persian regime? If so, agricultural investment might be rendered too risky on the one hand, or be officially sponsored on the other (or even perhaps both.)
Just a very little but rather important nitpick, that the core of Ottoman Empire during this time was Balkans, not Anatolia.
But anyway, this is so true. Aururian crops will most likely relieve pressure on Anatolians due to Balkan exploitation and all. They will simply arrive just at the right time, and this will help cementing Ottoman rule in their Asian territories.
Also, don't forget that Persia will also be strengthened with these Aururian crops as well, so I suspect there will might be some deliberate attempts by the Ottomans to ensure the resultant population boom making the demographic shift in Sunnis favor on the expense of their Shiite subjects, especially in Mesopotamia.....
It's entirely possible that alpacas (and deer) will become niche animals around the world ITTL. Probably not in *NZ or Australia, because there isn't the same tradition of sheep farming to diversify from - and for a couple of other lesser reasons which will be described as the TL progresses.
As a niche, certainly. ATL, there's also the delay factor to consider when compared to OTL, though. The native population of the Americas takes rather a hit from the Aururian plagues, though, which reduces the use of domesticated llamas/alpacas, and will take longer to recover, so this may also delay the use of llamas/alpacas overseas when compared to OTL.
Pretty good. Quite gamey, and rather a tough meat. I wouldn't recommend having a kangaroo steak well-done, although it's good medium or marinated.
Thanks! I'll try to check out your TL too, although my spare time is not high at the moment, thanks to a rather more-than-full-time job and various other commitments.
Depends on the time and the respective power of Persia vis a vis the Ottomans, but overall I'd probably see that as an incentive. Getting loyal people (Sunnis, as per Ridwan Asher's comment below) on the marchlands would help.
Indeed. The Ottomans pretty much always had a Balkan core until the late days of the Empire, if I understand it right.
It will really help in Asia. Also, Aururian crops would grow well in Greece - would this make a difference there? I suspect that may well just mean a larger Greek (ie Orthodox) population, but I could be wrong.
Aururian crops will grow well in large parts of Persia, although if I remember right, the available growing zone is smaller, thanks to high elevations in lots of Persia, and larger areas which are just plain desert and too dry even for Aururian crops.
1) Well, as long as this won't result in a staggering demographic shift and the Orthodox peoples remain loyal to the empire I don't think Ottomans would be so bothered(well there will most likely still be a stream of conversion to Islam and all), but it seems that there's the potential that the Hellens will become even more of dominant nation within the empire's Orthodox Christian population. If such actually happens, wonder how the Slavic and Albanian Orthodox Christians will respond to it....
2) It seems that it will still be enough to provide enough power to support Iraqian Shias had the later's population grown as rapid as their Persian brothers-in-faith, such if had been foreseen by the Ottomans, they would love to prevent it from happening.
I would just like to say that this thread is one of the best I've ever had the chance to read. I've been following for a while now and I was wondering why the Dutch haven't attempted to really establish trade with the Nangu?
Yes, overall I don't think that the Ottomans would be all that worried, since this will just be in most of OTL Greece - the relative benefit of Aururian crops is much lower further north. Offhand, I can't think of any reason why the Hellenes would become disloyal, either.
Very good question, which I wish I could answer. Paging AHP again...
Oh, yes, Persia will still be capable of supporting a higher population ITTL. That will be something which will be of concern to the Ottomans, although I'm not sure that they will have enough foresight to anticipate it in time to do much to prevent it. Although they may be moving more Sunni settlers into Mesopotamia for other reasons, ie to take advantage of the new crops.
Merci.
Due to a variety of reasons, but mostly because the long communication lag between the Netherlands and the East Indies/Aururia making it hard to recognise trade with the Nangu as a priority. It can take up to two years round trip for ships to sail from Amsterdam and back, so communications are not quick.
The Dutch have been vaguely aware of the Nangu since 1620, but they lacked useful information about its location. Their first exploration voyage failed, and thanks to the long delay in communications, it would take until November 1627 until Batavia knew about the location of the Nangu, and late in 1628 before this was known in Amsterdam.
In Batavia after 1627, Governor-General Coen had decided to ignore the Nangu while he concentrated his efforts on what he saw as more important matters. He decided to ignore the Nangu due to a combination of some good reasoning and one personal bad reaction.
Coen was well aware that what were, to the Dutch, the most valuable trade goods - gold and sandalwood - were produced in western Aururia - they were what the Nangu came to trade for. The most valuable trade good which the Nangu brought west - kunduri - was in effect a stronger form of tobacco, and when Coen tried it for the first time, he had a bad reaction to it (ie gag reflex kicked in and he lost his lunch) and he's refused to try it since. Seeing as he sees no value in it, Coen doesn't place contact with the Nangu as a high priority.
At this point in its history, the VOC was using most of its ships and resources to take over the inter-Asian shipping routes which would ultimately allow profitable trade networks, and Coen didn't want to waste ships on trade with the Nangu since it didn't offer the same profits (as he saw it). In OTL, the VOC set up these shipping routes by about 1630; ATL it will take about the same, although there were factors both speeding up and delaying the process. (Deaths from Aururian plagues slowed it down, extra gold from trade with Tiayal sped it up). Only once that's finished will Coen divert resources into finding out whether there's anything else of great value to trade with the Nangu.
Coen hasn't been overruled by Amsterdam until 1631, thanks to the communications lag. It took until 1628 until the Lords Seventeen had even a vague idea that the Nangu wmight be worth trading with, and the disruptions of the Aururian plagues (which hit in late 1627) meant that it took them a while to get around to doing something about it. By 1631, the governor they've sent out to their Tiayal trading outpost has been ordered to explore trading contacts with the Nangu, but this hasn't (yet) turned into direct trade.
I'd love to have another instalment ready to go, but unfortunately work and life haven't really left me time to write the next post. I'll have some time over the Easter long weekend, but I'm not sure whether that will be enough time to finish a full post. I'll see what I can do.
As for proposed greening of the Mesopotamian drylands, there was a great impediment to agriculture even in the relatively humid districts of the Ottoman MidEast, that impediment being nomadic confederations. At least one of them, al-Muntafiq, was strong enough to influence appointment of Basra governor by Sultan. The nomads needed namely these less dry portions of Mesopotamian semideserts for their summer pastures. These tribes, not being content with their livestock wealth (honestly speaking, it was too vulnerable to drought and cold), earned additional resources guarding caravans, protecting countryside (against themselves, mostly) and doing outright extortion. The OTL Ottomans subjugated the Muntafiq only in 1860-ies (using telegraph lines and steamboat squadron on the Mesopotamian rivers), and lesser tribes somewhat earlier.
Could they have it done earlier in the LoRaG TL without 19th-century technology but with more profitable crops (and more dense sedentary population)?
A tricky question...
Could they have it done earlier in the LoRaG TL without 19th-century technology but with more profitable crops (and more dense sedentary population)?
A tricky question...
Lands of Red and Gold #30: An Aururian Miscellany
Lands of Red and Gold #30: An Aururian Miscellany
This post is an assortment of disconnected parts which offer glimpses of some aspects of the LRGverse, but which aren’t large enough to form an entire post in themselves, so they’ve been included together here.
* * *
October 1629
Crescent Bay, The Island [Kingscote, Kangaroo Island]
The last curve of the sun’s fire glowed above the western horizon as the day began its descent into night, while in the east the first stars were emerging to complete that transformation. Almost directly overhead, the moon cast down its own incomplete light; this was the half-moon, perfectly balanced between the fading of the last new moon and emergence of the next full moon.
In short, a most auspicious time, a time of perfect balance in the endless cycles of the world. This was a time when a man could hear the harmony of the world reflected within himself, if his mind and soul were properly ordered, and when he could use that wisdom to guide himself during difficult decisions.
Lalgatja, elder of the Wolalta bloodline, needed a time such as this. Wisdom had always been the most valuable of commodities, and unlike anything else, he could not send out his trade captains to collect it. Guidance he needed, in this time when the Nangu were divided amongst themselves worse than any other time in living memory, with troubles afflicting the Island and the nearer parts of its hegemony, while an unknown people moved around the world in a way which could bring great profit or great destruction.
The last light of the sun faded into the west while Lalgatja contemplated, and his three senior captains waited in fitting silence. He had chosen this site at the western door of the Temple of the Five Winds, and the priests had wisely left them alone. As they should; with the generous gifts which the Wolalta had given to this temple, time for private contemplation was the least they deserved.
The Raw Men, he realised. It had all begun with them. The consequences of their arrival had rippled across most of the world, as consequences always did, but everything had begun with the Raw Men.
Thanks to the Raw Men, the Nangu bloodlines had fallen back into the old ways of feud and rivalry. The Raw Men had arrived at the western edge of the world, showed magnificent goods which drew the interest of every true-blooded Nangu... and then refused to trade with them!
Instead, the Raw Men had established trade with the Atjuntja, foolishly adhering to their pact with those bloodletting savages, and not sending their trade ships further east. A few of the Raw Men’s goods had reached the Island after being traded on by the Atjuntja, but those few items which had come at great cost did nothing but arouse competitive passions amongst the bloodlines.
The Raw Men themselves had remained tantalisingly distant. Some of the bolder Nangu captains had sailed into the far west in the hope of discovering the Raw Men’s homelands. Those voyages had ended in disappointment for the fortunate and death for the rest. The arguments over those voyages – particularly the bloodlines who suspected each other of destroying their ships – had begun the first of the feuds which now troubled the Island.
Other Nangu had sought to establish contact with the Raw Men via intermediaries, a course which risked arousing the anger of the King of Kings. One attempt had succeeded, that Lalgatja knew of; one of the Tjula captains had invited the Raw Men at their trading outpost to send a ship to visit the Island. That should have been a triumph for the Tjula, but once the other bloodlines had learned of this visit, the Manyilti had led a faction who blamed them for acting without the Council’s approval, and threatening all trade with Tiayal. Another feud had been born out of that dispute, adding to the Island’s troubles.
The Raw Men had eventually heeded the Tjula’s call, sending a fleet of three ships to wander [ie explore] the seas, and visited the Island. One fleet only, with small quantities of valuable goods and only limited interest in trading [1]. The result had been endless disagreements among the Nangu, as the bloodlines competed with each other in a most undignified manner to secure some of the Raw Men’s goods.
That had been the first great warning, as far as Lalgatja had been concerned. He had ordered his captains not to trade with the Raw Men at all. His judgement had been that any price paid would be too expensive, and that being involved in the bargaining would only attract the hatred of other bloodlines.
Events had proved him right; more feuds had grown out of the Raw Men’s visit than any of the earlier troubles. So far none of those feuds had turned into a full vendetta, but the risk remained. Especially with almost three years passing, and no sign whether the Raw Men would ever return. The bloodlines grew ever more fractious, with whispered rumours accusing others of warning off the Raw Men, or of concluding secret agreements for exclusive access.
Other troubles had followed in the wake of the Raw Men’s visit. Disease had struck; a new malady called swelling-fever [mumps] which had first appeared amongst the Atjuntja, and then in time followed the trading ships back to the east.
Swelling-fever had struck first in the Seven Sisters [2], then on the Island. Many men had died of this new affliction. This had happened despite the best precautions of the Nangu, who had acted on the advice of Nakatta, elder of the Muwanna bloodline. Nakatta had advised of the need to quarantine any ship whose crew showed symptoms of the swelling-fever. That quarantine had been enforced, but the disease still spread to the Mutjing and then to the Nangu [3].
The failure of Nakatta’s advice had discredited the Muwanna bloodline, but that had only been the start of the problems. The Lorekeeper, most senior elder in the Council, had been among the victims of the swelling-fever. With his departure to join his kin, the bloodlines had lost their most respected adjudicator, which had only worsened the feuds.
Trade had suffered, too. With the deaths of so many farmers amongst the Mutjing, the price of yams, wealth-grain [wattle seeds] and other foods had risen. That always made the Nangu uneasy. The Island depended on importing food from the Mutjing, and paying more for it cost trade goods which had to be obtained from elsewhere. So far, prices had not risen unbearably, but the fact that they had increased at all had worsened the tension amongst the bloodlines.
Even lesser events seemed to conspire to bring misfortune to the Island. From the mainland, word had come that the Yadji Regent [ie Emperor] was dead of the swelling-fever. Privately, Lalgatja suspected that the priests had simply used a convenient excuse to rid themselves of a mad Regent. Regardless of the reason, however, the Land of the Five Directions [ie Yadji lands] drifted leaderless while the priests squabbled among themselves.
Normally, chaos among the Yadji would have been a welcome sign that the security of the Island was being maintained. Not now, though, when it let Tjibarr consolidate its decade-old conquest of Jugara and the Copper Coast. The safety of the Island had always rested on the balance between the Yadji and Tjibarr, so that both of them were too busy looking at the other to threaten the Nangu, but it looked as if that might no longer hold. Worse, in the short-term, the unrest in the Yadji lands meant that their rulers were disinclined to trade, which wove another thread into the tapestry of Nangu troubles.
On the Cider Isle, worse than unrest had come; the Tjunini and Kurnawal had started another cycle in their endless war. Many times, such news would have had the trading captains flocking to their shores to profit from trading with both sides. Alas, this war had been more destructive than most, with cider gums deliberately burned by both sides, and gold mining curtailed while both sides focused on mining tin to make bronze for weapons. There was little worth trading for in the Cider Isle, until the war was done.
So, in the midst of this time of troubles, Lalgatja had come to seek wisdom, to chart a course for his bloodline through rough waters. The Island afflicted by disease and riven by feuds, the world growing unsettled, and the Raw Men both mysterious and enticing beyond the fringes of the world.
As he considered matters, he realised that he had already been given the most important insight. The Raw Men were the key. Know them, understand them, and the path would become clear. The other troubles would come and go, but they were merely ripples in the cosmos.
“We must reach the Raw Men properly,” Lalgatja said, the first time he had spoken aloud since he reached the temple. “If they will not come to us, we must find a way to go to them.”
With that invitation, his captains now knew that they could speak. If they had anything worth saying.
Werringi, the second-most senior captain, said, “We cannot reach the Raw Men if we sail west. Most of the other bloodlines had tried and failed, even with captains and crews whose skills are not to be despised.”
Lalgatja said, “That truth we knew before coming here.”
“The truth we knew, but not what follows from it. The Raw Men come from the west, but when they have traded with the Atjuntja, they do not sail west again.”
Now, that was a new thought. If true. “Are you sure?”
“They go north. So agree those who have been to the White City,” Werringi said. “And we all saw the ships which the Raw Men brought to the Island. They cannot sail into the wind as well as our ships can, even if they are faster with the wind behind them. If the western winds have defeated our captains, then the Raw Men must be sailing north.”
Kunyana, the most senior captain, said, “That will not let us sail after them. To voyage along the western coast of Tiayal is difficult, since we cannot secure landfall without being asked very difficult questions. Our ships would have even more troubles if they wander beyond Atjuntja lands. Going north, it is easy to sail away but hard to sail back, which makes it very difficult to judge how far a ship can safely sail before turning back.”
Werringi said, “So we must sail east first.”
Lalgatja raised an eyebrow. “You would reach the Raw Men by sailing further away from them?”
“It is the route which the Raw Men took after visiting here. They would not have sailed there if they did not know that the voyage could be done.”
Werringi stood, his enthusiasm carried in his voice as he spoke. “It would be a great voyage, but not an impossible one. I have sailed to the Spice Coast, to the Patjimunra lands [Hunter Valley, New South Wales] and even once to Daluming [Coffs Harbour]. That is the way which the Raw Men must have gone, and they would only have sailed there if they knew that they could find their homeland again. So I will take a ship east, then north, and sail west where I can, until I can find where the Raw Men go after they leave Tiayal.”
Kunyana said, “Boldness is good, but suicide is not.”
“It is the third path [ie decisiveness],” Werringi said. “This is a time of great change; we will not succeed by taking half-measures.”
Lalgatja gestured for Werringi to sit again, then let them wait in silence while he thought. After a time, he said, “Do as you will, Werringi. I will not sanction your voyage, but neither will I oppose it. If you can persuade your crew to sail with you, and perhaps find another captain willing to take his ship with yours, then I will pray to Eagle for your success.”
* * *
This section is a summary of the key domesticated Aururian plants and animals and what effects they might have on the rest of the world. This is not a comprehensive list of all such plants and animals; it only includes those which have potential to be exported to the rest of the world and make a significant difference there.
In this list, the allohistorical name is given first, if it differs from the historical name. Where there is more than one important allohistorical name, the name which is used is the one by which the plant or animal will be most widely known in English.
Staple Crops
Red yam (Dioscorea chelidonius) is a perennial vine which produces large, edible tubers, and for cooking purposes can be used much like a potato. It grows well in semi-arid conditions between latitudes of 25 to 45 degrees. Can grow in areas of higher rainfall, but does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Widely-grown throughout subtropical and temperate Aururia, and has excellent potential to be exported to other parts of the world. It will grow well in areas of Mediterranean climate and other mid-latitude regions, but will not grow in the tropics. It has a reasonably high agricultural yield, although on fertile, well-watered soils, crops such as potatoes would be superior.
Lesser yam (Dioscorea chelidonius var inferior) is a hybrid of the red yam and the related long yam (D. transversa). It has a lower yield than the red yam, and has higher water requirements, but unlike the red yam, it can grow in the tropics. The plant is cultivated mostly in the northern fringes of Aururian farming [east-central Queensland], but if exported, could grow well in many drier areas of the tropics.
Cornnarts / wattles (Acacia spp) are fast-growing trees which produce large quantities of edible, high-protein seeds and can be tapped to yield gum aururic [wattle gum]. As legumes, they also replenish soil nitrates. About ten species of cornnarts have been domesticated. Cornnarts are mostly suited for low-rainfall climates in the middle latitudes, although some of the domesticated species can grow in the tropics or cooler climates, and some can also tolerate higher rainfall.
Murnong (Microseris lanceolata) is a perennial crop which produces edible tubers, which are used similarly to red yams or potatoes. Murnong does not tolerate excessive heat, and in lowland regions it cannot be grown as close to the equator as the red yam. However, it is more tolerant of cooler climates, poorer soils and shorter growing seasons, and can be grown at higher latitudes than the red yam. It also does not have the red yam’s problems with tropical day length, and can be grown in cool highlands within the tropics.
Dutch flax / native flax (Linum marginale) is an Aururian relative of common flax (L. usitatissimum). Like the Eurasian plant, it is used to make fibre (linen, textiles, rope), and its seeds are edible or can be used to create a form of linseed oil. It does not grow as large as common flax, but if carefully harvested it will regrow from its roots for up to five years without needing reseeding. If exported, it will need lower rainfall or need less irrigation than common flax, although it will not yield as much fibre per acre. This will allow expansion of textile production by allowing linen to be grown in wider areas, although the Aururian fibre is still quite similar to common flax, and lacks the flexibility of some other plant fibres (such as cotton).
Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is a desert tree which produces large, sweet fruit (including an edible nut at the centre of each fruit). It has an odd habit of parasitising the roots of other trees, and so needs to be cultivated in mixed orchards with other trees. Choosing different host species produces different fruit flavours (cornnarts are normally used in Aururia). Grows well in hot, relatively arid regions, and would be suitable for cultivation around much of the world, particularly zones of Mediterranean climate.
Luto / bush pear (Marsdenia australis) is a desert vine where almost of the plant is edible. The pear-shaped fruit has a sweet pulp and edible seeds. The leaves and stems are edible and used for flavouring. The vine also produces an edible root tuber. A drought-hardy species, the luto will grow even in relatively poor soils and semiarid climates throughout much of the world. In Aururia, it is nicknamed the “many vine” for the range of flavours which can be produced from its various parts, and some other countries will incorporate the luto into their cuisine when it is eventually exported.
Spices
Lemon verbena / lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) is a tree whose leaves produce a sweet, strong lemony flavour. While it tolerates low levels of some nutrients, overall it needs better soils, warmer weather and higher rainfall than most Aururian plants. In pre-Houtmanian Aururia, lemon verbena’s cultivation was largely confined to the subtropical eastern seaboard, but it was traded across the continent. Lemon verbena has considerable potential to be exported as a spice, and could be grown in areas of similar climate around much of the world. The potential is similar for several other spice trees which grow on the subtropical east coast, aniseed myrtle (Syzygium anisatum), cinnamon myrtle (Backhousia myrtifolia) and curry myrtle (B. angustifolia).
Sweet peppers / pepperbushes (Tasmannia spp) are shrubs whose leaves and especially berries have an intense peppery taste. The plant tolerates reasonably poor soils and frosts, and is grown across much of the southern half of Aururia, although it often needs some small-scale irrigation. Widespread in pre-Houtmanian Aururia, sweet peppers also have considerable potential for export; they have, per weight, up to ten times the flavour of the more common black pepper (Piper nigrum).
Ovasecca / desert raisin (Solanum centrale) is a desert shrub related to the tomato, which produces a fruit with a taste reminiscent of tamarillo and caramel. The fruit conveniently dries while still on the stalk, making for easy transport and storage. The plant tolerates dry conditions and poor soils, but in the wild it only fruits after heavy rains; in cultivation this is mimicked by judicious irrigation. Ovasecca is cultivated in the Five Rivers and nearby areas as a condiment, and has the potential to be cultivated in semiarid regions around the world where there is access to irrigation.
White ginger / native ginger (Alpinia caerulea) is a shrub whose fruit, new shoots and tubers have gingery flavours. Native to the warmer areas of the eastern Aururian seaboard, it can be grown much more widely with irrigation. It is cultivated widely in the Five Rivers, and less commonly elsewhere, as a spice. White ginger can be cultivated in subtropical climates around the world with reasonable rainfall and/or irrigation, and has some potential as a spice for export.
Others
Kunduri / corkwood (Duboisia hopwoodii) is a shrub whose leaves contain high levels of nicotine and other alkaloids, and provide Aururia’s drug of choice. The cultivated form of kunduri is grown in the Five Rivers, and is their most valuable export to the rest of the continent. Although Eurasians who first encounter kunduri will often find it too strong a drug (due to the elevated nicotine levels), it has very strong long-term potential for export and will influence the world (in several senses of the word). Kunduri could also be cultivated in subtropical arid or semiarid areas around the world (with irrigation).
Spanish indigo / native indigo (Indigofera australis) is a relative of true indigo (I. tinctoria), which produces a similar dye to the more familiar (to Eurasians) plant. Spanish indigo is more versatile than true indigo, since by various treatments to the leaves, it can produce not just the true indigo colour, but a brilliant yellow and a useful green. Spanish indigo was cultivated over most of the farming areas of Aururia in the pre-contact period [4]. The plant can grow in poorer soils and drier climes and further into subtropical latitudes than true indigo, and so has considerable potential both for export from Aururia and for cultivation around much of the world.
Jeeree / Lemon-scented teatree (Leptospermum petersonii) is a tree whose leaves produce an intense, lemony taste. It can tolerate reasonably poor soils, but needs reasonable rainfall and is sensitive to frost. In Aururia, it is grown almost exclusively on the eastern coast, where its leaves are used to make a lemon “tea” that is popular amongst all of the eastern cultures. It is not well-regarded in the rest of the continent. Jeeree has some potential for export as an exotic “tea”, and can be cultivated in most subtropical latitudes where there is reasonable rainfall or access to irrigation.
Nooroon / emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a large, flightless bird which is Aururia’s prime domestic animal. A fast-growing bird, it is a useful source of meat, leather and feathers. In comparison to big Eurasian domestic animals (such as cattle), the nooroon is less efficient as a grazer, but when grain fed, produces more usable meat in proportion to the amount of grain. The nooroon has reasonable potential for export to subtropical and tropical latitudes, particularly since as a bird it is unaffected by some tropical diseases which afflict domesticated mammals.
Pole-cat / tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is a marsupial equivalent of the cat, domesticated to serve a similar rat-catching role. Pole-cats are widely distributed among the farming peoples of Aururia, who find them an invaluable asset for controlling native rodents and other pests. The pole-cat is not quite as efficient a rat-catcher as cats, but it still has some potential for export as an exotic pet, and it may also become an invasive species if introduced into some environments.
* * *
In Europe, the course of what another history would call the Thirty Years War would be changed by the ravages of Marnitja in 1628. At this time, the imperial forces under Albrecht von Wallenstein had made Christian IV of Denmark regret his intervention in the war, defeating the Danish allies and ultimately overrunning Jutland. To threaten the Danish capital on Zealand, though, the imperial forces needed a Baltic fleet, and plans were made to besiege the port of Stralsund.
The effects of Marnitja changed that. The preparations for besieging Stralsund were abandoned amidst the disruption. While both sides suffered casualties from the epidemic, the Danish forces were in a better position to liberate much of Jutland, since they could draw on local support while the imperial forces were operating on hostile territory.
A year of manoeuvring on Jutland followed, with a number of engagements which saw imperial forces pushed out of part of the peninsula, but never decisively defeated. By this point, both sides were inclined to seek peace. Diplomatic manoeuvring replaced its military counterpart, and by April 1630 the two sides had agreed on terms.
By the terms of the Treaty of Lübeck, Jutland and Royal Holstein were restored to Denmark, while the Duchy of Holstein was granted joint overlordship of Hamburg. Prince Ulric, a younger son of Christian IV, was named Prince-Bishop of Verden, and Bishop of Schwerin, and was designated as the heir of the Lutheran Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, when the current incumbent died. The Dukes of Mecklenburg were restored, including the estates which Wallenstein had confiscated. In exchange, Wallenstein was granted estates around Stettin in central Pomerania, which allowed him to collect tolls from trade along the River Oder. As part of the treaty, Christian IV agreed to withdraw all Danish forces from elsewhere in the Holy Roman Empire, and not to provide any further support to Protestants in Germany.
So, in April 1630, it appeared that the war which had begun eleven years earlier might finally come to an end.
Other events, though, changed that.
In Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus caught Marnitja in May 1630. He survived the pink cough, but now faced the prospect of waiting to see whether he would be claimed by a fevered delirium. Gustavus did not plan to wait passively for death to claim him, but decided that if he would die, he would leave a legacy behind. He wanted to make sure that his name would be remembered.
The previous year, Sweden had ended its war with Poland by signing a six-year truce, the Truce of Altmark [5], which gave Sweden control of Livonia and some Baltic ports. Gustavus Adolphus was not inclined to break that truce in pursuit of further gains.
Instead, he looked south. As he saw it, the Protestant cause in Germany had been betrayed by Denmark, but here was an opportunity to secure his legacy. Germany was in chaos, the Protestants needed support, and glory beckoned. Swedish forces landed near Stettin in June 1630, with Gustavus Adolphus at their head and conquest on his mind. He knew that landing here would inevitably draw the forces of Wallenstein, the greatest surviving general of imperial forces, and hoped that defeating Wallenstein would rally Germany’s Protestants under his banner.
Gustavus Adolphus did not just hope to secure glory through victory in Germany, though. By now, Europe was rife with rumours of the wealth to be found in colonies, with the Spanish long ago acquiring dominions in the Americas, and the Dutch finding a new fortune in the distant South Land. Gustavus Adolphus chartered a new company, based in Gothenburg, with orders to explore North America and find a suitable place for founding a new colony there that would bear his name...
* * *
[1] This was François Thijssen’s 1626-7 voyage to Aururia and Aotearoa. He did not actually have limited interest in trading with the Nangu per se, but he had only limited samples of trade goods. He did not want to exchange them all with the first people he met, preferring to keep most of them if he encountered other peoples further east.
[2] The Seven Sisters [Eyre Peninsula, South Australia] is the name given to the Mutjing lands.
[3] The quarantine has failed because mumps produces a significant proportion of asymptomatic carriers, and some of them have carried the disease past the quarantine.
[4] Although, naturally, the pre-Houtmanian Aururians did not call the plant Spanish indigo.
[5] This truce was similar to what was signed historically, giving Sweden most of Livonia, some coastal cities in Prussia, and a substantial share of the tolls from trade passing through Poland’s Baltic ports.
* * *
Thoughts?
P.S. The next post – coming soon, hopefully – will wrap up the main Dutch-Atjuntja thread to its conclusion. After that, the main focus will shift to European contact with the eastern Aururian peoples.
This post is an assortment of disconnected parts which offer glimpses of some aspects of the LRGverse, but which aren’t large enough to form an entire post in themselves, so they’ve been included together here.
* * *
October 1629
Crescent Bay, The Island [Kingscote, Kangaroo Island]
The last curve of the sun’s fire glowed above the western horizon as the day began its descent into night, while in the east the first stars were emerging to complete that transformation. Almost directly overhead, the moon cast down its own incomplete light; this was the half-moon, perfectly balanced between the fading of the last new moon and emergence of the next full moon.
In short, a most auspicious time, a time of perfect balance in the endless cycles of the world. This was a time when a man could hear the harmony of the world reflected within himself, if his mind and soul were properly ordered, and when he could use that wisdom to guide himself during difficult decisions.
Lalgatja, elder of the Wolalta bloodline, needed a time such as this. Wisdom had always been the most valuable of commodities, and unlike anything else, he could not send out his trade captains to collect it. Guidance he needed, in this time when the Nangu were divided amongst themselves worse than any other time in living memory, with troubles afflicting the Island and the nearer parts of its hegemony, while an unknown people moved around the world in a way which could bring great profit or great destruction.
The last light of the sun faded into the west while Lalgatja contemplated, and his three senior captains waited in fitting silence. He had chosen this site at the western door of the Temple of the Five Winds, and the priests had wisely left them alone. As they should; with the generous gifts which the Wolalta had given to this temple, time for private contemplation was the least they deserved.
The Raw Men, he realised. It had all begun with them. The consequences of their arrival had rippled across most of the world, as consequences always did, but everything had begun with the Raw Men.
Thanks to the Raw Men, the Nangu bloodlines had fallen back into the old ways of feud and rivalry. The Raw Men had arrived at the western edge of the world, showed magnificent goods which drew the interest of every true-blooded Nangu... and then refused to trade with them!
Instead, the Raw Men had established trade with the Atjuntja, foolishly adhering to their pact with those bloodletting savages, and not sending their trade ships further east. A few of the Raw Men’s goods had reached the Island after being traded on by the Atjuntja, but those few items which had come at great cost did nothing but arouse competitive passions amongst the bloodlines.
The Raw Men themselves had remained tantalisingly distant. Some of the bolder Nangu captains had sailed into the far west in the hope of discovering the Raw Men’s homelands. Those voyages had ended in disappointment for the fortunate and death for the rest. The arguments over those voyages – particularly the bloodlines who suspected each other of destroying their ships – had begun the first of the feuds which now troubled the Island.
Other Nangu had sought to establish contact with the Raw Men via intermediaries, a course which risked arousing the anger of the King of Kings. One attempt had succeeded, that Lalgatja knew of; one of the Tjula captains had invited the Raw Men at their trading outpost to send a ship to visit the Island. That should have been a triumph for the Tjula, but once the other bloodlines had learned of this visit, the Manyilti had led a faction who blamed them for acting without the Council’s approval, and threatening all trade with Tiayal. Another feud had been born out of that dispute, adding to the Island’s troubles.
The Raw Men had eventually heeded the Tjula’s call, sending a fleet of three ships to wander [ie explore] the seas, and visited the Island. One fleet only, with small quantities of valuable goods and only limited interest in trading [1]. The result had been endless disagreements among the Nangu, as the bloodlines competed with each other in a most undignified manner to secure some of the Raw Men’s goods.
That had been the first great warning, as far as Lalgatja had been concerned. He had ordered his captains not to trade with the Raw Men at all. His judgement had been that any price paid would be too expensive, and that being involved in the bargaining would only attract the hatred of other bloodlines.
Events had proved him right; more feuds had grown out of the Raw Men’s visit than any of the earlier troubles. So far none of those feuds had turned into a full vendetta, but the risk remained. Especially with almost three years passing, and no sign whether the Raw Men would ever return. The bloodlines grew ever more fractious, with whispered rumours accusing others of warning off the Raw Men, or of concluding secret agreements for exclusive access.
Other troubles had followed in the wake of the Raw Men’s visit. Disease had struck; a new malady called swelling-fever [mumps] which had first appeared amongst the Atjuntja, and then in time followed the trading ships back to the east.
Swelling-fever had struck first in the Seven Sisters [2], then on the Island. Many men had died of this new affliction. This had happened despite the best precautions of the Nangu, who had acted on the advice of Nakatta, elder of the Muwanna bloodline. Nakatta had advised of the need to quarantine any ship whose crew showed symptoms of the swelling-fever. That quarantine had been enforced, but the disease still spread to the Mutjing and then to the Nangu [3].
The failure of Nakatta’s advice had discredited the Muwanna bloodline, but that had only been the start of the problems. The Lorekeeper, most senior elder in the Council, had been among the victims of the swelling-fever. With his departure to join his kin, the bloodlines had lost their most respected adjudicator, which had only worsened the feuds.
Trade had suffered, too. With the deaths of so many farmers amongst the Mutjing, the price of yams, wealth-grain [wattle seeds] and other foods had risen. That always made the Nangu uneasy. The Island depended on importing food from the Mutjing, and paying more for it cost trade goods which had to be obtained from elsewhere. So far, prices had not risen unbearably, but the fact that they had increased at all had worsened the tension amongst the bloodlines.
Even lesser events seemed to conspire to bring misfortune to the Island. From the mainland, word had come that the Yadji Regent [ie Emperor] was dead of the swelling-fever. Privately, Lalgatja suspected that the priests had simply used a convenient excuse to rid themselves of a mad Regent. Regardless of the reason, however, the Land of the Five Directions [ie Yadji lands] drifted leaderless while the priests squabbled among themselves.
Normally, chaos among the Yadji would have been a welcome sign that the security of the Island was being maintained. Not now, though, when it let Tjibarr consolidate its decade-old conquest of Jugara and the Copper Coast. The safety of the Island had always rested on the balance between the Yadji and Tjibarr, so that both of them were too busy looking at the other to threaten the Nangu, but it looked as if that might no longer hold. Worse, in the short-term, the unrest in the Yadji lands meant that their rulers were disinclined to trade, which wove another thread into the tapestry of Nangu troubles.
On the Cider Isle, worse than unrest had come; the Tjunini and Kurnawal had started another cycle in their endless war. Many times, such news would have had the trading captains flocking to their shores to profit from trading with both sides. Alas, this war had been more destructive than most, with cider gums deliberately burned by both sides, and gold mining curtailed while both sides focused on mining tin to make bronze for weapons. There was little worth trading for in the Cider Isle, until the war was done.
So, in the midst of this time of troubles, Lalgatja had come to seek wisdom, to chart a course for his bloodline through rough waters. The Island afflicted by disease and riven by feuds, the world growing unsettled, and the Raw Men both mysterious and enticing beyond the fringes of the world.
As he considered matters, he realised that he had already been given the most important insight. The Raw Men were the key. Know them, understand them, and the path would become clear. The other troubles would come and go, but they were merely ripples in the cosmos.
“We must reach the Raw Men properly,” Lalgatja said, the first time he had spoken aloud since he reached the temple. “If they will not come to us, we must find a way to go to them.”
With that invitation, his captains now knew that they could speak. If they had anything worth saying.
Werringi, the second-most senior captain, said, “We cannot reach the Raw Men if we sail west. Most of the other bloodlines had tried and failed, even with captains and crews whose skills are not to be despised.”
Lalgatja said, “That truth we knew before coming here.”
“The truth we knew, but not what follows from it. The Raw Men come from the west, but when they have traded with the Atjuntja, they do not sail west again.”
Now, that was a new thought. If true. “Are you sure?”
“They go north. So agree those who have been to the White City,” Werringi said. “And we all saw the ships which the Raw Men brought to the Island. They cannot sail into the wind as well as our ships can, even if they are faster with the wind behind them. If the western winds have defeated our captains, then the Raw Men must be sailing north.”
Kunyana, the most senior captain, said, “That will not let us sail after them. To voyage along the western coast of Tiayal is difficult, since we cannot secure landfall without being asked very difficult questions. Our ships would have even more troubles if they wander beyond Atjuntja lands. Going north, it is easy to sail away but hard to sail back, which makes it very difficult to judge how far a ship can safely sail before turning back.”
Werringi said, “So we must sail east first.”
Lalgatja raised an eyebrow. “You would reach the Raw Men by sailing further away from them?”
“It is the route which the Raw Men took after visiting here. They would not have sailed there if they did not know that the voyage could be done.”
Werringi stood, his enthusiasm carried in his voice as he spoke. “It would be a great voyage, but not an impossible one. I have sailed to the Spice Coast, to the Patjimunra lands [Hunter Valley, New South Wales] and even once to Daluming [Coffs Harbour]. That is the way which the Raw Men must have gone, and they would only have sailed there if they knew that they could find their homeland again. So I will take a ship east, then north, and sail west where I can, until I can find where the Raw Men go after they leave Tiayal.”
Kunyana said, “Boldness is good, but suicide is not.”
“It is the third path [ie decisiveness],” Werringi said. “This is a time of great change; we will not succeed by taking half-measures.”
Lalgatja gestured for Werringi to sit again, then let them wait in silence while he thought. After a time, he said, “Do as you will, Werringi. I will not sanction your voyage, but neither will I oppose it. If you can persuade your crew to sail with you, and perhaps find another captain willing to take his ship with yours, then I will pray to Eagle for your success.”
* * *
This section is a summary of the key domesticated Aururian plants and animals and what effects they might have on the rest of the world. This is not a comprehensive list of all such plants and animals; it only includes those which have potential to be exported to the rest of the world and make a significant difference there.
In this list, the allohistorical name is given first, if it differs from the historical name. Where there is more than one important allohistorical name, the name which is used is the one by which the plant or animal will be most widely known in English.
Staple Crops
Red yam (Dioscorea chelidonius) is a perennial vine which produces large, edible tubers, and for cooking purposes can be used much like a potato. It grows well in semi-arid conditions between latitudes of 25 to 45 degrees. Can grow in areas of higher rainfall, but does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Widely-grown throughout subtropical and temperate Aururia, and has excellent potential to be exported to other parts of the world. It will grow well in areas of Mediterranean climate and other mid-latitude regions, but will not grow in the tropics. It has a reasonably high agricultural yield, although on fertile, well-watered soils, crops such as potatoes would be superior.
Lesser yam (Dioscorea chelidonius var inferior) is a hybrid of the red yam and the related long yam (D. transversa). It has a lower yield than the red yam, and has higher water requirements, but unlike the red yam, it can grow in the tropics. The plant is cultivated mostly in the northern fringes of Aururian farming [east-central Queensland], but if exported, could grow well in many drier areas of the tropics.
Cornnarts / wattles (Acacia spp) are fast-growing trees which produce large quantities of edible, high-protein seeds and can be tapped to yield gum aururic [wattle gum]. As legumes, they also replenish soil nitrates. About ten species of cornnarts have been domesticated. Cornnarts are mostly suited for low-rainfall climates in the middle latitudes, although some of the domesticated species can grow in the tropics or cooler climates, and some can also tolerate higher rainfall.
Murnong (Microseris lanceolata) is a perennial crop which produces edible tubers, which are used similarly to red yams or potatoes. Murnong does not tolerate excessive heat, and in lowland regions it cannot be grown as close to the equator as the red yam. However, it is more tolerant of cooler climates, poorer soils and shorter growing seasons, and can be grown at higher latitudes than the red yam. It also does not have the red yam’s problems with tropical day length, and can be grown in cool highlands within the tropics.
Dutch flax / native flax (Linum marginale) is an Aururian relative of common flax (L. usitatissimum). Like the Eurasian plant, it is used to make fibre (linen, textiles, rope), and its seeds are edible or can be used to create a form of linseed oil. It does not grow as large as common flax, but if carefully harvested it will regrow from its roots for up to five years without needing reseeding. If exported, it will need lower rainfall or need less irrigation than common flax, although it will not yield as much fibre per acre. This will allow expansion of textile production by allowing linen to be grown in wider areas, although the Aururian fibre is still quite similar to common flax, and lacks the flexibility of some other plant fibres (such as cotton).
Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is a desert tree which produces large, sweet fruit (including an edible nut at the centre of each fruit). It has an odd habit of parasitising the roots of other trees, and so needs to be cultivated in mixed orchards with other trees. Choosing different host species produces different fruit flavours (cornnarts are normally used in Aururia). Grows well in hot, relatively arid regions, and would be suitable for cultivation around much of the world, particularly zones of Mediterranean climate.
Luto / bush pear (Marsdenia australis) is a desert vine where almost of the plant is edible. The pear-shaped fruit has a sweet pulp and edible seeds. The leaves and stems are edible and used for flavouring. The vine also produces an edible root tuber. A drought-hardy species, the luto will grow even in relatively poor soils and semiarid climates throughout much of the world. In Aururia, it is nicknamed the “many vine” for the range of flavours which can be produced from its various parts, and some other countries will incorporate the luto into their cuisine when it is eventually exported.
Spices
Lemon verbena / lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) is a tree whose leaves produce a sweet, strong lemony flavour. While it tolerates low levels of some nutrients, overall it needs better soils, warmer weather and higher rainfall than most Aururian plants. In pre-Houtmanian Aururia, lemon verbena’s cultivation was largely confined to the subtropical eastern seaboard, but it was traded across the continent. Lemon verbena has considerable potential to be exported as a spice, and could be grown in areas of similar climate around much of the world. The potential is similar for several other spice trees which grow on the subtropical east coast, aniseed myrtle (Syzygium anisatum), cinnamon myrtle (Backhousia myrtifolia) and curry myrtle (B. angustifolia).
Sweet peppers / pepperbushes (Tasmannia spp) are shrubs whose leaves and especially berries have an intense peppery taste. The plant tolerates reasonably poor soils and frosts, and is grown across much of the southern half of Aururia, although it often needs some small-scale irrigation. Widespread in pre-Houtmanian Aururia, sweet peppers also have considerable potential for export; they have, per weight, up to ten times the flavour of the more common black pepper (Piper nigrum).
Ovasecca / desert raisin (Solanum centrale) is a desert shrub related to the tomato, which produces a fruit with a taste reminiscent of tamarillo and caramel. The fruit conveniently dries while still on the stalk, making for easy transport and storage. The plant tolerates dry conditions and poor soils, but in the wild it only fruits after heavy rains; in cultivation this is mimicked by judicious irrigation. Ovasecca is cultivated in the Five Rivers and nearby areas as a condiment, and has the potential to be cultivated in semiarid regions around the world where there is access to irrigation.
White ginger / native ginger (Alpinia caerulea) is a shrub whose fruit, new shoots and tubers have gingery flavours. Native to the warmer areas of the eastern Aururian seaboard, it can be grown much more widely with irrigation. It is cultivated widely in the Five Rivers, and less commonly elsewhere, as a spice. White ginger can be cultivated in subtropical climates around the world with reasonable rainfall and/or irrigation, and has some potential as a spice for export.
Others
Kunduri / corkwood (Duboisia hopwoodii) is a shrub whose leaves contain high levels of nicotine and other alkaloids, and provide Aururia’s drug of choice. The cultivated form of kunduri is grown in the Five Rivers, and is their most valuable export to the rest of the continent. Although Eurasians who first encounter kunduri will often find it too strong a drug (due to the elevated nicotine levels), it has very strong long-term potential for export and will influence the world (in several senses of the word). Kunduri could also be cultivated in subtropical arid or semiarid areas around the world (with irrigation).
Spanish indigo / native indigo (Indigofera australis) is a relative of true indigo (I. tinctoria), which produces a similar dye to the more familiar (to Eurasians) plant. Spanish indigo is more versatile than true indigo, since by various treatments to the leaves, it can produce not just the true indigo colour, but a brilliant yellow and a useful green. Spanish indigo was cultivated over most of the farming areas of Aururia in the pre-contact period [4]. The plant can grow in poorer soils and drier climes and further into subtropical latitudes than true indigo, and so has considerable potential both for export from Aururia and for cultivation around much of the world.
Jeeree / Lemon-scented teatree (Leptospermum petersonii) is a tree whose leaves produce an intense, lemony taste. It can tolerate reasonably poor soils, but needs reasonable rainfall and is sensitive to frost. In Aururia, it is grown almost exclusively on the eastern coast, where its leaves are used to make a lemon “tea” that is popular amongst all of the eastern cultures. It is not well-regarded in the rest of the continent. Jeeree has some potential for export as an exotic “tea”, and can be cultivated in most subtropical latitudes where there is reasonable rainfall or access to irrigation.
Nooroon / emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a large, flightless bird which is Aururia’s prime domestic animal. A fast-growing bird, it is a useful source of meat, leather and feathers. In comparison to big Eurasian domestic animals (such as cattle), the nooroon is less efficient as a grazer, but when grain fed, produces more usable meat in proportion to the amount of grain. The nooroon has reasonable potential for export to subtropical and tropical latitudes, particularly since as a bird it is unaffected by some tropical diseases which afflict domesticated mammals.
Pole-cat / tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is a marsupial equivalent of the cat, domesticated to serve a similar rat-catching role. Pole-cats are widely distributed among the farming peoples of Aururia, who find them an invaluable asset for controlling native rodents and other pests. The pole-cat is not quite as efficient a rat-catcher as cats, but it still has some potential for export as an exotic pet, and it may also become an invasive species if introduced into some environments.
* * *
In Europe, the course of what another history would call the Thirty Years War would be changed by the ravages of Marnitja in 1628. At this time, the imperial forces under Albrecht von Wallenstein had made Christian IV of Denmark regret his intervention in the war, defeating the Danish allies and ultimately overrunning Jutland. To threaten the Danish capital on Zealand, though, the imperial forces needed a Baltic fleet, and plans were made to besiege the port of Stralsund.
The effects of Marnitja changed that. The preparations for besieging Stralsund were abandoned amidst the disruption. While both sides suffered casualties from the epidemic, the Danish forces were in a better position to liberate much of Jutland, since they could draw on local support while the imperial forces were operating on hostile territory.
A year of manoeuvring on Jutland followed, with a number of engagements which saw imperial forces pushed out of part of the peninsula, but never decisively defeated. By this point, both sides were inclined to seek peace. Diplomatic manoeuvring replaced its military counterpart, and by April 1630 the two sides had agreed on terms.
By the terms of the Treaty of Lübeck, Jutland and Royal Holstein were restored to Denmark, while the Duchy of Holstein was granted joint overlordship of Hamburg. Prince Ulric, a younger son of Christian IV, was named Prince-Bishop of Verden, and Bishop of Schwerin, and was designated as the heir of the Lutheran Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, when the current incumbent died. The Dukes of Mecklenburg were restored, including the estates which Wallenstein had confiscated. In exchange, Wallenstein was granted estates around Stettin in central Pomerania, which allowed him to collect tolls from trade along the River Oder. As part of the treaty, Christian IV agreed to withdraw all Danish forces from elsewhere in the Holy Roman Empire, and not to provide any further support to Protestants in Germany.
So, in April 1630, it appeared that the war which had begun eleven years earlier might finally come to an end.
Other events, though, changed that.
In Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus caught Marnitja in May 1630. He survived the pink cough, but now faced the prospect of waiting to see whether he would be claimed by a fevered delirium. Gustavus did not plan to wait passively for death to claim him, but decided that if he would die, he would leave a legacy behind. He wanted to make sure that his name would be remembered.
The previous year, Sweden had ended its war with Poland by signing a six-year truce, the Truce of Altmark [5], which gave Sweden control of Livonia and some Baltic ports. Gustavus Adolphus was not inclined to break that truce in pursuit of further gains.
Instead, he looked south. As he saw it, the Protestant cause in Germany had been betrayed by Denmark, but here was an opportunity to secure his legacy. Germany was in chaos, the Protestants needed support, and glory beckoned. Swedish forces landed near Stettin in June 1630, with Gustavus Adolphus at their head and conquest on his mind. He knew that landing here would inevitably draw the forces of Wallenstein, the greatest surviving general of imperial forces, and hoped that defeating Wallenstein would rally Germany’s Protestants under his banner.
Gustavus Adolphus did not just hope to secure glory through victory in Germany, though. By now, Europe was rife with rumours of the wealth to be found in colonies, with the Spanish long ago acquiring dominions in the Americas, and the Dutch finding a new fortune in the distant South Land. Gustavus Adolphus chartered a new company, based in Gothenburg, with orders to explore North America and find a suitable place for founding a new colony there that would bear his name...
* * *
[1] This was François Thijssen’s 1626-7 voyage to Aururia and Aotearoa. He did not actually have limited interest in trading with the Nangu per se, but he had only limited samples of trade goods. He did not want to exchange them all with the first people he met, preferring to keep most of them if he encountered other peoples further east.
[2] The Seven Sisters [Eyre Peninsula, South Australia] is the name given to the Mutjing lands.
[3] The quarantine has failed because mumps produces a significant proportion of asymptomatic carriers, and some of them have carried the disease past the quarantine.
[4] Although, naturally, the pre-Houtmanian Aururians did not call the plant Spanish indigo.
[5] This truce was similar to what was signed historically, giving Sweden most of Livonia, some coastal cities in Prussia, and a substantial share of the tolls from trade passing through Poland’s Baltic ports.
* * *
Thoughts?
P.S. The next post – coming soon, hopefully – will wrap up the main Dutch-Atjuntja thread to its conclusion. After that, the main focus will shift to European contact with the eastern Aururian peoples.
I have to get a better reading later but it seems fantastic. I would like some straight Sobel-esk type of narratives but your's is always good.
Do you mean the textbook style excerpts, or something else? It's been long enough since I've read Sobel that I've forgotten exactly what his style is like.
The difference between courage and foolhardiness is measured only in terms of success...
'Tis a damn good question; I'm still not sure about that one. France is in slightly more trouble than it was at the same point in OTL. The Huguenots are still around as a force for longer than in OTL, since the siege of La Rochelle failed (taking Richelieu with it, but that's another story). This also means that England stays at war with them for a while - not that England is likely to be doing much invasion of France.
So I'm not sure how France is going to play out - the Huguenots may have won a little more time, but perhaps not much more than that. Of course, from a French point of view, if a little judicious donation to Sweden keeps the Habsburgs busy, that's all to the good.
The other possibility is that the Dutch may want to contribute to Herr Vasa's expeditionary fund. They do have a rather larger pile of funds available than they had in OTL, and while I doubt that they would get directly involved in the *30 Years War, they are still at war with the Spanish...
Oooooh yea this is going to be good
The New World is probably going to look quite different to how it did in OTL.
If this TL is "approaching" epic, it's only because it's already lapped it at least once!
Great update, Jared! I like the Nangu update and it's good to get the crops listed in one place. Which reminds me, here in the States they're selling colorful varietals of New Zealand Flax as a decorative landscaping plant! How's that for an odd domestication? Between that and the ultra-invasive Crape Myrtles landscapers plant everywhere Aussies and Kiwis might just get your own back for rabbits and horses.
Thande
Donor
Good update. I guess the Nangu will be trying to sail to Java. I'm somewhat surprised there hasn't been contact between the Aururians and the East Indies before, given that there's some evidence for limited contact in OTL, but I suppose the East Indies peoples would only have seen the barren north of Aururia whose peoples I assume are hunter-gatherers much like the Aborigines of OTL.
I do think this is what really makes the difference with native peoples, Meiji-pulling aside - it doesn't matter how well you can repel a European conqueror on your own turf, if you can never sail to his, in the long run you will lose. You have to win every time, the European only has to win once. Of course this isn't quite like that because the Nangu obviously aren't going to be able to sail all the way to Europe but you see what I mean.
I do think this is what really makes the difference with native peoples, Meiji-pulling aside - it doesn't matter how well you can repel a European conqueror on your own turf, if you can never sail to his, in the long run you will lose. You have to win every time, the European only has to win once. Of course this isn't quite like that because the Nangu obviously aren't going to be able to sail all the way to Europe but you see what I mean.
- Status