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Epilogue -- Spain after 1620
The fish's story now is done;
Spain's glories, though, had just begun.
The second bankruptcy event
Did not bring down the government.
To tell the truth, Spain was so strong
The bad effects did not last long.
Inflation rose, I must admit,
But I hardly even noticed it.
The riches from the vast New World
Paid for the armies which then hurled
Their weapons into foreign lands,
Fulfilling all their king's commands.
Provence capitulated first,
Though France and Venice got the worst.
By 1660, as you see,
Spain ruled supreme in Italy:
Amidst these wars Spain also fought
By Austria's side, and thus they got
A Hannoverian reparation:
Mecklenburg went to their nation.
This so-called thirty years of war
Went on for many battles more.
Austria gained Wurzburg for a prize,
And Brandenburg met their demise.
The next opponent was the Turk.
At first our efforts didn't work;
For Austria, to our irritation,
Stole sieges of the coast Dalmatian.
Then signed a treaty -- oh, the cheek!
And gave us lands we did not seek.
So we two had a falling out
And the Habsburgs might have lost their clout.
As Mad King Carlos met his end
Spain looked abroad for a true friend.
We needed new blood in the line
Of royalty to reign divine.
The houses Habsburg and Bourbon
Both made proposals for the throne.
Spain's counselors then raised their voice
And said, "The Habsburg is our choice!"
We then renewed war with the Turks
Alone; we snubbed the Austrian jerks.
Without our ally's interference
Our armies had unhindered clearance.
The provinces we sought, we gained,
And no Turks in those lands remained.
With Venice, too, we did contend,
And forced them to our will to bend.
Meanwhile, we did not forget
The New World with its riches yet
Unclaimed by European hands.
So we sent men to claim those lands.
Most minor tribes were pacified
While larger nations fought and died:
The Navaho and Cherokee
Soon joined the Creek as history.
We fought for new lands up the coast
As French and Dutch men left their post.
We also saw interior lands
And met Dakota's fiercesome bands.
Soon Spain expanded 'round the lakes,
Converting all the Shaman fakes.
As Shawnee and Huron neared deletion,
Spain's colonies had reached completion.
(I'll add a couple more screenshots later, of the Eastern Med and North America sometime in the mid to late 1700s. I did take a bit more of Southern France but otherwise the Western Med was not changed from the 1661 screenshot.)
The fish's story now is done;
Spain's glories, though, had just begun.
The second bankruptcy event
Did not bring down the government.
To tell the truth, Spain was so strong
The bad effects did not last long.
Inflation rose, I must admit,
But I hardly even noticed it.
The riches from the vast New World
Paid for the armies which then hurled
Their weapons into foreign lands,
Fulfilling all their king's commands.
Provence capitulated first,
Though France and Venice got the worst.
By 1660, as you see,
Spain ruled supreme in Italy:
Amidst these wars Spain also fought
By Austria's side, and thus they got
A Hannoverian reparation:
Mecklenburg went to their nation.
This so-called thirty years of war
Went on for many battles more.
Austria gained Wurzburg for a prize,
And Brandenburg met their demise.
The next opponent was the Turk.
At first our efforts didn't work;
For Austria, to our irritation,
Stole sieges of the coast Dalmatian.
Then signed a treaty -- oh, the cheek!
And gave us lands we did not seek.
So we two had a falling out
And the Habsburgs might have lost their clout.
As Mad King Carlos met his end
Spain looked abroad for a true friend.
We needed new blood in the line
Of royalty to reign divine.
The houses Habsburg and Bourbon
Both made proposals for the throne.
Spain's counselors then raised their voice
And said, "The Habsburg is our choice!"
We then renewed war with the Turks
Alone; we snubbed the Austrian jerks.
Without our ally's interference
Our armies had unhindered clearance.
The provinces we sought, we gained,
And no Turks in those lands remained.
With Venice, too, we did contend,
And forced them to our will to bend.
Meanwhile, we did not forget
The New World with its riches yet
Unclaimed by European hands.
So we sent men to claim those lands.
Most minor tribes were pacified
While larger nations fought and died:
The Navaho and Cherokee
Soon joined the Creek as history.
We fought for new lands up the coast
As French and Dutch men left their post.
We also saw interior lands
And met Dakota's fiercesome bands.
Soon Spain expanded 'round the lakes,
Converting all the Shaman fakes.
As Shawnee and Huron neared deletion,
Spain's colonies had reached completion.
(I'll add a couple more screenshots later, of the Eastern Med and North America sometime in the mid to late 1700s. I did take a bit more of Southern France but otherwise the Western Med was not changed from the 1661 screenshot.)
I haven't been posting (equipment problems) but I have been reading, and I have loved this story.
The poetry is pretty good, too!
I join the others who have applauded your decision to conclude; if you met your goals and don't have much competition, the end of a Grand Campaign can be lacking in fun.
Here's hoping we have a new tail... er, tale... from jwolf to entertain us before too long.
Weren't you tempted to end with 'the one that got away'?
The poetry is pretty good, too!
I join the others who have applauded your decision to conclude; if you met your goals and don't have much competition, the end of a Grand Campaign can be lacking in fun.
Here's hoping we have a new tail... er, tale... from jwolf to entertain us before too long.
Weren't you tempted to end with 'the one that got away'?
I just read it but I haven't laughed that hard in the office for a long time.
Great Concept, simply fantastic, I love it!
Great Concept, simply fantastic, I love it!
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An epic poem you've written now,
And all I can say is...Wow!
You've put my pithy comments to shame
And I must say congrats again.
You, of course, have to read that last line using a bit of proper English.
And all I can say is...Wow!
You've put my pithy comments to shame
And I must say congrats again.
You, of course, have to read that last line using a bit of proper English.
jwolf..
Good show, nice ending - good to see the aftermath too.
Rhyme is indeed a tough one, all too easy to become doggerel,
and so difficult to tell a story with a consistent meter.
I agree about the game loosing it's zip after your own empire becomes too large - it does lower the challenge a little.
Heretic
Good show, nice ending - good to see the aftermath too.
Rhyme is indeed a tough one, all too easy to become doggerel,
and so difficult to tell a story with a consistent meter.
I agree about the game loosing it's zip after your own empire becomes too large - it does lower the challenge a little.
Heretic
Not my type of AAR, but it truly is MY FAVOURITE! I feel this was so good it had to be brought back.
This AAR was indeed a treat,
Where talent and creative juices meet.
Sad to see this AAR's last year
But lucky we are that jwolf's still here.
I always enjoyed this one and trying to comment in his style was half the fun.
Where talent and creative juices meet.
Sad to see this AAR's last year
But lucky we are that jwolf's still here.
I always enjoyed this one and trying to comment in his style was half the fun.
One of my old favourites... I remember reading this on a warm April morning... I'd write a verse, but I'm not very poetic. This was a great AAR.