Woodwick Rebellion (Settlers of the New World Map Game)

The Woodwick Rebellion (named after Donald Woodwick), was a colonial conflict that lasted from 1640 to 1645. It saw the settlers revolt against the colonial autorities as a result of various growing tensions in the Royal Colony of Flaadland. The war saw little direct fighting between the Covenanters and the Colonial troops between the first and last engagements, the rebels instead fighting natives or militiamen who joined side with the Governor. The final fighting saw the expulsion of the royal colonial autorities, setting the stage for 7 years of local administration until the arrival of Parliamentary Governor George Sarton in 1652.

Background
The Royal Colony of Flaadland was founded by orders of King Charles I of England, who sent problematic Covenanters led by Donald Woodwick to the new world so they could acquire more land for the crown and stop being a problem in Scotland. The first Royal Govenir, the Scot Sir Thomas MacEalar, had difficulty dealing with the Covenanters, who listened first to the orders of Donald Woodwick. This showed in 1631, when against the orders of McEalar, Woodwick launched a war with the native Sakawe Tribe, expulsing them of the northern shore of the Leary River.

The arrival of English settlers sent by the King in 1635 created massive tensions, and in the end the Englishmen created their own settlement of Longshank, a clear insult to the Scottish Flaadlanders.

In 1637, King Charles I asked MacEalar to impose the Book of Common Prayer on the Flaadlanders. A Presbyterian himself, Mac Ealar refused and so was replaced by William Barton, 3rd Baron of Endon.Endon was a convinced Anglican, and so attempted to force the Covenanters to accept by pushing massive taxes on them, which only angered them more. At that time, David Leary, who was in charge of Craigmouth, began reforming his militian, which had been disbanded under MacEalar.

The start of the Bishop's Wars in the metropole made things worst, as most Covenanters in Flaadland supported their fellow Covenanters in Scotland. The ensuing marches and protests in favor of the Covenanters and against the Book of Common Prayer made Endon so nervous that he chose to abandon Roberttown, instead chosing the safety of Longshank, which was full of royalist Englishmen. He left behind half of his troops, with Captain Oliver Resley in charge of maintaining order.

First Shots and Woodwick's Secret Covenant
The Bishops' War restart led to many manifestations in support of the Scottish Covenanters in 1640. The tensions grew when in July many protesters were arrested on orders of Captain Resley. Things finally culminated on the 13 August 1640. Donald Woodwick led a marche in the streets of Roberttown against the tyranny of Endon's administration and in support of the Covenanters in Scotland. The marche quickly turned into a riot when the soldiers showed up, and soon the Flaadlanders were throwing rocks at the troops.

Resley, who decided that this was enough, ordered the troops to shoot a salvo on the Covenanters. This shots killed 5 people and leaved 11 injured. Panicking, the Covenanters spread and abandonned the streets, ending the riot. Satisfied, Resley returned and prepared a letter to Endon, in which he express the belief that the Covenanters would now submit to the autorities of Endon and that the governor could return. This letter would never leave his desk.

During the night that followed, Woodwick conveyed the congregations of Roberttown to a secret covenant in his church. During that meeting, Woodwick bravely declared his continuous support for his Scottish brethren fighting Charles I, and declared that they themselves had to rid themselves of the royal tyranny, represented by the monster William Barton, 3rd Baron of Endon. He then burned a copy of the Book of Common Prayer, which was cherred by the assembled men.

Battle of Roberttown
The following night (14 August), the Covenanters stormed the armory. The surprised guards tried to resist, but an hour later the Covenanters had full control of the armory and gained access to the guns. Resley was only warned about this rebellion in the morning, and so the response was weak. A couple of small skirmishes that only made wounded were fought in the streets on 15 August until Resley ordered the garison to assemble in the barrack. The first Covenanters to arrive attempted to storm the barrack, but the professional soldiers were able to push them out.

Multiple attempts were made to take the barrack, but Resley and his men always pushed the Covenanters back. It is only after Resley was wounded by a bullet on 19 August that the soldiers surrendered. After taking them prisoners, Woodwick would take control of Roberttown, proclaiming its loyalty to the Kingdom and Parliament of Scotland. Resley, who was brought to a church to be treated, died of his wound six hours later.