1690 A.D.

User Summary:

A series of adventures originally written for the Fantasy Imperium RPG set around 1690 AD.

From the Publisher:

The New World

In 1492 A.D. a Genoese trader named Cristóbal Colón sailed west in search of a route to Asia and discovered the American Continent. When he returned to Spain, the Europeans took an interest in the New World, as it was called.

In 1519 A.D. Hernán Cortés at the age of 19, discovered the Aztec Empire ruled by Moctezuma Xocoyotzin from the island city of Tenochtitlán.

Before the arrival of Cortés, there were several signs that signalled the end of their civilization, including the sighting of a comet, a lightning bolt striking the temple of Tzonmolco, strange beings with several heads wandering through the city, an earthquake, a pillar of fire seen at night, the flooding of the city, the capture of a strange bird with the image of strangers reflected in it's eyes, and a woman singing a funeral dirge for the Aztec Empire.

The Aztecs had many innovations that were unknown to the Europeans, such as paper money. The Aztecs used the most accurate calendar ever devised, while the Europeans used the Gregorian Calendar.

The Aztec religion practised human sacrifice. Magic was also practised by the Aztecs. If a thief was caught, a circle of containment was drawn around him to prevent him from escaping. Moctezuma was killed while trying to prevent a riot against the Spaniards, who were afterwards driven from the city.

When they returned at the head of a new army, supplanted by tens of thousands of native allies that wanted independence from Aztec rule, they found a city devastated by the plague of Smallpox, brought by the Europeans. Smallpox killed 90% of the native population within 15 years. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the native population was about 25 million, but after the plague of Smallpox, only 3 million inhabitants remained.

In 1531 A.D. Francisco Pizarro travelled to Peru and conquered the Incan Empire, whose capital was the city of Cuzco two years later. Peru became a rich source of gold that was sent to Spain.

The other European powers were to send expeditions to the New World, founding colonies in the 17th century.