Roberto's English AAR thread #2 (from 1526) (ver 1.07c)

[Roberto]

[Version 1.07c. All settings normal.]

Narrative resumes in 1526, the seventeenth year of the reign of His Majesty King Henry VIII.

The realm consists of all provinces in England, all provinces in Ireland, the three non-capital provinces of Scotland, Calais, Picardie and Caux across the Channel and two small colonies at Nova Scotia and Manhattan.

The realm has been at peace for six years. Civilized Europe is at peace also.

England is in an alliance led by Spain, with Naples, Hanover and Hessen.

And the King is increasing concerned that it will not prove possible for (Spanish) Queen Catharine to give birth to a healthy male heir.

THE KING’S GREAT MATTER 1526-1530

At the beginning of 1526, Helvetia and Prussia adopted the Lutheran heresy as state religions.

Picardie revolted in April. Brandon put down the rebellion within a week, with the same brutality that had - eventually - crushed all rebel hearts in Caux.

In August, Poland-Lithuania led her allies France, Savoy, Lorraine, Scotland and Navarra into war against the Teutonic Order. The war was confined to the shores of the Baltic, ending on 6 January 1528 when the Order ceded Tula and Memel to Poland-Lithuania, also paying 110 in reparations.

At the beginning of 1527, Hanover adopted the Lutheran heresy at their state religion, and were unceremoniously cast out of the Spanish Alliance. The same happened to Hessen at the beginning of 1528. But otherwise they were left alone. Perhaps the Spanish were content to allow them to make their own path along the road to hell. Perhaps the Spanish were distracted by their war against the Aztecs (whoever they were), declared on 20 September 1527 and in which the other members of the Alliance were not invited to participate. Or perhaps they did not have enough troops in the Netherlands to take any action, even if they had a mind to. Certainly there were no Spanish troops over the border from Calais, in Flanders.

On 26 June 1528 Crimea, supported by her allies Turkey, Tunisia and (to the surprise of many) Portugal declared war on Georgia. (On 6 August Iraq declared war on Georgia also, though as the realms lacked a common border this can only have been to curry favour with her other enemies). The war was brief; on 1 February 1529 Georgia ceded Georgia province to Turkey and paid 185 in reparations and on 29 October the capital province, Sochi, was annexed by Crimea.

All this time, the King had been casting around for a way to put aside the Queen and remarry. He sought to have the marriage annulled. This could only be done by the Pope. Cardinal Wolsey was deputed to procure it. But he could not. Quite apart from spiritual scruples, the Pope was in temporal awe of the power of Spain. And with good reason; to the south of Rome, Naples was a firm ally of Spain and to the east, Spain ruled Romaga (note 1). When the Papal States were added to the Spanish Alliance in 1528, all hope of help from that quarter was lost. So the King put aside Cardinal Wolsey, and looked for another policy. He soon came to see the desired result could be achieved by embracing the Lutheran heresy as the state religion, and denying the Pope any power over the Church in England. This would enrage Spain twice over. But Spain was over the seas. The only risk to the realm from Spain was to Calais from the Netherlands - and this could be removed by allying with Hanover and Hessen to their east. This approach was supported by many other advisors, who coveted the wealth of the Church.

As for France, they had always hated the realm and always would; and their allies the Scots hated us ten times more. Nothing we could say or do would change that and therefore a change of faith could not make relations with them any worse [both at -200 and both with permanent CB].

Wooing of Hanover and Hessen began in earnest in 1529. Their rulers were bombarded by personal gifts and letters of introduction. They relished the prospect of mutual defence against any threat from Spain [Hanover +94 to +115 to +124; Hessen -50 to -37 to +25 to +93 to +105]. Prospects of success were only enhanced by Sweden’s conversion to (what we must now call) the Lutheran faith at the beginning of the year, and even more so by the news from Poland-Lithuania. In rapid succession at the beginning of October came news

- of civil war

- of the creation of the new state of Ukraine (comprising Ukraine, Poltava and Krementjug; capital Kiev; state religion Orthodox).

- of a new government in Poland-Lithuania, embracing the Lutheran faith (note 2)

The wooing of Hanover and Hessen continued in 1530 [Hanover +123 to +130 to +200; Hessen +105 to +116 to +120]. The King also wrote a most eloquent letter to the King of Spain, explaining that the good of the realm required him to take a new wife and pledging to treat Queen Catharine with respect if she would but accept this [relations with Spain +132 to +140] (note 3). The army were equipped with arquebuses [Land Tech 5 - Early Arquebus]. Parliament, and the Bishops, were summoned for late summer.

REFORMATION AND AFTER 1530-1539

Before Parliament met on 1 September, the King addressed the Privy Council. He was resolved upon this course and would brook no opposition. Those who disagreed were free to retire to their homes and stay there. Opposition would be treated as treason 'and treated as rebellion is in our realm of France' - a threat lost on none.

The arguments put to Parliament were less threatening. The King was resolved, for the good of the realm, to reform the abuses of the Church. As part of this, it was necessary to repudiate the pretended authority of the Pope, to cease all payments from the Church in England to Rome and to take the wealth of the Church for the common good. Having been squared well in advance, Parliament obeyed.

The Bishops, meeting in Convocation, were persuaded first to repudiate the authority of the Pope and second to declare the King's marriage null and void.

As for the wealth of the Church, some of it was spread among the King’s advisors but more of it was spent building up the military and pacifying the realm [all investment to stability]. Before it departed, Parliament declared full support for the Government’s policies [random event Good Government Policies on 10 December; stability up by one (to -2) and investment in trade and infrastructure]. The only public dissent was a rebellion in the bogs of Munster. An army sent from Meath put it down, with the utmost brutality, in a week.

(note 4)

No attempt was made to regulate private belief, only public behaviour [=full toleration of Catholicism] (note 5). This distressed many adherents to the new faith, who believed toleration of the old to be consorting with sin. From this time onward came a regular flow of volunteers to make a new life overseas.

From Spain came words of sorrow but no action. Indeed, the first diplomatic contact was an invitation from Brandenburg to join their Alliance with Bohemia and Saxony. This was politely declined. It was a powerful alliance, but a long way away from the Netherlands. The next was an offer of a Royal Marriage from Prussia, in February 1531. The King found an obscure cousin for the purpose. He already had a lady in mind for himself (note 6).

One unexpected consequence of the change of faith was the desertion of the diplomatic corps. It was not for six months that a diplomat could be found to voyage overseas, by which time Hanover had allied themselves with the Hanse, who had become Protestant at the beginning of 1531. Hessen were still unattached, and a new alliance was forged with them in March 1531, followed by a Royal Marriage in September. Royal Marriages with the Hanse and Poland-Lithuania followed in March and September 1532. The Palatenat became Protestant in 1533 and a Royal Marriage was arranged with them in March of that year.

On 5 February 1532 Crimea declared war on the new realm of Ukraine. Ukraine was without allies; Crimea was supported by Turkey, Tunisia and Portugal. The war was resolved in April 1533 when Ukraine paid 250 reparations to Turkey, of which 41 had been contributed by Crimea!

[Game Status April 1533:

Points (ignoring missions, which I’ve switched off):

Spain 647
Portugal 339
England 296
China 251
Persia 193
Austria 180

Badboyz:

England +2
France +1
Austria -1
Portugal -4
Russia -2
Spain 0
Poland +9 ]

At the beginning of 1534, Thuringen and Kleves became Protestant. Chief Judges were appointed in Grampian and The Highlands and, from the remaining wealth of the Church, a refinery was commissioned in Kent. Despite the stifling effect which the realm’s concentration on peace and stability above all had on innovation, significant advances were made in trade in November and in infrastructure in December [both the level 4: early Baroque].

February 1535 saw the first rebellion in Caux for many years. It was put down in a fortnight, with the usual brutality. The diplomatic offensive continued, with Royal Marriages to Sweden in April and to Kleves in May (note 7). By August the realm had reached a fair level of stability [up to zero].

In January 1536, Lord Admiral Fitzwilliam took command of the Home Fleet [random leader?]. He was destined to die in his bed in December 1540, never having seen action.

Every year since the change of faith, settlers had embarked for Nova Scotia. In a dedication ceremony for the new Refinery in Kent in January, the King declared the main settlement a city. Orders were given to construct a rudimentary fortress. The next year, a tax collector was appointed.

In February, Kleves joined England and Hessen in alliance.

Just when everything seemed to be going well, there was dissension among the merchants in March [random event - half investments in trade lost].

The remaining years of the decade could have passed for tranquil, with increasing stability [+1 in May 1537 +2 in January 1539], new colonies at Fundy (a bare land without natives) in July 1537 and Isle Royale in June 1538 and the expansion of the English Alliance to embrace Brandenburg in November 1537 and Saxony in January 1539. Meanwhile, the private war between Spain and the Aztecs reached a truce in June 1537 when the Aztecs ceded Michoagon and paid 250 in reparations.

On 8 July 1539 came the beginning of the end for Ukraine when Poland-Lithuania declared war, supported by the Hanse, Hanover and the Teutonic Order. On 6 October 1540 Ukraine ceded Krementjug to the Order (note 8). The end came on 22 November when Poland-Lithuania reabsorbed her lost provinces.

Historical and Game Notes

1. The historical position was even worse. Spanish troops sacked Rome itself in 1525.
2. This change to Protestantism in the game has been permanent.
3. Many historians argue that Henry VIII would have treated Queen Catharine and their daughter Mary better if she had been prepared to accept a divorce (eg: Lady Antonia Fraser in 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII'). Our virtual history assumes this happpened.
4. As I’ve said a while ago in another post, the change to Protestant in EU combines what in England was the Break with Rome (around 1532) with the seizure of Church assets and the dissolution of the monasteries (around 1535-6), so our virtual history has to merge them together - a little earlier than actually happened. The nearest to a rebellion was the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1538, usually seen as a reaction to the dissolution. As for the King’s, speeches, they’re my artistic licence.
5. This is totally unhistorical - a gameplay decision.
6. Anne Boleyn of course. Bear with me - I can’t write all six wives into the game.
7. Anna of Kleves? We’re getting ahead of history again - I think she was 1540.
8. Now there’s a split country!!!

 

[Roberto]

THE LAST YEARS OF KING HENRY VIII

The steady progress towards stability came to an abrupt halt in October of 1539, when the realm was struck by a terrible political crisis.

The king’s fifth wife was young enough to be his daughter. Her family - the family of the late Earl Marshall Norfolk, conqueror of the Scots 45 years ago - saw great prospects of wealth and influence in the match. What she saw in a husband now so gross that he had to be lifted onto his horse was not physical attraction. That she found elsewhere. When the King found out about her lovers he flew into an uncontrollable rage, during which he had the males of her family and many other followers of the Old Faith arrested, her alleged lovers tortured and finally the faithless lady executed, then into an unbreakable depression for six months. The realm was left to struggle on however it might [Random Event: Political Crisis - stability -3 (to -1), monarch values 2 for six months] (note 1). All thought of investment was forgotten as the Privy Council, for want of a better idea, devoted their resources anew to the restoration of full stability.

Fortunately, the merchants of London and Bristol kept their heads better than most. The small colony at Isle Royale was expanded in January 1540 and April 1542, while a new colony founded in Delaware in April 1541.

Turkey declared war on the Mameluks on 6 March 1540. Turkey was supported by Crimea and Tunisia. The Mameluks had no allies and no success; they achieved peace only by ceding Lebanon and Aleppo and paying 199 reparations on 29 January 1542.

Denmark joined the Protestant community at the beginning of 1540 and Bohemia a year later. England’s alliance was renewed after another decade of peace in April 1541: Hessen (+200), Kleves (+80), Saxony (+41) and Brandenburg (+46).

And the realm slowly regained stability [up to zero in August 1540 and +1 in February 1542].

[Game Statistics January 1542

Points:

Spain 851
Portugal 410
England 377
China 308
Austria 222
Persia 220

Badboyz:

England +1
France 0
Austria -2
Portugal -4
Russia -3
Spain 0
Poland +16]

At the beginning of 1543, Brandenburg declared themselves Protestant. A Royal Marriage was hastily arranged, and they were allowed to stay in what was now a wholly Protestant alliance. To mark their viewing of the light, the King sent a Personal Gift in April [+14 to +125!!!].

Then, in March, Jean Calvin began to preach a new form of Protestantism. A Church of the people, a Reformed Church, not a State Church. He found many adherents in Kent and Strathclyde, and his teachings were just about tolerated by the authorities, but neither the King, nor the Privy Council nor the merchants had any inclination to follow them (note 2).

There was a diplomatic setback in March. Crimea, supported by her allies Turkey and Tunisia, declared war on the Teutonic Order. The Order were supported by their allies Poland and the Hanse, but deserted by Hannover. This was the chance to complete the alliance at the back of the Spanish Netherlands. Diplomats were sent - but Hannover were not interested, preferring to re-join their old alliance. The war itself passed off far from England, and no note was taken of its progress (note 3).

The realm continued to progress towards stability (+2 in August 1543).

Then, on 7 November 1543 came the first war in Western Europe for more than thirty years when France declared war on Spain. France was supported by Scotland, Navarra, Savoy, Venice and the Aztecs (who they?) and Spain by Naples, the Papal States, Cologne and Lorraine. England had no Causus Belli against either side and resolved not to participate. An emissary from the Duke of Hessen, arguing for an intervention against Spain in which England was given a free hand against in the Netherlands while Hessen took Cologne (a poisoned chalice indeed, with most of the Netherlands in rebellion), was wined, dined and bribed to persuade his lord to the contrary.

From the perspective of Field Marshall Brandon in Picardie, the decision was a missed opportunity. Lorraine sieged Paris in January 1544 and captured it in April, although events in their homeland led them to pay France 32 in reparations for peace the same month. Cologne sieged Paris in April, captured the city in January 1545 and were paid a bribe of 223 for peace. But if he longed to repeat his own conquest of the city during the Six Months’ War (note 4) he held his peace. The King’s treatment of his fifth wife’s family, still in the Tower of London, was a warning to all tempted to disagree with the Royal authority.

In the Americas, Isle Royale had been expanded in April 1543 and was raised to the status of a city in January 1544. The native inhabitants accepted Royal authority, and a tax collector was promptly appointed.

In January 1544 a Royal Marriage was arranged with Saxony. The English Alliance was an ocean of stability - all the more so when on 13 April 1544 Austria (supported by Hungary, Milan, Bavaria and Helvetia) declared war on Bohemia. Bohemia was the pretext, but Austria’s naked ambition was plain for all to see when she annexed Thuirngen on 4 October and then signed a status quo peace for herself and her allies with Bohemia on 20 November.

1545 saw the end for Navarra, annexed by Spain on 20 January, who promptly passed on #158 from the state treasury to Cologne - who promptly signed a status quo peace with Venice.

England’s ambassadors curried favour among their allies with Personal Gifts to Saxony (+56 to +86) and to Kleves (+75 to +112).

In March the colony in Delaware was expanded, the realm achieved a level of stability it had not seen since the days of the Old Faith (+3 at last!) - and King Henry died suddenly (note 5). For all his personal faults, which were many, he had kept the realm at peace since the Six Months War in 1519 (note 6), established an alliance of firm friends among the German Protestants and, with the Reformation, had established a new basis for economic prosperity and colonial expansion. Few could remember any other ruler and there was a sense that an era had ended - all the more so when Field Marshall Brandon, loyal Guardian of Calais throughout the reign and the one remaining national military hero, died on 12 June (there was little mourning for the latter from the widows and orphans of Picardie and Caux, over whom he had ruled with an iron hand all that time). The giants were gone, and only the pygmies remained.

INTERLUDE - THE DUTCH REVOLT AND WAR OF LIBERATION

It was when the Franco-Spanish war broke out in November 1543 that England’s attention was first drawn to widespread rebellions in the Spanish Netherlands. With Spain involved in that war, there was little to stop the rebellion. By March 1544, Friesen was held by the rebels and they were besieging Flanders. By October they controlled The Hague. In March 1545, the month King Henry died, they took Flanders and Holland and in December, Zeeland.

On 1 February 1546 the rebels declared themselves the independent Netherlands. They claimed jurisdiction over Friesen, The Hague, Holland, Zeeland and Flanders, and were at war with Spain (though, fortunately for them, not with Spain’s allies). Spain held Artois, Hainaut, Luxembourg (under Rebel control) and Champagne (note 7).

Artois fell to France’s enemy, Savoy, on 30th April but was ceded to Spain when France and Spain made peace on 28 August. Such troops as Spain could raise in the Netherlands were left to battle on alone. They stormed Zeeland in October 1548 but could go no further. The Dutch took Artois in April 1550 and drove off a Spanish relief force in May. A larger Spanish force won a battle there in January 1551 and began a seige, while a Dutch army took Luxembourg. Finally a peace of mutual exhaustion was agreed on 14 April 1551 with the Netherlands granting Zeeland to Spain.

So the independent Netherlands in 1551 consisted of Friesen, Holland, The Hague and - linked only by sea - the rich province of Flanders. Spain had Zeeland, Artiois, Hainaut, Luxembourg and Champagne, the latter captured from France forty years before.

AFTER KING HENRY

Henry VIII died suddenly, but he left a will. He was to be succeeded by his son, Edward, still a boy, and the heirs of his body, then his daughter Mary and the heirs of her body and finally by his daughter Elizabeth and the heirs of her body.

The Privy Council was riven into mutually distrustful factions. Those with the upper hand at the time of King Henry’s death were good administrators, average military commanders and distinctly poor diplomats. Their first act was to resolve that King Edward was too young to rule, even in name only, and appoint one of their number Lord Protector. Their second was to send preachers to convert the Highlands to Protestantism, which was achieved in October 1545. Their third was to drain the Treasury to send a State Gift to the new (Reformed) Netherlands in April 1546. This earned the friendship of the Dutch, but not their accession to the English Alliance and when, in October, it became known that the Netherlands had joined the alliance of Persia and the Mameluks (note 8), this was seen as a humiliation and factions began to plot.

The plotting came to a head on 30 January 1547. The Lord Protector was arrested, and his supporters expelled from the Privy Council. Edward VI was proclaimed King, although still to young to be crowned, or to take any active part in government. The new leaders had the power, but were worse in every respect than the men they had replaced - average administrators, poor military leaders and very bad diplomats. And they had no new ideas - their first action was to send preachers to turn Ulster Protestant and their second to order defenses to be erected in the colonial cities of Nova Scotia and Isle Royale. Their problems only intensified when unhappiness among the clergy in October 1548 led to a temporary drop in social stability (Random Event - stability reduced by one (to +2)). The clergy may well have been influenced by the spread of Calvin’s teaching. The Palatenat was the first state to adopt the Reformed faith (after the Netherlands, which was created with it) in 1548, joined by Helvetia in 1549.

Meanwhile, the France-Spanish war was fragmenting. The Papal States (allies of Spain) paid Venice (allies of France) 250 reparations for a private peace in February 1545. The Aztecs (allies of France) paid Spain 250 in reparations and ceded Tuxpan in July 1546. France and Spain signed a status quo peace the next month, but by that time their alliances had fragmented. Naples (allies of Spain) paid Venice 250 in reparations to buy peace in October and Venice themselves paid Spain the same for peace in April 1547. The Papal States signed a status quo peace with Savoy in January 1549. The final stage of the wars came on 15 March 1550, when the Papal States ceded Emilia to France. With Spain already holding Romagna from a previous war, this left the Eternal City and its hinterland as the Holy Father’s only remaining temporal power base.

[Game analysis January 1549:

Points:

Spain 972
Portugal 463
England 423
China 350
Austria 273
France 254

Badboyz:

England +1
France +1
Austria +5
Portugal -4
Russia -3
Spain +6
Poland +16]

Historical and game notes:

1. This is fiction, based on the real fate of fifth wife Catherine Howard a few years later.
2. The AI normally converts England to Reformed pretty soon. I decided not to.
3. Sorry!
4. See my previous thread.
5. Random event - early death of monarch.
6. See my previous thread again.
7. I’m thinking of writing up a ' random' Dutch AAR, starting from about this point Such a strong rebellion in the 1540’s is well ahead of history.
8. Another diplomatic masterpiece from the 1.07c AI!!!

 

[Roberto]

This is an experiment (for me, at least). If it works, a link showing the territory of the realm in Europe from 1520 will follow.

http://www.geocities.com/grahamfife/eushots/eng1525.jpg

 

[Roberto]

Hurrah!

If you open the link you'll see it's as at the end of 1525. It reflects the position since 1520 which lasted - oh, more than 100 years.

Now to get more of the narrative written, with screenshots ...

 

[Roberto]

INTERLUDE: EUROPE IN 1549

Remember, England comprises all of England, all of Ireland, Strathclyde, Grampians and Highlands in Scotland and Calais, Picardie and Caux in France.

The Netherlands has been formed out of Friesen, Holland, The Hague, Zeeland and Flanders. Spain holds Artois, Hainaut, Luxembourg and Champagne (taken from France many years ago).

Austria has annexed Thuringen. Bohemia is intact.

Russia has taken Vorones but apart from that the Khanates are intact. The Teutonic Order has not only survived but expanded, taking Pskov to add to Ingermanland, Estonia and Livonia. Consequently, Russia does not have a port.

The main expansionary power has been Poland-Lithuania (Protestant since a revolution in 1529) which has absorbed Kurland, Memel (from Prussia) and West and East Pommerania (from the Hanse) though it has "lost" Krementjug to Crimea (the only province not recovered from the Ukranian revolt).

Further afield, Turkey has expanded at the expense of the Mamelukes (taking Aleppo, Nuyssabin, Lebanon, Syria, Samaria and Nile) but not in the Balkans nor against Venice. Persia has expanded to absorb Jordan and Arabia.

THE SHORT REIGN OF EDWARD VI

The narrative resumes in January 1549, the second year of the reign of the boy-king Edward VI.

The leaders of the Privy Council had few talents, fewer ideas, and no mutual trust. About all they could agree on was the need to defend the realm. So in 1549 rudimentary fortresses were ordered in Ulster, Connaught, Leinster and Munster (there was one already in Meath).

By the end of the year also, all provinces in England, English Scotland and English France had tax collectors and Chief Judges.

Traders were sent out in all directions. Ventures to Muscate and Tago did not last long, but three traders settled in Isfahan and four in Andalusia. A new trading post was established in Rimouski in March 1550.

The German Alliance was renewed in 1551 with Hessen, Saxony and Brandenburg. Not with Kleves; they were generally unpopular with the other allies (and with their neighbours generally) and too small to pose a threat, whoever they allied with.

A steady flow of settlers arrived in Delaware: in March 1549, March 1551 and May 1552.

In January 1552, the merchants of Anglia provided ships for two rival explorers, Chancellor and Willoughby. Not to be outdone, the merchants of Bristol pored over their maps of the Americas captured from France more than thirty years before (and stolen from Spain before that). These showed that the Americas were in fact a huge island. There was no sea passage to the north - the Cabots had lived and died disproving that - but there was one to the south. And the Indies might be beyond the far side. Staging posts were needed. So two boatloads of settlers were sent out to areas that looked - from the maps - to be relatively hospitable: Copetonas in South America and Baja, on an island on the far side of Spanish Mexico (note 1). Both arrived safely - to Copetonas in October 1552 and Baja in November.

Nobody knew it then, but these brave settlers founded the future prosperity of the realm. Here - not in the American colonies - lay the true beginning of the Empire of England.

To defend the first of these outposts, Willoughby sailed for Nova Scotia with ten ships. Loading 5,000 infantrymen, they set out for Copetonas in January 1553; after an epic voyage eight ships made port in August. Willoughby explored out into the ocean from there before his death in October 1554.

By 1552, it was clear that Edward VI was sickly, and unlikely to live to manhood. The Councillors had to face up to the prospect of the Lady Mary becoming Queen. The various factions set out to find her a suitable husband - suitable in the sense that he could be an easily manipulated King. But Mary proved implacable. She would not marry save as God directed her, she said, and God would never direct her to marry anyone other than a true Catholic. Those of the Council who could remember a young Henry VIII trembled. And they made a pact - to stick together as the new reign approached, and to retain control of the armies in France, just in case.

The younger members of the Council, sensing that Mary was not of an age to have children even if a husband could be found, came to see the Lady Elizabeth as the long-term future of the realm.

At the beginning of 1553, the merchants of Anglia funded another explorer, Frobisher. In May another band of settlers reached Delaware with a City Charter and began work on fortifications, and in June a new colony was founded up the coast from Nova Scotia, in Gaspese.

By then, the end had come for Edward’s brief life. He died on June 7 1553.

MARY AND THE MAGNATES

Queen Mary succeeded, under the terms of Henry VIII’s will. She released those of the Old Faith who had been imprisoned from her father’s time (not least the Norfolk family) and admitted believers in the Old Faith to the Privy Council. This created a large body, too diverse to be more than average in any major way but in itself a great improvement on what had gone before though the wealth - and therefore the power - lay with the Protestant Councillors.

Mary herself had her father’s determination, but none of his guile. Her dream was to return England to the Catholic Church (note 2). This did not suit the Protestant Councillors at all. Most of them based their family’s wealth on lands taken - stolen, Mary would say - from the Church more than twenty years before.

The first battleground was, surprisingly, Parliament. At the instigation of leading Protestant Councillors, it petitioned Mary to marry "a good Protestant prince, for the security of the realm". Of course, the Queen refused. But the point was made - a link between Protestantism and the security of the realm.

Mary’s own search for a Catholic husband had little success. The King of Spain (and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) had just married his eldest son and heir to a Portuguese infanta (note 3) and could only offer a distant second cousin, totally unacceptable to the Council and to Parliament. The French refused point-blank to discuss a Royal Marriage unless Caux and Picardie were included in the dowry. When it became known that the Doge of Venice had made enquiries requesting Ireland as a dowry, Mary’s humiliation was complete. Her spirit broken, she spent her days in prayer. The realm was left to the Privy Council and the merchants - which suited them perfectly.

The English Ambassador in Portugal was grossly insulted in August 1554 about the Queen’s failure to find a husband [Random Event - CB for twelve months]. Noting that Portugal’s principal ally was France (along with Scotland, Savoy, Venice, Naples and the Aztecs (who they?)), the Council decided to overlook the matter.

To general surprise, the infant colony in Baja developed as a major trading centre in 1554 [new CoT in Baja], taking in trade from the English Americas (note 4). Merchants flocked there; by the end of the following year they had an unchallenged monopoly creating an annual income of nearly #100. In time, this would create a new basis for political power in the realm.

The realm’s diplomatic relations were disrupted at the beginning of 1555 when Hessen adopted the Reformed faith, repudiating their alliances and gravely disrupting their stability. They were immediately invited back into the English Alliance in January (+100 to +120), and sent a Personal Gift in March (+120 to +200). Then, in May, they accepted a new relationship with the realm - payment of half their income in return for vague promises of eternal protection. This relationship was given the fine-sounding medieval name of vassalisation but in fact it was a huge bluff - Hessen had no coastline and no land border with any English provinces. It worked partly because the Hessens were desperate, partly because with England’s ally Saxony to the east and the Reformed Netherlands to the west the risk of having to defend Hessen was minimal - and partly because, by that time, the tides of war were sweeping Europe in a way they had not for many years.

On 11 April 1555 France (supported by Scotland, Savoy, Venice, Naples and Portugal) declared war on the Netherlands (whose distant allies Persia and the Mamelukes could provide no assistance). This war dragged on for many years with little action in Europe; Venice made a separate peace with the Netherlands in June 1558, the Mamelukes made a separate peace with France in November 1558 and finally there was a status quo peace between the remaining combatants in November 1559.

On 21 April 1555, Bavaria (supported by fellow Catholic powers Austria, Hungary and Milan) declared war on Wurttemburg. This war was to prove move decisive and to see the end of Wurttemburg, who bought off Milan for #234 in October 1555, Austria for #238 in October 1556 and Hungary for #156 in June 1557 but were annexed by Bavaria that same month.

There was never any suggestion that England or its allies should intervene in either of these conflicts.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand I of Austria was elected Holy Roman Emperor in January 1556.

New Galleons were introduced into the Navy in July 1556 [Naval Tech 5].

The realm’s State Marriage with Prussia expired in February 1556 and was left to lie. The State Marriage with Hannover (still a diplomatic target) was renewed in September 1556, but when the State Marriage with Poland expired a year later, they refused to renew it.

Colonial expansion continued slowly during these years. Settlers arrived at Manhattan in June 1554, October 1555, May 1556 and March 1558. A tax collector was appointed for Delaware in January 1556 and the fortress further expanded a year later.

INTERLUDE: THE REALM IN AUGUST 1558

All provinces in England; all in Ireland; Strathclyde, Grampian and Highlands in Scotland and Calais, Picardie and Caux in France.

Colonial Cities: Isle Royale, Delaware and Nova Scotia.

Colonies: Fundy and Gaspese up the coast from Nova Scotia; Manhattan up the coast from Delaware; Copetonas in South America and Baja in California.

Trading posts: Rimouski and Bangor.

No presence in the Caribbean and no knowledge of Africa south of the Sahara nor of the Indes.

[Game data August 1558:

Points

Spain 1101
England 526
Portugal 504
China 404
Austria 371

Badboyz

England 0
France +1
Austria +4
Holland -1
Portugal -5
Russia -4
Spain +5
Sweden -5
Turkey +1
Poland +15 ]


Historical and game notes:

1. It’s not an island of course, but it looked like one on the maps.
2. To play England historically, religion would have to change to Protestant under Henry VIII, Reformed under Edward VI (both of which the AI does) back to Catholic under Mary and back to Protestant or Reformed under Elizabeth. Which would wreck the game for the player of England. So one has to find some way to justify not going back to Catholic under Mary. My fiction assumes (1) the leading magnates did not try to oust Mary when Edward died, so they retained their strength on the Privy Council (2) Philip of Spain was already married, so Mary could not marry him and therefore (3) Mary did not have the political strength (or the backing of the Spanish army) to change the state religion and/or persecute the Protestants. Something of an idealised view - but remember, in my fiction there’s a large standing army in France. Suppose the Council control it?
3. Historically, this was being negotiated but the negotiations were broken off when Mary became Queen, in the hope (as happened) that she would marry Philip.
4. This CoT covered the English trading posts throughout North America from Nova Scotia west. Unhistorical or what?

For Europe in 1549, see:

http://www.geocities.com/grahamfife/eushots/europe1549.jpg

And for the realm's foothold in the Americas in 1558:

http://www.geocities.com/grahamfife/eushots/americas1558.jpg

 

[Roberto]

This is turning into an Alternative History of England! (with added irony at appropriate points).

THE PEACEFUL REIGN OF GOOD QUEEN BESS (PART ONE)

Queen Mary’s life drew peacefully to a close on 18 November 1558. Many said she died of grief and frustration at her inability to return the realm to the Catholic fold; in time some came to see her as a tragic heroine, the last fighter for a doomed cause (note 1).

She was succeeded by her half sister Elizabeth, who had all their father’s determination and a full range of feminine wiles. She had seen how Mary had been conspired against, overruled and in the end virtually ignored by the Privy Council, and was determined not to be treated in the same way. She was also a convinced Protestant, which gave her a head start in public esteem. When the old Protestant Councillors tried to trap her as they had trapped Mary, by persuading Parliament to petition her to marry "a good Protestant prince for the good of the realm", she replied by displaying her Coronation ring, saying that she was already married to the realm itself (note 2). Then, with the support of many of the younger Councillors, she declared that Mary’s Privy Council had been too big to accomplish anything and set about a general purge of the dead wood. The Council that resulted was remarkably talented; ,between them they were organized, industrial, mercantile, expansive, and impopular(?), and their support for the merchant venturers of London and Bristol made them popular with the navy. The Queen herself was a skilled diplomat.

The firstfruits of the new regime came a month after the Queen’s accession, with substantial investment in trade and the infrastructure [programmed random event: Good Government Policies - stability was already at +3]. More of the same followed the next year [ditto]. Construction of a naval manufactury in Bristol began in 1560.

The history of the reign was one of peace and stability at home and expansion in North America and across the far ocean. Ironically, it also saw a constant flow of those eager to seek their fortune and/or a new life across the seas [colonial dynamism starts with Elizabeth].

Frobisher’s fleet had already reached the realm’s outpost in Copetonas, and in February 1559 he discovered offshore the Falkland Islands. He also surveyed the passage to the south of the Americas, and in April he sailed for the outpost at Baja with fifteen ships. It is a tribute to his skill that fourteen of them reached safe harbour that November. After a brief stop for refitting, he embarked on voyages of exploration up the coast, making landfall in Sierra Madre in February 1560, Olympia and Columbia in October and Monterray in November. And in Monterray there was gold. Gold. GOLD!!!!! There for the taking, where no civilized man had ever trod! (note 3). When the news reached England, the merchants of Bristol decided to found a mining colony in Monterray and to build up the outpost in Baja to support it. And to explore the great ocean on which they stood …

The merchants of London just carried on sending out colonists to the near side of America. Already, Kebec had been founded in May 1559. The first Trading Post on desolate Newfoundland was established in Placentia in May 1560.

On the religious front, the Council of Trent finished its deliberations in 1560, setting out a blueprint for a reformed Catholicism. Austria adopted the Counter-Reformation in 1561, the Papal States and Genoa in 1562 and Spain (and The Knights) in 1563. This was of little interest to the realm. Reports of forced conversion and burning of heretics were dismissed as events a long way away (note 4). France showed no inclination to follow that path, though a large standing army was maintained in Calais, Picardie and Caux as a precaution.

In May 1560, the State marriage with Kleves was renewed (+110 to +125) and in May 1561 so was the English Alliance with Hessen (Vassals; +195 to +200), Saxony (+106 to +126) and Brandenburg (+155 to +175).

The financial position of the realm improved greatly when exceptional demand for cloth generated extra income of #599 in November 1560 (note 5). A rudimentary base was established in the Falkland Islands in June 1561, in case Copetonas ever came under threat. Frobisher continued his coastal voyages, discovering Alaska in June. And a new Trading Post was established in Anticosti in November.

At the beginning of 1562, Scotland (ie: Lothian) embraced the Reformed doctrine. The Naval Equipment Manufactury in Bristol began to manufacture and a Fine Arts Academy was ordered in London. And on 8 January, the first band of mining colonists established themselves in Monterray. A new colony was established in Chesapeake in April 1562, and a Trading Post in Manicouagen in May. In June 1563, Manhattan expanded to city status and fortifications were begun. In August, Baja was expanded and in November Chicoutini was added to the network of Trading Posts.

Reforms of the navy generated nine new ships in 1562 and another nine in 1563 (note 5 again).

In April 1563, the army was equipped with new pistols [land tech 6: early pistols]. In the same month a Trading Post was established on Belle Isle, and in August a new colony in Massachussetts. In October, Kebec was expanded.

Also in October 1563 fell as a thunderbolt the news that followers of the Reformed faith in Kent had risen in rebellion! An army of 19,500 foot soldiers laid siege to Canterbury. Some (particularly those councillors who still had influence over the armies in France) argued for bringing back the armies from France to put it down. The Queen decided otherwise and turned the crisis to her advantage. All military units in England were combined together and joined by new levies. At the opening ceremony of the London Fine Arts Academy, the Queen received a petition from Parliament "to take into Your own hands the Armies of this Realm" - which she was graciously pleased to do. The rebellion was crushed by the end of the month. So was the power of the Privy Council - with their influence over the armies gone and the merchants able to out-bribe them in Parliament, they became mere advisors to the Queen (note 6).

The news, in the middle of this great crisis, that Maximillian II had inherited the throne of Austria and been elected Holy Roman Emperor, was wholly ignored.

One piece of advice the Queen took was to improve relations with the Scots. A succession of Personal Gifts during 1564 and 1565 persuaded the Scottish nobility to view the realm in a wholly new light [-200 to -84 to -57 to +34 to +62 to +45 to +159] and to accept a State Marriage in March 1565. But joining the English Alliance (even when it was tactfully re-named the North German Alliance) was a step too far and they would not do so at any price. This absorbed almost all the funds available for colonial expansion in these years, although a Trading Post was established in Roanoke in March 1565.

On 26 October 1565 came news that France had declared war upon Spain. This had the potential to create the first major war for many decades, for France was joined by her allies Savoy, Venice, Naples (!) Portugal and the Aztecs (!!), while Spain was supported by Lorraine, Cologne and Helvetia. But it was over quickly - Spain made peace with the Aztecs in return for 250 reparations in December, the armies of Lorraine took Paris in February 1566 and extracted reparations of #114 and the alliances signed a status quo peace in May 1566. Meanwhile, a new Centre of Trade opened in Holland.

England (and the North German Alliance) remained resolutely out of the war, concentrating on North America. A tax collector was appointed in Manhattan in June 1566. Additional colonists arrived safely at Baja that same month, at Kebec in September, at Massachussetts in October, at Chesapeake in November, at Kebec again in February 1567 and at Massachussetts again in May 1567. On 19 July 1567 another boatload of colonists arrived at Kebec bearing a City Charter, and fortifications were put in hand.

March 1567 saw the general use by the navy of the new navigating instrument, the Astrolabe [naval tech 6].

January 1568 saw the formal renewal of the State Marriage with Brandenburg (+175 to +190).

During 1568 and 1569 preachers were sent to Ireland. By the end of 1569, the leading magnates in Connaught, Meath, Leinster and Munster all professed themselves Protestant (note 7).

In September 1568, Persia (supported by the Mameluks and the Netherlands) declared war on Iraq (supported by Algiers and the Hadjaz). The progress of the war was not reported in England, but it ended in October 1569 when Iraq paid 250 reparations.

1569 began with the formal renewal of the State Marriage with Saxony (+126 to +141). The negotiators moved on to Brandenburg, where they proposed the same vassal arrangement which Hessen had enjoyed for nearly twenty years. This was indignantly refused (+190 to +160), and it took a swift Personal Gift, in the Queen’s name, to placate matters (to +176).

A tax collector was appointed in Kebec and orders given to strengthen the fortress in Manhattan. Another boatload of colonists arrived at Massachussetts in July.

On 24 November Crimea (supported by Turkey) declared war on Astrakhan. The war was brief and unproductive, with a status quo peace on 1 February 1570.

New colonists reached Monterray in June 1570. The other noted event of that year was the renunciation by the leading families in Strathclyde and the Grampians of the Reformed faith, in favour of mainstream Protestantism (note 8).

After another ten years of peace, the North German Alliance was renewed again in 1571 with Hessen (vassals - +199 to +200), Saxony (+141 to +161) and Brandenburg (+176 to +196). There was also a State Marriage with the Netherlands (+64 to +79).

Frobisher had been exploring the Pacific from Baja for some years. Always, his ships had to return for fresh supplies before sighting land. Then, in April 1571 they came upon the Hawaiian Islands. They were ideally placed as a staging post - and inhabited by the most fierce natives the explorers had seen anywhere. What to do? A solution presented itself in 1572, when Francis Drake presented himself to the merchants of London (note 9) in search of wealth and adventure. He was given seventeen ships and an expeditionary force of 6000 infantry and 6000 cavalry and sailed in December, never again to set eyes upon his native Devon. After stopping off for food and water at Copetonas and Baja, the force reached Kauai in February 1574, and slaughtered every man, woman and child. A like massacre followed at Ohau in April. Then, leaving a small garrison behind (to bury the bodies?), they sailed to Monterray, which they reached in August. Thus were two birds killed with one stone, for the gold mines of Monterray now had a garrison.

Ironically, the first colony ships to Kauai and Oahu were both lost at sea. It was not until August 1576 that a colony was established, at Kauai. Drake moved his fleet there, and used it as a base to explore the Pacific. That story continues in the next part …

Historical and game notes:

1. Contrast the historical Mary, who did return the state religion to Catholicism and persecuted the Protestants (including burning the Archbishop of Canterbury as a heretic, which is a bit extreme by any standard) and became forever known as Bloody Mary. The Mary in our story is more like the historical Mary, Queen of Scots.
2. A true story, in a fictional context.
3. Defining civilized men as Europeans, of course.
4. With Spain having already lost the Netherlands (and Philip never having married Mary), they are not perceived as a military threat.
5. Another programmed random event, methinks.
6. Fiction, of course. I imagine the Queen responding to the petition by making some equivalent of her speech at Tilbury when facing the threat of the Spanish Armada.
7. Eat your heart out, Dr Paisley!
8. Two identical random events in one year. Weird or what?
9. Note for IGC compilers - should be Plymouth, surely!

 

[unmerged(3068)]

conquer the Aztecs

I have a wacked idea. Next time when (it's going to happen sooner or later), advance into south American and take out the Aztecs to complete your colonial empire (and get a lot of gold)

 

[Roberto]

Ferdinand - woah! woah!

The game's up to about 1610 and when the story catches up with it you'll be surprised who has the Aztecs' gold, and how they got it. Or perhaps not ...

(That may take a while, as it takes me two hours or so to write an episode and I only get the time to do that at weekends. Bear with me, m8).

 

[Roberto]

THE PEACEFUL REIGN OF GOOD QUEEN BESS (PART 2)

Narrative resumes in 1573, the fifteenth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

The only matter of note in that year was the establishment of another Trading Post on the west coast of the Americas, at Sierra Madre.

In 1574 a new Naval Equipment Manufactory opened in Cornwall. In September the existing alliances of Hannover expired, and they were welcomed with open arms into the North German Alliance (at +200).

Colonial activity in 1574 consisted of the failed expeditions to Hawaii referred to in the last installment. 1575 saw more success, with Massachusetts expanded in July, a new Trading Post in Columbia in August, Monterey expanded in September and a new colony founded at Sacramento, north of Monterey, in December.

Rudolf II of Austria was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1576. Closer to home, Hannover accepted the same vassal arrangement as Hessen. Brandenburg rejected it (again) the following year and a swift Personal Gift was required to soothe hurt feelings (+166 to +200).

With increasing income from the colonies and now from two vassals, cost inflation was becoming a problem. The merchants, who by now had the money to control Parliament, argued that the colonies should have priority over the military budget. This was agreed, and military spending was halved. After all, no nation had dared to declare war on the realm since 1519 …

Monterey was expanded again in June 1576 and a new Trading Post established in Olympia in September. Baja gained a City Charter in March 1577; a basic fortress was ordered there and the fortress in Kebec was enlarged. In July the colony at Gaspese was expanded and a new Trading Post established at Nanaimo, but an attempt to establish a new colony at Manicougan failed utterly and led to the loss of the Trading Post there. Chesapeake was expanded in August, and again in January 1578.

Spain declared war on the Aztecs on 17 May 1577. By the end of October the realm of the Aztecs had been overrun and taken into the Spanish Empire. Reports of the great wealth plundered from the Aztecs excited envy throughout Europe (Note 1).

In June 1577 Persia (supported by the Mamelukes and the Netherlands) declared war on Iraq (supported by Algiers, the Hedjaz and Oman). The war lasted less than a year, ending when Iraq gave Persia the province of Kirkuk and 250 reparations in May 1578.

In December came reports of civil war in France. It was said that rebel forces controlled Dauphine, Provence, Maine, Cevennes, Guyenne, Orleans, Bretange and the Vendee, and a rebel army of some 13,000 was seen at the gates of Paris. 50 years before this would have been the signal for an all-out English assault, but not now. There was no call for war with France; there was far more money to be made in the Americas, and beyond.

1578 saw a tax collector appointed in Baja.

1579 began with (yet another) unsuccessful attempt to establish a vassal relationship with Brandenburg; again a Personal Gift was needed to restore hurt feelings.

New colonies were established at Caniapiscou in June 1579, at Manicouagan in October 1579 and at Roanoake in May 1580.

On 22 December 1579 Turkey (supported by Tunisia and Crimea) declared war on the Mamelukes (supported by Persia and the Netherlands). The war was to prove a milestone in the expansion of Turkish power; Persia was thoroughly beaten and ceded Jordan, Kurdistan and Azerbadzjan to Turkey in July 1581and the war ended when the Mamelukes gave up Jordan and 118 reparations in June 1582.

In June 1580, Gaspese was expanded and Manhattan gained a City Charter.

Also in 1580, Walter Raleigh presented himself at Court. He yearned to explore inland from the American colonies, and was packed off on the first ship for Fundy, where he arrived in September. He led a band of adventurers into uncharted lands to the west and the following month arrived in Micmac, where he encountered fierce natives - and killed them. A trading post was established there in April 1581.

In December 1580, Russia (supported by Denmark) declared war on Kazan. This war was no more successful for Russia than those before; a status quo peace was signed in September 1581.

In June 1581, after a further ten years of peace, the North German Alliance was again renewed: Hannover (vassals, +200), Hessen (vassals, +200) Brandenburg (+200) and Saxony (+161 to +181).

In the same month, the merchants acting through Parliament persuaded the Queen to allow the appointment of Provincial Governors to regulate economic activity and reduce inflation, which had now reached 15% (Infrastructure level 5). The first appointments were made in Calais, Caux, Picardie and Anglia.

Drake had been exploring the Pacific from Hawaii since 1576. He had encountered the natives of Fiji in July 1579; while not as hostile as the (deceased) inhabitants of Hawaii, they were far from friendly and after the first ship of colonists was lost at sea at the end of 1580 they were left to their own devices. In June 1581 he had encountered (and beaten off) pirates in the Tiva Straits. Seeking their base his fleet had, in September 1581, the first contact of any Englishman with China. The Chinese were also far from friendly (many years later it became known that their chronicles had called Drake "the devil from the sea" (note 2)) but obviously very strong - and very rich. Drake’s fleet set out to find a base near the border of the Chinese Empire where traders could settle.

At the beginning of 1582, a new Centre of Trade opened in Zacatecas, former capital province of the subjugated Aztecs. Much of the trade from Baja moved to there, and the merchants of Bristol resolved to send traders to follow it.

They did not know it then, but they were lighting the fuse of a conflict with Spain which would bring the realm into war for the first time since 1520 …

The merchants of London concentrated on the eastern seaboard. A new colony had been established in Sebago in October 1581, and was expanded in June 1582. Raleigh’s explorations of the interior continued, with the exterminations of the natives in Adirondak in January and in Ticonderoga in April. New colonists were sent at once to Adirondak, arriving in August, at which time a new Trading Post was established in Gander.

These new discoveries were incorporated in new maps issued to the Navy in June [naval tech 7; early cartography].

Governors were appointed in Kebec, Nova Scotia, Isle Royale and Manhattan in 1582, in Baja, Delaware, Cornwall, Wessex and Bristol in 1583 and in the Midlands in 1584 (by which time inflation had been reduced to 2%).

At home, the leading magnates in Yorkshire began 1583 by declaring themselves Protestants. Overseas, Trading Posts were founded in Ticonderoga in June and San Bernadino in September. Raleigh had by now reached Shawinigan, where he had been able to establish peaceful relations with the natives, and a new colony was founded there in September 1582 and expanded in April and August 1584. April 1584 also saw a new shipload of colonists arrive in Gaspese and orders given to expand the fortress in Baja, just in case.

1585 saw Lord Admiral Howard appointed to command the Home Fleet in the Channel and Rear Admiral Cumberland appointed under him to command the Channel Squadron in Anglia. But in truth these appointments were a matter of form; there was no intention to start a naval conflict and no prospect of anyone else declaring one (note 3) - still less so when a way to discovered to fire miniature cannon balls out of arquebuses in June [land tech 7 - metal bullets]. The year also saw State Marriages renewed with Prussia (+43 to +58) and with Kleves.

New colonists arrived at Shawinigan in September 1585, January 1586 and June 1586; the last with a City Charter and instructions to appoint a Governor and a tax collector. Trading Posts were established in the Aleutes (discovered by Frobisher some years before) in June 1585, in Nain in February 1586 and in Hochelaga in May 1586.

In May 1586 Oman (supported by Iraq and Algiers) declared war on Aden (supported by Cyrenacia), a war which was to end with the annexation of Aden by Oman in February 1588.

Drake discovered Siberia, on the west side of the Pacific. Traders set out for Tchumken and Amgoun, arriving in September 1587.

By the beginning of 1587, Raleigh had reached Laurentia. He paused long enough to see a new colony established among the peaceful natives in January and expanded in September before moving on to Ottawa, where a native army was put to the sword in October. Behind him, a tax collector was appointed in Massachussetts.

In January 1588, Poland (supported by the Hanse, the Knights, Bohemia and Moldovia) declared war on Turkey (supported by Crimea and the Teutonic Order). The main victim of this war was to be Moldovia, overrun and annexed by Turkey in June but ceded to Poland for peace in March 1589.

Further economic reforms increased the merchants’ trading profits in March 1588 (trade to level 5). The colony at Laurentia was expanded in April and again in October, and a fortress ordered in nearby Shawinigan). But the highlight of the year was the acceptance of vassal status by Saxony and Brandenburg in July. Now the four realms in the North German Alliance were vassals of England, and England enjoyed half their income in return for vague pledges of protection, which could never have been met. Their security was not due to the strong arms of England, but to their bonds with each other - and the established Protestant rulers in Poland.

1589 was another year of colonial expansion. The first colony ship arrived at Amgoun in March, and the second in November; Drake’s fleet transferred its base there from Hawaii. More colonists arrived at Laurentia in April and in November, the latter with a City Charter (plus 1500 natives - city of 2,100). One the West Coast, Monterey achieved city status in September (plus 2000 natives - city of 2,600); a tax collector was appointed immediately.

The civil wars in France (see 1577) were finally resolved when Henri IV came to the throne on 3 August 1589. As skilled in the arts of diplomacy as in the techniques of war, he posed the first threat to the realm from France for many a long year. In response, the armies in Calais, Picardie and Caux were strengthened, and Field Marshall Alden appointed to command them at the beginning of 1590. Ironically, it would not be the French he was destined to fight …

Raleigh continued his explorations of the East Coast’s hinterland. In February 1590 he discovered the Great Lakes, in April his army slew the natives of Oshawa and in June Huron was likewise cleansed of its natives.

On the other side of the world, Drake encountered the Chinese again at Yalu in May, and was amazed to discover they were in alliance with Poland, the Hanse, Bohemia and Naples (note 4).

Cheasapeake achieved city status in October (plus 500 natives - city of 1,100). A tax collector was appointed immediately. Fortresses were ordered in Massachussetts and Monterey.

On 10 June 1590, France (supported by Scotland, Savoy, Helvetia, Milan and Venice) declared war on Spain (supported by Lorraine and Cologne). The main fighting was to be in Northern France and Burgundy. Lorraine apid Savoy 250 in reparations for a separate peace in February 1591, so when France paid Spain the same amount for an alliance peace two months later two conflicts remained outstanding:

Spain and Cologne against Savoy.

France, Scotland, Helvetia. Venice and Milan against Lorraine.

Historical and game notes

1. That’ll be the raised badboy, though it did not make Spain a target for general attack, nor did Spain use their wealth to fight religious wars in Europe. Remember Drake isn’t around to plunder the treasure fleets - he’s off exploring the Pacific. Ditto Frobisher.
2. You’ll either see the joke or you won’t. I think it’s funny, anyway.
3. This is an amazingly peaceful alternative history.
4. Obviously some foreign devils are more devilish than others!

 

[Roberto]

INTERLUDE(1): THE ENGLISH EMPIRE IN 1591

Colonial Cities (all in North America):

Cheasapeake, Delaware, Massachussetts, Manhattan, Isle Royale, Nova Scotia, Kebec, Laurentia and Shawinigan; also Baja and Monterey.

Colonies:

North America: Sebago, Roanaoke, Adirondak, Manicougan, Caniapiscau, Gaspese and Fundy.

South America: Copetonas.

West Coast: Sacramento.

Kauai

and Amgoun in Siberia.

Trading Posts (all Level 1)

In Quebec: Rimouski, Hochelaga and Chicoutimi.

In Newfoundland: Gander and Placentia.

In Labrador: Nain, Belle Isle and Anticosti.

In Arcadie: Micmac and Bangor.

also Ticonderoga.

On the West Coast: Olympia, Nehalem, Columbia, Nanimo, Sierra Madre, San Bernadino.

Elsewhere: the Aleutes, the Falklands and Tchumkan in Siberia.

INTERLUDE (2): OTHER COUNTRIES IN NORTH AMERICA

The Netherlands have Colonies and Trading Posts around Hudson’s Bay (Torngat and points west) and in Niteroi in South America.

France has Trading Posts in Conneticut, Pebescot and Semiole.

So far as English maps show, Spain has Central America and the Caribbean and Portugal has the coast of Brazil. Spain’s only territory on the West Coast as such is a small colony at Ensenada. The Incas are allies of Spain (!!!).
For an overview, see:

http://www.geocities.com/grahamfife/eushots/namerica1591.jpg

INTERLUDE (3): FUNNY OLD WORLD

English colonists and traders have spread across North America and the Pacific, but they have no maps of Africa south of the Sahara and no knowledge of the "true" Indies.

INTERLUDE (4): EUROPE IN 1591

England holds all of Scotland except Lothian and Calais, Picardie and Caux in France.

Spain still holds Hainaut, Artois, Luxembourg, Champagne, France-Comte and Zeeland (taken back from the Netherlands). The Netherlands consist of Flanders, The Hague, Holland and Friesen.

Poland has Western and Eastern Pommerania, Memel, Kurland and Moldovia.

The Teutonic Order has Pskov. The Khanates are intact (save that Russia has Vorones). Russia does not have a port.

Turkey has expanded as far south as Samaria and Jordan and rules Georgia, Azerbadzjan and Kurdistan (though not Armenia) but has not expanded into Europe).

Bavaria has annexed Wurttemburg and the Palatinat includes Alsace.

INTERLUDE (5): GAME STATUS IN 1591

Scores:

Spain: 1510
England: 1046
China: 628
Portugal 620
Austria: 547

Badboyz:

England -4
France -1
Austria +1
Holland -5
Portugal -9
Russia -6 (don’t see that every game!)
Spain +8
Sweden -8 (nor that, either!)
Turkey +1
Poland +13

 

[unmerged(3465)]

Roberto, your links don't work, I can't see the screenshots. Nice AAR though!

 

[Roberto]

Tinus, I've just this minute checked the links and they work for me!

Are you reading on a system or a network that has active filtering software, m8? I ask because the filter used on my office system includes a block on the category "web hosting" which of course includes all geocities pages.

Thanks for the kind comment. There's more to come.

 

[unmerged(3465)]

Yes, I think that's the problem. I'll try at work tomorrow. It should work there.
Keep it coming!

 

[Roberto]

THE PEACEFUL REIGN OF GOOD QUEEN BESS (PART 3)

Narrative resumes in 1591, the thirty-third year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, in which year the magnates of the Marches declared themselves Protestant.

In February Drake, still exploring the lands to the west of the Pacific from Angoun, encountered the land of Nippon and their rich, powerful but fundamentally hostile people. In the years to come a few merchants tried to establish themselves there, but were never made welcome.

On 1st April, a most appropriate date, Russia (supported by Denmark) declared war on Kazan (supported by the Golden Horde). This war would be even less successful than usual, for Russia would have to buy off the Horde with 250 reparations in September 1593 and then accept a status quo peace with Kazan in May 1595.

In June the North German Alliance was renewed again with the realm’s four vassals; Hannover, Hessen, Brandenburg and Saxony (all at +200). Two Personal Gifts to the Netherlands, with a view to adding them to the Alliance, were enthusiastically accepted (+58 to +117 to +200) but a Personal Gift to Scotland was scarcely acknowledged (-116 to -87).

Lorraine paid 250 reparations to escape from her war with France (and her allies).

In December, Drake sunk a pirate fleet in the Straits of Hokkaido.

1592 saw the appointment of a Provincial Governor in Massachussetts and Chief Judges in Chesapeake, Delaware and Manhattan. A Trading Post was established among the fishermen of Wabana in February, the colony at Sacramento expanded in March and the colony at Sebago expanded in September. But the attempt to sign the Netherlands into the North German Alliance failed utterly in June; however illogically, they preferred to renew their existing alliance with Persia [this must be the "only four allies" feature as they were at +199].

1593 saw a greater success for the merchants who had risked all to trade with China than they could have imagined, for the fledgling colony at Amgoun developed a Centre of Trade. By the end of the year its turnover was #1324, and the merchants’ monopoly brought in #688pa!!! In April a Trading Post was established in nearby Djugdjar. In North America, Chief Judges were appointed in Kebec, Nova Scotia and Massachussetts, while in May the colony at Gaspese was granted a City Charter and Sebago was expanded.

Also in May came news that the Mameluks had declared war on Cyrenacia. It would take them more than a year to overcome the Cyrenacians’ resistance but overcome it they did, annexing Cyrenacia in July 1595.

In June the leading families of Kent renounced the Reformed doctrine in favour of the true Protestant faith.

The flow of wealth from Amgoun (not the mention the gold mines of Monterey) confirmed the status of the merchants as the most powerful group in the realm. While at the start of her reign the Queen had used them against the Privy Council, now they were more powerful than Queen and Council together Parliament was nothing but their instrument. The true extent of their power was seen in 1594, when a new economic policy began. The entire budget was to be devoted to income and all parts of the realm made modern; any resulting inflation could be controlled by the appointment of new Provincial Governors. And it worked … for a time …

Another policy introduced at this time was an attempt to buy the favour of all the Protestant (and even Reformed) nations in Europe. A Personal Gift to Poland achieved much (0 to +74) and was followed by a State Marriage (to +84); a Personal Gift to the Hanse achieved next to nothing (+2 to +3) - for when it came to using money as a means of manipulation, the burgers of the Hanse had known and forgotten more than the merchants of the realm would ever learn.

Colonial expansion continued, unaffected by these changes. In February a Trading Post was established at Vanin, in May Sebago was granted a City Charter (+700 natives - city of 1,100) and a Trading Post established at Oshawa and in October the colony at Sacramento was expanded.

On 26th April Frobisher died in Baja, where his fleet had long been based. After his epic voyage there in 1559 and his charting of the West Coast (not the least important part of which was the discovery of Monterey), he had spent the last decade of his life charting the west coast of South America.

Wars in Catholic Europe continued to pass all human understanding. Savoy had been at war with Spain since 1590. In May Genoa (supported by Parma, the Knights and the City of Rome (the surviving residue of the Papal States)) declared war on Savoy - only to find Savoy supported by France and Helvetia. Then in August Savoy ended the war with Spain by ceding Nice, thus isolating herself from both her enemies and the Mediterranean - but retaining her fleet which, by the grace of France, carried an invasion force from the Riviera to Parma, which was overrun and annexed into Savoy in August 1595. A nominal war continued between France and Rome until October 1598, when Rome paid #89 reparations for peace.

The new economic policy (see above) unleashed a flood of money into the coffers of the realm - so much so that considerations of strategic priorities were, for the time being, ignored. In 1595 orders were given to start basic fortresses in Sebago and Gaspese and to upgrade the fortresses in Monterey, Laurentia and Massachussetts. Chief Judges were appointed in Baja, Isle Royale and Shawinigan and a provincial Governor in Cheasapeake. Orders were given to build a new Naval Equipment Manufactory in Calais.

On the diplomatic front, Personal Gifts to the Hanse and to Sweden were counted marked successes (+3 to +144 (if at first you don’t succeed …) and +1 to +84 respectively).

On 22nd February, Hawkins died, having spent most of his career defending the seas off English America from pirates. On land, Raleigh continued his explorations, killing the natives in Niagara and Nipissing along the way. A Trading Post was established in Ottawa in June and in Nipissing in December.

1596 saw tax collectors appointed in Sebago and Gaspese, a Provincial Governor in Sebago, orders given for the construction of a basic fortress in Chesapeake and a Naval Equipment Manufactory in Nova Scotia, the expansion of Roanoake in June and a City Charter for Sacramento in October (+1500 natives - city of 2,100). As was customary, a tax collector was appointed immediately.

In November, the realm’s friendly relations with the Netherlands were reinforced by the renewal of a State Marriage (+188 to +200).

In March 1595 Drake had discovered Kamtchatka, on what was to be his last voyage. On the journey back to Amgoun he fell ill and died there on 30th September 1596. To the common people of the England he had left more than twenty years before his name meant nothing. To the rulers of China, he was a devil from the sea. To the merchants, he was the instrument by which they had established trade with China. To the men who had sailed with him half way round the world, he was the greatest hero and explorer England had ever produced. And to the submissive farmers and peasants of the Siberian coast, among whom he had based his fleet for the last years of his life, he was the next thing to a god. His body was burned on a great funeral pyre by the coast, and his ashes fired into the Pacific from a cannon on his flagship.

[Personal Note - I couldn’t resist a rhetorical flourish here. The historical Drake has always been one of my great heroes; if you know something of his life story you’ll see the ironies in the tribute].

Drake, Frobisher and Hawkins were gone - within three years - but in 1597 the merchants of Anglia found a worthy successor in Hudson. They financed a fleet and he set out in February for Copetonas, to explore the South Atlantic.

Otherwise, 1597 saw a Provincial Governor and then a Chief Judge appointed in Laurentia, a Chief Judge appointed in Gaspese, a flow of settlers to Roanoke (where Raleigh was now based) arriving in January, June and October and the arrival of settlers in Manicouagan in October - and a scatter of Personal Gifts to Poland (+88 to +200), the Hanse (+157 to +200), Sweden (+84 to +105), Denmark (+7 to +129) and Bohemia (0 to +29). But there was one worm in the bud - Scotland had joined the alliance led by Spain.

1598 saw more spending on infrastructure. Naval Equipment Manufactories were commissioned in Caux, Kebec and Massachussetts, and a refinery in the wine country of Sacramento. Orders were given to expand the fortresses in Belle Isle, Sebago and Shawinigan. A Governor was appointed in the Highlands.

In March Roanoake was awarded a City Charter, and in May a new Trading Post was established in Huron. Raleigh moved on to Santee.

English merchants had completed for trade in the Spanish Centre of Trade in Zacatecas ever since it opened in 1582, frequently holding a monopoly. Over the years it had become far more prosperous than the English CofT in Baja (for example, in 1591 the total income of Zacatecas was 882 against 238 in Baja). This came to an abrupt halt on 4th June 1598, when Spain embargoed all trade with England. At first the merchants were horrified. Then they were outraged. Then they came up with a plan. If Spain closed the door on trade with England, England would kick it down, and carry it off. They demanded war with Spain.

The Queen was less enthusiastic. She hoped the threat of war would induce a change of heart. The Spanish Ambassador was harangued, at considerable length, that war would ensue if trade relations were not restored. Orders were given publicly to strengthen all fortresses in Ireland (a wise decision, as it turned out).. Additional troops were recruited in the French provinces. But there was no sign of any change in Spain’s decision.

The merchants set about preparing for a war in the Americas, by shipping the army guarding Monterey to Baja. And they set about persuading the people. Suddenly, a flood of pamphlets appeared about the horrors of the Counter-Reformation and the evils of the Spanish Inquisition - and the iniquities of Spain’s allies, the Scots.

On the surface, 1599 saw business as usual. The first colonists arrived at Santee in January, and more in July. A tax collector was appointed in Roanoake and a Provincial Governor in Yorkshire. Hudson, exploring the South Atlantic from Copetonas, discovered land to the east. Perhaps these were the true Indies?

Meanwhile, another war in Italy unraveled when Genoa paid Savoy 250 reparations in February. The war would finally be settled by a status quo peace between Rome and Savoy in January 1600.

The new century saw new galleons added to the navy (naval tech 6). Naval Equipment Manufactories were completed in Caux, Kebec and Massachussetts. A Provincial Governor was appointed in Lancashire and a Chief Judge in Sebago. A lieutenant of Raleigh, named Smith, recruited a band of adventurers in Chesapeake and set out to explore the interior of the American colonies, in emulation of his former commander. And in March, the first colonists arrived at the trading post in the Falklands, to provide an offshore base for Hudson as he continued to probe the mysteries of the eastern lands. But overshadowing all was the Spanish trade embargo.

English historians have puzzled over why a realm that had been at peace for eighty years should have embarked on a course of war. Some revisionist historians have argued that the flow of merchants to Zacacetas had been designed to provoke a conflict. Spanish historians, viewing the results from the opposite perspective, have asked how a colonial trade dispute could have been allowed to have such consequences. Perhaps the true answer is that the realms did not understand one another. The Spanish saw that the English had not fought a war in living memory and did not believe they had it in them to fight. The English believed they had been unchallenged for the same period because none dared to challenge them, and did not believe they could lose.

And so, the realm declared war on Spain on 22nd June 1600 …

 

[Roberto]

[Preliminary Note - fighting a co-ordinated war on two continents could not have happened historically. We just have to accept it as a game feature. Certainly the AI does!].

THE SPANISH WAR OF 1600 TO 1602

England declared war on Spain on 22nd June 1600. Spain was supported by her allies: Cologne, Lorraine, Tuscany and Scotland. England’s North German vassals and allies answered the call: Hannover, Hessen, Saxony and Brandenburg.

A messenger rode post-haste to Edinburgh to offer a white peace. King James refused to receive him.

England had planned this war for two years, and deployed forces accordingly:

1. 10,000 infantry and 20 cannon were aboard a fleet off the coast of Michoagan; they landed unopposed and began a siege on 27th July.
2. 7,000 cavalry had ridden south to San Bernardino, destroying native armies in their path; they were to take the Spanish trade posts in northern Mexico.
3. 8,000 infantry were in place to defend Copetonas. A raiding party of 1,000 was to attack the Spanish trading posts to the north.
4. 19,000 infantry and 30 cannon advanced from Calais to Artois, beginning a siege on 12th July.
5. 19,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry advanced from Calais through Artois to Hainaut, beginning a siege on 22nd July.
6. 20,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry under the command of Field Marshall Alden advanced from Caux through Artois to Champagne to form a forward defense, arriving on 7th August.

No offensive operations were planned against Spain itself, nor against the Spanish islands in the Caribbean.

As the armies advanced through the Spanish Netherlands, it became clear that Spain maintained no standing armies in any of the provinces there. The plan was hastily expanded. The Home Fleet put to sea, embarked 20,000 infantry reserves from Kent and landed them in Zeeland, where a siege began on 29th July.

So, by mid-August, all Spanish possessions in Northern Europe were under siege.

The army of Cologne began the war by marching north into Munster; they were beaten back by a superior army from Hessen which pursued them back to Cologne.

The Scots headed for the Marches, and began a siege on 4th August.

[Meanwhile, there came news on 14th July that Russia, supported by Denmark, had again declared war on Kazan, supported again by the Golden Horde].

On 11th August, English cavalry routed a Spanish infantry detachment in Chihuahua. On the 18th, 20 ships of the Home Fleet, en route to the coast of Lothian, caught and sunk a single Scottish merchantman in the North Sea. And on the 19th the Spanish Ambassador proposed a white peace. The Queen contained her laughter long enough to decline.

By the end of August, the Copetonas detachment had burned Spanish trading posts in Aires, Parana and Uraguay.

In early September, the English siege armies in Hainaut, Champagne, Zeeland and Artois beat off scratch Spanish defence levies and Hessen began a siege of Cologne.

Scotland again refused to consider a white peace. Perhaps there were reasons for their confidence - on 14th September the Home Fleet encountered two Scottish warships in the Firth of Forth and narrowly beat them off; they were far more maneuverable and seemed far stronger than the English fleet.

By mid-September, English cavalry had burned Spanish trading posts in Altar, Empalme, Chihauhua, Coahuilla and Santillo. On the 20th they overran Spanish infantry in Saltillo and remained there, in what shelter they could find, to await developments.

October saw victories over the remains on the army of Cologne in Luxembourg, and over weak Spanish forces in Hainaut and Luxembourg (twice). Again, Spain offered a white peace, and again it was refused.

In November came two sea battles which English historians would argue changed the world. 20 ships from the Channel Squadron caught a lone Spaniard in the Channel, pursued it for three days - and captured its charts, which were rushed to London. Now, for the first time, the English saw the full extend of the coast of Africa, and the true location of the Indies. All the African ports were marked on the charts as occupied, mainly by the Turks and the Poles. But there were offshore islands, if there was a sailor brave enough to seek them. Oh, for Frobisher or Drake at this hour!

But for the moment, all resources were concentrated on the war.

Early December saw Spanish attacks beaten off in Jalisco and Copetonas. On 12th December, the army of Hessen captured Cologne. A week later, the Archbishop of Cologne emptied his treasury and paid off Hessen with #185 reparations, before the Reformed army could despoil the great cathedral..

1601 began with peace offers. Cologne offered a white peace, which was accepted in the hope their brief occupation by Hessen would teach them to find more worthy allies than Spain. Spain also offered a white peace. It was refused. Could they not see the Spanish Netherlands were about to fall? And fall they did: Hainaut and Zeeland in February and Artois in March.

The defeat of a relief force in the Marches by the Scots on 25th March, and a Spanish offer to cede Artois for peace - and lift the trade embargo - received the next day, prompted a furious debate. Some - including the Queen - argued that England should take the offer, which was more than had been demanded before the war. Others argued that Artois was nothing but a nest of rebels and Papists, that the Spanish Empire was on its knees and that England should not rest until it had captured the gold of the Aztecs for itself. The war party controlled Parliament, through its wealth, and the armies in the Americas, and they prevailed for the moment. But from this time the Queen, seeing in the merchant princes a shadow over the throne worse by far than the Privy Council had been at the start of her reign, worked to overthrow them.

In April 1601 Brandenburg captured Lorraine, looted the treasury and accepted peace for #153 reparations. An offer of a white peace from Lorraine was accepted at once. They were not the target. Mexico was the target.

[On 27th May, Turkey, supported by Tripoli and Tunisia, declared war on the Mamelukes].

June saw a victory over another scratch Spanish force in Jalisco and the rejection of Spain’s offer to cede Artois and Zeeland. Luxembourg was stormed on 2nd July. In August, Spain offered Artois, Zeeland and Luxembourg, and were again rejected. On 9th September, Champagne fell. England now controlled all Spanish possessions in Northern Europe. But still the siege of Michoagan continued.

It was reported from Copetonas that Dutch traders had set up trading posts in Aires, Parana and Uruguay.

Then, in October, came two hammer blows. A Spanish army of 26,000 infantry, 16,000 cavalry and 119 cannon landed in Ireland on 3rd October and began a siege of Meath, and the Marches fell to Scotland on the 5th . The Scottish army marched on Lancashire. Had the Spanish Ambassador made another offer of provinces in Europe, the Queen would have accepted it, with or without the support of the merchants. But when he appeared at Court on 4th November it was to offer nothing more than a trading post at Chubat. That was far too small a price for the blood which had been shed. The moment passed. Orders were given to raise new armies in Ulster, Connaught and Strathclyde, while an army from the Midlands was ordered to march to Lothian, passing by Lancashire and passing through The Marches - and to burn the trading post at Chubat.

[On 21st November, the Golden Horde ceded Bogutjar to Russia and paid #111 reparations].

The English army arrived in Lothian at the end of November, wiped out a rabble of raw infantry recruits and began a siege. The Scottish army raised the siege of Lancashire and began a march back north.

The Spanish siege army were dying like flies in the bogs of Meath. An attempt to storm the fortress failed - narrowly - at the beginning of December. The walls of Michoagan were falling down - at last. When Spain offered Artois, Zeeland and Luxembourg on 13th December, they were turned down.

At the beginning of 1602, the Catholic world abandoned the Counter-Reformation [Edict of Tolerance - well ahead of time!]. More significant in the short term, the Scottish army reached Lothian and was driven off in a series of battles lasting for a week. With the province under siege and the army beaten back, Scotland offered 250 reparations for peace on 19th January. This was accepted, immediately.

The Channel Fleet and the Home Fleet were both seeking out the Spanish fleet which had transported their army to Ireland. The Channel Fleet found it first, in the Western Approaches, and were beaten off in January. The Home Fleet was beaten off in February. For the moment, the Spanish had control of the sea.

Spain offered Artois for peace in February. England refused. In March they offered Artois and Zeeland. Again England refused.

On 28th April English forces captured Michoagan, and began a march to linkup with the cavalry in Jalisco.

On 3rd May Spain offered Artois and Zeeland. Again England refused. The North German Alliance was showing signs of strain. On 7th May, Brandenburg paid 250 in reparations for a separate peace.

At this point, the Queen summoned the merchants’ spokesmen in Parliament to a private audience. She reminded them that the war had begun with a demand to open the markets of Spain to English trade, which had been on offer for more than a year. She also reminded them that Spain had 17,000 troops in Ireland, and a fleet in command of St George’s Channel. Even if all the wealth of Mexico could be conquered, how much would it be worth to them if a Spanish army landed in Bristol and burned their counting houses? Would they allow their paymasters’ greed to bring the realm to ruin?

To this, there was no reply.

Secret negotiations were opened. And on 7th June 1602 Spain ceded Michoagan and paid #500 reparations in return for a full peace between the alliances. (Hessen continued in a notional state of war until 28th March 1603, when it paid Spain 250 reparations). The English armies withdrew to English territory, and the Spanish army in Ireland was allowed to embark unmolested.

[On 9th June, Russia ceded Vorones to Kazan to end their latest unsuccessful war].

CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR

In economic terms, the war had been a success. The realm had survived without additional taxation or taking out loans, had gained Michoagan (annual income #124), had access again to Spanish Centres of Trade and knew of the world beyond the Sahara. And Spain had lost at least nine trading posts (though not to England), some of them permanently.

In military terms, the army had succeeded faster than expected in Europe but much slower then needed in Mexico. And the Navy had failed to control the seas.

The North German Alliance were happy with their share of the reparations.

The merchants were not happy. They had wanted more of Mexico. Some of them would have given up Ireland to get it, given the choice. Some of them would have sold their grandmothers, too. The words of one of their spokesmen, in an unguarded moment in Parliament, have been seized on by historians:

"Next time, Zacatecas".

INTERLUDE: GAME STATUS AFTER THE SPANISH WAR

Points:

Spain: 1477
England: 1447
China: 703
Portugal: 686
Austria: 572

Badboyz:

England -3
France -2
Austria -1
Holland -6
Portugal -10
Russia -6
Spain +6
Sweden -8
Turkey 0
Poland +13

 

[unmerged(2377)]

roberto:

the links aren't working for me eather.

 

[Roberto]

Dan

Have to repeat my message to Tinus, m8. They're working for me.

Future screenshots will be through EU Arsenal, not goecities, which may help.

 

[Storey]

Quite impressive work on this aar. I don't know how you find the patients to do it. Very interesting to see the direction you've taken and how sucessful you've been. I'd say good luck but it doesn't look like you need it.

Joe

 

[Roberto]

Storey: thanks m8. Nice to get some comments - especially good ones . And feel free to wish me luck. It always helps.

As for patience - well, you could say it's turning into an obsession . I've started so I'll finish, even if it has to be weekly installments.

 

[Roberto]

THE END OF AN ERA

As soon as peace with Spain had been secured, attention turned to the infrastructure, which had been neglected during the war. Chief Judges were appointed in Monterey, Sacramento and Roanoake, and Governors in Wales and the Marches. The military budged was halved, but the fortress in Michaogan - literally, the realm’s new gold mine - was expanded.

In July, another invitation to the Netherlands to join the North German Alliance was rejected. Again, they preferred to rejoin their alliance with Persia.

Raleigh’s forces were based in Powhatan, where a new colony was founded in October. Smith, his former lieutenant, based his forces in Catawba, where a new colony was founded in August and expanded in January 1603.

But all this "business as usual" could not conceal the reality that the Queen was gravely ill. She had already lived for threescore years and ten, and her struggle during the war to retain control of the realm and achieve a sustainable peace had exhausted her. Her last wish was to improve relations with the realm’s neighbours. So, at the beginning of 1603, State Gifts were sent to Spain (-200 to -66) and to France (-200 to +61).

Seeking to maintain an illusion of normalcy, orders were given in January 1603 for new Naval Equipment Manufactories in Baja, Isle Royale and Sebago, and for the expansion of the fortresses in Gaspese, Chesapeake and the Midlands. An improved form of Arquebus was distributed to the army [land tech 8].

Also in January 1603 came news that the Mamelukes had paid off Turkey with #137 reparations.

On 25th March 1603, Queen Elizabeth died. Her reign had seen England transformed from a medium-ranking European power to an empire incorporating most of North America. To the people she was a symbol, to be admired, even worshipped (perhaps a substitute for the Virgin Mary) (note 1). Few could remember, or imagine, another ruler.

She was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, as James I of England. He was certainly no comparison (admin average, military good, diplomacy average) - and no symbol. For one thing, he was a Scot - as were the few advisors he trusted. He stammered and he dribbled. And he had a wholly irrational fear of witches (note 2), which often made him appear absurdly nervous. But for all this, he had a degree of native shrewdness which often surprised the more sophisticated members of the English Court.

THE EARLY YEARS OF KING JAMES THE SIXTH AND FIRST

England was plunged into mourning, but colonial expansion continued. More colonists arrived in Powhatan in March and August 1603 and March 1604, and in Catawba in May and December 1603 and April and August 1604.

The end of year taxes for 1603 amounted to #484, part of which was spent on improving the fortresses in Sacramento and Roanoake.

In 1605 a new Centre of Trade opened in the Falklands. It was easy to obtain a monopoly there, but the monopoly was worth little. The Centre only dealt with the trade from Copetonas and from the Inca Empire. Spanish traders in South America continued to trade at Zacatecas - and England’s merchants continued to fight for a monopoly there.

Catawba was granted a City Charter in April (+600 natives - city of 1209) and Powhatan in September (+2500 natives - city of 3109). In both cases, tax collectors were appointed immediately. Raleigh moved on to Santee, where further colonists arrived in November.

In July 1605, fleets in home waters were equipped with rudimentary compasses (naval tech 9). The King commented that it would have been better to equip the exploration fleets first.

On 29th August Persia declared war on Iraq, an event noted in England only because the Netherlands joined the war in loyal support of Persia.

And on 18th December Field Marshall Alden died at his headquarters in Calais. Hailed as the conquering hero of the Spanish War (perhaps to hide the fact that all his conquests had been given up in return for a portion of Mexican gold), he was buried in Westminster Abbey with full military honours.

1606 saw further military advances (naval tech 10 and land tech 9). As soon as the tax collectors arrived in Catawba and Powhatan, orders were given to construct basic forts. The colony at Santee received more colonists in September, and more in April 1607.

Iraq paid reparations of #69 to Persia in March, and within a week became a vassal of distant Algiers.

The merchants had long been arguing for more action against Spain - for no better reason than the hope of enriching themselves with more Mexican gold. The King surprised them. If the realm was to be set on a course of conflict with Spain, he asked, should it not secure its relations with France? There could be no argument with that, though the speed of action surprised many. Ambassadors were sent to Paris bearing a State Gift in September (+37 to +179) (note 3) and on 11th November the Prince of Wales, no less, was married to the Princess Henrietta Maria of France (note 4) (+179 to +194).

More improvements were made to the navy in June 1607 (naval tech 11)

INTERLUDE: HUDSON’S VOYAGE TO INDIA

Ever since the capture of maps of the true Indies during the Spanish War, many merchants had been seen India as a source of far greater wealth than North America. With city status achieved for Catawba and Powhatan, it was natural for their attention to focus to the east. So they devised a plan.

Hudson’s exploration fleet sailed to Santee, where in November 1606 it took on fresh supplies and a gallant band of explorers (many of whom were too drunk to realize what they were getting themselves into), led by Smith. At the same time colonists were dispatched to the known Indian provinces. Nothing was ever heard from those first ships sent to India itself (save in the imagination of romantic novelists), but a colony was established in Mahe in February 1607.

By this time, Hudson and Smith had passed the equator. The fleet arrived in the Falklands in May, took on further supplies, re-embarked the explorers (convinced that whatever horrors India might hold, they could not be worse the winter in the Falklands) and set sail for Mahe in June.

While they were en route, a trading post was established at Kerala in September.

When the fleet drew within sight of Mahe, Hudson and Smith decided to sail on (lest the men refuse to leave Mahe). In February 1608 the fleet arrived off the Coast of Malabar and Smith and his men disembarked into Kerala. Settlers arrived to transform the trading post into a colony in August. And so began the involvement of the English in India.

Hudson’s fleet sailed to Mahe, and began exploring the Indian Ocean.

THE GATHERING STORM

On 5th October 1607, Spain declared another trade embargo against English merchants. The war party were overjoyed. Here was a pretext to grab more Aztec gold. Spies reported that the Spanish Alliance of Spain, Cologne, Lorraine, Scotland Tuscany and the Aztecs (!!!) was due to expire in March 1613. The realm prepared to wage war at that time.

As a precaution, the fortresses in Catawba, Powhatan and Sacramento were strengthened.

More new ships were introduced into the Home Fleet in April 1608. They could fire forward as well as sideways - a daring innovation (naval tech 12: forward guns).

Chief Judges were appointed in Powhatan and Catawba, and a Provincial Governor in Roanoake.

Then, in January 1609, spies reported the Spanish were building a fortress in the gold-producing province of Saltillo. The war could not wait until the Spanish Alliance expired. There must be war this year.

Military spending was doubled, which caused some dissatisfaction among those merchants who wanted to concentrate upon India (note 5).

More settlers arrived in Kerala in February.

More settlers arrived at Santee in March, with a City Charter (+1000 natives - city of 1627).

Rudimentary optical devices were distributed to the fleets in home waters in June (naval tech 13 - early optics).

By the end of summer, all was prepared. A declaration of war was delivered to the Spanish Ambassador on 1st September 1609 …

Historical and game notes:

1. I got the idea of worship of Elizabeth as a substitute for adoration of the Virgin Mary from the film "Elizabeth", but certainly real-life Tudor propaganda set out to portray Elizabeth I as a symbol and an icon.
2. These are true, AFAIK.
3. Easily impressed, these French!!!
4. Nice to get a bit of real history in, tho the year’s wrong.
5. Random event: merchants unhappy - half current investments in trade lost. Drat!