The Second Part of the Description of the New Blazing-World explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Female Agency and Empowerment

  The Empress, guided by the Duchess, takes command of a military expedition, orchestrates strategy, and imposes her will on foreign nations, demonstrating female leadership and authority.

• Power and Governance

  The Empress uses her hybrid subjects and fire-stones to enforce tribute, destroy enemy fleets, and subdue nations, illustrating the exercise of absolute power and imperial control.

• War and Conflict

  The chapter details a naval campaign involving fire-stone attacks, destruction of ships, and burning of towns, emphasizing strategic warfare and the use of unconventional weapons.

Characters to notice

• The Empress

  Leads the expedition to her native world, commands various hybrid subjects, and directs military actions against enemy fleets and nations.

• The Duchess of Newcastle

  Advises the Empress on strategy, including the use of Fish-men and fire-stones, and suggests building underwater ships.

• The Worm-men

  Sent to the burning-mountains to collect fire-stones, and later deployed to place fire-stones under foundations of enemy towns.

• The Fish-men

  Serve as underwater escorts, draw ships with golden chains, and destroy enemy ships by holding fire-stones out of the water.

• The Bear-men

  Serve as lookouts using telescopes to spot the enemy fleet, and later view towns and cities for targeting.

• The Bird-men

  Carry fire-stones in their beaks during the night attack, rest on ship decks, and later place fire-stones on rooftops and deliver warnings to enemy towns.

• The Giants

  Build the ships that can swim underwater, as requested by the Duchess.

Key passages

• “Your Majesty must send a number of Worm-men to the burning-mountains (for you have good store of them in the Blazing-World) which must get a great quantity of the fire-stone, whose property, you know, is, that it burns so long as it is wet; and the ships in the other world being all made of wood, they may by that means set them all on fire; and if you can but destroy their ships, and hinder their navigation, you will be mistress of all that world, by reason most parts thereof cannot live without navigation.”

  The Duchess advises the Empress to send Worm-men to collect fire-stones from the burning-mountains, which burn when wet, to set enemy wooden ships on fire and thereby gain control of the world by crippling its navigation-dependent nations.

  The Duchess outlines the strategic use of fire-stones to achieve naval supremacy.

• “The Empress before she came in sight of the enemy, sent some of her Fish- and Bird-men to bring her intelligence of their fleet; and hearing of their number, their station and posture, she gave order that when it was night, her Bird-men should carry in their beaks some of the mentioned fire-stones, with the tops thereof wetted; and the Fish-men should carry them likewise, and hold them out of the water; for they were cut in the form of torches or candles, and being many thousands, made a terrible show; for it appeared as if all the air and sea had been of a flaming-fire; and all that were upon the sea, or near it, did verily believe, the time of Judgment, or the Last Day was come, which made them all fall down, and pray.”

  The Empress dispatches Fish- and Bird-men to scout the enemy fleet, then orders a night attack where thousands of Bird- and Fish-men carry wet-tipped fire-stones, creating a terrifying illusion of a universal fire that causes the enemy to pray in fear.

  The psychological impact of the fire-stone attack is described, likened to a divine judgment.

• “The Empress sent them word, that in case they did not submit to him, she intended to fire all their towns and cities, and reduce them by force, to what they would not yield with a good will. But they rejected and scorned her Majesty’s message, which provoked her anger so much, that she resolved to send her Bird- and Worm-men thither, with order to begin first with their smaller towns, and set them on fire (for she was loath to make more spoil than she was forced to do) and if they remained still obstinate in their resolutions, to destroy also their greater cities.”

  The Empress threatens to burn all towns and cities of nations that refuse to submit to her native king; when they scorn her, she orders Bird- and Worm-men to first set fire to smaller towns, escalating to larger cities if needed.

  The Empress escalates her campaign from naval blockade to direct destruction of land targets.