Finally took the plunge and started.

[HiddenWolf]

I'm now slugging it out with Morroco. It was tough for a while but they are starting to get beat back on the high seas. I made peace with Grenada but somehow they still own it. I must have messed up somehow on making peace with those guys.

I'm down to 34 gold too. Kinda reminds me of chess. Easy to learn but hard to win.

It appears you accidentally accepted the offer of a white peace, a return to pre-war situation. If you had all three provinces conquered and their army beat, you should have made a demand yourself, namely to annex them.