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salty-accords · 6 months ago

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Let’s Talk About… Fallout! Early History

With the brand-new Fallout television series freshly released, a lot of people have been discussing and diving into the world of the Fallout franchise, particularly the elusive timeline. When is all this happening? Where did our world converge from theirs? What’s with Vault-Tec, the War, and the aliens? Well, today we’ll be diving into a few of these issues.

Welcome to this week’s installment of Let’s Talk About, the internet series where I yap about my hyperfixations for an hour and you all hopefully learn something (even if it’s just for fun)! This time around, we’re starting a journey into the realm of post-apocalypse—before the apocalypse, and before the wars. Welcome to Fallout’s Early History!

Deviations from the real world’s timeline as we know it will be noted minimally. I’m a gamer and a creative, not a historian. All events are mentioned or referenced in-game or during the Fallout series.

(Below the cut to be courteous to y'all's dashboards. Thank you to the Fallout Fandom Wiki editors and fandom researchers for making this post possible! You're all real ones and I'm super excited to be breaking into "the scene" with y'all.)

Our first notch of exploration is sometime prior to 11,000 B.C.E.; we’ll return to this point later in our Fallout episodes, but just remember that it’s important. An alleged extraterrestrial precursor to humanity exists somewhere below the ground.

We begin with two real-world events:

1066 C.E.

March 14th: The Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England, led by William the Conqueror, or William the Duke of Normandy. The battle was fought slightly northwest of Hastings between the Normen-French army and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. The Normans won this one, and the proceeding conquest resulted in the royal line as we now know it.

1215 C.E.

The Magna Carta

By 1215, the throne of England had passed hands several times. There had been numerous royal rivalries, rebellions, at least one civil war, and who knows what else—historians know, but I’m not them. At this point, King John of England is on the throne—he’s a direct descendant of that William the Conqueror guy but a lot less cool. After two decades of trying and failing to win one over on France, a bunch of John’s barons had enough of his shit and got together to rebel against him. They were unhappy with the fiscal policies he’d developed to sustain his unsuccessful imperial efforts, and for the way he treated a lot of the nobles. The Magna Carta was drafted as a peace treaty between the King and his barons, severely limiting his power as king.

In Fallout 3, you can find and collect a copy of the Magna Carta from the National Archives through the quest Stealing Independence.

C. 1603

Toshiro Kago’s Abduction,

Sometime during the Tokugawa shogunate, or the Edo shogunate, Mothership Zeta abducted Toshiro Kago.

If you do not want spoilers to Fallout 3 gameplay, please skip to the next section. [Timestamp: ]

Toshiro Kago is a samurai character from the Fallout 3 DLC Mothership Zeta. He’s one of four people the Lone Wanderer thaws out on Zeta and a temporary companion during the This Galaxy Ain’t Big Enough… quest battle. The quest Among the Stars sees the Wanderer return his missing sword to him. He never leaves Zeta but cannot be interacted with after the final battle. He doesn’t speak English and the player character doesn’t speak 16th century Japanese, so conversations with him are stilted, but you get the gist of each other through tone, gestures, and observations.

1605 C.E.

November 4th-5th: Guy Fawkes et al Arrested

The Gunpowder Plot was a failed assassination attempt on England’s King James I and the Parliament. It was organized by Robert Catesby as an effort to end government persecution of Roman Catholics; the hope was to replace the Protestant government with Catholic leadership, however, around midnight on Nov. 4th, Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, was discovered in the cellar of the Parliament building with barrels of gunpowder—the plan had been to blow the whole place, king included. Fawkes and others were arrested, tried, and executed for treason by the 5th. Now, every November 5th, England sees Guy Fawkes Day, where effigies of Fawkes are burnt.

1612 C.E.

Point Lookout Deviation

In reality, Captain John Smith landed ashore at Point Lookout in 1608, just a year after establishing the Jamestown colony in Virginia. However, in Fallout, Smith doesn’t come ashore there until 1612—it seems that this deviation kicked off further deviations, such as the Ark and Dove Deviation.

As a location, Point Lookout is only available in the Fallout 3 DLC of the same name. The Lone Wanderer can spend an awful lot of time here.

1634 C.E.

Boston Common Established

The Boston Common is considered the oldest public park in the U.S.; it’s played an important role in the history of landscape architecture, the military, politics, conservation, and recreation in Massachusetts. In 1634, the people of Boston (MA Bay Colony) voted to tax each house six shillings to purchase William Blackstone’s farm as a community common—thus the Common was born! It’s still an important cultural piece of land—so much so that it’s a main location in Fallout 4.

In the Fallout universe, Boston Common is home to the Swan, Tour bots, and Vault 114. All Boston locations, to my knowledge, are only available in Fallout 4.

March 25th: Arc and Dove Deviation

In reality, when Lord Baltimore dispatched the colonists aboard the Ark and Dove ships, they landed at Saint Clement’s Island, Maryland; in Fallout, they landed ashore Point Lookout. There, they constructed the Ark & Dove Cathedral. The Ark & Dove resting grounds are another location influenced by this event, It can be assumed that the Point Lookout Deviation led to this major difference.

The Cathedral and the resting grounds are a part of the Point Lookout DLC in Fallout 3, and are home to smugglers, swampfolk, feral ghouls, and three quests: Hearing Voices, Walking with Spirits, and Tailing the Tomboy.

1660 C.E.

Old Granary Burying Ground

The burial ground was established on Tremont Street within the Boston Commons. Its current name is from the adjacent granary that was built in the 1730s. That establishment was torn down and replaced by the Park Street Church in 1809—the name for the burying grounds persisted, of course. In Fallout, it is Boston’s oldest surviving burial ground. There are a variety of references to other historical moments within and around the burying ground. It’s now inhabited by feral ghouls.

1680 C.E.

The Paul Revere House Built

While unmarked in-game, the Paul Revere House is the oldest standing building in Boston, even post-bombings. Outside the building, there’s now a Freedom Trail marker, a pre-War plague about Revere, and the plague reads: “Built in 1680, this wooden building is the oldest structure in all of Boston. In 1770 this home was bought by famed patriot Paul Revere. … Revere dwelled here with his family (including his 16 children) until 1800. Paul Revere was living here when he made his famous midnight ride to Lexington and Concord to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that Redcoats were en route to arrest them and seize the militia weaponry.” It’s generally considered a myth that Revere made that journey.

1690 C.E.

Publick Occurrences Published

Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick was the first multi-page newspaper published in British colonial America. Its first issue carried an account that “offended” the colonial governor, and the paper was promptly closed by colonial authorities days later. No other paper was published in the colonies for over a decade.

1692 C.E.

The Salem Witch Trials Begin

The trials of Salem, MA, are pretty infamous. During the trials, numerous Salem Village residents accused others (mostly Protestants, the impoverished, slaves, and disliked folk) of “witchcraft.” However, there is no evidence that those accused practiced or recognized any form of witchcraft. The accused were arrested, tried, and often hanged. These events made the larger neighboring establishment, Salem Town, a tourist location for the ages—Salem Town was the more affluent of them.

After the Great War, the town’s residents worked to make it a secure settlement, with much success until an onslaught of Mirelurks sometime before the Sole Survivor arrives in Fallout 4. It’s home to two quests: The Devil’s Due and Gun Run. In the Mothership Zeta add-on for Fallout 3, Fallout Shelter and Fallout 76, the location is also mentioned.

1697 C.E.

May 17th: Andrew Endicott Abducted

Another victim of the Zeta in the Fallout 3 add-on, Endicott was abducted from his Salem Village home on May 17th. A recorded log enlightens the Lone Survivor to some of his story, which the aliens asked him to record. He is fearful of aliens, and rightly so.

1711 C.E.

The Great Fire in Boston

Note: “The Great Fire” is a term that has since been applied to the fire conflagration of 1760, which compared to the 1711 fire was much more devastating. However, in 1711, the conflagration destroyed the establishment’s first townhouse.

The Cabot House Built

Beacon Hill becomes the home of the Cabot House and its owning family. The Cabots are an affluent family who were well-known and connected in pre-War high society. Post-War, they’ve maintained their wealth and a network of hired help, overseen by their family “servant” Edward Deegan. The most prominent member of the Cabot family was Lorenzo Cabot, an archaeologist ridiculed for his theories of an extraterrestrial precursor civilization on Earth.

1713 C.E.

The Old State House Built

Eventually becoming the oldest public-access building in Boston, the Old State House was where “the child independence was born.” (John Adams) Miraculously, it survived the Great War in its entirety and has since become the headquarters of the Neighborhood Watch and John Hancock.

1714 C.E.

The Soil Stradivarius Manufactured

One of the most prized instruments ever made by Italian craftsmen Antonio Stradivari, the two-century-old Soil (pronounced “swal”) was owned pre-War by Hilda Egglebrecht. It can be found in Fallout 3’s Vault 92, in the case and as part of Agatha’s quest Agatha’s Song.

1723 C.E.

Old North Church Built

Eventually gaining the title of “oldest church in the city,” Boston’s Old North Church was built in 1723. It is still the tallest standing church, with its steeple reaching nearly 200 feet. It is now home to the Railroad and connected to their HQ. There are catacombs from the Revolutionary War underneath it. It’s only found in Fallout 4.

1733 C.E.

Trinity Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, and the original site (on Summer Street) was burned down in the Great Fire of Boston of 1872. The current church was erected under Rector Philips Brooks in the 1870s. The Sole Survivor can explore it, so long as they are ready to confront several mutants. It’s a location in several quests, including, Cleansing the Commonwealth, Diamond City’s Most Wanted, Leading by Example, and Randolph Safehouse.

1742 C.E.

Faneuil Hall Completed, Donated

Nicknamed “the Cradle of Liberty,” Faneuil Hall was donated to the city of Boston in 1742 by Peter Faneuil and it later served as a commercial hub in colonial Massachusetts. Shem Drowne’s gilded grasshopper, constructed that year, sits at the top. The Sole Survivor can explore it in Fallout 4.

May 25th: Gilded Grasshopper Created

In Fallout 4, the Grasshopper is a unique junk item and part of the quest The Gilded Grasshopper, after which, it has no other uses. It was created in 1742 by Shem Drowne and placed atop Faneuil Hall. In Fallout 4, it is found as a windvane on the roof of the building, and a replica can be found in Fallout 76, in Appalachian Antiques. It cannot be picked up.

1755 C.E.

The Cape Ann Earthquake

The Cape Ann quake damaged much of Massachusetts, including the colony of Boston. It remains the largest earthquake in the history of Massachusetts. No one was killed, but the east coast saw a load of physical damages, including Boston and its Faneuil Hall. The Gilded Grasshopper was damaged.

1768 C.E.

June 28th: Gilded Grasshopper Restored

Shem Drowne’s son Thomas restores and returns the Gilded Grasshopper to the top of Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. He placed a note inside the Grasshopper, which according to Marty Bullfinch leads to Shem’s treasure. The note is a minorly altered version of a real letter placed inside the hopper in Boston. The only difference between them is the line about Drowne’s treasure. In Fallout 4, the note leads to Shem’s burial and a variety of items buried with him.

We’re now on the brink of the Revolutionary War, which we’ll pick back up at in our next episode of Fallout discussion. For now, I hope you’ve enjoyed, I hope your urge to explore the worlds of Fallout has been tickled, and I hope you’ll like, comment, and subscribe/follow me here and on my socials. I hope you have a wonderful time. Bye-bye!

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