Aragon AAR - Catalan Indepedence

[Dell19]

Playing EU2 with AGREEP installed.

Here is the start map:

The first important AGREEP change is to note that Catalan is a separate culture so I have less to gain from a successful war against Castille and good relations exist between the two nations. It remains to be seen whether those good relations will last and perhaps create a unified Spain or whether a different path will be chosen.

Aragon also starts with Italian as a culture because of their possessions in Sicily and general involvement so King Alfons V is likely to concentrate his early efforts on improving relations with the Italian minor nations in the hope of expanding the nation and to achieve this an alliance was immediately signed with the Papal States and Naples.

Looking north the hundred years war has kicked off and it offers the chance for the potential conquest of southern France although there may be a chance in the future to conquer southern France.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

AAR's are back in business

Good luck Dell, any plans forming in your mind?

 

[Reno]

Intresting choice of nation. Looking forward to this AAR aswell.

 

[Dell19]

The choice of an Italian alliance immediately blocked any chance of an alliance with Portugal and Castille who joined forces to fight Morocco and Tlemcen whilst Aragon troops were moved to Sardinia for a potential naval invasion. Additionally baliffs were upgraded in Sicily and Valencia.

With no Casus Belli there were no excuses for wars and thus Aragon remained at peace with gifts being issued towards Naples and a marriage arranged with the Dauphine. Perhaps those gifts to Naples influenced their choice of heir as they chose a path that would surely see their provences become rightfully part of Aragon in the future.

1420 saw a revolt over taxes in Valencia whilst Portugal gained Tangiers from their war against Morocco. The rebels were eventually defeated at the second attempt whilst Naples rejected a Vassalisation attempt. By 1422 the alliance was up for renewal and Alfons took the opportunity to grab control of the alliance. An opportunity for war also began to take shape with Venice, Athens and Tuscany declaring war against poor Siena which would present Alfons with the opportunity to 'liberate' Siena if an annexation occured.

As Aragonese troops moved into position for a potential attack, surprising information reached Alfons in Iberia, Siena had in fact defeated Tuscany and the victim was now the aggressor. The plan would have to be changed whilst elsewhere in Iberia, Castille declared war on Grenada. Unfortunately the rest of Europe did not see the annexation of Tuscany as an excuse for us to go with war with Siena however that did not stop Alfons who wished to expand his territory in Italy and saw it as an ideal opportunity to gain a sea port.

War was declared and our allies, the Papal States and Naples, joined our cause. Further troops were transported to Italy however the war was essentially won in the beginning of October as a joint force consisting of troops from Aragon and Naples defeated the main army of Siena and would allow the siege of Firenze to be maintained. Firenze fell before the end of the year and King Alfons led his amry south to take over the siege of Siena. After a year and a half Siena fell to a joint Alliance army and Siena soon accepted our generous peace offer to cede Firenze and become our vassals.

 

[Dell19]

Good luck Dell, any plans forming in your mind?

I'm currently planning to treat Aragon a bit like playing as Venice. You unite the areas that you have matching cultures and then attack the powerful neighbour which is Spain instead of Austria. Assuming that they don't declare war first. I believe I get some events to inherit Naples quite early on in the game which is an obvious reason to not attack them.

 

[Dell19]

Unfortunately soon after our war ended, Siena was annexed by Venice. I had assumed incorrectly that their war had finished when of course it hadn't and we were still not given a casus belli after the annexation. The northern alliance of Italian minors now looks like a potential target for diplomatic conquest and I will try to get a number of them to join the Aragonese alliance. A baliff was promoted in Firenze.

As Alfons viewed a map of his kingdom it looked like it would be a long waiting game before Aragon could truely become a world power. An opportunity did then appear as relations with Navarra were positive and they were not in alliance. This was soon rectified and plans were made to vassalise Navarra in the near future. Before the end of 1425 Navarra had accepted our proposal and perhaps in ten years they will join Aragon permanently. Naples maintained their wish for independence by declining a similar proposal for vassalisation.

A gift to the state prompted the promotion of a baliff in Messina (Sicily) whilst a gift was presented to Modena to help build a strong relationship with another neighbour state in Italy. In 1428 Naples finally cracked on the fifth attempt and accepted to become our vassals which helped to cement Aragon's presence in southern Italy. 1433 still looms on the horizon as a chance to expand the alliance and perhaps invade Milan.

Domestically little changed over the next years other than the innovation slider being increased. Elsewhere the Dauphine claimed the French crown and looks set to win the hundred years war however Savo have gained four provences including Paris. February 1431 saw a rebellion in Firenze quickly put down by the local army and additionally advances in infrastructure and trade were made. 1432 saw another rebellion, this time in Messina after Alfons chose to protect the peasants from an over zealous aristocrat. Before the year was out the rebels were defeated and armies were moved north in case 1433 led to war being declared.

1433 started with Modena joining our alliance whilst an insult was sent to Milan to lower relations. Soon after Modena rejected a Vassalisation attempt and in a fit of anger Alfons declared war against Milan and Genoa. The armies were mobilised with Emilia and Milan besieged whilst Milan besieged Modena. This of course led to an opportunity where if Milan annexed Modena we would then be able to retake the provence and add it to our realm.

The war unfolds:

As expected Milan annexed Modena however their attempt to break the siege in Milan (Lombardia) failed whilst Genoa began a small siege in Firenze. Emilia was the next provence to fall in the war which freed the army to besiege Modena. Alfons at this point was greatful for the years of peace that had allowed Aragon to build up a war chest of 450 ducats. Milan was the next provence to fall this time to the army under the command of the King. With the army now free they headed south to confront the Genoese in Firenze whilst reinforcements headed up from Sicily.

The Genoese army was quickly defeated and with Romagna (formerly Modena) soon to fall, King Alfons could see peace soon returning. At this point there seemed little to gain from a war against Genoa with Kerch still in their possession. A number of alliance armies were sent against Liguria (Genoa) including an Aragonese army which all failed however Romagna soon fell and Alfons accepted the peace treaty that Milan soon proposed:

After the peace was signed, baliffs were promoted in the conquered territories whilst gifts were presented to Navarra and Naples to help then overlook our necessary aggression. Our war score has now reached 8 which is manageable although it is likely to lead to diplomatic annexations being the main route of expansion in the coming years.

 

[Dell19]

Of course it may have been a little early to expect peace to return as Genoa had been the alliance leader and thus we still had a war to fight although the aim would be to secure peace as quickly as possible. February 1435 was not a good month for Aragon with the first invasion of Liguria being repulsed and Naples chose an heir from Provence which severely damaged relations however Naples remained our vassals and by June Liguria was under siege. From the east word came of the Hussite achievements in battle with the majority of Bohemia and Austria under their direct control and most of Hungary under their military control.

In 1436 Liguria fell to our troops however Genoa rejected our offers for peace and began a siege in our Iberian provinces which led to our fleet attempting a daring break out of Firenze where they were caught by the Genoese navy, however luck was on our side and the fleet was victorious. The victorious fleet helped to transport an army back to Iberia, defeating another Genoese fleet on the war and with the troops immediately engaging upon arrival in Catalonia. Finally after another defeat the Genoese accepted a peace treaty allowing military spending to be reduced.

March 1437 saw Navarra become part of Aragon on the second attempt and with Navarra no longer independent, Iberia was now split between just the three nations of Portugal, Aragon and Castile. Alfons was somewhat disappointed to note that the annexation had severely damaged relations with Castile which could one day lead to the first Iberian war. Annexing Naples became the next objective however both offers were rejected in 1438. 1439 saw the Innovation slider increased again, two more failed diplomatic annexation attempts of Naples and a war begin against Morea after Naples declared war.

Little could be gained from a war against Morea so the objective was to accept peace at the earliest opportunity and to avoid Naples gaining a province. Finally in 1441 the Papal States managed to begin a siege of Morea after numerous failed attempts. 1442 saw our claim to Naples reinstated who surprisingly took Morea in November. Due to Aragon controlling the alliance Naples could not annex Morea and instead peace was signed for 86 ducats. The return of peace also saw Naples finally join the Kingdom of Aragon. Their armies were disbanded to save on maintenance and gifts were sent to the Papal States and Portugal to help ease their minds over our expansion. Bailiffs were promoted in the two new provinces.

Aragon at the end of 1442:

The annexation of Naples achieved the final aim of King Alfons when he first inherited the kingdom. Territories had been expanded as planned with significant gains in Italy and with room for future expansion. The deteriorating relations with Castile are likely to become a problem in the future and could dictate the future of the kingdom. In the north France has risen once again however Savoy still controls Paris which must surely weaken France for the time being. One day a war against France must surely occur in an attempt to acquire a land bridge between Iberia and Italy whilst France may wish to expand southwards.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Nice little empire you've carved out there.

A quick war against France now might be you're best bet while she's still not unified. Interesting to see Byzantine still alive, though I don't play with AGREEP. Is this common?

Nice writing style as well. It's just the way I like it - not short on facts, yet condensed enough to be an enjoyable read. Keep up the good work. Final question - how far ahead are you in the actual game?

 

[Oruc]

Nope!

 

[Reno]

Can Aragon create Spain?

Yes, both Aragon and Castile have the events to unify Spain under themselves.

 

[Dell19]

A quick war against France now might be you're best bet while she's still not unified. Interesting to see Byzantine still alive, though I don't play with AGREEP. Is this common? Final question - how far ahead are you in the actual game?

I'm not massively keen on fighting France just yet since they probably have several leaders and I have a limited border with them so when they send their ridiculously large army it would be difficult to sneak round.

Byzantium stays alive in AGREEP since they start as vassals of the Ottomans and they pretty much wait for an event to take Byzantium. If another nation annexes Byzantium in the mean time then there is an event where the Ottomans request the provence or else they declare war. When Spain took the province in another game, they gave it to the Ottomans.

I'm not ahead at all. Keep on alt tabbing to add events as they happen.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I'm not ahead at all. Keep on alt tabbing to add events as they happen.

Pretty much how I do it. I have notepad for anything important and paint for pics on standby to alt-tab to.

 

[Dell19]

Alfons V was clear in his mind that the previous military gains should act as a stepping stone for future expansion rather than becoming complacent. With a reasonably high war score Aragon would surely have to wait for a casus belli before fighting another war. Aside from Castile and the French alliance another potential target was Venice with two Italian provinces in easy reach and potentially unhelpful allies, however war would not be declared just yet.

A troublesome rebellion in Navarra occurred towards the end of 1443 and resisted a number of armies from Aragon during 1444 which also saw the royal marriage renewed with France – it helps to have powerful friends. Finally in April 1445 the rebellion was defeated. Little happened over the next few years a side from a number of minor events such as choosing to fight corruption. The end of 1447 saw a change to the situation as Provence was granted independence with the understanding that they would remain a vassal of France. Languedoc was a tempting target for Alfons to expand the kingdom in a quick war.

War was declared and soon Languedoc and Provence were under siege. Alfons decided to fight this war alone since Provence had no allies. April 1449 marked the end of the war with Aragon gaining Languedoc and increasing their bad boy rating to 12.4, which ensures that Aragon will live in peace for the foreseeable future. A bailiff was promoted in Languedoc whilst a rebellion in Romagna was put down. 1450 was marked by Savoy annexing Milan which changed the situation in Northern Italy whilst a rebellion occurred outside of Palma which was fortunately quickly crushed.

Savoy annexing Milan:

Dastardly Savoy!

1451 started with Calais defecting from Savoy to Burgundy and soon after we were informed that armies from Savoy were crossing the border from Lombardia. The Papal States remained our faithful allies whilst Switzerland joined the war on the side of Savoy. The obvious objective of the war would be to grab the two Italian provinces owned by Savoy. The opening moves of the war were made by Savoy however twice they unsuccessfully attacked Romagna whilst an army from Iberia set sail towards Piemonte.
The month of May would mark a famous victory for Aragon. An army led by the King himself with 9000 men was surprised by Savoy reinforcements in Lombardia. Their force outnumbered the King’s by 2 to 1 however luck favoured the righteous and the King’s army was victorious.

The joy was short lived as a Swiss army comprising 30000 troops appeared in the next month and Alfons was forced to retreat before his entire army was defeated. In this fluid war the next action would take place in Romagna as the large Swiss army was met by Alfons’s army and reinforcements. Once again the King led his army to a great victory with losses close to 2000 whilst inflicting ten times as many on the enemy.

Alfons attacks:

The Aragon troops could smell victory and chased the remaining enemy army into Milan where they were once again victorious. A contingent was left behind to maintain the siege whilst the King led the rest of the army towards Piemonte. Once again we were victorious and another siege began whilst the remaining army marched on to Savoy where a third siege began in an attempt to get the necessary war score. In April 1452 Piemonte fell and Savoy fell at the beginning of October. Lombardia finally fell in November however Savoy refused our initial generous peace offer. Alfons fearing that a greater war score was necessary decided to head north and besiege Franche-Comte.

A small army was quickly crushed in Franche-Comte and soon after Savoy offered an acceptable peace treaty which was accepted. Switzerland as the alliance leader accepted a white peace which Alfons was happy to offer due to Switzerland only controlling one province and the Aragon bad boy rating now reaching 13.5. The war against Savoy had been extremely successful with Aragon now controlling the majority of Italian provinces. Perhaps the only concern was of what would have happened if Alfons had not been there to lead the armies into battle.

Aragon:

Interestingly it seems that Austria has been annexed by Bohemia and Steiermark has taken over the crown.

 

[Dell19]

The victories in northern Italy were apparently not enough to silence domestic problems back in Iberia. Conflict in Barcelona triggered an event where the King sided with the aristocracy to avoid an increase in inflation, however three rebellions occurred in Iberia as a result. The rebels in Gerona repelled a loyal army from Navarra whilst reinforcements were transported from Italy. This army led by the King successfully destroyed the rebels in Gerona and headed south to try and break the siege of Barcelona. As soon as the rebels saw the King’s banner they quickly collapsed and the capital was once again under Aragon control. The final rebels in Rousillion were defeated before the end of the year.

1454 saw royal marriages arranged with Tyrol and Austria to improve relations with both nations and to perhaps one day gain them both as allies rather than enemies in a potential war against Venice. 1456 saw relations improve with Foix through an event however they are vassals of France which would make any alliance unlikely. With money accumulating the construction of a Fine Arts Academy in Barcelona was ordered to help future stability. In April 1458 our military technology reached level three and early indications suggest that our Military is the most advanced in the known world. The year however would be remembered for a terrible event, the death of the King.

Joan II was crowned as the new King of Aragon however the will of Alfons left Naples to another relative and Naples once again became a Vassal of Aragon. One day Naples will be reincorporated. Somewhat worryingly France entered an alliance with Castile and Portugal leaving Aragon isolated in Iberia. Worse news arrived of French victories against Savoy and the impending fall of Paris. There was little the new King could do to stop the French victory as in 1460 Joan imprisoned his son. The result was civil war and Aragon would face the rebellion alone as Joan refused cede Rousillion to the French.

The rebels in Gerona were crushed at the second attempt and the rebellion in Catalonia was soon destroyed as well. Embarrassingly Valencia was taken by the rebels after a failed attack however Valencia was soon under siege and the remaining rebels in Sardinia eliminated. December 1460 marked another turn for the worse as Venice declared war and their allies joined the war against Aragon, Papal States and Naples. The early months of war did not go well. Rebellions in Gerona and Languedoc tied up troops in Aragon whilst large armies from Tyrol and Austria besieged Lombardia and Piemonte. The only good news was defeating an army belonging to Venice in Romagna however defeat followed in an attempted attack in Mantua.

Lombardia was lost to Tyrol whilst fleets from Venice dominated the waves and landed troops in Valencia. Piemonte was lost soon after however finally our troops were victorious in Mantua. Further victories in Mantua and Venice did ease the torrent of defeats. Two attempts to break the siege of Valencia eventually succeeded in at least stopping the siege however the number of German minor states on Venice’s side is a severe problem. Finally Mantua fell to our troops allowing the army to besiege Lombardia whilst the Austrians began a siege in Romagna and the Venetians in Valencia were finally destroyed.

Northern Italy:

Venice had now lost a province to Aragon and another to the Papal States so they eventually accepted peace and gave Mantua to ourselves and also allowed our ships to travel in relative peace. The war was by no means over with Saxony joining the fray and an army of 65 000 troops began a siege of Mantua. The army that had been besieging Venice moved east to besiege Steiermark whilst the army from Valencia unloaded and began a siege in Piemonte. Attacking Steiermark was apparently a clever move as the Austrian King panicked as he was forced to flee his capital and accepted a peace treaty to return to the status quo. Piemonte was once again free allowing the army to head north whilst the army in Steiermark headed northwest to besiege Tyrol. Joan realising that the war could drag on for some time offered a white peace to Tyrol who accepted as the alliance leader.

After years of fighting the war had ended as a success. Aragon had gained a province in Italy when it had looked like defeat was imminent for much of the war. Joan had of course been brutally made aware of the large armies that one province minors can raise and if another war occurred we would need to be careful to avoid fighting a large alliance. The war was also an indication of what Joan could expect if our bad boy rating was allowed to continue rising.

 

[Dell19]

Aragon was once again at peace and elsewhere the French alliance agreed peace with Savoy in exchange for a number of provinces including Paris. In the same year of 1464 the Ottomans finally captured Constantinople however neither country jumped at the chance to move their capitals. A month later and the French relocated to Paris. 1465 began with the Ottomans relocating their capital and a spree of royal weddings joining Aragon to Tyrol, Genoa and Hungary. 1466 saw our royal marriage with Portugal renewed whilst Provence annexed Savoy to Juan’s mild annoyance.

Relations with Castile have improved over recent years with relations now at +70 whilst relations with France have continued to deteriorate. Perhaps an alliance with Castile would not be a bad idea for the future. 1468 may have been the year where Aragon ensured its independence. A royal marriage would be arranged with Castile however the title of King of Sicily would not be granted. On New Years Eve Naples accepted our second annexation attempt and once again officially became part of Aragon.

Aragon:

Fernandes (Juan’s son) then crossed into Castile under disguise past Enrique’s guards eventually reaching Isabelle who had been destined to marry Alfons V of Portugal. A marriage has been arranged which may see the crowns of Castile and Aragon join together in the future. Juan was somewhat concerned that the kingdom that he had helped to expand could lose its independence however he could not stand in the way of his second son. The following years was a time of peace for Aragon with a brewery being built in 1472 in Firenze after an advance in technology.

Our alliance with the Papal States was renewed in 1473. The use of the alliance was becoming questionable however Aragon were the alliance leader. New members for the alliance would have to be found especially if it was to rival the western alliance of France, Castile and Portugal. Relations with Genoa were improved over the next year with the future objective to eventually diplomatically annex them.

1476 marked the second war against Venice. This time it was Aragon who declared war after a diplomatic insult. Juan chose the war this time as Venice no longer had the same number of allies and the province of Siena was a tempting target. Unfortunately Genoa honoured their alliance with Venice but without so many German minors the war should go much more smoothly. The plan collapsed after it was found that the Papal States had a leader who would grab the siege of Siena so a white peace was signed with Venice at the earliest opportunity. At the end of the war in 1477 Juan invited Wirtemberg to the alliance and attempts would be made in the future to improve relations with the German minor.

Wirtemberg rejected our proposals however this was overshadowed by the death of Juan and the coronation of the new King Fernandes.

The crowns of Castile and Aragon would be united as one nation, Spain:

It should be noted at this point that I wasn’t really planning on diplomatically creating Spain and had sort of been under the impression that there would have been a diplomatic option to maintain Castile and Aragon as separate entities after the initial wedding event that was several years before. This may lead me to lose interest in the future since it will probably turn into a colonisation game and it goes against the title of the thread. Should have really planned ahead and blocked the marriage.

Spain:

Where to next? Try and unite the rest of Iberia and Italy or go to war with France?

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

A shame about the unification really. On the bright side your power base has increased and you no longer need to worry about a joint France-Castille attack.

Personally I was looking forward to you conquering the Western Mediterranean. I'd vote for that, and keep colonisation as a secondary objective. Can't let the New World be completely dominated by Portugal and England.

 

[Dell19]

Interestingly I have a saved game from 1469. I think I must have been a little curious about what happens if I clicked yes about the wedding and started saving it under a different name. I might just replay the ten years and see what happens if I click no and keep Aragon independence. I want to dominate the western mediterranean on my own.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Interestingly I have a saved game from 1469. I think I must have been a little curious about what happens if I clicked yes about the wedding and started saving it under a different name. I might just replay the ten years and see what happens if I click no and keep Aragon independence. I want to dominate the western mediterranean on my own.

I was going to suggest that as well. Always feels good to fight your way as a lesser power.

 

[Dell19]

A different path…

Juan seeing the inevitability of a wedding between Castile and Aragon blocked Fernandes attempts to reach Isabelle. The next years were relatively uneventful with relations being improved with Genoa for a potential alliance in the future. In 1473 our infrastructure improved and construction began on a brewery in Firenze. Later that year the alliance with the Papal States expired and Juan decided to accept Castile’s offer to join their alliance. Our Iberian possessions were now safe from attack.

In 1475 Burgundy annexed Lorraine and with that excuse we declared war bringing with us our alliance except for Portugal. The aim of the war was to attack Provence rather than Burgundy and secure southern France for Aragon. An initial invasion by Provence was halted in Piemonte however our counter attack was stopped in Savoy. Savoy fell before the end of 1476 and the war seemed to go smoothly. France had signed peace early on so Burgundy should survive and may have in fact chosen the event option where Charles never died. Castile accepted peace with Provence for Savoy when perhaps Juan’s real objective had been to force vassalise Provence as well. In 1477 a white peace was signed with Burgundy.

*And onto 1479* Strangely I got the message saying Aragon was about to be taken over by Spain however it didn’t happen. The message says that you shouldn’t be reading it so I assume it’s a bug that they have left in knowing that it doesn’t actually affect the game, unless events stop triggering for Aragon.

Fernandes arose to the throne of Aragon and was somewhat irritated that Isabelle had declared that Castille should be renamed to Spain. Once an alliance between the two crowns had been a distinct possibility but surely claiming the title of Spain was a little presumptuous. Perhaps now Iberia would never be united. In 4 years the alliance that Genoa belongs to will expire and Fernandes has started to consider leaving the alliance with Spain in an attempt to gain Genoa as vassals.

Aragon:

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Hehe, much better. Just put the unification post down to Fernandes having an awful dream.