I wanted to try a game as France mainly in order to experiment with strategies aimed at strengthening minor states and using them to carry out my schemes in areas like Germany and Italy. This is one of the aspects of EU that can be frustrating, since the AI often does a poor job of gaining territory from peace treaties even when it is winning a war. In any case, France's position in the Age of Mercantilism scenario is somewhat vulnerable at first, so I will spend the first part of the game recovering Spanish-occupied territory and building up some colonies. However, I will not annex non-French-speaking territory. I am playing on hard difficulty/aggressive AI.
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Prologue: A Lot of Dead Henries
'Old France, weighed down with history, prostrated by wars and revolutions, endlesly vacillating from greatness to decline, but revived, century after century, by the genius of renewal!' Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
The last four decades of the 17th century in France were characterized by bitter violence and tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants. When King Henry III's brother died in 1584, Henry of Bourbon, king of Navarre and the leader of the French Huguenots, became next in line to the French throne. Terrified by the prospect of a heretic as king, the Catholics rallied around the Duke of Guise (whose name also happened to be Henry), leader of the Holy League. To avert a challenge to the dynastic succession, King Henry III had the Duke of Guise assassinated. One year later, the King himself was assassinated, and the Valois dynasty died with him. Henry of Navarre was the last man standing. A Spanish army occupied Paris in support of the Holy League in order to block Henry's coronation. In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism and was finally crowned King Henry IV. And so the Bourbon dynasty came to be.
King Henry IV evicted the Spanish army in 1598 and set to work restoring peace and economic stability to France. He issued the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed freedom of religious conscience to all French subjects. He also granted significant tax and debt relief to the peasants, built up the country's infrastructure and fostered a revival of domestic manufacturing. By 1610, France was again on its feet. Henry IV's reward for his efforts was death at the hands of a Habsburg assassin. But Henry would long be remembered as one of the greatest of French kings.
Part I: Under the Habsburg Shadow (1617-1651)
'To know how to dissimulate is the knowledge of kings.' Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642)
Henry IV is succeeded by his nine year old son Louis XIII, but the queen mother Marie de Médicis effectively runs the realm in his stead. Despite Henry IV's program of renewal, France still bears the scars of religious turmoil. Habsburg Spain occupies five francophone provinces in the West and three in South. Moreover, the annual income of France's archenemy is larger than that of France and England combined. The country is still split along religious lines, with eight Protestant provinces in the southwest of the country.
But the most immediate threat to France lies in its isolation within the European diplomatic system. This system reflects European states' fear of the monolithic Habsburg alliance of Spain, Austria, and Bavaria. Five Protestant German states have joined ranks to resist the counter-reformation. The Papal States, Tuscany, Parma and Venice have banded together to deter Spain from expanding beyond Naples and Milano. Another broad alliance takes in England, the Netherlands, Russia, two German states and Persia. Finally, Turkey joins Sweden and its vassal the Hansa.
Poland finds itself in an even more vulnerable position in Eastern Europe, and Pope Paul V skilfully facilitates a strategic partnership with the French via the alliance of Italian states. Despite the deep sympathy for Catholicism's eastern outpost, the alignment with Poland is not without controversy in Paris. Poland is a natural target for all of Europe's rival alliances, and France is eager for war only with the one state that has no quarrel with the Poles - Spain. But in truth, France has little choice. Relations with Protestant England and Holland are too rocky to contemplate an alliance, and the German principalities are similarly cool toward the overtures of Catholic diplomats. An alliance with the Muslims would be too unpalatable at home, and the French could not afford to antagonize the Pope.
In 1623, Spain decides to strike pre-emptively at the growing naval and commercial power of the Dutch. What would have been an even contest on the high seas and the lowlands turns in to a one-sided rout when the English desert their Dutch allies, lured by Spanish promises of a partition of North America. France intervenes in the lowlands to relieve pressure on the Dutch, while the French army in Languedoc prepares for a Spanish onslaught in the event of an escalation. Poland and the Italian states also honor the alliance, and Austria quickly drops out of the war.
The conflict balloons into a nine-year war that proves to be a disaster for the Catholic Coalition. The French army is large and well-equipped, but it is poorly led. The Spanish army annihilates the Languedoc garrison and works its way north to Paris, destroying two key manufacturing facilities and occupying several provinces. Spanish armies annex Parma and Cologne, and the Italian states drop out of the war. The Dutch are forced to ransom their territory from the Spanish for an indemnity. The Huguenot stronghold in Poitou exploits the chaos and revolts, encouraging similar uprisings in four surrounding territories. And as Paris braces for a siege, King Louis XIII dies in 1629.
The reins of state are taken up by Armand Jean du Plessis, better known as the Cardinal de Richelieu. A relieving army is assembled in Calais and the Spanish take devastating losses when the siege of Paris is broken. This proves to be the turning point in the war. By 1632, the French army regains control of its occupied territory and Spain agrees to a white peace. The war has been a costly disaster, but there is one net gain. The combined efforts of the French and Dutch navies cost Spain over half of its fleet, and the French admiral captures detailed cartographic data on much of the known world.
Cardinal Richelieu initially focuses on the weaknesses that the long war with Spain had exposed. In an effort to centralize political power and avert episodes of widespread unrest, he appoints a network of intendents, or royal plenipotentiaries, in the provinces. At the same time, additional concessions are made to Protestants after the leaders of the rebellion are rounded up and executed for treason. Richelieu also invests heavily in fortifications in order to prevent Spanish armies in a future war from quickly seizing French territory. Finally, France vassalizes Savoy, which opens a corridor into Italy for the French to support their Italian allies.
Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden emerges as a major power in Northern Europe. When Sweden attacks Denmark in 1621, King Zygmunt III Wasa ignores the council of the French ambassador and declares war on the Swedes. Neither the Danes nor the Poles are a match for Sweden's well-disciplined army and both suffer crushing defeats on the battlefield. Poland is forced to cede three provinces, including Galicia and West Prussia. In 1629, Sweden annexes Kurland, and two years later, Denmark surrenders Skane and Ostlandet. King Gustav II Adolf then draws Brandenburg into the alliance with Turkey and the Hansa. This coincides with the conversion of several German states to reformed Protestantism, which disrupts the broad coalition of German states and elevates Sweden as a key power broker in central Europe.
The Papacy continues to promote the interests of independent Catholic states against the Spanish Habsburgs by inviting Portugal into the alliance with the Italian states, France and Poland. In 1639, the Dutch and English declare war on their traditional Portuguese rivals in the Far East. France honors its obligations to the alliance but in truth the French have little incentive to wage war against the enemies of Spain. But by this time, France had claimed territory down to Dutch Manhattan and had blocked English expansion in the Great Lake region. It is not until the Dutch and English refuse an offer of peace and mobilize their forces in North America that Richelieu realizes that the two states are after more than Portuguese colonial possessions. The well-led French forces are more than a match for their opponents in North America, and the French fleet under Admiral Sardis annihilates virtually the entire English navy in a decisive engagement in the Channel. Dutch naval reinforcements arrive too late to save their allies, but they do manage to destroy over half the French fleet. This victory encourages the Dutch to refuse offers of peace until 1651. And so ends another long, costly war that gains France nothing.
Cardinal Richelieu dies in the middle of the war and is replaced by Queen Anne d'Autriche, widow of King Louis XIII and the daughter of King Phillip III of Spain. Queen Anne is deeply distrusted by the French nobility, who fear the undue influence of the Spanish monarchy in French affairs. The Queen deflects some of this concern by ceding most policy decisions to her talented prime minster Jules Mazarin. In practice, however, the French court maintains a passive policy toward the Habsburgs. In 1645, Austria vassalizes Bavaria. Three years later, as a joint Swedish-Prussian army mauls the Danes in Norway, the Austrians and Bavarians pounce on Sweden's German allies Brandenburg and the Hansa. Within two years, the two Swedish satellites are forced to cede Kustrin, Magdeburg and Bremen.
The growing ascendance of Austria and Sweden, not to mention the undiminished power of the Turks, causes France to reassess its policy of passive support for its Polish allies. When Poland becomes embroiled in a war with Turkey in 1650, the French pump massive subsidies into Poland to affect the outcome. Poland succeeds in annexing Odessa from the Crimeans, but the Polish army lacks the necessary stamina to hold off the Turks, who seize more Polish territory south of the Dniepr River. As an interesting side note, Turkey's vassal Algeria lands a force in Italy and forces Tuscany to cede Pisa. Though it is clear that the outcome would have been even less favourable without French subsidies, the war drains significant resources from the French treasury in the 1650s that were urgently needed elsewhere.
When Queen Anne dies in 1651, the son she had christened as Louis Dieudonné ('the Gift of God') becomes King Louis XIV. The young king inherits a France that remains very much in the shadow of the Habsburgs. Austria has the upper hand in Germany, the Spanish Empire is generating fabulous wealth and the Netherlands, Europe's wealthiest nation, remain hostile. At the same time, Cardinal Richelieu's investments in infrastructure, administration and fortifications have greatly improved France's ability to sustain a long conflict with Spain, and perhaps, to go on the offensive.
'Old France, weighed down with history, prostrated by wars and revolutions, endlesly vacillating from greatness to decline, but revived, century after century, by the genius of renewal!' Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
The last four decades of the 17th century in France were characterized by bitter violence and tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants. When King Henry III's brother died in 1584, Henry of Bourbon, king of Navarre and the leader of the French Huguenots, became next in line to the French throne. Terrified by the prospect of a heretic as king, the Catholics rallied around the Duke of Guise (whose name also happened to be Henry), leader of the Holy League. To avert a challenge to the dynastic succession, King Henry III had the Duke of Guise assassinated. One year later, the King himself was assassinated, and the Valois dynasty died with him. Henry of Navarre was the last man standing. A Spanish army occupied Paris in support of the Holy League in order to block Henry's coronation. In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism and was finally crowned King Henry IV. And so the Bourbon dynasty came to be.
King Henry IV evicted the Spanish army in 1598 and set to work restoring peace and economic stability to France. He issued the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed freedom of religious conscience to all French subjects. He also granted significant tax and debt relief to the peasants, built up the country's infrastructure and fostered a revival of domestic manufacturing. By 1610, France was again on its feet. Henry IV's reward for his efforts was death at the hands of a Habsburg assassin. But Henry would long be remembered as one of the greatest of French kings.
Part I: Under the Habsburg Shadow (1617-1651)
'To know how to dissimulate is the knowledge of kings.' Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642)
Henry IV is succeeded by his nine year old son Louis XIII, but the queen mother Marie de Médicis effectively runs the realm in his stead. Despite Henry IV's program of renewal, France still bears the scars of religious turmoil. Habsburg Spain occupies five francophone provinces in the West and three in South. Moreover, the annual income of France's archenemy is larger than that of France and England combined. The country is still split along religious lines, with eight Protestant provinces in the southwest of the country.
But the most immediate threat to France lies in its isolation within the European diplomatic system. This system reflects European states' fear of the monolithic Habsburg alliance of Spain, Austria, and Bavaria. Five Protestant German states have joined ranks to resist the counter-reformation. The Papal States, Tuscany, Parma and Venice have banded together to deter Spain from expanding beyond Naples and Milano. Another broad alliance takes in England, the Netherlands, Russia, two German states and Persia. Finally, Turkey joins Sweden and its vassal the Hansa.
Poland finds itself in an even more vulnerable position in Eastern Europe, and Pope Paul V skilfully facilitates a strategic partnership with the French via the alliance of Italian states. Despite the deep sympathy for Catholicism's eastern outpost, the alignment with Poland is not without controversy in Paris. Poland is a natural target for all of Europe's rival alliances, and France is eager for war only with the one state that has no quarrel with the Poles - Spain. But in truth, France has little choice. Relations with Protestant England and Holland are too rocky to contemplate an alliance, and the German principalities are similarly cool toward the overtures of Catholic diplomats. An alliance with the Muslims would be too unpalatable at home, and the French could not afford to antagonize the Pope.
In 1623, Spain decides to strike pre-emptively at the growing naval and commercial power of the Dutch. What would have been an even contest on the high seas and the lowlands turns in to a one-sided rout when the English desert their Dutch allies, lured by Spanish promises of a partition of North America. France intervenes in the lowlands to relieve pressure on the Dutch, while the French army in Languedoc prepares for a Spanish onslaught in the event of an escalation. Poland and the Italian states also honor the alliance, and Austria quickly drops out of the war.
The conflict balloons into a nine-year war that proves to be a disaster for the Catholic Coalition. The French army is large and well-equipped, but it is poorly led. The Spanish army annihilates the Languedoc garrison and works its way north to Paris, destroying two key manufacturing facilities and occupying several provinces. Spanish armies annex Parma and Cologne, and the Italian states drop out of the war. The Dutch are forced to ransom their territory from the Spanish for an indemnity. The Huguenot stronghold in Poitou exploits the chaos and revolts, encouraging similar uprisings in four surrounding territories. And as Paris braces for a siege, King Louis XIII dies in 1629.
The reins of state are taken up by Armand Jean du Plessis, better known as the Cardinal de Richelieu. A relieving army is assembled in Calais and the Spanish take devastating losses when the siege of Paris is broken. This proves to be the turning point in the war. By 1632, the French army regains control of its occupied territory and Spain agrees to a white peace. The war has been a costly disaster, but there is one net gain. The combined efforts of the French and Dutch navies cost Spain over half of its fleet, and the French admiral captures detailed cartographic data on much of the known world.
Cardinal Richelieu initially focuses on the weaknesses that the long war with Spain had exposed. In an effort to centralize political power and avert episodes of widespread unrest, he appoints a network of intendents, or royal plenipotentiaries, in the provinces. At the same time, additional concessions are made to Protestants after the leaders of the rebellion are rounded up and executed for treason. Richelieu also invests heavily in fortifications in order to prevent Spanish armies in a future war from quickly seizing French territory. Finally, France vassalizes Savoy, which opens a corridor into Italy for the French to support their Italian allies.
Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden emerges as a major power in Northern Europe. When Sweden attacks Denmark in 1621, King Zygmunt III Wasa ignores the council of the French ambassador and declares war on the Swedes. Neither the Danes nor the Poles are a match for Sweden's well-disciplined army and both suffer crushing defeats on the battlefield. Poland is forced to cede three provinces, including Galicia and West Prussia. In 1629, Sweden annexes Kurland, and two years later, Denmark surrenders Skane and Ostlandet. King Gustav II Adolf then draws Brandenburg into the alliance with Turkey and the Hansa. This coincides with the conversion of several German states to reformed Protestantism, which disrupts the broad coalition of German states and elevates Sweden as a key power broker in central Europe.
The Papacy continues to promote the interests of independent Catholic states against the Spanish Habsburgs by inviting Portugal into the alliance with the Italian states, France and Poland. In 1639, the Dutch and English declare war on their traditional Portuguese rivals in the Far East. France honors its obligations to the alliance but in truth the French have little incentive to wage war against the enemies of Spain. But by this time, France had claimed territory down to Dutch Manhattan and had blocked English expansion in the Great Lake region. It is not until the Dutch and English refuse an offer of peace and mobilize their forces in North America that Richelieu realizes that the two states are after more than Portuguese colonial possessions. The well-led French forces are more than a match for their opponents in North America, and the French fleet under Admiral Sardis annihilates virtually the entire English navy in a decisive engagement in the Channel. Dutch naval reinforcements arrive too late to save their allies, but they do manage to destroy over half the French fleet. This victory encourages the Dutch to refuse offers of peace until 1651. And so ends another long, costly war that gains France nothing.
Cardinal Richelieu dies in the middle of the war and is replaced by Queen Anne d'Autriche, widow of King Louis XIII and the daughter of King Phillip III of Spain. Queen Anne is deeply distrusted by the French nobility, who fear the undue influence of the Spanish monarchy in French affairs. The Queen deflects some of this concern by ceding most policy decisions to her talented prime minster Jules Mazarin. In practice, however, the French court maintains a passive policy toward the Habsburgs. In 1645, Austria vassalizes Bavaria. Three years later, as a joint Swedish-Prussian army mauls the Danes in Norway, the Austrians and Bavarians pounce on Sweden's German allies Brandenburg and the Hansa. Within two years, the two Swedish satellites are forced to cede Kustrin, Magdeburg and Bremen.
The growing ascendance of Austria and Sweden, not to mention the undiminished power of the Turks, causes France to reassess its policy of passive support for its Polish allies. When Poland becomes embroiled in a war with Turkey in 1650, the French pump massive subsidies into Poland to affect the outcome. Poland succeeds in annexing Odessa from the Crimeans, but the Polish army lacks the necessary stamina to hold off the Turks, who seize more Polish territory south of the Dniepr River. As an interesting side note, Turkey's vassal Algeria lands a force in Italy and forces Tuscany to cede Pisa. Though it is clear that the outcome would have been even less favourable without French subsidies, the war drains significant resources from the French treasury in the 1650s that were urgently needed elsewhere.
When Queen Anne dies in 1651, the son she had christened as Louis Dieudonné ('the Gift of God') becomes King Louis XIV. The young king inherits a France that remains very much in the shadow of the Habsburgs. Austria has the upper hand in Germany, the Spanish Empire is generating fabulous wealth and the Netherlands, Europe's wealthiest nation, remain hostile. At the same time, Cardinal Richelieu's investments in infrastructure, administration and fortifications have greatly improved France's ability to sustain a long conflict with Spain, and perhaps, to go on the offensive.
well-written, accurate, colourful and full of 'suspense'. I can't wait for the second part!!!
keep on Devin!!
alzate
keep on Devin!!
alzate
Part II: The Sun King
'Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented persons and one ingrate.' Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715)
The awkward transition from the ailing Queen Anne to her thirteen year old son Louis offers an opportunity to those who resent the legacy of Cardinal Richelieu's centralization. The Parisian bourgeois and working class take to the streets to protest heavy taxes, and these protests escalate into a widespread rebellion known as the Fronde. The provincial French nobility also takes up the cause. The situation becomes acute when the Field Marshall of the French army, Prince Louis de Condé of Lorraine, defects to the Frondeurs. The regent Cardinal Mazarin eventually prevails, however, and Lorraine submits to vassalization to the French crown in 1654.
But the man known as 'the Great Condé' is too valuable to be held rotting in a Paris prison. King Louis XIV frees him and assigns him the ambitious task of building an army capable of bringing Spain to its knees while Grand Admiral Duquesne prepares to challenge the Spanish navy in the Atlantic. Within five years, Condé had assembled a superb team of generals and equipped Europe's most advanced army.
The Spanish do not rest on their laurels during the French build-up, however. In fact, Spain assembles a force of some 100,000 men in Flanders, presumably with the intent of invading before France's preparations are complete. In 1660, Louis XIV declares war. The Spanish commander critically underestimates the size and quality of Condé's army. The long train of Spanish artillery and infantry musters forth from Antwerp with a thin screen of cavalry, fully expecting to reach and besiege Calais unopposed. What the Spanish do not expect is that Condé has crossed into Flanders with 50,000 soldiers and 10,000 cavalry. Many military scholars view the ensuing Battle of Ghent as one of the turning points of the 17th century. Condé catches the Spanish army unprepared for an engagement, and within two days, Spain's entire mercenary-heavy army collapses like a house of cards.
Word of the Spanish army's demise spreads fast, and the Dutch enter the war in 1661. They ultimately fail to capture any territory, but the cumulative victories of the French, English and Dutch fleets send 70 Spanish warships to the bottom of the Atlantic. In 1664, Spain surrenders Artois and Franche-Compte to France.
When Sweden again demonstrates its primacy in northeastern Europe by wresting Novgorod from Russia in 1665, Poland jumps on the opportunity and attempts to recover lost territory from the Russians. This misstep triggers a feeding frenzy by Poland's neighbors, and no amount of French support can save the Poles. When the dust settles, Poland has ceded all of the Ukraine to Turkey, Odessa to the Crimea, Danzig to Brandenburg, Posen to Prussia, and another province to Russia. Instead of grabbing additional Polish land, Sweden lands a force in Italy and annexes Florence from Poland's ally Tuscany. Louis XIV is forced to recognize that the alliance with Poland and the Papal States is as useless as it is impractical.
One of Louis XIV's many lasting contributions to the French state is the creation of an extremely effective professional diplomatic corps. In order to enhance France's leverage in any future conflict with Sweden, Spain, Holland or Austria, Louis XIV launches a diplomatic offensive in Germany to build a cohesive bloc of states adjoining French territory. By 1670, the French-led alliance takes in Lorraine, Kurpfalz, Kleve, Baden, Hessen, Württemburg, and Switzerland.
One of the consequences of the disastrous war against France is a revision of diplomatic strategy in Madrid. The Spanish are disappointed with the fairly half-hearted commitment of Austria to the defense of Spain's foothold in the lowlands. It also becomes clear that Spain cannot afford to challenge any combination of England, the Netherlands and France alone on the high seas. The natural strategy is to court Sweden as a potential ally.
But Austria also has its eye on Sweden. Specifically, it has its eye on Sweden's two undefended western Polish territories. In 1675, Austria politically annexes Bavaria after wresting Carpathia from Turkey. Vienna then decides it is high time to confront its rivals in Germany and declares war on Sweden, Brandenburg and the Hansa. Spain refuses to go to war with Sweden and abandons the Habsburg axis, leaving Austria free to join Russia and Denmark in an anti-Swedish military alliance. The war goes well for Austria, which annexes one of the Hansa's Baltic provinces in 1677.
In the 1670's, King Louis focuses on two projects: building up overseas possessions and combating the 26% inflation rate. Cities sprout up in Ivoria in West Africa and Penobscot in North America. The pro-English Iroquois Nation is annexed by General de Rouville's Quebecois Regiment. Another colony is developed in Fukien, China, which soon emerges as an extremely lucrative center of trade for the region. On the inflation front, improvement in administration and infrastructure reduces the inflation rate to a tolerable 15% by the end of the decade.
In 1677 and again in 1682, Spain goes to war to contain the expansion of its Dutch rivals in the Americas but is unable to draw Sweden into an alliance. The Swedes' overseas empire is paper-thin, and they know full well that the Dutch or French could systematically destroy every one of their trading posts in a matter of years. So Spain succeeds in gaining Zeeland, but the Dutch sink ten years of Spanish shipbuilding. The second Spanish-Dutch War gives France grounds to test its German alliance, which proves remarkably effective. France is able to focus on the southern front, while Kurpfalz, Lorraine and Baden occupy all of the lowlands. Curiously, Kurpfalz and Baden pay an indemnity for peace in spite of their victories. But ultimately France is given Rousillon on the Spanish border, and Lorraine receives Flanders. In 1699, Louis XIV completes the political annexation of Lorraine and takes Flanders with it.
The flowering of the High Baroque in art and architecture complements France's emergence as a formidable European power. The baroque style is characterized by a sense of movement, energy, and tension heightened by contrasts of light and shadow. The style mirrors the elegance and intrigue of the Sun King's court. French artists are given generous commissions to experiment in such crucibles of creativity as Versailles, the Palace of Fontainebleau and the Louvre. By the end of the 18th century, France's art academy in Paris is the envy of Europe, and the magnificence of the royal court wins the loyalty of French nobles who might otherwise be leading revolts against the King's increasingly centralized state apparatus.
In first years of the 18th century, Spain degenerates into a civil war when Charles II, the last of the male Spanish Habsburgs, dies without an heir. With over half the country and several colonies in revolt by 1707, Aragon declares its independence and France intervenes in support of the Aragonian claim to the Spanish throne. The Spanish quickly muster a force in Castille that re-annexes Aragon, but French and German armies occupy all of the lowlands as well as several Spanish provinces. In 1710, General Villars captures Madrid itself, and the Spanish are forced to sue for peace. France brokers a peace treaty that gives the Spanish province of Gerona to the Kurpfalz, Zeeland to Hessen and Cologne to Kleves.
The German principalities are impressed with the fact that Louis XIV has honored his promise to share the spoils of war with his allies. Shortly after the war, Kurpfalz, Kleves and Hessen agree to become French vassals. France's commitment to its new protectorates is tested in 1714, when England and Holland declare war on Hessen in order to recover Zeeland. A French army under General Marsin valiantly defends Zeeland from repeated assaults, and the Netherlands eventually sue for peace by paying a 250 ducat indemnity to both Hessen and France. England pursues the war, however, and with France out of the conflict, succeeds in annexing Zeeland.
Louis XIV dies in 1715 after 64 years in power, making him the longest ruling leader in European history. By the end of the Sun King's reign, France has emerged as the leading continental European power at the expense of Spain. France's annual income has more than doubled to 2500 ducats, about 40% of which is generated by France's thriving city and three trading posts in China. This is not to say that France's power is dominant. Spain and Holland are still able to draw on their extensive empires for financial strength. Sweden is poised to expand at the expense of the relatively feeble Russians, and Stockholm consolidates its position in Germany by vassalizing Brandenburg. Moreover, France has no friends among the great European powers. As the 18th century get underway, France's rivals are preparing to respond in a more coordinated fashion to check French ambition.
'Every time I bestow a vacant office I make a hundred discontented persons and one ingrate.' Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715)
The awkward transition from the ailing Queen Anne to her thirteen year old son Louis offers an opportunity to those who resent the legacy of Cardinal Richelieu's centralization. The Parisian bourgeois and working class take to the streets to protest heavy taxes, and these protests escalate into a widespread rebellion known as the Fronde. The provincial French nobility also takes up the cause. The situation becomes acute when the Field Marshall of the French army, Prince Louis de Condé of Lorraine, defects to the Frondeurs. The regent Cardinal Mazarin eventually prevails, however, and Lorraine submits to vassalization to the French crown in 1654.
But the man known as 'the Great Condé' is too valuable to be held rotting in a Paris prison. King Louis XIV frees him and assigns him the ambitious task of building an army capable of bringing Spain to its knees while Grand Admiral Duquesne prepares to challenge the Spanish navy in the Atlantic. Within five years, Condé had assembled a superb team of generals and equipped Europe's most advanced army.
The Spanish do not rest on their laurels during the French build-up, however. In fact, Spain assembles a force of some 100,000 men in Flanders, presumably with the intent of invading before France's preparations are complete. In 1660, Louis XIV declares war. The Spanish commander critically underestimates the size and quality of Condé's army. The long train of Spanish artillery and infantry musters forth from Antwerp with a thin screen of cavalry, fully expecting to reach and besiege Calais unopposed. What the Spanish do not expect is that Condé has crossed into Flanders with 50,000 soldiers and 10,000 cavalry. Many military scholars view the ensuing Battle of Ghent as one of the turning points of the 17th century. Condé catches the Spanish army unprepared for an engagement, and within two days, Spain's entire mercenary-heavy army collapses like a house of cards.
Word of the Spanish army's demise spreads fast, and the Dutch enter the war in 1661. They ultimately fail to capture any territory, but the cumulative victories of the French, English and Dutch fleets send 70 Spanish warships to the bottom of the Atlantic. In 1664, Spain surrenders Artois and Franche-Compte to France.
When Sweden again demonstrates its primacy in northeastern Europe by wresting Novgorod from Russia in 1665, Poland jumps on the opportunity and attempts to recover lost territory from the Russians. This misstep triggers a feeding frenzy by Poland's neighbors, and no amount of French support can save the Poles. When the dust settles, Poland has ceded all of the Ukraine to Turkey, Odessa to the Crimea, Danzig to Brandenburg, Posen to Prussia, and another province to Russia. Instead of grabbing additional Polish land, Sweden lands a force in Italy and annexes Florence from Poland's ally Tuscany. Louis XIV is forced to recognize that the alliance with Poland and the Papal States is as useless as it is impractical.
One of Louis XIV's many lasting contributions to the French state is the creation of an extremely effective professional diplomatic corps. In order to enhance France's leverage in any future conflict with Sweden, Spain, Holland or Austria, Louis XIV launches a diplomatic offensive in Germany to build a cohesive bloc of states adjoining French territory. By 1670, the French-led alliance takes in Lorraine, Kurpfalz, Kleve, Baden, Hessen, Württemburg, and Switzerland.
One of the consequences of the disastrous war against France is a revision of diplomatic strategy in Madrid. The Spanish are disappointed with the fairly half-hearted commitment of Austria to the defense of Spain's foothold in the lowlands. It also becomes clear that Spain cannot afford to challenge any combination of England, the Netherlands and France alone on the high seas. The natural strategy is to court Sweden as a potential ally.
But Austria also has its eye on Sweden. Specifically, it has its eye on Sweden's two undefended western Polish territories. In 1675, Austria politically annexes Bavaria after wresting Carpathia from Turkey. Vienna then decides it is high time to confront its rivals in Germany and declares war on Sweden, Brandenburg and the Hansa. Spain refuses to go to war with Sweden and abandons the Habsburg axis, leaving Austria free to join Russia and Denmark in an anti-Swedish military alliance. The war goes well for Austria, which annexes one of the Hansa's Baltic provinces in 1677.
In the 1670's, King Louis focuses on two projects: building up overseas possessions and combating the 26% inflation rate. Cities sprout up in Ivoria in West Africa and Penobscot in North America. The pro-English Iroquois Nation is annexed by General de Rouville's Quebecois Regiment. Another colony is developed in Fukien, China, which soon emerges as an extremely lucrative center of trade for the region. On the inflation front, improvement in administration and infrastructure reduces the inflation rate to a tolerable 15% by the end of the decade.
In 1677 and again in 1682, Spain goes to war to contain the expansion of its Dutch rivals in the Americas but is unable to draw Sweden into an alliance. The Swedes' overseas empire is paper-thin, and they know full well that the Dutch or French could systematically destroy every one of their trading posts in a matter of years. So Spain succeeds in gaining Zeeland, but the Dutch sink ten years of Spanish shipbuilding. The second Spanish-Dutch War gives France grounds to test its German alliance, which proves remarkably effective. France is able to focus on the southern front, while Kurpfalz, Lorraine and Baden occupy all of the lowlands. Curiously, Kurpfalz and Baden pay an indemnity for peace in spite of their victories. But ultimately France is given Rousillon on the Spanish border, and Lorraine receives Flanders. In 1699, Louis XIV completes the political annexation of Lorraine and takes Flanders with it.
The flowering of the High Baroque in art and architecture complements France's emergence as a formidable European power. The baroque style is characterized by a sense of movement, energy, and tension heightened by contrasts of light and shadow. The style mirrors the elegance and intrigue of the Sun King's court. French artists are given generous commissions to experiment in such crucibles of creativity as Versailles, the Palace of Fontainebleau and the Louvre. By the end of the 18th century, France's art academy in Paris is the envy of Europe, and the magnificence of the royal court wins the loyalty of French nobles who might otherwise be leading revolts against the King's increasingly centralized state apparatus.
In first years of the 18th century, Spain degenerates into a civil war when Charles II, the last of the male Spanish Habsburgs, dies without an heir. With over half the country and several colonies in revolt by 1707, Aragon declares its independence and France intervenes in support of the Aragonian claim to the Spanish throne. The Spanish quickly muster a force in Castille that re-annexes Aragon, but French and German armies occupy all of the lowlands as well as several Spanish provinces. In 1710, General Villars captures Madrid itself, and the Spanish are forced to sue for peace. France brokers a peace treaty that gives the Spanish province of Gerona to the Kurpfalz, Zeeland to Hessen and Cologne to Kleves.
The German principalities are impressed with the fact that Louis XIV has honored his promise to share the spoils of war with his allies. Shortly after the war, Kurpfalz, Kleves and Hessen agree to become French vassals. France's commitment to its new protectorates is tested in 1714, when England and Holland declare war on Hessen in order to recover Zeeland. A French army under General Marsin valiantly defends Zeeland from repeated assaults, and the Netherlands eventually sue for peace by paying a 250 ducat indemnity to both Hessen and France. England pursues the war, however, and with France out of the conflict, succeeds in annexing Zeeland.
Louis XIV dies in 1715 after 64 years in power, making him the longest ruling leader in European history. By the end of the Sun King's reign, France has emerged as the leading continental European power at the expense of Spain. France's annual income has more than doubled to 2500 ducats, about 40% of which is generated by France's thriving city and three trading posts in China. This is not to say that France's power is dominant. Spain and Holland are still able to draw on their extensive empires for financial strength. Sweden is poised to expand at the expense of the relatively feeble Russians, and Stockholm consolidates its position in Germany by vassalizing Brandenburg. Moreover, France has no friends among the great European powers. As the 18th century get underway, France's rivals are preparing to respond in a more coordinated fashion to check French ambition.
Part III: The Franco-Dutch Vendetta
'You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.' Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
If Louis XIV was a giant among kings, his successors were pygmies. The new king Louis XV is decadent and disinterested in affairs of state. Nonetheless, the irony of the situation after the death of France's greatest king is that the greatness of France no longer depends on the greatness of its king. King Louis XV appoints a very capable prime minister in André Hercule de Fleury, his former tutor, and the army is well led under Field Marshall Noailles. Moreover, France's annual income of 2100 ducats is nearly as large as Spain's 2200 ducat annual income. And the French leadership is planning a last campaign against the Spain to establish itself as the dominant power in Western Europe.
In 1725, France again mobilizes its German allies and declares war on Spain, which remains utterly isolated diplomatically. Field Marshall Noailles defeats the main Spanish army in an engagement on the Spanish border, as Franco-German forces occupy Spain's last two provinces in the lowlands and in northern Italy. In spite of these victories, the Spanish refuse to surrender any territory for over ten years. It is not until 1736 that France receives Hainault, and the Kurpfalz gains Modena and Luxembourg. The Germans are once again impressed with the willingness of the French leadership to allocate spoils of war to its allies. Switzerland agrees to become a French vassal.
With Spain finally out of the lowlands, France can at last turn to other projects. And it is clear that the greater threat to French security is the Anglo-Dutch alliance. Approximately 40% of France's income is derived from trade, and the Franco-Dutch commercial rivalry is becoming increasingly heated in North America and the Far East. The Dutch are a very formidable opponent by virtue of their wealth. Their annual income of 3200 ducats gives them a large war chest with which to recruit mercenaries, and most Dutch territory of any value is heavily fortified.
In 1636, Holland and England declare war on the war-weary French, who activate the German alliance. The Germans are true to their patron, and an army of some 85,000 men besieges Holland. But the Dutch are confident that the Germans will be unable to crack their defenses and focus instead on the French. A large army of mercenaries annihilates the outnumbered French army and its leader Field Marshal Noailles. Meanwhile, the Dutch fleet delivers a similarly crushing defeat to the French navy. Dutch marines seize or destroy several French colonies in the Far East. A major land war goes somewhat better for the French in North America, where the English are unable to pull their weight in support of their Dutch allies. Nonetheless, it is quite clear that the French army is not capable of gaining any of Holland's fortified colonies. Revolts break out in several possessions, including Quebec and France's wealthy ivory production center in Western Africa. With the Dutch army moving virtually unopposed through northern France toward Paris, King Louis XV agrees in 1738 to cede Flanders and French Guiana, the nation's only sugar producing city.
This traumatic defeat marks a watershed that will shape French strategy for the remainder of the century. It is decided that territorial gains against the Netherlands would not be worth the cost when equally valuable English territory is so inadequately defended. One of the centrepieces of this strategy is the creation of a genuinely potent coalition of German states that is capable of neutralizing the Dutch in Europe while France focuses on the campaign in North America and on the high seas.
In the 1740s, France directs its attention to the interests of its German allies as preparations are made in North America. In addition to the Sweden-Brandenburg axis and the Austro-Bavarian holdings, a third and arguably more powerful bloc forms around Hannover. In a diplomatic setback for France, Württemburg politically annexes Thüringia in 1742. Two years later, Hannover vassalizes Württemburg, and the new alliance now comprises seven wealthy provinces. To add insult to injury, Baden annuls its royal marriage with France and becomes a vassal of Venice. Louis XV decides that it is high time for a show of force to restore France's stature in Germany.
In 1746, France leads Kurpfalz, Kleve and Hessen in a war against Württemburg-Hannover. Field Marshall de Saxe neutralizes the Hannoverian forces, and it does not take long for Kurpfalz to force Württemburg to surrender Thüringia. Meanwhile, Austria wages a power play of its own by attacking Venice, which eventually hands over Tyrolia and Mantua. In 1749, Louis XV is named Holy Roman Emperor.
It takes nearly a decade for France to complete the groundwork for a decisive showdown with the Anglo-Dutch alliance, mainly due to the expense involved in re-building the French navy. In 1763, France finally mobilizes its German allies (now including Switzerland) for war. Generous French financial assistance enables the Germans to field over 150,000 men, and the Dutch immediately find themselves on the defensive. England has to surrender Zeeland to Hessen within the year, and the French army in North America under General de Broglie runs rough-shod over the British army. The French occupy five British cities and burn all of England's trading posts down to Biloxi in the Gulf of Mexico. England cedes its city in Erie for peace, deserting the Dutch to their fate. This time, the French navy under Admiral D'Estaing demolishes over three quarters of the Dutch fleet with tolerable losses. But the Dutch are again saved by their fabulous fortifications, which neither the Germans nor the French can crack. The war drags on into 1772, when France and Holland agree to a white peace.
In 1774, Louis XV is succeeded by his only son Louis XIV. Louis is married to Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The new king is more interested in his hobbies and his queen than statecraft, but he is surrounded by a capable team of ministers. To the chagrin of many in the French court, the queen consort nonetheless exerts significant influence on the king, and the 1770s and 1780s are marked by a significant improvement in relations between France and Austria.
In 1780, France again goes to war against England and the Netherlands, and the conflict is a fantastic success. The French army dominates the North American theater, razing all Dutch and English trading posts in Canada and seizing another two cities in the Great Lake region from the English. Under the capable leadership of Field Marshall Rochambeau, Franco-German forces crush the Dutch army and finally manage to penetrate the Dutch fortifications in Holland. In 1783, the Netherlands return Flanders to France.
Immediately after the war, Austria accepts France's invitation to join its alliance. The new allies agree to combine their efforts to reduce further the strength of the Hannover-Württemburg alliance. However, France's German allies are irked by the inclusion of Austria in the alliance, which reduces their likely share of the spoils. When Austria declares war on Hannover in 1784, all of the French satellites refuse to participate. The French army had not completely recovered from its long contest against the Dutch, and Austria, ever fearful of the powerful Turkish army to the south, was not able to direct all of its forces to the war. Hannover proves to be a resilient foe. When Rochambeau's army suffers a stunning defeat in Munster, the Austrians find themselves effectively isolated in the conflict. Austria eventually is forced to trade Bremen to Hannover in exchange for peace. After the war, however, France has little difficulty reconstituting the alliance with its German vassals, and Louis XVI is elected as the Holy Roman Emperor in 1790.
The 1780s are also characterized by major improvements in France's overseas empire. The French governor-general in China completes construction of a shipyard at Fukien in 1782, which greatly improves France's ability to challenge Dutch dominance of the Far East. An additional shipyard is completed in Maine with an eye to threatening the Dutch trade center in New Amsterdam. By 1785, a bustling city emerges in New Orleans, further consolidating French control of the Mississippi river. In 1787, French forces again attack the English settlements in North America. This time the campaign is directed toward the eastern seaboard, and France ultimately comes away with two more English cities in the mid-Atlantic region and succeeds in supplanting English trading posts in Virginia and South Carolina with its own. These victories finally give the French a respectable market share in the tobacco and cotton trade. The Spanish recognize France as a natural partner against the encroachments of the Dutch in the Caribbean, and after some financial inducement, Spain joins the Franco-Austrian alliance in 1790.
By 1792, France has become the wealthiest nation in the world. In fact, its annual income of 3800 ducats is greater than that of England, Austria and Spain combined! The French Empire is also the largest in the world in terms of land mass. France is the leading producer of wine, salt and fish, and its merchants dominate trade in West Africa, China and even Alexandria. Within the European diplomatic system, it is a fitting irony that France's former archenemies Austria and Spain must now rely on Paris for protection against the Netherlands and Turkey.
Within France, the monarchy is still troubled from time to time by popular uprisings and the fractious National Assembly. But the regime is too popular to topple. The people of Paris are even willing to indulge the latest pastime of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette: attending public executions to watch the application of a practical new invention called the guillotine.
'Everything ends this way in France. Weddings, christenings, duels, burials, swindlings, affairs of state-everything is a pretext for a good dinner.' Jean Anouilh (1910-87)
'You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.' Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
If Louis XIV was a giant among kings, his successors were pygmies. The new king Louis XV is decadent and disinterested in affairs of state. Nonetheless, the irony of the situation after the death of France's greatest king is that the greatness of France no longer depends on the greatness of its king. King Louis XV appoints a very capable prime minister in André Hercule de Fleury, his former tutor, and the army is well led under Field Marshall Noailles. Moreover, France's annual income of 2100 ducats is nearly as large as Spain's 2200 ducat annual income. And the French leadership is planning a last campaign against the Spain to establish itself as the dominant power in Western Europe.
In 1725, France again mobilizes its German allies and declares war on Spain, which remains utterly isolated diplomatically. Field Marshall Noailles defeats the main Spanish army in an engagement on the Spanish border, as Franco-German forces occupy Spain's last two provinces in the lowlands and in northern Italy. In spite of these victories, the Spanish refuse to surrender any territory for over ten years. It is not until 1736 that France receives Hainault, and the Kurpfalz gains Modena and Luxembourg. The Germans are once again impressed with the willingness of the French leadership to allocate spoils of war to its allies. Switzerland agrees to become a French vassal.
With Spain finally out of the lowlands, France can at last turn to other projects. And it is clear that the greater threat to French security is the Anglo-Dutch alliance. Approximately 40% of France's income is derived from trade, and the Franco-Dutch commercial rivalry is becoming increasingly heated in North America and the Far East. The Dutch are a very formidable opponent by virtue of their wealth. Their annual income of 3200 ducats gives them a large war chest with which to recruit mercenaries, and most Dutch territory of any value is heavily fortified.
In 1636, Holland and England declare war on the war-weary French, who activate the German alliance. The Germans are true to their patron, and an army of some 85,000 men besieges Holland. But the Dutch are confident that the Germans will be unable to crack their defenses and focus instead on the French. A large army of mercenaries annihilates the outnumbered French army and its leader Field Marshal Noailles. Meanwhile, the Dutch fleet delivers a similarly crushing defeat to the French navy. Dutch marines seize or destroy several French colonies in the Far East. A major land war goes somewhat better for the French in North America, where the English are unable to pull their weight in support of their Dutch allies. Nonetheless, it is quite clear that the French army is not capable of gaining any of Holland's fortified colonies. Revolts break out in several possessions, including Quebec and France's wealthy ivory production center in Western Africa. With the Dutch army moving virtually unopposed through northern France toward Paris, King Louis XV agrees in 1738 to cede Flanders and French Guiana, the nation's only sugar producing city.
This traumatic defeat marks a watershed that will shape French strategy for the remainder of the century. It is decided that territorial gains against the Netherlands would not be worth the cost when equally valuable English territory is so inadequately defended. One of the centrepieces of this strategy is the creation of a genuinely potent coalition of German states that is capable of neutralizing the Dutch in Europe while France focuses on the campaign in North America and on the high seas.
In the 1740s, France directs its attention to the interests of its German allies as preparations are made in North America. In addition to the Sweden-Brandenburg axis and the Austro-Bavarian holdings, a third and arguably more powerful bloc forms around Hannover. In a diplomatic setback for France, Württemburg politically annexes Thüringia in 1742. Two years later, Hannover vassalizes Württemburg, and the new alliance now comprises seven wealthy provinces. To add insult to injury, Baden annuls its royal marriage with France and becomes a vassal of Venice. Louis XV decides that it is high time for a show of force to restore France's stature in Germany.
In 1746, France leads Kurpfalz, Kleve and Hessen in a war against Württemburg-Hannover. Field Marshall de Saxe neutralizes the Hannoverian forces, and it does not take long for Kurpfalz to force Württemburg to surrender Thüringia. Meanwhile, Austria wages a power play of its own by attacking Venice, which eventually hands over Tyrolia and Mantua. In 1749, Louis XV is named Holy Roman Emperor.
It takes nearly a decade for France to complete the groundwork for a decisive showdown with the Anglo-Dutch alliance, mainly due to the expense involved in re-building the French navy. In 1763, France finally mobilizes its German allies (now including Switzerland) for war. Generous French financial assistance enables the Germans to field over 150,000 men, and the Dutch immediately find themselves on the defensive. England has to surrender Zeeland to Hessen within the year, and the French army in North America under General de Broglie runs rough-shod over the British army. The French occupy five British cities and burn all of England's trading posts down to Biloxi in the Gulf of Mexico. England cedes its city in Erie for peace, deserting the Dutch to their fate. This time, the French navy under Admiral D'Estaing demolishes over three quarters of the Dutch fleet with tolerable losses. But the Dutch are again saved by their fabulous fortifications, which neither the Germans nor the French can crack. The war drags on into 1772, when France and Holland agree to a white peace.
In 1774, Louis XV is succeeded by his only son Louis XIV. Louis is married to Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The new king is more interested in his hobbies and his queen than statecraft, but he is surrounded by a capable team of ministers. To the chagrin of many in the French court, the queen consort nonetheless exerts significant influence on the king, and the 1770s and 1780s are marked by a significant improvement in relations between France and Austria.
In 1780, France again goes to war against England and the Netherlands, and the conflict is a fantastic success. The French army dominates the North American theater, razing all Dutch and English trading posts in Canada and seizing another two cities in the Great Lake region from the English. Under the capable leadership of Field Marshall Rochambeau, Franco-German forces crush the Dutch army and finally manage to penetrate the Dutch fortifications in Holland. In 1783, the Netherlands return Flanders to France.
Immediately after the war, Austria accepts France's invitation to join its alliance. The new allies agree to combine their efforts to reduce further the strength of the Hannover-Württemburg alliance. However, France's German allies are irked by the inclusion of Austria in the alliance, which reduces their likely share of the spoils. When Austria declares war on Hannover in 1784, all of the French satellites refuse to participate. The French army had not completely recovered from its long contest against the Dutch, and Austria, ever fearful of the powerful Turkish army to the south, was not able to direct all of its forces to the war. Hannover proves to be a resilient foe. When Rochambeau's army suffers a stunning defeat in Munster, the Austrians find themselves effectively isolated in the conflict. Austria eventually is forced to trade Bremen to Hannover in exchange for peace. After the war, however, France has little difficulty reconstituting the alliance with its German vassals, and Louis XVI is elected as the Holy Roman Emperor in 1790.
The 1780s are also characterized by major improvements in France's overseas empire. The French governor-general in China completes construction of a shipyard at Fukien in 1782, which greatly improves France's ability to challenge Dutch dominance of the Far East. An additional shipyard is completed in Maine with an eye to threatening the Dutch trade center in New Amsterdam. By 1785, a bustling city emerges in New Orleans, further consolidating French control of the Mississippi river. In 1787, French forces again attack the English settlements in North America. This time the campaign is directed toward the eastern seaboard, and France ultimately comes away with two more English cities in the mid-Atlantic region and succeeds in supplanting English trading posts in Virginia and South Carolina with its own. These victories finally give the French a respectable market share in the tobacco and cotton trade. The Spanish recognize France as a natural partner against the encroachments of the Dutch in the Caribbean, and after some financial inducement, Spain joins the Franco-Austrian alliance in 1790.
By 1792, France has become the wealthiest nation in the world. In fact, its annual income of 3800 ducats is greater than that of England, Austria and Spain combined! The French Empire is also the largest in the world in terms of land mass. France is the leading producer of wine, salt and fish, and its merchants dominate trade in West Africa, China and even Alexandria. Within the European diplomatic system, it is a fitting irony that France's former archenemies Austria and Spain must now rely on Paris for protection against the Netherlands and Turkey.
Within France, the monarchy is still troubled from time to time by popular uprisings and the fractious National Assembly. But the regime is too popular to topple. The people of Paris are even willing to indulge the latest pastime of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette: attending public executions to watch the application of a practical new invention called the guillotine.
'Everything ends this way in France. Weddings, christenings, duels, burials, swindlings, affairs of state-everything is a pretext for a good dinner.' Jean Anouilh (1910-87)
For the record, the final standings:
Netherlands by 100 points : (
France
Turkey
Sweden
Austria
Portugal
Spain
Netherlands by 100 points : (
France
Turkey
Sweden
Austria
Portugal
Spain
Devin,
Most excellent AAR. I can only pray you will play as the Ottomans eventually and write a AAR of that experience.
Faruk
Most excellent AAR. I can only pray you will play as the Ottomans eventually and write a AAR of that experience.
Faruk
Yep, that was fun reading. A question though, what did the swedes do to get so many vp?
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Excusa me, vir optime, cogitio inquis tibi nomen 'fatuus' es?
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Excusa me, vir optime, cogitio inquis tibi nomen 'fatuus' es?
The Swedes controlled all of Norway, parts of Poland, the Baltics and Novgorod at the end of the game. They also had a decent network of trading posts and had a lot of success on the diplomatic front vis-a-vis Turkey, Brandenburg, Hansa and Prussia. Plus they built up some decent manufacturing capacity.
Actually, this is one game where the final standings were an accurate reflection of each country's acheivements.
I'm playing a GC as Genoa right now. I'll probably write an AAR, but without the historical color.
Actually, this is one game where the final standings were an accurate reflection of each country's acheivements.
I'm playing a GC as Genoa right now. I'll probably write an AAR, but without the historical color.