Spain: Second to None AAR

Chapter 6: Founding the Empire​

King Enrique, now a man of considerable age, had been ruling his kingdom for nearly 40 years. He, despite being a rather average monarch, had achieved greatness for his country. The king, fearing his final days drew close, decided that if he was to pass on, he wanted one more campaign under his belt. The king, in what some might call backstabbing, began to plot the downfall of the only ally he did not personally rule over, Aragon. At the cost of national stability, all ties were broken with Aragon. The alliance that had helped forge his kingdom would now disappear to expand it. In September of 1427, Enrique sent the declaration of war. our alliance with England and Burgundy would face the alliance of Aragon, Portugal, and Navarra.

Back to the battlefield​

The war went much as planned. Burgundy's forces invaded northern Aragon, crushing her armies and taking provinces with great speed. Our forces on the other hand, were fighting an easy war in Portugal. Portuguese armies were picked off by our calvary while our infantry proceeded to take control of Portugal's provinces. The one thing that we had not counted on was the rebels. Perhaps in his old age Enrique had forgotten about them, but roughly a year into the war about 20K rebels were fighting in our French lands. With our forces a great distance away all we could do was hope they didn't make progress and that we would deal with them later. Navarra fell to Burgundian forces quickly, and their annexation was demanded.

One step closer to Spain​

Portugal proceeded to send many peace offerings in hopes of stopping our forces, but we denied them at every chance. While we slowly took every piece of their land, Aragon was making progress in our heartland. They manged to take Toledo and Madrid before our forces from Portugal were able to turn about. At roughly that same time the final Portuguese province of Lisboa fell, we demanded harsh terms from them.

This peninsula is only big enough for one of us​

Enrique III, in fleeing Toledo when the Aragonese forces came, fell gravely ill. His heart could not handle such excitement and stress. He fled to Andalusia for treatment while the last of Aragon's forces were destroyed and their country taken over. He died not a week before peace was signed. He left his kingdom in the very capable hands of his son, Enrique IV.

At least he left a good successor​

Aragon agreed to a peace on the terms that they cede Roussilion, Pirineo, Girona, and pay 125 ducats to Castille.(Forgot to take a screenshot) Enrique IV had manged to unite his French holdings with Castille, and in a move that was somewhat questionable due to it's affect on the country, Enrique declared himself Emperor of Castille.

Who doesn't want to be an Emperor​

Also, via the connection through Provence, Enrique IV extended the Holy Roman Empire over the whole of Castille. He hoped that one day he or his children might be granted that most prestigious of titles.

Now if we can just get it​

The rebels in France were quickly dealt with and Castille was once more at peace. Stability increased quickly and Castille only increased it's power in Europe.

A quick look at the Castilian Empire​

2 more should do I think. Then it's just sitting for 50 years waiting for them to become cores.

I have decent relations with some of the electors, so I figure that with a few well placed marriages and maybe a couple of gifts I might be able to get that title. If I do, well that would be spectacular.

@EUROO7: Well, it's turning out to be a bit harder than I expected, but I'm getting close. 3 electors have 150+ relations with 2 others having 100+.

@rcduggan: I'm going plowing through France with or without Burgundy.


Alright, call this a little consumer feedback, but I'm having a bit of trouble here. As I stated in the beginning, I'm not so great with managing the economy. Castille's stuck in a rut here. On one hand we have the military, which is currently the backbone of the nation. It's sucking up a huge amount of my income through, even with maintenance down pretty low. It's currently putting me deep in the red if I have anything other than 3 stability(but with 3 I make a nice profit). On the other hand, if I mint to support them, which I must since rebels are popping up fairly often, I'm gaining inflation, which is currently at 3.5%. Now, I'm getting close to my next idea, and I need something to help stabilize my economy a bit. I'm currently looking at rather bureaucracy or national bank. I'd personally rather have National conscripts, but I don't think I can afford to ignore the financial side of my nation any longer. So basically, any advice on this guys?

Chapter 7: The Habsburgs Can't Touch This​

Enrique the IV, seeing his new Empire facing loss of money and rebellions in many places, decided the Empire's growth would have to come to a halt until stability in the nation was better. Not all was bad during these times. The king was, for a while, in control of the curia.

It lasted for about 2 years​

The King also put his best foot forward in the diplomatic department. By forging strong relationships with some of the Germans, he had created the potential to add his name to the list of Holy Roman Emperors.

We're just waiting at this point​

But, things were not all diplomatic. France, despite all the beatings she had received, was still expanding. Her vassals were being absorbed and she was now looking for more prey. Knowing it was only a matter of time before France would move to attack Brittany once more, he issued a warning to France in 1438.

I can't resist fighting the French​

Only 3 months later, France declared war on Brittany. France greatly outnumbered us in soldiers, but they were only ready to fight Brittany, giving us the ability to run completely around their forces and take their land. The war also brought us into conflict with one other significant opponent. Portugal. They had only 3K soldiers, which were quickly wiped out after two short battles.

But, not significant enough​

The war in France started much as planned. Our combined forces of 24K marched along the their western side, hoping to make a quick turn around after Paris and mop any of France's forces as they returned.

The war starts off pretty good​

One thing was not counted on: France hiring more mercenaries than we could ever counter. At first it was believed that we could merely crush the small ones and avoid the larger groups, but a bad set of circumstances involving French rebels forced two confrontations between us and the main French army. In both cases our entire force of 6K men was wiped out. We did manage to reach our main target though. Paris fell to Castilian forces. But, as if a sign to end the war, Enrique received a very interesting message.

It's basically a conspiracy at this point​

So, instead of trying to dance our forces around France, Enrique sued for the best possible peace he could get, which wasn't bad.

We'll have to put the French on hold​

Milan had already done the vast majority of the work before our forces could even make it to Naples. We provided only back up, and shorty into the war we managed to secure what we wanted from the Naples.

King Enrique the fourth, Emperor of Castille, King of Burgundy, England, and Milan​

The borders expanded, the nation at it's most stable state, and another kingdom added to our collection. The Castilian Empire was already in control of roughly 1/3 of western Europe. Yes, things were going good.

Here's the Empire in all it's glory​

@EUROO7: I know, my jaw hit the computer desk when I got that declaration. Maybe I should look into a RM with France.

@Enewald: I'm hoping for Burgundy. If I get England I might as well just hand it over to the rebels.

@Rabid: Liguria's in my sights mostly due to that center of trade. Wouldn't hurt to get another. Avignon, Lorraine, and Savoy are also all allied so that could be a rather profitable war.


Hopefully I can get another chapter done tonight. If so expect an update soon.