1561-1566 – Reform
There was much tension at court in April of 1561. With Hispania’s growing presence in the New World, it was suggested that a missionary order be created that would focus its efforts on the less hospitable areas of the world to bring the true faith to primitives and heathens. Count Alexandros Kostopoulos was the strongest proponent of this Society of Jesuit, and even offered to abdicate his title as count of Athens in favour of his son if his family could serve as the hereditary grandmasters of this new order. Some looked at this with disfavour, seeing it as a power grab by someone with no ties to the Church, which is the one that should be in charge of the Jesuits. Juliol Antonio Carlos d'Agramunt, the head of a group of likeminded individuals who were strong proponents of the Church and the Catholic faith known as the Brotherhood of the Sacred Heart, suggested that his group oversee this new proposed missionary order. While not formally tied to the Church, it was expected that the Brotherhood would serve it and the kingdom as caretakers of the Jesuits. In the end Kostopoulos’s idea was the most favoured. There were rumours of bribery, and the fact that Alexandros’s daughters were promised to commoners put some truth to that. Regardless, the king sanctioned this new Society of Jesus and permitted Alexandros to serve as Grandmaster of the order. Despite no formal ties to the Church, the Pope and Holy See greatly favoured this initiative to strengthen the faith and spread it across the world.
Recruitment efforts began with the king’s proposed plan to expand the army. Artillery was shifted to the armies near areas where sieges might be expected, such as Portugal, Provence, and Naples. A few cavalry regiments were recruited for the armies in Valencia, Athens, and Africa, since it was expected they would be required to be more mobile. An extra thousand infantry each were to be added to each army as well. It would take time to ensure everyone was in place, but the army would benefit as a whole.
Plans on Mali seemed even more important as Mali annexed neighbouring Jolof, extending their shared border with Hispania’s colonies. Once the military reforms were complete, King Alfons VII was fully prepared to weaken their hold on the area and liberate the Catholic people of Gabu. Queen Caterina even used her less savoury connections to arrange for spies to sneak into Mali’s lands and start preparing the way for a potential invasion. While they waited for that mission to complete, everyone could enjoy a little wine.
Lithuania continued more of its rampant expansion east, conquering land from the Golden Horde as it fell into decline.
Over in North America, Conquistador Miguel de Leon encountered a rock painted to look like a dragon. His native guides advised him to shoot at the rock to ward off evil spirits in some pagan tradition. Despite believing it was nonsense, the men always enjoyed a chance to unwind and firing off weapons at a rock was a fun way to do that.
Juan de Porcelli’s appointment brought some changes to the navy. For decades the main fleet had stagnated in port during peace. The sailors became complacent and lost precious experience and skill that weren’t being utilized. Porcelli brought that to an end. Mandatory drills were carried out regularly to ensure every man was prepared for whatever scenario the navy might face, even when at peace. Morale improved as the men felt ready for anything.
France decided to take advantage of the collapse of Provence and the recent independence of several states from their ashes. Brittany had been freed, but they were without allies. France swooped in, ready to conquer the nation.
In religious matters, Switzerland had embraced the newest heresy, the first to do so. Even the birthplace of this heresy known as Reformed, Pomerania, had remained Catholic. The Swiss were truly foolish people. Hispania remained strong in its faith though. After the failure of the Tolerance Act, Steward Armand Antonio Sastre arranged for Crown funds to go towards the construction of several new temples. The first of these proposed churches were constructed in Capitanata and Salamanca, with more to come when the funds were available.
The colony in Cape was going along nicely. There weren’t that many valuable goods in the area, but there were lots of natives to exploit. As the colonies in the New World grew and had more need for cheap labour, the practice of slavery picked up. Cape proved an excellent place to acquire these slaves and ship them to Sanchonia and Nueva Granada.
The colony in Montevideo faced another setback as the Lübecker family found themselves strained for the cash needed to keep the colony operational. Fortunately the king saw the benefit of such colonial ventures and provided Crown funding for it.
In April of 1562, Jeroni Barcelo, military advisor to the Crown, passed away. He was immediately replaced by Alonso de Bazan, who promised to get recruitment up and ensure Hispania always had the manpower it needed.
As expected, France annexed Brittany, strengthening its hold on the region. Queen Caterina seemed quite pleased, seeing as her niece continued to serve as regent of France. It was clear by now that Louis was incompetent and would require a regent for most of his life.
The administration in Provence and Draguignan was finally set up. With a proper government structure in place and the region more secure, missionaries were finally permitted into Draguignan to deal with the heretic presence there. It was expected to take a little over a year, at least that’s how long the proud Catholic missionaries believed it would take.
The slave trade was truly taking off. Hispania dominated the market, able to bring in slaves from its many African colonies where other Europeans could not. Thus they could also ensure that most of the slaves ended up in Sanchonia or Nueva Granada and not one of Portugal’s or Britain’s growing colonies.
Word reached King Alfons VII that the economy in Navarra was booming. The Crown had not maintained much presence in the area since the integration of Navarra into the realm, and apparently that had paid off. Queen Caterina suggested taking advantage of this prosperity by raising taxes in the province. The king dismissed this, believing that Duke Guillen Chorche Luys Etxeto was more than capable of handling the economic affairs of his own county. Trade was already flourishing under his guidance.
In September, the Pope passed away and the Holy See went about choosing a successor. Despite controlling seven cardinals in the Holy See and being one of the strongest advocates of the Church, a French pope was chosen, Clemens IX. It was rumoured that the Hispanian court’s continued debate on tolerance of heretics had ruined its chances this time.
The transport fleet was quite busy now as it transported armies to Africa. The armies from Athens and Castilla La Vieja were being shipped to Africa, and the army that had been stationed in Nueva Granada was recalled to Africa. It was only a matter of time now.
The financial boost from the Crown paid off, allowing Montevideo to flourish. The colony had reached a position of self-sufficiency, despite its setbacks. It’d be the pride of the Lübecker family. ((
@wzhang29, you now get the extra VP from the colony. You can rename it if you want too.)) Colonist Miguel Villanova, hearing of its success, opted to start working on another colony, this time in Fernando Po for the Modena-Orsini family.
Conquistador Leon apprehended more whiskey thieves in February of 1563. So many men in his expedition seemed to have a drinking problem. Nonetheless, he needed to keep morale up and just hope it didn’t interfere with his goal.
As the kingdom grew, it became more incredibly difficult to properly govern all the land. The Crown’s resources were overextended. If there was to be any hope of keeping this growing realm in line, an effective administration would need to be designed. The king started looking to the court to help solve this dilemma. ((We can now become an administrative monarchy. I will elaborate on the process more later.))
In the meantime, five carracks were placed under construction in Sardinia and Sicily. These heavy ships would prove a great benefit to protecting Hispania’s overseas territory.
By April, the final preparations were made for war with Mali. Generals Wolfgang Oliver Lübecker and Niccolo Limmona were placed in command of the two armies already in Africa. Another under the command of General Cesar Miguel de Montcada was on its way, but made a pit stop in Fernando Po. The natives had been terrorizing the colonists, although no one had been hurt yet. Hispania wasn’t taking chances this time. The natives were wiped out to ensure the colony remained safe. With that done, General Montcada was shipped on to the West African colonies.
Bohemia’s hold on the imperial crown finally ended. With the previous Bohemian Empress being a Habsburg, it was decided by the electors that the male line in Austria should take over. Bohemia was no longer ruled by a Habsburg, but they were no longer emperor either.
Scouts from Mali reported that the African state had almost 34k troops, although their manpower was all but gone. Its ally Oyo was much less at 6k men. As for Mali’s other allies and its vassals, the people of Hispania had never heard of them, so surely they could not be a threat. Hispania had an obligation to save the people of Gabu who had embraced the true faith and now suffered under heathen rule. A holy war would be declared to liberate them and crush the heathens under Hispania’s heel.
Hispania’s navy engaged a small Mali trade fleet off the coast of Gabu. Faced with more than ten times the number of ships, Mali had no chance. All their ships were sunk, securing the coast for Hispania.
The three armies immediately moved into Mali’s territory. Focus was given on Gabu and the surrounding provinces. As the land was captured, Mali snuck an army up through the south into Beafada. After General Limmona captured Wolof, he moved south to block off any potential retreat. Once Gabu and neighbouring Kantor were taken, a three-pronged attack was launched. Faced with the full might of Hispania’s forces in Africa, Mali stood no chance. Their entire army of 17k men was wiped out to the man. The way east was clear, for now.
Another victory was obtained at sea as Mali’s remaining navy was forced to sea with the fall of Gabu. All ships were sunk with ease. With that loss, it was believed that the enemy forces had no ships left. The navy under Admiral Juan de Porcelli headed east to blockade Oyo’s coast and keep them from constructing ships to harass Hispania with.
While this was all going on, the devout Catholics within Hispania achieved a major victory. Heresy had been eradicated from Draguignan in little over a year. Clearly this heresy must be a farce if its followers gave it up so easily?
The generals had expected an easy conquest of western Mali before more troops showed up, but that proved false. After arriving in Futa Jallon, an army of 19k men attacked Limmona’s position. The other two generals were still nearby and intervened as soon as they heard of the attack. Mali faced devastating losses, although Hispania lost some good men from early in the attack.
With that victory, the three generals agreed to push further east to better chart the unexplored lands of Mali to ensure no more surprise attacks occurred. Mali’s capital of Joma was expected to be nearby, an important target. Hispania also now had some help. Galicia landed a single regiment in Beafada, just as General Montcada caught an enemy regiment unawares. Limmona managed to capture Futa Jallon and headed north to take Galam and close off the gap. Bambuk and Bure soon followed. Montcada went straight for the capital, since he had more artillery suited for a siege, while Lübecker tried to hold down the land just to the west. He’d be close enough to reinforce if something went wrong.
More reinforcements showed up as first the Knights and then Byzantium landed troops in Beafada. Their help was greatly appreciated. Together they would all show these heathens their place. The Knights would carry out their holy duty and the Greeks would show the might of their Empire. Mali was doomed.
After much hardship, Conquistador Leon was brutally murdered by hostile natives in his quest to find El Dorado. The quest had ended in horror and left the expedition without a leader. With no one to lead them, the expedition force began the long march all the way to Nueva Granada. ((Sorry about this
@zenphoenix, but you’ll have to make a new character. There are only so many times I can save the conquistadors with their low life expectancies.
))
7k men had snuck by into Bure, followed by 17k attacking the siege army in Joma. Lübecker immediately turned around from trying to head north to provide aid and Limmona headed east once Tekrur had fallen. They all arrived in time to push back the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties. With that victory achieved. Limmona returned west and Lübecker went north. They wanted to close off the west, especially since a fort was rumoured to be just north of their position.
France had not stopped its expansion at Brittany. War was declared on Avignon this time. This one was a bit tenser, since it would extend the border with France near Hispania’s conquered territory in Provence.
A small army of some strange African tribe helping Mali was eradicated when it managed to get in the way of Lübecker and Limmona. Once they were dealt with and Wagadu secured, Lübecker moved north to take out the fort in the region. Limmona continued to secure the west by claiming Brakna and Tagant.
In August of 1564, Joma had fallen, meaning Mali’s capital was now under Hispania’s control. The king did not celebrate this victory for long, for shortly after that event his second son Prince Enric passed away. The man, in his mid-twenties, had come down with some dreadful illness that eventually claimed his life. King Alfons VII went into mourning, while Queen Caterina did her best to help care for her now fatherless grandkids. This also left a slight dilemma since the young widow, Chloe de Valois, was now a foreigner out of her element with no husband and children who were potential heirs to the throne of Hispania. She no longer had any marital ties to Hispania, but she could not be allowed to return to France while her two sons, Alfons and Gaspar, were third and fourth in line for the throne. Queen Caterina promised to find her a suitable husband, once they were all done mourning.
Talks over proposed administrative reforms were going nowhere. King Alfons VII had made it clear he would accept suggestions, but he was too distracted by the war with Mali to do anything about them. Things were only made worse by the fact that Queen Caterina did her best to ensure such suggested reforms never reached the king. Most of them she saw as direct threats to the king’s power and refused to let them get anywhere. The reputation of the king and queen in general suffered for this.
Back in Mali, Sibiridugu fell to Montcada’s forces and the general moved south to secure the land around Joma. Limmona attempted to move north to secure Segu, but Mali’s army interfered. Backed up by Byzantium and Galicia, they held their own. Lübecker and Montcada tried to come to his aid, but were unable to arrive in time. Mali used their numbers to force Limmona to retreat. His army fled to the coast to recuperate.
Fortunately, Mali’s forces were pinned down long enough for Lübecker and Montcada to swoop in before Mali could set up a defence. Weakened by the earlier battle, Mali suffered another defeat and was pushed further east.
Things weren’t looking good for Norway. Sweden had beaten them up yet again, forcing them to return land to Scotland.
After the recent defeat, it was decided that no army would stray too far from the others. Mali may be filled with primitives, but they had significant numbers. Thus all three armies focused on the provinces near the fort in Termes, with Limmona and his weakened army kept safest in the west.
The navy continued to receive plenty of attention. A new type of ship known as the Man of War was just being produced. These ships were dedicated solely to naval warfare. With them amongst the fleet, a sailor could feel more comfortable and morale would inevitably improve.
It was now Denmark’s turn to suffer at the hand of Sweden. They lost their island stronghold of Gotland. Sweden was on its way to being undisputed ruler of Scandinavia.
King Alfons VII was approached by a bishop regarding the issue of language and its application to law. The bishop suggested that the Crown implement a uniform system of Aragonese that could be forced upon conquered peoples, thus allowing for a more effective legal system. Queen Caterina also supported this idea as a means of assimilating potentially rebellious foreigners. King Alfons VII was not convinced though. Hispania was filled with people of many cultures from all across Southern Europe. He had witnessed the Sicilian, Sardinian, and Catalan people grow discontent with the formation of Hispania that they saw as excluding them. Perhaps they were small in number, but they were his subjects and required fair treatment, not forced assimilation through the adoption of Aragonese, which even in the capital of Valencia wasn’t as common as Catalan. He dismissed the bishop’s idea and instead decreed that the legal system be written in the languages of all his subjects, at least his European subjects. Alfons wanted Hispania to be known as a kingdom of many cultures and languages where anyone could prosper.
As January of 1565 came around, it was decided that hostilities should be ceased with Mali. All of western Mali was occupied and Hispania was losing too many men in the barren landscape of Africa. The province of Gabu would be claimed, so as to link both halves of Hispania’s African colonies, but the king felt that more was needed. Hispania controlled such a thin strip along the coastline and Mali had proven it could throw plenty of men at them if need be. If Hispania was to take their land, they’d need a buffer. Thankfully Queen Caterina’s attempts at subterfuge had paid off. Agents were in place in several of Mali’s western provinces to ensure a safe transfer of land over to Hispania. Thus Hispania claimed not only Gabu, but four more provinces further into the interior. These would bring in valuable ivory and slaves, although it was rumoured that gold could be found a bit further inland. For now though, Hispania could rejoice that it had saved its religious brethren.
The king wasn’t finished with his plans yet. The African army was to be stationed in Gabu to maintain order, with General Montcada assuming command to maintain order in the colonies. His old army was to return to Castilla La Vieja without him. General Limmona was to return to his command in Naples. General Lübecker was given other orders though. He would take a detour with the Athens army to Santa Ava in Sanchonia. There he was to ensure that Sanchonia started a colonial war with the neighbouring natives. First he had to get there. The main fleet was already on its way and the transport fleet would pick him up soon.
With the navy constantly sending ships across the Atlantic and throughout the Mediterranean, the waters wore down on the wooden bottoms of the ships. They were prone to degradation and needed to be improved. Copper was proposed as a substitute, and their addition to the bottom of ships proved incredibly effective at keeping the ships in good shape.
France finished off Avignon, raising tensions on the border. Would France want Provence next? Fortunately as long as Catherine remained on the throne, Queen Caterina could ensure relations remained positive.
With gold taken from the heathen Mali, such funds could be put to a holier purpose. Churches were placed under construction in both Calabria and Cadiz.
When Lübecker’s army reached Santa Ava, word was sent to Sanchonia to declare war on the natives of Tupiniquim. Fortunately they had recently had to put down a nasty revolt and their army was a mere two thousand men. Even Sanchonia could handle that. King Alfons VII didn’t want to take any chances. He had an ultimatum sent to the people of Tupiniquim. Either they could surrender now and allow most of their people to survive or they could fight on and face the might of Hispania. They reluctantly chose the latter. It was time that these primitive heathens were shown the light of God.
Ilheus fell by July, freeing up the army to pursue the enemy. They tried to flee into the wilderness, but they encountered hostile natives in Inhambupe that kept them tied down. Lübecker stepped in and absolutely annihilated them. Another regiment was caught when marching on their capital. While the capital was sieged, Sanchonia had managed to march over and take Barra.
In other news, despite being a small island, Fernando Po was filled with all kinds of exotic tropical wood that would fetch a good price in Europe.
By December, Rio Contas had fallen. A peace was settled in February of the following year. The entire native nation was to be annexed by Sanchonia. The natives of Tupiniquim also had a surprisingly large stash of gold, making some wonder if they knew of a source nearby. Hopefully the people of Sanchonia could squeeze that information out of them. With that done, Lübecker returned to Valencia, and the army to its position in Athens.
The recently pilfered gold taken from the natives of Tupiniquim was soon put to good use. A textile manufactory was produced in Teruel. It would provide clothing and other woolen goods for all of Iberia, ideally.
The Trans-Atlantic Trade Company was finding itself forced to deal with changing circumstances. Despite the acquisition of more land in West Africa, the African nations were more hesitant to trade with a potential aggressor. Other Europeans had also started to make a presence in the region, with Portuguese, French, and British ships and merchants operating nearby. The TATC soon found its control of trade there threatened. Once they had controlled over 50% of all trade in West Africa, but it had dropped to 43%. As trade in Africa weakened, it was the New World that took up the slack. The conquest of Tupiniquim by Sanchonia flooded more goods into the market, and the TATC’s monopoly on trade with the colonial nation meant they benefited from this most. Perhaps the New World was the key to the TATC’s future. ((Well the TATC has lost its monopoly on West Africa, at least for now, but with Sanchonia now at 10 provinces they get that one instead. It balances out so the TATC retains its two VP bonuses.))
Presenting His Majesty, Alfons VII de Trastámara, King of Hispania & Galicia, and Protector of the Greeks & the Knights.
Well that will teach those heathens a good lesson. Our colonial empire continues to grow and the wealth it brings Hispania is truly wondrous. We live in prosperous times.
The recent wars have distracted us from our more stately duties. We had intended to seek administrative reform for some time, but it has been neglected for too long. We beseech our court to offer us suggestions as to how best reform the government to best administer this ever-expanding realm.
We also need guidance on the best course of action for this kingdom. The Venetians have yet again expanded their navy, this time to over a hundred ships. Perhaps it is time we combat this threat and create the world’s largest navy. Or perhaps we should focus on colonization. Our presence in the southern tip of South America is small. Perhaps we can expand our lands there. Then again, would not expansion at home be better? The heathens of North Africa have grown uninterrupted ever since we claimed Fez decades ago. Perhaps it is time we continue the Reconquista and show the heathens our faith is superior.
As for these concerns regarding the Inquisition, I will consider them at length at a later time.
((Lots to do this time around. As mentioned earlier in the update, we’ve unlocked administrative monarchy. I’ve set this iAAR up so that this type of monarchy means a reform of the administrative. If we choose to adopt it, everyone will have a chance to propose quasi-constitution reforms (can’t have an actual constitution since it’s not a constitutional monarchy). I’ll get into more detail on it once we vote on actually adopting the new government type, but we’ll basically have a giant proposal session where people can draft up reforms for the government that can change such things as the Council, Cortz, and really anything that has to do with the administration. There will be restrictions, such as not being able to alter the king’s power (yet again because it’s not a constitutional monarchy), but that will all be mentioned after the vote. While the ministers propose plans, we’ll have a vote to see if people actually want to change governments. It should be noted that after the drafting process we will have a vote on which set of reforms to adopt, and if none are adopted the king will merely make the current Council a formal body and put set council terms down in law. Anyway, on we go.
As eluded to, we have a new mission to pick. For some reason one of them is to own a province in the La Plata region, but we’ve technically done that already so I’m not sure how that works. Since I want to vote on the government type as soon as possible, I will include the mission vote with this too. An image of them will be provided below. This vote will run concurrent with the time given for ministers to post their plans and for everyone to post laws. It should be noted that if anyone proposes a law or a minister’s plan is objected to, we will have a second vote after the one for the government type and mission is completed. I just need to get that out of the way first to allow time for the drafting process. This vote and the time to propose plans and laws will last until
Wednesday at 9am PST. For the votes, please
bold them and include your character’s name and class. Here is the vote:
Government Type:
Administrative/Feudal/Abstain
Mission:
Naval Race/Colonization/Reconquista/Abstain
Pensioners:
@TJDS
@GreatUberGeek
Dying:
@Morgan McCloud ))
