"Machiavelli : Europe Arising", an MP RPG AAR

[TheArchduke]

Machiavelli : Europe Arising has started! A new MP game with the intent of massive RPGing and AAR writing.

Session infos:

May 28th, 1st session, 1492-1520

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
Denmark - Kurtbrian
England - Wyvern
France - TheArchduke
Ottoman Empire - Damocles
Papal States - Stein
Poland - Slargos
Portugal - Smirfy
Russia - Aldo
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Venice - PJL

June 4th, 2nd session, 1520-1542

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
Denmark - Kurtbrian
England - Wyvern
France - TheArchduke
Ottoman Empire - Damocles
Papal States - Stein
Poland - Slargos
Portugal - Smirfy
Russia - JohnMk
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Venice - PJL

June 11th, 3rd session, 1542-1564

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
Denmark - Kurtbrian
England - Wyvern
France - TheArchduke
Ottoman Empire - Damocles
Papal States - Stein
Poland - Slargos
Portugal - Smirfy
Russia - JohnMk
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Venice - PJL

June 18th, 4th session, 1564-1582

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
Denmark - Kurtbrian
England - Wyvern
France - TheArchduke
Holland - Barnius(Amazing AAR entries although still not ingame.)
Ottoman Empire - Damocles
Papal States - Stein
Persia - Barnius
Poland - Slargos
Portugal - Smirfy
Russia - JohnMk
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Venice - Tracid

June 25th, 5th session, 1582-1593

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
Denmark - Kurtbrian
England - Wyvern
France - TheArchduke
Holland - Barnius
Ottoman Empire - Damocles
Papal States - Stein
Poland - Slargos
Portugal - Smirfy
Russia - JohnMK
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Venice - GeneralDearing

Current line up as of 4/8/2003 :

Austria - Peter Ebbesen
England - Tracid
France - Fate
Holland - Barnius (****** as sub)
OE - Jarkko
Poland - Slarhost
Russia - khal_drogo
Spain - BiB
Sweden - Mulliman
Portugal - Smirfy
Brandenburg - kurtbrian

[BiB]

Thread for comments if u are so inclined :

http://www.europa-universalis.com/fo...threadid=87719

[Slargos]

1492 - 1520: Centralization of the State

The reign of Olbracht: 1492 - 1501
The turn of the Tide

Jan I Olbracht arose from prayer and made the sign of the cross. Tired steps took him to the antechamber of the church where a page waited with his sword and helmet. Wielko Hetman Mikolaj Radziwill greeted him with a nod and worried smile.
His brother, Alexander, arose from his stool, "You look strained, as always, brother", he noted with a grin.
"I feel weary, Alex. I am tired in my bones, and demons haunt my sleep. And now this. You both saw the signs in the sky.
"I have consulted with the bishop, and I have spoken with the Lord. The course is evident. Poland needs unity."
"Are you sure this is the way?", asked Radziwill, "the magnates will not like it and there will be problems."
Alexander snorted brusquely, "If Jan says it must be so, it is what will be done."
"No need to get testy, Alex, I am loyal to the crown. I leave for Wilno within the hour to inform those who will support our cause", Radziwill grunted in a hurt tone. "Bog nam radzi", he added, and left.
Jan watched the back of Radziwill as he walked away. This would be a good time for a stiff drink, or a few.


1492 saw the appointment of tax collectors loyal to the king, in order to secure a flow of money for the royal coffers in what would surely be hard times ahead. A niece to the king was wedded to a french prince to secure a good friendship with the french, and one of Jan's cousins wedded a hungarian princess.
Meanwhile, special Royal Military observers were sent to Austria to oversee the preparations in the face of several threats sent by way of numerous decapitated greek soldiers from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1493, the capital was reached by word of another major Teutonic incursion into Lithuania. Assent was given by the Sejm to put full leverage on the Prussians and Teutons. What followed was 3 years of campaign where the polish armies slowly but steadily moved their way north from Krakow, taking city after city. Meanwhile, the Lithuanians did what they did best, harry the Teutons and destroy them piecemeal. By 1496, peace was concluded wherein Estland and Livonia were handed over to the Lithuanians, and Poland was given substatial monetary recompense for their effort.

Centralization of the government was under way, and despite several violent actions taken by resentful magnates, work progressed apace.

In the year of our lord, 1501, Jan I Olbracht died a premature death. Ill rumors would have it that he died from excessive drinking, but his brother Alexander, would claim even at his own deathbed, that these were terrible lies and that Jan had been reclaimed early by the Lord himself for duties well performed.

To be continued...

[Slargos]

1492 - 1520: Centralization of the State

The reign of Alexander: 1501 - 1506
The Renaissance arrives in Poland

Alexander took up the duties of his late brother and stayed faithful to his convictions that Poland needed greater unity to survive the future. A call for the arts among the intellectuals of Krakow resulted in the commissioning of a great Fine Arts Academy, and artisans and craftsmen flocked to the capital to ply their trades. Alexander's reign was a stable one, and the realm was at peace for several years. The centralization efforts begun by his brother were continued in the midst of loud protests from the magnates, but skilled political manouvering by Alexander and his supporters hindered the situation from deteriorating even more.

Meanwhile, reports came from Muscowy of a great war against Kazan, where the muscowites seized great stretches of land along the Lithuanian border. At the same time, envoys sent to the Grand Prince would return without replies from the Prince, or not at all.
Alexander helped finance a series of borderforts and the strengthening of the Lithuanian hordes, but no offensive action was taken against the russians.

Relations with the german princes and the Emperor were strengthened during Alexander's reign, and dignitaries were sent to the scandinavian countries to secure favourable relations.

Alexander also ordered the creation of a baltic fleet, to aid in operations along the coast, and a large amount of coastal craft were produced by german engineers in Gdansk.

[BiB]

1492-1520 : The Birth of Habsburg Spain

It was a glorious day for Christianity as the last vestige of muslim power was eradicated from the iberian peninsula after many centuries.

As Granada was annexed by the Catholic Majesties, Torquemada was let loose on the unsuspecting muslims there. Pretty soon every muslim was either converted or had fled accross the strait of Gibraltar.

Holy War was promised to us by the muslims there but we waited in vain for them to come. So we looked elsewhere to spread the faith and sent a certain Colón with 3 ships westwards to find a passageway to India.

Having amassed a great army, whose quality was unmatched throughout Europe, under El Gran Capitan, to face the upcoming muslim onslaught we decided to send those elsewhere to fulfill their bloody needs. Navarra, a weak state up north, on which we had claims was in the wrong spot at a very much wrong time.

As expected the new concept of Tercios proved to be a success formula on the battlefield and pretty soon Navarra up to the Pyrenées was annexed to Spain and a sizeable amount of ducats were handed over. Quite unexpectedly France followed this up by raping the corps.

New lands with pagan natives were discovered out west and we promptly starting colonising and converting over there. Columbus also discovered there was a whole new continent there and not just some islands of the Asian coast. Efforts were doubled, this could be a whole continent for the glory of Spain and Catholicism!

Money was needed for that and for that we turned to a wealthy German merchant family who provided us with the means to fuel further expansion. Our position in Europe was solidified with a Spanish-Portuguese-English-Papal alliance and royal marriages with France and Austria.

Austria proved a good family to marry in as they were the Holy Roman Emperor. Coupled with the fact the pope left France for the righteous catholic king, those were xure signs God was on our side. For now relations with France remained peaceful even though they talked about claims on our Naples, which we recently added to our realm.

El Gran Capitan added to his legend when he crossed the Gibraltar strait with an army to crush some more infidels. Just as Portugal held Tangiers from Morocco, we needed a base in North Africa to combat the pirating activities that are organised there.

And so was done. Oran was annexed and the sultanates of Morocco and Algiers were subjected to Spanish overlordship. There would be no more piracy in the Western part of the Mediterranean. We got our Holy War at last and proved who were the Holy ones here.

In the new world we landed on the mainland and encountered various native tribes there. Spanish Inquisition fodder evidently and pretty soon there were no more tribes there, just Spanish subjects being converted to the one true faith. The fact there was lots of gold to be found there was a very nice bonus. God was smiling upon us for spreading his word.

That gold was used to make our nation the premium trading nation in the world. Richesses started to flow back to Spain and Europe in general. Obviously this attracted greedy, jealous competitors. Even though the Holy Father himself had divided the world between Spain and Portugal, England expanded in the Caribbean.

However we chose not to punish them for such insolence as they were our allies. England gets to keep what it has in the Caribbean while it respects the rest of Spain’s ToT zone. When that one was settled France started feeling left out …

Colonial matters took a backseat then as European matters required our attention. Virrey Cortés was left in charge of Mexico and Hispaniola with orders to look into expanding south and kick out anyone trying to claim more of Spain’s lands.

2 matters were important atm in European polictics. At the one hand there was the rapidly expanding infidel Ottoman scum who subjugated the Mamelukes, kicked Turkish Sheep arse and had earlier already threatened Venice into surrendering some of its Eastern Med empire.

On the other hand there was the opportunistic French King who even supported the muslims and not the catholic nation Venice in the earlier mentioned war! They had unified their core and were now looking to press foreign claims, no matter how weak.

Then dynastics gave us a hand as the crowns of Spain and Austria were united under a Habsburg dynasty. Carlos I inherited the Low Countries, Spain and its overseas Empire and Austria and the HRE crown. Carlos I decided to rule from Madrid and left his brother in charge of the HRE, backed up by Spanish gold.

And not a moment too soon. The Turks made their gamble for supremacy in the Balkans and quite unexpectedly that was the cue for the French to stab their Christian brothers in the back again by pressing their Napoli claim by force.

So Carlos I finds himself at war with both France and the Turks. Luckily for us we have God, many allies and von Frundsberg (now our leading general after the passing of El Gran Capitan) on our side.




/Duque de Toledo, chairman of the Consejo de Castilla.

[Slargos]

1492 - 1520: Centralization of the State

The reign of Zygmunt: 1506 - 1520
The German Wars

Zygmunt took the crown in 1506 when his older brother Alexander died. Zygmunt had never been a staunch supporter of the Centralization efforts and despite the efforts of Mikolaj Radziwill, the work begun was halted and even in some places turned back on a destructive path. Radziwill began to realize that he may have made a mistake in pushing for Zygmunt to be elected, but now it was too late and the best would have to be done for the situation. Secretly, plans were drawn to influence Zygmunt's children in the direction of the cause and work was started to that effect.

1507 saw the start of the german wars, with Pommerania declaring war on Poland with the brash words, "Danzig oder Pleite!"
A pommeranian army invaded Gdansk and prepared a siege of the city.
Meanwhile, the Brandenburg field army invaded Poznan, burning and pillaging townships on their way.
Hetman Ostrogski took command in the army of Mazovia and began planning the offensive.
Before he could make his first move, however, the remnants of the Teutonic order were attacked by Prussian armies in 1508, and as the teutons had been promised protection in exchange for vassalization, Poland had no recourse but to do battle with the Prussians again.
Poor prussian intelligence gathering had not managed to pick this important factor up, so they were by no means ready for an invasion from Poland. Ostrogski made short work of the prussian armies and settled in for the long, arduous sieges of the heavily fortified prussian cities. The last prussian citadel fell in 1509 and the prussians finally accepted an agreement similar to the Teutons.

Meanwhile, the war in western Poland fared well. The germans were unable to make much headway, only capturing Poznan and Gdansk, but they were thrown back by mass attacks from Lithuanian cossacks. 1510 saw the recapture of polish cities under german control, and the beginning of the offensive into germany.
Outraged envoys from the emperor of the "holy" roman empire threatened with severe repercussions if german lands were to be annexed, but an irritated Zygmunt replied in even tone that polish war-aims were not to seize lands, however justified, but to defend against german aggression.

Disarrayed and exhausted Brandenburger armies offered little resistance to Ostrogski's advancing victorious forces, and the provinces of Kustrin, Brandenburg and Magdeburg were covered by polish forced by the end of the year. Sadly, at this time, Mikolaj Radziwill fell victim to a bullet, and died on his horse on some unnamed battlefield in eastern Brandenburg.

1511 saw the entry of Prussia into the war on the Polish side, and a joint Prussian/Teuton/Lithuanian army repelled a new attack from Pommerania against Gdansk, pursuing them into easter pommerania and destroying several armies sent against them. By the end of 1511, only Berlin still raised german colours.

Throughout 1512, a protracted campaign of marching and countermarching to manouver the remaining Pommeranian armies into a trap took place. The Polish fleet saw its first action as it set up a blockade of the pommeranian ports.
Berlin fell, and Brandenburg accepted a peace-treaty wherein they would be obliged to pay a monthly sum in tribute to their polish overlords for this vile transgression against the free people of Poland.

Meanwhile, in the spring of 1513, disasterous news arrived from Lithuania!
The Lithuanian borderforts had been overrun by russians and moldavians and three provinces were ceded to various principalities. Zygmunt was furious as he had not even been notified of the fact that war was raging in Lithuania until the peace-treaty was already fact!
Now even Zygmunt could see the massive problems facing Poland-Lithuania, and he ordered massive reforms be undertaken.

The war of attrition in Pommerania took two more years before the last stubborn defenders surrendered. In 1515, peace was concluded, awarding Poland substantial sums of money, and access to pommeranian harbours for the Polish navy.

The realm was again at peace, but Lithuania was in turmoil.

The following three years brought an upsurge in recruitment and training for the Polish armies, as a campaign to reclaim the territories lost in the last war was planned. It was not to be, though, at that time. The spring of 1518 brought news from Vienna, Hungary was under attack from Ottoman armies!

A cry went out to all the christian rules of Europe, "Aid us against the turks".

Though many were called, few answered.
Venice graciously set aside her grudges against Austria in a great show of christian piety, sending her army to join the war in Hungary. Various other rulers sent money and kind words.
Zygmunt wavered on his decision. Was the polish army strong enough to take on the Ottomans? Ostrogski was eager to go, but Zygmunt certainly had his doubts.
Those doubts were removed, however, when the reports of lightning quick attacks into Hungary and the defeat of the first Austrian army in the face of two hundred thousand turks!
Poland would have to move now, or see the turk building galleys in the baltic very soon!

Ostrogski was ordered to move into Hungary and coordinate with the hungarian defenders. In 1519, the tedious but necessary agreements with Hungary were signed and Ostrogski moved in.
What he faced was a Hungary in flames. The estimates of the size of the Ottoman armies had been wrong, but there were nevertheless too many of them for Ostrogski to feel at all comfortable.

Sieges were set up in central Hungary to recapture the cities already in Turkic control, and Ostrogski wisely left the Ottoman main armies for the Austrians to handle.
In the spring of 1520, Ostrogski was reached by word of a great battle involving over a hundred thousand austrian and ottoman soldiers west of his positions. The battle was an austrian victory, but the Ottomans were far from beaten, and they were moving east! An ottoman army three times the number of Ostrogski's brave polacks hit them hard, but Ostrogski's command was simple: "Hold the line".
The Austrian reinforcements would arrive, but the polacks would have to keep the Ottomans in the area.

The austrian army arrived, and joining forces with the Polacks were able to decimate the Ottomans. The cost was great, however, as more than half of the polish army was destroyed in the attempt to hold the Turks until the Austrians could arrive and be the hammer to the Polish anvil.

The war rages on...

[Damocles]

1492 - 1520

From 1492 to 1520 the Ottoman Empire was about to experience it's greatest surge of sustained growth during the entirety of it's previous existence and unlikely to be emulated in the future. It was now 48 years since Sultan Mehmed the Conquerer had made Constantinople the jeweled capital of the Empire. The Ottomans were seen as great 'kings', but they had not yet reached the pinnacle of their almost divine status as Khalifa over the Muslim world. This would occur under the rule of this man:




In 1492, Sultan Bayezid II, already aging son of the Conquerer surveyed the extent of his Turkish and European possessions. Under the shadow of his great father, had much to account for if he was to be seen as the equal to his predecessor. It was remarked that his complexion was more that of a Greek then anything approaching the Turkish warriors he led. This was because, for many generations, the Osmanli rulers had taken Greek and Slavic nobility into their harems which would produce a line of fair skinned potentates.

Bayezid saw himself as the extension of the image his father had cast for the Ottomans. They were the successor to the Roman Empire, and would rise up like a phoenix out of the ashes, and reclaim all of the former lands of old Byzantium. Like his revered ancestor, Bayezid I, the "Lightning" he would be known for his tireless campaigning.

The first of Sultan Bayezid's many campaigns were launched against the realm of Venice. WIth extensive holdings among the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Ionias, and a long strip of Adriatic coastline. It was a formidable power, with a navy even larger then his own and considerably more modern. However, the Sultan had at his command the most powerful and skilled army in the entire world. If not the largest, it was in 1492, the most well trained and lavishly equipped.

Under Sultan Bayezid, a large army of 35,000 Turkish soldiers, comprising of a hard core elite Janissary infantry along with Anatolian and Albanian light cavalry begin to move into the mountainous, coasltine terrain of Dalmatia. Simultaneously, under Hasim, a close friend and confidant of the Sultan, an army of 12,000 Anatolian peasant militia, mounted Turkish tribesmen and Greek sailors begin a protracted campaign in the Aegean sea, though the most noteworthy siege was conducted against the Venetian fortress of Negroponte. At last, in the wake of Sultan Bayezid's advance, two separate armies of 10,000 and 5,000 comprised of various Slavic mercenaries and Anatolian light cavalry to mop up and siege any fortress left in the rear.

The Venetians were ill prepared for the rapidity with which they found themselves under assault. As such, they spent the first month of the conflict, almost exclusively, frantically begging for assistance. Regardless, when Sultan Bayezid's army appeared in the hinterland of Dalmatia, the Venetians were still able to muster an army of some 15-20,000 under a General Borgio which set up defenses around the city of Trieste, upon which it awaited for the Ottomans to wear themselves out whilst advancing up the coastline.

Venice's hopes for staving off the Turkish advance was dashed when Sultan Bayezid mauled Borgio's army, which was forced back before the outskirts of the city of Venice itself. Sultan Bayezid was relentless and without pausing to siege Trieste, caught up with the Italians and a recently recruited and demoralized army before it could escape to the safety of the lagoon and destroyed it, whereupon General Borgio meant his death.

Behind Bayezid's advance, hastily mobilized Venetian regiments and Italian mercenaries were only now being brought onto the field where they were then engaged by the smaller armies that Bayezid had intended to follow him. In the course of two months fighting over rugged and mountainous terrain, the Venetian soldiers were reduced to brigandage, with the main capitals of Dalmatia and Istria coming under siege.

In the Ionias, the siege of Negroponte was coming to a close...Yet Venice still nurtered one last hope if it were to stave off a great humiliation. Thus, the entire Venetian fleet, comprised of many great gallons and smaller galleys met the similar sized Ottoman fleet which consisted primarily of sloops and galleys in a series of maneuvering battles in the Aegean sea. Much to the surprise of Europe, the Venetians suffered a naval disaster, losing 1/3rd of their vessels to either storm or sword. Only days later, the walls of Negroponte was breached, and with an Ottoman army encamped outside the lagoon of Venice, the Doge finally agreed to the Ottoman terms. The Italians had been defeated both on land and on the sea, their leaders proving inferior to the least of the great military minds which would serve the Ottoman Empire in the coming 16th century.

The Ionian islands in the Aegean sea were completely turned over to Ottoman control, and a dagger at it's flank was safely removed thanks to the prowess of the Ottoman light cavalry in the mountains of Dalmatia and Istria.



The war with the Venetians had not lasted longer then a mere several months and Sultan Bayezid, having received his first taste of martial glory, was not one to rest long on his haunches. The now bloodied and proven Ottoman fleet was moved into position off the coast of Rhodes, which served as a haven to a gang of Christian bandits and pirates, their presence a plague on the Anatolian coastline. Their forces were commanded by a Pierre Aubusson, a formidable military commander, despite his debased existence. The Merchant republics of Genoa, Tuscany and Modena also supported the so called knights in their nefarious methods.

The campaign that followed was an even briefer excursion then the previous Venetian affair. The Ottoman fleet handidly dispatched the Knight's own small defense fleet, and an overwhelming army under Bayezid cleared the island of resistance in only a month. Trapped and besieged, Pierre Aubusson chose surrender rather then a martyr's death, and the remainder of the Knights, due to the Sultan's great mercy, were allowed to take ship to Italy. Soon after, the Italian merchant republics that had so weakly supported the Knights requested peace, and it was granted.

With the Island of Rhodes secured, Bayezid turned his formidable will towards his next objective. That of invading and annexing the small, mountainous republic of Ragusa. With a relatively small, yet elite core of 11,000 Janissaries and Albanian light cavalry, the invasion was accomplished in a fortnight, and several months later, the small republic was formally annexed, despite the anger of it's overlord, Hungary. It was at this stage, that the Christian world cried aloud at the violence and mercilessness of the Turkish advance, yet every single one of Bayezid's conquests were founded on strategic principles of need. The Ottoman Empire needed the Ionians, Rhodes and the coastline of Ragusa if it were to project it's naval strength effectively in the Eastern Mediterranean. With their new port on the Adriatic, the Ottoman navy could now seal up the Venetian fleet indefinitely and thus prevent it from assisting it's island outposts, and was a stone's throw from landing any sized invasion force in Naples itself.

With his initial conquests finished, Bayezid's military activity was at a relatively low ebb. For perhaps a decade, the Ottoman Empire was content to focus on it's economic well being and to follow the politial trends of Europe from afar. The only notable events were the alliance forged with the large Iranian potenate of Ak Konylu to the east, and the vassalizing of Dulkadir on the Turkish eastern border. This changed in the summer of 1509. In the previous couple years, the Sultan had been building a large invasion force, which would be ferried into the very heartland of the decrepit Mameluke empire, and crush it from the inside out.

The greatest army that the Ottoman Empire had ever put to sea, was launched in late summer, landing in Egypt in the month of August. The Mamelukes put up an unexpected fanatical resistance, with their unique cavalry proving a great nuisance on the desert battlefields. Yet, Bayezid would not be denied his last victory...The walls of Cairo collapsed, and the Mameluke regime literally fell apart over night. Bloodlessly, the entire former realm of the Mamelukes fell into Turkish control, including a long stretch of North African coastline including Tunisia. The only dismay in the triumph, was Ak Konylu's shameless grabbing of Syria.

Nearing the end of his life, Sultan Bayezid died peacefully in his sleep in the year 1512, having been crowned Khalifa of the Islamic world just days previous. His son, who would become known to posterity as Selim the Grim would become the first Turkish ruler of the now reuined Eastern Roman Empire.



In many ways, Selim the Grim had even more to live up to then his father had. Mehmed the Conquerer had captured Constantinople and Bayezid the 'Lightning Bolt' had made the Ottomans the sole power in the Eastern Mediteranean except for a couple Venetian islands, with the Ottoman territories pushing across almost the whole of North Africa. Selim the Grim was determined to exceed both his predecessors. Historians speculate that had he not met such an early death, his deeds would have been great indeed, yet unfortunately, his reign was to instead be an important watershed, where under his capable administrative and military command, it became a major power.

One of Sultan Selim's first acts was to impose a series of harsh religious reforms in the border provinces of Ragusa and Bosnia. He reasoned that the border would be more secure if it were held in the Ghazi spirit, rather then of fellow co-religionists seeking to return to Christian rule. His father had attempted similar measures yet they had failed. Selim's attempt would succeed in a relatively short time span.

Another of the young Sultan's important decrees was the formal annexation of Dulkadir which consisted of Aleppo and Sivas at this time, into the Ottoman Empire proper after the death of it's last ruler. This move greatly stabalized his Eastern borders and united the extremeties of the Empire, making it possible to now begin preparations for a campaign against the unscrupulous Ak Konylu.

Sultan Selim amassed several sizable armies, in Trabzon, Sivas and Jordan with which he would launch an offensive into the heart of the Iranian sultanate. The campaign was expected to last several years, yet to the Sultan's pleasant surprise, the Iranian armies collapsed underneath his three-pronged assault, and the fortresses would not stand to the bombardment of modern artillery. The short, bloody affair lasted only a few months, yet resulted in five large provinces being added to the territories of the Ottoman Empire, including Armenia, Syria, Azerbaijan, Kurdisan and Nussabayn, the latter two of which were previously converted to Sunni from the Shiite faith only recently.

Emboldened by this success, Sultan Selim now transported his sizable army to the Hungarian border. Despite the impressive alliance of Venice, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Spain and the Papal States, including the entire Holy Roman Empire which were set to resist any Turkish advance, Sultan Selim felt that the Ottoman Empire enjoyed a unique superiority that may not last forever. His single miscalculation, was that he had underestimated the fanaticism with which the Christian powers would resist his assault on Hungary and modest territorial demands. He did not think that so many would flock to the Habsburg's aid.

Regardless of this, the Ottoman Empires burst like a storm over the plains of Hungary, rapidly assaulting it's key fortresses and destroying it's armies. An Imperial force which met it in Pest was routed, and a month later, the capital of Hungary, Budapest fell to the Ottomans, the final assault having been led by Selim in person.

It was at this stage, that financed by considerable and generous Spanish funding, Austria recruited a surprising number of mercenaries, forming a ragtag force into a crack army under the capable command of Von Frundsberg, which became ready for battle several months sooner then anticipated. Along with the infusion of Hungarian reinforcements (tho poorly led) Polish, Venetian and Papal troops, the initial Ottoman armies which covered Hungary, were forced to withdraw. The Austrian armies attempted to persue, yet they failed, taking considerable casualties in an attempted recapture of an Ottoman held city.

Once more, Sultan Selim would build a considerable force with which to invade Hungary. Several months of clashes resulting in both the Christian Coalition and the Turks losing roughly equal numbers of men, yet because Selim was attempting to conquer, he was again forced to retreat, where a third army was being formed.

Thus is where the situation currently stands in 1520. A series of titanic battles over the whole of Hungary has resulted in an Ottoman withdrawl, yet the Christians are desperately straining their economic resources and the Ottomans are functioning perfectly within their limits. Despite having been pushed back initially, one must wonder if the Christian powers will be able to remain united in the face of the onslaught, or if the Habsburgs will remain willing to pay such debillitating maintenance costs indefinitely. The Ottoman armies are in high spirits knowing that time is on their side.

[Slargos]

The current situation in Hungary

A more detailed map of Poland's situation in the east

[Mulliman]

Sweden : 1492 - 1520 : The Kalmar Union

History of the Kalmar Union

In the middle of the 14th century, the Swedish King Magnus Eriksson had tried to reduce the power of the aristocracy. To counter this threat, the nobles sent aid for money and troops from Mecklemburg, a member of the Hanseatic league.
Magnus Eriksson was dethroned and because of their help, the nobles elected Albert of Mecklemburg as their king. The German influence in Sweden grew very quickly. The Mecklemburgers established themselves as the elite of the society and collected taxes with severe brutality. Albert also alienated the aristocrats, his former ally.
The nobles then turned to Norway and Denmark for aid, wich was ruled jointly by Queen Margaret. In combined forces they kicked Albert out in 1389. This was the prelude to the Kalmar Union.

In 1396, Erik of Pommern, a far away relative of Margaret was elected king of Sweden and a year later he was also proclaimed king of Denmark and Norway. The Kalmar Union was a fact. Margaret however stayed in power till her death in 1412.


Queen Margaret

When the Union was formed, Margaret promised the aristocracy that she would protect their political influence and privileges. She also promised that Sweden would be ruled with Swedes in all the important positions in society. But King Erik did not keep these promises. The Danish influence over Swedish politics increased rapidly. This angered the nobles once again. Also, only a Danish king could be elected leader of the Union, wich decreased the power of Sweden severely.

Because of the anti-Hansa policy of king Erik, Sweden was dragged into a war in Germany. The Hansa, supreme ruler of northern trade of the time closed all ports and embargoed Sweden. With a severe penalty to the economy and ever increasing taxes a rebellion sprung up led by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. He deposes Erik and takes the title "Rikshövitsman" (a kind of leader, not a king though).
He was later deposed, but rebelled once again.

After many tures, Erik is dethroned in all three kingdoms (1439). The following years, a struggle between Sweden and Denmark takes place. Sweden wants to leave the Union, but Denmark is stubborn.

Karl Knutsson Bonde is elected king in Sweden and Norway in 1448, while at the same time, Kristian I is elected king in Denmark and Norway. War erupts between the two countries and Karl is dethroned in Sweden. The Danish king Kristian I
now rules all of Scandinavia but is dethroned later when Sten Sture sr. defeats him. Now, peace will last for thirty years.

In 1493, the pro-Union nobles makes a final attempt at ressurecting the Union by strenghthening the bonds with Denmark. They now cooperate militarily. This hasnt been the case for a long time. This did not last long however, as in 1497, king Hans of Denmark tried to stage a coup in Sweden. He failed and once again the relations between the two nations turns sour.

In 1500, the Swedes declare war on Muscowy with the intention of freeing Kexholm from the orthodox yoke, but do not have the manpower to do so. After facing too great numbers, the Swedish army retreats from Ingermanland. The Russians follow, but is beaten back at the famous battle of Narva, where the Swedes face an army more than twice their strenghth!

By now, the relations with Denmark are at the bottom, but the Danes just sit there and dont make a move. The next twenty years are proven to be peaceful.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Court of Stockholm : Rumors from the Continent

1493 : February France sides with the infidel in the Venetian conflict! Rumors are that the French king drinks the blood of virgins and have intercourse with the Devil.

1493 : March The Turks have invaded Venice! In a massive battle with two hundred thousand Ventetian and a million Ottomans, the Turk is defeated! The Doge in his benevolence grants the Ionian isles to the Sultan. *

1495 (?) The demonic infidel has invaded Rhodes. In an enormous battle, they are defeated. This proves the superiority of the christian faith!

1512 Denmark enters in a marriage with Muscowy. This proves our already grave concern! The Danes are not to be trusted!

1518 The Turk has invaded Hungary! Will this madness never stop?!


*It is said that: A lie can run halfway around the world before the truth has even got his boots on

Note to readers and players: You may perhaps wonder how i play and that my decision might seem stupid, but i have not cancelled my vassalization with Denmark yet. This is because that would mean that the Union is at an end while it isnt. Denmark hasnt made a single move since that Hans incident and therefor, i dont have a good enough motive. Have to wait till Vasa comes around .

[BiB]

1520 : The return of the Knights

"The news that the valiant Knights had been thrown out of Rhodos by the perfidious Turks stemmed us sad as they were excellent defenders of the faith.

Phillipe de L'Isle Adam, the future leader of the Knights of St John, looks to me to be an excellent statesman and more importantly a devout Christian.

As such I have decided to provide the Knights with a new base to continue their Holy work from and have decided to grant them the island of Malta from the Spanish Crown.

Malta was an obvious choice, conveniently located as it is between Christian Europe and Muslim North africa and right in the middle of the conflicted Mediterranean area.

The Knights will get souvereignty over the island and protection from Spain forever whereas the Knights will become a vassal of the Spanish Crown and join our causes.

Together we will spread the faith even further for the greater glory of God and rid Europe of the Ottoman threat."



Carlos I, por la gracia de Dios, Emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico, Rey de Castilla, de León, de Aragón, de las dos Sicilias, de Jerusalén, de Navarra, de Granada, de Toledo, de Valencia, de Galicia, de Mallorca, de Menorca, de Sevilla, de Cerdeña, de Córdoba, de Córcega, de Murcia, de Jaén, del Algarve, de Algeciras, de Gibraltar, de las Islas Canarias, de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales, de las Islas y Tierrafirme del Continente Oceánico, Archiduque de Austria, Duque de Borgoña, de Brabante y de Milán, Conde de Abspurg, de Flandes, del Tirol y de Barcelona, Señor de Vizcaya y de Molina.

[Wyvern]

ENGLAND 1492 - 1520



1492 – A new beginning. Glory awaits those brave souls who stand ready to grasp the future, who spit in the eye of the storm and look to forge an Empire!

England was one such nation at this time. Her possessions in France all but lost and a bloody civil war finally over, she could now look with some hope to a new future, bright with glory. Her destiny would rest upon the oceans of the world. With friends in Spain and Portugal, between them they could rule the seas, and to such an end King Henry VII set about strengthening the English navy further. “A strong home fleet is required!” he was quoted to shout at anyone who argued with him, and so it was that the ship builders in Kent and London thrived.

It was in the year of our lord 1496 that an Italian named Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot as he came to be know, offered his services and those of his sons to the English Crown. Cabot was a merchant and explorer and King Henry was more than happy to employ his services, issuing letters of patent in March 1496 to

“Discover and investigate, whatsoever islands, countries, regions or provinces of heathens and infidels, in whatsoever part of the world placed, which before this time were unknown to all Christians.“

In truth the English wanted their own trade routes to the fabled east to rival those of the Portuguese and Spanish. A westward expedition the English thought could bring them untold riches.

Cabot never did discover the Indies, what he found instead was a desolate snow covered land populated by scattered nomadic peoples where someone was found at all. This was not the land of riches England had been looking for, but there were some opportunities to be made for those hard souls with a pioneering spirit. Cabot never gave up though – the world is round he insisted – if I travel west far enough we will still reach the Indies. And so it was that he pushed his ships ever further north and west of this snow covered land until he could travel no further. There could be no North/West passage he sadly declared on his death bed. The ice is too thick, the weather too treacherous. Any ship that tries to travel beyond these bounds is doomed to destruction.

A decade later, with King Henry VIII now firmly on the English throne, Cabot’s son Sebastian set out in his father’s footsteps. If a northern passage was blocked he said, perhaps by following the coast of that western continent south, a way to the Indies can still be found! What Sebastian found instead was a series of islands, many, in fact it must be said most, already colonised by Spaniards, and one in the case of Bermuda even colonised by the Portuguese. A few virgin islands though were still untouched and English traders had soon set up camp in Curacao and Puerto Rico along with eastern Cuba much to the outrage of the Spanish King.

Relations became strained then during 1512. Spain claimed all the islands of what came to be called the Caribbean for herself. The Pope had ordained this so she said. King Henry began to wonder that the Pope could do such an outrageous deed as to divide the world outside of Europe only between the Spanish and the Portuguese. Was this a Pope the English should rever? In the heart of these great kingdoms though, war was not looked for. They had been allies for many years and a peaceful settlement was finally agreed whereby England relinquished her claim on Cuba and Spain recognised her claim to Curacao and Puerto Rico.

Sadly for the nation Sebastian’s last expedition little more than a couple of years later was lost during a storm along with all hands somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. He had discovered many new lands for the English during his life, but had also shown that there was much left still to discover including the fabled passage to the East Indies and beyond.

Whilst exploration had taken hold of the nation, exploration was not all the English did in these formative years of the late 15th and early 16th Century. The Irish revolt of 1492/93 had been brutally put down by Henry VII, and at the request of the French King, Scotland was also invaded by Henry VIII during the early years of his reign and forced to kneel at the foot of the English throne. This followed their repeated invasions of Brittany and general warmongering nature. England would not allow an aggressive neighbour to her north King Henry said, Scotland would learn that such foolish acts came at a price!

[kurtbrian]

Denmark 1492 - 1520

The kingdom of Denmark in 1492 was ruled by King Hans, second king of the Oldenburg dynasty. One of the first orders from King Hans was to promote as many tax collectors as they royal treasury could manage. Internatinally one of the first decsions was to further tighten the grip on Sweden making them entering a military allaince. This was done to prevent them from breaking from the holy union of Kalmar, as they had done on numerous occasions since it was instituted in 1397.
’Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer’ was a saying that King Hans liked.

Over the following years not much happened in Denmark, the tax system was imporoved and settlers were shipped of to northern Norway, to populate Europes nothern boundary. However in the year of our lord 1500, peace was no more. The Dukes of Holstein had for many years been thorn in the eys of the dansih kings. Formally a being vassal to the danish kings, it had for a long time been independant and closely tied up with the hated Hansa. Denmark declared war on Holstein on the 17th of february and quickly began marching for the border. On the 9th of April Holstein was annexed into Denmark proper. And on May 11th Meclemburg signed a peace treaty handing over 50 ducats to King Hans. Up to the war the diplomats had very active – seeking out the monarchs of the strongest nations in Europe to make sure no one would object to the war against Holstein. Nobody objected except the always troublesome Swedish nobles of course….
King Hans then let the emperor know that he had no further terretorial interets in the HRE, and that he would still remain loyal.

To Hans’ horror the swedish nobles declared war on the eastern principality of Muscow, but they can little from that venture. The Polish-Lithuaninan commonwealth also grew in ize on behalf of the Teutonic orders, and threatened to take land from within the empire. Luckily a grand war was avoided, when the emperor threatened Poland. Poland cowardly backed away from its campaign in the west, but that was the only thing to expect from such a people.

King Hans passed away on te 20th of february 1513 , and now his son King Christian II rose to the throne. His diplomacy failed as Sweden refused to enter into a military alliance, and it proved to what tipped the scale in Christians mind. He decided to have his revenge on the noble council of Sweden for showing such disloyal behaviour.

The land was peacefull for years despite the cold reltionship towards Sweden, and King Christian made some mercantile reforms in 1517 to further promote the scandinavian trade.

But then the Moslem horde began to move again and the HRE was hard pressed. Denmark send a large sum of money to help fight the Ottoman attack, but did not contribute with troops or ships as it would take too many resources and men to move and amry from one end of the world to another…

[Smirfy]

Portugal 1492-1520





The Royal Inquisition

Autumn in the year of our Lord 1519 and crisis, Lisbon is alive with activity not with the everyday sight one would expect to see from a nation at war with two major powers but one in deep inquest, Lawyers, Clerks and Privy councilors shuttle to and fro weighted down with scrolls pertaining to every operation of such a diverse kingdom. Nobles and Knights and Merchants gather in the unlikely cabal of conversation in the new society smoking rooms the air as heavy with politics and recrimination as the smoke of New World tobacco. Clerics keeping their own Counsel trying to stay aloof and pious as the storm breaks round them; they stand on the steps of Cathedrals and chapels but faith and fervour cannot hide the nervousness that grips everyone in Portugal something is wrong terribly wrong but no one has the overall canvas to explain and each fearing the shadow of blame will fall on their department or sphere for King Manuel I of Portugal has called a Royal Inquisition to get to the bottom of the malaise.
What condition had Portugal slipped that even her most distinguished heroes like Almeida the conqueror of Zanzibar and governor of India could be called unceremoniously to account, other summons had sparked fear but after Almeida there was just a façade over terror for most notables. Manuel I opened proceedings lambasting the lack of preparation and readiness for any European action in defense of Christendom against the Ottomans a cause dear to his heart. His scathing attacks continued to the treasury a debased currency that had funded colonization, explorations, war, and trade to the four corners of the earth and had seen neither return nor end to the folly of further debasement to maintain the nation. The foremost experts, economists, merchants nor mathematicians could work out that why having gained the European monopoly on Spice the country was in no better condition. They begged pardon and explained the figures to correspond to the way things are but could not allude to the way things should be when the nation controls the spice between Goa and the clearing houses of Europe. Was it Corruption? Was the merchant marine creaming off profit? The Lord High Admiral assured the crown that carriage brought in no profit at all, Manuel was dumfounded though his anger unabated.
What of the colonies Production, Taxes how do they contribute? The minister responsible rose and explained the cost to the approximation of 600 ducats at least to get a colony to return on investment and what of failed attempts stormed Manuel the humble clerk cowered and meekly said we cannot put a price on God’s will but estimated that 10 years would be a good yardstick before one was fully ready. Have we ever run out of Colonists? No just money came the even more subdued and incredulous reply. Trade the bright spot scoffed Manuel we are at least a trading power but with an increasing tone of sarcasm we have to chase it with specie like a dependant on opium and "out goings, out goings I am rich in out goings!"
Our traders only gain benefit for being on the spot an interesting concept and expensive and the heathen COT’s so inaccessible to our Conquistador adventurers conquest.
The leading minds, engineers and scientists had no trouble explaining the lack of investment in technology as the previous evidence had made the problem self evident and all applauded Manuel’s further debasement of currency to provide a factory in Orporto for research purposes as a necessary evil as it was hard to see were specie for research would come from otherwise. Militarily Manuel lamented the state of our fleet decimated through attritional exploration and operations against Oman expensive to replace but despite the cost in gold and every other negative effect the determination was there to rebuild to higher levels. The Church what of the Church Manuel was almost driven to tears as he expounded his dreams of riches from the east supporting the Holy Father in his temporal work to the edifying of Lisbon with a fine art academy Crusading against the Moor and Heretic and generally being a man of the age but 5000 men at a struggle hardly echoes in time.
Sensing now that all the evidence before him was correct and their had been no fifth column nor conspiracy he swore an oath before the assembled dignitaries that Portugal’s Golden age would come it might be the 18th century! But it will come and he would commit his life to that. the royal storm had passed and Lisbon changed it’s hue to a capital at war!

[Smirfy]

Signed: Manuel I

[Aldo]

The year is 1492. Ivan III is observing the busy square down below his residence. Busy yes, but not busy enough. Prince Ivan III of Moscowy once visited the distant rich cities of Germany and France and he knows that the Russians are far behind Europe in most aspects. This must not go on like this, he thought. Divided and poor we are weak against foreign influence. Unity and growth shall be our objectives in the future. Some day there will no longer be princes in Russia, only one great ruler!

Meeting of Ivan III and the Moscowy Treasurer:

- But Great Prince, our army is magnificant and great in all ways but we can not afford it! Please be reasonable and let some of the soldiers return to their farms. We are not at war, we do not need this many men in our army!

- Loyal Treasurer, you may be correct in that we do not need this army but I do have a feeling we will. Someday we will be lucky not to have disbanded it. Find ways to finance it. I am sure you can arrange that?

- Well, we could send out tax collectors and thus increase our tax income but that would cost and if..

- Sounds like a wise thing to do, do it. We do must develop our economy. That is all then, Treasurer.

- Yes Great Prince.

After some time tax collectors administrated the tax payments over the major part of Moscowy and the income was increased. The great army costed a considerable sum to upkeep and thus, no substantial wealth was accumulated in the royal coffers.

The years went by and Ivan tried to improve the relations with European powers with mixed results. Poland and their allies Lithuania conducted wars against the Teutonic Knights which troubled Ivan. No wars was fought by Moscowy as Ivan only had territorial claims on the friends and allies of Pskov and Ryazan and no foreign attacks came. Not until the year of 1500. This year the nobles of Sweden sent demands about ceding Kexholm to Sweden.

Ivan had no intension of doing so and Sweden declared war. The Moscowy commanders made sure that the numerous forces stayed hidden to the Swedes and hoped for a Swedish assault on Moscow or Novgorod. No such assult came and only a small enemy force took the uninhabited provinces of Karelia and Kola and then they fled back to Sweden. The war dragged on without any action resulting in an increasing revoltrisk in Sweden and a probable drain of their treasury. Moscowy had not yet fully mobilized and didn't suffer from the war at all.

Finally Sweden launched an attack on Ingermanland which was easily fended off. Bored with inactivity the Moscowy armies followed the Swedish retreat when things started to get more interesting on other fronts. The eastern Khanat of Kazan had declared war on our allies of Ryazan and Ivan chose to honour the alliance after a request. Killing Swedes now seemed less intrieging and the armies was ordered to leave for the eastern front. At this time the Swedish nobles pleaded for peace and Ivan granted.

After a year of war Kazan was all in Moscowy and allied control and to secure the borders of Moscowy allies and contain further aggression Saratov and Tambov was annexed and Kazan made a vassal of Moscowy.

Shortly after this glorious victory where more Russians was brought under the Moscowy standard, Ivan III passed away leaving his son Vasily III to rule as Prince.

Vasily continued the work of his father with improved trade and much else in the country. He also did what his father neglected, which was to colonize the northern lands of Kola, Karelia and Arkhangelsk, filling these provinces with Russian Orthodox subjects. Diplomatically Vasily was much more careful than his father, he was specially cautious when confronted with matters that could anger the powerful and expansionistic King of Poland.

When the Moscowy allied Pskov, backed by Ryazan, Moldavia and Crimea, declared war on Polish ally Lithuania Vasily hesitated if to join their Russian allies and finally declined. The Orthodox-Crimea alliance was victorious and gained much land while Poland was busy making war in Germany.

The now greater Pskov reentered Moscowy alliance forming a strong Russian unit able to defend against foreign aggressions. As other European powers seemed to take little or no notice of events in Eastern Europe the Russian rulers did likewise and ignored the quarrels about Napel and islands far west of Europe.

Swedish nobles continued to frequently send diplomats to Moscow, demanding that Kexholm should be ceded to Sweden.

The Swedish harbingers first returned to Stockholm with a negative answer, the following time with no answer and last time none returned. Only a package arrived to the Union counsel, containing the capital of the unpolite diplomat.

After completing his German affairs the Polish King made loud protests against the Othodox gains east of his borders. He also warned Vasily about interfering with an upcoming Polish campaign to the east. To which country aggressions were to be made the King forgot to say and Moscowy could therefor only answer that Moscowy would honour its alliances.

[Wyvern]

England
The two men are alone, the King and the Archbishop. He is a striking man at this time, little evidence is to be seen of the bulk he will develop in later life. He is even touted as quite the catch amongst the ladies of Europe, though one lady has already caught him in her net, Catherine of Aragon, the former wife of his deceased older brother. Their marriage in 1509 was the talk of Europe and cemented the current alliance between England and Spain.

Now the king is troubled as he talks to his Archbishop. “What is the matter my son?” asks the Archbishop, “for all know a troubled king leads to a troubled nation.”

“I fear to cast my anguish into words for they stem from Rome itself” answers the king. At this the Archbishop grows silent for a while before finally drawing the courage to speak up.

“Rome your majesty? Surely only enlightenment and wisdom come from Rome.”

“Enlightenment you say sir! Wisdom? Where is the wisdom in granting the world outside of Europe only to the Spanish and Portuguese? Must I grovel at the belly of Charles of Spain for a morsel of the new lands we discover to the west? How do I respect a Pope that would give away lands that stout Englishmen have already discovered in the Caribbean to Spain, as though we have no right to such discoveries?”

“Ah my Son. The lord works on a higher plain than we mortals can sometimes understand. Trust in his vision and those he sends to his mortal servants upon the earth. It is not for us to question his dictates.”

“Perhaps.” Replies the king. “King Charles though will know my mind on this matter or look for another ally! The Pope may be the Lords vessel on earth, but if he continues with such unwise dictates I fear Christian Europe will start looking for a new leader on Earth. Tell that to your pontiff!” And with these words the King storms from the chamber.

[BiB]

The New World and the Anglo-Spanish Crisis

"Doubts have been cast. Xure, we could understand their feelings if they were left out of the new world but the thing is that they aren't. As Portugal claimed the southern west coast and Spain claimed the middle parts, the northern western coast was left wide open for England and we fully support them getting those lands and claim them for christianity and the Anglo-Spanish Alliance."

"Majesty, let me at 'em, the vile little punks! I want my islands back! I was going to put a mansion on Puerto Rico."

"Virrey Cortés, ur cojones are xurely great but at this time we very much prefer to keep up our longstanding alliance with England. Diplomacy will prevail. Catholic nations should stick together. We will help any (*) catholic nation in the world to face its threats, whether they be externally or internally, so help us God."

"U are the King, Majesty, but can't we at least return them the favour in true "The Spanish take Manhattan"-style by letting them colonise the entire northern seaboard and then swoop in and colonise the last few open spots just before they can? I hear that tobacco is good shit and I suspect there will soon be a better market for it than for sugar."

"No, what's 2 provinces between friends after all? I just hope the English see that we are their best friends and stop towing the French line by claiming all sorts of injustice where there isn't any."

"Oooooooooh ..."

"Don't worry, loyal virrey, do not be too disappointed, if someone even dares to set foot on Mexican, Columbian or Peruvian soil we will strike with a great fury."

"Excellent."




(*) France doesn't count.

[Smirfy]

Portugal 1520





The Knights of St Vincent

I. CASTELO DE SAO JORGE

There was no outward sign of apprehension in Diogo De Boytac’s demeanor but his soul felt a cold chill when asked to accompany the captain of the Royal Guard. Surely the inquisition was over he thought? All the officials had been exonerated he told himself in an effort to convince a sinking heart. Then he felt footsteps on his grave, he was French! He had almost forgotten having lived worked and breathed Lisbon for the last twenty years. Now there existed a state of war between the two countries. Had he become an alien in his adopted home?

With an enforced deliberation of purpose and a frenzy of movement of a man three score years of age he gathered together his usual scrolls and books that accompanied him to every audience with the King. When they were gathered though not quite his nerve he nodded to the Captain he was ready and they exited De Boytac’s dwelling into the maze of streets that was the Alfama district. Without pause for orientation the determined stride of the captain could barely be matched by Diogo as they moved deeper into the shadow of the Castelo De Sao Jorge it’s masking of the suns rays adding another prop to increase the trepidation already filling Diogo with every step closer.

The steps up the promontory to the castle walls were steep and only when they were halfway up could Diogo reassure himself with knowledge that the climb was taking its toll on the captain as well, small comfort but the only crumb of that most hardy of all breakfasts he had feasted on this morning. His mind backtracked every deal every transaction, was there corruption? Had he not always been a loyal servant of the crown? It must be my nationality he decided “witch hunt” he cursed below his breath. What had he done to deserve an escort to the King when previous appointments required none? Uncertainty had a long and cold reach and since the Royal Inquisition the usual calm had not settled in the capital it was still wary, nervous fearful and rife with rumour because the clouds of war hung over Iberia.

It was more instinctive than reflex that Diogo admired the massive curtain wall of Castelo De Sao Jorge his head actually moving up and down in approval as if its construction passed some test known only to him as together they entered through the main gate continuing on to the citadel the last bastion of the Avis dynasty. Through its entrance they passed on into the main hall the servants of the Royal Household oblivious to their presence as they went about their duties. Up the corkscrew steps to the Kings study at the zenith of this imposing fortress that dominated Lisbon and its environs, steps that were not strangers to Diogo’s feet. At the door to the study the Captain knocked then opened the door then motioned Diogo in, Diogo nervously looked at the Captain his mask slipping slightly and entered. The door shut behind him.

[Wyvern]

Conclusion of The Spanish Crisis

Cromwell sweeps into the audience chamber. He is a robust man, a man with a growing ambition who radiates power even though he has little yet. He does however have firm ideas on how the country should be run and he is only recently returned this day from Spain and the delicate negotiations he has conducted there.

"Lord Cromwell" the King greets him with his deep booming voice.

"Sire. I bring good news" he cries out, bowing low before his monarch and sweeping off his hat in an elaborate flourish. "The Spanish have agreed to our demands, Curacao and Puerto Rico will be left unmolested!"

"This is good news indeed" replies the king, "we must send word back to King Charles of our gratitude in this matter, but what about eastern Cuba? How fair our traders there?"

"Ah now there lies a sad tale your majesty. We negotiated long and hard, for days on end we laboured until it felt like we were pulling pins from a porcupine, and just when it seemed we might be making progress why then we received news from a trade ship recently docked at Lisbon. They brought sad tidings sire. It seems our small trade post had come under attack from natives with many lives lost. We felt it only prudent sire to accept the Spanish offer to protect the lives of those few who remained as they already do for all other inhabitants of the island.

"Hmph, well I suppose these setback cannot be helped. It seems you've done good service to the English Crown this day, we will remember you well Cromwell in the days to come...."

[Peter Ebbesen]

The House of Habsburg 1492-1520

In those days the House of Habsburg was, incredibly though it may sound today, a weak force in international affairs. Despite rich possessions in the Dutch lowlands and considerable holdings in Central Europe, and despite holding the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (of the Germanic Peoples), the arm of Maximilian I, the Fairly-Just, (1493-1519) was short, as had been clearly shown when emperor Friedrich V (1457-1493) failed to rally Christianity to defend Venice from the Turk in 1492.

Emperor Maximilian I, the Fairly-Just (1493-1519)

His arm was short, yes, but he compensated with an enormous brood of sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, and from the very first day of his reign, he began securing marital alliances with most of the Princes of the Empire and with much of the rest of Europe. Scarcely a month went by without some sort of royal wedding, which put some strain on the Emperor's treasury. Indeed, the following fragmentory records show not just his deep understanding of what motivated his fellow monarchs and their national character, they also show just how far he was willing to go to secure ties with the great of Europe:

Muscowy...
To Ivan III of Muscowy: The fecundity of the Muscowy princesses is well-known. Send one ASAP. We have a strapping nephew who needs to be reigned in.
Response from Ivan III: My youngest daughter is a very able woman and it is my wish that sent is sent to marry a Austrian prince.

England...
From Henry VII of England: The King of England wonders if the Holy Emperor would like to strengthen ties between our realms with a Royal Marriage?
Response from Maximilian I: The Emperor always has spare nieces. Send a buck.

Portugal...
Following the unexpected arrival of a Portuguese princess with a huge dowry
Emperor Maximilian I: Ah, an Iberian maid for our stable. She will be treated well and washed frequently.

Lengthy correspondendence between Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire and King Charles VIII of France
Does France have a spare filly. Know what I mean, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?
France is running low on women related to the King to marry away.
Our thanks. We look forward to trying her out. Erhm I mean, our nephew happy to marry her.
You will find out that french women are among the finest of Europe.
Well, they have a lot of competition in the court of the Emperor. Alas, the job of an Emperor is a hard one.
Do they? How many marriages did the HRE struck?
All of the HRE supplies us with women for the improvement of the gene pool. Fortunately, the Emperor likes swimming.
Well France is dangerously running low on women now.

Were there no limits to how low Maximilian I would go in pursuit of alliances?

Following a dissembling marriage proposal sent to the Papal States:
Pope Alexander VI responded: Who does the emperor propose to marry!?
The Emperor's response: Does the Pope have a carnal cardinal? We have a princess here who seriously needs indoctrination in the faith

Apparently not. It is, perhaps, fortunate for his fame, that few other fragments remain of his early correspondence and that those that do are not taught in public schools.

How then did Maximilian I acquire the cognomen, Fairly-Just? Many theories abound, but leaving aside the lewd, licentious, and obvious later constructions, it seems likely that it was a reflection of his dealing with two regions: First, the Holy Roman Empire, and secondly, Italy itself, and how his policies differed markedly depending on region.

Ruling the Empire was a delicate balancing act in those days, as just about every major city or region was its bishopric, duchy, or independent imperial city, and each and every one had its own contentious ruler and set of issues of utmost importance. Faced with an inability to enforce Imperial Peace on the unruly subjects, Maximilian I pronounced the doctrine of "Qui rapuit, possedit" for minor intra-Empire wars, but promised instant intervention in case minor wars should spread or outside powers be involved. Apparently he reasoned, that could wars not be prevented, which seemed unlikely with such fractetious Princes of the Empire, at least they could be contained.

In practise, it worked fairly well during his lifetime. When Duke Hans of Holstein, a German Prince in his own right, and King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden was unceremoniously deposed by traitors in Holstein, he returned with a Danish army to reclaim his Duchy, and succeeded in short order, putting its government more firmly under the Danish throne. Nonetheless, as a Prince of the Empire and Duke of Holstien he answered still to the Emperor, and so did his successors. Thus, when the great Emperor Karl V sent out the call for aid against the Turk, it was scant surprise that Christian II (he of the righteous bloodbath of Stockholm fame) of Holstein, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, was amongst those who rallied to the Emperor's cause, albeit only morally and with a small donation to aid the war effort. Another example would be the vassalisation of several Northern states by Poland, which proud nation they had wantonly attacked without the Empire's sanction. With Poland restricting the actions of some of the most obnoxious of the empire's princes, the north lay quiet. Having nearly come to blows when it appeared that Poland might actually consider annexing land within the Holy Roman Empire, relations between the Empire and her Northern neighbour rapidly improved following this peaceful solution.

Amongst the achievements of Maximilian I must surely be listed the protection of Mantua. Following the loss of Ionia to the Turk, the Doge of Venice had been looking for a means to rally his people, and his lecherous eyes had fallen on the sovereign state of Mantua. The Emperor, dedicated to peace in the Holy Roman Empire (of the Germanic Peoples), noted that attacking Mantua would be a crime against Christianity - and the Empire. The Pope concurred. With the stationing of 25,000 men in Mantua (fully half the Habsburg armies) for their protection, the Doge backed down, and, following spirited negotiations during which the Emperor agreed to bless any peaceful uniting of nations, Venice joined the House of Habsburg in alliance and a trade agreement was signed. For this selfless act of generosity, the Emperor was much applauded in Italy, and few were surprised when Milano became a Habsburg possession in 1500 following the loss of the head of the Sforza family, Ludovic Le More. Though Louis XII of France also had a claim to Milano (as he was the grandson of Valentine Visconti, the great-granddaughter of the first Duke of Milano), he did not press it, and the Condottieris of Milano preferred the Emperor, thus sealing the fate of the Duchy.

Indeed, Maximilian I had a deep and abiding love for Italy, and did not stint in protecting the independent republics from aggression. Thus, when Modena suffered the rapacious depradations of Genoa and Tuscany in 1509, the Austrian armies under Von Frundsberg were sent in to restore peace, a task at which they succeeded admirably. After his defeat, Piero Soderino of Tuscany swore fealty to the Emperor, and promised never to raise arms against his neighbours again.

The Rescue of Modena

Now, as is well known, Europe was ever threatened by the Turk in those days. From his impregnable stronghold in Constantinople, the Turkish Sultan ruled Anatolia with an iron hand and his influence was growing. Bâyezîd II had raped Venice and conquered Egypt with one bold blow that secured him overlordship of the vast lands under the Mamelukes and a stranglehold on the eastern Mediterranean, and his successor, Selîm I the Accursed, had fought a victorious war in the east and was known to be seeking new conquests. Under the shadow of the Turk, Austria and Venice armed for war.

The storm broke in September 1518, as the Turkish armies crossed the border with Hungary, intent on a killing blow against the heart of Hungary. Desperately outnumbered, king Lajos II of Hungary cried for help, and the Habsburg alliance of Austria, Venice, Mantua, and Modena rallied to his aid.

The eastern Habsburg army, 30,000 men led by Ferdinand the bold, marched to the Hungarian's relief immediately, a premature decision that resulted in more than 70% casualties to the army when it encountered a substantially larger Turkish army led by general Bali in Odenburg in November. Pursued by the vengeful Turk, Ferdinand fought a series of skirmishes, falling all the way back to Vienna, and December 3rd, 1518, Vienna itself were under siege. The stage was set for the entry of the great general Von Frundsberg. Newly arrived from Milano, his army of 40,000 men had been strengthened with Italian mercenaries hired for precious gold from the substantial pre-war war chest, and he smashed the Turkish attackers before the gates of Vienna herself, forcing them to withdraw. Maximilian I died with a light heart that very same Christmas, which set the stage for Karl V of Austria, also known as Carlos I of Spain and many other interesting places besides, as the Habsburg heir succeeded to the throne of both Spain and the HRE.

Emperor Karl V (1519-1556)

Taking up rulership in the midst of a war and given the wealth and weather of Madrid, it is hardly surprising that Karl V chose to rule from Madrid rather than Vienna. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken a long time for the new administration to set up, but due to the war time was of the essence. From the shores of the Americas to the Iberian peninsula and from Italy to Austria, the people looked to the house of Habsburg in these troubled times. They were not to be disappointed.

Ferdinand and Von Frundsberg were giving joint command of the Austrian armies with wide rights to levy troops and to prosecute the war against the Turk, and they proceded to do so. The invading Turkish army was hounded mercilessly and finally crushed on the plains of Pest. At this time certain Princes of the Empire sent gifts to aid the war effort, most notably Christian II of Denmark - a stark contrast to the disgraceful behaviour of Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, and a transfer of some funds from Spain were arranged to fill the rapidly dwindling war chest. Seing the success of the Habsburg armies, king Zygmunt I of Poland declared war on the Ottomans and sent in a small army to help. Within a short time Von Frundsbergs army had cleared Northern Hungary of Turks, and both Magyar and Maros were under siege, Magyar by newly raised forces loyal to Lajos II, and Maros by Zygmunt I. With the Spanish armies being readied, it must have seemed that the tide was turning against the Turk.


As Autumn 1519 approached, words reached Von Frundsberg that Selîm I the Accursed had raised a new army, and was striking for central Hungary agains. The main Habsburg army quickly repaired to the plains of Pest, already fertilised with the blood of Bali's army, and prepared for the onslaught.

The Battle of Pest

Selîm I's crack army, disoriented from the river crossing, engage in battle with Von Frundsberg's forces, who are well rested, have prepared rudimentary defenses, and are more numerous. Though most experts consider Selîm I the greater general of the two, under the given circumstances it comes as no surprise that the Habsburg armies are victorious. Fully 130,000 men joined in battle in Pest, September 27th, 1519, the largest battle in Europe in centuries, and more than half of the men fell, deserted, or were left unfit for duty.

Within a month, Banat has been stormed and retaken from the Turk, but the fleeing Sultan has yet another trick up his sleeve. With some reinforcements that have trickled in from Anatolia, he has turned on Maros, where the Polish siege is ongoing, hoping to break the siege. Outnumbered and outgeneralled, the Polish armies stand little chance. Nevertheless, both Zygmunt I Stary and Von Frundsberg send nearly identical messages: "Hold until relieved". The "Stand of the eighteen thousand", that well known poem commemorating the fate of the brave Poles remain even today a poignant tribute to their devotition to duty. Though they died by their thousands, they held out. When they lost the top seven in the chain of command within an hour, they carried on. And as the sun rose on November 28th, and the beleaguered thousands prepared to face the final assault, the Habsburg armies arrived having force-marched all the way from Banat. Relieving the weary Poles, Von Frundsberg cut Sultan's army to bits, then proceeded to retake Maros by storm. With these great tidings of victory against the Turk, the Pope sent in his crack troops to help Venice in the South, and Spain officially joined the war.

Thus, giving how the war was turning against the infidel by the will of our lord Jesus Christ, it must have seemed a double betrayal when François I of France chose that moment to restate his old claims to Naples, the Anjou inheritance. As few outside France recognized his claims, it was seen as a mere pretext for war, especially when the king announced that he might drop his claim if Spain would relinquish Roussilon. That being the case, and given the treacherous nature of François I, few were surprised when he declared declared war on Spain. He was excommunicated from the Mother Church within two weaks on the direct order of the Pope.


And thus stands the war as 1520 comes around. In the west, a new war is beginning, in the east, the Christian nations are currently on the ascendant. Consider Karl V, surrounded by his closest advisors, as he must attempt to chart a course that is best both for him, his family, Christianity, and his divided realm. The Empire's manpower, so swiftly drained, is as nothing compared to the neverending stream that pours out of Constantinople, and France is a powerful nation indeed. Few at that time predicted how the war would end.