The Reign of Charles V

This mod adds an event chain to the game that simulates the reign of Charles V von Habsburg, who ruled over Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1500s, before voluntarily giving up his titles and retiring to a monestary for the rest of his life.

In the early 1500s, Spain (or Castille) will, through an event chain, get a PU on Austria and become the Holy Roman Emperor. After about 50 years, they will have the option to break the PU, abdicate the crown of the HRE, and receive Austria’s Lowland provinces, or hold on to their titles and suffer heavy consequences…

Why bother adding this to the game?

1. This mod will make for a really interesting political setting. Temporarily, Spain will be the strongest power in Europe. They will lead personal unions with Naples, Aragon, and Austria, and be the Holy Roman Emperor to boot. At the same time, they will have to fight off challenging enemies: the French, who feel surrounded by Habsburgs, the Ottomans, who will be heading for Vienna, and the minors of the HRE, who will be rebelliously becoming Protestant. This is gauranteed to make your European playthrough exciting.

2. In addition to being an interesting political situation to play through, Charles’s reign set the stage for some important historical developments that the game doesn’t quite get right. His rule saw the height of Spain’s power in the early middle ages, and facilitated the transfer of the Netherlands from Austria to Spain (in the vanilla game they usually stay with Austria). Decades later, the rebellion of the Netherlands would be one of the major factors contributing to the decline of the Spanish Empire. So in a way, this mod is really about the rise and fall of Spain.

This mod consists of 3 linked events. The first sets Charles V von Habsburg as the heir to the Spanish throne. It will fire if the following conditions are met:

– The year is between 1500 and 1550
– The Burgundian Succession Crisis has happened, and the Netherlands have gone to Spain, Austria, or someone else (if you started in 1444)
– Spain/Castille is still in Europe, and has a at least 15 provinces
– Both Castille/Spain and Austria have France as a rival, and haven’t rivalled each other – OR – France is a junior partner in a union, or is a subject and has at least 15 provinces.
– Austria is ruled by the Habsburg dynasty
– Castille/Spain does not have the same dynasty as France

The second event is a big one: it makes Castille/Spain the Holy Roman Emperor, and gives them a personal union over Austria. The downside is that this will freak out every other country in Europe, making diplomacy difficult. It will fire if the following conditions are met:

– Charles V is still alive (has not died as an heir)
– Castille/Spain is not a junior in a PU with Austria

There are two versions of the third event, but their effects are basically the same. This event simulates the decision Charles makes to give up his titles and break up his empire. It will fire around 50 years after he becomes Emperor, or when he dies – whichever comes first. Here Spain/Castille gets a choice:

– One the one hand, they can abandon their PU with Austria, leave the HRE, be given Austria’s provinces in the Netherlands, and have everyone in Europe stop hating them.

– OR, they can keep it all, but continue to suffer bad relations with everyone else, and have to deal with a very rebellious Austria. The effects of this outcome are slightly different depending on if Charles dies or abdicates, but overall, expect your realm to get very unstable if you choose this…

99% of the time, the AI will go with the first choice, and split up the Empire like Charles V did historically. But sometimes it doesn’t have to, and perhaps an experienced player can show what Charles truly could have accomplished…

in addition, Castille now starts the game with a "Historical Rival" modifier against France, to improve the chances of the event chain’s conditions being met.

Incompatible with any mod that uses the on_monarch_death, on_heir_death, and on_new_monarch triggers in the on_actions file, unless otherwise stated by the author of the other mod.

Weird things could happen if you mix this mod with other gameplay mods.

Direct Download[forum.paradoxplaza.com] (Paradox Forums)

Please comment your experiences, good and bad, in the comment section below! The more feedback I receive, the better I can make the mod! And if you like it, hit thumbs up!