The Sun Will Rise: Mary I of England has a Son

VVD0D95

Banned
1561

In Ireland, the situation worsens for the English, with Shane O’Neill meeting the preferred English candidate for head of the O’Neill Clan Conn in battle, the Battle of what is now known as Bundoran, which results in the death of Conn O’Neill in battle alongside his son and heir Feardorcha. Feardorcha’s sons Brian and Hugh manage to escape thanks to a rearguard protection led by some loyal retainers, managing to ride hard for the town of Londonderry where the English held garrison welcome them, albeit reluctantly. Shane, riding high off the success of this victory, marches onward, sacking and plundering the land as he goes along, forcing the Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Earl of Sussex out into open battle, resulting in the disastrous Battle of the Red Sagums, which sees most of Sussex’s force destroyed and Sussex himself captured, something that sends shock waves riding throughout Ireland as well as London when word reaches the regents. It seems that things are most desperate within the Kingdom, so much so that the Earl of Arundel, now an old man volunteers to lead a force of men from London toward Ireland to deal with Shane and his rebellion, something that is only furthered when word comes of the O’Moores and the O’Connors joining Shane’s rebellion.

In London, the regency council faces two main issues, Shane O’Neill’s rebellion and the issue of making the crown’s finances stable once more. Whilst Arundel departs for Ireland, Norfolk and the rest of the King’s privy council discuss the best ways to increase the crown’s finances. One option that is suggested is the selling off of former church land back to the church, something that would make some profit, as the Archbishop of Canterbury points out, but would also serve to anger many of the lords and nobles who had bought the land once belonging to the church. Eventually, a compromise is found and a small portion of former church land is sold back to the Church, earning the crown some much needed revenue, though those tenants that were displaced begin grumbling. Another method used to lower the debt burden on the crown is the calling of Parliament for the first time since Queen Mary’s death. Upon being summoned Parliament debates the issue of improving the crown’s finances and eventually settles on giving the crown some £1 million as a hope of repaying off debts, money that will come from the gentry as well as from the nobility, though in time, the contribution of the nobility will be brought into question. One William Cecil, Baron Burghley, is appointed by the regents as Overseer of Crown Funds, to ensure that nothing goes missing. The next item on the list for the regents is Lady Elizabeth who had spent the past year in the tower. Eventually, an offer for marriage is sent to Madrid, with the proposal being that Lady Elizabeth marry John of Austria, King Philip’s half-brother, the year ends with the Spanish considering this offer.

In Madrid, the birth of a son to Carlos and Elisabeth, the Prince and Princess of Asturias is greeted with much joy and splendour. Carlos, often an erratic one, names his son Carlos, after himself and his grandfather, something that seems to cause a slight rift between him and his father. Carlos, also seems to be quite in favour of the marriage between his uncle John and Lady Elizabeth, stating that anything that brings them closer to England can only be a good thing. His father, King Philip, is however, somewhat reluctant to go through with the marriage, believing that having too many ties to England, would leave them vulnerable to manipulation down the line, especially considering the situation in Ireland, and the rumours Philip hears about a Protestant rising lurking within the shadows. Carlos and his father also clash over the fact that whilst Philip is somewhat brooding and sombre, his son is lively and active, and actually has the open admiration of the Cortes and the people, something Philip does not have. Carlos even begins forming a movement to suggest reforms to the collection of wealth from the New World, something that startles Philip most grievously, and when the year ends with Princess Elisabeth announcing another pregnancy, things get heated between father and son.

The siege of the Bidari capital ends with the capital’s capitulation and Emperor Vikramaditya’s successful entrance into the city, where he executes Ali Barid Shah the former ruler of Bidar, and establishes the man’s ambitious son Ibrahim as a client King under his rule. From there, he moves onward, to meet up with his trusted general Ramaiyya in Golkonda, a region that has managed to hold out quite fiercely against the attempts of the Vijaynagara forces as well as those of Ramaiyya. However, the presence of the emperor seemingly changes that, for as the emperor and his forces advance through Golkonda, what resistance is there fades away, and is replaced by subjugation, and finally upon arriving at the capital of the Sultanate, they find the city’s gates wide open. The Emperor and his allies celebrate a hard fought victory, and at year’s end, the Emperor marries Sadasiva’s sister, to cement their alliance, and divide the conquests between them, with Bidar and Ahmadnagar going to the Emperor whilst the rest go to Sadasiva.
 

Shiva

This is getting interesting, Ireland has proven that it doesn't need religious reasons to rebel against England, they've got plenty other excuses. :D

The Catholic Church got some of it's land back, a symbolic token compared to where it was before Henry VIII had it all liquidated.

As for Lady Elizabeth, I think Philip II of Spain will have more second thoughts if his son Philip I of England has a health scare, because Lady Elizabeth is his current heir and would probably undo everything that they (read Philip II of Spain) had worked so hard on in England.

Not to mention that after Elizabeth the person with the strongest blood claim is... Mary I of Scots, who is currently in France and supposed to marry the Dauphin of France. We know they don't have children in RL, but the people on the ground don't know that, what they would see is the possible birth of a new super state in the form of a Union of the British Isles and France.

That state would be such an obvious threat that there'd be wars trying to prevent it's creation, then if it did form an endless back and forth between them and Spain over, pretty much everything.
 

VVD0D95

Banned
Shiva said:
This is getting interesting, Ireland has proven that it doesn't need religious reasons to rebel against England, they've got plenty other excuses. :D

The Catholic Church got some of it's land back, a symbolic token compared to where it was before Henry VIII had it all liquidated.

As for Lady Elizabeth, I think Philip II of Spain will have more second thoughts if his son Philip I of England has a health scare, because Lady Elizabeth is his current heir and would probably undo everything that they (read Philip II of Spain) had worked so hard on in England.

Not to mention that after Elizabeth the person with the strongest blood claim is... Mary I of Scots, who is currently in France and supposed to marry the Dauphin of France. We know they don't have children in RL, but the people on the ground don't know that, what they would see is the possible birth of a new super state in the form of a Union of the British Isles and France.

That state would be such an obvious threat that there'd be wars trying to prevent it's creation, then if it did form an endless back and forth between them and Spain over, pretty much everything.
Click to expand...

Oh indeed, indeed, I do think Philip's going to have to listen to Carlos on this one.

Ireland's heating up a lot, and the English need to stop that ship from sinking and fast.
 

VVD0D95

Banned
1562

1562 would be remembered as the year that the sun shone proudly over Hemuchandra Vikramaditya’s empire. Having added two new territories to his empire, the emperor was greeted with the birth of a son at the beginning of the year, celebrating his son’s birth and the favour of God, the emperor names his son Bharat, after the famed and mythical first Emperor of India. Following on from this piece of good news, the emperor would rename the capital of his empire, what was once known as Delhi, was to be renamed Indraprastha, after the famous city within the epic Mahabharata. The news was greeted with much joy amongst the emperor’s Hindu subjects, whilst his Muslim subjects were left wondering where they would stand amongst the new regime. The emperor under the advice of his wife, ventured forth on a royal progress, touring his lands, venturing from Kabul in the north west, to Bengal in the east, to Bidar in the south, this tour would last for a whole year, during which the emperor spent much time speaking with the princes under his rule, as well as various other officials, getting a feeling of the land and preparing for some of the new projects he was imagining.

On the other side of the world, 1562 would come to be remembered as the year of the red in Ireland, where inspired by Shane O’Neill, who was running rampant throughout most of Tyrone as well as pushing into Ulster, the various other clans were beginning to cause issues. Upon arriving in Ireland, the Earl of Arundel was confronted with the reality that he did not have enough men to quell all of the uprisings, nor was he likely to get more support from London. Eventually, the Earl came to the realisation that he would need to meet with O’Neill, or perhaps some of the other rebels, indeed, it was his good fortune that he happened to meet the heads of the O’Connor and O’Moore clans, which had been disposed by the settlements under Queen Mary, and though they drove a hard bargain, eventually, they agreed to an alliance with Arundel, and so began the process of beating down Shane O’Neill’s rebellion, it would prove to be a long and arduous process, one which Arundel would not live to see the end of, for by the end of the year he would be dead, killed fighting against Irish rebels, having died without surviving male issue his son Henry having died during a drunken brawl, his earldom passed to his daughter Jane who was married to John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley.

In France, the tension between the Catholics and Protestants erupts into open fighting, what caused this fighting is not certain, though there are various rumours floating around of some argument between two nobles of a certain rank. Regardless, in their attempts to end the fighting, it became apparent that Catherine de Medici, the Queen, and her ally the Prince of Conde, might have actually worsened the fighting. Eventually, the fighting ends, but not before five hundred are dead within the streets of Paris itself, whilst there are many smaller fights elsewhere in France. Catherine somehow manages to get her husband to break out of his lovemaking with his mistress, and manages to convinces him to pass into a law declaring any who instigate religious persecution are to be prosecuted themselves, whilst also stepping up the persecution of the Protestants, a move that forces that closeted Protestant the Prince of Conde to retreat to his brother’s home in Navarre, much to the consternation of Catherine and the whispers of court. Meanwhile, in other news, it would appear that Mary was pregnant.

The Prince and Princess of Asturias welcome another child into world, a little girl named Maria for the prince’s mother, whilst the King finally relents and agrees to see his half-brother John married to Lady Elizabeth Tudor, a move made to simply ensure that the work that he had put into England is not undone. A marriage by proxy occurs in London, and later, Lady Elizabeth released from the tower is accompanied by a small company of men and women to Madrid where a proper marriage occurs on 14th September, 1562. Contemporaries will note the age difference between the bride and groom, and will also note the strain that Philip seems to be facing in not forcing his new sister in law into a covenant. Whilst determined to prevent his son getting any more influence, King Philip begins looking for a new wife for himself.
 

DónalCam

I am very much enjoying this timeline, but permit me to split one minor hair- you are over half a century too soon with Londonderry, which became the official title in 1613. At this stage Doire was as yet a modest settlement around the monastery of Colmcille.

As a native, it will be interesting to see if Feardorcha's charismatic son takes a different path to OTL. Keep up the good work!
 

VVD0D95

Banned
DónalCam said:
I am very much enjoying this timeline, but permit me to split one minor hair- you are over half a century too soon with Londonderry, which became the official title in 1613. At this stage Doire was as yet a modest settlement around the monastery of Colmcille.

As a native, it will be interesting to see if Feardorcha's charismatic son takes a different path to OTL. Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Ah my apologies, will bear that in mind for the future :)

Glad you're enjoying it :)
 

VVD0D95

Banned
1563

In Sweden, King Eric XIV, the second King of the Vasa dynasty, finally manages to get himself a wife, the lucky woman in question is Christine of Hesse, the couple marry early in the year, and as such Eric, finally feels somewhat safer in his regime, and so begins focusing on getting rid of his brother John, Duke of Finland, whom he is convinced is plotting against him. As such, his men manage to bring John to the capital, whereby the man is thrown into prison and tried with treason, on mostly trumped up charges. Eric, having dealt with his brother turns his attention toward expansion, and begins the process that will eventually lead to the outbreak of the Livonian and Scandinavian Seven Years War, events that will drain Swedish resources.

In Indraprastha, Emperor Hemuchandra Vikramaditya, begins to reform the administration in the capital, he replaces some of the old administrators with men who have proved themselves, these men are either former compatriots in the Army, who are a mix of religions, being either Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, as well as those from other regions, with the emperor keen to ensure that all parts of his empire are represented. There are those who oppose the mixing of different religions, but the emperor ignores them, and instead focuses on reforming the administration, cutting down the levels of bureaucracy, as well as improving certain roadworks and other facilities within the empire. As the year draws to a close, he announces plans to begin a solid network of roads that will link Indraprastha to Kabul, to Bengal and to Bidar, an ambitious programme.

In England, with the death of the Earl of Arundel, there are some who assume the man’s son in law will take his place on the regency council, however, the Duke of Norfolk and his allies strongly oppose this move, and as such, Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, is named to the council given his proximity to the throne, as well as his experience near the border. Manners greatly accepts the offer and arrives in London, filled with ideas about retaking southern Scotland, ideas that are slowly shut down, as the council begins discussing, ensuring that the crown never falls into such serious debt once more. Whilst the £1 million from Parliament had gone a long way to paying off the debts of the crown, the regents are hesitant to summon another Parliament for fear that they will demand more favours. Instead, it is decided to begin negotiations with Spain, and to begin a joint venture into the new world.

Scotland, still reeling from the shock of John Knox’s death, slowly but surely is returning to the Catholic fold, the Queen’s half-brothers are slowly restoring order whilst her mother is slowly being shut out of power, something that the populous greatly appreciates, nervous as they are of overt French influence. Indeed, so desperate is the Queen Dowager for some more power, that she writes to her daughter in Paris and asks for her to send her seal over. When word arrives in Scotland that their Queen is pregnant, there is a mixed reaction, whilst there are some who are happy at this, there are others such as the Earl of Arran, who are deeply disturbed by the chances of having a French born ruler. As such plans are made for a revolt, but these plans come to nothing, when the Earl of Arran is found dead in his bed, the potential ringleaders all disperse into the countryside and nothing more is heard of it. Though there is a notable sigh of relief when it is learned that Mary had a false pregnancy.
 

VVD0D95

Banned
1564

Ireland, the scene of some of the greatest incidents of English bravado and failure, sees the year begin with a massacre. The Battle of the Red Field sees Shane O’Neil and his allies face off against the O’Connors and the O’Moores, though during the battle, the O’Connors turn on the O’Moores and end up contributing to the massacre, which sees the Irish rebels advance further on toward the English settlements. Sussex still a prisoner of O’Neill, sees his fellow countrymen fall apart, though when the Second Red Field occurs, one Henry Cromwell, Baron Cromwell who had been part of the relief force under Arundel takes command, and using various subtle and not so subtle tactics manages to break the Irish rebel’s host for a time, and the year ends with Brian tentatively titled Earl of Tyrone, with Shane now being the one on the run.

India, the great road project of the Emperor begins, the emperor plans to have a great road leading all the way from Kabul in the West to Bidari in the south. Personally overseeing the construction of the road, the emperor learns more about the construction of road work over the varying terrain of the Indian subcontinent during the year, and as the year progresses, amendments and changes are made to the road, so that by the end the road is one of winding proportions instead of a single flat line as was originally imagined. The year ends with the road currently going from Kabul to Indraprastha, a name that is drawing much heated discussion from the varying elites within the realm.

Sweden, King Eric XIV welcomes the birth of a son whom he names Eric after himself- naturally, the man is rather self-absorbed- a battle breaks out in Oland, with Swedish and Danish ships attacking one another, the battle which lasts for a few hours ends with a Danish victory, though they suffer a few losses as well. Whilst the war had not been formally declared, this battle, sees it formerly declared, with Eric furious at the defeat, and determined to avenge the slight himself.

With the growing power of the reformation, nobles within the Netherlands began pressing Philip II to come up with a suitable response for what is increasingly being seen as either a threat or a blessing. Philip does as Philip does and steps up the Dutch Inquisition, informing his sister that any heretic found within the realm be they small or major, be killed. This naturally serves to piss off a lot of the Dutch, who begin looking for someone to press their concerns. However, the possible choice of leader William of Orange, is found dead, stabbed through the heart, something that causes great concern.
 

VVD0D95

Banned
1565

The Great Road Project of Emperor Hemuchandra reaches a stumbling block when tribal factions from present day Odisha begin raiding in Bengal and central India. Whilst at first this seems to be nothing more than a minor disturbance, when a tribal alliance defeats the Governor of Bengal in a hit and raid run, killing the governor in the process, the emperor gets involved. Halting the building of the road, the emperor gathers his army and begins moving from Delhi toward Palamau where it is rumoured there will be a gathering of the tribes. Upon arriving there, the emperor discovers that there is nothing there but ruins. Deeply disturbed by this, as well as aggravated by it, the emperor launches an invasion into Odisha, encouraging massive pillaging and burning of tribal lands, prisoners are taken and the tribes are forced out. It is telling that though the tribes are good at guerrilla warfare, they are destroyed when brought out into open battle, their submission bringing about the state of Odisha into the Vikrama empire. The year ends with eyes on Vijaynagara, when word arrives of Sadasiva Raya’s ill health.

In the Netherlands, the death of William of Orange is met with horror, whilst William had been a moderate force in regards to the religious divide and was seen by some as a moderating influence, his death spells a potential breach between the leaders of the discontent with Philip II. Lamoral, Count of Egmont desperate to ensure some form of stability beseeches Philip to come to Brussels himself, to meet with the nobility and ease their fears. When Philip refuses, Egmont begins fearing for the peace of region, something that is only temporarily assuaged by the removal of Philip’s favourite Granvelle from Brussels. Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn however, is determined to get the King to see reason, and begins having his allies spread false testimony about Granvelle and consequently the King, and even begins spreading rumours that the King had William of Orange assassinated. This greatly angers Philip, and he demands that the Count of Horn come to Madrid to answer for this treasonable offence, the Count refuses and replies that Philip should come to Brussels instead. The situation is worsened when the Count of Horn sends emissaries to treat with King Henry II of France, something that has things boiling down to war, with Egmont denouncing Horn for trying to bring in outside influence, whilst Horn denounces Egmont as a fool for ever thinking Philip would ever agree to compromise. The year ends with war looking more and more likely.

In France, the year begins with the Dauphin and his wife expecting another child, and feeling the sharp sting of sadness when it turns out to be another false pregnancy, the Dauphin it will later be said, will ride to his death because of his grief from this, and his belief that he is being punished by God for some reason or the other. Indeed, a few days after his wife’s false pregnancy, Francis is found with his head damaged, his horse dead, the Dauphin is dead, and with him, the possible marriage alliance between France and Scotland. Henry, tries to broach the matter of marrying his second son Charles, now Dauphin to Mary, however, not only does Mary reject the marriage, when the option is broached with the Pope, the man, afraid of offending Philip of Spain, refuses as well. Reluctantly, Henry allows Mary to return home back to Scotland, and begins looking for a marriage option for his new heir. Before anything solid can come about, the issue with the Netherlands rears its head, with Henry considering assisting the Dutch rebels, though on the condition that they recognise his authority over them, something that he does not mention during negotiations. Furthermore, the tension within his own kingdom begins growing, with the Prince de Conde, gathering men, for some purpose or another.

Mary, Queen of Scots arrives in Scotland for the first time since she was a little girl. She arrives knowing only what she has learned during her history lessons and nothing more about her country and her people. She is met by her mother, as well as her half-brothers, who escort her to Scone, where the traditional coronation ceremony occurs, before moving onto Edinburgh. There are many issues facing Mary, there is religious turbulence that has yet to have been sorted despite the death of John Knox, with Protestants pushing for one thing, whilst Catholics want another. The second main issue, is marriage, Mary is now single, and there are many contenders for her hand. Foremost amongst them James Hamilton, heir to the Earl of Arran, and therefore close in contention to the throne, he pushes his suit quite confidently, and for a time it seems as though Mary might well choose him, and then Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley enters the scene, and it seems that Hamilton has competition. The year ends with many of the nobility drawing bets about who will end up as their Queen’s consort.
 

VVD0D95

Banned
1566

Edinburgh, Scotland, the marriage between Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley is greeted with a fair bit of fanfare, the reunion of the two Stewart lines is met with great pomp and celebration, though the Earl of Arran and his son are noticeably, less cheerful then some of the other guests. The Queen’s brother, James, Earl of Moray and Mar, (created as such in 1562 by writ of the Queen), is somewhat concerned about the Queen’s marriage to their cousin, Lord Darnley, is known for his temper, and his debauched behaviour, something that Moray does not quite approve of. However, determined to ensure that his position remains solid, James takes on a leading hand in ensuring that the Scottish church remains part of the Catholic faith, crushing a small rebellion led by some old followers of Knox, whilst also looking around for a marriage option. In order to appease the Arrans, it is decided that Moray shall marry Elizabeth Hamilton the daughter of the Earl of Arran. Mary also begins looking toward ensuring her power over the church, by appointing her half-brother as Chief Warden over the Church finances, as well as naming him Lord Treasurer. Later in the year, a son is born to the Queen, a boy named James in honour of his grandfather.

In the Netherlands, mass iconoclasm takes place, led by the Count of Horn, with churches containing imagery and other popish elements sacked and destroyed. The Count of Egmont denounces this action and begins demanding that all those of the true faith come and side with him. A small host of some two thousand men, muster under his banner and prepare to march on Horn and his allies, but before they can, they are attacked, by a French host under the command of Louis, Prince of Conde. Needless to say the far superior host of the Prince defeats Egmont and his men, capturing Egmont and winning some gains for France. Philip, reacts angrily to this and demands that Henry stop this at once, or face the consequences, Henry laughs and tells Philip to bring his worst, Philip sends the Duke of Alba into France through Gascony, and starts the war.

The Spanish-French war begins, not with a battle, but with absolute chaos, the Duke of Alba and his experienced men raid and pillage through Gascony, sacking Bordeaux, before moving onward. Henry fearing that they mean to come to Paris, summons an army and marches forth from Paris. The Duke however, avoids engaging Henry directly, instead he raids and pillages, leaving a trail of destruction behind him all the while forcing Henry to play catch up, forcing him to shadow Alba’s army, before eventually managing to engage him in battle. The disastrous battle of the Golden Shield, ends with Henry wounded, his army defeated, and Henry Duke of Guise dead. Alba soon pursues Henry back to Paris, where the siege of Paris begins.

Sadasiva Rao, King of Vijaynagara dies at the beginning of the year, leaving behind a kingdom with some sizable lands within southern India, his nephew, Bharat is proclaimed King by the nobles of the kingdom, and his father Hemu comes south with his son for the formal investiture. As Bharat is only a minor, and is also heir to the wider Vikrama empire, a regent is named to rule with guidance from Indraprastha. The man in question is one of the emperor’s most trusted generals an Afghan named Suri. This will have interesting consequences in the years to come. On their way back from Vijaynagara, the emperor and his son stop at Bidar where they greet the nobles and discuss some issues of taxation, with the emperor agreeing to fix tax at 12% for the next three years for the merchants whilst it stands at 20% for the nobility. The year ends with work on the great road beginning once more.
 
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