Beyond the Seas - English Foreign Relations

[Barry Goldwater]

Scotland

Ruling Dynasty: House of Stewart Ruler: James III, King of Scots Attitude to York: Hostile Attitude to Lancaster: Friendly During the earlier phases of the War of the Roses, the Kingdom of Scotland offered aid to the House of Lancaster in keeping their throne - in exchange for the town of Berwick. Even after the Lancastrians failed to defeat their Yorkist rivals, Scotland remained a safe abode for Lancastrian exiles such as Edmund Beaufort, the titular 4th Duke of Somerset. In 1466-7, after the Yorkists had gained control of England, an English counterattack was peacefully defused with the betrothal of the Princess Elizabeth to Alexander, Duke of Albany and younger brother of King James III. In more recent years, Albany fled to England after a falling-out with his older brother, and his life as an exile in the English court remains a source of renewed friction between his host and the Scots. All the while, the poorly delineated Anglo-Scottish border remains an area of contention between the two kingdoms, and Reivers from both sides love to continue making the villagers of the other miserable even through periods of formal peace. King James III of Scotland is not half the man his father was. Capricious; by turns impulsive and cautious to the point of sluggishness; easily manipulated by his favorites; and more interested in the artistic flowering of the Renaissance than more traditional kingly pursuits such as war, hunting and actually ruling his kingdom, he is not an effective or popular king, and has had to deal with constant internal tension within his borders from very early on in his official reign - first with the Boyd clan, then with the Lord of Isles, and most recently with his younger brothers, the aforementioned Albany and John, 1st Earl of Mar. When Mar suspiciously died while in the King's custody in 1480, James inexplicably rewarded his favorite architect Robert Cochrane with Mar's estates. Needless to say, this move has not endeared James to his vassals.

Independent Irish clans

Ruling Dynasty: Various; the most powerful are the O'Neills in Ulster, the O'Connors of Connaught and the MacCarthys of Munster Ruler: Various Attitude to York: Variable from clan to clan Attitude to Lancaster: Variable from clan to clan Since the first Anglo-Norman invasions of the 12th century, and even after the Duke of Clarence's recent bid to expand English rule into the independent parts of Ireland, much of the Emerald Isle remains a backwater governed by myriad sovereign clans led in turn by petty-kings, united in no regard beyond sharing a common tongue and faith - and, of course, a notable lack of desire to simply bend their knees before the English Crown, even after said English Crown was also made into the Irish Crown by the Pope in the late 1460s. That said, their lack of unity also renders the Irish vulnerable to a divide-and-conquer strategy, which was also already adopted to some success by Clarence on his most recent campaign. Since the Clarentian campaign of the 1470s, Leinster has been fully subjugated by the English, and the Crown's authority reasserted as far as Thomond and along the whole of the eastern coast. However, much of the west and center of the country remains independent, de facto if not de jure, under the sway of the native Gaelic kings and clans which have ruled them for centuries. Each of these clans has their own agenda, and some may prove more amenable to the idea of accepting English suzerainty or more friendly towards the House of York than the House of Lancaster (or vice-versa) than others. Many of the clans living on the border of English-ruled Ireland also have a tendency to cross said border to raid the villages and farmsteads of those clans which have sworn allegiance to the King in London.

France

Ruling Dynasty: House of Valois Ruler: Louis XI 'the Spider', King of France Attitude to York: Hostile Attitude to Lancaster: Friendly The Kingdom of France has long been England's enemy, but more recently they have proven friendly to one (admittedly fast-diminishing) half of England. From the start of the War of the Roses they have favored the Red Rose of Lancaster over the White Rose of York, in no small part due to King Louis' cousin Margaret of Anjou being the Lancastrian Queen...and, just maybe, the fact that England lost the Hundred Years' War on Lancaster's watch. Or so it had seemed - in recent years, the House of York (long resentful of Lancastrian meddling in their rivals' favor, and in alliance with the Spider's rival Burgundy) led England into a renewed phase of said Hundred Years' War, and after five years of bitter fighting they succeeded in clawing back a chunk of the Aquitainian coast from the French. As a result, France remains friendly to Lancaster and hostile to the Yorkists. King Louis of France is one of Europe's oldest and most venerable statesmen, a crafty diplomat and ruthless intriguer who is called 'the Prudent' and 'the Universal Spider'. While not a particularly successful battle commander - he has lost almost every major battle he fought - Louis has consistently proven the old Cathayan maxim of 'it is best to win without fighting' true, keeping the notoriously unruly French nobility in line, centralizing his kingdom and bankrolling proxies to fight his enemies abroad. Most recently he has engineered the near-total collapse of the Duchy of Burgundy by employing the Swiss and Lorrainers against proud and rash Duke Charles, who was eventually killed by his proxies at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, and prevented the English from making significant headway into his realm at the cost of a province that had long preferred English rule to French in the first place.

Duchy of Burgundy

Ruling Dynasty: House of Valois-Burgundy Ruler: Philip IV, Duke of Burgundy (under the regency of Margaret of York) Attitude to York: Friendly Attitude to Lancaster: Hostile The Duchy of Burgundy, spanning the vineyards of Bourgogne and the productive cities of the Low Countries, is one of the wealthiest realms of Europe, yet also one of the least stable. Its riches make it the greatest and most independent of the nominal subjects of the King of France, and its rulers have long had a bitter relationship with the senior line of the House of Valois. However, the aforementioned Flemish cities have always expressed only grudging respect at best towards their feudal overlords, and are prone to revolt if not kept in line with a hard hand. In recent years, Duke Charles 'the Bold' of Burgundy (noted for his hard hand towards the Flems and Dutchmen under his rule) put his de-facto-kingdom's wealth to good use in building a massive and colorful army of both feudal levies and professional mercenaries from all over Europe, which he led on an attempt to secure the crown of Lotharingia for himself...and into one disaster after another. Charles was eventually killed fighting the Swiss and Lorrainers at Nancy in 1477, leaving behind an infant son to pick up the pieces of his once-great dominion, an endeavor in which he was assisted by his English in-laws and relatives. Burgundy's current duke is that infant, Philip IV, now five or six years in age. Actual governance of the Duchy lies in the hands of Philip's mother and regent, Margaret of York; sister to Edward IV of England, and aunt to his successor Edward V. She has long had trouble with the people of the Low Countries, who have little interest in her personal dynastic squabbles and persistently try to force her to abdicate more and more powers & privileges to the leaders of their cities. Almost needless to say, being an actual member of the House of York Margaret overwhelmingly favors her Yorkist relatives, and has no love for their - and her - Lancastrian rivals, who in turn have long been aligned with Burgundy's archnemesis France.

Duchy of Brittany

Ruling Dynasty: House of Dreux-Montfort Ruler: Francis II, Duke of Brittany Attitude to York: Neutral Attitude to Lancaster: Neutral The Duchy of Brittany, jutting out of northwest France, is the second of the de-facto-independent subjects of the French Crown after Burgundy. Since the end of the War of the Breton Succession in 1365 it has been ruled by the House of Dreux-Montfort, one branch of the greater House of Dreux which secured English support to quash its French-backed rival cousins in the House of Dreux-Blois. Ironically, that has not kept the Bretons from switching sides as it pleased them; if nothing else, the last century has shown that the Dreux-Montfort dynasty can at least be counted on to be opportunists. They have proven willing to shelter the House of Lancaster, and at the same time seek good relations with the House of York. The current duke, Francis II, is a man primarily concerned with keeping Brittany independent of France, and is accordingly wary of the Spider's encroachments. That said, while such a stance would seem to naturally set him on a pro-English course, he is also unwilling to become an English lackey and is not concerned with the struggles between Lancaster & York, save to side with whichever branch of the greater House of Plantagenet he thinks will benefit him more at the time.

Kingdoms of Castille and Aragon

Ruling Dynasty: House of Trastámara Ruler: Isabella I, Queen of Castille and Ferdinand II, King of Aragon Attitude to York: Friendly Attitude to Lancaster: Unfriendly Castille and Aragon are still two separate kingdoms, but they have been effectively united by the marriage of Aragon's King Ferdinand and Castille's Queen Isabella - and, of course, their children are due to inherit both crowns in time, thereby uniting Spain in name as well as in fact. Together their demesne spans from the mountains of Galicia and the bustling commercial powerhouse of Seville in the west, to one of the centers of the Renaissance in Naples out east. This union was established with the victory of Ferdinand and Isabella over the Portuguese and their own claimant to the Castillian throne, Joanna 'la Beltraneja', in the 1475-79 War of the Castillian Succession, in which the English (at least the House of York) backed the former faction and the French backed the latter. As a result, today Castille-Aragon is on good terms with Yorkist England (indeed the second son of the late Edward IV, Richard Duke of York, is betrothed to Isabella and Ferdinand's oldest daughter, also named Isabella) and on chilly terms with their Lancastrian rivals. Isabella and Ferdinand, who are jointly known as the 'Catholic Monarchs', both possess great competence and fervor. They have taken significant steps to reinforce royal authority at the expense of the traditional feudal magnates, tried to establish a stronger judicial system, introduced the Inquisition to Spain with Papal assent in 1478, and of course remain alert for any lingering threats from Portugal and France. At present, their main point of tension with France is mountainous Navarre, a kingdom which presently remains under an unstable pro-French regency and whose heiress the Catholic Monarchs desire for their own son.

Kingdom of Portugal

Ruling Dynasty: House of Aviz Ruler: John II, King of Portugal Attitude to York: Unfriendly Attitude to Lancaster: Friendly Portugal is one of Europe's great maritime powers, and an early proponent of overseas colonization. It is also a kingdom still smarting from its recent defeat in the War of the Castillian Succession, where it enjoyed the backing of France against English-backed Castille-Aragon. At present, having had its continental ambitions of a union with Castille so fiercely rebuffed, the Portuguese are concentrating on expanding their colonial empire and struggling with the Muslim Moroccans. However, by no means does that mean the House of Aviz has forgotten the part the House of York played in supporting its Trastámara rivals, which naturally has made them more favorably inclined towards the Lancastrians. Portugal's incumbent monarch is John II, known as the 'Perfect Prince' to his people. An astute leader, John has only taken the throne this year (1481), and yet he is already applying his significant abilities to many great and challenging endeavors: re-establishing the authority of his royal government over aristocrats who have grown unruly under his late father's failed rule, resolving the kingdom's bankruptcy, and reviving the work of his great-uncle Henry the Navigator by restoring a policy of Atlantic exploration. At his command, intrepid Portuguese explorers and sailors are continuing to push down the African coast in search of a route to the spices of the east, thereby circumventing the Turkish-controlled land route over the Bosphorus Straits.

Holy Roman Empire

Ruling Dynasty: House of Habsburg Ruler: Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Attitude to York: Unfriendly Attitude to Lancaster: Neutral The mass of duchies, counties, principalities, bishoprics and free cities called the 'Holy Roman Empire' remains, as it has been for hundreds of years, loosely bound under the standard of an elected Emperor - as of 1481, the aged Frederick III of the House of Habsburg, who has reigned since 1440. As Frederick has been mostly concerned with uniting the various branches of the House of Habsburg (or, at least, the lands they rule) and in more recent years, not getting destroyed by the mighty King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, he's had little interest or time to spare on imperial affairs. This has emboldened his nominal vassals to act more independently and has also had the occasional disastrous result, as evidenced by the continued existence (and prosperity) of the Hussite heresy in Bohemia and the fall of Neuss to an Anglo-Burgundian army in 1475. Frederick III himself is considered an ineffective ruler, cautious to the point of indecision and overly passive. He is no great leader of men and won his wars with dynastic rivals not by defeating them in battle, but all too often by simply outliving and then inheriting their lands. When confronted by an enemy he cannot outlive or mollify with bribes and marriages, such as Hungary's Matthias Corvinus or the Swiss or the late Charles the Bold, he inevitably faces defeat. The Italian humanist Enea Silvio Piccolomini describes the indolent Emperor as a person who wanted to conquer the world while remaining seated. As Frederick remembers the part the English played in conquering Neuss, he has little love for the ruling House of York, though that doesn't mean he particularly likes or cares about their Lancastrian rivals either.