The Great Game : Part II, Europe's Revenge

[BurningEGO]

the convert after nationalism thingy doesnt happen in europe i think...so there is no possiblity to convert back to scandinavian
(maybe they changed it in a beta patch)

Totaly correct Ear, like usual. From what i know, European provinces do not change culture: Look at these northern provinces like Narvik, Finnmark, Kola, Karelia, Ingermanland and another amount of Finish/Russian provinces. These provinces never have their culture changed (if they are above 1000 population). Same goes for Iceland. Also, provinces above 1000 population will never get lower then that: check African provinces that always have -1% population growth even with max stab... They never drop population after they reached 1000.

In a short resume, Iceland will never stop speaking spanish. They prefer to be in a country with economical supremacy and with Brave Men. Unlike Norway, who can only conquer lesser people, like the poor natives in North America.

 

[zlaron]

Totaly correct Ear, like usual. From what i know, European provinces do not change culture: Look at these northern provinces like Narvik, Finnmark, Kola, Karelia, Ingermanland and another amount of Finish/Russian provinces.

Yes, it seems unless this has changed since 1.08 European provinces are indeed exempted. Which is somewhat silly, seeing as colonies are pretty much colonies whether in the arctic regions of Europe or in a different continent. On the other hand, whether or not Iceland is part of Europe is arguable.

 

[BurningEGO]

It doesnt matter if Iceland is part of Europe or not. What it does matter, is that they preferred to be Iberian, rather then Scandinavian. You see, they never wanted to be ruled by Norway. They even canceled the vassalation with them, and allowed me to annex them of their own free will.

In other words, Icelanders Love Spain. And i will not hand them out without heavy fight.

 

[unmerged(49182)]

The conversion to the only true religion and further colonisation in America​

The great king of Burgundy sat in his castle, looking out of a window in the capital, Brugge. The country had recently been troubled by the reign of Dr Bob, and on top of that, religion was becoming a growing problem in the little nation.
Many provinces had turned to the newer and more liberal faiths, and the king was perplexed, should he follow the beliefs of the people or the traditions of the nation?

After some heavy debating with his advisors, he came to a conclusion, the nation was to convert to the reformed religion, since that was one of the major ones in Burgundy, only catholicism could measure itself with it. The work with converting the peasants immidiately started, the nation suffered a series of minor rebellions, but those were soon taken care of, and we made sure no other peasants would revolt. The nation was now at peace, but it was still a nation of diversity, with three different religions. The conversions had been rather successful, yet they were becoming increasingly expensive, so more money will have to be put in to this, at the expense of the colonies.

We started out by converting the dutch and french people, as they make out the majority of the population, and because we have french and dutch as state culture. The converting in America was very successful, with one exception, there were a minor revolt in Talahassee, and they killed all the missionaries there, so the province is still pagan, but all the other provinces were successfully converted.

The religious situation in Burgundy in 1565.


The black lines indicate the borders of Burgundy.

The conversion to reformed struck hard, very hard at the trade, and we lost almost all of our trade, but we were slowly recovering from it, and after some 10-15 years, we were again able to trade, although plagues and similiar events kept it from growing more than it did. We had also reached trade 4, so the money made from trade increased, encouraging burgundian traders to travel to foreign countries and trade.

Apart from converting, we also expanded our colonies in America, and six more cities were gained there, Guadelope, Barbados, Mobile, Bayou, Diamentina and Pernambuc and we now have a rather good foothold in the New World.

We also sold Piemonte for a modest sum to Italy, they were too cute for us to reject it.

We hope for continued prosperity the next session, and that the catholics will be driven out of Burgundy, once and for all. The relations with Spain has rapidly deteriorated and we are not sure what the future holds in store for us. The accusations of plotting against them have made the Burgundian Royal Court decide to leave their current alliance with Spain.​

AAR Reward: Conversion of Calais (ID 382)​

 

[das]

So much for:
- Triple Alliance;
- Peace in the West;
- Balance of Power.

 

[unmerged(36826)]

Well the Kings of Burgundy and Spain now hate eachother

 

[unmerged(49182)]

Well the Kings of Burgundy and Spain now hate eachother

I hate you too, I just keep it secret.

 

[BurningEGO]

Well the Kings of Burgundy and Spain now hate eachother

These kings are distant cousins, and problems within a family always happen.

But there is a thing the Burgundian King cannot deny: I saw him speaking with the Norwegian Monarch. If he was plotting or not, i cannot say, but he was definetely speaking with him.

 

[unmerged(36826)]

I hate you too, I just keep it secret.

Because you fear my overwhelming financial and tactical superiority

 

[King of Men]

What, now it's a crime to talk to an Yngling? The Spanish King's arrogance knows no bounds; it increases by the day.

I would just note that all the kings of Europe are distant cousins; we all bought hot girls from each other all through CK. The current 'Piast' probably has as many Yngling genes as Piast ones, through the female line.

 

[BurningEGO]

Then thats why Poland is so weak... Always asking Spain for money... Bleh

Hopefully, in the veins of the Jimenez there is no unpure, norwegian blood. Else we would be another bunch of cowards, always leaving the real fight for other countries.

 

[Endre Fodstad]

That would explain the childlike posturing and schoolyard bully mentality the rulers of the countries of Europe are so good at displaying in this thread - you are all inbred! :rofl:

 

[King of Men]

Hmm. Next time I have some spare moments, I'll make an ancestor-counter for CK save files. I'd like to see just what dynasties contributed to the Jimenez line.

 

[King of Men]

Well, now, this is rather interesting. As promised, I made an ancestor-counter, and applied it to Garcia Jimenez, the last Crusader King of Castille. He has, as it turns out, 7675 unique ancestors within the CK timeframe. The list below shows what dynasties contributed the most to his geneology. I chopped out those minor dynasties that had fewer than 24 people in his ancestry; I chose this number pretty much at random. I've bolded the most interesting dynasties.

de Valois : 39
di Montferratto : 36
von Wettin : 25
von Weimar : 52
Askanien : 31
d'Albon : 29
von Babenberg : 57
of Bohemia : 42
de Boulogne : 26
de Nevers : 35
de Bourbon : 56
de Comminges : 107
d'Empuries : 78
de Barcelona : 31
Ramirez : 24
de las Asturias : 139
de Castilla : 39
de Valladolid : 32
de Vivar : 71
de Lara : 32
van Braunschweig : 34
de Leon : 134
[b]Jimenez : 512[/b]
av Stenkyrka : 29
[b]Yngling : 47[/b]
Skogla : 29
av Muns÷ : 66
Bagratuni : 40
Trpimirovic : 40
of Bar : 29
von Hohenstaufen : 24
Hastings : 24
Skleros : 28
[b]Dukas : 38[/b]
Welf : 60
Billung : 104
of Swabia : 27
de Maine : 37
Staden : 31
von Nordgau : 44
Ludolfinger : 48
de Luxembourg : 34
de Maurienne : 36
of Upper Burgundy : 32
[b]de Hauteville : 88[/b]
d'Este : 30
[b]Piast : 145[/b]
of Bulgaria : 35
Rurikovich : 155
[b]Premyslid : 137[/b]
┴rpßd : 104
de Vermandois : 108
720 : 29
de Blois : 86
de Gastinois : 33
d'Anjou : 24
[b]de Flandre : 135[/b]
de Toulouse : 166
de la Marche : 30
d'Auvergne : 33
de Longwy : 52
de Chalon : 54
de Macon : 38
d'Aquitaine : 50
de Bourgogne : 72
Capet : 66
[b]de Normandie : 92[/b]
von Nordheim : 33
de Amaya : 53
Cabeza de Vaca : 24
Sanchez : 24
Lainez : 33
Jimenez : 24
von Pfirt : 27
Borghese : 36
di Simiano : 27
Aba : 25
Guthkeled : 42
Hontpßzmßny : 36
Wlostowic : 30
de Rennes : 52
d'Ardennes : 87
Trencavel : 25
de SΘmur : 35
of Eu : 24
of Geneve : 26
Branas : 27
von Bonngau : 71
Balog : 34
Jßk : 29
Borkalßn : 40
StenkilsΣtten : 30
Total ancestors : 7675

Alas, I am forced to admit that the Ynglings contributed least of any player dynasty to the guy, except for the Dukases. Still, the point remains : No less than 47 Ynglings in his personal woodpile!

 

[King of Men]

Early spring, 1553
South of the Great Lakes

A single shot sounded, then silence; then a crackle of musketry as the colonial militia returned fire against the bushes. Disciplined, the hird regulars around Trygve held their fire; no use wasting gunpowder on trees. Trygve tensed; next would come - ululating screams broke out around him as the Iroquis warriors broke from their cover. Now the hirdsmen's fire discipline paid off : A single unified volley crashed out, stopping the ambush in its tracks. But further up and down the column, tomahawks and traded steel axes raged among militia who found themselves armed with no more than clumsy, expensive clubs. Trygve shouted rapid orders; his hirdsmen dropped their muskets - it would take too long to reload now - and drew swords. They crashed forwards in a disciplined rush. It was a tactic that had won many battles; but here the undergrowth made footing awkward, and broke their formation up slightly. Quick as wolves, Iroquis warriors struck into the gaps and laid about them. They were desperate men, who knew well what the Norwegian column would do if it reached the village the Iroquis were defending.

A small bunch of Iroquis managed to break a hole in the hird line, trampling new corpses underfoot as they rushed to get at Trygve. No doubt they were hoping that the death of the enemy commander would cause the Norwegians to break apart in disarray - as indeed it might. Trygve wished he had a unit of the Yngling Guard with him; well-drilled hirdsmen were well and good for the battlefields of Europe, but they didn't have the deadly touch in personal combat that training from the age of five gave to Yngling men - and Iroquis warriors.

He leaped to his left, thrusting out his sword with controlled fury. The Iroquis he aimed at was skilled, but unfamiliar with pointed weapons; all his experience was with axe and club, which both require a slashing motion to kill. He parried, as he thought, a slash at his throat, and instead found Trygve's point entering his unprotected stomach. He sank down with a groan; the smell of fecal matter was suddenly overwhelming as Trygve wrenched the blade free and the Iroquis's last meal went flying. Trygve hit the ground and dove into a roll that brought him up below a startled Iroquis; a thrust upwards gave that warrior other things to think about than combat. He leaped to his feet, and found another enemy right in front of him, well inside the range where a sword was useless. He dropped it, but before he could get to his knife he had to use his hand to stop the Iroquis's long dagger by grasping the man's wrist. They grappled; the Iroquis seemed made of steel and oak. The dagger came closer to Trygve's throat, closer. He remembered an old lesson, reared back his head, and banged his forehead into the other man's nose. The grip on his left wrist suddenly relaxed, and he was able to thrust a bladed fist into the stomach between the ribs, where even the fittest man has no protecting muscle. The air went out of the Iroquis with a whuff, and Trygve brought down a fist on his neck, breaking it with a wet crunch. Only then did he become aware of the pain in his throat where the dagger had just missed the artery. Ice water ran through him as he realised how close his call had been; his knees wanted to buckle.

The battle was winding down; the Iroquis had been badly outnumbered, and only surprise and their desperation had allowed them to take such a toll as they had. The militia were taking a furious revenge, not that Trygve had any use for male Iroquis prisoners - they couldn't be made to work even with liberal doses of the whip. The way was clear to their village, now. He hoped they wouldn't all fight like this, though.

----------------------------------------------------------​

The worst of the screaming was dying down; Trygve finished giving orders for the night watch. As the sergeant turned away, he had second thoughts.
"Oh, one more thing."
"Aye, sir?"
"Bring me one of those women."
The sergeant raised his brows; the army had its privileges, but it wasn't the custom for Yngling officers to make use of them. He made no comment, though, beyond a simple "Javel, kaptein" as he turned to leave. Trygve almost called him back, but then his fingers, absently touching the bandages about his throat, reminded him of the day's fight. A cold shiver ran down his back. "Make haste", he muttered to himself. "Make haste, for tomorrow may never come." Anyway, his mother would be pleased if he could present her with a bastard or two; it was time he did his duty to the Ynglings. Suddenly he felt more cheerful. Germany, England, Sweden, the Rus, even Spain : All had contributed their races to the strength of Norway. But he'd be the first Yngling to bring Iroquis blood into the Family.

----------------------------------------------------------​

The colonies after my little war with the Iroquis :

Not much happening in Europe, so I won't show a screenie of that.

A note on demographics : In 1066 there were 2 male Ynglings. In 1419 there were 732. That gives a doubling time of 37 years, but that's through some very bad years, what with constant war, disease, Mongols, and the Plague. For these more peaceful years of Norway's prosperity, we can probably reduce the doubling time to 30 years or so. Thus by 1564 there should be something in excess of eleven thousand Ynglings. (Male, that is.) In 1819 we will have had another 8 doublings, giving us something on the order of 3 million Ynglings. That should be a fairly substantial fraction of the population of the Norwegian Empire. In fact, this is getting on for being not so much a family as an ethnic group. It may be useful to keep this in mind as I develop the story.

 

[das]

Good battle description, interesting statistics too. As for three million Ynglings, I don't envy the revolutionaries of this world, the Norwegian ones anyway, especially if these Ynglings don't lose their martial skills. They might not even need a regular army!

 

[zlaron]

Yet another stylish, and quite dramatic update. The borders in NA are looking rather more defined now, I trust those natives with the capital in Erie (I play too much AGCEEP to recognize which tribe it is) and the uncolonized Michigan area are in the Norwegian sphere of interest?

 

[Skarion]

Great AAR as usual KoM, any news about Europe?

btw, the world be rather cleared I guess by Victoria, how do you plan to continue this by then? Are you gonna eliminate eachother as much as possible under Victoria, and then have a Worldwar between any potential powers who are left in HoI2?

 

[King of Men]

Well - three million male Ynglings, say one million of fighting age; but a lot of those will be in important administrative positions and not easily spared short of absolutely full mobilisation. I think there will still be a need for a hird recruited from the lower classes, in addition to the Yngling Guards.

The Shawnee are certainly within the Norwegian sphere of interest, as is the Detroit bit. (Ultimately, of course, the answer to this question is "Well, it's part of the Earth, right?" But I suppose you were speaking of spheres of interest recognised by other Powers.) The border is not yet defined in the Niagara area; Absolut offered to sell me Illinois, which I'll probably take him up on if the offer is still open later on.

Europe is toddling along, pretty much; there haven't been any large wars, everybody is busy colonising. I annexed Bohemia, without the threatened Spanish attack, but that's the only change of borders. Byzantium and Jerusalem are the only real exceptions, they've fought each other to an exhausted standstill and reduced themselves to fairly minor Powers in the process. It'll take some time for them to recover.

As for Vicky - well, it's a problem, I admit. Still, we'll be able to focus on industrialising, so really, we're scrambling for important Vicky resources in this colonial race. The Vicky struggle will probably be decided by the best economy. The risk of one player becoming overwhelmingly dominant is of course constant in games like this. We'll basically have to muddle along, balancing as best we can against potential hegemons - much like the real history, really. But yes, if it's not decided by 1920, we'll be using the Vicky expansion and converting to Doomsday. And then, by God, we'll settle the thing. I do hope the game will end in an apocalyptic struggle, rather than a slow rise to dominance; it's just more fitting.

 

[BurningEGO]

Iberia: An Empire in which the Sun never sets

The Reign of Ordoto II, the Iron Fisted

"I look upon the People and the Nation as handed on to me as a responsibility conferred upon me by God, and I believe,
as it is written in the Bible, that it is my duty to increase this heritage for which one day i shall be called upon to give an account. Whoever tries to interferes with my task, i shall crush." - Emperor Ordoto II

July 1, 1546 - The Third Spanish Civil War

Everything was going fine on my Empire, until that is, my enemies managed to ilude many of my peasants and incite them into open revolt! A civil war stroke in my Empire, ranging from Spanish Cuba, to the gates of Cairo. Even my dear Allthingi, in Iceland, started a great rebelion, that would last for 20 years straigth. This surely must had been backed by the Greedy Norwegian Monarch, but he shall pay for his insults, in time... Just like Italy did decades ago... My army, controlled by the Duchess of Alba, also rebelled against me, but for this they payed dearly. They were Uterly smashed in Oporto. No quarter, no mercy! The soldiers unlucky enough to survive the battle, were either impaled, crucified or burned alive. Their, uhm, "remnants", were shown in the streets for consecutive weeks, so that my humble servants will think twice before making any more rebelions. Although, i crushed this little army, many of my cities were still controlled by these anarchist scum, and so i was forced to ask my allies for help: England and Burgundy. England, ruled by the Selfish Bob, who thinks nothing more then his humble self, didn't even bother helping me. Burgundy, as before, helped me. They were swift enough to besiege my great fortresses in Toledo, while i smashed rebels in the new world and in north africa. In 3 years, the rebelion was no more, except for Iceland, who still controlled by the rebels backed by Norway.

October 11, 1555 - The Quest for the New World

"The Strong did what they could, the weak suffered what they must" - Emperor Ordoto II

Having discovered natives decades ago in the new world, we didn't bother getting into contact with them, since we were too busy in Europe, with some other isues. But since the situation stabilized, at least for some years, i decided to bring Christianity to these Pagans. I sent one of my greatest Conquistadores, controlling an army, for discovering purposes, obviously, to the Aztec Capital: Tenochtitlan. In here, my conquistador offered the Holy Bible to the Aztec Ruler. Montezuma, as people called him, stared looking at the bible. We don't know what came to his mind, but he just threw the Bible back to us! Surely, some kind of Demon whispered to him, or perhaps it was some Norwegian Witch, with their Voodoo... These pesky norwegians are behind everything these days, so i dont doubt this is their handywork! Getting back to the topic, we couldn't let God be insulted like this, so we decided to overthrew this heretic, Montezuma, and purge his little realm. In nothing more then 1 year, their little realm was conquered, alongside with their allies, the Mayas. After this, i decided to send Torquemada, and many more inquisitors, to purge these little heathens. May God have mercy on these poor souls, because i have none.

July 11, 1559 - War Preparations

"An Alliance with the All Powerful, is never to be trusted" - Emperor Ordoto II

After the annexation of Bohemia, i had to make full use of my Casus Belli against Norway. Mustering one of the biggest armies the world has ever seen, i sent them to all corners of the known world. Germany, Louisiana, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico are just some places. I asked to the rulers of England and Burgundy, if they wanted to take share of the booty. Burgundy, as stated before, didnt wish war with any other country. And of course, if Burgundy refused, so would the English, currently ruled by this great Bob. There was no big problem actually, Norway couldn't beat me in a 1v1 war. The problem is, that i saw my family member, the duke of Burgundy, speaking with the Norwegian monarch. The Bastard! I was already betrayed once, by my own brother, the King of Leon, but now, being betrayed by Burgundy is a bit too much, no? I also noticed that Burgundy was massing armies near the border they have with me. I asked them what they were doing, and the Burgundian Ruler stated that these armies were there to punish any heathen refusing to convert. Of course i didnt believe them: the nearby provinces were already converted, what was he doing there after all?

November 11, 1559 - The European "Powder Keg"

The war versus Norway never started. With the Burgundian War Machine positioned near my borders, i couldnt afford to declare war on the Norwegian Heathens. If this wasnt enough, Hungary revoked the military acess they had in Poland, one of my allies. This just means they want war soon as well. In the Middle East, things arent so Peaceful. Byzantium declared war on Jerusalem once again. It seems that the Middle East will never see true peace, unless, that is, it will be ruled by someone so strong as me. Actually, that sounds like nice idea. Perhaps God would be proud of my actions. Anyway, the situation in Europe is catastrophic. With Burgundy leaving my alliance, Hungary threaning Poland, Norway interfering in my colonial spheres, and messing around with their little plots all over the world (specially against Spain), with England being ruled by a total Selfish monarch and with even Italy raging for naval supremacy, i dont know what will come to pass. Spain still strong: with an Empire in which the Sun never sets, being the number 1 in income, having a fairly large manpower and having the world's biggest fleet, and of course, my managment, i think i can take anyone head to head. If i face some massive coalition, for some wierd reason, i swear that i will drag at least one or two countries down with me. I will spill my own people's blood, waste every single gold coin in my coffers, but By God, Iberia will not be humiliated again.

Signed by Ordoto II, Emperor of Iberia, King of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarra, Portugal, North Africa and the New World, Duke of Iceland, Barcelona, Mallorca, Count of the Azores and the Canaries, Supreme Ruler of the Spanish Armies, Master of the Templar Order of Calatrava, Calabria and St Jonh.