Turn: Three

The Papacy largely sat upon its laurels for most of 1528-1531, with the newly crowned Pope Clement VII taking stock of the status of Christendom. In a surprising move, the new Pope granted annulment to Henry VIII, severing England’s ties to the Hapsburg Empire, and severely straining relations between the Vatican and Vienna.

Martin Luther and his protestants converted Cologne, Augsburg, and Regensburg, and the Pope’s feeble attempts at Counter-Reformation had little effect. Clearly the new faith is finding fertile ground in the German speaking principalities.

The Ottoman empire under Suleiman the Great was largely engaged in a war with Persia along their southern borders. They emerged victorious and their naval leader Barbarosa began recruiting heathen pirates at Algiers.

The major military conflicts of this period occurred around the English Channel, with the Irish, French, and Hapsburgs all declaring war on Henry VIII. Hapsburg forces took Calais in an easy match, and the French crossed the channel while the English were unprepared, taking Bristol and overwintering there. Too late to prevent the invasion, the English regained naval dominance of the channel, potentially complicating resupply for the French troops encamped at Bristol.