The Reconquista is over. Castille and Aragon are united. We are a great european nation. People will learn to respect and fear us.
We own the Iberian peninsula, together with our friend and neighbor, king Joao of Portugal. The Canary Islands, the Baleares, Sardinia, Sicily and Malta are also ours.
I never thought all those armies we used against the Moors would rebel and become common delinquents. We need some military activity to keep them busy until our Catholic kings can better organise our country.
A part of them has embarked on three warships and set sail to India, which we plan to reach by sailing west. The rest were put under the command of our great leaders, the Old Duke of Alba and El Gran Capitan. As king of Aragon, His Royal Majesty has claims on all of Italy. The rising power of Venice in the north was a reason enough to garrison some troops in Naples.
When a false Pope usurped the Holy Father's earthly title our loyal allies in Naples declared war to support the real Bishop of Roma. Our armies under El Gran Capitan's command conquered Rome and then marched towards Romagna, leaving Marche to Naples to siege. However, while the army was heading north, our valiant general heard the Venetians managed to take control of the Holy City. So, when he showed up on the Romagnan battlefield, he personally took control of the siege and showed the merchants how wars are fought. Meanwhile Naples conquered Marche so the Papal State held no lands. We demanded Romagna in a peace deal and we received it. Venice continued the war and annexed Marche to their republic.
Finally some peace for the Spanish... But Venice would not stop with angering the entire Christian world by vassalizing the Pope, no! They declared war on Siena and Tuscany. The first was conquered, while the second was reduced to a one province puppet. Still real patriots still existed in Firenze and Spain supported a young noble who claimed the throne. In the following war, the young Medici died, so Spain had to ensure the protection of the Tuscans by including them in our glorious kingdom.
Columbus discovered India! Or did he? A strange new world welcomed our colonists... The rich West Indies attracted more and more people and soon a city rose on the island of Hispaniola.
The Infidels were thrown out of Spain, as Spaniards became less and less tolerant to other religions. Of course these requested help from their infidel friends in Africa. The time was now for another crusade against the pagans. While king Joao of Portugal conquered all of Morocco except for the capital, the Old Duke of Alba crossed the Gibraltar Straits and took the Moroccan capital. Algiers was next on the list. After a long and bloody war, our enemies were left with only a small province around their capital.
France requested our help in Picardie against the Bohemians and Bavarians sieging the king's castles. El Gran Capitan's expedition in Flandern was a big success, the Catholic Kings therefore being recognized as loyal allies by the King of France.
Further expeditions by Amerigo Vespucci and Vicente Yanez Pinzon revealed the African coast and made contact with a primitive pagan but rich civilization in the New World. An army is on the way to Hispaniola to link up with the native recruits there. The pagans will be introduced to the might of Spanish armies!
Spanish heroes:
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, EL GRAN CAPITAN
Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus)
Vicente Yanez Pinzon
Amerigo Vespucci
Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo, the Old Duke of ALba ....
sorry, no photo!
and our REYES CATOLICOS:
