1811-1816 – On Death’s Door
The session of Parliament at the start of January was a lively one, as the possibility of an extended franchise was presented. It failed to gain the necessary votes in both houses, and yet another bill to remove the appointed positions failed to gain enough support. Pleas for intervention directed at Emperor Alfons IX fell on deaf ears. He refused to use his power to pass these bills without the support of both houses, at least until he felt all avenues had been taken. The Emperor was in an irritable mood as he left Parliament that day, and that aggravation was the tipping point for his worsening health. Even as he reached his 70s, Alfons continued to carry out his Crown and prime ministerial duties entirely on his own. While still mentally sound, his body was not able to keep up with lengthy work hours and constant stress. Upon leaving Parliament, he abruptly collapsed mid-conversation while discussing some archaic law with Minister of Trade Charles Gustave de Saint-Pierre, having to be rushed to his chambers and the royal physician called. The next few weeks were tense as everyone waited to see if the elderly Emperor would survive. By the end of January, an answer was given, and it was good news: The Emperor would recover. The doctor recommended bedrest and that Alfons refrain from overworking himself. Despite this, the Emperor continued to conduct business from his bedchamber, although on a much smaller scale.
((An interesting anecdote here. Just as I was starting the update, 05 pointed out the 1444 Artisan Support Act. I’ve mostly kept up with it over the years, but I guess prices had risen for some things, so there were a few provinces that needed their production boosted. After doing that, I realized that with the Minister of the Interior wanting universities built, it would have been smarter to develop the provinces required after building those. Just as I was going to restart the update, seeing as I’d only played like a week, the game offed the Emperor. Usually I don’t like doing gamey things, but since I was going to restart anyway because of my error, it’d only been two weeks in-game and I didn’t want to end right there, and with the Emperor likely to die soon anyway, I went ahead with restarting as planned. You could say that thanks to 05 and that ancient law, the Emperor lived… at least a bit longer.
))The Emperor’s ailing health was a great concern to many, but business needed to proceed as usual. The Minister of the Interior, Emiliano Faixòn, put government funds to use establishing universities across the Empire. Most focus was given to Iberia and Naples, for Northern Italy possessed an inordinate number of universities already.
The larger nations of the world moved into action at the start of 1811 as three separate wars were begun on the same day. The UKA continued its expansion westward by attacking Sioux. Lithuania increasingly saw its future in the steppes as it attacked Bukhara. Scandinavia felt the need for a colonial adventure, declaring war on Malacca. For that last one, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pere de Trastámara accidentally committed a minor faux pas. With his ministry’s intention to wage war against Kaffa, he feared that Scandinavia would derail those plans by asking for assistance. He informed the Scandinavian ambassador that Hispania wished them well in their war but they wouldn’t be participating. Seeing as Scandinavia hadn’t even asked for help yet, this was taken as a slight. Pere refrained from personally participating in diplomatic exchanges from then on.
Even though the Emperor was mostly bedridden, he had heard the complaints of the merchants and encouraged his Minister of Trade to act accordingly. When the TATC faced further financial trouble again, this time a different reaction was given. Funds were siphoned away from the Crown to revitalize the trading company. The Crown would better look out after the merchant class from now on.
As the armies sailed and marched towards Arabia and East Africa, Minister of War Joan de Trastámara suggested a little detour. Seeing as his brother had already called for war with Egypt, he ordered the first armies in the area to engage in hostilities with the Egyptians to remove the festering boil in Hispanian Egypt.
Captain General Fernando de Leon led the attack on Fayoum, while Lieutenant General Maximiliao Dias secured Minya before moving onwards to the Kaffa border. The battle was a simple affair. The Egyptians had not expected a war yet and had been in the midst of constructing fortifications, ones that weren’t completed before the battle began. They surrendered after two days, not wanting to face further losses.
Prince Joan started leaning more on a talented recruiter, Ali Bey, to convince men to join the army. He wove tales of glory in battle and serving one’s country. Recruits signed up in greater numbers wherever he chose to speak on the matter. The Prince needed these men for his next gambit.
Fayoum’s lack of defences made it so vulnerable that it fell in little over two months. Leon departed shortly after, his job done in Egypt.
The truce with Austria ended in July, and Prince Joan was outside their borders in Bavaria that very day. He decided to lead this campaign personally while the other generals were on their way to Arabia. The Exercits Provence and Venice were enough to handle what was left of Austria. War was soon declared, as Crown Prince Pere had requested.
Egypt was wiped off the map a second time in August, accepting defeat once and for all.
Austria wasn’t going down so easily as Egypt though. Their army, despite being vastly outnumbered, fought for every inch of ground as they fended off the Hispanian army. Ultimately, Hispania proved victorious, although only after several thousand men lost their lives.
By the end of October, most armies had been moved into place for a war with Kaffa. Hejaz made the unwise decision to assist Kaffa, but they would be nothing more than a mild nuisance. Joan left clear instructions on how to proceed. Dias with three armies was to march south from Egypt, with a fourth added if needed, to push into Kaffa’s heartland. San Dionisio was tasked with securing the Horn of Africa, with von Politz to arrive later to assist. Leon with two armies was to land in Hejaz by ship, and then push on into Kaffa Arabia once Hejaz had fallen. The well-oiled machine went into motion quickly.
With recent controversy surrounding the potential lack of competitiveness amongst of Hispania’s merchants, they were encouraged to pursue faster trade negotiations, ensuring Hispania always got the best deal first. Such a strategy paid off as the merchant class continued to grow. ((Yet another merchant. I sent this one to Goa to further shift our trade from Asia towards Europe.))
Kaffa proved it was not up to the task of fending off a Hispanian invasion. San Dionisio captured Werder in a month and then scared off an army of 20k that was lingering around.
At sea, the Aden trade fleet ran into a tiny Kaffa fleet that was unable to escape.
Afghanistan had faced great difficulties after being granted its independence. Without proper institutions in place, the nation faced a period of internal conflict.
Byzantium ended its war with Persia at the start of 1812, achieving a massive success. The peace treaty saw most of the Caucuses and a large part of Mesopotamia handed over to Byzantium. They even managed to secure a small port on the Caspian. Perhaps out of goodwill to Hispania in their current war, a single province was returned to Najd. The Greeks had more than proven that they were more than capable of setting out on their own.
Publications in Hispania were printing articles critical of the current government. Many still wanted a formal constitution, rather than a system entirely dependent on the will of the Emperor. As always, nothing was done against this individuals and encouragement was given to seek reform through Parliament.
Kaffa’s army tried to make a break for Egypt. While Dias was personally taking charge of a siege, he sent back a single army to meet up with one on its way from Egypt to eliminate the threat. This move proved most wise. Despite lacking any clear military genius in command, Kaffa’s men possessed vastly inferior weapons and were thoroughly routed with ease.
In February of 1812, Leon captured the holy city of Mecca after a month-long siege. Following in the tradition of his ancestors, who had led many sieges against the holiest cities in the world, he made sure that looting and pillaging was kept to a minimum. This may have been partially inspired by an unexpected letter from the Emperor, who had taken the time to personally instruct Leon not to sack the city of Mecca. A repeat of past hostilities brought on by such actions needed to be avoided this time.
Speaking of the Emperor, he was showing signs of recovery. For the past year, he had conducted most of his business in private, rarely attending sessions of Parliament unless needed. His behind-the-scenes approach was working for the most part, but it was becoming clear that Alfons could not keep up with the duties of both Emperor and Prime Minister to the same extent as he used to. While refraining from outright appointing a new Prime Minister, he increasingly shifted his duties to Crown Prince Pere, who in turn secretly leaned on his wife Jeanne to handle all this new work that was mostly beyond him.
One of the armies that moved south with Dias captured Enderta, a key fort near the coast. It was possible now to link up to the armies in Arabia if needed.
The newly built Flota de L’India set sail in February, although it had yet to have transports added to it. It would join the other navies in securing the Red Sea while it waited for the remainder of its ships to be constructed.
Genoa felt that Persia’s recent losses against Byzantium made them vulnerable enough to attempt to reclaim their lost land. Most of that land was now in Byzantium’s hands now, but it was still worth a shot.
The UKA’s war against Sioux went as expected. They captured most of their land, leaving only a small portion left, but still aiding the colonization efforts in the west.
Dias captured Beja in April, slowly making his way south to Kaffa’s capital.
A rumour arose that Emperor Alfons’s great grandmother was a lowly farmer from outside Valencia. In surprisingly good humour, the Emperor pointed out that this silly rumour had been spread decades ago and that the actual truth was that his great grandmother had been the daughter of a wealthy landowner outside Athens. Farming a giant estate did not make one a lowly farmer.
After nearly a year-long siege, Wien fell at the start of July. Prince Joan marched through Vienna in triumph. He apprehended Archduke Franz I, who had the audacity to call himself king now, and hauled him all the way to Valencia, where he was put before the Emperor. Despite the history between Hispania and Austria during Alfons IX’s reign, he received the Archduke quite cordially, for after all it had been the Archduke’s father and grandfather who had caused all the problems, not the current monarch. The Emperor, in a surprising gesture, offered to recognize Franz as a duke within Bavaria, with an appropriate position given in the Bavarian Parliament. Alfons wanted to end the animosity that had existed between his family and the Habsburgs. The cessation of Austria to Bavaria went off fairly smoothly, although Alfons made it quite explicit that his sister, Sophia, was not allowed anywhere near the Duke or the Austrian delegation during the peace negotiations. He had made this choice after she vocally expressed her opinion of Franz, who she called “the spawn of Satan and his whore”. Apparently her jilting by Franz’s father had not been forgotten after all these years.
In a welcome gesture, the Byzantine government expressed a willingness to assist Hispania’s in its war with Kaffa. Seeing as they were no longer obligated to intervene, the Emperor personally thanked them for the offer, but Hispania had this well in hand.
Sana’a, a key fort near the narrowest part of the Red Sea, was captured in August. Kaffa had decided to abandon Africa for now and focus on Arabia, where fewer armies were present. The army in Sana’a moved to prevent them from reaching Mecca. When Leon captured Jabal Shammar a few days later, he rushed south to assist. Eventually he had to leave his army behind and take command of the one further south. He managed to get the army in position in time and prepare a suitable defence. The enemy was repelled, with nowhere to go but back to East Africa.
East Africa wasn’t entirely safe for them though, with Harer being the next to fall, opening a small path to the capital and connecting to the two armies in the Horn of Africa, especially after San Dionisio captured the last coastal fort at Sanaag. A few months later, the eastern fort of El Obeid fell too.
Colonization efforts had continued on even during war. Butuan reached a state of self-sufficiency, with Colonist Joaquin Villanova moving on to Manokwari. Apparently the Greeks had given up on their colonization attempts, opening the way for Hispania.
Malacca knew that to survive its war with Scandinavia, it needed to match the strength of its enemies. Mimicking western ways was the best way to achieve that.
The decision to financially bolster the TATC was starting to pay off. The company had recovered quite nicely and profits were at an all-time high. In fact, business across the Empire was booming.
Beledweyne on the African border had proved a troublesome fort, taking von Politz nearly a year to finally breach the walls. Now he could join the others further north.
Some of the TATC merchants wanted to be granted greater privileges to boost trade in parts of Africa. Due to being under a different set of laws as a colony, the Emperor had no problem granting the request. ((I feel this is a glitch, since Butua is in Southeast Africa and thus estates can’t get land there, nor did they.))
Bavaria and Transdacia sent men to the front, with over 100k in total between them both. Their involvement was much appreciated.
In mid-December of 1812, Empress Camelia passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 68. The Empress had never been a major figure at court, keeping mostly to herself and rarely attending social gatherings unless required to, so her passing was not met with much notice. Emperor Alfons, despite being married to her for over 50 years, grieved for the necessary period of time but never let her loss interfere with his work. It was well known that the two had never been close, for Camelia lacked any significant intellect or a general passion for life that Alfons looked for in others. Her children were hit much harder by her loss than Alfons was. Both Crown Prince Pere and Prince Miquel were inconsolable for weeks, and Queen Dowager Clara rushed all the way from Scandinavia to attend the funeral of her beloved mother. Queen Diana didn’t even bother to respond to the news of her mother’s passing, although it was uncertain whether that was due to her distance from Valencia in the UKA. As for Prince Joan, he reacted much as his father did, grieving for a brief time but never letting it interfere with any task at hand. All of them certainly had to be looking to their father now, wondering if his time was drawing near.
The next month saw a blitz of provinces fall, as Hispanian armies rampaged across the Horn of Africa and Arabia. A forced encounter with Kaffa’s navy went just as expected, with no losses other than the entire Kaffa fleet. By the end of January, Shewa had fallen and Dias made the final push for Kaffa’s capital.
A shift in foreign affairs had nearly gone unnoticed. Byzantium, after their independence was granted, had established alliances with both Scandinavia and Germany. The final Valois power, France, had only greeted them with hostility. That attitude, apparently, had started to rub off on others. While the Scandinavian line was quite independent from France, the German line still relied heavily on their French brethren. There was also the fact that they were more beholden to their people than the other two, and the Germans saw friendship with the much more powerful French as the best option. Over time, the French turned the Germans against Byzantium. The alliance was sacrificed to appease the French, and Byzantium declared a rival. The Valois would stick together, and everyone else had to make do.
The Bavarians proved their commitment to Hispania’s war effort quite quickly as they immediately went after Kaffa’s army after it reappeared. A spare Hispanian army reinforced them. Together, they drove back the Africans. Bavaria pursued, and with a little help eradicated what remained of the enemy army.
With the fall of Sennar in April of 1813, Kaffa’s interior was entirely unprotected. The Hispanian armies had freedom of movement across their land, and the capital succumbed a few weeks later.
Lithuania swallowed up most of Bukhara, brushing up against Qing they had expanded so far east.
Bikol became self-sufficient in June. With Southeast Asia all but claimed, focus was shifted to filling the gaps in South Africa.
The tiny nation of Chagtai conquered two provinces from Yarkand, a minor conflict of minimal notice in Hispania.
The campaign against Kaffa proceeded very smoothly throughout 1813. The enemy was broken with no army, and it was just a matter of occupying provinces. Eventually a peace had to be signed. Emperor Alfons, recognizing that he needed to be less involved in these matters due to his health, gave Crown Prince Pere full permission to negotiate the peace as he wished. Although he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pere did not quite feel comfortable being solely responsible for such a major decision. In turn, he handed the responsibility off to his brother Joan, who as Minister of War had an intimate knowledge of what had transpired during the war and was more than willing to handle negotiations. Joan, as befitting a military man, proved much more hardline than the traditional diplomat. The promise to restore Najd was met, garnering the Arabian nation’s eternal gratitude. However, it seemed to Joan that unless the constant shifting balance of power between the Arabian and East African states was broken once and for all, conflict would continue to erupt. The Red Sea and its trade routes were much too valuable to Hispania to ignore any potential threat. With that in mind, he found the optimal solution: remove Kaffa’s entire coastline. Every single province along the Red Sea and Horn of Africa were ceded, as well as every Kaffa province in Arabia. Hejaz was also annexed, handing the city of Mecca over to a Christian state. While a particularly harsh peace, it more than guaranteed that Hispania’s interests were safeguarded. Upon hearing the news regarding Mecca, Emperor Alfons proclaimed that despite it being a city holy to heathens, he would not tolerate its desecration and would have anyone who attempted tried to the full extent of the law.
With Kaffa kicked out of Arabia, Najd restored, and Hispania with a larger presence in the peninsula, trade flourished once more. Goods flowed in to Najd, who eagerly accepted whatever Hispania offered after so graciously helping them not once but twice. They were increasingly becoming dependent on what Hispania had to offer, and at this point had no choice but to embrace Hispanian influence.
The conquest of land in East Africa had some benefits, especially for the locals. It appeared that Kaffa had been participating in the barbaric practice of slavery. Outlawed years ago by Parliament, all those slaves now living in Hispania suddenly found themselves freed.
Reports of Lithuanian piracy had been received many times over the years, but the evidence had always been slim. However, as the various navies sailed the armies home, a small fleet of four ships was spotted south of Naples preying on a merchant’s ship. It appeared that Lithuania was using its small coast in the Black Sea to prey on Mediterranean trade and threaten Mare Nostrum.
In December, King Eduard I of the UKA passed away, leaving the throne to his brother Albert. His death proved untimely and raised a potential dilemma for succession. Although having only a single infant daughter, at the time of his death his wife was pregnant. A month after Albert was crowned, the former Queen gave birth to a baby boy. If Eduard had lived but a month longer, his son would have been king instead of his brother. With Albert having no children of his own, the boy would serve as his heir at least.
A wandering Italian siege engineer approached the Crown offering his services to assist the Hispanian army. Seeing as his ideas were over two centuries out of date, he was politely turned away.
Scotland had finally found its own little corner of the world, settling Alaska unperturbed by its neighbours. It could only watch on as Dai Viet and Malacca proved willing to go to the ends of the earth, or at least North America, to keep the Europeans from taking their land.
Genoa’s war against Persia backfired. Persia was far from defeated, and managed to rally to fend off the invasion. Genoa lost their land on the Caspian for their folly.
Colonization of South Africa continued as Visayas became self-sufficient.
Ming, with so many dangerous neighbours, decided attacking and annexing Yarkand was the wisest course.
As 1815 neared its end, it was becoming increasingly clear that Emperor Alfons IX could not continue to serve as both Emperor and Prime Minister. Despite protests from his doctor, he continued to handle everything himself, although perhaps not at the pace he once did. This was too much though for the 75-year-old man. In mid-November, he experienced another fainting spell and was carried to his room. He spent the next month in bed, the royal physician shooing away anyone who so much as had a piece of paper on them. With his health at risk, Alfons had to come to terms with the fact that he couldn’t keep this up. Something had to change.
Presenting His Imperial Highness, Alfons IX de Trastámara, Emperor of Hispania, Caesar of Rome, King of Bavaria & Transdacia, and Protector of the Greeks.
Here I am, despite my doctor’s protests. I am certain many of you were concerned for my health, but I assure you that I am fine for the moment. Rest can do wonders for an ailing body. However, it has given me time to think matters over. I have given everything for Hispania, dedicating every moment of my life to bettering the lives of its people. Yet I fear I have reached a point where I cannot give as much as I’d like. No matter how much I want to involve myself in affairs of state, I find my body refuses to cooperate. The downside of old age, I suppose. It has forced me to face the unfortunate truth that I cannot manage alone anymore. I will admit, it hurts my pride somewhat to say that. I have enjoyed being able to do so much for Hispania, taking on so many responsibilities and remaining undeterred in the face of adversity. Now it is my time to step back. I must set the way for future generations. Of course, I will never relinquish the rights and responsibilities that come with being Emperor, for that is a divine gift I cherish and something I shall continue to dedicate my life to until I return to God’s embrace. However, the tasks required of being Prime Minister are something I can and should do without, or at least that’s what my doctor says. He’s a stubborn man, but he’s usually right, although I hate to admit it. I thus wish to announce that I will be stepping down as my own Prime Minister and choosing a successor shortly. I wish for a bit more time to consider my options, for this decision is an important one to me.
Now, enough of that dreary business. I am glad to see our presence along the Red Sea expanded, although I had not expected such an outcome for the war with Kaffa. I suppose Hispania should take a little for itself when it can if it can prevent further problems down the line. I doubt Najd minds now that they’ve been restored yet again. Securing Egypt was also wise, for who knew how long before they tried to stir up trouble with the locals. I am also sure many are relieved to see Austria gone. I do hope though that the Austrians find a fitting new home in Bavaria.
I feel I must apologize to the merchants of Hispania, specifically the TATC. I had believed it best that they be left to their own devices, to solve their own problems alone, just as long as they were protected from foreign competitors. It would seem though that the relationship is mutually beneficial. If we provide for our merchants in their time of need, financing their business when they face difficulties, we can get back much more in return. Our Empire is prosperous because of trade and that should never be forgotten.
((I admit this update did not go as planned. I hope no one is bothered that I ended up restarting when the Emperor died. I honestly was going to restart the update anyway because of the whole Artisan Support Act thing and he just happened to die right at that moment. I’m more shocked that he survived so long the second time around. I was waiting for him to croak the whole time but he never did. This game is weird. Watch him die two weeks in to the next update.
Ministers will have until Thursday at 12PM PST to post their plans, although with a new PM on the way some of the ministers may be replaced. The Emperor may take some time to pick a replacement as he considers his options. Feel free to try to influence him. Laws can also be posted during that time period.
Pensioners:
@ML8991))
