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Fellow Senators, Honorable Doge
The time has come to settle down with what we have in Europe, improve the Infrastructure, send merchants and, when the time comes, colonize!
Wars in Europe can be very bloddy and costly, we should defend the republic when others declare war, but actively seeking enemies is not a honorable way of runnig a republic.
I would also ask what has become of the elections, there seem not to have been any for some while.
 
I think we know what must happen and we need clear voting to ensure that it does. King of Minors, remember our dear Doge has been on vacation for a while and then, when he came back, has just taken time to ensure we were all clear on where we stand. And of course you just read his last message in which he said that he wants us to discuss the matter BEFORE we go to a vote, perhaps to even influence what type of vote we should have.

In that last vein, Doge, I wish to humbly lay out some votes that I think we should make.

1. I think we need a clear vote about the long term economics. It is clear in the last posts of several that we all recognize the need for a focus on infrastructure to move towards governors. I feel however the way we normally vote on this is confusing and that we should have a vote that asks clearly for economic focus vs. military focus. Depending on how that vote goes (and I would work diligently to press for economic focus), you could then use your latitude to decide how to dole that out with the two chosen areas (naval/army or trade/infra). OR you could have us vote on that, but then we'd be voting solely on those two (meaning, for the next 25 years or however long you deem right, we would put nothing into the other two areas).

2. We clearly need a vote on Albania. I see no reason NOT to annex them. That will then allow you to choose your steps well in regards to buying our way into an alliance or "buddying up" a nation that can be to our advantage. I hope you all heed well the words of our wise Senator Norrefeldt. Genoa indeed may prove to be useful to us. Savoy may also. But do remember that both border on the land of the ancient Franks, now controlled by the Burgundians, yet they are finding themselves in marriage control issues with the Hapsburgs. We don't know yet what will transpire in that area, but we should tread carefully lest we find ourselves drug into wars over there before we are ready.

3. We clearly DON'T need a vote on the Papal States. As much as I hate them now (and have we not now seen even MORE evidence about the treachery of the current Papal See?), we surely do NOT want to annex them and bring down the wrath of all of the CAtholic world. That would be madness. I accept the fact that your predecessors have adequately punished the Papal States and made them our vassal. Let them so remain and if they get attacked and annexed by another state (doubtful), then the wrath of the world would fall on THAT country.

Perhaps I am now old as my father was back in the 1470s and thus can't see as well, but to me our choice is very simple. Prepare for our FUTURE. Long term economics. Secure our own lands by eliminating the infidel Ottomans. Allow time of peace BEFORE we attempt to cleanse the land to better our relations. Continue to trade boldly in CoTs. Keep our armies at full strength and build up our navy even still.

Though I will be dead by then, by 1550 or so, we would thus find ourselves secure in our infrastructure with governors EVERYWHERE. We would find ourselves with enough land to protect our fragile state, plus our chief enemy eliminated (the OE!). That land would produce soldiers and some revenue (I'm sorry Senators, I do not see the trouble with "poor" provinces--I have long studied the history of the world and even "role played" activities to see how I might do as a nation leader and I have NEVER gotten rid of a province because it was poor and my pretend nations have always flourished!). Our trade would continue to dominate thus aiding us economically. We would then find ourselves in the clear position to finalize our unifying of Italy (sans Papal States; let them remain our vassal!) and by that time, we would certainly have been able to trade for maps or perhaps found an opportune moment to steal some during war (though I think it risky to attempt to wage a war simply to steal maps when we can easily trade for them).

Our descendents would then find themselves in the enviable position of being rich and powerful, in control of most of the Eastern Med and most (all?) of Italy. Whatever happens to the north of us, we would be in a position to contend! Perhaps we would be LEFT ALONE in our wealth and then, well we could look back in history to our forefathers, the Romans and the Greeks and seek to establish colonies in far distant lands. While the Germans north of us fight over the scraps of Charlemange's table, the barbarians to the south and east of us attempt to emulate our technology, and the Gauls and Iberians to the West seek to discover our greatness in government, we will be happily making money, planting colonies and trading posts around the world.

That is what I see. That is what my family wants for the future of Venice. Let us move courageously and boldly to that future!

Eduardo Cornaro, an old man now but full of fight, full of hope
 
[out of character] Mechanics of game information (and discussion if necessary).

The game system was established without experience, and refined later. The rule of 5 years of maximum gameplay is a difficult compromise between senatorial control and gameplay flow. Also reloading the game affects it a lot: less events, more wars, tough trade... Less than 5 years is almost unworkable and more than 5 years means little control, since even long wars will fit inside a period. With 5 year periods, most wars tend to go over two periods, and that allows to easily ask the senators for war goals, and strategies.

I found that regularity has its advantages, and stopping at December of the years xxx3 and xxx8 (multiples of 5 starting in January 1419) makes progress comparisons easy. Yet the game can be stopped at any moment when a senatorial decision is required (example: Historical event with a balanced choice, or a particularly tempting CB).

All of the elections span more than 10 years in its effects to avoid killing the senators of boredom over constantly deciding things that appear not to change anything in the game. The shortest one is the International relations with 10 years, since they are the ones that change constantly. To keep the game and the AAR apace, I made a slight modification to coincide all regular elections on the xxx8 pauses. Grouping the elections has also the advantage of requiring less from senators, so some of them can keep a looser watch on the AAR and yet fully participate. The xxx3 pauses are still important, and most of them have non-scheduled elections, but the idea is that if no pressing matters are present, the next period can be played without having to wait for the votes to come in.

The matters that we are presently discussing are not pressing. We will have the usual bunch of elections in the next game period, before the weekend. But I also like to gather opinions if enough time is available, to refine the questions to the senators criteria. Every opinion is considered, and the options presented in the election benefit from that.

But all these are not rules, just a way of functioning, and I'll be happy to change any of it to better accomodate the desires of the senators. The 5 yearly reports (a hefty workload) and the historic posts (even more so) are in because of senatorial demand.

With most of our primary goals accomplished already in 1500:
-Control of all our cores
-Containment of the Ottoman menace in Europe
-Domination in Italy
-Wealth
-Second CoT
-Technological primacy
-Decent manpower and support limit, i.e we are a regional power.
We are at a crossroad in which we have to make a short list of new goals, less obvious than the ones above, and they should define the Venice that we want to build. A single player can afford to just wait and jump on opportunities. In our case, in which we try to build a consensus, we require some planning ahead and some decisions are to be made. The list of possibilities is too long to pursue them all. We have to discard some or we will accomplish very little. For example, if we decide to wait for our own explorers to start colonizing, we will have to invest in Naval to get them. We can trade maps with all the world, but we will have to expend some money in buying them. We can attack Portugal for maps as a third option, but that requires a clear desire from the Senate to do so. If we want to diplomatically expand in Italy, we have to expend money to improve relationships and keep it that way for the day their alliance breaks down.

I agree that we have to decide what to do with Albania, wether keep it as an ally or absorb it. I don't see much problem either way. We only have positive relations with a few countries (Spain, Austria and little else) and even those are quite low. Wether we keep them as allies or annex them we will have to expend money to accomplish anything in diplomacy, even getting a royal marriage.

Let's the discussion continue. Members of the Golden Party and the Blue Party, speak up. [/out of character]
 
Fodoroni's Second Atlas of the Known World.
Commisioned by Minister Fodoroni in 1500 and made by an unknown mapmaker in 1504.​

Here is a link to the Atlas of 1450.

Countries ordered by size and by military technology if same size (land > naval). Colors are orientative. BB is Badboy rounded. Income is the monthly income and might vary quite a lot from month to month.

Page 1: Europe

1500Atlas1.jpg

Burgundy continues going strong, putting a serious limit to the growth of both his everlasting vassal France, and Austria. The Ottomans have no teeth in Europe and maintain their provinces there because nobody seriously attacks them. In Asia they are unstoppable. As a consequence we don't have strong nations trying to expand in our territories. Kara Koyunlu still owns that gray province near Hungary, but sooner or later it will lose it. Moldavia has a province surrounded by Poland, that will keep them save from the Ottomans for a while. Theodoros is orthodox and Kaffa has Greek culture. we should keep track of them.

Code:
Nations       Color       BB Size Income Trade Infra Land Naval
Burgundy      Dark Red    34  23   49.55   32   25    6     3
Russia        Dark Red    18  23   56.67   25   26    4     2
Portugal      Green        5  22   30.33   39   21    4     5
Venice        Light Green 15  21   69.17   64   47    4     5
Poland        Light Orange16  19   23.87   32    9    4     2
Ottoman Emp.  Light Green 14  17   41.21   38   47    6     3
Aragon        Dark Gray    2  16   17.58   40   25    5     4
Denmark       Orange       9  15   38.78   35   10    4     3
France        Dark Blue    3  14   21.61   32   29    4     3
Spain         Yellow      11  13   24.61   36   29    5     3
England       Red         14  12   21.79   35   40    4     3
Sweden        Blue         0  12   21.00   36   22    3     2
Hungary       Blue Green   9  11   12.17   33   16    4     2
Austria       White        4   5   30.18   34   21    5     2
Meissen       Orange Brown 8   4   22.60   44   15    5     2
Bohemia       Brown        0   4    7.30   33   24    4     2
Scotland      Light Blue   0   4   18.25   39   30    4     3
Ireland       Green        0   4    6.88   36   16    3     3
Savoy         Dark Green   0   3   28.25   50   27    5     2
Genoa         Dark Red     0   2   12.78   51   25    6     5
Theodoros     Orange       0   2   14.55   48   25    6     5
Livonian O.   Orange Brown 0   2    8.91   50   27    6     4
Berg          Orange Brown 0   2    4.78   45   14    6     3
Palatinate    Dark Orange  0   2    4.68   46   23    6     3
Teutonic O.   Blue Green   2   2    3.99   45   18    5     4
Bavaria       Light Blue   0   2    4.23   42   13    5     2
Brandenburg   Dark Gray    0   2   15.51   46   21    5     2
Switzerland   Blue Green   0   2   10.31   43   42    5     2
Moldavia      Brown        0   2   11.92   35    9    3     2
The Knights   Light Gray   0   1    5.64   46   25    6     5
Oldenburg     Light Gray   0   1    1.56   47   20    6     3
Bremen        Light Brown  0   1    2.72   44   13    5     5
Papal St.     Light Gray   8   1    1.95   48   21    5     4
Brittany      Dark Green   4   1    2.72   45   22    5     4
Baden         Brown        0   1    1.40   33   16    5     2
Bayreuth      Light Gray   0   1    1.21   36   17    5     2
Holstein      Orange Brown 0   1    1.25   36   14    4     3
Albania       Brown        0   1    0.79   41   28    3     3
Wallachia     Dark Blue    0   1    1.50   36   17    3     2

Kara Koyunlu  Dark Grey


Page 2: Africa

1500Atlas2.jpg

The mistery continent. We only know the provinces shown, but the colored ribbons indicate that Portugal has another province below that blue one that belongs to Sweden, and Adal continues through the horn of Africa.

Code:
Nations       Color       BB Size Income Trade Infra Land Naval
Egypt         Light Brown  2  18   27.56   36   16    3     2
Ethiopia      Brown        0  10   10.07   37   13    2     2
Adal          Blue Green   5   6    5.62   38   18    2     1
Morocco       Light Brown  1   5    5.97   37   17    3     2
Tlemcen       Light Grey   1   3    4.13   40   18    2     2
Tunisia       Blue Green   0   2    3.75   39   21    3     2
Nubia         Dark Orange  0   1    1.12   39   17    2     2
Tripoli       Orange       0   1    0.39   39   17    2     2

Portugal      Green
Sweden        Blue
Spain        Yellow

Page 3: Near East

1500Atlas3.jpg

The Ottoman Empire and Kara Koyunlu are posed to be the main contenders here. Egypt is very, very weak, with a recent government fall, and ready to lose those scattered bits. Transoxiana is a surprising ally for the Ottomans, and they get in many wars together, and the Ottomans end with the biggest army in the world. The Hordes are very weak also, and they will fall eventually to Russia, that could become a tough enemy before we leave them behind in technology. We don't know anything beyond what is shown, but could try to buy maps from Oman.

Code:
Nations       Color       BB Size Income Trade Infra Land Naval
Kara Koyunlu  Dark Grey   13  18   48.07   27   28    3     2
Uzbek         Blue Green  24  16   24.98   34   26    3     2
Golden Horde  Yellow       7  15   32.61   42   16    3     2
Oman          Blue         0   8   23.40   36   15    3     2
Transoxiana   Light Green 12   5   23.17   33    7    3     2
Yemen         Green        0   3   17.28   39   19    3     2
The Hejaz     Light Gray   0   3    4.87   39   23    2     2
Georgia       Grey         1   1   11.13   36   17    3     3
Khazak Horde  Light Blue   1   1    2.29   38   34    3     2
Dulkhadir     Blue Green   0   1    9.23   36   26    3     2
 
I'm going to be boring and not try to put this in character, since we are talking about game goals at this point. Also, it might help me be less wordy (sorry guys--I just like to over-explain things some times). :p

Just looking at Fodoron's map helps me. Let me start by saying that as playing Venice I have no desire for us to try to own Europe. I like the economic control. So, for me, there won't be any votes from me to try and expand us north. Yes, perhaps Tyrol above us or so, but even that is risky as it invokes us into Austria's stuff (remind me to tell you about when I played Venice and had that situation).

We almost fully control Italy (earlier than I wished, but in any case, we have it). Why don't we expend the money to deal with that diplomatically? It will help our BB to take the time to do that.

At the same time, I am still strongly convinced that we must eliminate the OE from Europe. And particularly since we have Kerch now. If you replace all that gross OE green with our lovely green, then we are almost connected. Yes, that takes us close to Poland and eventually Russia, but that is longer than now.

So, if I'm not thinking about expanding north, we are almost done in Italy and will easily get rid of the OE (I hope you will join me in that thought!), then what? Colonizing obviously. :) Or, if that bores you, then at least exploring the world for COTs. Venice can go for colonization, but if you want to stay more historical, stay only in the Med, then fine, but we should still get the maps so we can trade first in those areas. Every game I play, I trade for maps (never played as Port or Spain) and beat everyone into the CoTs. I get rich first and longer.

There it is to me, the Venice we ought to create--we own Italy (not the PS--they must remain independent for the BB/CB factor); we control most of the Balkans and the Eastern Med (green around the Black Sea; and Symrna and perhaps Kaffa); we dominate around the world in trade (for sure) and perhaps colonies.

What do you think?
 
I wish to thank the scribes for the very good report above.
In the Barbarigo family we wish that Venice owns all Greek and Italian land, and beyond that only very valuable places. We should somehow try to make our way east, and the proper Venetian way for it is through Egypt, into the Red Sea. Let the Western powers sail around Africa, Venice has always been turned East and should so remain.
 
I'm going to follow carlec's example in not replying in character.. mostly because I'm at work and it's semi-busy and I unfortunately don't have the time.

I like the idea of removing the OE from Europe both in and out of character. Plus, since we don't really want to expand anyways, we can release vassals in that area (after we absorb Albania, should we so desire), thus helping with our BB score a bit. It'll be especially good for our BB score if we take those provinces in defensive wars.

I'm not so sure about investing in solely infra or trade, though. I think we should invest a bit in naval tech so should we desire to, we can better explore and colonize. I can think of a few choice provinces in India and South America that would be excellent to look into.

Hmm... Egypt's fit to collapse? Hmm indeed.. this is an excellent situation! If we can capture Nile, we won't have to bother going around Africa like those silly Portugese! With a couple of Egypt's provinces in the area and a little bit of work, we would have an excellent jumping off point for moving into the Indies. Mmmm, spice trade.

So basically.. let's stick it to the heathens, get us a jumping off point in Egypt, continue to kick butt and take names financially but also buying ourselves some fancy new ships to help us reach new CoTs untouched by Europeans. Oh, and let's invest in helping our reputation if we're really not going to invest in anything military-wise, which will most likely happen.
 
I have to take this OOC too, since no one has in character suggested Egypt yet, and it is not fit ofr my character to do so, due to roleplaying reasons. =)

Anyway, I agree on Egypt. We could take Alexandria while we are on it (there's still a CoT there, right?). As for the OE in Europe, as it is now, it aint worth the effort. If the OE starts expanding north into Hungary or even Poland then we should act though, before they become too powerful for us to handle.

As for expanding north, my character would be for it, and so am I. The gold mine in Tyrol could generate a bit of money, and that is never a bad thing. Plus, it would allow my senator to get closer to his family's German ties.
 
HoChiMinh said:
As for expanding north, my character would be for it, and so am I. The gold mine in Tyrol could generate a bit of money, and that is never a bad thing. Plus, it would allow my senator to get closer to his family's German ties.

Tyrol's a double-edged sword. While the gold mine would be nice, it'd increase the already to the agreed limit of inflation, and it's not like we don't make enough money as is. Also, with it being a gold mine and a core province, it'd probably draw a lot of Austrian attention.
 
It seems like OOC day, so here we go.

I think we should try and make the Eastern Med our lake.

Finish taking Italy, probably diplomatically, or force vassalize/DA. I wouldn't mind going after Sicily and Sardinia too, but Aragon will join Spain soon, and with our BB, we'd need a lucky defensive war (one can always hope, right).

I think Alexandria is a must. Plus some of the Christian near east, Smyrna, Lebanon, Aleppo, Adana, if they are still Christian. We've set ourselves up as protectors of Christians vs. the Turks, so it would make sense to follow that thread.

Also, if Austria forms properly, I would try to ally with them to protect our north. We could use them to get OE out of Balkans, let them take low value provinces while we grab Smyrna, etc.

Finally, colonizing towards India, and around Africa makes sense to me.

Cheers,

AG
 
It is a most explendid meeting of the Consiglio!

Let's keep exploring and discussing the possibilities before we vote on the question. A semi-agreement of several senators previous to the election could give them the victory.

Meanwhile we must continue our history, but please don't forget about our general orientation discussion.
 
dogalshield.png
Dear Senators of the most Serene City,

I am slowly getting used to the Government of such a big empire, very different from running my little commercial enterprise, please forgive my mistakes while I learn.

In 1504 suddenly wars erupted around us affecting most of our neighbors. We made a deliberate attempt to remain neutral to lick our wounds from our past wars. As I feared, Switzerland was attacked by one of their neighbors, actually more. Austria, joined by her allies Savoy, Denmark, Scotland, Meissen and Brandenburg declared war to poor, pacific, unarmed Switzerland and the armies of Savoy, and Austria, the first to arrive, assaulted her beautiful cities of Bern and Zürich, killing the citizens in mass. Since Austria got the capital, Savoy was rewarded with Bern, and the war was over in a few months, Switzerland reduced now to a single province country. The Ottoman empire and Transoxiana meanwhile declared war to Moldavia, but they won't accomplish much for as long as Moldavia's only other province is isolated inside Poland.

England, that awful country that so viciously attacked us without provocation, turned then against Scotland, who was supported again by Savoy, Denmark, Austria, Meissen and Brandenburg. This would be a much longer war, where to our surprise the English fought Savoy in Emilia with quite success. They must like the weather or the wines. But in the end the perfid Albion had to surrender her Irish province to Denmark, so Emilia is safe from her dirty hands.

Back home a group of "old" families requested privileges in the assignation of administrative posts. This was a tough choice to the Signoria, since the stability of the country was at risk, but in the end we followed the guidance of the Senate, that in a past election declared Centralization to be the highest priority of the Republic, so we denied the privileges, suffering greatly and having to divert our precious research funds to calm the agitated nobles with monetary compensations.

1504.jpg

Our military engineers, with the help of Leonardo Da Vinci, who was visiting Venice after leaving Milan due to the fall of Ludovico il Moro, have developed new machines that will allow our infantry to assault enemy fortresses (level 5). A breakthrough that we hesitate to put into practice due to the high cost in lives both to the assaulting forces and to the civilians inside the city. Let's not forget that we Venetians are the most civilized people in the World and must set up higher standards.

Meanwhile more wars, Russia, Theodoros and Georgia declared war to Poland, Hungary, Livonian Order and Bohemia. The Tzar bailed out quickly with some money in his pockets, and leaving poor Theodoros to take the heat and having to surrender Crimea to Bohemia. I must inform that admiral Andrea Loredan did not survive the winter of 1505, but he cannot complain because according to my own records he should have died on the 12 of August of 1499 in the battle of Sapienza against the Turks. Good thing then for him that we did not go to war against the Turks.

You all know that I am a diplomat of note, and finally I have proof of it. I have been able to sign a trade agreement with Portugal despite bad relationships. The question of royal marriage with Hungary is still unresolved after about a zillion tries.

1505.jpg

Our latin archbishop in Constantinople, well funded, has been able to turn those obstinate orthodox in Thrace to the true faith. Regretfully we cannot say the same of the bishop of Thessalonike (Macedonia), that wasted the money miserably and angered everybody to the point of provoking a revolt.

And speaking of revolts, I have good news and bad news for the Gandolfi family. The good news is that Ernesto is returning alive after his destination in Greece. The bad news is that he is to stand trial for incompetence against the enemy. Here is the story:

While Ernesto Gandolfi was in Thessalonike protecting the imprudent bishop, the Balio of Greece received permission to introduce a new tax [New tax random event], both in Constantinople and Athens to prevent a most unfortunate surge in inflation (+3 if denied). The new tax increased the revenue from those provinces but also angered the Greeks who revolted. Young Gandolfi was dispatched to Constantinople where he quickly convinced the Greeks there, now good Catholics, to return home. But when he reached Athens a couple of months later, he found the citizens there, of Orthodox nature, very unreasonable, and combat ensued. Despite having under his command some of the best units in our army, including over 6,000 Stradioti, Ernesto was shamefully put tu run by an angry mob of rock throwers. The Signoria was very understanding, and we let him recover morale for three months before ordering him to retake control of Athens. By then only a few rebels persisted, so it was an easy job, yet Ernesto Gandolfi, after a brief engagement started to run for the hills again. So we will wait for his allegations before exiling him to a particularly nasty island in the coast of Dalmatia for one year, as has been already decided. Nobody can complain of the Venetian Justice (poor of them if they do).

1506.jpg

The trade agreement and other measures have improved commerce and agriculture in Veneto, claiming more land to the lagoon, increasing population, tax value and manpower.

More recently our stability has been deemed acceptable again (+1 as voted), and we have continued investing in research, where soon we will be able to announce more breakthroughs. Most annoyingly, Genoa continues embargoing us, perhaps another "delenda est Genoa" is in order. I leave the matter to the Consiglio, although you should know that there are 30,000 troops in Corsica. Not even the best diplomat in the world could get anything from those Genoese. Oh, and I almost forgot; the Podestà in Ragusa informs that they have improved the agriculture there, and they can now contribute more soldiers to our armies. I can see our legions marching to conquer the world... Rats! I forget I am from the Golden Party. Ok, let's try again. I can see our legions defending our commercial privileges. Hmm, that sounds awfully like the Fourth Crusade.

1507.jpg

Vincenzo Polani just died. Who was him? I am not surprised you don't know him. Neither did I. Let's call him the man who never did anything and was rated below the worst recruit in our navy (2, 2, 1). He won't be missed.

And a final trick or treat. Palatinate has the nerve of insulting my diplomatic abilities saying that I could not even keep good relations even with my own vassals. What an awful thing to say, specially since it is true. So I want you all to consider carefully our response to them. Why do we care? you ask. Well my dear friends and senators, because Palatinate just joined an alliance with the Iberians, those awful and ugly invaders of the sacred Roman land of our ancestors. I propose we immediately attack them and conquer Siena, Messina, Sicily, Sardinia, Malta, The Balearic Islands, Valencia... Rats! I forget again I am a member of the Golden Party. I am going to have problems renewing my membership. Alternatively we could insult them back. That's what a good diplomat would do. I leave it in your hands, since as a Doge, I am not allowed to even go to the bathroom without asking permission. But remeber that soon Carlos will inherit his grandfather's Kingdom of Aragon in addition to his mother's Kingdom of Castile. Fernando cannot live forever, even if he has got himself a new wife recently, Germaine de Foix, niece of Louis XII of France and related also to the King of Navarra. At 60 years of age, old Fernando seems to want more fun.

1508.jpg

Addendum: Now that our orthodox provinces are below 25% of total I plan to maximize tolerance to Catholicism instead of equal to both. It should help our diplomacy a little. Let me know if you oppose this. Given the string of della Rovere, Borgia and Medici popes that have plunged the Church into such a sorry state lately, I would not be very surprised if soon we could find ourselves being able to relatively tolerate Muslim subjects.


Loredano2.gif
Leonardo Loredano, LXXV Dux Venetiarum. Dec. 1508.
75.jpg
 
1504-1508 Account:

Year 1504
Nobles demand old rights happened to us. We rejected suffering -2 Stability (vs. -1 Centralization for accepting)
Stability reduced to -1. Investment shifted to stability
Stability rose to 0.

Important international events nearby
Austria, Savoy, Denmark, Scotland, Meissen & Brandenburg DoW Switzerland
OE & Transoxiana DoW Moldavia
England DoW Scotland, Savoy, Denmark, Austria, Meissen & Brandenburg
Switzerland surrendered Bern to Savoy

Our diplomacy
Hungary rejected our royal marriage proposal
Portugal refused a trade agreement

Year 1505
Our Land Tech advanced to level 5
Andrea Loredan, Naval leader (3, 2, 3) died
Inquisition succesful in Thrace
New Tax happened to us. We introduced it for an increase in tax value in Thrace & Hellas accompanied of revolts and a reduction of stability (vs. +3 inflation for not introducing it)
Stability dropped to -1
-Recruited 1,000 cav. and 2,000 inf. for 67D in Macedonia

Important international events nearby
Russia, Theodoros & Georgia DoW Poland, Hungary, Livonian Order & Bohemia

Our diplomacy
Hungary rejected our royal marriage proposal twice
Portugal refused a trade agreement
Portugal accepted a trade agreement

Year 1506
Stability rose to 0
Inquisition failed in Macedonia
New land claiming happened to us (Veneto pop +2000, manpower +1, tax value +1)

Important international events nearby
Theodoros surrendered Crimea to Bohemia

Our diplomacy
Hungary rejected our royal marriage proposal twice

Year 1507
Stability rose to +1, Investment shifted to research
Genoa embargoed us
Agricultural revolution happened to us (manpower in Ragusa +1)
Vincenco Polani, naval leader (2, 2, 1) died.

Important international events nearby

Our diplomacy

Year 1508
Diplomatic insult happened to us (CB against Palatinate for 12 months, relationship -50)

Important international events nearby

Our diplomacy
 
[size=+1]1508 Report (December)[/size]

1508b.jpg

Economy
Stability +1
Stability cost = 769D/level
Treasury = 446D
Inflation 7.3%

Code:
Number of provinces:
1419     6
1443    11
1468    13
1493    20
1503    21
1508    21

Yearly income from provinces:
           Tax       Prod     Manp
1419      29.86      23.48     6.2
1443      80.78      55.47    12.0
1468     111.33      90.87    17.0
1493     180.55     175.82    27.5
1503     167.41     174.94    29.8
1508     180.87     179.08    30.8

Monthly income:
           Tax     Prod     Trade    Gold    Total   mil. maint. (50%)
1419       9.3      2.0       5.9     0.0     17.2       -1.7
1443      17.7      4.6       7.9     0.0     30.3       -3.4
1468      22.8     11.8       4.4     0.0     39.1       -4.1
1493      33.7     16.7      16.0     0.0     66.9       -5.7
1503      32.9     17.3      13.6     0.0     64.3       -6.9
1508      39.9     17.9      16.0     0.0     74.3       -6.8

39 merchants in CoTs (+3). 3.8 merchants/year
cost of placement is 4-7 in Italy, 7-8 in Europe, 17-25 Rest of the world.
Trade efficiency is 63% (first nation). Production efficiency is 47% (fourth nation, first at 50%)

National
Monarch Leonardo Loredano
Military Average (5)
Administrative Average (5)
Diplomacy Good (7)

Code:
Domestic policies:
Year 1500 +     1419 03 08
Aristocracy        4  3  -
Centralization     3  8  -
Innovative         4  5  -
Mercantilism       5  8  -
Offensive          2  4  -
Land               2  1  -
Quality            6  8  -
Serfdom            4  1  -


Technology + % of next level (estimated date, current investment)
Land 5 + 32% (1516, 15%)
Naval 5 + 47% (1519, 10%)
Trade 4 + 97% (1509, 35%)
Infrastructure 3 + 63% (1522, 40%)

Manufactories:
Refinery in Crete (finished in 1456)
Weapons manufactory in Veneto (by event, 1473)
Refinery in Morea (finished in 1478)
Refinery in Napoli (finished in 1495)

New Feature: Provinces of wrong religion: Orthodox (Ragusa, Kosovo, Macedonia, Hellas & Kerch).

Military

Leaders:
Nicolo Pitigliano, field marshal (Land 1, 1, 1, 2)
Bartolomeo Alviano, Lt. general (Land 3, 2, 2, 1)

Army 37k infantry, 33k cavalry
maintenance cost at 50% is 5.0 D/month
Army support limit = 77 000 (17 000 from trade)
Cost of army units:
Infantry 17D
Cavalry 33D

Navy 6 warships, 85 galleys, 17 transports
maintenance cost at 50% 1.7 D/month
Navy support limit = 181
Cost of naval units:
warships 42D
Galleys 9D
Transports 13D

Manpower pool = 41 (19,000/year)

International

1) Standing
Allies: Albania
Bad Boy 14.0/40 tarnished
Permanent CB: Genoa
Temporary CB: Palatinate (June 1509)

Countries with permanent CB on Venice:
Albania, Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Papal States, Aragon

1508c.jpg

Dark Green represents countries with > +150 relationship to us. Light Green represents countries with +75 to +150 relationship to us. White countries have -75 to +75 relationship to us. Bright red countries have between -75 and -150 relationship to us, and dark red countries have < -150 relationship to us.

2) Neighbours and near-neighbours by areas (allies). Underlined countries have land/strait border to Venice:

Italy:
Papal States
Aragon (Spain RM MA, Palatinate)
Venice (Albania)
Genoa (The Knights)
Savoy RM MA (Denmark, Scotland, Austria RM MA, Meissen, Brandenburg)
North:
Bavaria (Palatinate)
Switzerland
Danubian:
Hungary (Poland, Livonian Order, Bohemia)
Balkan/Carpatian/Asia minor:
Wallachia
Moldavia
OE (Dulkadir, Mughal Empire)
Mediterranean:
Egypt (Kara Koyunlu, Oman, Yemen)
Black sea:
Theodoros RM MA (Georgia, Russia)
Uzbek (Golden Horde, Sibir, Chagatai Khanate)
Other:
Portugal (Berg, Sweden)
Burgundy (France, Baden)

3) Vassalages:
Wallachia is a vassal of OE
Papal States and Albania are vassals of Venice
Bohemia and Hungary are vassals of Poland
France is a vassal of Burgundy
Aragon is a vassal of Spain.

4) Changes in our area:
Theodoros surrendered Crimea to Bohemia
Switzerland surrendered Bern to Savoy
 
[size=+1]Election 36. 1509-1519 International Situation[/size]

This election is to orient the work of our diplomats and advance our goals. State as many countries as you want that we should befriend or attack according to the following categories.

1. Dear Friends. Countries that we should try to ally (or keep in the alliance), marry and get military access with. Look in the report for CBs and current relationships.

2. Friends. Countries that we want to keep good relationships and marry, but we don't want in our alliance.

3. Adversaries. Countries that we would like to hit if the conditions are right, but are not currently direct targets. Military access is not out of the question since we don't plan to DoW them but could find at war with them.

4. Enemies. Countries that we should get at war with, if the conditions are right. This should include countries that are not strictely enemies, but that we could take a province or vassalize to pursue long term goals.

5. Warmonger clause. Enter (War) if you believe we should declare war under the right circumstances in this period to advance our goals. Enter (Peace) if you believe we should remain at peace during this period, unless attacked. Voting War does not mean we will go to war, it means we will not let a good oportunity of declaring war to a ripe target escape. Such opportunity may not present itself.

NEW QUESTION! that would set a new general policy.

6. Given the sorry state of our diplomacy (mea culpa), say yes or no to the following proposals:
A) Allow the Doge to spend money in gifts to all countries in the first category (DF) to truly make them so.
B) Allow the Doge to occasionally spend money in gifts to selected countries in the second category (F).

Remember that this is an important election, since events are possible that could grant us a CB depending on our choice, or a temporary CB could come along and your choices will let me know what the senate wants. As a general rule I will not DoW without a CB, and I will not DoW countries outside 3) or 4) even if CB, and I will not DoW if 5) Peace. As always, special circumstancies will be brought to the senate for discussion.

Important: If you enter either Genoa or Aragon as Enemies (4) and vote for war (5), since we have a CB against them, it will be interpreted as a vote in favor of declaring war to Genoa, or Palatinate (responsible for the CB and allied to Aragon). If you choose a different country without CB (OE for example) you can also vote in favor of war. Yet as stated above war might not be declared if I believe I cannot win it or our conditions (stability, armies, war exhaustion, lack of funds) clearly indicate that it would be better not to do it.


[size=+1]Election 37. 1509-15299 Domestic Policies changes[/size]

Indicate what the next three sliders movements should be. I will first select the three most popular movements and then I will order them according to their frecuencies. Repetitions within the same ballot will be considered separately. For example a vote:
will not count as two votes for one increase in centralization, but will count as one vote for two increases in centralization and on the third movement an increase for aristocracy. Use (L-) for an increase in Naval for example.

Initials and current values are:
Code:
(A)ristocracy      3
(C)entralization   8
(I)nnovativeness   5
(M)ercantilism     8
(O)ffensive        4
(L)and             1
(Q)uality          8
(S)erfdom          1


[size=+1]Election 38. The fate of Albania[/size]

1) Should Albania be annexed in the short term (next 5-20 years)?

In favor of annexing it: mainly it will free us to join other alliances or free one spot in the list of our allies (maximum 4). We don't have to worry about them anymore and since we have albanian culture we get one more cultured province. We will also get a little bit more manpower.

Against annexing it: it is a very poor province that will cost us money in stability, will delay our research and will have to be eventually converted to Catholicism. We will lose one point in centralization. Also it will worsen our relationship to other countries, although that is not a very big factor right now since we don't have that many relationships that can worsen.
 
Dear Senators and Most Honorable Doge,

I regret that I am only able to give my votes on matters at this time due to a family crisis. It would seem that my twin nephews, who were next in line to take over a family winery and a trading company, have had leave of their senses. One wishes to join our armed forces and see actual fighting, and the other I fear has become infatuated with the daughter of a Turkish trader and wants nothing more than to live in the Ottoman city she resides in, even if it were to be nothing more than a squallid begger.


Election 36:
1. France, Albania, Papal States
2. Spain, Austria, Portugal, Hungary
3. Aragon, OE, Egypt
4. Genoa, OE, Egypt
5. War if not Genoa
6. A. Yes B. Yes

Election 37:
M- L+ C+

Election 38:
No
 
"Fellow venitians, doge, I regret being unable to be with you for this election. I have travelled to Austria to partake in my daughters wedding to a rather high-standning German man. Under normal circumstances, I might not have left you for a simple marriage, after all I have many daughters, but this is important, for I feel this marriage will draw my family closer to our German ancestors and the Hohenzollern family that we are related to. Perhaps in the future, this may be useful for our glorious republic.

As for my views on our currenct political situation, I have taken the liberty of writing them down in this letter. As we all know, we are not liked. This is understandable as our policies have put us in control of Italy and Greece, even though it is arguable if we have the rights to these areas. For this, I feel we should try and better these relations and turn north for allies, in Germany. The Germans are as much a trading people as we are, and friendship with them would do us well. Therefore, I purpose, we keep close relations with Austria, not only because my newly-gained family ties to them, but also for the good of the republic.

The city of Theodoros and the people there are friendly to us, and thus I also think we should keep relations good with them, as well as the Papal States. A good relation with God's chosen is always benifitial, don't you think?

It is often said a good man keeps his friends close and his enemies closer, and with that argument, I feel Hungary and Portugal should be our adversiaries.

As for enemies, the Genoese and Aragonese are always present. For now, war with Genoa would not be preferable, but Aragon holds Sicily; Italian land! Surely, they claim rights for this land, by marriage and noble claims, but the people are Italian, not Spanish. While claiming this island is a goal we should aim for, I feel now is not the time. However, we could do well from a war with Aragon anyway, for they hold Malta, Sardinia and the Balearies. Should we claim these three, and eventually the Genoese-held Corsica, our domination of the Mediterranean would be final and complete. Therefore, I vote for war against Aragon.

Code:
1. Austria
2. Theodoros, Papal States
3. Hungary, Portugal
4. Genoa, Aragon
5. War!

I am for allowing the doge to spend money on gifts to our friends and allies, to secure their friendship. This I feel with further our goals, and the doge is an able and trustworthy man.

Code:
6. a) yes, b) yes

I stand on my view that our future lies on the seas, and we should adapt our policies as such.

Code:
L-,M-,C+

Albania is an interesting case. I do however feel we should absorb it into our republic.

Code:
annex

That is all."

LandoHohenzollern.gif

Best regards, Giovanni Lando.
 
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Respected Doge,

My cousin Ernesto never was much use in anything, a year in Dalmatia might do him well.

Yours,

Eduardo Gandolfi ;)

My votes will follow.
 
aegandolfi said:
Respected Doge,

My cousin Ernesto never was much use in anything, a year in Dalmatia might do him well.

Yours,

Eduardo Gandolfi ;)

Pretty sneaky. I am updating the names right now and you won't get off so easily next time :D


This is the new list of random leaders to be introduced into the game in no particular order. It includes everybody who has posted in the thread in the last two months, Feb, 1 to March, 31. Both forum and character name are included. Let me know by PM if you want any changes.

Code:
Character name        Forum name

Eduardo Gandolfi      Arturo Gandolfi
Giovanni Lando        HoChiMinh
Giancarlo Giustinian  Samuel Clemens
Eduardo Cornaro       Carlec
Pascal Barbarigo      Norrefeldt
      -               King of Minors
      -               Miozozny
Cristoforo Moro       Hastu Neon
Piero Badoer          Usually Insane
Alessandro Delfino    The Genius
Enrico Dandolo            -    (I miss him too much)
Marco Mocenigo        Carmagnola
Giuseppe Falisci      Braedonnal

Remember all kind readers that we are always recruiting for the Senate. Please join in. Old senators are eagerly awaited to come visit us back.
 
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Fellow Senators and Most Respected Doge,

I put forward a proposal that we should make a move on the Egyptian "realm," as it is in turmoil and with precise moves we would stand to gain greatly. Do they not have a Center of Trade that they appear to know not how to use properly? And do they not have provinces with harbors that would allow access to the oceans beyond Africa? And most importantly of all, are they not heathens in need of enlightenment on our God? I believe we should make a move on them if enough Senators vote to make them our enemy. That way, even if we do not take their center of trade, we will at least have saved their souls from their heathen god by the sharpness of our blades.

Your's,
Giancarlo Giustinian



ooc:
Fodoron,
It might be interesting if Aragon, OE, Hungary and Genoa's random leaders were edited and suddenly a relative or even possibly a senator themselves was found leading a foreign army against us. ;) Talk about a juicy scandal!