That made no good considering who the Habsburg, specially the Austrian ones, have a good gene pool, while the Avis are the most inbreed dynasty around
Burgundian Rhapsody - the legacy of Charles
- Thread starter AsukaEMP
- Start date
True, though short building periods do usually give a more consistent look to the whole ensemble. The Louvre being an exception. It has an unusually well balanced overall style for something that was built over 3 centuries, but all French rulers inherited Henri IV's Grand Dessein ambitions and they kept using the same stone (AFAIK, certainly looks that way). So as far as looks go, the Hofburg is likely the correct comparison for a surviving Koudenberg: A hodgepodge of various wings and courts in different styles eventually linking up most of a large city block. (this area of Brussels actually has a few metres of altitude differences on most sides, which won't help the overall consistency either)
It does, doesn't it? Strong early 1570ies vibes here...just without the Duke of Alba, though not necessarily without a Council of Troubles. The OTL Isabella was actually somewhat of a pragmatic moderate, at least enough to sign a 12-year cease-fire with the Dutch, but either political circumstances force her into a harsher stance, or TTL's Isabella is not quite the person her OTL sister was.
Oy, Brussels is already short on intra-muros greenery as it is. Though a Grand Gallery along the Isabellastraat (now gone, the one right 'below', i.e., west, of the future Warandepark on the map you posted) linking up the Koudenberg with a new palace at the location of the OTL Belgian Parliament Building is indeed something I already thought about in the past. And if I correctly compared old and new maps, it would be around ~530m, or slightly longer than the Louvre Grand Gallery along the Seine.
On that matter, With the Zoniënwoud/Fôret de Soignes still a lordly hunting ground (and one day a Royal one?), it might end up staying twice as big (or even a bit more) than its current OTL size, which was attained after selling of half the land in the 19th Century.
A good place for a Summer Residence would be Tervuren, both near Brussels and to a Ducal forest (i.e. the Zoniënwoud) for hunting and it had one OTL, a small chapel is the only remnant. Both the location of the Afrikapaleis a few hundred metres north, and the Middle Africa Museum another couple hundred metres east would make excellent locations for a grand baroque or neoclassical residence.
Aha, Blaeu's 1649 map. The most legible map of old Brussels I ever saw... Even if some streets are actually a lot bendier in reality than they appear to be on that map.
It's a religion-spiced civil war, I wouldn't expect anything else honestly.
And yet she managed to be his father's double first cousin...eh... Still better than the Ptolemy's at least?
Chapter 3.3: English War of Liberation (II)
English War of Liberation, Part 2
The Discussions (1598-1600)
When news of the new rebellion reached Madrid it immediately aroused lots of concern, discussions at every level of government, and finger-pointing, but not a response. The Spanish had only just left England due to financial restraints, should they really go back immediately to enforce control again? Couldn't the English handle it themselves, it surely couldn't be any worse than the previous rebellions? Several This delay was what gave the rebels much of their initial advantage, but when the true scale of the conflict became apparent a military expedition was quickly greenlit. Although preparations would have to be made first, it would take until 1600 before Spanish troops started to arrive in numbers in the ports of southern England.
The navy was quicker to arrive, but jus as quickly they realized how difficult their task would be. The English roamed from Hamburg in the east to Kirkwall in the north and Pembroke in the west, an impossibly large area to cover, so priorities had to be set. Logically the highest priority went to the Channel, supply lines to England would depend entirely on control of the Channel, and it was also here that some of the largest naval bases were located. After the Channel they chose the Irish Sea, smaller and easier to control, an advantage that was further amplified by the Irish' loyalty that provided the Spanish with some ample harbours in that area. Ireland also provided a base to strike against the Scottish if it needed. The reasons why the North Sea was the lowest priority were plenty. There were few truly good ports (and even fewer that were in Spanish hands), Germany was still far away from the English coast, it was by far the largest as well as the furthest body of water discussed... For some reason the Spanish also had a hunch that John and his protestant wife weren't very willing to give them access to their bases in the Netherlands to help them fight the English protestants either, which further dissuaded them from focussing on this area.
This didn't mean the Spanish would ignore the North Sea entirely, just that they wouldn't spend all their efforts trying to control it. Protecting the Thames was also a pretty daunting task, as the nearby shallow waters of Essex and East Anglia were a potential base for English rebels. The thread of these rebels would result in the Thames being closed off several times during the war, cutting London off from maritime trade. For as far as the army was concerned supplies would be brought into England directly from the southern coasts instead, and from there were transported inland.
The navy was quicker to arrive, but jus as quickly they realized how difficult their task would be. The English roamed from Hamburg in the east to Kirkwall in the north and Pembroke in the west, an impossibly large area to cover, so priorities had to be set. Logically the highest priority went to the Channel, supply lines to England would depend entirely on control of the Channel, and it was also here that some of the largest naval bases were located. After the Channel they chose the Irish Sea, smaller and easier to control, an advantage that was further amplified by the Irish' loyalty that provided the Spanish with some ample harbours in that area. Ireland also provided a base to strike against the Scottish if it needed. The reasons why the North Sea was the lowest priority were plenty. There were few truly good ports (and even fewer that were in Spanish hands), Germany was still far away from the English coast, it was by far the largest as well as the furthest body of water discussed... For some reason the Spanish also had a hunch that John and his protestant wife weren't very willing to give them access to their bases in the Netherlands to help them fight the English protestants either, which further dissuaded them from focussing on this area.
This didn't mean the Spanish would ignore the North Sea entirely, just that they wouldn't spend all their efforts trying to control it. Protecting the Thames was also a pretty daunting task, as the nearby shallow waters of Essex and East Anglia were a potential base for English rebels. The thread of these rebels would result in the Thames being closed off several times during the war, cutting London off from maritime trade. For as far as the army was concerned supplies would be brought into England directly from the southern coasts instead, and from there were transported inland.
The English Advance
The first fort to fall to the Protestant forces was Berwick-upon-Tweed. Isolated, small, and hardly 3 miles from the Scottish border this wasn't really a surprise. The garrison was low on both morale and supplies and gave up after an only 2 weeks long siege, this army then started to march south along the coast towards Newcastle which would be their first true test. Although not the biggest town the Spanish had built a larger fortress there to due to its strategic location on the road to Durham. At the same time a second, smaller force had marched towards Carlisle, here the Spanish had built a number of small fortresses along the River Eden as a barrier for a potential Scottish invasion, however the unexpected and rapid nature of the rebellions and attack meant these were undermanned. Nonetheless, it would take them over a month before each fortress had been taken. After this the 2nd army could move on to it's actual purpose, which was to consolidate the gains of the peasant rebels in northwestern England (where they had taken control of Appleby, Kendal, Lancaster, and Preston already) and to shield the area from possible counterattacks coming from Cheshire or Yorkshire.
Further south the rebels in northern and central Wales had managed to consolidate their own gains and began to form militias, arquebuses were supplies through smugglers sailing to France and Scotland, and even artillery was taken from ships and repurposed for use on land. Not soon after the first massacre of Catholics took place on the island of Anglesey, followed by various others, a grim preview of what was to come. The Catholics meanwhile had taken full control of southern England again, but found themselves struggling to hunt down the rebels in the midlands, so they decided to instead send an army north to secure Durham and hopefully relieve Newcastle while waiting for Spanish reinforcements for help in the Midlands.
Further south the rebels in northern and central Wales had managed to consolidate their own gains and began to form militias, arquebuses were supplies through smugglers sailing to France and Scotland, and even artillery was taken from ships and repurposed for use on land. Not soon after the first massacre of Catholics took place on the island of Anglesey, followed by various others, a grim preview of what was to come. The Catholics meanwhile had taken full control of southern England again, but found themselves struggling to hunt down the rebels in the midlands, so they decided to instead send an army north to secure Durham and hopefully relieve Newcastle while waiting for Spanish reinforcements for help in the Midlands.
I like your timeline. It is realistic enough the way you paint how a habsburg dynasty can stay in power in the Netherlands and slowly building the centralized apparatus without facing a massive revolt.
I do have a problem with the religious situation though. I can accept for this time a certain pragmatic and practical tollerance of the government. But there are limits to that. Any form of religious tollerance of this period was not principal. The idea of even the most tollerant people of the time on all sides was: "We tollerate the other because we need to convince him of our right ways. But in the end, the other must be converted, otherwise he's doomed eternally and our christian duty is to avoid that." What the exact right way was, could be on some points be discussed cautiously, but only internally.
So i have a problem with "Flourishing" religious communities and the apparently quite open acces of 'heretics' at the court. Painters and such, ok, but political influence, no. The scenario i see as more likely is that religious communities are left alone as long as they don't too openly show their confession. Maybe also geographically and organisationally restricted, but certainly politically restricted. Meanwhile in all other aspects than outright prosecution the Catholic Reformation is given full support by this Habsburger branch in their lands, resulting in an huge improvement of the local pastoral care. IMO that will lead eventually to a decline of other Christian creeds. Any open resistance against this policy will be seen as a heavy criticism on the god given government.
I do have a problem with the religious situation though. I can accept for this time a certain pragmatic and practical tollerance of the government. But there are limits to that. Any form of religious tollerance of this period was not principal. The idea of even the most tollerant people of the time on all sides was: "We tollerate the other because we need to convince him of our right ways. But in the end, the other must be converted, otherwise he's doomed eternally and our christian duty is to avoid that." What the exact right way was, could be on some points be discussed cautiously, but only internally.
So i have a problem with "Flourishing" religious communities and the apparently quite open acces of 'heretics' at the court. Painters and such, ok, but political influence, no. The scenario i see as more likely is that religious communities are left alone as long as they don't too openly show their confession. Maybe also geographically and organisationally restricted, but certainly politically restricted. Meanwhile in all other aspects than outright prosecution the Catholic Reformation is given full support by this Habsburger branch in their lands, resulting in an huge improvement of the local pastoral care. IMO that will lead eventually to a decline of other Christian creeds. Any open resistance against this policy will be seen as a heavy criticism on the god given government.
The more I think about it the more I like this idea, it'd basically have the same shape as the otl Louvre-Tuileries Palace of the 18th century except that it would stretch around a massive park instead of a bunch of houses. Add a big gateway in the grand gallery to facilitate access to the park from the city centre (so you don't have to walk around 2 city blocks), throw in a triumphal arch or smth on the opposite side... alternatively you can do all that but mirrored, with the gallery to the east of the park.
example (green: old palace, red: new palace, pink: fences, blue: passages)
before anyone comments on it, I'm not satisfied with that south-eastern wing either.
First of all, I'd tend to agree and if I did a redo of this timeline I'd have certainly have been more nuanced with my writing and gone into greater detail. And that assessment was certainly the rule of thumb at the time, but I have to add that it wasn't universal. At least not in it's implementation... e.g. the Electors of Brandenburg converted to Calvinism but never made any real attempts to convert their overwhelmingly Lutheran subjects. Later on in neighbouring Saxony the electors converted to Catholicism but kept a protestant privy council, transferred their religious authority to the council, and allowed it to keep repressing the Catholic faith in Saxony. Earlier meanwhile in Navarre Henry II was a convinced Catholic, but he still tolerated protestants and had Huguenot ministers in his government (Jeanne III held an assembly with them in the 1st year of her own reign). Henry IV of France married the Catholic Margaret of Valois when he was still a Huguenot through and through, more than 20 years before Paris (allegedly) became "well worth a mass" to him. Not to get started Julich-Cleves-Berg where the ruling family consisted of Catholics, Calvinists, and Lutherans, and policies were so ambiguous that I've seen individual members (like William the Rich and his father) being named as 2 different or even all 3 of those faiths by different sources...
btw when I said that the Protestants flourished I didn't mean they're allowed to worship openly or anything like that. It's still largely behind closed doors, with worship only allowed at designated churches dotted throughout the Netherlands (like the concession Margaret of Parma made shortly before Alba showed up). But if the persecution couldn't stop the growth (at first), then limited but consistent toleration (to me) would seem like enough to actually promote growth instead. And the government is still for the vast majority Catholic, the limited role of protestants exists in part thanks to the duchess, and they're mostly tolerated because they refrain from talking about religious matters at court. I'm not planning to keep the current situation going for much longer anymore btw. And, again, you're not wrong and I'd be more detailed and nuanced if I did a redo (I've actually been preparing a post about some of the religious developments).
btw when I said that the Protestants flourished I didn't mean they're allowed to worship openly or anything like that. It's still largely behind closed doors, with worship only allowed at designated churches dotted throughout the Netherlands (like the concession Margaret of Parma made shortly before Alba showed up). But if the persecution couldn't stop the growth (at first), then limited but consistent toleration (to me) would seem like enough to actually promote growth instead. And the government is still for the vast majority Catholic, the limited role of protestants exists in part thanks to the duchess, and they're mostly tolerated because they refrain from talking about religious matters at court. I'm not planning to keep the current situation going for much longer anymore btw. And, again, you're not wrong and I'd be more detailed and nuanced if I did a redo (I've actually been preparing a post about some of the religious developments).
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Indeed. It would look absolutely fantastic. The major problem I always saw is that the Koudenberg does not quite nicely align with the other axes. I also think you have the Koudenberg ~20m too far to the NW. See this overlay I snatched from the Coudenberg website a few years ago. (red is the Magna Aula where Charles V abdicated, blue the chapel, which supposedly was strongly inspired by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris)
I am fairly certain from the older maps that the old park actually went all the way to the current inner ring road, so another ~120m eastwards, while on the western side essentially the building facades on Rue Royale/Koningsstraat would all be inside the park, with the Isabellastraat just west of it, arriving roughly at the bend in Rue des Colonies/Kolonïenstraat if prolonged until the Rue de Louvain/Leuvenseweg. Not that you can't straighten it, OTL Leopold II wasn't shy at all about tearing down entire medieval city blocks & streets to build his straight avenues, then it would essentially run parallel to OTL Rue Royale, but 30-40m to the west. (still with a bend at the beginning, can't change the axis of the Coudenberg Magna Aula & chapel after all)
Though you'd likely start with a ruler wanting an appartment with south-facing windows towards a nice view (i.e., the park), and thus building a new palace on the North side. Then he or a successor decides to link it to the old one. Then someone takes a look at the map and decides that balancing the new gallery with an eastern one would be prettier, and the final architect having to fill the SE gap shoots himself somewhere around the mid 1800's because he can't find a way to do make it all line up properly...
Indeed, the norm was repression of whoever didn't follow the rulers faith, but exceptions weren't that difficult to find. And in the Netherlands at least, Willem van Oranje did try (and miserably failed, to be fair, but there was a civil war going on) to have full religious tolerance implemented.
UPDATE: I made a discussion thread because I figured this thread would get too busy if we discuss everything in here
Burgundian Rhapsody - discussion thread
this is a discussion thread for the Burgundian Rhapsody timeline
www.alternatehistory.com
Chapter 3.4: A Land of Furs and Maize
A land of Furs and Maize
Europeans had been fishing off the coast of Newfoundland since at least the early 16th century, and since the English raid on Newfoundland in the 1585 (followed by their own defeat back home only a 3 years later) these fishing grounds had been dominated by French and Dutch fishermen. Since then the French had begun to take an increasing interest in the potential of the North American fur trade, and in the late 1590's they were the first to take the initiative when king Francis II granted a charter to a French merchant for a monopoly on the fur trade, after several voyages this was extended with the right to establish colonies between 40-60° north latitude in 1601.
It sparked little interest from other monarchs at first, however Dutch merchants were keen to get in on the new business as well. They privately fitted out a ship called the Vliegende Vis (flying fish), captained by Corneel Claeys (who already was familiar with crossing the Atlantic due to his past in the fishing industry). The ship departed in the spring of 1602. Officially, on paper, Claeys was headed for the northern seas off Russia (in order to not arouse any possible royal suspicion), in reality he had been instructed to go north around the British Isles and then divert to the west, once in the Americas he had to conduct trade with the natives and seek out a suitable location to establish a settlement/trade post. The journey wasn't without incident, most notably in western Rhode Island a dispute between a crew member and a local had developed into a skirmish. Claeys explored most of the American coast between Bar Harbour Islands and the mouth of the Delaware River, and upon his return to Europe named an enclosed harbour into which a large river emptied as the ideal location (modern Ney York City)
Another 3 expeditions were sent in 1603, 1604, and 1605 to conduct trade and explored the river and bay more thoroughly. By now these voyages weren't a secret anymore. In this period it was discovered that both Manhattan and Long Islands were islands, and that further upriver a fork in the river created a good spot for another trade post. The 1605 expedition also left 2 men behind with a group of friendly natives because they were too sick for the voyage [1], promising them to return again the next year... But no voyage came in 1606, a storm on the Northern Atlantic had forced the ships to turn back.
When the Dutch finally sent a new fleet in 1607 a couple of things had changed... After the passing of John II during the winter his son William I had granted government patronage to the merchants. He formed an official trading company, funded in part by the crown and in part through the sale of shares, which was allowed to conduct trade between 30-50° north latitudes. In addition the company was tasked with the colonization of the Americas, with a minimum target of 50 settlers annually. Protestants were allowed to make the crossing but the governors were to be Catholic, and no protestant proselytizing was allowed.
The merchants and some 100 colonists departed in the early spring and had arrived at Manhattan by late July, where they founded the colonial capital of Nieuw Antwerpen at the southern tip of the islands, with a fortress called "Fort Willem" watching over the bay. A couple of weeks into the existence of the colony 2 scouts ran into a native village, they were taken prisoner and questioned, and to their surprise one of the locals could speak some Dutch. Eventually they were released, and the natives gave them directions to a nearby village where they would find a white man who spoke their language. This would turn out to be one of the 2 men left behind 2 years prior, he had been living amongst the local since he had been left behind and in that period he had married a native wife, learned to speak their language, and in turn had taught others to speak Dutch as well. He and some friends learned the settlers many of the tricks the local used for farming, such as using fish as a fertilizer, or how to plant crops like maize. The first winter was difficult but bearable, partially thanks to native help, and after this the settlers started to successfully cultivate their own crops. By 1610 the colony had grown to roughly 200 settlers, due to new arrivals, and the trade post near the river forks to the north had been set up.
It sparked little interest from other monarchs at first, however Dutch merchants were keen to get in on the new business as well. They privately fitted out a ship called the Vliegende Vis (flying fish), captained by Corneel Claeys (who already was familiar with crossing the Atlantic due to his past in the fishing industry). The ship departed in the spring of 1602. Officially, on paper, Claeys was headed for the northern seas off Russia (in order to not arouse any possible royal suspicion), in reality he had been instructed to go north around the British Isles and then divert to the west, once in the Americas he had to conduct trade with the natives and seek out a suitable location to establish a settlement/trade post. The journey wasn't without incident, most notably in western Rhode Island a dispute between a crew member and a local had developed into a skirmish. Claeys explored most of the American coast between Bar Harbour Islands and the mouth of the Delaware River, and upon his return to Europe named an enclosed harbour into which a large river emptied as the ideal location (modern Ney York City)
Another 3 expeditions were sent in 1603, 1604, and 1605 to conduct trade and explored the river and bay more thoroughly. By now these voyages weren't a secret anymore. In this period it was discovered that both Manhattan and Long Islands were islands, and that further upriver a fork in the river created a good spot for another trade post. The 1605 expedition also left 2 men behind with a group of friendly natives because they were too sick for the voyage [1], promising them to return again the next year... But no voyage came in 1606, a storm on the Northern Atlantic had forced the ships to turn back.
When the Dutch finally sent a new fleet in 1607 a couple of things had changed... After the passing of John II during the winter his son William I had granted government patronage to the merchants. He formed an official trading company, funded in part by the crown and in part through the sale of shares, which was allowed to conduct trade between 30-50° north latitudes. In addition the company was tasked with the colonization of the Americas, with a minimum target of 50 settlers annually. Protestants were allowed to make the crossing but the governors were to be Catholic, and no protestant proselytizing was allowed.
The merchants and some 100 colonists departed in the early spring and had arrived at Manhattan by late July, where they founded the colonial capital of Nieuw Antwerpen at the southern tip of the islands, with a fortress called "Fort Willem" watching over the bay. A couple of weeks into the existence of the colony 2 scouts ran into a native village, they were taken prisoner and questioned, and to their surprise one of the locals could speak some Dutch. Eventually they were released, and the natives gave them directions to a nearby village where they would find a white man who spoke their language. This would turn out to be one of the 2 men left behind 2 years prior, he had been living amongst the local since he had been left behind and in that period he had married a native wife, learned to speak their language, and in turn had taught others to speak Dutch as well. He and some friends learned the settlers many of the tricks the local used for farming, such as using fish as a fertilizer, or how to plant crops like maize. The first winter was difficult but bearable, partially thanks to native help, and after this the settlers started to successfully cultivate their own crops. By 1610 the colony had grown to roughly 200 settlers, due to new arrivals, and the trade post near the river forks to the north had been set up.
The French Efforts
The French meanwhile hadn't had the greatest time, but not the worst either. A rushed attempt to settle on an island around Maine had cost the lives of many colonists in the winter. The colony was relocated to the mainland on the east of the Bay of Fundy and prospered there for a while... Until complaints from other merchants about the monopoly forced the king to annul the concession and abandon the colony in 1607.
In the following years a new colony had been set up at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River instead, and by 1610 they had taken possession of their colony on the Bay of Fundy as well. The French colony, despite its more numerous outposts, was a lot smaller however. No more than 75 settlers were present. The English were still nowhere to be found in the Americas, still being too preoccupied by the War of Liberation.
location of French (blue) and Dutch (orange) settlements in north-eastern America in 1610
In the following years a new colony had been set up at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River instead, and by 1610 they had taken possession of their colony on the Bay of Fundy as well. The French colony, despite its more numerous outposts, was a lot smaller however. No more than 75 settlers were present. The English were still nowhere to be found in the Americas, still being too preoccupied by the War of Liberation.
location of French (blue) and Dutch (orange) settlements in north-eastern America in 1610
[1 ] no, it's not smallpox
Chapter 3.5: Dutch War of Succession
The Dutch War of Religion/Succession
It seems that William I’s reign wouldn’t be known for its longevity, for William died in 1611 after only 4 years on the throne (historians today believe the cause of his death was testicular cancer). This meant that the next in line was his younger brother Philip, the same Philip who had become the Duke of Julich et al. already back in 1604… What’s more, since then it had been revealed that the rumours about John’s children were partially true. Not all of them were as loyal to the Catholic church as his father had presented them to be, and only a couple of years after his ascension Philip had publicly converted to Calvinism!
Since then he had also married the Calvinist princess Christine von Hessen-Kassel, a sister of the ruling Margrave of Hesse-Kassel, and through the marriage had created an alliance with his fellow Calvinist prince. He had also enacted his right of cuius regio, eius religio in Julich-Cleves-Berg... If Philip were to become the ruler of the Netherlands it could form a major shift in the empire… One that the Emperor wasn’t too keen to see come to fruition. But Philip was still first in line to the throne, and the next in line was his younger brother, who had an ecclesiastical position and thus couldn’t succeed unless/until the pope pardoned him of this function.
A policy of moderation, tolerance, and concessions under Catholic rulers had allowed the Netherlands to survive most religious strife so far, but that didn’t change that over the past 50 years the Netherlands had become an increasingly divided country religiously. When Philip ascended this would finally rear its ugly head. Over the next year tensions began to rise rapidly, Catholics began to suspect Philip was planning to enforce cuius regio eius religio in the Netherlands as well, several small rebellions broke out in Burgundy, some Catholic ministers resigned their position, etc.
In response Philip V began to rapidly fill the open government positions with Calvinists, which then further reinforced the Catholic fears of a protestant takeover. The final spark that lit the flame was when the Pope excommunicated Philip and relieved his younger brother Charles of his ecclesiastical duties. Not soon after several nobles declared their support for Charles, even the emperor in Austria declared Charles the rightful ruler of the Netherlands. But that would turn out to be a very poorly calculated move. To the German princes in the Protestant Union (which included Hesse-Kassel) this was a clear violation of their rights. Rapidly the tensions caused by the succession in the Netherlands were extending beyond its borders, and it wouldn't take long before it ignited into a war that would define not only Dutch, but European history as a whole...
Since then he had also married the Calvinist princess Christine von Hessen-Kassel, a sister of the ruling Margrave of Hesse-Kassel, and through the marriage had created an alliance with his fellow Calvinist prince. He had also enacted his right of cuius regio, eius religio in Julich-Cleves-Berg... If Philip were to become the ruler of the Netherlands it could form a major shift in the empire… One that the Emperor wasn’t too keen to see come to fruition. But Philip was still first in line to the throne, and the next in line was his younger brother, who had an ecclesiastical position and thus couldn’t succeed unless/until the pope pardoned him of this function.
A policy of moderation, tolerance, and concessions under Catholic rulers had allowed the Netherlands to survive most religious strife so far, but that didn’t change that over the past 50 years the Netherlands had become an increasingly divided country religiously. When Philip ascended this would finally rear its ugly head. Over the next year tensions began to rise rapidly, Catholics began to suspect Philip was planning to enforce cuius regio eius religio in the Netherlands as well, several small rebellions broke out in Burgundy, some Catholic ministers resigned their position, etc.
In response Philip V began to rapidly fill the open government positions with Calvinists, which then further reinforced the Catholic fears of a protestant takeover. The final spark that lit the flame was when the Pope excommunicated Philip and relieved his younger brother Charles of his ecclesiastical duties. Not soon after several nobles declared their support for Charles, even the emperor in Austria declared Charles the rightful ruler of the Netherlands. But that would turn out to be a very poorly calculated move. To the German princes in the Protestant Union (which included Hesse-Kassel) this was a clear violation of their rights. Rapidly the tensions caused by the succession in the Netherlands were extending beyond its borders, and it wouldn't take long before it ignited into a war that would define not only Dutch, but European history as a whole...
Hmmm, on one hand, finally a personal union between the Low Countries and JCB, on the other hand Filips (yes, I am trying to consistently use the Dutch name of the local Habsburgs) is dumb enough to enact cuius regio, euius religio in at least some of his realms, which can't possibly be a good thing.
Somehwat surprised at the strong reaction by the pope too, this is the 1610's after all, not the 1550's. I'm guessing that Filips being a Habsburg as well as the ruler of the wealthiest chunk of the HRE is making everyone react much more strongly than they otherwise might have?
On the plus side, the hunting season for Spanish/Portuguese colonial possessions and treasure ships is about to open and a Calvinist ruler of the Netherlands would have no problem in (trying to at least) annexing Liège, Munster, Kurköln + Westphalia & Trier (the latter two especially tricky though, being electoral states) during an ALT-30YW. Filips or his heir upon winning the war could end up strong enough to enact some strong centralisation in the Netherlands (maybe even a royal crown?). Most opponents would have been branded as traitors for years at that point, which helps.
On the downside, with the religous peace holding until now, there are probably still many provinces with a Catholic majority and likely none where they number less than a full third or so. The Counter-Reformation has also had a few generations to take root, so actually enacting cuius regio without kicking a significant portion of the population out of the country will be close to impossible...
Filips or his heir will thus need to find some sort of compromise, possibly by issueing an official decree of (preferably full) religous tolerance after vanquishing the most stubborn opponents, or things will get really ugly. Not sure what Filips current age is, but I'm mentioning a possible heir, because that one might be more moderate than his father. There are many wars/civil wars that only managed to be solved when the generation that started died and the new generation was sufficiently fed up with things to at least accept some compromises, but I'm hoping it won't take actual generations of time for the Low Countries.
Somehwat surprised at the strong reaction by the pope too, this is the 1610's after all, not the 1550's. I'm guessing that Filips being a Habsburg as well as the ruler of the wealthiest chunk of the HRE is making everyone react much more strongly than they otherwise might have?
On the plus side, the hunting season for Spanish/Portuguese colonial possessions and treasure ships is about to open and a Calvinist ruler of the Netherlands would have no problem in (trying to at least) annexing Liège, Munster, Kurköln + Westphalia & Trier (the latter two especially tricky though, being electoral states) during an ALT-30YW. Filips or his heir upon winning the war could end up strong enough to enact some strong centralisation in the Netherlands (maybe even a royal crown?). Most opponents would have been branded as traitors for years at that point, which helps.
On the downside, with the religous peace holding until now, there are probably still many provinces with a Catholic majority and likely none where they number less than a full third or so. The Counter-Reformation has also had a few generations to take root, so actually enacting cuius regio without kicking a significant portion of the population out of the country will be close to impossible...
Filips or his heir will thus need to find some sort of compromise, possibly by issueing an official decree of (preferably full) religous tolerance after vanquishing the most stubborn opponents, or things will get really ugly. Not sure what Filips current age is, but I'm mentioning a possible heir, because that one might be more moderate than his father. There are many wars/civil wars that only managed to be solved when the generation that started died and the new generation was sufficiently fed up with things to at least accept some compromises, but I'm hoping it won't take actual generations of time for the Low Countries.
yeah it's a combination of the sheer size and wealth of the Netherlands + Filips being a Calvinist (which technically wasn't recognised yet [1]) + good old worldly politics + the emperor at the moment is very Catholic. As for the Pope, it's in part due to the Austrians lobbying him to do it. Maybe in another timeline peace could've prevailed, but here it wasn't to be
To be fair it wasn't in the Netherlands and he didn't expect to ever become the ruler of the Netherlands either so it didn't seem like that bad of an idea at the time, especially since Julich-Cleves-Berg already was already largely protestant... But yeah now it kind of backfired... Luckily he hasn't been dumb enough yet to enact it quite yet within the Netherlands, but there's nothing to guarantee to the Catholics he won't do it eventually [2]
[1] of course there's precedence of the emperor looking the other way (e.g. Hesse-Kassel, the Electoral Palatinate, and Brandenburg), but again the Netherlands are way bigger, and it can still be listed as one of the Catholics' formal arguments despite the hypocrisy
[2] just realised that in a way this is kind of a reverse otl Bohemia and it wasn't intentional lol
A mere list of undertakings that started out like that and turned into disaster after all could fill a library.
Anyway, the HRE map could use some cleaning and the Low Countries can certainly use some reforms as well, so here's hoping the end balance will be positive. (for the Low Countries, wars do usually need losers somewhere...)
Chapter 3.6: English War of Liberation (III)
So after a week I've finally gotten around to writing another update... Been very busy the last week because of university so I didn't have a lot of time to think or write, and whenever I wrote something down I ended up discarding it because I wasn't satisfied with it. I'm honestly not satisfied by this chapter but I need to do something in order to be able to continue the story. So the following is very bare bones and not that well written but I can't keep lingering on it.
Chapter 3.5: English War of Liberation, Part 3
The Catholic attempt to relieve Newcastle failed, but the reinforcements they had sent did succeeded in their secondary goal of preventing the protestant from advancing further south towards Durham. With Spanish reinforcements beginning to stream in from 1600 on they then started to prepare to secure the Midlands and to launch a counteract against the Welsh rebels. Both these operations took several years and never met with complete success. In Wales the Catholics managed to fully retake the southern coast, the area around Hereford in the southeast, and the Llyn Peninsula, but the more hilly and mountainous parts of central and northern Wales remained in protestant hands. Eventually, after a failed attempt to capture the western coast the Llyn Peninsula was abandoned again.
Greater gains were made in the Midlands, where a slow systematic advance helped the Catholics to retake much lands in the south and the east of the region. However both these campaigns took several years and required most of the available resources and manpower, and as a result the northern frontier only saw low-intensity warfare. The rebels made several probing-attacks and proper attempts to continue their advance south but all were deflected. The rebels also continued to become more organised over this period however. By 1605 they had established the Provisional Government at Berwick, began taxing the regions under their control, and had trained full-fledged professional regiments to form the core of a standing army.
That same year, after the Catholics funds had been largely depleted due to several years of expensive campaigns, the protestants launched a new invasion from the north, crossing the Tyne and again advancing south, taking castles until their advance was finally stopped again in 1607 around the Humber. In 1606 Edward, the son of Elizabeth I, returned from exile in Hesse with German mercenaries and took command of the government after recognising its rights. He then moved the government to York after its captured, after which he was crowned there as Edward VII. Edward also secured a formal alliance with the Scottish, who now felt secure enough to join the war now that the frontier was further away from their own border.
With increased organization, growing funds, and Scottish aid the rebel managed to push further south, reaching Nottingham in 1609, but by now the Spanish had reorganised and were prepared. A Catholic counterattack broke the siege and pushed the protestants back north to Doncaster in the same year. With both sides in a deadlock again and increasing opposition to the war growing again in Spain the Spanish decided to launch one last major attack in the hopes of throwing the protestants into chaos. The plan was to launch an amphibious invasion from Ireland, landing on the western coast of England and Scotland to force the protestants to move part of their troops from the frontlines. This campaign was launched in 1611 and the Spanish together with Irish troops successfully made landfall at several locations, and the English were pushed back almost to York, but the campaign also prompted a new nation to join the game. The French, who had never been excited by the Spanish presence across the Channel, finally decided to join the war. A Spanish victory had to be avoided at all costs, and this campaign finally pushed them over the edge. Likewise the Dutch, now ruled by protestants, opened their ports to the English pirates and privateers.
The French-Dutch involvement was a major problem for the Spanish, their ports brought the bases of the English privateers closer to southern England and threatened it as well as the surrounding seas on which the Spanish relied for their supplies. Rather than being the hoped for coup de grâce their campaign had instead put the Catholics in the most fragile position they had been in since the beginning of the war. The strategic disaster, internal opposition to taxes, increasing costs of the war, and disruption of their supply lines finally made the Spanish pull many of their troops out of England again. It didn't take long before new rebellions broke out and shattered the Catholics' ability to fight back. These and subsequent military campaigns brought most of England back under protestant control by 1614. Only the southwest remained under Catholic occupation while the Spanish-backed government fled to Ireland.
Greater gains were made in the Midlands, where a slow systematic advance helped the Catholics to retake much lands in the south and the east of the region. However both these campaigns took several years and required most of the available resources and manpower, and as a result the northern frontier only saw low-intensity warfare. The rebels made several probing-attacks and proper attempts to continue their advance south but all were deflected. The rebels also continued to become more organised over this period however. By 1605 they had established the Provisional Government at Berwick, began taxing the regions under their control, and had trained full-fledged professional regiments to form the core of a standing army.
That same year, after the Catholics funds had been largely depleted due to several years of expensive campaigns, the protestants launched a new invasion from the north, crossing the Tyne and again advancing south, taking castles until their advance was finally stopped again in 1607 around the Humber. In 1606 Edward, the son of Elizabeth I, returned from exile in Hesse with German mercenaries and took command of the government after recognising its rights. He then moved the government to York after its captured, after which he was crowned there as Edward VII. Edward also secured a formal alliance with the Scottish, who now felt secure enough to join the war now that the frontier was further away from their own border.
With increased organization, growing funds, and Scottish aid the rebel managed to push further south, reaching Nottingham in 1609, but by now the Spanish had reorganised and were prepared. A Catholic counterattack broke the siege and pushed the protestants back north to Doncaster in the same year. With both sides in a deadlock again and increasing opposition to the war growing again in Spain the Spanish decided to launch one last major attack in the hopes of throwing the protestants into chaos. The plan was to launch an amphibious invasion from Ireland, landing on the western coast of England and Scotland to force the protestants to move part of their troops from the frontlines. This campaign was launched in 1611 and the Spanish together with Irish troops successfully made landfall at several locations, and the English were pushed back almost to York, but the campaign also prompted a new nation to join the game. The French, who had never been excited by the Spanish presence across the Channel, finally decided to join the war. A Spanish victory had to be avoided at all costs, and this campaign finally pushed them over the edge. Likewise the Dutch, now ruled by protestants, opened their ports to the English pirates and privateers.
The French-Dutch involvement was a major problem for the Spanish, their ports brought the bases of the English privateers closer to southern England and threatened it as well as the surrounding seas on which the Spanish relied for their supplies. Rather than being the hoped for coup de grâce their campaign had instead put the Catholics in the most fragile position they had been in since the beginning of the war. The strategic disaster, internal opposition to taxes, increasing costs of the war, and disruption of their supply lines finally made the Spanish pull many of their troops out of England again. It didn't take long before new rebellions broke out and shattered the Catholics' ability to fight back. These and subsequent military campaigns brought most of England back under protestant control by 1614. Only the southwest remained under Catholic occupation while the Spanish-backed government fled to Ireland.