Isn't it abit too cold for this in Courland?
Anyway, quite good. I assume that you will soon conquer the Baltic Muslims altogether?
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Isn't it abit too cold for this in Courland?
Anyway, quite good. I assume that you will soon conquer the Baltic Muslims altogether?
The time of the merchants, Part II
The time of the merchants, part II (1434-1437)
In October 1436 the merchant-dominated government sought to further strengthen its hold over Baltic trade by conquering the port of Danzig. By taking this great port the control of nearly all polish trade would be in the hands of the Republic. Since Danzig was in the hands of the Muscovites they were the ones to receive the formal declaration of war. This is where things first started going wrong for the merchants in power. It turned out that the Muscovites, with control over the rich trade centre of Liguria, had gained the support of the French and their allies the duchy of Artois. So instead of an isolated and fairly weak foe the Swedes now faced a powerful alliance.
The month of the declaration the war started up on two fronts. 10 000 men under marshal Eka landed at Danzig and began the siege and The great republican navy fought off a contingent of ships from Artois in The Sound.
It was decided that the siege of the Muscovite capital at Pskov would have to wait until after the winter. 16 000 men stood ready in Livland when the enemy surprised marshal Bonde by crossing the frozen Velikaya river for the attack. 5 000 Russians soundly defeated the Swedish army and with 2 000 dead or captured the Swedes withdrew to Estland to recover. In March an attempt was made to oust the Muscovites, this ended in fiasco as the Swedes lost again, and again withdrew. In June a final battle saw a final defeat of the Swedes, but since the Russians were now less than a thousand strong they saw no alternative but retreat. Marshal Bonde was hard on their heels and after a short skirmish in July the Muscovites saw no alternative but to withdraw to their keep and hope the winter would break the Swedish siege of Pskov.
Meanwhile attrition was high at the siege of Danzig and men died by the hundreds, suffering from an outbreak of dysentery within the camp. The siege had to be continually reinforced with fresh troops from home, and still it was making little headway. Both sieges now dragged on for two more winters until finally in June 1439 the city of Danzig fell, followed by Pskov in September the same year. The war had so far cost the Swedes over 30 000 dead and almost emptied the treasury. The republican government was now ready for peace but the enemy alliance would not yield Danzig. Instead they offered vast indemnities and since the Republics coffers were now emptied the peace was agreed in September 1440. Sweden returned control of both Danzig and Pskov in exchange for 306 000 ducats.
The prestige of the merchant faction was now seriously damaged, the war had been a net loss in funds and it had broken the morale of the army. Moreover it had shown the rest of Europe the impotence of her armies and without the protection of the powerful navy there was no telling what her neighbours might do. In order to rectify this mess the ruling merchants decided to conquer Denmark. In March 1442 war was declared and an army of 15 000 men was landed on the beaches off Skagen. It met with only token resistance from the Kings Guard and was thus able to lay siege with relative ease.
In April a breakout attempt by the Danish army was crushed and in May their navy suffered the same fate. By October the town was ready to fall. At this point the treasury was again empty however and the soldiers threatened mutiny unless they were paid. To prevent this calamity the rulers turned to their own faction for support and the merchants of Sweden were forced to contribute 200 000 ducats to the state. Shortly thereafter Skagen fell and Denmark was annexed. The government was saved for now, but at the cost of its reputation with their own faction.
In November of 1443 the noble faction finally saw their opportunity to gain power when foreign drill instructors appeared at parliament with the invitation of the high army commanders. For the extraordinary amount of 250 000 ducats they offered to raise both the quality and leadership skills of the army. As the government was weakened by its inept performance over the preceding decade the nobles were able to force the decision through the parliament. The cost forced the state into a loan with the bankers of Italy and by now the government was paralyzed. As a measure of financial stability all investments in new merchant activities were cancelled.
In September 1444 the price for this cancellation came when the burghers of Västerbotten rose in revolt. Having lost the control of their own trade to Genoese merchants meant potential poverty and ruin. The revolt did not die out until February 1446 since the cash-strapped authorities had to starve it into submission. In May 1447 Grandmaster Håvard, the strongman of the revolution more than 30 years earlier, died. The merchants had by now lost confidence in their own leadership, and since they had been forced to contribute much of their own wealth just to keep the state running, they didn’t oppose the nobles as they took over power. The time of the nobles was at hand.
Sweden in 1447
The time of the merchants, part II (1434-1437)
In October 1436 the merchant-dominated government sought to further strengthen its hold over Baltic trade by conquering the port of Danzig. By taking this great port the control of nearly all polish trade would be in the hands of the Republic. Since Danzig was in the hands of the Muscovites they were the ones to receive the formal declaration of war. This is where things first started going wrong for the merchants in power. It turned out that the Muscovites, with control over the rich trade centre of Liguria, had gained the support of the French and their allies the duchy of Artois. So instead of an isolated and fairly weak foe the Swedes now faced a powerful alliance.
The month of the declaration the war started up on two fronts. 10 000 men under marshal Eka landed at Danzig and began the siege and The great republican navy fought off a contingent of ships from Artois in The Sound.
It was decided that the siege of the Muscovite capital at Pskov would have to wait until after the winter. 16 000 men stood ready in Livland when the enemy surprised marshal Bonde by crossing the frozen Velikaya river for the attack. 5 000 Russians soundly defeated the Swedish army and with 2 000 dead or captured the Swedes withdrew to Estland to recover. In March an attempt was made to oust the Muscovites, this ended in fiasco as the Swedes lost again, and again withdrew. In June a final battle saw a final defeat of the Swedes, but since the Russians were now less than a thousand strong they saw no alternative but retreat. Marshal Bonde was hard on their heels and after a short skirmish in July the Muscovites saw no alternative but to withdraw to their keep and hope the winter would break the Swedish siege of Pskov.
Meanwhile attrition was high at the siege of Danzig and men died by the hundreds, suffering from an outbreak of dysentery within the camp. The siege had to be continually reinforced with fresh troops from home, and still it was making little headway. Both sieges now dragged on for two more winters until finally in June 1439 the city of Danzig fell, followed by Pskov in September the same year. The war had so far cost the Swedes over 30 000 dead and almost emptied the treasury. The republican government was now ready for peace but the enemy alliance would not yield Danzig. Instead they offered vast indemnities and since the Republics coffers were now emptied the peace was agreed in September 1440. Sweden returned control of both Danzig and Pskov in exchange for 306 000 ducats.
The prestige of the merchant faction was now seriously damaged, the war had been a net loss in funds and it had broken the morale of the army. Moreover it had shown the rest of Europe the impotence of her armies and without the protection of the powerful navy there was no telling what her neighbours might do. In order to rectify this mess the ruling merchants decided to conquer Denmark. In March 1442 war was declared and an army of 15 000 men was landed on the beaches off Skagen. It met with only token resistance from the Kings Guard and was thus able to lay siege with relative ease.
In April a breakout attempt by the Danish army was crushed and in May their navy suffered the same fate. By October the town was ready to fall. At this point the treasury was again empty however and the soldiers threatened mutiny unless they were paid. To prevent this calamity the rulers turned to their own faction for support and the merchants of Sweden were forced to contribute 200 000 ducats to the state. Shortly thereafter Skagen fell and Denmark was annexed. The government was saved for now, but at the cost of its reputation with their own faction.
In November of 1443 the noble faction finally saw their opportunity to gain power when foreign drill instructors appeared at parliament with the invitation of the high army commanders. For the extraordinary amount of 250 000 ducats they offered to raise both the quality and leadership skills of the army. As the government was weakened by its inept performance over the preceding decade the nobles were able to force the decision through the parliament. The cost forced the state into a loan with the bankers of Italy and by now the government was paralyzed. As a measure of financial stability all investments in new merchant activities were cancelled.
In September 1444 the price for this cancellation came when the burghers of Västerbotten rose in revolt. Having lost the control of their own trade to Genoese merchants meant potential poverty and ruin. The revolt did not die out until February 1446 since the cash-strapped authorities had to starve it into submission. In May 1447 Grandmaster Håvard, the strongman of the revolution more than 30 years earlier, died. The merchants had by now lost confidence in their own leadership, and since they had been forced to contribute much of their own wealth just to keep the state running, they didn’t oppose the nobles as they took over power. The time of the nobles was at hand.
Sweden in 1447
Future updates
Up until now I've spoiled you with daliy updates to my AAR. Sadly this cannot continue. Tomorrow I start practicing as teacher since this is part of my education and so I might not be able to post daily in the month to come. I hope to continue posting often though and I also hope that you bear with me even if I'll be a bit more sporadic now.
Oh, and here's the religious situation in Europe.
European religious affiliations
Up until now I've spoiled you with daliy updates to my AAR. Sadly this cannot continue. Tomorrow I start practicing as teacher since this is part of my education and so I might not be able to post daily in the month to come. I hope to continue posting often though and I also hope that you bear with me even if I'll be a bit more sporadic now.
Oh, and here's the religious situation in Europe.
European religious affiliations
Nice update there. tough times for Sweden. Thats an interesting map of Europe Muslims ruling Scotland?
Muslims ruling Scotland?
The time of the nobles
The time of the nobles (1447-1463)
In June 1447 Torkil of Dal rose to become the new Grandmaster of the Republic. His new government rested on the support of the noble faction. In the same month as he took over the exhausted merchants lost their last hold on overseas trade and were reduced to a shadow of their former influence in Visby as well. In December 1448 the economy reached its nadir when the state debt was cleared. From 1450 to 1454 the merchants then hoarded what income they had and in the spring of ’54 they undercut their competition and took back control of the trade in Visby. The country was once again stable and prosperous.
Just as the economy recovered the new government faced its first foreign relations crisis. The small Kingdom of Bohemia was attacked by its much larger neighbour Burgundy. Sweden answered the call and honoured their alliance with the Bohemians. Although many of the noble faction were still inspired by the lofty ideals of chivalry, the Grandmaster was definitely not. He saw an opportunity to take control of the province of Prussia, thereby seizing the only Burgundian harbour on the Baltic Sea. In 1454 the Kingdom of Burgundy consisted of two main parts. First there was metropolitan Burgundy with its seat in southern France. Then there was the much larger part that was the central Russian steppes and Belorussia, from the Baltic to the Volga. The Grandmasters plan hinged on two main tenets, first complete control of the Baltic and then numerical superiority in central Russia. Swedish military technology and doctrine had been sorely neglected during the time of the merchants and now the army lagged behind most of the major powers of Europe.
Burgundian Poland
In August an army under marshal Bonde was landed in Prussia and immediately began the siege of Königsberg. The siege was slow though and in November Bohemia was annexed by the Burgundians, freeing their army on the Volga to come west and fight the Swedish invasion.
In February 1455 a second army was landed and the siege of Wielkopolska began. During this siege the army fought two battles against smaller Burgundian armies and managed to defeat the first one but was defeated by the second army, a cavalry force. As the southern force retreated into Prussia they reinforced that siege and the combined armies defeated the Burgundian armies from the steppes. At the same time the Republican navy crushed the Burgundian one in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. By November the siege was over and the remaining ships were sunk as they tried to flee the harbour.
In January 1456 a Burgundian army defeated the Republican army of Livland, and in April the former Danish nobility revolted in Jylland. These two setbacks strained the resources of the country for awhile and no new armies were sent to fight in Belorussia that year. Instead a force was sent to quell the rebellion in Jylland. This expedition failed and the troops retreated to Sjaelland. In August Wielkopolska fell to marshal Bonde and the army marched on towards Lithuania.
In 1457 the navy fought off several attempts by the Burgundians to break through at the Sound. But after these attempts had failed the Republican navy never lost control over the Baltic throughout the entire war. In February that same year the army had finally come around to trying the new doctrine of storming the enemy with infantry independent of cavalry, they even considered storming cities under siege but this was dismissed by the officers as being too risky. By June the revolt in Jylland had steadily lost strength and when the expedition at Sjaelland tried again they were able to defeat the rebels. The year ended with the fall of Lithuania in December.
By June 1558 the army in Poland had managed to conquer the province of Mazovia as well and they now held all of Burgundian Poland. The peace was signed the same month; Sweden gained the province of Prussia and thus most of the toll income from the Burgundian interior. The cost of the war had been moderate in financial terms but the cost to trade was high. This was proven in December when the merchants were again ousted from Visby.
During the early 1460’s the economy then fluctuated with the success of the merchants in Visby. The stability of the realm had ironically never been threatened during the four years of war, but in May 1462 the peasants in Svealand rose in a massive revolt after the government had raised taxes in a year of failing harvests. The revolt was borne out of desperation and thus continued over the winter when in April 1463 the government was found to have squandered the funds of the tax hike on luxuries. This latest scandal combined with the failure to quell the rebels in battle during May toppled the noble-based government. A new government was formed by the leaders of the peasant rebellion. The time of the commoners was now at hand.
The time of the nobles (1447-1463)
In June 1447 Torkil of Dal rose to become the new Grandmaster of the Republic. His new government rested on the support of the noble faction. In the same month as he took over the exhausted merchants lost their last hold on overseas trade and were reduced to a shadow of their former influence in Visby as well. In December 1448 the economy reached its nadir when the state debt was cleared. From 1450 to 1454 the merchants then hoarded what income they had and in the spring of ’54 they undercut their competition and took back control of the trade in Visby. The country was once again stable and prosperous.
Just as the economy recovered the new government faced its first foreign relations crisis. The small Kingdom of Bohemia was attacked by its much larger neighbour Burgundy. Sweden answered the call and honoured their alliance with the Bohemians. Although many of the noble faction were still inspired by the lofty ideals of chivalry, the Grandmaster was definitely not. He saw an opportunity to take control of the province of Prussia, thereby seizing the only Burgundian harbour on the Baltic Sea. In 1454 the Kingdom of Burgundy consisted of two main parts. First there was metropolitan Burgundy with its seat in southern France. Then there was the much larger part that was the central Russian steppes and Belorussia, from the Baltic to the Volga. The Grandmasters plan hinged on two main tenets, first complete control of the Baltic and then numerical superiority in central Russia. Swedish military technology and doctrine had been sorely neglected during the time of the merchants and now the army lagged behind most of the major powers of Europe.
Burgundian Poland
In August an army under marshal Bonde was landed in Prussia and immediately began the siege of Königsberg. The siege was slow though and in November Bohemia was annexed by the Burgundians, freeing their army on the Volga to come west and fight the Swedish invasion.
In February 1455 a second army was landed and the siege of Wielkopolska began. During this siege the army fought two battles against smaller Burgundian armies and managed to defeat the first one but was defeated by the second army, a cavalry force. As the southern force retreated into Prussia they reinforced that siege and the combined armies defeated the Burgundian armies from the steppes. At the same time the Republican navy crushed the Burgundian one in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. By November the siege was over and the remaining ships were sunk as they tried to flee the harbour.
In January 1456 a Burgundian army defeated the Republican army of Livland, and in April the former Danish nobility revolted in Jylland. These two setbacks strained the resources of the country for awhile and no new armies were sent to fight in Belorussia that year. Instead a force was sent to quell the rebellion in Jylland. This expedition failed and the troops retreated to Sjaelland. In August Wielkopolska fell to marshal Bonde and the army marched on towards Lithuania.
In 1457 the navy fought off several attempts by the Burgundians to break through at the Sound. But after these attempts had failed the Republican navy never lost control over the Baltic throughout the entire war. In February that same year the army had finally come around to trying the new doctrine of storming the enemy with infantry independent of cavalry, they even considered storming cities under siege but this was dismissed by the officers as being too risky. By June the revolt in Jylland had steadily lost strength and when the expedition at Sjaelland tried again they were able to defeat the rebels. The year ended with the fall of Lithuania in December.
By June 1558 the army in Poland had managed to conquer the province of Mazovia as well and they now held all of Burgundian Poland. The peace was signed the same month; Sweden gained the province of Prussia and thus most of the toll income from the Burgundian interior. The cost of the war had been moderate in financial terms but the cost to trade was high. This was proven in December when the merchants were again ousted from Visby.
During the early 1460’s the economy then fluctuated with the success of the merchants in Visby. The stability of the realm had ironically never been threatened during the four years of war, but in May 1462 the peasants in Svealand rose in a massive revolt after the government had raised taxes in a year of failing harvests. The revolt was borne out of desperation and thus continued over the winter when in April 1463 the government was found to have squandered the funds of the tax hike on luxuries. This latest scandal combined with the failure to quell the rebels in battle during May toppled the noble-based government. A new government was formed by the leaders of the peasant rebellion. The time of the commoners was now at hand.
New competition
For the week of March 27-April 2 I'll go back to the vote. The alternatives for the reader's choice are the following:
A: An economical description
B: A portrait of life in the Republican Navy
C: A more detailed account of the fall of the noble government during the spring of '63
Votes will be counted on wednesday evening. That's wednesday the 29th.
I'll try to have an update for you by tuesday.
For the week of March 27-April 2 I'll go back to the vote. The alternatives for the reader's choice are the following:
A: An economical description
B: A portrait of life in the Republican Navy
C: A more detailed account of the fall of the noble government during the spring of '63
Votes will be counted on wednesday evening. That's wednesday the 29th.
I'll try to have an update for you by tuesday.
What I really do want is a political map of Europe, it seems rather weird. What are the great powers, apart from Sweden and Burgundy?
But I'd settle for option C. Nice update, btw.
But I'd settle for option C.
Nice update, btw.
Today I won't be giving you an update. Ihad three things to do spend time on; work family and this AAR. I'm sorry to say that the AAR had to go. I've worked for 10 hours and now I need to sleep. I'm also going to have to say that from now until the end of April my policy will have to be "It's ready when it's ready" to quote the great god of thunder and rock 'n roll. I'll still count the votes tomorrow though.
i vote for c, though i dont really like the options..
just of the aar is still good, nice burgundian poland!
like das said, what are the other powers?
just of the aar is still good, nice burgundian poland!
like das said, what are the other powers?
The vote is for B then. Life in the Republican Navy. I'll have a post for you before the week is out. I can't be more specific since it turns out that my current work is far more taxing than I had anticipated.
Life in the Republican Navy
Life in the Republican Navy
This is an excerpt from the much liked Swedish school book series Eyewitness Accounts. It tells the tale of Nils Kula, a mariner who sailed aboard the navy’s galleys as they plied the waters of the Baltic, escorting merchant vessels, carrying mail and hunting down pirates. He was a midshipman, and the second son of a self-made merchant from Visby. Since his father could only afford to educate one son Nils was sent off to become a cadet with the Republican Navy instead. What you are about to read is taken from his diaries.
June the first 1451
Today we set sail for the port of Lübeck. We are to escort a small fleet of six cogs carrying Finnish timbers to the markets of northern Germany. The captain expects a smooth journey but I’m not so sure, there’s talk of plague ravaging the German ports and none in the crew much fancy going there. My new friend Greger, who is also a midshipman, thinks it will be marvellous. He can’t stop talking about the various opportunities for debauchery that awaits us.
June the thirteenth 1451
Today one of the cogs ran aground. We were sailing through the archipelago off the coast of Östergötland, since we had to venture in among the isles to avoid a storm out to sea, when the lead ship in the flotilla hit a shoal and became stuck. Luckily it doesn’t appear to be sinking. The first mate is livid, he won’t stop cursing about these “wretched imbeciles” and “sloppy amateurs” that don’t know how to run a proper ship. In any case, it looks like we’ll be stuck here for at least a few days while the crew makes repairs.
June the eighteenth 1451
Today we made the port of Kalmar. Yesterday we met a small fishing skiff that informed us of an outbreak of plague in Lübeck. Understandably both us and the merchants then decided that sailing there was out of the question. We have now sailed to Kalmar instead, in order to decide what else to do. My bet is we’ll sail to Visby instead. It’s the biggest trade center in the entire North and there should be a market for the timbers there. I hope that’s our next port of call, if so I can visit my father and mother again.
Here in Kalmar we’d hardly tied the ship to the quay before Greger jumped ashore, heading for the nearest dockside tavern. I fear he’ll be of little use tomorrow. I’ll join him later though I shall try to keep my drinking to moderate levels.
June the nineteenth 1451
I was right. Today we sail for Visby. We should be there in a couple of days. It’ll be good to come home, even if only for a week.
June the twentieth 1451
The sea is becalmed. The cogs, lacking oars, cannot get anywhere and so we are forced to stay as well. There are reports about pirates preying on merchants in these waters and the captain has therefore decided not to take any chances.
June the twenty-second 1451
Not even a puff of wind for three days! We’re stuck and beginning to feel the effects. The tight-pursed merchants have skimped on supplies and now they’re starting to hurt for lack of fresh food and water. The heat is blistering.
June the twenty-third 1451
The sailors aboard one of the cogs mutinied today. We had to row over to it and send a party aboard to quell it. Six men dead, including the ships captain, of the surviving eight only five were loyal and so the rest were chained to the oars of our galley. I’m to take command of the cog until we reach Visby. We’ve only a crew of ten, the five loyal sailors plus a squad from our ship. It should be all right though.
June the twenty-fifth 1451
The wind has finally picked up! Today we sighted Gotland and we should reach Visby by nightfall. Not a moment to soon either. Scurvy is spreading on the ship and one of my men has already lost most of his teeth. If we don’t make port soon they won’t have the strength to crew the ship and we could be smashed against the coast.
June the twenty-sixth 1451
Today the wind died again. We have reached the coast and sent a landing party to fetch supplies, Greger told me we were forced to threaten the fat merchants with the lash to make them hand over enough money to buy food from the local farmers. The captain says that we can’t just take the food or word will spread and the next time the navy needs it the locals will have hidden it or destroyed it.
June the twenty-seventh 1451
Today we made the port of Visby. This large city has everything we need and almost half the crew are now infirm. We won’t be sailing anywhere soon. Not until the crew has been properly fed and rested. This is fine by me since I get to spend more time with my father and mother.
Life in the Republican Navy
This is an excerpt from the much liked Swedish school book series Eyewitness Accounts. It tells the tale of Nils Kula, a mariner who sailed aboard the navy’s galleys as they plied the waters of the Baltic, escorting merchant vessels, carrying mail and hunting down pirates. He was a midshipman, and the second son of a self-made merchant from Visby. Since his father could only afford to educate one son Nils was sent off to become a cadet with the Republican Navy instead. What you are about to read is taken from his diaries.
June the first 1451
Today we set sail for the port of Lübeck. We are to escort a small fleet of six cogs carrying Finnish timbers to the markets of northern Germany. The captain expects a smooth journey but I’m not so sure, there’s talk of plague ravaging the German ports and none in the crew much fancy going there. My new friend Greger, who is also a midshipman, thinks it will be marvellous. He can’t stop talking about the various opportunities for debauchery that awaits us.
June the thirteenth 1451
Today one of the cogs ran aground. We were sailing through the archipelago off the coast of Östergötland, since we had to venture in among the isles to avoid a storm out to sea, when the lead ship in the flotilla hit a shoal and became stuck. Luckily it doesn’t appear to be sinking. The first mate is livid, he won’t stop cursing about these “wretched imbeciles” and “sloppy amateurs” that don’t know how to run a proper ship. In any case, it looks like we’ll be stuck here for at least a few days while the crew makes repairs.
June the eighteenth 1451
Today we made the port of Kalmar. Yesterday we met a small fishing skiff that informed us of an outbreak of plague in Lübeck. Understandably both us and the merchants then decided that sailing there was out of the question. We have now sailed to Kalmar instead, in order to decide what else to do. My bet is we’ll sail to Visby instead. It’s the biggest trade center in the entire North and there should be a market for the timbers there. I hope that’s our next port of call, if so I can visit my father and mother again.
Here in Kalmar we’d hardly tied the ship to the quay before Greger jumped ashore, heading for the nearest dockside tavern. I fear he’ll be of little use tomorrow. I’ll join him later though I shall try to keep my drinking to moderate levels.
June the nineteenth 1451
I was right. Today we sail for Visby. We should be there in a couple of days. It’ll be good to come home, even if only for a week.
June the twentieth 1451
The sea is becalmed. The cogs, lacking oars, cannot get anywhere and so we are forced to stay as well. There are reports about pirates preying on merchants in these waters and the captain has therefore decided not to take any chances.
June the twenty-second 1451
Not even a puff of wind for three days! We’re stuck and beginning to feel the effects. The tight-pursed merchants have skimped on supplies and now they’re starting to hurt for lack of fresh food and water. The heat is blistering.
June the twenty-third 1451
The sailors aboard one of the cogs mutinied today. We had to row over to it and send a party aboard to quell it. Six men dead, including the ships captain, of the surviving eight only five were loyal and so the rest were chained to the oars of our galley. I’m to take command of the cog until we reach Visby. We’ve only a crew of ten, the five loyal sailors plus a squad from our ship. It should be all right though.
June the twenty-fifth 1451
The wind has finally picked up! Today we sighted Gotland and we should reach Visby by nightfall. Not a moment to soon either. Scurvy is spreading on the ship and one of my men has already lost most of his teeth. If we don’t make port soon they won’t have the strength to crew the ship and we could be smashed against the coast.
June the twenty-sixth 1451
Today the wind died again. We have reached the coast and sent a landing party to fetch supplies, Greger told me we were forced to threaten the fat merchants with the lash to make them hand over enough money to buy food from the local farmers. The captain says that we can’t just take the food or word will spread and the next time the navy needs it the locals will have hidden it or destroyed it.
June the twenty-seventh 1451
Today we made the port of Visby. This large city has everything we need and almost half the crew are now infirm. We won’t be sailing anywhere soon. Not until the crew has been properly fed and rested. This is fine by me since I get to spend more time with my father and mother.
Next week
During next week I hope to be able to get you at least two updates. Both of these will be gameplay. I will promise you a picture post of the current affairs of Europe though. That should be along no later than wednesday. There'll be no contest, instead you'll get more game updates.
Sorry for the lack of postings, I've worked hard this last week and the next might be just a little easier. The week after that is a school holiday in Sweden so you'll get lots more updates then. Thanks for your patience.
During next week I hope to be able to get you at least two updates. Both of these will be gameplay. I will promise you a picture post of the current affairs of Europe though. That should be along no later than wednesday. There'll be no contest, instead you'll get more game updates.
Sorry for the lack of postings, I've worked hard this last week and the next might be just a little easier. The week after that is a school holiday in Sweden so you'll get lots more updates then. Thanks for your patience.