Italy (Principia Moderni III Map Game)

Kingdom of Italy
Regno di Italia
Timeline: Principia Moderni III (Map Game)

Flag Coat of Arms
Capital	Rome
Largest city	Florence
Other cities	Naples, Palermo, Bari, Ancona, Pisa, Ravenna
Language	Italian
Religion	Christianity
Demonym	Italian
Government	Parliamentary Monarchy
King	Dario
Royal house:	De Luca
Population	13,345,133
Established	1749

 The Kingdom of Italy was officially created in 1434, after the victorious war against Savoy. The territories conquered Savoy and those belonging to the Kingdom of Naples merged to form the new nation. But to speak of the kingdom of Italy, is to speak of the kingdom of Naples.

The Kingdom of Naples was founded as a result of the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily, which included all the peninsular lands. Its official name was Regnum Siciliae citra Pharum, ie "Kingdom of Sicily on the Strait of Messina" (Sicily "Hither" or "peninsular" ), as opposed to Sicily itself, called "Beyond the Strait of Messina" (Sicily "subsequent" or "insular"). Following quite a few years of Stability, the Italian nations became set up to colonize and during this period the nation was taken over through a personal union with Castile, now Styled the Kingdom of Spain, with its massive overseas Empire of Hispania

Around 1523 the Empire of Hispania brought the kingdom of italy and most of its major territory into the Empire forcibly after claiming to have Italy be the rightful property of the Spanish royal family. The Kingdom of Italy was part of the Spanish Empire for the next two hundred years until the liberation of Italy by Roman and Croatian forces in the War of the Grand Coalition. 

History

Before 1400

Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily (Charles of Anjou) was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragon's troops. Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the "Kingdom of Naples", after its capital city.

Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, when Queen Joan I of Naples formally renounced the claim. Joan's reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times (1348–1352).

Queen Joan I also played a part in the ultimate demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. As she was childless, she adopted Louis I, Duke of Anjou, as her heir, in spite of the claims of her cousin, the Prince of Durazzo, effectively setting up a junior Angevin line in competition with the senior line. This led to Joan I's murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, and his seizing the throne as Charles III of Naples.

Louis's expedition counted to some 40,000 troops, including those of Amadeus VI of Savoy, and had the financial support of Antipope Clement VII and Bernabò Visconti of Milan. Charles, who counted on the mercenary companies under John Hawkwood and Bartolomeo d'Alviano, for a total of some 14,000 men, was able to divert the French from Naples to other regions of the kingdom and to harass them with guerrilla tactics. Amadeus fell ill and died in Molise on 1 March 1383, and his troops abandoned the field. Louis asked for help to his king in France, who sent him an army under Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy. The latter was able to conquer Arezzo and then invade the Kingdom of Naples, but midway was reached by the news that Louis had suddenly died at Bisceglie on 20 September 1384.

In the meantime relationships with Urban VI became strained, as he suspected that Charles was plotting against him. In January 1385 he had six cardinals arrested, and one, under torture, revealed Charles' conjure. He thus excommunicated Charles, his wife and raised an interdict over the Kingdom of Naples. The King replied sending Alberico da Barbiano to besiege the pope in Nocera. After six months of siege, Urban was freed by two Neapolitan barons who had sided with Louis of Anjou, Raimondello Orsini and Tommaso di Sanseverino.

While Urban took refuge in Genoa, Charles left the Kingdom to move to Hungary. Here, on the death of Louis I of Hungary, he had claimed the Hungarian throne as the senior Angevin male, and ousted Louis' daughter Mary of Hungary in December, 1385. It wasn't difficult for him to reach the power, as he counted with the support of several Croatian lords, and many contacts which he made during his period as Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia. However, Elizabeth of Bosnia, widow of Louis and mother of Mary, arranged to have Charles assassinated on 7 February 1386. He died of wounds at Visegrád on 24 February.

He was buried in Belgrade. His son Ladislaus (named in honor of the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary) succeeded him in Naples, while the regents of Mary of Hungary reinstated her as Queen of Hungary.

1400 - 1410

Coming soon...

Politics

The Kingdom is an absolute hereditary monarchy. The current monarch is Charles I, of the House Anjou-Durazzo.

Subdivisions

Due to the large size of the country is dividen in 2: North Italy, and South Italy, each with his own subdivisions:

• North Italy:
• South Italy:

The capital is Rome and by the year 1520 had 75,000 inhabitants.

Military

The Italian forces are one of the most powerfull in the mediterranean area, follow a huge development of military tactics and the use of new weapons. second only to Hispania and its ally France.

Army

The army is a semi large standing force of about 30,000 maintained by its own economy and provided for by its Spanish monarchs. Their inclusion into spanish politics and training has led to the army being relatively loyal to the Spanish crown and is happy with the advancement the country has seen since Spain took over and modernized the armed forces.

Navy

The Italian navy is a rebuilt force from some of Spain's older, but top notch ships totaling nearly 200 ships and counting with a trade fleet which is expanding to meet the Spanish demands which include patrolling mutual trade routes and transporting Hispanicized colonists, and goods to the colonies.

Economy

The economy of Italy is currently based on and centered around the United Kingdoms of Spain and her Overarching "Empire of Hispania" This allows Italy a great deal of economic freedom under the current Colonial system which prefers Spains nearer possessions for the Spanish market forces rather than her colonial possessions which are considered secondary purchasers in the system, but primary producers. Italy proper has a few major gun producing companies which are widely used by Spain. The Economy of Italy is heavily reliant of the Spanish trade fleets which are the main driving force behind the advancement of Spain at the head of the economy. Regardless of Spains complete economic dominance in the Italian peninsula, the Italian people have a wide variety of freedoms as they profit from sharing Spanish law which prohibits the monarch from maintaining absolute control and shares power with the Parliament. This overall profit as well as the inclusion of Spanish companies into the natural Italian trade idea has given Italy a vast array of economic power within the Empire.

Trade

The Trade of Italy is handled mostly through Spanish trade companies and the various joint trade companies handled by Spanish-Italian families who have helped icrease their trade power through Italian trade ingenuity. The Italian trade fleet is nearly non existent as all of it is registered with Spain as well as Italy. While seemingly restrictive the joint usage of the fleet is pretty common and out of the Italians the various Italians who have intermarried with Spaniards or adopted Spanish culture. While common Italians may also operate on these ships its much more likely that Hispano-Italians will form the backbone of many ships in Spains trade fleet. The Large number of these Hispano-Italians is attributed by Spanish soldiers, and Spanish sailors who had children while on italy during the war over the nation.

Currency

The currency of the Kingdom of Italy is the Spanish Real, currently a mostly globally accepted currency due to Spain's major presence nearly all over various parts of the planet.

Culture

The Italian culture is an old and rather unique one. From antiquity until the mid-17th century, Italy was considered as the central place of Western culture and the starting point of worldwide phenomena such as the Roman Empire, Roman Catholic Church, cultural and educational reform and the Renaissance. During this period, Italy gave birth to a number of famous painters, sculptors, poets, musicians, mathematicians and architects. Both the internal and external facets of Western culture were born on the Italian peninsula, whether one looks at the history of the Christian faith, civil institutions (such as the Senate), philosophy, law, art, science, or social customs and culture. Furthermore, the country played a leading role in the fight against the death penalty.Italy was home to many well-known and influential civilizations, including the Etruscans, Samnites, Phoenicians, Greeks, and the Romans. Etruscan and Samnite cultures flourished in Italy before the emergence of the Roman Empire, which conquered and incorporated them. Phoenicians and Greeks established settlements in Italy beginning several centuries before the birth of Christ, and the Greek settlements in particular developed into thriving classical civilizations. The Greek ruins in southern Italy are perhaps the most spectacular and best preserved anywhere.

Family Tree

(Under Construction)