A Greater Netherlands - IN Brabant AAR

**FYROM** · 31-05-2008 01:30

A Greater Netherlands
An In Nomine Brabant/Dutch AAR

Updated Dec 18, 2008

Tied Best EU III History Book AAR - Q2 2008
AAR Weekly Showcase - June 10, 2008 - Thanks, asd
Glorified July 2008

Hello, and welcome to my first AAR. I’ve always enjoyed forming the Netherlands out of Gelre and Friesland, so I wanted to see how the new features and earlier start date in IN affect the process. This will be a history-book AAR, but I'll try branching out into other styles in later chapters. We’ll be following the Duchy of Brabant as it struggles to unite the Low Countries against the expansion of Burgundy and build a United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Later, the United Kingdom will make a name for itself in the world, building an overseas trading empire and promoting the Protestant (Justifier) faith.

EDIT - I'm making a minor mod to the game, removing the ability for religious rebels to defect to another nation, because I got tired of Nova Scotia defecting to Hainault and Brazil to The Knights

Part I: The Duchy of Lothier

Chapter 1 - A Common Cause (1400-1405)
Chapter 2 - The Hainault War (1406)
Chapter 3 - Consolidation and the Gathering Storm (1406-1426)
Chapter 4 - The Lotharingian War (1426-1428)
Chapter 5 - The Sin of Greed (1428-1432)
Chapter 6 - The Suffragan War (1432-1433)
Chapter 7 - The End of Burgundy (1433-1453)

Intermission

The State of the World - 1453

Part II: The Grand Duchy

Chapter 8 - The Grand Dame (1450s-1480s)
Chapter 9 - A Pyrrhic War (1457-1466)
Chapter 10 - The Edge of the World (1458-1483)
Chapter 11 - A United Kingdom (1483)

Intermission

The State of the World - 1483

Part III: The United Kingdom

Chapter 12 - To Rule the Waves (1483-1507)
Chapter 13 - New World, New Opportunities (1507)
Chapter 14 - A New Heaven (1508-1515)
Chapter 15 - The Dutch West India Company (1508-1518)

Intermission

The State of the World - 1518

Part IV: Building an Empire

Chapter 16 - A Champion of the Faith (1518-1520)
Chapter 17 - The Golden Rule (1520-1532)
Chapter 18 - The Wildfire (1518-1537)
Chapter 19 - The Franco-Dutch War (1537-1538)
Chapter 20 - Crusade Against the Turk (1545-1548)

The Crescent on the Baltic
The League of Darmstadt and the Knights of Danzig
The Siege of Rostock
The Battle of Møns Klint
The Battle of Danzig
A Cork in the Bottle
To Alexandria
The Peace of Prague

Part V: A Merchant Empire

Chapter 21 - The Merchant Prince (1552-1580)
Chapter 22 - The Småland War (1565-1566)
Chapter 23 - The Dutch East Indies (1554-1572)
Chapter 24 - The Perfect Storm (1570-1589)

Intermission

The State of the World - 1580

Part VI: The Dutch Republic

Chapter 25 - The Succession Crisis of 1580
Chapter 26 - The Novgorod War (1590-1592)

Gearing for War
Elsinore
Long Campaigns
"Invincible"
Moscow in Winter

Chapter 27 - The Despot of Oosthaven (1590-1610)
Chapter 28 - Disunity and the Anglican Captivity (1575-1615)
Chapter 29 - The League Shattered (1618)
Chapter 30 - A Golden Age (1610-1650)
Chapter 31 - Gunboat Diplomacy (1645)
Chapter 32 - The First World War (1671-1674)

Anglo-Dutch Relations and the Calicut Incident
Opening Salvos
The Peninsular Campaign - 1671
Eastern Fortunes and Failures
The Peninsular Campaign - 1672
The British and Indian War
The Bishops' Interruption
A Stroll in France / Europe Unbalanced

Resumption - A Brief Recap

Chapter 33 - Eind van de Eeuw (1670-1700)
Chapter 34 - New Nations in the New World (1670-1710) - Part I
Chapter 35 - The Southern Lily Party (1680-1700)
Chapter 36 - The Precipice (1700-1710)
Chapter 37 - The Stadtholder's War (1710-1712)

A Change of Plans - The War in Lorraine - With Victory, Defeat
Bad Tidings - The Cauldron of Verdun - Annus Horribilis

Part VII: The Dutch Directorate

Chapter 37 - The Stadtholder's War (1710-1712)

Twilight of the Republic
Drastic Measures
The Muddy Somme - Elsewhere in the East - The End of One War, the Beginning of Another

**FYROM** · 31-05-2008 01:32

Part I – The Duchy of Lothier

Chapter 1: A Common Cause (1400-1405)

From the start, Brabant is ruled by Jeanne, Duchess of Brabant and Limburg, an average ruler. She also holds the title of Duchess of Lothier, which used to hold authority over the whole of Lower Lorraine (Belgium, Flanders, Holland, and the lower German Rhine principalities), but is now an honorific title only.

In 1400 Jeanne was already 78 years old and nearing the end of her life, but while attending Mass at the ducal chapel in Breda she experienced a vision of a restored Lothier bringing power and prestige to Brabant. By uniting the squabbling duchies and city-states of the Low Countries, the House of Brabant could become a major player in European politics.

With the help of her ambassador Guillaume Albers, she began negotiations with Gelre and Friesland for a joint union, with Brabant as the major partner. In 1405 the rulers of Gelre and Friesland swore an oath of loyalty to the House of Brabant, sealing the pact. A key goal was to secure a port on the North Sea to facilitate trade, which Gelre and Friesland could provide.

The rising status of Brabant brought it to the attention of its neighbors. Hesse and Trier, two German principalities, signed military alliances with the rising power. Others, however, were viewing the rising power with suspicion. Hainault refused to become subservient to Brabant like its neighbors had. Instead, it formed its own coalition with Lorraine, Cologne and Münster and began to build up its military. Unfortunately, fate would not be kind to Hainault.

**Capibara** · 31-05-2008 02:10

Interesting choice, watch out for Hainaut!

**comagoosie** · 31-05-2008 02:15

nice start! Ditto what Capibara said!

**IamWhoa** · 31-05-2008 02:22

Good start

Exciting times ahead I'll bet.

**FYROM** · 31-05-2008 02:34

Chapter 2: The Hainault War (1406)

Hainault’s decision to ally with Lorraine would prove to be its undoing. In 1406 Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy decided to take the duchy by force, dragging Hainault into a war it could not win. As Burgundy marched on the Hainault capital of Mons, Jeanne saw an opportunity to cement her hold on the Dutch provinces. From her deathbed she issued the order to attack Hainault.

Under the combined forces of Burgundy and Brabant, Hainault fell within months. The province of Hainault went to Burgundy, while Brabant claimed Zeeland. A puppet government was installed in Holland under Brabant’s administration. Lorraine fell to Burgundy and was annexed, while the German states settled for an indecisive peace.

Unfortunately Jeanne did not live to see her victory, as she died a month after the war began. In her place her son, Jean IV, rose to the throne. An able administrator and diplomat, he set his sights on consolidating his mother's gains.

Next - Storm clouds on the horizon

**comagoosie** · 31-05-2008 02:42

That quick war was quite profitable. Hopefully there will be more to come.

**FYROM** · 31-05-2008 06:49

Thanks for the comments! Things will get quite a bit more interesting, as you can see below:

Chapter 3: Consolidation and the Gathering Storm (1406-1426)

Duke Jean quickly set about strengthening his new realm. Due to its new access to the sea, Brabant’s economy began to grow. Jean adopted a policy of Shrewd Commerce Practices to promote trade, and merchants from the duchy began to establish toeholds in Antwerpen and Mecklenburg.

As he continued to centralize his control in s’ Hertogenbosch, first Gelre and later Holland were officially declared part of the royal patrimony and incorporated into Brabant. Outside of the Archbishopric of Utrecht, Jean’s dominion over the Netherlands was nearly complete. In order to protect his new holdings, he began an expansion program for the Royal Army and instituted a Royal Navy of nine ships, headed by the carrack Zenne. The title of Duke of Lothier was finally carrying some weight once again.

At the same time, a storm was gathering to the south. After the crushing defeat and annexation of Lorraine, Burgundy had conducted a ruthless campaign of expansion. The new duke, Louis I, had great ambitions for the House of Valois. Luxembourg, until recently tied to the Holy Roman Emperor and the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary, fell to his armies, as did Liege and Savoy. He forged an alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon, as well as the principalities of Baden, Münster and the Palatinate. There were whispered rumors that he would challenge King Charles VI for the throne of France, or claim the title of Holy Roman Emperor. However, first his eye fell to the Netherlands and the growing threat of Brabant.

Duke Jean’s claim to Lower Lorraine threatened Louis’ hold on the crucial provinces of Antwerpen and Vlaadernen. Taking Brabant would end the threat, as well as add its rich Dutch provinces to Burgundy’s wealth. Capturing the duchy would place his armies on the Rhine, able to pressure the Electors of Cologne and Trier into voting him Holy Roman Emperor in the upcoming elections. This was a prize too good to resist.

Jean was well aware of the growing menace, and tried to use his diplomatic acumen to diffuse the situation. He opened a new embassy in Brussels to help foster good relations between the two nations, and sent a new alterpiece to Louis in celebration of his marriage to Margaret of Bourbon.

However, relations continued to sour, until in 1426 the situation came to a head. Louis used his title of Duke of Lorraine to claim precedence over the territories of Lotharingia, and thus the title of Duke of Lothier. Jean, seeing the writing on the wall, began calling up regiments for the defense of Brabant. War was now inevitable.

Brabant on the eve of war...

Next - The Storm Breaks...War With Burgundy!