1660 – The new decade begins with Europe changed. France no longer appears invincible; The Empire of Germany has unified, and the Christian empire has undergone a process future historians will call "Imperialization". Iberia is once again divided as it was in the 12th century.

Porcelain enters production in Malaga, and spreads to the Low Countries, Ausburg, and the city of Athenes.

Poland joins the war, in hopes of regaining its Baltic territories. But the Polish army is no match for the Scandinavians, who take Warsaw in 1661.

1661- The steam engines in the mines of Bavaria and Austria spread throughout much of Southern Germany. With a centuries long tradition of precide engineering and mining, the steam engine is rapidly developed.

The German Empire is undergoing a commercial revolution. With the elimination of many of the previously existing tariffs and tolls, trade becomes much easier. In fact, 1661 marks the first year that an iron bridge is built; in Bavaria.

British and Italian forces clash in India for the first time. The Italian Indian Company, angry at the British takeover of Bengal, bribe the Raj of Orissa to attack Bengal. He does so, but fails, thanks to the efforts of William Rolfe. The Amderstam Indian Company retaliates, and takes over the Raj. This marks the beginning of a long cold war between the Italians and British in India.

1662- The Poles withdraw from the war, but while the Swede Frederick Axel leads an army into the Polish hinterland, and takes Krakow, part of Livonia falls to Nikolai’s army.

Axel, after capturing Poland, marches into the Ukraine. Nikolai greets the report of his invasion of the Ukraine with contempt.

1663- The Estates-General, in France, decide to tax the Mexicans in order to pay off their massive war debts. When the Mexicans protest this as a violation of their rights as Frenchmen, King Henri accuses them of being a mongrel race, "part Papist and part Negro."

An Italian naval expedition puts an end to the piracy in North Africa once and for all, taking Tripoli. For long the Italians had paid tribute, being preoccupied with the war. But when the leader of the Berbers, Ismail, demanded tribute to not attack the canal, he had gone too far. This inspires the saying, in Italy, "A million ducats for war and not a copper for tribute."

A German natural philosopher, Heinrich Jager, sails with an expedition of Wolfgang’s through the South Seas. He notices that sailors who eat sauerkraut are less likely to get scurvy. The German food is enthusiastically eaten by the Italian sailors, who introduce it to the Italian culture at large. In turn, the Neapolitan delicacy of flatbread with cheese and tomato sauce is introduced into Ausburg.

The revolt of the Cossacks. Frederick’s army had not been marching into the Ukraine for an attack on Kiev, as Nikolai believed. Frederick was inciting a Cossack revolt. It succeeds, as many of them remember the tales form the suppression of the last revolt. Nikolai, furious, marches his army South.

The Sugar Act is passed by the Estates, and Henri. The Mexican merchants are forbidden to trade gold for the sugar, spices, and other foreign products.

1664- The discovery of mercury in New Albion by the Mexicans, ironically enough, leads to its settlement. Irish and convicts are sent to work in the mines, and the British also establish plantations for grapes. Fur trading also spreads, and trappers spread along the coast.

Wolfgang , Emperor of Germany, dies. He leaves his emperor to his son, Joseph.

Joseph was not meant to be king. His older brother, Willhelm, had been killed in a hunting accident, and Joseph had little inclination to rule. He is much more content to watch Italian plays, and gamble. This leaves the running of the Empire to his ministers, and the (reformed) Reichstag.

1665- The Cossacks choose a Cossack called Pugachev as their king. Pugachev’s rebellion spreads like wildfire through Siberia, as he promises to end serfdom, an appointment of local elected officials, and a weakening of the massive army. With Frederic’s army to form the backbone, the Cossacks become a formidable fighting force.

The Italian Senate, also experiencing protests form its colonies, comes to a characteristically Venetian solution. They are Italians. Therefore, the laws of Italy regarding representation apply to them. Thus, based on how much they pay, they should be entitled to representation. In effect, they compromoise: the Nuova Italians are able to trade freely within the Italian Empire, but must pay taxes and help defend it. Represenattives from Beretta and Nuova Verona arrive by 1667.

1666- 150 Italian soldiers are killed in "the Black hole of Dehli". The Italians annex the city in retaliation, but most know that the British inspired the events there.

From his capital in Saratov, Pugachev sends armies to attack the Russian capital of Moscow. Nikolai sends his forces to face them.

The Persian conquest of the Moghul Empire is complete.

1667- Outside of Tula, the Czar’s army is captured. Nikolai flees manages to escape into Poland, but Moscow is captured by Pugachev.

Mario Guarnacci, of Milan, launches the first hot air balloon. Some peasants, seeing it, call for their local ministers, believing it to be a demon.

Peasants in Russia begin burning mansions and feudal records. Pugachev captures the Patriarch of Moscow, who says that he is Christ’s Vicar on Earth. Thus, the revolution takes an ugly turn. Not only are they revolutionaries, they’re also revolutionaries on a mission from God.

Nikolai asks the Polish sejum to intervene, and Russian nobility also beg the Byzantine Emperor Manuel for support.

1668- The Mexicans begin boycotting French good. Terrified by the revolution occurring in Russia, and the rumors of killings there, Henri refuses to give in. He also demands that the Estates-General pass the Colonial Act, which violates the right of the Mexican assemblies to, well, assemble.

Frederick refuses to assist Pugachev in "liberating the peasants of Poland from their oppressors." His army is attacked in the night by the Russians, who slaughter it to the last man. Frederick was, according to Pugachev’s men, plotting a coup against him.

Emperor Joseph is roused from his gambling tables long enough to issue a declaration condemning Pugachev.

1669- A ship carrying coffee in Veracruz is burned by a rioting crowd of Mexicans, who were inspired by one of their assemblymen to protest oppression by the Estates.

In Mexico City, the Colonial Act Congress sends a petition of redress to the king, stating the belief in each man’s right to "life, liberty, and property".

Pugachev, instead of instituting a democracy, institutes the Committee of Motherland Defense. The Committee, in essence, forms a secret police, which will devastate the ranks of Russian nobility who remain in the country. Many flee to Constantinople.

1670- Emperor Manuel, and the Sejum (well, the King, but in reality Ladislas has no real power) of Poland agree to restore Nikolai to his position. Both are experiencing unrest among those in their realms who believe in the Russian ideals of liberty and an end to the aristocracy.

Henri, now 64, orders the closure of Veracruz. He also orders the disbandment of the Mexican Union.

The Mexican Union, obviously, refuses, and orders the training of the colonial militias as part of the Union’s small army.

The Italians discover Australia, and begin sending convicts, Cypriots, and Egyptians there.

1671- Pugachev personally leads an army into Poland. Suffice it to say, the Russian Cossacks and the armies from the vast steppes pour into Poland. The Cossacks in the region revolt, proclaiming Pugachev as Christ’s Vicar. Pugachev wisely tolerates the Catholics of the lands he overruns, but persecutes the few remaining Protestants.

Emperor Joseph’s advisors convince him that a conquest of Poland by a man claiming to be on a mission from God is not something he should allow, and Joseph begins sending messages to Queen Ulreka and the Doge of Italy, Veranio.

Pugachev’s army rampages through Poland, sweeping through the steppes. Dozens of mansions of the Polish nobility are burned, and their owners slain.

Vilnus falls to Pugachev’s men.

In Mexico, meanwhile, French troops begin to station themselves in the residences of the local plantation owners. Protests are met with deaf ears, and tensions reach a boiling point.

1672- The Poles make a last stand outside of Krakow. Despite heroic effortw on the part of the nobility, Pugachev’s 3 to 1 numerical superiority simply does them in. King Ladislas flees to the Empire of Germany.

French soldiers are attacked by an angry mob in Veracruz. In response, one soldiers opens fire. He is then shot by several members of the crowd, as are the rest of his soldiers.

In response, Duke Turgot, leader of the French army in Veracruz, dispatches men into the countryside to hunt down the local assemblymen, and have them tried for treason. They are also ordered to begin collecting the arms of the local militias.

The last move terrifies the French and Spaniards in Mexico. If they did not have weapons, there would be no one to suppress the uprising. When the militia of the town of Louisville refuses to "lay down [their] arms, and disperse…" the French regulars fire on them.

This, of course, leads to open insurrection. The French regulars are shot at their entire way back to Veracruz, and the Mexican militia uses a hit and run strategy, sapping the strength of the French. Eventually the militia is called up from the entire province, and besieges the French inside the city.

The Mexican Union assembly, in Mexico City, sends another petition of redress to Henri. Henris’s response is to raise another army.

1673- Manuel dispatches a fleet to the Black Sea, with Nikolai onboard. Nikolai’s army is to reclaim his title as Emperor.

The fleet, needless to say, is destroyed. A century of mismanagement have made the Byzantine fleet rather pathetic; the Russians, in contrast, have a fleet developed with the assistance of Venetian advisors. The advisors fled after the beginning of Pugachev’s coup, but their lessons remain.

Pugachev, in Krakow, capital of Poland-Lithuania, begins carving up the kindom. He incorporates Lithuania into the Russian Republic, abolishes serfdom, and puts his brother, Josef, on the throne.

Pugachev then leads an army south, into the Balkans. After four months of bombardment, the city of Veracruz is deserted by the French regulars, who put to sea aboard warships from the French navy.

With news of the victory, the assembly in Mexico City declares independence as the United Provinces of Mexico.

1674- Almost immediately, the Mexican assembly enters crisis. In addition to paying for the war, there is social instability. Delegates are sent to the Empire, the Confederation, and the Commonwealth to negotiate commercial treaties.

Henri tries to blockade the coast, but quite simply, there is no navy to do so. With the loss of the Caribbean after the Spanish Civil War, the merchant marine, and hence fleet, have declined greatly.

Bucharest falls to Pugachev’s army. A massive fleet from Odessa lands an army near Constantinople itself. Pugachev, according to rumor, has come to proclaim himself Emperor.

Ulreka’s army falls back in the Baltic. Pugachev’s army has grown greatly by the enlistment of Polish and Lithuanian peasants to his banner. She appeals to the Emperor for aid.

Emperor Joseph’s advisors convince him to assist Ulreka, to preserve the balance of power. A German army marches out of Danzig and into the Baltics.

1675- The French navy attacks Tampico. Henri cunningly also issues an edict that all who serve in the French army shall become full citizens upon "suppression of the minor revolt."

Fierce fighting along the Mexican coastline. Duke Richeliu’s army marches inland, towards Mexico City.

Pugachev’s army defeats the German army near Danzig, and the Russian army marches north, into Estonia.

The Byzantines are trapped in "another Cannae". Pugachev pulls off a double envelopment of the army, and thousands surrender. He enters Constantinople on Easter, and is proclaimed emperor.

1676- Pugachev is declared by the Patriarch of Constantinople as Emperor of "the world", and is renamed Justinian, after the greatest Byzantine emperor, who reunified Italy and Spain, along with North Africa, to the Empire. Needless to say, most of the world disagrees on both counts.

So does much of the Empire. The Hungarians, under several local magnates, rise in revolt, with the support of the local garrison. The Armenians also rise up in revolt; especially as the policy of religious toleration only extends to Catholics; not to the Armenian heresies. Pugachev begins ordering all the liturgy to be in Greek; an edict that has not been in force for several hundred years.

A Russian army in the north defeats the Scandinavians in Estonia. The Baltic, aside from Finland, is ruled by the Russians in the East. But the Scandinavian navy keeps them from trying anything else.

1677- The war in Mexico continues. The Mexicans become furious when the French government supports a slave and native revolt in the Yucatan. It will not be suppressed for several years, but pushes most of the neutrals into the rebel cause. The idea of slavery being a god given right takes hold in the Creoles and townsmen of Mexico.

In London, representatives from the British commonwealth debate what to do about their own colonies. There have been some mutterings of independence, and the population of the British holdings in North America has reached six million. What should be done with them?

The answer is eventually proposed. The colonies shall become a new autonomous region of the Commonwealth, as Scotland and the Low Countries are. From the Great Lakes, along the Mississippi to the border of OTL Virginia with the Carolinas lay the Northern Dominion, named the Confederated Provinces. The lands south of it are called Cromwell, after the English farmer who opened the settlement of the inland of the Carolina’s in the 1630’s. The west coast is referred to as the Dominion of Draka, after Sir Francis Drake, the sailor who discovered it.

A Russian army overruns the Kingdom of Georgia, and enters Armenia from the north. The Byzantine governor of Armenia, Varton, refuses to make obeisance to Pugachev’s men. The Russians burn the Armenian quarter. This marks the beginning of the Armenian Campaign.

The Venetians launch an attack on Constantinople. They almost take the city, landing troops near Thessalonica, but Pugachev leads an army and defeats them. He boasts that "Unlike the Byzantines, We can prevent a false crusade."

1678- From Tampico, the French send a force into Texas. Texas is lost for the duration of the war; but many of the army die from an outbreak of cholera. C’est la Vie.

Gold is discovered in the Dominion of Draka. Settlers pour in from the Commonwealth, Italy, Germany, and most of Europe. There are even a few hardy souls from Egypt, and the first mosque in the New World is opened in Camelot in 1680.

The Russian army in Armenia begins to suffer, as small bands of Armenians begin to attack the Emperor’s patrols in the region. The Russians scoff at the threat from the brigands.

Said brigands capture a Russian army which is to conquer Van.

Pugachev’s army invades the Empire. Bohemia is overrun, although Prague puts up fierce resistance, and falls after a four months siege.

1679- The British Commonwealth hedges its bets. The destruction of Danish hegemony in the Baltic would be beneficial to British trade, and they would certainly shed no tears for the destruction of the Italian commercial empire. But at the same time, the Russian army is proving disastrous to the balance of power in Europe, which has been the cornerstone of British policy since the Tudors.

The Italian Senate raises more taxes for the war, including one on spices. Unfortunately, around this time, an enterprising British natural philosopher discovers that the plants which produce the fabled spices can be transplanted, threatening the Italian spice monopoly. To revive morale at home, they dispatch Marco Pariani to assist the Armenian rebels. He leads thirteen thousand men from Antioch (taking the levant for Italy) to Saniurfa. The Persians also agree to assist in the war.

Pugachev is defeated near Dresden. His massive army could not stand before the Italian grenadiers. Which, of course, leads to the popular song, "The Sicilian Grenadiers".

1680- The Armenian "bandits" defeat a Russian army twenty thousand strong by Lake Van, with the help of Marco Pariani.

An Armenian who is residing in Constantinople, offers Pugachev a machine to defeat the Venetian navy. He calls it "a Mechanical Serpent. A Machine which flatters me with much hope of being Able to Annihilate their Navy."

The machine, named the Nautilus, sinks in the Golden Horn. A second machine sinks as well, and the project is scrapped. The Armenian flees to Italy in a hurry.

A Russian/Byzantine fleet sorties against Alexandria. They land near the city, but their leader, Severus, is forced to surrender after the Italian navy cuts off their lines of supply.

Russian soldiers, fleeing from the battle near Alexandria, discover the Rosetta stone. They break it up, and take parts of it home as trophies.

The Mexicans drive the French out of Tampico. French troops retreat into the Yucatan, but soon are struck by malaria. Their general, Louis Laugier, leads the surrender.

1681- Pugachev unites Russia and Byzantium under the mantle "The Holy Empire." A few Germans at the coronation cough politely, but Pugachev is unaware of history.

The Armenians take Baku. Pugachev, distracted by his invasion of Germany, is unavailable to crush them.

1682 - Pugachev retreats from Budapest, but calls for another fifty thousand troops.

The Italians Senate was badly shaken by the attack on Alexandria. Not so much in terms of material as moral damage. The Minister of War recommends solidifying the Alliance among Italy and the other nations that are "friendly and sympathetic to our causes."

The Armenian partisans began rallying local Greek support, and take Elazig. The Italian help from Pariani is greatly beneficial, of course, and newspapers in Italy, Germany, and most of Europe carry reports of his campaign.

1683- The war in the Baltic takes a turn for the worse as Riga falls, after a pitched battle. Eleven thousand Scandinavian troops surrender. The massacre of Riva occurs, as the Protestants within the city are slaughtered, after Marshal Petroi’s orders.

Rudolf Schmidt, a Bavarian tinkerer, begins working on air pressure, and conducts several experiments with it.

King Louis’s realm is broke. The Mexican colonies have won their revolution, after four years. Simultaneously, the Italians and British Commonwealth recognize the new nation. With the loss of the army in the Yucatan, Louis treats for peace.

1684- Trebizond is taken by the Armenians. Their leader, Rafi, proclaims himself King of the Armenians. The distinction between Armenia and Armenians (who are spread throughout much of the Holy Empire) is duly noted.

1685- Treaty of London confirms the independence of the Confederation of Mexico.

The Mexicans, before they receive the final news of the peace treaty, issue the Bill of Privileges, which states what a free man may do. He may own slaves, land, and in return, must perform military service. Voting rights are restricted to those who make more than a thousand francs, or own more than three slaves.

Hungary becomes a battleground in the war of maneuver between the Russians and the Germans. The British in the North help hold the Russians in the Baltics, but King Rafi’s attack on Ankara proves too much. He loses elven thousand men in the attack, and more die in the retreat.

The League of Milano is signed. The German Empire, The Republic of Italy, The Republic of Catalonia, and the Confederation of Al-Andalus sign a treaty of mutual protection and free trade. Its purpose is to remove the "disease which is the Cossack King". Being protestants, muslims, and a few catholics, they have no love for the Butcher of Riga.

1686- The Italians approach the Emperor of China about attacking Siberia. It doesn’t fly, of course, but serves as an indicator of how worried the Italians are getting.

Rudolf Schmidt, a Bavarian, travels to Venice with an idea regarding chemistry, and specifically, a combustible fuel made from Italian oil. He has a proposal for the use of the steam engine. Impressed, the Italians put him to work at the Arsenal.

More seesaw battles in Poland. The Germans liberate Danzig, with the help of a brigade of Scottish Highlanders.

Giuseppe Piazzi discovers Ceres.

The Holy Empire invades Armenian held lands, but in the heartland of Anatolia, the troops often die of thirst and starvation, as well as ambush.

The Englishman William Newton develops the theory of atoms, stating that matter is made up of very small parts.

1687- Gold is discovered in the dominion of the Draka.

To meet the demand for textiles, the Italian corporation "Pariano & Wittensbach" develops a loom that is controlled by using perforated cardboard.

Russian troops push the Germans out of Hungary, and advance into Bohemia once again. Pugachev says he will saddle his horse in Ausburg within a year.

1688- The Holy Empire navy attacks Cyprus, devastating the island. They cannot take Famagusta, but do horrendous damage. The sugar plantations are ruined.

The first steamboat enters use in the Meditteranean, to transport ore from Iberia to Italy.

The Germans and Italians prove to be made of sterner stuff than Pugachev thought, and win a tactical victory near Zagreb. But Pugachev encircles the Italian army, which surrenders. The gateway to Vienna is open.

1689- The miracle of Vienna. Italian troops receive shipments of weapons from the Arsenal. Pneumatic cannons mow down the Russian lines, as the armaments pour out volleys at the astounding round of thirty shots a minute. Pugachev is wounded leading a cavalry charge.

The gold rush to The Dominion of the Draka. Thousands of small farmers from Italy, Iberia, and the Commonwealth as well as Germans, pour int the Dominion. Slaves escape from Mexico as well. When Mexico demands them back, the Dominion refuses to do so, stating that they are not slaves by English law. And theyr’e useful for farming the crops that are needed to feed the miners.

1690- Bavarian tinkerers expand upon the pneumatic cannon. The Arsenal (Think Skunkworks in this era) develops a cannon based upon steam power, making it much more powerful.

A Russian army near Budapest is mowed down again by the steam cannons. Pariani receives a shipment, and jokes that "Perhaps Pugachev’s horse has been shot out from under him."

1691- Pugachev withdraws his army back towards Constantinople. His men are terrified by the steam cannons, which have been nicknamed "silent thunder" by his men for their ability to strike down without sound.

A slave revolt breaks out in Mexico, which is ruthlessly suppressed. Senators in Nuova Italia stand in their provincial assemblies and ask how long it is before that bloodbath spread to their land.

A Russian force invades Finland. Outside of Helenski, British and Scandinavian forces encircle the Russian army.

The League’s first act, which is eventually approved by all its members, is the formation of a unified navy, composing the fleets of the Empire, Italy, and the minor ones of the Iberians.

Heinrich of Wurtemburg builds a typewriter for a countessa. It weighs approximately three quarters of a ton.

1692- Emperor Joseph dies in bed with several of his mistresses. His son, Amadeus II, becomes emperor. Amadeus’s first act is to enlarge the national army, and he begins releasing men from debtor’s prisons to fight for him.

Rudolf Schmidt, in Venice, begins mass producing the pneumatic rifle. Thanks to the Italian tradition of mass production (a heritage going back to the 15th century) there are ten thousand of the rifles in the Italian army by May of 1693. Designs are sent to the other members of the League of Milano, so that they may make copies as well.

At Mukachevo, a new one hundred thousand man army is defeated by the Italians. The "Silent thunder" lets five thousand Italian soldiers outshoot twenty thousand Cossack cavalrymen, breaking the left of Pugachev’s flank. The retreat back into Greece continues. Sokhumi is "liberated" by the forces of King Rafi. Rafi promises to welcome the Georgians as loyal subjects, and end the oppressive taxes that have come with the "freedoms" of Pugachev’s empire.

1693- The Empire strikes back. Russia and Lithuania’s vast manpower comes to the forefront as tens of thousands of troops form three new armies. The northern army pushes the British and Scandinavians out of their toehold in the Baltic region.

The Germans begin producing guns in weapons manufactories which are centralized in massive establishments. To ease the demand on labor, Amadeus decrees that henceforth, they shall divide the task up so simply that even a peasant can do it.

The League is becoming exhausted. Fourteen years of war, with little or no gain, is tiring them. Diplomats are sent to Pugachev, discussing the possibility of peace.

The City rises in revolt over the price of grain. Pugachev’s response to the news, from his palace on the Golden Horn, is the famous line "Let them eat sand." He uses the army to suppress the City, after a three day riot. This, and other uprisings in the Byzantine empire, prevent him from personally leading a campaign. But another army invades the League’s possessions in the Balkans.

1694- The Armenians begin receiving the rifles. Russian troops in the region begin to fear leaving their forts. The forty thousand strong Russian army is bled to death as it advances through the region. In the end, the Russians withdraw. But the Armenian attack on Crimea fails utterly.

Italian fire is introduced. Launched by pneumatic cannon, this formula consists of oil treated and sealed in pressurized containers. When released over the Holy fleet, the result is disastrous. One ship of the Holy Empire escapes, and the battle scene is referred to by Leonardo Friuli as "Un mare di anima e di zolfo "- A sea of blood and sulfur.

Pugachev is so horrified by the reports from that one ship that he agrees to make peace. The Italians don’t bother to tell Pugachev that the chemical was incredibly difficult to make, and that exhausted their stock of Italian fire for the foreseeable future.

1695- The Empire, The Republic, and Catalonia and Al-Andalus make a separate peace with Pugachev. The Empire gains some of Western Poland and Hungary, with Venice gaining the Levant. Pugachev also recognizes the Kingdom of Armenia, which spans from Sochi to Trebizond along the Black Sea, to Derbent and Salyan along the Caspian. The British and the Kingdom of Scandinavia withdraw, ceding much of the Baltics to the Russian Empire. The two nations become closer, fearful of the new Russian menace.

1696- The beginning of the age of diplomacy known as the "Concert of Europe." The Republic of Italy, along with its ally the Empire and its protectorates in Iberia, face off against the juggernaut of Orthodox Christianity which is the Holy Empire of Pugachev. Immediately King Rafi of Armenia enters the League.

The League of Milano, to increase the flow of communications, develop a league wide postal system

Italy and Britain, both bankrupt from the war, begin exporting opium from their Indian territories to China.

1697- Italian textile workers protest the increase in the use of machinery. They believe (rightly so) that it will decrease the demand for their skilled labor.

The UPM adopts the flag consisting of an eagle surrounded by 7 stars, representing the provinces of Mexico.

1698- The Republic of Italy extends the vote to landowners in north Africa and Egypt, partly to reward them for their support in the Cossack War and partly to decrease unrest.

The play "The 4th Crusade" is composed in Turin by Leonardo Capua. It pains the Venetian who sacked Constantinople as avenging an terrifying insult against the city, and ends with the prophecy from the blind Doge of Venice that "You will fall to the Turk, the Russian, and the Armenian." The end, with the characters returning to Venice with the treasure of the City, helps it to receive critical acclaim.

1699- A steamship crosses between Lubeck and Phillipsburg.

More than one thousand ships transport lumber from Brazil to Italy, which is now nearly deforested.

Pugachev dies, and is succeeded by his brother, Josef.

1700- Josef begins preparations to conquer Central Asia.

Shah Ismael of Persia receives a diplomatic envoy from Josef. Josef demands access to the Persian ports, trading rights, provisions for his military, and a host of other agreements which would effectively make Persia a vassal of the Empire.

1701- Steam pored shipping expands throughout Germany and Italy.

An Italian ship is wrecked off the coast of Japan. The crew is slaughtered, and considered lost in a storm.

Thomas Higginson, an Irishman, is sentences to death for plotting treason against the Commonwealth. He was planning on leading an insurrection against the British, and when on trial, answered the charge that he was inspiring disaster by saying: "Nearly all our disasters come from a few fools having the 'courage of their convictions."

1702- A border skirmish between Armenia and Persia results in the complete route of the Persian army at the battle of Ganjas.

1703- The Erie Canal opens, linking the Great Lakes with the Atlantic. The city of Nieu Amsterdam begins expanding in rapidly.

1704- A steam train opens in Bavaria for personal and public use

Opium smuggling begins to become rampant in China. Almost half of he country’s bureaucrats use it.

1705- Abolition becomes a political topic in The Republic. Emperor Amadeus speaks in favor of it, and the two nations agree to end the slave trade by 1710.

The Poles revolt against their Orthodox oppressors, but are crushed.

1706- The Catholic Emancipation act is passed in the Commonwealth, ending discrimination against them.

Persia invades Afghanistan, with "Russian" assistance. The Italians, in turn, assist the Afghans.