Chronicles of the Wendish Empire - A CK3 to EU4 Megacampaign AAR

[Nikolai]

Emperor Wojciech III

(1449-1459)

​

Emperor Wojciech III would serve as a short reigned, infamous connection between the medieval and renaissance Wendish Empire. He would end up being important for the future of the Empire in more ways than one.



Late medieval reign

Wojciech III reigned over a vast and powerful Empire. Stretching from the artic north to the Carpathian basin, from the Russian steppes to the far reaches where Europe met the Atlantic Ocean, he was feared and obeyed.

Not the least because of his eating habits. When his cousin the king of Denmark and one of his vassals decided to plot to take over the throne, the Emperor instantly imprisoned the man. And devoured him. Yes, the Emperor was a cannibal. And he was too powerful to be stopped. Too cruel and watchful.

He was also a Greek, a result of his predecessors’ many marriages into the Byzantine Empire over the last few centuries. In fact, while most nobles still retained a Polish or local culture, Greek culture, language and customs had long seeped into the governing bodies of the Empire. This meant that as the Wendish Empire moved into the renaissance, the culture of the elite would be Greek and the court language Greek as well. They remained staunchly Catholic, though. But in the Wendish Empire, the core culture was Greek, with local cultures, even Polish which dominated the Empire, a mere second in importance.

Renaissance and reformation of the Empire

There were limits to the Emperor’s powers, though. As a necessity, he had to reluctantly decentralize the Empire a few years into his reign, letting the outer parts of the Empire get a little more independence. He could not be everywhere.

There were four Empires under his control. Each was his to rule, but local elites were allowed a say in day to day matters, led by a relative of the Emperor.

Thus the Wendish Empire itself were under direct control by Emperor Wojciech III, with Scandinavia, Carpathia and Britannia in personal union under him. Most, but not all, would stay loyal.

Carpathia was close by the Imperial capital and was a stalwart supporter of the Empire in all and everything.

The same could be said of Scandinavia, now that the many rebellions in Sweden were a thing of the past.

But Britannia was another matter entirely. A hotbed full of rebellions and sedition, the central authority soon collapsed, albeit for now they remained within the Empire in this reduced state.

Things were not easy economically either. The country suffered under a massive deficit in the later years of Emperor Wojciech III’s reign, and he had to take out several loans, cut down on the size of the military by almost a third from an estimated 150k troops – possibly more – to less than 110k.

All this led to him focusing on the economy for the remainder of his reign, although he did manage to squeeze in a successful war with Carinthia to placate his unruly nobles.

Three years before his death, disaster struck as his already sickly son and heir died tragically and the new heir thus was his 4-year-old grandson Wit. Facing a long regency, the last three years of the Emperor’s life was spent fixing the economy and stabilizing the realm to prepare for the ascension of Wit II. The situation on the British Isles were deteriorating by the month, with the powerful English nobles more and more dissatisfied with the Imperial administration located in Scotland.

Still, an Emperor does not live forever, and on December 2nd, 1459 Emperor Wojciech III breathed his last, peacefully in bed. His 7-year-old grandson Wit II was now Emperor. Emperor in a new and uncertain world.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Wit II

(1459-1483)

​

Emperor Wit II brought economic success for his country, but would be remembered as the man who lost an imperial crown.



Early reign

Emperor Wit II started his reign with an economic headache. His father had been forced to greatly lowering the size of the army and had done many cutbacks, but Wit II still inherited a shaky economic situation. The state was barely making even and had taken out several loans that burdened it greatly.

The first thing Wit II did was thus to save up money. No expenses not needed was made, several forts were dismantled, the army even slightly reduced again. And he would initiate the policy his successors would mostly keep to for generations to come, namely a severe hesitancy to wage war of any kind.

He would not be without war in his time though, as his first year of rule would be occupied with fighting a pretender that rose the moment his father died. Citing the many excesses of Emperor Wojciech III, would-be Emperor Theodotos Kappadox Kalampakes marched on Krakow, only to be beaten in three major battles before dying in combat, the threat to the throne dying with him.

Following the rebellion, Emperor Wit II strengthened his rule by punishing the nobles who had supported the pretender, either by active rebellion or being openly or secretly sympathetic. Thus, noble privileges were, for a time, curtailed as a whole. The nobility would continue to be strong throughout his reign, though.

The majority of his reign after these early years, where he managed to pay down the loans, would be a massive infrastructure buildup, which would soon bear fruits, increasing the royal income greatly.



Loss of Britannia

The major setback in Emperor Wit II’s reign happened a few years in. The fourth of the imperial crowns, that of Britannia, was on shaky ground and had been so since the Szeliga dynasty secured it. England was a major power within the realm, albeit constantly in internal civil war. The imperial seat in eastern Scotland was weak and had little say in the rule of the British Isles, which was by far the most decentralized part of the Wendish Empire.

Wit II tried to improve the situation by giving the imperial bureaucracy in Scotland more land and power, but in the end, it would be for nothing. In 1467, there was a coup placing a new dynasty on the Britannian throne, the Warwicks.

Powerless, the Emperor saw his empire in the west crumble. He had almost three times the troops of what Britannia could muster, but lacked the naval capacity to ferry sizeable amounts at once. England, which although being ruled by a Szeliga duke sided with the new Warwick Emperor, could muster almost 60k troops against the Wendish 117k.

But in the east, Ruthenia was making claims on Wendish lands, and in the west, France was getting stronger by the day. Wit II could not risk a war. As such, without much incident Britannia was lost.

The Warwicks would not enjoy their power long, though. Merely a year after their independence, the English Szeligas struck. Reorganizing their realm into three, with England directly controlling England, Wales, and parts of Scotland, they granted Ireland and Scotland partly independence as vassals and together marched on Britannia. The civil war was short, as the Warwicks were powerless to withstand England and her vassals, who together controlled almost the entirety of the Isles already.

Wit II did something ingenious at this point, though. By careful diplomacy, he managed to secure Britannia’s independence, with England and her vassals breaking free. But he also married into both the Britannian and the English realm and secured alliances with both, thus securing at least some Wendish influence on the Isles.

This influence would last even throughout the damaging War of the Roses which ravaged throughout England mere years later, with the York family for a few years ruling the duchy. A few years after his death, a Szeliga monarch would once again be at the helm.



Later years

In the last years of his reign, the massive infrastructure buildup of his early years, which had never really stopped, but continued with lesser or larger strength throughout his rule, had resulted in a much better economic base for the country. The surplus when the country was at peace and the army and navy didn’t need a full funding, was getting comfortable, and the state coffers got big enough for the country to be able to endure a long war with full military funding, with the deficit that would entail.

In these latter years, Wit II even dared enlarge the army again, something that was much needed. He had namely a major problem in that the military technology in the Wendish Empire was now severely lagging behind his neighbors. Both Ruthenia and the Byzantines, who were increasingly hostile and allied with each other were a decade or more ahead and if there were to be war, chances were Wit II would lose badly. The same situation was present in the west, where France was advancing technologically at a breakneck speed.

Wit II would do his best to change the situation, but he needed peace for the moment. A peace he thankfully got. One of his last acts were to increase the power of the Emperor by instituting a program of more centralized bureaucracy, placed more firmly under his control.

He would not be able to enjoy this for long though, as his increasing alcohol consummation would be the better of him. He would drink himself to death in what can best be described as a drunken stupor that not only embarrassed the court, but also made his fourteen-year-old son Pelka II a monarch all too young.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Pelka II

(1483-1540)

​

Emperor Pelka II’s long reign saw the first steps towards a colonial empire being taken, the first steps towards integrating Scandinavia, as well as the important international event of the reformation taking place.



Religious war

While his reign would see religious changes within the realm, the first years of Emperor Pelka II’s reign would be dominated by war in Germany. His first feat during his reign was a peaceful one, managing to place a Szeliga on the English throne again, but soon thereafter the ruler of Angria was excommunicated by the Pope and Pelka II was all too eager to wage war against the excommunicated duke.

He was not in it for God alone, however, as his harsh peace at the end of the war would prove. Four border provinces were annexed into the Wendish Empire, making his neighbors wary and soon a coalition was created to stop him from expanding further. He would not wage more during his rule, however, and in time the coalition would dismantle.

During the next years Pelka II would, just in case of intervention, expand the army greatly, adding artillery and some cavalry to the armies of the Wendish Empire. This would greatly strain the economy, but it still went in the black.

Colonialism

This was a time of exploration. In 1497, the idea of exploring the Atlantic first came to the fore, with Pelka II obviously entertaining the idea. For the time he let it slide, however, while France would start their discovery of the New World in 1506 and soon begin to expand in the Caribbean.

In 1516, a decade later, Pelka II finally got around to fund his own exploration, with explorer Janislaw Pothos setting out from Ditmarschen, discovering Greenland, then Newfoundland, and then the rest of the coast of Canada, before dying in a storm a few years later.

New explorers would come, however, and soon the coast from Greenland all the way down to Mexico, discovered in 1523, was discovered. In between this a whole fleet disappeared after meeting an early pirate fleet outside modern day Manhattan, where only a few men survived to tell the tale. No colonies were founded during Pelka II’s reign, though, as the means to colonize so far away was beyond what the state could manage at the time.

Religious matters

Pelka II was a good Catholic. Or so he claimed. The Pope was appalled when the Emperor on June 19th, 1524 declared himself above the Holy Father in matters of faith, as was most of his neighbors. On October 24th the same year Pelka II even dared to dissolute the monasteries in the realm, adding their lands to his own.

He was not going to leave the Catholic faith, however, and when the Protestant revolution started in Alsace on October 28th, 1531, he strongly condemned the heretics, although he proclaimed he would not persecute them as long as they kept to the laws of the realm, were they to cross into the Wendish Empire.

Slowly, the reformation spread, but by the time of Pelka II’s death on January 8th, 1540, it was still a minor faith. This would change in time, though.

Emperor Pelka would be succeeded by Wojciech IV, a man who would rule short and accomplish less. The state of the realm at Pelka II’s death can be seen below:

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Wojciech IV

(1540-1556)

​

The short reign of Emperor Wojciech IV was dominated by the rapid spread of Protestantism in Germany.



Religious upheaval

Emperor Wojciech IV was a man of faith, but also of tolerance. In a time where the religious differences grew and Protestantism spread far and wide in central Europe, the Emperor kept the policy of his predecessor, letting the heretics live in peace within his realm.

Not even when the reformation became even more muddied with the emergence of an even more radical departure from Catholicism in the reformed faith, he did not change his policies. The preachers working from Dresden would be allowed to preach in Wendish lands as long as they did not preach against the rulers of the realm.

This did not mean the Emperor did not react indifferent to all religious upheavals around him, however. When the king of Greater Croatis was excommunicated by the Pope, Wojciech IV soon declared war on the excommunicated ruler. The reasons for this war must be said to be more power politics than religious based, though.

When the battles and sieges were over, the Wendish influence in Germany had grown considerably, with two minors directly annexed, the elector of Jülich vassalized and the duchy of Ostfalen having to cede Bremen and Verden to the Wendish Empire.



Democratic reform

The trend in the Empire was one of both a mightier Emperor as well as a sharing of power. While the Emperors did, and would in the future too, increase their powers, there was a long-term movement towards what one could term democratic reforms in the realm.

In 1551 the Emperor for example formalized the rights of the General Estates as an advisory power to the throne. He also promised to call the General Estates on a regular basis and listen to their advice, although he made clear this advice would be just that, and not something he necessarily was bound to.



End of his reign

In the last years of his reign, Greece, an important and unruly vassal of the Byzantines would start their second try of independence from their liege lord. This rebellion, which would ultimately fail, was secretly, but not directly, supported by both the Wendish Empire as well as their rivals France, but the Byzantine alliance, consisting of Byzantium, Ruthenia and Bjarmaland was seen as too strong to take on directly, a war costing way too much to be worth it. As such, the Greeks would slowly be pushed back and ultimately resubjugated.

On September 26th, 1556 the ailing Emperor would breathe his last. He was sick for the last months of his reign and the cause of death was probably a combination of a severe cold he contracted after a week of hunting and an already failing health, making him vulnerable. He was succeeded by his daughter, now Empress Konstantia I, who would go on to dominate the country in a way not seen for decades.

 

[Nikolai]

Empress Konstantia I

(1556-1609)

​

The long rule of Empress Konstantia I would see a great centralization of power in the hands of the monarch as well as the first Wendish colonies settled in the New World.



Early years

Empress Konstantia I was the first female monarch in the Wendish Empire for a long, long time. Not everyone was happy about having a female sovereign, and as soon as she ascended the throne, a big pretender army was assembled in the northern German lands of the Empire. Unfortunately for the pretender, his armies, while big, were smaller than Konstantia’s and after three decisive losses on the battlefield the pretender was brought to justice on the chopping block.

This would not be the last rebellion against Konstantia’s rule, however, as she quickly started what would be a regular exercise of concentrating power in her hands and confiscating lands from the nobles, burghers, and clergy. This would throughout her over fifty years of reign lead to large rebellions no less than six times – in 1564, 1573, 1579, 1584, 1599 and 1605 – but each time her loyal armies would put down the threat within a year at the most. Thus, her power grew more and more absolute as time went by.

During these early years, the Pope declared the counter-reformation begun and urged the Catholic rulers of the world to stop the Protestant menace. Konstantia was a devout Catholic, but she believed in tolerance and refused to join this movement, instead focusing on uniting her people by example and good deeds.



Mid years

Around 1575 the Empress began a large-scale program of improving the tax base of the country, which still were weak after all these years compared to the expenses such a big Empire demanded. The by now large treasury was almost depleted several times the next years, but it soon showed that it was successful, greatly improving the overall income of the state.

In 1577 the Byzantines, who had won their civil war from earlier, began experiencing a time of civil unrest. Konstantia used this opportunity to invite leading men of science and commerce to immigrate to the Wendish Empire, which would anger the Byzantines but benefit the Empire greatly. Lead amongst these exiles were Stephanos Choniates, who would end up an important figure at court for the next decades.

In 1580, the only war during the Empress’ reign happened, when the imperial ally of Castile declared war on Piedmonte and her allies. The war was costly and didn’t gain the Wendish Empire directly, but it greatly strengthened Castille, who bordered France and thus was an important bulwark in case of French aggression.



Later years

October 12th, 1585 was one of the most important days of Empress Konstantia I’s reign, as the Scandinavian and Wendish crowns were officially united again after over a century of being in personal union. Now, with Scandinavia incorporated and Britannia lost, only Carpathia was still partly independent, although exceedingly loyal.

In 1593, Konstantia had to do a tough decision. England, her faithful ally, faced a huge rebellion when their Irish, Scottish, Westphalian and Bavarian vassals all declared an independence war. It was soon apparent that they was supported by not only France, the foremost land and naval power on the continent after the Wendish Empire, but also Ruthenia.

On paper, if Konstantia stood by her English allies, her alliance had a slight advantange in raw troop numbers, but she would also be forced to fight on several fronts, in the west, east, and several places in central Germany. She decided it was too risky, especially as the treasury was not full after another bout of infrastructure investments and declined the call to arms from England. England stood alone and would soon be beaten. On the upside, this also meant the English would be otherwise occupied and not able to seize land in America for now.

This was perfect for Konstantia, who in 1594 would approve the first settlements in America, in Newfoundland. After some initial troubles with the natives of the region, the settlements grew fast and by 1602 the first of what would become many was becoming self-sustaining.

And so, on January 31st, 1609, Empress Konstantia I breathed her last, watched over by her 42-year-old son and heir Wit, now Wit III. His reign would be considerably shorter than his mother’s but would prove to be decisive for the religious future of the realm.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Wit III

(1609-1617)

​

Emperor Wit III’s reign would be short, but important, for the Wendish Empire’s future.



Religious matters

When 42-year-old Wit III inherited the throne from his mother, no one expected him to reign as long as his mother. Few, however, expected him to only reign for eight short years. In those eight years he changed the course of the Empire forever though.

Wit III’s predecessors had been a tolerant lot, allowing the Protestants to live in peace within the borders without interference as long as they remained loyal citizens. This had allowed the Protestant reformation to spread far and wide in the western part of the Empire, virtually unopposed. The counter-reformation initiated by the Pope during his mother’s reign had been left a road not travelled.

This would change with Emperor Wit III however. While he did not forget to focus on expansion abroad, with Wendish Canada being formed on October 5th, 1609, he would be a monarch mostly focused on internal affairs.

Already on February 12th, 1610 he formally embraced the counter-reformation and at the same time passed the Conventicle Act and the Act of Uniformity, greatly increasing the pressure on non-Catholics in the realm. A massive effort was made to counteract Protestant preaching, and soon the heretics were pressed back, with one province after the other being converted to the One True Faith.

The Ruthenian War

He also saw an opportunity in the East, where Ruthenia not only had lost the Byzantines as an ally, but also had got themselves into a war with their once ally Bjarmaland. With Ruthenian troops deep into the latter, slowly winning their war, Wit III saw his opportunity and struck.

Wendish troops flooded Ruthenia, who desperately tried to turn the tide, to no avail. Losing ground in Bjarmaland as Wit’s forces descended on the country, much of the border regions in the west were soon lost to Wendish arms. Within a year of warfare, the Ruthenian forces were in full retreat.

Wit III would not see his successful war to the end, though. On July 12th, after a week of sickness, he died of what was probably camp fever while sieging a Ruthenian castle. His seven-year-old son Pelka would inherit the throne as Pelka III all too early, and the war was now in the hands of Pelka’s regency council.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Pelka III

(1617-1671)

​

Emperor Pelka III’s long reign would see the economy booming and the Wendish Empire’s influence grow immensely.



Regency

Emperor Pelka III inherited a war at the age of seven, one which would be expertly executed by his regents. His father had died while the war was almost won, and the Wendish troops would continue to swarm their enemy with ease also after he was in the grave.

With almost the entire country under Wendish occupation by September 1618, a harsh peace was negotiated, where the south-eastern border would move all the way to the Black Sea, and Kiev was placed under Wendish rule.

After three years of peace, it was again time for war, as Castille called the Wendish Empire into war with Gascogne, Sardinia and Swabia. England was obligated to join in the war on the enemy side but chose to remain neutral in the matter. The Wendish regent gladly accepted the chance to strengthen their southern ally, which would end in Gascogne and a weakening of Toulose, an important step in boxing in an increasingly strong France.

Early reign

And so, on April 7th, 1625, Pelka III began his reign in earnest as an eager young man of 16, ready to make his mark on the world. He would start this less than a year later, when the first native-Wendish war, one of many the next decades, started on March 1st, 1626.

Wanting to unite the two parts of Wendish Canada split by Standacona, Pelka III’s troops invaded the small tribe and their allies and won an easy victory against them. The natives had learned from the Europeans some things about fortifications though, and Pelka’s troops lacked artillery, so the final peace settlement was signed first three years later, on February 14th, 1629.

In accordance with the slow movement towards an early form of popular representation, Pelka III would institute another government reform. On March 19th, 1630, he convened the stands in the empire, the nobles, burghers and clergy, and told them that they would be permitted to convene and have a say in legal matters in separate legislative houses, an early reform towards the parliaments of more recent times.

At the same time, his father’s drive to unite the country under the Catholic faith continued unabated and the country would by 1650 be majority Catholic in all provinces. The Greek Emperor would also in the 1630s grow to accept not only Polish and Sobian, but also Danish culture as accepted cultures with special privileges.

Time of expansion

In 1635 the first of three vassalizations and personal unions during Pelka III’s reign happened. He allied and three years later vassalized the indigenous tribe of Wampanoag, which soon called him into a war with their neighbors, thus starting the second of the many native wars. This war would not end in enlargement of Wendish territory, only in the splitting of the enemy tribes, but Pelka would be back later.

December 19th, 1638 was a day remembered for a long time. The lost Empire of Britannia, now reduced to a single province in Scotland, officially declared their allegiance to the Wendish Empire as vassals of Pelka III.

And then, the crowning moment, three years later after another successful war in Canada: The English monarch, from a cadet branch of the Wendish dynasty, died heirless, and England swore fealty to the Wendish Empire as England joined in a personal union like Carpathia and Scandinavia before them. With this, half of the lost Empire of Britannia was again under Wendish control.

In 1651 another war was declared in America, where Pelka III targeted Micmaq and Lenape. It was a total victory. At the same time Castille asked Pelka to join in another war in the area, which ended in the English colonial territory to grow when the war was over.

These expansionist wars would end in another colonial nation to be founded in 1653, when on December 17th the New Wendish Empire colonial nation came into being. The Wendish Empire thus had two colonial nations under their control.

All this expansion and a continued investment in infrastructure and trade led to the economy booming. And for the first time ever the Wendish Empire could afford to fully found their armies and navies in war time and go in the black and not hemorrhage money.

Latter reign

In another reform, to the day two years before he would die, on October 26th, 1669, Pelka III instituted obligatory Sunday Schools for all children in the Wendish Empire. The country would not only be Catholic, it would stay Catholic, he proclaimed.

And that was the last major act he did. The last two years of his reign Pelka III was increasingly frail and he isolated himself more and more from everyday events. It was thus no surprise that Emperor Pelka III on October 26th, 1671 never woke up from his sleep, dying peaceful in his bed.

His son and heir Stanislaw II would inherit the throne and lead it in one of the most dangerous times of the Empire for a long time.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Stanislaw II

(1671-1700)

​

The reign of Emperor Stanislaw II would see the ancient Empire thoroughly tested in a war with its western rival the French as well as expansion continuing in the New World.



Early reign

Immediately after taking over as Emperor, Stanislaw II utilized the great treasury he had inherited to go on a massive infrastructure program, which soon resulted in a much better income for the state. He also continued his predecessors’ expansion in the New World, first by declaring war on Powhatan and her allies, which within two years ended in a peace treaty in 1679 which greatly expanded the Wendish colonies.

Meanwhile disaster struck home, however, as the by 1678 fifty-year-old Emperor lost his son and heir when the boy got a severe fever and perished. This resulted in the Empire having no legal heir to the throne and the possibility of the main branch of the Szeliga dynasty to die out. Stanislaw’s wife was post childbearing age, and the Pope would not allow a divorce. Stanislaw thus resorted to less Catholic ways and visited his mistress, who gave him a healthy bastard son which he immediately legitimized. Thus the succession was secured, but the legitimacy of the boy was not that good.

Three years later, in 1681, the Emperor decreed that his Swedish subjects had proven themselves loyal and true, and he instituted several laws for the Swedes to gain more prominence in local governance, much to the rejoicing of the populace that had been such a rebellious lot centuries before.

Middle reign

The year after another colonial war was declared on Oneida and allies, which soon resulted in a resounding victory.

Back in Europe, the annexation of the rump Britannian vassal state begun on December 2nd, 1683. The Scottish was not amused, but Wendish power were to large for them to even think of instigating a war.

The year 1685 would see the first Colonial Assembly in the New World, and the start of a long age of Wendish Emperors appeasing their colonial subjects as ideas of independence set root.

Expansion in the New World would continue with great success though, as Algonquin was invaded in 1685, Attiwandaron in 1689 and Ottawa in 1691, together with their allies. All wars was won handily, and Wendish power continued to expand.



Back in Europe again Stanislaw II began the integration of Carpathia into the Wendish realm, something he started in 1688 and which would last well into his successor’s reign before being completed.

The Disastrous French War

In 1694, Europe held its breath. France and the Wendish Empire had competed for centuries and been rivals for time immemorial. But never had they gone to war with each other. Now, the Wendish was forced into war by their allies Andalusia, which invaded Tahert, who was allied to the Papal States and France.

Stanislaw II heeded the call, and soon regretted it. He sent all his armies into France, only to meet superior forces which even when outnumbered 2:1 or more sent the Wendish armies packing. Hundred of thousands of men died on the battlefield and soon most of Germany had fallen to France.

Only a quick and extensive rebuilding of the Wendish forces deep in Poland, with much, much bigger amounts of artillery and the organizing of a doom stack of over 120k men – with massive supply problems and hunger wherever they went – did the war turn.

In the Battle of Juliers in 1694 an entire army was obliterated. More was to come. Battle after battle, France won, and France occupied. But from 1696, from the Battle of Würtzburg, the tide slowly turned. France was slowly sent back towards their own lands, but at a great cost. Most of the royal treasury was gone, most of the once huge manpower pool was depleted. War exhaustion was high.

Thankfully for Stanislaw II, France was tired too, and agreed to a peace. In 1698, after the most devastating war in Europe possibly ever, France agreed to peace, gaining the Wendish Empire the province of Brno for their trouble. Europe breathed out a weary sigh of relief.

The last two years of Emperor Stanislaw II’s reign was spent rebuilding the army and adding a large amount of troops and artillery to the forces.

On May 21st, 1700 Stanislaw II died peacefully in his bed. His bastard son Pelka IV, aged 21, succeeded to the throne. His reign would be one of low legitimacy, much success and a revolution on the borders of the Empire.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Pelka IV

(1700-1752)

​

The long reign of Emperor Pelka IV would see much colonial expansion but would also be dominated by the lurking threat of revolution.



Early reign

Shortly after beginning his reign, Pelka IV, who had a weak legitimacy due to his heritage, started a big push into the American tribes’ territory. First out was Illinois and their allies, who was declared war on in 1700 and totally overrun and annexed by 1701.

Interestingly enough, what would be termed the Enlightenment started within months after Pelka IV took office, but it would be decades before it reached Europe properly, as it originated in French Louisiana and would spread slowly from there, in the beginning mostly affecting French lands.

Back in Europe, Pelka IV founded the Kiel Canal, a marvel of engineering that greatly helped the economy of Northern Germany and thus the Wendish Empire at large.

In 1704 Wendish Lousisiana was founded, as the expansion into America continued unabated, and the expansion into the Native American tribes continued, with Erie and allies being the latest target in 1705, ending in a resounding victory in 1707.

Pelka IV’s ally Castille also expanded in the area, albeit slowly, and dragged him into one of their wars at the time, all while Pelka continued war with Susquehannock in 1707 and Sioux in 1712.

The big expansion of his reign would happen in the aftermath of the war on Chisca in 1714, which ended in 1716. One of the gains was a new vassal deep into French held territory, and this small tribe was incidentally also at war with French Louisiana, although not France proper. Due to the new vassal tribe being in this war when they were added to the Wendish sphere, Pelka IV was in war with French Louisina, but not France, who also declined to join their colony in their war. Thus, the Wendish forces descended on French Louisiana and soon the entire colonial nation fell and was annexed into Wendish Louisiana.

The revolutions

In 1716, revolution shook the world as both Andalusia and Bjarmaland descended into civil war with rebels whose ideology was that of the enlightenment – a wish to end the despotism of monarchy and replace it with the horrors of the republican dictatorship.

In Andalusia, monarchist forces soon won the day, but in Bjarmaland republican forces won the civil war and beheaded the monarch, his entire family, the nobles as well as destroying the church.

In the Wendish Empire and her colonies, order still reigned, but there was a distinct undercurrent of unrest and dissatisfaction with Pelka IV – who after all was the child of an Emperor and a lowly whore in the eyes of many.

This meant that Pelka IV had much work to keep his colonies in check and many concessions were made to keep them happy, plummeting the prestige of the Empire in the eyes of the world.

Much resources were spent at this time to expand the navy, which more than quadrupled in size the next years.

A win was made at home in 1722, when on November 9th Carpathia was completely incorporated into the Empire as an integral part of it, after centuries in a personal union.

More wars and the British

In 1725, Ireland called Pelka IV into war with Scotland and her allies. On the continent Bavaria was overrun, but the peace was one of monetary gains, not land. On the British Isles on the other hand, Ireland and the Wendish subject of England bashed in the defenses of Scotland and in 1727 Pelka IV negotiated a separate peace with the Scots, gaining England a lot of land.

Back over the pond the wars in America continued unabated, with Oneota being the latest victim, and Castille also expanding with the help of the Wendish Empire.

In 1736 Pelka IV started the consolidation of his British holdings. Britannia was annexed during his predecessor, now he started the integration of England to be an integral part of the Wendish Empire.

More wars followed in America, before Pelka IV finally turned his eyes eastwards, where Bjarmaland was struggling in several wars with their Asian neighbors, but still supported and inspired rebellion and sedition in the Wendish Empire and her allies. Pelka IV declared his intent to topple the republican regime once and for all.

Pelka IV sent his armies into Bjarmaland in 1746, which folded like wax and within months the republican regime melted away. Immediately this calmed things down all over the Empire and her dependencies, but Pelka IV was not content with just toppling the regime. He wanted revenge and pressed on.

In the end, Bjarmaland was brought low, a monarchy was restored, land was ceded to the Wendish Empire and the country of Permia was liberated from core Bjarmish lands. What little remained of trade value was also steered towards the Wendish Empire for the next years as payment for damages.

And so July 2nd, 1752 arrived. Emperor Pelka IV, old and increasingly frail, died in a massive heart attack during a dinner with his eldest son and his wife. His 51-year-old son Stanislaw III inherited the throne, his first task to get an heir, quick, to save the dynasty, as he had no child of his own and no surviving siblings.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Stanislaw III

(1752-1767)

​

The short reign of Emperor Stanislaw III was pretty uneventful. The only major contribution he did was to save his dynasty, as he had no heir upon ascending the throne at the advanced age of 51. If he died heirless, the next in line was a young relative from the ruling Andalusian dynasty and it was feared both France, Ruthenia and Byzantium might intervene in case of such a thing happening.

Fortunate for the Wendish Empire, Stanislaw III remarried in 1756 and the year after he sired a young boy. Thus the dynasty was saved, as was the international peace.

The only other notable event during Emperor Stanislaw III’s reign was his war on Totonac in 1761, which was a big success and gained several provinces to his American holdings.

After that nothing of worth mentioning happened before Stanislaw III breathed his last in late 1767, starting a half decade of regency for his 10-year-old heir, the new Emperor Wojciech V.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Wojciech V

(1767-1776)

​

The short reign of Emperor Wojciech V was mostly uneventful, yet ended in a tragic way. In 1771 the early years of what would later be termed the first wave of industrialization started in Cork in the lands of the Wendish ally Ireland. These small steps would soon engulf the world in rapid economic growth a few decades on.

In 1773 Wojciech, now a grown man and his regency ended, declared war on the small state of Anhalt and her allies. Three years of war later, the war ended in favor of the Empire, with large swathes of land annexed, finally uniting the large German enclaves with the rest of the Wendish Empire.

This aggressive expansion made Wojciech’s neighbors uneasy, though, and a large coalition was formed, forcing the young Emperor to stop his expansion plans for now. He did heed the call to war from his ally Andalusia a year later but refrained from actively participating in the war.

Perhaps was it one the Emperor’s many enemies in foreign courts who struck, maybe it was an internal plot. No one knows who hired the assassin who jumped the royal wagon driving through the capital on November 2nd, 1776. No one knows, for all traces died with the assassin, who was killed when trying to escape after shooting Emperor Wojciech V repeatedly in the chest and head.

The Emperor died almost immediately and reigning now was his four-year-old son Janislaw II, with the late Emperor’s old regent Irene Mechos again taking the reins as regent. The regency would not be as successful as the previous.

 

[Nikolai]

Emperor Janislaw II

(1776-)

​

Emperor Janislaw II would lead his country into the industrial age, and while not the last of the Wendish Emperors, his rule will be the last chronicled by the lives of a single Emperor, as we from the early 1800s will change focus over to the Empire and world as a whole.



Regency

The regency of the at the start four-year-old Emperor would be defined by the call to freedom and a looming revolution. Discontent that had grown and festered during the late reign of his father ended in massive rebellions all over the Empire – with the cry of Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité uniting the opposition.

Unrest continued to grow, rebellions sprung up everywhere, with the loyal armies of the Empire stamping out one rebellion only to have to move to another. Soon, revolution was declared over the land.

The loyalists were many, though, and although the revolutionaries were many too, they were all in all far fewer. They were a force to be reckoned with however, and the regency council soon had to give in on some demands to calm the nation.

First out was the restriction of serfdom, a major demand from the revolutionaries. A total abolishment was demanded, but the restrictions, which were severe, calmed many, if not all.

Then came the demand to greatly reduce the bureaucracy in the Empire, which had swelled immensely over the years and which some claimed were choking the nation. The regency council agreed to cut back, which hurt the tax income somewhat, but the nation had a good income anyways and it was agreed it was for the best.

The next demand was refused though. The revolutionaries despised the acting regent Irene Mechos, but the council rallied behind her and refused to bow to this demand. Irene had the complete confidence of the nobles as well and sat securely.

Emboldened by this, the regent set the secret police on the free thinkers of the realm, which she deplored and thought of as a great danger for the future of the monarchy. She feared their influence might send the Wendish Empire where the revolution in Bjarmaland had sent that country; on the cusp of annexation by the neighboring realms.

She did allow a more lenient stand on other beliefs and faiths than Catholicism, though – a huge shift compared to the policy of previous monarchs and regents of the last couple of centuries.

Finally, on March 16th, 1787 – almost five years after the revolution started – Emperor Janislaw II took the reigns of power himself, as he became of age. Little over a year later, on August 21st, 1788, the revolution was finally over. The monarchy had survived. And it thrived. While there was a proto parliament in power that had developed over the last few centuries, it was merely advisory and mostly populated by staunch supporters of the Emperor, and in reality the Emperor was an absolute monarch.

His reign

The young Emperor would soon feel a loss that would devastate him and his Empress, as their young son and the royal heir Pelka died in an accident only four years old in 1791. Thankfully, his wife were already pregnant when this happened, and the newborn son was named Pelka in honor of his deceased older brother. Thus, the succession was secured.

Meanwhile on the diplomatic front the Emperor would have to deal with an increasingly amount of countries uniting in a coalition against him, forcing him to remain at peace to not provoke a war the country could not win.

In 1803 most of the coalition had dissolved though, and renewed expansion was initiated in North America. During this year, the Cascadian tribe was vassalized, and the Pawnee annexed. The year after the Navajo were vassalized and their ally the Lakota annexed.

In 1806, in a diplomatic coup, the Emperor managed to secure an alliance with Ruthenia, freeing up the eastern front and he planned his big push into securing the British Isles again, after centuries of entire loss, then the securing of England. Ireland was by now a powerful ally, but Scotland was very hostile and growing in power. It was time to cut her wings, and so in 1812 the Wendish-Scottish war started. It would prove to end the Scottish realm as a whole mere years after its conclusion.

The Scottish ally of Westphalia would foolishly join Scotland, while Ireland did not want to join the war on the Wendish side, only to declare their own war months later. Westphalia was forced to the negotiation table in 1815, but Scotland fought well and hard and at some points almost broke the Wendish opponent entirely, at the low point occupying half of England and beating back the mighty Wendish armies.

In the end, Scotland was driven back though, and in 1817 a harsh peace was enforced. The entire country was at this point under occupation by either Wendish or Irish forces, their only army and controlled land being a few islands in the north-west which was defended by the still powerful Scottish navy. Ireland would continue the war further, while the Wendish Empire took over half of the Scottish lands not on the Irish island.

Celebrating the great victory, Emperor Janislaw II commenced a huge infrastructure program all over the Empire, with well over 30 universities founded all over the Empire and a lot of improvements especially along the coast. By this time the year 1821 was reached, and while Janislaw II would reign long after this, our journey here has ended. We will meet again in the Victorian Age, where the focus will be on the country, not the Emperors.

Here you can see the state of the Empire and the world as we transcend over into the industrial age full speed: