alternatehistory.com

Hello guys! Having lurked on the forums for quite a while, and recently having created my account I figured it's time I tried my hand at making a timeline of my own. The topic? My own homeland and possibly the most wanked nation on these forums... Finland. :cool:

The timeline begins in the year of our lord 1250 when Birger Magnusson af Bjälbo crushes the rebelling Tavastians and receives news of his son, Valdemar having been crowned the king of Sweden rather than himself.

Now keep in mind, this is my first timeline and being new at it I don't expect to get everything right at once, and will welcome any advice, help or even criticism I may receive.

Other than that... enjoy, comment and so forth. :D
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· 1250: Founding of the Kingdom

  • With the Second Swedish crusade in which Jarl Birger Magnusson finally crushed the last Finnic-tribes he became easily the most powerful person in Sweden at the time. However in his absence and with the death of King Erik the rebellious Jarls voted his under-age son Valdemar to be the King rather than Birger himself.
  • Understandably angered by what he felt as a betrayal of his loyalty, Birger Magnusson comes to a crossroads. He could quite easily return to Sweden and claim the position of a Regent until his son comes of age, or he could do something unexpected. Something that change the course of history in the North.
  • With the help of his old friend and comrade William of Modena, the Papal Legate, Birger writes a personal plea to the Pope, Innocentius VI.
  • The Pope still remembers how Birger aided him in transforming Sweden from a backwards land of heathens to a Catholic kingdom, and after some considerations gives his reply. Birger is given sanction to form a new kingdom in the lands he has conquered, his formal introduction is to be:"Birger Ensimmäinen, Suomen kuningas, Turun ja Uudenmaan Suuriruhtinas, Karjalan herttua ja Pohjolan isäntä." (“Birger the First, King of Finland, Grand-Duke of Åbo and Nyland, Duke of Karelia and Lord of the North.")
  • The Swedish nobility is outraged. However their rage is quite impotent due to the Papal support, and the de jure acknowledgement of the new kingdom which is christened as "Finland." As his heraldry, Birger chooses the rather popular red and gold colours that go well with the Lion emblem, as shown below.
  • Despite being a fairly large kingdom by the set of it's de jure borders, Finland has a low population and is exceedingly poor and set between the growing powers of Sweden and Novgorod. However, with a proper combination of cunning, vision and guidance the nation can grow and prosper as the border between the west and the east. The only question is... wil it? Or will the kingdom be extinquished like so many others? Only time will tell.

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