Chapter 13 - The Reformation and the Kingdom -- The Early Reign of Francesco I d'Ivrea
The headlines of the Palermo
Times and the Naples
Courier both expressed deep admiration for King Martino II d'Ivrea, whom both dispatches dubbed 'Ironside'.
Sicily was already the second largest economy in the known world in 1491, and the largest in Europe; only did the great Ming Empire have more earnings. Due to the wealth concentrated in the northern provinces of Italy, that number only stood to increase.
In the late 15th century, the Sicilian Kingdom fought a large war with the Byzantine Empire. Containment of the Byzantine Empire was one of the Kingdom's ambitions ever since the state became powerful; the Byzantines posed a threat to the stability and Sicilian interests in the Greek peninsula. Moreover, the historically powerful Byzantine navy was the only navy larger than Sicily's. Hence, the Byzantines were a natural competitor of the Kingdom.
During the regency of King Francesco I d'Ivrea, the Byzantines sensed a weak time for the Sicilian Kingdom. However, the armies of Sicily proved competent and the navies were able to prevent excessive harassment of merchant vessels.
This would not be the last war the upstart Sicilian Kingdom and the historical Byzantine Empire would fight. In fact, a series of events would occur such that they became allies, if not explicitly, then implicitly.
However, during the course of this particular war, the Sicilians were able to wrest control of the core province of Edessa, in the north of Greece. Byzantium had come into possession of Edessa after the demise of the Serbian Kingdom in the 15th century.
By the end of the conflict, Francesco I d'Ivrea (3/6/5 [A/D/M]) had reached his majority and fought bravely in Greece. Although Francesco I was not quite the warlord his father was nor the bureaucrat his grandfather was, Francesco I forged his own legacy.
Shortly after the conclusion of the war with Byzantium, a major event occurred in Ulm: the Protestant Reformation. The Bohemian monk Ladislav Boleslav, working in Ulm, published his 96 Theses on the door of the Ulm cathedral, which triggered the events that lead to the Reformation.
On the home front, more minor states were militarily added to the Sicilian sphere, such as Epirus, of whom Messolonghi was also annexed.
Francesco I d'Ivrea stood ready to begin the conquest of Northern Italy.
However, some important news was dispatched to the young King shortly before the start of his campaign.
The Greek province of Larissa had most of its citizens, Greek and Sicilian alike, convert to Protestantism. The Archbishop of Larissa was capture and tarred and feathered in the main city square.
Francesco I faced a dilemma. Either he faced growing opposition in the increasingly Protestant Greek counties or swim with the current--several nations had converted to Boleslavism. Moveover, decades of estranged diplomatic relations with both the former Italian Papal States and the current German Papal States were insurmountable.
Francesco I immediately called off any further military action, much to the chagrin of his generals but much to the happiness of his advisers back in Napoli. The King returned to his palace and discussed the matters at great length with his chaplains and other high ranking church officials. The Archbishop of Napoli, among others, supported converting to Boleslavism to formally cut off any connections to the Papal States.
"Larissa will not be the only province to experience such an insurrection, my Liege. A great wave of religious zeal and fervor is approaching; I just pray that we can navigate the State through the rapids of this Reformation," said the Archbishop.
The King was convinced that spurning Catholicism was the only possible path which the Sicilian Kingdom would survive.
However, not all were so keen on spurning Catholicism this quickly. The Lombard Archbishop of Pisa dispelled Boleslavism as merely a "wave of heresy" and Catholic matters will quickly return to normal. The Archbishop, though, was the in the minority and all of the Sicilian Archbishops of southern Italy and Greece were advocating adopting Boleslavism.
The young King then took to the balcony of his Neapolitan palace along with the residing Archbishop, whom, in front of several thousand Neapolitan citizens, announced that the King and many Archbishoprics would convert to the ways of Boleslavism. This announcement was met with mix reaction. The King knew that the people would not be won over in a way, but the fight to bring religious harmony would only be beginning.
The real reason that I converted to Protestantism is that it is the superior religion for production and tax bonuses, which most economies are based upon. Let's be honest, Sicily is not a trading power, the way I have it set up. Hence, converting seems to be a good move.
Moreover, as I have been hinting, the Pope is not my best friend. Hence, the possibility of excommunications (which are a major malus for Catholic rulers) was another reason I converted.
Thirdly, which ties directly with the previous reason, I was not going to control the Curia anytime soon. Not only did I pass the Restraint of Appeals (which kills your Papal influence) but relations have been very negative (which does the same). Moreover, I'm going to move to being more innovative, rather than narrowminded, which is another penalty to Papal influence. Without any possibility of gaining control of the Curia, and not being able to be a truly powerful Catholic country, Protestantism made sense.
The obvious drawback to converting is that I lose a ton of stability and which will drain my coffers and it will take a long time to bring religious harmony to Sicily. However, given the reasons above, the potential benefits, especially in the long run, were with Protestantism and not Catholicism.
In the next update, we'll (obviously) be focused on converting the nation!
