The Kingdom of Anglia (French: Angleterre) is a large constitutional monarchy located in Western Europe, although scattered colonial territories, mainly in Africa and the Caribbean, also exist. A global power, its culture and language were widely influential internationally, and French remains the language of international commerce and diplomacy. Anglia arose initially from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern Britain, which eventually united to form England under the House of Wessex. Seized by the Norman duke William the Conqueror, the kingdom expanded under him and his capable descendants to include a series of disparate territories stretching from Aquitaine in the south to Ireland in the northwest. Under Edward III, his successor John I, and Henry IV, Anglia warred against and defeated its great rival, France, in the Eighty Years War, finally defeating it in conjunction with Burgundy. Anglia founded a large and successful colonial empire, but found itself facing challenges nearer to home, notably from its northern neighbour, Scotland, and from Burgundy on the continent.
To this day, although it remains a globally influential naval power, Anglia remains embroiled in disputes in Europe and the British Isles, and its rivalry with the Scottish-led Celtic League remains one of the sticking points of European international relations. The persistent Celtic-backed insurgencies in Wales and Ireland remain irritants which Anglia, despite its global power, is unable to fully dislodge.
Continental Wars and Military Success
After the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360, Anglia and France enjoyed a period of peace; however, the heir to the English throne, the Black Prince and Edward III died in rapid succession in 1376 and 1377. The Black Prince's son, the ten-year-old Richard of Bordeaux, was ruled by a regency of influential nobles. These Anglian nobles swiftly fell into infighting, enabling the French under the newly-crowned Charles V to retake many of their lost territories, even seizing Gascony. Charles V died in 1381, and his insane son, Charles VI, succeeded to the throne. It suited both nations to maintain the peace; to cement their non-aggression, Richard II agreed to go on crusade in Livonia with the king's brother, Louis of Orleans, and his heir, Charles, the Dauphin. The insane king himself remained in Paris. This proved an unwise decision for all parties; the crusaders were defeated at the Allenburg by a Livonian force, and all three were slain.
The succession thus fell to John of Gaunt, the powerful brother of the Black Prince, who successfully crowned himself John II of England in 1393. France, meanwhile, was in chaos, with the insane Charles stripped of his major backers and facing revolts by noble and peasant alike. John resumed the war in 1395; mainly, he saw a convenient opportunity to gain territory, but he also hoped to unify the nation against a foreign enemy and gain plunder that could enable him to pay off some of the insolvent Richard's debts. However, he enjoyed unexpected success in an invasion of Normandy; no one in France had the authority or desire to raise an army, enabling John to seize control of Normandy and much of Maine and Artois. He signed a truce with the French in 1397, by which he wed his son, Henry of Lancaster, to Isabella of Valois, the daughter of King Charles. In 1399, John died while on campaign in Gascony; he was succeeded by his son, Henry IV. Henry campaigned further, seizing Aquitaine and Gascony from the French, but was also forced to deal with revolts in Wales. These were suppressed by around 1410, when Henry IV died at Bordeaux; he was succeeded by his son, Henry V.
Henry fortified the frontiers with France heavily and launched a series of devastating raids into the Ile-de-France, the heartland of the Valois monarchy. He also opened contacts with Burgundy, which, under its Duke, John the Fearless, had been making its own bid for power in France, trying to install himself as regent. The despoiled remnants of the French kingdom were losing their allure for him; Henry's offer of large territories free from French feudal jurisdiction proved quite attractive. The two signed an alliance and jointly besieged Paris in 1415; the city fell, and the mad French king, as well as his heir and several of his other sons and daughters, were captured. Henry and John proceeded to divide up remnant French territories; John agreed to recognize Henry as king of France, assuming he could convince Charles to concede such; in return, Henry would abandon French feudal jurisdiction over Burgundy, cede the Dauphiné, and grant most of Champagne and Languedoc to the House of Burgundy, although these last would remain under his feudal jurisdiction as King of France. Meanwhile, the French king's heirs were taken to London, where they vanished into the Tower of London, and shortly afterward, according to rumour, poisoned and buried secretly. Although John of Touraine, another of Charles' sons, briefly carried on the war from the south, he became increasingly marginal and was eventually captured by the Burgundians. Charles VI, isolated, insane, and sick, agreed at length to make Henry his heir, no doubt under significant pressure. At the traditional coronation city of Reims, he delivered a speech before the assembled nobles of France and England proclaiming Henry his heir and crowned him Dauphin of France. In 1417, he died, most likely of poison, and Henry was crowned King of France at Reims.