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1479-1489: Preparing for Formation
Taking a quick look at Milan's standing in 1479, I notice, first of all, that "slightly tarnished" is 7.7, a good place actually, as we are not yet ready for the formation. Milan is at +3 stability, Land tech 5. Tax collectors have already been promoted in Istria and Dalmatia. We are in a stable alliance with Genoa, that does not include our vassals. Milan however, is in serious need of a standing army, that a defense can be made should war come unexpectedly.
I bring the support back down to halfway and build the army up to 15,000 then later 25,000 men, posting some in Lombardia and others in our Adriatic provinces. Only after pissing away our treasury on the military buildup do I find that a loan was due in August 1479.
. So, it turns out I did some heavy military spending while the country is in debt. This is what you get when you let an American join in your succession game. So after extending that bastard another five years, the next place I look is at a certain neighbor. Austria is batshit in love with us and in an alliance with some German minors that ends in 1480. Hoping that our newly obtained land border will encourage them to join with us, I wait it out and send our invite the day after it expires.
The remainder of the early 1480s was largely conservative play focused on paying off the loan and managing the regional situation so that the Italy event would not fire while we are still unready. We received two historical events at this time. For the first in 1480, in the screenshot below, I actually picked the B option keeping young Galeazzo in power, as it seemed marginally more favorable at this time.
I did not get a screenshot of the other event in 1483, but it involved selling Corsica to Genoa for the magic sum of diddly piss. We didn't get one thin ducat toward paying off our loan for this "sale," but we did get a Casus Belli on a friendly nation in our alliance, that I saw no reason to use. Corsica wasn't all that valuable of a province, but it was our only Western Mediterranean port for when we finally get around to building a navy. It isn't like that's going to be any time soon, but I still feel an obligation to rectify that in some way...
The annexation had the added benefit of bringing our badboy back up over 7, making sure that
Notice, too, that I made sure there is enough money in the treasury to repay that loan this time. I may be an American, but its not like I'm in Congress or anything. I also minted a little bit to make sure that we would have enough for the event Olav mentioned a few posts back.
A friendly Naples takes their place in the alliance, in fitting time for a third historical event.
As young Galeazzo thinks of Naples down at the end of Italy's boot, his mind wanders again to the idea of Italian culture, and a state dedicated to unifying the Italian people under one King. The field is set, only enough wealth is needed.
__________________________________________________
More to come. I played a full turn to 1499. My second post completing my report, preparing the next player for his tenure, and providing the save file will be up soon.
This is later than I expected to be able to complete it, and I hope it isn't too much of an inconvenience as the two remaining players have already expressed that they likely won't be able to play until after the New Year anyway.
Love the loan stuff! I remember getting paranoid about that in Fine Feats and checking new saves like crazy.
1489-1499: The Birth of Modern Italy
With two of our vassals annexed, and Austria firmly in our corner, it was time to pursue the preparation. In retrospect, I may have considered waiting a few years longer to try to annex Papal States or to have our economy more firmly under us. Yet Austria, situated among Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, tends to get into a lot of wars, and I wanted to take advantage of the peace while it lasted. I also wanted to guarantee that we'd form Italy before whatever Il Moro and Louis XII events Milan may get could complicate things.
Our badboy count was again under 7, the Austrians were still drooling with glee over the thought of how much they loved us. Expecting formation would likely come before the end of my turn, I sought to get the money to pay for the event, racing our steadily declining badboy so that taking another loan or two would not be necessary.
(I know its a little bit gamey, but I assume that nobody expects us to be strangers to the AGCEEP formation event, and its ramifications. Some of us have done this before after all, and its no secret what our aim is. Familiarity with the events is usually allowed in these SGs, so there is no sense stumbling around in the dark.)
Anyway, forming Italy costs 520 ducats and we were gaining some 80-85 in yearly taxes. Despite our inflation already being up over 6%, I decided to do some minting to guarantee that we would have enough before the event struck. I started doing this in 1491. In July I received this:
Shortly after the start of 1492, Milan placed her bid before the Holy Roman Emperor, still Friedrich V at this time (that I know from forming Germany...), seeking approval as the true heirs to the ancient Kingdom of Italy. This actually happened a little sooner than I expected, Milan's BB being just under 6, not 5. Fortunately we were prepared just in time.
As I went to paste this screenshot in Paint, the game crashed to desktop. No harm done thanks to the yearly autosave and the event re-fired, but some historians now consider this bid as happening on January 1st, not the 5th.
Italy was formed a month later, in February of 1492 - forever known in history as the year of Italian formation. For centuries schoolchildren would be taught the rhyme, "In fourteen hundred ninety-two. Galeazzo formed a country new." Gian Galeazzo would be universally proclaimed Italian of the Year, despite whatever historical events and explorers Spain would receive. Galeazzo would be forever known as the Father of Modern Italy, to the chagrin of Ludovico Il Moro, the power behind the throne (and likely the de jure power of the throne if I didn't dick that up for him in 1480).
Notice, too that the Papal States got all pissed off and broke vassalization.
At this point, I saved the game and restarted, as we were changing tags.
In the remaining years of my tenure, our alliance was called to war twice. In 1493, Austria asked that we Savoy, Genoa, and Naples go to war against Switzerland, Bavaria, Wirttemberg, and Meissen. We honored and our armies performed well, siegeing then occupying Schwyz while fending off several attempts to break the hold. Unfortunately, our allies did not do as well as Switzerland occupied Savoy.
As this war proceeded Venice, bringing Bosnia declared war on Austria (I told you they get in a lot of wars.) At this point, with Switzerland ready to take back Schwyz and the move to liberate Savoy going slowly, I sought an exit from the war in the north. I quickly accepted 41 ducats from Bavaria alone, then made a white peace with the rest of the alliance, so that I could focus on Venice.
Fortunately, half of our army remained in Istria, even during the Swiss war. That force fended off a couple of Bosnian attacks and sieged an undefended Ragusa. Meanwhile, our western force moved away from a Savoy that barely escaped annexation to siege Veneto. Our armies, which by the end of the war had reached LT 9 did very well. Venice was assaulted and fell quickly, the siege of Ragusa succeeded not long after.
Naples was an excellent asset during the Second Venetian War on the naval front. After Ragusa fell, we moved to assist a siege they were looking to start in Corfu. Venice offered 32 and Ragusa and I declined, but after Naples inexplicably abandoned Corfu, leaving the siege to us, I accepted their next offer of 42 and Ragusa. The Doge spent the remainder of my turn wondering why the hell we wanted those ten extra ducats so badly.
The peace agreements. Also shown: Our new little navy.
Bosnia was helpless and besieged by Austria when we accepted their money instead. Yeah, you should have seen the look on Max's face he totally knows we screwed him over on purpose.
Ragusa is unfortunately another off-culture province, but I figured its best to take it now, rather than have to wrest it from the Turks some decades later. Its a mountain province better for making a defensive stand than Dalmatia is.
Anyway, this is where we stand as of 1499. Ludovico has finally found his way to the throne and he's a pretty good monarch.
Shortly before formation, I was able to diplo-vassalize Genoa. Badboy is up, due to the formation event and our one conquest, but our alliance is pretty strong.
We're liked by the average schmucks of Europe. The big boys aren't too crazy about us though. Our vassals are currently lukewarm, and may dishonor an alliance call.
Finally, here's a look at an interesting Europe. Reality has overtaken that hard fighting Granada. Switzerland diplo-annexed Mainz after our war with them and now have four provinces. Kleves has three. England, meanwhile, is holding their own pretty well in France. If they hold, they could make a good mid-late game ally. Maybe we'll shake their hands across the Loire sometime in the future.
Both of my sliders went to Centralization. Between those and another random event (-2 stab +1 cent), we're now fully centralized.
I notice we're also very innovative. We're losing missionaries. We may want to Start trending from that, so we're ready when Reformation hits.
The rundown, Italy 1499:
#1 (896 VPs)
Vassals: Savoy, Genoa
Allies: Austria, Napoli, Savoy, Genoa - expires Feb. 1508
Cores: Genoa
Badboy: 10.0/43
Inflation: 7.6% - up two due to minting for the manufactory event, and formation.
Loans: ---> none <---
Tech: LT 9, NT 3, Trade 2, Infra 2. I switched research from trade to land when I noticed that the Ottomans had achieved 9. I didn't want to be on the ass end of that if there was war. We're back to Trade now and 3 should hit in 1502.
Army: 21k of 43k. All infantry. All in Firenze.
Navy: 2/10/2 (of 165)
Yearly income: 98
Monthly: 20-21
Population in Lombardia: 103,094
Ragusa needs a tax collector.
There, I think that covers everything and then some.
As far as short term goals, I'd suggest strengthening relations with Savoy and Genoa, and maybe building more of a navy.
The save file: http://www.savefile.com/files/1949328
Good luck bringing fledgling Italy to greatness in the sixteenth century.
Great turn there - congrats on creating Italy! I had forgotten that it cost 500 ducats to form it, so it was good that you were aware of it. Great to see the manufactory in Lombardia as well.
I think we should lay low for a little while now. I fear that 10BB might get us into some bad wars, even if we have a strong alliance. But if a good opportunity to go on the offensive arise, go for it I would say. Getting Marche so we have land access to Naples would be nice, so we can DA them down the line. I agree on strengthening relations with Savoy and Genoa. When we decide to DA them, I think Genoa would be the best to target first. Savoy will be a nice buffer against France while we keep them alive.
Regarding France - it's nice to see them a little weakened, but it's not good that Spain got proportionally stronger by taking Languedoc. After all, we have some Italian provinces that Spain got which belong to us. Maybe we should DoW Spain if Spain and France gets into a war vs eachother?
I had forgotten that it cost 500 ducats to form it, so it was good that you were aware of it. Great to see the manufactory in Lombardia as well. I think we should lay low for a little while now. I fear that 10BB might get us into some bad wars, even if we have a strong alliance. But if a good opportunity to go on the offensive arise, go for it I would say.
Getting Marche so we have land access to Naples would be nice, so we can DA them down the line. I agree on strengthening relations with Savoy and Genoa. When we decide to DA them, I think Genoa would be the best to target first. Savoy will be a nice buffer against France while we keep them alive. Regarding France - it's nice to see them a little weakened, but it's not good that Spain got proportionally stronger by taking Languedoc. After all, we have some Italian provinces that Spain got which belong to us.
Maybe we should DoW Spain if Spain and France gets into a war vs eachother?
Excellent I was a bit worried if we manage to form Italy in time, but it seems everything ends well. But... Well, I guess poor Louis XII and Francois I will be a little bit pissed off now ;p
Can't wait to see Calvin kick in. Our only potential ally then is Switzerland and we're going to have a hell lot of wars
I was a bit worried if we manage to form Italy in time, but it seems everything ends well. But... Well, I guess poor Louis XII and Francois I will be a little bit pissed off now ;pCan't wait to see Calvin kick in. Our only potential ally then is Switzerland and we're going to have a hell lot of wars
Do go next. As noticed bye everyone, I haven't posted yet the ending part of Fine Feats with Finland - though I admit I did play most of it already. Won't be able to participate in Italian AAR for the next few days most probably, I'm having a New Year's Eve party at my place so I'm kinda frantic with preparations. Expect me readyish after, like, January 3rd - I should have the Finnish report posted by then.
Good work forming Italy and managing the events.
Is DV/DA possible with Austria?
Is DV/DA possible with Austria?
Round up some single girls, after that everything will magically take care of itself. Just tell all your male friends what to bring. If you prove to have flair at rounding up single girls for a party consider a career running nightclubs
Ok I'll probably play tomorrow night and write the report by the weekend.
Thanks for the comments, I'm glad to see that this has a fair following.
Yeah, fortunately our last couple of monarchs have had good diplo ratings, so it goes relatively quickly. My turn started at just under 8, there were two diplo annexations, a province gained, and a 5 BB hit all in a period of 20 years, yet its only up about 2 in that period. Don't know if we lost some from the Corsica event.
Still, yeah may be best if we don't pursue conquest for a while. We can hold our own, but we don't want France, Spain, and the Ottomans noticing us at the same time. Genoa was only vassalized in 1491, so it should be a little bit before we try DA anyway. Of course, if war comes to us...
It isn't so bad that a little triangular diplomacy won't solve it. I've seen them take advantage of the religious strife in France, before though - we'll want to prevent that.
Spain isn't crazy strong like in some games that I've seen in which they get a massive foothold in Italy and the lowlands. We ought to look and see if there are any more events for Naples that could tie them to Spain though. If Spain gets control of them down the line, we'd obviously do better to DV/DA them sooner.
Huguenots could come into play if England doesn't get all of their provinces instead. We may have Netherlands down the stretch, and I bet we could keep England friendly. It could be a potentially strong alliance for kicking France in the ass, though a bit weak in the east.
Tried it for shits and giggles in 1492. No real surprise, they rejected.
If a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass when he hops, either. If any of us had flair at rounding up single girls, this place wouldn't be such a sausagefest, would it?
Have we decided if we're going to try for colonization? We may have enough to do in the Old World that we won't want to mess with the tedium, but we may need the wealth to finance our wars too. Any ideas?
I think we should lay low for a little while now. I fear that 10BB might get us into some bad wars, even if we have a strong alliance. But if a good opportunity to go on the offensive arise, go for it I would say.
Yeah, fortunately our last couple of monarchs have had good diplo ratings, so it goes relatively quickly. My turn started at just under 8, there were two diplo annexations, a province gained, and a 5 BB hit all in a period of 20 years, yet its only up about 2 in that period. Don't know if we lost some from the Corsica event.
Still, yeah may be best if we don't pursue conquest for a while. We can hold our own, but we don't want France, Spain, and the Ottomans noticing us at the same time. Genoa was only vassalized in 1491, so it should be a little bit before we try DA anyway. Of course, if war comes to us...
Regarding France - it's nice to see them a little weakened, but it's not good that Spain got proportionally stronger by taking Languedoc. After all, we have some Italian provinces that Spain got which belong to us.
It isn't so bad that a little triangular diplomacy won't solve it. I've seen them take advantage of the religious strife in France, before though - we'll want to prevent that.
Spain isn't crazy strong like in some games that I've seen in which they get a massive foothold in Italy and the lowlands. We ought to look and see if there are any more events for Naples that could tie them to Spain though. If Spain gets control of them down the line, we'd obviously do better to DV/DA them sooner.
Can't wait to see Calvin kick in. Our only potential ally then is Switzerland and we're going to have a hell lot of wars
Huguenots could come into play if England doesn't get all of their provinces instead. We may have Netherlands down the stretch, and I bet we could keep England friendly. It could be a potentially strong alliance for kicking France in the ass, though a bit weak in the east.
Tried it for shits and giggles in 1492. No real surprise, they rejected.
If you prove to have flair at rounding up single girls for a party consider a career running nightclubs
If a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass when he hops, either. If any of us had flair at rounding up single girls, this place wouldn't be such a sausagefest, would it?
Have we decided if we're going to try for colonization? We may have enough to do in the Old World that we won't want to mess with the tedium, but we may need the wealth to finance our wars too. Any ideas?
Ok well I've just finished playing and I'll write the report tomorrow. It was a reasonable session although it ended at the worst possible time. Two wars broke out just about a month before the deadline so Emperor_krk will have his hands full from the get go. Neither of them should be too hard though and offer good opportunity for expansion, which I did little of.
1499-1509
As I started the game I noticed we were in a pretty good position. We had a strong alliance, a wealthy economy, with the only real setbacks being badboy of 10 and the big boys of France and Spain having a temporary casus belli on us carried over from the formation events. My initial plan therefore was to wait at least three years until those CBs ran out before attempting any kind of expansion whilst also allowing the badboy to fall.
When my first DP slider decision came along I decided to max out the aristocracy slider to give a nice round +2 to the monarch’s DIP rating and allow a swifter fall of badboy; the current monarch was already an excellent diplomat as it was.
In March I noticed that the previous players had not been playing the trading game very much as the ledger told. I assumed that competition had made the endeavour unprofitable but as I looked at the Venice COT I noticed 3 empty slots and immediately jumped at them. The Kingdom of Italy would have a trading practice once again and about $17 per year would be gained from Venice and the merchants there would doggedly hold their positions for years.
Later in the same month Austria declared war on the Ottomans and the plans were all thrown out the window. The alliance was fully activated to fight off the Ottomans and their allies Crimea, whose occupation of Albania looked endangered.
The war started slowly which gave time for us to move our troops from Firenze to the front but the first battle with the Ottomans showed us the strength of the foe we were messing with. They were only 1 land tech ahead of us but their DP sliders and monarch rating gave them a distinct morale advantage. We were able to hold them off as the Austrians threw everything at the Ottoman province of Croatia and finally assaulted it. Meanwhile the Neapolitans had snuck in to Albania and had a siege going. This would be good if Naples could win Albania as it would give us a land border with them so that diplo-annexation could be possible. I made that a plan of the war as I was unsure whether or not Italy should gain anymore provinces with its badboy.
"Tough Enemy"
Brian’s latest gain then showed it’s worth as we made a defensive stand in Ragusa against repeated Ottoman incursion. It failed in 1501 but that’s when we received a new leader to help the fight. Soon after, the war was interrupted by creation of a new CoT in Andalusia. I usually love it when that CoT opens as it’s easy to place a few merchants in early and then during the next few decades it often supplies the Spanish American colonies and becomes quite wealthy. I took this chance to place some merchants in and increase our trade revenue.
He died later in the war.
Andalusia's riches
Back on the frontlines, a new army was built to rid the Ottomans of Dalmatia and Ragusa and from there we went on the offensive. We crossed the mountains and landed in Macedonia and commandeered the Austrians’ siege. As we crossed the mountains though we noticed that the Neapolitan army in Albania had shrunk and was no longer large enough for the siege, we sent a few thousand men to help out.
Most of the region was pretty clear now except for a large Ottoman Army trying to recapture Croatia. This allowed us to capture Macedonia and move onto Thrace with only minor resistance. The Ottomans had more men over in Anatolia but was not using them to protect the capital, instead they boarded ships.
Our Army moved on to Rumelia and that was when the Ottomans started offering peace. They offered Croatia to Austria and Macedonia to us but it wasn’t really the deal I wanted. Owning Macedonia would be quite a burden and I still wanted that land connection with Naples by having them take Albania. Actually what was happening there, I had taken two provinces and they were still going. I soon realized that Naples had abandoned the siege leaving Genoa and us with not enough men to take it despite the -7 siege value. I decided to send some more troops to the siege and to hand command over to Genoa; better a vassal win it than I.
No Deal
Then the Ottomans retook Croatia and marched to Istria. I immediately abandoned the siege of Rumelia and headed to the homeland which was now completely undefended. The Ottomans left Istria for Austria and my panic abated until I realized that they were just crossing Austria to reach Italy. Furthermore, those Ottoman ships had landed men in Genoa and the Ottomans had 26,000 men within a stone’s throw of Milan. By the time our army arrived back the Ottomans had started besieging Piemonte and defeating them would not be easy. After a couple of attempts I decided another 10,000 men were needed but even with 28,000 I could beat their 14,000. It was a tale of the war really, our whole alliance was over powered by the Ottoman armies but our superior numbers let us win more sieges. All these lost battles were affecting the warscore and soon enough the Ottomans stopped offering us any peace.
We kept attacking the Ottomans in Piemonte and slowly, despite the defeats, their numbers started falling. All we needed was to drop them below 10,000 and then we could move on to save Genoa. Once we finally did get them below 10,000 they abandoned the siege on their own and reinforced their position in Genoa. It would be another hard slog to liberate Genoa as 30,000 men kept losing to their mountainous defence. In the end we played the attrition game to thin them out before my concentration was interrupted by messages about a new CoT in India. This came as a shock before I realize the capture of Thrace had given us loads of new maps and we could now see as far as the Portuguese colonies in India.
In 1505 we were finally able to lower the Ottoman army in Genoa to 8,000 which had them abandon the siege and head home. Meanwhile in my absence, the Austrians had made a meal out of the undefended Balkans. They had captured Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Rumelia, Dobrudja and Wallachia before becoming a statue in Dobrudja. Albania had fallen now but we soon realized that simply controlling Albania would not be enough to see Crimea part with Albania. Soon enough a new alliance had declared war on the Ottomans and the added pressure gave us new hope. By now though the Ottomans had some armies again and by the time our army arrived back in the Balkans they had retaken Macedonia, Bulgaria and Rumelia. I didn’t know what to do, with the Austrians frozen it was left to me but the Ottomans now had more numbers than me. Our warscore had now dropped to 0 as the battles defeats equated to the siege victories. Thankfully the Poles arrived to relieve some pressure as we retook Bulgaria and the Ottomans focused on Bosnia.
It was at about this time that I noticed rebellions starting to pop up all over the Ottoman Empire, and I was fearfully of turbo-annexation. I then realized it was due to war exhaustion and that my lands wouldn’t be far off rebelling either. The war would have to end soon. In 1507 to my surprise when I tried to offer peace to Crimea our warscore had jumped. Genoa had snuck in to Taurus and captured the province which gave us the leeway needed. In May Crimea signed a peace and Albania went to Genoa.
With Bulgaria ours we moved on to Rumelia as the Poles fought the Ottomans over Macedonia. Thankfully the Austrians had now awoken and had crossed the Bosporus and were besieging Anatolia. Our effort was slowed by rebels but once Anatolia fell we had enough warscore to talk to the Ottomans. In June 1508 after nine years a peace was signed with the Ottomans which saw Croatia go to Austria. Yes, this made Austria grow a little and might come back to haunt us but I felt that they deserved it, it could act as a buffer zone between us and the Ottomans. Furthermore I did not want to take an orthodox province with the wrong culture. The Ottomans soon after annexed Bosnia and made monetary peaces with Poland, Venice and the Knights. At least the Ottoman power had been held in check and their ongoing rebellions would cause Abkhazia to break away and cause more problems for her.
To be Continued...
Nice start, handling one of the three most difficult scenarios of our position (the others being war with France and war with Spain). No way I would have given Austria anything, but it may serve to keep the Turks out of Istria during the next war, so I guess its worth its while. Shame about Naples bailing from Albania. They ditched me in Corfu. I guess they want to keep that reputation of theirs purely honorable. Actually, I think the best gain from that war were the maps to the east - could really advance our trade.
As for the trading, I rarely bother messing with trade during the first century of the game, especially before Trade 3, so that's my fault if all was lost in the CoTs. I don't usually wake up to trade until Andalusia shows up and I spam 'em in the open seats there like you did.
I look forward to the second half of the update.
As for the trading, I rarely bother messing with trade during the first century of the game, especially before Trade 3, so that's my fault if all was lost in the CoTs. I don't usually wake up to trade until Andalusia shows up and I spam 'em in the open seats there like you did.
I look forward to the second half of the update.
Good going althoug I'd share Brian's concerns about strengthening Austria.
The new maps are good. Am I the only person who goes all Gollum and starts mumbling about 'My Precious' when you sack someone's capital and gain their maps?
Is there anything worth colonising like India as opposed to the mindless spamming of anything that stays still long enough that a game as say England or Portugal turns into?
The new maps are good. Am I the only person who goes all Gollum and starts mumbling about 'My Precious' when you sack someone's capital and gain their maps?
Is there anything worth colonising like India as opposed to the mindless spamming of anything that stays still long enough that a game as say England or Portugal turns into?
Speaking for yourself?
Colonisation efforts may turn out to be rather troublesome for us, since we'd be very likely to wage war against Spain or Portugal - both countries dislike protestants and compared to them, we have a tiny handicap when it comes to ports, naval power, wealth and so on...
Good job dealing with the Ottomans. I'm waiting for more
As when it comes to trading... Well, I tried to use Genoa during my turn, but every single merchant I sent got kicked out of the CoT within 2-3 months at best...
Good job dealing with the Ottomans. I'm waiting for more
As when it comes to trading... Well, I tried to use Genoa during my turn, but every single merchant I sent got kicked out of the CoT within 2-3 months at best...
Nice turn there, The Swert. I like the way you handled the war - OE is certainly a worthy foe. Judging from your report, it seems that they steamrolled Austria quite easily in the first parts of the war, so I think it was a good idea to give Crotia to Austria. Hopefully that will keep the region somewhat more in balance.
Before I wasn't very fond of trading in the early game, but now I have started to do it. It's quite valuable for a minor nation getting only around 10 in income. But, of course, once I focus elsewhere (like in war-time) I tend to forget about trading. Andalusia is a nice place to place merchants, as it gets quite rich as Spain colonizes.
Looking forward to the second part!
Before I wasn't very fond of trading in the early game, but now I have started to do it. It's quite valuable for a minor nation getting only around 10 in income. But, of course, once I focus elsewhere (like in war-time) I tend to forget about trading.
Andalusia is a nice place to place merchants, as it gets quite rich as Spain colonizes. I don't know. Maybe it will be fun to try something else than colonizing? I have never bothered with the pagans in Africa; maybe pay them a visit? Like Dahomey, Kongo etc. It will cost a lot though, both in conversion costs and stability.
Looking forward to the second part!