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A History of the Empire: Vol. 3
Chapter 1: The June Crisis
On June 4th of 1630, Emperor Charles died. James the III, who would be known as James the Short, would take the throne amidst much opposition. James was seen as an unskilled ruler and many feared the direction he would take. In the Controls he was disliked greatly for his overly aggressive tendencies. They had hoped James would be passed over for Henry, who was away in Italy once more. Many anti-expansionists, amongst the most vocal of the crown's enemies, were furious at James, who they saw as a warmonger.
James, not having the administrative finesse of his cousin, quickly made the wrong moves at the wrong time. Hoping to start his reign with a grand opening, James made two noticeable mistakes. The first was the declaration of the Midland Ordinance on June 12th, which gave the American Control authorization to move beyond the Great Midriver. Charles had only allowed slow colonization and small funding for this move. James, although not publicly, put his full support behind the idea. Anti-expansionists were shocked and angered when it became known. The second mistake was the return of aggression against the Mughal Empire. He ordered troops to be stationed along the border and for them to keep alert for enemy movements.
These moves might not have been so catastrophic if they had not been revealed. On June 18th of 1630, spies working for David Clive, the leader of a republican movement, captured this information long before it was to be made known to the average citizen. This marked the start of the June Crisis. Clive took advantage of the exhaustion caused by the Persian war and this new information to start a large meeting in London. It began on June 23rd. Historical sources seem to indicate that the petitioning was mostly nonviolent, but some sources also note that the demands and threats of the republicans were quite inciting at the time. Talk of a completely new government and deposing the Emperor was thrown around, both of which were worse than heresy at the time. On July 10th, James made an order for the royal guard, which consisted of only about 2,000 guards from around the city, to disperse the groups by any means necessary.
Clive was more than ready for such an attack. Long had he foreseen open conflict. London at the time had a small population of only 180,000. The republican members around London numbered somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000, although sources are scarce since membership was mostly by association at the time. James was unaware that Clive was incredibly popular amongst these lower and middle class city dwellers and that the attack would be seen as a crime against the people. Clive called for the many peasants under his banner to rise up the night before and support a return attack and on July 11th. Many others had been traveling to the capital before the conflict had started, but they arrived in time for Clive to make his move. Many thousands of men would dedicate themselves to his cause and it would be the first major battle of the Civil War.
The fighting was quick. The guard simply could not deal which such a large rebel force. Fighting lasted 10 days before forces loyal to the crown, or royalists, gave up the fight and fled. The Emperor was advised to leave and on July 20th he left for the southern coasts in hopes of fleeing to Italy.
James was able to make it to the coast, but rebel forces, now labeling themselves republicans, managed to locate and attack the area before he could escape. The ships were destroyed and James was trapped in the area.
James could not get away due to the lack of transportation and many of the local fortresses were taken by the republicans. James fled to a nearby castle in hopes of finding support, but little could be gathered with such large enemy forces moving in. As was expected, Wessex quickly fell to the rebels without much resistance.
Fighting in Kent was tremendous. James himself led a small force against the enemy. Being surrounded and trapped, James likely realized at the time that he had no means of escape. He did managed to raise a modest royalist army of about 2,000 men, but they were outnumbered and when republican forces from London came to fight, the battle was lost. After a month and a half of fighting and fleeing, the Emperor was now in republican hands. He was taken to London and put on trial. The trial was mainly a set up and many charges were brought against the Emperor that he could have not been responsible for considering his short time on the throne.
As news of the rebellion spread outward, Irish peasants took up the republican cause. In October, Ireland was being influenced greatly by these events. Many amongst them believed that Clive would grant Ireland independence if their cause was successful. This was not the case, but many still fought for this belief.
Dublin, like many cities in the early days of the war, fell quickly and the republicans quickly spread throughout Ireland. Most of their outposts would be in northern Ireland, where they would have the most connections to other republican groups.
In Scotland many felt the same as the Irish. They believed a weakened England would give them a chance for independence, or at least a certain degree of autonomy. Unlike in Ireland and England, the nobles were mostly responsible for the uprisings in Scotland. It did however mean that they could raise more significant forces than the Irish.
Scotland experienced multiple revolts and Edinburgh fell quickly, giving the Scottish a base from which to coordinate and conspire with the republicans. Clive saw Ireland and Scotland as key to British safety and is reported to have been incredibly relieved by the republican victories there.
By December much of Ireland, England, and Scotland were under rebel control. By April of 1631, James was being judged and sentenced. The Controls were just getting the full news of the events, as was Henry. Republicans were drafting a constitution, based mostly on Renaissance ideas and the Magna Carta. Rights to ownership, prosperity, and self governance were all amongst the most essential of goals. They believed the rights of Controls and the Emperor had infringed upon their rights as men and as citizens. Although rare and usually on a small scale, things like kidnappings and forced settlements lingered strongly in the minds of many of the republican leaders. Some argued for a purely legislative government, while others supported a monarchy heavily in check by a constitution. Others argued for local governance and the breakdown of the imperial government, while some felt a strong executive leader would be needed. All options would be weighed and eventually David Clive himself would help to persuade his fellow republicans on how to best reshape the Empire.
Chapter 1: The June Crisis
On June 4th of 1630, Emperor Charles died. James the III, who would be known as James the Short, would take the throne amidst much opposition. James was seen as an unskilled ruler and many feared the direction he would take. In the Controls he was disliked greatly for his overly aggressive tendencies. They had hoped James would be passed over for Henry, who was away in Italy once more. Many anti-expansionists, amongst the most vocal of the crown's enemies, were furious at James, who they saw as a warmonger.
James, not having the administrative finesse of his cousin, quickly made the wrong moves at the wrong time. Hoping to start his reign with a grand opening, James made two noticeable mistakes. The first was the declaration of the Midland Ordinance on June 12th, which gave the American Control authorization to move beyond the Great Midriver. Charles had only allowed slow colonization and small funding for this move. James, although not publicly, put his full support behind the idea. Anti-expansionists were shocked and angered when it became known. The second mistake was the return of aggression against the Mughal Empire. He ordered troops to be stationed along the border and for them to keep alert for enemy movements.
These moves might not have been so catastrophic if they had not been revealed. On June 18th of 1630, spies working for David Clive, the leader of a republican movement, captured this information long before it was to be made known to the average citizen. This marked the start of the June Crisis. Clive took advantage of the exhaustion caused by the Persian war and this new information to start a large meeting in London. It began on June 23rd. Historical sources seem to indicate that the petitioning was mostly nonviolent, but some sources also note that the demands and threats of the republicans were quite inciting at the time. Talk of a completely new government and deposing the Emperor was thrown around, both of which were worse than heresy at the time. On July 10th, James made an order for the royal guard, which consisted of only about 2,000 guards from around the city, to disperse the groups by any means necessary.
Clive was more than ready for such an attack. Long had he foreseen open conflict. London at the time had a small population of only 180,000. The republican members around London numbered somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000, although sources are scarce since membership was mostly by association at the time. James was unaware that Clive was incredibly popular amongst these lower and middle class city dwellers and that the attack would be seen as a crime against the people. Clive called for the many peasants under his banner to rise up the night before and support a return attack and on July 11th. Many others had been traveling to the capital before the conflict had started, but they arrived in time for Clive to make his move. Many thousands of men would dedicate themselves to his cause and it would be the first major battle of the Civil War.
The fighting was quick. The guard simply could not deal which such a large rebel force. Fighting lasted 10 days before forces loyal to the crown, or royalists, gave up the fight and fled. The Emperor was advised to leave and on July 20th he left for the southern coasts in hopes of fleeing to Italy.
James was able to make it to the coast, but rebel forces, now labeling themselves republicans, managed to locate and attack the area before he could escape. The ships were destroyed and James was trapped in the area.
James could not get away due to the lack of transportation and many of the local fortresses were taken by the republicans. James fled to a nearby castle in hopes of finding support, but little could be gathered with such large enemy forces moving in. As was expected, Wessex quickly fell to the rebels without much resistance.
Fighting in Kent was tremendous. James himself led a small force against the enemy. Being surrounded and trapped, James likely realized at the time that he had no means of escape. He did managed to raise a modest royalist army of about 2,000 men, but they were outnumbered and when republican forces from London came to fight, the battle was lost. After a month and a half of fighting and fleeing, the Emperor was now in republican hands. He was taken to London and put on trial. The trial was mainly a set up and many charges were brought against the Emperor that he could have not been responsible for considering his short time on the throne.
As news of the rebellion spread outward, Irish peasants took up the republican cause. In October, Ireland was being influenced greatly by these events. Many amongst them believed that Clive would grant Ireland independence if their cause was successful. This was not the case, but many still fought for this belief.
Dublin, like many cities in the early days of the war, fell quickly and the republicans quickly spread throughout Ireland. Most of their outposts would be in northern Ireland, where they would have the most connections to other republican groups.
In Scotland many felt the same as the Irish. They believed a weakened England would give them a chance for independence, or at least a certain degree of autonomy. Unlike in Ireland and England, the nobles were mostly responsible for the uprisings in Scotland. It did however mean that they could raise more significant forces than the Irish.
Scotland experienced multiple revolts and Edinburgh fell quickly, giving the Scottish a base from which to coordinate and conspire with the republicans. Clive saw Ireland and Scotland as key to British safety and is reported to have been incredibly relieved by the republican victories there.
By December much of Ireland, England, and Scotland were under rebel control. By April of 1631, James was being judged and sentenced. The Controls were just getting the full news of the events, as was Henry. Republicans were drafting a constitution, based mostly on Renaissance ideas and the Magna Carta. Rights to ownership, prosperity, and self governance were all amongst the most essential of goals. They believed the rights of Controls and the Emperor had infringed upon their rights as men and as citizens. Although rare and usually on a small scale, things like kidnappings and forced settlements lingered strongly in the minds of many of the republican leaders. Some argued for a purely legislative government, while others supported a monarchy heavily in check by a constitution. Others argued for local governance and the breakdown of the imperial government, while some felt a strong executive leader would be needed. All options would be weighed and eventually David Clive himself would help to persuade his fellow republicans on how to best reshape the Empire.
Not that I imagine you'd do this but what would happen if you lost all of Britain to the rebels and then went with the colapse option? Would you get to play on as the Controls with a new Capital?
:rofl:
I'll let you guys vote on it if it'll keep you from arguing.
I'll let you guys vote on it if it'll keep you from arguing.
What's the capital of North America?
Cast your vote!
Cast your vote!
Obviously, it should be St. Louis. That's the least French city on Earth. 
EDIT: More seriously now, Chicago would be nice.
EDIT: More seriously now, Chicago would be nice.
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It should be somewhere central in America. It should also have a different name to modern day cities.
