1667-1671 – The Council of Rome
The Council of Rome took centre stage in Europe for the following months. Hispania’s diplomatic team worked around the clock to reach a resolution that would appease the major powers involved. It was agreed that the Pope would be allowed to continue as a spiritual leader of the Catholic Church but be divorced from his position as secular leader of the Papal State to remove claims that Hispania was using the current circumstance to manipulate and control the Church. This was still somewhat contested, but Chancellor Almaden Hashem and his team negotiated with the various powers to win their consent. France offered their support in exchange for Hispania revoking its claims on Savoy as well as possible future negotiations over the Caribbean. Austria consented once Hispania agreed to aid their cause to bring religious freedom to the Holy Roman Empire, reviving the old Catholic League in the process. Sweden was convinced to change their mind after Hispania agreed to pursue a future war with Poland and possibly sign an alliance at a later date. As for the rest, Poland’s demands proved too high and Lithuania was considered a lost cause. Hispania left the Council with the backing of a majority of the powers, allowing them to get away with vassalizing the Papal State, although Hispania was forced to concede that the Papal State could not be drawn into any wars on its behalf. Poland and Lithuania were not deterred though and started a coalition against Hispania. They would not stand by in the face of Hispanian aggression.
While the Council of Rome was going on, the Church of Jesus Christ was instituting changes to help better cater to the people and bring them under the unified faith. Bibles were translated into local dialects and distributed across the empire. Sacraments were also adopted, drawing from all the Christian faiths, to help instill discipline amongst the faithful.
Hispania had been eyeing up India for some time and plans were drafted up for a potential invasion either of Ceylon or Venad. Bahmanis took objection to Hispania’s claim to the region, but what could they do about it?
Expansion to the navy continued on like usual, with five more heavy ships and five more galleys added to the navy by Grand Admiral Dietrich Vinzent Lübecker.
With the Council of Rome mostly a success, Hispania could start looking elsewhere. A transport fleet under command of Admiral João de Maia headed down the coast of Africa to retrieve the colonial army for a planned war against Ceylon. It’d take some time to get there.
Serbia’s cause for freedom was further supported by Bohemia and the Mamluks. The chancellery felt out whether Serbia would be interested in Hispania’s help, but it seemed Serbia wasn’t that desperate. ((Turns out Serbia won’t accept us supporting their independence even if we wanted to.))
With the revival of the Catholic League to allow Catholics equal rights in the HRE, other states were drawn to the cause. In less than a month, France, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, and a few other minor states joined the league. All the major powers surrounding the HRE had joined in this cause, bringing them together again after the Council of Rome.
Despite the unity of Catholics, the coalition was destined to grow. Venice joined shortly after its creation, not that they were much of a threat. Genoa, at the behest of Lithuania and with hopes of weakening Byzantium, joined as well.
Even as the religious landscape of Europe changed, the colonial empire of Hispania only grew and prospered. Money coming in from the colonies was reaching unprecedented levels.
In June, Ferrara requested military access, possibly as a means of outmaneuvering Tuscany and Lucca. Despite the desire of conquering the region, Emperor Alfons authorized granting the request, for letting them continue to fight things out amongst each other benefited Hispania.
July brought a great surprise to all of Catholic Europe. While no one was surprised to see Bohemia place its backing behind the Protestant emperor Brandenburg, it was a shock to many to hear that Lithuania was now supporting the Protestants. The decision reeked of hypocrisy, for they had chastised Hispania for going against the Church even as they joined against the Catholic League. There was no doubt this was fuelled by a hatred for Sweden, who had joined the Catholics.
Perhaps these recent events had had some impact on the religious state of Hispania, for less and less people were looking to the clergy for advice. Their power was waning.
The war in Italy wound down as Tuscany came out victorious. They connected more of their lands together by taking Ferrara. Lucca, in their own war, ended Ferrara’s independence by taking Modena. Shortly after ending their wars, both Italian nations joined the coalition against Hispania, recognizing the threat it posed to them.
Over in the HRE, religious tensions flared up as East Frisia forced the Palatinate to convert to Protestantism. The disregard to Catholics continued even in the face of the creation of the Catholic League.
A relaxed approach to the African colonies and allowing the TATC greater freedom was paying off in East Africa, with some of the colonies experiencing a great boost in trade.
In February of 1668, Trier annexed Cleves. The HRE was in constant inner turmoil.
The Exercit Colonial was transported to the Maldives by May, preparing for an invasion of Ceylon. Once landed, the order was given to initiate the war.
As war began overseas, another one ended back in Europe. Switzerland pulled off a major victory against Savoy, taking all but Parma from them. The Swiss had secured themselves a large chunk of land, but this also put them at odds with France, who had claimed the region earlier. This also put some doubt on Hispania’s agreement with France. Had Hispania recognized France’s claim to the state of Savoy or its land at the time?
The end of May saw Umbria embracing the Church of Jesus Christ. Efforts returned to focusing in Iberia, mostly around Zaragoza and Pirineo.
The Mamluks had effectively taken advantage of Djerid’s independence, subjugating them to make a new vassal. Hispania would need to dispute this in the future.
In July, the colony in Yuin became self-sufficient, with colonial efforts shifted to Manila.
The war against Ceylon proceeded with few obstacles. Kandy was captured easily, a single ship forced from port and sunk. Conquistador Maximilien Philippe de Montségur moved into Ceylon’s capital, their army proving only a minor nuisance.
The Protestant League was growing, with four electors (excluding the emperor) embracing the cause, including the recently converted Palatinate. Alsace supported the Catholics as the only Catholic elector left. Frankfurt was the only elector still remaining neutral, but they joined the Protestants at a later date.
By October, Lithuania had decided it was time to extend eastwards again, declaring war on Kazan yet again.
The decision to allow local customs to be practiced without interference had paid off, so it was extended to allowing local leaders more involvement in government. This in turn created a government more representative of its people, pleasing those of different cultural groups.
The province of Kotte was captured in December, and a single transport was captured when it tried to flee to sea. The ship was sent back to Europe for reassignment. As for Ceylon, with all resistance gone, it was time to incorporate it into the empire. Ceylon became the first major holding in India, although the mainland was still untouched. The East India Trading Company, a Crown company, now had somewhere to operate.
The opening of the Indian market and trade routes to the east saw a greater demand for silk, driving up the price.
With the coalition in place, plans to expand further in Italy were placed on hold. It was not worth risking a war with Poland and Lithuania over such a thing. That didn’t mean Austria couldn’t expand there. In March of 1669, they declared war on Tuscany, drawing in Lucca as well.
Silk had proven a popular commodity, but so too had cotton. People craved Indian cotton. The Hispanian wool industry pushed for a ban on such imports, but the emperor was unwilling to do so. Wool declined in price, but cotton was on the rise now.
As if knowing that Hispania had designs on Italy too, Austria asked for Hispania to join their war. This was a way to pursue the war proposed by the chancellor without risking the coalition’s ire. Thus the war was joined with the hope that Austria would be generous enough to provide Hispania with land.
The colony in Antofagasta had grown large enough to give over to Nuevo Leon, who now had their land linked to the coast. Focus on Asia continued, this time in Middag on Taiwan.
Tuscany had a tiny trade fleet out in the Mediterranean that made the mistake of crossing Hispania’s fleet. They lost all four of their ships, with a single one captured in the process.
A joint Hispanian-Austrian attack was made on Tuscany’s army in Firenze, spearheaded by General Gaston Jacques de Saint-Pierre. They were able to push the Tuscans from their capital, although several thousand men were lost in the process. With them gone though, the general was free to siege the Tuscany capital. The Exercit Napoli was already in Ancona, and General Louis François de Montségur had arrived with the Exercit Valencia to help siege provinces. General Marti de Leon was marching through France with the Exercit Castilla La Vieja to move on Lucca.
With Hispania involved in a war, it came as a complete surprise that Poland would even consider leaving the coalition against Hispania, yet they did just that. This brought to attention the decline in relations between Poland and Lithuania. After Lithuania had so blatantly abandoned the Catholic cause by supporting the Protestant League, things had only gone downhill from there. Having been betrayed by Sweden once before, they could not tolerate yet another betrayal. Poland thus ended their alliance with Lithuania, who in turn used their influence with the Pope to annul the marriage between two royals from their countries. Relations were still somewhat positive, but it would take time to repair any distrust. Probably the only man not surprised by these developments was Gaston Jacques de Saint-Pierre, who had a greater insight from his negotiations with the Polish ambassador into why Poland would so suddenly turn against Lithuania.
With building projects having been placed on hold, ducats were set aside for upgrading the trade fleets. They both cost over 900 ducats to upgrade, but they needed to be their best to remain competitive. The Genoan fleet was upgraded first, followed later by the Alexandrian fleet.
The war with Tuscany proceeded with few complications. Austria at some point managed to eliminate Tuscany’s army. The Exercit Napoli was already pushing north into Romagna. Austria reached Ferrara first though, which saw Leon and Montségur rushing to besiege Lucca’s territory first. The more land Hispania controlled, the more likely Austria would be willing to concede provinces to them.
Ethiopia faced defeat against Yemen, although amusingly enough was able to weasel 35 ducats out of Kaffa a week later.
The Church of Jesus Christ achieved its greatest success with the people of Valencia finally fully embracing it. Religious tolerance now existed fully within the capital.
The Statesman Jeroni Bielsa passed away in October. An Italian admiral, Leandro Mancinetti, was hired to take his place, with hopes that he’d improve the performance of the ever-growing Hispanian navy.
A reminder of the agreement reached with Sweden came in the form of Poland declaring war on Wallachia. Their expansion so close to Byzantium was worrying and soon Hispania would have to fulfill their promise.
The Tuscan fleet was forced from port after Austria captured Ferrara, the Hispanian navy lying in wait. Admiral Lübecker had little difficulty securing victory, capturing a new ship for the transport fleet in the process.
New techniques in woodwork found it much easier to use tropical wood for projects once thought impossible. The price of these more beautiful woods increased as their popularity rose.
Near the end of 1669, General Saint-Pierre capture the prized city of Firenze, leaving only Lucca’s capital left. As he arrived there, Leon was given leave to return to Iberia.
A new delicacy was discovered in the colonies, encouraging manufactories to mass produce it for the entire empire.
Before the final Luccan province could fall, Austria signed a peace with Tuscany. Austria claimed for itself the three northern provinces of Tuscany, one of which they had not previously claimed before. For Hispania’s help, the empire was granted Modena, one of Lucca’s provinces, a welcome gesture. This gave the two allies a shared border, but also an urgency to see who could claim the rest of Tuscany first. The attempts to close off Central Italy were not done yet.
In colonial news, the island colony of South Georgia originally started by Emperor Ferran V was finished, allowing Crown resources to be shifted to Swellendam in South Africa, a region largely ignored.
Tensions in Byzantium led to a noble revolt in Saruhan, one in which Hispania was quick to respond. The Greek army was off in Italy, for they had moved to assist Hispania in Tuscany, so General Demetrios Madromenos and the Exercit Athens was tasked with removing the rebel problem.
In March of 1670, Bohemia joined the coalition against Hispania, probably in response to their involvement in the Catholic League, followed shortly by the Palatinate. This also brought to attention that the mostly isolationist Great Britain had decided to involve itself in the religious situation in the HRE. They placed their support behind the Emperor in resistance to the Catholic cause.
General Madromenos engaged the Greek nobles in April and had little trouble removing that problem. The nobles were outmatched and soundly defeated.
Persia and Kazan achieved a massive success against Tabarestan, seizing large swathes of land. Kazan needed this victory as Lithuania pushed into their lands.
The Polish threat to Byzantium dramatically increased as they annexed Wallachia, extending the border between the two. Something had to be done and soon. The question was whether Hispania would choose to knock Poland down a step or join beside them to bring religious tolerance to the HRE first.
Presenting His Imperial Highness, Alfons VIII de Trastámara, Emperor of Hispania, Caesar of Rome, and Protector of the Greeks.
The Council of Rome has lingered in my mind for the past few years, and I believe so has it for many of you and those outside Hispania. We have seen shifts in European politics brought about by that Council. Lithuania’s hypocrisy at chastising us for our actions against the Papal State and then turning around to support the Protestant League has not gone unnoticed, perhaps by Poland most of all. These leagues grow with each year and I fear that we have spurred on a continental conflict that will bath Europe in blood. We must ask ourselves if the price of religious tolerance is worth it before we act, although I fear that if we do not, the Catholic League might act on its own and not with the noble intentions that we hold dear here in Hispania.
There is also the matter of Poland. Their split with Lithuania is welcome, and so is their withdrawal from the coalition. Their conquest of Wallachia is a foreboding sign, one we should consider acting on. The Swedes will expect us to act against Poland soon, and I’ve received word from them that an alliance between our two peoples would be most welcome. It will be yet another arduous conflict, but one that we must consider. It seems conflict is inevitable if we wish to fulfill our promises made at the Council.
It does please me greatly that we continue to expand around the globe. India has been opened to us and perhaps our presence will only continue to expand. Hispania is at the height of its greatness, to be sure.
((Well the events of that update took an interesting turn. I wasn’t expecting them to fit so nicely with the events of the Council, nor for Poland and Lithuania to split. Now we have a good chance to fulfill our promises. I’ve given us a special CB for starting a league war, even though we’re not league leader. It will stick around for 20 years (16-ish now), since I feel that is the amount of time Austria would consider it reasonable for us to fulfill our part of the bargain. Same goes for war with Poland. We can choose to ignore our promises, but this will piss off those we betray. It might be better for us to initiate the league war anyway, since if the AI does it will undoubtedly impose a Catholic-only HRE leadership. We should also consider reaching out to the French about the Caribbean, since they will be expecting some sort of resolution on that matter.
As for our usual business, ministers have until
Monday at 12PM PST to post their plans. Players may also propose laws in that time period. I also need a new steward's plan, since I've built everything on the list for now.
Pensioners:
@alscon))