Dreams of Frisian Freedom

Idhrendur said:

Mostly correct. As Emperor you can seek to pass reforms and down one path of reforms you can unite the HRE into a single state. But to do so requires concentrated effort and time.

Click to expand...

Ah, useful to know.

1448-52: Quiet Times

Potestaat (Syndic) Gerulf Van Schellinkhout had presided as the Frisian leader from November 1448 to November 1452, having taken over from Fedde Kooistra not long after the latter’s conquest of Ostfriesland and its absorption into United Friesland. Known as a cautious ruler, little of great note had occurred during his term as Friesland gradually built up its fleet and sought to become a trading power.


July 1453 – Time is Marked

Schellinkhout was duly succeeded by Willem Lodewilk Donia on 11 November 1452. Donia awoke from a restful and dreamless night's sleep on 19 July 1453 and contemplated the state of the Frisian nation.

The administrator Popetet Gauma remained the only minister in the Frisian court for now, as would be the case for some years yet. The economy was slowly growing, at that time outstripping the recent growth in expenses. The burghers now heavily dominated the clergy, while State landholdings had also increased in proportion.

Friesland had completed its first national objective in the years since 1448, becoming acknowledged as a high income country with long term benefits for future construction projects.

A year or so before, Friesland had generated a territorial claim on Utrecht for Oversticht but had yet to act on it. “Plenty of time for that, no need to be hasty,” was Donia’s view. Though to be fair, that was his view on most things!

Local unrest in Ostfriesland, which remained significantly under-developed compared to Friesland and Groningen, continued; it seemed to be lessening overall, but those who did object to Frisian rule also seemed more militant as time went by. Still, nothing for Donia to worry about – perhaps a successor may have to deal with such troublemakers. In due course and the fullness of time. Not him, not now.

Friesland’s diplomats remained focused on Utrecht, working diligently on both espionage and counter-espionage missions. In regional diplomacy Bremen, Utrecht and Oldenburg were the main opponents, with Verden and Dithmarschen lining up as Friesland’s allies.

For now, Potestaat Donia’s focus remained on trade and the increased generation of wealth. Frisian barques attempted to promote trade in the English Channel (where Frisian traders now ranked third) and Lübeck.

The army had neither grown nor advanced over the last five years, but two new barques (now working off Lübeck) had been built. However, the republican virtue of meritocratic rule had been made – boosting the loyalty and influence of the burghers as well as promoting female advancement.

In the wider region, France was embroiled in a major war, including against Burgundy, Nevers and the Papal State, to take Nantais from Brittany.

In the ‘known world’, the Ottomans had consolidated and expanded their empire in the last few years, especially in the Balkans. Friesland remained an insignificant power by world standards.


September-December 1459 – Dreaming of a Greater Friesland

Donia’s term had expired with little fanfare, with Koenraad Kiestra taking the helm on 11 November 1456. And Kiestra’s dreams were far grander – and bloodier – than those of his two most recent predecessors. In the third year of his term he launched a war to enforce Friesland’s claim on Oversticht, drawing in allies on both sides into a wider sub-regional conflict.

Verden fought with Friesland, while Bremen and more distant Regensburg had sides with Utrecht, giving them an edge in total army numbers fielded. But between them, Friesland and Bremen dominated the naval campaign. So far, the war was going in Friesland’s favour.

On 27 September 1459, he was woken from a rather restless slumber by an orderly, bearing a report from his brother, General Wilbrand Kiestra. The target of the current conquest had now been fully occupied, while Verden had won an earlier (and evenly matched) battle against Bremen in Oldenburg.

Friesland and Verden had the enemies’ fleets bottled up and their ports blockaded. The remainder of Verden’s army under General Johann Köhne was trying to besiege Bremen, but did not have the numbers to effectively do so. The main army of Utrecht remained in its capital, along with the previously defeated army of Bremen. There had as yet been no appearance of Regenburg’s army – presumably still off to the south-east somewhere.

The last six years had seen considerable growth in the Frisian navy, which had added another five barques and an early carrack, to add some additional gun power to the fleet. The first recent advance in military technology had been made, adding a little to the army’s shock and firepower, though it remained the same size and its tactics were still dominated by old-style regiments of Latin infantry and knights.

The diversion of the Frisian navy from trade protection to wartime blockade tasks had seen a temporary downturn in trade power and income, especially in the major trade node of the English Channel. Despite this, the economy remained strong enough overall with taxation, production and some looting holding the balance positive.

The stability of the realm had also improved in recent years , while East Frisian separatism festered but had not yet demanded immediate attention.


By early December, the Frisian election system had been reformed, with fixed terms being dispensed with. Henceforth, the Potestaat would rule for the rest of his life, allowing a single ruler to better improve his skills with time and – for better or worse – govern for longer.

This meant Koenraad Kiestra’s reign was secured. He was still only 40 years old and regarded as a strict disciplinarian, which helped keep the military in line, at least. Gauma remained the sole minister, his main role as an administrative specialist being to oversee the efficient collection of taxes.

In the field, Utrecht’s army had slipped away out of sight, appearing in Bremen to attack the far smaller Verdner army of Johann Köhne, which was now close to breaking. With Regenburg and the remnants of the Bremian armies due to appear there in the next few days, Köhne’s siege of Bremen and his army’s fate were sealed.


Perhaps a little too late, Kiestra’s Leger van Friesland had now been on the march for a few days, heading east to Ostfriesland to see if any targets of opportunity might be found should the enemy fail to keep their numerically superior forces united. The blockades remained in place.

France had in the meantime won its war for Nantais and thus expanded further into Brittany.


January 1461 – Wins and Losses

After another year of war, a series of eight battles had been resolved. The first had been the predictable loss by Verden in Bremen, followed by another at the hands of Regensburg in Verden itself. This had been followed by three major Frisian victories, as they managed to pick off each of the enemy armies one by one, each time in Oldenburg. Regensburg managed to defeat Verden one more time in Bremen, but Frisian had then defeated them after the Regensburger's sorties across to Oversticht. On balance, Frisia had improved its bargaining position but the war continued.

At this time, Verden was attempting to besiege Utrecht but once more did not have enough troops to do it properly. Having secured Oversticht, Kiestra was now marching the Leger back east, where he hoped to rescue Verden from enemy occupation and siege at the hands of the Regensburgers, who had returned there following their earlier defeat in Oversticht. Utrecht and Bremen had been driven from the field for now, while an uprising in Hamburg was not expected to spread into Verden.

Friesland, while independent, remained one of the many principalities within the Holy Roman Empire. After controversies over the place of Burgundy in the Empire in previous years, now a crisis was brewing in northern Italy, dubbed ‘the Shadow Kingdom’ at the time. Frisia cast its vote for what was already a majority, with even the support of the Emperor: Brescia and Bergamo would leave the Empire, but the rest would remain.

Diplomatic research had recently advanced, though Frisian technology still lagged most countries somewhat across the board, especially now administration.


October 1462 – Greater Friesland

Kiestra’s dream of a Greater Friesland had been realised in November 1461, with the Dutch speaking Oversticht added to the realm.

The Frisian fleet was now again devoted to trade protection, concentrating its efforts on building trade power in the crucial English Channel zone. But taxation still remained the largest source of income.

The conquest of Oversticht had seen two Frisian missions achieved simultaneously: the assertion of sovereignty had seen military power increased, which had then led to a successful challenge of Spanish naval power given the previous big expansion of the Frisian fleet.

This sparked another advance in military technology, which would soon lead to the adoption of superior infantry formations and Frisia finally getting ‘ahead of the curve’ in a branch of research.

Frisian prestige and power projection had increased after their recent exploits, while the strength of republican tradition remained fair, if not outstanding.

The HRE’s recent retreat in northern Italy had left Genoa and Ferrara still within it, but now somewhat isolated.

Catholicism remained dominant in Western and central Europe. In Russia, principally Muscovy, Orthodoxy reined, while it remained in dispute in Eastern Europe, especially with Catholic Lithuania controlling much Orthodox territory. Sunni Islam dominated the Ottoman Empire, the Mamluk realm and North Africa.

Frisia’s recent gains had seen it rise in its relative place in the world, especially in naval and trade power, but it remained very much a third-rate power.

October 1463


Potestaat (Syndic) Koenraad Kiestra had almost finished the seventh year of what was now, thanks to Friesland’s adoption of selection by sortition, a life term. One 1 October, he woke from a vivid dream of Friesland’s burgeoning glory. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he was reminded of the war he had begun with Holland few months before.

Popetet Gauma still served as Frisia’s Treasurer, Kiestra’s only minister of state in the small country’s government. The republican government remained relatively stable, though the two recently conquered territories of East Frisia and Utrecht harboured separatist sentiments.

Frisia had in the last year finally advanced its administration and could now build large temples, though had not yet started any new ones. The previous advance in military technology had seen longbowmen introduced to improve the infantry regiments. These had been integrated and then deployed in the new war against Holland. Otherwise, Frisia still fielded the same number of regiments and ships it had a year ago after the annexation of Oversticht.

Frisia’s war goal was to enforce its claim on Amsterdam but its initial challenge had been to defeat Holland’s ally Oldenburg. After destroying their field army in battle, they stayed to besiege Oldenburg, while Frisia’s allies Verden had gone to Amsterdam to attack the Dutch.

Overall, the war was progressing well, but Verden had been narrowly defeated in Amsterdam before retreating all the way back to their capital to recover by October 1463.

So by 1 October 1461, Frisia stood with Verden and Dithmarschen against Holland and Oldenburg, with another claim on Meppen secured but not yet pursued. Of interest, Brabant was launching its own war of conquest against the unfortunate Dutch at that time.

The small Dutch army was defending Amsterdam, with a Dithmarschen force in transit through Friesland while the Frisian and Verdner fleets conducted blockades of all enemy ports.


Once more, trade had been impeded in the English Channel by the diversion of the fleet to blockade work, though Frisian trade power was generally progressing in that key trade node, while the lack of attention in Lübeck saw that hub’s income continue to languish.


June 1464


Almost nine months later, Kiestra’s dreams remained largely untroubled. By the end of June 1464 all the enemies’ armies had been destroyed after a major battle in Amsterdam, which had since been occupied. At sea, the Verdners had defeated Oldenburg’s fleet as its ran the blockade when Oldenburg had fallen to Frisia a few month before.

Unfortunately, despite this overwhelmingly dominant position, Frisia could not enforce its claim on Amsterdam until the fortress of Den Haag had been overcome: the Dutch would simply refuse to countenance any territorial concession.

The combined Frisian and Verdner fleets had those of Holland and Oldenburg holed up in Den Haag, while Brabant ranged across southern Holland at will.

In the region, Burgundy had been attacked by Provence and Lorraine and was in big trouble – in fact they appeared doomed to a major defeat, with most of Burgundy now occupied.


July 1066

The conquest of Amsterdam had been duly completed by July 1466 the process of making it a core part of Greater Friesland had almost been completed. Following its defeat by both Frisia and Brabant, the vulnerable Dutch had then been attacked by Utrecht, who had recently annexed Den Haag, thus completing the partition and elimination of Holland as an independent country by 25 July 1466.

The now increased Frisian army was being billeted in Oversticht – in anticipation of a local revolt by Utrechtian separatists.

The Frisian economy could now support the recruitment of a second minister to assist Potestaat Kiestra: Grand Captain Klaes Riemersma would help to increase the rate of military innovation and decrease maintenance costs.

In the region, Frisia now counted Brabant as an ally after a period of diplomatic influence, which continued. In France, the King seemed to be steadily re-uniting his realm. France had enlisted allies to take on Provence and its supporters after Provence had successfully conquered most of Burgundy in its recent war.

By now, most of Provence had been occupied and it too seemed doomed: ‘there is always a bigger fish’!

With peace, the Frisian fleet was once again busy protecting trade in the English Channel, was growing in wealth, as was Friesland’s share of trade income and its proportion of national income.


By mid-1466, little had been done as yet to further develop Friesland’s principal cities and towns, of which the recently annexed Amsterdam now ranked third. [I think at this point, I hadn’t really discovered or at least found the time to do this, though I’ve subsequently become keen on such development.]

At this time, Friesland was still a long way off being able pursue national ideas and there had been no more technological breakthroughs since 1463, though work on basic financial instruments was well progressed. Overall, Frisian advancement and innovativeness were now seen to be lagging its peers.

While Friesland had fully embraced the Renaissance by this time, it had yet to develop a large city and national splendour had grown but was not yet enough to adopt any new concepts during the Age of Discovery.

A second cavalry regiment had been added to the army in recent years but otherwise it was powerful compared to most of its neighbours individually but would be dwarfed by any of the larger regional powers: especially the nearby great powers of England, France and Denmark. Friesland’s most notable strengths were its navy and trade income.

Friesland was now a budding sub-regional power and Kiestra had dreams of making its greater – of course.