Game 10

That Petro Colonna tells a great tale! Poor Cardinal Portocarro. You try to have a nice quiet black sabbath and the frenchies spoil your fun.

Got to agree, loved that story. Whoever wrote it has a bit of a talent for creative writing.

Jason wrote:Got to agree, loved that story.  Whoever wrote it has a bit of a talent for creative writing.  

But surely if the story is in the Murcurius Politicus it must all be true!  

I wonder if Cardinal Portocarrero has been caught at a Black Mass if he will now need one of those Scots Lawyers to get him off?

Well the paper does keep reporting on noble Scottish navy ships patrolling to protect innocent sailors from the horrors of piracy so yes it always reports the truth...

Jason wrote:Well the paper does keep reporting on noble Scottish navy ships patrolling to protect innocent sailors from the horrors of piracy so yes it always reports the truth...

Of course! Piracy is beyond reprehensible. Rum, sodomy and the lash! Everybody knows all right-thinking sailors want Whisky, sodomy and the lash.

Deacon wrote:

Jason wrote:Well the paper does keep reporting on noble Scottish navy ships patrolling to protect innocent sailors from the horrors of piracy so yes it always reports the truth...

Of course! Piracy is beyond reprehensible. Rum, sodomy and the lash! Everybody knows all right-thinking sailors want Whisky, sodomy and the lash.

And bagpipes...don't forget the bagpipes...

This is why the pirates in G10 are doomed...why I hear some even prefer French wine over rum! Clearly they are a bunch of landlubbers playing in rowing boats

Jason wrote:Well the paper does keep reporting on noble Scottish navy ships patrolling to protect innocent sailors from the horrors of piracy so yes it always reports the truth...

First we have black masses & naked whore's dressing as Nuns.  Now its "Innocent" Sailor Boys being "Protected" by big men in skirts?  I am getting worried that G10 is starting to suffer leakage from Scrabble??????

If Triads, Thuggee, opium and the "Green Fairy" start to show up in G10 along with any Characters called Farnworth, Col Flashman or Otto von is when players should get really worried.

Jason wrote:

Deacon wrote:

Jason wrote:Well the paper does keep reporting on noble Scottish navy ships patrolling to protect innocent sailors from the horrors of piracy so yes it always reports the truth...

Of course! Piracy is beyond reprehensible. Rum, sodomy and the lash! Everybody knows all right-thinking sailors want Whisky, sodomy and the lash.

And bagpipes...don't forget the bagpipes...

This is why the pirates in G10 are doomed...why I hear some even prefer French wine over rum!  Clearly they are a bunch of landlubbers playing in rowing boats

Lucky the French Corsairs are privateers not Pirates

Though it probably should be admitted that some prefer French Brandy to Rum and have substantial investments in brothels.

Joking aside, was it last month's paper that had spanish warships chasing spanish trade ships? Maybe Spain is privateering itself!

Deacon wrote:
Joking aside, was it last month's paper that had spanish warships chasing spanish trade ships? Maybe Spain is privateering itself!

It was...and this month we have the Spanish Navy escorting merchants against...Spanish warships...

MADNESS? THIS IS GAME 10!!!!!

Jason wrote:

Deacon wrote:
Joking aside, was it last month's paper that had spanish warships chasing spanish trade ships? Maybe Spain is privateering itself!

It was...and this month we have the Spanish Navy escorting merchants against...Spanish warships...

MADNESS?  THIS IS GAME 10!!!!!

If Rodger the Dodger has ordered his fleet to sea in November perhaps it was not a black mass at all just a bit of White Weather Magic trying to avoid a full house off earthquake, dead mother, famine, sunk fleet in a storm which might otherwise convince a lot of people that King Ridger is breaking the laws of man & God when he usurped the throne!

Wonder if top notch Scots Lawyers could plead this to the Inquestion?

I rather suspect the mother of the king expired of that dread disease "knew too much". Very bad thing to come down with when the legitimacy of a throne is in question.

All sounds a bit Catholic and pagan witchery for a good Scots lawyer to get involved with...

...though I should point out the Scots have always been happier at burning those accused of withcraft than the English...our southern cousins have (for the most part) seen such claims as 'rustic'...whereas in Scotland we see Devil worship as an affront to the good lord...and their punishment saves on good firewood...

The Rozwi Indaba - The Voice of Africa

November 1701.

"There is always something new out of Africa"

Dear readers of the Indaba, it seems the above statement does not apply this month. Carry on as normal, now.

Suffer the famine as you will. And pay no heed to talk that might arrive from lands to the west of Wankie.

No, this is not censorship of the press.

I think Spain probably got the Printing space usually reserved for Africa,

Could it be that Spain has suddenly gone active, did someone ignore the health warning & pick up the position.

Wonder if the Cardinal will try & bring the Rodrigo's mother back from the dead & claim the death certificate was a forgery.

Or has the Cardinal been seized by agents acting on behalf of the French Corsairs. So he can be burnt at the stake for witchcraft.

Vampires, Zombies & Warlocks, is G10 turning into a fantasy epic?

Well the Indaba could have reported on Herr van Pftenne, Baden-Baden's leading lepidopteran, and his reported interest in travelling to warmer climes. But Africa is a big place, and Rozwi's only got 600+ types of butterfly flitting around, so he might choose elsewhere in the continent or travel to Asia.

The Indaba only publishes hard, factual news. Mostly.

Is the Rozwi Indaba, willing to print a Butterfly lovers weekly supplement?

If it is then Herr van Pftenne, The Dutch ambassador to Baden could well be on his way to sunnier climes.

Ah, I stand corrected. The UDP's leading lepidopteran, Mijnheer van Pftenne.

Or is it, plain and simple, Meneer van Pftenne?

Not that it matters, I always anglicise things in the game wherever possible. It makes it so much easier.

Maybe the good man can get on the same boat as the French ambassador to the Papacy as the good man appeared in Rome for his audience with the Pope & a few days later was in China talking to Lord Fong, has France created some new technology to travel the world so fast, or is it a branch of magic usually practiced in Madrid?

Maybe the Chinese sent a kite for him?

More worried if it was a Rocket.

Ha! Just spotted that, now you mention it.
It was Edo and the Shogun, however, not Fong and China (I only mention, as I got confused and couldn't place the conversation). Either way, he beat Phileas Fogg and his 80 days!

You confused the GREAT Lord Fong with the midgets of Japan???? If that was G8 you'd find 100,000 Chinese warriors coming ashore from 500 Great Junks by now to show you the error of your ways

You people all just don't understand the French is all.

Louis is getting a bit soft in the head after the visit by Dr. Who.

To make things easier for him, all foreign ambassadors are now called Alexandre Maurice Blanc de Lanautte after a french diplomat that hasn't even been born yet: Blanc de Lanautte Wikipedia

My somewhat delayed copy of the Nov 1701 Mercurius Politicus has shown up and I see why people are getting concerned.....even turned the packet upside down and gave it a good shake and still the only mention I could find of Africa was "Alls well" under the weather.

For non G10 players the other highlights in the news is:

1) The Moghul has taken a undefended Hyderabad & the King of Nagpur confirmed he is still loyal to the Empire, is not and has never been in revolt etc, etc......personally I think he protest's too much but the Moghul troops were too wet to care. Elsewhere the mines, siege guns and the whole Moghul Campaign seems to be sinking into flood trenches before Maharatan fortresses.

You would have expected the Confederation to have followed up some of its victories of last month with further attacks. But Maharaj-Prince Shrimant who is still very young has clearly been told by his mum/nurse etc that its much too wet to go out and play with those nasty rough & very wet & muddy Moghul types and he has to stay indoors polishing his Tulwar and looking longingly at the Moghul Cavalry outside Poona.

Ref the other thread on G10 the important lesson would seem to be ....Do not try and dig mines in a Moonson.

2) The Royal Steward of Poland continues his master class in hunting/religious stuff/being nice to elderly widows and leaving everyone in the dust of his honour score............clearly he thinks that if by 1710 he can get his Honour Score up to say 60 he may have made enough friends and influence to convince a Polish Diet that the sky is blue or something like that.

3) After some inspired Oratory & diplomacy (Bribes? Threats??) Its been generally agreed by nearly everyone inc the Army/Fleet/Sedici in Naples that Federico de Franchi Doge of Genoa is also the Viceroy of Naples. The major exceptions would seem to be Venetians who think he is a Pirate and who are now holding the good Doge/Viceroy's personal Captain & Ship captive and have blockaded him in Naples.

- With Genoa building new walls and trying but currently failing to hire Swiss Troops and very nasty language from Venice ref taking the flagship of Genoa and going on about the piracy, treachery, etc, etc of the poor old Doge of Genoa does this mean War?

- Oddly even the Doge of Venice "Ally?" the Empire seems to think the Doge of Venice may have gone a bit too far in taking the Flag Ship of Genoa without so much a declaration of War. Meanwhile a French Fleet has shown up to Seaward of the Venetians who have Naples under blockade. Clearly the Venetian Pirates are really, really bad men and foes of Philip of Anjou King of Naples and his most Noble Viceroy and stout hearted French Sailors should reduce them to so much matchwood.

- But who will Louis XIV listen too the lilly livered chaps in his diplomatic corp or the Navy who know when they have a foe outnumbered, outgunned and trapped against a lee shore & the guns of Naples and ripe for a good kicking unless they can do some very fancy sailing.

4) The other party who may not agree to Franchi being Viceroy of Naples is King Rodrigo (?) of Spain who with Cardinal Portocarrero away in Rome (getting up to God Knows what dodgy deeds......Satanic rites, Black Magic etc) suddenly seems to have come to life even though he seems to have some doubts/hazy knowledge about his own mother, his rights to the throne and the state of the Nation.

- I suspect this may be a new player for Spain in which case someone really likes a "Challenge" or is reading his first return and thinking "why exactly did I ask for a nice relaxing position in sunny Madrid" & "That Cardinal has got to go"

5) First steps for the new Government in Madrid included a) Sending out town criers to say how great it is under "Good King Rodrigo"....many of them got beaten up by people who did not agree due to the famine and everything b) Introduce a Convoy system to stop any more Spanish Merchants being "pressed" into the Navy of King Philip and:

6) Sent Pedro de Cordoba, Count of Priego to Vienna to formally announce that the Kingdom of Spain "agrees with your terms. Namely, that Austria sign a non-aggression pact with Spain, publicly support the new Spanish King, allow our troops to return to Spain....from Naples etc, etc"

- Looks like the Holy Roman Empire has just sold the concert of Europe, the Anglo-Dutch-French partition treaties and Catholic Canon law down the Danube and has done a deal with Rodrigo to accept a man viewed in many places as a usurper as King of Spain. In return for the Kingdom of Naples being ceded to Austria.

- This nice little deal would seem to be all well and good but ignores a) The Viceroy and the Council of Naples who probably do not think the usurper has any right to give them away b) The fact that the will of Carlos II left Naples to Philip of Anjou c) The opinion of the Pope who probably thinks he should be asked before the Emperor ignores Canon law and does deals with usurpers to take over a Papal fief d) The Kingdom of Naples includes Sicily & Sardinia how are the Austrian Army going to take over these places? Swim? Or use the Venetian Pirate Fleet?

7) Lord Godolphin had a nice time playing with fireworkes and Bonfires (pity about the English famine and starving poor spoilingthe view)

Lord Melville had nice time drinking and making it clear that Piracy/Privateering/Pressing Ships or Crew in Scots Waters is against local bye laws and not covered by Letters of Marque.

9) The Stadtholder-King William and the Dutch diplomatic service seems to share Lord Melville opinion of violations of local bye-laws and have developed a thing about butterfly's. Will be interesting to here what they say when they put down the Butterfly net and read the diplomatic cable from Vienna saying that the Partition treaty William of Orange has worked so hard on across 4 versions has been ripped up by Vienna.

10) Another one with a thing about Merchant Protection is Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany who wants to set up a escape route for Cardinal Portocarrero so he can flee Italy to Valencia via Tuscany. Clearly a fellow member of Portocarrero's Coven!

- Clearly the Anglo-Dutch-Scots fleet can order Corsairs to bugger off and take your letters of Marque with you.....before you disturb the fish, butterflies, peace of Europe etc but can the Tuscan Fleet do the same? This be nasty to Corsairs and gain honour points is getting out of hand! Will someone please start a war and make with the proper letters of Marque