G7....War declared

Jason2 wrote: My lords, my ladies, and everybody else here not sitting on a cushion!

It does seem we are all getting a bit caught up in an "England says, Spain says" discussion...so here is the world as Russian Department East views it

1) Lots of things happened in Europe.  That's Europeans for you, they do things

2) Poland continues to do things that annoy the Czar.  Clearly anyone who does things that annoy the Czar is wrong, wrong, wrong...in fact they are so wrong that they might as well change their name to "Wrong McWrongness of Clan McWrong"

3) An English naval officer is clever with gunpowder and ice in the Baltic...but apparently went beyond his orders in doing so...so we all expect him to be hung from the yardarm for showing "Intelligence unbecoming a Royal Navy officer"

4) England declared war on the Shah.  England sees itself as being pretty honourable and whose word can be trusted...problem is to everyone East of St Petersburg, the Shah is incredibly honourable and whose word can be trusted over anyone else (other than the Czar of course)...so the English say the Persians are backing naughty pirates, the Persians are saying oh no we're not...who should we trust...

5) Portugal has acknowledged the fine upstanding (when it isn't sitting down) Kalmar Union has lived up to its obligations over the ex-Portuguese East Africa and it is now Kalmar East Africa. This is a relief to anyone whose exe has ever bad mouthed them

Well that's the world view from Russian Department East,  where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average

Surprized that the Russian Department East view of the world does not include anthing about the wisdom of the Czar in ending the monopoly of Virginia tobacco in Russia and allowing Russian merchants to import tobacco from anywhere in the world. To the great joy of Russian smokers and great depression of owners of Virginia Tobacco plantations. Poor old Captain Teach has even had to stop over charging Russian merchants and go back too Sea to fight the Shah. Is the old boy even up too a spot of free enterprise and fair competition it after a decade of the easy life robbing Russian smokers?

"Wrong McWrongness of Clan McWrong" and his brood seem to be growing by the 1860's and Scrbble they seem to have branches in France (Adolponce McWrong) Africa (Madhi McWrong) and even a branch in China (Fu-Manchu McWrong). Do you think the problem is the Czar holds a old Roman title and deep in their ancient RIB Caladonian genes clan McWrong still see the ancient foe and its Eagle standard?

Think Lord Derby is on the look out for "Intelligence unbecoming a Royal Navy officer" as a possible new Admiral for the English Navy in Scabble.

Stuart Bailey wrote:Surprized that the Russian Department East view of the world does not include anthing about the wisdom of the Czar in ending the monopoly of Virginia tobacco in Russia and allowing Russian merchants to import tobacco from anywhere in the world.  To the great joy of Russian smokers and great depression of owners of Virginia Tobacco plantations.  Poor old Captain Teach has even had to stop over charging Russian merchants and go back too Sea to fight the Shah.  Is the old boy even up too a spot of free enterprise and fair competition it after a decade of the easy life robbing Russian smokers?

Ahh, as it is a decision by the Czar it is clearly right, in fact it is so right it does not even need commenting on

Always nice to hear from RDE, although for balance I should point out that:

Jason2 wrote:2) Poland continues to do things that annoy the Czar.  Clearly anyone who does things that annoy the Czar is wrong, wrong, wrong...in fact they are so wrong that they might as well change their name to "Wrong McWrongness of Clan McWrong"

However annoying Poland may be to the Tsar, it was the Tsar who with 3 of his pals invaded Poland.  Most rulers would find that rather annoying and view it as being wrong.  I may be incorrect in this and Jason2 would be overjoyed if a million Chinese soldiers invaded Singapore, but somehow I doubt it.

Jason2 wrote:3) An English naval officer is clever with gunpowder and ice in the Baltic...but apparently went beyond his orders in doing so...so we all expect him to be hung from the yardarm for showing "Intelligence unbecoming a Royal Navy officer"

Although it is not possible to tell from the newspaper, I can assure you he did not go beyond his orders.  He was merely unable to carry out the orders he had once he arrived in Danzig because of the ice in the Baltic (since his orders were to make a fast turnaround and get out of there before the ice blocked him in).  The Royal Navy does expect its officers, splendid fellows that they are, to exercise the proper judgement in obeying their orders, as both commanders did over the last few months.

Jason2 wrote:4) England declared war on the Shah.  England sees itself as being pretty honourable and whose word can be trusted...problem is to everyone East of St Petersburg, the Shah is incredibly honourable and whose word can be trusted over anyone else (other than the Czar of course)...so the English say the Persians are backing naughty pirates, the Persians are saying oh no we're not...who should we trust...

If you read the newspaper carefully, I have deliberately left the matter of Persian involvement at Tolanaro Bay open to clarification through game letters.  Clearly some explanations are needed because at the moment it does look as though the pirate king 'Ramina' has been preying on merchant shipping (quite possibly including Russian shipping), taking Christian crews captive and selling them as slaves.  The extent to which Persia rather than HWIC is involved in this has yet to be proven.  But since last month Persia objected to having its crews (now confirmed as having left for Mecca) condemned as pirates, it is rather embarrassing that the same month a large fleet flying the Persian flag just happened to be in a port owned and operated by a pirate king who is running a slaving operation.   That may be Jason2's definition of honourable, but I guess when the Royal Navy puts an end to Christian slavery worldwide, any slaves we free who are found to belong to RDE will not wish to return there and instead be offered service with England as free men?   Does Ramina have the ships to do all this himself?  I very much doubt he has 133 armed liners and 50Frg, unless they are crewed by slaves.  Pirate positions tend to be quite small scale and run by cowards: when Ramina is captured and interrogated he will reveal his backers or there will be paperwork which will be found.  The newspaper described the fleet as Persian, not just Persian flagged.  Those who have been following the long hunt for HWIC will appreciate that I don't give up, but just keep following the evidence and finding out what is really going on until the truth comes out.  This episode is an interesting twist to the game, not one I was expecting, but the unexpected is one of the reasons the game has lasted over 30 real world years.

Stuart Bailey wrote:Surprised that the Russian Department East view of the world does not include anything about the wisdom of the Czar in ending the monopoly of Virginia tobacco in Russia and allowing Russian merchants to import tobacco from anywhere in the world.  To the great joy of Russian smokers and great depression of owners of Virginia Tobacco plantations.  Poor old Captain Teach has even had to stop over charging Russian merchants and go back too Sea to fight the Shah.  Is the old boy even up too a spot of free enterprise and fair competition it after a decade of the easy life robbing Russian smokers?

"Wrong McWrongness of Clan McWrong" and his brood seem to be growing by the 1860's and Scrabble they seem to have branches in France (Adolponce McWrong) Africa (Madhi McWrong) and even a branch in China (Fu-Manchu McWrong).  Do you think the problem is the Czar holds a old Roman title and deep in their ancient RIB Caladonian genes clan McWrong still see the ancient foe and its Eagle standard?

Think Lord Derby is on the look out for "Intelligence unbecoming a Royal Navy officer" as a possible new Admiral for the English Navy in Scabble.

The Virginia tobacco monopoly is an odd one.  Both of you seem to be assuming that this will in some way hurt English merchants, but it is likely to do the opposite.  Originally there was a sizeable English trade in tobacco, but after the years of mismanagement by previous players and smuggling/fraud from HWIC, England hardly gets any trade revenue at all from Tobacco.  In fact for England, Americas trade is the 7th largest out of 9 trade zones according to the latest income round (the smallest being Europe where English trade is banned by everyone under Hapsburg influence, and the next smallest being Eastern Europe which had been higher than Americas trade, but took a hammering this time because it is impacted by the Polish war). For clarification English trade with France, Spain, Portugal, UDP, etc, all counts as 'Maritime' not 'Europe', so 'Europe' is really inland Europe which England tries not to bother with anyway.  So whoever thought this tobacco monopoly one up has clearly either played England in another game or assumes that the situation in G7 mirrors those.  They have the same failing when it comes to religious matters, and they assume that England is majority Anglican, and sections are just paranoid anti-Catholics.  It is about time I did another religious survey and I expect that with thousands of Catholic priests and over 90% of all schools in England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales being Catholic, it is highly likely that the majority of the population is now Catholic.

The other obvious reason (or at least it should be obvious to Russia and RDE) why America is not significant to English trade any more, is because for the last 9 years Russia has leased the 13 Colonies and has invested heavily herself in building up her own trade.  Indeed Russia's America trade is now probably worth more than the whole of England's trade from every trade region combined!  Under the terms of the agreement signed, Russia will get to keep this trade, so assuming she has invested in tobacco, the merchants who have just been disadvantaged by the ending of the monopoly are RUSSIAN!  Those who may gain some advantage will be Spanish (if Spain has an interest in tobacco), or possibly French, or once we have peace and trade relations are restored, Polish - since English/American planters will simply sell their tobacco destined for Russia to Polish intermediaries and they will pass it on to Russia.  England may or may not reinvest in tobacco plantations after 1718, or sell output to Russian merchants who don't have restrictions on importing to Russia.  Either way it doesn't change the situation on the ground.  When the colonies return to English rule, it may even (in the context of the war against Christian slavery) make sense to emancipate existing slaves in America and run the American economy along more modern lines.  From comments other players have made on other threads, the abolition of serfdom gave a major boost to the Russian economy which lasted years; the abolition of slavery in the Americas may give a similar boost.  Of course there would be a large capital loss to Russian planters who had invested in slaves and a big hit to the profits of slave traders from Africa, but the impact on English trade itself is likely to be minimal.  After all, if the tobacco trade is suddenly to become too competitive or unprofitable, There is no incentive for England to participate in it.  The land can be used for other crops.  I'm not sure whether I would go as far as banning smoking in England - that would be rather to Puritan for what is likely by now to be a majority Catholic country - but it can certainly be discouraged in polite society, and if the lower orders wish to smoke I could put a big tax on it.  Just think how much healthier the people of England would be as a result?

I haven't really addressed the issue of post-handover taxation so it may be that the tax on Russian trade from America goes back to the standard rates.  Logically it would be a good idea for England and Russia to negotiate a reduction as part of the handover process, although until the Polish unpleasantness is sorted that would be difficult.  Perhaps this is one reason why the Tsar, wise and practical as he is, has decided to explore the option of peace.  I'm sure it can't just be because the Tsarina has told him to!

I'll be honest Papa, I hadn't even thought about whether ending the tobacco monopoly would hurt England or not. That's not how I play the games. I don't like monopolies in the games and find they do more harm than good so always end them when I can.  The fact the Czar decided to end it is good news on that basis.

As to banning smoking in your realm, well would be an interesting move but I suppose you can just present it as the logical next step from James VI and I beliefs on the vile weed. Maybe time for a new edition of "A Counterblaste to Tobacco"

I'd forgotten King James I's dislike of tobacco - makes you wonder if that was one reason why the Pilgrim Fathers decided to settle in America (didn't think he would bother them there).

A few years ago I had done the orders for the abolition of slavery in the Americas and still have them somewhere; just that other matters took priority and this kind of change has to be prepared for properly.  It is probably a bit too close to 1718 to do immediately, but perhaps after English troops are back in America and the Polish campaign and the crusade against Ramina are finished?

Well, in Glory anything is worth a go and in G10 the abolition of Slavery in the Spanish Empire seems to be going successfully.

I think trying to predict how it will go is a bit of an issue though. If we look at it from a strictly historical viewpoint, outright abolition (even with payments to former owners, ex-slaves effectively remaining as indentured servants for X years, etc) in the 1720s simply isn't viable especially if you do it with without abolishing the slave trade first. There just isn't the support for it. We can argue about Las Casas (spelling? doing this from memory) as an early proponent of abolition in the 16th Century or the more radical puritan elements in the War of Three Kingdoms demanding the end of slavery, I don't feel there is any support for its end this early. We are still 50 years before any real movement for its end and at this point in history, even the most absolutist of monarchs is going to face resistance from his nobles (and others) if they tried. Even the most absolute monarch still needs to rule with some support from nobles and the like.

Of course, the games aren't 100% accurate to history (think they would be unplayable if they were) so it might work in game but it feels a hell of a gamble, just one bad roll of the Agema dice and it all goes wrong. Just for myself, if I were to do it as Britain, I would test the water first. Scotland still has serfdom (in regards miners) that wasn't ended until 1799, I think I would try abolishing that first; there should (hopefully) be relatively little objection and would create a precedent for the abolition of slavery. Conversely, if you go straight to slavery abolition while still having serfdom back home, it could become a rallying cry for the Scots-"King James cares more for slaves in the colonies than we Scots"

Thanks Jason2 - it is interesting about it working in G10 ... perhaps with Spain being a Catholic country (even if its king was excommunicated) and the Pope's support for the measure (based on Papal Bulls from the 1500s if memory serves), that helped convince the Spanish colonies?

In G7 what would be needed is probably some kind of catalyst which provoked the same kind of outrage and shame that made defending slavery so morally difficult.  It could be that if the pirate king Ramina has been torturing and/or killing Christian slaves for the fun of it, then that could well be the kind of outrage that tips the balance?  With something like this I don't think it is a case of economics or even compensation, but a change in the kind of mindset which makes it easier to turn a blind eye.  Hidden slavery, as you point out, takes many forms.

I also agree that the dodgy Agema dice roll could really cause me problems at a time when I don't really need any more.  How much personal and political capital do I want to commit to such a policy?  Well if the crusade results in a huge honour score then I could perhaps afford to use some of that honour to get through a policy like this?  That isn't the reason it came about - I was expecting a few cruisers and perhaps a few liners, catching them red-handed and blowing them to bits was the plan; I didn't expect to find 50Frg and 133 armed liners flying Persian flags!  But, now the opportunity is here it could be an interesting game line to explore.

I can understand the logic of trying it out in one part of the country first, but that would be difficult.  With Scotland there was the old principle that the Highland Chiefs owned their people; that is the basis of my control in Scotland - the King being the Chief of Clan Chiefs.  As you know, when the chief calls, the clan marches.  And as a counter to the lawyers of the middle belt, the Glasgow tobacco barons, etc, well I'll side with the Highlanders and Highland culture any day.  How do you abolish slavery without also abolishing the power of the Clan Chiefs?  You can appreciate the problem, I'm sure.  

In Ireland the situation is even worse with the problem of land reform topping the agenda.  There were huge disincentives for tenant farmers to improve their land, while the landlords exploited the poor terribly.  Again, I had a few ideas on how to deal with this, but fitting in the orders over several months (probably in a Royal Visit to Ireland) is not easy.

Wales is actually one of the major achievements so far, possibly because of the smaller population size and that I have normally used that as a test bed.  But I don't think slavery in Wales is a particular problem.  The Welsh have done very well out of my rule so far.

So we will see, but there are plenty of domestic reforms I would like to push a little harder once time allows.

Papa Clement wrote:Thanks Jason2 - it is interesting about it working in G10 ... perhaps with Spain being a Catholic country (even if its king was excommunicated) and the Pope's support for the measure (based on Papal Bulls from the 1500s if memory serves), that helped convince the Spanish colonies?

In G7 what would be needed is probably some kind of catalyst which provoked the same kind of outrage and shame that made defending slavery so morally difficult.  It could be that if the pirate king Ramina has been torturing and/or killing Christian slaves for the fun of it, then that could well be the kind of outrage that tips the balance?  With something like this I don't think it is a case of economics or even compensation, but a change in the kind of mindset which makes it easier to turn a blind eye.  Hidden slavery, as you point out, takes many forms.

I also agree that the dodgy Agema dice roll could really cause me problems at a time when I don't really need any more.  How much personal and political capital do I want to commit to such a policy?  Well if the crusade results in a huge honour score then I could perhaps afford to use some of that honour to get through a policy like this?  That isn't the reason it came about - I was expecting a few cruisers and perhaps a few liners, catching them red-handed and blowing them to bits was the plan; I didn't expect to find 50Frg and 133 armed liners flying Persian flags!  But, now the opportunity is here it could be an interesting game line to explore.

I can understand the logic of trying it out in one part of the country first, but that would be difficult.  With Scotland there was the old principle that the Highland Chiefs owned their people; that is the basis of my control in Scotland - the King being the Chief of Clan Chiefs.  As you know, when the chief calls, the clan marches.  And as a counter to the lawyers of the middle belt, the Glasgow tobacco barons, etc, well I'll side with the Highlanders and Highland culture any day.  How do you abolish slavery without also abolishing the power of the Clan Chiefs?  You can appreciate the problem, I'm sure.  

In Ireland the situation is even worse with the problem of land reform topping the agenda.  There were huge disincentives for tenant farmers to improve their land, while the landlords exploited the poor terribly.  Again, I had a few ideas on how to deal with this, but fitting in the orders over several months (probably in a Royal Visit to Ireland) is not easy.

Wales is actually one of the major achievements so far, possibly because of the smaller population size and that I have normally used that as a test bed.  But I don't think slavery in Wales is a particular problem.  The Welsh have done very well out of my rule so far.

So we will see, but there are plenty of domestic reforms I would like to push a little harder once time allows.

Ref Slavery in G7 Spainish Colonies - taking the somewhat odd but historic position. Namely that for the Church (and my Character is a Cardinal) Slavery is a bad thing.

But after 100m people died in the America's from smallpox and other new diseases in a hundred years from 1550 the colonies need to import labour to make up their losses and make sure mines are worked, fields harvested and labour taxes for road upkeep etc paid by local communities. So its impossible to give up the slave trade before a cure for small pox and recovery of population levels.

So Slave trade continues but freeing slaves for good service and if they have adopted the Christian faith is also a good thing.

The other odd thing about the social order in Spanish South America in this period is that legally it goes Whites, Indians, Free Blacks, Mixed race, Slaves. But the part of the population which is growing the fastest and is slowly but surely taking economic control are the mixed or Creole Population.
Partly because unlike say the Puritan Pilgrim Fathers in the North the early Spanish and Portugese settlers were overwelmingly men and were more than happy to mix races. To sort of represent this in G7 The Greatest Noble in the Whole of Spain The Duke of Medina Sidonia acting as Viceroy since 1700 has married a local Creole (decended from Cortez and his Mexican Mistress) and has basically gone native, ditto various other "Spanish" leaders. While every year their longhorn cattle and cowboys push further north.

To help the population recovery Spain in G7 passed a law which says that anyone with 4 legitimate children in school does not have to pay taxes. So I get vision of Spanish Priests across the America's dashing round conducting combined services which combine freeing slaves, marriages and children being made legitimate (well if Louis XIV can do it for some of his kids) - due to true love, Christian faith and tax avoidance !!

Unlike other games G7 Spain has not attempted anything radical like the conquest of Portugal, freeing all slaves or the introduction of a absolutist form of government. But I like to think Charles von Hapsburg and his Government means well - spent tens of millions or Church Schools and free school meals plus its regulations for mines even says Slaves and Donkeys get a day of rest every Sunday.

So Louis XIV is just being down right mean and nasty in messing up Hapsburg marriage policy with his invasion of Savoy.

PS Watched a rather odd program on position of Scots Miners which said they remained "unfree labour" and could not leave their job without written authority mine owner and their children had to enter the industry as well for a long time after England abolished the slave trade. But at the same time they got the best pay of any Scots workers. So they were basically paid slaves if such a thing is possible.

Did wonder if in Industrial terms they were almost like the Military Slaves of Egypt and Turkey (Mamlukes and Jannissary). Slaves but well paid and viewed almost as a elite amongst Scots Industrial Workers. Though they never matched the political power of the Military slaves.

Odd as well that Scots miners situation differed so much from Cornish Tin Miners and Forest of Dean Miners who had much more extensive rights and even their own Parliament and Royal Charters.

Stuart Bailey wrote: Watched a rather odd program on position of Scots Miners which said they remained "unfree labour" and could not leave their job without written authority mine owner and their children had to enter the industry as well for a long time after England abolished the slave trade.  But at the same time they got the best pay of any Scots workers.  So they were basically paid slaves if such a thing is possible.

Did wonder if in Industrial terms they were almost like the Military Slaves of Egypt and Turkey (Mamlukes and Jannissary).  Slaves but well paid and viewed almost as a elite amongst Scots Industrial Workers.  Though they never matched the political power of the Military slaves.

Odd as well that Scots miners situation differed so much from Cornish Tin Miners and Forest of Dean Miners who had much more extensive rights and even their own Parliament and Royal Charters.

The whole thing about the way Scottish miners were treat is odd and so little known. I only originally learnt about it (some years back) by the chance reading of some text at the National Museum of Scotland that mentioned it and its abolition-I was mainly there to see their Newcomen Engine in operation and only noticed the text when walking way. But few in Scotland know about it and I was accused of spreading "fake news" when in 2019/20 I mentioned it at a work event, those accusing me actually worked at NMS and I had to tell them where to go and look in their own museum to learn about it. I have also seen some claims that the abolition was drive from England rather than within Scotland, something along the lines of "how can we abolish the slave trade yet still allow serfdom at home?"

The Mamlukes and Janissary comparison seems a good one. I'm not sure how they were viewed by Scottish society as a whole, from what I have read I don't think the wider "working class" (ok, not the right term, using it as a shorthand) Scots really cared about them. In more recent times (19th and early 20th Century), miners in Scotland were often seen as more like Gypsies-often they lived in seperate communitiies, often in isolated locations, were not "part of us". Don't like to project more modern views backwards but I wonder if that was how 18th C Scottish society saw them, might even explain why their odd status lasted as long as it did? There's a Scottish Shale Mining museum near Edinburgh that has done some research on this-in particular the history of the mining settlements, which were often short-lived (a generation or two).

Since we often talk about mining communities and mining villages can see that Miners would often standard apart from the wider community.

Though the serf like status imposed on Scots Miners by the Scots Parliament does seem to be a bit odd since esp with early pits many of the close to the surface deposits would be fairly small and after a few years or decades at best the mine would be worked out and the miners would have to move on. Likewise if a new mine was to open the owner would have to get at least some experienced miners from elsewhere.

Somewhat after our period the period and the ending of the Serf like status of Scots Miners. Lord Bute (a Scots title) married Sofia Hurbert (Sofia as in Sofia Gardens Cardiff) and started the South Wales coalfield on his wifes land using miners her lured down from Scotland and the North Somerset Coalfield by offering wages reputed to be up to a third higher than they were paid in Scotland and Somerset plus other benefits.

The Welsh still have a mixed view of mining and Lord Bute reputation remains a bit mixed in South Wales - not a total questionable birth but ripped up their green valleys and to build slag heaps and Cardiff. Think the Valleys give him a pass on the slag heaps since they got paid for those but I doubt if he will ever be forgiven for Cardiff.

But I do wonder what mine owners in Scotland thought about having so many of their best workers lured away to South Wales by the promise of higher wages. Wonder if the "serfdom" of Scots miners and the emphasis on written permission was more like the odd wage cap and controls over transfers in football. With Mine owners knowing that miners had to move mines as old ones closed and new ones needed workers, but the mine owners in Scotland looking to cap wages and avoid wage competition between themselves. And perhaps even stop their best miners being lured away south of the border looking for higher wages in Yorkshire and other North Country Pits?

Could the reputed English pressure to end Scots Miners Serfdom be linked not only to the ending of Colonial Slavery but need for Scots Miners elsewhere in the three Kingdoms and even in the Empire?

There's a good coal mining museum in Somerset, problem is can't remember its name...

But yes that whole story about bringing in miners from Scotland and Somerset to Wales is fascinating. As an aside, more for Scramble but the development of the steam-trawler fishing industry in NE Scotland (late 19th C) was dependent on large-scale movement of fishing communities from East Anglia to Aberdeenshire. One of the unknown stories (I have always felt) is how the various acts of union made it easier for those with industrial skills to move around the British Isles.

I think the English pressure for the end of Scottish miner serfdom makes sense in a British Isles concept (wasn't it about the same time as the Cornish Tin Mines took off?) but is a bit too early for the imperial mining industry-though I guess you could argue it benefited it eventually. The rules also applied to those involved in the Scottish salting industry though I don't think there were wider impacts for them once their serfdom ended.

On the South Welsh and mining, well as at uni (in Wales) with a Welsh bloke who blamed Lord Bute for Aberfan (in part)...if he hadn't encouraged Welsh mining then the slag heaps wouldn't have built up...

An interesting discussion.

I can't comment on the Scottish mining serfdom issue, but on mining generally there is a wealth of information on www.oldminer.co.uk which I used as a source when researching some family history (mainly 19th/early 20th century, so slightly later than LGDR period).

What I discovered in the course of that exercise was that:

1. People left the land for a variety of reasons (certainly not as straight forward as more money for working down a mine compared to farming), but once they had left they were rarely able to return.  In most cases it was swapping relative security for insecurity, but it is hard to read anything into individual stories - there was certainly a reluctance to leave land if you owned it, perhaps less so as a tenant farmer, and it was sometimes positively encouraged if you were a labourer.  But since much of industry was decentralised until factories really became concentrated, it was possible for country dwellers to engage in some kind of small scale enterprise and there was always seasonal demand for labour.  So the often quoted idea that people left for the towns to earn a living is not necessarily as black and white as some books make it appear.

2. In the mid 1800s the rate of population growth was unprecedented with high levels of immigration from Ireland and elsewhere.  I have been amazed by how much some family members moved around and the jobs they ended up doing.  Piecing it together only makes sense if you understand the pattern of the industry and growth in the local areas.  At this time, when a new mine was started there was often no proper housing so shanty towns grew up around them, but within a few years the mine had become a suburb of a larger settlement, but in the middle of it.  Follow the coal along then sink a new shaft in the middle of what had become a residential area.  It was nuts.  Birmingham area was particularly bad for this and had the added complication of lots of canals.  It seemed to be relatively common for men to spend some months of the year as miners, but then swap to above ground either for the mining company or in transportation on the canals, then going back underground.  Infant mortality was pretty high living in this kind of environment which was a stimulus to moving to a 'greenfield' mine (if that isn't a contradiction in terms).

3. As to how miners moved around, Stuart is right that there is a kind of common bond between mining areas compared to non mining areas.  If we are talking about coalmining, then each coalfield had its own subculture and the miners knew which owners were cutting corners on safety or whether a particular shaft was a bad one to work down.  There were also various grades of faceworkers and within the same coalfield it was not really encouraged for employers to poach miners from each other since ultimately that would lead to higher wages.  The exception to this was when a new coalfield was being opened up, but it wasn't quite as simple as needing experienced men to start new mines.  Mining engineering was really not well developed as a science until much later and at times it was little more than let's dig a hole in the ground and hope we find something.  Many mines were discovered by accident while digging railways or canals.  

Later (early 1880s in the case of some of my family) they did move to a 'greenfield' mine for several reasons including:
(a) the poor safety record of the coalfield they were working on (more mature mine, too many shafts, poorly mapped so workings were too close to each other, increased risk of accidents, owners cutting costs on props, etc);
(b) children were too sick/died and they wanted somewhere to raise a family, and possibly try to find a way to get back to farming;
(c) longer term opportunities at the new coalfield.  

It is hard to say which one of these reasons was the most important, but given that it was not just one, but a few relatives and their families and friends, all moving together, I do wonder how many others were in the same position.

But, and this is what I found particularly interesting, the only way employers could get anything like enough labour for the new mine was to co-operate with the unions (or miners' associations as they were before unions were called unions), who of course were in contact with other coalfields anyway.  So the unions more or less decided who was sent where, and consequently on the coalfield they moved to, it was part of the deal that they had at least some basic 'modern' housing built before they arrived, and that a more scientific approach to mining was followed, along with better safety standards.  Of the people who went not all were classed as miners, but also from associated trades who more than likely had some mining experience.  Thankfully one of the family had the commercial instinct to buy some land a mile or so from the mine so did ultimately manage to get back into farming which helped them feed themselves over the next 30 years when strikes were regular.

It is a fascinating story and you get a rather different perspective looking from the stories of individuals than you do from a top-down industry view.  Later on another family member attempted to repeat the process and moved 15 miles away to work on another new mine, but that one closed after a few months so he went back to the previous pit.  He must have done quite well out of it, though, because he also managed to buy a field.

Anyone who has lived for any significant time in a mining area has a mixed view of mining, especially during the 1980s, just as those who come from a farming background are much more realistic about the real challenges of making a living from the land than those who buy a field, think it would look pretty with a few sheep on it, then call themselves farmers.  I've got relatives killed by/through mining, and one killed by his horse on a farm, and one very unfortunate girl who was run over by a bus when she was only 23.  In fact 2 died on account of buses.  Some very strange stories once you start looking in to it.

Returning to topic, players may not be aware that since 1990 the Charles Edward Stuart Society have organised a colourful pageant and re-enact of a battle on Derby Cathedral Green which culminates in the laying of wreaths at the foot of the Bonnie Prince Charlie statue.

In 2011 a film was made of it which can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_2P5Io04yY

There were of course 9,000 Jacobites who made it to Derby before getting homesick, rather than the significantly reduced number on the video.  Still, it is nice to know that such events are still commemorated and the spectators really enjoyed seeing the Hannoverians shot to bits.  LGDR in real life?

My hobbies include historical re-enactment/living history-though early medieval rather than anything Glory covers....but it's an active educational tool

The Lace Wars Society cover the later part of the Glory period but they are the main one covering the games and I think they are in the video Papa shared https://www.lacewars.co.uk/ They are more 1745 than 1715 but good

For those more into Rome is Burning...well the Ermine Street Guard are still THE ones to go to but I do think perhaps Buster Ancient Farm and the Roman reeneactors they use are better are presenting a more balanced (and dare I say, fun) approach

Jason2 wrote:My hobbies include historical re-enactment/living history-though early medieval rather than anything Glory covers....but it's an active educational tool

The Lace Wars Society cover the later part of the Glory period but they are the main one covering the games and I think they are in the video Papa shared https://www.lacewars.co.uk/  They are more 1745 than 1715 but good

Yes, that's them.

From the link you've found they seem to have made quite a few appearances around Derby area.  They clearly put a lot of effort in.  Just seems a bit weird seeing a Jacobite army marching around places I actually know!

Feb 1717 Gloire du Roi has shown up and for non players of G7 here are the highlights.

1) As is traditional with G7 reports – no Russian Naval losses to report. This month winner of the Czar’s “I sink ships” award goes to Spain mostly due to losses in African and West Indies waters. French Corsairs more likely to blame than Sea Monsters, Storms, Insurance fraud by the captains and other perils of the sea.

2) In news also vaguely linked to French Corsairs. In Dublin Lord Balmerino has summoned the Irish Parliament to meet in the Catholic Cathedral rather than the Parliament building saying that the Parliament building was destroyed in a Spanish attack in 1706. Which is odd since the Spanish attack was purely on French Corsair ships in the port of Dublin and the Parliament building has been standing undamaged for at least ten years after the engagement which sunk Rene Trunin and his pirate fleet. Delayed reaction to an over-shot perhaps?

3) In London King James awarded titles to the English Naval Commanders who managed to finally get out of being stuck in the ice and sail into Danzig with grain and a small Army to show his support for the current King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

4) King James and his government are also trying to set up a peace conference in London to settle the final division of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.

- Poland will be represented by Ambassador Polanski who I assume wants to keep the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as intact as possible.

- Prussia which claims West or Royal Prussia including the Port of Danzig will be represented by Baron Otto von Manteuffel. This claim is believed to have taken a few dents due to Prussian defeats in Royal Poland.

- The Kulmar Union which wants the Protestants of the Courland to join the Proteantant Union of the North and be freed from the Catholic-Orthodox Commonwealth is actually being represented by the Russian envoy Yuri Ushakov.

- Yuri Ushakov has also been tasked by the Czar to end what the Czar views as the domination of Orthodox Lithuania and the mostly Orthodox Western Ukraine by the Catholic Kingdom of Poland and unite these areas back into Holy Mother Russia under the benign rule of its loveable, pious and friendly Czar. As this means the end of the Commonwealth and the loss to the Crown of Poland of half of its territory this is not popular with the Poles and with Catholic and Unitarian Nobles in Lithuania and the Ukraine or with Muslims. Probably even vaguely Orthodox Cossacks on the West Bank prefer distant and light rule from Warsaw to rule by the Czars hard men in Kiev.

- As for Austria it seems to be being represented by a Goat !? Its not 100% sure what the Goat is tasked to do since Austrian troops entered southern Poland to protect the Catholic Kingdom of Poland and its population from Cossack raiders and also help restore the Elector of Saxony to his Catholic Kingdom. News then arrived that Augustus of Saxony the former Catholic King of Poland had converted back to being a Protestant…..this guy changes religion as often as Goldolphin turns his coat…..and was no longer a suitable King of Poland in the eyes of Vienna and Rome. Then came news that the French had invaded the Holy Roman Empire and held captive Princes of the Holy Roman Empire including the one engaged to the Emperor eldest daughter (and heiress of Austria). At which point Vienna lost interest in the Commonwealth and Austrian troops in Krakow seem to have done nothing but drink coffee and train a local defence force. So I assume the Goat is left chewing the cud unless Augustus of Saxony or his son decides he wants to become a Catholic again and also wants his old Throne back.

5) In rather better news for Hapsburg diplomatic and wedding policy its has been announced that the Infante (Crown Prince) of Portugal is to marry the Princess Maria Amalia Von Hapsburg who is the second daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor and as important for Portugal’s trade and security the niece of Charles Von Hapsburg King of Spain etc.

Since King John V of Portugal is due to take as a 3rd or perhaps 4th wife (sorry lost count) a Scots Duchess it seems that Portugal is trying to keep both Spain and France happy by marriage links to both sides closest allies.

The Hapsburg House of Austria now just need to free bridegroom of the heiress of Austria from French captivity and then find x4 other suitable matches over the next decade and all will be well with the world according to Vienna and Madrid.

6) Lot of letters and “calls to the faithful” are in circulation attacking King James for trying to turn England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the American colonies Catholic and calling him lots of nasty names and demanding the overthrow of the “usurper” and the placement of the Good Queen Anne on the throne.

7) Kulmar Union diplomats seem active in the UDP while after some confusion the Kulmar Union security service seem to have finally decided that the Danish Royal Court has been the target of an attempt to infiltrate and murder the Princess Anne Stuart (Protestant heir to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland – known to some as “Good Queen Anne). Seems that the Jacobites are getting the blame but the truth or otherwise of these charges is unknown.

But probably reasonable to believe that a lot of propaganda and other dark arts going on between the Jacobites and the Baltic Powers and probably Persia. So unlike the open honourable struggle being waged between France and the Hapsburgs.

Not a lot to report from the Franco-Hapsburg battlefronts as both sides basically in winter quarters and waiting for the ground to dry but can report that a) Moldavian Cavalry in Spanish service have raided into Artois to show the flag in French occupied Hapsburg lands, burn barges and generally attack Villiars supply lines b) Spanish siege Mortars have continued to pound the former Spanish now French Fortress City of Perpignan and c) Austrian river warships classed as corvettes are patrolling the Rhine to enforce the Imperial Trade Ban on the French and have been joined by Flanders ketches reported in the paper as being French. Which went down really well in Brussels !! Almost as bad as Nottingham based papers calling the French occupied Flanders territory of Artois – Aquitaine.

9) In the Anglo-French Naval war against the Shah of Persia also not a lot to report. The Pope has given a sword to the English Admiral to carry against the Shia Muslim Ghazi – just how happy is the Royal Navy and Protestant English in general to find out that they are now on a Catholic Crusade to help the free French sailors from Persian captivity? This following King James taking Spanish Gold to fund Catholic Schools not only for the Catholic Irish but everyone else as well.

Meanwhile the Persians are mounting a blockade of the English Naval base on Socotra Island. This Island is very dry with limited water and limited food supplies especially if its fishing boats can not get too sea. Indeed lack of water and supplies was why Portugal abandoned the Island as a base in the historic past. So question now seems to be can Persians hold blockade in place for long enough so the enlarged garrison runs out of food and water and is forced to surrender. Or will the English be able to mount a relief effort and bring in food and fresh water?

10) Meanwhile on the battlefields of the Polish Commonwealth:-

- Austrians taking coffee and cake with Archbishop Brinsky and the Chief Rabbi of Krakow.

- Swedes resting in Courland and relieved to find that an outbreak of disease in their 3rd Army has now ended. It is assumed that once its a bit warmer they will advance to join up with their Prussian allies in East Prussia.

- Defeated Prussian armies are limping back towards Berlin and East Prussia from Warsaw and Danzig. Ambassador Harley of England urged his Polish allies to pursue and finish off the Prussian forces but both General Pletov in Warsaw and the Polish and English commanders in Danzig declined to launch a pursuit allowing the Prussians to get away. While King Stanislaw Leszczynski troops were happy to celebrate their part victory over the Prussians by mocking and insulting the envoy of the Russian Czar.

Hate to say it but Harley was 100% correct and the Polish Generals are idiots for letting the Prussians escape. Or perhaps they have been bribed since after initial action against Russian trade caravans the 200 Squadrons of the Polish Cossacks who would have been the perfect troops to ride the Prussian retreat into a red ruin have gone missing from the battlefield.

- The true extent of the Polish error and why Harley was right about not allowing a defeated foe to get off the ropes along with why its unwise to insult the envoys of the Czar came clear shortly afterwards when news arrived from Minsk. Were after five months of fighting which killed his Field Hetman – Gand Hetman Janus Radziwill and the whole Army of Lithuania (50 F 30 H 100 FC) burnt their regimental flags and made an unconditional surrender to the generals of the Czar.

Its not clear if the Lithuanians had eat all their horses and supplies and were starved into surrender. Or as King Stanislaw just feasted and rested in Warsaw they just gave up on any hope of relief.

11) To celebrate his victory the Czar from his field HQ in Polock to the north of Minsk celebrated his victory by arranging for the refurbishment of the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Minsk and the Bernadine Monastery in Minsk.

He also questioned if the English are now going to declare war on every Nation which has a slave trade including the Ottomans and themselves and declared that the Russian trade in Tobacco is to be limited to Russian registered merchants only. So it would seem that while Russia is open to all types of tobacco including Spanish and Ottoman tobacco the actual distribution and supply in Russia itself is limited to Russian registered merchants.

12) Other stuff reported included various Persians getting rewarded for their efforts in the Holy War against the French and Russian colonial types doing Russian colonial type things like drinking tea, drinking coffee, holding banquets with speeches and trying to meet the Governor of Fort Prudhomme only to find he is still back in France.

I like to think I have a reasonable degree of intelligence but the shenanigans some of you are capable of in espionage is mind blowing....literally. I find myself in a position where I second, third and fourth guess any intelligence I receive.

So, initial intelligence suggests the attempt was on Princess Anne, which points to King James. My experience is that its NEVER that simple or obvious and King James if, he had been responsible would have covered his tracks alot more than being unearthed in a simple investigation. Chances of it being King James less than 1%. If I find out so much detail so easily then someone wants me to think its King James so everyone other than King James greater than 99%, maybe Persia ?

Except, maybe King James knows I will think that way so now its absolutely guaranteed its King James !!

As I said mind blowing. Im going for an aspirin and a dark room and stick my head in the sand. Its the only chance of keeping my sanity .

count-de-monet wrote:I like to think I have a reasonable degree of intelligence but the shenanigans some of you are capable of in espionage is mind blowing....literally.  I find myself in a position where I second, third and fourth guess any intelligence I receive.

So, initial intelligence suggests the attempt was on Princess Anne, which points to King James.  My experience is that its NEVER that simple or obvious and King James if, he had been responsible would have covered his tracks alot more than being unearthed in a simple investigation.  Chances of it being King James less than 1%.  If I find out so much detail so easily then someone wants me to think its King James so everyone other than King James greater than 99%, maybe Persia ?

Except, maybe King James knows I will think that way so now its absolutely guaranteed its King James !!

As I said mind blowing.  Im going for an aspirin and a dark room and stick my head in the sand.  Its the only chance of keeping my sanity .

Apologies for those who miss my regular write up, and thanks for Stuart stepping in.  Real world issues mean I haven't even looked at the turn properly, nor will be able to for at least another week.

However, I can assure Count-de-Monet that if Princess Anne was the target, it was certainly nothing to do with me!  Stuart may be right that it could be connected with whoever is trying to stir up religious trouble in Scotland, but there would now appear to be a reason for Jacobite Naval Intelligence to assist the Kalmar Intelligence services with their investigation.

Other responses from me will, unfortunately, have to wait a while.

count-de-monet wrote:I like to think I have a reasonable degree of intelligence but the shenanigans some of you are capable of in espionage is mind blowing....literally.  I find myself in a position where I second, third and fourth guess any intelligence I receive.

So, initial intelligence suggests the attempt was on Princess Anne, which points to King James.  My experience is that its NEVER that simple or obvious and King James if, he had been responsible would have covered his tracks alot more than being unearthed in a simple investigation.  Chances of it being King James less than 1%.  If I find out so much detail so easily then someone wants me to think its King James so everyone other than King James greater than 99%, maybe Persia ?

Except, maybe King James knows I will think that way so now its absolutely guaranteed its King James !!

As I said mind blowing.  Im going for an aspirin and a dark room and stick my head in the sand.  Its the only chance of keeping my sanity .

Other aspect to keep in mind is that what a player ordered may not be exactly what happened and that in turn may not be what your intelligence services report.  This can be a particular problem when the same agent in a particular city is employed by more than one player.

I do not doubt that Jacobite Naval Intelligence is doing its job and has someone keeping an eye on Princess Anne Stuart and reporting on who she is meeting with.  In order to get a better view of anyone visiting the Princess like Prussians, Russians, Gentlemen from the HWIC (even Martel himself!), Persians etc etc it would also seem logical for the Danish branch of Jacobite Naval Intelligence (with or without orders from London) to try and infiltrate Palace Staff.  

Your intelligence services who after the Great Northern War are probably just as riddled with Russian and other Agents as the Danish Royal Palace and have a vested interest in making themselves look as important and active as possible may well have decided to report to you that this perfectly normal spying and Intelligence gathering is evidence of a dastardly plot to murder the Proncess.

But ask yourself what benefit would the Jacobites (who do have form for murdering rivals) get from the death of Anne Stuart?  If she is killed Protestants are just going to go "Long live Good King George".  Think the Jacobite player will probably say he gains nothing at all from the murder of his  aunt and to avoid any blame which may come in his direction if Anne Stuart is murdered he has a vested interest in making sure she stays alive.

However, if said reports bother you why not give the Priness her own Palace Guard Company?  In G7 Spain the King, Queen and the Cardinal all have their own Company who include some of the best swordsmen and crack shots in the whole of Spain and are an elite of the elite in the Spanish Royal Guard.  Likewise the Viceroy's have their own companies. (very much like the Musketeers of the French Kings).

Not sure how effective this is against being assassinated but its a nice sign of status and I suspect such guards may reduce chance of assassin getting away.

Like the Count I must admit I have been giving myself a headache trying to work out what is going on in Copenhagen.  

Of course this being G7 it will most probably turn out it was a secret ultra-Catholic society, founded by the Pope, who are working to remove all potential threats to King James to ensure the British isles never again turn away from Rome (no, I don't seriously believe that).

It was a bit of a clumsy attempt, reminds me of some of the attempts to implicate different players in the French gold business.

Many thanks Stuart for explaining about the French/Flanders confusion...that was adding to my headache...I mean I know strange things happen in the games but the French helping enforce a blockade preventing people trading with France was a new one

I should say however that Stuart is completely wrong in his suggestion that the Poles would not want to be ruled by the Czar.  I can assure everyone that the Czar is a lovely, wonderful and cuddly overlord who rules by consent and is not heavy handed in the slightest.  Why the Polish nobles should be falling over themselves begging the Czar to be allowed to be ruled by him

I mean, it constantly amazes me that the populations of all other empires have not risen up demanding the delight of rule by the Czar

Jason2 wrote:I should say however that Stuart is completely wrong in his suggestion that the Poles would not want to be ruled by the Czar.  I can assure everyone that the Czar is a lovely, wonderful and cuddly overlord who rules by consent and is not heavy handed in the slightest.  Why the Polish nobles should be falling over themselves begging the Czar to be allowed to be ruled by him

I mean, it constantly amazes me that the populations of all other empires have not risen up demanding the delight of rule by the Czar

Just like the population of the Baltic provinces "demanded" a transfer from the Swedish Empire to the Russian one a few years back in G7 ?!

After the Lithuanians finish demanding a transfer to the Russian Empire probably only a matter of time before the people of the European colonies in North America and the Crimean Khanate and Orthodox parts of the Ottoman Empire demand the same.

My thanks to Stuart for his write-up.  I have now finally managed to have a look at the turn and there are a few quirks hiding in there:

Limiting my comments purely to matters concerning England,

1. I am slightly surprised by the comments about the Duke of Norfolk, who at one stage (I think) was the player character, so inevitably he would have been obliged to 'step down' when a new player chose another character.  There was certainly no problem between us, and he was a strong support throughout my reign.

2. The next few comments I am also slightly surprised by - yet again I made it clear that England has no territorial ambitions in Poland, but is there simply for reasons of honour.  This concept clearly provides some difficulty for some players, but those who are involved should understand it by now.  There does seem to be a minority within UDP who are scared that England is about to invade, but again I don't know what evidence they have for that.  I have enough protestants in Scotland who seem to be getting agitated about nothing, without seeking to annex a few more from UDP.  Strategically that would be a very dodgy thing to do anyway since it would risk sucking England into more continental European wars.  What people forget is that for most of the 1600s England and UDP were natural rivals, especially in trade; the short period of William's joint rule far from helping stimulate trade simply led to English gold and manpower being used to fight William's wars against France.  So the idea that uniting England and UDP would boost trade and bring peace just doesn't stack up with history.

3. The crusade against Christian slavery has received the backing of His Holiness, and significant contributions from other nations have been flowing in to pay for it.  All this is rather gratifying and has led to a boost in my popularity.

4. Ireland is receiving some long overdue attention with the recalling of the Irish Parliament.  Hopefully some reforms will take place there shortly.  People forget that in population terms, Ireland has three times the population of Scotland and almost a third of the total population of the British Isles so it should be a major influence.  Ireland is also almost entirely Catholic, so it is time to end the neglect.

5. The situation outside Warsaw remains rather confused.  Ambassador Harley was refused an interview with the Prussian general (which given what his orders were, was a particularly stupid and shortsighted thing to do), so he would appear to be happy to march through a tough Polish winter back to Prussia.  Perhaps the player has not read what happened to Napoleon's Grand Armee in 1812 where the best cavalry in the world was destroyed, guns abandoned and tens of thousands of men died from starvation, gangrene and hypothermia.  This could explain why the Polish commander can't be bothered to pursue them.  Meanwhile in Courland, Sweden has been reminded that Riga was not conquered, but reached an understanding on humanitarian grounds to save lives.  Russia has obtained the surrender of a Lithuanian army, and seems willing to explore options for peace.  It would be inappropriate to share on the forum what those options are and my opinion on whether they will end the war, however it is worth pointing out that King Stanislaus has proved particularly stubborn in previous months and although Russia has gained some territory, this is counterbalanced by the defeat of Prussian forces and the effective obliteration of the Prussian army.  Hopefully with the peace conference next month we will see if there is any realistic prospect of peace in the short term or whether the war must drag on for another year before more acceptable proposals can be made.

6. Russian commentators are also slightly confused over the situation with Persia.  I can help with this: France is at war with Persia.  England is allied to France, but not against Persia.  Persia has committed acts of war against England and is blockading the English colony of Socotra, which places Persia at war with Yemen.  England is at war with the pirate King Ramina and those who back him which may or may not include Persia, depending on what is revealed by Persia in response to game letters.  Is Spain allied to Persia?  Not sure, but England and Spain have a treaty so England and Spain (and Spain and England) are not at war with each other.  England is also at war with Prussia (and Austria) within Poland, but not outside; England is not at war with Russia and Sweden.  England is not at war with the Ottoman Empire or slave-owners generally.  A clarification will no doubt be issued this month.

7. It has been revealed by the intelligence services of the Kalmar Union that Princess Anne was the target of the attempted poisoning last month.  This is going to make things very interesting going forward and I will need to think carefully how to respond to this surprise.

8. Governor Gannibal is also concerned about the issue of slavery on his trade in America, when the lease expires in a few months and the territory reverts to English control.  I suggest he writes to me in game, which would surely be common sense if he wishes to have good relations and keep trade flowing.

9. That other Russian 'department', RDE, has loudly proclaimed that it intends to remain neutral in any English war with Persia, which probably means there is a lot of Persian trade through Singapore.  Quite what RDE can do to keep this trade flowing without joining in the war against whichever side prevents it is unclear.

10. Finally there is a rather nice new map of England, etc, so someone in another game has clearly been developing new towns and landmarks.

March 1717 has now arrived, and in this shortened writeup due to real world considerations, I am pleased to report from the viewpoint of England:

1. There has been no Russian ships lost this month.  There were 15 French liners taken, which is surprisingly low by recent standards, but 33 captured by Spain last month managed to escape when their captors were hit by a storm.  It is rather difficult to know who therefore wins the prize this month.

2. The peace conference in London has been hailed a partial success after the Prussian ambassador announced that Prussia is abandoning its campaign against Poland and is therefore at peace.  The Russian ambassador walked off in a huff having once again misunderstood the commitment between Poland and England, while the goat which took the place of Austria at the conference ate the proposed treaty.  More positively, though, new ambassadors from Austria and UDP have arrived this month so perhaps some movement will be made next month?

3. The curious letter published last month in the newspaper from the Rev.Thomas Halyburton has been exposed as a fake, Halyburton having died 5 years ago.  Clearly someone is spending a great deal of time and money trying to cause trouble in Scotland, but they really should know better than to try.

4. There has been a prisoner exchange between France and Spain, although fighting continues in Perpignan and elsewhere, the main result being some destroyed barges, and perhaps more seriously a granary.  Spain has joined Austria in attacking her allies (this time, Liege Cologne): the archbishop has objected to Spain blockading trade by sea.  After seizing control of Strassburg last year, Austria seems to be having similar problems, banging the table and demanding to know why the locals (and even his own officers, it appears) are not co-operating.  Stuart once described running the HRE as like 'herding cats'.  He may be correct.  Small contingents of troops are showing up in odd places, 'reporting for duty', which has allowed Prince Max of Bavaria to boast about this achievement, but in practical terms can a few F or D stand up to a French army numbering 100,000+?

5. In Vienna there are further diplomatic wranglings with the lawyers casting doubt on any scheme which brings Genoa into the HRE.  I can't say I'm surprised since Genoa no longer exists as an independent country: it is part of France.  So even if they managed to pass laws making it legally possible within the framework of the HRE, there is still the practical difficulty of how to enforce it.  I suppose I could pass a law which stated that Catalonia was permitted to join England, but I can't imagine Spain doing anything other than laugh about the very idea.

6. Back in Poland the Russians are struggling to get any rest due to storms in Minsk while Polish raiders have destroyed a large number of Russian trade caravans.  It doesn't look as though peace is likely to break out there anytime soon.  Russia also has problems with Spain over the tobacco monopoly - I did warn about this some time ago ... what was originally a Spanish attempt to undermine English trade has now led to a price war between Spain and Russia, the main beneficiary from which is likely to be England.  Meanwhile a Swedish fleet has turned up off Danzig to try and trap the Royal Navy inside the port; they failed.  At some point they will realise that Danzig will remain open as a port; if not then the Royal Navy will have to ensure it does, and we all remember what happened last time!  Outside Mittau, the Swedish winter camps have been hit by storms as well which could well have finished off that army's chances of fighting in the next campaigning season.  The good news for Sweden is that 9D have reached Riga, although I am struggling to think what useful thing they can do now they have made it?  Like the rest of the players, I can't decide whether Russia and Sweden are serious about peace (in which case why continue the war), or are deliberately misleading themselves and others.  As long as this continues then the morale of their troops is likely to fall and casualties mount.

7. The crusade against the pirate King Ramina continues to draw support despite a (Spanish-funded?) propaganda campaign against it in Rome.  The Earl of Kent has been promoted for his diplomatic triumph in getting the Pope to back the crusade, and has been replaced in Rome by perhaps a more respectful ambassador.  Meanwhile in Constantinople, Lord Falkland has asked the Sultan if he would be interested in a deal to open up a 2nd front against the Persians, should they persist in their rather misguided attacks on English shipping.  This month 25 corvettes and 100 cutters combined struggled to sink 5 Royal Naval corvettes which were protecting a merchant patrol; an unfortunate loss, but at least the merchant ships escaped.  In Nevyansk the paranoia of Prince Golitsyn has reached new heights, shrieking that there are a hundred warships available to defend Singapore.  I doubt Singapore is worth a hundred cutters, let alone a hundred warships, but it was enough to get him onto the honour table where he is now just below the Tsar.  Since I doubt Poland has any ships to send to Singapore, I don't know who he thinks will attack him.  England is NOT at war with Russia nor RDE, so perhaps he is listening to the same troublemaker who writes fake letters to the newspaper?  Perhaps next month he will hold another banquet or make another self-promoting speech which will catapult him above the Tsar on the honour table.  After all it is easy to be brave and boast of your sponsor's military strength, urging them on to use that power, when you're not paying their real world game turn fees, nor facing the kind of military losses Russia is in Poland.  So far in this war Prussia may well have lost over 30,000 men which represents most if not all of her offensive capability; Sweden has committed over 80,000 men, many of whom are unlikely to survive; Russia may well have committed two or three times that number and is also facing very high casualties.  And for what?  Russia may be able to afford to lose this number of men, but Prussia and Sweden cannot.  And (I speak from experience here) there is nothing more demoralising than losing large numbers of men to attrition, month after month, knowing that for at least 6 months (if not an entire campaigning season) fresh troops cannot move to the area in order to continue the fight, and to have to raise more units and train them for another 6-12 months before sending them off to die.  There comes a point where every player has to decide if it is worth cutting your losses.  To his credit, the Prussian player has done just that.  Russia and Sweden may be considering their own options which is their decision, a difficult decision for any player, especially honourable ones as I know they are.  In my opinion it is unhelpful for any ally of theirs to seek to exploit their uncomfortable situation for his own purposes, or to imply that England is about to declare war on them when there is no evidence for this at all.

Overall then, a good turn for England and a rather confusing turn for Spain, Russia, Sweden, Austria, etc ... all the players who seem intent on invading someone else's country when (with the exception of Spain) there is a good opportunity for peace available.  Let us see what next turn brings.

Ref the March turn in G7 from a Spanish point of view:-

1) Only Spanish force in the West Indies with anywhere close to 30 French prizes made it back to Harbour with zero storm damage put 3,300 French sailors into goal and flogged the ships/cargo which was not sugar. Assume when paper reported escape of Spanish prizes this was correct and the misprinted was saying the captors were Spanish.

- Think the French corsairs in G7 use of cutters and small craft have increased the number of prizes taken but also means they are short on prize crews and likely to suffer storm damage.

So this months winner of the Czars I sink ships award is France. Though with 90+ Russian Trade Convoys wiped out this probably rates a honourable mention - Do Russian carts float?

2) Hard to rate the London Peace Conference a success of any type when the Poles have yet to say a word, the Russians (and effectively) the Swedes have stormed out saying the hosts are biased and the Emperor is represented by a goat who eat the presented documents. If this is a success I would hate to see a diplomatic failure.

3) Part of the Republic of St George and the whole of Savoy may be occupied by the French Army but they both have governments in exile and forces still in the field or at sea. Some of the forces taking a stand against the brutal and unwarranted invasion of the Holy Roman Empire and Genoa may be small small in size but not in valour and is the Spanish Army small? Is the Austrian Army small? United the forces of Spain, Hapsburg lands outside the HRE, Genoa and the Holy Roman Empire actually outnumber the French. And this without not counting the fact that France is also still at war with Persia.

No one doubts the size and ability of the G7 French but this war is just getting warmed up.

4) Just like the English crusade against Persia to free French sailors their own King clearly does not care about. Though I do find it odd that a mostly Protestant Power who's King is the Head of the Church of England (outside the Roman Catholic Communion) has made the effort to get a Papal blessing. And has then attempted to seek the aide of the Ottoman Empire which is historically the major power taking Christian slaves.

Though if King James thinks Spain is waging a Propaganda campaign against his Crusade against Persia he is clearly not reading it correctly. Spain is perfectly happy to waive the Royal Navy bon voyage as it sails off too the Red Sea etc. Spainish propaganda was 100% aimed at the wars of Louis XIV against fellow Catholic powers which has crippled the ability of the major Catholic Powers including France, Spain and Austria to play a wider role.

France for instance is one of Polands oldest allies - but in the Commonwealth time of crisis France is silent and 100% focused on the theft of lands from the Empire and his own neice. And ruining Hapsburg marriage policy!

5) Ref the closure of the Rhine to French Trade - this was ordered by the Emperor following a vote in the Diet. Think the Bishop of L-C has already been compensated for his loss of tax and needs to take this matter up with the Emperor and the Diet.