The World in 1821
An excerpt from The History of Hispania, Volume V, “The Alfonsian Era”
Hispania had changed much since Pere V proclaimed the Iberian-based nation an empire in June of 1606, and even more so since Alfons VII created the kingdom of Hispania from the union of Aragon, Castile, Navarra, and Naples in April of 1555. When Alfons V first set his eyes on Castile, he began a movement that intoxicated the Aragonese people, leaving them longing for a union of the Iberian people, a union that soon extended to Naples and the rest of Italy, and fed the imperial ambitions. Those ambitions never ended, and Hispania continued to grow and flourish.
The Trastámara family has graciously guided this dream as the monarchs of Hispania for centuries. Their involvement has often been felt in the most crucial moments of Hispanian history, and it is likely Hispania would not be where it is without them. They have played a major role in its greatest triumphs, as well as its greatest failures. It is only appropriate to include a list of these monarchs and their reigns when detailing the history of Hispania. For simplicity’s sake, I have only listed those who were in power after the 14th Century.
Compared to the other nations of the world, Hispania was by far the richest, largest, and most developed. An unofficial ranking conducted by historians of the day placed Hispania at the top, followed closely by France. Scandinavia, Lithuania, Byzantium, Germany, and Poland were given high ranks, with even Austria making the cut simply due to their past accomplishments before their fall from grace. When compared to other nations of the time, only France could compete on any level of note. Both Hispania and France had a similar level of tax income and production. It was Hispania’s vast trade empire that differentiated it from everyone else, bringing in over four times as much as France or any other power, and has often been attributed as the main source of Hispania’s great success over the years. Not only did Hispania possess the most efficient merchant class in the world, but the Crown dedicated far more ships to trade than any other nation. This great wealth that Hispania’s trading empire brought in allowed for the Crown to cover the heavy costs of supporting a massive army and navy. The army alone took up nearly half of the Hispanian budget in 1820 at 2.5k, with the navy just below that at 1.5k. The cost of maintaining the forts, even when not garrisoned, and the costs of government barely added up to the cost of the navy, with colonial and church expenses having reached a point where they could be afforded with spare change. Hispania had reached a state of great prosperity where it could afford to maintain such a large budget.
On the topic of the army and navy, Hispania had far surpassed her neighbours in both the size of her armed forces and their skill and discipline. In 1821, estimates put the Hispanian army at roughly 560k, with the treasury more than capable of supporting several thousand more without problem. Not even France, who came close on many accounts with Hispania, could match those numbers, their army less than half that. The Hispanian navy had surpassed the rest of the world on a scale larger than even that of the army. At 860 ships, it was over three times as large as Scandinavia’s, which was the second largest in the world. Hispania possessed far more threedeckers than any other power, giving it a great advantage on the open sea, while her great frigates sailed in even greater numbers for trade purposes. The number of galleys was less impressive, but Hispania possessed far more transports than anyone else, for more than any other nation she relied heavily on the quick and reliable transportation of troops both near and afar.
On matters of religion, Hispania had done much to spread the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ or CJC, promoting tolerance for all Christians. The Christian faith under the CJC was the second most practiced religion, with half a dozen nations designating it as their state religion. Only Catholicism had a more devout following, with 23 countries and twice as many followers. Islam still maintained followers in the East, as well as Confucianism and Hinduism. The other Christian faiths had become mostly irrelevant on their own, with Reformed isolated mostly to the British Isles and their colonies, and Protestantism followed solely by the Germans. The Orthodox faith had long lost any large following, becoming a loose sect in Lithuania, while Coptic maintained its hold only in Kaffa. Hispania had done a decent job in bringing all the Christian faiths together, although a few Coptics resisted joining and some Muslims in Arabia and Indonesia still clung to their faith.
Over the centuries, Hispania had become a giant mix of different languages and cultures. No one culture dominated the others, although Aragonese tended to be recognized as the predominant one due to its preference in the colonies and positioning of the capital. Despite this varied mix, many of these cultural groups had achieved a level of tolerance from the government, who had long ago opted to work with these groups rather than attempt to assimilate them.
Europe had entered a period of relative peace, with only the occasional skirmish disrupting the quiet. Hispania herself lay at the crux of the group, maintaining alliances with the premier powers of France, Scandinavia, and Byzantium, while also ruling over the semi-independent kingdoms of Bavaria and Transdacia. Many of these alliances had lasted for centuries, the French alliance forged the longest ago in 1444 under the reign of Alfons V. The web of alliances existing amongst these strong powers had prevented any major conflict for decades, for to go to war would mean losing one’s allies who likely had ties with the defending power. Those outside the web either fell into semi-irrelevance, such as with Poland and Hungary, or turned away from Europe, such as with Lithuania and Scotland.
Even outside Europe, Hispania’s reach was far. The greatest nation on Earth had expanded far beyond the borders of Europe, colonizing vast lands in the Americas and Africa, and even extending its presence into the mysterious Orient. Not a single continent remained untouched by Hispania. Her colonies controlled great swathes of land, and her alliance with the United Kingdom of America kept conflict from erupting between the major powers of the Americas. Arabia was firmly under Hispania’s control through Najd, while Hispania herself controlled almost the entire coast of Africa, other than a few areas in West and South Africa. Territories in India, China, Korea, and Indonesia brought in great wealth. Hispania’s reach was vast and it only contributed to her greatness.
Hispania at the turn of the century had embodied the spirit of the Alfonsian Era. Prosperity, free thinking, and progress were the key words of the day. Yet like every era in history, it must come to an end. With the death of Alfons IX would go much of what he had worked for. He had been a most capable ruler, one who had done much to improve the functions of government and manage state affairs. Yet the successful system he had devised had been designed to function with a capable hand guiding it, and only Alfons could truly fit that role. The government, Parliament, and everything else had been crafted under his guidance, and without him it could only falter. It was a product of a brilliant mind, but also of great distrust that had been ingrained into Alfons as a child. Despite his willingness to listen to advice, seek consensus, and rule by consent, he never once truly allowed power to slip from his fingers, for in his mind was always the terrors of the Hispanian Civil War and the crown he had almost lost. The Crown had to maintain supremacy, for he believed that no one but himself could be trusted with such power. Alfons had maintained balance by retaining his royal powers to the relief of the right while also allowing liberal ideas and reform to be sought to satisfy those on the left. But this peculiar circumstance required Alfons’s touch, and another in his place might not be willing to seek such a compromise. A less capable monarch would unlikely be able to maintain the system Alfons had devised, while a monarch more concerned with his own power would be likely to undo much of what Alfons had created. The Alfonsian Era could not last because it required Alfons to maintain it. With his health continuing to decline going into 1821, it was only a matter of time until the time of prosperity, free thinking, and progress came to an end. A time of uncertainty approached.
((And that brings our EUIV iAAR to an end. It's been quite a ride and I thank you all for joining me on this long and windy ride. I'd say more, but it's already 3am where I am and I want to sleep.
I'll post tomorrow about what happens next when I have more time to write up a response.))
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