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Sincleric

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LINK TO CKII AAR
PRIOR READING SUGGESTED


Europe, 1422.





1422-1467
In 1422, Emperor Beltran I died very young and without children. His niece Emili ascended to the throne, according to the succession laws in place at the time. However, many nobles in the Empire were perturbed by her claims to the throne due partly to her ethnicity. Emili was Maghreb-Arabic, and although she was a direct descendent of the Sithrigi line, her foreign father's genes became a dominant figure of controversy in the Empire.

England, still disturbed by the rule of a Basque (and a heretic, at that), ignited in a series of rebellions that would take two years to end and nearly thirteen more to completely settle. To make matters worse, English banks and moneylenders would not do business with the Empress, citing their belief in a pretender's claim to the throne. The state nearly achieved bankruptcy in 1429, but the actions of a shrewd moneylender close to the crown named Francisco de Ursúa saved the imperial purse from extinction. He was hired in 1427 to manage the imperial finances when Emili's son Andrés, who had previously managed the family and state expenses, marched to war against the Bretons. By the time of Andrés' death and the Hybernobasque victory in 1430, de Ursúa had consolidated his power over the state's money matters, and in 1431 he worked to found the English National Bank in London, and in 1444 he transferred its power to the new Royal National Bank in Hiriburuan.

With the financial crisis averted, and the Bretons under Emili's control, she turned her sights on Paris. At the time, France was held almost entirely by the Papal State, which was now breaking down. Through the use of underhanded dealing and clever scheming, she managed to build upon the Papal weakness in France and construct a revolution. Lollard French partisans broke from their Catholic liege in Rome and seized the French lands for French nobility. And naturally, the Pope sent forces to resist their uprising. During the chaos that ensued, Orleans was subdued in 1434, and Paris in 1461. Between those two dates, other large swaths of French lands were consolidated, and by the fall of Paris France was once again occupied almost entirely by foreigners.

An odd alliance was struck up with Norway in 1440 when Emili refused to acknowledge the Finnish right to statehood. Their rebellion prompted the Hybernobasque Empire to finally end the hundred year feud they had with the Scandinavian Union and, quick as it may be, switch entirely backwards into a friendly partnership. It was through this alliance that access to the Baltic first began when the Danish pressed a claim which Norway also held. In 1441 the king of Flanders attempted to inspire a ruse in Russian Sweden, prompting the Danish king to push a claim over the Swedish throne. This resulted in the Four Years War, which, concluding in 1445, would see Flanders reduced significantly, the Holy Roman Crown traveling from a Flemish noble to a Savoyard king, the annexation of Jutland by the Hybernobasques, and a very small recognized Finland being subdued and then reluctantly released from Norway.

Eight years later, the Russian nation collapsed entirely, and the central European states attacked the remnants with vicious intent. The vultures of Europe descended upon Poland and Hungary, devouring vast swaths of land. This would see Berlin fall into Hybernobasque hands, and a very minor conflict on the border of Pomerania would explode into a full blown war in 1454, resulting in the annexation of more than half of said kingdom. Bohemia would also profit from the collapse of Russia, turning into a regional superpower overnight.

In 1467, Emili would die, and her daughter, Plazentzia V, would rise to the throne. Having already expressed her might through foreign war on the continent and subdued rebellious intent in England, Emili's succession would not be disputed. The issue of race, ethnicity, and culture in Hybernobasque leaders would eventually lead to the tolerant British society that we see today.

Europe, 1467.

 
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This looks fun! I'll go read your CKII story. :)
 
What happened to your old AAR?
 
Would be great if you carried this on to Vicky 2 aswell :)
 
Well, there goes the Empire of Russia-in-Poland. It was fun while it lasted.

Foix looks like it's enjoying the demise of the BBB :)
 
1467-1499

Almost immediately upon assuming the throne, Plazentzia V set into motion plans to expand the reformed branch of Christianity. Her supreme hatred for the Papacy and its decadence was mirrored in her actions against Catholics both within the empire and outside of it. At the time, the greatest concentration of Catholics in the world was northern Germany, and thus, Plazentzia's first acts of aggression were taken there. The Hanseatic League held territory in southwestern France, and active missionaries there were attempting to reinstate papal authority over the Cathars. Plazentzia would not hear of such a thing, and war was declared in 1474. By 1476, the Hansa were defeated, and Armagnac was placed in Hybernobasque hands. She styled more "crusades," as she called them, against Denmark in 1476, Flanders in 1480, and Bourbonnais in 1484. Another holy war against the Hanseatic league would take place in 1488, seizing Labourd. Bordeaux would remain in Catholic hands for quite a while longer still, as another mission distracted Plazentzia from Europe altogether.

José de Ursúa, a young and ambitious member of the powerful de Ursúa family, fantasized that a western trade route to Cathay could be established over the seas, rather than over land. Of course he did understand the size and shape of our spherical world, and knew that if there was only ocean between Europe and Cathay going westward, that very likely any ship at the time would never have enough supplies to make the entire trek. His hope was that along the way there would be land masses such as Iceland or Greenland to support supply depots for merchants. Pitching the idea to his senile uncle Francisco, the famous financier, he received significant backing in the form of three ships: the San Esteban, the San Karlos, and the San León. He was fortunate to have his idea in the small window of time between when Francisco went senile and when he was stripped of his power over the imperial finances.

Setting sail for the Azores first in 1491, José mapped these islands and the Canaries, noting their lack of prominence on European maps. He returned to England, resupplied his ships, and set sail for Iceland. Once there, he sailed for Greenland, and then Nova Scotia. He and his men landed there and surveyed the new land, picking up foreign plants and animals to bring home, without finding any native human life. Incorrectly assuming, for a while at least, that the entire new continent he had discovered was empty of human life, José had his men on orders not to land again until they were in a different climate to ensure the greatest diversity in souvenirs in the shortest time possible. Sailing southward they landed in Florida, and then in Cuba, where they did encounter natives. Three were taken as slaves aboard the San Karlos.

Then, the ships landed in the Yucatan, where José spent four weeks touring the Mayan civilization. In his writings he states that the natives were aggressive and disgusting, citing many pagan vices including human sacrifice. He stated that many of his men were killed by the Mayans, and that they made it clear that the Basque expedition was not welcome. However, he also describes in very accurate detail the riches and splendor of the Mayan cities, which begs the question of how he obtained this information without being able to get close enough to the "savage" natives. It is likely that his description of the natives was a lie that attempted to tug at the religious heart strings of the Empress. If this was his goal, he no doubt succeeded in that endeavor.

In 1492 José de Ursúa returned to Hiriburuan with his slaves and stories. Plazentzia was intrigued, and based on the information gleaned from José and his men, she opted to send one of her crusades to the new world. Outfitting de Ursúa with a large fleet and twenty thousand men, she sent him back to Mexico with a mission of conquest. According to his wishes, the Empress also sent to have naval depots built in the Azores and Canaries, as well as Greenland. These would eventually develop into colonies that would later be incorporated into the Empire's territory.

The fleet arrived in the Yucatan in 1493, and the Mayans were defeated fairly quickly. It was not European technology that won the fight, however. The armies landed and were welcomed into the Mayan cities, de Ursúa and his men treated like gods, entirely to the contrary of his story to the Empress. While there, it was simply a matter of waiting for very mundane diseases to rub off on the locals, and plague would break out. Very quickly the source of the plague was identified, and many of the Mayan people submitted to de Ursúa's rule. Yet, some would fight against the so-called "death gods," creating a guerrilla war that would last from 1493 up until the eventual defeat of the Oaxaca in 1512, which would mark the end of the last bastion of organized resistance to Europeans in Mesoamerica.

José de Ursúa's voyages.

Meanwhile, warfare for the Hybernobasques in Europe stalled out. Funding was pushed into the Mesoamerican crusades, and more armies were sent after the initial success in the Yucatan. With time to focus the development of the empire inwardly, Plazentzia redesigned the Hybernobasque State, and in 1495 she began reorganizing the bureaucracy to form a more centralized nation. Previously, the empire had been very disorganized and fractured, with many vassal states existing inside of the empire and a certain ambiguity as to exactly where the state was controlled from. Many diplomatic dealings would be made between the individual vassals and foreign powers, and in some cases the "Hybernobasque Empire" could even be seen more like the Holy Roman Empire: a confederation, rather than a whole nation. Plazentzia began to reform this antiquated system of vassals, exerting more power over the aristocracy than any monarch prior. A new flag and coat of arms was designed for the state, and for a short time the Empress herself even lived in London in order to stay close to her more powerful subjects. However, her frustration with the English and general disdain for learning their language and customs led to a quick reversal of that decision, and the capital remained in Ireland.

The new flag of the empire, designed by
Plazentzia V to express her claims.


Plazentzia's reforms would not be completed in her lifetime. In 1499 she died, leaving the burden of completing them to her daughter, Emili II.

Europe, 1499

 
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You really need to take control of Navarre - the Basque homeland must be free!
 
You really need to take control of Navarre - the Basque homeland must be free!

The historical geographic area of Navarre has had its population converted to Castillian or entirely displaced. By 1400 any Basques that were not entirely converted into Spaniards had migrated to the more Basque friendly countryside of northern Ireland, particularly around the rapidly expanding capital of Hiriburuan (previously called Ulster). In fact, by 1500 the number of residents in Ireland for whom Basque is their first language outweigh those whom have Irish (gaelic) as theirs. The island itself is often affectionately called "little Navarre" by its Basque denizens.
 
1499-1539

Having to inherit her mother's bureaucratic reformation turned out to be a catastrophe in Emili II's reign. The state nearly achieved bankruptcy in 1529, and there was significant effort to prevent the fragmentation of the empire into many several states. However, this was inevitable, and rather than let them declare full autonomy, Emili conceded to allow significant decentralization of the crown's authority on the mainland of Europe through the Dissolution Act of 1530, which granted four new states semi-autonomy in Europe. Foix, Champaign, Auvergne, and Holstien were still de facto ruled by the empire, but by and large gained independence through this act.

Prior to 1499, most of the new world remained unexplored and its coasts were a mystery. Alfonso de Armendariz changed that. Under the instruction of the de Ursúa family, he was given a ship and blank charts, and a mission to fill those charts with the contours of the continents. Between 1499 and 1506, de Armendariz sailed all along the coasts of the new world, mapping the coastline and returning to Yucatan to report his findings. In 1507, his charts were compiled and studied by a team of cartographers hired by the empress to put together a single map of what she claimed to be her "grand colony." Emili II gave Alfonso the honor of having the new world named after him, and thanked him for the knowledge that he blessed upon the empire's surveyors. The new continent was named Elvansa, a feminized version of Alfonso's first name.

In a final attempt to map the remaining coastlines of Ipar Elvansa, Alfonso set sail in 1509 to investigate the pathway to China, and he hoped that he would be able to make it to a Chinese port before his supplies ran out. He never returned from this final voyage, and there is a great chance that he and his men starved to death before reaching their destination.

The Voyages of Alfonso de Armendariz.
T9iFB.png

Emili II's claims to the new world would not go uncontested. Much like her mother, Emili was a zealot. And as religious fanaticism was at the time, if you were a christian then your liege was the Pope, or you were at war with the Pope. Upon hearing of the new world and all the discoveries that the Basque sailors had made, Pope Julius II conspired to build a catholic empire in the west upon the new lands. The Treaty of Tordesillas was orchestrated to split the new world between Castille and Portugal, and it was ratified by both nations and the pope in 1509. Immediately upon hearing news of this treaty, Emili II called upon Foix to honor an alliance to attack Portugal and force them to rescind their claims to what she believed to be entirely hers. Unfortunately, the Foixian himself king was a Catholic sympathizer, despite running a state that declared itself reformed, and the alliance was broken once war with Portugal was declared.

By 1513 the "War for the New World" was over, and Portugal had been destroyed. The last truly powerful catholic kingdom, Portugal had long stood as a bulwark of strength against the growing Granadan threat to Europe. Now, they only stood in possession of Lisboa and the immediate surroundings, as the remainder of their lands were split up between the Basque Empire and the newly created Basque puppet state of Galicia. Foix was forced into vassalage under the Hybernobasque Empire in a form of government that would later be used as a reference for the other nations formed in the Dissolution Act.

The War for French Unity began shortly afterwards in 1515, as Emili grasped at the last remaining non-HRE French territory. Through a cascading system of alliances, this small conflict quickly brought all of Europe to war. Krakow, a major power at this time, aligned itself with Savoy and the Holy Roman Empire. Norway, Switzerland, and Austria sided with Emili's Empire. By 1522, through the resulting peace treaties with Savoy and Krakow, the rest of France and the Netherlands were granted to the Hybernobasques. The entirety of Europe was crippled by the war, and with the sole exception of Switzerland, nearly every state that went into the war came out of it on the verge of financial collapse.

This period of wars left the empire in a difficult state to manage, and contributed directly to the Dissolution Act of 1530. The imperial treasury was nearly empty, and the tax income from her provinces was not enough to manage the growing colonial empire as well as suppress issues at home. More autonomy was granted to colonial companies as well following the signing of the Dissolution Act. Viceroy Manuel de Ursúa was granted more power over the Viceroyalty of Yucatan, which began operating nearly like an independent nation. Two new colonial companies were established as well, under funding of the Viceroyalty of Yucatan, named the Eskut Colonial Company and the Astigar Colonial Company, based in Brazil and Acadia respectively.


Europe, 1539.
 
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1439-1461

The struggle for the new world was far from over, and the Catholic kings of Europe would continue to press the claims laid out in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Portugal would remain the primary contender until Lisboa was annexed by Savoy into the Holy Roman Empire. After this, Savoyard colonists would become a major issue in Hego Elvansa, and much of the Eskut company's income was squandered fending off the intruders, stunting the growth of that colony for decades.

Religion in Europe, 1561.

In the north, Norway would attempt to leech land from the Hybernobasque claim as well. Eventually, fighting the intruding colonists became too much to bear, and the Viceroyalty of Yucatan demanded that Empress Plazentzia VI put an end to her pretentious claims over the continent so that her subjects could maintain their income for internal development rather than the pseudo-war they were waging. However, the empress had another idea. In 1547 she established the College of Subterfuge and Sabotage in Dublin. Here, agents of espionage would be trained for specific missions and sent forth to the new world to destroy any non-Basque attempts to settle the land.

The Empire's new spy program did not disappoint. Utilizing friendly relations with the native tribes, they incited many uprisings and attacks on the Savoyard colonists, and in the north, the Norwegian colonists were decimated by highly suspicious disappearing supplies, house fires, murders, and kidnappings. This ring of assassins and saboteurs became the backbone of the colonial militia, providing valuable insight to the lands deeper within the continent, as well as linking the colonists to the natives through their secondary usage as translators. Eventually this espionage would run so deep that many agents assimilated themselves into native tribes, expediting the process of improving native relations.

Major Elvansan colonial battles between 1513 and 1561.

To the Viceroyalty of Yucatan, however, such developments were frowned upon. Their treatment of native Elvansans was often brutal and deadly. In their campaign across the Aztec and Mayan regions less than fifty years earlier, a rather strict policy of ruthless cruelty had found its way into law, and the new espionage policies did not sit well with the de Ursúa family. A petition was presented to the empress to put an end to this. In response, Plazentzia presented the city of Tenochtitlan as a sanctuary for natives in which they could be self governing and outside of the realm of Hybernobasque rule. The Viceroy sent an army to the city, and nearly all of its residents were massacred in retaliation to the empire's decree.

In 1552 the massacre of Tenochtitlan caused an uproar in Hiriburuan, and prompted immediate sanctions against the Viceroyalty. Upon their staunch refusal of said sanctions and declaration of independence in 1554, the empress declared that all colonial companies under the Viceroyalty's command were now directly under royal ownership. By 1558 the rebellion was crushed, and the Viceroyalty was disintegrated. The Koroak Colonial Company was built in their place to rule over the region, and was directly administrated by the empress.

Europe, 1561.
 
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1561-1594

Overextended claims, angry subjects, and an out-of-control budget spelled a recipe for disaster in the empire. Belasko II had inherited a myriad of problems that he barely managed to contain during his reign. A flat policy of appeasement to Champagne worked for the time to keep them in order, but the Dutch claims in the new world were too much to bear. In 1572 war was declared, as the Dutch had finally achieved numerical superiority over the Hybernobasque armies and planned to finally break free from the rule of their masters in Britain. By 1573 the war was over, and the signing of the Treaty of Paris broke Holstein from Hybernobasque control as well. This further indebted the state, leading to a new reliance on loans that had never been seen before, starting in 1575.

The extensive spy ring in Elvansa collapsed entirely in the 1570's as a lack of funding and mass conversion of the natives to Islam in Ipar Elvansa crippled native relations there permanently. Andalusian colonists made a powerful appearance in Ipar and Hego Elvansa, pushing Belasko to forfeit his mother's claims to the entirety of both continents. To make matters worse, the Dutch formed an alliance with the Andalusian sultanate in 1578, and by 1563 they had established a solid colonial claim on the southern continent.

Colonies in Elvansa, 1590.
S6vxz.png

Finally, the Koroan rebellion of 1581 put the final nail in the coffin, and all Hybernobasque ambitions of controlling the entire new world were buried along with their hope of exerting control over Koroak. While neither side acknowledged a specific date at which the pretentious Hybernobasque claims were renounced, it is generally agreed by historians that they had been abandoned by the time of the success of the Koroan independence movement in 1587.

Belasko II died in 1578, and by the time his wife, Empress Emili III, died in 1587, there was much talk in France of a spreading movement for rebellion. Inspired by the Dutch, Koroan, and German success against the empire, many french nationalists had an idea about uniting the French under their own distinct banner, rather than under a broad empire ruled by foreigners. To further fuel this idea, the Hybernobasque military was far behind the rest of Europe so far as technology goes. In fact, corruption and complacency had torn away the glory of the imperial army and turned the armed forces into the emperor's greatest embarrassment.

Colour graded scale of approximate technological prowess in Europe.
Green=Most Advanced, Red=Least Advanced

V5IGk.png

For seven years, a regency council would rule in place of Endulcia II, and during this time the French struck their first blow. A demand was placed upon the regency for full autonomy outside of the imperial realm. Naturally, the regency declined their request by ignoring it. Tensions rose further when an embargo was placed upon the empire by Andalucia, damaging the already crippled economy even further. Here, under these bleak circumstances, Endulcia II took the throne.

Europe, 1594.
8MrLB.jpg
 
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So far It's a good read.
This looks fun! I'll go read your CKII story. :)
great work

Thank you! :)

What happened to your old AAR?

Sorry I didn't catch your comment earlier. Haven't been getting much sleep, must have missed it.

I am 99% certain that I won't finish that one. I cannot find where I put the save game. :|

Sorry about that.

Would be great if you carried this on to Vicky 2 aswell :)

I do intend on doing so! I would carry it over to HOI3 then, and after that EvW (when it is released), but unfortunately somebody else already had my CDkey registered for HOI3, so I cannot post in their AAR forum. Not to mention how massive a hand-conversion to that game would be, and I am fairly certain that an automatic converter does not exist.

Anywho, thanks for reading!
 
1594-1675

Inheriting the throne at 15 years of age, Endulcia II faced the issues of her predecessors with pragmatism and logic rather than ambition and passion. First, the French issue was resolved by appeasing them with their independence. All vassalage was cancelled over the French lands, and Champagne wasted little time establishing itself as the dominant French state. By 1600 all three French nations would be merged under the house of Penthievre to form a singular French kingdom.

In the colonies, Karoak was released as entirely independent, and in 1630 Juan Jimeno would fashion himself as Lord Protector of the Mexican Empire. The colonies were not entirely estranged, however, as the efforts to populate Canada and Brazil continued. The Carribean remained the Basque Main for decades to come, as the vast treasure fleets of Ireland continued to ship rare resources from the new world to Europe.

Colonies in Elvansa, 1600.
9jppL.png

Endulcia II would continue her prosperous reign until the disastrous Holy Roman Reformation began in 1614. The Hessian king had been pushing reforms in the empire to force unification of the states, and it led to war with the Dutch, whom had assured the independence of various German states. Endulcia II, seeking a powerful ally in Europe, had reached out to the Netherlands a few years prior, and was now called upon to honor her pledge. The war lasted nearly twenty years, and ravaged Europe. Austria became involved on the Dutch side of the conflict in 1620, which turned the tide of the war in Basque favor. Switzerland, at the time a very powerful German Republic commanding much of northern Italy, joined the Hessian side in 1621. Sardinia-Piedmont signed a pact in 1626 with Austria to dismantle the Swiss nation, and France joined against Austria in the same year. Andalucia attacked the French in 1629, officially bringing in the last of the European states into the conflict through their alliance with Hungary and Norway.

The war ended in 1633, and almost every nation involved claimed victory. The resulting series of peace treaties permanently altered the face of Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was united into as single German state, Sardinia-Piedmont seized the Italian lands from Switzerland, and France conquered most of the French regions from Germany.

Europe immediately following the cessation of hostilities.
esU8H.png

The stress of the war produced trauma in the empress, who would suffer from fits for the rest of her life. This may have been a direct result to her death, likely of stroke, in 1640. She died childless, and without any direct descendents to pass the crown of the empire on to the house Sithrigi would end its line. 1113 to 1640, 527 years of Sithrigi kings and queens. Belasko III de Beaumont, a distant cousin of the empress, would then inherit the throne.

Belasko had a dream of eastward expansion and very quickly set to work turning it into a reality. Inspired by the French conquest of India in 1647 and the Dutch conquest of several Indian ports in 1658, he wished to out perform both nations by driving even further east into the riches of China and Japan. Although in 1660 there was no specific target in his mind, an armada was commissioned for a general invasion of the east. The initial goal was an army of two hundred thousand men, but financial limitations would lower this to 180 thousand. The fleet to carry these men would take fourteen years to construct, and was finished in 1674. Due to the expenses of building such a massive fleet, military maintenance had to be kept very low, and when France declared war on Andalucia in what was romanticized as the "Last Crusade" of 1671, Belasko had to sit in the sidelines and watch despite how much he wanted to prevent his southern neighbor from gaining any more power.

The Armada launched towards Japan in 1674.
OESPd.png


Finally, in 1674, the fleet was launched. Anticipation all across the empire had been building for the debut of the empire's greatest pride. Belasko said of the fleet "we may have been waiting for a decade, but our empire has been waiting for this moment for over two centuries." Indeed, The Armada was the most expensive and risky venture that the Hybernobasque Empire had ever engaged in, and it was the largest amphibious invasion ever attempted in human history.

The target was kept a secret from all people besides the emperor. A sealed envelope was delivered to the Admiral Martin de Azagra from the emperor designating the exact target of the fleet, in order to keep his enemies from knowing before the last possible moment.

On April 21st, 1674, The Armada embarked on its mission. There would be a stop to resupply in a Dutch colony near the Cape of Good Hope, and from there the fleet would continue on to Japan to land its troops in the province of Izumo, at the time controlled by the Chinese Ming dynasty. Landing in September of 1675, it would take little more than a month to spread out over the entirety of southern Japan. Completely overwhelming the native Japanese, and possessing gunpowder weapons not yet common in Japan, the Hybernobasque armies claimed their victory on November 18th.

The World in 1675. Warning: rather large image.
 
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Really, really lovely presentation, writing, and pictures.

Keep it up! Look forward to the Vicky 2 game.

EDIT- If you get a chance, can you post a cultural map mode of Europe? I find the spread and change of culture in CK2 and EU3 one of my favorite aspects.
 
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i actually liked the writing, anyway, too bad you lost your grip over france netherlands and elvansas ;/

Thank you very much for reading, sir.

All those colonies were costing an insane amount of money to keep up, and the bi-annual spy missions weren't helping my finances. Rebel stacks of ten to fifteen units are hard to put down when you have an army barely that size in Europe with zero maintenance. At the very least, I kept Catholics out of the new world, and I am still friends with the Dutch.

Really, really lovely presentation, writing, and pictures.

Keep it up! Look forward to the Vicky 2 game.

EDIT- If you get a chance, can you post a cultural map mode of Europe? I find the spread and change of culture in CK2 and EU3 one of my favorite aspects.

Here's a cultural map of Europe:

4n7K6.png


The biggest changes:

-Irish extinct, Basque in it's place.
-German Croatia.
-German Bohemia.
-Greek Turkey.

Another interesting thing about this game? The Knights of Malta(Hospitaller)... actually own Malta!

And I too look forward to Vicky2. It will be interesting, being my first Victoria game.


You guys have no idea how nice it is to hear these compliments. Thanks for reading!
 
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1675-1746

With a solid foothold in Japan, Belasko III believed the east Asian markets to be under solid Hybernobasque control, and inundated promising merchants with funds to corner the tea and chinaware trade in Europe. However, staunch resistance to his attempts were met in Nanjing, and many traders were turned back upon slight suspicions or misunderstandings. A few were even jailed and executed for crimes that never happened. The xenophobic attitude of the Chinese was more than enough of an excuse to punish Japan even further, and another war began in 1681.

The Eastern Trade war resulted in the total annexation of the Japanese home islands into the empire in a series of conflicts lasting until 1710. The war in China would culminate in 1692 with the infamous "burning of Nanjing" event. Contrary to the name and popular belief, the city itself was not burned. Rather, the Chinese fleet was lit aflame by British soldiers shortly after capturing the ships in a naval battle just outside of Nanjing harbor.

East Asia, 1731.
gh832.png

The Charter Britannia was a law put into motion first by Belasko, and then continued by his successor Karlos II, who came to the throne in 1689. The charter quite ambiguously stated that Cathay was rightfully part of the Hybernobasque Empire, and that it would be incorporated into Belasko's Britannian Empire. The original wording of the charter was vague, especially considering the fact that the term 'Cathay' was out of use. It would only truly take shape over time as its goals were realized. In 1731, when the last pockets of organized Japanese resistance to Hybernobasque rule in Kyushu were crushed, Japan was added to the British patrimony through the charter, and in 1744 Korea was added as well.

It should be noted that during this time period, due to the end of the Sithirigi line that had so prominently defined the Hybernobasque origins and way of rule, that the term "Hybernobasque" had begun to fall into disuse. In fact, the imperial administration itself was reformed into an absolute monarchy, and Belasko III would be the first to prefer the title of King of Britain over Emperor of the Hybernobasques. He made this change in 1687, shortly before his death in 1689.

In 1699, Italy was dragged to war with Austria. This was the third in a series of conflicts in which the Austrians and Bavarians attempted to gain entrance to the peninsula and conquer the Italian kingdom, and Karlos believed that such a thing was unacceptable. The Austrian crown was already powerful enough as it was, even without a direct hold over Bavaria. War was declared, and with the most numerous military power in Europe descending upon them, the rest of Europe immediately launched itself at Austria to take advantage of the situation. It was during this war that the need for reform in the military became dire. Austrian troops were well trained, had better equipment, and flaunted a superior tricorne hat design.

Austrian borders prior to the war.
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The war was ultimately won due to superior manpower and the overwhelming number of powers fighting the Austrians from all sides, but the structure of the army would change drastically after the peace was obtained. By 1734, British arms would have caught up with the rest of Europe in technology, and in 1745 the Japanese Foreign Legion was established to recruit military units from the conquered east. This latter outcome was also a result of a greater need for manpower in the east following the invasion of Korea in 1744.

Austrian borders following the war.
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The war of 1737 would mark the end of a long held alliance between Britain and the Netherlands, and would showcase the Hybernobasque New Model Army. France had claimed Vermandois and went to war to obtain access to the North Sea through the so-called "French Corridor." To prevent such a thing from happening, Karlos II declared war on the dutch to claim the corridor first.

The French Corridor.
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Loath to hand over their territory to the already powerful Hybernobasque Empire, the Dutch instead surrendered the corridor to France, hoping to end both wars immediately. Such a thing did not come to pass, and in two years time the Dutch would lose their Pacific coast colony in Hego Elvansa. This would eventually lead to the loss of most of their Pacific island colonies as well, including New Mexico and Australia to the Mexicans.

Elvansa in 1742, with former Dutch colonies bordered in red.
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Europe, 1746.
 
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