DUTCH ENTERPRISE

I was playing a random game with a Deity Level, raging hordes, and seven 
civilizations. I played as the great maritime power of Holland. My 
competitors were England, France, Spain, Russia, China, and India. 
Things began on a good note. I had grown quite a bit, ruling 15 cities 
as Stadtholder William IV of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and 
I was also the most advance at the time. This was due to my policy of "3 
long distance trade routes per city." Things were rolling alone just 
fine. Spain and England, my traditional arch enemies, were quite passive 
and I had just concluded an alliance with Russia. I was gettin' 
approximately 800 gold per turn! Of course, ruling under a Republic has 
it's advantages. :) However, when the year 1050 B.C. (or sometime close) 
came along, England and France were getting pretty upset with my 
success. Of course, realizing that a long and protracted war will mean 
disaster for my sea based economy (I updated trade routes every few 
turns, so the oceans were always filled with Dutch caravels and 
galleons,) I used every trick in the book to stave off a conflict. 
However, diplomacy ultimately failed when I did not succeed in 
convincing England to leave me alone. Heck! I even PAYED them to let me 
be! My army was wimpy compared to the English, but my navy was mediocre. 
Still, it had more transports than it did warships. Fearing for the 
livelihood of the United Provinces, I payed France and Russia to fight 
my war for me, thereby minimizing the threat. It worked. While England 
was battling France and Russia, I took the opportunity to foster good 
relations with Queen Bess. I gave the English several advances and won 
an alliance. With the western front giving way to Russian and French 
troops, I realized that I had created a monster when Russia AND France 
declared war on me! Looking to Spain for assistance (China and India 
were just too far away and England was losing the fight) I convinced 
Isabella to fight for my cause. While my allies fought a land battle, I 
took the opportunity to extend the influence of the United Provinces 
(and as a safety net should the Netherlands be overrun by Russian and 
French forces.) I founded New Amsterdam, Fort Orange, Fort Nassau and 
Curacao. With these cities, I began my trade policy again. That is, 3 
trades per city. The war was horrible back home. Russia and France had 
gained a lot of ground over Spain and they were on the verge of total 
collapse. Upon seeing my ally about to perish, I immediately rushed my 
ground troops (most of which were musketeers and dragoons which and odd 
piece of cannon or two) to Spain. Needless to say, my timely 
intervention saved the Spanish from destruction. But the problem with 
French and Russian troops in Spanish cities still remained. So instead 
of taking part in a battle to the end with my rivals, I gave the Spanish 
knowledge of Gunpowder and Metallurgy instead. It took them quite 
awhile, but eventually, the Spanish retook all of their cities in a few 
fairly short and quick wars. The Netherlands was safe for the time being 
and I had fought three successful wars in India and China, thereby 
increasing my holdings. However, I botched the job when war broke out 
between me and Cathy the Great. She captured my port city of 
Schiermonnikoog and ravaged Haarlem. I took it personally, but because 
of a SEVERE strain on resources, I sued for peace. Needless to say, 
Haarlem was rebuilt in all its honor and Schiermonnikoog was once again 
Dutch in the 3rd Russo-Dutch War, as I called it. So at that point in 
time, it seemed that the Dutch would have to fight for its interests. 
Okay, we're gonna skip a few years ahead now. It was about 1450 or so. 
England and France had started to colonize nearby islands and Russia 
encompassed the little island of the United Provinces (my colonial 
holdings were far larger.) Spain was almost dead in the water. Her 
economy had been devastated by almost continous warfare with Russia and 
England and nothing much could be said about her colonial holdings, for 
she had none. The United Provinces prospered, but the threat of war 
loomed over my lucrative markets. England and France had come into 
direct competition with each other and since I had a treaty with France, 
it meant that if the Anglo-French war started, I would be caught in the 
middle. My fears were soon confirmed when the English attacked Bordeaux 
followed by a French assault on Edinburgh. As a good ally should, I 
declared war on England and assisted my French comrade in arms. The war 
was not to be quick and painless. It was to be very grueling, long, and 
exhausting. My colonies even came under attack! The worst was yet to 
come, trust me. China seized the opportunity and signed the "Shanghai 
Pact" with India to contact Dutch aggression. The following turn, 
Chinese Frigates bombarded the city of Nieu Geissburg. Yes, I was at 
war. A major conflict and I was caught in the thick of things. Okay we 
can skip a few turns because the war lasted till about 1620 or so. 
Needless to say, my empire was a shadow of its former self. Having lost 
Nieu Geissburg to China (the only trading post there and the cash cow of 
the empire) I succumbed to depression as did the entire empire. My wars 
had left many unhappy people in my cities and I spent a HUGE chunk of 
cash on makin' them happy again. From then on, I vowed not to wage war 
just for whimsical purposes. Until then, the wars I fought were clearly 
just to exercise my military might and perhaps gain an important city of 
two. I had decided that I would be a more active player on the 
diplomatic scene. The alliance with France had begun to sour and it 
seemed at the time that England had more to offer me. Of course, I 
didn't have to break the alliance myself. Louis XIV did just as well and 
even launched a surprise raid on Rotterdam. Yes, yet another horrible 
war to contend with. My money was stretched to the limit and my army was 
extremely outdated. No matter. If I was going to die, at least go out 
with a bang, eh? Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't die. Hah! 
Surprising as it may be, my armies actually held off the French and I 
was still fightin' mostly with Elephants and Catapults! (The musketeers 
and dragoons were all but used up in the Spanish Campaign and I was in 
no shape to build up my military.) The Dutch Empire prospered for quite 
sometime. That is, until the new technologies came out. Armors, 
Artillery, Fighters, Bombers and Battleships were too much for the tiny 
republic. By 1940 or so, I had lost my ENTIRE overseas empire to the 
French and British. Worse still, they were fighting amongst themselves 
for the biggest prize in the "New World," my old colonial capital of New 
Amsterdam! It was a fine city. Built near three natural resource 
squares, Gems, Spices, and Bananas that equaled A LOT of trade! My tiny 
republic was reduced to it's former self, consisting of only one small 
island and 8 cities, the other 7 original cities having been captured by 
Spain and Russia in seven previous wars. Seeing that the time had come 
to relinquish control of the republic to another Stadtholder, I retired. 
The game left off with China, India, England, and France squabbling over 
who had the right to expand into the islands that were formally the 
Dutch East Indies, at the time occupied by England and one city by 
France. Well, so ends my sad tale of how an empire was ruined due to a 
ruler's lust for power and money. And just because I had money, I 
squandered almost all of my treasury in 20 different wars. Yes, I 
actually kept count. In all that time, I didn't even gain a city. I may 
as well have built my empire without war getting in my way! Anyway, the 
moral of the story is: "When it comes down to two decision: a) War b) 
Peace, always choose Peace. Why? Because if you underestimate your 
opponent, you'd be spitting sand out from your mouth while your palace 
burns to the ground." 
Okaythankyoutheendgoodnightbuh-bye

Ryan Carlisle: Former Stadtholder of the United Provinces.