Portugal- an Empire Under the Sun

Let's Talk About Trade!

Before moving on with the life of Henrique I, let's take a quick look at the thing that makes Portugal the most powerful nation ever. The trade. And since i've abandoned Caribbean trade after 1.05 came out, it will be a bit shorter.

Malacca Node



Malacca is the heart of East Asian trade. Through blood, warfare and colonization, the Portuguese part in the node is greater then ever. We are basically talking total monopoly here. In Malacca, trade gathers and moves on. All the possible trade from Philippines, now almost totally colonized by Portuguese. From Portuguese-controlled Canton node (well, Portugal controls Hainan and Taiwan Islands there) and from the rest of China, all is gathered in Malacca. And even better- the islands are rich themselves as well, so they add up. Over 40 gold starts their long journey to Seville from Malacca.

Aden Node



From Malacca, trade flows to Bengal, from where it runs to Ceylon and from there, to Aden. As important as Malacca, the Portuguese control over Aden is almost as absolute. Actually, Aden is one of the most developed Portuguese land- at least when it comes to trade infrastructure. Every province there is geared for trade- custom houses everywhere. Also, Portugal's second biggest trade fleet, 40 frigates, is patrolling the shores of Aden.

As it has to be, for Aden has grown- over 80 gold moving from Aden downward means a lot of money home in Lisboa. Oh, and as you can see, Indus is also adding nice little sum to the wealth of the Aden.

Ivory Coast Node



From Aden, trade flows onwards. To Zanzibar, from there to Cape and Kongo. Simple nodes all, single input and single output. Trade just flows, gathering a bit from local shores and then, reached Ivory Coast, the biggest split before home. Here, Portugal dominates that much over Mali and Benin that all the trade moves on.

Home, Sweet Home



Seville node is Portuguese. There are three provinces in the entire node that are not controlled by Portugal- Madrid, the Spanish capital and two provinces Algiers controls. And it shows- all the trade from Seville belongs to Portuguese, who manage to make over 300 gold per month from it. The source of Portuguese wealth and power. Good advisors, huge armies, strong navies. All depends on the flow of gold. It is a long route from Malacca to Seville, but thanks to that route, Portugal is the strongest county in the world.

Quick overview of the Portuguese trade- to remember you where all the money comes from. And money, as we know, is the sinews of war. And with the trade like that- let's just say by the time João V died, Portugal had about 20k in reserve...

Orlov Kruskayev- to be honest, João V achieved only the largest army. Rest of the, he inherited!

Mkoll13, Nikolai - i have a better idea. Instead of wanting to have a monarch, want to be one! Much more fun!

DensleyBlair - heh, true that. Though João V did not crush Mongol forces, so i think the Hauteville Empress wins!

Coming of Age of Henrique I

The War of MMM, Part II- Victory

Though the war started badly, João V did manage to turn the tide. Mughal and Marwari forces were destroyed and Portuguese reigned supreme. Mamluks were decimated by Ottomans, so the war was more or less won. By June 1674, Portuguese controlled both Kalat and Lower Sind.

Meanwhile, Great Britain came to the rescue. Their first troops landed in the Mamluk territories about a year ago. In October 1674, the Ottomans made a peace with the Mamluks, pushing them south. But- by the time that had happened, Brits had swarmed the Mamluk lands, holding a great deal of their provinces under siege.


While the Ottomans signed peace with Mamluks, the Brits kept on going

In India, Portuguese ruled supreme. Marwari will was lost, though the Mughals still kept the fight coming. Occasionally, a new Mughal army marched across the mountains, attacking the Portuguese armies. They all were defeated and war settled into some sort of routine. Portuguese kept on sieges, breaking them occasionally to defeat the Mughals and thus, the war continued.


Sad fate of another Mughal army marching to India

It was in July 1676 when both sides felt they had had quite enough. Marwar was forced to give up Kalat and Lower Sind, the latter being estuary of Indus and thus, important province in the Indus node. Control of the province gives Portugal much better control of the trade there. Also, Henrique cut down the Marwari Empire a bit- forcing to give one province to Malwa and releasing Mewar as sovereign state.


Finally, the peace

Alvaro Nunes Bareto

The Portuguese had discovered nearly the whole world. Only exception was the treacherous Pacific Ocean that had taken several Portuguese lives. It was vast, hostile and thus far, apart from few natives and Island of Hawaii, totally uninhabitable.

In 1674, Portuguese colonized part of New Zealand, province of Wairoa. After chasing away orcs and wizards, the Portuguese settled in there, found the land to be nice and fertile and breathtakingly beautiful. Complaints about defiling ancient elven lands were met with muskets and no magic can beat the bullet.


Colonization of New Zealand- strange natives

In Summer of 1674, Alvaro Nunes Bareto, governor of Ternate, managed to get an audience with young King Henrique. Asking for his support and a single frigate, he promised to explore the Pacific and wipe off all the white spots from the map. He looked convincing enough and Henrique granted him both ship and permission to set to travel.

It was in March 1675 when Alvaro Nunes Bareto set sail from Wairoa and headed into the unknown. The first voyage took half a year and he discovered the nearby islands and a vast expanse of the sea.


Bareto exploring some Pacific island

He kept on exploring for year, one expedition after another. Wairoa and Hawaii were his main bases and during that time, he completely mapped Pacific Ocean, discovered most of their islands and even removed last white stains from Indian Ocean. After that, he was granted a position of Admiral in the Portuguese Armada Real, the most powerful navy in the whole world.


First trip

Colonial Matters

The war between Portuguese Brazil and Castilian Brazil had lasted for quite some time. Slowly, the Portuguese were becoming victorious and as a result, peace was signed in September 1675, where Portuguese Brazil took most of the Spanish territories. Of Brazil area, Spain controlled only four additional provinces.


That is one successful war

Meanwhile, the French had advanced towards Mexico, forming Cosmopolitane Mexico and a colonial state. This, of course, did not please the viceroy of Portuguese Mexico and in April 1678, he declared colonial war on French. This Portuguese Mexico was the strongest of all colonial nations, you can guess the result...

Coming of Age of Henrique

It was in 30th May 1679 when Henrique I came to an age and was officially crowned as King Henrique I of Portugal. When nation was ruled by Regency Council from 1673-1679, the nation used it as a breather. Overextension to zero, relations much better all over the world and Portuguese manpower and will to fight back at maximum again. His younger brother João, future general of Portugal, was named as his heir.

Soon, it would be the time for Henrique to declare his first war...


Long Live King Henrique

Bye-by, regency council. Hello King! And as for the first war- i can promise you blood, sweat and tears! Sometimes next week...

DensleyBlair - you know, if you are playing European colonial nation, monopoly half across the world is easier to achieve then monopoly in home! And to be fair, most of the things i have done in the game have been in order to make the Asian Route a reality...

Orlov Kruskayev - no centres of trade anymore, instead there are trade nodes that are connected to each other and i can change how the trade flows. Much more logical system then in Eu3, though not 100% perfect yet. Anyway, you should get EUIV! Totally worth the money. Heh, speaking of it, Steam shows 272 hours played, so when i payd 40€ for it, it makes about 0,14€ per hour. Cheapest entertainment!

First War of Henrique I, Part I- The Trouble Begins

War With Spain

Spain, once a powerhouse of Europe, was now reduced to a few meaningless provinces in Iberian Peninsula. More like a joke then a real nation, though their overseas holdings were still numerous, especially in America. Besides that, they have colonies in Japan, in the Island of Hokkaido; they had started colonization of Australia and besides that, they have colonized small islands in the Atlantic and Pacific. Still, no match for the Portuguese juggernaut. How the power balance in Iberia has changed...

Their allies were a separate case. Milan in Italy- no threat on it’s own, but to make certain, Henrique ordered recruitment of about 30 000 mercenaries in Italy. In addition to Milan, Spain also had the friendship with Austria. To make matters even worse, Austria has a personal union with Poland, making the two nations powerhouse in the eastern hemisphere. Despite the Austrian threat, the Portuguese were confident enough to ship 30 000 Portuguese to the New World, to help the colonies fight the Spanish colonies.

Even though one army was sent to America, the Portuguese had 100 000 soldiers in Iberia- that was one fight that would be easy. Henrique declared war on January 1680 and not a person in Europe expected Spanish victory. And it was as predicted- the Portuguese army of 50 000 soldiers crossed the border and attacked Spanish in Asturias, killing off 17 000 Spaniards and leaving Spanish mainland defenceless. Same time, Armada Real, the Portuguese main navy of 50 twodeckers with combination of Portuguese trade fleet of 52 frigates attacked the Spanish fleet outside Canary Islands. Of 40 Spanish ships, 3 were captured and the rest sunk to the bottom of the ocean.


The war starts successfully

The Trouble Begins

Just two years ago, the Portuguese Mexico, who did not really like the French expansion towards their territory, declared war on Cosmopolitane Mexico. The Portuguese were rulers of the Mesoamerica, while the French less then a dozen provinces. The outcome would be easy to guess... until France herself decided to join in. Just two weeks after Henrique declared war on Spain, the French ambassador in Lisboa announced to Henrique that the French would be intervening in Mexican War. Small colonial war had turned into something much bigger.... And French were no pushover.


French taking over a small colonial war

Colonial Wars

While the situation in Europe was heating up, the Portuguese army of 30 000 soldiers had landed in Brazil. Incidentally, the Portuguese Brazil was already at war with Castilian La Plata, the first blows had been made and first sieges won. La Platan army was sieging Guyara when the Portuguese came and killed off all the soldiers of their 14 000 strong force. That was in February 1680- the war had begun in Americas.


The landing of Portuguese troops turned the tide of war

After a quick march to the other side of the continent, the Portuguese attacked soldiers of Castilian Peru in April 1680, almost destroying them. The final destruction of hostile Peruvian forces took place in July, when Portuguese forces cornered them in July in Charkas. With that, the initial resistance in South America was crushed.


Forced march through the continent made Portuguese appear in Peru just a 2 month after victory at Guyara

Meanwhile, in Far East, Portuguese Chinese trade fleet came under attack in January 1680 by 12 Spanish war galleons. It was a complete surprise to Portuguese when Spanish attacked them outside Ryukyu Islands and as a result, Spanish managed to sink most of the fleet. Only two Portuguese frigates from 10 escaped, rest ended up in the bottom of the ocean. Few month later, in March, the Spanish attacked Portuguese fleet protecting Malacca. Again, 12 war galleons against 20 frigates. This time though, the Portuguese were warned and the entire fleet managed to escape unharmed.


Spanish harassing Portuguese frigates in East Asia

Of course, having the Spanish fleet praying the heart of Portuguese trade empire will not do. Henrique had replaced the previous Asian heavy fleet, 10 galleons, with 20 modern twodeckers. Enough to achieve dominance in the Eastern Hemisphare and when they attacked the Spanish in July, it ended as predicted. Portuguese sunk half of the Spanish fleet while another half fled.


Asian Heavy Fleet cleaning the seas

Fled for not too long though. Small islands in the middle of Pacific Ocean, Cocos and Christmas Islands, where new colonies from Spain were being founded. Portugal took them over and proclaimed them to be Portuguese. Cocos was taken in August and Christmas in October. And, from temporary port in the Christmas Islands, the Portuguese found the Spanish fleet, trying desperately to repair the damage. When Portuguese troops landed, the Spanish were forced into the sea and then sunk. Tt was the end of Spanish threat in Spice Islands.


Cocos and Christmas Islands being taken over by the Portuguese- and sad end of Spanish fleet

The Spanish had also started colonization of Madagascar. In September 1680, the Portuguese troops landed there, gathered the Spaniards and held a referendum. More then 90% of the local populace decided to join the Portuguese Empire and become free of the Spanish oppressors. All legal!


After the referendum, Spanish-Portuguese patriots declared themselves independent and joined Portugal

First March to Paris

As for the French threat, the Portuguese reacted quickly. Leaving behind a token force to siege the Spanish, Portuguese forces gathered quickly to French borders. By the middle of February, Portugal had 65 000 soldiers in Navarra and before the French could react, they crossed the border.

In Bearn, there were 19 000 French soldiers. Most likely a siege army meant to bombard the Portuguese lands- at least from judging from their number of cannons. It was also perfect for the first battle against the French. Portuguese marched in, destroyed the army and the French-Portuguese colonial war had officially begun.


First battle of the war was surprisingly successful

The bigger French army in the next province tried to march to the rescue, but arrived too late- a day after the battle was won. French turned around and marched to Toulouse, but this time, the Portuguese beat them to it, forcing the French to attack. French losses were devastating, though the Portuguese did not manage to annihilate them.


One of the French armies defeated

Thus, General Rodrigues ordered the chase. Through the French countrysides, two armies rushed. Until in May 1680, the Portuguese forced the French remnants to battle outside Paris. There, the army was defeated. War had lasted for three month and already, French losses were around 50 000 soldiers. The problem was- there was still more Frenchmen around. Already Gascoigne, English province in south, was under siege by another 30 000 French. As for the Portuguese- they started their march back to home, to rest and reinforce.


That is a long march home

The Second French-Portuguese war had begun. Currently, Portugal is at war with France and her colonies, Spain, Milan, Austria and Poland.

Aww, two wars with almost all over the globe. Micromanaging them will not be the easiest task. Anyway, ten points to France- perfect backstab. To be really honest though, i planned a quick war with Spain and then attack France on my own, so it's all fair in love and war.
Oh, and one stupid question- how can i take over colonial war? Sometimes, it feels i need to do the same...

DensleyBlair - Then again, regencies are good time to get overextentsion and agressive rating down and religious unity up... As for the war- interesting enough?

Orlov Kruskayev - Well, steam spring sale is coming up - with EUIV most likely in the discount box as well! And yea, Wealth of Nations... wonder how that affects my trade empire...

Orlov Kruskayev, GunthiHrod - As you can see, colonies solving their own problems can truly be a very mixed blessing...

First War of Henrique I, Part II- The Polish Intervention

First Defeats

In the beginning of July 1680, Portuguese troops of nearly 60 000 soldiers crossed the border once again and marched to Gascoigne, where French army of 30 000 soldiers was sieging the province. Idea was sound- relieve the siege, force French to eat another defeat and then return home victorious. The only trouble was that French were not so easy. They managed to sneak in 18 000 reinforcements and as a result, Portuguese bit more then they could chew. After losing over 16 000 soldiers, the Portuguese pulled back and retreated to safety of Iberia.


French reinforcements marching to help

To make matters worse, Portuguese Italian army, consisting entirely of mercenaries, became under attack in Lombardia. Combined forces of Milan and Poland assaulted the poor mercenaries and before anyone could realize what is happening, the mercenary army just was no more. That mean Portuguese Italian holdings were defenceless. Well, or almost defenceless, for Portuguese monarchs had invested quite a deal in Italian fortresses. It still meant that in Italian theatre, Portuguese would be passive for a while, though in south, Henrique begun forming of a new mercenary army. In the meantime, Milanese marched forward and started the siege of Modena.


Total destruction of the Italian mercenary army. Good thing they were mercenaries, not Portuguese

Battles of Navarra

By the end of October 1680, Gascoigne had fallen to the French and the enemy troops swarmed south. In the same time, Portuguese had recovered from their defeat and were standing in the border. Frenchy came in two waves. First one was the 30 000 strong army that assaulted the Portuguese forces in Navarra. Outnumbering the poor French 2:1, the battle was a victory, though not an easy one.


First battle of Navarra- French are soundly beaten back

The second army that attacked Navarra was a bit bigger and lead by King Charles VIII de Valois himself. Still, Portugal held all the aces- they had more men, they were in better defensive location, though French morale was better. Of course, Frenchman didn’t care about all this and just attacked, very bravely. They lost as well and for now, the French were beaten back.


Second battle of Navarra. And look at the upper right corner to see more trouble marching in

That was not the main concern of Portugal anymore though. Reports of 83 000 Poles marching from Roussillon and Girona to the Portuguese lands came through- and it seems like Portugal has to once again fight for their lives.

Polish Intervention

All the Spanish provinces with the exception of Cantabria and Asturias were under siege. The last two had fallen a few weeks ago, rest were on different stages of the siege- and had been under siege for about a year, since the war begun. The Poles messed all that up. They split their army into two and marched towards Spain, forcing Portugal to pull back their units and end the siege.

In the beginning of the January 1681, 35 000 Poles attacked the Portuguese army of 11 000 currently sieging Madrid. It would have been a disaster, but the Portuguese main army was not far off. They managed to kill more then half of the Portuguese though- before the relief army arrived. Result- the Poles got thoroughly trashed. Then, the Poles retreated to Toledo, with Portuguese hot on their tail. Long story short, by the end of January, half of the Polish army was no more.


The end of the first Polish intervention army

Meanwhile, the second Polish army managed to attack and destroy small 5000-men strong army in Castilla La Vieja before the Portuguese could react. Just a week after that, the main Portuguese army entered the province and forced Poles into battle. In the Battle of Castilla La Vieja, fought in March 1681, Portuguese took heavy losses, but managed to push back the Poles. Poles retreated to Caceres and in there, were killed to the last man.


The Poles destroying off Portuguese siege army and then meeting their doom

With that, the Polish intervention army was destroyed, but... Portugal was forced to abandon the sieges, especially the siege of Madrid, thus delaying the war. Only Vizcaya was still under siege. Plus, the appearance of Poles meant that Portugal could not chase the retreating French troops or just rest and recover.

French Are Coming

After defeat of the Poles, the war took a small breather and both Portugal and France were recovering their armies, reinforcing their morale and planning their next moves. It was only in Summer 1681 when first French troops crossed the border and entered Portugal. By the end of July, France had an army of 30 000 sieging Valencia, another army of 14 000 sieging Navarra and yet another army of 44 000 marching towards Iberia. Portuguese main army was now 71 000 soldiers strong.

In August, Portuguese attacked France in Valencia. That went surprisingly well. The invasion army was killed in a first battle- no Frenchmen retreated back to the French territories. The army was scattered and siege relieved. Not that it was much of a siege- after all, the Portuguese controlled the seas and the supplies could be sailed in without a worry.


Portuguese marching to defeat the French sieging Valencia

In October 1681, the big French army of 44 000 soldiers attacked Portuguese who were still stationed in Valencia. In a second battle, the Portuguese stood strong and held the line- though the French did their best to break them.


Second Battle of Valencia

Portuguese did not follow the French though. Instead, they took on the French reinforcements, a 15 000 strong army who now marched to Barcelona. In a battle outside city walls in November 1681, the French were once again totally destroyed. That was the last land battle in 1681 as well.


Last of the French armies in Iberian soil

They year ended promisingly. Spanish were still crushed, Poles had been driven away and the French armies were sent packing back to France. Only in Italy, Milan continued siege of Mantua. As for France- their manpower was depleted, they had only 27 000 soldiers left and even Nouvelle Flanders, their biggest colony, had more soldiers then the French. Still, the French were a wounded bear, not defeated puppy.


French are not the most powerful nation at the moment. And- loot at their manpower!

Colonial Matters

The Portuguese main army in America marched from South America to North America. Feeling confident that Portuguese colonial armies and stationary 10 000 soldier strong Portuguese American army were enough to contain the Spanish colonials there, the main Portuguese army had really nothing much left to do there.


By summer 1681, South America was firmly under Portuguese control

Henrique decided that the Portuguese Mexico, now fighting with Spanish and Cosmopolitane Mexico, needed help more. Arriving in May 1681, the Portuguese attacked French army and begun sieges of the Cosmopolitane provinces.

[img[https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x22-fIxuzYw/U1N8Fs0RayI/AAAAAAAAFqE/SVkbMb4YFdM/w854-h654-no/portugalb021.jpg[/img]
Arriving in French Mexico

Traitors in Portugal

It was in September 1681 when in addition to all the other troubles, some of Portuguese bureaucrats thought it would be a perfect opportunity for a coup. They were trying to force Henrique I to abdicate the throne and make Portugal into basically an administrative republic, with King remaining as a decorative piece of the government.


The bastards!

Trying to use the tough situation Portugal was in, they were hoping for popular support and all that. Instead, Henqriue had them quartered publically. Then chopped into little pieces. Still, it destabilized the nation right when it was really not needed.

Battle of Gulf of Cadiz

It was in the last days of the 1681 when Portuguese noticed French fleet moving north from Gibraltar. The Portuguese Armada Real was promptly alerted and they sailed south to meet the French in battle. In 19th December 1681, the Portuguese intercepted French ships in Gulf of Cadiz.

French had total 20 heavy ships, 31 frigates and 22 transports. Portuguese had only 50 ships, but all of them modern twodeckers. And the Portuguese had experience in fighting on every sea of the world- so the French were no match for the Portugal. When the day ended, the French main fleet was no more. Portugal had once again shown the world that they are the rulers of the sea and they will remain so forever. It was a good end of the year, but the war was still raging on.


Thus ended the year 1681- with a destruction of the French fleet

Damn the Poles! And damn their personal union with Austria (who has not bothered with this war at all. I expected at least the two borderning provinces, Friuli and Treviso, to be put under siege, but nothing... Anyways, they forced me to abandon perfectly good sieges, so the war with Spain drags on and on.

DensleyBlair - When fighting with the French, lot of action is pretty much guaranteed. And heh, you are right. I am being quite comptetent, though still taking some losses. Hope the fact that i'm too good and all you read is Portuguese victories isn't making this AAR too boring though.