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Chapter Nine
Wherein the War continues, concludes

Throughout the war, Madras served only as a lookout station, monitoring the comings-and-goings of the Spanish Armada. It had been given no special consideration in war planning. The India Army based there was not reinforced, nor the fleet of nine warships. It was not, however, considered to be in danger, due to Fort St. George and garrison of 3,000 men. On June 7th, 1667, forces there saw their first action. It would not be their last.

For the first time, a flotilla small enough to be defeated by the Red Squadron appeared off the Coromandel coast. The four ships-of-the-line and five frigates of that squadron fell upon a Portuguese unit of three frigates. All of the Lusitanian ships were sunk, and their admiral, Simão Gonçalves, captured.

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Gonçalves was an explorer by specialty. His presence on the flotilla could mean only one thing: it was a scouting party. Though the reason Portugal, the lesser partner in the Iberian Union, was reconnoitering Madras would not be evident for some time.

Leaving port, the Red Squadron gathered useful intelligence that was simply beyond the lookouts on Madras’ coast. Portugal was maintaining a significant naval presence on their colony Ceylon. This presence precluded any offensive action on the part of the India Army or Red Squadron, which returned to port.

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Though the Red Squadron’s adventure was not grand, June was an exciting month in other theaters. The Colonial Army landed at Seminole. Luso-Spanish armies won some sieges in southwestern France, but the French presence there was still strong. In the Mediterranean, the espionage campaign showed more promise, yet still ended in failure, while the Ottoman was able to reverse losses in North Africa and move into Spanish territory.

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A Junesong of many verses

In July, the Colonial Army embarked for more coastal raiding. The transport fleet, accompanied as always by White Squadron, sailed to the Gulf of Darien. Even from the sea, the massive Army of Guatemala could be seen marching north on the narrow isthmus.

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They were obviously purposed to lifting English occupations, and retaking English colonial provinces. Fairfax and the Colonial Army landed behind them. Their goal was the capture of the north coast of South America.

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Braddock was quite pleased with news of these developments, reminiscent as they were of his victory over Sweden. His thoughts on the matter were explored in some detail in his only published work, English War-making.

“Illustration of the English principles of warfare in practice can be most readily seen in the Baltic campaign of England’s war against the Swedish Empire, again later in the Caribbean campaign against the Spanish Empire. In both cases, a sea-mobile army was able to make gains against a defending force several times its number. The principle: be where your enemy is not; made practical by supremely capable soldiers, sailors, and commanders. To subdue the enemy without battle is the paramount skill of English war-making.” (Braddock 96)

Of course, this was a bit of self-aggrandizement. Still, his points remain valid. The Baltic and Caribbean campaigns were alike, and both practiced principles of warfare that would define English strategy.

In mid-August, while the Colonial Army marched along the South American coast, the Spanish sent an offer of peace, demanding concessions from the Anglo-French alliance.

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They were emboldened by their captured territory in France, but the war was still not in their favor. France had captured more territory than she lost, and her armies had yet to be defeated.

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For these reasons, the peace of August 1667 came as a shock.

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The Battle of France, ended

The Spanish, being refused by the Commonwealth which led the alliance, were able to force terms from France separately. Somewhat strangely, these terms were less extreme than those Spain presented to England a few weeks before, despite the fact their only leverage was French land.

Regardless, the Kingdom of France was diminished. With the loss of Pegu, their budding Asian empire was reduced by a third. Closer to home, the trans-Pyrenean situation had reversed. Where once a French-owned Girona created a Spanish exclave, now a Spanish-owned Girona created a French.

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The Commonwealth of England now stood alone against the most powerful empire in the world, though the French continued to subsidize their war effort.

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This was a dire turn of events to be sure, but Braddock took pains to prevent panic. In an address to Parliament, he offered a sober, educated assessment of the war. The defeat of France did nothing to change the facts on the ground in the Caribbean. The war would continue apace, the Lord Protector assured the nation.

For much of Fall 1667, it did. Until, on October 15th, a large Portuguese fleet appeared offshore Madras, carrying an invasion army.

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Hastily, the Governor of Madras commissioned a rather young man named Oliver Dampier to general the India Army. Dampier had no prior military experience. His chief and perhaps only qualification was the college education which left him versed with Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War.

His mettle was tested immediately. The Portuguese army was ashore by the 26th of October. The first land battle of the war thus began. General Dampier forced the Portuguese back to sea, proving himself deserving of his rank.

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The news was well-received in London. Braddock lauded Dampier, saying: “A newcomer to the field of battle proves himself adept. It is the story of Cromwell, of Blake, of Dampier.” Truthfully the man was by no means on their level, but Braddock was overjoyed to have a victory to help ease the tensions in the capital.

Half a world away, the Colonial Army continued its march, capturing Maracaibo and forcing two Spanish ships into Hudson’s waiting lines of battle.

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This unassuming engagement was the last sea battle of the Caribbean

A month after the first Battle of Madras, the Portuguese were at it again. The wounded, demoralized regiments had hardly been back at sea when they were ordered again to wade ashore.

This move is truly perplexing unless one considers the source of the marching orders. The Spanish king who occupied the throne of Portugal had emissaries of his will aboard all Portuguese ships. These Spanish officers were not overly concerned with the preservation of Portuguese lives.

Luckily, the Portuguese army officers were. They negotiated a surrender under the stipulation their wounded received care. Dampier was happy to comply. He invited the Portuguese officers to dine with him, and thus, in one dining room, the Anglo-Portuguese alliance was renewed over bread and wine.

In the first month of 1668, Fairfax moved against Trinidad while the Spanish had only just begun to overturn English gains on the Yucatan. Trinidad subdued, the Colonial Army and attendant fleet took rest at St. Lucia, where they would remain for the rest of the war. Across the Atlantic, the guns fell silent in North Africa: the Spanish-Ottoman war ended in white peace.

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In the second month of 1668, the Spanish offered a harsh peace, and were refused. Blake, who had been patrolling from Dingle Bay to the Straits of Dover throughout the war, finally saw action. The Spanish attempted to land a single regiment on the undefended Ireland. Their single transport was escorted by many more warships than Blake had at his disposal: for instance, three times the number of frigates. Still, in his usual fashion, Blake scored a flawless victory against a superior enemy.

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Such a pitched battle necessitated time at port. As February ended, Blue Squadron sailed for Cornwall, breaking patrol for the first time. It was fortuitous they did. In April, the Spanish again fell upon Ireland, this time with overwhelming power at sea and on land. It would have taken the entirety of the Commonwealth Navy to match the fleet the Spaniards assembled--odds too great even for the mighty Blake. On land, too, the whole of the New Model Army would have been necessary to meet the Spanish force.

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The Spaniards were not ill-met: the Irish greeted them as Catholic liberators. On Sunday, April 14th, Munster was occupied, and the Spanish soldiers received communion with Irishmen.

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Ite, missa est

Despite the incredible odds, Braddock prepared to transport his 16,000 men across the Irish Sea. He planned to maneuver about the Spanish army, scorching the Earth; when the Spaniards were thoroughly starved, he would fall upon them.

However, his plans were canceled when the French passed along dire news. The Spanish embarked another massive army.

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Their destination was undoubtedly England. Braddock was conflicted. He could bolster the ranks of the New Model Army and outfight the Spanish army when it landed, but the thought of devastating England for a colonial war was distasteful. Further, while he could fight the army currently in transit, Spain had at least three more armies of similar size they could ferry to Britain, discounting the one that would soon be finished occupying Ireland. Defeating one of these armies would be a laborious process, and more would be landing all the while.

The naval war also had to be considered. The Blue Squadron could wait in port while Spanish troops were deposited on their homeland, or they could engage and be defeated by the colossal Spanish fleet. In either case, the air of invincibility surrounding the Commonwealth Navy would be destroyed. This was a blow to English prestige Braddock could not accept.

On May 21st, the Commonwealth Navy offered the Spanish Armada one last show of strength.

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The war as of May, 1668

On May 22nd, the Commonwealth of England offered the Kingdom of Spain concessions. They were accepted.

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Peace terms, along with England’s prestige and treasury on the day of declaration, before and after the peace

Considering the dire situation England found itself in, H. van Beverningk was able to secure a rather favorable peace. Months before the invasion of Ireland, Spain demanded Peten and 2100 pounds. Van Beverningk was able to buy peace for a mere £1350, reimbursement for lost sugar harvests.

Regardless, the war was over. England lost.
 
Wow, that was an epic conflict! I'm sure you could have won if you'd wanted to, but the good thing about AARs is that you don't always have to win!

Great update. :)
 
Now that was a war! It's a shame that you didn't get anything for all your work, but like Ashantai said, losing only makes the AAR more interesting.
 
Wow. I was very worried after France dropped out, as I'm sure you were. It is disappointing to be certain, however you were able to buy peace with gold rather than land. I'm looking forward to the game play notes!
 
Not a Chapter
Wherein the author writes in the first person, speaks as if history were a video game

This war was a bit of a learning experience. As I said in the OP, this is my first time playing Divine Wind, though I have plenty of experience with Heir to the Throne. Anyway, I just wanted to talk a little bit with direct reference to gameplay mechanics, so here goes...

1. On Scotland, or “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley”

When I set out to go to war with Spain, I certainly did not prepare for a Scottish DoW. I have a few disparate comments on this. First, I love the opportunism by the AI. It really keeps the player on their toes and displays the kind of reasoning you’d expect from a human. However, a few things troubled me. I don’t know what my exact relations were with my vassal, but they were over 100 and at least in the vicinity of 150. The disloyalty really blindsided me and it seems there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. In my typical games, I don’t do much conquest, I prefer to vassalize if I can. It’ll be a bit annoying if my vassals break away every time I’m at war with a major power. Also I’d prefer if they could just declare independence, not necessarily war.

Next I want to comment on the peace. Despite what I wrote in the narrative, I knew full well a white peace wouldn’t return Scotland to vassalage. Then why did I accept it? Not purposefully. I don’t know where my head was. I got a white peace offer right after I occupied Lothian, and I thought “Yeah right, Scotland! You won’t get away that easily” ... then I clicked accept. I was pretty angry at myself, to say the least. Once I was finished playing I thought a lot about how I could fit my colossal goof into the narrative. I conceived the little story about both parties disagreeing about what the status quo ante bellum really meant, and I like it. I think the dispute might be somewhat analogous to modern day PRC’s “One China Policy.” Basically, the Commonwealth of England’s official policy is that Scotland is not sovereign, and no nation should recognize it as such. I think I can add Scotland to my Sphere of Influence to simulate that policy--that is, getting a casus belli against nations that diplomatically engage Scotland. I like this solution and I feel it could lead to some interesting drama.

2. On France, or “C’est la vie”

I’ve several things to say about how the AI conducted the war. Most obviously: it didn’t fight. Anyone who has played Divine Wind knows AI armies’ new “pattern of behavior.” If they’re outnumbered, they run. They calculate the marching down to the day and they run. This is a pleasant change of pace from the time when the AI would allow freshly recruited single regiments to fall into combat, but more generally it has some problems. One problem is, from what I’ve seen, they won’t run if they’re in land they control. For instance, I didn’t mention it, but I had to chase that Scottish Army all around north England; as soon as I chased it into a Scottish province, it stopped trying to run away, even at 3:1 odds. I witnessed this behavior in the French, too. In an AI vs AI fight, this makes the nation who is being invaded weaker--as they’ll stand their ground even outnumbered, while the enemy will be like greased-lightning in avoiding unfavorable combat. Essentially, defense is now the weaker form of warfare. Not good. France wasn’t able to deal with the Spanish and Portuguese armies coming into its territory in the south.

This was pretty frustrating, and I put some of my own frustration in the character of Braddock. I’ll comment on their surrender a bit later.

3. On Spain, or “Rule, Hispania!”

There’s one thing I want to talk about in reference to Spain--their fleet. In real life, Blake was able to blockade Cadiz very successfully. In game, I dared not leave home waters. In the Caribbean I restricted myself to capturing unfortified islands and coast so the fleet would have safe haven if need be. I normally play much smaller nations than England, but by the mid-17th century I’ve usually built my naval power up to the point where I’m second to Spain (typically still Castile in my games). So I wasn’t in unfamiliar territory taking on the world’s largest navy. The thing that’s changed, and I had seen it before I started the war, is the AI’s tendency to divide its naval strength substantially. It’s still evident--my battles in the Caribbean and off Madras, for instance--but much reduced. Of course, there was the doomstack of ships at the end of the war, but even the fleet before that was not insubstantial.

More importantly they concentrated their transports, of which they had many. In previous games (again, as smaller nations) my strategy has been not to have a bigger army than my enemy, but to have a bigger army than what they can transport by sea. If the AI is now wised up to doing large troop drops, that crutch is gone. This makes the game a lot more interesting, and more challenging. I was very impressed by Spain’s delivery of a 28 regiment army, and their would-be followup.

4. On Peace, or “Peace on our dime”

I had to buy peace, and it was a bit discouraging after my successes. My failure was based on three things: France’s surrender; the paltry 0.1% warscore of the provinces I was capturing; and my choice of casus belli. Throughout the war, I was probing Spain to see what kind of peace I could get. At the height of warscore, something like 8%, I could not even get a small island like St Thomas. Once I realized France was floundering, I tried to get a white peace and couldn’t. A major problem is that I picked Colonialism as a casus belli. It only applies to colonial provinces adjacent to your own. I should have known not to pick this because from the start my aims were the Lesser Antilles, or Hispaniola in the best case. With perhaps an Imperialism CB, I could have gotten away with some of my aims.

Like I said, throughout the war Spain was not willing to come to any terms, not even white peace, even when they were at a disadvantage. This was the most frustrating thing about France’s surrender. They gave very favorable terms to Spain despite the fact they had more warscore in the Spanish Netherlands than Spain had built up in southern France. That one AI would be so generous and the other so stingy really bugged me. (Though in the long run a weaker France is good for me. If, in the future, France is again weakened from fighting Spain, then Spain weakened from fighting me--well that’s what my friend Charlie calls bi-winning.)

While I’m on the subject of peace there’s something that’s maybe really cool. I could be remembering incorrectly, but in the previous version of the game defenders got “No casus belli” when making demands of the aggressor. Now they get the CB with which the aggressor declared. Very cool.

*​

Anyway, this went on longer than I thought, less interesting also. So I want to end it by saying that the next couple years I played after the war were terrifically fun and I hope I’ll be able to translate that into good AAR.
 
A very nice analysis of some of the new things in DW. I was actually surprised by some of these myself, so to see that others enjoyed all the little tweaks Paradox put in the latest expansion is nice. :D
 
Just out of curiosity, is this a mod or an actual scenario? Because I've been thinking of picking up EUIII for myself, and I might very well end up wanting to play the Commonwealth myself :D
 
Wow, that was an epic conflict! I'm sure you could have won if you'd wanted to, but the good thing about AARs is that you don't always have to win!

Great update. :)

Thanks a lot, but I think you've more confidence in my abilities than I do, friend. :rofl:

I think the best that I could hope for would be a white peace, and I thought about giving it a go but it didn't make sense to me, story-wise. It would be pointless to fight tooth-and-nail when, in-character, I knew peace could be had for a colonial province at worst.

Now that was a war! It's a shame that you didn't get anything for all your work, but like Ashantai said, losing only makes the AAR more interesting.

Thank you, I'm happy you found it interesting.

An epic war regardless. At least, our brave Commonwealth lads have put up a good fight.

Indeed they did :D

A very nicely written update. The Commonwealth prevails!

Thank you kindly. The Commonwealth does indeed prevail. The next chapter will paint a much brighter picture of its exploits.

Wow. I was very worried after France dropped out, as I'm sure you were. It is disappointing to be certain, however you were able to buy peace with gold rather than land. I'm looking forward to the game play notes!

France's surrender was worrying for sure, but I was under the assumption that the AI would conduct amphibious war as it had done in the past. Like I said in my gameplay notes, it did not at all. I was gladly proven wrong, but my false assumption cost me the war.

A very nice analysis of some of the new things in DW. I was actually surprised by some of these myself, so to see that others enjoyed all the little tweaks Paradox put in the latest expansion is nice. :D

Thanks! There are certainly some surprises to be had in Divine Wind. Unfortunately, if someone is too used to the AI's previous behaviors, as I was, it can prove fatal :eek:

Just out of curiosity, is this a mod or an actual scenario? Because I've been thinking of picking up EUIII for myself, and I might very well end up wanting to play the Commonwealth myself :D

This is neither mod nor scenario, just vanilla EUIII: DW. You can pick your start date to the day, and though some finer details may not be present, the broad strokes of history are programmed in. So if you pick a start date after the Parliamentarians won control of England, and before the restoration, you'll be playing as the Commonwealth (I chose the precise date England was declared a Commonwealth ;)). The only thing I changed was the flag. EUIII has one flag per country tag, so ENG always has the royal standard. Changing the flag is simple enough though, I believe there's a guide on the wiki.

*​

Thanks to everybody for reading and commenting! The next chapter should be out early in the week.
 
Chapter Ten
Wherein Events are inspected retrograde, May’s devastating Defeat gives way to June’s vibrant Vigor, Strength is redoubled, Influence is peddled, Contradictions are made without Irony

The English-Spanish Colonial War ended in defeat for the Commonwealth, ‬that much was sure; yet the true results of the war were more nuanced. ‬England was more prestigious for fighting the war, ‬despite the loss (See Chapter 9, Fig. 20). ‬Few nations had the courage to declare war against the Iberian juggernaut, ‬still fewer had the means to score victories against it. ‬The Commonwealth had done both and it did not go unnoticed in the international community.

Economically, the true cost of defeat was deceptive. After peace, the treasury was fuller than it had been on the date of declaration by some £200; however, the annual surplus was £300. The two years the war lasted should have seen the treasury increase by £600. Therefore, the £1350 peace truly cost England £400, the difference being paid in French livres.

Their subsidy was all that prevented the boiling Braddock from immediately ending the alliance. France could not be trusted to fight a land war with Spain while the Commonwealth wrested control of the seas. However, anger subsided, Braddock reasoned they had delayed Spain’s invasion. In the future, France would be left to again occupy Spanish armies--being occupied by them.

Though the most important result of the war was the “paring down,” as Braddock put it, of Spanish Naval supremacy. The Commonwealth Navy had engaged and destroyed larger fleets of the Spanish Armada at the Battles of the Eastern Caribbean and Dingle Bay. The naval balance of power was shifting.

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Cf. Chapter 7, Fig. 8

Unfortunately the indemnity England was forced to pay gave Spain some means to rebuild. ‬However, ‬Spanish shipbuilding was anemic. ‬During the war, ‬the Colonial Army witnessed Spain trying to replace its naval losses by building in their colonies, ‬which had little to no naval infrastructure. ‬In contrast, Commonwealth shipbuilding was booming.

May 28th was a day of defeat, but on June 1st the seeds of future victory were planted: All Grand Shipyards were put to work at capacity building a new type of warship with two gun decks, and construction began on three new Grand Shipyards.

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The army was expanded as well. Excepting the London Arsenal, the provinces of Marches and Derby had the most advanced army infrastructure--a relic of Cromwell’s policy of uniform Puritanism in the ranks of the New Model Army. Regiments of horse and foot were raised in these provinces, while artillery regiments were outfitted in London. Recruitment done, Marches and Derby became host to the construction of Regimental Camps, a two-year endeavor.

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Eight regiments were raised in all, making the New Model Army 24,000 strong. Moreover, the Colonial Army maintained its reinforced strength. All told, the armies of England numbered forty thousand.

Yet strength cannot only be built, it must also be applied: ‬The Commonwealth had to again exert itself on the world stage. ‬Prior to the war, ‬Braddock thought it prudent to stoke rebellion in Naples; but he now knew Spain could deliver ‬30,000 ‬men in a single voyage, and concluded a successful Neapolitan revolution was unlikely. The Mediterranean was still a sea in which only Spain could project significant power, ‬and this needed to change.

Enter the Cypriot Greek Nationalist.

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Engaged as they had been with Spain, ‬the Ottomans were unable to address a Greek rebellion on Cyprus. ‬Now the rebellion had claim to true nationhood. ‬The Commonwealth of England formally recognized them with a state visit by the fleet.

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The Greeks were happy to have recognition, and gladly offered the English warships safe haven. Before long, relations were considerably warm between the two nations, and the Hellenic Republic found itself firmly within the Commonwealth’s sphere of influence.

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Commonwealth leadership had many motivations for this fast friendship. One was purely strategic. In any future war with Spain, France’s Mediterranean ports were at great risk of occupation. Without sure ports in the Middle Sea, the Commonwealth Navy could not hope to contend there. Military bases on Cyprus would remedy this. Another was pure idealism. Certain members of Parliament were sincerely devoted to the Greek cause of republican independence.

Either way the Commonwealth was committed to Greek freedom, but it was not a sure thing. The Ottoman Empire still boasted the largest army in the world, and it would be a small matter to reconquer the island. Something had to be done. On March 24th, 1669, the Commonwealth of England declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The cause: Greek liberation. The vassals of the Ottoman did not, as Scotland had, take the opportunity to rebel, instead answering their master’s call to arms.

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Curiously, Mysore took this opportunity to warn against further English aggression

Two weeks later the Ottoman responded by issuing an embargo against the Commonwealth. This was no empty gesture as English merchants had enjoyed a monopoly in Thrace, that all-important center of trade where West met East. However, that geographically significant city, the bridge between Europe and Asia and the only access to the Black Sea--an Ottoman lake--was not even fully within the Turks’ grasp. So abysmal was the state of the Ottoman fleet that a rogue corsair named Roche Rous controlled the Sea of Marmara. If English merchants were to be locked out of Constantinople, General at Sea Blake was content to allow the scoundrel his piratical exploit against the Turk.

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Blake, in turn, split his force to effect two blockades: one in defense of Rhodes, one in defense of Naxos. On both Greek-cultured islands, agents provocateur were sent to arm rebels--Greek Patriots who would seek union with the Hellenic Republic on Cyprus.

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The Brothers Stratioticus

One ship stayed in port at Cyprus to serve as a floating embassy. Fittingly, it was the frigate Theseus, named for the founder of Athens--that city to which these newly-free Hellenes aspired.

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So badly damaged at the Battle of Dingle Bay, the Theseus had all her planks replaced during the respite at Cornwall

As of June 1669, the situation in the Aegean remained static: English-armed rebels laid siege to islands protected by the Commonwealth Navy. At home, however, events were in motion. The Grand Shipyards at Gwynedd, Gloucestershire, and Norfolk were ready. They were contracted to build two-deckers in triplicate.

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This furious activity in the nation’s shipyards could be matched only by the vigorous debate in Parliament. All of it inspired by the newly published world atlas.

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In the latter half of the 17th century, there had been a colonization boom. Even small nations like the Hanseatic League and non-maritime nations like Austria sponsored colonies. The prospect of founding new colonies was dwindling. Other overseas empires were expanding, while England had expended tremendous effort in a failed attempt to expand its own. This was not sustainable, reasoned Parliament. World commerce was becoming dominated by trade goods from overseas; England could not afford to fall behind.

With North America and Africa crowded with European colonizers, the Indian peninsula was the surest avenue of English imperial expansion. Since Mysore had issued a warning, and would undoubtedly intervene in any Indian adventures, they were made the target.

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Authors of their own destruction

Oliver Dampier, the stalwart defender of Madras, marched on Kongu while the Red Squadron blockaded Mysore and Calicut.

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By November 3rd, the assault of Kongu was won. The Mysorean leader Immadai chose that moment to launch a counter attack. Unfortunately for the cunning Indian prince, the English India Army secured a stunning victory even weakened from assaulting a fortification. At the same time, an army from Gondwana laid siege to Madras, but posed no real danger to Ft. St. George.

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Back in the Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire sought to repeat Spain’s success by landing an army on Ireland. Braddock took the eight new regiments of the New Model Army under his personal command and set sail for Ireland. His goal was to introduce the new recruits to combat, but the Ottoman made a poor showing.

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Turkey Shoot

As a new decade dawned, the Greek Patriots occupied Rhodes and Naxos. The idealist in Parliament advocated expanded liberation efforts on the mainland, but the realist countered with intelligence reports of a large Ottoman army.

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The imperialist war in India was decidedly in England’s favor, while the war for Greek liberation was still a matter of debate. Not debatable, however, was the fact that the 1670s would be an interesting decade.
 
So badly damaged at the Battle of Dingle Bay, the Theseus had all her planks replaced during the respite at Cornwall

I LOL-ed. I'm really enoying this, it seems like the perfect balance of gaming and flavour/RP, keep it up!
 
I'm getting a bit impatient for the next update :p Don't let that silly little thing called life keep you down!!

Also, I'm assuming you can still form GB as the Commonwealth? I don't see why you wouldn't be able to, but I just wanna make sure.
 
I LOL-ed. I'm really enoying this, it seems like the perfect balance of gaming and flavour/RP, keep it up!

I'm glad you liked the joke :D Thanks for reading!

Nice! I also like to help out nations, especially ones who seem doomed.

And a historical push into India? Interesting . . .

I'm glad someone shares my play style :cool: Just about every game I can remember, I've made a kind of pet project out of releasing and/or protecting a smaller nation. Looks like this time it's Greece :)

As for India, I don't have plans to necessarily conquer it historically. To be honest my DoW on Mysore was motivated by the fact they keep warning me as much as anything else. I can only hope this convinces them to stop, lest I have to wipe them off the map.

I'm getting a bit impatient for the next update :p Don't let that silly little thing called life keep you down!!

Also, I'm assuming you can still form GB as the Commonwealth? I don't see why you wouldn't be able to, but I just wanna make sure.

Sorry to keep you waiting. I was only able to free up a few hours this week, and I spent them playing the game as my "content buffer" was becoming a bit thin. But fear not, the next chapter will be not be long in the coming, hopefully tomorrow.

I can indeed form Great Britain, I lack only the ownership/cores of the necessary Scottish provinces. However I presently have no plan on forming GB, as seen in previous chapters the England-Scotland relationship is in a weird place right now :rofl: Maybe in the future!

Nice move in the Med. Can't wait for the next one

Thanks, hopefully you won't have to wait long :D

*​

As always, a great thanks to everyone for reading and commenting! The next chapter will certainly be something!