1474-1488 King Joao II de Avis, Part 1
November 1474, and our new King points to North West Africa.
“We have had a Cassus Belli on Mali for over a decade. I want that province!”
By December, 8,000 Portuguese soldiers are in Cayor, doing
battle against 10,000 Malinese. Our superior military technology gives us an
unfair advantage, and the result is very one-sided.
Chasing the Malinese inland, General Eanes encounters the
main Malinese force, 24,000 strong, and under the command of someone called
Santa! Engaging with a mere 7,600 troops, he deals the most significant blow of
the war
A year after declaring war, and with 2 provinces already
under our control, the Malinese are having to deal with internal revolts, and
we are able to advance our military and diplomatic technology even further
ahead of theirs
We also recruit a new administrative advisor to help lower
the revolt risk in our new territories
General Eanes delivers another victory against Santa in
March 1476... clearly Santa doesn't like the hot weather!
And at the end of the month we are able to take a new
mission for the first time in 5 years!
After a couple more one-sided battles, a third province is
conquered, and the war is all but over
We then get a Royal Marriage with France, and in July
arrange a peace treaty with Mali. We will get the province of Cayor, and 44
ducats. Nice!
Unfortunately, we are going to be stuck with a Muslim
province from a non-Iberian culture for a while, as our missionaries can make
no headway
However, we start coring the province straight away, for a
cost of 32 admin power. Cayor should be cored in a little under 4 years. In
April 1477, our colonist arrives in Ceara, and we complete another mission
We immediately pull the colonist out and send him off to
Barbados in the Caribbean, starting a Portuguese colonial expansion rush which
lasts 30 years
Sao Vicente finishes colonising in November 1478, giving us
3 fully functional provinces in Brazil, with another (Ceara) on the way. It is
at this point that I should mention that I have modded the game slightly. With
patch 1.5, colonial nations were added for the Americas. The two continents of
N and S America have been split into colonial regions, so that when you get 5
provinces within the same region, a colonial nation will spring into life. The
colonial master loses direct access to the management of the provinces, and
loses the direct income, but gets money via setting tariffs and assigning
Viceroys to control the colonial nations. I’m very happy with the idea, but (in
line with a lot of people on tinterweb) feel that 5 provinces is a little on
the low side. I have modded the game to increase that limit to 8. So,
Portuguese Brazil will eventually be formed, just not as quickly.
Finishing Sao Vicente gives us a nice ‘Colonial Enthusiasm’
event, but in February 1479 we get the sad news that the last of our intrepid
game starting explorers, Diego Gomes, is dead. This was the man who discovered
Brazil, rounded Cape Horn, and even travelled as far as the Gulf of Aden.
Cayor cores (try saying that 3 times in a row, quickly) in
1480, and later that year we unlock the fifth Exploration Idea, Viceroys. This
will boost our tariff income for when a colonial nation eventually does form!
In December 1480 we have enough admin power to take Noble
Republic, opening up a second Idea group, for which we take the Offensive
military Idea group.
Why Offensive? Well, it gives us better military leaders,
which is good, but it also will eventually increase our national force limit by
25% (iirc). This is important to us as being a colonial empire we are going to have
holdings all over the globe, and a requirement for a large standing army
dispersed all over the world. Increasing our force limit ensures that we can have detachments in key locations ready to spring into action as a rapid response force
In September 1481 we take military tech 7, unlocking
artillery. This is an important tech as artillery will help us to win sieges
much more quickly, as well as giving us an overwhelming advantage in colonial battles
Ceara finishes colonising in October 1481
And we turn our sights back to Africa, sending our colonist
(and a large army!) to the Ivory Coast. Our plan is to colonise the Ivory Coast
and Gold Coast, to dominate this particular trade node, and start a trade node
chain wrapping all the way round Africa towards Aden and then India (but that
is a long way off!)
In 1482 the War of the Roses kicks off in the UK, with the
House of York (boo! hiss!) rising up against the noble House of Lancaster
(huzzah! Huzzah!)
The following year, Castile declares war on Algiers, and the
English, having dealt with the Yorkist scum, call us to help them against the
sweaties. We, of course, say yes!
And immediately set about helping the RN in the battle at
sea. This particular engagement saw all 6 Scottish ships sunk for no loss
We begin landing troops in Ireland in December 1483
And by April of the following year have successfully seiged
Munster. Whilst the English punish the Scots, we concentrate on their allies in
Ireland, and the war seems to be going well. We also get an alliance with the
Kongolese, which is nice. Unforunately, I am limited to an army of about 9,000
for the Irish Expeditionary Force, due to commitments suppressing revolts in
Cayor and the colony of Ivory Coast.
In August 1484, we are able to take another Exploration
Idea, gaining us a second colonist, and this unlocks our second National Idea,
increasing our colonial range – awesome!!! We can now pretty much afford to have 3 colonies on the go at the same time. Bearing in mind that Castile, who should be matching us step for step, has been so intent on N Africa that they haven't started a single colonial province, so long as we maintain the momentum we will be the leading global empire for ever.... muahahahahaha!!!
We immediately send our new colonist down to the River Plate, to start
the colonisation of modern day Argentina
The War of the Roses officially ends in September 1484, and
the war with Scotland is generally going pretty well, although we haven’t seen
anything from their other all, Sweden, yet.
Barbados becomes a full province in May 1485
In March 1486, after much marching and counter-marching, we
finally get to grips with the Irish army, in Meath
Winning the battle decisively
Our first Offensive military idea comes along shortly after,
no doubt helped by the bayonet practice gained against the Irish!
In June 1486, we manage to set up a printing press,
emulating Caxton. As you can see in the background, the conquest of Scotland continues
apace
Shortly after, the Irish sign a separate peace with the
English, and we transfer our troops to Sweden to continue the fight
With military things coming thick and fast, we almost forget
that colonial expansion is still ongoing, with a colonist reaching another
Brazilian territory in 1487
In September of the same year, we suffer our first loss of
the war
But fortunately it is too little, too late for the Swedes
and Scots, as England takes more than they initially wanted in the ensuing
peace in May 1488. Whilst we don’t actually get anything material out of the 5
year long war (except prestige for winning battles!), we do get a bigger and more powerful England (farther along the road to becoming Great Britain) and that is a good
thing for Portugal in the long run.
And that is where we will leave this update, with Portugal
in a stronger state than it was in 1474, when our King came of age. The first
fourteen years of his rule have been a great success
Portuguese gains 1474-1488
S America – Sao Vicente, Rio Grande (completed this update),
Ceara (colonised and completed this update), Rio de la Plata and Grao Para (colony only)
Africa – Cayor (conquest), Ivory Coast (colony), alliance
with Kongo
Caribbean – Barbados (colonised and completed)
We now have a total of 17 provinces and 3 colonies, from a
starting position of 10 in 1444. We have essentially doubled our holdings in 44 years! Next time, we
will take a look at our finances, briefly review our technology position, and
then get on with the business of taking over the world!
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