A Very Different World
The Battle of the Weser River.
In the spring of 1456, the Emperor Fredrick IV led his armies across the Weser and assaulted the position of his enemy, Charles, the energetic if not-entirely-wise young man who had, less than a year and a half before, succeeded his father as Duke of Burgundy and self-styled "Grand Duke of the West." At first the fortunes of battle seemed to favor Charles, as the German troops were unable to break his defensive line in several successive charges.
But then the Duke's famous foolhardiness got the better of him, as it had when he launched his invasion of German territory in the first place, even as thousands upon thousands of English troops prepared to cross the Channel and retake Calais. Charles knew very well that he had a reputation as a coward, earned when he was barely a teenager, and always sought to overcome it. Now he and his cavalry led a counter-charge against the Emperor's infantry, expecting to find them exhausted and ready to break. Instead, the Germans held their ground well and tore apart the invading knights – for this was the dawn of a new age, when the foot-soldier began to pose a threat, not just to knights on the battlefield, but to the very concept of knighthood itself. Because Charles did not understand this, he perished on that battlefield, struck through by a German pike, his body left behind as his once-proud army melted away behind him.
He left no heirs.
When Europe awoke to the news, the nascent independent state of Burgundy, so long the goal of that renegade branch of the Valois Dynasty, had vanished overnight, like a half-remembered dream.
Charles's former enemies moved quickly to grab as much of his territory as they could. The new French king, Henri II, proclaimed that the Duchy of Burgundy itself had reverted to him, and he also moved his troops into Cambray, Picardy, and Flanders. Fredrick annexed the Franche-Comté to the Imperial Demesne, and claimed lordship over the newly leaderless provinces of the Netherlands. Together, king and emperor agreed to an uneasy truce, which was not to last. Over the next few centuries, many wars were fought over Charles's former territories.
Of course, it didn't really happen like that.
Of course, Charles was only badly wounded and was carried from the battlefield. Of course, he survived in the end, and this dark chapter in his life soon gave way to a bright new day – and the period of 1456-57 has gone down in Burgundian history as the
Annus Mirabilis, when Charles won a string of incredible victories that humbled the pride of his foes and eventually led to the downfall of an emperor.
Of course, Charles the Great was crowned King of Burgundy in 1480. Of course, he eventually fathered a daughter, and wed her to a loyal vassal, bringing an end to the connection between the ruling houses of Burgundy and France and beginning the Chalons Dynasty.
And of course, Burgundy survived, and survives to this day.
But it might have all been different. What would a world without Burgundy have looked like? It's hard to imagine, other than to say that it would have been a very different world. No Siege of Krakow. No Battle of Rome. No Crusade of Pattani. No Philip the Pious. No Charles the Navigator. No Vanderanus. No Christmas Massacre. No Golden Parliament. No Burgundian
kerajaan in the Far East. We may go even further afield – would the Qing Dynasty rule over Cathay today if not for Burgundy's actions in the early 19th century? Would the nation of Brazil exist? Perhaps the Reformation may never have happened, either, when you consider the central role Burgundy played in that great era of religious controversy. Who knows, maybe Protestantism would have won the day – perhaps the very meaning of "Reformation" might have been different. Speculation, in the end, is idle. Instead, let's take an in-depth look at what
did happen. How Burgundy evolved from this:
The lands of the Duchy of Burgundy in 1435, following the Treaty of Arras.
to this:
The Burgundian Empire in 1821, on the eve of the French Revolution. Click here to see a larger, annotated version.
The rise of a powerful, independent Burgundy is fascinating enough – but how did a country with no seafaring tradition, whose interests seemingly lay entirely within Europe, eventually overtake all others and become the greatest maritime power the world had ever seen? We will examine that question – how? – in more detail in the second half of our introduction.
But first, let me introduce myself and my plan for this historical survey. I'm not a professional historian, just an amateur with a keen interest in Burgundian history. Why Burgundy? As a native of Texas (Gonçalves Parish born-and-bred), my personal interest should be obvious. Burgundy is one of the famous "Five Flags over Texas," along with Portugal, the U.S.C.A, the Texas Republic, and the U.S.A. I can trace my ancestry back to some of the earliest Portuguese settlers on Gonçalves Island, as well as to later Burgundian and Dutch-Burgundian immigrants, and later waves of Americans following the Great American War. So when I write about Burgundians, I'm writing about some of my own ancestors.
As for the plan of this study, I've set a limit on myself – the main portion of our story begins in 1454 with the death of Philip the Good and the ascension of Charles the Great – or, as he was then known, Charles the Timid. It concludes in early 1821, just before the French Revolution burst forth and threatened the established order of Europe and the whole world. Of course, I could have gone further – I could have described the Revolutionary Wars themselves, or examined the period between 1834-1923 – as Burgundy conquered India, played a "Great Game" with Russia and the Ottoman Empire for dominance of the Caspian region, and grew to assert its power even over mighty Japan. Or I could go into detail even to the present day. And I could have started earlier, as well – perhaps from the founding of the Burgundian branch of the Valois, or even earlier than that.
In fact, we will briefly examine the rest of the story of Burgundy, from its earliest history in the so-called "dark ages," all the way through the tragedies of the 20th century and up to the present. But our focus is on the era of its rise to dominance, and I think those two points make suitable bookends.
I've chosen to divide the history into three parts – hence its title:
Kingdom, Power, Glory. A bit cheesy, I know – but it works. Part I, "Kingdom," will cover Charles the Great's successful campaign to be recognized as an independent king. It will also look at his son-in-law and successor's reign and consolidation of the kingdom. Part II, "Power," will cover the period from the coronation of St. Philip the Pious to the coronation of Charles the Navigator – a time of religious wars and struggles against France and the Empire, and when the first steps toward a global overseas empire were hesitantly taken. Finally, Part III, "Glory," will cover the time from Charles the Navigator's reign until the outbreak of the Revolution – an era that saw Burgundy gradually become the greatest power on Earth, and which concluded with a total victory over the former leading colonial power, Portugal, as well as the conquest of Baluchistan from the collapsing Timurid Empire.
In the spring of 1456, Charles of Burgundy nearly died, and Burgundy nearly died with him. But both endured.
Toward the end of 2008, King Philippe XII of Burgundy passed away, having lived through much suffering – born in exile, impoverished, hated and scorned by the dictators who were abusing his native country – and having seen much happiness – the fall of the Dijon Wall, the restoration of his family's throne, the end of both the
État-Nouveau and the Burgundian People's Republic, and the transition to a democratic, constitutional monarchy in a once-again united state.
In Besançon, on December 20, 2008, at the great Cathedral of Saint Philippe, his daughter was crowned Queen of Burgundy according to the ancient ceremonies – the first time such a coronation had been performed in eighty-seven years. The whole world could watch the event, on television or via the internet. It was a moment fraught with grandeur and emotion. The greatest image, replayed again and again in the news, was doubtless when Her Majesty publicly embraced the Prime Minister of the Netherlands – an act of contrition and reconciliation that epitomized what Marie stands for. Though her political powers are of course minimal, the young, vibrant, brilliant queen has come to symbolize the hope of all people that the horrors of the past hundred years truly are behind us.
And for that, we can say Burgundy may have lost its empire long ago, but its power and glory shine through to this day.