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Chapter 12 - A Reclamation Project

If the previous year had been a nightmare for Clement, at least there was a spot of good news in 1530. The page delivered the letter from the Papal officials in Beirut. It was an update of the progress that had been made in Lebanon since the crusades nearly a quarter century before. The important line read as follows... Holy Father, I can report with thanks to God that most of the heathen Mohammedans have recanted their false beliefs and accepted the teachings of the church to save their souls.

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The crowd awaiting the announcement of the new pope was not as large as it usually was. Perhaps it was the weather, since the rain was pouring down on them. Perhaps it was the climate of the times. In Rome, the papacy had lost some of its prestige in the years following the events of 1529. Still, there were some like young Antonio, an officer in the papal armies, who still hoped that Rome would reclaim its former glory. And maybe that would be begun by Clement's successor. This was why Antonio waited, and why he was eagerly watching the chimney of the electors' chamber. It was why he was the first to see the white smoke.

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A series of religious events I don't really want to write about....

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Antonio was disappointed. Pope Paul had done nothing to restore the glory of Rome. He had focussed all his interests on combating the Protestant reformation. Antonio cared about the church, insofar as he entrusted his soul to it, but he longed for the days when the Papal armies marched across distant lands. Why couldn't he have been born 50 years earlier? Perhaps the new Pope would do more. He could hope. Julius had started his papacy by announcing a new Jubilee.

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Antonio's dreams were realized, though he did not get his wish to march into battle with the army. Later that year Julius announced that the Duke of Modena and Mantua had both agreed to return to the state they had been in before Charles V's meddling. Tuscany had not yet done so; the Tuscans themselves had swallowed Siena.

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However, it would only be two years more before Tuscany did the same.

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OOC: I may have to switch this a little more to gameplay and away from narrative than it already is. I'm just too busy with work to have time to do much narrative writing. I'll still try to do some with each update.
 
@Burgundy - Yes, the same event that caused the other 5 states to gain independence and become vassals. The coronation of Charles event is the one that gave Spain Milan, Napoli and Apulia.
 
Chapter 13 - Playing Hardball with Spain

Julius had done well in recovering the Italian duchies in the North but he passed away only five years after being elected. The new pope, Marcellus, was old and sickly and there were many in the inner circles of Rome who wondered why the electors even bothered.

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Marcellus passed from this world after just a few months. The new pope was Paulus IV, an ambitious and strong leader.

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Paulus quickly formed an alliance with France, Genoa and Switzerland, a powerful league with which he intended to take on the Spanish might. But Spain herself has powerful connections, in Hungary. Unfazed by this combined power, Paulus thrust Rome into the spotlight of Europe by declaring war on Spain in the month following his election.

The fighting was fierce but Spain, on the whole was left to fight the Papal alliance on her own. The Hungarian armies were not able to make an impact due to the distance they had to travel in order to get into battle. With France attacking Spain's Dutch possessions and the Swiss attacking Franche-Compte, there was little opposition to the Papal Army as it assaulted Milan, Naples and Sicily.

In 1558, with the Papal Alliance all conquering, Paulus offer a truce, one deliberately contrived so as not to further empower France.

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It would take a further two years of occasional battles to convince the Hungarian princes to cease their part in the war. This truce coincided with the announcement that a new Pope had been elected.

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All in all, 1560 was an exceptional year once again.

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Pius IV's reign was as quiet as Paulus's reign had not been. There was after all, a truce with Spain, and Pius knew full well that he couldn't break it. The alliance with France was tenuous at best, due to the way that Paulus had left the French out of the last peace treaty.

So when Pius V was elected in 1565, Rome was stable and peaceful.

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It was not lost on Pius that the Spanish still held Napoli. At his council in 1568 he probed the visiting delegates from the papal allies on how they would view a renewal of hostilities against Spain. The response was favourable, and since the truce was long since expired, Pius sent declarations of war to Spain again.

The second Spanish war was shorter than the first, though no less fierce. But Spain had yet to recover from the previous engagements, and France had no such problems. In a few short years Spain sued for peace, this pledging to return further Italian lands into the hands of the pope. Pius negotiated a trifle for Genoa as well, but once again, there were no gains for France.

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This war was Pius's legacy to Rome. He died, and a new pope was elected.

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When Gregorius became pope, this was the political situation in Europe:

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OOC: It's an interesting Europe. Denmark has engulfed Sweden. Poland has done the same to Lithuania. Hungary meantime, has benefited from my bastion against the Ottomans and is snapping up German minors. France is currently occupied with the Huguenots. Spain has lost ground to me, and to the Netherlands, but still holds Ireland, mostly.
 
Chapter 14 - Consolidating Our Possessions

Gregorius' gaze took in the small gathering of officials he had called to his grand study. He held an open letter in his hand. It bore the seal of the Bishop of Samaria. He read the gathering the news.

"The bishop reports that there has been a large uprising in the Samaritan regions, but the Samaritan garrison has defeated it in a pitched battle and the remnant of this rebellion agreed to accept their Saviour rather than be executed for rebellion."

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"How appropriate," he added, "that this is a jubilee year. I shall declare it in honor of this event."

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The Doge of Genoa went to one knee before Gregorius. But the Pope offered a hand quickly. "Please rise," he said. "Genoa does not need to bow to Rome."

"Nonetheless," replied the Doge, as he stood. "Long has Genoa served the interests of Rome, and long has the Pope protected our own. It is not lost upon us that Rome holding the Turk away from the Bosporus has allowed us free access to the Black Sea still. We therefore accept the offer you have extended, to tie our states together."

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The Gregorian Calendar; Gregorius' lasting legacy.

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In 1585 Gregorius took ill and died. Once again the electors convened their council in St. Peters and announced the election of a new Pope.

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Sixtus' five year papacy was quiet. He thought about introducing some reforms, but after some work on them, they were ultimately rejected.

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Thus we come to the musical chairs section of the papacy. For in three years there were 4 popes elected. This is Europe at the outset of this papal procession.

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Then the sequence of popes, ending with Clemens.
1590:
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1590:
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1591:
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1592:
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Clemens reign as Pope began in excellent fashion:
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"There is no way we can allow this," said Clemens. "Alfonso and Rudolf may not care that this Cesare was born outside of wedlock, but God and his church do. We shall not allow Cesare to rule Romagna. Henceforth, Romagna ceases to be a duchy and is from here on to be ruled directly from Rome."

Clemens didn't care at all about Cesare's lineage, despite his words. But when an opportunity arose to secure Ferrara and its surrounding area for the Papacy, one needs take it by whatever means is there.

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Europe, 1598:
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OOC: In the next chapter we will deal with some Turkish issues.
 
I always like a Papal AAR and you have a fine one going here. Shame that you had to conquer Italy twice, but I guess it all works out in the end.
 
Always nice to find a new readAAR has stopped by stnylan! Hope you stick around too.

Chapter 15 - Third Ottoman War

"The Sultan has rattled his saber once too often for our taste," said Clemens. "It is time that we remind him of the superiority of Rome. God will ensure our victory over the heathen horde."

General Aldobrandini nodded. "True, Your Holiness," he said. And this time we have both the army and the alliance to really trim the Turk's beard. Soon we will drive them right out of Europe."

"That will take some doing yet," said the Pope. "There are many areas where they are strong and well supported even by some of the local populaces. But we will do what we can."

With this council complete, and the agreement of the papal allies, Hungary and France and Genoa, war was declared on the Ottoman Empire.

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Two side notes:

1) I missed the election of a new pope, Paulus.
2) The creation of the Holy Spirit Bank in 1605:

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In 1606, Paulus met with representatives of the Papal Alliance to discuss a proposed peace agreement with the Ottomans.

"Our armies have captured Sofia," announced the Pope. "And though we hold no other cities the Thracian regiments have been busy assisting the sieges of other territories."

"We hold Bujak, Rumelia, Macedonia, Dobrudja and Hellas," claimed the Hungarian diplomat. Paulus new this to be true, from the work done by his own generals in these provinces.

"As for us," said the French representative, "we hold both Smyrna and Anatolia. Surely the Sultan will not be able to resist any terms we propose."

"If we ask too much, all we'll get is a longer war," said Paulus. "The Sultan is both foolish and stubborn, and furious that he has lost so much. I propose we limit the accord to cessation of holdings in Europe. For our part, we shall immediately grant autonomy to Bulgaria."

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Eastern Europe and Middle East, 1606:
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OOC: In truth, an easy war. My alliance is more than a match for the Ottomans. Hungary gained the most, France and Genoa got nothing. And I got rid of the BB hit taking Bulgaria by releasing them as vassals. Wrong religion anyway. Step one on getting the Ottomans out of Europe is done.
 
Easy wars are the best sort :)
 
By the way, any of you know if there is a bug that affects France? I've played on much further than what I've posted thus far and France has a huge tech lead (10 levels more than anyone else in Land). They also have Maximum level fortresses in ALL there provinces and monopolies or near monopolies in every CoT known to them. It seems they have an unlimited amount of gold.
 
:eek: could be the "ai-country gets millions of ducats" bug,
are they proclaiming defender of the faith also all the time?
You can edit the savefile, France isn't hard to find, make best a backup 'though i think, anyway, checking the savefile might give you some clues
 
Wari Bana said:
:eek: could be the "ai-country gets millions of ducats" bug,
are they proclaiming defender of the faith also all the time?
You can edit the savefile, France isn't hard to find, make best a backup 'though i think, anyway, checking the savefile might give you some clues

Haven't seen many DoF claims, although I recall a couple. I'll check the save game out though, good idea.
 
Anarion said:
By the way, any of you know if there is a bug that affects France? I've played on much further than what I've posted thus far and France has a huge tech lead (10 levels more than anyone else in Land). They also have Maximum level fortresses in ALL there provinces and monopolies or near monopolies in every CoT known to them. It seems they have an unlimited amount of gold.
Wari Bana said:
:eek: could be the "ai-country gets millions of ducats" bug,
are they proclaiming defender of the faith also all the time?
You can edit the savefile, France isn't hard to find, make best a backup 'though i think, anyway, checking the savefile might give you some clues
It is the bug for sure.

Better edit the savefile: lower treasury to decent value, remove the two shipyards, lower fortifications to minimal or small and lower tech levels to average.

Otherwise, it will unbalance the game too much. France is already a major.
 
That's what I did. Lowered their treasury from 4 million down to a couple hundred, removed all the forts down to 1 or 2 with a couple mediums and 0's in most colonies. Their tech isn't that far ahead. England is level and Austria and I are closing in.

Anyway, update tomorrow...
 
Chapter 16 - Instructing the Nations in the Ways of the Pope

1609 - An Exceptional Year (I've never had so many of this event in a game before).
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The new doge of Genoa was even more timid than the one who had accepted the Papal vassalage years before.

"Holy Father," he said. "My advisers and I agree. Genoa has steadily lost territories to our neighbours and the only thing that has kept us afloat is our great friendship with yourself and the holy fathers before you. But now even the financial wealth we amassed is fading. Genova is not the city it once was."

"I see where you are going," said Paulus. "Let me preempt you with this offer. Suppose you agree to the full sovereignty of Rome in your provinces, with the agreement that you shall be governor of Genova with all rights and privileges of your family retained?"

"That would be acceptable," said the doge, thus casting aside the proud legacy of his forebears.

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Papal States, 1614:
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The next item on Paulus agenda was the visit of the French emissary. The emissary bore letters in his hand when he was admitted. "These are from the pen of his majesty, Louis XIII himself," he said.

Paulus took the letters and read them aloud...

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"France has aided us many times in the past," he said, after he was done reading. "How shall we now refuse our brother's request. He turned to the emissary. "You may bear our word to Louis. Rome will aid him in his just war."

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The war was short and one sided.

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Finally, to complete an eventful year, Paulus himself opened the doors on the finally completed St. Peter's Basilica. After one hundred years the great church of Rome was finally fully completed.

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Louis's delegation was back the following year. This time the French were offended by the actions of the English king, James I. Having just been at war the previous year, Paulus was reluctant. However, as the meeting went on a thought struck him. The papacy still owed the Turks further recompense.

"We will aid you against England," he said to the French diplomats. "But in return you must promise to assist us against the Sultan once again."

It was agreed and so there was war on two fronts.

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Paulus' earthly life ended in 1621 and the electors convened to select a new pope, Alessandro Ludovici, Cardinal of Bologna. Alessandro took the papal name, Gregorius XV

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Gregorius' first major act as Pope was to oversee the peace accord with the Ottoman Empire. The empire had once again been thrown back by the Papal alliance of France, Hungary and the Papal States. Two more of its European territories were relieved, ceded to Hungary.

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Before his death two years later, Gregorius also saw to the end of the English war. The French had arrogantly forged a separate treaty earlier but now the English offered their own terms to put a final end to the war.

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Western Europe, 1623:
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Eastern Europe and Middle East, 1623
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That's it for this update. Stayed tuned until next time.
 
It sounds like the Papacy is in a very strong position, with two great and useful allies in the French and Hungarians.
 
stnylan: They have been very handy to have as allies. Though all good things must eventually come to an end... but that's later.

demokratickid: Thanks!

Chapter 17 - Are the Turks Tired of Us Yet?

Event missed last update - the election of a new pope:
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"The English and Dutch have declared war on France again," reported Cardinal Donadoni.

Urbanus was unsurprised. Neither of the protestant kingdoms had done very well in their past wars. It wasn't a shock that they wanted to get some of their own back. But Urbanus wasn't about to let the heretics do that without a fight.

"We will honor our alliance with France once more," he decided. "Though it pains me when the heretics go to war during a holy year. Our loyalty will stand us in good stead the next time we seek war with the Ottomans."

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The combined might of the papal alliance is still too much for the English and Dutch. Though the fighting is fierce, little in the way of territory changes hands. At the end of two years of warfare the English alliance has had enough for this round.

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Urbanus was delighted. The tribute from England and the Netherlands would be used to raise new troops in Constantinople. With the truce with the Ottomans long since expired, Urbanus sent notifications of renewed hostilities to the Sultan. The treacherous French and the unreliable Hungarians both declined to be involved (not the first time for Hungary though I've always drawn them in).

"This is the last straw," said Urbanus. "We will fight this war alone, and perhaps it is time that we sought out new, and more trustworthy allies. Is this how they repay our good faith?"

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"You have news from the war?" asked Urbanus.
Donadoni inclined his head in assent. "It goes well for us. The Legion of Christ has conquered much of Egypt. We have also occupied Smyrna. And our Genoese regiments in Kerch have taken the former realm of Theodoros as well."

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"Excellent news!" said the Pope. "Perhaps we are ready to propose a new peace. Send this offer to the Sultan: The lands of Theodoros and the city of Alexandria are to be ceded to us. These are historically Christian lands. So they shall be again. We can convert the heathens that remain there."

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"The conversion of Alexandria is complete," announced Donadoni.
"It is?" asked the pope. "That was remarkably quick. It has only been a few short years since we captured the city."
Donadoni smiled wryly. "Well," he said, "in truth, the legion of Christ had a lot to do with it."
The regiments of the army in the Holy Land were noted for their devotion and zeal...

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"Your holiness, the conversion attempt in Kaffa has failed and the Muslim peasantry has revolted. Our regiments have put them down again, but we will need to renew our efforts to convert them."

"Send more missionaries," said the pope.

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Donadoni took the ballots and doused them with liquid from a small vial on the mantle of the fireplace in the electors' hall. Then he tossed them into the flames.

"It is done," he said. "Pamphili has been elected as pope." And outside, the white smoke wisped into the sky to confirm it.

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"I have two things to report," said Donadoni, in private recess with Innocentius.
"Go on," said the pope. "What are they?"
"In the first place, the desert lords in Sinai have rebelled against their Turkish lords. They have taken control of Aqaba and the peninsula and seek our protection."

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"We will accept them. They can be Christianized still," said Innocentius. "And the other?"
"The missionaries in Kaffa have finally succeeded. Theodoros is Christian once more."

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Europe and Middle East, 1652:
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Some very nice gains against the infidel. It appears you could now finish off the Ottomans essentially whenever you choose to.
 
I'm whittling them away yes. But as you can see from the last screen there is something large and blue assaulting them from the East. I suppose if I really wanted I could take them whenever I want. Problem is they are ferocious so I can't take more than 49% peace at a time.