There probably wouldn’t be a Holocaust-like genocide but I can imagine a series of massacres against the Native Americans in addition to disease and would have a hand in significantly reducing their population. Would be horrible but I can imagine this if OTL Australia and North America were any indication.
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
- Thread starter Gabingston
- Start date
Chapter 22: Not The Draka
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
Chapter 22: Not The Draka
Chapter 22: Not The Draka
Here we are, the fourth and final part of the English colonial update. In part one I talked about the English colonies in mainland North America, part two covered the West Indies and West Africa, and part three was on the English establishments in the Orient. This final part will cover the early history of the English colony in the Cape of Good Hope, one that will eventually grow into an entity covering much of southern Africa. My readers and I have been brainstorming this colony for quite a while now, so it’s nice to finally see this come into fruition. So, without further ado, let us travel to the land of the blessed rains and do the things we never have.
For ages the southwestern portion of Africa had been inhabited by the original natives of southern Africa, the Khoisan. Physically and culturally distinct from other Sub-Saharan Africans, the Khoisan were divided into various tribes and groups, ranging from hunter-gatherers whose ways of living had remain unchanged for eons to those who’d pick up pastoralism from the Bantu groups who’d migrated into southern Africa over the previous centuries. The Khoisan population in the Cape at the time of colonization was somewhere in the range of 10,000 to 15,000, and were among the groups that had adopted cattle herding. They would migrate with their cattle in and out of the area around Table Mountain seasonally, trading with European sailors who’d show up in the area periodically.
Speaking of Europeans, let’s talk about their history in the Cape region. While the Phoenicians had reportedly sailed all the way around Africa in ancient times, the first confirmed European voyage to the Cape was conducted by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias in the year 1488, four years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. More European voyages would come into the Cape region over the course of the following century, mainly Portuguese at first but later on from other nations as well. The ones who would be most interested in the Cape, though, would be the English. With growing English ambitions towards trading in the Orient, the English would want to establish a waystation for the long journey, similar to what the Portuguese had in Angola and Mozambique. The English expeditions to the Indies that I talked about in the previous update also played into the growth of English interest in the Cape region, as the crew remarked that the area was pleasant in climate and visually breathtaking. Between that and the potential geopolitical master stroke a Cape Colony could prove to be, the crown would officially grant the ECI a charter and funds to colonize the Cape of Good Hope in 1608.
The charter for the colonization of the Cape included several conditions that the company was to fulfill. First, they were to build up the colony’s infrastructure, such as a dockyard for ships and a fort for military purposes. Next, they were to produce a wide variety of agricultural goods for ships to resupply with, as well as to trade with the natives and hopefully integrate them into the colony. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the ECI was to settle no fewer than 5,000 colonists in the Cape by 1650, in order to establish a population loyal to England in case any other power were to invade the Cape Colony, as well as to provide an additional recruiting pool for the company. With that established, it was time for the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope by the ECI to commence.
A few years would pass before the ECI would be fully prepared to go forth with their plans to settle in South Africa, but by 1612 they were ready. With a fleet filled with supplies, livestock, seeds, ammunition and, most importantly, 120 colonists, the first permanent English settlers to South Africa would depart from Southampton on the fifth of May in the year of our Lord 1612. They would head south through the Bay of Biscay and along the Iberian coast, passing Cape St. Vincent on May 20th. From there they’d follow the African coast southward to the Cape Verde peninsula, which would take three weeks. From there they’d strike out to sea in order to avoid the unfavorable coastal currents and to get a more direct route to their destination. The voyage across the vast South Atlantic would be long and lonely, with only two small islands being spotted in their entire journey across the open ocean. Still, after three long months of almost nothing but water, Table Mountain would be spotted on the horizon on September 14th. The crew and passengers would erupt into celebration upon the sighting of their destination, for their journey was finally coming to an end. The following day they would drop anchor in Table Bay, and the day after that, September 16th, 1612, the settlement of Good Hope was officially founded.
The time for celebration couldn’t last forever, though, so now the colonists would get to work. As beautiful as the Cape region was, it was also a challenging landscape unfamiliar to the English. First off, due to its location in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons would be flipped from what they were back home, though the colonists knew that heading in. This would also mean that the sun would take a northerly position in the sky rather than the southerly one it had in Europe, which would change the way certain crops would need to be grown (fruits for example). The flora was mainly composed of a variety of small shrubs and bushes without many proper trees, and the soil wasn’t exactly the most productive, particularly in the flat lands east of Table Mountain. Still, they would press on, working over the next several months to get a functioning colony up and running. By the end of 1612 several rudimentary structures had been erected, such as a dock, chapel and stockade. Expeditions were sent out to survey the surrounding area to see what resources there were and if there was any fertile land. What the expeditions found was that, while most of the area around the Cape was made up of sandy, infertile plains with shrubby vegetation, the land around the eastern side of Table Mountain had both fertile and forested land, which made it optimal land for the colonists to settle in. Over the next few years land would be cleared and farms would be established, primarily along the Salt and Test rivers, growing a variety of crops. Land in the bowl between the harbor and Table Mountain would also be cultivated, including the Cape’s first vineyards, with wine eventually becoming a well known product of the colony. In 1620 eight hundred colonists resided in the Cape, a number that would grow to 3,000 by 1630, a number that would include the first native born Anglo-Africans. Most of the early colonists in the Cape were indentured servants and/or convicts, whose contracts/sentences would be sold to the ECI, but by this time the first free settlers were beginning to arrive. In 1632, a group of 200 Purifiers were invited to settle in the Cape. This would begin a wave of Purifier immigration to the nascent Cape Colony, as several thousand would arrive over the coming decades. Some would settle in the existing colony around Table Mountain, while others would venture off towards the eastern mountains to create their own settlements. Several Purifier settlements would be established in the eastern foothills, the most notable of those being Zion, named for the famous mount in Jerusalem and Nazareth, named for Jesus’s place of upbringing. The early years of the Cape Colony would also see a small influx of French Huguenots, who were invited to the colony due to their mercantile skill set and to help establish the aforementioned wine industry. By 1650 the Cape Colony had a settler population of 10,000, of which 35% were Purifiers and 5% were Huguenots. The colony had two main concentrations of settlers, one around Table Mountain and the other in the foothills of the Cape Mountains to the east, with multiple paths and trails running across the Cape Flats between the two. Settlers had also begun to venture out of the immediate Cape region into either the plains and rolling hills to the north or the aforementioned Cape Mountains in the east, blazing trails that would be used by future settlers and pioneers. The Cape also had a small population of non-white settlers, mostly the Asian wives of ECI employees who’d settled down in the Cape, whose mixed race children had the same legal status as other settlers. The native Khoi population was still there, too, but things weren’t going great for them. The settlement in the Cape disturbed the seasonal migration patterns of the Khoi, which they weren’t too enthused about to say the least. Unruly settlers would also raid Khoi encampments and steal their cattle, further raising tensions and prompting counter-raids. The ECI had attempted to come to a deal with the local Khoi chiefs, but it’d be hard to enforce the terms. Add in diseases like smallpox, and the Khoi were certainly having a bad time. From the pre-colonization population of 10-15k, the Khoi population around the Cape would decline by 50% by 1650, a decline that would only continue and expand outside the immediate area of the Cape as the settler population increased. A number of Khoi would come to work in the colony, mostly in agriculture and animal husbandry. The erasure the Khoisan would face, first in the Cape and then across most of their territory in Southern Africa would be a very sad fate for possibly the most ancient human population in the world, but alas, history can be quite depressing and unfair. There were also a small number of mixed-race people, primarily with a White father and Khoi mother, resulting from mixed marriages, liaisons or other, less wholesome means. The racial classifications of Anglo-Africa were only in the early stages of development at this time, so many of these early biracials would integrate into broader Anglo-African society. As a result, many Anglo-Africans of the future would have faint Khoisan ancestry, not enough to be physically visible but enough to survive in family legends and in ancestral tests in the distant future.
With all of this said, the English Cape Colony was still in its infancy. The colony’s territory was limited to just the immediate region of the Cape, and the population was still the size of a modest city. Expansion, though, was inevitable, as the colonists were breeding like rabbits and an entire generation of Anglos had been born in the Cape by mid century. This first generation of native born Anglo-Africans would be instrumental in the colony’s development and expansion, and while this future Anglo-Africa probably won’t become a dystopian, world-conquering slave state, it most certainly will have an interesting future ahead of it, for better or for worse, but alas, that is a story for another day.
With this, the quartet of English colonial updates is officially complete. The colonial updates, however, are not done, as I will continue to write about the various European colonies over the first half of the 17th Century. Next up will be the main subjects of this TL, the Kalmar Union, as they will both continue to expand in the northern reaches of North America and try their hand at expansion both in the West Indies and in the Orient. I’ve also got plans to cover the Spanish and Portuguese, and the French might deserve another colonial update too. After those are done, I will return to Europe and cover what will become one of the defining events of this entire TL, that being an alternate 30 Years’ War. I will also have to get back to EC/FC at some point, but this TL is my main focus for the time being, as I’ve got more ideas floating around in my head for this than I do for the other one. A new update on the Kalmar Union’s colonial efforts will be out sometime this month, so it won’t be too long of a wait. I’m doing my best to make up for the long hiatus TTL had during the first half of this year, so the steady stream of content that’s come in the last two months will continue through at least this one. So, to wrap things up in my usual way, I wish you all a good August. I’ll see you guys next time.
Good chapter on English South Africa, I forsee great things to happen with continued settlement of the African continent for Britain. I wonder if we'll see continued biracial marriages down in Africa for Britain? Keep up the good work.
I'm basing the mixed marriages thing off of early colonial America, where racial lines weren't so cut and dry and a mixed race person could assimilate into the white population. I'd expect things to become more segregated as time goes on. It's probably only a matter of time before marriages between Whites and native Africans (whether Bantu or Khoisan) is banned.
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Great chapter. Looks fascinating and I’m looking forward to big English South Africa. Without them too strong in NA the Kalmar can colonize it yay.
It’s not at all impossible that instead of banning it, they encourage it while continuing to pour more white settlers in from England. Blanquieamento was a thing in Brazil after all.
That would be an interesting path for the English to go, makes me wonder what modern day South Africa looks like TTL.
It was more of a thing among Protestant European colonies to ban interracial mixing while it was encouraged in Catholic colonies like Brazil. I’m in the camp where an English South Africa will encourage white migration and ban interracial marriage as well as passing anti-miscegenation laws.
Ag I see yes that makes sense. As crappy as Spain and Portugal were, they came with a mission to Catholicise the locals and once that was done intermarrying was a go even if they still had a racist caste system. There was some modicum of respect for their fellow Catholics which is something the WASP completely lacked because they were there to settle WHITE PROTESTANTS and fuck the natives. The WASPs didn’t care to Christianise very much.
A but like Brazil racially I’d imagine, if only without the Native Americans
The mfecane is caused by rapid population due to the introduction of corn, which lead to huge increases in population, and when less rainfall occured it caused a famine, increasing the competition of resources, causing major groups (the Zulus for example) to strike big.
I think the mfecane would be caused no matter what, and exacerbated by European settlers having better technology and numbers as they sense the opportunity to kick the natives out. 'the fisherman profits when the clam and snipe fight' is very true, and as eastern South Africa is depopulated I could see the settlers move in and the central gov wiping out any centralised state that remained.
The fact that we had states like the Iroquois confederacy be wiped out by the Americans despite the fact they were on paper on par with the Americans makes me think it was more about whether the governments fought or not. In this instance I could see the British endorsing the colonists and giving them the tools to wipe the bantu states out for ostrich and antelope pelts for example.
I think we'd either see a Kalmar north/Dutch New Amsterdam/English South or the French taking the south instead (I could see the French using the resources from Brazil to do so if they hold Louisiana).
I do feel that the British colonising south Africa and America at the same time would have interesting consequences. I could see the Brits losing several wars in America (the Portuguese were the other competitors in South Africa ala Angola and Mozambique) and having to take time to regain their footing while the African colony does better in many aspects.
Tbf I don't think it'll be something that would be desirable especially as more and more British settlers and the first few generations of British are born. The early cross cultural marriages were partially due to having few choices in terms of marriage, and as more ppl are born/move there the less need there is for it.
Brazil had it's policy partially bc they had a lot of slaves that were converting to Christianity. In British Africa slaves native to the region are just going to run off bc they know the land, so the slaves would have to be shipped there, and due to English policy convicts were a lot cheaper, not to mention the fact that it is a lot cheaper to buy and use convicts unless the turnover rate was high like sugarcane farming. Wheat farming in early British Africa wouldn't require slavery so there was no reason for attempts at assimilation.
PS would we see the Portuguese attempt to settle SEA? I think their trading posts there could grow into something much bigger than otl and become the bedrock in which Portuguese ppl spread.
Perhaps, but I think the Africans were just as suspetible to the pen and sword/gun as the native Americans were considering the circumstances of both groups. I think if a concerted European group (like the British Africans definitely would be) attempted to chase the by-then semi nomadic Bantu groups out of their land it'd be very possible. The land that the Iroquois confederacy held was about the size of the entirety of the subtropical and temperate regions of eastern south Africa while none of the groups in South Africa like the Zulus and Lesotho attempted the feat. They didn't employ much cavalry too.
South African wars often were between several thousand belligerents too even though it's very much in the 19th century. If British Africa routinely sent thousands of settlers the sheer weight of numbers would crush even the strongest clans of Southern Africa.
Ik, it was just typed up before the replies (yesterday actually) and I just had time to reply.
in the long term South Africa would become a country demographically similar to a mixture of Australia and Georgia, as there would be a large white population but a high percentage of Asians from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, in addition to that in the 18th and 19th century there would be a large flow of workers from India and China, add to all this a large flow of people from continental Europe in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, plus the Jewish population that would take refuge in the cape from the 17th century onwards and a possible large Arab migration for the region in the 19th and 20th century.
in the long term we would be talking about a prosperous and extremely diverse country that demographically would tell the story of the British ETTA empire.
in the long term we would be talking about a prosperous and extremely diverse country that demographically would tell the story of the British ETTA empire.
I've got a pretty hefty update on Nordic America in the works. It should be out by the end of this week.
Chapter 23: Nordic North America, 1600-1650
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
Chapter 23: Nordic North America, 1600-1650
Chapter 23: Nordic North America, 1600-1650
Now that we’ve gotten through the English colonial updates, I think it’s about time we get back to the main subject of this TL, that being the Kalmar Union. Being located on the shores of the North Atlantic and having a strong naval tradition dating back to at least the vikings, it was no surprise that the Nordic realm would become one of the premier players in the colonial game. Their first voyages of exploration to the New World (well, first since Leif Erikson) were conducted in the 1520s, and the first permanent New World settlements were founded three decades later, both during the reign of Christian II. Colonization would progress throughout the latter half of the 16th Century, and by 1600 5,000 Nordic colonists lived in North America, 3,000 on the island of Vinland and 2,000 on the mainland. This update will cover the next 50 years of Nordic North America’s development, an era where the colony would begin to grow from a few outposts into something larger and more self-sufficient. Let’s begin our journey through Nordic North America in the place where it all began, that being Vinland.
Vinland, being the easternmost land in North America and having some of the world’s best fishing grounds, was a natural starting point for the Nordic colony. Kristianshavn, the first permanent Nordic settlement in the New World, was by 1600 a small village of 250 people, with all the amenities you’d expect a small village to have. The other 2,750 colonists in Vinland lived in various smaller villages or individual fishing camps spread around the eastern shores of the island. Over the following 50 years, the Nordic population in Vinland would grow from 3,000 to 10,000, as more settlers from the old world arrived and from the high birth rate those living in this sparsely populated land had (the Beothuk/Rødlings were still around, but had been negatively impacted by disease and had retreated towards the interior as more colonists moved in). In addition to that were a large number of transitory fishermen who’d voyage to Vinland in the summer to fish and return home in the winter, though, as mentioned, more and more of these were making the decision to settle in Vinland permanently. Settlements and fishing camps were founded across the island, and already existing camps grew into larger (though still very small) settlements. Among these settlements were Kulmandshavn, Skovik, Skønnehavn, Grønnæs, Trefoldighed and Savhavn. BTW, I dare you to take a shot every time I use the word “settlement” in this update, that one included.
The Nordic population in Vinland was mostly concentrated in the southeastern part of the island, particularly the Trolle Peninsula (or Trollehalvø), named for the late Archbishop Gustav Trolle, but more and more were venturing to the more distant parts of the island. The crown had sponsored a colonization mission towards the northern end of the island, with the settlement of Gæsvig being established. On the southwestern coast, the settlement of Spanierhavenen was founded, named for the Spanish (mostly Basque) sailors who frequented the harbor while fishing in the area. These settlements were for the most part very small, having a few dozen residents at most, but they were settlements nonetheless. Kristianshavn by 1650 had a population of 600, with Hansvig and Stornæs also having populations of a few hundred. Fishermen were also beginning to make their way to the west coast of the island, but no permanent settlements had been established there as of 1650. Most of the colonists in Vinland were of Norwegian or Icelandic origin, though the other Nordic nationalities were present as well in smaller numbers. Other European groups would fish in the area and land to salt their catch and gather supplies, but they weren’t permitted to create permanent settlements.
To the surprise of no one, the most common occupation of the Vinlanders was fishing, as the Grand Banks were teeming with marine life to a degree very few places could match. Fish made up the lion’s share of the Vinlandic diet, and large amounts of fish caught in Vinland were exported, whether it be to Iceland, mainland Scandinavia, continental Europe or the new Nordic colonies that I will cover in the next update. Other than fishing, pastoralism was emerging as a common practice in parts of Vinland. While most of the island was forested, there were sizable areas that were grassy or had lower vegetation, particularly in areas that were higher in elevation. Many ponds and small lakes dotted this landscape, providing an easy source of freshwater for both the livestock and their herders. Livestock like cattle, horses and (especially) sheep were brought over from the motherland, and before you know it herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were roaming the fields of Vinland. Most of these livestock came from Iceland and Norway, meaning they were adapted to the cold and windy weather of Vinland. Beef and mutton/lamb would become important alternatives/supplements to the main staple that was fish, and wool would be the main material used for clothing on the island. There were also attempts at growing crops on the island, whether grains like wheat, barley and oats or vegetables like carrots, cabbage and lettuce. The results of these projects were mixed, as while the Nordic colonists were used to the cold climate of the island, the soil in Vinland wasn’t exactly what one would call fertile (there’s a reason the island’s nickname IOTL is “the rock”). For an actual agricultural sector in Nordic America, we will need to take a quick hop across the Vinland Sea over to the North American mainland, where more and more of the action in Nordic America was beginning to happen.
The first Nordic colony in mainland North America, Kronehavn, was only founded in 1582, the Nordic presence on the mainland by 1600 was very small, numbering a mere 2,000 individuals. Over the next 50 years, though, the Nordic colony on mainland North America grew from a few minor outposts into something much larger and more established. The Nordic colonies on the mainland could generally be split into two main regions, those that were directly on the Atlantic Ocean or the southern part of the Vinland Sea and those that were on the great river leading from the sea towards the interior. I’ll start with the coastal colonies before getting into the ones along the river, so I think it’s about time to start.
As of 1600 the only two settlements the Kalmar Union had along the Atlantic proper were Isbugt and the aforementioned Kronehavn, both on the northern part of the coast close to the Vinland Sea. Along said sea, the Kalmar Union would continue to expand, establishing settlements at Halmstad, Stimund, Nakskov, Ildvand, Laksehavn and Sjipegæn (you should be pretty drunk by now). Between the new settlements and the existing ones, much of the southern shore of the Vinland Sea was now under Nordic control. Fishing would be a major source of food and income for the settlers on the south shore, but unlike in Vinland, agriculture was viable on a large scale in these parts. Land along the various rivers and streams of the area was cleared to make way for farms, where settlers would grow crops like grain, fruits and vegetables. While this area wouldn’t become Nordic America’s breadbasket, settlers were able to produce food in large enough quantities to at least feed themselves, if not export their surplus to Vinland. Existing Nordic colonies in the region also expanded, with more of New Gotland and New Aland coming under Nordic control, with the colony of Kamsogssund being founded along the strait that shared its name. With these new colonies and the growth of the older ones, the Kalmar Union would have uncontested control over the Vinland Sea, and thus to whatever the great river led to in the interior of North America.
We’ll have to wait a little bit longer for that, though, as now we’ll talk about the Nordic expansion down the Atlantic Coast. The Nordic crown had been looking at colonizing further south down the coast for a while, and with the Dutch and English becoming established on the mainland, the need for more colonies on the Atlantic became all the more apparent. The settlement of Sandetkappe was established in 1607 at the southern end of the large peninsula separating the Atlantic from the Sea of Tides. Over the next several decades the peninsula would begin to see increasing settlement by the Kalmar Union. Some of the colonies founded on the peninsula before 1650 include Lyneborg, Storehavn, Holbæk, Prinsehavnen and Pænuk. The peninsula would become one of the nexuses of Nordic settlement in North America, with different areas specializing in different things. Obviously fishing would be a big deal here, as the Grand Banks were still accessible, even if they were a bit further from here than they were from Vinland (and the waters nearer to the peninsula could still yield a decent catch). The abundance of wood meant that shipbuilding would come to be a large industry in the region, with Storhavn in particular becoming a big shipbuilding center due to its large, mostly ice-free harbor. Agriculture would also begin to blossom, as the valley between Prinsenshavn and Smalfloden had rich, fertile soil. The area around Smalfloden had many tidal marshes and swamps, similar to the coast along the North Sea. Settlers, many of whom were Frisian or Low German, would construct dikes and floodworks to drain the wetlands and create new land for agriculture. The land would become used for both crops and for livestock, with it being some of the best pastureland in Nordic America. Eventually the entire valley would be settled and turned into one of Nordic America’s main breadbaskets, but that would take longer than the timespan of this update.
Moving across the Sea of Tides to the northern Atlantic coast, here too the Kalmar Union would begin to settle. The first settlement along this shore was founded in 1630, that being Skalnæs. Further east, the settlement of Bakningfoss would be established a few years later, and to the west Pæmetik would also be settled. These settlements were established mainly to keep foreign powers out, and intensive colonization of the region wouldn’t begin until after the scope of this update. Finally, the Kalmar Union would also expand further south down the coast towards the Dutch colonies. The first move the Nordic realm would make in the south would be the establishment of a base on the tip of a large, hook-shaped peninsula in the year 1623. Named Skagensborg after the tip of the Jutland peninsula, it would start as a simple stockade and watchtower but eventually grow into a proper fort and settlement. It would be the next settlement, though, that would really kickstart the region’s growth. In 1628, on a peninsula jutting out into a large natural harbor, the settlement of Oldenborg would be established. Named for the ruling house of the union and the city from which it got its name, this new settlement would eventually grow into the premier city in the southern part of Nordic America. It wouldn’t be the only settlement the Scandinavians would establish in the area by 1650, though, as more would be established over the following two decades. Some of these settlements would include Sønderborg, Kappel, Makigonne, Koldstrøm and Nyhavn. With their settlements getting closer and closer to one another, the Nordic and Dutch governments, both headed by monarchs from the House of Oldenburg, would preemptively set the boundary between the Dutch and Nordic colonies along the Fresh River, at least on its lower portions.
The southern colony would become an important source of several different resources. As with the rest of Nordic America, it had an abundance of timber, which would be useful for construction, firewood and shipbuilding, the latter of which would be aided by the seas in the area usually being ice free in the winter. Fish were also plentiful here, as was the case elsewhere, and fishing would be a common occupation. In spite of the often poor soil, the southern colony would also become an important source of agricultural goods, as the mild (by Nordic American standards) winters and longer growing season would mean that the region could still grow a variety of crops. Livestock were also introduced, with coastal wetlands being turned into pastures for cattle, sheep and horses, though the majority of that terraforming would occur after the scope of this update. While the southern part of Nordic America would go on to be important to the colony's development, our fourth and final region would be potentially the most key to the colony's future, that being the great river valley to the north.
While large rivers were no foreign concept to Northern Europeans, no one had ever seen one quite as large as the one that drained into the Vinland Sea. When even the part of the river the natives called the narrow part was over half a mile wide, you’re talking about something truly massive. The closest point of reference for the explorers and settlers would’ve been the wide mouths of rivers like the Elbe, Oder and Weser, but this one stayed extremely wide much further upstream than any of those. This immense width meant that the river was navigable for ocean-going ships hundreds of miles inland, only blocked from going even further by a large set of rapids. With the establishment of Kebæk in 1599, the Nordic colony now had a base to explore and settle further inland along the great river and its tributaries. While the river had many names in various local languages, some of more common names translated to “big water”, or “stort vand” in Nordic (which will be a unified and standardized language ITTL like German and Italian IOTL). Thus, the river would become known as the Storvand River, not just in Nordic but in other European languages as well.
The eastern end of the Storvand region would be marked by the settlement of Gaspek, located on the Gaspekfjord and only a short distance from Knæksten. Going a good distance up the Vinland Sea, you’d find Klippehavnen, located at the place where the long Hvidhvalfjorden met the sea. The northern and southern shores of the Vinland Sea as it led into the Storvand wouldn’t be settled until later on apart from the aforementioned Klippehavnen, so we’ll now move to Kebæk.
By 1650, the population of Kebæk had grown to nearly 1,000 people, one of the few settlements in Nordic America that could claim to be a proper town. The lower part of the town near the shore was where the civilian population was concentrated at this point in time, with it resembling a typical Nordic coastal town. The town had all the essentials you’d expect a small port town of this era to have, such as a church, market and tavern. A large dock had been constructed, one which was capable of handling oceangoing ships, though the sea would be iced over for several months out of the year. On top of the hill lay a stone fortress, constructed over the previous decades on the site of the earlier stockade. This would make it so, in the event of attack, whether by another European power or one of the native groups, the town would be able to adequately fight back. Kebæk was only set to grow in population and importance as time went on, but that’ll be for another day.
Now I shall talk about the new settlements that were established along the Storvand between 1600 and 1650 (by now you should be in the hospital due to alcohol poisoning). The main settlement established on the north bank of the river during this time was Tremunde, which would be established at the point where a major river that had split into three different channels joined the Storflod. The settlements of Egernsted and Sarpsborg were also established along the north bank of the river, serving as smaller but still important bases along the great river. On the south bank, Helsingborg would be established directly across the Storvand from Kebæk, securing both sides of the river’s mouth. Further upstream, Pitigan and Fyrrepunkt would establish Nordic control over the southern bank of the river.
The most important settlement founded along the Storvand during this time period, though, would come further upstream than any Nordic settlement before. Here a large set of rapids would prevent further navigation of the Storvand by oceangoing vessels. Adjacent to the rapids was a large island that had been home to a native village named Hochelaga. Notably, the island was the site of a large hill overlooking the river and surrounding area, which French explorers from a century prior had named Mont Royal. Being near the confluence of multiple rivers with the Storvand and a significant site to multiple native tribes, the Nordic colonists knew that this could be a very important location in the future. So, in 1634, the colony of Kongensborg was established on the island at the foot of the great hill, one which would eventually become the most important city in Nordic America (SPOILER ALERT).
The Nordic population in Vinland may have grown by a large amount between 1600 and 1650, but it was nothing compared to the growth the mainland experienced during the same time. The Nordic population on the North American mainland exploded from 2,000 in 1600 to 38,000 in 1650. Natural growth and migration from Vinland both played parts in this growth, but the lion’s share of it came from the over 20,000 settlers who arrived from Europe during that timespan. Of these 38,000 settlers, 15,000 lived along the Northern Atlantic and the Vinland Sea, a region that would come to be called Morgenlandet after the native name for the region. 12,000 lived along the Storvand river, which would become known as Elfland. Finally, 11,000 settlers lived along the southern coast, which would be named New Holstein/Ny Holsten. The majority of the settlers in Nordic America were unsurprisingly from the Kalmar Union, with Norwegians and Danes making up the bulk of them. Swedes, Finns and Balts were also present, though in smaller amounts than the Danes and Norwegians. Icelanders, on the other hand, made up a highly disproportionate number of colonists, particularly in Vinland. 1/3rd of settlers, though, came from outside of the Kalmar Union, primarily the Protestant states in the northern part of Germany. With the religious conflict that I will talk about in a future update raging throughout much of the first half of the 17th Century, the New World looked like an appealing option for Germans (primarily Low Germans) who could afford the journey. The Germanic influence on Nordic American culture would be immense, from (low) German loanwords and influence on the New World Nordic dialect to surnames to the undying Nordic American love of beer. A smaller number of colonists were Slavs, namely Bohemians and Poles (specifically from their Protestant populations) as well as a handful of French Huguenots. Between the population of 10,000 in Vinland and 38,000 on the mainland, Nordic America in 1650 had a colonial population of 48,000, higher than the Dutch New Batavia and about equal to that of the English Chesapeake colony. This gave Nordic America a very solid base for expansion over the coming centuries, as the abundance of land meant that the colonists had a lot of room to expand. The natives were still here as well, and the relationship between them and the newcomers was complicated. The colonial population was still small enough that the natives could maintain much of their way of life to this point, and the two populations would trade and even intermix. With the continuing expansion of the Nordic colonists, though, conflicts were inevitable, and many natives were rightfully concerned about the encroachment of the white man onto their land. More of that will play out in the future, though, so that’ll be something for another day.
Over the first half of the 17th Century, the Kalmar Union had solidified its hold over the northern part of North America, and with a large population established, the colony was only bound to expand over time. North America wasn’t the whole of the Kalmar Union’s colonial activities during this timeframe, though, as they were also getting involved in both the West Indies and in the Orient, which is why the next update will be covering the Nordic colonies outside of the North American mainland. After that will come an update on the Spanish and Portuguese empires, followed by diving into Europe’s great religious conflict in the early-mid 16th Century. I will also get back to working on EC/FC after a hiatus due to my work on this timeline, so expect some content in that timeline as well. I look forward to putting out more content as we enter the latter part of this year, and I wish all of you guys a good start to the Autumn (or Spring if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) season.
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"Nordic (which will be a unified and standardized language ITTL like German and Italian IOTL)"
In a TL where the Kalmar Union turns into an actual unified state, that is to be expected yes. One Bible translation. One language & one set of spelling rules taught in schools since a national school system was created. Makes me wonder how the dialects would differ from eachother, what region's dislect would come to imprint itself most on the national language? Personal guess: Copenhagen/Lund dominance, but less so than in otl Danish.
In a TL where the Kalmar Union turns into an actual unified state, that is to be expected yes. One Bible translation. One language & one set of spelling rules taught in schools since a national school system was created. Makes me wonder how the dialects would differ from eachother, what region's dislect would come to imprint itself most on the national language? Personal guess: Copenhagen/Lund dominance, but less so than in otl Danish.
Early Rigsnordisk will be the same as early Rigsdansk. Rigsdansk was in OTL define as the dialect spoken in Copenhagen and Malmö, and was Sound Zealandic with Sound Scanian influence. Of course from here Rigsnordisk will develop differently, in OTL the spread of Rigsdansk to the rest of Denmark and Norway was a result of Copenhagen having the one university which educated all Danish-Norwegian clergy. But Sweden also have a university which means Copenhagen doesn’t have OTL complete linguistic dominance. We will likely see Copenhagen mainly producing the clergy in Denmark-Norway inside the pre-1645 border, while Uppsala will mostly produce the clergy in Sweden and Finland. But there won’t be a rule about this, so it will more be a question of practical geography than a state policy, and many Swedish border regions will have their clergy mostly from Copenhagen. A education in Copenhagen will also be higher prestige than in Uppsala. Over time I expect the higher prestige of Copenhagen will result in Uppsala and Stockholm to shift to a more Rigsnordisk dialect. but this will only last until the industrialization in the 19th century, where Stockholm will shift away from Rigsnordisk again with the influx of the local rural population and develop a mixed dialect[1]. While the more isolated Uppsala will keep the old Rigsnordisk dialect. Uppsala Rigsnordisk will also heavy influence the Swedish spoken in northern Sweden and Finland.
Of course the written standard will look like Danish which is the most archaic spelled version of Scandinavian languages.
Beside Rigsnordisk, the union will also Icelandic and Finnish both which was standardized in 16th century. Iceland will have Rigsnordisk spoken in Reykjavik, the reason why Danish Reykjavik wasn’t developed early in OTL are unlikely to happen here. It’s harder to imagine what will happen in Finland. I imagine that Rigsnordisk being a stronger position than OTL Rikssvensk, thanks to a greater cultural weight and no Russian rule. Of course it also depend on how Finland develops, Copenhagen may ignore Finland more than Stockholm did, but we may also see Finland being a political battleground between regionalists in Stockholm and centralists in Copenhagen, with the local Finnish elite being pro-centralist as a way to avoid the political dominance of Stockholm. We saw something similar in Denmark-Norway between Østlandet and Vestlandet with Vestlandet using Copenhagen as a counter to Østlandet.
[1] You saw the same in Copenhagen and Oslo