Portugal- an Empire Under the Sun

Short History of Portugal

The Beginning

History of Portugal goes back to ancient times. The people have been living there since the time immemorial. And why not- the climate is soft, the soil is rich and the sea provides the people with food as well. For these reasons, Portugal also attracted the attention of their stronger neighbours. First, the Carthaginians had .settlements in Portuguese area. Then, the Romans came, saw and conquered. Though to be fair, time between seeing and conquering was quite long- from 200BC to about the beginning of our time. Only by then, the Iberian peninsula was finally conquered and became part of the Roman provinces of Tarraconesis (northern part) and Lusitania (south of river Douro). Incidentally, the name of Portugal also came from that time - from a city called Portus Cale in the mouth of River Douro.


Roman provinces and Roman conquest of Iberia

Visigoths

All the good things must come to an end. Though the Portugal enjoyed prosperity and growth in the Roman Empire, when the Empire fell, so did Portugal. Instead of Romans, they now had new overlords, of the barbaric sort. From 407-409, Germanic Vandals, Suebi and Alans crossed the frozen Rhine river and somehow ended up settling in Portugal, creating their own small Kingdoms there. Then came the Visigoths and attacked the rest of barbars and soon, Visigothic Kingdom ruled the entire Peninsula. After Franks kicked Visigoths out of Southern France in the beginning of the 6th Century, Visigoths remained only in Iberia, with their capital in Toledo. It was not a good time for Portugal, or for the rest of Europe. There, the Visigoths ruled for about 300 years.


Visigothic Kingdom at their absolute height

Arabic Conquest

It was a surprise how easy did Visigoths fall when Muslims invaded. It was a surprise to Tariq ibn Ziyad, the leader of the invasion as well. The battle of Guadalete, fought in 711 (or 712), basically ended the Visigoth rule. Historians had talked about battles consisting of over 100 000 soldiers on both sides, but in reality, it was more likely 1500 Muslims versus 2500 Visigoths. There had even been a speculation that it was an ordinary Muslim raid and the fellows did not plan to conquer at all. To everyone’s surprise, they managed to kill the last Visigoth King Roderic, crumble the realm and in the following decade, take all of Iberian peninsula, except for small kingdoms in the mountainous north. From there, the Muslims swarmed to Southern France and the young Christianity was at serious risk.


Arabic conquest at about year 1000AD

Start of Reconquista and of Portugal

From the Kingdoms of the North, Christians started to push back. It took centuries though to even begin and it took them even longer to finish it. Galicia/Leon/Asturias, at the most northwestern part of the Peninsula, was free of Muslims by as early as 750-ies. About the same time, Franks pushed the Muslims out of Southern France and in 801, Franks took the city of Barcelona and established Spanish Mark down there. Next was the city of Porto and the surrounding areas- conquered in 868, they were formed into County of Portucale and they became part of Kingdom of Leon. This is also considered to be the birthdate of current Portugal.

Meanwhile, reconquista raged on. Slowly, Christians were getting upper hand. Most famous of these dates is 1085, when Christians retake Toledo. With that, more then half of the Iberian lands in back at the Christian hands.

Foundation of Portugal

Henri (or Henrique) of Burgundy was the youngest son of Henri of Burgundy, who was the oldest son of Robert, Duke of Burgundy. Since Henri the Older died before Robert, brothers of Henry the Younger took the throne of the Duchy. Henri went crusading instead- helping King Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon to fight the Muslims. Incidentally, Alfonso was married to Henri’s aunt, Constance de Burgundy. In 1093, Alfonso married Henri to his illegitimate daughter Theresa and Henry received the county of Portugal as dowry. It was all fun and games, but in 1109, Alfonso died. In resulting struggle, Henri declared Portugal independent. But Henri also died, in 1112. Henri’s son, Alfonso, born in 1109, was the next count, but the regent was her mother, Theresa.


Henri de Burgundy, Count of Portugal and founder of Burgundy Dynasty

Theresa herself fought against her sister, queen of Leon and was basically a royal pain in the butt for the region. She even expelled Alfonso in 1120, but in 1128, Alfonso finally defeated her mother in battle of São Mamede, put her mother in convent and claimed himself to be Duke of Portugal and defeated Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon (who was son of Urrica, sister of Theresa and thus, Alfonsos were cousins). With that, the independence of Portugal was guaranteed.

After battle of Ourique in 1139, when Alfonso (according to legends that are not the most reliable sources) defeated not one or two, but five Moorish kings and as a result, his soldiers came up with the bright idea- the men who defeats five kings must be King himself, so long live King Alfonso! How that really was, no-one can tell for sure, but one thing is certain- in 1143, with treaty of Zamora, Alfonso VII of Leon agreed Alfonso of Portugal to be an independent King. Finally, in 1179, Pope Alexander III declared Alfonso proper King and all that. Thus, the nation of Portugal was finally officially born.


Alfonso, son of Henri and the first king of Portugal

Portuguese Reconquista

Despite the “grand victory” at Ourique, Muslims continued to be a threat and the battles turned both ways. The most important event of Alfonso’s rule was in 1147, when a band of Crusaders from the Second Crusade landed in Porto and offered their help in taking the City of Lisboa. Before that, Alfonso had taken the fortress of Santarem.


Portuguese and Crusaders taking Lisboa

From there on, the Kings changed and the fortunes of war changed. Sometimes, Portuguese were victorious and gained more land. Sometimes, Moors took the lands back. But slowly and steadily, Portugal pushed their borders further south until in 1249, during the reign of Alfonso III, the final province of Algarve and the city of Faro in the south was taken by Portugal. In Iberia, Portugal had reached the borders they still have in 1444.


Alfonso III. During his reign, the Portguguese got their realm in to their current borders

King Dinis

Dinis, son of Alfonso III, is one of the most fondly remembered Kings of Portugal. He ruled from 1279-1325, he was called either Farmer or Poet and aside from one little war with Castile, his entire rule of 46 years was peaceful- a rare trait for ruler of Medieval Europe. He repopulated the war-torn lands, he built new towns, villages and castles, he advanced agriculture (and thus the Farmer callsign). He created the Royal Fleet that is now the foundation of Portuguese power. Also, he founded the University of Lisboa, now situated in Coimbra. And he wrote his own poetry that was quite good. This, for example is one of his works:



Dinis, one of the best Kings of Portugal

End of House Burgundy, rise of House Avis

All good things must come to an end and so must the story of House Burgundy, founded when Henry de Burgundy became the Count of Portugal. Last Burgundian King was Fernando I, who ruled from 1367-1383. He without a male heir and her daughter, Beatrice, was married to Juan I of Castile, thus supposedly uniting the two nations.

It seems though that the Portuguese nobles were not really fond of idea of Castilian king and thus, a civil war broke loose. João de Aviz, illegitimate son of Pedro I (father of Fernando) and thus, bastard brother of Fernando and grandmaster of the order of Aviz, Portuguese own military order formed on same basis as the Templars. Now, instead of being normal bastard under the rule of Juan, João decided to become a royal bastard. He was already popular amongst Portuguese nobles and thus, he raised his flags in rebellion.

Juan of Castile was of course not really happy about the turn of events. He gathered a large army and sieged Lisboa in 1384. Finally, hunger and plague forced them to retreat without taking the city. Next year, he gathered an army of 31 000 men and marched to Portugal, confident of victory, for João had only about 6500 men. Then, Battle of Aljubarrota happened. Small Portuguese army, with even smaller detachment of English archers, defended a hill and slaughtered Castilians and their French allies in August 1385. Though less known then Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt (the later still about to happen), the Portuguese did the same- defeated an enemy several times more sizeable. About 5000 Castilians were killed in battle and another 5000 in aftermath, while Portuguese lost about 1000 men. To make matters worse for Castilians, Portuguese marched to Castile and in October 1385, Battle of Valverde happened. Castilians had superior numbers- 20 000 against 3000- and they were defending the river crossing. Portuguese crossed the river, forced Castilians to flee and won the day.


The Battle of Abjubarrota

With that, Castile was defeated and João was crowned as the King of Portugal. True, Castile only admitted to that in 1411. Thus, Aviz, the branch family of Burgundy, who was a branch family of Capet, came to rule in Portugal.

Portugal from 1385-1444

João ruled to 1433. He married Philipa Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. During his time, the realm prospered, though he granted too much privileges to his loyal nobles, thus weakening the realm a bit.


João marrying Philippa

In 1415, João gathered an army of 45 000 soldiers and sailed to Ceuta, in Morocco. The attack came as a surprise to defenders of Ceuta and thus, the Portuguese managed to take the city before anyone understood what was going on. With João travelled his sons- his heir Duarte, Price Henrique the Navigator and Pedro and Alfonso, also sons of João. The event is usually marked as the beginning of Portuguese Empire.

Meanwhile, Portuguese continued their expansion by sea. Mostly thanks to Price Henrique the Navigator, who also became Grand Master of the Order of Christ. He continued to send out explorations, hoping to find more lands, riches and the legendary Priest King John, who was supposed to be a legendary rich king ruling somewhere, drowned in the lands of Muslims.


Prince Henrique, the driving force behind Portuguese exploration

In 1419, João Gonçalves Zarco discovered the isle of Madeira. In the next year, the beautiful island was colonized. In 1431, Gonçalo Velho Cabral discovered the Islands of Azores. He was given ship, a caravel, by Prince Henrique and told to discover land in the west. That he did- he stumbled upon Azores. The settlement took time, but even during the first voyage, Gonçalo released some sheep to the wilds so future colonists would have something to eat. By 1444, a small Portuguese colony is alive in Azores and growing.


Portuguese caravel, the power behind exploration

Meanwhile, King João died in 1433 and was succeeded by his son, Duarte. In 1437, he tried to take Tangiers, but this time, failed miserably. His own brother Fernando was captured and kept in captivity where he died in 1443. Duarte himself died of plague in 1348. His firstborn son, Alfonso (born in 1432) now ruled as a 6-year boy and King Alfonso V. In 1444, he was still underage, though he was well on his way to becoming an adult.

Here we go, first episode. Short history- and I might have made some mistakes, so if there are some Portuguese reading it, sorry. Should have gotten it all right though, i hope.

And one thing i failed to mention (much) is the Order of the Christ. It should actually get their own chapter, but instead, i'm being lazy and giving you wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Order_of_Christ
Interesting read!

To Control the Gibraltar

Portugal in 1444

Portugal, the westernmost nation in Europe, consists of 7 provinces in the mainland. Richest of them is Lisboa, the capital. Situated in the estuary of River Tagus and an important centre of trade, every ruler would be proud to call a city like Lisboa their capital. Second province is Porto, in the estuary of River Douro. As rich as Lisboa, but not as powerful as trade. In addition, Coimbra is worth mentioning- because of the university in there. Other provinces- rich, but nothing special. In addition, Portugal owns province of Ceuta, in the North Africa. Conquered by grandfather of Alfonso, King João back in 1415, the province is a foothold to Portuguese for further expansion. Plus, there is island of Madeira, discovered back in 1419. Azores, the last province that Portugal holds, is still a colony, with 500 settles living in the islands in the middle of Atlantic.


The Portugal and it's surroundings

The country is ruled by Alfonso V de Avis, who is good, but nothing special. Young King, no heir yet. In addition, two advisors to help him.


Alfonso V


Alfonso and his advisors

13 000 army is not much, but at the moment, it is the best Portugal can support- and even that, barely. Additionally, one good general, Earl of Avarances. But the main power of Portugal lies in their fleet. 9 barques, 6 carracks and 6 cogs- one of the most powerful fleets in Europe. In addition, Portugal has not one, but total three explorers- Nuno Tristiao, Diego Gomes and Alvardo Fernandes. Of them, later.


Army screen- notice all the nice explorers

Though the main income of the state comes from the taxes, the trade also provinces quite a number of money- even more to be found soon. Portuguese income comes from Gibraltar, where the goods flow from Mediterranean to North Sea. One of the first things Alfonso does is order 6 light ships to protect trade there there.

War with Morocco

Alfonso V managed to secure alliance and a royal marriage with Castile by December 1444. Then, the it was time to turn attention South, for Tangiers, an important Center of Trade, needed conquering. Father of Alfonso, King Duarte, tried to do that in 1437, but failed miserably.

By 11th January 1445, all 13 000 Portuguese soldiers were shipped to Ceuta. Same day, Alfonso V declared war on Morocco, claiming the County of Tangiers. England and Castile joined the war soon. The same day, battle broke out in Gibraltar, where Armada Real, the Portuguese main fleet has been positioned and five Moroccan light ships. By the end of the day, Moroccan ships were in the bottom of the ocean.

Meanwhile, Portuguese army marched to Tangiers and laid siege of the city there. Moroccan army of 8000 marched to Ceuta and sieged the province. Portuguese left force to siege the Tangiers and marched to Ceuta.

There was a bit more of Portuguese, but the battle was a close one. In the end, it was Portuguese cavalry that saved the day. Pushing through the enemy ranks, wiping Muslim soldiers aside, they managed to force the enemy to surrender and then, wreaked havoc upon the retreating enemy. Then, the Portuguese followed the enemy, straight to the heart of of Morocco. In battle outside Marrakesh, the Moroccan army was annihilated.


Situation in Morocco in April, plus total defeat of the enemy army

In May, Castile landed in Melilla and Portuguese navy moved to blockade every province Morocco had. Moroccans tried to put up resistance, but the small armies were crushed one by one and in October, Castile moved their initial army further inland. Morocco was on their knees- no armies left, no fighting power left and all their shores blockaded by the Portuguese and Castilians. Tunis, their one ally, tried to approach, but was forced back by the sight of Iberian navies- so Morocco was on their own. And in deep trouble.


Portuguese still sieging Tangiers while Castilians are spreading out

Also in October, Alfonso increased the stability of Portugal by one and hired a spymaster. Finally, in January 1446, Tangiers fell. Morocco gave up, losing Tangiers and 60 gold. Portuguese foothold in Africa grew even larger, and Tangiers was an important Centre of Trade, increasing Portuguese influence in Sevilla trade node even further.

Hmm, i think i'll do it this way- i'll write a chapter and then explain here in more gameplay terms. Tutorial/learning part here- and feel free to tell me if i'm doing something really stupid!

Anyways, first thing about Portugal- it lives and dies by diplomatic power, then by administrative power and then by military power. Incidentally, it means that i will have a really strong army because of that. But basically- i need diplomatic power to trade, fleets, range and all that. And i need diplomatic power for ideas. I have four ideas in the diplomatic ideas group that i consider vital- exploration, expansion, trade and naval. Paradox has created a nice tradeoff here- i have to choose really carefully what i need. Though in the beginning, it is no-brainer- i rush for exploration and colonists.

One things Portugal has that no-one else does is three explorers. I'll talk more about them later, but they are a mixed blessing. First, having three explorers means they cost military points to maintain and that is bad-bad. Next is- you can discover quite a lot, but you cannot use the knowledge. You have basically no colonial range and no colonists as well.

Finally, Tangiers- i think i should not have rushed there. Though owning the province gives me quite good trade power, owning it has two nasty side-effects: overextension of 30% and coring cost of over 400. Though i have a mission to conquer Tangiers that gives me 200 admin power back, the power is just too bad.



Oh, and i've send most of my light ship fleet to Seville to patrol trade and moved my merchant from Mauritania to Genoa, to steer trade there.

Belgiumruler- well, i knew i wanted no more then Tangiers, so i kept the force there. I imagined the coring cost would be something like that, though i didn't think it would be soo bad.

Gen. Marshall - i learned quite a lot while writing it as well. Now, it is time to mess up the history! And welcome aboard!

DensleyBlair - seems so! Welcome back! And Portugal is actually always my favourite nation to play!

esemesas - simple- you don't click on "subscribe" button! Thanks though- and i think no wc this time.

Ezzezze -i'll do my best to explain. And as you wish- Tangiers is Portuguese. Though that is a mixed blessing

Tanzhang (譚張)- be my guest and use it any way you like to.

Tommy4ever - yes, this is my first game. And i think that taking Tangiers, or at least taking Tangiers before taking exploration idea might have been a bad idea. So a good start!

Tanzhang (譚張)- no worries, historybooks will keep on coming!

Gen. Marshall - well, the only problem is that i have no clue either!

DensleyBlair- That Tangiers might have been a mistake. And remember, always defeat the enemy, then siege! Golden rule of warfare (at least in more civilized areas). Portugal sure is fun to play though...

esemesas - heh, ok Anyways, glad to have you on board!

Ezzezze - well, handicap is a bit strong word. Even though it costs me over 400 admin power to core it, i have a mission to take and core Tangiers that gives me 200 admin power. So, not that bad. And the trade bonus i'll get in Seville is quite good- and doesn't require coring.