War of Münsterian Succession

The War of Münsterian Succession, sometimes known as the Forty Years' War, was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in Eureusian history, lasting from 1492 to 1530. Fought primarily in Western and Northern Eureus, an estimated 10 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, disease, while some areas of the Holy Münster Empire experienced population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include: Wat Scot's Rebellion, the Basatian Revolt and the Highlander Wars.

Its outbreak is generally traced to the years leading up to 1492, when Emperor Ferdinand V suddenly died. Rumours circulated that Emery had been killed as part of a conspiracy organised by Franz and Georg, Emery's younger siblings with the aim of crowning the 13 year old Prince of Boecke as Emperor. Both had been training to become bishops for the Church of Münster and so according to Münsterian tradition, could not be considered for the throne. Assuming the rumours to be true, King Middel II quickly sponsored the crowning of his nephew, the Count of Heller, as the new Emperor. In reality, Emery was alive and crowned himself as the Emperor. The enormous political power that the Emperor had could not be ignored, nor could the strategic and economic centres within Münster. Since rulers such as King Job III and Count Johann VII held territories within the Holy Münster Empire, this gave them and other foreign powers a greater excuse to intervene, turning an internal dynastic dispute into a continental wide conflict.

The period between 1492 and 1498 was mainly a localised conflict between the Holy Münster Empire and Nelle. After 1498, the Empire became just one theatre in a wider struggle stretching from the West Crescent to the Black Countries. The war concluded with the Peace of Münster whose provisions included the strengthening of the authority over the Holy Münster Empire and the incorporation of more territories into the Empire. By weakening the influence of the House of Neergaard over the Holy Münster Empire relative to House von Waldeck, the war saw the continental balance of power shifting dramatically, setting the stage of a new period of Münsterian continental political, military and cultural domination.

### Background: 1450-1492

The 15th Century was a period full of religious and territorial dispute. The Tsillian Revolt in 1445 marked the beginning of widespread opposition against the Church of Münster's authority, ushering in an age of religious turmoil between those in favour of the Tsillian Reformists and those desperate to maintain the order and authority of the Church of Münster. These divisions could be seen across the Empire, with various rulers converting to Reformed Otropsi whilst others became increasingly aggressive towards Tsillian Reformist preachers and revolutionaries. Disputes were often settled within a state's territory, but occasionally disputes would result in full-scale conflict. Whether large or small, each conflict had vast consequences for the climate within the Empire. Due to the number of rulers within the Empire converting or rulers lacking effective modes of suppression, Ferdinand V would often intervene in some disputes himself. When rulers would refuse to submit to Ferdinand's authority, he would send in von Waldeck troops to crush them and annex their territory. Where rulers could not crush any Reformist rebels, Ferdinand would take it upon himself to intervene on the ruler's behalf. Despite House von Waldeck being the richest in the land with an overwhelming influence on the Church of Münster, it still could not field a large enough army to crush every Reformist revolt. Between the period of 1455 and 1475, Ferdinand was only able to successfully crush twelve revolts out of potentially fifty (depending on what is considered a Reformist revolt.) Loss of faith in the Emperor meant that local leaders began fortifying their territory and most notably, hiring large mercenary armies. Disputes were then settled separate from the Emperor, with treaties being signed away from the oversight of the Emperor. Travellers from outside the Empire noted the increasing militarisation of the Empire during this period.

External powers became involved in what was an internal Imperial dispute due to the impending expiry of the Fifty Year Truce, signed in 1430 ceasing hostilities between the United Provinces and the Kingdom of Münster. Looking to re-establish von Waldeck rule in the Lowlands as well as crush a centre of the Tsillian Reformation, Ferdinand V planned to invade the United Provinces as soon as the truce expired. King Pascal II, frustrated with the loss of his Ifriqyan territories and southern portion of the Almerían Plains to the Haslamic Caliphate and Kingdom of Basatia, also planned to reassert his dominance in the north-eastern portion of the Empire. King Job III's influence over the southern portion of the Empire was slowly waning in the aftermath of King Quinlan's marriage to the Duchess of Werpen. The marriage created a new alliance between Duholme and Werpen, threatening the Kingdom of Forwick by securing the entrance to Forwick Gate. Most notably, the Kingdom of Nelle had been preparing for the time to strike against House von Waldeck. The tension between the two rivals increased throughout the century, with the Kingdom of Nelle sponsoring Tsillian Reformists within the Empire and even sending in troops to help crush anti-Reformist forces in Imperial territory.

The expiry of the Fifty Year Truce in 1480 did not see an explosion of conflict across the continent as many had expected. The reality was that economic conditions had plummeted with famine and disease rampant across the Empire. Most areas suffered a drop in economic productivity by up to 80% as whole villages were ravaged with plague and foot shortages. Imported Haslamic gold created inflation of the highest order and prices began to skyrocket. In the background, the Tsillian Reformation was continuing, frustrating rulers who already had many problems to hand. The end of the 1480s saw prices stabilising as the plague began to dissipate. Furthermore, the threat from the expansionist Haslamic Caliphate meant that rulers were fearful of committing to a drawn out continental conflict, in case the Haslamic Caliphate would strike again, crossing the Strait of Istimbol and into continental Eureus. The 1489 Sheikh Revolt in the Haslamic Caliphate, sponsored by the Kingdom of Nelle and Kingdom of Argès calmed the panic caused by the Haslamic Caliphate. Rulers could now turn to their own individual interests.

By 1492, tensions had reached a breaking point. The Empire was militarised completely at virtually every level and nations on the fringes had strategic interests in relation to the turmoil within the Holy Münster Empire. The death of Ferdinand V allowed for rulers to finally act upon their interests, sparking the beginning of the war.