Most of it is, the westernmost part of the state is west of the Connecticut River and will thus be Dutch territory.
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
- Thread starter Gabingston
- Start date
Ooh nice I really like the update!
Ittl Montreal being the capital is interesting since it could mean that the great lakes are quite contested. I defo hope the great lakes are dominated by the Kalmar union's colony tho.
The Scandinavian colony will at the very least hold the north shore of the Great Lakes.
With the population number and the most likely geographic spread I think it’s almost unavoidable that they end up dominate the Midwest and honestly likely the entire Mississippi basin, they will have population on the south shore of the Great Lakes by the 1750ties, giving them a edge on other expanding powers. Of course we could see territories and population lost to other powers.
Thought it do raise a question who will be the first to move into the Lower Mississippi and Hudson Bay. With Nordic St. Lawrence the French lack access to the fur trade and American interior, so they could go both way.
I plan on having the Upper Midwest be Nordic (same with the Hudson Bay), but the Lower Midwest is more unclear. The English will at the very least take everything south of the Ohio River and possibly a bit north of it, while the Dutch will likely expand into Ohio and Indiana. As for the French, they will not be involved in North America ITTL, their main colony is in Northern Brazil.
tbf I think controlling the upper midwest is already quite substantial for the Scandinavian colony.
I think the Scandinavians defo could control it all kinda like how New France developed but I could see someone else controlling Louisiana too. A city state there would be very interesting especially if its able to influence the other states to some extent as the southern colonies weaken due to industrialisation.
What part of India do you think Scandinavia should have the bulk of its activity in? I already have a few things planned for the Subcontinent (Dutch Bengal for example), but other than that India is still something I haven't really thought out. Historically the Danish bases in India were mainly in the south and Bengal, so if OTL were to be followed the Nordic Indian colonies would be in the south. That wouldn't have to be the case, though, somewhere like Northwestern India and Pakistan could also be an option for Nordic India. If you guys have any ideas, please let me know.
I think it very much depend on the other powers, how strong Scandinavia is compare to them, and their relationship with the native states. Tranquebar was established there it was because a Danish ship was sunk nearby by the Portuguese and they were captured by the locals, who decided that the people they captured was a great opportunity for establishing trading connection.
If the Danes had arrived earlier, they would likely have established their stronghold in the west and on Ceylon like the Portuguese did, if they were stronger they would conquer the same places from Europeans had arrived their earlier. Of course we can also see the strongest company in the 17th century didn’t focus on India at all but on the more valuable Indonesia, leaving the French and English to duke it out over India.
That they context we need to look at it in. Indonesia was the real prime real estate with more spices, weaker local states, and easier access by sea, but India like North America (versus Latin America) was worth more in the longer term, but was far hard to take over.
There was actually a Swedish East India Company that engaged somewhat in Bengal but concentrated mostly in Canton (Guangzhou). Maybe ITTL, this leads to a scramble for China of sorts?
Chapter 24: Nordic Colonization in the West Indies and Old World, 1600-1650
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
Chapter 24: Nordic Colonization in the West Indies and Old World, 1600-1650.
Chapter 24: Nordic Colonization in the West Indies and Old World, 1600-1650.
While Nordic America may have gotten the largest update thus far in this timeline, it was far from the only place the Kalmar Union would have colonial interests in. From the West Indies to the East Indies, the Nordic realm would seek to expand across the globe and acquire an empire that could compete with those of the Spanish and Portuguese (who will be the joint subjects of my next update). The first half of the 17th Century would be the timeframe in which the Nordic realm would really begin to put these ambitions into fruition and begin to establish colonies in far-off corners of the world. While the zenith of the Nordic Empire would still be in the centuries to come, the actions taken during the first half of the 17th Century would set the stage for said zenith to be reached. So, without further ado, let’s look at the early years of Scandinavia’s global empire.
With the long term success of the Portuguese Casa da India and growing Dutch and English presence in global trade, the Kalmar Union would found a trading company of their own, the Dansk Østindisk Kompagni (Danish East India Company in English), or DØK for short in the year 1616, with the first voyage to the east occurring two years later. The first installation of the DØK would be Roskildeborg on the coast of West Africa, which would function both as a waystation and as a location to trade with the natives. The DØK would also colonize the lonely island of Sankt Helena in 1628, with the settlement of Smaldal becoming their main stoppage point on the way to the East Indies. Around the same time, the first Nordic bases and trading posts in the Orient would be established. The DØK would gain a foothold at the southern tip of the subcontinent with the outpost of Dondi, the first Nordic installation in South Asia. The DØK would also seek to gain possessions on the west coast of the subcontinent, establishing themselves at Kundapur in the south and Dabol further north. On the east coast of India, the DØK would found a base at Narsapor, gaining the Nordic crown footholds on both of India’s coastlines.
India would not be the limit to the DØK’s oriental ambitions, though, as they’d also begin to make inroads into the East Indies and Far East. They’d establish a trading post on the island of Sabang just north of Sumatra, their first foothold in the East Indies. A similar installation on the island of Pinang would soon follow, with those two giving the Nordic realm a decent presence around the Strait of Malacca. The DØK would also begin to pursue a presence in the Far East, particularly in China. The Portuguese had a base at Macau since the middle of the previous century, and like other European powers, the Kalmar Union wanted in. The first Nordic voyage to the Far East would take place between 1628 and 1629, coinciding with the colonization of Sankt Helena. They’d follow the standard European route to India, go onward through the Strait of Malacca and then traverse the South China Sea to Canton. The Nordic fleet would then send a delegation to meet up with the local authorities, hoping to establish a trading post in Canton. While they didn’t earn that privilege, they were able to acquire some valuable trade goods to bring home, which while a smaller victory than they were looking for was a victory nonetheless. Upon their return home, the king would be quite impressed with the results of the expedition, so more would be conducted over the coming years. Eventually these voyages would result in the establishment of a Nordic trading port in China, but that is beyond the purview of this update.
As the DØK was operating in the Orient, a similar company was formed to handle trade and colonization in the West Indies, that being the Dansk Vestindisk Kompagni (Danish West India Company), or DVK for short. They would be granted a charter and accompanying funds to establish bases in the Caribbean to grow cash crops and establish a Nordic presence in more of the New World. The DVK’s first base in the West Indies would be founded on the island of Barbuda, with the company constructing a stockade, dock and a few farms within the first several years. The island wasn’t the most fertile, so this would function mainly as a waystation for more profitable colonies. Nearby Antigua would be colonized soon after, and that would prove to be a more ideal place to grow cash crops and make bank. Plantations would be established to grow crops like coffee, tobacco, cotton, cocoa and, of course, sugar. The unfortunate consequence of this would be the Nordic entry into the Atlantic Slave Trade, which is what their aforementioned base in West Africa was in large part used for (and it won’t be the only base they have in Africa, but that’s later down the line). Another Nordic colony in the Caribbean would be established in the Caicos Islands, also known as the Salt Islands for their primary resource. Salt was a very useful resource for the Nordic realm to possess, as it was needed to preserve the catch of Vinlandic fishermen. Slavery was an unfortunate part of this too, with slaves being used to collect salt and prepare it for export, mainly to the North American colonies. Land that wasn’t being used for salt collection was used for growing cash crops like on the other islands, though it’s not like there was a lot of land to go around on these small islands. While they weren’t by any means the dominant power in the West Indies, the Nordic realm would still gain economically and geopolitically from having these possessions. A lot of the activity the Kalmar Union will have in the Caribbean, Africa and the Orient is later on down the road than this update, but this should give a good overview of the early part of their expansion into these regions. I’ve got one more colonial focused update to get through, that being focused on the Spanish and Portuguese empires, and then we’ll get to this timeline’s equivalent to the 30 Years’ War, one which will inevitably shape the direction this timeline heads down further on. Regardless, the best is yet to come for the Nordic Empire, as they’ve still got a lot of growing to do before reaching their zenith, and I look forward to experiencing the journey with all of you.
Chapter 25: The Iberian Empires
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
Chapter 25: The Iberian Empires
Chapter 25: The Iberian Empires
For the last of the colonial updates, I think it’s fitting that we cover the empires that kicked off the Age of Exploration, those being the Spanish and Portuguese empires. With the Reconquista nearing its end, the Spanish and Portuguese began to look overseas for potential expansion opportunities, primarily to gain a foothold in the Orient and circumvent the Ottomans and Venetians. The first Iberian exploration missions were conducted in the early 14th Century, with sailors from Mallorca visiting the Canary Islands. At the beginning of the 15th Century, the Castilians would conquer said Canaries, establishing a base to explore further down the African coast. Their Portuguese neighbors would also begin to expand into the Atlantic, colonizing the uninhabited Madeira and Azores islands and exploring down the coast of West Africa. The Portuguese would reach Cabo Verde in the 1450s, Guinea in the 1460s, the Congo in the 1480s and finally India would be reached by Vasco da Gama in 1498. From there the Portuguese would establish numerous bases and trading posts in the Indian Subcontinent, primarily on the West Coast and in Ceylon. Portuguese expansion into the Orient wouldn’t be limited just to the Subcontinent, as they’d also establish a presence in the East Indies, most notably in Malacca and in the Spice Islands, becoming the first Europeans to gain direct access to the East Indian spice trade, though they certainly wouldn’t be the last. Portugal would also create numerous forts and trading posts in Africa, both to supply sailors on the long journey to the east and to trade with the locals, with their most notable establishments being at Elmina, Luanda and the island of Mozambique. The Portuguese in Africa would begin to influence native states like the Kingdom of Kongo, which would convert to Catholicism under King Afonso I (though his father had briefly become Catholic before apostatizing). The Portuguese would also tap into the existing African slave trade, buying captives from the locals and transporting them to toil away in their colonies, primarily in the Americas. Speaking of the Americas, let’s talk about what the Spanish are up to now, shall we?
As the centuries long process of the Reconquista was concluding with the conquest of Granada, a new opportunity for expansion presented itself to the Castilian crown. While the efforts to find a new route to the Indies had thus far concentrated on sailing around Africa, a certain Genoese navigator believed it was possible to sail westward across the Atlantic to Asia. After being turned down by the Portuguese crown, he approached the Spanish court with the proposal, and while they were unconvinced at first, they eventually came around and approved the expedition. Thus, on the third of August in the year 1400 and 92, Columbus’s expedition departed from Spain to sail the ocean blue.
After three more voyages from Columbus, several extremely lucky conquests and many, many dead natives, the Spanish had built up a gargantuan empire spanning the entire middle swath of the Americas. From the deserts of North America to the Rio De La Plata, Spain ruled a massive chunk of the New World. Not only that, but they had conquered the two richest and most developed regions of the Americas, those being Mesoamerica and The Andes. The Spanish co-opted much of the native nobility and social structure to govern their newly conquered domains, putting the native peasantry to work in the fields and in the mines. Combine that with Old World diseases like smallpox and influenza and the native population nosedived in the early decades of Spanish America, further cementing Spanish rule. The Spanish were also expanding outside of this zone of conquest, with them conquering a section of the East Indies that they named the Philippines for their king, as well as establishing several settlements and forts in the North American Southeast, such as San Gregorio, San Simón and Espirito Santo. That’s not to forget the Spanish control over the largest islands in the West Indies, Cuba and Hispaniola, which while possessing some settlements and plantations mainly served as forward operating bases for their mainland colonies.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese were founding their own colonies in the Americas. Navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral inadvertently stumbled upon South America on a voyage to India in 1500, and it wouldn’t be long before the Portuguese, who had a claim to this section of the continent via the Treaty of Tordesillas, would begin to settle in this new and mysterious land. The land would acquire the name “Brazil” from the Brazilwood tree, named for the red dye which the tree could produce. While harvesting this tree would be important to the colony’s development, it was cash crops like sugar that would be the engine of colonial Brazil’s economy. Large plantations, or fazendas in Portuguese, were established up and down the Brazilian coastline, primarily in the northeast (including areas contested with the French) but also as far south as Rio De Janeiro, with Portuguese Brazil being the largest sugar producer of any European colony in the 17th Century. I mentioned Portuguese participation in the African Slave Trade earlier on, and Brazil was the primary destination of said slaves. That, however, is a story for another day.
Now that I’ve covered how the Spanish and Portuguese Empires became so big, I’ll discuss what they did with such immense wealth and power. After all, having goldmines (literally in the cases of Mexico and Peru) for colonies gave the Iberian crowns deep pockets to spend on whatever they wanted to do, and boy did they spend. Spain spent copious amounts of money on flexing its muscles across Europe, from the Netherlands to Italy to the HRE. The mass importation of gold and silver from the Americas also inflated the Spanish currency beyond anything seen before in Europe, leading to the Spanish crown going bankrupt not once, not twice, but three times by the year 1600, and those financial troubles would not cease in the new century. Regardless, Spain was still a heavyweight in Europe, especially after the Habsburgs ascended to the throne, which created a combined Spanish-Austrian bloc that made both countries even more OP than they already were. This is a convenient way to reveal the topic of the next several updates, that being this timeline’s equivalent to the 30 Years’ War. While there are obviously differences between TTL and OTL up to this point, the 30 Years’ War is really where things are gonna begin to diverge on a larger scale. Granted, this era of history isn’t my strong suit, so I will need to do a bit of work before I put any updates out, but I do have a few ideas for how this conflict could turn out. I’m also working on part 150 of EC/FC, which will hopefully be out sooner rather than later. Happy Halloween, everyone, I’ll see you next time.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Now that the the Part 150 World Tour in EC/FC is done, I'm going to resume work on this timeline. One question I have regarding the 30 Years' War analogue would be who a plausible Habsburg ally would be. The Bourbons in France and the Oldenburgs in Scandinavia, The Netherlands and Poland-Lithuania are going to be opposed to the Habsburg alliance of Austria and Spain, but that seems like it could lead to a Habsburg screw, which is not my plan for the war's outcome. Thus, I need a realistic ally for the Habsburgs to have in the war. England, Muscovy/Russia and The Ottomans have all come to my mind, but each come with their own issues (England is Protestant, Russia is Orthodox and The Ottomans are both Muslim and historic Habsburg rivals). There are smaller Catholic countries in the HRE and Italy that could potentially work, but that might not balance the scales. Then again, countries did bow in and out of the conflict historically depending on the circumstances, so if one of the Habsburg opponents has achieved its goals or is facing internal strife they probably wouldn't stay in the war. Just trying to get things ironed out before I resume work.
Just a thought, but the coalition could be somewhat split? Rivalries between allies are hardly unheard of, and I could see it happening here. France or the Netherlands could achieve their goals and dip, but honestly I could see the Scandinavians do it as well. Beat the Austrians, defend their interests and dip.
EDIT: Could also have it be incidental involvement, especially with Russia against the Scandinavians and the Poles without being specifically allied with Austria.
Tbf you can have the thirty years war be a lot less centralised around a central conflict, instead we could see it being just being various nations Vs the hre/Hapsburgs. But if you want an ally the Russians do seem like the least worst option since I think England is more likely to sit it out if they don't like the alliance and the ottomans are just as likely to join in the beating.
The Russians fighting with the Austrians against the PLC and Sweden makes a lot of sense too considering the wants of the Russians (warm water ports + Lithuanian land) and the alliances in the continent. The Ottomans form a buffer against the Russians too, making it a lot better for the Austrians to ally with the Russians.
Chapter 26: The Great HRE War Part 1: Setting The Stage
Union of The Three Crowns: The History of The Nordic Empire
Chapter 26: The Great HRE War Part 1: Setting The Stage
Chapter 26: The Great HRE War Part 1: Setting The Stage
Thus far in the timeline, there have been a number of changes that have made this world noticeably different from ours. Whether they be changes in Europe or in the colonial sphere, things have definitely gone in their own direction ITTL. However, many things have remained the same thus far, even 100 years after the point of divergence. This is about to change, though, as Europe is about to head into one of its defining events during this TL, that being this world’s equivalent to the Thirty Years’ War. Europe after this war will be definitively different from how it was after the war IOTL, and will set the stage for this world to go down a different path from our own. Before I get to the war itself, though, I must first set the stage for the conflict. The causes of the war were multifaceted, each of which I will go over in some degree of detail in this update, before we get to the actual fighting in Part 2. So, without further ado, let us set the stage for the Great HRE War of the 17th Century.
First off, religion. Ever since a certain monk posted his theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Central Europe had been in the midst of a religious upheaval. Numerous new Christian sects had popped up across Europe, from the more conventional Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed churches to more radical and unorthodox sects like the Anabaptists, Unitarians and Quakers. With religious fervor riding high in Europe, conflict between not only Catholics and Protestants but between the various Protestant sects were commonplace throughout the 16th Century, both within and between different states. While some deals and compromises had been made between the Catholic and Protestant powers in Europe, the religious conflicts were still far from resolved as of the early 17th Century.
The religious issues Europe was facing were very much intertwined with the geopolitics of Europe at this time, which were another major cause of The Great HRE War. Europe as of this time had three dominant dynasties, those being the Habsburgs, Oldenburgs and Bourbons. The Habsburgs, who held the emperorship of the HRE via the throne of Austria and also sat upon the Spanish throne, were staunch Catholics who would do everything they could to ensure that the empire would remain loyal to Rome. The next were the Oldenburgs, who through playing their cards well and some sheer dumb luck had the thrones of the Nordic kingdoms, Poland-Lithuania and The Netherlands. The Oldenburg dynasty was religiously mixed, with the Nordic and Dutch branches being Protestant and the Polish branch Catholic, though less zealously so than the Habsburgs. The objectives of the Oldenburg dynasty were to ensure control of the Baltic and North seas and to counter Austrian and Muscovite expansionism into those regions. Finally, the Bourbons were the ruling house of France, which may not seem as impressive as holding multiple thrones like the other dynasties did until you remember that France was Europe’s most populous country, though France was so decentralized that calling it a united country would be a stretch. While Catholic, the Bourbons didn’t like being boxed in by the Habsburgs (Austria to the east, Spain proper to the south and the Spanish Netherlands to the north), so cutting the Habsburgs back down to size was one of the French crown’s top objectives. Other major powers in Europe at this time included England, who were Protestant but also staunch French rivals, Muscovy, a rising power emerging from the east and The Ottomans, the leader of the Islamic world and nightmare of Europe for centuries. If the Habsburgs were to successfully court one of these powers as an ally, that could tip the scales of the conflict back into their favor. Even without them, though, the Habsburgs were still a force to be reckoned with. Sheer manpower alone didn’t dictate the course of wars if the less numerous side had a tactical or monetary advantage, and while I’m not sure if Habsburg tactics would be better than their opponents, I do know that they had a practically endless supply of gold and silver coming in from the Spanish colonies in the New World to fund the war effort for as long as they had the will and ability to fight. Rather than something that burnt super hot for a few years like the World Wars, this conflict was set to be a decades long slow burn, with intervals of peace scattered throughout and countries dipping in and out of the conflict when it suited their interests. The war would not just be fought in Europe, but also in European colonies in The Americas, Africa and even Asia. For example, the French wanted to take more of Brazil from the Portuguese (who were the junior partners of Spain in the Iberian Union) and the Dutch, Scandinavians and French alike were eyeing up Iberian possessions in Africa and Asia. One thing was for sure, though, Europe over the next few decades was sure to be interesting in the Chinese sense. All that was needed was a flashpoint…
Good chapter, can't wait for the Great HRE War. I'd personally call it something like The Great Desolation with how much you're emphasizing that great change is about to come. Will the Habsburgs permanently lose their spot as Emperor? Will Iberia be lost as well? Do the Oldenburgs gain another Kingdom? Keep up the good work.