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Friesland has fallen in a dream, but it remains in the real world. Did you restart completely or from a previous save? If it was a complete restart, why didn't you use a previous save?
Glad you did. I used to do humorous song lyric adaptations at work and have adapted them in at least one other AAR. I thought it provided a fitting send off for this one.
Friesland has fallen in a dream, but it remains in the real world. Did you restart completely or from a previous save? If it was a complete restart, why didn't you use a previous save?
Yes, complete restart from scratch. I didn’t have a save of the original start and didn’t want to scum save. And I had not known a whole bunch of stuff right from the start that I’d now picked up even in just the short time I’d been playing. And it wasn’t (at the time) an AAR game, so I just preferred to begin it all and apply that (and some strategic thoughts from the first run) right from the kickoff.
I could have just started the AAR with the second attempt, but I thought it interesting to include an abject curb-stomping rather than a cavalcade of rampant world domination!
Did he have Fries Suikerbrood for breakfast? Good Luck on try #2. I remember my first game. I rolled Granada and my goal was simply to the sun on 3 January 1492. This was when the fort system was new and estates and mission trees were visions held by developers. Thank you and good luck.
Good Luck on try #2. I remember my first game. I rolled Granada and my goal was simply to the sun on 3 January 1492. This was when the fort system was new and estates and mission trees were visions held by developers. Thank you and good luck.
Thank you. This time it will be a more cautious run at expansion, having run into the game's rather good counteraction of over-ambitious expansion as a small power without notable allies! I've not really paid much attention to the two estates the Frisians have and have yet to really explore holding Diets or allocating them privileges. But achieving the national missions has certainly been an objective and some of their benefits are very useful.
As we saw in the last episode, Potestaat Raeddeg Stelligwerf had recovered from his disturbing dream of Frisian disappointment to be sworn in as the new leader of the Frisian Republic on 11 November 1444. A sinful man by nature, his dreams were tempered by the sobering vision he had been granted by God Almighty (or alternatively by the Prince of Lies). He was now alert to what may befall an incautious and overly ambitious leader of a small Republic on the fringes of the Holy Roman Empire in the 1440s.
All the starting info for Friesland as at the first post of the AAR in Chapter 1 of course applies equally to this restart, so won’t be reiterated here. This was still intended as a learning game and not as an AAR at the time, so it’s the same approach, with snapshots from periodic game saves used to reconstruct major events and developments.
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May 1447
Two and a half years into his first term, Stellingwerf’s dreams of Frisian glory remained modest and practical. The Peasant’s Republic had been adopted to keep the idea of Frisian Freedom alive for the people of the small realm on Western Europe’s margins. Otherwise, there no changes to the court with no ministers appointed yet.
Regional enmity’s between Friesland and its neighbours had been firmly established and were mutually felt. Friesland was attempting to build relations with the regionally powerful Burgundians in the hope of establishing an alliance in the longer term, with pacts existing with three minor local players. And Frisian spies were targeting the hostile Utrecht, upon whom there were expansionist designs.
Unfortunately, East Frisia’s alliance with Denmark made it too dangerous a target for little Friesland: reuniting the Frisian heartland would have to wait for more auspicious times.
The economy was still mainly reliant on taxes compared to trade, but the latter was growing. With the army not expected for duty any time soon, it had been put on to partial readiness to save money in the interim. [Something I’d only recently started using].
The fleet of barques was protecting Frisian trade in the key English Channel node, while an experiment with inland trade with France had been initiated, though the income derived so far was minimal.
Frisian technology was still some way from progressing.
The Frisian burghers were maintaining their customary dominant position of influence in the estates, while Friesland and Groningen remained relatively undeveloped.
Friesland’s military was yet to grow much, with the effort so far going largely to the navy, where light ships to protect trade and conduct blockades was getting the most early attention and just the one military leader, Admiral Gerrit Friso, was on the payroll.
Across Europe, the Hundred Years War between England and France and its allies had shifted heavily in France’s favour, with all of England’s continental holdings under occupation by April 1447. In England, the useless King Henry VI was clearly contributing nothing to their efforts to hold onto their continental possessions.
Denmark headed the Kalmar Union, had Holstein as a vassal and as mentioned earlier was allied with East Frisia, which had deterred Friesland from launching any reunification bid as yet. In northern Russia, the Danes and Muscovy were both occupying large parts of the beleaguered Novgorod in separate wars.
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August 1449
A few years on, Potestaat Stellingwerf’s dreams of glory had been partly fulfilled. He had won re-election to another four-year term in November 1448 and still ran the government on his own, with Frisia 30 gold in debt at the time.
In April 1449, Frisia had prevailed against Utrecht in a short and successful war to claim Oversticht, which was currently being absorbed as a core part of Friesland. The main battle of the campaign had actually been at sea, where Admiral Friso had triumphed over his Utrechtian counterpart in the Battle of the Coast of Holland, capturing to enemy barques as prizes in the process. They were currently being repaired in Friesland.
A military access agreement had been concluded with Holland to allow a safe land route for Frisian troops to besiege the capital of Utrecht to hasten the end of the war. East Frisia remained allied with Denmark, so had still not been touched.
By this time, the army had been expanded enough to be able to fight and with the war against Utrecht, including having enough troops to besiege a major fortified city. One barque had been built and two captured since 1447.
Friesland and Groningen had been expanded a little in the last couple of years, while Oversticht would take some time to bring to anything like the same level of development.
The trading experiments in Champagne and Genoa had no proven fruitful, so Frisian merchants concentrated on the Lübeck once more. Trade in the English Channel had suffered while the navy was diverted during the war with Utrecht but would soon recover.
In the wider world, England had fallen further behind in the Hundred Years War, but still fought on. Denmark and Muscovy had both won their wars against Novgorod, seizing large swathes of its lands and reducing it to a rump state.
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May 1453
The Hundred Years War came to an end in May 1453 with English defeat and the loss of all their continental possessions, including Calais.
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April 1455
With more than 10 years in charge of Friesland after again winning re-election in November 1452, Potestaat Raeddaeg Stellingwelf was older and also a little wiser. He dreamed now increasingly of Frisian prosperity through greater and more efficient trade.
This increased wealth had allowed a minister to be hired to help with administration. Reginhard Donia was also a renowned patron of the arts who had attracted some accomplished Dutch artists to the court of Friesland. Donia’s steady efforts would assist Frisian long-term stability.
There had been no further wars of Frisian expansion in the years since the conquest of Oversticht in 1449. The military remained at the same strength in had in 1449, though the army was back up to full readiness again with improved national cash flow.
Stellingwerf had pushed through further governmental reforms a few years previously, strengthening the Republic for the years ahead, given the benefits that strong republican traditions brought to Free Frisia.
The last few years had also seen advances in Frisian technology in all three main areas of research, though the funds to initiate new major building projects such as churches and marketplaces were still scarce. Hence Frisian efforts to build their economy before risking strategic over-reach.
Trade income had not only rebounded to pre-Utrechtian War levels but had exceeded them. Lübeck as yet produced little income, with no ships yet sent there to promote trade. The English Channel however was becoming increasingly profitable for Frisian merchants, who were now the third largest presence in the trade node.
Since December 1450, the Frisian economy had been growing strongly and it was hoped this would continue for the next few decades, with benefits for construction (once such large building projects could be afforded).
One fifth of the population had Dutch culture after the conquest of now-integrated Oversticht.
On the diplomatic front, Utrecht remained the main rival in April 1455, with Münster now added. But Stellingwerf did not want to go to war with them and had no ambitions of expanding into their territory, so had begun to see if the hostility of Bishop Heinrich II could cooled down. Gelre had been nominated as the next object of Frisian expansion.
Frisia remained a comparative minnow in the wider world but had a stronger navy and higher trade income than many countries larger than it. France was now one of the top-ranked great powers with England no longer considered in that league after its damaging loss to France.
Thanks for updating. Cogs, why? You are not going to invade anyone by sea and you do not have enough cogs to transport your entire army simultaneously. Sell if possible, if not destroy and build lights. Enemies and rivals should be in same order to appease RNG gods and it looks prettier. Are you planning to colonize when you get tech and diplo range? It is very expensive for a small country, but you have a good income through trade. Thanks
Colonization could certainly be supported if you chose to go that route (it dovetails nicely with a trade focus). Particularly if you took on policies that limited the chance of local uprising, such as the New World Missions privilege of the Clergy. It can also cut into the powerbase of England, France, and the Iberian powers, all of whom have or will have an interest in the Low Countries. Wonder where you'll end up on that end
Yes, slow but steady this time: the flame burned a bit to brightly in my first attempt! You’ll see how the alliance building went as the game developed, but I thought Burgundy may be useful in these early years.
Thanks for updating. Cogs, why? You are not going to invade anyone by sea and you do not have enough cogs to transport your entire army simultaneously. Sell if possible, if not destroy and build lights. Enemies and rivals should be in same order to appease RNG gods and it looks prettier. Are you planning to colonize when you get tech and diplo range? It is very expensive for a small country, but you have a good income through trade. Thanks
Well, the cogs were there to start with and I didn’t have enough money at this stage to buy more. I was unaware until at least decades later (if not longer) that you could sell ships. I’ll check next update, but I think by this stage I might have at least mothballed them and thought they might come in handy later. Yes, in both games I was hoping to colonise eventually, but early on was rather hazy about how to get there, techs and ideas required, etc. But I did know enough that I needed more money for a whole bunch of stuff.
Colonization could certainly be supported if you chose to go that route (it dovetails nicely with a trade focus). Particularly if you took on policies that limited the chance of local uprising, such as the New World Missions privilege of the Clergy. It can also cut into the powerbase of England, France, and the Iberian powers, all of whom have or will have an interest in the Low Countries. Wonder where you'll end up on that end
Yes, was definitely interested in colonisation, but was trying to figure it out properly and it took a little while to get there, especially with some conflicting priorities too. You will indeed eventually find out how far I got with it and how successful it was.
Historical, in fact the same start date and settings as the first game where the Dream was effectively extinguished. May get to playing random some time, but need to figure out how to play first!
Potestaat Raeddeg Stellingwerf had begun the next phase of careful Frisian expansion in late 1455 with a war to conquer Gelre. But Stellingwerf dreamed his dreams no more: he died in his sleep in November 1455, during his third term as Potestaat.
His replacement was Willem Van Schellinkhout, a senior Frisian magnate known as an effective administrator and renowned Catholic zealot. His dreams were of Frisian expansion in God’s name and the promotion of His One True Church.
Reginhard Donia still served as chief administrator of the Frisian government.
November 1456 saw Friesland having subdued their main enemy, who had enlisted Brunswick as their sole ally. Bremen and Stettin supported Friesland as allies, the latter currently under an ineffective Brunswickian siege. Friesland’s rival Utrecht had come late to their own war against Gelre, but that looked to be going nowhere as Frisian forces already occupied the main objective.
Since the war began the year before, the new Potestaat’s brother Gelduf had led the Leger van Friesland to two successful battles against Gelre, followed by a successful siege of Geldern’s substantial castle at Arnhem. The first main engagement had been fought in Gelre in 1455, followed by a final decisive battle at Oversticht which had ended effective Gelren resistance in the field.
More friendly troops had been lost to attrition than in battle by November 1456, while it was (given the largely defensive nature for them) the reverse for the enemy. Bremen had also managed to occupy Hoya in Brunswick. The war was all but over, now Friesland just needed to recall one of their diplomats to conduct the negotiations.
“The Battle of Gelre”, unknown Frisian artist, painted c. 1460.
A map of the dispositions at the start of November 1456 is shown in the map below. The four cogs owned by Frisia had been mothballed in the port of the capital Leeuwarden in Friesland for some time, held against the day they may one day be needed.
Frisian diplomacy was being actively pursued on two fronts: trying to keep the rival Münster from deciding to attack and expanding the spy network against Gelre in support of the war effort.
The Frisian fleet was no longer needed for any blockade duties and had since returned to trade protection in the English Channel, which provided most of the trade income being generated by Frisian merchants.
The economy was operating at a deficit and the treasury was slightly in debt due to wartime costs, exacerbated by being over the supportable force limits, especially in the army. But the troop numbers had been needed in order to effectively besiege the Arnhem Castle.
The government’s stability had improved, with benefits in a number of areas. And the Burghers were becoming ever more dominant within the estates, due to small events and (it seemed) general momentum.
But no new technologies had been researched, national missions fulfilled or government reforms enacted since the last report. Most administrative effort was currently being directed into research, with the hope of eventually triggering the emergence of national ideas to boost progress in chosen areas.
Nor had any of the three Frisian provinces been improved recently and no major buildings had been constructed yet in any of them.
In international developments, Denmark had won their war against the Livonian Order and had added a sizeable Baltic enclave to their overseas territories.
By November 1456, Friesland remained a small regional power with an above average navy for its size, in keeping with its aspirations of becoming a significant trading power.
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July 1460
The Potestaat awoke from a satisfying sleep on 23 July 1460, with faint memories of a pleasant dream he had just had, in which he recounted his own part in the governance of Friesland since the death of his predecessor Willem Van Schellinkhout less than a year before. The cantankerous zealot had seen the war won but had not even lived to serve out what would have been his first term in full!
Friso Barents was even older than Van Schellinkhout had been at his death but hoped (as he would tell all and sundry) to serve longer and continue the expansion of Frisian Freedom on land and in the trading networks of Europe. Especially now that he no longer had to face those pesky quadrennial elections!
The Conquest of Gelre had been wrapped up and the new province integrated into Greater Friesland; along with the Dutch population that now made up a substantial proportion of the country.
Friso Barents, elected Potestaat of Friesland on 22 August 1459.
Friesland had adopted the Sortition process for its elections in May 1458 but Van Schellinkhout had not seen the personal benefit, passing before his old four-year term would have elapsed anyway. Barents had been the first beneficiary of the new process.
Frisian diplomacy currently focused on building its spy network against traditional rival Utrecht and working on improving relations with Brabant, having since added Brunswick, a foe in the last war, as an ally since the defeat of Gelre. East Frisia remained essentially ‘off limits’ for prudent Frisian expansion, as it had reinforced its long-term alliance with Denmark through a royal marriage.
Any hoped-for alliance with Burgundy was currently on hold, as in mid-1460 they were heading an alliance to defend Anjou from French conquest. For now, the Burgundian alliance was marginally on top, but only through a series of blockades. And the French were currently winning a naval battle against Burgundy in the English Channel.
The Frisian economy had bounced back to surplus following the successful war against Gelre and the treasury was well filled. But while trade was building, tax remained the single largest source of state income. With peace, army maintenance had again been scaled back to save money in the expectation of no immediate perceived threat or plans for further conquests.
One positive outcome from the absorption of the new province of Geldern into Friesland had been the boost to military power gained from this latest assertion of Frisian sovereignty. The next challenge in that area would be to rival Spanish naval power: something the leaders of Frisia were already pursuing as much as they could.
The taking of Geldern had also boosted Frisian military support capacity to match the increased army size and brought that of the navy closer to equilibrium as well.
Effort had also been sunk into developing Friesland and Groningen, while Geldern had proven a significant addition, Arnhem only just behind Leeuwarden and Groningen in development and already possessing a fully developed castle.
At this time, Frisia was but a small player in the religious establishment of the Catholic Church. They had limited influence within the Holy See, which in 1460 was politically controlled by France. There was also a growing desire for reform within the Church but it was not yet at the point where the future Reformation was imminent.
The great powers of the time were led by the Ming Dynasty of China. In Europe, aside from the Ottomans, France, Denmark and Poland were among top five in terms of their influence, including through vassals and junior union partners.
The known world of the time saw some of the larger powers growing in size and strength, while Friesland was now one of the larger small powers in the Low Countries and northern Germany.
Why does Burgundy care about Anjou? Surely there are other paths for them to follow besides opposing the Big Blue Blob?
Frisia is doing well, even if East Frisia remains out of reach. Let's hope that they don't encounter much resistance in their quest to unite the Low Countries. With Burgundy distracted, that task might be easier...
Denmark continues to build its empire in the eastern Baltic...
Slow and steady winds the race. Life in the HRE is a double-edged sword. The Emperor will protect you from the outside world, but does not want you to grow larger than your tiny neighbors. Thanks
France with all its English cores returned is likely more than a match for Burgundy and Brittany. Still, this may well be an opportunity to expand into Brabant and eventually Flanders. Without a great power ally, Frisia seems dangerously isolated with its appealing high development land and many powerful neighbors.
In this case, Anjou is part of Brittany, which is a Burgundian ally and it is France that has attacked Brittany to conquer Anjou, therefore Burgundy has been called in to help in a defensive war. Dangerous for them, but they must have felt bound to assist.
Frisia is doing well, even if East Frisia remains out of reach. Let's hope that they don't encounter much resistance in their quest to unite the Low Countries. With Burgundy distracted, that task might be easier...
The key in the low countries will having to avoid attacks against allies or subjects of larger powers (unless we have a counter-balancing ally) or going to hard, too fast and provoking an aggressive coalition to attack us in response. Will have to see how long and how much Burgundy is indeed distracted ...
It is really becoming very influential, including over our 'brothers' in East Frisia. Friesland will definitely have to reckon them into future considerations.
Slow and steady winds the race. Life in the HRE is a double-edged sword. The Emperor will protect you from the outside world, but does not want you to grow larger than your tiny neighbors. Thanks
France with all its English cores returned is likely more than a match for Burgundy and Brittany. Still, this may well be an opportunity to expand into Brabant and eventually Flanders.
You'd think so for Burgundy, though this fight is only over an ally's province, I guess. We'll have to see what Friesland did next. It is long enough now that I'm getting reminded of the details as we go along! Which is kind of fun.
Yes, we really need one. But its the Goldilocks principle: not too close or distant, too big or small, too interested in our Low Countries playground or not interested enough. But we're definitely on the lookout for one at this stage.
When we last left Potestaat Friso Barents in July 1460, he was 62 years old and had been selected for the leadership the year before, in what was now a life term following the adoption by Friesland of the sortition method in late 1459. In 1464 he was now 66 and still dreaming the dream and supported by the one ministerial advisor, the administrator Reginhard Donia.
The big news at this time was the long-awaited final war of conquest against Utrecht, which had begun the year before, in early 1463. Utrecht had at first been supported by their ally Oldenburg, but they had been decisively defeated at the Battle of Oldenburg by a Bremen-led army and they were subsequently knocked out of the war.
The Frisians had then defeated the army of Utrecht in Utrecht and gone on to subdue the enemy’s capital. By January 1464 the short war was essentially over, as Utrecht prepared for an unconditional surrender.
In 1460, France had been winning their war against Brittany, supported by Burgundy, for Anjou. That war continued, with France having occupied all of Brittany and large parts of Burgundy, including much of their lands in Flanders.
Friesland had since concluded an alliance with their brothers in neighbouring East Frisia and, judging the rising tide of French hegemony to be irresistible in the mid-term, had begun to improve relations with the great kingdom. This also made sense to the Frisians if they were ever to expand further south in the Low Countries, given many of the smaller countries their were junior partners of the Burgundians.
The Frisian budget was at a break-even point, with lowered trade income during the war, army and other maintenance balanced by increased tax income and the spoils of war (presumably from the previous capitulation of Oldenburg).
The last few years had brought two welcome advances in research. Around August 1461, a major advance in infantry theory and practices had been welcomed with the introduction of standardised pikes and other innovations. Then in February 1463, national ideas were first embraced in Friesland.
And with the recent devotion to increased learning across the board and the adoption of technologies ahead of the benchmark time, Friesland was beginning to earn a reputation for innovation.
Barents had, influenced by the Burghers and merchant lobbyists, taken on the development of economic ideas to propel Frisian Freedom forward into a hoped-for age of expansion. The first task was to create a professional bureaucratic system. Developing these ideas would soak up a significant proportion of administrative power in coming years.
No new missions nor government reforms had been completed since 1460. But the government had achieved new heights of stability, which the Frisian leadership had seen as key to promoting its economic development and the spread of new institutions – as well as keeping newly won lands more content.
The Frisian army had decided to adopt men at arms as their standard infantry formation. Enhard Kamminga had been hired in February 1463 to command the army in the war against Utrecht, then Willem Roorda had taken command of the navy in September. Army tradition was beginning to grow a little.
By early 1464, the influence of the Clergy had fallen to a very low level, as had their land holdings as the Burghers continued their political leadership of the Estates.
The two leading provinces of Friesland and Groningen had developed a little over the last four years and the first major new Frisian building project of the era, a marketplace in the capital of Leeuwarden, had been completed.
With a nearby diplomat recalled, Utrecht surrendered and was annexed on 24 January in a war that had lasted just on a year. The Empire was not happy about one of its members annexing the territory of another, but the Emperor took no immediate action in response. Utrecht came as a well-developed province, with a castle and cathedral already having been built.
I simply processed the surrender from where the save had been taken just before doing so when the game was being played, to simulate the treaty that would have been struck so I could depict it here.
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June 1473
The next nine years passed in peace for Friesland as it developed its provinces, economy and diplomatic connections. And ensured it did not expand so quickly that neighbours banded together to destroy the dream of Frisian Freedom.
Defying the years, Friso Barents still ruled as Potestaat, at the venerable age of 75. Approaching 14 years in the role, he was now a well-connected player in the Frisian political game and a master of both administrative and military matters. And still supported by the long-serving Reginhard Donia.
The Low Countries remained a patchwork of small countries, with Friesland being one of the larger ones after its smooth absorption and integration of Utrecht.
France had not only won its war for Anjou some years before but had also taken a swathe of Burgundian lands in Flanders, making them a direct player now in the affairs of the Low Countries. Their combined armies would dwarf those of any other power in Western Europe.
Which had made Barents happy that Friesland had been successful enough in its wooing of the French that a formal alliance had been concluded. The diplomat Ernst Casimir Kiestra was now at the French court currying favours with the recently crowned King Louis XI.
The other diplomat, Gerulf Galama, was busy establishing a spy network in Burgundy, while all pretence of possible friendly relations with Münster had been abandoned as one of Burgundy’s puppets, Flanders, sought to do the same to Friesland.
Louis XI of France (b. 3 July 1423), called "Louis the Prudent" was King of France in OTL from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII and had to wait another ten years in the ATL to take the reins.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the Praguerie in 1440. The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné, then a province in south-eastern France. Louis's ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court.
When Charles VII died in 1461, Louis left his self-exile in the Burgundian court to take possession of his kingdom. His taste for intrigue and his intense diplomatic activity earned him the nicknames "the Cunning" (Middle French: le rusé) and "the Universal Spider" (Middle French: l'universelle aragne), as his enemies accused him of spinning webs of plots and conspiracies.
As Friesland coped with a bout of inflation, the economy continued to build, with tax revenue booming and trade also taking off again. Friesland had taken to splitting its fleet of light ships, with a smaller detachment sent to protect trade in the Lübeck trade zone.
Friesland was back to being the third largest trading power in the English Channel node. And both army and (to a lesser extent) navy maintenance had been decreased to save money during the long peace.
In the last nine years, advances had been made in diplomatic and military technology, but administrative research had slowed while Friesland focused more effort on exploring new national ideas to boost its economy. And Frisian innovativeness continued to increase.
Since 1464, Friesland had introduced both its new bureaucracy, providing a significant boost to tax income, and better organised construction practices to aid future infrastructure projects. The next priority was to establish a national bank to help control inflation.
No further Frisian national missions were completed, while the government remained highly stable and there were no rebel factions active. But there had been a change in the position of the Clergy. With reform desire in the wider Church climbing rapidly in recent years, the influence of Friesland in the Holy See had been increasing gradually. And the influence of the Clergy in the Estates had seen significant growth (from 7 to 27%).
This was largely explained by the latest round of government reforms: around February 1473, the Frisian state had swung back towards the Church in the face of the increasing threat of schism. More lands would be assigned for Church use, boosting the Papal State’s opinion of Friesland and the Republic’s influence in the Holy See, while also boosting the loyalty and influence of the Clergy in the Estates.
Painting: The Death of the Virgin, c. 1472, oil on oak panel, by Hugo van der Goes.
Since the annexation of Utrecht in 1464, the maximum maintenance capacities of the army and navy had increased. The army now had room for and increase of two regiments, while the navy’s capacity had finally caught up with its establishment of 18 vessels; and they also had a new admiral.
In the five Frisian provinces, no new buildings had been completed in the last nine years and Friesland had developed slightly as the small country still sought to boost its economy to a higher level that could sustain the competing priorities of more government advisors, expanding the army and starting new building projects.
In terms of Friesland’s next steps, the indicators were fairly clear: two claims had been formulated on provinces currently held by Holland which, as a junior partner of Burgundy meant war with the Burgundians and their other allies if Friesland wanted to claim one or both.
But it seemed the recent losing war with France had left Duke Charles de Bourgogne of Burgundy with a smaller army than the Frisians, a small fleet that no longer had a home port to house it and no manpower reserve.
In the Great Power contest, the European powers of France, the Polish-Lithuanian Union and the Danish-led Kalmar Union were the largest major players in Friesland’s closer to mid-range orbit, while Ottomans continued to expand in the Balkans.
Friesland, while gradually growing over the previous 30 years, remained a minor power in its own small region, with its navy and trading network its largest claims to fame.
Is that an attack on Burgundy I see about to happen?
The alliance with France is good, even if their interference in the affairs of the Low Countries is... unfortunate.
The annexation of Utrecht makes your continuing good relations with the Church interesting, as Utrecht was a bishopric and thus Church property. I guess that the Pope saw the loss of the area to Friesland as preferable to losing it to another state?
Ah, the Potestaat loose lips are sealed, in this case. That, and it will probably be up to a successor to take that decision. No spoilers, but with two claims on Holland and them being junior partners of Burgundy ... you're guess does seem to be pretty reasonable
Yes, with Burgundy basically in the way of the preferred path of Frisian expansion in the Low Countries, being weakened after their war with France and France becoming such a behemoth, it seemed wise to have them on our side (or at least unlikely to turn on us in the short term). France is the single power now most able to wipe Friesland from the map if they wanted to.
But as you say, having such a powerful neighbour getting interested in the Low Countries is a problem on the horizon - one future Potestaats will need to deal with, one way or another.
The annexation of Utrecht makes your continuing good relations with the Church interesting, as Utrecht was a bishopric and thus Church property. I guess that the Pope saw the loss of the area to Friesland as preferable to losing it to another state?
I guess so. To this point, religion and relations with the Holy See had not really figured much in Frisian plans. But I would 'discover' it as a relevant issue as I got into the game more.
Thanks so much to you both for your comments - it can be lonely without them.
Friesland had adopted the Sortition process for its elections in May 1458 but Van Schellinkhout had not seen the personal benefit, passing before his old four-year term would have elapsed anyway. Barents had been the first beneficiary of the new process.
Barents had, influenced by the Burghers and merchant lobbyists, taken on the development of economic ideas to propel Frisian Freedom forward into a hoped-for age of expansion.
But the government had achieved new heights of stability, which the Frisian leadership had seen as key to promoting its economic development and the spread of new institutions
You can see specifically how much each new building will give you in the macrobulider instead of using the province interface. For the marketplace it shows the trade power (not ducats gained) but for temples and other buildings it does show the actual increase in income.
The game doesn't make this obvious, but lowering naval maintenance actually lowers the amount of trade power your ships create (which lowers your trade income). So it might not be worth it to lower your ship maintenance.
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