das
Regeneration In Process
Never said it was, merely that it was annexed due to the Americans having great influence there. It would work a bit different in Alaska, with economic factors playing a more significant part.
Alternate History Thread III
- Thread starter Luckymoose
- Start date
carmen510
Deity
And EQ's last one. I forgot the name, but I played as Spain. (AKA, the one before the one he's modding now)
das
Regeneration In Process
Actually, didn't you want to make a NES with USM, which was founded from and by a nation called Jefferson, which in turn is effectively OTL Texas, making USM a greatly-expanded, accordingly-reformed and differently-named Texas?
Panda's working on the maps, while I simultaneously do the stats. It will be brilliant.
das
Regeneration In Process
The Expanded Recapitulation.
Between the years 1626 and 1662, Ming Dynasty China, for long in general decline, underwent a crisis (in the medical meaning of the word). It all begun as the drawn-out war with the Later Jin Jurchens, who had established themselves in the crucial northern province of Liaoyang, entered a decisive phase. The Jurchens had superior numbers and organisation, but the Ming were blessed with generally better troop and leader quality, as well as a technological advantage and the assistance of their Korean allies. Of particular prominence was the Ming general Yuan Chonghuan, who, it is believed, ensured a complete Ming victory by making good use of all of his advantages and, after countering numerous Jurchen offensives over the course of 1626-1629 (killing the Jurchen khan Nurhachi in the process), launching a bold offensive in Liaoyang. In a campaign that combined the attributes of siege and maneuver warfare, the Sino-Korean forces not only reclaimed the provincial capital of Liaodong, but also routed the main Jurchen forces when the latter attempted to retake that city in 1632. The rest of Liaoyang was reconquered by the year's end, the Jurchens were forced to flee north and the Later Jin dynasty was mostly exterminated, the last Regent, Dorgon, commiting suicide. With a resounding military victory and newly freed-up troops, China's Chongzhen Emperor could feel at least a bit more secure and confident. He could also fully turn to domestic issues now, which was especially important as they were quite grave; the Beijing court was rife with partisanship, the officialdom was corrupt and the peasants were simply revolting.
For much of Chongzhen's reign (1627-1657), there were some urban riots and wandering rural warbands. Isolated rebellions occured now and then, but there were two waves of trully major rebelions - in the early 1640s and in the late 1640s-early 1650s. Rebels overran entire provinces, mostly in the west and in the centre; still, they were inevitably defeated. This was seriously helped by Yuan Chonghuan's sadly-incomplete military reforms in the 1640s. Chongzhen himself also introduced some reforms of his own, most notably overhauling the provincial administration and liberalising the foreign trade. Also noteworthy were the subsidies for the devastated farmers and the constant purges at court, which had claimed Yuan Chonghuan amongst others. By 1657 a degree of peace and quiet was reestablished in China, while the port cities, in spite of all problems, entered a boom period like none before. However, underlying problems remained; the peasantry still remained largely impoverished and understandably not content with its lot, the court remained corrupt and full of underground intrigues and factionalism, and the military and the southern bourgoise - the two main beneficiaries of Chongzhen's reign - grew increasingly ambitious and discontent with the present courtly policies. The somewhat complicated succession issues and the fact that Chongzhen, having amassed such great power, happened to pass away so suddenly, soon allowed for a civil war (1658-1662). While the legitimate heir - a puppet of his court - ascended to the throne in Beijing as the Tianzhen Emperor, Zhu Yujian, the Prince of Tang, concluded an alliance with the strongest general, Wu Sangui, in his own bid for the throne. After the failure of Wu Sangui's military coup, the conspirators and their retainers fled to Nanjing, where the Prince of Tang managed to rally the increasingly powerful city-dwellers around his new government and established a court of his own, declaring himself the Longwu Emperor. Losing no time, he did his best to win over the support of both the urban factions and of the peasantry (by promising reforms), receiving troops, funds and supplies; he also received mercenaries and very modern firearms from the Europeans and the Japanese. Though both factions of the civil war (the pro-Tianzhen Bei Ming and the pro-Longwu Nan Ming) were plagued by internal division, the Bei Ming suffered a major blow when one of their most important generals rebelled after failing to take Nanjing; they never did manage to reclaim the initiative, while Wu Sangui commanded a risky, yet succesful campaign, capturing Beijing in 1662 (the Nan Ming capital remained in Nanjing, though). Tianzhen commited suicide. Although many parts of China, especially in the west, remained anarchic, the greater part of China was now in Longwu's hands. As what came to be known as the Nan Ming Dynasty assumed power and the turmoil receded, the Longwu Emperor, aware of his approaching death, turned his attention to reform...
The Aftermath.
The move of the Chinese capital from Beijing to Nanjing, though not initially intended as such, symbolised a far greater geopolitical shift. One must remember that the very reason the Yongle Emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing back in 1403 was to supervise the execution of his various grand projects and plans for northern China, which was to be thoroughly rebuilt and repopulated; infrastructure was to be restored, the Great Wall was to be repaired and strenghthened, the Mongols were to be destroyed, divided or both; in short, north was to be fully recovered and the northern frontier was to be fortified. Not all of the plans worked, but as the Jurchen threat was eliminated and the other Mongols were embroiled in internicine strife, this seemed to have paid off (to say nothing of northern China becoming one of the richest and most densely-populated parts of the world - though that had again declined by now). Yet - as the Longwu Emperor couldn't but notice in Nanjing, while talking with local merchants and Europeans - the world has by now changed greatly. The best opportunities and the direst threats were no longer in the north, but rather in the ocean, where trade was more active than ever before, and where pirates and conquistadors roamed. Ever since the lifting of the ban on private trade with Southeast Asia (in 1567), the Chinese merchants established a serious presence in Southeast Asia, while the Europeans too frequented the coast, but a lot of the trade conducted was still of the illegal (and thus, untaxable) kind. In Nanjing, Longwu and his collaborators seeked to exploit the opportunities, counter the threats and adapt new policies that would both facilitate trade and make sure that the profits go to the treasury. The north and the steppe matters took a backseat from now on, while Longwu cracked down on illegal trade, introduced tariffs and subsidised reliable merchants, while docks were being expanded and the fleet was being rebuilt (with some help from a few European specialists, the Nan Ming were able to combine some of the best ideas of both Chinese and European naval technology). Ambassadors were dispatched to Europe and new trade agreements were negotiated (of particular interest to Longwu were the Dutch, on the account of their feud with the Portuguese; but that would come up a bit later). A Board of Trade was set up to supervise the reforms and resolve various trade-related issues. Soon income begun to pour in. This allowed for other reforms to be carried out as well, as China recovered from a century of decay and three decades of chaos.
First and foremost, various relief and repopulation programmes were organised for the particularily damaged and neglected provinces, mostly in the west. Local government was reestablished along old guidelines, though it was placed under closer central scrutiny; for that and similar purposes, the Jinyi Wei ("Brockade-Clad Guard") were rebuilt, but their powers were now limited and their supreme commander now answered to the Emperor himself. The Jinyi Wei watched over the officials and made sure that they steer clear of treason, corruption and other unwanted behaviour. If they didn't, the Jinyi Wei acted with their good old reliable crazed brutality, though the Emperor did his best to curb the particularily unsavoury excesses. As order in the provinces was reestablished, ofcourse, the central administration was also normalised, with a proper court established at Nanjing; however, Longwu made sure to limit its size and introduced some comparatively puritan rules to limit the self-indulgence of the courtiers, hoping to prevent it from becoming as bloated and corrupt as that of the late Bei Ming. In the regards of the eunuchs especially, the very rigid and strict rules of the Ming Dynasty's founder Hongwu were restored and imposed with particular vigour (Longwu didn't have particularily good relations with the court eunuchs early in his life), eradicating their power, at least at the first glance. At the same time, Longwu made sure that his sons and other male relatives participated in politics; he even sent one of his children to Amsterdam.
The Longwu Emperor made an effort to confront the problem of rural poverty and the land-tenure issues, mostly by conventional means of taxation adjustments (in favour of the tenants). Some more laws were introduced to limit landowner abuse of the tenants. Major land reclamation projects were started in the late 1660s/early 1670s, and the introduction of "new" American crops was facilitated. The military settlement system was also repaired; thanks to Yuan Chonghuan's reforms favouring quality over quantity, the strain on the land decreased, and some of the lands were given away to eager poor farmers as well. The largest change in the Chinese agriculture - a shift to a contractual system of labour - was however mostly independent from state policies. Whether naturally or thanks to Imperial actions, the social tensions decreased and prosperity increased, as China generally emerged from the chaos. Some dissent still remained, especially in the "neglected" north; there were a few rebellions, but they were dealt with (while we're at it, so were a few court conspiracies).
As the initial tax remissions for the devastated areas ended, the Longwu Emperor, although increasingly bedridden, could note with satisfaction that the economy has recovered and the treasury was growing. The money went into various new public works, and into the construction of a mighty fleet. This was sped up by the arrogant Portuguese refusal to abandon Macao and by the declaration of Dutch readiness. You see, although the Ming did tolerate the Portuguese presence in Macao, they mostly did so due to being preoccupied with other matters; for most of the 16th century it was the various court intrigues and whatnot, and under Chengzhen it were Jurchens and rebels. Longwu was at first busy with consolidating the new dynasty's power and carrying out the reforms, but as the Portuguese continued to conduct illegal commerce in coastal areas and even launched thinly-veiled "pirate raids", the Emperor had had enough, and launched in 1674 the first of what would come to be known as the "Great Southern Campaigns". The grand new Chinese fleet converged with the Dutch expeditionary fleet from the East Indies off the shores of the island of Coloane. After a brief skirmish the Portuguese fleet retreated to dock, and the Sino-Dutch navy started bombarding the city and its fortifications, attacking both of the main islands. Meanwhile a Chinese army started an assault on the small peninsula (the city's northernmost part); the Portuguese resisted stalwartly and efficiently, but gradually lost ground. As the tiny garrison became even tinier and the determination of the attackers became apparent, the governor surrendered. The Portuguese were granted three days to evacuate the city with Dutch help.
At this point, a few complications appeared as it became clear that the Dutch wanted Macao for themselves, something that Longwu was unwilling to give them. After some negotiations with the VOC, a completely different solution was reached; the Chinese received not just Macao (from now on called Aomen), but also Fort Zeelandia (which was renamed to Anping and became the primary base for the Chinese colonisation of Taiwan). In return the Dutch were granted a trade agreement with special privileges (such as storage rights), and were granted special quarters in Canton, Aomen and Shanghai. Although the English, the Spanish and even the Portuguese did already have trade agreements with China, theirs were less convenient terms, and the Dutch were more than glad to give up Fort Zeelandia for that (it was way too far from the centre of the VOC empire anyway). The following decade was basically the VOC's peak.
As for the Portuguese, they were more than a bit upset, and even tried to get the English to attack the Dutch, but to no avail and so they decided to let it be, aware that they were incapable of changing the situation and taking some consolation from the fact that the Dutch attack on Goa next year had failed miserably.
And the Chinese extended their economic reach, organised new state-sponsored trade guilds for the East Indies and started working on the conquest of Taiwan, which became part of the Fujian province. Resistance was existant, but rather sporadic and weak, and it was really a matter of time. More time than Longwu had left; he died in 1676. Miracilously, the transition of power was mostly peaceful, in spite of Longwu having many prominent sons; one of them did attempt to prevent the eldest surviving son's rise to power, but was thwarted, while the others already had good positions and did not try and go against the law.
The new Hangjun Emperor oversaw the continuation of reforms and the colonisation of Taiwan. He neglected the court somewhat, and the first signs of corruption gradually begun to appear again, though the austerity of the early Nan Ming mostly survived for now. Instead, the Hangqing Emperor took great interest in military matters, technology and ship-building; it is for a reason that some called him the "Fleet's Emperor", as ever since leading the Chinese fleet in the Aomen Campaign the then-Prince of Tang (a position that by now became associated with the heir apparent) was a fleetomaniac. The work that his father had begun in the naval sphere the Hangjun Emperor had perfected and improved upon; more specialists were invited, superior shipyards were set up, better designs were created and the fleet was expanded considerably. Expeditions were dispatched in numerous directions, including the first Chinese around-the-world journey under the command of Admiral Hong Lin, and contact with Europe was increased. As for the military activities, the fleet continued cracking down on illegal shipping and piracy; more interestingly the Hangjun Emperor had also answered the pleas of Ryukyu conspirators, and pledged support for a 1678 rebellion against the Shimazu clan which de facto ruled the islands since 1609. In a quick campaign, the Shimazu fleet was crashed and the island kingdom came under Chinese protection. This was in keeping with both the old tributary system (Ryukyu being a tributary of China first and foremost) and the new trade-driven policies, from the point of which Ryukyu was important as a key part of the semi-legal trade route between Japan and China and Southeast Asia. The Shimazu Clan attempted to reclaim the islands in 1680 and 1683, but was utterly crushed on both occassions, taking huge casualties. The Shogunate, which until then turned the blind eye towards the powerful Clan's blatant violation of anti-trade legislation and effectively independent foreign and domestic policies, now decided that the Shimazu were both unacceptably reckless and seriously weakened. The powerful advisor Sakai Tadakiyo's growing influence over the ailing Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna was also probably a factor. Either way, the Shogunate's armies soon invaded Kyushu and forcefully abolished the Clan as such, carving up its territories between the supporters of the Shogun. Although weakened, the Shimazu did resist for some while in a few outposts; worse still, the young samurais granted the new lands were not very skilled at managing them, and often had to deal with rebellions as well, so in sum Kyushu was serious damaged economically. As the breadbasket's agriculture was crippled, the Shogunate's economic and social woes, already... woeful, soon begun to detiriorate and the Japanese state neared a crisis, as rebellions grew frequent...
Back in China, the middle class continued to grow in importance, while new manufactories were established in the major cities. Better tools were being invented, and more and more elaborate products were made for export. Technological innovation was increasingly encouraged - mostly but not solely in shipbuilding, ofcourse - and some European methodics were adapted to augment the Chinese ones as well. Economically and technologically Nan Ming China was in a real golden age, and it was quite well in the other regards as well. The only really bad news was the apparent rise of a new Mongol empire (see below), which launched some raids, but they were all beaten back and the Great Wall was further expanded and strenghthened.
In 1685, after claiming some more small islands in the South China Sea, the Hangqing Emperor finally decided to try and do that which all the expansionist Chinese dynasties had tried sooner or later, with varying but ultimately temporary success. Taking advantage of the feudal divisions in Vietnam, the Emperor pledged to restore the Mac Dynasty (since 1592 limited to the tiny northern Cao Bang province, where the dynasty and its supporters survived mostly due to Ming protection), and invaded the north, held by the Trinh Lords who ruled there in the name of the figurehead Le Dynasty Emperor Le Hy Tong (while the Nguyen Lords ruled in his name in the south). The numerically and technologically superior Nan Ming army nonetheless encountered some problems early into its invasion, until a highly succesful amphibious operation gave them Haiphong. Hanoi was taken soon after, and a large Trinh army soon pledged allegience to the Mac Dynasty Emperor. Trinh Can was soon captured and executed, and the former Trinh lands were placed under Chinese military protectorate, with the Mac Dynasty Emperor as a figurehead in the new capital city of Hanoi. Still, the greater part of Vietnam - that south of the Linh River - was in the hands of the Nguyen Lords, a considerably more formidable foe in all regards, sporting powerful fortifications and preparing to defend itself ever since the invasion of the Trinh lands begun. The Chinese pressed on; by 1687, the Linh River was crossed and the Nguyen capital of Hue was captured, but the Chinese took heavy casualties, the resistance was fierce and further advance appeared impossible; the Nguyen forces retreated in good order, taking the Le Emperor with them, and fortified their positions at Da Nang. A huge army was levied and European weapons were acquired from Portuguese and other arms dealers. Thanks to all of these precautions, Lord Nguyen Phuc Tran managed to score a huge victory over the Chinese army in the Bach Ma forestlands, routing it in a huge battle, slaughtering and capturing nearly a fifth of the invaders, as well as numerous artillery pieces. Prince Zhu Yuhang (one of Hongqing's brothers) was sent to take command and avenge the defeat; he managed to fight back an attack on Hue itself, and introduced harsh measures to cripple resistance in the countryside. In the meantime, the Ming fleet went an a campaign of raids and naval skirmishes, gradually eliminating the Vietnamese fleet and looting several major port cities. In 1690, however, it was granted a bigger part, bringing supplies and reinforcements to Zhu Yuhang's army, providing artillery support in the coastal cities and most importantly landing specially-trained units behind the enemy lines on many occassions. It was on that year that Zhu Yuhang started the real offensive; with the help of the amphibious diversion, he managed to defeat the Nguyen army in detail and to besiege and capture Da Nang. The Nguyens kept retreated southwards, raising more and more troops while ordering everyone to resist the invasion and sending some troops and spies to help the rebels harrass the Chinese advance. In response, Zhu Yuhang introduced more and more harsh measures, and, advancing in an even pace, captured province after province, crushing all resistance. This "Pacification March" was to become a classic example of asymmetric total war-style operations on both sides, the Vietnamese using everything they had and the Chinese sparing noone. Ultimately the superior training and organisation of the Chinese, as well as growing tax pressure behind the Nguyen lines and a pretty succesful claim of legitimacy on the behalf of the Mac Dynasty, seemed to have paid off in 1694, when yet another Nguyen army was destroyed at Binh Dinh Qui Nhon; Vietnamese defectors abounded, and the city of Binh Dinh Qui Nhon itself surrendered without a fight. At this point, however, the Hongqing Emperor died, and the campaign came to a halt, both due to usual complications and because of the rumours of a succession war at home.
Yet these rumours proved to be ill-founded, the Zhengtai Emperor took power with the minimal bloodshed, reviewed the state of the war and dashed what few hopes Nguyen Phuc Tran still dared entertain. Zhu Yuhang was ordered to wrap the campaign up; seeing as the southernmost Nguyen-claimed lands were already snatched back by Chettha IV of Cambodia (both by his army and by the Cambodians there), this merely meant securing a few towns and forts, and tracking down Nguyen Phuc Tran. The latter goal soon became obsolete as Nguyen Phuc Tran commited suicide. Le Hy Tong was captured and imprisoned, though his conditions were eased somewhat after he officially abdicated in the favour of the Mac Dynasty. As for resistance, it continued - and continued to be irrelevant. The devastated Nam was trully An'd, at least for now.
The war itself was something of a reckless venture, considering that it actually disrupted Ming trade with Southeast Asia to a certain degree, moreso thanks to later activities of the Nguyen privateers; it naturally also cost much in the terms of time and resources, and to get the funds for Zhu Yuhang's campaigns the Nan Ming government had to increase taxes considerably, provoking some rural unrest at home (not to the point of rebellion, though). Still, the war granted the Nan Ming new trade ports and bases, and considerably increased their presence and influence in Southeast Asia. Also, numerous flaws in the Nan Ming land military, which was comparatively neglected under Hongqing, were exposed and rectified.
Either way, with Ryukyu, Taiwan, Vietnam and several islands in between conquered, the Nan Ming had expanded their empire considerably and approached the European colonial holdings and the key East Asian trade centres more closely than before. Greater trade presence was established in Malacca, Batavia and Nagasaki (which itself was opened to Chinese trade in 1696 after a little naval demonstration, along with some other Japanese ports). Nan Ming China has become a prominent naval, commercial and colonial power by 1700.
Between the years 1626 and 1662, Ming Dynasty China, for long in general decline, underwent a crisis (in the medical meaning of the word). It all begun as the drawn-out war with the Later Jin Jurchens, who had established themselves in the crucial northern province of Liaoyang, entered a decisive phase. The Jurchens had superior numbers and organisation, but the Ming were blessed with generally better troop and leader quality, as well as a technological advantage and the assistance of their Korean allies. Of particular prominence was the Ming general Yuan Chonghuan, who, it is believed, ensured a complete Ming victory by making good use of all of his advantages and, after countering numerous Jurchen offensives over the course of 1626-1629 (killing the Jurchen khan Nurhachi in the process), launching a bold offensive in Liaoyang. In a campaign that combined the attributes of siege and maneuver warfare, the Sino-Korean forces not only reclaimed the provincial capital of Liaodong, but also routed the main Jurchen forces when the latter attempted to retake that city in 1632. The rest of Liaoyang was reconquered by the year's end, the Jurchens were forced to flee north and the Later Jin dynasty was mostly exterminated, the last Regent, Dorgon, commiting suicide. With a resounding military victory and newly freed-up troops, China's Chongzhen Emperor could feel at least a bit more secure and confident. He could also fully turn to domestic issues now, which was especially important as they were quite grave; the Beijing court was rife with partisanship, the officialdom was corrupt and the peasants were simply revolting.
For much of Chongzhen's reign (1627-1657), there were some urban riots and wandering rural warbands. Isolated rebellions occured now and then, but there were two waves of trully major rebelions - in the early 1640s and in the late 1640s-early 1650s. Rebels overran entire provinces, mostly in the west and in the centre; still, they were inevitably defeated. This was seriously helped by Yuan Chonghuan's sadly-incomplete military reforms in the 1640s. Chongzhen himself also introduced some reforms of his own, most notably overhauling the provincial administration and liberalising the foreign trade. Also noteworthy were the subsidies for the devastated farmers and the constant purges at court, which had claimed Yuan Chonghuan amongst others. By 1657 a degree of peace and quiet was reestablished in China, while the port cities, in spite of all problems, entered a boom period like none before. However, underlying problems remained; the peasantry still remained largely impoverished and understandably not content with its lot, the court remained corrupt and full of underground intrigues and factionalism, and the military and the southern bourgoise - the two main beneficiaries of Chongzhen's reign - grew increasingly ambitious and discontent with the present courtly policies. The somewhat complicated succession issues and the fact that Chongzhen, having amassed such great power, happened to pass away so suddenly, soon allowed for a civil war (1658-1662). While the legitimate heir - a puppet of his court - ascended to the throne in Beijing as the Tianzhen Emperor, Zhu Yujian, the Prince of Tang, concluded an alliance with the strongest general, Wu Sangui, in his own bid for the throne. After the failure of Wu Sangui's military coup, the conspirators and their retainers fled to Nanjing, where the Prince of Tang managed to rally the increasingly powerful city-dwellers around his new government and established a court of his own, declaring himself the Longwu Emperor. Losing no time, he did his best to win over the support of both the urban factions and of the peasantry (by promising reforms), receiving troops, funds and supplies; he also received mercenaries and very modern firearms from the Europeans and the Japanese. Though both factions of the civil war (the pro-Tianzhen Bei Ming and the pro-Longwu Nan Ming) were plagued by internal division, the Bei Ming suffered a major blow when one of their most important generals rebelled after failing to take Nanjing; they never did manage to reclaim the initiative, while Wu Sangui commanded a risky, yet succesful campaign, capturing Beijing in 1662 (the Nan Ming capital remained in Nanjing, though). Tianzhen commited suicide. Although many parts of China, especially in the west, remained anarchic, the greater part of China was now in Longwu's hands. As what came to be known as the Nan Ming Dynasty assumed power and the turmoil receded, the Longwu Emperor, aware of his approaching death, turned his attention to reform...
The Aftermath.
The move of the Chinese capital from Beijing to Nanjing, though not initially intended as such, symbolised a far greater geopolitical shift. One must remember that the very reason the Yongle Emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing back in 1403 was to supervise the execution of his various grand projects and plans for northern China, which was to be thoroughly rebuilt and repopulated; infrastructure was to be restored, the Great Wall was to be repaired and strenghthened, the Mongols were to be destroyed, divided or both; in short, north was to be fully recovered and the northern frontier was to be fortified. Not all of the plans worked, but as the Jurchen threat was eliminated and the other Mongols were embroiled in internicine strife, this seemed to have paid off (to say nothing of northern China becoming one of the richest and most densely-populated parts of the world - though that had again declined by now). Yet - as the Longwu Emperor couldn't but notice in Nanjing, while talking with local merchants and Europeans - the world has by now changed greatly. The best opportunities and the direst threats were no longer in the north, but rather in the ocean, where trade was more active than ever before, and where pirates and conquistadors roamed. Ever since the lifting of the ban on private trade with Southeast Asia (in 1567), the Chinese merchants established a serious presence in Southeast Asia, while the Europeans too frequented the coast, but a lot of the trade conducted was still of the illegal (and thus, untaxable) kind. In Nanjing, Longwu and his collaborators seeked to exploit the opportunities, counter the threats and adapt new policies that would both facilitate trade and make sure that the profits go to the treasury. The north and the steppe matters took a backseat from now on, while Longwu cracked down on illegal trade, introduced tariffs and subsidised reliable merchants, while docks were being expanded and the fleet was being rebuilt (with some help from a few European specialists, the Nan Ming were able to combine some of the best ideas of both Chinese and European naval technology). Ambassadors were dispatched to Europe and new trade agreements were negotiated (of particular interest to Longwu were the Dutch, on the account of their feud with the Portuguese; but that would come up a bit later). A Board of Trade was set up to supervise the reforms and resolve various trade-related issues. Soon income begun to pour in. This allowed for other reforms to be carried out as well, as China recovered from a century of decay and three decades of chaos.
First and foremost, various relief and repopulation programmes were organised for the particularily damaged and neglected provinces, mostly in the west. Local government was reestablished along old guidelines, though it was placed under closer central scrutiny; for that and similar purposes, the Jinyi Wei ("Brockade-Clad Guard") were rebuilt, but their powers were now limited and their supreme commander now answered to the Emperor himself. The Jinyi Wei watched over the officials and made sure that they steer clear of treason, corruption and other unwanted behaviour. If they didn't, the Jinyi Wei acted with their good old reliable crazed brutality, though the Emperor did his best to curb the particularily unsavoury excesses. As order in the provinces was reestablished, ofcourse, the central administration was also normalised, with a proper court established at Nanjing; however, Longwu made sure to limit its size and introduced some comparatively puritan rules to limit the self-indulgence of the courtiers, hoping to prevent it from becoming as bloated and corrupt as that of the late Bei Ming. In the regards of the eunuchs especially, the very rigid and strict rules of the Ming Dynasty's founder Hongwu were restored and imposed with particular vigour (Longwu didn't have particularily good relations with the court eunuchs early in his life), eradicating their power, at least at the first glance. At the same time, Longwu made sure that his sons and other male relatives participated in politics; he even sent one of his children to Amsterdam.
The Longwu Emperor made an effort to confront the problem of rural poverty and the land-tenure issues, mostly by conventional means of taxation adjustments (in favour of the tenants). Some more laws were introduced to limit landowner abuse of the tenants. Major land reclamation projects were started in the late 1660s/early 1670s, and the introduction of "new" American crops was facilitated. The military settlement system was also repaired; thanks to Yuan Chonghuan's reforms favouring quality over quantity, the strain on the land decreased, and some of the lands were given away to eager poor farmers as well. The largest change in the Chinese agriculture - a shift to a contractual system of labour - was however mostly independent from state policies. Whether naturally or thanks to Imperial actions, the social tensions decreased and prosperity increased, as China generally emerged from the chaos. Some dissent still remained, especially in the "neglected" north; there were a few rebellions, but they were dealt with (while we're at it, so were a few court conspiracies).
As the initial tax remissions for the devastated areas ended, the Longwu Emperor, although increasingly bedridden, could note with satisfaction that the economy has recovered and the treasury was growing. The money went into various new public works, and into the construction of a mighty fleet. This was sped up by the arrogant Portuguese refusal to abandon Macao and by the declaration of Dutch readiness. You see, although the Ming did tolerate the Portuguese presence in Macao, they mostly did so due to being preoccupied with other matters; for most of the 16th century it was the various court intrigues and whatnot, and under Chengzhen it were Jurchens and rebels. Longwu was at first busy with consolidating the new dynasty's power and carrying out the reforms, but as the Portuguese continued to conduct illegal commerce in coastal areas and even launched thinly-veiled "pirate raids", the Emperor had had enough, and launched in 1674 the first of what would come to be known as the "Great Southern Campaigns". The grand new Chinese fleet converged with the Dutch expeditionary fleet from the East Indies off the shores of the island of Coloane. After a brief skirmish the Portuguese fleet retreated to dock, and the Sino-Dutch navy started bombarding the city and its fortifications, attacking both of the main islands. Meanwhile a Chinese army started an assault on the small peninsula (the city's northernmost part); the Portuguese resisted stalwartly and efficiently, but gradually lost ground. As the tiny garrison became even tinier and the determination of the attackers became apparent, the governor surrendered. The Portuguese were granted three days to evacuate the city with Dutch help.
At this point, a few complications appeared as it became clear that the Dutch wanted Macao for themselves, something that Longwu was unwilling to give them. After some negotiations with the VOC, a completely different solution was reached; the Chinese received not just Macao (from now on called Aomen), but also Fort Zeelandia (which was renamed to Anping and became the primary base for the Chinese colonisation of Taiwan). In return the Dutch were granted a trade agreement with special privileges (such as storage rights), and were granted special quarters in Canton, Aomen and Shanghai. Although the English, the Spanish and even the Portuguese did already have trade agreements with China, theirs were less convenient terms, and the Dutch were more than glad to give up Fort Zeelandia for that (it was way too far from the centre of the VOC empire anyway). The following decade was basically the VOC's peak.
As for the Portuguese, they were more than a bit upset, and even tried to get the English to attack the Dutch, but to no avail and so they decided to let it be, aware that they were incapable of changing the situation and taking some consolation from the fact that the Dutch attack on Goa next year had failed miserably.
And the Chinese extended their economic reach, organised new state-sponsored trade guilds for the East Indies and started working on the conquest of Taiwan, which became part of the Fujian province. Resistance was existant, but rather sporadic and weak, and it was really a matter of time. More time than Longwu had left; he died in 1676. Miracilously, the transition of power was mostly peaceful, in spite of Longwu having many prominent sons; one of them did attempt to prevent the eldest surviving son's rise to power, but was thwarted, while the others already had good positions and did not try and go against the law.
The new Hangjun Emperor oversaw the continuation of reforms and the colonisation of Taiwan. He neglected the court somewhat, and the first signs of corruption gradually begun to appear again, though the austerity of the early Nan Ming mostly survived for now. Instead, the Hangqing Emperor took great interest in military matters, technology and ship-building; it is for a reason that some called him the "Fleet's Emperor", as ever since leading the Chinese fleet in the Aomen Campaign the then-Prince of Tang (a position that by now became associated with the heir apparent) was a fleetomaniac. The work that his father had begun in the naval sphere the Hangjun Emperor had perfected and improved upon; more specialists were invited, superior shipyards were set up, better designs were created and the fleet was expanded considerably. Expeditions were dispatched in numerous directions, including the first Chinese around-the-world journey under the command of Admiral Hong Lin, and contact with Europe was increased. As for the military activities, the fleet continued cracking down on illegal shipping and piracy; more interestingly the Hangjun Emperor had also answered the pleas of Ryukyu conspirators, and pledged support for a 1678 rebellion against the Shimazu clan which de facto ruled the islands since 1609. In a quick campaign, the Shimazu fleet was crashed and the island kingdom came under Chinese protection. This was in keeping with both the old tributary system (Ryukyu being a tributary of China first and foremost) and the new trade-driven policies, from the point of which Ryukyu was important as a key part of the semi-legal trade route between Japan and China and Southeast Asia. The Shimazu Clan attempted to reclaim the islands in 1680 and 1683, but was utterly crushed on both occassions, taking huge casualties. The Shogunate, which until then turned the blind eye towards the powerful Clan's blatant violation of anti-trade legislation and effectively independent foreign and domestic policies, now decided that the Shimazu were both unacceptably reckless and seriously weakened. The powerful advisor Sakai Tadakiyo's growing influence over the ailing Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna was also probably a factor. Either way, the Shogunate's armies soon invaded Kyushu and forcefully abolished the Clan as such, carving up its territories between the supporters of the Shogun. Although weakened, the Shimazu did resist for some while in a few outposts; worse still, the young samurais granted the new lands were not very skilled at managing them, and often had to deal with rebellions as well, so in sum Kyushu was serious damaged economically. As the breadbasket's agriculture was crippled, the Shogunate's economic and social woes, already... woeful, soon begun to detiriorate and the Japanese state neared a crisis, as rebellions grew frequent...
Back in China, the middle class continued to grow in importance, while new manufactories were established in the major cities. Better tools were being invented, and more and more elaborate products were made for export. Technological innovation was increasingly encouraged - mostly but not solely in shipbuilding, ofcourse - and some European methodics were adapted to augment the Chinese ones as well. Economically and technologically Nan Ming China was in a real golden age, and it was quite well in the other regards as well. The only really bad news was the apparent rise of a new Mongol empire (see below), which launched some raids, but they were all beaten back and the Great Wall was further expanded and strenghthened.
In 1685, after claiming some more small islands in the South China Sea, the Hangqing Emperor finally decided to try and do that which all the expansionist Chinese dynasties had tried sooner or later, with varying but ultimately temporary success. Taking advantage of the feudal divisions in Vietnam, the Emperor pledged to restore the Mac Dynasty (since 1592 limited to the tiny northern Cao Bang province, where the dynasty and its supporters survived mostly due to Ming protection), and invaded the north, held by the Trinh Lords who ruled there in the name of the figurehead Le Dynasty Emperor Le Hy Tong (while the Nguyen Lords ruled in his name in the south). The numerically and technologically superior Nan Ming army nonetheless encountered some problems early into its invasion, until a highly succesful amphibious operation gave them Haiphong. Hanoi was taken soon after, and a large Trinh army soon pledged allegience to the Mac Dynasty Emperor. Trinh Can was soon captured and executed, and the former Trinh lands were placed under Chinese military protectorate, with the Mac Dynasty Emperor as a figurehead in the new capital city of Hanoi. Still, the greater part of Vietnam - that south of the Linh River - was in the hands of the Nguyen Lords, a considerably more formidable foe in all regards, sporting powerful fortifications and preparing to defend itself ever since the invasion of the Trinh lands begun. The Chinese pressed on; by 1687, the Linh River was crossed and the Nguyen capital of Hue was captured, but the Chinese took heavy casualties, the resistance was fierce and further advance appeared impossible; the Nguyen forces retreated in good order, taking the Le Emperor with them, and fortified their positions at Da Nang. A huge army was levied and European weapons were acquired from Portuguese and other arms dealers. Thanks to all of these precautions, Lord Nguyen Phuc Tran managed to score a huge victory over the Chinese army in the Bach Ma forestlands, routing it in a huge battle, slaughtering and capturing nearly a fifth of the invaders, as well as numerous artillery pieces. Prince Zhu Yuhang (one of Hongqing's brothers) was sent to take command and avenge the defeat; he managed to fight back an attack on Hue itself, and introduced harsh measures to cripple resistance in the countryside. In the meantime, the Ming fleet went an a campaign of raids and naval skirmishes, gradually eliminating the Vietnamese fleet and looting several major port cities. In 1690, however, it was granted a bigger part, bringing supplies and reinforcements to Zhu Yuhang's army, providing artillery support in the coastal cities and most importantly landing specially-trained units behind the enemy lines on many occassions. It was on that year that Zhu Yuhang started the real offensive; with the help of the amphibious diversion, he managed to defeat the Nguyen army in detail and to besiege and capture Da Nang. The Nguyens kept retreated southwards, raising more and more troops while ordering everyone to resist the invasion and sending some troops and spies to help the rebels harrass the Chinese advance. In response, Zhu Yuhang introduced more and more harsh measures, and, advancing in an even pace, captured province after province, crushing all resistance. This "Pacification March" was to become a classic example of asymmetric total war-style operations on both sides, the Vietnamese using everything they had and the Chinese sparing noone. Ultimately the superior training and organisation of the Chinese, as well as growing tax pressure behind the Nguyen lines and a pretty succesful claim of legitimacy on the behalf of the Mac Dynasty, seemed to have paid off in 1694, when yet another Nguyen army was destroyed at Binh Dinh Qui Nhon; Vietnamese defectors abounded, and the city of Binh Dinh Qui Nhon itself surrendered without a fight. At this point, however, the Hongqing Emperor died, and the campaign came to a halt, both due to usual complications and because of the rumours of a succession war at home.
Yet these rumours proved to be ill-founded, the Zhengtai Emperor took power with the minimal bloodshed, reviewed the state of the war and dashed what few hopes Nguyen Phuc Tran still dared entertain. Zhu Yuhang was ordered to wrap the campaign up; seeing as the southernmost Nguyen-claimed lands were already snatched back by Chettha IV of Cambodia (both by his army and by the Cambodians there), this merely meant securing a few towns and forts, and tracking down Nguyen Phuc Tran. The latter goal soon became obsolete as Nguyen Phuc Tran commited suicide. Le Hy Tong was captured and imprisoned, though his conditions were eased somewhat after he officially abdicated in the favour of the Mac Dynasty. As for resistance, it continued - and continued to be irrelevant. The devastated Nam was trully An'd, at least for now.
The war itself was something of a reckless venture, considering that it actually disrupted Ming trade with Southeast Asia to a certain degree, moreso thanks to later activities of the Nguyen privateers; it naturally also cost much in the terms of time and resources, and to get the funds for Zhu Yuhang's campaigns the Nan Ming government had to increase taxes considerably, provoking some rural unrest at home (not to the point of rebellion, though). Still, the war granted the Nan Ming new trade ports and bases, and considerably increased their presence and influence in Southeast Asia. Also, numerous flaws in the Nan Ming land military, which was comparatively neglected under Hongqing, were exposed and rectified.
Either way, with Ryukyu, Taiwan, Vietnam and several islands in between conquered, the Nan Ming had expanded their empire considerably and approached the European colonial holdings and the key East Asian trade centres more closely than before. Greater trade presence was established in Malacca, Batavia and Nagasaki (which itself was opened to Chinese trade in 1696 after a little naval demonstration, along with some other Japanese ports). Nan Ming China has become a prominent naval, commercial and colonial power by 1700.
das
Regeneration In Process
The Ripple Effect.
In the previous section numerous developments in the rest of Asia were mentioned, in the passing. Although this was a whole new era, the Chinese "tributary" system still stood, and the littlest splash in China had a great influence on the developments in all the nearby areas. It would be best to go over this clockwise.
As the surviving Jurchens gradually intermixed with the assorted Mongol tribes, they ceased to be a distinguished political force; they still did launch some raids into Liaoyang and northern Korea, but failed to do anything beyond that. For a while it appeared that the steppe nomads would never pose a threat to China again, divided as they were; but later in the 17th century, the Mongols were suddenly reunited by an energetic new leader, Khong Taiji Galdan (soon declared a Boshugtu Khan), who inherited his father's West Mongol empire (the Dzungar Empire/Confederation) and defeated all internal opposition during the 1670s. Already in that decade he also waged great campaigns of conquest, subduing various other steppe tribes. Kashgar, Uighuristan and Eastern Mongolia all submitted to him, and Tibet and the lands of the Jurchens and Chahar Mongols[1] were nominally subservient to him as well. Although raids into northern China were mostly unsuccesful, the Chinese failed to muster any punitive expiditions, and Galdan Khan rsetored his prestige while fighting the Russians, a new power in North Asia. Although the Cossacks had overran most of Siberia - reaching the Pacific Ocean in the 1640s - their attempts to expand further south encountered serious resistance. Still, lands around the Baikal were secured by 1680 - until Galdan Khan's highly-succesful campaign during which the Mongols captured Chita and burned Nerchinsk and Irkutsk. Galdan's Jurcheno-Mongol allies also expelled the Russians from the Black Dragon River[2], or at least boasted to that effect. The Russians dispatched numerous expeditions, but failed to reclaim the lost ground, and so the sparsely-populated regions north and northwest of the Baikal became a zone of sporadic maneuver warfare between Cossacks and Mongols. That continued with no end in sight, although the Tsar and the Khan had reached an agreement in the 1688 Treaty of Irkutsk, which recognised the Khan's present holdings and allowed the Russian merchants to return to the Mongol cities and the Black Dragon River. Said Mongol cities, such as Chita and Urga, became vital as middlemen for trade between Russia and China. Thus the arrival of the Russian merchants reinvigorated the Central Asian trade routes much like the Europeans reinvigorated trade in Southeast Asia. Galdan's empire underwent a brief golden age both due to the trade and because of the close contact with Tibet, which resulted in a cultural renaissance. After Galdan's death in 1694, however, the empire quickly begun to fragment. Still, the position of the Russo-Chinese middleman was taken over by one of the immediate successor states, the Urga Empire, based in Mongolia Proper; it managed to acquire a greater degree of control over the Jurchens and the Chahars as well, but was mostly peaceful.
Much to the relief of the Koreans. For Korea, things were rather quiet after the costly struggles with the Japanese and the Jurchens as well as with each other that had preoccupied the Korean rulers and elites for late 16th/early 17th centuries. The Koreans spent most of the following time recovering from the devastation of the invasions; the monarchs were mostly benevolent and did their best to restore the country's agriculture. Although politically Korea drifted away from China, it still traded with it extensively. Much trade with the Europeans occured as well, and many innovations and inventions had spread to Korea. Social and economic changes occured; they were similar in their nature to those in China, though the state had to introduce comparatively more radical social and land reforms over the opposition of the reactionary landowners. The Koreans did actually expand in this time period; since the 1640s, there were some attempts to conquer the Jurchens, and though they weren't really succesful some new forts and colonies were established to the north and the northwest, and gradually the Koreans managed to increase their country's size by about 15-20%. That included a few new ports. It was, to sum up, a boring but pretty comfortable time.
Japan's woes were already mentioned; they only got worse since 1683. In 1690 Tokugawa Ietsuna died at last, without heirs, and a civil war begun between the powerful minister Sakai Tadakiyo (who, along with a significant bureaucratic faction, wanted to effectively destroy the Tokugawa Shogunate by having a prince of the blood, though a one lacking real chances of inheritance, receive the Shogunate instead) and the supporters of the mentally-feeble Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (chiefly the Tokugawa household itself). Sakai Tadakiyo managed to rally to his side the discontent peasants and merchants, as well as surprisingly many of the ambitious samurai (to whom he promised land and glory); as for Tsunayoshi and the Tokugawas, they were supported by most of the traditional daimyos and their own households. In the end most of the samurai still did follow the Tokugawas as well. Long story cut short, in spite of Tadakiyo's hiring of Chinese and European mercenaries, his forces were eventually overran and he himself executed. However, the civil war weakened Japan further, and the Shogunate remained shaky. Tsunayoshi's eccentric reforms and excessive moralism have not helped matters. Still, although a hardliner, Tsunayoshi was persuaded by his advisors to grant the Chinese and the Koreans additional trade priveleges when threatened with a full-scale invasion.
Not much happened in the Spanish Phillipines, apart from the arrival of some more Chinese pirates, traders and migrants.
Vietnam/Annam was, as already detailed, under Chinese military occupation and struggling to recover from the damages of the war.
With Vietnam eliminated and Burma in general decay (though southern Burma prospered economically; that actually made things even worse, as it became increasingly unwilling to be drained of its newfound wealth for Ava's purposes, no matter how noble - doubly so because the corrupt officials prevented any of the planned projects from achieving any degree of reconstruction after 16th century's wars), Ayutthaya moved into a predominant position for Indochina. Though since 1688 (when the very open-minded and pro-French king Narai died and a reactionary xenophobic coup was carried out by Phetracha) Ayutthaya had severed all ties to the West and became very isolationist, it nonetheless remained the strongest native military power, and not only put down all rebellions against it, but also expanded at the expense of the Malay statelets and Ava, and most notably took advantage of the Laotian Lan Xang Confederation's civil wars to annex almost the entire confederation in a series of campaigns. This, along with the Nan Ming conquest of Annam, had greatly alarmed the Cambodians. Having spent over a century in the shadow of Annam and Ayutthaya, a vassal of either or both at any given time and nonetheless often invaded and pillaged, Cambodia quickly took advantage of Annam's fall to reclaim the lands lost to it and claim full independence. This already has bought Chettha IV - also famous for his humane legal reforms - undying love from his people, but he knew that Cambodia's existance was very precarious, and so worked hard to improve Cambodia's defenses; a new levy system was introduced and powerful fortifications were constructed with the help of French engineers (consequently the foritifications resembled those of Vauban). Indeed, eager to get back at Phetracha, the French invested a lot of effort in Cambodia, in exchange for preferential treatment and tolerance for the French Jesuits, as well as priveleges for French merchants. This effort amounted to selling weapons, sending advisors and aforementioned engineers and eventually even sending a 6,000 men military contingent to help train the Cambodian army.
In the East Indies, the VOC was hegemonic, with bases and possessions all over the place. Many indiginous states remained; not much really changed there as of late. There was some English presence in Sumatra, a Portuguese colony in East Timor and Spanish and Chinese outposts on Borneo, but aside from that colonial competition was mostly crushed and commercial wasn't doing much better, though both China and England, and to a lesser extent Sweden and France, were on the rise in the latter field.
And so we come full circle, to the successors of Galdan Khan, as by 1700 one of them had reunited the western parts of Galdan's Empire and vassalised Tibet (which was plagued by political and religious tensions). The Western Dzungar Empire wasn't very stable, with the Uighurs only waiting for the first opportunity to rise up; still, it too gained commercial importance not unlike Urga, as a middleman between China and Urga on one side and the Uzbeg Empire of Bukkhara on the other.
The Telegraph Effect.
All in the world is intertied, and in the 17th Century it was more so than ever before, as the world was tied together by a series of trade routes overland and oceanic. As the ripples continued spreading from China, the ripple effect increasingly transformed into a telegraph effect, as the events in Asia affected Europe first and foremost due to the changes in the balance of economic - and thus, overall - power.
The exact manner in which it occured was not always easy to predict. For instance, although the emergence of the new Russian "Fur Route" had benefitted Russia economically, other events - most notably the trade-disrupting war with the Dzungar Mongols - had definitely weakened it and distracted it. To make things worse, several incidents and mutual suspicion during the Mongol war had upset the relations between Russia and the Kalmyk Khanate (founded by Oirat Mongols, related to those Oirats that stayed in the east to found the Dzungar Empire), ultimately leading to the latter's "rebellion" (the Kalmyks were nominal subjects of the Tsar) in 1687, supported by some of the Bashkirs and Tartars in nearby lands. The war with the Kalmyks was a long and drawn-out one; though by 1700 the Bashkirs and the Tartars were defeated and the Kalmyks thwarted in all attempts to gain land on the other said of the Yaik[3], the Kalmyk Khanate had now become a formally independent polity and a one firmly hostile to Rusisa. Between these developments, the utterly unsuccesful Crimean campaigns (in 1687 and 1690), the rampant corruption and the constant power struggles, intrigues and coup attempts, it seemed as though Russia was about to enter another Time of Troubles. In fact, in 1689, when one of two co-Tsars (the one who wasn't a cretin), Peter I came of age and demanded that the regentess Sophia Alekseyevna Romanova step down, a brief civil war did begin. Sophia decided to cling on to power and tried to have Peter killed, but her government was already quite unpopular and many of the streltsy defected to the young Tsar outright instead, although some remained loyal to Sophia, who also had some support amongst the urban population and the Miloslavsky boyars. What forces she and her boyar allies could master were not enough, and Peter I, with his mother's boyar clan of the Naryshkins, came out victorious by 1692, while Sophia was sent away to a convent. He had to deal with rebellions and Kalmyks from the start, and generally succeeded in stabilising the state and launching some initial reforms. Still, while establishing his control over Russia, Peter was forced to miss a good opportunity to capture the Ottoman fortress of Azov, as the Ottomans were still embattled elsewhere in Europe; in late 1698, however, the Great Turkish War had ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz, which granted Hungary to Austria, Podolia to Poland and Morea to Venice. Peter decided to let that wait for now; he still needed to carry out some reforms, build up a stronger military and resolve the Kalmyk question. Europe could wait...
The initial influences on Europe's great maritime powers were pretty obvious; Portugal's early Braganza slump worsened, while the Dutch economical power grew even further. The latter eventually became an important factor in some events of global significance, though, helping smoothen the Glorious Revolution of 1688. That was a vital moment for William of Orange, soon King William III of England, amongst other things; as Holland and England entered a personal union, they were able to use their combined influence to help assemble and rally the League of Augsburg (with the Holy Roman Emperor and the German Princes, as well as some others, most notably Spain and Savoy) to counter the power and expansionism of Louis XIV's France, which was pursuing a policy of reunion, claiming and annexing lands between France and the Rhine. The League of Augsburg finally stood up to this policy in 1688, over the issue of the French claim towards the Palatinate of Rhine. The war soon became a drawn-out and indecisive one; the French made some gains in Flanders, Savoy and Catalonia, but the Allies prevented them from advancing further in most cases. Gradually attrition, famine and war-weariness took their toll on both sides. It is believed that one of the few decisive battles of the war was a one with an outcome directly connected to the growth of Dutch wealth and seapower; namely, the 1692 Battle of Barfleur, where de Tourville's outnumbered French fleet was thoroughly defeated by the Anglo-Dutch one, ending French naval supremacy and forcing Louis XIV to scrap his plans for an invasion in the support of the Jacobite cause. The war itself still dragged on until 1695, when the French finally managed to make serious gains against Savoy and Spain, soon signing separate truces with them and then a peace treaty with the League of Augsburg in the Dutch city of Delft, retreating from his gains since 1680 (when the reunions begun) and recognising William as king of England. Both sides knew that this peace was not to last, ofcourse. Still, for now the supremacy of the so-called Maritime Powers could be celebrated...
The Foreshadowing.
While Nan Ming China continued to build up its new empire, for now in a state of comparative peace along with its cultural tributaries, the European great powers were plotting and preparing. For if most of East Asia was emerging from an Interesting Time, Europe was in the middle of one. The War of the League of Augsburg had failed to resolve the main conflicts at hand; rather, the Treaty of Delft delayed the resolution, giving time for William III to rebuild the weakened alliance and consolidate his positions at home and for Louis XIV to rebuild his weakened military and prepare his next move - or rather, moves. These plans, as of 1700, awaited only a few deaths and secret replies.
Luck made it so that those plans would lead to the biggest war in European history thus far, embroiling virtually all the parties involveable.
---
[1] Meaning roughly OTL Manchuria sans Liaoyang.
[2] Russians and some of the Europeans called it the Amur River.
[3] Which in OTL was renamed to the Ural River eventually.
OOC: Changes in Europe are bigger than presently visible. You'll see.
Also, the League of Augsburg thing was rather rushed, but its not terribly important for us as such, is it?
In the previous section numerous developments in the rest of Asia were mentioned, in the passing. Although this was a whole new era, the Chinese "tributary" system still stood, and the littlest splash in China had a great influence on the developments in all the nearby areas. It would be best to go over this clockwise.
As the surviving Jurchens gradually intermixed with the assorted Mongol tribes, they ceased to be a distinguished political force; they still did launch some raids into Liaoyang and northern Korea, but failed to do anything beyond that. For a while it appeared that the steppe nomads would never pose a threat to China again, divided as they were; but later in the 17th century, the Mongols were suddenly reunited by an energetic new leader, Khong Taiji Galdan (soon declared a Boshugtu Khan), who inherited his father's West Mongol empire (the Dzungar Empire/Confederation) and defeated all internal opposition during the 1670s. Already in that decade he also waged great campaigns of conquest, subduing various other steppe tribes. Kashgar, Uighuristan and Eastern Mongolia all submitted to him, and Tibet and the lands of the Jurchens and Chahar Mongols[1] were nominally subservient to him as well. Although raids into northern China were mostly unsuccesful, the Chinese failed to muster any punitive expiditions, and Galdan Khan rsetored his prestige while fighting the Russians, a new power in North Asia. Although the Cossacks had overran most of Siberia - reaching the Pacific Ocean in the 1640s - their attempts to expand further south encountered serious resistance. Still, lands around the Baikal were secured by 1680 - until Galdan Khan's highly-succesful campaign during which the Mongols captured Chita and burned Nerchinsk and Irkutsk. Galdan's Jurcheno-Mongol allies also expelled the Russians from the Black Dragon River[2], or at least boasted to that effect. The Russians dispatched numerous expeditions, but failed to reclaim the lost ground, and so the sparsely-populated regions north and northwest of the Baikal became a zone of sporadic maneuver warfare between Cossacks and Mongols. That continued with no end in sight, although the Tsar and the Khan had reached an agreement in the 1688 Treaty of Irkutsk, which recognised the Khan's present holdings and allowed the Russian merchants to return to the Mongol cities and the Black Dragon River. Said Mongol cities, such as Chita and Urga, became vital as middlemen for trade between Russia and China. Thus the arrival of the Russian merchants reinvigorated the Central Asian trade routes much like the Europeans reinvigorated trade in Southeast Asia. Galdan's empire underwent a brief golden age both due to the trade and because of the close contact with Tibet, which resulted in a cultural renaissance. After Galdan's death in 1694, however, the empire quickly begun to fragment. Still, the position of the Russo-Chinese middleman was taken over by one of the immediate successor states, the Urga Empire, based in Mongolia Proper; it managed to acquire a greater degree of control over the Jurchens and the Chahars as well, but was mostly peaceful.
Much to the relief of the Koreans. For Korea, things were rather quiet after the costly struggles with the Japanese and the Jurchens as well as with each other that had preoccupied the Korean rulers and elites for late 16th/early 17th centuries. The Koreans spent most of the following time recovering from the devastation of the invasions; the monarchs were mostly benevolent and did their best to restore the country's agriculture. Although politically Korea drifted away from China, it still traded with it extensively. Much trade with the Europeans occured as well, and many innovations and inventions had spread to Korea. Social and economic changes occured; they were similar in their nature to those in China, though the state had to introduce comparatively more radical social and land reforms over the opposition of the reactionary landowners. The Koreans did actually expand in this time period; since the 1640s, there were some attempts to conquer the Jurchens, and though they weren't really succesful some new forts and colonies were established to the north and the northwest, and gradually the Koreans managed to increase their country's size by about 15-20%. That included a few new ports. It was, to sum up, a boring but pretty comfortable time.
Japan's woes were already mentioned; they only got worse since 1683. In 1690 Tokugawa Ietsuna died at last, without heirs, and a civil war begun between the powerful minister Sakai Tadakiyo (who, along with a significant bureaucratic faction, wanted to effectively destroy the Tokugawa Shogunate by having a prince of the blood, though a one lacking real chances of inheritance, receive the Shogunate instead) and the supporters of the mentally-feeble Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (chiefly the Tokugawa household itself). Sakai Tadakiyo managed to rally to his side the discontent peasants and merchants, as well as surprisingly many of the ambitious samurai (to whom he promised land and glory); as for Tsunayoshi and the Tokugawas, they were supported by most of the traditional daimyos and their own households. In the end most of the samurai still did follow the Tokugawas as well. Long story cut short, in spite of Tadakiyo's hiring of Chinese and European mercenaries, his forces were eventually overran and he himself executed. However, the civil war weakened Japan further, and the Shogunate remained shaky. Tsunayoshi's eccentric reforms and excessive moralism have not helped matters. Still, although a hardliner, Tsunayoshi was persuaded by his advisors to grant the Chinese and the Koreans additional trade priveleges when threatened with a full-scale invasion.
Not much happened in the Spanish Phillipines, apart from the arrival of some more Chinese pirates, traders and migrants.
Vietnam/Annam was, as already detailed, under Chinese military occupation and struggling to recover from the damages of the war.
With Vietnam eliminated and Burma in general decay (though southern Burma prospered economically; that actually made things even worse, as it became increasingly unwilling to be drained of its newfound wealth for Ava's purposes, no matter how noble - doubly so because the corrupt officials prevented any of the planned projects from achieving any degree of reconstruction after 16th century's wars), Ayutthaya moved into a predominant position for Indochina. Though since 1688 (when the very open-minded and pro-French king Narai died and a reactionary xenophobic coup was carried out by Phetracha) Ayutthaya had severed all ties to the West and became very isolationist, it nonetheless remained the strongest native military power, and not only put down all rebellions against it, but also expanded at the expense of the Malay statelets and Ava, and most notably took advantage of the Laotian Lan Xang Confederation's civil wars to annex almost the entire confederation in a series of campaigns. This, along with the Nan Ming conquest of Annam, had greatly alarmed the Cambodians. Having spent over a century in the shadow of Annam and Ayutthaya, a vassal of either or both at any given time and nonetheless often invaded and pillaged, Cambodia quickly took advantage of Annam's fall to reclaim the lands lost to it and claim full independence. This already has bought Chettha IV - also famous for his humane legal reforms - undying love from his people, but he knew that Cambodia's existance was very precarious, and so worked hard to improve Cambodia's defenses; a new levy system was introduced and powerful fortifications were constructed with the help of French engineers (consequently the foritifications resembled those of Vauban). Indeed, eager to get back at Phetracha, the French invested a lot of effort in Cambodia, in exchange for preferential treatment and tolerance for the French Jesuits, as well as priveleges for French merchants. This effort amounted to selling weapons, sending advisors and aforementioned engineers and eventually even sending a 6,000 men military contingent to help train the Cambodian army.
In the East Indies, the VOC was hegemonic, with bases and possessions all over the place. Many indiginous states remained; not much really changed there as of late. There was some English presence in Sumatra, a Portuguese colony in East Timor and Spanish and Chinese outposts on Borneo, but aside from that colonial competition was mostly crushed and commercial wasn't doing much better, though both China and England, and to a lesser extent Sweden and France, were on the rise in the latter field.
And so we come full circle, to the successors of Galdan Khan, as by 1700 one of them had reunited the western parts of Galdan's Empire and vassalised Tibet (which was plagued by political and religious tensions). The Western Dzungar Empire wasn't very stable, with the Uighurs only waiting for the first opportunity to rise up; still, it too gained commercial importance not unlike Urga, as a middleman between China and Urga on one side and the Uzbeg Empire of Bukkhara on the other.
The Telegraph Effect.
All in the world is intertied, and in the 17th Century it was more so than ever before, as the world was tied together by a series of trade routes overland and oceanic. As the ripples continued spreading from China, the ripple effect increasingly transformed into a telegraph effect, as the events in Asia affected Europe first and foremost due to the changes in the balance of economic - and thus, overall - power.
The exact manner in which it occured was not always easy to predict. For instance, although the emergence of the new Russian "Fur Route" had benefitted Russia economically, other events - most notably the trade-disrupting war with the Dzungar Mongols - had definitely weakened it and distracted it. To make things worse, several incidents and mutual suspicion during the Mongol war had upset the relations between Russia and the Kalmyk Khanate (founded by Oirat Mongols, related to those Oirats that stayed in the east to found the Dzungar Empire), ultimately leading to the latter's "rebellion" (the Kalmyks were nominal subjects of the Tsar) in 1687, supported by some of the Bashkirs and Tartars in nearby lands. The war with the Kalmyks was a long and drawn-out one; though by 1700 the Bashkirs and the Tartars were defeated and the Kalmyks thwarted in all attempts to gain land on the other said of the Yaik[3], the Kalmyk Khanate had now become a formally independent polity and a one firmly hostile to Rusisa. Between these developments, the utterly unsuccesful Crimean campaigns (in 1687 and 1690), the rampant corruption and the constant power struggles, intrigues and coup attempts, it seemed as though Russia was about to enter another Time of Troubles. In fact, in 1689, when one of two co-Tsars (the one who wasn't a cretin), Peter I came of age and demanded that the regentess Sophia Alekseyevna Romanova step down, a brief civil war did begin. Sophia decided to cling on to power and tried to have Peter killed, but her government was already quite unpopular and many of the streltsy defected to the young Tsar outright instead, although some remained loyal to Sophia, who also had some support amongst the urban population and the Miloslavsky boyars. What forces she and her boyar allies could master were not enough, and Peter I, with his mother's boyar clan of the Naryshkins, came out victorious by 1692, while Sophia was sent away to a convent. He had to deal with rebellions and Kalmyks from the start, and generally succeeded in stabilising the state and launching some initial reforms. Still, while establishing his control over Russia, Peter was forced to miss a good opportunity to capture the Ottoman fortress of Azov, as the Ottomans were still embattled elsewhere in Europe; in late 1698, however, the Great Turkish War had ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz, which granted Hungary to Austria, Podolia to Poland and Morea to Venice. Peter decided to let that wait for now; he still needed to carry out some reforms, build up a stronger military and resolve the Kalmyk question. Europe could wait...
The initial influences on Europe's great maritime powers were pretty obvious; Portugal's early Braganza slump worsened, while the Dutch economical power grew even further. The latter eventually became an important factor in some events of global significance, though, helping smoothen the Glorious Revolution of 1688. That was a vital moment for William of Orange, soon King William III of England, amongst other things; as Holland and England entered a personal union, they were able to use their combined influence to help assemble and rally the League of Augsburg (with the Holy Roman Emperor and the German Princes, as well as some others, most notably Spain and Savoy) to counter the power and expansionism of Louis XIV's France, which was pursuing a policy of reunion, claiming and annexing lands between France and the Rhine. The League of Augsburg finally stood up to this policy in 1688, over the issue of the French claim towards the Palatinate of Rhine. The war soon became a drawn-out and indecisive one; the French made some gains in Flanders, Savoy and Catalonia, but the Allies prevented them from advancing further in most cases. Gradually attrition, famine and war-weariness took their toll on both sides. It is believed that one of the few decisive battles of the war was a one with an outcome directly connected to the growth of Dutch wealth and seapower; namely, the 1692 Battle of Barfleur, where de Tourville's outnumbered French fleet was thoroughly defeated by the Anglo-Dutch one, ending French naval supremacy and forcing Louis XIV to scrap his plans for an invasion in the support of the Jacobite cause. The war itself still dragged on until 1695, when the French finally managed to make serious gains against Savoy and Spain, soon signing separate truces with them and then a peace treaty with the League of Augsburg in the Dutch city of Delft, retreating from his gains since 1680 (when the reunions begun) and recognising William as king of England. Both sides knew that this peace was not to last, ofcourse. Still, for now the supremacy of the so-called Maritime Powers could be celebrated...
The Foreshadowing.
While Nan Ming China continued to build up its new empire, for now in a state of comparative peace along with its cultural tributaries, the European great powers were plotting and preparing. For if most of East Asia was emerging from an Interesting Time, Europe was in the middle of one. The War of the League of Augsburg had failed to resolve the main conflicts at hand; rather, the Treaty of Delft delayed the resolution, giving time for William III to rebuild the weakened alliance and consolidate his positions at home and for Louis XIV to rebuild his weakened military and prepare his next move - or rather, moves. These plans, as of 1700, awaited only a few deaths and secret replies.
Luck made it so that those plans would lead to the biggest war in European history thus far, embroiling virtually all the parties involveable.
---
[1] Meaning roughly OTL Manchuria sans Liaoyang.
[2] Russians and some of the Europeans called it the Amur River.
[3] Which in OTL was renamed to the Ural River eventually.
OOC: Changes in Europe are bigger than presently visible. You'll see.
Also, the League of Augsburg thing was rather rushed, but its not terribly important for us as such, is it?
das
Regeneration In Process
"My next NES" seems increasingly distant; I'll probably come up with some other ideas by then anyway... Not sure about how many installments, but I plan to continue it to around 1750.
das
Regeneration In Process
Any more responses? I'm particularily waiting for some Chinaman (we have about three here at present, correct?) to point out if there are any particularily horrible flaws in this.
PoD-for-the-day* (#1 - March 12th, 2007): no Gothic Wars (in Italy), possibly if pro-Byzantine [wiki]Amalasuntha[/wiki] hangs on to power (no Theodahad?). Justinian gets to concentrate on eastern affairs, maybe arranging an anti-Sassanid coalition with the Hephtalites and some other neighbours of Persia. Presuming those "maybe"s and "possible"s work, there shall be a lot of interesting consequences:
- The Ostrogothic Kingdom survives, and, under Athalaric (who shall receive a better education and generally be influenced by his mother), shall become even more sophisticated and Latinised, not to mention stable. A possible centre for an early Renaissance. On the downside, it would probably have to be either a Byzantine client or an enemy; a civil war between the pro- and anti-Byzantine factions (the former including Latins, the latter rallying around the Arian banner) is also a possibility, and the Byzantines are likely to grab Sicily at any given time (well, if their various rights and priveleges there appear threatened anyway), especially as long as they hold on to North Africa.
- The Visigoths are somewhat stronger as well. If the Byzantine Empire does poorly they might try and grab North Africa, although that would be a very risky move.
- The Eastern Roman Empire is generally stronger and wealthier than in OTL, but on the flip side it is only slightly, if at all, less overstretched and North Africa is more vulnerable than in OTL. Mesopotamia will probably also be a bit difficult to hold on to if conqueered, though Justinian will probably try; still, its closer to the new centres of the empire. I'd imagine that it will be lost in the long-term, either to the Persians or to an, ahem, new power in the south (whatever it might be, especially with the point below taken into consideration).
- Christianity in the east is probably strenghthened; the Romans are likely to press their advantage and force the Persians to allow missionary activity, while Zoroastrianism will suffer from Persia's general crisis of confidence in the wake of a major defeat. If Mesopotamia is conquered, Christianity is further strenghthened - especially in Arabia, which (economically and demographically) was just about ripe for a little explosion. The more factors we throw into the mix, the better. Why not a local heresy instead of a new religion?
- Back in the west, Arianism may survive for a bit longer. It would probably take a different PoD for it to survive as a major movement in the long term, though.
- Potentially serious changes in Central Asia - the Hephtalites get to survive longer, maybe for a century more, while the Gokturks - and thus the Turks as such - are delayed and hindered, possibly staying in central Central Asia for longer. Also:
- Longer-living Hephtalites mean more Central Asian influence in India.
- Juan-Juans, allies of the Hephtalites and enemies of the Gokturks, are also likely to survive for longer.
- Juan-Juan Avars and Gokturkic Khazars are likely to emerge as separate groups somewhat later, if at all; the Khazars particularily may well remain Gokturkic, as the Gokturks will not spread quite as far as in OTL.
- EDIT: Forgot to add, the Mongolic tribes will probably emerge to prominence later than in OTL, while the Eastern Turkics will generally be weaker, and the Juan Juan will still be struggling to recover from the aftermath of the Gokturkic rebellion.
- And that affects China! Might the Sui Dynasty stand a chance in this world? Especially if its rulers decide to go after the vulnerable Central Asian states as opposed to Korea (easily one of the most disastrous Chinese invasions of any place in any time, even though the casualty figures are almost definitely exaggerated by the Tang).
Okay, admittedly the parts tied to the Hephtalites surviving are a bit of stretch, but it depends on how do you evaluate the role of Khosrow in their demise. Considering that he forced them to a two-front war and was undeniably stronger than the newly-independent Gokturks (who were already fighting a two-front war of their own, at that), an early decimation of Persian "aggressive potential" is likely to alter the balance of power mid-6th century Central Asia drastically (now say that in one breath!
). Not enough to destroy the Gokturks, but probably enough to stall them.
---
*I plan to post those little scenarios on a daily basis; there can never be too many althist ideas, and they might well be developed into something NES-worthy by myself or someone else.
PoD-for-the-day* (#1 - March 12th, 2007): no Gothic Wars (in Italy), possibly if pro-Byzantine [wiki]Amalasuntha[/wiki] hangs on to power (no Theodahad?). Justinian gets to concentrate on eastern affairs, maybe arranging an anti-Sassanid coalition with the Hephtalites and some other neighbours of Persia. Presuming those "maybe"s and "possible"s work, there shall be a lot of interesting consequences:
- The Ostrogothic Kingdom survives, and, under Athalaric (who shall receive a better education and generally be influenced by his mother), shall become even more sophisticated and Latinised, not to mention stable. A possible centre for an early Renaissance. On the downside, it would probably have to be either a Byzantine client or an enemy; a civil war between the pro- and anti-Byzantine factions (the former including Latins, the latter rallying around the Arian banner) is also a possibility, and the Byzantines are likely to grab Sicily at any given time (well, if their various rights and priveleges there appear threatened anyway), especially as long as they hold on to North Africa.
- The Visigoths are somewhat stronger as well. If the Byzantine Empire does poorly they might try and grab North Africa, although that would be a very risky move.
- The Eastern Roman Empire is generally stronger and wealthier than in OTL, but on the flip side it is only slightly, if at all, less overstretched and North Africa is more vulnerable than in OTL. Mesopotamia will probably also be a bit difficult to hold on to if conqueered, though Justinian will probably try; still, its closer to the new centres of the empire. I'd imagine that it will be lost in the long-term, either to the Persians or to an, ahem, new power in the south (whatever it might be, especially with the point below taken into consideration).
- Christianity in the east is probably strenghthened; the Romans are likely to press their advantage and force the Persians to allow missionary activity, while Zoroastrianism will suffer from Persia's general crisis of confidence in the wake of a major defeat. If Mesopotamia is conquered, Christianity is further strenghthened - especially in Arabia, which (economically and demographically) was just about ripe for a little explosion. The more factors we throw into the mix, the better. Why not a local heresy instead of a new religion?
- Back in the west, Arianism may survive for a bit longer. It would probably take a different PoD for it to survive as a major movement in the long term, though.
- Potentially serious changes in Central Asia - the Hephtalites get to survive longer, maybe for a century more, while the Gokturks - and thus the Turks as such - are delayed and hindered, possibly staying in central Central Asia for longer. Also:
- Longer-living Hephtalites mean more Central Asian influence in India.
- Juan-Juans, allies of the Hephtalites and enemies of the Gokturks, are also likely to survive for longer.
- Juan-Juan Avars and Gokturkic Khazars are likely to emerge as separate groups somewhat later, if at all; the Khazars particularily may well remain Gokturkic, as the Gokturks will not spread quite as far as in OTL.
- EDIT: Forgot to add, the Mongolic tribes will probably emerge to prominence later than in OTL, while the Eastern Turkics will generally be weaker, and the Juan Juan will still be struggling to recover from the aftermath of the Gokturkic rebellion.
- And that affects China! Might the Sui Dynasty stand a chance in this world? Especially if its rulers decide to go after the vulnerable Central Asian states as opposed to Korea (easily one of the most disastrous Chinese invasions of any place in any time, even though the casualty figures are almost definitely exaggerated by the Tang).
Okay, admittedly the parts tied to the Hephtalites surviving are a bit of stretch, but it depends on how do you evaluate the role of Khosrow in their demise. Considering that he forced them to a two-front war and was undeniably stronger than the newly-independent Gokturks (who were already fighting a two-front war of their own, at that), an early decimation of Persian "aggressive potential" is likely to alter the balance of power mid-6th century Central Asia drastically (now say that in one breath!
). Not enough to destroy the Gokturks, but probably enough to stall them.---
*I plan to post those little scenarios on a daily basis; there can never be too many althist ideas, and they might well be developed into something NES-worthy by myself or someone else.
I am enjoying the East Asian althist; unfortunately, my knowledge of OTL late Ming China is confined to Nurhachi's campaigns. My own is getting rather lengthy (despite some computer problems on Saturday); I really just need to make a map and bring it forward a few more years (easy, since the war is over), then I can post it...
My own is getting rather lengthy (despite some computer problems on Saturday); I really just need to make a map and bring it forward a few more years (easy, since the war is over), then I can post it...Thank goodness someone picks something I can talk about. I'm not sure that Justinian could maintain good contact with the Hephthalites, though; perhaps including Axum, with which he signed an alliance, instead could work (the naval support could be invaluable). I suppose it's better to sign alliance with the Hephthalites than the Gokturks, though.
At some point some idiot Emperor or Ostrogothic King is going to launch a war, and Illyricum and southern Italy are going to be the battleground. In such combat, the outcome really depends on generalship (though if the Eastern Empire follows a Belisarius/Narses pattern they ought do fairly well). Wouldn't such a war escalate rapidly unless the East gets its rear handed to it early on? (i.e. the Emperor tries to reconquer Rome for the glory of the Empire as Justinian ended up doing)das said:
Why?das said:
Fairly risky. IMHO some of the best leaders and generals of the Eastern Empire came out of Africa (like Heraclius, for example), and any Emperor with half a brain is going to fight like hell for Constantinople's grain supply.das said:
Yeah, pretty much agreed. What about the Chersonesus - will the Crimea be lost to Khazars, or something?das said:
This makes sense. Muhammad did originally try to reform Christianity instead of replace it IIRC. I don't think that a heretical sect as opposed to a whole new religion would overrun the Levant, North Africa, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia - and what would the Monophysites think about all of this? Would such a new sect go after Axum instead, conquering large chunks of Africa?das said:
With relatively little knowledge of Central Asia, I can say that I'm a bit happy about "stalling Gokturks", etc.das said:- Potentially serious changes in Central Asia - the Hephtalites get to survive longer, maybe for a century more, while the Gokturks - and thus the Turks as such - are delayed and hindered, possibly staying in central Central Asia for longer. Also:
- Longer-living Hephtalites mean more Central Asian influence in India.
- Juan-Juans, allies of the Hephtalites and enemies of the Gokturks, are also likely to survive for longer.
- Juan-Juan Avars and Gokturkic Khazars are likely to emerge as separate groups somewhat later, if at all; the Khazars particularily may well remain Gokturkic, as the Gokturks will not spread quite as far as in OTL.
Okay, admittedly the parts tied to the Hephtalites surviving are a bit of stretch, but it depends on how do you evaluate the role of Khusrau in their demise. Considering that he forced them to a two-front war and was undeniably stronger than the newly-independent Gokturks (who were already fighting a two-front war of their own, at that), an early decimation of Persian "aggressive potential" is likely to alter the balance of power mid-6th century Central Asia drastically (now say that in one breath!
Cool. I look forward to other ones!das said:
das
Regeneration In Process
Thought you'd say that.
Axum it is. As for the Hephtalities... One interwar French foreign minister said, diplomacy is a matter of geography. That may not always be true, but works well enough in this case. Plus Justinian won't really have to maintain good relations with them, I think. The Gokturks didn't have a border with Persia yet, so an alliance with them would indeed be worthless.
Eventually, I suppose. I wonder if the Ostrogoths could try and rebuild Theodoric's alliance system? Again, the Visigoths...
Justinian pursuing an eastern strategy makes the OTL intervention in the Visigoth Kingdom's civil wars and the consequent conquest of Cordoba and a stretch of south Iberian land unlikely. I suppose it doesn't really change much in the long run.
Indeed... I wonder if it would be possible to establish a separate African Empire there when the Eastern Roman Empire's luck changes for the worse (i.e. overstretchment catches up with it, Middle Eastern possessions come under attack from Arabs and resurgent Persians, possibly also the aforementioned drawn-out war with the Ostrogoths...).
As said, Khazars belong the Gokturks, so it is quite possible that they won't be in Crimea. Byzantines will probably hold out. Although, Wikipedia says the Bulgars lived there in the 6th Century. I actually suspect that they might replace the Khazars as the Caucaso-Crimeo-Volgan state, like they did in ITNES I. Or maaybe they'll move further west, occupying the niche taken by the Avars in OTL, while some other steppe peoples replace them in Crimea. Still, see no reason for the Byzantine reign there to collapse.
There are lots of possibilities here, from the Qaramite option (lots of raids and Red and Arabian Sea piracy, but little or no permanent conquests) to a Holy Arabian Empire expanding northwards in a crusade against the "Greek Heresy", though somehow I too doubt that it would conquer this much. One thing for sure, it will make life difficult for the Byzantines.
Depends on how radical the Arabs are, as well as on the pragmaticism of their leaders. Maybe they would scare the Monophysites just enough for them to reconcile with the orthodox Christians, though its a religious matter and that makes things difficult (a schism within a schism?).
That premise too shows promise, though an Arabo-African empire seems unlikely to survive for long; it would be simply too disconnected. Still, imagine if an Arabian general claims the throne of Axum sometime after the conquest and breathes new life into it, launching campaigns of conquest in all directions!
No matter how the Arabian Heresy turns out, I suspect that it would replace the Sufi movement in East Africa. Given time some very... different versions of Christianity are likely to evolve there.
And another thing - with all of Christianity's victories in this timeline, it may gain a better foothold in India. If there were some Jainist rulers, why not some Christian ones as well (somehow I don't think silver2039 will appreciate it, though...)?
silver 2039
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Impossible. Hinduisim is far too entrenched a religon to be swept away just liek that...if the Arabian conquest and a 1000 years of Muslim rule in North India couldn't get rid of Hinduisim in the north, in fact Hinduisim survived in the Afghan province of Kafiristan till the 1900's! And a 100 years of Portogues, and British rule and Ducth and French rule and infulece in India couldn't manage to make a singificant dent in Hindusim I highly doubt Christianity can establish a singficatly stronger foothold than it did in OTL.
das
Regeneration In Process
See, told you. Who ever said anything about sweeping away Hinduism, however? I quite clearly compared it to Jainism (or perhaps Islam) in prominence. It would probably establish a major presence in the great trading cities of Deccan, which traditionally housed as many religions as possible (including Christian communities, in spite of negligible Christian presence in the Indian Ocean - as opposed to the world in question). Eventually it is perfectly possible for some ruler(s) to convert to Christianity. It would indeed be similar to Jainism or Buddhism, with Hinduism remaining a majority religion (and tolerated as such).
Incidentally, there are even better opportunities in Indonesia. Christianity (especially Nestorian and Arabic, and maybe a separate Indic one) seems likely to take over many of Islam's OTL niches in the Southern Hemisphere (probably not West Africa, though; might there be Judaism on the Niger?).
They never even wanted to do that, you know. If anything, the Portuguese weakened Christianity in India, by persecuting the local heretics. That's some horrible typoes there, BTW.
Who ever said anything about sweeping away Hinduism, however? I quite clearly compared it to Jainism (or perhaps Islam) in prominence. It would probably establish a major presence in the great trading cities of Deccan, which traditionally housed as many religions as possible (including Christian communities, in spite of negligible Christian presence in the Indian Ocean - as opposed to the world in question). Eventually it is perfectly possible for some ruler(s) to convert to Christianity. It would indeed be similar to Jainism or Buddhism, with Hinduism remaining a majority religion (and tolerated as such).Incidentally, there are even better opportunities in Indonesia. Christianity (especially Nestorian and Arabic, and maybe a separate Indic one) seems likely to take over many of Islam's OTL niches in the Southern Hemisphere (probably not West Africa, though; might there be Judaism on the Niger?).
They never even wanted to do that, you know.
If anything, the Portuguese weakened Christianity in India, by persecuting the local heretics. That's some horrible typoes there, BTW.silver 2039
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The thought of Christian dynasty's in India revolts, disgusts, and utterly sickens me to the core. Many of the Hindu kingdoms fought tooth and nail against the encroachment of Islam into India, I imagine it would be much the same with Christianity if they started encoraching in India.
Oh yes they did. It was one of the factors that contributed to the 1857 War of Independnece.
Oh yes they did. It was one of the factors that contributed to the 1857 War of Independnece.
das
Regeneration In Process
Extremelly doubtable, and you know it. The Hindu kingdoms didn't fight Islam as much as they fought Muslim Turks; they fought them just like they fought previous Central Asian invaders, and religion, although a factor and even a major one (considering the Turkic desecrations of Hindu temples), was still not the primary issue at hand back then. Why would any SOUTHERN Indian ruler seek to oppress an urban religious community (seeing as those communities inevitably took on important economic roles as merchants and such)? Admittedly, conversion is more tricky, but I maintain that it is possible (it does ofcourse depend a lot on chance, i.e. on the human factor of the missionaries and the rulers).
And it scarcely matters if it disgusts you or not, you know.
I suppose that's politically viable, but remember that Egypt and Africa had plenty of chances to split off during the 500s with really crappy Emperors (Justin II and Phocas) and never did, nor did they split following the loss at Yarmuk. Ideological affinity or somesuch. IMHO such a split would have to be based on a personality - say, the Exarch - following a disastrous imperial military defeat in the field.
You guys are funny with your religious arguments.
Oh, btw, can someone send me a 1914 map on the typical world map? *looks sheepish*
kthx.
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