Machiavelli II - The Rebirth - MP AAR

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Confidential Report on 1558 Income

...and discussion on a few important issues

Portugal, 1559

…Barnius VI “The Warrior” de Rico, Conselheiro Confidencial dos Reis, fourth Duke of Lisboa, delivering the confidential information on income of major European countries to His Majesty King Sebastião I…

Your Majesty, here is the report on your treasury income for the last year. I also prepared the same data for other important European countries.

…it’s a table and that is the related graph, your Highness … please, let me assist you…

All numbers are adjusted for the inflation…

Inflation? What is inflated? I heard there is a man in Florence…

…Yes, hmm, this is different type of “inflation”. What you have to know is it’s BAD. And Portuguese inflation is…could become rather disquieting. But let’s proceed with the rest of the data.
Disposable income is the sum of all regular sources of income for your Royal Treasury. That means that war gains and some irregular events are excluded. You can see that almost half of Portuguese disposable income comes from my…er…hmm…the Portuguese Trading Company…

The Portuguese Trading Company…everyone is talking about it, about its immense wealth and unbelievable prosperity, but during this more than a year that I am the King I never found any precise information about it…Could you enlighten me?

Certainly, your majesty! …well, how to begin…probably the best way is direct approach: it’s your company, Highness. Partly. Our families were the cofounders and the main shareholders. Initially your family owned 1/2 and mine family 1/4 with quite a number of other smaller investors owning the rest. Now the ownership is slightly changed: Your Majesty owns about 1/8 and…

OK, OK…1/2, 1/4, 2/8…it’s all confusing, I trust you to take care about is as it was your own.

Naturally , Your Majesty, as I said, considerable part of the Portuguese Trading Company is mine. Our families are tightly bonded with it. For example, as usually, whenever you need cash for whatever reason, be it the war for the glory of Kingdom and God or Royal Hunting, I am ready to provide it to your majesty in exchange for a small part of your share of the Company. That way you can be absolutely sure I will run it as it was my own, although I currently control only 5/8…By the way, if Your Majesty ever finds out to whom your great father sold 1/8 of the Company, I would be very interested to know it too…this is important for the Company and for Your Majesty.

Yes, no problem, I regularly transfer all the papers with some numbers on to you anyway. Why would I keep you by my side if not to serve me, right?
…back to that table…what is this culture and research you listed here?

How smart of Your Majesty to point it out! Brilliant indeed! Portugal unfortunately has a shortage of cultural income. Some day we will have to invest in some Art Academies or museums. They are very useful for keeping citizens happy and thus raising the stability of the country. But if we lack cultural income, that most certainly is not the case with the scientific research, which is probably the most important issue in the long term development of the country. Portugal has 2 naval manufactories from the time of your grand father. They were build on the initiative of my grandfather and contribute very much to out naval technology, so Portugal is still the leading nation in that area. Recently we have build 2 refineries. They are a great source of income to your Royal Treasury, but more important is their contribution to research of trade as well as trade efficiency itself. With those investments we should be able keep pace with our ancient competition – Venice and Genoa – as well as with those new trading companies of English and Dutch merchants up north.

To conclude, you can see Portugal firmly holds the second place, after our ungodly rich neighbours…

I am not concerned with Spain. They are good Catholics and have never been enemies of Portugal. You shouldn’t think I don’t remember - infidels from Ottoman Empire are the one who prevented us from seizing the control over Timbuktu COT and two neighbouring provinces with rich gold mines! Look! They are only slightly behind us in income! And now there is little hope we will ever acquire those provinces for Portugal!

Yes, I know. Fortune really turned her back onus on that occasion. And the danger is even worse: infidels are slowly but surely taking control over Arabian peninsula. It is only a matter of time when they will knock on the doors of our possessions there: one of our precious centres of trade in Al Kharm and lucrative spice island of Bahrein…And our east-African colonies are not safe neither…not to eve think about Goa, Zanzibar and Ganges centres of trade! Your Majesty, we will have to talk about that matter really seriously one of this days!

Yea! I must revenge my father! A chrusade against infidels would be for the glory of God and King…

Your Majesty, did you check the numbers about the Ottoman army recently? Revenge? I understand your feelings, but we must think about it very hard. Your treasury can’t afford it right now, and as I said, the inflation is already at a dangerously high level… But sure, you can always reach into your own pockets…and I am ready to help you with the cash for mercenaries…the arrangement with Company shares…

Wait a minute! Didn’t you just said that our economy is doing well? How can you than claim that there is no enough money for the crusade?! Not enough money for the holly crusade?! Be careful what you say! The Pope could…

Never mind the Pope, as in every organised country, treasury department is what is important – we will talk to Pope through his treasurer Cardinal Deeppoketeri. I hear he is again in some troubles.
About Ottomans…there is the matter of the rest of the war reparations they have to pay. I will check the exact amount, but it is not insignificant… I recommend you to send a trustworthy envoy to the Great Sultan and discuss everything with him: the past, this outstanding debt and the future.

Hmm… Naturally, if they still owe us the part of the war reparation we should probably proceed as you suggest… Yes, do so! Send an ambassador and settle it. And inform me about the results – I will be at Sintra palace with my hunting party for a few next weeks.

As you wish, Your Mayesty!

 

[HolisticGod]

Part One


Charles V​

Madrid in 1517 was an unsuitable national capital; small, mountainous, unpaved and poor, it lacked the essential amenities and infrastructure of a city. When the Burgundian court of the young, chivalrous Carlos arrived, it was forced to construct new palaces, import water by pack mule and baths, furniture, tapestries, silver and utensils from the Netherlands and Italy. Its food was prepared and salted a hundred kilometers away and the materials for the extensive construction shipped at great expense from the south.

With the court came the principal nobility and central government of Spain, and with them thousands of attendants, a Royal garrison and hundreds of civic and private buildings, totaling nearly 1900 at the Abdication. Churches, in particular, came to dominate the early landscape of the rapidly and artificially exploding city. This included the magnificent Catedral de Madrid, often referred to as the Catedral De Maria even by contemporaries, as it was commissioned and built according to her specifications. It was to be the final flurry of religious construction in Spain, and the Catedral would be made the Archbishop’s residence under Felipe II, in 1581.

Irrigation and city planning were not undertaken until the end of Carlos’ reign, and the severe strain placed on local resources was unprecedented in Spanish history. The King's Stables alone increased the number of horses in the region by eleven fold, while the local militia was replaced by a standing Guard of 8,000 and the general population, 10,000 in 1517, was 66,000 in 1556.

By 1525, the province was no longer capable of supplying the Capital's basic needs, and by 1530 every smallholding and farm had been absorbed into several large but unproductive estates. Simple foodstuffs, water, hay, salt, clay, metals and wood had to be imported regularly, along with heavily demanded luxury items. The city, itself contributing little to the national wealth, demanded a full ten percent of it between 1517 and 1535. Where inflation in Seville and the other major trading centers increased at a steady rate after 1522, its impact on the interior was egregiously and unnecessarily severe prior to the regulation of currency in 1568.

Communication between Madrid and the outlier metropolises, Seville, Cordoba and Valencia, was severely strained year round and often dangerous during the winter. Despite its central location, the bridgework of mountains and rivers coupled with the contempt and resentment in which the Burgundians were held by the Spanish generally, made it one of the most reclusive and self-contained seats of power in Europe.

While it was competition amongst Seville, Cordoba and, particularly, Toledo, which had long fought for preeminence, and a desire to fully unite the Kingdom with Aragon, that prompted Carlos to settle his Court in a remote village, his routine absence and indifference to it created far larger problems than could be foreseen in selecting one of the great cities. After his Elevation as King of Germany in 1521, and his Election the following year, he spent the vast majority of his time directing the consolidation of his possessions, settling the complicated rivalries within House Habsburg and pacifying the Pope Leo X, who had opposed his Assumption and very nearly went to war to separate Naples from Sicily and prevent the unification of those two Kingdoms with Milan.

In the first decade of his rule, the King of Spain would spend no more than fifteen months in that country, and less than a year in his newfound Capital. But as his movements were unpredictable, it remained the center of his Court and was nearly crushed under its own ballooning weight without his direction. Though the following twenty years would enjoy a greater presence, they would not enjoy greater attention, and the transfer of the Imperial Court there in 1538 would so complicate matters that a city riot in 1549 turned into the single most menacing challenge to his authority in the close to half century of his reign.

And that reign, under which the new world was conquered and well over half of Western Europe was concentrated in the hands of a single man for the first time since the fall of Rome, would become one of the most hotly debated and misunderstood in history. While Carlos I of Spain, Charles I of Austria, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, was indisputably the most powerful monarch of his age and set forward what was to come under his less controversial successor, his litany of neglected affairs and miscalculations well beyond the choice of a Capital seem to have obstructed and denied the aims with which he began. And while he may have been an unimaginative administrator, and at times ill-equipped to manage the vast reaches and intricate politics of his realm, his policies were often very successful.

It is as difficult for modern historians to determine the precise impact and consistency of the Age of Charles V as it was for contemporaries to grasp the power and riches that coalesced around an anonymous township high in the mountains of Al-Andalus. Here, it shall be attempted in three sections, covering the undisputed defining periods of his life: the conquest of Mexico and Peru and the final settlement with Francois I, the establishment of the law courts and the Wars of Hungary and Germany, and the Abdication.

While it may be difficult, and no volume can be decisive after so many years of argument, it is vitally important to examine and render final judgment, here, for the point at which Spain and its possessions were permanently organized under an Imperial sovereign belongs to a future chapter, with the Assumption of Felipe II, but the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor saw the strident and incalculable conquests that would make it inevitable and the unsound finances and domestic conservatism that would prompt its most formidable crises.

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

Tales of the Rus: Chapter II, "The Chosen Council"

- The Early Years of the Reign of Ivan IV (1533-1584) -

Summary: A metropolitan waxes eloquent. An emperor is annoyed. An emperor notes a discrepancy. A solution is found. Wars are proclaimed. Bloodbaths are perpetrated. An emperor is pleased. An emperor rediscovers himself. A Council is Appointed. Further wars are pursued and all opposition crushed. A Council In Trouble. A Council Considers Stroganoff's Balls. A Council Searches for Answers. A Council Finds an Answer. A Council Makes a Proclamation.

January 1534, Palace of the Tsar​

[Present at a splendid breakfast we observe Ivan IV, Tsar of Russia, together with the metropolitan of Moscow]


Great Tsar of all the Russians! Hear my words

Yes, metropolitan. What is it now?

The true faith is under ATTACK by the forces of the devil!

So, what else is new?

In the west, the insidious schismatics are converting the true believers by means most dastardly, and in the south... In the south, the old provinces of the Empire are converted by the sword to Islam by the forces of the Sultan Süleymân I, accursed before God, spawn of the devil, fornicator, blasphemer, scourge of the Church!

If I may interject a word, here..

[Shouts]...Liar, oathbreaker, child-molester, sheep-violator, irredeemable toy of the Great Beast that is called Dragon, whore,

Ah, it is that time of the year. You've received the annual bull from the Patriarch in Constantinople, right? Does he still not understand that Russia has nicked the Byzantine mantle?

[Sighs deeply] Yes, cousin. The old goat is as verbose as usual. Did you really have to stop me? I was really getting going there. It would make for a good sermon.

Yes, cousin, I really did have to stop you. While you are eloquence itself, you seem to have avoided noticing the most blatant error in your presentation. [Gets emotional] A most vexing error, that MUST be rectified.... Or heads will roll.

And what might that be, great Tsar. All of Russia stand ready to do your bidding in rectifying this error!

[Very emotional] You are doing it again, and you do not even notice it do you?

Errhhmmm. Notice what, mighty Tsar of all the Russians???

...1...2...3... 7,8,9, 10.. I remain in full control of myself. I am calm. Very calm. I am unruffled. I am NOT annoyed. I am NOT homicidal... I remain in full control of myself. [Breathes out] Riiight. I do not have any problems with my temper, none at all, and nobody can say otherwise. Nobody living, that is.... And free. Wretches in the dungeon do not count, and if they do count, they do not count all that much due to a general lack of fingers and toes... Now, listen closely, cousin. "Tsar of ALL the Russians", you say?

[Shaking] Yes?

Have you, perchance, noticed how many of the descendants of the Rus do NOT obey my authority? All of the east and southeast! This is INTOLERABLE. You can take your pathetic small religious squabbles and stuff them right up your righteous ass, or that of an acolyte, if you so prefer. Sure, I'll order the guard to burn a couple of Catholic peasant villages on the Polish border to show public displeasure, and you can talk it up in your sermons, but I am not going haring off on adventures for the faith! I am going to be Tsar of ALL the Russians, and I will happily depolulate the east and the south to achieve it. Oceans of blood shall flow and mountains of skulls be erected of those who would oppose me. As an added bonus, and a real bear in your bottle, so to speak, the church can convert the few muslim survivors. Their descendants will thank me.... [Sinister voice] They had better....

The Church stands ready to support you, my Tsar!

And the yearly bull from the Patriarch?

It seems to have been lost in the mail. It never arrived. Probably, the messenger was waylaid.

Yes. That does seem likely, metropolitan. What a crying shame. Ah, well, you will just have to do the best you can without the Patriarch's guidance this year. I am sure you can cope.

Indeed. And may I point out that you cope very well with your temper for a four year old.

Bugger off. It is time for my nap.

February 1543, Palace of the Tsar​

[The top nobles of Russia have been summoned to an audience with the Tsar]


Riiight. I have been hearing some mutters that I am too strict... Too unfeeling... Too harsh. Too brutal. That the subjugation of Astrakhan and Sibir were, and I quote, "an atrocity unmatched in recent history, barbarity incomprehensible, a crime against God himself". Indeed, some people have even begun to call me "Terrible" behind my back, which is not very nice, and some people are claiming that I have difficulty controlling my temper.

[Mutters are heard from the crowd. Nobody dares say anything]

Well, I have summoned you here today to tell you that this is not the case. I am, in fact, friendly, with a kind and caring nature, and let nobody say elsewise.

[The listeners are in shock]

For if somebody were to say otherwise, I would have them drawn and quartered.. After emasculation... That is to say, while I might in a very few and completely justified cases have done so in the past, now, upon searching my soul, I have concluded that I am much too peaceful a person to order such horrible torture...

[The nobles appear to have some trouble believing this claim]

...Which is why I am instituting a Council of Ruthless Bastards to take care of such matters for me. Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce the formation of the Chosen Council. My friends Alexi Adashev and Sylvestr the priest will run the Council and take care of filling its 13 seats with qualified applicants when vacancies arrive. Joining the council will be by invitation only, and it is my pleasure to announce that the 13 seats have all been filled. No doubt vacancies will arrive in time by natural selection. The Chosen will answer ONLY to me, and you will obey them as you would me, except when I undercut their decisions.

[Uproar]

As my closest advisors, the Chosen are granted the right to keep and arm bears, so watch it!

[The thirteen chosen walk out from behind the huge drapes behind the throne, each leading an armed warbear. The nobles cower]

Right, and that's it, and that's that. I am thoroughly reformed now, not that there was much to reform, really, and would prefer to be remembered as Ivan the "Not so very terrible, but rather kind and caring, actually", so watch what you say..... The Chosen will be watching, even if I am not, and I will be watching the chosen.

February 1558, Chosen HQ: Plots are Laid​

#1 The Tsar is insatiable. He wants more money, more land,
#2 more POWER.
#7 And he wants it now.... And with a maximum of bloodshed.
#10 And done in a peaceful cooperative way...
#1 As usual. One would think he would be happy that Georgia chose to join up op its own free will.
#2 More or less. Diplomatically, at any rate.
#3 Does he not comprehend the limits of the purse? These conquests are not inexpensive.
#10 No
#8 No
#7 Nope
#2 Well, we had better find a solution, or we will end up as #4, #5, #6, #9, #11, #12, and #13
#1 Dissolved, burned, torn apart, ah, yes, how few remain.
#7 You forgot the fate of #12
#1 I didn't forget it. I just wish I did. He should never have made peace with Persia without asking the Tsar first. [Shakes his head].

[a moment of horrible remembrance]

#3 Can we distract him with colonisation?
#2 Not bloody likely. Stroganoff tried that, and the Tsar gave him a one-way ticket to Siberia. He just keeps going and going and going...
#8 On the positive side, Stroganoff is increasing our map knowledge and his trading stations and colonies are starting to turn a small but not negligible profit.
#2 True enough, but do you fancy Siberia? I do not. They say Stroganoff's balls froze after a year or so.

[a moment of silence]

#2 So, does ANYONE have ANY idea how we can satisfy the Great Lord's desires?
#3 Well... There might be a way. I have been talking a bit with the Chief Minion for the Economic Affairs of Russia, and this idea looks to have potential.. I suggest that we send emissaries with the following news to selected European capitals.

The Chief Minion for the Economic Affairs of Russia relates the following sober fact: Russia.... The land of opportunity. A unique landscape of verdant forests, bountiful plains, and big humongous mountains. Nowhere else in the world are the serfs as content with their station and the rights and duties of nobles and monarch in such perfect harmony. Whatever your needs, Russia has the abundant natural resources to provide, and the great Tsar, Ivan "the Benevolent" IV, looks favourable on foreign Christian trade and expertise. Already the "Bear" label has reached such elusive markets as Astrakhan (1541), Kazan (1551), and Georgia (1557), and more markets will, undoubtedly, open in the future. Though occasionally embroiled in local spats under previous rulers, under the wise leadership of Tsar Ivan IV Russia has become a nation at peace with its neighbours with security enforced by a large and well-trained security force that caters to the needs of foreign Christian investors. The benevolent Tsar in his great wisdom put it best:

An investment in Russia is an investment in the future.​

#1 Neat
#10 I like it
#2 Sophisticated, yet tacky. It should do the trick.
#7 Welll... Why not just put up a sign, "army for hire?". More honest, that.
#3 Shut up, stupid. The Tsar is a PEACEFUL man
#2 So he tells us... Repeatedly.
#3 And he would NEVER agree to anything violent, except in self defense.
#2 Just remember what happened to #9 !

[a moment of awful silence]

#7 I would rather not. Remember how they found his intestines?
#3 Yes. What a funny treasure-hunt that was.
#2 Indeed. Who would have known that #9 contained so many items of interest.
#1, #3, #7, #8, #10: SHUT UP!

#3 By the way, does anyone know what the Tsar is up to with the metropolitan? They seem awfully close these days, especially considering some of the more.... unorthodox decisions the Tsar has made.
#7 Such as mailing his heir to Flandern to join in holy matrimony with the SPANISH crown under the western rite?
#3 Yes. By rights, it should have the metropolitan up in flames.
#1 Like the last one. The Tsar claimed it was a case of spontaneous combustion.
#3 He reads too much. No, I mean the metropolitan ought to thunder against it in public. He does seem to have amassed a rather strong power base.... Though not large enough to challenge the Tsar, God bless him!
#7 Perhaps the Tsar has bribed him.
#2 With what?
#7 Only God knows. And the Tsar and the metropolitan, of course.

March 1559, Chosen HQ: Tsar Ivan IV proclaimed "Benevolent"​

A public announcement was made today from the Chosen HQ by Alexi Adashev himself:

Fellow aristocrats! It is my great pleasue to announce that in a recent poll conducted by the Chosen Council of the leading men of southern and eastern Russia, 81% supported the Tsar and praised him for his efforts, while 19% supported him and considered his efforts unmatched. The remaining 5% considered his efforts divinely inspired!

As such, with support from 104% of the southern Russian population, perhaps Ivan "the Benevolent" would be a more accurate description


Please note that the Chosen Council in a fit of humility has elected to claim only 104% support despite having, in fact, 105%. It is true, we just are that nice, always ready to grant the opposition the benefit of doubt.

Praise the name of Ivan "The Benevolent" IV, Tsar of ALL the Russians!

The Pacification of Russia, 1530-1560: Peace is Our Profession

 

[ForzaA]

April 24, 1533.
Dillenburg, county of Nassau.

William the Rich, count of Nassau, happily hands out alms to the poor in Dillenburg. He is happy, for his wife has given birth to his firstborn, a son, also named William.

1544
Breda, the Lowlands

René de Châlon, also known as René of Nassau, the prince of Orange, is dead. His possessions will go to his nephew, William, only 11 years old. This, however, could not happen without the consent of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles, for the principality of Orange was a sovereign state, and it came with great powers and authority. Granvelle himself, mentor to the young Philip of Spain, and head of the “Geheimer Rat”, was to decide on whether to allow this inheritance. Granvelle, fearful that such an important title would go to the son of heretics, demanded three concessions.
Firstly, William would have to be brought in Spain (and thus in a Roman Catholic enviroment) .*
Secondly, three guardians would be looking after him, all of course Roman Catholics, one of these was Maria of Hungary, Charles’ sister.
Thirdly, William would be tutored by Granvelle himself.**

These conditions, deemed acceptable by William, were accepted. (the fact that Maria supported the Reformation, although not too openly, helped ofcourse)

Given that Granvelle was also mentor to young Philip, William soon faced lectures not meant for his young age.***

This event proved a great turning point in William’s life, and perhaps for all of Europe.

notes
*Historically: Brussels
**fictional, but not unlikely
***Historically, they did meet, but somewhat later.

there's more where that came from, hopefully to be posted within the next few hours

 

[Damocles]

Poland-Lithuania
1533-1559

An Overview

Poland-Lithuania had an extremely tumultuous twenty years following the annexation and partition of Hungary between the powers of Austria and the Ottoman Empire. It found itself in a vice so to speak, with land hungry, expanionistic powers to all sides of it.

Yet, with the Emperor of the HRE seeming unwilling to pick on such a great power as the Ottomans, Poland was forced to endure the scrutiny instead, over their possessions on the Baltic coastline, namely Vorpommern and Mecklemburg. Vorpommern itself was worthless, yet Mecklemburg was very wealthy.

Around this time, an unexplainable magical barrier sprung up surrounding the lands of Brandenburg. Theologians and scholars were at a loss to explain it, yet Sigismund was aware that this strange, divine intervention would make holding Mecklemburg extremely difficult.

Ever political and willing to negotiate, Sigismund attempted to purchase military access through the lands of Brandenburg, yet the Margrave refused him. As this was becoming cost prohibitive and Poland was a poor realm, Sigismund turned to his once friend, the Duke of Austria to provide financial assistance. Sigismund felt that Austria would be doubly obliged to lend such help since they were in fact, very wealthy and did not want Poland to make any further inroads into the HRE.

Unfortunately, Austria took this not only as an insult, but a threat and blackmail to boot, and promptly declared war. Denmark, Bavaria, Venice and Spain joined in. Sweden came to Poland's assistance, yet promptly peaced out of the war. Which made Sigismund wonder why he bothered to join anyways.

This was even more unfortunate because the Polish army was split. 15k were off fighting rebels near the Russian border, and the vast majority of the Polish army, including all of it's generals were in Mecklemburg with 35,000 troops. Most of which were cavalry. It was impossible to get the soldiers from Mecklemburg back to Poland, and at the time, the Austrians were invading with 70,000 soldiers, hastily attempting to storm the minimal fortresses. Thinking swiftly, Sigismund declared war on no less then FIVE completely neutral german powers in an attempt to march his army home, having no time or inclination to purchase painstaking access through all of them or build a navy with a single port at his disposal. This left Mecklemburg to be ravished by the Danes, yet Sigismund had to protect his heartland first.

Thanks to the extraordinary resistance of the Polish garrisons, the determined Austrian and Venetian assaults were halted long enough for Tarnowski and the Mecklemburg Army to join with the 15k Detachment that had been left in Lithuania and then united, to strike at the Imperial forces. In a string of successes, the Austrians and Venetians were defeated, suffering massive casualties and driven over the river into Silesia. A followup attack by the Poles failed however and both sides began to hastily recruit greater numbers.

Better prepared now, Poland-Lithuania was able to field a modest force, nearly 50,000 strong in defense of it's realm, while the Austrians and Venetians were able to bring around twice that to bear on him. The Bavarians were also intent on sending near 30,000 to Danzig in several detachments.

Again, the Imperials attacked across the river and a massive struggle ensued, during which the Poles got the worst of it. The Austrians even managed to storm Poznan. However, Tarnowski now took command and with the addition of 20,000 cavalry that had been conscripted in the East, rapidly struck at the weakest point of the Imperial flank...Namely, the 20,000 Venetians in Krakow.

A game of cat and mouse commenced, where the Imperials and Venetians repeatedly tried to maneuver in the provinces of Krakow and Wielpolaski based on the intents of Tarnowksi. The latter skillfully kept this game up until the Austrian army had suffered a deal of attrition and further reinforcements had come up to join him. Then he struck, attacking the Venetians in Krakow and defeating them in detail before the Austrians arrived. Turning on the Austrians, Tarnowski routed them and persued to the north. He defeated the Imperials in a second battle and sent them fleeing across the river into Silesia once more. He then moved further north and took Poznan before attacking the trapped Bavarians in Danzig and completely destroying them.

It was now time for Poland to take the offensive. While the Imperial forces were hastily trying to regroup, and an additional 25,000 Venetians were marching to join up with the Austrians in Moravia and Silesia, a force of nearly 50,000 Polish troops under Tarnowski invaded Bohemia. The Imperial troops consisted mostly of infantry and their only general was the inept Ferdinand. In a series of battles in Silesia, Moravia and Salzburg, the latter proving the most devastating, nearly the entire Austrian and all of the Venetians were killed or captured. Ferdinand himself was taken captive and sat out the rest of the war.

The Polish Hussars under Tarnowski persued the Austrian army all the way to Tyrol, burning their way over the Danube and the outer suburbs of Vienna. It was at this stage, that a 36,000 Austrian army, stiffened by mercenaries, and a force of 55,000 Spanish tercios from Milan arrived to turn Tarnowski and his 39,000 back.

While Tarnowski dueled with these armies, other Polish armies had managed to overrun Silesia, Moravia and Erz, and were sieging Bohemia and the Sudenten which was close to falling when the Spanish attacked. The sieges of Bohemia and Sudenten had to be put on hold though when Tarnwoski retreated across the Danube with the Imperials in hot persuit.

Over the next year or two, several deadly battles were fought, where against all odds, the Hussaria under Tarnowski managed to triumph every time. A little over 150,000 Spanish mercenaries became casualties of war in their attempts to oust Poland from Bohemia, yet they were not able to recapture a single fortress without being run off by Tarnowski.

Eventually, the front stabalized and settled into a waiting game. A large Imperial army, some 80,000 strong attacked Krakow and Wielpolaska, but they were defeated and harrassed past the Danube. At this point, the Emperor offered a white peace and Sigismund, already leery of possible Russian intentions if this war dragged out much longer, accepted, despite the fact that had Spain not intervened, he would no doubt have been able to secure Silesia as a conquest.

It was a great victory, yet it was soured by the fact that some 55,000 Danish had invested Mecklemburg and Vorpommern and there was absolutely no way to do anything about it. Denmark claimed he would release Mecklemburg as a vassal if it was ceded and Sigismund was forced to consent. Afterall, it was against the rules of warfare to hold out when nothing could be done. If the magical barrier preventing Sigismund from claiming his rightful title in Pommerania was not in place (OOC: In RL, Sigismund held the title Lord of Pommerania and owned near half of it hence the CB!) the battle with Denmark would have been brutal and short.

Denmark kept Mecklemburg, yet the Imperials did nothing much to his dismay. Sigismund now had no reason to keep Vorpommern, so he released it as well. Still, Sweden later declared war on Denmark and Poland played an instrumental role in convincing the wise Tsar to abstain from joining the fray, using strange circular reasoning in the process. Sigismund was gratified to see Denmark lose Skane.

Sigismund eventually died in his sleep, and his heir, Sigismund II took over the throne.

Now, Sigismund II was a man of markedly different caliber. A lover of battle, he had commanded his own wing of Hussars in the Imperial-Poland struggle. Yet he realized now that for Poland to overcome it's debillitating disadvantages, it would take some inventive diplomacy and some repairing of burnt bridges...With this in mind, he began to work on repairing relations with the new Emperor. Despite the fact that Sigismund II's father had fought Emperor Ferdinand's brother, the two appear to have a much better relationship.

 

[HolisticGod]

From the The Life of William the Dutch (Hollander, 1956), Chapter 8 (In Valladolid):

But it was studying under Granvelle in Spain that the greatest impression of young William may be formed and, indeed, where he was to make the most important acquaintance of his life.

As the head-in-waiting of a Great House of Europe, his education in warfare and statecraft was extensive. He trained in combat, riding, swordsmanship and tactics under the imposing young third Duke of Alba, Fernando Alvarez. A rigid and self-possessed noble of pure stock, he was by that time among the finest and most capable rulers in the Spanish Empire, but had lately been recalled from his post as Governor-General of the Low Countries by Charles V, who deemed his pragmatic and brutal politics unchivalrous and burdensome to House Habsburg.. He was unyielding in his opinions and violent in his tastes, and to the young Prince struck a bilious chord. The two were, regardless, to have much in each other’s lives-and deaths.

William’s Protestant heritage brought with it, however, a training to which he was neither suited nor prepared, in the matters of divinity and of the Mother Church. Unimpressed by the currents and ebbs of religion in his childhood, he had by this time grown wary of the ecclesiastical disputes that routinely threatened to plunge the Empire into civil war. His reading in Valladolid of Erasmus had made him nearest in those days to a Secularist, and at best he was bored with the theological studies intended to unlearn the heresies of his birth. At worst, he was incensed by them. The brilliant prelate Jose Mendoza, scarcely five years older and later the Arch Bishop of Madrid, would immediately alter, if not his ideology, then his perceptions, of faith.

Mendoza was, in his private affairs, a humanist; some letters and contemporary opinions would suggest that he was even an idealist, a crusader for the fundamental principles at the base of Christianity-and also of Islam. He was a member of the radical and, at one time, ex-communicated sect of the Spanish Church that opposed and eventually ended the Inquisition, at Gibraltar in 1560, and would later condemn the encyclicals of chastity, estate and military orders. Prior to his elevation, in 1580, he survived solely by virtue of his place as a favorite of Maria of Hungary, the Emperor’s sister, and then of her nephew.

And after his elevation, he would take a wife, refuse to sit in the Catedral de Madrid, commissioned by his first Patron, and deny the King’s Crown to Felipe III. But it was not for his defiance or his liberalism that William admired and sought to emulate the errant cleric. It was his subtle and unrelenting political force and survivability, it was his unwillingness to be cast or satisfied, the quick and detached mind with which he subdued his foes-and the practical betrayal of his innermost beliefs for that end. This, more than the scripture he taught, would be of profound influence on the future Crown Regent.

In such company as Granvelle’s, the study of art, of the histories and poetics, of philosophy and of language, was heavily encouraged. William was expected to master the spoken word of the realm he was to inherit-Dutch, Flemish and German, and Latin and French as well. Beyond this, despite his small years, he became handily fluent in Italian and Portuguese, and before his death would acquire vast knowledge of Polish and English. In this area, before all others, he demonstrated a tremendous capacity for intellectual endeavor and an eloquence and restraint that would serve him well as one of the Empire’s foremost diplomats.

But during his time at Valladolid, William’s greatest enterprise would come in the form of an unlikely lifelong friendship with a mediocre student and unpromising royale.

It was here that he would meet Felipe of Habsburg.

 

[HolisticGod]

Will become an enormous section of AAR, but, so everyone can react to it, and because I'm a right lazy bastard, I'll reveale one of the [censored] right now

Reproduced here, in its entirety, one of the great documents of European history:

The Treaty of Vienna

Between the King of Poland and His Highness, the Holy Roman Emperor; and all Allies, Vassals, Dependencies, Estates, Regencies, Princeps and Subordinates thereby; under the mediation and with the help of the King of Spain, who at times is a part; and for the defense and integrity of Christendom by the Mother Church and the Sacraments and By the Holy Saints, now and forever

In the name of the most divine and individual Trinity:

Let it be known that their Catholic Majesties, Sovereign by the Will of God, embody herein for the secular and temporal health of their Realms, and by their wisdom and grace, do intend upon it the full force of their beneficent and most enlightened rule, separate yet in common, the accord of a unified and noble League,

to resist the lascivious and cruel manners in keeping of the Schismatic Orthodox Church in Excommunication; and its adherents and subjects, imperiled souls, forbidden the Gates of Saint Peter by His Holiness and indignant to the entreaties of Christendom so long departed;

to liberate the Kingdom of Hungary and restore its Crown from the clutches of the wicked Infidel long fought and fought unto the Judgment, and to protect Christendom from further vilest and most devilish tyrannies at Its hand;

to bind the Mother Church against the Heretical Doctrines of the Followers of Luther, already so deep in the hearts and minds of the Germans, so unfortunately deceived by events beyond the control of their rulers, and within the Limitations of Reason and the Bounds of Earthly Constraint , act to restore the Holy Father to their hearts and minds as well, as is Catholic Duty and Sacrament.;

to restore the Oneness and Sovereignty of the Holy Roman Emperor over the disunity and disharmony of the Empire, to preserve its Liberties and Integrity against all threats of sword and heresy;

bearing the mark and weight of their Powers, Secular and Spiritual, Countries, Houses and Titles, hereto sworn,

His Most Catholic Majesty, Emperor Ferdinand I Habsburg, Roman King, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, King over Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Württemberg, King over the Upper & Lower Silesia; Prince of Swabia; Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, of Burgau, Moravia, the Upper & Lower Lusatia; Princely Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Pfirt, Kyburg, Goritia; Landgrave of Alsace; Lord of the Wendish Mark, Portenau, Salins;

His Wisest and Most Christian Majesty, Sigismund II August, King of Poland over the Lands of Crakow, Sandomierz, Sieradz, Leczyca, Kujawia, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Hereditary Lord of Russia, Prussia, Samogitia, and of Chelmno, Elblag and Pomerania.

His Most Puissant and Magnificent Christian Majesty, Felipe II Habsburg, King of Castile, King of Leon, King of Aragon, King of the Two Sicilies, and King of Naples and King of Sicily in Right, King of Jerusalem, King of Navarra, King of Valencia, King of Spain over Toledo, Granada, Galicia, Majorca, Sevilla, Sardinia, Cordova, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, North Africa, the Indias, the Islands & Mainland of the Ocean sea, King of Sardinia, King of Lombardia, Duke of Milan, Duke of Athens and Neopatria, Duke of Burgundy and of Brabant, Duke of Apulia, Prince of Capua, Count of Barcelona, Lord of Biscay, Lord of Molina, Count of Roussillon, Count of Cerdagne, Count of Flanders, Count of Artois, Margrave of Oristano, Margrave of Gociano, Regent of the House of Orange and Crown Regent of Holland, by plenipotentiary, duly Invested and Blessed by His Holiness the Archbishop and by the Holy Father,

His Highness Fernando Alvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, third Duke of Alba, Governor-General of the Lowlands and of Franche Comte, Viceroy of Lombardia, Present and Attested before God his duty to the King of Spain, of Whom he Is Representative before All Authorities but He, Heavenly and Earthly, Here Equal and Under No Duress, and,

His Highness William of House Orange, Prince of the Empire, Crown Regent and Governor-General of the Netherlands, similiarly Attested

and do agree to the following Articles herin:
​

~1~​

The King of Poland duly recognizes the eternal and sacrosanct boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, and what possessions of it under His Rule shall receive the benefits and protection of the Emperor, who wields over them the Ultimate Authority granted unto Him by the grace and glory of the Lord God, and shall in matters Imperial and of concern to the Emperor, Direct and Unequivocal, defer Always to the Emperor’s pleasure and ancient rights.

~2~​

The Emperor duly recognizes the sanctity of the Kingdom of Poland, to Govern within its Frontiers, affixed presently and in the future, in accordance with the Above and to the ends of Preserving, Protecting and Furthering the Universal and Only Christian Church, increasing the treasure and security of the nation, and other such enterprises as Both shall see fit.

~3~​

The Emperor to the King of Poland and the King of Poland to the Emperor pledge Oaths of Mutual Defense against all enemies, of alien and domestic origin, including those among Nobles and Princes who become from time to time violent and rebellious, and also of such other assistance that shall serve the interests established here-in, and also fidelity in all matters of mutual concern.

~4~​

The League here-in Established and Ordained does exist as a Catholic body for the defense of the Roman Catholic Church and its Faithful, and therefore is open to all Monarchs of True Christian Conviction and Heart as petition for inclusion, and are admitted by the consent of the Emperor and of the King of Poland, and of the King of Spain where He is concerned. Such will pledge Fealty as is writ in this Treaty and enjoy such Articles as are Agreed Upon.

~5~​

The Emperor submits All Catholic Princeps and Electors of the Empire to its Inclusion, and Compels Those That Have Been Lost to enter into It, reserving the right as is His by God’s grace to include them by force, and to retrieve them by the same means as at a later date withdraw. The King of Poland shall as asked Provide Support in these actions, if Necessary and Just.

~6~​

The King of Spain does Adhere to the Articles Here-in where and when they are Upheld and Where He is required in them, and also pledges some numbers of Spanish, Dutch and Italian men and riches to the struggles and enterprises of the League, and of its Greater Parts, Poland and the Empire, which ask of Him and are in Need.

~7~​

The Articles and Purposes here-in are but by the Grace of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, Consented to by His Infallible Holiness, and Blessed by Him in Vienna on this Day, March 1st, 1559.

Attested and Avowed,

The Holy Roman Empire, by Will of Its Electors and Consent of Its Princes,
The Archbishop of Mainz
The Archbishop of Trier
The Archbishop of Cologne
The King of Bohemia
The count palatine of the Rhine
The duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg, cast by the Emperor

The Kingdom of Poland

The Archduchy of Austria

The Kingdom of Bohemia

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The House of Habsburg

The House of Orange

Affirmed,

His Holiness, Infallible and Chosen By God, Pope Pius IV

The Kingdom of Spain, for All Its Subjects,
The Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sardinia
The Duchy of Milan
The Kingdom of Lombardia
The Low Countries and Franche Comte

 

[ForzaA]

and now that the treaty has been revealed to the general public, some more of the highly interesting William of Orange-Nassau, nicknamed "the Silent"

Valladolid, Spain

After a long, but uneventful, journey, William arrived in Valladolid, together with his new mentor, Granvelle, and the Spanish crown-prince Philip, who both were in Brussels at the time of the whole inheritance issue.
Philip, being seven years older than William, was clearly Granvelle’s senior student, and of course, Philip was crown-prince of Spain, while William would only rule over the estates of Orange and Nassau.
Granvelle, at first, feared that the young William would not be able to keep up with the pace of his education, but soon William caught up with Philip, and at times was even quicker to understand Granvelle’s teachings.
William, looking up to Philip as if he was an older brother, and Philip, who soon develop a sort of pride for what William was capable of, became good friends in these years.

April 24, 1551.
Brussels, centre of the Spanish rule in the Lowlands.

” We are together here on this joyful day to celebrate William’s 18th birthday. William now truly is a man, and he will thus be allowed to govern his possessions himself.
Furthermore, he will be made captain, commanding a cavalry company.”

One year later, William had already sufficiently proven himself, and was made colonel, commanding 10 companies. At the age of 22, he was made captain-general, member of the “raad van state” and was knighted in the order of the Golden Fleece. His friend Philip, who had only recently inherited most of the Spanish possessions from his father, the Emperor, Charles V, knowing William’s other capacities, asked William to travel to Italy, and report to the Duke of Alba. There William would, together with the Duke, be representing Spain on various diplomatic missions.

In these years, much was achieved for Spain, and although Alba received most credit, insiders knew that it was, in fact, William who made the best deals. The treaty of Vienna (1559) was clearly the most important of these events. The talks were very difficult for William, firstly, the League formed through the treaty aimed to eradicate Protestantism, whereas William himself was a Protestant, but on the other hand he aimed to represent Philip to the best of his abilities. Secondly, the Duke of Alba, in this case, likely was not the best choice for representing Spain, because the Polish war (’35-’40) had created great animosity between the Poles and the Duke, and had left him disdainful of Austrian military capacities. Thus, the talks were mostly Alba insulting both Austrians and Poles, and William attempting to keep the talks going. Eventually, a draft version of the treaty was written down. In a last ditch attempt, William was able to weaken some statements regarding Protestants, but was not completely successful, surrounded as he was by fanatical Catholics. The final agreement thus was slightly less anti-Protestant, but likely would still mean persecution for Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire.*

William’s star was indeed rising, and people began to speculate that he would probably be sent as Spain’s prime representative to some diplomatic missions, while Alba would be leading others. Some even speculated that William would soon take Alba’s place as head of the Spanish diplomatic effort.

Once again it was Philip who changed William’s future, as he needed a new governor for the Lowlands, and who would be better than his friend William, a great diplomat, an able military commander and administrator , and owner of some important estates within the Spanish Lowlands. Thus, William was made “stadhouder ende gouverneur der staaten Vlaanderen, Zeeland, Holland en Utrecht” (stadtholder and governor of Flanders, Zeeland, Holland and Utrecht) with the consent of the local rulers of these territories, thus giving William great responsibility, but also considerable freedom and authority.
After accepting this, William soon began diplomatic efforts to bring the independent states of Geldre, Overijssel, Friesland, Groningen and Ostfriesland within the Spanish empire, and to keep this acceptable, he and Philip were willing to leave them limited autonomy and full religious freedom, but under the governance of William.

Notes:
*- William most notably attempted to replace the following clauses:
to bind the Mother Church against the Heretical Doctrines of the Followers of Luther, already so deep in the hearts and minds of the Germans, deceived most cruelly and disabused of their sacred rights, and to restore the Holy Father to their hearts and minds as well, as is Catholic Duty and Sacrament;
and
The Emperor submits All Catholic Princes and Electors of the Empire to its Inclusion, and Compels Those That Have Been Lost to enter into It, reserving the right as is His by God’s grace to include them by force, and to retrieve them by the same means as at a later date withdraw. The King of Poland shall as asked Provide Support in these actions, if Necessary and Just.
with
to bind the Mother Church against the Heretical Doctrines of the Followers of Luther, already so deep in the hearts and minds of the Germans, so unfortunately deceived by events beyond the control of their rulers, and within the Limitations of Reason and the Bounds of Earthly Constraint , act to restore the Holy Father to their hearts and minds as well, as is Catholic Duty and Sacrament.;
and
The Emperor submits All Catholic Princes and Electors of the Empire to its Inclusion, and Compels Those That Have Been Lost to enter into It, reserving the right as is His by God’s grace to include them by force, and to retrieve them by the same means as at a later date withdraw. The King of Poland shall as asked Provide Support in these actions, if Necessary and Just.
respectively.

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

1556: World shocked: HRE Credibility "Gone With the Wind"
- Emperor Forgets the Religious Peace of Augsburg -​

Apparently reneging on the religious peace of Augsburg of 1555 concluded last year, which allowed the German princes to choose their own religion with their population bound by the prince's choice, the "Holy" Roman Emperor has this day proclaimed unrestricted religious warfare on the protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

"Aw, shucks", the Emperor was heard to say from Madrid in a statement that has left the international diplomatic corps stunned. "I completely forgot that Austria had that event. Not my problem, really. It was my clone what done it, you now, the other Karl V, so it does not bind me or the Empire."


EDIT: Looks as if some scribe of the Holistic God school has just changed the date from 1556 to 1559

 

[unmerged(15723)]

End of the Union
1520-1533
a Danish AAR


Rebellious times
The Danish King Christian II ruled the Scandinavian Kingdoms with a firm hand. Too firm some said and after his death the nobles of Sweden revolted against the Danish leadership. Thus, the Kalmar Union was no more. The new King of Denmark, Frederik I, gave much effort in once more uniting the two Kingdoms but facing the stubborn Swedish nobles and their new leader Gustav Eriksson it came clear to him that diplomacy would only take him that far.

Danish armies marched from Skåne and Christiania to strike at the Swedish rebels. Battles were fought in the woods of Småland, on the plains of Skåne and even up north on the frosty lakes of Svealand. After some months of struggle Frederik seemed to get the upper hand but he seemed unwilling to invest in a final blow against the Vasa loyals. Instead matters in Holstein came to concern him. The southernmost part of the Kingdom of Denmark had broken loose and declared themselfs independant. Hastely a peace was concluded with Sweden which had proven itself somewhat able in defending the eastern part of the former Kalmar Union. After a brief visit in Holstein by the Danish main army Holstein was once again part of the Danish Kingdom, this time with no vassalage arrangements.


Losing my religion
Life is bigger
It’s bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I’ve said too much
I set it up

That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour i’m
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I’ve said too much
I set it up

Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I’ve said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
I'm going protestant


Lost opportunities
After turning to protestantism and releasing his first album Frederik I was very popular at the nobles festivities of northern Germany. He was invited to all the grand parties and his nieces and nephews were highly desired by families of the German nobles to gain some fame. Soon Royal Marriages were concluded with all of them. Even the Russian Czar asked for a Royal Marriage with a relative of "that trendy pop-King".

While this was going on Sweden fought a war against the knights of the Teutonic Order. The years did not go well for Sweden and for years the knighs occupied some Swedish towns. Frederik saw the possibility to gain some advantage here and his advisors cried "war!". But Frederik wanted more than to gain some territorial prices. He wanted to reinstitute the Kalmar Union. When offering help to Sweden in return of unification in form of a vassalage Sweden agreed.

The war against TO kept on going badly but when Danish diplomats asked for Sweden to fulfill its obligations against Denmark they complained about not being able to leave the alliance with Poland due to some game mechanics reason. The Danish diplomats couldn't understand a thing but afraid of looking stupid they answered in the same way: "can we set up the vassalage at rehost?" Unknowing if the Swedes understood the Danish diplomats received the answer: "sure", and the Danes went home to Kopenhavn thinking that all was good.

Some time later it was reveiled that it was all a prank and that Sweden had been smart and opportunistic. Frederik made a mental note that to never again listen to mumbo jumbo. Denmark had the opportunity to strip Sweden of one or a few provinces but none were gained.

to be continued...

 

[unmerged(10146)]

War against infidels for the glory of God or how to satisfy the Pope, the King and make some money

…fragments from the private diary of Barnius VI “The Warrior”, Duke of Lisboa, Chairman of the Portuguese Trading Company

Two separate rows of events aligning together caused me to be remembered under this silly title – the warrior indeed! The only war I won was against backwards African tribes! The one against infidels in Morocco everyone is referring to was a complete failure…

But let’s begin with the two mentioned preludes to this war. The first one is religious matter related to the Pope and his authority , the second one is King’s bad temper and constant warmongering… and, naturally, I tried to fit in some of my own goals … which is actually one goal - to make more money!

In April 1536 a modest gift was send to the Cardinal Deeppocketeri, Pope’s treasurer, as well as a contribution to the Papal treasury itself, in the name of King of Portugal, which resulted in the warm message form Rome and the following exchange of notes:

“The Pope appreciates this sign of piousness from King Joao III"

“We are pleased too. BTW, we didn't invite the inquisition to Portugal, since it would disturb many of our non-Catholic merchants”

“ Heresy has spread too far to risk such a pious country as Portugal failing the church though, and the Pope fears such measures might be necessary."

Portugal was always eager to serve His Holiness in his plans for the Holly Catholic Church. If the opportunity to show it was somehow missed with the inquisition issue, an alternative approach was soon found during my audience in Rome. Portugal will instead attack infidels themselves! I insisted Morocco, the infidel kingdom the closest to Portugal, to be the target, offering different sorts of “obvious” reasons, but never fully revealing the true one: Morocco was to serve as the access to Timbuktu COT and two provinces with large gold mines for the Portuguese Trading Company!

Plans for the invasion were prepared and armies assembled. Two capable commanders, de Suza and Mem da Sa, were summoned from the Far East to lead the campaign… And than we were stuck by really alarming news: on July 16, 1536 Ottoman Empire declared war upon Tunisia! Moreover, The Hedjaz and Algiers joined the war on the Ottoman side. Tunisia was doomed and if we don’t move fast soon the mightiest army of the infidels will take the main prize from us!

Roughly in the same time the new King Sebastiao I felt restless. Little did I know it is only the first of his many lightheaded decisions! Apparently he was fad up with hunting and tournaments. Great game itself – war for the glory of God – was on his mind day and night.
I, however, saw this war against infidels as the opportunity to address three mentioned important issues together: reestablish Portugal as the leading Catholic country in the exes of His Holiness, make my King happy and make PTC even richer.
And while we hoped Ottomans would be engaged in a war on another front when Portugal makes his move against Morocco, Tunisia was the only battlefield we didn’t want them on! Very unfortunate development indeed!
But there was no turning back any more! The first measure was blockade of the Gibraltar by our main navy, which had to ensure safety of the Portuguese mainland. With that we had more or less free hands in Africa. God knows our armies were used to settle down rebellions in colonies, and that was the main danger we faced really*. So I informed the Pope about the intention and was pleased with his response:

“ That is excellent news! The Pope of course supports everyone who fights the infidels."

Thus on July 5, 1537 started the newest crusade in the history of Christianity. Sieges of Moroccan capital Fez and Tassaret were initiated.

His Holiness kept sending words of encouragement like “…His Holiness is most pleased the Portuguese are campaigning to get rid the world of the heathens” and the war was going on favorable for Portugal, when suddenly bad news reached us: on April 15, 1538 Tunisia accepted peace surrendering Tripolitania to Ottomans and accepting Algiers annexation. Promptly after that, on April 24, 1538 Ottoman Empire annexed Algiers. The result was mighty Ottoman Empire under Suleiman The Magnificent on the Moroccan border!

The Sultan made his intentions clear in only 5 days: on April 29, 1538 Morocco entered a Military Alliance with Ottoman Empire and The Hedjaz and in the same time Ottoman ambassador brought the following message to the King:

“ Portugal is to stay out of Africa. Portugal, peace out with Morocco at once! What is your purpose there?"

His Majesty was outraged with the Ottoman attitude and the ambassador barely kept his head, but I finally succeeded in calming him down, so that he declared his intentions: according to the King we were to take only the southernmost province from Morocco. I was very much surprised – almost as much as Ottoman ambassador! – PTC needed the control over access to African inland and mentioned riches that were laying there, and only one shitty province was not enough for that! But before I could intervene the events caught me: the Ottoman ambassador reached into the pockets and showed us Moroccan permission for Ottoman armies to enter it’s territory, dated from August 10, 1538. With a triumphant smile on his face he than said:

“Portugal may not take ANYTHING from the ally of the Sultan."

Futile was my attempt to point it out that Morocco was NOT the Ottoman ally when Portugal attacked it. The envoy just kept demanding:

“ Will the Portugese king accept our demands? Or shall we go to force?"

As our forces victoriously entered Fez on November 17 1538, making it the second Moroccan province under our control (after Tassaret), another round of negotiations started. I was at the moment in Rome, asking the Pope to persuade Catholic kingdoms of Europe to at least put some diplomatic pressure on infidels. In the mean time East African Army has arrived in Anti Atlas, taking control over that colony. At that point only Sahara province was under Moroccan control…we needed only a little more time!
But in Lisbon King was conducting negotiations, and really how could that end if not in the worst possible way: on March 18 1539 Ottoman Empire declared war upon us!

While our forces started besieging Sahara, Ottoman forces did the same in Fez. It was literally a race for the control over the Morocco. I realized it. The only possible favorable outcome for Portugal now was vassalising Morocco. It could be difficult to explain it to His Majesty, but anything else would be worse… Nevertheless, I was thinking too fast…we still had to win the war! And apparently do it on our own, because here are some of reactions from the so called Christian world, showing the lack of elementary knowledge about the situation:

(France): “Portugal dow's OE? Interesting!"
(England): “Watches the Turk take advantage and declare war on Portugal"
(Spain): “I should stop looking at the Americas."

Ottomans kept demanding the same: Portugal shall stay out of Muslim lands! Portugal shall sign white with Morocco!”, while the Pope kept tryng: “Christians of Europe! Stop the infighting and fight the Infidel hordes instead!”

While our Christian brothers were talking, the time was running. Ottoman siege of Fez advanced to the dangerous level, and another Ottoman army was approaching Sahara from the north to lift our own siege! We had to choose and choose fast – and we decided to try to assault Sahara fortress. As you can see in the following map painted after the war, it almost worked!

Unfortunately, “almost” is usually not enough, When Ottoman army came from the north, our tired soldiers retreated on the ships and sailed to Tangiers. Negotiations continued:

“ Will you move out? "

“I want road to Timbuktu"

“ You will not have it! It is mine! "

And indeed, the situation was becoming worse every day. On December 23 1539 we have lost control over Fez. But we were determined to try one more time! Newly recruited soldiers were shipped to Tangiers. On January 1 1540 Army of Almeida has finished unloading in Tangiers, commanded by Mem de Sa.

It was in this time of despair and outmost disappointment with other Catholic kingdoms that I again traveled to Rome to try to together with the Pope turn the attention of Catholic Kingdoms on Portugal. And I arrived precisely on time to address another important issue: Popes idea of a new order – Jesuits – with the sole task to convert heretics and pagans to the true Catholic faith. I had a few audiences with the Pope and we agreed to what was the best for Portugal: the middle way. The Societas Jesu was not instituted in Portugal itself and will not thus address the rather disputed question of heresy in our European provinces. After all, conversion and education of backwards pagans is what Jesuits are supposed to do, and those can’t be found in one of the most advanced Kingdoms in the world!
Jesuits were, therefore, welcomed in Portuguese colonies. More than welcomed in fact: Portuguese Trading Company itself promised to finance a number of very expensive missions and missionary works there for the glory of God, Holly Church and the Pope.

Naturally, the Pope was expected to train the discipline among Catholic kingdoms, so his public proclamation was a bit harsh:

“His Holiness is most disturbed with the Portuguese decision not to allow the Societas Jesu. ”

…but on the repeated call for Christian help against OE His Holiness replied with:

“The Pope once again calls upon Europe to support Portugal against the Infidel!”

…and the matter ended with that, as we agreed! While Portugal was actually making such a nice propaganda for the Church – fighting infidels - the Pope was ready to look the other side regarding less significant issues.

In the mean time fighting continued and on November 27 1540 we again captured the province of Fez from Morocco. After that glorious victory the whole our army was assembled in Tangiers, with the both our leaders leading it. Together with new recruits from Tago it numbered more than 30.000 man – the largest single army ever in this war. The order was: chase the infidels out of Morocco and take control over it again!.
Army if Almeida arrived to Fez besieged by Otomans on July 18, 1541. On August 2 the battle against 30.000 infidels was won and we started chasing the remaining 20.000 to Atlas, as shown in the following map:

There we defeated them again, but the further advance was prevented by a new Ottoman army of 25.000 more soldiers! We returned to Fez for the first time in doubt regarding the final victory. Nevertheless, twice we were victorious: in Fez against Ottomans on February 11, 1542 and in Toubkal against the remaining Moroccan soldiers on April 28, 1542.

Fortunes changed on July 19 1542 when we lost a battle against Ottoman Empire in Fez. It was than that the Sultan for the first time accepted someof our demands:

“ You will be allowed to take Tassaret. No more. "

I demanded Anti Atlas colony along, but the answer was resolute:

“ Dont you get it? Timbuktu is under Tuskish protection. It is NOT yours "

At that point, just before the Christmas, on December 22 1542 we have lost control over Fez to Morocco for the second time, and on January 9 1543 De Suza has died. The Pope again tried to organize help from Christian countries and we still held one Moroccan province: there was still hope.

Nevertheless, if help was coming it was coming too slow, and on August 20 1543 we have lost control over Tassaret to Morocco. With that last province lost and our army retreated even from Tangiers, it was time to end this war. But how? Clearly, Ottomans were becoming more and more concerned as the war continued. We still had some chance to at least return part of the money used for recruitments. I asked 500 d from Ottoman Empire and they swiftly accepted. A formal agreement was signed.
With that settled I tried to take some money from Morocco too, but after I failed twice, a white peace had to be accepted instead.

Ottomans paid Portugal 200 d of war reparations at the moment peace was signed, on May 9 1544. The King was even pleased, as far as I could tell, for he had his glorious crusade. I was much more concerned with the rest 300 d promised to be repaid over a few years.

Yet, it was as I predicted: Ottoman Empire was a real victorious party here: already on September 13 1544 Ottoman Empire declared war upon Songhai. My words “…Christians will be sorry they didn't support Portugal…” were answered by Spanish hypocritical remark: “The Christians were busy with their intercine warfare". Could it perhaps be that Spain was looking with envy in my PTC and it’s numerous COTs and actually wished Timbuktu for herself? Only time will tell.
IN the mean time more expected bad news came: on May 4 1546 Ottoman Empire annexed The Hedjaz, and on October 26 1547 Songhai accepted peace with Ottoman Empire surrendering Timbuktu & Buré to Ottoman Empire.

...

After more than 10 years here is what I wrote:

A message to Ottoman representative in Venice during the public audience with the Doge: “Will we get 300 d?”

Ottoman Empire: “ Economy has been low for a while. You will get your money."

Finally on January 12, 1558 first 100 d of the remaining 300 d was received. We hope the rest 200 d will arrive soon…

-------------
*It seems I slightly underestimated rebels! During the war Portugal in fact lost two colonies: on March 1 1545 Cochin defected to the crown of Vijayanagar, and on September 1 1547 Perak defected to the crown of Ayutthaya. Not too much of a loss, but still…

 

[Wyvern]

Freedom, Scotland, and a new dawn

The sails flapped freely in the wind as the ship slowly pulled into Berwick harbour. Events had coalesced swiftly over the last few months and Mary breathed deeply of the sea air as she anticipated the road ahead. Beside her stood Francis, heir to the French throne, and in the accompanying ships were a small French honour guard, the number of which had been hotly negotiated with the English diplomats.

Scotland had been brewing for rebellion ever since it's forceful subjugation by the English in the 1520's and it's final spark of independence had been snuffed out when Mary was a child. Her mother had fled to the French court and Mary had spent all her life there growing up amongst the glitter of Europe and receiving a first class education to match her potential inheritance.

She had dreamt and secretly in her heart hoped that she might have a chance to claim the English throne when Mary died, but the English conflict against Scotland was too raw for this to ever be a real possibility and King Henri of France had been pursuing a policy of general peace with the English for a long time, marred only by the conflict over the City of Calais, a conflict that had quickly been put behind both countries especially when Elizabeth attained the English throne.

The Treaty of Vienna was to have a lasting influence upon the events to unfold, a treaty that had the potential to leave England isolated if it didn’t fragment as so many other pieces of parchment were wont to do. Now Elizabeth wanted to cement relations with the French further and remove the threat she perceived from Mary's claim on the English throne. When the English diplomats first approached France Mary had been sceptical, fearing it some English trick to entice her to their shores where she would be at their mercy. Gradually however as the weeks and months passed and the negotiators from both sides got to work the scepticism passed as she realised the English were serious. Elizabeth would recognise Mary as Queen of Scotland, to rule in Union with England if Mary publicly renounced any claim to the English throne for both herself and her descendants. It was a big commitment to ask but if it gave her countrymen back their freedom without bloodshed it was a commitment Mary could make.

Henri, King of France had been quick to also see the advantage. England needs friends and France was always looking to extend her influence. This agreement would put the Dauphine of France on the Scottish throne and secure French borders in the New World. He knew that putting Mary on the English throne was beyond France's means to accomplish even if he had been inclined to try which he wasn't, this way he could accomplish a sweep of agreements and policy in one treaty, agreements he'd been long trying to negotiate with the English.

The treaty had been complicated and Mary had paid it little mind, there had been concessions and new boundaries drawn in the New World on both sides and a defensive alliance signed between France and England. Mary's concerns now lay firmly upon what she would find at the end of the road ahead, the road that led to Edinburgh!

 

[TheArchduke]

Austria 1533-1559

​

Excerpt aus dem Treffen des Geheimen Rates während des polnischen Krieges:

Die Mitglieder des Geheimen Rates äußern Bedenken über den nun lange andauernden Krieg mit Poland, der nur zum Schutz der sowieso heretischen Fürstentümer des Nordens und aus Stolz geführt werde. Der Erzherzog, der in Kriegsgefangenschaft in Krakau weilt, hat zugestimmt geheime Verhandlungen mit Polen aufzunehmen entgegen den Wünschen seines Bruders. Ihm ist jedwede Unterstützung zuzubilligen um alsbaldest Frieden zu schließen und eine Erholung der Kronländer zu gestatten um sie auf den unvermeidlichen Konflikt mit [censiert] vorzubereiten..

The Polish war and Internal Development​

Unable to protect Hungary and left alone by Poland soon after the fall of Budapest, Austria was in no position to claim Hungary for now, also as Karl V. was intent on pushing Poland out of the HRE, Ferdinand was reluctant to do this but obeyed the wishes of his brother, the Emperor. Soon later a declaration of war was handed to the polish ambassador.

Intial successes in the beginning of the war were soon followed by some very unlucky and bad going battles. Although the support of Denmark was gained against Poland, the imperial took much damage from the superior polish cav which was led by Tarnowsky. Only with much money from spanish coffers and a direct intervention of Imperial forces recruited from Milano, Austria was able to push Poland back a bit, and after several years the war ended in white peace. The main objective to push Poland out of the HRE was a success however, Mecklenburg was handed over to the danish King by Poland and soon after the polish King wisely decided to release Pommern into Independence again.

Ferdinand resisted the urge for more imperial adventures for the time being and concentrated on internal development. Apart from the erection of a refinery in Moravia as to strengthen the economy, fortresses were build in every province. The peaceful time was only interrupted when Switzerland unwisely decided to insult the Ferdinand and had to cede Schwyz soon later as compensation. Also with the help of the Spanish Jesuits, all of the austrian provinces were recatholicised. Baden sweared an oath of fealthy to the Emperor as well as Bavaria some years before.

The future looks bright as recent developments brought back the polish-austrian friendship. And filled with new vigor as Ferdinand was finally able to govern Austria on her own, as the Habsburg family decided to divide the inheritance. What will the future bring, Hungary still waits to be liberated, and news of english-spanish tensions rising have reached the ears of Ferdinand.

(Suprise, suprise. Well nothing really happened in that session, apart from the bad-going polish war and years of sitting around and developing tech and gather strength. Hope next session will be more eventful.)

 

[unmerged(10146)]

War against pagans in south Africa for the glory of God and some gold

…fragments from the private diary of Barnius VI “The Warrior”, Duke of Lisboa, Chairman of the PTC


Promptly after failing in the attempt to secure Timbuktu COT and west African gold mines for PTC, our armies under Mem Da Sa were reorganized with the intention to spread our true faith among pagans, as agreed with the Pope. The intention was to recruit two large enough armies and declare a war on pagan Kingdom of Zimbabwe after all the consequences of the long and hard war against the infidels were forgotten.
Some necessary prearrangements were needed, like exploration of two more Zimbabwean provinces, to make later warfare easier and faster. Also, Kingdom of Zulu was in the alliance with Zimbabwe, and at war against Xhosa. Their war was going on successfully, so we intended to wait with the declaration of the war till Zulu annex Xhosa, hoping that they would join the war on Zimbabwean side and thus enable us to conquer all the area in one swift strike.

A nice plan indeed, but somehow Zumbabwe found out about it! We lost the advantage of a surprise attack, but on the other hand savages were so foolish to actually insult the King Sebastiao I calling him names I don’t dare to repeat even here, in my private diary. The perfect casus beli for a war, I thought, although when did Sebastiao I need one anyway? Despite all the above mentioned preparations and conditions were far from being met, on October 16 1547 Portugal declared war upon Zimbabwe. As expected, Zulu joined Zimbabwean side – excellent!

Our preparations for the war were far from over, so Zulu had enough time to finish with Xhosa: they were annexed on November 19 1548. It was only on August 13 1549 almost two years after the declaration of war, that first Portuguese forces engaged enemy on the battlefield of Transkei. The rest is the history – here is the listing of all the victorious sieges of enemy forts:
1) January 10, 1550 : We captured the province of Nembire from Zimbabwe
2) July 12, 1550 : We captured the province of Transkei from Zulu
3) May 3, 1551 : We captured the province of Rozwi from Zimbabwe
4) August 1, 1551 : We captured the province of Natal from Zulu
-> Kingdom of Zulu was annexed
5) July 16, 1552 : We captured the province of Chibuene from Zimbabwe
6) May 14, 1554 : We captured the province of Zimbabwe from Zimbabwe, lost control over it on July 24 1554, but recaptured it on February 3 1556
7) June 9, 1555 : We captured the province of Sofala from Zimbabwe
-> Kingdom of Zimbabwe was annexed on February 7 1556

After this successful war the income of Portuguese Trading Company increased for about 180 d a year, and when the Jesuits finish their holly work it will be even more.

 

[Slargos]

A righteous wAAR of indignation

Stockholm, Sweden.

"So, my minions. We have broken free of the dane and captured the lands of the teutons. Yet my lust for gold is not yet sated. Where shall we look next?"
"Your majesty. We pay much for the shipping of goods through the Sund. Surely, the dane must be brought to answer for the miserly way they squeeze every last Daler out of the poor merchants!"
"Yes. YES! Skåne shall be seized so that control over the Sund is lost to the wretched dane."

Härnösand, Sweden.

"Put your backs into it, men! That galley must be ready in time for the great invas... uhmm... naval parade in Stockholm!"
"Huff. Puff. Heave-HO!"

The new secret navalyards in Härnösand work double-time to make the fleet ready for.. the parade...

Stockholm, Sweden.

"Your Majesty. We have finished the fleet. The army is well-trained and our supplies of the materials of war are stocked to 400% of the levels believed required."
*the aide presents Gustav with the ceremonial big-red-button-of-war*
"Very well, my minions. We go to war again against the pultron dane."
"Ah. Your Majesty. There is the matter of the military buildup in Kexholm. Spies report troops in their hundreds of thousands... well-trained russians..."
"What of them? Our friends, the brave Poles will scare them into submission. The Hussaria number in their millions and the russians will never dare tempt them into plundering Moscow. Besides, even if they do invade, the winter will make short work of them. Let the finns suffer, as they are wont."
*Gustav presses the big-red-button-of-war and grins a wicked grin, which turns into an evil cackle that echoes off the walls of the throneroom, suddenly ending in a fit of coughing as the winter flu does its work on Gustav's aging body.*

A transcript of parts of the conflict follows:

The value of the Swedish naval buildup becomes immediately evident as brave admiral Klas Horn and his fleet of 16 men'o'war and 50 smaller galleys faces Peder Skram with 28 men'o'war and 25 galleys off the coast of Gotland. Building a horde of galleys was cunning indeed, for they have a mobility that cannot be bested by larger warships in the good old Baltic.

May 19, 1553 : We have engaged hostile fleets in Kalmar Strait.
May 23, 1553 : We won a battle against Denmark in Kalmar Strait.

Pursuit is immediately called, and the fleets again meet in the Skagerack:
May 6, 1553 : We have engaged hostile fleets in The Skagerack.
May 6, 1553 : We won a battle against Denmark in The Skagerack.
The danish fleet is forced to port after this action, damaged, but still not beaten. Hasty danish constructions of new warships and galleys begins.
August 7, 1553 : We captured the province of Skåne from Denmark
What follows are a series of maneuvers where the more lightly equipped and thinly organized Swedish army moves around the Dane using experience from the liberation war.
Rather than fight pitched battles, the generalstaff has issued an order of avoidance until such a point where the dane will be forced to attack a well defended position and inevitably be crushed on their own inertia.

Meanwhile, the danish naval buildup has outrun the swedish, and pays off when the fleet breaks out of the fjord of Oslo:
April 30, 1554 : We are attacked by hostile fleets of Denmark in The Skagerack.
May 1, 1554 : We lost a naval battle against Denmark in The Skagerack.
It is now the Swede's turn to hide, and the fleet falls back to Göteborg in defensive positions.

In December of '55, the breakout is ordered, and through a miracle, the danish fleet is broken, never to recover again.

March in '56 finally sees the sitaution called for by the general staff when the danish army attempts to relieve the siege of Christiania. The danish general, however, has missed the fact that the siege is a trap designed to lure the danes into an ambush and the well dug-in Swedish troops deal a withering defeat to the danes. The back of the danish army is effectively broken. Christiania surrenders at the sight of the running danish army, and the swedes under Klas Fleming are able to continue the campaign by boarding the transports of the fleet, and embarking on Jutland.
March 5, 1556 : We are attacked by hostile armies of Denmark in Østlandet
March 25, 1556 : We captured the province of Østlandet from Denmark

At this point, Christian II realizes all is lost, and in october of the same year, peace is concluded and Skåne is handed over to Sweden.

Meanwhile, the Swedish Continental Trading Company develops into a crafty bunch of entrepreneurs and swedish merchants corner the markets on trade in eastern europe from the Naval Goods in Copenhagen to the exotic spicetrade from the orient in Astrakhan.

Gustav's reign has been a good one.

 

[ForzaA]

The Gathering

Suylen, Utregt, August 21st 1575

”It is an outrage, Philip pretends to be a tolerant man, yet at the same time he signs a document effectively drawing a line between us, Protestants, and the Catholics in the south!” Shouted Hendrick, banker from Zutphen, representing Overijssel in this meeting.
”However, William supports him nonetheless. We must make him, and his sons, see what Philip is really planning. Until then, it will be our job to protect our faith, and our country” Gerard, a promising young administrator from Delft, Holland, calmly added.
”Yes, but our military is no match for the Spanish, we must seek help abroad if we are to gain our freedom from Spain. As you might know, France and England are at war with Spain, and I have heard that they are actually winning. Perhaps we should attempt to obtain support from them?” Suggested the cloaked man, usually called “de Korte” for his length. Supposedly, he was one of the most important people in Geldre.
” Aber nein! We must ask for support from the German princes,” that was almost always the response that Gerhard, an elderly trader, representing both Ostfrieslant and the Hansa cities, would give. Surely, the German princes had seen a lot of war, but would their forces be able to withstand the modern and numerous Spanish forces?
”What about the Swedes, the Danes? Surely, they would help us get free from the Catholic suppression, ” That was Sven, originally a Swede, but settled in Antwerp after making his fortune on trade in the Baltic.
”Why not beat them ourselves, it will take an effort, but we should be able to get it done, after all, we have been independent for most of our lives.” That was Douwe, a sturdy noble with domains in both Friesland and Groningen, who had opposed the Friesian joining with the rest of the Dutch lands, and got away with that alive.
”Gentlemen, I suggest we all gather support where we can find it, and sign a covenant to make clear our intentions, to be released in due time.” The count, owner of the house they gathered in now, always seemed to want something on paper, but why, no one knew.

 

[Wyvern]

France, 1559 to 1577

My name is Geraud de Fulk and I was there my friend at the turning of the tide. From the signing of that first treaty with England to the great battle of Languedoc, I saw it all and will recount a tale of war and revenge as to shock the world.

It was a time of turmoil yet a time of promise. The New World was under exploration and colonists were flocking to its shores, a burgeoning state was emerging south of the Santee river comprised a mixture of French colonials and native inhabitants all brought together under the loose control of the king of France. Across the river to the north lay the English crown colonies before more French colonies and trading posts could be found around the St. Lawrence Bay. The drive and bustle of innovation could be seen across the whole of North America but it is not there that my tale lies truly lies.

My dealings with the French court began in 1559 and the signing of that famous treaty with the English, a treaty that can now be seen as a direct challenge to the Spanish hegemony that was creeping across Europe. Through the clever diplomacy of Henri II in his latter years he managed to secure both the crown of Scotland for his son and an alliance with the English, an alliance that would prove it’s worth to both countries before the age passed. You could say I learnt my trade in the fair city of York haggling with the English and helping my more experienced colleagues draft seemingly endless versions of the Treaty of York before all sides would put pen to paper. The most obvious effect of the treaty was to put Mary of Scotland upon the Scottish throne, yet of no less importance was the drawing up of clearer borders in the New World and the signing of a defensive pact. With the stroke of a pen Henri had secured the right to colonise the area south of the Santee river and west to Mississippi for France, whilst in the North the St. Lawrence Bay area would also be French to the borders with the Huron Indian nation and as far north as the small Danish colonies. This was not however the only treaty I helped draft for France and my King. Another more secretive agreement was made one late stormy night mere months after Henri’s death.

In the fall of 59 emissaries from Austria crossed over the Alps and entered southern France. The French court was in residence in Provence at the time to avoid the worst of the winter chills, though I think now that King Francis had known all along the Austrian party was due to join him there that winter, away from the gossip and spies in Paris. Was I heard and what I saw as I took notes for my King that late stormy night took my breath away. The Archduke of Austria himself had made this journey in secret to talk with the French King away from the eyes of the world. In the morning he would be returning to his own lands but before he went he would set events in motion that would have repercussions for the next two decades and beyond though none realised it at the time.

The talks revolved around the various Duchies and Kingdoms lay along the French and Austrian border and specifically about Baden and Lorraine. I realised at once that this was a continuation of earlier discussions but both were still eyeing each other carefully despite the friendship that had existed between Austria and France for many decades now and the good will that was generally perceived to flow from both courts. It emerged that the Emperor wanted to take direct control over Baden with French agreement and was willing for France to do the same with Lorraine. I remember my heart beating quickly as the two Monarchs discussed the matter back and force swapping guarantees and making promises. History was unfolding before my very eyes and I was privileged enough to witness this great occasion though I was sworn to secrecy for years afterwards.

Generally it was perceived to be of benefit to both nations that the small nations along their borders remained independent, and the Emperor himself was responsible for the freedom of his German princes. Lorraine though the Emperor agreed was a French holding, its people were French and could be held as a Duchy under the French crown. Both sides agreed it was to their advantage and the Emperor departed. By 1563 both Baden and Lorraine had been peacefully incorporated into their respective realms and King Francis added the title Duke of Lorraine to his already healthy list.

For many years I continued to ply my trade, rising through the diplomatic ranks at court and watching the ebb and flow of events and new monarchs rose to the thrones of Europe as well as to the throne of France. Charles’ reign was one of strife for a time as the forces of Luther sparked riots across the country, but the King’s tolerance and friendship to England did much to ease the effects of the unrest and although it continued to simmer under the surface it troubled the realm little during his lifetime.

I think Henri III was the King I respected the most. He began the process of reforming the tax laws and economy of the country and financed the sending of missionaries to bring the native pagan Americans to the true faith, a process that had been lax and prone to failure under Charles’ reign. What I remember most though is Henri’s iron resolve.

When our spies brought back news that Spain was fomenting trouble early in 71 we were agast. She demanded that Lorraine be released we were told or Spanish armies would invade. Had the King of Spain gone mad, did he have the Holy Roman Emperor so firmly in his paw that he considered Lorraine a Spanish matter? I was Henri’s confidant and advisor by this time. I had seen much during the passing of the years. No longer was I the untutored diplomat who sat at the table with his betters learning his trade, now it was the young ones who looks to my example and wisdom.

We sent representatives to the Emperor to learn more about this matter. We couriers to Madrid, Vienna and Venice to demand immediate reports from our spies regarding any news on this matter, and we watched with growing anger as the Spanish armies began to assemble on our northern and Southern borders.

Our spies did not bring good news. The Emperor did not want war it seemed but the Spanish clearly did and Lorraine was his pretext. The King was all for raising the hosts and sending the Spanish King to hell but I counselled caution. Spain was ready for war and we clearly were not. Felipe of Spain was also clearly a warmonger and would find another outlet for his energy if we could somehow deflect him from his current path for now. Henri was reluctant but he saw the wisdom in our council. Enough autonomy would be given to Lorraine to remove any chance that Felipe could use this as a context for war, and without that context he would have difficulty dragging his allies into a conflict. My wisdom was rewarded a year later when Spanish armies began withdrawing and our spies reported them being shipped to the east.

It came as little surprise when Spain and her allies invaded the Turks once more a couple of years later and both Henri and Queen Elizabeth of England agreed that payback was in order against this warmongering King. Over a frantic six months period the armies began to mobilise and ships were sent to sea. We had no great general to lead our armies like the Duke of Alba or Alessandro Farnesse, the likes of which could send shivers down the spine of even a veteran soldier, or perhaps especially down the spine of a veteran soldier who unlike the crop of new recruit was well aware of the stature and skill of these two men. Henri was determined though, this war would be a time to test his own armies and train his own crop of new generals and so it was that war was declared in September 75.

Swiftly the Spanish Low Countries were put under siege and the bulk of the army marched down into Rousillon capturing it in May 76. Yes by this time the Spanish war machine was getting into gear and prudently General Roquemara attempted to withdrew our armies back to French soil where they could be more easily supported rather than risk a decisive engagement in Catalonia far from his supply own lines.

Now it was that Farnesse appeared on the scene commanding the main Spanish army and pursuing Roquemara (OOC bog standard leader – I had ZERO leaders during this war ) through Rousillon and on into Languedoc there defeating our forces despite our numerical advantage.

Farnesse now began a lightening campaign against our armies the like of which for some months looked like turning the tide of the war and routing our armies from the field. Yet even a man as great as Farnesse can make a mistake and so it was that such happened during the decisive battle of Languedoc in late 1576 when the great Farnesse himself was killed along with the utter destruction of his entire army. A victim he was of over confidence and a realisation come too late that revenge could motivate an army as well as shear ability on the field of battle.

The Duke of Alba now took over the Spanish forces but the mettle had been driven out of Spain’s men with Farnesse’s death and one Spanish force after another was routed in a set of battles that saw Alba run from one defeat to another across southern France. By the middle of 1577 the Spanish defeat was clear for not only had France routed Spain in Southern France but England had also strung together a set of victories across the Caribbean that left Spain in ruins.

So it was that the peace treaty signed in August of 1577 ceded the province of Artois to France along with the colonies of Barbados to England and Mobile to France, so removing the Spanish presence from the southern region of North America as demanded of the Spanish by King Henri in compensation for the wanton destruction of the French trading posts along the Mississippi river during the war.

 

[unmerged(10915)]

The Ottoman Empire

The Reign of Suleyman : 1520 - 1566
The reign of Suleyman could be described as the zenith of Ottoman expansion. After his successful conquest of Hungary, something which took considerable amounts of time and effort, he turned his eye on Northern Africa, annexing the realms of Tunisia and the Barbary. The Portugese also had some interest in this area and war broke out, but the Portugese were pushed out, mostly due to the lack of manpower and the failure to realize what an advantage in tech the Turkish armies had.
The final push into Africa came a few years later under the general Özdemir, a scheming and dangerous ally of Suleyman, someone who would be more appropriate some thousands of miles away from the capital. The rich center of trade of Timbuktu and the great and fabled gold mines of Buré were annexed, adding great wealth to the coffers of the Ottoman Empire.

The whole story can be decribed in the chronicles of Mull-ad d´man, chronicler of Selim.

The scramble for Africa
But, alas there was another nation wanting for the riches of the south. Lurking in the shadows and doing all kinds of scary stuff, the Portugese were scheming and eating small slices of cheese, preferably Camembert with a sprinkle of crispy bread. When Suleyman had annexed Tunisia and incorporated the realms of Algiers into the Ottoman Empire, he had the full capability of projecting his power into Africa.
At the same time, the Portugeese (no pun intended) had attacked the Turkish allies of Morrocco, aiming for a quick passage to the North African gold mines. Suleyman could have none of that and immediately sent an ambassador to the Portugeese court, telling them that either they get the hell out or be attacked. The Portugeese did not accept and proceded with their raping of fellow muslims. When the first Ottoman troops clashed with the Portugeese, the Turks were higher in numbers. Despite this, the Portugeese had the advantage of shorter support lines and Tangiers as a base. Fighting was most dramatic and the minor war on the outskirts of the known world was going quite bad for the Sultan. This made him wake up and focus on beating the christians out with force. New conscripts arriving by the month, the main army grew to considerable size. After a few skirmishes, the major battle was at hand. The Portugeese were slaughtered by the thousands and the inner deeps of Northern Africa lay at the feet of Suleyman.

All might seem well this long; The Ottoman Empire had grown to one of the most important powers in Europe and was second only to the iberians in wealth. But despite this, the government suffered lots of mismanagement. Inflation increased due to the conversion effort, considerable amounts of money were pumped into the Sultan´s vassals, money that could have been used for other projects such as fortification and stability.

The backlash
Confident of his power and effectiveness of the armies, Suleyman sat back and enjoyed his splendour. A large missionary project, the goal of turning all his followers to the faith of Islam, was started in Hungary. This angered the Austrians and would have been enough of a warning for Suleyman to start building an army to defend his lands. Yet he did nothing and let the missionary work continue, the army continuing to be very small at the time.
The Austrians could not believe what they saw and invaded the Ottoman Empire together with Venice, Spain (who by the way had no reason at all to be there, but if you want to read about that, go to the discussion thread) and Poland (they took Moldavia). After a few years of fighting, the Tuks were beaten, surrendering Maros and Carpathia.

The second backlash
This did not trouble Suleyman greatly though, as he was dead. He died the last year, when the fighting was at its highest. His successor and son, Selim took the throne. He saw the need of expanding his realm, to become stronger than ever and fight the Habsburgs to reclaim lost lands. His ambitions lay in Persia and the Safavids.
The whole project was to be a failure though and would pave the way for the events knows as the second backlash of the Ottoman Empire. Too few armies were sent to the eastern front and when war was declared, the Turks were outnumbered three to one. What was intended as an offensive war had become very much defensive. War exhaustion rose and the large mass of people were growing more and more tired of taxes. Now, the Habsburgs took yet another opportunity and invaded Hungary once again!
The Turkish armies were no where near Hungary and had to march several hundreds of miles to reach the front. There the war was over really, but the Sultan intended to fight on. At the same time, the French attacked Spain, relieving some pressure from the Turks, but it didnt matter at the stage they were in. The country was in flames, from enemies and revolts and loans had dried up the treasury, inflation had doubled, stability was at an all-time low and many provnices threatened with independence. The Selim gave in, giving Austria Magyar.
The Empire was at its first great crisis, just a mans age earlier, they had been the lords of Europe. The future looked dark for the Empire, but at the same time this crisis could mean something good too...

 

[unmerged(5394)]

THE TREATY OF YORK: 1559


1559, London.
„I refuse to even discuss such an option! I was there at Calais, when the city fell, and saw the horrendous deeds of those bastards.” roared Lord Burghley, Secretary of State and leader of the Privy Council, responsible for the general administration of the country.
“We have no other option but France. The King of Spain expects us to align our affairs to that of the Spanish Crown. My Lord, would You and any of the ministers present really want to relinquish any powers over English affairs to such a man? What about the Spanish inquisition?“
“NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION” (Jarring Chord)
“Right. Besides, You have no idea whatsoever young Sir William of our current situation! We are going through troubled times, the treasury is empty, our military is weak, and the religious turmoil might turn into another civil war, therefore we need a powerful ally, and….”
“This is exactly what I offer to deliver, a strong ally, whereas You my Lord suggest we should accept vassalisation from Spain instead…”
My words were too much to bare for Lord Burghly. He jumped up from the table and God only knows what he was about to do, when the young Queen, aged only 26 intervened:
“That is enough! I shall decide what is in the best interest of England. I will not marry the King of Spain,… neither the Duke of Anjou!”
(I could swear to see a little smile at Robert Dudley’s face for a brief moment, but the Queen of England continued)

„I have already joined myself in marriage to a husband, namely the kingdom of England”
(The room turned completely silent, this was an answer nobody had expected.)
“But Your Majesty, with all the respect….”
“My good Lord Burghly. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too. Thus, I shall entrust the Duke of York to work out the details with the emissaries of the King of France. We have no time to waste.”


A couple weeks later, castle of York.
“Voila Monsieur. Je crios, que nous avons….”
“Yes, I too believe that the agreement is ready for signature Monsieur de Fulk. This Treaty marks a turning point in the history of our countries. I may also ad, that the map dividing New England and Nouvelle France has pleased her Majesty to a great extent. She even said that the Treaty of York will have as lasting influence upon the new world as that renowned piece of paper signed at Tordesillas. We on the other hand have the means to enforce this Treaty, whereas Spanish and Portugal…“
“Oui, zei ar sertenli not kapable to do zhet, nous allons démontrer ca.”
“We will do so indeed. However, You still have some difficult explanations to deliver. I understand King Henry will not be pleased to hear that there will be no marriage after all.”
“Oui, zis iz weri zistourbin, mais I zink I hav fond a soluthion, la Reine Marie de l’Ecosse”
“Hm, marrying a queen without a throne is not exactly what Your King had in mind.”
“Vous avez raison Monsieur Guillome. Je crois, wizout zis, zher is no pact.”
“Well, if that is the price to pay for this Treaty, I might convince Her Majesty to allow Mary of Scotland to return. I must emphasize however, that this would be merely viewed as a nominal independence from England. I shall further note, that England will not tolerate any action that could possible undermine our security and our very interests.”
“Weri wuell Monsieur Guillome. I will report zis zu my king.”
(The Treaty was signed in York in the summer of 1559. It’s legacy and lasting effects are still reflected in contemporary arts and music (e.g. “Summer of 59”, although unfortunately there are but a few uneducated persons who would like to believe it as “Summer of 69”)

 

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Confidential Report on 1576 Income

...and a bitter discussion between once a mentor and his failure that become King of Portugal

Portugal, 1576

…Barnius VII “The Warrior” de Rico, Conselheiro Confidencial dos Reis, fourth Duke of Lisboa, delivering the confidential information on income of major European countries to His Majesty King Sebastião I “The Mad”…

Here you are Your Majesty, perhaps over the years you managed to learn something about the economy apart how to spend money in unthinkable amounts.

HA! You don’t have to be so sarcastic, naturally I know how to read this…charts?…I can see my Kingdom is the richest in the world! Even those Spaniards seem to be running out of gold…YES! We will prepare our armies and recruit even more! It’s WAR TIME!!

It is neither the time nor the place for cheering, Your Majesty, or for the war! Portugal is ahead of our distinguished neighbours only temporary, precisely because the war seriously damaged their economy.
But look at Ottoman Empire! They suffered even much worse: their income is 30% lower than 18 years ago. See, your majesty, you very much rushed last time when you proclaimed that crusade against infidels. Now, for example, would be a much more appropriate moment…
Nevertheless, as I said, war damages the economy, and as you surely remember, we just had one, very unfortunate…

It’s always a good time for war…

Always a good… YOUR MAJESTY STOP TALKING ABOUT THE WAR! Only a year ago there was a war. A bloody CIVIL WAR that almost destroyed our country! And I am can’t remain silent about that any longer: it’s entirely Your Majesty’s fault that happened. The first thing people expect form the King is stability, and you offer nothing but chaos and insecurity!

WATCH ON YOUR FILTHY TONGUE, OLD MAN, IT'S NOT MY FATHER YOU ARE TALKING TO!

You most certainly are not, Your Majesty. You disappointed me very much. Your great father had such high expectations…good that he is not around to see into what you have developed! A tyrant, caring only about his selfish interests and little sick pleasures!

OLD MAN, I AM TELLING YOU…

Your Majesty, it is only out of the memory on your noble father I am serving you still and trying to hold the Kingdom in one piece! There are only a handful of those who would still obey your orders, and even they only for money, certainly not from loyalty. Those are really sad times for our country.
By lowering the rights of the aristocracy eight years ago you not only lost that little support a few of them offered to the court, but you let them begin that awful civil war. You must know it was only me and my Company money that saved not your crown, but your pitiful life! So stop threatening without any means to do so! I came here to discuss important issue.
As I said, the country needs stability. You simply must provide an heir to the throne. Without that we are always on the brink of both internal troubles and external intervention. We are a small country and can’t afford to take such a risk…

STOP IT! We had this discussion already so many times I can’t count it. I will not listen to it any more – my hunting party is waiting in the courtyard.

…That’s hopeless…It looks like I must admit the defeat and start seeking answers on the other side. Portuguese citizens and PTC are more important than one man, King or not…