Games PC EUROPA UNIVERSALIS User Manual

F A I T •HP O W E •RW E A L T

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G L O B A L C O N Q U E S T A N D D I P L O M A C Y F R O M C O L U M B U S T O N A P O L E O N

Europa Universalis

Table of Contents:			Unloading of Army Units from a Fleet		13
			Trading Posts		13
Installation		2	How to Establish a Trading Post		14
			Neighboring Countries		14
Introduction			Diplomacy		15
			War		15
A Simulated Europe		3	To Prepare for War		15
What is Europa Universalis?		3	To Declare a War		16
Why is the Clock Ticking?		3	To Win a War		16
What is the Goal of the Game?		4	Offers of Peace		16
The Game - An Overview		5
How do I Play?		5	Activities
How is the Map Designed?		6
Geography and Weather		7	Countries		17
			Provinces		17
Learning Scenario			Sea Zones		19
			Cities and Capitals		20
General		8	Trading Posts and Colonies		20
The Top Line above the Map Window		8	Terra Incognita and
The Top Line above the Info. Window		8	Permanent Terra Incognita		21
The Information Window - a Province		8	Stability and the Wrath of Your Subjects		22
Army Units and Battles		9	What is Stability?		22
Choosing Army Units		9	Things that Lower Stability		22
Movement of Troops		9	Things that Increase Stability		23
Discovered and Undiscovered Terrain		9	What is Affected by Stability?		24
Occupied and Non-Occupied Terrain		9	Rebellions and the Risk of Rebellion		25
Colonization and Economy		10	Liberation Movements		27
To Colonize a Province		10	Religion and Tolerance		28
From HMS Mayflower to Cities		10	State Religion and Provincial Religion		29
The Financial Summary		11	Religious Tolerance		31
The Budget Window		11	Four Important Events		31
Trade and Merchants		12	The Foreign Policy Consequences
Placing Merchants		12	of Religion		32
The Economical Effects of Trade		12	The Effects of Religion on
Fleets and Sea Transport		12	Domestic Politics		33
Loading of Army Units		13	Converting by Peaceful or
			Violent Means		33

Europa Universalis

Politics and Diplomacy		34	Annual Income		59
Diplomacy as a Political Weapon		35	Monthly Income		60
Diplomats and Relations		35	Other Income		60
Royal Marriages		37	Provinces and Population Growth		60
Alliances		38	Level of Development Inhabitants		62
Vassalage		39	Production and Goods		63
Annexation		40	External Factors		66
Refusal to Trade		40	Loans		66
War Affects Your Relations		41	Inflation		68
Tolerance Affecting Your Relations		41	Upgrading the Infrastructure		69
The Holy Roman Empire		42	Managing Your Resources		69
War and Peace		42	Trade and Colonization		70
Casus Belli and Declarations of War		42	Supply, Demand and Market Prices		71
Advantages and Disadvantages of War		43	Centers of Trade, Merchants and
Side Effects of War		44	Trade Income		71
Manpower and the Limitations			The Closing of Japan		74
of Your Provinces		44	Pirates		74
Pillaged Provinces		45	Trading Posts and Merchants		75
War Taxes		45	Colonization of the New World		76
The Goal of War		45	The Treaty of Tordesillas		77
Peace Treaties and War Damages		46	Explorers and Conquistadors		77
Movement and Battle		47	Colonial Growth and
Army Units		48	Economic Consequences		78
Fleets		49	Protecting Your Colonies		79
Commanders and Specialists		50	Technology and Development		79
Movement Restrictions		50	To Develop Over Time		79
Naval Supremacy and Interception		51	To Invest in Stability		80
Naval Battles		52	Areas of Technology and Research		80
Naval Blockades and Ports		53	Cultural Technology Groups		81
Pitched Battles		54	Investing in Factories		81
Retreat		55
Fortifications, Sieges, and Assaults		55	Monarchs		83 - 94
Supply Lines		56	The Archive		95 - 96
Attrition		57	Historic Review		97 - 126
Combat Morale		58	Technical Support		127
Economy and Infrastructure		59	Credits		128
Your Economy is Your Heart		59

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Europa Universalis

Installing and uninstalling the game.

The installation program of Europa Universalis starts automatically when the CD is inserted in your CD player. If your CD-ROM unit does not have the auto run function activated, you may start the installation by double clicking setup.exe, which you will find in the root directory of the CD.

As soon as the installation program has started, you may install Europa Universalis and, if necessary, DirectX 7.0, which is included on the CD. When the actual installation has begun, just follow the instructions on the screen.

If Europa Universalis is already installed on your computer just press Play in the installation program to start. You may also start the program from a suitable button in the Program menu under the Start menu. You may uninstall Europa Universalis at any time by using either the Installation program or using the Add and Remove program of the Control Panel.

System requirements:

Pentium 200Mhz (PII 300Mhz recommended)

Windows 95/98/NT/2000 (Service pack 4).

2Mb of Video RAM (Supporting 800x600), 64Mb RAM (128 Mb RAM recommended)

180Mb free hard drive space, 2x CD-ROM drive, Mouse or equivalent input device DirectX

7.0 or higher (Included with the game).

Requirements for network games:

Bandwidth of at least 512 kb/s

TCP/IP protocol installed

Commands for the user interface

•"Shift" + "F12" opens the chat function of the network game.

•"F11" saves a screenshot as a bitmap picture on your hard disk.

•"Pause/Break" pauses the game/Restarts the game in progress.

•"Ctrl" + "+" increases game speed (not available in network games).

•"Ctrl" + "–" decreases game speed (not available in network games).

•"+" increases map size.

•"–" decreases map size.

•"ESC" and "ENTER" often functions as Yes/No in dialogue windows.

•"F12" opens the console. Press "F12" again to close.

•"Home" centers the map on your capital.

•"F1" lets you view missions or victory points.

•E/P/N are quick commands for easy switching of map views.

•"F10" opens the start menu for saving and loading games, including settings.

Commands for Armies and Navies

•"PageUp/PageDown" for fast jumps between your various units.

•"Ctrl" + "[number]" associates the chosen unit with that number.

•"[Number]" chooses the numbered unit, press the number again, and the map will center on the chosen unit.

•"s" divides the chosen unit into two equal parts.

•"a" quick command during siege.

•"u" to unload armies from a chosen fleet, if you have troops onboard.

•"g" forms selected units into a single unit.

How to join a pier-to-pier game

•Start Europa Universalis as normal

•Click the [multiplayer] button

•Enter your desired name and press [internet]

•Enter IP address of the host and press [join]

How to host a pier-to-pier game

•Inform players of game and your IP address

•Start Europa Universalis as normal

•Click the [multiplayer] button

•Press the [host] button to host your own game

•Select the scenario you wish to play

•Specify Victory options by accessing the Victory menu

•Specify Game options by accessing the Option menu

•When all options are set press [Start]

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A) Introduction

A Simulated Europe

This game tries to simulate the interaction between the European countries during the period between 1492 and 1792 as realistically as possible. This means that Europe is divided into provinces, which in turn make up the various countries. The provinces have populations that produce goods, pay taxes, engage in trade, and are recruited as soldiers and sailors. Each population has a religion that incorporates their view of the world and moral position. If the monarch and the government act counter to morally acceptable behavior, there is a risk of rebellion. The monarch and the government (actually the player) are responsible for the country and represent the country to the rest of the world. In this way all of the European nations are part of the same quarreling family, where some co-operate and others fight.

As time goes by the European nations change, both in political, economic, and military strength. Depending on how well your country is able to manage its resources, defend its provinces, and invest in technology, nations will rise or fall in power and status. Historically the Ottoman Empire peaked during the 16th century, after which its power slowly waned, until it was finally regarded as the "Sick Man of Europe" in 1792. Sweden began the period as a backwards place on the outer fringes, and then gained status as a great power during the 17th century, only to lose that status at the beginning of the 18th, to slowly sink into a sec- ond-rate power during the latter half of the 18th century.

What is Europa Universalis?

Europa Universalis is a game where you can choose a European nation and play its ups and downs over 300 years. The game provides what you could philosophically call a "God perspective;" that is, you lead the country through 300 years, having the opportunity to be at many

places at the same time in order to make decisions.

This is an extensive and advanced game, but do take it easy. By playing the learning scenario and reading all the tips included in the game, and reading the "The Learning Scenario" chapter in this manual, you will soon be able to play the game. In order to master the more subtle parts of the game, you need to play a lot of games and read the rest of the manual.

The game does not pretend to be historically accurate. This means that it does not follow the historical textbooks, because if it had, you would not be able to act differently from the actual governments. Instead you should view the game as an "alternate history," that is, the historic individuals, the nations, and the resources are provided, but you have a chance to act differently. In your game the Thirty Years War perhaps will never break out, or maybe France will conquer America, or PolandLithuania will never cease to exist as a nation.

You lead a country and have a great number of choices regarding war and peace, politics, economics, and religion, but at the same time your resources are limited because of the size and traditions of your nation. You are simply "The Grey Eminence" behind all of the monarchs of your country during the period of the game.

The game contains a number of different scenarios, including the Grand Campaign. The various scenarios usually cover shorter time periods, while the Grand Campaign will let you take your country from 1492 until 1792. When choosing a scenario or the Grand Campaign, you always have the choice of when the game should end.

Why is the Clock Ticking?

In a game like this, which is about historical change, it is not possible to be in every place at the same time. Time in the game is running forward like a clock in reality, providing a real sense of the flow of time, because an English king, for example, did not know how the bat-

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tles against the French in North America turned out until months later. Even war in general was an activity with uncertain results; since you are the one who is moving and controlling all of your troops, you are forced to give priority to some while the clock is ticking away. It also simulates the difficulties of running a large empire in contrast to a small, land-locked country. As a player of Spain, for example, it could be difficult to wage a successful war in Northern Italy, at the same time that you are colonizing a new province in Mexico, and making improvements to the infrastructure in the Philippines.

What you should know and remember is that you may pause the game at any time. The clock stops and the game stands still. In this "pause mode" you can order troops around (although they will not start moving until the game resumes), build army units and fleets, deal with diplomatic offers, make changes in your budget, etc. You may also change the speed of the "clock" at any time, i.e. change the speed of the game, as you perceive it. In the beginning it is advisable that you keep game time at a relatively slow speed, when you are feeling your way around the various parts of the game.

What Is the Goal of the Game?

The goal of the game may actually vary from player to player. The basics for the game are to receive as many victory points as possible. It is meaningless, at this moment, to discuss in any greater detail exactly what provides victory points throughout the game, as we have not yet discussed that area of the game. Instead we will direct you to the list of victory points at the end of the manual. If you play using the "standard" victory conditions, the player with the highest total points becomes the winner, but please note that at the end of the game you will see how many victory points your country has received, and its relative position. This means that you can play a country you find difficult to play just to try to get a better result from game to game, which is also a way of "winning." Another approach is to play Denmark, for example, and try to get more victory points than its perennial enemy Sweden.

You can also choose a couple of other victory conditions other than the "standard" ones. The first choice is "Power Struggle," which means that the country that is first to reach a predetermined number of victory points is the winner. Power Struggle is a good choice if you

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want to play a quick game. The second choice is "Conquest," which means that the country conquering a predetermined number of provinces is the winner. You set the number when you determine victory conditions. Conquest is the number one choice if you wish to decide the outcome of the game on the battlefields. The third choice is "Mission," which means that each country will receive a specific difficult mission, and the player that succeeds first is the winner. Various missions may include: Russia must conquer all orthodox provinces in the Balkans, or Spain must "conquer England." Mission is the choice for players who would like to try something random, yet challenging.

Europa Universalis is about a number of ways of changing history, and changing history becomes a goal in itself in the game, besides winning. How you do it is up to you.

The Game – An Overview

When you start playing you will have a map in front of you. This is the "game board" of the game; in the same way you have a game board in front of you when you play Monopoly or chess. You lead a country, or more exactly, you are a country, and all of the provinces within

the borders of your country belong to you. Provinces outside your country belong to other countries. You also have access to army units (symbolized by little soldiers) and fleets (symbolized by small warships), which you can move around on the map (just like in chess and Monopoly). By clicking a province you get access to information about it in the "information window" on the left side of the screen. Here you are able to construct army units and fleets, invest in infrastructure, and many other things. Exactly what you are able to do and how to do it will be discussed in greater detail later on.

How Do I Play?

Naturally, leading a country during 300 years is not an easy task. To win the game you need to collect as many victory points as possible. Starting the game by waging as many wars as possible may get your country a large number of victory points, but may also lead to quick ruin. It is usually better to collect victory points at a relatively normal pace during all of your 300 years, rather than gaining points quickly during just 100.

The primary problem facing your country is pure survival. The Prussian diplomat who was

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involved in the third partitioning of Poland supposedly said: "A nation not able to defend itself has no right to exist." In game terms your neighbors will try to take advantage of your weaknesses, but will also shy away from your strength. In order to survive you must upgrade your defenses, and have enough army units and well-armed fleets, but you must also pay attention to the development of your nation.

The secondary problem facing your country is development over time. If your country lags behind in economic or military development this will show up in losses on the battlefields. When you consider economic development over time, it helps to think about this simple metaphor. In very simple terms it is like putting money in the bank. If you deposit 100 dollars at 10% interest, you will have 110 dollars one year later, and 121 dollars two years later. You should be aware of the dynamic nature of economic development.

The third problem facing your country is discovering the unknown world beyond the boundaries of Europe. The discovery of new areas, and establishment of trading posts or colonies, is quite costly at the beginning, but will provide a lot of revenue later. The heart of the matter is balancing your country’s priorities and making your resources meet your needs. A colonial empire also needs to be defended, which means you should give the whole idea some thought before you start putting things in motion. You may have to consider matters for the next ten or twenty years ahead if you do not want to lose all you gained due to poor planning.

How Is the Map Designed?

The game is played on a world map. You can’t see everything on the map at the same time, but only the provinces and sea zones familiar to you country. In order to find out more you need to explore the unknown parts of the map, which are called Terra Incognita. This map, which we will call the normal map, shows each province with its name, its type of terrain, whether it contains cities, colonies, or trading posts. It will also show land boundaries between countries. In the sea zones you will see what the weather is like, and whether it is winter or summer in the provinces. Note that a fog stopping you from discovering any army units in the provinces, or fleets in the sea zones covers parts of the map. Areas not covered by the fog include your own country, the countries of your allies, countries in which your monarch has entered royal mar-

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riages, and finally countries with which you are currently at war. In these countries nothing is hidden.

[screenshot of the "normal" map also showing the fog of war]

You may also click on the button labeled the "Political map" in order to view it. Here you will find all of your foreign relations, and by clicking a province in another country you are shown the foreign relations of that country. Note that this is the map you will be using when you wish to perform diplomatic actions. You may also click on the button labeled "Economic map," which shows the goods produced in each province. There is also a "Trade map," showing the trade centers of the world, and which provinces they control. The last map is the "Colonial map," which you use when es-

tablishing trading posts or colonies. Note that each map has a separate click able button, which lets you view each one separately.

Geography and Weather

The game contains five different types of terrain: open terrain, forest, mountains, desert, and swamp. There is also one geographical obstacle: rivers. The terrain types affect the movement of army units, battles, and army unit attrition. Some provinces also suffer the effects of winter, which in turn affect the various terrain types.

Sea zones are also affected by the weather. Certain sea zones may be ridden by storms, or be covered by ice during parts of the year. Note also that attrition is lower in sea zones next to coastal provinces, compared with the open sea.

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B) Learning Scenario

General

The screen you see is divided into two fields, or "windows." The larger window to the right is the world map, of which you only see a very insignificant part. You will see more and more of it as you discover the unknown areas. The white and unknown parts of the map are called "Terra Incognita," which is simply "The Unknown World" in Latin—the language of knowledge and science during this age.

You will also see one province—Ulster, which happens to be your only province, containing your capital. If you left click on Ulster on the map, you will open a picture of your capital in the other window. For the sake of simplicity we call that window the Information window.

The Info window will be described in full a little later. Below the Info window you will find the picture of a historical map, or more correctly, an empty map. This is a world map in a smaller format, which will aid you later in the game when your knowledge of the world has increased. Note the appearance of "tips" whenever a scenario is started. These tips provide quick and abbreviated information about the most important functions of the game. We recommend that you read these. You may also access the "tips" by clicking the menu button at the bottom of the Information window, and then choosing "Tips."

The Top Line above the Map Window

On the top line above the Map window, you will find a border with three symbols and a date—the game clock—followed by another three symbols. The first three show how many Merchants, Colonists, and Diplomats you have available. If you place the pointer above any of the symbols you get information about how often you receive new ones, and what generates them. The clock is shadowed whenever you pause the game, and white when time is running. If you think that the "progress of time" is too fast or too slow, you may change it by click-

ing the menu button at the lower left of the Information window, choosing Alternative, and then following the instructions. The three symbols to the right of the clock show the Stability level of your country, the Manpower in thousands of soldiers, and the contents of your treasury expressed in Ducats, which was one of the most common currencies during the historical epoch. You will receive more background information if you point at the symbols.

The Top Line above the Information Window

The embellished line above the Information window contains five coats of arms. If you left click any of these, specialized information will be shown in the Information window. The shields will provide the following information (from left to right): naval information, land army information, general information about the country and its monarch, the state budget, and the Financial Summary. The military information shows your level of technology, your upkeep costs, and your chances of changing the wages and costs of your soldiers and sailors. The economic information will show the income and expenditures of your country, including how they are allocated. You may also choose how to allocate your research investments in order to develop your technology levels.

The Information Window—a Province

When you left click on your only province, you will see the city of the province of Ulster in the Information window. By clicking on buildings and objects in the Information window, you get additional information about the objects. The buildings are the places where the various officials of your province work. The officials may be appointed to more qualified tasks by clicking the buildings, which will give you more advantages in the game. You may also build fleets and recruit army units.

The church is a very important building. It will be upgraded automatically when the population of the province increases. If you left click the church you will find general information

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about the state of your province. If you click on the text lines that appear when you click on the church, you will get additional information. You may also click on the symbols to get additional information about the economy and religion. In addition to the buildings of the province you also see another shield. The shield shows the most important products of the province, including provincial revenue from trade and taxes. When you appoint officials, for example, you will find that these revenues increase.

Army Units and Battles

Your first task is to recruit an army and fight a battle. Note that there is a "Read more"-but- ton in each "Mission window." We recommend strongly that you read this additional information, as it provides both historical information and information about how the game works. Please note also that by clicking anything under construction, you will find out when the construction is due to be finished.

Choosing Army Units

Besides left clicking a unit, you may also keep the left mouse button pressed and "circling" the unit. You know that a unit is selected when a green circle surrounds it, and you see an elongated rectangle at the base of the unit. The morale of the unit is indicated by the colors red, yellow, or green. A newly recruited unit always starts at the lowest possible morale. It will then increase month by month to the maximum level allowed by your technology level. The Information window provides additional information about the chosen unit, such as unit commander, strength, and attrition. You may also split the unit into two parts, merge units by first choosing all units in a province, and also reorganize – or customize – your units. Finally, you may opt to disband the unit.

Movement of Troops

When you have clicked the area you want to move your army unit into, the troops will start marching. You also see a green arrow showing

the direction of the march. If you wish to do something else for a moment, such as take care of your province, you will see the green arrow if you choose the unit again. As you may have noticed, it will take a relatively long time to move your troops to the new area. The movement of troops takes a varying amount of time depending on the composition of the unit and the state of the province to which you are moving the unit. The province you moved your unit to was undiscovered, giving you the maximum transportation time. In game time it takes at least three months to move an army unit into an undiscovered area. Note that you can reset the speed of the game if you think the pace is too slow at the beginning.

Discovered and Undiscovered Terrain

Discovered terrain is any terrain which is fully disclosed on the map, while undiscovered terrain is only partly visible. The undiscovered terrain is partly covered by white, just like in old maps, where any unknown terrain was represented in this fashion. Ulster was the only discovered terrain when you started the scenario. Now you have discovered some more. You must discover any terrain that is only partly visible before you may conquer it. Normally you need a Conquistador, or land military technology level of 11 in order to discover provinces. Undiscovered sea zones usually require an Explorer or Naval technology level of 21. We have made an exception from this rule in the learning scenario to let you discover provinces at an earlier stage.

Occupied and Non-Occupied Terrain

"A nation always has an army, either its own or somebody else’s," is a classical saying. This is also correct in principle for this game. If you see a province on the map containing a soldier, it is an army unit occupying the province. If the province looks empty you may left click the province. If it belongs to somebody else you will see the level of fortification. Fortifications always have garrisons. Extremely few provinces belonging to European nations completely

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lack fortifications, but there may be colonies without them, or quite undeveloped provinces at the very fringes of Europe. Fortifications are not very common in the New World, but instead have loose confederations of tribes and clans. This mean that somebody occupies almost every territory.

Strictly speaking, sea zones are not occupied. Instead the struggle concerns the shipping lanes. Anyone who is able to stop others from using the shipping lanes therefore exerts a certain influence.

Colonization and Economy

The importance of a good economy cannot be overrated. The economic wealth of your country determines how much of your resources you can invest into various activities, from research to war. What then, are the cornerstones of your economy? Most of your income will come from production and taxes, which are generated by your population. The population

lives in the provinces, which provides two main paths that enable you to broaden your economic base: war and colonization.

To Colonize a Province

When you click the colonization button (the button that resembles a small, light blue ship), the map changes to show which provinces you can colonize (dark green) and which you cannot colonize (bone white). This is called the Colonial map. When you choose a province to colonize, information will appear in the Information window; that is where you choose where to send your colonists. Your colonists may also be used as merchants, which will be described later.

From HMS Mayflower to Cities

Colonies can be upgraded, and for each colonist it is upgraded one level. A colony may have up to six levels, where each level represents 100 inhabitants. When a colony reaches 700 inhabitants it is turned into a normal province with a city. From then on you are able to recruit troops and build fortifications in the province.

Note that the economy of the province develops over time as the population grows. From the moment you have established your colony, it ex-

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periences a monthly increase in population. It is positive if the country has a high level of stability, and negative if stability is low. This means that a first level colony may develop into a province with a city without you having to send more colonists. Population growth will not be very high, which means that such a development will take a long time. A first level colony rarely produces any revenue, while a sixth level colony is more or less a small province. Each colonist brings along 100 people.

The colonist, the leader of the expedition consisting of 100 people, always starts out from your capital, and is portrayed as a horse and carriage and as a small sailing ship. The further away from your capital, the longer it takes to complete the actual colonization. When you establish a colony it may happen that the colony receives the state religion of your country, and that may be interpreted as the presence of a number of priests among the colonists. It is an advantage if the religion of the province is the same as the state religion, as differences may result in rebellions during times of unrest.

The Financial Summary

Here you get an overview of the economic state of your countr y. Remember that the entire economy is affected by the stability of your country; low stability results in low revenues and technology levels, while a high stability rating will optimize both revenues and development. You will also find that income will increase when you upgrade buildings and receive higher technology levels in the areas of infrastructure and trade.

Be careful with inflation. Inflation increases proportionally with the amount of money you choose to receive each month (by minting coins), and by taking loans from the citizens of your country or from other countries. The normal state, where inflation does not increase, is when you do not take out a monthly income; that is, by increasing the amount of coins in your country. At that point you only have your annual income available. Note also that gold mines will increase inflation. If you have gold

mines you can never completely avoid inflation.

Your best cure against inflation is the Governor. By appointing mayors to governors you lower the rate of inflation. Remember that inflation is relative—as long as the increases in prices are lower than the increases in revenue, it is not a bad thing, at least not in the short run.

The Budget Window

The state budget lets you decide on how to manage your resources for development, investments in stability, and public consumption in the form of appointments of officials, diplomacy, and the armed forces. This may be classified into three separate areas.

The first is research, which results in qualitative advantages. Military units get a higher morale, better firepower, and greater impact. Merchants become more competitive and make greater profits. Infrastructure provides a higher degree of effectiveness in production.

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The second area is stability, which affects every area of your country. Stability affects the economy, troop morale, the risk of rebellion in your provinces, and whether your vengeful neighbors will think it wise to attack or not. If anything is more important than other factors, it must be stability. It also affects the total size of your state budget, which means that total investments in technology will be lower over time if you go along with a lower stability, rather than investing in maximum stability.

Your third concern is public consumption, or actually the expenditure of liquid assets from your treasury on a monthly basis. You spend these ducats on more troops, more war ships, more colonists, and more merchants.

Trade and Merchants

Historically you could say that the global economy did not exist until the discovery of America. The easiest way of looking at the global economy of that era is as a number of adjacent local economies. These local economies were connected to each other with sometimes weak, and sometimes strong ties. The ties consisted of course of the merchants, and the power connecting them was external trade. The greater the number of local economies connected, the more trade increased. When trade increased, both demand and supply increased, giving rise to global trade over time.

Each province in the game belongs to a center of trade. Goods are exchanged at the center of trade, prices are fixed, and profits and losses are divided through the care of invisible hands. Trade during the 1492–1792 period had much stronger ties to the state and the monarch than today. The merchants you send off into the world probably belong to some public or semipublic trading company.

Placing Merchants

You may only set out merchants at your centers of trading. In order to get there you click either on the Trade button, or on the small trading company in the province on your map. In this case it’s Ulster.

Deploying merchants costs money, including their upkeep. It is more expensive to set out and keep merchants abroad than in your own country, and even more expensive the further away from your own country you get. Each merchant you have set out in the center of trade provides a yearly income, depending on the total trade value of each center of trade.

A center of trade covering a low number of provinces, with commonly available goods (such as fish, grain, and wool), has a lower trade value and will provide lower revenues, than a center of trade covering several provinces, trading with exotic goods such as ivory, slaves, and spices. Your technological level will also affect the profitability and competitiveness of your merchants. When many countries appoint merchants in the same center of trade a veritable trade war may very well erupt.

The Economical Effects of Trade

The economical effects of trade should not be underestimated. A raised level in trading technology with lots of provinces and trading posts, the trade centers will turn into veritable gold mines for anyone managing to maintain a monopoly. Additionally the effects of being the leading producer of certain goods will provide unimaginable profit, when war, rebellion, and catastrophes strike the European continent, changing all prices. Note also the importance of having a center of trade within your own country. New colonies and trading posts will almost exclusively end up under the authority of your own center of trade. This will increase both your immediate profits, and also the trade value of your center of trade. It is also easier to be competitive in your own center of trade, but more about that later.

Fleets and Sea Transport

The fleet is a military unit consisting of a varying number of ships in the same way that an army unit consists of a varying number of troops. There are three types of ship in the game: Warships, Galleys, and Transport Vessels. Warships have a transport capacity of 1; galleys have a

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transport capacity of 0.5, and transport vessels a capacity of 2. What is transport capacity? Each army unit has a weight; the transport capacity of your fleet indicates how many troops you are able to transport. Cavalry and artillery have greater weight than infantry. The total weight of each army unit and the transport capacity of the fleet can be found in the Information window whenever you have selected a unit. War ships are more effective in battle, galleys are the least expensive, and transport vessels have the largest transport capacity. Galleys should be kept in the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea, as this ship type is useless on the open sea.

All fleet units suffer "attrition" when at sea. When you choose a fleet unit you will find the current attrition speed in the Information window. This is shown in connection with the small skull. There is no attrition when a fleet is in port, which means that you need to send your fleets into port at regular intervals in order to maintain the ships. If a fleet transporting army units is sent to port the army units will be unloaded automatically in that province. Merging, splitting, reorganizing, and dissolving fleets is done in exactly the same way as army units are merged, etc.

Loading of Army Units

First you need to order your fleet into a sea zone, and then order an army unit in an adjacent province to load onto the fleet. You cannot load the fleet unless it is in port.

When the troops are loaded you will find a new button in the information window when you choose the fleet. Click this button when you want to unload the army unit in another adjacent province.

Unloading an Army Unit from a Fleet

Choose the fleet and click the unloading button. You will now see the army unit on the map. Now click the province where you wish to unload your army unit. The troops will now start marching to the province.

Trading posts

A colony is a province providing some produce and a small amount of trade. Trading posts do not provide any produce to speak of, but instead provide a better trade value affecting the center of trade to which it belongs. By establishing many trading posts, preferably in provinces producing unusual goods, you quickly increase the trading value of the center

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of trade they belong to, and if you have a monopoly or a large number of merchants there, you will receive good revenues from your invested funds. The trading posts may be improved up to six levels. At the higher levels the trading posts have a great trading value.

You build trading posts by sending out merchants. Click the colonization button. As we mentioned previously, you have some colonists available—the number is shown in the line above the map. These can be used either as colonists or merchants. Historically the first colonizations happened when the European countries first established trading posts in an area, and later on colonized it. Trading posts are cheaper than colonies and are usually easier to establish than colonies. It is also easier to maintain a colony in a province where you already have a trading post, as compared with a neutral and empty province.

How to Establish a Trading Post

Click the colonization button. Now you see the map in its colonization view. Bone white provinces are not available for colonization or trading posts. They are either undiscovered, al-

ready fully developed provinces with more than 5000 inhabitants, or belong to other countries. Possible prospects are all of the green colored provinces. If the province is dark green, you already have a colony there, if the color is medium green, you have a trading post, and if the color is light green, you have neither. Click the province where you wish to establish a trading post, and then click the button "Send merchant." You will now see a figure unpacking pots from a chest as a sign of work in progress. When placing the pointer above the merchant you will see how long it will take until the trading post is ready for business.

Neighboring Countries

Your neighbors are naturally of great interest to you, whether they are your allies or your enemies. Normally you know about your European neighbors and their provinces, but usually you know nothing about the non-European countries. You must discover them. You are also only able to send diplomats to a country if you know about it, and diplomacy is one of your most important tools for survival and expansion.

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Diplomacy

Diplomacy can be used in many ways. The diplomats you send out are your tools when you want to achieve something. What is it you want to achieve? You can offer royal marriages or alliances, or take up such offers. You may declare war or offer peace. You may try to exchange geographical knowledge, and you may create better relations to other countries through gifts and tokens of respect, or worsen relations through insults and bans.

Royal marriages are a good thing. They improve relations and make it difficult to carry out declarations of war. The alliances you enter are also important, as you will easily fall prey to other alliances if you do not belong to any. It is quite possible to defend yourself against another power, but if three, or even four, other countries attack, you are in deep trouble.

In order to use diplomacy you click the diplomacy button below the information window. This opens a diplomacy menu for your country. You may look at another country on the map at any time. By clicking the "coat of arms" of that country you may review the diplomatic situation of that country. You have a number of choices in your diplomacy menu.

By clicking an option, that diplomatic mission will be performed and you will have one diplomat less. Note that if you make an offer of royal marriage or an alliance the monarch will not automatically accept the offer. The deciding factor for such a decision is your previous relations. If you have attacked and occupied a number of small and innocent countries your surroundings will naturally treat you like an international pariah.

War

War is one of the fastest and best ways of expanding politically and economically. War also has its share of disadvantages. Your research will often suffer, as you probably need to invest heavily in stability after each war. Wars almost always destabilize your country. War also affects the risk of rebellion in your provinces. A land with multiple religions often risks a "great mess" each time a war drags out in time.

To Prepare for War

Before you declare war you need to prepare. This usually means that you expand your armies and fleets in order to obtain local supremacy. You should also compare your

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strength to the strength of your potential enemies. If you are well prepared you suffer less risk of having to finance your war with war taxes and increased minting of coins. Note that attrition is higher for army units that are moved during the winter months. Plan your war accordingly. It is also important to consider the allies of your potential enemy, and trying to figure out how your own stability will be affected. On the one hand you check to see if you have any Casus Belli (Latin for "cause of war"), which will decrease your loss of stability because of the declaration of war, and on the other hand by declaring war and then "regretting the act." When you declare war you are informed of the size of your loss of stability and what caused it.

To Declare a War

War can be declared either from the diplomacy menu, where you go to the country in question and click the line "declare war," or by honoring an alliance where one of your allies either has declared war on another country, or has been attacked.

To Win a War

In order to win a war you must be victorious in battles and naval engagements and/or capturing the provinces of the enemy. You capture a province by moving an army unit into a province, defeating any enemy units in the province, and performing a successful siege or assault. When your flag is waving above the town, colony, or trading post of the province, you control it and this will be counted to your advantage during peace negotiations. Note that the opposite is true for your opponent, which means that you should try to avoid losses in battle and try to hang on to your provinces. Extended wars lead to exhaustion, which often results in rebellion in your various provinces.

Offers of Peace

In order to make an offer of peace you click a province belonging to (or that has belonged to) the enemy. Then click the diplomacy menu. Here you click on the line saying "Offer of Peace." Here you see the results of the war, through the number of stars or tombstones in the information window. If you see tombstones you should consider offering a tribute

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and/or provinces in order to gain peace. If you find stars you may often demand a tribute and/or provinces. Each star or tombstone represents a province or 250 ducats, which you either may offer or demand. You may only offer to give up provinces, which have belonged to you, and are now controlled by the enemy, and you may only demand provinces, which have belonged to your enemy, and now are in your control. If you demand provinces that belonged to your enemy at the start of the scenario, that is, his or her core provinces, the enemy now has a Casus Belli (cause for going to war) against your country.

C) Activities

Countries

Each player runs a country. Each country consists of one or several provinces and possessions (the difference will be explained later). Your country has a border marked on the map, and if you wish to view the political map, the provinces of each country are marked with the same color. Each country has a monarch and a state religion. Most of the countries are located in Europe, but there are a few non-European

countries spread out in the world that may be included in the game. Certain countries have a special political status - these countries may be played. Each scenario defines the countries you are allowed to play. The difference between player countries and other countries is that a player country may not be occupied as the result of a peace treaty or through diplomatic means (see Peace Treaties and War Damages).

Provinces

The province is the smallest geographical unit of the game. There are two types of political status for the provinces. They either belong to a country, or they are independent. Your country consists of provinces belonging to you. The provinces are fully developed, as opposed to possessions. This means they have cities, where you may appoint officials, and where you may build ships and raise army units. Possessions are provinces that lack a city, but have either a colony or a trading post. Any province that does not belong to a country is an independent province. These provinces only exist outside of Europe, and are populated by natives, organizing their societies through clan and tribal systems. The independent provinces do not have

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standing army units; instead native war bands will meet you if you move an army unit into the province. You may colonize or construct trading posts in independent provinces, thereby gaining a certain level of control. Only countries may have a colony or a trading post in an independent province. When a colony or a trading post is established, the province is no longer considered independent. A basic difference between a province with a city and a province with a colony is that you can build ships and raise army units in the former, including appointing officials, and establishing factories. You may not do any of this in a province with a colony.

A coastal province is a province with a port. Note that in order to have a port the province must either have a city or a colony. A province with just a trading post may never have a port. Having coastal provinces also affects the number of colonists and merchants your country will receive each year. Also note that ships do not suffer attrition when in port, because they can be maintained. If you have a large country with provinces on several continents, you will

do better if you have ports in as many places as possible, in order to send your ships in to port now and then, to avoid suffering attrition (See Attrition). The provinces you start the game with are your core provinces and your most important ones. Core provinces are marked on the political map with small shields. The country a province belongs to is noted by the flag waving above the city, the colony, or the trading post. During times of peace you may only move your army units from and to provinces belonging to your own country, or into independent provinces. During times of war you may also move army units into provinces belonging to allied countries and dependent states, and into countries with which you are at war. There is also one exception. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire may freely move his army units within the borders of the Empire (see The Holy Roman Empire).

Note that a province may belong to one country, but may be controlled by another. This happens when two countries are at war with each other, and one of the countries has occupied a province belonging to the other

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country. When peace has been declared, all controlled provinces return to the original owner, unless they have been surrendered as part of the peace treaty. There are two exceptions. The first depends on whether you have signed the Tordesilla Treaty or not (see The Tordesilla Treaty), because you may then move into and take control of the colonies or trading posts of other countries, regardless of whether you have been at war with these countries or not. The other exception applies if rebels manage to seize one of your provinces. The province still belongs to you, but the rebels control it. If another country controls any of your provinces, you will not receive any income from these provinces. You will see that a province is controlled by another country if the flag of another country is flying above the city, the colony or the trading posts. (Rebels fly a red flag.) In order to take control of a province you must capture the city, either by storm or siege. Provinces with cities lacking fortifications, and provinces with colonies or trading posts are automatically controlled when you move an army unit into it. Also note that

provinces under your control will be counted to your advantage during peace negotiations.

Sea Zones

The seas are vast open areas. During this period the chances of controlling the seas was limited by the quality of the ships and their crews, the basic resources, and of course the weather. The sea is therefore divided into sea zones. Each sea zone is an area where fleets have a limited influence. Each fleet actually consists of a main part and several smaller patrols. When the patrols discovered enemy ships, the main part of the fleet was assembled to deal with the enemy fleet. This means that battles between fleets do not occur automatically; this depends on the quality of the fleets. The main problem was finding the enemy and creating local superiority. If you did not succeed the engagement was called off. Your territorial waters are the sea zones off the coast from your coastal provinces. Here you have several advantages, as you know the waters, the weather, and you are close to your bases for maintenance.

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Cities and Capitals

Your capital is shown on the map. This is the city belonging to the province where you find your shield. The province with your capital may not be surrendered during peace negotiations other than by occupation (see Peace Treaties and War Damages). The city shows a graphic representation of the level of development of your province. What you see in the information window is a picture of the city, as you build ships, raise army units, upgrade buildings, and build factories. The population level of your city indicates the wealth of your province. Normally the population of the city will increase over time, but it may also drop because of war, rebellions, random events, and if the city is situated in an area of adverse geographical conditions, for example in the African tropics. When a colony has 700 inhabitants it develops into a city. The city is still colonial, and in order to become a real European city with efficient production the province must have at least 5000 inhabitants.

Trading posts and Colonies

When you have established a trading post or a colony in a province you gain control of the province. In other words, the province is now yours. This means that no other country may use the province for troop movements during peace, and no other country may establish trading posts or colonies in the province. You may lose your province either through negative population growth because of the geographic conditions, which will make your population drop to zero, or by ceding the province to another country as part of a peace treaty. You may also lose a trading post either because an enemy army unit burned it to the ground during war (see Trading Posts and Merchants), or by ceding the province to another country as part of a peace treaty.

Trading posts and colonies are called possessions, and are different from provinces with cities, partly because of population levels, and partly because of the development levels. The difference between a trading post and a colony

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is that the trading post provides a low production value and a high trading value, while the colony provides a high production value and a low trading value. In addition the colony has population growth and may be developed into a city, while a trading post does not have population growth, nor may it be developed into a province with a city. You may still develop your trading posts into colonies by sending colonists to your trading posts.

Terra Incognita and Permanent Terra

Incognita

Both "Terra Incognita" and "Permanent Terra Incognita" are undiscovered areas. Terra Incognita represents provinces and sea zones not yet discovered by your country. When these are discovered, either by moving army units or ships through them, or by trading maps with other countries, the areas cease to be

Terra Incognita and become part of the known world, as your country knows it. Note that you normally need a Conquistador, or you must have reached Land Military level 11 in order to discover provinces. For undiscovered sea zones you need an Explorer or you must have reached Naval Technology level 21.

Permanent Terra Incognita represents undiscovered areas not consisting of provinces or sea zones. Permanent Terra Incognita comprises the areas that were not explored at all at this time. Historically, there were several areas that were not discovered until after 1792 (such as some parts of Siberia and Australia), or which had been discovered earlier, but where all knowledge about it had faded into legends (such as the interior of Africa), and finally areas which could not be explored using the technology of the times (such as certain Northern sea routes).

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Stability and the Wrath of

Your Subjects

What is Stability?

The political culture of Europe during the period was not an isolated phenomenon. How each country should behave in regards to both domestic and foreign policy had already been formulated during the height of the Roman Empire, and had later been developed during the Middle Ages. The ideological startingpoint at the end of the 15th century was Christianity as a unit. Civilization was defined within the framework of Christianity and consequently, what constituted civilized behavior between countries. A similar starting-point existed in the Moslem countries, where "country" was not a properly recognized concept. Instead they regarded all Moslems as part of the Moslem Haram. Internally the division of society was frozen, partly because of the division of power between various groups during the late Middle Ages, but also through domestic policy, which could be described as a struggle or game between various groups in society. The monarch naturally played a large part.

You should also be aware of the advantages associated with breaches against "the international rules." The princes of the Renaissance were soon involved in a highly advanced game of political struggle, where a European hegemony was the goal. In this aspect you should consider the abstract concept of stability. If the monarch broke the formal and informal rules, both his foreign and domestic reputation fell, including the status of his country. The response to declarations of war was often your own declarations of war, which caused a spiral of injustice, war, and revenge that affected all of Europe.

Stability is thus affected by both the international status of your country, and by the relations between your monarch and his subjects. The stability of your country may vary on a sev- en-point scale from –3 to +3.

Things that Lower Stability

There are several reasons why stability may deteriorate, but the most important are definitely declarations of war. Declarations of war were not regarded lightly by anyone in Europe during the period, perhaps with the exception of the issuer. In other countries the monarchs and the governments viewed any declaration of war with concern, because it might upset the balance of power of the region. You could say that society viewed the country as a person and the declaration of war as a physical attack. You could make this attack if you had good and proper reasons (see Casus Belli), but uncalled for wars were punished by force. As a result of a declaration of war, you could lose prestige and international honor. Add to this the quite negative reactions of the population, as war meant levies, inflation, and raised taxes. A declaration of war without Casus Belli lowers the stability of your country by two steps (–2). A declaration of war with a proper Casus Belli does not affect your stability at all. Religion was something that united and divided countries during the epoch. It was thought of as an un-Christian and therefore it was immoral to declare war on a country with the same religion, which meant that the population and the priests reacted quite negatively if any monarch chose that route. A declaration of war against a country of the same religion lowers your stability an additional step (–1). To declare war against an allied country was seen as truly degenerate behavior, lowering your stability yet another step (–1) if the country under attack has ties through a royal marriage with yours. If you declare war against your own vassal your stability will drop another three steps (–3), while ending your vassal ties without a declaration of war lowers stability by three steps (–3). If you declare war against a country with which you have a peace treaty, your stability will drop by another five steps (–5); in effect, this means that you will become an international pariah. Peace treaties remain in effect for five years.

Some other important factors that lowered stability during the period were various politi-

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cal acts of a dubious nature. Breaking your foreign promises immediately lowered the reputation of a country and its prestige. The principle of "Pact Sund Servanda" (agreements are binding) was a basic rule already in Roman law, and had been incorporated in the diplomatic life of the times. Annulling a royal marriage could be a good thing for your country in many ways, but the stability of your country is lowered by one step (–1). You are seen as flighty and insecure in your foreign relations, which is cause for strong irritation among any groups of society with strong connections with the country in question. If you decide to sack a vassal your stability is lowered by three steps (–3). Especially the nobility will question your foreign competence. A vassal has subjected himself to your decisions, even though this is mostly of a formal nature, which means that dissolving the relationship is regarded as a sign of your weakness. If you leave an alliance your stability is lowered by one step (–1), which means that many powerful men in the upper levels of society probably have invested a lot of prestige and friendship in the alliance that you are leaving. The same thing occurs if you refuse to honor an alliance; for example, if you do not help a brother when a third country attacks him. It will lower your stability by one step (–1). Sharp foreign turns will create uncertainty about your future direction in the political game. If you refuse a country the chance to trade at your trade centers you also lower stability by one step (–1). Your neighbors will feel threatened, because what you did against one country may be repeated against another.

Finally, there are five general causes for lowered stability. The first occurs if your country goes bankrupt. Bankruptcy occurs if you have taken out five loans from the national treasury (loans from other countries are not counted), and you are unable to repay them when they are due, or when you have taken out five loans, and your monthly costs are higher than your monthly income. With bankruptcy the stability of your country is lowered by one step (–1). The population has lost confidence in the abil-

ity of the monarch and the government when it comes to handling your finances. The same thing applies when you are unable to repay a loan from another country, as your stability is lowered by one step (–1). Stability is also lowered if you decide to raise war taxes (see War Taxes), which means that you further increase the burdens of your country while lowering stability by one step (–1). The fourth reason is a change of state religion. Changing state religion normally means a huge transformation of society, affecting every level of society. Some of your subjects will celebrate, while others will stage a revolution. Changing the state religion lowers your stability by five steps (–5), except if you change from the Catholic Church to Counter Reformed Catholicism. (For a longer description, see Religion.) Finally some random events may lower the stability of your country (see Random Events).

Please also note that all effects are cumulative; that is, if you have a stability of 0, and declare war against a country without a Casus Belli, and in addition you have ties to that country through royal marriage, and a peace treaty, this will lower your stability by eight steps (–2–1–5=–8). As mentioned earlier, you may not have a stability of less than –3, but for each additional step you will suffer an automatic rebellion in each of your provinces. In this case your stability will drop from 0 to –3, and then you will have 5 rebellions in each of your provinces.

Things that Increase Stability

You may increase the stability of your country by investing in stability in your state budget (see Investing in Stability). This is handled as a certain sum set aside for this purpose each month, which you may view in the information window. Note that the cost of increasing stability is higher if you have a large country, as you must appease more people. When the green line has reached its end the stability of your country is increased by one step (+1), and the green line starts anew at the beginning. This is to be interpreted as the monarch and the gov-

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ernment making concessions to various groups of society; for example, a temporary lowering of taxes for the peasants, land grants for the nobility, trading rights for the townsmen, or greater freedom for the serfs. You may also see the cost as part of certain actions, like replacing bailiffs, changing the laws, etc. Finally they may cover the cost of raising the prestige of your country; for example, by holding splendid weddings, raising the magnificence of the court, etc. You cannot raise stability above +3 by investments. The rate of increases will be lower if you are at war, for each quarter you have been at war, and for each province controlled by the enemy (core provinces are counted twice and the capital is counted as ten normal provinces). All investments made when your stability is at +3 will result in ducats for

your treasury. Note that certain random occurrences may raise stability (see Random Events). When you are victorious at war, and have managed to annex formerly independent countries (see Annexation), your stability will increase by one step (+1), as your victory will increase your international prestige and make a big impression on your subjects.

What Is Affected by Stability?

To begin with, all population levels of your cities and your colonies and all your monthly and annual income are affected. During bad times with spreading unrest the population often decreases. If your stability is low you are probably at war with another country. Your population is decreasing through levies, people running off into the woods, and because of

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plagues that were often a result of the wars. In game terms you will be able to view the percentage of increase or decrease of your population by clicking the church of a province. If conditions are really bad, cities and colonies may have a negative growth, which means that they are being depopulated. Population levels determine the production income of your provinces, which means that stability will determine the long-term development of your income. The administrative system is also less effective when there is unrest. Bailiffs were not obeyed, roads and communications deteriorated, and people evaded their taxes to a greater extent, resulting in a higher cost of living with lowered consumption and production. This will mean that your tax income will increase and decrease in proportion to your stability. You see this as changes in your annual income and also by checking up on your Financial Summary.

Trade is also affected by the same phenomena. Declines in both domestic and foreign trade were common during wars and during periods of unrest in general. This is portrayed by a connection between your annual quota of merchants and your stability. If your stability is at the lower end – that is, –3 or –2 – you will have great difficulties getting the merchants to do business; they will simply lack all incentive to trade, which lowers your pool of merchants by two (–2). If your stability is at –1, your pool is lowered by only one merchant (–1). If stability is at 0 or +1, you gain one (+1) or two (+2) extra merchants. If the stability of your country is excellent, +2 or +3, you gain three extra merchants. In addition, stability affects the ability of the merchants to get into the trade centers, as well as their ability to compete with merchants who are already present. Note also that the annual interest of your loans varies along with your stability.

Your diplomatic skills and the risk of rebellion are also affected by the stability of your country. When it comes down to your diplomatic abilities, you may not declare wars if your stability is at the very bottom (at –3). This is part-

ly due to social unrest and the fact that court intrigue is at such a high level that the monarch and the government are unable to deal with anything other than trying to keep the country united. To fight a war at such a time is impossible. The risk of rebellion in your provinces is in direct proportion to your stability. The lower your stability is, the greater the risk of rebellions, and vice versa. You can read more about this later in the manual.

Rebellions and the Risk of Rebellion

Rebellions were fairly common during the period, primarily during the early part, the 16th and 17th centuries, while decreasing in scope and frequency during the later years. There are several reasons for this. Normally rebellions were caused by social or religious injustices against the broad base of society, known as "peasant uprisings." A fortunate start of a rebellion required leaders and even administrators in order to compete with the governmental power, and this is where the nobility and prominent townsmen entered the picture. Any successful rebellion required that all levels of society got involved if they wanted to change social reality. A few such "successful" rebellions are the war of liberation of Gustavus Vasa, and the French Revolution, but even properly organized and solid rebellions could fail in the end. The fewer rebellions at the end of the period were usually due to the fact that few rebels had access to the modern weapons technologies available to the government, and the increasing difficulties in uniting different social classes. The arm of the government had become longer, and its grip was also much stronger.

The risk of rebellion varied from province to province. In order to review the risk of rebellion as a percentage value, click the church of the province and point at "Risk of Rebellion." You will then see what the risk is, and what is causing it. You may also look at the map showing religions, where you see all provinces with various levels of shading. The darker the shad is, the greater the risk of rebellion. The two

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most important causes for rebellion are the level of stability and the level of tolerance of the monarch and the government toward the religion of the provincial population (note that a province may have another religion than the "state religion" – see "State Religion and Provincial Religion). The risk of rebellion is in direct proportion to the stability and the level of tolerance; that is, the lower the values, the greater the risk of rebellion, and vice versa. There are also a few general factors affecting the risk of rebellion. The risk is always lower in the province with your capital, because the monarch and the government have much better political control, compared with the other provinces. If you have built a factory in the province the risk is lower as the population has a higher production, which results in a higher standard of living. On the other hand, the risk will increase if you have appointed a bailiff as tax collector, as more efficient taxation leads to less income for the population. You may also lower the risk of rebellion by appointing a lawyer as high judge, as this improves the judi-

cial system and the police. The game incorporates a special case, which may be good to know about: the phenomenon is called "Dutch nationalism" and will occur sometimes during the second half of the 16th century. It will result in a heavily increased risk of rebellion in the Dutch core provinces, which originally (1492) belonged to Spain. This "nationalism" was controlled by religion. The risk is affected by the religion of the provinces. If the country they belong to has a different religion, the risk of rebellion will be much higher.

What happens when there is a rebellion? Each month there will be an uprising in each province, and the chance of success depends on the risk for rebellion. When a province rebels, a rebel army unit appears, carrying a red flag. It immediately engages any regular army units in the province and then starts a siege of the fortified city. If the rebel forces manage to take the province, the red flag will fly above the city. If the city garrison also rebels, then the rebels will automatically control the city. This means that the rebels will control the province, and also

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that the risk of rebellion will increase in each adjacent province, and that the rebel forces will move into the next province in order to conquer it. A rebellion may spread like wildfire all over your country if you are unable to stop it in time.

The same things apply to provinces controlled by enemies as to provinces controlled by rebels; you do not get any income from the province until you have manage to retake it. If the rebels manage to take control of enough provinces (the number to be controlled varies from country to country), two things may occur. Either the rebels are allowed to take over the sovereignty of certain provinces (more about this in the next chapter), or the "government will fall." If the government falls, you return to stability level +3 and regain all of your provinces that used to be controlled by the rebels, and all rebel army units disappear. There is also a chance of your country switching state religion. The rebels were simply able to win, and you just lost a whole lot of victory points.

How do you get rid of a rebellion? If low levels of tolerance caused the rebellion, these can be changed. If the level of stability in your country is low, you may try to change that, because rebellions decrease if stability is high. But if a rebellion has succeeded, and you now have a rebel force in your country, your only way of dealing with it is through the use of force, sending an army unit into the province and defeating the rebels in a field battle. When an army unit is fighting and taking losses, then morale decreases over time, until the unit panics and has to retire. The rebels will never retire. If the morale of the rebels reaches the panic level the unit simply dissolves. Do not forget that provinces conquered and controlled by rebels will generate new rebel forces, which must be conquered in order to put a stop to the rebellion.

Liberation Movements

A liberation movement may start as a regular rebellion, but may develop after a while into a liberation movement with demands of inde-

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Europa Universalis

pendence. Certain areas, like Brittany, Norway, Catalonia, and the Ukraine, among others, may develop into liberation movements, and then proclaiming their independence, but this is also true of formerly existing countries, which have been annexed during wars. The provinces under the control of the rebels are simply transferred from your country to a new country, which has just appeared. The new country starts its existence automatically at war with your countr y. There is nothing that prevents you from conquering the new country and annexing it.

Example: France (stability 0) is at war with Switzerland. The monarch and the government are of the firm opinion that the war may be won, and decide to switch the state religion from Catholicism to Protestantism. Stability drops to –3, and rebellions start in several Catholic provinces. The war with Switzerland is not successful, and an alliance consisting of Spain, Lorraine, and Cologne declares war with France. After half a decade France has lost a few provinces to the "alliance," but Provence

and Brittany have appeared as independent countries. The "alliance" refuses to offer peace without massive concessions of land, and France finds it necessary to make smaller concessions to Provence and Brittany, in order to lower the number of adversaries, thus avoiding a loss of land to Spain.

Religion and Tolerance

Religion was a very important part of life during the period. Catholicism was the uniting force in Christian Europe. In 1492 Castile and Aragon had "liberated" the Iberian Peninsula from almost 800 years of Moslem government. Neither the Pope nor the Emperor had the same power over people any longer as during the Middle Ages, but religion still served as a common system of thought for the inhabitants of Europe. People on the eastern fringes of Europe still confessed to the Orthodox variety of Christianity, and lived within a similar, but slightly different system. The Ottoman Empire was both the inheritor of the Byzantine Empire and the Caliphate of Baghdad, and here the Sunnis were

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