Yet another English AAR...
Difficulty: Easy/Aggressive. This is like, my fourth game or so.
Historical & Random Event on.
Jan. 2, 1502
It was a cold winter day in Beverley Estates. I was enjoying my private reserve of wine from Aquitaine, smuggled of course, since the French decided to place a trade embargo against England, when my valet Godfrey knocked on my study door.
“Message for you, my lord,” he said, as he handed a crisp roll of paper with royal insignia on it.
It was a summon from the King, ordering my to come to London. This, of course, mystified me, because I thought that I was out of favour with the Royal Court. No matter. I best be on my way.
Jan. 3, 1502
I must admit that I hated traveling on carriage. My bottom hurts from the uneven road that leads from my estate in Northumberland to London.
I was quickly ushered into the Royal Chamber after my arrival at the palace. King Henry had just finished his morning business when I came in.
“Come in, my lord baron,” he beckoned. Oh dear, I thought. If the King wanted to see me, then I must either be in big trouble, or be assigned to some duty that will lead to troubles.
“You know, of course, that of our dire situation today,” he began.
“Yes, sire,” I replied, wondering where this conversation will lead.
“My lord, I have been informed that Earl of Essex has just died.”
I grimaced. The Earl was the previous First Minister to the King and did well in managing England’s recovery after the disastrous war with France.
“Therefore, We have decided that you shall be appointed First Minister.”
Oh dear, I thought. I knew that something like this would happen. So I protested.
King Henry would not hear of it. “This is final and settled, my lord. All the ministers, and We have decided that you are the only candidate suitable for this position.”
I tried to protest this insanity again. The King merely smiled and said, “No more out of you, my lord, or to the Tower you go.”
I decided to shut my mouth.
Then the King said, “Now kneel, my lord.” And he brought our his great sword and said,” I, Henry, King of England, hereby do appoint John Beverley, Baron Newcastle, as First Minister, and Viscount of the Realm.”
So, I was stuck with this miserable responsibility.
Jan. 10, 1502
I do not believe I have slept well for last seven days, since I became the First Minister. The days and most of nights have been spent with papers and ministers briefing me with the current situation to date.
The situation since 1492 to now is this:
In Jan, 1492, Lord Watford, First Minister, guided the King to break off the alliance with Spain who has became very hostile against England and to seek new allies. The next two years was spent making alliance with Austria, Brandenburg, Navarra and Hannover, plus Royal Marriages.
Feeling that the time was ripe to take revenge against those lousy Scottish sheep buggers who has no allies to speak of, King Henry, urged by Watford, declared war on Scotland. Ear of Norfolk, lead the Army of Scotland, consisting of 25000 infantry and 5000 cavalry, into Scotland, winning smashing victories against two Scottish armies about 10000 and 15000 in two separate engagements in Strathclyde. 6000 men of Earl of Essex chased the craven Scots all over the Highlands and Lothian, annihilating them into tiny bits.
However, the French decided to declare war on us. Seeing no choice but call our allies to our banners, we did and we were glad to see that all our faithful allies answered our call.
We did manage to quickly secure a peace with Scotland, with Strathclyde being added to England’s Realm and rushed our army to the south, but it was not fast enough prevent the fall of Calais and annexation of Navarra.
Seething in anger, King Henry ordered Norfolk to France, but Lord Watford urged peace, since our other Allies, Hannover, Brandenburg and Austria were not able to send us any help.
But Spain, seeing a decisive chance to crush the French once and for all, declared war on France, to our great surprise. We were briefly left alone, while the Spain and France, with their allies fought for their lives. Watford changed his mind about peace and Norfolk landed with an army of 30000 in Picardie, capturing that province. He then went to neighbouring province of Caux and captured it. Then the shocking news came. France has signed a peace treaty with Spain, with Spain paying an indemnity of mere 50 ducats. Later, we found out that Spain was at war with Portugal, winning province of Oporto. Now France had the ability to exert her full strength on England. We tried to settle for a white peace, but France will hear none of it. Our navy, led by Duke of Buckingham, valiant tried to keep the Channel open so that reinforcements can come in, but the French and Savoyard Navy defeated him and closing the Channel, despite the fact that Buckingham won several victories before. Beleaguered Norfolk desperately lead his army into many victories, however, he died of disease in the fields of Picardie, and his second-in-command, Earl of Sandwich, was overwhelmed by combined army of France, Savoy and Papal States (60000 against 15000) and had to surrender to the enemy at Amiens.
In the fall of 1497, a French army of 20000 men landed in Kent, capturing the fortress at Dover, because the English navy was still bottled up in Wessex by the superior Franco-Savoyard navy. An army 4000 in Kent did manage to whittle down the French to 15000 men, all cavalry. Therefore, an army of 20000, mostly of foot, was raised in Anglia and they managed to destroy the French invaders, but in that costly victory at the cliffs of Dover, there was only 4000 English men standing.
Lord Watford was disgraced and dismissed as First Minister. Earl of Essex who performed well in Scotland was appointed as new First Minister and in December of 1498, the French ambassador delivered a peace treaty to England, demanding Calais and all our treasury of 58 ducats. We had no choice but to accept the treaty, which was offered by the French twice but was rejected by Watford during the days of Norfolk’s victories.
Watford’s legacy to England left her in a dire state. Bankrupt, even with two war taxes that shook the stability of the nation, owning two loans consisting up to 400 ducats, with almost no standing army, weakened navy compounded by failed expedition of John Cabot to Africa, and loss of Calais, the new First Minister, Essex, had a daunting task of rebuilding shattered country.
But he was up to the challenge. Using stolen Spanish maps that showed the fabled new world, Essex commissioned a new colony in Pernambuc in South America. The new colony was called Queenstown. He secured an alliance with Saxony, who was becoming a power in Germany after annexing Thuringen. I was the ambassador to Saxony that secured the alliance and marriage of Prince George, second son of King Henry to Princess Sophia of Saxony. He also repaid one of the bank loans and a new group of settlers raised the number of inhabitants in Quennstown colony to 200 souls. Also, he sent our merchants to Flanders and Holstein, securing 5 spots in Flanders and 4 spots in Holstein, despite the fierce trade competition there. So when he died suddenly in 1502, England was on her way to recovery.
Major Alliances
England (leader): Austria, Brandenburg, Hannover, Saxony
France (leader): Savoy, Papal States, Scotland
Spain (leader): Milan, Naples, Lorraine, Poland-Lithuania, The Palatinate, Cologne
Turkey (leader): Tunisia, Iraq, Crimea, Algiers
Russia (leader): Denmark, Pskov
Victory Points
Spain 176
England 144
France 92
Portugal 81
Russia 76
Turkey 66
Papal States 61
Difficulty: Easy/Aggressive. This is like, my fourth game or so.
Historical & Random Event on.
Jan. 2, 1502
It was a cold winter day in Beverley Estates. I was enjoying my private reserve of wine from Aquitaine, smuggled of course, since the French decided to place a trade embargo against England, when my valet Godfrey knocked on my study door.
“Message for you, my lord,” he said, as he handed a crisp roll of paper with royal insignia on it.
It was a summon from the King, ordering my to come to London. This, of course, mystified me, because I thought that I was out of favour with the Royal Court. No matter. I best be on my way.
Jan. 3, 1502
I must admit that I hated traveling on carriage. My bottom hurts from the uneven road that leads from my estate in Northumberland to London.
I was quickly ushered into the Royal Chamber after my arrival at the palace. King Henry had just finished his morning business when I came in.
“Come in, my lord baron,” he beckoned. Oh dear, I thought. If the King wanted to see me, then I must either be in big trouble, or be assigned to some duty that will lead to troubles.
“You know, of course, that of our dire situation today,” he began.
“Yes, sire,” I replied, wondering where this conversation will lead.
“My lord, I have been informed that Earl of Essex has just died.”
I grimaced. The Earl was the previous First Minister to the King and did well in managing England’s recovery after the disastrous war with France.
“Therefore, We have decided that you shall be appointed First Minister.”
Oh dear, I thought. I knew that something like this would happen. So I protested.
King Henry would not hear of it. “This is final and settled, my lord. All the ministers, and We have decided that you are the only candidate suitable for this position.”
I tried to protest this insanity again. The King merely smiled and said, “No more out of you, my lord, or to the Tower you go.”
I decided to shut my mouth.
Then the King said, “Now kneel, my lord.” And he brought our his great sword and said,” I, Henry, King of England, hereby do appoint John Beverley, Baron Newcastle, as First Minister, and Viscount of the Realm.”
So, I was stuck with this miserable responsibility.
Jan. 10, 1502
I do not believe I have slept well for last seven days, since I became the First Minister. The days and most of nights have been spent with papers and ministers briefing me with the current situation to date.
The situation since 1492 to now is this:
In Jan, 1492, Lord Watford, First Minister, guided the King to break off the alliance with Spain who has became very hostile against England and to seek new allies. The next two years was spent making alliance with Austria, Brandenburg, Navarra and Hannover, plus Royal Marriages.
Feeling that the time was ripe to take revenge against those lousy Scottish sheep buggers who has no allies to speak of, King Henry, urged by Watford, declared war on Scotland. Ear of Norfolk, lead the Army of Scotland, consisting of 25000 infantry and 5000 cavalry, into Scotland, winning smashing victories against two Scottish armies about 10000 and 15000 in two separate engagements in Strathclyde. 6000 men of Earl of Essex chased the craven Scots all over the Highlands and Lothian, annihilating them into tiny bits.
However, the French decided to declare war on us. Seeing no choice but call our allies to our banners, we did and we were glad to see that all our faithful allies answered our call.
We did manage to quickly secure a peace with Scotland, with Strathclyde being added to England’s Realm and rushed our army to the south, but it was not fast enough prevent the fall of Calais and annexation of Navarra.
Seething in anger, King Henry ordered Norfolk to France, but Lord Watford urged peace, since our other Allies, Hannover, Brandenburg and Austria were not able to send us any help.
But Spain, seeing a decisive chance to crush the French once and for all, declared war on France, to our great surprise. We were briefly left alone, while the Spain and France, with their allies fought for their lives. Watford changed his mind about peace and Norfolk landed with an army of 30000 in Picardie, capturing that province. He then went to neighbouring province of Caux and captured it. Then the shocking news came. France has signed a peace treaty with Spain, with Spain paying an indemnity of mere 50 ducats. Later, we found out that Spain was at war with Portugal, winning province of Oporto. Now France had the ability to exert her full strength on England. We tried to settle for a white peace, but France will hear none of it. Our navy, led by Duke of Buckingham, valiant tried to keep the Channel open so that reinforcements can come in, but the French and Savoyard Navy defeated him and closing the Channel, despite the fact that Buckingham won several victories before. Beleaguered Norfolk desperately lead his army into many victories, however, he died of disease in the fields of Picardie, and his second-in-command, Earl of Sandwich, was overwhelmed by combined army of France, Savoy and Papal States (60000 against 15000) and had to surrender to the enemy at Amiens.
In the fall of 1497, a French army of 20000 men landed in Kent, capturing the fortress at Dover, because the English navy was still bottled up in Wessex by the superior Franco-Savoyard navy. An army 4000 in Kent did manage to whittle down the French to 15000 men, all cavalry. Therefore, an army of 20000, mostly of foot, was raised in Anglia and they managed to destroy the French invaders, but in that costly victory at the cliffs of Dover, there was only 4000 English men standing.
Lord Watford was disgraced and dismissed as First Minister. Earl of Essex who performed well in Scotland was appointed as new First Minister and in December of 1498, the French ambassador delivered a peace treaty to England, demanding Calais and all our treasury of 58 ducats. We had no choice but to accept the treaty, which was offered by the French twice but was rejected by Watford during the days of Norfolk’s victories.
Watford’s legacy to England left her in a dire state. Bankrupt, even with two war taxes that shook the stability of the nation, owning two loans consisting up to 400 ducats, with almost no standing army, weakened navy compounded by failed expedition of John Cabot to Africa, and loss of Calais, the new First Minister, Essex, had a daunting task of rebuilding shattered country.
But he was up to the challenge. Using stolen Spanish maps that showed the fabled new world, Essex commissioned a new colony in Pernambuc in South America. The new colony was called Queenstown. He secured an alliance with Saxony, who was becoming a power in Germany after annexing Thuringen. I was the ambassador to Saxony that secured the alliance and marriage of Prince George, second son of King Henry to Princess Sophia of Saxony. He also repaid one of the bank loans and a new group of settlers raised the number of inhabitants in Quennstown colony to 200 souls. Also, he sent our merchants to Flanders and Holstein, securing 5 spots in Flanders and 4 spots in Holstein, despite the fierce trade competition there. So when he died suddenly in 1502, England was on her way to recovery.
Major Alliances
England (leader): Austria, Brandenburg, Hannover, Saxony
France (leader): Savoy, Papal States, Scotland
Spain (leader): Milan, Naples, Lorraine, Poland-Lithuania, The Palatinate, Cologne
Turkey (leader): Tunisia, Iraq, Crimea, Algiers
Russia (leader): Denmark, Pskov
Victory Points
Spain 176
England 144
France 92
Portugal 81
Russia 76
Turkey 66
Papal States 61
