Wars of Religion

**Aéd Liath** · April 30, 2010, 07:03 AM

This will be a mod for the Kingdoms Expansion. The idea of this mod is to replicate the Wars of Religion in Western Europe from 1562-1612, particularly the French Wars of Religion, the Spanish-Anglo conflicts and early stages of the 80 years war. The Spanish, English, French and Portuguese colonial activities in America and Africa are also included and due to the importance of the Americas in financing these wars, the Caribbean and North America will also be included on the map. Due to the limited time period, 50 years, each turn will constitute 3 months making for a total of 4 turns per year.
The wars of this period were not fought solely in Europe however, as the Barbary States in North Africa raided the European coastline with their fast galleys and the Sultans of Fez drove south against the Songhai Empire. Conflicts also errupted between the Portuguese and the West African states dominating the slave trade.
The main form of troop used will be pike and shot, with artillery and cavalry also constituting important aspects of the army. The importance of maintaining command of the sea will oblige commanders to maintain considerable fleets to control the lucrative trade routes.
This mod will give equal attention to both European and African factions. Most markedly the Ottoman Empire will fulfil the role of the Papacy for Muslim factions, encouraging attacks on Christian powers, rewarding cooperation and punishing disobedience. Four religions will be used, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam and Native Beliefs.

Map
The map will cover from Scotland in the north east, to the sahara in the south east and from Cuba in the south west to Canada in the north west. I'm working on this at the moment.

Christain Factions:

Kingdom of England
Queen Elizabeth rules over Protestant England. England is a united behind Protestantism. Her dominion over Caribbean islands and bold sponsoring of piracy against Spain allows copious volumes of wealth to be generated. The English crown needs to secure itself against the powerful Catholic Kingdoms of Spain and France. To do so, England must support Protestant factions and safeguard Ireland against the threat of Catholic interventions and possible rebellions. Although surrounded by enemies or potential enemies at least, England is safe so long as it controls the seas- a reason for Scotland to be handled with considerable care!

Gaelic Clans of Ireland
Ireland has never been fully conquered by the English and the old Gaelic lords remain powerful in many parts of the country. Indeed, the brutality of the English armies posted there is the glue that binds Ireland to her powerful neighbour. The Irish will begin the game as a Protectorate of England though their religious differences are likely to result in conflict.

Kingdom of Scotland
The Scots have only recently begun to be influenced by the Reformation. The current monarch, Queen Mary is a Catholic and Catholicism remains dominant in the Highlands. However, John Knox is having great success converting the lowlands to Protestantism. Mary, a Catholic, is tolerant of her Protestant subjects, a situation which for now maintains the Kingdom in a state of peace.

Gaelic Clans of Scotland
Many of Highlanders and Islanders of Scotland remain staunch Catholics. Although they are viewed as exotic foreigners by some lowlanders, they constitute an important part of the Kingdom militarily. To illustrate their de facto independence and their differences from the lowlanders, they begin the game as a Protectorate of Scotland.

Kingdom of Spain
The Kingdom of Spain is a powerful country and a staunchly Catholic one. King Philip of Spain acts as the right hand of the papacy, a shield against infidels and Protestants alike. The Spanish position is relatively secure: the Portuguese are unlikely to attack, and France will be consumed by civil war for the near future. However, the French situation must be monitored, as a Protestant presence in France could pose a threat to the Spanish. The Kingdom of Spain is wealthy, but must guard against the predatory Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean and guard against the opportunistic English in the Caribbean. The Spanish possessions in North Europe are valuable trading ports and valuable strategically. Protestantism has taken grip there and the area is tenuously held; it will require considerable involvement to prevent it from slipping from their grasp.

Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France has been torn apart by religious dissent. There is outright war between the two rival religious groups vying for supremacy. The Catholics will be represented by the House of Guise while the House of Bourbon will represent Protestant interests. The Kalmar Union Script will be used to allow players to re-unify the Kingdom of France.

House of Guise
The House of Guise are fighting for to maintain the influence of Catholicism over the Kingdom. The House of Guise have the support of the Catholic majority in France. The House of Guise are bordered by Catholic Spain, which are unlikely to attack, and potentially by the United Provinces, an aggressive emerging Protestant power. The wise player will strive to eliminate the House of Bourbon quickly before they can gather their strength before turning on their enemies abroad with the full might of France.

House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon represent Huguenot interests. They are not as powerful as the Catholics and cannot hope to prevail against them in a war- at least initially. A wise player will attain peace with the House of Guise quickly, perhaps having to embrace the Christian principle of humility more so than desired! However, by spreading Protestantism and increasing their potential powerbase in France they can hopefully re-establish the Kingdom as a Protestant nation.

The United Provinces:
This faction is unplayable and will emerge if Spanish authority decreases excessively in the region. The wise English player will certainly support their co-religionists and remove the threat of a Spanish base so close to their island.

Kingdom of Portugal
The kingdom of Portugal is staunchly Catholic and has a secure border with Spain. This leaves the zealous Portuguese free to pursue a war of conquest against the infidels of North Africa. The Portuguese have a current dominion over the slave trade in Western Africa but will need to fight hard against hostile African nations and greedy Europeans alike to maintain this. Expansion into the Caribbean is an option, but one which will inevitably lead to conflict with other Christian factions.

African and Muslim Factions

Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire will act similarly to the Papacy of Medieval Total War. The Empire will occasionally offer missions to both the Barbary Corsairs and Sultanate of Morocco. In return the Ottoman Empire will send re-enforcements and finances to their fellow Muslims.

Sultanate of Morocco
The Sultans of Morocco are in an unfortunate position adjacent to the powerful and zealous Christian Kingdom of Spain. However, they have also benefitted from their position. Their proximity to Spain led to many Jewish and Muslim exiles fleeing from persecution in Spain to settle there, strengthening the Sultan’s armies. Their distance from the Ottoman Empire means that they can enjoy an alliance with this powerful nation without any risk of succumbing to Ottoman domination. The wise Sultan should ensure to gain dominion over the lucrative trans-Saharan gold trade as much wealth will be required before he may reap revenge upon the wealthy Christian Kingdoms of Iberia and the fanatical Christian zealots they command.

Barbary Corsairs
The pirates of the Barbary Coast are the vassals of the Ottoman Empire, when it suits them to be. They have considerable military strength, and a powerful fleet. Due to the poverty of their homeland, these fanatical Muslim warriors must raid the vulnerable coasts of Europe to maintain their fleets. The Barbary Corsairs begin as allies of the Sultanate of Morocco and should maintain this profitable alliance. The Sultanate can block any attempts by Christians to cross its territory, while the pirate fleet can sink any fleets attempting a sea-borne invasion. Eventually the Corsairs will need to expand, and should begin to take coastal settlements to provide further bases of operation, perhaps the Caribbean would make a reasonable area for piratical operations?

Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire has been a powerful empire, and can be again. It has access to the immensely rich trans-Saharan gold trade and to the similarly profitable slave trade on the African coast. At present a civil war has ravaged the nation, destroying the prestige that Askia the Great had brought to the Empire. A powerful Sultan could end the civil war, engulf the fragmented Mali Empire and move towards re-establishing the Empire as a powerful and influential Islamic state.

Wolof Empire
The Wolof Empire is a powerful West African state which profits greatly from the slave trade with Portugal. It has begun to fragment, though a cunning King could reunify the Empire and profit from the fragmentation of their neighbours. The warriors of Wolof are well equipped, having acquired firearms from their trade with the Portuguese.

Other

First Nation Tribes
These are disparate tribal groups who lack unity. There military technology is quite limited in comparison to European powers- to whom the islands of the Caribbean represent considerable potential wealth while the cooler climes of North America may be to the taste of colonials who can be used to increase the dominions of European Kings. The American Tribes will be unplayable and will not receive much attention, but will still represent difficult challenges to factions seeking to take their lands.

Units
Most units will simply be taken from Kingdoms and Medieval total war, though there are some units which will require being created. As mentioned earlier, the predominant form of troop will be pike and shot with cavalry and artillery also playing an important role.

**toluas** · April 30, 2010, 07:35 AM

I like the idea.

But, wouldn't E:TW fit the timeframe better?
You're talking about the early stages of the 80 years war; surely you meant the 30 years war? And speaking of 30 years war, why is there no faction Holy Roman Empire (or at least one of its principalities)?
And to say Guise were catholic and Bourbons protestant is a bit oversimplified.

**Aéd Liath** · April 30, 2010, 10:04 AM

Hi Toluas, agreed that the approach to the religious divide in France is very over simplified- how would you approach it? Also, I was talking about the 80 years war, the fight for Dutch Independence. The 30 years war is outside of the time period

. The pikemen in E:TW would take a lot of work, and its not as mod friendly as Kingdoms.

**toluas** · April 30, 2010, 06:22 PM

I'll try to consider this religious divide thingie. Ok, my bad, never heard of the term "80 years war" for the fight for dutch independence...but as this was leading straight to the events of the 30 years war, I still wonder where there are middle-european (german-ish) factions.

**Aéd Liath** · May 02, 2010, 06:47 AM

I'd like to put in German factions, but if I extend the map further east I'll have to include Italian factions and others too, leading to a lot more work. I do agree it would make for a much better mod though. Hopefully I'll be able to do so in the future, and I'd like to increase the time span to encompass the 30 years war too. At the minute though I'm finding it difficult enough just to make a good map for what I already have.