The Lion of the North

[stnylan]

I think it is slightly different, but perhaps related to a graphics pack?

Yes, you are definitnely in a position to turn the Baltic into a Swedish lake and dominate northern Germany. Though I foresee a few more wars with Russia yet.

[Mr Me]

The Real Deal - I had a good explanation for the turbo inheritance, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. What happened in the game might very well have happened if Sweden occupied Norway at that point in history. I mostly took colonies in my first wars so that kept BB down. Thanks for noting the third picture, fixed. Yes, as I didn't have a land or sea connection it was kind of hard to stop them from doing that .


SunZyl - I was also disappointed about Oldenburg but I will get my revenge on Saxony as it's currently a BB monster. Expect diploannexations in the next update.


Duke of Wellington - I downloaded EGUFSM 1.1 and a font package from the agceep website. This font makes it easier for me to read stuff and it looks nicer imo. I think you will see where I'm going in the next update .


stnylan - I have no interest in more wars with Russia unless they get some provinces with ugric or scandinavian culture. I aim higher than just the baltic sea .

[stnylan]

stnylan - I have no interest in more wars with Russia unless they get some provinces with ugric or scandinavian culture. I aim higher than just the baltic sea .

But they might have an interest with wars with you

[Grundius]

You've already created quite an empire. Do you plan to stay Catholic?

[coz1]

I don't think Denmark is long for this world.

[VILenin]

You changed the name of the country the Norwegians were supposed to join!? Oh, perfidious Swede!

[Mr Me]

stnylan - They won't declare war on me unless I look weak and hopefully that won't happen.

Grundius - This is only the beginning of the swedish empire . In the following two updates I will decide whether to stay Catholic or not.

coz1 - Me neither .

VIlenin - I only changed one word in the whole letter and then I get all these accusations about being gamey and perfidious. This is not fair .

[Mr Me]

The Road to Baltic Supremacy

The first few years were spent trying to improve relations with Denmark. This was however not easy as they liked me less every month. In 1509 I moved another step towards a more aristocratic society hoping that it would convince Denmark that I'm not completely barbaric. Small states kept popping up in France's territory, mainly in Italy.
In November 1514 came a breakthough in the Swedish-Danish relations as they joined my alliance. They wanted to make the most out of the few years they still had on this earth so they declared war on Poland and Brandenburg in rapid succession. The war against Poland went well as they attacked Danzig over a river several times and were beaten back. I settled for a lenient peace only demanding 150 gold when I had 21% warscore. Brandenburg had to agree to harsher terms and became my vassal 1518.

In January 1521 Gustav Vasa rose to power in Sweden. This was excellent news as his high diplomacy rating would allow me to annex Denmark. Only a month after he gained the throne Gustav Vasa convinced Denmark to join Sweden as a nation! Gustav Vasa always manages to thrash Denmark. Ten years later I formed an alliance with Poland, this was a important step towards supremacy of the Baltic Sea. The Livonian Order declared war on Poland in October and of course I joined my ally against this vile enemy.

The war went well and in 1533 I reached infrastructure 4, allowing me to promote my legal counsels to chief judges. I made peace with the Livonian Order for Estland. For some strange reason that angered Bremen so much that they declared war on me. A few years later Prussia also declared war on me. This was dire news for me as I was still at war with Lithuania so Estland and Livland would be extremely hard to maintain control of. 1539 I gained a shock bonus as I became more offensive in my tactics. This would be crucial to allow me to fight the enemy's high tech troops.

Bremen had once been my vassal and they were to be humbled once more. Although I lost many battles I eventually managed to take control of both Bremen and Magdenburg as my fleet's blockade allowed me to siege faster than Bremen. In the end of 1541 and the beginning of 1542 I made peace with both Prussia and Lithuania paying them some gold.

Victory!

In April 1545 Poland declared war on the Ottoman Empire, I joined although I was not going to take a part in this war. Trade level 4 was reached in December, now Sweden had potential to become one of the greatest trading nations on Earth. The Livonian Order was attacked by Poland in December 1549 and I joined but had nothing to gain as they were already a vassal of Lithuania.

Political overview of the Swedish Realm.

Political overview of western and central Europe.

Political overview of eastern Europe.

[SunZyl]

Now just keep Livonian Order alive for cores.

[Duke of Wellington]

You are now well in control of the Baltic. Good job getting those vassals and diplo-annexation. Gustav Vasa is a very nice king to have.

[stnylan]

Spain is doing well. All sounds like you're dominating the region most successfully.

[Grundius]

Few challengers in the Baltic left, I'd say. Nice job.

[The Real Deal]

Making good progress, what sort of tech research path did you take? and how does your land tech compare with France and others?

[coz1]

It won't be long before you need to go up against the BWB - that is if you want to mess around in Germany. Your BB looks good for uniting Scandanavia. And Spain has done very well in the Low Countries.

[Mr Me]

SunZyl - They manage to do that quite well themselves .

Duke of Wellington - I've had problems with several vassals being annexed but otherwise it's going good.

stnylan - Spain is indeed doing very well.

Grundius - I'm just going to take the rest of the coastal provinces.

The Real Deal - I have only researched the economic techs (trade and infra) the whole game. No stability investments have been done as you can see by most screenshots. I'm currently researching infrastructure 5 and have reached trade 4. I'm one or two crt's behind everyone in land and naval tech. My strategy is to crush them with cavalry on the plains.

coz1 - Both of the habsburgs will be beaten back if I have it my way. Spain is very strong. I probably won't attack them before the dutch rebellions.

[Mr Me]

Consolidating My Power

As mentioned in the previous update I start out at war with the Livonian Order and Lithuania. I loot Lithuania but am unable to reach a decisive victory as I am also fighting rebels. War exhaustion reaches new records and I really want peace. In January 1556 I finally manage to peace out by paying some gold.

Hertig Karl on vacation in Terra Incognita.

I decide to immediatly after the peace change my state religion to Protestantism as my country can't get more unstable. I also need the gold from confiscating church property to reform my country. During this time of trouble Mecklenburg manages to declares independence from me. Two years later they are forced to rejoin the nation. Controlling Mecklenburg was essential for me as I am then able to annex Bremen 1564. Infrastructure 5 is reached in January 1569 and I am finally able to get governorns to fight inflation.

The same year the Netherlands declare independence from Spain and I wish them the best of luck as I want Spain's German provinces. In August Holstein declares war on me after I have been trying to improve relations for a while. This is the price of friendship! I vassalize them and invest in promoting legal counsels and majors for a few years. 1588 Holstein is annexed and I thereby get a land connection to the rest of my provinces in northern Germany.

Karl IX becomes my monarch in 1598 and what a monarch he is! I immediatly begin saving money to industrialize my country under his great leadership. In May 1605 I have accumulated over 5000 gold and 5% inflation. Refineries are built across the country.

Religious map of Sweden. Bremen is my only non-protestant province.




Political map of western and central Europe.



Political map of central and eastern Europe.

[SunZyl]

Looking nice there. Now cool down BB till Gurra & CO comes.

[stnylan]

France is looking a little worse for wear. Of course, Spanish Vorpommern makes things look very untidy

[coz1]

Those refineries will sure help.

[Duke of Wellington]

Your country looks very neat with all the uniform religion and now those refineries. Sounds like time to move into someone else. Karl isn't too good militarily though Whats tech like around the place?