Luther

Dominoes

Francis Drake died at sea (some say by violence, some by fever) in 1789. He did, thus, not attack the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, so Álvaro de Bazán remained in the King's favor and was given the resources needed to outfit, and launch, the Spanish Armada as planned, a few months earlier than the famously unsuccessful attempt on Baseline. With the aid of French allies, Spanish forces crossed the Channel and marched on London, aided by random acts of sabotage and revolt by the remaining English Catholics. The war was not brief or inevitable, but by 1591, English Protestants had retreated to few isolated spots in the north, Elizabeth was dead, and a Spanish puppet was on the throne.

The next decades featured purge after purge of Protestantism across Northern Europe. The close balance on Baseline was tipped askew, and more and more nations came under the sway of the Pope. And through this time, beginning in 1590, boat after boat of desperate refugees began to flee across the Atlantic, establishing haphazard colonies along the American coast, generally far north, ahead of the Spanish and French dominated south.

A melange of survivors who owed no allegiance to a conquered homeland, and (partially) bound by a shared faith, they slowly formed networks of trade and support. Over the next century, a pidgin of English, Dutch, and German became a dominant second language, with a mix of loan words from other European and Native tongues.

Luther

Increasingly, the ad-hoc settlements founded wherever a shipload of refugees landed found themselves increasingly interdependant, leading to increased incidents where disputes arose. Each settlement had its own blend of common law from the Old Country, modified according to everything the settlers felt was wrong with it, all through a filter of some variant of Protestantism.

Various compacts, treaties, and systems evolved, equally ad-hoc, over the years until, in 1669, the web of communities was on the edge of open war, as small incidents and disputes spiralled and each settlement or closely-tied group of same was trapped in contradictory agreements between disputants. It was news of the establishment of colonies in Clementia, just a hundred miles south of the southernmost Protestant colony, that forced the assortment of town councils, church elders, and the like to formally come together on what would be Long Island to establish a universal set of rules and a formal government. It took two years of debate, but eventually, the Commonwealth of Luther was formed in 1671. It was, as the name implied, a formally religious nation, but the Charter allowed for some freedom of conscience, based on the idea faith was between Man and God... with quite a few limits. In short, you could follow any faith you liked, as long as it was some sort of Protestantism; Jews were allowed to practice in private, but not construct synagogues, or intermarry without conversion. Catholics, such as the occasional French fur traders who were showing up (somewhat illegally, per the laws of Europe, but who was there to enforce them?), could do business and ask for justice in the event of crimes or disputes, but could not settle without conversion, and certainly could not evangelize.

One of the greatest distinctions between Luther and the New England colonies on Baseline was that there was no slave trade. The settlers were barely able to maintain small fishing and coastal trading ships; they could not cross the Atlantic. Nor was anyone going to sell them such valuable commodities. The Commonwealth, always in need of manpower, actually welcomed escaped slaves who would accept their faith, and taught them to read and write, because a key point of religious dispute had been the Catholic doctrine that priests should read the Bible and tell people what it said.

The Catholic South

The religious wars in Europe and the consolidation of power had delayed colonization efforts relative to Baseline, but economic forces remained inexorable, and by the late 1600s, the coast was being settled. The existence of the "heretic towns" in the north was well known, but resources to deal with them were not allocated initially, and by the time Spain (which now simply included the British Isles as a province, the constant insurgencies, rebellions, and uprisings notwithstanding) sent armed ships, the Commonwealth was prepared; cannons lined coastal cities, but more importantly, the land was a deathtrap for invaders. Decades of survival without the support of a homeland, and slightly-better dealings with the indigenous peoples, had taught them many things about how to fight an asymmetric war, and while Spanish troops could land easily enough, they could not make any effective advances.

There are also national interests at play -- following the same religion, even the same subsect, has never kept humans from finding excuses for war and claiming it's what their gods demand. This hindered efforts to destroy the heretic north, but it did not stop them.

The Present

It is 1725 locally, and there is little doubt full-scale war will begin soon. Luther, cut off from regular trade with Europe for decades, is behind the times technologically and has only recently begun to develop larger-scale industry. They are offering large payouts to smugglers, especially of modern weapons and, more importantly, manufacturing techniques. They actively seek indigenous support, offering almost anything in terms of goods and treaties (which they'll ignore the instant they're no longer convenient, because, let's face it, some things never change). As Spain sends settlers (many dragooned into the role, primarily from rebellious provinces in the English territories), Luther sends raiders.. or, if you prefer "land privateers"... to attack them. With only a minimal navy for coastal defense, they have become experts at disrupting land trade, even well passed the informal borders of the Clementine colonies.

BREACH

The breach point is a few miles south of New Brandenburg, which is located on the northern tip of what would be Long Island on Baseline. This is a major city in the Commonwealth and is a good source of news and gossip, though a few operatives implanted to the south are desired, as are getting some people to report on Europe without it being filtered through many layers of propaganda.

This world has attracted attention from a handful of Baseline Catholic dissidents, notably American ultra-conservatives who think the Church is "too liberal". There have been attempts to smuggle more advanced weapons to the Clementine colonies, hampered by the distance and their generally amateurish attempts to blend in. As this is one of those worlds where the allied nations behind BREACH are notably less allied, protocol is to let events play out with minimal interference, but as much close observation as is viable, given the limits of available resources.

World Type

Alternate History

Divergence

1588

Current Year

1725