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SibCDC

Emperor of Gallispania
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Nov 4, 2015
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You probably clicked on this AAR because of the title, or because you recognized my name from my earlier work (which to be honest is highely unlikely). Before we get started, I'd like to clarify some things about this AAR, but also about my other work. For those who don't know me, my name is SibCDC and I am the author of several AARs, mostly HOI4 ones, but also an interactive V2 AAR. These AARs were all set in the same Kaiserreich universe and told the story of several different nations, including Belgium, Canada, the US, Cuba, Prussia and India. As to that shared universe and the AARs associated with it, I have closed that chapter. I may return to it in the future (who knows what Victoria 3 modding will bring). For now I want to focus on this project. Mainly because it was an interesting run to say the least.

Now why was this an interesting run? Well first of all, it was a multiplayer game with @Tom D., respected member of this community and one of my best friends. All the way back in Autumn/Winter of 2018-2019 we played a game of EU4. I think it was on patch 1.28 (tbh I asked Tom which version it was). Second of all, this was my first game of EU4 and Tom was learning me the ropes. As a result, we started the run as a co-op game, both playing as Castile, which just got a rework in that patch if I remember correctly. There is a third reason why this run is so interesting, but I don't want to spoil that part yet.

At first, we didn't really play with the intention to write an AAR about it afterwards. As a result, a lot of screenshots from the early years are missing. In addition, for some sadistic reason the game decided to give the noob who never played EU4, as in me, all the events, sometimes resulting in outright panic but it also means that which events were recorded for the AAR entirely depended on my screenshots of the run. Also, you can probably tell that this game was ages ago. We initially planned to do an AAR on it after we finished the run, but real life (university, Covid etc.) got in the way. I recently rediscovered the chapters we had already written and asked Tom if he would be on board with going through with the AAR. I am pleased to inform you that we can finally bring this beautiful game to you on this forum, albeit almost 4 years after we actually played it. So forgive me if some details were changed throughout the years.

But without further ado, I present to you, "Two idiots discover America - A multiplayer Castile AAR"!
 
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Europe
Columbia (OTL America)
 
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Prologue: The French Succession War (1444-1480)
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Many historians have wondered how Castile rose to power and came to dominate most of the Western hemisphere. Those historians all agree today that Castile/Spain was the most powerful nation in Europe during the Early Modern Era, but that position was not a given thing. In fact, in 1444 the Iberian peninsula was still divided among several nations. To the west, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, there was Portugal, a seafaring nation, looking outwards to colonize much of the islands in the Atlantic and with ambitions in Africa. To the east, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, there was Aragon, a nation with holdings on the Italian Peninsula and with close ties to Navarra. To the south, there was Granada, a remnant of the once prominent Muslim presence in Iberia. And in between all these great nations was Castile, a mostly rural country, with not much to offer but some sheep farmers. It was ruled by the Trastamara dynasty and in particular by King Juan II.

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Map of the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century.
King Juan II, in many ways, was a bad ruler. He ruled with an iron fist, not scared to confront his enemies. Juan II was the last Iberian King, in a long tradition of crusaders, to wage war against Muslims on the Iberian peninsula. Juan II also was the last Spanish ruler to fight Muslim armies on Iberian soil. Ever since the last stage of the Reconquista, a Muslim army has never set foot in Iberia ever again. The Guerra de Granada or the Crusade for Granada began in 1448 and lasted for 5 years. Castilian armies were successful in occupying the entirety of Granada, but in the Battle of the Strait, a Castilian fleet of 6 ships was sunk by a 36 ship strong Granadan fleet. After the completion of the Crusade, Juan II sent out his best missionaries to convert the Muslim provinces of Almeria, Granada, Gibraltar and Malaga. The process took several years, but in the end, most traces of Muslim belief were gone. Part of the success was the use of capitulaciones: Castilian settlers would get extensive rights to settle on previously Muslim owned land. This system would also be used during the exploration of the New World.

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The Battle of Poitiers (732) by Carlos de Steuben. The Battle of Poitiers was one of the most important battles in history between Christians and Muslims.
Juan II’s reign ended on the 13th of June 1457, when he died at the age of 52. The King’s death proved problematic for the Kingdom of Castile, as Enrique IV, heir to the throne, had not come of age yet. A regency council headed the Kingdom, but could not avert a crisis. Several social and economic divides within Castile came to a breaking point and led to a civil war. There were two major factions in the civil war. On the one hand there was the faction which supported Enrique IV’s rightful claim to the throne. This faction mainly consisted of the high Castilian nobility and was supported by Portugal. On the other hand there was the faction in favor of Alfonso the Innocent, Enrique’s half-brother. This faction mainly consisted of merchants who saw Portugal as a threat for expansion in the Atlantic and was supported by Aragon. The civil war lasted for three years and saw many brutal battles. During the civil war, the moriscos (converted Muslims) in the newly acquired state of Granada rose up against the Castilian rulers. Large numbers of converted Muslims renounced the Christian faith and in several big cities, Christian priests were rounded up and slaughtered. What followed could only be described as a bloodbath. A Castilian army retaliated brutally and drove all Muslims into the sea, leaving Granada behind as a wasteland. In the end, the civil war ended in 1460 with the coming of age of Enrique IV.

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King Enrique IV (left) and Alfonso the Innocent, Prince of Asturias (right).

Enrique IV’s reign proved vital in the further strengthening of Castile as a regional power. Due to Portugal’s support in the civil war, an alliance was made with them. It was the beginning of an alliance which would last for the entire Early Modern Era (with some minor exceptions). While King Enrique himself was a weak ruler, several things occurred by chance which greatly benefitted the Kingdom of Castile. Following the events in Granada, the Spanish King introduced the ‘leyes de limpieza de sangre’, the laws of purity of blood. These laws prevented recently converted Muslims and Jews from rising in the hierarchical structure of Castilian society. And so they established a firm control over the state of Granada. In 1461, something happened which no one in Europe could have expected. Even for Enrique IV, it came as a total surprise. In France, King François I had died, leaving only the King of Castile as his heir. A personal union had formed by accident between two powerful countries in mainland Europe: Castile and France. But this could not go uncontested. England wanted a piece of the sweet French pie as well. After the defeat in the Hundred Years’ War, King Edward IV of England wanted nothing more than revenge. Fighting occurred mostly in England’s remaining holdings on the continent, which were conquered early on in the war. What decided the war, though, was the Battle of Porto. England tried to outflank Castile by opening a front in Iberia, but General Ignacio de Toledo stopped their landing in Porto. A 13k men Castilian army slaughtered a 15k men English army to the last man. In the aftermath, Portugal was not pleased with the massive pile of bodies laying on its beach. In the end, England was defeated and lost their possessions in Labourd, Bordeaux and Caen, while Castile established its control over France. Enrique IV could now set his sights on the west, to the Atlantic, where Portugal had already settled in the Azores and the Canarias. With the acquisition of France, several prominent French explorers and merchants now worked for the Castilian Crown. They successfully lobbied for expansion into the Atlantic. By 1475, settlers from Bordeaux had colonized Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. The age of exploration had begun for Castile and it held a lot of promises for the renewed nation.

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The Battle of Poitiers (1356) by Eugenio Delacruz. The Battle of Poitiers was an important episode of the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. Spanish historians of the 19th century would often draw a connection between the earlier Battle of Poitiers, the struggle of Christians against Muslims and the struggle of the French against the English.
 
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This sounds rather fun.
 
A Castilian-French Union? This should prove interesting.
 
This sounds rather fun.
stnylan good to have you here!
A Castilian-French Union? This should prove interesting.
Let's say this derailed the goal of the campaign pretty drastically. Without spoiling anything, I kinda got carried away once France was fully integrated.
 
Chapter I: The Franco-Castilian Conquest of Normandy (Europe, 1481-1500)
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With a personal union established between the Kingdoms of Castile and France, the position of Castile in Europe became almost rock-solid. Castile itself was still a weaker nation than France in many ways: its economy was inferior, its army was forced to wear rags instead of uniforms (unless you consider those rags to be the uniforms of course). Nevertheless and perhaps unsurprisingly, the money flow towards the Crown remained in the green. However, the civil war had cost the Crown lots of resources, and being led by less than average rulers meant that the nation as a whole had fallen behind other powers in Europe. Enrique IV had somewhat ensured Castile’s position in Europe by allying with Portugal and Austria. The Renaissance had still not found any solid roots in Castilian society, meaning Castile could as well still be in the Dark Ages when it came to technology.

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Due to the Reconquista and the Castilian Civil War, Castile had drafted an army that had reached its limits. 33 000 men were under arms, slightly more than the French army, but combined it was probably the largest force in Europe at the time. Castilian society had been somewhat militarized ever since the Reconquista started 700 years earlier and it influenced Castilian society to its core. The nobility had a strong grip on the court and could easily pursue their own interests with the weak kings. The civil war had tempered them, but did not eliminate them. However, with the current heir to the throne showing some early signs of greatness, for some reason he consistently threw sixes when playing dice games. Castile’s future was looking bright. However, he also showed some signs of having a malevolent nature, distrusting others and especially foreigners. Some at the court feared this might upset the king’s French subjects in the future.

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During his brief rule, King Enrique IV had always been a careful man, but his lack of any administrative or military skills (or any skill that didn’t involve talking his way out of a situation) had left his country behind in comparison to other European nations. Enrique IV was aware of his own weaknesses and decided to hold a court meeting. Gathering his son, Juan, his wife, Maria Theresia von Habsburg, and his three most trusted advisors, Gutierre de Castilla, Gutierre de Aguirre and Enrique Colón, the King explained his vision for Castile. Castile needed a strong King, invested in further improving the administrative and military institutions of the country. Seeing Juan was clearly better at handling those things, Enrique IV shared his wish to abdicate in favor of his son. His abdication was perhaps his biggest accomplishment. And so on the 6th of April 1481, Juan III de Trastamara (3/6/6) was crowned King of Castile and France.

Damn it Tom, I hope this is the first and last time you abdicate a weak ruler just because the heir has better stats. How are we going to explain this to the readers?

Readers? What readers? This is just me teaching you how to get good at the game. Lesson n°1: if your king is bad and your heir is good, abdicate abdicate abdicate!

Fine! Let’s just get on with the story.


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Juan III de Trastamara, King of Castile and France.

As King, Juan III was still an unmarried man, unusual for people of nobility at his age. In December of 1481, Juan III allied himself to the very influential Villahermosa family, based in Madrid, by marrying Isabel de Villahermosa. It is said that the marriage between Juan and Isabel was a marriage of love rather than a marriage of politics and historians often point to the birth of their son just 8 instead of 9 months after their marriage. Indeed, in 1482 Tomas de Trastamara (4/3/3) was born. Much of Castile was celebrating the arrival of the new heir, but the life of Tomas would prove to be one filled with sadness and tragedy.

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Juan III’s first real challenge as King arrived in July of 1482. One of his advisors, Guiterre de Aguirre, was involved in scandalous affairs. Recent investigations had revealed that much of Castile’s well-built trade network was built on bribes, smuggling and other dubious activities. It was very likely that de Aguirre was personally involved, but it did strengthen Castile’s trade power in the region. The King decided to ignore the investigation and keep de Aguirre as his advisor. His actions would inspire many later politicians to ignore similar acts of what they called ‘patriotic corruption’.

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In August of 1486, tensions between Castile and England escalated once again. French merchants had been expelled from several ports in English Normandy, angering the local elite who suddenly ran out of wine and cheese. Juan III decided to support the French claims and went to war over Alençon. While Brittany joined England’s side of the war, France naturally joined Castile’s side. The situation was in favor of Castile from the get-go. England’s only footholds on the mainland were Normandy and Calais, but Normandy was quickly occupied by French and Castilian troops. The front was quickly moved towards Brittany to prevent an English landing there. By the end of 1486, the Breton army was completely destroyed, mainly after the battle of Finistère.

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The year 1487 saw some important victories for the Franco-Castilians, but also some major defeats. In March, the English landed in Calais with 17 000 men ready to retake Normandy. 10 000 French soldiers, just about to take the strategic port, were taken by surprise and defeated. The English army traveled south, in order to take back Normandy, but was met by the Castilian army in Valois. What followed was the first real victory of the Castilians against the English. 21 000 Castilians defeated the weathered down English army.

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Tomas de Andrade, the General who had led the Castilians into victory, felt overconfident and chased the English to Picardie. However, on the Burgundian coast, the English were joined by reinforcements from Calais. 22 000 Englishmen fought against Andrade’s 17 000 Castilians. Andrade held his ground, but in the end he had to retreat. Andrade dealt a considerable amount of damage to the English, leaving them with only 18 000 soldiers left.

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With Brittany completely occupied, Juan III felt the time was right to make peace with them. On the 5th of November 1487, Brittany accepted peace on the following terms: for the next ten years 10% of Brittany’s income would go to Castile as war reparations and Brittany would annul all treaties with England. While Andrade’s army regrouped in southern France, the French troops engaged with England again. In the decisive Battle of Chartres, the French annihilated the English forces. Initially 17 000 Frenchmen faced 18 000 Englishmen, but the French soon came with 17 000 extra men, thus completely removing English military presence on the continent.

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After the Battle of Chartres, in 1488, the English tried one last time to attack France and Castile in mainland Europe. A small landing party consisting of 5000 troops managed to land in Bordeaux and take the city. They were soon defeated however by Andrade’s 21 000 soldiers who had just recovered from their previous battle. After this battle, the Franco-Castilian forces had free range on the continent and waited until the English were tired of fighting the war. On the 26th of 1491, peace was made between England and Castile-France, resulting in the end of English rule in Normandy. Calais was the last remaining English stronghold on the European continent. The Conquest of Granada meant the end of hostile Muslim armies in Iberia, now the Conquest of Normandy meant the end of hostile English armies in France. By combining the strengths of Castile and France, both countries had dealt with their arch-enemies.

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But the Muslim danger wasn’t gone from Europe, au contraire. In 1493 Constantinople was taken by Turkish barbarians. Not long after, a large delegation of Byzantine refugees arrived at Juan’s court, asking for residence in Castile. For a moment, the King thought about giving them enough supplies to sail across the sea to the newly discovered New World, but Juan quickly realized how dangerous such an expedition would be and didn’t want an exile Byzantine empire to be founded in these distant lands. After all, he didn’t want any rivals in the vast territories of the West Indies. The King instead chose to keep the refugees in Castile. Their knowledge of ancient Roman and Greek texts would come in handy to introduce the Renaissance in Castile.

I see what you did there Sib.

I did what?

Sneaking in a Third Odyssey reference.

Sometimes it’s stronger than myself.


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In May of 1493, King Juan III traveled to Florence with his entourage. Impressed by the fine works of art produced in the city, the Castilian King considered taking the Florentine School under his protection. When he returned to Castile, he took several artists with him to bring Italian Renaissance art to Iberia. Not surprisingly, the Byzantine and Florentine influences in Iberia introduced the Renaissance in Castile by the end of December 1493. Cultural renewal would further stimulate the expansion in the Atlantic, as explorers sought to verify ancient texts and improve upon old maps.

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But the Golden Age could not last forever. While Prince Tomas de Trastamara was nearing the age of 16, a terrible accident happened. On the 25th of October 1497, the young boy’s body was found in the fields. Many assumed his death was the result of a hunting accident, but future events led many to believe that it was more than an accident. The premature death of King Juan III in 1498, just a year later, made conspiracy theories even more popular. His nephew inherited the throne and was crowned Enrique V de Trastamara (1/1/2) King of Castile and France. Up until today, historians still argue whether or not Enrique V plotted the deaths of Tomas and Juan III to become king himself. Nevertheless, the reign of Enrique V would prove vital for the further expansion of Castile in both Europe and the West Indies, although maybe in an indirect way.

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Great, another bad ruler. You better not abdicate him too, Tom.

I promise I won’t. There are other ways to get rid of people you don’t like.

Wait what do you mean by that?

You’ll see, Sib, you’ll see. (insert Tom maniacally laughing)


In Europe, change was on the horizon and new threats would soon emerge. Most prominently, in 1499 a rebellious priest proclaimed the Reformation in Stara Marka, northern Germany. It would grow into a challenge of the Catholic hegemony, one of which Castile was an important pillar. But elsewhere, across the vast expanse of the Atlantic ocean, the foundations were being laid for an Empire that would stand the test of time. Whatever divine tribulations God would throw at Castile, it would only serve to strengthen the Kingdom in the long term.

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Map of the Castilian realm in 1500. France is under a personal union with Castile.
 
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So a second "reconquista" is complete - do idea the best way to frenchify that to make it more appropriate.

As for the matter of heirs - I would always trust @Tom D. :D
 
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Saying I'm a "respected" member of the community whilst I've been gone for quite some time might be a bit too much honour, I appreciate the nod. The memories of this run are definitely coming back reading this!

As for the matter of heirs - I would always trust @Tom D. :D
I think we did a lot of abdicating, but y'know, it's not CK3 levels of killing off bad heirs or annoyances along the way to victory :oops:
 
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As long as it helps the kingdom, corruption is fine.

What will you do with Aragon?

The conversations about gameplay with @Tom D. are amusing.
 
So a second "reconquista" is complete - do idea the best way to frenchify that to make it more appropriate.

As for the matter of heirs - I would always trust @Tom D. :D
Eventually the French will have to learn Spanish so 'reconquista' is fine as a term.
Saying I'm a "respected" member of the community whilst I've been gone for quite some time might be a bit too much honour, I appreciate the nod. The memories of this run are definitely coming back reading this!


I think we did a lot of abdicating, but y'know, it's not CK3 levels of killing off bad heirs or annoyances along the way to victory :oops:
At one point we had two heirs called Boaty McBoatface I and II, both of which we disinherited. They probably won't make it into the narrative but it was funny nonetheless.
As long as it helps the kingdom, corruption is fine.

What will you do with Aragon?

The conversations about gameplay with @Tom D. are amusing.
For now, Aragon will be allowed to exist. They might become useful in the future.

The gameplay conversations are something I added recently after deciding to go through with the AAR. Most of it is just me interpreting what Tom said or would say in the situation, but I think I succeeded in capturing his 'essence'. It does help that I can look back at real conversations we had at the time on Discord.
 
Chapter II: Hic Sunt Dracones (West Indies, 1481-1500)
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So Tom, do you think the readers will be confused about why we’re suddenly starting this chapter in 1481 again?

Have a little faith, Sib. They’ll understand that we’re splitting the narrative into the European theater and the colonization theater.

Well if they didn’t, I’m sure they will now.

Let’s also inform them that most of this chapter was written by me.

Consider it done.


When Castile started exploring the Atlantic Ocean and what would later be called the New World, the nation was internally weak, even after acquiring France in a personal union. Its economy was laughable, with the army taking up much of the budget in the aftermath of the Reconquista. Despite his apparent lack of resources the King of Castile still decided to fund an expedition to the Cape Verde islands and hoped to establish a settlement there to serve as a bridgehead for further exploration of the Atlantic and African coasts. Now that the Reconquista had been finished after 800 years and the internal Castilian politics had been pacified after the devastating civil war, the timing couldn’t be better for overseas expansion. Due to the budgetary shortcomings, the exploration program was still very underdeveloped and would have to be funded extensively in the coming decades to kickstart the exploration of the coasts and oceans to the west and south of Castile.

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The Crown relied on the services of Odon de Cordoba for the early exploration of the Atlantic.

With the prospect of overseas exploration and expansion, the Reconquista could be brought to the Muslims in India and Asia to encircle the heart of the Muslim world. The efforts of the Castilian Crown paid off relatively quickly: in 1475, a momentous event occurred that would change the fate of the world: land was discovered on the other side of the Atlantic, India had been discovered! When Odon de Cordoba returned to Seville he was celebrated and ceremoniously welcomed by the King and Queen of Castile. He was honored and given a new task: to further explore the coastlines and seas of India. He soon set sail again, cheering crowds waving as the fleet set sail heading westward. The King soon after ordered a small expedition to land on the coast and explore the region, but right before the expedition was to set sail the King changed his mind and canceled the order. However, the eager conquistador Sib Carlos De Cadiz who led the expedition, ignored the order and set sail anyway. The King was furious and sent another expedition after him to bring him to justice, led by Felipe de Velasco. This expedition would land not long after De Cadiz and would successfully defeat him and his men after a short battle. Velasco would nonetheless incorporate the men led by De Cadiz into his own expedition and continue exploring the land his rival had started before him.

Really Tom? Did you have to name that guy Sib?

Hey now, if I remember correctly it was you who renamed an explorer in the game and sent him to the New World without telling me.

Whatever, at least I can claim to have set foot in the New World.

Well that explains the idiot part of the title.

The title does mention there being two idiots, Tom…


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When word of Velasco’s success reached Toledo, the King as his last act supported Velasco and ordered him to continue exploring the continent, basically confirming what Velasco was doing post-factum in an effort to regain control over his actions. With this monumental moment in Castilian history, the King felt that the kingdom needed a strong King to guide Castile to this new phase of Reconquista and conquest. And so, soon after the first missions to the New World, Enrique IV abdicated the throne in favor of his clearly more capable son, as mentioned in the previous chapter.

Juan III’s first act was to invest in the exploration program and fund further overseas exploration, increasing the range in which conquistadors and explorers could operate. In the next decade there would be a number of expeditions further west, with what would later be called the Caribbean discovered around 1488. However, it seemed like the Castilians were not the only ones anymore. When news of the discovery of India spread through Europe, Portugal, which had been exploring the coasts of Africa for a longer time than Castile, decided to organize their own expedition to India. They were able to let a colonist establish a colony on an island in the Caribbean which they named Porto Rico. The King was obviously not amused when he heard the news but it would take several years before a final compromise could be reached, negotiated by the Pope. It didn’t help that Portugal already had a colony in the making whilst Castile only had a full-fledged colony in Cape Verde in 1491, 3 years after discovering the Portuguese presence in the Caribbean. From that point on though, the King ordered colonists to settle down in the Caribbean to compete against the Portuguese whilst scaling up the colonization effort by hiring more colonists to set up more colonies. Only one year later, 2 colonies were in the making on the island they named Hispaniola, after Hispania, the Roman name for Spain. Emigration of young men to settle down and take control of the land from the natives, who were dying at a rapid rate, was encouraged by the Crown. There were concerns though that conversos, Jews and Muslims who converted to the Catholic Faith, together with non-converted Jews and Muslims would leave for India as well. Therefore, to detect and punish those who converted officially but in practice held onto their original faith, the Spanish Inquisition was founded. This came quite unexpected as the Reconquista had been finished for 5 decades already, but it would become both very effective and very feared in Castile and later on in all territories which came under Castilian control. Especially notorious were the public Auto-da-fé, in which people convicted for heresy were publicly punished, with execution by burning at the stake being the most severe punishment.

The Spanish Inquisition came quite unexpected eh, Tom? Did you intentionally write that?

What can I say? Sometimes it’s stronger than myself.

Hey that’s what I said in the previous chapter!


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An auto-da-fé in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

The expedition of de Velasco would explore and map a big part of what would later become Portuguese Brazil and La Plata as well as Nueva Granada and Peru. Encounters with the natives ranged from friendly to neutral to outright hostility. One continuity were the many stories and legends of magical creatures like dragons, of dangerous wildlife but above all: of legendary cities of gold, filled to the brim with jewelry, diamonds and gold. This only fed the Castilian thirst for gold. Once these stories reached the homeland, what could be called gold fever struck the adventurous and often lower class Castilians who eagerly left for the New World, hoping to one day become rich in search of the cities of gold. In particular they were mesmerized by El Dorado, with its king El Hombre Dorado who was supposedly covered in gold after bathing in his lake filled with gold and jewelry provided by his servants. When the conquistadors heard of this story and even got a crude map of where this place would be located, they eagerly pushed forward in the dense jungle and hostile terrain. Although this city would never be found, this lust for gold would encourage and stimulate the fast exploration of the continent and would aid the Castilians in the fast gathering of knowledge about geography, terrain and the local kingdoms which would eventually be conquered by them.

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When the 16th century was upon Castile, its future looked bright. It had established a first permanent base in the Caribbean and another colony was in the process of being established on the island that would become known as Jamaica. Although the expenses were a burden to the treasury, the Crown had great expectations and no-one at that point could’ve thought of what riches laid in the virgin lands unspoiled by any western civilisation. In a century, this land would all be colonized and ‘civilized’ by the Castilians, a transformation Earth had never seen before in its history.

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Map of the Castilian holdings in the New World as of 1500.
 
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Well, in Inquisition has a reputation to maintain
 
The Inquisition has appeared!

Castile has lands in the Caribbean, but will they be able to take over the mainland empires? Might the Aztecs yet live?
 
Well, in Inquisition has a reputation to maintain
Amongst our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms.
The Inquisition has appeared!

Castile has lands in the Caribbean, but will they be able to take over the mainland empires? Might the Aztecs yet live?
The Aztecs and what remains of the Maya will soon encounter the end of Castile's pointy sticks.
 
Chapter III: The Iberian Wedding (Europe, 1501-1520)
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At the beginning of the 16th century, Castile was still consolidating its power in Europe. In the background, the Reformation was spreading throughout northern Europe, while Castile itself had to deal with internal troubles. The recent deaths of both King Juan III and his heir Tomas de Trastamara were still fresh in the memories of those at the court. As a result, many aristocrats were very skeptical of Enrique V as King. The King had to win them over by supporting their political and financial views. During Enrique’s brief but important reign, this would dominate his actions. One major example is Castile’s Atlantic expansion. Many Castilian and French merchants were in favor of expansion into the vast ocean in the west and the newly discovered territories in the New World. It was perhaps the only thing that united the Castilians and French at the time, except for the Crown of course. In order to gain the support of these merchants, King Enrique V would heavily invest in overseas expansion.

But as if Enrique V’s reign wasn’t filled with scandals and rumors enough, it became even worse in June of 1503. The Queen-Consort Maria Theresia von Habsburg was said to have an affair with one of the King’s advisors, Ramon Fonseca. The King was furious and for a moment, he thought about killing Maria Theresia. That would mean a huge diplomatic fallout with Austria though and Enrique V instead decided to act as if nothing had happened. His plan worked and soon everyone forgot about the rumors, everyone except the King himself.

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The King became more and more distanced from his Queen-Consort. At one point, he couldn’t even bear to look at her. Many historians now think that this was one of the main reasons why Enrique V decided to embark to the West Indies and personally subjugate the Indians of Chactemal on the Yucatan peninsula in 1507. Tragically enough, Enrique’s departure from Castile would also be the last time he ever saw the Iberian peninsula. The King died in New Spain in 1518. Historians and scientists today speculate that he might have contracted syphilis and as a result died of the Columbian disease. Enrique V is therefore considered by many to be one of the first to experience the Cordoban Exchange, Isabella, the King’s daughter and heir to the throne, became Queen Isabella I of Castile and France.

Is this what you meant by “there are other ways of getting rid of people you don’t like”, Tom?

Maybe… At least I kept my promise. Lesson n°2, if you don’t like a ruler and you can’t abdicate them, appoint them as a general and kill them in a war.

By the way, do you think people will find it confusing that we are talking about the Cordoban Exchange instead of the Columbian Exchange?

Don’t worry Sib. I’m sure the readers will pick up on the fact that in this timeline the New World was discovered by Odon de Cordoba, hence the Cordoban Exchange.

Perhaps we should also tell them the Americas in this timeline are called Columbia after Christoffer Columbus instead of being named after Amerigo Vespucci.

I’m sure this won’t be confusing at all and won’t come back to haunt us in the future.


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Isabella I’s reign would see one of the most important events in Castilian history. Due to the absence of Enrique V in the late years of his reign, Isabella was looked after by a Genuese tutor. This Genuese tutor was called Enrique Colon, uncle of the famous explorer Christopher Columbus (or Colon). Enrique Colon had managed to obtain the position of military advisor during Enrique IV’s reign. Colon was also the one who started the integration of France in 1513. When Isabella became Queen in 1518, she kept Colon as her most trusted advisor. As a result, Colon’s views on Mediterranean strategy could be seen all over the Queen’s actions. Due to her father’s death in Columbia, Isabella became disconnected from the adventures of the conquistadores in the New World. Instead, she became bent on consolidating Castile’s power in Europe.

Is that how we are explaining why you focused on the European theater while I took care of the New World, Sib?

I guess so? I mean, we had to inform the readers at some point that after we discovered the New World, you basically went on a killing spree in the Americas while I expanded the Kingdom at home.

Hey now! You make it sound like what I was doing didn’t contribute to Castile in any meaningful way.

It’s almost as if I am foreshadowing something.


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As a result of this more European stance, Isabella started the process of uniting the Kingdoms of France and Castile under one name. This process would take decades, but the end result would be a unified Kingdom with one administration and one army organization. In addition, with the help of Colon, she established a marital alliance with Aragon. On the 11th of April 1520, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile married. The marriage would not only prove to be politically strong, but Ferdinand would turn out to be a loving husband for Isabella. The personal union which was hereby established meant that the foreign policy of Castile now also became the foreign policy of Aragon and vice versa. This meant a change of view in the Castilian court. Instead of looking towards the Atlantic Ocean for expansion, they now began to look to the Mediterranean Sea. Aragon with its relatively big fleet and its holdings in Italy, specifically Naples, were fundamental in this change of strategy. The 16th century would see the beginning of Spanish expansion in the Mediterranean, funded by Castilian wealth from Columbia and Aragonese wealth from Mediterranean trade and fought by French and Castilian armies.

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Wow we really lucked out didn’t we. Getting a PU with France and now the event for the Iberian Wedding fired. All we’re missing now is the Burgundian Inheritance or the Iberian Union with Portugal.

Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Sib. Having all these PUs and subjects will impact our diplomatic relations. We’ll likely have to spend a lot of diplo points to annex France and Naples.

Oh right. Can we buy diplo points with all that Aztec gold we’ll get eventually?

You keep your hands off my gold! I mean, no Sib you can’t buy diplo points.


Nine months after the marital alliance was established, it was sealed with the birth of an heir, Fernando de Trastamara (4/2/2), son of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Fernando was the literal future of the nation: the result of the union between Castile and Aragon and soon that union would become more intimate. The future of Europe was about to be changed drastically.

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Map of the Castilian Realm in 1520. France is under a personal union with Castile. Naples is a puppet of Aragon, which is ruled by Ferdinand, husband to the Queen of Castile.
 
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You guys were well 9n your way to recreating the realm of Postumus at this point it seems. Certainly a new Western Empire seems possible.
 
Well, the New World might rebel in time...

Can we know what was going on in the New World?
 
You guys were well 9n your way to recreating the realm of Postumus at this point it seems. Certainly a new Western Empire seems possible.
Luck was certainly on our side in the early stages of the game.
Well, the New World might rebel in time...

Can we know what was going on in the New World?
Next chapter will deal with the New World. Basically, from now on the story will alternate between Europe and the New World.
 
Chapter IV: Conquest and Colonization of the Maya (Columbia, 1501-1520)
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After 1500, the colonization efforts of Castile were doubled: viceroys were sent to Columbia to take control and built up a Castilian administration in the new colonies as well as new colonists who were encouraged to emigrate and settle down in the new lands. In 1507 the first ever war against the natives was declared, with an expedition force of 11 000 men, led by the King of Castile Enrique V de Trastamara himself landing on the Yucatan peninsula. In his own words, he was given a vision from God almighty to become a bringer of faith to the natives in the New World. It is more likely that Enrique couldn’t bear the sight of his cheating wife anymore and sought to flee from his marital problems by going on a military adventure abroad while his heir, the Princess Isabela, took over his court in Toledo. Soon after the declaration of war, the French Pope in Rome commended Castile for its war and called for a crusade against Chactemal.

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Cadiz became the center of the Castilian colonization efforts, with multiple expeditions leaving its ports each year.

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The Pope called for a crusade against Chactemal while Castilian armies landed on the coasts of the Yucatan peninsula.

What can be said though is that Enrique V was an average general, not particularly good at fighting but good enough to win a fight against technologically disadvantaged diseased-ridden natives. In the end, they were not that big of a threat, despite the Castilian forces being quite outnumbered. The fighting tactics of the natives were, let’s say, incompatible with the Castilian military tactics which have been perfected by 700 years of fighting in the Reconquista. For example, at first the Chactemal tried to capture vanquished enemies to sacrifice them to their gods later on. And thus they did not fight with the intention to kill. The Castilians on the other hand were like foxes in a chicken coop. To make matters worse for the Chactemal, their rivals also joined the Castilian ranks, further aiding the invaders in their easy march through the Mayan territory. After the siege and razing of their fort at Uaymil and a second defeat against their forces, most of their territory was taken over by the Castilians. A peace treaty solidified the Castilian gains and left the Chactemal with just a sliver of their former territory. However, King Enrique V, who had personally overseen the subjugation of this foreign land, died in 1518, probably after contracting syphilis from one of the local ‘princesses’ he had met. Who knows what might have happened if he lived for another couple of years. Perhaps he would’ve set up a Kingdom of his own in the New World, while his daughter ruled Castile’s European possessions in his absence.

Is this more foreshadowing, Sib?

We shouldn’t spoil anything for the readers really.

Okay, I’ll keep quiet next time.


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Native depiction of the Castilian conquest of Chactemal.

Nevertheless, the first presence of Europeans on the mainland had been established. It was further institutionalized by the formation of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1518, a new administration headed by Viceroy Domingo de Lara, who ran the colony from Petén, which would be the capital of the colonial nation until the beginning of the 17th century. Cuba had gained its own administration 7 years prior in 1511 and its own Viceroy. Soon after, the first priests arrived to convert the natives to the one and only true faith. In the early years of colonial rule, priests lacked most of the resources needed to teach the new faith, so they had to improvise and adapt to local customs and habits. They destroyed temples and built churches in their place. But most Mayans did not want to enter these holy spaces, since they were not allowed to before the arrival of the Europeans. So the Church had to improvise and built so called capillas abiertas, open air annexes to existing churches where the Mayans would be more willing to enter.

Wait this sounds familiar Sib?

Ah yes I’ve taken some inspiration from that course we did back in uni, Precolumbian and Colonial History of Latin America.

Aaah, fond memories. There’s only one professor who could get me hooked on playing as a warmongering Castile going on a killing spree in the New World, looking for cities of gold.

I’m pretty sure that’s not what we did in that course.

Ssst, let me enjoy my imaginary gold.


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Ruins of a capilla abierta in present day Yucatan.

Native idols were destroyed, while some native gods were integrated as adaptations of existing Christian saints. Christian rituals that showed remarkable resemblance to native rituals were highlighted. As a result, processions became prominent since they resembled pre-arrival ceremonies. Music was used to teach the Mayans about Christ and the Gospel. Rudimentary schools were founded to introduce the elite’s children to Latin, the Christian doctrine and Western philosophy. They were to become the bridge between the natives and the Europeans. Some zealous priests even undertook efforts to understand and record native languages, all to make conversion of the natives easier of course. The experiments of these early priests in the former territory of the Chactemal would later be used on a larger scale in the Aztec and Incan empires.

Wow that was a very informative chapter, Sib.

Well I had to fill in the holes in your early conquests of Central America somehow. Besides, I barely have screenshots covering that time period.

I’m sorry I didn’t satisfy your warmongering needs in the New World.

I’m pretty sure you can’t blame me for being a warmonger when it was you who insisted on enslaving the natives.

Consider it lesson n°3: if you wanna be rich, conquer some gold mines in the New World.


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Castilian holdings in the New World in 1520 include western Cuba, Jamaica, parts of Hispaniola and lands conquered from the Chactemal on the Yucatan peninsula.
 
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