In 1638, the first two Swedish ships, the "Fogel Grip" and the "Kalmar Nyckel" landed at the site of today's metropolis Kristinastad and established the first Swedish settlement in the New World. With 600 settlers following to strike roots soon after, the new colony was soon at loggerheads with the Dutch settlement of Nieuw Nederland.
This post was written by Dirk Puehl the highly recommended author of #onthisday #history Google+ posts.

New Sweden founded in AmericaEven though the Dutch did not take violent action while the Thirty Years' War raged in Europe and the mother country was threatened, matters changed after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Nya Sverige (New Sweden) would have been a short-lived episode if King Charles XI had pursued his policy of strength in the eastern Baltic regions.

With profits from fur trade coming in and the old Swedish chancellor Oxenstierna having a focus on consolidating the economy, the new course of the Swedish Empire became quite obvious. Following victories over Denmark and control of the Kattegat and Skagerrak passages into the North Sea and the Atlantic, as well as an agreement of more or less exporting people from Poland and Lithuania - instead of warring on them - to tackle the colony's main problem, the lack of manpower, soon established a busy traffic between the north eastern American seaboard and Scandinavia. The Dutch saw their position in the Americas almost indefensible when war after war followed with the English in the second half of the 17th century and decided to sell their possessions rather than have them fall into English hands and ally with the Swedes.

Nya Sverige meanwhile had expanded to the Stora Sjoarna (Great Lakes) region in the west and drove a wedge between existing French and English settlements in the North and South of the continent, and the great colonial conflicts of the early 18th century between the three European major powers were already foreshadowed, when Swedish settlers drove away the French explorers Jolliet, Marquette and La Salle from the Mississippi River valley and founded the local capital of Gustavia (after the governor Gustav Johansson Prinz). The War of Spanish Succession finally brought hostilities to the Americas in earnest, with the French and Spanish on one and the Swedes and the English on the other, with the excellent Swedish troops making all the difference in the North of Louisiana, leaving France with the area south of the Arkansas River after the Peace of Utrecht.

Growing ideas of absolutistic rule in the late 17th and early 18th century in the Swedish Empire under Charles XI and Charles XII, colonial taxation and the competition with the English in North America marked the uneasy situation of Nya Sverige until the 1750s when the Amerikanska Kriget or American War determined the new development the continent was about to take.

In 1790, on this day tenth President of the United States John Tyler was born in Charles City County, Virginia.

Birth of President TylerOnly three years after the death of William Henry Harrison due to illness, he was killed in an accidental explosion that caused many superstitious Americans to believe the office of President had become cursed.

During a party aboard the USS Princeton (the first screw stream ship in the Navy), some 400 guests were treated to displays of modern technology, including the 12-inch cannon known as the Peacemaker. It had been fired twice successfully over co-designer John Ericsson's warning that the gun was not ready. The third firing, a tribute as they passed Washington's home at Mount Vernon, caused the cannon to explode. Tyler, who was eager to impress young Julia Gardiner of his virility despite being a 54-year-old widower, had hopped up the ladder onto the deck, just in time to catch shrapnel to his head. Julia's father, New York businessman David Gardiner, and Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur were also among the casualties in the worst peacetime explosion to that point.

Mourning for the disaster included curiosity at another unprecedented occurrence: the ascension of a President pro tempore of the Senate to the office of President of the United States. After the death of Harrison, Tyler had been the first Vice-President to assume the office, though many such as John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay thought that he was meant to fulfill a role rather than be a wholly new president. Despite being nicknamed "His Accidency", Tyler went about resigning from the Whig political party and launching his own economic policy. He vetoed bills for a National Bank repeatedly, causing his cabinet to resign in disgust. While Tyler had a few supporters, such as Daniel Webster, he fought with the Whigs so much that they initiated the first impeachment hearings against him, though it would ultimately be voted down. Tyler's greatest separation from the Whigs, however, was the potential annexation of the Republic of Texas. The matter had been raised before in 1837 with a Texas proposal that was declined by President Martin van Buren. Tyler had Secretary of State Upshur begin work on a treaty, but it remained incomplete at the time of their deaths. What Tyler had planned to be the great issue of the election of 1844 was a political afterthought.

A new story by Jeff ProvineAs President pro tempore of the Senate, North Carolina Whig Willie Person Mangum became the eleventh president of the United States. Mangum was something of a reversal of Tyler, having left the Democratic Party in 1834 after declaring himself a Whig. He left politics and reinvented his career, working as part of a failed Whig plot to nominate four men for president to block out Martin van Buren in 1836 before returning triumphantly to the Senate in 1840. When New Jersey Senator Samuel L. Southard resigned from the Senate in 1842 due to his failing health, Mangum came onto the track that would accidentally make him president. Where Tyler had broken with the Whigs, Mangum worked alongside party leader Henry Clay to institute as much of his American System as possible with the Whig majority in the Senate, though the Democrats controlled the House and resisted several proposed tariffs. A new National Bank was established to capitalize on the rebounding economy after the Panic of 1837, and numerous transportation improvement projects began. These projects would be the main issue of the election of 1844 when Henry Clay narrowly defeated Martin van Buren with the promise of extending the National Road to Oregon and clarifying American control there rather than joint-rule with Britain.

The issue of annexation arose again after the California Republic won its independence from Mexico in 1846 under men such as Mexican general Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and John C. Fremont. The republic proposed annexation by the United States, but Henry Clay politely declined. Such an annexation might have sparked war with Mexico, who was already upset over American soldiers unofficially participating in the rebellion, seemingly a mirror to Texas. The move is believed to have cost Clay and the Whigs the election of 1848 that gave the White House to Democrat Lewis Cass despite the efforts of the Free Soil Party under Martin van Buren to limit slavery in the territories.

Settlers poured westward on improved roads (including many government-funded rail projects), giving rebirth to the question of slavery in federal territories. Popular sovereignty became the strategy for Kansas and Nebraska Territories, which turned into guerilla warfare as men committed to both sides fought to protect interests. Alongside this issue came the discovery of gold in the newly founded California Republic, which spawned a renewed call for Manifest Destiny. With the approval of Britain, the United States annexed California, prompting Mexico to declare war. The Republic of Texas came as an ally, winning many victories and expanding its territory in the resulting treaty in 1854, which also brought the Republic of Sonora to the US. Some suggested annexing Texas as well, but no formal proposal was made as abolitionists saw it as an extension of slavery and the general attitude of Texas (which had been independent for over a generation) felt best to stay independent.

In 1860, the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln caused the South to declare its independence, inviting Texas to join in a confederation, which it considered before declining and remaining neutral. The war was finished by 1864, and the question of slavery was answered in the United States, though it remained legal in Texas until the 1880s. Texas and the US continued diplomatic relations despite being on opposing sides of the French intervention in Mexico. Suggestions for annexation arose again in the 1890s with a new wave of expansionism, but conservative Texans valued independence while local businesses hoped to hold onto the growing oil industry there. Over the next century, Texans would continue to be friendly with Americans, even joining the Allies in the Second World War, though its production-based economy was especially crippled by the Great Depression. Today it stands as a close trade-partner with the United States, but still fiercely independent.

In 1592, the celebrated Elizabethan poet William Shakespeare assigned the blame for his acrimonously departure from the Lord Chamberlain's Men on the well-known playwright Robert Greene.

Upstart CrowIn a pamphlet published by Henry Chettle, Greene had openly accused the Upstart Crow of copying from the "Richard, Duke of York" which was a collaborative piece of work he had written with Marlowe. And sure enough "The Third Part of Henry VI" included the travestied line "Oh tiger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide" which Green directly referred to in his stinging attack on the player.

In fact, Green was a bitter, dying man but the controversy was enough to force Shakespeare to leave the capital and rejoin his family in Stratford-upon-Avon. There was a star danced, and under that was I bornBut fate intervened, and through a connection at court with Walter Raleigh, the Shakespeares were invited to join settlers setting sail for Virginia.

His career as a player, and wannabe writer/manager was over, he turned his attention to sonnet writing on themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. He emerged as one of the new world's most famous poets. And the inspiration for his gifted son, Hamnet, who in 1615 authored the celebrated play "The Lady and the Dragon".

In 1461, in the midst of a snowstorm in the North of England, the Wars of the Roses would come to an end as the House of Lancaster reaffirmed itself to its royal position gained by the overthrow of Richard II.

House of Lancaster Victorious at Towton The matter settled civil wars that had plagued England for years with the growing dissent over the weak king Henry VI. The House of York under Richard Plantagenet, Third Duke of York, rose up in opposition to the nobles who held Henry's interest and easily swayed his opinions. Initially, York was successful, establishing an act by Parliament to make him and his progeny to succeed Henry upon his death. Henry's consort, Margaret of Anjou, fought back with a quickly raised army, and York was slain at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. His son Edward took up the fight to defend his right, which would soon be taken from him by the might of Lancaster.

A new story by Jeff ProvineThe war continued until the fateful day in late March of the next year. The army under John de Mowbray, Third Duke of Norfolk, was late, making the Yorkists seem grossly outnumbered, but he managed to arrive shortly before the battle began. Lord Fauconberg offered a strategy of arranging his archers to fire with the wind, thus outside of the range of the Lancasterian arrows, but a fierce north wind came up quickly, bringing snow with it. Some commanders on both sides considered postponing the battle, but the arrival of Norfolk's troops prompted a quick fight before the snow became worse.

The two armies drew up ranks on the plateau between Saxton and Towton, Lancaster using the marshes and valley as protection for its flanks. The narrow space meant that Lancaster would not be able to use its numerical advantage at once, seemingly a disadvantage that would actually hand them the battle. After the initial attack, fighting continued indecisively for hours, despite the charge of mounted spearmen from the Castle Hill Wood into the Yorkist flank. Edward had joined the battle himself to stop the charge, which bolstered his men's confidence. However, after some seven to ten hours, the exhausted Yorkists finally began to falter while Lancaster continued to bring up fresh troops who had been waiting behind the front line for space to attack.

When the Yorkists broke, the battle became a slaughter. Snow and weariness slowed their escape, and as many perished from the cold and wet terrain as did by the Lancaster sword. Edward himself was killed in battle, most likely mistakenly since his body was not discovered until two days later. With Henry VI firmly upon the throne again despite his bouts with insanity, Margaret of Anjou and her allies quickly began purifying the parliament of disloyal nobles. Lancaster would hold firmly for some time, but their harsh methods would eventually be their undoing.

The reign of Henry's son Edward IV had proven as weak as his father's with Edward being coddled or bullied by his mother and her council. Upon Margaret's death in 1482, Richard Plantagenet, who had been only nine at the time of his brother Edward's death, acted out after years of careful plotting and intrigue. He had played a fool during much of his youth, later writing of inspiration from Claudius, and maintained a hold on a little of his father's land through Margaret's purges. Gathering his own allies among the ambitious and disenfranchised of England, he made his greatest gain in power by taking in Henry Tudor, a distant relative of Lancaster who had no chance at royal power otherwise. The uprising became an overall revolution, and Richard swiftly defeated the forces of Edward IV by 1485. Tudor was rewarded with seized Lancasterian lands, and his daughter Margaret married Richard's son Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales, who would become Edward V.

The House of York became dominant in England and swallowed up much of the latent power of the House of Lancaster. With its internal affairs in order, the country turned to warfare with other European powers, particularly Spain and Portugal, which grew wealthy on gold taken from the New World. England would find the Protestant movement favorable and joined with the Empire of Sweden, the Dutch Republic, and many of the northern German states. War tore apart the British Isles as Catholic Scotland and Ireland rebelled, though the advantaged English would eventually affirm their domination in war and intrigue that would have made proud the much applauded King Richard III, about whom the biographer Shakespeare wrote glowingly.

In 2009, on this day the embattled Prime Minister of Israel, Tzipora Livni¹ (pictured) requested that the Canadian Government withdraw support for the Annapolis Process which had been launched at a Middle East peace conference held on November 27, 2007. The conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States established a framework for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which had been building up for forty years since the inception of a two-state solution.

Peace for LandA joint statement was issued by all parties. Subsequently, nine Canadians provided assistance for the Palestinian State to take greater responsibility for security matters, including the training of six thousand members of the national security force and the two-thousand strong presidential guard.

Trouble was roadblocks and security walls had made normal civilian and economic life extremely difficult for Israelis. An overwhelming majority considered it was an historic mistake for the founding fathers to accept the logic of the UN decision in 1947. And contrary to the Zionist doctrine propounded by radicals such as David Ben-Gurion, the partition signed by the Chairman of the Jewish National Council Golda Meir created not just one but two states in the old Ottoman and British Mandate. Meir argued persuasively that a forced exodus of Palestinians would have been "dreadful" likening a Zionist occupation to what had befallen the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe². Yet the reality was that the threat of Arab invasion forced the Jewish National Council to accept partition. And truth be told, the threat of Arab invasion had never really gone away.

Even today Iran espouses a similiar view but from a radically different perspective. When its leaders talk of Israel's "occupation," they are not talking about what happened in 1947 and after, but of Israel's very existence and presence in the region. When they talk of "resisting the Zionist entity" and of their support for Hamas and Hezbollah, they are referring to a long-term vision of never-ending struggle.

Israel's challenge is that Hamas and Hezbollah do not feel bound by the same rules of war and engagement as Israel. Rocket launchers are placed on the rooftops of schools and apartment buildings; military headquarters are buried beneath hospitals. Hardliners in the Knesset assert that Stephen Harper's Government in Ottawa can no longer be "pro-Israel" and "pro-Arab".

And the extremist Likud Party led by the ultra-right wing maverick Binjamin Netanyahu have gone further, proposing military incursions into the West Bank and Gaza City. No stranger to controversy, Neyanyahu was recently interviewed by journalist Bob Rae of the Toronto Star in which he recounted a story about two Israelis meeting in the street.
"How are things?"
"In a word, 'good.'
In two words, 'not good.' "

It is 1334 BC, and Pharaoh Akhenaten has just died without a son.

Happy Endings Part 19
Pharoah MosesHe is succeeded by Prince Moses, his sister's adopted child. Since Moses enthusiastically shared Akhenaten's new religious views,which replaced the old polytheism with a belief in Aten the One Sun God, the late Pharaoh had chosen his nephew for the throne.

The new Pharaoh Moses-aten continued to worship Aten while requiring his countrymen to do the same. Since the Hebrew slaves also worshipped one God, Moses set them free, knowing that they would be his most enthusiastic supporters. To make things simpler for these simple folks, he condensed the hundreds of Egyptian commandments down to a list of Ten.

And that is why the Faith of Aten is still followed throughout all of Egypt, and indeed the entire Middle East.

In 1895, on this day the thirty-seventh Vice President of the United States Christian Archibald Herter was born in Paris, France.

Birth of VP HerterHe previously served as fifth-ninth governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957. During this controversial term of office, he famously appointed Republican candidate Henry Cabot Lodge to the Senate after a Democrat, thirty-seven year old John F. Kennedy was tragically killed by a Urinary track-infection surgery in October of 1954.

Of course President Eisenhowever might secretly have wished that such a malady would strike his hateful Vice President Richard M. Nixon. But instead as his own re-election neared, it became clear to him and his staffers that the President's fragile health was sufficiently weak as to seriously risk Nixon being ushered into office through succession. He offered Nixon his choice of cabinet post and replaced him on the ticket with Herter. Forced to choose, Nixon selected Defence, and alongside the CIA set about organizing the Bay of Pigs Invasion that would overthrow the Communist Regime in Cuba.

By 1854, as the nineteenth century showed the continued waning of the Ottoman Empire, the "Eastern Question" asked what to do with the "Sick Man of Europe". In its heyday, the empire ruled from the ancient Byzantine capital of Constantinople over lands stretching from the Balkans to Mesopotamia across North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.

March 28, 1854 - France and Britain join Eastern WarWhile the Ottomans seemed to maintain eternal war with Austria and Russia over influence in the Balkans, nations such as Spain and France pushed back its control to Tunisia. In 1832, the Greeks won their independence with aid from France, the United Kingdom, and, especially, Russia. The Ottomans faced further revolts from the Janissaries as well as a rebellion by Muhammad Ali, the Wali of Egypt. In the 1830s, Ali's wars secured independence for Egypt and Sudan and then marched outward, seizing Syria and Arabia. Ali was finally defeated by military action backing up the Convention of London, where the major powers of Europe agreed to make him hereditary ruler of Egypt in exchange for his conquered lands.

Another challenge to the Ottomans came when Napoleon III, newly upon the throne of France, gave a show of force and demanded to be made the defender of Christian citizens in empire. The Ottomans refused, citing the 1774 Treaty of Kücük Kaynarca with Russia, which named the Tsar the defender of Orthodox Christians, a position which had been used to step in on affairs involving Greece. Eventually the Ottomans caved to Napoleon's demands, inciting Nicholas I of Russia to move troops to the border on the Danube. When the sultan rejected (at Britain's advice) a new treaty granting Russia control of Orthodox as France had authority over Catholic Christianity, Nicholas invaded the Ottomans' Danubian provinces. After having ruled Russia for nearly thirty years, serving as the "Policeman of Europe" and aiding in the suppression of the Revolutions of 1848, Nicholas felt that he had earned the conquest.

The rest of Europe, however, convened at Vienna, hoping to find a diplomatic solution that did not contribute to the expansion of Russian power. On the surface, Nicholas agreed with their new treaty, but he began maneuvers under the table toward France, promising them North Africa in exchange for bringing down the Ottoman Empire. When the Sultan refused to agree to the ambiguous treaty set forth at Vienna, France marched out and joined the Russian cause. The other nations were shocked but realized that the time had come to solve the Eastern Question. Austria hurried to join the Russian alliance and secure influence on lands soon to be liberated in the Balkans. Prussia, with nothing to gain, maintained its neutrality. Britain alone stood alongside the Ottomans, attempting to maintain status quo in the Middle East.A new article by Jeff Provine

The Eastern War dragged on for three years, Alexander II succeeding his father in 1855. Despite the clear military advantage of the Franco-Russo-Austrian alliance, they were beleaguered by antiquated leadership. French forces liberated Egypt and then became cut off by British naval superiority in the Mediterranean. The British were able to shell French fortifications from sea, but could make no headway and faced humiliations such as the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Tunis. In the Balkans, trains and telegraphy proved effective, but the masses of troops in movement brought unprecedented levels of disease. Photography enabled an explosion of war-journalism, which ultimately contributed to the disgust of the public. Britain suffered a "snowball riot" on January 21, 1855, when protesters threw snowballs and eventually had to be quelled by soldiers.

Due to the unpopularity of the war, Britain began discussing peace through Prussia as an arbiter for peace in 1856. The Ottoman Empire was shrunk to Asia Minor, and its many provinces became nation-states while Palestine was granted a special international protectorate status to preserve rights to Catholicism and Orthodoxy there. No sooner had the diplomats signed the documents than the industrialists swarmed into the region, attempting to dominate new markets. France with its heavy influence in Egypt had a head start in the Middle East and began construction on the lucrative Suez Canal as soon as the war was over. Britain reinforced relations with Persia as a buffer for its colonies in India. In the Balkans, the Austrians and Russians attempted to exert control over the new nations. When the Austro-Prussian War began in 1866, Russia and Italy contributed, tearing the empire apart much as had been done to the Ottomans. Italy affirmed itself with the Third War of Unification adding Venice, and Prussia formed a German Empire out of its German Confederation, seizing extensive lands from the fallen Austrians.

For two generations, enormous empires sprawled over Europe. France and Britain competed abroad while Germany and Russia divided Eastern Europe. New major world powers arose as Japan defeated Russia in the Pacific, and the United States made a tour of its Great White Fleet. The empires came to battle after the assassination of German Crown Prince William in 1914 by a secret society bent on ending exterior influence in the Balkans while he was touring Sarajevo. Germany invaded Serbia, Russia moved in to protect it, prompting its ally France to move on Germany. Britain came in as an ally against France, spreading the war over the globe. Eventually Germany defeated Russia, sparking a civil war that would lead to a new Communist regime, ideas which spread to France's many lost colonies and to France itself, creating a Second World which came into an ideological Cold War with the First.

In 1979, a broken cooling valve leads to the worst disaster in American history.

Three Mile IslandThe valve failed to let cooling water through at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, and the plant went into a severe meltdown, releasing radiation across the entire northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Thousands died from radiation poisoning, and thousands more became ill. The wind currents even brought the radiation to Washington DC, where dozens of members of Congress were killed, as well as President Carter. the worst disaster in American history.

Vice President Mondale (pictured), assuming the presidency, ordered an evacuation of the eastern seaboard. Canada went through similar struggles, with a huge chunk of its southeastern region bordering America becoming uninhabitable. Both countries soured on nuclear power after this, and Canada outlawed the alternate energy source, turning to solar and wind power to take its place. America took a downturn as it struggled to come back from this disaster. For the next few years, the federal government met in Kansas and struggled to deal with the millions of refugees from the east. Compared to this, the Great Depression was a minor socio-economic blip - President Mondale suspended elections and called for martial law in order to hold the nation together. the worst disaster in American history.

He ran the nation as a virtual dictator for the next 8 years, until the radiation levels dropped enough in the east to where it could be repopulated. The area around Three Mile Island is still uninhabitable, but portions of Pennsylvania were recovered, and life slowly returned to normal in America.

In 517 AD, on this day a Roman fleet sailed up the Severn and anchoured at Glaudium (aka Gloucester, a major route into Britain was by sea from the mediterranean and terminating at the Severn).

Battle of Camlann, Reboot Part #2 by Ed & Richard RoperRoman officers arrived at Cirinium; "Hail Caesar, Hail caesar, Hail Caesar".

Artorius was appointed Caesar of Britain by the East Roman Emperor. This action was the beginning of the restoration of the Western Empire, the great project of the emperor.

Arthur later retired to Avalon (aka Glasonbury Hill) - and his son rules as caesar and co-king of the Angles (an article on the Vortigern Studies site names him and says he returned as co-king of the Angles when they migrated as a nation).
This article is a continuation of Part 1.

In 1775, the ongoing American protests against British colonial rule escalated into armed rebellion as citizens of the town of Concord, Massachusetts exchanged gunfire with a detachment of British soldiers sent to arrest the leader of the local Brotherhood of Liberty chapter; when the skirmish ended just twelve minutes later three Americans, six British, and a Quebecois emigrant farmer were dead.

Double Jeopardy Part 7
Battle of ConcordThe Battle of Concord, as the engagement would later be known, marked the beginning of the American Revolution-- a war that would end over four years later with the United States becoming independent from Britain.

The British defeat in the Revolution marked a major turning point in the Crown's relations with its former subjects on American soil; forced to deal with the newly sovereign nation as an equal rather than simply as one of its dependents, Britain strived in the post-Revolutionary War era to create more cordial ties with America. Those efforts would turn out to be invaluable to the interests of both countries when another Anglo-French war erupted in the early 19th century.

In 1969, on this day the seventeenth Confederate President Dwight D. Eisenhower died of congestive heart failure. He was seventy-eight years old and had suffered health issues for over a decade.

Dwight Eisenhower
17^th Confederate President
March 4, 1951 - 1957Born in Texas during the administration of P.G.T Beauregard, "Ike" never moved to Kansas as in our time line. Instead, he grew up in Oklahoma.

Since West Point Military Academy is deep into Union territory, Eisenhower graduated from the premier military school in the CS - Virginia Military Institute. From there he would go on to become a General of the Army (5-star) in leading the CS forces in Europe during the Second World War. A new article from the "Two Americas" thread on Althistory WikiaAs a result of operations in the closing days of that war, the CS was able to "rescue" German rocket scientists who would later help the North American Allies (CS-US-Canada) in their efforts in what became known as the "Space Race" with the USSR.

As president, he pushed for troops to be sent to help the UN hold on to South Korea, but the CS Congress would not go along. When the US president asked for assistance in the mounting tensions in French Indochina, again, the CS Congress stood in the way. Both Korea and Vietnam would fall to the Communists.

In 1968, on this day Wilhelm Schoemann heard a knock on the door.

Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Robert A. TaylorThe knock on the door had that authoritative, threatening sound that could only have been perfected through years of using it to intimidate people. Wilhelm struggled up from his recliner, set down the paper he had been laboring through, (it was filled with more articles on how the verdammt Arabs were raising the price of gas, again, and it would probably be at least a dollar a gallon, now), and shuffled to the door. He was not a quick man, these days. The arthritis that had crippled his father was starting to creep over him, and he resented having to challenge it.
The knock was repeated.
Part one of the novel can be downloaded here and continues as a thread on this site.

In 1917, on this day American politician Cyrus Roberts Vance was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Birth of SecDef Cyrus VanceScion of a famous family (he was the cousin and adoptive son of 1924 Democratic presidential candidate and lawyer John W. Davis) Vance was chosen to serve as general counsel of the Defense Department and then the Secretary of the Army during the John F. Kennedy administration. And he was Secretary when Army units were sent to northern Mississippi in 1962 to protect James Meredith and ensure that the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi took place.

As Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon Johnson, he first supported the Vietnam War but by the late 1960s changed his views and resigned from office advising the president to pull out of South Vietnam. In 1968 he served as a delegate to peace talks in Paris. In line to received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, he was the unexpected choice for Secretary of Defense when Hubert Humbprey took office as the 37th President of the United States.

His impact on policy was soon felt. Humphrey continued Johnson's bombings, but at the same time, US troops in Vietnam took a more defensive role. And the urgings of Secretary of State Clark Clifford and Secretary of Defense Vance prevented Humphrey from committing troops to an invasion of Cambodia and Laos. In the fall of 1970 peace was worked out in Paris without input from South Vietnam. The United States would withdrawal all their troops, accept 10 North Vietnamese divisions in South Vietnam and recognize the legitimacy of the PRG. Thieu came out against the treaty, accusing the US of selling him out. In a US backed political coup, Thieu was forced out of power and Duong Van Minh, who had been one of those who helped overthrow Diem, replaced him. Early 1971 had all members of the Vietnam War sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the US involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1958, on this day Communist Party Leader Khrushchev was removed from office.

March 27, 1958 - Communist Party Leader Khrushchev RemovedFollowing the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, the Soviet Union came into a period of transition. Georgy Malenkov was the dictator's heir as Premier while Stalin's position as First Secretary of the Communist Party went to Nikita Khrushchev. Other positions were continued by their respective members of the Presidium, the highest committee in the SU. This separation of powers was defended when Minister of Internal Affairs Lavrentiy Beriya was arrested and executed in secret. Beriya had headed Soviet security with extensive powers and aided in the spread of Communism throughout Eastern Europe by the overthrow of governments. Rumors stated that Beriya was working toward a military coup in Moscow itself, and an alliance of Khrushchev and Malenkov managed to defeat him.

The balance of rule was short-lived, however, as both Malenkov and Khrushchev sought to expand their powers. Malenkov used his centralized government agencies to assert command while Khrushchev worked among the grassroots to encourage devotion from the people. Gradually, Khrushchev chipped away at Malenkov's powers, popularly opening the Kremlin to the public and creating the Virgin Lands Campaign to create new farmland in areas such as Siberia and Kazakhstan, which led to record harvests in 1956. Soon Khrushchev defeated Malenkov, organizing his removal and replacing him with Minister of Defense Nikolai Bulganin.A new article by Jeff Provine

Khrushchev began to institute further reforms and, in 1956 at the 20th Party Congress, gave his "Secret Speech". Point by point over the course of four hours, Khrushchev gave a description of Stalin's cruelty and abuse of power. He later recalled, "congress listened to me in silence. As the saying goes, you could have heard a pin drop". The initial speech was behind closed doors, although it was later repeated slowly to Eastern European leaders and finally published, though stamped "not for press". Stalin remained an icon, but his reputation was destroyed along with those who had supported him during the Great Purge. Outrage exploded on both sides, including four days of rioting in Stalin's homeland of Georgia. Most sentiment supported Khrushchev as a new leader for a new Soviet Union.

Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, who had long served under Stalin, received much of the flack from Khrushchev's speech and was demoted. He joined with other conservatives such as Malenkov and Old Bolshevik Lazar Kaganovich, determined to knock Khrushchev out of power. They sought a political maneuver, arguing before the Central Committee to remove Khrushchev, but eventual discussion prompted them to ensure that they could remove him before acting. Molotov approached Premier Bulganin, who wavered and would not give total support as Khruschev controlled the public at large as well as the military under Minister of Defense Georgy Zhukov. Zhukov and Khrushchev had served together in the Ukraine, and Zhukov had begun the calls for reform and the ousting of Stalin's abuses even before the Secret Speech. Any action against Khrushchev would be opposed by Zhukov and, in turn, the military he controlled.

It was clear that their efforts would meet with at most partial success unless they ousted Zhukov. Now, rather than targeting the chairman himself, they began a plot to remove Zhukov from office. He had risen to great new heights, becoming the most decorated figure in the Soviet military. After a meeting of the Presidium in June of 1957 when the general was granted full membership in the Presidium, Molotov mentioned to Khrushchev that Zhukov's fame as Minister of Defense was likely to make him Premier, like Bulganin. Khrushchev became nervous about losing his engineered popularity due to the fall of Stalinism to Zhukov and began to orchestrate the general's removal, effectively making Khrushchev a conspirator in the plot against himself. That October, while visiting Albania, Zhukov was voted into forced retirement.

Khrushchev began pushing for military reform, attempting to undo Zhukov's policy of the political agencies of the military reporting to commanding officers before the Communist Party. The move lost him a great deal of support politically as it became evident he was consolidating power. By the beginning of spring the next year, the Presidium voted to remove him as they had Zhukov. Khrushchev was demoted to managing agricultural materials in the Ukraine, where he would live out the rest of his life.

With the conservatives back in control of the Soviet Union, they attempted to recast the nation away from Khrushchev's policies. The Virgin Lands Campaign began to fail, leading to a new campaign of improving production on existing land and increasing sophistication in communal farms. The use of tanks in Hungary in 1956 was seen as widely unpopular, and the USSR was saved from international scorn only by the timely seizure of the Suez Canal. Molotov set to work rebuilding the Soviet image, capitalizing on Russian advantages in the Space Race to encourage communist action in other countries as Colonialism ended. Relations with Mao's China improved, and gradually China, Mongolia, North Korea and later countries in Southwest Asia were inducted into the Warsaw Pact.

As Communism spread, the West became increasingly nervous. In 1960, an American U2 spy plane was shot down, but long talks at the Four Powers Summit enabled the East and West to divide up the world into agreed upon spheres of influence. The Cuban-Turkish Missile Crisis tested the agreement, which brought about suspicious but peaceful coexistence as both sides removed weapons from near the other's border. The twentieth century continued, and the Soviet economy stagnated under conservative rule and eventually gave way to introductions of minor capitalism through East Germany and Poland. Similar experiments went forward in China after the death of Mao. Liberalization proved to be beneficial for the Communist nations, who thrived while the economies of the West struggled to recuperate from the recessions of the 1970s. Massive expenditures in governments such as Britain and America proved beneficial for a time in the 1980s, but, by the 1990s, attention shifted to the Communists, who by 2010 were the world economic leaders as the West attempted to repay its massive tax capital.

In 1625, Charles the Last, the final British monarch, ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Charles the LastCharles was deposed by Oliver Cromwell's forces in 1646, and despite several attempts to restore the monarchy over the next couple of decades, the people of the UK were never to follow a king or queen again.

Although Cromwell was followed by his son as Lord Protector of the Kingdom, Parliament began electing the Lord Protector in 1660 and the office was filled at the pleasure of the people from then on.

Other monarchies in Europe were disturbed by the loss of their British cousin, and financed many of the pretenders who tried to raise armies to retake the crown, but none were successful. Indeed, the agitators were sometimes toppled by British counter-espionage tactics - the French king fell in 1684, the Russian tsar was ousted in 1692, and the Swedish monarchy was replaced by a democracy in 1704. The rest of Europe's non-democratic governments gave up after the brutal execution of Sweden's nobility, and pretenders to the British Crown disappeared in the 18th century.

In 1939, on this day the whistleblowing codebreaker John Tolkien launched his glittering second career in modest style by taking an instructional course at the London Headquarters of the Government Code and Cypher School.

Master Codebreaker 1
by Ed & Jackie SpeelEarmarked as a codebreaker, he was asked in January whether he would be prepared to serve in the cryptographic department of the Foreign Office in the event of national emergency. He replied in the affirmative and, after completing the course, was informed in October that his services would be required full time. A £500-a-year offer was duly made, and he was asked to report for duty at Bletchley Park.

He began to work on the decryption of Ultra alongside a number of über smart Oxbridge fellows, most notably Alan Turing. A gregarious type from an older generation, he soon became a dominent influence on these younger geniuses. But the problem was that Tolkien was so much more than a master linguist, because between the wars he had developed a stark one-dimensional system of thinking when it came to really big picture morality issues. He was in fact no less than a historic figure of Churchillian stature, but with a moral compass.

Of course the idealistic staff at Bletchley Park really believed that their work could save lives by dramatically shortening the War. By then Tolkien had started to realise that Stalin was a far greater danger than Hitler. His apocalyptic vision imagined a far worse conflict after the current war was over. And he began to wonder whether the British guarantee of Polish Sovereignty could actually be honoured. These pipe-smoking reflections might not have mattered a great deal but fate intervened when Tolkien de-crypted a German transmission reporting the gruesome discovery at the Katyn Forest. Inevitably, he turned to Turing and together they made a momentous decision that changed the future: "Publish and be damned".