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

Ha, bad pirates always get caught, luckily Russian Privateers are so good & cunning that no one has noticed them to date.

The Far East Office of Russian Imperial Intelligence has uncovered that the Frenchman Desmarets has links to a criminal group led by a certain Mr D Ocean and his lieutenant Mr R Ryan. These two individuals, along with their nine associates (according to FEO-RII sources) were responsible for the French Finance Heist...unfortunately their current whereabouts are unknown but rumours suggest they are planning two further robberies and are recruiting a number of additional associates...

All Russian financial institutions are advised to be on the lookout for good-looking but otherwise inoffensive gentlemen who are taking an excessive interest in their buildings architecture and layout...as well as ensuring their security staff are of the highest moral character and do not frequent any dubious night-time locations where young ladies perform the dance of the three veils..

FEO-RII reports also suggest Mr D Ocean's younger sister may be planning to follow in her brother's footsteps.

Very important observations, Jason2.

Unfortunately until I receive a game letter from Russia Far East, I can't pass the information on to Jacobite Naval Intelligence. I forget how many months ago it was that you promised to write, but surely now is the time for the intelligence services of reputable nations to co-operate in looking for Desmarets? The rumour that the words 'Spanish' and 'Intelligence' have any connection is understood to have been spread by Blackbeard so has been dismissed by Jacobite Naval Intelligence as Spanish-sponsored propaganda.

If there is a genuine Far East connection then rest assured I will send some ships to Singapore to help with the investigation. I don't remember France actually issuing a reward for finding Desmarets, but I'm sure it is something he is considering. After all hunting down criminals is something I have a reputation for doing so as a new game objective it sounds like a good idea to me.

G7 May 1714 turn has arrived and for the benefits of non-players, here are the highlights, from the Jacobite viewpoint, naturally:

1. No Russian ships have been reported lost this month, much to the relief of the Tsar and Department East.  Clarification over the cargo lost last month just confirms that newspaper reports are not always complete, although Russian merchant ships do seem to be carrying extraordinary numbers of people (ex-slaves, settlers) in recent months, including a cargo of Hungarians to California.  No doubt having heard of the dangers of sailing on Russian ships, they decided not to risk the next leg of their passage.  Whether Department East will be successful in recruiting from Siam may depend on the nationality of shipping used to transport any recruits to Singapore?  And will Adriaan Grobbe, the former governor of Prussian Gross Friedrichsburg and his men make it back to Prussia without getting wet?

2. In the most shocking news this month, Emperor Leopold, has died in his sleep.  This will be of great disappointment to his many enemies who had expected him to meet an entirely different end.  His obituary was, in the opinion of King James, most fairly written, depicting a much more likeable, even charismatic, side of a man that had hitherto been well hidden.

3. King James continues to focus on the important things, asking advice on suitable ships to expand trade, hosting a ball to celebrate the ennoblement of Esmerelda (a super-intelligent parrot who is the companion of Lord Godolphin, English ambassador to Versailles), and presenting a treaty that seeks to maintain the peace once the Treaty of Scotland expires at the end of the year.  Emperor Leopold’s death necessitated some alteration to the treaty which needs the signatures of all 4 nations to be valid.  Whether this happens is anyone’s guess, although the rising tensions between Spain and France do not give much encouragement.

4. At Versailles, French officials were determined to demonstrate how high the income of French nobles is and how they can easily afford to give King Louis £40M.  If the figures are genuine, the wealth of France is truly extraordinary, and a surprise to Spanish grandees who cast doubt on the numbers, commenting “the maths of the French claim stink!”  King James has made no formal response, perhaps because the French figures are so much higher than the current English figures that the most likely explanation is another misprint.  If not then either Spain may well be correct or France has found the magic money tree.  Just in case Spain has embarked on a widespread tree planting program of her own - plant enough trees and surely one of them must turn out to be magic?  Is this a prelude to issuing a new currency based on the leaf?  After all until Desmarets is caught, nobody can be sure how much the fraud has undermined the Spanish banking system, so a new currency may be a prudent move.

5. Economic reforms were also discussed in the Kalmar Union with stress also being placed on the shared religion of Denmark and Sweden.  The new currency of the Kalmar Union may be Lutheran Catechisms with the aim of producing 2,000 copies/week once a printing press has been established.

6. Prince Max of Bavaria has married the Comtessa di Salerno in Milan.  The Countess is described as fabulously wealthy, which may be on account of the large number of trees she owns.  Clearly the economy of Milan is under some pressure since Prince Max has opened an officer cadet training school in the city, much to the bafflement of Spanish authorities.  King James believes Prince Max has only acted with the best of motives – clearly Spanish officers do need to be retrained since they have awarded veterans who disobeyed orders to fight alongside the Dutch, promotions and other (now discredited) honours.  It is not the only odd pronouncement from Spain this month – some grandees have accused France of stealing Scotland.  To the best of King James’ knowledge Scotland is under his rule, not France’s.  Another misprint or is King Charles of Spain so overcome with grief at the death of his father that he going to resign and live a quiet life tending goats in Innsbruck?

7. Spanish diplomacy suffered another setback as Spain tried to repair relations with Rumelia and Anatolia, but upset both.  Quite why Spain is trying to export tobacco to the Ottomans (who already produce their own) is another mystery.   The strain is clearly beginning to show since King Charles has written an open letter to Esmerelda out of frustration that his letters to King Louis seem to have vanished.  It is so infuriating when letters go unanswered (the Papacy has the same problem getting answers out of France in G10), but taking those frustrations out on a parrot is inevitably going to upset animal lovers worldwide.

8. Finally, before a single cricket match has been played, objections have been raised in an Edinburgh pub, while the Russians believe the game is a missile defence system.  New or recently joined players must be wondering which twilight zone they have entered.  If only the rest of the world could demonstrate the same calm, rational and civilized attitude of the English, all would become clear.

It can indeed be confirmed that King Charles of Spain is broken hearted over the death of his father and the Spanish Court will enter a period of mourning ........anyone know how long Charles von Hapsburg needs to dress in black?

But he is not going to retire and take up goat farming since goats eat tree's leading to soil erosion and the like! Spain plants lots of tree's on a regular basis but its the first time it has ever got into the Paper. Wonder if the lack of any decent wars in G7 have left the papers short of things to write about?

The only one still going on is the Franco-Persian Naval War and not even the Nottingham press can make much copy out of one French merchant ship taken by the Persians and the French Navy being outsailed yet again by Persian mechants.

Sadly the Spanish are much too simple to understand paper money or the bond markets. They still use bits of metal stamped with a image to confirm the percentage of silver. Its a medium of exchange most people seem happy to accept.

They are also too simple to understand the Treaty of Hastings.........which seems to require Spain to give France £40m for no reason at all and if the English break the treaty Spain gets some of its money back and if the French break it it gets all its money back. Is this some sort of complex betting system which means Spain will only win if both France and England break the treaty. May need to ask Elder brother Josef to explain complex maths like this or perhaps that damn Parrot.

However, I strongly suspect that he will say I should not not take wagers from the French Treasury which this month showed truely remarkable knowledge of the contents of stolen Spanish treasury documents. I guess they could have been stolen by that master criminal Desmarets while he was still employed by Louis XIV as head of the French Treasury or does the French Treasury Staff include morethan one Thief?

In other news stories it can be confirm that either Russian merchant ships are really uncomfortable sea boats or Hungarians are really poor sailors since 2300 made to to land @ SL #9 !!! Not sure if 200 or 7700 buried at sea since when founding a new town you normally send 10,000 people inc 2500 recruits. It would seem that San Franciso is getting a new area known as little Budapest since these gentlemen have made it really clear that they are not getting on no boat.

Lack of women may be a problem but perhaps some Hussar Uniforms could show up in the Golden State Mailita that normally gets the girls.

As for the Rumelian Tobacco trade have you ever tasted Greek or Turkish Tobacco? Unless you are going to use it to tar a ships bottom blending with smoother blends is required. Even the bloody cossacks are now importing from the new world rather than smoke 100% pure Greeks or Turkish and they are infamous for smoking anything you can put in a Pipe. As for Greek snuff that stuff can blow your head off.

But it can now be confirmed that taking up a hint to try and be nice to the poor Turks is an Agema trap........my honour score just had its worst month after offering to restore relations. Note to self talking to Ottoman Grand Viziers and mad Parrot fanciers who tea leaf your treasury records is bad for Hapsburg honour.

Black is in white is out, but don't worry, fashions change as often as mistresses.

Goats are very useful creatures, living on land which cannot be used for other purposes. The unfortunate depictions of Satan with a goatee probably wasn't the imagery Leopold intended at the time.

Sending a copy of the Treaty of Hastings to the dead Emperor and asking for his signature is an extraordinary faux pas. The Treaty may well be buried with him unless an explanation is forthcoming.

They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek Desmarets everywhere. Who is Desmarets...no wait, I don't want to know. ...

I must admit I am all in favour of this new policy of Spain reimbursing you if someone steals money from you...and then Spain going to all the effort of hunting the criminal down and punishing them...is it a way to recover that lost honour?

...cause I'm sure someone also stole £40M from Department East...if Spain will kindly transfer the money to the designated Swiss Bank Account, we will send them all the info we have on the theft...

...however the Russian nobility would like to extend their deepest condolences to both the Spanish and French nobles on their poverty...we may have to start a fundraising event for them...yes, for just 100 Kopels a month a Russian Boyar can save a French duke from having to sell the family silver or a Spanish baron from having to drink English beer instead of wine...

...I also have a lovely recipe for Parrot Stew if Madrid is interested...actually more I think about it, anyone else noticed that parrot seems to know a bit too much...could it be the master criminal...

Vauban wrote:They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek Desmarets everywhere. Who is Desmarets...no wait, I don't want to know. ...

He's behind you..


...and before anyone says it's too early for Panto...it's always Panto Season in G7...

Stuart Bailey wrote:It can indeed be confirmed that King Charles of Spain is broken hearted over the death of his father and the Spanish Court will enter a period of mourning ........anyone know how long Charles von Hapsburg needs to dress in black?

Oddly there isn't a set length of time, nor was black necessarily the colour to be worn.  In Spain in the late Middle Ages white rather than black was worn!  If it helps, the celebrant would have probably worn a heavy blackish-purple robe rather than pure black.  Why do I get the feeling that next month's newspaper will be a rather gloomy read?

Stuart Bailey wrote:The Treaty of Hastings......... seems to require Spain to give France £40m for no reason at all and if the English break the treaty Spain gets some of its money back and if the French break it it gets all its money back.  Is this some sort of complex betting system which means Spain will only win if both France and England break the treaty.  May need to ask Elder brother Josef to explain complex maths like this or perhaps that damn Parrot.

The point of signing any treaty is surely not to break it, a decision completely within the control of each signatory.  If a treaty is signed in good faith then the penalties for breaking it are surely irrelevant?

Stuart Bailey wrote:However, I strongly suspect that he will say I should not not take wagers from the French Treasury which this month showed truly remarkable knowledge of the contents of stolen Spanish treasury documents.  I guess they could have been stolen by that master criminal Desmarets while he was still employed by Louis XIV as head of the French Treasury or does the French Treasury Staff include more than one Thief?

So the numbers quoted in the newspaper are real?  I had assumed they were propaganda.  Of course all numbers look high compared to England's, but then I thought my numbers were depressed by a decade of war.  Perhaps Lord Pembroke is even more of a financial genius than I gave him credit for.  Or supporting the likes of HWIC is even more of a drain on Spain's finances than anyone suspected?

Stuart Bailey wrote:In other news stories it can be confirmed that either Russian merchant ships are really uncomfortable sea boats or Hungarians are really poor sailors since 2300 made to to land @ SL #9 !!!  Not sure if 200 or 7700 buried at sea since when founding a new town you normally send 10,000 people inc 2500 recruits.  It would seem that San Francisco is getting a new area known as little Budapest since these gentlemen have made it really clear that they are not getting on no boat.

That's a shockingly high attrition rate - if the same numbers were lost in other Russian resettlement programs are there any Hungarians left in Hungary or is the entire country now a depopulated zone to be given over to mass tree planting?

Stuart Bailey wrote:As for the Rumelian Tobacco trade have you ever tasted Greek or Turkish Tobacco?  Unless you are going to use it to tar a ships bottom blending with smoother blends is required. Even the bloody cossacks are now importing from the new world rather than smoke 100% pure Greeks or Turkish and they are infamous for smoking anything you can put in a Pipe.  As for Greek snuff that stuff can blow your head off.  But it can now be confirmed that taking up a hint to try and be nice to the poor Turks is an Agema trap........my honour score just had its worst month after offering to restore relations. Note to self talking to Ottoman Grand Viziers and mad Parrot fanciers who tea leaf your treasury records is bad for Hapsburg honour.

I don't understand why anyone would smoke so have no experience of Turkish tobacco.  Bad enough that a neighbour has just bought an incinerator which has been pothering away for nearly 3 hours this afternoon, sited it so close to the hedge that he nearly set it on fire.  Not knowing the full detail of what Spain put to the Ottomans I cannot comment, but perhaps after several years of winding them up, it will take a long time to restore more positive relations.  I doubt it was what was said that caused your honour to drop, more likely the sudden about turn that confused your nobles?  After all you've been trying to gather support for a crusade against the Ottomans for years, Hungary seems to have been turned into a natural wooden barrier to hold up their armies, and you now want to throw all that up in favour of becoming a tobacco salesman?  I'm sure there must be an easier way to be nice to people, like playing cricket?

Vauban wrote:Sending a copy of the Treaty of Hastings to the dead Emperor and asking for his signature is an extraordinary faux pas. The Treaty may well be buried with him unless an explanation is forthcoming.

They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek Desmarets everywhere. Who is Desmarets...no wait, I don't want to know. ...

At least nobody has yet claimed that receiving/reading the Treaty of Hastings was the cause of death.  I find it quite amusing that after years of failing to conduct meaningful correspondence with England, Emperor Leopold died trying to decide whether he should sign it or not.

As for Desmarets, he will be found one day, if not by the French then by the Royal Navy.

Jason2 wrote:...I also have a lovely recipe for Parrot Stew if Madrid is interested...actually more I think about it, anyone else noticed that parrot seems to know a bit too much...could it be the master criminal...

Poor Esmerelda ... having a brain is such a handicap for a bird.

I suppose theoretically she could have organised a gang of pigeons to fly into the French treasury night after night to steal all the money, transferring it to a hollow tree somewhere in deepest Picardy.  But why?  Just to end up in Parrot Stew?  Sorry Jason2, Esmerelda is far too clever for that.

Black cloths were certainly used to cover the altar, according to the burial records, whether mourners wore black, I don't know yet.

Mourning does get complicated. The idea of wearing dark colours seems to go back to the time of the Roman Republic (though it was really a very dark purple that was worn rather than a "real" black, due to the limitations of the dyes they had). In the medieval period, in various countries only the nobility were allowed to wear black when mourning due to sumptuary laws-basically because black dyes were so expensive, the lower orders shouldn't be able to afford them so using them was getting above yourself (always an issue on how much of the time anyone obeyed sumptuary laws of course). Dark purple was worn and yes so was white.

Annoying the Glory period is the hole in my knowledge but did help a work colleague produce an excellent exhibition on death customs a couple of years back and learnt a lot about mourning periods in Victorian Britain-full mourning, half, light mourning, etc and all the variations in what could and couldn't be worn or done at each stage. Was insightful to see how it varied between the sexes; an incredibly complex and long winded (and long lasting) process for a wife when her husband die...whereas if the wife died the mourning process for the husband seemed to start when she drew her last breath...and ended when the doctor went "yep she's dead" (ok, I exaggerate but you get the gist).

Just noticed the comments on Turkish tobacco.  Never smoked myself but from an archaeological and historical perspective, it is an interesting product.  When the Ottomans starting to grow it, they did it "their way".  As a product it's better for cigarettes (which, outside Spanish territory, are post-Glory) but not so good when smoked in clay pipes.  From an Ottoman point of view in the Glory period, if you could afford foreign tobacco you would...if you couldn't, you just smoked the local stuff.  Jump forward 180 years and go to London and smokers prefer Turkish tobacco in their ciggis...i might be mis-remembering but isn't it commented on in "Hound of the Baskervilles" that Holmes knows Watson has visited his Dartmoor hideaway due to the stub of a particular Turkish tobacco cigarette he dropped? (like everything else, my Holmes collection is still 500 miles away due to lockdown so going from memory)

No info on Turkish grown Tobacco but the stuff grown in Greece is infamous even today (so strong you have to blend it just to make it legal for modern wimpish smokers).

I really enjoyed a visit to a Pipe museum in modern Romania but in 1700 it would have been on the Ottoman/Hungarian border. Seems the Ottomans and Eastern Europe not only used the clay and briar pipes like the English but had whole industries turning out fancy snuff boxes (also popular elsewhere....Frederick the Great of Prussia had a huge collection which was loaned to the V & A for a time) also metal pipes, pipes made from a type of stone imported from Anatolia and Africa, China Pipes, Glass pipes (filled with water....they still use those in Turkey) etc, etc many of which were real works of art.

I wonder if because Islam banned drinking the Ottoman's devoted to their pipes the art work and effort which in Christian lands was devoted to drinking glasses, wine coolers and the like, with smoking taking the social role of drinking in places like Scotland or Russia. Though it should be noted that real Islam fanatics do not approve of smoking either. In G2 had to arrange a bit of a night of the long knives to prove to such fanatics that you do not come between a true Albanian and the enjoyment of his pipe unless you want to bleed!

In G10 in yet more proof that Charles the Good of Spain is sadly misunderstood attempted to help the poor smokers of Rumelia and get them some of the good stuff (finest Old Havana for that richer fuller flavour). Richard was so not impressed that in one month my Father passes away and I lost five honour points for even responding to the Ottoman offer to talk!

That does it........in future Charles is going to leave the complicated diplomatic stuff to his new head of house and elder brother, Josef. He can do the talking to the Ottomans and that bloody parrot! While Charles tries to work out how to stop the French pinching his treasury papers from a locked safe in a room with bars on the windows and Cardinals Guard on the door. Damn this Desmart chap was cunning!

Might even be cunning enough to hide out say further than 5 miles from the coast.

Stuart Bailey wrote:I wonder if because Islam banned drinking the Ottoman's devoted to their pipes the art work and effort which in Christian lands was devoted to drinking glasses, wine coolers and the like, with smoking taking the social role of drinking in places like Scotland or Russia.  Though it should be noted that real Islam fanatics do not approve of smoking either.

There may well be something in this.  Once something becomes fashionable with the nobility, it does tend to encourage increasingly elaborate items associated with it so the nobility could demonstrate how they could pursue their hobby with style.  I suppose the same thing happens today with mobile phones (except for luddites like me, of course).

Stuart Bailey wrote:That does it........in future Charles is going to leave the complicated diplomatic stuff to his new head of house and elder brother, Josef.  He can do the talking to the Ottomans and that bloody parrot!

That could be fun  

Somehow I can't see King Charles meekly following the orders of Emperor Josef, especially if the new policy is to be nice to Ottomans and the price is to give back Oran to the Grand Vizier?

Stuart Bailey wrote: While Charles tries to work out how to stop the French pinching his treasury papers from a locked safe in a room with bars on the windows and Cardinals Guard on the door.  Damn this Desmarets chap was cunning!

Might even be cunning enough to hide out say further than 5 miles from the coast.

Sounds like Spanish treasury papers are incredibly well protected.  In which case, surely it looks as though Desmarets must have had contacts within the Spanish treasury.  If he had the skill to take papers out, then he would have found it much easier to slip forged French bonds in.  

At the moment, of course, we don't know whether treasury papers were moved at all - it could just be 4 figures that are simple enough for a clerk to memorize.

And before anyone accuses Esmerelda, she can only say short phrases like "Spain back pirate" or "Louis shines".  It would take a great deal of training for her to say the right numbers in answer to the right questions. As a busy parrot, she tends to leave matters of finance to others so she can concentrate on more important aspects of foreign policy.

If you're really serious about identifying who is responsible then I suggest you start by questioning Roger Martel, the turncoat pirate who has access to the Spanish postal service, Spanish banking system, Spanish colonies, Spanish military/navy, HWIC/Portobello Company and of course plenty of friends at the Spanish Court.  If you are going to employ someone with his background and ignore repeated pleas from King James to execute him, then surely you are leaving yourself wide open to being taken, especially when you give him access to all the areas that he needs?

Perhaps now you will understand why it is necessary for Spain to play some part in looking for Desmarets who for all we know could have actually been Martel (or one of his cronies) in disguise?

J Flower wrote:Ha, bad pirates always get caught, luckily Russian Privateers are so good & cunning that no one has noticed them to date.

I knew no one would take me seriously, but the " Ushkuyniks"(aka Russian Pirates) are quietly plying their trade. Doing it so successfully that no one has ever heard of them .

Did find the Income figures for Spain & France most interesting just for comparison I thought it only fair & open to print the Russian figures.

Nobility 990.6, Clergy 193.25, Commoners 5.03 per head, obviously coupled with all the money Russia has saved in naval upkeep expenditure( Always find a silver lining!) proves Staying at home saves lives makes you richer as well.

Best Tested Russian way to cook a parrot is to pack it in clay & place it in the fire,till cooked through saves plucking!

J Flower wrote:

J Flower wrote:Ha, bad pirates always get caught, luckily Russian Privateers are so good & cunning that no one has noticed them to date.

I knew no one would take me seriously, but the " Ushkuyniks"(aka Russian Pirates) are quietly plying their trade. Doing it so successfully that no one has ever heard of them .

Did find the Income figures for Spain & France most interesting just for comparison I thought it only fair & open to print the Russian figures.

Nobility 990.6, Clergy 193.25, Commoners 5.03 per head, obviously coupled with all the money Russia has saved in naval upkeep expenditure( Always find a silver lining!) proves Staying at home saves lives makes you richer as well.

Best Tested Russian way to cook a parrot is to pack it in clay & place it in the fire, till cooked through saves plucking!

The Ushkuyniks were river pirates who sailed on the Volga preying on Russian merchants.  I thought they'd died out by the time of Ivan the Terrible, but I might be wrong.  Perhaps the Tsar is using them to intimidate the cossacks or as an internal river police unit?

With income levels like that surely the Ushkuyniks don't need to resort to piracy?

What has Esmerelda done to attract such attention from Russian gourmets?  There are parrots native to Singapore so I suppose I can forgive Jason2 since Prince Golitsyn may just possibly have developed a taste for cooked parrot.  But not the Tsar - I can imagine him eating a sheep or goat as a starter before gorging on a cow, washed down by a few bottles of vodka - all that would serve to build up the aura of indestructibility the Tsar cultivates.  But can anyone really see the Tsar sitting down to eat a parrot?  More likely to execute the cook for daring to pretend that such novelties are fit for the Tsar's table.

I put all this anti-psittacism down to jealousy - Lord Godolphin is currently 69, so it is quite possible that Esmerelda will outlive him as some last over a hundred years.  She may soon be the longest serving ambassador to Versailles, consulted by all for her wisdom.  Not all of my game characters attract so much attention.  I just hope she doesn't read the forum otherwise she could ask her albatross friends to follow Russian ships.

Historically, Russian or to be more exact Polish/Ukrainian/Russian........who are we today? Who's paying?......Cossack pirates in their chaika boats were infamous raiders of Ottoman and other shipping and ports on the Black Sea.

One of the main reasons for the great Turkisk fortress of Azov and other fortresses with their Janissary Garrisons being built at the mouths of all the major rivers flowing into the Black Sea from the North was to try and bottle these raiders up in their rivers and stop them getting into the Black Sea.

Naturally (and on the advise of my lawyers) I would like to stress that in G7 and all other games this is a historic concern which will not come into play.........and if the Czar ever does gain control of the mouths of the Dniester, Dnieper, Don, Kuban etc due to putting down those naughty land pirates in the Crimea all his officials in Bialogrod, Azov, Ketch etc will be 100% uncorruptable anti pirate upholders of law and order.

After all you have only to look at the choir boys appointed in G7 to run the the Russian far east and the lease hold colonies in the America's and their tire-less efforts to bring Blackbeard's Captains and his sons of liberty to justice for Plundering Havanna etc. OK its been over ten years and we are still waiting for the first court case but that is because they need to build the perfect water tight case and they are still waiting for a certain infamous Parrot who sailed on the Havana job with Blackbeard to turns "Czars evidence".

PS How Agema comes up with income figures for a position I gave up trying to work out about the same time as I gave up trying to work out honour scores and just play the bottom line. Played one German position on the Rhine which had a tax on foreigner income about x10 or x20 greater than the customs returns of the whole Spanish Empire in G7. I am now of the opinion that Spanish customs are now a honesty box on the end of the Wharf and someone has thrown a fishing net over it while tax income is based on self assessment after deductions. I would ask officials to look into some of these matters but I am damn sure that Richard would decide that the popular view in places like Lima, Naples, Milan, Havana, Barcelona (oh my god what would Barcelona think!) is that Madrid is poking its nose were it has no business and my honour score would drop like a stone.

So in the interest of peace, harmony and good will to all men Charles the Good of Spain will continue to believe his treasury figures (which look oddly ok for such a poverty striken part of the world) and will follow a policy of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil .....unless its about Ottoman Grand Viziers, The French or Blackbeard" as its worked fine to date. Will even try and keep the Pope and pious Catholics happy and try and say nice things about the restored want to be Catholic (but still head of the Church of England) King of England. But Charles may just have to stay silent on that one as I dont think Cricket was a big think back in the Alps growing up. Perhaps Queen Sophia knows more as we all know what the C in AC Milan stands for.

Stuart Bailey wrote:You have only to look at the choir boys appointed in G7 to run the the Russian far east and the lease hold colonies in the America's and their tire-less efforts to bring Blackbeard's Captains and his sons of liberty to justice for Plundering Havanna etc.  OK its been over ten years and we are still waiting for the first court case but that is because they need to build the perfect water tight case and they are still waiting for a certain infamous Parrot who sailed on the Havana job with Blackbeard to turns "Czars evidence".  

The Russian Administration in America certainly has taken a different approach to King James, but then the scale of the problem was greater.  I was quite ruthless in eliminating HWIC and other undesirables irrespective of how much it upset others.  Some almost certainly did flee to America where they thought they were safe, but gradually the net is tightening.  The Tsar has demonstrated his ruthless streak with harsh interrogations involving rats and buckets.  King James has always been prepared to send additional help, but is conscious that he does not wish to spoil the Tsar's fun: America is his problem until a decision is made to end/extend the lease in a few years time.  From an economic perspective the lease has been highly profitable for Russia and might explain the high £/head figure.

Stuart Bailey wrote:PS How Agema comes up with income figures for a position I gave up trying to work out about the same time as I gave up trying to work out honour scores and just play the bottom line.  Played one German position on the Rhine which had a tax on foreigner income about x10 or x20 greater than the customs returns of the whole Spanish Empire in G7.  I am now of the opinion that Spanish customs are now a honesty box on the end of the Wharf and someone has thrown a fishing net over it while tax income is based on self assessment after deductions.

Oh dear ... any mention of self assessment is likely to provoke an extremely violent and uncontrolled outburst which makes all previous posts appear to be light hearted jokes.  HMRC wrote a letter to me on Wednesday demanding I complete the return 6 months early on a form they are no longer prepared to send me by post, but expect me to print out myself.    For those who are lucky enough to have never sent in a self assessment return, the pages required vary depending on individual circumstances.  It is somewhat difficult to know which box is most appropriate to fill the numbers in if the computer doesn't give you the choice.  "Later this year we'll stop sending paper statements ... This is because we're reducing the amount of paper we send" although "Legally you need to send us your tax return even if you've already paid all the tax that you owe or think you don't owe any tax."   It is illegal for employers not to provide employees with a detailed payslip and annual tax statement, not apparently for HMRC to extend the same consideration to those it deals with directly.  And that after their computer incorrectly disqualified me from the self-employment grant.       I don't know where Blackbeard is, but his ghost is somewhere in HMRC's computer system.  An appeal has been launched, so perhaps when my accountant has exorcised Blackbeard's Ghost, we may make progress in tracking down Blackbeard in G7.   If previous years are anything to go by, they will keep sending reminder letters every few months (still without the forms) otherwise any penalties they issue for late payment are likely to be overturned on appeal.  I am seriously considering requesting a form in Urdu (which they will of course supply in paper form) and asking an interpreter to complete it for me in Swahili.  If I send it in just before the deadline, registered post, I'll not only win any subsequent appeal against any penalty they apply, but have the satisfaction that next year their computer will probably send me a paper form (in Urdu) without having to go to this trouble again, although if I completed it in English the computer may well blow a fuse and reject it on the grounds of incomprehensibility.   By the time I get the 2022 forms they may have dealt with the appeal and paid me what they owe me.    

Compared to the torture of dealing with HMRC, Agema's £/head calculations are joyously simple.

Stuart Bailey wrote:I would ask officials to look into some of these matters but I am damn sure that Richard would decide that the popular view in places like Lima, Naples, Milan, Havana, Barcelona (oh my god what would Barcelona think!) is that Madrid is poking its nose were it has no business and my honour score would drop like a stone.

So that's how Spain has maintained her high honour - do nothing.  Just doesn't seem to suit my playing style, unfortunately.

Stuart Bailey wrote:So in the interest of peace, harmony and good will to all men Charles the Good of Spain will continue to believe his treasury figures (which look oddly ok for such a poverty stricken part of the world) and will follow a policy of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil .....unless its about Ottoman Grand Viziers, The French or Blackbeard" as its worked fine to date.  Will even try and keep the Pope and pious Catholics happy and try and say nice things about the restored want to be Catholic (but still head of the Church of England) King of England.  But Charles may just have to stay silent on that one as I don't think Cricket was a big think back in the Alps growing up.  Perhaps Queen Sophia knows more as we all know what the C in AC Milan stands for.

If the Scots can learn cricket then I'm sure Spaniards can, particularly when I understand it was played in Flanders.

On the apparent confusion surrounding King James' status as Head of the Church of England, it really is quite simple if you follow these logical steps:
1. King James is Catholic.
2. To Catholics there is only 1 church - the Roman Catholic Church.
3. All other 'churches' have no authority to associate in any form so whatever laws they set up to govern themselves by are invalid to Catholics (as individuals), even if they have some legal effect within the law of individual countries or share common legal roots with the Roman Catholic Church.
4. Thus the title 'head of the Church of England' is meaningless to King James and the Roman Catholic Church.
5. Consequently that the Church of England recognises King James as its head (as is written into its articles) does not make any difference to King James' religion.  Curiously it is not a requirement for the Head of the Church of England to be a member of that 'church' - logically it should, but for some reason when Henry VIII set it up anyone who wanted to argue the point lost his head.  To him, the King was above the law.
6. So we have the curious situation where any member of the Church of England must obey its Head (the King), but the institution cannot depose the King who has specified powers over the Church.

Note1: in G7 all anti-Catholic legislation (such as that prohibiting Catholics from being King) has been repealed.
Note2: William was a staunch Calvinist who married Mary (an Anglican).  In most books that mention it, they are simply referred to as 'protestant', but I have not found a reference that says William renounced his religion and joined the Church of England as a condition of his marriage.  Indeed, given his background and commitment to Calvinism it would be rather odd that he did.  Although the marriage was carried out by Henry Compton, bishop of London in 1677, according to Anglican norms.  The Exclusion Bill was aimed at blocking Catholic James II from succeeding rather than Calvinist William.  It may be that by ruling as joint monarchs (initially) William could continue to be Calvinist - I don't know the detail so am quite happy to be corrected.  King James II had already established the precedent that allowed William to be Head of a 'church' he was not a member of.   William did become Anglican after Mary's death, although this was a political act designed to rescue his falling popularity rather than through any genuine conversion.  The maxim applied in some countries that the religion of the King determines the religion of the country clearly does not apply in England.

What nobody has actually tested (in G7 anyway) is whether a Catholic Head of the Church of England makes the Church of England Catholic.  It didn't under King James II for the simple reason that only the Pope can appoint Catholic bishops.  Theoretically the King could order all clergy to take an oath to Rome, but even if they did so in defiance of their bishops without the restoration of the hierarchy (Catholic bishops) by the Pope, religious life would not be organised as is required by the Church.  There would be a rather bizarre situation where the Church in England was catholic, but had no structure to allow it to conduct services legally; while the Church of England consisted of a handful of 'bishops' sat in their cathedrals with no congregations.  In addition some settlement would have to be made with Rome to restore church property seized by Henry VIII, which since England isn't as rich as Spain or Russia would cause a financial crisis that makes the Desmarets affair seem insignificant.  Of course as Pope in G10 I have found ways round all these difficulties, but then not every Pope is as flexible as I am.  Ultimately protestant nations arise through the unilateral act of a King taking over the powers of the Church and enforcing change through violence, seizing Church property and destroying Catholic spiritual life in his country.  The process cannot be reversed by the King demanding the Pope accepts his country back into the church and 're-converting' his population at gunpoint.  Forced conversion of minorities is a dubious enough technique, but to attempt it on an entire country is not only unlikely to work, it would also be invalid in canon law.  Popes do not obey Kings; Kings obey Popes.  So although King James would no doubt be delighted to go down in history as the man who brought England back to the True Faith, he doesn't have the power to make it happen, and neither on his own does the Pope.

June 1714 issue of Gloire du Roi has shown up and for non G7 players here are the high lights:

1) The Bishop of Salisbury has passed away. Not sure why this is front page news or why after his death people were going through Bishop Burnet private papers.......which show him to have been anti-papists and against the reforms to the Church of England enforced by its Catholic Head King James III.

2) French still trying to find Louis XIV former Treasury Minister Nickolas Desmarets and are now offering a 120,000 louis d'or reward for his capture. Six months after the theft and four months after the French guard ripped the Flanders Embassy to bits and found nothing they have now found some "letters" in Desmarets safe and in Gabriel del Montosa apartments which link the pair and also one Henri Carpreye at the Bourse de Paris.

It is being said that Desmarets left the letters with information he had stolen (while still Louis XIV Treasury Minister) from the Spanish. Quite why Desmarets had time to ship himself and £40m out of France but not enough time to take his own papers is not clear. Also not clear is why the initial French invastigations failed to find these items hiden in such cunning locations as the French Treasury safe! Seems to be a mystery on a par with why the G10 Spanish failed to find Carlos II will for two years before finding it with his lawyers in Madrid.

3) Aware of Louis XIV love of animals the English Envoy Sir Sidney Godolphin has given Louis a goat called Leopold. Leo the goat is slightly overweight because he is fond of eating newspaper articles insulting to France or England and correspondence from Hapsburgs and their allies. In return for this charming gift his most Christian Majesty is sending his grandson to visit London.

4) The French Sculptor Francois Girardon has died..........before anyone starts thinking Desmarets is covering his tracks it should be noted that Girardon was 86 and the Bishop of Salisbury was 71.

5) James III has thrown a celebration for the second battle of Dumbarton in July 1712. As this battle only witnessed the Jacobites slamned roughly to one side (allowing the Dutch to return to their base with all of their POWs/plunder from the earlier destruction of the main English fleet and another Jacobite Army) rather than being cut to bits or routed I guess by Jacobite standards it does count as a victory of sorts. On a par with Russian celebrations of sailing to America and back and not sinking.

6) King James also spent time watching cricket and pondering the advantages/disadvantages of East Indiamen, armed liners and Schooners on various trade routes.

7) Everything seems to be going well with the current Scandi love-in. Indeed such is the booming state of the Economy in Sweden and Denmark that a plan to establish a settlement on Greenland failed due to lack of people willing to move. Assume the Nodic Economy is benefiting from high demand for ship builders and repairers.

The chidren of the Elector of Bavaria have started full time education again after ending their period of study at the Salzburg Convent. While Salzburg is no doubt good for Music and religious studies their new step-mother like her sister's is known as a bit of an academic "Blue stocking" who even shows a keen interest in the development of her own estates (which are not all woodland!).

9) The "Election" of a new Holy Roman Emperor is starting in Regensburg. Currently the only person standing to be the new Holy Roman Emperor is the existing King of the Romans, Joseph von Hapsburg.

10) In Vienna Joseph von Hapsburg buried his fathSaint Stephens Cathedral with music written for the funeral by Johann Sebastian Bach. The funeral of the old Emperor was well attended by family and allies like the Grand Chamberlain of Spain and Russian Field Marshal Viasemitinov.

Also by the old Emperors French and Jacobite foes who sent the Dauphin and the Earl of Kent. It remains to be seen if this means Leopolds old foes who wanted to execute him at one stage (as they did to Prince Eugine of Savoy, King William of England/Stadtholder of the UDP & the Scots first minister) just wanted to check he was actually dead or if they now wish to restore relations with his son's.

The Sultan and the Ottoman Empire did not send anyone to the funeral.

11) A grand Square is being created in Vienna with statues representing the late Emperor Leopolds victories over the French and the Turks

12) Austria has adopted the Amsterdam metric system already used in the UDP and the Spanish Empire and helped by imports from Spain has started to rebuild and improve its herds with some emphasis on goats. This makes them different to the sheep, cattle and tree loving Spanish who do not think very much of tree eating goats at all. Could we see a split in opinion between Vienna and Madrid over what they think of the Goat in Residence at the French Court?

13) The Court of Charles von Hapsburg King of Spain has gone into mourning following the death of his father. Charles also funded 10,000 masses to be said for his father and cut taxation in Spain to 2% with request that everyone mention the Emperor Leopold, Christian protector of central Europe and liberator of Hungary in their prayers.

- This tax cut was no doubt handy for shareholders in the Asiento, EEIC and other Spanish companies who got 200,000,000 maravedis (£20M) in dividends this month. It is being claimed on the Royal Exchange in Madrid that the French Rentier Class are getting 40,000,000 maravedis income from sterile investments in Govt bonds while dynamic and progressive Spanish investors got x5 that amount.

14) Wines from Valencia, Aragon and Sardinia have been declared vintage. It is not known if any of the managed estates of Maria Valdez Electress of Bavaria have produced a vintage or not. Russian food and wine lovers are still trying to work out which of these wines would be best with Chicken Kiev of if this would vary if you use parrot rather than Chicken.

15) Spanish lawyers are demanding return of their stolen paper work from France. The Spanish said some hard words about do you have to be an actual crook like Desmaret or just know some to become Louis XIV Controller-General of Finance. But it now seems that the French have blamed both the theft from the Spanish and the theft from the French Treasury on Nicholas Desmarts.

- Interesting Nicholas Desmarts does seem to have one defender in the Russian Far East with Prince Vasily Golitsyn claiming that the whole affair was probably an accounting error. With Nicholas then so scared to admitt this to Louis XIV that he fled from France leaving a trail of false evidence to blame Louis XIV traditional foes and put off pursuit.

16) Spain and Ottoman Anatolia have agreed a trade treaty but treaty with Rumelia still up in air due to clerical errors. Madrid have now sent a proper diplomat and recalled the Grand Admiral. People are probably wondering what the Grand Admiral of Spain has been doing in the Ottoman Empire for a number of years........clearly not paying much attention to trade treaty wordings! Picked up by a very fast and modern Spanish frigate he was seen to take a last long and hard look at a Ottoman Warship twirl his moustache and grin wolfishly.

17) Russians spent month doing naval type stuff and it has to be reported ****** Drum roll please ********NO RUSSIAN NAVAL LOSSES !!!!! (and they sailed to Malta as well).

- Actually the only reported losses this month were 10 French merchant ships in African waters. While storms are reported in southern climes given the lack of other Nations ships lost and the on going naval/colonial war between France and Persia it is assumed that the French ships have been taken by the Shah of Persia raiders.

18) Ghazi against the French and Hero to Shia Muslims everywhere things continue to get better for the Shah. Not only does his Navy continue its years and years long campaign to wipe out the French merchant marine in Indian, Far East and African waters but Persia was the only power blessed with a good harvest. Must be something to do with all the bird poo they put on their Melon's.

A generally fair write-up of a difficult turn for everyone.  To provide some clarification from the Jacobite viewpoint ...

Stuart Bailey wrote:1) The Bishop of Salisbury has passed away.  Not sure why this is front page news or why after his death people were going through Bishop Burnet private papers.......which show him to have been anti-papists and against the reforms to the Church of England enforced by its Catholic Head King James III.

The death of Burnet made the front pages because it could be politically significant.  As the newspaper pointed out he was a Whig, liberal and Scottish - the first 2 of these do not necessarily disqualify him from appointment as a bishop even if they place him against the political tide, but being Scottish is a bit more puzzling.  Perhaps he had a grudge against King James for not promoting him to one of the recently created Scottish bishoprics?  The big shock (to some) is that he was a secret Calvinist.  King James has had some trouble with bishops before, but has previously assumed they are loyal to the beliefs they profess (however heretical).  Anti-Papist sentiments are common among Williamite appointees, but for an Anglican bishop to secretly belong to a sect that won't recognise bishops makes him either a hypocrite or a spy.  Was he in reality a leader of opposition to King James or just a confused, senile and embittered loser who will not be missed?  Salisbury is a rather attractive diocese, but who to appoint to it?  Perhaps all Anglican bishops should be required to take a degree in Catholic doctrine before their appointment?

Stuart Bailey wrote:2) French still trying to find Louis XIV former Treasury Minister Nickolas Desmarets and are now offering a 120,000 louis d'or reward for his capture.  Six months after the theft and four months after the French guard ripped the Flanders Embassy to bits and found nothing they have now found some "letters" in Desmarets safe and in Gabriel del Montosa apartments which link the pair and also one Henri Carpreye at the Bourse de Paris.  

It is being said that Desmarets left the letters with information he had stolen (while still Louis XIV Treasury Minister) from the Spanish.  Quite why Desmarets had time to ship himself and £40m out of France but not enough time to take his own papers is not clear.  Also not clear is why the initial French investigations failed to find these items hidden in such cunning locations as the French Treasury safe!  Seems to be a mystery on a par with why the G10 Spanish failed to find Carlos II will for two years before finding it with his lawyers in Madrid.

3) Aware of Louis XIV love of animals the English Envoy Sir Sidney Godolphin has given Louis a goat called Leopold.  Leo the goat is slightly overweight because he is fond of eating newspaper articles insulting to France or England and correspondence from Hapsburgs and their allies.  In return for this charming gift his most Christian Majesty is sending his grandson to visit London.

4) The French Sculptor Francois Girardon has died..........before anyone starts thinking Desmarets is covering his tracks it should be noted that Girardon was 86 and the Bishop of Salisbury was 71.

- Interesting Nicholas Desmarts does seem to have one defender in the Russian Far East with Prince Vasily Golitsyn claiming that the whole affair was probably an accounting error.  With Nicholas then so scared to admit this to Louis XIV that he fled from France leaving a trail of false evidence to blame Louis XIV traditional foes and put off pursuit.

15) Spanish lawyers are demanding return of their stolen paper work from France.  The Spanish said some hard words about do you have to be an actual crook like Desmaret or just know some to become Louis XIV Controller-General of Finance.  But it now seems that the French have blamed both the theft from the Spanish and the theft from the French Treasury on Nicholas Desmarts.

There are several possible ways to view these events.  Difficult for me to comment fully since Jacobite Naval Intelligence is conducting very thorough investigations along different lines.  Those investigations are yielding results, but not all the missing pieces have been discovered which would confirm or refute French findings.  King James is believed to be slightly irritated by the lack of correspondence from Paris which makes tying our investigations together much harder and potentially gives Desmarets more time to cover his tracks.  Perhaps King Louis' grandson is bringing conclusive evidence with him to London rather than risk it going missing?

Opinion is divided about Prince Golitsyn's musings.  Some believe that insulting the honour of France and England whilst mocking Spain and defending the honour of Persia (who is still at war with France) is inviting declarations of war.  France is clearly preparing something, and whilst King Charles has repeatedly protested (but not proved) his innocence, it seems that RFE has already decided to join in any war against France.  As to the rather ridiculous claim that it is no fraud, simply an accounting error, Prince Golitsyn would appear to be unable to add up.  Perhaps he can spend money he doesn't have, but clearly every other nation cannot.  There can be legitimate debate on the difficulty of moving large chests of gold, but nobody can seriously suggest that the money was not originally there to be stolen given the size of the hole in French accounts.  Accountants count what is there, then discover what is not there.  It would make absolutely no sense at all for King Louis to pretend there was money missing, trash his own economy, upset his nobles by a forced loan and then spend several months hunting down the perpetrator.  What could he possibly hope to gain by doing this?  If he wanted war with Spain then he already had a casus belli due to the attacks on French forces passing through Flanders.  There is no reason for France to lie or to deceive anyone when he is the victim in this.  I don't think Prince Golitsyn was defending Desmarets, just criticizing those who are trying to establish the truth of what happened and who is behind it.

Stuart Bailey wrote:
5) James III has thrown a celebration for the second battle of Dumbarton in July 1712.  As this battle only witnessed the Jacobites slamned roughly to one side (allowing the Dutch to return to their base with all of their POWs/plunder from the earlier destruction of the main English fleet and another Jacobite Army) rather than being cut to bits or routed I guess by Jacobite standards it does count as a victory of sorts.  On a par with Russian celebrations of sailing to America and back and not sinking.

6) King James also spent time watching cricket and pondering the advantages/disadvantages of East Indiamen, armed liners and Schooners on various trade routes.

Had the Dutch won 2nd Dumbarton then their armies would indeed have driven my armies out of Scotland, but in reality they lost so many men pushing me off a hill that they were unable to campaign for the rest of that year.   Jacobite causalities amounted to 700 men; Dutch casualties were over 10,000, particularly heavy among their cavalry and artillery.  Just how badly they were beaten is proven by them having to abandon defensive positions to consolidate their remaining forces.  So 2nd Dumbarton was indeed the turning point of the war and worthy of celebration.

The discussion about the suitability of types of merchant ships is particularly interesting and broadly supports my research.  And with investigations being left to advisors there can be no better time to relax, watching cricket and playing with Prince Henry.

Stuart Bailey wrote:
10) In Vienna Joseph von Hapsburg buried his father in Saint Stephens Cathedral with music written for the funeral by Johann Sebastian Bach.  The funeral of the old Emperor was well attended by family and allies like the Grand Chamberlain of Spain and Russian Field Marshal Viasemitinov.

Also by the old Emperors French and Jacobite foes who sent the Dauphin and the Earl of Kent.  It remains to be seen if this means Leopold's old foes who wanted to execute him at one stage (as they did to Prince Eugine of Savoy, King William of England/Stadtholder of the UDP & the Scots first minister) just wanted to check he was actually dead or if they now wish to restore relations with his son's.

The Sultan and the Ottoman Empire did not send anyone to the funeral.

11) A grand Square is being created in Vienna with statues representing the late Emperor Leopold's victories over the French and the Turks

12) Austria has adopted the Amsterdam metric system already used in the UDP and the Spanish Empire and helped by imports from Spain has started to rebuild and improve its herds with some emphasis on goats.  This makes them different to the sheep, cattle and tree loving Spanish who do not think very much of tree eating goats at all.  Could we see a split in opinion between Vienna and Madrid over what they think of the Goat in Residence at the French Court?

13) The Court of Charles von Hapsburg King of Spain has gone into mourning following the death of his father.  Charles also funded 10,000 masses to be said for his father and cut taxation in Spain to 2% with request that everyone mention the Emperor Leopold, Christian protector of central Europe and liberator of Hungary in their prayers.

I am slightly surprised at the restraint shown by the many enemies of Emperor Leopold at his funeral.  This is, after all, the man who sent troops against HRE members, broke treaties, gave away 30,000 recruits to UDP and control of thousands more Austrian soldiers, lost 1 large field army to English forces at Hastings and another even larger army to French forces near Orleans (in the process destroying what had been an impressive military reputation against the Ottomans), and had he not died when he did may well have seen Hungary declaring independence.  He was once top of the honour table, but despite the efforts of Spain managed to destroy his lead and reduce Austria to a laughing stock.  10,000 masses is a start, but in the eyes of his people, 10 billion masses may not be enough to restore his reputation.  I have no doubt that despite his goat fixation the Emperor-elect Josef will do a better job since if he doesn't Austria's rather fragmented territories will go their separate ways.

Stuart Bailey wrote:
- This tax cut was no doubt handy for shareholders in the Asiento, EEIC and other Spanish companies who got 200,000,000 maravedis (£20M) in dividends this month.  It is being claimed on the Royal Exchange in Madrid that the French Rentier Class are getting 40,000,000 maravedis income from sterile investments in Govt bonds while dynamic and progressive Spanish investors got x5 that amount.

14) Wines from Valencia, Aragon and Sardinia have been declared vintage.  It is not known if any of the managed estates of Maria Valdez Electress of Bavaria have produced a vintage or not.  Russian food and wine lovers are still trying to work out which of these wines would be best with Chicken Kiev of if this would vary if you use parrot rather than Chicken.

16) Spain and Ottoman Anatolia have agreed a trade treaty but treaty with Rumelia still up in air due to clerical errors.  Madrid have now sent a proper diplomat and recalled the Grand Admiral.  People are probably wondering what the Grand Admiral of Spain has been doing in the Ottoman Empire for a number of years........clearly not paying much attention to trade treaty wordings!  Picked up by a very fast and modern Spanish frigate he was seen to take a last long and hard look at a Ottoman Warship twirl his moustache and grin wolfishly.

The pronouncement that another Spanish wine is vintage is extremely worrying.  This normally only happens just before Spain becomes involved in a war.

I'm not entirely sure that boasting of the value of dividends paid to shareholders in Spanish companies supports the case for Spain's innocence in the fraud.  It may however annoy King Louis who may view this as Spain giving her own subjects some of the proceeds of crime.  Of course Spain could claim to have employed Prince Golitsyn in place of Roger Martel, and by using the Golitsyn method of magical bookkeeping find that Spain really has 40 trillion Maravedis she didn't know about?  Couldn't possibly have come from France because Prince Golitsyn says so, and although he can refuse to accept the word of every other ruler, his own is naturally indisputable.

Stuart Bailey wrote:
17) Russians spent month doing naval type stuff and it has to be reported ****** Drum roll please ********NO RUSSIAN NAVAL LOSSES !!!!! (and they sailed to Malta as well).

- Actually the only reported losses this month were 10 French merchant ships in African waters.  While storms are reported in southern climes given the lack of other Nations ships lost and the on going naval/colonial war between France and Persia it is assumed that the French ships have been taken by the Shah of Persia raiders.

18) Ghazi against the French and Hero to Shia Muslims everywhere things continue to get better for the Shah.  Not only does his Navy continue its years and years long campaign to wipe out the French merchant marine in Indian, Far East and African waters but Persia was the only power blessed with a good harvest.  Must be something to do with all the bird poo they put on their Melon's.   

The Russian navy is clearly improving and that is good news for marine underwriters, unless they are also covering French merchant ships.   I do wonder what is happening to all the captured French crews, but now King Louis has requested help from the Royal Navy to protect them perhaps there will be fewer easy pickings for whoever is taking them?

Other good news is that nobody has suffered a poor harvest - certainly a relief to England, as it should help war-ravaged economies recover somewhat this year.

It seems Goats have become de rigueur in Royal Bourbon circles this summer replacing the poor Spaniels to be rounded up and sent to the Fondation Brigitte Bardot.

It is gratifying to see the wealth of Spain increase almost exactly and proportionally to the decrease in Austrian wealth. European money supply is therefore exactly maintained causing trouble for shorters who had hoped to see a decline.

Foreign dignitaries at the Emperors funeral were on their best behaviour which was disappointing for those who wanted to see a bun fight. Perhaps James should have sent the Marquess of Queensbury as his representative, then things might have become a lot more interesting.

Despite numerous woes and setbacks during Leopold's reign, the house of Habsburg endures. Europe watches to see what Joseph will do with his damnosa hereditas.

Vauban wrote:It is gratifying to see the wealth of Spain increase almost exactly and proportionally to the  decrease in Austrian wealth. European money supply is therefore exactly maintained causing trouble for shorters who had hoped to see a decline.

This is probably quite an astute observation - I don't think Spain deliberately sought the contraction of the Austrian economy in the same way as she did the English/French economies, but with Spain so dominant in Iberia, North Africa and Italy, it is probable that Austrian trade has to some extent been crowded out.  Long wars against England and France really left Austria's nearest trading partners to be HRE nations, Poland and Ottoman vassals.  It isn't in the rules, but I think smaller HRE nations actually have a localised trade advantage and expect to run a trade surplus with Austria.  Polish trade is easier by sea than overland into Austria, and unless they have particularly enlightened leadership (which Moldavia did once), they are perhaps more likely to seek trade with Russia or other Ottoman states than Austria.  Strategically it is quite difficult to develop Austrian trade due to the lack of ports.  So taking all these factors into account (and favourable trade deals with Spain), it is likely that Spain captured a lot of trade which would otherwise have gone to Austria.  Resetting the balance will be interesting, but doable.

Vauban wrote:
Foreign dignitaries at the Emperors funeral were on their best behaviour which was disappointing for those who wanted to see a bun fight. Perhaps James should have sent the Marquess of Queensbury as his representative, then things might have become a lot more interesting.

It would indeed.  The 2nd Marquess of Queensbury died in 1711, leaving a son (b.1697) who would be 16 by Jun-1714.  He was an imbecile, violently deranged and kept locked up after he attempted to cook a servant and eat him!

Note to self ... may send him to (???) as an ambassador? (suitable suggestions via in game letters?)

Vauban wrote:Despite numerous woes and setbacks during Leopold's reign, the house of Habsburg endures. Europe watches to see what Joseph will do with his damnosa hereditas.

As someone who has done more than most to ensure the House of Hapsburg in G10 endures against very heavy opposition, I can fairly confidently say that it is in no danger in G7 of the Hapsburgs becoming extinct.  Although England and Spain may see events differently, there remains a certain mutual respect (or healthy suspicion), not always understood by commentators.  If this changes there will be very good reasons.  I'm sure both England and Spain are happy to welcome a new player for Austria and will do their best to guide him into a peaceful and profitable relationship.

My own view is that there is not a wrong or way to run an economy policy in Glori du Roi but it does help to have an "Economic Policy" in place and let Agema know what you are trying to do. Also it helps if you actually invest some of your profits. Something I am not sure the prior Austrian Government did very much off even though it was in power for a very long time.

If you are not interested in trade and economic R & D and just want to follow a policy of benign neglect I think you should look to take over:

- A position with a large agricultural/tax base like France or Russia and apply high taxation to protect your own industry which can then be as ineffective as it wants but will keep the tax cash pouring in. If playing such a position in this ways try and avoid wars on own territory and famines.

- A position with a colonial empire like France, UDP, Portugal, Spain & England and adopt a "navigation act" type policy which only allows the colonies to Trade with home producers. This will mean that you will make very high profits on colonial trade esp if you keep other countries colonial products out of your home markets and will act as an effective subsidy to home country manufacture. Try to avoid wars with foreign Naval powers and this type of policy does tend to upset the colonials and the powers who you have banned.

- Take a position with a) built in trade advantage like one of the China ones with their tea and manufactures, b) Sat on one of the great trade routes like Sweden before the Russian and Ukraine trade develops ways to avoid paying you tax like building own port on land stolen from you or one of the Western German states able to tax the Rhine trade or c) Or almost counter logically you take over one of the natural traders like England, The UDP, Venice, Genoa which seem to have a built in game advantage........invest some cash......and just follow a policy of beign neglect allowing those bright merchant chap's to do their thing while you count the profits.

Austria (and I have played it) has many advantages. Unless you mess up or get the blame for things going really wrong Honour seems to flow naturally to the Emperor in ways English Govts of all types can only dream about and in terms of quality of troops it has the 2nd best Army in the game (after Sweden) and for balance of troop types it has the it has the best Army. It is also you do not have to worry about a deep water Navy or the protection of colonies half way round the globe.

However it does not have an easy of the shelf economic policy it can adopt and finances aways seem to be a bit of a weak point for Austria both in game and Historically. In the actual WSS Austria went bankrupt in 1703 and needed English help to stay in the fight, in the Seven Year War Prussia was not saved from total defeat by the miracle of Brandenburg (Change in Russian policy which was soon reversed) so much as Austria going bankrupt again.

I am not saying Austria is poor......compared to say Prussia it is very rich......it has reasonable tax income, some trade income and honour income is good. But I suspect it is economically the weakest of the Great Powers with the exception of Sweden (which I view as a blown up 2nd rate power rather than a first rank power) with more limited options to increase its income compared to others. While the gap between its resouces compared to the damands on them seem vanishingly small going into negative.

Some people believe that one option for Austria in 1700 is do a deal and to get part of Carlos II lands and increase your tax base this way. In case anyone thinks G7 Leopold made an error in his all out backing of son No2 (me ) I think its fair to say having own family in Madrid has gained Austria:

- Close to £30m in subsidy and investment transfer
- Access to the products of Spanish R & D and animal breeding......for free! Ok we dont do Goats !!
- Military help which played a key part in the Austrian recovery of Franche Comte
- Access to Spanish colonial markets.......the door is wide open, the red carpet is laid.

Ok some people would suggest that the Spanish are so poor in G7 that its not worth trading with them. That however is not the experience of Moldavia, Genoa and other states and companies which actively engaged. Plus the Spanish Treasury suspects its tax on foreigners is a honesty box left on the end of the harbour mole which someone has thrown a fishing net over it. While other tax income is based on the 1204 cenus and self assessment since the Govt is now paying out more in wages to the military, bills for school dinners and poor relief than total income for the commons.

In retrospect saying anyone with 4 legitimate kids in school also led to a far larger drop in Spanish tax base than expected. Either people are double counting and borrowing kids or Spanish men under Carlos the Good are all hugely macho and virile and very loyal to their wives. Following the Hapsburg policy of See no evil, listen to no evil etc I am not dareing to question Agema figures and going with 2nd option. But some day I do intend to move that bloody fishing net covering the honesty box and close down my section of the Rhine for a fishing contest since clearly no one at all is using it.

Stuart Bailey wrote:My own view is that there is not a wrong or right way to run an economy policy in Glori du Roi but it does help to have an "Economic Policy" in place and let Agema know what you are trying to do.  Also it helps if you actually invest some of your profits.  

There are certainly positive things you can do (and things you can avoid doing) if you want a growing economy.  My top 10 suggestions include:

1. Invest in a trade area at the right time (earlier in the year the better)
2. Invest in a new trade area with recruits (otherwise the investment return may disappoint)
3. Reinvest each year in existing trade areas (otherwise the return from previous investments tends to fall)
4. Replace losses due to piracy, bandits, war, shipwrecks
5. Spend time on diplomacy so that if you get hit by famine, your friends will try to help you out (famine, especially consecutive famines, can really wreck an economy)
6. Invest in grain alternatives such as fish which can offset the effects of famine when it happens.
7. Build appropriate infrastructure to improve transport, etc, remembering that if you don't have the technology or spend money on poor relief, your canals/roads will soon slip back a level.
8. Avoid war (especially in your own territory - invading armies can destroy the infrastructure you've just built).
9. Avoid trying to raise honour at the expense of EH.  I don't know how rigorously this old rule is enforced now, but it used to be the case that honour and EH varied inversely, so if you push too hard at pleasing merchants, honour suffers; and if you concentrate on pleasing nobles (or demanding nobles please you) then EH suffers (probably because the nobles are not reinvesting their income, but spending it on frivolities).
10. Focus on products or specific trade areas where you have an advantage.  I have known some positions build very successful economies by only investing in their domestic markets and ignoring foreign/colonial trade.  It might be boring, but it can be profitable and you don't have to worry about piracy.

I think these apply irrespective of whether you are interested in your economy or not because every position needs money.

I'm not sure playing a position with a large population (tax base) necessarily helps because the cost of infrastructure improvements is much higher.  Taxes can be considered more reliable than trade income, but they are also more vulnerable to EH.  EH below 5 will reduce the tax take year on year if not corrected which is the main reason consecutive famines can quickly destroy years of patient economic development.  Cutting taxes might increase EH by 1, but reduces the tax take so it doesn't always help.  Also since most positions need to ask Parliaments before changing taxes, there is an impact on honour.  So my view is that all positions really need some trade income, even if the best mix between tax and trade revenue will differ.

Stuart and I have long debated the free trade vs navigation act approach, just as we have differences over the merits of 0% trade treaties vs standard 10% tariffs. Both can work, but my view is that free trade always favours the stronger party in the short-medium term (and in some cases longer term as well).  

The 'natural trader' advantage is not that significant - it doesn't improve returns, merely gives an additional advantage to compete outside home trade areas.  It is also balanced by the proximity of other 'natural traders', so England competes with UDP, Venice competes with Genoa.  The advantage is likely to help if the competing 'natural trader' is inactive or has been neglected, but if both are focusing on trade then they cancel each other out.

I disagree that Sweden is economically disadvantaged.  They have lands on both sides of the Baltic so could easily dominate the Baltic trade area (before Russia builds St.Petersburg).

I generally concur with the advantages/disadvantages of Austria.  Austria should find it easy to have high honour provided of course that the Emperor acts like an Emperor and doesn't neglect Imperial business.  I think Austria can compensate for the geographical disadvantages if she links her economy in to other HRE states, gaining access to their ports and passing measures in the Diet to improve the economy of the entire HRE.  Since Austria has the largest population (and tax base), she should gain most from the creation of an economically strong HRE.  This isn't something that can be done quickly because of the number of nations involved, but it is probably worth pursuing as a medium term objective.  As I see it the problem for Austria is not so much on the income side, but the expenditure - an Emperor is expected to fight wars and defend his coronation oath, which inevitably means he can't run down the military.  And few players with a strong military never use it.  So the temptation is to fight a 'short' war which always seems to be much longer than expected, inevitably hits the HRE economy and much of the hard work building up the economy is undone.  I think it is probably possible to play Austria and focus on the economy, but unless you are very fortunate to be in a game where there is a peaceful France, peaceful Ottomans, peaceful Russia, the Spanish Succession has been resolved and you have enough allies willing to help you in any war, it may be hard to sustain a long term economic advantage.  There are some players who are never happy unless there is a war somewhere for them to join in, and however much larger nations want to keep out of wars, there is always pressure to take part.

Of course if your 2nd son is handing out £30M in gifts along with free sheep/cattle and trying to build up your economy for you, then it will be rather difficult for you to fail to improve your finances.  It does make strategic sense for Spain to subsidize Austria in this way if only to help restore Austria's capability to fight, but some people might think that takes away your stated game objective and much of the enjoyment you will have trying to do the work yourself.  While France may well see it as another chunk of the missing money being given away by the chief suspect, and decide he should declare war on Austria to get it back.  It would also give another reason for Spanish involvement in the fraud - how many thieves have drawn attention to themselves by trying to spend unexpectedly large sums?  So far in one month Spain has admitted giving £20M to the shareholders of various companies and now £30M to Austria.  This may be classed as petty cash by Spain, but it definitely looks suspicious.