Chappington

(Really sorry for putting this off, I posted the video some time >a month ago, but have been busy with other things and haven't gotten around to updating it here yet...) Dominion of New England: 1688-89 As of 1688, Skrælige was now administered as part of the Dominion of New England. Trade restrictions with other colonies and European powers had been enacted for some time, but enforcement stepped up dramatically. Agricultural taxation increased, and scrutiny of land records led to confiscation by English authorities. These factors led to a great deal of unrest in Skrælige - no open rioting occurred, but local authorities frequently stonewalled and resisted enforcement actions. The start of the Dominion's fall began later that year with the Glorious Revolution in England, where William of Orange was invited to invade England to depose King James II (& VII) and become King William III (& II). News of the revolution reached some individuals in New England by late March 1689, and an organized mob revolted against the Dominion on the 18th of April, 1689. Governor Edmund Andros and other officials were arrested by the mob, which led to the de facto end of the Dominion. The New England colonies seized control and reverted to their previous governments. Revolt spread to New York, where Jacob Leisler led a rebellion in May, forcing Lt. Governor Francis Nicholson to flee to England. With both the governor and lieutenant governors out of power, the Skræligen Þing declared all of Skrælige to be an independent colony under the English crown on the 3rd of July, 1689. Independent Colony of Skrælige: 1689-91 King William III was busy in Europe due to the Nine Years' War, and so there was no immediate English reaction. While Skrælige still declared itself subject to the King, the declaration of independence from New York was done without permission of the crown, so the legality of the move was questionable. The Þing chose to elect a governor for the first time in its history, selecting Nikolai Ragnarsson*. Confiscated land was returned, trade restrictions removed, and laws were essentially reset to what they were 1688. The independent government would remain in effect through 1691, when Governor Henry Sloughter was appointed to rule New York, and put down Leisler's Rebellion. At this point it was only a matter of time until English authority was reasserted. Then on the 7th of October, 1691, a new charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay was issued, combining the colonies of Massachusetts Bay & Plymouth, along with islands south of Cape Cod (including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket), the Skrælig Islands, and the present day territories of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia (the last three heavily contested by New France). William Phips was appointed governor, and he ordered the exile of Governor Ragnarsson. This was a generous offer, considering that Jacob Leisler had been executed for his rebellion (a punishment which Phips found abhorrent), and so Ragnarsson and some of his loyalists escaped to Acadia. *By this point, the use of family surnames was dominant over patronymics, and Ragnarsson was Nikolai's surname. Patronymics were banned by the English government in 1678 by then-Governor of New York Edmund Andros, but this was difficult to enforce and was repealed in 1689 by Ragnarsson. Province of Massachusetts Bay Skrælig County was now a part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and Northney was transferred from York County to Skrælig County. The colonial leadership was much more involved than it had been before due to a number of reasons: The colonial capital was much closer: Boston was less than 100 miles away by sea, whereas New York was almost 200 miles as the crow flies, and much further by sea due to the need to go around Cape Cod. Skrælige occupied a strategic position in the on-and-off conflicts with the French to the north, which were becoming more frequent. The rebellions in Skrælige, New England, and New York* meant that the crown wanted to keep a closer eye on the northeastern colonies. While New York had been a mostly secular colony with relatively free practice of religion (even for non-Christians - for instance, Jews have lived in New York since at least 1654), the Province of Massachusetts Bay was a merger of two Puritan colonies. The new government was more free than the previous Puritan governments, as freedom of worship was guaranteed for all non-Catholic Christians, and the voting franchise was changed from religious requirements to land ownership. However, the Congregational Church still had a significant presence in the lower levels of the government, and the lack of protections for Catholics and worshippers of other non-Christian religions was a negative change. *Despite the short period of time in the Dominion of New England, New York is not considered part of the US region of New England. Modern New England consists of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. The Colonial Þing The Skræligen Þing began as the main government of Skrælige back in the 11th century, and remained as the sole government until 1598 at the start of Danish rule. Originally the Þing was a council of the heads of households, and morphed into a sort of elected council where each town would nominate a set number of people to the Þing. In 1598 it lost its sovereignty, but managed to remain as a powerless local council. The ability to (somewhat) willingly cede power and still exist was crucial for its survival later. When the colonial power changed over to Sweden in 1645, the Þing had the opportunity to take more power for itself. They managed to gain more power during rule from New York (both Dutch and English), and so there was a degree of autonomy over the last few decades. After the Declaration of Autonomy was shut down in 1691 though, the powers the Þing had gained over the last decades were quickly revoked. While the Þing was not entirely abolished (due to both its centuries-old presence and the desire to not provoke further revolt), its power was rolled back to an advisory council. In practice, it had even less power, as it was subordinate to the government in Boston. Skræligens were able to vote to send two representatives per town to the General Court of Massachusetts (its legislative body), which did allow for some representation. This presented a new problem though - if Skrælige now had representation within Massachusetts, what was the purpose of the Þing? This existential question persisted throughout the next several decades, but the council continued to exist under its own inertia. King William's War (1688-97) During the autonomous Skræligen period and the beginning of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the Nine Years' War broke out in Europe between France and the Grand Alliance - basically every other major European power. This manifested in North America as King William's War, where war broke out between New France and the New England colonies. The Iroquois Confederacy was allied with the English, and had been in conflict with the French over the fur trade. The Wabanaki Confederacy was allied with the French to help fight off the encroaching English settlers. This indirect conflict became direct in April 1688, when Governor Andros of New England plundered the home and village of Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin, a French officer and Abenaki chief, on Penobscot Bay to the northeast of Skrælige. In retaliation, Castin and the Wabanki Confederacy began raids along the border of New England and Acadia - while claims overlapped, in practice the border area was just to the north of Skrælige. This fighting escalated in 1689 with English raids on Acadia and further French & Abenaki raids on Maine. This led to the second razing of Northney in late August. Attacks continued back and forth, including the Battle of Falmouth (present day Portland, ME) in 1690, leaving Maine nearly completely depopulated of English settlers, and the Battle of Port Royal (the capital of Acadia) later that year. Skrælige attempted to remain neutral throughout the conflict, but was brought into the fray once it was merged into Massachusetts Bay in 1691. Combined French and Abenaki forces (mostly from the continent) attacked and burned down Egilstead in February of 1692, and they continued down to Abenakiborough. After some fighting the fort still stood, but many villagers had been killed or captured, and the casualty count on the French & Abenaki side was high. The Skræligens did not have sufficient strength in their militia to launch any counteroffensives, but defenses were improved enough to ward off future raids. After a few years of an uneasy ceasefire on Skrælige, and continued fighting on the continent, the war in both Europe and North America came to a close with the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, declaring status quo ante bellum. Egilstead was rebuilt with a fort in 1697, and Northney was rebuilt (again) in 1698. The peace would barely last five years though, when a new conflict broke out in both Europe and North America... Queen Anne's War (1702-13) One question had been looming over Europe for the past decades - who is going to inherit the Spanish throne and its territories? King Charles II of Spain was in ill health throughout his life (possibly due to the high level of Hapsburg inbreeding), and lived for longer than most anticipated. Still, he died without children on the 1st of November, 1700, and the fight over his territories turned into the War of the Spanish Succession in July 1691. The English and French wanted to keep their North American colonies neutral, but they had their own grievances with each other. The English population greatly outnumbered the French, and continued growth pushed them to encroach of Abenaki territory as well. The Peace of Ryswick hadn't actually dealt with anyone's conflicts with each other, and so the war spread to North America as Queen Anne's War. As in the last war, the French encouraged many Native Americans to launch raids against the English colonies, including an infamous one on Deerfield, MA in 1704. Many settlers were captured as slaves, both for ransom and adoption into Mohawk families. These events shocked the English settlers, even if they were expected by some due to the war. The English settlers attempted to raid native settlements in revenge, but usually found them empty on arrival. After three years of sporadic skirmishes and truces, the Massachusetts Bay government issued an ultimatum to the Abenaki on Skrælige: assimilate and recognize our sovereignty, leave the islands, or face capture or death. Most Abenaki chose to stay put - at this point, most of those who had any intention of assimilating into Skrælige had already done so. And so, a Massachusetts militia marched up the shores of the Siguan River towards the main Abenaki settlement north of Egilstead on the 14th of March, 1708. A bloody battle ensued, with high casualties on both sides. At the end of the day though, the Massachusetts forces had destroyed most of the village and forced the survivors to flee into the surrounding woods. The forces established a new fort and settlement, named Bradstreet for the former governor. Some Abenaki continued to live up in the mountains and occasionally come into conflict with the Skræligens, but the loss of their main village was devastating. Many fled across Casco Bay to the continent, and the Abenaki would never recover from the disaster. Queen Anne's War continued into 1712, and the peace was finalized in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. After capturing the southern portion of Acadia (renamed Nova Scotia), Britain was awarded Acadia, Hudson Bay, and Newfoundland. (France contested the specifics of the agreement, interpreting that Britain was only given the lower Acadian peninsula. They de facto retained control of the northern portion, modern day New Brunswick.) This treaty completely ignored any of the Native Americans, so Governor Dudley of Massachusetts Bay & New Hampshire (at this time they were separate colonies, but had the same governor) signed the Treaty of Portsmouth with the Eastern Abenakis on July 13th of 1713. One common underhanded "tactic" of British treaties at the time (and in much of their colonial history) was to hide some of the most disagreeable parts in just the English version. This treaty was no different, as the English version had the Abenaki ceding their sovereignty to the British Crown. However, the Abenaki later argued that this was not in the verbal translations given at the time. At any rate, the British failed to fulfill their obligations in the treaty (such as setting up official trading posts), and conflict would continue throughout the following decades, including Dummer's War from 1722-25. New Buildings Skrælingborough c. 1740 Middleton c. 1740 Skrælige continued to grow in population during all this time, both in natural growth and immigration. While growth in Skrælingborough and the surrounding area was not as substantial as in Boston, for example, it was growing faster than at any point in its history. Combined with a more hands-on government, several new buildings and services were added. Skrælingborough Synagogue The first Jews to have immigrated to Skrælige came around 1684 when it was part of New York. At the time, Jews were not able to publicly practice their religion in New York - Rhode Island was the only colony in North America where this was allowed. They were allowed to freely live, trade, and travel, which led to a small group moving to Skrælingborough. When Skrælige became autonomous in 1689, they gained the freedom to practice publicly, and built a small temple in the city in 1690. This presented an issue in 1691, where the laws of Massachusetts Bay did not give any protections to Jewish people. Colonial officials were divided on whether to take over the temple, but they reached a compromise where they would be able to stay - as long as they didn't do so "publicly". What this meant was left up to interpretation - in practice, services could continue in secret, and local authorities rarely investigated. Skrælingborough Latin School Skrælingborough Latin School is the oldest public school in Skrælige. Skrælingborough Latin is based on the same philosophy as Boston Latin School, which holds the classics (especially Latin) to be the basis of a proper education. This was probably the largest influence of Massachusetts early on - much like in New York and the other middle colonies, education was mainly private and religious. Skrælingborough Latin was founded in 1698 at the site pictured above. Phips College Along with Skrælingborough Latin School, the new Massachusetts government established a college in Skrælige, just across the Siguan River in Northstead. Named after the former governor of Massachusetts, Phips College began in 1701 as sort of an Anglican counterpart to Puritan (de facto) Harvard. The college was sort of an artifact of the Puritan/Anglican power struggle on the mainland, otherwise there wouldn't have been a need for the province to have two colleges. Skrælingborough Necropolis The new cemetery grew over time, and with the future plans it is now referred to as the "Necropolis". Town of Ragnarsson Ragnarsson was founded in 1718 after the Abenaki were decimated by Queen Anne's War. It was named of the governor of Autonomous Skrælige, a somewhat contentious name choice within the Massachusetts government. This was the first settlement on the northwestern coast of the island. Expansion of Skrælige In addition to Ragnarsson and Bradstreet, three other towns were built in the aftermath of Queen Anne's War: Thorfall (also known as Þorrfjall for the nearby mountain) was built in 1721 to the northeast of Littlevik. Northbay was built on the northern coast of Storreyn in 1724. Improved Abenaki trails connected it across mountain passes to Bradstreet and the rest of the Siguan River Valley. Southfall was built on the southern end of Miðrsun in 1731. Census of 1740 The Þing commissioned another census in 1740 for the Skrælig Islands. Massachusetts as a whole was resistant to taking a census due to suspicion of British authorities, but Governor Jonathan Belcher (appointed by the Crown) was happy to allow a census of the islands. Massachusetts itself would not conduct a census until 1764. The results were as follows: Abenakiborough: 86 (+16) Havant: 231 (+65) Middleton: 348 (+174) Northstead: 522 (+180) Newhope: 680 (+273) Main Town: 584 (+177) Stefnabjarg: 96 Fort Charles: 160 (+10) Copperstein: 199 (+66) Skrælingborough: 1912 (+707) Central Area: 1765 (+662) New Jorvik: 147 (+45) Ragnarsson: 113 Littlevik: 157 (+37) Raskrom: 122 (+79) Middlesun: 89 (+27) Egilstead: 116 (+41) Southreyn: 22 Freydiston: 39 Northney: 43 Bradstreet: 32 Thorfall: 35 Northbay: 21 Southfall: 14 Total: 4941 (+1994) ---- Thanks for reading! You can also find the video version at https://youtu.be/1hn4Hrr4ihA

Wow, that's some massive growth - I think they (well, you) really pulled it off though, really impressive working with the rough terrain. That football field requires quite a trek though!

Finally got to reading this - those Kralingenburgh houses really fit in well!

Thanks! Honestly I need those maps just to keep track of everything myself

(Sorry for the wait, I had posted the video and website already but hadn't got around to posting it here...) ---- Skrælig Islands, New York Now under English control, Skrælige was now known as the Skrælig Islands. Town names changed yet again: Skraalingborg became Skrælingborough (often pronounced Skrælborough) Middentong became Middleton Litenvik became Littlevik Noordstadt became Northstead Kopersteen became Copperstein Nieuwehoop became Newhope Raskromming became Raskrom Middensunfort became Middlesun Egilstadt became Egilstead Willemfort became Fort Charles Abenakiborg became Abenakiborough, often shortened to Nakiborough Storreyn, Miðrsun, and Suðreyn were transferred to the Province of New York, and Northney remained with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However, Mass. Bay was displeased about this - it claimed all of the islands for themselves. And of course, this ignored the original inhabitants of the islands, the Abenaki. Despite the conflict on paper, life in Skrælige continued as it had been. The first English governor of New York, Richard Nicolls, was occupied with New York City and the surrounding area, and was content to delegate rule to the Skræligen Þing - with ultimate veto power if need be, of course. English rule was formalized in 1667 with the Treaty of Breda, ending the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Third Anglo-Dutch War Fort Charles, Skrælige After less than 5 years, the English and Dutch were at war again. King Charles II of England had agreed to a secret treaty with the French, planning to support a French invasion of the Dutch Republic. This invasion began in 1672, sparking the Franco-Dutch War and the Third Anglo-Dutch War. While the French were initially very successful, taking most of the Netherlands short of Holland, the Dutch regained control of most of their land by the end of the year. Support for the war had already been somewhat weak in the English Parliament, and now that hopes of a quick victory were gone, that support nearly vanished. The Anglo-French fleet had failed to blockade the Netherlands, and instead England found itself locked out of Baltic Sea trade. With the war going less than stellar in Europe, North America was about to get involved as well. In late June 1673, a Dutch fleet arrived outside of Fort Charles, Skrælige. They vastly outnumbered the English forces there, who promptly surrendered, returning the island to Dutch rule*. The bulk of the fleet then moved on to New York, capturing it in July. The Dutch reoccupation of both places was short-lived, however. The English Parliament refused to support the war, eventually leaving Charles II without funding. England withdrew from the war, and the Treaty of Westminster was signed on the 19th of February, 1674. Among other terms, the treaty returned territory to status quo ante bellum, putting New York (and Skrælige) back in English hands. *Unlike previously, this was under the Dutch government, not the Dutch West India Company. King Philip's War (1675-8) Over on the North American continent, tensions between the Native Americans and English colonists grew. The different tribes and colonies had developed their own separate relations and agreements with each other, but continued expansion and diplomatic violations strained this uneasy peace. One significant figure was Metacomet (also known as King Philip to the English), Grand Sachem of the Wampanoag Confederacy from 1662. The Wampanoag tribe had entered into an alliance with the Plymouth Colony, but colonists continued to encroach on their lands, and so Metacomet began to negotiate with other Algonquian tribes against them. One of Metacomet's advisers was John Sassamon, a Native convert to Christianity (a so-called praying Indian) and Harvard College graduate who was often a mediator between the natives and the colonists. Sassamon had reported Metacomet was planning to gather allies to attack colonial settlements, which led to Plymouth Colony threatening to confiscate Wampanoag land and guns if there were any further reports. Soon after this, Sassamon was found dead in Assawompset Pond, and three Wampanoag men were convicted of the murder by a jury that included six Native elders. The three men were executed on the 8th of June, 1675. In response, a band of Pokanokets (part of the Wampanoag tribe) attacked and destroyed the town of Swansea, Plymouth on the 20th of June. The war spread throughout Southern New England, bringing in the Podunk and Nipmuc tribes against the Puritan colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut (New Haven had been absorbed into CT). Rhode Island was notably not involved at this point - their governor Roger Williams was an exile from Mass. Bay and had good relations with the native Narragansetts there, who were also neutral. This dramatically changed when Plymouth led a colonial militia against the Narragansetts on the 2nd of November. The Narragansetts retreated into a fort in a nearby frozen swamp. On the 19th of December, a combined force of Plymouth, Connecticut, and Massachusetts militia found the fort and attacked in what became known as the Great Swamp Fight. The colonists killed about 600 Narragansetts and burned the fort down. Most of the remaining Narragansetts escaped into the swamp, and later began raiding and burning colonial settlements including Providence. When colonists in Maine heard of the start of the war, they demanded that the nearby Wabanakis (a broad group that included the Abenaki) turn over their guns and ammunition as a "sign of goodwill". Despite this being an affront to their sovereignty and their reliance on firearms for hunting, many complied. This led to mass starvation, and after English colonists continued violence against the Wabanki, they began raiding English settlements. As a result, English settlements in most of Maine were annihilated, and Northney in Skrælige was completely destroyed. Hostilities only ceased in 1677, when the Wabanaki heard that the Mohawk were joining the war on the side of New England and sued for peace. At this time Maine came under the legal control of New York, who signed the Treaty of Casco with the Wabanaki in 1678. The English were allowed to return, but would owe the natives one peck of corn annually per family as a sort of land use tax. Northney was reestablished, but was now formally a part of New York. The war was devastating to everyone in New England - more than half of the New England towns were attacked, many completely destroyed. The Colony of Rhode Island was devastated, with most of its settlements outside of the island itself destroyed, including its capital Providence. However, the Narragansetts, Wampanoags, Podunks, and Nipmucs suffered the most. More than 3,000 of the approximately 10,000 natives died, and the remainder met varied fates including enslavement to Bermuda, and becoming refugees in the north and west. In contrast to those in the south, the Wabanaki came out victorious. In the following years they formed the Wabanaki Confederacy, and often found themselves allied with France. Growth, Development and Immigration Site of the new cemetery, west of the city walls of Skrælingborough An example of Skrælig Colonial architecture in Northstead Skrælingborough was growing quite substantially at this point, and land within the walls was become scarce. The large cemetery near the market had run out of room, so a new cemetery was designated to the west of the walls in 1668. While it wasn't very large at the time, there were contentious plans to exhume some of the dead in the old cemetery and rebury them here. Due to the unpopularity of the plan, it had not been enacted yet, but there was a moratorium on new burials within the walls. A new type of architecture began to show up at this point in time, Skrælig Colonial, common throughout Skrælige in the 17th and 18th centuries. Given a large influx of immigration from all over Europe (as well as refugees from King Philip's War), Skrælige needed a way to build large amounts of housing. In order to do so in a somewhat orderly fashion, a standardized method of building houses was devised. Similar to colonial buildings on the mainland, a wooden house was built on top of a stone foundation. Trees were still plentiful on the islands, making a lumber an inexpensive building material. The difference between structures on the mainland and on Skrælige was the standardization - common dimensions were enumerated by the Skræligen Þing so that towns could be more easily planned. While there wasn't always formal city planning the way we would think of it today, this did mean that there would at least be some organization in their growth. While the Skrælig Colonial houses were built within the established towns, the best examples of their use were in three new settlements: Abenakiborough, New Jorvik, and Havant. Overhead view of Abenakiborough The fort of Abenakiborough Abenakiborough (sometimes shortened to Nakiborough, though this name is no longer preferred) had been founded as a fort in 1454 after the Massacre of Abenakiborg the prior year. In 1669 the fortification was turned into an actual village on the shores of Lake Asærban. New Jorvik, named for the Norse name for York, was settled in 1675 partway between Skrælingborough and Middleton along the Almannavegr. Finally, Havant was founded in 1681 by English immigrants who had initially immigrated to New England. This was the first town in Skrælige to be settled on a formal grid pattern. In the centre was a large town common with the church on the north side, and is now the oldest public park in all of Skrælige. Centre of Havant, with Havant Common in the middle Village of New Jorvik Incorporation of Skrælig County The border between Middleton (left) and New Jorvik (right), part of Skrælingborough Overhead view of the Siguan River valley. Note the continuous area of farming along the south bank. Up until this point in history, none of the towns of Skrælige had clearly defined territory. This wasn't really necessary, since there was unsettled land separating every town from each other. However, this changed in the 1670s with the expansion of farmland along the Almannavegr between Skrælingborough and Middleton, and the founding of New Jorvik in that continuous zone of farmland. Boundaries were unclear, which caused conflicts between local authorities. A chance to clarify and codify these boundaries came in 1683, when the province of New York was divided into 13 counties, including Skrælig County for all of Skrælige. (This included Northney, which was in fact administered as part of York County in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, due to conflicting claims.) The Þing took this opportunity to further subdivide the county into the towns of Skrælingborough, Middleton, Copperstein, Newhope, Northstead, Abenakiborough, Egilstead, Havant, Raskrom, Littlevik, and Middlesun. New Jorvik was to be annexed into Skrælingborough. The boundaries included a great deal of completely untouched land, with Middlesun containing less than 100 people and the whole island of Miðrsun. A line was drawn across the width of Storreyn north of Egilstead, and everything north of this line was designated as "Abenaki Lands" - though this was a unilateral decision without any input from the Abenaki themselves. (The Abenaki Lands were also claimed by New York, but the Þing declined to actually press this.) After demarcating the 11 towns of Skrælig County (not including Northney) and the Abenaki Lands, there were four main areas left unincorporated: The island of Suðreyn The southernmost peninsula of Storreyn (Freydisskagi) The west coast north of Northstead The east coast north of Littlevik Plans were made to settle the first two areas within the decade in order to exert more control over the area and organize expansion. The coastal areas did not have settlements planned yet - while they were south of the "Abenaki Lands", these were still areas where the Abenaki hunted and gathered, and a small number lived there. After witnessing King Philip's War, Skrælige did not want to risk antagonizing the Abenaki. These new settlements were soon established: Southreyn on the northern end of Suðreyn in 1685, and Freydiston on the west coast of the Freydisskagi in 1686. Skrælig County Census of 1684 After establishing Skrælig County and demarcating the constituent towns, the Þing commissioned a census. Dutch authorities had compiled a great deal of documentation during their last occupation, and so the additional work to update it was not very substantial. The results were as follows: Abenakiborough: 70 (+61) Havant: 166 Middleton: 174 (+76) Northstead: 342 (+124) Town Centre: 216 (+91) North Harbour: 121 (+36) Outskirts: 5 (-3) Newhope: 407 (+223) Main Village: 359 (+198) North Village: 20 (+9) South Village: 28 (+16) Fort Charles: 150 (+22) Copperstein: 133 (+62) Skrælingborough: 1205 (+405) Church & Market District: 512 (+151) Middle & Newport: 437 (+64) Central Area, Outside the Walls: 84 (+32) Left Road Village: 43 (+29) Right Road Village: 27 New Jorvik: 102 Littlevik: 120 (+47) Raskrom: 43 (+27) Middlesun: 62 (+25) Egilstead: 75 (+40) Total: 2947 (+1278) Dominion of New England England had quite a variety of different colonies in North America at this time. Some of them were started as commercial ventures (Virginia Colony being a notable example), but the colonies of New England were founded for mostly religious reasons. Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven were all Puritan colonies, and non-Puritans were barely tolerated - this even applied to supporters of the Church of England, the official church in England. In addition to their theocratic rule, their economies were problematic for England. The geology of the area meant that growing cash crops was not economically feasible, and so their economies were based around trade - not just with other English colonies, but with other European powers and their colonies. This meant that their merchants were competition for English merchants, and they were beginning to build workshops that would directly compete with English manufacturing. The English Parliament passed a series of laws known as the Navigation Acts to restrict this trade, but these were resisted and circumvented via smuggling. Massachusetts was the biggest offender in the eyes of King Charles II, who repeatedly tried to change and reform the government of Massachusetts, but was unsuccessful. And so, the charter for the colony was formally annulled in June 1684. Plans were then made to create a unified administration to bring the colonies in line with England and better coordinate them in matters of defense. And so the Dominion of New England began on the 25th of May, 1686, including Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Provinces of New Hampshire & Maine. Connecticut and Rhode Island were included later that year. The Dominion of New England was very unpopular, especially in Massachusetts where several towns refused to enforce new taxation laws. Other new restrictions included heavily restricted town meetings and challenging the validity of many land claims. Despite being adjacent to Massachusetts (including Maine) and New Hampshire, Skrælige was part of New York, and was therefore not subject to the Dominion of New England (with the exception of Northney). However, the provinces of New York, East Jersey, and West Jersey were added to the Dominion on the 7th of May, 1688, although these three provinces were run by Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson, rather than Governor Edmund Andros, due to their distance from Boston. This led to a strange quirk though - despite being unified with New England, they were still indirectly ruled via New York, a situation that lessened (but did not fully negate) the impact of the Dominion.

At least it looks like things are getting better! (And the houses I made look really good there, I'm glad they fit in!)

Just saw this, neat combo of Workers & Resources and Tropico! Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Obviously you planned this beforehand, but I really like how nicely the ferry pier lines up with the E220 roundabout. Like despite the challenging terrain, it's really well thought out.

So good, the before/after pics are really helpful too!

Thanks! To be fair, the "research" has mostly been diving into Wikipedia/relying on Google translate for names, but yeah, everything just feels more real in CSL when there's a reason for every part of the city. Who knows how long I'll be able to maintain that, haha

Swedish Skrælige (Svenska Skrälig Öar): 1645-57 Skrälingborg (Skrælingborg), 1648 After the Peace of Brömsebro in 1645, Skrælige became a Swedish possession. Sweden already controlled land on the North American continent, an area known as Nya Sverige since 1638 (New Sweden - centered around present day Wilmington, DE, USA). Given the distance between Fort Christina and Skrælingborg, Skrælige was setup as its own self-governing colony, Skrälig Öar. Once the appointed Swedish governor arrived, a couple of significant changes happened. First of all, the trade monopoly was loosened - while trade with Sweden (incl. New Sweden) was preferred, trade with New England and New Netherlands was now legal. This change did a lot to put the Swedish government in the people's good graces - the new government was finally doing something that benefitted Skrælige, and was not solely to the benefit of Sweden. Second, a truce was made with the Abenaki. This was mostly a strategic decision on the part of Sweden: Skrælige was isolated from New Sweden, and was surrounded by other great powers. While the Abenaki were not a major threat, unnecessary aggression towards them would tie up military resources that might be needed elsewhere. The Abenaki were of course weary of the Skræligen government, but were glad to no longer be the focus of constant aggression. Governor's Residence, Skrälingborg, 1648 Nördställe (Norðstaðr), 1648 Folkräkning of 1648 With Skrælige changing hands multiple times over the last century, the population of the small settlement was becoming a bit more diverse. Back when Skrælige was originally settled, the population was mainly Norse-speaking immigrants, with some integration with Abenaki people. In the 16th century there was some trade with the Spanish (Castilian) colonies to the south. This did lead to a couple of Spanish merchants settling in Skrælingborg for extended stints, but there was no significant demographic shift. This changed in the 17th century, with immigration now coming from Denmark (as well as Norway, which was ruled by the same monarch, and Iceland). With Swedish rule, Swedes and Finns (who were currently ruled by Sweden) immigrated as well. In addition, a small number of English people left the Puritan New England colonies to settle in Skrælige instead, but this was a fairly minor source of immigration. After the immediate acts of the Swedish governor, work soon began on another census, this time called the Folkräkning. There were some delays as Sweden was still involved in the Thirty Years' War, but this was completed by 1648. The results were as follows: Skrälingborg (Skrælingborg): 800 (+328) Church & Market District: 361 (+189) Mittensätt & Nya Hamnen (Formerly Midtvej/Miðrway & Nyhavn/Nyjahofn): 373 (+136) Outside of the walls: 52 (+3) Vänsterväg (formerly Venstrevej/Vinstrileið) village: 14 (-) Mittentunga (formerly Midtunge/Miðrtunga): 98 (+56) Nördställe (formerly Nordsted/Norðstaðr): 218 (+151) Kopparsten (formerly Eirsten/Eirsteinn): 71 (+16) Nyhoppas (formerly Nyhåber/Nyrvænn): 184 (+34) Main Village: 161 (+34) North Village: 11 (+1) South Village: 12 (-1) Abenakiborg: 9 (-1) Karlsborg (formerly Christianborg): 128 Soldiers Litenvik (formerly Lillebugt/Smarvik): 73 (+38) Rasböja (formerly Rasbøje/Rasbeygja): 16 (+16, formerly abandoned) Mittensunborg (formerly Midtsunborg/Miðrsunborg): 37 (+16) Egilställe (formerly Egilsted): 35 Total population of 1669 (+823) The count also included 27 slaves. 145 of the Skræligens were recent immigrants from Sweden and Finland. The Danish and Old Skræligen* populations were substantially mixed by this point, with a Skræligen-speaking majority and a substantial Danish-speaking minority. (These refer to their native languages - there was a degree of mutual intelligibility, and many were bilingual.) *Descended from pre-Isolation Skræligens Start of the Second Northern War Meanwhile in Europe, a war known as either the "Second Northern War" or the "First Northern War", started in 1655. The conflict primarily began as a Swedish invasion of Poland-Lithuania, but expanded to include Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg Monarchy, Russia, Denmark-Norway, the Dutch Republic, and others. New Sweden was settled on land that was also claimed by the Dutch, and so this war presented an opportunity to invade New Sweden. In the summer of 1655, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland led most of the colonial garrison to the Delaware River. They recaptured Fort Trinity* on the 11th of September, and besieged the capital Fort Christina. New Sweden surrendered on the 15th of September, but was able to maintain significant autonomy under the Dutch. Stuyvesant also had plans to invade Skrælige - Dutch claims extended further east than the settled areas of the Hudson Valley, and Skrælige would be a strategic position to occupy. This was planned to come after the invasion of New Sweden, but a new war broke out the very same day of Sweden's surrender - the Peach Tree War. The Susquehannock people were already distrustful of the Dutch due to their alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy (an enemy of the Susquehannocks). On the 15th of September, around 600 Susquehannock warriors landed in New Amsterdam, which was very lightly defended due to the invasion of New Sweden. Several outlying villages were destroyed, and hundreds of hostages taken and ransomed. (The death toll is unknown.) After this attack, some of the outlying towns were permanently abandoned, and the ones that were resettled were to be heavily fortified. Invasion plans for Skrælige had to be put on hold to carry out this work. *Fort Trinity was originally settled by the Dutch in 1651, named Fort Casimir for the Polish king. It was conquered by New Sweden in May 1654 and renamed Fort Trinity. Massachusetts Bay Settlement of Northney In the midst of the conflict to the southwest, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay saw an opportunity for expansion. Skrælige was arguably within the charter area of the colony, and in the spring of 1656 colonists settled the village of Northney on the northernmost island of Skrælige, what was known as Norþæn in Skræligen. Due to the war on the continent, the Swedish government in Skrälingborg did not try to capture the settlement, as doing so might antagonise the English. As long as the English stayed on their island, the government was content to allow them to remain. Dutch Invasion of Skrælige Karlsborg under Swedish control, 1657 By the summer of 1657, New Netherland had sufficiently recovered from the Peach Tree War enough to plan its invasion of Skrælige. This was a controversial decision, given Skrælige's distance from New Amsterdam and the consequences of the last invasion. However, the war in Europe was still going, and the Dutch government saw Swedish Skrælige as an important strategic objective. Not only would taking the islands remove a potential Swedish threat, but it would also be a thorn in the side of New England. The English and Dutch previously had competing claims in the Connecticut River Valley (then also known as the Fresh River), and had taken over Fort Goede Hoop (present day Hartford, CT) in 1653, so a fortification on the other side of New England could put them in a better position. Director-General Stuyvesant sent a squadron of ships to the islands, landing a force at Rasböja and then sieging Litenvik (Smarvik) from both sides on the 3rd of August, 1657. Given the vast firepower discrepancy between the small settlement and the Dutch force, Litenvik surrendered without a fight. With the southern end of Storreyn under control, the Dutch forces moved north, blockading Skrælingborg from the west and south, and putting Karlsborg (formerly Christianborg) under siege. After putting up a fight, the lack of any reinforcements meant that continuing to fight would just postpone the inevitable. And so on the 9th of August, 1657, Skrælige became part of Nieuw Nederland. Dutch Skrælige (Part of Nieuw Nederland): 1657-64 Overhead view of Skrælige c. 1660. Skraalingborg (Skrælingborg) in the centre to the south of the Siguan River, Noordstaadt (Norðstaðr) to the north, Willemfort & Nieuwehoop (Nyrvænn) to the southwest, and Middentong (Miðrtunga) to the east. Noordstaadt (Norðstaðr) c. 1660 Linker Weg, Skraalingborg c. 1660 Governor's Residence c. 1660 With the Dutch invasion, Skrælige was now controlled by New Amsterdam. Now known as Nederlands Skraalig Eilanden, the region was given quite a bit of autonomy. The Skræligen Þing had existed under Danish and Swedish occupation as an advisory body, but was now given formal authority of the islands - still under the ultimate control of Director-General Stuyvesant though. Although no full census would be taken during this time, the official names of some settlements were renamed as follows: Skrälingborg was renamed Skraalingborg Mittentunga became Middentong Nördställe became Noordstaadt Kopparsten became Kopersteen Nyhoppas became Nieuwehoop Rasböja became Raskromming Mittensunborg became Middensunfort Egilställe became Egilstadt Karlsborg became Willemfort The Situation in Northney While the truce between the Skræligens and the Abenaki continued during this time, there was no such truce with the Northney settlement. The English settlers up north attempted to expand across the channel onto Storreyn itself. This would have been a much more significant violation of Dutch land claims - they were willing to put up with an incursion onto a mostly uninhabited island, but reaching the main island would be difficult to ignore. However, by this point in time the Abenaki were armed with muskets, and English attempts to cross over were easily repelled. The English Invasion Throughout the 17th century there was a significant commercial and maritime rivalry between England and the Dutch Republic, which led to frequent conflict. Even when the two countries were at peace, their trade companies had their own warships and were in conflict. Among other grievances were the English Navigation Acts, which required all trade with English ports (including the colonies) to be done with English ships. The First Anglo-Dutch war broke out between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic between 1652 and 54, and while England won the war, the commercial rivalry was entirely unresolved. With this context, the English were agitating for another war, including capturing the Dutch trading outpost on Cabo Verde in late 1663. Subsequently King Charles II granted his brother James (later King James II) the land from the Delaware River to the Connecticut River - land which included New Netherland. In May of 1664 Colonel Nicolls set out from Portsmouth, England, and after enlisting the support of English militias on Long Island, arrived at New Amsterdam on the 4th of September. Nicolls had proposed a fairly lenient surrender agreement, including continuation of property rights and freedom of religion, in order to encourage a peaceful surrender. While Peter Stuyvesant was initially inclined to resist this, the burghers and his son met with him to force him to concede, and the Articles of Surrender of New Netherland were signed on the 6th of September. The English sent troops up the Hudson River, and Fort Orange promptly surrendered on the 24th of September, to be renamed Fort Albany. Former New Sweden was captured in October, and then on the 24th of October a squadron of ships arrived outside Willemfort in Skrælige. Given the same terms as New Amsterdam, the Dutch garrison promptly surrendered, and Skrælige (apart from Northney) was to be part of the Province of New York. ---- Thanks for reading! (And sorry for the delay, I posted this last week on YouTube & my site, I just hadn't gotten around to putting it here - I don't like just linking to the video, Simtropolis deserves a proper post.) You can also see this on the website at https://www.skraelige.world/1645-64-swedish-and-dutch-skrælige, or in video form at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9p-rQIwYl8. Some additional author's notes: The lines on the "European Colonisation Around Skrælige" map are... kind of made up? There's a few different sources I used (listed below). One source was a map of towns in New England c. 1700 (i.e. from the future): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_England_Town_Lines_and_Borders_in_1700.png. I interpreted the presence of an incorporated town to mean it was probably actually controlled by the colony, and not just claimed. The outer borders of CT & MA are their modern ones - the border areas weren't really controlled by anyone anyway, and there were plenty of conflicting claims, even between English colonies. For the MA/CT border, I went with the 1700 one - there was a 1642 MA survey line, but again there was no actual colonial control so it didn't seem right to make a definitive line of control. NH/CT divide is based off of https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ctcolony.png, and I drew my own lines around settlements on Long Island. One slight error is that Stonington in the southeastern corner of CT was briefly controlled by Mass. Bay right around 1660, but I opted to just not include that since it switches back to CT so soon. New Netherland & New Sweden use this map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nieuw_Nederland_and_Nya_Sverige.svg. Obviously those lines are rough estimates and are not borders in the modern sense.

Looks great, especially like seeing before and after! (And always love some ped/bike infrastructure.)

Thanks for the overhead image, really helps to put everything into perspective! (And looks gorgeous too!)

Initial Immigration & Folketælling of 1600 Once the Skræligen Þing signed their oath of fealty to King Christian IV, they held a feast for the expedition and celebrated the beginning of a new future. After a few days of recovery and restocking, most of the Danes made the journey back home, although 22 elected to stay in Skrælige. In early 1599, an additional 100 arrived, along with the new colonial governor, Egil Christiansen. The first priority was to begin recording the current state of Skrælige, which meant commissioning a "Folketælling" (i.e. Manntal). This was completed by 1600, and the results were as follows: Skrælingborg: 472 (-28), incl. 55 Danish immigrants Church & Market District: 172 (-10), incl. 13 Danish immigrants Midtvej & Nyhavn (Formerly Miðrway & Nyjahofn): 237 (-), incl. 42 Danish immigrants Outside of the walls: 49 (-15) Venstrevej (formerly Vinstrileið) village: 14 (-3) Nyhåber (formerly Nyrvænn): 150 (-15), incl. 24 Danish immigrants Main Village: 127 (-5), incl. 24 Danish immigrants North Village: 10 (-5) South Village: 13 (-5) Midtunge (formerly Miðrtunga): 42 (-2), incl. 8 Danish immigrants Nordsted (formerly Norðstaðr): 61 (-2), incl. 16 Danish immigrants Eirsten (formerly Eirsteinn): 55 (-1), incl. 15 Danish immigrants Abenakiborg: 10 (+2), incl. 2 Danish immigrants Lillebugt (formerly Smarvik): 35 (+3), incl. 10 Danish immigrants Rasbøje (formerly Rasbeygja): 0 (-21), abandoned after nearly being wiped out by smallpox Midtsunborg (formerly Miðrsunborg): 21 (-1), incl. 2 Danish immigrants Total population of 846 (-65), including 122 Danish immigrants. Skræligen Reformation The first big change for Skrælige was religion. The Protestant Reformation had spread throughout Europe in the 16th century, including Denmark-Norway. Denmark and Norway themselves converted their state religion to Lutheranism in 1536 and 1537, and the last part of the realm to convert was Iceland, which did so 1539-1550. Skrælige was still Catholic, although its isolation meant that its doctrines weren't 100% in line with the Papacy. Until coming under the Crown of Denmark in 1598, the ideas of the Reformation hadn't really made it into Skrælige, as the limited contact to the Old World was via Spanish trade. Incorporating the Lutheran doctrines into the church of Skrælige went more smoothly than most conversions in Europe - Skrælige had been separated from any real papal control for so long that there was not much reason for opposition. The main change was in language - what little Latin had been used was now all gone, replaced with Danish & Skræligen. A few Danish Bibles were brought over, and work began on a Skræligen translation. (This was largely based on the Icelandic translations, as that was the most similar language at this point.) Real conflict began in 1600 after the Folketælling was completed. With a thorough compilation of all property on the islands recorded, governor Egil Christiansen seized all church property on behalf of the King. Most of the churches on the islands reluctantly agreed, but the archbishop Jensi Karlsson fled across the Siguan River to the church in Nordsted (Norðstaðr). The fight with Danish officials carrying out the seizure led to the burning of the church, as well as the execution of the archbishop Jensi Karlsson. Danish Trade Monopoly & Absolute Monarchy While the imposition of Lutheranism was only strongly opposed by a small minority, the next royal act became much more controversial. After imposing a Danish monopoly on external trade in Iceland in 1602, Denmark enacted a similar set of laws for Skrælige. All trade would be controlled by the family of Karl Valtersson, a prominent merchant who was friendly with Governor Egil, and would only go straight to Copenhagen. As an effect of this, all trade with the Spanish territories was banned. This transition was painful - for nearly a century, the only external trade was with the Spanish territories. Now all trade had to make the much more arduous journey east across the North Atlantic, and wasn't even under Skræligen control anymore. While some smuggling south did occur, Skræligens didn't really have a choice but to comply. After all, being part of Denmark's empire was supposed to bring them prosperity, and this was the necessary cost of business. However, over time more European colonies were founded nearby. (See European Colonisation below.) Even though these new colonies were much closer, trade with them was still illegal. Despite bringing this up with the crown several times, no allowances were made for this local trade, building resentment among the Skræligens. The governing of Skrælige was no longer solely for the benefit of Skrælige, but for the benefit of the crown of Denmark. In fact, Skrælige's needs were barely considered beyond what was needed to enrich Denmark, and the Þing was reduced to a symbolic role. This change was quite a shock to Skræligens who were used to at least being listened to, even if the important leaders in the Þing did tend to be better off than the general population. The new leadership presented an ideological conflict between the self-governing group leadership of the old Skrælige and the Absolutism of Denmark, which showed no signs of going away any time soon. European Colonisation Over the next few decades, European powers began to colonise nearby lands. After an unsuccessful attempt at settling on St. Croix Island in 1604, the French founded Port-Royal on modern day Nova Scotia the next year. After an English attack in 1613, Port-Royal was temporarily abandoned, but later moved upstream. (Today it is now known as Annapolis Royal.) This part of New France became known as Acadia, and eventually expanded to the other side of the Bay of Fundy around modern day St. John, NB. English settlement was a lot closer to Skrælige, including the failed Popham Colony in 1607 which was just across the Norþæn Strait from the islands of Skrælige. The first successful English settlement nearby was Plymouth in 1620. More settlements soon followed, the main "first" settlements are labeled above. By the 1630s English settlements stretched north to the other side of the Skræligen Sea. There was minimal conflict however - construction of fortifications in Skrælige (see Christianborg - Danish Military Fort in Skrælige below) was enough to ward off any English raids. However, the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony was unclear on whether it claimed Skrælige for itself - the Mass. Bay government claimed that the islands were in fact part of the colony, and this uncertainty loomed over the islands. New Construction The new immigration and leadership of Skrælige meant a lot of new construction as well. Most of the "urban" buildings in Skrælige were built in the 14th century or earlier - demand for housing disappeared with the Isolation and the migration into the surrounding countryside in the 15th century, and subsequently plummeted with the introduction of European plagues in the 16th century. Along with new half-timbered construction, new architectural styles arrived as well. Tall Baroque buildings, often referred to as "Copenhagen houses" in Skrælige, stood out with their bright colors among the more subdued whites and browns of the older constructions. One major new landmark in Skrælingborg was the Governor's residence, built between the church, the old Great Hall, and the Þing building. Completed by 1603, this was now the clearest sign of Denmark's presence in Skrælige. The structure holding the Þing had already been dwarfed by other buildings in the city, but was now further dwarfed by the new seat of power. While the residence was not substantially larger, it was much more ornate and modern. In comparison, the Þing began to look dilapidated, and the crown had no interest in preserving the building representing potential competing interests. The last new construction of note was a new church in Nordsted after the burning of the old church in 1600. After many delays, this church was completed by 1619. Now the largest church in Skrælige, the Bishop of Skrælige (the head figure of the church in Skrælige) moved across the Siguan River to Nordsted. Christianborg - Danish Star Fort in Skrælige The most significant construction project during Danish rule was the star fort of Christianborg, named after Christian IV. The existing fortifications on Skrælige were designed for protection against the Abenaki, and were not suited to defending against the European powers moving in nearby. Initial fortifications were built at the mouth of the Siguan River in the early years of Danish rule, but the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War demonstrated that more substantial fortifications might be required. Construction of Christianborg began in 1625, and the final structures were completed by 1630. The fort never actually saw battle though, instead just warding off any potential attacks. All of the Danish warfare was instead limited to the European continent, to the relief of the Skræligens. Upstream Invasion & Reintroduction of Slavery The construction of Christianborg was not the only Danish military action in Skrælige. In 1632 they launched a "scouting party" inland into the interior of the island, to scout out defensible areas to expand to. It would be more accurate to call it an invasion of the Siguan River Valley though, the "scouting party" was not even pretending to try to exist peacefully with the Abenaki. Many were killed, and a new village of Egilsted was founded on the ruins of an Abenaki village. Controversially, many Abenaki were kidnapped into slavery as well. Slavery hadn't been present on the island for centuries, and the capture of slaves during war was no longer practiced either. However, this was common practice on the mainland English colonies, and the Danish authorities saw no reason to not do the same. This was probably the beginning of the modern Skræligen abolition movement as well - while the Skræligen locals had no power to stop this at a government level, a significant number of Abenaki slaves escaped with the covert help of locals. Given the likelihood of Abenaki slaves to escape, the market shifted to importing African slaves instead. The first documented trade of an African slave in Skrælige occurred in 1639, one year after the first African slaves were traded in New England in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. While Skræligens had lived alongside Abenaki in the past, and there was a small amount of mixing between the two cultures, this was not the case of African slaves. It was easy to drive up opposition to Abenaki slavery for these reasons, but while African slavery was not popularly supported, it was not strongly opposed either. Peace of Brömsebro, 1645 Over in Europe, the Thirty Years' War was devastating the continent. What originally began as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics within the Holy Roman Empire eventually morphed into a massive conflict throughout the continent, no longer strictly on religious lines. Denmark intervened from 1625 to 1629 against the HRE, and was involved again from 1643-45 when the Swedes invaded Denmark in the Torstenson War. The conflict concluded for Denmark in 1645 with the Peace of Brömsebro, which transferred some Danish land to Sweden. As part of the peace treaty, Skrælige was also given to Sweden, and would now be administered as part of New Sweden (Nya Sverige). This was hard to get used to for Skrælige - for the first time, their rulers changed without them having any say whatsoever. Still, they were hopeful that a government based closer to home in Fort Christina (present day Wilmington, Delaware) would allow them more autonomy. ---- You can also read this on the Ministry of Sagas website, or view https://youtu.be/rF-eC7nQogg. Thanks for reading! ---- Author's Notes The Danish here is modern Danish - as far as I'm aware the language at the time was not radically different from modern Danish, the same way Shakespearean English isn't radically different from modern English, but I could be wrong here. Not every town name has been directly translated - some have, some have just been altered to sound more Danish, and others haven't been changed. The "Copenhagen houses" seem to have mostly been built in the second half of 17th century in Nyhavn, Copenhagen. I stretched them back a little to fit into Skrælige since I like the style a lot, so that's not 100% historically accurate. The height difference isn't a thing in real life as far as I know, but it is in Cities: Skylines since the assets are scaled differently by different creators. I originally planned on handing Skrælige over to the English in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, so if there's any references to 1648 left that's why. However, the more I thought about it, the more it didn't quite make sense - hence Nya Sverige instead.

Very cool! You probably have a good idea of what's going to happen in the next few decades of Skrælige then, haha. Is that a project you have available in public at all, or just the lore for your own city? Also I'm curious, if Nya Sverige extends up to Maine in your timeline, how do they deal with the English?

Love this so far, great seeing the detailed lore of this town!

Looks great so far! Looking forward to see how this CJ develops.

Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm not too worried about the lack of comments, Simtropolis is still very much a SimCity 4 site (which is honestly pretty impressive).

Caravel on the Horizon In the late morning of the 29th of January, 1509, watchmen on the tower at the mouth of the Siguan River saw something peculiar - a large* ship on the horizon that wasn't of any design familiar to them. A second one soon followed. After some initial confusion, the watchmen lit a torch to try to signal to it. Quite what they were expecting nobody knows, but the crew onboard the mysterious ships maneuvered to anchor near that watchtower. The signaling attracted the attention of the chieftain of Nyrvænn, Afi Gíslason, who joined some guards to meet the ships. Neither of the two parties were what the other expected. For the Skræligens, this was the first time seeing non-Native outsiders since the 14th century. The crew onboard were expecting to see people more similar to the natives they saw earlier on their voyage - not these Skræligens. After the two parties cautiously greeted, and a few men rowed from the ship to set foot on land, an attempt at communication began. This was a challenge - the Skræligens knew their own language, a bit of Algonquian**, and some Latin - but this was only from the church, and had drifted somewhat due to the isolation. Eventually after some communication in broken Latin, it turned out that these ships were an expedition led by Sebastian Cabot (Sebastiano Caboto) for King Henry VII of England, who had been searching for a Northwest Passage but was now heading south along the coast. Realizing the importance of this, the Skræligens invited them upstream to meet with the Þing in Skrælingborg. A large feast was hastily put together for the explorers, who traded knowledge and goods. Unfortunately for Sebastian Cabot, the Skræligens did not know of any Northwest Passage, just that there were "hostile natives" on the mainland and it was too dangerous for the Skræligens to explore. This "discovery" of Skrælige still seemed useful to Cabot - a friendly settlement would be helpful to launch more expeditions from, and the tale of a "lost Viking settlement" might help secure funding for those further expeditions. In exchange for some modern steel weaponry, Skrælige would send a volunteer as an envoy to King Henry VII to prove the existence of Skrælige. Chieftain Afi's son Magnus Afisson volunteered, knowing that he would be gone for a few years. After three more nights, Cabot set off with his crew and Magnus to the southwest, and eventually back east to England. Unfortunately, Sebastian Cabot returned to England slightly after the death of Henry VII in April 1509. The new king, Henry VIII, was not nearly as interested in exploring the New World, even with the tale of the "lost Viking settlement". Cabot remained employed as a cartographer of Europe, but was unable to organize another westward expedition. Not much can be confirmed about Magnus's fate afterwards - legend has it that after spending some time in Hampton Court, he traveled with Cabot to Spain, and managed to end up on a Basque fishing expedition to modern day Newfoundland. Eventually it is told that he returned to Skrælige by himself in the 1520s. While there is some evidence that this may have happened, there is nothing conclusive. *Relative to Skræligen ships - it was a caravel. **Generations past knew more, but the reduced native contact led to its knowledge fading somewhat. Plagues of the Old World After the visit of Sebastian Cabot, Skrælige expected more expeditions to come soon. However, King Henry VIII's lack of enthusiasm meant that the next explorer to "discover" Skrælige would be Estêvão Gomes on the 16th of February, 1524, this time working for Habsburg Emperor Charles V. Gomes's expedition was also surprised to see the Skræligens - evidently knowledge of the settlement had not spread much beyond the English crown. Estêvão Gomes brought a rather unwelcome surprise for Skrælige as well - plague. The most significant was smallpox, which had not been present in Skrælige since at least the 11th century. (While the outbreak of disease in the 1060s was unknown, there is some evidence that it may have been a less virulent strain of smallpox.) Around two weeks after hosting Gomes and his crew, the pox began to appear. This first wave of smallpox ended up killing about 30-40% of the population. At first, the Abenaki were able to avoid catching smallpox - without trade, any contact between them and the Skræligens was minimal, and the smallpox epidemic eventually burned out, running out of people to infect. However, unlike with Sebastian Cabot's expedition, Estêvão Gomes's led to the start of further trade - in this case with New Spain (see Southward Trade & New Port, below). This caused the second wave of smallpox to hit in 1543, further devastating Skrælige. Seeing a weakness in the Skræligen settlement of Norðstaðr, a group of Abenaki launched a raid. While it was initially successful in pushing the Skræligens back, a few of the Abenaki ended up bringing back smallpox as well. It was just as deadly for them - rough estimates place their losses at around a third of their population. While this wasn't enough to completely destroy their society, this marked the beginning of the end for an independent Abenaki culture on Skrælige. (Natives on the mainland were fortunate that the disease did not reach them yet - this would unfortunately not be true within a century.) Southward Trade & New Port Now that the territories of New Spain & the Spanish West Indies were aware of the existence of Skrælige, some merchants began to venture north. Even with the devastation left by plague, the Skræligens were able to improve their quality of life. Goods that were previously unattainable due to isolation were available again, and all sorts of newer crops from Spanish territories were available as well. While this trade was not officially sanctioned, Spanish officials generally looked the other way due to its relative insignificance. The trade was enough to justify expanded port facilities for the larger Spanish ships - unlike Skræligen ships, Spanish ones were too big to just land on shore and be carried inland. This new port (Nyjahofn) was completed by 1539, and allowed for traders to more easily load and unload their ships. Additional buildings allowed for storage of goods, as well as a marketplace for direct sale of goods to Skræligens. Manntal of 1540 With the expanded trade and devastation of smallpox, the Manntal of 1500 was absurdly outdated. An early Manntal was commissioned in 1540, and the results were as follows: Skrælingborg: 500 (-226) Church & Market District: 182 (-61) Miðrway & Nyjahofn (Formerly Miðrway & Docks): 237 (-150) Outside of the walls: 64 (-5) Vinstrileið village: 17 (+2) Hœgrilelð village: Abandoned (-12) Nyrvænn: 165 (-60) Main Village: 132 (-43) North Village: 15 (-7) South Village: 18 (-11) Miðrtunga: 44 (-22) Norðstaðr (Including one household outside the village): 63 (-15) Eirsteinn: 56 (-21) Abenakiborg: 8 (-1) Smarvik: 41 (-17) Rasbeygja: 21 (-4) Miðrsunborg: 22 (+5) Total population of 911 (-353). The Danish Expedition Throughout the rest of the 16th Century, the population of Skrælige continued to decline due to disease. Trade helped sustain the settlements, but they certainly weren't thriving. In the meantime, knowledge of Skrælige's existence spread throughout Europe. In 1598, an expedition was sent by King Christian IV of Denmark to contact Skrælige and assert their authority over the islands. The voyage was plagued by scurvy and colder than expected temperatures, killing about a third of the crew. When they finally saw Skrælige on the 21st of May, it was a welcome relief to them all. When the Skræligen port workers realized that these ships were no ordinary Spanish trade mission, a meeting with the Þing was quickly convened. The meeting started slowly - while the Danes and the Skræligens could somewhat understand each other's native languages, they had significantly diverged in the past centuries. The crux of the matter was this - the Danish delegation offered the protection of King Christian IV, as well as trade and investment, in exchange for swearing fealty to the king. This would mean being united with Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (as well as the Faroe Islands). After some deliberation, the Þing agreed to swear fealty to King Christian IV. Given the devastation of the plagues, the investment from Denmark could help them recover. This did, however, mark the end of an independent Skrælige, at least for a few centuries. Author's Notes Voyage of Sebastian Cabot - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1508_voyage.png, originally created by Evan T Jones Plague hits Skræligens about as hard as native Americans - genetic immunity isn't really a thing. For an example of how this played out IRL, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1707-08_Iceland_smallpox_epidemic. Skræligens had the bonus of not being occupied by hostile people, which reduced the total demographic impact, but the diseases themselves were about as deadly. Skrælige was always on the periphery, and managed to avoid many common epidemics until now. I didn't see any evidence that there was smallpox on Gomes's ship in particular, but according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox it was present on Hispaniola in 1509 and the American continent by 1520, so it's definitely feasible. ---- You can also read this on the Ministry of Sagas website, or view https://youtu.be/bYNyTWq6bro. Thanks for reading!

Cities: Skylines, with a decent number of mods

Prior Colonisation of North America The Faroe Islands (Færeyjar) and Iceland (Island) were settled by the Norse in the 9th Century CE. There is some evidence of prior settlement by hermetic monks known as Papar, but this is inconclusive. Colonisation of North America began with Eiríkr Rauði's (Erik the Red) exile from Iceland in 982. He spent his three year exile exploring up the coast of Greenland (Grœnland), and gathered a group of colonists once his exile expired. In total 25 ships made the journey, and only 14 arrived in Greenland. At its height, the Norse settlement would reach 5000 people. Unfortunately, Erik the Red would be the victim of his own success - a group of immigrants in 1002 brought along an epidemic that would cost him his life. When Greenland was first settled, one of the fourteen ships had been blown off course, sighting land further west. Erik's son Leifr (Leif) took this information and ventured further west in 1001. He first landed in Helluland (Baffin Island), before venturing south to Markland (Present-day Labrador). Finally, Leif and his crew continued south and landed at Vinland, staying for the winter at Leifsbúðir. There they met natives that they would call "skrælingi" to distinguish them from the Inuit who resided further north. Relations were initially OK, until Leif's brother Þorvaldr (Thorvald) got into a fight with them and was killed by an arrow in 1003. Leifsbúðir had been established as a ship repair and navigation outpost, but the conflict with the skrælings in 1003 led to its temporary abandonment. Then in 1009, Þorfinnr Karlsefni (Thorfinn the Valiant) led a voyage back to Leifsbúðir with around 250 people. After the winter, about 100 of them stayed at Leifsbúðir to inhabit and defend the area, and Thorfinn ventured further south with the remaining ~150. They eventually landed at what they would call Straumfjörð, in present day Mira Bay off of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. There again relations with the skrælings were alright, with some trade taking place. The relationship was still quite tense though, and a fight broke out after one of Thorfinn's bulls escaped and spooked the natives. The natives began to charge the Norse, and while most of the Norse men ran away into the woods, Freydís Eiríksdóttir (daughter of Erik the Red) did not - in fact, she could not, as she was eight months pregnant. Instead, she pulled up a sword, exposed her breast, and let out a warcry, scaring off many of the natives instead. After this incident, the natives and Norse mostly kept their distance, but still occasionally traded with each other. 1042 CE: Settlement of Skrælige By the 1040s, the population of Straumfjorð had grown to about 300 people thanks to further immigration. While the climate was better than that of Leifsbúðir (which was better than the climate of Greenland), its winters were still very cold. Recent winters trended colder still, and this created some pressure to settle further south. In 1041, Freydís's son Mikjáll Freydisson* (the one she was pregnant with in the 1010 CE skirmish with the natives) gathered a small crew to explore further down the coast. After finding a spot in present day Lobster Bay, Nova Scotia (the southwestern tip), he gathered 120 men, women, and children to set sail in the early spring of 1042. The voyage soon ran into trouble though, encountering a strong out-of-season nor'easter. While everyone survived the storm, it pushed them too far southwest and out to the sea. *Unlike many Norse names, Mikjáll traditionally has a matrynomic last name rather than a patrynomic one. His father is much less well known to history, so his mother's name is used instead. It's unknown if his contemporaries used patrynomic, matrynomic, or both names. The ships used were not designed to make a journey through the sea, but were just meant to go along the coast. Given the situation, Mikjáll decided to turn north and find the closest land, and then take stock of the situation. Soon, they saw it - the archipelago they would name Skrælingyjar. The small fleet made landfall at what would later be called Smarvik, a small bay on the southern side of Storreyn. The settlers gathered together to figure out their next steps: should they return to Straumfjorð, or should they take a look and consider settling this new land. After some discussion, three small exploration parties were formed to gather intel. One party would go north up the coast, one south, and Mikjáll would lead a party of five northwest over the mountain (Mt. Þorr) to get a better vantage point. Since it was already the afternoon, they all setup camp and would start exploring at dawn. Unbeknownst to the settlers, a small Abenaki hunting party was on the mountain, and noticed the strange ships landing on the coast. They reported back to their village, and sent a party out the next morning to meet the strangers. They eventually met in an opening in the woods to the west of Mt. Þorr. At this point, the Norse already had some experience meeting native "skrælings". After some careful, slow attempts at communication, the natives seemed alright with the Norse settling nearby. Of course, this may have had something to do with numbers - it looked like there was just about as many Norse people as there were Abenaki on the island. The expedition parties returned later that day, and everyone made the trek over the mountain to the Siguan River. There they found a fertile valley downstream from the Abenaki, and got to work chopping down trees, building houses, and planting seeds to establish Skrælingborg. The settlers traded some of their tools for corn, an unfamiliar crop that the natives insisted would grow well. This combination of crops from the Old and New Worlds would lead to a more stable system of agriculture than was practiced in other Norse colonies, and it is theorized that this adaptation is part of why Skrælige survived through this day. 1040s: Development & Conflict The rest of the 1040s saw the settlement develop further, without expanding much. As the natives had said, the corn grew really well. Combined with the regular harvest, winter did not present the same problems that European colonists would run into over five centuries later. Work began on replacing the small wooden church with a larger stone one, which still stands to this day. The thatched earthfast houses were reinforced with wood, and more structures were built to better accommodate the settlers. Unlike with previous Norse colonies, there were no hostilities... for the first couple of years. This changed in the summer of 1045, when some fishermen ventured upstream between the two Abenaki villages. Up until this point, the natives and Norse stayed fairly separate, but now it looked like the settlers were encroaching on Abenaki land. An argument devolved into a violent fight and resulted in several deaths, including all the fishermen and some natives. The Abenaki tribe gathered their warriors and hid in the woods surrounding Skrælingborg, ready for an ambush. A small Abenaki diplomatic party entered the city to demand an audience with Mikjáll Freydisson. He and some other heads of household met with the Abenaki who then revealed some of their warriors. The village was surrounded, and caught completely off guard. The Abenaki were merciful, however, and were just there to demand that the settlers stay downstream. Given the choice between staying downstream and the likely destruction of the entire village, it was an obvious choice. In the aftermath, the various assembled heads of households decided that they had to form some sort of authority to better organize the settlement. This assembly, or þing, is the ancient predecessor to Skrælige's current parliament. There were three things to discuss: Whether to leave for some other land away from the natives. (This was discussed, but then voted against unanimously.) If any counter-attack should be launched. How to better prepare for an attack in the future. The settlers had clearly been caught out by the Abenaki - if they had chosen to attack, the settlement could have been completely wiped out. Although many wanted to avenge the deaths of the fishermen, they were not prepared to raid the main settlement. Effort went into building fortifications around the town, and patrols were setup to keep guard against any future ambush. 1050s: Immigration & Disease After fortifying the settlement, life in Skrælingborg was fairly stable. This made it attractive for more immigration from further east, including a large group of around 60 people in 1053. A second similarly-sized group migrated in 1057, along with another common guest on medieval ships - disease. The exact disease is unknown, but it was deadly. Around 10-25% of the Skræligens died. Due to some trade contact, 20-50% of the natives perished as well. The Norse settlement suffered greatly, but the native society was devastated. The widespread death was on a scale they had never witnessed before, leading to many doubting their religion and way of life. While the Norse people hadn't been doing much missionary work (themselves fairly recent converts to Christianity), they were welcoming of natives integrating into their society and religion. The Skræligen Abenaki still survived as their own culture as well, but they would never recover to their earlier peak. Skrælige was firmly in the hands of the settlers of Skrælingborg. The State of the Western Norse World Through the next decades, Skrælige recovered and prospered. Mikjáll Freydisson passed away some time around 1080, but the þing continued to function as Skrælige's government without many issues. Outside of Skrælige, Norse settlement continued: Eynavik was established down the coast from Leifsbúðir in 1051, but was abandoned later that year after fights with local natives. Humarvik was founded in 1064 where Mikjáll had originally intended to land. The island of Anticostynar was occupied between 1062 and 1068, but a series of poor harvests forced the settlers to leave. Temporary settlements were built in Helluland and Markland, but were generally not inhabited through the winters. The settlements in Greenland continued to grow and prosper. ---- Thanks for reading! As before, you can get more information from the Skrælige Ministry of Sagas, and there's the YouTube video below.

Expansion of Skrælige With the cessation of eastward trade, Skrælingborg could no longer sustain as many artisans. A sizeable amount of the town left to build new farms, leading to the growth of Norðstaðr and the rebuilding of Miðrtunga. As relations with the native Abenaki were at their lowest point in history, new fortifications were erected in Miðrtunga and Eirsteinn. Two new settlements were built further south, with Rasbeygja founded in 1414, and Miðrsunborg settled across the channel on Miðrsun in 1423. The reconstruction of Miðrtunga. Expansion of Norðstaðr. Another impact of the isolation was reforestation. Demand had been high for timber in the Norse settlements on Greenland and Iceland, and as other settlements faltered, Skrælige was able to fulfill much of it. With that demand gone, forests were able to reclaim some of the land that had been clearcut before. Expanded mining operations at Eirsteinn. Finally, the lack of iron imports meant that copper mining and bronzeworking had to pick up the slack. Combined with a need for more metal for weaponry (see Continued Native Conflict below), the small mining operation in Eirsteinn had to grow. New machines were built to lift mined ore from the caverns, and more houses were built to accommodate the larger operation. Eirsteinn was now a town in its own right. The Massacre of Abenakiborg & Continued Native Conflict Another effect of the cutoff of trade was an escalating conflict with the Abenaki. The growing population had to spread out to be self sufficient, and this meant regular competition for hunting and fishing. After a poor growing season in 1453, Skræligens grew bolder in their incursions into the interior of the island. In late October of that year, the Abenaki fired arrows at one hunting party, injuring two and causing them to retreat. In earlier times the plentiful trade and integrated cultures might have calmed things down, but instead it just escalated tensions. Skræligen hunting parties began better arming themselves, firing back in minor skirmishes. It all came to a head on the night of the 2nd of November, when a small band of Skræligen militia went rogue and managed to sneak to the Abenaki village on Lake Asærban, launching a volley of flaming arrows and lighting the village on fire. The Abenaki who were on guard chased the militiamen and killed them, but it was too late. Several villagers were killed, and the majority of the village burned to the ground. This would become known as the Massacre of Abenakiborg. The arson had not been approved by the Þing of Skrælige, and their first knowledge of the attack was the sight of fire and smoke upstream. The citizens of Skrælige prepared for a counterattack, but none came that night. Instead, the surviving Abenaki retreated inland, abandoning their village that had once been the centre of the larger tribe. For the next decades there would be no peace between Skræligens and Abenaki, with skirmishes continuing but no major battles. The fort of Abenakiborg, built on the former Abenaki village. After the massacre, the Þing did approve exploration and raiding on the mainland. Long distance merchants and fisherman had explored the area somewhat, but there had never been any need or desire to expand outside of the main island of Storreyn itself. Skrælige itself was more of an accidental settlement, too far from the Norse homeland to attract much immigration, but with enough resources and trade to easily support it. With reduced resources, no trade, and hostile Abenaki, the Þing decided that they should look back to their ancestors and explore, potentially raiding any native settlements they found on the mainland. This nostalgia for Viking raids did not end well for the Skræligens, however. The tribes on the mainland, many of which were also Abenaki, had already been warned of the Skræligens. The moment any of them began to set foot on the mainland, the natives immediately fired arrows at them. In most cases the Skræligens immediately retreated - the few times they did not led to bloodshed. By the 1470s mainland raids were stopped. Manntal of 1500 By 1500, Skrælige was somewhat stagnant. It wasn't struggling - apart from isolated incidents including the 1450s, food had been sufficient for everyone. However, it wasn't really prospering either, with an inability to expand off of the islands, and constant attention dedicated to the native conflict they had sparked. As was tradition, another Manntal was commissioned in 1500, and the results were as follows: Skrælingborg: 726 (-167) Church & Market District: 243 (-5) Miðrway & Docks (Formerly North & Docks): 387 (-130) Outside of the walls: 69 (-32) Vinstrileið village: 15 (-5) Hœgrilelð village: 12 (-5) Nyrvænn: 225 (-7) Main Village: 175 (-7) North Village: 22 (-1) South Village: 29 (+1) Miðrtunga: 66 (+10) Norðstaðr (Including one household outside the village): 78 (+62) Eirsteinn: 77 (+57) Smarvik: 41 (-17) Rasbeygja: 25 Miðrsunborg: 17 Total population of 1043. Big changes were to come, starting on the 29th of January, 1509, when a large ship of an unknown design was sighted on the horizon... Author's Notes My impression from the Wikipedia "research" I did was that Norse explorers to the west were generally not very good at fighting natives. Iceland had no indigenous people pre-Norse settlement, Southern Greenland was uninhabited at the time, and some of the Sagas mention relations breaking down and the Norse being forced away in North America. Not quite living up to their mythology as fierce Viking warriors I figure with this and the amount of time that has passed so far, a stalemate with a bit of ebb and flow is the most likely outcome in armed conflict. ---- You can also read this on the Ministry of Sagas website, or view https://youtu.be/or4xgd9GQg8. Thanks for reading!

(After >2 months, I finally have another update!) Consolidation of Leifsbuðir & Humarvik Entering the 13th century, the Western Norse settlements consisted of: Iceland Greenland: Eastern & Western Settlements Leifsbuðir, the outpost on the northern tip of modern Newfoundland Straumfjorð, in the northeast of modern Nova Scotia Humarvik, in the southwest of modern Nova Scotia Skrælige Most of the settlements were doing well, or at least sustaining themselves, but Leifsbuðir and Humarvik were not. Leifsbuðir was really only able to sustain a small ship repair outpost, and permanent settlement exhausted the natural resources nearby. By 1225, the last permanent residents left, and Leifsbuðir became an uninhabited stopover point on the journey westward. By the 1250s, Humarvik was the next to go. A combination of conflict with the Mi'kmaq, bad harvests, and disease meant that the remaining inhabitants packed up and left. Some went to Straumfjorð further east, but a decent portion moved to Skrælige, growing its population further. Further east, the Kingdom of Norway was reaching its peak. In 1261 Greenland formally joined Norway. Then from 1262 to 1264 the chieftains of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway made an agreement known as the Old Covenant. These changes led to increased trade between Greenland, Iceland, and Norway, as well as an increase in settlement of Iceland. (Greenland was a bit too cold to convince most people to move there.) This left Straumfjorð and Skrælige as the only remaining settlements outside of the kingdom of Norway. The abandonment of Leifsbuðir and Humarvik made the trans-Atlantic trade route more dangerous, and the new focus on Iceland and Greenland led to a further decline in trade. At this point, it just wasn't feasible to try and formally incorporate the areas into the crown, though the trade put them within Norway's sphere of influence regardless. Copper Mining at Eirsteinn Back in Skrælige, growth led to an increase in demand for metal. Iron, bronze, and other metals had been supplied from the east, and some very limited mining of native copper supplemented this. In 1243 a small mining settlement was built to the southeast, by a cave on the side of Mount Þorr. Previous visits to the cave had reveled extensive native copper deposits, and so it was turned into a mine. The addition of a smelter allowed for bronzemaking, which was not commonly practiced anywhere else in North America at the time. In fact, metallurgy in general was uncommon in North America (source), apart from some limited use of native copper. While the new bronze wasn't as strong as iron or steel, it was now the strongest metal in North America. Manntal of 1300 On top of the new mining operation, winemaking grew into a substantial industry as well. Vinland, the name for the region around Leifsbuðir, was named for the vines of grapes that grew there. Skrælige's soil was even better suited for growing grapes, but hadn't had a substantial farm for growing them. Some emigrants from Leifsbuðir changed that, beginning large-scale winemaking operations in the countryside around Skrælingborg. By 1300 the practice of slavery was extinct. There had only been 12 þrælls in 1200, and in the years that followed most of their kids were granted freedom. There were no new slaves added - with no wars there were no prisoners taken for slavery, and none imported - and this led to the practice's extinction. Part of this was cultural opposition - many people immigrated to Skrælige for their own freedom from their prior life, so they weren't really disposed towards taking slaves of their own. After the Manntal of 1200, some supplemental counts of the population had been made, but there hadn't been a thorough recounting yet. By 1300, the need to do so was clear, and once again a full count was done. The results were as follows: Skrælingborg: 545 (+96) Within the walls: 248 (+69) Immediately east of the walls: 51 Immediately south of the walls: 15 Immediately west of the walls: 18 North & Docks: 147 Vinstrileið village: 20 (-) Hœgrilelð village: 29 (-5) Scattered nearby: 17 (+3) Miðrtunga: 109 (+48) Norðstaðr: 15 (-2) Eirsteinn: 20 Smarvik: 62 (+5) Total population of 751. The Abenaki village nearby also grew to roughly 100 inhabitants, recovering most of its prior losses due to disease. Nyrvænn & Renewed Conflict With the abandonment of other settlements came an influx of people into Skrælige. While more housing was built in Skrælingborg, the need for a new village was clear. In 1350 a new settlement was built on the coast, Nyrvænn. While its coastal location would make it good for trade, the abandonment of settlements meant that European trade was on the decline. Instead, the village mainly relied on fishing and some farming for sustenance. With all of the new immigration, relations with the native Abenaki grew strained. The larger population emboldened some new Skræligens to move further inland for fishing and hunting. Initially the Abenaki were somewhat forgiving, but further intrusions gave them no other choice. In the dead of night on the 15th of May, 1374, a band of Abenaki snuck into the edge of Miðrtunga and set fire to the village. By the time the sun came up on the 16th, half of the village was destroyed. An emergency meeting of the Þing was called, and a group of men and women armed themselves to launch a counter attack on the nearby Abenaki village. It did not go well. As the Skræligens marched through the woods, they were ambushed by Abenaki arrows. Around 100 had entered the woods, and only 28 returned home. A handful were made captives, but the rest were killed in battle. Subsequently a peace offering was made - return of the captives, in exchange for several sheep, pigs, and a promise that the Skræligens never set foot further inland than Miðrtunga. The Þing agreed to the terms, and the fragile links between the Skræligen and Abenaki communities were completely severed. Growth & Walls in Skrælingborg Throughout the 14th century, the population of Skrælingborg continued to grow. Despite the lessening trade, it was enough to support a decent base of artisans within the city. Denser multi-storey half-timbered housing was built between the main walled settlement and the Floðveggr. This allowed for the population north of the original walls to more than double, and shifted the center of population northward. After the May 1374 conflict, the need for better defenses was apparent. With the new housing being built, most of Skrælingborg's residents lived outside of the wall's protection. Over the next few years, a new stone wall was built that would replace the old wooden palisades and connect up to the Floðveggr. Abandonment of Straumfjorð & Manntal of 1400 In 1380 grim news arrived from the East - Straumfjorð was emptying out, and now the nearest inhabited Norse settlement would be Greenland. The settlements in Greenland weren't doing especially well either - the "Western Settlement" had been abandoned a couple of decades earlier (due to a combination of a colder climate, erosion, and conflict with incoming Thule people), and the "Eastern Settlement" was past its heyday. Straumfjorð was completely abandoned by the end of 1382, and this meant that the journey east was no longer feasible. Trade from the east was already on the decline, and this meant it came to an end. The conflict of 1374 meant that local trade was no longer an option either - Skrælige would have to be self-sufficient. This began a period known in Skræligen history as the "Isolation", where contact with the Old World was lost for over a century. The Manntal of 1400 reported the following: Skrælingborg: 893 (+348) Church & Market District (Inside the old walls): 248 (-) Miðrway & Docks (Formerly North & Docks): 517 (+370) Immediately east of the walls: 41 (-10) Immediately south of the walls: 15 (-) Immediately west of the walls: 18 (-) Vinstrileið village: 20 (-) Hœgrilelð village: 17 (-12) Scattered nearby: 17 (+3) Nyrvænn: 233 Main Village: 182 North Village: 23 South Village: 28 Miðrtunga: 56 (-53) Norðstaðr: 16 (+1) Eirsteinn: 20 (-) Smarvik: 58 (-4) Total population of 1043. Author's Notes The Manntal is a bit like the Domesday Book in England, except in Skrælige it was to be fully updated every century. For some reason in my head I thought that there was a second Domesday book that updated it. I think it was a misunderstanding though, while there was a "Little Domesday" and a "Great Domesday", they did not overlap with each other, and combined formed what we know of as the Domesday book. The YouTube video is still in progress, don't know if anyone here actually watches them though - everything's covered above as well.

Looks gorgeous! Wish I had 42 million simoleons lying around, but I guess a regular hotel will do

Looks great so far!