A History of the Empire: Vol. 2
Chapter 3: Unification of the Isles
Following the death Henry the IV, a successor to his son was to be named. Henry the V did not immediately name any of his siblings and instead favored his new born daughter as the prime candidate. Anne would be very influenced by her father and would end up taking some of his more extreme views once she ascended to the throne.
After declaring the Kingdom of Great Britain, Henry was pressed by his nobility to make good on the claims he had made. Since the union represented a combined kingdom of all areas of the British Isles, the nobility essentially sought to reverse their losses in France by making gains in Ireland. The Irish kingdoms, unprotected and weak, provided a good outlet for British expansion at the time.
Henry quickly had armies mobilized and ready for war. The Irish nations were swiftly attacked and Henry’s armies quickly occupied their territory.
The conquest of Ireland would mark the beginning of Henry’s expansion during his brief reign, which would be important for the British ethos that would evolve and start to take form during this time period. Having the majority of the British Isles under his command, Henry sought to attack the last non-British controlled territory: Orkney.
The North War, as it became known, was a conflict between the Danish crown and the British crown over Orkney, a small isle on the northern fringes of Scotland. The King proposed an invasion force to land in the lower part of Jutland. Henry’s nobility and war council preferred a less direct approach and suggested an attack on the northern outposts of the Norwegians. The latter strategy was the first to be implemented, but in reality, Great Britain was not yet strong enough to demand such claims based only on a small occupation of some outlying settlements. In the opening stages of the war, the Royal navy transported roughly 3000 soldiers to take control of Iceland, while the Army of Scotland attacked Orkney itself. The Danish responded by making some successful, yet ineffective landings in Scotland and Calais. Henry himself prepared his troops for the planned invasion of Jutland. This invasion would be highly successful and would be met with little resistance, as the British navy engaged and held up Danish forces in Zealand. It is during this invasion that the French resumed hostilities with Great Britain and Henry has his divine revelation, both of which will be discussed in chapter 4.
The conquest of Orkney, being the primary goal of the campaign was met with success. During the campaign another gain was made in the form of Iceland. While initially thought of as only a measure to ensure that Denmark would never be able to launch an invasion of Great Britain from there, Iceland would later be a vital steppingstone for the discovery of North America.
Chapter 4: Divine Revelation and French Threats
Shortly after the forces that would invade Jutland departed, an unexplained incident occurred that would have a profound impact on Henry. While in his private quarters, Henry is said to have seen a heavenly being that inspired him greatly to pursue and profess his faith. It is during this time that Henry, who would obtain the epithet “the Devout,” sponsored Christian artwork and pushed for more involvement in the crusades that were taking place in North Africa by Castille and Portugal. Another important effect of Henry’s change in attitude would be the building of churches across the Kingdom. Henry nearly bankrupted England in the process and many were upset that precious funds were being wasted during wartime.
During this period of time Henry also pushed for a reform of the government. The gains made during the North War required a stronger government not as dependant on local lords for power. While not an empire in full form when passed on July 23rd 1409, these reforms helped set the stage for what would evolve into the pre-civil war British Empire.
Towards the end of the North War, the French declared war upon Great Britain, mainly in an attempt to regain Calais, the last British possession on mainland Europe. The French, who had long had difficulty containing Burgundy, feared that Calais might pass hands as Gascogne and Labourd had. Due to Burgundian opposition, the French troops were unable to even attack the land they sought to take. Henry took a relatively passive role during this war, mostly due to the relatively expensive campaign that took place during the North War, and the general lack of enthusiasm amongst the nobility to take back any lost French areas. During this period, there were small revolts in Iceland, but they accomplished little other than distracting the crown, but would have some ramifications later. France was unable to launch any serious attack and later another period of peace ensued. Shortly following this peace, Great Britain did in fact hand Calais over to the Burgundians in order to create more animosity between the two rivals.
Much of Henry’s enthusiasm toward crusading was met with uncertainty in most of Great Britain. Only after Castille and Portugal met with great success was he able to finance and lead such an expedition. Castille and Portugal had exerted much force on Morocco had in turn made expansion there difficult. Henry instead appealed to Italian relatives of the crown to allow him and his troops a brief stay while his forces assembled and attacked. Tripoli was the first and only target of Henry’s crusades.
Tripoli, being located just south of Sicily, allowed Henry and his forces a good starting ground to attack from. The initial fighting was all relatively minor, due to rebels having recently taken over the kingdom of Tripoli and the military of the Islamic kingdom being in tatters from infighting. English forces were able to secure most of Tripoli by 1412 and much of the kingdom was added into the fledgling British Empire.
A few years after the first crusade, in December of 1415, Henry the V died of what was likely pneumonia after a return trip to England from North Africa. His only surviving child, Anne, would go on to take the throne. At the age of 12, Anne was counseled by a series of advisors until she was roughly 15, at which time she took the throne as the first Empress. Anne the I’s policies would be very much influenced by her father’s. Anne, while not as passionately religious, believed heavily in expanding Christian power in North Africa and advocated continued crusading. Through these measures she would be known as Anne the Crusader or Anne the Conqueror in later histories. These conquests will be discussed further in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.