Westphalia

Primary culture

Westphalian (Germanic)

Capital province

Oberhessen (81)

Government

Constitutional Monarchy

State religion

Protestant

Technology group

Western

Westphalian ideas

Traditions:

+1 Diplomat

+20% Land force limit modifier

Jewish Rights

−10% Idea cost

Westphalian Decentralization

−5% Development cost

−10% State maintenance

Universal Conscription

+20% National manpower modifier

Assimilation of the Rhenish People

+1 Max promoted culture

−25% Cost of advisors with ruler's culture

Tax Reforms

+10% National tax modifier

Religious Toleration

+1 Tolerance of heretics

+1 Tolerance of heathens

Cities of the Rhineland

+15% Provincial trade power modifier

Ambition:

+5% Discipline

For the areas, see North Westphalia‎‎ or South Westphalia.

Westphalia is a formable nation in North Germany, and can be formed by any countries with their capital in Westphalia (area). The country exists as vassal of France if the game is started between 9 July 1807 and 13 October 1813.

Historically, the Kingdom of Westphalia was a French client state created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 as part of the Confederation of the Rhine. It was dissolved 6 years later in 1813 after the Battle of Leipzig.

Formation[edit | edit source]

id

Form Westphalia

As the ideas of the Enlightenment are sweeping through Europe, we may choose to embrace them ourselves in Westphalia. Our future model state will feature ideas as revolutionary as equal rights for all male population, freedom for serfs and emancipation for the Jews, as well as enabling of free enterprise through abolition of socage and the guilds.

Potential requirements

Westphalia does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
was never a German regional nation.
is not Hanover or Switzerland.
has not enacted this decision before.
is not a colonial nation.
has Westphalian or Rhenish primary culture.
does not have the Celestial Empire reform.

If the country is AI-controlled, it:

is not a custom nation.
is not a former colonial nation.
owns core provinces Westfalen and Niederhessen, plus one of Köln, Trier, Mainz, or Münster.

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.
is not at war.
is not a nomad nation.
owns core provinces:
- Westfalen
- Niederhessen
- Either Köln, Trier, Mainz, or Münster.
owns at least 12 core provinces in the North Germany region with Westphalian or Rhenish culture.

Effects

The country:

becomes Westphalia.
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 either is an elector of the Holy Roman Empire or is not a member.
promotes Rhenish and Westphalian cultures.
gets permanent claims on all unowned provinces in:
- South Westphalia area
- North Westphalia area
- Hesse area
- Palatinate area
- North Rhine area
- Lower Rhineland area.
- Europe with Westphalian or Rhenish culture.
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

AI will always take this decision

Missions[edit | edit source]

Main article: Westphalian missions

Events[edit | edit source]

Main article: Westphalian events

Strategy[edit | edit source]

Westphalia is in an interesting spot depending on when it forms. Normally by the time a player is able to form Westphalia, many of the major powers in Europe are starting to reach their zenith, and other formable nations (Great Britain, Russia, Commonwealth, etc.) are not far behind. That said, Westphalian ideas allow it to do fairly well within the HRE and surprisingly well as a player in European politics. One of the best nations to form Westphalia may be Munster. The bishopric starts out fairly large for its' part of the HRE in the 1444 start, and as a bishopric, tends to benefit more from the Catholic faith than its' neighbors, since almost all of them are too small to get a bishop. This gives Munster a bit of an edge over these small princelings. Use that edge right away and go conquer a few of them, such as Friesland, Gelre, or East Frisia (make sure to accept Dutch as a culture so you don't have to deal with Dutch secession later on). This gives Munster both a "clear flank" to concentrate economic growth in (as your back will now be to the North Sea and most HRE nations will not be launching naval invasions) and a landmass sufficient to power an army worthy of an elector count. If you can, pick up Diplomatic (for the diplo rep and better stability) or Influence (to avoid the very long-term "Unlawful territory" opinion malus by vassalizing) ideas, since you won't be using your diplomatic points for too much beyond development. With this in mind, you should have an army approaching 20,000 (ideally with 3-4k cannons by this point) and several long-term allies; simply charge ahead and seize the minimum number of provinces necessary to form Westphalia. Just watch out for Austria and Bohemia; completing this strategy will put you on a power level equivalent with theirs (or close) and they may start to work against you.

A secondary, and surprisingly useful, route is to conquer north and go after Denmark. While the Danish navy is fairly strong, especially compared to HRE navies, their army tends to be smaller compared to most HRE alliances if you can get 3-4 decent-sized allies. Once the Danes are distracted or in one of their many rebellions, see if you can't grab Schlesvig and provinces in that region. 2-3 wars are normally sufficient to grab the entirety of continental Denmark. Not only will doing this give you a way to conquer land outside the HRE and thus avoid the "Unlawful territory" malus (a rarity for most HRE members), but it also gives you a solid economic base and a way to increase the size of the HRE. If you're in a pinch, you can also fortify the peninsula and move your capital there, making it almost impossible for most HRE nations to besiege your capital without multi-year effort to get there (either by getting through forts or by walking around the Baltic).

Lastly, Westphalia can generally be formed fairly early into the game (around 1500-1550), meaning that once it forms, the Reformation will usually have started or be close to starting. Westphalian traditons are extremely powerful in this regard; though a bit generic, forming Westphalia improves almost every aspect of the former nation, from income to discipline to technology costs, right as the HRE is having to deal with religious wars and frequent rebellions. Dabbling in Humanist ideas (or switching to Protestant early on) can mean that Westphalia ascends just as its' neighbors struggle, making the pre-league HRE a prime time to seize the entirety of Northwest Germany, from Flanders to Brunswick to the Palatinate; even if you don't take territory, you can force HRE princelings to give you concessions or trade deals, or straight-up cash to improve your economy, or forcibly convert them to make the later league wars easier on you.

Country guides

Western technology group