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Indeed, this just got bumped , as well as me seeing it in your profile, and I'd sure like to see you continue! I'm captivated. Hopefully you're still willing?
So I'm presuming that something went horribly wrong with the move?
You've labeled your AARs abandoned due to stolen files. Ick!
Rensslaer
You've labeled your AARs abandoned due to stolen files. Ick!
Rensslaer
Hello my friends,
I must most humbly appologise for my absence, the files of this AAR were stolen and I did not have the gut for the job of it.
I now return, and can only hope that you have not al abandoned me.
A new installment, I hope you all enjoy it.
Your Humble servant,
Sir Clive
I must most humbly appologise for my absence, the files of this AAR were stolen and I did not have the gut for the job of it.
I now return, and can only hope that you have not al abandoned me.
A new installment, I hope you all enjoy it.
Your Humble servant,
Sir Clive
Dreams of Albion – V ‘Commonwealth men’
It should surprise one to find the name of such an important figure from English history is such an unknown, it is typical of the man, however, that it should be so. If you mention the things he did, the changes that he made and the ‘circle’ that he founded most would not have heard of any of them. Ask those who know and you shall soon realise that the rise of Thomas Cromwell was by far more important than Henry’s vain attempts at glory in the period. This is the story of a man who helped move fair Albion further down its path to glory.
With the rapid removal of Wolsey, the King was left as his own first minister. At this point a break with Rome was seen as a plausible move, but certainly not at the forefront. Henry's stratagem was to push Papal authority to the breaking point, in the hope that Clement would relent and grant an annulment. To this purpose, Henry, gave leave for Parliament to be called in November 1529, and encouraged it to voice the prevailing anti-clerical sentiment. This feeling was genuine and lead to a number of Bills being passed to restrict plurality, non-residence as well as controlling fees chargeable for probate and mortuary. After a chance encounter between his sectary's Gardiner and Fox, with an obscure Cambridge don, Thomas Cranmer, appeals were made to Europe's university's for a ruling upon Papal power. Writs were issued in 1531 under the ancient and powerful Great Statute of Praemunire of 1353, which declared 'anyone drawing the King's subjects out of the realm on pleas, the cognisance whereof belongs to the King's courts, or impeaching the judgement given in those courts, shall... be put out of the King's protection, his lands and goods forfeited and his body imprisoned at the King's pleasure. The pressure put upon Papal authority lead Clement, the then pope, to 'call Henry's bluff'. Henry was now in the position to either, humiliatingly, back down, or push on with ever more extreme measures.
Thomas Cromwell was a man of interesting beginnings, born around the time of Bosworth Field, he was first a soldier of fortune on the Italian peninsular. He moved on from that to become embroiled in renascence Italy's Machiavellian world, and lastly to earn a living as a consultant in the Low Countries. There is much debate as to whether he ever read Nicolò's masterpiece, but it hardly matters as he was embroiled in the Florentine political and philosophical world. His rise was rapid and his ideas revolutionary, perhaps the most important thing he did, was to tie the supremacy of the King to statute and Parliament. His genius in the Break with Rome, was that he only ever suggested conservative measures to the English Bishop's, which they could not really deny. Only the great Archbishop Warham, saw that the course Cromwell was steering would lead to a diminished position of the Church, but when he soon died with no 'heir' the fate of the Catholic Church in England was sealed.
Cromwell at work
While many will focus upon, and some even lament, the dissolution of the Church and the pillaging of it's wealth, one must always remember that this was not the height of his talents just his power. Henry is famous in this period for all of his wives, this has been adequately expanded upon by other authors and this volume will not go into further detail. Rather it will deal with the less 'glamorous' aspects of the country under Cromwell. Many have argued as to whether he was a 'renascence' man or a traditionalist, what most seem to forget is that the very essence of the Renascence was that it blended the best of the traditional with the new theory's, it did not throw away what was useful, and so the same can be said in relation to Cromwell.
His reorganisation of the King's finances were legendary, he took all the best from the efficient 'household' system and placed them back into the hands of the ancient chambers like the Exchequer. He also put in place a system of local governance based upon councils made up of paid 'civil servants', although this proved excessively expensive when they were reformed by the 'county gentry' after Cromwell's passing they put in place a system that made the running of Albion more centralised and organised.
Bureaucracy at work
The lasting legacy of Cromwell and Henry's period is three fold. The first and most obvious is the change of England from the Catholic church, whether you believe the old mantra of “Protestant country's work harder that Catholic”, which does not bear much to reality, or not no one can doubt the importance of this shift. The second is the bureaucracy that he put in place, along with the much increased usage of Parliament, which was another step toward a Parliament controlled Monarchy. The third and most unknown was the inspiration and patronage given to a new group of thinkers called 'Commonwealth men', from this point on they would be the ruling ethos behind the governance of the country. Their mantra was never forgotten; Tolerance, political liberty and the Rule of Law.
Great to have you back SirClive, and good to see that you have managed to get this AAR alive again after the after the original files were stolen. Jolly nice update as well, interesting to read about Thomas Cromwell and his legacy. I look forward to more 
Ahh, wonderful to see a new update Sir Clive. Hopefully there will be more. Great to see you back it this. And Cromwell certainly did like his civil servants - all so easily put under his thumb.
All: First I must appologise, I had not realised how long it had been since I posted in the AAR last, work has just been so busy Still here it is... a bit ahistorical now, what with the perfidious French diplo-anexing Aragon and a random CB gained against the Mamluks to explain away Anyway here it is... I realy need to update this at least once a week, I will try to write Elizebeth ASAP. Thank you for still reading this, if anyone still is, your patientce is very much appriciated
cthulhu: Thank you sir... I have been busy, busy, busy
Paynetrain08: Thank you very much, it is always nice to see a new poster/reader
Lord E: Your praise is very much appreciated, you are a stalwart and I hope to satisfy your need for more I'm just sorry it has taken so long...
coz1: As ever sir your encouragment is a wonderful spur... civil servants are useful, but a bit expensive when compared to the 'landed gentry'
Still here it is... a bit ahistorical now, what with the perfidious French diplo-anexing Aragon and a random CB gained against the Mamluks to explain away Anyway here it is... I realy need to update this at least once a week, I will try to write Elizebeth ASAP. Thank you for still reading this, if anyone still is, your patientce is very much appriciated cthulhu: Thank you sir... I have been busy, busy, busy
Paynetrain08: Thank you very much, it is always nice to see a new poster/reader
Lord E: Your praise is very much appreciated, you are a stalwart and I hope to satisfy your need for more
I'm just sorry it has taken so long... coz1: As ever sir your encouragment is a wonderful spur... civil servants are useful, but a bit expensive when compared to the 'landed gentry'
Dreams of Albion – VI 'A House Divided'
In another history and in another time one man was heard to advise that “...A house divided against itself cannot stand,". It can be seen that the 'adolescent' England was suffering growing pains. The division of the nation was due, in no small part, to the split with Rome, however the populace at large would still have been split between the ideas of the papacy and those of Luther. The three children of Henry would have to find a path for the nation that would re-unify the peoples of this damp island.
Edward was a sickly boy, young and physically weak he nether the less had an almost fanatical belief in protestant teachings. His regent was Norfolk, a great man of the realm, and “...a true and righteous follower of the one true religion...” as Edward described him. The most significant bequest that his farther had left him, however, were the talents of the ageing, but still impossibly gifted Cromwell. For the longest time Cromwell had sought the support of the Ottoman Turks, to help distract the powerful Mediterranean nations from the possibility of returning England to he Catholic fold by means of arms. Norfolk and the King saw the validity of this, so when Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghawri and the Mamluks attacked the Ottomans, Sultan Selim I asked for the Kings assistance. Edward swooned at the chance to lead armies to victory and ordered Cromwell and Norfolk to destroy the Mamluks and claim the Holy Land in the name of God and protestantism.
With the military genius of Norfolk and the administration abilities of Cromwell a fleet and sixty thousand men and horse was raised and sailed to the ancient city of Alexandria. When Norfolk landed on the fertile delta he received no resistance, leaving around five thousand men with his lieutenant and brother and marched onto the capital Cairo. The only major battle was to the south east of the splendid capital. With Norfolk besieging him Al-Ghawri sallied forth to confront the 'English' (which was actually comprised mainly of Welsh, Irish mercenaries and Scott's all brought together either by money, English dominion or in the case of the Scott's a belief that the Holy Land should be in the control of Christians).
A scene of Cairo and some of the Sultan's men
With the preponderance of cavalry in the Sultan's army and a lack of musket and artillery Norfolk dived into history for the answer. Taking from Henry V's campaign in France, he spread his troops thinly with the ancient, but still efficient Welsh longbow arranged behind the billmen of the Midlands. The ferocity of the assault upon Norfolk's position was immense and he wondered if his line could hold, he knew a bill could easily cleave a horse in two, but also that the line was quickly being decimated. At this point the charismatic Sir Edwin Collyer rode up to the Duke, in the excitement of and religious fervour in England Edward had allowed Sir Edwin and others to reform the 'Knights Templar'. The knight surveyed the filed and saw that the Sultan was in an exposed position, remembering his renaissance education and the great battles of Alexander, which he had been engrossed in as both man and boy, he suggested that he should take his 'knights' and “strike at then heart of the infidels!” as the great man had done at the Battle of Issus. Norfolk saw a tactical advantage and sized upon it quickly. Sir Edwin and the Knights Templar smashed into the Sultan's bodyguard, it is reputed that he himself beheaded two men in a wild charge before burying his sword deeply into Al-Ghawri, with the Sultan dead and his standard lowered the Mamluks soon broke and fled. All that remained of the 'Holy Campaign' was a long list of sieges, as well as the long an and laborious process of pacifying the populace at large.
Edward's rule in the middle east has been seen as enlightened from one with such fervent belief in Christianity, however, it is easy to see that the young king saw the Pope as the enemy and not Allah or his followers. He did not have Mosque's, that he infarct found beautiful, burnt nor Muslim's 'put to the sword' or forciably 'converted' to the 'true faith'. Norfolk had been impressed by both the Mamluks skill in war and peace and he employed Al-Ghawri's son as Governor of Cairo and founded the Order of Alexandria, a Muslim 'version' of the Knights Templar. Al-Ashraf was well like by the people and he was a competent enough governor, he always thought thirst for independence.
The seal of the Templar and a Mamluk Calvaryman of the Order of Alexandria
Tragedy befell the 'Holy Enterprise' when on the, 6th July 1553, Edward died with no heir leaving the throne to his half-sister, and fanatical Catholic, Mary. This was to be a short, but tumultuous reign. It began with England returning to the Catholic fold and a marriage between Mary and the Castile prince Philip. It was hoped that a good Catholic heir could be had, to stop her half sister Elizabeth ascending to the throne.
Philip was rather uninterested in his bride, eleven years his elder and released the Lady Elizabeth from house arrest. With the agony of a false pregnancy Mary set about her task of 'cleansing' England and her lands of 'heretics' that believed in the teaching of both Luther and Mohammed. Nearly three hundred men and women died on the home island and nearly double that figure in the Holy Land in what became known as the Marian Persecutions and gave her the title of 'Bloody Mary'. Her treatment of Muslim's gave Al-Ashraf the excuse he was looking for as he unified the rebels against English power and swept them from all of the old Mamluk lands save the great Alexandria it's self which was fiercely defended by not only the Templar's but also, strangely, the Islamic Order of Alexandria.
A typical Mamluk Mosque in Alexandria defended by both Templars and the Order
After Mary believed, for a second time, that she was pregnant she had grave news from the continent. Ferdinand III, King of Aragon has died leaving his daughter married to Francis of France. The French king, therefore, absorbed all Aragonese lands into his realm and became hugely powerful. Philip and his farther Charles, Holy Roman Emperor joined forces to attack the French and regain Aragon and it's Italian possessions in what would be know as the Italian war. Mary was at no obligation to support her husband and farther-in-law, but saw the immense potential of a successful campaign in France.
The return to glory of England in France was not to be, Francis soundly defeated the English forces and wrenched away Calais, the last French possession in English hands from her grasp. Mary suffered the ignominy of loosing almost all of England's overseas lands (only Alexandria, Ireland and a few scattered trading posts and colonies in America remained) and perhaps more significantly, for her if not the country, her second pregnancy was found to actually be ovarian cancer which shortly after killed her.
Edward and Mary, contrasting monarchs of England, but the did not decided the 'religious question'
The reign's of the first two of Henry's children had been a roller-coaster of ups and downs, but what had been shown was that the problem of religion had to be tackled. If it was not for the administration of the enigmatic Cromwell, times could well have been worse. He died shortly before Mary and it would rob her successor, Queen Elizabeth, of his immense talents when she came to the throne on the, 17th November 1558. Mary only left her sister questions about what she could do about the dire fortunes of the country and how she could get away from the division of England.
Dreams of Albion – VI 'A House Divided'
In another history and in another time one man was heard to advise that “...A house divided against itself cannot stand,". It can be seen that the 'adolescent' England was suffering growing pains. The division of the nation was due, in no small part, to the split with Rome, however the populace at large would still have been split between the ideas of the papacy and those of Luther. The three children of Henry would have to find a path for the nation that would re-unify the peoples of this damp island.
Edward was a sickly boy, young and physically weak he nether the less had an almost fanatical belief in protestant teachings. His regent was Norfolk, a great man of the realm, and “...a true and righteous follower of the one true religion...” as Edward described him. The most significant bequest that his farther had left him, however, were the talents of the ageing, but still impossibly gifted Cromwell. For the longest time Cromwell had sought the support of the Ottoman Turks, to help distract the powerful Mediterranean nations from the possibility of returning England to he Catholic fold by means of arms. Norfolk and the King saw the validity of this, so when Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghawri and the Mamluks attacked the Ottomans, Sultan Selim I asked for the Kings assistance. Edward swooned at the chance to lead armies to victory and ordered Cromwell and Norfolk to destroy the Mamluks and claim the Holy Land in the name of God and protestantism.
With the military genius of Norfolk and the administration abilities of Cromwell a fleet and sixty thousand men and horse was raised and sailed to the ancient city of Alexandria. When Norfolk landed on the fertile delta he received no resistance, leaving around five thousand men with his lieutenant and brother and marched onto the capital Cairo. The only major battle was to the south east of the splendid capital. With Norfolk besieging him Al-Ghawri sallied forth to confront the 'English' (which was actually comprised mainly of Welsh, Irish mercenaries and Scott's all brought together either by money, English dominion or in the case of the Scott's a belief that the Holy Land should be in the control of Christians).
A scene of Cairo and some of the Sultan's men
With the preponderance of cavalry in the Sultan's army and a lack of musket and artillery Norfolk dived into history for the answer. Taking from Henry V's campaign in France, he spread his troops thinly with the ancient, but still efficient Welsh longbow arranged behind the billmen of the Midlands. The ferocity of the assault upon Norfolk's position was immense and he wondered if his line could hold, he knew a bill could easily cleave a horse in two, but also that the line was quickly being decimated. At this point the charismatic Sir Edwin Collyer rode up to the Duke, in the excitement of and religious fervour in England Edward had allowed Sir Edwin and others to reform the 'Knights Templar'. The knight surveyed the filed and saw that the Sultan was in an exposed position, remembering his renaissance education and the great battles of Alexander, which he had been engrossed in as both man and boy, he suggested that he should take his 'knights' and “strike at then heart of the infidels!” as the great man had done at the Battle of Issus. Norfolk saw a tactical advantage and sized upon it quickly. Sir Edwin and the Knights Templar smashed into the Sultan's bodyguard, it is reputed that he himself beheaded two men in a wild charge before burying his sword deeply into Al-Ghawri, with the Sultan dead and his standard lowered the Mamluks soon broke and fled. All that remained of the 'Holy Campaign' was a long list of sieges, as well as the long an and laborious process of pacifying the populace at large.
Edward's rule in the middle east has been seen as enlightened from one with such fervent belief in Christianity, however, it is easy to see that the young king saw the Pope as the enemy and not Allah or his followers. He did not have Mosque's, that he infarct found beautiful, burnt nor Muslim's 'put to the sword' or forciably 'converted' to the 'true faith'. Norfolk had been impressed by both the Mamluks skill in war and peace and he employed Al-Ghawri's son as Governor of Cairo and founded the Order of Alexandria, a Muslim 'version' of the Knights Templar. Al-Ashraf was well like by the people and he was a competent enough governor, he always thought thirst for independence.
The seal of the Templar and a Mamluk Calvaryman of the Order of Alexandria
Tragedy befell the 'Holy Enterprise' when on the, 6th July 1553, Edward died with no heir leaving the throne to his half-sister, and fanatical Catholic, Mary. This was to be a short, but tumultuous reign. It began with England returning to the Catholic fold and a marriage between Mary and the Castile prince Philip. It was hoped that a good Catholic heir could be had, to stop her half sister Elizabeth ascending to the throne.
Philip was rather uninterested in his bride, eleven years his elder and released the Lady Elizabeth from house arrest. With the agony of a false pregnancy Mary set about her task of 'cleansing' England and her lands of 'heretics' that believed in the teaching of both Luther and Mohammed. Nearly three hundred men and women died on the home island and nearly double that figure in the Holy Land in what became known as the Marian Persecutions and gave her the title of 'Bloody Mary'. Her treatment of Muslim's gave Al-Ashraf the excuse he was looking for as he unified the rebels against English power and swept them from all of the old Mamluk lands save the great Alexandria it's self which was fiercely defended by not only the Templar's but also, strangely, the Islamic Order of Alexandria.
A typical Mamluk Mosque in Alexandria defended by both Templars and the Order
After Mary believed, for a second time, that she was pregnant she had grave news from the continent. Ferdinand III, King of Aragon has died leaving his daughter married to Francis of France. The French king, therefore, absorbed all Aragonese lands into his realm and became hugely powerful. Philip and his farther Charles, Holy Roman Emperor joined forces to attack the French and regain Aragon and it's Italian possessions in what would be know as the Italian war. Mary was at no obligation to support her husband and farther-in-law, but saw the immense potential of a successful campaign in France.
The return to glory of England in France was not to be, Francis soundly defeated the English forces and wrenched away Calais, the last French possession in English hands from her grasp. Mary suffered the ignominy of loosing almost all of England's overseas lands (only Alexandria, Ireland and a few scattered trading posts and colonies in America remained) and perhaps more significantly, for her if not the country, her second pregnancy was found to actually be ovarian cancer which shortly after killed her.
Edward and Mary, contrasting monarchs of England, but the did not decided the 'religious question'
The reign's of the first two of Henry's children had been a roller-coaster of ups and downs, but what had been shown was that the problem of religion had to be tackled. If it was not for the administration of the enigmatic Cromwell, times could well have been worse. He died shortly before Mary and it would rob her successor, Queen Elizabeth, of his immense talents when she came to the throne on the, 17th November 1558. Mary only left her sister questions about what she could do about the dire fortunes of the country and how she could get away from the division of England.
Dreams of Albion – VII 'Nationalism!'
cthulhu: Thank you, I'm glad someone is reading and commenting
Come with me on a journey, we wonder the ancient countryside and happen upon a large rolling lawn. There is a single figure sitting beneath a tree, a young women dutifully reading the Bible, perhaps lost in her own thoughts, daydreams or maybe meditations on the book. As we swing around we see the figure of a young man rapidly approaching the lady, visibly we see him breathless as he tries not to slump onto the tree. He can hardly find the air to utter a sentence and, in almost a whisper speaks, “Your Majesty...” she looks upon him kindly knowing the significance of his words and replies with a quoted Psalm “This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”. So begins the legend of Queen Elizabeth of England, truly one of the most important milestones in the history of this great nation.
The Church
The course upon which Elizabeth would have set England was a swift return to 'harsh' protestantism, with repression of Catholics. This divisive policy was presented to the two houses in Westminster as 'The Reformation Bill' and faced sever resistance not only in the conservative Lords but also the Commons. The bill was dissected and destroyed leaving the Queen with little option but to prorogue (suspended without dissolving) Parliament.
Sir William Cecil, the Queen's most trusted advisor set in motion a new path forward that would not only be accepted by Parliament, but also serve to detract from religion as the main domestic issue. Two bills were put forward, 'The Act of Supremacy' would leave Elizabeth in position as Governor of the Church (as many believed that a woman could not be head), while 'The Act of Uniformity' was worded in a way that would placate Catholics, Protestants and Muslims, though not in Ireland.
The young Elizabeth at her corination
Conflict and rebellion
The first most notable form of tension came from Elizabeth's own cousin Mary, the wife of the French King Francis II. Mary's attempt to usurp the throne of England was thwarted by Scottish Lords, and under pressure from the English Crown the French were forced to withdraw. The French Wars of religion gave the young Queen an opportunity to further diminish French power and prestige, although in the end the Huguenots were defeated leaving many to cross the channel and seek the comparative religious freedoms of Albion.
Tensions with Spain were at the forefront of the rest of Elizabeth's reign and were sparked by the incessant raids of English 'privateers', like Drake and Hawkins, on Spanish shipping and Philip II's measures to curtail them. When the Northern rebellion failed, Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull, Regnans in Excelsis, which declared her a heretic and released all her subjects from alliance. There followed two major plots both supported by Philip and Spain, that were exorcised by the great skill of Sir Francis Walsingham. The second directly implicated Mary 'Queen of Scot's' and lead to her eventual execution.
The Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland erupted in 1579 and was partially successful with both Spanish and Papal funding. This was put down in a most brutal way by the English, using the sword to kill all who openly opposed and fire and famine to indiscriminately kill all those who may oppose or help in the rebellion. Some of the worst atrocities in English history were committed during the long struggle. The Spanish support if the Irish resistance and the assassination of the Dutch stadholder William I, lead directly to Elizabeth's open support to the Dutch rebels in the United Provinces of the Netherlands. This increase in open tensions and disregard for each other would lead to the decisive Anglo-Spanish war, 1585 to 1591.
Mary "Queen of Scot's"
The War and the birth of Empire and Nationalism
The war started in an ignominious way fro England, a force sent to the low countries was quickly routed by superior Spanish numbers and technology. The fate of the most famous of all naval expeditions of the time, the Spanish Armada, is well known to most readers of the period and will not be dwelt upon. The after effect of the failed invasion by the Spanish was a 'counter invasion' lead by Drake and Sir John Norreys. The 'English Armada' set it's sights upon the total destruction of Spanish naval power, the capture of the legendary treasure fleet and the forced independence of Portugal. Had it succeeded the expedition would have left the entire 'New World' at the mercy of England and knocked Spanish power.
The English forces were disorganised and overly cautious and lead to almost abject failure. The only success was in that of destroying, temporarily, Spain's navy in port at Santander in the north in 1590. The major effect of this was an uneasy peace. Spain could not continue the war with England with only enough ships to escort it's life blood of silver from the new world, England on the other hand was war weary and near bankruptcy. A proxy war in the Netherlands continued unabated for many years, but there were no more significant engagements at sea, save raids by Drake and his 'pirate' ilk on Spanish shipping.
With hindsight the most important effect of the short war was English dominance of the Atlantic trading routes. Colonisation of the North American eastern coast by English settlers outstripped that of any other nation and almost all of the 'Thirteen Colonies' were set up in this time. Of even more importance was the colonisation and control of the rich sugar producing islands of the Caribbean Sea. England's, and later Britain's, 'sweet tooth' was to cause merchants and other entrepreneurs, including colonists, to search to globe for the white granules that were so sought by the public at home. The 'trading companies' such as the British East India Company (when first chartered known as the Honourable EIC, to try and obtain the spice trade from the Dutch) and others were later instrumental in the growth of Empire.
Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts the battle of Gravelines.
Legacy
One of the major legacy's left by the Virgin Queen was the extent to which religious differences (that would still remain and cause many ructions in the future) were put aside in the ground swell of English nationalism. Elizabeth successfully wrapped herself in the 'Flag' of the nation and while the Spanish, French and Pope were trying to bring Catholicism back to England most of her Catholic subjects supported her. Her use of rhetoric was legendary and bound the country together, from now on the peoples of the little damp country would think of England first and only then their religion. That is not to say that there were not more trouble to come from the thorny issue, but an outside power would normally find that from now on, both Catholics and Protestants would be together to fight a foreign invasion.
The other was rule, both domestic and in the fledgling colonies. She appreciated the work done by Cromwell's councils, but hatted the expense and could not stand the '...petty little bureaucrats...' as she explained to a courtier. She therefore allowed the Landed Gentry to rule on the councils whom she preferred, but perhaps more importantly they worked for free as part of their 'duty'. This ideal of governance was exported to the colonies and would go a way to keeping them feeling 'English' as it were.
Lastly she finally announced James VI as her successor, a thing that would cause much strife and even open warfare. Ultimately though it would lead to the England and even Britain that we know today.
Fictional portrayal of Elizabeth handing the throne of England to King James VI of Scotland
So we leave her life now, one can imagine the camera as it pans away from the fragile body being laid to rest with her half sister and predecessor Mary. One might reflect upon her many favourites, her mistakes and foibles, but that would be to diminish her many positives. As the scene moves across the waves to the self styled English 'New World' we see her importance and lasting legacy.
cthulhu: Thank you, I'm glad someone is reading and commenting
Dreams of Albion – VII 'Nationalism!'
Come with me on a journey, we wonder the ancient countryside and happen upon a large rolling lawn. There is a single figure sitting beneath a tree, a young women dutifully reading the Bible, perhaps lost in her own thoughts, daydreams or maybe meditations on the book. As we swing around we see the figure of a young man rapidly approaching the lady, visibly we see him breathless as he tries not to slump onto the tree. He can hardly find the air to utter a sentence and, in almost a whisper speaks, “Your Majesty...” she looks upon him kindly knowing the significance of his words and replies with a quoted Psalm “This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”. So begins the legend of Queen Elizabeth of England, truly one of the most important milestones in the history of this great nation.
The Church
The course upon which Elizabeth would have set England was a swift return to 'harsh' protestantism, with repression of Catholics. This divisive policy was presented to the two houses in Westminster as 'The Reformation Bill' and faced sever resistance not only in the conservative Lords but also the Commons. The bill was dissected and destroyed leaving the Queen with little option but to prorogue (suspended without dissolving) Parliament.
Sir William Cecil, the Queen's most trusted advisor set in motion a new path forward that would not only be accepted by Parliament, but also serve to detract from religion as the main domestic issue. Two bills were put forward, 'The Act of Supremacy' would leave Elizabeth in position as Governor of the Church (as many believed that a woman could not be head), while 'The Act of Uniformity' was worded in a way that would placate Catholics, Protestants and Muslims, though not in Ireland.
The young Elizabeth at her corination
Conflict and rebellion
The first most notable form of tension came from Elizabeth's own cousin Mary, the wife of the French King Francis II. Mary's attempt to usurp the throne of England was thwarted by Scottish Lords, and under pressure from the English Crown the French were forced to withdraw. The French Wars of religion gave the young Queen an opportunity to further diminish French power and prestige, although in the end the Huguenots were defeated leaving many to cross the channel and seek the comparative religious freedoms of Albion.
Tensions with Spain were at the forefront of the rest of Elizabeth's reign and were sparked by the incessant raids of English 'privateers', like Drake and Hawkins, on Spanish shipping and Philip II's measures to curtail them. When the Northern rebellion failed, Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull, Regnans in Excelsis, which declared her a heretic and released all her subjects from alliance. There followed two major plots both supported by Philip and Spain, that were exorcised by the great skill of Sir Francis Walsingham. The second directly implicated Mary 'Queen of Scot's' and lead to her eventual execution.
The Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland erupted in 1579 and was partially successful with both Spanish and Papal funding. This was put down in a most brutal way by the English, using the sword to kill all who openly opposed and fire and famine to indiscriminately kill all those who may oppose or help in the rebellion. Some of the worst atrocities in English history were committed during the long struggle. The Spanish support if the Irish resistance and the assassination of the Dutch stadholder William I, lead directly to Elizabeth's open support to the Dutch rebels in the United Provinces of the Netherlands. This increase in open tensions and disregard for each other would lead to the decisive Anglo-Spanish war, 1585 to 1591.
Mary "Queen of Scot's"
The War and the birth of Empire and Nationalism
The war started in an ignominious way fro England, a force sent to the low countries was quickly routed by superior Spanish numbers and technology. The fate of the most famous of all naval expeditions of the time, the Spanish Armada, is well known to most readers of the period and will not be dwelt upon. The after effect of the failed invasion by the Spanish was a 'counter invasion' lead by Drake and Sir John Norreys. The 'English Armada' set it's sights upon the total destruction of Spanish naval power, the capture of the legendary treasure fleet and the forced independence of Portugal. Had it succeeded the expedition would have left the entire 'New World' at the mercy of England and knocked Spanish power.
The English forces were disorganised and overly cautious and lead to almost abject failure. The only success was in that of destroying, temporarily, Spain's navy in port at Santander in the north in 1590. The major effect of this was an uneasy peace. Spain could not continue the war with England with only enough ships to escort it's life blood of silver from the new world, England on the other hand was war weary and near bankruptcy. A proxy war in the Netherlands continued unabated for many years, but there were no more significant engagements at sea, save raids by Drake and his 'pirate' ilk on Spanish shipping.
With hindsight the most important effect of the short war was English dominance of the Atlantic trading routes. Colonisation of the North American eastern coast by English settlers outstripped that of any other nation and almost all of the 'Thirteen Colonies' were set up in this time. Of even more importance was the colonisation and control of the rich sugar producing islands of the Caribbean Sea. England's, and later Britain's, 'sweet tooth' was to cause merchants and other entrepreneurs, including colonists, to search to globe for the white granules that were so sought by the public at home. The 'trading companies' such as the British East India Company (when first chartered known as the Honourable EIC, to try and obtain the spice trade from the Dutch) and others were later instrumental in the growth of Empire.
Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts the battle of Gravelines.
Legacy
One of the major legacy's left by the Virgin Queen was the extent to which religious differences (that would still remain and cause many ructions in the future) were put aside in the ground swell of English nationalism. Elizabeth successfully wrapped herself in the 'Flag' of the nation and while the Spanish, French and Pope were trying to bring Catholicism back to England most of her Catholic subjects supported her. Her use of rhetoric was legendary and bound the country together, from now on the peoples of the little damp country would think of England first and only then their religion. That is not to say that there were not more trouble to come from the thorny issue, but an outside power would normally find that from now on, both Catholics and Protestants would be together to fight a foreign invasion.
An example of her great rhetoric, to the troops at TilburyElizabeth said:
The other was rule, both domestic and in the fledgling colonies. She appreciated the work done by Cromwell's councils, but hatted the expense and could not stand the '...petty little bureaucrats...' as she explained to a courtier. She therefore allowed the Landed Gentry to rule on the councils whom she preferred, but perhaps more importantly they worked for free as part of their 'duty'. This ideal of governance was exported to the colonies and would go a way to keeping them feeling 'English' as it were.
Lastly she finally announced James VI as her successor, a thing that would cause much strife and even open warfare. Ultimately though it would lead to the England and even Britain that we know today.
Fictional portrayal of Elizabeth handing the throne of England to King James VI of Scotland
So we leave her life now, one can imagine the camera as it pans away from the fragile body being laid to rest with her half sister and predecessor Mary. One might reflect upon her many favourites, her mistakes and foibles, but that would be to diminish her many positives. As the scene moves across the waves to the self styled English 'New World' we see her importance and lasting legacy.
Muslims in Ireland, wonder how they got there?
All the Tu-dires may be given nicknames:
Puke, Gross, Boy, Bloody and Virgin
Highlights of the Virgin's reign: defeat of the Spanish Armada (thought this had more to do with a Divine Wind and fireships than any damage inflicted by English guns)
Lowlights:
defeat of Essex in Ireland or how to blow 300000 a year on a worthless favourite (Egad, now where did 20,000 Irishmen come from?)
succeeded by the first of the crypto-Catholic Scottish House of Stewards (where did we mislay our real royal family?)
no direct heirs
I look forward to your settling of the strife that results from James' accession.
All the Tu-dires may be given nicknames:
Puke, Gross, Boy, Bloody and Virgin
Highlights of the Virgin's reign: defeat of the Spanish Armada (thought this had more to do with a Divine Wind and fireships than any damage inflicted by English guns)
Lowlights:
defeat of Essex in Ireland or how to blow 300000 a year on a worthless favourite (Egad, now where did 20,000 Irishmen come from?)
succeeded by the first of the crypto-Catholic Scottish House of Stewards (where did we mislay our real royal family?)
no direct heirs
I look forward to your settling of the strife that results from James' accession.
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This AAR is back, wonderful. Really nice set of updates during the last days, interesting to see English forces in the Middle East and also very well to see Queen Elizabeth and her nice work for England, especially in destroying the Spanish Armada. Looking forward to more, and I hope we won’t have to wait for long until the next update arrives
Chief Ragusa: Very nice history of Ireland in the period there, James is not really the problem it's his son Cahrles... thats when it gets interesting
Lord E: Back indeed, with a vengance! Thank you for your kind words, I know my updates have been a bit tardy and I hope that I can get past that... at least two a week from now on (wednesday & sunday).
Very nice history of Ireland in the period there, James is not really the problem it's his son Cahrles... thats when it gets interesting Lord E: Back indeed, with a vengance! Thank you for your kind words, I know my updates have been a bit tardy and I hope that I can get past that... at least two a week from now on (wednesday & sunday).
Excellent update. Could we get a map with English possessions? Is Egypt still English, or only Alexandria?
Charles was the second son and not intended to be King. Prince Henry died after a plot he was organising against his father was discovered.
James thought he was the wisest man in Christendom, other thought him the wisest fool in Christendom. Although he was King of both England and Scotland, he made no moves to create a Union of Parliaments and, in the greatest test of his diplomatic skills, failed to support his son-in-law over the Bohemian crown in 1618.
In game, you may face a different set of circumstances - I don't think there is a Plot against King by own son - and the Thirty Years War is replaced by another set of conflicts. You already have strong colonies in the New World, a strong fleet and territory in Egypt. A situation far different to the one the real life James found.
James thought he was the wisest man in Christendom, other thought him the wisest fool in Christendom. Although he was King of both England and Scotland, he made no moves to create a Union of Parliaments and, in the greatest test of his diplomatic skills, failed to support his son-in-law over the Bohemian crown in 1618.
In game, you may face a different set of circumstances - I don't think there is a Plot against King by own son - and the Thirty Years War is replaced by another set of conflicts. You already have strong colonies in the New World, a strong fleet and territory in Egypt. A situation far different to the one the real life James found.
cthulhu: Thank you sri, your words lift me again. There may be a screenie (I know its not been seen before in this thread) of English realms in the next update... or I may try to edit a map... but there will definatly be a map of England and its colonies.
Egypt and the 'Holy land' have all gone... but Alexandria remains, held by the Christian and Muslim knightly orders
Oh indeed, but I need Charles and his unique take on how the monarchy should be positioned... unless Henry would be just as absolute and bad in judgment? but a Henry IX... I mean it's a little too much, the next thing we'll be going all French and having Henry XIVIXIV or whatever
Not sure what to do about unifying Parliaments, it may change too much for me write a 'believeable' and 'accurate' alternate-history, with the Bishop wars in Charles reign for example. Not sure about the Bohemian crown either, not sure how a 'sucessful' intervention would work, oh well.
Yeah, I'm not sure on the events... its been some time since I played this far in AGCEEP. England is in a much better position than IRL, but she is still weak in comparison to the major powers (including a France which has diplo-annexed Arragon) so it will need a man of skill to guide her properly through the period
Egypt and the 'Holy land' have all gone... but Alexandria remains, held by the Christian and Muslim knightly orders
Chief Ragusa said:
Oh indeed, but I need Charles and his unique take on how the monarchy should be positioned... unless Henry would be just as absolute and bad in judgment? but a Henry IX... I mean it's a little too much, the next thing we'll be going all French and having Henry XIVIXIV or whatever
Chief Ragusa said:
Not sure what to do about unifying Parliaments, it may change too much for me write a 'believeable' and 'accurate' alternate-history, with the Bishop wars in Charles reign for example. Not sure about the Bohemian crown either, not sure how a 'sucessful' intervention would work, oh well.
Chief Ragusa said:
Yeah, I'm not sure on the events... its been some time since I played this far in AGCEEP. England is in a much better position than IRL, but she is still weak in comparison to the major powers (including a France which has diplo-annexed Arragon) so it will need a man of skill to guide her properly through the period
The guarantee of Bohemian independence and a warning to Austria not to attack any of her neighbours would be the diplomatic support for Frederick V and Elizabeth. Trying to form an alliance with that other fence sitter J-G of Saxony and attempting to bring Denmark and Sweden or even Brandenburg into somethingthat the Hapsburg or Catholic League will think twice about attacking.
The issue for you is whether you want an early union for the purposes of your story. You could add or tweak the options in the Gunpowder Plot event.
The issue for you is whether you want an early union for the purposes of your story. You could add or tweak the options in the Gunpowder Plot event.