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unmerged(87106)

Romanorum Imperator Augustus
3 Badges
Nov 11, 2007
2.067
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  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Victoria: Revolutions
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What if Charles V's empire stayed intact?

Lessons
Background
Charles V: 1519-1558
Philip I: 1558-1598
Philip II: 1598-1621
Philip III: 1621-1665
Charles VI: 1665-1700
Leopold I: 1700-1705
Joseph I: 1705-1711
Charles VII: 1711-1740

List Of Holy Roman Emperors
1. Charles I 800-814
2. Louis I 814-840
3. Lothair I 840-855
4. Louis II 855-875
5. Charles II 875-877
6. Charles III 877-888
7. Guy I 888-894
8. Lambert I 894-898
9. Arnulph I 898-899
10. Louis III 899-905
11. Berengar I 905-924
Interregnum 924-962
12. Otto I 962-973
13. Otto II 973-983
14. Otto III 983-1002
15. Henry I 1002-1024
16. Conrad I 1024-1039
17. Henry II 1039-1056
18. Henry III 1056-1105
19. Henry IV 1105-1125
20. Lothair II 1125-1137
21. Frederick I 1137-1190
22. Henry V 1190-1197
23. Otto IV 1197-1215
24. Frederick II 1215-1250
Interregnum 1250-1308
25. Henry VI 1308-1313
26. Louis IV 1313-1347
27. Charles IV 1347-1378
Interregnum 1378-1410
28. Sigismund I 1410-1437
29. Frederick III 1437-1493
30. Maximilian I 1493-1519
31. Charles V 1519-1558
32. Philip I 1558-1598
33. Philip II 1598-1621
34. Philip III 1621-1665
35. Charles VI 1665-1700
36. Leopold I 1700-1705
37. Joseph I 1705-1711
38. Charles VII 1711-1740

Maps Of World History
1558
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1598
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1665
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1700
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1740
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Author's Note

Author's Note

Well, here we go again. After a long time staying dormant in terms of AARs, I am now finally interested again in writing. However, this time, I'm gonna take things a little slower. I'm not sure how long my updates will be, but the basic style of the AAR will be as if I'm a teacher giving a lecture as an update. And to aid me in giving a lecture, I will use PowerPoint slides, which I will elaborate on in my lecture. Hopefully this will give my writing style a bit more freedom, as I will write what I would speak, and not what I feel a textbook would sound like.

Anyway, the basic premise of the AAR is an alternate history of what would have happened had the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V centralized his lands, and left a clear succession, thus keeping his vast empire intact. But, there will be no gameplay in this AAR. It is entirely fictional with no gameplay backing, due to the fact that EU3 isn't running well on my Vista laptop, and I feel I can be more historical, controlling, and less time-consuming without gameplay.​
 
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Looking forward to the ride.:)
 
I like it, an interesting premise and history-book style. I definitely be following this.
 
A very interesting concept that I shall not miss!

Perhaps France and England will be trembling in fear with the combined might of Charles V's magnificent empire of Germany and Spain!
 
Background

Alright everyone, welcome back to school. This of course is Modern Imperial History and I am Mr.D. Yeah, I know, I hate the first day of school too, hey, its the first day of work for me too. But hey, we could sit around for the first week of school and discuss what we did over the summer like 2nd graders, or we could get to work like high school students. Alright, alright, we'll take it slow today. First things first, here are all your planners for this year, just pass 'em back.

OK, also, I know this seems childish, but if you all could please fold a piece of paper and write your name on it, I'm sure I'll be able to get them all memorized soon. Now just wait, as I take attendance

OK, now that we're done with that, we can actually begin a little background lesson, of course with my little friend, Microsoft PowerPoint.

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OK, I hope you all like my fancy title slide. This class will begin in earnest once we pass the year 1547, which is when the Augsburg Peace was made, which, as you'll all find out, completely transformed this Empire from a confederation of princes and electors to a true centralized monarchy. Um, the shield to the left was Emperor Charles V The Great's official coat of arms. The center graphic is the coat of arms of the Habsburg dynasty, and by extension of the Empire as well, which as you know, has ruled this Empire since Frederick III in 1440. And the painting on the right is the great Emperor Charles V heroically riding a horse, which as you'll find out, is quite inaccurate due to the Emperor's health problems later in life. OK, moving on...

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Here's a little background, to refresh you of what you all learned last year with Mr.M. As you all should know, this Empire was founded by Charles I the Great in the year 800. But after his death, the status of the Empire and it's stability was in question until Otto I The Great was crowned Emperor in 962, making the Empire's power real once more. Some historians consider 962 to be the actual date of founding for the Empire, I believe, like most Imperial historians, that it is truly 800 with the crowning of Charles I. This is because I believe that 962 historians fail to recognize that just because the Empire was virtually fractured in between 814 and 962, doesn't necessarily mean it did not exist.

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Moving onto the Middle Ages, we all know and consider the Empire to have been quite the superpower in Western Europe at the time. This was a time when the Empire, although feudal, was still quite centralized and the Emperor held sway over Western politics. The Empire was active in Crusades and proved to be a nation to be fearful of. However, when it came into conflict with the Pope over land disagreements, the throne lost much of it's legitimacy, sending the central government's authority on a decline, until Charles V. O, and excuse my mistake of saying that Charles V was crowned Emperor in 1516, he was actually crowned in 1519. He was crowned King of Spain in 1516.

OK, now that we're done with that little background, we can begin the modern period of Imperial history...actually, we don't have enough time for that, we'll leave the actual learning for tomorrow. But we do have enough time for summer stories, anyone wanna share?​
 
I like it alot!
 
This will be a very interesting history lesson. See you all in tomorrow's lesson!
 
I love it! The Holy Roman Empire is certainly a fascinating topic. :)

I hope that despite no gameplay, this AAR will includea few maps (because everyone love maps!).

Thats gonna be very interesting, I'll be following. :)
 
I love it! The Holy Roman Empire is certainly a fascinating topic. :)

I hope that despite no gameplay, this AAR will includea few maps (because everyone love maps!).

Thats gonna be very interesting, I'll be following. :)

You know I NEVER start an AAR without finding some good maps first. Seriously, I've delayed starting AARs before until I've found good blank maps, etc. :D Such is the extent of my mapophilia.
 
You know I NEVER start an AAR without finding some good maps first. Seriously, I've delayed starting AARs before until I've found good blank maps, etc. :D Such is the extent of my mapophilia.

Glad to hear that, sometimes a map can be worth a thousand slides :D
 
Reads well, and I like the graphics. An AAR without a game behind it is an interesting concept. Very meta.

Best of luck finding maps!
 
I'll follow, doing my duty as a Ghibelline.

May divine wind bring you favourable maps!
 
Charles V: 1519-1558

Hello once again students, or as our Spanish brethren would say "hola estudiantes."...Alright that was cheesy, let's just forget I ever tried to be the cool teacher and get to the lesson.

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So, as we touched upon a little bit yesterday, Charles V was a member of the powerful Habsburg dynasty, and came to inherit all of the family's land, making him the ruler of one hell of an empire. When he just one years old, he was already Duke of Burgundy and Lord of the Netherlands. Then, when we has six years old, he became King of Spain, being the first king to unite the crowns of Castille and Aragon. And finally, he was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, cementing all of his possessions together into the Empire we know today.

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Here's some other random events during his reign, before we get to the really important stuff. Sure, these were fairly large wars which solidified the Empire's borders, but they pale in comparison to whats on the next couple of slides. As we may know, explorers from Spain spread Spanish, and later Imperial, rule throughout the Americas, absolutely crushing the Aztecs and Inca through advanced technology, psychological warfare, and of course, smallpox. Also, from about 1521 to the late 1530s, the Empire was in an on and off war with France over dominance of northern Italy. The Battle of Pavia in 1526 solidified Imperial rule there, but the French did continue to try to wrest control for the next ten years or so. Though their continued wars and defeats only continued to give the Empire more excuses to centralize and dominate northern Italy as a true province of the Empire. And in the Balkans, the Empire was also fighting against the Ottoman Empire, after defeating them at Vienna and Mohacs, the Ottoman surge was significantly stopped, and Imperial troops were even able to conquer Tunis from the Ottomans, though the troops there would have to deal with rebellions there for decades after

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OK, now here's the really important stuff, and where this class truly begins. As I'm sure you all learned, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation in 1517, sending shockwaves throughout Europe. Although Charles V was a devout Catholic, he didn't want to jeopardize the stability of the Empire, so he didn't take the spread of Lutheranism seriously and didn't actively fight against it. By the time the Schmalkaldic League was formed in 1531, of Protestants and princes, Lutheranism had gathered quite a following in the northern areas of the Empire, areas quite far from the capital of Vienna. Once the Schmalkaldic League was formed, the Reformation turned from a religious affair to a violent political one, bringing on a ruthless 16 year civil war across the German areas of the Empire.

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Immediately upon hearing of the formation of this defiant alliance, which demanded a more decentralized Empire and freedom of religion, Charles V brought in thousands upon thousands of troops from the areas of the Empire not affected by the Reformation, namely Spain and Hungary. He ordered these men to spread throughout northern Germany fairly evenly, where they stationed themselves in towns, crushing the frequent riots and uprisings. But the leaders of the League, Philip of Hesse and John Frederick of Saxony we able to form a powerhouse of Lutheranism and elector power in northeastern Germany, mostly the province of Brandenburg. They gathered their troops there, and were able to hold off Imperial troops in bloody back and forth warfare, that resembled the trench warfare that would develop in the late 19th century, or early 20th.

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This bloody stalemate continued on until 1544, when Imperial troops broke the Lutheran lines at Nienberg, killing or capturing over 10,000 League troops. Ignore the squiggly red lines, apparently Microsoft hates German. Anyway, this same Imperial army marched swiftly towards Berlin, the Leagues center, and laid siege to it. This siege would last until 1547, when the Imperial army finally retreated, after peace had been signed. Although it would hold out for the rest of the war, it was devastated by the constant three year siege. The League's cause was finally broken at Muhlberg, where Charles V, frail and carried on a litter, directed a battle that killed John Frederick and over 12,000 Lutherans.

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So, that same year, peace was signed at Augsburg. The document reaffirmed that Charles V was the legitimate and total Holy Roman Emperor. It made sure to note that the Holy Roman Empire was now a centralized state, a true monarchy and empire, thus ending the power of princes and electors and reducing them to a mere ceremonial role. It also made sure that Charles V was the sole ruler of all Habsburg family lands. It may seem strange as to why none of his family members challenged his power, considering the intrigue and dynastic bickering of the day, but we must understand that Charles V was also King of Spain, and therefore he held the power of the most powerful part of the Empire. Any opposition to his rule and legitimacy would have been crushed by Spanish troops, just like the Lutherans were. And despite his opposition to the Reformation, Charles V realized that many of his subjects were still Lutheran, so he decreed that Protestantism could be freely practiced in the Netherlands and Brandenburg, something that would have big consequences for the future, as those two areas would become majority Protestant provinces. We have to understand that the Augsburg Peace was simply the most important document in the history of the modern Empire. Without it, the Empire would have probably fallen apart after Charles V’s death, and Germany proper would have remained a decentralized region of microstates. But instead, the treaty was enforced, and all of Charles V’s lands were cemented together as one Holy Roman Empire. It is also interesting to note that there was fighting over whether or not to call this empire something else, other than Holy Roman. There was concern that Hungary and Spain, areas not traditionally part of it before, would reject the union. Thought alternatives like Karlian and Habsburg empires were considered, they decided to continue being called the Holy Roman Empire, as it was discovered that Hungary and Spain would embrace their ancient Roman heritage.

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Finally, this is a map, not including American colonies, of the Holy Roman Empire upon Charles V’s death in 1558. The late emperor, who would be called “the Great” posthumously, suffered greatly in his final years. The infamous Habsburg chin caused his many digestional and chewing problems. And gout caused him severe pain, rendering him to a litter for the last decade of his life. Finally, malaria took his life in 1558 and he was interred next to Charlemagne in the Aachen Cathedral. As you can see, Papal lands in Germany were not incorporated into the Empire just yet, as Charles V had been a devout Catholic. Anyway, here are Imperial lands in Europe upon the ascension of Philip I, the son of Charles V, whose reign we’ll cover tomorrow.​
 
Your history covering Charles V is nothing more than amazing, it's like I'm getting a crash course on one of my favorite leaders of the past, simply excellent! Excellent! ;)
 
That was a very interesting lesson. A good introduction to Charles V and the birth of the modern, centralized empire. Let's see what the future has for the HRE.