1598-1601 – Iberia
The first year of King Pere V’s reign was relatively quiet. The man was adjusting to his new position and often looked to his council for guidance. Unfortunately, the kingdom still lacked a decent chancellor and Prince Marti’s presence was sorely missed. When word reached Hispania of Morocco’s continued expansion into the heart of Africa, as well as their press against Hispania’s African colonies, the king was unsure how to respond. Mali followed suit and expanded alongside them. Hispania’s African possessions seemed at risk.
Colonies elsewhere were flourishing though. Rio de Janeiro was now bringing in a tidy profit through trade and no longer needed the guidance of Colonist Miguel Villanova. The man headed much further east, continuing the colonization process of the island of Madagascar, focusing on Boina for now.
An opening in the military needed to be filled and a middle-aged man from the colonies was hired to provide guidance of recruitment efforts. His ideas would hopefully boost the army’s manpower.
The late king’s efforts to win over the natives of Cusco had left the kingdom in debt, but by September the kingdom was in the green once more.
Denmark’s position in Europe had been in decline ever since Sweden had risen up and contested their dominance of Scandinavia. Beset from all sides, the kingdom soon found itself reduced to a rump state. Eventually their luck gave out and the royal family went extinct, the crown passing to the ruler of the Palatinate.
As the end of the year approached, King Pere realized he needed a show of strength to show his capabilities and that he was fit to rule. The religious troubles had prevented the late Marti’s plans to conquer Portugal from happening, but such issues were not as troublesome now. The time to strike was now. Armies in Iberia were shuffled around and the transport fleet was ordered to Cadiz to pick up General Matthias de Saint-Pierre and his army to head for Nuevas Baleares. All the heavy ships of the main fleet followed behind to ensure their protection, for the transports were vulnerable out at sea.
Even as plans were set in motion, the constant costs of maintaining such a strong trade presence were becoming more obvious. Another merchant had gone bankrupt and both Treasurer Ferdinant de Almeria and Grandmaster Santoros Hashem agreed to bail him out. It was fortunate the Crown could afford such things.
The first success of the exploration missions paid off as Explorer Lorenzo da Lusari was the first European to chart the Western Indian Ocean. When his ships had finished restocking in Menabe, he headed out again to chart the coastline.
With war on the horizon, Marshal Niccolo Limmona began a recruitment drive, boosting the size of the army stationed in Barcelona to 12k men. When recruitment was done, it was sent west to meet up with General Hernando Francisco de Leon and his army near Lisboa.
With the Alexandria fleet having been used for the exploration missions, Grand Admiral Juan de Porcelli ordered the construction of eight new early frigates to replace them.
When all preparations were complete in June of 1599, war was finally declared on Portugal, right as Queen Francine gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
Portugal’s army in Lisboa was engaged by General Leon soon after the war began. Greatly outnumbered and with no notable leadership, they were easily routed and the capital opened to siege.
Over in Central America, Itza was expanding greatly at the expense of the Aztecs and the confederation of natives that existed on their border. This seemed a distant event in Hispania, but it would have greater relevance than first thought.
Lusari finished charting the coastline of the Western Indian Ocean, with his next task to chart the waters and coastline of the Arabian Sea, a region of the world that might be more relevant as several nations expanded greatly at their neighbours’ expense. Both Yemen and Najd seemed formidable.
By November, General Saint-Pierre had managed to occupy Portugal’s island colonies in the Caribbean, securing them for now. Portugal still had land in Mexico, his next target.
Savoy was setting itself up as a contender for Italian dominance, wiping Lucca off the map and securing more of a coastline. Genoa was now isolated and Tuscany was being pressed in.
As Saint-Pierre landed in Mexico and encountered another army besieging Portugal’s colony, Hispania was made aware of Portugal’s second war with the Tlapanec people, who ruled over most of the nations in the region. The neighbouring Potonac people already had their country occupied by Portugal, but these natives managed to take Portugal’s tiny colony before Hispania could intervene. Saint-Pierre headed north instead to occupy the more established colonies next.
Both the colonies of Mahe and Sergipe became self-sustaining in February of 1600. King Pere decided to intervene in colonial matters this time and requested a Crown colony be established in Coro, linking the two halves of Nueva Granada.
Lisboa fell in mid-February, sealing Portugal’s fate. Negotiations were stalled, for the king wanted Portugal’s colonies too. The matter was made more difficult by the foreign occupation of the one colony and the disappearance of the Portuguese royal family.
The heathens of Tunis were caught in the Baleares trying to undermine the island’s defences and prepare the way for a potential invasion. It was clear Tunis had their eyes on the island, but no one was sure when they would strike.
By the end of March, Portugal’s Mexican colonies were occupied, but they still had an army pestering the Central Americans. The decision was made for Saint-Pierre to track them down and perhaps aid the natives in their war. If they settled a peace, the last Portuguese colony would be free to claim.
The eruption of Huaynaputina in the Peruvian mountains caused widespread famine and greatly hindered the colony of San Dionisio. The people of Cusco though helped the settlers during the troubled time and in exchange many European trade goods were given to the people. The decision to trade with them was already improving relations. Colonist Miguel Villanova was even recalled from Boina to set up a colony in nearby Nazca.
Portugal’s army was spotted trying to sneak through the wilderness, but Saint-Pierre was quick to prevent their escape back to their colonies. He ambushed them in Guachichil, removing that threat. The Portuguese were especially offended by this attack, blaming Hispania for leaving them vulnerable to the savages to the south. They denounced Hispania, claiming they were no longer friends. Most in Hispania wondered why they didn’t realize that earlier.
Portugal’s fleet had been sneaking around the Caribbean, interfering with the trade between Hispania and its colonies. Nueva Granada finally lured them out and the Hispanian fleet pounced. Portugal fled before the battle progressed further and the fleet chased them all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. There they were dashed against the coastline.
Some dissent at court saw disagreement with the king’s policies. Rumours pointed out how the council was nearly half empty and that other ministers seemed to barely do their duties. King Pere took this this criticism in and considered a way to make his council more active. In an attempt to show his capabilities, he attempted to ratify the first maritime laws, as well as coordinated with Viceroy Ferrante Peralta to raise the income coming in from Nuevas Baleares. It was a good distraction for him, for his baby daughter had fallen ill and passed away.
It seemed that the Portuguese war would not go any further and a peace needed to be settled. King Pere demanded what remained of Portugal’s territory in Iberia, as well as their Mexican colonies, excluding the one held by the neighbouring natives. Their Caribbean colonies were given to Nuevas Baleares.
Iberia had finally been unified under Hispanian rule, although others argued that the Canaries needed to be reclaimed still. This came at a great cost to Portugal. With all their land taken, their government went into exile to the only Portuguese territory left: the colony of Tamaulipas. The colony had roughly 700 people and was still occupied. With their country in ruins, they had no choice by to give in to Tlapanec’s demands. The Tlapanec people had seen the strength of the Europeans and wanted to learn more about their ways. Portugal was forced into vassalage, another member of their confederation, in exchange for their knowledge. Of course the less than a thousand settlers knew little, but it was more than enough for Tlapanec. The whole situation was the talk of every European court, how a once proud kingdom had been forced from the continent and enslaved by savages.
Lusari stopped in Mahe after finishing charting the Arabian Sea. He had managed to explore the coast of India, revealing the elusive subcontinent. Still, he wondered what lay further east. He thus set out to explore the Eastern Indian Ocean.
The people of Cusco reached out to Hispania in the early summer of 1601. Trade was profitable and relations good after recent events. The Cuscoan people felt threatened by their neighbours though and recognized the strength of Hispania. They asked for protection and the court would have to decide whether to offer it.
France had waited patiently for Hispania’s war to end, for they had more plans for conquest. This time they wished to conquer Alsace. While most of its allies were not that significant, the heretic Emperor would be called in and most likely his allies of Aachen and Bohemia. It was time to honour their alliance again, if the court desired. Pere wanted to get the court’s opinion on the matter, especially as he presented a major reform for the council.
Speaking of France, an heir to throne was born as Catherine de’ Medici’s daughter Claude, who was married to a distant Valois cousin, gave birth to a son, settling succession for now.
Presenting His Majesty, Pere V de Trastámara, King of Hispania and Protector of the Greeks & the Knights.
It is good to see all of Iberia now under our rule, to see Hispania do so well. I admit I am shocked by the fate of Portugal, for I had hoped to bring them into our kingdom. It seems God has other plans.
We have several matters to consider. France requires our aid again, or rather wants it for surely they could easily handle most threats. Their desire to expand east is strong, but should we continue to encourage it? There is also the matter of Cusco. They request our protection from their neighbours and we should consider whether or not it is worth getting involved in such distant politics for the sake of trade.
I also wish to announce a change to the council. I feel that while it has served past kings admirably and provided them with solid advice, I feel it lacks cohesion. It needs someone to guide it, to coordinate the various ministers. I thus wish to create the position of prime minister, or first minister if you will, for he shall serve above all other ministers. The prime minister shall serve as the head of the council, appointing each individual minister in my stead. He may also take up a position if he wishes to. His main purpose though will be to ensure the council is filled with those most capable of guiding me and the kingdom. I admit I am unsure who to appoint to such a position. I shall need time to consider such a candidate.
((Time to explain a few changes to the rules then. For awhile now I’ve felt that the council has lacked the player involvement it should, with people mostly taking up positions for VP and doing minimal work. I’m hoping this will change things. With the position of prime minister and his ability to appoint most ministers, this changes the dynamic. Now the players have the power to influence who ends up in each position, either by working with the prime minister or attempting to persuade the king. I’m hoping this encourages factions or alliances as players manoeuvre to get appointed to such positions. I also wish to change merchants a bit, since the current system is a bit too confusing and messy. I will no longer allow members of a trading company to fill the crown merchant slots as long as they have a free merchant from their own monopolies. Members of trading companies may still just take the free VP bonus or use it to serve as a merchant, but not both. So in regards to the recent application, KF25 will be made a crown merchant and Dreumel will now be using a TATC merchant position instead. I was considering changing VP too, but such a major change will be held off unless needed. I am probably going to lower the VP estate bonus because it’s nearly doubling the amount of VP.
This is how the council reform will work. The king appoints a prime minister. That person then appoints all other ministers. They may choose whoever they want for each position, although the old restrictions still apply, so only one position per person or two positions if they’re related. The prime minister may also claim any one position for his own. The chamberlain will still be appointed by the Cortz, the court chaplain is going to be chosen by the cardinals, and the spymaster will still be appointed by the king to maintain privacy. I’m also making it so that anyone in those three positions can claim any second position, since they’re separate from the rest based on how they’re appointed. A player may also hold any number of viceroy titles as long as they’re for the same type of nation (colonial, vassal, PU partners). I’m also going to include the chamberlain in the small council from now on. The king or prime minister may only fire one minister per turn and only with each other’s consent, otherwise a vote is required. The court may object to any appointment and call for a vote against it except in the case of the prime minister. The king may fire the prime minister with the consent of the court. The king will fill any position left vacant or replace ministers not performing their duties, that is until the prime minister picks a replacement. Whenever a new king takes over, the entire council is fired and a new prime minister is hired with the task of replacing the ministers.
Wow, that was a mouthful. I hope it wasn’t too overwhelming. Anyway, I will give players the chance to put themselves forward to serve as the new prime minister. I won’t be appointing them until later, upon which point the PM may choose to keep the current council or appoint entirely new ministers. For now, the current ministers have until
Thursday at 12PM PST to post plans. Players may also present laws or reforms in that time.
Pensioners:
@Supergrej
Dying:
@Luqueasaur
@cheif bearpaw))