Chapter 1: The fight over the supremacy of The Netherlands
A Brabant/Dutch AAR
Part 6: The League of Maastricht.
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The French-Aragonese War of 1543
Another war with Aragon…
In 1543, France declared war on Aragon to reclaim the South of France, which was lost after wars with them. A French messenger asked the Glorious Duchy of Brabant to help the French Empire by taking care of The Palatinate, ally of the Aragonese. The Dutch agreed. They didn’t have much choice anyway. The Koninklijke Leger, now counting an impressive 25,000 men, moved towards Nassau, the closest City to the Duchy.
The Aftermath of the Battle of Nassau
The Palatinate army was caught by surprise and was whipped out in only a day, most taken prisoner. 2 weeks later, the small Garrison of the Fort of Nassau surrendered to the superior Dutch Army. The Ducal Army moved to Pfalz, an important city of The Palatinate.
Pfalz has fallen!
The end of the war was near; the Palatinate was suffering a humiliating defeat. The City of Pfalz surrendered only weeks after Nassau did. France reached Madrid and the Kingdom of Aragon surrendered. Brabant sadly did not get much from the war (there was nothing to gain anyway).
Oh sorry, I was a little bit too hard on you wasn’t I?
The Palatinate, on the other hand, suffered a defeat that its people could not believe. Times of Troubles stirred up in the Palatinate.
The Treaty of Fort-Oranje
Assimilating the newly acquired Conoy
On September 7th, 1543, The Glorious Duchy of Brabant and the Kingdom of Portugal singed the Treaty of Fort-Oranje. Portugal would cede its North-American possessions to Brabant. Brabant payed about 300 ducats for each colonies and accepted to stay out of the Islands of the Caribbean and South America.
Friesland finally accepts to be Brabantians
One step closer to the Netherlands
The people of Friesland finally recognized the Glorious Duke as their official sovereign. For Geoffroi, it was one step closer to become the Netherlands…
Dutch technological breakthrough!
Hell yes! Mauricians!
Maurice of Nassau, Dutch General and Governor of New-Netherlands, developed in November, 1550, a new use for the Muskets, which were becoming more and more used in the battlefield. The new tactics made the Musket a very, very deadly weapon. This made the Dutch Army the most modern in Europe. This was great timing because the Duke had some more plans cooked up for the future.
The War of the League of Maastricht.
The Fiasco
The King of France, the King of Portugal, the Duke of Brabant and the King of the newly formed Prussia, were growing worried of Great-Britain’s aggressive expansion in the New World. The leaders met in the Dutch city of Maastricht. They sealed a secret alliance to “Secure the Balance of Power in Europe”. According to rumors of the time, not only did Geoffroi wanted to take the Southern British Colonies, but he actually only joined because he hated the British. His mother was British and he disliked her so much that he became uneasy with any British person. In May, 1553, the League declared war on Great-Britain. 15,000 men were sent to New-Netherlands and 12,000 of them were sent to conquer the British southern colony, hopefully taking over them before the British could mount any resistance. That did not happen. However this was a great way to prove the might of the Maurician Tactics.
Muskets = Kickass!
During the Battle of Catawba, 6,000 Dutch soldiers were facing 18,000 British Soldiers. The Dutch soldiers were greatly outnumbered. The 5,000 Dutch Musketeers armed with muskets repelled the British Cavalry and Infantry charges. About 4,500 British soldiers were killed and only about 1,500 Dutch soldiers were killed. However, this superiority could not last for long.
The beginning of the end for the League of Maastricht
During the battle after the Glorious Victory, Geffroi IV died in battle. Dutch morale was crushed. Charles II, nephew of Geoffroi, had no wish to fight against a more powerful foe. He thought that his uncle backstabbed the religiously-allied British. More and more British soldiers were pouring in the New-World. But another victory would secure the faith of the Dutch Colony in North America. A British Army sieged the Capital of New-Netherlands and the NWC. A British messenger came to the Governor of New-Netherlands, Maurice of Nassau, and asked the governor to surrender the colony or face the wrath of the British Army. Maurice famously replied to the messenger: “I will reply to your commander with mouths of my cannons!*”. The messenger was dismissed and the British bombarded the colony. Hopefully, a Dutch relieve force arrived and lifted the siege.
*This quote is actually from Governor Frontenac of France with the same situation in Québec.
The Treaty of Moscow
The pen is mightier than the Sword
The League of Maastricht was the failure of the century. The Duchy of Brabant had learned it’s lesson. The Duchy had lost about all of its armies. The only thing that was still intact is The Netherlands and the New-Netherlands. Not even its dignity was left. They signed the Treaty of Moscow, which returned to Status Quo. The Dutch decided to sign a private treaty originally named the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which allowed the British to connect its Northern and Southern colonies while allowing New-Netherlands to expand northward. The new Duke, which had not the hatred of the British Geoffroi had, was able to restore the pre-war Anglo-Dutch relations. The Dutch learned its lesson: The pen is mightier than the sword.
Expanding New-Netherlands
One more colonial city!
Peace returned to the Duchy. The kind British actually helped with rebels back in the Netherlands. New-Netherlands expanded westward, creating a longer border with the British Southern Colony. Meanwhile, the British closed the gap between it’s two colonies.
Hurray, prestige!
The Glorious duchy was recovering from the fiasco of the League. Firmin de Luynes, expert Navigator and Advisor to the ducal crown, began reforming the Navy to help exploration and colonization. This would greatly help the Dutch to reach even farther lands. Maybe the Dutch could finally reach India?
No more Portuguese in MY colony!
The second province that Portugal ceded before the war became Dutch with the help of immigrants from Holland and other parts of the Netherlands. The colony of New-Netherlands was becoming prosperous and bigger.
First colonial core!
New-Amsterdam, first colony of New-Netherlands and the NWC, officially became part of the Duchy of Brabant. The colonial Capital gained many good things out of this such as a productivity boost and more. Charles II was able to make the Glorious Duchy recover back on its feet. Even if his reign was not over yet, the people knew he would lead the Duchy to recovery and riches. Geoffroi IV was later known as “Geoffroi the Mad”.
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Ducal accomplishments – 1542 to 1565
-Core on New-Amsterdam
-Reached Land tech 18 (Mauricians!!!!)
…That’s about it after such a Fiasco…
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OOC: I’m going to post a map later of what I hope to make the Netherlands become by 1821.
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