Charles V of House Habsburg

Emperor Charles V Habsburg

Charles Habsburg was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V from 1519, as well as Lord of the Netherlands from 1506. He was the heir of three of Europe's leading dynasties: the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and inherited a vast of land.

Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance would lead to the realisation of a universal monarchy and that he was trying to create a European hegemony, Charles was the object of hostility from many enemies. After the Arcanus mages came out of hide, Charles used the magi-tech to his advantage and had create a process to turns his huge realm into a Universal monarchy.

Reign

Seventeen Provinces

In 1506, Charles inherited his father's Burgundian territories, most notably the Low Countries and Franche-Comté. He extended the Burgundian territories with the annexation of the rest of the Low Countries outside his control. In 1549, Charles issued a Pragmatic Sanction, declaring the Low Countries to be a unified entity of which his family would be the heirs.

The Seventeen Provinces held an important place in the Empire. For Charles V personally they were his home, the region where he was born and spent his childhood. Because of trade and industry and the wealth of the region's cities, the Low Countries also represented an important income for the Imperial treasury. The Burgundian territories were generally loyal to Charles throughout his reign.

Crown of Castile

Charles was proclaimed king of the crowns of Castile and Aragon in 14 March 1516 jointly with his mother. The crown of Castile consist of several Iberian kingdoms, Emirate of Granada, Protectorate of Morocco, Vice-royalty of Caribbean, Vice-royalty of Granada, and Captaincy General of Manila.

Doing his reign, he faced a international crisis with the regional powers in Americas when the rouge Conquistador Hernán Cortés tried to conquer Aztec Empire and broken an treaty with the League of Maya. Advised by the Archon of Atlantis, he forbid further expedition into the Americans and established a dialog with the new Aztec Alliance, League of Maya, Kingdom of Muisca, Pueblo Confederation, Mississippian Empire and Inca Empire. In the end he crafted a protectorate treaty with them and a permission to create trade posts in their territories.

Crown of Aragon

The crown of Aragon consist of Kingdom of Aragon, of Majorca, of Naples, of Sardinia, of Sicily and of Valencia. Aragon was a thalassocracy but the trade in Mediterranean was consistently disrupted by the Ottoman Empire. In 1538 a Holy League consisting of the Italian states and Aragon was formed to drive the Ottoman back. Convinced by Charles, a faction of Arcanus mages and the Greek exile in Atlantis chosed to join the Holy League and the Battle of Prevezaa saw the first use of aerial warfare.

The Atlantean airships was use to reconnaissance and strategic bombing with their version of Greek fire on the Ottoman fleet. Defenceless against the air supremacy, the tide turned against Ottoman and lost its whole fleet and crew. After the victory, Charles send expeditions into North Africa and created several strongholds on the coasts which allowed him to create a dominance in the Mediterranean together with the Holy League and was able to prevent the Ottomans' increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary corsairs.

Habsburg Monarchy

The habsburg Monarchy consist by Arch-duchy of Austria, Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Bohemia and Kingdom of Hungary. The Habsburg core territories was ruled by Charles brother, Ferdinand, in his name. During Charles' reign, the Habsburg Monarchy was in a conflict with the Ottoman in a long war of attrition.

With an set of magical mirrors, which allowing an long-range communication, Charles managed to crafting a Habsburg-Persian alliance and together attacked Ottoman from two side, force Suleiman the Magnificent to spilt his resource.

Italian Wars

Much of Charles's reign was taken up by conflicts with France, which found itself encircled by Charles's empire while it still maintained ambitions in Italy. He and his nemesis Francis I Valois fought in a series of wars called Italian Wars. Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing number of alliances, counter-alliances, and betrayals.

The Italian Wars ended with the Treaty of Crépy in 1542. Advised by the Archon of Atlantis, Charles V marrying with Francis I's youngest daughter Margaret and secured a peace in Europa.

Retirement and later life

After a long reign, Charles retired in 1554 to his hometown in Ghent and raised his second son Frederick, while his firstborn son Philip ruled the crowns of Spain in his name. He had originality planned to abdicated and retire to a monastery but chose instead to spend his last days in the homeland and preparing the succession for Frederick. Charles was always Flemish at heart, despite his late adoption of Spain as a second homeland.

Upon Charles dead, the Holy Roman Empire went to his brother, Ferdinand I. Crowns of Spain went to his firstborn son Philip II. Duchy of Burgundy went to his second son Frederick I.

Social

Family Ties

First Spouse: Isabella of Portugal
Second Spouse: Margaret of France

Issue:
Philip II, King of Spain
Maria, Holy Roman Empress
Joanna, Princess of Portugal
Frederick I, Duke of Burgundy
Illegitimate:
Margaret, Duchess of Parma
John of Austria

Other:
Ferdinand I, Arch-duke of Austria

Species

Homo Sapiens Mundanus

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Holy Roman Emperor
King of Castile and Leon
King of Aragon and Sicily
King of Naples
Arch-Duke of Austria
Duke of Burgundy
Lord of the Netherlands
Protector of the Americans

Life

1500 1558 58 years old

Birthplace

Ghent, County of Flanders, Seventeen Provinces

Current Residence

Alhambra Palace, Emirate of Granada, Castile

Known Languages

Fluent in French and Dutch
Acceptable Castilian Spanish