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So, I am playing EU2 as Britanny.
Some weeks ago, I tried a first game as Britanny. At my peak, I was a minor power that held all of France's Atlantic shore, a few provinces near New York, and a crippling inflation that made everything cost 4 time the normal price
I have started a new game, this time in a different fashion: I didn't try to expand during the Hundred Wears Wars. Thanks to that, I haven't piled up bankrupcies upon bankrupcies, and my inflation remained reasonable (Currently, in 1570, I have a very reasonable 60%). The Brits have won the HYW, and France was but a shadow of itself.
Unfortunately for the Brits, plenty of French provinces became independant during the Brit civil war. I ruthlessly conquered these newly independent provinces
Poitou, Guyenne, Provence were ALL MINE, with minimal costs 
These conquests more than doubled my economic potential.
However, a 6 Province country can't hope to compete against the others, especially when you share borders with three big, ambitious neighbours (Britain, France and Aragon, since France inherited the many provinces of Burgundy). This is why Britanny suddenly refurbished its whole economy, and became Europe's most aggressive trading power.
Soon, all of western Europe fell under the Breton monopolies. The whole economy, the whole diplomacy, and the whole domestic politics of Britanny were aimed at making life easier for the Breton traders abroad. The country underwent great reforms, welcoming free-trade, and increasingly focusing toward naval activity, only to guarantee a flow of money from Paris, Lisboa, Sevilla or even Moscow.
The Breton diplomacy of the time was not inactive. The reigning dynasty decided not to share power with the bourgeoisie, because Britanny's survival depended on a successful diplomacy. The reigning dynasty made a liberal use of royal marriages, and soon it was customary for most European princes to marry a Breton heiress. After switching back and fro between France and England, Britanny chose to stick to the French side. Britanny ended up being a completely uninteresting target for war: the poor provinces, the royal ties, and the powerful ally all discouraged potential agressors.
The first half of the 16th century saw the rise of Breton income, as the European markets grew richer from the wares of the New World. However, it also saw Britanny stranded on the Old World, unable to even know of what lied beyond. This is what motivated the unusual Breton-Dutch war. The Dutch had just suffered a serious defeat in the hands of the Spanish, and the Bretons choose to plunder the weakened Amsterdam, only to find the amazing Dutch maps. Immediately, Francis III decided to send settlers in the New World.
The colonization of the New World was taxing Britanny's ressources, however, and soon the coffers were too empty to protect the European monopolies. For about a decade, Britanny attempted to balance its trade hegemony within Europe and its colonization of the New World. As of now, Biloxi is the center of Breton colinies in the New World, with its mere 1000 inhabitants.
Some weeks ago, I tried a first game as Britanny. At my peak, I was a minor power that held all of France's Atlantic shore, a few provinces near New York, and a crippling inflation that made everything cost 4 time the normal price
I have started a new game, this time in a different fashion: I didn't try to expand during the Hundred Wears Wars. Thanks to that, I haven't piled up bankrupcies upon bankrupcies, and my inflation remained reasonable (Currently, in 1570, I have a very reasonable 60%). The Brits have won the HYW, and France was but a shadow of itself.
Unfortunately for the Brits, plenty of French provinces became independant during the Brit civil war. I ruthlessly conquered these newly independent provinces
Poitou, Guyenne, Provence were ALL MINE, with minimal costs These conquests more than doubled my economic potential.However, a 6 Province country can't hope to compete against the others, especially when you share borders with three big, ambitious neighbours (Britain, France and Aragon, since France inherited the many provinces of Burgundy). This is why Britanny suddenly refurbished its whole economy, and became Europe's most aggressive trading power.
Soon, all of western Europe fell under the Breton monopolies. The whole economy, the whole diplomacy, and the whole domestic politics of Britanny were aimed at making life easier for the Breton traders abroad. The country underwent great reforms, welcoming free-trade, and increasingly focusing toward naval activity, only to guarantee a flow of money from Paris, Lisboa, Sevilla or even Moscow.
The Breton diplomacy of the time was not inactive. The reigning dynasty decided not to share power with the bourgeoisie, because Britanny's survival depended on a successful diplomacy. The reigning dynasty made a liberal use of royal marriages, and soon it was customary for most European princes to marry a Breton heiress. After switching back and fro between France and England, Britanny chose to stick to the French side. Britanny ended up being a completely uninteresting target for war: the poor provinces, the royal ties, and the powerful ally all discouraged potential agressors.
The first half of the 16th century saw the rise of Breton income, as the European markets grew richer from the wares of the New World. However, it also saw Britanny stranded on the Old World, unable to even know of what lied beyond. This is what motivated the unusual Breton-Dutch war. The Dutch had just suffered a serious defeat in the hands of the Spanish, and the Bretons choose to plunder the weakened Amsterdam, only to find the amazing Dutch maps. Immediately, Francis III decided to send settlers in the New World.
The colonization of the New World was taxing Britanny's ressources, however, and soon the coffers were too empty to protect the European monopolies. For about a decade, Britanny attempted to balance its trade hegemony within Europe and its colonization of the New World. As of now, Biloxi is the center of Breton colinies in the New World, with its mere 1000 inhabitants.
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