2 Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - 1491 to 1507: Amerigo

It is July, 1491. Britain is at war with France, helping Aquitaine in their conquest of Anjou. For now, the war is going well; although Aquitaine and her allies saw losses early in Normandy, they managed to push back the French attacks, routing the enemy armies completely. The leader of Britain's armies is General The Anguished One Eadberht, a competent strategist whose strongest suit is his maneuvering abilities in battle. The leader of the Aquitainian armies is a man named Eadmær Aldrien, a downright genius of a strategist, considered by many the greatest leader in Europe, if not the entire known world.

Emperor Khaine had come of age about half a year before the war started. Now, at the age of 15, his first son is born. He is Prince Scipion Barca de Gael, heir to the Empire of Britain.

Anjou falls in February of 1492 to General eadberht and his troops. The war goal taken, they move north to Alencon, which Britain has a legitimate claim on. It falls too several months later.

A new force of fresh reinforcements from France's allies manages to defeat Aquitaine and Britain's amries, forcing them to retreat south. In September, the armies, freshly resupplied and ready, push back north and, after several skirmishes, defeat the French while they are retaking Anjou.

Far away to the west, Andrew Oshere orders his three ships home. They had done their jobs and, after more than 4 years at sea, are heading home. They know nothing of the war Britain is fighting.

He returns in March of 1493, a month short of 5 years away from Europe, 5 years in exploration of the unknown. Those in Britain, those who funded him, believed him dead, and they marvel at what he tells them, believing he has indeed found the new way. He retires from sailing, now a much older man than when he began his career as an explorer.

Paris falls to Britain in February of 1494, but it is not until November that the last stronghold in France falls and King Eudoxios I Capet of France surrenders. In the peace, Aquitaine takes 3 French border provinces for herself while awarding Britain with Alencon and Brittany with Orleanais.

The loss of these 5 provinces pushes France to barely more than a minor state in the grand scale of the world. The time of the powerful Kingdom of France is over.

The Azores' colonization process is declared complete in 1495 and efforts are focused instead upon the small nearby island of Madeira. It is uninhabited, but would provide for a better base of continued expansion and exploration into Africa.

With Oshere retired, a successor steps forward in the form of a man named Captain Frost. While neither as skilled nor as experienced as Oshere, his enthusiasm gives him the ability to command the three ships, Arapot, Maria, and Agathe. Although much support for exploring the western passage exists, another 5 year trip is not desired by either Khaine or the Parliament, and Frost is commissioned to explore farther down Africa instead.

In 1502, an account of a man named Amerigo Vespucci is published. Vespucci demonstrates that this landmass to the west, which is known through most of Europe now, is in fact a new continent altogether. A New World.

In Britain, development has slowed under Khaine to be replaced by construction of several new markets, barracks, regimental camps, and churches across England and Scotland. Ireland sees very little attention.

Religion in the Empire is not well. Although the people still follow Catholicism, there is widespread desire for reform. The priests and bishops, and eve the Pope himself, are perceived as lazy, greedy men who love nothing but money and whores. The Clergy in Britain controls a good portion of the land, more even than the nobility. If left untamed, this desire for reformation could expand into something new altogether.

In 1505, the Empire begins a new policy of portraying the colonies, which currently only include the Azores and Madeira, as the land of new beginnings and of opportunity.

A German Cartographer named Martin Waldseemüller draws a new map of the known world of 1507. He includes information from several voyages including Oshere's and Vespucci's, and the new landmass once thought to be the Indies, this New World to the West full of opportunities for riches and glory, is given the name America.