ENGLAND: 1520-1530
London, England, In the Year of Our Lord 1520:
Thomas Wolsey sat unmoving in the elegant, black carriage conveying him to the royal residence. To sit still in the carriage as it passed over the uneven cobblestone street was quite a feat, but Wolsey's mind was too concerned with more important matters to notice. Officially, he was the archbishop of York. Unofficially, he was much more, the closest advisor to Henry VIII Tudor, by the Grace of God King of England, Ireland, and France. Today, he had to convince the king to reverse two hundred years of English policy, one which the king was determined to uphold.
The carriage came to a stop outside the massive palace. Archbishop Wolsey descended to the ground and marched towards the equally massive doors. The two guards saluted the well-known visitor. They were armed with the king's latest aquisition, a new-model matchlock musket with a octagonal barrel. Only 200 of the weapons had been produced, solely for the king's personal guard.
The archbishop was quickly admitted into the Henry's private chambers. A small group of noble courtiers exited the room as Wolsey entered. Henry VIII was a very different king than his father. Whereas Henry VII had distanced himself from the nobility and done much of the administrative work of the kingdom, his son was constantly surrounded by his peers, leaving capable advisors like Wolsey to handle the work of governing. It had done much to relieve the unrest among the nobles and cement the fragile position of the Tudor dynasty.
"Sire," Wolsey said as he completed a formal bow, "I bring an important message from Francois I of France."
"Another request for us to vacate Calais?" replied the king.
"No my liege, he offers an alliance, presumably against the Hapsburgs."
"An alliance?"
"Yes milord. I would advise you to accept Francois' proposal; we cannot defeat France if they choose to take Calais by force."
"You know what that would mean Archbishop." Wolsey nodded. "If we ally ourselves with France the Crown would have to rescind its claims on France." The claims were mere fantasy now, and had been that way for over 70 years, but to formally acknowledge that fact would cause significant unrest among the younger nobility. "Very well," the king stated after considering the issue for a few minutes, "inform Francois, king of France, that we accept his offer."
Off the Coast of Holstein, In the Year of Our Lord 1523:
The initial alliance with France grew to include Scotland and Savoy. King Henry VIII of England renounced his claims on France and looked hungarily at the weak nation to the north. Scotland, however, shattered the peace of the Anglo-French alliance with a declaration of war on the small Protestant duchy of Holstein
Admiral Howard, commander of the English Home Fleet, stared at the outline of the enemy fleet rapidly approaching his force. The two squadrons were closing rapidly and soon the Holstein vessels would realize the magnitude of the trap. They had sailed expecting to encounter the 3 warships and two transports of the Scottish fleet; instead, they would meet the 30 warships of the English Home Fleet as well as the small Scottish force. The admiral smiled, any minute now.
Manhatten, In the Year of Our Lord 1525:
England, however, generally distanced itself from European affairs during the period. Brave explorers ventured forth from the comfort of the Channel to the uncharted waterways of the New World. Equally brave colonists established new lives for themselves in the virgin soil.
John Craddock walked onto dry land for the first time in 3 months. He simpy stood there for a minute, enjoying the feel. The other new settlers around him experienced similar reactions. The older colonists working at the docks couldn't help laughing, remembering their own arrival in the New World. John surveyed his new home. Anchored off shore were the three vessels of Bernarnd T'Anti-Cheese's exploration group. The explorer himself had been killed in a storm off Bermuda a few months earlier. He had done exceptionally well over the last few years, however, giving England a glimpse of more land to colonize than it could afford. Now, his fleet would serve as part of the garrison of the rapidly growing colonies in the Americas.
London, England, In the Year of Our Lord 1530:
Thomas Wolsey relaxed in the comfortable chair of his office. He was much fatigued as of late. The last ten years had been stressful: the colonization of the Americas, building a strong alliance with Scotland and its subsiquent vassalization to the English crown, and plague in Ireland. There had also been boundary disputes with several German duchies, Cologne and Mainz in particular. Settling those problems had drained the treasury and given the Exchequer numerous problems. The king was convinced that it was part of a plot by the Archduke of Austria against England, France's strongest ally. After all, how else could England have a boundary dispute with Mainz? The king's was also becoming quite insistent for a male heir. Henry practically ignored Catherine and young Mary these days. The talk of divorce particularly concerned Wolsey and he feared what the next few years would bring. Relations with Spain and Austria had been friendly as of late and the Archbishop didn't want that to change. Especially as Spain was beginning to encroach upon English colonies in the New World.
Wolsey's private secretary knocked at the door. "Your Holiness, Lord Percy is here."
"Send him in please."
The door opened and a tall man in an elegant red-colored uniform entered. Lord Percy, one of the numerous members of that important noble family, was the commander of the Anglia garrison, the largest army in England. He was not an exceptional general, but he was competant.
"Lord Percy, may I offer you some refreshment?"
"No thank you, Your Holiness. I am quite refreshed and interested in hearing the latest reports of Hungary."
Getting right to the point, excellent. "Poland has thus far refused to shift on its control of Carpathia, Ruthenia, and Transylvania. The king was furious at Poland's territorial acquisitions, after negociations between the Hapsburgs and the Polish crown had agreed on just Ruthenia."
Lord Percy nodded. "The king is an honorable man."
"Indeed. Fortunately, Francois is equally furious. Neither will support Poland...as long as the Hapsburgs do not become too vindictive in a war."
"And if the Hapsburg demands are too great?" Percy inquired, though he already knew the answer.
"War." Wolsey replied.
"We aren't ready yet, Your Holiness." Percy stated. His voice was calm, but he was quite serious.
"No Lord Percy, but we are far more ready than we were ten years ago. Wealth is beginning to come in from the New World and trade in London is booming. The king still desires peace, however, and will work hard to achieve it. In case he fails though, I am immediately increasing the military budget. Bring your men up to the highest standards Lord Percy. If there is war, we'll need it."
