Portugal- an Empire Under the Sun

Exploration and Revolts

Here be Dragons?

When Portuguese forces were fighting in Morocco, the explorers were already hard at work. Nuno Tristao was sent to Azores, while Diogo Gomes and Alvaro Fernandes were sent to Madeira. All of them got one carrack on their hand and a mission- to go where no man has gone before. Logically, Nuno sailed west, to the seemingly endless expanse of the Atlantic. It was hard to find crew brave enough to sail into unknown and it took iron will of the captain to keep them under control where there was no land in sight for days. Fortunately for Portugal, Nuno was just the man. Other two explorers, Diogo and Alvaro, sailed south. From there, they split up. Diogo kept on sailing along the coast of Africa, but Alvaro also turned his ship west near Cape Verde and also sailed into unknown oceans.


First expeditions into the unknown in 1444...

Why such a change of pace, you ask? For to this point, Portuguese had moved south slowly and carefully. But with the usage of modern barques, the Portuguese gained better speed, more room and better ships that can endure long voyages. These three were also tests for the capabilities for the new ships. And they did not disappoint. Able to face the rough ocean, able to sail through the oceans, without seeing land for days and even weeks. With better navigation devices, they were not that lost.

Let us just say the first test runs were total success. All three arrived alive, though in battered ships and they had sailed further then any Portuguese or even European had ever sailed. Their tales- of rich African provinces, of strange new land with people with reddish skin and sharp arrows or the endless Atlantic ocean... Soon, they were sent out again and every time, they brought home stories of wealthy lands. By 1446, Diogo Gomes had reached the Cape of Good hope and sailed up the eastern side of Africa. Alvaro Fernandes had discovered quite a good chunk of new continent in the south and Nuno Tristao had found rich islands west of Azores. The only problem now was that while the trip was manageable by excellent captains and well-trained crews, it was beyond the reach of normal traffic. Still, Portuguese now knew what no-one in the Europe knew- rich lands were just waiting to be settled.


... and the results by 1449

One by one, the explores retired though and what later became known as The Great Voyages ended before 1450. Portugal had knowledge, now she just had to use it. The ships of explorers were joined into main trade fleet, tasked to keep Sevilla safe under Portuguese influence.

Situation Home

Locals of Tangiers and Ceuta were not happy with their new overlords and frequent revolts popped up. Just keeping the two provinces made Portugal to invest heavily in soldiers and the losses reached well over 15 000 soldiers. General Earl of Avranches died in one of these battles and Alfonso himself had to temporarily lead the armies. Miguel de Brananca took over soon though. It was really tough and the locals did not seem to get a hint. Basically put, the Portuguese losses were bigger in peacetime then they were at war. Well, rebels are sneaky little bastards like that...


The worse situation in North Africa- Portuguese had just won a Phyrric battle against the rebels in Tangiers and meanwhile, Berber patriots and Fezian nationalists fight in Ceuta

In 1448, war between France and England ended. France managed to gain Gascoigne and Normandy. Basically, English power in the mainland was ended and though England still has some lands, they no longer control half of France. Just a year later, England descended into chaos and civil strife. The main result- loss of Calais to French rebels. Still, they were strong and loyal ally and Alfonso entered royal marriage with them.


Poor England...

In May 1449, Castile attacked Granada. Alfonso naturally joined their loyal allies and though Portuguese armies did not participate in the war, the Armada Real, Portuguese main fleet, did that quite actively. They won some naval battles against Granada and their ally, Algiers; heavy carracks were blockading coast of Algiers and then Castile won the war in June 1450, gaining Granada, no-one could say Portugal did nothing.

In June 1449, a heir was finally born to Alfonso V. The kid was named Filipe and already, he was more promising then his father. Or so the legends say- let’s be fair, no matter how great ruler he turned out to be, he was still a toddler then. Not caring about administrative matters, only for his wetnurse.


New heir!

To the South

Finally, in 1452, Portugal got around to expanding the knowledge of the new lands. Administrative technology rose enough that Portugal got their first idea group. Naturally, it was exploration: Alfonso managed to convince the first group of people to leave their homes behind and sail south, to Islands of Cape Verde. In March 1452, 10 people had settled there and more were on their way. Portugal had begun their expansion southwards.


The settlement of first colony if Africa

There was another part in the expansion. Mali, a nation with lands in the same place where Cape Verde is, was the next logical target. Province of Cayor was deemed suitable for further expansion and in in May 1453, Alfonso was ready for his first conquest in the south. Small Portuguese army of 6000 soldiers were well on their way and all was ready for war... Timing was good too, for Portugal had just advanced one level more into military tech- resulting in better tactics.

The gameplay explanation thingie too:

Exploration- ok, you could say i rushed it. Though i stopped a bit short of India. I think i could have managed it, but the light ships are worth their weight in gold (that i don’t have that much) and thus, too valuable to risk. Once i’ve gotten some nice holdings in Cape and so on, it is India time! Incidentally, India. One of the main reasons to reach there is a triggered modifier called East India Trade Company or something similar. Requires you to have Quest of the New World, merchant in Indian node and some other things that are quite easy. Result- additional 20% trade efficiency, so it’s all good. As of now- i know about most of Atlantic and have mapped coast of Africa, but cannot use it properly yet. It’s coastal hopping in Africa time! Anyways, exploration is easier in EUIV. Coastal provinces discover more easily, no need to send fleet swarming back-forth until you discover one. Best way to explore- use shift to map out the route and end it in port- this way, no sudden death at sea because you forgot to send the navy back to port. .And have game notify when ships reach their destination, so you don’t forget them to your port. This way, you make most of the explorers.

Trade- now, with exploration ended, all of my light ships are patrolling Seville trade node. Result- i have majority of the node to myself. One merchant is there, collecting. I removed another from Mauretania and sent him to Genoa, to steer trade that way. Main reason for that- Mauretania is sending all their trade to Seville anyways, while i can get some more (really minor) income from Genoa. I actually tried one thing- i spilt my trade fleet into half and sent another half to Genoa to protect trade. That resulted in more trade flowing my way, but also a bit less cash. At the moment, it seems like protecting your home trade node is most important. One thing i haven’t tried though- sending a merchant to Bordeaux and transferring trade power downstream. At the moment though- i’m making enough money from trade, almost up to national tax. Financially though- when i cut military funding to minimum, i’m having a small surplus. I’m losing money when military is at full power. Naval maintenance has to stay 100% all the time though- it affects the effectiveness of light ships protecting trade. And i have much bigger share then Castile. Overextension doesn’t help much though and Tangiers gives me a nice 30% malus.


And an overview of the two trade nodes

Revolts- there is nasty thing. More nasty then the battles- even got my manpower to nearly 0 at the point. Still, they are containable at least. Though in some cases, i chose to negotiate with the rebels, not go all-out. Saves manpower and saves money from having to crank the military maintenence up. And these rebels hit hard! Can’t do much too, don’t want to spend admin power on coring and can’t use missionary, for they have 0% chance and not a theologian in sight when you need them.

Just a final hint for you all expansionists out there- to fabricate CB, you need to have province in the same seazone. That’s how i got claim on Cayor- for Cape Verde and Cayor were both located in the Coast of Guinea.

Cheif Ragusa- the one actually held in captivity was Fernando, the 6th son of João I. And the poor lad died in 1443, only a bit earlier then Alfonso came and liberated Tangiers. And didn't know about the animosity between João and the Pope. Heh, would have been interesting if Portugal had did the same thing Henry VIII did in England, just a bit over 100 years earlier. Hmm, but Portuguese ruling England... mmm, tempting!

African Adventures

Introduction to Mali

When Portuguese first arrived in Mali, they thought they had finally found the legendary lands of Priest King or Prester John, an even more legendarily rich Christian monarch in faraway lands, surrounded by pagans and heathens. Of course, these thoughts did not last for long, for the Malinese people were very proper Muslims. But the country was rich. Though the coastal settlements were not that big, they were brimming with wealth, were properly defended and the armies of Mali, consisting of African spearmen, were numerous and powerful. The main riches of Mali come from several inland provinces producing gold though... and there is one similarity between Portuguese and dwarves- say “Gold” to them and their eyes start to glint.


Mansa Musa, the strongest Emperor of Mali. Holding gold!

By 1450-ies, Mali was at the height of his power. The Empire had started at around year 1200 and had good times and worse times, but by the time Portuguese arrived, the nation was sitting firmly between the desert of Sahara and hostile tribes in the shores of Gulf of Guinea. Their main enemies, Songhai and Ashanti, had been subdued and conquered. Trade node in Timbuktu generating a small income and moving goods steadily to Morocco. All animists were properly converted to Sunni and overall, nation was in fine shape. Provinces were stable and pacified, treasury was full. Then, the Portuguese happened...

Arrival of Portuguese

In June 1453, 6000 Portuguese, lead by Miguel de Braganca were on board the cogs just outside the coast of Cayor. There was even no need for warships- Malinese were not the best sailors and preferred their sub-Saharan lands to the risky seas. Small fishing boats were scattered aside and in the beginning of July, Miguel landed in Cayor. Brushing away small resistances, he proceeded to siege the capital, Mboul. Meanwhile, cog feel rushed back to the Tangiers, where they picked up another 6000 soldiers, leaving the recently conquered Morocco and the homelands in Portugal defended by a mere 1000 soldiers.

In September 1453, something good happened. 300 settles suddenly arrived to the Azores, meaning the colony had grown enough to become a full member of the young Empire. With a base there, Portuguese hold in Atlantic was firmer then ever.

In October 1453, the other army arrived. But then, the Malinese attacked Braganca. 11 000 Malinese spearmen, lead by Musa III Keita, Emperor of Mali himself, attacked the Portuguese forces. They charged, ferociously. Portuguese stood firmly, kept their cool and held the line, while the cavalry circled around the Malinese back and forced them to flee. But the war was far from over.


First battle against the natives

Into the Unknown

In March 1454, Cayor fell and Miguel de Braganca marched his troops into unknown territories. They had no maps, they had no clue where they were going. Only the exploration spirit, large trail left behind fleeing enemy army and some captured locals as guide, they arrived to province of Wolof. There, they besieged the city of Jowol, capital of the province. Then, Miguel was once again attacked by Malinese. Musa III Keita had reinforced his armies and now, again 11 000 Malinese spearmen attacked. The result was pretty similar- Portuguese held firm while Malinese lost and fled into the unknown while the Portuguese continued the siege.


Second battle

In August, Gabu Fell and other army marched to unknown Africa. In October, they arrived to Futa Jallon and started the siege there. Wolof fell in December and Miguel the Braganca ordered his soldiers even more into the unknown, marching to heart of Africa. Bambok, a rich province with gold mines... Portuguese soldiers looted quite a lot of it. Then, Musa III Keita attacked again. Once again, they were beaten.



The End

Meanwhile, Castile attacked Aragon and asked Portugal to join. Of course, Alfonso agreed. Armada Real moved out of the port and sailed to Mediterranean, to keep watch over Aragonese troops, but since the Portuguese main army was busy with the Malinese, no support there. Berbers also used the opportunity and forced Alfonso to give up 30 ducats and make some small amends. Still, with that, Alfonso avoided revolt.


Trouble at home- Castilians and rebels

Since the Battle of Bambuk, Malinese forces were nowhere to be seen. Guess they had learned their lesson- don’t mess with the Portuguese. Bambuk and Futa Jallon fell and armies marched on. Not reached as far as Timbuktu, Alfonso decided that enough is enough. In July 1456, It took three years to beat the Malinese, but in the end, Portugal received Cayor and over 500 gold as a tribute. This event is usually considered to be start of the Portuguese Empire- first conquest outside known world. Plus, healthy addition to the treasury.


Peace screen showing how far Portuguese had marched

Well, it is beginning of Portuguese Empire... and the downfall of Mali. And incidentally, it is the best way to use goldmines- let the other party to get inflation malus, you rinse and repeat and gather money.
And still glad to see that good old march into the unknown with regular army works. Incidentally, usually wars should go like this- hunt the enemy army (or armies) until they are destroyed, then siege. Looks like with natives, that is not the case.

Belgiumruler - ouch, that is 250 gold. And yes, rushed too much. The main problem is that by the time i'm ready to colonize them, all of the world knows of these lands thanks to spread of discoveries. Makes their life a bit easier- though not much they can do about it.

DensleyBlair - Heh, no worries. Colonization is expensive, especially when you have more then two colonies at once. So i'll have to keep the budget low and i promise, no Portuguese Africa by 1500. Not promising anything about 1600-ies though! As for winning- let's wait and see.

Pushing South

Internal Affairs

After the fall of Mali, some money was used to build new armories to the home provinces of Portugal and also, to build some new light ships to keep Seville better under Portuguese control. Lot was still kept as reserve though. And plans were made to repeat the raid when the truce runs out. Meaning- one of the diplomats was sent to Mali once again, to gain a core on Gabu.

Meanwhile, Portuguese armies sailed back to Morocco. In the way, they stopped in Rio del Oro and cleared the area of natives, making it perfect for future colonization. A province just south of Morocco, it would make a perfect place to surround the enemy.

In March 1457, Portugal reached trade level 4, meaning marketplaces can now be built. Most of Malinese money was slowly spent on that. Also, in April 1457, Alfonso finally started to make core of Tangiers. It only took about 10 years before Portugal reached that far.


With the coring of Tangiers, some good things happened

Cape Verde became self-sustaining in September 1457. Portugal now had a perfect base in African basin- though they still needed to make a core province out of them. Luckily, it was much cheaper then Tangiers. Colonist was now sent to Rio del Oro and in the end of October 1457, the colony was settled there.

End of War with Aragon

Castile and Aragon were still in war, though Castile was winning decisively. They already occupied most of the mainland, leaving Aragon islands in the Mediterranean. Aragonese fleet was hiding in the Mallorca and Castilians were sieging that province. Until in May 1458, it fell. Portuguese fleet was just right outside the province, waiting- and of course, they caught the poor Aragonese, fleeing from their lives. A naval battle between new and the old started- galleys versus ocean ships. It proved that Portugal was really going in the right direction, for they won. 6 early carracks against 7 galleys and 9 cogs. Portugal managed to capture one of galleys and forced the rest to flee.


In Gulf of Mallorca, Portuguese proved the superiority of big ships

In July 1459, Tangiers was finally part of Portugal. It also meant that Portugal now accepted Berber culture as their own. It took much longer then expected, but at least now, Portuguese foothold in North Africa is firmer then ever. And a mission that Portugal took in 1444, was finally complete.

Also in 1459, war between Aragon and Castile finally came to an end. Castile gained Alicante, Aragon and Girona. It was unfortunate, actually. Portugal needs two medium-sized powers in Ibera, not one strong enough. If only Aragon had picked their allies right, like France, then the things would have been different. As for now, nothing much one can do about it. It only means that Portugal will have a harder time taking Castile in the future. Castille soon declared another war, this time against Granada.


Castile gaining the Iberian peninsula

More South

Meanwhile, Cape Verde became core in January 1461. Since the colonist was still busy with Rio del Oro, it was decided to leave it at that. Though the main problem was that there was one province Portuguese could reach for next- Sierra Leone.

Portugal also gained two levels of technology. In May 1460, Portugal reached military technology 5 and as a result, went through a complete military reform. Her armies were now supplied with longbowmen that could reign arrows upon poor unsuspecting enemies. England had again and again proved them effective and Alfonso thought it would be good idea to follow the same route. In December 1460, administrative technology 5 was unlocked, giving Portugal chance to build Temples and Constables.


More technology

War on Mali

Meanwhile, it was time to visit the bank.. khm, i mean, declare war on Mali again. This time, the target was Wolof, province inlands. The war was declared in July 1461.The Portuguese army of 12 000 was once again split into two. Main army went to Wolof while the other army sieged Gabu.

Gabu fell in January 1462. Same time, 13 000 Malinese attacked the Portuguese in Wolof. Outnumbered more then 2-1, the Portuguese fought bravely, covered attacking Malinese soldiers with arrows and then, pushed them back. Once again, Portuguese had fought against African enemy with superior numbers and once again, they have won.


It must be really bad to be and African nation

Portuguese pushed on and on, but then, peasants in Tangiers revolted. Since the overseas expansion forced Portugal to leave large areas of land undefended, it was unfortunate turn of events. It also meant that when the main army took Bambuk in October 1462, they were ordered back to the ships in Cayor and sent back to North Africa. Finally, in February 1463 did the army reach Tangiers and crush the rebels. Same time, Bure fell in Mali and Alfonso felt they have done enough. In May 1463 peace was signed, forcing Mali to give up Wolof and pay 460 ducats. Another raid well done.


More gains in the south

On hindsight, i think the most viable method to make Portugal super-colonial nation is this: ignore everything naval until you have pushed the exploration to the point you get +1 colonist. Then and only then, spend diplomatic points on something else. You have then +75% colonial range (from national ideas and from range in exploration part) and with good core-hopping strategy, you can really push your early advantage to maximum.

Chief Ragusa - heh, as usual. But i'm quite sure it's not the natives doing the attacking part. Azores is already core by default, Cayor cannot be cored before i have cored Cape Verde- for the province needs to be within my colonial range to core. As for provinces between Morocco and Mali- they are not nice. Poor and filled with angry natives that cost military power to be wiped out. I only took Rio del Oro for the poor colonist had nothing to do while waiting for Cape Verde to become core.

Tanzhang (譚張) - i'm not 100% sure, but i think it was the combination of these two- plus the fact that African spearman unit is also not the strongest one available.

DensleyBlair - As for coring, look what i replied to Chief Ragusa. Colonial range is a huge stopper at the moment. As for Brazil, Cape Verde is the key. And a bit more range (closest provinces were iirc 172 range from Cape Verde, while i have 160 at the moment). And there is not much to focus on home, unfortunately. Morocco can wait, the coring there is expensive. Cannot attack Castile... yet. So it's all colonies and visiting the banks.. khm, attacking the African nations...
Yes, Europeans are stronger. Looking at the last battle with Mali, i suspect that even too strong.

Death of Alfonso V

African Expansion

After conquering Mali, Portuguese forces marched to Sierra Leone, a province right next to Mali and pacified the province. After several battles with the natives, the province was deemed safe for colonization. In August 1463, first colonists settled there and soon, news of fertile lands where life is easy spread and colonists begun to arrive. Also, at the same time, Cayor and Wolof became cores of the and Portugal finally unlocked Quest of the New World. With that, new explorers and conquistadors were.

Meanwhile in Europe, both Castile and England went to war. Castile went for deliver another blow against Aragon while England went to war with Scotland, with a quest to vassalize them. Portugal once again agreed, but for England, they did nothing. For Castile, Armada Real sailed once again to the Mediterranean.

Henrique Rebelo

In October 1465, Henrique Rebelo was called to Lisboa by Alfonso. Before that, he was governor of Cape Verde, Portuguese first successful colony in Africa. That position gave him quite a bit of knowledge how the process works- how work with supply ships, how to build, how do defend and most importantly- how to survive. He was employed as one of the closest advisors to King Alfonso and thanks to his ideas, some changes were made.


Arrival of Henrique

Sierra Leone was left on their own, with no official state support. That meant that the colony keeps on growing, but in much lesser extent. Instead, the Portuguese founded next colony in Gold Coast. The colony was found in the beginning of 1466 and soon, 12 000 Portuguese soldiers were in the province. In May 1466, the battle broke out between Portuguese forces and locals and as a result, 8000 natives lost their lives while Portuguese losses were miniscule. With that, the colony was safe.


Foundation of colony in Gold Coast and the defeat of locals

Gold Coast was in perfect position for trade routes. It now meant that trade from around Gulf of Guinea started slowly to flow to Mauretania and from there, to Sevilla. Just a trickle in the beginning, but with good prospects to turn into stream. Furthermore, it will help to steer trade from both Brazil and Southern Africa to Portuguese homelands, so controlling Ivory Coast trade node is vital for Portugal.

Back to Europe

Meanwhile, England was not doing very good against their war with Scotland. Quite contrary, English got their buttocks whopped in Scotland. Enough that even Navarra decided to declare war on England- in June 1467, they attacked England, claiming the province of Labourd. Burgundy followed in January 1648, claiming Caux. Also, England had lost their possessions in Ireland some time ago. It was not a good time to be English.


English situation near the borders of Scotlands is all but promising...

Spanish were doing much better, overrunning Aragonese lands. In yet another battle in Gulf of Mallorca, Portuguese heavy ships attacked Aragonese fleet of 8 galleys, 1 barque and 4 cogs. In July 1467, the battle had once again turned into Portuguese favor. Puny Aragonese galleys were no match to large Portuguese floating fortresses, armed with more cannons then an army usually brings with them and good, strong hulls. Devastated by cannonfire, Aragonese once again fled, leaving Portuguese as masters of the sea.


Portuguese only battle in Castilian-Aragonese war

Also in 1468, Portuguese made several advancements. Better production, better colonial range and even more better production. With the advancements, Portugal now had quite proper range. Nothing can now stop the Portuguese expansion...


Improvements! More is always better!

Death of the King

In May 1468, Portugal once again declared war on Mali. Target was the treasury and the province of Gabu (yes, in that order). Portuguese begun once again to advance to now already quite well mapped Malinese lands. It was going on as usual, with not much resistance from Mali.

Then, in December 1468, King Alfonso V died after weeks of illness. He passed away in Lisoba, surrounded by his relatives. Alfonso was a great King, pushing Portugal further south, towards new lands, undiscovered before. During his time, Alfonso had several white spots from the maps removed- he had ordered mapping of African coast, a strange new lands now called Brazil and Caribbean islands. He took Tangiers from Morocco, he attacked Mali several times and he started the colonization of Africa. During his time, provinces of Tangiers, Cape Verde, Rio de Oro, Cayor, Wolof, Sierra Leone and Gold Coast were gained.

Filipe I took the throne. He was a bit better monarch then Alfonso and his son, Joào, was even better. The future of Avis line was secured.


King Alfonso V is dead, long live King Filipe I

With the enlightened rule of Filipe, Portugal is sure to achieve much more!

Now it is a good time to talk about the importance of Ivory Coast. Specially for Portugal: if of course is part of the Indian trade route, advancing stuff from Kongo. But even more importantly, it is also where Brazil trade ends up. Most of the other African provinces have only one outlet and one inlet, but Ivory Coast has two inlets: from Kongo and from Brazil and three outlets- Mauretania, Timbuktu and... Caribbean! When you are playing as English or French and plan to have good chunk of land in the Caribbean and North America, then Ivory Coast lets you direct the Indian trade away from Seville and through Caribbean -> Chespeake to your London or Bordeaux trade center. Or when playing as Portugal, it allows you direct all the trade you need right to Sevilla.

MiniaAr - as you can see, i took the Gold Coast, but currently i have no plans for Arguin. Malinese conquests do the same and i just don't have colonists to spare to achieve unified African coast.

DensleyBlair - your plan B- i plan not to conquer huge landmasses, but take needed outposts from all over the world. Kinda like the Portuguese did in real life. Of course, that achieves true overextension- when you have to wait for a long time before your fleets/armies reach there.

Chief Ragusa - not quite. I plan to very slowly expand to Morocco. The coring costs there are real deterrent and well, since i have to pick the targets, Morocco is not that high on my list. And yes, Spain gets formed soon. But Portuguese will branch out- there are other banks worth visiting in the world as well!