Legacy of the Habsburgs- Europe Forum Game 1560

[Teep]

To my great brother Frederick II,

In order to end this impasse in the Livonian region I propose that a peace conference be hosted in your territories on the Island of Gotland, a place which is close to the territories of all of the parties in the Livonian dispute. I would propose that representatives of the Kings of Poland and Sweden, the Emperor, the Tsar of All Russia and your Majestic self as well as neutral observers of your choice if you so desire.

Your brother in Christ,

-------

To my esteemed brother Sigismund II,

This dispute between us should be resolved in a manner befitting Christian kings. To this end I have proposed to the King of Denmark that a peace conference occur between all of the effected parties on the Island of Gotland in order to prevent further escalation.

Your brother in Christ,

 

[AtreyuAtreides]

Fellow Countrymen,

We are beset upon by foreign invaders. Mary of Guise,
Has openly attacked our Scottish brethren, she has opened Scotland to invasion by a foreign power.

I Hereby invoke the Treaty of Berwick

We will defend our Nation, We will defend our Faith, We will defend our Island.

The French will be driven to the sea.

Scotland will not be persecuted under the yoke of Catholic invaders who will persecute our church and our Scottish brethren without mercy.

Rise to the occasion Englishmen
Rise to the occasion Scots
Together we will bring lasting peace to this bloody island and our Kingdoms eternal.

​

 

[Stingrex]

Fellow Countrymen,

We are beset upon by foreign invaders. Mary of Guise,
Has openly attacked our Scottish brethren, she has opened Scotland to invasion by a foreign power.

I Hereby invoke the Treaty of Berwick

We will defend our Nation, We will defend our Faith, We will defend our Island.

The French will be driven to the sea.

Scotland will not be persecuted under the yoke of Catholic invaders who will persecute our church and our Scottish brethren without mercy.

Rise to the occasion Englishmen
Rise to the occasion Scots
Together we will bring lasting peace to this bloody island and our Kingdoms eternal.

We support this action. - Catherine of Austria, Regent of Portugal

 

[Basquiat]

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, Tsar of Russia

Your proposal is agreeable, as long as it's clear that Livonian representatives shall be present.

Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

 

[Duke Dan `the Man`]

To Czar Ivan of All Rus

I agree to your proposal. I shall ask all the nations you suggest. I shall over see the conference un Visby

Frederick II, King of Denmark

To, Sigismund II Augustus,Gustav I,Emperor Ferdinand.
I propose that representatives from your country meet in Visby in order to sort out this mess in Livonia. I shall over see the conference.

Frederick II,King of Denmark

 

[Teep]

((So you want to open up a PM conversation with those participants then Dan?))

 

[Duke Dan `the Man`]

((If they accept, then yes))

 

[Basquiat]

Frederick II, King of Denmark and Norway

Poland accepts your kind offer.

Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

 

[Ironhide G1]

((Yes making a PM conversation to create a joint IC is good.))

 

[Kaisersohaib]

King Gustav will attend the conference in Visby.

 

[AtreyuAtreides]

We support this action. - Catherine of Austria, Regent of Portugal

Spoiler: Royal Response to Catherine

Catherine of Austria,
My fellow Queen and Regent my heart is lightened by the spirit of your response. Our nations destinies are naturally weaved together throughout history. I personally as well as my people appreciate your support in this crisis for our Islands destiny. Your son Prince Sebastio is a destined for greatness and our court cannot wait to be graced with your presence again.

 

[De Chatillôn]

To Francis II, King of France

Venice is too far away of your war so we can't send you troops or ships and we think that the war is a bad business anyway. But of course France has our support against such an heretic as Elizabeth of England. We can help economically France with credit if you want, we're only asking for preference in the trade with your ports in the Mediterranean.

Girolamo Priuli, Doge of Venice

 

[AtreyuAtreides]

King Francis II,

Unless you wish there to be war against our Kingdoms we hereby demand that your mercenaries persecuting Our fellow Scotsmen are withdrawn at once.

Should you stand down these troops will be allowed safe passage back to France and be fully pardoned.

Considering this act of aggression against the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland I find these demands to be fully within reason.

However, should you not reply or reply with aggression we will be forced to use the full extent of our military to punish these armed hooligans terrorizing the country.

Consider reasonably for the sake of both our Kingdoms.

You are surrounded by Hapsburg states and the Kingdom of France is at a perilous crossroads, surrounded by enemies and beset by religious strife.

I would advise that you need allies more than enemies to our mutual adversaries, especially the Spanish Empire which seeks to eclipse your Kingdom as the greatest in Europe.

Give in to reason and im sure we can find common ground.

 

[Teep]

The Treaty of Slite

In order to facilitate trade between our two nations and proclaim our friendship the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and Tsardom of All Russia agree to the following terms:

• The Tsardom of All Russia will give unto the court of the King of Denmark-Norway the sum of two hundred Beaver fur pelts per year.
• If this condition is met the Kingdom of Denmark shall waive the sound tolls for ships bearing the flag of the Tsardom of All Russia

Ivan IV, Tsar of All Russia [X]

Frederick II, King of Denmark []

 

[Duke Dan `the Man`]

The Treaty of Slite

In order to facilitate trade between our two nations and proclaim our friendship the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and Tsardom of All Russia agree to the following terms:

• The Tsardom of All Russia will give unto the court of the King of Denmark-Norway the sum of two hundred Beaver fur pelts per year.
• If this condition is met the Kingdom of Denmark shall waive the sound tolls for ships bearing the flag of the Tsardom of All Russia

Ivan IV, Tsar of All Russia [X]

Frederick II, King of Denmark [x]

 

[Clophiroth]

((Orders are supposed to be due tomorrow, right?))

 

[AtreyuAtreides]

Meanwhile in English court...

Lord Robert Cecil -

" My Queen, I have received transmissions from the Russian court, apparently the Tsar intends to negotiate with the Commonwealth in regards to the Livonian border skirmish."

He precedes to look towards the court and continues,

"The negotiations are being observed by the Kings of Sweden and Denmark as well. It seems the Baltics will see peace even at the persecution of the Livonian order."

Queen Elizabeth leans forward in her throne,

"Well these are certainly interesting times, who would have thought that the Czar would not pressure the Commonwealth and concede peace so quickly"

Lord Cecil interjects, "Yes your highness, it would seem that they intend to maintain peace in the East, and maintain a stalwart defense against the Sublime Porte to the south."

"Well Lord Cecil these are certainly..."

The door bursts open and Sir Francis Walsingham walks briskly in front of the Royal Dais.

He kneeled in full regalia privy to a council member, impeccable and looking fully the part of a courtier in the Kingdom of England.

"Your Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth"

He breaths, "I have an update to our crisis in the Northern Kingdom."

"Speak Sir Francis"

He stands and begins, " The plan we had discussed prior is already underway," he eyed the court suspiciously looking for reactions that would reveal a French or Catholic spy.

"We have still heard no official communique from the French Kingdom or even from young King Francis II..."

"We assume he means war at this point but war has not been declared, it is probably safe to assume that he is seeking allies among the continent but we cannot be sure."

Queen Elizabeth sat back in her throne with a face set in stone, "This is troubling, I had hoped for negotiations, to uncover why they had hatched this plot against our kingdoms... What does he intend? To silently attack a sovereign kingdom?"

Sir Francis sighed, "My Queen I am afraid that we will know soon enough what their intentions are, the countryside was being pillaged by the Catholic mercenaries however and I believe it prudent to deal with one problem at a time."

"We may want to open official communique with the Hapsburgs in the Holy Roman Empire or even the King of Sweden if the Catholics are uninterested in diplomatic negotiations."

He kneeled again, "My Queen do I have your permission to enter diplomatic communications with these Kingdoms?"

Queen Elizabeth sat and pondered for a moment, "You do Sir Francis, you are to leave at once." "I will write your orders before you leave".

Sir Francis wheeled about and left the courtroom.

Queen Elizabeth looked out the large partially stained glass windows in the chamber.

"May Providence be on our side in these troubling times." She thought silently.

 

[Ironhide G1]

((No, by wendsday at 18:00. I still need @Johnnysaurus to respond as France. If he doesn't respond by deadline I'll need a sub))

 

[Ironhide G1]

The Age of Piracy​

By the 1560s in the Caribean, traders of the Dutch Rebels and England, were defiantly opposed to Spain; while the French government was seeking to expand its colonial holdings in the New World now that Spain had proven they could be extremely profitable. The Spanish, despite being the most powerful state in Christendom at the time, could not afford a sufficient military presence to control such a vast area of ocean or enforce their exclusionary, mercantilism trading laws. These laws allowed only Spanish merchants to trade with the colonists of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. This arrangement provoked constant smuggling against the Spanish trading laws and new attempts at Caribbean colonization in peacetime by England and France. Whenever a war was declared in Europe between the Great Powers the result was always widespread piracy and privateering throughout the Caribbean.

The huge Spanish silver shipments from the New World to the Old attracted pirates and French privateers like François Leclerc or Jean Fleury, both in the Caribbean and across the Atlantic, all along the route from the Caribbean to Seville. To combat this constant danger, the Spanish adopted a convoy system. A treasure fleet or flota would sail annually from Seville (and later from Cádiz) in Spain, carrying passengers, troops, and European manufactured goods to the Spanish colonies of the New World. This cargo, though profitable, was really just a form of ballast for the fleet as its true purpose was to transport the year's worth of silver to Europe. The first stage in the journey was the transport of all that silver from the mines in Bolivia and New Spain in a mule convoy called the Silver Train to a major Spanish port, usually on the Isthmus of Panama or Veracruz in New Spain. The flota would meet up with the Silver Train, offload its cargo of manufactured goods to waiting colonial merchants and then load its holds with the precious cargo of gold and silver, in bullion or coin form. This made the returning Spanish treasure fleet a tempting target, although pirates were more likely to shadow the fleet to attack stragglers than to engage the well-armed main vessels. Whatever the case, pirates were on the rise in the Spanish Main.

((No special orders. Spainish trade status quo for now, French trade income +25 +100 gold to England and Dutch Rebels. Feel free to IC about this.))

 

[Teep]

To my most beneficent Liege Tsar Ivan of All Russia,

I have completed the mission which you had sent me on, to attend the conference for the peace in Livonia in Visby. The conference as a whole was a qualified failure as the primary aim of ensuring peace in the Livonian confederation failed due to the obstinacy of the Polish King’s representatives. However, the negotiations for trade favour with the Danish king was a success resulting in the treaty of Slite.

The point upon which the conference foundered was the unwillingness of the Swedish and Polish delegates to even countenance the minimal territorial changes required to ensure the security of the realm, my beneficent Majesty. This along with the Polish delegation’s insistence on the maintenance of the treacherous, heretical leaders of the confederation in powerful positions of any new government ensured that the process was unable to move forwards.

Unless these points are addressed then I am going to send messages to the commanders in Livonia to continue the war against the remaining confederate strongholds. Lastly, a warning about potential Swedish treachery breaking the 1557 treaty I had negotiated in my own home city, they have been warned that the presence of their troops in Livonia without any revisions to said treaty of Novgorod is a breach of that treaty and a declaration of war.

Your servant,

Prince Mikhail Vasil'evich Glinsky, Governor of Novgorod.

((At this stage the Russian government is only maintaining its war against the Confederate forces in Livonia, not expanding the war.))