EURPG 1700 - GSRP Edition

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    • Cloud Strife

    Cloud Strife

    Capitán General
    EURPG 1700 - GSRP Edition


    The Monastery-Palace of El Escorial; A monument to the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs.

    Table of Contents

    1700 A.D.
    Prologue: The Spanish Succession
    Prolouge II: The Great Northern War
    Turn 1 - "The Age of Change Begins."

    1701 A.D.
    Turn 2 – "A Winter of Discontent and Celebration, in Equal Measure."
    Turn 3 - "With Fire and Sword."

    1702 A.D.
    Turn 4 - "Jus ad bellum."

    1703 A.D.
    Turn 5 – "Peace in Our Time."

    1704 - 1705 A.D.
    Turn 6 - "The Hidden Leaves."

    1706 - 1707 A.D.
    Turn 7 - "The Empire is Law, the Law is Sacred."

    1708 - 1709 A.D.
    Turn 8 - "Renovatio regni."

    1710 - 1711 A.D.
    Turn 9 - "The 'Stately' quadrille"

    1712 - 1714 A.D.
    Turn 10 - "New Horizons"

    1715 - 1718 A.D.
    Turn 11 - "The Price of Empire"

    1719-1720 A.D.
    Turn 12 - "Payment Due Upon Delivery"

    1721-1722 A.D.
    Turn 13 – "The Iron Triangle"

    1723 A.D. Campaign Season
    Turn 14 - "Distant Fields"

    1723 A.D. Winter
    Turn 15 – "Rasputitsa"

    1724 A.D.
    Turn 16 - "Iron Crowns and Grocer Kings"

    1725-1726 A.D.
    Turn 17 – "Spite, Pride, and Opportunism."

    1727-1728 A.D.
    Turn 18 – "On the Constitutional Order."

    1729-1730 A.D.
    Turn 19 - "The Peaceful Turn."

    1731 A.D.
    Turn 20 – "The German War of Independence."

    1732-1735 A.D.
    Turn 21 – "A Dream of Spring."

    1736-1737 A.D.
    Turn 22     – "With Fire and Sword, Part II."

    1738-1740 A.D.
    Turn 23 – "The 'Black Pope' and the 'Magnanimous' King."
    Turn 23, Part II - "I, Medici."

    1741 - 1743 A.D.
    Turn 24 - "The Era of the Imperial Idea."

    1743 - 1746 A.D.
    Turn 26 - "The Everything Economy"    ​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Game Rules & National Statistics
  • Threadmarks
    • Rules & Key Concepts​

    The rules of this game are similar to others that came before it. Each player controls a nation and will have the ability to control its internal and external affairs. Game time progresses with the passing of each turn, the length of each turn in game will be set by the GM as the needs of the game require. The overall update cycle will be set to one week per update, sped up or slowed down depending on the current pace of the game.

    In each turn, each player has access to a set number of orders they may use; Policy orders cover all actions a player may wish to enact except for actions under the category of War orders, which control the movements, tactics, and over all strategy of a nation's military forces. Orders are not guaranteed to be automatically successful, quality IC posts written by the player and of course the actions of other players and random change will influence the chance of an action's success.

    The GM must be kept informed of all player agreements for such agreements to be counted as influencing the turn updates. No player agreement made without GM knowledge will be enforceable.

    In the event of any player disputes, such disputes will be decided by the GM and the decision made by the GM is final.

    Be civil to each other, don't be overly pedantic to the detriment of making sure the game runs smoothly. Most of all, have fun while playing!

    ---

    National Statistics​

    To give all players a general idea of where each nation stands statistics will be provided. These statistics can improve or decline depending on the in game situation. It is important to note that these are general ideas and summation and most orders will still come down to how thoughtfully they written and how reasonable they are in light of in game conditions.

    Example NatStats
    Republic of Venice: (Player name goes here.)
    Stability: +1 (Positive stability is good, negative stability is bad. Nations with good stability usually have good things happen to it, nations with bad stability should work to improve it before negative consequences occur. The highest stability rating is +3 and the lowest is -3)
    Economic Condition: Fair (The range is from Excellent, Good, Fair, Stagnant, Recession, Depression, with Excellent being the highest and Depression the lowest.)
    Land Forces: Adequate (The range is from Excellent, Good, Fair, Adequate, Lacking, Dismal, with Excellent being the highest and Dismal being the lowest. The rating is an average of the GM's opinion of the overall condition of your nation's land forces as of 1700, taking into account manpower aviable, military traditions, leadership quality, etc.)
    Naval Forces: Fair. (The range is from Excellent, Good, Fair, Adequate, Lacking, Dismal, with Excellent being the highest and Dismal being the lowest. The rating is an average of the GM's opinion of the overall condition of your nation's naval forces as of 1700, taking into account potential sailors from costal ports, naval tradition, quality of warship construction, leadership quality, etc.)
    Special Factors: N/A. (Applies to nations with Great Power status. Depending on circumstances each nation may or may not have special factors aiding or hindering it.)

    National Statistics as of the beginning of Turn 1, 1700.​

    The Great Powers: (Three Policy Orders, Two War Orders per turn)

    In Europe

    The Austrian Habsburgs: @kızıl sultan
    Stability: +2
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Excellent.
    Naval Forces: Lacking.
    Special Factors:
    - Elected-Emperor of the Romans: While its actual power has atrophied, the office of Roman Emperor grants a certain degree of prestige. While occupying this office the stability of the lands controlled by the Emperor can never go below -1 stability.

    The Spanish Habsburgs: @DanBaque
    Stability: -2
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Adequate.
    Naval Forces: Good.
    Special Factors:
    - The Silver Empire: As long as Spain maintains its trade routes to its New World Empire, Spain's Economic Condition can never deteriorate beyond 'Fair.'

    The Kingdom of France: @nmale
    Stability: +2
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Excellent.
    Naval Forces: Fair.
    Special Factors:
    - The Administrative State: As long as Louis XIV reigns, the stability rating of France cannot go below -1.

    The Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Ireland: @HumanityDark
    Stability: 0
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: Good.
    Special Factors:
    - Public Credit: Through the wonders of loan financing and the national debt Britain's economy can never deteriorate below 'Fair' as long as public confidence in the Bank of England is maintained.

    The Ottoman Empire: @Count
    Stability: -1
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Good.
    Naval Forces: Adequate.
    Special Factors:
    - The Age of Decline: Repeated defeats at the hands of the Austrians, and the latest defeat at the hands of Venice, have left the Ottoman military establishment in chaos. The Ottomans will have a penalty applied to any battles it fights outside of its borders in Europe.

    In Asia

    The Qing Dynasty: @Fullyautomagic
    Stability: +2
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Excellent.
    Naval Forces: Dismal.
    Special Factors:
    - The Qing Golden Age: As long as Kangxi Emperor reigns, the stability rating of China cannot go below 0.


    Regional Powers: (Two Policy Orders, One War Order per turn)

    In Europe

    The Kingdom of Portugal: @Korona
    Stability: +1
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Adequate.
    Naval Forces: Good.

    The Netherlands: @ersatz-york
    Stability: +2
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: Good.

    The Kingdom of Sweden: @Rex Romae
    Stability: +3
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Excellent.
    Naval Forces: Fair.

    The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth/Electorate of Saxony: @Carol
    Stability: 0
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: Lacking.

    The Tsardom of Russia: @Kingly K Duel
    Stability: 0
    Economic Condition: Stagnant.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: Dismal.


    Other Powers: (One Policy Order, One War Order per turn)

    In Europe

    The Papacy: @A man
    Stability: +1
    Economic Condition: Stagnant.
    Land Forces: Lacking.
    Naval Forces: Dismal.

    The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway: @Vald
    Stability: +1
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: Fair.

    The Duchy of Prussia/Margraviate of Brandenburg: @Muskeato
    Stability: +3
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Fair.
    Naval Forces: N/A.

    The Duchy of Lorraine: @Texan
    Stability: +1
    Economic Condition: Fair.
    Land Forces: Adequate.
    Naval Forces: N/A.

    The Grand Duchy of Tuscany: @ByzantineCaesar
    Stability: -1
    Economic Condition: Stagnant.
    Land Forces: Lacking.
    Naval Forces: Dismal.

    In Asia

    The Tokugawa Shogunate: @mcclay
    Stability: +3
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Good.
    Naval Forces: Dismal.

    The Joseon Dynasty: @Tyrell
    Stability: +3
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Adequate.
    Naval Forces: Adequate.
     
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    • THE KINGDOM OF POLAND AND GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA
    &
    ELECTORATE OF SAXONY


    Augustus II (12/5/1670--)
    By the grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlachia, Smolensk, Severia and Chernihiv, and Hereditary Duke and Elector of Saxony, etc.

    A PRELUDE TO WAR​
     
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    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Kongerigerne Danmark-Norge
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    <><><>



    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    His Majesty King Frederik IV
    By the Grace of God, King of Denmark and Norway, the Wends and the Goths, Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarschen and Oldenburg
    <><><>
    DOMINUS MIHI ADIUTOR
    (Lord be my guide)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Let it be known that on the 15th of April, in the Year of 1700; His Majesty King Frederik IV of Oldenburg was annointed as King of the Twin Realms of Denmark and Norway, having taken place in the Chapel of Frederiksborg Castle. He now rules as King in the eyes of both God and His subjects. A great celebration has taken place, and His people, both high and low, celebrate their good fortune as their God-given Monarch begins His reign in earnest, after the death of His father one year past. May His reign be long and bountiful.​
     
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    The Spanish Succession
  • Threadmarks
    • Prologue: The Spanish Succession


    Carlos II de España    ​

    For decades Carlos II of Spain had amazed Europe by continuing to live. Almost from birth, the demise of his line was anticipated, and the great powers fought over whom would have the right to succeed to the throne of Spain. Control dominions of the Spanish Habsburgs would upset the European balance of power, the Crowns united into Spain all recognized inheritance through the maternal line and the senior male heir of the Spanish Habsburgs was Louis XIV of France. The great powers would not tolerate the French Bourbons expanding their control into Iberia, Italy, and the Low Countries and fought wars in preservation of Spain as a buffer state between their possessions and France.

    By 1700 the peace achieved at the end of the Nine Years' War, where France desired control of the Low Countries, the Rhineland, and Catalonia--had begun to fray. There Louis XIV's ambitions had been contained by a coalition of states that included nearly all of Christendom. The onset of the Little Ice Age had ruined crop yields across Europe and without the means to deploy large forces in the field the great powers ended their conflict along lines preserving the status quo ante bellum. Now the declining health of Carlos II was about to rewrite the status quo.

    With his wife refusing his bed because of her husband's disinterest in accepting her influence at court, the strain of pro-Austrian and pro-French factions in court, and his general disinterest in governing, Carlos II is a broken husk of a man. Pampered from birth by an overzealous mother, underappreciated by his courtiers, convinced by his priests he was possessed, the King of Spain preferred to spend his days while his health allowed for it hunting and away from the court at Madrid. The Archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Portocarrero, one of the leaders of the French Faction had been pressing Carlos II to name the Louis XIV's grandson, the duc de Anjou, as his heir. His opinion reflected that of most of the Castilian nobility who after a century of war with France thought it would be better to ally with them than oppose them. Meanwhile, the Austrian party, lead by Carlos' wife Mariana of Neuburg, wished for the King to recover his health in Segovia and name Archduke Karl, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, his heir.

    Relations with the Austrian faction and the King were tenuous. Carlos II personally blamed them for contributing to the demise of Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, his nephew, who was to be his heir. A year ago he had passed in suspicious circumstances. Most of those supporting him at court, such as Cardinal Portocarrero, had switched their allegiances to the duc de Anjou. Yet in spite of his dislike of the pro-Austrian party the King seemed partial to the succession of Archduke Karl and with only the thinnest of hopes of birthing an heir, Mariana of Neuburg threw her support behind an Austrian option to preserve her influence at court.

    With his health uncertain the time was drawing closer for the King of Spain to resolve the question of who he would name as his heir.
     
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    • A PRELUDE TO WAR
    ​
    The heirs of Gustavus Adolphus had built an empire in the Baltic on the backs of formidable arms. The House of Vasa had been blessed with men of ambition and martial prowess to back it. They, with the help of a court and people up to the task, turned a desolate, if materially-blessed, land into a dominant power. No longer would Sweden be the dark moon to the Danish sun. But time was an unforgiving mistress, and even the strongest of empires withered under her care. When Charles the XI died in 1697, he left behind a boy, the newly-crowned Charles XII, as king. As his sore enemies remained strong enough to strike back, the situation could not have been more fortuitous to them. Their previous experiences with the empire had taught them a valuable lesson: the Baltic titan had a feet of clay—it could not finance the strains of war for long. The Scanian War had also exposed chinks in the Swedish armor. They had lost the sea, lost Northern Germany, and only won against the Danish offensive in Scania. It was primarily pressure from the French monarch that had restored much of what was lost in Pomerania and elsewhere. This was no longer the empire that had humbled the Habsburg so long ago.

    Frederick Augustus of Saxony, now King Augustus II the Strong of the Commonwealth, knew well the stench of open blood. He was a well-endowed and hungry man. It was said that he could break horseshoes with his bare hands, and his faithfulness to Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was an open joke. His mistress of choice since 1698 was Ursula Katharina of Altenbockum, a beautiful, charming and high-spirited princess. But more than his love of women was his love of conquest. To occupy the joint thrones of Poland and Lithuania, he had forsaken the Protestant faith that was the hallmark of his ancestors. To win the respect of his new subjects, he had smashed the Tatar threat in Podhajce. To add the jewel of Livonia to his dominion, he had allied with the vengeful Danes and semi-civilized Russians to destroy the empire of Gustavus.

    Riga was to be his first target. ​
     
    Herzogtum Lothringen
    1700

    ​


    Name: Duchy of Lorraine
    Ruler: Leopold
    Heir: Leopold of Lorraine
    Dynasty: House of Lorraine
    Capital: Nancy

    House of Lorraine​

    Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and Bar (b. 1679) married Elisabeth Charlotte d'Orleans (b. 1678)

    Their children:
    - Leopold (b. 1699)
    - Elisabeth Charlotte (b. 1700)

    His brother, Charles Joseph (b. 1680), Prince-Bishop of Olomouc and of Osnabruck
    His brother, Joseph Emanuel (b. 1685)
    His brother, Francois Antoine (b. 1689)

    Alliances:
    - Ties with the Austrian House of Habsburg.
    - Ties with France through the House of Orleans.
     
    The Great Northern War
  • Threadmarks
    • Prologue II: The Great Northern War*


    The growth of the Swedish Empire in the 17th century.
    ​
    For a century Sweden had stood as champion of both Protestantism and of Scandinavia. Her monarchs had carved out a maritime empire along the shores of the Baltic Sea and into Northern Germany with scant resources and precious little help, save for French subsidies. Success brought riches and power to Sweden but also jealously and threats to her very existence. The ascension of Karl XII to the Swedish throne seemed to signal to many that now was the time to bring down Sweden's Dominium maris baltici. For what could a young boy, barely experienced in the arts of statecraft, do against so many experienced leaders of men now arrayed against him?


    Augustus II of Poland (left)
    and
    Frederick William I of Prussia (right)
    ​
    The entire region had an axe to grind against the Swedes; the Danes wanted Skane and control of Baltic trade returned to Copenhagen, the Russians wanted the lands of "Lord Novgorod the Great" stolen by the Swedes during the Time of Troubles, Brandenburg-Prussia coveted the remainder of Pomerania in Swedish hands, and all these feelings were ruthlessly exploited by the new King of Poland.

    Augustus II of Saxony was an unlikely champion for the very much Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His family had historically lead the Protestant party in the Holy Roman Empire but coveted the Polish throne out of a desire to wear a kingly crown upon his head. Now the Saxon monarch was simultaneously leader of the Corpus Evangelicorum in the Imperial Diet and the Shield of Catholicism for the Pope in Eastern Europe. He sought to use victory in a war against Sweden, the power that had ravaged Poland in "the Deluge" of the last century, to cement a popular movement to make the Polish throne hereditary in his family.

    That he would also be able to conquer Livonia and its riches was also a plus.



    Peter I, Tsar of Russia
    ​
    After a bacchanal held at the Russian Tsar Peter's favorite hunting lodge at Rava, the Saxon King and the Livonian noble Johann Reinhold Patkul inked the Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye, which portioned the Swedish Empire in the Baltic between Poland and Russia. Patkul had an axe to grind against the Swedish King having been a victim of his father's "Reductions," the confiscation of crown lands held by the nobility in the royal estate, and sentenced to death for his strong protests. More than anyone it was he who put it in the minds of the Baltic Lords that they only need attack to reveal a Sweden crumbling behind a façade of strength. Even the descendants of Henry the Lion would fight against Sweden; Elector George wishing Swedish Bremen as a means to gain access to the sea for Hanover.

    The odds look grim for Sweden but King Karl has certain boons, namely the absolute loyalty and trust of his people and a powerful, well-trained, and professional army. A cadre of standing regiments and efficient system of conscription represent real force multipliers in this day in age.


    Karl XII, King of Sweden
    ​
    The powers of Western Europe would now have to take into account the events unfolding in the Baltic. Perhaps the assumptions were right, the Boy King would be quickly disposed of and trade returned to normalcy? The West depended on timber and tar from Baltic forests for their navies. Amber, furs, and other luxury goods also were sourced from this region. Of more importance to the salt of earth were Poland's Vistulan grain exports. Western Europe was experiencing food shortages that were made bearable through Polish grain. A short war was tolerable but a long one would have negative repercussions for the food supply of Western Europe.

    It is the Year of Our Lord 1700 and the battle for the fate of the Baltic is now underway.

    *Adapted from the introductory post of the EURPG Great Northern War, a game we previously hosted on the Paradox Forums.
     
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  • Threadmarks

    • ~Louis XIV "the Sun King"~
    The year is 1700 A.D, and continent of Europe teeters between peace and war, not even three years after the conclusion of the Nine Years War. In the North, it looks as if Karl XII may soon find himself at war with the Russians, the Danes, the Saxons, or all three. In the South, the powers eagerly vie for a solution to the problem of the Spanish Inheritance. From his comfortable perch at the Palace of Versailles, the Sun King looks upon these events with great interest, and knows that the coming months will be some of the most consequential of his life, and key to ensuring his legacy as the greatest monarch who ever graced Europe.​
     
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    ..
    THE SPIRIT OF THE WESTERN HABSBURGS​


    Charles II's death had been imminent for years. Prophesied by doctor and monk, it brought little hope and much fear with it. But, much like the united monarchy behind him, Charles seemed to live on, holding out with a tenaciousness few would have expected of him. Even as open statements came of his possession, of his utter physical and mental weakness, the King of what was still a grand amount of the world lived on.

    And yet, he was unable to bring reform to his kingdom. Regents and court intrigues followed the throne and commanded over it, only very infrequently ignored by the King's personal will. The result of this was merely the stagnation of a centuries old system; yet this system now showed itself one to support such stagnation, as it kept the nobilities contented with their lot and the less-privileged fairly restive.

    The peripheries intervened inside the kingdom, Castille fought back little yet stewed in anger, its glories unforgotten. And the trouble of the inheritance loomed, every day uncertain if the King would live on. Internal factions moved from side to side, and at times Charles felt for one side or another; yet the end would be moved by his desire to see a united realm, to not lose his subjects to foreign tyranny.

    His Majesty Charles II by the Grace of God, King of Castile, of León, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, of Hungary, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Mallorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Córdoba, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Jaén, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of the Canary Islands, of the East and West Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant, of Milan, of Athens and Neopatria; Count of Habsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, of Barcelona, of Roussillon, and of Cerdanya; Marquess of Oristano and Count of Goceano; does name the Archduke Charles of Habsburg heir to all his territories in undivided manner and in sight of his subjects and God Himself. @kızıl sultan


    ​
    ​

    ..
    Queen Mary-Anne of Austria
    Let Peace Reign!
    ..

    ​
     


    THE JOSEON DYNASTY

    Sukjong of Joseon, 19th King of the Joseon Dynasty
    Heir: Gyeongjong (son of Queen Consort Jang)
    ​
    Nation Stats:
    Stability:     +3
    Economic Condition: Good.
    Land Forces: Adequate.
    Naval Forces: Adequate.

    ===================================================================================================
    ​
    Sukjong of Joseon is beset by court intrigue in his royal palace, competing factions squabbling over who might have the greatest sway on the king. In this the key lies in his Royal Consorts, with his first Queen removed and her faction in disarray while his new Queen's faction grows powerful. While the palace might be at war with itself, the greater realm is at peace and the King's word is ironclad law in the provinces.

    The Silhak movement has continued to grow stronger, pushing for a more Korea centric and humanistic philosophy, they have been successful in pushing their agenda with many agreeing in the wake of the memories of the Qing and Japanese humiliations. Sukjong has worked with these prominent scholars, pushing through tax system reforms, promoted the circulation of Mun and opened higher government positions in the provinces to the Middle Class and children of the Royal Concubines. Overall this has seen positive agricultural development in the provinces and a growth of Korean literature circulating throughout the kingdom.
     
    Republiek van der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden

    THE "DUTCH REPUBLIC"
    Concordia res parvæ crescunt


    His Highness The Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel
    WILLEM III


    The Honorable Grand Pensionary of Holland
    ANTHONIE HEINSIUS


    and the STATES GENERAL

    ... hereby recognize the Archduke Charles as the sole legitimate heir to an undivided Spanish crown.

    ———————


    ​
    "Laden!"

    On the command of the lieutenant-general, several crews of men began to stuff iron-cast balls into bronze-cast tubes. After a few moments, the last ramrod had been withdrawn from the last muzzle, and the crews stood ready for the next command.

    "Vuur!"

    This was a demonstration, and the relation between the pieces and the target down-range had already been thoroughly explored by the man issuing the commands. The distance had already been paced out, solid tracking shots had been tried in the days before, and powder had been measured forth in precisely calculated amounts. There was a series of hisses, followed by a trio of roars in quick succession.

    Pow! Pow! Pow!

    "And now, sir, you watch," Menno said to the man beside him, tracing the high arcs of the projectiles with his finger. There were a few murmurs of amazement from the mixed crowd of Bergen op Zoom garrison troops, local villagers, and States General representatives and field deputies gathered to their rear. As the metallic orbs entered the final stages of their trajectories, both Menno and the quartermaster beside him fixed eyeglasses on the derelict farmhouse which sat several pastures away. These shells were the real deal, not solid-iron tracking shots.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Excited cheers issued from the village children that had gathered to witness this spectacle. Frederik Thomas de Yvoy surveyed the results of this salvo through his telescope as best he could, then turned to his counterpart.

    "Quite impressive, Baron van Coehoorn. Let's go have a better look."

    The baron and the quartermaster started down the range, walking past Menno's battery of mortars. Yvoy seized up.

    "One more thing. No way that a dozen of these garrison lads hauled these contraptions out here so easily. I want to see for myself."

    Menno obliged, and with some laughter from all gathered the two men positioned themselves on opposite sides of one of the Baron van Coehoorn's mortars and started again down the range. The quartermaster groaned a little, but he was already satisfied. Here was the true advantage of these new mortars. He would have much to report to Heinsius.
     
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    The Treaty of Copenhagen; or,
    a Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between the Maritime Powers and the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway
    ​

    I. The Danish Crown engages to reduce, by one-tenth of the present value, the rate of tax levied on the cargo value of English and Dutch merchant vessels traversing the Sound. This provision will remain in force for a period of 25 years, after which it may be renewed for additional 25 year periods by mutual agreement. This provision may be ended by mutual agreement at any time, with a phasing-out period of one year's time.

    II. King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway consents that Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark and King William III of England, Ireland, and Scotland shall be engaged to marry in one year's time from the ratification of this Treaty.

    [x] the Representative for the High and Mighty Lords of the States General
    [x] the Representative for Frederick IV, King of Denmark and Norway @Vald
    [x] the Representative for the Parliament of England and King William III of England @HumanityDark
     
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    Kingdom of England, Scotland, & Ireland
    1700 anno Domini

    ​

    ><><><><><><><><><><
    Name:     Kingdom of England, Scotland, & Ireland
    Capital: London
    Official Language(s): English, Law French
    Recognized Regional Languages: Scots, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Norn, Cornish
    State Religion:
    -- Church of England
    -- Church of Scotland
    Government: Constitutional monarchy
    Dynasty: House of Orange-Nassau
    King of England, Scotland, & Ireland: William III
    Heir Apparent: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
    Legislature: Parliament
    -- House of Lords
    -- House of Commons: 249 Tories, 219 Whigs, and 45 others
    Population: ~7,100,000
    Motto: Dieu et mon droit ("God and my right")
    Anthem: God Save the King
    Currency: Pound sterling (£)
    ><><><><><><><><><


    By the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Stadholther of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, Defender of the Faith, etc.

    ><><><    ​

    The Fifth Parliament of William III would be summoned on 20 February and seated on 8 April 1700. The new ministry of the King, constructed prior to this summons, was largely reconstructed along Tory lines. It was made up of prominent Tory personalities including Lord Godolphin, Lord Rochester, and Sir Charles Hedges. Robert Harley's participation in initial talks made it clear that, although he refused to take a position in the new ministry, he, would indeed play an important role in the House of Commons. By the time of their assembly, two issues would demand the particular attention of the new Parliament: the need to settle the line of succession, in case William III was unable to produce an heir with Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark; and the increasing likelihood of a renewal of conflict with France.

    The general election would see 92 (34%) of the English and Welsh constituencies cast a vote. The fueding East India Companies would also be particularly involved in this contest, lobbying to win representatives in the Commons as part of their struggles to dominate trade. The involvement of these corporations is recognized in at least 86 of these competitions, although in some places their excitement would backfire. For example, in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, their MP Samuel Shepheard would be expelled for electoral bribery.

    The new House would be comprised of 249 Tories, 219 Whigs, and another 45 unclassified members. To some degree, the Tory lead over the Whigs illustrated the post-war collapse in the support of the Whig party, yet it was not a crushing triumph has many had foreseen.

    In compliance with the desires of the King, the Court-Tory majority would vote in Robert Harley as Speaker.

    ​
     
    Granducato di Toscana
    1700 A.D.



    Festina Lente​

    Name: Grand Duchy of Tuscany
    Government: Absolute Monarchy
    Dynasty: House of Medici
    Monarch: Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
    Heir: Ferdinando, Grand Prince of Tuscany
    Motto: Festina Lente ("Make Haste Slowly")
    Capital: Florence
    Major Cities: Livorno, Pisa, Siena



    The Medici
    ​

    His Highness {FERDINANDO II DE' MEDICI} (1610-1670), Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany and Grand Master of the Order of St. Stephen, a patron of science, pupil and protector of Galileo Galilei, an affable and weak-willed man who was dominated by the powerful women in his life, under whom Tuscany's decline started. He was married to his cousin, the formidable {VITTORIA DELLA ROVERE} (1622-1694), only child of the last Duke of Urbino, who was the de facto ruler of Tuscany as the Grand Duchess Consort and Dowager until her death. They had two children who survived to adulthood:
    • His Royal Highness COSIMO III DE' MEDICI (b. 1642), Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany and Grand Master of the Order of St. Stephen, a devout Catholic and pathetic human being. He is married to his estranged wife, Marguerite Louise of Orléans, former Grand Duchess of Tuscany, now mother superior of the convent of Saint-Mandé in Paris. They have three children:

      • FERDINANDO DE' MEDICI (b. 1663), Grand Prince of Tuscany, a lecher and musician of great renown, sometimes known as the Orpheus of Princes for his musical patronage. He is nominally married to Violante Beatrix of Bavaria (b. 1673), the youngest child of Elector Ferdinand Maria, although they are estranged.
      • ANNA MARIA LUISA DE' MEDICI (b. 1667), Electress Palatine, in a childless marriage to Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine,
      • GIAN GASTONE DE' MEDICI (b. 1671), Prince of Tuscany, in an estranged and childless marriage with Anna Maria Franziska, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg,

    • FRANCESCO MARIA DE' MEDICI (b. 1660), Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Duke of Montefeltro and Rovere, Governor of Siena, another lecher,
    The closest female-line claimants to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany are Elisabetta Farnese and her uncle Francesco, Duke of Parma, both of whom are descended from Cosimo II's daughter Margherita de' Medici. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, however, practices salic law. There is no other legitimate male line descent from the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I.

    <><><>



    His Royal Highness
    COSIMO III DE' MEDICI
    Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany

    <><><>    ​

    Decadence, despair and death. How the mighty have fallen. Two and a half centuries ago, Florence was the thriving capital of the European civilization, and the House of Medici were the ushers of modernity, finances and art as the world left behind its medieval shackles. However, the days of Cosimo Pater Patriae and Lorenzo the Magnificent are long gone. They had inaugurated a dynasty that changed the world through their devotion to art and science, from the patronage of Donatello, Brunelleschi and Botticelli to the brilliant mind of Galileo Galilei little over fifty years ago. The baseborn family of bankers had climbed through the ranks, becoming Grand Dukes with royal dignity, of whose lineage no fewer than four Popes and two French Queens sprung forth. They had crafted a new world for themselves, raising their family and their fair city of Florence above all their peers. They had survived and promoted revolutions, and had always braved through crises and come out stronger than before.

    No more. "Florence is much sunk from what it was," wrote the Bishop of Salisbury on a visit, and he spoke the truth. The brilliant legacy of the family had been upturned in the last half century. It was nearly inconceivable that the current Medici shared the same blood as that of Pater Patriae, the Magnificent, Caterina Sforza and Leo X, and that they had brought utter ruin to the Tuscan state which had once been so carefully architected by their predecessors. Florence, one the richest cities in Christendom, was a depopulated ruin, where more monks and nuns lived than artisans and merchants. The famous Medici patronage of science and the arts had given way to religious obscurantism and persecution. The shining light that had once been Florence had gradually faded away over the last fifty years. All had turned to dust.

    The Medici, indeed, had no one to blame but themselves. Perhaps their decline had been structural, imposed by the fickleness of time, but their decadence had not been. Perhaps things would have turned out differently had Cosimo II lived longer, instead of dying at a young age in 1621 and leaving the grand duchy to his ten year old son. The orphaned Ferdinando II de' Medici, despite having been a pupil of Galileo Galilei and a great patron of science himself, had grown up to become a spineless Grand Duke. Completely dominated by his pious and reactionary wife and cousin, Vittoria della Rovere, he neglected the affairs of state and the education of their eldest son and heir. Left to the vicious devices of his mother, the future Cosimo III grew up as a melancholy youth. "The Prince is never seen to smile," the ambassador of Lucca once reported, describing the sullen and reserved Tuscan heir who lived under religious terror and whose only delights were prayer and gluttony. Trapped in a loveless and hateful marriage to Marguerite of Orléans, the Grand Duke increasingly turned to religion for comfort and delegated government to his domineering mother. Under her advice, Cosimo III dismantled the scientific institutions of patronage of his predecessors, forbade Tuscan citizens from studying abroad, brought ruin to the Tuscan people through heavy taxation and administrative mismanagement, and imposed a series of ultraconservative and reactionary laws which favored the clergy, persecuted Jews and ultimately led to a high point of three thousand public executions in Florence alone in one year. By 1700, one in ten Florentine women had become nuns, and the city was regarded as a city of priests. Like his father before him, Cosimo III also failed to defend his mother's rights to the Duchy of Urbino, recognizing its annexation to the Papacy.

    <><><>



    Vittoria della Rovere and her husband, Ferdinando II de' Medici
    The first signs of decadence and the long decline of Tuscany

    <><><>​

    What the family had taken centuries to build, Cosimo III and the Dowager of Tuscany dismantled in a single and painful generation. Cosimo III's failure as a statesman and ruler were mirrored in his failure as a husband and a father. In many ways, his wife had been Cosimo's polar opposite. Marguerite Louise de Bourbon had been a spirited woman in her youth, the daughter of the Duke of Orléans granddaughter of King Henri IV of France and cousin of Louis XIV, a more than fitting match for the Grand Duke. Cosimo, meanwhile, exceedingly fat, drowned in melancholy and religiosity, was unable to keep up with his vibrant wife. It is said that she wept when she was carried off to Florence to wed the then Medici heir. She gave her husband three children, but hated every moment of it. Soon, Marguerite Louise was sending desperate pleas for rescue to her cousin the Sun King, which grew all the more frequent upon her accession as Grand Duchess and her deepening rivalry with the formidable Dowager, who locked her out of government. "I am the source of your unhappiness, as you are of mine," the new Grand Duchess wrote her husband, who replied in kind: "I do not know if your unhappiness could have exceeded mine". Four years after the birth of their youngest child, Marguerite Louise formally separated from Cosimo III, abandoning Florence and her children to France. Afforded a considerable pension on the condition that she took religious vows and was confined to a convent, Marguerite Louise nevertheless became a constant presence at Versailles, taking many lovers and squandering the Medici fortunes and the riches she had stripped from her Florentine palazzo.

    It should come as no surprise that the children of such a dysfunctional union would present issues of their own in adult age. Their eldest son, Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, had been born in 1663, and had been old enough by the time of his parents' separation to have been educated by his mother. Thankfully, the Grand Prince had a lot more in common with his vivacious French mother than his melancholy father, which nevertheless carried its own risks. Uncommonly handsome for a Medici, Ferdinando quickly became a hedonist, following the example of his uncle Francesco, a Cardinal. The Grand Prince often favored men, his favorites being Petrillo, a musician, and Cecchino, a Venetian castrati, although his dalliances often included women. Indeed, in one of his romantic adventures Ferdinando contracted syphilis from a Venetian noblewoman in 1696 during the Carnivale. Despite his illness, he brought a Venetian mistress back to Florence, much to the absolute misery of his lawful wife, Violante Beatrice of Bavaria. They had married in 1689 at the insistence of Cosimo III, who had been absolutely terrified at his heir's homosexual affairs. Violante had immediately fallen in love with her new husband. Ferdinando, unfortunately, seemed to want to sleep with everyone and everything but his wife, whom he ignored (perhaps to her benefit, as Violante would never contract a venereal disease). The marriage remained childless, and Ferdinando devoted himself to his affairs and to his true passion: the patronage of music, in a last hurrah of the famous Medici patronage of the arts.

    The Grand Prince's younger brother, Gian Gastone, named after his French grandfather, fared even worse. Unlike Ferdinando, he was withdrawn and reserved, avoiding social contact unless it involved his handsome young male pages. Perhaps a cardinal's hat would have suited him far better than married life, but with the Grand Prince's syphilis-induced infertility, Cosimo III grew desperate for heirs and forced his least favorite child into an arranged marriage. The victim was Anna Maria Franziska, nominal Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg, a German widow who was said to be massively overweight and appaling, much like her husband. With the bride's refusal to move to Florence, Gian Gastone was sent to Bohemia instead, where he married his betrothed in 1697 and drowned himself in misery. Simply put, they hated each other, while Gian Gastone hated the provincial life his wife led in the small Bohemian village of Reichstadt even more. He sought comfort in his male Italian attendants and in alcohol, drinking away his misery. A mere ten months later, Gian Gastone fled from Reichstadt by the way of Prague and returned to Florence, the marriage likely remaining unconsummated.

    The final child of Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise, Princess Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, was the apple of her father's eye. Having survived a risky pregnancy, in which her mother attempted to induce a miscarriage, Anna Maria was born in 1667 and was raised by her grandmother Vittoria della Rovere after the Grand Duchess abandoned them for France. The Grand Duke took a personal interest in her education, however, favoring her above her brothers, and sought to find a suitable marriage to his daughter. A proposed engagement between Anna Maria and the Grand Dauphin was quickly discontinued, for the Grand Duke loathed the idea of another French marriage. Tuscany and Portugal later negotiated her marriage to King Dom Pedro II, but the Portuguese eventually rejected her fearing that she had inherited her mother's temperament and would dominate their monarch. Eventually, Anna Maria married the Elector Palatine, becoming the Electress Palatine, and miraculously enjoyed a harmonious marriage. Married life, however, also produced syphilis, which she caught from her husband, a venereal disease that would render the couple barren and childless.

    Thus, with the infertility of the Grand Prince and the Electress Palatine, and the non-existing marital life of his youngest son, Cosimo III drowns in worry and self-pity over the Tuscan succession. How could God have fosaken his family so? The Medici, who have done so much for the Church and Christendom at large? Who raised churches and sponsored art for His glory? With the death of the formidable Dowager Grand Duchess in 1694, Cosimo III was also forced to at last take the reins of government, which by no means has meant an improvement. He quarrels with his eldest son, bemoans his second son and longs for his daughter. He prays and eats his heart's content. He resumes his pathetic existence, stubbornly refusing to die despite his advanced age. Only time will tell how much damage Cosimo III will still be able to inflict on poor and mistreated Tuscany before he joins his forefathers in shame and no little infamy, for there was another man very much like him. He had also been named Cosimo de' Medici, he had also been deeply spiritual and religious, and he had also been inflicted by poor constitution and crippling illness. Cosimo the Elder, unlike his descendant, however, had turned his religious anguish into art and culture, sponsoring the construction of churches, libraries and monasteries throughout Europe, commissioning religious artwork, funding the Council of Florence, and completing the massive duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore. He had begun a dynasty, raised Florence above all others, single-handedly kickstarted the Renaissance and had been named the Father of the Fatherland in death. Cosimo III, on the other hand, afflicted by similar concerns and health, has brought nothing but destruction onto fair Florence and the once magnificent House of Medici. At the end, he may have had killed the Fatherland his ancestor had sired    ​
     


    To His Holiness Pope Innocent XII, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, I really am a big fan @A man

    From your humble servant, His Royal Highness Cosimo III, Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany    ​

    Your Holiness, I pray this message reaches you in good health. For decades I have toiled hard in Florence to rid this city of its foul decadence and wash away its many sins. As old age takes me, I must say that I am very pleased at what I have achieved only through herculean effort. Florence was once a city built on usury, lechery and greed. Its streets were once dominated by prostitutes, sodomites and Jews. Dangerous ideas were allowed to thrive in the bosom of the city, nay, in the bosom of my very own family. I pray daily for their souls. Holy Father, I know pride is a sin, but sometimes I cannot help but feel proud at the transformation I have brought to this city, at the many souls I have placed on the path to salvation. Prostitutes are harshly taxed and whipped at the most minor offense, sodomites have been cleansed and Jews have been put back where they belong. Where once Galileo Galilei ruled, now the word of God and the Bible prosper. Sinners claim with derision that Florence has become a city of monks and nuns, and I say to them, yes, she has! As God commanded it! Decadence has been stripped away! Morality now reigns where sodomites once ruled!

    Then again, I must ask myself, though I know I should not doubt my faith, if I have done all this great work in the name of the Lord and the Holy Mother Church, why does God seems to have forsaken my family? My lady wife makes a mockery of her wedding vows, my sons are persecuted by sodomites and temptresses, my darling daughter is struck down by illness and infertility. The God-serving and God-fearing House of Medici stands on the brink. Why, I must ask myself? Your Beatitude, I must humbly ask for your assistance. The Grand Duchy requires heirs who will continue my splendid work. As you know, my son, Prince Gian Gastone, is married to the Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg, Anna Maria Franziska. However, the dastardly woman refuses to perform her wifely duties, as if she was Lilith herself raised from hell to haunt my family. She has failed to come to Florence, as is her duty, and even when she and my son the Prince shared a roof in Bohemia, she would not share her bed with him too.

    I beg you, Holy Father, you must command Anna Maria Franziska to perform her duties. A wife must obey her husband, the heavenly law is clear. A wife cannot refuse to lay with her rightful spouse. I humbly ask you to command the Duchess to come to Florence and take her place in the Medici household, as she is obligated to do. Every day Gian Gastone is separated from his lawful wife is a day of temptation to the poor boy, as if the devil himself tried to seduce him and lead him astray. I know this is not God's will, as much as I know it is not His desire to see the House of Medici fade into oblivion. Anna Maria Franziska must come to Florence at once and give her husband a legitimate son, so that he may continue the lineage and rule as a pious and devout Most Serene Grand Duke when the time comes, so that he may carry on our work in the name of God, morality and the Holy Mother Church.​
    ​
     

    The Tokugawa Bakfuku


    Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Shōgun of Japan, The Dog Shogun

    Tokugawa Ienobu, Daimyō of Kōfu, Heir to the Shogunate




    The Imperial House of Japan


    Higashiyama-tennō


    Imperial Prince Yoshihito, Heir to the throne
    ​
     




    Decline of Sakoku
    ​
    Since a recent visit by the Dutch merchant Engelbert Kaempfer and his retinue, Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi had held a special fascination for the gaijin. The Dutch had shown a level of etiquette and respect that many thought the outsiders were incapable of, managing to charm most of the court. This had led to discussions behind closed doors about the place of the gaijin in Japanese society.

    In March of 1700, following a period of intense debate with his closest advisor, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, Tsunayoshi announced that there would be a change in the policy of Nippon towards the gaijin. The Deijima Proclamation of 1700 lifted the ban on foreign books, loosened the harsh rules on trade in Nagasaki and, most controversially, allowed some travel outside of Japan. This last part was only for those not bound to property, and only a few samurai and fewer merchants were allowed to do so under a heavy guard. Still, it marked a changing view of the West in the halls of Edo.

    ​
     
    ByzantineCaesar said:


    To His Holiness Pope Innocent XII, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, I really am a big fan @A man

    From your humble servant, His Royal Highness Cosimo III, Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany    ​

    Your Holiness, I pray this message reaches you in good health. For decades I have toiled hard in Florence to rid this city of its foul decadence and wash away its many sins. As old age takes me, I must say that I am very pleased at what I have achieved only through herculean effort. Florence was once a city built on usury, lechery and greed. Its streets were once dominated by prostitutes, sodomites and Jews. Dangerous ideas were allowed to thrive in the bosom of the city, nay, in the bosom of my very own family. I pray daily for their souls. Holy Father, I know pride is a sin, but sometimes I cannot help but feel proud at the transformation I have brought to this city, at the many souls I have placed on the path to salvation. Prostitutes are harshly taxed and whipped at the most minor offense, sodomites have been cleansed and Jews have been put back where they belong. Where once Galileo Galilei ruled, now the word of God and the Bible prosper. Sinners claim with derision that Florence has become a city of monks and nuns, and I say to them, yes, she has! As God commanded it! Decadence has been stripped away! Morality now reigns where sodomites once ruled!

    Then again, I must ask myself, though I know I should not doubt my faith, if I have done all this great work in the name of the Lord and the Holy Mother Church, why does God seems to have forsaken my family? My lady wife makes a mockery of her wedding vows, my sons are persecuted by sodomites and temptresses, my darling daughter is struck down by illness and infertility. The God-serving and God-fearing House of Medici stands on the brink. Why, I must ask myself? Your Beatitude, I must humbly ask for your assistance. The Grand Duchy requires heirs who will continue my splendid work. As you know, my son, Prince Gian Gastone, is married to the Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg, Anna Maria Franziska. However, the dastardly woman refuses to perform her wifely duties, as if she was Lilith herself raised from hell to haunt my family. She has failed to come to Florence, as is her duty, and even when she and my son the Prince shared a roof in Bohemia, she would not share her bed with him too.

    I beg you, Holy Father, you must command Anna Maria Franziska to perform her duties. A wife must obey her husband, the heavenly law is clear. A wife cannot refuse to lay with her rightful spouse. I humbly ask you to command the Duchess to come to Florence and take her place in the Medici household, as she is obligated to do. Every day Gian Gastone is separated from his lawful wife is a day of temptation to the poor boy, as if the devil himself tried to seduce him and lead him astray. I know this is not God's will, as much as I know it is not His desire to see the House of Medici fade into oblivion. Anna Maria Franziska must come to Florence at once and give her husband a legitimate son, so that he may continue the lineage and rule as a pious and devout Most Serene Grand Duke when the time comes, so that he may carry on our work in the name of God, morality and the Holy Mother Church.​
    ​
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    To His Royal Highness Cosimo III, Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany @ByzantineCaesar​

    I have read you letter and rest assured though old I am well, As to your deeds in the eyes of the lord you have truly been an inspiration to all of Christendom from your work in dealing with usury to your fight against the corruption of greed that we as moral men must always be carful of to not succumb to, Truly Tuscany is a holier land due to you and your family's efforts as can be seen by the many members of the faithful as well as the many men and women of the church that reside in your lands.

    Rest assured your faith will be reward if not in the mortal world then surly in the Kingdom of God, As to the matter of Duchess Anna Maria Franziska, It is considered one of the holiest of duties to bear children and for a wife to seemingly outright refuse to do her wifely duties is concerning, After all as the bible says be fruitful and multiply. I will send a letter to the Duchess to urge her to obey her husband and do her wifely duties. If you speak to or have correspondence with Duchess Anna Maria Franziska know that you speak on the matter of wifely duties with the support of the Church.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To Duchess Anna Maria Franziska, Duchess Of Saxe-Lauenburg​

    I have been informed by Grand Duke Cosimo III that you refuse to obey your husband his son Prince Gian Gastone and have refused to bear a child. It is one of the holiest and precious of all acts to bring a child into this world and of course you know It's Gods will to have the wife obey her husband. I insist that you go to your husband in Florence and make good on your vow of holy matrimony. Or have you taken your vow of holy matrimony with ill intent or with lies in your heart, God knows all my dear I hope you did not seek to deceive him for none can deceive almighty God for he knows all.
     

    Official stance of the Holy See and Catholic Church
    On the Chinese Rites Controversy.
    ​

    Since the year of our lord 1645 A.D. there has been a debate in the church about the practices of Chinese Christians in China, About certain Chinese rituals and rites that honor their ancestors, Have origins in Confucius thought and some of the Chinese Imperial rites. This debate has gone back and fourth in the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith and between the Dominicans,Jesuits and Franciscans for some time.

    Pope Innocent the XII has seen fit for the Holy See to intervene and render judgment. It is the Official stance of Pope Innocent XII and the Holy See that so long as Christian Chinese conduct Catholic rites and keep to a certain limit their ancestor, Confucius and Imperial rites then the Church will consider the controversial acts as secular and will be tolerated and not in conflict with Catholic beliefs.
     
    Monarchia Austriaca



    The Habsburg Realm

    Capital:     Wien
    Government: Enlightened Absolutism, Composite Monarchy
    Head of House: Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Archduke of Austria
    Heir: Joseph, King of the Romans, Archduke of Austria


    Leopold I
    "Consilio et industria"

    Leopold I, by the grace of God elected Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King of Germany, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, Bulgaria, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Margrave of Moravia, Duke of Luxemburg, of the Upper and Lower Silesia, of Württemberg and Teck, Prince of Swabia, Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg and Gorizia, Landgrave of Alsace, Marquess of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgovia, the Enns, the Upper and Lower Lusatia, Lord of the Marquisate of Slavonia, of Port Naon and Salines, etc. etc.

    Haus Habsburg
    ​

    His Imperial Majesty, Leopold I (b. 1640), Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Archduke of Austria

    Domestic
    Population: Approximately 15,000,000 in the Realm
    Official Religion: Roman Catholic
    (Recognized religions: Calvinism, Lutheranism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Utraquism)

    The Habsburg Realm primarily consists of Three Kingdoms and the Archduchy (Component Kingdoms ruled aeque principaliter), with their own dominions as well as other assorted holdings, classified into three Crownlands. They are, in no hierarchical order, with subdivisions:


    Government of the Habsburg Realm is divided firstly by its kingdoms. Croatia and Hungary are not part of the Holy Roman Empire, and therefore not represented in the Imperial Diet, thus have their own. Bohemia and Austria are, however, represented in the Imperial Diet, thus are subject to it. Most of the Imperial Administration and Bureaucracy is utilized by the Habsburg Realm for its own, individual purposes. Listed below are the respective governing bodies of the Habsburg Realm:

    Reichstag (Imperial Diet)
    Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court, seated at Imperial Free City of Wetzlar)
    Reichshofrat (Aulic Council, or Court Council of the Empire, seated at Wien)
    Hofkriegsrat (Court War Council)
    Hrvatski Sabor (Diet of the Kingdom of Croatia)
    Országgyűlés (Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary)

    Prior to his ascension, Emperor Joseph had surrounded himself with reform-hungry advisers and the 'young court' of Vienna was ambitious in the elaboration of innovative plans. He was described as a "forward-looking ruler". The large number of privy councilors was reduced and attempts were made to make the bureaucracy more efficient. Measures were taken to modernize the central bodies and a certain success was achieved in stabilizing the chronic Habsburg finances.

    Notable Persons:
    Nikolaus Pálffy - Palatine of Hungary and Field Marshal of the Imperial Army
    János Pálffy - Hrvatski Ban (Viceroy of Croatia) and Field Marshal of the Imperial Army
    Prince Eugene of Savoy - Field Marshal of the Imperial Army and Head of the Hofkreigsrat
    Military
    ​
    Exercitus Imperatoris [Romani](Imperial Army/Army of the Holy Roman Emperor)
    81,650 souls total
    Germany: 20,000 men
    Military Frontier (Croatia and Slavonia) 25,000 men
    Transylvanian Border: 25,000 men

    Exercitus Imperii (Army of the Holy Roman Empire): These are the combined forces of the Empire that may be called to arms by the Emperor
    This is the Imperial army strength known as the Simplum. In states of war, the size of the army can be increased by doubling the contingents (and in serious emergencies, tripling). These are known as Duplum and Triplum respectively.

    Imperial Circle
    Cavalry
    Infantry

    Austrian Circle
    2,522
    5,507

    Burgundian Circle
    1,321
    2,708

    Electoral Rhenish Circle
    600
    2,707

    Franconian Circle
    980
    1,902

    Bavarian Circle
    800
    1,494

    Swabian Circle
    1,321
    2,707

    Upper Rhenish Circle
    491
    2,853

    Lower Rhenish Circle
    1,321
    2,708

    Upper Saxon Circle
    1,322
    2,707

    Lower Saxon Circle
    1,322
    2,707

    Total
    12,000
    28,000

    Austrian Navy
    While the Emperor does not have the need, nor the resources for a large navy, 20 frigates are stationed at the Imperial Port of Trieste for the purposes of His Imperial Majesty.
     
    Last edited:
    Turn 1
  • Threadmarks
    • Turn 1, 1700 A.D. - "The Age of Change Begins."


    Map of the Iberian Peninsula.    ​

    Events of the Spanish Succession

    The central question asked by the European powers was who would succeed to the Spanish Crown?

    After a period of reflection and contemplation, the Spanish King resolved upon naming his Austrian nephew, Archduke Karl, as his heir. The reputation of the Junior Branch of the House of Habsburg in Spain was colored by the desire of King Felipe II a century ago to succeed to the Imperial Throne of his father, Emperor Carlos, only have his ambitions blocked by the German princes and his uncle Emperor Ferdinand. The acquisition of the Duchy of Milan was his consolation prize and relations between the two branches had led Spain to support the Junior Line in wars in Italy, Germany, and in the Low Countries for little gain to its position and much loss to Spanish prestige.

    The French Bourbons were viewed as little better than the Austrians. For a century they had been rivals to Spain, had seized bit-by-bit Spanish territories in the Low Countries, annexed Northern Catalonia and the Free County of Burgundy, and had helped pry away Portugal from Spanish dominion. The French candidate the duc of Anjou, was the grandson of Louis XIV, who was himself the senior male heir to the Spanish throne. The laws of succession in the Spanish realms of Castille, Aragon, Navarre, and both Sicilies allowed for sons to inherit their rights to the throne from their mothers. However, such dynastic considerations mattered little to the European powers who sought to maintain a balance of power in Europe. Spain coming under the same dynasty as France would upset the balance and William III of England, who had spent most of his adult life trying to contain Louis XIV's ambitions, was resolved to maintain the balance.


    Archduke Karl of Austria.    ​

    The succession of Archduke Karl would preserve the balance, but he had not accepted the Treaty of London negotiated on his behalf that would have divided the Spanish Empire to suit the needs of the powers. Carlos II had stipulated that his inheritance would not pass diminished and the mood in Spain was unwilling to see the next king accept any form of partition. Under these terms Archduke Karl became heir presumptive to the Spanish throne.

    The reaction of the Spanish court to the King's decree on the succession was at first muted. The French faction decided upon biding their time to prevail on the King to change his mind down the line after being wined and dined by the King's advisors. Most members of the French faction had supported the claims of the Bavarian heir till he passed in suspicious circumstances the previous year. They continued to blame an Austrian plot for upsetting the succession and began to take their anger out on the Spanish Queen.

    The events that would take place over the summer after the King's succession decree would be debated by historians in the years to come. While the succession seemed secure a new crisis was about plunge the Spanish court into chaos. It was only in the 20th​ century that scientific testing would conclusively prove that the passing of Queen Mariana of Neuburg was accidental and due to an overindulgence in rancid cheese triggering a particularly violent allergy. Her passing at the Alcazar in Segovia, while the Spanish King was hunting in the forests and hills around the city, deprived the Austrian party of their main champion at court. Without the patronage of the Queen, the Spanish Court descended into anarchy as any form of restraint on openly voicing one's opinion on the matter of the succession came crashing down. Without the Queen to maneuvering to block dissent behind the scenes every protest found itself being thrown against the succession of Archduke Karl to the legacy of the Senior Line.


    Carlos II, King of Spain.    ​

    The Spanish King, while mournful as one in his position must be, seemed to have recovered much of his health in the following months. He found himself fit enough of mind to decide travel from Segovia to rest in Valladolid, the old seat of the Kings of Castille, to avoid the dreary weather of Madrid during winter. There he would struggle to secure the succession for his nephew Karl while at the same time endure the unanimous demands of his court to remarry someone of childbearing age to produce an heir. Even members of the Austrian party conceded the advantages of an heir born and raised in Spain over a German, plus the opportunities to shape policy during a regency if it came to that. The French party would prove supportive of any arrangement that would frustrate Archduke Karl's smooth succession to the Spanish Throne. [Spanish Succession Resolved? +1 Stability for Spain.]

    Quite independently of the drama unfolding in Iberia, the other European powers were making preparations to secure their candidate on the Spanish throne. In London, the powers of the old Grand Alliance were forging a new one but this time they were more lenient on the Junior Branch of the Habsburgs, allowing them to take the entire inheritance of the Senior Line free and clear. In this second flurry of talks brought about by news of Carlos II's declining condition, the Austrians put forward vague guarantees that the Spanish and Austrian realms would never be joined, promises which seemed to quiet any protest that prior agreements regarding the succession were not adhered to.

    As a consequence of those negotiations, the alliance against Sweden also found itself strengthened. An agreement between the United Provinces, Great Britain, and Denmark-Norway found the "Maritime Powers" committing substantial assets to controlling the Danish Straits and blocking Sweden's ability to land troops on the European Mainland. Other provisions in the agreement committed Denmark to Archduke Karl's cause but would be of little consequence until the war with Sweden was concluded. [A diplomatic agreement is made between United Provinces, Great Britain, and Denmark-Norway.]


    Louis, the "Grand" Dauphin of France.    ​

    While the Grand Alliance made agreements and promises, the French acted.

    In spite of the reluctance of Louis XIV to involve himself in another war with all the powers of Europe, the demands of his son Louis the "Grand" Dauphin to place his second child on the Spanish throne won the day. France barred travel across its lands to any journeying to Spain in support of the cause of Archduke Karl. But more worrying for a peaceful succession were the orders transmitted to the French Navy; The Atlantic Fleet was sent to the English Channel and letters of marque produced for French privateers wishing to raid the Spanish Treasure Fleets journeying to and from the New World. Orders were given to the Mediterranean Fleet to gather intelligence on when Archduke Karl would be crossing the sea to Spain to claim his inheritance and to intercept and capture his convoy. Of course, Carlos II would remain very much alive, at least as of the end of 1700, so no journey on the Archduke's part took place. Meanwhile the armies of France were on the move with their destination unknown but surely they were pre-positioned with a mind to contest any chance of a peaceful Spanish Succession. With war on the horizon the economic outlook of Western Europe began to falter, first in Britain and France and then in the Netherlands. [Economic outlook for Britain, France, and the Netherlands has begun to slip. Spanish colonial forces now must defend against French sponsored privateering.]

    Other Events in Western & Central Europe

    In spite of both Dutch and Austrian attempts to divine opinion the Empire's princes regarding the events in Iberia, the consensus is one of apathy. Most would find war agreeable, if only as a reason the powers would hire their regiments. Events in Lorraine would emphasize this point; The Duke of Lorraine was openly increasing the size of his standing forces--a move that would surely raise eyebrows in France--and had with the blessings of the exiled King James II, hired Colonel Alexander Cannon to recruit and command an experienced regiment numbering 1,200 Jacobite exiles from the British Isles. [Mercenaries begin journeying to Lorraine for work.]


    The states of Northern Italy.    ​

    Oddly enough, even the Holy Father desired more men under arms. The Pope's order to conduct a new census of the population of the Papal States and the creation of a formal system of conscription set off widespread panic, not only in the Pope's temporal dominions but throughout Italy. "Was war in Italy imminent? For what reason was the Holy Father trying to raise troops?" the people wondered. [-1 to the Stability of the Holy See, Papal Military Reforms 1/?? in game years till completed.]

    Along with the war scare developing in Italy and the events of the Spanish Succession, the gaze of the Austrian Habsburgs would also fall on Germany. The Habsburg Court began to reinforce Imperial influence among the lesser princes of the Holy Roman Empire. While these princes were apathetic at best to who would reign in Spain, they looked to the Emperor for protection from the ambitions of larger states, such as Bavaria and Brandenburg. This came at a cost to neglecting reforms in Hungary, a situation the magnates there were fine with and for the moment contributed to the stability of Habsburg rule in that kingdom. There was no need to send soldiers to "protect" tax collectors operating around the Danube when the money freely arrived in Vienna, as the Austrian Habsburgs turned their gaze away from Hungary. [Tax revenues modestly increase and Habsburg heartlands are content with Imperial rule, for now.]

    There was also the matter of the recklessness of the Kaiser's heir. Whatever manner of treatment made him more selective with whom he shared his bed with is lost to history. What is known is that Archduke Joseph from this period forward began to develop a distaste for both the Emperor and his younger brother, his private diaries detailing his complaints about having to set aside "the basics of essential human enjoyment" for the "boring, tedious duty and the rotten Spanish throne." [Archduke Leopold's viability in helping to produce heirs is dramatically increased at the cost of family harmony within the Junior Line.]

    Other Events in Western Europe

    While Europe squabbled and argued, the growing power of Brandenburg-Prussia remained on the sidelines. They prepared their forces for a conflict. Yet to which conflict and for whom they would fight for remained to be seen. On the domestic front, the Elector formed the Kurfürstlich Brandenburgische Societät der Wissenschaften or "Electoral Brandenburg Society of Sciences", appointing Gottfried Leibniz as President. In order to avoid being a drain on state finances, the Society was to be self-funding, with a monopoly on the production of the sale of agricultural almanacs and calendars in the realms of the Junior Line of the Hohenzollerns. [Potential boost to Brandenburg-Prussia's economic outlook.]

    In Lusitania, the Portuguese Crown also was determined to focus more on internal matters. The Portuguese King patronized the "General Study of Lisbon," giving it money, thus boosting its legitimacy and popularity within the Kingdom through private events hosted and sponsored by Pedro II to spur an academic renewal and revival in Portugal. Also, a new round of colonial reforms was ordered for Brazil; Infrastructure in the various Captaincies of Brazil, specifically Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso, to accommodate for the recent gold boom that took place in Brazil. This will manifest in the form of improving roads, expanding ports, and creating and training bureaucrats to oversee the massive extraction of wealth from Brazil and export of that wealth to Portugal. [Brazilian Colonial Reforms 1/3 in game years till completed.]


    William III of Great Britain and the Netherlands.    ​

    Aside from sending a squadron to cooperate with the Dutch and Danes, the British turned to the matter of their own succession. The desire of William III to pass the crown on to a male heir, which in turn would continue to tie the United Provinces to Britain, was behind his latest remarriage. While no heir, male or female, was to be born of this union as of yet, the hopes that it would produce an heir produced parliamentary support for the proposed Act of Succession securing the throne from the claims of the Catholic Jacobites.

    More controversial was a proposed Act of Union between England and Scotland. The idea was rejected by the Scottish Parliament entirely; The success of the "Caledonia" colony in what was Spanish Panama had brought wealth and continental investment to Glasgow and Edinburgh. While it was unclear how much longer the Spanish colonial authorities would tolerate the settlement, the monies brought into Scotland by speculation had given Scotland a taste of the fruits of what becoming a colonial power could be and they had no desire to see their work undone by the British East India Company in London. [Act of Succession passes. Act of Union fails.]

    Another bit of controversy came with the proposed Reunification Act, which would bring all propriety colonies in British North America under royal control. The outcry from both the colonies, which had already seen the same experiment with the Dominion of New England tried and failed, and from the Lords Proprietors themselves saw support for the bill in Parliament erode. [Reunification Act fails.]

    Rumors also have begun to circulate the British are preparing an expedition to strike at France in the New World. Such rumors may have an ounce of truth to them given the number of sailors heading inland to avoid the press gangs looking for warm bodies to serve aboard the ships of the Royal Navy being taken out of ordinary. [Britain completes preparations for a colonial war--the target only known to the British player at the moment--in the New World against France.]

    The Great Northern War & Eastern Europe

    While tensions were boiling over in Western Europe, in the lands along the plains and rivers of Baltic war had broken out between the powers. The coalition assembled to topple the Swedish Empire struck the first blow in Germany; Danish troops moved swiftly into the Swedish-aligned Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. The Danes bypassed the towns and small hamlets in their path and sought out the armies of the duchy to crush them in a decisive battle. Before his opponents could organize, Danish Lieutenant-general Jørgen Rantzau occupied the ducal palace at Gottrop and his army of 16,000 men scattered what resistance Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, could muster. The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp fled to Stockholm to beg assistance of his friend the Swedish King and protested to the European powers that the occupation of Ducal Holstein by the King of Denmark, who had given no justification for his campaign other than the Duke's pro-Swedish sympathies, was improper and in violation of several treaties signed on the matter. The peasants and townsmen minded not the occupation so long as the Danes paid for their supplies with good coin. [Ducal Holstein is occupied by Danish forces with the population largely acceptive of the situation.]


    Gottrop Palace.    ​

    The occupation of Ducal Holstein was but one policy enacted by the new Danish King to restore Danish hegemony over the Baltic. Of long-term importance to the balance of power in the region was the expansion of the Dano-Norwegian Navy. Ulrik Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø, is appointed by the King to the position of Lieutenant-General Admiral, thus becoming head of the Dano-Norwegian Navy. Lieutenant-General Admiral, thus becoming head of the Dano-Norwegian Navy. Having received his education in navigation and maritime command in the Netherlands and spent a number of years with the French Marine, he is considered to belong to a new generation of professional naval officers.

    Under orders by the King, he is instructed to begin a thorough restructuring of the Navy and its command structure along Dutch and French lines by establishing a professional officer corps, whereas earlier most naval officers had received their ranks based on nobility and seniority. In addition, Gyldenløve is instructed to begin construction of an additional 15 Ships-of-the-line, carrying between 64 and 94 guns. To allow for this the King orders the expansion of naval dockyard facilities at Holmen, just outside of Copenhagen, and for the construction of a drydock and dockyard facilities at the Staverns Fortress in Norway. [Danish Naval Reforms/Warship Construction: 1/2 in game years till completion.]

    The Swedes, much like the Danes, did not hesitate in their war preparations, having known of the potential threat of the alliance posted against it for some months. Karl XII's plans for a diplomatic solution by isolating Denmark were shattered when the Danes aggressively went on the offensive. Hanover preferred to sit out the situation. Mecklenburg was unwilling to enter a marriage alliance but one of the claimants to the principality, Adolphus Frederick II, accepted the Swedish offer of command in the army. Even without allies, the Swedish army and its efficient system of conscription provided a force of significant size. However, Karl XII's desire to land a lightning blow against Denmark to knock it out of the war was thwarted by the Dano-British-Dutch fleet commanding the waters of the Danish straits. The Swedish Navy was unable to guarantee an uncontested crossing with his naval forces being outnumbered and outgunned. This setback does not diminish public support for the Swedish King but instead serves to rally around any who were hesitant about forging a negotiated settlement; The arrival of the British and Dutch on the side of the Danes signaled this war would become a decisive battle for the future of the Swedish Empire.[Sweden may maintain their current level of troop mobilization without economic penalty until further notice.]

    Swedish preparations in their Baltic provinces went more smoothly but due to the presence of Allied naval forces, Sweden was hard-pressed to reinforce its Baltic territories with additional troops. Sweden was able to focus its forces already deployed in theatre to Narva and Riga, which could be resupplied by sea and maintained strong fortifications. King Augustus II of Poland urged his troops forward into Sweden's Baltic provinces. With Sweden isolated through the participation of the British and Dutch in blockading the Danish Straits and the manpower of Russia aiding him, what could possibly stand against his will?

    Augustus II's costly but effective investment in siege artillery and his magnates competing, against orders, to take the Swedish fortresses by storm netted him the first prize of the war, the city of Riga. After a heavy bombardment followed by repeated assaults, Riga in Livonia fell to Commonwealth forces shortly before the onset of Autumn. Commonwealth forces were assigned to the Baltic front were entirely exhausted by the rapid pace of the campaign and no further moves against Swedish forces in Estonia could be achieved. Confusion and rivalries bogged down the Poles during their occupation of Livonia. Johann Patkul and the Polish theatre commander, Jacob Heinrich von Flemming, had begun to quarrel over who would be credited for the fall of Riga. The Poles and Lithuanians were also tiring of being led by their King's Saxon officers, who they felt were taking away opportunities for the King's subjects in the Commonwealth to win glory and notoriety.


    Polish Hussars on campaign.    ​

    Perhaps in the future Augustus II's policy of building marital alliances between Saxon and Commonwealth nobles would bear fruit but for the moment both factions would continue to quarrel over the spoils of war in the Baltic and over political authority in the Commonwealth. There was also the expectation by the King's subjects that Russian forces would be at hand to ease the burden on the Commonwealth, but none were to be seen. [Poland-Lithuania occupies Swedish Livonia. However, the costly victory at Riga has damped popular support in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for the war. Anger begins to grow among the Polish King's key vassals over Russian nonparticipation in the campaign.]

    The Russians had not made any significant moves against Sweden, in spite of guarantees given by Tsar Peter I to King Augustus II personally the previous year. The Russians instead prepared to reinforce their naval forces at Azov, if talks with the Ottomans did not bear fruit, and at Archangelsk on the White Sea to promote trade.

    Other Events in Eastern Europe

    While Europe convulsed, the Ottomans looked for an opportunity to find breathing space. Sultan Mustafa II embarked upon a far-reaching series of reforms to the military establishment, the economic workings of the Balkan provinces, and to the Imperial government itself in the wake of the loss of Hungary to the Austrian Habsburgs. Naturally in response to these rapid reforms, opposition arose in every corner of the Imperial establishment, from the Janissary order to the merchants. The weakness of the Empire, plain to see by all, provided a pretext for the Sultan's decision to impose reforms from on high but any significant setback for the Empire in the coming years would have disastrous consequences for his authority and perhaps even his continued presence on the Ottoman throne. [Mustafa II's "Reforms" 1/?? In game years till complete.]

    Meanwhile, the war with the Russians was yet to be ended. Significant forces were sent to the Crimea to threaten Russia's hold on the port of Azov. The Sultan's vassal in the region, the Khan of Crimea, was ready to move his troops against the Muscovites upon the expiry of the truce between the Ottomans and the Russians.

    East Asia

    In China the bureaucrats slow walked the desire of the Emperor to reform his naval forces along European lines. For what purpose did the Middle Kingdom need to copy the techniques of the "barbarians"? No one qualified to study Western sciences volunteered to be sent to Europe and when the order came on high for experts to be sent, willing or not, none were to be found at court. Along with talks of "reforms", the mandarin class quietly worked to frustrate the mandates of Kangxi Emperor. He would need victories and treasure to bring his government into line but as luck would have it an opportunity arose to gain glory. [Qing Naval Reforms are stalled for the moment.]

    The Emperor and the Iron-Cap Princes, desirous to extend their power into Tibet to match the reach of the Great Yuan, ordered the seizure of an important border town to provoke the Tibetans into action. The seizure of this important border town sparked a larger war with Tibet, which would bring the Qing further along in its ambitions to subjugate Central Asia. Bannermen and local militia in Sichuzan Province are raised for this purpose and the Imperial Decree ordering the start of the campaign was as follows;

    By Decree of the Son of Heaven,

    From time immemorial the protection of the Tibetan plateau has been the responsibility of China. In recent decades vile forces have conspired to lead the people of that region astray. The continued occupation of Our city of Dajianlu, on the orders of the false Regent of Tibet Desi Sangye Gyatso, is the final misdeed that can no longer be tolerated by Our munificence. His concealment of the demise of the Fifth Dalai Lama from Our knowledge and his installation of a Sixth Dalai Lama without Our approval is enough of a transgression to warrant his immediate punishment. Yet in Our mercy and concern for the wellbeing of those under Our protection, We stayed our hand. Now we see fit to act to defend Our rights.

    We order the Governor of Sichuan, Tang Xishun, to make ready a force to liberate the people of Dajianlu. He is to make a formal demand of the Tibetans to leave the city. Acceptance will be met with Our mercy. Rejection will be punished severely. We place our Bannermen and Green Standard militia at the disposal of Governor Tang to solve this situation. Our forces are also directed to prepare for the liberation of Tibet proper should the situation require it.

    These are the words of Heaven, all men shall tremble and obey.     [Qing campaign against Tibet, 1/?? years until complete.]

    The interest of the great Eastern Realms in naval matters also captured the attention of the Koreans. King Sukjong was the greatest monarch to sit on the throne in two centuries and had mastered court politics by dividing his enemies and forcing infighting among their factions. Joseon bureaucrats expected an important decree to be announced as the King ordered his armies to reinforce the forts controlling the approaches to the capitol along the Han River. Citing increased piracy along the Korean coast, Sukjong demands the foreigners bring him naval architects to advise him on warship design. As a country closed to trade and outside interaction the announcement the King was seeking foreigners to work for him was a change in hundreds of years of policy but divided as the court was the King's will prevailed and envoys were prepared to visit to the Portuguese feitoria located at Macao to enlist their aid. [-1 stability to Korea for initiating overseas diplomacy in contravention of Korea's foreign exclusion policies, progress in improving Korea's naval technology will depend on a willing European nation with a long naval tradition aiding the effort and the acceptance of the Korean political establishment of the project.]

    Japan also was on the cusp of reversing its isolation policy. The Shogun in Edo made plans to open more ports for foreign trade and allow all manner of Western texts to be imported to improve Japan's technological awareness. The Neo-Confucian establishment protested against Shogun Tsunayoshi's decision to reverse the policies of his ancestors. Led by Arai Hakuseki, who had tutored the Shogun's nephew and heir Ienobu in Confucian studies, the samurai scholar-bureaucrats joined forces with Council of Elders in asking the Shogun to reconsider his decision.

    Less controversial was a new campaign ordered to extend Japanese control over all of Ezo. The Matsumae clan had been charged with the defense of Ezo by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a role which continued under the Tokugawa Shogunate. As protectors of Ezo they gave their blessing for proposed campaign. Eager to gain glory in a time of peace, the various Daimyo dispatched forces to the north to crush the Ainu and open up northern Ezo, the Kurils, and Sakhalin Island to permanent Japanese settlement. [Subjugation of the North, 1/?? years until complete.]

    --

    NatStats will be updated in the next 24 hours to reflect the outcomes of this turn.

    The next turn will cover the first six in game months of the year 1701. Orders will be due 11:59pm EST—a minute to midnight—on Wednesday the 25th​.
     
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    • Black Gold
    ​
    Born out of the Gold Rush of 1694, Brazil became a twinkle in the sterling crown of the Portuguese Empire in 1700. Minas Gerais and Mino Grosso, two Captaincies of the larger colony of Brazil became the focus of the Portuguese people, as the Banderiantes, a class of explorers and warlords flying the Portuguese bandeir (banner) began charting and searching for new sources of wealth in the dense jungles of Brazil. The leaders of this class of people were often native Portuguese, second or third generation, and sought to emulate Spanish conquistadores in their relentless pursuit of wealth and glory, through enslaving indigenous Brazilians and plundering Jesuit camps. As the Gold Rush drew more and more greedy eyes to Portugal, the Banderiantes became more and more influential, as they continued to flood the Brazilian labor force with indigenous slaves, often targeting native Brazilian tribes and peoples allied with Jesuit and Spanish settlers. It was a cold proxy war, lead by a group of marauding Portuguese with little regard for order, their eyes fixated on wealth.

    It was João de Lencastre, Duke of Aveiro who pushed for African slaves as an alternative to the Banderiante-owned indigenous slaves, and under his Governorship of the State of Brazil, the mass importing of African slaves to Brazil took up in earnest. Hundreds of thousands of slaves would ultimately be brought across the Atlantic under de Lencastre's tenure, often in terrible conditions, with a significant number dying just on the voyage over. Upon arrival, the slaves were sorted by strength, body type, and obedience, where they were set to work in the mines. It was cruel, and unforgiving, with second and third-generation Portuguese serving as overseers of these mines, ruling with an iron with and little compassion for the human beings they deemed as products. The Portuguese Gold Rush sparked the birth of the most violent, cruel, and unusual form of labor yet seen in the colonies, yet the human cost was of little value to the continentals, who saw only numbers on a ledger and an influx of gold.
     
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