Spanish Profile

Spanish Monarchy

The Spanish monarchy of the 15th century rose from almost six hundred years of intermarrying between four families--the Houses of Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre. The kings of Spain, however, were of little consequence among the crowned heads of Europe until the 13th century. Before that time, they lived in uncomfortably cramped quarters in the north of Spain, shut off from the south by the occupation of the Moors. But with the victory of the Castilian King Alfonso VIII at the Battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212 AD, the Spanish monarchs began a slow push to reclaim the peninsula that would continue for the next three hundred years.

In the 15th century, two of the four kingdoms of Spain would rise to supremacy -- Castile in the west and Aragon in the east. The marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon -- who became known as the Catholic Kings -- brought nearly all of Spain together under the control of one monarchy. And in 1492, they would change the face of Spain forever, for in that year the Catholics overtook the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, uniting the country for the first time in history. And of course in the same year a certain Christopher Columbus would make an extraordinary discovery, giving the Spanish monarchs the largest and wealthiest empire since the fall of the Caesars.

Simon Bolivar Founder of Gran Colombia Lived: 1783 - 1830 Traits: Conquistador (+25% vs. Natives), Determined (+100% effect of Liberty Bells on Rebel Sentiment) Simon Bolivar was the founder of Gran Colombia, the first confederation of South American territories free of Spanish rule. Born to a wealthy Venezuelan family in 1783, Bolivar enjoyed a privileged upbringing. He was educated by private tutors in the classical thought of the Romans and Greeks as well as in the more contemporary Enlightenment ideals. He studied both in Venezuela and Spain and traveled across Europe to expand his studies. While in France, Bolivar attended the coronation of Napoleon as the Emperor of France, an act the young Venezuelan saw as distasteful and an abandonment of the republican ideals the French Revolution had attempted to instill. When he returned home in 1807, Bolivar found that the meddling of Napoleon came with him. Napoleon had deposed the Spanish monarchy, and placed his own brother on the seat of the Spanish throne. This placed Joseph Napoleon in charge of the affairs of all citizens of Spain and the Spanish colonies, including Venezuela. Banding together, Bolivar and other concerned members of Venezuelan society declared their territories independent from Spain in 1810. This new Venezuelan republic would last only a year before it was overthrown by forces loyal to the new Spanish king. However, Bolivar and his soldiers successfully retook the Venezuelan capital of Caracas two years later in 1813, an act that would earn the young general the title of "The Liberator." While the title would last, Bolivar's hold on the capital would not, and his army was once again driven out of the city. Gathering allies from Haiti, Great Britain and Colombia, Bolivar once again struck against the Royalist forces. Meeting on the field of battle in Boyaca, Colombia, Bolivar and his forces decisively defeated the Royalists in 1819, allowing the republican forces to assume control of the governments of Colombia and Venezuela. In 1821, Bolivar and his compatriots formally declared the creation of the independent state of Gran Colombia. Bolivar was yet again successful when his aid was requested by Jose de San Martin -- known as the Liberator of Peru -- to help drive the remaining Spanish forces from Peru. His victories had allowed large parts of modern Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru to become free and united under the helm of Gran Colombia. But despite all his military successes, triumph on the political battlefield eluded Bolivar. The many disparate political groups of South America all sought a significant degree of independent power in the nascent Colombian government, whereas Bolivar believed that only a centralized government with a powerful executive could succeed. In an effort to force through his policies, Bolivar declared himself dictator in 1828, but it was a failed gesture. The infighting was too much for Bolivar and in 1830 he left politics and entered a state of self-imposed exile. An unexpected illness claimed The Liberator the very same year. ...

French Profile

French Monarchy
Founded: 486 AD

After the fall of Rome in 476 AD, the citizens of Gaul were left without a ruler. It would be only 10 short years, however, before the region's first King, Clovis I, a member of the House of Merovingian, established the first Frankish kingdom. The four hundred year reign of the Merovingian's dynasty was plagued with uncertainty, betrayal and infighting. Not until the rise of a king known as Charles the Great - also known as Charlemagne - established the Carolingian dynasty in 800 AD did the true beginnings of the French monarchy take hold.

Roughly two hundred years later, Hugh Capet, a relative through marriage of the Carolingians, would rise to the throne and establish the house that ruled France for the next eight hundred years - the Capetians. From their seat of power in Ile-de-France (the current location of the French capital Paris), the Capetians split into numerous branches over the centuries. Several of these branches came into great power, including the Valois, who ruled France from 1328 until 1589, and the Bourbon, who ruled from 1589 until the French Revolution in 1792. So widespread was the power of the Capetian line that their descendents held thrones from Constantinople to Portugal.

Samuel de Champlain
Founder of Quebec
Lived: 1567 - 1635
Traits: Cooperative (Natives are more tolerant, -50% time spend living among Natives to learn a new skill), Enterprising (+100% Native conversion rates from Missions)

A soldier, sailor, and scribe, Samuel de Champlain founded the French colonial capital of Quebec and is widely considered the father of New France.

Born in 1567 in Brouage, France, Champlain was trained as a navigator, and began his career as an explorer by visiting the French and Spanish colonies of the Caribbean. Upon his return from the islands, he committed his many observations to paper and gave the resulting report to the French king, Henry IV. His careful observations helped establish him as an authority on the New World. (Interestingly, Champlain mentions in his report the idea of creating a canal across the thin strip of land known as Panama, marking the first conception of what would become the Panama Canal.)

Upon returning to the New World, Champlain traveled to the French holdings in the chilly reaches of North America. He aided in the foundation of the island colony of St. Croix, off the coast of what is today the state of Maine in the United States, and continued to transcribe his observations of the natives of the north.

When the location of St. Croix proved too isolating to make a profitable trading post, Champlain suggested to the patron of the colony, a man known as De Monts, that a trading post along the St. Lawrence could be a successful investment, if given the proper leadership. De Monts agreed and selected Champlain to lead the colony.

On July 3rd, 1608, after sailing down the Saint Lawrence River, Champlain began the construction of the colony of Quebec. In order to protect his newly founded colony, Champlain established relations with the local Algonquin and Huron natives, and formed an alliance with them against the neighboring Iroquois and their English allies. Despite numerous raids by the Iroquois and skirmishes with the English, Champlain kept the colony alive and thriving. He made frequent trips back to France in order to secure funds to continue to support the continued growth of his blossoming colony.

In 1629, Quebec was finally taken by the English, and Champlain was captured. He was exiled to England as a prisoner of war before being returned to France. Unable to return to his New World home until 1632, Champlain was able to enjoy Quebec only three more years before passing away.

Louis de Frontenac
Governor of New France
Lived: 1622 – 1698
Traits: Cooperative (Natives are more tolerant, -50% time spend living among Natives to learn a new skill), Militaristic (free promotion to Grenadier I) Born to a well-to-do family in 1622, de Frontenac was led from an early age towards the path of the career soldier. By the age of fifteen, he had enlisted and shipped off to Holland to aid in that country's war ...

English Profile

English Monarchy
Founded: 927 AD

The modern English monarchy was born out of a long series of external conquests and internal revolutions. Most historians date the beginnings of the English monarchy to the ninth century, when the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex successfully established sovereignty over numerous other prominent houses. The House of Wessex would rule England nearly uninterrupted until 1066 AD, with only a brief thirty year gap in the 10th century when they were temporarily removed from power by Viking invaders.

In 1066 AD, the Norman conqueror William crossed the English Channel, defeated the restored Wessex monarchy at the Battle of Hastings, and began nearly four hundred years of rule over England by kings of French lineage. This lineage, known as the Plantagenets, were descendents of the count of Anjou, a region in northern France. The Plantagenets eventually split into two other English Royal Houses, the House of Lancaster, which ruled England 1399 until 1471, and the House of York, who took control after the removal of the Lancesters and ruled until 1485.

In 1485 a Welsh nobleman named Henry VII, a member of the House of Tudor, overthrew the House of York, giving rise to the monarchy that would change England to a greater degree than any before it. King Henry VIII, the second Tudor king, turned the small island nation of England from a speck on the periphery of Europe's vision into a formidable player in European politics. Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth I, however, would make England one of the most powerful nations on Earth and create an overseas empire.

John Adams
Second President of the United States
Lived: October 30, 1735 - July 4, 1826
Traits: Tolerant (-25% Crosses needed for immigration), Libertarian (+25% Liberty Bells in all settlements) A diplomat, politician, lawyer and firebrand, John Adams was one of the driving forces of the American Revolution. Born in 1735 in Massachusetts, Adams trained as a lawyer and rose to a prominent position in the colonial legislature, earning himself a reputation as a staunch opponent of the English. In 1770, however, when a group of British soldiers fired on a mob of unarmed American citizens - the so-called Boston Massacre - Adams was selected to defend the soldiers. While fearing that acting as defense on such a trial would tarnish his reputation, Adams discovered his worries were unfounded. After the trial, his reputation only grew as he became known as a defender of the rights of all men - even the English. His knowledge of law and history as well as his burning desire to break with England made him a popular voice among those colonists unsatisfied with their second-class status. Adams wrote numerous articles decrying the acts taken by England to restrict the liberties of the unruly colonists. He attended both Continental Congresses, establishing a reputation as a brilliant political thinker. In 1776, when offered the historic opportunity to pen the Declaration of Independence, Adams deferred to Thomas Jefferson, who he saw as better respected by the whole of the Congress. When it came time for the states to author their own constitutions, Adams' legal sagacity made him a popular mentor among the individual state congresses. In 1777, Adams was sent abroad to Europe in order to help negotiate a favorable peace between England and the colonies, and secured a significant loan from the Dutch in order to aid his newly birthed home-country. In thanks for his impressive work abroad, upon his return to the United States in 1789, Adams was elected the country's first Vice President. In 1796, George Washington stepped down after his second term and Adams was elected the second President of the United States. His successes in office include narrowly avoiding war with France, increasing the strength of the American navy and appointing John Marshall, the Supreme Court judge responsible for ensuring the independence of the judiciary. After losing the Presidency in 1800 to Thomas Jefferson, Adams retired from politics. He lived as a private citizen until July 4th, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the United States, before he passed away. ...

Civ4: Colonization - Overview

Civilization IV: Colonization puts you in the role of Viceroy of the New World. You are sent by your King and country to establish colonies in the newly-discovered Americas that lie to the west. You face many of the same challenges that faced colonial organizers of the time-competition from other Old World powers, strange native cultures, the problems of establishing profitable trade programs, and the problems of organizing an army from a rag-tag band of colonists.

The game begins with the European discovery of the Americas (1492) and continues until approximately the time of the American Revolution (1792). In the beginning of the game you are given a trading/exploration ship and a small group of colonists. You have no knowledge of what lies ahead of your ship, so you must explore until you find a suitable spot to lay down your first colony. As your colonies grow larger and larger, you inevitably encounter native populations and are confronted with competing imperial powers from the Old World.

To be successful in Colonization, you must balance your need for military might with your need for essentials. You must decide early what your strategy is and pursue it relentlessly, but be flexible enough to adjust to a changing situation. It is very important to have a consistent policy with the natives, because your handling of those relationships are critical. Finally, you must build a colonial society that has the infrastructure to survive a test by fire-the War of Independence.

In Colonization, you have the chance to change history. As a colonial power, you decide the policies, you make the plans, you choose what is important and what is insignificant. Finally, you will be called upon to decide when to declare independence from your mother country.

As a complete reimagining of the 1994 classic, Colonization is a total conversion of Civilization IV that combines Civilization's addictive "just one more turn" gameplay with all-new graphics and features that add more depth to the franchise. New features, such as a brand-new interface, improved diplomacy options and the included modding tools ensure that Colonization will be the next great title from gaming's premier strategy game developer.