The Fables of the Phoenix: A Catalonia AAR

Story One: Of Spite, Of Flames

In 1830, the Louis-Philippe of the House of Orléans took over the throne of France, following the forced exile of Charles X, of the House of Bourbon. Six years later, Charles X died of cholera. Louis-Philippe was overjoyed upon hearing this news. Even better for him, Spain’s Bourbon monarchy was being ravaged by civil war; some believed the infant girl Isabella should be the rightful queen, and some believed that under Salic Law, Don Carlos was the rightful king.

Capitalising on this news, Louis-Philippe decided to try and make the Spanish kingdom crumble. The Basque and Catalan countries were strong supporters of Don Carlos as the constitution under which Isabella was queen centralized power in Spain, which robbed them of the autonomy they so desired. The city of Perpignan, in southern France, was Catalan. France had no Catalan autonomy movement as such, but Louis-Philippe decided to ignore that.

On 7th November 1836, Perpignan was declared an independent nation and the Principality of Catalonia was formed. With a Catalan nation in existence, Louis-Philippe hoped that the Catalan people of Spain would secede to join it and the Basque Country would declare independence too.

This backfired for Louis-Philippe. Over the next 100 years, Catalonia became a strong maritime power, even renaming itself ‘The Thassalocratic Kingdom of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands’. The glory, struggles and trials of the fledgling nation became some of the most told stories of Europe. These are those stories.

Story Two: From Tiny Acorns

There once was a man named Ignasi. Ignasi was the Grand Prince of Catalonia, a small, single province nation nestled between France and Spain. Ignasi’s Principality was a small country with a very small population. Prince Ignasi was not happy to be content however. He had grand plans for expansion across the world – the historic Crown of Aragon spread across the Mediterranean Sea and he was adamant that the successor state, the Principality of Catalonia, would spread across every body of water in the world. From the Americas to Africa, to Asia to Oceania, Catalan culture would spread across the world.

Of course, to do this a military is needed. The Prince commanded his most able scholars at the University of Perpignan to perform research into army professionalism; what Catalonian troops lacked in quantity they would make up for in quality. He also commanded that Catalonia was to have a grand port suitable for a powerful navy.



Naturally this rapid advancement of the armed forces caused much debate in Parliament, with Liberals on one side arguing for limited military spending, and the reactionaries on the other demanding unlimited spending and a minimum amount of the budget every year. Prince Ignasi began to grow tired of these debates – each one slowed down his progress. Being young and brash, he took a drastic action.


To the typical Catalonian, this meant very little. To Ignasi, this was a golden opportunity to showcase his throne to his people. Commanding his Grand Vizier, a whistle-stop tour across the towns of Catalonia and the city of Perpignan was scheduled. If ever there would be a People’s Monarch, Ignasi was adamant that he would be it.


The seeds of an acorn had been sown, and soon enough the mighty Catalan Oak would grow.

Story Three: The Golden Isles

A long time ago, in the Principality of Catalonia, there lived a man named Carlos Ramirez. Ramirez was an artisan – somebody who handmade high-value goods. Catalonia was a marginally industrialized nation, with five factories to its name, yet there were not enough people to man the factories so the majority of skilled workers worked as master artisans. His standard of life was satisfactory – he could buy everything he needed to live and sometimes could even buy luxury goods made by other members of the Artisan’s Guild.


Whilst speaking to a customer who commissioned a clipper convoy, he was told of a land in the Far East that’s awash with gold. Enchanted with this story, he set about learning everything he could. As one of the 28% of the population who could read, he was able to visit the library of the University of Perpignan and read of the lands in the East. After seven years of research, he was able to deduce that the customer spoke of the Sultanate of Johor, near the Indian Ocean.
Knowledge was not enough for Ramirez. He needed some of the gold for himself. He visited the Grand Prince of Catalonia, Ignasi I to ask for a Royal Charter to claim the lands in the name of the Royal Family. Ignasi, whose country was making very small amounts of money approved:
“I will commission you with a small fleet, and with an army of 6,000 men. If you can establish a protectorate over these lands, you and your line will forever be known as the Earl of the Malay Peoples. Should you fail and have the audacity to return to this land, I will have your head removed from your shoulders and awarded to the Sultan himself.”

With the Prince’s words in his ears, he bid farewell to his wife and set sail for the East. Upon arriving, he sent a messenger to the Palace of the Sultan. Within days, the Principality was at war with Johor. Johor had good relations with their neighbor, Atjeh, who came to their aid in the war. Fortunately for Ramirez, Atjeh’s military might did not rival his, and Atjeh was annexed to Catalonia, whilst Johor gave up their gold mines in the north of the country.


Through the war, the fleet granted by the Prince sustained casualties until only one clipper convoy remained. This clipper was sent with a small crew back to the Principality to spread the news of victory to the Prince.
The Prince was euphoric. For the first time in history, waters that were not the Mediterranean lapped the shores of Catalonia.

I've just reworded the last update to make it read better. Let me know what y'alls think. ^__^

I've had some computer issues that lead to having to uninstall practically everything so I've re-played the game trying to keep it as close to this as possible and I should be posting a new update on Friday evening.