Add France partition, Burgundy, Iberia, Italy to worldbuilding

- Plantagenet France: England claims French crown, capital moves to Paris
- Burgundy: independent French-speaking state (Capetian cadet branch)
- Iberia split: Aragon (Mediterranean + Languedoc), Castile (Atlantic), Portugal
- Granada survives as Castilian tributary
- Italy: no divergence yet at 1300
- Reorganized open questions by timeline phase

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

1 files changed, 92 insertions, 39 deletions

diff --git a/WORLDBUILDING.md b/WORLDBUILDING.md
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+++ b/WORLDBUILDING.md
@@ -258,24 +258,77 @@ Ogedei dies (alcoholism, historical pattern). Succession crisis ensues, but fund
 - Strategically positioned between Greater Germany and Mongol-Rus sphere
 - In V3: mid-tier independent power
 
-### Anglo-French Union (Tentative)
-- Mongol raids into northern France weaken the Capetian dynasty
-- England likely exploits French weakness rather than allying (medieval political logic)
-- Possible scenarios:
-  - English king gains French throne through inheritance/conquest (Treaty of Troyes scenario, 150 years early)
-  - Angevin Empire 2.0: cross-Channel Anglo-French state
-  - Or France simply weakened but independent
-- If union forms: extremely powerful state with English naval tradition + French population/agriculture
-- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED** - need more detailed discussion
-
-### Iberian Peninsula
-- Largely unaffected by Mongol invasions (too far southwest)
-- Reconquista continues normally
-- Key questions still open:
-  - Does Castile-Aragon union still happen?
-  - Does Aragon expand into southern France (Languedoc) if France collapses?
-  - Does Portugal pursue Atlantic exploration?
-- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED**
+### The Partition of France and the Plantagenet Kingdom
+
+Mongol raids into northern France (Flanders, Picardy, ~1240s-1250s) weaken the Capetian dynasty. England exploits this rather than allying (medieval political logic). The result is not "England conquering France" but the **Plantagenet dynasty reclaiming and unifying its continental and insular domains**.
+
+#### Why England Claims the French Crown
+- The English court already speaks Anglo-Norman French
+- The Plantagenet kings are originally French nobles (Anjou, Normandy)
+- Losing continental territories (1204, King John) was the anomaly; reclaiming them is "going home"
+- Population ratio ~4:1 (France:England) means the continental territory is the real center of power
+
+#### Capital: Paris
+- Paris (~200,000) dwarfs London (~40-50,000)
+- An English king who gains France would move the capital to Paris - same logic as any peripheral conqueror moving to the richer core (Norman -> England in 1066, but in reverse now)
+- England becomes an "overseas province" of a Paris-centered kingdom
+- Over time, French identity absorbs English identity at the elite level
+
+#### Plantagenet France Territory (~1300)
+- **Core**: Île-de-France (Paris), Normandy (recovered), Anjou/Maine/Touraine (recovered), Picardy, Champagne
+- **Original English holdings**: Aquitaine/Gascony (Bordeaux region)
+- **Insular**: England, possibly Wales, contested Scotland/Ireland
+- **Vassal**: Brittany (semi-independent, in Plantagenet sphere)
+- English Channel becomes an internal waterway
+
+#### Contested with Burgundy
+- Plantagenet king claims all of France -> includes sovereignty over Burgundy
+- Burgundian duke (Capetian cadet branch) may claim to be the true French heir
+- Creates a **legitimacy war**: two "Frances" competing for the Capetian inheritance
+- Disputed territories along the Burgundy-Île-de-France border
+
+#### Long-term Implications
+- French language remains elite/court language (English court already French-speaking)
+- English language persists on the islands as commoner language, developing independently
+- England/Scotland/Ireland may develop distinct identities resisting continental French elite
+- By 1836: Atlantic power centered on Paris, controlling northern/western France + British Isles. French-speaking court, English-speaking island populace.
+
+### Duchy of Burgundy (Independent)
+- **Formation**: Capetian cadet branch declares independence as France collapses
+- **Territory**: Duchy of Burgundy (Dijon) + County of Burgundy / Franche-Comté (Besançon)
+- **Language**: Almost entirely French-speaking (~100%). The Franco-German linguistic border runs along the Vosges Mountains; Burgundy is fully on the French side. Franche-Comté was in the HRE but linguistically Romance.
+- **Relationship with Greater Germany**: Strategic ally but NOT part of German unification. German ethnic nationalism cannot absorb a purely French-speaking state. Alliance based on shared threats (Plantagenet France to the west, Mongol-Rus to the east).
+- **Claims**: May claim to be the legitimate successor to the French crown (Capetian blood vs. Plantagenet usurpers)
+- **V3 role**: Mid-tier independent French-speaking state, buffer between Plantagenet France and Greater Germany
+
+### Iberian Peninsula (Divided)
+- Reconquista effectively complete by ~1270 (only Granada remains as Castilian tributary)
+- **Castile and Aragon do NOT merge** (unlike historical 1469 marriage union)
+
+#### Crown of Aragon (Mediterranean Power)
+- **Territory**: Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, **Languedoc** (reclaimed from collapsed France - Occitan/Catalan cultural affinity)
+- **Possibly also**: Provence, Mediterranean islands (Sicily, Sardinia - historical Aragonese expansion)
+- **Absorbed Navarre**: France's collapse removes Navarre's protector; too small to survive independently; culturally/geographically closer to Aragon
+- **Orientation**: Mediterranean, facing Italy and North Africa
+- **Language zone**: Catalan-Occitan continuum across Pyrenees
+
+#### Kingdom of Castile-León (Atlantic Power)
+- **Territory**: Central and western Iberia (largest Iberian state)
+- **Orientation**: Atlantic, facing Africa and potentially the open ocean
+- **Granada**: Emirate survives as Castilian tributary - without Aragon's help, Castile may never muster the political will to finish the Reconquista. Granada could survive to V3 era as a small Muslim vassal state.
+- **Competitor**: Portugal for Atlantic expansion
+
+#### Kingdom of Portugal
+- **Territory**: Western Iberian coast, Reconquista completed 1249
+- **Orientation**: Atlantic, historically the pioneer of maritime exploration
+- **Competitor**: Castile for Atlantic routes
+- **Small but independent**, may punch above its weight in exploration/colonization
+
+#### Emirate of Granada (Surviving Muslim State)
+- Last remnant of Al-Andalus
+- Castilian tributary/vassal
+- Without united Spain, may survive to 1836 as a small but culturally significant Muslim enclave in Europe
+- V3: interesting minor power, potential flashpoint
 
 ### Scandinavia / Kalmar Union
 - Mongols don't reach Scandinavia (too cold, too forested, too poor)
@@ -288,12 +341,12 @@ Ogedei dies (alcoholism, historical pattern). Succession crisis ensues, but fund
 - Norway maintains Atlantic possessions (Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands)
 - No Great Northern War equivalent (Mongol-Rus doesn't prioritize Baltic access - their window is Black Sea/Constantinople)
 
-### Italy
-- Protected by Alps from Mongol invasion
-- City-states likely continue (Venice, Genoa, Florence, etc.)
-- Renaissance may still occur
-- But: northern Italian economic connections to Germany disrupted by Mongol destruction
-- **Status: TO BE DETERMINED**
+### Italy (~1300: No significant divergence yet)
+- Protected by Alps from Mongol invasion - no direct impact
+- City-states continue as in our timeline (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Papal States, Naples/Sicily, etc.)
+- Northern Italian economic connections to Germany weakened by Mongol destruction of HRE, but butterfly effects have not yet materialized by 1300
+- Status at 1300: essentially same as our timeline's Italy. Divergence will come later.
+- **Post-1300 evolution: TO BE DETERMINED**
 
 ---
 
@@ -359,18 +412,18 @@ Song goods -> Central Asia -> Mongol-Rus territory -> two routes:
 
 ---
 
-## Open Questions for Further Discussion
-
-1. **Anglo-French relationship**: Union or separate? Who controls what?
-2. **Iberian Peninsula**: Castile-Aragon union? Portugal? Aragon expansion into southern France?
-3. **Italy**: City-states continue? Any unification pressure?
-4. **Age of Exploration**: Delayed? Led by whom? Does Song's maritime expansion preempt European exploration?
-5. **The Americas**: Who discovers/colonizes them?
-6. **Africa**: Colonial partition? Song vs. European competition?
-7. **India and Southeast Asia**: Song colonial sphere? Or contested?
-8. **Post-Mongol period (1300-1500)**: How does each region evolve?
-9. **Song's North-South civil war**: When? Outcome? What does Song look like by 1836?
-10. **Ilkhanate evolution**: What does the Middle East look like by 1836?
-11. **Mongol-Rus internal evolution**: Reform movements? Slavic nationalism? Industrialization attempts?
-12. **1836 technology levels**: Who has what? Is Song far ahead of everyone?
-13. **North Africa**: Independent Maghreb states? Relationship with post-Ilkhanate Middle East?
+## Open Questions (1300 Snapshot Remaining)
+
+1. **Italy (post-1300 evolution)**: How do city-states develop differently? Renaissance? Unification pressure?
+2. **Ilkhanate / Persia / Middle East**: Mamluk submission degree? Persian cultural dynamics? Islamic world without a caliphate?
+3. **North Africa**: Maghreb states' relationship with post-Ilkhanate Middle East?
+
+## Open Questions (Post-1300 Chronological Development)
+
+4. **1300-1500 era**: Each region's evolution through late medieval period
+5. **Age of Exploration**: Delayed? Led by whom? Song maritime expansion vs. European exploration?
+6. **The Americas**: Who discovers/colonizes them?
+7. **Africa and India**: Song colonial sphere? European competition?
+8. **Song's North-South civil war**: When? Outcome? What does Song look like by 1836?
+9. **Mongol-Rus internal evolution**: Slavic nationalism? Industrialization attempts?
+10. **1836 technology levels**: Who has what? Is Song far ahead of everyone?