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The original was posted on /r/eu4 by /u/IdeaFragrant1099 on 2025-06-25 20:53:09+00:00.
Some of my favorite campaigns have always been the ones where the Netherlands remains small and unassuming in Europe, sticking roughly to its historical borders, but builds a globe-spanning colonial empire overseas. There’s something incredibly satisfying about playing tall, staying out of constant European wars, and still shaping world history from afar.
But my dream campaign takes this a step further.
I imagine a religiously, politically, and dynastically unified Europe—not under one massive empire, but as a peaceful patchwork of sovereign nation-states, each representing its own cultural group, with clean and elegant borders. Germany, Italy and the Balkans would be divided into many small nations, while France, Spain, Poland, etc., would each be unified within their natural cultural limits.
All of this would exist under the framework of a decentralized Holy Roman Empire, with the Netherlands as Emperor—not as a conqueror, but as a symbolic, stabilizing leader. Think of it like a proto-EU: nations cooperating, trading, and advancing in peace, with the Emperor guiding diplomacy and balance.
Meanwhile, the Dutch would dominate the colonial world—wealth flowing in, trade nodes channeled to the Low Countries, and naval supremacy securing global influence.
Key elements of the campaign:
The Netherlands stays small in Europe but becomes a global colonial power
Every European culture group forms a unified nation within its cultural borders
The HRE remains decentralized, a peaceful confederation of sovereign states
A religiously and politically stable continent, focused on development and diplomacy
I imagine am HRE including all of Italy and the Balkans, a clean Scandinavia, Commonwealth, Spain, GB, Russia and France all under the Dutch crown.
The “tallest” experience of all.
Has anybody tried this before or has suggestions how to approach this? Would this be even archievabal?