Is not that how the English have always acted in wars ?
We will bring them to justice
I will make sure that the English get really destroyed.
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Is not that how the English have always acted in wars ?
We will bring them to justice
I will make sure that the English get really destroyed.
Act XXXVIII, The end game draws near.
It is now January, a new year has begun, 1474, the war has now entered into its fifth year. Artur's invasion of southern France has taken a heavy toll on the English monarchy, the last year have come at a heavy cost to both sides, but the Bretons have something to show for it, the English have not. The Breton army has been camping and resting for a couple of weeks near Toulouse, however, Artur wants to move his army into Provence now, the final English stronghold in the south, the Breton prince, however, he gets his work cut out for him. Provence is one of the most recent English conquests, they are part of the holy roman empire and despise the English, French and anyone else who have tried to bring them to submission, after 4 years of war taxes they have had enough and all of Provence rises up to retake their land for themselves. Soon the region is occupied by over 12 000 rebels, Artur strikes a bargain with them, he will not move against them, as long as they do not strike the Bretons, the rebels agree to his proposals and the two armies set their sights on a common goal, the destruction of the English.
With Provence besieged by rebels Artur decided instead to journey north and help his allies with the occupation of northern France, Paris was already in Breton hands, but Caux was not, there was also rumors of an English attack to relieve Paris. On a cold January morning Artur orders the army to break camp, before he ordered the men to march he tried to encourage his soldiers by saying: "This winter is not to my liking, let's go northwards and get the feel of a real one." Artur managed to put a smile on his soldiers faces and the men moved north, high in spirits and light at heart.
As the Bretons moved north Artur rode ahead to visit his mother and family in Nantes, he had barely seen his wife and son since the start of the war. As Artur rode through the city the population greeted him with cheers and smiling faces. He finally made his way to the palace and upon seeing his wife he shed numerous tears. Artur was also greeted by his son, Jean, who was named after his great grandfather. Jean had never been interested in military matters, he was a firm believer in diplomacy over warfare. Artur had wanted to bring his son with him on campaign ever since the war started, but up until now Jean had refused, finally Jean agreed to accompany his father on to the battlefield, he too had given up on negotiating with the English. Before Artur departed Nantes he stayed a few hours with his mother, the queen of Brittany was by now 69 years old and she had left most the matters of state to her council and son. The mother and son talked for a long time, finally Artur departed, he promised his mother that he would visit her again quite soon. Artur and Jean rode out of Nantes and met up with the army a few hours later, the men were happy to see their prince again, as well as his son and every soldier cheered him with patriotic cries.
As winter gave way to spring and March turned into April Artur's army entered into eastern Normandie and set their sights on Rouen, the provincial capital of Caux. Artur's men moved swiftly towards the city and it was not long before the long Breton columns were filing in front of the city walls. Artur surveyed the defenses of the city for many hours and he realized that they were not strong enough to hold off a determined assault. The Bretons began the construction of ladders and other equipment, but by now Artur's army also had light bombards, purchased from Ottoman gunsmiths. After having bombarded the city for 37 days Artur ordered an assault. The English garrison respond with everything they had, arrows rained down on the advancing Bretons and many of Artur's men fell in front of the walls. The English defenders did only postpone the inevitable, after a few days of limited breakthroughs a Breton bombard struck the walls on a critical point and a huge hole was torn. Artur ordered a thousand men to storm through the breach, the English tried to plug the hole, but it was a futile effort, within an hour the remaining English surrendered to Artur, the prisoners were not killed, but they were not allowed to return to English lines either, Artur allowed them to journey east and enlist as mercenaries, knowing what was in store for them if they declined the offer the English surrendered their weapons and marched eastwards. After Artur's capture of Rouen the north was secure once more, the remaining English fled across the channel in any small ship they could find. The English army took advantage of the fact that Artur had moved north, now they sent a new army of 13 000 men to retake the south. When Artur learned about the enemy movement he once again put his army on the road and moved south.
The English army under leadership of Andrew Procter, a young promising general landed in Languedoc in the mid of summer, not daring to face the strong rebel force in Provence they instead moved to Toulouse, the wealthiest city in southern France. The Breton force inside the city was strong and well trained, 2000 men are defending the city and they have provisions for a long time, the English realized that they could not take the city by assault, instead they started to besiege operations.
As Artur moved south he stopped for a couple of months to reform his army, in a very serious manner. He had always been a patriot for the Breton culture and traditional way of fighting and he decided that the Men-at-arms were not the way for the Bretons, he reequipped his army with traditional Celtic weaponry, the two-handed axe, the claymore and with dirks, the heavy armor was sacrificed for lighter mails in order to move faster on the field of battle. Artur called his new infantry "Galloglaigh infantry", he would soon have a chance to try them on the field of battle.
(Templates for the new infantry.)
Even though Artur's army was moving as fast as they could they still did not reach southern France before December 1475, the English was aware that the Bretons were closing in on them and after so many battles and so many victories Artur was starting to become a bit too confident and he did not put out scouts ahead of the army, this played into the hand of the English and he soon discovered it to his horror. As the Breton columns headed up a steep hill a line becomes visible on the top and a barrage of arrows hail down upon Artur's men, Bretons fell left right and center to the English volleys. The Galloglaigh infantry had no real protection against this hail of arrows and they took terrible losses. As Artur realized what was happening he gots in front of his men, several arrows came close to hitting him, but he did not waver, he picks up a banner and guides the men forward in an unrelenting charge. The English are shocked that the Bretons defy their arrows and they find to their horror that they can't stop the charge. After hours of intense fighting the English retreat from the field, their morale is shaken by the fact that they could not make the Bretons waver. For Artur the battle is costly, as he wanders the field of battle he is personally shaken by the losses, it is understandable, the Bretons lost 4152 men that day. Even though the English only lost 1556 men, under half the Breton total, they were still driven from the field.
(An English archer, men like this inflicted heavy losses on the Bretons.)
After the battle the Breton nobles advise Artur to give the army a chance to rest and get reinforcements, they had suffered heavy losses and the English were retreating into Roussillon, a part of the kingdom of Aragon and the Bretons did not have permission to walk on his land. Artur, however, sends an emissary to the king of Aragon and gets access to his lands, the Breton army is now in hot pursuit of the English who are not yet aware of the fact. Over the next weeks the two sides clash throughout Roussillon, the English continue their retreat into Girona, where on the 28. of January 1476 Andrew Procter, the promising young general who left England a year ago with high hopes for himself surrenders to the Bretons, his army of 13 000 men are lost. Artur's new infantry have been tested in a very harsh manner, they have risen to the task and passed.
By now the English had suffered major defeats, they had just lost another army in the Pyrenees and their coffers were being emptied by the need to constantly field more and more troops, however, they decided to once again go for an invasion of Brittany, with Artur stuck in the south it seemed like a good plan. An English army of 8000 men landed on the beaches of Morbihan, and they headed for the Breton city of Rohan, a city that had always been a prime target for any invader, the English chose to land in January, they hoped that the winter would hinder Artur from marching north before they could get more men ashore, they were wrong. When the Breton prince heard about the English invasion he immediately set out with the main portion of his army, his soldiers once again marched north along snowy roads, but their morale was high.
Artur's Breton army did not arrive in Brittany before April, as the men marched towards Rohan they saw the destruction the English army had inflicted on the populace, dead civilians lay unburied along the roads and most of the farms in the area was burned to the ground. As Artur's army arrives outside of Rohan he orders an immediate attack on the English, his men drive forward and hack down everything that come in their way, the English are terrified by the Breton charge and they find to their horror that the Bretons can move faster than them, the English retreat soon turns into a rout as they flee from the field they leave their weapons, armor and hope of victory behind. The fields in front of Rohan are littered with over 2600 English corpses, about 2800 Bretons also died in the battle. Artur pursues the English army northwards into the region of Finisterre and he finally catches up with them outside of the city of Brest, the Bretons show no mercy this time and they cut down about 4400 English soldiers in less than an hour.
(Breton light infantry after yet another victory over the invader.)
This last Breton victory was just another sign that the English were losing the war, but they would still not give up, Artur was already receiving reports that another 14 000 English had been landed in southern France, once again he would have to move south.
It is now January, a new year has begun, 1474, the war has now entered into its fifth year. Artur's invasion of southern France has taken a heavy toll on the English monarchy, the last year have come at a heavy cost to both sides, but the Bretons have something to show for it, the English have not. The Breton army has been camping and resting for a couple of weeks near Toulouse, however, Artur wants to move his army into Provence now, the final English stronghold in the south, the Breton prince, however, he gets his work cut out for him. Provence is one of the most recent English conquests, they are part of the holy roman empire and despise the English, French and anyone else who have tried to bring them to submission, after 4 years of war taxes they have had enough and all of Provence rises up to retake their land for themselves. Soon the region is occupied by over 12 000 rebels, Artur strikes a bargain with them, he will not move against them, as long as they do not strike the Bretons, the rebels agree to his proposals and the two armies set their sights on a common goal, the destruction of the English.
With Provence besieged by rebels Artur decided instead to journey north and help his allies with the occupation of northern France, Paris was already in Breton hands, but Caux was not, there was also rumors of an English attack to relieve Paris. On a cold January morning Artur orders the army to break camp, before he ordered the men to march he tried to encourage his soldiers by saying: "This winter is not to my liking, let's go northwards and get the feel of a real one." Artur managed to put a smile on his soldiers faces and the men moved north, high in spirits and light at heart.
As the Bretons moved north Artur rode ahead to visit his mother and family in Nantes, he had barely seen his wife and son since the start of the war. As Artur rode through the city the population greeted him with cheers and smiling faces. He finally made his way to the palace and upon seeing his wife he shed numerous tears. Artur was also greeted by his son, Jean, who was named after his great grandfather. Jean had never been interested in military matters, he was a firm believer in diplomacy over warfare. Artur had wanted to bring his son with him on campaign ever since the war started, but up until now Jean had refused, finally Jean agreed to accompany his father on to the battlefield, he too had given up on negotiating with the English. Before Artur departed Nantes he stayed a few hours with his mother, the queen of Brittany was by now 69 years old and she had left most the matters of state to her council and son. The mother and son talked for a long time, finally Artur departed, he promised his mother that he would visit her again quite soon. Artur and Jean rode out of Nantes and met up with the army a few hours later, the men were happy to see their prince again, as well as his son and every soldier cheered him with patriotic cries.
As winter gave way to spring and March turned into April Artur's army entered into eastern Normandie and set their sights on Rouen, the provincial capital of Caux. Artur's men moved swiftly towards the city and it was not long before the long Breton columns were filing in front of the city walls. Artur surveyed the defenses of the city for many hours and he realized that they were not strong enough to hold off a determined assault. The Bretons began the construction of ladders and other equipment, but by now Artur's army also had light bombards, purchased from Ottoman gunsmiths. After having bombarded the city for 37 days Artur ordered an assault. The English garrison respond with everything they had, arrows rained down on the advancing Bretons and many of Artur's men fell in front of the walls. The English defenders did only postpone the inevitable, after a few days of limited breakthroughs a Breton bombard struck the walls on a critical point and a huge hole was torn. Artur ordered a thousand men to storm through the breach, the English tried to plug the hole, but it was a futile effort, within an hour the remaining English surrendered to Artur, the prisoners were not killed, but they were not allowed to return to English lines either, Artur allowed them to journey east and enlist as mercenaries, knowing what was in store for them if they declined the offer the English surrendered their weapons and marched eastwards. After Artur's capture of Rouen the north was secure once more, the remaining English fled across the channel in any small ship they could find. The English army took advantage of the fact that Artur had moved north, now they sent a new army of 13 000 men to retake the south. When Artur learned about the enemy movement he once again put his army on the road and moved south.
The English army under leadership of Andrew Procter, a young promising general landed in Languedoc in the mid of summer, not daring to face the strong rebel force in Provence they instead moved to Toulouse, the wealthiest city in southern France. The Breton force inside the city was strong and well trained, 2000 men are defending the city and they have provisions for a long time, the English realized that they could not take the city by assault, instead they started to besiege operations.
As Artur moved south he stopped for a couple of months to reform his army, in a very serious manner. He had always been a patriot for the Breton culture and traditional way of fighting and he decided that the Men-at-arms were not the way for the Bretons, he reequipped his army with traditional Celtic weaponry, the two-handed axe, the claymore and with dirks, the heavy armor was sacrificed for lighter mails in order to move faster on the field of battle. Artur called his new infantry "Galloglaigh infantry", he would soon have a chance to try them on the field of battle.
(Templates for the new infantry.)
Even though Artur's army was moving as fast as they could they still did not reach southern France before December 1475, the English was aware that the Bretons were closing in on them and after so many battles and so many victories Artur was starting to become a bit too confident and he did not put out scouts ahead of the army, this played into the hand of the English and he soon discovered it to his horror. As the Breton columns headed up a steep hill a line becomes visible on the top and a barrage of arrows hail down upon Artur's men, Bretons fell left right and center to the English volleys. The Galloglaigh infantry had no real protection against this hail of arrows and they took terrible losses. As Artur realized what was happening he gots in front of his men, several arrows came close to hitting him, but he did not waver, he picks up a banner and guides the men forward in an unrelenting charge. The English are shocked that the Bretons defy their arrows and they find to their horror that they can't stop the charge. After hours of intense fighting the English retreat from the field, their morale is shaken by the fact that they could not make the Bretons waver. For Artur the battle is costly, as he wanders the field of battle he is personally shaken by the losses, it is understandable, the Bretons lost 4152 men that day. Even though the English only lost 1556 men, under half the Breton total, they were still driven from the field.
(An English archer, men like this inflicted heavy losses on the Bretons.)
After the battle the Breton nobles advise Artur to give the army a chance to rest and get reinforcements, they had suffered heavy losses and the English were retreating into Roussillon, a part of the kingdom of Aragon and the Bretons did not have permission to walk on his land. Artur, however, sends an emissary to the king of Aragon and gets access to his lands, the Breton army is now in hot pursuit of the English who are not yet aware of the fact. Over the next weeks the two sides clash throughout Roussillon, the English continue their retreat into Girona, where on the 28. of January 1476 Andrew Procter, the promising young general who left England a year ago with high hopes for himself surrenders to the Bretons, his army of 13 000 men are lost. Artur's new infantry have been tested in a very harsh manner, they have risen to the task and passed.
By now the English had suffered major defeats, they had just lost another army in the Pyrenees and their coffers were being emptied by the need to constantly field more and more troops, however, they decided to once again go for an invasion of Brittany, with Artur stuck in the south it seemed like a good plan. An English army of 8000 men landed on the beaches of Morbihan, and they headed for the Breton city of Rohan, a city that had always been a prime target for any invader, the English chose to land in January, they hoped that the winter would hinder Artur from marching north before they could get more men ashore, they were wrong. When the Breton prince heard about the English invasion he immediately set out with the main portion of his army, his soldiers once again marched north along snowy roads, but their morale was high.
Artur's Breton army did not arrive in Brittany before April, as the men marched towards Rohan they saw the destruction the English army had inflicted on the populace, dead civilians lay unburied along the roads and most of the farms in the area was burned to the ground. As Artur's army arrives outside of Rohan he orders an immediate attack on the English, his men drive forward and hack down everything that come in their way, the English are terrified by the Breton charge and they find to their horror that the Bretons can move faster than them, the English retreat soon turns into a rout as they flee from the field they leave their weapons, armor and hope of victory behind. The fields in front of Rohan are littered with over 2600 English corpses, about 2800 Bretons also died in the battle. Artur pursues the English army northwards into the region of Finisterre and he finally catches up with them outside of the city of Brest, the Bretons show no mercy this time and they cut down about 4400 English soldiers in less than an hour.
(Breton light infantry after yet another victory over the invader.)
This last Breton victory was just another sign that the English were losing the war, but they would still not give up, Artur was already receiving reports that another 14 000 English had been landed in southern France, once again he would have to move south.
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great to see this back ... convincing Perfidious Albion that it has lost a war is always a rather long drawn out affair
Once the english invaders drowe the Britons to the mountains in the west and over the sea to the lands of Aremorica, in Aremorica the Britons mixed with the romanized gauls and formed a new nation, a nation that reunited the two mayor bloodlines of the celtic peoples.
This nation is Brittany, and the inhabitants of this land will not rest until the english are forced back to the shores of germania where they belong, and until Gaul is finally united under a celtic banner.
Kentoc'h mervel eget bezañ saotret!
This nation is Brittany, and the inhabitants of this land will not rest until the english are forced back to the shores of germania where they belong, and until Gaul is finally united under a celtic banner.
Kentoc'h mervel eget bezañ saotret!
Sorry about the continues delays, hopefully I will be able to come with more updates in not too long.
And so we shall !
Act XXXIX, Peace and corronation
I was now June 1476 and Artur's main body of men were once again on the road, the men were marching six a Brest in the warm summer weather, their commander who was usually amongst them had left his army to ride ahead of them, he had urgent business in Nantes, the capital of Brittany.
Queen Claudine was now 71 years old and for the last years she had suffered a number of illnesses, she was not expected to live much longer. When Artur finally reached Nantes he was only able to meet his mother, a short time after he arrived she died, her reign had seen many glorious victories, she was one of the most successful queens in her own lifetime. The war that had erupted between her and queen Mary of England was still raging, but none of the queens who started the war would see the end of it, as Mary had died in 1473. Artur was by now a seasoned campaigner and a shrewd player in international diplomacy, he had enjoyed many years of practice, both in the matters of state and war, especially the latter, now he was proclaimed as the new king of Brittany.
He did, however, not have any children of his own, all his children had died at a young age, his wife had been so struck with guilt that she had taken her own life and Artur had no intention of getting re-married, therefore his younger brother Jean, was announced as his heir. Artur had no time for a coronation at this instance, he left his brother in charge of the capital and rode out to rejoin his army, they had unfinished business down south. The new English army that had landed in southern France was lead by the English king himself, it was a gesture that was seen by many as a gesture that meant that this was it, the final battle that would decided the war. Edward IV. di Savoia was a brilliant general, he had long experience from fighting rebellions Scotsmen and cracking several Irish and Welsh revolts during the last years, he was a man who knew how to exploit the English longbow in the field and also a stout cavalry commander, but he had never faced off against someone as experienced as Artur before. It took a long time for Artur to get to the city of Toulouse in the south, which Edward was besieging , by the time the Bretons arrived it was September, but the weather was still warm and the ground dry, the two sides met on an open field outside of the city, there were no significant terrain features and the two sides were evenly matched, 16 000 Bretons faced off against 15 000 Englishmen.
(The battle of Toulouse.)
The two sides glared at each other from a distance of 400 yards, neither side wanted to make the first move, finally Artur grew impatient and he ordered his infantry to move forward, his intelligence had told him that the English had not received their last shipment of arrows, thus their longbow men were thought to be out of ammunition. This was not the case. As the Breton infantry closed in the English archers stepped in front of their main line and showered the advancing Bretons with volley after volley, Artur could see from a distance how his men were getting slaughtered by the hundreds, but still they kept on going. The English then counterattacked and their infantry smashed the Breton flanks, driving Artur's men back in disarray. Hard pursued by the English cavalry and still suffering under the hail of arrows the Breton retreat was turning into a rout, Artur realized that he was well underway to losing the battle. He personally got in front of his most seasoned cavalry and led them straight into the fray, the English horses were tired after their pursuit and started to fall back, Edward got a wrong impression of how close he was to winning the battle and he started to believe that Artur outnumbered him massively and that if he did not retreat he would be cut off. When Artur saw that the English army was retreating from the field he could not believe it at first, he made no attempt to pursue them so that they would not reconsider, as a man later would say: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Historians have in later years determined that if Edward had stayed he would have crushed Artur's army that day, had he done so history would have been very different.
The battle was over, Edward had taken his army and moved south into Aragon, the battle was, at least on paper another Breton victory, but had Edward stayed it would not have ended that way. Artur had lost a huge portion of his army, 6804 Bretons littered the field, he had lost over a third of his army to the English army that day, in comparison the English losses stood at no more than 505 men. During the night Artur and his most seasoned military advisors pondered what to do next, many of them advised him to fall back home and raise new troops, this would, however, let the English send more troops to France and they might even be able to retake their castles and cities. Before dawn Artur made his decision, he would pursue the English, he knew that his light infantry, although badly shaken could move much faster than the English, especially across the Pyrenees.
Over the next weeks Artur harassed the retreating English, his men burned their supplies and struck at portions of the English army and then vanishing back into the hills before the English could fight a pitched battle with them. Artur showed that he was a master in terms of maneuver and he constantly turned up were the English least expected it, on the first of November, about two months after the disastrous battle of Toulouse Artur had encircled the English army in a valley deep inside the Pyrenees, Edward realized that the game was up, his men were almost out of food and they stood no chance against the Bretons who held the high ground all around them, he surrendered his forces and was taken prisoner by Artur. Over the last months of constant ambushed the English had lost over 5000 men, compared to only about 500 Breton casualties, the rest of Edward's army, some 8690 men were now taken as prisoners. Artur had proven himself as the superior general, the end was now clearly in sight.
The war continued for another few months, but after Artur destroyed two other English armies at a combined strength of 13 000 men, Edward realized that the game was up and he finally sat down with Artur to discuss peace. Artur's terms were harsh on the English, he forced them to hand over the province of Rouergue to his vassal, Guyenne, further they were forced to release Provence and Bearn as independent states, Artur demanded that Navarra would become a Breton vassal and last and most humiliating, the English were forced to give Scotland back its independence. Edward at first refused, but in the end he realized that he had no other choice, his coffers were empty and his subjects were on the verge of an open revolt, he agreed to all of Artur's conditions.
(The new map of Europe.)
The English-Breton war as it became known in later years were finally over, the war had raged for 8 years and cost thousands of lives, most of the English provinces in northern and southern France had been laid waste by the different armies, but finally after all the years of bitter fighting Artur had triumphed, when he returned to Nantes he was hailed by the people in a manner that not even his grandfather, Jean VI. could have hoped for. At his coronation kings from all over Europe came, even his long term enemy, Edward IV. Artur was now king of the Breton realm, which had expanded quite a lot since the days of Jean V. With Artur as their new king the Bretons believed that things could only get better for them, only time would tell if Artur would be the new Charlemagne.
(Artur III. Duke of Brittany, duke of Normandy, count of Anjou, count of Maine and Lord an protector of Guyenne, Auvergne, Bar and Navarra.)
I was now June 1476 and Artur's main body of men were once again on the road, the men were marching six a Brest in the warm summer weather, their commander who was usually amongst them had left his army to ride ahead of them, he had urgent business in Nantes, the capital of Brittany.
Queen Claudine was now 71 years old and for the last years she had suffered a number of illnesses, she was not expected to live much longer. When Artur finally reached Nantes he was only able to meet his mother, a short time after he arrived she died, her reign had seen many glorious victories, she was one of the most successful queens in her own lifetime. The war that had erupted between her and queen Mary of England was still raging, but none of the queens who started the war would see the end of it, as Mary had died in 1473. Artur was by now a seasoned campaigner and a shrewd player in international diplomacy, he had enjoyed many years of practice, both in the matters of state and war, especially the latter, now he was proclaimed as the new king of Brittany.
He did, however, not have any children of his own, all his children had died at a young age, his wife had been so struck with guilt that she had taken her own life and Artur had no intention of getting re-married, therefore his younger brother Jean, was announced as his heir. Artur had no time for a coronation at this instance, he left his brother in charge of the capital and rode out to rejoin his army, they had unfinished business down south. The new English army that had landed in southern France was lead by the English king himself, it was a gesture that was seen by many as a gesture that meant that this was it, the final battle that would decided the war. Edward IV. di Savoia was a brilliant general, he had long experience from fighting rebellions Scotsmen and cracking several Irish and Welsh revolts during the last years, he was a man who knew how to exploit the English longbow in the field and also a stout cavalry commander, but he had never faced off against someone as experienced as Artur before. It took a long time for Artur to get to the city of Toulouse in the south, which Edward was besieging , by the time the Bretons arrived it was September, but the weather was still warm and the ground dry, the two sides met on an open field outside of the city, there were no significant terrain features and the two sides were evenly matched, 16 000 Bretons faced off against 15 000 Englishmen.
(The battle of Toulouse.)
The two sides glared at each other from a distance of 400 yards, neither side wanted to make the first move, finally Artur grew impatient and he ordered his infantry to move forward, his intelligence had told him that the English had not received their last shipment of arrows, thus their longbow men were thought to be out of ammunition. This was not the case. As the Breton infantry closed in the English archers stepped in front of their main line and showered the advancing Bretons with volley after volley, Artur could see from a distance how his men were getting slaughtered by the hundreds, but still they kept on going. The English then counterattacked and their infantry smashed the Breton flanks, driving Artur's men back in disarray. Hard pursued by the English cavalry and still suffering under the hail of arrows the Breton retreat was turning into a rout, Artur realized that he was well underway to losing the battle. He personally got in front of his most seasoned cavalry and led them straight into the fray, the English horses were tired after their pursuit and started to fall back, Edward got a wrong impression of how close he was to winning the battle and he started to believe that Artur outnumbered him massively and that if he did not retreat he would be cut off. When Artur saw that the English army was retreating from the field he could not believe it at first, he made no attempt to pursue them so that they would not reconsider, as a man later would say: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Historians have in later years determined that if Edward had stayed he would have crushed Artur's army that day, had he done so history would have been very different.
The battle was over, Edward had taken his army and moved south into Aragon, the battle was, at least on paper another Breton victory, but had Edward stayed it would not have ended that way. Artur had lost a huge portion of his army, 6804 Bretons littered the field, he had lost over a third of his army to the English army that day, in comparison the English losses stood at no more than 505 men. During the night Artur and his most seasoned military advisors pondered what to do next, many of them advised him to fall back home and raise new troops, this would, however, let the English send more troops to France and they might even be able to retake their castles and cities. Before dawn Artur made his decision, he would pursue the English, he knew that his light infantry, although badly shaken could move much faster than the English, especially across the Pyrenees.
Over the next weeks Artur harassed the retreating English, his men burned their supplies and struck at portions of the English army and then vanishing back into the hills before the English could fight a pitched battle with them. Artur showed that he was a master in terms of maneuver and he constantly turned up were the English least expected it, on the first of November, about two months after the disastrous battle of Toulouse Artur had encircled the English army in a valley deep inside the Pyrenees, Edward realized that the game was up, his men were almost out of food and they stood no chance against the Bretons who held the high ground all around them, he surrendered his forces and was taken prisoner by Artur. Over the last months of constant ambushed the English had lost over 5000 men, compared to only about 500 Breton casualties, the rest of Edward's army, some 8690 men were now taken as prisoners. Artur had proven himself as the superior general, the end was now clearly in sight.
The war continued for another few months, but after Artur destroyed two other English armies at a combined strength of 13 000 men, Edward realized that the game was up and he finally sat down with Artur to discuss peace. Artur's terms were harsh on the English, he forced them to hand over the province of Rouergue to his vassal, Guyenne, further they were forced to release Provence and Bearn as independent states, Artur demanded that Navarra would become a Breton vassal and last and most humiliating, the English were forced to give Scotland back its independence. Edward at first refused, but in the end he realized that he had no other choice, his coffers were empty and his subjects were on the verge of an open revolt, he agreed to all of Artur's conditions.
(The new map of Europe.)
The English-Breton war as it became known in later years were finally over, the war had raged for 8 years and cost thousands of lives, most of the English provinces in northern and southern France had been laid waste by the different armies, but finally after all the years of bitter fighting Artur had triumphed, when he returned to Nantes he was hailed by the people in a manner that not even his grandfather, Jean VI. could have hoped for. At his coronation kings from all over Europe came, even his long term enemy, Edward IV. Artur was now king of the Breton realm, which had expanded quite a lot since the days of Jean V. With Artur as their new king the Bretons believed that things could only get better for them, only time would tell if Artur would be the new Charlemagne.
(Artur III. Duke of Brittany, duke of Normandy, count of Anjou, count of Maine and Lord an protector of Guyenne, Auvergne, Bar and Navarra.)
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Wow, that was some victory! How are you going to deal with the Navarra problem (ie tantilising morsel for Iberians)?
Oh right, Artur will lay them low!
Oh right, Artur will lay them low!
that was indeed a fitting end to the war ... going for all those releases will probably weaken England more than if you'd directly taken some land too
For story-sake I am gonna try to remain friendly with Castille, their ruler is of the same line as my own, but if they should try anything then Artur will surely make them pay for it
That is what I am hoping, they are gonna recover, but it will take them some years before they are as strong as they were.
Chapter XI, In unknown waters
Act XL, A poor navigator with rich ideas.
The war against the English had taken away Artur's best years, he was now 34 years old and had no children of his own, with no wife by his side the situation was not going to get any better. Even though he had faced a lot of personal tragedies in his life he was still a highly successful ruler, the economy of Brittany was stronger than it had ever been before, with over 1300 ducats in the state's coffers. This had been amount had been raised by the enormous amount of money that Brittany had received from foreign nations during the war with England, but Brittany was by now one of the biggest traders in Europe and profits from this trade was making the kingdom extremely wealthy.
Artur decided that the best way to act now was to invest the money in something that could give profit over time, he therefore decided to build workshops all over Brittany. Workshops made sure that more good could be produced and sold all over Brittany, naturally these sales could be taxed by the crown. Artur also decided that it was time to commission a new national epic, to tell the tales of the great conquests of his mother, he also commissioned a portrait of himself to be hung upon the family wall in Nantes.
Not only was Brittany advanced as an economic power, it was also one of the most technologically advanced nations in Europe and Breton society and military had benefited from these advances many times. The brilliant naval reformer Primel de Rodellec who had been in service for more than 30 years had once again made a major breakthrough in naval technology, he had developed methods to blockade enemy ports with new perfection, his breakthrough encouraged many others to research new ways of naval warfare and ship designs and future breakthroughs seemed even more likely now, the reputation of his doctrines was so important that they would be the talk of courts all over Europe. Breton technology in form of government had also been developed even further and new ways to keep the peace and govern were explored.
As Artur was amazed by the splendor of his realm he did not forget to pay attention to new developments elsewhere in Europe. The most interesting news came from northern Germany. The kingdom of Brunswick had been short of a ruler some years back and the king of Pomerania who had been related to the previous ruler had claimed the throne for himself, after ruling Brunswick for some years he had now integrated the territory into his own kingdom and Brunswick was now nothing more than a province of Pomerania. Artur also heard from his relative, Enrique de Dreux, who was king of Castille, he had decided to go to war with England. The English were still shaken after their war with Brittany and they were not in shape to fight the Castillians, the result would be that within a few years England would admit defeat and they were forced to cede even more land, this time to Castille. These concessions ended the English presence on the Iberian peninsula.
(The Kingdom of Pomerania is now one of the strongest powers in Europe.)
Artur also remembered to keep a close eye on Breton relations with other powers. To achieve this he arranged marriages with various states, including Castille and Brabant. He also showed competent diplomacy whenever he was in discussions with foreign diplomats or rulers and over time this would ensure that foreign powers though very highly of Brittany. It would also result in a visit from a poor French navigator in search of a monetary backer. This man appeared in front of Artur on the 3. of July 1478, his name was Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière.
The poor French navigator was from Calais, he was a short man and his nose was very large, as Artur would comment that "he looked very French". The man approached Artur very slowly and he kneeled in front of him, Artur told him that such formalities were not necessary and that he could rise and speak his business.
(Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière in person.)
"Gracious king, I have for some years been studying the possibility of reaching India by sea, if this could be accomplished I need not tell you of the extreme value that this trade route would have. I am however, a poor man and I can't afford a ship for an expedition like this, I therefore stand before you and ask you to give me what I need to start this expedition."
"You make a good point good Sir, if such a route could be found then the finder would be very rich indeed, but I am not entirely convinced, how can I be sure that this is not just an illusion and that your venture will not end in me losing my investment?"
"You can't your highness, however, I have calculated that the expedition would only cost about 50 ducats in addition to a ship of good quality, this is a lot of money for me, but not for a nation as wealthy as Brittany."
Artur smiled and it was clear and invited Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière to dine with him so the two could discuss things to a further extent. After the two had eaten for a while Artur broke the silence and said:
"I am going to give you what you ask for, but I want to make sure that all lands, gold or valuables you get your hands on shall be given to the Breton state, should you succeed in venturing south and finding a route to India I will reward you with titles of nobility and lands of your own, should you fail in your mission, but make other discoveries then I will let you sail out on new expeditions."
"I thank you for your confidence in my ideas my king, I am confident that I will find the way to India by going south and I assure you that all valuables will go to the Breton crown, when will you make the arrangements for me to set sail ?"
"I will talk with my head of naval affairs, but I think that you should have a crew and ship within the week."
The two men continued their talk long into the night and they were both very optimistic to the fruits of this expedition.
Artur had been right in his assumption, Primel de Rodellec, chief of Brittany's navy was also of the opinion that Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière's ideas were worth the investment, therefore Primel secured a carrack for the expedition, "the Dragon" had been chosen as the most suitable ship. De la Barrilière ensured that the ship was ready for the expedition and on the 1. of August 1478 him and his men started their journey which would eventually take them into uncharted waters.
(The Dragon, a typical Carrack.)
Act XL, A poor navigator with rich ideas.
The war against the English had taken away Artur's best years, he was now 34 years old and had no children of his own, with no wife by his side the situation was not going to get any better. Even though he had faced a lot of personal tragedies in his life he was still a highly successful ruler, the economy of Brittany was stronger than it had ever been before, with over 1300 ducats in the state's coffers. This had been amount had been raised by the enormous amount of money that Brittany had received from foreign nations during the war with England, but Brittany was by now one of the biggest traders in Europe and profits from this trade was making the kingdom extremely wealthy.
Artur decided that the best way to act now was to invest the money in something that could give profit over time, he therefore decided to build workshops all over Brittany. Workshops made sure that more good could be produced and sold all over Brittany, naturally these sales could be taxed by the crown. Artur also decided that it was time to commission a new national epic, to tell the tales of the great conquests of his mother, he also commissioned a portrait of himself to be hung upon the family wall in Nantes.
Not only was Brittany advanced as an economic power, it was also one of the most technologically advanced nations in Europe and Breton society and military had benefited from these advances many times. The brilliant naval reformer Primel de Rodellec who had been in service for more than 30 years had once again made a major breakthrough in naval technology, he had developed methods to blockade enemy ports with new perfection, his breakthrough encouraged many others to research new ways of naval warfare and ship designs and future breakthroughs seemed even more likely now, the reputation of his doctrines was so important that they would be the talk of courts all over Europe. Breton technology in form of government had also been developed even further and new ways to keep the peace and govern were explored.
As Artur was amazed by the splendor of his realm he did not forget to pay attention to new developments elsewhere in Europe. The most interesting news came from northern Germany. The kingdom of Brunswick had been short of a ruler some years back and the king of Pomerania who had been related to the previous ruler had claimed the throne for himself, after ruling Brunswick for some years he had now integrated the territory into his own kingdom and Brunswick was now nothing more than a province of Pomerania. Artur also heard from his relative, Enrique de Dreux, who was king of Castille, he had decided to go to war with England. The English were still shaken after their war with Brittany and they were not in shape to fight the Castillians, the result would be that within a few years England would admit defeat and they were forced to cede even more land, this time to Castille. These concessions ended the English presence on the Iberian peninsula.
(The Kingdom of Pomerania is now one of the strongest powers in Europe.)
Artur also remembered to keep a close eye on Breton relations with other powers. To achieve this he arranged marriages with various states, including Castille and Brabant. He also showed competent diplomacy whenever he was in discussions with foreign diplomats or rulers and over time this would ensure that foreign powers though very highly of Brittany. It would also result in a visit from a poor French navigator in search of a monetary backer. This man appeared in front of Artur on the 3. of July 1478, his name was Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière.
The poor French navigator was from Calais, he was a short man and his nose was very large, as Artur would comment that "he looked very French". The man approached Artur very slowly and he kneeled in front of him, Artur told him that such formalities were not necessary and that he could rise and speak his business.
(Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière in person.)
"Gracious king, I have for some years been studying the possibility of reaching India by sea, if this could be accomplished I need not tell you of the extreme value that this trade route would have. I am however, a poor man and I can't afford a ship for an expedition like this, I therefore stand before you and ask you to give me what I need to start this expedition."
"You make a good point good Sir, if such a route could be found then the finder would be very rich indeed, but I am not entirely convinced, how can I be sure that this is not just an illusion and that your venture will not end in me losing my investment?"
"You can't your highness, however, I have calculated that the expedition would only cost about 50 ducats in addition to a ship of good quality, this is a lot of money for me, but not for a nation as wealthy as Brittany."
Artur smiled and it was clear and invited Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière to dine with him so the two could discuss things to a further extent. After the two had eaten for a while Artur broke the silence and said:
"I am going to give you what you ask for, but I want to make sure that all lands, gold or valuables you get your hands on shall be given to the Breton state, should you succeed in venturing south and finding a route to India I will reward you with titles of nobility and lands of your own, should you fail in your mission, but make other discoveries then I will let you sail out on new expeditions."
"I thank you for your confidence in my ideas my king, I am confident that I will find the way to India by going south and I assure you that all valuables will go to the Breton crown, when will you make the arrangements for me to set sail ?"
"I will talk with my head of naval affairs, but I think that you should have a crew and ship within the week."
The two men continued their talk long into the night and they were both very optimistic to the fruits of this expedition.
Artur had been right in his assumption, Primel de Rodellec, chief of Brittany's navy was also of the opinion that Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière's ideas were worth the investment, therefore Primel secured a carrack for the expedition, "the Dragon" had been chosen as the most suitable ship. De la Barrilière ensured that the ship was ready for the expedition and on the 1. of August 1478 him and his men started their journey which would eventually take them into uncharted waters.
(The Dragon, a typical Carrack.)
Act XLI, The "failed" expedition
The winds were good on the coast of Portugal as "the Dragon" sailed south, it's captain, Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière was keeping his eye fixed on the horizon, ever so watchful for pirates or anything else. The morale of his crew were still high, Breton sailors had ventured many times south and through Gibraltar, the Bretons were one of the main traders in both Venice and Liguria and goods had to be transported to both these ports with regularity. There was, however, the underlying factor that all of them knew that they were not going along this known route, they were heading south of Gibraltar and beyond. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière had decided that before they were going south they were going to stop in Algarve, a Portuguese province controlled by Castille. The purpose of this was to refill supplies, so that they would have the ship as full as possible of food and water.
The Breton sailors were greeted well when they arrived in the Castillian port, the two nations had established good relations after what was known in Breton history as "the Castillian wars". During that period the two nations had fought each other in two pointless wars, but since then they had reconciled, this had been helped by the ascent of the house of Dreux on the Castillian throne. While "the Dragon" were loaded with fresh supplies of food the sailors visited the local church and most of them went to a confession that could very well be their last one.
The sun was shining and the wind was good when the Dragon sailed out to sea again, Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière kept constant calculations of how they were doing, in terms of navigation. He had also ordered a constant lookout, as the waters off the Moroccan coast were waters filled with pirates. After weeks they passed the edge of their map and they were now in unknown waters. Among the men there were talk of sea monsters and sailing off the edge of the world. Sailing south Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière decided to sail in towards the African coast again and see if he could refill supplies. The dragon picked up the wind and was now moving towards the coast at great speed. A few days later the men dropped anchor and a party of sailors rowed in and started looking around for supplies of water and food. The sailors reached a village populated with natives, they tried to communicate as best they could, eventually they traded a couple of their steel swords for supplies, the natives had never seen steel before and they amazed. When Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière heard about the trade he figured that he might be able to trade other invaluable items for gold, but the natives had no gold in large quantities. After a few days the Dragon sailed back out to sea and set its course towards the south.
The ship once again benefited from strong winds and they were able to sail much faster than what they had expected. After another few weeks at sea the men in the masts spotted another ship on the horizon, they could not figure out if the ship was a pirate vessel or if they flew the colors of any particular nation. As the Dragon approached the unknown ship the Breton sailors spotted the flag of Castille flying on top of the ship, the men were relieved, but also surprised. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière ordered the sails to be dropped and he proceeded to row over to the Castillian vessel to have a talk with its captain. The Castilian captain was seemed just as surprised to meet other ships this far south, luckily for Similien he also spoke French. The other captain told Similien about great cities a bit further south, and of markets and temples filled with the finest gold he had ever seen. Similien was clearly intrigued and when he returned to the Dragon he ordered to follow the coarse he had been given by the other captain.
The Dragon spent only a couple of days at sea before they reached the primitive port that the Castillian captain had guided him to. This was not a port built by the African natives, it was a trade port which the Castillians had been working on for some time now. From this trading post a road lead inland towards the great African kingdom of Mali. In terms of valuable resources Mali was extremely rich and powerful, but they had for ages been shaken by religious problems, decentralization and prehistoric military and social technology. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière took some of his men with him and went inland, here he witnessed himself the massive slave markets, piles of ivory and the temples filled with gold. He spent some time striking a bargain with the natives, he would give them a cannon from the Dragon in return for a large quantity of gold, far more than what it was worth. The sailors of the Dragon were also allowed to go inland and many of them traded personal items for ivory, gold or other valuables. When the Dragon left Mali it had left an impression on Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière, an impression that said that this land contained huge riches that was just ready for the taking.
For the next weeks Similien kept the ship close to the coast, constantly going in land at different points and further witnessed the huge lands with no real protection, what if Brittany could conquer all of it? His dreams of conquest were, however, not very realistic as there were so many diseases there that struck the Europeans. He decided that it was time to go back to the open sea and continue for India. For the next weeks the ship made good progress along the western African coast, but then their luck took a turn for the worse. The wind suddenly stopped and the ship was more or less stranded out in the open sea, at first the crew did not think too much of it, but when they had been sitting there for ages and the wind suddenly started and blew in the direction of home the crew took it as a sign from God that he did not want them to continue south. Similien ignored them at first, but after a short while he was facing a mutiny and was forced to turn back home, his mission had failed.
The Dragon spent weeks at sea trying to get back to the Spanish coast, to try to get back as fast as possible Similien kept the ship further out from the coast now and he did not stop along the African coast. The mission seemed to have been a complete failure, but when they had been at sea for ages and badly needed a refill of clean water and food the lookout suddenly spotted an Island on the horizon, it was a large rocky island which looked like it had been a volcano at some point, however, the mountain slopes were filled with green trees and plants. A few hours later the thirsty sailors of the Dragon entered the unknown island and started wandering around, there were no signs of other humans. It seemed strange to some of the men that this beautiful island that was full of flowers and fruit to be uninhabited, but after days on the island there were no sign of other humans. Similien claimed the island for the Breton crown and named it Arturia, after king Artur. The men spent a few weeks there, they were astounded by the beauty of this paradise and when "the Dragon" sailed on Similien had left a few of his men behind to build a primitive port and lodgings for themselves and future inhabitants.
(The island of Arturia (Madeira))
Similien now left Arturia, he sailed back to the Spanish coast and was determined to sail back to Nantes and report his discoveries to Artur, however, events would change his mind. When "the Dragon" stopped off in the same Spanish port it had left months ago Similien met another navigator who had just come back from a long journey, his name was Christopher Columbus. The two men talked for ages and exchanged tales from their voyages. Columbus told Similien of a new group of islands discovered far off to the west, he believed that he had found Asia by sailing to the west. Similien was intrigued by what he heard and he decided that since he had failed to reach India by sailing south he would try the new way and he was now determined to sail to the west.
After buying more supplies for which he paid for with his own money "the Dragon" started its new voyage. The sailors were still in the belief that they were on their way home, but they were soon to discover otherwise. The ship ventured forward into open seas in search of India. After the crew had been at seas for weeks they began to grow afraid, many of them feared that sea monsters lured in the unfamiliar waters and there were still a belief held by many of them that god did not want to them to sail this way. As time passed it grew clear that Similien was about to face a mutiny by his crew. He managed to quell this by promising the crew that if they did not find land within a week he would sail back to Brittany. After 6 more days at sea the lookout cried out "land ahoy". On the horizon one could clearly see a group of islands in the distance, the sight of green grass in the distance was like a godsend to the frightened men. As the ship closed in and the men vent ashore they were stunned by these beautiful islands, which surpassed even Arturia. Similien and his men scouted for signs of people, but this island was also uninhabited and he claimed it for the Breton crown and named it "Ile de Dreux" after the royal Breton family.
(the Ile de Dreux (the Azores) in its full beauty.)
The men stayed on the island for some weeks, but in the end Similien could not persuade them to sail further west, he also figured that it was best to tell the king about his discoveries and get permission for a new venture. The voyage home went by in a quiet fashion, there were good winds and they reached Brittany within a few months. The returning crew were received as heroes by the population of Nantes and king Artur received the returning explorer with a banquet at his palace. At the banquet Similien presented gold, ivory and natives from Mali and he also confided in the court that he had claimed uninhabited land for the crown. The celebration continued late into the night and when it was over Similen and king Artur met for a private conversation to determine their next move.
"Well, you did not find the sea route to India Similien, but you have made grand discoveries. These new rich lands in Africa that float with gold are indeed most interesting."
"Yes my king, and there is more. These new islands, Arturia and Ile de Dreux can be built up as naval bases for your royal fleet and could serve us well if we determine to expand our overseas kingdom."
"Indeed, I am prepared to send men to settle these islands, this far you have paid for our expansion, I will now ease your financial burden and back the project with our treasury."
"A most welcome decision your highness. There is, however, another discovery that I did not want to share in public yet. While I was in Spain I was told that it was possible to reach India by sailing to the west and that this had already been done by the Spanish, the voyage is supposed to be much shorter than if one sails south."
"So you are saying that if we sail to the west instead of to the south, then we can get our eastern trade route after all?"
"That is what I am saying your highness, if you are willing to back another expedition I will gladly lead your ships again."
"You have my firm support Similien, "the Dragon" has not made its lat voyage yet!"
(Similien's first journey.)
The winds were good on the coast of Portugal as "the Dragon" sailed south, it's captain, Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière was keeping his eye fixed on the horizon, ever so watchful for pirates or anything else. The morale of his crew were still high, Breton sailors had ventured many times south and through Gibraltar, the Bretons were one of the main traders in both Venice and Liguria and goods had to be transported to both these ports with regularity. There was, however, the underlying factor that all of them knew that they were not going along this known route, they were heading south of Gibraltar and beyond. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière had decided that before they were going south they were going to stop in Algarve, a Portuguese province controlled by Castille. The purpose of this was to refill supplies, so that they would have the ship as full as possible of food and water.
The Breton sailors were greeted well when they arrived in the Castillian port, the two nations had established good relations after what was known in Breton history as "the Castillian wars". During that period the two nations had fought each other in two pointless wars, but since then they had reconciled, this had been helped by the ascent of the house of Dreux on the Castillian throne. While "the Dragon" were loaded with fresh supplies of food the sailors visited the local church and most of them went to a confession that could very well be their last one.
The sun was shining and the wind was good when the Dragon sailed out to sea again, Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière kept constant calculations of how they were doing, in terms of navigation. He had also ordered a constant lookout, as the waters off the Moroccan coast were waters filled with pirates. After weeks they passed the edge of their map and they were now in unknown waters. Among the men there were talk of sea monsters and sailing off the edge of the world. Sailing south Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière decided to sail in towards the African coast again and see if he could refill supplies. The dragon picked up the wind and was now moving towards the coast at great speed. A few days later the men dropped anchor and a party of sailors rowed in and started looking around for supplies of water and food. The sailors reached a village populated with natives, they tried to communicate as best they could, eventually they traded a couple of their steel swords for supplies, the natives had never seen steel before and they amazed. When Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière heard about the trade he figured that he might be able to trade other invaluable items for gold, but the natives had no gold in large quantities. After a few days the Dragon sailed back out to sea and set its course towards the south.
The ship once again benefited from strong winds and they were able to sail much faster than what they had expected. After another few weeks at sea the men in the masts spotted another ship on the horizon, they could not figure out if the ship was a pirate vessel or if they flew the colors of any particular nation. As the Dragon approached the unknown ship the Breton sailors spotted the flag of Castille flying on top of the ship, the men were relieved, but also surprised. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière ordered the sails to be dropped and he proceeded to row over to the Castillian vessel to have a talk with its captain. The Castilian captain was seemed just as surprised to meet other ships this far south, luckily for Similien he also spoke French. The other captain told Similien about great cities a bit further south, and of markets and temples filled with the finest gold he had ever seen. Similien was clearly intrigued and when he returned to the Dragon he ordered to follow the coarse he had been given by the other captain.
The Dragon spent only a couple of days at sea before they reached the primitive port that the Castillian captain had guided him to. This was not a port built by the African natives, it was a trade port which the Castillians had been working on for some time now. From this trading post a road lead inland towards the great African kingdom of Mali. In terms of valuable resources Mali was extremely rich and powerful, but they had for ages been shaken by religious problems, decentralization and prehistoric military and social technology. Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière took some of his men with him and went inland, here he witnessed himself the massive slave markets, piles of ivory and the temples filled with gold. He spent some time striking a bargain with the natives, he would give them a cannon from the Dragon in return for a large quantity of gold, far more than what it was worth. The sailors of the Dragon were also allowed to go inland and many of them traded personal items for ivory, gold or other valuables. When the Dragon left Mali it had left an impression on Similien Couasnon de la Barrilière, an impression that said that this land contained huge riches that was just ready for the taking.
For the next weeks Similien kept the ship close to the coast, constantly going in land at different points and further witnessed the huge lands with no real protection, what if Brittany could conquer all of it? His dreams of conquest were, however, not very realistic as there were so many diseases there that struck the Europeans. He decided that it was time to go back to the open sea and continue for India. For the next weeks the ship made good progress along the western African coast, but then their luck took a turn for the worse. The wind suddenly stopped and the ship was more or less stranded out in the open sea, at first the crew did not think too much of it, but when they had been sitting there for ages and the wind suddenly started and blew in the direction of home the crew took it as a sign from God that he did not want them to continue south. Similien ignored them at first, but after a short while he was facing a mutiny and was forced to turn back home, his mission had failed.
The Dragon spent weeks at sea trying to get back to the Spanish coast, to try to get back as fast as possible Similien kept the ship further out from the coast now and he did not stop along the African coast. The mission seemed to have been a complete failure, but when they had been at sea for ages and badly needed a refill of clean water and food the lookout suddenly spotted an Island on the horizon, it was a large rocky island which looked like it had been a volcano at some point, however, the mountain slopes were filled with green trees and plants. A few hours later the thirsty sailors of the Dragon entered the unknown island and started wandering around, there were no signs of other humans. It seemed strange to some of the men that this beautiful island that was full of flowers and fruit to be uninhabited, but after days on the island there were no sign of other humans. Similien claimed the island for the Breton crown and named it Arturia, after king Artur. The men spent a few weeks there, they were astounded by the beauty of this paradise and when "the Dragon" sailed on Similien had left a few of his men behind to build a primitive port and lodgings for themselves and future inhabitants.
(The island of Arturia (Madeira))
Similien now left Arturia, he sailed back to the Spanish coast and was determined to sail back to Nantes and report his discoveries to Artur, however, events would change his mind. When "the Dragon" stopped off in the same Spanish port it had left months ago Similien met another navigator who had just come back from a long journey, his name was Christopher Columbus. The two men talked for ages and exchanged tales from their voyages. Columbus told Similien of a new group of islands discovered far off to the west, he believed that he had found Asia by sailing to the west. Similien was intrigued by what he heard and he decided that since he had failed to reach India by sailing south he would try the new way and he was now determined to sail to the west.
After buying more supplies for which he paid for with his own money "the Dragon" started its new voyage. The sailors were still in the belief that they were on their way home, but they were soon to discover otherwise. The ship ventured forward into open seas in search of India. After the crew had been at seas for weeks they began to grow afraid, many of them feared that sea monsters lured in the unfamiliar waters and there were still a belief held by many of them that god did not want to them to sail this way. As time passed it grew clear that Similien was about to face a mutiny by his crew. He managed to quell this by promising the crew that if they did not find land within a week he would sail back to Brittany. After 6 more days at sea the lookout cried out "land ahoy". On the horizon one could clearly see a group of islands in the distance, the sight of green grass in the distance was like a godsend to the frightened men. As the ship closed in and the men vent ashore they were stunned by these beautiful islands, which surpassed even Arturia. Similien and his men scouted for signs of people, but this island was also uninhabited and he claimed it for the Breton crown and named it "Ile de Dreux" after the royal Breton family.
(the Ile de Dreux (the Azores) in its full beauty.)
"Well, you did not find the sea route to India Similien, but you have made grand discoveries. These new rich lands in Africa that float with gold are indeed most interesting."
"Yes my king, and there is more. These new islands, Arturia and Ile de Dreux can be built up as naval bases for your royal fleet and could serve us well if we determine to expand our overseas kingdom."
"Indeed, I am prepared to send men to settle these islands, this far you have paid for our expansion, I will now ease your financial burden and back the project with our treasury."
"A most welcome decision your highness. There is, however, another discovery that I did not want to share in public yet. While I was in Spain I was told that it was possible to reach India by sailing to the west and that this had already been done by the Spanish, the voyage is supposed to be much shorter than if one sails south."
"So you are saying that if we sail to the west instead of to the south, then we can get our eastern trade route after all?"
"That is what I am saying your highness, if you are willing to back another expedition I will gladly lead your ships again."
"You have my firm support Similien, "the Dragon" has not made its lat voyage yet!"
(Similien's first journey.)
"The Dragon" turned back right before finding another island! However, the two it did find will help Breton immensely, I'm sure.
The map with the route at the end was great. It really helped me place the story.
The map with the route at the end was great. It really helped me place the story.
nice update, good to see the pressures of survival have eased enough to allow you to start exploring
ahoy there! steady as she goes!
happy to see the tale goes on
Glad to see that you're still following
Working on next update now Nah, most for the story, thought it would be cool with a bit of exploration. Worked on the picture for quite so time, so glad you liked it
Thanks
Indeed, there will be war again soon though Great update!
Very glad to see this one back.
Thanks! Glad that you're still interested
Very interested. This is one of my favourite AARs, unique setting, nice use of pictures, good narrative.
Very interested. This is one of my favourite AARs, unique setting, nice use of pictures, good narrative.
Thanks again