With the map changes coming up in 1.19, now might be a good time to do Montenegro justice a little bit. Namely, to represent it as the landlocked country it truly was.
Throughout the game period, the partly tribal, partly theocratic principality of Montenegro was limited to the mountainous hinterland--the so-called Upper Zeta. The sea was likely visible from the hilltops, but it wasn't accessible, as the littoral was firmly in Venetian and Ottoman hands until 1797. After Serbia's last maritime possessions were lost in the 15th century, it wasn't until the late 19th century that Montenegrin control would encompass a significant stretch of the coast.
To reflect this in-game, I suggest the removal from Zeta of a narrow coastal strip roughly the same width as Dubrovnik province. Montenegro would thus be separated from the Adriatic, and the new land in between could take on any of the following roles:
It would definitely affect playing as Montenegro, perhaps helping to convey this tag's delicate balance between Venetian and Ottoman overlordship (after all the principality only turned to Russia when Venice lost its potential to challenge the sultans).
In terms of the new area-based fort system, I believe such a province should be included in the Albanian area. The Serbian one seems to be already full with 6 provinces (although perhaps it could be now split in two), while Albania only has 3 and probably could accomodate one more. It is noteworthy that even the Venetians themselves used the name "Albania Veneta" for their possessions around Kotor.
One remaining thing are Montenegro's national ideas, two of which deal with naval issues. Maybe they don't need any changing, since they provide a nice incentive to develop towards the sea--an incentive that was shared by the real-life Montenegro. However, the famous pirates from Ulcinj, which I reckon became the reason behind Montenegro's privateering idea, were in fact only introduced to the area with the Ottoman conquest of parts of Albania Veneta. They were not Montenegrins but rather Berber sailors in Ottoman service. In this case, perhaps the Balkan Gusars idea will be better off with just the embargo efficiency modifier and no effect on privateers.
Hopefully all of this was helpful.
Throughout the game period, the partly tribal, partly theocratic principality of Montenegro was limited to the mountainous hinterland--the so-called Upper Zeta. The sea was likely visible from the hilltops, but it wasn't accessible, as the littoral was firmly in Venetian and Ottoman hands until 1797. After Serbia's last maritime possessions were lost in the 15th century, it wasn't until the late 19th century that Montenegrin control would encompass a significant stretch of the coast.
To reflect this in-game, I suggest the removal from Zeta of a narrow coastal strip roughly the same width as Dubrovnik province. Montenegro would thus be separated from the Adriatic, and the new land in between could take on any of the following roles:
- Optimally, it could become a new province, Kotor (Càttaro), historically held by Venice from 1444 to 1797 and afterwards by the same owner as Dalmatia (Napoleonic Italy, France, Habsburg Empire).
- Alternatively it could become part of the neighboring province of the Albanian area, be it Lezhë or Durazzo (Johan's screenshot seems to suggest it's the former).
- Or, its western part could be merged with Dalmatia (as Càttaro was generally governed together with that province), while the east could become part of Durazzo/Lezhë. The Dalmatian exclave might even be separated by a small wasteland, signifying the reclusiveness of the Bay of Kotor, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides with only two roads leaving the area (this would also prevent weird army movement through Dalmatia); in this case, Dalmatia's sea zone should be extended to Kotor.
- ETA: A simpler variant of the above. Instead of treating Kotor as an exclave of Dalmatia, we can just ignore its ownership by Venice and pretend that the city, located on the western edge of the province, belonged to Ragusa. The eastern half of the proposed Kotor province became part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Shkodra in the 16th century, so bundling it with Albania--which frequently gets conquered by the Ottos--isn't entirely ahistorical.
It would definitely affect playing as Montenegro, perhaps helping to convey this tag's delicate balance between Venetian and Ottoman overlordship (after all the principality only turned to Russia when Venice lost its potential to challenge the sultans).
In terms of the new area-based fort system, I believe such a province should be included in the Albanian area. The Serbian one seems to be already full with 6 provinces (although perhaps it could be now split in two), while Albania only has 3 and probably could accomodate one more. It is noteworthy that even the Venetians themselves used the name "Albania Veneta" for their possessions around Kotor.
One remaining thing are Montenegro's national ideas, two of which deal with naval issues. Maybe they don't need any changing, since they provide a nice incentive to develop towards the sea--an incentive that was shared by the real-life Montenegro. However, the famous pirates from Ulcinj, which I reckon became the reason behind Montenegro's privateering idea, were in fact only introduced to the area with the Ottoman conquest of parts of Albania Veneta. They were not Montenegrins but rather Berber sailors in Ottoman service. In this case, perhaps the Balkan Gusars idea will be better off with just the embargo efficiency modifier and no effect on privateers.
Hopefully all of this was helpful.
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