BirdNES: 1500 AD: A New World

The Second Ottoman Crusade
Years: 1500-1520
Combatants: Poland, Kingdom of Bohemia-Hungary (1500-1515), Most Serene Republic of Venice (1505-1515), Archduchy of Austria (1505-1515), v. Ottoman Empire
Outcome: Ottoman defeat. Crimea, Moldavia, Wallachia, Bulgaria to Poland; Peloponnese to Austria and Venice

In 1500, King Jan of Poland declared crusade, and, funded by the Pope, marched his army into the Ottoman vassals in the Balkans, where it was shortly joined by Hungarian forces. The Ottoman vassal states were rapidly conquered with little opposition from the Ottoman army, prompting Venice and Austria to join the crusade. Coalition campaigns in the Balkans, however, met with much stiffer resistance, and the war became a bloody slugfest with the Ottomans giving ground only slowly. Following the loss of interest of Poland's allies, and the increasing exhaustion of Poland and Turkey, the war petered out.

The Calusan War
Year: 1500-1520
Combatants: Kingdom of Spain v. Calusa
Outcome: Tactical draw, strategic Spanish defeat

In the course of expanding the Spanish Empire in the New World, the conquistadores ran afoul of the Calusa in southern Florida. Spanish attacks on the Calusan homeland bogged down in the swamps, while Calusan attacks on Cuba, while damaging, were able to make no permanent gains against the Spanish. While no territory changed hands, by taking up Spanish attention, the Calusans severely slowed the growth of the Spanish Empire, allowing their early lead to evaporate.

The Beggars' War
Years: 1500-1502
Combatants: Kingdom of France v. Kingdom of Sicily, Duchy of Milan
Outcome: Annexation of Milan and Naples by France

The extension of French influence in Italy was greatly accelerated in the early years of the 16th century. War is something of a misnomer; following the death of the Duke of Milan, French troops occupied the Duchy with little bloodshed, and the same occurred in the south following the assassination of the King of Sicily by beggars the next year.

The Austro-Venetian War
Years: 1500-1503
Combatants: Archduchy of Austria v. Most Serene Republic of Venice
Outcome: Strategic draw; Venetian tactical victory. Dalmatia ceded to Austria

Desiring to secure the Venetian trade empire, Austria raised an army and marched into the Veneto. Austrian forces rapidly secured Dalmatia and the inland Italian territories, but then unwisely marched against Venice itself, only to find the lagoon impregnable. Fearing the arrival of French troops, and with their supply lines threatened by Venetian amphibious operations, the Austrians abandoned the siege of Venice, and the war was reduced to indecisive skirmishes. A relatively amicable peace settlement laid the groundwork for decades of Venetian-Austrian cooperation.

The Malaccan War
Years: 1503
Combatants: Kingdom of Ayutthaya v. Sultanate of Malacca.
Outcome: Ayutthayan victory; Malacca incorporated into the Kingdom

The newly assertive Ayutthaya, recognizing the importance of Malacca to the spice trade, marched against the Sultanate to secure the city. In a brief campaign, Ayutthayan forces brushed aside the armies of the Sultanate and secured their objective. The success of the campaign marked the beginning of Ayutthaya's ascent to dominance in southeast Asia.

The War of Italian Freedom
Years: 1506-1509
Combatants: Kingdom of France, Duchy of Savoy, Duchy of Milan v. Republic of Genoa, Duchy of Mantua, Republic of Florence
Outcome: Draw, white peace

Desiring to capitalize on their successes of the previous five years, the French, with their Italian puppets, sent troops to Florence on the pretense of protecting her from Hapsburg aggression. Due to Austrian preoccupation with the Turk, this was immediately seen through, and the major states of northern Italy joined Florence in resisting French aggression. The war rapidly degenerated into banditry, and France signed a white peace.

The East African War
Year: 1505-1520
Combatants: Kingdom of Portugal v. assorted minor states
Outcome: Portuguese victory, conquest of East Africa by Portugal

Determined to seize the Indian Ocean by the throat, Portugal dispatched a major expedition to the far side of Africa. After initial successes, including the rapid conquest of Zanzibar, Portuguese progress was arrested for a decade by the demands of the Egyptian war. However, after victory in that war, Portugal resumed the offensive and rapidly brought most of East Africa under their rule.

The War of Ceuta
Year: 1505-1515
Combatants: Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain (1510-1515) v. Sultanate of Egypt
Outcome: Portuguese victory. Cession of Aden, Suez, Aqaba to Portugal; Cession of Palestine to Spain

As Portugal was expanding in the Indian Ocean, the Mamluks of Egypt had similar aims. A small Egyptian forces took Ceuta by treachery. Caught by surprise, the Portuguese response was limited, and their forces in the east were defeated at Aden. However, after gathering their strength, the Iberian counterattack was devastating, and Egypt was forced to a humiliating peace in the Treaty of Alexandria.

The Jihad
Year: 1515-1525
Combatants: The Jihad v. Sultanate of Egypt, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of Portugal
Outcome: Jihad victory; All the former territories of Egypt fell under the Caliphate.

Following the Spanish capture of the Holy Land, a charismatic Sunni preacher raised a jihad against the infidels. Due to the rebellion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the jihadis rapidly secured Palestine. They then turned against Egypt, easily conquering the weakened state and establishing a rival Caliphate in its territories, which then drove the Portuguese out of Aqaba and Suez.

The War of the Conclave
Year: 1520
Combatants: Kingdom of France v. Conclave of Cardinals
Outcome: Installation of French candidate on Papal throne.

Following the death of Leo X, a French army marched into Rome and delivered an ultimatum to the secluded Cardinals: Elect the preferred French candidate, or face a sack. The Cardinals wisely acquiesced, whereupon the French army departed.

The War of Greek Independence
Years: 1520-1530
Combatants: Kingdom of Greece v. Most Serene Republic of Venice
Outcome: Greek victory.

Following the Venetian occupation of the Peloponnese, a Greek rebellion erupted. Due to Venetian preoccupation in Italy, the rebellion rapidly spread throughout the peninsula and Crete.

The Second War of Italian Freedom
Years: 1525-1526
Combatants: Most Serene Republic of Venice v. Duchy of Parma, Republic of Florence, Duchy of Mantua, Papacy
Outcome: Venetian victory. Venetian conquest of Parma and Mantua

Alarmed by the blatant French intervention in the Papal election, and having lost most of its overseas empire, Venice attacked Mantua in a bid to increase its influence in Italy. Florence, Parma, and the Pope all responded, but Venice succeeded in outmaneuvering them and occupying Parma and Mantua, although the Venetian drive on Rome was stopped, ending the active portion of the war.

King James' War
Years: 1527-1545
Combatants: Kingdom of Scotland v. Kingdom of England
Outcome: Scottish victory; Cession of northern England to Scotland

Taking advantage of English distraction in Ireland, a large Scottish army crossed the border. The English were caught unprepared, and the early war favoured Scotland, with Scottish raiders reaching as far south as London. For several years after the initial thrust, the land war sputtered out, while the English fleet choked Scottish commerce. When the land war resumed, it did so with a Scottish offensive that carried Scottish troops to Oxford. This threat finally sparked an English counter-offensive. In the ensuing fight, English troops fought their way to Glasgow, while Scottish troops reached the English Channel. With both sides exhausted, a peace was made that ceded large portions of northern England to Scotland, and cleared the way for the later union of the two countries.

The Egyptian Crusade
Years: 1529-1534
Combatants: Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of Spain, Poland (1530-1534) v. Caliphate, Ottoman Empire (1530-1534), Safavid Persia (1530-34)
Outcome: Crusader defeat

Portugal and Spain launched a concerted attack against the Caliphate, in a bid to retake the Holy Land. They initially achieved some success, taking Palestine and besieging Alexandria. In Palestine, the Spanish orchestrated the murder of all non-Christians, which led to their downfall. Disgusted by the Spanish genocide, Persia and the Turks entered the war, while the Caliphate raised vast numbers of jihadis. Despite Polish assistance, Spain was expelled from Palestine, and Portugal, recognizing the futility of the conflict, abandoned Suez and Alexandria. The last phase of the war was in the Indian Ocean, where the hordes of the Caliphate futilely attacked Aden, and a Persian force took Socotra, only to be crushed by the returning Portuguese mere weeks later.

The Great Hungarian War
Years: 1529-1544
Combatants: Rebel nobles, Archduchy of Austria, Poland, March of Brandenburg (1536-39), Ottoman Empire (1536-9) v. Kingdom of Bohemia and Hungary, Tsardom of Muscovy (1530-1534)
Outcome: Hungarian defeat; Silesia to Poland, Bohemia to Brandenburg, Hungary to Austria

The war began when pro-Austrian nobles in Hungary tried to switch their allegiance to the Archduchy of Austria. The Hungarian king naturally refused to allow them to leave, and after an Austrian ultimatum attacked Austria with Muscovite support. However, the attack failed due to the lack of expected Polish help, and Hungarian forces were pushed back across the border. The Poles then capitalized on Hungarian distraction to seize Moravia. The war stalemated briefly, before Brandenburg and the Turks invaded, causing Hungary to collapse. The victorious allies parceled out the lands of Hungary amongst themselves.

The Franco-Venetian War
Years: 1530-1544
Combatants: Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Greece (1530-1534) v. Most Serene Republic of Venice, Republic of Florence (1530-1534)
Outcome: Draw

The expansion of Venice in the preceding years had threatened the balance of power in Italy that the French had built early in the century. France therefore attacked Venice to restore that balance. The Franco-Greek naval forces were defeated by the expert Venetian navy, and warfare in the Po valley was back and forth, until the intervention of Florence tipped the balance in Venice's favour, and the allied forces expelled France from Milan. Later, a Venetian naval expedition took Naples, and the entire French system in Italy seemed to be doomed, although they did manage to retake Milan, holding it by a thread. However, at that time, when it seemed that Venice might yet break French power in Italy, she was distracted by the Ottomans, and France used that opportunity to retake Naples and solidify control over Milan, whereupon the war ended by mutual disinterest

The Slaver Wars
Years: 1530-1545
Combatants: Mali v. Various small kingdoms and tribes
Outcome: Malinese victory

Desiring to expand its realm, Mali launched a series of bloody wars against all its neighbours, killing many in the areas conquered and enslaving the rest. After initial successes, the petty states became more organized and united, and the campaigns became prohibitively costly, leading to their cancellation.

The War of Imperial Succession
Years: 1530-1544
Combatants: Kingdom of Brandenburg, assorted minor German states v. Kingdom of Bavaria, assorted minor German states.
Outcome: Draw

The German balance of power was badly damaged in the first decades of the sixteenth century. Religious strife split the states, the Empire's power waned, and the Hapsburgs turned elsewhere. Into the vacuum stepped Bavaria and Brandenburg, who expanded rapidly in the years before the outbreak of war. It was inevitable that they should come into conflict, and so they did. While Bavarian armies were initially superior, the Brandenburger alliance with lesser states succeeded in blunting the Bavarian drive north, though the Brandenburg alliance could make no progress south. The war ended in an inconclusive stalemate as all sides suffered economic collapse.

The Second War of Greek Independence, OR The War of Ottoman Dissolution
Years: 1535-1565
Combatants: Kingdom of Greece, Most Serene Republic of Venice (1540-1544), Tsardom of Muscovy (1553- ), Kingdom of Bavaria (1556-1559), Archduchy of Austria (1561- ), Safavid Persia (1561-1565), Kingdom of France(1565), Kingdom of Spain (1565), Kingdom of Portugal (1565) v. Ottoman Empire
Outcome: Ottoman defeat; Complete destruction of Ottoman Empire and division of former Turkish lands among victors.

Having secured its independence from Venice, the fledgling Kingdom of Greece set out to unite all Greek lands under its rule. This, of course, brought them into conflict with the Ottoman Empire, which jumped at the chance to bring the Peloponnese back under its control. For long, Greece's fate hung by a thread. Venetian intervention was ineffective, and Greece once again fought alone. After bloody warfare in Greece proper, the kingdom was on the brink of defeat, but Muscovite intervention for the second time rescued her and from there the tide turned and the fall of the Turk began, though it would be another decade before his death rattle sounded. Country after country, both Christian and Muslim marched against the Ottomans, until finally they crumbled under the unrelenting pressure.

The War of Indian Freedom
Years: 1540-1554
Combatants: Mughal Empire, Lhasa (1547) v. Rajputana, Sultanate of Bengal, Sultanate of Amadnagar (1542- 1549), Sultanate of Orissa (1546- 1549) , Sultanate of Golconda (1546- 1549), Khmer Empire (1546- 1554)
Outcome: Bengali victory

As the Mughals rapidly conquered Afghanistan and the Indus valley, it was inevitable that they should come into conflict with the established powers of the Gangetic plain. The war began with a massive Mughal attack on the Rajputs, which completely annihilated the Rajput state. As the Rajputs collapsed, Bengal occupied their eastern dominions, which brought them into conflict with the Mughals. Bengal came near to defeat in the early war, but was saved by the intervention of first the lesser Indian states, and then the Khmer Empire. The Mughals were stopped, and then forced back, and in the peace were forced to abandon nearly all their gains of the previous two decades, while Bengal was confirmed as the hegemon of India.

The Perso-Egyptian War
Years: 1542-1544
Combatants: Safavid Persia v. Caliphate
Outcome: Persian victory; Persian annexation of Syria and Palestine

The newly ascendant, and increasingly militantly Shiite, Persian empire marched against the weakening Caliphate with the aim of seizing Palestine. In a brief war, Persian discipline won out over Caliphal fanaticism.

The Last Flower War
Years: 1542-1544
Combatants: Aztec Empire v. Tarasco
Outcome: Aztec victory; Aztec annexation of Tarasco

The Aztec realm had rapidly expanded in the previous years. The only major obstacle to their complete dominance over Mesoamerica was their old enemy, Tarasco. And so the Aztecs attacked Tarasco. Both sides used European weapons, and the Tarascans fought fiercely, but Aztec numbers eventually won out, and Tarasco was incorporated in the growing Aztec empire.

The First Algerian War
Years: 1543-1544
Combatants: Mamarid Sultanate v. Kingdom of Portugal
Outcome: Mamarid victory

Heavy-handed Portuguese rule in North Africa created a simmering discontent amongst the Muslim populace. This was particularly strong in the former Sultanate of Algiers, where Barbarossa's activities in the early part of the century had created an incipient nationalism. Therefore, when Portugal's interest in North Africa waned, Algerian leaders declared the Mamarid Sultanate and launched a rebellion. Portugal lack any incentive to crush the rebellion, and so allowed their independence in exchange for tribute.

The Phony War
Year: 1550
Combatants: Khmer Empire v. Ming China
Outcome: Khmer victory; Transfer of Sumatra to the Khmer

The Chinese colony on Sumatra offended the Khmer, who claimed all of south-east Asia for themselves. The Khmer therefore attacked the settlement, meeting no resistance. China, at the time, was unwilling to contest the Khmer actions, and so nothing further came of the war.

The Splendid Little War
Year: 1550
Combatants: Khmer Empire v. Tra Vinh
Outcome: Khmer victory; Tra Vinh incorporated in Khmer Empire

A rather insignificant part of the expansion the Khmer Empire across Indochina. The Tra Vinh were overwhelmed by superior Khmer firepower and quickly crushed.

The Genovan-Portuguese War
Year: 1550-1554
Combatants: Kingdom of Portugal v. Most Serene Republic of Genoa, Republic of Tuscany, Kingdom of Spain
Outcome: Tactical Portuguese victory; Strategic Portuguese defeat

Annoyed by Genoan encroachment on what Portugal saw as her territory, Portugal launched a massive attack on Genoan positions throughout the world. The colonial war generally went well for Portugal, with only Nova Roma holding out. However, the attack on Genoa itself failed, and brought both Florence and Spain into the war on the side of Genoa. Facing a Spanish threat to its homeland, Portgual made peace, returning most of Genoa's overseas possessions in exchange for an agreement dividing the New World between the two.

The Punitive Expedition
Years: 1550-1554
Combatants: Empire of Ethiopia v. Various small Nubian principalities
Outcome: Ethiopian victory. Nubian states destroyed and incorporated in Ethiopia

Following the murder of Ethiopian envoys by the Nubian states in concert, Ethiopia launched a major campaign to punish those responsible. The untrained, ill-armed forces of the Nubians were no match for the quickly modernizing Ethiopian army, and the Ethiopian border was rapidly extended to the Egyptian border

The Dutch War of Independence
Years: 1550-1564
Combatants: Republic of the Netherlands, Kingdom of Great Britain (1555- 1564) v. Kingdom of Spain
Outcome: Dutch victory; Dutch independence assured

The Spanish Netherlands embraced Protestantism more enthusiastically than most. As Spain remained staunchly Catholic, the links between the Netherlands and Spain proper grew more and more tenuous, until the Dutch took advantage of Spanish preoccupation in the Caribbean to rebel. Due to the aforementioned Spanish distraction, the rebellion managed to survive its precarious first years, and when Spain sent a major expedition to bring the rebellious provinces to heel, they met a British fleet and were scattered. Unable to easily supply troops in the area, Spain was unable to prevent all of its territories in the Netherlands falling under the control of the rebels.

The Caribbean War
Years: 1551-1554
Combatants: Aztec Empire v. Kingdom of Spain
Outcome: Aztec victory; Cession of San Juan to Aztecs

Newly secure in their dominance over Mesoamerica, the Aztecs turned to the Caribbean, attacking the Spanish islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. After initial Aztec successes, the arrival of a large Spanish force turned the tide, and the Aztecs were pushed out of Hispaniola. However, the Spanish proved unable to completely reverse the Aztec gains, and so, both parties having better things to do, a peace was signed recognizing Aztec rule over Puerto Rico.

The Second Calusan War
Years: 1555-1564
Combatants: Kingdom of Spain, Aztec Empire v. Calusa
Outcome: Draw

Fresh from their war, Spain and the Aztecs banded together against the Calusa. The conflict was largely indecisive. The allies had control of the sea, and the advantage of numbers, but proved unable to make much headway in the swamps of the Calusan homeland.

The Second Algerian War
Year: 1560
Combatants: Kingdom of Portugal v. Mamarid Sultanate, Sultanate of Tunis, Sultanate of Egypt
Outcome: Portuguese victory

After the failure of its attempt to destroy the Genoese colonial empire, Portugal turned to strengthening its position in Africa. North Africa, at the time, was ripe for conquest. After an initial burst of enthusiasm, the Mamarids had squandered popular support in decadence and inaction, Tunis was as weak and subservient as ever, and Egypt was collapsing under the assault of the Ethiopians. And so, when the Portuguese descended on the major North African ports, they met with minimal resistance.


The Ethiopian Flood
Years: 1560-1561
Combatants: Empire of Ethiopia v. Sultanate of Egypt
Outcome: Ethiopian victory; Egypt annexed by Ethiopia.

Alarmed by hostile Egyptian activities within Ethiopia, and fearing the Egyptian-Ottoman alliance presaged a strike against her, Ethiopia launched a massive invasion of Egypt in the spring of 1560. Egyptian resistance was rapidly crushed, and Ethiopian troops raced the Nile floods to the Mediterranean.