The Silver Knight, a Lithuania Timeline

[Augenis]

Part 37: The Witcher (1645-1655)
​

During the time of his father's death, Prince Jonas was merely a student in the University (Academy) of Vilnius, enrolled in natural philosophy and hardly prepared to rule over the largest empire in Europe. Most likely, he didn't think that his father would die so soon and leave him to be the heir to the throne. Maybe he also thought that Albertas Jogaila I would not choose him as his heir and instead pick from one of his younger brothers - Žygimantas and Mykolas. The nobility of the Lithuanian nation was not so keen on letting a 20 year old rule the nation, either. But, alas, both of these thoughts were not fulfilled, he was brought to the Palace to be crowned as Emperor Jonas I of Lithuania, the new monarch.

Emperor Jonas I of Lithuania
​

Jonas I was not determined and ambitious nor extremely wroth like his father, he didn't excel in combat at all. He was not some great genius or an excellent statesman like Algirdas II. He wasn't a bloodthirsty tyrant, nor did he ever wish to be. He was just a jumped up university student who was crowned as the Emperor, lacking any and all experience in court matters or administration, and this was reflected in the way he ruled - carefully, without any ambition or extravagance, trying his best to not destroy anything, but not attempting to go on a second conquest spree, either. The developing absolutism of Albertas Jogaila I's rule was relaxed during his son's reign, Jonas I found himself more and more reliant on the advice of his court to effectively rule, and being kind-hearted and accepting as he was, he carefully let go of some of his father's absolutist machinations. Perhaps this "craven rule" was for the better, Lithuania was still trying to recover from it's participation in the Twenty Years' War, and a content and unambitious king was fine for that. Under Jonas I's short rule, the economy of the empire began to grow and regain it's former strength, the Baroque art movement firmly established itself in the country and new technological advancements from the West reached the nation, though how much of that was actually caused by him is questionable.

On the other hand, the Royal Court began to grow more and more stronger, disproportionally in comparison to the emperor, unchecked corruption flourished within it, which was not what the dynasty wanted...

Jonas I was uninterested in the day-to-day matters of the state - what his heart yearned for was science. Despite his father's best efforts to shape him into a soldier, Prince Jonas prevailed over his father and travelled to the University of Vilnius to study natural philosophy, the precursor to modern science. The 17th century was the heart of what will later be called the "Scientific Revolution", the scientists and philosophers of the day were beginning to crack the secrets to the primary mysteries of the world and philosophy - what is going on in the Universe, why do things act the way they do, and how do they act, exactly? The already mentioned Italian astronomer Alberto Cogliatti and his work in developing the modern Heliocentric model in the end of the 16th century is considered to be the beginning of this era, and the 17th century will only grow more rife with such discoveries. The modern day term "Camarian physics" borrow their name from the great French physicist Francis Camaro, considered to be one of the greatest minds of all time, who was the first to develop the three laws of motion in 1651 and was among the first to pioneer the scientific method. Camaro's works were greatly influenced by the earlier Swedish mathematician Anders Nilsson, whose 1611 tractate "The Celestial Physics" laid the basis for the Nilssonian laws of planetary motion, and is also the first known mention of the word 'physics' as a science. Outside of the laws of motion, Camaro also created the law of universal gravitation, laying the mathematical principles for this fundamental force of physics, and developed the use of calculus in these sets of laws. According to a popular anecdote, the physicist imagined the idea of gravity by watching an artillery salute in his home city Orleans - no matter how hard the cannon were to fire the cannonball, it was destined to fall back to the ground, as if something was pulling it down, and this gave Camaro the spark needed.

How is this related to the matters at hand? Well, while at the time Camaro's revolutionary ideas had yet to gain widespread traction, among the first supporters of his theories was Emperor Jonas I. Quite adept at the natural sciences himself, the monarch contacted the French physicist out of the interest in his works. Despite living on the other sides of Europe, Camaro in Orleans and Jonas in Vilnius, the two intellectuals engaged in detailed correspondence for a few years, and the young emperor converted his room in the palace to a laboratory for testing grounds. This development startled the rest of the Royal Family, however, especially the two of his already adult brothers - Žygimantas and Mykolas. To them, Emperor Jonas was becoming more and more of a threat to the integrity of the monarchy, his lack of interest in national or foreign affairs could revert everything that their father and grandmother built up for them. They weren't alone in this suspicion - a sizable portion of the Lithuanian nobility feared that Jonas I's rule will lead to the collapse of the Empire. Some even compared it, without much basis, to the Polish succession crisis in the 15th century, and Jonas I to Siemowit III - and nobody wanted that to happen to Mother Lithuania.

Jonas I was unaware of the court and his brothers secretly turning against him, especially since he was becoming more and more detached from his duties as Emperor to work for science. But Žygimantas and Mykolas couldn't just kick their brother out - he was still the monarch, the highest authority in the Lithuanian nation both politically and religiously, being the controller of the Lithuanian Orthodox Church and all - but what they could do was slander him. Look at what he's doing, after all! Instead of ruling his nation and leading it to greatness like his father, he's writing letters to foreigners and engaging in shady activity in his room! There's only one explanation - he must be a heretic, a witcher! Witch hunts were not necessarily unknown to Lithuania, but they certainly weren't common, either. Popularized across Germany during the Twenty Years' War in order to find sufficient scapegoats for the horrors inflicted upon the countryside by both sides, they spread across Europe, more and more cruel methods were being developed to deal with the "witchcraft" and "witches", like drowning and burning.

Mykolas and Žygimantas managed to rally most of the court to bust the "witcher" Emperor, they even managed to sway the leaders of the Karaite Guard to their side, and suddenly, on one night in the year 1654, the doors of the Palace were busted and Jonas I was kicked out and arrested, just as when he was writing down notes for the results of his experiment. But, being an emperor and all, he couldn't just be burned or executed in some way, especially since a sizable portion of the population was still in favor of the monarch. Instead, the conspirators handed him a horse, a small bag of money and released him in Brest, near the Visegradian-Lithuanian border, and told to leave the country and never return. And so he did. The exiled emperor travelled across Europe for a few years before finally arriving to France to meet his acquaintance - however, by the time of his arrival, Francois Camaro had already been dead. Jonas I lived the rest of his life in relative poverty, living in Paris and cooperating with the French Academy of Sciences. Many were interested in this "fallen emperor from the Far East", especially since most Parisians had never even seen a Lithuanian person before in their life. Jonas I, Emperor from 1645 to 1654, oldest son of Albertas Jogaila I, died in the year 1701 in France, hardly even remembering his homeland, but dying just as he wanted to live - as a man of science. His legacy had been tainted by his successors, who wanted to portray him as negatively as possible in order to legitimize their coup, but nowadays he is recognized as a forward-thinking, though unambitious and ineffective monarch.

Back in Lithuania, however, an interregnum arose. The two remaining brothers, Žygimantas and Mykolas, clashed for the crown for a few months, before the latter was finally captured, arrested and executed by the former. Stained in the blood and tears of his kin, Prince Žygimantas, the second oldest son of Albertas Jogaila I, was crowned as Emperor Žygimantas I on March 11th, 1655. The Emperor is gone, long live the Emperor!

 

[Crying]

Jonas didn't really screw anything up (other than letting the nobility build up power, unchecked) but it is nice to see some less competent rulers on the throne.

Good update as always.

 

[Augenis]

Jonas didn't really screw anything up (other than letting the nobility build up power, unchecked) but it is nice to see some less competent rulers on the throne.

Good update as always.

It's also a nice segue into the ongoing Scientific Revolution. In my opinion at least.

 

[MagicalPhantom345]

Just wondering Augenis, have you ever considered making a Hetalia Special for this timeline of yours?

 

[MagicalPhantom345]

Back in Lithuania, however, an interregnum arose. The two remaining brothers, Žygimantas and Mykolas, clashed for the crown for a few months, before the latter was finally captured, arrested and executed by the former. Stained in the blood and tears of his kin, Prince Žygimantas, the second oldest son of Albertas Jogaila I, was crowned as Emperor Žygimantas I on March 11th, 1655. The Emperor is gone, long live the Emperor!

I get the impression that the reign of Zygimantas I will start a period of Reactionary Absolutism within the politics of Lithuania, how long it lasts is up to the Author to decide from this point onward.

 

[Augenis]

Just wondering Augenis, have you ever considered making a Hetalia Special for this timeline of yours?

Uh... no, not really. Why do you ask?

I get the impression that the reign of Zygimantas I will start a period of Reactionary Absolutism within the politics of Lithuania, how long it lasts is up to the Author to decide from this point onward.

Interesting thoughts

 

[MagicalPhantom345]

Uh... no, not really. Why do you ask?
Just got the idea after watching a bit of the one of the Abridged versions of the show on Youtube, and thought it would be fun to see your spin on the characters with there different circumstances in this Timeline.
Here is the version I watched if your interested:

Interesting thoughts

Well it seems imparative that the brothers have started a Witch Hunting movement that will probably grow out of there control

 

[generalurist]

Oh dear.... I hope that this doesn't leave Lithuania with a persistent anti intellectual bent, or they are going to go down like the Russians did OTL!

 

[Augenis]

Part 38: The Emperor is Gone! Long Live the Emperor! (1655-1675)
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On the foreign front, the reign of Jonas I was marked by the seven year long East Asian War between the Netherlands Free State and Portugal. The Dutch were a rising maritime power for half a century by then, and their ambitions to control the world trade flow were dangerous to the Portuguese, who held a monopoly in trade with East Asia and profited greatly from it - and thus the two maritime powers clashed for supremacy. Interestingly enough, this can also be considered to be one of the first proxy wars in history, as most of the fighting between the two nations was done by local Indonesian and Indochinese kings and rulers allied with one of the Europeans. In the end, however, the Dutch prevailed, and the influence held by Portugal in East Asia was severely curbed. While they still retained Manuela, their prize colony, they had to cede numerous trade ports in Asia, most notably Taiwan and Macao. Coupled with their holdings in North Vespucia, the Dutch were establishing themselves as one of the primary great powers in Europe, at least for now.

The beginning of Žygimantas I's reign was quite chaotic. The supporters of Jonas I were angry at the surprise coup, and the population was growing restless. The new Emperor had lots of ambitions himself - he wished to continue his father's absolutist policy, conquer Volga-Russia once and for all, continue expanding West and perhaps into the Balkans. But achieving all of these wishes would require some serious work, and the opposition to his rule was strong. The first few years of Žygimantas I's rule were slow, focused on establishing power within all of the regions of the Empire. One way or the other, the new Emperor managed to replace most of the former Voivodes with loyalists of his regime, securing the army for his apparatus. The armed forces of the Empire of Lithuania were always the most powerful tool in the hands of the monarchs - ever since it's foundation, Lithuania had been a nation focused on militarism. Control of the Army almost always led to you being the most powerful person in the country, and the rest of the government institutions, like the bureaucracy and religion, were secondary matters.

Žygimantas I, Emperor of Lithuania
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One of the crowning achievements of Žygimantas I's reign was the creation of the Third Statute of Lithuania, compiled in 1661-1665. This document greatly expands on the Second Statute of Lithuania, updating numerous laws and punishments and setting the tone for the rest of the Emperor's reign. Serfdom was reaffirmed and in many cases even strengthened, for example, fugitive serfs were now always required to be returned back to their owner rather than emancipated after a specific time period. Žygimantas I hoped to receive the support of the reactionary nobility with this change - whether it worked is up to history to decide. The country's status as a hardened absolute monarchy was now finalized, too - the Council of Lords now only had an advisory role on royal matters, although the court remained powerful in actually influencing policies. The Statutes of Lithuania were once again notable for their progressive legal tradition, and greatly influenced the development of codified law across the continent, even if they were reactionary in many aspects.

Much like his father, Emperor Žygimantas was a military man and was not interested in the arts or sciences, but he did not completely abandon them like, say, Teodoras I. Even though the shackles of serfdom greatly limited the development of cities and all that came with them, the first manufactories, called "ekonomijos" ("economies") began cropping up throughout the nation during his reign, mostly funded by private investors wishing to diversify. However, their structure was much different from what was developing rapidly in the West. For one, these "ekonomijos" used manorial labor rather than hired workers, and many of them were established in noble estates rather than in cities. As such, they were extremely ineffective, even if they applied modern technology, and most of them went bankrupt. The few that survived became a small, weak foundation for an incoming modern economy, and this was not a good sign. Throughout the 17th century, the prices of grain and lumber began to drop as alternative suppliers like North Vespucia began to come into play, and since these two resources were Lithuania's primary exports to Western Europe, this was obviously concerning to them. And the Lithuanian nobility, which held almost all of the land within the country, was well aware of this problem. Some tried fighting the dropping revenue with higher production, but it would only cause the price to shrink even faster than normal.

This elongated "grain crisis", beginning around the year 1650 and extending for over a century, would come to haunt Lithuania for many times. It was becoming clear that surviving as a mono-export state was not fit for such a powerful empire, and something had to be done to diversify. Many others were denying that this was even a problem, and that the grain price will stabilize over time, so there is no need to worry and potentially infest your mind with dreams of, say, abolition of serfdom. Who'd ever want to do that? Oh, right, all of Western Europe has already pretty much abandoned it and are reaping the positive results...

"Grain Pays" and "Grain Doesn't Pay", two pictures illustrating Lithuania's economic situation in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively. During the Age of Exploration, the prices for cereals and lumber skyrocketed and this resulted in a golden age for the Lithuanian economy, but once the price stabilized, financial problems ensued.
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The "grain crisis" was also problematic to the monarch, as diminishing income from taxes and tariffs led to holes in the budget, most of which was being spent on the military and paying for the court. Žygimantas I decided that the financial problems will need to be fixed in the long term, but for now, the people need to be distracted by something - how about a quick war? And in fact, the 1660s looked like the beginning of a new Twenty Years' War to many spectators. The organization of the continent after the Treaty of Amsterdam was not supported by everyone, most notably Spain and Visegrad, whose power was curbed after the disastrous conflict. Visegrad's revanchism was directed towards two empires - the Ottomans and Lithuania. While the Ottomans were vegetating and dealing with their overextended empire, Lithuania seemed too powerful to take on - but the Lithuanians wanted war against Visegrad as well. Žygimantas I was quick to bring up the Polish Succession War into question - should Poland really be a part of the Union of the Triple Crown, or should it instead serve under him?

1667 looked like it was going to be the beginning of a new great European war, but it never came to yield fruit. Lithuania was preparing for war against the Visegradians, but this potential shift in power balance was not appreciated by the rest of Europe, and rightfully so. The Lithuanian nobility was not willing to go to war, either, especially when the treasury of the Empire was already half empty and the war would most likely turn into a stalemate. Sweden immediately stood besides Visegrad, which was now seen as the victim of the situation, and France protested the belligerent actions taken by the Lithuanian forces. Žygimantas I blamed Visegrad for funding uprisings in Lithuanian Galicia and demanded compensation, but he got squat. The Polish Crisis was a Lithuanian diplomatic defeat, the Empire backed down, fearing a pan-European coalition on their doorstep, and the order created by the Treaty of Amsterdam endured for another day.

Twenty years of Žygimantas's rule had passed, and the aging king realized that he has achieved so little so far. And in fact, his inaction towards the "grain crisis" has resulted in his empire growing even weaker than what Jonas I left him. Something had to be done. Someone must fall beneath him.

But who?

 

[Crying]

There's always money in the grain fields!

 

[Youngmarshall]

I like the grain crisis and Lithuanian's economic struggles. That sort of thing, and your posts on art and science, makes it feel like a real society rather than a list of battles.

 

[Augenis]

I like the grain crisis and Lithuanian's economic struggles. That sort of thing, and your posts on art and science, makes it feel like a real society rather than a list of battles.

That's my plan all along.

I'm not super big into military history, to be honest. My biggest interests are, as you can already tell, arts and societal development. Though, of course, war is still important.

 

[Salvador79]

I like this, too. It´s been OTL´s blight of Eastern Europe, too, and TTL´s absolutist agrarian Lithuania always looked destined to fall into this trap.
My big question is not so much whom Zygimantas may turn against now, but how or if Lithuania may extract itself from this structural crisis. It appears to share quite a lot of OTL Russia`s fate.

 

[Youngmarshall]

Wonder if we'd start seeing pogroms. What's the state of jews and muslims in Lithuania?

 

[MagicalPhantom345]

Twenty years of Žygimantas's rule had passed, and the aging king realized that he has achieved so little so far. And in fact, his inaction towards the "grain crisis" has resulted in his empire growing even weaker than what Jonas I left him. Something had to be done. Someone must fall beneath him.

But who?

Oh this bodes poorly for the Empire in the years to come

 

[Augenis]

Wonder if we'd start seeing pogroms. What's the state of jews and muslims in Lithuania?

Jews are doing pretty well. Their situation is pretty similar to the OTL Grand Duchy of Lithuania around this time. There are very few Muslims to say much on them, but the Tatars, who are mostly Muslim, are recognized and Crimea has a bit of autonomy.

 

[generalurist]

Welp, this ain't good.

Unless Lithuania gets some reforms FAST, she's going to crash and burn like the Romanovs OTL. Sad.

 

[Vuru]

Ah, the good ol' too much food, too little population problem

 

[Augenis]

After some thinking, I have decided to retcon a number of events in this timeline to better fit my scenario:

1. Albertas Jogaila I's name shall be only "Albertas I".
2. The Incas and Mejico were conquered by the Portuguese and Spaniards, respectively.
3. France never actually rebelled, the Flammantian Wars never happened, England-France still exists and they have currently colonized half of North Vespucia.
4. Lithuania won the Polish Succession War in the 1460s instead of losing and annexed Poland. Visegrad never existed. Delete it from your head.
5. The Russians have been all genocided and assimilated.
6. The Industrial Revolution is currently happening. Lithuania is building zeppelins. Everyone is building zeppelins.
7. Moscow was renamed in the 1610s, it's official name now is "Lithuaniagrad".
8. And finally, the most important one, so important to both the past and the future of the timeline that I will write it down in a spoiler:

Spoiler

Happy April Fools!

 

[MagicalPhantom345]

After some thinking, I have decided to retcon a number of events in this timeline to better fit my scenario:

1. Albertas Jogaila I's name shall be only "Albertas I".
2. The Incas and Mejico were conquered by the Portuguese and Spaniards, respectively.
3. France never actually rebelled, the Flammantian Wars never happened, England-France still exists and they have currently colonized half of North Vespucia.
4. Lithuania won the Polish Succession War in the 1460s instead of losing and annexed Poland. Visegrad never existed. Delete it from your head.
5. The Russians have been all genocided and assimilated.
6. The Industrial Revolution is currently happening. Lithuania is building zeppelins. Everyone is building zeppelins.
7. Moscow was renamed in the 1610s, it's official name now is "Lithuaniagrad".
8. And finally, the most important one, so important to both the past and the future of the timeline that I will write it down in a spoiler:

Spoiler

Happy April Fools!

Maybe you should comission a singer on Youtube to do a rendition of the Lithuanian National Anthem of this Timeline?