In the year 1600, the Five Kingdoms of Karnetvor enjoyed an uneasy peace. Molotov had defeated a Hyrellian invasion (1560-1570), maintaining its hold on power. Its ally Karnetia, after founding the port of Petrovka in Tasternine, started building a navy to protect the settlement and conduct trade with its new trade partner, Sedunn, the Tasterninian kingdoms, and the Resentine Kingdom to the north. Molotov soon started to distrust the Karnetians, regarding its naval buildup as a threat. The last straw came in 1601; a Karnetian naval squadron took over a Sovonorian outpost on the Jetikyan coast, ejecting its garrison. Karnetia turned the outpost into a settlement, Vostokgrad, using it as a resupply station for trade ships coming from the south and for vessels which took the so-called "Southern Route" to Tasternine. Molotov complained that the area was in its sphere of influence, but Karnetia refused to cede the port or any of the outposts it had taken. Molotovian king John I then tried to take the settlement by force. He was repulsed, but the writing was on the wall. The Molotovian-Karnetian War had begun.

After trying (and failing) to take the settlement two more times, King John organized a naval expedition against Petrovka. It was a disaster almost from the beginning; as it was forced to take the Southern Route, the expedition was attacked by Karnetian ships near Vostokgrad, endured numerous Sovonorian attacks to the south of the continent, and suffered enormous losses in a storm. As a result of the losses, the remains of the fleet were annihilated by the Karnetian fleet in Tasternine. Most of the surviving crew members were either captured by the Karnetians or by the native Tasterninians; in the latter's case the survivors were sold into slavery. Even after this tremendous victory, the war put tremendous strain in Karnetia's economy. After seven years of continous attacks on its settlements, and an attempted invasion of Molotov, Karnetia was forced to sue for peace. Molotov's victory cost it dearly on the long run; with its army and navy destroyed and the country's economy ruined, Molotov was not able to capitalize on its gains, and was easy prey to a Hyrellian attack a decade later, never again recovering its lost prestige. Karnetia, on the other hand, managed to keep Vostokgrad, and years later, expanded its territory around the city, creating the colony of Novaya Karnetia (from the Karnetvorian, Новая Карнетя; "New Karnetia").

Defeat in the war against Molotov created discontent in Karnetia; as food prices soared, and famine struck the less developed areas of the country, the populace started to resent the ruling Van Heyden family, in part because of they being Australs, while most Karnetians were Karnetvorian speakers. However the Van Heydens managed to keep themselves in power for another 34 years. A destructive incursion in Petrovka by Tasterninian pirates in February 1638 caused outrage when the news arrived to the capital three months later; all the years of resentment resulted in angry mobs taking arms against the king, Charles II, The king was initially successful in containing the rebellion, but after three years, and with the rebel armies, now headed by nobleman Vladimir Pavlović, approaching, he was deposed by his brother, Peter II. He too failed to defeat them, and on July 24th, 1642, was captured by the rebels when they entered the capital, Drižny. He was beheaded, and his head thrown to the Pazzini river. Vladimir assumed the throne as Vladimir I, of the Pavlović Dynasty. In some way or another, the Pavlović royal family would stay in power for 346 years.

Vladimir's reign was short, only lasting four years. He was succeeded by his son, Alexander I. Alexander proved to be a more than capable statesman; after making diplomatic visits to various countries, including Sovonor, the Resentine Kingdom, and Sedunn, he implemented sweeping reforms in Karnetia, in order to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and modernize the country. He successfully centralized the kingdom, eliminating any noble or aristocrat not willing to submit to a central authority. He modernized the administration, created universities, reformed the monetary system, and created new taxes in order to fund numerous public works. He also reorganized and modernized the army and the navy; Alexander wanted Karnetia to become a maritime power, which he achieved by creating the most powerful navy in the region.

Karnetia's military might was put to test when Endville, after years of rivalry, attacked the kingdom in 1654. The Karnetian-Endvillian War was a complete victory for Karnetia, who was able to counterattack and defeat Endville in two years. After defeating its nearby rivals, Karnetia turned its sights to the sea. After taking full control of the island of Karniya, where Petrovka is located, Karnetia founded settlements on the coast near Tasternine. As these posessions were a crucial link between East and West, they allowed Karnetia to dominate the trans-Pacific trade routes with Sedunn, although with fierce competition with Resentine, Sovonor, and the Sedunners themselves. This trade was mainly based on goods not found on the opposing continent, such as tea (introduced in Karnetvor by Erinoran traders in the 14th Century, and cultivated in Tasternine) and maize from the West, and potatoes and sugar from the East. As such, it was highly lucrative, and the maritime nations where the trade originated were in a constant state of rivalry with each other.

In order to bypass Resentinian influence, Karnetia created colonies and outposts along the Southern Route around the continent; the most important being the island of Baliish, seized in 1699. When Resentine increased its operations in the area, Karnetia turned to financing privateers and pirates to attack rival ships, especially Resentinian ships. This tactic proved to be a double-edged sword; when the government of Karnetia stopped paying, the pirates started attacking Karnetian shipping as well. There were also attempts to enlarge Novaya Karnetia; this convinced the other kingdoms to found their own colonies to the south, popularly known as "the Southern Territories/Lands". 

Alexander I died in 1702, being succeeded by his son, Nicholas I; he defeated a declining Sovonor in 1710-1711, obtaining a guarantee of free passage for Karnetian shipping. His daughter, Elizabeth, crowned in 1721, she gained territory from Nitraen in 1725, and renovated the city of Drižny, turning it into a worldwide center for culture and the arts. However, her reign was marked by the disastrous Resentino-Karnetian War (1745-1750); following decades of continous attacks on Resentinian shipping by Karnetian sponsored pirates, Resentinian king Alexandras I ordered the Resentinian navy to stop any Karnetian vessel making the voyage to the east through the Northern Route. Dozens of ships were detained and their cargo seized, and dozens more were sunk when their crews refused to surrender. Infuriated, Queen Elizabeth declared war. After five years of continous naval warfare in the Strait and the Tasternine Sea, and land battles in Novaya Karnetia, Baliish, and the Karnetian colonies in the Antarctic and the Mid-Western mainland, Karnetia surrendered, being unable to defend all of its possessions at once. Karnetia was forced to cede Baliish and its Antarctic settlements (the latter were later returned), and grant Resentine certain concessions, such as the right to use Karnetian ports and a guarantee to stop its attacks against Resentinian shipping. In return, Resentine stopped seizing Karnetian ships in its waters.  Queen Elizabeth managed to survive the debacle, but fell into a deep depression as a result of the defeat. She became a recluse, and died a year after the end of the war, either killing herself by drinking poison or by an alcohol overdose. She was succeeded by her son, Peter III.

The century between 1646 and 1750 is known as "the Golden Century", as it gave Karnetia levels of prosperity not seen since the 14th Century. The continous flow of goods from the East, while giving enormous wealth to Karnetia, also benefited the other kingdoms. As a result, the arts, such as literature, painting, and architecture flourished during this period, with Peach Creek being host to hundreds of influential artists. Science also progressed, with the creation of the Royal University of Drižny , and the government sponsored Royal Academy of Sciences.

By the 1750's a newly organized Kingdom of Jetikya, eager to recover the territory it had lost to the Karnetvorian kingdoms, started preparing for war. The kingdoms were unaware, each focusing on dominating the other. They were taken by surprise when Jetikya invaded the colonies in 1753.