Setting Timeline

The following timeline is a rough sketch of the timeline of the setting as is currently canon for our World of Darkness; Fog of Eternity posts, Character background, and future fleshing out of the timeline on our part will add to this timeline; Please note that your character is not aware of the details of this timeline; it is included here solely for your reference.

• 1225 - Estimated date of first settlement on the river Amstel, and construction of the first dikes initiated out of Utrecht.

• 1250 - Construction of a dam is completed.

• 1275 - First historic reference to the settlement, then known as Aemstelledam. Due to frequent floods, agriculture proves difficult; and the population is forced to turn to fishing and shipping industries to support itself, the first port evolves along the present day Damrak, and trade flourishes. In that same year, Count Floris V of Holland bestowed tax exemption status on the fisherman of Aemstelledam; a move against the Lords of Amstel, who ran the settlement in the name of Utrecht, and who were increasingly showing themselves to be more and more independent from Utrecht and Holland.

• 1280 - Count Floris V either orders the construction of the Muiderslot Castle, or purchases it in existing condition (historians disagree on it's exact age)

• 1296 - Count Floris V is assasinated near the Muiderslot.

• 1297 - Rotgrafen attack seafarers near Amsterdam, and raid the town for minimal effect.

• 1306 - The Catholic Bishop of Utrecht, Gwijde van Henegouwen, bestows city rights to Amsterdam; allowing the city to provide for it's own defense in the form of city walls and militias.

• 1308 - Sanctified Kindred from the Arch-Bishopdom of Utrecht attack Rotgrafen vessels, and send out additional aid to far-flung Sanctified domains that have been under Rotgrafen attacks.

• 1317 - Gwijde van Henegouwen dies and Amsterdam comes into the posession of Willem III. It is now no longer a settlement of the Bishopdom Utrecht, but a city of the countship Holland.

• 1545 - Adalwar, the Gilded Witch-bane arrives in the city, and is revered as one of the Saints of the Dutch Lancea Sanctum. She takes only a minor role in the local politics, and largely confines herself to her studies and prayers.

• 1566 - Year of the Beeldenstorm, the Dutch Reformation Iconoclastic period, which saw the vandalism of hundreds of Roman-Catholic churches and monastaries, including in Amsterdam, and marked the beginning of the rebellion against Catholic Spain.

• 1578 - The Alteration. The Catholic city government which supported the Spanish was removed from power in an orderly fashion, and the city joined the other Dutch cities and provinces in the struggle for independence.

• 1585 - Fall of Antwerp. The conquest of Antwerp, at that time the most prominent trading city in Europe, at the hands of the Spanish, led to a mass exodus of traders and Portuge Jews, who all fled to Amsterdam. The blockade of the Schelde by the Dutch Geuzen led to an ever greater opportunity for Amsterdam, and it quickly grew into the richest city the world had ever known.

• 1602 - Founding of the VOC, the Dutch United East-India Company. The world's first multinational corporation, and the first company to issue stock. It quickly grew into an important force in east asia; By 1669, the VOC was the richest private company the world had ever seen, with over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees, a private army of 10,000 soldiers, and a dividend payment of 40%.

• 1609 - The Council of Princes is established, holding it's first great convention. 41 Princes from across the 17 Netherlands convene in Utrecht to discuss matters of mutual interest, and to decide on future standards for the Council.

• 1611 - Garinus Lueberge arrives in the domain and establishes himself in a monastary outside the city walls.

• 1612 - The members of House Hellengraf arrive in the city, and make their home amongst the transplanted Jewish immigrants who flock to the city for it's religious freedoms.

• 1648 - The Priscus of the Ventrue goes missing. An investigation into his haven reveals nothing but the ashes belonging to several unknown Kindred.

• 1652 - Garinus the Younger embraced.

• 1657 - The second great convention of the Council of Princes is called, to discuss events in England. A greater percentage of Dutch Princes attends, resulting in the attendance of 50 Princes.

• 1663 - The Plague hits Amsterdam and kills at least 34.000 individuals. The court blames the disease on the arrival of a young neonate although the claim is immediately denounced by others within the city.

• 1664 - Following the eruption of the Plague in the previous year, which continues into 1664, aswell as the disagreement over the cause of the disease, open violence erupts at a gathering of Elysium, and a period of unrest begins which is frequently referred to as a civil war, often given such names as; 'The war of the Black Death', 'The Pestilence Uprising', and 'The decade of Black Blood'.

• 1667 - Garinus Lueberge is assasinated, and his childe blames the Osites. Open conflict erupts between the two bloodlines in the city.

• 1669 - The Kindred 'civil war' officially ends with estimates on the final death toll sitting anywhere between 6 to 18 Kindred, and assorted Ghouls.

• 1672 - As England, France, Cologne, and Munster invade the republic, the Council convenes for the third time in it's history, in the certain knowledge that the invasion is orchestrated by foreign Kindred in an effort to hamper Dutch trade superiority. The council succesfully finds allies in a number of German states.

• 1674 - Having succesfully repelled the invasion, England, Cologne and Munster sign a peace treaty with the Republic. France follows in 1678.

• 1679 - Lightning strikes the Jordaan and causes a great fire which levels much of the district. The loss of a prominent Invictus Primogen who made his haven there, results in a period of tension between the Invictus and the Lancea Sanctum, as the Invictus blames Theban Sorcery for the event.

• 1680 - Having convinced the Invictus that the Circle of the Crone is responsible for the fire, the Lancea Sanctum and the Invictus purge and destroy an Acolyte cult in Amstelveen.

• 1687 - Johannes Berkhof is embraced by Nelleke van Nooi.

• 1689 - King James II of England is deposed, and the Dutch Stadtholder Willem III is asked to become King of England, and lands a Dutch army carried by a huge fleet (bigger than the Spanish Armade a century prior) in England to secure his new position. Kindred politicking is suspected by the English, and both Dutch and English Kindred start a new war of influence. Due to the successes gained by Willem III in reforming the English government, ironically enough, the Republic will eventually lose it's trading superiority to England.

• 1690 - Fourth Great Convention is called to organize matters regarding Willem III but fails to come up with any lasting solutions.

• 1708 - Francisca de Graaf is embraced.

• 1747 - The Dutch Invictus manages to excercise it's clout to put Willem IV in the position of Stadtholder, and expand his power to near that of a King. However, he dies 4 years later. It is widely considered to be the last great 'overt' rule over mortal society in the Netherlands orchestrated by Kindred. Though the Kindred by and large don't cease their attempts to control mortal affairs and gain power, the failure of the Willem IV attempt prove that such control can no longer be a matter of brute social force.

• 1753 - The fifth greath convention is called. Efforts are undertaken to limit potentially masquerade breaching excercizes of temporal power. In addition, the Invictus Prince responsible for the Willem IV incident is executed, his holdings falling to the nearest domain.

• 1767 - Bishop Peterszoon voluntarily steps down to assume a role within the Archbishopdom of Utrecht. He is replaced by a Daeva; Marinus Van Acolyen.

• 1780 - Following the discovery of a secret trade treaty between the city of Amsterdam and the American rebels, Great Brittain declares war on the Dutch Republic, resulting in the fourth (and last) Anglo-Dutch war which lasted for four years. It practically destroyed the Republic's already several reduced economic power.

• 1787 - Revolt staged by the Patriot party against the authoritarian rule of Stadtholder Willem V; It is struck down by an intervention of his brother-in-law however; Frederick William II of Prussia. Most Patriots go into exile in France.

• 1792 - Johannes Berkhof is named Principial Inquisitor of the Lancea Sanctum in Amsterdam.

• 1794 - Following the French Revolution, which was enthustiastically supported by the Dutch Patriots; the French and Dutch Patriots invade the Dutch Republic, and quickly manage to secure the country using the help of the population, which by and large supported the French. This support did not last long, as the perceived liberation turned to an occupation, and the country was reduced to nothing more than a puppet state.

• 1795 - On January the 19th, the Batavian Republic is proclaimed after the decade of unrest and civil strife that followed the disastrous fourth anglo-dutch war. Willem V flees to England.

• 1796 - Loss of Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) to the British results, along with the events regarding France, result in a total loss of confidence from the Dutch Ventrue, who are finally beginning to accept that their country has lost the struggle for dominance with the British and French. At this time, they begin researching new avenues of enhancing their personal influence.

• 1802 - Seeing the need for an increased powerbase (and some say with hidden knowledge of the coming coup), the Lancea Sanctum sees itself forced to consider the embrace of a number of individuals. Bishop van Acoleyen personally embraces Antonius Severijn.

• 1805 - A coterie of 5 Invictus ancillae, including Francisca de Graaf, orchestrate a bloody coup, killing Prince Haco and all of his ardent supporters, and establishing what they call a 'Kerzian' council (The accented term 'Kerzian', would later become the name for the Carthian movement). Within six months, three of the council members had been assasinated, and the remaining two fled the domain.

• 1806 - The Batavian Republic is ended as Napoleon Bonaparte installs his brother, Louis, as King of the Netherlands.

• Following the restoration of Invictus power, a new Prince takes the reigns of the city; a Ventrue by the name of Cornelis Hendriks. He reorganizes the laws and domain politics in order to avoid a repeat of the 1805 uprising, and reluctantly finds himself forced to allow a great number of unaligned into the city.

• 1813 - With the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Leipzig, the Netherlands is no longer part of the French Empire, and Willem V's son becomes the sovereign Prince of the Netherlands.

• 1815 - Congress of Vienna; The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is formed by unifying Belgium and the Netherlands.

• 1830 - Belgium becomes independent.

• 1840 - Aloysius Schenk is embraced.

• 1862 - Cato Wesp is embraced.

• 1906 - The first of the Badacelli of Amsterdam arrives, known as Fiddle, who quickly sets herself up in the city's underground before her descent into the bloodline is complete and she loses her sight. It's unknown at which dates the various other Badacelli that follow are embraced.

• 1908 - After years of violence, the Carthians firmly plant themselves back into the city under the leadership of Ancel Fuhrmann.

• 1918 - The entirety of the Gangrel bloodline known as the Barjot arrives in the Greater-Amsterdam region and declare allegiance with the Carthian Movement.

• 1920 - The erratic/uncivilized behaviour of the Barjot bloodline leads to problems for the Carthian movement. Ancel Fuhrmann attempts to banish the bloodline from the domain before they hurt the reputation of the Movement any further. However, while the bloodline moves on, the damage has been done, and the Carthians are violently removed from the city by the Invictus.

• 1926 - The first members of the Tianpan Xiao bloodline arrive in Europe through the port of Amsterdam, following the Chinse Migration that lasted until 1930. Between 1926 and 1929, no less than half a dozen Xiao arrive in the city, but quickly move to parts unknown.

• 1942 - While most Kindred spend the war in voluntary torpor, or otherwise make the effort of staying out of the sights of the nazi occupiers, one Kindred, by the name of Viktor Thalberg, makes his way into the city, and is reputed to have dealings with occult factions within the local nazi party.

• 1945 - The Lancea Sanctum takes control of the city under the leadership of Antonius Severijn amidst the chaos of the last winter of the war, the notorious 'hunger winter' that gripped the nation and which reportedly resulted in a considerable degree of chaos amongst the Invictus at the time. Cato Wesp takes over as Bishop of the Lancea Sanctum, as Marinus Van Acoleyen meets final death in an incident with the nazi's.

• 1947 - A coterie of six Invictus neonates enters the city, intent on re-establishing it as an Invictus held domain.

• 1949 - The coterie of Invictus neonates make a move against the Prince, however, their efforts are stopped short, two of them meet final death, whilst the others are sentenced to extended Torpor.

• 1961 - Blaine Daniels arrives in the city.

• 1963 - Andrew Fulheim arrives in the city.

• The country experiences the coldest winter of the 20th century. It's so cold that the ijsselmeer becomes so frozen that cars can drive over it.

• 1965 - Second Beeldenstorm (Iconoclastic 'statue storm') takes place in the Netherlands and to a lesser degree France. After the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, the Dutch churches rejected the Council's decrees on the basis that they weren't radically new enough. Latin for masses was abolished. Medieval history was removed from the liturgy. And other traditions, such as the confession were seen as superfluous and often ignored. And old statues of the saints were removed aswell. In later periods, particularly the 70's, similar changes occured in Catholic churches across the world. The Catholic church had to deal with a vastly reduced visitor count. And due to financial reasons, often sold entire inventories of churches before bringing them down, even reliquaries were sold to antique-dealers. In the 21th century, this movement has begun to reverse, with young priests engaging in a 'restauration' of pre second beeldenstorm values and image.

• 1966 - Blaine Daniels gets named Hound.

• 1981 - Lorraine Delauney arrives in the city.

• 1985 - Adela Hirsch, an enigmatic Kindred embraced at an early age arrives in the Greater-Amsterdam region, avoiding the attention of the Sanctified court, and quickly establishes herself as a Haruspex of the Second Descent.

• 1986 - Sean Ellington is embraced by Blaine Daniels; at the same time however, a wave of illegal embraces wash over the Greater-Amsterdam region, linked to the notorious covenant known as Belial's Brood. Most of these childer are believed destroyed in the ensuing hunt.

• 1992 - Amelie Hees is illegally embraced by Anton de Maas, who is subsequently destroyed for his crime when it comes to light three months later.

• 1993 - Kenny Harlingen is embraced by Andrew Fulheim.

• 1998 - Horatius Macellarius approaches Prince Antonius Severijn, offering to incorporate the town of Beverwijk under the domain of Greater-Amsterdam, with Horatius as it's Tenurial Regent. The two parties come to a quick and reasonable agreement, and through a number of lavish dinner parties (which quickly become the stuff of legend in regards to the Macellarius' ferocious appetite), the new Regent establishes himself as a social figurehead of the local Invictus.

• 1999 - Two Kindred claiming to belong to a prestigious Nosferatu bloodline that is regarded as it's own clan in India, arrive in Amsterdam and petition the Prince to allow them residence in the city. Their petition is accepted.

• 2001 - The 'Wandering Wingless', Nelchael, arrives in the city, and takes the position of Herald after the former, a neonate by the name of Jochem Kraaisma turns up missing.

• The Invictus interrupts a meeting between a number of radical Acolyte and Carthian Kindred that have gathered within the greater domain of Amsterdam to discuss certain fringe theories about Vampires and the Ventrue. An unknown number of the meeting's attendees is destroyed.

• 2003 - Cherry is embraced by an unknown Kindred of Clan Nosferatu.

• The Dutch underworld, of Amsterdam in particular, enters a period of violence and struggle as numerous people are being liquidated/assasinated by organized criminal elements. In 3 years, at least 16 people linked to Dutch organized crime were assasinated. Almost all of them were assasinated within Amsterdam, but at least one was assasinated while on vacation/self-imposed exile in Thailand.

• 2004 - Sean Ellington is tasked with setting up a Kindred controlled late-night talkshow on a local radiostation called K-LARP. The aim is to spread disinformation to the mortal population, while at the same time providing for a way to deliver coded messages to those in the know.

• 2005 - The Nosferatu coterie known as 'RCI56', a small collective of former streetpunks and gang members, mysteriously dissapears from their claimed domain in the industrial port. The leader of the coterie leaves a message for the Prince stating that they are leaving for Rotterdam.

• 2006 - The printing presses of three national newspapers were attacked by unknown assailants using anti-tank rockets. In addition, the building of QuoteNet Media, owned by an individual who made disparaging comments about the lawyer of a major crime boss (Holleeder), was fired upon using an assault rifle or machine gun.

• 2007 - The Nosferatu known as 'Shake' makes an appearance for the first time to a number of low-placed Kindred, offering a taste of a Kindred-specific drug known as 'Solace', he charges inordinate amounts of money for even a single hit of the substance, but his clients can't get enough, and soon; word of the drug is tentatively spread amongst those Kindred who aren't likely to encourage an official investigation in order to shut it down.

• Reports circulate in the media of renewed organized crime related violence, as the Dai Huen Jai Triad clashes with local chapters of the Bloods, and other gangs.

• In further organized crime related events, Willem Holleeder, infamous crime boss and often called the real leader of the Hell's Angels, was sentenced to jail for extortion of real estate magnates. He gained fame in 1983 for being one of the kidnappers of Freddy Heineken (of the brand/company). His trial, called the trial of the century in Dutch media, was to take place in a high-security courthouse known colloqially as the bunker. On the night before the start of the trial, the courthouse was attacked by at least one anti-tank rocket, and the trial had to be moved to another building. The crown witness in the trial, was later found dead in his own home.