How to begin? Well, I was playing a game on Earth, Deity level, and Raging Hoards. I was the head of the English Monarchy. At first, things did not turn out too well. The French were following their expansionist policies having allied themselves with Russia. Oddly enough, I had signed an alliance with Spain! Anyway, the French were sweeping across Europe and because of my alliance with King Philip II, I found myself caught in between a debilitating war that lasted well over 300 years. The French had almost achieved a landing near Plymouth, but my navy managed to sink all of their troop transports. China, India and Japan were pretty well off, having no conflict to disrupt their civilization. The war reach a surprise ending when none of the powers gained anything. Spain, France and Russia retained their cities and only lost money and troops.

I, however, had to divert all of my funds into building an efficient navy, so my economy was pretty much ruined by a pointless war. London and Liverpool were on the verge of civil disorder and to make things worse, Newcastle was overrun by barbarians! Undaunted by a string of bad luck, I recaptured the city and satisfied the needs of my people. Then I achieved something I thought would never be possible: PEACE. Having isolated myself from continental European politics (which ended the Anglo-Spanish alliance, mind you) I nurtured English power until the day came (it was about 1100 BC) when the aspect of colonization came into my list of to-do's.

So, I packed three galleons full of settlers and musketeers along with two Frigates stuffed with Dragoons and Cannons and made my way across the previously undiscovered New World. There I founded Charleston, Boston, Jamestown, New York, Savannah, and Halifax and from there begins the foundation of the British Empire. *Sigh!* about ten turns later, I found myself in direct competition with France once again and this time they had formed a coalition with Russia and Spain! Playing a defensive game (I had TRIED an offensive strategy, but the French Navy had a strong presence in the Channel and the Northern Sea along with the Russian and Spanish Navies) I barely managed to hold on to the British Isles.

However, luck was with me this time and the British Navy sunk most of the Franco-Russian-Spanish Navy. Another twenty turns or so down the road saw the close of the war and the only sole territorial gain I had made (By fluke actually) was the Russian port of Minsk. Yes, it might have seemed insignificant then, but it helped immensely in the colonization of Japan and China. War broke out once again. This time between China and Russia and, having built up my army ( I had about 30+ units) and improved my navy (20+ ships at best), I joined in the fray.

Minsk served as an excellent port in which I could station my ships. Russia's navy was virtually non-existant, as the city of Minsk was their only sea port. Sadly for the Chinese, they lost 3/4 of their cities to the Russians. Here was where the British under King Henry IX (me) thwarted Russian ambitions. I stationed cannons outside the captured cities and bombarded them into submission, thereby allowing the Chinese to march back in. My reward? An alliance with the Imperial Chinese Court, and the "right" to establish my first Chinese colony of Hong Kong followed by Dutch Harbour. Trade rolled right along and gold was filling the Royal coffers to the brim. I made contact with Japan and soon found myself embroiled in yet ANOTHER war.

It was a cold war actually, and it lasted almost 400 years. No one made an attack. Contact with India resulted in an unhappy Mohandas Ghandi and a bunch of Dragoons and Cannons at my doorstep. Hong Kong beat the invaders back and as retaliation, I seized Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta, leaving India virtually under the rule of the British Crown, much like history. With the Indian threat neutralized, I continued to sweep my settlers and navy into Africa, Australia and South America.

By 1780 A.D. the British Empire consisted of about 43 cities spreading across the globe. As usual, good things do not come free. At the time of my imperialist aggression, France and Spain were building their own empires. The French had reached the middle east and were spreading fast across Asia. Believe it or not, I was amazed to find French cities in South America! Spain had colonized northern Africa and were continuing settlement on the fringes of the Sahara. Russia's Empire spread from the Northern Sea to the Pacific Ocean. China had spilled into Cambodia and Mongolia and were slowly creeping toward Malaya and Indonesia. Japan on the other hand, was colonizing Korea and India remained well under the Crown.

Things started to get ugly when India revolted under French influence and Spain along with Russia and Japan were seizing my outposts and destroying my ships on the high seas. Drastic measures were called for and the Royal Army, Navy and Air Force were summoned put a stop to it. I bombarded coastal cities and march Marines into them, ruptured the Spanish lifeline by seizing North Africa, destroyed the French Middle East Army and proceeded to "save" the people of the Middle East from French influence and rule. Russia got on my nerves by attacking Minsk and totally obliterated my only port on the Continent. I marched my Alpine Troops into Moscow and seized Leningrad as a small prize. Japan lost Korea to the British Navy and the French were driven out of South America. Africa, Australia and most of Asia were soon under British rule.

I finally lost patience with Japan when she declared war and sunk my Pacific fleet (consisted of 4 battleships, 3 destroyers and 6 submarines along with 2 carriers and 8 fighter planes). So, I destroyed Kyoto and marched into the Land of the Rising Sun. So ends Japanese civilization. France was undone when I paradropped into Paris and Spain was left begging for mercy when I nuked Madrid. By the year 2000 the only civ left was China, my long time ally who stood by my side during all of the major wars. My empire had more than 250,000,000 people and the British armed forces were supreme. Eventually, I retired, having built the greatest empire ever while maintaining the pressures of a monarchy. That's my story. As you can see I pretty much followed a historical outline. Too bad you can't grant independence to cities you have no need for anymore. It's a shame.

***
By: Gabriel Montcalm aufgaetenschatz@hotmail.com
***