Irish by birth, Munster by the grace of God. (LP Desmond -> Ireland in Rights of Man) [Complete!]

[Veneke]

We take a one province minor with a unique outlook on life and Ireland in general and look to conquer the Emerald Isle, and then establish dominance over the Briti- I mean Irish, Isles. What better minor to take than south Munster, Desmond? We've got unique ideas, a pirate flag, and Cork!

Full playlist is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLJN6zUMM_EWCjWjRjCwul3_g2shqW9pM

Our first episode runs a little longer than usual as we wrap up the entirety of the island, minus two fiddly English bits, in the opening years of the game. It's a pretty fantastic start, but it could all go belly-up yet. We've no allies, and the English have a mighty powerful army that appears unoccupied with any particular pursuit at present...

 

[Veneke]

International relations are a thing we'll need if we're to unite the Emerald Isle. Scotland, France... Castile too? Sure, why not?

There comes a time in every game with Ireland in EU 4 where an opportunity arises that allows you to strike at the English from an advantageous position. Is this our opportunity, or is it a trap?

 

[Veneke]

We find an opening to strike for the Pale.

In a spectacular turn of events Ireland is ours! It won't be "Ireland" until Admin tech 10 of course, but this still counts...

 

[Veneke]

Post war downtime. We figure things out and stuf..

And then an alliance unveils which locks Western Europe into a cold war that will last (at least) decades.

 

[Veneke]

So... stalemate in the British Isles? A stalemate works in my favour, of course, but it also effectively leaves me subject to the whims of politics on the islands, and to a lesser extent the continent.

 

[Veneke]

We finally manage to do some exploration. With the British Isles, and most of Western Europe, in a political deadlock it may be that our only avenue of expansion is overseas.

I made a bit of a mistake doubling down on development as heavily as I did. Curiously the only way to rectify that mistake now is to continue my current course of dumping monarch points into development. It's all to our benefit, obviously enough, but not efficient. Like, at all. Funny though, can't argue against that.

 

[Veneke]

We come face to face with the Portuguese who want our maps.

We establish our first colony in the Caribbean. It has nice high base tax, and will be the centre of trade in the Americas for decades to come, but mostly we settle it for the better weather.

 

[Veneke]

The reformation begins.

Colonialism unlocks, predictably and unfortunately, in Portugal.

 

[Veneke]

We now have a holiday home!

A new Earl comes to rule Desmond.

We get a little concerned that the natives might develop too quickly. So we make preparations to keep them at an appropriate level of technology. XD

 

[Veneke]

War! It's been a little too peaceful for my tastes, so we find a war we'll win (relatively) easily.

Changes at home make me wish that I hadn't gone to war. England's diplomatic web appears to be disintegrating, leaving an opportunity for us to strike!

 

[Veneke]

We pick up a native American vassal. Mostly because we're bored, and only sort-of because they provide us with troops over there.

The real Ireland! Finally, admin tech 10 means that Ireland is ours.

Last couple of preparations for the war against England.

War against England! Twice, because it wasn't recording the first time. <.<

 

[Veneke]

Irish England. Finally!

 

[Veneke]

We become a Great Power?! Not so much responsibility though, thankfully. Splendid Isolationism is our shtick for now (at least as far as the European mainland is concerned).

Rebels. Rebels everywhere. Only to be expected. We've only so much monarch power we can devote to things like stamping down English separatists.

The final few years before we go after the English. Again.

Truce with England. Again. At least one more war will be fought before they're reduced to their colonies in the Caribbean.

 

[Veneke]

So. Um. I need to keep this updated more often... :/

Printing Press happens, which is going to cause all kinds of trouble later on down the line but isn't too bad now.

Round Two vs. the English!

Technological development is a beautiful thing.

Rebels. Rebels everywhere.

The French prove problematic, so we drop them. Smart move, or will it doom us?

War for Scotland.

We take everything except Lothian, and we'll take that as well in time.

 

[Veneke]

We make some adjustments to our internal situation in between wars.

War against the English. Again.

 

[Veneke]

A new dynasty takes over the throne. Legitimacy tanks...

Aggressive expansion penalties cause us some serious issues.

There are future problems and now problems. We're dealing with the latter.

Our economic problems are solved? Well, not really but solved enough for now I guess.

The Scots last stand.

I make a mistake that could have easily been avoided. <.<

 

[Veneke]

The last king of Scotland.

We focus on our internal development a little more.

We finally embrace the Counter-Reformation.

Which actually seems to solve lots of our problems? XD

The political situation has not necessarily developed to our advantage.

 

[Veneke]

The last war of the series? (Spoiler: It's not.)

Mainland England falls.

Global warfare in the early 1600s.

Rebels. Rebels everywhere. Again.

A surprise colony complicates matters...

... which prompts an armistice.

 

[Veneke]

We get a new ruling dynasty. Starting off with a famous Irish Queen!

Reducing autonomy to increase our capabilities. And other internal improvements of that nature.

The last war against the English. Promise.

 

[Veneke]

Sometimes, you just have to build up some warscore the slow way.

War against the Danes? Not yet. Not entirely sure why, but something feels off.

It feels better now for some reason. So, off to war we go!

We get in some proper naval action!

Victory!