Chapter the Seventh
Knights of Opportunity: In Hoc Signo Vinces, Chapter 7
Being the second to last chapter, approximately...
...Based on happenings many months in the past as remembered by an author with an imperfect memory
Assembled with much pain by the diligent scribe (said author)... Who at the moment prefers fighting the opposition in Machiavelli, an EU2MP RPG (sort of)...
....Read it before your neighbour....
Thus, without further ado,
....except for the following digression:
What has gone before
Through two centuries of unremitting bloodshed, the order of the Knights Hospitaller has spread from the tiny isle of Rhodes to control France, Italy, Portugal, parts of Spain, Greece, Anatolia, and Germany, as well as complete ownership of North, South, and Central America, plus a smattering of African, Indian, and South East Asian colonies... With Spain, England, Austria, and Sweden vassals to the Grand Master.
Thus is Europe partitioned in 1703
Let the action commence. (Note: Mainly action with very little commentary, I am afraid. Let the pictures speak for themselves)
In Hoc Signo Vinces
...The Tyrants of the World sought to stop him by all means possible. They perverted their own religions to make it serve their aims and to halt the spread of the true faith. They sent armies to fight the Knights in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia. All to know avail. Colours flying, the armies of the Knights Hospitaller marched to make war from their fortresses of Europe while yellow levies stiffened the forces in far off Cathay. Under the sign of the cross they marched and none could stand against them, their armies swarmed the lands and their fleets ruled the waves
"The infighting between the Swedish and Austrians must have been a major annoyance to the Grand Master, yet it is a tribute to the wisdom of Ramon Perellos y Rocaful that he let them fight their little fruitless wars without intervention. After two decades of intermittent wars, the vassals were ready to join the Knights' Alliance again. In 1720 Ramon died and was succeeded by Marc'Antonio Zondadori, whose main place in history is that of placeholder, as his successor a mere two years later was the great Antoine Manoel de Vilhena 'The Conqueror' who reigned a full 14 years, and, building on the work of his predecessors, began the final phase of uniting Christendom, and, afterwards, Europe."
"By the time of his death in 1736, Spain, England, Sweden, and Austria, had all joined the Knights' Realm, Russia was defeated, and the Sultan humbled"
"His successors proved to be men of action as well. With all of Europe under the Grand Master's rule and conscription centres in each and every European province, the number of idealistic young men ready to join the Holy Conquest seemed without limit. The war proceeded into Arabia, where the Knights Hospitaller were greatly feared..."
It is better to be feared....
"...And, supported from the American cities, a great fleet was dispatched to China..."
"...India saw the proud return of the Knights with a vengeance, this time to stay..."
"...And, following the conquest of the Ottoman Empire, the ancient realm of Persia was the next target of opportunity, the opportunity being to link up the Middle East with India..."
An Unfair Fight In Persia
"...There were plenty of minor skirmishes, of course, all over the world. The conquest of Africa is mostly ignored in the history books, and the remaining tribes in the Americas are usually only mentioned in connection with the exectution of Emperor Napot XIU the Mayan. Likewise the Russian conquest is commonly left out as dying from snowbite is regarded as less valourous than gangrene..."
Snapshots of Interest, 1739-1761
"Indeed, given the great conquests under Antoine Manoel de Vilhenam 'The Conqueror', Raymond Despuigh 'The Beast', and Manuel Pinto de Fonseca 'The Sin-slayer', it is no wonder, that the order of the Knights Hospitaller felt invulnerable in the late 1760'ies and eagerly awaited the final unification of the entire world, except for a few natives freezing their arses off in Siberia, and that it was widely expected to occur within a lifetime, two at the outmost"