Europa Universalis 5 - [EU5]

((1337 CE Map))

Europe:

🏰 Western Europe, 1337 CE Kingdom of France

Capital: Paris

Ruler: King Philip VI of Valois (1328-1350)

Religion: Roman Catholic

Economy: Rich agricultural core (Île-de-France, Champagne, Burgundy); major wine and textile trade.

Military / Politics: Feudal levies, heavy cavalry; beginning of central royal army. Start of Hundred Years’ War with England.

Relations: Rivalry with England over Aquitaine and succession; uneasy ties with Burgundy; papal influence from Avignon.

Notes: France is the strongest continental monarchy but feudal nobles (Brittany, Burgundy, Navarre) retain autonomy.

Kingdom of England

Capital: London

Ruler: King Edward III (1327-1377)

Religion: Roman Catholic

Economy: Wool exports, cloth industry, agriculture.

Military / Politics: Strong longbow infantry tradition, developing navy; continental possessions in Gascony.

Relations: Claims French crown through maternal line; conflict with Scotland; alliance attempts with Flanders.

Notes: War with France begins in 1337; Parliament’s influence on taxation growing.

Kingdom of Scotland

Capital: Scone (ceremonial), Edinburgh (emerging)

Ruler: David II Bruce (1329-1371)

Religion: Catholic

Economy: Wool, cattle, fishing, limited trade via burgh towns.

Military / Politics: Highland clans, Lowland knights; defensive warfare.

Relations: Alliance with France (“Auld Alliance”); intermittent wars with England.

Kingdom of Ireland

Political Situation: Fragmented into Gaelic lordships (O’Neill, O’Connor, MacCarthy, etc.) and English “Pale” around Dublin.

Religion: Catholic

Economy: Pastoral; some trade with England and France.

Notes: English authority minimal beyond the Pale; native resurgence underway.

Duchy of Brittany

Capital: Nantes

Ruler: John III (1312-1341)

Economy: Fishing, salt, textile trade.

Relations: Between English and French spheres; civil war will erupt on ducal succession.

Duchy of Burgundy

Capital: Dijon

Ruler: Eudes IV of Burgundy

Economy: Wine, trade, crafts; wealthy estates.

Politics: Semi-independent vassal of France, later pivotal in continental power balance.

Kingdom of Navarre

Capital: Pamplona

Ruler: Joan II & Philip III (1328-1349)

Religion: Catholic

Economy: Sheep, mountain trade routes between France and Iberia.

Kingdom of Castile

Capital: Burgos / Toledo

Ruler: Alfonso XI (1312-1350)

Religion: Catholic

Economy: Grain, wool, silver from mines, Reconquista plunder.

Military: Reconquista campaigns; orders of Santiago and Calatrava.

Relations: Hostile to Granada, uneasy peace with Portugal and Aragon.

Kingdom of Aragon

Capital: Barcelona

Ruler: Alfonso IV (1327-1336) → Peter IV (1336-1387)

Economy: Maritime commerce, Mediterranean colonies (Sardinia, Sicily).

Politics: Crown of Aragon unites Catalonia, Valencia, and Aragon proper.

Kingdom of Portugal

Capital: Lisbon

Ruler: Afonso IV (1325-1357)

Economy: Atlantic trade, agriculture, shipbuilding.

Relations: Allied to England; skirmishes with Castile.

Notes: Early maritime exploration culture forming.

Kingdom of Granada

Capital: Granada

Ruler: Yusuf I (1333-1354)

Religion: Islam (Sunni)

Economy: Silk, fruit, trade via Almería; tributary to Castile.

Notes: Last Muslim stronghold in Iberia; rich but vulnerable.

Italian Peninsula

Papal States: Seat in Avignon but territories across central Italy.

Republic of Venice: Maritime empire; trade with Levant; oligarchic government.

Republic of Genoa: Commercial rival to Venice, holds Corsica; major banking centers.

Kingdom of Naples: Ruled by the Angevins; wealthy south-Italian monarchy.

Florence: Banking republic; Medici influence rising; wool trade dominant.

Milan (Visconti): Militarized duchy expanding across Lombardy.

Siena, Pisa, Lucca: Smaller city-states; trade and local rivalries.

Iberian Islands & Western Mediterranean

Sardinia: Contested between Pisa and Aragon.

Corsica: Genoese control, rebellious communes.

Balearic Islands: Under Aragonese crown.

Northern Europe (Western section overlap)

Kingdom of Norway: In personal union with Sweden at times; maritime trade, fish exports.

Kingdom of Sweden: Nobility powerful; trade with Hanseatic League.

Kingdom of Denmark: Controls Øresund straits; toll income; internal noble tensions.

Hanseatic League: Confederation of merchant cities (Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Danzig, etc.) dominating Baltic commerce.

Middle East & Anatolia

Ottoman Beylik: Emerging from north-west Anatolia, ready to expand into Byzantine lands.

Mamluk Sultanate (Egypt & Levant): Islamic power controlling major trade routes, politically sophisticated.

Ilkhanate successors / Persian realms: Fragmented, but Persia and Caucasus hold many key players.

Kingdom of Armenia, Kingdom of Georgia: Mountain-kingdoms bridging Christian and Islamic spheres, volatile frontiers.

Africa

North Africa: Marinid Sultanate (Morocco), Zayyanid Kingdom (Tlemcen) and the Maghreb states active in Mediterranean trade and piracy.

West Africa: Mali Empire powerful though post-Musa I downturn; trade in gold, salt and influence in spread of Islam.

East Africa: Ethiopia (Solomonic), Adal Sultanate, Swahili coast city-states—interaction with Indian Ocean trade.

Central & Southern Africa: Tribal kingdoms, inland polities, less centralized but dynamic; the island of Madagascar and tribes on its coast have their own emergent systems.

Indian Subcontinent & South Asia

Delhi Sultanate: Major power in north India, facing internal rebellions and external pressure.

Vijayanagara Empire: Southern Hindu empire rising in response to northern Muslim sultanates.

States such as Gujarat, Bengal, Orissa, the Rajput-clans of Rajasthan—each playing regional politics, trade and warfare.

East Asia & the Steppe

Ming Dynasty doesn’t yet exist—China is under the Yuan dynasty (Mongol) rule, but internal troubles (famine until 1337) make it fragile. Wikipedia

Kingdom of Korea (Joseon just beginning) and Japan (shogunate/fragmented) hold distinct cultures and societies.

The Steppe: Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, various Turkic & Siberian tribes – nomadic powers still influential.

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Majapahit Empire: Indonesian/thalar-maritime state with great trade reach.

Ayutthaya Kingdom, Khmer Empire, various Shan & Burmese states: vibrant, complex regional politics.

Oceania & Pacific: Polynesian chiefs and island polities (less centralized but part of the world).

Americas & Frontier Regions

Mesoamerica: Aztec Triple Alliance is not yet dominant – many regional city-states. The Inca empire is still forming in the Andes.

North America: Indigenous civilizations, tribal confederations, trade networks; the Great Plains and Eastern woodlands hold key societies.

Siberia & Arctic: Inuit, Chukchi, northern tribes – marginal to global empires but crucial for frontier interaction.

Key Global Conditions

Feudal order dominates Europe; centralized states still rising.

Trade & commerce via Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Trans-Saharan routes are vital.

Dynasties and succession are central to legitimacy and war.

Famine and climate stress: For instance, China suffers major famine in 1333-1337.

Major conflict begins: The Hundred Years' War erupts in 1337 between England and France.