	THE AGONIES OF WAR or COLONIZING UNDER A MONARCHY

How to begin? Well, I was playing a game on Earth, Deity level, and 
Raging Hoards. I was the head of the English Monarchy. At first, things 
did not turn out too well. The French were following their expansionist 
policies having allied themselves with Russia. Oddly enough, I had 
signed an alliance with Spain! Anyway, the French were sweeping across 
Europe and because of my alliance with King Philip II, I found myself 
caught in between a debilitating war that lasted well over 300 years. 
The French had almost achieved a landing near Plymouth, but my navy 
managed to sink all of their troop transports. China, India and Japan 
were pretty well off, having no conflict to disrupt their civilization. 
The war reach a surprise ending when none of the powers gained anything. 
Spain, France and Russia retained their cities and only lost money and 
troops. I, however, had to divert all of my funds into building an 
efficient navy, so my economy was pretty much ruined by a pointless war. 
London and Liverpool were on the verge of civil disorder and to make 
things worse, Newcastle was overrun by barbarians! Undaunted by a string 
of bad luck, I recaptured the city and satisfied the needs of my people. 
Then I achieved something I thought would never be possible: PEACE. 
Having isolated myself from continental European politics (which ended 
the Anglo-Spanish alliance, mind you) I nurtured English power until the 
day came (it was about 1100 BC) when the aspect of colonization came 
into my list of to-do's. So, I packed three galleons full of settlers 
and musketeers along with two Frigates stuffed with Dragoons and Cannons 
and made my way across the previously undiscovered New World. There I 
founded Charleston, Boston, Jamestown, New York, Savannah, and Halifax 
and from there begins the foundation of the British Empire. *Sigh!* 
about ten turns later, I found myself in direct competition with France 
once again and this time they had formed a coalition with Russia and 
Spain! Playing a defensive game (I had TRIED an offensive strategy, but 
the French Navy had a strong presence in the Channel and the Northern 
Sea along with the Russian and Spanish Navies) I barely managed to hold 
on to the British Isles. However, luck was with me this time and the 
British Navy sunk most of the Franco-Russian-Spanish Navy. Another 
twenty turns or so down the road saw the close of the war and the only 
sole territorial gain I had made (By fluke actually) was the Russian 
port of Minsk. Yes, it might have seemed insignificant then, but it 
helped immensely in the colonization of Japan and China. War broke out 
once again. This time between China and Russia and, having built up my 
army ( I had about 30+ units) and improved my navy (20+ ships at best), 
I joined in the fray. Minsk served as an excellent port in which I could 
station my ships. Russia's navy was virtually non-existant, as the city 
of Minsk was their only sea port. Sadly for the Chinese, they lost 3/4 
of their cities to the Russians. Here was where the British under King 
Henry IX (me) thwarted Russian ambitions. I stationed cannons outside 
the captured cities and bombarded them into submission, thereby allowing 
the Chinese to march back in. My reward? An alliance with the Imperial 
Chinese Court, and the "right" to establish my first Chinese colony of 
Hong Kong followed by Dutch Harbour. Trade rolled right along and gold 
was filling the Royal coffers to the brim. I made contact with Japan and 
soon found myself embroiled in yet ANOTHER war. It was a cold war 
actually, and it lasted almost 400 years. No one made an attack. Contact 
with India resulted in an unhappy Mohandas Ghandi and a bunch of 
Dragoons and Cannons at my doorstep. Hong Kong beat the invaders back 
and as retaliation, I seized Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta, leaving India 
virtually under the rule of the British Crown, much like history. With 
the Indian threat neutralized, I continued to sweep my settlers and navy 
into Africa, Australia and South America. By 1780 A.D. the British 
Empire consisted of about 43 cities spreading across the globe. As 
usual, good things do not come free. At the time of my imperialist 
aggression, France and Spain were building their own empires. The French 
had reached the middle east and were spreading fast across Asia. Believe 
it or not, I was amazed to find French cities in South America! Spain 
had colonized northern Africa and were continuing settlement on the 
fringes of the Sahara. Russia's Empire spread from the Northern Sea to 
the Pacific Ocean. China had spilled into Cambodia and Mongolia and were 
slowly creeping toward Malaya and Indonesia. Japan on the other hand, 
was colonizing Korea and India remained well under the Crown. Things 
started to get ugly when India revolted under French influence and Spain 
along with Russia and Japan were seizing my outposts and destroying my 
ships on the high seas. Drastic measures were called for and the Royal 
Army, Navy and Air Force were summoned put a stop to it. I bombarded 
coastal cities and march Marines into them, ruptured the Spanish 
lifeline by seizing North Africa, destroyed the French Middle East Army 
and proceeded to "save" the people of the Middle East from French 
influence and rule. Russia got on my nerves by attacking Minsk and 
totally obliterated my only port on the Continent. I marched my Alpine 
Troops into Moscow and seized Leningrad as a small prize. Japan lost 
Korea to the British Navy and the French were driven out of South 
America. Africa, Australia and most of Asia were soon under British 
rule. I finally lost patience with Japan when she declared war and sunk 
my Pacific fleet (consisted of 4 battleships, 3 destroyers and 6 
submarines along with 2 carriers and 8 fighter planes). So, I destroyed 
Kyoto and marched into the Land of the Rising Sun. So ends Japanese 
civilization. France was undone when I paradropped into Paris and Spain 
was left begging for mercy when I nuked Madrid. By the year 2000 the 
only civ left was China, my long time ally who stood by my side during 
all of the major wars. My empire had more than 250,000,000 people and 
the British armed forces were supreme. Eventually, I retired, having 
built the greatest empire ever while maintaining the pressures of a 
monarchy. That's my story. As you can see I pretty much followed a 
historical outline. Too bad you can't grant independence to cities you 
have no need for anymore. It's a shame.

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By: Gabriel Montcalm <aufgaetenschatz@hotmail.com>
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