Austria: The Empire Strikes Back

Originally posted by J. Passepartout
This looks like a good place to laugh maniacally.

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You are very welcome to do this, my (10 months old) daughter joined in your laughter when I described your post to my wife

Originally posted by J. Passepartout
Award her the Evil Dictator Wannabe club badge.

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Sure, the well known Junior Dictator

And to C444Lockhart, you are welcome. Actual play might commence this evening, but more likely the next evening, what with my wife's parents (hopefully) coming by this evening to sleep (sadly) in the liveing room (where the computer is)

Originally posted by Gytis
So, trying to instal emperor as a pope. This won't please the kings of Europe .

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Hmm.. maybe I should do that as well.

This far I was just considering to go protestant (=> head of state = head of religion) and then convert every province to protestantism (= making bishops accept that head of state = head of religion).

But maybe Rome should be made protestant as well? Hmm.. I won't add that as a goal, I have no intention to make the pope do anything more than accept 'fait accompli' but we'll see, the dream scenario is to make the protestant Austria into elected emperor. (Which means there can be no catholics anywhere in the world.. force-conversions galore)

.


Btw, since I won't actually start playing until tomorrow I might as well ask, should I use any minor mods? I am mostly thinking about MKJ's personalities AI mod and PE's asian manpower mod.

Originally posted by Wasa
Minor mods? Carolus Rex..

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Him still a minor? I guess the No flip should have told me

I've decided upon one minor mod for myself so far, unless people think it is waaay too evil. I'll return the addcountryculture = dutch to the 'Repatriation of the Netherlands' event.

I figure I'll have enough problems converting the Swiss and Italians so I'm adding it to help in getting the dutch to accept the emperor as the head of religion. (As far as I understand reformed religions tend to accept no head of religion at all, am I way off here?)

Oh, and Arilou, hi (I didn't see you at first, you posted while I was writing my previous reply)
Not 'All for the Empire' so far, only 'All of the Empire for the Emperor' I have no intention whatsoever to go to the new world for instance.

Introduction

When the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich III deposed the three rival popes and instated Clemens II in 1046, making Rome into an imperial city and recieving the decisive vote in conclaves, little did he know that he was the embodiment of the apex of imperial power for centuries to come.

Biography for Heinrich, who was V, I and III, in that order.

Behind the scenes one Hildebrand would aspire to reverse the positions of pope and emperor. In 1059 he convinced Nicolaus II to revoke the ancient Roman right to elect the pope and vest this to the college of cardinals. Once this reform was secured Hildebrand dared let himself be elected as Gregorius VII in 1073. Once there he would continue to strengthen the position of the pope by estranging the bishops from the emperor. This was done by forbidding clergy to marry and by forbidding the emperor to invest new bishops, claiming this was a right that belonged to the pope alone.

Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope Gregory VII (was made a saint during the Counter-Reformation)

When the emperor (Heinrich IV) tried to resist he was excommunicated in 1076, a situation that his political opponents siezed upon, declaring that unless the edict was lifted before february 1077 he would be deposed as emperor. Heinrich managed to sneak across the alps and reach the fleeing pope in Canossa where he through public penance managed to force the pope to lift the excommunication, saving his crown but showing to all that the papal seat was the victor.

The Letter Gregory VII sent to the German Princes concerning Canossa

This was not enough to finish the matter and future strangeness would include pope Gregory VII having to flee from Rome after his allies had looted it, leading to public rage. The dispute was finally settled by the Concordat of Worms 1122, with a decisive victory for papal power, although the dreams of Gregory VII about a divine kingdom where temporal rulers would be vassals of the pope were lost, the emperor was suitably chastened and the church had won.

The Written Result of the Concordat of Worms


After this there would be more conflicts between pope and emperor, but never would the emperor again recieve the rights to appoint bishops and only a lunatic would try to change this.

A lunatic, or a visionary. When Maximilian I would pounce upon the opportunites, presented by the little known theology professor who wrote a few letters to a few friends discussing the state of the church, he would strongly diverge from the expected, and history would change as a result.

About Luther and his dislike of indulgences replacing confessions

Excerpt from: The Emperor and the Pope, a comparative study of religious and secular power in medieval christian europe 1000-1400.

Originally posted by Crimson King
Anyhoo ... good luck converting all those heretic Catholics. I wonder what the Pope will do when he realizes he has no followers?

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Hopefully he will be more powerless to act when the emperor tries to sieze the rights to appoint bishops than he was when the emperor tried to keep the rights to appoint bishops.


Edit: I looked over PE's SSRE and I think I won't include them, since I feel they are not up to date with changes in patches.

The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. (1493-1519)

A picture of Maximilian I

When Maximilian took the throne he inherited a good state. Austria had a powerful alliance with Hungary, Bohemia and Bavaria and was in such good a standing with the electors as to secure the title of emperor to him.

Soon the disputes about the estates of Friesen and Geldre would be amiciably settled, with the dutch noblemen agreeing that their oaths of fealty should be to Maximilian as a lord by heritage. The Frieslanders would soon become helpful in the foreign policies of Austria while the stubborn Gelderlanders would resist to the end, but by the edicts of the 'Privileges of Policy' in 1505-07 both Friesen and Geldre would loose what semblance of independence that remained.


The imperial policy remained clear, expansion by diplomacy would continue to rule. When Bavaria aligned more closely with the Habsburg house in 1496 the resulting rearranging of local powers led to an alliance of Venice, Baden, Wurttemberg and Helvetia declaring war upon Hungary in an attempt to break the Austrian alliance and deal with it piecemeal.
The failure of this war led to Baden being incorporated into Bavaria and Wurttemberg into Bohemia, only Helvetia got away merely with the return to Austria of the province of Schwyz.Venice was too insulated on it's island to deal with, but after loosing control over the ports in Istria and having the ports of Dalmatia threatened Venice agreed to paying reparations and ceding the city of Triest to Austria for thirty years.
After the League of Cambrai gave him a good excuse Maximilian declared that Triest and the rest of Istria would remain Austrian even after the treaty would end. Venice, being threatened by both Mantua and the Ottoman Empire, was powerless to resist.


After aligning Cologne with the Austrian gentry in 1509 Maximilian spent the last ten years of his life struggling against dissatisfied merchants and discussing theology with his friends. Since his ideals were much like those spread through the reformation movement of november 1517 many theorize that he might have joined the cause of the reformation had he been younger. Now that is all idle speculation, since before the reformation had taken hold anywhere he would be dead and the thoroughly catholic Charles.

The life of the 'real' Maximilian I

And some of the famous musicians that could be found at his court.

And a screenie of Austria soon after his death

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

List of years:


[1519] Cologne incorporated. Genoa vassalized.
[20] Nobility runs the show (No Hofrat or Hofkanzlei)

[1521] Plague
[22] Scandal at the Court
[23] Noble Assasinated
[24] Political Crisis
[25] Bohemia became protestant and left alliance. Palatinat vassalized. Boundary dispute with Oldenburg settled

[1526] Bohemian nobility accepted the Habsburgs as hereditary kings at King Lajos death and the state of Bohemia incorporated. Noble assasinated.
[27] Obscurantist fugitives from former Bohemia turns nation unruly. Military alliance with Hungary, Milan, Genoa and the Palatinat reformed.
[28] Dutch peasants are unhappy and the tremors spread over the nation.
[29] Saint BiBestella performs miracles of peace.
[30] Sweden converts to protestantism at the Parliament of Västerås. Scandal at the court.

[1531] Army reform
[32] Nest of Corruption cleaned out.
[33] Petition for redress denied
[34] English king takes control over the church by Act of Supremacy, Hungary declares war at Poland and the entire alliance ollows against the alliance of Poland and Lithuania. Cathedral commisioned.
[35] Internal trade ordinances arranged. Poland cedes Mecklemburg, Holstein and Bremen to Austria.

[1536] Traders sent to Mecklemburg
[37] Hungary cedes Carpathia and Ruthenia to Poland, along with large reparations.
[38] Palatinat incorporated
[39] Tuscany repeatedly denies to join alliance. Oldenburg annexes Munster.
[40] At the Death of Johan Zapoloya Hungary is bequeathed to the House of Habsburg. Austria declares war on Oldenburg for their evil act against the independance of Munster. Kleves and Hessen try to assist Oldenburg.

[1541] War with marches and counter-marches across north-western germania.
[42] Kleves, Hessen and Oldenburg forcibly vassalized. Oldenburg and Hessen made to join alliance.
[43] Kleves refuses to join alliance, citing that 'the alliance surrounds Kleves at all sides bringing enough protection'
[44] Venice refuses trade.
[45] Brandenburg and Saxony convert to Protestantism. Milan declares war against the Papal States bringing Austria, Genoa, Oldenburg and Hessen to war against Mantua as well.

[1546] Venice, Wurtzburg and Brandenburg declare war against Mantua and the Papal States, Jean Calvin brings more wood to the fire of conflicting christian religions. Austria makes peace with Mantua. Venice allows trade again.
[47] Merchants unhappy, Papal states placed under protective custodianship. Cities got some old rights back.
[48] At the Imperial Parliament at Augsburg it is decided that Catholicism is the only acceptable religion. Venice forbids trade again and makes headway in war against the Papal States. To protect the Papacy Austria and her allies declare war upon Venice and her allies, leading to Venetian and Milanese troops fighting eachothers outside the city they were both besieging.
[49] Great but poor Noble Family demanded aid. Milan recieved reparations from the Papacy and peace was made in that war.
[50] Denmark converts to protestantism. Würzburg forcibly vassalized. Merchants unhappy. New land Claimed

[1551] Prussia converts to protestantism. Brandenburg forcibly vassalized. Venice pays reparations. The heir to the crown is designated.
[52] Hessen inorporated, Oldenburg incorporated, Kleves incorporated. Fortification effort made.Venice and the Papal states make a 'white peace'.
[53] England reinstates Papal power over the church.
[54] Wurtzburg cancels vassalization by going protestant. Plague.
[55] By the religious peace in Augsburg the Princes of Germany are allowed to choose the religion that shall dominate their state. The first political act of the emperor-to-be, Ferdinand. Mantua declares independence from Venice.

[1556] At the Hofkriegsrat it is decided that Austria shall use a centralized, defencive strategy when at war. A tax was abolished. Charles V abdicated and retires to a convent after ceding Franche-Comte to Spain.

Originally posted by J. Passepartout
Very nice so far.

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Might have been too easy, but that is fun sometimes. I'll edit the above post somewhat later.