Scotland cooperative game thread

[Velociryx]

Nonetheless, although Mary is not the diplomat we had hoped for, she IS committed to following in the footsteps of her predecessors, and fully committed to improving Scotland's national infrastructure. She boldly continues to blaze that trail for us, and only three short years after her reign begins, we see a truly massive breakthrough....one that will change everything.

June, 1545 - In the midst of our colonial expansion, we achieve Infrastructure 5, and the ability to promote Mayors, which will help us fight the evils of inflation, and Mary's lifelong goal is exactly that. To reduce inflation to zero, so that we need never suffer under its effects again.

So....1545 MUST be listed as one of the banner years in our nation's history, for it truly marked the beginning of a different era for us, and here's a national snapshot of Scotland as that era dawned. Note that, despite our best efforts, we had sadly slipped and fallen behind the mighty French....

[Velociryx]

Troop Review

[Velociryx]

1545, Naval Review

[Velociryx]

Territory Size Comparison, 1545

[Velociryx]

So...in summary, up until 1545, the raw materials were certainly there, but we weren't getting it done...at least, not as quickly as France and Spain, who were growing significantly faster than we, and in fact, were verging on having economies twice the size of ours. We were growing yes, but it was at a snail's pace.

What happened over the span of the next several years, however, was nothing short of....wonderous.

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

1545
Just achieved Infra 5 BUT, relations with France are at a wickedly low -92. We are ranked as the #5 economy in the world and poised for dramatic growth....the world has never been filled with more promise...or with more danger.

It is a time when our future seemed balanced on the edge of a knife. One misstep, one single miscalculation....if we gave mighty France even ONE excuse to declare a war against us, all our hard work could come undone.

This, however, was a thing that we simply refused to consider. Scotland WOULD succeed. She *would* thrive! We acknowledged the French threat, but did not let it dictate our actions. Rather, we let the promise of growth in both size and strength, until the day came when we would be secure against ANY would-be rival....THAT was the flame and the prize we kept our eyes firmly focused on.

And so, only days after we achieved this remarkable breakthrough in Infrastructural development, Mary, Queen of the Scots, arranged a loan to be taken, and ordered the National Mint to work night and day...true, short-term, this ran completely against her policy of reducing inflation, but there was a long-range purpose behind her actions, and so it began, with reports of our progress flying in on a near-constant basis:

August - Mayoral Promotion in Lothian

September - Our colonies in Bell Isle and Manicouagan grow

October - Mayoral Promotion in Strathclyde

December - Mayoral Promotion in the Highlands

1546
National Stability at +2, 246d in the Treasury

New Leader - Hamilton of Arran rises through the ranks of the Army of Lincoln, giving us some muchly needed leadership for our forces, and bolstering our confidence!

Mayoral Promotions in Yorkshire and Lancashire

March - Colonist to Manicouagan

April Colonist to Belle Isle

Jean Calvin makes his presence known on the world stage

July - Mayoral promotion in Lincoln and we secure a badly needed Royal Marriage with France (relations to -79, buying us precious time to complete the daunting task ahead of us)

August - Belle Isle and Manicouagan colonies continue to expand and thrive, but there are problems, as our nation is faced with a period of religious strife....nonetheless, we will NOT be deterred.

[Velociryx]

Hamilton dispatched to deal with the rebels....

[Velociryx]

With coins flying out of the nation mint as quickly as we can produce them, inflation is spiriling up almost out of control, but we are seeing rapid gains in the building and strengthening of our national infrastructure.

By mid 1547, our entire island home has mayors either in place, or promotions in progress, and by January of 1548, our holdings in Brittany likewise see Mayoral promotions (with Holland getting similar treatment in April of that year). Meanwhile, our steady attention to growing our colonies in the new world (current focus on Belle Isle and Manicouagan) bears fruit, as Manicouagan becomes a full-fledged colonial city in December of 1548.

Yes, there are happenings and goings on in other areas of the world, but we don't care. We aren't even watching world events at this point....EVERY BIT of our attention and effort is going into improving our nation's infrastructure and standing in the world.

By May 1549, all of our Irish posessions have joined the Mayoral promotion parade, and by October, Belle Isle has joined Manicouagan in becomming a full-fledged city! We're making this happen!

More good news in January, 1550....

[Velociryx]

By 1550, our main objectives have been achieved, and we have Mayoral Promotions either completed or occurring in all Scottish provinces, so the decision is reached to continue with full minting of coin until the end of the year, and then, get back to other concerns.

However, with Inflation nearing 11%, the commoners of the realm are decidedly unhappy, and in April 1550, some 6,000 peasants in Kent rise up in rebellion. Malcolm is dispatched to deal them a blow, but is humiliated on the field of battle and forced to withdraw, not to return until December of that year when his army has recovered itself and the rebels are handily defeated.

In 1551 (August), that same dissatisfied group rebels again, but Malcolm is already on scene when they rise up, and he easily defeats them before they can fully organize themselves.

And by 1552...the first tangible signs of the progress our single-minded focus has given us...up two spots, economically...and ready for even greater things....

[Velociryx]

Raw numbers:

France's economy produces 20.4d per month than ours.

In looking at the numbers and adjusting for inflation, that value shrinks to 13.9d per month....not as bad, but still a significant value....the better part of 200d per year...YUK! We MUST strive to do better! The problem is....with our relations with the French so soured, we do not dare grow further by ending either Eire or Anglia, for this will SURELY bring French wrath down on our heads....so....a quandry.

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

1552 and 1553 pass in relative calm and quiet, for which we are grateful....only one rebellion (11k - Strathclyde), which Malcolm handles nicely for us. Our max army size has grown to 50,000, and we currently count 23,357 Infantry and 23,419 Horse under our banner (46,776 total). We watch our inflation fall from 11.3% in 1552, to 10.9% as 1554 dawns, and then....something remarkable happens.

Suddenly the whole equation changes for us.

Spain invites France into our alliance, and THEY ACCEPT!

Gone are our fears of a French surprise attack against us. Gone are our fears about reprisals for uniting the whole of our Island.

We feel confident in our ability to meet any nation on the field of battle and win, save for Spain and France, and both of these are now nominally our allies. So long as this grand alliance holds (France-Spain-Scotland)....so long as the three largest economies in the world stand united, we are free to grow....

Our goals now are to simply steadfastly honor any and all of our alliance obligations, to stay IN this dream alliance!

And many plans are made for our future....

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

Next installment....Unfinished Business - Uniting our Island home

coming soon!

[Nikolai]

Good, good... Things are going our way...

[Velociryx]

1554

A stormy year, filled with surprises, shocks, and upsets, both good and bad.

For the good part (especially for us!), was the news that mighty France had joined the Spanish alliance. As we were powerless, with our own feeble diplomatic ability, to stem the tide of French anger, Spain's move of wooing France into her alliance bed was JUST the catalyst we had been waiting for!

However, in April of 1554, the Knights of Rhodes, long time Spanish allies and vassals declare against the Dutchy of Athens....this proves to be the last straw for the allies of Athens, who fear the unchecked power of the strongest alliance family in Europe, and suddenly we (Spain, France, Scotland, Knights of Rhodes, and new members the Papal States and Venice) find ourselves at war with the alliance of Athens, Poland, Lithuania, Pommern, Austria, and Holstein....thus, the greater bulk of Europe is thrown into chaos and war by the machinations of two very small--and truly insignificant--powers in Europe.

We support this war, to remain in the dream alliance, but have it in our minds to keep our heads low and stay out of the fighting as much as possible. Rhodes and Athens are far, far from home, and are of scant concern to Scottish interests. Let the other members fight and bleed for this cause. We shall support it nominally, but offer nothing in the way of material assistance. It is simply not our fight.

And, while world attention is firmly focused on the shocking events in Europe, we turn our attention to some unfinished business. In June, our loan is repaid, and our military goes on full alert. Although no one IN the rank and file of the military is told precisely why we are suddenly on full alert, no one believes, even for a moment, that it has anything to do with the machinations on the continent. And indeed, they are correct.

October 1st, 1554
War is Declared against England! (Stability drops to -1) - All efforts to Stab, and the Army of Malcolm (11,797/3524) marches on London.

October 20
Malcolm crushes the Army of England, destroying them utterly (there were only 3k of them), and lays siege to the city of London itself (11,637/3492 left in his force), losses amounting to 160 Infantry and 32 Horse....scant indeed.

With the defeat of the only English army, our military maintenance slider is reduced back to 50% and we settle in for the final siege of London. We will accept nothing less than their complete surrender this time. The time of uniting the Scottish Isles is at hand!

In the years leading up to these events, we had slowly developed a 6k cavalry garrison for Holland, and two months after our siege begins, more than twelve thousand rowdy Dutchmen rise up and slaughter the cavalry garrison....Hamilton is dispatched via our fleet to put the rebels down, and once the rebels are crushed, he remains there until February 1556, when a 6k rebellion in Midlands requires his attention. He is promptly called home to deal with this latest threat to our security. A month later, after seeing our siege stall completely for what feels like forever, we see real improvement in the siege of London (walls at -2). This WILL happen!

[Velociryx]

Let our national history show the dramatic import of this date....May 23rd, in the year of our Lord 1556. The day that England vanished forever into the pages of history.

London falls, and our victorious Scottish armies demand their complete and unconditional surrender. England dies, and her blood is added to the veins of our nation! 6 Merchants are promptly sent to OUR Center of Trade in London!

And with this grand acquisition, we also recieve the latest English maps and intelligences, revealing yet more wonders of the new world! A passage to India by rounding the Horn of Africa....vast new territories to explore! These are exciting times indeed! However....there is one more matter of unfinished business to attend to before we can once more turn our attention back to the wonders of the New World, and the men of Eire waste no time in bringing that fact to our attention!

In response to our devouring of England, the Irish declare a war against us on July 1st. The Army of Ulster is mighty indeed, having been fully rebuilt by our own gold gifted to them in earlier days, when hopes were high that we might be able to bring them into the fold peacefully. It has long been clear, however, that our lot will NOT be one of peaceful co-existence with the Irish, and that they will not willingly be added to our growing fold, and so...the die is cast, and our proud nation once more turns its full attention to unfinished business....

By December, we have landed what forces we have available in Munster, with General Hamilton commanding (21,727/3467). These march on Connaught, which has been captured by the Army of Ulster in a cunning and efficient assault on our fortifications there. Outnumbered, yes, but this is a fight we have made before, and we are confident in the abilities of our military leaders. We will prevail!