Witch0Winter
Banned
Next update is Wednesday. New updates are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And since this is alternate history, I very much meant Twenty Years War.
Where Hearts Were Entertaining June: An English Brazil
- Thread starter Witch0Winter
- Start date
Another neat little update! The Brazil colony seems to be coming along, especially since the Portuguese settlers already there seem quite content ("Eu, por um, saúdo aos nossos novos senhores ingleses" ). I do have a quibble however,; neither Virginia nor Andreas would be likely called "states" by the English, especially if they're settlements for profit. Maybe "province" or "colony", or even something like "shire" would seem more likely as a subdivision name. However, that's the only issue I have with this update. I did note that a bunch of Continentals seem to be slated for arrival in Brazil, and (apparently) a huge proportion of which won't necessarily be family groups but single veterans and fortune-seekers. The more things change, the more they stay the same in some ways . Will we see an analogue to the "Bandeirantes" in TTL by the way?
). I do have a quibble however,; neither Virginia nor Andreas would be likely called "states" by the English, especially if they're settlements for profit. Maybe "province" or "colony", or even something like "shire" would seem more likely as a subdivision name. However, that's the only issue I have with this update. I did note that a bunch of Continentals seem to be slated for arrival in Brazil, and (apparently) a huge proportion of which won't necessarily be family groups but single veterans and fortune-seekers. The more things change, the more they stay the same in some ways . Will we see an analogue to the "Bandeirantes" in TTL by the way?
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
How will the English handle the situation of the quilombos, the autonomous settlements of fugitive African slaves in the Brazilian interior? And how will the English take to the racial intermarriage between the Portuguese settlers and the local Amerindians and African slaves? Will they reject it and try to impose laws banning miscegenation or will they not care and be laissez faire? The wealthier Anglo-Brazilians might not like it but the poor peasants fresh off the boat won't care and probably take on a wife from the locals. Also what sort of influence would the Tupi language, the lingua franca of the colony prior to the English takeover, have on the local dialect?
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Witch0Winter
Banned
I can't quite answer that now, but only because it would spoil what I have ahead. You can rest assured, though. If you talk to FleetMac, he can tell you that he and I actually went over the interracial mixing and racial disperity as almost one of the first things thought up about this TL. They play a major role in the years to come, and I won't just skip over them.
I don't know about entirely New France in North America, there's still other colonial powers out there that might have something to say about that. However, I'd suspect a surviving New France ain't out of the cards. Personally I'm curious what will become of Alyaska and the eastern seaboard...
Cuāuhtemōc
Banned
To 2200 or so.
The Anglo-Brazilians celebrating space victory as their probes reach Alpha Centauri?
2 things:
1. I dont see how the portugues settlers would prefer the english to the spanish. The problem is the religion. The spanish were catholic (like them) but now they have a non catholic owerlord who sends s lot of not catholic settlers to them.
2. As i see it you build up a reverse american civil war. The northern slavers vs the southerners.
All sayd its really interesting so far so keep up the good work.
1. I dont see how the portugues settlers would prefer the english to the spanish. The problem is the religion. The spanish were catholic (like them) but now they have a non catholic owerlord who sends s lot of not catholic settlers to them.
2. As i see it you build up a reverse american civil war. The northern slavers vs the southerners.
All sayd its really interesting so far so keep up the good work.
Hmm... I wonder what are the English farmer's (at the time) reaction to the heat now that they have a tropical settlement colony. Changed seasons, increased humidity, an increase in malaria risk... I know they sound trivial, but somehow these things really stick to me since I came from the tropics myself.
Also, would there be an earlier buildup of the tropical colonial bungalow? Of course, the ones we have here a mix of English architecture with Indian and Malay influences thrown into the mix (large porch, open rooms, porte cochere) and something here tells me things are going to be way different ITTL in terms of architecture.
Also, would there be an earlier buildup of the tropical colonial bungalow? Of course, the ones we have here a mix of English architecture with Indian and Malay influences thrown into the mix (large porch, open rooms, porte cochere) and something here tells me things are going to be way different ITTL in terms of architecture.
Witch0Winter
Banned
1. Let's just say this is no the last we've heard of the Portuguese.
For the moment, they're just happy to not be lorded over by the Spanish. That won't stay forever, though.That whole thing about the tropical climate causes numerous things including a different colony that attracts more settlers.
One of the reasons for the comparatively low 50,000 settlers in 40 years despite the building of infrastructure and war driving refugees to the New World is the climate, and they mostly cling to the more habitable coasts as it is.
The British were pragmatic about that in Quebec, and I suspect they'd follow a similar approach in Brazil - they wouldn't want to call existing contracts or land tenure into question, or interfere with existing patterns of family life. That kind of thing can lead to very discontented subjects.
Great stuff, looking forward to more.
I can't quite answer that now, but only because it would spoil what I have ahead. You can rest assured, though. If you talk to FleetMac, he can tell you that he and I actually went over the interracial mixing and racial disperity as almost one of the first things thought up about this TL. They play a major role in the years to come, and I won't just skip over them.
Forgot to touch on this; let's just say that, depending on how religion plays out/evolves in English Brazil, and how developed the local nobility or leadership is, will have a lot to do with how much different or alike Brazil is compared to OTL. Considering how far back the POD is, and the kinds of butterflies likely to flap resulting from it, I could give odds on things like local leadership, religious and/or racial makeup, etc. There's also the local climate and potential for tropical illness to take into account of course.
Witch0Winter
Banned
Next update is on the Twenty Years' War. And yes, I will go heavily into the tech and pop culture of not just Brazil, but numerous countries all over the world. And I could argue that football probably wouldn't exist as it does in OTL, but I also argue that I love football, so yes it will be big.
Witch0Winter
Banned
Where Hearts Were Entertaining June
There’s A War On
By 1620, while the Americas settled into a period of relative stability and peace, Europe continued to be embroiled in religious conflict. Despite the Peace of Augsburg signed by Charles V, the tensions between Protestants and Catholics only continued to grow, especially with the growth of Calvinism, unrecognized by the treaty. Not only that, but regional conflicts grew as well. Spain, still owner of the Spanish Netherlands after taking peace with the Dutch Republic in 1606, was interested in the German states bordering its territory in the Low Countries and Italy.
France, despite being Catholic, was a Bourbon state surrounded by Habsburg dynasties, and looking to extend its influence over the smaller German and Italian states it bordered. Sweden and Denmark, similarly, looked to control states in northern Germany. Sweden had even gone so far as to marry Charles X, their king, to Brunhild Eleonora of Brandenburg. Meanwhile, the Habsburgs in Austria looked to continue expanding their hold on the Holy Roman Empire while already controlling an empire of 8 million subjects.
With the stage set, Europe only needed a spark to be set ablaze. That spark came in 1621 with the end of the 15 years’ truce between the Dutch Republic and the Habsburgs, who had agreed to said truce to give time to make an official peace. When none had come, the only discourse left remained war. However, the war refused to remain solely political, and instead quickly became a battleground of religion as the Catholic Spaniards fought the Protestant Dutch.
Anti-Catholic sentiments began to erupt across the Holy Roman Empire. A massive rebellion in Austrian Bohemia required the Emperor himself to put it down. The brutal slaying of the rebels caused revolution to sweep across the empire, and for the Palatinate, Brandenburg, Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Saxony to rise up against Austria. Transylvania also fought against Austria, and managed to recruit Ottoman help, though their forces were too late to do much damage to Austria to actually affect the outcome of the war.
The war between Spain and the Dutch Republic was put on hold in 1623 when England intervened on behalf King James I, of the House of Stuart, who had recently married one of the remnants of the Dutch House of Orange, powerless in the new republic. Due to the ties between the nations, England entered on the Protestant side, though did not explicitly declare themselves for the Protestants.
In Germany, the Danes intervened in northern Germany starting in 1626, sending troops and supplies to Protestants around the Baltic Sea, especially in Pomerania. The Danes, despite not being especially numerous, brought significant financial backing to the cause. The war mired in the middle of the Holy Roman Empire, spilling waves of blood for years with no true victor even as time wore on.
The only major development in the war until 1632 was Austria taking Silesia in a massive counterattack after being attacked in their strongholds in Bohemia. Emperor Ferdinand II took to the field himself, striking down the disorganized rebels with blow after blow. Following the victory, he began pressing harder against his foes, especially in Saxony and Sweden.
1632 proved a dark year for the Protestants. Denmark pulled out due to lack of progress. France battled Huguenots in its own territory and, blaming England, forced them to make a hasty treaty between Spain and the Dutch Republic to appease Parliament’s orders to end the war. All was not lost, however. Sweden finally entered the war on Brandenburg’s side and brought the hammer down on Austria within Saxony, forcing Ferdinand II back over his borders. For a time, Russia looked to join against Sweden due to their distraction, but ultimately backed out upon learning of Poland’s intent to attack them if they committed their forces to any one campaign.
The war became a stalemate for some time after that. Villages were looted, abbeys were burned, and people were murdered across Germany, but little territory was won or lost. Neither side was comfortable with the status quo. Sweden doubly so. The young Swedish prince, Christian, had recently inherited the throne of Brandenburg and was first in line to Sweden, sealing the nations together. They managed to fight down Pomerania, but Austria remained a tough nut.
Then, in 1637, ongoing border tensions between France and Spain broke out in war. The Bourbons fought the Habsburgs in the Netherlands as the forces Spain had placed on the border rushed hard for Paris. French men met them and withered the defenders. Ferdinand II attempted to send aid, but while marching fell ill. The Holy Roman Emperor died on February 11, 1638.
He was succeeded by Ferdinand III, who had little interest in continuing the war that had swallowed a continent for close to twenty years. The Palatinate and Saxony had been cowed, and Silesia added Austria, along with a more compliant Bohemia. The Catholic powers still stood strong, but the war with France left them with too much to lose.
It took time, but by 1640 the war had come to a full stop. Peace resolutions were drawn up in Frankfurt. The Peace of Frankfurt, as it was called, was actually first signed as the Treaty of Hamburg, but negotiated in Frankfurt am Main. The primary tenets of the Peace were:
-All parties would recognize the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, in which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state, the options being Catholicism, Lutheranism, and now Calvinism.
-Christians living in principalities where their denomination was not the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in public during allotted hours and in private at their will.
-General recognition of the exclusive sovereignty of each party over its lands, people, and agents abroad, and each and several responsibility for the warlike acts of any of its citizens or agents. Issuance of unrestricted letters of marque and reprisal to privateers was forbidden.
Several territorial and other disputes were decided in the Peace of Frankfurt as well, and would become even more important in later years. These included:
-The recognition of the independence of Switzerland, which had been de facto independent for decades.
-France won control of the Bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun near Lorraine, and the city of the Décapole in Alsace.
-Sweden received an indemnity of five million talers, used primarily to pay her troops. Sweden further received Western Pomerania, Wismar, and the Prince-Bishoprics of Bremen and Verden as hereditary fiefs, thus gaining a seat and vote in the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire.
-Bavaria retained the Palatinate's vote in the Imperial Council of Electors.
-The Palatinate was divided between the re-established Elector Palatine Charles Louis (son and heir of Frederick V) and Elector-Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, and thus between the Protestants and Catholics. Charles Louis obtained the Lower Palatinate, along the Rhine, while Maximilian kept the Upper Palatinate, to the north of Bavaria.
-Brandenburg, under Prince Christian, received Farther Pomerania, and the Bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin, and Minden. These territories technically remained separate of Sweden’s gains.
-The independence of Portugal, who had successfully rebelled with French help in 1639, was recognized.
-Barriers to trade and commerce erected during the war were abolished, and "a degree" of free navigation was guaranteed on the Rhine.
In all, the Twenty Years' War proved to be both a pointless and fruitful war. More than two million Europeans died in the war, making it one of the deadliest yet. However, the removal of trade barriers and change in both territory and how nations were viewed would reverberate throughout the rest of European history.
When the ashes settled, the continent emerged into a world of peace and to begin looking beyond itself to the New World. Though colonies had already been established, it would be the Twenty Years’ War that would hammer home the need to expand out of the Old World and into the new, where adventure awaited around every corner and the future looked bright.
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