We must begin this document with contrition, for we have skipped over 12,000 years of the history of the First Nations. We have done so only because it would be exceedingly difficult to tie together the many diverse tribes that makes up Vesperia into a single compact historical piece. Instead, we begin with the first landing of Europeans in Canada since the Viking Era.

* 1497: Giovanni (John) Cabot lands in what is now the Acadian peninsula, the first European man to step foot in continental North America in 300 years.

* 1565: St. Augustine, the first European settlement in Vesperia, is founded.

* 1605: The English land at Jamestown, claiming the land for the crown, and they found the Virginia Company for managing the territory.

* 1620: The Plymouth Colony is founded by Puritans.

* 1649: Cromwell beheads Charles I, and forms the Commonwealth of England. He begins to consolidate power in the background as a popular general, but centrifugal forces are pulling apart England. The Puritans stop emigrating to Vesperia as they no longer fear persecution. under the rule of fellow Puritan Oliver Cromwell.

William Lenthall, picture credit: Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen

*1655: Cromwell’s anticlericalism gains him ire with the English gentry, who were also angry at his forming military districts to hold down rebellions. Cromwell is assassinated, and the Parliament elects Lenthall as Consul of the Second Republic. During this period, the right of the gentry expands, and Vesperia is left alone. However, Lenthall is pushed to persecute Puritans, who enter Vesperia in droves. The Puritans—being of a strong republican sentiment—efface the names of Virginia and Carolina, replacing it with Piedmont and Cromwell’s Land, respectively.

*1682: The popular Consul John Lambert dies, and with Parliament in chaos, the War of Two James begins, with the second son of Charles I and the eldest grandson fighting each other for the throne. The colonies prefer the grandson due to him being Protestant. In the power vacuum that follows, an army of New England adventurers capture Acadia in the name of England.

*1684: The Battle of Lancaster results in the defeat of Charles I’s grandson, and he flees to the Netherlands to avoid being executed. James II grants the Delmarva Peninsula to the Duke of Norfolk, Henry Howard, for his help in the war. James II also gives a grant to William Penn to form Pennsylvania to pay off Charles I’s gambling debts.

*1685: James II gives Charles Calvert the recently-captured territories of Acadia, and makes it a sanctuary for Catholics. In gratitude, Charles Calvert names the colony Maryland, after Mary of Modena, James II’s wife. In an unpopular move, James II consolidates the Puritans under the Dominion of New England, keeping them under his thumb. In France, the Edict of Fontainebleau forces Huguenots to resettle in the swamps of the Pays d’en Haut.

*1689: Leisler installs himself as Governor of New York after a successful rebellion against the ‘papist’ tyranny of James II.

A map of colonial powers within modern Vesperia, c. 1690. Map by u/jaundence.

*1690: Charles’s protestant son enters England with the help of a flotilla sent by William of the Netherlands, and the Catholic James II is replaced by his protestant nephew, James III.

*1691: The colonies celebrate by rebelling, seeking to overthrow the governors who were appointed by James II. King James III has to send in his redcoats to calm down this new-found fervor, and restore order. However, they succeed in disbanding the dominion of New England.

*1692-1701: King James’ War occurs as James seeks to consolidate holdings further inland, and expand English lands beyond the Appalachians, but the war ends in an effective draw.

*1701: Detroit is founded by the French, and becomes the center of Huguenot life in the colonies.

*1702: The War of Spanish Succession begins, and England seeks the opportunity to take Spanish and French territory for itself.

*1707: King James III dies, and is succeeded by his young grandson Francis as King Henry IX. This orderly transition of power ensures the continuation of the House of Scott. His uncle Henry serves as regent.

*1709: The Act of Union is made, unifying England, Scotland, and Ireland under a single crown.

*1715: The war of Spanish Succession ends, with England taking the land around Hudson Bay as part of Prince FitzJames’ company, along with Newfoundland. Alongside that, Henry IX exits his regency.

*1718: New Orleans is founded, and quickly becomes a thriving commercial port.

*1744: The colonists of Maryland try to claim Hartland Gore, leading to King Henry’s War. It ends in a general draw, and the United Kingdom is forced to recognize Hartford as a part of Quebec.

*1747: New Cornwall is founded, named for the colony’s financier, the King’s son and Duke of Cornwall, Charles.

A portrait of Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall in highlander regalia. Picture credit: Thomas Bardwell

*1751: King Henry IX dies, and Prince Charles becomes king of the United Kingdom as Charles II.

*1754: A junior colonel fires upon a French contingent by accident whilst in the midst of negotiations, and is summarily executed for incompetence. His name is now lost to history. However, his actions begins the French and Indian War.

*1763: The French and Indian War ends with the capture of French Canada and Spanish Florida, alongside the exchange of Louisiana from France to Spain.

*1765: King Charles II merges Quebec and Pays d’en Haute, spreading fear of the persecution of the thriving Protestant community there by the Catholics centered in Quebec City. He also enacts a law declaring all land between the Mississippi and the Susquehanna and south of the Ohio a reserve for the various First Nations living there, which enrages the colonies even further.

*1766: King Charles II dies, and is succeeded by King Charles III, who is known for being mentally ill and physically lame.

*1768: King Charles III declares the Blue Decree, declaring all pubs have to close after sunset. This makes him hugely unpopular in the United Kingdom.

*1771: A group of rioters insult and harass British soldiers in Amsterdam, leading to a riot that has to be put down by force. Taxes on the colonies increase as a result of this incident.

*1774: In protest of a tax on tea, the Sons of Liberty dump tea into Boston Harbor, and the King responds by making Boston pay for the damages.

A map of Vesperia before the Revolution, with sea-to-sea grant lines highlighted in green. Map by u/jaundence.

*1775: In response to a declaration by Charles III that he is increasing religious levies on the non-Anglican subjects, the northeast part of the nation, consisting of Catholics, Quakers, Congregationalists, and Dutch Reformed, all enter into open revolt. The date of the decree’s arrival in the ports of Boston and Savannah, May 7th, is considered by historians to be the beginning of the Vesperian Revolution.

Next Post: Vesperian Revolution to First Civil War