1657-1661 – The Price of Tolerance
1657 marked the creation of the Church of Jesus Christ. All Christian faiths were brought under one church in cooperation for a brighter future. While unanimously supported at court, it was less well received elsewhere. Every single Christian state, including Byzantium, expressed great displeasure at this unnatural decision made by Hispania. Hispania’s international reputation was greatly damaged. It was the pope who took the news the worst. His warning had been ignored and still Hispania went against his wishes. He had no choice but to excommunicate Emperor Ferran V and all his Catholic subjects. His Holiness even went so far as to proclaim the emperor the antichrist and force all the Hispanian cardinals out of the Holy See. Suddenly cut off from the Church in Rome, the many Catholics of the empire grew disgruntled. They rose up in the thousands, intent on rectifying the mistake made by the court. The emperor was forced to respond with force.
With one zealot army right next to the capital in Teruel, Emperor Ferran ordered all Iberian armies to Valencia. He charged Generals Louis François de Montségur and Gaston Jacques de Saint-Pierre with eradicating the armies in Iberia. Admiral João de Maia was tasked with retrieving the Exercit Africa from Tlemcen to aid their efforts. Over in Italy, General Marti de Leon marched south from Provence to bolster the Exercit Napoli until such a time as they could overcome the rebels in Naples. As for Athens, the Exercit Athens had been stationed in Mentese at the time to aid Byzantium against any rebels. Now General Demetrios Madromenos was to march just north of the city and wait for Greek reinforcements.
As though mocking Hispania, the pope requested military access again. Emperor Ferran did not even deign to reply.
As chaos reigned on the continent, the colonists in Sanchonia started to organize, taking greater control of the colony’s affairs.
When all four armies had arrived in Valencia, the two generals were ordered straight to Teruel, even before the armies could properly prepare. The emperor was terrified that these zealots would storm the palace if they entered Valencia. Even as Montségur and Saint-Pierre engaged the enemy, the emperor made his way to the Baleares, the traditional sanctuary for the royal family when trouble plagued the mainland. Crown Prince Alfons remained behind in Valencia, taking up control of state affairs while his father was too frazzled to do anything. Even after the two general crushed the rebel force, the emperor refused to return to Valencia until all the rebels in Iberia were dealt with. They had already managed to capture La Mancha, Alentejo, and Cantabria, while the rebels in the east were just as successful.
Even with these rebellions in full force, Marshal Montségur sent out orders while marching across Iberia to go ahead with his earlier proposed army expansion. The new recruits could greatly bolster the ranks of the various armies. Six regiments of infantry and four of artillery were the first to be recruited as Montségur and Saint-Pierre engaged the army occupying La Mancha. The men faced less success this time, suffering several thousand casualties, and half the enemy army scattered to the countryside. With the threat gone, these zealots were let go as the armies marched on north to Cantabria.
Great Britain decided it was time to remove the Scottish nuisance, declaring war with the intent to subjugate the Scottish people. Scotland only had Sweden to back it up, so it seemed unlikely they’d get out of this unscathed.
Over in Greece, Byzantium sent in its army to take out the rebels in Athens alongside General Madromenos. The Greeks took the brunt of the damage, but half the enemy army was killed with the rest scattering to the four winds. Half the rebel threat was gone now. To help raise funds to help fight this rebellion, Crown Prince Alfons raised tariffs on tea from Nuevo Leon.
The next rebel army to face the wrath of Montségur and Saint-Pierre was the one in Cantabria. It had moved over into Vizcaya, hoping to draw the support of the pro-Catholic Duke Etxeto. Instead they found themselves beset by thousands of Hispanian soldiers. Many perished, but many others escaped. Now for the final rebel force in Iberia, which was attempting to besiege to fort in Lisboa.
While this was all going on, the Church of Jesus Christ had its first success. Despite the idealism of the court, many people were hesitant to outright accept this new church. With the backing of the Crown, the first province to have a majority of its people accept this new idea was Tarragona. The Crown focused its efforts on Crown lands and provinces held by the Trastámara family, since the emperor was careful not to push for the adoption of this new church in lands held by some of the more prominent nobility until they endorsed it. Even with this success, many still preached following a single faith over this unified church, with the Crown doing little about it.
Recruitment efforts continued with another three infantry and two artillery regiments recruited. Another group had been recruited earlier in Italy to aid the armies in Naples.
With a significant portion of the population up in arms, the empire experienced a grain shortage due to less people working the fields. People directed their anger at the merchants who they felt were overcharging. Crown Prince Alfons was more concerned with ensuring everyone was fed. He emptied the treasury to purchase grain from abroad to feed the people, much to their gratitude. Unfortunately, this did not go as planned. The emperor, hearing of this crisis, ordered the army to hand out supplies from its own stores. Depleted of supplies, the armies in Naples were suddenly attacked by rebels. The supplies were immediately sent back and a loan had to be taken out to cover the costs. As for the armies in Naples, the arrival of reinforcements bolstered their cause. General Leon was able to push back the assault and crush the rebel force, but at a terrible cost. ((I tried to raise our monthly income just high enough to cover the cost by lowering army maintenance temporarily so we wouldn’t get a loan, but the rebels attacked just at that moment. Oh well, fits with our foppish emperor.
))
Over in Iberia, the last rebel force was attacked in Lisboa. The overwhelming Hispanian numbers led to a rebel defeat, ending the last zealot threat. All the occupied provinces were reclaimed and the armies returned to their stations. The emperor made a somewhat humble return to Valencia, doing his best not to acknowledge the fact he had fled the city months earlier.
The next few months were spent ensuring the extra recruitments were sent to the corresponding armies in Provence, Napoli, Athens, and Africa. This expansion of the army also caused some fiscal issues. Court advisor Abdallah Lahsini, who had done greatly to expand and sustain the massive Hispanian army, warned that the empire was supporting more regiments than it should. Some even speculated that the situation would be even worse if Lahsini wasn’t there to manage things. The treasury was taking in less income than it had in years, although it still had a sizeable surplus. Wanting to ensure there were enough men to sustain the army, recruitment efforts were carried out in Tarragona.
Far to the east, Genoa expanded its position by taking land from Gazikumukh. The former Italian nation was doing much better in its new home.
In April, the loan taken out to help pay for grain for the peasantry was paid off. This was just in time, for state expenses grew even greater as the Crown tried to sustain four colonies at once. Coupled with the added army expenses, the state was taking in roughly 14 ducats a month at full army maintenance. Despite this being much higher than most nations could dream of, Emperor Ferran found it unacceptable and announced that Hispania would return to funding three colonies at a time after the current ones were handled.
In June of 1658, France declared war on Savoy. They had laid claim to the entire nation, wanting to greatly expand their eastern border. The Papal State came to Savoy’s defence, but France had nothing to worry about.
As one war started, another came to an end. Munster found itself dismantled, handing over five provinces to East Frisia.
Africa also saw some changes. Ajuuraan failed to recover from being ganged up on by their neighbours, losing a war to Yemen and several provinces in the process. Closer to home, Tunis decided that sending in spies to claim Hispania land wasn’t enough. Now they were actively trying to steal technology and ideas for the empire to become more westernized.
In October, France asked for Hispania’s assistance against Savoy. Chancellor Petros Mandromenos had expressed a desire to support all allies in war, but the Cortz was required to sign off on any offensive efforts. However, Emperor Ferran felt that France could well handle things on its own, what with nearly 100k men in Savoy at the moment. The fact that the Papal State was involved in the war was a plus. The emperor wanted revenge for his excommunication. Thus he answered the call-to-arms and had the Exercit Valencia sail for Italy.
The pope apparently wasn’t too pleased with Hispania still, launching an attack on the Exercit Napoli nearly the moment Hispania joined the war. The arrival of General Montségur and the Exercit Valencia turned things in Hispania’s favour and saw the Papal army expelled.
The death of a prominent merchant saw a great influx of wealth into the treasury. Steward Lúcia Fernanda Manuela de Maia used these new funds to complete her plan to create trade depots all across West Africa. There was still places further east to focus on, but this was a major expansion.
It was also around this time that the colony in Pontianak became self-sufficient. As the emperor had stated, no new colony was set up at this time. Funds were instead diverted towards expanding the production and supporting recruitment in Madrid, Caceres, and Syracuse.
Back in Naples, the arrival of the French army in Rome allowed the Exercit Valencia to act. The French attack proved a success, opening Rome to siege. Thus Hispania found itself at the gates of Rome yet again.
As the Exercit Valencia sat outside Rome, Austria decided to make a move on Croatia, coveting their coastline. They called upon Hispania. Emperor Ferran, fully knowing Hispania would not do a thing against Croatia, accepted to keep his ally happy. Byzantium could do all the work.
The Papal army tried to take some Hispanian land, only to have the French army and Exercit Napoli thwart that plan. That apparently took the will to fight out of the pope. A peace was signed between France and the Papal State, with only war reparations secured. Emperor Ferran was quite irate that he had been denied his chance at revenge and locked himself in his room for days. Those close to him knew it was not anger that kept him away from court from time to time. Ever since the rebellion, the emperor had not been right. He seemed distracted and tired, sometimes engaging in conversations without hearing a word being said, and he seemed overly nervous at times, jumping at any sudden sound or movement. Crown Prince Alfons took up most of the affairs of state.
With the Papal State out of the war, the Exercit Valencia moved on to Parma, taking out a Savoyard army in the process. It did not take much to capture that province, with the army moving on to the fort at Montferrat. The French had already captured Novara and were swarming all over the rest of Savoy.
Over a century ago, Byzantium had been instructed to end all trade with Hispania’s rivals. Of course this was back when there were still nations that posed a threat to the empire. Over time it had come to mean any nation with which Hispania did not trade with itself, mostly due to poor relations. This lax definition led to Byzantium mostly ignoring the embargo, freely trading with its neighbours. When Emperor Ferran got word of this, he demanded that the Greeks only trade with those nations approved by Hispania. Alfons felt this was a bit harsh, but his father was insistent. This did not sit well with the young Emperor Ioannes of Byzantium, who would remember this later.
Great Britain ended its war with Scotland not with the expected outcome, deciding to just take the last Scottish province in the Isles and not subjugate them at all.
The army was in need of men to fill its ranks. At the suggestion of Crown Prince Alfons, a draft was carried out, with nearly 17k men found to join the army’s ranks. These men were recruited from all across the empire, with each noble having to contribute at least a part of the full number, which did not sit well with some of them. On the plus side, it did end the manpower problem for now.
One could have almost forgotten that Hispania was also at war with Ferrara, that is until their army captured Lucca. General Leon marched over from Provence and pushed the enemy back as they attempted to go after Genoa.
The major war between Bohemia and Poland ended in success for Bohemia. They managed to take three provinces for themselves and even gave one to their ally Pomerania. Perhaps of greatest news was the return of Tirgoviste to Wallachia, returning the fort to its former owner and removing a bit of the Polish threat on Byzantium’s border. Even though Bohemia had been the one to do this to Poland, Lithuania felt that Hispania was the greater threat. ((It should also be noted that we can now rival Lithuania, so the first nation other than France in decades. Perhaps we should take advantage of this.
))
Meanwhile, France eliminated Savoy’s army, not that that was in any doubt. With no fight left in them, Savoy settled a peace. The word actually was delivered to Hispanian court by General Montségur. The man had been besieging Montferrat when a small French army arrived and the garrison just opened their gates for them. Apparently Savoy had just handed over the province he had been besieging without it having been occupied first. Of significant note in this treaty was how many provinces were taken and how all of them were for France. The emperor had expressed great hope that his French friends would at least manage to get Parma for Hispania. No such luck. The emperor grew quite bitter after this and confined himself to his room yet again.
France’s boldness was not just in Europe. A French colony was spotted in Jamaica around the same time. While the pope had shredded up all the previous treaties made regarding Hispania’s claim to the New World, it was generally recognized that the Caribbean was Hispania’s. The fact that France so blatantly expanded in their domain was alarming. They were also expanding their colony in South America. ((
@Robban204, I know you wanted to colonize Jamaica, so you’ll have to pick somewhere else. Blame the French and their audacity to expand in our domain.))
Two months after the peace with Savoy, Austria signed a treaty with Croatia. Yet again, the emperor had hopes that perhaps Byzantium would receive a province as a sign of good faith. Austria was only concerned with securing the coastline for themselves. While this did mean that troops in Iberia could now march all the way to Byzantium by land through France and Austria, Hispania’s needs had been ignored yet again.
While Hispania had not managed to claim any land in those two wars, it could exert its power overseas. The African nation of Mutapa was convinced to hand over Angoche or face war, something they did not want. This gave Hispania a coastal fort on the African coast and opened the way to seizing more valuable ports in the future.
Austria had managed to make Croatia vulnerable, and Hungary was ready to pounce. The state had been released originally to weaken Hungary and serve as a buffer, but their fate was in jeopardy now. Austria was also still hungry and declared war on Venice for more coastline. They did not call in Hispania for this one, but they had plenty of powerful allies, from Hispania and France to Hungary, Poland, and Sweden. ((Damn, those Habsburgs have connections.
))
Ajuuraan was further dismantled, this time by Alodia and Ethiopia. Of note here was the release of Malindi as a sovereign state, placing a tiny single-province state on the border of Hispania’s East African colonies.
The rest of the year went fairly smoothly. Efforts to set up the Church of Jesus Christ had met with success, with its adoption in central and southern Iberia thanks to Crown efforts. All was set for the empire to accept this tolerant church if they were open to it. Its success also entrenched the idea of dialogue between Christians. Christians now got along throughout all of Hispania.
Some merchants in the New World struggled to remain competitive, but they were shown no quarter. They had to survive on their own to ensure only the best traded for Hispania.
At the start of 1661, a new design for improved galleys known as chebecks were designed. The main fleet was immediately placed in the dry docks to outfit all galleys with these improvements. The army was not ignored either. Muskets were now attached with bayonets to remove the use of pikes, allowing for greater firepower.
The colony in Uruguay reached completion and Colonist Eduard Villanova was permitted to fulfill a contract for the Montségur family, settling a colony in Yuin.
Nova Hispania took an initiative to secure its borders by declaring war on Itza. Crown Prince Alfons offered his support to the colonial nation’s expansive efforts against the Aztec and Mayan tribes. Emperor Ferran did not get involved in the matter, for he had become bed ridden around this time.
It did not come as a surprise to many when Emperor Ferran V passed away at the start of March. His son ascended to the throne as Emperor Alfons VIII de Trastámara at the age of 31, his young son Joan his heir. His wife had just given birth a month before to another son, Pere, so his succession was quite secure.
The funeral of Ferran V and coronation of Alfons VIII brought two important figures to Hispania, both with issues to be addressed by the court. The first was Apu Sayri Tupac I Hanan, ruler of Cusco. For the past several decades, his nation had enjoyed peace and prosperity under the protection of Hispania. More recently, a mingling of cultures and ideas had been exchanged between Cusco and the nearby Hispanian colonies. Before attending the funeral and coronation, Apu Sayri travelled across Iberia, witnessing the splendours of Hispania. The difference between there and his home was quite stark. He and his people had witnessed such wonders from Hispania and many had believed that they would benefit more under Hispanian rule. Thus the ruler of Cusco came to Hispania court with the proposal that Cusco become a formal part of the Hispanian empire. This would involve a merger with some nearby Hispanian colonies, but the two were close anyway. They only requested that their name be kept. This idea had its merits, but was it worth allowing heathen savages to become citizens of the empire?
The second important guest was Emperor Ioannes IX of Byzantium. His tidings were much less pleasant. The past few years had done much to embitter the Greek people. First they had had to watch as Hispania abandoned the Church, followed by being dragged into more wars, in which one they carried the full weight for Hispania. When Hispania then forced Byzantium to cut off trade with certain nations, tension bubbled over. Many Greek nobles forced the emperor to act, and now he was here to plead his people’s case. In particular, he and his people wanted one thing: for Hispania to stop meddling in Byzantium’s internal affairs. While the matter of being allowed to trade freely with others was brought up, the main issue resolved around religion. Stories of the instability and rebellions that followed Byzantium’s conversion to Catholicism were widespread even today. Many feared that Hispania, having now adopted a new religion of sorts, would then force this Church of Jesus Christ upon Byzantium as they had done with Catholicism. Emperor Ioannes made one simple request: Hispania must promise to let Catholicism remain the state religion in Byzantium and not change that. Granting this request would surely please them, but wasn’t it better to push for tolerance even if it displeased the Greek people? Either way, the future was sure to be interesting.
Presenting His Imperial Highness, Alfons VIII de Trastámara, Emperor of Hispania, Caesar of Rome, and Protector of the Greeks. ((Diligent, Content, Impatient))
I will greatly mourn the passing of my father. Despite his flaws, he did love Hispania and desired nothing more than to see it prosper. I’m afraid though that matters of state do not wait for grieving to end.
The most pressing concerns obviously involve Cusco and Byzantium. I admit I do not know much about the Cuscoans, so I cannot be certain what the consequences of accepting their offer could mean. I would defer to the Montségur family on such things, for they have had close ties with the natives there. As for Byzantium, it would be best to resolve this quickly or risk angering the Greeks. I do not know if it would be better to allow the Greeks to continue practicing Catholicism without interference or if it would be better in the long run to extend our policies of tolerance to their lands.
I also fear that we may well have to deal with France’s expansionism in the near future. My father was blinded by his love of the French and overlooked how much of a threat they pose to our colonies if they keep expanding nearby. Their recent conquest of Savoy may also be a portent of things to come in Europe.
There are also matters of religion to discuss. The Church of Jesus Christ is starting to settle in and I hope that the nobles of this empire help it along. The clergy have been so busy with the administration of this new body that they have partially neglected the spiritual. Perhaps the court can suggest possible objectives for this new church.
((At least Ferran didn’t die at the start of the update.
Anyway, time to explain those two custom events at the end. The one about Cusco clearly has to do with whether or not we want them to be a formal part of our empire, another event in alscon’s event chain. The Byzantium one will settle the religious future of that empire. As for our own religion, there are some things to do. Since we do not have a court chaplain, I will let the court vote on our first church aspect. I will provide an image of existing ones, although anyone is free to propose custom ones as long as they aren’t overpowered. Also we might want to rename existing ones if they don’t fit, like deporting heretics for boosting colonial growth. I’d also like any nobles to confirm whether they will assist the efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ or stick to one faith within their holdings. Seeing as I can no longer freely convert provinces, although I have been since we have no court chaplain, I feel it best to receive the approval of any noble before converting their land. Remember that the in-game religion represents the free worship of all Christian faiths rather than worshipping a single one. Also we have another merchant, but I forgot where he was placed before, so back to Tunis he went. I always put them there until told otherwise.
I also need to mention that now that we’re using a custom religion, the save file may not be quite as accurate. You can still load it up without the mod, but the country will have no religion and every other religion will be heathen, so that might impact things like income or revolt risk. I’m going to include the updated mod files on the table of contents, which I’ve neglected for too long. If anyone wants a more accurate representation of the save, just use the mod. I’ve also decided that from now on I’m going to include a world map of provinces we can colonize instead of posting a separate collection of terrible screenshots of potential colonies. While you won’t be able to see names anymore, not that they were very legible before, you can still designate regions to colonize in. If you want specific names, feel free to ask for a close-up screenshot.
As for minister plans, ministers should post those by
Monday at 12PM PST. Players may propose laws and amendments during that time period, as well as any church aspect they want or any new ones they’d like to propose.
Pensioners:
@DragonOfAtlantis
Dying:
@gamehappy
@KF25
))
