Spain: A colonisation AAR

It is now July 1501 and the war progresses badly for us. Colonna and a large part of the Spanish army remain in North Africa while French armies besiege Franche-Comté under Foix. There army numbers almost 80,000 and assaults a second time losing barely 1000 men in the capture of Besancon. This general Foix appears to be an effective commander. Perhaps even better than our own Cordoba?

But the war will continue and we will fight it on our terms. More cannon are built in Hainault and we win a victory over a Savoy fleet in the mediterranean alonging free passage now for our troops.

Of course, while all this goes on, we continue our efforts in the lands of the Americas with Ojeda discovering the province of Tampico. The natives there are quickly killed before he heads south to discover rich lands.

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August now arrives and cannon are cast in Rousillon. Those from Artois now arrive to support the siege in Picardie to the north although Cordoba's siege in Béarn appears to have little effect.

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In September the first good news of the war arrives as the Spanish gain control of the province of Picardie. They head on to Caux. But Manwe is still confident as Foix arrives with almost 70,000 men to besiege Artois. Between Helvetia and Savoy, all of Lorraine is now under siege and assaults are made on Artois, Alsace and Lorraine before the end of the month. Having lost one ally already in this war I would be less than pleased to lose a second. At this moment we still have over 20,000 men in Sicily and North Africa.

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October 1501

A little promotion is in order. Lord Marquis?! More like an insult if you ask me. Make that Emperor of the World and perhaps I'll forgive Ferdinand that minor oversight of his. Still, he is human and is, like all of them, subject to many of their typical weaknesses which I shall not go into here just yet as it will break up the historical thread.

Cannon are now raised in Luxembourg as the assaults on Artois and Alsace fail. In Artois, the defenders are reduced to less than half their original number although Foix loses around 9000 men in the attack. With some luck, this could buy us a little time.

Champagne is now besieged by the Picardie siege force and over 12000 men arrive in port in Catalonia and immediately march for Roussillon. Cannon built in Gerona head for the siege of Béarn.

One other point of note for the month was Ojeda's "discovery" of the Aztec lands and province of Zacatecas. Messages are sent to the king and queen of the vast wealth of this nation and of untold quantity of gold. It takes very little work on my part to place certain ideas in the minds of the humans who actually believe that they control this nation

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November 1501

Well this was boring but I can report that we sent a colonist to Tampico province to the north of Zacatecas.

Lorraine, it seems, was captured by Savoy forces which makes life a little more difficult for me.

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Dec 1501

There is a second assault on Artois and I fear that Foix may be victorious this time. With overwhelming forces this will take a heroic display of those still remaining in the city.

A second attempt also fails in Alsace so Lorraine is still not defeated.

Ojeda discovers Delaware - it appears now that I may have confused the two conquistadors I have and that it was, in fact, Balboa who discovered the Aztec lands. The natives in Delaware are removed. Columbus maps out the region known as Tampa Bay while Pinzon discovers Todos Santos Bay.

As the year draws to a close, it is time to act and Cordoba begins an assault in Bearn.

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1502

January

What good news does the new year bring to us. Well first of all we get a large inflow of tax monies which we use to promote tax collectors in all coastal provinces from Gibraltar to Catalonia.

Within a few days, the Champagne siege force moves to Lorraine to help our allies while Cordoba succeeds in capturing the province of Bearn.

If news could not be better, we hear of stout defense in the province of Artois where a mere 400 men managed to hold of the 40,000 army under Foix who are suffering severely from malnutrition. Manwe is certainly appearing a little twitchy these days. Shame that he can be so incompetent.

Balboa continues to explore Aztec lands and uncovers the provinces of Tuxpan. I suspect, over the course of the next few years we will discover that the Aztecs own no fewer than four provinces.

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February 1502

Did I say that Manwe was incompetent? Let me take that back. He is an imbecile! He may be immortal but an immortal imbecile is nothing to be proud of. The siege of Artois is lifted with less than 400 defenders while Foix moves to besiege Picardie.

Alsace now falls and Lorraine is completely controlled by the French alliance. We order an immediate assault on Lorraine and it is recaptured. As I may have said before, to lose one ally might be regarded as unfortunate but to lose two must be considered as very careless. For now we are spared this embarrassment and the victorious army now moves to relieve Alsace.

Talking of allies, I am of the opinion that our little alliance has been shown wanting during this past year. Some dramatic steps had to be taken and the situation was improved with the admittance of Austria and Poland into the fold.

Cordoba arrives in Languedoc and begins an immediate assault after the success in Bearn.

In the west, Balboa discovers the gold province of Saltillo and clears it of natives. To the north, Ojeda discovers that the English have already claimed the province of Manhattan. Rather hasty of them, I think. Still, leave them be for the time being as there are many other things to do for now.

The month ends on a bit of a sour note was the Great One reminds me that I have failed in his mission to Conquer Lyonnais. My protestations are all to no avail but it is a bitter blow.

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March 1502

There is worse to come as The Great One tells me that I have failed to keep Franche-Comté. Not one but two missions failed!! Oh the shame!!

It shall not draw me from my path. Cordoba captures the fortress in Languedoc and moves now to Lyonnais. I shall at least have my province if a little late. He assaults Lyon before the end of the month.

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April 1502

Certainly a mixed month. The King and Queen decide to demote my human to a Count. I sometimes wonder why I speak with them at all if they insist on continuing with such silliness. Well I must agree that I have a job to do and it would be a little tricky if I didn't speak to them.

The Great One has proclaimed his mission for the next five years. We are to Conquer Zacatecas. My sentiments entirely Mr Great One. And not too difficult either I would hazard a guess.

Well back to the war or, I should say, what was left of it for Cordoba's military genius shows Foix's skills to be fake. In capturing Lyonnais on the first assault, his exploits make the Frenchmen's pale into comparison. Now, where did Manwe get to. What's it going to be? Obviously Lyonnais, on principle, but will it be Bearn, Languedoc or Picardie? Now I know that Manwe wants Calais from the English so I bet that taking Picardie will annoy him no end.

Ah, the face on the defeated immortal. He has no choice and Lyonnais and Picardie are now Spanish. Oh the joy of this game. I can see myself getting quite good at it.

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May-Dec 1502

In May, the King and Queen promoted my human, Toledo, back to Marquis. Don't you think they are showing a certain lack of decisiveness?

For the rest of the year it's all about exploring and colonising. So to summarise:

Discovery of Jalisco, Mazatlan, Catskill, Connecticut and Adirondak
Natives cleared in Jalisco, Catskill, Guadeloupe, Connecticut, Tobago
Colonists sent to Jalisco, Guadeloupe, Connecticut
Colony established in Delaware.

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1503

Basically the year passed much as the last six months of the previous year. But I want spare the details. We started work on increasing the fortifications in Picardie at the start of the year

Discoveries were Empalme, Huron, Altar, Oshawa, San Bernadino, Niagara, Sierra Madre. All of these were cleared and we actually lost one battle in Niagara.
Colonists were sent to Mazatlan, Adirondak, Barbados, Oshawa, and Tobago
Colonies established in Guadeloupe, Connecticut, Tobago and Jalisco

Towards the end of the year, Alvarez de Toledo is promoted to Duke for the fine work that I have been doing for the kingdom of Spain: my very own plaything.

Now our attention must also turn south for we will also need to explore the lower continental mass of the Americas. We begin to ferry troops to clear the province of Maroni in which a port will be built. From there we shall see where we can go.

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1504

The year begins with a certain man by the name of Cosa from Holland. Lets see if he can find a quicker route to the south.

From our tax income we build troops in Artois and in the colonies and promote bailiffs in Aragon, Gerona and Baleares

During the year we discover the provinces of Detroit, Michilimakinak, Monterrey, Erie and Appalache where the natives are cleared. We also clear Maroni of natives. Cosa maps the west coast of Africa.
Colonist were sent during the year to Niagara, Maroni, Monterrey while colonies are established in Barbados and Adirondak.

In August, the garrison in Picardie revolts and are crushed by the end of the month. We begin a siege to recapture the city. It is at this time that troop build up in the caribbean has increased as we move to a war footing in preparation for an attack on the "mighty" Aztec empire. Half of our funds are directed to treasury and Balboa collects over 10,000 in Saltillo in preparation for the attack. My account of the war follows

September

We declare war on Aztecs and a small force is split from Balboa0s main army to capture Michoagan. Balboa leads 10,500 on the capital, Tenochtitlan.

Oct

We capture Michoagan and Zacatecas

November

We capture Tuxpan and Atlixco and the Aztecs are annexed.


I will admit that I did omit a minor detail that, during the war, an army of 30,000 Aztec warriors occupied my colony in Tampico. One hopes that, now that they are fighting for me, they will have learnt a little about strategy.

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1505

We appoint tax collectors in Roussillon, Euskadia, Leon and Asturias as for the rest of the year

Discover: Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Isthmus, Carolina, Tallahassee and probably a few other places that I do not recall.
Colonists were sent to Tehuantepec, Guatemala, Santee and Isthmus while colonies were established in Maroni, Niagara, Nova Scotia but the one to Monterrey fails.

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I could go on but I think, by now, I am starting to bore you all. Personally I care little whether or not you find my style tedious. However, I am aware that you humans have a failing for needing constant entertainment or stimulation and are liable to pay less attention without havnig these trivialities. It is something that I am constantly reminded of when meeting you so I shall endeavour to liven up my opus a little. But do not forget that it is not for your benefit but rather for the story itself. For the story must be told and the story shall be read.