Prologue

This adventure is as historically accurate as I could make it, however I have not included my endless references because the main character, Daniel, is fictional. I have kept the descriptions and actions of the non-fictional characters as close to historical accounts as possible.

As a rule of thumb, if the character is a parliamentarian, or has a title, or has a military rank of captain or above, then they and their families are non-fictional. If the character is a member of the Wellenhay clan or goes unnamed, then they are fictional.

All dates have been converted to our modern calendar to save the reader the confusion of January being the tenth month of the old year rather than the first month of the new year, thus the Battle of Edgehill takes place in Gregorian November rather than in Julian October.

Note that at the end of this book there is an Appendix which is organized like an FAQ. There you will find answers to dozens of questions such as:
- Where can I find out more about the historical characters and events?
- What was the significance of Edgehill?
- Why is Prince Rupert, a royal hero, portrayed as being evil?
However, the next few paragraphs will set the scene of this era for you.

* * * * *

This novel begins in February 1642 after King Charles Stuart and his family had fled the mobs of London but before the mobs forced the surrender of the Tower of London. Parliament's reformers were being split three ways between the "peace" party, the "war" party, and the "middle" party. The money men behind the reformers were some of the richest lords in the kingdom ... the Earl of Essex (Robert Devereaux), the Earl of Warwick (Robert Rich) and the lordly partners in Rich's powerful Providence Company.

The Stuart Regime's natural allies were the English lords with Scottish blood, the wealthy Catholics, and the second sons of the nobility. In this era the first sons inherited everything while the second sons often became soldiers in hopes of winning the favours of kings and generals. Parliament's natural allies were the lords with English blood who had been deposed by the Scottish Stuart regime, the lords who hated and feared the Spanish, the businessmen who wished to profit from the misfortunes of Spain and Portugal at the hands of the Dutch, and anyone who thought that they were paying too much tax towards supporting lavish palaces.

England was an island, therefore most of the military budget went to providing a fleet to protect its shores, especially the much larger 'summer' fleet for when the weather was good. Instead of keeping a large standing army, each shire and main town in England was responsible for arming and training a militia unit ... the trained bands. If need be, the militia could swell to include every able-bodied man, and thus the armouries and magazines were well stocked. The first widespread violence between king and parliament was the result of both sides claiming command of the shire militias and their armouries. Students of history will note that this was also how the first widespread violence of the American War of Independence began.

In each shire an appointed Lord Lieutenant controlled the militia, and when parliament began replacing these Lieutenants with their own men, the king issued 'charters of array' so that his own chosen lords could call up any able bodied men or horses. The rioting that London had experienced began to spread to other towns as men refused to be called up or to give up their horses.

Meanwhile experienced soldiers were coming home from the brutal continental wars, and bringing mercenaries with them. The once peaceful England was being set up for a Thirty Year's War style conflagration, and all because the king refused to share power with the elected parliaments.