Interlude – The Long Peace, Part II – January 1603 – December 1612
January – December 1603
Tax 450d. We continue to expand our trade interests in Mexico and India, and also commission the construction of a Fine Arts Academy in Anglia – it is time that England declared to the world that we are not just a race of all-conquering heroes – oh, no – we have a sensitive, creative side too. On April 26th, the King-in-waiting, Douglas of Lothian, ascends the throne, taking the regnal name of James I in honour of his sadly departed elder brother. His majesty is a man of refinement and learning - far from being possessed of the boisterous, lusty appetites of previous monarchs, King James is a much more studious man, a scholar whose knowledge extends to fields biblical and secular. He makes it perfectly clear that he is more than happy to allow the Privy Council to continue to see to the economic development of the nation for the time being, as he completes a re-translation of the Catholic Bible on which he is working – a work he hopes will become the definitive version of the holy book for centuries to come.
The year is peaceful - we look to our trade position and concentrate on establishing a healthy presence in Yanam and maintaining our Anglian monopoly, although that particular market is now no longer so profitable thanks to the opening of the Centre of Trade in Biloxi. Still, it is a matter of pride.
The wars in the east continue to swing back and forth - Crimea eventually paying 98d for an end to the hostilities with Persia when their capital is taken in November.
Janaury – December 1604
Tax 443d. We notice that the Spanish colony in the Everglades has been destroyed and so we send a colonial expedition of our own. We also send colonists to freshly-cleared Jaffra on the east coast of Sri Lanka and try again for Malacca. The protestant heretics in Anglia convert to the true faith, which is good news indeed. We also commission 2,000/2,000 in Madurai to see to our defence in the region and look to further improve our trade standing in Isfahan, Alexandria, Mascate and Zacatecas. Thanks be to God, we are successful in each of our endeavours.
On February 16th the glad news arrives that Prussia has made peace with Spain, paying 98d in indemnities. In July we establish ourselves in the Everglades, right under the nose of our Spanish friends, but the expeditions to Jaffna and Malacca both fail.
In November the Mameluks, who have been beset by enemies on all sides, arrange a peace with Tripoli - surrendering Cataract and Jordan and 94d into the bargain.
January - 1605
Tax 450d. The London Fine Arts Academy opens amidst great celebration in the capital. King James attends the opening, and declares that the collection of holy icons and art housed in the magnificent new building – an architectural tribute to the Parthenon in Turkish-held Athens - is surely the finest in Christendom, with works of fine are from many of the most famous English and Italian-English painters and sculptors. King James is most, most pleased.
This year we decide to see to the re-building of our fleet. A total of ten warships and one transport are commissioned in England, Italy and Madurai. We also send colonists back to far Jaffra and Malacca in yet another attempt to establish ourselves in the Far East.
In February Portugal pays 168d indemnities to the Netherlands. In April Hannover enters the Polish alliance whilst Hessen gets back into bed with France. Cumberland dies on July 11th, leaving Hudson in charge of the Home Fleet. Hudson immediately gives commodore Eaglethorpe the command and sails to Madagascar to uncover the rest of the island. Saxony enters the Polish alliance. Our general Alden dies on August 11th. On the 14th the Mameluks extort 72d from Crimea for peace.
This time our colony in Jaffna is successfully established in August. Word arrives of an unwelcome French presence in New England - they have established a trading post in Santee, massacred the natives in Alleghany and are now causing further havoc in Tennessee. We shall attempt to establish our own presence in these provinces, and we will surly be forced to drive out the French at some point in the future. Word also arrives that France has finally succeeded in its mission to capture Flandres - by annexing Baden. Grim news indeed as their presence in central Germany grows ever stronger. A reckoning will come between the two great powers of France and Poland-Lithuania, and Brandenburg and Austria will be caught in the middle, mark my words.
In September, the Mameluks are forced to surrender Mekka and Sinai to Oman. This is surely the beginning of the end for the Egytpian slave dynasty. In October word arrives that we have failed to colonise Malacca for the fifth time. Perhaps this is a sign from God - some things are just not meant to be…
January 1606
Tax 455d. Vassilichouisky rises to the throne of Russia. The time has come to mend our diplomatic bridges. We send personal gifts to the King of Spain (-8 to +66) and the King of Poland-Lithuania (-200 to -120). The time is coming when all of Europe will have to unite to fight the French menace and we do not wish to be left on the periphery when it occurs.
We also send a colonist to French-cleared Alleghany, and will be keeping a close eye on Cochin, a province that neighbours Madurai in India, where a Swedish army is currently massacring the natives. Refusing to be defeated, we send one last colonial expedition to Malacca.
At the end of January, we discover a valuable mineral seam in one of our colonial provinces and sell the mining rights for a handsome sum (random event - valuable mineral +400d). We use the income gained to further boost our fleet in Madurai, send colonists to boost the population in Everglades and Conneticut, promote a chief judge in Delaware and to build three new transports in the Mediterranean.
In May Cyrenaica accepts a white peace with the Mameluks. The Swedes finish clearing the natives from Cochin for us at the end of May and we immediately send a colonist. Our expansion party is lost en-route to Conneticut in June but Everglades does expand, and we successfully establish the colony in Alleghany in July. Our Royal Marriage agreement with Spain expires and so we are quick to offer another, which is gladly accepted (rel. to +77).
With our Mediterranean fleet now up to 6 warships and 7 transports, we decide the time has come to regain control of the recalcitrant islands of Crete and Rhodes. Our army of 19,000 from Mantua plus 1,000 infantry from Genoa will sail for Crete first. This leaves us with forces of 30,000 in Genoa, 15,000 in Romagna and 16,000 in Ragusa to defend the region.
We also note that the Swedish expeditionary force is now repeating its extermination policy in Trivandrum - the province immediately to the west of Madurai - again, we decide to let them fight the natives and clear their area for our own colonial expedition. There is great rejoicing in October as our persistence finally pays off and we establish a colony in Malacca. By late December our army has embarked and sails for Crete.
January – December 1607
Tax 447d. We send a personal gift again to Poland-Lithuania (-123 to -34) and the rest of our capital is held back for our colonial effort. Cochin colony is successfully established on January 4th. We also send an expedition to a French-cleared province called Lobito on the West Coast of Africa. The Swedes are making slow progress against the natives in Trivandrum and indeed their army is wiped out on the 29th of January.
Naples and Prussia sign an automatic white peace after 36 months of inactivity. Our army begins its landing on Crete on February 5th. We engage and defeat the rebel army on March 11th and lay siege to the town. To avoid attrition our fleet withdraws to Ragusa to await its need to transport our troops to Corfu. In July we successfully establish our colony in Lobito. The rest of the year is quiet.
January – December 1608
Tax 451d. Another personal gift is sent to Poland (-36 to +46). We also decide to boost our colonies in Mantagora, Bayou and Everglades and build another 6 warships in England. We also appoint Tax Collectors in The Marches, Kent and Cornwall.
In February Poland defeats the Spanish in Emilia and lays siege to the city and we breach the walls of Crete (-3), so our fleet puts to sea once more and sails to rendezvous with our imminently victorious army. Denmark and Russia re-from their old alliance in March.
Everglades successfully expands in June but failures in Matagorda and Bayou are accompanied by a native uprising in the latter, which is swiftly dealt with by our garrison there. Disappointing, to say the least.
Persia and Oman sign a status quo peace on the 2nd of August as the war in the east continues to fizzle out.
Hudson gives up on charting Madagascar in November and sets sail for Jaffra and Malacca beyond. Crete manages to hold firm until the end of the year with severe damage to her walls (-4) but we do not wish to waste men assaulting a rebel-held town which we know will fall eventually, and so the siege must continue into the New Year.
January – December 1609
Tax 452d. Chief Judges are appointed in Yorkshire and Wales and a Governor in Delaware to oversee the growth and development of the city. We send another colonial expedition to Everglades.
Astrakhan enters the Persian alliance in February. We suffer a rush of colonists in March (random event), filling our docks with eager souls whom we cannot afford to send overseas until next year. A waste. Our colony in Everglades expands once more in May, but vexingly we still cannot finish off the rebels in Crete. So much for our ‘imminent victory’.
In October the fires of rebellion are briefly but unsuccessfully lit in Romagna, but our garrison there is well prepared for such an eventuality and hopefully this will be the last time we see any of that sort of nonsense in Italy. Then on October 23rd we finally take Crete from the rebels. We decide to leave a small garrison of 3,000/3,000, raise a local militia of 3,000 infantry to supplement them and then the rest of the army is sent to deal with Corfu. Our most holy King James issues a proclomation rescinding the earlier proscription of Ortodox Christians within our realm, instead decreeing that all true followers of God are equal in the eyes of God and so shall they be in the eyes of the Crown (tolerance raised for Orthodox).
In December, Spain settles her war with Poland, surrendering control of Emilia and paying 42d indemnities. We had hope that Spain would lose Emilia at some point, but to a minor power that we could then seize the province from for our own. A Polish presence on our doorstep is a somewhat nerve-wracking prospect. We shall have to see how this situation develops.
January – December 1610
Tax 458d. A field chief judge Dudley now awaits our command in Genoa. Time of Troubles ascends the throne in Russia (?). Perhaps Ambassador Nalivayko can explain the meaning of this cryptic message to us…
We appoint a chief judge in Cornwall and send another colonist to Everglades. In February our army lands on Corfu and defeats the rebels there, but we are not strong enough to initiate a full siege and so reinforcements are sent for from Ragusa, whilst 3,000 infantry are recruited there to replace them. We initiate a full siege of Corfu on May 12th. Let us pray this one does not take a year and a half to resolve also...
On May 15th, Marie deMedicis rises to the throne of France. Our Everglades colony expands in May and so we send another colonist immediately but this expedition fails and so another has to be sent in November.
January – Decemeber 1611
Tax 456d. A new Centre of Trade opens in our province of Malacca and so we immediately send merchants to flood the market. How glad we are that we persevered with this difficult colonial enterprise. We must now look towards developing a city in the region and so another colonist expedition is sent forthwith. We must also see to the effective defence of this new and potentially very important trade centre and so arrangements are made for a force of 2,000/1,000 will be shipped from Madurai, with reinforcements raised there to replace them.
The King, making one of his rare appearances at Privy Council suggests that perhaps Poland's siezure of Emilia might be considered a threat to the rich Italian provinces of Milan and Genoa and that we ought to begin to increase our forces in the region. We of course accede to the King's wishes and commission 5,000 recruits in Genoa and 5,000 in Modena. Another four warships are commissioned in Wessex and Kent and the rest of our capital is reserved for the development of a city in Everglades and the ongoing development of Malacca. Preliminary reports in February suggest that the Malacca market is worth some 1017 ducats a year - a valuable prize that we shall certainly do our utmost to hang on to. We of course take steps to establish a full monopoly there in the meantime.
In April our Everglades colony expands to 600 souls, but our mercantile efforts in Malacca have left us with the necessary funds to send but one more expedition this year, and Malacca is the new priority. Corfu has indeed turned out to be another Crete as the walls continue to resist our pounding guns (3).
Disaster in July as Hudson dies just as he is setting out on his latest voyage of discovery of the far east. He has uncovered numerous small provinces in Malaysia and Sumatra, but his four ships are ordered to return to Madurai for the time being. Malacca expands in August and our last colonist this year is sent to swell the population further.
January - 1612
Tax 466d. Mathias is crowned King of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor. Two new leaders await our command in Anglia. Rear Admiral Button is an explorer but a good naval tactician and so is put in charge of the Home Fleet in Wessex. Baffin is sent on a voyage to Jaffna, there to rendezvous with additional vessels and continue on towards Malacca, resuming Hudson's mission. We also commission another 4,000/2,000 troops in Modena and two warships in Wessex, to bring the total of the Home Fleet up to 30.
In August Malacca once again proves that it is no easy place to tame as our latest group of colonists is lost en-route. There is nothing for it but to tighten our belts and send another party. In June the city of Saint Andrews is founded in the Everglades. One in the eye for our Spanish friends.
War breaks out in the east again in August as the Mameluks (Persia) declare war on Tripoli (Turkey, Cyrenaica, Crimea, Algiers, Aden, Oman) in an attempt to regain their territory lost in the last war. Turkey siezes the Lebanon from the Mameluks in October.
Corfu finally falls to our forces on the 23rd October and we take steps to return half our force to Romagna, leaving a garrison of approximately 5,000 to deal with any rebellious sentiment that might linger.
In November an unexpected development occurs as a peasant uprising in Messina swiftly escalates into a full uprising against Spain and the declaration of Sicilian independence. Spain declares war on her wayward child and Naples leaps to her support, but the Papal States and the Incas dishonour the alliance. We consider carefully before deciding that we cannot afford to go to war again just now. We are beset from the west by the threatening potential of the French alliance and the Poles to the east, not to mention Venice in their midst. With heavy hearts we decline the invitation to punish the Sicilians and the alliance is sundered. Let us pray no-one tries to take advantage of our isolation...
January – December 1603
Tax 450d. We continue to expand our trade interests in Mexico and India, and also commission the construction of a Fine Arts Academy in Anglia – it is time that England declared to the world that we are not just a race of all-conquering heroes – oh, no – we have a sensitive, creative side too. On April 26th, the King-in-waiting, Douglas of Lothian, ascends the throne, taking the regnal name of James I in honour of his sadly departed elder brother. His majesty is a man of refinement and learning - far from being possessed of the boisterous, lusty appetites of previous monarchs, King James is a much more studious man, a scholar whose knowledge extends to fields biblical and secular. He makes it perfectly clear that he is more than happy to allow the Privy Council to continue to see to the economic development of the nation for the time being, as he completes a re-translation of the Catholic Bible on which he is working – a work he hopes will become the definitive version of the holy book for centuries to come.
The year is peaceful - we look to our trade position and concentrate on establishing a healthy presence in Yanam and maintaining our Anglian monopoly, although that particular market is now no longer so profitable thanks to the opening of the Centre of Trade in Biloxi. Still, it is a matter of pride.
The wars in the east continue to swing back and forth - Crimea eventually paying 98d for an end to the hostilities with Persia when their capital is taken in November.
Janaury – December 1604
Tax 443d. We notice that the Spanish colony in the Everglades has been destroyed and so we send a colonial expedition of our own. We also send colonists to freshly-cleared Jaffra on the east coast of Sri Lanka and try again for Malacca. The protestant heretics in Anglia convert to the true faith, which is good news indeed. We also commission 2,000/2,000 in Madurai to see to our defence in the region and look to further improve our trade standing in Isfahan, Alexandria, Mascate and Zacatecas. Thanks be to God, we are successful in each of our endeavours.
On February 16th the glad news arrives that Prussia has made peace with Spain, paying 98d in indemnities. In July we establish ourselves in the Everglades, right under the nose of our Spanish friends, but the expeditions to Jaffna and Malacca both fail.
In November the Mameluks, who have been beset by enemies on all sides, arrange a peace with Tripoli - surrendering Cataract and Jordan and 94d into the bargain.
January - 1605
Tax 450d. The London Fine Arts Academy opens amidst great celebration in the capital. King James attends the opening, and declares that the collection of holy icons and art housed in the magnificent new building – an architectural tribute to the Parthenon in Turkish-held Athens - is surely the finest in Christendom, with works of fine are from many of the most famous English and Italian-English painters and sculptors. King James is most, most pleased.
This year we decide to see to the re-building of our fleet. A total of ten warships and one transport are commissioned in England, Italy and Madurai. We also send colonists back to far Jaffra and Malacca in yet another attempt to establish ourselves in the Far East.
In February Portugal pays 168d indemnities to the Netherlands. In April Hannover enters the Polish alliance whilst Hessen gets back into bed with France. Cumberland dies on July 11th, leaving Hudson in charge of the Home Fleet. Hudson immediately gives commodore Eaglethorpe the command and sails to Madagascar to uncover the rest of the island. Saxony enters the Polish alliance. Our general Alden dies on August 11th. On the 14th the Mameluks extort 72d from Crimea for peace.
This time our colony in Jaffna is successfully established in August. Word arrives of an unwelcome French presence in New England - they have established a trading post in Santee, massacred the natives in Alleghany and are now causing further havoc in Tennessee. We shall attempt to establish our own presence in these provinces, and we will surly be forced to drive out the French at some point in the future. Word also arrives that France has finally succeeded in its mission to capture Flandres - by annexing Baden. Grim news indeed as their presence in central Germany grows ever stronger. A reckoning will come between the two great powers of France and Poland-Lithuania, and Brandenburg and Austria will be caught in the middle, mark my words.
In September, the Mameluks are forced to surrender Mekka and Sinai to Oman. This is surely the beginning of the end for the Egytpian slave dynasty. In October word arrives that we have failed to colonise Malacca for the fifth time. Perhaps this is a sign from God - some things are just not meant to be…
January 1606
Tax 455d. Vassilichouisky rises to the throne of Russia. The time has come to mend our diplomatic bridges. We send personal gifts to the King of Spain (-8 to +66) and the King of Poland-Lithuania (-200 to -120). The time is coming when all of Europe will have to unite to fight the French menace and we do not wish to be left on the periphery when it occurs.
We also send a colonist to French-cleared Alleghany, and will be keeping a close eye on Cochin, a province that neighbours Madurai in India, where a Swedish army is currently massacring the natives. Refusing to be defeated, we send one last colonial expedition to Malacca.
At the end of January, we discover a valuable mineral seam in one of our colonial provinces and sell the mining rights for a handsome sum (random event - valuable mineral +400d). We use the income gained to further boost our fleet in Madurai, send colonists to boost the population in Everglades and Conneticut, promote a chief judge in Delaware and to build three new transports in the Mediterranean.
In May Cyrenaica accepts a white peace with the Mameluks. The Swedes finish clearing the natives from Cochin for us at the end of May and we immediately send a colonist. Our expansion party is lost en-route to Conneticut in June but Everglades does expand, and we successfully establish the colony in Alleghany in July. Our Royal Marriage agreement with Spain expires and so we are quick to offer another, which is gladly accepted (rel. to +77).
With our Mediterranean fleet now up to 6 warships and 7 transports, we decide the time has come to regain control of the recalcitrant islands of Crete and Rhodes. Our army of 19,000 from Mantua plus 1,000 infantry from Genoa will sail for Crete first. This leaves us with forces of 30,000 in Genoa, 15,000 in Romagna and 16,000 in Ragusa to defend the region.
We also note that the Swedish expeditionary force is now repeating its extermination policy in Trivandrum - the province immediately to the west of Madurai - again, we decide to let them fight the natives and clear their area for our own colonial expedition. There is great rejoicing in October as our persistence finally pays off and we establish a colony in Malacca. By late December our army has embarked and sails for Crete.
January – December 1607
Tax 447d. We send a personal gift again to Poland-Lithuania (-123 to -34) and the rest of our capital is held back for our colonial effort. Cochin colony is successfully established on January 4th. We also send an expedition to a French-cleared province called Lobito on the West Coast of Africa. The Swedes are making slow progress against the natives in Trivandrum and indeed their army is wiped out on the 29th of January.
Naples and Prussia sign an automatic white peace after 36 months of inactivity. Our army begins its landing on Crete on February 5th. We engage and defeat the rebel army on March 11th and lay siege to the town. To avoid attrition our fleet withdraws to Ragusa to await its need to transport our troops to Corfu. In July we successfully establish our colony in Lobito. The rest of the year is quiet.
January – December 1608
Tax 451d. Another personal gift is sent to Poland (-36 to +46). We also decide to boost our colonies in Mantagora, Bayou and Everglades and build another 6 warships in England. We also appoint Tax Collectors in The Marches, Kent and Cornwall.
In February Poland defeats the Spanish in Emilia and lays siege to the city and we breach the walls of Crete (-3), so our fleet puts to sea once more and sails to rendezvous with our imminently victorious army. Denmark and Russia re-from their old alliance in March.
Everglades successfully expands in June but failures in Matagorda and Bayou are accompanied by a native uprising in the latter, which is swiftly dealt with by our garrison there. Disappointing, to say the least.
Persia and Oman sign a status quo peace on the 2nd of August as the war in the east continues to fizzle out.
Hudson gives up on charting Madagascar in November and sets sail for Jaffra and Malacca beyond. Crete manages to hold firm until the end of the year with severe damage to her walls (-4) but we do not wish to waste men assaulting a rebel-held town which we know will fall eventually, and so the siege must continue into the New Year.
January – December 1609
Tax 452d. Chief Judges are appointed in Yorkshire and Wales and a Governor in Delaware to oversee the growth and development of the city. We send another colonial expedition to Everglades.
Astrakhan enters the Persian alliance in February. We suffer a rush of colonists in March (random event), filling our docks with eager souls whom we cannot afford to send overseas until next year. A waste. Our colony in Everglades expands once more in May, but vexingly we still cannot finish off the rebels in Crete. So much for our ‘imminent victory’.
In October the fires of rebellion are briefly but unsuccessfully lit in Romagna, but our garrison there is well prepared for such an eventuality and hopefully this will be the last time we see any of that sort of nonsense in Italy. Then on October 23rd we finally take Crete from the rebels. We decide to leave a small garrison of 3,000/3,000, raise a local militia of 3,000 infantry to supplement them and then the rest of the army is sent to deal with Corfu. Our most holy King James issues a proclomation rescinding the earlier proscription of Ortodox Christians within our realm, instead decreeing that all true followers of God are equal in the eyes of God and so shall they be in the eyes of the Crown (tolerance raised for Orthodox).
In December, Spain settles her war with Poland, surrendering control of Emilia and paying 42d indemnities. We had hope that Spain would lose Emilia at some point, but to a minor power that we could then seize the province from for our own. A Polish presence on our doorstep is a somewhat nerve-wracking prospect. We shall have to see how this situation develops.
January – December 1610
Tax 458d. A field chief judge Dudley now awaits our command in Genoa. Time of Troubles ascends the throne in Russia (?). Perhaps Ambassador Nalivayko can explain the meaning of this cryptic message to us…
We appoint a chief judge in Cornwall and send another colonist to Everglades. In February our army lands on Corfu and defeats the rebels there, but we are not strong enough to initiate a full siege and so reinforcements are sent for from Ragusa, whilst 3,000 infantry are recruited there to replace them. We initiate a full siege of Corfu on May 12th. Let us pray this one does not take a year and a half to resolve also...
On May 15th, Marie deMedicis rises to the throne of France. Our Everglades colony expands in May and so we send another colonist immediately but this expedition fails and so another has to be sent in November.
January – Decemeber 1611
Tax 456d. A new Centre of Trade opens in our province of Malacca and so we immediately send merchants to flood the market. How glad we are that we persevered with this difficult colonial enterprise. We must now look towards developing a city in the region and so another colonist expedition is sent forthwith. We must also see to the effective defence of this new and potentially very important trade centre and so arrangements are made for a force of 2,000/1,000 will be shipped from Madurai, with reinforcements raised there to replace them.
The King, making one of his rare appearances at Privy Council suggests that perhaps Poland's siezure of Emilia might be considered a threat to the rich Italian provinces of Milan and Genoa and that we ought to begin to increase our forces in the region. We of course accede to the King's wishes and commission 5,000 recruits in Genoa and 5,000 in Modena. Another four warships are commissioned in Wessex and Kent and the rest of our capital is reserved for the development of a city in Everglades and the ongoing development of Malacca. Preliminary reports in February suggest that the Malacca market is worth some 1017 ducats a year - a valuable prize that we shall certainly do our utmost to hang on to. We of course take steps to establish a full monopoly there in the meantime.
In April our Everglades colony expands to 600 souls, but our mercantile efforts in Malacca have left us with the necessary funds to send but one more expedition this year, and Malacca is the new priority. Corfu has indeed turned out to be another Crete as the walls continue to resist our pounding guns (3).
Disaster in July as Hudson dies just as he is setting out on his latest voyage of discovery of the far east. He has uncovered numerous small provinces in Malaysia and Sumatra, but his four ships are ordered to return to Madurai for the time being. Malacca expands in August and our last colonist this year is sent to swell the population further.
January - 1612
Tax 466d. Mathias is crowned King of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor. Two new leaders await our command in Anglia. Rear Admiral Button is an explorer but a good naval tactician and so is put in charge of the Home Fleet in Wessex. Baffin is sent on a voyage to Jaffna, there to rendezvous with additional vessels and continue on towards Malacca, resuming Hudson's mission. We also commission another 4,000/2,000 troops in Modena and two warships in Wessex, to bring the total of the Home Fleet up to 30.
In August Malacca once again proves that it is no easy place to tame as our latest group of colonists is lost en-route. There is nothing for it but to tighten our belts and send another party. In June the city of Saint Andrews is founded in the Everglades. One in the eye for our Spanish friends.
War breaks out in the east again in August as the Mameluks (Persia) declare war on Tripoli (Turkey, Cyrenaica, Crimea, Algiers, Aden, Oman) in an attempt to regain their territory lost in the last war. Turkey siezes the Lebanon from the Mameluks in October.
Corfu finally falls to our forces on the 23rd October and we take steps to return half our force to Romagna, leaving a garrison of approximately 5,000 to deal with any rebellious sentiment that might linger.
In November an unexpected development occurs as a peasant uprising in Messina swiftly escalates into a full uprising against Spain and the declaration of Sicilian independence. Spain declares war on her wayward child and Naples leaps to her support, but the Papal States and the Incas dishonour the alliance. We consider carefully before deciding that we cannot afford to go to war again just now. We are beset from the west by the threatening potential of the French alliance and the Poles to the east, not to mention Venice in their midst. With heavy hearts we decline the invitation to punish the Sicilians and the alliance is sundered. Let us pray no-one tries to take advantage of our isolation...
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) each day. I just hope that when I finally get this great game (it's in the mail
