USER MANUAL
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 6
INSTALLING THE GAME 6
Game Settings 6
TECHNICAL SUPPORT 6
GETTING STARTED 7
TUTORIAL 7
CHOOSING A SCENARIO 7
Options 8
HOW TO WIN 8
Standard 8
Power Struggle 9
Conquest 9
Mission 9
MULTIPLAYER
9
Connection types 9
Checking the IP address 10
VIEWING THE WORLD 10
MAP VIEWS 10
Normal mapmode 11
Political mapmode 11
Economic mapmode 11
Religious mapmode 11
Diplomatic mapmode 11
Trade mapmode 11
Colonization mapmode 11
Fog of war 12
Terrain and Weather 12
INFORMATION WINDOWS 12
The bar above the map 12
The shields above the Information window 12
Province and city information 13
COUNTRIES AND PROVINCES 13
Countries 13
Provinces 14
Cities and Capitals 15
Settlements 15
Sea Zones 15
TERRA INCOGNITA 16
ARMIES & NAVIES 16
OVERVIEW 16
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Selecting and ordering Units 17
Fleets and Sea Transport 17
Loading of Army Units onto a Fleet 18
Unloading an Army Unit from a Fleet 18
A
RMIES 18
Army movement 19
Presence of the enemy 19
Recruitment 20
Maintenance cost 20
Fortifications 20
FLEETS 21
Fleet Movement 22
Naval Interception 22
Ports 22
Ship building 23
Maintenance cost 23
BUILDING/RECRUITING CAPACITY 23
Province limit 24
Improvements 24
COMMANDERS
24
Specialists 25
H
OSTILE ACTIONS
25
Combat Morale 26
Pitched Battles 26
Naval Battles 27
Retreat 27
Naval Blockades 28
Sieges 29
Assaults 29
A
TTRITION 29
Land 30
Sea 30
SUPPLY LINES 30
Pillaged Provinces 31
ECONOMY 31
OVERVIEW 31
External Factors 32
Managing your Resources 32
The Financial Summary 32
The Budget 33
PROVINCES AND POPULATION GROWTH 33
Increase 34
Decrease 34
Instant changes 34
Population and income 34
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STABILITY 35
FACTORS THAT LOWER
STABILITY 36
F
ACTORS THAT INCREASE STABILITY 38
What is affected by Stability? 38
LOANS 39
National loan 39
International loan 40
Repayments 40
BANKRUPTCY 40
INFLATION 41
Increasing factors 41
Decreasing factors 42
SOURCES OF INCOME 42
Annual income 43
Monthly income 43
Other income 43
Monthly expenses 44
War Taxes 44
PRODUCTION AND GOODS 44
Base value of goods 45
Supply and demand 45
Description and historical background 46
TRADE AND MERCHANTS 48
Centers of Trade (CoT) 49
Trade income 49
Merchants 50
Competition 50
INVESTMENTS 51
U
PGRADING THE INFRASTRUCTURE 51
Public officials 51
Factories 51
TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT 53
Areas of Technology and Research. 53
Cultural Technology Groups 54
Investing in Stability 54
DIPLOMACY 55
Relations 55
Neighboring Countries 56
Diplomacy 56
Use of Diplomats 57
Improving Relations 57
War Affects Your Relations 58
Tolerance Affecting Your Relations 58
Other factors affecting Relations 59
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P
ROVOCATIONS
59
Insults 59
Claim their Throne 60
Warning 60
Proclaim guarantee 60
E
CONOMIC AGREEMENTS
60
Refusal to Trade 60
Trade agreement 61
Loans 61
A
LLIANCES 61
Royal Marriages 61
Military Alliance 61
Military access 63
Vassalage 63
Creating Vassals 64
Annexation 64
WAR AND PEACE 65
TO PREPARE FOR WAR 66
Casus Belli 66
Side effects of war 67
HOW TO START AND HOW TO END 67
War aims 68
War score 68
Peace negotiation 69
Military annexation 70
Peace treaty 70
Separate peace 70
RELIGION 71
State Religion 72
Provincial Religion 73
Religious Tolerance 73
Religion and international relations 73
Strategy 74
CONVERSIONS 74
Changing State Religion 75
Changing Provincial Religion 75
FOUR IMPORTANT EVENTS 76
Reformation 76
Jean Calvin 76
Council of Trent 77
The Edict of Tolerance 77
DOMESTIC POLICY 77
Plutocracy to Aristocracy 78
Decentralization to Centralization 78
Narrow-minded to Inventiveness 78
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Free Trade to Mercantilism 78
Defensive to Offensive Doctrine 79
Naval to Land 79
Quantity to Quality 79
Free Subjects to Serfdom 80
COLONIZATION 80
OVERVIEW 81
Receiving settlers 81
How to establish a settlement 81
S
ETTLEMENTS 82
Colonies 82
Trading posts 82
COLONIZATION OF THE NEW WORLD 83
Chances to succeed 83
Local inhabitants 84
Explorers and Conquistadors 84
COLONIAL STRATEGY 85
Protecting Your Colonies 85
REBELS & OTHER SCUM 86
R
EBELLIONS 86
Causes 86
Effects 87
Quelling rebellions 87
Liberation movements 87
P
IRATES 88
Privateers 88
EVENTS & SPECIAL CASES 88
EVENTS 88
Historical events 89
The Treaty of Tordesillas — A Historical Event 89
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE 90
DEFENDER OF THE TRUE FAITH 91
MONARCHS 91
THE ARCHIVE 92
HOTKEYS 93
CREDITS 94
Strategy First 94
Distribution Infogrames Inc. 94
Paradox Entertainment 95
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INTRODUCTION
Europa Universalis is a real time strategy game that spans over 400 years, from the last decades of
the Middle Ages, through the periods of the Great Voyages, the religious strife of the Reformation
and the paradoxical Age of Enlightenment, and ending with the rise and fall of Napoleon. Just like
their historical predecessors, the players can also set out to literally discover, conquer, and
forever change the entire World.
INSTALLING 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 8.0, 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 autoplay
menu 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 the Add and Remove program in the Control Panel.
Game Settings
Display settings - By clicking the EU2 settings icon located in the same place as the game, you
can change the game’s resolution.
In-game music - You can turn the in-game music on or off.
Valkyrienet - You can chose which server to connect to when you want to use the Valkyrienet
match-making servers.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Should you experience a technical problem concerning the operation of this product, please
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
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contact our technical support staff. Before you call, please read the README.TXT file on the
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II CD to see any last minute recommendations pertinent to your problem.
Also, check out the Support page on our web site listed below. When you call, please be at your
computer and have the following information available :
• Computer make and model • Windows version • Total system RAM •
• Total Hard Drive space • Video card make and model •
Phone#: (514) 844-2433, Mon.-Fri. 10am-5pm EST
Fax#: (514) 844-4337, Attn: Support
Internet e-mail: support@strategyfirst.com
Strategy First Web Site: http://www.strategyfirst.com
Europa Universalis official web site:
http://www.europa-universalis.com
GETTING STARTED
TUTORIAL
If you haven’t played Europa Universalis before, we recommend that you play through the
tutorial. Reading and understanding this manual will then become much easier. It consists of 9
short chapters, each designed to show a specific aspect of the game.
CHOOSING A SCENARIO
First, choose a scenario from the list at the left and then select the country that you want to play.
The listed countries are usually those that have the best chances of success due to their relative
strength, historical advantages, or geographical location. In some scenarios you can access even
more countries to choose from.
Previously saved games are located below the scenarios and can be loaded by clicking on them.
Right clicking on a shield gives you the option to
choose a different country than those
initially listed. This function is not available in all
scenarios.
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Options
You can customize your game to a certain extent in the areas listed below:
•Difficulty - affects the amount of money your country will start with, how much things will
cost, how fast you will generate more money and the chances of success whenever luck is
involved. Normal is the default value.
• A. I. Aggressiveness - affects the eagerness for the computer nations to declare war,
especially against the human players. Normal is the default value.
• Game speed - this function can be accessed from within the game as well.
• Fog of war - makes it harder to follow what the other countries are up to. Can be changed
from within the game as well. On is the default value.
• Forced annex - all countries (including yours) can lose their last province, forcing them out
of the game. On is the default value.
• Dynamic missions - the player can gain or lose victory points by trying to fulfill the missions
of various characters. Off is the default value.
• Base victory points - turning them off evens out the situation if the player chooses to play a
very small country. On is the default value.
HOW TO WIN
The goal of the game may actually vary from player to player. The basics of the game are to receive
as many victory points as possible. You score points whenever you are successful in your game
play, for example by winning wars and battles, keeping your population happy, by creating
diplomatic alliances, exploring unknown territories, building colonies, establishing merchants,
etc. You will lose victory points if you fail in your attempts.
Standard
If you play using the "standard" victory conditions, the player with the highest total points becomes
the winner, but note that at the end of the game you will see your country’s relative position based
on how many victory point all countries have received. 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
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
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than its perennial enemy Sweden.
Power Struggle
The country that is first to reach a predetermined number of victory points is the winner. Power
Struggle is a good choice if you want to play a quick game.
Conquest
The country that conquers 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.
Mission
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.
MULTIPLAYER
Players will require a minimum 56k Internet connection in order to join or host a multiplayer
game. The host of a new game decides the scenario, victory conditions and game speed. He also
saves the game. Note that events that would temporarily halt a single player game will not do so in
multiplayer. Neither can you change game speed once the game has started.
There is a limited pause function in multiplayer. There is a delay of 10 seconds before the game
pauses. 30 seconds after the game has come to halt, the other players can resume the game again.
Connection types
Local Network - Will automatically search your local network for any hosted game. You can then
join any found game or host a new game yourself.
Valkyrienet - Here you can meet other players and chat with them, join their games or host a game
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
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for others to join.
Internet - You must know the IP address of the host in order to join a game. To check your IP
address, follow the instructions below. Note that unless you have a permanent connection, your IP
address will most probably change every time you connect to the Internet.
Checking the IP address
1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet
2. Under the start-menu, choose Run.
Win95/98/Me
3. Type winipcfg and click OK. Your IP address is displayed
Win2000/NT
4. Type cmd and click OK.
5. In the new window type ipconfig and press ENTER. Your IP address is displayed
VIEWING THE WORLD
You lead a country, or more precisely, you are a country, and all of the provinces within the borders
of your country belong to you. You also have access to army units (symbolized by small soldiers) and
fleets (symbolized by small warships), which you can move around on the map. 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.
MAP VIEWS
The game is played on a world map. You can’t see everything on the map at the same time, only
the provinces and sea zones familiar to your country. In order to find out more you need to
gradually explore the unknown parts. You have several settings to choose from depending on what
kind of information you want to gather from the map.
Right clicking on the small map will let you choose a
type of unit or province that will be
indicated with a red dot.
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Normal mapmode
Accessed through the tree icon. The standard view, 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,
and whether it is winter or summer in the provinces. It will also show land boundaries between
countries. In the sea zones you will see what the weather is like.
Political mapmode
Accessed through the flag icon. Here the countries are shown in different colors. By placing the
hand on a country, a popup window provides a diplomatic summary. The provinces containing
small variants of your country’s shield are your core provinces.
Economic mapmode
Accessed through the coin icon. Shows the main resource produced in each province. The
darker the green color is, the richer is the province. By clicking a province you will highlight all
provinces with the same resource. If you choose any of your own provinces or click on the
resource icon in the province window, you will get information about the corresponding resource.
Religious mapmode
Accessed through the missionary icon. You are given information about the state religion of all
countries, as well as provinces with a different religion than the state. The different religions are
shown in different colors. If you own a province with a different religion and have a missionary
available, you can send him to the province in an attempt to convert them.
It is in this mode that you can see the members and extent of the Holy Roman Empire (see
chapter “Events and special cases”).
Diplomatic mapmode
Accessed through the pen and letter icon. Here you will find all of your foreign relations, and by
clicking a province of another country you are shown the foreign relations of that country. Red
indicates hostile countries or countries where you have a legitimate reason, Casus Belli, to declare
war upon, while green are friendly ones. Note that this is the map you will be using when you wish
to perform diplomatic actions.
Trade mapmode
Accessed through the gold bars and crates icon. Each province belongs to a Center of Trade that
is specified by different colors. The corresponding center is shown when a province is chosen.
This mapmode is used when you deploy merchants.
Colonization mapmode
Accessed through the ship icon. This map is used when sending out settlers to claim new land for
your country. Available provinces are shown in green colors; light greens indicate that they can be
colonized by any country, medium greens are your provinces with existing trading posts, and dark
green indicates your existing colonies or colonial cities.
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Fog of war
Note that a shade covering the majority of the map in the normal mapmode prevents you from
viewing foreign armies in the provinces, or fleets in the sea zones. Areas not covered by the shade
include your own country and the adjoining provinces and sea zones, your vassals, the countries
of your allies, countries in which your monarch has entered royal marriages, provinces or sea
zones containing your military units, as well as provinces or sea zones adjacent to your forces.
Terrain 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 ravaged 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.
INFORMATION WINDOWS
The bar above the map
On the top line above the Map window, you will find a border with four symbols and a date – the
game clock – followed by another four symbols. The first four show how many Merchants,
Colonists, Diplomats and Missionaries you have available. The date 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 clicking the menu button at the lower left of the Information
window, choosing option, and then following the instructions or press Ctrl + (numeric keypad)
to increase the game speed and Ctrl – (numeric keypad) to decrease the game speed. The four
symbols to the right of the date show the Stability level of your country, the Manpower in thousands
of soldiers, the contents of your treasury expressed in Ducats (one of the most common
currencies during the historical epoch), and a clock that allows you to pause the game by
clicking it. You will receive more background information if you point at the symbols.
If you place the pointer above any of the icons in the
bar, you get information about how many you
receive annually, and what generates them.
The shields above the Information window
The embellished line above the Information window contains five coats of arms. If you left click
on any of these, specialized information will be shown in the Information window. The shields will
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
13
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 among other things your current level of technology and your
research for the next. A slider allows you to adjust your maintenance cost.
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.
Province and city information
When you left click on one of your provinces, you will see the city in the information window. By
clicking on buildings and objects, you get additional information about them. The buildings are
the places where the various officials of your province work. The officials may be appointed by
clicking the buildings, which will give you more advantages in the game. You may also build fleets,
recruit army units, and upgrade the fortress.
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.
The building of worship (church, mosque, temple, etc.) will be upgraded automatically when the
population of the province increases. If you left click the church you will find general information
about the state of your province. You can get additional information from the text lines by
keeping the hand on them. You may also click on the symbols to get additional information about
the economy and religion.
COUNTRIES AND PROVINCES
If you right-click on a message box or in the log, you
can decide how this type of message will be displayed
in the future.
Countries
Each player runs a country. Each country consists of one or several provinces. Your country has a
border marked on the map, and if you wish to view the political map, the provinces of each
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
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country are marked with the same color. Each country has a monarch, a state religion, and one
or more central cultures. Most of the countries are located in Europe but there are several
non-European countries spread out in the world that can be played as well. Each scenario defines
the countries you are allowed to play.
Provinces
There are two types of political status for the provinces. They either belong to a country, or they
are independent. Independent provinces only exist outside of Europe, and are populated by
natives, organizing their societies through clan and tribal systems instead of nations. The
independent provinces do not have standing army units; instead native war bands will meet you if
you move an army unit into the province. When a colony or a trading post is established, the
province is no longer considered independent.
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.
Settlements are provinces that lack a city, but have either a colony or a trading post. One basic
difference between a province with a city and a province with a settlement is that you can build
ships and raise army units in the former, appointing officials, building fortifications and
establishing factories. You may not do any of this in a province with a settlement.
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 trading post is not sufficient. 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.
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 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 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 and black flag.) In order to take control of a province you must
capture the city, either by assault or siege. Provinces with cities lacking fortifications, and
provinces with colonies or trading posts, are automatically controlled when you move an army
unit into them.
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Cities and Capitals
A capital is shown on the map by the disc behind it. The province with your capital may not be
surrendered during peace negotiations other than by annexation of the entire country. 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.
Through the Menu you can customize all types of
messages.
Settlements
When you have established a trading post or a colony in a province you gain ownership of the
province. 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 settlement, and thereby the province, either through negative population growth, hostile
actions by the local natives, or by ceding the province to another country as part of a peace treaty.
During war you may also lose a trading post because an enemy army decided to burn it to the
ground.
The difference between a trading post and a colony 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 change your trading posts into a colony by sending colonists but the other
way around is not possible.
Sea Zones
Sea zones are not owned by any country. Instead, the struggle concerns the shipping lanes. Anyone
who is able to stop others from using the shipping lanes therefore exerts a certain influence.
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TERRA INCOGNITA
Historically, there were several areas that were not discovered until after the end of the
game’s time span (such as some parts of Siberia and Australia), or which had been
discovered earlier, but where all knowledge about them had faded into legend (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).
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.
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 31 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.
ARMIES & NAVIES
OVERVIEW
Battles and movement are the tactical components of warfare. During the period, battle and
movement could often be decisive for the outcome of a war. A single pitched battle or a naval
battle could save the existence and independence of an entire country. If the Spanish Armada
had not foundered in 1588, England probably would have become a vassal state of Spain, just
like Portugal. If the Ottoman Empire had won outside of Vienna in 1683, Europe, as we now
know it, most likely would not have existed. Another immensely important factor was how
efficiently a military unit could be moved. Poland-Lithuania defended their giant commonwealth by dashing about with their incredibly mobile armies: one moment to the coast of the
Black Sea; the next to the Baltic; the next to the Ukraine, winning battles in the meantime.
You may move two kinds of military units in the game: army units and fleets. There are three kinds
of battle: Pitched Battles, Sieges, and Naval Battles. All of this will be thoroughly covered in this
chapter.
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By holding down the “SHIFT” key while right clicking, you
can specify an exact path for your units.
Selecting and ordering Units
In addition to left clicking a unit, you may also keep the left mouse button pressed and drag a box
around 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.
When you have right clicked the area you want to move your army unit into, the unit will start
marching/sailing. You also see a green arrow showing the direction of the movement path. 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.
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 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, the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf or the Black Sea, as this ship type is less useful on the open sea.
Merging, splitting, reorganizing, and dissolving fleets is done in exactly the same way as army
units are merged, etc.
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To load an army on a fleet, give it a movement command to the sea
zone where the fleet is. If the fleet is in port, you must first send it
to sea. It is faster to embark from and disembark to provinces with
ports than those without.
Loading of Army Units onto a Fleet
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 while in port since armies automatically
debark ships in ports.
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. If a fleet transporting army units is sent to port the army units will be unloaded
instantly and automatically in that province.
A
RMIES
As has already been mentioned, there are three branches of the army that may be included
in the army unit: infantry, cavalry and artillery.
The basis of the field army was the infantry, the cheapest one to recruit, and was also easier to train but which often lacked the firepower to make it the decisive factor in a battle. The
cavalry, as the successor of the knight, was the "army branch of the nobility," a status it was to
hold until a long time after the period covered by this game. The cavalry was the principal actor
of the battleground and lacked all firepower, but made up for this by its strong shock effect with
the ability to quickly shatter the morale of the enemy, if it was employed efficiently.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the emphasis was shifted from shock effect to
firepower in the armies of Europe. The infantry became the equal of the cavalry, although the
two forces served different purposes during a battle. The artillery had become lighter, and
thereby more mobile, and was also beginning to be utilized as relief for the infantry in battles.
During the 18th century, another shift in focus of battle efficiency took place. Drill and
discipline had been established in the European armies, thereby making it possible for the
infantry firepower to be utilized more efficiently. Infantry became more important on the
field of battle than cavalry, even though the cavalry still played a very important operational
role, being the most efficient branch for reconnaissance purposes during the period. In
addition, the cavalry was still the only fast, long-range branch of the army, which made it
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indispensable in deep-going wars such as those in Russia, Poland, and the Middle East.
At the end of the 15th century, artillery was chiefly used in sieges. Cannons were usually
very heavy and immobile and seldom of much use in a pitched battle. The efficiency of the
artillery improved markedly during the 17th century, and was organized in batteries with a
direct fire effect against infantry on the battlefield. Efficiently utilized artillery could be the
decisive factor of a battle, simply because the heavy artillery fire could shatter morale in a
wing or even a flank, an advantage that was then used by sending a cavalry shock against
the shaken, retiring infantrymen.
In a field army, the infantry is slower than the cavalry but faster than the artillery. The cavalry is
less economical and takes longer to train; however, it is the fastest unit, extremely maneuverable,
and can have an enormous shock effect in the heat of battle. On the other hand it is less
serviceable in a siege. The infantry, together with the artillery, serves as garrisons for fortifications.
Use SHIFT + click on the units’ bars to select exactly the units
you want. Useful if you want to merge some specific units in
a stack.
Army movement
When you order an army unit to move, i.e., give it marching orders, there is no distance limit from
the unit’s current location and your desired destination. The unit will start moving toward the
destination at the speed of its slowest army branch. For instance, if you have a unit consisting of
infantry, cavalry, and artillery, the whole unit will move as slowly as if it only consisted of artillery.
The nature of the terrain the unit is moving through or crossing will also affect its speed. It takes
25% longer to march through woods and deserts, 50% longer through swamps and 75% longer
through mountains compared with open terrain. The presence of snow will decrease the speed
even further, as will movements into undiscovered provinces.
In times of peace, you may move your army units both through your own provinces and those
of your vassals. When you are at war, you may also move through the provinces of your allies.
Presence of the enemy
If an enemy army unit should move into a province through which your unit is moving, the unit
will stop immediately and a battle will take place. If your army unit should lose, it will retreat. You
cannot influence where it will retreat, as the commander automatically will move into a neighboring
province, giving preference to provinces that you control.
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If your army unit wins the battle, the enemy will retreat while your unit continues moving. Thus,
two army units from enemy armies may never stand still in the same province after a pitched
battle, unlike units from allied countries.
You can move freely through unfortified and fortified enemy provinces, provided that you
detach a troop to watch the fortification. After detaching a troop, the main part of your unit may
march on. To detach a troop for guard purposes, click on that button in the information window.
Recruitment
The time it takes to recruit a unit varies between the different branches, partly because the time it
takes to train an efficient army unit varies, and partly because the setup of the unit demands
several kinds of specialized equipment. To simplify, we can say that artillery units take the longest
to recruit, followed by the cavalry, and then the infantry.
The cost of recruitment depends upon a number of factors. Firstly, different kinds of troops
cost different amounts. Artillery is the most expensive, followed by cavalry, and then the relatively
inexpensive infantry. Secondly, the cost is dependent on which country is recruiting the troops.
Different countries had different traditions when it came to choosing army branches and the
composition of army units. Some countries, for instance, chose quality above quantity. Thirdly, the
cost will vary depending on which level of military technology your country possesses. In general,
troops get more expensive the higher your military technology level is, since a higher level of
technology means costlier training and more expensive equipment. Infantry and cavalry are
recruited in units of 1000 men and artillery in units of 10 pieces.
Maintenance cost
The maintenance of your army units is paid monthly. By accessing your country’s Financial
Summary you’ll be able to see how large the sum is compared with your other expenses. You may
change the maintenance payments of your country by accessing the army information window,
where you may choose what percentage of the maintenance you wish to pay. The payment must be
at least 50% of the actual costs. The size of the maintenance is also based on the total size of your
armies and whether this exceeds your national supportable amount. You may disband army units
to reduce the cost of maintenance. Note that your morale will be adversely affected if you pay less
than 100% maintenance.
Fortifications
The importance of fortifications cannot be overestimated. A hostile army unit automatically
controls a province without a fortress as soon as it has moved into the province. A province with
a fortress, however, must either be put under siege or assaulted. Sieges may take a long time;
anywhere from three months up to a year is common. The assault may be quick, but usually with
great loss of life.
The basic cost for erecting fortifications is 100 ducats, but the price may be higher depending
on the country’s level of inflation. You may also upgrade existing fortresses to more modern and
larger models, but in order to do that you must achieve a certain level of military technology.
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FLEETS
As has already been mentioned, a fleet may include three kinds of vessels: warships, transports,
and galleys. Warships are oceangoing, heavily armed vessels, representing a number of different
sizes and designs. Your level of naval technology is the determining factor. Galleys also represent
different sizes, levels of armament and designs, but they differ from warships in that they are less
seaworthy on the open sea, and their strength relative to the warship diminishes over time. Their
advantage lies in being cheaper to build. Transports are a jumble of different designs, differentiated,
like the other types of vessels, by your naval technology level.
Contrary to the condition on land, you cannot control the ocean; you can only try to prevent
the enemy from controlling the shipping lanes. Naval warfare was conducted in a fundamentally
different way from the battle on land, and reaching what is sometimes known as domination of the
seas was a lengthy process. We will attempt to explain this.
Firstly, it was important to defend coastlines and the strategic and important passages that
needed to be used. Enemy fleets could not be allowed to cruise off a country’s own coast, as this
could mean a sudden landing with disastrous consequences; England lived under this threat for
many years, mainly from Spain and France. Moreover, a country could have a narrow canalizing
passage such as the English Channel, the control over which would give economic advantages and
would minimize the risk of having part of the country cut off from the rest.
To defend a coast from a nearby enemy fleet, it was necessary to go out to sea, find the enemy,
and attack, thus forcing him back to his own waters. This is where interception is important. Since
the sea zones were so large, and a fleet could only control a small area physically, it was never
certain that a naval battle would occur. Many times, two enemy fleets would keep sailing back and
forth looking for each other for a long time without having a decisive battle.
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. The
main problem was finding the enemy and creating local superiority. If you did not succeed the
engagement was called off.
After having successfully chased an enemy fleet away to their own port, the defending fleet
would then cruise outside the enemy coast or try to blockade the enemy ports. When a majority
of the enemy fleets were eradicated or in blockade, naval supremacy was achieved.
When a fleet with the Patrol box checked reaches its
destination, it will return to its original position and
then start over again.
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Fleet Movement
Fleets are moved in the same way as army units, the only difference being that the sea zones
through which the fleet moves don’t belong to anybody. If you move through a zone where an
enemy fleet is located, an attempt at naval interception will occur (see Naval Interception). If the
enemy fleet does not succeed with the interception, you will keep moving. If he succeeds or if you
deliberately end your movement in that zone, a naval battle will take place. Ports do not count as
sea zones, and no interception or naval battle can take place against a fleet in port. However, it
may be blockaded if the level of naval technology is sufficiently advanced (see Naval Blockades
and Ports).
The speed of warships and transports increases with higher technology while that of galleys
remains constant. Bad weather, ice and undiscovered sea zones decrease the speed of fleets.
Naval Interception
When your fleet gets into the same sea zone as an enemy fleet, there is always a chance of a
successful interception and an ensuing battle. What happens depends on what respective levels of
naval technology the combatants possess, how skilled the commanders are in maneuvering their
vessels, and a considerable portion of luck. Luck in this context is all about how the wind blows.
The one in the right quarter of the wind usually had the decisive advantage in the era of sailing
ships. Note that fleets cruising outside their own coast receive a bonus when intercepting, and that
interceptions in certain coastal provinces (Scania, Zealand, the Bosphorus, Gibraltar, and
Tangiers) always succeed, due to the tactical advantages for the fleet controlling these constricted
passages.
The sea zones next to a country’s provinces are its national waters. Naval attrition will
be minimal here.
Ports
It has already been stated that certain provinces—coastal provinces—possess ports. You may
send a fleet into one of your own ports (i.e., a port in your own country) at any time providing
that you control the province where the port is located. You may also send your fleets into the ports
of allied countries provided that the country in question controls the province where the port is,
and that your country and the allied country together are at war with another country.
Why would you want to send your fleet into port? Firstly, a fleet in port may never be attacked
by an enemy fleet, which means that it can be tactically sound to send a fleet into port if the
enemy’s naval strength is superior to yours. Secondly, fleets don’t suffer attrition in port, which
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means that it is advisable to send a fleet into port from time to time. Note that if an enemy army
unit takes control of a province in which there is a port where you have a fleet, the fleet is
automatically forced out of the port into the nearest sea zone. If there is an enemy fleet there, a
naval battle will take place.
Ship building
Building times vary between the different types of vessels, due to their different levels of
advancement. Generally, the higher the level of naval technology a country possesses, the longer it
will take to build a vessel. One rule of thumb is that warships take the longest to build, followed
by transports, and then galleys.
The cost of building a vessel depends upon a number of factors. Firstly, different kinds of
vessels always vary in cost. Warships are the most expensive, followed by transports, and galleys
are the cheapest. Secondly, the cost is dependent on which country builds the vessels. Different
countries had different naval traditions about the composition of fleets. Some countries, for
instance, chose quality above quantity. Note that galleys can only be built in ports along the Baltic
Sea, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Persia, which means that
countries by these seas will have naval traditions including the employment of galley fleets. Thirdly,
the cost will vary depending on the level of naval technology your country possesses. In general,
vessels become more expensive the higher your naval technology level is, since a higher level of
technology entails more expensive training and equipment. All vessels are built in units of one
ship, although certain coastal provinces can build more than one at a time.
Maintenance cost
The maintenance of your fleets is paid monthly. By accessing your country’s Financial Summary
you can see how large the sum is compared with your other expenses. You may change the
maintenance payments of your country by accessing the naval information window, where you may
choose what percentage of the maintenance you wish to pay. The payment must be at least 50% of
the actual costs. The size of the maintenance is also based on the size of your fleets; if you have 72
vessels you’ll have to pay twice as much as if you’d had 36 vessels. You may disband fleets to
reduce the cost of maintenance. Note that your morale will be adversely affected if you pay less
than 100% maintenance.
BUILDING/RECRUITING CAPACITY
Each country has a manpower base, limiting the possibility of recruiting army units. When you
recruit army units you will see how your manpower base is lowered. Each unit of 1000 infantry,
1000 cavalry or 10 pieces of artillery lowers your manpower base 1 step. There are always a
limited number of available young able-bodied men, and there is always a permanent demand for
strong men and women if you want your farming to be handled properly in each village. This all
means that there is a limit to how many soldiers you may recruit. Each province has a manpower
value, showing how much it contributes to the armed forces of your country. The manpower base
is computed as an annual sum, which increases as time passes. If your country has conquered new
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provinces or developed colonies into towns, your annual manpower base may increase. It will also
increase as time passes because of a general population growth. Your manpower base may also
drop if you lose provinces or suffer losses of population for any other reasons. Building ships for
your fleets is not affected by your manpower base, as there was a relatively small demand for
manpower, compared with the needs of the army units.
Province limit
There is also a local limitation, or recruitment capacity, when applied to the recruitment of army
units or fleets. You recruit your army units in your provinces, which means that the level of
development of each province limits each separate recruitment attempt. By appointing officials,
upgrading fortifications, and building factories, you improve the recruitment capacity of each
province. Note that the population level is the most important factor defining recruitment
capacity. If you are raising an army unit or building a fleet in a province, you may not start
recruiting a new unit or build a new fleet until the work in progress has been finished.
Improvements
If your country has reached a sufficiently high level of military or naval technology, you may
increase the recruitment or building capacity by constructing conscription centers (military tech
level 31) and naval shipyards (naval tech level 16). The conscription center is shown as a small
military tent, and represents a number of administrative and economic functions in your province,
making it easier to establish larger army units. The effect is a tenfold increase in the recruitment
capacity of your province, and improved maintenance ability for any army unit in the province (see
Maintenance, and Attrition). The province’s contribution to the recruitment capacity of your
country is also greatly increased. The naval shipyard will change the port symbol of your province,
making it larger and colored in gold. The naval shipyard is simply an improved shipyard, with the
capacity to build all ship types at a much higher speed, a sort of "assembly line" production of the
times. The naval shipyard increases the building capacity of your province tenfold. The first naval
shipyard you build also provides one extra colonist each year.
COMMANDERS
If you reorganize a single unit, a new one with a general commander will always be
created. If your single unit contains more than one historical commander, use the split
button to assign them to different units.
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A commander leads each army unit or fleet. Commanders have a very large impact on battles (see
Pitched Battles and Naval Battles), exploration, and attrition. Commanders are historical or general. The former are well-known generals and admirals who worked during the period and who
are regarded as particularly interesting, either because of their skills or their imperfections in battle. The latter come from a "national pool" and have names from history, but none of them were
distinguished enough to become historically important. They are something of a cheaper article,
but they still mirror the state of training and skill of the country’s body of officers.
An army unit or a fleet may have more than one commander, but only one of them will command
the unit; this will be the highest-ranking commander, who is also the only one who will add anything to the battle. Note that you may split a unit if you want to take advantage of more than one
good commander.
Commanders may die in battles or through random events. If a commander dies in a battle, the
second-highest ranking commander will automatically assume command of the army unit or fleet.
If the unit or fleet only had one historical commander, a general commander will immediately
assume command.
All commanders are assigned a value in each of the skills of Maneuver, Firing, Shock
Effect/Boarding, and Siege. Note that each commander is either an army or a navy commander.
General commanders always have the same values, depending on their country of origin. Their
values may never exceed 4 (2 for the siege value) or go below 0. Historical commanders have
unique values that may be much more varied.
Specialists
There are also two kinds of specialists: Conquistadors and Explorers. They function like
commanders, but also possess some special functions.
Conquistadors lead army units and receive a special bonus for exploring new provinces. They
also receive a special bonus when battling natives, and a very high capacity for maintenance (i.e.,
small risk of attrition).
Explorers lead fleets and have a special bonus for exploring new sea zones and bordering
provinces. Like the Conquistadors, they have a very high capacity for maintenance (i.e., small risk
of attrition).
HOSTILE ACTIONS
Battles occur when two or more enemy units find themselves in the same province/sea zone. A
pitched battle may also occur when an army unit moves into an independent province and
encounters a band of natives. You will then see two fighting soldiers/ships, symbolizing the two
sides of the battle. Each unit has a long rectangle. The color of the rectangles shows the level of
morale and how it changes during the battle. The length of the rectangles shows the size of the
unit in proportion to the enemy unit, and how the size changes when the unit sustains casualties.
The battle is divided into phases that will continue until one of the sides loses the battle and retreats.
Note that you can’t control the action during the phases, except for making a voluntary retreat.
The side that either loses its morale and thereby flees (or withdraws, see Retreat) or loses all
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its soldiers/ships has been defeated. Note that either side may choose to withdraw at any time by
giving the unit a movement command to another province/zone. Retreating units will carry a white flag.
Mercenaries appear instantly and at full morale. They don’t affect
your manpower as normal builds do.
Combat Morale
Combat morale is an important factor in battle. If the army unit’s or fleet’s combat morale falls to
the lowest level during combat, then it will lose the battle. Each army unit and fleet has a combat
morale value, shown as a narrow rectangle at the base of the unit. This indicates the unit’s morale
in the scale red-yellow-green. A newly recruited or assembled unit always starts its career with the
lowest possible morale. It increases each month until it reaches the maximum level possible
allowed by your current level of technology.
The combat morale depends on the naval and land military level of technology, respectively,
that your country has achieved. The higher the technology level, the higher the combat morale.
There are some special cases.
Firstly, countries with a Reformed, Hindu, or Shia Moslem state religion experience a bonus in
combat morale. Secondly, the combat morale in your country decreases for several years if it has
suffered bankruptcy. Thirdly, the morale is lower if you pay less than 100 % of the cost of
maintenance. Fourthly, fleets consisting only of transport ships have a very low combat morale.
Finally, galleys always suffer a low combat morale and are not affected by improvements in naval
military technology.
Note that a unit whose combat morale has decreased will recover each month, eventually
returning to its maximum morale. It may therefore be tactically sound to wait a period before
using a unit with low morale to attack and thereby allow it to "take the bull by the horns" when it
is fully recovered.
Pitched Battles
What determines the outcome of a battle? Firstly, the odds, i.e. the relative strength between the
army units, are extremely important. Secondly, the difference in level of military technology is very
important. Thirdly, the commander is important since his skills of movement, fire, and shock
effect will influence the phases of the battle. Furthermore, the outcome of the battle is affected by
the side that has cavalry superiority. This will give the commander scouting information that he
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may use while commanding the battle, as well as an effective force to send against retreating
enemies. Note that cavalry superiority loses its importance in provinces with forests, swamps, and
mountains. Finally, the invader will receive a negative bonus when attacking in a mountain
province, across a river, or when disembarking in a province containing a hostile army unit.
If you win the battle, the enemy will withdraw and you may either move your army to another
province or you may choose to begin a siege or assault against any fortifications in the province
where the army unit is standing.
The defeated party in a battle withdraws from the province, preferably to a province controlled
by its own country or an ally, and which does not contain any hostile army units.
The attacker is always on the left part of the screen, the defender on the
right. The needle points towards the stronger side, weighting in current
strength, technology, morale, leaders and terrain.
Naval Battles
What determines the outcome of a naval battle? Firstly the odds, i.e., the relative difference in
strength between the fleets, are immensely important. Secondly, the difference in naval technology
levels is very important. Thirdly the commander is important, as his skill value in maneuvering,
firing, and boarding will influence the phases of the battle. Fourthly, the outcome of the battle is
influenced by the side that has utilized wind conditions most efficiently, for which your
commander is responsible. You cannot influence this, but note that only one side will get the bonus
for wind conditions. Warships will fight less effectively when there is no wind at all, giving Galleys a
distinct advantage during these conditions. This penalty is decreased as technology is advanced.
If you win the battle, the enemy will retreat and you may either move your fleet to another sea
zone or, if you wish and possess the naval technology for it, begin a naval blockade; or simply
cruise in the sea zone.
The loser of a naval battle must retreat from the sea zone. If the enemy originally tried to force
himself out of a blockaded port, his fleet will retreat to the same port, or else it will retreat to the sea zone
which is closest to one of the country’s own or allied ports, and which does not contain an enemy fleet.
Retreat
Retreat will occur if either of two conditions are present: when your army or fleet is defeated in a
pitched battle or naval battle, or when, during a pitched battle or naval battle, you order your army
or fleet to move away from the province where the battle is taking place, i.e. voluntary retreat.
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Note that if an army is defeated in a pitched battle or if a fleet is defeated in a naval battle it
must withdraw. If, for some reason, there is no province or sea zone to withdraw to, the unit will
be destroyed.
When a fleet or army withdraws, the unit’s flag will be exchanged for a white flag, thus
marking that you are no longer in control of the unit, that it will not affect the province it
withdraws to, and that it is increasingly vulnerable if attacked by the enemy.
When a withdrawing army or fleet arrives in a province or sea zone free of hostile units, the
unit’s flag reverts to the flag of its country, the player regains control over the unit, and morale will
slowly recover.
Note that it is tactically sound to pursue a withdrawing enemy and immediately resume the
pitched battle or naval battle, thus using the advantage of your unit’s superior morale.
For every enemy port you blockade with your fleet, the
enemy will lose a part of his trade income. A besieged city
with a port will fall much sooner if you also put a blockade on it. A blockaded port cannot serve as a supply
source for overseas forces.
Naval Blockades
What is a naval blockade? A naval blockade means that you have a fleet in the sea zone adjacent
to a port, and that your country has reached the right naval technology level. Your fleet
automatically blockades every enemy port bordering on the sea zone. Your fleet will patrol the
entrance of the port and thus prevent ships from leaving and calling at the port. A fleet
blockading a port can be attacked both from other sea zones and from the port in question. The
fleet will automatically receive the bonus for successfully utilizing wind conditions if it defends
itself against the blockaded fleet.
When the icon of a besieged fortress starts burning, a breach has
been struck in the wall. Not only will this speed up the siege process,
it will also increase the chance to carry through a successful assault.
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Sieges
A siege commences after a victorious pitched battle in a fortified enemy province, or once an army
unit is moved into a hostile province with a fortress but with no enemy army units present. In both
cases the army unit must be of minimum size in order to initiate the siege. Normally the size should
be equal to that of the unit stationed at the garrison.
Why would you want to besiege a fortress? This is your only opportunity to control the city and
thereby the province. A controlled province gives you more points when you or your enemy offers
peace. When preparing for a siege, you have a couple of options. Firstly, you may assign a watch
detail. This makes it possible for you to maintain a supply line through the province, keep an eye
on the fortress, and control the province. Secondly, you may assign the actual siege force. This
force will subsequently attempt to take the city by building trenches that are successively
extended and advanced, attempt to undermine the fortress walls using sappers, fire upon, and
starve the garrison into surrendering.
Each month the garrison’s defenses are tested. If they fail, the fortress falls into your hands.
Factors that affect this include how long the siege has been in place, the besieged commander’s
siege experience, the province’s terrain (where the fortress is located), the relative difference in
artillery, the size of the fortress, and earlier results.
A fortress usually falls sooner or later, but note that your enemy may send an army unit into the
province, forcing you to fight and win a pitched battle in order to continue the siege. Another
problem is attrition: If the size of your army unit becomes smaller than that of the forces
defending the garrison, then the siege is lifted and you may only guard the fortress. You may of
course move additional units into the province and resume the siege. Also note that at any time
you may break off the siege in order to leave the province, or assault the fortress.
Assaults
It was noted earlier that an assault may turn out to be very bloody. An example of a failed assault
is Charles X Gustavus’ attempted assault of Copenhagen in 1659. Assaults may also be successful.
Assaulting after a few months’ siege is usually a good strategy. But the great loss in combat morale
experienced after an assault makes you vulnerable to a quick counterattack that could completely
wipe out a hitherto successful military operation.
To launch an assault, click on the assault button in the information window. The assault itself is
similar to a pitched battle, with a few notable exceptions. The person launching the assault will
win if the enemy’s garrison is completely wiped out or forced to retreat (which means it is
disbanded). The terrain is of no consequence. Nor is cavalry used during an assault. If the assault
is successful, the fortress’s level is lowered one step (e.g. from medium to small), although never
so low that the province is left without a fortress. Finally, there is a risk that the town is plundered,
which significantly reduces the population. Plunder is an abstract phase of the battle that can’t be
seen, and the player cannot control it since it is the result of soldiers who run amuck.
ATTRITION
Army units were traditionally worn out more quickly than they are today. There wasn’t the
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same level of medical care, the diet was different, and there was a different awareness of
hygiene. You marched regardless of the weather, you were seldom dry, and you slept under
the stars. Diseases and epidemics flourished and poor nutrition increased susceptibility. To
top it all off, there were soldiers who didn’t want to fight. They were simply fed up and
escaped as soon as they saw their chance. These are a few factors affecting attrition and are
sometimes referred to as one element in the strategic concept of "friction."
In the game, it is of course the case that the more trials an army unit or fleet is exposed to, the
greater the attrition. Time also plays a part. Each month the supply level of each army unit and
fleet is checked. The result is shown as the number of losses due to attrition.
Land
What are the factors affecting attrition in an army unit? Most important is the size of the unit.
Secondly, the allegiance, control, and status (pillaged or not) of the province in which the unit is
located. Thirdly, the province’s relative richness, i.e. the size of its production, is considered. You
may see this information for each selected province in the information window if you click on the
church. Also, some types of terrain and the weather in the province may have an influence (e.g.
desert or swamps, and winter). Moreover, the attrition rate is affected by the use of the army unit:
movements, retreats, battles, sieges, assaults, and whether the unit is able to maintain a supply
line. Finally, the attrition rate is lowered in proportion to the commander’s movement skill. Note
here that one of the great advantages of the Conquistadors above all other commanders is their
ability to reduce the attrition rate to a minimum level outside of Europe.
Sea
What factors play a part in the attrition of a fleet? Firstly, the level of naval military technology
achieved affects attrition. The higher the level, the lower the attrition. Secondly, it is a matter of
where the fleet is located. Attrition is always zero in port, but increases incrementally in the
following: sea zones that border on a coastal province, sea zones that border on another province,
and finally sea zones that do not border on a coast. The attrition rises to catastrophic levels if the
fleet is located in a sea zone where there is a storm or one that is ice-locked. Further, attrition is
reduced in proportion to the commander’s movement skill. Also, attrition increases for each
month that the fleet is at sea without visiting a port. Finally, attrition increases on galleys
operating outside the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf or the Black 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.
SUPPLY LINES
Army units and fleets sometimes suffer attrition, i.e. suffer a loss of lives without having
experienced battle. Army units must maintain functioning supply lines in order to reduce the risk
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of attrition. Historically, a supply line was more or less a caravan of wagons with supplies and
necessities that shuttled back and forth between the field units and the supply depots located in
more civilized areas. Each army unit has its supply level checked once a month. If the level is high,
there is a low rate of attrition; if the level is low, the unit will lose more soldiers.
So what is a supply line? An army unit must be able to draw an imaginary line through provinces
on the map to a province that serves as a supply base. There is no limit to how long this line may
be. This line may only be drawn through provinces that are controlled by you or your allies and
not through those containing enemy units or provinces that are not held either by your forces or
those of your allies. The point is that the line cannot be drawn through a province containing
enemy army units or enemy fortifications without a watch detail or siege force assigned to them.
Also, the line may not be drawn through neutral provinces (i.e. provinces belonging to countries
that are not involved in your war) or independent provinces.
Which provinces may then serve as supply bases? First of all, all provinces with a town or
colony, with or without a port, belonging to and controlled by the country. Secondly, coastal
provinces controlled by the country (i.e. they do not have to belong to the country) that are not
under a sea blockade. Note that you and your allies may use each other’s supply bases during war.
In addition, note that provinces with trading posts cannot be used as supply bases.
The effect of not being able to draw a supply line is that the attrition rate increases substantially
each month.
Pillaged Provinces
Army units often lived off the land of whatever province they occupied. This means that they
arbitrarily "requisitioned" whatever they needed. These necessities and moneys were of
course taken from the inhabitants of the province. It is therefore quite understandable that
provinces where enemy army units have passed through do not contribute as much to the
state treasury.
In the game, this means that provinces where a military force (even a friendly one!) suffers high
attrition, either because it is cut off from its supply or the province is too poor compared to the
size of the force to feed them with normal means, may be pillaged. Rebel forces can also pillage
for more random reasons. You will see that a province has been plundered by the fires around the
town or colony of the province. The pillaging provides a small one-time income to the pillager.
The pillaged province does not contribute to the income of the country, and the population growth
of the province decreases, which will affect your total income in the long run. A pillaged province will
recover after a while, usually 12 months, and then the town or colony will stop "burning".
ECONOMY
OVERVIEW
The importance of a good economy cannot be overrated. The economic wealth of your country
determines how much of your resources you can invest in various activities, from research to war.
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What then are the cornerstones of your economy? Most of your income will come from
production and taxes, which are generated by the population in your provinces, and from trade,
which is generated by your merchants in various Centers of Trade.
External Factors
Your country’s economy is, of course, affected by what happens in the world at large and what your
country does. Two factors that affect your economy on different levels and thereby have "multiple
effects" are your country’s level of stability and its level of infrastructure technology. If your
country suffers reduced stability, all of your income will be reduced together with your ability to
invest in research.
War is another scourge since, even if your country’s stability is intact (i.e. another country
declares war on yours), you will face reduced resources. Pillaged provinces, centers of revolt,
sieges, assaults, and many other factors may reduce the population of your provinces and
thereby your income.
Remember that you must think relatively. When you look back on the past decade and
discover that your annual income has risen 10%, it is not necessarily time to celebrate. If the
annual income of your potential enemies has increased by 50% during the same period, you have
lost economic strength in relation to them.
Managing your Resources
Managing your resources is not a miracle drug, but it may significantly simplify your country’s
challenging path toward victory. "Resources are limited, but goals are unlimited" is an old saying
that rings true to this day.
When you use your resources, "balance" is a keyword. This applies both to the monthly
balance between income and expenses, as well as the balance between the different enterprises in
which you may invest your resources. You could divide these enterprises roughly into three areas:
defense, finance, and expansion.
The challenge is to defend your country while you are investing in research and upgrading
fortresses, appointing public officials, and colonizing the New World. If you can succeed in
creating monopolies in trade centers and winning a war or two while avoiding going bankrupt,
then your fortune is secured. It’s all a matter of keeping the balance.
The Financial Summary
Here you get an overview of the economic state of your country. 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
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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 rollover for supportable amount gives a hint on how to increase it.
The maintenance cost for excessive units are three times higher than the
ordinary cost.
The Budget
The state budget lets you decide 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.
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 one factor is more important than the others, 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.
PROVINCES AND POPULATION GROWTH
If it is true that your country’s economy is its heart, then the provinces are your country’s veins. It
is in the provinces that everything happens. The economic system is alive with the exchange of
goods. This occurs in the market places next to where people live - people who produce and consume.
In other words, the population of a province is directly related to the amount of goods produced, the number of people working, the extent of the trade, and finally the government’s ability
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to receive income from taxes and fees.
This means that every province has a tax value, a production value, and a trade value. These
are in direct proportion to the size of the province’s population. If the population increases, then
these three values increase as well, which in the end means that both the monthly and annual
incomes increase.
Increase
How then do you increase the size of the population? Note first of all that when we refer to the
population we are talking about the town’s or the colony’s population, i.e. the provincial center.
Each province normally experiences a positive population growth that contributes to an increase
in the size of the provincial population each month. You can see the exact amount by clicking on
the church in the information window. The amount of growth can be higher than normal if there
is a center of trade in the province or in a neighboring province, if there is a factory in the
province, or if the province contains the country’s capital.
Decrease
The province may also experience a negative population growth (i.e. the size of the population
decreases over time). This is likely to occur in provinces where you have founded a colony and in
cities located in very inhospitable areas (e.g. in the tropical parts of Africa). The province may also
suffer a temporary negative or less positive population growth if the province is pillaged, besieged,
or if the province is controlled by rebels.
Instant changes
There are also times when the size of the population changes suddenly and dramatically, either up
or down. When you send a colonist, the population will increase by 100 inhabitants, although you
cannot send colonists to provinces with a population of 5000 or more. When an army unit
successfully conquers a fortress through assault, the population might decrease in size due to a
massacre (the soldiers of the time were sometimes very difficult to control). Finally, random
events may change the size of the population.
Population and income
So, the larger the population the higher the production value, tax value, and trade value. Trading
posts usually have a very low production value and barely any tax value, but have a very high trade
value. The colony will be seen as a less developed city. A city has more balanced values, but the
production value and tax value may increase significantly as the population increases, while the
trade value remains steady. Note that the trade value is not as dependent on the population size as
are the other values. What is much more important is supply and demand and the market price,
but more about this later.
To get an idea of the population levels at which these three values are strongly affected, see "levels of development" below. When a city’s population has grown so much that the city achieves a
new level of development, the three values increase significantly.
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Level of development Inhabitants
Colony Level 1 1 –199
Colony Level 2 200 – 299
Colony Level 3 300 – 399
Colony Level 4 400 – 499
Colony Level 5 500 – 599
Colony Level 6 600 – 699
Colonial City Level 1 700 – 1399
Colonial City Level 2 1400 – 2799
Colonial City Level 3 2800 – 4999
City Level 1 5000 – 9999
City Level 2 10000 – 19999
City Level 3 20000 – 39999
City Level 4 40000 – 79999
City Level 5 80000 – 199999
City Level 6 200000 +
Each level of a Trading post represents 10 persons. These are not subject to growth and decline
as ordinary population since they are mostly made up of locals. However, they will be added to the
total population if a colony is established in a province with an existing Trading post.
Sending colonists may increase the population in provinces with a population less than 5000.
Also note that if the population size reaches 1000 inhabitants it can never decrease to less than
this amount. Remember that stability always has an impact on population growth.
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 starting-point 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 consequences 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.
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Stability is thus affected by both the international status of your country, and by the
relations between your monarch and his subjects.
FACTORS 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.
Religion was something that united and divided countries during the epoch. It was
thought of as un-Christian and therefore 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.
Some other important factors that lowered stability during the period were various
political acts of a dubious nature. Breaking 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.
If you double click on a slider, it will be locked in that position. However, if
a value for a locked slider accumulates to max, stability for instance, the
slider will change to the lowest position.
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. A declaration of war against a country of the same religion or against any country that you have an exceptionally good relation with, lowers your stability an additional step (–1). To declare war against
an allied country was historically seen as truly degenerate behavior, and will lower your stability
yet another step (–1) if the country under attack has ties through a royal marriage with yours.
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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.
Breaking treaties, such as the annulment of 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 to 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 ability 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.
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FACTORS THAT INCREASE STABILITY
This is to be interpreted as the monarch and the government 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 may increase the stability of your country by investing in stability in your state. A certain sum
is 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. You cannot raise stability above +3. All
investments made when your stability is at +3 will result in ducats for your treasury.
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).
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. Note that certain random
occurrences may also raise stability.
The color of the disc of the capital indicates the level of stability. A red outline around the stability icon indicates that you are
at war. The anchor symbol for a port changes into a wheel when
it harbors a fleet. The gold color indicates a shipyard.
What is affected by Stability?
To begin with, the population size 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 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,
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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.
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 partly 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, the greater the risk of rebellions, and vice versa. You can read more about this later in
the manual.
Note also that the annual interest of your loans varies along with your stability.
LOANS
Loans during this period were as common as they are today, but repayment was not as common.
Observe that loans are not necessarily trouble, only poorly managed ones. Loans are in fact often
a necessity. A few examples are when your country wants to build factories or needs to recruit
army units quickly for a war that is about to break out. In other words, there will be times in the
game when you cannot afford not to take a loan, and then it will be more profitable to take the
loan instead of slowly saving money in the bank.
National loan
First of all, you may receive a loan from the country’s national bank. This means that you are
borrowing money internally from your own subjects. If you do not repay the loan you will suffer
the consequences, since your subjects are not likely to trust you in the future.
A national bank loan equals 200 ducats, no more and no less. The size of the loan, however,
may change as a result of development of your country’s financial institutions (random events).
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Your country may have no more than five loans simultaneously. Each loan has a term of five years
(effective as of the loan date). After five years, the loan is either repaid or extended for five more
years. If a loan is extended, then the interest rate on all loans increases. Each month the interest
due on all loans is deducted from the monthly income, since the interest is part of monthly costs,
as was mentioned earlier.
The level of stability in the country, the number of loans you have taken, whether the country
has been declared bankrupt, and whether you have renewed any loans, all affect the interest rate.
International loan
Countries may also lend each other money. You decide the terms when you extend the offer to lend
money (in the diplomacy window). Here you decide the sum you want to offer, but you may offer
no more than half the sum in your treasury at any one time. You also decide the annual interest
rate, which can be between 1 and 10%. Finally, you decide the loan period, which may be between
1 and 300 months. Note that your counterpart may decline the loan offer. This is a result of the
terms you offered and your foreign affairs relationship. If you are offered a loan you cannot
negotiate the terms. You may only accept or decline. If two countries that have a loan relationship
(one has borrowed from the other) go to war, then the loan ceases to exist, i.e. the lender will
never be repaid and the borrower never has to repay the money.
Repayments
Repayment of a loan is always a problem and may sometimes come as an unpleasant surprise. The
best way to avoid the surprise is to use the archive effectively (see Archive). Loans from the
national bank are for a five-year period, which means they are to be repaid five years after they
are issued. You cannot choose to repay the loan earlier because loans of liquid assets had to be
repaid in liquid assets, and since the majority of the country’s income and expenses was managed
within a barter economy, careful planning was required.
Nor can loans be amortized, i.e. paid back a little bit at a time. This is because those who
extended the loans obviously wanted to maximize the interest income they received. When a loan
is due for repayment, you may choose either to repay it in full, or to renew the loan. Note that if
you renew a loan, you are only postponing the problem because sooner or later you will either
have to repay or declare national bankruptcy. The latter is very unpleasant and should be avoided
at all costs.
Repayment of loans from other countries works a little differently. Firstly, they are not counted
toward the five-loan limit. Secondly, you may simply decide not to pay back the money, i.e. declare
that you do not owe the other country any money. This will result, however, in your stability level
dropping one level and giving the other country a Casus Belli against your country.
BANKRUPTCY
You automatically declare national bankruptcy if your country has five unpaid loans and you either
cannot repay one of them on the due date, or you have five unpaid loans and your monthly
income/expense balance is negative and your treasury lacks the funds to cover the difference. Note
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that if this should occur and you have less than five loans, then a loan will automatically be taken
to cover the negative balance.
When your country declares national bankruptcy the stability level drops one level, since your
subjects lose faith in the ability of the monarch and the government to manage the country’s
finances. You lose a substantial part of all your current investments in new technologies. All loans
from the national bank are written off (i.e. disappear) when you declare bankruptcy, but all future
loans from the national bank will have a much higher interest rate. Your inflation will also
increase. Finally, your army units’ and fleets’ combat morale drops. This effect will last for
several years from the time your country goes bankrupt. The reason for the drop is the general
unrest that spread through the troops when they heard that the national treasury, from which their
salary is paid, was empty.
INFLATION
In the past, inflation was an even greater problem than it is today, at least in Europe. The
reason for this was that they had a lesser understanding of the causes of inflation than today,
and that they lacked the political control necessary to suppress it.
As you know, inflation is a function of general price increases keeping a higher pace than
individuals’ increases in income, as well as the amount of legal tender (i.e. money)
circulating in the economy. This was very problematic during the pre-capitalist era, and for
good reason. One problem was the differentiated monetary system during this period. It
meant that part of the system was a barter economy without money as a means of payment.
When money was used there were several different types of coins used simultaneously. The
value of the coins was based on the value of the metal of which the coins were made.
Generally it can be said that the majority of people used copper coins, the merchants and city
dwellers added the use of silver coins, and the government added gold coins to the mix. If,
say, the value of copper dropped then the relative value of silver and gold coins increased,
amplifying the effects of inflation for the broad masses of society. Another problem was the
subjects’ confidence in the quality of the coinage. There were many possibilities for forgery,
a fact abused by less scrupulous governments.
What are the effects of inflation? Basically, the price of anything that money can buy will increase
with inflation. This includes recruiting army units, building fleets, building or upgrading fortresses,
building factories, appointing public officials, etc.
Increasing factors
What will increase inflation in your country? First, it is the supply of gold in your provinces. The
problem was that gold could be used for little else than coins. If a country could extract a lot of
gold from its gold-producing provinces, then the country’s government could use this gold as a
means of payment. In simple terms, you could say that the amount of currency in a country must
be in balance with the country’s total production, and when the means of payment increased
disproportionately inflation followed.
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The rule of thumb is, then, that gold causes inflation, but at the same time gold production
provides a direct profit of liquid assets that the other provinces do not yield.
Secondly, inflation is affected if your country borders on a country that produces gold.
Thirdly, the inflation rate will be impacted for every neighboring country that has higher in
flation than your country.
Fourthly, it is affected by each loan your country has taken, since the loan results in liquid
assets pouring into your country’s monetary system.
Fifthly and perhaps most importantly, it is changed by the amount of liquid assets you choose
to withdraw from your monthly income. By withdrawing liquid assets in this way you are
financing public consumption through the production of coins, which in modern terms is
usually referred to as "starting up the printing press" (for bank notes).
Decreasing factors
It is almost impossible to avoid inflation completely, but through a planned and well-executed
economy you may lessen its effects. One thing you may do to control inflation is to appoint
mayors as governors. They are efficient inflation fighters and each appointment lowers inflation by
one percent.
You may conquer and annex neighboring countries that have a higher inflation than yours, but
for obvious reasons this is hardly cost-effective. Choosing to cede gold-producing provinces
through peace treaties isn’t an alternative either since these provinces are some of the richest in
the world. There were, after all, more reasons than just establishing trading posts for why Spain
chose to colonize America.
You may, however, attempt to avoid taking loans, or at least take as few as possible and pay
them back when due. To never withdraw part of your disposable monthly income as liquid assets
is a near impossibility, but not doing it unnecessarily is a virtue.
SOURCES OF INCOME
Production and taxes were an important part of a province’s economy, but very few
countries were autarchies, i.e. self-sufficient. Different countries’ inhabitants were variously
proficient at producing different products, and some countries lacked the necessary
prerequisites to produce some products. Switzerland does not produce a lot of fish, and
Sweden does not produce a lot of ivory. Trade started as a means to acquire all the goods that
a country needed but didn’t produce.
As was mentioned earlier, each province has a tax value, production value, and a trade value.
You could say that a province’s tax and production values benefit the country to which the province
belongs, while a province’s trade value goes into a pool from which every country can compete
for the profits using merchants.
We distinguish between annual, monthly, and other incomes.
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Annual income
The annual income is received at the start of each new year and comprises a Census Tax, Tolls,
and Trade Tariffs. When you receive the annual income, the funds are placed in your treasury at
your disposal.
The Census Tax is a fixed tax that was assessed per inhabitant and in the game it is based on
the sum value of your provinces’ taxes.
In reality, tolls were the fees that the state charged on goods as they were transported from one
place to another within the country, and it was through these that the government attempted to
control trade by channeling goods to only a few cities. The size of the tolls depends on your
country’s level of trade technology, as well as the size and number of cities, colonies, and trading
posts that belong to your country.
Trade tariffs are a fixed fee that merchants must pay in order to run their business in the trade
centers that belong to your country (i.e. those located in one of your provinces). The trade tariff
is 5 ducats per merchant.
Monthly income
The monthly income is received once the monthly cost (more about this later) has been
deducted. The monthly income comprises Tax Income, Production Income, Interest on Extended
Loans, and Income from factories. The monthly income is to be distributed. You may invest in
stability, research in areas of technology (land military, naval military, trade, infrastructure), and
make "withdrawals" to cash.
The exact composition of tax income varies from country to country and period to period, but
historically it may be said in general that land taxes and informal fees (e.g. salt fees, etc.) made
up the largest part. Tax income is based on the sum value of your provinces’ taxes. Production
income traditionally came from the sale of products from the royal grounds, as well as the sale of
official offices and a throng of various minor fees aimed at the subjects’ production and
consumption. The production income is based on the sum value of your provinces’ production.
Trade income derived primarily from an indirect tax on international trade, but during the
Mercantile era also became a political method of attempting to subsidize the development of the
country’s means of production. The trade income’s size is a result of the total number of
merchants your country has stationed in foreign centers of trade. Interest on extended loans is
exactly what it says: the interest you earn on the loans you have made to other countries (see
Loans). Income from factories is the income that the state receives, partly due to the special prices
that the governments’ own institutions enjoy when buying the factory products, partly because the
state often owned part of the factories and thereby received part of the profits. These incomes are
dependent on how many factories your country has and of what type.
Other income
The other sources of income lack regularity and appear on special occasions when the income
appears as liquid assets in your treasury. These can be gifts from other countries, new loans,
tributes paid as a result of a peace agreement, the levying of a war tax (see War Taxes) as well as
random events.
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Such things as the stability of the country, the national level of inflation, and the level of tech-
nology at which your country’s infrastructure operates affect both the annual and monthly incomes.
Monthly expenses
In terms of expenses there are only monthly expenses and other expenses. In other words, there
are no annual expenses. Monthly expenses include the cost of maintaining a military and the
interest on loans you have taken. As mentioned earlier, the monthly expenses are deducted from
the monthly income before it is received. If the monthly balance is negative, the difference is
withdrawn from the treasury. If there isn’t enough money to cover the difference, or if the
treasury is empty, then your country is automatically forced to borrow money. If your country
already has borrowed the maximum five loans allowed at any one time (see Loans), then it is
automatically declared bankrupt.
The other expenses lack regularity and appear on special occasions at which the cost is
immediately deducted from the liquid assets in your treasury. These include gifts to other
countries, repayment of loans, payment of tributes as a result of a peace agreement, as well as
random events. Included in other expenses are the variable costs incurred when recruiting army
units, building fleets, appointing officials, building or upgrading fortresses, and sending out
colonists, traders, and merchants.
War Taxes
War was associated with standing armies and armed fleets during long periods. Moving
troops through the kingdom or making the fleets seaworthy almost always required good
coin. The money covered running expenses for supplies and ammunition. Money was also
needed to strengthen already recruited army units. Attrition because of friction was as high
then as now, although it was caused by other reasons then.
War taxes are a generic name for a number of smaller taxes that were justified due to the
country’s involvement in a war. The populations were rarely very fond of all of these special taxes,
war contributions, war taxes, or lack of compensations for the activities of the state.
When choosing war taxes as an option, you will get a substantial increase in income from each
of your provinces during a 6 month period. The price to pay is a loss of stability of one step, but
you can’t call for war taxes if your stability is already at –3. You should really consider if this extra
income is more important than the cost of regaining your stability. If not, you should save this
measure for any truly desperate situations.
PRODUCTION AND GOODS
Production is, of course, the foundation of any economy. The inhabitants of a province produce
goods and these goods are varied, but usually one or a few stand out as characteristic for a
province. Using modern terminology one would speak of "comparative advantages," i.e. if a
province is best at producing a certain product, then that product should be the one they produce.
It isn’t difficult to see that it is better to produce wine and feta cheese in southern Europe, and
timber and furs in northern Europe rather than the other way around. Therefore, in this game
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each province has a specific product that they produce. This should be seen as the most
important product in the province (after all, historically every province produced grain and/or fish).
In general terms you could say that the value of half of the production in a province becomes
a direct income for the country owning the province, while the second half becomes available for
any nations’ merchants to grab in the center of trade to which the province belongs.
Right clicking in a province brings up a list with usable shortcuts. The lists are different depending on the
ownership of the province.
Base value of goods
For obvious reasons, products have different prices on the market. The market price depends on
supply and demand, but also on what we call the product’s base value. What is base value? Today
there are relatively few new products that have never been seen before, but the pricing mechanism
is affected by advertising and trends. During the period of the game there were similar factors that
affected pricing. New, exotic goods created the same kind of "higher value" as our trends today.
Status was not only as important then as it is now, but it was more visible. Open and boastful consumption brought status and showed everyone what a great person you were. Base value is, in
other words, the difference in value that is caused by reasons not normally taken into account by
the pricing mechanism.
The list below shows the products found in this game and their base values.
• Low – Grain, Wine, Wool
• Normal – Cloth, Coffee, Copper, Cotton, Fish, Fur, Iron, Salt, Slaves, Tea
• High – Ivory, Naval supplies, Sugar, Tobacco
• Very high – Chinaware, Spices
• Gold is not traded and is not given a base value. However, the production value is
automatically converted to liquid assets. Below you will find a more detailed description of
each product and what affects the demand side of the pricing mechanism.
Supply and demand
The base value of all goods has a modification to achieve their market price. These will vary
greatly over time; however, the base values set a certain limit. Even under the most extreme
situations grain will have a lower market price than, say, spices.
Supply of a specific product increases as more provinces producing it get colonized and
exploited by increased levels of population or trading posts. A higher supply means a lower price.
The demand of different goods will increase for different reasons as explained in the following list.
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A higher demand increases the market price.
• Chinaware – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built; and when
more cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Cloth – When more trade good factories and conscript centers are built.
• Coffee – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built and when more
cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Gold – The value of gold is not affected by supply and demand. The more gold that is
extracted globally, however, the more inflation increases for all countries in the game. The
countries mining gold will experience even greater inflation.
• Copper – When more weapon factories and naval shipyards are built.
• Cotton – When more trade good factories are built, as well as when provinces that produce
cloth are colonized.
• Fish – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built.
• Furs – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built, as well as when
an increasing number of cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Grain – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built.
• Ivory – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built and when more
cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Iron – When more weapon factories and naval shipyards are built.
• Naval supplies – When more shipbuilding plants and naval shipyards are built.
• Salt – When more factories, conscript centers, and naval shipyards are built.
• Slaves – Increases as more provinces that produce cotton, sugar, and tobacco are colonized.
• Spices – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built; and when
more cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Sugar – When more breweries are built.
• Tea – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built and when more
cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Tobacco – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built and when
more cities appoint chief judges and governors.
• Wine – When more factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built.
• Wool – When factories, conscript centers and naval shipyards are built.
Description and historical background
Cloth represents various fabrics and raw materials for clothes that were used during this
time period, primarily fleece and wool, but also linen, rough homespun, etc. Once the
plantations started up in America during the 18th century and trade with India increased,
cotton also became a raw material in the production of cloth.
Gold and silver were the basis for the entire monetary system in Europe, and they were
much-coveted raw materials. The discovery and exploitation of gold deposits in Central and
South America made some European countries very wealthy, but also increased inflation and
significantly lowered the value of their currencies.
Cotton originally came from Central Asia but was not commonly used in Europe until it
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was successfully planted in the American colonies. It was used as an inexpensive and
adequate complement and substitute for wool in the emerging textile industry of the 18th
century.
Fish was not only the basic source of nourishment for historical Europe (meat was
considered the luxury food of the upper class), but the entire fishing industry also
contributed to considerable shipbuilding. Fishermen were the primary manpower for most
naval military fleets.
Furs were the basis of high quality, warm clothing and came from a number of different
animals such as sable, fox, mink, bear, and wolf. The highly desirable furs originally came
mainly from Scandinavia and Russia, but as America was colonized this also became an
important source up until the middle of the 18th century.
Grain represents the different vegetables that constituted the foundation of the daily diet
(i.e. bread) for both humans and domesticated animals. The lack of grain nearly always led
to uprisings and rebellion. The European cereals – especially rye, oats, and barley – were
later joined by tomatoes, corn, and even potatoes, which provided a significantly more
varied diet.
Ivory was one of the most important trade goods from Africa alongside the slave trade.
Ivory was highly sought after by the craftsmen of Europe, who used it to make eating
utensils, jewelry cases, reliquaries, instruments, ornaments, furniture, etc.
Iron includes iron and similar metals except copper, lead, and precious metals. Iron was
the most important raw material of the entire metal industry, and was used for weapons,
tools, shipbuilding, reinforcement of buildings, etc.
Copper also includes metals such as tin, zinc, lead, and silver, as well as gems. Copper is
one of the ingredients in brass and therefore important to the early foundries, but it was also
used in its pure form or in other alloys to manufacture receptacles, weapons, armor, and
cannons. The metal was also used to make coins and objects of art.
Chinaware includes various exotic trade goods such as silk, porcelain, carpets, gems,
ebony, and other arts and crafts manufactured in India, China, Persia and the Far East. Since
every object of this sort was completely unique in Europe, the merchants and sea captains
who succeeded in bringing home a couple of objects often received astronomical sums.
Naval supplies represent all of the different raw materials necessary for shipbuilding,
from timber and canvas to tar, hemp, and ropes. Originally most of these raw materials came
from Scandinavia, but later North America became an increasingly important source.
Salt was as important a part of the domesticated animals’ diet as it was for the humans.
It was also the only way (apart from freezing in the winter) of preserving food. They used
either the mineral salt from the mines in Central Europe, or the sea salt extracted by
evaporation at sunnier latitudes.
Slaves had been an accepted commodity for trade since antiquity, but demand increased
drastically when they were needed as labor on the North American cotton, tobacco, and sugar
plantations. Slaves were an important commodity in the Moslem world long after the time
when slave trade was more or less abolished in Europe.
Spices were known in Europe since antiquity and were used for food preservation,
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seasoning of rather rotten food, and for alleged healing properties. Pepper, ginger, nutmeg,
cinnamon, etc., were shipped from East Africa, India, China, and the Spice Islands (today
called Indonesia) to the markets in Alexandria and the Middle East. The European call for a
faster and less expensive supply was the main reason for the first Portuguese explorations
eastward.
Sugar was used not only as a seasoning but also as a preservative. At the time cane sugar
was the only known source of sugar, and it was originally cultivated near the Mediterranean.
The plantations in America, primarily in the Caribbean, quickly took the lead, however.
Tobacco was unknown in Europe until the first Conquistadors returned home from
America during the 16th century. It quickly became fashionable in the upper classes to smoke
the expensive tobacco, which led to a quick economic boost for the British colonies on the
North American East coast and in Portuguese Brazil.
Wine had been produced in southern Europe for as long as anyone could remember and
was a regular feature in the daily diet, with the exception of the Moslem world. Wine was not
considered exclusive, but was probably a rather welcome relief from the pains of everyday
life a couple of hundred years before penicillin, antibiotics, and sterile environments. In
northern and Eastern Europe mead, beer, vodka, and low-alcohol beer were similarly used as
mealtime beverages.
Wool came primarily from the flocks of sheep that were kept in Europe and Asia’s more
distant corners, and together with linen constituted the main raw material for clothing
before the arrival of cotton.
T
RADE 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 early-modern period had much stronger ties to the state and the monarch
than today. The merchant’s send-off into the world probably belonged to some public or
semi-public trading company.
Every province has a trade value based on the size of the population and the market value of
the product. The trade value is placed in the trade center to which the province belongs, which
you may see on the trade map by clicking on the Goods symbol in the information window. All
trade thereby takes place in the globally distributed centers of trade. The trade income your
country receives depends on the number of merchants you have sent to the trade centers around
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the world, i.e. your income is directly proportional to how much of the trade your country controls.
Centers of Trade (CoT)
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. Note also the importance of having a CoT within your
own country. New colonies and trading posts will almost exclusively end up under the authority of
your own CoT. This will increase both your immediate profits, and also the trade value of your CoT.
It is also easier to be competitive in your own CoT, but more about that later.
A CoT covering a low number of provinces, with commonly available goods (such as grain,
wine and wool), has a lower trade value and will provide lower revenues than a CoT covering several provinces, trading with exotic goods such as ivory, chinaware, and spices. When many countries appoint merchants in the same CoT a veritable trade war may very well erupt.
The auto-send option is not specific for any particular Center of
Trade. The AI will decide where to send them.
Trade income
Your country’s trade income depends primarily on three factors: the trade value of a Center of
Trade, your trade level in it and your trade technological level.
In each CoT a country may have anywhere from no trade level (i.e. does not control any trade
there) to trade level 6, which means they have a monopolistic status. More than one country may
have the same trade level except only one can have trade level 6, since only one country may have
a monopolistic status. The reason the term "monopolistic status" and not "monopoly" is used is
simply because a country with trade level 6 may still accept that other countries trade at the center.
Second, your country’s trade technology level plays an important part. The concept "trade
technology" perhaps sounds a bit strange, but it is a generic term for a number of innovations in
the areas or transportation, measurement, credit systems, accounting systems, administrative and
financial advances such as corporations and insurance, and corporate law. The higher your
country’s level of trade technology, the greater your trade income from all centers of trade; and
each merchant is given greater competitive power in the battle over market shares.
At each CoT there are 20 trade levels that may be occupied by the merchants. When the trade
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income is distributed your country receives as large a share of the total trade value of the trade
centers as the number of trade levels you hold divided by 20 (the total number of trade levels),
and finally multiplied by your country’s trade technology level divided by ten.
Example: Curland has trade technology level 3 and four trade levels in the CoT "Novgorod"
(total trade value: 200). The formula reads: (Curland’s trade levels / 20) x total trade value x
Curland’s trade technology level / 10 = Trade income from the CoT. Curland would in this case
receive (4 / 20) x 200 x 3 / 10 = 12 ducats from the trade in "Novgorod."
As mentioned earlier, monopolistic status (trade level 6) usually gives you extra trade income.
It’s because you are credited for all the "empty" trade levels. It seems you have more trade levels
than you really own.
Example: Spain has trade level 6, England trade level 3, and Curland has trade level 2. Since
there are 20 trade levels at a CoT, Spain may count on 6 + (20-6-3-2) trade levels = 6+9 = 15
trade levels, which gives them 15 / 20 (75%) of the CoT’s total trade value.
Merchants
Your country’s merchants’ guild will grow each year. You earn one merchant for every CoT
within your country’s borders, one merchant for every CoT where your country has a monopolistic
status, one merchant if your country has achieved trade technology level 5, one merchant for every
core province that is also a coastal province, one merchant for every two coastal provinces if your
state religion is Reformist or protestant (to a maximum of three merchants), and finally the level
of stability is deducted or added depending on whether it is negative or positive. By increasing your
Domestic Policy towards Free Trade you will also increase the rate. Your country does not have to
send out the merchants immediately upon receiving them but may instead save up to six merchants
at a time.
Deploying merchants costs money. It is more expensive to dispatch merchants abroad than in
your own country; this cost increases as your merchants are sent farther from your own country.
You may also choose to automatically send the merchants to the centers of trade. This you do at
one of the centers of trade. Observe, however, that in this case, you cannot control where the
merchants are sent. The computer will instead calculate which placement is the most profitable
for your country and send the merchants as soon as there are ducats in the treasury. Also note that
you cannot send merchants to trade centers located in countries that are carrying out a trade
embargo against your country.
Competition
The competition at a CoT depends on how many merchants have been sent there. Each CoT has
20 trade levels, either empty or controlled by one or several (up to 20 different) countries. If no
level is empty, every successful placement of a new merchant will be on another country’s expense,
as they will lose one level while you gain one. It takes at least a month to resolve this.
A country with monopolistic status can continue to send merchants to the CoT as long as there
are merchants of other nationalities present, in order to drive them away.
The competitiveness of the merchants depends on the relative trade technology level of their
country, the administrative skill of their monarch, which trade level they have already achieved at
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the CoT in question, and the stability of their country. Additional factors that may affect their
competitive ability are: whether there is a trade embargo in place between competing merchants
of different countries; if the CoT in which the competition is taking place lies within either of the
competing merchants’ own borders or not.
INVESTMENTS
UPGRADING THE INFRASTRUCTURE
Your country’s income is dependent on the provinces and their ability to generate it. How can you
affect the provinces’ tax, production, and trade value in addition to increased population as
discussed earlier? By appointing public officials and building factories.
Public officials
One should view the appointment of public officials in the game as a development over time from
a decentralized semi-feudal political system to an increasingly centralized political system. The
political reform introduced during the period of the game had strong ties to the organization of
the country’s economy. In countries with a semi feudal economy such as Poland-Lithuania and the
Ottoman Empire, the political development toward a more centralized society could quickly come
to a halt
•Tax collector – The bailiff can be appointed tax collector (infrastructure technology level 1
is necessary), which means that the province’s tax value and production value increase, while
at the same time the risk of rebellion in the province increases. The population does not
approve of the introduction of an efficient tax authority.
• Chief justice – Provided that you have appointed the bailiff as tax collector you may appoint
the legal counsel to chief justice (infrastructure technology level 3 is needed), which further
increases the province’s tax value and lessens the risk of rebellion. The population is justified
in feeling more secure with an efficient justice system.
• Governor – You may also appoint the mayor to be governor (infrastructure technology level
5 is necessary), which increases the province’s production value and population, while at the
same time lowering the country’s inflation. This is natural since the highest public official has
higher status and authority to control and manage the province.
Factories
Historically the number of proto-companies and proto-industries determined the relative
importance of the various regions of Europe in economic, political, and social status.
The refinery was usually a semi-governmental distillery, which could produce alcoholic
beverages at a reasonable price and in much higher quantities than at home. Liquor became
an important export to foreign countries and colonies. Liquor also became a part of the
social intercourse among both high and low. The calming effects of the intoxicating
beverages lessened social anxiety and increased the fighting ability of soldiers and sailors in
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harsh conditions.
Naval equipment factories were a number of smaller factories producing rope, rigging,
treated hemp, and flax and sails. Naval equipment factories are necessary if you want to
achieve the status of naval nation, because all of these goods are in demand if you are going
to build ships.
The fine arts academies were not actually places of manufacture, but places where the
atmosphere and environment were designed to attract artists such as singers, philosophers,
historians, academics and learned men. The fine arts academy also contains a number of
things which attract these people, such as universities, theaters, opera houses, churches, and
magnificent castles and palaces. They had immaculate botanical gardens, and you could also
find the occasional triumphal arch.
The weapons factories consisted of a number of different production facilities. These were
advanced furnaces, smithies, and foundries, and they could also contain mines and
facilities for ore processing.
Goods factories are a generic term for all the specialized smaller workshops producing
goods for export. Mostly these include refined cloth, cotton, and tobacco, but other luxuries
may also be included, such as ivory, furs, spices, and oriental goods, or even the packaging
and handling of fish, sugar and salt. The spread of the goods factories comprised the origin
of industrialization, a catalyst for huge trade volumes and capitalism in general.
Your nation may invest in factories, which are specialized buildings of great importance to your
nation. You may only build one factory in each province.
Factories provide a monthly income, as has been discussed above. Additionally, they affect
research in their respective fields of technology, lessen the risk of rebellion, increase the demand
for certain goods, and increase the rate of population growth in the province where the factory is
located. There are five buildings that are called factories: refineries, naval equipment factories,
fine arts academies, weapons factories, and goods factories.
• Refineries may be built when you have reached technology level 2, providing an extra
monthly income if the refinery is placed in a province producing sugar or wine. Every refinery
provides a research bonus in Trade.
• Naval equipment factories may only be built when you have reached naval technology level
5, providing an extra monthly income if it is built in a province producing naval supplies or
fish. Each factory you build provides a research bonus in naval military technology.
• Fine arts academies may be built when you have reached infrastructure level 4, and it
provides an extra monthly income if you build it in your capital province. Each academy
provides a research bonus for stability.
• Weapons factories may be built when you reach land military technology level 17. They
provide an extra monthly income when building in provinces producing iron or copper. Each
factory provides a research bonus in land military technology. To have a weapons factory is a
definite plus in the technological struggle for advantages on the battlefield.
• Goods factories may be built when you reach infrastructure level 6. Each goods factory
provides a monthly income if built in provinces producing cloth, cotton or tobacco. Each
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factory provides a bonus in research in the area of infrastructure.
TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT
This game starts in the late Middle Ages when armored knights, crossbows, and halberds ruled
the battlefield. Then comes the Renaissance with the first firearms and the drill. It ends with
the late Baroque period with well-trained and drilled mass armies in perfect squares and
scientifically formed sieges. Under such conditions it is of utmost importance that you
develop over time.
Your nation has four areas of technology. Research is automatic in these areas and the level of
technology in each field increases over time. This basic research is slow, but may be improved by
investments. This means that you may choose how much of your monthly income you want to
spend on research in the various fields on a regular basis, but you may also directly invest in one
or more areas of research. The direct investment cost 200 ducats and provides a technology
advancement equal to 100 ducats spent over time. Note that you may only invest directly in a field
of technology once per year. All investments are made in your state account. When enough
research has been made within a field the level increases by one step. If your nation has reached
the maximum level in a field of technology at the end of the game, all investments in that area are
transferred to the treasury.
The four fields of technology are: Land military technology, Naval military technology, Trade
level and Infrastructure.
In addition to the investments mentioned above, research is influenced by the military and
administrative skill of the monarch with reference to trade and infrastructure, which both
influence land and naval military technology. Also, you receive a negative research bonus for every
trade embargo your country has received, as it prevents influence and impulses from abroad. The
levels of your neighbors in those areas influence all areas of technology. It is also linked to the
technology group of your country, which will be explained later. Finally, research is cheaper if your
country is small (containing fewer provinces) than if your country is large (with more provinces),
as applying and coordinating research and introducing the results requires more time in larger
countries compared with the smaller ones.
Note that every consecutive level of technology becomes more expensive over time. This is due
to inflation and the increase of your income, as well as the fact that innovations in time become
more highly advanced and need more resources. Technology does not really advance until the
Industrial Revolution.
Areas of Technology and Research.
There are four areas of technology in the game; Land military, Naval military, Trade and
Infrastructure.
Land Military Technology concerns the innovation and change of weaponry and equipment;
e.g. firearms, standardized uniforms and new systems of maintenance and support, but also
tactical and strategic developments such as formations and the introduction of the dragoon on the
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battlefield. Sometimes advances in natural science may have immediate effects on warfare. Your
land military technology affects all of your army units. The higher the level you have attained, the
higher the firepower, the shock effect, and the morale of your units will be. It should be noted that
in pitched battles, the most important factor is the relative strength of the opposing forces.
Naval Military Technology comprises innovations and changes in weaponry, equipment and
new types of ships, e.g. new naval artillery types, roping and rigging in new materials, new
navigational techniques, the introduction of the frigate as a heavily armed vessel, etc. Also
included are tactical and strategic advancements such as new flag signaling systems, new battle
arrays and new improved ways of maneuvering.
Sometimes advances in natural science may have immediate effects on naval warfare. Your naval
technology affects all your fleets. The higher the level you have attained, the higher the firepower,
the shock effects and morale of your fleets, as well as an increased ability to use the winds and the
sea. As with pitched battles, the important factor is the relative strength of the opposing forces.
Trade is not technology in itself, but a development and refinement of the rules and methods
that make trade more effective and profitable. Examples are transportation, measurements, and
systems for credit, bookkeeping, administrative and financial innovations like companies and
insurance, and the right of commerce. Trade technology affects the income of trade and the competitiveness of your merchants.
Infrastructure is not technology either, but a generic term covering the changes in society,
which increase governmental influence and efficiency of the economy. The systems of
transportation are another example. Additionally we should mention factors such as new
improved systems for taxes and fees, a functional national banking system, the bureaucracy of the
state management, partitioning of land and crop rotation, and changes in the guilds. Infrastructure
affects all your income except trade revenues.
Cultural Technology Groups
Each nation belongs to a technology group, which may never be changed. The technology groups
represent the different political and social attitudes, along with cultural and religious beliefs about
and against new technology. The difference between the technology groups is the rate of research.
The groups are listed below in technological order of effectiveness (from the slowest to the
fastest):
• Exotic: Generally all nations having a pagan state religion, with the exception of some minor
Moslem countries in Africa and Asia.
• Chinese: Far East Asian and South-east Asian nations, chiefly China and Nippon.
• Moslem: Generally all nations in Europe, North Africa and the Near East with the Moslem state
religion.
• Orthodox: Generally all nations with the Orthodox state religion, including Hungary, Poland-
Lithuania, Moldavia and Wallachia.
• Latin: All other nations.
Investing in Stability
Stability is not technology as such, but as we mentioned earlier, it is a generic term for the
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political and social state of your country. You may divide your monthly income as "investments" in
stability or you may make point contributions in the same way as in the other technological areas.
This investment is actually the cost of countering and pacifying various upset social groups. It
should be noted that when your country’s stability reaches its maximum (+3) the entire sum
invested each month is paid out in real ducats instead. It is therefore wise to watch this development, in order to reset the distribution of your investments so you won’t get unnecessary inflation.
DIPLOMACY
Diplomacy was developed during the second half of the 15th century from the legislative
system of the Pope into an effective and organized tool in the hands of the rulers at the
beginning of the 16th century. The diplomat was the personal representative of the prince in
all foreign courts, and it was his duty to defend and strengthen the interests of the prince.
There were also many different types of diplomat, but all of them are gathered under this
name. Envoys had special tasks, while ambassadors had the highest rank and were accredited
to foreign courts, performing all sorts of tasks for the prince. The most important matter was
that the informal rules for exchanging diplomats were formalized and became part of the
civilized behavior between the countries. The "rules" also protected the diplomat against
arbitrary violence.
In the game we only talk about diplomats. The diplomats represent the ability of your
country to use non-violent power and to maintain relations with other countries. By
sending diplomats your country may present gifts, deliver insults, discuss royal marriages,
or even declare war or make offers of peace. The two most important factors governing
effective and productive diplomacy are access to money and the amount of available diplomats.
Power, violence and diplomacy are intimately connected. Earlier diplomacy was talked
about as the "first tool" of the monarchs and war as the "ultimo ratio regum," or their last
argument. In the classic lines of Carl von Clausewitz, war is "the continuation of politics
using other means." Frederick the Great once said that diplomacy without power is like an
orchestra without notes.
The diplomatic and military means may thus be seen as alternative ways of reaching the
same goal—influencing another country in a desired way.
So the nations of the world may be regarded as a very large and quarrelsome family, where
each member is a separate country. Just like in a large family, there are members with
different amounts of power, and they are able to enforce their will in varying degrees of success.
Relations
Your country has a specific relation to each other known country in the game. This relation may
vary between –200 and +200, and may be influenced by many different things. To start with, you
should note that relations change much more slowly if they are very good or very bad, but
quicker if they are neutral. The second item to consider was the view of the untouchable rights of
the princes to their own countries, which meant that a declaration of war without a good reason
(Casus Belli) was quite unacceptable. The same thing applied to the annexation of formerly
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independent nations.
The relation between your country and another country is affected positively if there is a royal
marriage between members of your royal families, and if you are part of the same alliance.
Countries with which you have this sort of tie are less affected by any negative acts performed by
your own country. But the opposite also applies; for example, if Sweden declares war on the
Teutonic Order, then the relations between countries with marriage ties to the Teutonic Order and
Sweden will deteriorate more than with any other country.
Alliances are also important for your foreign relations. By entering an alliance your relations
to your brothers in the alliance will improve, and continue to do so as time passes. In addition,
the members of your alliances are much more indulgent toward your hostile acts against any
countries that are not part of the alliance.
Religion is another important factor regarding relations. Your levels of tolerance toward
various religions affect the relations of your country. If your country has a high level of tolerance
toward a specific religion, your relations will improve as time passes, while they will deteriorate
with regard to religions where tolerance is low.
Annexations will almost certainly have a negative impact on your relations. It is perhaps not so
much a question of loyalty to the expelled monarch, but the painfully realized awareness that all
annexations disturb the balance of power between the various countries.
You have accumulated 6 victory points, making you
rank as number 16 among c 200 countries.
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.
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.
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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 icon 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 potential allies will naturally treat you like an
international pariah.
Use of Diplomats
Diplomats will use any kind of communication between countries. When you wish to present a gift,
declare war, make offers of marriage, etc, you send a diplomat, which means that your "diplomatic
corps" is reduced by one. On the other hand it does not cost anything to reply to an offer from
another diplomat. There are some other diplomatic actions requiring diplomats. These will be
explained in greater detail later on, but we will mention them here anyway. Diplomats are required
if you wish to make a declaration of war or make offers of peace. Diplomats are also required if
you want to trade information about discoveries with other countries, basically to get access to the
maps of the other country. Finally, you must send a diplomat if you want to offer to lend money to
another country.
You may not send more than one diplomat per month to the same country. You must then wait
a month before you send another one. The "diplomatic corps" of your country increases in
number each year. The number of diplomats you receive depends on the diplomatic ability of your
monarch (each value above 5 provides an additional diplomat), and if your country is at war you
receive an additional diplomat. If your state religion is Protestantism or Reformist you receive one
extra diplomat, but if your state religion is Catholicism or Counter Reformed Catholicism you
receive two additional diplomats. It may also receive diplomats because of random events. Your
country will always receive a minimum of one diplomat per year.
Improving Relations
There are three different methods of directly improving relations with other countries. You may
send a letter of introduction, which costs 25 ducats and will give a small improvement. The letters
of introduction were a common feature of the period, and it was not unusual for some monarchs
to send steady streams of letters to each other. Catherine the Great of Russia, Gustavus III of
Sweden, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Joseph of Austria, were all involved in discussions on
the subjects of philosophy and national finances, for example.
You may also send personal gifts, which will cost 100 ducats, giving your relations a stable
boost. In order to show how important these diplomatic gestures used to be, we need only remind
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you of the tea services, embroidered silk cushions, beautiful furs, etc, that are on display in many
European museums. You may also send a gift of state, which will cost you 250 ducats, giving your
relations a huge boost. Historically, these were often a combination of different things. It could be
a large personal gift, like a gilded gala carriage or a pleasure yacht, but often there were
subsidies involved in the game. Subsidies were similar to today’s aid to developing countries, gifts
to poor relations. If you want to be cynical you could say that countries bought the friendship of
weaker countries. Examples include Sweden during both the Scanian War (1674–1679) and the
War of Pomerania (1757–1762), both of which were financed by French subsidies.
War Affects Your Relations
War will of course affect your relations. Declarations of war will catastrophically lower the level of
your relations toward the one you have declared war upon, and to the allies of that country to a
lesser degree, even if the allies choose not to honor their alliance. Relations with any country that
has a better relationship to your enemy than you have will be lowered. This will also apply to all
countries tied to your enemy by royal marriage. The deteriorating effects of the declaration of war
will lessen if you have ties through royal marriage to affected countries.
The result of the war – the peace treaty – may also affect your relations. Military annexations
will result in a radical worsening of relations with every country that knows about you. Only your
allies are not affected this way. If you receive provinces as part of a peace treaty your loss of respect
(the lowering of your relations) is not quite as damaging, although you are now seen as
dangerous and threatening. Remember that it is quite easy for relations with surrounding
countries to deteriorate. This may turn you into a hated pariah, but it takes a long time and large
sums of money to repair and rebuild your relations.
The relations of your country also affect you in war. Countries that hate your country will feel
much less uncomfortable when attacking your country, even stabbing you in the back. Any
country ceaselessly attacking other countries, annexing countries left and right, will easily become
prey to one or more alliances that want to put it in its place.
Tolerance Affecting Your Relations
We have already mentioned that your tolerance toward the various religions affects your relations.
Historically, countries saw themselves as the protectors of every inhabitant in the world sharing
the same religion (or at least as many as possible). For example, Russia considered itself to be
the protector of all Orthodox Christians, just like Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries
considered itself to be the protector of every Catholic.
The level of tolerance is a value between 0 and 10, but only the really extreme values will affect
your relations. Normal tolerance, or a tolerance of 5, will not make any difference. A high level of
tolerance (6–10) will increase the annual improvement of your relations in relation to your level
of tolerance. A tolerance of 10 will result in a higher increase than a tolerance of 6. The opposite
is of course true for low levels of tolerance.
This phenomenon means that your country may have problems later in the game when trying
to maintain good relations with countries of other state religions than your own. If your monarch
and your government have a low level of tolerance toward a religious minority, it could happen
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that a country with that same state religion may declare war on your country in order to protect
the "religious rights" of the minority.
Other factors affecting Relations
It is important to remember that changes of relations are not static, but continually depend on the
diplomatic talent of your monarch. If your monarch is undiplomatic, basically an incompetent in
the area, even a gift of state may cause a worsening of relations. You don’t give large gilded
crosses to the sultan of Istanbul without punishment, you know. The state religion of your
country, and its level of tolerance toward other religions also affect your relations. If Sweden has
a very low tolerance toward Sunni Moslems, relations with the Ottoman Empire will deteriorate
over time.
PROVOCATIONS
In the ruler’s struggle for international power and balance, an essential tool was
proclamations to make known to everybody else your opinion of what is and is not
acceptable . Letters of warning were used to let somebody know that a certain act was not
acceptable and that violence could be the response to further actions. Sometimes they just
invented something to motivate an aggressive behavior, like Peter the Great before the
beginning of the war against Sweden in 1700. He claimed that he had been treated quite
badly during his visit to the Swedish town of Riga, but most of the surviving documents
suggest that this was just an excuse.
Sometimes the traditional contacts through letters and notes could have far reaching
consequences when allowed to get out of hand. They often concerned problems between
countries, and the relations could deteriorate when the monarchs were unable to solve their
differences at the negotiation table. A good example is the exchange of letters between Erik
XIV of Sweden and Ivan the Terrible of Russia, which started with letters of introduction,
turned into letters of warning, and then changed into a veritable flood of written insults. The
relations then deteriorated into war.
A not uncommon reason for several civil and international wars was the struggle for the
throne of a country, especially if the succession rights were in the slightest bit unclear. It was
not unusual to lay claims to the crown of other countries, but to do this openly was a
mortal insult, as it implied that the sitting monarch was a usurper. A historical example are
the claims of the Polish Vasa kings to the Swedish crown for a number of years. The Danes
also had claims to the Swedish crown, and certain English monarchs had claims to the French
crown. Both Spanish and French monarchs had claims to the crown of Naples.
Insults
This will hurt your relations and give the receiver a temporary Casus Belli for 1 year against you.
A useful diplomatic endeavor when you want to provoke a war without starting it yourself.
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Claim their Throne
You must have a royal marriage with the subject country in order to claim their throne. Your
relations with all countries that you also have royal marriages with as well as your stability will take
a steep loss. But you will receive a Casus Belli lasting a few years against the usurper’s country.
Warning
If the receiver attacks any of your neighbors, you will receive a temporary Casus Belli lasting
several years against the aggressor.
Proclaim guarantee
You let it be known that you will not tolerate open war against the subject country. If somebody
else declares war against the country, you will receive a Casus Belli against the aggressor, lasting
several years.
ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS
To politically close a center of trade for the merchants of certain countries was not an
unusual occurrence during the time period. After the Dutch struggle for liberation, when the
United Provinces were created, a temporary peace treaty was signed between Spain and the
Netherlands. This peace did not last very long, as the Dutch had closed the waterways to
Antwerp, thus monopolizing trade in the whole area. This was of course unacceptable to the
Spanish king. Also, mercantilism contributed to a monopolistic attitude with political
overtones. The English Act of Navigation of 1651 and the French acts under the supervision
of Colbert were de facto a refusal to trade. Sweden issued its own navigation act during the
1720s, but with poor results.
Monopolizing trade centers meant considerable income, and the use of this political
weapon was a very effective way of creating or maintaining monopolies, especially if the
country concerned had more effective merchants.
Refusal to Trade
If you subject a country to a trade embargo, this country may not send any more merchants to the
trade centers in any of your provinces. The merchants already present are "frozen," no longer
providing any income to their country. You can now put them out of business by sending in
additional merchants of your own. Trade embargo was a common practice during the time
period. Note that refusal to trade involves some adverse effects. The country you are putting into
quarantine has a Casus Belli toward your country as long as the refusal to trade is in effect. If you
chose to allow trade again, the Casus Belli against your country disappears. Also note that a trade
embargo will adversely affect research in trading technology, meaning that your country receives
a negative modifier for each country it subjects to a refusal to trade.
Also remember that your country may be subjected to the same trade embargo if your
merchants start to act aggressively in any other center of trading, especially if they are starting to
put the owner of the center out of business.
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Trade agreement
By entering into a trade agreement with another country, you both will stop competing with that
country’s merchants in all centers of trade. The agreement is in effect until either of the partners
chooses to cancel it, at a cost of decreased stability. The other party will get a temporary Casus
Belli for one year.
Loans
You can suggest that other countries borrow money from you (see “Economy”). If they fail to
repay you on time, you will receive a temporary CB against them.
ALLIANCES
Royal Marriages
The royal marriage was intended to unite two dynasties and thus two countries to each other.
When such marriages were made the relations between the countries improved. Please note
that the term "royal marriage" is not to be interpreted literally, as even a marriage between
the republics of Venice and the United States is defined as a royal marriage. The important
thing to remember is the important political bindings such an "official marriage of state"
entailed in the anarchic world of nations. They were the most important proofs of friendship
between countries you could give. Even non-monarchies like the Papal State, Venice, and the
United States married off the protégés of important and powerful men in order to
strengthen and protect the interests of their countries.
In order to arrange a royal marriage, both parties must be of the same religion. There are two
exceptions. Orthodox Christian royalty can marry into any other Christian faith and Counter
reformed Catholics can marry into ordinary Catholics.
The marriages were also the basis for further diplomatic relations, for example alliances and
vassalage, after which an eventual political annexation was possible. Also note that the royal
marriage could have a defensive purpose, as the risk of war between countries sharing royal blood
is lowered. In the game this is represented by a further lowering of stability by one step if anybody
declares war on a country with which it has ties of marriage. For example, you could imagine a
royal marriage between Sweden and Russia as a precaution when preparing for a war with
Denmark, in order to avoid the risk of a two front war. Finally it should be noted that you may
annul any royal marriages your country is involved in, but it will lower stability by one step as an
effect of the political turnaround, and the fact that your monarch is breaking what the population
views as divine order—the holy matrimony.
Military Alliance
When it came to keeping the peace and being fortunate in war, alliances between countries
were as important then as now. To be a member of an alliance was a good thing both as a
deterrent and as protection during war. The system of alliances of the period was a sort of
self-help. A number of countries swore to defend each other’s independence on the principle
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of "one for all, all for one." Anyone attacking a member of an alliance was risking war with
all of the other members of the alliance. You should also remember that the "alliances"
described here were a kind of ideal. In reality, monarchs and governments with a strongly
developed self-interest ruled the countries. It was not at all certain that every one in the
alliance would honor their pledges.
In the game, you may enter into already existing alliances, accept requests of entering alliances,
or create new alliances by suggesting the idea to another country of your choice. All this is
handled using the diplomacy window. In order for your country to be able to do anything at all,
you need to have good relations with the country in question, or with the leader of the alliance you
want to join.
Each alliance has a leader. Traditionally this was the strongest member of the alliance, but it could
also be a rather small country. The Papal State and the Republic of Venice are both examples of small
nations that often act as leaders of various alliances. In the game the leader is always the country that
created the alliance. The advantage of being the leader is that only the leader may invite new members,
and is also the only one who may force members of the alliance to leave. The leaders of two alliances
may also enter a peace treaty with each other above the heads of the other members, which means that
these two countries set the rules that the rest must obey. This is something that Sweden suffered after the
war of 1674–1679, when, at the peace negotiations of Fontainebleau, France settled the peace between
Sweden and its enemies and at the same time did not allow the Swedish envoys to even enter the
chambers where the discussions were held. The disadvantage is that you, as the leader, may never leave
the alliance yourself, but have to wait until it expires. This is not the case if you are not the leader.
Alliances are perishables. If the members do not regularly repeat their solemn promises of coming
to each other’s rescue the alliance loses its relevance and expires at a set date. The running time is
normally 10 years from the date of the latest peace treaty of the alliance. Note that there can be differences if various members make separate peace treaties or choose to wage their own wars, without
requesting the active support of the other members.
Example: If one member of an alliance (Hungary) is attacked by another country (the Ottoman
Empire), all of the other members of the alliance (Venice and Persia) are asked if they want to participate in the war against the attacker (the Ottoman Empire). There are two natural choices in this case,
and the other two members will make the different choices. In our example Venice chooses not to honor
the alliance, and will not declare war. Venice’s stability is lowered by one step because of its distasteful
act of cowardice. Venice may also be forced to leave the alliance if relations with Hungary drop sufficiently. Persia chooses to honor the alliance and declares war with the Ottoman Empire. This may be
done without loss of stability. Persia is now at war with the Ottoman Empire in conjunction with Hungary.
The leader of the alliance, either Hungary or Persia, may also end the war with the Ottoman Empire without consulting the other member.
The art of upholding a good alliance, in which all members actually honor the alliance, is directly
related to maintaining good relations between the member states. If you are not successful the alliance
will dissolve sooner or later. Military annexation of countries during peace treaties is a sure way of
destroying even the strongest of alliances. A factor of some importance is the fact that you receive a
temporary Casus Belli toward each country not honoring an alliance if your country is attacked. The
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temporary Casus Belli is only good for six months.
Each country can only be a member of a single alliance at the time. Two alliances cannot be joined
in order to form a single alliance.
Military access
The country will grant you military access. You will be able to enter its provinces with your armies
and its ports with your navies. As long as the military access is in effect, you cannot declare war
on the country.
Vassalage
The purpose of vassalage changes with time in the game. Originally the "vassal" emerged
during the Middle Ages as a subordinate prince, who was obliged to provide his lord with a
number of knights for the defense of the entire kingdom. As compensation, the vassal could
keep most of the income from his territory, but was also required to uphold law and order in
his territory, which was a profitable line of business. At the end of the Middle Ages, which is
the earliest phase of the game (1492-1520), the political systems of Western Europe
developed away from feudalism and toward more centralized states, when the kings started
to create the professional embryos of the state bureaucracies. This development also led to a
lessening of the importance of having vassals throughout the country. Instead, vassals
became countries heavily dependent on the monarch of the country on which they were
dependent.
If you were to translate this concept of vassals into modern times, you could compare the
political position of some of the small Central American states in relation to the United States
during the 1950s and the 1960s. A Swedish historical example would be the subordination of
Estonia under the Swedish crown during the reign of Erik XIV. The Estonian knighthood
submitted to the Swedish crown under certain conditions, which may be defined as
vassalage. At a later stage the province was simply drawn into the kingdom of Sweden to be
more or less annexed.
Vassalage may be the result of your country arranging a royal marriage and having a military
alliance with another country. If the relations between the two countries are at 190+, they are both
sharing the same state religion; your country may offer the other country the status of vassal as
long as the potential vassal is not a bigger country (has more provinces) than you. If the country
accepts, you may freely use the provinces of that country for movement purposes, and you also
receive a part of the yearly income of the country. It may no longer enter into any royal marriages
with any other. The master country will get a Casus Belli against any country declaring war upon
the vassal.
If you start a scenario as a vassal, or if for some unlikely reason you have accepted to become
a vassal of another country, your only possibility to get rid of your status as a vassal is to declare
war on your lord. This will of course result in a massive loss of stability. The same is true if you
have a vassal and want to get rid of the vassal in order to declare war on that country. The reason
for such an event could be because your relations have deteriorated so much that your vassal has
started to send tenders of alliance to the archenemies of your country. Note also that your vassal
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may end the dependence and declare war on you if your relations deteriorate too much (it has
this opportunity already at 120+). Note that you must first make a country your vassal if you want
to politically annex it later on.
Creating Vassals
Sometimes you have the opportunity to create a new country by granting vassalage to a region in
your domain. The reasons could be that different religions and cultures in the region make it
prone to revolts. By granting vassalage you will still have the benefits of military access and
regular tributes. You must control the provinces to which you grant vassalage though, so you can’t
create a new country from provinces that you had “lost anyway”.
By clicking on your monarchs window you get a list of regions that can become vassals.
If the vassal button is highlighted, you can create at least one new
country.
Annexation
Political annexations were not as common during the period as military annexations, but
did occur now and then. For example, the union of Scotland with England, and the union of
Bohemia and Hungary with Austria may be seen as political annexations. The political
annexation of a country means that a formerly independent country becomes part of your
own. Its provinces become your provinces, and your laws, your state religion, and your
decisions are to be followed, exactly as in your own country, or more correctly, the provinces
become a dissoluble part of your country. Political annexations are the epitome of
diplomatic ability and effort. This is where the border between war and peace disappears,
and diplomacy fulfills the same goals as war.
As a rationale as to why nations accept your offer of annexation, they may be allowed to
select certain powerful citizens of the country, such as the nobility or the church leaders, as
the vassal himself probably would not like to lose whatever power he may hold.
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If you can’t locate the place of the new country, type “?” and use the
search function.
You may only offer annexations to adjacent countries that have been your vassals for at least 10
years, only if your relations are extremely good (190+), and only if you are of the same religion.
If your vassal accepts, the provinces of the vassal are turned over to you and will become your own
provinces. You also control all of the fleets and army units of your former vassal. It is a good idea
to gather everything directly after the annexation, so you don’t forget any of the units, which will
then needlessly suffer attrition (see Attrition). Your country will also receive a bonus when
researching various areas of technology, if the annexed country had any levels that were higher
than your own. Your country will also receive a stability bonus if the annexed country had a
higher stability at the moment of annexation. If the vassal had any loans at the moment, these are
written off (your country is not liable). Finally, your country will receive all of the maps of the
annexed country, which means that your country will now "see" everything that the former vassal
could see.
WAR AND PEACE
We are used to looking at war in the rearview mirror and with a focus on the 20th century –
the Age of Total War. During the epoch of the game, the scope and goals of war were not total
and all encompassing. This was an era when ideas like Honor, Fame, and Status were more
important than Freedom, Justice, Equality, and Brotherhood. There was also a sort of fluid
boundary between the war of the Prince and the war of the Nation, which of course
influenced the overall goals. One of the reasons for the Swedish declaration of war against
Prussia at the outbreak of the War of Pomerania in 1757 was that the Party of the Hats of the
Swedish Parliament wanted to insult the Swedish queen, who was the sister of Frederick II of
Prussia. This will serve as an example of a somewhat different way of thinking as compared
with what we are used to. The goals were often more modest than today. Taking too much
was always punished. Both Philip II of Spain and Louis XIV of France met heavy resistance
from strong coalitions when their lust for power was perceived as a threat, but also Gustavus
II Adolphus of Sweden and Maximilian of Austria ran into these "European scales of balance."
War is one of the fastest and therefore most tempting ways to expand 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
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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 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 to determine how your
own stability will be affected. 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. When you declare war
you are informed of the size of your loss of stability and what caused it. At this point you still have
a chance to regret the act.
Depending on your relations with other countries you may enter into an alliance in which at
least one of the member states hates the country against which you would like to declare war.
Chances are fairly high that your brother in the alliance will declare war sooner or later, and when
this happens you may honor the alliance without loss of stability. You may also try to surround your
enemy through alliances with all of his neighbors. If war breaks out, at least you will not fight alone.
A nation’s reputation is an indication of the probability that other nations will attack
it. Annexing other countries and declaring war without Casus Belli is the surest way to
ruin one’s reputation.
Casus Belli
Casus Belli has been mentioned earlier, but has not been fully explained. Casus Belli is Latin and
roughly means "lawful cause of war." If your country has a lawful reason to declare war on
another country, it will not affect any third parties negatively, third parties being your own
population and any other countries. Normally your stability is lowered by two steps if you lack a
proper Casus Belli. If you have a Casus Belli, you can still lose stability for other reasons.
How do you receive a Casus Belli against another country? Firstly, there is permanent Casus
Belli at the start of each scenario, because of ancient enmity between countries. The permanent
Casus Belli are in effect throughout the scenario. Secondly, each country may receive temporary
Casus Belli. If your country loses any of its core provinces during war you receive a Casus Belli,
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which remains in effect until you have regained your province. If a country does not honor an
alliance when you are attacked, you receive a limited Casus Belli against the country or countries
that chose not to honor the alliance (6 months). If a country refuses to repay a loan to another
country, this country receives a limited Casus Belli (of 12 months duration). Any country receives
a Casus Belli against countries that refuse to trade. The Casus Belli is in effect until trade resumes.
Side effects of war
One of the first things you must consider is the duration of the war. The longer a war lasts, the
greater fatigue you suffer, and consequently the risk of rebellion in your provinces increases. If
your country has a number of religious minorities a long war may be fatal. Your effort at
improving your stability is a much slower affair if you are at war, compared with a period of peace.
The recovery after a war is also a difficult time. You may have to invest in stability for many
years. This is when you should be investing in new technology instead, the very thing your enemies
are certainly busy doing. After a long war there is a particularly great risk of having lagged behind
in investments, which may mean that you will lose the next war, even if you won the last one. Your
foreign relations may also be ruined, especially if you have won a war and have annexed another
country. Also remember that your country may be ruinously devastated after the war, with a
number of provinces plundered, and many of your trading posts burned.
A very unpleasant side effect of war is the risk of unexpected countries entering the conflict. If
you are doing badly in a war, there is an increased risk of getting declarations of war from
countries where your relations are bad, as they may think that your country is about to collapse.
On the other hand, a third party might also get involved on your side, upsetting your goals by
grabbing provinces of your enemy that you had planned for yourself.
HOW TO START AND HOW TO END
You have accumulated 6 victory points, making you rank as number 16
among c 200 countries.
You may make declarations of war whenever you wish, obeying the normal diplomatic
procedures; your country must have a diplomat available in order to declare war and at least one
month must have passed since you last sent a diplomat to the country in question. However, you
may not declare war if the stability of your country is at the lowest possible level (–3). Your
monarch and your government have enough on their minds keeping the country in one piece to
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worry about anything other than the unrest at home.
A country must declare war on another country in order to move its army units into that
country. There are exceptions to this rule (see The Holy Roman Empire, The Treaty of Tordesilla,
Vassalage, and Military Access).
A declaration of war almost always results in loss of stability. The loss may have a number of
reasons (see Stability). However, getting involved in a war by honoring an alliance in which one
of your allies either has declared war on another country or has been attacked, is “stability-free”.
After the declaration of war your country is at war until a peace treaty has been signed between
your country and the country or countries with which you are at war.
War aims
In a game like this, of course each player must formulate his or her own goals. There are a few
things that must be pointed out. It is important that you plan your wars. Continually ask what you
want to gain through the war, and always consider your actions. Sometimes your goals may be as
clear as water, for example you want to take just that province, presenting a very clear approach.
There may be greater problems, though, especially if you have a large country with the
ambition of rubbing elbows with the great powers of the world. What would happen if your
neighbors realized that one of their greatest competitors (you) has grown very powerful and
seems to be increasing even more in power? In this case they might find it necessary to form
alliances and start a war against you just to keep you busy, without necessarily attempting to gain
your territories. In this case your goal may be to keep your potential enemies continually
occupied by wars with other countries. Leaving a war you have initiated through making separate
peace by offering monetary tribute, even if your side has the upperhand, fulfills your goal in this case.
The difference between the values of what you ask for and your war score increases your
chances of having your proposal accepted.
War score
In order to win a war you must be victorious in battles and naval engagements and/or capture 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.
All hostile actions during the war are translated into points that accumulate. You receive points
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for controlling enemy provinces, by winning pitched battles and naval battles, and for controlling
the capital of the enemy. The actual sizes of the forces and losses involved in every battle, as well
as the production value of enemy controlled provinces, affects the number of points. 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. The difference between your points and your opponent’s points
is shown as a percentage number in the Peace window and is referred to as the war score.
Peace negotiation
A peace treaty may be reached in three different ways. Either you accept the offer of peace
coming from your enemy, you make an offer of peace, or there will be an automatic status quo
peace between you and your enemy.
Automatic peace – This will occur automatically between countries at war with each other,
when there have not been any hostile actions during the past 36 months, and when neither of the
parties control any provinces belonging to the enemy.
Receiving a peace offer – If you are offered peace you may only accept or decline. You may
not renegotiate but you may decline and then follow up with another offer to your enemy.
Sending a peace offer – If you want to offer peace, open the diplomacy window, and choose
"Peace offer". A new window opens. Here you see the results of the war indicated by a percentage
number in the information window. If it’s negative, you should consider offering a tribute and/or
provinces in order to gain peace. If it’s positive, you may often demand a tribute and/or provinces.
Each occupied province is represented by a percentage number based on its income value and
each batch of 25 ducats represents 1%, which you may either offer or demand.
By clicking on the shields you can decide if you want to enter a separate peace. Clicking
on the No tribute button instantly sends a proposal of a “white peace”, i.e. no losses
and no gains for either party.
You may only offer to give up provinces which belong to you and which are now controlled by
the enemy, and you may only demand provinces which belong to your enemy and which are now
controlled by you or your allies. However, you may always demand core provinces of yours in the
enemies possession, regardless if you control them or not.
Essentially, the higher number you have, the more you may demand. On the other hand, if it is
negative, the higher you have, the more you must give up in order to get your peace. Will your
enemy accept your offer? It all depends on how well the offer conforms to the fortunes of the war,
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and if you are generous or not. Your enemy will be more willing to accept your terms if you are
also controlling their capital.
If the circumstances are right you may also demand religious or diplomatic benefits by
clicking the corresponding boxes.
Vassalisation – Your enemy becomes your vassal. There are many benefits involved with this.
You will receive part of his income as long as he is your vassal, you will have military access to his
territory, and your reputation with other nations will not suffer as much as if you had made the
country part of your nation.
Military access – The country will grant you military access. This is useful when you have
gotten involved in a war with a stubborn little country that blocks your path to your real enemy.
Conversion – You get the opportunity to convert your enemy’s state religion to your own. Note
that this is not always possible due to historical and cultural limitations. You gain a lot of victory
points if you succeed.
Military annexation
Note that you may never demand the province where your enemy’s capital is located, or cede the
province of your own capital. However, when you control the only provinces of a one-province
country you may demand annexation, and thus win the entire country. If this unfortunate country
is yours, you are out of the game!
The enemy country then ceases to exist. Don’t forget that military annexations will always
worsen your foreign relations enormously. When you have annexed a country you will also control all
of its army units and fleets. A useful line of action is to gather all of these immediately after
annexation, so you don’t "forget" any of them, which would make them suffer attrition (see Attrition).
Peace treaty
When your country has accepted an offer of peace, or when your enemy has accepted your offer
of peace, or when an automatic peace is settled, your country and your enemy now have a peace
treaty. A peace treaty also means that if either of you declares war on the other, the one breaking
the peace treaty within 5 years after signing it will suffer a massive loss of stability—a total of five
steps (–5).
Separate peace
If your country is involved in an "alliance war," involving one or several alliances, there are two
possibilities regarding peace offers. If your country is at war with an entire alliance, you may make
an offer of peace to the leader of the alliance, and thus get a binding peace treaty with all of the
members of the enemy alliance, or you may sign separate peace treaties with individual members
of the enemy alliance. There are many instances when using this latter option is an excellent
alternative. With a separate peace the game only involves counting the war scores that apply to
your country and your single enemy to whom you are offering peace, while the entire war score
is counted when you are dealing with the leader of the alliance.
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In the political map mode, the small shields indicate
your core provinces. Several countries could have this
claim to the same province. You can always ask for
your core provinces in peace offers, even if you don’t
control them.
Example 1: The Ottoman Empire is at war with the "Small Alliance," consisting of Hungary
(the leader), Venice and Bohemia. The Ottoman Empire has won a few battles against Venice and
controls three Venetian provinces. Hungary, on the other hand, has taken two Ottoman provinces
and has won two battles. Bohemia has won a single battle against the Ottoman Empire. The
Ottoman Empire starts by offering Venice a separate peace. Here the Ottoman Empire has a large
war score, and demands and receives two provinces. Venice is out of the war. Then the Ottoman
Empire makes an offer to Bohemia. The Ottoman Empire has a negative war score of –1, but is
hoping for a peace of status quo, and succeeds. Bohemia is out of the war, and only Hungary
remains. The Ottoman Janitchars are turning toward Hungary.
Example 2: Even a peace with the leader of the alliance may be quite effective. Sweden is at
war with Russia (the leader), Poland-Lithuania and Denmark. The war is going badly for Sweden,
as all three members of the alliance each control several Swedish provinces. Sweden makes an
offer to Russia, offering 1 province to Russia and 1000 ducats, representing a high percentage
number. Russia accepts and neither Denmark nor Poland-Lithuania receives any provinces. In this
case Sweden gets off the hook relatively cheaply, losing only a single province and some money
that will be regained once the costs of waging war are gone.
RELIGION
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 as they did 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 in majority. The Sunni Moslems were
fighting the Shia Moslems of Persia. This struggle concerned who should lead the Moslem
Caliphate. According to the Europeans, the world beyond Europe and the Middle East was
simply populated with lots of heathens.
When the Reformation occurred the Catholic Church was divided, and Protestants and
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Reformists emerged out of the split, which also brought about a wave of violence with both
religious and political overtones. Religiously it was a struggle for the reformation of the old
church order. It will be noted that the Catholic Church was also reformed from within. The
political struggle concerned the power over the possessions of the church and the
appointment of priests, but above all about the freedom of thought: whether or not the Pope
had the right of interpretation in all religious matters. You could also say that Catholicism
represented a universal view, a common European church, while the Protestants and the
Reformists wanted more decentralized, National churches.
After a while the struggle developed into religious wars without any clear winners.
Because of a general European fatigue, the different variants of Christianity were finally
forced to accept the status quo. This was the first step toward tolerance and freedom of
thought, which would really get underway during the Age of Enlightenment.
State Religion
Each country had a state religion, and as has been mentioned earlier, it was a system of thought,
regulating morals and the philosophy of life, but it was also a form of state ideology the rulers used
in order to control their subjects. This means that the religion of your country affects certain
aspects of society in the following ways:
Catholicism – -Provides your country with 2 additional diplomats each year and a missionary
every second year. You also have a bonus in increasing stability and a higher production
efficiency. Poland-Lithuania is an example of a Catholic country.
Counter Reformed Catholicism – Provides your country with 2 additional diplomats each
year, and 1 additional missionary each year. If you convert countries by force, they will change to
Catholicism. This religion will also provide a positive bonus when investing in stability. Finally, it
lowers your tax income but you have a bonus in the ability to increase your stability. The Papal
State, naturally, and Spain during the reign of Charles V are examples of this religion.
Protestantism – Provides 1 additional diplomat and 1 additional colonist each year.
Provinces in Protestant countries will also have a higher production value and provide higher taxes
than countries with other religions. However, your country gets a negative bonus when investing
in stability. Sweden became a Protestant country in 1544.
Reformist – Provides 1 additional diplomat and 2 colonists per year. Militant Reformist army
units and fleets are also provided with one extra level of morale. Reformist merchants receive
higher profits than merchants of other religions. On the other hand, you have a negative bonus
when investing in stability and a decrease in tax income. Examples of Reformist countries include
Holland, Switzerland, and Scotland.
Orthodox – Provides 1 additional colonist every second year. The Orthodox Church was not
involved historically in the enflamed conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and its
diplomatic relations were not affected in the same way by religious change in the rest of Europe.
They receive a positive bonus for investments in stability. The best example of an Orthodox
European nation is of course "The Third Rome," Russia.
Shia Moslem – During a very long period the Shia Moslem faction was forced to keep its
religion a secret, in order to avoid the wrath of the Sunni Moslem majority. After a number of
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uprisings and heavy fighting, the Shia Moslems managed to establish a number of independent
nations, with sharp theological differences toward the Sunni. This gave rise to a certain fanaticism,
providing their army units and fleets with an additional level of morale. The Shia Moslem
countries had a stricter relationship to the Koran for political guidance, which provides a positive
bonus when investing in stability, but as a much stricter interpretation of the Koran regarding
religious taxation was observed, the taxation income is lowered. Examples of Shia Moslem
countries include Persia and the Egypt of the Mamlukes.
Sunni Moslem – No special advantages or disadvantages in game terms, except a bonus when
investing in stability. An example of a Sunni Moslem country is the Ottoman Empire.
Confucianism – They get a bonus for raising stability but suffer both from lower taxation
income and trade efficiency. China is an example of a country with Confucianism.
Hinduism – Increased morale for its armies and navies as well as higher tax income but a
negative bonus for investments in stability. Example of a Hindu country is Mysore in India.
Buddhism – Receives a missionary every second year. Lower tax income but a positive bonus
for stability. Examples of Buddhist countries are Cambodia and Tibet.
Provincial Religion
The state religion is the religion preferred and supported by the monarch and the government. In
practice it means that the religious leaders of the state religion were responsible for the spiritual
guidance of the people. In certain countries religious minorities could be exempt from the state
religion and keep their own religious leaders and church organizations. This practice was fairly
common and came about as a result of provinces being ceded in war only if the populations were
allowed to keep their old religions. Another reason could be a lack of resources or an actual will
to "combat heretics" in the country. An example of a country with several different religions
within its borders, combined with a high religious tolerance, is Poland-Lithuania, while Spain
under Ferdinand and Isabella may serve as an example of a country with a low tolerance.
The provincial religion is the religion of the population of the province. A province may have
another religion than your state religion, which may result in rebellions if you have a low
tolerance toward the religion of the population. As a player you have a religious/political tool you
may use to control the level of tolerance of your monarch and government toward different religions.
Religious Tolerance
You may control the level of tolerance in the religion window regarding different religions on a
scale from 0 to 10. Note that you have a "natural balance in a zero-sum game" between how you
determine your levels of tolerance. For example, if you only have two religions for which to
control tolerance, and you maximize tolerance toward Catholics (10), then you will automatically
minimize tolerance toward Protestants (0). The level of tolerance affects the risk of rebellion in
your provinces (according to the tolerance toward the provincial religion), and also your
diplomatic relations with other countries.
Religion and international relations
The state religion of your country is extremely important to diplomacy. As explained above, your
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diplomatic capacity, that is your annual supply of diplomats, is affected by your state religion. The
diplomatic relations (on a scale of +200 to –200) of your country are also affected by your state
religion.
The relationship between a Protestant country and Catholic countries deteriorates over time. A
simple rule of thumb is that relations deteriorate all the time between Counter Reformed
Catholics/Catholics and Protestants/Reformist, and between Christians and Moslems, between
Sunni and Shia, and to a lesser extent between Orthodox Christians and everybody else. Relations
only improve over time between countries with the same state religion, between Reformed
Catholics and regular Catholics, and between Protestants and Reformists.
Also note that your country may only arrange royal marriages with countries of the same
religion, with exceptions between Protestant and Reformist, and Counter Reformed Catholic and
Catholic countries. Orthodox countries can enter marriages with any and all Christian countries.
Strategy
It is important that you think strategically when you handle religious issues. If your country has a
lot of religious minorities within its borders it may become difficult to handle religious issues and
become difficult to wage war, as the entire population probably has a rather lukewarm view of
your policies, meaning that some are quite happy, while others are definitely unhappy about the
whole situation.
Let’s try an example. It is 1631 and the state religion of Sweden is Protestant, and all of its
provinces are Protestant. Sweden knows about Catholics, Reformists, Orthodox, and Moslems, and
thus has a level of tolerance toward each of these. Sweden may in principle maximize its tolerance
toward Protestants and Reformists (allies), and minimize tolerance against all the rest. In a
violent two front war Sweden then conquers and, during peace treaties, receives provinces from
both Russia and Spain. The Russian provinces are Orthodox and of the Spanish provinces one is
Catholic and the other is Sunni Moslem. The problem now is dividing tolerance, as you cannot
maximize all of them at the same time. If you choose to keep a low tolerance toward Catholics,
even though you now have a Catholic province in your country, you must expect rebellion. It is not
improbable for you to lose the province. If instead you set all tolerance levels at the middle level,
war fatigue will be felt much quicker, which in itself may be quite a problem if you are going to
fight a war for thirty years. The question is: is it really a good thing for you to settle a peace on
such conditions? That is why you must plan ahead, strategically, to avoid ending up in impossible
situations.
The levels of tolerance and stability are the key to both control and development of your country.
CONVERSIONS
In modern democratic countries matters of faith are viewed as concerns on which each
individual must take a stand. Should I or should I not convert? During the period this was not the
case. The monarch and the government were often seen as responsible for the spiritual life of their
subjects, as God’s representative on Earth. A country where the subjects had the same faith was
also much easier to rule. Conversion may mean several things in the game.
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Changing State Religion
It could mean that your country changes state religion in a peaceful manner under your control. In
order to change state religion, go to the religion window to choose the religion to which you wish to
convert, and then click the "convert" button. Note that you may not change state religion in a
historically unrealistic fashion; for example, Gustavus Vasa of Sweden may not switch from
Catholicism to Confucianism or the Sunni Moslem faith. Changing state religion is not done lightly,
because there will be many negative consequences. Your stability is lowered by five steps (–5) when
you switch religion. There is one exception, though: when you switch from Catholicism to Counter
Reformed Catholicism, as these two religions were so much alike that the subjects never really bothered. The second consequence is a deterioration of your diplomatic relations with countries that still
have your old religion, which may lead to war if things turn out badly. There is also a huge risk of
rebellion in your provinces, especially if you switch between Catholicism and Protestantism.
A failed attempt of the missionary could result in a rebellion.
It may also be because your country forces another country to change state religion, or
another country forces your country to change. The actual conversion occurs as a result of an
accepted peace offer that ends a war. This situation requires that the victim is not hindered by
historical and cultural reasons to change to the enforcer’s religion. An obvious gain is the amount
of victory points received, but a more far reaching effect might be that you effectively cripple a
potential enemy for a long period since the consequence could be that he will have his hands full
with internal rebels for a long time to come.
Finally, you may be forced to change state religion if there are such widespread rebellions in
your country that the government itself is falling.
Changing Provincial Religion
Your provinces may also convert to other religions, either to the state religion or to something
else. It may happen in one of several ways.
Historical events – Catholic provinces may change to Protestantism because of the
"Reformation" event, Protestant provinces may change to Reformist through the "Jean Calvin" event.
Random events – It could be a change to the state religion through the work of church
officials, or to another religion as part of a heretic movement.
Settlers – By successfully sending a colonist to a province, you will convert it to your state
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religion. This is a rather quick and inexpensive way but will of course only work on your
uncolonized or relatively small provinces (below 700 in population).
Missionaries – Provinces with a population above 700 can be converted through the use of
Missionaries. The process is, however, both long and expensive. Furthermore, Missionaries are
not as commonly available as Settlers. Only countries with Catholicism, Counter Reformed
Catholicism, or Buddhism as state religion receive Missionaries on a regular basis. Changing
Domestic Policies towards “Narrow minded” will increase their number or even make them
available for nations of other faiths.
FOUR
IMPORTANT EVENTS
There are four important historical events closely tied to religion during the course of the game.
In chronological order, these are the Reformation, Jean Calvin, the Council at Trent, and the Edict
of Tolerance. Note that they all assume that the previous one has occurred. In order for "Jean
Calvin" to occur, the "Reformation" event must already have happened.
Reformation
After Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the gate of the church at Wittenberg a farreaching discussion started, particularly in Germany, about the relations between religion
and royal power. You could say that the big question raised by Martin Luther was whether the
Pope and the Curia of Rome really had the right of interpretation in the areas of religion and
politics; that religion and politics had become inseparable was obvious. After a while there
came a break between the Pope and countries that had taken up the views of Luther and
Melanchton of the church as an inseparable part of the influence of the princes.
This is the first event and cannot occur earlier than 1517. The effect is that your country may
now convert to Protestantism. If a country changes its state religion from Catholicism to
Protestantism, the country receives 25 ducats per province for confiscated church property. Note
also that many European provinces will change their provincial religion from Catholicism to
Protestantism as soon as the event occurs. In a country like Sweden, for example, almost all of the
provinces become Protestant, while the state religion is still Catholic, which may be as good a
reason as any to voluntarily change your state religion.
Jean Calvin
The event actually represents the appearance of Jean Calvin as a reformer. Before him Ulrich
Zwingli, John Knox, and Ulrich von Hutten had already acted as reformers. Calvin, though,
was one of the most important post-Lutheran reformers, and organized Protestants in a
decentralized fashion, with greater emphasis on the role of the layman in the church. Further,
the main points concerned work ethics and predestination, and a strong anti-Catholic
sentiment, which strongly increased the already great tension in Europe.
It occurs after the Reformation and means that your country and others may convert to the
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Reformist teachings. Please also note that certain European provinces automatically convert from
Protestantism to Reformed.
Council of Trent
The goal originally was to reform the Catholic Church to allow Protestants and Reformists to return.
The goal was not reached, however; one reason was that the Protestants and the Reformists refused
to attend. They did succeed in renewing and reforming the activities and the organization of the
church, and as an effect of the wars in progress they repudiated the teachings of the Protestants
and the Reformists. This in turn led to an agenda to let the lost sheep return to the fold.
It occurs between 1545 and 1563. This means that Catholic countries are now able to convert to
Counter Reformed Catholicism, which provides a unique ability. If a Counter Reformed country
decisively defeats a Protestant or Reformed country, it may demand that the conquered country
convert to Catholicism as part of a peace treaty.
The Edict of Tolerance
The event’s name is a generic term for all of the edicts and treaties that tried to create a
permanent religious peace between Protestants/Reformists and Catholics. None of these
succeeded to any great extent nor did any last very long. Ironically the sword and not the pen
brought peace to the religions. Both the French wars of religion and the Thirty Year War
created such widespread fatigue, that people were forced to accept the status quo in the
matter of religion.
The effect for your country is that the effects of both the "Tordesilla Treaty" (see the “Event &
special cases” chapter) and the Council of Trent end. All Counter Reformed Catholic countries
return to the status of "regular" Catholic countries, and all provinces and colonies with a Counter
Reformed church are now automatically Catholic.
DOMESTIC POLICY
In Europa Universalis, you could say that the Domestic Policy of a country together with its
religion forms its profile. You can change the profile over time but it will be a slow process and it
will take literally decades, if not centuries, before there is a significant difference.
The Domestic Policy is divided into 8 areas. Each is represented with a slider bar with eleven
settings, one neutral in the middle and five steps in each direction, representing increased
support of that particular view. By clicking on the minus or plus button, the bar will change one
step in that direction. It is important to remember though that you can only make a change once
every 10 years.
Each step on the slider will usually only affect the corresponding effect with a fraction of its
standard effect and will seldom be noticeable right away. For instance, a step towards Narrowminded beyond the neutral middle will increase the yearly number of Missionaries with less than
half a missionary, so it will take 3 years before you notice the effect through receiving an additional
missionary.
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Plutocracy to Aristocracy
The question is if you want to promote a wealthy middle class or the traditional nobility.
Plutocracy - Increased cost for building cavalry, decreased cost for building warships. Higher
Trade efficiency but a negative bonus to the Monarch’s diplomatic rating.
Aristocracy - Decreased cost for building cavalry, increased cost for warships. Lower Trade
efficiency but a bonus to the Monarch’s diplomatic rating.
The shield to the left accesses your domestic policies. The shield to the right
accesses your tolerance setting. The two small arrows at the bottom let you
skim through all countries in the game.
Decentralization to Centralization
Only a centralized government can implement unitary laws, tolls, measurement and monetary
systems, etc. However, making the central powers felt by changing local customs and traditions is
seldom viewed favorably by the subjects.
Decentralization - Decreased risk for rebellion due to war exhaustion, lower risk for
rebellious liberation movements. Increased cost for improving technology and lower production
efficiency.
Centralization - Increased risk for rebellion due to war exhaustion, higher risk for rebellious
liberation movements. Decreased cost for improving technology and higher production efficiency.
Narrow-minded to Inventiveness
Maintaining conformity and sticking to traditional views can be an effective way to carry a society
through difficult times. It does not however promote a good breeding ground for creativity and
innovations. Those that don’t fit the group have to leave.
Narrow-minded - Decreased risk for rebellion due to war exhaustion. Increased cost for
improving technology but decreased cost for improving stability. More Missionaries and Settlers
received each year.
Inventiveness - Increased risk for rebellion due to war exhaustion. Decreased cost for
improving technology but increased cost for improving stability. Fewer Missionaries and Settlers
received each year.
Free Trade to Mercantilism
Mercantilism is a system in which the government promotes the national industries and merchants by
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regulations, economic promotions, and high customs borders on the behalf of foreign competition.
Free Trade - Increased cost for placing Merchants. More Merchants and Settlers received
each year.
Mercantilism - Decreased cost for placing Merchants. Fewer Merchants and Settlers received
each year. Can have more trade refusals against other nations without negative effects on the
increasing of trade efficiency.
Defensive to Offensive Doctrine
One school in the art of war promotes the slow but relatively safe way of methodically laying siege
to the enemy’s defenses. Another advocates winning the war more quickly through a series of
violent and sharp but decisive pitched battles.
Defensive Doctrine - Decreased cost for artillery. Lower morale for armies. Decreased shock
value for general commanders but increased siege value for them.
Offensive Doctrine - Increased cost for artillery. Higher morale for armies. Increased shock
value for general commanders but decreased siege value for them.
The rollover provides the effect of the current setting. Any change has an
instant effect but you must wait ten years before you can do it again.
Naval to Land
Do you strive to be a land based or a maritime power?
Naval - Decreased cost for building naval units, increased cost for naval units. Higher morale
for navies, lower for armies. More Settlers received each year.
Land - Increased cost for building naval units, decreased cost for army units. Lower morale
for navies, higher for armies.
Quantity to Quality
A nation with many subjects can overwhelm a smaller enemy by sheer weight of numbers. In this
case, the enemy has to depend on the higher professionalism of their smaller army in order to
prevail.
Quantity - Increased Manpower. Decreased cost for building infantry and cavalry. Lower
morale for armies. Decreased fire value for general commanders.
Quality - Decreased Manpower. Increased cost for building infantry and cavalry. Higher
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morale for armies. Increased fire value for general commanders.
Free Subjects to Serfdom
The benefits of keeping an effective yeomanry comes with a price that not every ruler can or is
willing to pay.
Free Subjects - Increased cost for building infantry. Higher morale for armies. Increased cost
for improving stability. Higher production efficiency.
Serfdom - Decreased cost for building infantry. Lower morale for armies. Decreased cost for
improving stability. Lower production efficiency.
COLONIZATION
When the Europeans first came to America it was to find gold, honor, and new souls to
Christianize. But the driving force of the expansion changed very quickly. While they started
out as discoverers and explorers, the Europeans changed to become traders and conquerors.
Both in the role as trader, which the Europeans were in Africa and initially in North America;
and in the role as conqueror, which they were in South and Central America, the
motivational force behind the expansion evolved as the native ("discovered") people’s
economy was penetrated, broken apart, and finally replaced with the Western economic
system (during the larger part of the historical period a form of proto-capitalism).
What happened may be illustrated by the European contact with the native peoples of
North America. The native population primarily subsisted on hunting and fishing before the
Europeans came, but after the first contact when the Europeans offered weapons and
luxury items in exchange for furs, it made more sense in the short term for the native
people to hunt and gather furs and to a lesser extent grow corn for a living. By doing so the
native people slowly but surely moved further inland and left the fishing waters and
game-filled hunting grounds behind. When a tribe later experienced a poor harvest or
drought they were forced to turn to the European traders who exchanged goods for future
supplies of furs at prices that today would be called profiteering.
The areas that the native people left behind, either due to the aforementioned reason or
because of epidemics, were extremely suitable for European colonization that indeed
started during the early 17th century. Once the Europeans had a strong foothold in North
America the native peoples never succeeded in retaliating. The Europeans had more
advanced weapons that in fact could have been parried by the native people’s mobility and
effective combat tactics, heretofore never seen by the Europeans, but what finally proved
decisive was the difference in political systems. While the European system’s main purpose
was to centralize resources for use by a small government, the native people’s decentralized
system prevented the North American tribes from mustering joint resistance.
Due to increasing international trade, more and more non-European economies were
tied to the European economy, which eventually transformed into a global economy. The new
colonies grew, increasing the demand for products, sparking a dynamic, forward-pushing
economic effect.
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OVERVIEW
When you click the colonization icon (it 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 to establish trading posts, which will be described later.
It must be noted that not all countries were colonial powers of the same caliber as Spain,
Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands. Countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Curland
made attempts along those lines but failed to create lasting empires, mainly due to their less
strategic geographical locations and relatively weak economies. To colonize, your country must
explore new provinces, and have access to settlers that may be sent out as colonists or traders.
If you see water in an independent province, a colony placed there will have a port.
Receiving settlers
You receive an annual number of settlers at your capital. The actual number available to your
country depends on several conditions: Whether or not your country lacks coastal provinces. If
your capital province has an unobstructed contact through land with your colonies. Whether
you have a naval shipyard. Countries with certain state religions acquire more settlers than
others. By changing certain domestic policies you can increase the rate. You may also receive
settlers through random events. Finally, you may receive extra settlers depending on colonial
dynamics, which is an effect linked to the nation you are playing and what year you have reached
in the game.
How to establish a settlement
Click the colonization button. Now you see the map in its colonization view. Bone white provinces
are not available for colonization or for establishing trading posts. They are either undiscovered,
already 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 settlement, and then click the button "Send
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trader" or “Send colonist”. You will now see a figure unpacking pots from a chest (trader) or
chopping wood (colonist) as a sign of work in progress. When placing the pointer above the trader
you will see how long it will take until the result of the attempt to establish the settlement is known.
The settler always starts out from your capital, and is portrayed as a horse and carriage and as a small
sailing ship. The farther away from your capital, the longer it takes to complete the actual colonization.
SETTLEMENTS
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 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 settlers. Click the colonization icon. As mentioned
previously, you have some settlers available—the number is shown in the line above the map.
These can be used either as colonists or for trading posts. 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.
Colonies
A colony may have up to six levels, where each level represents 100 inhabitants. When a colony
exceeds 600 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 experiences a monthly change 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 very long time. A first level colony rarely produces any revenue, while a sixth level colony is more
or less a small province. Each new colonist brings along 100 people.
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.
Trading posts
What are the advantages and disadvantages of trading posts? The advantage of having trading posts
compared with colonies is that they are cheap. It is a cheap and practical tool to "claim" what is
yours and thereby tell other countries to stay away. You may at any time send a colonist and turn
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the trading post into a colony.
Additionally, some parts of the world are directly unsuitable for colonization, but trading posts
are always feasible. Greater parts of Africa and Asia have climates which prohibited almost all
colonization prior to the 19th century. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, trading posts
produce high trade values, especially when trading in unusual and exotic products. If you manage
to establish a number of such posts and also manage to acquire a monopoly, trading posts can be
a lot more profitable than colonies. Establishing trading posts is the quickest and easiest way to
raise the total trade value of a center of trade.
The drawbacks of trading posts are that they do not increase the population of your country,
and therefore do not increase your production and tax values. Trading posts also lack ports, which
limits the reach of your fleets. You may not build fortifications, recruit armies, or build any fleets
at your trading posts. This makes them quite vulnerable to attacks. Additionally, the maintenance
ability is low in provinces with trading posts, which means that attrition is very high. Finally, while
colonies may only be transferred to other countries through peace treaties, enemy army units in
the province may burn trading posts.
If your army unit is in a province with an enemy trading post, a "Burn trading post" button will
appear in the information window. If you press the button the trading post will disappear and the
province will be emptied.
COLONIZATION OF THE NEW WORLD
We have mentioned that trading posts are cheaper than colonies, and most often the attempt to
establish a trading post has a greater chance of success than an attempt at colonization.
Furthermore, it is easier to establish a colony in a province where you already have a trading post,
compared with a neutral province.
Once you have discovered one province of a previously unknown country, its
capital province will be discovered as well and you can start to interact with
it.
Chances to succeed
The chance of establishing a colony or a trading post along with its respective costs depends on a
number of things. The cost is lower and the chance of success higher if you have a conquistador
in your province or an explorer in an adjacent sea zone; if it is a coastal province; if it borders on
a province with a town or a colony belonging to your nation; and the number of earlier attempts
at colonization. The cost and chance is also heavily dependent on the aggression level of the
natives, the distance to your capital, whether it already contains a trading post, colony or town,
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and what level it may have. The climate of the province also plays a part.
Local inhabitants
When you discover an independent province to colonize, there are a couple of questions you
should ask. First, check to see if the province contains local inhabitants, and in such cases, also
check their numbers (in game terms, how many warriors they furnish at any given time) and the
aggression level. You have two choices. Either you may send army units to destroy all enemy forces
or you make an attempt at colonizing, even though the local inhabitants are still in the province.
The advantage of your first choice is that you have a higher chance of success, with the result that
there are no longer any locals to start an uprising that may take over or massacre your colony.
The advantage of the second alternative is that when you have successfully sent seven colonists
to the province, or more precisely when it exceeds a population of 600, it develops into a town
and the local inhabitants are added to the population, which in turn may provide very high
populations and thereby a high income. Base your choice on the aggression level of the locals,
which varies from province to province but falls within a scale of "Very low" to "Very high."
Explorers and Conquistadors
Explorers and Conquistadors are often absolutely necessary if your country is to become a real
colonial power. Explorers explore sea zones that are Terra Incognita, and conquistadors explore
provinces that are Terra Incognita.
Note that there are areas that are Permanent Terra Incognita that may never be explored. When
a country reaches a certain Technology Level any "normal" commanders may discover provinces
and sea zones that were previously Terra Incognita, but it takes much longer when compared with
explorers and conquistadors.
Conquistadors and explorers also have some unique abilities, which is why they are called
specialists and not commanders. Conquistadors and explorers provide lower attrition rates for
their respective fleets and army units. This is due to their personal courage and excellent ability
to lead these units into the unknown. Conquistadors also receive a bonus in pitched battles against
natives, due to the better weaponry of the Europeans, and the ability to turn cultural beliefs about
gods and myths to their own advantage. Finally, the conquistadors have a nasty ability to spread
disease among the natives in the provinces through which they pass.
Note that the measles, smallpox, and the common cold were some of the most important
reasons why the Europeans managed to establish control over America.
Note also that none of the special values has any effect in Europe and that the power
value is much lower there than beyond the borders of Europe.
Explorers might need to get ashore from time to time; otherwise they can disappear because
of attrition. A good tactic is to establish colonies here and there, so that your explorers do not have
to travel far every time they go to explore Terra Incognita. Regarding the conquistadors, it may be
a good idea to develop at least one colony into a town in every important region or continent you
try to explore, as you may then periodically increase the army of the conquistador, as even these
units suffer attrition.
As the conquistador increases the chance of a successful attempt at colonization, it may be a
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good idea to return with a conquistador to a colony when you want to speed up the development
by sending more colonists. Remember that it may be a good idea to "claim" a province you can’t
afford to colonize by establishing a trading post, as the trading post is both cheap and easy to
establish.
COLONIAL STRATEGY
Whether it is best to concentrate on a few colonies and develop them into towns as fast as
possible, or to go for more colonies that partly run themselves and let them develop over time with
the population growth, is not an easy question to answer. It all depends on the style of the player,
the position of your country on the map, what the other countries are doing, where your colonies
are located, et cetera.
The important thing to keep in mind is that a good balance between trading posts and colonies
is very profitable for your nation, as you receive higher income from both production and taxes,
and from trade. Compared with colonies, trading posts provide higher revenues in a shorter
period of time at a lower price. The only problem is in defending them. Another good point is that,
no matter what strategies you choose, you always have to find a way to defend your possessions.
Remember that if, for example, you have decided to colonize North America (between 50 to 100
colonies) with Level 1 colonies, and if you have not deployed any army units or fleets as
protection, your transatlantic empire will be a quick and easy target for any of your neighbors.
Even computerized countries enjoy free lunches.
Protecting Your Colonies
As has been mentioned earlier, colonies and trade centers need protection. The attrition rate of
the army units are often very high in provinces with trading posts and high in provinces with
colonies. For this reason it is often a good idea to expand a colony into a town, preferably in a
province within marching distance of your other colonies and trading posts. You may only recruit
army units and build ships for your navies in provinces with towns. Unless you want to transport
a great number of army units that are rapidly worn out all over the oceans, it is important that you
try to create a small, civilized zone in an ocean of colonies.
It is also appropriate to base naval forces at strategic points along your new provincial coasts,
in order to fight pirates and to ward off enemy troops. We should mention that a trading post may
never provide the province with a port, which in some regions (i.e. Africa) means that you may
have to build colonies in less profitable locations if you want to be able to sail safely from Europe
to India or Asia, or if you want to be able to defend any of your trading posts in Africa.
Note that diplomacy is a natural tool for protecting your colonies and trading posts. If, for
instance, the Netherlands were creating a small trade empire with unprotected colonies and
trading posts spread all over the world, it would be wise not to make enemies with powerful
powers like Portugal.
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REBELS & OTHER SCUM
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 successful 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.
REBELLIONS
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 shade, the greater the risk of
rebellion.
Causes
The two 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"). 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 judicial system and the police. Provinces with a different culture than your ruling
culture will have a higher revolt risk.
Rebellion may also break out due to historical or random events, some of which may be of
quite substantial nature. One is called "Dutch nationalism" and will occur sometime 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 belonged to Spain. Another is the “American fight for
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independence” during the second half of the 18th century.
Effects
What happens when there is a rebellion? Each month there will be a check in each province, and
the risk for an uprising is directly proportional to the revolt value in each province. When a
province rebels, a rebel army unit appears, carrying a red and black 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 rebel 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, 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 negative factors apply to provinces controlled by rebels as to provinces controlled by
other enemies, so 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 (see “Liberation movements” below) or the "government will
fall." If the government falls, you lose a whole lot of victory points but the stability is set to +3 and
you regain all of your provinces that used to be controlled by the rebels as all rebel army units
disappear. The negative consequences are that you lose all provinces controlled by enemy nations,
as well as the risk that your country will change its state religion.
Quelling rebellions
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 the risk
for revolts decreases if stability is high. But if a rebellion has succeeded, and you now have a rebel
force in your country, your only way to deal with it is through the use of force, sending an army
into the province and defeating the rebels in a field battle. The rebels will never retreat. 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, so they must be reconquered
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 independence. Certain areas, like Brittany, Norway,
Catalonia, and the Ukraine, among others, may develop into liberation movements, and then proclaim their independence, but this is also true for formerly existing countries that 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 country. There is nothing special that prevents you from
conquering the new country and annexing it.
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PIRATES
The period between 1492-1792 may be described as the golden age of piracy. Pirates worked
in more or less all the known seas, mainly because of the lack of any protective bases. The
relatively unprotected trade caused piracy. The colonial powers naturally tried to protect
their trade, but they were not able to patrol the oceans beyond Europe until the later part of
the period. Nevertheless piracy continued and still exists today, although on a lesser scale.
Piracy involves enormous risk, but can result in very high profits if you are lucky.
Pirates are autonomous fleets cruising the sea zones close to centers of trade. The goal of the
pirates is to exploit the weakly protected lucrative trade far away from the European naval bases,
thereby stealing as much as possible. Pirates (naval units) may never be controlled by a player but
are always autonomous. Pirates are automatically at war with every country in the game, and may
attack and be attacked by all countries in the game at any time. Note that a country does not have
to declare war to attack pirates. A country is never at war when pirates attack their ships. The
country does not lose any stability, and may not issue any war taxes, etc.
Pirates influence economy and trade in the area they reside in by capturing ships and
attacking coastal provinces. In all provinces adjacent to a sea zone with pirates, tax income and
trade values are lowered by 0.5 ducats for each ship of the pirate fleet. In this way pirates affect
both the annual and monthly incomes.
The only way to get rid of pirates is to wipe them out by sending a fleet and defeating the pirates
in a naval battle. Note that the pirates may return, because even if the risk was great, the chance
of profit was even greater. We also recommend placing a fleet in the vicinity of any sea zone where
pirates have attacked, in order to quickly eliminate any further attempts. Finally, pirates strongly
dislike fortifications, as they make it harder to attack your coastal provinces. Building
fortifications lessens the risk of pirates appearing at your coasts, thereby leaving your income
untouched.
Privateers
A nation that has reached a certain naval technology level may commission privateers. When you
click in a sea area, you will have a button available for their creation in the information window.
They work exactly like pirates, so once created you don’t have any control over them. In fact, they
could end up raiding your own coasts and ships. However, they are an alternative to costly
regular fleet operations for poorer nations or nations that want to inflict damage to their rivals
without getting directly involved. Note however that your relations with a country will suffer if you
create a privateer directly outside one of their coastal provinces.
EVENTS & SPECIAL CASES
EVENTS
We have mentioned earlier that events may affect your country and its dealings. These may be of
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a political, economic, social, religious, or military nature, and may be either temporary, i.e.
occurring between two dates, or may become permanent. Some events are random and could
happen at any time or even not at all, while others will always occur and at a specific date, like
new monarchs and the appearance of historical commanders.
The rollover provides the direct effect of the different choices. The game
pauses while an event is open (single player only).
Historical events
The events with a solid correspondence to history (except monarchs and commanders) are still
dependent on the situation in the actual game if and when they are going to happen. If the
conditions are met, it could still be uncertain at what exact date it will appear.
The player usually has a number of direct choices to make when the event occurs. The choice
will then affect the impact of the event. For example, if you play the USA, you will be able to choose
the president i.e. “monarch” from the historical candidates. In addition to the given
characteristics of the new ruler of the country, the choice will immediately affect your domestic
policies.
In the Religion chapter, the important historical events affecting religion were described.
Below are just two examples of other historical events.
The Treaty of Tordesillas — A Historical Event
The Treaty of Tordesillas formalized the decree of the Pope that the world west of the Azores
should belong to Spain and that the eastern half should belong to Portugal. The dividing line
was later moved to the west of the Cape Verde islands, allowing Portugal to keep its
possessions in Brazil. The world was also divided in the Pacific to let Spain keep the
Philippines. Portugal got everything west of the line and Spain everything to the east. The
borders of the Treaty can be seen on the map, i.e. the one you use when you want to send
colonists.
With the occurrence of this event, and if Spain and Portugal are Catholic, they can attack other
Catholic countries’ colonies and trading posts without formally declaring war. The Treaty of
Tordesillas ceases to be valid when the Edict of Tolerance occurs (see Religion).
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THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
During the period the Holy Roman Empire was not a single nation, like Sweden or England,
but rather a supranational organism. During the Middle Ages it was supposed to be a
country, a vast Christian Roman empire. It had its origins in the efforts of Charles the Great
to reestablish the Roman Empire. The efforts failed when his sons and grandsons divided the
realm and started to fight over it. At the end of the Middle Ages the Empire had been quite
decentralized, reducing the emperor’s power. The Empire consisted of a number of
independent states, with more or less their own foreign policies. Some of these states were
called electors and elected the emperor at certain times.
In the game, the Holy Roman Empire consists of all the independent states within its borders,
except for the Italian countries, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Hapsburg dynasty
ruling Austria and Bohemia had at this time been able to make the crown go from father to
son within the dynasty, but the office of emperor still had to be appointed by election, and
this remained.
Every time the emperor dies, the heir is to be elected by the members, electors, of the Holy
Roman Empire (in 1419 roughly today’s Germany, Benelux, Austria, Czechoslovakia, northwestern Italy, eastern France and Switzerland). The election is decided by checking which
Christian country has the best relation to all the electors. The candidate countries have to meet
certain minimum criteria regarding size and strength in order to be eligible. The country with the
highest sum becomes new emperor. This new country can be outside the empire’s borders, such
as Spain or France.
The office of emperor of the Holy Roman Empire has certain advantages. The emperor may
freely move all of his troops throughout all the provinces of the entire empire if he is at war. He
also has an easier time improving his relations to all of the countries within the empire. You also
gain victory points if you are elected emperor.
The border of the empire does not necessarily run along national borders. Members of the
empire can own provinces outside the empire and non-members own provinces inside. There is
an exception. If a province of the Holy Roman Empire is somehow given up to a Moslem country
through peace treaties or annexation, the province is no longer part of the Holy Roman Empire,
as the Turkish sultan may never hold a fief under a Christian emperor, regardless of the size of the land.
Note that conquered and annexed electors no longer count as electors, and neither may the
conqueror "assume" the office of elector.
The religious map mode shows the extent of the Holy Roman Empire.
The rollover gives further information.
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DEFENDER OF THE TRUE FAITH
This is a religious office with a separate seat open for each of the following religions:
Catholicism/Counter reformed Catholicism, Protestantism/Reformed, Orthodox, Sunni Muslim
and Shia Muslim. Only one nation at the time from each religion can hold the title. The advantage
of this title is that it gives you a Casus Belli against any nation that wages war against a nation of
the same faith as yours. However, if you lose a war you will also lose the title, which becomes open
for the other countries again
If you claim this office, you will automatically have a Casus Belli against
any country with a different religion that attacks a country of the
Protestant or Reformed faith.
MONARCHS
The development of your country is affected by a number of factors. It is affected by everything you
may do that is described in the rules, along with everything that your opponents are doing and how
they are reacting. We have mentioned earlier that you are playing the man behind the throne, "the
gray eminence." This means that the monarchs of your country are succeeding each other over
time. The qualities of your monarch affect the development of your country in a number of areas.
Each monarch has a military, an administrative, and a diplomatic skill.
The military skill provides a continuous research bonus in both land and naval military
technology. Note that a monarch does not have to be skilled on the battlefield to obtain a high level
of military skill, but may be a reformer with strong interests in technological and organizational
development. Examples of such monarchs are the Swedish king Charles XI and the Ottoman
sultan Süleyman the Great. If the monarch is a great leader on the battlefield, your country will
then gain a supreme commander in the monarch.
The administrative skill provides a continuous research bonus for infrastructure and trading
technology, along with an investment bonus for stability.
The diplomatic skill affects your foreign political relations every time your country is involved
in diplomatic activities. The higher the skill of your monarch, the greater your chance of making
successful suggestions.
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
92
THE ARCHIVE
Right-click to go directly to a
particular page. The game
pauses while you view the
ledger (single player only). You
exit by clicking on the lock to
the right.
For the player, the archive is equivalent to the Renaissance prince’s royal secretary. A lot of the
information you might need is stored systematically in the archive. As with all other kinds of
information it may initially be hard to see the forest for all the trees, but by using the archive
effectively you will soon realize what a gold mine it really is. It is the only way you may see how
your country fares in comparison with your opponents. When you click the icon showing a small
book in the information window, the game pauses and the archive opens on the last page you
accessed.
There are three ways of browsing through the pages. You may either right click on any page to
view an index, where you click on the page you want to view. Or you may turn one page at a time
by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. The third way is by clicking the arrow icons of the
archive. You may also change chapters by clicking the icons for each chapter, which you will find
below the page you are looking at. If you do, the archive will open on the first page of the chosen
chapter.
There are two types of pages—those that present data in tables, and those that display the data
in graphs. To sort data into tables, just click on the corresponding column and it will be sorted
according to the label. For example, if you click on Year of Ascension in the Monarch table you
will see the monarchs in chronological order. You may also add/remove data in the graphs by
checking or unchecking the boxes at the bottom of the page. Checked boxes will show the data,
unchecked boxes will not. When many lines in the graphs are very close to each other it is often
hard to see which one is which. A good tip is to check/uncheck the needed lines several times to
make them blink. An example of this is the graph for naval military technology development, in
which the leading nations may be very close to each other in the race for new improvements.
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
93
HOTKEYS
Key Function
Pause Pauses/resumes the game
Ctrl + [plus] Increases game speed (not available in network games)
Ctrl + [minus] Decreases game speed (not available in network games)
Enter Yes/No in dialogue windows
Home Centers the map on your capital
e Economic map
p Political map
n Normal map
+ Increases map size
– Decreases map size
F1 View victory progress
F10 Options, including save and load
?Search box for provinces
Shift + F12 Opens the chat function of the network game
F11 Saves a screenshot as a bitmap picture on your hard disk
F12 Opens the console; press F12 + Enter to close
PageUp/PageDown Jumps between your various units
Ctrl + [number] Associates the selected unit with that number
[number] Select numbered unit
[number] [number] Map centers on numbered unit
s Split
g Merge selected units
a Assault
u Unload armies from a selected fleet
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
94
CREDITS
Strategy First
PRESIDENT
Don McFatridge
SENIOR V.P.
Brian Clarke
V. P. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Steve Wall
V. P. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Richard Therrien
V. P. SYSTEMS
Dave Hill
PRODUCT MANAGER
Adam Phillips
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Steve Milburn
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Christina Ginger
PR ASSOCIATES
Kelly Ekins
Michèle Fortier
PACKAGING AND DESIGN
Kenneth Green
Philippe Brindamour
MARKETING ASSISTANT
Emanuel Protopapas
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Jamie McNeely
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Paul Thibault
QA MANAGER
Phillip DeRosa
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Michel Chouinard
Nabil Yared
QA TESTERS
Yan Favreau Lippé
Ethan Petty
Ludovic Pinard
Sylvain Schmidt
Éric Tougas
WEB DESIGN
Serge Mongeau
Hugo Trépanier
Distribution Infogrames Inc.
V. P. THIRD PARTY/VALUE/AFFILIATES
Ezra Chen
SENIOR BUYER
Gardnor Wong
PRODUCT LINE LIAISON
Brian McCreary
SENIOR V.P.
Wim Stocks
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
95
Paradox Entertainment
CEO
Theodore Bergquist
PRODUCER
Peter Kullgard
LEAD DESIGNER / LEAD PROGRAMMER
Johan Andersson
GAME DESIGN
Joakim Berqwist
NETWORK PROGRAMMER
Richard Löwgren
PROGRAMMER
Patric Backlund
LEAD ARTIST
Timo Väisänen
ARTISTS
Mats Bergström
Marcus Edström
Daniel Nygren
Dick Sjöström
SCENARIO DESIGN
Henrik Fåhreaus
Joakim Bergqwist
Tom Rinschler
HISTORICAL EVENTS DESIGN
Joakim Bergqwist
EVENTS SCRIPTING
Joakim Bergqwist
Henrik Fåhreaus
Stefan Huzcics
TUTORIAL DESIGN
Björn Raunio
FMV SEQUENCES
Timo Väisänen
Dick Sjöström
CR ORIGINAL MUSIC
Under Licence from Bis Records AB
MUSIC SELECTION
Fredrik Malmberg
CR_MANUAL
Klas Berndal
Joakim Bergqwist
LAYOUT
Stefan Thulin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Nils Gulliksson
CREATIVE DEPARTMENT
Leo Sandberg
Alvaro Tapia
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WORK
Johan Nilsson
Mats Bergström
Fredrik Malmberg
Panagiotis Chryssovitsanos
Kristof Haekens
Daniel Nygren
Björn Humbe
Theodore Bergquist
Dick Sjöström
Timo Väisänen
Inge Cloots
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Gustaf Magnuson
HEAD OF BUSINESS RELATIONS
Fredrik Malmberg
FINANCE
Johan Eklund
QA MANAGER
Patric Backlund
BETA TESTERS
Aaron Seltzer
Alvaro Ruiz
Andreas Klint
Andreas Liaker
Andrew C Taubman
André Gonzaga
Andy Schwarz
Anthony Reale
Arthur Skrinjer
Bart Brodowski
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
96
Benjamin Margolis
Bill Thomas
Birger Fjällman
Bjorn Kristinsson
Brenda Rackley
Brian Zolynas
Bruce Sterling Woodcock
Brucker Franck
Bryan Maloney
Buck Bright
Chad Olson
Chris Lockhart
Christian Benz
Corey Alambar
Craig Fisher
Daniel Belovic
Dave Barney
David Hamilton-Williams
David Lawrie
David Rosenblum
Derek Pullem
Dirk Hartmann
Douglas Gold
Dugravot Christophe
Edwin De Keyser
Eldar Gousseinnow
Emil Stuenes
Erik Shinn
Ethan Mollick
Evan Jones
Fleming Nielsen
Frank Thein
Gerald Sutton
Greg Powers
Gregory Booth
Hans Peter Hartsteen
Harald Link
Harri Laatikainen
Heiko Brendel
Henning E Hansen
Håvard Moe
Jacob Lester
James G. Juengerkes
James Larkins
Jean-Philippe Duflot
Joachim Burman
Joel R Anderson
Joey Zimmerli
John Dunnet
John Frey
John vd Wal
Jon Thomassen
Jonas Kågström
Jonathan Nuwesra
Karl Ingström
Keith Wells
Kevin Curow
Kim Centio Jønsson
Kristian Dorph-Petersen
Kristof Haekens
Magnus Haglund
Marc Hameleers
Marcus Maunula
Margus Laul
Markus Herrmann
Mathias Forsberg
Mathias Fritzson
Matthew Sanchez
Matthew Wallhead
Mattias Lönnback
Maxime Penen
Michael Czerkawski
Michael Fisher
Michael Olsson
Mikael Nystedt
Mike Collicoat
Nicholas Malouin
Nicholas spencer
Nils Koschnitzke
Patrik Nottberg
Pete Montbriand
Peter Doran
Peter Holland
Peter Villanova
Petter Carnbro
Philippe Rucquoy
Richard Barber
Richard Newell
Rigaud Cedric
Robert Roberson
Ronald Grant
Saint-Supery Nicolas
Stefan Huszics
Sten Herschend
Steve Dahlskog
Steve Lemieux
Stewart G. Bragg
Stéphane David
Svein Gunnar Bjørke
Thomas Berkery
Thomas Breivik
Thomas Hautesserres
Thomas Johansson
Thomas Rinschler
Timothy E Heath
Timothy Linden
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
97
Trevor Jennings
Tuna Artun
Vollmer Sébastien
William Kerschner
Yann Denouaz
(c) and (R)2001 Paradox Entertainment AB. Europa
Universalis is a trademark of Paradox Entertainment AB.
Europa Universalis is based on the board game of the same
name by Azure Wish and Philippe Thibaut.
Uses Bink Video Technology. Copyright (C) 1997-2000 by RAD
Game Tools Inc.
PREVIOUS TECHNOLOGY
Henrik Strandberg
Klas Berndal
Johan Andersson
Nils Gulliksson
Niklas Smedberg
Che Lalic
Linus Blomberg
Benjamin Abraham
Daniel Nygren
Tony Bagge
Stefan Jalke
Claes Wikdahl
Henrik Holmberg
Hannes Rhodin
Joakim Bergqwist
Philippe Thibaut
Heiko Brendel
Matthew Wallhead
Michael Czerkawski
Erik Jonsson
Roger Karlsson
Jon Kågström
Emil Norrman
Richard Löwgren
Viktor Blomberg
Patrik Backlund
Fredrik Malmberg
Fredrik Lundberg
Jonni Teittinen
Tony Warfvinge
SPECIAL THANKS
All EU1 fans
Narren
Brutal akademin
Music up until 1500 AD
JUCD3_17_Anonymous.mp3
Anonymous (Northern France, ca 1200):
Estampie. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_23_RosaBella.mp3
Dunstable, John(ca 1380-1453): O Rosa
Bella/Anon. (ca 1470): Quadlibet: O Rosa
Bella. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_26_DelEncina.mp3
del Encina, Juan (1469-1529?): Todos los
bienes. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_5_Senfl.mp3
Senfl, Ludwig (ca 1489-ca 1543): Mit Lust.
Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_13_Anonymous.mp3
Anonymous (ca 1480): Glogauer Liederbuch/
Der Sonnen Glanz. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_18_Falalalan.mp3
Anonymous (ca 1500):Falalalan. Joculatores
Upsaliensis.
SPACD163_10_TristeEspana.mp3
del Encina, Juan: Triste España. Atrium
Musicae de Madrid/Gregorio Paniagua.
SPACD163_27_hoffdantz.mp3
Judenkönig, Hans(1445-1526): Ain
Spaniyelischer hoff dantz. Atrium Musica de
Madrid/Gregorio Paniagua.
SPACD163_3_Danza.mp3
de la Torre, Francisco: Danza alta, sobre la
Spagna. Atrium Musica de Madrid/Gregorio
Paniagua.
Music 16th Century
JUCD3_15_Tielman.mp3
Susato, Tielman: From Danserye 1551/Basse
Danse Entré du fol. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_2_Tielman.mp3
Susato, Tielman: Danserye/Ronde Il esoit une
filette. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_5_Senfl.mp3
Senfl, Ludwig: Im Maien. Joculatores
Upsaliensis.
JUCD3_8_Phalese.mp3
Phalèse, Pierre: Pavane sur la bataille
(Antwerp 1572). Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_10_Morley.mp3
Morley, Thomas (1557-ca 1603): Now is the
Gentle Season. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_2_ In_dulci_jubilo.mp3
Petri collection (Greifswald 1582): Piae
Cantiones/in dulci iubilo. Joculatores
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
98
Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_23_Santarello.mp3
Anonymous (Italy): Saltarello. Joculatores
Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_31_Upsala.mp3
Cancionero de Upsala(Venice ca 1550): Rey
Aquien. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
JUCD75_8_Vulpius.mp3
Vulpius, Melchior (ca 1560-1615): Die beste
Zeit. Joculatores Upsaliensis.
Music 17th Century
AHCD982_3.mp3
Couperin, Louis (ca 1626-1661): Suite in A
minor/partial. Asami Hirosawa.
FCCD799_16_Gigue.mp3
Corbetta, Francesco (1615-1681): Gigue.
Jakob Lindberg.
FCCD799_8_Allemande.mp3
Corbetta, Francesco: Allemande. Jakob
Lindberg.
JDCD_315_10_GeorgeWhitehead.mp3
Dowland, John (1563-1625): M. George
Whitehead his Almand. The Dowland Consort.
JDCD_315_16_MistressNicholsAlmand.mp3
Dowland, John: Mistresse Nichols Almand. The
Dowland Consort.
JDCD_315_21_NichoGryffith.mp3
Dowland, John: M. Nicho Gryfith his Galiard.
The Dowland Consort.
SPACD163_31_Furioso.mp3
da Sarmoneta, Marco Fabritio Caroso: Furioso
(La Spagna). Atrium Musica de Madrid.
SPACD163_9_Spagnioletta.mp3
Farnaby, Giles (1560-1620?): Spagnioletta.
Atrium Musica de Madrid.
TTCD644_17.mp3
Selle, Thomas (1599-1663): Domine exaudi.
Triton Trombone Quartet.
TTCD644_24.mp3
Cesare, Giovanni Martino (1590?-1667):
Canzone La Bavara. Triton Trombone Quartet.
TTCD644_4.mp3
Scheidt, Samuel (1587-1654): Sonata in D
minor. Triton Trombone Quartet.
HSCD831_17.mp3
Schütz, Heinrich (1585-1672): From
Geistliche Chormusik. Bach Collegium
Japan/Suzuki.
HSCD831_6.mp3
Schütz, Heinrich: From Geistliche Chormusik.
Bach Collegium Japan/Suzuki.
Music 18th Century and very early 19th
Century
VCD_275_3_Spring.mp3
Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741): From The
Spring/Four Seasons. Nils Erik
Sparf/Drottningholm Baroque Ens.
AHCD982_17.mp3
Couperin, Francois (1668-1733): Les Folies
Francoises. Asami Hirosawa.
AHCD982_30.mp3
Couperin, Armand-Louis (1727-1789): La du
Breüil. Asami Hirosawa.
SBCD1159_11.mp3
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750): Partita
in A minor/Corrente. Sharon Bezaly.
TTCD644_10.mp3
van Beethoven, Ludwig (1770-1827): Three
Aequale. Triton Trombone Quartet.
VCD_275_11_Autumn.mp3
Vivaldi,Antonio: From The Autumn/Four
Seasons. Nils Erik Sparf/Drottningholm
Baroque Ensemble.
VCD_275_11_Winter.mp3
Vivaldi, Antonio: From The Winter/Four
Seasons. Nils Erik Sparf/Drottningholm
Baroque Ensemble.
AHCD982_14.mp3
Couperin, Francois : L´engageante. Asami
Hirosawa.
VCD_275_6_Summer.mp3
Vivaldi, Antonio: From The Summer/Four
Seasons. Nils Erik Sparf/Drottningholm
Baroque Ensemble.
1177\bis - 05 - Track 5.mp3
van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat
major/Adagio. Fumiko Shiraga/The Bremen
String Soloists.
1177\bis - 06 - Track 6.mp3
van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 2 in B flat
major/Rondo. Fumiko Shiraga/The Bremen
String Soloists.
1235\bis - 1235 - 01.mp3
Händel, Georg Friedrich (1685-1759): Gloria
in Excelsis Deo. Emma Kirkby/ Royal Academy
of Music.
1235\bis - 1235 - 03.mp3
Händel, Georg Friedrich : Laudamus te...
Emma Kirkby/ Royal Academy of Music.
1235\bis - 1235 - 12.mp3
Händel, G F: Dixit Dominus/Juravit
Dominus...Martinpelto/vonOtter/Stockholm
EUROPA UNIVERSALIS II
99
Bach Choir/Drottningholm.
1235\bis - 1235 - 15.mp3
Händel, G F: Dixit Dominus/De
torrente...Martinpelto/vonOtter/Stockholm
Bach Choir/Drottningholm Bar.
433\bis - 02 - Track 2.mp3
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus(1756-1791):
String Quintet in B flat major K.V.174. The
Orlando Quartet/Imai.
433\bis - 07 - Track 7.mp3
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: String Quintet in C
minor K.V.406. The Orlando Quartet/Nobuko
Imai.
433\bis - 08 - Track 8.mp3
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: String Quintet in C
minor K.V.406. The Orlando Quartet/Nobuko
Imai.
445\bis - 445 - 11.mp3
Bach, Johann Sebastian: Prelude in F Minor
BWV534. Hans Fagius.
445\bis - 445 - 16.mp3
Bach, Johann Sebastian: Prelude in A minor
BWV543. Hans Fagius.
All music copyright (c) BIS Records AB and
used by permission.
www.bis.se for more information.
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