List of monarchs III

POD: Sebastian, the "desired" King of Portugal, is victorious in the Battle in the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir.

Kings of Portugal and Algarves
1557-1613: Sebastian I "The Desired" (House of Aviz) [1]
1613-1651: John IV of Portugal (House of Aviz) [2]



[1] Born to D. John Manuel, heir of Portugal and his wife Joanna of Austria in 1554, Sebastian was called the "the Desired" at his birth, for him being born remedied the dire situation the dinasty of Aviz had found itself in recent years, with the extinction of many of it's cadet branches and the lack of fertility apparent in the main line, including the death of his father just two weeks before his birth. Heir apparent at the moment he was born, Sebastian's birth would indeed prove a blessing when his grandfather died just three years later, and Sebastian became King Sebastian the I.

Tall, slim and blond, Sebastian was raised under the iron rule of his grandmother, Catherine of Austria, who shared the regency of her grandson with his uncle, Cardinal Henry of Evora. Due to this, the church, especially the Jesuits, played a strong hand in his upbringing and the King was raised as a true crusader, whose jesuits teachers inspired in him a desire to expand christianity around Portugal's colonies but especially to the enemies of the Portuguese in Africa, the morrocan infidels. The fact that the young King started excreting seminal fluids at the age of 9 did not bypass the sight of his grandmother, the regent, and soon the head jesuit in the care of Sebastian's education was shooed off the court. It was around this time that some rumours would sprout that the young King had suffered from pedophilia, although the Portuguese court, essentially killed the rumours.

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"Sebastianus Rex, a painting of the King during his early twenties, shortly before the invasion of Morocco."

During his regency, the influence of the Church in Portugal increased dramatically, as churchmen entered various positions of import in the court of the realm, and expanded the activities of the inquisition to many of the lands Portugal under it's sway. Portugal adquired some cities in India and Indonesia around this time, but most importantly, a deal was crafted with the Chinese that saw Macau become part of the growing Portuguese Empire.

Eventually, Sebastian came of age, although his regents continued holding influential posts in his government. Plans were crafted for Sebastian to marry Margot of France or an Austrian Princess, but Sebastian and the patrons of the respective women never came to an agreement, either due to the tense political and religious situation of France at the time or due to the overtures of the pope. Sebastian had also hinted to his uncle and neighbour, Philip of Spain, that he would be interested in marrying Isabella Clara Eugenia, his eldest daughter, or one of the younger daughters of the Spanish monarch, but no agreement was ever settled upon. Historians debate whether this was because of some kind of homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality from Sebastian, or a simple disinterest in such matters of state. Other historians refer to some misgivings about his illnesses, or psycological scars caused by his rape as a young child. Eventually, Sebastian would indeed find a wife, but not one would think of...

But Sebastian's one main obcession remained - to crusade against the muslim infidels, and win victory in a crusade. Sebastian's youthful idealism that turned into fanaticism in his adulthood, for Morocco was in his view the one main thorn on Portuguese honour. While constructing their Empire, the Portuguese had waged many smaller wars against the Moroccans, conquering many port cities but they had never been succesful in wider endeavours - but that was about to change. The Portuguese nobility and bourgeouise had good reasons to support their King's endeavours in the country to their south - mainly for prestige, security, trade and food for Portugal's population. Thus, Sebastian eventually forged a plan when an opportunity raised itself - Sultan Abdullah Mohammed of Morocco requested Portuguese assistance from his uncles, who had amassed an army in Ottoman Algiers and were now invading the country. Thus, Sebastian and the flower of Portugal's nobility embarked on a fleet that numbered in the hundreds, and soon, almost 18000 men landed in Portuguese cities in the Moroccan coast.

In a rather dissapointing turn of events (for Sebastian), he fell ill almost as soon as he landed, and the Duke of Aveiro was thus forced to take command of the expedition. While not very experienced militarily, the young Duke was discovered to a fine logistician and a able listener, and soon, the Portuguese and their Moorish allies dragged Abd Al-Malik and his armies to the coast, where a recovered Sebastian re-invigorated the morale of his armies that handily defeated the Ottoman supported armies of Abd Al-Malik, killing both the pretender and his brother in the process. Sebastian himself was almost killed twice in the battle, but escaped the fighting wounded. It was a resounding Portuguese victory nonetheless, and one that made Sebastian's name rung through every hall in Christendom. A grateful Sultan Abdullah signed a treaty of alliance with Portugal and handed them many ports cities, but most importantly, gave the Portuguese suzerainty over the Gharb and Rif regions of the Portuguese coast, allowing Portugal to expand agricultural production to this new region with many southern portuguese immigrants setting up farms of wheat and many American crops that would serve handily in feeding Portugal - and in the Rif, the security of cities such as Tangiers and Ceuta was finally secured, and with trade with Saadi Morocco blooming, they became the very centers of the Luso-Moroccan trade and the Trans-Saharan trade.

To the surprise of many, Sebastian stayed in his new Moroccan possessions for three years, establishing a temporary capital in Tangiers. There, a mature and changed man finally escaped the shadow of his youth. Sebastian took to Kingship with a new, larger than life confidence, but a sense of wisdom not present before the conquest. Many of the German, Flemish and Italian mercenaries brought to Africa by Sebastian were given land and convinced to stay in Morocco, as were many portuguese soldiers. This policy soon gave results, and the rebellious Rifian tribes soon found a worthy enemy in these crusaders.. Many locals were also encouraged to convert to Christianity, and many did, as there seemed there was no going back to the muslim order supported by the Ottoman Empire. Anyway, the new provinces of the Portuguese Empire had needs of all kinds of people in it's bureaucracies, militaries and government, and many of the locals were given a ticket in as long as they embraced the church.

Perhaps most importantly for Sebastian, was one particular woman who embraced the Church (eventually). A rather unknown sister of Sultan Abdullah by one of his father's other wives, the young muslim Princess and the Christian King became quick companions - something that worried his uncle Henry, who held court in Lisbon during Sebastian's absence. And Cardinal Henry's worries would prove to be right. In the woman whom history records initially as Princess Fatima of Morocco, who would eventually become Maria de Fatima, Queen of Portugal, Sebastian had found a kindred spirit upon whom he could lay down his woes. To Sebastian's close band of friends, Sebastian's closeness with the muslim woman should have been a case of worry, but as in all, the friendship they shared proved stronger than their duty to their faith, and they kept the King's secret, well, a secret.

When Sebastian landed in Lisbon in 1581, he brought many riches from Africa and many of Sultan Abdullah's courtiers and diplomats, and the news of the marriage contract between the King and the Sultan's sister spread through the Kingdom like wildfire. Surely, the King had been bewitched. It was only Queen Maria's public conversion to Christianity and her rather sizeable dowry that allowed for many gifts to be showered on the Portuguese nobility that allowed the Cortes to ratify the marriage, that was consumated shortly afterwards. But there remained a great deal of dissent and anger, both internally and internationally.

Sebastian's uncle, Philip of Spain was amongst the most outraged. Sebastian marrying a infidel princess was a source of great affront on it's own, but Philip had wished for Sebastian to marry his eldest daughter, in the hopes of forcing Portugal to join and finance his holy league. Philip led a diplomatic effort to have the pope nullify the marriage, and the pope would have agreed on it if not for the portuguese royal families visit to Rome later that year - with a heavily pregnant Queen Maria giving birth to a set of twins in the pope's own palace. Forced by Sebastian to become godfather to his first children, for he and his wife would indeed have many more in the future, the pope could not well deligitimize his own god-children, and the fact that Queen Maria's conversion seemed genuine and the increasing amounts of conversions amongst the moslems of Portugal's moroccans domains made it clear that the marriage was having some kind of positive result.

Sebastian and Philip would remain estranged for a long time, but would eventually rebuild their alliance, due to political reasons at the time. Sebastian had curtailed the inquisition, indeed, for it was amongst the inquisition itself that the doubters and "traitors" who had attempted to ruin the King's marriage had found support in, but he would continue a wide array of christianisation efforts in Portugal's colonies overseas, guided by new, better trained and equipped religious orders under the patronage of the Portuguese crown who worked to know and comprehend the populations they were trying to convert, to very succesful degrees. Soon, Christianity was making new breaks in India, Africa and Indonesia, and Macau became a center for the difusion of christianity to other places in China and Empires such as Japan and Korea. Portuguese Bandeirantes moved beyond the line of Tordesillas during his reign, starting the colonization of the Brazilian interior. When the Dutch attempted to usurp and conquer Portuguese colonies in an attempt to increase the Republic's revenues, it backfired immediatelly, as Sebastian moved to support Philip the II and the growing and very powerful Portuguese navy threw themselves like rabid dogs on Dutch shipping and trading.

In Sebastian's reign, the lesser Sunda Islands were conquered by the portuguese, ruled from Flores, Timor and Malacca, this increased base of power allowed the Portuguese to conquer more trading outposts in the Greater Sunda Islands, especially in Sumatra and Java. Portugal established many vassals in the islands, fighting off the Ottoman supported local sultanates with support from the locals. This saw many Indonesian princes convert to Christianity, thus introducing the religion to many places in the region, and increased Portuguese influence immenselly.

Other than that, Sebastian followed a rather neutral and internal policy for the rest of his reign. He was mostly interested in the produces of his Empire, and strongly invested in Portugal itself - becoming the patron of many cities and settlements in the metropolis and overseas, building ports, hospitals, churches and monasteries, roads, forts, universities and trading depots. He was an avid lover of coffee, which quickly became the national beverage during his reign, alongside having a deep taste for the cuisine of the natives of Brazil, which he had been introduced too by the native servants of a courtier. Seing an opportunity to diversefy portuguese agriculture, Sebastian had many Columbian crops introduced to Europe and to a lesser degree Africa and Asia, especially potatoes, who became a peculiar favourite of the Sebastianist royal family.

Many Catholics from the Germanies, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the British isles found refuge and welcome in Portugal during his reign, numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Many of these men and women brought with them new ways of thinking and technology, and they integrated quickly into the portuguese population, greatly boosting the manpower of the Portuguese crown. Sebastian is famous for becoming the first of Portugal's absolute monarchs, starting a period known as the "Sebastianist Autocracy". He would eventually die, surrounded by his wife, many children and grandchildren. He was suceeded by his son, John.

[2] He was the oldest son of Sebastian and his wife, Maria, born in 1584. He was an unpopular successor to the throne, as his mother Maria had been practically disowned from her genealogies while his father was seen as a bewitched heretic, though he himself was a pious Catholic. The rest of Europe had looked on, aghast, at what they saw as a match made in hell. Ascending to the throne, he knew well that his position was insecure. Astute in his political dealings, he established a council and pushed through laws of religious freedom, even going so far as to suggest that morganatic marriages should be more commonplace in royalty. Despite this controversial opinion, he married Margaret of Austria, who was initially betrothed to his cousin Philip III of Spain, causing great tension between the two kings. He and Margaret fell in love over time, and they had sixteen children together. The king and queen were patrons of the arts, founding dozens of schools that focused on languages and arithmetic, and he was an avid hunter and a participant in jousts and tournaments. He preserved the laws for the military that his father had created. He was a king who ruled as well as reigned. He knew the importance of war and a high international profile in staking his claim to be a great warrior-king of Portugal. He successfully continued his father's Moroccan crusade, successfully defeating Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi. In battle he was brave, if impetuous, which led equally to triumph and disaster. He bargained hard over taxation and other issues with interest groups, often by appearing not to bargain at all. He enhanced royal power and concentrated decision-making in a tight personal executive but used a wide range of offices, gifts and his own personal charisma to build up an elective personal affinity among the ranks of the nobility upon whom his reign depended. He died of old age, beloved by his people and deeply mourned.
 
Wait, were potatoes just...not a thing...in Portugal back then? Wild. Potatoes are life. Anyway, did Portugal accept a queen regnant back then? @Reyne
It's a complicated question, but, yes, it would, although any Queen of Portugal would probably have her queenly tightly contested and would probably lose it on various legal grounds, not to matter the Spanish Habsburgs, who OTL waited and are ITL still waiting for the House of Aviz to show the bare amount of weakness to claim the Portuguese throne.

A queen of Portugal would probably need to be lucky enough to have been married to another member of the House, otherwise she is just being passed over. Portugal was one of the first countries in the world to adopt a quasi-nationalistic view of it's monarchy in the sense that women that were married to foreign kings were always pushed outside the inheritance, even if their children could and would claim the portuguese throne.

The only three examples i can remember of the top of my head are the ones of Beatriz, queen of Castille, who was technically heir to the throne of Portugal but the Portuguese Courtes fought off the forces of her husband sent to assure the succession and eventually rallied around John, Grandmaster of the Order of Aviz and the eventual founder of the Aviz dinasty, who was a bastard half-brother of her own father. The second example is that of the OTL squabbles over the throne after the deaths of Sebastian and Henry the I, when despite the clear order of succession being Anthony, Prior of Crato, Catherine of Braganza and then Philip the II, the murky marriage between Anthony's parents and the fact Catherine was a woman allowed Philip the II to rise to the portuguese throne, despite the fact he was the least legitimate of the three. Then there is the first queen of Portugal, Mary I, who was forced to marry her uncle to keep the throne of Portugal inside the House of Braganza.

It's a rather complicated question, really. My final awnser is it could happen, but it'd be a very complicated affair.
 
Kings of France and Navarre
1289-1316: Louis X "The Quarrelsome" (House of Capet)
1316-1356: Jean I "The Posthumous" (House of Capet) [1]
1356-1395: Henri II "The Thunderbolt" (House of Capet) [2]
1395-1407: Philippe V "The Unremarkable" (House of Capet) [3]
1407-1431: Jean II "The Strong" (House of Capet) [4]
1431-1468: Henri III "The Wise" (House of Capet) [5]
1468-1500: Jean III (House of Capet) [6]
1500-1515: François I (House of Capet) [7]
1515-1560: Jeanne I (House of Capet) [8]
1560-1587: Louis XI (House of Capet) [9]
1587-1592: Louis XII "the Brief" (House of Capet) [10]
1592-1639: Marie I (House of Capet) [11]
1639-1651: Henri IV (House of Capet) [12]


[1] Louis X "The Quarrelsome" died in 1316, leaving a four-year-old daughter and a pregnant wife behind. Jean was born in November 1316. The king would sleep soundly in his cradle as his relatives fought for power over him. His mother, Clementina and his great-uncle Charles of Valois had to contend with Jean's regent,his uncle Philippe the Tall, Count of Poitiers.

Unfortunately for them, Philip was well liked and a shrewd statesman, reforming the laws of France and even discontinuing some of the unpopular policies of his brother, Louis. To consolidate his control over the young king, he arranged a marriage between Jean and his eldest daughter, Joan (1308). Because they were first cousins, Philip would get a papal deposition. When he fell ill in 1322, he pushed for the wedding to happen straight away despite the groom only being six. He would die before it could happen.

With Philip's death, Jean needed a new regent. His remaining uncle, Charles de Le Marche took over. During this time, tensions with England were at an all time high despite Jean's aunt Isabella being married to the King of England. In 1325, Jean's great-uncle, Charles of Valois managed to take back the duchy of Aquitaine and regent Charles, declared that King Edward II's French titles were forfeit. It would be in 1327 when King Edward II was disposed would Aquitaine be returned to England in the hands, of Jean's cousin, Edward III, albeit a much reduced territory.

In 1328, Charles also died, leaving Jean as the only male left in the main branch of the House of Capets. Charles of Valois's son Philip would take over as regent. In 1330, at fourteen-years-old Jean would marry his cousin, Joan. She would birth a son in 1331, dying due to childbed fever, leaving Jean a teenage widower with a babe. It was imperative that he married as quickly as he could.

He would marry Bonne of Luxembourg (1315) in 1332. They had eleven children before her death in 1349 of bubonic plague. Despite having several sons, Jean would marry for a third and final time in 1350 to Eleanor of Sicily I1325), they would have three child before he died.

Shortly, after his second marriage, Jean was declared of age and allowed to rule, although he would forever rely on the advice and counsel of Philip of Valois.

However, Jean's relations with England and his cousin Edward would begin to deteriorate with Jean feeling that Aquitaine and the rest of the French lands that were under English control belonged to France. In 1337, Robert III of Artois, who had committed forgery to illegally obtain an intermittence, sought refuge in England. When Edward refused to hand him over, the twenty-one-year old king declared Aquitaine forfeit. In retaliation, Edward III accused Jean of being an imposter, saying that real Jean of France died after five days and a cockoo was placed in his stead. (This rumor has been debunked by modern DNA tests). Edward proclaimed himself the rightful King of France as the sole living grandson of King Philip IV.

King Jean fought alongside his friend and cousin, Philip of Valois who was give the Duchy of Aquitaine. The Battle of Crécy in 1546 would be a disaster for the French army with Philip injured and Jean barely escaping with his life. It was a catastrophe for the French and would feature the loss of Calais.

Three years later, Queen Bonne would die of the plague which would destroy one third of the population. It was an tragedy. Jean's third wedding was a somber event with the continued hostilities with England, the recovery from the plague and the death of Jean's friend Philip.

In 1555, the war with England would restart and Jean would lead his troops in Battle of Poitiers where in a miraculous moment, he manged to subdue and capture Edward, the Black Prince. Unfortunately, Jean would not have long to gloat for a year later, he would die of dysentery. His son, Henri, would take care of the negotiations with England.

[2] The second son of Jean the I, Henri was made Duke of Orleans at birth, for his father intended for him to be the strong right hand of his elder brother, Phillipe, when he came of age. Thus, Henri was given a thorough martial education, although the boy soon proved himself far too intelligent and talented to be limited to the sword and lance. Being given many tutors from places as close as Normandy and Languedoc, and as far as Bohemia and the Eastern Roman Empire, both Henri and his brothers, Phillipe, Charles and Hercules were brought in a growing cosmopolitan Paris, under the strict but benevolent watch of their father.

Thankfully for King Jean, his second son was growing to pay dividends - at the bare age of twelve, the young Henri was already defeating boys four and five years older in the tiltyard, and stayed at the side of his tutor, the Constable of France, during various military meetings of importance. As as young Knight and Duke, Henri would gain his spurs during the battles of Crecy and would fight in more battles, featuring in the defense of Calais where he led a small army that proved a great thorn for the English. He would make several friends at this stage, such as the Duke of Burgundy, the Count of Alençon and many others.

He would retire to Orleans then, where the Young Duke took upon himself the duty of ruling. His close watch, support for the artisans of the Duchy and his heavy involvement in the local economy made him a very beloved ruler, as Henri attracted Jewish, German and Italian glass-makers and Greek and Sicilian silk-weavers. Thus, Orleans became a famous commercial center, closely linked to both the Aquitaine and Champagne trade routes, the city becoming famous for it's glass and becoming the first and major center of what would come to be known as "Capetian Silk".

When the second war of King Jean's reign with England started, Henri faced a early loss which blackened his heart - his brother, leading a charge of French infantry-men during a battle against the Prince of Wales, was shot down by English Longbowmen. The fall of the Dauphin's standard almost broke the French army, but Henri, raging, took up the Orleans and Dauphine standards - and charged straight into the English lines, The sight of the Duke of Orleans, surrounded by no more than twenty retainers, charging alone at the thousand Englishmen raised the spirits of his army, who followed the new Crown Prince into the battle. The Battle of Puymartin is the first, and perhaps most famous victory of Henri.

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The heavy defeat handed to the Black Prince forced him to retreat North, where the English fell into the clutches of the army led by King Jean and Phillipe of Valois. His army tired and restless, Henri took upon himself to siege every single English occupied castle in Aquitaine, withdrawing the English poison root and stem. Just as he had finished the pacification of Aquitaine, and with his army reinforced by the locals, the news of the death of his father reached him. After a hasty trip to Reims, Henri was crowned, promising on God and France to forever expel the English from the continent. It was a promise Henri would make due on.

With Edward of Wales in his hands, the English were fighting with one hand behind their backs - Edward the III did not wish to risk his eldest and most favoured son, who was a captive in Paris, even if he was treated well and the French seemed to mostly ignore him, Henri was far too focused on his goal. Despite Edward calling for truces several times, Henri led his armies and a myriad of Free Companies northwards, intent on ending the Plantagenet stain on Capetian France. The battle of Hainaut (1358) and the Siege of Calais (1359) were both French victories, with Henri changing many of the tactics used by the French armies in the face of English innovations, such as the Longbow. The support of the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret, Countess of Flanders, proved to be the tipping point that would see the English Crown finally expelled from France. The following Treaty of Chartres saw Edward the III renounce all of his rights to French territorry, including Calais and Aquitaine, in return for his son, who would be sent on a ship to England with the returning English diplomats.

Victory cemented Henri upon his throne - the young royal was, perhaps, the most powerful King of France since Louis IX, and his influence was felt everywhere. In some places, Henri was almost revered as a warrior Saint. But Henri proved to not only be a warrior. With the Black Plague still making making periodic returns, taking with it another one of Henri's brothers, Charles Duke of Berry, Henri turned to the sickness with the same ferocity he had faced the English. He and his advisors reinforced French hospitals, founding many in the many major municipalities of France, and they also correctly identified rats and such other vermin as the bringers of the plague, and the French people followed Henri's adoption of cats as pets - the Kingdom of France become henceforth known as the "Kingdom of Cats", for cats were found in every street of Paris during Henri's reign.

The death of so many serfs, peasants and nobles left a lot of land in the hands of the crown - and Henri was anything if not a greedy land grabber. Aquitaine was re-bought from the Valois, who were in deep crisis due to some shady investments, alongside the County of Anjou but a few years later. The Angevin Kings of Naples, who faced revolts in Provence, also sold the full rights to Provence to Henri in 1374, with the new French professional army, modeled and using as a base the many Free Companies that had sprouted in Gascony, Normandy and Burgundy during the English wars, was one of the most ferocious and effective armies in Europe at the time. His brother Hercules would receive the County of Nice as appanage after the seizure, alongside his other title of Count of Montpensier.

The death of the last Burgundian Duke, Phillipe the I, a great friend of Henri, would also see the Duchy of Burgundy, the Counties of Boulogne and Auvergne, reunited with the French Crown. Deep in grief for the death of his friend, the wifeless King was soon approached by Phillipe's widow, Margaret of Flanders. She too, needed a new husband, for she was heirless, and the marriage would be advantageous for them both. Both young and fertile, the young couple would grow to love each other. Margaret of Flanders brought along many rich lordships, such as Flanders, Rethel, Nevers, Artois and the County of Burgundy, in the Holy Roman Empire. It was the perfect marriage, and the couple soon grew to love each other deeply. As said before, Margaret would prove a dutiful wife and an excellent queen. She birthed the King no more than 11 healthy children at birth.

With so many lands in the hands of the monarchy, Henri's power was almost absolute. He cemented French laws, creating new taxes, reforming and modernizing old legal systems, reformed the army, as mentioned before, encourage commerce and would further increase the royal domain by seizing the lands of the House of Hainault, taking Hainaut for himself and delivering the County of Zeeland to his wife. He would make his brother Hercules, whom he trusted deeply, alongside his titles of Montpensier and Nice, Duke of Holland as well. With the royal coffers full, Henri would become famous for the love he and his wife shared of palace-building, with Henri building almost twenty palaces during his reign, many of which are tourist attractions today.

Deeply beloved, and surrounded by allies, due to the fact his army of sisters was married off to many European Princes and French nobles, a loyal and stateswoman of a wife and a large brood of children, Henri took to feasting and drinking heavily in his later years. He and his wife, would, literally, grow fat and old together, but the aged King would quickly become an alcoholic. While wintering in Navarre, Henri would catch a cold after walking in the Pyrenean snows while riding to his rural residence where his wife was staying. The simple cold, however, would be enough to topple a great King. Henri died in 1395, being succeeded by his son Philippe.

[3] Named for both his late uncle and his father's friend, Philippe was born in 1371. It was hard for Philippe growing up as he stood in the shadows of his grandfather and father. His grandfather had been born a king and against all odd lived and ruled for forty years and single-handedly saved the depleted main branch the Capet dynasty. Meanwhile his father had manged to successfully expel the English and the plague from his lands.

Both were figures of legends, leaving Philippe rather small in comparison. Because of this he had a massive inferiority complex with traces of paranoia.

In 1385, he would marry Isabeau of Bavaria. The marriage was suggested to make an alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage at first seemed to blossoming into a love match. However, the early death of their son, Louis drove a wedge between the two. It would slowly get worse when Isabeau's next two children would die in the cradle.

They seemed to have reconciled in 1382, when their next son, also called Louis, was born. The couple became even closer when in 1495, when Henri died and Philippe would become king in a join coronation with his wife.

However, Isabeau proved herself an unpopular queen unlike her much beloved predecessor (who had retired to her native Flanders). She was haughty, quarrelsome and a spendthrift. There were also rumors circulating that she was unfaithful.

Although his wife had given him four more children, Philippe would distant himself from his wife, becoming distrustful of her. Things would come to a head when in 1401, their son, Louis died before his ninth birthday. This would be the tipping point. In June 1401, Isabeau would miscarry her baby (speculated to be because the stress she was under,although others wonder if there was a darker reason such as her husband beating her). In August, she would be arrested on the charges of adultery. If a queen being arrested wasn't scandalous enough, the king's distant cousin, Jean of Valois was accused of being her lover. Both were held in prison until their trial.

It was largely a farce of trial with half the witnesses being enemies of either the Duke of Valois or the queen and the other half spoke only hearsay. Unfortunately, the judges declared the Duke and the Queen guilty above the protests of their family.

Philippe would commute their punishment to life imprisonment despite being well in his rights to execute them both. Unfortunately, Jean would die just two years later of bad treatment at the hands of his jailers.

In 1407, Philipee would be found stabbed in his bed, with the words JUSTICE crudely carved in his forehead. His brother, Jean, would succeed him.

[4] Jean the II was the younger brother of Phillipe the V, having been given the title of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine when he reached his majority, becoming an extremely influential figure in the reigns of his late father and brother. Known for his violent character and his enormous size (Jean was often compared to the Titans of Hellenic Myths), the young Duke of Anjou was promised at birth to Phillipa Plantagenet, daughter of Edward the IV (Edward the Black Prince)

Jean's first years as ruler of his duchy were ... special, in a way. Anjou had been for decades now one of the centers of the Anglo-French conflicts, but with the English exiled from the continent, it was prime time, at least in Jean's eyes, to renew Anjou and Maine as centers of French Chivalry and commerce, and this he did so. Tourneys, fairs and meeles became the glamour of Anjou during these times, and the immigration of Jews and various other french ethnicities to the land proved useful in making Anjou grow. It was during these times that Jean travelled to England to fetch his bride - despite English attempts at breaking the marriage, due to the fact that both of her brothers, Edward and Richard, were still childless, his arrival in London broke the reverie. Not much is known of whatever negotiations happened during Jean's two-month stay in England, but he did return to France with with the "Fair Maid of Kent".

King Jean has always been described as a zealous christian, due to his support for the crusader movements in the Balkans and Anatolia, and his attacks on the many Kingdoms and Emirates of North Africa, but he should also be remembered as a patron and protector of the Jewish people. Many jews worked in the growing bureaucracy and administration of France during this period, and Jean's head of health both as Duke and as King was a jew, whom he hired after Phillipa miscarried their first child. Of the six next children the couple would have, all would be taken to term.

Jean rose to the throne over his two nieces - whom he would raise and adopt at his own. Extremely furious at the way his brother died, Jean would hunt down the partisans of Isabeau of Bavaria, conducting a purge of much of the nobility. The House of Valois would survive through the mercy of Constance Capet, the young Countess of Angouleme and Valois, who protected her husband and children from the fury of her brother.

Afterwards, Jean's reign was mostly quiet, other than some interventions and support for Crusader missions in the Balkans and North Africa. Jean's Meditteranean navy would conquer the cities of Algiers and Bone, whom the young French army would defend. For this, Jean and all future King's of France would gain the title of his Most Christian majesty. He died in 1431, being succeeded by his eldest son, Henri.

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[5] Born in 1404, Henri was the first child born after the miscarriage, to Jean and Phillipa Plantagenet and although the parents were over the moon to have their first child in their arms, they were distressed at the birth defect which affected Henri, his left leg was missing from above the knee, apart from this his health was perfect.
Jean's Jewish head of health, stated that this was not a curse but a test from God and as Henri grew, his parents and tutors were able to see that, he was able to compensate his missing limb, by strengthening his upper body, as well as studying hard.
One of his Jewish tutors was also able to create a saddle that balanced him on the horse, so he was still able to train as much as his brother(s), uncles and cousins.

By the age of 16, in 1420, Henri was serving his father in the treasury as well as attending diplomatic meetings, during one such meeting his father and Henri would arrange the marriage of Henri to his cousin, Marie of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (1381–1433) and Mary of France (1380-1436), herself daughter of Henri II and Margaret of Flanders, sister of Philippe and Jean.

The marriage would take place in 1426 and was a well attended event, with royalty from around Europe, followed by a tense bedding ceremony, which went without a problem.
The marriage would be a happy one and lead to the birth of many healthy children.

Like his father and grandfather, Henri, would arrange marriages to European Monarchs, forming stronger alliances, better trading deals and saw a long period of peace.

Internally, following years of working in the treasury, Henri, was able keep the royal purse ever growing, allowing him to finance projects, such as new cathedrals, one of which would be dedicated to his father, Jean the Most Christian Majesty, with Pope Eugene IV, beginning the process of awarding Jean a sainthood.
Not only were his policies beneficial to the nobility but they also brought great economic prosperity to his subjects, greatly increasing the population.
During the conclave of 1447, there were talks of new policies being brought in to support Christian monarchs to expel all Jews from their country, French cardinals were ordered by Henri to not vote for these policies, this would lead to French Cardinal, Guillaume d'Estouteville being voted in at the election, becoming Pope John XXIII, in honour of Henri’s father, Jean.

One of the most major acts of his rule was to bring about a constitution as at this point in French history, they lacked a formal constitution; the regime essentially relied on custom. The constitution was discussed by Henri, the high ranking nobles and the senior members from the Parliament of Paris.
The constitution, cemented the law of male succession only and the absolute monarchy role as God’s chosen voice in France, second only to the Pope.
Catholicism would be the state religion and Catholic Churches would be separate from taxes. Other religions would be tolerated in France as long as they are peaceful.

His death in 1468 aged 64 years old, would be felt heavily in his home nation and across Europe as his many letters of advice to monarchs had helped them deal with internal financial and constitutional crises.
He was succeeded by his son Jean.


[6] Born in 1431, he was the firstborn son of Henri II and Marie. He was born with all his limbs, but without his voice. Despite this, he was a very intelligent boy who was passionate about literature and the theater. He was trained from his childhood to one day be king, and he took to the job with aplomb. Soon he was attending state meetings alongside his father, and even was the one behind the idea of making peace with the house of Valois. His disinterest in marrying or siring children exasperated his advisors, but since he had many legitimate nephews, Jean ignored them the same way he ignored all potential betrothal contracts. He founded a dozen schools and wrote many books under his own name, and was a big fan of attending plays, being for his whole life a patron of the arts. He also promoted religious tolerance, but this was an unpopular policy with his Christian nobility. His court festivals, building projects and tapestries were all known for their rich colors, and he spent almost ruinous sums on them. But this accomplished his aim of bolstering royal prestige through lavish cultural display, and his reign is known today for the artistic flourishing simulated by his patronage as well as the frequent hosting of Europe's leading artists and writers. He also rewrote the constitution by his father, abolishing the law of only male succession in favor of male-preference primogeniture, and forced the church to pay taxes. He died after drinking some poisoned wine, having died single and childless.

[7] François of Anjou was born in 1469, the first born son of Louis, Duke of Anjou and Beatrice of Savoy. His father died when he was four years old and he raised by his mother and his older sister. He married Ippolita Viscounti, daughter of the Duke of Milian, in 1485. It was not a grand match, but one that brought coin and a link to a dynastic house of Italy. They would have nine children.

After the death of King Henri in 1500, François and his wife would be crowned in a grand ceremony. The new king would restlessly search for the man who had poisoned his uncle, determined to gain justice to his uncle. To his anger, he found out that the culprit was the Count of Bar, an old friend of his. Angered at such a personal betrayal, he had the man and his hired assassin boiled alive in oil as was the customary punishment in those days for poisoners.

For the next fifteen years, François was determined to bring the culture of France to new heights, using his wife's Italian connection to invite all sorts of artists. Upon hearing of Enrique of Castile's patronizing exploration of the new world, the king sponsored several explorers.

The king was a lover of fine food, fine wine and fine women. Unfortunetly, this would soon wear his body out. King François would die of gout in 1515, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Jeanne.

[8] Jeanne, born in 1486 was the oldest of eight daughters of François and Ippolita, her sole brother having died in his adolescence. Thanks to her grand-uncle, Jean III, whom she was named after, she was able to succeed to the throne. She was considered to be a graceful beauty, with a vivacious and lively personality and an affable nature. She regularly hosted masques and tournaments that thoroughly dazzled her contemporaries at her lavish court, and her patronage of the arts made a significant contribution to French culture. She was determined to show that she, as a woman ruling France, could maintain the prestige and magnificence established by her predecessors. However, she never married. She knew that marriage meant she had to lose power to her husband, and whichever man she selected could provoke political instability or even insurrection. Instead, she had a series of short-term favorites at court. Though her single status led to accusations of irresponsibility, her silence with regards to such matters, however, strengthened her own political security: she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup. She performed her ceremonial role as queen in strict accordance with formal court etiquette, and regularly and punctually fulfilled all representational duties that the court life demanded of her. She was also an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy through her philanthropy, which made her very popular among the public her entire life as queen. Though she followed a largely defensive foreign policy, her reign raised France's status abroad. Under Jeanne, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty. She knew that a monarch ruled by popular consent, and therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth. She passed away due to illness, single and childless, but surrounded by dozens of her sisters' children and grandchildren.


[9} Born Monsieur le Prince, Louis was from birth the eldest of the Blood Princes and the highest of France's peers, holding titles such as the Duchy of Touraine, the Counties of Angouleme, Vexin, Forez, Perche and Boulougne. Being raised to a senior most position within French society and the class elites, Louis was given an extensive education of matters of war and statescraft. He was born after the death of his father, the previous Duke, to Princess Contansce Zephyrine of France, second eldest of King François' brood of girls. Thus, he was also raised in the belief that he might be heir to the French throne one day, a destination, that did come to prove itself true in the future.

Louis' adulthood was marked by a series of family compacts that the political war he would wage with his royal aunt when securing his majority unfold - in essence, Jeanne's refusal to name him successor, and her efforts to tamper with his efforts to succeed to the Duchy of Luxembourg, alongside Jeanne's refusal to grant him his desired titles of Governorship over French Flanders. Louis' would still manage to win over the widowed Agnes of Luxembourg as his wife - bringing the Duchy of Luxembourg, the County of Namur and the Duchy of Limburg into his possessions. This vast increase of land and Louis' exploits in the Netherlands made him an enemy of various of his aunt's favourites, and of his aunt herself, but Louis' purse alongside his savy knowledge of french politics saved his skin.

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Jeanne eventually gave away, and Louis and Agnes became King and Queen of France. The first decrees of Louis' reign where changing the rules of succession in France to Salic law, something that greatly pleased the Princes of the Blood. Had Louis' elder aunt, Margarite, had children, the throne of France would have passed outside the House of Capet for the first time in centuries, right onto the hands of the von Luxembourgs who ruled in Spain, or if Louis himself had never been born into the House that had taken the Luxembourgian lands in Central Europe, the von Habsburgs. It was a tense situation, none so because Louis derived legitimacy from his mother over his aunts, but Louis' rank as first prince of the blood made the situation clearer.

Luxembourgian (Technically, the House of Luxembourg-Avis) had ruled the whole of the Iberian Peninsula for two generations now, with the Kingdoms having been unified during the reigns of Manuel the I of all Spanish realms, but Spain, despite growing into the first colonial Empire, with vast conquests in America and many outspots in Africa, Arabia and India, had kept itself outside of continental affairs for some while now, too busy with it's overseas exploits and it's drive into Morocco. France and Spain had mostly kept the peace, other than a few disagreements here and there. But Louis would decidedly draw France into Spain's sights - he, seeing monarchs such as the English and Spanish Kings enriching themselves, sent vast fleets of exploration to the new world, setting up colonies firstly in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where Breton (The Bretons were rather autonomous vassals of the French Kings, but still French nonetheless) and Norman fishermen were making a fortune, establishing contancts with the natives and forming settlements in Acadie (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) but further south, other even more successful colonies were formed, eventually forming two sister colonies in the southern tip of Africa and South America. Taking inspirations from the Franks, the two forming colonies would be called Neustrie-Neuve (New Neustria, OTL La Plata) and Nouvelle Austrasie (New Austrasia, OTL Cape-colony).

Fascinated by the so called Columbian exchange, France was one of the first country to massively import American crops, which first became a delicacy but then a highly sought product that could easily supplement the volatile french diet. The sudden growth in population caused by this ammelioration of France's health standards during Louis' reign would create massive movements towards France's colonies but allow France the manpower to conquer more Algerian coastal cities and make war in Germany and Spain at the same time. France would annex the Duchy of Brabant and tribute from the Prince-Bisphoric of Liege during this time, alongside recognition of Lorraine as a French Peerage and thus, vassal. In Spain, the new King was not so successful, as he lost a few border towns with Spain and almost lost Navarre twice, but France's highly experienced army pulled through for the Kingdom. Louis dreamnt of forming a universalist monarchy that would cover the whole of Europe eventually.

He, clearly, did not succeed in all his goals. He died aged and old, surrounded by his various children. He was succeeded by his son Louis.

[10] Louis, the twelfth of his name was already a man in his sixties, sick with goat so it was almost certain he would not last long. Sometimes, he would be called the placeholder king, although none would dare say it to his face, as he had a ferocious temper. In the defense of Louis, he had spent must of his time as his father's heir, running his various lands with great skill. However, in just two years of his reign, he was already bedridden, thrusting his heir in the position of regent.

In 1592, he would finally pass on, allowing his daughter, Marie to succeed him.

[11] Marie was the only living child of Louis XII, her siblings all having died in infancy. She was trained to be queen from a young age and accepted as heir, since there had been a successful predecessor. Like Jeanne I, she also never married, being content with the possibility of being succeeded by her cousins or their children. However, unlike her ancestress she was not considered to be charming or feminine, and was physically unattractive, having suffered smallpox as a child. She was unyielding and authoritarian in her rule, unable to forgive or forget any slight made against her, with a worse temper than her father ever had. She maintained most of the ministers of her father, and exiled her mother from court after discovering that she was having an affair with one of Marie's servants. She was careful never to favor anybody over anyone else, knowing what happened if people thought the monarch was being monopolized. She ruled by council, and her mother was a key figure, although Marie only occasionally took her advice. She continued the tradition of importing American crops, and considered a colonial venture into Africa, but ultimately was talked out of that. She won a war against Germany and Spain, who wished to reclaim Brabant and Lorraine, and negotiated the purchase of French slaves afterwards. There is no evidence that she had expressed any romantic or sexual interest in anybody, despite contemporary speculations of the queen perhaps being a lesbian. She shared her father's love of the virginals, which had been one of her first instruments, and in her free time she often composed music. In the sphere of women's fashion, Marie introduced the wearing of thin black veils that fell in waves across the face. France emerged as the leading European power during her reign, and warfare had defined her foreign policy. She passed away of what is now known to be diabetes, but then was thought to be poison.

[12] Henri IV was the nephew of Louis XII, having been born as the oldest son of younger brother Charles in 1575. As a result, when Marie died in 1639 with Marie refusing to marry, Henri IV would become King at the age of 64, being already an elderly man. However, Henri IV, despite expectations that his reign would be a short one as a placeholder for one of his seven children with Sophia, Princess of Denmark, would prove to be a surprisingly competent and effective ruler, reigning for over a decade before his death in 1651 with his reign being largely a continuation of Marie's reign in its policies, even if Henri would prove to be more personable than his predecessor. When Henri IV died in 1651, he would be succeeded by __________________.
 
Was Sebastian interfered with as a child?
There isn't absolute certainty, of course, but recently modern historians have pointed to the fact that the King somehow contracted gonorrhea at the age of 9, and the fact that his head tutor had turned blind of one eye (A tell tale sign of someone who had gonorrhea) shortly before he was put in charge of Sebastian's Household. Then there was the discovered letter of a valet of Sebastian to his grandmother Catherine that the Jesuit Luis da Câmara had "discovered the physical nature of the King and would soon take control of his mind". Catherine immediately fired Câmara upon receiving this letter, despite the fact that Câmara was a member of the Nationalist party at court, and had been made Sebastian's tutor/confessor over Catherine's candidates. The fact that the future Henri I, who was Catherine's co-regent allowed his agent to be fired so easily is another tell tale sign that something went very wrong.

Anyhow I think that this is the most probable awnser to Sebastian's strange medical history, which Portuguese historians have always refused to study in depth and have mostly shoved down the rug.
 

Deleted member 147978

Kings of France and Navarre
1289 - 1316: Louis X "The Quarrelsome" (House of Capet)
1316 - 1356: Jean I "The Posthumous" (House of Capet) [1]
1356 - 1395: Henri II "The Thunderbolt" (House of Capet) [2]
1395 - 1407: Philippe V "The Unremarkable" (House of Capet) [3]
1407 - 1431: Jean II "The Strong" (House of Capet) [4]
1431 - 1468: Henri III "The Wise" (House of Capet) [5]
1468 - 1500: Jean III (House of Capet) [6]
1500 - 1515: François I (House of Capet) [7]
1515 - 1560: Jeanne I (House of Capet) [8]
1560 - 1587: Louis XI (House of Capet) [9]
1587 - 1592: Louis XII "the Brief" (House of Capet) [10]
1592 - 1639: Marie I (House of Capet) [11]
1639 - 1651: Henri IV (House of Capet) [12]
1651 - 1702: Jean Philippe "the Philosopher" (House of Capet) [13]


[13] Jean Philippe had an interest in philosophy and the classics during his childhood. During his tenure as the Dauphin, he began collecting the works of Greco-Roman philosophers of ancient and late antiquity.

Upon his ascension as King of France, he took it upon himself to build his personal Chateau at Versailles. There, he hosted banquets and debates with the great philosophers by the later half of the 17th Century.

Heavily distracted by his deep esoteric interest, he left the governance of the realm to his brothers. However he married Anne Claudia, a daughter of Honore V Auguste, Prince of Monaco for whom he was a great friend and fellow philosopher as well. Jean Philippe and Anne Claudia only had a son and daughter in their respectable marriage.

The King would pass away peacefully in his Chateau at Versailles in 1702, whom his only son and heir succeed him as __________________.
 
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Deleted member 147978

Kings of France and Navarre
1289-1316: Louis X "The Quarrelsome" (House of Capet)
1316-1356: Jean I "The Posthumous" (House of Capet) [1]
1356-1395: Henri II "The Thunderbolt" (House of Capet) [2]
1395-1407: Philippe V "The Unremarkable" (House of Capet) [3]
1407-1431: Jean II "The Strong" (House of Capet) [4]
1431-1468: Henri III "The Wise" (House of Capet) [5]
1468-1500: Jean III (House of Capet) [6]
1500-1515: François I (House of Capet) [7]
1515-1560: Jeanne I (House of Capet) [8]
1560-1587: Louis XI (House of Capet) [9]
1587-1592: Louis XII "the Brief" (House of Capet) [10]
1592-1639: Marie I (House of Capet) [11]
1639-1651: Henri IV (House of Capet) [12]
1651-1660: War of the Seven Daughters


[1] Louis X "The Quarrelsome" died in 1316, leaving a four-year-old daughter and a pregnant wife behind. Jean was born in November 1316. The king would sleep soundly in his cradle as his relatives fought for power over him. His mother, Clementina and his great-uncle Charles of Valois had to contend with Jean's regent,his uncle Philippe the Tall, Count of Poitiers.

Unfortunately for them, Philip was well liked and a shrewd statesman, reforming the laws of France and even discontinuing some of the unpopular policies of his brother, Louis. To consolidate his control over the young king, he arranged a marriage between Jean and his eldest daughter, Joan (1308). Because they were first cousins, Philip would get a papal deposition. When he fell ill in 1322, he pushed for the wedding to happen straight away despite the groom only being six. He would die before it could happen.

With Philip's death, Jean needed a new regent. His remaining uncle, Charles de Le Marche took over. During this time, tensions with England were at an all time high despite Jean's aunt Isabella being married to the King of England. In 1325, Jean's great-uncle, Charles of Valois managed to take back the duchy of Aquitaine and regent Charles, declared that King Edward II's French titles were forfeit. It would be in 1327 when King Edward II was disposed would Aquitaine be returned to England in the hands, of Jean's cousin, Edward III, albeit a much reduced territory.

In 1328, Charles also died, leaving Jean as the only male left in the main branch of the House of Capets. Charles of Valois's son Philip would take over as regent. In 1330, at fourteen-years-old Jean would marry his cousin, Joan. She would birth a son in 1331, dying due to childbed fever, leaving Jean a teenage widower with a babe. It was imperative that he married as quickly as he could.

He would marry Bonne of Luxembourg (1315) in 1332. They had eleven children before her death in 1349 of bubonic plague. Despite having several sons, Jean would marry for a third and final time in 1350 to Eleanor of Sicily I1325), they would have three child before he died.

Shortly, after his second marriage, Jean was declared of age and allowed to rule, although he would forever rely on the advice and counsel of Philip of Valois.

However, Jean's relations with England and his cousin Edward would begin to deteriorate with Jean feeling that Aquitaine and the rest of the French lands that were under English control belonged to France. In 1337, Robert III of Artois, who had committed forgery to illegally obtain an intermittence, sought refuge in England. When Edward refused to hand him over, the twenty-one-year old king declared Aquitaine forfeit. In retaliation, Edward III accused Jean of being an imposter, saying that real Jean of France died after five days and a cockoo was placed in his stead. (This rumor has been debunked by modern DNA tests). Edward proclaimed himself the rightful King of France as the sole living grandson of King Philip IV.

King Jean fought alongside his friend and cousin, Philip of Valois who was give the Duchy of Aquitaine. The Battle of Crécy in 1546 would be a disaster for the French army with Philip injured and Jean barely escaping with his life. It was a catastrophe for the French and would feature the loss of Calais.

Three years later, Queen Bonne would die of the plague which would destroy one third of the population. It was an tragedy. Jean's third wedding was a somber event with the continued hostilities with England, the recovery from the plague and the death of Jean's friend Philip.

In 1555, the war with England would restart and Jean would lead his troops in Battle of Poitiers where in a miraculous moment, he manged to subdue and capture Edward, the Black Prince. Unfortunately, Jean would not have long to gloat for a year later, he would die of dysentery. His son, Henri, would take care of the negotiations with England.

[2] The second son of Jean the I, Henri was made Duke of Orleans at birth, for his father intended for him to be the strong right hand of his elder brother, Phillipe, when he came of age. Thus, Henri was given a thorough martial education, although the boy soon proved himself far too intelligent and talented to be limited to the sword and lance. Being given many tutors from places as close as Normandy and Languedoc, and as far as Bohemia and the Eastern Roman Empire, both Henri and his brothers, Phillipe, Charles and Hercules were brought in a growing cosmopolitan Paris, under the strict but benevolent watch of their father.

Thankfully for King Jean, his second son was growing to pay dividends - at the bare age of twelve, the young Henri was already defeating boys four and five years older in the tiltyard, and stayed at the side of his tutor, the Constable of France, during various military meetings of importance. As as young Knight and Duke, Henri would gain his spurs during the battles of Crecy and would fight in more battles, featuring in the defense of Calais where he led a small army that proved a great thorn for the English. He would make several friends at this stage, such as the Duke of Burgundy, the Count of Alençon and many others.

He would retire to Orleans then, where the Young Duke took upon himself the duty of ruling. His close watch, support for the artisans of the Duchy and his heavy involvement in the local economy made him a very beloved ruler, as Henri attracted Jewish, German and Italian glass-makers and Greek and Sicilian silk-weavers. Thus, Orleans became a famous commercial center, closely linked to both the Aquitaine and Champagne trade routes, the city becoming famous for it's glass and becoming the first and major center of what would come to be known as "Capetian Silk".

When the second war of King Jean's reign with England started, Henri faced a early loss which blackened his heart - his brother, leading a charge of French infantry-men during a battle against the Prince of Wales, was shot down by English Longbowmen. The fall of the Dauphin's standard almost broke the French army, but Henri, raging, took up the Orleans and Dauphine standards - and charged straight into the English lines, The sight of the Duke of Orleans, surrounded by no more than twenty retainers, charging alone at the thousand Englishmen raised the spirits of his army, who followed the new Crown Prince into the battle. The Battle of Puymartin is the first, and perhaps most famous victory of Henri.

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The heavy defeat handed to the Black Prince forced him to retreat North, where the English fell into the clutches of the army led by King Jean and Phillipe of Valois. His army tired and restless, Henri took upon himself to siege every single English occupied castle in Aquitaine, withdrawing the English poison root and stem. Just as he had finished the pacification of Aquitaine, and with his army reinforced by the locals, the news of the death of his father reached him. After a hasty trip to Reims, Henri was crowned, promising on God and France to forever expel the English from the continent. It was a promise Henri would make due on.

With Edward of Wales in his hands, the English were fighting with one hand behind their backs - Edward the III did not wish to risk his eldest and most favoured son, who was a captive in Paris, even if he was treated well and the French seemed to mostly ignore him, Henri was far too focused on his goal. Despite Edward calling for truces several times, Henri led his armies and a myriad of Free Companies northwards, intent on ending the Plantagenet stain on Capetian France. The battle of Hainaut (1358) and the Siege of Calais (1359) were both French victories, with Henri changing many of the tactics used by the French armies in the face of English innovations, such as the Longbow. The support of the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret, Countess of Flanders, proved to be the tipping point that would see the English Crown finally expelled from France. The following Treaty of Chartres saw Edward the III renounce all of his rights to French territorry, including Calais and Aquitaine, in return for his son, who would be sent on a ship to England with the returning English diplomats.

Victory cemented Henri upon his throne - the young royal was, perhaps, the most powerful King of France since Louis IX, and his influence was felt everywhere. In some places, Henri was almost revered as a warrior Saint. But Henri proved to not only be a warrior. With the Black Plague still making making periodic returns, taking with it another one of Henri's brothers, Charles Duke of Berry, Henri turned to the sickness with the same ferocity he had faced the English. He and his advisors reinforced French hospitals, founding many in the many major municipalities of France, and they also correctly identified rats and such other vermin as the bringers of the plague, and the French people followed Henri's adoption of cats as pets - the Kingdom of France become henceforth known as the "Kingdom of Cats", for cats were found in every street of Paris during Henri's reign.

The death of so many serfs, peasants and nobles left a lot of land in the hands of the crown - and Henri was anything if not a greedy land grabber. Aquitaine was re-bought from the Valois, who were in deep crisis due to some shady investments, alongside the County of Anjou but a few years later. The Angevin Kings of Naples, who faced revolts in Provence, also sold the full rights to Provence to Henri in 1374, with the new French professional army, modeled and using as a base the many Free Companies that had sprouted in Gascony, Normandy and Burgundy during the English wars, was one of the most ferocious and effective armies in Europe at the time. His brother Hercules would receive the County of Nice as appanage after the seizure, alongside his other title of Count of Montpensier.

The death of the last Burgundian Duke, Phillipe the I, a great friend of Henri, would also see the Duchy of Burgundy, the Counties of Boulogne and Auvergne, reunited with the French Crown. Deep in grief for the death of his friend, the wifeless King was soon approached by Phillipe's widow, Margaret of Flanders. She too, needed a new husband, for she was heirless, and the marriage would be advantageous for them both. Both young and fertile, the young couple would grow to love each other. Margaret of Flanders brought along many rich lordships, such as Flanders, Rethel, Nevers, Artois and the County of Burgundy, in the Holy Roman Empire. It was the perfect marriage, and the couple soon grew to love each other deeply. As said before, Margaret would prove a dutiful wife and an excellent queen. She birthed the King no more than 11 healthy children at birth.

With so many lands in the hands of the monarchy, Henri's power was almost absolute. He cemented French laws, creating new taxes, reforming and modernizing old legal systems, reformed the army, as mentioned before, encourage commerce and would further increase the royal domain by seizing the lands of the House of Hainault, taking Hainaut for himself and delivering the County of Zeeland to his wife. He would make his brother Hercules, whom he trusted deeply, alongside his titles of Montpensier and Nice, Duke of Holland as well. With the royal coffers full, Henri would become famous for the love he and his wife shared of palace-building, with Henri building almost twenty palaces during his reign, many of which are tourist attractions today.

Deeply beloved, and surrounded by allies, due to the fact his army of sisters was married off to many European Princes and French nobles, a loyal and stateswoman of a wife and a large brood of children, Henri took to feasting and drinking heavily in his later years. He and his wife, would, literally, grow fat and old together, but the aged King would quickly become an alcoholic. While wintering in Navarre, Henri would catch a cold after walking in the Pyrenean snows while riding to his rural residence where his wife was staying. The simple cold, however, would be enough to topple a great King. Henri died in 1395, being succeeded by his son Philippe.

[3] Named for both his late uncle and his father's friend, Philippe was born in 1371. It was hard for Philippe growing up as he stood in the shadows of his grandfather and father. His grandfather had been born a king and against all odd lived and ruled for forty years and single-handedly saved the depleted main branch the Capet dynasty. Meanwhile his father had manged to successfully expel the English and the plague from his lands.

Both were figures of legends, leaving Philippe rather small in comparison. Because of this he had a massive inferiority complex with traces of paranoia.

In 1385, he would marry Isabeau of Bavaria. The marriage was suggested to make an alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage at first seemed to blossoming into a love match. However, the early death of their son, Louis drove a wedge between the two. It would slowly get worse when Isabeau's next two children would die in the cradle.

They seemed to have reconciled in 1382, when their next son, also called Louis, was born. The couple became even closer when in 1495, when Henri died and Philippe would become king in a join coronation with his wife.

However, Isabeau proved herself an unpopular queen unlike her much beloved predecessor (who had retired to her native Flanders). She was haughty, quarrelsome and a spendthrift. There were also rumors circulating that she was unfaithful.

Although his wife had given him four more children, Philippe would distant himself from his wife, becoming distrustful of her. Things would come to a head when in 1401, their son, Louis died before his ninth birthday. This would be the tipping point. In June 1401, Isabeau would miscarry her baby (speculated to be because the stress she was under,although others wonder if there was a darker reason such as her husband beating her). In August, she would be arrested on the charges of adultery. If a queen being arrested wasn't scandalous enough, the king's distant cousin, Jean of Valois was accused of being her lover. Both were held in prison until their trial.

It was largely a farce of trial with half the witnesses being enemies of either the Duke of Valois or the queen and the other half spoke only hearsay. Unfortunately, the judges declared the Duke and the Queen guilty above the protests of their family.

Philippe would commute their punishment to life imprisonment despite being well in his rights to execute them both. Unfortunately, Jean would die just two years later of bad treatment at the hands of his jailers.

In 1407, Philipee would be found stabbed in his bed, with the words JUSTICE crudely carved in his forehead. His brother, Jean, would succeed him.

[4] Jean the II was the younger brother of Phillipe the V, having been given the title of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine when he reached his majority, becoming an extremely influential figure in the reigns of his late father and brother. Known for his violent character and his enormous size (Jean was often compared to the Titans of Hellenic Myths), the young Duke of Anjou was promised at birth to Phillipa Plantagenet, daughter of Edward the IV (Edward the Black Prince)

Jean's first years as ruler of his duchy were ... special, in a way. Anjou had been for decades now one of the centers of the Anglo-French conflicts, but with the English exiled from the continent, it was prime time, at least in Jean's eyes, to renew Anjou and Maine as centers of French Chivalry and commerce, and this he did so. Tourneys, fairs and meeles became the glamour of Anjou during these times, and the immigration of Jews and various other french ethnicities to the land proved useful in making Anjou grow. It was during these times that Jean travelled to England to fetch his bride - despite English attempts at breaking the marriage, due to the fact that both of her brothers, Edward and Richard, were still childless, his arrival in London broke the reverie. Not much is known of whatever negotiations happened during Jean's two-month stay in England, but he did return to France with with the "Fair Maid of Kent".

King Jean has always been described as a zealous christian, due to his support for the crusader movements in the Balkans and Anatolia, and his attacks on the many Kingdoms and Emirates of North Africa, but he should also be remembered as a patron and protector of the Jewish people. Many jews worked in the growing bureaucracy and administration of France during this period, and Jean's head of health both as Duke and as King was a jew, whom he hired after Phillipa miscarried their first child. Of the six next children the couple would have, all would be taken to term.

Jean rose to the throne over his two nieces - whom he would raise and adopt at his own. Extremely furious at the way his brother died, Jean would hunt down the partisans of Isabeau of Bavaria, conducting a purge of much of the nobility. The House of Valois would survive through the mercy of Constance Capet, the young Countess of Angouleme and Valois, who protected her husband and children from the fury of her brother.

Afterwards, Jean's reign was mostly quiet, other than some interventions and support for Crusader missions in the Balkans and North Africa. Jean's Meditteranean navy would conquer the cities of Algiers and Bone, whom the young French army would defend. For this, Jean and all future King's of France would gain the title of his Most Christian majesty. He died in 1431, being succeeded by his eldest son, Henri.

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[5] Born in 1404, Henri was the first child born after the miscarriage, to Jean and Phillipa Plantagenet and although the parents were over the moon to have their first child in their arms, they were distressed at the birth defect which affected Henri, his left leg was missing from above the knee, apart from this his health was perfect.
Jean's Jewish head of health, stated that this was not a curse but a test from God and as Henri grew, his parents and tutors were able to see that, he was able to compensate his missing limb, by strengthening his upper body, as well as studying hard.
One of his Jewish tutors was also able to create a saddle that balanced him on the horse, so he was still able to train as much as his brother(s), uncles and cousins.

By the age of 16, in 1420, Henri was serving his father in the treasury as well as attending diplomatic meetings, during one such meeting his father and Henri would arrange the marriage of Henri to his cousin, Marie of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (1381–1433) and Mary of France (1380-1436), herself daughter of Henri II and Margaret of Flanders, sister of Philippe and Jean.

The marriage would take place in 1426 and was a well attended event, with royalty from around Europe, followed by a tense bedding ceremony, which went without a problem.
The marriage would be a happy one and lead to the birth of many healthy children.

Like his father and grandfather, Henri, would arrange marriages to European Monarchs, forming stronger alliances, better trading deals and saw a long period of peace.

Internally, following years of working in the treasury, Henri, was able keep the royal purse ever growing, allowing him to finance projects, such as new cathedrals, one of which would be dedicated to his father, Jean the Most Christian Majesty, with Pope Eugene IV, beginning the process of awarding Jean a sainthood.
Not only were his policies beneficial to the nobility but they also brought great economic prosperity to his subjects, greatly increasing the population.
During the conclave of 1447, there were talks of new policies being brought in to support Christian monarchs to expel all Jews from their country, French cardinals were ordered by Henri to not vote for these policies, this would lead to French Cardinal, Guillaume d'Estouteville being voted in at the election, becoming Pope John XXIII, in honour of Henri’s father, Jean.

One of the most major acts of his rule was to bring about a constitution as at this point in French history, they lacked a formal constitution; the regime essentially relied on custom. The constitution was discussed by Henri, the high ranking nobles and the senior members from the Parliament of Paris.
The constitution, cemented the law of male succession only and the absolute monarchy role as God’s chosen voice in France, second only to the Pope.
Catholicism would be the state religion and Catholic Churches would be separate from taxes. Other religions would be tolerated in France as long as they are peaceful.

His death in 1468 aged 64 years old, would be felt heavily in his home nation and across Europe as his many letters of advice to monarchs had helped them deal with internal financial and constitutional crises.
He was succeeded by his son Jean.


[6] Born in 1431, he was the firstborn son of Henri II and Marie. He was born with all his limbs, but without his voice. Despite this, he was a very intelligent boy who was passionate about literature and the theater. He was trained from his childhood to one day be king, and he took to the job with aplomb. Soon he was attending state meetings alongside his father, and even was the one behind the idea of making peace with the house of Valois. His disinterest in marrying or siring children exasperated his advisors, but since he had many legitimate nephews, Jean ignored them the same way he ignored all potential betrothal contracts. He founded a dozen schools and wrote many books under his own name, and was a big fan of attending plays, being for his whole life a patron of the arts. He also promoted religious tolerance, but this was an unpopular policy with his Christian nobility. His court festivals, building projects and tapestries were all known for their rich colors, and he spent almost ruinous sums on them. But this accomplished his aim of bolstering royal prestige through lavish cultural display, and his reign is known today for the artistic flourishing simulated by his patronage as well as the frequent hosting of Europe's leading artists and writers. He also rewrote the constitution by his father, abolishing the law of only male succession in favor of male-preference primogeniture, and forced the church to pay taxes. He died after drinking some poisoned wine, having died single and childless.

[7] François of Anjou was born in 1469, the first born son of Louis, Duke of Anjou and Beatrice of Savoy. His father died when he was four years old and he raised by his mother and his older sister. He married Ippolita Viscounti, daughter of the Duke of Milian, in 1485. It was not a grand match, but one that brought coin and a link to a dynastic house of Italy. They would have nine children.

After the death of King Henri in 1500, François and his wife would be crowned in a grand ceremony. The new king would restlessly search for the man who had poisoned his uncle, determined to gain justice to his uncle. To his anger, he found out that the culprit was the Count of Bar, an old friend of his. Angered at such a personal betrayal, he had the man and his hired assassin boiled alive in oil as was the customary punishment in those days for poisoners.

For the next fifteen years, François was determined to bring the culture of France to new heights, using his wife's Italian connection to invite all sorts of artists. Upon hearing of Enrique of Castile's patronizing exploration of the new world, the king sponsored several explorers.

The king was a lover of fine food, fine wine and fine women. Unfortunetly, this would soon wear his body out. King François would die of gout in 1515, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Jeanne.

[8] Jeanne, born in 1486 was the oldest of eight daughters of François and Ippolita, her sole brother having died in his adolescence. Thanks to her grand-uncle, Jean III, whom she was named after, she was able to succeed to the throne. She was considered to be a graceful beauty, with a vivacious and lively personality and an affable nature. She regularly hosted masques and tournaments that thoroughly dazzled her contemporaries at her lavish court, and her patronage of the arts made a significant contribution to French culture. She was determined to show that she, as a woman ruling France, could maintain the prestige and magnificence established by her predecessors. However, she never married. She knew that marriage meant she had to lose power to her husband, and whichever man she selected could provoke political instability or even insurrection. Instead, she had a series of short-term favorites at court. Though her single status led to accusations of irresponsibility, her silence with regards to such matters, however, strengthened her own political security: she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup. She performed her ceremonial role as queen in strict accordance with formal court etiquette, and regularly and punctually fulfilled all representational duties that the court life demanded of her. She was also an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy through her philanthropy, which made her very popular among the public her entire life as queen. Though she followed a largely defensive foreign policy, her reign raised France's status abroad. Under Jeanne, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty. She knew that a monarch ruled by popular consent, and therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth. She passed away due to illness, single and childless, but surrounded by dozens of her sisters' children and grandchildren.


[9} Born Monsieur le Prince, Louis was from birth the eldest of the Blood Princes and the highest of France's peers, holding titles such as the Duchy of Touraine, the Counties of Angouleme, Vexin, Forez, Perche and Boulougne. Being raised to a senior most position within French society and the class elites, Louis was given an extensive education of matters of war and statescraft. He was born after the death of his father, the previous Duke, to Princess Contansce Zephyrine of France, second eldest of King François' brood of girls. Thus, he was also raised in the belief that he might be heir to the French throne one day, a destination, that did come to prove itself true in the future.

Louis' adulthood was marked by a series of family compacts that the political war he would wage with his royal aunt when securing his majority unfold - in essence, Jeanne's refusal to name him successor, and her efforts to tamper with his efforts to succeed to the Duchy of Luxembourg, alongside Jeanne's refusal to grant him his desired titles of Governorship over French Flanders. Louis' would still manage to win over the widowed Agnes of Luxembourg as his wife - bringing the Duchy of Luxembourg, the County of Namur and the Duchy of Limburg into his possessions. This vast increase of land and Louis' exploits in the Netherlands made him an enemy of various of his aunt's favourites, and of his aunt herself, but Louis' purse alongside his savy knowledge of french politics saved his skin.

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Jeanne eventually gave away, and Louis and Agnes became King and Queen of France. The first decrees of Louis' reign where changing the rules of succession in France to Salic law, something that greatly pleased the Princes of the Blood. Had Louis' elder aunt, Margarite, had children, the throne of France would have passed outside the House of Capet for the first time in centuries, right onto the hands of the von Luxembourgs who ruled in Spain, or if Louis himself had never been born into the House that had taken the Luxembourgian lands in Central Europe, the von Habsburgs. It was a tense situation, none so because Louis derived legitimacy from his mother over his aunts, but Louis' rank as first prince of the blood made the situation clearer.

Luxembourgian (Technically, the House of Luxembourg-Avis) had ruled the whole of the Iberian Peninsula for two generations now, with the Kingdoms having been unified during the reigns of Manuel the I of all Spanish realms, but Spain, despite growing into the first colonial Empire, with vast conquests in America and many outspots in Africa, Arabia and India, had kept itself outside of continental affairs for some while now, too busy with it's overseas exploits and it's drive into Morocco. France and Spain had mostly kept the peace, other than a few disagreements here and there. But Louis would decidedly draw France into Spain's sights - he, seeing monarchs such as the English and Spanish Kings enriching themselves, sent vast fleets of exploration to the new world, setting up colonies firstly in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where Breton (The Bretons were rather autonomous vassals of the French Kings, but still French nonetheless) and Norman fishermen were making a fortune, establishing contancts with the natives and forming settlements in Acadie (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) but further south, other even more successful colonies were formed, eventually forming two sister colonies in the southern tip of Africa and South America. Taking inspirations from the Franks, the two forming colonies would be called Neustrie-Neuve (New Neustria, OTL La Plata) and Nouvelle Austrasie (New Austrasia, OTL Cape-colony).

Fascinated by the so called Columbian exchange, France was one of the first country to massively import American crops, which first became a delicacy but then a highly sought product that could easily supplement the volatile french diet. The sudden growth in population caused by this ammelioration of France's health standards during Louis' reign would create massive movements towards France's colonies but allow France the manpower to conquer more Algerian coastal cities and make war in Germany and Spain at the same time. France would annex the Duchy of Brabant and tribute from the Prince-Bisphoric of Liege during this time, alongside recognition of Lorraine as a French Peerage and thus, vassal. In Spain, the new King was not so successful, as he lost a few border towns with Spain and almost lost Navarre twice, but France's highly experienced army pulled through for the Kingdom. Louis dreamnt of forming a universalist monarchy that would cover the whole of Europe eventually.

He, clearly, did not succeed in all his goals. He died aged and old, surrounded by his various children. He was succeeded by his son Louis.

[10] Louis, the twelfth of his name was already a man in his sixties, sick with goat so it was almost certain he would not last long. Sometimes, he would be called the placeholder king, although none would dare say it to his face, as he had a ferocious temper. In the defense of Louis, he had spent must of his time as his father's heir, running his various lands with great skill. However, in just two years of his reign, he was already bedridden, thrusting his heir in the position of regent.

In 1592, he would finally pass on, allowing his daughter, Marie to succeed him.

[11] Marie was the only living child of Louis XII, her siblings all having died in infancy. She was trained to be queen from a young age and accepted as heir, since there had been a successful predecessor. Like Jeanne I, she also never married, being content with the possibility of being succeeded by her cousins or their children. However, unlike her ancestress she was not considered to be charming or feminine, and was physically unattractive, having suffered smallpox as a child. She was unyielding and authoritarian in her rule, unable to forgive or forget any slight made against her, with a worse temper than her father ever had. She maintained most of the ministers of her father, and exiled her mother from court after discovering that she was having an affair with one of Marie's servants. She was careful never to favor anybody over anyone else, knowing what happened if people thought the monarch was being monopolized. She ruled by council, and her mother was a key figure, although Marie only occasionally took her advice. She continued the tradition of importing American crops, and considered a colonial venture into Africa, but ultimately was talked out of that. She won a war against Germany and Spain, who wished to reclaim Brabant and Lorraine, and negotiated the purchase of French slaves afterwards. There is no evidence that she had expressed any romantic or sexual interest in anybody, despite contemporary speculations of the queen perhaps being a lesbian. She shared her father's love of the virginals, which had been one of her first instruments, and in her free time she often composed music. In the sphere of women's fashion, Marie introduced the wearing of thin black veils that fell in waves across the face. France emerged as the leading European power during her reign, and warfare had defined her foreign policy. She passed away of what is now known to be diabetes, but then was thought to be poison.

[12] Henri IV was the nephew of Louis XII, having been born as the oldest son of younger brother Charles in 1575. As a result, when Marie died in 1639 with Marie refusing to marry, Henri IV would become King at the age of 64, being already an elderly man. However, Henri IV, despite expectations that his reign would be a short one as a placeholder for one of his seven children with Sophia, Princess of Denmark, would prove to be a surprisingly competent and effective ruler, reigning for over a decade before his death in 1651 with his reign being largely a continuation of Marie's reign in its policies, even if Henri would prove to be more personable than his predecessor. When Henri IV died in 1651, he would be succeeded by __________________.

[13] With the death of Henri IV, the male line of the house of Capet had died out, since he had had no living son with his wife. Although women had reigned as queen regnants previously, the reinstating of Salic law meant that they now were barred from the line of succession. These seven princesses had all been married off to foreign royalty, and had children. A war, messy and bloody, broke out. It was known as the first global war, since there were many kings who now had the chance to seize France and incorporate the land into its domains. After nine years, a victor would finally stand out.
Ahem, I beg your pardon I already made a post on the Capetian Line. You might want to change your post.
 
Just to point out @Carolus specified that Jean Phillipe had a son who survived him. Admittedly, they also said that the son succeeded him, which is against the rules, but @ordinarylittleme, it does mean that the male line hadn't strictly died out. Carolus was okay to state that there was a son who survived his father, as long as he didn't state the son succeeded his father.

the post also strongly implied JP had more than one brother who governed in his lieu, and by implication, that they survived him

Is the war known as the First Global War, or the War of the Seven Daughters as you've used both. If the latter, then daughters of whom and where are their claims from. Further, we're there no male claimants who derived their claim from a female heir - a la William the Conqueror, King Stephen or Henry II.
 
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Just to point out @Carolus specified that Jean Phillipe had a son who survived him. Admittedly, they also said that the son succeeded him, which is against the rules, but @ordinarylittleme, it does mean that the male line hadn't strictly died out. Carolus was okay to state that there was a son who survived his father, as long as he didn't state the son succeeded his father.

the post also strongly implied JP had more than one brother who governed in his lieu, and by implication, that they survived him

Is the war known as the First Global War, or the War of the Seven Daughters as you've used both. If the latter, then daughters of whom and where are their claims from. Further, we're there no male claimants who derived their claim from a female heir - a la William the Conqueror, King Stephen or Henry II.
Salic Law meant that male claimants from female heirs cannot be counted. The Hundred Years' War was a result of this. It's the war of the 7 daughters, but considered the first global war since all 7 daughters were married to foreign kings. Actually, I'm going to delete that post. (EDITED: I misspelled "foreign")
 
Kings of France and Navarre
1289-1316: Louis X "The Quarrelsome" (House of Capet)
1316-1356: Jean I "The Posthumous" (House of Capet) [1]
1356-1395: Henri II "The Thunderbolt" (House of Capet) [2]
1395-1407: Philippe V "The Unremarkable" (House of Capet) [3]
1407-1431: Jean II "The Strong" (House of Capet) [4]
1431-1468: Henri III "The Wise" (House of Capet) [5]
1468-1500: Jean III (House of Capet) [6]
1500-1515: François I (House of Capet) [7]
1515-1560: Jeanne I (House of Capet) [8]
1560-1587: Louis XI (House of Capet) [9]
1587-1592: Louis XII "the Brief" (House of Capet) [10]
1592-1639: Marie I (House of Capet) [11]
1639-1651: Henri IV (House of Capet) [12]
1651-1700: Jean Philippe "the Philosopher" I (House of Capet) [13]
1702-1723: Louis XIII (House of Capet) [14]


[1] Louis X "The Quarrelsome" died in 1316, leaving a four-year-old daughter and a pregnant wife behind. Jean was born in November 1316. The king would sleep soundly in his cradle as his relatives fought for power over him. His mother, Clementina and his great-uncle Charles of Valois had to contend with Jean's regent,his uncle Philippe the Tall, Count of Poitiers.

Unfortunately for them, Philip was well liked and a shrewd statesman, reforming the laws of France and even discontinuing some of the unpopular policies of his brother, Louis. To consolidate his control over the young king, he arranged a marriage between Jean and his eldest daughter, Joan (1308). Because they were first cousins, Philip would get a papal deposition. When he fell ill in 1322, he pushed for the wedding to happen straight away despite the groom only being six. He would die before it could happen.

With Philip's death, Jean needed a new regent. His remaining uncle, Charles de Le Marche took over. During this time, tensions with England were at an all time high despite Jean's aunt Isabella being married to the King of England. In 1325, Jean's great-uncle, Charles of Valois managed to take back the duchy of Aquitaine and regent Charles, declared that King Edward II's French titles were forfeit. It would be in 1327 when King Edward II was disposed would Aquitaine be returned to England in the hands, of Jean's cousin, Edward III, albeit a much reduced territory.

In 1328, Charles also died, leaving Jean as the only male left in the main branch of the House of Capets. Charles of Valois's son Philip would take over as regent. In 1330, at fourteen-years-old Jean would marry his cousin, Joan. She would birth a son in 1331, dying due to childbed fever, leaving Jean a teenage widower with a babe. It was imperative that he married as quickly as he could.

He would marry Bonne of Luxembourg (1315) in 1332. They had eleven children before her death in 1349 of bubonic plague. Despite having several sons, Jean would marry for a third and final time in 1350 to Eleanor of Sicily I1325), they would have three child before he died.

Shortly, after his second marriage, Jean was declared of age and allowed to rule, although he would forever rely on the advice and counsel of Philip of Valois.

However, Jean's relations with England and his cousin Edward would begin to deteriorate with Jean feeling that Aquitaine and the rest of the French lands that were under English control belonged to France. In 1337, Robert III of Artois, who had committed forgery to illegally obtain an intermittence, sought refuge in England. When Edward refused to hand him over, the twenty-one-year old king declared Aquitaine forfeit. In retaliation, Edward III accused Jean of being an imposter, saying that real Jean of France died after five days and a cockoo was placed in his stead. (This rumor has been debunked by modern DNA tests). Edward proclaimed himself the rightful King of France as the sole living grandson of King Philip IV.

King Jean fought alongside his friend and cousin, Philip of Valois who was give the Duchy of Aquitaine. The Battle of Crécy in 1546 would be a disaster for the French army with Philip injured and Jean barely escaping with his life. It was a catastrophe for the French and would feature the loss of Calais.

Three years later, Queen Bonne would die of the plague which would destroy one third of the population. It was an tragedy. Jean's third wedding was a somber event with the continued hostilities with England, the recovery from the plague and the death of Jean's friend Philip.

In 1555, the war with England would restart and Jean would lead his troops in Battle of Poitiers where in a miraculous moment, he manged to subdue and capture Edward, the Black Prince. Unfortunately, Jean would not have long to gloat for a year later, he would die of dysentery. His son, Henri, would take care of the negotiations with England.

[2] The second son of Jean the I, Henri was made Duke of Orleans at birth, for his father intended for him to be the strong right hand of his elder brother, Phillipe, when he came of age. Thus, Henri was given a thorough martial education, although the boy soon proved himself far too intelligent and talented to be limited to the sword and lance. Being given many tutors from places as close as Normandy and Languedoc, and as far as Bohemia and the Eastern Roman Empire, both Henri and his brothers, Phillipe, Charles and Hercules were brought in a growing cosmopolitan Paris, under the strict but benevolent watch of their father.

Thankfully for King Jean, his second son was growing to pay dividends - at the bare age of twelve, the young Henri was already defeating boys four and five years older in the tiltyard, and stayed at the side of his tutor, the Constable of France, during various military meetings of importance. As as young Knight and Duke, Henri would gain his spurs during the battles of Crecy and would fight in more battles, featuring in the defense of Calais where he led a small army that proved a great thorn for the English. He would make several friends at this stage, such as the Duke of Burgundy, the Count of Alençon and many others.

He would retire to Orleans then, where the Young Duke took upon himself the duty of ruling. His close watch, support for the artisans of the Duchy and his heavy involvement in the local economy made him a very beloved ruler, as Henri attracted Jewish, German and Italian glass-makers and Greek and Sicilian silk-weavers. Thus, Orleans became a famous commercial center, closely linked to both the Aquitaine and Champagne trade routes, the city becoming famous for it's glass and becoming the first and major center of what would come to be known as "Capetian Silk".

When the second war of King Jean's reign with England started, Henri faced a early loss which blackened his heart - his brother, leading a charge of French infantry-men during a battle against the Prince of Wales, was shot down by English Longbowmen. The fall of the Dauphin's standard almost broke the French army, but Henri, raging, took up the Orleans and Dauphine standards - and charged straight into the English lines, The sight of the Duke of Orleans, surrounded by no more than twenty retainers, charging alone at the thousand Englishmen raised the spirits of his army, who followed the new Crown Prince into the battle. The Battle of Puymartin is the first, and perhaps most famous victory of Henri.


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The heavy defeat handed to the Black Prince forced him to retreat North, where the English fell into the clutches of the army led by King Jean and Phillipe of Valois. His army tired and restless, Henri took upon himself to siege every single English occupied castle in Aquitaine, withdrawing the English poison root and stem. Just as he had finished the pacification of Aquitaine, and with his army reinforced by the locals, the news of the death of his father reached him. After a hasty trip to Reims, Henri was crowned, promising on God and France to forever expel the English from the continent. It was a promise Henri would make due on.

With Edward of Wales in his hands, the English were fighting with one hand behind their backs - Edward the III did not wish to risk his eldest and most favoured son, who was a captive in Paris, even if he was treated well and the French seemed to mostly ignore him, Henri was far too focused on his goal. Despite Edward calling for truces several times, Henri led his armies and a myriad of Free Companies northwards, intent on ending the Plantagenet stain on Capetian France. The battle of Hainaut (1358) and the Siege of Calais (1359) were both French victories, with Henri changing many of the tactics used by the French armies in the face of English innovations, such as the Longbow. The support of the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret, Countess of Flanders, proved to be the tipping point that would see the English Crown finally expelled from France. The following Treaty of Chartres saw Edward the III renounce all of his rights to French territorry, including Calais and Aquitaine, in return for his son, who would be sent on a ship to England with the returning English diplomats.

Victory cemented Henri upon his throne - the young royal was, perhaps, the most powerful King of France since Louis IX, and his influence was felt everywhere. In some places, Henri was almost revered as a warrior Saint. But Henri proved to not only be a warrior. With the Black Plague still making making periodic returns, taking with it another one of Henri's brothers, Charles Duke of Berry, Henri turned to the sickness with the same ferocity he had faced the English. He and his advisors reinforced French hospitals, founding many in the many major municipalities of France, and they also correctly identified rats and such other vermin as the bringers of the plague, and the French people followed Henri's adoption of cats as pets - the Kingdom of France become henceforth known as the "Kingdom of Cats", for cats were found in every street of Paris during Henri's reign.

The death of so many serfs, peasants and nobles left a lot of land in the hands of the crown - and Henri was anything if not a greedy land grabber. Aquitaine was re-bought from the Valois, who were in deep crisis due to some shady investments, alongside the County of Anjou but a few years later. The Angevin Kings of Naples, who faced revolts in Provence, also sold the full rights to Provence to Henri in 1374, with the new French professional army, modeled and using as a base the many Free Companies that had sprouted in Gascony, Normandy and Burgundy during the English wars, was one of the most ferocious and effective armies in Europe at the time. His brother Hercules would receive the County of Nice as appanage after the seizure, alongside his other title of Count of Montpensier.

The death of the last Burgundian Duke, Phillipe the I, a great friend of Henri, would also see the Duchy of Burgundy, the Counties of Boulogne and Auvergne, reunited with the French Crown. Deep in grief for the death of his friend, the wifeless King was soon approached by Phillipe's widow, Margaret of Flanders. She too, needed a new husband, for she was heirless, and the marriage would be advantageous for them both. Both young and fertile, the young couple would grow to love each other. Margaret of Flanders brought along many rich lordships, such as Flanders, Rethel, Nevers, Artois and the County of Burgundy, in the Holy Roman Empire. It was the perfect marriage, and the couple soon grew to love each other deeply. As said before, Margaret would prove a dutiful wife and an excellent queen. She birthed the King no more than 11 healthy children at birth.

With so many lands in the hands of the monarchy, Henri's power was almost absolute. He cemented French laws, creating new taxes, reforming and modernizing old legal systems, reformed the army, as mentioned before, encourage commerce and would further increase the royal domain by seizing the lands of the House of Hainault, taking Hainaut for himself and delivering the County of Zeeland to his wife. He would make his brother Hercules, whom he trusted deeply, alongside his titles of Montpensier and Nice, Duke of Holland as well. With the royal coffers full, Henri would become famous for the love he and his wife shared of palace-building, with Henri building almost twenty palaces during his reign, many of which are tourist attractions today.

Deeply beloved, and surrounded by allies, due to the fact his army of sisters was married off to many European Princes and French nobles, a loyal and stateswoman of a wife and a large brood of children, Henri took to feasting and drinking heavily in his later years. He and his wife, would, literally, grow fat and old together, but the aged King would quickly become an alcoholic. While wintering in Navarre, Henri would catch a cold after walking in the Pyrenean snows while riding to his rural residence where his wife was staying. The simple cold, however, would be enough to topple a great King. Henri died in 1395, being succeeded by his son Philippe.

[3] Named for both his late uncle and his father's friend, Philippe was born in 1371. It was hard for Philippe growing up as he stood in the shadows of his grandfather and father. His grandfather had been born a king and against all odd lived and ruled for forty years and single-handedly saved the depleted main branch the Capet dynasty. Meanwhile his father had manged to successfully expel the English and the plague from his lands.

Both were figures of legends, leaving Philippe rather small in comparison. Because of this he had a massive inferiority complex with traces of paranoia.

In 1385, he would marry Isabeau of Bavaria. The marriage was suggested to make an alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage at first seemed to blossoming into a love match. However, the early death of their son, Louis drove a wedge between the two. It would slowly get worse when Isabeau's next two children would die in the cradle.

They seemed to have reconciled in 1382, when their next son, also called Louis, was born. The couple became even closer when in 1495, when Henri died and Philippe would become king in a join coronation with his wife.

However, Isabeau proved herself an unpopular queen unlike her much beloved predecessor (who had retired to her native Flanders). She was haughty, quarrelsome and a spendthrift. There were also rumors circulating that she was unfaithful.

Although his wife had given him four more children, Philippe would distant himself from his wife, becoming distrustful of her. Things would come to a head when in 1401, their son, Louis died before his ninth birthday. This would be the tipping point. In June 1401, Isabeau would miscarry her baby (speculated to be because the stress she was under,although others wonder if there was a darker reason such as her husband beating her). In August, she would be arrested on the charges of adultery. If a queen being arrested wasn't scandalous enough, the king's distant cousin, Jean of Valois was accused of being her lover. Both were held in prison until their trial.

It was largely a farce of trial with half the witnesses being enemies of either the Duke of Valois or the queen and the other half spoke only hearsay. Unfortunately, the judges declared the Duke and the Queen guilty above the protests of their family.

Philippe would commute their punishment to life imprisonment despite being well in his rights to execute them both. Unfortunately, Jean would die just two years later of bad treatment at the hands of his jailers.

In 1407, Philipee would be found stabbed in his bed, with the words JUSTICE crudely carved in his forehead. His brother, Jean, would succeed him.

[4] Jean the II was the younger brother of Phillipe the V, having been given the title of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine when he reached his majority, becoming an extremely influential figure in the reigns of his late father and brother. Known for his violent character and his enormous size (Jean was often compared to the Titans of Hellenic Myths), the young Duke of Anjou was promised at birth to Phillipa Plantagenet, daughter of Edward the IV (Edward the Black Prince)

Jean's first years as ruler of his duchy were ... special, in a way. Anjou had been for decades now one of the centers of the Anglo-French conflicts, but with the English exiled from the continent, it was prime time, at least in Jean's eyes, to renew Anjou and Maine as centers of French Chivalry and commerce, and this he did so. Tourneys, fairs and meeles became the glamour of Anjou during these times, and the immigration of Jews and various other french ethnicities to the land proved useful in making Anjou grow. It was during these times that Jean travelled to England to fetch his bride - despite English attempts at breaking the marriage, due to the fact that both of her brothers, Edward and Richard, were still childless, his arrival in London broke the reverie. Not much is known of whatever negotiations happened during Jean's two-month stay in England, but he did return to France with with the "Fair Maid of Kent".

King Jean has always been described as a zealous christian, due to his support for the crusader movements in the Balkans and Anatolia, and his attacks on the many Kingdoms and Emirates of North Africa, but he should also be remembered as a patron and protector of the Jewish people. Many jews worked in the growing bureaucracy and administration of France during this period, and Jean's head of health both as Duke and as King was a jew, whom he hired after Phillipa miscarried their first child. Of the six next children the couple would have, all would be taken to term.

Jean rose to the throne over his two nieces - whom he would raise and adopt at his own. Extremely furious at the way his brother died, Jean would hunt down the partisans of Isabeau of Bavaria, conducting a purge of much of the nobility. The House of Valois would survive through the mercy of Constance Capet, the young Countess of Angouleme and Valois, who protected her husband and children from the fury of her brother.

Afterwards, Jean's reign was mostly quiet, other than some interventions and support for Crusader missions in the Balkans and North Africa. Jean's Meditteranean navy would conquer the cities of Algiers and Bone, whom the young French army would defend. For this, Jean and all future King's of France would gain the title of his Most Christian majesty. He died in 1431, being succeeded by his eldest son, Henri.

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[5] Born in 1404, Henri was the first child born after the miscarriage, to Jean and Phillipa Plantagenet and although the parents were over the moon to have their first child in their arms, they were distressed at the birth defect which affected Henri, his left leg was missing from above the knee, apart from this his health was perfect.
Jean's Jewish head of health, stated that this was not a curse but a test from God and as Henri grew, his parents and tutors were able to see that, he was able to compensate his missing limb, by strengthening his upper body, as well as studying hard.
One of his Jewish tutors was also able to create a saddle that balanced him on the horse, so he was still able to train as much as his brother(s), uncles and cousins.

By the age of 16, in 1420, Henri was serving his father in the treasury as well as attending diplomatic meetings, during one such meeting his father and Henri would arrange the marriage of Henri to his cousin, Marie of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (1381–1433) and Mary of France (1380-1436), herself daughter of Henri II and Margaret of Flanders, sister of Philippe and Jean.

The marriage would take place in 1426 and was a well attended event, with royalty from around Europe, followed by a tense bedding ceremony, which went without a problem.
The marriage would be a happy one and lead to the birth of many healthy children.

Like his father and grandfather, Henri, would arrange marriages to European Monarchs, forming stronger alliances, better trading deals and saw a long period of peace.

Internally, following years of working in the treasury, Henri, was able keep the royal purse ever growing, allowing him to finance projects, such as new cathedrals, one of which would be dedicated to his father, Jean the Most Christian Majesty, with Pope Eugene IV, beginning the process of awarding Jean a sainthood.
Not only were his policies beneficial to the nobility but they also brought great economic prosperity to his subjects, greatly increasing the population.
During the conclave of 1447, there were talks of new policies being brought in to support Christian monarchs to expel all Jews from their country, French cardinals were ordered by Henri to not vote for these policies, this would lead to French Cardinal, Guillaume d'Estouteville being voted in at the election, becoming Pope John XXIII, in honour of Henri’s father, Jean.

One of the most major acts of his rule was to bring about a constitution as at this point in French history, they lacked a formal constitution; the regime essentially relied on custom. The constitution was discussed by Henri, the high ranking nobles and the senior members from the Parliament of Paris.
The constitution, cemented the law of male succession only and the absolute monarchy role as God’s chosen voice in France, second only to the Pope.
Catholicism would be the state religion and Catholic Churches would be separate from taxes. Other religions would be tolerated in France as long as they are peaceful.

His death in 1468 aged 64 years old, would be felt heavily in his home nation and across Europe as his many letters of advice to monarchs had helped them deal with internal financial and constitutional crises.
He was succeeded by his son Jean.


[6] Born in 1431, he was the firstborn son of Henri II and Marie. He was born with all his limbs, but without his voice. Despite this, he was a very intelligent boy who was passionate about literature and the theater. He was trained from his childhood to one day be king, and he took to the job with aplomb. Soon he was attending state meetings alongside his father, and even was the one behind the idea of making peace with the house of Valois. His disinterest in marrying or siring children exasperated his advisors, but since he had many legitimate nephews, Jean ignored them the same way he ignored all potential betrothal contracts. He founded a dozen schools and wrote many books under his own name, and was a big fan of attending plays, being for his whole life a patron of the arts. He also promoted religious tolerance, but this was an unpopular policy with his Christian nobility. His court festivals, building projects and tapestries were all known for their rich colors, and he spent almost ruinous sums on them. But this accomplished his aim of bolstering royal prestige through lavish cultural display, and his reign is known today for the artistic flourishing simulated by his patronage as well as the frequent hosting of Europe's leading artists and writers. He also rewrote the constitution by his father, abolishing the law of only male succession in favor of male-preference primogeniture, and forced the church to pay taxes. He died after drinking some poisoned wine, having died single and childless.

[7] François of Anjou was born in 1469, the first born son of Louis, Duke of Anjou and Beatrice of Savoy. His father died when he was four years old and he raised by his mother and his older sister. He married Ippolita Viscounti, daughter of the Duke of Milian, in 1485. It was not a grand match, but one that brought coin and a link to a dynastic house of Italy. They would have nine children.

After the death of King Henri in 1500, François and his wife would be crowned in a grand ceremony. The new king would restlessly search for the man who had poisoned his uncle, determined to gain justice to his uncle. To his anger, he found out that the culprit was the Count of Bar, an old friend of his. Angered at such a personal betrayal, he had the man and his hired assassin boiled alive in oil as was the customary punishment in those days for poisoners.

For the next fifteen years, François was determined to bring the culture of France to new heights, using his wife's Italian connection to invite all sorts of artists. Upon hearing of Enrique of Castile's patronizing exploration of the new world, the king sponsored several explorers.

The king was a lover of fine food, fine wine and fine women. Unfortunetly, this would soon wear his body out. King François would die of gout in 1515, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Jeanne.

[8] Jeanne, born in 1486 was the oldest of eight daughters of François and Ippolita, her sole brother having died in his adolescence. Thanks to her grand-uncle, Jean III, whom she was named after, she was able to succeed to the throne. She was considered to be a graceful beauty, with a vivacious and lively personality and an affable nature. She regularly hosted masques and tournaments that thoroughly dazzled her contemporaries at her lavish court, and her patronage of the arts made a significant contribution to French culture. She was determined to show that she, as a woman ruling France, could maintain the prestige and magnificence established by her predecessors. However, she never married. She knew that marriage meant she had to lose power to her husband, and whichever man she selected could provoke political instability or even insurrection. Instead, she had a series of short-term favorites at court. Though her single status led to accusations of irresponsibility, her silence with regards to such matters, however, strengthened her own political security: she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup. She performed her ceremonial role as queen in strict accordance with formal court etiquette, and regularly and punctually fulfilled all representational duties that the court life demanded of her. She was also an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy through her philanthropy, which made her very popular among the public her entire life as queen. Though she followed a largely defensive foreign policy, her reign raised France's status abroad. Under Jeanne, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty. She knew that a monarch ruled by popular consent, and therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth. She passed away due to illness, single and childless, but surrounded by dozens of her sisters' children and grandchildren.


[9} Born Monsieur le Prince, Louis was from birth the eldest of the Blood Princes and the highest of France's peers, holding titles such as the Duchy of Touraine, the Counties of Angouleme, Vexin, Forez, Perche and Boulougne. Being raised to a senior most position within French society and the class elites, Louis was given an extensive education of matters of war and statescraft. He was born after the death of his father, the previous Duke, to Princess Contansce Zephyrine of France, second eldest of King François' brood of girls. Thus, he was also raised in the belief that he might be heir to the French throne one day, a destination, that did come to prove itself true in the future.

Louis' adulthood was marked by a series of family compacts that the political war he would wage with his royal aunt when securing his majority unfold - in essence, Jeanne's refusal to name him successor, and her efforts to tamper with his efforts to succeed to the Duchy of Luxembourg, alongside Jeanne's refusal to grant him his desired titles of Governorship over French Flanders. Louis' would still manage to win over the widowed Agnes of Luxembourg as his wife - bringing the Duchy of Luxembourg, the County of Namur and the Duchy of Limburg into his possessions. This vast increase of land and Louis' exploits in the Netherlands made him an enemy of various of his aunt's favourites, and of his aunt herself, but Louis' purse alongside his savy knowledge of french politics saved his skin.


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Jeanne eventually gave away, and Louis and Agnes became King and Queen of France. The first decrees of Louis' reign where changing the rules of succession in France to Salic law, something that greatly pleased the Princes of the Blood. Had Louis' elder aunt, Margarite, had children, the throne of France would have passed outside the House of Capet for the first time in centuries, right onto the hands of the von Luxembourgs who ruled in Spain, or if Louis himself had never been born into the House that had taken the Luxembourgian lands in Central Europe, the von Habsburgs. It was a tense situation, none so because Louis derived legitimacy from his mother over his aunts, but Louis' rank as first prince of the blood made the situation clearer.

Luxembourgian (Technically, the House of Luxembourg-Avis) had ruled the whole of the Iberian Peninsula for two generations now, with the Kingdoms having been unified during the reigns of Manuel the I of all Spanish realms, but Spain, despite growing into the first colonial Empire, with vast conquests in America and many outspots in Africa, Arabia and India, had kept itself outside of continental affairs for some while now, too busy with it's overseas exploits and it's drive into Morocco. France and Spain had mostly kept the peace, other than a few disagreements here and there. But Louis would decidedly draw France into Spain's sights - he, seeing monarchs such as the English and Spanish Kings enriching themselves, sent vast fleets of exploration to the new world, setting up colonies firstly in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where Breton (The Bretons were rather autonomous vassals of the French Kings, but still French nonetheless) and Norman fishermen were making a fortune, establishing contancts with the natives and forming settlements in Acadie (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) but further south, other even more successful colonies were formed, eventually forming two sister colonies in the southern tip of Africa and South America. Taking inspirations from the Franks, the two forming colonies would be called Neustrie-Neuve (New Neustria, OTL La Plata) and Nouvelle Austrasie (New Austrasia, OTL Cape-colony).

Fascinated by the so called Columbian exchange, France was one of the first country to massively import American crops, which first became a delicacy but then a highly sought product that could easily supplement the volatile french diet. The sudden growth in population caused by this ammelioration of France's health standards during Louis' reign would create massive movements towards France's colonies but allow France the manpower to conquer more Algerian coastal cities and make war in Germany and Spain at the same time. France would annex the Duchy of Brabant and tribute from the Prince-Bisphoric of Liege during this time, alongside recognition of Lorraine as a French Peerage and thus, vassal. In Spain, the new King was not so successful, as he lost a few border towns with Spain and almost lost Navarre twice, but France's highly experienced army pulled through for the Kingdom. Louis dreamnt of forming a universalist monarchy that would cover the whole of Europe eventually.

He, clearly, did not succeed in all his goals. He died aged and old, surrounded by his various children. He was succeeded by his son Louis.

[10] Louis, the twelfth of his name was already a man in his sixties, sick with goat so it was almost certain he would not last long. Sometimes, he would be called the placeholder king, although none would dare say it to his face, as he had a ferocious temper. In the defense of Louis, he had spent must of his time as his father's heir, running his various lands with great skill. However, in just two years of his reign, he was already bedridden, thrusting his heir in the position of regent.

In 1592, he would finally pass on, allowing his daughter, Marie to succeed him.

[11] Marie was the only living child of Louis XII, her siblings all having died in infancy. She was trained to be queen from a young age and accepted as heir, since there had been a successful predecessor. Like Jeanne I, she also never married, being content with the possibility of being succeeded by her cousins or their children. However, unlike her ancestress she was not considered to be charming or feminine, and was physically unattractive, having suffered smallpox as a child. She was unyielding and authoritarian in her rule, unable to forgive or forget any slight made against her, with a worse temper than her father ever had. She maintained most of the ministers of her father, and exiled her mother from court after discovering that she was having an affair with one of Marie's servants. She was careful never to favor anybody over anyone else, knowing what happened if people thought the monarch was being monopolized. She ruled by council, and her mother was a key figure, although Marie only occasionally took her advice. She continued the tradition of importing American crops, and considered a colonial venture into Africa, but ultimately was talked out of that. She won a war against Germany and Spain, who wished to reclaim Brabant and Lorraine, and negotiated the purchase of French slaves afterwards. There is no evidence that she had expressed any romantic or sexual interest in anybody, despite contemporary speculations of the queen perhaps being a lesbian. She shared her father's love of the virginals, which had been one of her first instruments, and in her free time she often composed music. In the sphere of women's fashion, Marie introduced the wearing of thin black veils that fell in waves across the face. France emerged as the leading European power during her reign, and warfare had defined her foreign policy. She passed away of what is now known to be diabetes, but then was thought to be poison.


[12] Henri IV was the nephew of Louis XII, having been born as the oldest son of younger brother Charles in 1575. As a result, when Marie died in 1639 with Marie refusing to marry, Henri IV would become King at the age of 64, being already an elderly man. However, Henri IV, despite expectations that his reign would be a short one as a placeholder for one of his seven children with Sophia, Princess of Denmark, would prove to be a surprisingly competent and effective ruler, reigning for over a decade before his death in 1651 with his reign being largely a continuation of Marie's reign in its policies, even if Henri would prove to be more personable than his predecessor. When Henri IV died in 1651, he would be succeeded by his son Jean Philippe.


[13] Jean Philippe had an interest in philosophy and the classics during his childhood. During his tenure as the Dauphin, he began collecting the works of Greco-Roman philosophers of ancient and late antiquity.

Upon his ascension as King of France, he took it upon himself to build his personal Chateau at Versailles. There, he hosted banquets and debates with the great philosophers by the later half of the 17th Century.

Heavily distracted by his deep esoteric interest, he left the governance of the realm to his brothers. However he married Anne Claudia, a daughter of Honore V Auguste, Prince of Monaco for whom he was a great friend and fellow philosopher as well. Jean Philippe and Anne Claudia only had a son and daughter in their respectable marriage.

The King would pass away peacefully in his Chateau at Versailles in 1702, his heir succeed him as King Louis the Thirteenth.

[14] Louis was already in his thirties when he became king, having married Louisa of Iberia in 1688, he already had three children with her and would go on to have five more after he ascended the throne. Louis was a man who born in the wrong century, wishing everyone could go back to the time of knights and crusades. He had a rather romantic view of war and glory. He even petitioned the pope to fight launch a holy war against the Ottoman Empire.

Louis was a man who played hard, enjoying competive sports far more than what he called dusty old books. Unfortunately, that would be his downfall. In 1723, he had decided to try his hand at horse racing, viewing it as close as he would ever get to having a joust. The horse stumbled and fell, breaking its leg and Louis fell off his horse, hitting his head on a rock, dying almost instantly.

Despite his glory-seeking nature, the twenty years of his regin had been peaceful and without incident. He was succeeded by_____
 
POD: Sebastian, the "desired" King of Portugal, is victorious in the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir.

Kings of Portugal and Algarves
1557-1613: Sebastian I "The Desired" (House of Aviz) [1]
1613-1651: John IV of Portugal (House of Aviz) [2]
1651-1678: Afonso VI (House of Aviz) [3]



[1] Born to D. John Manuel, heir of Portugal and his wife Joanna of Austria in 1554, Sebastian was called the "the Desired" at his birth, for him being born remedied the dire situation the dinasty of Aviz had found itself in recent years, with the extinction of many of it's cadet branches and the lack of fertility apparent in the main line, including the death of his father just two weeks before his birth. Heir apparent at the moment he was born, Sebastian's birth would indeed prove a blessing when his grandfather died just three years later, and Sebastian became King Sebastian the I.

Tall, slim and blond, Sebastian was raised under the iron rule of his grandmother, Catherine of Austria, who shared the regency of her grandson with his uncle, Cardinal Henry of Evora. Due to this, the church, especially the Jesuits, played a strong hand in his upbringing and the King was raised as a true crusader, whose jesuits teachers inspired in him a desire to expand christianity around Portugal's colonies but especially to the enemies of the Portuguese in Africa, the morrocan infidels. The fact that the young King started excreting seminal fluids at the age of 9 did not bypass the sight of his grandmother, the regent, and soon the head jesuit in the care of Sebastian's education was shooed off the court. It was around this time that some rumours would sprout that the young King had suffered from pedophilia, although the Portuguese court, essentially killed the rumours.

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"Sebastianus Rex, a painting of the King during his early twenties, shortly before the invasion of Morocco."

During his regency, the influence of the Church in Portugal increased dramatically, as churchmen entered various positions of import in the court of the realm, and expanded the activities of the inquisition to many of the lands Portugal under it's sway. Portugal adquired some cities in India and Indonesia around this time, but most importantly, a deal was crafted with the Chinese that saw Macau become part of the growing Portuguese Empire.

Eventually, Sebastian came of age, although his regents continued holding influential posts in his government. Plans were crafted for Sebastian to marry Margot of France or an Austrian Princess, but Sebastian and the patrons of the respective women never came to an agreement, either due to the tense political and religious situation of France at the time or due to the overtures of the pope. Sebastian had also hinted to his uncle and neighbour, Philip of Spain, that he would be interested in marrying Isabella Clara Eugenia, his eldest daughter, or one of the younger daughters of the Spanish monarch, but no agreement was ever settled upon. Historians debate whether this was because of some kind of homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality from Sebastian, or a simple disinterest in such matters of state. Other historians refer to some misgivings about his illnesses, or psycological scars caused by his rape as a young child. Eventually, Sebastian would indeed find a wife, but not one would think of...

But Sebastian's one main obcession remained - to crusade against the muslim infidels, and win victory in a crusade. Sebastian's youthful idealism that turned into fanaticism in his adulthood, for Morocco was in his view the one main thorn on Portuguese honour. While constructing their Empire, the Portuguese had waged many smaller wars against the Moroccans, conquering many port cities but they had never been succesful in wider endeavours - but that was about to change. The Portuguese nobility and bourgeouise had good reasons to support their King's endeavours in the country to their south - mainly for prestige, security, trade and food for Portugal's population. Thus, Sebastian eventually forged a plan when an opportunity raised itself - Sultan Abdullah Mohammed of Morocco requested Portuguese assistance from his uncles, who had amassed an army in Ottoman Algiers and were now invading the country. Thus, Sebastian and the flower of Portugal's nobility embarked on a fleet that numbered in the hundreds, and soon, almost 18000 men landed in Portuguese cities in the Moroccan coast.

In a rather dissapointing turn of events (for Sebastian), he fell ill almost as soon as he landed, and the Duke of Aveiro was thus forced to take command of the expedition. While not very experienced militarily, the young Duke was discovered to a fine logistician and a able listener, and soon, the Portuguese and their Moorish allies dragged Abd Al-Malik and his armies to the coast, where a recovered Sebastian re-invigorated the morale of his armies that handily defeated the Ottoman supported armies of Abd Al-Malik, killing both the pretender and his brother in the process. Sebastian himself was almost killed twice in the battle, but escaped the fighting wounded. It was a resounding Portuguese victory nonetheless, and one that made Sebastian's name rung through every hall in Christendom. A grateful Sultan Abdullah signed a treaty of alliance with Portugal and handed them many ports cities, but most importantly, gave the Portuguese suzerainty over the Gharb and Rif regions of the Portuguese coast, allowing Portugal to expand agricultural production to this new region with many southern portuguese immigrants setting up farms of wheat and many American crops that would serve handily in feeding Portugal - and in the Rif, the security of cities such as Tangiers and Ceuta was finally secured, and with trade with Saadi Morocco blooming, they became the very centers of the Luso-Moroccan trade and the Trans-Saharan trade.

To the surprise of many, Sebastian stayed in his new Moroccan possessions for three years, establishing a temporary capital in Tangiers. There, a mature and changed man finally escaped the shadow of his youth. Sebastian took to Kingship with a new, larger than life confidence, but a sense of wisdom not present before the conquest. Many of the German, Flemish and Italian mercenaries brought to Africa by Sebastian were given land and convinced to stay in Morocco, as were many portuguese soldiers. This policy soon gave results, and the rebellious Rifian tribes soon found a worthy enemy in these crusaders.. Many locals were also encouraged to convert to Christianity, and many did, as there seemed there was no going back to the muslim order supported by the Ottoman Empire. Anyway, the new provinces of the Portuguese Empire had needs of all kinds of people in it's bureaucracies, militaries and government, and many of the locals were given a ticket in as long as they embraced the church.

Perhaps most importantly for Sebastian, was one particular woman who embraced the Church (eventually). A rather unknown sister of Sultan Abdullah by one of his father's other wives, the young muslim Princess and the Christian King became quick companions - something that worried his uncle Henry, who held court in Lisbon during Sebastian's absence. And Cardinal Henry's worries would prove to be right. In the woman whom history records initially as Princess Fatima of Morocco, who would eventually become Maria de Fatima, Queen of Portugal, Sebastian had found a kindred spirit upon whom he could lay down his woes. To Sebastian's close band of friends, Sebastian's closeness with the muslim woman should have been a case of worry, but as in all, the friendship they shared proved stronger than their duty to their faith, and they kept the King's secret, well, a secret.

When Sebastian landed in Lisbon in 1581, he brought many riches from Africa and many of Sultan Abdullah's courtiers and diplomats, and the news of the marriage contract between the King and the Sultan's sister spread through the Kingdom like wildfire. Surely, the King had been bewitched. It was only Queen Maria's public conversion to Christianity and her rather sizeable dowry that allowed for many gifts to be showered on the Portuguese nobility that allowed the Cortes to ratify the marriage, that was consumated shortly afterwards. But there remained a great deal of dissent and anger, both internally and internationally.

Sebastian's uncle, Philip of Spain was amongst the most outraged. Sebastian marrying a infidel princess was a source of great affront on it's own, but Philip had wished for Sebastian to marry his eldest daughter, in the hopes of forcing Portugal to join and finance his holy league. Philip led a diplomatic effort to have the pope nullify the marriage, and the pope would have agreed on it if not for the portuguese royal families visit to Rome later that year - with a heavily pregnant Queen Maria giving birth to a set of twins in the pope's own palace. Forced by Sebastian to become godfather to his first children, for he and his wife would indeed have many more in the future, the pope could not well deligitimize his own god-children, and the fact that Queen Maria's conversion seemed genuine and the increasing amounts of conversions amongst the moslems of Portugal's moroccans domains made it clear that the marriage was having some kind of positive result.

Sebastian and Philip would remain estranged for a long time, but would eventually rebuild their alliance, due to political reasons at the time. Sebastian had curtailed the inquisition, indeed, for it was amongst the inquisition itself that the doubters and "traitors" who had attempted to ruin the King's marriage had found support in, but he would continue a wide array of christianisation efforts in Portugal's colonies overseas, guided by new, better trained and equipped religious orders under the patronage of the Portuguese crown who worked to know and comprehend the populations they were trying to convert, to very succesful degrees. Soon, Christianity was making new breaks in India, Africa and Indonesia, and Macau became a center for the difusion of christianity to other places in China and Empires such as Japan and Korea. Portuguese Bandeirantes moved beyond the line of Tordesillas during his reign, starting the colonization of the Brazilian interior. When the Dutch attempted to usurp and conquer Portuguese colonies in an attempt to increase the Republic's revenues, it backfired immediatelly, as Sebastian moved to support Philip the II and the growing and very powerful Portuguese navy threw themselves like rabid dogs on Dutch shipping and trading.

In Sebastian's reign, the lesser Sunda Islands were conquered by the Portuguese, ruled from Flores, Timor and Malacca, this increased base of power allowed the Portuguese to conquer more trading outposts in the Greater Sunda Islands, especially in Sumatra and Java. Portugal established many vassals in the islands, fighting off the Ottoman supported local sultanates with support from the locals. This saw many Indonesian princes convert to Christianity, thus introducing the religion to many places in the region, and increased Portuguese influence immenselly.

Other than that, Sebastian followed a rather neutral and internal policy for the rest of his reign. He was mostly interested in the produces of his Empire, and strongly invested in Portugal itself - becoming the patron of many cities and settlements in the metropolis and overseas, building ports, hospitals, churches and monasteries, roads, forts, universities and trading depots. He was an avid lover of coffee, which quickly became the national beverage during his reign, alongside having a deep taste for the cuisine of the natives of Brazil, which he had been introduced too by the native servants of a courtier. Seing an opportunity to diversefy portuguese agriculture, Sebastian had many Columbian crops introduced to Europe and to a lesser degree Africa and Asia, especially potatoes, who became a peculiar favourite of the Sebastianist royal family.

Many Catholics from the Germanies, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the British isles found refuge and welcome in Portugal during his reign, numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Many of these men and women brought with them new ways of thinking and technology, and they integrated quickly into the portuguese population, greatly boosting the manpower of the Portuguese crown. Sebastian is famous for becoming the first of Portugal's absolute monarchs, starting a period known as the "Sebastianist Autocracy". He would eventually die, surrounded by his wife, many children and grandchildren. He was suceeded by his son, John.

[2] He was the oldest son of Sebastian and his wife, Maria, born in 1584. He was an unpopular successor to the throne, as his mother Maria had been practically disowned from her genealogies while his father was seen as a bewitched heretic, though he himself was a pious Catholic. The rest of Europe had looked on, aghast, at what they saw as a match made in hell. Ascending to the throne, he knew well that his position was insecure. Astute in his political dealings, he established a council and pushed through laws of religious freedom, even going so far as to suggest that morganatic marriages should be more commonplace in royalty. Despite this controversial opinion, he married Margaret of Austria, who was initially betrothed to his cousin Philip III of Spain, causing great tension between the two kings. He and Margaret fell in love over time, and they had sixteen children together. The king and queen were patrons of the arts, founding dozens of schools that focused on languages and arithmetic, and he was an avid hunter and a participant in jousts and tournaments. He preserved the laws for the military that his father had created. He was a king who ruled as well as reigned. He knew the importance of war and a high international profile in staking his claim to be a great warrior-king of Portugal. He successfully continued his father's Moroccan crusade, successfully defeating Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi. In battle he was brave, if impetuous, which led equally to triumph and disaster. He bargained hard over taxation and other issues with interest groups, often by appearing not to bargain at all. He enhanced royal power and concentrated decision-making in a tight personal executive but used a wide range of offices, gifts and his own personal charisma to build up an elective personal affinity among the ranks of the nobility upon whom his reign depended. He died of old age, beloved by his people and deeply mourned.
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Afonso VI of Portugal
[3] Afonso was born in 1607 as the first child of John IV and Margaret of Austria and was taught many subjects growing up as the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne, which would help mold him in becoming a intelligent and capable Prince. In 1626 he married Princess Sophia of England (b. 1606), the younger sister of Henry IX of England. Despite the controversy surounding the marriage (due to the couple's different religions), Afonso and Sophia were a loving couple and had five children together.

Afonso's reign as King of Portugal continued many of the policies of his predecessors, but also saw some other events happen. These include "Prince of Brazil" becoming the title of the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne, support of a failed Catholic rebellion in Japan, and the establishment of New Porto (OTL Cape Town) near the Cape of Good Hope in 1667.

Afonso died in 1678 at the age of 71, and was succeeded by ________________.
 
POD: Sebastian, the "desired" King of Portugal, is victorious in the Battle of Alcácer-Quibir.

Kings of Portugal and Algarves
1557-1613: Sebastian I "The Desired" (House of Aviz) [1]
1613-1651: John IV (House of Aviz) [2]
1651-1678: Afonso VI (House of Aviz) [3]
1651-1701: Fernando II "The Great" (House of Aviz) [4]


Emperors of Hispania

1701-1734: Fernando VI "the Great" (House of Aviz) [4]


[1]
Born to D. John Manuel, heir of Portugal and his wife Joanna of Austria in 1554, Sebastian was called the "the Desired" at his birth, for him being born remedied the dire situation the dinasty of Aviz had found itself in recent years, with the extinction of many of it's cadet branches and the lack of fertility apparent in the main line, including the death of his father just two weeks before his birth. Heir apparent at the moment he was born, Sebastian's birth would indeed prove a blessing when his grandfather died just three years later, and Sebastian became King Sebastian the I.

Tall, slim and blond, Sebastian was raised under the iron rule of his grandmother, Catherine of Austria, who shared the regency of her grandson with his uncle, Cardinal Henry of Evora. Due to this, the church, especially the Jesuits, played a strong hand in his upbringing and the King was raised as a true crusader, whose jesuits teachers inspired in him a desire to expand christianity around Portugal's colonies but especially to the enemies of the Portuguese in Africa, the morrocan infidels. The fact that the young King started excreting seminal fluids at the age of 9 did not bypass the sight of his grandmother, the regent, and soon the head jesuit in the care of Sebastian's education was shooed off the court. It was around this time that some rumours would sprout that the young King had suffered from pedophilia, although the Portuguese court, essentially killed the rumours.

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"Sebastianus Rex, a painting of the King during his early twenties, shortly before the invasion of Morocco."

During his regency, the influence of the Church in Portugal increased dramatically, as churchmen entered various positions of import in the court of the realm, and expanded the activities of the inquisition to many of the lands Portugal under it's sway. Portugal adquired some cities in India and Indonesia around this time, but most importantly, a deal was crafted with the Chinese that saw Macau become part of the growing Portuguese Empire.

Eventually, Sebastian came of age, although his regents continued holding influential posts in his government. Plans were crafted for Sebastian to marry Margot of France or an Austrian Princess, but Sebastian and the patrons of the respective women never came to an agreement, either due to the tense political and religious situation of France at the time or due to the overtures of the pope. Sebastian had also hinted to his uncle and neighbour, Philip of Spain, that he would be interested in marrying Isabella Clara Eugenia, his eldest daughter, or one of the younger daughters of the Spanish monarch, but no agreement was ever settled upon. Historians debate whether this was because of some kind of homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality from Sebastian, or a simple disinterest in such matters of state. Other historians refer to some misgivings about his illnesses, or psycological scars caused by his rape as a young child. Eventually, Sebastian would indeed find a wife, but not one would think of...

But Sebastian's one main obcession remained - to crusade against the muslim infidels, and win victory in a crusade. Sebastian's youthful idealism that turned into fanaticism in his adulthood, for Morocco was in his view the one main thorn on Portuguese honour. While constructing their Empire, the Portuguese had waged many smaller wars against the Moroccans, conquering many port cities but they had never been succesful in wider endeavours - but that was about to change. The Portuguese nobility and bourgeouise had good reasons to support their King's endeavours in the country to their south - mainly for prestige, security, trade and food for Portugal's population. Thus, Sebastian eventually forged a plan when an opportunity raised itself - Sultan Abdullah Mohammed of Morocco requested Portuguese assistance from his uncles, who had amassed an army in Ottoman Algiers and were now invading the country. Thus, Sebastian and the flower of Portugal's nobility embarked on a fleet that numbered in the hundreds, and soon, almost 18000 men landed in Portuguese cities in the Moroccan coast.

In a rather disappointing turn of events (for Sebastian), he fell ill almost as soon as he landed, and the Duke of Aveiro was thus forced to take command of the expedition. While not very experienced militarily, the young Duke was discovered to a fine logistician and a able listener, and soon, the Portuguese and their Moorish allies dragged Abd Al-Malik and his armies to the coast, where a recovered Sebastian re-invigorated the morale of his armies that handily defeated the Ottoman supported armies of Abd Al-Malik, killing both the pretender and his brother in the process. Sebastian himself was almost killed twice in the battle, but escaped the fighting wounded. It was a resounding Portuguese victory nonetheless, and one that made Sebastian's name rung through every hall in Christendom. A grateful Sultan Abdullah signed a treaty of alliance with Portugal and handed them many ports cities, but most importantly, gave the Portuguese suzerainty over the Gharb and Rif regions of the Portuguese coast, allowing Portugal to expand agricultural production to this new region with many southern portuguese immigrants setting up farms of wheat and many American crops that would serve handily in feeding Portugal - and in the Rif, the security of cities such as Tangiers and Ceuta was finally secured, and with trade with Saadi Morocco blooming, they became the very centers of the Luso-Moroccan trade and the Trans-Saharan trade.

To the surprise of many, Sebastian stayed in his new Moroccan possessions for three years, establishing a temporary capital in Tangiers. There, a mature and changed man finally escaped the shadow of his youth. Sebastian took to Kingship with a new, larger than life confidence, but a sense of wisdom not present before the conquest. Many of the German, Flemish and Italian mercenaries brought to Africa by Sebastian were given land and convinced to stay in Morocco, as were many portuguese soldiers. This policy soon gave results, and the rebellious Rifian tribes soon found a worthy enemy in these crusaders.. Many locals were also encouraged to convert to Christianity, and many did, as there seemed there was no going back to the muslim order supported by the Ottoman Empire. Anyway, the new provinces of the Portuguese Empire had needs of all kinds of people in it's bureaucracies, militaries and government, and many of the locals were given a ticket in as long as they embraced the church.

Perhaps most importantly for Sebastian, was one particular woman who embraced the Church (eventually). A rather unknown sister of Sultan Abdullah by one of his father's other wives, the young muslim Princess and the Christian King became quick companions - something that worried his uncle Henry, who held court in Lisbon during Sebastian's absence. And Cardinal Henry's worries would prove to be right. In the woman whom history records initially as Princess Fatima of Morocco, who would eventually become Maria de Fatima, Queen of Portugal, Sebastian had found a kindred spirit upon whom he could lay down his woes. To Sebastian's close band of friends, Sebastian's closeness with the muslim woman should have been a case of worry, but as in all, the friendship they shared proved stronger than their duty to their faith, and they kept the King's secret, well, a secret.

When Sebastian landed in Lisbon in 1581, he brought many riches from Africa and many of Sultan Abdullah's courtiers and diplomats, and the news of the marriage contract between the King and the Sultan's sister spread through the Kingdom like wildfire. Surely, the King had been bewitched. It was only Queen Maria's public conversion to Christianity and her rather sizeable dowry that allowed for many gifts to be showered on the Portuguese nobility that allowed the Cortes to ratify the marriage, that was consumated shortly afterwards. But there remained a great deal of dissent and anger, both internally and internationally.

Sebastian's uncle, Philip of Spain was amongst the most outraged. Sebastian marrying a infidel princess was a source of great affront on it's own, but Philip had wished for Sebastian to marry his eldest daughter, in the hopes of forcing Portugal to join and finance his holy league. Philip led a diplomatic effort to have the pope nullify the marriage, and the pope would have agreed on it if not for the portuguese royal families visit to Rome later that year - with a heavily pregnant Queen Maria giving birth to a set of twins in the pope's own palace. Forced by Sebastian to become godfather to his first children, for he and his wife would indeed have many more in the future, the pope could not well deligitimize his own god-children, and the fact that Queen Maria's conversion seemed genuine and the increasing amounts of conversions amongst the moslems of Portugal's moroccans domains made it clear that the marriage was having some kind of positive result.

Sebastian and Philip would remain estranged for a long time, but would eventually rebuild their alliance, due to political reasons at the time. Sebastian had curtailed the inquisition, indeed, for it was amongst the inquisition itself that the doubters and "traitors" who had attempted to ruin the King's marriage had found support in, but he would continue a wide array of christianisation efforts in Portugal's colonies overseas, guided by new, better trained and equipped religious orders under the patronage of the Portuguese crown who worked to know and comprehend the populations they were trying to convert, to very succesful degrees. Soon, Christianity was making new breaks in India, Africa and Indonesia, and Macau became a center for the difusion of christianity to other places in China and Empires such as Japan and Korea. Portuguese Bandeirantes moved beyond the line of Tordesillas during his reign, starting the colonization of the Brazilian interior. When the Dutch attempted to usurp and conquer Portuguese colonies in an attempt to increase the Republic's revenues, it backfired immediatelly, as Sebastian moved to support Philip the II and the growing and very powerful Portuguese navy threw themselves like rabid dogs on Dutch shipping and trading.

In Sebastian's reign, the lesser Sunda Islands were conquered by the Portuguese, ruled from Flores, Timor and Malacca, this increased base of power allowed the Portuguese to conquer more trading outposts in the Greater Sunda Islands, especially in Sumatra and Java. Portugal established many vassals in the islands, fighting off the Ottoman supported local sultanates with support from the locals. This saw many Indonesian princes convert to Christianity, thus introducing the religion to many places in the region, and increased Portuguese influence immenselly.

Other than that, Sebastian followed a rather neutral and internal policy for the rest of his reign. He was mostly interested in the produces of his Empire, and strongly invested in Portugal itself - becoming the patron of many cities and settlements in the metropolis and overseas, building ports, hospitals, churches and monasteries, roads, forts, universities and trading depots. He was an avid lover of coffee, which quickly became the national beverage during his reign, alongside having a deep taste for the cuisine of the natives of Brazil, which he had been introduced too by the native servants of a courtier. Seing an opportunity to diversefy portuguese agriculture, Sebastian had many Columbian crops introduced to Europe and to a lesser degree Africa and Asia, especially potatoes, who became a peculiar favourite of the Sebastianist royal family.

Many Catholics from the Germanies, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and the British isles found refuge and welcome in Portugal during his reign, numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Many of these men and women brought with them new ways of thinking and technology, and they integrated quickly into the portuguese population, greatly boosting the manpower of the Portuguese crown. Sebastian is famous for becoming the first of Portugal's absolute monarchs, starting a period known as the "Sebastianist Autocracy". He would eventually die, surrounded by his wife, many children and grandchildren. He was suceeded by his son, John.

[2] He was the oldest son of Sebastian and his wife, Maria, born in 1584. He was an unpopular successor to the throne, as his mother Maria had been practically disowned from her genealogies while his father was seen as a bewitched heretic, though he himself was a pious Catholic. The rest of Europe had looked on, aghast, at what they saw as a match made in hell. Ascending to the throne, he knew well that his position was insecure. Astute in his political dealings, he established a council and pushed through laws of religious freedom, even going so far as to suggest that morganatic marriages should be more commonplace in royalty. Despite this controversial opinion, he married Margaret of Austria, who was initially betrothed to his cousin Philip III of Spain, causing great tension between the two kings. He and Margaret fell in love over time, and they had sixteen children together. The king and queen were patrons of the arts, founding dozens of schools that focused on languages and arithmetic, and he was an avid hunter and a participant in jousts and tournaments. He preserved the laws for the military that his father had created. He was a king who ruled as well as reigned. He knew the importance of war and a high international profile in staking his claim to be a great warrior-king of Portugal. He successfully continued his father's Moroccan crusade, successfully defeating Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I Saadi. In battle he was brave, if impetuous, which led equally to triumph and disaster. He bargained hard over taxation and other issues with interest groups, often by appearing not to bargain at all. He enhanced royal power and concentrated decision-making in a tight personal executive but used a wide range of offices, gifts and his own personal charisma to build up an elective personal affinity among the ranks of the nobility upon whom his reign depended. He died of old age, beloved by his people and deeply mourned.

[/SPOILER]
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Afonso VI of Portugal
[3]
Afonso was born in 1607 as the first child of John IV and Margaret of Austria and was taught many subjects growing up as the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne, which would help mold him in becoming a intelligent and capable Prince. In 1626 he married Princess Sophia of England (b. 1606), the younger sister of Henry IX of England. Despite the controversy surrounding the marriage (due to the couple's different religions), Afonso and Sophia were a loving couple and had five children together.

Afonso's reign as King of Portugal continued many of the policies of his predecessors, but also saw some other events happen. These include "Prince of Brazil" becoming the title of the heir-apparent to the Portuguese throne, support of a failed Catholic rebellion in Japan, and the establishment of New Porto (OTL Cape Town) near the Cape of Good Hope in 1667.

Afonso died in 1678 at the age of 71, and was succeeded by his grandson, Fernando.

[4] Fernando was the second son of the first son of Afonso. His father was Prince Jao of Brazil and his mother was Joana of Spain. Unfortunately, his father and older brother, Afonso, died of an influenza outbreak when Fernando was only ten years old. His grandfather immediately sent for him so he could learn how to rule.

Fernado was a bookish boy who loved learning of times of the old. He was quite interested in the history of Iberia, particularly by the old empire of Hispania. Historians would wonder if he had plans to recreate the empire even when he was only a teenager. Considering his ambitious pursuits even before his grandfather died and the fact that everyone knew that Charles II of Spain, often called the Bewitched was unlikely to have children, this was most likely the case.

In 1678, seventeen-year-old, Fernando became King of Portugal and the Algarves. Almost immediately, he began to consolidate his rule and made many investments. There were some rumors that he was plotting to invade Spain, but historians suspect, he was merely preparing for the succession crisis that would follow Charles' death. wanting to be sure he could contend with the forces of Archduke Charles and Philip of Anjou, his main rivals While that wasn't necessarily the most diplomatic thing to do, it was pragmatic.

Secondly, he went looking for alliances. He sent his grandmother to England in hopes that she could convince her great-nephew to support Portugal. He even to his main trading rival the Dutch Republic to has out an argument. He sent a letter to Pope Innocent , asking for advice on a bride, knowing he would choose a relative of his. As he suspected, Pope Innocent offered his niece, Giulia Pignatelli whose family was among the aristocrats of Naples.

Fernando would marry Giulia in 1697. It would be love at first sight for the royal couple with Fernado saying that he married her for his ambitions, but she had managed to steal his heart. They would have twelve children. Giulia would be his regent for his time away.

In 1701, Charles II of Spain finally passed away. Fernando had been named his heir and he wasted no time, entering Spain, racing to Castile before any of his rivals could get there. Unfortunately, his plan to have the support of the bishop of Rome was derailed by Pope Innocent dying just a year before. Worse, Pope Clement was forced to name Archduke Charles King of Spain when the imperial army began invading Italy. And the Dutch Republic found it swarmed by French troops.

However, Fernado was not down and out yet. He still had Britain on his side and he was in control of the troops of Spain. Not to mention the troops of the countries under his control.

Fernando had the Archbishops of Toledo crown him the Emperor of Hispinia before he marched of to fight both sides who thankfully were fighting each other. He first attack Italy, to free the pope from imperial control. He used Giulia's relatives in Naples to spread false information that he would march on Rome, allowing him to take the troops waiting outside Naples by surprise. He then freed Sicily before making his way to Rome.

By this time, France had also been marching on the Imperial armies, causing them to be split in two ways. It wouldn't take long before Archduke Charles was forced to withdraw, leaving Spain and France to duke it out.

After Rome was freed Pope Clement wasted no time refuting his earlier words while confirming Fernado's status as Emperor of Hispinia, giving him the title of Defender of the Faith.

The war with France would last until 1711. It would end with a treaty and a double betrothal. Fernado's oldest son would marry the princess of France while his daughter would marry the Dauphin.

Fernando returned home triumphantly. He would award his allies with titles and dynastic marriages. He would work to consolidate his empire, knowing that his ancestor Emperor Charles had struggled doing so.

Scandal broke out in 1727 when the Prince of Brazil revealed that he had eloped with a woman of Tupiniquim tribe. Her true name is lost to history, but the prince referred her as Antonia. Considering he was supposed marry the Princess of France. This sparked outrage with King Louis and the Pope demanding that either the prince refuted his marriage or he be removed from the line of succession.

The Prince of Brazil argued that his ancestor Sebastian had a similarly controversial marriage and Antonia was willing to convert to Christianity. Pressured by the Pope and France, Fernando dispirited his son and forbade him from returning to his homeland so long as he kept his bride. However, Fernando was coaxed by Julia to allow him to continue holding the title Prince of Brazil.

In 1733, the Austria succession war would break out. Unfortunately, Fernando would be unable to participate as he was dying in bed. To the shock of Europe, just before he died, Fernando recanted his dishiniriting of the Prince of Brazil, calling for him to come home.
 
Kings of France and Navarre
1289-1316: Louis X "The Quarrelsome" (House of Capet)
1316-1356: Jean I "The Posthumous" (House of Capet) [1]
1356-1395: Henri II "The Thunderbolt" (House of Capet) [2]
1395-1407: Philippe V "The Unremarkable" (House of Capet) [3]
1407-1431: Jean II "The Strong" (House of Capet) [4]
1431-1468: Henri III "The Wise" (House of Capet) [5]
1468-1500: Jean III (House of Capet) [6]
1500-1515: François I (House of Capet) [7]
1515-1560: Jeanne I (House of Capet) [8]
1560-1587: Louis XI (House of Capet) [9]
1587-1592: Louis XII "the Brief" (House of Capet) [10]
1592-1639: Marie I (House of Capet) [11]
1639-1651: Henri IV (House of Capet) [12]
1651-1700: Jean Philippe "the Philosopher" I (House of Capet) [13]
1702-1723: Louis XIII (House of Capet) [14]
1723-1775: Louis XIV “the Beloved and Benevolent” (House of Capet) [15]


[1] Louis X "The Quarrelsome" died in 1316, leaving a four-year-old daughter and a pregnant wife behind. Jean was born in November 1316. The king would sleep soundly in his cradle as his relatives fought for power over him. His mother, Clementina and his great-uncle Charles of Valois had to contend with Jean's regent,his uncle Philippe the Tall, Count of Poitiers.

Unfortunately for them, Philip was well liked and a shrewd statesman, reforming the laws of France and even discontinuing some of the unpopular policies of his brother, Louis. To consolidate his control over the young king, he arranged a marriage between Jean and his eldest daughter, Joan (1308). Because they were first cousins, Philip would get a papal deposition. When he fell ill in 1322, he pushed for the wedding to happen straight away despite the groom only being six. He would die before it could happen.

With Philip's death, Jean needed a new regent. His remaining uncle, Charles de Le Marche took over. During this time, tensions with England were at an all time high despite Jean's aunt Isabella being married to the King of England. In 1325, Jean's great-uncle, Charles of Valois managed to take back the duchy of Aquitaine and regent Charles, declared that King Edward II's French titles were forfeit. It would be in 1327 when King Edward II was disposed would Aquitaine be returned to England in the hands, of Jean's cousin, Edward III, albeit a much reduced territory.

In 1328, Charles also died, leaving Jean as the only male left in the main branch of the House of Capets. Charles of Valois's son Philip would take over as regent. In 1330, at fourteen-years-old Jean would marry his cousin, Joan. She would birth a son in 1331, dying due to childbed fever, leaving Jean a teenage widower with a babe. It was imperative that he married as quickly as he could.

He would marry Bonne of Luxembourg (1315) in 1332. They had eleven children before her death in 1349 of bubonic plague. Despite having several sons, Jean would marry for a third and final time in 1350 to Eleanor of Sicily I1325), they would have three child before he died.

Shortly, after his second marriage, Jean was declared of age and allowed to rule, although he would forever rely on the advice and counsel of Philip of Valois.

However, Jean's relations with England and his cousin Edward would begin to deteriorate with Jean feeling that Aquitaine and the rest of the French lands that were under English control belonged to France. In 1337, Robert III of Artois, who had committed forgery to illegally obtain an intermittence, sought refuge in England. When Edward refused to hand him over, the twenty-one-year old king declared Aquitaine forfeit. In retaliation, Edward III accused Jean of being an imposter, saying that real Jean of France died after five days and a cockoo was placed in his stead. (This rumor has been debunked by modern DNA tests). Edward proclaimed himself the rightful King of France as the sole living grandson of King Philip IV.

King Jean fought alongside his friend and cousin, Philip of Valois who was give the Duchy of Aquitaine. The Battle of Crécy in 1546 would be a disaster for the French army with Philip injured and Jean barely escaping with his life. It was a catastrophe for the French and would feature the loss of Calais.

Three years later, Queen Bonne would die of the plague which would destroy one third of the population. It was an tragedy. Jean's third wedding was a somber event with the continued hostilities with England, the recovery from the plague and the death of Jean's friend Philip.

In 1555, the war with England would restart and Jean would lead his troops in Battle of Poitiers where in a miraculous moment, he manged to subdue and capture Edward, the Black Prince. Unfortunately, Jean would not have long to gloat for a year later, he would die of dysentery. His son, Henri, would take care of the negotiations with England.

[2] The second son of Jean the I, Henri was made Duke of Orleans at birth, for his father intended for him to be the strong right hand of his elder brother, Phillipe, when he came of age. Thus, Henri was given a thorough martial education, although the boy soon proved himself far too intelligent and talented to be limited to the sword and lance. Being given many tutors from places as close as Normandy and Languedoc, and as far as Bohemia and the Eastern Roman Empire, both Henri and his brothers, Phillipe, Charles and Hercules were brought in a growing cosmopolitan Paris, under the strict but benevolent watch of their father.

Thankfully for King Jean, his second son was growing to pay dividends - at the bare age of twelve, the young Henri was already defeating boys four and five years older in the tiltyard, and stayed at the side of his tutor, the Constable of France, during various military meetings of importance. As as young Knight and Duke, Henri would gain his spurs during the battles of Crecy and would fight in more battles, featuring in the defense of Calais where he led a small army that proved a great thorn for the English. He would make several friends at this stage, such as the Duke of Burgundy, the Count of Alençon and many others.

He would retire to Orleans then, where the Young Duke took upon himself the duty of ruling. His close watch, support for the artisans of the Duchy and his heavy involvement in the local economy made him a very beloved ruler, as Henri attracted Jewish, German and Italian glass-makers and Greek and Sicilian silk-weavers. Thus, Orleans became a famous commercial center, closely linked to both the Aquitaine and Champagne trade routes, the city becoming famous for it's glass and becoming the first and major center of what would come to be known as "Capetian Silk".

When the second war of King Jean's reign with England started, Henri faced a early loss which blackened his heart - his brother, leading a charge of French infantry-men during a battle against the Prince of Wales, was shot down by English Longbowmen. The fall of the Dauphin's standard almost broke the French army, but Henri, raging, took up the Orleans and Dauphine standards - and charged straight into the English lines, The sight of the Duke of Orleans, surrounded by no more than twenty retainers, charging alone at the thousand Englishmen raised the spirits of his army, who followed the new Crown Prince into the battle. The Battle of Puymartin is the first, and perhaps most famous victory of Henri.


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The heavy defeat handed to the Black Prince forced him to retreat North, where the English fell into the clutches of the army led by King Jean and Phillipe of Valois. His army tired and restless, Henri took upon himself to siege every single English occupied castle in Aquitaine, withdrawing the English poison root and stem. Just as he had finished the pacification of Aquitaine, and with his army reinforced by the locals, the news of the death of his father reached him. After a hasty trip to Reims, Henri was crowned, promising on God and France to forever expel the English from the continent. It was a promise Henri would make due on.

With Edward of Wales in his hands, the English were fighting with one hand behind their backs - Edward the III did not wish to risk his eldest and most favoured son, who was a captive in Paris, even if he was treated well and the French seemed to mostly ignore him, Henri was far too focused on his goal. Despite Edward calling for truces several times, Henri led his armies and a myriad of Free Companies northwards, intent on ending the Plantagenet stain on Capetian France. The battle of Hainaut (1358) and the Siege of Calais (1359) were both French victories, with Henri changing many of the tactics used by the French armies in the face of English innovations, such as the Longbow. The support of the Duke of Burgundy, and his wife, Margaret, Countess of Flanders, proved to be the tipping point that would see the English Crown finally expelled from France. The following Treaty of Chartres saw Edward the III renounce all of his rights to French territorry, including Calais and Aquitaine, in return for his son, who would be sent on a ship to England with the returning English diplomats.

Victory cemented Henri upon his throne - the young royal was, perhaps, the most powerful King of France since Louis IX, and his influence was felt everywhere. In some places, Henri was almost revered as a warrior Saint. But Henri proved to not only be a warrior. With the Black Plague still making making periodic returns, taking with it another one of Henri's brothers, Charles Duke of Berry, Henri turned to the sickness with the same ferocity he had faced the English. He and his advisors reinforced French hospitals, founding many in the many major municipalities of France, and they also correctly identified rats and such other vermin as the bringers of the plague, and the French people followed Henri's adoption of cats as pets - the Kingdom of France become henceforth known as the "Kingdom of Cats", for cats were found in every street of Paris during Henri's reign.

The death of so many serfs, peasants and nobles left a lot of land in the hands of the crown - and Henri was anything if not a greedy land grabber. Aquitaine was re-bought from the Valois, who were in deep crisis due to some shady investments, alongside the County of Anjou but a few years later. The Angevin Kings of Naples, who faced revolts in Provence, also sold the full rights to Provence to Henri in 1374, with the new French professional army, modeled and using as a base the many Free Companies that had sprouted in Gascony, Normandy and Burgundy during the English wars, was one of the most ferocious and effective armies in Europe at the time. His brother Hercules would receive the County of Nice as appanage after the seizure, alongside his other title of Count of Montpensier.

The death of the last Burgundian Duke, Phillipe the I, a great friend of Henri, would also see the Duchy of Burgundy, the Counties of Boulogne and Auvergne, reunited with the French Crown. Deep in grief for the death of his friend, the wifeless King was soon approached by Phillipe's widow, Margaret of Flanders. She too, needed a new husband, for she was heirless, and the marriage would be advantageous for them both. Both young and fertile, the young couple would grow to love each other. Margaret of Flanders brought along many rich lordships, such as Flanders, Rethel, Nevers, Artois and the County of Burgundy, in the Holy Roman Empire. It was the perfect marriage, and the couple soon grew to love each other deeply. As said before, Margaret would prove a dutiful wife and an excellent queen. She birthed the King no more than 11 healthy children at birth.

With so many lands in the hands of the monarchy, Henri's power was almost absolute. He cemented French laws, creating new taxes, reforming and modernizing old legal systems, reformed the army, as mentioned before, encourage commerce and would further increase the royal domain by seizing the lands of the House of Hainault, taking Hainaut for himself and delivering the County of Zeeland to his wife. He would make his brother Hercules, whom he trusted deeply, alongside his titles of Montpensier and Nice, Duke of Holland as well. With the royal coffers full, Henri would become famous for the love he and his wife shared of palace-building, with Henri building almost twenty palaces during his reign, many of which are tourist attractions today.

Deeply beloved, and surrounded by allies, due to the fact his army of sisters was married off to many European Princes and French nobles, a loyal and stateswoman of a wife and a large brood of children, Henri took to feasting and drinking heavily in his later years. He and his wife, would, literally, grow fat and old together, but the aged King would quickly become an alcoholic. While wintering in Navarre, Henri would catch a cold after walking in the Pyrenean snows while riding to his rural residence where his wife was staying. The simple cold, however, would be enough to topple a great King. Henri died in 1395, being succeeded by his son Philippe.

[3] Named for both his late uncle and his father's friend, Philippe was born in 1371. It was hard for Philippe growing up as he stood in the shadows of his grandfather and father. His grandfather had been born a king and against all odd lived and ruled for forty years and single-handedly saved the depleted main branch the Capet dynasty. Meanwhile his father had manged to successfully expel the English and the plague from his lands.

Both were figures of legends, leaving Philippe rather small in comparison. Because of this he had a massive inferiority complex with traces of paranoia.

In 1385, he would marry Isabeau of Bavaria. The marriage was suggested to make an alliance against the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage at first seemed to blossoming into a love match. However, the early death of their son, Louis drove a wedge between the two. It would slowly get worse when Isabeau's next two children would die in the cradle.

They seemed to have reconciled in 1382, when their next son, also called Louis, was born. The couple became even closer when in 1495, when Henri died and Philippe would become king in a join coronation with his wife.

However, Isabeau proved herself an unpopular queen unlike her much beloved predecessor (who had retired to her native Flanders). She was haughty, quarrelsome and a spendthrift. There were also rumors circulating that she was unfaithful.

Although his wife had given him four more children, Philippe would distant himself from his wife, becoming distrustful of her. Things would come to a head when in 1401, their son, Louis died before his ninth birthday. This would be the tipping point. In June 1401, Isabeau would miscarry her baby (speculated to be because the stress she was under,although others wonder if there was a darker reason such as her husband beating her). In August, she would be arrested on the charges of adultery. If a queen being arrested wasn't scandalous enough, the king's distant cousin, Jean of Valois was accused of being her lover. Both were held in prison until their trial.

It was largely a farce of trial with half the witnesses being enemies of either the Duke of Valois or the queen and the other half spoke only hearsay. Unfortunately, the judges declared the Duke and the Queen guilty above the protests of their family.

Philippe would commute their punishment to life imprisonment despite being well in his rights to execute them both. Unfortunately, Jean would die just two years later of bad treatment at the hands of his jailers.

In 1407, Philipee would be found stabbed in his bed, with the words JUSTICE crudely carved in his forehead. His brother, Jean, would succeed him.

[4] Jean the II was the younger brother of Phillipe the V, having been given the title of Duke of Anjou and Count of Maine when he reached his majority, becoming an extremely influential figure in the reigns of his late father and brother. Known for his violent character and his enormous size (Jean was often compared to the Titans of Hellenic Myths), the young Duke of Anjou was promised at birth to Phillipa Plantagenet, daughter of Edward the IV (Edward the Black Prince)

Jean's first years as ruler of his duchy were ... special, in a way. Anjou had been for decades now one of the centers of the Anglo-French conflicts, but with the English exiled from the continent, it was prime time, at least in Jean's eyes, to renew Anjou and Maine as centers of French Chivalry and commerce, and this he did so. Tourneys, fairs and meeles became the glamour of Anjou during these times, and the immigration of Jews and various other french ethnicities to the land proved useful in making Anjou grow. It was during these times that Jean travelled to England to fetch his bride - despite English attempts at breaking the marriage, due to the fact that both of her brothers, Edward and Richard, were still childless, his arrival in London broke the reverie. Not much is known of whatever negotiations happened during Jean's two-month stay in England, but he did return to France with with the "Fair Maid of Kent".

King Jean has always been described as a zealous christian, due to his support for the crusader movements in the Balkans and Anatolia, and his attacks on the many Kingdoms and Emirates of North Africa, but he should also be remembered as a patron and protector of the Jewish people. Many jews worked in the growing bureaucracy and administration of France during this period, and Jean's head of health both as Duke and as King was a jew, whom he hired after Phillipa miscarried their first child. Of the six next children the couple would have, all would be taken to term.

Jean rose to the throne over his two nieces - whom he would raise and adopt at his own. Extremely furious at the way his brother died, Jean would hunt down the partisans of Isabeau of Bavaria, conducting a purge of much of the nobility. The House of Valois would survive through the mercy of Constance Capet, the young Countess of Angouleme and Valois, who protected her husband and children from the fury of her brother.

Afterwards, Jean's reign was mostly quiet, other than some interventions and support for Crusader missions in the Balkans and North Africa. Jean's Meditteranean navy would conquer the cities of Algiers and Bone, whom the young French army would defend. For this, Jean and all future King's of France would gain the title of his Most Christian majesty. He died in 1431, being succeeded by his eldest son, Henri.

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[5] Born in 1404, Henri was the first child born after the miscarriage, to Jean and Phillipa Plantagenet and although the parents were over the moon to have their first child in their arms, they were distressed at the birth defect which affected Henri, his left leg was missing from above the knee, apart from this his health was perfect.
Jean's Jewish head of health, stated that this was not a curse but a test from God and as Henri grew, his parents and tutors were able to see that, he was able to compensate his missing limb, by strengthening his upper body, as well as studying hard.
One of his Jewish tutors was also able to create a saddle that balanced him on the horse, so he was still able to train as much as his brother(s), uncles and cousins.

By the age of 16, in 1420, Henri was serving his father in the treasury as well as attending diplomatic meetings, during one such meeting his father and Henri would arrange the marriage of Henri to his cousin, Marie of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy (1381–1433) and Mary of France (1380-1436), herself daughter of Henri II and Margaret of Flanders, sister of Philippe and Jean.

The marriage would take place in 1426 and was a well attended event, with royalty from around Europe, followed by a tense bedding ceremony, which went without a problem.
The marriage would be a happy one and lead to the birth of many healthy children.

Like his father and grandfather, Henri, would arrange marriages to European Monarchs, forming stronger alliances, better trading deals and saw a long period of peace.

Internally, following years of working in the treasury, Henri, was able keep the royal purse ever growing, allowing him to finance projects, such as new cathedrals, one of which would be dedicated to his father, Jean the Most Christian Majesty, with Pope Eugene IV, beginning the process of awarding Jean a sainthood.
Not only were his policies beneficial to the nobility but they also brought great economic prosperity to his subjects, greatly increasing the population.
During the conclave of 1447, there were talks of new policies being brought in to support Christian monarchs to expel all Jews from their country, French cardinals were ordered by Henri to not vote for these policies, this would lead to French Cardinal, Guillaume d'Estouteville being voted in at the election, becoming Pope John XXIII, in honour of Henri’s father, Jean.

One of the most major acts of his rule was to bring about a constitution as at this point in French history, they lacked a formal constitution; the regime essentially relied on custom. The constitution was discussed by Henri, the high ranking nobles and the senior members from the Parliament of Paris.
The constitution, cemented the law of male succession only and the absolute monarchy role as God’s chosen voice in France, second only to the Pope.
Catholicism would be the state religion and Catholic Churches would be separate from taxes. Other religions would be tolerated in France as long as they are peaceful.

His death in 1468 aged 64 years old, would be felt heavily in his home nation and across Europe as his many letters of advice to monarchs had helped them deal with internal financial and constitutional crises.
He was succeeded by his son Jean.


[6] Born in 1431, he was the firstborn son of Henri II and Marie. He was born with all his limbs, but without his voice. Despite this, he was a very intelligent boy who was passionate about literature and the theater. He was trained from his childhood to one day be king, and he took to the job with aplomb. Soon he was attending state meetings alongside his father, and even was the one behind the idea of making peace with the house of Valois. His disinterest in marrying or siring children exasperated his advisors, but since he had many legitimate nephews, Jean ignored them the same way he ignored all potential betrothal contracts. He founded a dozen schools and wrote many books under his own name, and was a big fan of attending plays, being for his whole life a patron of the arts. He also promoted religious tolerance, but this was an unpopular policy with his Christian nobility. His court festivals, building projects and tapestries were all known for their rich colors, and he spent almost ruinous sums on them. But this accomplished his aim of bolstering royal prestige through lavish cultural display, and his reign is known today for the artistic flourishing simulated by his patronage as well as the frequent hosting of Europe's leading artists and writers. He also rewrote the constitution by his father, abolishing the law of only male succession in favor of male-preference primogeniture, and forced the church to pay taxes. He died after drinking some poisoned wine, having died single and childless.

[7] François of Anjou was born in 1469, the first born son of Louis, Duke of Anjou and Beatrice of Savoy. His father died when he was four years old and he raised by his mother and his older sister. He married Ippolita Viscounti, daughter of the Duke of Milian, in 1485. It was not a grand match, but one that brought coin and a link to a dynastic house of Italy. They would have nine children.

After the death of King Henri in 1500, François and his wife would be crowned in a grand ceremony. The new king would restlessly search for the man who had poisoned his uncle, determined to gain justice to his uncle. To his anger, he found out that the culprit was the Count of Bar, an old friend of his. Angered at such a personal betrayal, he had the man and his hired assassin boiled alive in oil as was the customary punishment in those days for poisoners.

For the next fifteen years, François was determined to bring the culture of France to new heights, using his wife's Italian connection to invite all sorts of artists. Upon hearing of Enrique of Castile's patronizing exploration of the new world, the king sponsored several explorers.

The king was a lover of fine food, fine wine and fine women. Unfortunetly, this would soon wear his body out. King François would die of gout in 1515, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Jeanne.

[8] Jeanne, born in 1486 was the oldest of eight daughters of François and Ippolita, her sole brother having died in his adolescence. Thanks to her grand-uncle, Jean III, whom she was named after, she was able to succeed to the throne. She was considered to be a graceful beauty, with a vivacious and lively personality and an affable nature. She regularly hosted masques and tournaments that thoroughly dazzled her contemporaries at her lavish court, and her patronage of the arts made a significant contribution to French culture. She was determined to show that she, as a woman ruling France, could maintain the prestige and magnificence established by her predecessors. However, she never married. She knew that marriage meant she had to lose power to her husband, and whichever man she selected could provoke political instability or even insurrection. Instead, she had a series of short-term favorites at court. Though her single status led to accusations of irresponsibility, her silence with regards to such matters, however, strengthened her own political security: she knew that if she named an heir, her throne would be vulnerable to a coup. She performed her ceremonial role as queen in strict accordance with formal court etiquette, and regularly and punctually fulfilled all representational duties that the court life demanded of her. She was also an example of Catholic piety and was famed for her generosity to the poor and needy through her philanthropy, which made her very popular among the public her entire life as queen. Though she followed a largely defensive foreign policy, her reign raised France's status abroad. Under Jeanne, the nation gained a new self-confidence and sense of sovereignty. She knew that a monarch ruled by popular consent, and therefore always worked with parliament and advisers she could trust to tell her the truth. She passed away due to illness, single and childless, but surrounded by dozens of her sisters' children and grandchildren.


[9} Born Monsieur le Prince, Louis was from birth the eldest of the Blood Princes and the highest of France's peers, holding titles such as the Duchy of Touraine, the Counties of Angouleme, Vexin, Forez, Perche and Boulougne. Being raised to a senior most position within French society and the class elites, Louis was given an extensive education of matters of war and statescraft. He was born after the death of his father, the previous Duke, to Princess Contansce Zephyrine of France, second eldest of King François' brood of girls. Thus, he was also raised in the belief that he might be heir to the French throne one day, a destination, that did come to prove itself true in the future.

Louis' adulthood was marked by a series of family compacts that the political war he would wage with his royal aunt when securing his majority unfold - in essence, Jeanne's refusal to name him successor, and her efforts to tamper with his efforts to succeed to the Duchy of Luxembourg, alongside Jeanne's refusal to grant him his desired titles of Governorship over French Flanders. Louis' would still manage to win over the widowed Agnes of Luxembourg as his wife - bringing the Duchy of Luxembourg, the County of Namur and the Duchy of Limburg into his possessions. This vast increase of land and Louis' exploits in the Netherlands made him an enemy of various of his aunt's favourites, and of his aunt herself, but Louis' purse alongside his savy knowledge of french politics saved his skin.


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Jeanne eventually gave away, and Louis and Agnes became King and Queen of France. The first decrees of Louis' reign where changing the rules of succession in France to Salic law, something that greatly pleased the Princes of the Blood. Had Louis' elder aunt, Margarite, had children, the throne of France would have passed outside the House of Capet for the first time in centuries, right onto the hands of the von Luxembourgs who ruled in Spain, or if Louis himself had never been born into the House that had taken the Luxembourgian lands in Central Europe, the von Habsburgs. It was a tense situation, none so because Louis derived legitimacy from his mother over his aunts, but Louis' rank as first prince of the blood made the situation clearer.

Luxembourgian (Technically, the House of Luxembourg-Avis) had ruled the whole of the Iberian Peninsula for two generations now, with the Kingdoms having been unified during the reigns of Manuel the I of all Spanish realms, but Spain, despite growing into the first colonial Empire, with vast conquests in America and many outspots in Africa, Arabia and India, had kept itself outside of continental affairs for some while now, too busy with it's overseas exploits and it's drive into Morocco. France and Spain had mostly kept the peace, other than a few disagreements here and there. But Louis would decidedly draw France into Spain's sights - he, seeing monarchs such as the English and Spanish Kings enriching themselves, sent vast fleets of exploration to the new world, setting up colonies firstly in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, where Breton (The Bretons were rather autonomous vassals of the French Kings, but still French nonetheless) and Norman fishermen were making a fortune, establishing contancts with the natives and forming settlements in Acadie (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) but further south, other even more successful colonies were formed, eventually forming two sister colonies in the southern tip of Africa and South America. Taking inspirations from the Franks, the two forming colonies would be called Neustrie-Neuve (New Neustria, OTL La Plata) and Nouvelle Austrasie (New Austrasia, OTL Cape-colony).

Fascinated by the so called Columbian exchange, France was one of the first country to massively import American crops, which first became a delicacy but then a highly sought product that could easily supplement the volatile french diet. The sudden growth in population caused by this ammelioration of France's health standards during Louis' reign would create massive movements towards France's colonies but allow France the manpower to conquer more Algerian coastal cities and make war in Germany and Spain at the same time. France would annex the Duchy of Brabant and tribute from the Prince-Bisphoric of Liege during this time, alongside recognition of Lorraine as a French Peerage and thus, vassal. In Spain, the new King was not so successful, as he lost a few border towns with Spain and almost lost Navarre twice, but France's highly experienced army pulled through for the Kingdom. Louis dreamnt of forming a universalist monarchy that would cover the whole of Europe eventually.

He, clearly, did not succeed in all his goals. He died aged and old, surrounded by his various children. He was succeeded by his son Louis.

[10] Louis, the twelfth of his name was already a man in his sixties, sick with goat so it was almost certain he would not last long. Sometimes, he would be called the placeholder king, although none would dare say it to his face, as he had a ferocious temper. In the defense of Louis, he had spent must of his time as his father's heir, running his various lands with great skill. However, in just two years of his reign, he was already bedridden, thrusting his heir in the position of regent.

In 1592, he would finally pass on, allowing his daughter, Marie to succeed him.

[11] Marie was the only living child of Louis XII, her siblings all having died in infancy. She was trained to be queen from a young age and accepted as heir, since there had been a successful predecessor. Like Jeanne I, she also never married, being content with the possibility of being succeeded by her cousins or their children. However, unlike her ancestress she was not considered to be charming or feminine, and was physically unattractive, having suffered smallpox as a child. She was unyielding and authoritarian in her rule, unable to forgive or forget any slight made against her, with a worse temper than her father ever had. She maintained most of the ministers of her father, and exiled her mother from court after discovering that she was having an affair with one of Marie's servants. She was careful never to favor anybody over anyone else, knowing what happened if people thought the monarch was being monopolized. She ruled by council, and her mother was a key figure, although Marie only occasionally took her advice. She continued the tradition of importing American crops, and considered a colonial venture into Africa, but ultimately was talked out of that. She won a war against Germany and Spain, who wished to reclaim Brabant and Lorraine, and negotiated the purchase of French slaves afterwards. There is no evidence that she had expressed any romantic or sexual interest in anybody, despite contemporary speculations of the queen perhaps being a lesbian. She shared her father's love of the virginals, which had been one of her first instruments, and in her free time she often composed music. In the sphere of women's fashion, Marie introduced the wearing of thin black veils that fell in waves across the face. France emerged as the leading European power during her reign, and warfare had defined her foreign policy. She passed away of what is now known to be diabetes, but then was thought to be poison.


[12] Henri IV was the nephew of Louis XII, having been born as the oldest son of younger brother Charles in 1575. As a result, when Marie died in 1639 with Marie refusing to marry, Henri IV would become King at the age of 64, being already an elderly man. However, Henri IV, despite expectations that his reign would be a short one as a placeholder for one of his seven children with Sophia, Princess of Denmark, would prove to be a surprisingly competent and effective ruler, reigning for over a decade before his death in 1651 with his reign being largely a continuation of Marie's reign in its policies, even if Henri would prove to be more personable than his predecessor. When Henri IV died in 1651, he would be succeeded by his son Jean Philippe.


[13] Jean Philippe had an interest in philosophy and the classics during his childhood. During his tenure as the Dauphin, he began collecting the works of Greco-Roman philosophers of ancient and late antiquity.

Upon his ascension as King of France, he took it upon himself to build his personal Chateau at Versailles. There, he hosted banquets and debates with the great philosophers by the later half of the 17th Century.

Heavily distracted by his deep esoteric interest, he left the governance of the realm to his brothers. However he married Anne Claudia, a daughter of Honore V Auguste, Prince of Monaco for whom he was a great friend and fellow philosopher as well. Jean Philippe and Anne Claudia only had a son and daughter in their respectable marriage.

The King would pass away peacefully in his Chateau at Versailles in 1702, his heir succeed him as King Louis the Thirteenth.
[14] Louis was already in his thirties when he became king, having married Louisa of Iberia in 1688, he already had three children with her and would go on to have five more after he ascended the throne. Louis was a man who born in the wrong century, wishing everyone could go back to the time of knights and crusades. He had a rather romantic view of war and glory. He even petitioned the pope to fight launch a holy war against the Ottoman Empire.

Louis was a man who played hard, enjoying competive sports far more than what he called dusty old books. Unfortunately, that would be his downfall. In 1723, he had decided to try his hand at horse racing, viewing it as close as he would ever get to having a joust. The horse stumbled and fell, breaking its leg and Louis fell off his horse, hitting his head on a rock, dying almost instantly.

Despite his glory-seeking nature, the twenty years of his regin had been peaceful and without incident. He was succeeded by his son, Louis.

[15] Born in 1692, Louis was the second child and first born son of Prince Louis and Princess Louise, during the reign of his grandfather Jean Philippe. The king was going to name his grandson after himself, however once he held his new born grandchild, a tear of happiness rolled down his cheek and he would say to his own son, “he looks just like you, when you were born, another you, in appearance and now name, my darling grandson, Prince Louis.”

His education was conducted mainly by His Eminence Cardinal, Louis-Antoine de Noailles, Archbishop of Paris and Duke of Saint-Cloud, who taught with piety, zeal, and active lessons. He is noted for taking the Prince out into the kingdom to teach him to observe his people, Louis would help Noailles to raise money to feed famine victims in 1709, including selling of some of his own wears as well as guilt tripping other nobles to financially contribute.
This caring and compassionate traits would carry on into his own reign.

In 1716, 24 year old Louis would go on to marry Maria second daughter of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and his second wife, Theresa Sobieska, daughter of King John III Sobieski of Poland.
Maria wasn’t his planned wife, when negotiations started, Louis was planning on marrying her older sister, Theresa, however her father had other plans and Theresa would end up marrying Prince Frederick Augustus, son of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who was later elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, in 1712 to help strengthen his claim for the polish throne.

For the next seven years the young couple would have a strenuous relationship, Prince Louis would spend his times setting up charity organisation and orphanages, with money from his own pocket, while the Princess enjoyed socialising with members of the high nobility and wanting more money to spend on herself.

They would have two children during this time and only one more, once taking the throne. It was during one of his charity events at the Notre-Dame, when his former tutor, 72 year old, Cardinal Noailles, informed him of his fathers death. It is rumoured that upon hearing the news, the new king would comment “god can’t protect people against their own reckless actions.”

A few days later he would return to the Notre-Dame, for a short and simple coronation ceremony, as he did not wish to waste money on a flamboyant exhibition, much to the annoyance of his wife, the new Queen.

Even before becoming king, he was renowned in the land for his kindness and the people of France would dub him “le Bien-Aimé et le Bienveillant (the beloved and benevolent).

His continued support for charities and supporting progressive policies that benefitted the lower class of French, which he was able to do without upsetting the nobility too much.

At the death of his wife, in 1747, he allowed Maria, a grand funeral, stating it was the least he could do for his children’s mother.
He would not remarry instead enjoying the solitude and more time available to spend in Prayer as well as being a grandfather to his loving grandchildren.

His reign carried on his father’s peace, using his connection in the Catholic Church as well as Protestant alto keep any minor disputes in Europe contained diplomatically.

His death in 1775, came following a short illness weakened him down and suffered a heart attack, which took him from his mortal realm into the gracious presence of the lord in heaven. his death was mourned greatly by his people, he was succeeded by his _____________, _______________..
 
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