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Conquistador (book)
Encyclopedia
Conquistador is a 2003 alternate history novel by S. M. Stirling
. Its point of divergence
occurs when Pochahantas and John Rolfe
have more children, creating a line of Rolfes who are related to all of the major families of Virginia. Most of the story, however, is set in a parallel universe discovered by one of Rolfe's descendants.
with a war wound and few prospects, but in 1946 a radio he is rewiring malfunctions and creates a gateway to a parallel universe. This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan creating an empire that stretched from Spain to India. In this world, the Alexandrine Empire proved so strong and durable that it redirected the barbarian migrations of the Goths, Vandals, etc, eastward towards China and the Far East. As a result what remains of China is a hodgepodge of Indo-European dominated states, the Americas remain undiscovered, and technology has barely progressed to a medieval level. Deciding to take advantage of the untapped resources that await in this different California, Rolfe gathers some members of his infantry company to help him explore and develop this new world. Over the next 60 years, he builds a new nation which he called the Commonwealth of New Virginia, in this parallel universe.
In 2009, two California
fish and game officers
(Tom Christiansen and Roy Tully) are trying to solve the mystery of how large numbers of pelts from endangered species are showing up. They finally deduce the secret of the gate to the parallel world, but before they can make the secret known to their superiors, they are kidnapped and permanently transported to New Virginia by Rolfe's granddaughter, Gate Security Agent Adrienne Rolfe (with whom Christiansen had been falling in love).
Once the two rangers get over their resentment of being forcibly and permanently removed from their lives and world, and being brought to this new world, Adrienne enlists them to help sabotage a coming coup in New Virginia. Giovanni Colletta, head of the second most powerful family, and son of a sleazy and amoral war buddy of Rolfe's, has resented the elder Rolfe's control, and he and some allies are planning to take over by force and violence, with the intention of imposing an authoritarian regime. The rangers decide that Rolfe and his allies are the lesser of two evils, and decide to help Adrienne in her effort to prevent the coup. The group discovers that Colletta is arming post-Aztec
and post-Mayan
Indians to build a couple of battalions of soldiers (something very illegal under Commonwealth law) in an attempt to capture the Gate, holding the Commonwealth hostage.
Colletta duly strikes, giving the other families the grounds to oppose him militarily. The revolt is put down, but at a price: the radio device and the Gateway are destroyed, and with it, the connection to our world. What little talent the Commonwealth has in physics works feverishly to re-establish the Gate. They are successful, but when they look through the new gate, they do not see FirstSide (New Virginia slang for Rolfe's home Earth) Oakland, but instead a snarling sabertooth tiger and a dead giant sloth.
Using one of his men's ties to the Mafia
to cover up where they were getting the gold, Rolfe and his allies gained the starting capital necessary to start their own country. To protect the secret of the Gate, they bought up the residential area in Oakland around the Gate, converting it into an industrial complex. Immigration to "New Virginia", as they called it, began with close family members and friends of the men involved, but it later included settlers drawn from various ethnic groups looking for places to hide: fugitive Nazis, pieds-noirs, Afrikaaners, Rhodesia
ns, and former Russian
Communists.
By present day in the novel, the Commonwealth of New Virginia had expanded across the new California, with outposts as far as Alaska
and Colorado
and colonies in Hawaii
and Australia
. The original founders of the country structured the government so that their families would remain in power long after those originals were dead, and they also adapted laws to causes and hobbies to which they were partial. One example was Rolfe's love of hunting, which encouraged him to partner with the San Diego Zoo to import large African animals, which he then moved through the Gate and released into the wilds of his new North America.
Farming and mining were the principal pillars of the Commonwealth economy, the latter being particularly profitable since the Commonwealth already knew the exact locations of gold and other mines because of the history of FirstSide.
. The Rolfe Family is considered the leader of the families and thus has some influence over the others. All of the Families are led by the "Primes," or the head of family who is succeeded by the eldest adult male. All members of the Thirty Families who are not the Prime or heir are known as "Collaterals." Those not members of the Families are known as "Settlers." Most settlers declare loyalty to a certain family, but some are independent.
While there are some cities in the Commonwealth, they have been deliberately been kept small by Rolfe and the other Primes. This has been done to protect the environment from pollution and other ills. The largest city Rolfeston, which is located where Berkeley
would have been, has a population of only 28,000. The writings of the Southern Agrarian movement, as typified by the 1930 essay "I'll Take My Stand", are a guide for the development of the Commonwealth.
The demographics of the Commonwealth are primarily white with religions ranging from Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish. The antebellum-minded Rolfe has barred blacks from being allowed into the Commonwealth, but some have come involuntarily after discovering the Gate secret.
Only members of the Thirty Families, and not all of them, may travel between the worlds. Everyone else must stay in New Virginia for life. The Gate traffic is monitored and controlled by the Gate Security Force (GSF). The secret is so important that the GSF has the authority to execute even members of the Thirty Families on FirstSide without trial if they are doing something that could give away the secret.
As in our history, most Native Americans
have suffered huge losses thanks to disease accidentally brought through the Gate. The Commonwealth does bring in workers from the Nahuatl
speaking people to the south, but they are only allowed to stay temporarily. If they ever wish to reside permanently in the Commonwealth, they may do so, but are sterilized so they won't have a next generation. Without a second generation, the Nahuatl
never learn how the Commonwealth operates, or understand how the New Virginians think, and so won't ever become a factor politically.
Even with these changes history still continues much as it did on our Earth, with a few exceptions. One flashback in the book is dated September 15, 2001, but makes no mention of the September 11, 2001 attacks
.
S. M. Stirling
Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...
. Its point of divergence
Point of divergence
In discussion of counterfactual history, a divergence point , also referred to as a departure point or point of divergence , is a historical event with two possible postulated outcomes...
occurs when Pochahantas and John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
have more children, creating a line of Rolfes who are related to all of the major families of Virginia. Most of the story, however, is set in a parallel universe discovered by one of Rolfe's descendants.
Plot summary
John Rolfe VI is an infantry captain who comes back from World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with a war wound and few prospects, but in 1946 a radio he is rewiring malfunctions and creates a gateway to a parallel universe. This universe is one in which Alexander the Great lived a full lifespan creating an empire that stretched from Spain to India. In this world, the Alexandrine Empire proved so strong and durable that it redirected the barbarian migrations of the Goths, Vandals, etc, eastward towards China and the Far East. As a result what remains of China is a hodgepodge of Indo-European dominated states, the Americas remain undiscovered, and technology has barely progressed to a medieval level. Deciding to take advantage of the untapped resources that await in this different California, Rolfe gathers some members of his infantry company to help him explore and develop this new world. Over the next 60 years, he builds a new nation which he called the Commonwealth of New Virginia, in this parallel universe.
In 2009, two California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
fish and game officers
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
(Tom Christiansen and Roy Tully) are trying to solve the mystery of how large numbers of pelts from endangered species are showing up. They finally deduce the secret of the gate to the parallel world, but before they can make the secret known to their superiors, they are kidnapped and permanently transported to New Virginia by Rolfe's granddaughter, Gate Security Agent Adrienne Rolfe (with whom Christiansen had been falling in love).
Once the two rangers get over their resentment of being forcibly and permanently removed from their lives and world, and being brought to this new world, Adrienne enlists them to help sabotage a coming coup in New Virginia. Giovanni Colletta, head of the second most powerful family, and son of a sleazy and amoral war buddy of Rolfe's, has resented the elder Rolfe's control, and he and some allies are planning to take over by force and violence, with the intention of imposing an authoritarian regime. The rangers decide that Rolfe and his allies are the lesser of two evils, and decide to help Adrienne in her effort to prevent the coup. The group discovers that Colletta is arming post-Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
and post-Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
Indians to build a couple of battalions of soldiers (something very illegal under Commonwealth law) in an attempt to capture the Gate, holding the Commonwealth hostage.
Colletta duly strikes, giving the other families the grounds to oppose him militarily. The revolt is put down, but at a price: the radio device and the Gateway are destroyed, and with it, the connection to our world. What little talent the Commonwealth has in physics works feverishly to re-establish the Gate. They are successful, but when they look through the new gate, they do not see FirstSide (New Virginia slang for Rolfe's home Earth) Oakland, but instead a snarling sabertooth tiger and a dead giant sloth.
History
While trying to fix his radio in his basement, Rolfe accidentally created a gate to an alternate California in which Europeans had yet to discover the New World. After looking at the new world on the other side of the Gate by himself, Rolfe brought a dozen trusted members of his wartime platoon to see for themselves. Later, while camping in an alternate California after hunting and panning for gold, the group agreed to keep the "Gate" a secret. They believed (correctly) that they could exploit the wealth it offered them, and they recognized Rolfe as the leader of this endeavour.Using one of his men's ties to the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
to cover up where they were getting the gold, Rolfe and his allies gained the starting capital necessary to start their own country. To protect the secret of the Gate, they bought up the residential area in Oakland around the Gate, converting it into an industrial complex. Immigration to "New Virginia", as they called it, began with close family members and friends of the men involved, but it later included settlers drawn from various ethnic groups looking for places to hide: fugitive Nazis, pieds-noirs, Afrikaaners, Rhodesia
Whites in Zimbabwe
White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe who identify themselves as white...
ns, and former Russian
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Communists.
By present day in the novel, the Commonwealth of New Virginia had expanded across the new California, with outposts as far as Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and colonies in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The original founders of the country structured the government so that their families would remain in power long after those originals were dead, and they also adapted laws to causes and hobbies to which they were partial. One example was Rolfe's love of hunting, which encouraged him to partner with the San Diego Zoo to import large African animals, which he then moved through the Gate and released into the wilds of his new North America.
Farming and mining were the principal pillars of the Commonwealth economy, the latter being particularly profitable since the Commonwealth already knew the exact locations of gold and other mines because of the history of FirstSide.
Politics
The Commonwealth of New Virginia is described as a "feudal oligarchy" by one of the characters. It is a highly conservative state whose politics often clash with those of the main characters of the story. Power is held by the Thirty Families (which actually number 32) who make all of the decisions regarding the Commonwealth though there is some limited democracy in the form of the House of BurgessesHouse of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
. The Rolfe Family is considered the leader of the families and thus has some influence over the others. All of the Families are led by the "Primes," or the head of family who is succeeded by the eldest adult male. All members of the Thirty Families who are not the Prime or heir are known as "Collaterals." Those not members of the Families are known as "Settlers." Most settlers declare loyalty to a certain family, but some are independent.
While there are some cities in the Commonwealth, they have been deliberately been kept small by Rolfe and the other Primes. This has been done to protect the environment from pollution and other ills. The largest city Rolfeston, which is located where Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
would have been, has a population of only 28,000. The writings of the Southern Agrarian movement, as typified by the 1930 essay "I'll Take My Stand", are a guide for the development of the Commonwealth.
The demographics of the Commonwealth are primarily white with religions ranging from Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish. The antebellum-minded Rolfe has barred blacks from being allowed into the Commonwealth, but some have come involuntarily after discovering the Gate secret.
Only members of the Thirty Families, and not all of them, may travel between the worlds. Everyone else must stay in New Virginia for life. The Gate traffic is monitored and controlled by the Gate Security Force (GSF). The secret is so important that the GSF has the authority to execute even members of the Thirty Families on FirstSide without trial if they are doing something that could give away the secret.
As in our history, most Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
have suffered huge losses thanks to disease accidentally brought through the Gate. The Commonwealth does bring in workers from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
speaking people to the south, but they are only allowed to stay temporarily. If they ever wish to reside permanently in the Commonwealth, they may do so, but are sterilized so they won't have a next generation. Without a second generation, the Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
never learn how the Commonwealth operates, or understand how the New Virginians think, and so won't ever become a factor politically.
FirstSide
Stirling usually uses worlds which are slightly different from our own. He has stated that he does this because "it is simpler that way". This book is no different since in our Earth the Rolfe line died in the 17th century. The Earth of the novel, however, has Pocahontas living longer and giving birth to more sons, thus ensuring the Rolfe line would continue.Even with these changes history still continues much as it did on our Earth, with a few exceptions. One flashback in the book is dated September 15, 2001, but makes no mention of the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
.