Sept 1714 Gloire du Roi has shown up and for non G7 types here is the news:
1) - In the most important new's item of the month (for cricket lovers) a Royal Select XI which included King James III in person, defeated the county Champions: Devon. The Devon captain's very odd field placement, selection of who was to bowl which left Devon two star quick bowlers un-used and his running out of the three best Devon batsmen while blocking a heroic seven runs from almost half the balls bowled at Devon batsmen. Has been put down to Captain John Matthews taking a blow to the head when dropping a catch in the Royal Select XI innings.
Anyone who suggests that John Matthews may have not being trying his best to defeat a team which included his King, the Duke of Devonshire (his landlord) and no less than three noble ladies will result in "anyone" being taken round the back of a barn and given a damn good thrashing by the large blacksmiths who are in the employ of John Mattews.
The Devon team drowned their sorrows in a monumental weekend in London, paid for by their captain out of the proceeds of a friendly sporting wager's he had with the Royal Chamberlain and the Duke of Devonshire Steward that the Royal Select XI would win and the Duke of Devonshire would top score and win the game for the King.
With Devon's scoreing shots all making Lady Mary Swinburne (next Duchess of Devon???) run so much that she was about to swoon into the arms of the top scoring hero of the hour. Thomas Foster MP - the Mad Jacobite choice for a Mad Jacobite and a Northern Lover of the true spirit of Cricket who could certainly see the Holy Game being abused by a bunch of Devon pirates and smugglers to help their chief's pursuit of a fair Northern Maid - cut in ahead of Duke and swept the fair Lady Mary into his arms!
To judge from the expression on the face of the Duke and some of his merry men......someone had betterinvent pads, gloves and the box by next season! This means war!!
2) In vastly less important news the Russian Navy had a loss free month - The Persians lost 13 ships one more than the French who lost 12 and maintain their comfortable lead on the Lloyds List of Naval losses in terms of ships. As most of these 25 ships are assumed captured by the other side with crews mostly still alive it is believed the Russians are still well ahead in terms of numbers drowned.
- Interestingly the Franco-Persian Naval war is almost all in African waters with a mere 3 ships out of the 25 reported lost in Indian waters.
In other news:
3) Daniel Defoe is having a House built on Cat Island were Blackbeard used to have his base when a huge Ruby believed to be from Blackbeards loot was dug up when laying the foundations. The question is who holds mineral rights to the Bahamas? The Crown of England, the Czar as leaseholder or as stolen property from the raid on Havana should it go to the Spanish underwriters?
4) In desperate attempt to stop the attack on Genoa - the Bank of St George offered to throw open its books to Papal and French auditors and prove that they have not (knowingly) been handling stolen French money. A offer which has rec'd the full backing of the Papacy and Spain etc in an effort to save Catholic lives.
- Sadly these plea's for mercy fell on the deaf ears of the French War Machine and with support of a massive artillery bombardment which reduced the Church of San Donato and about a quarter of Genoa to cinders with huge loss of civilian life the city was stormed. The French using a Ottoman style perpetual storm with wave after wave of French attackers thrown in to finally carry the breach.
- With no Citadel to fall back into and the Port blockaded by the French Navy under Rene Duguay-Trouin (a close relative and name sake of original who was killed in Dublin? Or more Necromancy?) the Doge of Genoa surrendered without conditions to try and stop the slaughter of his people.
- It remains to be seen what French intentions actually are but dropping mortar bombs on it seems a odd way to preserve possible evidence.
5) In a rather more small scale bombardment and sack James Scarsfield 2nd Earl of Lucan and Irish (?) Jacobite troops loyal to King James III stormed the town of Scarborough on the Island of Tobago while raging against "Traitors and Protestants". The town was unsuccessfully defended by Colonel Killigrews and English Troops of the Jamaica Regt (loyal to ?).
- Tobago a English Island off the Spanish Main used to be infamous haunt for smugglers. But with Spanish Free Trade and low taxes ruining the economic basis for smuggling to the Spanish have the smugglers started buying Spanish goods to be smuggled into England to avoid the 250% tarriff on products like coffee? And this was just a large scale raid by the "Revenue" or is their a deeper reason for such a raid to be lead in person by such a senior Jacobite?
6) To mark what is believed to be the finding of the tomb of King Arthur the Royal Wedding of the Jacobite Princess Royal and the Duc of Berry is to have a Arthurian theme.
7) Anglo-Austrian relations which have been poor for many years seem to have improved a bit with the English Parliament in Warwick agreeing to lower tarrifs on trade with Austria to 10% while the Austrians offered Jethro Tull a job. But what does he know about Goat farming?
The English Parliament also passed some C14 act against Roger Martel who these days is Spanish Viceroy of Africa.
9) The Dutch would like a 1,000,000 ducats from Russia to build laddel dredgers.......who much is that in real money?
10) King Charles XII of Sweden (or King in Sweden as he is now to be known) has married Lady Sophie Rosenkrantz and sorted out last months problems with the Riksdag......nearly. Seems the Riksdag need one more clause added which will mean any Kalmar Union Laws will only take effect if voted through by both the Danish and Swedish National assemblies.
11) French have thanked the Russians for trying to broker a peace with Persia but have basically confirmed they are not going to say sorry to the Shah for calling him an Ottoman or anything else he is feeling offended about. And that their peace offer to Persia remains the same as it has been for last three years and the Shah can take it or leave it. This would not seem to give the Russians much to work with.
The honoured Russian Envoy was also asked to bring Russian Department East to heel and stop Prince Golitsyn from mocking French claims. It remains to be seen if Prince Golitsyn pays any attention to the wishes of the Russian foreign office (The men who gave St Petersburg away and killed most of the Russian Navy) or if he will have something to say about trying to find evidence by dropping Mortar bombs on it)
12) Emperor Elect Joseph spent the month visiting hospitals and dishing out medels and new flags to crack Austrian Units in Vienna.
13) In the latest twist to the Desmaret affair it has been reported that the fugitive may have fled from Marseilles on a ship bound for Venice. Does this mean that the French are now going to say sorry to Spain for saying the fugitive and their gold had found a home on the Spanish Main? Or does it mean the French will now bombard Venice in effort to flush out the fugitive and their gold in the same way as they threated Genoa? Has Louis XIV got something against Republic's since he has now attacked Scotland, UDP, Genoa and now Venice?
14) In Madrid Carlos III is very unhappy about the French attack on his friend the Doge of Genoa and held forth about the Hapsburg family being the the last line of defence for freedom, liberty and traditional ways of doing things against absolutism and tyranny. Some people may think that when Charles von Hapsburg talks about freedom and liberty it has a very specific meaning. Meanwhile his Wife and Family went to the Opera and the Autumn art show at the Prada.
- According to Charles von Hapsburg investigations have shown the possible existence of various money trails from Jeweish money lenders in France to banks in Genoa, Hamburg and Spain with the money then seeming to have been paid to Chinese Hongs and other suppliers of legitimate trade. This means according to Charles that if the French have a valid reason to attack Genoa they have an equally valid reason to attack any state with either a bank or international trade.
15) If Charles was upset about Genoa he is going to be even more upset by the fact that Spanish General Staff got hold of a map (published in England so they really should have been on their Guard) showing Mantua as part of the Duchy of Milan so they sent a small garrison to guard the river on which it stands and funded some improvements. This came as an almighty shock to the Tuscan garrison who arrested the equally baffled troops from Naples.
- Looks like the long time Spanish Envoy to Tuscany is going to have to eat lots of humble pie and dish out a lot of solid silver wine coolers and bottles of the good stuff to get Charles men set free. Mantua in particular should do rather well out of the great Nottingham map disaster.
- Could have been worse as the English map makers may have exchanged at least 4 cities between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal states.
16) Ref the Papal States Cardinal Alphonso who is also Bishop of Madrid and Spanish Envoy to the Holy City has had the river Tiber made navigable by Spanish Dredgers and re-filled Jusuit and Roman grain silo's to help Pilgrims and the Jesuits Holy Mission.
17) The above shows the difference between Bourbon and Hapsburg diplomacy in Italy. One is conducted with an Iron Fist and the terror inspired by the Yves d'Alegre the butcher of Genoa and his like. The other is conducted via free trade, large amounts of cash, local Girls like the Queen of Spain and her sisters (born Milan) and elderly Cardinals and envoys. The Duke of Savoy rather showed which he likes better by sending a Envoy from Savoy to sit in the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire. Will Venice follow Milan and Savoy into the Imperial club? Will the Pope crown Josef?
18) The Czar and Tsarina went to visit the River Neva Canal project - expecting to see a very expensive water way under construction. Actually he saw lots a very expensive cleared forest which is now growing again while confused Russian engineers try and work out how to make water flow up hill.
Its Russia.....it involves water and thinks which float on it.......enough said.
19) The Persians have found the Peron Isles............where the hell are the Peron Isles?