Legacy of Cromwell [Alternate History]

[ZomgK3tchup]

Legacy of Cromwell

Victoria's Antithesis
VERSION ALPHA 0.45
Now AHD 2.1 Compatible!


Screenshots:
New Menu Screen
Map of the World
Commonwealth of Great Britain
Map of Europe
Map of India, etc.
Map of South America

The Story Thus Far...
The modern Commonwealth dates back to the 1650s. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell declared the Instrument of Government and transformed the Commonwealth. At the top was the Lord President. Beneath him were the Lord Chancellor and Lord Justice. The Lord Chancellor presided over a bicameral Parliament; the Upper Chamber replaced the House of Lords, and the Lower Chamber replaced the House of Commons. Meanwhile, the Lord Justice headed the Supreme Court which in turn regulated the Greater Courts and Lesser Courts. To ensure the Commonwealth’s future, Cromwell assumed all three positions and used them to reconstruct social and political infrastructure in England and Scotland. However, it wasn’t until the 1680s that the Commonwealth would become truly democratic. The resignation of Richard Cromwell in 1682 brought about the Commonwealth’s first general election: it ultimately resulted in the election of Isaac Newton as President and a new Enlightenment Era ruling class. Under Newton, the Instrument of Government was redrafted as the Statute of Government and a new Bill of Rights was declared. Furthermore, the Parliaments of England and Scotland and later the Parliaments of Ireland and North America were formed to ensure proper regional representation in government.

Between 1663 and 1815, the Commonwealth engaged the French Empire in an almost constant state of warfare. It began with the War of English Succession and lasted until the defeat of the French Republic in the early-19th century. By 1815, the Commonwealth dominated North America and the Caribbean, and held dominion over the former French and Spanish Empires. However, the Vienna Congress declared a restoration of 1789 borders and the reinstallation of the Bourbon Dynasty. Though status quo was restored in Western Europe, the “Spirit of Democracy” spread to Central and Eastern Europe, and the continent fell into revolution. At the Second Vienna Congress in 1822, it was agreed that Brandenburg and Silesia would become independent democracies and the Partition of Poland would be reversed. Meanwhile, a secret alliance was made between the Austria, Prussia, and the Russian Empire to “maintain moral order and restore the divine right of kings” before democratic institutions pierced too far into Germany and Europe as a whole.

The political infrastructure of the New World is much more complex and fragile than any previously developed system. It all began with the proclamation of the North American Parliament in the mid-18th century. At the recommendation of American politicians and their respective representatives in London, the Commonwealth elected to seize territory in North America and the Caribbean rather than expand its colonial holdings in India. Later, when the war between the British and French Empires came to a close, both sides found their coffers empty and their resources exhausted. Though the Commonwealth won extensive amounts of land, it was forced to raise taxes and impose new tariffs on trade on its less represented subjects. As a result, bloody revolution broke out in Ireland and North America. What became known as the Anglo-American Civil War occurred and, in the end, Ireland gained independence and North America became the Commonwealth’s first dominion. Since no true war for independence was won in the New World, the vast Spanish Empire was left to simmer. Over the years, however, the various viceroyalties and captaincies have become increasingly autonomous, and the stability of the empire will be threatened if any opt to break away. Lastly, revolts across Iberia have forced the Portuguese monarchy into exile in Brazil. Overall, the future of the New World is uncertain and many fear revolution will descend upon the great colonial empires...

Overview & Philosophy
This modification opts to create a world that is both plausible and playable. From a game play perspective, some of the changes are technical and exist to let the game flow smoother. For example, I have opted to remove some uncivilized nations such as the Central Asian Khanates and Njed to allow proper European expansion. Likewise, some nations have shrunk while others have grown. The Commonwealth is significantly smaller than the United Kingdom, for both flavor and game play purposes. As previously stated, the North American Parliament asked Great Britain to annex what would later become Louisiana Territory instead of French India, and the Dutch never gave away Ceylon or the Eastern Cape. Other minor changes exist such as a different map overlay, blackened political borders, and different flags for some countries. Also included in the future will hopefully be parts of AOC and PDM to further improve game play. These are largely based on personal preference; I feel that some interface and technical changes will be necessary to better portray the world that I’ve created. Overall, this modification hopes to strike a balance between a plausible alternate history and fun game play experience.

What has been done?
This is still a WIP, but here is what has been completed:

• Government types and politics changed.
• Starting wars added and edited.
• Flags changed to alternate history counterparts.
• Alliances, satellites, and spheres established.
• Grand Campaign name and description rewritten.

*NOTE* Since some countries, namely Great Britain and Prussia, have significant territorial changes and will require all new armies, every starting army has been removed to allow the alpha to be playable.

What needs to be done?
Some things that need doing are as followed:

• Make soldiers capital POPs and create armies.
• Change POP culture in provinces with new owners.
• Write country-specific events and remove old ones.
• Integrate other modifications and/or make mod compatible.

Who gets credit?
Inadvertently, I borrowed/modified other mods to help Cromwell. They are:

• Chandlerw1’s Symbols Flagpack for various flags
• Magc8Ball’s EU3 Nations Flagpack for Spanish and German flags
• Thoughtful Punk’s flagpack for miscellaneous flags
• Hibernian and Rylock’s New Nations Mod (for England and African minors)
• Mikeboy’s Empire Mod for various German nations
• Naselus’s POP Demand Mod for Adjacencies, visible borders, and probably others.
• Danevang’s Map Fertilizer.

Of course, the back story and all the boring edits were all my own work.

Click here for version 0.45!
Click here for version 0.4!
Click here for version 0.35!
Click here for version 0.3!
Click here for version 0.25!

HOW TO INSTALL:
I highly recommend using Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler (JSGME).
1. Download the latest version of Legacy of Cromwell.
2. Download Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler.
3. Install JSGME in your Victoria 2 folder.
4. When prompted, choose the "mod" folder as JSGME's mod directory.
5. Extract Legacy of Cromwell in your mod directory; You should see that its in a folder called Legacy of Cromwell.
6. Launch JSGME, located within your Victoria 2 folder.
7. In the left column under "Available Mods", select Legacy of Cromwell and click the top center button (an arrow pointing right). This will overwrite your vanilla files and install LoC.
8. Launch Victoria 2.

JSGME is usable for all modifications and is especially useful for installing and uninstalling large mods like alternate histories, PDM, etc. When you're done with a mod, simply uninstall it with JSGME and you'll be back to vanilla (JSGME writes a backup of your initial files). Using this, you can go back and forth with several mods without making multiple copies of Victoria 2.

If you choose not to use JSGME for whatever reason, simply download LoC and extract it from the zip file and then copy the contents inside the LoC folder over your vanilla files.

[LeoGecko]

I'm looking forward to seeing this mod develop. If I may add some input at this stage, I'd like to say a few things about the map. Perhaps Arab dynasties should be put back as no European power could really try to colonize the region even with this alternate history. Perhaps you might want to change France's borders if it had a long century of warfare with the Commonwealth that I assume was more intense than its real life warfare. In addition, Belgium should probably not exist as it is quite an oddity of history. I would opt to just have it split between France and the Netherlands. Do you have any plans to change Asia and the Ottomans by any chance?

[ZomgK3tchup]

I'm looking forward to seeing this mod develop. If I may add some input at this stage, I'd like to say a few things about the map. Perhaps Arab dynasties should be put back as no European power could really try to colonize the region even with this alternate history. Perhaps you might want to change France's borders if it had a long century of warfare with the Commonwealth that I assume was more intense than its real life warfare. In addition, Belgium should probably not exist as it is quite an oddity of history. I would opt to just have it split between France and the Netherlands. Do you have any plans to change Asia and the Ottomans by any chance?

I plan to write an event that will create Saudi Arabia or one of its predecessor states sometime later in the game. Removing the dynasties was largely to prevent the Great Powers from expanding into the desert.

The basis of a Second Hundred Years' War came from contemporary periodization. The reason that this became popular is because there is a solid start (the War of English Succession) and then a conclusive end (the defeat of the French Republic).

Since England and France never actually invaded each other in Europe, their borders will remain relatively the same, though I may do some revisions to make Alsace-Lorraine independent from France. Any actual partitioning of France won't happen: France's final defeat occurred after what we know as the Napoleonic Wars, and at that point, the Great Powers were very concerned with status quo and wouldn't dare let Britain assert hegemony over Western Europe.

To address Belgium in particular, I thought about dividing it between Flanders and Wallonia. The area that encompasses contemporary Belgium was already controlled by the Spanish and later the Austrians. At this point, it seems that Belgium was either going to become Dutch, French, or divided into Flanders and Wallonia. I'm going to go with the latter to promote status quo on behalf of France and the Dutch and for the whole "spread of democracy and cultural/religious freedom" thing.

The changes in Arabia and Central Asia were made for purely game play purposes. It's debatable whether or not the states controlling these areas can be considered nation-states with clearly defined borders and organized government; because of this, combined with AI stupidity, I find it more productive to simply remove them entirely.

That said, Asia and the Ottoman Empire are out of the Commonwealth's influence. Europe, in particular, are so drastically different because of the Commonwealth's influence in the Vienna Congress and the spread of democracy. Unfortunately for the peoples of Asia, the Commonwealth never had the chance to exert its influence.

There's only one divergence point here: the restructuring of the Commonwealth. Everything is in some way a result of this change, mostly because of the rise of an 18th century democracy and then that democracy's hegemony at the end of our Napoleonic Wars.

I'm under the impression that even though history diverged, the world would still experience a global conflict between England and France and then some kind of war at the dawn of the 18th century.

I'm open to suggestions since there are some parts of Europe and the New World that could use some work, particularly the Franco-German border, Belgium, the Caribbean, and Italy.

[LeoGecko]

The thing is that there are a number of power vacuums caused by the divergence. The Ottoman Empire in Egypt is an example. What happened there? The Ottomans managed to keep less of their European territory, so does that mean that they are in more or less control of their Egyptian and Levantine possessions? Southeast Asia can be left untouched to a good extent, although a more powerful Netherlands probably would have quite an influence in the area. In addition, Commonwealth advancement seems more pronounced in Malaysia. Also, what is the Commonwealth's position in the Mediterranean? The answer to that question probably assists one in answering what is happening to the Ottoman Empire in Asia.

[ZomgK3tchup]

The thing is that there are a number of power vacuums caused by the divergence. The Ottoman Empire in Egypt is an example. What happened there? The Ottomans managed to keep less of their European territory, so does that mean that they are in more or less control of their Egyptian and Levantine possessions? Southeast Asia can be left untouched to a good extent, although a more powerful Netherlands probably would have quite an influence in the area. In addition, Commonwealth advancement seems more pronounced in Malaysia. Also, what is the Commonwealth's position in the Mediterranean? The answer to that question probably assists one in answering what is happening to the Ottoman Empire in Asia.

The Ottomans lost more ground in Europe because of a combination of Austria's successes in Germany and the revolutionary movements in Austria and Poland that later spread to Moldavia and Wallachia. In the former situation, the Commonwealth was much less active in Germany because they weren't in a political union with Hanover, nor did they always support Prussia and its monarch. The latter I didn't flesh out as much, but Moldavia was able to become independent from the Ottomans and Wallachia wasn't.

With the withdrawal of the Ottomans from Europe, I considered making the Oriental Crisis occur at start, but I didn't know if that would be too much.

The Commonwealth acquired the whole of Johore for aesthetic reasons on my part and because they thought it a good idea to better fortify the area against the French; it's just one of those things that happened to change, no elaborate justification here.

The Mediterranean was the second to last place I worked on and was somewhat difficult. Since Southern Italy swapped hands so many times, it was difficult to figure out WHO exactly should own it; the Austrians, French, Spanish, Italians, etc. I decided that Catalonia should exist to justify the continued existence of the Spanish Empire; rather than face bloody revolution, a compromise was made that allowed what we know as Carlists to exist independently in Catalonia. To bolster them, I also gave them Sicily, though I'm considering making it something else or just giving the whole thing to Naples and restoring Naples to its 1789 incarnation. Right now, Naples is more or less its 1789 kingdom, except under the jurisdiction of the French.

Again, this timeline shares many parallels with ours; the seeds for a lot of what happened in the 18th and 19th century were already planted, so a lot of the world remains relatively the same as it did or would if certain treaties didn't happen/had different consequences. I do disagree about power vacuums; there ARE certain areas where someone has sheer dominance (North America, for example), but the Commonwealth is significantly smaller than the United Kingdom (losing British Canada, Ireland, Southern India, Eastern Cape) and France's colonial empire is probably double its size in our world (owning Haiti and Southern India, most notably).

But yes, the Ottomans were that awkward stepchild that I just couldn't find a place for in this world. Its literally on the border of the Commonwealth's influence, but I'm not quite sure what kind of effect they would have. Starting the Oriental Crisis early is probably the path I want to go down, but then I'd question who would support who?

[LeoGecko]

Considering that the Suez is so much more important to both France and the Commonwealth this time around, both have a huge amount of interest in this conflict. I'd assume that the Commonwealth would support the Egyptians just to drive the Ottomans into chaos because their interests in the Mediterranean just aren't as pronounced in this timeline. The French would be in a bind but would have to support the Ottomans just to oppose the Commonwealth and to keep more nations from falling into Commonwealth influence.

[ZomgK3tchup]

Considering that the Suez is so much more important to both France and the Commonwealth this time around, both have a huge amount of interest in this conflict. I'd assume that the Commonwealth would support the Egyptians just to drive the Ottomans into chaos because their interests in the Mediterranean just aren't as pronounced in this timeline. The French would be in a bind but would have to support the Ottomans just to oppose the Commonwealth and to keep more nations from falling into Commonwealth influence.

I'd rather not put two Great Powers, especially the Commonwealth and France at war with each other at the start of the game. That may make the setup more deterministic than I'd like. I'd also wager that the Commonwealth would be opposed to the construction of the Suez Canal to prevent France from getting a direct route to India; the Commonwealth controls Cape Town, giving it a less direct route while French ships have to tough it out all the way there.

I may also make the Commonwealth's primary antagonist Russia instead of France; France is now a HM's Government and somewhere along the line recognized the Commonwealth's legitimacy. In contrast, Russia and its allies are still Absolute Monarchies and are sternly opposed to the democratization of Central and Eastern Europe (Brandenburg, Poland, Silesia, Westphalia). I also thought up an event chain based on the English Royal Court in exile; it was previously located in France but since the revolution and the "Napoleonic" Wars, I may have it moved to Austria or Russia to create conflict between the Commonwealth and the absolutist forces.

There's a lot I can do here, and a lot of justification for whatever it is. A lot of nations have special interests in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire.

[Dyranum]

Since the partitions of Luxembourg would never happen in this timeline, I suggest bringing Luxemburg back to its size before the partitions.

Also, why does France own Southern Italy? They never really owned any part of Italy except during the Napoleonic Wars, AFAIK.
It tended to be Habsburg (formerly the larger Spanish branch and then the Austrian branch).

Another thing, given that the Napoleonic Wars of this TL are probably different, how about keeping Denmark-Norway intact? Or Sweden keeping Finland since Russia seems to be weaker in this TL?

EDIT: You should also make Germany more competitive.

[ZomgK3tchup]

Since the partitions of Luxembourg would never happen in this timeline, I suggest bringing Luxemburg back to its size before the partitions.

This will be part of my project to renovate the low countries; most likely, Belgium will be divided between Flanders and Wallonia, and Luxembourg will be restored.

Also, why does France own Southern Italy? They never really owned any part of Italy except during the Napoleonic Wars, AFAIK.

Country colors are pending, but Naples is actually an independent country that shares a similar color as France. It is, however, a French satellite, but this is largely because of their connectivity to the Bourbons (who ruled both France and Naples during the 1700s).

Another thing, given that the Napoleonic Wars of this TL are probably different, how about keeping Denmark-Norway intact? Or Sweden keeping Finland since Russia seems to be weaker in this TL?

The current setup has Norway as independent instead of being a satellite of Sweden. I'll play around with the idea, but I recall Denmark-Norway being split because of Denmark's support of Napoleon. If Denmark goes down the same path, the Commonwealth and Vienna Congress would be more likely to reward Sweden and punish Denmark like OTL. I went down a similar path, except with Norway being granted its independence.

EDIT: You should also make Germany more competitive.

Germany is much more competitive than vanilla; currently Bavaria, Brandenburg, Brunswick, Hanover, and Westphalia are all potential candidates for becoming the dominant power while Austria and Prussia lay on the outside of Germany. I'll probably include an event chain to simulate the German Confederation and its eventual unification if none of these powers succeed in doing anything significant.

[Dyranum]

Country colors are pending, but Naples is actually an independent country that shares a similar color as France. It is, however, a French satellite, but this is largely because of their connectivity to the Bourbons (who ruled both France and Naples during the 1700s).

Well, then I suggest changing the colour of Naples.

The current setup has Norway as independent instead of being a satellite of Sweden. I'll play around with the idea, but I recall Denmark-Norway being split because of Denmark's support of Napoleon. If Denmark goes down the same path, the Commonwealth and Vienna Congress would be more likely to reward Sweden and punish Denmark like OTL. I went down a similar path, except with Norway being granted its independence.

The only reason Norway was separated from Denmark was because Sweden wanted compensation for losing Finland. Without Finland lost, then Sweden would have no reason to take Norway. Also, Sweden would not allow an independent Norway if they lost Finland. They were adamant in getting Norway as compensation for Finland.

So an independent Norway is not very plausible in the current situation.

EDIT: Also, what happened to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen?

[ZomgK3tchup]

Well, then I suggest changing the colour of Naples.

Yes, I needed a placeholder color, so I just used the blue on its flag. I'll probably use EU3's purple.

The only reason Norway was separated from Denmark was because Sweden wanted compensation for losing Finland. Without Finland lost, then Sweden would have no reason to take Norway. Also, Sweden would not allow an independent Norway if they lost Finland. They were adamant in getting Norway as compensation for Finland.

So an independent Norway is not very plausible in the current situation.

I'll play around with the situation, definitely. Scandinavian politics is something I'm not really knowledgeable on.

EDIT: Also, what happened to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen?

Since Prussia fell apart, I simply gave it to Wurtemburg. I recall somewhere that it was a semi-autonomous duchy (?), but I'm not knowledgeable enough on that to say for sure. If that's the case, then I could make it an independent nation.

This is some very good stuff, thanks. I'll be sure to make corrections for my next update (which should also include the groundwork for POP corrections and events).

[Dyranum]

Since Prussia fell apart, I simply gave it to Wurtemburg. I recall somewhere that it was a semi-autonomous duchy (?), but I'm not knowledgeable enough on that to say for sure. If that's the case, then I could make it an independent nation.

I think Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen should be independent. It was an independent state (well, as independent as the various duchies, principalities, states, whatever of the HRE were) all the way up until its incorporation into Prussia in 1850 if I'm not entirely wrong.

[ZomgK3tchup]

I think Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen should be independent. It was an independent state (well, as independent as the various duchies, principalities, states, whatever of the HRE were) all the way up until its incorporation into Prussia in 1850 if I'm not entirely wrong.

I corrected this and made Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen its own nation. I also partitioned Belgium between Flanders and Wallonia and gave Arlon to Luxembourg.

Right now, I'm looking for feedback on how the Oriental Crisis should work, how I should redraw Scandinavia, and the plausibility of making Alsace-Lorraine independent of France.

I know that at sometime during the Napoleonic Wars, Norway became independent and then part of Sweden to compensate for Sweden's loss of Finland to Russia. If Finland stays Swedish then Norway will stay Danish. Is this the most plausible and/or preferable scenario? Or should Scandinavia simply remain as it is in our world, with Sweden controlling Norway and Russia with Finland (the controlled being represented as puppets, as per AOC and PDM).

Also, if I made A-L independent, I would incorporate the possibility of "Lotharingia" as a potential union for Flanders, Wallonia, and Germanic states west of the Rhine.

[Dyranum]

I think you should make the Scandinavian states more powerful. It'll make the area more interesting than it otherwise is.

Also, I think that top most province of A-L could go to Luxembourg and then the rest are part of an independent Alsace. An independent A-L doesn't make that much sense IMO, since A-L was just the term for the territory which Germany took from France which was just Alsace with a small piece of Lorraine.

[ZomgK3tchup]

I think you should make the Scandinavian states more powerful. It'll make the area more interesting than it otherwise is.

I don't want to make too many unnecessary changes to the game. Most of the things I do are in some way connected to the Commonwealth (particularly in Germany and North America), but I don't see much of a connection between Scandinavia and this.

Also, I think that top most province of A-L could go to Luxembourg and then the rest are part of an independent Alsace. An independent A-L doesn't make that much sense IMO, since A-L was just the term for the territory which Germany took from France which was just Alsace with a small piece of Lorraine.

Why to Luxembourg? Perhaps Alsace and Lorraine should be independent duchies. The independence of both is justified by an alternate War of the Grand Alliance in which England and the Dutch Republic are much more successful (largely because of Britain's unification, as opposed to the separate kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland).

Again, I'm trying to make things as directly related to the Commonwealth's influence as possible. I don't want things too out there (such as Super Scandinavia or Republican China) and simply justify it by a wave of the Commonwealth's collective hand.

[Dyranum]

Well you see, the Swedish loss of Finland and the Danish loss of Norway are inextricably linked with the Napoleonic Wars. A different Napoleonic Wars (which they would be due to your different GB) would probably lead to a drastically changed Scandinavia. (Also, where did you get Super Scandinavia from? I never said anything about a united Scandinavia)

Also, about Luxembourg: They did own a part of that province IOTL IIRC.

[ZomgK3tchup]

Well you see, the Swedish loss of Finland and the Danish loss of Norway are inextricably linked with the Napoleonic Wars. A different Napoleonic Wars (which they would be due to your different GB) would probably lead to a drastically changed Scandinavia. (Also, where did you get Super Scandinavia from? I never said anything about a united Scandinavia)

If Denmark still supports Norway and Sweden supports Britain then the outcome would be pretty much the same unless pre-Napoleonic borders are restored or Norway is given its independence like it wanted after the Napoleonic Wars. The latter scenario is what I represented, where Norway won its independence.

Also, about Luxembourg: They did own a part of that province IOTL IIRC.

What province is it, and is it reasonable for Luxembourg to still control this area?

[hoi2geek]

Can we see a world map (in the Vic2 paintable world map)?

Can we also make it so that Britain also owns Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Philippines?

[ZomgK3tchup]

Can we see a world map (in the Vic2 paintable world map)?

That will come. I thought I uploaded a world map screenshot from day one, but I guess not.

There's an attachment at the bottom of the post. Note that this screenshot is slightly updated from what I have of Europe in the original post.

Can we also make it so that Britain also owns Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Philippines?

The most I could justify is the Philippines. Mexico and Argentina are already owned by Spain, and the British would have to win a devastating victory to justify taking these lands to add to their already vast New World empire. Meanwhile, Uruguay was, at points, claimed by both Spain and Portugal, so it would be somewhat odd for Britain to come in and take it.

I don't know enough about Filipino history; I'll do some reading and see if its plausible. The divergence point here is 1653, so its harder to justify things than it is in Divergences.

[Faeelin]

Actually, shouldn't the *Democratic German states be ready and willing to ally anyway?