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Very nice AAR. Interesting to see a crusading Aragon. I look forward to more :)
 
A rather disparate collection of provinces so far, but hopefully with additions they will look stronger and more suitable.
 

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Members of the Regency Council at work


3) Interregnum (Regency Council) (1481-1485)

Sanç II had died without leaving legitimate children; unfortunately he himself had been the only surviving legitimate child of Alfons V meaning that royal claimants (such as existed) had no direct descendant from the recent holders of the Crown of Aragon. Indeed several claimants held only the weakest and most distant links to the House of Trastámara.

Major Claimants

Jaume, Comte de Segrià was probably the most legitimate of the claimants as his grandfather had been the half brother of Alfons V. Unfortunantly he was widely (and perhaps unfairly) considered to be somewhat weak minded and was thus considered the wrong choice by most. Which did not stop a small but vocal die-hard faction of guildmasters, nobles and clergy rallying to his cause.

Blanca, Comtessa de Tarragona was in the female line descended from Ferran I (father of Alfons V) young and sound in mind and body. However despite the backing of many (including for a time Sanç de Montcada) her gender caused considerable dispute and undoubtedly lessened her position.

Last of the major claimants was Enric, Comte de Formentera. Enric was the cousin of Sanç II - on his mothers side. Thus though unrelated (except in marriage) to Alfons V he did at least have a blood relationship with the previous king. He was also intelligent, capable and (unlike, say, the Comtessa de Tarragona) male. Still his blood claim was questionable to say the least.

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The changing nature of the African territories.

The reign of "Sanç III"

With the various claimants at loggerheads for what would turn out to be four long years Aragon had to function with or without a king. The Regency Council, under the de facto leadership of Sanç de Montcada (or "Sanç III" as he was sometimes called, though not to his face) tried to keep Aragon stable - and where not entirely unsuccessful in doing so. After a pragmatic (if unheroic) white peace with Milan foreign and millitary relations cooled down.

Sirt and Cyrenacia, after fifteen years of Aragonese rule and conversion to Christianity had now become so much part of the Crown of Aragon that even Muslim rulers began to recognise them as "as Aragonese as Sicily or Minorca" in de Montcada's words. If their inhabitants still spoke Arabic and many of their customs remained unchanged they at least now tended to look to Barcelona as "their" capital.

Back home Regency Council enjoyed limited popularity - only the disputes between the claimants factions kept it in power for so long. Nevertheless by 1485 the country was tired of the arrogant "Sanç III". In August Jaume died and most of his faction gave their support to Enric. Seeing the way the wind was blowing de Montcada quietly withdrew his support from the Contessa who bereft of powerful friends had no choice but to withdraw. The road ahead was clear.

On 30 September 1485, Enric I was crowned to general relief.

enricinx2.png

A new king at last!

 
GeneralHannibal: Caution was their watchword. ;)

coz1: Generally I want to have a relationship of benign indifference with Castile; I'd actually prefer not to inherit Spain since that would force me into being involved in the New World to keep some sort of balance. Still if it happens...

J. Passepartout: He had indeed. :)

valzoz_p94: It hovers around 1 or 2. Deus Vult enables me to go to war with non Catholics without any Stability loss.

Lord E: Thank you, glad you like it. :)

stnylan: Hmm, I think they aren't that bad... but guess we will see. :)
 
Hey, J.Passepartout! If anyone's going to be burning down trees around here, it's me! :mad:

RossN: So far so good! Modest gains, not entirely ahistorical. I appreciate that! So, did you really have a choice on who should succeed the regency or did the game pop out with Enric one day?
 
I was also a little surprised the Comtessa did not get the nod, knowing your fondness for female rulers. But for this area and time period (and especially as the two Iberian Kingdoms are not near as close as they were in RL), you are probably better off with a male.
 
CatKnight said:
Hey, J.Passepartout! If anyone's going to be burning down trees around here, it's me! :mad:

Guess who owns a stove that burns wood? And who has a few hundred acres of land to supply the stove with?

Actually I'm at university right now but my natal home at which I spend much time has all that and more. :p
 
It is good that you get a new monarch; this should probably make everything a little more working and well for the kingdom. Also those new core provinces will get you more money and then you can use the money to grab even more provinces in the future.
 
Let's hope he lives up to the hope.
 
An interesting story. Sicily seems rather ambitious with the numerous wars its dragging you into. I like energetic allies. As long as I'm able to take advantage of the situation. :D Good job.

Joe
 

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Enric I and Sanç III

4) Enric I (1485-1486) and Sanç III (1486-1500)

Enric I was only in his mid 30's when he took the throne and might have been expected to last for decades. In fact he was king for just 14 months. On the morning of 12 December 1486 Enric died quite suddenly after a brief illness. Rumours at once circulated that he had been poisoned but there does not seem to have been much basis for this conclusion; certainly the former members of the Regency Council were poorly placed to take advantage of Enric's death (de Montcada, the most reluctant supporter of the new King was attending his estates near Valencia at the time and only managed to return to Barcelona after the new king had been crowned). The only important act of his reign was to endorse the centralising policies of his predecessors.

There was little appetite in Aragon to re-open old wounds so no one contested the crown passing to Enric's brother Sanç. The 28-year old Sanç was promptly recalled from Navarra (where he had been ambassador). In personality he much resembled his late brother being a charming, socially adept young man while not being particularly deep or brilliant. Perhaps wisely he was willing to leave the actual administration of the Crown of Aragon to more experienced hands.

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The Battle of Piedmont (23 February 1488), the decisive battle of the war.

The Milanese-Savoyard War

It was not long before Aragon found herself in someone else’s war once again. This time for once it was not Sicily: Savoy had taken a break from her feud with Lorraine and was now embroiled in a war with Milan, requiring assistance from her ally Aragon. So on 22 August 1487; almost exactly a decade after the last war with Milan, Sanç III joined the war.

A shortage of military commanders had inspired Sanç III to take personal command of the army dispatched to Savoy. Despite his lack of experience he was surprisingly successful (albeit aided by Milan somehow becoming involved in an unfortunate simultaneous war against Tuscany). The Milanese, defeated in the field by the superior numbers of Aragon soon found themselves driven down everywhere as Milan itself alongside Parma and Modena fell to Aragon. Sanç de Montcada drew up harsh peace terms and on 1 February 1490 Milan reluctantly accepted. Parma and Modena passed to Aragon.

It was a stunning coup; the new Italian territories surpassed in population and wealth anything that had gone before. The prestige of Sanç III rose further that year when Gabes and Gafsa followed Sirt and Cyrenaica and became regarded as ‘core provinces’ of the Crown of Aragon, rather than simply conquered territories. Morea likewise in 1497.

The 2nd War of Savoyard Aggression

A strange war brought about by Savoy in its war against Genoa. Beginning on 14 February 1495 it ended on 17 February 1496 with the annexation of the province of Georgia from Genoa. Sanç III wisely felt that administrating a large province on the far side of the Black Sea was a little beyond Aragon’s current capabilities and settled for appointing a Catholic prince and releasing Georgia as a vassal.

Some Deaths
Sanç de Montcada, that supreme political survivor who had already outlasted three kings adapted surprisingly well to the reign of his namesake, even once again becoming Chancellor. Yet it was not quite the same. Most of his old followers had died or retired and it was hard going for the aging de Montcada to maintain his power in court. By the early 1490’s de Montcada was nearly 80; he did not so much retire as fade away from court life. As time went by the calls from the young king for advice became more and more infrequent. In the end they stopped altogether. And so on the 1 August 1494 Sanç de Montcada stopped living. He had been an advisor at the Aragonese court for forty-one years.

His old rival Ildefons Martorell soldiered on for a few more years, seeming to find new energy in being the last of the Old Guard. Yet even he did not prove immortal, passing away on 7 November 1500.

The death of old men might be expected, prepared for. Less so was the death of Sanç III who followed his family tradition of an early death from a seemingly minor illness – passing away on 4 December 1500 at the age of 42.

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Aragon, 1500
 
J. Passepartout & Patrick O'Harte: I'm afraid it was always going to be Enric - Blanca is entirely an invention of my own. :)

CatKnight: I don't have a choice - the game comes up with random names - for instance I might end up with an Alfons VI next time. I created rival claimants for the story because it's more interesting and colourful (I hope!) :)

coz1: See above. Also :eek:o at "fondness for female rulers"!

Lord E: Yep! :)

stnylan: Well... see for yourself. :(

Storey: Ha... see also Savoy. :D
 
This is a sickly royal line if ever there was one!
 
More new lands, well Aragon just keep growing it seems. Seems like Milan didn’t put up much of a fight, but I guess you got a little lucky since they were at war with more powers at once, still you did very well and Aragon is getting stronger and stronger.
 
Ah another interesting AAR you have here RossN, this time EU III :) . Hopefully all goes well in both your strategies and endeavors and that nothing happens to your save files, I wish you the best of luck