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Tweetybird

First Lieutenant
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Oct 20, 2009
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The Rise of Brittany - A Breton 4.1b AAR
The game is played on default, other than
Difficulty - Hard
Spread of Land - 100
Spread of Sea - 50
Lucky - Random

(So far discovered France, England, Poland and Hungary to be Lucky)

The AAR will deal with the rise of Brittany from a minor Duchy to a, hopefully, colonial and trading empire. It will be written in historical form, a monarch per update (unless the monarch did a lot, then it's possibly 2-3 updates per monarch). I have generally played at least 20 years further than the events I'm writing about.
 
Rise of Brittany

The Dukes of Brittany
House de Dreux
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Jean VI de Dreux (1404-1430)
-- The Regency of John of Nevers (1401-1404)
Artur III de Dreux (1430-1449)
 
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The Regency of John I, Count of Nevers
Regent for Jean VI, Duke of Brittany 1401-1404

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The tale of Brittany's growth in wealth, power and size begins with the reign of Jean VI, soon after the end of the War of Breton succession. Jean V, his father, was killed by a disease in Savoie while besieging Chambéry. Already 62 years old, he most likely received the disease because of the poor hygiene or the filthy water the Breton army had to drink. Although his reign was marked by military and diplomatic successes, it was only a stepping stone towards greatness, since John V did not increase the wealth nor size of his Duchy for a considerable amount – at least not compared to his heirs.

Jean VI, although he would prove to be a rather capable heir to Jean V, was too young to take control of the Duchy in 1401, being only eleven years old. He would assume the title of Count of Montfort, but would not exercise actual control over it until year 1403, either.
While Jean VI was under the protection and guardianship of Philippe the Bold in Dijon, while Philippe's son and heir John I of Nevers served as regent for a three and a half years, until Jean was of age.

John of Nevers took control of Brittany during the Burgundian-Brabantian War, with all of Breton soldiers stationed in Savoie, where Jean V had died. John did not personally assume control of the army, but he continued to use them to conquer northern parts of Savoy and to stave off the armies of the Bishopric of Trier while the Burgundian troops dealt with Brabant and took control of the wealthy lands to the north.
However, even though the Breton army suffered losses in manpower, as well as financial losses, they did not gain any territory nor any financial compensation for their services. Burgundy, on the other hand, annexed the full territory of Brabant and forced the Savoyard Count to swear fealty to him.

Although John of Nevers proved to have Burgundy's interests in mind before the Breton interests, Brittany did have some merits from his regency. He secured the Breton-Aragonese alliance, as well as an alliance with the now-autonomous duke of Armagnac-Rouergue, freed from French overlordship by a military intervention by Bohemia in the French War for Provence. Furthermore, he secured a marriage between Jean VI and Margaret of Burgundy, his sister, as well as the marriages between Jean V's widow, Joanna of Navarre, and the French dynasty. A pair of Jean's cousins were also arranged to be married to the second sons of Armagnac-Rouergue and Aragon, but no records of the actual marriages exist to this day.

The last year of John's regency would be marked by participation in the Burgundian-Hainaut war, but Hainaut was annexed within four months, without any Breton intervention or military aid. In late 1404, John of Nevers would transfer power to Jean VI de Dreux, duke of Brittany, allowing him to finally exercise full power as he reached the age of fifteen.
 
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Ooooh...Britanny AARs are always a blast...
 
@kadvael 56 - Thank you, I hope so too. And I will do my best. Only two rebellions in 50 years played, so far so good.

@Blsteen - I do hope I can help. But, like the Russian AAR, I'm not the type to expand rapidly. I like my game slow and easy, my cores well-spread and my borders neat.

@naggy - I'll try to uphold the high standards of Breton games.
 
Jean VI de Dreux (1390-1430)
Duke of Brittany 1404-1430
Count of Mormont 1403-1421
The Reformer, The Merchant Duke

Jean VI would finally climb to the throne of a small and not overly significant country on the 29th of December 1404. His first moves would be those towards spreading his dynastic ties by marrying distant relatives off to the English and French nobles of similar position and royal blood. During his reign he would also secure various marriages with kingdoms and duchies such as Burgundy, Aragon, Palatinate and some more. Other than the diplomatic ties, Jean VI would also realize the importance of trade. The position of Brittany was unimportant at the time, but the relative vicinity of most Euro-African centers of trade allowed for a strong free-trading policy that would set Brittany in stone as the strongest trading nation in the world. Records of Breton trading presence are found in all the key trading ports of the time, as well as some continental centers of trade – Lübeck, Andalucia, Alexandria, Genoa, Paris, Venice and Picardie all hold written evidence of Breton economical dominance during the reign of Jean VI. Furthermore, a Breton ship, probably a sunk merchant's hulk, dating from the early 15th century was found near Lübeck, carrying goods worth roughly 25 coffers of coin – an impressive amount for a country the size of Brittany for just one trading port.


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A Breton Merchant

However, Jean had expanded Breton land before he had done the same with Brittany's financial abilities. Burgundy, a key alley to the Bretons, was still in near-constant war with their early conquests and the year 1405 brought with it the conquest of Liege. Burgundy gained this bishopric without much of an effort, but the war was also important for Brittany. Much like Armagnac-Rouergue, the Duchy of Auvergne, together with the County of Poitou, was freed from the French orbit. They were allied to Liege and moved to help their ally, which resulted in a split of their country. A siege of Nantes was set up in the first months of the war, but the capital was quickly saved and within a few months Poitou fell and was annexed by Brittany, while Auvergne proper was annexed by Burgundy.

The growing Brittany had become a center of culture in that period and it is known the Breton court held such great thinkers as Alexander Elmpt and Karel Appingedan. A month after the great victory, Jean VI was blessed with a first child – a son Artur who would proceed to become Duke Artur III twenty-five years later. The crafty Jean arranged a future marriage with Joanna of Léon, an infant daughter of the king of Castille, for him within three months of his birth.

During the period of 1406-1416, Brittany goes through a period of peace. However, while evidence of economic growth can indeed be traced, this period had its issues. For example, Jean VI was one of the first rulers in Europe to try and expand the bureaucracy that was present in Europe. Yet, while it did succeed somewhat, it also caused corruption, a vicious enemy of a trading giant such as Brittany. To further strengthen trade, Jean VI brought many laws the helped the trading guild in Nantes, and soon it become a national trading guild as Jean VI enforced various trading policies at a national level. Also, to improve the collection of taxes, Jean would split land into smaller units that he would appoint to capable governors and nobles.
The year 1411 brought with it the sickness of Artur, the heir to the throne. However, a trained physician was sent for in due time. While Artur would suffer from weakness and a lack of stamina for the rest of his life, he would live.
The decade of peace would be briefly interrupted by a rebellion in Poitou in 1413. The local nobles, supported financially by France, tried to switch allegiances back to the more influencial French king. However, they would fail as the Breton army swooped down onto them and scared them away into French land. This event would prove the importance of the standing army and the Breton dukes would maintain such an army from that point on, knowing fully well that their economy can handle that kind of a strain.
Unfortunately for Brittany, the period of peace ended just as a dark decade for Brittany's financial growth began – from year 1415 to year 1425, large traces of smuggler presence and even smuggler dominance and present in the historical records of the area.

Yet, even with such improvements, Brittany was still a pawn in the games between the French and the English. Only the year 1416 would bring with it a sudden shift in that position, even if only a temporary one. The French declared war to Armagnac, an ally of the Breton duke, and Brittany would assume leadership in the defensive war. Other noteworthy participants of the war, which Breton historians call 'The First Breton-French War', are the Duke Palatine on the French side and the kingdoms of England and Holland on the Breton side. It was in fact the English presence in the war that was crucial for making it a victory for the Breton side, although the Duchy of Armagnac received the short end of the stick, losing the actual Armagnac part of their realm. The Breton army, however, fought the first half of the war with mixed success, and actually had a good third of their country occupied in the war. However, they captured Maine and with the English gains in the south, it was easy for the Breton duke to include Maine in the peace treaty, as well as a certain amount of coin.
The First Breton-French war would end in year 1418. The celebrations and festivals of that time are recorded to have been grand. Furthermore, the famous Breton 'Epic of Jean the Old', most likely refering to Jean V, was dated to 1418 and could easily had been written during the time of festivities.

Again peace followed in the period of 1418-1422. The only records of the time speak of Artur de Dreux being introduced to the assembled nobles of the land as heir apparent and being granted the titles of Count of Mormont and Maine and the birth of his twin children. In May 1422 twins, two sons François and Filippe, were born to Artur de Dreux and Joanna of Castille. Within a month, a pair of future marriages with royal daughters of Naples and Austria were arranged. The policies would pay o fin 1424, when Filippe de Dreux would be declared King of Naples and a regency would be arranged for him. Jean VI would attempt to make himself the regent, but the English and Italian nobles managed to prevent that from happening and put a Neapolitan count on that post.


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Breton gains during the reign of Jean VI

The Second French-Breton War would be fought in the 1422-1424 period, again between the same combatants. The Count Palatine would be bought off by Breton gold soon in the war, but it would still be won by the French – Rouergue was added to the French possessions and the Breton army would be all but destroyed. It was, once again, only due to the English victories that a white peace was finally arranged in 1424. The reason this war is particularly interesting to Breton historians is the a reported use of Scorched Earth tactics.
Brittany managed to recover from the loss rather soon and go as far as to secure an alliance with the Kingdom of Castille-Leon in the late 1424.
The last war Jean VI would fight in would be the Third Breton-French war. The Breton duke was actually not the leader of the Anti-French Coalition in this war – the war was fought between the Burgundians with their allies the English and the Bretons – but some call it so nevertheless. The war would end with Armagnac passing into the hands of the English and Burgundy signing a white peace soon afterwards, weary of war.
During this war, Jean would also participate in the New Crusade, a great Castillan advance against Morroco and the Golden Horde, but only in name, not investing any troops into the fray. Both wars ended in 1429.
The final recorded act of Jean VI was a reformation of the army, starting to use men at arms instead of peasant levies. He would die months later, in the year of 1430.
 
Artur III de Dreux (1406-1449)
Duke of Bretagne 1430-1449
Duke of Anjou 1435-1449
Count of Mormont 1421-1449
The Rich, The Humble, The Conqueror

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With the seemingly natural death of Jean VI, his son Artur, a heir apparent and Count of Mormont for nine years already, took control over the duchy. However, his rise to power did not go unprotested, for Primel de Rohan, a count, proclaimed the young duke had arranged for his father to be poisoned. Furthermore, he cited a claim on the duchy coming from a distant and obscure marriage of his ancestor. His claim was supported by strength in arms, for de Rohan had a large cavalry force at his command. However, general and chavalier Yann de Trémereuc, the Marshal of the Breton army, fought the pretender in the name of the duke. After an initial loss, he managed to turn the tide and have the pretender defeated, slain in battle.
While his rule was obviously not overly firm in the beginning, Artur quickly showed himself to be a more than capable governor. In the first year of his reign, Eugéne de Marque died without a heir. De Marque was a merchant from Poitou and one of the first French noblemen from the area to submit fully to the Duke. A loyal and capable man, he had gained a large amount of wealth as a merchant in the 1400-1430 period. As he died, he left his immense wealth and some land to the Breton Duke – the amount was so large it increased the Breton treasury by over a third, and Brittany was already a rather rich country at the time.

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The Breton court also seemed to become more and more of a cultural center and arts and philosophy flourished under the young duke. He was known to hire artists, diplomats, masters of the mint and even a few former Trading Guild heads, like the renowned Gwilher de la Trémoille, another one of the richest traders and nobles of the time.

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Artur had a strange way of thinking for a duke of his day and age, having fough against serfdom during the whole of his reign. It did not bring his much popularity with the nobles of his land, other than the trader faction, but the people had shown much love for the young duke – furthermore, after the initial issues with granting serfs more freedom, it resulted in a better administrative system.

Artur's reign was dotted with many wars, large and small, and the Castillan Conquest of Algiers (1432-1433) was the first of the many. Castille, a stalwart kingdom eager to do god's will, was starting their path towards conquering Africa. While Brittany was an ally in many such a war in the future, this was the only one where Breton troops actually landed on North African soil in the 15th century. Yann de Trémereuc took no less than 4 000 men from Brittany and attempted to conquer the northern coast, a well-known base for piracy. Unfortunately, he already lost 200 men on the transport ships, due to disease, and then 3 000 more in Oran, attacked from behind while besieging a fortress. Having lost his troops and his pride, de Trémereuc returned home in shame.
However, officially the war still lasted. Aware that war was bad for trade, the influential Traders' Guild pressed the young duke to end it, threatening with leaving the country and taking their riches with them. Panicking, the duke agreed to their terms if they would pay Yemen for peace from their own funds, for they wouldn't accept a simple end to violence. The Guild accepted, making peace in 1433.

While this war took place, Artur had seemingly been in an argument with the Church. He had taken some of their land and started selling it to various nobles, hoarding gold in the ducal treasury. There were always rich nobles willing to purchase some land and Artur III was more than capable of finding them.

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However, it was a horrible thing for a young noble to be at odd with the Pope and the Church. Thus, he ordered no less than four cathedrals to be built in four major cities of Brittany, paying for them fully. The Pope was happy with the result, at least for the time being, and accepted an uneasy diplomatic truce with the young duke.

The first weeks of year 1434 brought with it a new large-scale war for Artur III de Dreux – Burgundy and France clashed again, drawing Brittany and England in on one side and the Duke Palatine on the other. While it is not recognised as such in the world, Breton historians call it the Fourth Breton-French War (1434-1436). Once again, Brittany received financial support from France's enemies. While much mercenary activity is recorded in Brittany at this time, it is also a known fact that a good part of the financial aid sent was set aside in the Duke's treasury – in fact, it is one of the reasons the treasury swelled during wars, instead of shrinked as trade dropped some.
Artur III chose to take command of the military for an initial clash with the French on the coast of Normandy, which was successful, but afterwards let de Trémereuc take control. However, in January 1435 Yann de Trémereuc died from food poisoning, forcing the young duke to command his armies in battle once more. His scattered armies besieged a few fortresses and were most successful – Orléans fell in June that year, Angiers and Maine in July. The English were winning the war as well – in fact, the only successes France had were in Burgundy. The war was finally concluded, as for England and Brittany, in July 1435, with the Treaty of Dieppe. England gained Toulouse, while Brittany expanded into Anjou, a rich duchy that was part of the French kingdom for some time now. The duke was quick to add the title duc d'Anjou to his list of titles after disposing of the previous duke. Burgundy and France declared truce in May 1436.

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During the war, two things important for the future happened – Castille declared a war on Marocco and her allies, expanding deep into Northern Africa, with Brittany as a passive ally. A possibly more important thing happened in Ireland, where the English king inherited the title King of Munster, with the country in a personal union with England. A few years later it would move the English into conquering all of Ireland.

As the war ended, Brittany became one of the richest countries in Europe, thanks to the financial aid, still growing trading power and tribute they gained from France. It allowed for more notable people, mostly diplomats and poets, to make a living at the Breton court.
One of the most notable things that happened in his court was when his diplomats and historians, paid from the duke's rich treasury, located a right to the Duchy of Berry in 1436, finding evidence that the Breton duke had a better right to the Duchy than the French king who currently held it after some rebels against the duke ceded the duchy to the French roughly a decade ago. It made Brittany even more unpopular with the French, but the fading kingdom could not risk war against Brittany and her allies.

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The Duchy returned to peacefulness and trade for a brief period. Notably, a large festival was held in Nantes in 1439, when François de Dreux was officially proclaimed Heir to the Throne. During the next ten years, he helped his father run the duchy – it is widely believed it was him who pushed for the reforms of 1440, when large changes to bureaucracy and administration of the country were made by the duke and his heir.

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It was the year 1441 that would continue hostilities with their eastern foe, the French. Once again Burgundy and France clashed, much like two titans, drawing England and Brittany into the fray. The Fifth Breton-French War (1441-1443) was quite a violent one, with a large amount of notable battles, mostly in Burgundy's land. Breton armies once again did well in the war, taking hold of a few counties, but in the end they accepted to leave the conflict for a large sum of gold. Without Breton assistance and with England leaving the war soon afterwards, Burgundy had to cede a part of their wealth in late 1443.

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The year 1443 and early 1444 were marked with unrest in Italy. Aragon invaded Italy, but was pushed back by the Pan-Italian Alliance. Brittany, officially an ally in the war, participated only in name, not wishing to truly risk their investments in Genova and Venezia. During the same time, the Kingdom of Naples attempted to invade the Kingdom of Sicily, busy with the Aragonese invaders. They failed miserably, being annexed in late 1444. Felippe I de Dreux of Naples was executed, thus ending the reign of the house de Dreux anywhere outside Brittany.

The year of 1444 brought a war to Brittany, as well, and an unexpected one. The English Kingdom, a Great Power of the time, having moved from their faraway island to the French South, declared war unto Burgundy, desiring their rich southern lands. A year before, 1443, the English had declared they would protect Brittany from harm, amongst other things, trying to assert themselves over the Breton. They duke Artur took it as an insult, but he was afraid of a war with the English and as such tried to ease the tension.

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The War of English Agression, known also as the War for Flanders, lasted from 1444 to 1445, only to end with an English victory. The Breton forces indeed fought in the war, but did exceedingly poorly. The English managed to get their claim on Calais, an important city, confirmed, as well as gain Vlaanderen and some amount of tribute in coin.

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Brittany and their ally were shamed in a war, and England had indeed proven to be the most dangerous of countries in the vicinity of Brittany. However, on the 1st of January 1448, a man approached Duke Artur with a most curious tale. Visant de Kersulguen was a captain of a fishing ship that believed he had discovered a new land. In 1446, when he was still officer on another man's ship, a storm forced him and his men to some distant coast in the west. While most were convinced it was just the west coast of Iceland, it was soon discovered it was not. Offering to discover new land for the duke, de Kersulguen asked for some ships and men to explore this new land, be it island or continent. The rich and exceedingly curious king accepted, sending de Kersulguen west with the ships 'Nantes' and 'Duke Jean'.

Indeed, de Kersulguen was right, and he found Greenland. However, there were already traces of human existance there. De Kersulguen's news reached the duke and he urged for a colony to be built in the southern part of Greenland, which he named Jeanland. Indeed, first colonization was marked to had occured to Jeanland in May 1448.
De Kersulguen was convinced there was more and he moved west to discover de Kersuguen's sea, Duke Artur's Bay and also a part of the coast of the new continent. However, he was not fully sure it was unknown land – perhaps only the eastern coast of Asia, he believed. His explorations would continue under François I.

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During this time, Brittany was drawn in a new war with the French, again with Burgundy, nicknamed the Sixth Breton-French War (1448-1450). The Breton duke would again personally move into Normandy and Caux, winning every battle he entered. However, Burgundy did not do as well, ceding Artois to the French in September. It was Brittany who was the dominant force in this war and they continued the war. Unfortunately, Duke Artur III was slain by an arrow on the 13th of October 1449 while trying to conquer Orléans once again, this time by assault. Dying at the age of 43, he left his titles and wealth to his son, François I de Dreux of Brittany.

He was most certainly a capable duke, wealthy, influential and capable of winning a war. While he was rich, he was always humble and careful with his wealth. Likewise, while he was often at war, he was very mindful of his reputation and was certain not to take more land in any war that his neighbours would allow. Most importantly, it was during his reign that New Brittany, a northern part of a new continent, was discovered. That area would prove to be the key to Brittany's later success.
 
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I just wanted to note this AAR is not dead. I simply do not have time in the next two weeks for a full-blown update, with the barrage of exams next week. Especially since the next update includes the greatest war the Bretons have fought so far, and one to last nearly 20 years, full-blown all the way.
I'll try to toss in a brief narrative update if I can.