One and All

I disagree its far more interesting having Navarre playing the super influential swing state between Spain, England and France
I kinda agree too, think Navarre should be a neutral state guaranteed by England, France and Spain and the last bastion of Occitan and Basque culture, we would have Occitan and Basque as official.
 
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Interlude #1

"The most solemn patrico[FN1] which does duty as a profound historical reflection is, that history repeats itself" - Sir Henry Percy, 1865

From "A New and Unabridged Military History of Europe" by Garcia Pablez Balbo, 2001

The Religious Wars: A name coined by the duc de Saint-Simon to refer to the important military conflicts of the sixteenth century. His argument was that these conflicts defined the relationship between Catholicism, Protestantism, and Sunni Islam. The name has gained precedense in the Duke's native France, as well as amongst Scottish, Navarrese, Swedish, Saxon, and other historians, although English and Spanish historians tend to refer to these conflicts by other names to downplay their significance. The end result of these wars was the growing rivalry of France and Spain, the marginalisation of the Holy Roman Empire, and the sundering of the Catholic Church. The various such conflicts, and other wars associated with them, are as follows.

Granada War (1482-1492): Castille and Aragon versus Granada. Not one of the Religious Wars. The conclusion to the Reconquista, this represented the end of religious conflicts in the mold of the Medieval period. End result: Annexation of Granada into Castille

Italian War of 1494-1498: France versusVenice, the Papacy, Milan, Naples, Aragon, Savaranolan Florence, Mantua, England, and the Archduchy of Austria. The duc de Saint-Simon did not consider this a Religious War, but as it sowed the seeds for the First and involved the fanatical priest Savaranola, the English satrical historian Sir Henry Percy referred to it as the 'Zeroth Religious War'. The Italian princes banded together as the League of Venice to drive out French forces (often overlooked is that the Italians themselves invited in the French to end Aragonese influence). End result: French driven from Italy.

Italian War of 1499-1504: France, the Papacy, and Spain versus Milan, Naples, and Spain (Spain switched sides in 1501). Saint-Simon did not consider this a Religious War, but Percy included it as part of his 'Zeroth'. The French returned to enforce their claim to Milan. End result: Aragonese accept French Milan, French accept Aragonese Naples.

First Religious War (1508-1516): The only constant in sides was France and Ferrara versus a multitude of other countries. At various points in the war their enemies included the Papacy, England, Venice, Spain, Switzerland, the Sforza, and Austria, while their allies included the Papacy, Venice, Spain, and Scotland. Known as the War of the League of Cambrai in England and Italy, the Third Italian War in the Germanies, and the War of the Holy League in Spain. The Germans do not consider this a Religious War, due to it preceding Luther's 95 Theses. End Result: Inconclusive. The French kept Milan, the Aragonese kept Naples, Urbino became a Papal puppet.

Second Religious War (1518-1523): France, Venice, and (officially) Scotland versus England, the Papacy, and the Hapsburg domains (Spain, Austria, and the Burgundian Inheritance). Sometimes known as the Fourth Italian War. Francis I attempted to enforce his claims while the Holy Roman Empire was dealing with Protestantism. End result: France loses Milan, Flanders, Ducal Burgundy, and several landless titles. Navarre restored to independence. France forced to make several marriage agreements that marginalized Valois influence.

Ottoman-Hungarian Wars (1366-1526): Ottoman Empire versus Hungary and Bohemia. Not a Religious War, due to not being an actual war but a long series of semi-related battles. End Result: After the death of Louis II, Hungary becomes disputed between the Ottomans (through right of conquest) and the Hapsburgs (through right of marriage).

Third Religious War (1528-1538): France, Navarre, the Ottoman Empire, Ferrara, the Schmalkadic League, Bavaria, and the three Scandinavian Kingdoms versus the Hapsburg domains, the Papacy, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Portugal, the Hansa, Jutish rebels, Milan, Urbino, Florence. Quite possibly the first war to involve the majority of Europe since the fall of Rome, and certainly the most destructive of the sixteenth century. Best known in England for launching the career of Lord Hood, and in France for securing Gallicanism. End Result: Hungary to the Ottomans, Bohemia to the Wittelsbachs, dissolution of the Hansa, final dissolution of the Kalamr Union, reformation of Lotharingia, Partition of Austria, and generally lots of dead people. Protestantism confirmed as a major influence.

Fourth Religious War (1544-1552): France versus the Hapsburgs. The last of the Religious Wars as the duc de Saint-Simon saw them. End result: Stalemate.

Some non-European historians, in an attempt to gain recognition, will paint conflicts in their homeland as Religious Wars - the two most well known are de Narváez's Conquest of the Mexica, sometimes called the Nahua Religious War due to the conflict between Spanish Catholicism and the indigenous faiths, and the Sengokous Period, called the Japonais Religious War by those who emphasize the Ikko-Ichi and the growing influence of Christianity.




[FN1] Patrico means 'priest' in the Thieves' Cant that was popular in Renaissance England. TTL, it evolves into a slang term for 'fraud', and by the time Percy is writing his own histories, it has achieved a similar role to OTL's 'humbug'

Thoughts? Comments? Criticisms?
 
OK, so England is Catholic loyalists and France is some kind of equivalent of high-church Anglican equivalent, except professing nominal loyalty to the Pope?

Verrah interesting.
 
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