Loving the series so far, keep it up.
Also what are the population figures in this world?
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Also what are the population figures in this world?
I'm not sure, I'm not really excellent at calculating population, but my estimate is:
about 230 million people (as of map 10, the latest one)
A map of South America to be used in my Boulanger TL, shortly after an Argentine-Peruvian-Bolivian victory in the Latin American War from around 1902-1904 ish (TBC)
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Yes and yes actually! I had the basic idea earlier, but Down in the Bottomlands motivated the addition of the Stonemen.
Hopefully the Argentinians didn’t invest too much in the war, especially if Acre here was grabbed from Brazil and split between Bolivia and Peru. Did Brazil and Argentina go to war with each other here or have neutrality on that front and mostly gang up on Chile? Ahhh wait, I looked it up and was surprised to find that Brazil apparently didn’t officially get that part of Acre until 1903. Peru certainly did come out well formmthis, getting land in plenty of places, while having Bolivia act as a limited barrier against revenge by Chile. Well, by land. Being bombarded by sea if always a problem, but Chile will have a bit of trouble doing it if they don’t have a steady supply of nitrates. What sides did the Americans, Brazilians, British, and French take on the war? And Chile keep their various Pacific Islands? Not much economic use for them back then after the blackbirding depopulated them, but people seized land for prestige before. Plus thy could probably use the money.
A map of South America to be used in my Boulanger TL, shortly after an Argentine-Peruvian-Bolivian victory in the Latin American War from around 1902-1904 ish (TBC)
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Scrapped/Unfinished map : The Union of Esperanca
I've always disliked when people in the community delete/never share the maps/artwork they stopped working on, so I guess I shouldn't do the same..
It's a map I made over a year ago, but felt dissatisfied with, I've since tried 3 times to recreate it in a different style (similar to my New England map) but was never satisfied with it. Eventually i'm putting it on hold until can get time to make a collab on a similar "luso-draka" if you will. I'm also dissatisfied with the scenario of the map itself and since I made the map I've made enough research a lot of that would be removed.
The POD is probably a mixture of earlier, pre tordesilla portuguese exploration failling and so they don't have an idea of the location of brazil which would make them
negotiate for the move west of the tordesilla treaty line in 1494, and furthermore ITTL the portuguese decide to establish a fort at the cape in 1500 and do better in their war with the local khoikhoi in the following years.
Great map! What would you add to it to make it complete?
An easy target for minor expansion for a Boulanger timelines. Though I am a bit surprised it only stays to the coast, as the French basically tried to get a big rectangle of land going under British and Dutch Guiana and getting two-thirds of the way to Venezuela. Suppose it would be impractical even getting through the jungle. Though come to think of it, my thing before about Acre was probably wrong. Didn’t it used to be independent for a while? Almost a shame it and some other states in the interior didn’t survive.
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Brazil and Argentina fight a lot of skirmishes in the war but settle on a status quo antebellum, minus a few minor border changes along river inlets etc.
The Americans and British both side nominally with the Argentine coalition. America was historically anti-Chile in that time period (war of the Pacific, war scare in 1891) and had sizeable business interests in Peru and in those mines in the Antofagasta region. Britain sides with Argentina because of its historic informal empire interests in the region. France has little influence, as they are reeling from their global defeat in my TL’s equivalent of a soft Great War a few years earlier.
*American Guiana
Though French beforehand. And yes you got me, tis a very easy area for the French to flex their imperial muscles with little effort. They didn’t venture much into the jungle interior due to obvious logistical difficulties of doing so, and the little gain/high expense for it.
Municipal Divisions of the Governate of East Florida
The government of the Governate of East Florida (Spanish: La Gobernación de la Florida Oriental) is divided into three-tiers: the realm-wide government; the provincial governments; and the local governments. The realm-wide government represents the highest tier of authority in East Florida and is led by the Lord-Governor of the realm with jurisdiction over the entirety of the realm's territory. In addition, the Capital District of San Agustín (coterminous with San Agustín, the city) is also part of the realm-wide government. The realm judiciary, executive and legislative branches are all located within the Capital District (C.D.). The next level of government found in East Florida are the twelve provinces: Bahía del Espíritu Santo; Costa Bella; Costa de Palmas; Gran Léon; Los Lagos; Naranja; Narvaez; Pascua; San Juan Exterior; San Juan Interior; Santa Fe; and Santa Isabela. East Florida's provinces are equivalent to first-level subdivisions found in other governates within the confederation, like the counties of Transylvania. Each province is led by a Provincial-Governor who maintains nominal authority within the boundaries of the province from a designated provincial capital. The provincial governments also over see the provincial judiciary systems and maintain Provincial Assemblies of varying sizes which work with the Provincial-Governors. The provisional governments have the most authority in the capital cities and across the non-incorporated regions of their respective provinces, deemed Provincially Managed Zones (PMZs) - PMZs lack local governments. The third tier of governance in East Florida are the local governments that represent the varying levels of incorporated municipalities found within the realm.
There are three forms of incorporated local governance found across East Florida, which are the Provincial Capitals, Cities (principal and secondary), Towns (principal or secondary), and Incorporated Villages. In addition, there are a number of areas designated as Unincorporated Units, which lack incorporation but which remain outside of the direct domain of the provincial governments. The twelve Provincial Capitals (PCs) are home to the respective provincial governments, while also hosting their own government structure - in addition to hosting the Provincial-Governor and Provincial Assembly, each PC also elects an Executive Management Council (EMC) to oversee the affairs of the city itself. The EMC shares its authority over the PCs with the provincial government and the PCs, like the Incorporated Villages, lack mayors. The other levels of incorporation depend largely on population, history, and overall governance structure. A municipality is recognized as a city in East Florida if its population exceeds 75,000 individuals, with cities with populations greater than 120,000 considered principal cities and those with less considered secondary cities. Cities (Spanish: Ciudades), both principal and secondary, have the most autonomy from the provisional governments, each led by a mayor and a representative assembly. The autonomy of cities, especially principal cities, from their provisional governments varies but is typically high and most only become subject to provisional authority under emergency situations. Towns (Spanish: Pueblos), like cities are separated into primary and secondary-levels based on population. A community is recognized as a town if it has a population of at least 10,000, with East Florida designating primary towns as those with populations greater than 40,000. Towns are also led by mayors, but do not have robust "assemblies" like the cities - instead, they have smaller, municipal councils, none larger than 12 members. Like cities, towns are also relatively autonomous from direct action from the provincial governments in most cases. Villages (Spanish: Aldeas) are the least autonomous form of incorporation found in East Florida, and are typically low in population (but not strictly held to precise population numbers). Unlike cities and towns, villages lack mayors, however they do have municipal councils. Most villages are subordinate in some respect to a neighboring town, city, or the provincial government itself. Most villages have small populations, particularly those disconnected from a higher-tiered municipal division, however villages within or connected to towns or cities may have populations exceeding 10,000. In these instances, the usual reason said village exists is due to a successful plea for incorporation by distinct, homogenous neighborhoods of a larger municipality (see Village of Mariposa, which separated from the city of Nuevo Léon in the mid-20th century).
Unincorporated Units (UUs) are the newest recognized municipal division within the realm. These are areas that are not directly run by the provincial government, but lack a centralized local government structure. They have no mayors, and though most have local associations that may resemble municipal councils, they lack actual municipal councils with jurisdictional authority. UUs, however, can form their own policing and fire/disaster response services, and can make an array of decisions by popular mandates - these are typically organized by the aforementioned local associations that form in UUs. As previously mentioned, any territory within a province that is neither incorporated nor recognized as a UU, is organized as a PMZ directly managed by the provincial governments. The vast majority of East Florida's territory falls within a PMZ.
There are 223 incorporated municipalities in East Florida - San Agustín (city); the 12 provincial capitals; 42 cities (13 primary/29 secondary); 111 towns (61 primary/50 secondary) and 57 villages. In addition, there are 55 recognized unincorporated units.
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That is, until 1818. The whaling ship Globe, captained by George Washington Gardner, discovered a great expanse of ocean some thousand miles west of South America richly populated by sperm whales. This discovery led to an incredible upsurge as whaling expeditions rushed to this site. The Galapagos Islands became an important base of operations for sailors seeking to hunt sperm whales for their oil. The archipelago was a frequent stop for these ships, which would then replenish their supplies and provide the crew with leisure time in between their long whaling journeys, before returning back home. Soon, the corners of the world became aware of this small, mystifying collection of islands in the East Pacific. Tales of wondrous creatures and treasure without compare excited the imagination of more than one person. Slowly, a trickle of adventurers and travelers found their way across the perilous seas to the majestic Galapagos Islands.
Among this lot of seafaring journey-seekers was a young chaplain from rural England, one Charles Darwin. In 1832, Darwin boarded the HMS Beagle, a whaling ship captained by the eccentric Robert FitzRoy, which was headed for South America. Disillusioned with country life in Britain, Darwin learned from a sailor friend about the excitement and adventure awaiting him on the Galapagos Islands. Upon selling his every possession, he bought passage aboard FitzRoy's expedition, and set course for the wilderness of South America. It was a journey that would radically alter the course of his life.
As the Beagle rounded the Cape Horn, a devastating storm assailed the ship. Braving through enraged waves and violent winds, the Beagle ran aground on the small, desolate Wickham Island. Among the dead were Captain FitzRoy. Facing certain death, a young Darwin gathered the remaining crew and built a makeshift vessel from the remnants of the Beagle, which they christened Hope. Soon, driven by the bravery and sheer will of Charles Darwin, the crew of the Beagle set sail once again, headed for a safe port. Aboard the Hope, Darwin lectured the men on a multitude of topics, from the Bible to the purpose of life. Slowly, the entire crew became engaged with Darwin's hunger for adventure, and starting anew. "The Galapagos Islands, that remote location not one of us had ever seen, became our Heaven," Darwin wrote on his journal. After stopping at the Chilean port of Valdivia, the Hope set course for the Galapagos Islands.
The Beagle Aground on Wickham Island, engraving by Mark Conrad (1896)
The Hope landed on what is known as Chatham Island, the easternmost one of the Galapagos archipelago. Between 1835 and 1846, Darwin and the survivors of the Beagle lived on the islands, establishing a small settlement they named "Genesis", after the starting book of the Bible. Word spread among the passing sailors about this chaplain who led a community of outcasts in a remote South American island. In 1842, an Englishman named Charles Dickens published A Tale of Two Islands, based on the retellings from an old sailor who visited the settlement of Genesis. The novella brought Darwin to national prominence, turning the obscure chaplain into a topic of conversation all across Europe. Many were intrigued by the man's strange ways, and his revolutionary teachings about life, the nature of man, and the way things come to be caused a mix of elated excitement and shocked horror. His ideas of "natural selection", based on his observations of wildlife in the Galapagos Islands, were declared blasphemous by the Church, although a small number of people deemed them to be the greatest scientific discovery of the century.
Masses of young men, inspired by Darwin's conception of reality, flocked to Genesis. The settlement grew from 34 in 1835 to over 3,500 a decade later. The community flourished, building for itself a place unlike any other. Although the Galapagos Islands were technically a part of the Spanish Empire, the inhabitants of Genesis governed themselves free from any laws or foreign imposition. This last concept became critical for the founding tenants of Genesis, and Darwin stressed repeatedly that "no man is truly free if they live by the rules of another". These words would ring ever stronger during subsequent events.
The famed Charles Darwin had made a lasting impact on countless of lives. However, no life received a greater impact than his own. In 1846, Darwin contracted a serious illness, mostly due to a lifestyle of overworking and exposure to the elements. Despite his stringent protestations, a commerce ship took Darwin from the Galapagos Islands to the Peruvian capital of Lima, where he could receive medical attention. A German doctor treated the ailing priest. "Despite the abysmal condition of his health, he remains full of energy and spirit," the doctor wrote on his journal. "Had it not been for this desperate desire to continue living, he would certainly be dead by now."
However, no amount of strength of soul can ever compensate for a weakness of body. In July 14, 1846, after five months of sickness, Charles Darwin passed away in Lima, many hundreds of miles away from his adopted homeland in the Galapagos Islands. It is generally agreed that he died as a result of complications arising from a pneumonia he contracted while on the archipelago. Upon receiving the news, the settlers of Genesis changed the town's name to "Port Darwin".
End Part I
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A territory for a long while. But it does become a state later on in the 20th century, alongside the other American ‘colonies’.
My current Sweden game in eu4 at exactly the start of 1500 ad (Jan. 1st), terra incognita is the Cantino planisphere, and the water texture is some random one I found on google
Really good work! In what year did Napoleon III take power? OTL he attempted two uprisings (in 1836 and 1840). Had he succeeded, the Second Empire would have had a young and ambitious leader earlier.Vive L'Empire Français!The Second French Empire at the ascension of Emperor Napoleon IV. This is a map of a more successful Second French Empire than in otl. As you can see here France has annexed Luxembourg and the Rhineland. The main thing here is that Emperor Napoleon III is more successful here in foreign policy as he was in terms of domestic policy. Napoleon III after his ascension managed to broker a more peaceful solution to the rebellion and guerilla war being arranged in Algeria and managed to broker a peace where France annexes the coastal portions of North Africa while establishing a puppet Kingdom in the interior with its own autonomy and laws. France here manages to win in Mexico and install Emperor Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico. The US with a more drawn out Civil War is unable to directly intervene to aid Benito Juarez and the Republicans. Thus Imperial France gains prestige and makes it known that its still a major military power to be reckoned with. Napoleon III being part of the Cabonari in his youth, was sympathetic to cause of Italian nationalists. But the fall of the Papal states to Italy led to Napoleon III directly intervening to restore the Pope to the throne of St. Peter strangling the infant Roman Republic in its crib. The intervention led to relations between King Victor Emmanuel II and Emperor Napoleon III souring. As such France became more passive in its support of Austria. Meanwhile with the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies, the Bourbon Kings in an effort of self-preservation, initiate political and military reforms to combat the growing radicalism and unrest threatening their territorial integrity. Meanwhile in Germany the division of it into the North and South German Confederations had drawn the battle lines between and Austria and Prussia and in the resultant conflict Austria had been defeated and forced out of Germany. Anticipating the conflict, Napoleon III initiated a policy of Détente with Austria in anticipation of a future conflict with Prussia.
Thus the 1867 conflict with Prussia broke out over the crisis of Luxembourg over the issue of France purchasing Luxembourg from the Netherlands. The resulting war saw Austria joining France after it became public that Italy was receiving Prussian support to move against the French forces in Rome and Austrians in Venetia. The resulting war was a humiliating loss for Prussia which had overplayed its hand, with the incident now known as Bismarck's folly within Prussia. The combined Franco-Austrian force had overrun Italy and Germany. France using its veteran troops from the wars in Algeria and Mexico were easily able to overwhelm the Italians while overrunning the Rhineland. Austria maintained a defensive posture in Venice while it captured Saxony and Silesia. The Treaty of Paris saw France regain Luxembourg and the Rhineland while Austria regained Silesia with Saxony restored to its pre 1814 boundaries. While the North German Confederation was preserved to maintain the balance of power, Prussia was forced to reinstate the Kingdom of Hannover while also ceding Schleswig to the Danish King as part of a personal union in part of the Confederation further diluting Prussian Power. This division in Northern Germany stifled the rise of Prussia allowing for the French Empire to gain critical breathing room to secure its position and integrate its new conquests. While the South German Confederation is independent and jointly under Austria, and France's sphere, its more closely linked to France's economic interest as a result of the war affirming French hegemony in the continent. Similarly in Italy, the Savoyards were utterly humiliated with Northern Italy now reduced to a vassal in all but name of the French. Here Napoleon III gave the throne of Italy to his Murat cousins. Though the nature of this Kingdom is more of a federal structure with the Habsurg dukes restored to their thrones along with the Bourbons of Parma with the capital of the Kingdom established in Milan. The Savoyard Kings now hold a government in exile within the Island of Sardinia. Central Italy however was restored to the rule of the Papacy. and now most of the peninsula falls under the economic and political sway of the French. Though the health of Emperor Napoleon III had begun to fail with the Emperor abdicating to his son Emperor Napoleon IV on his 18th birthday in 1874. Here France is more of a semi-constitutional monarchy with the Emperor's position being more secure thanks to the added prestige from the military victories removing the need for Napoleon III to liberalize which gave the Republican opposition seats in Parliament.
What do you guys think of this map? I based on my Victoria II game where I tried to stay as close as historically possible to otl's France.
As far as the map is concerned I am surprised by the name "Kingdom of Algeria". Algeria is a name that didn't exist before 1830 and for almost 10 years the region had no special names (there were for example "Côtes de Barbarie" or "Numidie" which was often used). Algeria was the obvious choice because the capital was in Algiers. But if Algiers is held by the French, I can hardly see the Arab Kingdom in the south being called Algeria.
As far as the realization of the map is concerned there is nothing to say, it is pleasant to see and it is realistic. One could quibble about the fact that the marine coasts seem very dark but it is only a detail. Good job!
A fairly ASB map. Japan goes only for French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies - avoiding Pearl Harbour and war with the US or Britain. Without the Pacific distraction, Japan eventually “defeats” China, but enjoys an endless guerrilla war in the decades after. Similarly without American entry into the war, the Soviets receive limited Lend Lease and so eventually collapse to the Nazi’s and retreat behind the Urals, with Japan nabbing Transamur and propping up a West Russian warlord state. Burma falls into the Japanese sphere after the British give India independence.
The Kwiri Empire or Shona Horseriders on the Transvaal
POD: Portuguese Conquistador Francisco Barreto doesn't listen to his Jesuit adviser's advices.
Francisco Barreto, retired Governor of Portuguese goa in the late 1550s, was an adventurous man, and at 50 of age a decade later was proposed to lead a groundbreaking mission to the legendary mines of the Mutapa, deep in the interior of Mozambique. The expedition, put together in goa, was by far the most expensive ever to reach Africa with more than a thousand trained soldiers, and importantly more guns and horses than any before.
By 1569 the expedition was ready, but before sailing to Africa the viceroy of the indies told Barreto to listen to the accompanying Jesuit, Francisco Monclaros, for advices once in Mozambique, weeks later the expedition finally approached the Zambezi river, but at this point a dispute arose between Barreto and Monclaros , while the former wanted to quickly land in sofala and go to the safe highlands in the west to reach the mines, the later recommended to follow the Zambezi up to sena where other jesuits lived who would help, IRL Barreto followed the Monclaros’s advice, but it would prove fatal since the long time spent in the lowlands brought illness that decimated the men and the animals of the expedition, despite winning military victories.
ITTL however Barreto disregards the his recommendations and goes west, and reaches the highlands of manica with few casualties. But the mines he finds in the highlands are disappointing, having failed to find the legendary mines he decided to reorient the expedition to another goal: supporting mutapa nobles who had converted to Christianity in the civil wars that faced the empire at the time, for over 2 years he would use his army to intervene in the politics and plots of the kingdom, but his heavy handedness would prove detrimental to the Christian nobles who would face a united front that would defeat his forces, forcing him to flee with the few remaining men back to the coast. He would then go back to Portugal where he would die in his native town Faro a few years later.
Barreto’s expedition would leave a huge impact on the Shona/Karanga societies under the mutapa, not so much in the politics or Portuguese-mutapa relations, which would be reconciled a generation later when exiled king Gutsi Musere was forced to seek Portuguese help to regain his throne, but instead from somewhere totally unexpected: The introduction of the horses in the Highland Shona/Karanga (Nyai) societies, indeed during the two years Barreto and his expedition spent on the Zimbabwean highlands numerous locals had been trained to horse management and horse riding as auxiliaries, and after Barreto was forced to flee hundreds of horses were left, initially taken as spoil of war by warlords and nobles they would multiply and eventually spread through the decades to various parts of society in the central highlands, so that by the early 17th century they would be used by many Nyai cattle herders who found them complementary to their way of life, thus the horse would spread during the seventeenth century as quickly as it would spread in northern Mexico and the American West contemporary
Meanwhile, the Mutapa kingdom was in a sorry state, weakened by the Portuguese whose influence had turned to indirect rule, the crown had to pay the Kurava tax to the Portuguese and ceded considerable land in the Zambezi valley that would become the prazos, without a doubt, by the second half of the 17th century the king and the ruling Togwa had lost a great deal of credibility over its vassals.
It was in this context that an exceptional man, Mukombero rose up to power, a local herder Nyai chef in the Shangwe domains of the central highlands, he rose up against the Mwene Siti over the lack of recognition his fellow cowmen — who considerably grew in influence thanks to the horse, but didn’t move in the social ladder of the Mutapa — and over the attribution of land to Portuguese and Mixed race warlords who they had to pay a tribute to. Taking advantage of the horse along with considerable support among the both the local population and Non-Togwa nobles, his conquests so were swift, and within a few years had managed to take Zvomgonbe in 1688 , force the old king Siti to abdicate, and get himself elected successor by nobles of the ruling houses of Danse, Manila and Butwa. The swiftness and brutality of his conquest with the use of horse would inspire terror in the whole region, and the Portuguese learnt of them as the “cuiri” (Kwiri), the horseriding terror, à name that wasn’t official but passed on the posterity in European historiography.
His following 15 years of reign were caracterised by Both conquest and consolidation, within months of his crowning he already planned the conquest of the Lowland and coastal regions that were under Portuguese influence and didn’t recognise Mukombero’s crowning, his campaign were in two part, first invading the Ndau (coastal Shona) kingdoms of sedanda and uteve, leaving the Portuguese port of sofala exposed, then he crucially led an expedition to reconquer the land ceded to the prazos - Portuguese ruled feudal estates - in the Zambezi valley, this expedition initially proved harder than expected, the prazero commanded over large native armies and the lowlands’s illness were disastrous in the Nyai horses, nevertheless Mukombero’s army made progress , helped by the capture of large gun cache in the Prazo of Tete and the establishment of the trade link with Swahili and Omani traders, in direct rivalry with Portugal. The capture of sena in 1698 after years of fighting was decisive and the native Chikunda armies of the remaining prazos would overthrow their prazero ruler. With Portuguese presence limited to the only port of sofala Mukombero went on the offensive and took over the city in 1700.
Back in the highland, Mukombero gave away the land reclaimed from the Portuguese to Nyai who lacked land, widening his loyal cow herder powerbase, this proved crucial in coming on top in the conflict that opposed him to the old nobles. He also added a religious component to his rule. He supported the traditional Cult of mwari and targeted nobles who had converted to Catholicism early on, forcing them to exile or outright killing them, in particular he supported the adjacent cult of the spirits Dzivaguru and Karuva, that was popular in the 16th century and allowed him to draw a link of legitimacy with the old independent Mutapa rulers and gain allies among the religious.
Mukombero also spread the belief that he was the Scourge of mwari - title which would succeed him and give his descendent further legitimacy.
At his death the matter of succession was unresolved, the two most able successors were Nyamunda and Murivane, The succession crisis exploded during one of the reunions of the makota, the councillors of the main families, Nyamunda attempted to take power and attacked Murivane with the support of the nobles from the southern Venda and Rembetu chiefs, that attack backfired spectacularly and the Makota chose to crown Murivane, while forcing Nyamunda to exile.
Nyamunda among with a few thousands of his followers and their cattle then fled south, to the allied Venda realm, but the chiefs saw the writing on the wall and refused to host him in exiles, his only choice was to go south, in 1710 he crossed the Limpopo and entered the southern high plains, Nyamunda’s followers became the Muno Kurene, the Nyai beyond the salt mountains (zoupantsberg, so in the South African highveld), the grassland was good but they soon encroached over the Ndebele land, the Ndebele were fierce warriors but they could not resist against the thousands of Nyamunda’s cavaliers, the desperate exile were particularly harsh on the Vanquished. their people were destroyed, their women taken and their culture was subdued within the Nyai one,the famous Kwiri beadworks for exemple are not of Shona origin, but come from the amaNdebele.
Within years Nyamunda’s exiles would come to completely dominate the highveld, forcing neighbouring Sotho BaFokeng and BaRolong people to submit, they would quickly amass large numbers of cattle and establish trade routes from the Nguni coast to the interior, but despite their growth Nyamunda could only dream of challenging Murivane, but three events would change that.
The first was the defeat of the AmaHlubi, the strongest federation of Coastal Nguni who clashes with the Muno Kurene over the Mather’s diversion of the tobacco trade, which the Hlubi controlled through their numerous vassals, the Hlubi had advanced tactics but they made the mistake of being overconfident and bringing the fights to the highlands plains where they were defeated.
The second was the establishment of trade with the New Dutch forts in Delagoa bay. Meat and tobacco were sold to the Dutch in exchange from unprecedented amount of firearms which allowed the expert cavalry of Nyamunda to become even deadlier.
The third was the weakening of Murivane’s rule over the Ndau coastal kingdoms that had been dissatisfied by the diversion of trade away to the Dutch in the south and the Arabs in the north.
From there, Nyamunda only needed to wait for the opportunity to take his throne, that opportunity came when Murivane rode north to attack the weakened Maravi confederacy to please the Korekore realms, Nyamunda then swiftly went north east, gathering support from the lambine and Sedanda Ndau chiefs before crossing the manica highlands and taking the empty capital of Manyanga, before going north he established links with the Undi, a peripherical people of the Maravi confederacy and negotiated protection and exemption from tribute in exchange from specific support in taking down Murivane’s army which had already taken the southern Maravi realms of Kalanga and Biwi.
Nyamunda and his brother Murivane then met north of Tete in October 1728, Murivane’s larger army was countered by a Undi assault from the north and Nyamunda’s artillery, Murivane was killed in the battle and Nyamunda left victorious, he then rode back to Manyanga and was crowned king of the Kwiri.
The 18 following years of Nyamunda’s rule were in no way eventless, he spent large part of it stabilising and balancing his rule, he eventually settled on a Bicephalous system, with the old Kwiri Center existing on an equal basis With the Muno Kurene who had been established in exile, despite the equality the later Muno Kurene would be by far the most dynamic, possessing the best lands and quickly vassalling new people, indeed the defeat of the AmaHlubi has opened the way to the domination of the other Nguni people, and while a number resisted, such as the Xhosa, and some were left unconquered, the addition proved very lucrative thanks to the coast’s wealth. To the west, the greatest conquests were those of the Khoi and Nama herder, already in conflict with the Nguni people and slowly retreating over centuries, the coastal ones were relatively quickly subdued, those living in the western deserts would be tougher however, and it was only the introduction of dromedaries through trade with French merchant that efficient raids were launched beyond the Karoo. Nevertheless, even at the end of Nyamunda’s rule the Khoi clans only paid tributes in cattle when occasional expeditions could be sent. By comparison the old Kwiri Center barely expended, only expending through the defeat of the Bugobi, a kingdom of lowland Shona (gobi) that had fled the initial Kwiri conquest under Mukombero and had managed to defeat the Tsonga, and the defeat of the Sotho of the Khurutshe Tswana that had been encroaching upon Shona land, with the help of the growing Bakwena nation.
Nyamunda’s designated successor was Nyamhende, born during his father’s exile, he was notable for having spent 3 years in an English university in Bombay and had made useful link that he hoped would prove profitable, his succession was not challenged and once on the throne spent much more time managing the foreign policy of the empire than his predecessor,as he was aware of his empire’s wealth.
Nevertheless, by 1750 some troubles are starting to appear, Repeated drought in the Nguni coast wrecked the region’s wealth and resulted in wide discontentment, the expansion of slave trade from the Swahili outposts in quelimane and angoche threatened the wealth of the korekore regions and the Zambezi, and worrying news were coming from the northern Kalahari, where the Bakwena — that had control over the San bushmen of the Kalahari — were more and more annoyed by the Portuguese expeditions form the growing Benguela viceroyalty. At 25 years old, Nyamhende’s rule looked to be as eventful as his father’s [...]
The Kwiri empire may be long gone today, but it’s legacy is still very much present in Austral Africa, the language of his court, the Shona/Katanga is still by far the lingua Franca of the south-eastern third of Africa, spoken in daily life by over 170 million people, making it the most widely spoken language of subsaharan Africa while the Nyai people are present over a crescent more than a million square km large in Southern Africa. Kwiri titles, such as the makota council, the nharirire warrior, the machinda Governor has spread even further to virtually all of Subequatorial Africa. The spread of the horse allowed the formation of larger polities, which quasi entirely avoided direct foreign subjugation, even the Khoikhoi of the cape managed to unite and take advantage of their position to become important middlemen in the Indian Ocean trade.
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Well that was a fun map to make, that's an idea I had for a long time.
Also as a fun part, here's the street near where Francisco Barreto was born 500 years ago in the city I live in:
POD: Portuguese Conquistador Francisco Barreto doesn't listen to his Jesuit adviser's advices.
Francisco Barreto, retired Governor of Portuguese goa in the late 1550s, was an adventurous man, and at 50 of age a decade later was proposed to lead a groundbreaking mission to the legendary mines of the Mutapa, deep in the interior of Mozambique. The expedition, put together in goa, was by far the most expensive ever to reach Africa with more than a thousand trained soldiers, and importantly more guns and horses than any before.
By 1569 the expedition was ready, but before sailing to Africa the viceroy of the indies told Barreto to listen to the accompanying Jesuit, Francisco Monclaros, for advices once in Mozambique, weeks later the expedition finally approached the Zambezi river, but at this point a dispute arose between Barreto and Monclaros , while the former wanted to quickly land in sofala and go to the safe highlands in the west to reach the mines, the later recommended to follow the Zambezi up to sena where other jesuits lived who would help, IRL Barreto followed the Monclaros’s advice, but it would prove fatal since the long time spent in the lowlands brought illness that decimated the men and the animals of the expedition, despite winning military victories.
ITTL however Barreto disregards the his recommendations and goes west, and reaches the highlands of manica with few casualties. But the mines he finds in the highlands are disappointing, having failed to find the legendary mines he decided to reorient the expedition to another goal: supporting mutapa nobles who had converted to Christianity in the civil wars that faced the empire at the time, for over 2 years he would use his army to intervene in the politics and plots of the kingdom, but his heavy handedness would prove detrimental to the Christian nobles who would face a united front that would defeat his forces, forcing him to flee with the few remaining men back to the coast. He would then go back to Portugal where he would die in his native town Faro a few years later.
Barreto’s expedition would leave a huge impact on the Shona/Karanga societies under the mutapa, not so much in the politics or Portuguese-mutapa relations, which would be reconciled a generation later when exiled king Gutsi Musere was forced to seek Portuguese help to regain his throne, but instead from somewhere totally unexpected: The introduction of the horses in the Highland Shona/Karanga (Nyai) societies, indeed during the two years Barreto and his expedition spent on the Zimbabwean highlands numerous locals had been trained to horse management and horse riding as auxiliaries, and after Barreto was forced to flee hundreds of horses were left, initially taken as spoil of war by warlords and nobles they would multiply and eventually spread through the decades to various parts of society in the central highlands, so that by the early 17th century they would be used by many Nyai cattle herders who found them complementary to their way of life, thus the horse would spread during the seventeenth century as quickly as it would spread in northern Mexico and the American West contemporary
Meanwhile, the Mutapa kingdom was in a sorry state, weakened by the Portuguese whose influence had turned to indirect rule, the crown had to pay the Kurava tax to the Portuguese and ceded considerable land in the Zambezi valley that would become the prazos, without a doubt, by the second half of the 17th century the king and the ruling Togwa had lost a great deal of credibility over its vassals.
It was in this context that an exceptional man, Mukombero rose up to power, a local herder Nyai chef in the Shangwe domains of the central highlands, he rose up against the Mwene Siti over the lack of recognition his fellow cowmen — who considerably grew in influence thanks to the horse, but didn’t move in the social ladder of the Mutapa — and over the attribution of land to Portuguese and Mixed race warlords who they had to pay a tribute to. Taking advantage of the horse along with considerable support among the both the local population and Non-Togwa nobles, his conquests so were swift, and within a few years had managed to take Zvomgonbe in 1688 , force the old king Siti to abdicate, and get himself elected successor by nobles of the ruling houses of Danse, Manila and Butwa. The swiftness and brutality of his conquest with the use of horse would inspire terror in the whole region, and the Portuguese learnt of them as the “cuiri” (Kwiri), the horseriding terror, à name that wasn’t official but passed on the posterity in European historiography.
His following 15 years of reign were caracterised by Both conquest and consolidation, within months of his crowning he already planned the conquest of the Lowland and coastal regions that were under Portuguese influence and didn’t recognise Mukombero’s crowning, his campaign were in two part, first invading the Ndau (coastal Shona) kingdoms of sedanda and uteve, leaving the Portuguese port of sofala exposed, then he crucially led an expedition to reconquer the land ceded to the prazos - Portuguese ruled feudal estates - in the Zambezi valley, this expedition initially proved harder than expected, the prazero commanded over large native armies and the lowlands’s illness were disastrous in the Nyai horses, nevertheless Mukombero’s army made progress , helped by the capture of large gun cache in the Prazo of Tete and the establishment of the trade link with Swahili and Omani traders, in direct rivalry with Portugal. The capture of sena in 1698 after years of fighting was decisive and the native Chikunda armies of the remaining prazos would overthrow their prazero ruler. With Portuguese presence limited to the only port of sofala Mukombero went on the offensive and took over the city in 1700.
Back in the highland, Mukombero gave away the land reclaimed from the Portuguese to Nyai who lacked land, widening his loyal cow herder powerbase, this proved crucial in coming on top in the conflict that opposed him to the old nobles. He also added a religious component to his rule. He supported the traditional Cult of mwari and targeted nobles who had converted to Catholicism early on, forcing them to exile or outright killing them, in particular he supported the adjacent cult of the spirits Dzivaguru and Karuva, that was popular in the 16th century and allowed him to draw a link of legitimacy with the old independent Mutapa rulers and gain allies among the religious.
Mukombero also spread the belief that he was the Scourge of mwari - title which would succeed him and give his descendent further legitimacy.
At his death the matter of succession was unresolved, the two most able successors were Nyamunda and Murivane, The succession crisis exploded during one of the reunions of the makota, the councillors of the main families, Nyamunda attempted to take power and attacked Murivane with the support of the nobles from the southern Venda and Rembetu chiefs, that attack backfired spectacularly and the Makota chose to crown Murivane, while forcing Nyamunda to exile.
Nyamunda among with a few thousands of his followers and their cattle then fled south, to the allied Venda realm, but the chiefs saw the writing on the wall and refused to host him in exiles, his only choice was to go south, in 1710 he crossed the Limpopo and entered the southern high plains, Nyamunda’s followers became the Muno Kurene, the Nyai beyond the salt mountains (zoupantsberg, so in the South African highveld), the grassland was good but they soon encroached over the Ndebele land, the Ndebele were fierce warriors but they could not resist against the thousands of Nyamunda’s cavaliers, the desperate exile were particularly harsh on the Vanquished. their people were destroyed, their women taken and their culture was subdued within the Nyai one,the famous Kwiri beadworks for exemple are not of Shona origin, but come from the amaNdebele.
Within years Nyamunda’s exiles would come to completely dominate the highveld, forcing neighbouring Sotho BaFokeng and BaRolong people to submit, they would quickly amass large numbers of cattle and establish trade routes from the Nguni coast to the interior, but despite their growth Nyamunda could only dream of challenging Murivane, but three events would change that.
The first was the defeat of the AmaHlubi, the strongest federation of Coastal Nguni who clashes with the Muno Kurene over the Mather’s diversion of the tobacco trade, which the Hlubi controlled through their numerous vassals, the Hlubi had advanced tactics but they made the mistake of being overconfident and bringing the fights to the highlands plains where they were defeated.
The second was the establishment of trade with the New Dutch forts in Delagoa bay. Meat and tobacco were sold to the Dutch in exchange from unprecedented amount of firearms which allowed the expert cavalry of Nyamunda to become even deadlier.
The third was the weakening of Murivane’s rule over the Ndau coastal kingdoms that had been dissatisfied by the diversion of trade away to the Dutch in the south and the Arabs in the north.
From there, Nyamunda only needed to wait for the opportunity to take his throne, that opportunity came when Murivane rode north to attack the weakened Maravi confederacy to please the Korekore realms, Nyamunda then swiftly went north east, gathering support from the lambine and Sedanda Ndau chiefs before crossing the manica highlands and taking the empty capital of Manyanga, before going north he established links with the Undi, a peripherical people of the Maravi confederacy and negotiated protection and exemption from tribute in exchange from specific support in taking down Murivane’s army which had already taken the southern Maravi realms of Kalanga and Biwi.
Nyamunda and his brother Murivane then met north of Tete in October 1728, Murivane’s larger army was countered by a Undi assault from the north and Nyamunda’s artillery, Murivane was killed in the battle and Nyamunda left victorious, he then rode back to Manyanga and was crowned king of the Kwiri.
The 18 following years of Nyamunda’s rule were in no way eventless, he spent large part of it stabilising and balancing his rule, he eventually settled on a Bicephalous system, with the old Kwiri Center existing on an equal basis With the Muno Kurene who had been established in exile, despite the equality the later Muno Kurene would be by far the most dynamic, possessing the best lands and quickly vassalling new people, indeed the defeat of the AmaHlubi has opened the way to the domination of the other Nguni people, and while a number resisted, such as the Xhosa, and some were left unconquered, the addition proved very lucrative thanks to the coast’s wealth. To the west, the greatest conquests were those of the Khoi and Nama herder, already in conflict with the Nguni people and slowly retreating over centuries, the coastal ones were relatively quickly subdued, those living in the western deserts would be tougher however, and it was only the introduction of dromedaries through trade with French merchant that efficient raids were launched beyond the Karoo. Nevertheless, even at the end of Nyamunda’s rule the Khoi clans only paid tributes in cattle when occasional expeditions could be sent. By comparison the old Kwiri Center barely expended, only expending through the defeat of the Bugobi, a kingdom of lowland Shona (gobi) that had fled the initial Kwiri conquest under Mukombero and had managed to defeat the Tsonga, and the defeat of the Sotho of the Khurutshe Tswana that had been encroaching upon Shona land, with the help of the growing Bakwena nation.
Nyamunda’s designated successor was Nyamhende, born during his father’s exile, he was notable for having spent 3 years in an English university in Bombay and had made useful link that he hoped would prove profitable, his succession was not challenged and once on the throne spent much more time managing the foreign policy of the empire than his predecessor,as he was aware of his empire’s wealth.
Nevertheless, by 1750 some troubles are starting to appear, Repeated drought in the Nguni coast wrecked the region’s wealth and resulted in wide discontentment, the expansion of slave trade from the Swahili outposts in quelimane and angoche threatened the wealth of the korekore regions and the Zambezi, and worrying news were coming from the northern Kalahari, where the Bakwena — that had control over the San bushmen of the Kalahari — were more and more annoyed by the Portuguese expeditions form the growing Benguela viceroyalty. At 25 years old, Nyamhende’s rule looked to be as eventful as his father’s [...]
The Kwiri empire may be long gone today, but it’s legacy is still very much present in Austral Africa, the language of his court, the Shona/Katanga is still by far the lingua Franca of the south-eastern third of Africa, spoken in daily life by over 170 million people, making it the most widely spoken language of subsaharan Africa while the Nyai people are present over a crescent more than a million square km large in Southern Africa. Kwiri titles, such as the makota council, the nharirire warrior, the machinda Governor has spread even further to virtually all of Subequatorial Africa. The spread of the horse allowed the formation of larger polities, which quasi entirely avoided direct foreign subjugation, even the Khoikhoi of the cape managed to unite and take advantage of their position to become important middlemen in the Indian Ocean trade.
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Well that was a fun map to make, that's an idea I had for a long time.
Also as a fun part, here's the street near where Francisco Barreto was born 500 years ago in the city I live in:
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