Settlers of the New World (Map Game)

This game is a work in progress.

Welcome to Settlers of the New World, a map game based on the early years of English colonization of the Americas, and the establishment of colonies, settlements, and later American states. This game will begin in the early seventeenth century, and allow you the opportunity to play as a trade company or proprietor of a colony in the (alternate) new world.

Map




Moderators

 * Vandenhoek (talk)
 * Zsasza

English Colonies (Players)
Strafford Bay Charter
 * Player: Vandenhoek (talk)
 * Type: Proprietary Charter
 * Leader:
 * Purpose: Catholic colony
 * Location: Strafford Bay
 * Settlements:
 * Trenton (1621) - George Wentworth
 * Weymouth (1622)
 * Mariapolis (1624) - Henry Pendleton
 * Essex (1629)

Nauset Bay Charter
 * Player: Zsasza
 * Type: Self-governing
 * Leader:
 * Purpose: Religious freedom for English Separatists
 * Location: Nauset Bay
 * Settlements:
 * Cambridge (1620)
 * Concord (1622)
 * Charlestown

Flaadland Royal Charter
 * Player: Zamarak500 (talk) 02:10, April 14, 2018 (UTC)
 * Type: Crown Charter
 * Leader: Governor Thomas MacEalar
 * Purpose: Presbyterian colony
 * Location: Flaadland
 * Settlements:
 * Roberttown (1628) - Governor
 * Craigmouth (1632) - David Leary

London Company
 * Player: Kingconor
 * Type: Self-governing colonies controlled by a joint stock company
 * Leader: Thomas Gates
 * Purpose: Financial gain
 * Location:
 * Settlements:
 * Northern Colony
 * Blackwall (1626) - John West
 * Southern Colony
 * Norfolk (1630) - William Burke
 * Somersburg (1633) - William Somers

French Colonies (Mod-Controlled)
St. Denis River
 * Saint-Pascal (1610)
 * Lévis (1614)
 * Bécancour (1616)
 * Longueuil (1621)

Delaporte Lake
 * Beauport (1636)

Dutch Colonies (Mod-Controlled)
New Netherlands
 * New Amsterdam (1614)
 * Staaten Eylandt (1622)
 * Pavonia (1630)
 * Gravesend (1632)

1620-1625



 * Strafford Bay Charter: Having received his royal charter Lord Strafford begins raising men for a voyage to the area. Generous land grants are given out to attract settlers. Specifically settlers are promised fifty acres of land for each person they bring to the colony, including indentured servants and slaves. Elsewhere many Catholics are attracted by the promise of religious freedom, including some Catholic aristocrats and merchants. Thomas Wentworth elects to remain in England for now, but dispatches his younger brother George to lead the expedition. In total about 300 people are recruited for the initial voyage, departing on three ships; Ark, Dove, and Rose. They depart in November and arrive in the New World on 26 March 1621, at the southern coast of an island near "Strafford Bay". They stay here temporarily, and call the island Providence Island, while scouting out the surround area. Eventually they come to a defensible position in the north and begin constructing a settlement in late April, known as Trenton. They find that the natives are friendly in this region, and trade commences with them. The group quickly works on constructing shelters and defenses, as George Wentworth is fearful of a possibly harsh winter. The settlement is constructed on a relatively flat hill known as Cole Hill. Approximately a year later another two ships manage to find the settlement at Trenton, who were tasked with finding another location for a trade post and settlement. They found the settlement of "Weymouth" further north up the "Strafford River". In 1623 more ships arrive, this time bringing the first cattle to the colony at Trenton. Several plantations are created south of Weymouth and south of Trenton. An outpost is established north of Trenton across the Congaratan River, known as Charlestown. In total about 800 people settle in the Strafford Bay colony by the end of 1625.
 * Nauset Bay Company: A group of settlers from England, including some 100 Puritan Separatists, 50 other Protestant settlers, and 40 crew members, soldiers, etc, set sail from Plymouth for the New World, having been granted the Nauset Bay region by royal charter. The group lands on the easternmost part of the nearby peninsula, but continue along the coast. They discover a large peninsula jutting north, connected by a narrow neck. Luckily the area's natives had largely abandoned the peninsula due to disease outbreak, and the settlers are able to land here without incident. A small fort is established in the south, and a wall is built across the narrow neck, cutting off the peninsula from the mainland. This more or less leaves the entire peninsula safe from intrusion, and the settlers begin building homes further north along the coast. The city is named Cambridge after the English city of the same name. Although the winter of 1620/1621 causes heavy losses for the unprepared settlers, by 1621 they manage to establish themselves and begin trading with the natives for food and aid. Approximately 140 of the original settlers remain, and this number is brought up to 250 by late 1621, as more settlers arrive. In 1622 another group arrives and establishes an independent colony to the west, called Concord. The location proves to be a strategic one, and the river is named the Charles River after the reigning monarch. A town called Charlestown is founded across from Concord, which grows in size after a fort is constructed there to guard the river. By 1625 the population of Oxford manages to grow to 350, while neighboring Concord and Charlestown reach 200 and 100 respectively. A few also venture down the Charles River, discovering that it continues far to the north.

1625-1630


Full Map: https://imgur.com/1FAIOLq

'It is discovered that the Dutch have managed to establish a settlement known as New Amsterdam, located between England's two colonies. This colony as a whole becomes known as New Netherlands.'

'The French establish several trade posts along the St. Denis River in the north, including the settlement of Louisbourg. '


 * London Company: The London Company is founded as a joint stock company in London, England. The company attracts a number of wealthy businessmen and merchants, who select Thomas Gates, formerly of the East India Company, as the company's first leader. Approximately 1,800 people become investors in the company, and these funds are used to purchase supplies and ships for an expedition. The company receives a royal charter for the area "north of Strafford Bay". In 1626 the first expedition of 190 men departs from England, landing in a swampy region. The group travels up river to a defensible spot, and begins building a fort to defend themselves. They call the settlement Blackwall. After about a year the colony established well enough to begin dealing with the native population surrounding the English. After a shakey first year with the natives, all out war breaks out in 1627. Additional men and women arrive in the colony, and by 1630 about 350 people reside in the colony. Meanwhile a second expedition is commissioned by the London Company to explore further south. William Burke is selected to lead the expedition, in search of a second location to settle.
 * Flaadland Royal Company: The newly crowned King Charles the First (crowned in 1625) learned of Covenanters agitating in Scotlands. He decide to send them to the New World, hoping to both get rid of them and colonize new lands for his kingdoms. Charles chose Sir Thomas MacEalar, a Scot loyal to the crown, to lead the expedition, giving him a Charter over a small region and making him the governor of whatever new colony the Covenanters would create. About 400 Scottish Presbyterians make the trip accross the sea in 1627, although only 352 will made it alive. In 1628, they land at the end of a river. The leader of the covenanters, a priest named Donald Woodwick, chose the exact spot of the landing, and name this land Fladdland (Alan Fitz Flaad was the ancestor of House Stuart). Keeping with the idea, MacEalar name the settlement Roberttown, after the first Stuart King of the Scots Robert II . Quickly, problems arrise in the new settlement as Donald Woodwick become far more influencal among the settlers than MacEalar. The Governor find himself almost powerless, with the inhabitants of Roberttown turning to Woodwick asking if they should obey MacEalar's orders or not. In 1830, Governor MacEalar send a letter to the king, in which he nervously ask a few troops alongside the next batch of settlers, so that he could quell the influence of Woodwick.
 * Strafford Bay Charter: The primary settlement at Trenton continues to grow and attract more settlers. The initial fortification in the north end becomes heavily congested, and some of the older houses are demolished and replaced with new brick homes, becoming the first in the colony. Trenton proper is surrounded by a new wooden wall to help defend the settlement, which connects in the north end to the original fort. Additionally the southern part of the city sees growth as a commercial district takes hold. Much of the rest of the settlement remains agricultural. A dirt road is created stretching along the entire border of the eastern most wall, called Wall Street, and this street is continued about two miles south from the city limits. The area along this street and stretching west to the sea becomes the site of plantations. Several wealthy individuals who were able to bring a large number of slaves, servants, and family members are able to claim this territory. The outpost across the river in the north sees growth as well, and is rechristened as Mariapolis, after the king's spouse, a Roman Catholic. Henry Pendleton is selected as judge of the settlement. To the east a new outpost is created further up river, which becomes known as Essex.

1630-1635
Map: https://imgur.com/QUcxd7R

The settlers at Flaadland discover that the river near Roberttown continues much further inland than previously thought, and discover a series of lakes upriver.

'William Burke's expedition returns to England having mapped out the far south. He returns with knowledge of the southern coast for the London Company's use. With this knowledge the king decides to extend the London Company's charter so that it includes the area "north from Blackwall" and "all land south of the 35th parallel" (the region beginning several miles south of Flaadland). '

Native raids damage Blackwall, and as a result soldiers are dispatched to the London Company's colony, and well as to Flaadland as requested, although in small number.


 * London Company: The initial colony at Blackwall continues to grow and prove successful, however, the strain of native attacks makes the colony not as profitable as first hoped. The news from William Burke changes the company's direction, as it appears the south is far more promising, especially when it is discovered that tobacco grows well in the region. A settlement is created in this new territory, south of the "Burke River", called Norfolk. As more and more settlers and investors are attracted to the company, some 600 settlers arrive in Norfolk from 1630 to 1632. The colony is situated on a small peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean/nearby bay, the mouth of the Burke River, and a western river, which connects to a larger river extending far to the west. This larger river becomes known as the James River, leading into the smaller Norfolk Bay. The settlement grows along the coast of the Burke and Norfolk, with large tobacco plantations extending to the south and southeast. One of the most wealthy investors in the London Company, William Somers, manages to buy a large land grant on the opposite shore of the James River, and manages to lead his own expedition for the London Company to this section, which he calls Somersburg. A fort is constructed and a small settlement, while plantations are set up expending far to the north. It is discovered that the settlement is on a narrow peninsula, sandwiched between the James River and a northern one, which is called the August River. John West is appointed governor of Blackwall, while William Burke is appointed governor of Norfolk. Despite this Burke begins raising interest for more exploration and settlement further upriver.
 * Flaadland Royal Charter: In early 1630, the Covenanter David Leary is the first to explore the full extent of the river, which lead to a lake. During his trip, Leary discover natives living on both shores of the river west of the settlement, but does his best to evade contact with them. When he come back to Roberttown, Leary is acclaimed as a hero by his fellow Covenanters. Woodwick demand that the river be called the Leary River from now on. MacEalar is forced to concede the demand, by is able to get that the lake be called Bruce Lake (after Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots). Later that year, MacEalar discover that King Charles did not listen to his demand, not sending any troops with the newly arrived settlers (once again composed of Covenanters Charles wanted to get rid of). Still, those new settlers double the size of Roberttown. The town is expanded toward the sea, but so far doesn’t expand on the southern shore of the Leary River. In 1631, first contacts between the natives (calling themselves the Sakawes) and the Covenanters are made. Against orders of MacEalar, Woodwick encourage Covenanters to go east and attack the Sakawe village on the northern shore of the river. David Leary form a militia and begin patrolling the river by July 1831, attacking any Sakawe boat trying to travel between the southern and northern villages. In 1632, this little “war” goes out of hand on the day of Pentecost (20 Mai). Woodwick a group of armed Covenanters to the northern Sakawe village. The ensuing battle, which is referred as the “Victory of the White Day” saw the Covenanters expulse the Sakawe from their village and push them to the southern side of Leary River. Celebrating the day, a settlement is quickly founded on the ruins of the Sakawe village, named Craigmouth (after John Craig, considered the founder of the Covenanters). Although this blatant disregard for his authority anger MacEalar, this assault is the excuse he finally needed to ask the king for troops, saying it is to protect the settlers from the native. The new Covenanters exiled (this time people disgusted by Charles’s Anglican coronation as King of Scotland) arrive in late 1633. But the governor is dismayed to find that the troops coming with the new Covenanters are nowhere near what he asked, being only a dozen of troops. This show that King Charles either did not care about MacEalar’s problems or believed that his governor exaggerated the threat of the natives. But MacEalar still try to get Roberttown under control. On Christmas 1833, three Covenanters are arrested for “Disturbing the public peace. Realizing he could not keep them here, MacEalar deported them to Blackwall, alongside with a letter for William Burke explaining his situation. Following this Christmas arrest, the arrest of a man accused of stealing from a soldier cause a protest lead by Woodwick. Although the man is found guilty, tensions begin to rise between Leary’s militia, as the criminal was a militiaman, and the troops. Once again, MacEalar deport the criminal to Blackwall. He also put Leary in charge of Craigmouth, using this to get rid of the militia leader. The militia quickly fall apart with their leader gone, although they still keep their guns and follow Woodwick. Still, by April 1634 the King’s law is being applied without any issues. As long as the King doesn’t do anything to anger the Covenanters in England, the local Covenanters should stay in line.