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((Wich minister do I need to write for José to become a merchant? José wants to expand his fish business.))

((The Grandmaster deals with merchants, so that would be Santoros Hashem or hirahammad, if you prefer.))
 
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((To Santoros Hashem))
Senor Hashem,
As a an established fisherman in Crunia, I humbly ask you to be appointed as a merchant of Hispania. I sell only the finest fresh-caught fish at the local market but I believe that I could expand with my fish business into other Hispanian cities. Please consider my request. I hope you will allow me to sell my fish also outside of Crunia as I believe there is a high demand for quality seafood.

I hope to hear from you soon,
José Fulminante
 
((Private))

King Ferran IV tapped his fingers on the table as he read over the demands of those seeking tolerance. There had been so much bloodshed leading up to this. The damn heretics had revolted in the thousands because he had refused to recognize them. Now members of his court were urging him to reconsider. To do so would be to give in to these rebels after he had bested them though. How could he pretend to be a strong ruler after that? No, he couldn't accept these demands without hurting his own reputation.

The king was about to write up a declaration announcing his decision when Prince Pere entered the room. He smiled at his only son and asked, "What brings you here today? Do you have more building projects to share?"

Prince Pere looked down at the floor for a moment and then said, "No, it is not that. I wished to discuss the recent demands regarding these heresies."

"What of it?" Ferran said. "I've just made my decision. We cannot tolerate these heretics."

Pere's eyes widened and he said, "I beg you to reconsider. Denying them again will only lead to more bloodshed and sorrow for the kingdom."

Pere wanted to tell his father more, but knew he could not. He had been at the meeting of those who sought tolerance, in disguise of course, and knew their intentions. War would follow if the king did not reconsider. As much as he did not want that, he knew that exposing the plan would only start a witchhunt that would see many innocents murdered and ruin all chances at ever seeing any sign of tolerance.

"Why should I tolerate these heretics when they rise up against me?" the king asked.

Pere took in a deep breath. "They rebelled because they felt they had no choice. They have lived in fear of persecution for decades and the actions of the Church and your decision to deny their requests removed their last bit of hope. We have been given a second chance here. Most of these people do not even care about spreading their beliefs. All they want is to live in peace without worrying about the Inquisition dragging them away in chains."

King Ferran pondered that for a moment. "Perhaps you have a point, but conceding to their demands will ruin my reputation."

"Or it will make you that much greater in the eyes of your subjects as they respect you for looking out for all their interests and protecting them in a world that has seen far too much bloodshed over petty religious affairs."

King Ferran lifted up the list of demands and shoved it at Pere. "But I cannot agree to all of these. I'll most likely be excommunicated and cast aside by our fellow Catholics for trying to de-fang the Inquisition and annex a holy order."

"Then don't do that," Pere said as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "These people want recognition most of all so that they can live in peace. Their other goals are more to ensure their safety from the Church. As long as you promise that the Crown will recognize their rights to practice their faith, they will respect your decision. It is far better than risking a much greater conflict."

The king remained silent for some time as he mulled over it. Eventually he said, "Very well. I will grant these heretic the recognition they request, but nothing more. Hopefully this will put an end to this whole affair."

* * * * *

((Public))

JpsioAG.png

His Majesty, Ferran IV de Trastámara, King of Hispania and Protector of the Greeks & the Knights, hereby proclaims the following:

I. The Protestant and Reformed faiths, and all their derivatives, shall be officially recognized by the Crown. The Orthodox faith shall not be granted recognition by the Crown, for it is considered formally disbanded as a result of the end of the Greek Schism.
II. All those who follow the above faiths (Protestant, Reformed, & Orthodox) shall be free to practice their religion free of persecution.
III. The Inquisition shall remained unchanged, although it may no longer persecute the above faiths. The Inquisition may continue as it were in regards to heathens, and may attempt to convert heretics back to the true faith through peaceful means.
IV. Those who called for the excommunication of those within this court shall not be tried by the Crown, for excommunication is the purview of His Holiness and outside the powers of the Crown.
V. The Knights of Rhodes shall remain as they are in Rhodes, although the possibility of placing them under the administration of Hispania, as are those on Malta, is not out of the question.



((To make it more clear, the results of the first two votes are this:

Tolerance Demands: Yes
Civil War? (Pro-tolerance only): Yes

The tolerance side won by literally 0.5VP, so it was very close. The closeness of the vote is the reason why only the Crown recognition was granted. So from now on anyone can openly be any Christian faith without fear of being persecuted by the Inquisition. The strange wording regarding Orthodox is related to the fact we've been acting like we ended the Schism, but players can be Orthodox and not get persecuted if they want. VP penalties still apply though. The Inquisition shall remain the same, although it can still uncover heretics so they face VP penalties, even if they can't put them on trial. Heathens are still treated the same. Provinces can still be converted, since that requires a later reform to stop. Non of the pro-Catholic side shall be put on trial for the whole excommunication thing, seeing as that is a Church matter. The Knights will not be annexed, but the king is willing to reconsider in the future.

However, the possibility of the civil war does not end here, since the king did not accept all the demands. The tolerance side may now choose to accept what the king has granted, mainly Crown recognition, or to go to war for more. Only those who voted for tolerance can vote on this. I'll also include an option for if the offer is refused whether or not the players wish to still commit to war or change sides based on the unreasonableness of rejecting this concession. Here is that vote:

Accept Crown Recognition: Yes/No/Abstain
Side in Civil War: Loyalists/Tolerance/Neutral

This vote is only for those who already voted for tolerance. I will give players until tomorrow at 12pm PST to vote, although that may be extended if not enough people vote. Please bold your votes and include your character's name and class.))
 
Accept Crown Recognition: Yes
Side in Civil War (ONLY IF IT HAPPENS): Tolerance

((inb4 KF25 excommunicates the king for the tolerance thing :p))
 
Accept Crown Recognition: Yes
Side in Civil War (ONLY IF IT HAPPENS): Loyalist

"Of course we must accept this. This is our major goal, the rest just added on. If we were to go to war over such small matters, truly we deserve punishment." said Santoros.

((No war! Now I can't die in a blaze of glory.))
 
Accept Crown Recognition: Yes
Side in Civil War (ONLY IF IT HAPPENS): Loyalist

Niccolo Limmona, Marshal of the Realm and Duke of Naples and Capua

((Landed Noble, Councillor, General))
 
Our demands have been met, and those that haven't were minor points that can still be reconsidered later. To fight for more would be a pure hunt for power, and would only serve to tear Hispania apart.

((Accept Crown Recognition: Yes
Side in Civil War (ONLY IF IT HAPPENS): Loyalist

Louis Clément de Montségur
[Duke, General, Chamberlain, colony funded]))
 
Coward! The king had shown his true colors and surrendered to the demands of the heretics. Now the kingdom, and possibly all of Christendom, was doomed.

There was nothing to do but die an honorable death in Germany against the heretics. And so Velazquez donned his armor and rode his horse into one final fight...
 
((Seeing as over half the tolerance side has voted, and all in favour of accepting the demands, I'll end the vote now.

Accept Crown Recognition: Yes

All Christian faiths are now accepted by the Crown. That means any player may openly play as them without fear of the Inquisition locking them up. Of course VP penalties still apply until the appropriate reforms are passed, and heretics are most likely not to be favoured by the king or get appointed to the Council. Players may propose the next religious reform, that being the revision of religious laws to remove the heretic land penalty, after the update. It may be in the interests of some Catholic nobles even to favour this, since Catholic lords with heretic lands get their VP lowered. ;)))
 
((@hirahammad Don't forget my letter please.))
Sorry, I thought I had answered.

Dear Jose,

Sorry for the late reply. Mail can often be delayed getting to Brakna. I appoint you as a merchant.

Sincerely,
Santoros Hashem
 
Finally! Felipé had just heard the news that all religions in Hispania is now tolerated by the crown.
It is a glorious day today! Diplomacy had prevailed! The moment that his father had long struggled for had finally come.
It is amazing how a few people could effectively change the course of an entire nation. A united people is a strong people, and a strong people can do wondrous things.
Felipé wondered what glorious adventures Hispania faced in the future. Whatever it may be, Hispania stood ready.
He made his way back home as the sun set. It is truly a wonderful day.
 
1592 – Broken Alliance

The matter of religious tolerance came to head yet again as members at court pressed for recognition of the various Christian sects. King Ferran IV was hesitant to grant such a request, especially after the recent rebellions, but Prince Pere convinced him to reconsider. The king at last granted recognition to the Protestant and Reformed faiths, allowing them to be practiced freely within Hispania. That did not necessarily mean that efforts would not be taken to bring these people back into the arms of the Church, but such efforts would be less violent.

Catholic zealots rose up in revolt in Almeria and Algarve at the news, even as people across Hispania adopted these new faiths. The king ordered these rebellions put down, tired of people rising up against his rule. Troops were called in from Provence and Napoli to aid those in Iberia.

Even as trouble continued on at home, a change in North Africa occurred. The Mamluks and Morocco turned their gaze away from Europe and looked elsewhere. With Hispania so focused on internal issues, the hostilities towards the Muslims of North Africa died down. They had not fought for ages and it seemed such a conflict would not occur for some time. The rivalry had come to an end.



The zealots took Algarve and Almeria, but by then the army was almost in place. Over 30k men moved into Almeria to take on the zealots. Numbers won the day and the rebellion was put down. A single army was left to retake the province while the rest marched for Alentejo, where the second army now resided.

Even as the conflict raged on within Hispania, breakthroughs were made in ship design. New models of light and heavy ships were designed that would prove far stronger than those currently in use. These ships could also better withstand the harsh waters of the Atlantic, encouraging cross-oceanic travel and colonization efforts.

For some reason, foreign rulers thought it foolish that King Ferran was not patronizing art during a time of internal strife.



Several prominent trading families fell on hard times as the recent chaotic period had greatly hurt Hispania’s trade. No one wanted to trade with a kingdom facing countless rebellions. With so much of Hispania’s wealth coming from its trade, the king was willing to compensate these traders to keep them afloat. Unfortunately, miscommunication between him and the treasurer made it so he didn’t realize the Crown didn’t have the funds to begin with. A loan had to be taken out to cover the costs.

In May, Pope Marcellus II issued a papal bull forbidding the enslavement of the natives of the New World. It was believed they were like children that needed to be guided into the arms of the Church, for they knew no other way. Seeing as Hispania had already taken a friendly approach towards the native population, the king accepted the papal bull and endorsed it in Hispania’s colonies.

The zealots in Alentejo managed to take the province, but the army was already on the way. Generals Hernando Francisco de Leon and Niccolo Limmona arrived first to tackle the rebel army, joined soon by Louis Clément de Montségur. The French sent an army down to assist, but it did not arrive in time. Victory was still achieved, but Hispania was losing good men putting down these rebellions.



With funds needed to pay off a loan, all forts were mothballed. Even then, the treasury was emptied to finish upgrading the navy’s galleys, for the process remained unfinished. Now they were all up to date, but it would take longer to gain the funds necessary to pay off the loan.

By the end of July, the rebel strongholds had fallen and the zealots had been rooted out of their hiding spots.

As the transport fleet shipped the Neapolitan army home, a Moroccan fleet was spotted preying on trade in the Mediterranean. Of course these heathens would resort to piracy.

October brought trouble in foreign relations as France approached Hispania with yet another call-to-arms. France continued to greedily seek land on its eastern border, this time targeting Savoy. Usually such a war would involve little participation on Hispania’s part, for France could easily carry most of the burden. However, Savoy was allied to Tuscany and the Papal State, both of which honoured their alliance. Hispania now had to make a difficult choice: dishonour their alliance with France or go to war with their ally Tuscany and the Pope.











JpsioAG.png

Presenting His Majesty, Ferran IV de Trastámara, King of Hispania and Protector of the Greeks & the Knights.

I truly wish that these religious troubles of ours are behind us, for we now face a much bigger dilemma. France has yet again called upon us for aid, but they ask much of us. They have declared war upon Savoy, but in doing so they have also declared war upon Savoy’s allies in Tuscany and the Papal State. Tuscany has long been our ally, aiding us in several wars. As for the Papal State, how can we go to war with them with a Hispanian Pope in Rome? Can we truly turn against both the Church and our Italian ally to satisfy French greed? Or is it better to stick with an ally whose power is unquestionable and has stuck beside us for well over a century? This decision is not an easy one and one in which I must seek guidance from all of you on.


((Well France ruined my plans yet again, so I had to stop early. We’ll vote on the call-to-arms later. For now, ministers may present plans until Sunday at 12pm PST, although yet again most of the earlier ones weren’t completed since I didn’t even get to play a full year. Anyone may present laws in that time.))
 
((Here are all the provinces we can now colonize. Apparently someone has been exploring the west coast of the Americas, because we can see them now. Might be a good time for another explorer. ;)





































))
 
((Here are all the provinces we can now colonize. Apparently someone has been exploring the west coast of the Americas, because we can see them now. Might be a good time for another explorer. ;)





































))
((I thought I had explored every single NA province? Also, what's our total development now? Is it over 1000 so we can upgrade to Empire?))

Our loyalties are first and foremost to the Pope, who is one of us. To turn our backs on him would be to turn our backs on the Church and each other. We can always repair our relations with the French and renegotiate the alliance, but our spiritual relations would be tarnished for decades if not centuries to come, hurting the Church's mission to bring the True Faith to apostates and heretics.

~General Hernando Francisco de Leon
 
((I thought I had explored every single NA province? Also, what's our total development now? Is it over 1000 so we can upgrade to Empire?))

((We have explored all the land provinces. I was talking of the sea. The waters off the west coast are revealed despite us not actually sailing there. As for development, it has not changed much since last time since we have not gained any provinces outside small colonies. You can see it in the economy ledger included in the spam.))

((Is the League war still going on?))

((It is still raging on, with the warscore -59 for Brabant. Not much has changed since it's been less than a year.))
 
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