The Legacy of Charles: The Story of The Kingdom of Burgundy

Okay I just got back from my trip from Europe. All I got to say was it was a blast. I have not forgotten this timeline and plan to continue it. But I do have some problems though, during my trip my hard rive crashed, and I lost 2 updates and the general plan which I had planed up until some Napoleon-esquse war, and will not have time to post and update till next week as I am at my cottage with no internet.

Xavier: Yeah I think I will rewrite that part, I didn't have time to go through and edit the update before I posted it. Yes Philip does prefer Lotharingia than to good old England, despite England being much more prestigious than Lotharingia. But what is going to happen in the next update is going to make him one of the most important rulers on the British isle in its history which will have far reaching consincences in the future. Also the relationship between Elisabeth and Philip is quite strained (Elisabeth sees Philip as a child and finds him arrogant and just doesn't like him, Philip only sees the marriage as a tool to keep the English down) so when she chosen to have the child it means she chose to go to Lotharingia and consummate the marriage. And finally yes the Dutch and Flemish will one day come to dominate the political landscape of Lotharingia instead of Burgundians, This will all come to past with the rise of Dutch dynasty to the throne.

rcduggan: Sorry about that, I didn't have time to edit the last update. I promise I will get better at catching those mistakes as I go on.
 
I am Back !!!!!!
Sorry for taking so long to update I have been having more problems with my Computer. Also as you will see I decided to take a try at some narrative. It is going to follow the lives of Titus van Korthals and William Hollis and their descendants. If you guys think I should continua with the narrative I will, and maybe expand it to include character that are closer to power. So here's the update

Philip I 'the Mighty': The Bantam Rebellions, the Northumbrian Wars

The arrival of Philip in London was not a joyous occasion, news was just beginning to trickle in about James III invasion of Northern England, and Clive and rebel troops were beginning to mass at Manchester preparing for their next move. Philip immediately striped the last remaining regent in England John Morton of his powers and title of Archbishop for not stopping the rebellion, replacing him with Jean de Feuquieres. He next gathered what was left of the Army in England and ordered that all remaining nobles loyal to him levy new troops to fight for him, this expanded his army 22 000 men. With the rather large army he marched north, word had arrived that Clive was taking his army north to meet up with James III army. Determined to stop this he forced marched his large army north to Blackpool the supposed meeting spot of the two armies. But remarkably Philip reached Blackpool in record time making it too the city in only 8 days getting there on November 2nd, well before ether Clive or James III did. The major reason for this remarkable feat were two things one the discipline of the Loyalist armies, Philip or more rather Marcus Gallo had been able to establish a fierce discipline in the Loyalist army allowing them march much faster than the unorganized Rebel army and under this discipline were able to march during the night allowing them to cover more ground per day, the other reason was the fact James III had stopped to sack various towns in Cumbria and Northumbria, this had delayed the army from arriving at Blackpool before Philip did. This fact had allowed Philip the opportunity to fortify his position and rest his troops, before the Rebels and the Scots arrived. He was thus able to secure a spot on small hill with his back facing the River Ribble and the Irish Sea. Only a few days later Clive Bantam arrived at the town of Blackpool expecting to see the Scottish army already set up in the town awaiting their arrival, to his surprise there was no one there. It is then that he made his biggest mistake he order army into the city. Not known to Clive was that Philip under the advise of Marcus Gallo had set up a trap for Clive by hiding his forces in the town and in the hills and forest surrounding the town. Clive took his troops into the town and found it to be empty,he began to become suppusicous and began to turn around. It is then that Marshal Gallo launched his attack the Lotharingian army began to pour out of the buildings and areas surrounding the town.

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The Battle of Blackpool

The most descriptive account of this brutal and bloody battle comes from a young solider named William Hollis who fought in the various campaigns of Philip and Marcus Gallo. Though he was only a commoner he proved to be a major source for Christopher Braddock history of England under the rule of the house Burgundy.

" It is cold and miserable up here in the north. We have been here for a couple of days now with no sign of the rebels. I don't even know why I am here in this cold miserable place, This is not my fight. Why does it matter to me who is the King. Yet here I am up in the bloody cold, hiding in dark and decaying building. Though it has not been all that bad, I have met some very friendly people, the one that stands out the most is Daniel Milson he a large man of English descent. He has long black hair to his shoulders and piercing brown eyes that have a way of piercing into your soul. He is light hearted and has a way clearing the air of tensity, yet when times demand it he can be serious and brave. He and I had formed a close bond over our time in the army together. Now we sit in this old rotten house with the rest of unit waiting for the rebels. I hear footsteps; they are faint but noticeable. Sergeant Keys tells us to quiet in a rough but hushed voice. I can now hear voices, it is hard to make out what they are saying but they sound confused even sacred. They are coming closer I can hear their voices now. I grab my Halberd and hold it close to my chest. I give one last prayer for my safety that I may see my family again. John my young son, and my beautiful wife Claire. I briefly recalled the memory of our last night together. This is all interrupted by the load scream of Sergeant Keys as he burst through the door of the house and upon the rebel army. We all scream like banshees as ran out the doors of the house and smashed right into the rebels. I swung my halberd wildly bringing down many a rebel. It is chaos, someone else warm blood runs down my face. We scream wildly, we don't even think about what we are doing we just do what we trained to do, kill. In the corner of my eye I see a fire erupt and engulf a building and couple of men. Their screams echo all over town. I turn around and see Daniel I see him stab at some rebel, he sees me a turns to me. Then I see it, I scream at him but it is too late. I see a spear pierce his chest; I saw the shocked look on his faced as he fell to the ground. I screamed his name, a run towards him. I reach for my sword. I run over cutting down men left and right and finally reach his body. I lean over to him he grabs me by the collar and pulls me closer to him. I can hear the faintness of his breath; I can feel the coldness of hands as the life fads out of him. He uses the last of his energy to whisper in my ear " Will, tell my family...” He doesn't finish the sentence. I look at his empty face, and whiteness consumes him as his soul goes towards heaven. I start to stammer 'don’t you quit on me. Don't you dare quit on me.”? But despite my prayers there is nothing I can do. Then there was a fierce pain in my shoulder. I roll over on the ground and look up to see a rebel staring at me. I close my eyes and wait for the final blow. I picture my sweet wife Claire her beautiful face and soft subtle touch. I picture our last night together, the passion we shared. I realize that I will never see her again nor will I see my son John. But it never came,I heard a large thud as the rebel fell atop of me. I looked up to see a man wearing the colours of Royal army, in particular those of a Lotharingia. At first I couldn't make out what he was say but then, I checked back into reality.
"Are you okay"
"Yeah" I said as I stood up. "Who are you?"
"The name is Titus. Titus van Korthals, And if I may ask who are you?"
"William Hollis"
Both of us turned around, to hear people chanting Gallo over an over again. We had won. I turn to the body of my now dead friend. Titus stood next me and said "A friend of yours" all I said was this "Yes. A good one"

The victory at Blackpool had brought an effective end to the rebellion. Though Clive was able to escape north to meet up with the Scottish Army, his army was destroyed. Philip and Gallo were being proclaimed heroes of England. In particular Gallo, At the battle of Blackpool he had shown that he was a brilliant commander. Even Philip after the Italian wars recognized that without Gallo he would never had been able to achieve what he did. The Royalist wasted no time after their victory at Blackpool and headed north finish the war once and for all.

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Marshal Marcus Gallo

James III was waiting for them, having met with Clive in Northumbria he had decided to prepare for the decisive battle of the war at a place called Carlsie in Umbria. James having the advantage oif time placed himself on top of steep hill and positioned his troops facing down the hill forming a long pike wall. This created a challenge for Philip and Marshal Gallo, if they sent troops against it they would become exhausted and would be cut apart and the thick forest prevented them from using their cavalry to its most effectiveness. So Gallo came up with a plan that was very much inspired by another English monarch William 1st. Philip decided to begin the battle with a massive bombardment with cannons to weaken the lines of the Scottish army. Remarkably the Scottish retained their discipline and did not rout or panic. Philip then sent in his troops, there they fought a bloody melee to control the hill. Then at the descive moment of the battle Philip sent the signal to retreat. The Scottish took the bait, thinking that they won Clive and his troops charged down the hill causing the rest of the Scottish army to break formation and charge down the hill. James III tried to stop the army but a cannon ball hit him and he was forced to fall back into the camp where he would die of blood loss. Little did Clive and the Scottish army know it was a trap in the narrow forest at the base of the hill Philip had hid the cavalry, and some of his infantry under the personal command Gallo in the woods? When the retreating troops reached the base of the hill they turned around and reassembled, then Gallo launched his force directly into the flanks of the Scottish army crushing and surrounding the army. The Scots didn’t stand a chance; they were cut down one by one.

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Philip I at the Battle of Carlise

The Battle of Carlise dealt the deathblow to Scotland and the rebellion. Clive was captured alive and was sent back to London were he would be brutally executed as a warning to all others considering rebellion. James III death sent shock waves across Scotland; James’ son James IV was hastily coronated in Edinborough. But it was not long before Philip arrived, James went for to meet with Philip and the two signed the Treaty of Edinborough, which more or less reduced Scotland to a vassal of England. The war was a disaster for the English countryside was destroyed as the Scottish/ Rebel army rampaged across northern England. It would take years to repair the damage. The one thing that England gained from this bloody affair was stability, there would be no other challenges to Lotharingia rule in England for the rest of Philip’s reign.

Nect Chapter: Columbus great discovery, Lotharingia’s first steps into the new world, Events from around the world, the build up to the 1st Italian war
 
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Ah, looking forward to the next one, the new world should be quite interesting in this TL

Then there is this from a few weeks back:
And finally yes the Dutch and Flemish will one day come to dominate the political landscape of Lotharingia instead of Burgundians, This will all come to past with the rise of Dutch dynasty to the throne.
Fantastic! As long as this dynasty isn't called Oranje-Nassau (personal preference this one;))

But the bold part means a little lesson in history & translations:

First of all, "Dutch and Flemish" cannot exist, as all Flemish are by definition "Dutch" until the creation of Belgium (ok, and Louis XIV stealing a part of Flanders).

Now, there is the additional problem that English uses the wrong words as well. (so does French f.e.)

In (modern) English:
Dutch = the language or someone from The Netherlands
The Netherlands = the northern half of the Low countries
Flemish = Inhabitant of Flanders or Belgian Dutch language
Flanders = Dutch speaking part of Belgium
Holland = most of the time: the Netherlands (same error as England = GB/UK)

In Dutch however:
today: Duits (lit. Dutch) = German (as in German, Deutsch)
up to somewhere in the late 17th or even 18th century however: Duits (written Duyts in ye olde days) = Nederlands (still more or less considered a (Low-)German dialect) Actual German was called Hoogduits (which is the dominant form of which modern standard German comes from)
Nederlands = Dutch
Nederlander = inhabitant of the historical Nederlanden or of modern Nederland
De Nederlanden (pl.) = The historical Netherlands = the Low Countries
Nederland (s.) = The modern country situated in the northern half of the Low Countries and the successor of the United/seven provinces (Verenigde/Zeven Provinciën)
Vlaams = Flemish, no problem there
Vlaming = inhabitant of Flanders
Vlaanderen = historically: the County of Flanders*; today = Dutch speaking part of Belgium**; 16-18th century (France in particular) = all of the Southern Netherlands
Holland = historically the County of, today divided in the provinces of Noord- & Zuid-Holland, also commonly used to mean Nederland by the Flemish.
Hollands = The way the Dutch abuse our supposedly common language. (eh, you get the meaning, right?)

* Today the ancient lands of the County of Flanders are divided over the Belgian provinces of West-Vlaanderen & Oost-Vlaanderen, most of the Département du Nord in France, and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in The Netherlands
** Modern Flanders consists of the Belgian remnants of the County, plus the provinces of Antwerpen, Vlaams-Brabant & Limburg. Historically speaking Antwerpen was a margraviate considered a part of the Duchy of Brabant, and what is now Belgian Limburg used to be the County of Loon which belonged to the Prince-Bishop of Liège since the late 14th century.

OK, class, this concludes today's lesson, exam after the weekend:p

Still following;)

So, to repeat in short:I'm guessing that by "Dutch and Flemish" you actually meant Hollanders and Flemish, or "modern Dutch" and "modern Flemish". In those days it should be either: Dutch (though I'd use Netherlander for clarity) or Brabander, Flemish and Hollander (to use the top 3 provinces in order of importance)
 
I actually live in Blackpool, and as much as I love this TL, the town didn't exist in those days. It was just a very small settlement called Pul. The most you would find in the area would be a village and only in the 1700s did a small spa resort emmerge. Nevertheless, great update. :D

P.S I was thrilled when my town appeared in a TL!
 
Xavier: Yes the new world will be quite interesting. With Lotharingia being a major colonial power, and Spain still being divided Aragon will get a bit of a head start on Castille but both will become major colonial powers in the Americas (expect the name to change for one of the continents). Also expect to see some odd colonizers colonize small chunks of land. Also thanks for the heads up on the whole Flemish being Dutch, I didn't know that the divide was made later, since Flanders existing before the POD.

El Zilcho: Glad you like the timeline. I was knew that there was a small settlement there I didn't think the name change, thanks for pointing it out though.

I will try to get an update done by the end of the week at the latest.
 
Ah, looking forward to the next one, the new world should be quite interesting in this TL

Then there is this from a few weeks back:Fantastic! As long as this dynasty isn't called Oranje-Nassau (personal preference this one;))

But the bold part means a little lesson in history & translations:

First of all, "Dutch and Flemish" cannot exist, as all Flemish are by definition "Dutch" until the creation of Belgium (ok, and Louis XIV stealing a part of Flanders).

Now, there is the additional problem that English uses the wrong words as well. (so does French f.e.)

In (modern) English:
Dutch = the language or someone from The Netherlands
The Netherlands = the northern half of the Low countries
Flemish = Inhabitant of Flanders or Belgian Dutch language
Flanders = Dutch speaking part of Belgium
Holland = most of the time: the Netherlands (same error as England = GB/UK)

In Dutch however:
today: Duits (lit. Dutch) = German (as in German, Deutsch)
up to somewhere in the late 17th or even 18th century however: Duits (written Duyts in ye olde days) = Nederlands (still more or less considered a (Low-)German dialect) Actual German was called Hoogduits (which is the dominant form of which modern standard German comes from)
Nederlands = Dutch
Nederlander = inhabitant of the historical Nederlanden or of modern Nederland
De Nederlanden (pl.) = The historical Netherlands = the Low Countries
Nederland (s.) = The modern country situated in the northern half of the Low Countries and the successor of the United/seven provinces (Verenigde/Zeven Provinciën)
Vlaams = Flemish, no problem there
Vlaming = inhabitant of Flanders
Vlaanderen = historically: the County of Flanders*; today = Dutch speaking part of Belgium**; 16-18th century (France in particular) = all of the Southern Netherlands
Holland = historically the County of, today divided in the provinces of Noord- & Zuid-Holland, also commonly used to mean Nederland by the Flemish.
Hollands = The way the Dutch abuse our supposedly common language. (eh, you get the meaning, right?)

* Today the ancient lands of the County of Flanders are divided over the Belgian provinces of West-Vlaanderen & Oost-Vlaanderen, most of the Département du Nord in France, and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen in The Netherlands
** Modern Flanders consists of the Belgian remnants of the County, plus the provinces of Antwerpen, Vlaams-Brabant & Limburg. Historically speaking Antwerpen was a margraviate considered a part of the Duchy of Brabant, and what is now Belgian Limburg used to be the County of Loon which belonged to the Prince-Bishop of Liège since the late 14th century.

OK, class, this concludes today's lesson, exam after the weekend:p

Still following;)

So, to repeat in short:I'm guessing that by "Dutch and Flemish" you actually meant Hollanders and Flemish, or "modern Dutch" and "modern Flemish". In those days it should be either: Dutch (though I'd use Netherlander for clarity) or Brabander, Flemish and Hollander (to use the top 3 provinces in order of importance)

So if we followed the same rule in English, "the Netherland" would be the country and "the Netherlands" would be Benelux?
Elegant solution to a messy problem.
 
Wow, I can't believe I missed this. I'm excited that someone is toying with the possibillity of Burgundian involvement in the War of the Roses.
 
...I didn't know that the divide was made later, since Flanders existing before the POD.
The County did, just as the counties of Holland and Zeeland, Hainaut, Namur and the Duchies of Brabant and Gelderland.

So if we followed the same rule in English, "the Netherland" would be the country and "the Netherlands" would be Benelux?
Elegant solution to a messy problem.
Technically just Netherland, but yes.
Though to be correct, The Netherlands would be Benelux + Département du Nord + Arrondissments of Arras, Lens, Béthune & St-Omer + some French & German cantons.:D
 
Philip I ‘the mighty’ the discovery of the new world, events leading up to the Italian war, and overview of Europe

The end of the Northumbrian wars and the Bantam rebellions had brought an unusual peace to the war torn country as England struggled to rebuild. The years leading up to the beginning of the first Italian war for Philip was dominated by the rebuilding of England and the establishment of a safe and loyal regency council loyal to him. This council was led by the power English nobleman the Duke of Somerset, Jeremy Thesiger who had been a prominent government official in Parliament and had risen to power after the collapse of the regency it is his and Thomas Morton’s efforts that lead to London and the Southern part of England from being saved from the rebels. Yet something was to happen that was going to change all of this an event so monumental that the course of history was to be changed forever.

It all started with a young Italian navigator named Christopher Columbus decided that their was a quick and efficient way to sail to Asia that did not involve traveling around the Cape of Good Hope, or through the Muslims. He believed that a ship could travel directly across the Atlantic Ocean and reach Japan and China, though many of the educational elite doubt this was a possible journey due to the distances that would be needed to be traveled. Colmbus believed that the Earth circumference was small that everyone else thought (he was ultimately wrong about this) and that such a journey would not only be successful but profitable. He began to search for people to fund his journey, first he went to the his home city of Genoa but was rejected there due to lack of interest, he then decided to try his luck with Portugal and Castile both refused him due them doubting the profitability of such a journey, so finally he turn to the final Iberian state Aragon. Using evidence from Basque fisherman about wind currents that they had traveled on and the economic advantages of financing this journey to convince the King and Queen. Though it took a while to convince King Ferdinand II and his Queen Isabella, they agreed to finance him giving him 3 ships (Santa Anna, San Salavdor, and the Pinta) in which to make the journey. Colombus using these 3 ships and the best navigational technologies and top their crew set sail to what he hoped would be Japan and China. Following the wind currents that he had discovered with the help of Basque fisherman began his journey. Within 5 weeks he had reached a land. He immediately waded ashore and claimed the island in the name of the Crown of Aragon.

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Christopher Colombus 'discovering' the new world

He decided to name the Island after his mistress Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, naming it San Beatrix (yes and before anyone ask there is a saint Beatrix, Saint Betrix de Sliva). San Beatrix. Believing himself to be close to Japan he headed south were he landed of the coast of the large island of Taino. It is here that he first made contact with native cabotians. Colombus hoping to establish good relations with the group traded with them, They proved to be quite friendly, as Colombus wrote in his journal; “They traded with us and gave us everything they had, with good will..they took great delight in pleasing us..They are very gentle and without knowledge of what is evil; nor do they murder or steal..Your highness may believe that in all the world there can be no better people ..They love their neighbours as themselves, and they have the sweetest talk in the world, and are gentle and always laughing.” After taking some of the Taino native with him he headed home to Aragon but not before discovering two more islands Haiti and Trastámara (Puerto Rico) which was named after the current dynasty on the throne of Aragon . Upon arriving he was greeted with a heroes welcome. King Ferdinand II personally congratulated him and named him High Admiral of Seas (effectively making him in charge of one of two fleets of Aragon the other one was the Mediterrean Fleet lead by another High Admiral), Governor of the Indies, and the title of Duke of Gipuzkoa. Ferdinand II immediately commissioned that Colombus begin another journey to establish stable colonies in the newely discovered areas. Thus Colombus began his second and third journey were he was able to establish key settlement on the San Betrice Islands (Bahamas) called Arana, he also founded San Juan (which was named after the heir of Aragon). But much more importantly he landed and discovered the Tegesta peninsula (Florida) and sounded the city of Neuva Barcelona(OTL Miami). This is extremely important because Neuva Barcelona and city of Tarragona (OTL Atlanta). With these cities established he returned to Aragon. By the time he had returned the news of his discoveries had spread through out Europe. This in turn prompted both Castile, Lotharingia/England and Portugal to send voyages. The Castilian voyage under Gonzalo de Quesada who discover various islands in the Caribbean sea and named the sea after this major tribe, de Quesada established a settlement on the Western side of the island of Haiti named Santa Fe. The Portuguese sent two explores named Pedro Cabaral and Amerigo Vespuci. Cabaral sailed farther south than any previous explorer had and landed in Brazil claiming it for Portugal before sailing away to Africa and eventually India. Amerigo Vespuci returned to Brazil and founded athe settlement of Cabaral (OTL Salavador) named after his predecessor. But Amerigo made a bigger discover his continued survey of the coast of Brazil made him realize that Colombus had discovered a new continent instead of India. When he return Portugal he spread news of his discovery, and a German map maker named Martin Waldseemüller using this knowledge named the southern continent after him. From then on the southern continent of the new world would forever be known as America. It was around the time of Colombus’ second voyage that a Italian explorer named John Cabot approached Philip I while he was in England with the proposition that he take the same journey that Colombus had made a claim land in the name of Philip’s crown.

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John Cabot leaving England for the New World

Excited at the opportunity to gain access to the wealth that the Aragonese had he whole-heartily agreed give Cabot two ships (the Matthew and the Wyvern). Cabot set out on his journey a reach the Island of Philipos (Newfoundland) and claimed it for England. He then turn down south and landed quite a far ways from Philipos at the Nauset bay and landed of the Island of Verona (a city in his native Venice, OTL Rhode Island) he soon sailed home. He made 2 more voyage over the next couple of years mapping the coast of the areas he discovered, the Gaspe Bay Peninsula, New Wessex (OTL Nova Soctia), Nova Mercia (OTL New Brunswick), and Massachusetts. But on returning from his third voyage he got serious ill and died shortly after returning. Waldseemüller named the northern continent Cabotia after him in his honour. Yet this would not be the last great explorer that Lotharingia would produce, it would produce another one a couple years later in the form of Hendryk van der Botha.

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Famous Lotharingian Explorer Hendryk van der Botha

Botha seeking sponsorship for his voyage turned to King Philip I and his chancleor Jean de Feuquieres. Botha proposed that he would follow a different route than what Cabot had done rather he would head south towards the Caribbean. Botha immediately set sail with his 5 ships (St. John, Dirk, Batavia, Neptune, and Ulysses) it did not take him long to make his mark on the region he quickly discovered a massive land on the continent of America, which he named Valoisia, he also discovered and mapped various islands in the south including Botha (Trinidad), Jamaica, Charolais (Barbados) and Tholen (Dominica) among others. Botha soon returned home and was paraded as a hero. Botha almost immediately set out on another journey. One this Journey he arrived on the mouth of a huge river which he named after the local people of the area. The river would forever be called the Mississippi River. Botha fell in love with the area and devoted the next couble of years to building a settlement on the mouth of the river which he named after himself. The City of Botha would remain a key city in the Lotharigian colonial empire and key city in the history of the Continent.

Yet the discoveries of the America’s was not the only thing that caused the 1490’s to be an eventful decade. Things in Europe were heating up. In the far north the powerful Kalmar Union was falling apart. The Swedish under the command of its powerful Regent Sten Sture launch a war to gain independence, many powerful nobles flocked to his banner including Erik Vasa. King Charles II of Denmark and Norway joined up forces with Swedish loyalist lead by Sten Sture political rival Svante Nilson and launched a massive counter attack. The Battle of Växjö proved to be a decisive victory for the Loyalist as both Sten Sture and his son were both killed. But luckily for the rebels a new leader arose, his name was Erik Skytte. Skytte had been a Swedish born general in the Danish army yet defected shortly before the Battle of Växjö after King Charles II gave him orders to massacre the entire population of a small town. He took the reigns of the rebellion and regrouped and retrained the rebels into a formidable fighting force. Though this was much to chrigin of powerful nobles like Erik Vasa who saw Skytte as rivals to their power. Skytte realizing that Charles II was capable of retaking Stockholm mobilized his army at brought Charles II to battle at Nyköping in Ostergotland. The battle was decisive for the rebels Charles II army laid shattered Svante Nilson was dead. Erik Skytte pursed King Charles II for the rest of the spring. The Two finally agreed to sign a peace deal at Jönköping in April 17 1494. The deal for Charles II to surrender the Crown of Sweden to Erik Skytte, The Key part of this treaty was that it reonginzed Erik as the king which left Erik Vasa. Vasa almost immediately rebelled and after a short conflict outside Stockholm Vasa was defeated and killed. Erik was shortly thereafter crowned King Erik XIV of Sweden.

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King Erix XIV of Sweden

Yet the Scandinavia was the only place of conflict. A conflict in the East was erupting around the same time. Tsae Ivan III launched a massive campaign against the Golden Horde and the Khante of Kazan. Ivan III decivisly beat both of the both nations and took massive chunks of land almost pushing to the border of the Crimean. But all of this was at the cost of his own life injured at the final conflict of the war, the siege of Sarai when a arrow pierced his neck and killed him, leaving his new enlarged nation to his son Fydor I. In Iberia the reconquestia was coming to a close. The husband of the queen Diego Juan de la Cerda and his son the Prince of Asturias Diego launched a campaign against the Emirate of Granada. The Castillians lead a massive siege of the city. But Prince Diego hoping to gain the reputation of a warrior prince lead an assault against the stronghold walls. This lead to a break out of a massive fight outside of the city, Diego Juan seeing his son in danger lead a massive charge against the Granadan forces shattering them. But unfortunately at the cost of his own life, Diego Juan was pierced in the side by a spear, he would cling to life for a couble of weeks before succumbing to his wounds. He is often refered to as the last causality of the Reconquista. But this is far from true Juana I queen of Castille was distraught at the death of her husband, her health began to decline and a year later on November 15 1493 she died. Prince Diego, now Diego I, now found himself king of a growing colonial power and dragged into the centre of the Italian conflicts.

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King Charles VIII of France and King Ferdinand I of Naples were central figures in the 1st Italian war

But all of this was all overshadowed by France unexpected moves into Italy. King Charles VII had reached his majority was desperate to find ways to regain glory for France that had been lost in his father’s reign. He found his answer in Italy with two conspicuous claims. These claim were to the thrones of both to the Duchy of Milan and Kingdom of Naples. For Charles this provided the perfect outlet for his ambition. His chosen target would be King Ferdinand I of Naples. Ferdinand I claim to the throne was sticky, He was the bastard son of the previous king Alfsono I. Charles VII seeing an opportunity to gain the throne of Naples declared war on Naples. Ferdinand I realizing that he could not resit France on his traveled across Italy to unite the powers of Italy. Both Venice and Florence dismissed him wanting nothing to do with the conflict, both preferring to build up their own wealth. Pope was hesitant to support Naples unless he would be backed by Holy Roman Emperor Maxmillian I, and the emperor was hesitant to fight France if it did not stand a chance of victory. Finally he went to Milan to gain support their but Ludovico threw him out refusing to support him. In defeat he went to the final power that could help him Savoy. Initially Duke Charles I was hesitant to provide support but then the French army showed up outside the gates of the city. Charles I immediately declared that he was neutral and asked Ferdinand I to leave immediately so that war would not be brought down upon his country. Ferdinand I desperately pleaded that Charles VII would not respect that neutrality. King Charles VII demanded that he meet with the Duke. There the French king did something that would shock all of Italy into action. He demanded that Savoy submit to French rule, Charles I naturally refused so in anger Bernard Stewart Charles VII marshal killed him and besieged Turin. Ferdinand I was able to rally the Savoyard people against French and lead a massive attack against the battle of Turin was the first major battle of the war. Though the Savoyards were crushed, Ferdinand I killed, it sent a message across the rest of Europe. France needed to be stopped. Within days of the battle of Turin Ludovico I of Milan, the new Pope Sixtus V (Cardinal Giovanni Battista Savelli), Holy Roman Emperor Maximillan I went to Milan and created the League of Bolognaa collation to fight against the French. A week later sensing his need to intervene in the conflict and called to fight by his ally the Emperor, Philip I declared war on France dragging both Aragon and England into the war. In response to this France called upon its two allies Castile and Switzerland to join the war. The 1st Italian war or the War of the League of Bologna began.

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Map of Europe shortly before the Beginning of the war
 
And here is the map of the Americas and the land claimed by colonial powers.
Black means unclaimed or yet to be discovered

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Waldseemüller named the northern continent Cabotia after him in his honour. Yet this would not be the last great explorer that Lotharingia would produce, it would produce another one a couple years later in the form of Hendryk van der Botha.

What about Sebastian Cabot, John's own son ;)
 
It's Back!!!!! Oh Yeah, back to were I belong. I proudly present after my absence the next update

Philip I the War of the League of Bologna or the First Italian war

The War of the League of Bologna had begun with the vicious French attack on Savoy. This had sent shockwaves around Europe and caused the former supporter of the French, Pope Sixtus V to proclaim the League of Bologna to resist the French. But things for league did not start as hoped. As the League tried to hastily mobilized King Charles VIII launched an attack in Milan. The Milanese tried desperately to hold them back at Novara but could stop the French hordes. Realizing what the effect of France dominating the Italian Peninsula meant for them Venice decided the join the league and under the personal command of the Doge of Venice Agonstio Barabarigo. With his force he march to Milan and engaged a Swiss invasion force at Como routing them. Charles VII began to realize that with Venetian-Milanese-Papal army now blocking the way to Milan that he needed all of the support needed to destroy the army and regroup and linked up with the Swiss forces that were defeated at Como. With this new enlarged army he began to make a push for Milan. Not wanting him get close to the city the combined army under the command of Duke Ludovico of Milan meet the French army at Legnano. French Historian Pierre Crevier-Joly recounts.

“On 15th of September in the 1495th year of lord, the decisive battle of Legnano was fought. The noble King Charles VIII came to the city with hopes of taking Milan before Imperial troops could arrive to assist their ally was meet by a combined army of Milanese-Venetians-Papal army under the command of Duke Ludovico of Milan. Charles who had days earlier only meet with the Swiss army lead bow led by Albert von Bubenberg, the son of Swiss commander Adrian von Bubenberg, and one of the most powerful nobles in Switzerland. The League army positioned itself just north of the town with small forest covering their left. Charles immediately sent his infantry to engage the Milanese forces and began to prepare his cavalry and moved them and small amount of skirmishers into the forest. The French and League infantry clashed with nether side gaining any advantage. But as the battle went on the Milanese troops who had just returned from a vicious battle with the French began to buckle. This was just the opportunity Charles VIII was looking for he order all of his cavalry to charge that one spot. The League’s army broke instantly the commanders tried desperately to keep the army together but and arrow pierced the throat of Duke Ludovico. Realizing all was lost Doge Agonstio Barabarigo took his troops and retreated away from Milan. Milan was now all for the taking.’

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The Allied army defeat at Legnano had sent shockwaves around Italy. Pope Sixtus V needed a victory to keep the League together and thus gathered an army of his own and merged it with the armies of Feridanad I of Naples and Doge Agonstio Barabarigo. Thus creating the Grand Army of Italy, he place control of the army under Agonstio Barabarigo were it marched north to meet Philip outside of Milan. Yet unknown to the Italians was that Charles VIII split his army into two. The main large force would be lead by himself with the goal of taking Milan the other smaller half would be lead by Bernard d’Aubigny with the goal of bringing down the Pope and Naples, while the majority of their troops were in the north. In the north on the swiss border King Philip I sent his general Pierre de Clisson to launch an offensive into Switzerland with the goal of seizing Bern and the adjacent areas. The Swiss tried to rallied around Marx Roist to fight back the invaders and push them out of Switzerland. Pierre was aware of this threat, and sent a small force to take Geneva, to draw out Roist force. In this Pierre was successful, Roist took the bait and lead his force from Bern down the main road towards Geneva. Pierre sprung his trap ambushing Roist’s force near the town of Orbe. Roist forces were crushed utterly, this coupled with news from Geneva that the city had fallen sent shockwaves across the Switzerland. Roist was removed from his command and replaced Johann von Bubenberg younger brother of Albert von Bubenberg. The beginning of the rise of the Bubenbergs had begun in Switzerland.

Back in Italy Agonstio Barabarigo force was about to meet the French near the town Magenta. Barabarigo hopes that a victory here could bring and end to the war. Going into the battle he held one trump card that Lotharingian reinforcements under Marshal Gallo and King Philip himself were coming. Yet the allies were not the only one with reinforcements on their way. Charles VIII was expecting a force 10 000 men under the command of Duke of Nemours and another group of reinforcements from Switzerland comprising of another 8000 men. Knowing this Agonstio Barabarigo decided to attack before the reinforcements grouped up with Charles VIII. Thus the Battle of Magneta began. The Battle was a bloody and long affair. It began with the allies bombarding the French positions with cannon fire. Yet the cannons did little to damage the French lines. Agonstio then sent out his force to meet the enemy head on. Yet Charles held back his forces and his cannons and let the Allies come closer. Then he unleashed hell, letting all of his cannons erupt in one massive barrage of cannonade and arrows ripping apart the Allied lines. What was left of the allied force smashed against the French force and bloody melee began. Agonstio realized to save himself from defeat that he would have to use his cavalry to destroy the French flanks. Aware of this Charles sent his cavalry to attack the Allied cavalry before they had an chance to attack the flanks. With the cavalry fighting it out, Charles VIII took the opportunity to send his reserves the veteran Swiss regiments in particular the 1st Bern, 3rd Zurich, and Bloody Beast of Uri into the fight. The extra vetran troops added that last extra push to end the fight. The Swiss fought which such fury that regiment after regiment fell to them. Not even the might Landsknects mercenaries could stand against them. Agonstio attempted to make a desperate last stand going forward a rallying the troops especially the Venetian regiments to hold long enough for the rest of the allies to retreat. As things strated to look like Agonstio was about to be killed himself when King Ferdinand I with reinforcement arrived to relive the Venetians. Though the amount of reinforcements were not enough to turn the tide it was enough to buy enough time for Venetians to fall back. Yet this heroic gesture end with the unfortunate death of Ferdinand I, who famously said to Agonstio, If Charles wants my throne he will have go through our steel to get it.”. With Ferdinand’s death the throne was passed on thehis son Alfonso II. Agonstio was able to use Ferdinand sacrifice to get a good chunk of his army out of Northern Italy and south towards Bologna. Though Charles VIII may have won it had come at a great cost losing a good chunk of his army, now aware of Philip and Gallo army coming towards him he wasted no time and quickly took the city of Milan, and waited for his reinforcement to come before he made his next move.
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Agonstio Barabargio though was not able to bring the victory the allies needed in Italy. The Battle of Magneta had served to weaken the French army were it could not advance further than Milan without reinforcements
 
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