Spain Guide

**Spain** has the potential to be one of the strongest nations in the game. It starts with impressive holdings in The Americas which gain immigrants over time, as well as holding most of Belgium, South Italy and Milan at the start. Spain has a decently sized army and navy, comprised of 60 brigades (6 metastacks) spread out across it's European holdings and 60 Ships (10 of which are transports). It's main threat to dominance is the possibility of **The War of Spanish Succession** happening, which ,if lost will cause significant land losses. **The war is not railroaded event wise to always happen**, **as it is up to the players that get the special casus belli whether to declare or not.**

## Overview

Spain's main handicap besides the succession crisis is it's literacy. There are 2 things that can help the player in fixing it they are the, **Expelling Jesuits** and **Funding Royal Acedemy Of Fine Arts** decisions. The first one give a +10% Education Eff. Modifier for 20 years, at the cost of -5% Tax efficiency. while the second one raises the literacy of all spanish pops by 5%

The most important decision however is **"The Reforms Of Charles III"** available no matter which path Spain takes. Aside from research points and splitting your colonies, this decision will allow you to **gain cores on your starting European holdings in Belgium and South Italy as well as South Italian, Walloonian and Flemish as accepted cultures** provided you actually **keep those holdings under your rule.** To take the decision you only need the **Rights and Liberty tech (1730)**, though taking the decision without holding belgium and south italy will cause the decision to not give you those extra cores and accepted pops.

The **"Restore Spanish Empire"** casus belli is a permanent casus belli that allows taking your non core european holdings of **Belgium, South Italy and Milan** in case you lost them. Adding it will **cost 4 infamy**. The casus belli will also include all viceroy cores if as Bourbon Spain you take the **"Viva La Pepa"** decision.

Peak Spain Performace can be achieved through first choosing the Bourbon path, annexing your colonies and getting your european accepted pops, and at the very end, forming Bourbon Empire. In mp such a thing is next to impossible, but man should dare to dream.

## Spanish Succession Crisis

**In 1701 around March or April**, the "Death of Charles II" event will pop up giving you an option to pick either a **Bourbon** or a **Von** **Habsburg** heir. Depending on your choice either Austria or France will get a special casus belli against Spain. Enforcing The casus belli in austrian case results in Spain losing all belgium and italy, in french, only belgium. The event only gives the nations a casus belli so war is not guaranteed. **Choosing a Von Habsburg or Bourbon Heirs in the event's options will cause different flavor to unlock.**

## Bourbon & Habsburg Spain Diffrences

**Bourbon Spain**

A more common pick among the players, Bourbon Spain allows the player to **annex it's colonies in the New world** as well as cores on the Caribbean if they get **The Constitiution Tech (1765)** and **are a Constitutional Monarchy/Republic** with either a **Parlamentarian**, **Reformist** or **Jacobin** government. It also **extends the "Restore Spanish Empire"** casus belli to allow taking all of your viceroy cores and . The player will also gain cores on it's caribbean possessions and flordia, and through annexing it's colonies it'll enlarge it's accepted pops by the existing spanish-american pops in all it's colonies as well as getting caribbeno as accepted. Bourbon Spain can also gain South Italian as accepted if they own Napoli, without the need of owning Belgium, which can be handy if you lost the succession war and managed to recover some territory, provided you researched **Rights and Liberty tech (1730)**. Bourbon Spain provides additional flavor that help you manage the nation, lowering war exhaustion and giving you money, although it only unlocks on high war exhastion or if you lose your European holdings outside of Spain entirely.

Bourbon Spain allows for forming the **Bourbon Empire** granting Spain French as accepted and coring all French lands**, provided** France is a monarchy and so is Spain. This can be done peacefully through sphering or by force, through a special casus belli, both options unlock after researching the **State of Nature tech (1715)**. Losing the Succession War will cause both options to be blocked, and Franco Spanish unification will be impossible.

**Habsburg Spain**

A less common pick, Habsburg Spain allows for **formation of the Iberian Empire** with the **Rights and Liberty tech (1730)** researched. In 1711 it can also get an event granting it a casus belli on Austria, which upon enforcing will form **the Habsburg Empire,** however this is **Disabled in Multiplayer.**