Brunswick

Primary culture

Lower Saxon (Germanic)

Capital province

Brunswick (57)

Government

Feudal Nobility

State religion

Catholic

Technology group

Western

Brunswicker ideas

Please help with verifying or updating this infobox. It was last verified for version 1.36.

Traditions:

−1% Prestige decay

+1 Diplomatic relation

The Welfian Dynasty

+1 Diplomatic reputation

Niedersächsicher Reichskreis

−15% State maintenance

Residenzstadt Wolfenbüttel

−10% Construction cost

Herzog August Library

−10% Idea cost

Brunswicker Guilds

+10% Goods produced modifier

Leibnitz and Lessing

+15% Institution spread

The Black Brunswickers

+5% Discipline

Ambition:

−5% Land maintenance modifier

Brunswick is a small, landlocked country in the North Germany region. Brunswick starts the game as a member of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) and shares borders with multiple countries, including three HRE Electors — Brandenburg, Cologne and Saxony.

Missions[edit | edit source]

Main article: Lower Saxon missions

Events[edit | edit source]

The following event can fire for all countries which own the required provinces.^[1]

id

Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher, mathematician and political adviser important, both as a metaphysician and as a logician, and distinguished also for his independent invention of the differential and integral calculus. Born in Leipzig in 1646 he eventually ended up in the service of John Frederick the duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg.

This event happens only once during a campaign.

Trigger conditions

The country:

owns one of the following provinces:
- Leipzig (62)
- Erfurt (63)
- Nürnberg (67)
- Hanover (1758)

The advisor ‘Gottfried Leibniz’:

is not currently employed.
is not available.

It is at least 1676 but before 1716.

Mean time to happen

120 months

Ok

The country:

gets access to the discounted Saxon (level 3) philosopher named ‘Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’.
gains 1 innovativeness.

Decisions[edit | edit source]

Brunswick can form Hannover and Germany.

id

Form Hanover

Now that we control the key provinces of this region, local nobles have no other choice but to accept our leadership. When they fall in line, the united duchy of Hanover will become the leading power of the region.

Potential requirements

Hanover does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
was never a German regional nation.
has not enacted this decision before.
is not a colonial nation.
is not the Papal State, the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Prussia, Lübeck or Saxony.
has Lower Saxon primary culture.

If the country is AI-controlled, it:

is not a subject nation other than a tributary state or a cultural influenced state.
is not a custom nation.
is not a former colonial nation.
owns core provinces Lüneburg and Hanover.

Playing with normal or historical nations.

Allow

The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 10.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state or a cultural influenced state.
is not at war.
is not a nomad nation.
owns core provinces:
- Lüneburg
- Hanover.
owns at least 8 core provinces in North Germany region with Lower Saxon culture.
has at least 100 total development.
Hanover is part of a state.

Effects

The country:

becomes Hanover.
gains 25 prestige.
gets new missions.
gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’, unless it is a custom nation.
increases rank to kingdom, if:
- it is a duchy
- it is an elector of the Holy Roman Empire or is not a member.
gets permanent claims on all unowned provinces in:
- North Germany region with Lower Saxon culture
- Braunschweig area
- Weser area.
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

If Hanover (1758) is part of the HRE, but its owner is not a member then:

the province is removed from the HRE.
the Holy Roman Emperor:
- gets the opinion modifier “Removed provinces from the Empire” towards the owner, worth −50 opinion with a yearly decay of 1.
- loses 1 imperial authority.

Hanover (1758):

becomes the new capital of the owner country.
gains 1 base tax.

AI will always take this decision

id

Form German Nation

Regardless of the absence of a strong, central authority, our nation is prospering. The Hanseatic League, formed by hundreds of towns in northern Germany, has contributed to the prosperity of our nation. Intellectual growth, combined with sea and overland trading, has also helped spur the development and transform our country into a wealthy manufacturing center.

Potential requirements

Germany does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
is not The Papal State, Holy Roman Empire or Roman Empire
has not yet enacted this decision.
is not a colonial nation.
is in the Germanic culture group except Dutch culture.
does not have the Teutonic Order mission An Empire of Iron and Blood or delayed forming Germany in the event from that mission.

If the country is AI-controlled then it:

is not a subject nation other than a tributary state or a cultural influenced state.
has an administrative technology of at least 18.
is not a custom nation
is not a former colonial nation.
has at least 15 cities.

Playing with normal or historical nations.

Allow

The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 18.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state or a cultural influenced state.
is not at war.
is not a nomad nation.
owns core provinces:
- Berlin (50)
- München (65)
- Brunswick (57
- Augsburg (1868) or Stuttgart (70)
- Nürnberg (67) or Frankfurt (1876)
- Niederhessen (1762) or Köln (85)
- Königsberg (41) or Straßburg (75)
- Hamburg (44) or Lübeck (45)
- Dresden (61) or Erfurt (63)
owns at least 50 core provinces across the North Germany and South Germany regions that are not in the Erzgebirge, Bohemia, or Moravia areas.

Effects

The country:

becomes Germany.
gains 25 prestige.
gets new missions.
gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’, unless it is a custom nation.
leaves the Holy Roman Empire.
increases rank to empire.
gets a permanent claim on North Germany and South Germany regions.
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

If the country is the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire:

Dismantle the Holy Roman Empire.

Else:

The emperor of the HRE:
- gets the opinion modifier “Left the Holy Roman Empire” ( −150 opinion / +1 yearly decay) towards Germany.
- gets the event ‘Germany breaks out of the Empire’.

If the Winds of Change DLC is enabled:

Sets country flag GER_stuck_disunited
Enacts the “Cultural Fragmentation” government reform
Freezes the Cultural Unity government power

AI will always take this decision

Strategy[edit | edit source]

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Brunswick. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

Diplomacy[edit | edit source]

Typically, Brunswick starts the game with Bohemia as a rival. Since being on an Elector's bad side tends to lead to problems, securing immediate allies is vital to staving off early aggression. Saxony is an excellent candidate to befriend, as they are not only an elector but can provide a decent (though not impregnable) military buffer against the likes of Brandenburg and Bohemia. Outside the HRE, few options for diplomatic allies exist initially. With some time and effort, nations like Denmark and Brittany can be convinced into becoming formidable friends.

Smaller nations like Magdeburg and Anhalt can be allied with a view to later becoming a vassal, though tying Brunswick to the fates of one-province minors (OPMs) does run the risk of dragging the player into wars they would rather not fight — an expansionist Poland/ Commonwealth, for example.

As a member of the HRE, currying favour with the Emperor ( Austria in 1444) is never a bad idea. Staying in the Emperor's good graces means the player is more likely to have their territory returned should it be conquered and, should one be so lucky, be granted the title of Elector should a seat open up. Similarly, cozying up to as many Electors as possible gives Brunswick a shot at ascending to the Imperial throne, which carries a not insignificant amount of benefits and responsibilities.

Expansion[edit | edit source]

With no ports at the game's start in 1444, Brunswick's focus is initially set solely on European expansion in the heart of the HRE. This carries with it a fairly sizeable caveat: most, if not all, of the nearby territory will be protected by the Emperor. There are notable exceptions -- OPM East Frisia, for example -- but these are few and far between. Thus, taking territory and avoiding the demands to return it requires tact, not just brute force.

Conquest[edit | edit source]

A convenient quirk of Imperial diplomacy forbids the Emperor from actually sending the demand to return unlawful territory while the target is at war. This can be exploited by a crafty player through chaining wars together. In effect, before sending a peace offer for the current war, the player starts a second war. This means war will technically never be over for the player even after the peace deal is signed, meaning conquered territory can be cored and thus considered legal to own under Imperial law.

The downside to this is that, eventually, war must end. Even the most skilled general or charismatic diplomat must rest to allow manpower levels to recover and war exhaustion to fade. In such a weakened state, an overextended country is vulnerable to decisive counter-attacks that may mean the loss of conquered territory anyway, and perhaps more. Aggressive expansion (AE) penalties must also be closely monitored to prevent a sizable coalition from enacting swift revenge.

Vassalization[edit | edit source]

Instead of outright conquest, other countries can be turned into vassals even while members of the HRE (albeit after overcoming a -25 penalty). This avoids the unlawful territory issue while still allowing the player to benefit from a boost in revenue and fielded troops. Unfortunately, the steep penalty to vassalize an HRE nation often means a purely diplomatic solution may be difficult or impossible. A more direct method is forced vassalization through conquest, which achieves the same result assuming the war isn't fraught with opposing alliances. Regardless of which vassalization method is used, prime targets include Verden, Oldenburg and Hesse.

Once a country is made Brunswick's vassal, diplomatic annexing can be done after a ten-year wait. This carries the usual penalty to diplomatic reputation, plus an additional penalty for annexing an HRE member. However, this is not considered unlawful acquisition of territory. If Brunswick is popular enough to afford to be hated, a slow, methodical absorption of nearby countries means Brunswick can grow in size without contravening Imperial law.

Personal union[edit | edit source]

Similar to creating vassals, gaining personal unions (PUs) over other countries allows Brunswick to effectively increase its reach without drawing the Emperor's ire. Since many HRE nations lack heirs to start the game (as indicated by the "Disputed Succession" alert), royal marriages can pay dividends for the player should a foreign leader meet an untimely end. In the early game, neighbours like Saxony and Lüneburg are prime targets for PUs.

The trade-off for PUs versus vassals is that the integration timer is much longer for PUs — fifty years instead of ten. This, while the up-front diplomatic effort is minimal, the end result means a diplomatic relation slot will be tied up longer while the annexation timer ticks down. Furthermore, PUs are only possible with Christian monarchies. Brunswick neighbour Münster, for example, is a theocracy and does not allow royal marriages; thus, they can never be brought under a union.