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Apr 4, 2002
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Earlier scottish campaigns:
http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=216&highlight=scotland
http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=164&highlight=scotland

IGC, Scotland instead of England.
At a first go, I found Scottish armies stood no chance against English armies. Searching for the cause, I discovered IGC generates English land & naval tech at 2 and Scottish at 1. I found this irrealistic. Many mercenaries fought for one or the other. Land tech between England and Scotland was not very much different. Scotland might even have been slightly ahead in naval knowledge - James IV had a warship built larger than anything the English could muster. So I raised both Scottish land & naval tech to 2.
Other settings: hard, agressive.

Websites of interest:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/edinburgh/chap5.htmhttp://odur.let.rug.nl/~houwen/courses.htm#dunbar
http://www.slainte.org.uk/Scotauth/dunbadsw.htm
http://www.englishhistory.net/tudor/scottish.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15758c.htm


Cheryl was not in the classroom, James concluded as he walked in, looking around for her. It made him feel both disappointed and relieved. Going straight to his Command Cabin, he was spotted by the nurse responsible for the medical care of the students studying with Alternate History. She followed him into his cabin. She smiled:
"How long will this lesson take?" she asked.
"Just a few years", he answered. "But I am not sure, when I live through this period faster, or when I fail, I might return earlier."
She nodded. "I can give you a shot for a year, and check every month." She was about a 10.000, still very young, and her short brown curls gave her a pretty look. Her smile nearly made him forget about Cheryls absence.
He nodded. "That sounds OK. Do you know where Cheryl and Bob are?" he managed to ask. By including Bob into his question, he avoided to reveal any special interest in Cheryl.
"Cheryl is already in her cabin", the nurse replied. "I don't know about Bob."
"Cheryl already active!" it flashed through him. Happily his mind slipped away into the Command Computer, knowing he would have a chance to meet Cheryl on that strange world called Earth, somewhere at the end of the 15th century.

He awoke in a strange body. The body structure felt familliar, but the language was new.
"Our dear Highness James IV, may I present to you the latest financial reports of our kingdom?"
He forced the lips of the body he had taken over to formulate a positive response: "Yes, please do".
He quickly found out both from the mind of his host body and from the reports that his host was James IV, King of Scotland. That his host was also called james, was pure coincidence.
Finances looked bleek, but he needed a few months to discover how medieval the financial structure of Scotland really were. And that he was absolutely unable to change anything about it, for the time being. His first measures were aimed at stabilizing the country. James IV always seemed to have loved splendour and fun, so a few royal court balls were held to boost the confidence of the scottish nobility in the government.
Finding Scotland politically isolated, James IV frantically searched for noble scotsmen able to represent the Scottish interests at the French court. Perhaps the English court would have been more logical, and much more closer, but he had learned to distrust the English during one of his previous lessons, when he had taken command of France during the hundred years wars.
Using his knowledge of the French court he gave extensive instructions to the young Floyd macDonald who he sent to Paris. Despite this, Floyd failed to bring Scotland into an alliance which France had started with Poland and some minors.
James recalled him and sent him back, this time with a ore delicate task: cement ties between the French and Scottish Royal houses. This time Floyd succeeded, bringing back Maria Boit, a very pretty young women, daughter to the favourite mistress of the French king, who had her name quickly changed into Mary Boyd. Though not as good as a real royal marriage, it did cement relation between the two courts. And at his 3rd trip, Floyd had the French king sign the alliance pact James had prepared.

Meanwhile, life wasn't easy in the highlands. Luckily, England left Scotland at peace. Time impressed the neeed for reform on James mind. Only 20.000 ducats a year flowed into the royal treasuries. This allowed just a 1000 men a year to be recruited. The increase stability had not led to any noticible increase in the financial influx of the kingdom.
He held no high opinion of general macKenzie, who commanded 10.000 troops in Strathclyde, and ordered him to unite the Scottish armies under his personal command at the capital Edinburgh.

After a year of studying the financial reports, he concluded that the only realistic option to improve the Scottish finances was to acquire new lands. English lands. That should'nt be impossible, giving the precarious state of England. Half of Ireland was in revolt. A reconnaisance by the Scottish fleet along the English North sea coast reveals no English armies of any significance.

Scotland declared war, and called upon France and its other allies. France replied that it had been waiting for just such an opportunity to retake Calais. Two minors dishonoured the alliance.
James host liked sports of all kinds, and enjoyed physical exercises, and longed to be in the field with his army. James decided to have a go at generalship, and give in to the desires of his host. The army marched with 27000 men into the area known as the Marches, and quickly liberate its capital by storming the walls. Great rejoycing throughout Scotland, as every true Scotsmen feels the Marches belong to Scotland, and that English occupation was a blame on Scottish pride. Marching on to Lancashire, James hopes to repeat this quick succes, but fails. Despite the timely arrival of a few thousand weel trained recruits, the storming of the city fails. The English raise a small army in Wales, and launch a premature offensive against the main Scottish army.
After taking a few months of well earned rest, and while James orders the Chief treasurer to take a state loan of the unheard amount of 200.000 ducats to raise 15000 new recruits, Lancashire is stormed again and this time the town falls to the Scottish heroes.
The scottish armies move east to Yorkshire. The treasury runs out of money, confident of the abilities of his king to solve all problems, the chief treasurer takes out another 200.000 ducat loan on his own initiative. The Scottish army fails to take Yorkshire in repeated assaults, as the English confront them with artillery which the Scots cannot match. But Scottish army technology quickly follows the English, and the next year James brings 10 guns. The French allies do not seem to send any men. They do not even seem to assault Calais.
The English slowly raise troops in the Midlands and Wales, and soon Lancashire is under English siege. The guns are slow to built, and it takes till next year before James can order another assault on Yorkshire. This time the guns partly compensate the English fire, and the town is taken. Lancashire is slowly weakening under English guns, but the Scots defeat the English army.

By now the finances of Scotland start looking desparate. But the English king refuses to give up the Marches and Yorkshire. So James marches south to teh Midlands. Defended by 10000 men and over 20 guns, this may be considered a samll fortress to continental armies, it looks very tough to the Scots, who have just minimal fortresses themselves. To complicate things, the English general keeps throwing small armies against the Scots, making assaults on the city walls impossible. It takes two more massive loans before the town is taken.
The english offer the Marches for peace, but James refuses. Scotland is nearly broke, and this one province would be insufficient to repay all the huge loans Scotland was forced to take. Jamwes offers the English King peace in exchange for the Marches + Yorkshire, an offer which is refused. More loans for more artillery, is his short order to the chief treasurer. He gladly obeys, but also points out that the Jewish money lenders made it very clear that this is absolutely the last loan they will provide for the time being.
The remannts of the Scottish armies march on Lincoln, and the Scottish artillery starts pouncing on its walls. Suddenly the English king Henry VII sends an offer of peace, ceding the Marches, Lancashire and Yorkshire. James gladly accepts.
With one stroke of the swan feather the scottish area is nearly doubled from 4 to 7 provinces.

Far from solving the Scottish financial problems, this war has multiplied them. Monthly interest is 10 times the montly income. Sending merchants to Flanders does not solve the problem. After ayear, Scotland goes bankrupt.

The money lenders are heavily disappointed in James integrity. They swear that should they ever lend money again to him, their interest rates will be accordingly.
With the disappearance of the large debt, James allows his host some pleasures under partial self control. This also allows him to spend his energy in another direction: he has already spent several years in this ge and not discovered a single signal of one of his classmates, let alone from Sheryl. But for the time being, his attempts are in vain.

Disappointed, he returns his attention to state affairs. On the continent war between France & the minors on one side and the English drags on. The Helvetians and Brittans have taken Calais. To the south, on English soil, the Papal States take Lincoln. After a few months they receive it from Henry's hands in exchange for peace.

James can only wait, build up the army, and invest some money in the appointment of tax collectors.
 
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Very interesting.
I guess if you are going to play like Scotland you have to take out England early.
 
hi Lord E,

I found only 2 earlier campaigns of Scotland. The first showed an long list of Scottish-English border wars. In the other, Scotland acted like a kind of vassal state, keeping relations up by an endless series of royal marriages.
My plans are slightly more expansionistic than those 2.
 
CitizenPaul

Nice to see a new effort from you. I think Scotland should be an interesting choice. I'm not convinced though that the difference between land 1 and 2 should have been all that decisive -- I think cavalry and terrain probably played much larger roles.

It seems like a decent start, though it's too bad about the bankruptcy. Did you intend to pay back the loans when you took them, or were you counting on a bankruptcy clearing them? Did you consider raising war taxes during the conflict? I never do, myself, but I think they may be cost effective if you have a small, one-religion country.

I'll be watching for the next update...
 
Hi Morlac!

>>>I'm not convinced though that the difference between land 1 and 2 should have been all that decisive -- I think cavalry and terrain probably played much larger roles.

But the morale rose from disciplined to strong, which did make a difference.

>>>Did you intend to pay back the loans when you took them, or were you counting on a bankruptcy clearing them?

No, not after the first one. Even 2 loans are too much for Scotland to pay back. Also, I wa spretty surprised when the game gave me a second one without asking.

>>>Did you consider raising war taxes during the conflict?

No, I ust admitI never thought of it. Usually the stabilization cost is too high. But it might indeed be worth it for Scotland, which climbs a stability level within a year. I will keep it in mind.

>>>I'll be watching for the next update...
I already played it, and I am now re-writing the story. This time I want to weave a reasonable story around it.
(not that i will ever surpass the heights that you reached with your spain aar)
 
It is always bad when the game takes up loans without asking you, but I think you can handle it!:D
I am looking forward to the rest of the story.
 
Scotland 02

James prepared for his first foreign trip. Trying to discover some classmates, he decided to visit the crowns of Denmark, Sweden and Savoy himself. He enjoyed a warm welcome at the Danish court, where king Hans welcomed him personally in the harbour. His uncle (James IV's mother was a Danish princess) offered him his own castle for the duration of his visit.
At their first private meeting, James switched his mental processes to the Command Computer, sending the thought "Are you perhaps a classmate?" to the Danish king.
The answer came swiftly: "I am Jacob! Who are you?" The Danish king spoke through the mouth, a less tiring process than the communication through the Command Computers.
"hi Jacob! I am James! Did you already talk to any of the others? You are the first I meet".
"No, for me you are the first too! How are you doing?"
James grinned. "As you will have heard, I have crushed England under the Scottish boots. I wonder who plays England. And who commands the French King. I really like those people, after I spent my previous history lesson in command of France. Even though I suffered horribly at the hands of Dick's English armies.”
A faint smile appeared around the lips of Hans.
"He really out-cheated you. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had chosen France now. I saw him disappearing into his Command Cabin as one of the first this class. France was really imperialistic under Louis XIV, and he likes fighting."
"I don't like the idea of working with Dick. A really snob, and always letting someone else do the dirty work"
"I can imagine he outsmarts you. You rush right in, and start working without giving a thought to what others might do for you. Me, I prefer co-operation. I ask myself the question: what is my aim? Then: what alternatives are there to reach it? Who can help me? What do others around me want? Can I profit by helping them?"
James nodded. He didn't really like such calculating playing styles. "I myself like to choose a-historical approaches, like crushing England with the Scots or reaching the best land technology of all Europe."
Jacob nodded. "Well, if there could be some profit anywhere for me, let me know. I'll be happy to help you."
"I'll do. What about a royal marriage?"
"Sounds good. Scotland and Denmark have many things in common: fishing, family ties, and you name it. No common enemies for the foreseeable future, though.
A few weeks later he left for Sweden, his head still feeling aching from the wine he had drunk at the wedding.

Sten Sture Sjoblad was an amicable man, and received him with all the pompous glamour appropriate for a royal visit. At the first opportunity, James probed him with the question if he was a classmate.
"Yeah, sure, I am Bill, and who are you?" Bill too used the mouth of his host.
James introduced himself. It turned out that he was the first other classmate that Bill met, and James took the opportunity to inform his about Jacob in Denmark.

A few weeks and a wedding later he left for Savoy. That visit was a big disappointment. The Savoyan king, Charles II, received him with full formal honours, but was no or pretended not to be a classmate. James' suggestion for a royal marriage was bluntly rejected.

Back home, James ordered the raising of 5000 infantry in Lancashire.
In the far east a war breaks out between Poland, Mameluks, Hafsids, Moldovia and Algiers versus Turkey and its loyal vassal Wallachia. The war of France, Brittany, Helvetia and Savoy against England continues.

1502: James sends several scouting vessels south through the channel. France has over a 100.000 men along the coast. England has 50.000 men under arms, and defeats a French invasion of 15.000 men in Kent. James has the army in Lancashire extended with another 3000 infantry.

1503: France expands its armies along the coast and raises its total number of troops to 250.000 men. The English swell their army to 55.000 men in Cornwall. This force is much larger than what Scotland can handle, so against his better judgement James decides that Scotland remains at peace.
That does allow him to promote a bailiff to tax collector in Edinburgh.

1504-1508: Tired of waiting, James declares war on England. The Papals declare war again and march on the Midlands. With the joined armies of Scotland and the Papal States besieging Midlands, somehow Scottish troops are unable to storm the walls, so James orders the Scottish army to march for Wales. Here the walls are stormed in vain repeatedly, until in august 1508 just 255 defenders are left.
Scotland uses its first bank loan to pay for the losses incurred during this siege. These reinforcements help take the city. Moving on to Bristol, the Scots are victorious in a great battle between two equal armies of about 30.000 men each. Bristol is taken by normal siege after over a year, but it forces James to take a 2nd bank loan. On to Wessex!, which falls in March 1507. Meanwhile, the Papal States take Midlands, only to loose it back to England after a year. They go on to loose control over Lincoln to England. France concludes a separate peace with England, leaving England in possession of Calais. They never made any attempt to invade England with a serious force.
James sends an envoy to London and invites King Henry for a personal meeting. The English king politely refuses the invitation. This spoils James plan to make personal contact and find out if it's Dick, but on the other hand he would rather crush England than let it exist.
Unexpectedly, Henry sends an envoy offering Wales and Bristol. The offer is tempting. James had started the war in order to gain 3 provinces again, but 35000 English soldiers siege Yorkshire. Scotland is down to 25.000. Both are pretty rich provinces, and England is recruiting troops faster than Scotland can keep up with. With France at peace, Scotland faces the might of England virtually alone. While James puts pressure on the English diplomat to speak with king Henry in person, an envoy of the papal States comes in to report they regrettably have to withdraw their support from this war: the pope signed a peace treaty with England handing Lincoln back to England. James accepts the English offer.
He also discovers that his country is still formally at war with Venice as a left-over opponent from the 2nd English war, but an envoy quickly convinces the Doge of the commercial advantages of peace.

Satisfied, James decides it’s time for a break. Leaving the government to the talented King James IV under his own guidance, he returns his consciousness to his own mind.

His Command cabin looks familiar. Alerted by a flashing lamp outside his cabin door, the nurse enters and checks his rhythm and condition. His muscles, weakened by a years of inactivity, despite the cell-bath preserving and feeding his body, hurt as vitamin and other shots re-activate them.
“Learned a lot?” she asks Her routine tone tells him she does not really expect an answer.
“Uhuh” he groans, trying to rise.
“Now, just a few minutes patience”
Grudgingly he obeys and a few hours later he is on his way home.
 
I like the story!
I think your way of telling it is splendid and very funny, and you play very good, since you manage to take out England.
 
thx, lord E, for the compliments.

In the game play, I am 2 'issues' ahead.

Scotland now is somewhat at a crossroads:
It earns about 80 ducats-year.
With its high inflation, it can:
a) recruit 3000 infantry, or
b) recruit 1000 cavalry, or
c) build 10 cannon, or
d) send our 2 traders, or
e) send out 2 colonist every 3 years, or
f) save money for 12 years and build a refinery or fine arts academy.
It will take about 40-50 years to get to the next infrastructure level, level 5. The same applies to trade level 5.

I am really at a loss about what course to pursue.
All advice welcome!
 
I think you shud start to send colonist's. That way you can get more provinces and eventually more money.
But war is alsow a good sudjection since it makes your contry bigger and richer very fast, if the war goves well.

Sow I think I woud have done both this things, send out colonist some years, and build up your army an other year;)
 
advice

I think England is an enemy you have to wait a century to fight. When you started you should just keep an eye on the world scene and pile into the backside of a war against some loser to steal a province or two. Being Scotland, that means ships and transport. Do not get into an English war until you have enough money to take three provinces in order to get two. If you can steal a high or two medium income provinces from Poland or someone or annex a small country, just wait. Then go big on production and keep a large army in the occupied provinces. When you have enough money then invade Ireland. Play defence in Scotland. Take all of Ireland and keep an eye to stealing provinces from losers. Build two big armies that can assault for quick province captured against England. If you get Lancaster and Midlands then England is done. Your next wars would be to expand the provinces you stole earlier.

I think you need to start over. Fighting England too early is a mistake.
 
flip,

technically you might be right - i dont doubt it, you seem to be a better player than I am.

but....
I have already played Scotland into the end of the 1500, and stil live.
Scots are as stubborn as the southern neighbours.

btw, I dont understand your preference for Ireland. Those provinces seem to be rather poor.
 
“James, after being away for several years, you could at least try to show some interest in the other family members!” his mother remarked angry.
“Easy, mom”, his father interfered. “For years he has been living another life – why don’t you tell us about it, son?”
“I was James IV, king of Scotland at the turn of the 15th/16th century. Strange period. Scotland was in chaos, even for those times. Two parts: highlands and lowlands. The previous kings had virtually no control over the highlands, every chief just feigned subjugation as long as the Kings army was around, and stopped paying taxes when the king had gone. And England was the great evil neighbour, despite numerous royal marriages. I made it the Scottish top priority to shake of those bonds. On the terra as we have redefined history, Scotland is now a par with England.”
“Spain and France were the two top powers, I think?”
“They fought a pretty big war. But I have grown pretty proud of Scotland – together with France they defeated England, and Scotland has grown from 4 to 9 provinces. England declined from 16 to 11. They may have some North American colonies I don’t know about.”
James liked the way his father had turned around his mothers reproach.
“Do you think you will get a better grade this time than last time?” his mother interrupted, ”your last performance was abysmal.”
He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, an unhygienic habit of him when he felt irritated.
“Mom, we have gone through that before” his father reminded her. “No need to go through it again, I think.”
He cast his father a thankful glance, but his mother was hard to stop:
“Still, Scotland does not sound likes a great choice to improve your grades.”
James looked around but there were no armed guards around to get her out of the dinner room. He summoned all his energy to ignore her tell more. He was still trying to get used to normal life again. There had been no series of coaches outside school, but the monorail arrived quickly enough. It had been hard to behave as a commoner. The face of his mother, who could in no way compete with the pretty young serving girls in Edinburgh, brought him back to reality.
“It’s pretty lonely as king, but I already discovered Jacob and Bill. Jacob rules Denmark, Bill rules Sweden. I paid them a visit.”
“No pretty girls around?” his mother inquired.
“I may try to give some a call tonight – no idea who is back already.”
“Why don’t you give Betsy a call? At the church choir her mother said something about her.“
James rubbed his nose again.
“That you and her mother get along well, doesn’t mean Betty is interested in me or I in her.”
“She is a nice enough girl, I think.”
“Are the machines still kept in tip top shape?” his father changed subject.
“Oh yes, I suppose they do. I think I saw a brownie leaving the Command Cabin hall as I left school. And certainly everything functioned well. I know there are discussions about the moral and educational aspects of alternate history, but every student has a first hand experience on living in those times.”
“I know my opinions are outdated,” his father said, “But there are too many uncertainties. Is it real history we are manipulating? Or are the timelines always different from our timeline? How can we be certain? Is it another timeline? Are the people there real? Or just imaginary? Do we have the moral right to manipulate and control the minds of other people? Even in another timeline? Or are all events just the figments of the calculations of the network of Command Computers? We no longer have the technicians and scientists who fully understand them, and what we have left in the way of ancient documents is confusing at least.”
After dinner, James hurried upstairs to his room.
A few phone calls convinced him that most of his classmates were still at school, living in the 16th century. He knew he would have to take a few years rest, to exercise his body. State regulations were very clear on this topic. One of his few fellow pupils was Betsy. She wasn’t too bad, James decided, but when inquired she didn’t day a word on who or where she was in the 16th century. James, on the other hand, talked freely on his Scottish adventures.

It was 1516 when he returned. His body was that of a very young child, just 4 years old. From the nurses appointed to raise him, he quickly got a summary of what had happened:

1507 The Scottish navy developed Early guns.
1508: A mini war between Teutonic order and Pskov brought out a large-scale war between England / Venice / Teutonic’s / Prussia and Pskov / Russia / Crimea / Denmark.
As a consequence, Denmark invades England’s Wessex. Still, James IV had not deemed time ripe to declare war again.
1509: The original aggressor Teutonic order succeeds to annex Pskov.
Teutonics take Ingermanland away from Russia.
The Scottish army formulates a doctrine on close infantry support by the artillery.
Scotland repays its first loan.
1510: France declares war on Lorraine, Scotland follows its ally.
This creates a war between France / Savoy / Scotland / Papal States / Helvetia vs. Austria / Lorraine / Bavaria / Wurtemberg / Milan.
Scotland suppresses a revolt in Wales.
A revolt in Bristol is suppressed.
Scotland repays the second loan.
1511: Scotland recruits troops.
France annexes Lorraine.
Austria takes revenge by annexing Helvetia.
Bristol revolts.
1512: France annexes Wurtemberg.
1513: James IV killed in an accident. James V will rule, 1 year old.
France annexes Milan.
Austria signs peace with France, ceding Helvetia.
1514. Reformation.
1516: Scotland reinforces its infrastructure.
Venice declares war on Ragusa. Teutonic, Prussia and England join Venice.

On hearing the news of England’s DoW, the Scottish cabinet meets. The young James V insists on being present.
James knows that as a 4 year old kid, it wont be easy to be taken seriously. So instead of stating things, he keeps asking questions – a right that many ministers find hard to refuse to a king.
“How many soldiers do we have?”
“15.000 men, Sire”
“How large is England’s army?”
“Over 50.000 men, Sire. So you will understand that we can’t take our auld enemy on.”
“And how many of those soldiers are on English soil?”
“Eh, none, your highness”
“And where are they?”
“We suppose they have been shipped off to the Mediterranean, your highness.”
“How long will it take before they get there?”
“Several months, your majesty”
“And how long will it take to recall them?”
“Again several months, Sire.”
“How long do we need to raise extra troops?”
“Several months, your majesty. But they will need extra training after being recruited, Sire.”
“Again, how much time do they need?”
“Several months, Sire.”
“So, could we catch them on the beaches as they return?”
“Perhaps, your majesty.”
“You say Perhaps. Then, how can we make sure?”
Continuing like this, despite his youth, when hearing that all England’s armies leave for the Mediterranean, he insists that Scotland declares war on England. The other allies, France & Papal States, honour the alliance. When being brought to bed, he overhears two cabinet members:
“That boy is just like his father, impossible to resist. Simply doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Yeah, I wonder what will become of him when he has grown up.”

This time James can not accompany the army in person. 15.000 foot, 2500 horse and 30 guns march to London and start to besiege it. 10.000 foot to Lincoln. A loan raises another 9.000 men, which start to besiege Midlands. England, with no troops, cannot offer any resistance.

Then, for some mysterious reason, France declares war on Spain. Scotland is loyal to its French ally, which brings it into war with Spain, Hanseatic League and Prussia. Now this wouldn’t have been a problem, if these countries had concentrated on France. But HL invades Bristol.

The next year, 1517, the Welsh revolt. Midlands falls in Scottish hands, followed by Anglia. The English maps open up a new world, literally. Henry offers Midlands. Though some cabinet members support peace, the boy king James refuses.
Lincoln falls too, and while 11000 Spanish troops land in and besiege Yorkshire, Henry sends a very tempting peace offer including both Midlands and Lincoln. Again James refuses, even against the majority of his ministers.

1518. England raises 10.000 troops in Wessex, and joins the 10.000 HL troops besieging Bristol. London falls first, and 25.000 Scottish troops defeat the HL/English alliance. The English retreat to Wessex, where MacLeod defeats them again. He starts to besiege them, which goes slow, but an attempt to storm them fails.
27.000 English troops land in Cornwall, march on Wessex and defeat the Scots while they are still demoralized after the failed attempt to take Wessex. A defeated MacLeod retreats on London with just half his guns.
The English march on Bristol, while MacLeod backs on Wessex. The Scottish government is slowly getting desperate.
Then Henry offers Midlands, Lincoln and Kent. Though Kent is isolated, James accepts the peace offer. For the first time in history, Scotland has more provinces than England.
HL is still besieging Bristol, while 9000 Spanish camp before the gates of Newcastle. MacLeod marches on Bristol, but gets defeated by 5000 HL cavalry.

1519. The New Year brings new money, but barely enough for 1000 cav.
France asks us to join a war against Austria. For the first time, Scotland declines. This will mark the end of the Scottish – French alliance.

1520. HL and Spain carry out several attacks on Bristol, HL sieges Lincoln.

1521. Successive assaults by HL on macLeods army in Bristol erode Scottish army totally.
Spain demands 2 gp for peace. James agrees, with the unanimous support of his cabinet. Within months, Spain signs peace with France, receiving Champagne.

The next few years are dull by comparison. James, as a boy, can not influence the Scottish government too much. Scotland saves money, but revolts require new troops, so the army rather diminishes than increases.

In Dec 1524, Spain declares war on England. After doing nothing for a few years, the Spanish conquer Calais. But Scotland is still in heavily in debt. Having no money to spend, James urges the Scottish government to concentrate on improving foreign relations. Royal marriages with Denmark & Sweden are renewed. France keeps refusing, but Spain accepts a royal marriage. James concludes that France is really pissed of by the Scottish disloyalty. He invites the French king for a visit, but again this invitation is refused.

Meare becomes independent as Eire, but is retaken later by England.

With the years passing by, James V develops from a boy to early manhood. James finds the personality of James V unstable and at times hard to handle.

As in a previous period, James wonders where all the girls of his classroom are. Do they take queens as there hosts? Or do they get kings assigned as well? He wonders where the pretty girls, Cheryl, and Debby, are. Would they amuse themslves?

He sends out diplomats to some Spain and France to improve relations, but none of the relations becomes really friendly.

By 1531, the Scottish infrastructure and trade level are improved to “early baroque”. With Scotland having grown much larger than before, Scotland is divided into 3 major areas: Highlands (2 provinces), Midlands(everything south of the highlands, and North of Anglia), and South Scotland (Kent, Bristol). Some of the Scottish and English provinces adhere to a heresy introduced by a German called Luther. To James surprise, this new religion finds a lot of support in the Scottish cabinet. He strongly urges loyalty to the pope, and points out the risks a change of government brings to Scottish foreign relations. Scotland is still isolated – they did not succeed in creating a new alliance after they forsook their alliance with France. Some ministers insist, and reluctantly James summons the archbishop James Beaton of St. Andrews to present his views on the subject to the cabinet. An grave error. The archbishop turns up, but is visibly drunk, even at 5 o clock in the afternoon. When reproached, he explains he had been attending the wedding of his 9th mistress. He is, however, confident that the protestant movement will soon perish:
“We are just now burning one of their leaders, my Lords, one guy called Patrick Hamilton, as an example to all the rest. ”He has been burning since twelve o’clock.”
“For 5 hours?!” James exclaims, horrified.
“Well, you see Sire, there are these squalls of rain, Sire, and..”
The rest of his words are drowned by an outburst of disapproval from the nobles present. It sets the mood for the meeting of parliament.
The next year, in 1532, Scotland becomes protestant. When the news is announced, stability in Scotland drops to an all time low. No one knows the implications. Only Prussia has turned protestant before, but Sweden follows the same year. All royal marriages are considered broken.
Despite the internal chaos, or perhaps because of, in 1533 the first Scottish traders leave for the new world, and try to found a new colony in a province called Seminole.
The attempt fails, and so do several colonization attempts in Chesapeake. Scotland watches how Spain declares war on England, takes Calais and Wessex, and receives Calais in the final peace treaty.
The first successful settlement is, how appropriate, in Nova Scotia. Soon after, trade posts in Connecticut and Chesapeake are established and yield a, admittedly very small, profit from trade with the injuns. While the government invest money in knowledge of the art of trading, colonists keep going, mostly to die of disease, hunger and an occasional attack of natives. At home, revolts in Midlands, Lincoln, and Wales need attention.
By 1540, James decides to embark on a political offensive. Royal marriages with the newly turned protestant nations of Brandenburg, Saxony and Denmark slightly relieve the political isolation of Scotland.

One evening, in the royal castle in Edinburgh, James admires the new, silver crown. The happy inhabitants of the capitol had donated the silver on occasion of his 21th anniversary. The best craftsmen of Europe had hoped for the order to produce the new crown. Together with the silver-gilt sceptre and the Sword of State, donated by the popes Alexander VI and Julius II, they now constituted the Honours of Scotland. Truly beautiful to behold, they could endure the test of time for centuries. Nothing in the British Isles could match these Regalia.
It would be tempting to take them back home to his own time, as an invaluable souvenir . He remembered that one of the first students using Command Computers had managed, through great control and discipline of mind, to bring back material objects. An exception, but of disastrous consequences, as something terrible seemed to have happened to the timelines, and the computers had been physically changed to prevent it. A pity no-one in his own time any longer fully understood the principles.
After 30 years, it was time to go home, he decided. His wife, the widowed Mary, had just given birth to a daughter Mary. James could do a few years without him, thought James felt some doubts about the nerves of James V: a depressed man, and not himself in times of crises. Nevertheless he gave the mental command, and his mind flew back, traversing centuries as a single thought, and slowly he awakened.

While his body was revived, the Command Computer showed the scores of the students. James was shocked.
The first time he had returned, Scotland had been in 2nd place, after Spain. Now Scotland had dropped to the 4th position, after Spain, Turkey and Austria. Searching deeper into the scores, he noticed that most of the Scottish points were earned by battles or by peace treaties. His economy yielded only 5 points, versus a hundred or more for most other nations. Spain, the richest country, had accumulated several hundreds in this area. Well, he thought, Scotland is a poor country, little to do about that.
Likewise, he had scored just 26 for diplomacy, while all others scored 80 or more. Well, that was one area he had neglected too much.
Disappointed, he went home, ignoring the tech in his traditional brown uniform and the new pretty blond nurse saying goodbye to him. His mother wouldn’t be glad.
 
Maybe about time James meet some of the girls:D
It is just a tough!
 
E, u are right!
 
Cheryl combed her long blond hair, which fell down to her belt, with great care. The tangles in her hair were pulled out mercilessly. She needed to look well, last Saturday evening had cost way too much, but it had been fun. But sure her honey dad would make it up, though he had been raising more objections every time.
She applied the rouge carefully, she knew she always tended to put on a trifle too much. And not just her dad mattered, that guy Martin had been cute. Really funny, now she thought of it His habit of saying "of course, darling" had grown a bit irritating, but his tone had also made her laugh.
She hurried downstairs, where the rest of the family was watching telli. Some reported was commenting on the social conflict over the salaries of the pilot salaries. Port officials threatened to close the space ports for safety if the dispute hadn't been settled in 3 days.
"Hi honey dad," she greeted as soon as she had her fathers attention. "I need some extra pocket money for that Saturday evening party. And I really had to buy that new fancy shine through Madame Margot top, daddy. All the girls in my class have it."
"I am sorry for you dear, but you will have to do with the pocket money you have - in case you didn't catch it, my promotion was turned down, so don't count on me."
"But daddy," she started to protest
"Sorry dear, if you need money, try find a job" He raised from his chair and walked to the kitchen.
"I'm not some dumb brownie!" She cried, throwing her arms up, while tears sprang into her eyes. "I am from a managers family!"
Her dad turned around, his eyebrows frowned:
"Try looking for an evening secretary job" he suggested. "Good secretaries are scarce. And in the evening it doesn't interfere with school life."
"But dad!" she protested. Her father cut her short, looking straight into her eyes:
"The answer, my dear, is: no!".

The servant bowed deep, as was customary in 1542. It felt good to be in old England again. Not a Queen, as had been her previous host, but a princess. She recognized the man as her fathers minister of war.
"Scotland has sunk into deep anarchy, Your Royal Highness. Their southern provinces have embraced the teachings of the Frenchman Calvin. Other provinces are normal protestant, or remain stubborn Roman catholic. We expect the country to erupt into civil war any moment. I suggest we use the opportunity to retake some of the lands that are rightfully ours."
The minister bowed deep for her father, the legendary king Henry VIII.
"Can our army do the job?" her father inquired.
"Oh, certainly, sire. It numbers 50.000 men in Anglia alone, against the Scots just 14000. And our army is more modern than theirs. Our fleet is 5 times as large as their fleet. We have over 30 men of war, they just 5."
The man seemed overconfident to her youthful eyes.
"And they are about to slaughter each other in a civil war?"
"Oh sure, sire. Some of them will welcome us!"
"Then, " her father replied, "we will wait until they do slaughter each other. Much easier if they do our job for us. Should we declare war now, they would unite against us. Once civil war starts, we will be welcomed as rescuers."

But as the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, the Scots did not turn on each other. The divided nobles seemed to talk and meet endlessly, but the sharpness of the disputes slowly seemed to soften. Two years later, Henry realized he had let the best moment slip by.

England embraced Protestantism, and plummeted into a chaos comparable with that of Scotland. But both slowly recovered. Henry ordered bishop Cranmar to write a book of common prayer, which should serve as a focus of worship and unity among the protestants. Elizabeth thought the prose was beautiful, when her father read some for her.

In the other side of the North Sea, the people in the seven provinces of the Netherlands declared themselves independent from Spain. Her father sent a diplomat offering the Earl of Leicester, experienced general, with 20000 men. as help against the Spanish. Elizabeth was now 13, an age to be married, and traveled with the diplomat to Holland. They arrived in Amsterdam, at the same day a Scottish ship also sailed into harbor. The Dutch were funny people. They had no King, but an assembly called Staten Generaal and the nearest equivalent to a King was called Stadtholder. They decided to head for the latter, a man called William. The man did not live in the capital, but in a smaller town called Delft.
When he received them, he listened attentively but remained silent. When they finished their speech and proposed an alliance, he declared they had to speak with the secretary of State, who was the secretary of the Staten Generaal, who decided on foreign policy. Later they learned that William was nicknamed 'the Silent'.

On their way back to Amsterdam they learned the were too late: The Staten Generaal had signed an alliance with Scotland.

Back home, Elizabeth resumed her education. Abroad, Europe turned into flames as the two major nations, France and Spain, got into war. After two years of incessant warfare, and over a hundred thousand deaths, Spain was forced to the peace negotiation table, and gave up control of Artois to France.

Scotland and England were merely watchers at this slugfest of the giants. They both improved their economy, and political end ecclesiastical reforms improved the internal stability of the two neighbors. The first trade posts arose on the shores of New Found Land discovered in the west.

1546 also brought deep sorrow to Elizabeth as her father died. Her half brother, Edward the VI, reigned for a few years. He eyed her with suspicion, and she did not succeed to influence his reign. But she did get his permission to pay a diplomatic visit to Scotland after a Scottish diplomat arrived in London to present his credentials. She used the opportunity to reconnoiter the land, and thought her visit to the Scottish court interesting, but not fun. Compared with London, the Scottish court really felt like a poor, primitive backyard of Europe. They probably were, they decided, despite their victories over England, just a lot of barbarians. The Scottish queen, Mary, received her. On her side was a man called James, obviously her consort, and not her official husband, who intrigued Cheryl. After a few days she managed to gain access to him, and while enjoying a cup of tea they got acquainted. By Command Computer communication the man introduced himself as James, a classmate. She did not answer him, feigning to be a computer generated human, and secretly felt amused by the fool who gave away such important information to a clear rival. She proud herself on remaining undetected, though she could hardly suppress a smile. Relations between Scotland and England remained hostile when she returned, and her half-sister Mary reigned for a few years, until Elizabeth rose to the throne herself in 1558.

Cheryl simply loved the crowning ceremony. The regalia were soooooo beautiful. And all the pompous and splendor!

But keeping the throne was less easy than gaining it. Many Catholics, mainly in Ireland, which constituted the largest part of England, doubted Elizabeth's claims to the throne, as her fathers marriage with her mother Anne Boleyn had been illegitimate according to the Roman Catholic Church. Abroad, France declared war on the tiny Netherlands, which also meant war for England's northern neighbor.

What she had experienced in her youth was now repeated. Her entire cabinet seemed out to force her into war. But she refused and kept arguing for peace. England had lost her richest provinces to Scotland, and in Elizabeth's opinion England had to expand in the newly discovered America's and East Indies first, before it could turn its attention on Scotland again. At the palace, she threw some wild parties, which at least brought some of the nobility back in line with her. She also amused herself greatly at these parties, either turning up in near indecent dresses, or flirting with some of the dukes but always avoiding intimate relations. Another party became great when the Spanish queen pays a visit. It turns out to be her school friend Daphne, who could afford herself anything at the incredibly rich Spanish court.

The wisdom of Elizabeth's foreign policy became apparent when Denmark and Sweden declared war on France. Scotland invaded France, and France had to acknowledge defeat. The recently conquered Artois became Dutch, while Caux and Normandy went to Scotland.

By 1565, Elizabeth feels she has everything in England under control. She fingers the gold crown, virtually unchanged since Edward the confessor. Someday she would have it recast, she decided.
"It's such a pity I can't take it home", she thought. "It's ridiculous. Here I am so rich, and at home my debtors must be hunting me by now. Well, it can't, but it's a pity all the same."
She didn't long to return home, but she had spent twenty years in this era. Well, at least 20 years of pocket money would have saved enough to pay part of her debts.

She regained consciousness in the Command Cabin at school. The food juice flowed around her body, feeding her through her skin. The controlling computer noticed the return of her consciousness and withdraw the needles from her arm through which other needed vitamins had been fed. She looked forward to the hour of stretches she would need to dress and to regain her strength.
Behind her, where utter silence should have reigned, footsteps sounded on the cold, marble floor.
 
This is starting to be scary:D

What will happend next;) I can't wait:D
 
Scotland1572.gif

The above image shows Scotland (and the rest of Europe) by 1572.
 
That is one BIG Scotland:D
 
Before she could discover who was in her command cabin, the door of the cabin closed. Whoever it was, had left.
She looked forward to the stretches she would need to regain her strength. After twenty years in the bath, fed by the feeding juices flowing around her skin, and the needles injecting vitamins in her veins and stomach, her body would need at least an hour to recuperate.

While she climbed out of the bath, and started to dress, someone tapped at the door. Irritated, she ignored it.
"No!" she shouted, but the sound leaving her throat did not sound convincing. She walked to the tap, drank, and felt better.
She wondered who could have the indecency to tap at the door of her personal cabin. And who would need her so desperate as to wait for her? Was it the one whose footsteps she had heard? She worked through her exercises, and the tap was repeated several times. With irritation growing, she ignored it every time. Whoever it was, he or she would have to wait. Finally she dressed, still feeling weak, and opened the door.
A short man in a blue suit and a blue-gray striped tie saluted her.
"Miss Cheryl Blond?"
"Yes" she snapped. She didn't like his looks.
"May I present you these bills? If you do not pay them within 24 hours, we will have to present them to court, and also charge you with the additional costs of the court and lawyers. I am very sorry, miss, but our customers have already exercised patience over twenty years, due to the unexplainable leniency our government has decided upon towards students taking history holidays."
She turned to a man in a brown suit, obviously a tech, who was working further down the hall.
When the man came, she ask:
"Did you see me coming from my Cabin?"
"Yes, I did, miss Cheryl"
"Please be my witness." She turned towards the blued dressed man: "I am still feeling weak after having been unconsciousness for twenty years. If you press this court business so soon, within a day, my fathers lawyer will charge you personally, I repeat personally, with taking advantage of weakened people by prolonged unconsciousness."
She accepted the bills, showed a proud smile, satisfied with her own performance, and walked home.

Tears sprang into her eyes as she studied the bills at home. OK, she had saved pocket money over the past twenty years. But interest over her credit card had far outrun her savings. Instead of solving her financial problems, time had multiplied them.
Desperate, she went again to her dad. But again to no avail. Instead of helping, he scolded her for spending way too much money. But he did ask the family lawyer, who wrote a letter asking for a month delay because of her apparent weakness.

But life was still fun. She visited the disco where she ran into Betsy, a girl she already had outsmarted twice when it came to getting the attention of the boys in her class. Betsy had just returned from simulated history lesson, but refused to tell which country she played, except that it was a pretty small and weak country.
"If you tell me which, perhaps I can help you" Cheryl offered.
"Oh, I'll probably do all right by just remaining unnoticed."
"But you are not alone, I hope?"
"Oh no, my country does have an ally, even if it isn't a great nation." Betsy seemed to look at Cheryl's dress, which was outdated, as Cheryl has used all her savings to relive some of her debts. Not that it was enough, and Betsy's look made her uncomfortably aware of her debts.
"And which country do you play?"
"Small, you said, uh? One of those German minors, I bet" Cheryl guessed. Her eye caught Jake entering the disco, and she quickly turned around. Finally some fun!

The week after she lunched in the schools cafeteria, chewing the bread she had brought with her. Another useless measure to save money, she thought sourly. The price of a month of school lunches couldn't pay her debts.
She looked up when a man in a brown suit sat down at her table, without even asking.
"Excuse, me miss, but you seem to have troubles."
She recognized the tech which she had asked to be her witness.
"What makes you think that?" she asked. Her managerial training had ingrained her to ask questions, and not to make statements. And being a tech, he should have asked allowance to sit with her.
"You look worried, miss uh?"
"Cheryl" she helped him.
"Miss Cheryl., you look worried. And I can guess it's not about a boy friend, but about money."
"You spoke to the short man who had been waiting for me?"
"No, but I can guess his trade. Blue-gray striped tie. He was presenting bills. You have debts. Serious ones."
"If that is right, it is none of your concern!" she snapped.
"Perhaps it ain't, perhaps it does." He replied. "But if it does, perhaps someone could help you."
"Let's for a moment, suppose I would have debts. How could some poor tech help a me, I wonder" she replied. She found it hard to keep the venom and disgust she felt out of her tone and voice. She could see she had not succeeded, the man pulled his shoulders slightly together. She didn't care she had hurt him, he was a tech, and had come uninvited. She looked him over. He had blond hairs, gray eyes, and a hard look. His cheeks hadn't been shaven lately, but that could have been on purpose. His skin was white, but with a light, slightly artificial, tan. His figure wasn't very sport like, but not obese either.
The man looked around. There was no one within hearing distance.
"What sum would, in such a purely imaginary case, be required to solve all problems?"
"Quite a sum"
"Let's not kid, miss." He said. "I have money, money you seem to need. I am willing to lend it. To you. And not out of charity."
"What would be the price?"
"A small service."
"What service?"
"An, uh, transport."
She frowned her eyebrows.
"Something illegal?"
"There seems to be no law against transporting something you own from one, uh, spot to another. At the second, uh, spot, you give it to me."
"I don't understand. If it belongs to me now, why would I give it to you?"
"Perhaps to pay your debts?"
She wondered what was so valuable among her possessions that it could pay for her debts. She could not conceive of anything.
"Does it have anything to do with espionage?"
The man smiled:
"No."
"Then, what makes it worth for you?"
"You will know after you signed, not before."
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"Being a tech, I can't, but you can." He smiled a confident smile. "Don't wreck your brains. You would need tech knowledge to figure it out. Very specialist tech knowledge."
It seemed to her he was about to say: "Knowledge only I have", but he didn't.
She tried to read his face, but his body language gave away little. Just that he was very self-confident. She couldn't read any deceit, except a short moment when his fingers touched his ear. Perhaps he was skillful in hiding it. Managers were taught to hide and exploit their body language, techs were not. But some acquired the skill to some degree.
"OK, I'll do it." She decided. "But just if it's not illegal."
"We will have a nice formal agreement. But don't tell your parents - what I will ask is against all rules, though not against the law."
She froze:
"Is it dishonorable?"
"It is not indecent in a sexual way."
"OK. Show me that paper."
He presented the paper. She read it. It declared she borrowed the money, and the interest was high - even 5% above her credit card. The amount had not yet been filled in. It did not specify any other way of resolving the debt than payment. Nothing about a service or transport.
"Don't sign it yet" he said. "I don't have the money with me - I don't know how large your debts are. What is the amount?"
She mentioned it.
"No problem, I can have that amount by tomorrow. Same place, same time?"
Hesitatingly, she nodded.

The next day they met again. Cheryl hadn't slept well. She had not dared to consult her father. Somewhere deep down she knew there was something fishy in the whole deal. But she needed the money, and, she reasoned, she could always get out by just paying the money.
In that case, she would have just gained time. The found a place near the 2.5 yards high wall that separated the catering of the school from the kitchen area. The neighboring tables were empty, so they could discuss without the risk of being overheard.
"Did you bring the money?" she asked.
"Yes. Here it is" He showed a bundle of bank notes.
He presented her yesterdays contract. She looked it over and signed. He handed her the banknotes, which she counted.
"The amount is right," she declared. "And now, what is the service you require of me? What do you want me to transport?"
"The crown of England."