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Wow, big changes going on now. A fantastic chapter there, I love all the alliances and politics etc between the nations.
Never trust a Prussian. Prussia just wants Hanover. Give them a chance, teach them English and they'll be loyal members of the Empire. Your actions have caused The Madness of King George and he must be moved Far From the Madding Crowd.
Search for a Regent? Has Prinny got drunk in some brothel out in the Country again? Such shocking behaviour is what we've come to expect from the German royals. We have no Great Expectations for this crown prince.
To think that two young men, boys really are preparing to enter the elite French military academy at Angers. One from the new French island of Corsica who will not be a shepherd as the father of his prospective bride, Desiree, has turned him away (She become Queen of Sweden, but that's another story) and his name, Francohoned, is Napoleon Bonaparte. The other, an English boy, named Art who is no good at anything else - Arthur Wellesley, Ist Duke of Wellington.
Meanwhile, what is Cornwallis turning upside down in India?
Search for a Regent? Has Prinny got drunk in some brothel out in the Country again? Such shocking behaviour is what we've come to expect from the German royals. We have no Great Expectations for this crown prince.
To think that two young men, boys really are preparing to enter the elite French military academy at Angers. One from the new French island of Corsica who will not be a shepherd as the father of his prospective bride, Desiree, has turned him away (She become Queen of Sweden, but that's another story) and his name, Francohoned, is Napoleon Bonaparte. The other, an English boy, named Art who is no good at anything else - Arthur Wellesley, Ist Duke of Wellington.
Meanwhile, what is Cornwallis turning upside down in India?
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Oooh, we very nearly had the French Revolution occuring on the wrong side of the English Channel. Fortunately, there wasn't one, but things are still problematic...
I have to say that is quite ironic considering that Pitt the Younger historically came to power on the back of a political coup driven, of all people, by KG3.
A very interesting man is Mr Pitt.
A very interesting man is Mr Pitt.
Another one? After all the upheaval of recent years it's not out of the question, but it would be out of character. Regular constitutional upheaval and revolution is more a French trait than British.Vincent Julien said:
Excellent AAR you've got here, a very interesting ATL.
Let's hope Pitt can ditch the King, after all it will probably cheer up all those American Rebels and hence be good for the Empire.
Long live the Republic!
Let's hope Pitt can ditch the King, after all it will probably cheer up all those American Rebels and hence be good for the Empire.
Long live the Republic!
Sorry for the long hiatus everyone, I've been busy finishing up my school exams and spending time with my other half before she leaves for the Summer.
Fulcrumvale, VJ: All I'll say is that in a post-revolution society a blatantly interventionist King wouldn't sit that well.
anonymous4401: If you love him so much I will gladly make Zombie Pitt my Prime Minister for the entirety of the game.
Duke of Wellington: For me a good part of the fun of EUII is inferring about the real historical machinations behind the AI's decisions. I'd like to think that Louis XVI's bumbling miscalculations pushed away the Netherlands instead of the AI deciding it had a higher relations value with Prussia than France.
Chief Ragusa: It is too late, Hannover is gone. It may come back to haunt the Empire in the form of some Prussian war, but right now it is worth not being isolated by the Franco-Spanish alliance.
India is interesting, I'll get back there after I deal with my alliance commitment.
Judas Maccabeus: There are definitely some residual issues but now that George is incapacitated the ball is entirely in Pitt's court. We'll see what he does with the new freedom...
stnylan: It is interesting when you examine Pitt's political record after taking office, he is not of the typical mold that George supported. Seems like he did it just to spite Fox.
El Pip: Indeed. But, who knows what George will do.
Konig15: Thank you!
Dr. Gonzo: I think the Americans are contented for now, at least given the lack of another armed secession attempt. The really interesting thing to watch for will be if liberal American politicians can make a dent in the Commons. Thanks for the compliment, as well.
Update next!
Fulcrumvale, VJ: All I'll say is that in a post-revolution society a blatantly interventionist King wouldn't sit that well.
anonymous4401: If you love him so much I will gladly make Zombie Pitt my Prime Minister for the entirety of the game.
Duke of Wellington: For me a good part of the fun of EUII is inferring about the real historical machinations behind the AI's decisions. I'd like to think that Louis XVI's bumbling miscalculations pushed away the Netherlands instead of the AI deciding it had a higher relations value with Prussia than France.
Chief Ragusa: It is too late, Hannover is gone. It may come back to haunt the Empire in the form of some Prussian war, but right now it is worth not being isolated by the Franco-Spanish alliance.
India is interesting, I'll get back there after I deal with my alliance commitment.
Judas Maccabeus: There are definitely some residual issues but now that George is incapacitated the ball is entirely in Pitt's court. We'll see what he does with the new freedom...
stnylan: It is interesting when you examine Pitt's political record after taking office, he is not of the typical mold that George supported. Seems like he did it just to spite Fox.
El Pip: Indeed. But, who knows what George will do.
Konig15: Thank you!
Dr. Gonzo: I think the Americans are contented for now, at least given the lack of another armed secession attempt. The really interesting thing to watch for will be if liberal American politicians can make a dent in the Commons. Thanks for the compliment, as well.
Update next!
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V.
The Mediterranean world of the late 18th century was frozen in time as an anachronistic relic of the Middle Ages. The Islamic Empire of Osman clung to much of the Balkans, pirates still swarmed the waters of the Barbary Coast, and Italian city states struggled for survival in an era of nations. Foremost among these warring polis' was the Most Serene Republic of Venice, once masters of the Mare Nostrum. The relative decline of the Turks did little to satiate their hunger for expansion at Venice's expense and their island empire was soon reduced to rubble through centuries of near constant warfare and subsequent retreat. Now, restricted to a few paltry holdings in the Greek Isles and Ragusa, they were under siege from all directions. Emperor Joseph II’s quest to reinvigorate the ailing Hapsburg state manifested itself in a serious push for dominance in the Italian peninsula, the destruction of the Republic an inherent part of such a scenario. The Austrian administrations in Milan and Mantua were treated by the local people with such outright disdain that the patrician families of the old dynasties were forced to seek aid in the Tuscan court of Pietro Leopoldo I, the parochial brother of the Emperor and an Austrian transplant who had adopted the culture of his Italian demense with vigorous enthusiasm. While most of the city states had been either annexed entirely or forced in to a vassalization, Florence had managed to rise to a position of regional dominance and made it state policy to antagonize the Hapsburgs at every possible opportunity. The uneasy peace of power balance erupted in a vast web of allegiances and ambition that would culminate in the Adriatic Wars of 1784, setting off a chain reaction that would test the new British Empire and eventually light the spark of Italian Nationalism.
Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I's actions are considered by many
to have fundamentally altered the Italian political climate for decades.
It was no great secret that the Papal States had long sought to dominate Italy, and Florence more than any other state was familiar with the cost of Papal ambition. The extremely bloody reign of radical Dominican Girolamo Savonarola was so permanently embedded in the public consciousness that an outbreak of violence in the Papal mandate of Ancona caused widespread calls for retribution. Leopoldo, convinced that the alternative was slow decay and eventual Austrian invasion, declared war on November 17th, 1784 and shattered the tentative political establishment. Pope Pius VI excommunicated the Florentine and called for nearby realms to rally to the defense of the Holy See. The Kingdom of Naples, rigidly Catholic and loyal to the Papacy, pleaded with their Austrian suzerains to intervene. Austria's disastrous ongoing conflict in Wallachia precluded any action that did not involve total defeat in Italy and Josef was forced to decline. Outraged, the Neapolitan King cancelled his oath of fealty to the Emperor, entered an independent alliance with Venice, and immediately initiated hostilities against the Tuscan armies laying siege to Rome. The now humiliated Josef was essentially required to respond to such an egregious show of disrespect and promptly invoked his alliance with Prussia and the Netherlands. The United Kingdom entered shortly after and dispatched a 30,000 man force under Brigadier General Banastre Tarleton with the primary goal of occupying Sicily and the remaining Venetian island holdings.
The Army of the Mediterranean disembarked from the Western Squadron at Gibraltar and proceeded forward with the Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral George Brydges Rodney, stopping at Mallorca to add an additional 11,000 men and artillery to the invasion force. They successfully avoided enemy patrols for several days before arriving outside Palermo and commencing bombardment of the coastal fort there. A large force emerged from the Adriatic on April 4th and made a concerted effort to lift the siege of the beleaguered city, making contact with the British fleet on the 21st. Although smaller than the combined Neapolitan and Venetian fleets, the modern British line ships were vastly superior to the galleys employed by the opposing navies and the subsequent firefight was immortalized in Sicilian folklore as an embodiment of pure force. Brigadier Tarleton stormed the Palazzo dei Normanni on the 1st of the next month and easily dispersed the disheveled defenders. Poorly trained peasant levies and partisan militias formed so much of the resistance that by the time the Regulars prepared for the march to Messina there were no standing armies to challenge them. Confident of victory, Tarleton split the Army in two and released a second detachment to Admiral Rodney with orders to take the Venetian island of Corfu.
Even the heaviest of the Mediterranean Galleys were largely outclassed by Royal Navy Frigates, a testament to the changing times.
The Great Ottoman Siege of 1716 had decisively proven the strength of Venetian fortifications to the world. However, nearly 70 years later, the very essence of warfare had shifted radically. The once mighty walls of Corfu had fallen into disrepair and the overwhelming firepower arrayed against the defenders was roughly equivalent to six of the original Turkish armies. A constant barrage of cannon fire demolished the outer walls of the Palaio Frourio at the mouth of the harbor. Royal Marines infiltrated the surrounding countryside and began land-based salvos with field artillery against the city. The struggle was hard fought and devastating for the inhabitants, but after nearly one year of unyielding siege warfare the island fell to the British expedition in February of 1786. The concurrent campaign against Messina proceeded with equal vigor and success. A Dutch army in Apulia harassed Neapolitan efforts to organize a counter attack and the Mediterranean Fleet’s blockade of the Straits cut off any hope of escape for fleeing soldiers. Tarleton’s brutal urban warfare tactics resulted in several questionable civilian incidents but also precipitated mass surrenders. Thousands of civilians flocked to the British battle line in search of food, but their pleas were rebuffed and within days the last remnants of King Ferrante IV’s supporters in the city were ousted in a popular uprising. The Brigadier used the rest of the month to secure the southern portion of the island and then delivered Pitt’s terms to the Neapolitan. Faced with encroaching Tuscan armies and the very real threat of an Austrian invasion, Tarleton accepted Naples’ surrender on June 7th, 1786. Now, with British commitments to the new alliance satisfied, the nation turned its attention eastward to India once more.
The results of the Treaty of Napoli. British Sicily would be rebuilt into a thriving port of call and Corfu refortified.
The Mediterranean world of the late 18th century was frozen in time as an anachronistic relic of the Middle Ages. The Islamic Empire of Osman clung to much of the Balkans, pirates still swarmed the waters of the Barbary Coast, and Italian city states struggled for survival in an era of nations. Foremost among these warring polis' was the Most Serene Republic of Venice, once masters of the Mare Nostrum. The relative decline of the Turks did little to satiate their hunger for expansion at Venice's expense and their island empire was soon reduced to rubble through centuries of near constant warfare and subsequent retreat. Now, restricted to a few paltry holdings in the Greek Isles and Ragusa, they were under siege from all directions. Emperor Joseph II’s quest to reinvigorate the ailing Hapsburg state manifested itself in a serious push for dominance in the Italian peninsula, the destruction of the Republic an inherent part of such a scenario. The Austrian administrations in Milan and Mantua were treated by the local people with such outright disdain that the patrician families of the old dynasties were forced to seek aid in the Tuscan court of Pietro Leopoldo I, the parochial brother of the Emperor and an Austrian transplant who had adopted the culture of his Italian demense with vigorous enthusiasm. While most of the city states had been either annexed entirely or forced in to a vassalization, Florence had managed to rise to a position of regional dominance and made it state policy to antagonize the Hapsburgs at every possible opportunity. The uneasy peace of power balance erupted in a vast web of allegiances and ambition that would culminate in the Adriatic Wars of 1784, setting off a chain reaction that would test the new British Empire and eventually light the spark of Italian Nationalism.
Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I's actions are considered by many
to have fundamentally altered the Italian political climate for decades.
It was no great secret that the Papal States had long sought to dominate Italy, and Florence more than any other state was familiar with the cost of Papal ambition. The extremely bloody reign of radical Dominican Girolamo Savonarola was so permanently embedded in the public consciousness that an outbreak of violence in the Papal mandate of Ancona caused widespread calls for retribution. Leopoldo, convinced that the alternative was slow decay and eventual Austrian invasion, declared war on November 17th, 1784 and shattered the tentative political establishment. Pope Pius VI excommunicated the Florentine and called for nearby realms to rally to the defense of the Holy See. The Kingdom of Naples, rigidly Catholic and loyal to the Papacy, pleaded with their Austrian suzerains to intervene. Austria's disastrous ongoing conflict in Wallachia precluded any action that did not involve total defeat in Italy and Josef was forced to decline. Outraged, the Neapolitan King cancelled his oath of fealty to the Emperor, entered an independent alliance with Venice, and immediately initiated hostilities against the Tuscan armies laying siege to Rome. The now humiliated Josef was essentially required to respond to such an egregious show of disrespect and promptly invoked his alliance with Prussia and the Netherlands. The United Kingdom entered shortly after and dispatched a 30,000 man force under Brigadier General Banastre Tarleton with the primary goal of occupying Sicily and the remaining Venetian island holdings.
The Army of the Mediterranean disembarked from the Western Squadron at Gibraltar and proceeded forward with the Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral George Brydges Rodney, stopping at Mallorca to add an additional 11,000 men and artillery to the invasion force. They successfully avoided enemy patrols for several days before arriving outside Palermo and commencing bombardment of the coastal fort there. A large force emerged from the Adriatic on April 4th and made a concerted effort to lift the siege of the beleaguered city, making contact with the British fleet on the 21st. Although smaller than the combined Neapolitan and Venetian fleets, the modern British line ships were vastly superior to the galleys employed by the opposing navies and the subsequent firefight was immortalized in Sicilian folklore as an embodiment of pure force. Brigadier Tarleton stormed the Palazzo dei Normanni on the 1st of the next month and easily dispersed the disheveled defenders. Poorly trained peasant levies and partisan militias formed so much of the resistance that by the time the Regulars prepared for the march to Messina there were no standing armies to challenge them. Confident of victory, Tarleton split the Army in two and released a second detachment to Admiral Rodney with orders to take the Venetian island of Corfu.
Even the heaviest of the Mediterranean Galleys were largely outclassed by Royal Navy Frigates, a testament to the changing times.
The Great Ottoman Siege of 1716 had decisively proven the strength of Venetian fortifications to the world. However, nearly 70 years later, the very essence of warfare had shifted radically. The once mighty walls of Corfu had fallen into disrepair and the overwhelming firepower arrayed against the defenders was roughly equivalent to six of the original Turkish armies. A constant barrage of cannon fire demolished the outer walls of the Palaio Frourio at the mouth of the harbor. Royal Marines infiltrated the surrounding countryside and began land-based salvos with field artillery against the city. The struggle was hard fought and devastating for the inhabitants, but after nearly one year of unyielding siege warfare the island fell to the British expedition in February of 1786. The concurrent campaign against Messina proceeded with equal vigor and success. A Dutch army in Apulia harassed Neapolitan efforts to organize a counter attack and the Mediterranean Fleet’s blockade of the Straits cut off any hope of escape for fleeing soldiers. Tarleton’s brutal urban warfare tactics resulted in several questionable civilian incidents but also precipitated mass surrenders. Thousands of civilians flocked to the British battle line in search of food, but their pleas were rebuffed and within days the last remnants of King Ferrante IV’s supporters in the city were ousted in a popular uprising. The Brigadier used the rest of the month to secure the southern portion of the island and then delivered Pitt’s terms to the Neapolitan. Faced with encroaching Tuscan armies and the very real threat of an Austrian invasion, Tarleton accepted Naples’ surrender on June 7th, 1786. Now, with British commitments to the new alliance satisfied, the nation turned its attention eastward to India once more.
The results of the Treaty of Napoli. British Sicily would be rebuilt into a thriving port of call and Corfu refortified.
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The Elector Kings of Hannover were Kings of both Great Britain and Hannover from 1714 to 1837. Hannover had Salic Law, which meant that Victoria could not rule there. Not that it takes anything away from your excellent tale.
Good to see a Tarleton doing some real soldiering!
Good to see a Tarleton doing some real soldiering!
Grabbing Mediterranean islands was a favorite pastime of the British in the 18th century. Nice to see you keeping it up.
Chief Ragusa: Indeed, when Victoria ascended the realm would be lost in any case, so I decided to use it to my advantage. At the moment France is still the main threat to the Empire, so Germany will have to wait.
stnylan: Aye, operating out of Gibraltar is a real pain. Grabbing Sicily will put me at odds with Italian states in the future, but I think it is a valuable anchor to center power in the whole region.
Judas Maccabeus: Hehe, if only I had started earlier and grabbed Corsica before 1769...
Duke of Wellington: I would prefer to be grabbing several Indian Princedoms, but it always seems like there is something else dragging me away.
Well everyone, I've spent the better part of this summer converting the game to WATK. I originally started the game on vanilla because the thought of coding a new 1776 scenario was not that appealing. Unfortunately, I grew fedup with the map and that was exactly what I had to do. I reconstructed the entire save from scratch into the mod, and after weeks of crippling CTDs I have finally gotten it to work correctly. I think the game will be better for it, but I just wish it hadn't taken so long.
Anyways, update next!
stnylan: Aye, operating out of Gibraltar is a real pain. Grabbing Sicily will put me at odds with Italian states in the future, but I think it is a valuable anchor to center power in the whole region.
Judas Maccabeus: Hehe, if only I had started earlier and grabbed Corsica before 1769...
Duke of Wellington: I would prefer to be grabbing several Indian Princedoms, but it always seems like there is something else dragging me away.
Well everyone, I've spent the better part of this summer converting the game to WATK. I originally started the game on vanilla because the thought of coding a new 1776 scenario was not that appealing. Unfortunately, I grew fedup with the map and that was exactly what I had to do. I reconstructed the entire save from scratch into the mod, and after weeks of crippling CTDs I have finally gotten it to work correctly. I think the game will be better for it, but I just wish it hadn't taken so long.
Anyways, update next!
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VI.
The Kingdom of Portugal, once at the forefront of world affairs, had by the close of the 18th century been reduced to a shadow of the globe-spanning empire known to centuries past. Religious and patriotic fervor carried legions of Portuguese soldiers and Indian mercenaries into battle from Goa, clashing with the fanatical servants of Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu, the Tiger of Mysore. Spurned by the British in a previous conflict with the Marathas, Tippu had been driven into the arms of the French but was faced with implacable indifference when war erupted. The Maharajah was isolated, but the Sultan's fearless tenacity would prove a powerful counter to the seemingly overwhelming firepower available to the Portuguese. 1784 saw a series of dizzying defeats for the Europeans as ambush after ambush decimated the standing Indian garrison. Reinforcements from Portugal arrived by the Summer of 1785 with field artillery and an expeditionary force of 20,000 men landed on the Pacific Coast. Tippu's rush to engage them near the fields of Quilon precipitated the first Portuguese victory of the war, in a bloody standing battle that massacred much of the Sultan's army.
The Tiger of Mysore.
The invaders turned northward and marched for the city of Cochin, managing to avoid any further rural entanglements. The bombardment lasted little more than 15 days before the Portuguese commander ordered a full assault on the remaining native strongholds among the urban area. The initial push ended in failure and only after two more brutal efforts would the city fall on January 19th, 1786. The shattered army halted, unable to advance further inland with any hope of success. With the economies of both combatants sapped to near exhaustion after two years of war and the resurgent British India beginning to eye neighboring states for expansion, the Maharajah sued for peace in February and reluctantly agreed to cede the area around Cochin to the invaders. Queen Maria and the Portuguese Empire emerged victorious, but only temporarily. The conclusion of the Adriatic Wars of 1784 freed British hands, and Pitt spared no time in furiously dealing with the brewing Indian crisis.
The seizure of Cochin threatened to destabilise the entire Indian Subcontinent if
a scramble between the British Empire and France were to break out.
Public reaction to the outcome of the war was one of unanimous outrage, with Whigs and Tories alike calling for swift condemnation. The Indian Subcontinent was solidly claimed as reserved for the British Empire, and any European expansion basely undermined that assertion. Even more frightening to the Crown was the very real possibility of France being roused to action. They were currently confined to a trading presence in Pondicherry, but the success of a second rate power such as Portugal might inspire further wars of expansion against the local Maharajahs. Pitt, still riding a wave of popular support from his battle with the King, called on Parliament to repeal the Treaty of Windsor and thus nullify the four hundred year old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Although violated numerous times during the religious turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries, the treaty had become a fixture of European diplomacy and was widely considered the longest standing international agreement in the modern world. The nation’s insatiable hunger for expansion, however, would work against it in the run up to the vote. As the prospect of another colonial war with Portugal and quite possible France grew larger, political opinion became fragmented over the use of the already tight Treasury and the conduct of the war.
There were no party lines in the spring of 1786 as MPs of all denominations and leanings splintered into different interest groups. A large faction argued that the cost of a conflict with Portugal was not worth the reward in India, but not even they could agree on where else the funds should be used. American Whigs called for investment into Westward expansion, certain reactionary Tories clamored for the outrageous annexation of Portugal proper, others still espoused a myriad of causes from establishing a presence in New Zealand to financing an expedition to Antarctica. Ultimately, Pitt would fall under the influence of the radical abolitionist William Wilberforce. Together, they made a private pact to abolish what they considered the ultimate injustice, the institution of slavery, by the end of the century. To that end, Pitt spoke before the Commons and passionately presented a case for the invasion of Portuguese Brazil. His public reasoning centered on the economic benefits and relative development of the area, swaying many of the fiscally-minded Whigs and reaffirming the support of the Tories advocating general war. The Treaty of Windsor was repealed on March 13th, 1786, and the declaration of war ratified by the now essentially toothless House of Lords on the following day. The Prime Minister declined to invoke the alliance with the Hapsburg Empire, Prussia, or the Netherlands in the hope of avoiding a general war and discouraging French entry. No immediate response came from either the Spanish or French governments and as the hours faded into days it became clear that the Portuguese Empire had been abandoned to its fate.
William Wilberforce's friendship with Prime Minister Pitt is often credited
with creating what would later be termed the first great "liberal interventionist" government.
Pitt sounded the general plea for all true patriots in the Americas, Europe, India, Australia, and Africa to answer Britannia’s call. Three massive armadas sailed from New York, Kent, and Calcutta bent on exercising the full power of the Royal Navy on any Portuguese vessels unlucky enough to cross their paths. Small contingents of Regulars fanned out through the sweltering heat of the Dark Continent and attempted to advance down the spine of the enemy holdings in Africa, while still others marched on settlements from Recife to Goa to Timor. The British Empire mustered its full strength and came crashing down upon the once great House of Aviz. Amid this display of imperial might, the seemingly inconsequential Captain of the frigate HMS Boreas, one Horatio Nelson, rounded the northern coast of Brazil with the Atlantic Squadron and stumbled into a baptism of fire around the shores of Rio De Janeiro.
The Kingdom of Portugal, once at the forefront of world affairs, had by the close of the 18th century been reduced to a shadow of the globe-spanning empire known to centuries past. Religious and patriotic fervor carried legions of Portuguese soldiers and Indian mercenaries into battle from Goa, clashing with the fanatical servants of Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu, the Tiger of Mysore. Spurned by the British in a previous conflict with the Marathas, Tippu had been driven into the arms of the French but was faced with implacable indifference when war erupted. The Maharajah was isolated, but the Sultan's fearless tenacity would prove a powerful counter to the seemingly overwhelming firepower available to the Portuguese. 1784 saw a series of dizzying defeats for the Europeans as ambush after ambush decimated the standing Indian garrison. Reinforcements from Portugal arrived by the Summer of 1785 with field artillery and an expeditionary force of 20,000 men landed on the Pacific Coast. Tippu's rush to engage them near the fields of Quilon precipitated the first Portuguese victory of the war, in a bloody standing battle that massacred much of the Sultan's army.
The Tiger of Mysore.
The invaders turned northward and marched for the city of Cochin, managing to avoid any further rural entanglements. The bombardment lasted little more than 15 days before the Portuguese commander ordered a full assault on the remaining native strongholds among the urban area. The initial push ended in failure and only after two more brutal efforts would the city fall on January 19th, 1786. The shattered army halted, unable to advance further inland with any hope of success. With the economies of both combatants sapped to near exhaustion after two years of war and the resurgent British India beginning to eye neighboring states for expansion, the Maharajah sued for peace in February and reluctantly agreed to cede the area around Cochin to the invaders. Queen Maria and the Portuguese Empire emerged victorious, but only temporarily. The conclusion of the Adriatic Wars of 1784 freed British hands, and Pitt spared no time in furiously dealing with the brewing Indian crisis.
The seizure of Cochin threatened to destabilise the entire Indian Subcontinent if
a scramble between the British Empire and France were to break out.
Public reaction to the outcome of the war was one of unanimous outrage, with Whigs and Tories alike calling for swift condemnation. The Indian Subcontinent was solidly claimed as reserved for the British Empire, and any European expansion basely undermined that assertion. Even more frightening to the Crown was the very real possibility of France being roused to action. They were currently confined to a trading presence in Pondicherry, but the success of a second rate power such as Portugal might inspire further wars of expansion against the local Maharajahs. Pitt, still riding a wave of popular support from his battle with the King, called on Parliament to repeal the Treaty of Windsor and thus nullify the four hundred year old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Although violated numerous times during the religious turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries, the treaty had become a fixture of European diplomacy and was widely considered the longest standing international agreement in the modern world. The nation’s insatiable hunger for expansion, however, would work against it in the run up to the vote. As the prospect of another colonial war with Portugal and quite possible France grew larger, political opinion became fragmented over the use of the already tight Treasury and the conduct of the war.
There were no party lines in the spring of 1786 as MPs of all denominations and leanings splintered into different interest groups. A large faction argued that the cost of a conflict with Portugal was not worth the reward in India, but not even they could agree on where else the funds should be used. American Whigs called for investment into Westward expansion, certain reactionary Tories clamored for the outrageous annexation of Portugal proper, others still espoused a myriad of causes from establishing a presence in New Zealand to financing an expedition to Antarctica. Ultimately, Pitt would fall under the influence of the radical abolitionist William Wilberforce. Together, they made a private pact to abolish what they considered the ultimate injustice, the institution of slavery, by the end of the century. To that end, Pitt spoke before the Commons and passionately presented a case for the invasion of Portuguese Brazil. His public reasoning centered on the economic benefits and relative development of the area, swaying many of the fiscally-minded Whigs and reaffirming the support of the Tories advocating general war. The Treaty of Windsor was repealed on March 13th, 1786, and the declaration of war ratified by the now essentially toothless House of Lords on the following day. The Prime Minister declined to invoke the alliance with the Hapsburg Empire, Prussia, or the Netherlands in the hope of avoiding a general war and discouraging French entry. No immediate response came from either the Spanish or French governments and as the hours faded into days it became clear that the Portuguese Empire had been abandoned to its fate.
William Wilberforce's friendship with Prime Minister Pitt is often credited
with creating what would later be termed the first great "liberal interventionist" government.
Pitt sounded the general plea for all true patriots in the Americas, Europe, India, Australia, and Africa to answer Britannia’s call. Three massive armadas sailed from New York, Kent, and Calcutta bent on exercising the full power of the Royal Navy on any Portuguese vessels unlucky enough to cross their paths. Small contingents of Regulars fanned out through the sweltering heat of the Dark Continent and attempted to advance down the spine of the enemy holdings in Africa, while still others marched on settlements from Recife to Goa to Timor. The British Empire mustered its full strength and came crashing down upon the once great House of Aviz. Amid this display of imperial might, the seemingly inconsequential Captain of the frigate HMS Boreas, one Horatio Nelson, rounded the northern coast of Brazil with the Atlantic Squadron and stumbled into a baptism of fire around the shores of Rio De Janeiro.
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Great to see this up and running again! I really enjoy this, and the era is one of my favourites.
-TGD
-TGD
Indeed. Britain is the best nation to read out of all the Paradox games, and I thoroughly enjoy doing so with a well-written AAR such as this.