1488 - 1499 King Joao II de Avis, Part 2
Taking a look at our technological advancement we see that we are at level 7 for Administrative and Military tech, but a mere level 4 in Diplomatic tech. The average advancement for 1488 should be 7/7/7, with level 8 coming around 1490. Administratively, we are nearly at level 8, so we are on track there, but our military tech is starting to lag a little as we push more diplomatic power into the Offensive Idea group. Our diplomatic tech level is, however, abysmal. This is entirely due to us prioritising diplomatic power into the Exploration Idea group, which we have now almost finished. I think this serves to highlight just how much trading off you have to make in this game, which personally I like very much!
Economically, we are doing fine, especially as we are maintaining 3 colonies, 3 advisors and max maintenance for our armed forces.
Our government is strong, with a decent King, and useful bonuses from most of our advisors.
We are currently getting a revolt risk in Cayor, despite us having cored the province. This is mainly due to it being of the wrong culture. We can't however, change the culture until it is of the same religion as our state religion (Catholic), and we can't do that as our missionaries don't have enough conversion power yet
In the Spring of 1489, we have enough admin power to take the final Exploration Idea, giving us a nice naval force limit bonus. This also unlocks the final Idea completion bonus, which handily gives us a permanent Cassus Belli against pagans... Lookout Aztecs!
and later in the year, our colony of Rio de la Plata in modern day Argentina/Uruguay becomes self sustaining
By September 1490 we can take our next Offensive Idea, giving ourselves a manpower boost, which also unlocks the next National Idea, boosting our trade power. Nice!
Absolutely bugger-all happens for the next year or so, until in January 1492 we take the next level of admin tech, level 8.
we also pass a new law, giving a boost to our missionaries, enough that Cayor starts converting to Catholicism
By March we are able to start fabricating a claim on the second Malian coastal province, Gabu, and a year later in early 1493, we get our Cassus Belli
The Ivory Coast becomes self-sustaining (producing Ivory.... shock). We dispatch our colonist to Itamarca in modern-day Brazil
and we also take diplomatic tech 5
Our heir takes command of one half of our army, and he's pretty decent general.
In April 1493, we declare war on Mali. Our plan is simplicity personified. 10,000 troops, commanded by our heir, will mark from the West via Cayor, to besiege the western provinces. Meanwhile, Alexander Eanes, our long-standing Conquistador, will lead 10,000 troops north from the Ivory Coast, through 'unexplored' land into Mali from the south. This pincer movement should trap the Malian armies enabling them to be destroyed in the field.
By July, we are in Gabu,
while
the Malians?… Malinese?... Malinites?... anyway, they’ve got about 14,000
soldiers dotted around the area
we wink their navy in October
and after much dancing around each other, we defeat their main army in Cayor in November
Prince Joao de Avis chases them all the way back to Timbuktu, before destroying them completely in January 1494
By June we have completed three sieges, and have enough military power to take the next Offensive Idea
England declare war on Scotland in November 1495, but do not call in their allies
and by the end of the same month most of Mali is under our occupation forces
in December, Mali has no choice but to agree terms, ceding Gabu to us, along with cash and trade power, revoking some cores and annulling all of her treaties. In addition, they are forced to release Ashanti as an independent nation, providing a buffer against aggression towards our province in the Ivory Coast
we immediately start coring Gabu, and invoke 'harsh treatment' to reduce the revolt risk. In September 1496 we manage to get a cardinal elected to the Holy See, and looking at the spread of influence control is entirely up for grabs!
All is quiet for a year until..... Castile gets its first overseas colony, just south of Rio de Oro, and two provinces north of Cayor. They must have recently unlocked the Exploration set of ideas. The race is on!
However, we can afford a much faster pace of expansion than Castile, as our economy is doing very well indeed
In January 1498 we amass enough wealth to become Defender of the Faith.
This grants us a second missionary, who we will set to work converting
in Gabu once it has cored, converting it from the Sunni faith to our own
April 1498 and our colony of Grao Para in South America becomes self-sustaining
and we immediately turn our focus back to Africa and send a colonist to the Gold Coast
In June of 1498 we take a look back at our ally England. They have almost assimilated Scotland, and tensions appear to be mounting with France looking at all of the troop activity across the Channel. We keep an eye on things but nothing comes of the posturing
Diplomatic level 6 by June, and we are slowly catching up tech levels, although we do lag behind a little
this is followed immediately by Offensive Idea 6, giving us extra prestige from winning land battles
The pace of colonisation is alarmingly fast, as Itamarca becomes self-sustaining in October 1498
Our colonist whizzes over the Atlantic to Luanda, bordering our close allies the Kongolese, and pushing our frontiers further down the west coast of Africa towards the Cape
In March of 1499, we realise that the settler bonus produced by the colonist in the gold Coast is worthless, so recall him and send him off to the small island of Fernando Po in the Gulf of Nigeria, midway between the Gold Coast and Luanda. We are really starting to the dominate West African coastline
Gabu cores in early 1499
and our second missionary can finally get to work
Once
the colonist arrives in Luanda, we lose the negative relations modifier with
the Kongo for having a large distance between our borders, and they accept an
offer to become a protectorate. This gives them a bonus to tech research, in
exchange for them giving us half of their trade power
And that’s where we leave it at the end of 1499. In the last
15 years we have completed the previously active colonies of Rio de la Plata, Grao Para
and Ivory Coast, colonised and completed Itamarca in Brazil, won Gabu from the
Malians and started 3 new colonies in West Africa (Gold Coast, Fernando Po and
Luanda). Pretty good I think!
Next time we will try to take ourselves up to 1514,
detailing the next phase of our great push south and west…
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