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

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This aar has been out here a long time, and i have just missed it for that long doing my own thing, its a long one and i just started reading it, will take some time because im rather busy. So far this is a good read. Just as good as Ariels english AAR in my opinion and you get far fewer comments yet you keep writing on, thats determination my friend.

I look forward to the rest, ill check in tommorow but im still on page 1 so far.
 
Roberto, you have an uncanny knack for shaping your narrative to blend both gaming and historical events and throwing in a good dose of background material. Keep it coming!
 
Warspite - better late than never.
But seriously - the rest of my life :rolleyes: means I can't update moe than about once a week.

I was just born stubborn :D

MiLord Durham - thanks, as ever, for the compliments.
 
Hey roberto, i understand that no all of us have the time to write or read every day. But it doesnt take away from the fact that this is a great AAR and that it hasnt gotten the attention it is due. Thats why i have chosen it as AAR of this first week in July. Congratulations Roberto on a great story and a fulfilling read.:)

We look forward to the rest.
 
Warspite, nice call on this one. I've always felt that Roberto's AAR was one of those hidden gems that deserved recognition.
 
Great AAR

It deserves the attention of the reading public and the attention of the good scholars. In fact I've always thought that this game could help an average student to get better in history and geography, well at least with the historical events and places.

My cheers to you and keep it coming, because the melt in the mouth like the butter in the hot knife.

Furthermore try to take a little bit more profit from your wars, annexing doesn't hurt if you know when and how to do it.
 
Friends

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I looked at this forum in the office :rolleyes: and saw this thread as AAR of the Week.

Thank you all for you comments.

Be assured - I will carry it on to the end, though probably only once a week or so. I've played ahead of the narrative to about 1657 and the peace in Europe will not see Cromwell out ...

Argael, please don't use this AAR as a learning tool ;) . Most of the historical incidents are made up, and the true ones are taken out of context. I gave up explanatory footnotes when I realised they weren't much use without hypertext links.

Off to the office again now :(
 
Believe me I know

Argael, please don't use this AAR as a learning tool . Most of the historical incidents are made up, and the true ones are taken out of context. I gave up explanatory footnotes when I realised they weren't much use without hypertext links.
Click to expand...

I do know about history (don't get me wrong), it's almost my life. What I meant with 'scholars' was that you had a great way with modifying the real history according to your own exploits and adventures. In the part of history and geography, I was reffering to the historical events that do happen in the game and the maps and geographical structure set into it.

Cleared that, I still like your AAR.
 
Narrative resumes at the end of 1649, the realm’s first year under the rule of Cromwell.

Year-end taxes for 1649 were #708

1650 saw the opening of a new Centre of Trade in Isle Royale. It controlled the trade from the English provinces and Trading Posts in eastern North America, mainly at the expense of Zacatecas. By mid-year English merchants had obtained an unchallenged monopoly (#458 of total value #628).

Admiral Ayscue took command of the Kebec Fleet, whose neverending task was to keep the St Lawrence and New England clear of pirates.

It was noted that Spain had regained control of Artois, but wandering rebels (probably from Hainaut) had taken over Zeeland. The Dutch regained control by the end of April.

Cromwell embarked on a diplomatic offensive, to improve relations with the Protestant and Reformed nations in Western Europe. Personal Gifts were sent to Denmark (+29 to +173), Sweden (+135 to +200) and even the Netherlands (-183 to -42). In March, formal compacts were entered into with Denmark (+173 to +188) and the Netherlands (-114 to -99.

[er … well, Cromwell can’t very well have a Royal Marriage, can he?].

The first colonists arrived at the established Trading Post in Bombay in January and at the Trading Post in Yanam in July. More colonists arrived in Enkan in March and Bombay and Yanam in December.

In October, Prince Rupert’s army embarked again on Blake’s fleet, this time bound for Bombay (isolated from England’s other possessions in India by Portuguese Trading Posts on the Coast and Mysore inland).

Also in October, the Spanish Centre of Trade in Andalucia was closed to all traders except native-born Spaniards.

The Righteous Parliament interrupted its endeavors to bring the realm to righteousness in November to reform the laws relating to manufactories (infrastructure level 8 - manufactories) and to declare Cromwell Lord Protector of the realm.

Year-end taxes for 1650 were #704.

The North German Alliance expired on 2nd January, the tenth anniversary of the end of the Ungodly War. It was replaced with an alliance with two of the realm’s vassals, Hannover and Hessen. The other two, Saxony and Brandenburg, were not invited to join. In return for maintaining their vassal relationship, they were assured that - as good Protestant states - England would always support them, inside or outside a formal alliance. An assurance which would soon be put to the test for on 25th February, as Cromwell was returning to London from the opening of the new Yorkshire Goods Manufactory, came news that Denmark had declared war on Brandenburg, supported by Poland and Poland’s vassal, Bohemia. As with the Northern War, the pretext was Brandenburg’s control of Jylland.

To Cromwell this was an outrage - worse, a sin. Protestants were fighting each other. He summoned the Danish Ambassador.

Had Cromwell been a politician, he might have argued that the Danes were being used by devious forces in Poland, who sought territorial gains in Brandenburg in the name of supporting their ally without the infamy of declaring war themselves, and that the Danish forces were not ready to defend Copenhagen, let along take Jylland. But he was not. Instead, he pitched his argument in religious, not to say apocalyptic, terms. How could the Danes justify the shedding of Protestant blood? Who, other than the forces of darkness, could profit from war among the Lord’s Elect? Surely the King of Denmark would answer for such a thing upon the Day of Judgement.

The Ambassador was nonplussed. He replied that Jylland was rightfully part of the Danish realm. Now that England and Brandenburg were no longer allied, how could this claim be any concern of England? Then - worst of all - he added that religion had nothing to do with the matter.

Cromwell was beside himself. Religion had everything to do with every matter. "I beseech you", he cried, "in the bowels of Christ, to consider that you may be wrong".

The Ambassador withdrew, in confusion. Never had he been addressed in such terms. Cromwell’s words echoed round the Courts of Europe; a sign that the realm was now guided by ideas and principles very different from those which had gone before.

[Note for historians - Cromwell’s outburst is a famous expression of his, but put into a fictitious context].

Having failed to drive the Danes to peace, Cromwell set about keeping his word, and strengthening the realm’s position also. The Hanse, which had refused to join the war and been expelled from the Polish Alliance as a consequence, was invited to join English’s new alliance, and accepted readily. And a steady flow of money began from the realm’s coffers to Brandenburg. To some effect - by April a Brandenburg army from Jylland had brushed aside all resistance and begun a siege of Copenhagen, while another from Magdeburg had routed a Bohemian army on the outskirts of Berlin and pursued them to Silesia, which fell to Brandenburg in July. The Brandenburg army moved on to Moravia, which fell in October.

Meanwhile, more colonists arrived in Enkan and Yanam in May, and again at Enkan in November.

In June, the merchants formed yet more efficient trade combinations (trade level 8). By August, the realm a achieved monopolies in Danzig and Tago.

In September, Louis XIV rose to the throne of France. While he felt some filial affection - and sympathy - for the exiled English Royal Family, the large standing armies in English France enforced discretion, for the time being. He encouraged them to settle well away from Paris, in Avignon. Preachers in England were not slow to remind the faithful that the Popes had spent many decades in exile in that same city.

At home, September saw reform and reorganization of the navy (Reformation of the Navy: +1,000 naval tech).

And in September also cane the realm’s first attempt to conquer native rulers in India.

DEFEAT IN INDIA AND UPHEAVAL AT HOME

On 25th September 1651 the realm declared war upon Mysore. Mysore stood without allies, and the realm’s allies in Europe were not asked for support.

The plan was for Prince Rupert to act as a hammer, leading a force of 8,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry from Bombay into Deccan, and pursuing the native armies back into Bangalore where he would unite with English armies from Madras and Pondicherry acting as the anvil. Meanwhile, a siege army of 70 cannon and 16,000 supporting infantry would advance from the south into Mysore itself. Once the native armies were destroyed, the fortresses could be taken at leisure.

The plan began to fail almost at once.

The Mysore army from Deccan intercepted Prince Rupert en route. After five days of fighting they were driven back, with minimal losses to the English. Prince Rupert resumed his delayed advance into Deccan which was reached by mid-November - but the English armies advancing into Bangalore faced an enemy at full strength, under leaders who had no experience of warfare in India and no skill at improvisation. At the end of October, English armies of 18,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry faced a Mysore army of 17,000 infantry and 24,000 cavalry. After two weeks, the English army had lost 16,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry against losses for Mysore of only 3,000 infantry, and fled back to Madras. True, they had served to shield the siege army in Mysore which beat off native levies with ease in early December - but worse was to follow. The victorious Mysore army advanced in Yanam with 14,000 infantry and 24,000 cavalry, wiped out the English reserves of 3,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry and took control of the colony. The realm’s wealth was poured into the raising of new troops, but it would take months for them to be trained.

When news of these catastrophes reached England, they added to a general mood of dissatisfaction (DoW without CB has reduced stability by 2 to +1). Some spoke out against using so many resources to wage war in unknown lands so far away - and, worse still, to lose. Pamphlets circulated reminding their readers that King Charles had never lost a war. Cromwell attended a session of the Righteous Parliament which turned into a stream of complaints. He had intended to sit quietly, but after some hours he could no longer contain himself. Rising to his feet, he reminded the Members they had come to Parliament to do the Lord’s work (a proposition with which not all of them would have agreed) and denounced them for the sins of ambition, sloth, avarice and covetousness. His rage increasing by the minute, he ended by crying:

"You have sat here too long for any good which could be done by you. In the name of God, go!"

Upon which, he called for his bodyguards to enter the Chamber and escort the Members out. The Speaker was dragged from his chair, and carried away by two burly troopers. The doors were locked, and on them soon appeared a notice:

"This House to lett, Unfurnished".
 
"This House to lett, Unfurnished".
Click to expand...
As it turned out, the House was rented to the local chapter of the 'Puritan Angels'; seedy characters who rode souped up buggies and wore colours on the backs of their capes. It wasn't long before they had their fingers deep in the illicit seedy parts of the London underworld. :)
 
Patience, young Argael, patience!

Have to fit the instalments round the real world :rolleyes:

Also, I'm waiting for the next two screenshot to arrive on the General's board. There's been a delay, but I'm sure it can be sorted out.

Back soon.
 
Narrative resumes at the beginning of 1652. The realm is at war with Mysore, and Cromwell has closed down the Righteous Parliament.

With the full support of the army, Cromwell could have ruled as a military dictator. But he did not want to. Still seeing himself as an instrument of the Lord’s work, he had no personal ambition, just a longing for supporters who shared his vision of what the realm could become. In an attempt to find them, he ordered the army to identify more "godly men" who could share the burden. The result became known as the Godly Assembly. Selected more for their professions of faith than for their skills at government, and specifically excluding any Members of the Righteous Parliament, their ineffectiveness soon became a source of public ridicule. Heedless of popularity, they ordered the closure of all taverns and gaming houses and marked the end of April by ordering the cutting down of all Maypoles and the suppression of Morris dancing.

One Barebones, known as "Praise-God Barebones" for his extravagant professions of faith, preached that it was against the Lord’s will for one man to rule over another. He was imprisoned for treason.

VICTORY IN INDIA

Historians have long argued whether it was really possibly for Prince Rupert to have lost the war against Mysore. In its first flush of victory at the beginning of the year, the army of Mysore could have laid siege to the (level 3) fortress at Madras, but could not have sustained it for long. If the whole army had attacked Prince Rupert’s forces in Deccan, they might have overcome them despite his leadership. But they did not. Instead, while new forces were recruited in Kerala, Pondicherry and Madras, the main army of Mysore marched to the relief of their capital …

… and to destruction before the English cannon.

In March, 15,000 English infantry and 70 cannon faced 8,000 Mysore infantry and 22,000 cavalry. Two weeks later, the forces of Mysore were reduced to 1,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry for the loss of 1,000 English infantry (and one cannon, which had exploded of its own accord). Meanwhile, Prince Rupert’s trusty army of 8,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry in Deccan beat off 16,000 inexperienced native infantrymen. The two defeated Mysore armies withdrew into Bangalore, where they were pursued by the newly raised English forces. In the third week in April, 5,000 English infantry and 10,000 English cavalry broke the morale of 20,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, who fled into Deccan.

April also saw the arrival of more colonists in Enkan, with a City Charter (+1,000 natives: city of 1,605). Fortifications were ordered to protect the gold mines.

(There was reports that Copenhagen had fallen to Brandenburg and that a Polish army had surrounded Berlin).

The realm had returned to full stability (with a little encouragement from the army). All resources were diverted to raising income.

The fortifications of Mysore fell at the beginning of May, and the siege army advanced into Bangalore. More colonists arrived in Bombay.

That summer saw a succession of battles in which inferior English forces beat off increasingly disheartened troops from Mysore:

July in Deccan - Prince Rupert with 4,500 infantry and 5,500 cavalry beat off 10,000 infantry and 14,000 cavalry within three days.

August in Bangalore - 11,000 infantry and 69 cannon beat off 4,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry in ten days.

September in Deccan - Prince Rupert’s force now reduced to 2,500 infantry and 5,000 cavalry beat off 1,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry; by the end of two weeks no Mysore infantry remained and the cavalry were reduced to disorganized band of brigands.

October saw a revolt in Flanders: a rebel army of 62,000, which Monck took seventeen days to suppress.

Bangalore fell on 10th October and the siege army moved on to Deccan, which was reached at the beginning of December.

More colonists arrived in Bombay in November.

Year-end taxes for 1652 were #1165 (all income to treasury).

Deccan fell on 2nd February 1653.

PEACE AND BRIBERY IN INDIA

Prince Rupert immediately made peace with Mysore for Deccan, Bangalore and #500 reparations. The liquid assets were immediately spent on State Gifts to the Nizam of Hydrabad (-200 to -12) and the Mogul Emperor (-200 to -146).

Historians have often asked why Mysore was not simply annexed. Prince Rupert would probably have replied that he had no choice. Mysore had allied themselves with the Mugals and Hydrabad during the war, and Hydrabad had an army of 84,000 encamped around its capital, a force which the weakened English armies could not have withstood. A moderate peace and judicious bribery preserved limited gains. There was now a land bridge between Bombay and the realm’s provinces in southern and eastern India, isolating the Portuguese in Goa from the interior and surrounding the capital of Mysore.

Orders were given to expand the fortresses in Bangalore and Deccan, just in case.

INTERLUDE: GAME STATUS FEBRUARY 1653, AFTER VICTORY OVER MYSORE

Points:

England 3437
Spain 1101
China 1015
Portugal 917
Poland 891
Austria 837
Turkey 775

Badboyz

England +3
France 0
Austria -6
Holland 0
Portugal -15
Russia -9
Spain -3
Sweden -12
Turkey -1
Poland +10

Screenshot: England dominant in southern India; note also Santal, Ganges and Howrah.

http://www.systemvoid.com/eu/aars/Roberto_India1653.html

ENGLAND AFTER THE WAR

The Godly Assembly marked the news of the victory over Mysore by calling for a week of prayer and fasting. Then they petitioned Cromwell to take the crown.

Cromwell was appalled. Even those who had been hand-picked for their faith did not understand what he was trying to do. In an emotional address to the Godly Assembly, he renounced any desire for kingship and called on them always to mortify themselves before the Lord. Then he bade them return to their homes. They were not to meet again in his lifetime. Instead, Cromwell would rule through the army, the one organization on which he could rely to do his bidding. Major-Generals were appointed to oversee enforcement of the law in every province and county. Many remembered how Fairfax had ruled occupied parts of the Low Countries through Major-Generals during the Third Spanish War, and reflected that England was now a land under military occupation by its own army.

There was hope this would lead to the repeal of the restrictions on the traditional pleasures of English life. Far from it. Cromwell supported all the restrictions, and more. He ordered the closing of all playhouses, and the disbanding of all companies of actors. Before the year’s end he would declare the festival of Christ’s Mass to be a time for mortification of the flesh through penitence and fasting and prohibit "all those worldly celebrations most impurely associated therewith".

CROMWELL’S YEARS OF PEACE

Colonists arrived at Yanam in February and August 1653, the latter with a City Charter (no natives). Fortifications were ordered.

England’s new allies, the Hanse, were wooed by a State Gift in February (+120 to +200) and agreed to enter a vassal relationship in September. England now had five vassals, three in alliance and two outside. By then one of those outside, Brandenburg, had made a status quo peace with Denmark, Bohemia and Poland.

There were new alliances in Europe. Spain with Venice, Milan and Prussia and Portugal with Tunisia and Tripoli.

More colonists arrived in Bombay in December. Prince Rupert continued to bribe the Nizam of Hydrabad and the Mugal Emperor with State Gifts (-19 to +164 and -151 to -32 respectively).

Year end taxes for 1653 were #750.

1654 saw orders to appoint tax collectors in Deccan and Bangalore.

In February Sweden declared war on Russia. No allies of either country were involved. By August, Sweden had captured sparsely populated Kola and Far Karelia.

On 29th March Turkey, supported by the Golden Horde, Astrakhan and Crimea, declared war for the last time on the Mamelules. Colonists arrived in Bombay in April and August, the latter with a City Charter (no natives). Fortifications were ordered.

In September, Bohemia canceled its vassal relationship with Poland. Cromwell declared this was a demonstration of the sin of pride.

Year end taxes for 1654 were #766. A Provincial Governor was appointed in Yanam.

1655 saw Spain’s Centre of Trade in Andalucia re-opened for business, except to traders from England and Algeria. Once again, the realm had a justification for war against Spain. But Cromwell’s eyes were elsewhere. The alliance between the Netherlands, Scotland, Cologne and Persia would end the following year. If the Lord did not lead the Dutch into the way of friendship with the realm, money might. A succession of Personal Gifts flowed towards The Hague (-83 to +88 to +103 to +119 to +197).

There were disturbing reports that France had joined the alliance between Spain, Venice, Milan and Prussia.

In May alchemists published news of a new way to refine saltpeter (land tech 14: refined saltpeter) and in July new orders were given to the Navy concerning the boarding of enemy vessels (naval tech 25: boarding tactics).

In November, peace returned to Scandinavia when Russia ceded Kola and Far Karelia to Sweden.

There were reports that the putative alliance including France and Spain had collapsed, and that Portugal was in alliance with Algiers, Iraq and Oman.

Year end taxes for 1655 were #768

1656 began with the news that Luisa de Gusmao had risen to the throne in Portugal and another revolt in Flanders. This time the rebels numbered some 67,000 - but Monck’s army still crushed them in ten days.

Orders were given to expand the fortresses in Bombay, Yanam and Enkan (all to level 2). Chief Justices were appointed in Deccan, Bangalore and Mekong.

There were more reports of new alliances in February:

France with Morocco and Prussia

Spain now with Naples, Tuscany, Savoy, Sardinia and the Papal State.

The summer saw the final collapse of the Mamelukes. In April they ceded Alexandria to Crimea and paid the Golden Horde #45 reparations from the remains of their treasury. In August they surrendered completely. Astrakhan took Quattara and Cyrenacia. Turkey annexed what remained: Delta and Egypt.

Screenshot: Europe, North Africa and the Near East. Note the spread of the Ottoman Empire. Note also Swedish control of Kola and Far Karelia.

http://www.systemvoid.com/eu/aars/Roberto_Europe1656.html

Years of work and prayer reached their fulfillment in October; the Netherlands joined the alliance of England, Hannover, Hessen and the Hanse. This now formed a solid block of Protestant and Reformed believers in north-west Europe. With this alliance, and the realm’s continued vassalisation of Saxony and Brandenburg, Cromwell could have considered himself the leading Protestant ruler in Western Europe. But he still did not think of such things. Unity of true believers was enough in itself.

The more worldly noted that the Scots now had no significant allies.

Wollongong was awarded a City Charter in November (+1,000 natives; city of 1,640). Fortifications were ordered to protect the Centre of Trade, though precious little trade passed through.

In December, Naples were declared vassals of Spain.

Year end taxes for 1656 were #778.

Early in the New Year came the news that Charles Stuart, sometime King, had died in exile in Avignon and that the Scots had (again) proclaimed his eldest son as Charles II, King of Scotland, England and Ireland. This would have caused little stir were it not for the next news to arrive - that the Scots had joined an alliance with France (and Prussia and Morocco). The short years of peace would soon be at an end …
 
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Narrative resumes January 1657.

A combination between the Scots of Lothian, who had never rejected the House of Stuart, and the French, where they were exiled, was a threat the realm could not ignore. Messengers were sent to Edinburgh and to Paris, demanding an end to the alliance.

The Scots replied that they were a free nation, not beholden to the rulers of England, and set about strengthening the walls of Edinburgh.

The French replied that they had agreed to give a home to Charles Stuart and prevent his return to England, and this they had done during his lifetime. Now he was dead and it was time for a new arrangement.

This was a subtle hint from the young Louis XIV that a new treaty could be negotiated. What he would have offered will never be known, for his subtlety was lost on Cromwell. As disinclined to trust the French as to trust any other Papists, he say the reply as a declaration of hostility, gave orders for the Navy to sail for the coast of France and set out himself for his old headquarters in Picardie - never to return to England.

En route, orders were given to strengthen the fortresses in Bombay and Yanam (to level 3).

(It was noted that the Spanish gold mines in Azuay were in rebel hands).

By the beginning of June, 51 warships were stationed in Quiberon Bay under the command of Vice Admiral Monck, destroyer of the Spanish fleet during the Third Spanish War, another 31off the coast of Brittany and a blocking force of some dozen in the Channel. If this was not enough of a threat to France to break the alliance, nothing would be.

But it was not.

CROMWELL’S WAR IN FRANCE

War was declared on Scotland on 4th June 1657. Prussia and Morocco deserted the alliance - but France did not, and joined the war.

Cromwell was not concerned. Quite the reverse. Convinced he had been right not to trust the French, he ordered that England’s allies were not to be called on. This would show a lack of faith. "If the Lord is with us, who can be against us?" He would personally lead an advance army of 14,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry towards Paris, with a siege army of 15,000 infantry and 58 cannon to follow. Fairfax was ordered to cross the lower Seine into Normandie, with 107 cannon and an escort of 10,000 infantry. General Monck would remain in Picardie with the reserves. And all French trading posts within range of English troops were to be destroyed.

Cromwell’s army reached the outskirts of Paris on 17 June. Resistance from token French defenders (2,000 infantry and 700 cavalry) was crushed in two days, though that was long enough for the French Court to flee the city.

(On 19 June, Poland (supported by Bohemia, Denmark, the Teutonic Order and the Knights of St John) declared war on Turkey (to whom rallied Crimea, Astrakhan and the Golden Horde). The war would be brief and inconclusive, ending with a white peace on 6 September).

Then Cromwell made the fateful decision that would forever destroy any strategic reputation he might have had. Knowing his army was not needed for the siege of Paris, and not caring to wait for reinforcements, he ordered a further advance across the middle Seine into Orleanais.

French Trading Posts in Cuttack (India), Penobscot and Connecticut (North America) were captured and burned in June and in Seminole (Florida) in July.

The siege of Paris began on 24 June, Fairfax arrived in Normandie on 9 July and Cromwell arrived outside the walls of Orleans on 12 July.

(On 14 July, Persia declared war on Turkey, to whom again rallied Crimea, Astrakham and the Golden Horde. Another brief and inconclusive conflict, to end with a status quo peace within a month).

At the end of July, Monck’s fleet sank four French transport ships in Quiberon Bay.

Then came disaster.

Armies were being hastily recruited throughout France. The green troops in Normandie and the Isle de France were easily beaten off by the siege armies. In Orleanais, Cromwell’s 14,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry were attacked by a disorganized band of 16,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 20 cannon at the beginning of August. They were rapidly joined by more troops from the south, under General Turenne. By mid-August, Cromwell faced 33,000 infantry 2,000 cavalry and 20 cannon and his troops had been reduced to 4,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. He ordered a retreat to Caux.

Rumour flew faster than the retreat. It was said that Cromwell’s army had been destroyed, that he himself had been killed. To the alarm of the Major-Generals in England, and the horror of the religious, such reports were greeted with outpourings of joy. Seditious pamphlets appeared. One simply quoted speeches from the end of Shakespeare’s Richard III - "The bloody dog is dead". Others were more discreet - "The Lord helps those who help themselves". But the most dramatic response was in Antwerp. A preacher had barely announced his text as "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it" when he was mobbed by his congregation, carried shoulder-high to the main square and induced, on peril of his life, to preach to the mob. The city rose in rebellion. General Monck, still smarting from his exclusion from the main offensive, force marched the English reserves to Flanders to put it down.

In view of subsequent events, historians have speculated whether he believed Cromwell was dead, or wished it so. He argued at the time that rebellion in Flanders was the most immediate threat to the realm. Whatever his motives, he did not stay to find out. All that remained in Caux to await the remains of Cromwell’s army were 11,000 raw infantry.

(On 16th August Venice, supported only by Milan, declared war on Turkey, to whom rallied (again!) the usual suspects: Crimea, Astrakhan and the Golden Horde. This was to end in a status quo peace in October of the following year).

(Also in August, a French Trading post in Nueltin was captured and burned).

The war at sea was more successful. In a series of battles off the Cote d’Argent in the first two weeks of September, Vice Admiral Monck’ 50 warships engaged 29 French warships and seven transports; by the end 45 English warships remained to eight French (and the seven transports).

The remains of Cromwell’s army reached Caux on 8th September. Turenne’s pursuers followed a day behind. 15,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry under Cromwell faced 32,000 French infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 19 cannon (one having fallen into the Seine en route) under Turenne. It was hopeless. The French lost but 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry before Cromwell fell back into Picardie, with 2,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Sedition in England rose to new heights. He who had declared himself the Lord’s instrument to bring the realm to righteousness had lost two armies in four months in a war of his own creation.

King Louis encouraged the wild rumour that the French triumph in Orleanais had been inspired by visions of Joan of Arc. Turenne was more cautious, and attributed his success to his cannon. This gave him pause. To lead his army to the relief of Paris or Cherbourg would expose it to far superior numbers of English cannon. To pursue Cromwell into Picardie would cut himself off from his lines of supply, and risk a confrontation with Monck’s bloody veterans returning from Flanders. So he settled for the autumn to a siege of Caux, while the English sieges of Paris and Cherbourg (Fairfax supplied by sea, with an English fleet blockading the Channel) continued unmolested.

English Trading Posts were established in Seminole in November and Nueltin in December.

Paris fell on the day of Christ’s Mass, 25th December. On hearing the news, Fairfax ordered an assault on Cherbourg, which fell on 15th January 1658. Turenne’s siege of Caux had so far made little impression. Urged to attack one of the English armies before they could unite, he related ever more complex reasons to continue the siege.

In this extremity, King Louis summoned Charles Stuart, son of Charles Stuart, to an audience. Louis would openly acknowledge his as Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland (King of France was too bitter a pill to swallow) if he would go to Edinburgh and lead a Scottish army into England.

Charles temporized. He replied that he would gladly sail, if the French could provide a fleet and a port from which to do so. He knew that, short of taking the Galley Fleet from Provence into mid-Atlantic, this could not be done. Indeed, Monck had sunk another seven warships and three transports in Quiberon Bay at the turn of the year. In later life, he said he would rather sit all day on a privy than on a throne upheld by French arms. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Louis sent a messenger to Picardie. In return for an end to hostilities and the return of Paris, he would cede Normandie to the realm, and abandon the Scots to their fate. Had Cromwell wanted to continue the war, his commanders would not have supported him. Peace was made with France on 26th January 1658.

AFTERMATH

Cromwell had little to say. Triumphalism was not the way of the Lord’s followers. And he was already sick with the disease which would shortly prove fatal.

The Major-Generals in England declared a great victory. The religious preached that the good Protestants of Normandie had been brought into worldly union with the Lord’s elect. This did not impress the men of Normandy. From their perspective, it looked more like English military occupation with social repression thrown in. They rebelled in February, when an army of some 30,000 defied Fairfax’s men for two weeks.

Financially the war was a heavy price - what war is not? - but the French had been burned out of mainland India and out of their few trading posts in North America. An English Trading Post was established in Penobscot in January 1658 and colonies in Connecticut in March and Cuttack in June.

The realm now controlled the Continental side of the Channel from Normandie in the south to Flanders in the north. France was even more vulnerable than before; a siege army from Picardie or Caux could attack Paris directly, but armies from Normandie could strike west into Brittany, south into Maine or south-east into Orleanais.

Politically, the war was a disaster for Cromwell’s policies. He had lost the respect of his fellow commanders and with it the power to control the realm. Sedition was now rampant at home. The French had reconstructed their alliance with the Scots, Prussia, Morocco and added Portugal and (the unkindest cut of all), firmly Protestant Sweden. To embark on another conquest of Lothian would have reopened the wounds of the Ungodly War, and to annex conquered Scots would turn the realm into a pariah. When the Scots offered a white peace at the beginning of April, it was accepted.

By now Cromwell knew he was dying. He asked a priest whether it was possible to fall from grace. On being told it was, he replied that he knew he was saved, for he knew he had once been in grace.

The end came on 17th April 1658.

INTERLUDE: GAME STATUS APRIL 1658

POINTS

England 3694
Spain 1078
China 1042
Austria 891
Turkey 834

BADBOYZ

England +5
France -1
Austria -6
Netherlands 0
Portugal -15
Russia -11
Spain -3
Sweden -7
Turkey +8
Poland +11

HISTORICAL AND GAME NOTES

1. Cromwell’s war in France is, of course, all fiction.
2. Storyline attempts to explain the AI’s behavior (at least, in 1.07c)
3. The rebellion in Flanders was a random event (I think!) at a most unhelpful time.
4. Cromwell’s fall from grace is, I think, a true anecdote though taken out of context (it is related in Churchill’s "History of the English Speaking Peoples").
5. Historically, Cromwell died in September 1658. The game events kill Cromwell the General in April 1658 but leave Cromwell the ruler alive until 1660. Some have called this sort of thing a bug. I think the programmers just left out a quasi-monarch (I don’t know how this is handled in the IGC). Next installment will have to deal with England after Cromwell.
6. I read recently that the historic Cromwell died of maleria, which was endemic in eastern England at the time. Now, if I put that in the narrative, you’d say the fiction was too implausible!!!
 
AFTER CROMWELL

The popular response to the fact of Cromwell’s death was but a pale shadow of the rejoicing which the previous year’s rumours had brought. Perhaps that showed how completely the people had rejected the religious agenda. The flood of subversive pamphlets continued unabated, and more and move were heard calls for "the good old days" to return.

Cromwell’s death broke the link which had made the army the instrument of the religious. No other military leader aspired to bring the realm to righteousness above all else, nor could they see any good reason to impose by force doctrines in which they only partly believed. The religious, in turn, realized they no longer had a temporal instrument. Some resolved to carry on regardless, confident that the Lord would provide. Others sought to find a new way by which the realm could be ruled.

Cromwell’s will named his son, Richard, to succeed him as Lord Protector. This did little to resolve matters. Richard Cromwell was an inoffensive country gentlemen with no military experience and no particular desire to lead anything. Nor was there any law (other than his late father’s force of personality) to say the office of Lord Protector should be hereditary in the Cromwell family. But if not Richard, who?

Seeking a release from his burden, and with the support of the moderate religious, Richard Cromwell summoned the Godly Assembly to meet once again. They proved no more competent than before. They began by decreeing a week of prayer, fasting and mortification in memory of the late Oliver, continued by confirming Richard in the office of Lord Protector and then set about a leisurely debate - punctuated by calls to repentance - about the future governance of the realm. By mid-August, they had come to the decision that they were not themselves worthy to rule, but could see no better alternative.

All of which was to the despair of the military - and increasingly of the merchants. The last straw for the army leaders in France was another rebellion in Normandie in September, which it took Fairfax two weeks to suppress. Fairfax and Monck took diplomacy into their own hands, passing out Personal Gifts to placate France (+22 to +93) and improve the attitude to the realm of Burgundy (-7 to +78) and Cologne (-200 to -160). The Major-Generals in the English regions, too, came increasingly to ignore central authority.

There was news at the beginning of November that the Hanse had become bankrupt.

December saw the first of a new fleet of Vaisseaux launched in Anglia (naval tech #26). The following August, some of them would be fitted with explosive cannon balls (naval tech #27).

Somehow, the year end taxes were collected - #778.

1659 saw the North American colony at Caniapiscau expand, with colonists arriving in February, July and October. Other colonists arrived in Tahiti in July, and Trading Posts were established in August at Sofiisk and Baladok, fur trading provinces in the hinterland of Amgoun. As if in response, natives burned the Trading Post at Anticosti, along the coast from Kebec; by the turn of the year the Dutch had established themselves there, splitting apart the realm’s holdings in the area.

Diplomatic gifts were scattered as if at random - to Cologne (-161 to -57), the Palatenat (-200 to -167) and to Austria (+5 to +92). In India, Prince Rupert joined in with a Personal Gift to the Nizam of Hydrabad (+136 to +173).

In May came the final crisis for the Godly Assembly. In response to lobbying from the merchants, Richard Cromwell declared approval for new privileges for English traders at home and in the realm’s Centers of Trade overseas (trade tech to level #9). Various Members reminded one another of the parable that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Lord’s kingdom. This developed into a general attack on the accumulation of wealth as an activity, which in turn drove the merchants into open opposition to the Godly Assembly. The military were inclined to support the merchants, for without wealth how could taxes be raised to pay the soldiers? One Major-General after another let it be known that the will of the Godly Assembly would not be acknowledged in the areas for which he was responsible - and the religious laws of the past few years would not necessarily be enforced either.

So the realm threatened to fragment into regional military dictatorships. This was no more to the liking of the merchants - nor to the commanders. But the question remained - who was to rule? After the experience of Cromwell’s war in France, neither Fairfax nor Monck would submit to the authority of another commander, least of all each other. And how was a ruler to be chosen? Pamphlets were published making pointed allusions to the late Roman Empire, and the civil wars that ensued when different armies supported different claimants to the throne.

There was an alternative, in France. Charles Stuart, son of the late King, and already proclaimed King by the Scots. And he had a strong promoter behind the scenes in the shape of Louis XIV who saw him as someone who could, at best, be a friend of France and, at worst, had to be better than an unstable realm with huge armies on the south side of the Channel and command of the sea. Charles moved from Avignon to a substantial chateau outside Paris, and as summer turned to autumn and autumn to winter emissaries moved between him, Monck’s headquarters in Calais and Fairfax’s headquarters in Cherbourg.

Despite everything, year-end taxes for 1659 were #784.

February 1660 saw more colonists arrive in Caniapiscau, this time with a City Charter (+500 natives - city of 1,114). Work began on the construction of basic fortifications.

More Personal Gifts found their way to Cologne (-59 to +71) and to the Palatenat (-169 to -90).

As winter turned to spring, so agreement on the framework for a restoration was reached between Monck and Charles Stuart, with the passive acquiescence of Fairfax. Both men were to be confirmed in their commands for life and both pledged their support for Charles. Richard Cromwell would be awarded a state pension, and in fact would live in peace to the end of his days. Charles then issued a Declaration, in which he pledged "to restore and forever uphold the ancient liberties of the English people". A deliberately vague pledge but with a clear message - an end to Cromwell’s religious dictatorship and to the administration of the Major-Generals. Popular reaction, insofar as it counted for anything, was ecstatic.

The instrument of the Restoration was to be the Righteous Parliament. It had never been dissolved, simply closed down by Cromwell. Those members who still lived were recalled, under the very Speaker who had been carried bodily from the last session. The Oath of Abjuration, by which Charles I had been deposed, was declared null and void. An Act of Indemnity and Oblivion promised a full amnesty for all acts done under Cromwell to all who would pledge loyalty to the restored King and a new Parliament.

Also, tax collectors were appointed in Bombay, Yanam, Howrah and Rosario and a Chief Justice in Aires.

There were also agreements about future relations between the realm and France. To Louis XIV, Charles secretly promised never to make war upon France. To the Righteous Parliament, he promised never to ally with France and never to surrender any of the realm’s lands in France, a pledge reinforced by the commissioning of a Naval Manufactory in Normandie. And for those with long memories, Charles also let it be known that the Dowager Queen Henrietta Maria would live out the remainder of her life in France.

The Righteous Parliament dissolved itself. Charles Stuart was received with acclamation in Rouen, then Amiens, then Calais, then Dover from which he travelled to London, where he was proclaimed Charles II of England, Scotland, Ireland and France on 24th April 1660.

CROMWELL’S LEGACY

Domestically, the main legacy of Cromwell’s rule was the reverse of what he would have intended - a profound popular aversion to being ruled on the basis of religion.

In Europe he had two lasting legacies: the Dutch alliance, the addition of Normandie to the realm.

Screenshot: English Normandie
http://www.geocities.com/grahamfife/eushots/Roberto_Normandie1660.jpg
 
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Narrative resumes in April 1660, with the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy, in the person of King Charles II. (Administration poor, military average, diplomacy average).

THE MONARCHY RESTORED

In many ways, Charles embodied the rejection of everything for which Cromwell had stood. He had never knowingly mortified his spirit or his flesh, he had no wish to impose any particular ideas or attitudes upon his people and he was content to tolerate anything and everything that was not a threat to himself or to the realm. All of which came as a source of great relief to the merchants and the people, and of endless frustration to the religious.

This relaxed approach extended to the day to day business of government, for which he had little talent. In the years to come, older men who struggled with the amiable chaos which passed for the Restoration government might sigh: "O, for but one hour of Oliver." It also had an impact in foreign affairs - but a limited one. The Ambassadors newly returned to the Court of St James’ were no longer subjected to religious tirades, but they could not deny the strength of the realm’s military forces - particularly at sea - which demanded respect in their own right. Charles himself had no great foreign ambitions. Believing that his father’s fall and exile had begun with the Ungodly War [against Scotland and the Netherlands in 1637], mindful of the armies destroyed under Cromwell in France, mindful also of the disquiet (to say the least) caused on the Continent by the extension of English rule to Normandie and with a shrewd idea of the potential strength of France from his years of exile, he resolved to maintain the alliance with the Dutch and to remain at peace in Europe. The realm would expand through its colonies overseas. The closure of Spain’s Centre of Trade in Andalucia to English traders was an inconvenience, not a pretext for another war of conquest against Spain.

He also knew - though Parliament and his ministers did not - of his pledge to Louis XIV never to make war upon France.

THE EARLY YEARS OF CHARLES II

The change to a passive foreign policy was symbolized by the retirement of Fairfax from the army in June. The conqueror of Normandie died soon after.

In June came news that Iraq had paid all its treasury - some #180 - to Persia for peace. In July came news that Iraq had become bankrupt.

More colonists arrived in Adirondak in July.

In September, natives in Sitka rose in revolt and burned the English Trading Post there. A punitive expedition was sent from Yukon. The last native rebel was slain by the end of November, and a new Trading Post was to be established in July 1661.

Year end taxes for 1660 were #798.

The realm’s merchants had established a monopoly in Tago, and would retain it for many years.

The main event of 1661 was the wedding of Charles II with Elsa of Burgundy (+105 to +120). She was a Catholic, but not a particularly observant one. To marry a Catholic princess was itself a gesture of reconciliation after Cromwell’s time, and while Parliament would have balked at another marriage alliance with France (or Spain or Portugal, if relations had been good enough to allow a marriage to be contemplated) none could see Burgundy as any sort of threat to the realm. Elsa herself became adept at turning a blind eye to her husband’s many mistresses. Unfortunately, she proved unable to bear children, which was to store up problems for the future …

In August came news of the bankruptcy of the Golden Horde.

Year end taxes for 1661 were #794.

1662 saw the accession to the throne of Portugal of Alfonso VI, and the first of a number of protests against English domination of the Centre of Trade in Tago.

The new Naval Equipment Manufactory in Normandie was opened in February, and in June it began to re-equip the Navy with new and more potent cannon [naval tech 28 - explosive shells]. The ungrateful Normans revolted in September. The revolt took two weeks to suppress.

Colonists arrived in Barbados and Guadeloupe in July and Jamaica in August.

Also in August came an outbreak of preaching against the loose morals of the Court [random event - unhappiness among the clergy, stability -1]. This stirred Charles to action, as representing a direct threat. All government resources for the rest of they year were devoted to suppressing dissent [stability back to maximum by end November].

Year end taxes for 1662 were reduced by this to only #712.

February 1663 saw more colonists arrive in Barbados, Guadeloupe and Curaco.

On 19th February 1663, Denmark declared war on Brandenburg for the third time in less than fifty years. Once again, the pretext was Denmark’s claim to Jylland. Denmark was supported by Poland, Bohemia, Hungary and The Knights. As in the previous war ten years before, Brandenburg was a vassal of the realm, but not part of any formal alliance, and stood alone. To the Elector’s ambassador, Charles promised a flow of funds to raise soldiers. To his courtiers, he remarked that if Brandenburg wished to take and keep what was not theirs, they had best keep an army there strong enough to hold it. Events rapidly proved they had not. By the end of March, Danish troops had routed all opposition and were laying siege to Jylland.

This war threatened to plunge the whole of eastern Europe into conflagration. On 16th April Turkey, supported by Astrakhan, Crimea and the Golden Horde declared war on Poland, to whom rallied Denmark, Bohemia, Hungary and The Knights.

In May came news that an army from Brandenburg had captured Silesia.

(More colonists arrived in Jamaica in July).

The first anniversary of the Norman revolt in September saw another. The rebel army was numbered at 38,000. It took ten days to suppress. Charles declared this was proof positive of the wisdom of avoiding war in Europe.

On 8th September, was spread to the Middle East, when Persia declared war on Turkey. Turkey was again supported by Astrakhan, Crimea and the Golden Horde. The main Turkish army was evidently in the north, where Moldavia was captured from Poland.

Brandenburg was being overwhelmed. Despite occupying Silesia, the Elector paid Bohemia #155 reparations for peace in October. By the year’s end, Jylland had fallen to Denmark and Magdeburg to Poland.

1664 saw the appointment of Governors in Bombay and Howrah and a Chief Justice in Rosario. Colonists arrived in Barbados, Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Curaco in August.

The fall of Brandenburg continued. The Elector was not using the realm’s subsidies to raise troops, but to pay off his enemies. In July, #124 reparations were paid for peace with Hungary. But the cause was hopeless. In November, Berlin fell to a Polish army and Brandenburg ceded Magdeburg and emptied its treasury (#38) for peace. A notional state of war continued with Denmark and The Knights. With the rump of Brandenburg having no coastline it was safe from further attack but could not attempt to liberate Jylland. With every show of reluctance, Charles ended the realm’s subsidy.

There were reports that another Polish army had recaptured Moldavia from the Turks.

1665 saw Rear Admiral Matthews appointed to command the fleet in Cornwall and the accession of Carlos III in Spain.

War in the east spread even further in February, when Venice (supported by Milan) declared war on Turkey (to whom rallied Crimea, Astrakhan and the Golden Horde).

In May there were reports that the Teutonic Order had become bankrupt.

But all eyes in the realm were turned inwards, towards another Catholic Royal Marriage, the marriage in June of King Charles’ brother James, Duke of York to Mary of Cologne, sealed with a lavish Personal Gift (+77 to +171 to +185). Mary was the daughter of a leading merchant of that city (though scurrilous rumours abounded that she was a direct or indirect offspring of the Archbishop), small, dark, alarmingly devout (which only encouraged the rumours) and only a little older than the elder of James’ daughters (born in exile from a previous marriage).

In July, more colonists arrived at in Barbados, Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Curaco.

Poland’s wars began to unravel. In August, #185 reparations were extracted from Astrakhan, in November, #56 from the Golden Horde and in July 1666 #63 from Crimea. The next month, a status quo peace was signed between Poland and Turkey, and the Turks bought peace with the Persians by paying #250 reparations.

Closer to home 1666 saw a Personal Gift improve relations with France (+55 to +153) and the Fine Arts Academy in London narrowly escape a great fire.

By the year’s end, there were reports of a rebellion against Polish rule in Magdeburg.

1667 saw the appointment of Governors in Rosario, Aires and Copetonas, the establishment of Trading Posts inland from these in Corrientes (in May) and in Jujuy (in September) and the expansion of Corrientes into a colony (in November).

Pedro II rose to the throne of Portugal, and continued his predecessor’s protests against English domination of the Centre of Trade in Tago.

There was general amazement in June when Turkey ceded Bosnia to Venice and paid #250 reparations.

In 1668, one Radisson presented himself in Massachusetts, offering to conquer new lands in the Americas in the name of the King. He was persuaded to join a ship to Matagora, where he landed in February and set out for Bayou, which he reached at the end of March. Also in March, colonists arrived in Corrientes and in Adirondak.

On 17th March, Pedro II of Portugal signed a decree closing the Centre of Trade in Tago to English merchants. The realm now had a pretext for war against both Spain and Portugal …

NOTES FOR WOULD-BE HISTORIANS

1. The historic Charles II married a Portuguese infanta, Catherine of Braganza.
2. The historic James, Duke of York married an Italian countessa Mary of Modena many years later than in this fiction
3. The Great Fire of London in 1666 is a historic event, but did not happen in the game. I could not resist writing it in anyway. Sorry.
 
(Readers who like to follow the narrative may want to skip this message).

After an enforced break from EU, and with EU2 on the horizon, I thought very seriously about whether to carry on with this AAR. The arguments against were that England by this stage has an overwhelming lead in points and overwhelming economic dominance, which in turn allows a large standing army and navy. To set a real challenge I would have to set out to conquer Europe, or possibly China, and I don’t want to go down such a wholly unhistorical route. It would spoil the story. The argument for carrying on was that I enjoy writing it. Enjoyment won. But for a little extra challenge, I changed the settings (originally normal/normal) to hard/aggressive from this point.
 
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