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scotianostra · 3 months ago

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The Battle of Preston was fought between August 17-19th, 1648.

This was a major battle in the English civil war which saw the Duke of Hamilton cross the border into England at the head of a Scottish army in support of King Charles I.

Earlier in the year in April a small force of Scots had taken Berwick and Carlisle. On July 8th, a much larger force commanded by the Marquis of Hamilton marched into Carlisle. By mid-July, 12,000 men (8,000 Scots and 4,000 English Royalists) looked poised to march south in support of Charles. However, there were delays in the Scottish advance and this allowed a Parliamentarian force cross the Pennines east to west to confront the invaders. Pembroke Castle had fallen to Cromwell on July 11th and freed up men to march north in support. They met at Wetherby.

However, they were confronted by a much larger force: Hamilton’s army numbered 20,000 men while Cromwell had 9,000 men of whom only 6,500 were experienced soldiers.

What Cromwell had on his side was discipline. In some respects the Scots had become a very undisciplined unit. Hamilton had allowed his army to spread itself over twenty miles – a distance far too great to allow for good communications between all parts in it. Without good communications, Hamilton had little ability to fully control his force. Hamilton’s cavalry was in the front while the infantry trailed behind. Therefore, each was unable to support the other. While Hamilton’s cavalry had the advantage of travelling by horse, the terrain in the area was not conducive to speedy travel and the rain that had been falling made the ground even more boggy than normal.

On August 17th Cromwell attacked the infantry in the rear of Hamilton’s greatly extended force.

The Battle of Preston was fought in boggy terrain and the skill and power of the New Model Army was severely restricted in such terrain as it relied very much on its cavalry. The battle was initially fought with little finesse as Cromwell used his horse to simply bludgeon the Scots into submission. He then turned on Hamilton’s main force, many of whom had based themselves actually in Preston.

The fighting in Preston was bloody even by the standards of the English Civil War. It was now that it became clear to Hamilton that keeping his force spread out over such a large distance was a fatal flaw. Cromwell fought mainly foot soldiers. Hamilton had to get his horse to Preston but they were mainly in Wigan, some miles away. The fighting on August 17th at Preston cost the Scots 8,000 men – 4,000 killed and 4,000 captured. The battle continued on August 18th.

The night of August 17th/18th had been blighted by rain. The Scots who were still in the field were both wet and hungry, as many had not eaten properly for days. To make matters worse, a lot of their ammunition had become damp and unusable.

On the 18th, about 4,000 Scots laid down their weapons at Warrington rather than fight a smaller Parliamentarian force. Men under the command of Hamilton marched south away from Preston. Hamilton’s plan was to march south and then back north away from Cromwell’s men and back to Scotland. The plan had some credibility to it but Hamilton’s men were unwilling to follow him and he surrendered his forces at Uttoxeter to John Lambert. Hamilton himself was sent to Windsor.

The fighting during the Battle of Preston was particularly vicious and as a result of this those who had volunteered to fight for Hamilton and had been captured or surrendered were harshly treated. They were sent as virtual slaves to the plantations in Barbados and Virginia.

The loss of the Scots and the accompanying Royalists who had fought at Preston was a devastating blow for Charle I. He now had no decent power base in England, Wales, Ireland or Scotland.

Hamilton, after a futile attempt to escape, was beheaded in March 1649.

#scotland #scottish #england #civil war #battle

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pvffinsdaisies · 8 months ago

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Northumbria Headcanon Masterpost

The artwork used was created by @ladybrainrot

Continuing on with my master posts for my portrayals of different characters, I’ve decided the next one would be for my OC portrayal of Northumbria. Since I did one of these for Scotland, I’ve been wanting to create another one, but I’ve not known which character to choose. Bria just happens to be my brainrot atm, though she’s not as developed as I thought.

Northumbria is an old kingdom that consisted of modern day northern England, and southern Scotland, through the 600s-900s. In my eyes, Northumbria stayed alive and in modern day represents the north of England- the cultural and the class difference. With that in mind, and also noting that I am not a big history fan, please do be weary that many choices made take into account modern day northern England, rather than the former kingdom of Northumbria itself. This is also just my take, as someone from the north of England. I am also aware that she is not 100% accurate- Bria originally started out as a 2p nyo England over four years ago, but as I grew up, I decided to revamp her a little, and she became my oc portrayal of Northumbria. Keep in mind, had I originally set out to make a northern England oc, not a 2p nyo England, she would probably be quite different than she is today.

PHYSICAL

Northumbria’s hair is a mousy brown colour, and it lies somewhere between blonde and brunette. This was done intentionally to show her similarities to both Scotland and to England, and how she’s the awkward space in between the two of them.

When left down, her hair reaches down to her mid back, but it’s frequently worn up to keep it out of her face.

Bushy eyebrows runs in the family, and she didn’t manage to escape this gene either.

Northumbria has softer, though not rounded, features. She has droopy/downturned eyes, a heart face shape, and a button nose.

She has dimples in her cheeks, which represent the Yorkshire Dales, and a few freckles which represent the Lake District

She is one of the shortest of her siblings, standing at 5’3 or about 160cm

Bria is chubby, with a pear body shape. A lot of her weight is in her stomach and waist, and she has a smaller top half.

Northumbria’s breasts represent the Pennines, a mountain range which runs through the centre of Northern England. The mountains are, objectively, not that big.

Northumbria has very bad hay fever, and she takes tablets every spring and summer, but they don’t do much for help. She loves the outside, though, and thinks a runny nose and itchy eyes are worth it to be out in the countryside.

She has problems with her lungs from spending so many years of her life working as a coal miner, she uses an inhaler to help her.

She doesn’t wear make up very often, only if she’s going out or if attending a formal event- and she’s not very good at it! Mostly, she just hasn’t had much practice, and finds most days she can’t be bothered with it.

Despite this, Northumbria is incredibly skilled with plaits and buns! Her hair is most often seen in just a simple three strand plait for simplicity, but she can do some beautiful techniques if she wants to.

She has a pink rose necklace which she wears all the time. It represents the red rose of Lancashire and the white rose of Yorkshire. Normally, these two rose come together to create the “Tudor Rose”, but for a little necklace, a pink rose will do fine.

Speaking of roses, she likes to smell like them! She always buys rose scented perfumes. It’s fair to say, these flowers mean a lot to her.

As well as her rose necklace, you will almost always see Northumbria wearing a flat cap. She owns a dark green one, but also a brown one. She takes a lot of pride in these hats.

PERSONALITY

Out of her and Arthur, Northumbria is definitely the friendlier, more extroverted one. If she sees someone she knows on the street, she will stop and say hi, have a little chat to them, before heading off on her way. Moments like this brighten her day.

Even if you are not yet friends, she prides herself as being someone you can stop and talk to, if you need it. She’s also not shy to striking up a conversation with someone new. She will talk to you like you know one another, even during small talk.

She takes the position of the mum friend, and she can be extremely comforting for when you’re upset. Guaranteed, if knock on the door and ask to talk, she’ll hurry you inside, make you some tea, and if you’re lucky, she’ll make you her favourite comfort food. She’ll always be sure to provide a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, words of encouragement, and some advice once you’re feeling better.

Bria is a very loyal person, especially to those she considers herself closest with. She will stay by the side of those she loves through no matter what. This is one of the reasons she has never seriously considered trying to gain independence.

However, she can also be very indecisive, she can change her mind and stance pretty frequently. This meeting her loyal nature can be conflicting sometimes. She finds constantly switching between being more loyal to England, and being more loyal to Scotland (who she’s (debatably) closer to.)

Northumbria is incredibly passionate, but her passion can come out quite aggressive. You can notice a significant flip from her usual calmer, motherly personality, to her yelling and shouting curse words. It can be quite intimidating if you’re not used to it.

Selfishness is probably Bria’s worst trait. She will always think about herself and her own situation first, and sometimes might never even consider someone else’s perspective on things. This can and has lead to her stabbing people in the back to try and better herself if she gets desperate enough (sorry Wales.)

She regularly feels ignored and overlooked, mainly by England, but she hasn’t figured out how to make herself be taken seriously by others, so no matter how much she shouts, nothing much will change.

Because of this, she has an intense desire to prove herself. She had a tendency to be vocal and brag about anything important or anyone successful who comes from the north of England. It can seem like she believes she’s superior to Arthur, but it’s more a desire to prove herself to be an equal. That, and just a good amount of pride and patriotism.

Northumbria has a hard time letting go of the past. She struggles to move on, now matter how far away it was. She still clings to her old coal mining job especially to define her identity. She won’t stop there. She’ll go back as far as the Viking age if she has to.

She’s incredibly humble and modest, which means she sometimes dismisses the bad things that have happened to her in the past, choosing to focus on the positives. This can give her a tainted view of her own history, and she looks back on many things with a far more positive outlook, her nostalgia can blind her to the hardships she faced in the past.

Northumbria likes to credit herself as being a realist, and being fairly down to earth. She is not blinded to current situations from nostalgia. And, whilst she finds some fantastical stuff appealing, she is not blinded to the reality of the world and the position she’s in.

She can be a bit of a hopeless romantic, but not in the sense that she has an unrealistic expectation of love. She’s more just looking for someone to see her, understand her, and settle down with her as her partner. She loves the idea of love, but she’s also aware of what it does and doesn’t actually look like.

Bria heavily values politeness and manners. A simple please and thank you never cost anyone anything, she finds it very rude and demanding to not use them, and she will remind her family if they forget!

She holds a lot of respect for people who are honest and who speak their mind. She doesn’t like when she feels people try and hide how they feel about something. She may be a bit shocked sometimes at bluntness, but eventually she’ll come round and admire the honesty. She makes sure to tell people who are like this that she appreciates it.

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Northumbria loves to go out on walk around the countryside, however, given her lungs she has to really pace herself and try not to go too fast. She also avoids hikes that are going to be too challenging for her. But still, nothing will stop her from getting outside.

She enjoys cycling too, but again, has to pace herself and try not to do anything that exceeds her limits.

Whilst she doesn’t play, rugby is her favourite sport by a mile! She is extremely passionate about it, and she gets far too into the games. She also insists that league is the better, and rougher version. Her entire family disagrees.

Something she and her family can agree on, is a strong love for music. Bria’s preferred taste is pop music, she especially loves boy bands and girl groups. She is the world’s biggest Take That fan.

She actually used to play an instrument herself! The Northumbrian pipes, a smaller (and quieter) variant of bagpipes that come from the north of England. She and Scotland used to play together, but she gave it up in the 19th century, and hasn’t picked them back up since.

Whilst Northumbria is no top-quality chef, she’s actually very good at warm, comforting foods to fill you up. Her favourite to make is mince and dumplings- which also happens to be her comfort food- but she also makes a good shepherd’s pie or cottage pie. She also makes a brilliant yorkshire pudding.

She is a savoury girl all the way! Too much sweet stuff can make her feel ill. She is a devout fan of greggs.

She is not much of a baker herself, however, she does love to treat herself to a baked pastry or pasty. She especially loves Cornish pastries, and when her old sister, Cornwall, bakes them herself, she will never be able to resist them.

Whilst she no longer works as a farmer, she did used to, and she found a love for gardening from it. She grows vegetables and flowers, and gifts any spares that she had no need for to one of her siblings. Her garden is not large by any means, but it is very pretty.

Much like the rest of her siblings, Northumbria enjoys a night out on the town, venturing into pubs. She has a bias towards Irish bars especially, due to the surplus of them in Liverpool thanks to mass Irish immigration.

She loves reading, and she has a massive passion for Beatrix Potter and her novels. She has original copies of all of them on her shelf, as well as other pieces of merchandise like fridge magnets or garden ornaments.

Northumbria has a knack for poetry, especially nature themed poetry. Influenced by the amount of poets that come from or moved to the Lake District.

She attends the Viking Festival that takes place in York every year.

She enjoys watching soap operas, her favourites being Emmerdale and Coronation Street- which she keeps up with regularly. She gets overly invested in the storylines sometimes. Though, she’s aware they’re not the best quality.

Northumbria has some skill regarding sewing. She can fix a button or a zip on a dress, but she’s not skilled enough to be making her own clothes. She just repairs old ones.

However, she is very skilled at knitting. From the 1980s-2005, the world’s fastest knitter was a woman from the north of England. Northumbria herself is pretty fast!

LIFESTYLE

Northumbria uses the human name Ivory Ailith Kirkland, with Ivy or Ives as her nickname. I would’ve used a Cumbrian name, but alas with the language being extinct, there’s no websites online.

She has two pet hedgehogs who run around her house and her garden, they’re called Charlotte and Peach.

Ivory currently resides in Newcastle Upon Tyne, and she has the thickest geordie accent you’ll ever hear, although for many years of her life she lived in York. The city is still one of her favourites, and it’s very special to her, but she now only visits once a year.

Despite this, she considers the Lakes the place where her heart lives. She tries to visit at least once or twice a year.

Thick as her accent is, it’s really flexible. It changes quickly, if she talks to someone from a different area for even an hour she accidentally starts to mimic their speech. If she spends a week somewhere, she could probably pass as a native.

Northumbria speaks English, British Sign Language, French and Scots. She used to speak Cumbrian, Latin and old Norse. The latter two are long gone and forgotten, but she’s still convinced if someone spoke Cumbrian to her, it would come flooding back. Despite her flexible accent, she’s never been the great at studying new languages. They fly right over her head! She is, however, extremely prone to picking up new slang words upon meeting someone, even if she’s never heard said words before.

Since Ivory is not recognised as a country, nor is she self-reliant, she doesn’t actually have much nation work to do- if any at all! She travels down to Manchester if there is anything in the north she is needed for, and sometimes she will step in as England for Arthur is needed. Generally though, she has a lot of time to herself to explore the north.

She technically lives in a shared house in london, too, with the rest of her siblings (besides Ireland), but she doesn’t like it down there and isn’t needed there often at all.

Ivory’s wardrobe is simple, but still pretty. She prefers more earthy tones like greens and browns, but she’s never shy to a floral detail. Her clothes are comfortable and easy to move around in- generally. She’s a big fan of pinafores, simple tops and t-shirts, and cardigans. You’ll rarely ever find her in anything slim fitting.

Deep down, Ivory longs simply for a life of comfort. And, even though she’s a morning person, and she loves her morning walks, her favourite part of the day is sitting down on the sofa with a cup of tea in the evenings.

However, due to her longing for comfort, she’s developed a fear of the unknown. She doesn’t like stepping outside of her comfort zone if she doesn’t absolutely have to, and even then she may try and ignore it as much as she can.

She has a complicated relationship with the subject of potential independence. Her fear of the unknown prevents her from taking the idea seriously, even if she’s not comfortable with the current situation- and is constantly complaining about how ignored she feels and how she wants better. She identifies as northern before she does as English, and she is always making a point that she has way more in common with Scotland than with the south, but to her, complete independence is something she is too afraid to take seriously. It’s easier to joke about, which she has no problems doing.

Whilst Bria is pretty well-off now, she’s had some very low points financially in the past, and has gotten used to being poorer one out of her and Arthur. As a result, she is extremely money conscious. She is constant scouting for discounts, trying to get things at the lowest possible price, and checking her bank account after every single thing she buys. She gets nervous whenever she has to buy something that’s a bit more expensive than she’d like. She might miss out on fun opportunities with other people if she feels the cost will be too high.

This means that even through the winter, she’ll try her best to save as much money on heating and on electricity as possible. If it’s cold, you don’t turn on the heating, you put a blanket over you. If it’s dark, you can turn on some smaller lights, but by no means can you turn on the big one!

Due to her budgeting, she can get extremely defensive about her choice to always go cheap. If someone try tell her that she doesn’t need to be counting every penny anymore, that she can let loose a bit and can now afford nicer things, they can expect a whole lecture from her about how money doesn’t grow on trees, and it’s always good to have a bit of extra cash on you.

Ive is a surprise visitor, and is always dropping in on her family members unannounced, even though they all live hours away from her. It really can annoy her siblings, and you’ll find them complaining, “I wish she’d just let me know first.”

She is a heavy meat eater, and she will pour thick & heavy gravy over every meal she has until it’s swimming in it. Despite her fondness for gardening, she does not eat nearly enough vegetables.

Out of all of her siblings, she is the most non-religious, and at this point her relationship with her faith is very weak. She is the only sibling who doesn’t have a mythical creature who resides with her, and she feels she doesn’t see them as often as she used to do when she’s out and about. She still sees her brothers’ friends, like flying mint bunny for example, when visiting them, but outside of that they don’t really cross her mind much at all.

#annnd I believe this is just about done!#there’s probably something that will come to me later #but I’ll add that when the time comes.#I’m not really expecting anyone to read this #but if you do I hope you really enjoyed learning a bit about my OC #hetalia #hetalia oc #original character #aph northumbria #aph north england

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