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[Haspen]

Yes, the Incas and others are already under fire from the colonizers.

It is mid-1500s after all ;v

[Haspen]

012: Clemens, Clemens, a Pius, and a Clemens again!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We're seriously lacking in siege and defense department.

Engineering Corps will help us get better at both!

Meanwhile, to bump up our cultural tradition and prestige, we commission some comedic writers for plays and performances.



Kingdom of Castille is extraordinarily stubborn.

We've been winning small skirmishes here and there, yet they still fight on.

Netherlands is doing nothing, by the way, except poke around Castillian colonies in the New World.



Pope Clemens X has had enough of this; taking Armata di Roma through France, Avignon and Aragon, he strikes the lands of Castille.

"We must cleanse the sin of pride from Castille," he says, "For they believe to be above us!"



Lienz is outside Italy, but hey, free core is free core!

Truce with Austria ends in just two years, so we can crusade them AND retake our core at Lienz in one go.



After the capture of Barcelona, the Pope takes his mighty holy warriors on a raid through Castille.

It should boost our Treasury and damage their economy. We will wind up at Barcelona to lift the obvious recapture siege, then we're off to Aragon.



It does the trick - after ruining their lands and spurring revolts, Castille accepts white peace with The Netherlands.

You might notice a change in coloration. Do not adjust your screens, its just Castille formed Spain right after conclusion of the peace treaty.

They now have cores on all lands, from Granada to Galicia, from Leon to the Pyrhenees Mountains.



Great! Just as we're preparing troops for the war with Austria.



Out of all possible peoples of Europe, Denmark joins the war on Austria's side.

Unfortunately for Denmark, the fleet of Netherlands is larger than theirs.



While leading troops into Austria, Pope Clemens X dies overnight.

Habemus Papam! Once again we have a Clemens on the throne. Mafia connections suspected even more.



Unfortunate indeed... maybe its a sign we shouldn't fight Austrian Reformists?

Nah.



In middle of the war, Sweden extends an offer of alliance.

We accept - now we have someone to distract Denmark with, for Netherlands is suspiciously useless.



The most important battle of the war, the Battle of Lienz, almost goes sideways for us!

Timely arrival of our second troop via Treviso saves the day.

We pursue the Austrians all the way to Linz, where they are annihilated!




Unsurprisingly, Clemens XI is bested by the sickness and dies.

Habemus Papam! Pope Pius V, a diplomat and administrator, is calling for new measures and reforms to be implemented.

The Clementine Papacy is over, having had 4 consecutive Popes in it. That's on par with Innocentiuses few decades ago.



For example, that we need better cannons.

Culverins are replaced right away with these new, defense-oriented ones.



We impose harsh terms upon the Austrians.

Not only they have to give up Lienz, they also have to convert back to Catholicism.

Some annulled treaties and core revokations should slow down their imperialistic expansions, too.



We let Sweden do some conquering before we conclude a peace with Denmark.

Netherlands gets nothing, while we get money and the Swedes get some of their ancestral lands back.



We have quite an income when not at war, and we're also way under army limit.

Pope Pius V declares creation of the 2nd Army; a unit similar in size to the 1st Army.

It will have support and siege roles when Armata di Roma is doing the heavy fighting.



"It is the work of the heretics that Europe is fragmented and in turmoil." says Pope Pius V.

Therefore we set England as Crusade target, to entice European powers to take it, while we ourselves will take care of Switzerland.

Again.



Funnily enough, another improtant heretic, Kingdom of Burgundy, joins the war. Bar is also heretic country.

Pope Pius V authorized us to conver them as well!



Pius V had mighty ambitions for mending the broken Europe, but he had not enough time on Earth to do so.

Habemus Pap-



ITS THE CLEMENTINES AGAIN!

This one however is very average in his stats.

Maybe he won't last long.



He is around long enough to conclude treaties with the enemies in this war, at least.

Burgundy, Bar and Switzerland are converted back to Catholicism.

Istria, however, an Italian port in Western Balkans, is annexed, to be converted and made a core.

Prestige, loot and grace of God are our gains in this war! Deus Vult!!



For the finish of this update, some World News: Hindustan, the rarest of all countries, has managed to form.

Not only that, it is not Hindu, not Buddhist - but Sikh, a faith that has troubled birth and even less success abroad. The rarest of possibilities are happening all over in this playthrough...

I wish we were there to witness all this, alas, we have more important business in Europe than sightseeing. Onwards!

[Haspen]

013: Conquest of Jerusalem and Ancient Cloning Conspiracy?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Us? Warmongers?

Someone's head is gonna fly off!

Mostly because we already have enough Infamy to burn through.



Well alright, there IS some warmongering going about Clemens XII's head.

That is conquest of Jerusalem!

For that, we need a bigger navy, one with enough transports to ferry our troops and enough carracks and caravels to deal with numerous Mamelukian galleys.



We gain an opportunity to earn some money by raising war taxes.

Unless Netherlands ends the war quickly, that's it.



Our fleet is building up rather slowly, but we're concentrating on big ships.

It has been also decided to bump up the numbers in our troops, by adding some infantry.



This is as best as it can get.

Our troops are ready to be fetched into Near East.

We will take Jersualem!!



The French-oriented Kingdom of Cyprus has agreed to host our troops.

That gives us a benefit of being able to scout and divide our navy accordingly.



We could've not picked a better moment!

The Mamluks are in a war with the French, and their navy has already blockaded their ports.

Suprisingly, rather than fighting the French troops, the Mamluks keep their soldiers in Jerusalem...



We win the battle! Signor Pordenone will chase them to Gaza region, then we being the siege of Jerusalem!



Jerusalem has been taken by the soldiers of God!

We shall now start taking their provinces to enforce ceding of Jerusalem into our hands.



Unfortunately, our warmongering and rightousness does not go well with our economy.

You do not want to know how much money our Army and Navy burn through at maximum maintenance.



Praised be the God in Heavens! Jerusalem is in Christian hands once again!

Everyone in Rome celebrates the return of the most holiest of places into our fold.

Our economical advisors also celebrate cutting our maintenance costs back into pre-war values.



Our ally, Sweden, calls us into the war against Danish reformists.

Well, we will participate only in spirit.



It seems our people believe in our warmongering!



All the calamities at once!

Munster is a bishopric and we don't need to be at good terms with them.

Now, time to deal with death of Pope Clemens XII.




By God, it's not mafia that's involved...

It's a Shadowy Cloning Organization from Vatican^tm!! They're intent on taking the world through the Papal States!



I mean look at it! LOOK AT IT!! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?

Was Pius V an outsider that got the Papal Tiara by chance and then was silenced for finding out the truth!?

Maybe the conversion of England to Islam was the first step in their plan??

[Solymr]

The Clementine Conspiracy 8V

[Haspen]

014: Disgrace of the Netherlands, and End of the Second Clementine Papacy

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It seems that Clemens XIII believes that the reforms of the popes of the 15th century are wrong.

Many books have been banned, landing on the index of banned books!



Portugal, one of our far-laying friendly Catholic friends, asks for military access.

Why not? Another treaty that will bring us a tiny bit closer.



Not very long afterwards, Portugal calls us into war against Omani jihad.

We have joined the war to provide spiritual support to the Portuguese.



Oh carp, I only now realized that the loan is overdue next year's December!

We will have to keep from building up infrastructure.



Alexander d'Albaret is an evil-sounding French King of Bohemia.

Pope Clemens XIII excommunicates him to weaken the Bohemians - they're expanding rapidly in Central Europe, at expense of the Empire, Austria and Hungary.



See this little brown guy? He is a missionary!

About time we convert Jerusalem and its neighbourhood to Catholic faith!

Yes, they're a bit costly, but we should have just enough money to pay off the loan.



Ugh, another colonial war against the Spanish?

Fine, we can get some war taxes going anyway.

Its not like the Spanish have strength to attack us.



Also, our Stability has become somewhat of a bother lately.

It seems we should slow down our tech investments an dedicate money into making people happy.



At least we do not have a loan on our backs anymore!



Well, apparently a Papal emissary was responsible for shooting of the Duke of Wurzburg!

Of course, Pope Clemens XIII and the Curia deny any involvement.

It's the heretics whom they should blame, not us!



So, a kid and his regents are now ruling the Holy Roman Empire?

Unless he grows up fast, I think the crown is soon gonna abandon the Netherlands and pass to someone else.



*unidentified angry growl noises*

The other option would give as a relations malus with Cyprus, but also a -2 to Stability.

Considering our recent conquests and working missionaries, that would inflame the overseas provinces with revolt risk.

-10 Prestige it is.



At least the Curia is firmly in our hands for the last 15 years or so! Our influence is 100% because, well, we are the Pope.

The cardinal chance (how high are your chances to get a Cardinal when another dies) are based off that, and amount of Catholic provinces you have.

As Papal States, you can easily manipulate others' chances by insulting or even excommunicating them.



Musket cavalry get!




The inept and terrible Clemens XIII has passed away.

Habemus Papam! The Clementine Papacy is once again over (hopefully, for good)!

Pius VI is a great commander and administrator. Pity his diplomatic skills are not on the same level.



His policies are already a great success!



What the heck Sweden! We're supposed to be allies! Why would you-



Oh, okay.

That's fine by me.

And they send an alliance offer right away. *click*



The Netherlands lost the war pretty bad, and that's without us getting involved.

With the decline of Dutch authority, Pope Pius VI has done what is the best - annul the alliance with the Kingdom of Netherlands.

At least when we get a chance to do so, because-



We get involved in a war against the heathen on Sweden's behalf!



Despite our naval focus, we've lost so badly at the Battle of Gulf of Almeria that Pope Pius VI believes a reorganization of the Navy is overdue.

Its best we get rid of the slow galleys and old ships, and replace them with up-to-date Caravels and Barques.



"No," says Pius VI, "We've strayed too far from our God, and that was the reason behind instability of past decade."

We will move towards Narrowminded. Less eccentricity, more peaceful peoples.



Two years later, when the reorganization of the Navy is in full swing, Pope Pius VI gets sick.

Will he be able to overcome the illness? If not, who shall replace him?

Will there be resurgence of Innocent or Clementine Papacies, putting control in hands of ancient conspiracy once more??

And what of England? Will it forever remain a heathen Muslim Sultanate, or perhaps someone will convert them back to Catholicism!?

Find out in the next update!

[Solymr]

Return of Pius and the England Sultanate!

How is it still a sultanate V:

[Haspen]

I'm not sure, this is first time such a big country got converted out of its whole religion group (from Christian to Muslim). Which means I also don't know how to fix this.

I call Ottoman witchcraft in the 1460s.

[Haspen]

015: Liberation of Cornwall

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Let's begin this update with these wonderful news:

The Irish have failed us!



However, the English have a flaw in their war plans: they send their fleet in small pieces to blockade us.

This allows the Papal Navy, under leadership of Signor Casanova, to hunt the blockading squadrons down and escape before the Royal Navy arrives.

So far, we've sunk about 30 Ottoman and English ships, mostly light warships and transports.



Just as Tunisian Sheikdom joins forces with the English, and our Navy sorties out to destroy English ships, Pius VI dies!

Habemus Pap-



...

But why.



Our decision to upgrade the fleet and reform its roster has paid off!

The English were stopped from landing forces at Nice, and the invicible Royal Navy had to scurry back to their home islands.



They've been hiding their main fleet in Tunisia, actually.

Our Navy is now blockading Tunisian ports and keeping the English ships bottled up.



In the recent months, a number of random events like this one has damaged our stability.

We side with the clergy, as going towards Narrowminded lowers stability costs a bit.



Our naval strategy of raiding Tunisian waters in search for English ships to sink has served us well.

After two years, the Royal Navy of the English Sultan has been greatly reduced in terms of warships.

Pope Clemens XIV, to turn people away from claims that he is a Clementine mystic, has decreed that like the soldiers of Pius III, we shall strike the heart of the heathen:



The British Isles themselves!

We shall take Cornwall and liberate the Welsh catholics.

Mayhaps, if Sweden does not end the war prematurely, we can carve away a part of English lands and convert the heathen to Catholicism?



They try to distract us by landing in Italy.

But we deal with their invasion swiftly.



The Swedes align their interests with ours and have Cornwall released as independent state.

We will camp our troops in Cornish Wales to deal with Muslim fanatics and have an easy springboard for the next English Crusade.



Assassination in the Vatican!

Pope Clemens XIV has been killed by a lunatic living in Rome.

This has been seen by Clementine faction as an attack against them, and by some as sign of incoming turmoil.



Habemus Papam! It's been over 800 years since the last time a Pope called themselves after the Apostle Paul.

We welcome this newcomer to the politics with relief. Mayhaps the violent death of Clemens XIV is a sign of God?



It seems however that his attempt at giving people more freedoms results in people going away.

Mayhaps we should be more iron-fisted towards our populace.



We also go through with what we have decided to do earlier: break the alliance with the Netherlands.

An excommunication goes shortly afterwards, just to drive the point home.



The Istrian protestants keep revolting, but our army keeps them dead.

Unfortunately in the left side you can see Swedish call for arms.

I miss the deadline and we take -25 Prestige hit, oops! I just hope the Swedes aren't very angry with us.



Working hard at his desk, Pope Paulus II is stamping out corruption, smuggling and criminal elements.

Down with pirates and privateers!



Of course, we go for prestige and money.

Rebels? We can deal with rebels.




Habemus Papam! The Clementine Faction is back in power!

I wish I could be mad, but those stats? I can't be mad at these sweet numbers.

[mightymushroom]

It's the Clementine motto: if at first you don't succeed, try try try try try try try try try try try try try try try again!

[Haspen]

016: Dealing with the British Sultanate, Step One

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It seems that our traders are trouble keeping up with competition in our own Venetian market!

Fortunately there's a way to stop Polotsk and Trebizond from interfering: Embargo them!

Now we just need to push their merchants out, and they can't get them back in.



Finally, Istria is Catholic once again!

The Protestants there were more stubborn than all Muslims in and near Jerusalem combined.



The other option means decentralization, and by now you should know what to stay to decentralization!



The heathen Sultanate of England has become Sultanate of Great Britain!

Pope Clemens XV has a plan: we will take few provinces, convert them, and release them as an English, Catholic, vassal.

Then we shall feed them provinces to slowly recreate Catholic Kingdoms of the British Isles.



Remember Signor Evaristus Panaro, the artist who showed up right after Michelangelo died?

He has died after extraordinary career of over 70 years a few weeks ago.

We look for a new one and this replacement comes up right away. Welcome aboard, Signor Pontebba!



I missed the informative pop-up, but our Naval tech went up to level 22.

We can now build Galleons, which are more powerful than Caravels.

Pope Clemens XV orders several to be built for the upcoming attack against the British.



Nice! A level 5 Naval Reformer! They boost Naval Tech investments.

Our conquests in Judea and Istria are almost cored, so we do not need a judge.

Signor Mestre up there will be replaced by our naval minister in the coming months.



We also decide to turn the people of Jerusalem into true Catholic peoples.

They shall speak Italian and walk like Italians, our magistrates and settlers will ensure of that.



Unfortunately our war preparations have over-extended our budget.

A loan was taken, a big one and which will be paid during the war.

At least, I hope I can pay it off.



Our armies are ready, Clemens XV is in Cornwall, and our fleet is in position.

Let's begin!



Siege and conquest of the Marches is uncontested by the British.



The half of fleet we send to blockade Ottoman ports sinks many of their and Tunisian transports, galleys and light ships around Greece and Asia Minor.



I have to say, Malta produces quite a lot of great people.

This one stays home - considering how often the island gets besieged, the more defense it has, the better.



The British forts are outdated; they can be easily assaulted and captured, and the sieges do not last long either.

Especially when we employ our spies to bribe defenders every so often.



The biggest threat at our backs, the Ottomans, have offered white peace after our combined Papal-French navy blockaded their ports for the past few months.

Of course we accept - now we can truly concentrate on beating up the British!



We're besieging Oxfordshire, just one province away from London.

Sultan Charles II and his Royal Army however stay at the capital.



After two battles at Dodger's Bank, which see just four British ships sunk, our Navy gains complete control over British seas.

This war cannot go wrong except by the way of random events.



We give some priviledges and favor Aristocracy over Plutocracy.

The People's Front of Judea rises to challenge us!!!

Memery aside, they're killed by the troops stationed at Jerusalem after just 3 days of fighting.



The inactivity of British Sultan has allowed us free reign in outlying provinces.

With help of France, who captured some lands in Scotland, we can impose a treaty upon the British.

These three provinces will be converted to Christianity, and then released as Duchy of England, subservient to Pope, and later on fed British provinces.

It might take decades, if not centuries, but our plan WILL come to fruition one day!

[Solymr]

Maybe it was the Judean's People Front.

[Haspen]

017: Duchy of England and The Innocenzo Scandal

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

See!? Not even a year, and the good peoples of Kent return to worship of our God like lost sheep return to the flock of their shepherd.

We can only hope that this is an example, not an exception, of how easy the English people wish to be converted.



Conversions aside, the loan is drawing near to repayment, and we're low on funds.

Pope Clemens XV orders mints to do 300% of their usual quota, with disregard to inflation. We must meet the required funds by next August!



Somewhat unorthodoxically, Clemens XV passes away in his sleep one night.

Habemus Papam! Pope Martinus V is a diplomat, and that's about it.

We hope he can manage the States to avoid taking a new loan.



We pay off the scary loan. We go down with the minting immediately.

However, even if we're trying to cushion our expenses, we either lose money per month, or allow the inflation to rise...

Simply put, we need more money.




Habemus Papam! The short reign of Martinus Vi was rather uneventful, I have to admit.

His successor, Pope Benedictus XIV, is his opposite; mediocre diplomat, good administrator.



His first order of business is to annex Bishopric of Aquileia.

A one-province minor that was occupying an alliance slot. It's better that we manage Friuli directly.



We might have quite a few provinces, but our armies will never be huge.

Therefore, we must maximize our potential to quickly capture enemy provinces.

Espionage idea will get us greater and more frequent chances to bribe the defenders.



We don't trade abroad - mercantilism it is!




And so comes to pass that the Innocenzo Scandal begins! This is a Disaster type of event series for Papal States I modded in.

The other option would be to kill the Pope with -20 Prestige and -3 Stability hit, but that would also end the event chain.

I wouldn't be myself if I didn't showcase the event chain to you guys, especially with such lovely modifier description, don't you agree?




As you can imagine, it is meant to sap your stability and prestige over the course of several years.

Or, if the RNG is particularily angry with you, within few months' time.



The French gave up on us a while ago, and Swedes once again offer us friendship.

We agree - just hoping they won't drag us into too many wars.



Fortunately, we can usurp the title of Defender of Faith from Netherlands.

This will help us negate the prestige drain occuring thanks to Del Monte's scandal.



Speaking of Cardinal Del Monte, even Benedictus XIV is fed up with his shenanigans.

So we send them to our neighbour - the Netherlands. "But Haspen, Netherlands is up north!"

Well, they also directly control the province of Parma, having inherited the tiny state in the last century or so.



Gloucestershire, and then immediately afterwards, Wessex, convert to Catholicism.

This means we can do this:




The Duchy of England has been created! Catholic and English, it will serve as a springboard for our future operations against Sultanate of Britain.




Just as we prepare for war against Salzburg (we have a mission to vassalize them), Benedictus XIV dies suddenly.

Habemus Papam! Pope Paulus III, despite his only mediocre Military skill, turns out to be quite capable commander.



Sweden goes to war with Denmark, then ditches us just as Salzburg calls up its friend, the Bohemia, against us.

Despite this diplomatic setback, we shall emerge victorious.



They have a LOT of troops, but that shall be their undoing.

See, they have to fork them through Salzburg and Niederbayern, which have low supply limit (especially the mountainous Salzburg).

And we have spies who can cut that supply limit even more, causing desertions and starvations to deplete Bohemia's alliance troops.



Papal spies even manage to inflitrate Prague itself, giving us knowledge of enemy provinces and troop movements.

Blessed be the late Benedictus XIV for choosing Espionage!



Aaaahahahahahaha!

*click*

Salzburg will be ours in next few months!



Even better, we can now reach Sandomierz, Brandenburg and Saxony via Bohemian lands.

Some sieges and we can force them to convert back to Christianity! Down with the heretics!!



Bam!



Oh man, France got its ass kicked by Netherlands.

A sign that we should not enter military alliance with the French for a while.



Bam, and bam again!



And then we get Salzburg made a vassal, just as intended in the beginning.

In the whole war we gain 70+ Prestige. All it took was some sieges and spies to regain all the prestige lost by Cardinal Del Monte's antics.



...Speak of the devil. The option we take should've read 'Someone in the Curia must've framed him!'.

The option on top, the correctly labeled one, damages Prestige and raises Infamy, and we want neither, considering we just regained our Prestige, and our net infamy gain is *only* -0.14 per year, thanks to Paulus III being antithesis of a good diplomat.

Hopefully, it won't take long before Cardinal Del Monte stops being a nuisance. We just gotta wait!

[Haspen]

018: Making British Isles Catholic Again

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

How did this happen, I have no idea.

But the tiny noble republic of Zurich is commanding the great Kingdom of Austria?

Then again, we have British Sultanate in this one.



Stability is soon going up, and government tech is ahead of schedule.

We settle on cold, hard cash.



Punctuality, dear Watson, is how you defeat the British!

The very day the truce ends, we again invade the lands of heathen Brits.



The battle of Wessex ends in our victory, and pursuit of British forces to London, where they are destroyed.

We gain free reign over their lands now, it is time for sieges (backed up by spies)!



You try to give peoples more freedom and suddenly everyone claims chaos and anarchy rules your country. Bleh!

London has been already captured by our forces; we're now mass-besieging British lands.



The other option would be to suffer -2 Stability and anger Sweden, a country I can't be mad at.

Meanwhile, it seems that Catholic rebels of Ulster simply turned the province into our hands!

Not sure what I'm supposed to do it, but okay.



It seems that the best doctors of Italy are in the city of Naples!



But even our wise Neapolitean doctors are stumped about the illness that has put Pope Paulus III into bed.

We can only pray for his swift recovery.



He concludes peace with the British, however.

Cumbria was captured by a daring raid of our English vassal themselves.

Marches and Oxfordshire will be turned over to them after conversion of their peoples to Catholicism, of course.




When news reached Rome that an expeditionary force from Sultanate of Brunei itself landed in Naples, Pope Paulus III suffered a lethal stroke.

Habemus Papam! Unfortunately, the sudden death of Paulus III has forced the Conclave to elect the candidate who was the closest to Rome at the time.

Hopefully, his reign will be better than his skills, ugh.



I have to give it to Duke Edward, he is a smart man; he has started sponsoring patriotic rebellions in the Sultanate.

Soon enough, both Oxfordshire and Essex will switch allegiance to our English vassal!



Ah, the National Decline event for the non-colonizers.

Our Government tech is the most advanced one, so getting a malus there won't hurt much.



Oh, finally! *click*



The most significant of Urbanus VII's deeds was finally banishing Cardinal Innocenzo del Monte away to a monastery.

The disaster is over, and we can return to scheduled programming!



He also strikes a deal with King of Leinster to take Ireland from the hands of heathen.

After all, better a heretic than a heathen, even if both are abominable.

We shall do our best to see Leinster possessing whole of the Ireland.



I don't remember ever getting this event.

We go full into Naval technology, the other option would give smaller tech investment but also naval tradition (to make better Admirals, if needed).



Leinster wins the war thanks to our Navy and our spies.

We give away Ulster to them right away, too.



The rebels we spawned with help of our spies gave an unexpected result: they converted the King of Leinster!

Not only Ireland will be free of heathens, it will be free of heretics also! Praised be our Lord in Heavens!



With our military maintenances at zero, we get quite a lot of cash.

"It is time to sponsor the arts," says venerable Urbanus VII, "And to create a centre where young artists might be educated in the arts."

Because a mission specifically asks us to create a Fine Arts Academy in Treviso, we do so.



Under the papacy of Urbanus VII, even the slider-change events seem to favor us.

How long will this peace and prosperity continue on, one might ask?

We shall find out sooner or later.

[Haspen]

019: Excessive Spending = Loans!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We begin this update by declaring war against Great Britain!

We will delegate fighting in the south to England, so that they can personally take London and neighbouring provinces.

Ourselves, we shall go for Scottish lands, and perhaps try to create Duchy of Scotland - a Catholic one, of course.



Signor Montfalcone had to pop up during the most important battle, heh.

In the corner you can see some Lancastrian Sunni Zealots joining forces with British Sultan.



Just few days after Sultan Richard V Beresford is soundly defeated at Lincoln, Urbanus VII dies.

Probably of gout or something like that.



Habemus Papam! Pope Alexander VI is exactly average, favoring military over diplomacy.



Free tech boosts all across the board!

Meanwhile, we go with sieges. Sieges of everything in the British Isles, including even Orkney and Western Isles.

The British Royal Navy, which was once a menace, is hiding from our own lately. Cowards!



And now, a free Artist thanks to finishing up Fine Arts Academy in Treviso.

We're completing our sieges in the Isles.




Aw, Alexander VI wasn't even that bad!

Habemus Papam, again with the Innocents!

At least this one is ultra-skilled. He can stay for a while.



I guess Alexander VI was a tiny bit bad with spending on spies and such.

This loan will hurt to repay, but then again, we have a very strong economy right now.



Almost all of these holdings are given away to Duchy of England, to ensure that they will continue their missionary work.

We also gain a foothold in Scotland, as planned, and will use it to restore Catholic Scotland to the maps of Europe.



Pfft, fuck off Netherlands.

Italy belongs to the Pope!



Ayshire gets converted rather quickly, and thus we can create Duchy of Scotland!

I think it will be just one more war before we can dismantle Sultanate of Britain completely.

The Pope is considering whether we will give autonomy to England and Scotland or not... such big, strong vassals they make.



We do sponsor some patriot rebellions in the British parts of Scotland.

If these succeed, they might as well save us a whole war before Britain is Catholic again!



While Papal agents work hard at maintaining the rebels in Scotland, Pope Innocentius XIII invests more money into arts.

"Without investments," he says, "there shall be no prosperity."

The Dutch artisans and scholars of Guild of Saint Luke will boost our cultural tradition and provide new magistrates, but some in the Curia are worried about impending loan payment.



There has been an accident involving a sleepy Providence and a rather expensive espionage action.

Our monthly Loan Payments are now over 12 ducats per month. We need a Banker to reduce that, ASAP!



Signor Pordenone was the best we could get in such a short amount of time.

His presence at the Papal court reduces Loan Payments to under 8 ducats.

This will have to do, along with frugal spending and low military maintenance.



Hahahah, the Sultanate of Britain collapsed into a hole it cannot crawl out of.

All but Western Isles reverted to Duchy of Scotland, while Norwegian peoples of Orkney swore fealty to Norwegian liege.




Habemus Papam! Innocentius XIII died suddenly, and now Pope Clemens XVI reigns in Rome.

He is superior in everything than his predecessor, so I won't be complaining.



At least under Clemens XVI's papacy, we pay off one loan.

The other will be trickier, but I'm sure we can manage.



And second loan is paid off, phew!



The Christian influence is spreading across the globe, as European monarchs create offshore colonies.

We need some organization that will help maintain good ties with these distant, Catholic, exclavbes.

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith will ensure a steady supply of missionaries and diplomats.



And in just one year, we finish what we've started - Reconquista of British Isles!

[Haspen]

020: Europe Catholic Once More

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Baroque music is good enough for us to begin our final offensive.



Our two-pronged attack against the Great Britain will take their new capital.

Apparently, thinking they can escape the God's punishment, they moved it to Northumberland.



The war was short and fast, though.

Cumbria goes to Scotland, London to England, and Western Isles to us.

Of course we will pass them to Scots.



Indeed, the Counter-Reformation movement was a great success.

Except some Scandinavian heretics, and an odd province here and there, Protestantism and Reformist heresies were purged.

With our Reconquista of British Isles coming to a close, we can proudly announce:

Europe is Catholic again!



Clemens XVI dies during a trip to supervise troops in Near East, in Jerusalem.

Habemus Papam! His successor is one of his subordinates, who takes upon the name Clemens XVII!



First claiming the trade research is heretical, and now this?

I think someone is undermining our influence amongst the Papal plutocrats, hmph.



We decide to hire a Treasurer to boost our trade tech investments.



Hmm, Catalunya showed up instead of Aragon.

Mayhaps they didn't like Aragonese coat of arms?



Some aggressive diplomacy was employed to curb foreign influence in the Curia.

Even if a Cardinal is appointed from outside the Papal States, it has great chance to be from England or Tuscany - two of our vassals.



Again with the Cardinals!

Our stability is taking hits more often than it goes up, though...



Level 3 forts!

Time to upgrade our border defenses.

We should also get more artillery; foreign nations will also get these forts soon enough, and we shouldn't spend years besieging their lands.



Pope Clemens XVII decides to annoint Mary of Scotland and Charles James of England as Queen and King, respectively. The late Pius III is smiling from heavens, though - both England and Scotland are Catholic now!

This release of vassals is cushioned by our Treasurer, whose skills will be known abroad.

The farcical construct of Sultanate of Great Britian is going to fall into hands of Mary and Charles James soon enough.



WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR MERCHANTS!?



Not long afterwards, Clemens XVII is bedridden with something more than a flu.

We hope he can recover from it.




Clemens XVII dies from his illness.

Habemus Papam and somehow it is no surprise who is the next Pope.

Our navy is busy blockading Ottomans; England and others are fighting them for one reason or another.



It is actually the first time that Papal astronomers have seen an evil comet!

It is surely an omen, but of what kind, we can't be sure.




Clemens XVIII dies suddenly and it's barely a year into his pontificate!

Habemus Papam! This time it is Innocentines who receive the Papal tiara!

Who knows what will come of this.



God himself is angry with the Clementine and Innocentine factions!

Another of theirs have been struck down with illness, keeping him contained within his bed.




Years go by, with us busily blockading Ottomans and slicing up their navy - and then Innocentius XIV dies.

Habemus Papam! Paulus IV is a military man, but his main job will be designing a peace offer for the Ottomans.

After months of negotiations, we settle on 150 ducats of tribute.



Let's end it with a bit of World News! Byzantium, the old, decrepit Greco-Roman Empire, has fallen to Austria sometime between rise of Catalunya and our peace with Ottomans.

Using that situation, the Despots of Morea decided that it is up to them to rally the Orthodox Greek peoples under one banner.

And so, the modern state of Greece has been created out of Janina, Athens, Achaea, Morea, Naxos and Rhodos. Mayhaps they will be harbringers of prosperity in the Balkans!