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As you clear out the Iberians from central and southern america, the north will become the focus. Your colonist push north and east to block the western drive of the iberians in north america and spread up the west coast to stop them crrating any enclave in that area of the world.
 
So, somehow the game decides that I should only get the Colonialism CB on Spain AFTER I've secured a different kind of CB? Well, Colonialism should be the better one to use for now, but why does it become available now instead of earlier?

Because Paradox are evil!

Some quite interesting news from Iberia in August. Cadiz has defected to Norway.

Norway's other provinces are capital Orkney, Shetland and the Faroe Islands. I get the feeling that those rebels had a sense of humor.

Nothing humorous about it. Norway's provinces of Orkney and the Shetlands, being Scottish, are sun drenched lands and as Cadiz is as well, it makes perfect sense. *cough*

Worrying stuff with regards to your recent defeats, the mighty Incan Empire shall stop these reverses and emerge victorious over the Spanish soon though I am sure!
 
You probably got Colonialism due to the government shift; early governments often aren't eligible for "midgame" CBs like Colonialism, just like midgame governments aren't eligible for Imperialism or Revolution/Counter-Revolution. It's just a lot more noticeable with Imperialism because you usually start wanting Imperialism before you can actually have it, whereas Colonialism usually isn't something a Feudal nation would be looking to have anyway.
 
Awesome stuff. Finally caught up.
Started reading when you started writing so many months ago but moving house and a country change followed by earthquakes and radiation has left me unable to spend much free time online in a long time. Now things have settled down at home I can now read about your game earthquakes and country change.

Go the Inca's!!!
 
As you clear out the Iberians from central and southern america, the north will become the focus. Your colonist push north and east to block the western drive of the iberians in north america and spread up the west coast to stop them crrating any enclave in that area of the world.

Yes. Thankfully there's been no activity on the Pacific coast yet, but I'll make sure to keep an eye on it. Preventing their western drive is indeed the priority.

Eliminating the last vestiges of Iberian power in Central and South America is an important goal. Closing those theaters would make wars easier and free plenty of troops to be used elsewhere. The way I see it, European expansion becomes an option when there's only North America left to take care of.

Because Paradox are evil!

Ah, that explains it! Need further proof? Take a look at Sweden in this game. Clearly overpowered! :p

Nothing humorous about it. Norway's provinces of Orkney and the Shetlands, being Scottish, are sun drenched lands and as Cadiz is as well, it makes perfect sense. *cough*

I suppose I have to trust your local knowledge. :D

Worrying stuff with regards to your recent defeats, the mighty Incan Empire shall stop these reverses and emerge victorious over the Spanish soon though I am sure!

Spain does their part in that equation as well...

You probably got Colonialism due to the government shift; early governments often aren't eligible for "midgame" CBs like Colonialism, just like midgame governments aren't eligible for Imperialism or Revolution/Counter-Revolution. It's just a lot more noticeable with Imperialism because you usually start wanting Imperialism before you can actually have it, whereas Colonialism usually isn't something a Feudal nation would be looking to have anyway.

Nah, Colonialism has been available all the time - I've had it on Portugal ever since I first bordered them.

Welcome to the thread! :)

Great job! The Inca empire has certainly come a long way to be daunted by minor setbacks like those battles... And with your navy faring so well the Spaniards don't stand much chance from now on.

Cheers! It's true that their ability to apply pressure now that they have an opening is severely limited by the fact that the Incas control the seas. :)

Awesome stuff. Finally caught up.
Started reading when you started writing so many months ago but moving house and a country change followed by earthquakes and radiation has left me unable to spend much free time online in a long time. Now things have settled down at home I can now read about your game earthquakes and country change.

Go the Inca's!!!

Oh dear. :eek: Good to hear that everything is under control now though. Heh, earthquakes have to sound a bit TOO familiar now... ;)

Thanks for the compliment, and nice of you to pop in and let me know that you're reading! :)

Just wanted to post and say that if you ever want someone to have your babies, well... I'm here.

Epic comment! :D Glad that you're enjoying the read, even if your suggestion seems a bit unlikely - a classic case of "never say never", right? :rofl:
 
Chapter Fifty-five
1656-1657

My troops might be in bad shape, but at least I'm not an idiot. The Spanish AI sends the bulk of its forces away and leaves 13 badly damaged regiments hanging around my border. I gather what fresh troops I can, assign my best general and head in in March.

58_01.jpg


Yaruro, the province around the Lake Maracaibo, is the first Spanish province to fall days later. We also send a small force to seize Kanza once again.

Late in the month, the sieges of Tunebo and Orinoco (two more South American provinces) are won. I also take the "promote bailiff to sheriff" province decision in my CoTs - the +125 % direct tax thing that's been mentioned before. They'll take five years to finish.

My colony in Quivira starts producing cotton, doubling my producer bonus when April starts.

58_02.jpg


On the same day, Tukano cores and we discover Naval tech level 32.

Also, a major battle in Bodewadmi is won.

58_03.jpg


The enemy actually has 33 regiments there, but they're once again in very bad shape. Some of my troops are the healthiest of the ones defeated earlier; I had timed them to arrive when April started, giving them an additional month so most of their morale could be replenished.

Everything I can see is now under control, so I start pushing into the TI again. I don't feel comfortable enough to just siege when the provinces are surrounded by TI, and besides, there are still some undiscovered provinces that I might want to take.

Maracaibo and Tolipan fall during the month, while we win a few more minor battles.

In May, Spain signs a humiliating peace with Granada.

58_04.jpg


Granada has connected their country, while Spain is looking weaker and weaker at home.

Mehinaco on the South American coast grows into a city in June, while Pacaraima, Paragua and Pech are the next sieges to finish. Combined with Tolipan's fall earlier, Pech gives us full control of Spanish Central America.

We explore two more provinces in July. In Hadai, we eliminate a regiment, while in Niuachi, the big army we saw earlier is defeated again. Waimiri is the only siege to finish this month.

Another naval battle is won in August.

58_05.jpg


The interesting thing about this? My main fleet has been hanging around Chesapeake Bay for months, making sure that a decent sized Spanish fleet couldn't leave port, and these suicide transports just ran right into it. Spain seems to have a thing for sending unescorted transports to this one sea province - I've destroyed around two thirds of their transport fleet, and all but one have been sunk in Chesapeake Bay!

An event allows me to add one base tax in Uxmal for 50 ducats.

Late in the month, a small Spanish army retakes Kanza, but we already have troops on the way. All that they got for their troubles is two more eliminated regiments.

Kamemtxa falls in September, and we win some more minor battles and explore further.

In worse news, a pretender rebellion in Jicarilla causes problems. It's just two regiments, but we don't have forces very close (I had no choice but to send almost all of my standard Central American guard armies north when things started going wrong there) and it's a chokepoint province - we can't send colonists north before we crush the rebels!

We win the siege of Guanipa in October, while our explorers seize the colony of Chippewaa.

58_06.jpg


Men are sent to assault Bodewadmi, something that succeeds in November. I expect to mostly assault in these parts: as the sieges in the south are almost done, I don't want to prolong the war by sieging in the north as I haven't started it yet. Almost concurrently, Wayuu falls.

In December, we explore further in several directions and beat up the big army again. A small Spanish force retakes Chippewaa, and Incas are sent to successfully intercept. Kanza starts producing tobacco, which gives me a nice modifier.

58_07.jpg


Sadly, I have to let their main army off the hook - my regiments have suffered from attrition and battles, and it would be too risky to follow them to TI anymore. At least the enemy force shouldn't be in any shape to cause trouble any time soon (3300 men in 34 regiments).

We assault the northern provinces of Anishnaabe and Niuashi in December and January 1657 respectively, and also in the new year, Waraoni falls in South America. With these, Bucaramanga is the only target province (and one of only two Spanish South American provinces) yet to fall. An assault force is sent there.

It is successful in February, allowing us to sign peace.

58_08.jpg


The Spanish wouldn't give me all Colonialism enabled provinces, so I make sure that the three that I leave out are ones that don't enable it for more provinces. Maxing the provinces that the CB covers like that means that the rest of the South American provinces should be available for one infamy each.

58_09.jpg


I'm also happy to add that connection where my armies can march between the northwestern and northeastern parts of the continent without having to march far south to get around the Spanish lands.

Central America is freed of Spanish influence...

58_10.jpg


...while we take two provinces to go with the three seized colonies in North America.

58_11.jpg


I have to be honest here - I didn't play the start of this war well at all. While the casualties favored me like I had assumed, I underestimated the Spanish ability to win battles despite that. As a result, I simply didn't bring enough troops north and had to scramble to compensate, which left Central America thinly defended and vulnerable to rebellion. This was partially a numbers thing, as I simply can't afford to be as strong everywhere as I'd like to, but I'd estimate that shipping ~20 regiments (which certainly would have made a difference) from South America to the northern front could have been done if I'd worked harder to prepare for this war. Maybe I grew complacent because of some of the easy victories over Europeans, and didn't expect the Spanish army performance to be as good as it was.

Being ill-prepared like that could have made this war a much more lengthy and costly matter than it ever should have been, but fortunately I was saved by one of the poorest AI performances I've ever seen in this game. It's difficult to say why Spain acted like it did, but after those early victories they were simply suicidal, and not just their transport fleets... The Spanish did the exact opposite of what they should have done: they actually systematically sent armies of too small size to their deaths against my at one point only decent army while leaving my shaken stacks and undefended provinces almost completely alone. It's almost like it was them pushing into TI and not me.


* * *

And now, upon popular request, some looks at our Empire and the world.

First, maps. I assume that the Americas and Iberia have been amply covered, so let's start with the British Isles.

58_12.jpg


If you ignore actual England, this makes much more sense then previously: Scotland, Ireland and Wales all look pretty nice. Of course there's still Geneve with English provinces sprinkled in to make sure the Isles remain a mess...

Argyll survives as a northern OPM, while Northumberland has popped up in Cumberland. Also visible are the Norwegian islands - their only possessions outside Iberia. :D

Next up, Central Europe.

58_13.jpg


The French part doesn't look that different - Nice is slowly consolidating, while Normandy has lost a lot of ground, only remaining as a two province minor.

Northern Italy is more colorful than it used to be as the decline of Tuscany, Milan and HRE Savoy has led to a lot of new minors.

I suppose that the German region has been consolidated somewhat, thought it tends to go back and forth. Switzerland hasn't been bulldozing people anymore, but has managed to hold tight despite their at one point sky-high infamy and the resulting punitive wars.

Denmark has been reduced into an OPM by Sweden, which is also causing trouble in Lithuania. Kiev has been almost completely taken over by Astrakhan (the blue just visible on the far right). Hungary's problems have been well-documented.

As far as religion goes, the changes have been mostly province conversions. Generally speaking, the national religions have stayed the same as in 1595, but these days very few wrong religion provinces remain.

Let's check out eastern Mediterranean.

58_14.jpg


Naples has somehow broken apart, with Two Sicilies emerging. I suppose one of their provinces is one Sicily and the other makes it two. Naples still holds tight in northern Greece however.

Speaking of Greece, the once strong Spanish presence there and on the Anatolian coast (a maximum of eight provinces I believe) is completely gone. Combined with the fall of Hungary, this has made the Balkans the mess that we all know and love.

The Mamluks continue to do well - they had some problems a while ago but seem to have recovered to the point where they're almost as strong as they used to be. The Ottomans are a regional power for sure, but they've never really worked to be on a bigger stage in this game.

Next, east of the Caspian Sea.

58_15.jpg


Shaybanid had the Great Khan events but didn't seem to do much. The Khan in question didn't live too long, so that might have played a part.

The Muzaffarids, earlier a power in southern and western Persia, have pretty much taken control of the whole land. The actual Persians only have a couple of provinces, as does the remnants of the Timurid Empire.

Chagatai has lost land to someone, based on the fact that the size of their name on the map is quite ordinary now instead of the frickin' humongous that it used to be. I can't see there however.

Oh, and we once again have a tiny Astrakhan sighting. They sure like to lurk just outside any areas of interest, don't they?

Let's see how India is doing...

58_16.jpg


Bahmani has been contested in the south, both thanks to rebellion and the ambitions of Brunei and the Ottomans. However, they've more than compensated by expansion in the north.

Okay, I suppose we have covered most of the places that have had major changes and that I can see. So to wrap it up, a few looks at the Inca Empire itself. Economy and technologies:

58_17.jpg


We have some work to do in Production and Trade techs. Thankfully, Government and Land are already ahead of time, so we should be able to invest in the lagging techs a bit soon enough.

We also have plenty to invest obviously as the economy has grown considerably.

And finally, the policies:

58_18.jpg


The positions are starting to be in order mostly. The quality/quantity slider is the only one that's on the wrong side of center, and we have a lot of things maxed. Getting expansion to +4 for even more colonists is the obvious next move, but other than that there aren't really that pressing needs.

So this is where we stand with just over 300 years gone and under 200 to go.
 
You are one the meanest imperialists, full aristocracy? Mercantilism strong, offensive, theocracy, expansionist, offensive, far-from-free-subjects...
Europeans might soon start crusading against you! :D
 
How many 'Producer' bonuses do you have atm?

When I look at the MEIOU maps of the world, at the first glance it looks very messy but if you look more carefully you will see that it is actually quite consolidated.
IMHO it is because of the shape of the provinces...
 
The Spanish had you cornered, they were on the verge of success...and they send the bulk of their army away :eek:
This AI simply doesn't deserve a province in the Americas. Please make it so.

All in all not a bad war for you, though your own analysis is correct in that you had grown complacent :)
 
The Spanish let you off the hook, though I suspect they had rebel problems. Andalusia is such a huge part of what they can do that to lose it and fail to regain it is a real dampener on their activities. They weren't able to reinforce suggestingthey don't have much in the way of manpower reserves. That again is the lack of strength at home. Another round of wars with Spain and Portugal and you can look to expand once you have taken those provinces.
 
I've never played EU3, so can someone tell me which country (or countries) is (or are) piddling around in the Caucasus?
 
It doesn't seem like the European powers will be much of a challenge for the Inca until Spain get rid off General Pablo Incompetentio.

Excellent update, liked seeing the status of the Inca Empire as well as one of the most messed up Europe's I've ever seen.

And congratulations on the AARland Choice AwAARd!
 
MAny congratulations indeed for your AwAARd !


I've never played EU3, so can someone tell me which country (or countries) is (or are) piddling around in the Caucasus?

Georgia and Shirvanshah... with a possibility of also having Georgian minors (Imeretia, Kartli and Kakheti).
 
Scotland, Ireland and Wales all look pretty nice.

Nonsense, Scotland never looks nice!

Glad to see you did indeed emerge victorious over Spain, even if aided considerably by a horrendous AI performance. The world is looking pleasingly mixed up. I look forward to the time when it is all painted the Incan...bronzed red? Uhm...whatever colour Inca is!
 
Nonsense, Scotland never looks nice!

Glad to see you did indeed emerge victorious over Spain, even if aided considerably by a horrendous AI performance. The world is looking pleasingly mixed up. I look forward to the time when it is all painted the Incan...bronzed red? Uhm...whatever colour Inca is!

Oh, stop blaming your country everywhere, it is already a cliché:D. I repeat it again - Inca is Ugly Purple.
Btw, thx for voting for my AAR in the ACAs:).

And of course, congratulation to you, Malurous:). Soon it will be half year that I started following this.