"Machiavelli : Europe Arising", an MP RPG AAR

[TheArchduke]

FRANCE 1492-1520 - Strengthening France

Charles VIII - The last of the Valois (1492-1498)

Having lost the struggle for Burgundy Charles VIII knew that it was only a matter of time until he could challenge the Habsburgs again. Brittany was secured for giving up the claims on Burgundy for now and Charles VIII set out on strengthening his realm based on the lessons learnt from the last years. The semi-autonomous state of Bourbonnais and the french duchy of Savoy were brought closer to France.

Internally the main focus of France was to enhance infrastructure and taxation and improve and expand the Royal bureacracy. Baliffs were appointed in all the major cities of the realm to ensure a steady flow of money into the coffers of the Crown.

Externally Charles VIII first move was to bring the duchy of Navarra under his benevolent protection as in early 1493 spanish troops poured of the border of Navarra destroying the small and helpless duchy. The french army reacted instantly by moving in to secure Navarra but the spanish army proved to be quite strong and overwhelmed the defenders in short time wrestling the province of Navarra off the duchy. Left alone with Bearn french troops who had rushed south immeaditly set out to establish a french protectorate over Navarra and 2 months later the duchy of Navarra accepted the French Crown as their overlord. Immeaditly an offical alliance was struck with Navarra further extending the "Cordon Sanitaire" that protected France whilst she was still divided and weak.

During the campaign in Navarra Scotland attacked Brittany for obviously no reason. A most unwise move as France was the only one who could support Scotland in times of trouble but after some skirmishes in Brittany itself the scottish retreated and made peace with the French allies but relations were hampered.

In the same year the Ottoman Empire crushed the Merchant Republic of Venice and wrestled Ionia from her after 2 crushing defeats that left Venice virtually defenceless. Charles VIII was in not a good mood at Venice because Venice tried to establish a monopoly over french trade and thus no help was sent. Nevertheless the french king tried to mediate between the Sultan and the Doge of Venice but all of Christian Europe seemed shocked with France striking to deal peacefully with Ottoman Empire while they themselves left Venice alone for no reason.

This with the Mantua crisis would implicate that the Merchant Republic would look to other powers to defend herself than Austria but offers by France to ally with her were outright rejected.

While rumours of spanish and portugese Explorers discovering vast lands overseas swept over Europe France continued to concentrate on internal development. In 1496 the state took control of the guilds which further strengthened France´s centralizing efforts further. The money that was confiscated was immeaditly sent to Navarra and Savoy as to help them fortify their realm.

Peacefully the reign of Charles VIII ended as he died in an accident near Amboise.

Louis XII - The father of his People (1498-1515)

Louis XII, cousin of Charles VIII, being Anjou had legal claims on Napoli but seeing the Spain had already corrupted the Kingdom of Naples to its soul decided to not press his claims yet. He recognized the need for internal development and as his cousin turned to internal issues although the Habsburgs continued to expand and in 1500 annexed the city state of Milano into their realm strengthening their grip on Italy and established close ties to Spain.

The situation was indeed dire France was facing hostility wherever she looked except for Poland and the Kalmar Union. Close ties were arranged with those two nations and royal marragies arranged with the neighbouring countries to ensure safety of France during Louis´reign.

1502 came around and this year proved to be the first test for France. Pierre duke of Bourbonnais allied with foreign powers in an effort to overthrow the French Crown and to proclaim himself King of France. This plot was uncovered late in December 1501 and faced with the accusations Pierre was asked to step down as a duke and let his duchy annexed by France or face dire consequences. Despite the fact that they were hopelessly outnumbered and their plot uncovered Pierre choose to fight hoping that other powers would come to his aid. This proved futile as the french army swiftly moved in to the three most important towns and occupied them, forcing Pierre to recognized his errors.
The campaign was swiftly over and Pierre had to turn over 2/3 of his duchy and swear that his duchy would fall to the French Crown after his death. Congratulated by the Polish King who had problems with unruly aristocrats on his own this act was downlooked by England, Austria and Spain. This came as no suprise to Louis XII but it became clear that the enemies of France would use the slightest weakness of France against her.

So it was decided that Brittany was to be ruled directly to avoid any nasty invasions by other powers on to mainland France. A second declaration of war of Scotland was the final straw and with help of the English France was again able to peace out Scotland immeaditly annexing Brittany to avoid any further incursions into her backyard.

In July 1502 also Savoy decided to wage war over Helvetia over minor border issues. The french king tried to mediate between the two powers but was forced into war because off Savoy. The french army quickly moved in and persuaded both parties that there was no need to wage war.

To prevent any more needless wars Navarra (1505) was annexed and Savoy was vassalized in an effort to pacify Savoy and keep France out of any unnecessary wars by this.

After peace had been secured France now used her money to establish the first manufactories in the wine regions west of Paris. Also the army was expanded and reorganized into a souther strike force under Pierre Bayard and a northern more mobile one under La Palice. The fleet was expanded, merchants were sent to the Levante and fortresses erected in some important and strategic important places.

Nothing of notice happened in the last years of Louis´reign apart from economical development.

Francois I. - A new era.(1515-1547)

A new era embraced France upon the ascendance of Francois I. whilst he was still 15. He was educated along the lines of the renaissance and became a patron of art. But he grew tired with France being in between the Habsburgs and decided that finally the time arrived to press his father´s claims on Naples and prepared his army for war by huge reforms and studying italian and spanish war experiences. Genoa was allied in an effort to support France on her way to Naples but the Pope decided that his interests were better served by allying with the Habsburgs.

Francois seeing the advent of Protestantism was quite sure that the Pope should have other matters to attend.

So as 1520 came around the Ottoman Empire which had grown ever stronger in the east declared war on Austria which brought Spain into war with the Ottoman Empire. France still remembering the unfriendly attitude of the Habsburgs decided that it was finally time to break the Habsburg hegemony over Europe. War was declared on Spain...

 

[unmerged(15967)]

[COLOR="DDBB99"]Papal States 1492-1520 [/COLOR]



Pope Alexander VI 1492-1503

Some say Alexander VI used to be a ruthless and ambitious man, but the shock of 1492 seems to have changed his personality completely. When the Infidel Dog of Constantinople attacked the Republic of Venice and his troops marched up all the way to Italia none of the great princes of Europe would offer any support, but even worse: The King of France openly suggested to give in to the infidel without a fight and even claimed that the Sultan was not a bad man! Even more disturbing than the boldness of the Infidels and the inactivity of the Christian Kings was the obvious lack of faith these words implied.
Venice finally had to give in to the infidel Turks and now seeked to conquer Mantua, but fortunately the Pope and the Emperor managed to convince the Republic that annexing a fellow Christian would be a folly. However in this crisis the King of France had once again demonstrated his unsuitability as ally to the Papacy by completely ignoring the Papal opinion and encouraging Venice to start such an ill advised war.
Alexander therefore left the French alliance and approached a King with unquestionable faith: Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain had not only finished the Reconquista and expulsed the infidel Moors from Iberia, but he even carried it on beyond the sea and subdued the infidels in Morocco and Algiers.
Meanwhile the taxation system in the Ecclesiastical States was reformed and the Arts were cultivated and advanced wherever possible.

Pope Julius II 1503 -1513

Since Alexander VIs papacy endless rumors about newly found lands beyond the oceans arrived in Rome. The Portuguese and Spanish who seemed to be the most active in that regard eventually approached the Pope to mediate between them and divide these lands so that they could avoid quarrel. Always eager to end strife between Christian nations he declared a north-south line 370 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verdes the border between Spanish and Portuguese conquests to be. (The fact that the Azores and Cape Verdes are not on the same longitude slipped by him since he had no idea where these islands actually were.)
However soon England demanded her share of these new lands and intruded the Spanish sphere. The Pope proposed to mediate once again and suggested various north-south lines, but lack of geographic knowledge prevented him from finding useful terms. Fortunately Spain and England soon found an agreement themselves. Strangely they never asked for papal blessing. The church hopes this was a mere oversight.

Meanwhile the Turks continued to subdue Christian nations, and 1510 they attacked the Mamelukes. At fists the Pope was delighted that the infidels had finally decided to slaughter each other, but the Mamelukes never put up much fight and when their capital fell they joined the vile Ottoman Empire without any further resistance. The Turks seemed to know exactly that the Mamelukes would collapse just that way if they were attacked at this moment, for all their effort was concentrated on taking just the capital and they completely ignored all other cities in spite of the usual rules of warfare and all common sense. Without any doubt they are not just terrible and cruel infidels, but actively in an alliance with the devil!

Pope Julius II surpassed his predecessor in furthering the arts. Raphael Sanzio,
Michelangelo Buonarroti and Donato Bramante were among the most famous of his employees. In one of these years Julius heard the question about a potential religious significance of the rapid developments in the arts, sciences, and the new discoveries being raised. He considered this for a long time and finally came to a satisfactory conclusion: The bible was doubtlessly God’s word, but the world was God’s work, and he knew very well that you could learn at least as much about anyone by what he did than by what he said. Moreover God obviously had equipped men with a mind capable to appreciate the beauty he created and eager to try to understand it’s workings and to capture the beauty in works of art. Therefore supporting and teaching art and science should be almost as important to the work of the church as preaching gods word was. Julius tried his best to act upon these views and to spread them among the clericalists. To establish them for good he finally called a council to Bologna and despite initial resistance managed to get them confirmed by a counciliar decree. Shortly thereafter he died.

Pope Leo X 1513-1521

Leo X continued the policies of his predecessor, but during his papacy resistance started to rise in the backwards north of Europe. One of the leaders of this reactionary movement was a man called Martin Luther. We may not yet have heard the last of him, although he is unlikely to stand in open rebellion against the Holy Church.

In 1518 the infidels commenced their offensive against the catholic kingdom of Hungary. This time they finally met resistance. Austria and Venice immediately hasted to aid their ally and soon Poland also joined them. Carlos I of Spain also contemplated joining the efforts of his grandfather when François I suddenly showed his true face and demanded Naples. Since France had failed to act on her claim on Naples for 25 years and the inheritance had long since been settled this was obviously just a very weak pretext for war, driven by the desire to help his infidel friends and to profit from the impending doom of Christianity. Consequently Carlos refused. In the meantime the papal army had been shipped across the Adriatic Sea and was eagerly waiting to join the fight against the infidels. Now Pope Leo formally declared war on the Turks and excommunicated François I as soon as news from his attack on Spain reached Rome. His soul seems to be utterly beyond salvation.

 

[Smirfy]

[color=0087]Portugal 1520[/color]

The Knights of St Vincent

II. MANUEL THE FORTUNATE

The King greeted Diogo with a broad grin that almost hid the frailty of the rest of his frame, he moved slowly towards the table that separated them putting down a copy of the works of the poet Francesco Petrarch which was seldom far from his reach on top of the plans and sketches that liberally covered the long table. “Diogo my friend pour yourself some wine, sorry for the urgency but my days here are short the lord is calling, tell me how is my master builder?” Diogo moved hesitantly to the table and decanted the waiting wine into the goblet raised it to his mouth and sipped, Madeira! Any reticence or nerves instantly disappeared! This was the “Navigator’s” vision, nurturing the vine for the future, only now ready for imbibing and only in the quantities the privelieged could enjoy. Manuel laughed noticing the lightening of Diogo’s face with the taste of the wine “Is this why they call me Manuel the Fortunate Diogo?” Diogo’s mood went through a revolution he had been stupid to doubt his long friendship with the King

“In good health what is on your mind Majesty” said Diogo as he bowed not just in acknowledgment of the Kings station or his changed mood and faulty cognitions but the lack of faith in a man worthy of his admiration. “As I said I leave life’s troubles soon my work incomplete, look at these plans, nay dreams! Dreams we dreamt Diogo all unfinished or stillborn.” Manuel gesticulated to the sketches on the table as he continued “I wanted to leave Lisbon the most beautiful city in Christendom but alas that must wait for another time.” The King went on “To ensure this for future generations I have decided to form a secret society the Knights of St. Vincent with you as their leader to advise future monarchs to ensure that Portugal achieves greatness”

Diogo protested his inadequacy for the role stating “Do you forget majesty I am French” “Nonsense!” Manuel retorted shaking his head with conviction. “We are both Renaissance men; blood is but a mere seasoning to the flavour of our character." The King went on explaining that he had personally sought the best minds and noble spirited men with which to fill the order and had chosen Diogo as its leader. “This council would guide the crown not the nobles not the merchants and not the………….Can we pursue Gods glory if we are poor and wretched? We need to go forward innovate, trade and most importantly conquer to exalt God in all his glory” his eyes fixed on Diogo’s to reinforce the lack of apology for the intent of his words. Seeing the determination of his King, Diogo nodded in acceptance. "Excellent!" Manuel exclaimed. The King unrolled a map that lay on the table pinning it with Goblet and Petrarch and pointing decisively down at the map exulting “This is where the glory of Portugal lies.”

 

[BiB]

La Casa de la Contratacion 1520

Founded in 1503 and situated in the portal to the New World that is Sevilla this is an institution which concerns itself mainly with trade issues concerning the New World and also equipping the fleets and scientific cartography.

Here's an excerpt from their update from 1519 :

"Majesty, we present good news when we present u the current trends in world trade. We are glad to announce our merchants dominate markets at various places and we have gotten a stranglehold on many goods. Also, it prolly doesn't need saying anymore, but many gold is being found and mined in Nueva España and is being used to convert the natives there. Our maps are getting better and knowledge of the new world is increasing. The great shipyard in Sevilla is receiving many plans and the future overseas looks bright."

"Specifically, goodswise, we'd like to report our dominance on the market of sugar. Gold evidently but also more unexpectedly wine and iron though we expect to see France and Austria respectively take over in those fields as we concentrate on the more lucrative sugar trade. However we also should very soon be able to dominate the coffee trade."

 

[BiB]

El Consulado de Sevilla

With the coronation of Carlos I many new subjects from various places are also ruled by the King of Castilla. As such, Carlos I, in all his wisdom, has ordered for the New World to be opened to all his subjects and not just Castillians. Merchants, active in the Spanish New World trade, join together in the Consulado de Sevilla where their common interests are being taken care of.

Carlos I is xure the Flemish, Italian and so on merchants will provide an extra drive to overseas trade and plays down the fears of the Castillian merchants. He also re-iterated his point that the natives overseas are considered subjects of the Spanish Crown and should be treated as such. Evidently provided they are catholicised.

 

[PJL]

Venezia 1492-1520

Italiano
Venezia durante la rinascita era la repubblica mercantile italiana del premier, con i vasti interessi nel Mediterraneo orientale, dovuto le conquiste (contro Byzantium) e le eredità (recentemente che acquistano la Cipro). Tuttavia durante questo tempo, i Turchi sono aumentato velocemente ad alimentazione ed hanno distrutto i resti ultimi di vecchio impero romano orientale.

Entro 1492, Agostino Barbango ha avuto doge diventato di Venezia. Era presto di trasformarsi nel suo (ed il nostro) horriblus di annus, come quasi straightaway i Turchi diabolici dichiarati fanno la guerra su Venezia. Completamente siamo stati presi il aback da questo tramite questo movimento e più difettoso eravamo senza alleati (che il doge aveva provato ad ottenere nel primo mese o così della guerra, ma niente è venuto di esso). Così l'esercito è stato messo su manutenzione completa ed hanno combattuto bravely i Turchi, ma i numeri puri presto li hanno soprafati. Più difettoso ancora, il nostro blu marino grande è stato battuto indietro dal blu marino turco, benchè quello fosse più dovuto fortuna difettosa che niente altro.

Con virtualmente il tutto del continente occupato (se non preso) e della morte di Borgia che rende una situazione difettosa più difettosa, era soltanto un aspetto di tempo prima che i Turchi ci prendessero Ionia e vedendo poco l'aiuto prossimo, acconsentissimo a cosegnare l'isola in un affare di pace, biding il nostro tempo per vendetta che certamente verrebbe.

Dopo la guerra, Agostino Barbango ha ritenuto che Venezia ha dovuto essere compensata, ma ha deciso che forse acquietare i timori, che dichiarerebbe le sue intenzioni in anticipo di acquisizione del Mantua, poichè era all'interno della sfera veneziana di influenza e Venezia ha avuta un reclamo legittimo contro di lei. Alas questo ha fallito, poichè l'imperatore ha deciso che dovrebbe proteggere la condizione italiana, anche se non fanno parte dell'impero romano santo. Eppure, abbiamo deciso non intervenire, poichè ancora siamo stati preoccupati per i Turchi. Effettivamente, abbiamo osservato gli Austriaci come le di meno delle due malvagità ed abbiamo deciso unire la loro alleanza come salvaguardia e quando il momento è venuto, per vendetta.

Gran parte del resto di questo periodo è stato speso che sviluppa la nostra economia e che aspetta il colpo seguente dai Turchi. Leonardo Loredano si è transformato in nel nuovo doge in 1501 dopo la morte di Agostino. Molto siamo stati rattristati (ma non sorprendo) quando hanno deciso disonorare un accordo più iniziale hanno lasciato Venezia avere Alessandria avevano preso una volta che il controllo dell'Egitto dal Mamalukes verso 1512. A causa di questo abbiamo sviluppato rapidamente una nuova flotta ed abbiamo rinforzato il nostro esercito (cambuse del supplemento 60 conscripted e 10.000 uomini sono stati alzati).

La nostra vendetta era presto nel venire quando i Turchi hanno attacato il Hapsburgs sopra l'Ungheria e debitamente honoured l'alleanza che abbiamo avuti con loro. La guerra continuo e finora in Turchia ha venuto a contatto della resistenza più rigida dall'Austria che abbiamo previsto. Noi stessi non abbiamo svolto un ruolo troppo grande nella guerra, benchè fossimo alle frange ed abbiamo imbottigliato sul blu marino turco a Atene, così almeno che la minaccia è stata neutralizzata. Poichè parliamo la guerra è continua e promette di essere un lungo e quella che costosa temiamo.

English
Venice during the Renaissance was the premier Italian merchant republic, with extensive interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, due to conquests (against Byzantium) and inheritances (recently acquiring Cyprus). However during this time, the Turks rapidly rose to power and destroyed the last remnants of the old Eastern Roman Empire.

By 1492, Agostino Barbango had become doge of Venice. It was soon to turn into his (and ours) annus horriblus, as almost straightaway the evil Turks declared war on Venice. We were totally taken aback by this by this move, and worse we were without allies (which the doge had tried to get in the first month or so of the war, but nothing came of it). So the army was put on full maintenance and they bravely fought the Turks, but sheer numbers soon overwhelmed us. Even worse, our great navy was beaten back by the Turkish navy, though that was more due to bad luck than anything else.

With virtually the whole of the mainland occupied (if not taken) and the death of Borgia making a bad situation worse, it was only a matter of time before the Turks took Ionia from us, and seeing little help forthcoming, we agreed to hand over the island in a peace deal, biding our time for revenge which would surely come.

After the war, Agostino Barbango felt that Venice needed to be compensated, but decided that perhaps to allay fears, that he would declare his intentions beforehand of acquiring Mantua, as it was within the Venetian sphere of influence, and Venice had a legitimate claim against her. Alas this backfired, as the Emperor decided that he should protect the Italian state, even though they are not part of the Holy Roman Empire. Still, we decided not to intervene, as we were still worried about the Turks. Indeed, we viewed the Austrians as the lesser of two evils, and decided to join their alliance as a safeguard, and when the time came, for revenge.

Much of the rest of this period was spent building up our economy and waiting for the next strike from the Turks. Leonardo Loredano became the new doge in 1501 after the death of Agostino. We were very saddened (but not surprised) when they decided to dishonour an earlier agreement to let Venice have Alexandria once they had taken control of Egypt from the Mamalukes around 1512. Because of this we quickly built up a new fleet and strengthened our army (an extra 60 galleys were conscripted and 10,000 men was raised).

Our revenge was soon in coming when the Turks attacked the Hapsburgs over Hungary, and we duly honoured the alliance we had with them. The war in ongoing, and so far Turkey has met stiffer resistance from Austria than we expected. We ourselves have not played too big a role in the war, though we are at the fringes, and we have bottled up the Turkish navy in Athens, so at least that threat has been neutralised. As we speak the war is ongoing, and it promises to be a long and costly one we fear.

 

[Slargos]

Some screenies of the current situation

The University of Krakow has managed to produce these maps despite the recent war with Russia in which all able-bodied males were forced into service.



The political map of Europe, 1542

The religious situation after the Lutheran heretic faith spreads in the north.

A more detailed view of the eastern european religious situation. The persecution of christians in Hungary continues unabated. The Sultan has no comments.

 

[BiB]

1521 : The Peace of Perpignan

A state of war existed between Carlos I and François I with the Napolitan inheritance at stake. Carlos I was in no way inclined to give up Naples, which was rightfully his and was firmly under his rule but was faced by problems both externally and internally. The Turk was advancing rapidly in Hungary and Castillian nobles and cities were conspiring against their King, rumours had it. Large armies were raised to silence the French claims by force and crush the rebellion.

The problem however was the fact our navy proved ineffective to pass the Genoese fleet under the famed Doria. So our large armies could not get to Italy as France was sacking Rome. When Rome had fallen and France moved on to Naples, which had sizeable fortifications, while the Turk had occupied large swathes of Hungary and the comuneros rebellion started in earnest Carlos I took to the negotiation table (whilst also rapidly enlarging his fleetsize just to be on the xure side).

A deal was struck in which François relinquished his claims in Italy in favour of the Habsburgs and in return was unexcommunicated by the pope as he also agreed to a 25 year non aggression pact so the christians could face the infidel onslaught without being distracted otherwise.

In a totally unrelated incident the local nobles in Roussillon, mostly French nobles, revolted and chose to join the French kingdom. Not wanting to break the newly signed non aggression pact Carlos I decided to let it slip and concentrate on other matters at hand.

 

[BiB]

The War of the Comuneros and the War in Hungary

Matter number one on the agenda was crushing the rebellion. However Carlos I kept an ear open for some grievances and decided to give concessions to the peasantry to offset the power of the nobles. Free, pious subjects, loyal to their king would be a valuable asset. The nobles and cities however were crushed.

While the rebellion was crushed succesfully the war in Hungary had take a turn for the worse as Hungary decided to give in to the infidel and desert the Habsburg cause. But I am xure the report from my brother, commander in chief on the Hungarian front, will be more accurate and in detail. Let’s just say for now that things didn’t turn out well.

Because of the rebellion we decided to increase our army size and maintain its technological advantage over the rest of Europe, just in case. To fund all this we set our sights on the rich lands of the Inca tribe who seemed embroideled in a civil war of themselves. An excellent time to exploit this, Cortés figured. Carlos I agreed.

 

[BiB]

Colonial Expansion

Cortés moved into Inca territory and resistance up north proved futile. An alliance was struck with one faction of the Inca tribe and the country was divided into 2 zones with Spain getting the north and the winning side in the civil war the south (Their government was broken by rebels. Bastards.).

Cortés returned to Spain to report to Carlos I and after hearing his successes Carlos I gave him the new lands as part of his vicekingdom. Cortés was pleased and so was Carlos. Carlos had always had a keen eye for rewarding competence and loyalty and Cortés had proved he was more than both and was soon becoming Carlos's favourite general. Cortés returned to Mexico to preside over his realm.

Cortés further expanded Spanish influence by seizing the English possessions in the Caribbean and reached a situation which would be described the odd 500 years later by some coldly playing minstrels as “It was all yellow”. Settlements were also set up to connect the lands in the north to the ones in the south. Heathens were converted, tax collectors were appointed and fortifications were built. The Spanish Empire was blossoming once again and all looked well.

Cortés made a certain Pizzaro, his righthandman and dispensed him to take care of the remains of the rump Inca kingdom and as expected this was easily done by Pizzaro who started setting up an administration in Lima. More gold started to flow into the government coffers. However too much, some economical experts claimed. There also was the fact the rapid expansion had led to unrest back home and overexpansion was becoming a burden. Unrest was very hard to quell now. Cortés returned to Spain to report once again to Karl. Pizzaro substituted for him in the meantime.

 

[BiB]

Unrest in Europe

Things in Europe looked bleaker. A monk, going by the name of Luther, had managed to upstage the one true Faith and herecy was sperading throughout Europe. Over the years the whole of Scandinavia and northern Germany switched to lutheranism. Faced with internal strife and the Ottoman advance we were near forceless to put a stop to it.

Only in England we made efforts to stop the herecy as we promised substantial financial support to the catholic faction at the court. Largely unsuccesful as England converted away from the True Faith anyway we still have high hopes we can influence the court in such a way catholicism will soon again be embraced by England.

Apart from the upsurge of herecy, there also was the rapid expansion of the Turkish menace. Well, the Turks are currently at the gates of Vienna. Hungary, having chosen to stand alone, stood absolutely no chance alone as it was brutally subjugated by the sultan. At least a stronger grip on Italy was acquired in return.

 

[BiB]

Unrest at home

Worst of all though was the internal troubles. When a political crisis hit home in Castilla in 1534 at a time when the realm already was quite unruly because of disstressing news from Hungary, nobles, pissed of at the concessions given to the peasantry in the comuneros revolt, seemed eager to voice their discontent and question the king's decisions. When Cortés then arrived from the New World to warn about overexpansion the merchants in Sevilla also were none too pleased.

The Comuneros revolt not forgotten Carlos recognised the problems in his realm and took measures. Several high ranking generals were sacked and removed from positions of power, armies were dispersed and loyal civil servants were made to check up on nearly everything and everyone.

However visionary his measures might have been, they didn't stop what had been looming for a while now ...

 

[BiB]

1535 - 1541 : The Spanish Civil War

A full scale civil war hit Spain in 1535. Unlike the Communeros revolt this was a much better prepared revolt with much larger support. They also clearly had learned their lesson from 1520. The fortresses of all the key cities like Sevilla, Barcelona and Madrid were taken by complete surprise as a fourth of the army joined the noble cause.

The rest of the army stayed loyal tahnx to the previously taken measures by Carlos. Carlos himself took charge of the northern army and started hunting down the rebel army. Cortés who still was in Spain took charge of the southern army and marched for Sevilla.

Cortés still being in Spain was both a godsend for Carlos and at the same time his worst nightmare. At a time when all his generals had been sacked or had defected he was very pleased to have one of the best commanders ever by his side, however with Cortés in Spain, Pizzaro, who did not like being 2nd in rank to Cortés, had seized control of vast parts of the American colonial Empire, mostly concentrated in the Peruvian part of the Empire.

Also in Italy there was sympathy for the noble cause but the pope himself went in to squash the rebellions. We were in a very dire spot but God was by our side. As such when the Turk tried to take advantage of our instability and demanded that Algiers be released from our grip, we refused categorically. If he wanted Algiers the sultan could take up matters with Cortés. Wisely, the sultan backed down.

Spain might have been in a spot of bother but it still had the best and largest army out there under soem very skilled leadership. A real shame though that it had to fight the 2nd best army in the world under near equally skilled leadership, namely itself. Rebel morale was extremely high as new rebels joined the cause every month.

The following months saw us receive both good and bad news. In Europe the rebels were taking heavey hits from Carlos and Cortés but in the New World Pizzaro's influence was growing as now also Columbia and parts of Mexico and Hispaniola joined his cause. Previously those areas had stayed largely faithful, as they were in the heartland of Cortés and his most loyal servants's rule.

Carlos I trapped the rebel army in Catalunya and defeated it in a magistral show of force. Catalunyan nationalists who had joined the noble cause soon were on teh run and pretty soon they submitted themselves to Carlos again. Meanwhile in the south Cortés had razed the city of Sevilla and taken it back for the King. Much damage was doen to teh city though and reparations will be needed.

Carlos then drove for Madrid itself to break the backbone of the revolt in Castilla. Cortés was shipped to Italy to assist the pope in putting down the rebels there. After pacifying Naples, Sardinia didn't put up much of a fight. Carlos had recruited a big artillery corps by teh time he arrived in Madrid and had no trouble taking back teh city relatively quickly.

The rebellion in Europe had been crushed. However in the colonies the rebellion was in fact still spreading. This had farreaching detrimental effects for the economy. Gold shipments only arrived sparesely from the New World and merchants, weary of the warlike climate and lack of funding, started leaving Sevilla in droves. Punitive taxes on the Castillians and confiscations of rebellious nobles soon became the chief source of income.

That income was primely used for equipping a fleet and army with which Cortés could go back to America to seize back Nueva España. There was no money to help the economy at this time. While Carlos solidified his position in Europe, Cortés set sail to America to face his former protégé.

Cortés landed in Hispaniola and defeated some small groups of rebels who stood no chance against his sheer numbers and tactical superiority. News reached Mexico and reports of fleeing rebels reached Cortés. By the time he arrived in Mexico there was no rebellion there left to speak of.

Now came teh hard part though. Facing Pizzaro, a very able commander himself, in his Peruvian stronghold. The first little skirmishes in Columbia were easily won but then Cortés arrived in the mountains of the Andes, which was excellently suited to defensive warfare.

Cortés waited for reinforcements but those were intercepted by rebels leaving him no choice but to advance on Lima himself. As was to be expected by the time he got tehre Pizzaro was gone. He knew he didn't have to fight on the plains of Lima against Cortés who had the luxury of cavalery. Pizzaro had withdrawn himself high in the mountains and was sitting on the goldmine and trade center of Cuzco. Inca natives rose up and joined the cause of Pizzaro in the north and Cortés was encircled as the south, around Tucuman, had been firmly rebel controlled sincet he start of the war.

However, not only tactically but also strategically one could rely on Cortés. He had not stayed in Lima to enjoy the sights but he was just awaiting reinforcements over seas from Mexico. When those arrived Cortés started manouvering into the hinterlands of Peru to catch Pizzaro.

A large battle ensued in Cuzco which saw Cortés victorious on points. Pizzaro however had withdrawn to Potosi just before where with reinforcments from the south he had assembled the main bulk of his army. Cortés halted the offensive and paused to do some admionistrative work in Peru. He was not in a hurry, time was on his side.

Trade ties were re-established with Spain proper and the indians in the north were quickly slaughtered. Regular goldshipments were resumed and Spain could start rebuilding its wretched economy. And wretched it was. Riddled with rising inflation, lack of merchants and a climate which was very tough on entrepeneurial initiative and just about any tech research and innovation halted as everything was put towards restoring stability in the realm.

Cortés then shipped in and was landed with an army behind Pizzaro's back, cuting him off from his main supplies. As both the garrison from Cuzco and Cortés from the south moved in, Pizzaro found him left with not much options, encircled as he was. He tried hard but Cortés could not be outmanouvered and although a great general he found his master in Cortés and was killed in battle. The rebellion was all but crushed.

Cortés returned up north, leaving his army to take back the last few stubborn rebel holdings in the south, and then set sail for Spain to give Carlos the good news.

Carlos recognised Cortés's brilliance on the battlefield and most importantly his loyalty and made the vicekinghood hereditary in his family. Nueva España was forever to be the realm of the Cortés's. Cortés himself could not enjoy his new found status long though as he died soon after and was entombed with all the necessary honours.

Carlos meanwhile made stringest reforms of the state structure to make xure this would never happen again. Noble powers were severely limited and from now on Spain would be an absolute, centralised monarchy.

It's 1542 now, 7 years sicne the civil war started and a few years since it ended and Spain once again had the largest army and now also teh largest navy. However the economy, though severely benefiting from mercantilist measures, was yet to fully recover and unrest still was somewhat present in the realm. Stalled innovation and inflation issues were at the order of the day. Gold shipments however are back in full swing and will soon be able to be used to fight the heretics.

 

[Damocles]

1520 - 1542


"Nothing is respected more than the Empire,

No fortune in the world is as important as health,

The sultanate is just something on the way to death.

Nothing but unity is better than fortune and happiness."

The year was 1520 and tumultuous events were sweeping across all of Eastern Europe, the centre of this turbulence, being the conflict between the Ottoman Empire under Selim Yarvuz and the Habsburg Empire under the King of Spain, Charles.
A large Ottoman army of 57,000 had invaded Hungary earlier in that year to attack the 77,000 strong Habsburg army under the German field marshall, Von Frundsberg. The battle had been fierce, resulting in severe casualties on both sides. Despite the fact that the Ottomans could afford these losses better then the Habsburgs, they had been so great, that Selim would need to regroup in Serbia before he could make a serious attempt to assault Budapest. Unfortunately for Selim, Von Frundsberg was reinforced with a large number of reinforcements from Austria proper, Charles having recruited one out of every ten Austrian males for his campaign to push the Turkish forces completely out of Hungary.

After suffering through a particularly vicious winter on his retreat back to Ottoman holdings to the south, Selim I Yarvuz or better known to posterity as "The Excellent" succumbed to the chill and died of pneumonia. Thus, only 17,000 survivors returned to Serbia, the majority of which was Anatolian cavalry. There were 20,000 Slavic foot soldiers under Janos Zapolya already in Serbia who had been awaiting the return of Selim. The Ottomans and their allies were despirited at this time, having lost their great Sultan to the seeming invincible army of Frundsberg. Now strengthened and larger then ever, was surprisingly, advancing right for Croatia in an attempt to force the Ottomans to the peace table by finishing off what remained of their main army.

Despite the imminent arrival of the Habsburg main army, Zapolya would not consign himself to defeatism. Instead, he routed two smaller armies belonging to the Papalists and the Venetians, forcing them to retreat back to the mountains of Dalmatia. A small force belonging to the Papalists resorted to brigandage in Albania and Greece before being mostly dispersed by detachments in the south.

It was now that Zapolya arranged his roughly 35,000 fighting men along the banks of the Danube to defend the wide, fertile plains of Serbia from the crossing of Frundsberg's main army into Ottoman territory from the province of Banat. There were few that expected victory, yet they had not reckoned on Selim's heir. Immediately upon hearing of the death of his father, Suleyman did not waste any time to mourn. Instead, he gathered 19,000 of his swiftest Turkish Sipahy and made with all haste, arriving only a few days before the lead elements of Frundsberg's army began to make their crossing.

Taking command of Zapolya's forces, Suleyman pulled his troops back from the Danube and concentrated them in the plain before the city of Belgrade, allowing Frundsberg to cross with all of his infantry and most of his cavalry, leaving only his elite mounted regulars on the opposite bank of the river. Suleyman struck with a fierce vengeance to avenge the defeat of his father. Utilizing his numerical superiority in cavalry and the open plains that allowed the Turks to maneuver to the best advantage, the Austrian soldiers were cut down in surprising numbers. Never before had there been such a one-sided battle. Frundsberg himself barely managed to retreat back across the Danube. Fully 48,000 Austrian soldiers lost their lives on the plains of Serbia, leaving only 12,000 cavalry under Frundsberg still to make a desperate retreat. Few Turks had died.

In hot persuit, Suleyman attempted to catch Frundsberg, moving his army across the Danube back into Hungary proper. Again, Frundsberg would surprise the Ottomans with Austrian ingenuity. Once again, it seemed as if the Habsburg supply of mercenaries was limited. After desultory skirmishes around Maros and Banat, Frundsberg arrived in Pest, just outside the town of Mohacs, with some 12,000 survivors of elite cavalry, whereupon 30,000 more Austrians joined him, along with 27,000 Hungarians under his brother Ferdinand, among whom, there were some supporters for him to take the Hungarian throne.

There now began the second climatic battle of Mohacs with all too familiar results. The Ottoman and Habsburg armies clashed in vicious combat, a struggle which lasted a full two weeks. In the end, both Frundsberg and Suleyman were forced to withdraw. Frundsberg lacked the troops to fight another battle on the wide open plains, and Suleyman had too few to assault, instead needing to content himself with besieging Maros to the east. In Serbia and Bosnia, more infantry were being recruited for a third campaign against Hungary, again under Zapolya. Yet, Ottoman intelligence reported that the Austrians were also massing another army that would not allow the Ottomans the chance to begin any systematic preparations.

Yet it was now that disaster struck. A massive uprising began in Egypt, instituted by the last of the Mameluke rulers in an attempt to retake their former authority now that the Ottoman Empire was engaged in war. A similar situation was erupting in Armenia and Lebanon. Because of this unforseen occurence, the Ottomans were forced to split their army in this trying time, and send it all the way around the Levant to try and suppress this rebellion. Considering that some 150,000 rebels were in arms against him in Egypt, this would take several years.

Recognizing that he needed to create a situation whereby the Ottomans could regain the initative and keep it for at least a year to rebuild his armies, Suleyman devised an ingenious plan. The young Sultan sent his finest cavalry leader, Pasha Bali with 17,000 cavalry into the very heart of the Austrian territories, pillaging and skirmishing with small detachments of Austrians from Milan to Carpathia, eventually causing for both of the large Habsburg armies to turn inward to try and catch him. Meanwhile, Suleyman took command of 50,000 infantry and Greek siege engineers. He then began a methodical campaign of conquest, leveling and seizing the provinces of Croatia, Banat and Wallachia. Faced with such with such conquests and with the Habsburgs nowhere in sight, Lazlos agreed to a peace with the Ottomans, undermining the official Austrian position, despite saving his rule in the process. Zapolya was recognized as King over the newly conquered Ottoman territories.

Only weeks later, with 42,000 Ottomans now advancing on Dalmatia, the Christian coalition of Austria, Venice, Poland, Papal States, Spain and Portugal agreed to a general cessation of hostilities. Sultan Suleyman had been triumphant in his first campaign and was on his way to becoming the greatest Sultan ever.

Suleyman the Lawgiver was born in Trebizond during the time when his father was Governor there. He had been well trained and educated and was made Sultan when he was 26 years of age. He was serious and dignified and always acted with great composure. He would always give careful consideration before making a decision but once he made up his mind he would never change it. Suleyman always promoted his advisors by their ability and efficiency.

Now that he had peace with the Christians, Suleyman was free to turn his attention towards the uprising in Egypt who had managed to capture both Alexandria and Cairo. Debarking with an army of 30,000, he spent the next year rooting out the Mameluke resistance and ensuring that such an uprising could never happen again. Finally at peace, the Sultan then began an aggressive economic policy of growth and consolidation. He recognized that if the Ottomans were to remain in Europe, he would need to make the people of these lands as much his as they ever were to a Christian ruler. Thus, Suleyman the Lawgiver began to arrange in each province, that any who converted to Islam would be free of taxation should they also provide military service. It was also declared that non-muslims could not hold power in any way in these provinces, though their religion was not persecuted. In fact, there were more tolerance for Catholics, Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim alike in the Ottoman Empire then in Germany. Hand in hand with this new policy was the establishing of cantonments in the newly conquered provinces, so that they could provide their fair share of manpower. (Four cantonments events in 20 years).

Suleyman's wise leadership insured that the economy grew at an exponential rate with inflation at an all time low. Yet the Sultan also prepared for war. With a massive army comprised of some 90,000 Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Slavonic troops, he once again rolled across the Hungarian border in 1527. With Zapolya besides him, he easily sieged and took Krain, Transylvania, Ruthenia, Maros, Pest and Magyar. The Austrians, would not come to Hungary's aid this time, perhaps expecting to make unexpected gains at it's expense as well. Surprising both the Sultan and the King of Spain and Archduke Ferdinand, the Hungarians chose to elect Janos Zapolya of Sienburgan and famed Ottoman lackey as their ruler rather then turn to the Austrians for assistance.

Greatly pleased by this turn of events, Sultan Suleyman acquired Krain, Maros and Pest, leaving Zapolya to inherit the rest of the Kingdom of Hungary. Not only were the Ottomans making such great gains in the Balkans, but their religous policies were also paying vast dividends all throughout the Empire, achieving a great degree of religious homogenity among the Greeks, Slavs, Romanians and Magyars in Pest. The Ottoman Empire was experiencing a great maturity in it's cultural and economic achievements matched by military success.

Yet this was not to last for long. Despite Suleyman's overwhelming success at home, he knew that there was much to be done abroad still. The first incident that caught his attention was that his once loyal ally, Janos Zapolya was engaging in negotiations with his allies in which he hoped to gain tracts of territory that once belonged to Hungary. He was an inefficient administrator and leader, a whole stretch of his Carpathian territory having defected to the unwilling Polish kingdom just months earlier. His once loyal vassal had grown far too ambitious for his own good. This caused Suleyman to arrange another great invasion army with which to invade what remained of Hungary. He divided his armies between his Grand Vezir Ibrahim and Pasha Gazi. Sending Gazi to Odenburg, he instructed Ibrahim to go about the conquest of Magyar, Transylvania and Ruthenia, the conquest of which proved effortless, despite a 30,000 Hungarian army under Zapolya attempted to stop them in the mountains. The Hungarian King was captured in the process and sent in chains back to the Sublime Porte.

Simultaneously, a rather interesting event unfolded. Seeing that the Ottomans were poised to devour all of Hungary, the Austrians also flooded across the border in two great armies, attempting to wrest Odenburg and Presburg from Zapolya, lest the Turks claim these as well. Pasha Gazi arrived in Odenburg first and immediately began an assault of the sizable fortress that controlled the region. Initially failing, taking and incurring heavy casualties in the process, the Turks were dismayed to see the arrival of 30,000 fresh Austrians who promptly took over the assault. The uncouth Austrian general even complimented the Ottomans on the breaches they made, which the Austrians intended to exploit. Since the Hasburgs and the Ottomans were not in a state of war at this time, nothing could be done about it. The siege proceded, with a determined storming attempt led by the Austrians, capitalizing on the Turkish efforts. When it appeared that the city would go to Austrian control, the tables were suddenly turned. Suleyman the Magnificent himself arrived, though his presence had not been expected. Being the most authoriative individual in the province, the city chose to capitulate to him rather then a mere Austrian general, who they felt had backstabbed them to begin with.

Suleyman then took command of the remnats of Pasha Gazi's army and led them across the Danube north, where the Austrian forces were in mid siege of the city of Presburg as well. Again, the residents chose to capitulate to the Ottoman Sultan, rather then the traitorous Charles. The Ottomans were now in complete command of Hungary. Odenburg, Presburg, Transylvania and Ruthenia were annexed directly to the Ottoman throne. Sultan Suleyman in his magnificent mercy allowed Zapolya to remain king of the severely diminished Hungary until his death, whereupon it would devolve to the Ottoman Empire in perpetuity. This is exactly what happened, and in 1539, Zapolya died in his sleep, some claimed to have been poised, and the province of Magyar became one with the Ottoman possessions in Eastern Europe.

The largest kingdom in Europe now belonged to the Ottoman Empire, whose possessions stretched from Istanbul to just outside Vienna. They were the most powerful realm existence in 1542, having been ruled by Suleyman for 22 profitable years...A little over half his reign. Yet, this was only the beginning of what would stand testement to his determination and will to forge a destiny that would last forever.

 

[BiB]

La Casa de la Contratacion 1540

Update on the economical state of the realm for eyes of the King only.

"Sire, the civil war has hit us bad though we are recovering as we speak. Our merchant factions have been decimated and are only starting to recover now. Gold shipments are back in full working order. Mercantilist policies have been enforced regarding overseas trade and we will profit from those shortly. The heyday of Spanish trade dominance may be over though. Taxation, production and tolls are all more important for the coffers of the Kingdom than trade and many merchants have left for greener pastures."

"Good news though from specific market segments. Apart from our large monopolies on the sugar trade, we now also lead the world market in cupper. Though it has come at a price, be it a small one, because as expected ur Austrian lands have taken over the lead in iron production. What did not go as expected thoguh is the wine market. Despite losing the rich wine lands of Perpignan to the French King the French still are yet to take over leadership in this field. Also, Arabic coffee is no longer the most used in teh world as the Spanish coffee plantages in the New World are moving in and taking over. No nation has as many solid market positions as us, Majesty."

 

[Smirfy]

[color=0087]Portugal 1540[/color]

The Knights of St Vincent

III. SOCIETAS JESU

An uninvited guest never brings anything but ill-tidings to any celebration and when Balatasar saw Pellas Gonçallves enter the room he understood that this truth would soon be confirmed for Pellas was Chamberlain to the King and chief conduit of intelligence of His Majesty Jao III King of Portugal intentions to the Knights. For this most prized asset of the secret society to leave his post it had to be a critical development. Pellas hung his cloak at the door and walked to the head of the long table. His progress unnoticed by the guests except for Balastar for they were caught up in the triumphal celebration of twenty years of the Knights of St Vincent recounting there success in stopping the inquisition, attracting scholars and artists from all over Europe and expanding Portugal’s influence abroad. Pallas reached Balastar bent down and whispered in his ear.

This was a problem a serious obstacle that could not be swept away with quiet words of influence nor surgical bribes to men of station. No favour could turn back this tide. This was too powerful an organization wielding power and influence that had an iron grip on the ignorant minds of the masses, more worrying the piety of the king Jao III would give them fertile ground to plant their seeds. Balstasar rose and rapped his knuckles on the heavy surface of the table the dull knock catching the attention of the assembled members and he declared in solemn voice “Grim news gentlemen the Pope has sent Peter Canisius of the Jesuits to discuss with King Jao the establishing of the order in Portugal." There was a stunned silence as Balstasar Dias Playwright, Humanist and Leader of the Knights since the passing of Diogo De Boytac expounded “They will grow like a weed and choke us, our work will be for naught if they gain influence, Counter Reformation policies would be disastrous for Portugal!”, the table nodded their agreement but what could be done? Fatality gripped the room, would their power and influence diminish and fade now?

Luis De Camones the poet the brightest star of Portuguese literature and a favourite throughout the land stood up and paced round the table, then spoke eloquently the words dripping with honey but the intent dripping with venom almost hypnotizing the gathering till Dias unaffected by the sophistry cut him short “You mean to assassinate Peter Canisius?” Luis stopped pacing the seated guests were shook from there trance by Dias's interruption. Balstasar went on “Even if you are successful the society is like a hydra it will simply grow another head…..he paused thoughtful for a moment then looking round the table stating firmly “Luis, we are astronomers, clerics, navigators, poets and writers. Manuel and Diogo picked well to glorify life but poorly to engineer death. We are not assassins Luis!” The members sat nodding in agreement.

“Well!” Luis replied and commenced once more to pace looking directly at each seated guest past the eyes into their very soul as he went by. “Our vision of Portugal do we give up here? Now! Our learning locked away, sunk in paranoia? Shall we let them purge our people as the Jesuits purge our dreams, we must steel ourselves to action to keep Manuel’s dreams alive. He stopped at the opposite end of the table and laid the challenge directly at Balstasar. “If we are to prevent the hydra growing another head then discredit must be on the wings of death!” He spoke with confidence as if it was the simplest task in the world and continued “if our hand shakes before the victim, then we must employ one that does not and has experience in such transactions.” “And where do we find such a gentleman pluck him from the pages of one of your poems” Balstasar’s tone of sarcasm brought a gentle laugh to the assembled guests which would have been louder not withstanding the seriousness of the machinations being discussed. A light cough emanated from Dias’s left hand side it was Bernaldo de Goes, he repeated it “Father?” Balstasar questioned, De Goes anwsered “No need to taint other hands, it is possible” “What! Blurted Balstasar and Luis simultaneously “It can be done” Said Father De Goes the expression on his face vouching for his belief in the sincerity of his words

Luis De Camones

 

[Smirfy]

[color=0087]Portugal 1521-1540[/color]

Portuguese Nau type Ships


The First Balkan War 1521

Honouring commitments and committing forces proved difficult with the home army in a perilous state when mobilized consisting of only 5k foot Manuel weaker by the day did his best completing two more warships to commit to the Tyrrhenian sea adding to the squadron of five on deployment. Genoa and Savoy proved able foes under Andrea Doria’s leadership immediately blockading the Pillars of Hercules continually defeating Spanish Naval forces there driving a Papal squadron away from Corsica on several occasions making the Mediterranean “Mare Nostrum.” Frantic emissaries from Italy begging for assistance came but with the strait of Gibraltar closed the troops had to make the long overland crossing to Catalonia to embark on the Mediterranean squadron.
Sailing across the Ligurian sea avoiding Genovese patrols it attempted to land forces on Corsica but the island garrison was too strong and the forces managed to re-embark without much loss. Receiving further orders they proceeded upon the raiding of the Turks North African coast defeating a Savoy squadron off Cap Bon. The squadron landed Troops who set about pillaging Tripoli. Five thousand more troops were raised in Lisbon and made the arduous trek to Catalonia embarking on the returning squadron to effect a siege on Tripoli but news came of a general peace and the army sailed home.




Odisar annexed 1525-26

On hearing of China’s declaration of war against Odisa various Maharajah on the Sub-Continent approached the Governor Jorge De Lima in Goa pleading for intervention lest China be in a position to gain a foothold so threatening their position. Transport ships were fitted out and immediately loaded with troops and when the local ruler refused protection his strongholds were laid siege to and soon were in a state of submission. De Lima annexed the province to deny the Chinese a foothold. The Indian’s hailed the Portuguese as savoiurs and gave there blessing on Odisa’s new ownership.


Oman war 1539-40

Goa was rapidly expanding becoming the seat of Portuguese power in the Indian Ocean and when Oman’s officials began harassing Portuguese merchants the governor, De Lima dispatched François Xavier and Martim de Sousa to bring the Sultan into line. The two experienced conquistadors rapidly overran the country though at sea in several stiff fights Oman’s navy managed to sink eight Portuguese warships and several transports without winning a battle. This did not alter the outcome of the war and the sultan sued for peace giving up all territory bar Oman.

 

[unmerged(10915)]

Sweden : 1520 - 1542 : A new Era

During troubled times, a hero always rises. To protect the people, to save them from an unlucky fate, a surpressing government or even from themselves. When the 16th century had ended its second decade, the state of the Kalmar Union was all but stable. The Danish supremacy over the Union had not been seen with friendly eyes by the nobles in Sweden. Yet some still fought on, trying to strenghthen the bonds with their neighbors, unaware that it would be for naught. The previous years, Sweden had drifted further and further away from Denmark, the failed coup by king Hans being a primary factor and serious attempts at leaving the Union had been made. The Danes kept silent however and this gave Sweden breathing space to go all the way.*

Gustav Vasa, reliever of the Danish yoke

From the ranks of nobles had risen a man, determined to make Sweden an independent nation once again. His name was Gustav Vasa and he had many great characteristics. He was strong and robust, a great speaker and the ability to lead people.

In August of 1521, a very important event happened in Kobenhavn. The local populace had risen against their king and were now sieging the capital of the Union!
This was a sign of the weakness of Christian II and a great opportunity for Gustav Vasa.

In October 1521, he took the title "Riksföreståndare", a title used during times when the nobles think the government is unfit to rule. Many couriers were sent across the country, gathering local support for what was to come.
In January of 1522, Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden and an official letter of dissolvement arrived in Kobenhavn. Sweden was no longer a part of the Kalmar Union!

But the Danes had finally decided that they would be humiliated no longer. In the latter part of 1522, two large Danish forces, about 30k and 20k, crossed the border and laid siege to Kalmar and Älvsborg. The Swedish force, under Field Chief Judge Von Mehlen waited in Stockholm, with an army consisting of about 32k, mostly infantry.
In Finland, a small Danish army of 2k began pillaging and raiding, but was soon sent retreating, both because of winter and that minor Swedish counterforces had arrived.

The opening of the war consisted mainly of small skirmishes and the smaller Swedish army trying to outmanuever the superior Danish force, plus trying to attrition them down to a more reasonable level.
The navy was, after a very close battle, sent buring into port and Admiral Jakob Bagge never tried a second expedition to challenge the superior Danish navy.
In Finland and Gästrikland, large numbers of the populace was conscripted. Throughout the entire war about six of ten men were sent to join the army.
After a few turns, Von Mehlen decided it was time to act. He marched for the sieging force in Småland, consisting of about 20k. The outcome was given, but sadly, Danish reinforcements arrived and Von Mehlen had to retreat to Stockholm. The Danish force pursued and Von Mehlen was forced to retreat even further up the country. Luckily, he wasnt pursued this time and he managed to establish base in Gästrikland, near the city of Gävle. New recruits arrived from Finland and the Swedish army was again numbering about 35k.

The situation looked dire. The Danish had raided and pillaged Götaland (Småland and Västergötland) and the taxes from Finland were slightly halted. But even worse, the capital was under siege! With a crippled economy and an army she was unable to hold for a longer time, Sweden had to act fast. Requests were sent to France to try to uphold the economy for at least a few months more and the last conscript was sent out in the country.
In February of 1523, Von Mehlen issued the order to break camp. Sweden was going to have the battle for her life and it was also the battle for future freedom.
Arriving in Stockholm on the 8th of March, they instantly clashed with the Danish force of about 20k. Exhausted and worse equipped, the Swedish fought with valor and were winning the battle. But after a week of fighting, Danish reinforcements started arriving from the south. In total, about 40k Danes defended their siege against 35k Swedes.

In the greatest victory in Swedish history, the Danes were sent fleeing to Småland. Von Mehlen followed and soon the entire Danish army was chased all the way back to Skåne. It was now that Christian II was ready to sign a white peace.

The Rule of Gustav Vasa

While Denmark sat down to lick her wounds, Gustav issued major reforms in the country. In the past, Sweden had to pay major sums of gold in tribute to the Danish king, but now they were relieved of that burden. Gustav Vasa was a great economist and began using the strenghtened cash flow to make the economy more stable. Traders were sent out and Sweden finally started to have some cash to go around.
In Germany, a man named Matin Luther had nailed a few theses on a church door, causing great havoc in the religious world. His ideas spread quickly and soon they reached the cold north. Denmark was the first to adopt this new religion as their state philosophy and Gustav Vasa, not willing to be worse and for the fact that most of his subjects had expressed a liking in Luther´s teachings, went the same way as Denmark. Estates and wealth were confiscated from the church and this gave an even greater cash flow.
Royal "Convincers" were sent to the few places that didnt agree to the new change namely the province of Savolaks and the outlandinsh Lappland. The Savolakis quickly adopted the new faith, but the Lapps proved to be worrysome and decided to revolt.
It was now that Gustav showed a new side of himself. He could be extremely ruthless when fate required him to. One out of ten men were executed and the ringleaders and their families were exiled, their lands confiscated.

In 1532, Poland subjugated the protestant duchy (?) of Pommerania. Gustav, now a hardcore protestant felt the urge to come aid his fellow religion brothers. He sent letters that the province of Vorpommern be ceded to the Swedish crown, for future protection. Von Mehlen loaded his army into boats and sailed for the German coast. Two miles from shore, he set anchor, starting discussions with the Polish king.
Zygmunt I Stary was about to accept the demand, but Emperor Karl V strongly rejected this with serenity. Given the state Poland was in at the time, having lost a long-winded war against Russia and the local populace in uproar, Gustav took the opportunity and told Von Mehlen to sail further upwards along the Baltic coast, to the Lithuanian province of Livland. He was going to be reimbused for the Polish insult. Besides, Sweden had always looked for opportunities to expand eastwards.
Given the state Poland was in, Zygmunt was forced to cede Livland.
Sweden had now aquired a strong foothold in the Baltics.
The upcoming years were centered around improving the economy. With Sweden leaving hundreds of years of being a small state in the backwater of Europe, she was now ready to become something big.
Only God knows what the future might hold and i assure you, he isnt very talkative.

*We didnt have a real Union war (wars for about 20 years i mean), so i cant really write about Vasa´s imprisonment in Denmark and when he went to Dalarna to start a revolt. It would just be less likely to happen if the disolvement of the Union went about this peacefully.

 

[kurtbrian]

the Kalmar War and the breaking of the Union

The kalmar Union of 1520 was was suffering from a lot of internal trouble. The swedish nobles grew more and more independant of the union king. King Christian II was trying to reduce the power of the nobles, and promote the merchant class, and trade in general, and that caúsed great turmoil among the nobles of Scandinavia.

King Christian was a brutal man, when the swedish nobility had the nerve to break from the union, Christian sailed to Stockholm with a smal force and had several of the heads of the noble families executed. This was later to be known as the 'Bloodbath of Stockholm' A son of one of the murdered nobles, Gustav Wasa Eriksen, rose up to to lead Sweden on collision course with Denmark. On the 20th of february 1520 The union of Kalmar was no more. June 17th saw a declaration of war on sweden from a furious Christian II. He quickly took command of the main army, some 30,000 men marched on stockholm from Skåne with the intetion of reigning in the troublesome swedes. The war waged back and forth with neither of the armies getting the upper hand. However Christian II soon discovered he had much more serious problems than the war with Sweden. The nobles of Denmark conspired to imprison Christian and have his uncle replace him on the throne. Frederik became king on the 13th of april 1523. Two months later after having a lost a vicious battle against Sweden, he signed peace and acknowledged Sweden as an independant nation. The army however was still loyal to Christian II and all but a few of the 30,000 soldiers simply deserted. (I’m still not over this, I consider it the game cheating me out of my entire army, something that can make me very angry)

 

[Slargos]

1520 - 1542: The Russian War

The continued reign of Zygmunt I: 1520 - 1542
The Assault of the Human Wave

​

In March of 1520, Zygmunt received dire news. Russia was exploiting the Polish commitment in Hungary and moved in on largely unprotected Lithuanian border provinces.
A general call for the vassals of Poland resulted in the mobilisation of the Prussian army, but another ominous missive arrived in April. The Teutonic knights were using this opportunity to break loose of Polish hegemony!
Bad fortune never travels alone, and the point was driven home when the russian sattelitestates declared their intent to grab their own slices of Lithuanian lands.

Nevermind. There was a war to fight, and chastisement of the knights would have to wait. The russians were the bigger problems.
Ostrogski was ordered to return to Poland with the remainder of the expedition to Hungary to raise new forces to meet the russians.
Meanwhile, the cavalryforce that was supposed to reinforce Ostrogski was ordered north on a forced march to the Ukraine to start harrassing the russian invaders.

The Lithuanian armies largely controlled by local magnates and suffering from fragmented commands, fared poorly against the russians and were routed in the eastern plains. In the west, they made gains against Pskov, but were of little help elsewhere.

First contact between Russian and Polish armies resulted in a rout of the inexperienced Polish cavalry by twice their number in Russian infantry and their auxiliary Ryazaner Cavalry.

Shocked reports filtered back to Zygmunt in the coming week, as the superior new technology delivered from the Habsburg armouries was thought to be able to deliver a decisive strike against the inferior russians. Technology, however, did not help when doctrinal thought was lacking.

This first battle would prove to be decisive to the outcome of the war, because the rest of the war was spent attempting to recruit enough forces to match that of the russians.

In June of 1521, news of the cessasion of hostilities in Hungary reached Krakow, and Polish attention could be switched fully to the war with Russia.
In July, a treaty was negotiated with Berlin wherein the germans would supply troops in exchange for gold and trade concessions. Later the same month, the teutons agreed to a similar treaty upon promises that there would be no punshment for breaking the previous treaties.

What followed was 8 years of campaign in Lithuiania and a more cautious stance from Ostrogski and the heir to the Radziwill estates.
In 1524, young Radziwill died in the Ukraine where Ostrogski would meet his destiny 4 years later. The Radziwills were near wiped out then, if not for the wife delivering a child some months later, securing stability in one of Poland's most important noble families.

The campaign was looking good in 1524, as the russian was pushed back on all fronts, especially in the west by the victorious german armies who fought with great zeal.
However, the efforts were continually undermined by the Lithuanian magnates often refusing to supply polish armies with food and housing during the winters, complaining that unfair amounts of supplies were stolen by the poles.

The tide was again turning in the Russian's favour. German armies paid for by Polish gold were raised, but stayed in Prussia and Brandenburg, despite repeated messages from Zygmunt to persuade the german princes to move.

In 1528, the Lithuanian magnates finally caved in, and in a hastily convened Sejm accepted a cease-fire with the russian, ceding huge tracts of land to the greedy muscovite prince. This might have been influenced by the death of Ostrogski's entire army in the Ukraine, where a battle of epic proportions had been fought with terrible losses on both sides.

Outraged by this betrayal, Zygmunt refused to accept cease-fire until a month later when his advisers finally convinced him to accept his losses and deal with the trecherous magnates.

Come 1529, the german states of Brandenburg and Pommern decided that Poland was sufficiently weakened and declared their intent to break free of Polish hegemony. Brandenburg broke the vassalage and declared themselves Lutheran, while Pommerania went the added mile and declared war on Poland hoping to grab the rich Gdansk.

Polish armies, despite in a state of disarray and demoralization, quickly and efficiently invaded Pommerania, forcing them to again submit to Polish taxcollectors...

Resentment against the germans was starting to brew, and from peasant and noble alike, there was a feeling of being let down by their german allies.
Zygmunt was worried that this resentment would turn into outright demands from the nobles to rethink the alignment with the habsburgs and moves were made to silence the dissenters.

In 1532, a year of rebellion, the provinces of Carpathia and Jedisan were wrested from the hands of Hungary and Moldavia respectively, and offered on a platter to the polish king.

Zygmunt did his duty as a christian king and accepted their requests for polish help, but he couldn't help but fear what this would do to his relations with the Hapsburgs and the Ottomans.

Only some months later as expected, an angry missive came from the Emperor's brother, complaining about "polish expansionist tendancies". Although no overt threats were made, the tone of the message was icy enough.

Around the same time, the king's men were sent to Jedisan to scout out positions for new fortifications. What they came upon and captured were scouts sent from the ottoman lands, apparently to prepare for a later invasion.

Obviously, Poland was headed for more conflict and that soon...

1535 saw the Swedish king Gustav Vasa threatening an invasion of the baltic and when Zygmunt protested, a great army of the heretics landed in Estonia and despite brave Lithuanian defense of the coast, Estonia soon fell into Swedish hands.

The illusion of peace was summoned after the Swede was satisfied with his gains, and only minor border skirmishes with the muslims to the east disturbed it.

In the year of our lord, 1542, Poland is hurt but is still alive.