| Elin VII | |
|---|---|
| |
| Elin VII | |
| Queen of Álengiamark | |
| Reign | 31st November, 1702 - 14th February, 1712 |
| Predecessor | Gunndis |
| Successor | Herridr I |
| Born | 3rd June, 1655 Nahigavik, Sudervik Fylk, Álengiamark |
| Died | 14th February, 1712 Svartaskógrbær, Sudervik Fylk, Álengiamark |
| Spouse | Þorsteinn Jóhannsson |
| Issue | Kristjan Þorsteinnsson Sigurður Þorsteinnsson |
| Full name | |
| Elin Pjetúrsdottír | |
| House | Eiriksdottír |
| Father | Pjetúr Pjetúrsson |
| Mother | Hjördís Birgirsdottír |
"Elin's lasting legacy to Álengiamark was to gracefully die at the right time" Eyþór Magnússon, mathematician and Master of the Mint.
Elin VII nominally ruled Álengiamark in the early 1700s. Her reign is usually recognised as merely a moribund placeholder before her more dynamic successor Herridr I.
Succeeding Gunndis in 1702 she stayed in St. Hafdiss for all of three weeks following her coronation then moved decisively back to her husband's estate Svartaskógrbær in northern Moheganland. She sent a single letter to Guðni Reynirsson, Mayor of the Palace, which instructed him to take good care of the Royal Domain (which he was doing anyway irregardless) and then essentially retired from public life.
Álengiamark trundled on without her. Many of the various earldoms, lordships and church lands had woken up to the riches available to trade and, following the destruction of Akinnahborg's modest fleet in 1697, there was a concerted effort to build a merchant fleet capable of reaching Indian markets under its own power. Distrust and rivalry between the separate fiefs made this unachievable especially as none could build a cost-effective merchant fleet and the warships necessary to keep them safe from piracy. The one earldom which did have the resources, Moheganland (thanks to its gold monopoly from Snjorjamark), also had little interest in being the workhorse. Álengiamark's navy was to all intents non-existent. The Royal Domain built a few offensive vessels in the late 1600s but this was mainly to protect their own shipments to and from the Taino Sea, not provide protection for all Álengsk merchants. Demands to Guðni Reynirsson to provide funds for a navy were rebuffed. Again the merchants would have to fall back on the old method of booking places in the Portuguese and Leonese trade fleets which cut into their profit margins.
Moheganland's import and utter dependency on gold was beginning to cause disruption to the rest of the country too. Most of it would end up going to European merchants to pay for the cargoes Álengsk merchants couldn't reach for themselves, which stifled home industries and meant the prices of common goods slowly escalated. More and more military effort was required to hold on the goldfields and the 'Gullvega' route too. Vinland's wars against the Lakota and the still ongoing Ninety-Year War of the Roasjoinn North-West meant there were several large bands of well-armed mercenary groups in western Leifia willing to raid the Álengsk route. In 1704 a punative expedition was sent into Tewaland (now in Mexica) after a gold shipment was raided by them. The army group promptly got lost and had to abandon most of the artillery (which was unnecessary as the Tewa had no real forts to reduce anyway). Disease would kill a third of the army before it made its way back to the Gullvega having burnt only a single Tewan town for its troubles. The debacle ruined Moheganland's standing with the Althing, which, politically limited as it was, helped raise militia from the smaller semi-independent lordships, towns and abbey lands.
The Althing itself was beginning to see the pressing need for change. Most of its representatives came from the Royal Domain which was well-run but lacked the clout to carry the entire country. The rest came from various minor lordships and independent towns, eager to boost trade and stabilise the economy. When the earldoms sent representatives there they were usually beholden only to the earls and blocked the meagre reforms suggested.
Dying in 1712 of dropsy which had affected her most of her life she would be succeeeded by Guðni Reynirsson's granddaughter Herridr Kristófersdottír who would thouroughly reform Álengiamark and the crown.
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