G7 - The War of the English Succession & the breaking of the Pirate Brotherhood

Oh dear, Another month another death.

Seems that G7 is full of arson, assassination, poison & dark deeds. Maybe the latest actions of James is an accumulation of the whole. Cutting of Nobles heads did happen historically, just not very often. Especially for the king in volved it was a once in a lifetime experience.

I have wondered what was going to happen to William.I suppose a few options were open to the James player.

1) Let William go, after making him promise to be a good boy & not to do it again. Suspect William would then say he had his fingers crossed so his promise didn't count, Then raise & army & march on London.

2) Keep William locked up so that the other players can think up devilishly clever ways to break him out of prison so that William could have gotten out to raise an army to march on London.( Stuart if you had used washer women rather than Noble ladies , I am sure it would have worked, dressing Eugene up would have been a bonus, even with the beard)

3) Cut off Williams head, as a cheap & easy novilty Hallowen attraction at the castle. This would hopefully prevent him from raising & army & marching on London.

I suppose it could be argued that given the recent verbal duelling in the Paper & recent civilian casualties in Scotland by both sides that one more death is of little consequence. Interesting to note, Williams IN GAME death has caused outrage, but the civilian deaths seemed to pass us all by as part of the war. Could it be they are simply just numbers?

Not sure what I would have done in James position. Which option would you have taken? It seems all the options strengthen the enemies hand.

Oh Bugger, back to the Vodka.......

& if anyone spots where the Russian fleet has sailed to please let me know it was last seen going Southeast from Dover.

Must be honest, had forgotten the origin of the Jacobites.  Though as a ruler of a kingdom like England, getting your honour through 'dishonourable' acts might make life...interesting...for the common folk of the realm.

I wonder if James' line on Murray will be that he was in fact the rightful king of Scotland all along so Murray was a foul rebel against his rightful rule.  [/quote]


Dont think anyone apart from a few Scots is going to be that fussed about Lord Murray and I am sure that James can make a case for him being a rebel.

Cutting the head off a Stadtholder of the UDP who is related to various other rulers in Hanover and Hesse etc may be a bit more of a problem but as they are all Protestants doubt if the Jacobites or their allies really care and basically the death of William can be presented at a son's revenge for the brutal murder of his beloved and sainted father.

The killing which is really going to kick things off big time is cutting off the head of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire & Imperial Envoy on a trumphed up charge of Sodomy and sending Prince Eugine's head to the Hapsburg Army !

I sulute the Jacobite player for probably the most outragous and "****** you" declaration of war I have seen in a long time.  For pure backing people into a corner and forceing them to fight to the end feel its only matched by Phillip of Anjou in G2 burning the wife of the then English PM for Witchcraft.  Oddly its possible she may actually have been going in for a spot of Witchcraft (well Necromancy and fortune telling) which was popular for a while but seems to have dropped out of the game in recent years.

It certainly means I will be fighting this war to the end. I would salute the Jacobite player for making this game become more fun.

I assume James wanted to make sure the war did not end to soon, and that he can get to keep his vodka drinking protectors for a long time.

Ardagor wrote:I assume James wanted to make sure the war did not end to soon, and that he can get to keep his vodka drinking protectors for a long time.

James seems to be working on basis that if you behead the Stadtholder the UDP will fall to bits and that if you behead the HRE right hand man for a shamefall crime it will send his honour into free fall.

I think the Jacobites may have over estimated the effect of a few dead NPC's but it does probably make it hard for the Dutch etc to make peace without major loss of honour.

Ref his vodka drinking protector........my guess is that having his diplomatic policy holed below the water line is about as popular with the czar as the treaty of Warsaw and his diplomatic corp giving St Petersburg to the King of Sweden.

Is Silence contagious? Seems eerie that the Swashbucklers in 7 are having discussions on the latest turn but the main players (usually so informative) are all so quiet...

It's the calm before the storm!

jimbotten wrote:Is Silence contagious?  Seems eerie that the Swashbucklers in 7 are having discussions on the latest turn but the main players (usually so informative) are all so quiet...

I think it is possible that the Swashbucklers may be sent their turns before Richard sends the Glori turns out.

However, for non G7 players here are the highlights from June 1710 (note I have been asked by the Jacobites to issue a warning to readers that the  below account while correct in terms of facts stinks of anti Jacobite bias & whiggish propaganda and that King James III is actually a well balanced, fair minded, kindly & logical character and not the fanatic Anti Christ, Bourbon 5th column Anti Hero of G7...............note some people also believe Iskander Kruppa in G2 was a overworked, underpaid civil servent and that the Queen of Spain in G9 was a faithfull wife to Charles II of Spain and her baby was a "miracle")

1) Speaking of the devil/fair minded and reasonable King of England.......James Edward Stuart has shown up in Warwick where the English Parliament is holding a meeting (Westminster having been blown up by the Jacobites and turned into a Park full of Stuart Statues).  The King was pleased to declare he is getting married to a local lass from Norfolk, has balanced the books and has now banned Swedish shipping from sailing within 50 miles of our shores.

- No one one in James now cowed and obedient Parliament mentioned that the improved English Finances was achieved by the sale of colonies to Venice and the Russia, seizure of private property, & taxation raised without being agreed by Parliament.

- The 742,000 guinea surplus in the English Public Purse may now be under threat from declarations of war by Spain & Austria after King James sent the Hapsburg's the head of Prince Eugine of Savoy,  action by Sweden in reply to the shipping ban, the poor English harvest.  Plus the cost of a Royal Wedding.

2) As mentioned above the Spanish & Austrians spent month in mourning for Prince Eugene......with special masses, paintings and statues being commissioned.  They then declared war on the Jacobites.............not sure if this is going to make a lot of difference as Hapsburg forces were already helping to defend their Dutch & Scots allies abet with the Spanish limiting their action to Scotland & the  honouring their mutual defence treaty with Scotland.

3) First sign of a wider Spanish involvement in the Dutch-Scots-HWIC war with the Jacobites was a re-supply action by the Spanish Navy at Hastings.  Escorted by a Spanish battle fleet a supply convoy broke the English Blockade ........only the English Navy seems to have vanished from the Channel???????  Where is it and what is it doing?????  Is the long awaited invasion of the Netherlands now happening??

On land at Hastings both the Austrians and Jacobites expected the other to attack so action was limited to Jacobite rocket batteries missing the dug in defenders and burning down 25% of the town with heavy loss of English Civilians.  They did however destroy some food stocks and counter battery fire from naval bomb ketches against the English positions on Castle Hill was ineffective.  Clearly the Naval Gunners need more trig classes.

4) In the rest of the British Isles action was very light, it was as if people were still in shock following the murder/execution of King William last month.

- Solitary English Dragoon Unit scouted Berwick to confirm that Dutch Flags are now flying over this border city.  Oddly the disgraced former English Prime Minister John Churchill Duke of Marlborough has shown up and offered his sword to the Dutch Republic.

- Churchill was believed to have been killed in a daul with his then right hand man now leading Jacobite the Duke of Norfolk following the outrage caused by Churchill killing King James II (another murder/execution depending on your view point).  The proof that his "Death" (body vanished etc, etc in 1706) was faked by Norfolk to avoid international outrage may lead to a certain lack of trust between Prime Minister and King James III.  Can the King James III still marry into a family who helped arrange the escape of the man who executed his father?

- Three English Ships sailed from Great Yarmouth........its not clear if they have deserted the Jacobites or are on a special mission (pretending to desert?)

- In Glasgow following the killing of King William by the Jocobites the Scots Parliament voted to become a Republic.  The English Navy following the loss of the first Lord of Admirality last month did not push home its attack and withdrew.

5) In the America's the Virginia senate has packed up and gone home while General Suvorov has started a siege of New York.  The Russians have dug siege lines, upset American drilling & attempted to pollute the defenders water supply with human waste and dead horses.  But their attempts to storm the outer defences of New York have been bloodly defeated by the defenders who have now got the support of the Dutch & Scots Navies who sailed into New York with 45 Prizes.

- Russian diplomatic offers to repatriate the defenders to Europe did not go down at all well.  I suspect the Russians were offering "Dutch" defenders option to go home to help defend their beloved UDP.  The American-English Puritan defenders though the offer was to send them back to the mercy of King James  

6) In other parts of the Globe the Czar has been trying to improve his collection of colonies by offering to buy some in the far east and from Prussia in West Africa.

7) In news so shocking it made the paper the French Diplomatic Service has actually sent out some letters via members of the Kings Royal Guard.......to the Czar & the King of England.  Does this mean the French are going to declare war?  Allying with the anti Papal Orthodox Czar and the killer of that great Christain Hero Prince Eugine against the Catholic Hapsburg's?????????

No doubt the Spanish & Austrians will feel a lot happier fighting the French than being slowly dragged into King James war with the Dutch & HWIC etc which is a diplomatic and theological mess.......the Dominican Order in Scotland seems very Pro Jacobite while the Pope and the Jesuit Order are is still trying to convince the House of Austria & King James to make peace.

In contrast a war defending against the attacks of Louis XIV and trying to retake lost Hapsburg Lands is a clean-cut & honourable conflict.  But can the Hapsburg's stand against the Lilly Banners when James Stuart has effectively taken the English & the Dutch out of the alliance which as stopped Louis twice?

8)The Swedish Navy Summer Cruise which so upset King James is now visiting Cadiz the good news is that this years Castillian Vintage is good (unlike Valencia, Aragon, Milan, Sicily, Sardinia which are decidedly average) so King Charles lads can enjoy their summer holiday and load up on the duty free before heading home.  But if they can not sail within 50 miles of England without being attacked how can they get home?

9) English Patrols off the Dutch Coast ignored the x3 English Deserter's/Special Duties ships from Great Yarmouth and were then chased off by Dutch frigate patrols but apart from their opposite numbers the Dutch Patrols did not spot the threatened Invasion.

10)  Moldavia's who still seem to be the only active Ottomans have obtained permission to recruit in Rumelia and have dropped tarriffs on internal Ottoman Trade.......by dropping tarrifs on both Ottoman and Russian merchants the Moldavian ports seem to be trying to keep up the importance of the Southern Trade routes even though the Czar has ended the War with Sweden and obtained a major Baltic Port (Riga).

11) Good Harvests in Austria, Spain, France & UDP...........Poor Harvest in England.  No doubt someone will say this reflects what God thinks about King James cutting the heads off annointed Monarch's and being a very, very bad man.

any one seen the turn yet? 

Will this be the last turn before Christmas or will there be a game 8 turn completed before Christmas.?

turn is out......

France declares war, I get a bit of a bloody nose at Hastings but decide that a tactical loss can become a strategic victory, England looks as if it might start to get overwhelmed, what is one of the Russian armies doing at Dover? the world gets another major war.

Basileus wrote:...the world gets another major war.

...or two or three...

And different topic - Swashbuckler turn came out at the same time, so no difference publication sequence after all.

A Very Interesting Newspaper this time!

And a Merry Christmas to all our readers!

Time to cross the Rhine and burn down France?

meanwhile in Hamburg von Decken has arrived and setting off to see his new appointment.....

Basileus wrote:Time to cross the Rhine and burn down France?

According to my reading "free plunder" taking captives for ransom etc and basically just burning the place down is socially acceptable to Swedes, Russians, Poles, Cossacks, Ottomans & for Imperial forces in the East.

In the West unless your name is Louis XIV and its a bad day or the Duke of Marlborough in Bavaria the done thing is that you levy "contributions" and only burn property if the town or village does not pay up.

If rulers are being really nice and civil you set "contributions" at normal tax level and the normal ruler waves tax's equal to the "contribution" the town or community has paid to save its tithe barn, town hall etc from going up in flames.

This assumes that you have not brought the Hassars or Croats to the West. I dont think they follow the normal rules.

For Students of such things August 1710 set new records for bad shooting at Hastings:

- Spanish Naval Bomb Ketches managed to miss Hastings and discomfort Austrian Allies on other side of town.
- Meanwhile English rockets from Newcastles Army missed the Austrians and hit Hastings!
- Which was fair enough as Rockets from Hastings were also missing the Austrians and hitting Newcastles 1st Royal Stuart Army!

After getting shot by their own side it seems that a lot of the 1st Army's cavalry has deserted.

Oddly the Austrians and Raby's troops in Hastings both seemingly in a worse position dont seem to be deserting......probably because they dont have a clear run anywhere!

Perhaps if the Dutch Fleet opens fire they will be able to hit something?

Players may note that Rockets & Bomb Ketches are dangerous.........mostly to own side.

On the bright side other units in the conflict between the Jacobite party & King/Stadtholer Williams old ministers plus allies did seem to show greater ability:

- The Darlington Dragoons seem to have fought hard against Dutch troops in Berwick but clearly taking on Infantry with Dragoons in street fighting is only going to go one way.

- Williamite English and Swiss troops in Dutch Pay stormed the big breach in Edinburgh old walls in a professional manner but the 19 Regt of Foot lead by Robert Darcy re-captured the breach in fine style.

Darlington Dragoons and the Green Howards (XIX RGT.). Wow, they're both really local to me in real life. I wonder if I might not be the only player from the Catterick area? [Obviously I'll never know. Nor does it matter.]

Turn is out and the Spanish cavalry prove to be more than a match for the French while the English Navy manage to be at the right place at the right time.

Got my turn in late, so none of my orders seem to have been done, my own fault but still a bit frustrating.

Means the sand building competition on Dover beach didn't take place, nor the annual Moscow goat race, shame.

J Flower wrote:Got my turn in late, so none of my orders seem to have been done, my own fault but still a bit frustrating.

Means the sand building competition on Dover beach didn't take place, nor the annual Moscow goat race, shame.

Aside from the lack of sand building competition on Dover beach interesting month in the Jacobite Wars which have dominated G7 for so long.

- Fighting in Hastings is finally over with Austrians marching of to Winchester & the last of the anti Jacobite forces in Hastings a small Spanish Naval Garrison striking their colours when they realized that their Austrian & Dutch allies had both gone and almost the whole of the Royal Navy (113 Lineships & 147 Cruisers) had shown up.

- In other parts of England such as Yorkshire & the Midlands anti James forces seem to be running into little active opposition in their campaign of being nasty to Jacobites & hanging James Stuart tax gathers for theft (since none of his tax bills passed Parliament). They are being perfectly nice to non Jacobites and paying full price for supplies taken. Fears however have been expressed that such action combined with a poor harvest could ruin supplies to cities and cause famine in parts of the country. Such as Dover currently being eaten out by a Cossack Horde and its horses.

-The Catholic Missionary Society in London is however working hard to make sure that all parts of the Country inc Dover are getting enough supplies. The Catholic Church is also working in Rome to get the Russians & Spanish to extend their truce into a peace agreement & to pull their forces out of the British Isles as a first step to Peace in the Islands.

- Russians are also believed to be considering seperate peace talks with the Dutch & Americans but as yet no truce has been agreed and the Russian Siege of New York drags very slowly with General Survorov not even able to make a lodgement in the covered way.

- Meanwile in Scotland Clan MacDonald has had enough and ended its revolt against the Scots Govt in Glasgow. While Anglo-Dutch forces lead by Earl Rivers continued their efforts to take Edinburgh back from the Jacobites........Their artillery have now flattened the whole of the Western Wall of the city and driven the defenders back. Sadly for Earl Rivers the English Jacobite troops have proved immune to the good Earls charm & whiggish propaganda.

- On a political front following the murder/execution of King William the anti Jacobite Scots have gone for a Republic. The Dutch have now declared Prince John William Friso of Orange-Nassau as Stadtholder of the UDP but its still not clear what "Williamites" like Earl Rivers now stand for - Do they now want a Republic on the Dutch & Scots Models? Or do they still hope that Princess Ann and her husband George of Denmark will declare against her half brother? Clearly lots of people do not like Stuart Absolutism and England being turned into the lapdog of France. But can men like Rivers & Gov Woodstock in New York now but forward a logical alternative to James now William is dec'd?

Is it long live the Queen? Or long live the Republic?

Just a little note to my fellow gamers in G7. Unfortunatly outside world influences mean that I probaly won't make the deadline this turn, or at least won't manage to reply to all your wonderful letters. I can only ask that you are a little patient, I will attempt to get things done between the next turn & this one.

So once again sorry to you all. I will endevour to get back in the swing next turn.

any one heard from Prussia recently?

Nov 1710 Gloire du Roi has shown up and for non players in G7 who still like to follow the progress of the War of the English Succession here are the highlights:

1) Firstly we may need to alter the title of this thread since following the Scots and Dutch examples it seems that the English-American anti James forces which at various times have been called Williamite, HWIC, Sons of Liberty, Orange Order etc have got fed up waiting for Good Queen Ann & her Husband to pick up the standard of William and have declared a Republic.

2) The Russians now seem to have agreed a cease fire in the British Isles with the Dutch as well as the Spanish and if the talks in Rome work out its likely that foreign forces will look to withdraw from the British Isles.

This would seem to leave James III & the Jacobites fighting Scots & English Republicans mostly lead by Earl Rivers and various of Williams old Ministers (1650's anyone?) and me probably needing a new title. Anyone got a good snappy new title?

Ref the actual action this month:

3) Earl Rivers & his Dutch allies have taken Edinburgh the Scots Capital for the Scots Republic. Jacobite forces here have fallen back to Leith and have declared Dundee to be the new Jacobite Capital of Scotland. They have also made sure that the Scots Parliament can not move back to its traditional location by blowing up Edinburgh Castle.

4) The Scots Jacobites have also declared that no one has to pay tax in Scotland by authority of King James. Since in England the Parliamentarian side are saying the King can not collect taxes without authority and Jacobite tax collectors have been hung as thieves the old members of the Brotherhood should be happy now that their old foes in the "Revenue" are in deep trouble.

5) King James married the Catholic Daughter of the Protestant Duke of Somerset. It is assumed that any baby of this marriage will be brought up a Catholic and will replace the Protestant Ann Stuart as heir to the Throne (if you ignore Test Acts and the like). This will not go down well with English-Scots Protestants but at least the girl is English and not French or Russian.

6) Austrians seem to be walking round in circles.......after breaking out of Hastings last month. This month they attempted to march back into the place (foiled by English Artillery)!!! Assume they only visited Winchester to gather supplies but God knows what they see in Hastings the place is wreck.

7) Its even more of a wreck now...........Spanish 1st Fleet showed up probably looking to recover its lost Naval Garrison but the English Grand Fleet had already sailed with its prizes. So 99 Spanish Ships proceeded to blast the hell out of Hastings again including the new Turkish Baths. Dont ask why people are building Turkish Baths in Hastings!? Could it reflect Russian Influence and trying to make Cossacks feel at home?

Leicester has declared from the Republic..........probably because the City Fathers dont want to be viewed as Jacobites (with Spanish Troops in area still looking to take revenge on killers of Prince Eugine)

9) Fighting around New York was starting to die down with the first cold weather helping to clear up disease while Russian Blockade Ships prepared to sail for Yorktown. Then the French Navy showed up and are offering to bombard New York.

Could this be a sign for the future...........English see back of Russians and Spanish and the French move in?

any sign of the turn yet?